I just got home from dinner out with friends. We watched the video from last Saturday night’s party and laughed. It was a great party, and I really do love my family. Before I left for the evening, I received an email from my friend Amanda who has been a bit of a godsend. She has agreed to help me with some of the more mundane aspects of writing. IE printing, specifically a full manuscript. I just don’t have the time and since my printer is for now (very temporary) in my husband’s office it would be very inconvenient for me to be running back and forth to print. So Amanda has graciously agreed to help out. And, being the efficient person she is, she printed out GGGB in no time last week. When I picked it up I asked her if she read the book. She said no but she would like to, and I encouraged her to do so. I received a wonderful email from her today. She loved it. While she did key in on the same things me and my agent keyed in on (and will be handled in the revisions), her overall feeling was very positive. It made me feel good. You see, Amanda writes also, and with persistence she will publish. So I respect her view and her comments. Her hubby is reading too. 
Anyhoo, in case you haven’t noticed, the cover for GOOD GIRL GONE BAD is posted, and while the smaller version doesn’t do it justice, I love it. My publisher got this story, and I feel privileged.
On a sadder note, daughter number two moved out today. I’m ok with it. It’s the right time with a great guy under the right circumstances. When we got home tonight there were two messages from her, crying. She missed us. I called her and assured her she always had a place here at home with her father and I. That said, my incredibly talented painter, Adam comes first thing Monday morning to convert her bedroom into my sanctuary. He is an artist of the highest order, and I can’t wait to see his talent go up on my walls. I ordered my new desk this week, a beauty, and just really can’t wait to get up there and create more stories.:typing:
Tomorrow is our regular big Sunday dinner gathering, all of the kids and their significant others sans my oldest boy who is away. My in laws as usual. :hello2: Grilled tri tip, salad, roasted rosemary potatoes, baked cinnamon apples, and bruchetta. Nonnie baked apricot cobbler (Rhianna’s fav) and chocolate something or other for dessert. So much for Atkin’s. I’m glad I’ll be walking in the am. I look forward to the warmer weather and the BBQing that will ensue.
I’m off now to spend some time with hubby in our very quiet house (number two son is out for the evening). All of that said, let me know what you think of the GGGB cover.
Write on,
K*

Tune in folks
If you get Geraldo at Large (FOX but also syndicated, check out the web site for the station and time in your state) watch tomorrow night, Thursday the 23rd. It seems Geraldo is intrigued by erotic romance, and Sunny Chen (CHINATOWN) who is in THE HARD STUFF with me taped her interview today (she read a sexy excerpt that had the all male crew blushing ). They will also be interviewing John Scogliamano (sp) from Kensington. Hilary, my Kensington editor said she had one of the camera guys take a good close up shot of my green man. :woot:
All of this stemmed from a USA Today article yesterday featuring Kensington and the Aphrodisia line. Hot news travels fast. So tune in.
Oh,and Justin promised to have the new cover up tomorrow. :elephant:
Whoo hoo!
Write on,
K*

We celebrated my husband’s 50th birthday this past Saturday. :beer:I think half of my town had a hangover Sunday. What a bash. For those of you who were there and don’t remember? It’s all on video, and video doesn’t lie. Like Lisa getting freaked then sandwiched by Frankie and Nick, and my mil getting sandwiched by her oldest grandson (that would be my son Jeff) and Frankie. My youngest son Will and his two sisters freaking on the dance floor. And Will? Sweetheart…where did you learn to dance like that? And sing too? It was wonderful to watch my husband ballroom dance with our daughter, Rhianna, so reminiscent of Pappy dancing with her less then a year ago. I managed a couple of dances with hubby Astair. I danced with my fil, my sons, their friends, our friends. We ate good food, drank good wine, kept the bartender hopping all night and the DJ spinning. But the best part in retrospect was what people said to me that night. Not just one or two, but many over the course of the evening. They marveled at my beautiful family. And while my kids and in laws are good looking, they meant beautiful in spirit. The smiles were face splitting, the laughter genuine. The hugs and kisses real. We held nothing back and partied like there was no tomorrow. Jeff came home for the event. He has grown up so much in the six weeks he’s been gone. He has the same infectious laugh as his father. My mil looked beautiful, and is so cute after two martinis, my fil, a gem of a man, well, I caught him a few times looking over the room with a prideful glow in his eyes. I’m forever grateful to them for creating my husband.
Yesterday as the toxic fumes cleared from my body, and I popped several more aspirin, I thought about the night and the comments. As a family we have taken some direct hits over the years, and even though my husband received some very bad news this past Friday and it took him down, he bounced back Saturday night. I’ve never seen the man so happy to be surrounded by the people he loves and calls friends.
I think a person’s character is measured by how they respond to adversity. How they respond to loss. Do they cave? or do they go through the cycle of loss and literally pull themselves up by the bootstraps even when it’s the last thing they want to do? But do it because not to means you quit, and for many, when you quit depression sets in, depression leads to a nonproductive existence, and it pulls those around you down. As hard as it is sometimes, one must dig down deep and ‘just do it.’
Because if you don’t live, then all you do is exist. It can all be over so quick.
I learned last week my brother and sister in law were in a horrific accident. Some asshole going too fast in the snow, T boned them. Had my bro and Mare not been wearing seat belts I’d be back east burying them both. Thank God they are safe. Life can be over in a snap, so you must savor it.
Today as we were out for our daily walk we met up with my in laws. We chatted about the party, and laughed recanting the evening. As we rounded a corner a white truck approached and we recognized one of my son’s friends whose parents were in attendance Saturday night. The kid smiles and says, “My dad passed out on the front porch Saturday night!” We laughed. Not that getting snookered drunk and passing out on your front porch is funny, but what was funny was watching this guy and hubby hang out at the bar the night before acting like kids, and having a great time as friends. Lol, it seems they both ended the evening the same way, just in different places.
So as Mom, Dad, Gary and I continued our walk and chatting we decided we were hungry. We came back to our house and cooked a huge brunch (hey, we did just walk for over an hour) and watched the birthday party video. As we laughed and visited it occurred to me again how lucky I am.
I looked at the grin on my father-in-laws face, my mother-in-laws beaming smile, and my husband’s happy face, and with the knowledge that my kids are happy, healthy, and safe, my family back East intact, I realized I have it all. Life is good.
Now, how does all of this relate to writing?
Savor what we take for granted. Keep close those around us who do support, those who encourage instead of discourage, those who are ready to offer positive advice, and steer us in the right direction. Steer clear of negative people. They will only bring you down with them.
And, remember to smile.
Write on,
K*
Oh, ps, I’m going to figure out how to post the cover. It’s so hot!!!

That’s all I can say, coz I can’t show you it yet, coz I don’t know how to post it here, and Justin is off right now. BUT. OMG! I got the cover art for GOOD GIRL GONE BAD. For those of you who know me, you know I wasn’t thrilled with the title. I am now. The cover so personifies it. It’s beautiful, classy, and so suggestively sexy. Every man who has seen it has gone cross-eyed gaga.
I can’t wait to see what they do for SKIN, not that I’ll keep that title but I hope whatever the title is, it follows the same theme as the GGGB cover. It makes me feel so good that my publisher is so intuned with this book by creating such a stellar cover.
So check back for it. I might be able to figure out how to post it before Justin gets back.
Write on,
K*
ps, I am also very happy to report, that number one son is home from college for four days to celebrate his dad’s 50th birthday. He looks great and I didn’t realize how much I missed him until he walked through the door with his dad who was grinning like an idiot.

Sign on
I wanted to take a minute and thank Cindy the CRM at my local Barnes & Noble for throwing Allison Brennan, Amanda Scott, Josie Brown, Brenda Novak and myself a great party this past Saturday. Judy the romance expert and Sharon the assistant manager played a part as well. Thank you, ladies. :cheerleader:
It wouldn’t have been such a great party if the B&N ladies hadn’t done such a fab job promoting us and of course much thanks to the scores of fans who turned out for the event. Thank you friends and family for making the day perfect. And thank you to the new faces who came by to pick up a book, chat, or just say, hey this is great. It is all appreciated.

After we signed our hands off at the Antioch store we boogied down to Tracy where we met up with Rae Monet, and the Tracy Press. Although the crowd there was more laid back, we had a great time messing with Phil the reporter. Needless to say, when he left, he had a new view of romance.

I must admit, this past week has been a whirlwind of activity. I’ve done three author events. All three have included my friend Josie Brown who if I haven’t mentioned before is one smart, classy lady, and so are her books. Jenn Skully, and of course my GF Allison Brennan, and uber GF Rae Monet. I met Amanda Scott for the first time Saturday, and must say I am now intrigued by Scottish historicals. Brenda Novak who I have met briefly before is a warm generous lady who I look forward to spending, more time with in the future.

The sisterhood of the traveling book signers, as Josie so eloquently named us is a true. We are a sisterhood, as women, as writers, as friends. I’m loving this journey and the great ladies I’ve come to know and now call friend.

Write on.
K

I just had to share!
Whew did it get hot in my office last night. Since the muse is back and I have banned all living creatures from my life until I complete the first draft of SKIN, the words are jumping onto the page. And last night an unexpected thing popped up. Ahem, actually the one thing was expected but the second one to pop up? That’s when things really got going. I don’t think I’ve ever typed so fast. And since I’m lousy at the keyboard to begin with let me tell you the 12 pages I pounded out on Vinny (aka Dana Alphasmart) took a lot to clean up today. But oh how lovely the prize. Whew-wee! I love this scene. :elephant: It added so much complexity to my characters and threw a whole new wrench into the mix. I won’t go into details, but as the scene is written it works. It really works! Nothing gratuitous about it. Mostly because for my heroine it was a ploy, a means to an end, one she knew could backfire on her if she weren’t careful. Guess what? You can be careful and still get into hot water.
Write on,
I am. :evil2:
K*

Nope, it isn’t Tessie from Texas, but Tess Gerritsen from Mt. Olympus. :woot: She is a goddess, and I bow down to her.
Before you get too excited she isn’t actually coming here to THE WRITE LIFE, but she’s going to pop in on Valetine’s Day over at MURDER SHE WRITES. Tess will the first of many suspense goddesses to guest blog.
I can’t wait!
OK, back to your usual station.
K*

Lot’s of good stuff going on. I am writing!!!!! Yayyyyyyyyy! :party: I put together a proposal for a novella antho (all my work, no sharing) and sent it off to my Kensington editor Hilary. I’m making headway on my wip, and things are really heating up! I had a great signing last Thursday night at the Borders Express in San Jose. Ellen the romance expert there did a fab job. I need to send her something nice. :cheerleader:
I spent the better part of this evening putting together my invite/announcements for my local signing scheduled for Saturday the 11th of this month at my Barnes and Noble. They look great and I can’t wait to hook up with my fellow authors, friends and family.
I also registered for National and booked my room. Oh, and Crime in Mind has been accepted to present a two-hour workshop. Very cool.
We’ll also be presenting a workshop at the Silicon Valley RWA conference in May. Check out the conference info at www.svrwa.com they are going to do a speed dating thingy with agents and editors. Should be a blast.
I plan on attending RT. I guess I need to register. Rae-Rae and I are gonna be roomies, and I can’t wait to meet up with my fellow Aphrodisia chicks and also hook up with some of the Pocket ladies. Basically, I’m going to smooze and booze. :beer:
I’m also going to hit a couple of conferences in the mid west so I can pop in and watch my boy play some football. :cheerleader:
For a person who detests stepping on an airplane, I’m going to step on my fare share this year. Gawd, I need to get the Xanex refilled. :faint:
So who’s attending which conferences this year?
Oh, crap, I need to think about what to blog over at Murder She Writes. Friday is my day.
Hmm, I think I’m going to chat about a subject that Allison has touched on. What makes a bad guy bad? But I want input from our readers. What bad people do they know and how did they get that way?
OK, off to work on that little gem.
Write on.
K*

Lots of chatter about the Frey Fray, but since today is your lucky day, I’m not going to go there here. I’ve managed the last two nights to catch AI. Funny hahahaha, and very sad. :helpme:Funny in that I love to watch the play between Simon, Paula and Dawg man. Funny in that some of those contestants just make me laugh my ass off, and sad because well, let’s take Tessie from Texas for example. :holy: To look at her one would never think American Idol, Star, Superstar or even lounge singer. Of course the main component missing was/is her voice. She couldn’t sing (an all of the people who told her she could? Shame shame on you), not even carry a tune. As sweet as I am sure she is, she doesn’t have the look, the ‘tude, that certain spark.
Now, here’s the thing, she was too arrogant to listen to the judges. Too arrogant to hear what veteran professionals, professionals in the music industry had to say. Which brings me to my point. Even if you lack all of what Tessie lacks, if you listen, if you pay attention, if you take constructive criticism or even in Simon’s case destructive advice you can beat the odds. :beer:
Now let’s fast forward in say a year and take another look at Tessie, sans the braces, sporting a new do, new rags, and minus a few pounds. Let’s get rid of the silver nail polish, let’s get her into a performing arts class, let’s teach the girl how to move, how to smile, how to carry herself, how to project herself to the audience. And folks let’s get that girl some serious singing lessons, a voice coach. :helpme: In short let’s do what the judges say (OK, this is a bad example since Simon told her to anything so long as it didn’t involve singing). Get her in front of small groups, baby steps. Guess what? She might not be the next American Idol but she’ll be in the hunt, she’ll be able to hold her head up with respect in the industry and she’ll make Simon eat his words.:bird:
It’s the same in the publishing industry. I see and hear writers bitch and complain about stupid judges, stupid reviewers, idiot agents and out of touch editors. HELLLLLLLLLLO! With the exception of some judges the people in the biz are the people in the know, and while they do make mistakes, for the most part they don’t. So if you keep getting form rejection letters, and contest judges are saying the same thing, and editors don’t return your emails, listen, read between the lines.
Refine, hone, improve your craft. Write every day, get better, read, write, read and write some more. Don’t be too arrogant to think they are the ones missing the boat. Hell, they may be in a miniscule percentage of the times they reject, but by and large they know this business. So listen. Don’t be Tessie from Texas. Be the next American Idol by being open to criticism. Shake off the anger or the pity party or whatever it is you go through when someone in the industry knocks you down. Get up, dust yourself off, and get back to the business of writing.
Whew, ok, Tessie just struck a cord with me. In fact there have been an awful lot of Tessies this year. Get past your arrogance. For crying out loud it took a huge amount of bravery to get in front of those three judges, if you can do that: get rejected and survive it, then damn it you are brave enough to stop the arrogance and listen to the voice of reason and experience, and get your ass in gear and learn how to sing or in our case, write a damn good book.
Write on.
K*