Monday was Labor Day. The official “End of Summer.” And, by George, I swear there’s a hint of autumn in the air this morning.

To celebrate this last hurrah of summer, I decided to host an “End of the Pool” party. In my mind, I saw the water lowering, the kids splashing, the adults sipping an icy cold Fat Tire “Skinny Dip” beer while the tri-tip simmered on the barbecue.

Perfect, no?

Here’s what really happened:

I worked on my book until 3:30 p.m. (people were due to start showing up at 4). I forgot to put the beer in the frig because…well, what can I say? My hero and heroine were intimately involved in the last love scene of the book and beer was the last thing on my mind.

Fortunately, in my little town, the first Monday in September is also the last day of the county fair. The majority of my guests were riding rides and having too much fun to arrive on time–thank heavens!  And several of those guests came with elaborate face paintings. No splashing in the pool for them. Aren’t Maddie and Parker adorable?

The non-face-painted ones DID jump in the pool (which remains filled because when you write right up to the last minute before a party, you don’t have time to read the instruction manual on how to empty your pool).

And, eventually, Fair stragglers began showing up…to sip my–now chilled–beers.

Happy, relaxed people, who unbeknownst to them, were actually on hand to help me celebrate the “End of the Book” party. Yep, I actually managed to finish the book, which is now officially titled A FATHER’S QUEST and will be on bookshelves in May 2011.

Now, THAT’s the way to end a summer.

Deb

I adored the movie Shakespeare in Love. I loved the imaginative way the writers showed Will’s writing process, including the part about titling a Work In Progress. And, you have to agree, a title is important. I’m sure Romeo and Ethel, I mean Juliet, would agree.

Which brings me to the crux of my blog. Today is “Titling Tuesday” at Harlequin Superromance. The editorial staff is currently hard at work determining the titles for the six Superromance releases for the month of May 2011. Each brings to the table a list of suggested titles offered by the author, their individual “gut” instinct, years of experience, and, if none of that works, they can shake the Magic-8 ball.

Kidding.

Actually, I have no idea how a certain title is decided upon. I used to agonize for days over my list of title suggestions. I’ve been known to stew and fret and fret and stew. I’ve even asked my 7- and 4-year old granddaughters for help. (Insert gratuitious photo of said granddaughters.)

Shameless grandmotherly bragging.

But, back to the topic at hand.

Since my days of frustrating and often futile attempts to produce an impressive, but ultimately useless, list of potential titles, I’ve calmed down a bit. Now, I start a list at the beginning of each book, and slowly add to it over the course of writing said book. Sometimes the list can be fairly long and off-the-wall. This time….not so much.

The working title of this book (the last book in the Spotlight on Sentinel Pass series) is “Remy’s story.” (We had to call it something for contract purposes, and, well, she is the heroine.)

My other titles? Arugh. You don’t know how difficult this is. I feel naked (wait, I already blogged about that). Okay, here goes:

LOST AND FOUND FAMILY

REMY, MY LOVE

THE OTHER TWIN’S SECRET

THAT DREAM GIRL

MIGHT-HAVE-BEEN DREAMS

HOME AT LAST

LOST AND FOUND DREAMS

AT LONG LAST HOME

A FAMILY FOR BIRDIE

WITH JONAS AT HER SIDE

WITH REMY AT HIS SIDE

IN REMY’S DREAM

See? I told you this was tough. Once your brain gets attached to a certain theme, it’s hard to get away from it. And, in my defense, I’m not a marketing person. These titles might fit my story, but how will the appear to a potential buyer? That’s where the editors and marketing staff work their magic.

My friend Susan Gable also has a book in the May 2011 Superromance line-up.  Here’s what Susan told me today on Facebook: “My original title: Semper Fi Guy. Title Victoria told me they’re submitting to the “vision” team – As Good as His Word.”

I, for one, think that’s a great title. But Susan is still struggling with it. Here’s her take on the matter:

I’ve got to STOP putting titles that I really like, that I really think reflect my book, onto my manuscripts as working titles.  See, I tend to get too attached to them.   Then, when I end up with a different title…well…it’s like a LOT of this process.  There’s a grieving process.  I have to mourn the loss of my “vision” of the book, the loss of “my” title for the story.  I have to give myself time to warm up to the new title.  For me, the title should be somehow woven into the fabric of the story.  So it could mean changes in the actual book as well.  Finding a place to “tuck” the new title in.

Hayden Hawkins book started with a working title of Semper Fi.  Hayden’s a former Marine (former, not ex, because once a Marine, always a Marine) and the phrase has significance to the plotline and the heroine.  The working title quickly morphed into Semper Fi Guy – because Hayden’s also always been known as Mr. Thirty Days – his relationships only ever last thirty days.  I thought Semper Fi Guy was cute and catchy, and significant.

The possible new title after my editor’s meeting today is:  As Good as His Word.  What do you think about that?  See, I can’t decide yet how I feel about it because…I’m still mourning the loss of Semper Fi Guy.   I’m not objective yet.  I’ve got to go through my steps of mourning before I can be objective about it.

I think my next manuscript will be submitted (and more importantly, anchored in my BRAIN!) as Hero’s Name Story.  So, Hayden’s Story.  Or possibly the heroine’s story.  Maybe that will save me some grieving.  LOL.

Still no word on mine, yet, but I promise to return with final verdict as soon as I know. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to kneel and light incense before the altar of the God of Titles.

Deb

Writer at work. Writer is definitely NOT James Patterson.

Have you ever asked a writer why he or she writes?

When someone finds out I’m a writer, I usually get one of two questions,  A.) “How much do you make?” and/or  B.) “Where do you get your ideas?”

I figure the answer to A. is between me and the IRS (taking a hint from this photo, the total sum is “fishfood” compared to James Patterson’s income). However, if I was in the following list published in Forbes Magazine, I’d probably be more inclined to divulge my income. http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/19/patterson-meyer-king-business-media-highest-paid-authors.html

James Patterson tops the list at $70 million. Quoting the story: “The prolific thriller writer’s latest deal, signed last fall, involves penning a carpal tunnel-risking 17 books by the end of 2012 for an estimated $100 million.”

As for question B.) Where do you get your ideas?, an honest answer is too complex to put into words. Inspiration might come from a dream or the sound of a child’s giggle or a story you happen to catch 30 seconds of on TV or an overheard snippet of a stranger’s cellphone conversation or… you get the idea.

My favorite banal answer is: “I have a T-shirt that says: ‘Warning: Anything you say or do may appear in my next novel.’ ”

But the question I don’t have a pat answer for is, “Why do you write?”

Maybe it’s as simple as this quote my friend and fellow Superromance author Linda Style posted on Facebook this morning:

“Writing is the best way to talk without being interrupted.”~~Jules Renard

There is that.

Deb

Admit it. You’ve had one. That nightmare-slash-dream where you find yourself naked in public.

Mine was last night. I was shopping and decided to try on a really cute sweater. Since I was wearing a dress (and a bra), I slipped off the dress and slipped on the top, in the aisle of the store. Two men walked by and looked at me. I assumed they were admiring the top, which I thought made me look like an Eskimo. I was about to take it off, when I realized…wait for it…I wasn’t wearing any panties. I was naked from the waist down. I grabbed a shopping cart for modesty sake, but, that most unkind thinking part of my brain was quick to point out that while the curious men couldn’t see me, the rest of the store had a great view of my bare butt.

Arugh! I woke up. My heart was pounding, but I was laughing, too. What’s it all mean, oh, dream guru? I went online to find out (hence the photo above). Here’s one link I liked, if you’re curious. http://www.dreammoods.com/cgibin/nakeddreams.pl?method=exact&header=dreamid&search=nakedintro

Dreams have been on my mind a lot lately (waking and sleeping) because, Remy, the heroine of my next book is known as “that dream girl.” She’s super connected to her un-waking self. She’s a lucid dreamer. This was the first lucid dream I’ve had since I started writing her book, but I’m sincerely hoping this was Remy’s dream, not mine. (She has a much more attractive behind.)

Speaking of lucid dreaming, have any of you seen Inception? I found it heart-pounding at times and quite intriguing. I love the bending of time because dreams truly do work on a completely different clock.

Do you remember your dreams? Been naked in public lately? To quote the author of the above mentioned post: “Perhaps you are trying to get to the �bare facts�.”

Deb

Found a fun link on Facebook this morning to an article in Esquire magazine called “1,000 Things You Don’t Know About Women.”

Only a 1,000? Really?

I didn’t  know Esquire magazine was still being published. I didn’t read all 1,000 things, which were apparently culled from Twitter comments, but here’s my favorite of the ones I read:

No. 400:Pay attention to the sides. The sides of her face. The sides of her breasts. The sides of her torso. The sides of her hips. The sides of her thighs. A woman’s body is not a set of three or four important dots connected by unimportant skin.— Elspeth Golden, 44, San Francisco

Read more:http://www.esquire.com/women/women-issue/funny-facts-about-women-0510?click=main_sr#ixzz0wDYsSM6P

I swear this is one of the reasons women read romance. The heroes in our books know how to explore the heroine’s body. They make her feel special. A lot of the comments in this article leaned that way–”Hey, guy, when you’re with us, be with us. Duh.”

Any hints to add to the list?

Deb

Susan, Carol, Donna, Kori, Deb, Heather (missing Martha and Jill) Photo credit: Mckenzie Lettice

What’s this? The Wine, Women and Words Book Club traveled to the South of France for it’s meeting? Alas, no, but check out this fabulous setting in Donna’s backyard. The pool, the cows, the cats, the perfect weather and, best of all, the people. What a lovely night!

Our book for this month was THE POISONWOOD BIBLE. What an intense, compelling read! We had lots of discussion on this one. The mother! For goodness sake, what were you thinking? Can we forgive you? I just don’t know. And the father. Please. Don’t get me started. The word bastard seemed permanently attached to his name.

We agreed this book was well worth reading.

Next up is AMSTERDAM by Ian McEwan. (Not to be confused with the actor Ian McGregor).

This was Susan’s pick as she will be hosting next month when we make a field trip to Merced to see the movie Eat, Pray, Love then head to Susan’s house for our book discussion and appropriate wine selection. The author is probably best known for his book, ATONEMENT, which was made into a movie. (Yes, Susan, I Googled it. Completely missed my “a-ha” moment. Sigh.)

It occured to me that you might be curious about our monthly wine selections. Last night, I found a couple of nice bottles, which, I must confess, were chosen for their labels and names, alone. The first was a chardonnay from South Africa (the closest I could find to the Congo). It was called: Missionvale. It was very nice. The second was an Edna Valley (California) syrah from Tin House winery.  The image on the label made me think of the house the family lived in in the book, although it was probably a huge step up, actually.

Looking ahead, our October selections are: THE GOOD PROVIDER by Debra Salonen and A PERFECT FAMILY by Kathryn Shay.

Deb

OMG! Where’d July go?

Maybe I missed July because I skipped RWA this year. Two years in a row–gasp. Orlando just seemed too far, too hot and too Disney for me. But the reports coming in are all positive and I’m sorry now that I didn’t go. For one thing, I missed seeing one of our own, Superromance author Beth Andrews take home the RITA for her Best Contemporary Category Romance, A NOT SO PERFECT PAST.

Mega-congrats to Beth AND her wonderful editor, Victoria Curran. A fabulous honor for them both! I can’t wait to read this book.

My online buddy Rula Sinara attended the conference and brought home some great shots. Here’s a link to her blog. www.awritersrush.blogspot.com

Thanks, Rula. Almost made me feel like I was there.

I was also delighted to see that my friend Molly O’Keefe won for her  Novella.  Here’s a link to the RWA site so you can see all the Rita winners: http://www.rwanational.org/cs/2010_RITA_GH_winners

So, here’s the real reason I didn’t go to Orlando: I finished my book AND wrote 100 pages of my next book.  See Deb doing the happy dance. (No photos because of the bags under my eyes. And I have a bad case of Flat-Bottom Butt Syndrome.)

But, it’s done. (Should have a title soon!!!) And I’m loving the next one. Did I mention these are “twins” stories. I love working with sisters.

I’m off to do my Art Pages. Wanna see the photo I’m sending to my editor? No, it’s not a pic of the hero or heroine, but it is of one character in the story. Her name is Sugar Baby. Have a great week!

Deb

Check out this delightful glimpse into the world of copy-editing from a blog posted on AWL. http://www.theawl.com/2010/07/what-its-really-like-to-be-a-copy-editor

I giggled and laughed and nodded my head in agreement most of the time. I’ve heard writers complain about certain changes a C.E. has made, but I’m not one of them. I appreciate the attention to detail that I sometimes miss because I’m a.) a terrible typist and b.) too caught up in the story to make sure I used the correct version of their/there.

But, as I was telling my editor last week when we talked, the poor (utterly invisible) C.E. is a handy scapegoat. If there’s a glaring mistake that I can avoid owning up to, I can always say, “Hey, I wasn’t the last person to see this book. That would be the Copy Editor.”  (Although, honestly, it probably was MY mistake. Sorry, Copy Editor. And while I’m at it, I’d also like to apologize for NEVER getting “a while/awhile” and “effect/affect” and “Web-site/website” right. Sigh.

BIG NEWS:  My editor told me the pub dates for the final two Spotlight on Sentinel Pass books.

Drumroll….

April and May 2011.

This came as a big surprise to me since I’ve been…how do I put this nicely…dawdling along lately. Well, no more. I’ve got deadlines like you wouldn’t believe. And that’s a good thing. I’m feeling energized and focused and in touch with my characters, for a change. Quite lovely!

So, I’m off to write Remy’s story. See you next week.

Oh, and to my many friends heading to Orlando for RWA this week: Safe travels! I know you’ll have fun.

Deb

woman with dog...and a cold

Don’t you just HATE being sick in the summer?

I do. In fact, I hate it so much, I’m going to whine blog about it. (In a, hopefully, constructive way.)

I asked my Ayurvedic professional–my son, JP–for some tips on dealing with a summer cold.

Here’s his advice:

Remember that adage: feed a cold, starve a fever (or vice-versa)? Well, the better saying would be: starve them both.

“Whenever you’re feeling under the weather–regardless of the weather–eat lightly,” JP says.

Chicken soup in winter is mostly chicken, broth and veggies. You can create a summer version of that without the heat. Steam, grill or buy already cooked chicken. Serve this simple plain protein along with a few steamed or grilled veggies. Skip the pasta, bread and heavy sauces. Simple faire. Makes sense, doesn’t it?

“If your body is working to get better, why overtax your digestive system and slow down the process?”

The only good thing about having a cold in summer is you can get your hands on lots of fruit. Icy cold watermelon is a heavenly treat for a sore throat. Slushies and freezes–the kind you blend at home to avoid all the extra sugar–are cooling, filling and easy to digest.

Here’s my personal fave:

a whole peach (less the pit but with skin)

strawberries (or any berries ready available)

a frozen banana (You know how fast bananas ripen in summer. I put any dubious-looking mottled ones in the freezer. They immediately turn brown, but you don’t see that in a blended drink, right?)

4-5 “baby” carrots (the packaged kind they call “baby” but are actually just washed, peeled and chopped to look small)

almond milk and/or juice of some kind

ice

Blend and enjoy

(Some people add honey. I don’t.)

Other tips from JP:

1. avoid alcohol (Yes, even wine and beer. Sigh. I’ve found bubbly water and juice can mimic a cocktail. Sorta.)

2. eat small servings more often

3. stay hydrated–drink lots and lots of water (add slices of lemon and lime for a little extra C)

4. use a netti pot with warm salt water to flush nasal passages and apply nasaya oil, if available

5. rest and read lots of romances (Okay, I’ll admit I added that one. ) But it makes sense, doesn’t it? Gets your mind off your sniffles and stokes that lovely inner fire of passion so you want to get well fast. Well, works for me.

I’m off to put the finishing touches on my next book–where no one has a cold.

Deb

A reader–Marcie? Rula?–alerted me to the fact that my cover for my October release was out on Amazon. Woo-hoo! This is always so exciting for we author-types. I hold my breath every time!

This is William’s book. His heroine is Daria (you haven’t met her, yet). This setting is a Paso Robles winery of my imagination, but the location is one I see every time I drive to San Simeon.  Very romantic, eh?

Recently, some of my writer friends have been tracking down our Superromance titles in foreign marketplaces. I LOVE seeing what other people/countries are doing with our books and thought you might like see some, too. (Plus, I’m closing in on “The End” and my creative energies don’t seem blog-oriented, so I’ll let my books do the talking.)

Notice the titles. Made me chuckle. I had to stop and think which one was mine.

Baby By Contract (I think)

Here are some from Sweden–a mix of new and old covers. No idea why.

Oddly enough, this is a mirror image of the cover that came out in the US. No idea why.

And last but not least:

Cute or what?

Have a great week: reading, writing, swimming…oh, right, that’s my life. May your’s be equally fun!

Deb