Stop Staring at Me!!!

by Joan Kayse

No, not y’all. There would be no point to this blog post if my Bandita pals and our BB’s weren’t here. Just, uh avert your eyes now and again.

What prompted this little bit of paranoia and inspired the topic of this post was my collection of Precious Moments figurines.

Yes, those sweet, cute, lovely little collectibles that I went hog wild as a new nurse, still living at home with expendable income and bought. I have, oh about a hundred of them. At the time that I bought them they “spoke to me”. Some saying that made sense such as “There is a Light at the End of the Tunnel” or “His Eye is On the Sparrow”. Others I bought just because they were “pretty” or represented something special to me such as a nurse figurine or the little girl playing in sand that resembled my blonde, blue eyed goddaughter. And of course, what collector worth her salt wouldn’t have the complete Nativity scene in porcelain?

But now they’re getting on my nerves.

They’ve been perched over my computer desk for too long. Those beady little eyes are STARING at me! Morning, noon and night. Just like Eddie the dog from one of my favorite episodes of “Frazier”. He keeps staring at Frazier causing him to blurt “Stop staring at me!” LOL.

So it’s time for them to go, to leave, get packed away until I can figure out how to sell them at profit on eBay.

Well, hoping to make money on collectibles is one way of justifying obsession with little clay people….or thimbles…or stuffed animals…..or Mickey Mouse…or spoons... You get the picture. I’ve only managed to make a deal with one of my little people. I sold a “Sugar Town” original signpost for $125. Paid $10 for it. That was over ten years ago.

Some articles I’ve read propose that collecting is a way to expand our social lives, to fill a void, to give us a sense of control. In a way, I can see where that might be the case but there is also just the fun of hunting down that elusive item, coveting a piece of history or snagging a deal on a rare find. Really, you’d have to have fun to travel thousands of miles as some do to visit flea markets searching for 1960’s lunch boxes. This is all well and good.
But then you have to DUST them.

Sometimes the things people collect will surprise you. My brother collects Mickey Sorcerer Fantasia items. Figurines, pictures, clocks. I’ve known my brother for years :-) and to find out he really liked this piece of Disney magic surprised me. And I’ll admit to having been an accomplice to his addiction by buying pieces for Christmas and birthdays. I'm such an enabler.
Remember Beanie Babies? Raise your hand if you were one of the ones who stood in line for hours at the card store, surfed the net for deals or wrestled a mother of two to the ground for the last Beanie duck. Reminded me a lot of the original Cabbage Patch kids furor. Yes, I confess it here and now. After searching for months for a Cabbage Patch doll for above mentioned goddaughter, then age 3, I found one at a fireworks store outside of Nashville. Sat with that blonde, pigtailed doll on my lap all the way home and then….then I kept it for myself! She's still appalled that I did that. (It's mine, mine, mine bwhahahahaha)

Ahem.

I’m pretty much past all of this obsessiveness now, hence the recent cleaning out of clutter. Oh, I’ll keep a few of the Beanie Babies critters standing sentinal over my computer....

Is that goat STARING at me?

What about you? What do you collect? What is the strangest thing you or someone you know has collected? Tell me and a lucky poster will win a $10 Borders gift card…you can add it to your collection :-)

Favorite Funny Men

by Beth Andrews

I used to watch this very cool show on The Discovery Channel called Dirty Jobs. See, in Dirty Jobs, Mike Rowe tries the dirtiest, most disgusting jobs he can find. It's really interesting and honestly, quite disgusting.

Oh, how I loved that show!

I'm not actually allowed to watch it anymore. Don't get me wrong, I try and watch it but whenever it's on, my dear husband turns the channel. Why? Well, it's not because he's grossed out when Mike inseminates a horse or collects owl vomit or trudges around in sewage systems.

It's because I have a crush--a HUGE crush--on Mike Rowe.

But before you start to think I'm crushing on Mike only because he's cute (which he is) let me say that his looks are not the reason I adore this man. It's because he's funny. Yep, there you have it. I love funny guys. Give me a guy who can make me laugh and I'm hooked *g*

Which is why today I give you:

Beth's List of Her Favorite Funny Men:
(yes, I do love my lists *g*)

1. Mike Rowe - As mentioned above, he does the most disgusting jobs but he's always ready with a zinger or one liner that cracks me up.

2. Justin Long - Otherwise known as the Mac Guy in the Mac commercials as well as Drew Barrymore's boyfriend. What a cutie! And I loved him in the TV show Ed which brings me to...

3. Tom Cavanagh - He was the lead character in Ed and he was adorable! He was smart and funny and such a good guy I couldn't help but root for him that he'd win Carol's (the girl of his dreams since high school) heart :-)

4. John Krasinski - I love The Office and part of the reason is Jim Halpert! What a cutie and he's always pulling the funniest pranks on his coworkers and trying so hard to keep his boss in line. Every episode cracks me up!

5. Owen Wilson - I fell for Owen in a big way. That hair. That crooked nose. That sexy voice *g* Loved him in Night at the Museum and, though it wasn't a comedy, Behind Enemy Lines.

6. Ben Stiller - love how he's not afraid to play the bad guy (he was hilarious as White Goodman in Dodgeball) or the good guy (Larry Daley in Night at the Museum) or the not so bright guy (Derek Zoolander in Zoolander)

7. The men of MASH - I love, love, love this show! Hawkeye, Trapper John and BJ were my favorites. I especially love Hawkeye's laugh :-)

8. The men of Friends - Ross was my favorite but honestly, Chandler's dry wit is the most similar to my own sense of humor so he made me laugh the most *g*

9. Steve Carell - Yep, love him in The Office but he really cracked me up in Anchorman (as the dim-witted Brick Tamland) and I thought he was terrific in Dan In Real Life!

10. The classics - Cary Grant, James Stewart and Clark Gable. (sigh) Some of my very favorite movie stars of all time and they all did comedy so well! They were all handsome, super talented and could play both dramatic roles and humorous ones. They had it all :-)

What about you? Do you prefer a guy who can make you laugh or are you into more serious men? Who are some of your favorite funny guys? I'll give away a signed copy of Not Without Her Family to one luck poster so let's hear from you!

Hot Cops. Hot Knights. Hot Author - Karin Tabke

by Tawny Weber

Whoohooo - I'm super excited to share some chit-chat with a great friend of mine - Karin Tabke. Karin is one of those fab authors who writes all over the board. Historical, Paranormals Erotica -this gal does it all. Karin's novella, THE HARD STUF, debuted in January 2006. Her first full length book, GOOD GIRL GONE BAD was featured in the November 2006 issue of Cosmopolitan magazine. Since her debut, she's gone on to sell 11 books so far to two publishers, with her sixth and seventh out this month. Please join me in welcoming Karin -


[Karin] Thank you Romance Banditas for having me as your guest today!

[Tawny] Thank YOU for coming to play with us! Karin, your writing is intense, emotional and so real. Jaded is, in my unbiased opinion, your best cop book yet. Can you share a little about it with us?

[Karin] In my biased opinion I would have to agree with you. I hit my writing stride with this book. This book is about two pretty tortured souls who find each other and run as far and as fast as they can, but don’t get very far. It’s more character driven than the previous hot cop books, and I really dig that. It’s also more plot developed than the previous books, ok, well, maybe not more then SKIN, but it has some killer twists and turns.



[Tawny] Your heroes are hot, sexy and alpha in the true sense of the word. Do you find it a challenge to write such strong men?

[Karin] Nope, I write what I know. I live with a bunch of alphas, kind of hard not write about them when they are in your face 24/7.

[Tawny] How about finding women strong enough to keep them in line?

[Karin] Weeeeel, to survive alphas one must be able to stand toe to toe with them, which I do, so again, I write what I know. I’m a pretty alpha female, hence the interesting tug of war between my characters. So, basically, I just whisper in my heroine’s ear how to handle those bad boys. Most of the time they listen. But sometimes they don’t. I love smirking and saying, “I told you so,” after the fact.

[Tawny] I know for a fact that your cop's are true to life because you have a solid research venue... namely a retired cop by the name of Hubby. Writers are always mining our own lives for story fodder. Have any of your husband's war stories found their way into your books?

[Karin] Yep. The opening scene in GOOD GIRL GONE BAD was ripped from the pages of one of Hubby’s few IA’s. Then there is the whole cop talk and action thing. Camaraderie between cops is tight, and raw. Nobody really gets them except the same animal with the same spots. But they are human like the rest of us, and sometimes that adrenaline is hard to turn down. They do some crazy stuff. And don’t think for a minute that cops don’t cross a line here and there, they do, especially when a female is involved. Those guys love as hard as they work.

[Tawny] How does his being a retired cop influence different aspects of your story?

[Karin] He is a font of information. I’ll run a procedure by him, or ask for the correct lingo, and he confirms facts. The penal code is burned in his brain. But what he does best is help me brainstorm plots for their cop authenticity and integrity. I do take some artistic license, this is after all fiction, but I try to stick as close to real as possible. In fact it makes the story better. More conflict when you have to stick to the rules. Coz then it’s real fun when my characters break them. And just an fyi, some of things I have witnessed? If I wrote about it, no one would believe me. I’m leaving that to hubby and the book he’s writing.

[Tawny] You have another June release that is wildly different than your hot cops. Can you share a little about The Blood Sword Legacy, and book one of the series, Master of Surrender?

[Karin] Can I say I LOVE this series? Here’s a hint:
The Blood Sword Legacy Bound by a brotherhood forged in the hell of a Saracen prison, eight Blood Swords -- mercenary knights for William the Conqueror -- set out to claim their legacies the only way they can: by right of arms, by right of victory, by right of conquest.
The first book of the series is MASTER OF SURRENDER, book two, MASTER OF TORMENT comes out in December of this year. What I love most about writing this series is the rawness of the era. There was so much turbulence and the rules changed for everyone. It’s a fabulous backdrop for conflict and passion.


[Tawny] Hubba hubba... that is one HOT cover!! Karin, often when a writer reinvents herself, its because she's hit a wall or she's burned out writing one particular sub-genre. Your hot cops are doing great, so that's not the issue in your case - what made you shift focus to medieval historicals and where does this leave those sexy cops?

[Karin] I fell in love with romance reading the historicals of yore. When I came back to them a few years ago I was disappointed by how watered down many had become. They seemed to have lost the raw edge of the time. So, I took it upon myself to write the kind of story I love. Hence the series. As to where does it leave my sexy cops? Well, JADED released yesterday, book three in my hot cops series. Book four, HAVE YOURSELF A NAUGHTY LITTLE SANTA, comes out in mass market in November. I have every intention of writing more bad boys with a badge.



[Tawny] Do you find your writing process is any different in working on the cops vs the historcals?

[Karin] Yes. My cops are a part of me. I lived the life by way of hubby for many years. They are contemporary. I can write those guys all day long, it comes easy. It’s what I know. The historicals? Not so easy. It takes me much longer to write because I can only go by what I have researched and the stories told by others. It’s hard to put yourself somewhere you’ve never been and have it just pop out. I’m sure once I get a few more historicals under my belt it will come easier, but for now, the storytelling takes longer. That said, I am dying to cross the pond to England and haunt the sites of my stories. I think that will be an enormous help.

[Tawny] And speaking of writing processes (my favorite hated subject) care to share yours?

[Karin] Um, yes, I have this friend who I IM at ungodly hours of the morning and we push each other to produce pages. Seriously. My best writing time is from midnight to 4 a.m. The house is quiet and I surround myself with my characters. I write almost every day. Sometimes 20 pages, sometimes 2 pages, but with the exception of weekends (and sometime not) I write.

[Tawny] LOL - I love our ungodly middle of the night writing sessions! Like you, I get so much done after dark. Karin -thanks so much for hanging out with us today.

[Karin] T, thank you for taking the time to ask the questions, and to all of the Bandits, thank you for having me as your guest today! I’d love to give away a copy of one of my backlist to a lucky commenter today! So if you just want to say hey or have a question, fire away.

Thanks, Karin for visiting! If you all want to check out more of her gorgeous covers or her books, stop by Karin's website at http://www.karintabke.com/


So, everyone - Karin has a fabulous handle on those sexy alpha males. Care to share YOUR favorite alpha hero? Could be a hero from fiction, television or movies. You name him, I want to hear how hot he is....

And the winner is...

Whoohoooo to Deb Marlow, the winner of Beth Andrew's debut book, NOT WITHOUT HER FAMILY. Congrats Deb!! If you'll email me your address at tawny@tawnyweber.com with Bandits in the subject line, I'll get that right out to you! And thanks to EVERYONE who shared their delish recipes... Beth and I will credit the Bandits for our next 5 lb weight gain *g*

Who Was That Masked (Wo)Man?

posted by Aunty Cindy

I’ve never listened to a lot of pop music, but back in the day when I was newly divorced, I went on a blind date to a Billy Joel concert. While I never saw Mr. Blind Date again, I did develop an appreciation for the lyrics in Billy Joel songs. One of my favorites was “The Stranger,” a song about the masks everybody wears and the faces that we show only ourselves. I think the reason this song resonated so strongly with me is because I’ve always felt myself “a stranger,” someone set apart from everyone else.

As a young child, I realized not everybody had this “other life” going on inside their heads the way I did. My parents, siblings and the few friends I confided in thought me extremely odd. I wore my weirdness as a badge of honor through my rebellious teens and into my twenties. Whenever I had to “fit in” or be “normal” I rummaged in my trunk and donned the appropriate mask – devoted spouse, doting mother, dependable employee. But I was always secure in the knowledge that it was never the “real” me.

The “real” me was the stranger, aloof, untouchable, and she obviously scared people who got a glimpse of her. My (then) husband, my mother, my best friend… Sometimes she even scared ME! I had to keep her well hidden, but I always knew she was there, lurking behind those other masks -- familiar masks that made her acceptable, able to blend in. But I cherished my stranger, because Billy was right, she wasn’t always evil and she wasn’t always wrong.

Best of all, when I was writing, I could pull all those other masks out of my psychological trunk and try them on my characters! All those lovely masks the stranger wore became pieces within all my heroes, and all my villains too. Then, as I met more and more writers both in person and online, I discovered we all did the same thing. They had that “other life” going on too! But the revelation was double-edged. I felt relief but with wariness.

While we often traded secrets, the other life and the stranger are dangerous and require protection. What is all right to reveal in fictional characters is still not openly acknowledged in one’s self. Most all of us came to writing from someplace or someone else. We learned our lessons well. Show what we must. Show what we dare. We writers must wear masks too. And I’ve been my stranger for far too long.

How well can you ever really know someone else? How well do you think they know you? To paraphrase Billy: did you ever let another see the stranger in yourself?

Lorraine Heath's return to the Lair

by Suzanne Welsh

I first met Lorraine Heath through her book TEXAS DESTINY. The story of Houston and Amelia won my heart and had me looking for anything and everything by Ms. Heath. When I moved to Texas, imagine my surprise to discover she was a member of my local chapter. Over the years we've become friends, and I've gotten to enjoy more and more of her wonderful books.

Lorraine, welcome back to the Lair. We're always delighted when you come visit us. Pull up a chair and tell us about your newest book, IN BED WITH THE DEVIL, book one of The Scoundrels of St. James series.

Thanks so much. I'm thrilled to be here again. Love you Bandits.

"The Devil Earl", as Lucian Langdon is known, came into his title in a rather odd manner. Can you give us some details?


I'm not sure I can explain it better than Lucian does himself.

"They say my parents were murdered in the London streets by a gang of ruffians. I have no memory of it, yet it has always seemed to me that I should. After all, I was supposedly there, but only if I truly am who the world recognizes me to be. The Earl of Claybourne.

It's my eyes that convinced the old gent who called himself my grandfather that I was indeed his grandson. "You've got the Claybourne eyes," he'd said with conviction.

And I readily admit that looking into his was very much like looking into a mirror at my own, but still it seemed a rather trite thing upon which to base so grand a decision. I was fourteen at the time. Awaiting trial for committing murder. I must confess it was a rather fortuitous moment to be declared a future lord of the realm, as the judicial system was not opposed to hanging young lads who were considered troublesome."

Lucian is released into the old gent's care and his life changes dramatically, even though he doesn't believe he's the true heir.

You know I love gutsy heroines and Lady Catherine Mabry was such a strong foil against Lucian. She approaches Lucian with an unusual request. How does this surprise him, and how does he respond?

She is the only lady among the aristocracy who ever had the courage to hold his gaze, so when she shows up in his library, he's convinced she's come to seduce him. When he discovers she wants him to do away with someone, he's angry. He's spent years struggling with what he did at 14, and her request brings all his self-loathing to the forefront. He tells her, "Nothing that would cause me to kill a man simply because you wish him dead." Of course, when he discovers he needs help acquiring the one thing he wants most-Frannie Darling's hand in marriage-and Catherine can help him acquire it, a bargain is struck and Lady Catherine finds herself in bed with the devil on several levels. It's the reason I loved the title for this book. It works on different levels.

This book had many unique secondary characters, some of which may be familiar to readers from the Dickens novel, Oliver Twist. What made you decide to base IN BED WITH THE DEVIL on this classic?

I woke up one morning at 4:00 with these street scamps in my head wanting me to tell their stories. I went to my computer and wrote the prologue, very little of which has changed from the initial writing. As I began researching children and crime, I discovered that Charles Dickens lived near the rookeries and is believed to have spied on a Fagan-type character and his child thieves. I thought it would be fun to make my characters the ones upon whom Oliver Twist was based. I did a timeline to put them in the rookeries at the time that Dickens was working on Oliver Twist. His work is an incredible documentary of the rookery and criminal life.

Don't you just hate it when characters disturb a good night's sleep? (grinning) Are there plans to show more of these characters' stories to your readers?

Oh absolutely. BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND DESIRE, the second in The Scoundrels of St. James series, which will hit the stores in late December, is Jack Dodger's story. And Jack, of course, would be the Artful Dodger. During this time period, it was very easy to change identities. If you were caught for a crime, you just moved over to the next neighborhood and changed your name, so I had fun naming my characters. Jack's story is an Oliver Twist/Great Expectations combo in that he has an anonymous benefactor who is largely responsible for his success. The story I'm writing now is Frannie Darling's.

I'll be watching for BETWEEN THE DEVIL AND DESIRE. (Must remind kids to stuff my stocking with gift cards!) Jack will be a difficult hero to redeem, but as a good friend pointed out to me, if anyone can redeem the unredeemable, it's you. Was it difficult to find a heroine for him?

Bless your good friend! It was hard to find the right heroine for Jack. His story actually went through about three phases. Originally I thought the woman for him was someone down on her luck who came to his Gentlemen's Club willing to sell herself-and I saw him teaching her the ways of men and falling in love with her, determined to keep her for himself. Then I saw her as a reformer set on exposing his establishment and him for his wicked ways. But then as things go, I started writing his prologue - and when I got to the end of it, I realized money motivates Jack and he will do anything to acquire it. And the proper lady for him has never sinned in her life - but when fate has him moving into her house much to her objection, she'll discover that between the devil and desire the only choice is surrender.

You mentioned Dickens and his affinity for accurately displaying the rookeries and crime element in his writing. (lifts eyebrows in a questioning manner) Will he make an appearance in one of these books?

I won't promise, but I certainly wouldn't be surprised.

You also write Young Adult and had a new release hit the stores June 10. Can you tell us about it?

Under the name Rachel Hawthorne, I write romances for young adults. LABOR OF LOVE is the story of some teenagers who go to New Orleans to help with the rebuilding efforts after Hurricane Katrina. Our heroine, Dawn, had her heart broken by her cheating boyfriend and she wants a summer without boys. She and her friends go to see a psychic and her reading is:
"I hear hammering. You're trying to rebuild something. But be careful with the tools. You might get distracted and hurt yourself - more than hitting your thumb with a hammer. You could get very badly hurt. And worse, you could hurt others. Lots of people are around. It's hot and dirty. There's a guy . . . a red and white baseball cap. The cap has a logo on it. Chiefs. Kansas City Chiefs. I don't get a name, but he has a nice smile."

Of interest about this reading is that I was struggling with the story, thought it was boring, it wasn't going anywhere. I contacted my friend Nancy Haddock, author of La Vida Vampire, and said, "I'm thinking of sending my character to a psychic. How would a psychic reading go?" And Nancy said, "Just snatches of images, something like this," and she gave me the above. Suddenly everything fell into place. I chunked the whole story, opened it with the psychic reading and it pretty much wrote itself. It's wonderful to have friends who are writers and don't think any question is too odd to ask. But I also realized that it's important for writers to experience as much as possible. The past couple of years, I've thought more than once about getting a psychic reading, just for the fun of it. Who knew I'd ever want to use it in a book?

Oh, that sounds intriguing. Those glimpses can be interpreted in more than one way. Does your heroine end up questioning her actions throughout the story?

Absolutely. Her two friends also got a psychic reading and as things happen in the story, they're trying to determine if that was what the cryptic messages meant. And when things happen, it's like "Oh, no! That's what the psychic predicted." It was just fun to write.

Okay, this question is purely for my own nosiness. You write fairly different genres under different names, and have contracts with tight deadlines. Do you ever sleep? (I know you're often awake at the same middle-of-the-night hours I am.)

Sleep? What is this thing you call sleep? Seriously, butt in chair. If I write at least 10 pages a day, I can make my deadlines. Also, the boys are no longer at home; hubby works long hours, plus he takes care of the cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping (amazing how the hint of possible early retirement will motivate a man). Besides, right now there isn't anything I'd rather be doing. When I get into the story I get a little obsessed with finishing it.

Which brings me to a question for the Bandits and friends - how do you balance your life? I'll admit that I'll drop whatever I'm doing if one of my boys calls and wants to get together for lunch. Otherwise, I tend to lock myself in the writing zone.

Lorraine has offered a signed hot-off-the-presses copy of IN BED WITH THE DEVIL to one lucky commentor, so bring them on.

Princes of the Universe

by Nancy

Did you ever watch an early episode of a hit TV show and wonder how it ever survived to be a hit? I just had that experience with Highlander. I discovered the show late in its run and enjoyed the imaginative worldbuilding and the swordplay, in addition to liking the characters. I received the Season 1 box set for my birthday and sat down to watch it. However, I thought some of the acting was really not very good (not the principals, but the guests). I know there are great actors in Canada--I see them on TV every week, especially on the SciFi network--but they didn't often appear in the early episodes of Highlander.

And seeing one more ignorant rube villain with a wretched abomination of an excuse for a Southern accent might've been the end of the box set. However, I persevered. About halfway through Season 1, the show seemed to hit its stride. The principal actors found a rhythm. The guests seemed much better. The stories felt tighter. Also, there were fewer fake-Southern rubes.

The chemistry between Adrian Paul and Alexandra Vandernoot was also great. The show did a good job, I felt, from its very beginning in exploring the complexities of a relationship between a man who can live forever unless somebody cuts off his head and a woman who's fated to grow old first. The series touched on this theme several times. It also addressed the effect of living with someone who has people literally out for his head. Vandernoot's Tessa was spunky without being unrealistic.

Duke alumnus Stan Kirsch also found his feet pretty quickly. His first appearance foreshadowed something bigger for him, but the series kept it under wraps for the rest of the season. He and Paul had an interesting dynamic, mentor and protege but not always a smooth interaction. My friends who attended Highlander conventions described the cast members as friendly and welcoming to their fans.

So the series had some good things going for it. In addition, it was based on a successful movie franchise starring Christopher Lambert as the original Highlander, Connor MacLeod. Like Stargate SG-1, it had a built-in fan base because it spun off from a successful movie. The movie also had a great "buddy" relationship that evolved from mentoring, with Sean Connery as the mentor-turned-buddy-turned defeated Immortal. And what better excuse to include a photo of Sir Sean in the blog? To his credit, Lambert helped launched the series and appeared in at least one of the TV-movie sequels, Highlander: Endgame.

The swordplay was way cool, also. The DVD extras in my box set include swordmaster Bob Anderson (who "worked with everyone from Errol Flynn to Darth Vader" and taught swordplay on the--speaking of Sir Sean--uneven Arthurian picture, First Knight). He talks about the efforts they made to keep the swordplay safe, and there are other bits about choosing different blades for the individual guest stars. And there was that rockin' music by Queen.

The last episodes, introducing more and varied Immortals, such as Darius and Fitzcairn, and the concept of the Watchers, gave greater depth to the world. So did the Parisian setting, though I have to wonder whether just anyone can tie up a barge across from the Ile de la Cite.

If you visit here often, you know I love Stargate SG-1, with Carter being my favorite character. Yet she had some really, truly, deeply cringe-worthy lines in the first few episodes. They were not just in favor of women's equality but were strident. The show lasted, though, and the characters gained depth. Maybe being on cable helped. I didn't ever glom onto Highlander fandom, but I wonder if the fan base was what kept the show going until it found its feet. Anybody know?



Have you ever hung on to a show that seemed far from fulfilling its promise and then been delighted when it finally reached its stride? Have you done that with a book or with a life endeavor? Have you hung in and been disappointed? Delighted?

The Joy of Slower Travel

By Trish Milburn

People who know me know that I don't fly. I have flown in the past, but was never comfortable with it. But after a particularly bumpy flight where I thought the plane would shake out of the sky, I called it quits on flying. If I can get there by car or train, I'm sticking to terra firma. And recent stories about flying make me even more glad that I'm not a frequenter of the "friendly skies." Why?

1. I don't have to be scared for days before traveling.
2. I don't have to deal with huge airline delays and flight cancellations.
3. When airlines announce they're going to start charging for the first checked bag, I don't have to worry about it.

All those reasons focus on negatives though. What I want to focus on in this post are the positives of slower modes of travel like driving and taking the train.

First off, I find them less stressful. When I travel by car, I can start when I want, stop when I want. If I want to stop and examine the wagon ruts left by Oregon Trail travelers in western Nebraska, I can. That also brings up the fact that you get to see all kinds of interesting sights that exist in what is sometimes called "flyover country." I love seeing places and things I've never seen before. If not for a road trip from my home in Tennessee to points west, I wouldn't have been able to see:

Wall Drug (Wall, South Dakota), 76,000 square feet of touristy goodness. You see so many different Wall Drug signs driving across South Dakota that by the time you reach Wall, you have to stop.

The Enchanted Highway (Regent, North Dakota), home to some of the largest scrap-metal sculptures in the world, including "Geese in Flight," which holds the Guinness Book of World Records title as the largest such sculpture.

Yellowstone National Park (Wyoming, Montanta, Idaho), America's first National Park and one of the most beautiful places I've ever been.

South Dakota's 1880 Town, a replica of a frontier town that's also home to props from the movie Dances with Wolves. The horse that played Cisco, Kevin Costner's character's horse, in the movie is also in residence.

Even though he's not as hot on road trips as I am, Hubby and I have enjoyed some road trips to Florida and the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In addition to trips to see The Mouse, we've enjoyed drives along the Gulf and Atlantic coasts, visiting everything from the remnants of an old sugar plantation to historic forts. Here we are at Fort Matanzas National Monument near St. Augustine, Florida.

In recent years, in order to save a little time, I've started taking Amtrak trips. In fact, I've got one planned for later in the summer when I head to the RWA National Conference and then to visit my sister. What's really cool about train travel is that I get to watch all the scenery without having to worry about also watching the road. I can sit in my little sleeper compartment and watch the sights go by, plug in my laptop and write for hours on end without the temptation of the Internet, and continue to cover miles as I eat in the dining car or sleep at night. And sometimes the trains take you through areas the roads don't, affording the view of even more scenery. Among these sights are the winding Colorado River as the train follows it through the western part of Colorado. (I took the photo above from the California Zephyr in November 2007 on my way to San Francisco.)

Here is the California Zephyr rolling into downtown Reno in 2005. I was about to board it for the first leg of my trip home after the RWA National Conference.

Another cool part of riding Amtrak's long-distance trains is that they often have volunteers from museums and national parks on board to give presentations about museums and parks located in the areas through which the train is traveling. If you're in a sleeper room, you don't even have to leave to hear the presentations. You can turn on the intercom in the room and listen.

I realize that it's nearly impossible to indulge in the slower, more scenic modes of travel when you work full time and you only get a week or two a year of vacation. Been there, done that. But if you have the time and inclination (and the money for gas, if you're driving), I highly recommend taking to the highways or rails for your next trip. It's more relaxing, and you get to see more than clouds and the insides of airports.

So, any other lovers of the road trip or train travel out there? Anyone love those goofy tourist sites like Wall Drug?

Winners and More Winners

Thanks to everyone for visiting the lair Friday and making Elizabeth Bevarly so welcomed! She had a great time and as per her generous nature has a boatload of prizes to give away. Drumroll please.....

For a copy of Liz's latest FAST AND LOOSE we have two winners. Based on their thoroughbred names (and yes, I am nursing a grudge that SpiderPig's the Boy was not in the running) Liz has chosen:

Gillian aka Last Plum Nickel and Terrio aka Controlled Chaos. Congratulations you fillies!

But that's not all. Natalie Hatch and Tiffany Kenzie are each winners of a set of the OPUS trilogies! Woohoo!

Please send me your snail mail info to Joaniet13 AT Gmail DOT com and we'll get the loot out to you.

TALL TALES & WEDDING VEILS---WINNER!

Congratulations robynl!

You're the winner of the signed copy of Jane Graves newest release, Tall Tales & Wedding Veils!

Send me (Suzanne), your snail mail addy to swwelsh AT yahoo DOT com, and I'll see that Jane gets that prize to you!

Debut Delight - Beth Andrew's NOT WITHOUT HER FAMILY chitchat

by Tawny Weber

Many people may or may not realize that the awesome Beth Andrews is my coveted Critique Partner (as in I will share her, but get first dibs... just don't tell Vrai Anna) and I'm overjoyed to see her fabulous debut, NOT WITHOUT HER FAMILY on store shelves now! For fun and pleasure (my fun in tormenting her, your pleasure in reading the results) I talked Beth into answering a few questions for today's blog... and here we go: (btw: I tried to find a different picture of Beth and I to share, but most are blackmail material and probably should be kept off the net... for now)

So Beth, you wrote one hot hero in your debut, NOT WITHOUT HER FAMILY. He's the ultimate sexy good boy. Wanna share a little about what your inspiration was for Jack Martin?

First, thanks for thinking Jack's sexy - I find him quite sexy myself! Actually, I started with Kelsey, my heroine. She's a reformed troublemaker--or at least, that's what she'd like people to believe *g* So I knew I wanted a hero who would give her a run for her money, who would really force her to grow and evolve into the person she's meant to be, the person she's been hiding behind her sarcastic wit and tough girl persona. And I came up with Jack *g* He's a by-the-book police chief to her rebellious bad girl. I wanted him to be controlled and just a real steady arrow. Someone who knows what they want, knows right from wrong but wasn't so rigid that he couldn't bend once in a while without breaking. The more I wrote, the more Jack evolved and that's where his sexiness sort of...leaked through into the story :-)

Hmmm... Jack leaked? Really? Okay, this image is killing me!

LOL - That's what you get for letting me answer questions after 9 pm -- Leaking heroes ;-)

And Kelsey - OMG I love her! She's such a total smart-alek, yet so vulnerable. How did you manage to balance those distinctive traits so well?

It was tough. I've written several snarky heroines and to be honest, it took me a few tries before I was able to soften Kelsey enough to make her empathetic without having her lose her edge. I realized if Kelsey said something harsh or smart-aleky (I think I just made up a word *g*) then I needed to show WHY she was acting that way. Out of fear? Insecurity? Anger? Defensiveness? Also, I had to make sure she didn't come across as mean or nasty (another tough trick) but mostly, I had to make sure she wasn't ALWAYS the wise-guy. She has moments, especially around Jack's daughter, where she lets her guard down and her vulnerabilities show.

This is so hard to get across, too. I remember how many times we... I mean, you reworked Kelsey to bring those vulnerabilities to the surface. And as the writer (and CP, ahem), I know you KNEW the reasons behind her smart-alekiness (to take off with your word *g*) but bringing those reasons out for readers to see. What was it that made you aware that Kelsey needed a little softening? I know it wasn't CP input since I adored her rough edges *g*.

Hey, don't try to get out of it - you were with me every step of the way with this story *g* And I adored Kelsey's rough edges too which was why it was so hard to see that she needed softening a bit. Luckily, I had an editor explain to me that she came across as a bit...harsh and if I took her rough edges too far, she'd become unlikable. My current editor helped me see that sometimes taking out a single sentence can make all the difference. So even though I thought Kelsey was hilarious and witty, taking out some of her zingers and one-liners really made all the difference in how she comes across. I've definitely learned to take the adage Less Is More to heart with my writing :-)

Great adage and what a solid writing tip for us all! Now, I have to ask: Jack’s daughter Emma almost steals the story. You have a way of writing kids that keeps them real, but still makes them adorable (not saying real and adorable aren't synonymous with kids, but... well, hmmm.) Did you worry about her taking over?

LOL - Emma was so much fun to write! And yes, sometimes real kids aren't so adorable (as we know since we have real kids *g*) I didn't worry about her taking over until it was pointed out to me that she needed to be...toned down a bit. But really, to me, kids do have a way of stealing the spotlight in real life - especially one like Emma. They're just very hard to ignore :-)

So true! And she did have a hottie for a daddy. How hard was it to create a flipped stereotype - single father hero with a fear of kids heroine?

Creating the flipped stereotype was very easy for me because I knew Kelsey so well that I knew the idea of being around kids would freak her out. (Again, what better way to torture her than to pair her with a single father? I'm so mean to my characters *g*) With her background, she knew nothing about kids, nothing about being a mother so adding Emma into the mix also added another conflict to keeping Jack and Kelsey apart.

So lets talk about this mean thing. I keep hearing rumor that you're intimidating and mean (and not just to your characters). Do you really think it through like that - here is my character and here are her deepest fears... now lets find the absolute worst person for her --in her mind-- and bring them together?

Hey, who says I'm mean? Besides my kids, that is *ggg* And yes, you nailed it perfectly - that's exactly how I think it through. For example, in Not Without Her Family, Kelsey's brother Dillon and Jack's sister Allie are friends. Now, I think some people would like to see Dillon and Allie get together but the fact is, there's no reason for them to have a story. They have no conflict, no chemistry except that they're friends, he's a sexy bad boy and she's a gorgeous good girl. But that's it. So, for Dillon's story, I paired him up with the worst woman in town for him. Honestly, I torture the poor guy (and believe me, he was already tortured enough before I started his story *g*) but the end result, his happily ever after, is so worth it. At least, I hope it's worth it!

Ahem... methinks it’s you who keeps claiming to be mean, but I'm usually laughing so I might be mistaken.

Hey, it's not my fault you're not the least bit intimidated by me. I'd think my angry face would scare you right out of your socks :-)

LOL – you keep saying that and I just keep laughing. Maybe you should get a whip or something?

So, okay, back to it... I think, IMHO, your characters are the strength of your writing. They are so multi-dimensional and real that they jump off the pages. And yet you can distill them -their essence, lets say - down to a simple archetype description. How DO you do that?

Oh, thank you! That's wonderful to hear because I consider myself a very character driven writer. I start with an idea of who my character is and once that character has really gelled in my mind, I go through and figure out their archetype. I then use what I've learned to amp up their internal conflict and to give myself an idea as to how they might handle certain situations.

Can you expand on archetypes a little? Tell us more about the concept?

Uh...no? *g*

Kidding. Boy, you're really making me work, huh? Well, I'm far from an archetype expert but from what I've learned, an archetype is a person's personality, their characteristics. It's a way to get to the heart of a character. I use The Complete Writer's Guide to Heroes and Heroines by Tami Cowden, Caro LaFever and Sue Viders and I'm currently reading a book you recommended, 45 Master Characters by Victoria Lynn Schmidt. Both books give the archetype, the archetype's virtues and flaws as well as examples of each archetype. Once I've decided which archetype my character is (although sometimes they're a combination) I use the virtues and flaws to help decide on what their internal conflict will be and how they'll react to any given situation. I use it to get a good feel for my characters but honestly, once I start writing and get to know the characters as people, I let their individual personality take over instead of their archetype.

Clear as mud, eh? ;-)

LOL – Isn’t it fun trying to explain your writing process? Thank you for humoring me and answering all these questions... even if you did make a few threats along the way.
So, because Beth rocks, we're gonna celebrate her debut by me giving away her book *g*


In Not Without Her Family, there's a scene where Kelsey uses her favorite stand-by cookie recipe to help Jack and Emma out of a jam. What's your favorite go-to recipe, the one that never fails to impress at family picnics or neighborhood potlucks? Whether it's your mother's chocolate bundt cake, your own secret recipe crab dip or a tray of cookies from your local grocery store's bakery, we want to know! Share and Beth will choose one name to win a copy of NOT WITHOUT HER FAMILY!!