Three cheers for Julia Quinn!

I'm trying very hard to get through my TRB pile- it's substantial, in fact, it's enormous. There are well over 200 books on various shelves throughout my house that I haven't gotten to yet. Well yesterday I finished up another Julia Quinn masterpiece. The Duke and I. A story of accidental love- two people who fein a relationship to keep the community matchmakers at bay- yes it's one that's been told before- but this one was told in such a wonderfully magical way that I can't help but give a hearty shout out to one of my favorite authors of regency romance. Julia, you amaze me! Your stories steal my heart and make me laugh, cry, and finish with a blissful sigh.

This book is published by Avon and it's an older book- 2001 I think- but so worth finding and I am definitely putting it on my Keeper shelf...also substantial.

What have you, my faithful readers, read lately that left you feeling completely satisfied?

Surrounded by inspiration!

Hello everyone! Yes, it's me, the long lost writer come to visit. And yes, I can actually call myself a writer this week because I've actually been...WRITING! My goodness it's amazing how much I've missed being able to write everyday. Since my husband's accident last year things have been so crazy that a few days is all I've been able to squeeze out. Well we're settling into our new home- our very own, bought and paid for, I have the deed to my house, home. The boxes are unpacked for the most part, the kids have started back to school and are settling in pretty well, the place is coming together quite nicely if I do say so myself.

And this being the case, it seems like everywhere I look I see something that inspires me to write. A powerful thunderstorm, an amazing sunset, a breed of bird I've never seen before...it all serves to feed my mind and make me want to create something just as powerful, just as amazing, just as new and beautiful. I'm looking at my old work with new eyes and getting excited about those stories again, hoping I can breathe life into them again and make them into something wonderful.

Today I'm confined to my chair with an icepack on my lower back because I've spent the last two days putting up jars and jars of applebutter and salsa made from the ingredients our pastor brought over just days after we got here. My back is aching fiercely and it's a perfect excuse to take it easy and rest and let my mind work instead of my body. So that's what I'm doing. I have two word documents open, a new story and an old one- one I'm taking notes on, one I'm reading through and doing some editing on and hopefully soon I'll have at least one completed manuscript that I can send to a publisher for consideration!

Wonderful thoughts for you all. Have a blessed end to your summer.

Danielle

For a very good cause

Hello everyone! I know it's been forever since I've been here. Sorry about my prolonged absence and I promise to try harder to visit more often. The reason I'm writing today is to promote an amazing charity auction and encourage you to at least go look at what's being auctioned. There are some super amazing things on the block- stuff like trips, baskets of books, electronics, etc. Among those donating the wonderful items are Jane Porter, Shellie Stevens, Nora Roberts, and so many others.

And the cause? Well all the proceeds go to Diabetes research and the whole thing is put on by one of our favorite authors, Brenda Novak. Her son is diabetic so this auction is very dear to her heart. Please go have a look and if you're able, bid on something. You won't be disappointed by the offerings, I promise.

http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Home.taf

Walkin' In A Winter Wonderland

Hello Everyone! I'm sorry for not updating as often as I should and I have no excuse for why I haven't. I'm posting some pictures that I took around my house just this morning. We had 4 inches of snow on the ground yesterday and during the night...we got another 5-6 inches. Needless to say the kids are having a blast.

Here's the hill my children sled down all day long. It starts in our front yard and goes beside the house, down into the trees in the backyard. They'd stay out there all day long if I'd let them but they have to come in and warm up occasionally.

They were supposed to go to school last week but they made it to Tuesday and the schools were closed because of the weather. We've never had this much snow here and temps down in the single digets...that's unheard of here. I woke up in the early morning a couple of days ago and it was 1 degree.

Here's our house from the road. As much as I hate the snow- which those of you who know me well know that I really hate the snow- I can admit that it's pretty. I especially like the way the trees look.

And speaking of trees, I love how the snow looks on this bush. It just does neat things with the branches.

For those of you who want to know how the writing is going...it's going very slowly right now. My muse doesn't appear to like the cold and the word factory has shut down. I sit and stare at the last sentence I wrote and at the end of an hour it's still the last sentence I wrote. Sheesh! I think maybe my crit partners need to sic the rhino on me...or maybe Chauncy the chainsaw...

Okay, okay! I'm writing!

Merry Christmas!!

It's that time again!!!

Okay everyone, it's time again for every writer to get him/herself a comfy chair, stock up on your favorite writerly snacks, tell the family you're unaccessable for the entire month of November because NaNoWriMo is right around the corner!!

That's right, you heard me right. Many authors feel adreneline surge into their blood at the mere mention of NaNo. 50,000 words in a month. Their brains start sifting through long ignored plots and story ideas for THE ONE! The one that will finally get their undevided attention for a whole writing intensive month.

So, get your supplies, inform the family so they can make preparations for your absence and don't look back.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this right of passage, NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month. Here's the website: http://www.nanowrimo.org/ Join in the fun!!

It's contest time....finally!

Okay folks, I know I promised a contest many months ago with the prize being an autographed copy of Jane Porter's latest 5Spot book, Mrs. Perfect. I promised this contest just a few days shy of my husband being involved in a serious motorcycle accident and this week he has gone back to work! Exciting news! So, to celebrate this milestone and follow up on my promise, it's contest time!!

The contest is this: The first person to tell me how many books Jane Porter has had published wins. Post your answer as a comment.

Good luck!

EDITED FOR CLARITY SINCE THERE SEEMS TO BE SOME CONFUSION AMONG READERS (MYSELF INCLUDED): THE PUBLICATION'S I'M REFERRING TO ARE SINGLE TITLES AND AMERICAN RELEASED CATEGORY TITLES.

I apologize in advance...

Okay, as most of my readers know, I'm not one to bring politics to my blog. I think there are enough politics out there already but this whole situation with the Wall Street bail out gone awry I felt like I really needed to put my $.02 in.

This whole situation was caused by greedy banks not willing to work with homeowners to help them save their homes. Now the banks are left with no revenue coming in and a crap load of empty houses on their hands. Why are these houses still empty? Because the banks still refuse to try to work things out so that people can get the loans they need to get their homes back or get into a new home.

If the banks would have just worked a bit harder to refinance people, dropped their interest rates as the Feds did, then they wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. In my honest opinion, the House of Reps did the right thing today by putting a kibosh on the 700Billion dollar rescue plan. I think that if the government rescues anyone, it should be the American homeowners that are in trouble because of money grubbing banks.

Okay, I'm done and getting off my soap box. If you don't agree with my way of thinking, post a comment and tell me why I'm wrong. If you agree...feel free to post a comment and back me up :)

I Am Woman...Hear Me Roar!

As I struggled to make it through this summer with even the tiniest bit of my sanity in tact, I used my spare time to read...a lot. Reading was my escape when I wasn't taking care of my injured husband and my out of school children. There were times when I thought for sure I was going to go insane but, alas, school has returned to session and my husband is walking again and things are returning to some semblance of normalcy in my world.

In the midst of doctors appointments and play dates I learned a few things about myself this summer. I learned that I am stronger than I ever thought I could be. I learned that when I think I can't go any further, I always find another bit of strength to get me through. The main character, Taylor, in Jane Porter's book Mrs. Perfect taught me that no matter how vulnerable and alone we feel in times of strife and hardship, women are so much stronger than we are often times given credit for.

Right now I'm trying to finish a book that I'm writing in hopes of pitching to an editor or agent at an upcoming conference I'm attending. The thought of it fills me with abject terror because I've never done anything like this before. My writing has always been such a personal part of me and to lay it all out face to face before a total stranger, gives me hives. But, that bit of truth being shared, I'm going to do it because I am strong and I've worked too hard to let this wonderful opportunity pass me by.

When you're feeling down, when you're at the end of your rope with a yawning canyon stretching endlessly below you, tie a knot and hang on with all your might because you CAN do it. You can get through whatever difficult situation you're in the midst of and you can come out on the other side stronger than you ever imagined.

One Step At A Time

It has been 14 weeks since my husband's accident and as of this past Wednesday he is able to walk again. It's amazing how wonderful that simple accomplishment is. It's been three and a half months since I've seen him verticle under his own power and it's such sweet victory to see it now. It'll still be awhile before he's back to work full time but like the title of this post says, we're taking things one step at a time.

And for another bit of good news, no I didn't get 'the call', it's even better than that.....School starts back up in less than two weeks!!! LOL. This summer- what little bit of summer we've actually had- has been one of the longest of my life and I'm very ready for a little six hour mini vacation each day while the kids are in school.

Writing hasn't happened much lately simply because of the drain on my time and creativity. I have to get back to it though because I'll be attending the Emerald City Writer's Conference in October and I need to have something ready by then. So here I sit at my nice clean desk...blogging. Hehehe, my priorities are so skewed.

And that being said, I'm going to publish this and get to work. I just wanted to update all my writing buddies on what's been happening here. Thanks again to all of you who've sent such wonderful encouraging messages during this difficult time. Things are looking up and we'll be back up and RUNNING soon.

Cleanliness is next to...creativity!

I couldn't quite figure out why my muse has been so absent lately but I figured it out yesterday. As I sat amongst the disaster I call my writing center, I got so frusterated by the mess that I went to the thrift store and purchased a nice little book shelf and got to work cleaning up the mess. The pictures on the left show the before and the pictures on the right show the after. Once it was tidied up and organized, my muse popped back into the picture with a relieved sigh and said, "Let's get to work." And work we did. I was able to pound out a good 2000 words last night before my brain shut down from exhaustion.

So, if your muse has suddenly vanished, maybe she's tired of working in a mess...clean up your work space and see how productive you become :)