If you’re not a writer, you might think the writing life is glamorous and exciting and en”riching” (as in making a lot of money). Ha! I know we’ve done round table discussions about what writing is really like, but I thought I’d entertain you with some real-life perceptions and questions that I’ve encountered in the fifteen plus years that I’ve been writing seriously. Let’s start with some real-life questions and my often-snappy answers to them:

1) “How do you research your sex scenes?” (You wouldn’t believe how often I get this one!). Duh. Let’s see . . . Answer No. 1)”How do you think a mystery writer researches the murders they write about?” (I answered this to a newspaper reporter and it was one of the tag lines for the article), or: Answer No. 2) “When in doubt, I refer back to my health book from sixth grade.”

2) “Did your husband pose for your book cover?”  Answer: “Yes, he did as a matter of fact. That’s him before the accident.” Snort. (Note: This is no reflection on my husband, who’s very nice looking.)

3) “The guy on your book cover really looks like your editor (Chris Keeslar at the time). Did he pose for the cover?” Answer: See above. (Note: Chris is really cute, so this answer is also no reflection on him.)

4) “Are you going to quit your job now that you’ve got this big book deal?” First answer: “Uh, how much do you think I got?”  Reply: “$100,000?” My next answer: hysterical laughter. Trust me—most beginning advances are much closer to the $1,000 end of that question!

5) “Are you the heroine in your books?”  A: “I wish!” (And I mean that sincerely)

6) “Are your characters based on real-life people?”  A: “Usually only those people I really don’t like and I kill off those characters.”

There are more—many more interesting questions. The truth of the matter is that writing is hard work, and often the financial compensation isn’t all that much. So why do we do it? Now that’s a really good question! I write because the characters won’t stay out of my head and because if I didn’t write, what else would I do? I also write for the immense satisfaction of seeing a completed manuscript, and because I have a legal and binding contract that says I’d better produce said manuscript.

And finally, I write for the readers, for those people who tell me how much my stories entertained, inspired, uplifted, and helped them forget their worries for a while. It means so much to hear from readers, and know that they appreciate my efforts. I’m sure all the Berkley Babes will agree with me when I say we write for *you*.

Here’s to many wonderful books to read in 2007!

~ Catherine

Congratulations to the February Berkley Babes contest winners!! (Check out the post below mine!) If you haven’t signed up for the Babes’ monthly newsletter, there’s a link over to the right of the blog screen. Not only will you find lots of great news for your favorite authors, but there are montly prizes!

Did anyone used to watch Allie McBeal? There was the one episode where all the attorneys were assembled at the firm, and they couldn’t go off to their important court date or whatever appointment until their coffee was delivered. The camera zoomed in on Allie’s lips as she lifted her cup for the first euphoric sip …

That particular scene was like a porno for java junkies. I could completely relate to the excruciating moment before the coffee arrived, the impatience, and the ultimate satisfaction (as she licked the foam off her lips!).

Coffee is one of my addictions. Starbucks will do, but a more local spot, Sweet Eugene’s, is the best. I have a good handful of addictions:

1. Books

2. Coffee

3. Tex-Mex

4. News Channels (mostly Internet, but if my TV’s on, it’s usually on CNN, MSNBC or FOXNews)

5. Bubble Baths (where I read books, drink java, and eat TexMex while watching the news — only kidding, but I’ll probably try that out one day)

6. Oh, and now that I’ve hit my mid 30s … skin care products.

What are your biggest addictions?

Jolie Mathis’s debut novel, THE SEA KING, is a 2006 Romantic Times nominee for BEST FIRST HISTORICAL. She invites you to visit her at www.joliemathis.com or www.joliemathis.blogspot.com

Every Month the Babes from BETWEEN THE COVERS put out a newsletter so that reader don’t miss out on anything important that’s happening to us.  It’s full of News, New Covers (Fabulous cover fors Sex and the Psychic Witch Annette!), and general updates.

And in every Newsletter, there is an exclusive contest for subscribers.  Yup, that means chances to win free books and MORE!

Last month, PEARL won….a copy of Nalini Singh’s BOUND BY MARRIAGE and Nicole Byrd’s DEAR IMPOSTER, plus some Valentine’s Day chocolates.

For the March giveaway Nalini Singh is giving away a signed copy of SLAVE TO SENSATION, Sasha White a copy of BOUND and Rebecca York one copy of SHADOW OF THE MOON!

This is ONE PRIZE pack for one Winner….so if you want to get in on it…be sure to sign up for the Berkley Babes, BEWTEEN THE COVERS Newsletter!    You can do so by following this link, Sign Up Here or entering your eMail address  in the form on sidebar of the blog !

I’m seeing a pattern in my life.  Last month I was in Phoenix to shoot the book trailer for NEW MOON.  (The editing’s almost finished!  Yaaah!)  We worked hard for three days.  Then I decided I could take a little time off and go to Tucson.  And what happened?  The weather turned cold and rainy.  So we toured the fabulous Desert Museum with coats and umbrellas.

This weekend, I was doing a romance panel discussion at the Bay to Ocean Conference in Easton, Maryland, with Mary Jo Putney and Candice Porch.  I explained that we used to say that a romance was the development of a relationship between a man and a woman.  Now it could be a woman and a lizard man from the planet Alpha Lasagna.

The conference was on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.  And one thing I wanted to do while I was over there was go to the Blackwater Refuge which was originally designed as a stop along the Atlantic flyway for migrating ducks and geese.  Now it’s also a sanctuary for bald eagles, ospreys, foxes, and Delmarva squirrels.  While I was at the visitors’ center, I learned that “bald” used to mean white-headed, not “hairless.”   I also got to see a webcam pointed at an eagle’s nest, where the male and female traded places while we were watching.

Unfortunately, the best part of the trip to the refuge was inside the visitors’ center.  Outside, it was snowing like mad.  We bought a CD with a guided tour.  But we gave up on seeing much through the blinding snowstorm.  (Well, we did miraculously see an eagle in a dead tree.)  But the drive was a nail-biting experience since most of the road was on levees build up between brackish and fresh water.  With my suspense writer’s imagination, I kept picturing us skidding into the river and drowning.  

After we left the refuge, we had a fun two and a half hour ride home through the snow, sleet, and hail.  The best part was the Bay Bridge, a seven mile long span, much of it high up in the air.  It’s bad enough under normal conditions.  It’s a real treat when you’re inching along in blizzard conditions.  
 
So, once again, I worked first, anticipating my reward.  And once again the worst day of the week was the day I picked to play hooky.   (Okay, I have to be honest.  We sneaked out of the conference for two hours on Saturday afternoon and went down to the discount shopping  mall–where I had a fun time spending money at a Chico’s outlet.)

But we did make it home without skidding off the road or plowing into any other cars.  And I was smart enough to stop at my local gourmet take-out shop, where we bought prepared food for the next few days.  So I won’t have to do any cooking while we’re snowed in.

Next time, I’ll be tempted to play first and work later.  Only I know I’m too tied to the work ethic to let myself do it.

Hello everyone! I just concocted a new, super yummy recipe that I thought I’d share. It’s too great to keep a secret! J

I’m a huge lover of all things Italian, but for the past year, I’ve been tightrope walking a fine line with my health, pre-diabetes being one major issue at hand. I’ve been trying, really trying, to be good about it. I’m also trying desperately to lose weight—more for my health than looks since I have fibro (and the list goes on). So no pizza, no pasta for me. Easier said than done. Fortunately, I do like vegetables—and as I told my friend last night, I’m like Bubba on Forest Gump.  When it comes to food from the garden, I’ve no shortage of yummy ideas.

So, the other week I came up with this recipe for a spinach crust. Undoubtedly, it’s high in fat, but low in carbs (and only healthy ones at that), and chock full of vitamins. Best of all, it’s freaking delicious, particularly the Del-Mar!

Any ideas for other toppings? Enjoy!

Alyssa

www.alyssabrooks.com

Alyssa’s Spinach Pizza Crust:

3 packs frozen chopped spinach

3 eggs

1/2 stick butter, melted

3 cups chopped whole grain bread, 1 cup whole grain bread crumbs

3/4 cup Parmesan cheese

1/2 tea salt

3/4 tea thyme

3/4 tea oregano

3/4 tea basil

3/4 tea pepper

3/4 tea garlic

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Cook spinach in microwave for approximately 10 minutes; place and strainer and drain very well (this is an important step! Get *all* the water out!!!). In large bowl, mix spinach, eggs, butter, and seasonings. Add cheese and bread crumbs.  Mix well. Grease pizza pan (I use a stone from Pampered Chef and olive oil cooking spray). Spread spinach mixture onto pan, creating a crust-like edge. Bake approximately 20-25 minutes, until bread is slightly golden and crust is firm. Remove from oven and garnish with your choice of pizza toppings, then bake again until cheeses are melted.

Variations:

Del-Mar Pizza—top with Alfredo sauce (homemade or dry mix packages taste much better than jarred IMO), cooked crabmeat, salad shrimp, and mozzarella cheese. I like to marinate my shrimp in Italian salad dressing the night before. My sister likes to sprinkle Old Bay on this, but not I!

Italian Chicken—top with spaghetti sauce, cooked cubed chicken breasts (again, great marinated in Italian dressing prior to cooking), mushrooms, and Italian cheese.

 I meant to take a picture before we started eating, but I forgot!

 

LOL. Ignore the lotion…it goes with me everywhere!

         

 

 

I’m sneaking this post in for a quick heads-up. To get the world out about my newest book, Visions of Heat, I’ve started a paranormal-themed meme. It’s gives you a fun blog topic for a day and you go into the draw to win a $50 Amazon voucher plus an advanced copy of my next book! Interested? Swing by my blog to read the full details!

p.s. Link fixed! 

Some of my story ideas come from the picture of a hero, like Tiago here, from You Can’t Steal First, my novella, in the Hot Ticket anthology.

Some story ideas come to me in dreams. The castle in Sex and the Psychic Witch was a vivid, colorful, living dream that made me get out of bed and begin to type the details. I started recreating it at 7 a.m. and finished at 5 p.m. that night. I knew then that this weird castle would be the home-base setting for all of my triplet stories. My neighbors, triplets who were my inspiration for my new trilogy, and who shared their triplet secrets, told me that someday, when they settled down, they would not be able to live far away from each other. Graduate school in different parts of Europe was very hard on the three of them.

The Antiques Roadshow was a clear inspiration for The Scot, the Witch, and the Wardrobe. I love to watch the program and always wondered how people’s lives will be changed by discovering they own a National Treasure. What if somebody who had a vested interest in the antique that came to you was watching the program? Television is certainly an inspiration. I dissect each story as part of the entertainment process. An old Pat Boone Song called Friendly Persuasion, with the words, “Put on your bonnet, your cape and your gloves, and come with me, for Thee, I Love,” was the clear inspiration for my first Amish Historical, THEE, I LOVE.

I get ideas from the world around me. One day driving to school, I saw an ambulance going too slow, but weaving all over the road, as if it were being driven by a drunk. I got an instant visual of a little old granny who had escaped a nursing home in a stolen ambulance. I love the inherent creativity available in daily life. Another story I wrote was inspired by a Lifebeat newspaper article about a town in Connecticut where a church bell rang hourly, twenty-four/seven, and angered a new resident.

To the Berkley Babes, what inspires you? What was your weirdest inspiration ever?

Readers, what have you experienced that made you think “I’d love to see a story about that some day?

Happy Reading & Keep warm everyone!

Annette

www.annetteblair.com

     
First, a little happy dance… my February 2006 release, the first in my ‘Awaiting’ series, Awaiting the Moon, has been nominated for a Romantic Times ‘Best Paranormal Historical of 2006′.  Yay!

     Now, the actual topic of my blog entry is Friends

     No, not the TV series, friends in fiction!

     The goal of most writers is to reproduce some feeling of real life in their work, so the reader will be engaged in the plot enough to care what happens and keep reading! Though lovers and family relations are vital in fiction, one oft-overlooked relationship is real friendship. Speaking of the TV series (Ah well, you knew I had to go there eventually in a blog entitled ‘Friends’) one thing I appreciate about it so much is the interplay between the various characters, how they have quarrels and spats, but come back together and truly care what happens to each other.

     In my own books, friendship is always part of the plot, I suppose because I have a fairly close-knit group of friends. It’s been a difficult winter in some ways, and I have found friends to be an infinite source of light in the darkness. In my November 2006 novel, Awaiting the Night, jealousy between friends is one aspect I explore lightly in a couple of different ways, but in the end Melisande and Charlotte overcome any little problems they have.

     So, for the writers, how do you create realistic friendships as a part of your fictional character’s world?

     And for readers… are there any memorable friendships in fiction you have read? And also, to pick up on a plotline featured in the movie When Harry Met Sally, can men and women be ‘just friends’ without the love thing coming up and being a problem? I certainly think so, but that’s me – what do YOU think?

This week, my youngest child is turning 9 (Happy birthday, Hunter!). I had him just before I turned 21, so basically I gave birth then went out and had my first legal drink (kidding. kinda). Each year on our kids’ birthday, rather than buy them toys that will be lost by early next morning, we spend an entire day that is strictly THEIR day. It’s rarely cheap, always exhausting, and forever filled with laughs and memories. This year, my son decided Hunter Day would be spent at Animal Kingdom in Disneyworld. Great. We went once, but they had just opened and half the park was still being built, so we’ve all been wanting to see the "whole" park. So we’re going down this weekend to spend the day seeing everything he wants to see there (and a few things we want to see too!).

But it occurs to me this year that mom and dad (namely, me and the dh) don’t get this same gift on our birthdays. I don’t get a full day of doing whatever floats my boat. Well, I turn 30 next month and I’m jumping on the nice set up my kids have going!!!!!! I’m not sure what I’d like to do or where I’d like to go, but 30’s a pretty big birthday, and I should do something, right?

There’s a resteraunt by the beaches called Crab Shack Joes that I’d love to go eat at, for the crabcakes alone. But they make you wear a coconut bra and dance around the resteraunt while everyone sings happy birthday to you (and by everyone, i mean every single body in the place). If you refuse, they’ll simply carry on until you’re want them to shut up so badly, you comply anyway. So, maybe I won’t go there after all. Or, maybe a movie. But it would have to be animated because I can’t celebrate my birthday without my kids! But I’m slightly sick of talking cows and singing princesses, so that’s a no, too.

So how should I spend my big THREE OH? Any suggestions or things I might like to check out? My next post will be around my birthday, so I’ll let you know what I’ve decided!

Heather

Say what? There’s a topic that ties together pancakes, the Three Kings, and Shakespeare? There is indeed: Mardis Gras.

Today is Mardis Gras, which is French for “Fat Tuesday.” The date changes every year because Fat Tuesday is the day before Ash Wednesday, which marks the beginning of 40 days of Lent (it’s actually 46 days but Sundays are not counted). Lent is a time of reflection and penance to prepare for the celebration of Easter, and because Easter’s date changes every year, so does the date of Mardis Gras.

Mardis Gras has a rich history and is celebrated by many cultures. To explain it further, I have to dial back time. The Mardis Gras season actually begins with the Christmas story. Twelve days after Christmas is the Epiphany – that’s the day when the three kings (the Magi or Wise Men) arrived to give the baby Jesus their famous three gifts.

Many people think the “12 days of Christmas” refers to the 12 days before Christmas. Actually, it’s the 12 days after – leading to the Epiphany. There was traditionally much feasting and revelry around this time , hence the title for William Shakespeare’s “Twelfth Night” – a romantic comedy set in that time period with a plotline involving two couples, mistaken identity, and a happy ending - in short, a tale that would be labeled CHICK LIT today, thank you very much! (Go, Billy! Go, Billy! Go!)

Twelfth Night marks the beginning of the Mardis Gras season, also called Carnival, when parties are held (e.g. the famous masked balls in Venice, Italy). The end of the season is today - Fat Tuesday. Why “fat” Tuesday? Because it’s the last day before Lent begins. So it’s the last day to party and eat before you begin 40 days of modified fasting.

Where I grew up in Pennsylvania, we called Mardis Gras “Shrove Tuesday” and held pancake dinners in volunteer fire halls and church basements (not a lavish ball gown in sight where I grew up!). Pancake Day is an old tradition that emerged from people wanting to use up their lard, or fat, and rich ingredients before Lent began (doughnuts are also a popular food to eat on this day). By the way, that strange word “shrove” is a past tense of the English verb “shrive,” which means to obtain absolution for sins via confessing and penance.

So there you go…pancakes, the Three Kings, and Shakespeare. It adds up to a fascinating holiday, the feast before the fast, richly celebrated by many cultures around the world. Happy Mardis Gras, everyone!

         Cleo’s Easy Buttermilk Pancakes 

1 egg * 2 cups buttermilk * 1 cup flour * 1 teaspoon baking soda * 1/2 teaspoon salt *

Mix the above ingredients in a bowl. Pour into a hot, oiled flat pan or griddle (cooking spray works well, too, but butter will burn so don’t use butter). Do NOT turn the pancake until you see small bubbles on the top of the batter. Then turn over to finish cooking on the other side. Serve with butter and syrup.

 

Luv, Cleo Coyle - author of the Coffeehouse Mysteries, where coffee and crime are always brewing…

       #1 On What Grounds, #2 Through the Grinder, #3 Latte Trouble, #4 Murder Most Frothy, and coming July 2007 #5 Decaffeinated Corpse