Well, we’re selling our house and buying a new one. I forgot how tremendously stressful and time-consuming this process is! But we’ve set our sights on an amazing home–my kids adore the backyard. I hope we get it.

In writing related news, I’m working on edits for the third book, A Season of Seduction (due out next October). I love this book–it’s the story of Becky (Garrett’s younger sister from A Hint of Wicked) and her incredibly sexy hero, Jack.

I just posted a new contest to celebrate the holidays! Win a canvas tote filled with books & Victoria’s Secret goodies! Check it out over at my contest page.

If I don’t post before then, I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving! I will be spending it in Oregon with my grandfather, who will be spending his first Thanksgiving in 70 years without my grandma. I think it’s going to be a bittersweet day for all of us.

Since I just turned in my book, I’ve been in a movie-watching mood. I’m sort of distracted by catching up on episodes of True Blood right now, but after I finish those, I think I’m going on a historical movie binge. Last week, for my Fun Fridays contest, I asked you what your favorite historical movie was. I’ve seen a great majority of them, but some of them are brand-new to me, and I can’t wait to get started.

It was interesting–one movie got probably 10x the response of any of the others. Any guess what that one was? It was GONE WITH THE WIND! Ahh, yes, I can see why!

Here is the exhaustive list of all the movies that were listed by the entrants of the contest. If you entered, thanks so much for these! I’m keeping this list!

Gone With the Wind
Pride & Prejudice (Kiera Knightley Version)
Pride & Prejudice (Colin Firth Version)
The Three Musketeers (which version, I wonder?)
The Scarlet Pimpernel (I’ve never seen this one! Putting it on my Netflix!)
The Princess Bride
Ladyhawke (ooh, another one to add to my Netflix queue!)
Jane Eyre
Scarlett
Titanic
Dances With Wolves
Braveheart
The Last of the Mohicans
300
The Great Gatsby
Marie Antoinette
Pirates of the Caribbean
Poseidon
La Reine Margot (Queen Margot) (another one I haven’t seen, I’m intrigued!)
Wuthering Heights with Ralph Fiennes and Juliette Binoche.
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (with Gary Oldman)
Troy
The Color Purple
North And South
Sense and Sensibility
Forever Amber (another one I need to look up)
A Room with a View
Unconquered
Little Women
Elizabeth
Lonesome Dove
Cold Mountain
Children of the Dust (another new-to-me!)
Lawrence of Arabia
Dr. Zhivago
Shogun
The Duchess
The Last Mistress
The Patriot
Gladiator
Pearl Harbor

Isn’t that a great list? What do you think? Some of these I love so much I want to watch them again, but I think I’m going to hit the new-to-me ones first! Thanks, everyone!

So I’ve been mired in this deadline for a couple of months now, and parts of my life have been sacrificed for the sake of this book. Probably the worst of it is that I see my family so infrequently that I feel like we’re ships passing in the night. I haven’t visited with my girlfriends in ages, and I’m horribly behind in emails/correspondence with all my friends and family who don’t live close.

One thing I’m also missing out on is entertainment. My days are simple: Wake up, take kids to school, work all day, feed and cart kids to their various sports, then go back to work until my eyes are crossing, then go to bed. I’ve taken an hour off here and there to relax. I got a pedicure with my daughter last weekend, and I went to the movies last week. But I need *more*! I need to relax, and I need to start interacting with humanity again!

I’m turning in this book early next week, then I have to go out of town for the rest of the week, then I’m presenting a workshop to an RWA group next Sunday. But as of the 19th of October, I’m a free woman! I’m taking a week off just to have fun…I really, really am…

I blogged today over at Pop Culture Divas about my pop culture deprivation. Please come on by and say hi. I’m especially interested in fall television must-sees as I haven’t watched TV in ages and I don’t even know what’s on anymore!

Okay, I’m crawling back into the cave! See you tomorrow for the Fun Fridays results.

I’m blogging over at Grand Central Cafe about the end of summer today! What’s going to be most memorable to you about this summer?

Please come on over and say hi.
http://grandcentralcafe.blogspot.com/

At least, they don’t mix for me. I mean, I don’t have time to be a gourmet cook! I hardly have time to go to the grocery store. It takes me a full day to plan and execute a “good” meal. I’m so super jealous of all those writers who can just “whip something up.” If I only had that talent!

Anyway, I’m blogging over at Pens Fatales, where I’m talking about my hopelessness when it comes to food and begging for some easy (and hopefully kid-friendly!) recipes. Please come say hi!

Blogging At Pens Fatales: http://pensfatales.com/2009/08/not-quite-foodie.html

I just found this while doing my endless research about servants’ lives.

It has been frequently observed by travellers and men of experience that comfort is a term only understood in England and scarcely applicable to the habits of any other nation.

From:

The Servant’s Guide and Family Manual

By Katherine Golden Bitting
Collection on Gastronomy (Library of Congress, 1831)

I have to say, I love the vanity of the English during this period!
So…hmmm. What do you think? Was she right?

Wow, what a month. Between baseball, end-of-school craziness, and the book release & blog tour, I think the dust is finally beginning to settle. Well, except for the fact that my agent called to let me know book #3 is now due a month earlier, because my publisher would like to schedule 2 books for me in 2010! Yay! But…eek! For the next few months I’m going to be The Little Engine That Could…

I have a GREAT contest in the works! (Hint: It involves my agent and/or a barrel of awesome signed books!) So please check in often! I don’t know exactly when we’re going to get started, but I do know it’s going to be a blast.

I’m holding a contest with the amazing Christine Wells, whose next book, WICKED LITTLE GAME, is releasing in July. I’ve had a sneak peek at this story, and it is absolutely fabulous. If you’d like to be entered in the drawing, just visit my extras page.

Hi Everyone!

This is my son’s first baseball tournament weekend. Game at 10:30 today, and if they win, championship game at 1:00! Busy, busy!

But even though I won’t be here much, I’m out and about on the web! Come check out my interview at Robin Bielman’s blog, and my guest blog at Lust in Time, where I’m talking about my personal love triangle experience!

PLUS, my publisher is giving away 5 (count ‘em-FIVE!) copies of A HINT OF WICKED on today’s blog tour stop: http://www.bookwormygirl.blogspot.com/. There’s a nice review up at that blog as well! I’m still a little bowled over when I hear someone has actually read the book! LOL!

Okay. Must have more coffee… Was up verrrry late last night writing about hot Highlanders…

Happy Memorial Day to all my fellow Americans!

My son picked the winner! It was Booklover1335! Congrats! Please email me sometime within the next week and Jackie and I will get your book out to you asap.

Thanks for all the book recommendations, everyone. I adored Passion by Lisa Valdez (loved it and it’s on my keeper shelf!), and I’ve read a few of the other authors mentioned (Pam Rosenthal and Jane Lockwood are great) and Laura Kinsale is my absolute idol. But I’m definitely going to check out some of those other authors! I can’t wait! I love me some spicy historicals…

For today’s dose of cuteness–
My 10-year-old son has just discovered email. Allowing him internet access is a little scary, but I know it’s a skill he needs, and he’s obsessed with building his own website. So…we’re working on the parental controls, lol. But anyway, he sent this to me yesterday. It’s so fun watching your kid develop a sense of humor…

P.S. Just showed him this entry and his response: “Mommmmmmm!! Why’d you have to put that on your blog??” Hehe.

It’s Mother’s Day weekend, right? Which means surely, surely, I can take a few hours off to finish Jackie Barbosa’s upcoming release, BEHIND THE RED DOOR! Jackie was kind enough to send me an early copy of the book. I’ve read the first novella, and let me tell you, this is one steamy, romantic, and beautifully written anthology! I hope to have Jackie as a guest here on my blog sometime this month, and I’m hoping she’ll give away a copy of her book, too, so make sure to keep an eye out for that.

In the meantime, I’ve gotten a list of 15 more stops on my blog tour from my publicist. Yikes! I don’t think I’ve ever been so social (even internet social!) in my entire life!

AND…last but not least, I received a wonderful early Mother’s Day present from my publisher. Real, beautiful copies of A HINT OF WICKED! Wait…I have to go take a picture of myself holding one of these new and shiny books…be right back…

Here it is:

Because I’m so excited, I’m going to give away a free copy to a random person who signs up for Freebies! Just go to my Bonus Features page, and sign up to receive some freebie promo items from me and a bunch of my favorite authors (Anna Campbell, Kris Kennedy, Christine Wells, Emma Wildes, and Dawn Halliday), and one person who signs up before Sunday at midnight will receive a shiny new copy of A HINT OF WICKED!

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY WEEKEND, everyone!