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Archive for July, 2009

Christo’s Cover

Thursday, July 30th, 2009

I finally had a few minutes this evening to prowl through more than email. And so I looked online to see if I could find the cover for Christo’s book.

Remember him? And Natalie?

I do. Barely.

Mostly I remember them as having spent far too long in my house over the holidays last year. They were like guests who had long since worn out their welcome before they finally decamped after revisions. Frankly, I’d blotted them out.

But recently several Presents authors with books out the same month as mine (that would be November 2009) were saying they hadn’t seen their covers yet. Obviously I hadn’t either.

Then I remembered that Kate Walker sent me the cover of PJ’s book when she found it online before the Powers That Be ever sent me a copy. So I decided to go look.

Christo and Natalie’s book, called One-Night Mistress…Convenient Wife (don’t get your expectations raised over that, either) wasn’t on the US site of amazon.com, but oddly, the US Presents cover was already posted on the UK site, amazon.co.uk!

So here it is.

Does he look like Christo? No.

Does she look like Natalie? Not at all. The hair color is even wrong.

The setting? Nope. It takes place mostly in a house on The Strand in Manhattan Beach — or on the beach. Or in Brazil. Or . . . well, suffice to say there’s not a lot of OFFICE in it, but clearly the artist was told to send the message: OFFICE ROMANCE.

There is a bit of the office thrown in — in revisions. They asked for it. I did it.

But I walked a very narrow line the whole way. You may recall me whining that The Prof’s cousin, a lawyer, kept vetting the lawyerly bits of it and ringing me to ask if I wanted to get Christo disbarred!

Er, no. I didn’t, thank you very much.

I suppose that would have made an interesting story, but it was not the one I had in mind. And definitely not the one editorial hoped I would write.

Anyway, it’s not the worst cover I’ve ever had (Snow White,and the Axe Murderer was probably that. Or maybe Jay Leno and Jimmy Cagney’s Death Mask). But it’s not the best, either. It’s okay. No Axe Murderer. No Death Mask.

I’m counting my blessings.

What do you think?

Tags: Christo, Cover Art, One-Night Mistress...Convenient Wife
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The Great American Road Trip

Tuesday, July 28th, 2009

Miss me?

I had no idea I would be gone so long, but time flies when you’re driving . . . and driving . . . and driving.

We left a week ago Monday to take a a couple of days to reach Montana to visit grandkids (and of course their parents). I hadn’t been there since Hank was born and he is now three months old — and has definitely changed a lot. Big Sis hasn’t changed as much, but she didn’t tip her chair over and need stitches in her head this time and we count that as a plus.

I love Montana — even when it’s the Land Of Snow And More Snow. But this time it was idyllic — sunny, just warm enough, late afternoon rain showers that disappeared over the mountains about an hour after they arrived. Everything was green and bright and cheerful. I didn’t want to leave.

Except . . .

We were heading to Washington to visit the newest grandson — whom we hadn’t yet met. That was an incentive, believe me. But we didn’t make a headlong dash. Instead we detoured by La Grande, Oregon where one of my mother’s first cousins and her husband of 71 years are living.

I hadn’t seen them since I was ten. It felt like yesterday — but I didn’t have quite so much gray in my hair at age 10. I was skinnier too.

In any case, we had a wonderful time. They toured us all over the area, showed us the best bits of their part of the world, then took us out to eat at a wonderful Mexican restaurant. It was a treat, and we were sorry to leave.

Finally now we’ve arrived in Washington. We’ve met Sol, who is remarkably like his father. Pictures didn’t do the resemblance justice, but seeing the big feet and hands certainly did. Plus in animation, he is very much his Daddy’s boy.

Lovely trip. Now we get to spend a week here. And I get to tuck in Demetrios’s revisions while I’m visiting Sol and, I hope, touching base with several other long lost relatives. Great fun. One of the best vacations I’ve had in years.

I loved my work trip to Cannes last autumn, but I must say I have found this to be a lovely change of pace. There’s nothing like going across 2300 miles of America to make you appreciate the beauty and diversity of this country — and to enjoy so many interesting people.

What about you? Are you a fan of family vacations? Getting away from it all? Exotic places? Give me some suggestions? I love to travel.

Tags: grandkids, Travel
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RITA winners

Saturday, July 18th, 2009

Well, sadly for PJ and Ally, Antonides’ Forbidden Wife, didn’t win the RITA.

But other terrific books were winners of tonight’s RITA awards at the RWA National Convention.

In PJ’s category, contemporary series romance, A Mother’s Wish, by Karen Templeton won the RITA. I haven’t read her book, but I have no doubt it was deserving of the honor. Congratulations, Karen. And congrats as well to all the rest of the finalists. It was an honor to have PJ and Ally’s book up there among them.

A couple of RITA winners I’m particularly happy about were Joanna Bourne’s My Lord and Spymaster, which I thought was a terrific, fast-paced, compelling read, and Cindy Gerard’s Take No Prisoners. I haven’t read it yet, but I’m thrilled anyway because Cindy is an old friend.

You can read a list of all the winners on RWA’s twitter site. So check it out and make sure you note down the names of the books and authors.