A Thousand Words

by Nancy

A picture's worth a thousand words, right? There're even a couple of songs about that idea, including Davey Gates' "if a picture's worth a thousand words, then why can't I paint you? The words would never show the you I've come to know." Pictures have a special, evocative appeal.

Before people had written records (i.e., history), we had pictures. Nobody knows, since we have no recorded explanation, why early humans created cave paintings. Were they religious? Commemorative? Decorative? Some combination thereof? We'll probably never know. But people travel great distances to see them.

Before children learn to write, they learn to color, maybe even to draw. The whole "stay within the lines" thing is kinda overrated sometimes, I think. There's something to be said for creativity.

"The reason to know the rules," Cassondra said to me recently, "is so you understand how and when to break them." Or words to that effect. So if a kid wants to color outside the lines, why not? Maybe she's a visionary.

Anyway, pictures have great appeal for us. Some of us like pictures of actual, recognizable things and people and places. Others prefer abstracts that go for mood rather than image.

Young children particularly like pictures, maybe because tots don't read so well yet. Even high-verbal tots, as the boy was, like picture books. The pictures tell the story. They help engage the imagination. I had a Little Golden Book (remember those?) about a squirrel who had adventures.

I also had a picture book version of Silver Chief that my grandfather read to me over and over and over because I loved it so. It mildewed in the folks' dank basement, alas. I tried to find a copy for the boy but couldn't. It's long out of print. And of course I had the usual complement of Dr. Seuss, Disney adaptations, etc.

I first read The Iliad in picture book format, and I had a picture book adaptation of the King Arthur story. The D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths, which I discovered in third grade and checked out of the school library time after time, now sits on our bookshelf. The dh bought it for me one Christmas because I still love those pictures.

So I was somewhat distressed to read in yesterday's New York Times that many parents are pushing their children away from picture books and into chapter books while they're still in pre-K. This has become so common that the market for picture books is falling. Publishers aren't buying them, and bookstores aren't stocking them. Except for perennial favorites like Seuss and Sendak.

If parents want their children to read earlier, that's certainly up to them. I wouldn't presume to dictate that. Some parents didn't let their kids read comic books when I was growing up. I read them, the boy read them, and it doesn't seem to have hurt either of us, but that's a family choice. I'm just not sure why that means there's no place for picture books. I sort of think anything that draws a child to books and reading would be positive.

All this makes me glad the boy came along when he did, when picture books were still abundant and varied. He had a huge vocabulary for his age, if I do say so, but wasn't in any special hurry to learn actual reading. We didn't push him to. I should probably confess here that his dad teaches children's lit, including a course on literature for young children--which means picture books--so we enjoy that format a lot.

The boy had a wonderful little book called Jamberry, by Bruce Degen, and loved it. The dh used to read to the boy's class every week to give the teacher a little time. When he read Jamberry, he took all the berries mentioned in the book to school so the kids could taste them. He did the same thing with the foods mentioned in The Very Hungry Caterpillar (by Eric Carle).

Among the most useful baby shower gifts I received were Good Dog Carl, by Alexandra Day, and a Babar picture book, both in board book format (smaller books on heavy, heavy cardboard pages that withstand the carelessness of small hands).

The boy adored Carl. The beauty of the Carl books was that they had no words--or at least, the early ones didn't--so you made up your own story. At our house, they were known as the "Carl Baby" books because Carl had adventures with the nameless baby that the apparently clueless parents never detected.

The boy had a couple of text-free picture books by Peter Spier, Rain and Christmas, that contained beautiful, detailed pictures but let you make up your own story. Spier also created picture books with text, and we had some of those, too. Of course, we were abundantly supplied with Waldo's adventures.


Some kids probably like to change the story around, and the text-less books would be great for that. Once we had a story for those pictures, though, the boy wanted it the same every time. Exactly the same. Absolutely, exactly the same.

There was a great book called Boom Chicka Boom Boom that was a sneaky way to teach the alphabet (just as Age of Empires on his PC, a few years back, sneakily taught him Norse and Roman mythology). He loved Go, Dog, Go and Are You My Mother? by P.D. Eastman.

The House That Jack Built was another favorite, and he had a beautiful book about a polar bear's Christmas that inspired us to buy a polar bear ornament for our tree. The Polar Express didn't do much for him, but a book about a couple of naughty grasshoppers was a huge hit, as was If You Give a Mouse a Cookie. And the Busytown series.

I saved the books we read most often. He was done with them, but I couldn't bear to see them go. There were too many wonderful memories associated with them, too many images of a small person sitting in my lap, absorbing the words and admiring the pictures. Sharing the moment.

Which picture books do you remember fondly? Which ones do the tots in your life enjoy?

The Resolutions Game

posted by Nancy

This being January, lots of us have made resolutions. This being late January, some of us will have fallen off the wagon. Kathleen O’Reilly’s January Blaze, Midnight Resolutions, is particularly timely, so Kathleen and I are chatting today about resolutions.

Welcome, Kathleen! I confess that I no longer make resolutions because the word is so intimidating. I make plans. Which are sort of like hopes with some oomph behind them. And which are not going all that well. I haven’t been back to the gym, haven’t appreciably altered my eating habits, but I have made significant progress on my latest manuscript, an indication I’m doing better at time management. Did you make resolutions you’re willing to share? And if so, how’re they doing?

I don't make resolutions that are intended to last the entire year, maybe a quarter of the year instead. It makes it a LOT easier to carry out. Most of my goal making is done in very small increments. Sadly, I have discovered that it's not any easier to drop five pounds than it is to drop twenty-five. Wimpy, they name is Kathleen. On the positive front, I have been going to the gym a lot. I enjoy working out, and walking, and I notice that I feel a LOT better when I exercise, because, alas, without exercise, I am a slug.

Without exercise, I have no hope, alas, of losing actual, noticeable weight. Another of my plans for 2010 was to whittle the TBR pile. It’s gotten to the point where I’m afraid to buy anything that’s not a new release lest I later discover it deep in the teetering stack. What’s your TBR pile like?

Hehehe.... My TBR is getting smaller. I have a Kindle, and it virtualizes your TBR pile. When my Kindle is off, my TBR pile disappears from view. Poof. Very stressless. However, I have been whittling it down. I just finished The Girl with The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson and enjoyed it. LOVED Anna Campbell's Captive of Sin (as always), and I'm currently reading the Help. I just got my stack of Rita books, which I cannot talk about, but it wasn't a thrilling stack like I'm lucky enough to get in years past (only one actually). But, the upside is that there are a lot of books that I don't think I'm going to enjoy that I really do. I've discovered some favorite writers that way. So, the moral of the story is 'don't judge a book by its cover, nor it's back cover copy, either.'

So you're actually not only whittling the TBR pile but have found a new way to hide it. My dh may be interested in this strategy as the books climb and teeter and spill in various corners of our house. What are you reading these days?

I'm about 25% through The Help and then after that it's the aforementioned Rita books.

I started Street Magic, the first of Caitlin Kittredge's Black London series. I'm not too far into it, but it's interesting so far. I'm almost through (because, hey, what's life without multiple books in progress?) Air Time, the third Charlotte McNally mystery from Hank Phillippi Ryan, who'll be here next week. It's living up to the other two, which were great.

What’s your biggest time management issue?

Probably that there's only 24 hours in a day. I would like to stop time for a bit, get through a task, and then start it up again when I'm done. Einstein was really onto something. Now if they could only figure out how to make my to-do list travel at a constant rate, and my watch (or my family) move at a relative pace to the constant. There's big money in that invention. Big money, I say.

You need a time turner, like Hermione had in The Prizoner of Azkaban, maybe. I need improved planning. We control freaks will settle for the illusion of control if we can't have the real thing, so I'm trying to keep everyone else in line with writing things on the master calendar. And then I need to remember to, you know, LOOK at it. But I'm doing better. I think.


The hero and heroine of Midnight Resolutions meet at the big Times Square New Year celebration. Tell us a little about them.

First of all, Ian Cumberland is one cool, albeit slightly deluded dude. I made him the romantic, the optimist, just out of his job as an investment banker, and now working in a job placement agency to help people find work. He THINKS that it's an interim job, because he wants his old life back. But he's very happy go lucky, so he doesn't whine too much about it (hate whiners; Kathleen's New Year's Resolution -- write no whiners - EVAH). Enter Rose Hildebrand, who ends up kissing a stranger (Ian, natch) on New Year's Eve. Rose has a ton of baggage. Big baggage, and she wants security and control most of all. She has her life planned, and she sticks to that plan RIGOROUSLY (now there is a woman who makes and keeps all resolutions). But fate keeps intervening, which is not a good thing for a woman who cleaves to control like other women cleave to ice cream.

Would you like to share an excerpt? And didn’t this book get a really good rating from Romantic Times?

It did! It got a Top Pick from RT. Fair warning, I don't think everyone will love Rose like I did. She's not even close to typical romance heroine material because of her past, but I'm an equal opportunity writer. It strikes me as unfair that only the happy, perky, satisfied heroines get to find love. Sometimes I want the unlovable to find love, too. And I think that's the point of the book. Everyone has a heart. Sometimes it's just more difficult to find it. And the excerpt is located here.

Any parting advice or opinions about resolutions?

I'm about to start on a whole new pack of books (two new trilogies) and it's fun to start fresh with a blank slate of people. I think with resolutions, that's the fun part as well. Starting anew. Erasing past history, past mistakes, past weight gain (sadly, they haven't figured out the science of erasing past weight gain except through exercise and diet, so we should probably strike that if we're being truthful). I think that's my favorite part of new beginnings and new resolutions. Everything is possible. Everything.

Ah, the allure of potential! I think that's part of the attraction at places like Home Depot and Lowe's and Michaels--walking down the aisles bombards a person with possibilities. My approach in recent years had been to not beat myself up for what I haven't done and to focus instead on what I have while I keep working on the bits that aren't quite there yet.

So what about you? How are you doing in the 2010 resolutions game, and what advice would you offer other people? What are you reading as the year kicks off, and what's your TBR pile like? One commenter will win a copy of Midnight Resolutions.

Getting Fresh!

by Anna Campbell

Do you have the expression 'getting fresh' in the US? It sounds American to me but I've come to grief before with assuming slang crosses all continents!

Actually I'm not talking about naughty bits (the Golden Rooster squawks in protest. He's got quite a dirty mind for a young chook!). I'm talking about fresh voices in romance. Well, fresh to me anyway!

As most of you know (actually given the wild launch we had, as ALL of you know!), I have a new book out in November. It's called CAPTIVE OF SIN. As I write this (early November), I'm at the stage where reviews are starting to come in. What struck me about a couple of these sites is that the reviewers, who fortunately really enjoyed COS, had never read one of my books before and therefore they talked about how fresh the voice was to them.


So I started to think about some new voices in romance that have really impressed me lately. When I say 'new', I mean new to me.

One of these authors is so new, her book doesn't even come out until next January but the other two I'm going to talk about have been around for a while. Just not in my TBR pile, even though they've become regulars in the last few months.

One of the perks of being an author is you get to read new books ahead of time for quotes. I was delighted recently to read a book by a new author who I've known personally since Avon Fanlit days. Oh, I did love Fanlit! And I can't believe how many wonderful careers have been launched as a result of all the good mojo created there.

Anyway, this great book is PROOF BY SEDUCTION by Courtney Milan. It's a Victorian historical and it's smart and funny and packs a real emotional punch under its glittering facade. It's out next January and whatever you do, don't miss it. It's about a psychic and the marquess who sets out to unmask her and in the process falls in love much against his will. Gorgeous stuff. Publishers Weekly (who as most of you know is currently flavor of the month chez Campbell!) gave this book a starred review, so clearly they recognize its brilliance too!


Two more authors I've discovered in the last 12 months who have become mainstays on my bedside table are Pamela Clare and Sarah Mayberry.

Pamela writes wonderful intense historical romance and real nail-biting suspense. Grab her RIDE THE FIRE and you won't be sorry! It's a heart-wrenching journey and you get such a wonderful sigh of AHHHHHH at the end. Oh, and hubba hubba to Nicholas Kenleigh, the gorgeous, tortured hero!

Sarah Mayberry writes smart, sexy, emotional romance for Harlequin Blaze. Actually I need to thank our Tawny for helping me to become a Blaze reader. Some of the best writers I know publish in that line!

Sarah's most recent book is SHE'S GOT IT BAD which is a best friends reunion book - something she does like nobody else. Your heart will go out to prickly Zoe, the heroine, and emotionally damaged Liam as they tread the rocky road to happy ever after. A wonderful read!

So what new authors have you discovered in the last year? I'm always looking for recommendations! They don't have to be debut authors, just authors you hadn't read before who have now become a must buy. Let's talk some good books, people!

Dealing with Disappointment

by Anna Sugden

No, not writing disappointment ... not another rejection ... at least, not yet *g*.

I'm talking today about reading disappointment. Last week should have been a great reading week. Lots of travel, so plenty of uninterrupted time to focus on books. I'd deliberately saved up the new books by some of my absolute favourite authors. You know how it is, you've snapped up the latest in their series, are desperate to get stuck in, but common sense prevails and you decide to hold on until you can read the book from cover to cover.

So, what went wrong?

I didn't enjoy the books.

Reading a disappointing book is hard enough - these days, with so many books to read and so little spare time, I discard disappointing books quite quickly. If they're by new authors, I'm loathe to try them again.

But, when the book is by someone whose writing you normally love - it's a real blow. I'm deliberately not naming names, as I don't think that's fair (after all, it's only my humble opinion). I am going to share with you what didn't work. And a dilemma I have.

The first author is one who normally writes great contemporary romances with fabulous characters. She always gives them real depth, so you can empathise with them and their conflicts. This latest book, though, her characters were unappealing and seemed 2-dimensional. Honestly, I didn't really care if their conflict was resolved.

The second is an awesome romantic suspense writer, who always keeps me on the edge of my seat and who manages to surprise me with her plot twists. This book had an unappealing premise to start with, but because I loved the rest of the series, I soldiered on. Sadly, this plot was a real let-down. A lot of information dumped and repeated and no clever twists. The villain was obvious from the first mention and the denouement was weak.

Similarly, a normally entertaining writer of an amateur sleuth series slipped up in her latest. I'd actually ignored the damning reviews on this one. I have to say - sadly - the reviews were right.

The fourth was a paranormal writer whose last book was one of the best I've ever read. Great characters, atmospheric writing, wonderful descriptions and very clever adaptation of well-known themes. I'd hunted around to get this latest book as, for some reason, it was hard to find. Sadly, I wish I hadn't bothered as everything that had been so great about the last book was decidely missing in this one.

Finally, a historical author who writes entertaining stories which are incredibly satisfying, as the emotional journeys her characters take are compelling. Not this time. The ending of a satisfactory book (not bad, just not outstanding) was a total and utter cop-out! It was like she'd realised she had five more pages to go and rushed to finish the book.

The last time this happened, I was extremely grateful to the talented Rhonda Nelson and her book, The Future Widows Club, for saving me.

This time, thank goodness, my faith was restored by the next three books I read - Into The Fire by Suzanne Brockmann, Tempting Evil by Allison Brennan and The Neighbour by Lisa Gardner - thank you, thank you, Suz, Allison and Lisa!!

Now, on to my dilemma. What do I do when the next book comes out by these favoured authors? Do I rush out and buy it, hoping that this last one was an unfortunate blip? After all, you can't expect every book to be brilliant ... Or can you? Do I wait, read the reviews and talk to pals about it? Or do I give up?

What would you do?

Have you read any disappointing books, lately? Please don't name names, just tell me what you found disappointing. And what you plan to do about reading more by that author. What about the wonderful author who rescued you and whose book restored your happiness?!

Raiding the TBR pile

by Anna Campbell

As many of you know, my third book TEMPT THE DEVIL was released about ten days ago and I'm on a major blog tour to talk about it (if you ever want to know where I'll be, please check out latest news on my website). So I thought today it might be nice to talk about some books that are NOT by Anna Campbell!

For months I've been promising myself a few days of sloth between Christmas and New Year. It's an Australian tradition. The Boxing Day Cricket Test Match is on (as I write this, things aren't going too well for the Aussies with the South Africans really tanning our hides. If we lose this match, it means we've lost the series and it's the first series the Aussies have lost on home ground in 15 years. Ouch!). People are busy playing with Christmas presents and eating Christmas leftovers and it's hot and perfect pool or beach weather. Well, as long as you have your sunscreen with you!

It's also a perfect time of year for reading!

I've been attacking the huge To Be Read Pile. And while I'm far from conquering it, I have made some inroads. Books I've enjoyed in the last few weeks include PLAYING FOR THE ASHES by Elizabeth George (an Inspector Lynley book), THE LACE READER by Brunonia Barry, THE KISS by Sophia Nash, THE FLAME AND THE SHADOW by Denise Rossetti and QUEEN OF DRAGONS by Shana Abe.

I've picked out five books to talk about in a bit more detail. All were an absolute pleasure to read. So if you're looking for some recommendations to fill a few hours' reading time, look no further!

The book whose cover features at the head of this blog, NEVER ROMANCE A RAKE by Liz Carlyle, is a fantastic, intense historical romance with a ton of emotional punch. It's also got Liz's trademark wit and passion - seriously the love scenes in this are HAWT! One of the most compelling heroes I've read for a long time too. I picked this up yesterday and didn't put it down until I finished it. Highly recommended!


Amy Andrews who's a Bandita regular (when she's not breaking her arm to avoid us!) writes really emotional, heartfelt Medical romance for Harlequin. I've had her THE ITALIAN COUNT'S BABY on my TBR pile for a long time. Sorry, Amy! It's been one of those years and I knew once I started this book, I wouldn't want to stop. What an absolutely lovely story about an unlikely love between two damaged people. And as a bonus, there's a stack of wonderful, drool-making descriptions of scenery on the Amalfi Coast, courtesy of Amy's recent visit. The great news for American readers is that this book was chosen as a special Presents Extra release in the United States and you can order it from Amazon (just click on the cover). Generally, Harlequin Medicals aren't available in the U.S. but this one is! Huzzah!


A book that's been in the TBR pile since I went to the RWA conference in San Francisco in July is Rachel Gibson's TRUE CONFESSIONS. This won the RITA for best contemporary romance back in 2001 and it's now been reissued in the Avon A line. What a charming, funny, gorgeous romance! It's a fish out of water story (love that theme!) where a big city girl who writes tabloid stories about aliens kidnapping tourists and Elvis living in the Bermuda Triangle heads off to the wilds of Idaho for six months when her life in L.A. heads for the rocks. The hero, sexy local sheriff Dylan, is absolutely to die for and the story will have you laughing out loud as our heroine Hope runs into stranger creatures in the small town than she ever created out of her fevered imagination.

The next book is a delicious treat by Kelly Hunter who I recently hosted as my guest here on the Bandits. You all loved her and absolutely reveled in her dry as dust sense of humor. Her PLAYBOY BOSS, LIVE-IN MISTRESS is on the surface as light and luscious as chocolate mousse. There's her trademark snappy dialogue and quirky characters. But underneath that sparkling veneer, this story packs a lot of emotional punch. It's about taking a chance on love and letting go of old tragedy. I'm sure this book will come out in America before too long but as yet, there's no confirmed date. However, the Book Depository in the UK will post books anywhere in the world without charging postage. It's a great deal and even with the exchange rate, it makes it worthwhile checking for things that aren't readily available in the North American market. You can order Kelly's book here: http://www.bookdepository.co.uk/WEBSITE/WWW/WEBPAGES/showbook.php?id=0263863913


As a lot of you know, I'm a huge fan of Madeline Hunter. I've loved her work ever since Isolde Martyn from my Sydney crit group brought home an ARC of Madeline's debut BY ARRANGEMENT from the Washington conference back in 2000. I think Madeline's such a smart, elegant writer and I love the way she creates unusual, compelling characters. Her first books are medievals but over recent years she's moved to the Regency. SECRETS OF SURRENDER is the third in her series based around the aristocratic Rothwell Brothers and their associates. The second book LESSONS OF DESIRE was a very deserving RITA winner this year in the Long Historical category. SECRETS OF SURRENDER has all the hallmarks of Madeline's style - smart, offbeat characters (I particularly enjoyed the self-made hero), a plot grounded in real life elements of the Regency, an intelligent, rebellious, headstrong heroine, sizzling sexual tension. Can't wait now for the last in the series, THE SINS OF LORD EASTERBROOK which is out in February!

So let's talk books! What have you read over the Holidays? Have you discovered any great authors in 2008? What were your favorite books of the year?

Hey, Good Bookin'! What Ya Got Cookin'?

by Anna Campbell

Among my favorite bits of bulletin boards are the "What are you reading now?" threads.

People list the last book they read, the book they're reading and the next one off the TBR pile.

It's fun from a whole heap of viewpoints. It shows what people are actually reading rather than talking about. It introduces me to writers I've never heard of but often end up enjoying. It reveals individual reader tastes in a way I find fascinating. Even HarperCollins have put their money where their mouth is in agreeing that people find what other people read endlessly interesting. On their newly revamped website, there's a place for authors to list books on their bedside table. You can find mine here. Just keep clicking refresh and you'll see a list of my current reading.

Anyway, I thought we'd play that today! I also thought I'd talk about a couple of books I've read recently that I really liked. In case any of you are coming to the bottom of the TBR pile and need some additions. (Laughs hollowly!)

The first is THE LAST RAKE IN LONDON by Nicola Cornick, who is extremely talented and, curses, up against me in the Regency RITA category with her wonderful LORD OF SCANDAL. LAST RAKE was written as part of Mills & Boon's 100th anniversary celebrations this year. For anyone who doesn't know, M&B in London started the category romance juggernaut and are part of the Harlequin empire.

LAST RAKE is set in the Edwardian era which is great fun. You get cars and Suffragettes and telephones. The heroine is an independent, emotionally scarred woman called Sally Bowes who runs the Blue Parrot nightclub (perhaps it's because I'm an Aussie, but I kept reading that as P*ssed Parrot nightclub - clearly I have no class!). Enter our hero, the dashing, extremely sexy Jack Kestrel, heir to a dukedom, rake and alpha male, who sees Sally and immediately decides he must have her. Do I need to say more to get you interested?

The next on my whirlwind list of recommendations is what I can only describe as a Regency noir! It's WHAT ANGELS FEAR by C.S. Harris. This is the first book in a mystery series, featuring the seriously tortured but extremely sexy Sebastian St. Cyr, Viscount Devlin. I honestly couldn't put this down - it's dark, it's desperate, it's terrifically romantic. C.S. Harris used to write fantastic historical romances as Candice Proctor and you can see that background here in the emotional depths and the strong characterization. I've got the next two books on the TBR pile and I'm having trouble keeping my hands off them. I've got a manuscript to finish before I allow myself a reading binge. I already know Sebastian St. Cyr isn't the man who will let me put him aside after a couple of pages so I can get a good night's sleep and front up to work all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed the next day.

The last book I'm recommending is a Blaze by Kathleen O'Reilly and again, it's the first in a series. SHAKEN AND STIRRED is about one of the sexy (OK, I'm overusing this adjective, but sometimes the right word is the right word and nothing else will do!) O'Sullivan Brothers and the stories center around a bar in New York. What I loved about this story aside from the emotion, the fantastic characters and the beautiful writing (hmm, perhaps that's ENOUGH to love!), is how real it all felt. The world was so rich, compelling and tangible. When you read this story, you know these people, you know their environment, and you live through every moment. Great stuff!

So here's my list for the game:

The last book I read: DARK AND DANGEROUS by Jeanne Adams. Fantastic!

The book I'm currently reading: SEX STRAIGHT UP by Kathleen O'Reilly. Need I say more?

The next book off the TBR pile: NOT WITHOUT HER FAMILY by Beth Andrews.

So over to you. What are you reading? Do you have any recommendations for must-reads? Inquiring minds want to know!

I got such a lovely response to my last blog where I offered a copy of CLAIMING THE COURTESAN to someone who hadn't read it, this month, I'm offering a signed copy of UNTOUCHED. Same deal. Please just mention in your comment if you want to be in the draw for the book. Good luck! And may the Games begin! I look forward to building a TBR pile that blocks out the sun.

Lil' Orphant Annie Remembered

by Caren Crane

A few months back, I was doing research on the internet and some random bit of text reminded me of a poem my father used to read to us when my siblings and I were little. After trying to recall snippets and doing a number of Google searches, I tracked it down: "Lil' Orphant Annie" by James Whitcomb Riley. The poem existed long before the cartoon of a similar name (and the cartoon bore no relation to it whatsoever).

Riley was a farm boy and a Hoosier (that's someone from Indiana for those of you outside the USA). He has been called the "people's poet laureate." One thing that impressed me about this poem (and others by Riley) was the country dialect Riley used, which my father recited as if it were written for him. Another was that it was slightly dark and creepy. The refrain was:

"An' the Gobble-uns 'at gits you
Ef you
Don't
Watch
Out!"

When I found the text of the poem on the internet (which is all in the public domain, by the way), I noticed there was a dedication. I believe my father read this sometimes, but hadn't recalled it before I saw it:

"INSCRIBED
WITH ALL FAITH AND AFFECTION
To all the little children: - The happy ones; and sad ones;
The sober and the silent ones; the boisterous and glad ones;
The good ones - Yes, the good ones, too; and all the lovely
bad ones."

That last part made me laugh. We were a rowdy bunch of kids, my siblings and I. I think my father enjoyed us being "the lovely bad ones" at times. My father has been dead for 13 years now and was gone from our lives for many years before he died. My father was not a great man, but he had a wonderful, resonant voice and a marvelous talent for storytelling. I will always remember this poem and the other poems and stories he took time to bring alive for us.

My father gave us the gift of his animated storytelling. I tried to create a similar experience for my own children. My fond hope is that they will pass it along to their own children when they have them. I also hope to give my own stories to the world someday - but that depends on some extra smart editor. *g*

What about you? Is there a special poem, book or story that recalls your childhood? One you heard each night or on special occasions? One that brings memories back on a wave of rhyming couplets? Please share!

Emotional Balance

by Tawny Weber

I spent this last Saturday in an all-day workshop given by the fabulous Margie Lawson on Empowering Character Emotions. Not only is Margie an amazing lady (the woman is such an inspiration) but the workshop really pushed me to dig deeper in my writing.

Now, here's the thing. Any one of my critique partners will happily tell you (ignore the whining in their tone if they do) that I'm the Queen of Emotions. My favorite critique questions are; What are they feeling here? Can you show me how this affected them? Can you go deeper here? Hehehe, they love me, my CP's do. But this workshop - wow... I had to hand over my crown. I have nothing on the level of writing emotions that I learned here. I loved it! I'm excited to bring this into my writing, to see if I can pull it off.

Then yesterday I was chatting with a friend who writes sci-fi/fantasy/romance and she mentioned that she's a thinker vs a feeler, so she shows this incredible action and detailed plot structure, but her characters can be on fire and barely show an actual reaction. Since I'm a total feeler (sounds weird, huh?) my characters can emote over anything, including the wrong kind of toilet paper. It was fun comparing how we balance our natural tendencies to bring in all of the story elements we need. I love hearing how other writers bring their strengths into their work. And even more, I love getting ideas on how to shore up the writing areas I'm not so strong in (cough-action-cough).

This workshop also had me thinking about the emotions of romance. This genre offers such a huge gamut of emotional payoffs. Especially given the wide variety of sub-genres. Everything from lighter stories who give the reader a laugh and a fun read to super hot sexy stories that offer a guaranteed turn on, all the way to deep, intensely emotional stories that dig deep into a readers psyche to push emotional buttons.

So as writers, and as readers, do you have a preference for the level of emotion in your stories? Are you drawn to the fun humor, or to the dark intensity or something totally different than both? When you're reading, what level of emotion is overkill for you and are there any books you've read (don't name names... especially if they are ours LOL) that left you feeling like you were cheated of seeing the emotional journey? Whats the perfect balance for YOU?

Just for fun, I'll draw a name from the comments and send the winner a copy of Double Dare, and an excerpt of my upcoming January Blaze, Does She Dare? as well.

I learned it all in a book...

by Tawny Weber

One of the things I love about reading is that I can go anywhere - or anytime. What a quick trip back in time, grab a book. Want to visit the romantic waterways of Venice? Grab a book. Other planets, the future, a wild nightclub? Yup -a book. I've 'visited' dozens of countries from the comfort of my reading chair and (I'm almost ashamed to admit this) learned more about history than I did in school, just by reading romances.

It all comes down to setting, doesn’t it? Setting is such a powerful part of the story, sometimes a major player, sometimes a soft, watercolor background that barely registers on the reader's awareness. Some are edgy - in Double Dare I opened with a nightclub, flashing lights, a meat-market setting and it set the tone for the rest of the story. Others are subtle - in Does She Dare? the story is set in a quaint, cobblestone paved small town, and again, it sets a tone. You'd think they'd be vastly different stories, yet both are hot, sexy and have very strong heroines... but both settings reflect the heroine's self-image.


For me, setting is always tied to and reflects my characters. Other authors use setting differently. They might use it to challenge the characters, or even let it be a character itself. In my case, a winter setting limits outdoor lovescenes, for some people winter presents a life or death scenario for the hero and heroine to fight to survive. Don’t’ you love how setting and time carry and frame our stories?




Even better, for me, is when I read a book and learn something new. Whether its societal customs of a Regency or police procedures in a romantic suspense, for me a great read is one that delicately weaves in the factual information, lets me learn without realizing I’m learning (this is probably why I learned so much more by reading romances than in school LOL – there is a lot to be said for the ancient bards and teaching by means of storytelling!!).

What are some of the most fascinating things YOU've learned in reading? What setting or time do you find yourself coming back to over and over again? Is there a reason that time/setting fascinates you?

The "Keepers"

by Nancy Northcott

One of the difficult parts of being a book person is having to purge the shelves. There just isn't room to keep every book I ever buy. So about every four or five months, I go through and weed out books I haven't read in a very long time or books I've owned for a very long time but haven't read. I've learned to be fairly ruthless over the years, but there are some books that survive purge after purge even though I may not have read them recently. These are my "keepers."

At the top of the list is Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird. If an author were only ever going to write one book and this was it, I think that would make one content. The book resonates with me because Scout's viewpoint is so engaging and because so many people in Maycomb care about doing the right thing. Gone With the Wind has survived years of purges. My copy belonged to my grandmother, so sentiment may play a role in its longevity, but I think Scarlett would have her own place if I'd bought the book new. She makes me impatient and appalled at times, but the woman has backbone. Even though I don't fully accept Mitchell's rendering of southern society, I admire the detail with which she did it. I haven't read either of these books in years, but I'm pretty sure that I'll eventually want to.

Then there are the series. The Harry Potter books will probably be family heirlooms. The Inglis Fletcher novels about the Carolinas will stay as long as I live. I fell in love with them years ago and never fell out. Dorothy Dunnett's Lymond Chronicles swept me into Renaissance Scotland and carried me along to France, Russia, and the Mediterranean before coming full circle to end in Scotland. I almost didn't finish reading the first book. I didn't like anyone but the blind woman. Trusting the friend who gave the book to me, though, I persevered, only to have Dunnett turn everything inside out in the last hundred pages or so. I blitzed straight through the rest of the series in a week, reading late at night, on my lunch break, and during dinner (I was single then). I bought them in hardback when my mother and I went to England, the only trip the two of us took together, and lugged them back in my suitcase. So they stay. Someday I'll want to be swept across the Renaissance world again.

I loved Marion Zimmer Bradley's Darkover novels and Robert Jordan's massive, unfinished Wheel of Time saga (I selfishly hope he has a successor who'll get Rand to the mountain) and Gordon R. Dickson's Childe cycle and Dorothy L. Sayers' marvelous Lord Peter Wimsey and everything Georgette Heyer ever wrote. Their stories have fascinating worlds and noble, but not perfect, characters and intriguing plots. Hmm. All those authors are gone, as are Fletcher and Dunnett and Mitchell. Yet their books stay on my shelf through purge after purge. What was it Shakespeare said--something about the "evil men do liv[ing]after them" while "the good is oft interred with their bones?" Not for writers, it seems.

So what are your keepers? How do you choose them?

A Book Journey

We’re just back from our family vacation, which we spent exploring parts of American history. Our trip also tied into three series of books I’ve loved for years. We started out in the Williamsburg area, where my cousin generously took a day to show us the Jamestown historic site and colonial Williamsburg.

At the entrance to historic Jamestown (as distinguished from the nearby Jamestown Settlement, which the state of Virginia built for the 400th anniversary of the landing) stands a bronze statute of Pocahontas. A greenish, weathered patina covers it--except for her hands, which are a bright golden from constant touching by visitors. Historians may argue about the level of exaggeration in her traditional story, but I think she can fairly claim to have been the first strong woman in the recorded history of North America. Whether or not she laid her head on the block to save John Smith, she did marry John Rolfe and go to England with him as an ambassador for her people.

From Jamestown, we headed to Williamsburg. The sun had come out, and the temperature had begun its climb to the high 90s, with a heat index of over 100 degrees. The air conditioning in the governor’s palace was a lifesaver! Despite the heat, we wandered the length of the restored area, explored the maze behind the palace, and poked our noses into various re-enactment shops.

In 1943 writer Elswyth Thane (a/k/a Mrs. William Beebe in the library card catalogue because heaven forfend a married woman should use her own first name at the time) launched a wonderful series of romantic historical novels about a Williamsburg family. The first was Dawn’s Early Light, set during the American Revolution. The series followed the family up to World War II. Family sagas (with a few exceptions like the O’Malleys) seem to have fallen out of favor, but I have a soft spot for the genre. I found Elswyth Thane because of Mrs. Wally, the wonderful librarian in my hometown. As a book geek, I spent a lot of time in the library, and every time I came in, she had something new to suggest. I dutifully checked out her suggestions, plopped them into my bicycle basket and pedaled home with them, and I was never sorry. She was a wonderful influence on my reading.

The battle of Yorktown figures in Dawn’s Early Light and in The South Fork Rangers, the concluding volume of Manly Wade Wellman’s YA historical series about the American Revolution, which I also discovered because Mrs. Wally handed it to me. We started our next day at Yorktown, where George Washington’s campaign tent stands in a dim, protected display at the National Park Service museum. His tents ended up in the Custis family, at Arlington (now known as the Custis-Lee Mansion). They were preserved during the Civil War by a Lee family slave, Selina Gray, who told the Union general occupying the property about them. He took them for safekeeping, and they were later returned to the family.

After the museum, we headed to the battlefield. The heat index was climbing toward 110, so we quickly decided that looking at grass and cannons on the tour could wait for another, cooler, opportunity.

We ended our day by driving south to the North Carolina Outer Banks, passing through the Monitor-Merrimac tunnel at Hampton Roads, where the legendary ironclads fought during the Civil War. (The second book in Elswyth Thane’s series, Yankee Stranger, is set during that conflict.)

The continuing heat wave dissuaded us from doing some of the things we enjoy, like playing putt-putt or visiting the Wright Brothers memorial at Kitty Hawk or the Fort Raleigh Historic Site and museum in Manteo. In search of indoor things to do, we visited the Manteo Booksellers, a small (and wonderfully air-conditioned) bookstore near the waterfront in downtown Manteo. On their local interest shelf, I spotted the third of the series I mentioned, historical novels (again, heavily romantic) set during various periods of North Carolina history by author Inglis Fletcher.

Fletcher lived not far from the Outer Banks, in the town of Edenton, which we’d explored on a previous trip. The ladies there hosted their own “tea party,” vowing not to drink tea, in the leadup to the Revolution, and quite a few houses from the period still stand. The first book in the series, Raleigh’s Eden, includes the Lost Colony, and the last, Queen’s Gift, is set against the ratification of the Constitution. My grandmother originally owned them, my mother inherited them, and I read them as a teenager. They eventually became mine. I have all but one, Cormorant’s Brood, and there it stood, complete with battered but mostly intact dust jacket, on the shelf in Manteo. As I reached for it, I noticed another volume bearing Fletcher’s name, one with an unfamiliar title. I picked it up and found, to my great surprise and delight, that it was her autobiography. Neither book was exactly cheap, and I had to choose, so I picked the autobiography. I plan to dive into it this week. I read a lot of author autobiographies. I like to know what shaped them and how they think. Stephen King’s On Writing is, of course, justly famous, but I especially liked Tony Hillerman’s Seldom Disappointed.

I enjoyed the beach and the visit with my cousin’s family and the historic sites we visited, but finding Fletcher’s autobiography was the highlight of my week. Fletcher and Thane and Wellman all created sympathetic, engaging characters and gave them big stories set against dynamic periods in our history. Some of Thane’s stories occur in Europe, but Williamsburg is always the touchstone. These series are out of print now but sometimes turn up in libraries or with used book dealers on the internet, though they can be a bit pricey. I haven’t read these books in a long time, except for the Wellman series, which my husband tracked down and bought for me and we shared with our son, who also loved them. I won’t give them away, though, because I know I’ll want to read them again. I now also feel a certain yen to acquire Cormorant’s Brood and complete my Fletcher set.

So what books or series or periods do you love, and why? Who was a major influence on your reading life?

BOOKS, BOOKS, EVERYWHERE BOOKS

By Suzanne Welsh

Like most writers, reading is an integral part of my life. Even though I write and work fulltime, I read at least two or more books a week.

The other day my daughter asked me if I remembered the first book I ever fell in love with. I've forgotten the actual name of the book, but it was about Ping, the Chinese duck. It was the first book I bought through Scholastic books at school in the second grade. I read that book every day for months. The art in it was exceptional, but the words painted an even greater picture in my mind. I fell in love with that duck, and cried at the end.

When I told my daughter this, she started laughing. She'd meant the first romance I ever read. Well, that was a bit more difficult to recall.

Around the age of twelve, while visiting family in Tennessee, I discovered my two aunts' closets full of romances. My aunts generously let me pack an entire grocery bag of books to take home with me to read over the summer. There were dozens of Harlequins, a multitude of Barbara Cartlands, and some classic Grace Livingston Hills. So I cut my romance reading teeth on a mixture of contemporaries, historicals and turn of the century inspirationals. And just like with Ping, I fell in love with every hero and heroine in every one of those books.

If I had to narrow my love of romances down to one particular story, it would be a book titled The Black Horse Inn, an American historical that took place during the Revolutionary war. There's a courageous heroine, a strong hero, an evil uncle, the Sons of Liberty, Tory spies, and lots of drama. For years I've been searching for the book in used bookstores and on line. One day I hope to add a copy to my keeper shelf.

The next most influential book was Kathleen Woodiwiss' The Flame and The Flower. I got my first copy in my Junior year of high school. By the time I graduated, I'd worn out three copies! Following quickly on her heels were Patricia Matthews and Johanna Lindsey, then Julie Garwood and Jude Deveraux. Now, I no longer remember the books by the titles but by the authors who influenced me.

So what book or author hooked you on reading romances?

**BANDIT PLUNDER WINNERS**
Pirate's Booty and $15 Fandango gift certificate: filmphan (needs to contact Caren at carencrane @ gmail.com)

Autographed copy of Tawny Weber's "Double Dare": danette b (needs to contact Tawny at tawny @ tawnyweber.com)

Liquor-filled chocolates: kimberly l (needs to contact Cindy at
cindymm18 @ gmail.com)