True Courage!

Like most people around the world, I have been captivated by the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics. Between hockey, skiing, curling, speed skating, figure skating, it's hard to keep up with all the events!

And each event brings with it stories about the athletes involved. How hard they've worked to get here, the sacrifices they and their families have made along the way. The triumphs and the tragedies all tug at our hearts.

But no story has touched more people than that of French Canadian figure skater, Joannie Rochette. This woman personifies the word "Courage".

First imagine the excitement of awaiting your family to join you for the biggest event of your life. Your parents arrive in Vancouver and tragedy strikes. Your mother, your biggest fan and supporter, dies of a heart attack. The shock of such an event would devastate anyone, never mind an athlete expected to give her all to her craft.

Despite the shock, the grief and indescribable pain, Joannie performed her short program as scheduled. What kind of courage did it take for her to step out onto that ice Tuesday evening? What kind of mental fortitude did that require? One can only speculate.

As a spectator watching her give her all to that program, and performing well enough to achieve third place, only to fall to pieces with the roaring of the crowd afterwards, I was moved beyond words. What a wonderful example to all the young people everywhere of strength, determination, integrity and courage.

We will be wishing Joannie every blessing and good wish tonight as she performs her free skate. May her guardian angel be with her as she again conquers her pain to perform for herself, her family and her country.

Bonne chance, Joannie! Canada loves you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

As a romance writer, I feel compelled to add a blog today celebrating romance and love!


In this light, what better way to celebrate love than with a kiss. Kisses epitomize romance to me, in print and on screen. So I've decided to add a small excerpt from one of my manuscripts showing a kiss between my hero and heroine, Allie & Jason. Long-time friends, this is their first kiss.

Hope you enjoy!



"Allie clung to him, allowing his hands to soothe the tension from her back muscles. Jason was the one person who understood what that night had done to her, the havoc it had wreaked on her relationship with her family, and on the rest of her life. Through it all, Jason had never condemned her for her foolhardy actions that night, never once told her how stupid she’d been. He’d remained her staunchest defender.

She felt him pull her closer as if their bones could meld together, offering her solace and strength. All of a sudden, she became acutely conscious of that strength, the band of steel his muscled arms formed around her. His lips in her hair, whispering words of comfort.

In that moment of awareness, something changed between them. She felt Jason’s lips moving to her cheek, then slowly downward, inch by silky inch, until they neared her mouth.

Her heart seemed to stand still in her chest, her breathing stalled in her lungs. He hesitated for a fraction of a second before he touched his lips gently to hers, as if experimenting to see how she’d react. Her body began to hum, like a thread of electricity moved through her. She strained up to push her mouth more firmly to his.

Somewhere through the haze of grief, passion sparked. Reaching up, she entwined her arms around his neck, plunging her fingers into the thick mass of his hair. She kissed him back with a fervor long held in check. Her heart raced, her knees sagged like they were made of rubber. His tongue tangled with hers, his hands moved up her back and into her own hair. She thought she heard him groan, and then, just as quickly as it had started, he pulled his mouth away.

She stared at him, dazed. His whiskey colored eyes looked almost black, the irises fully dilated.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“I’m glad you did,” she whispered."


Happy Valentine's Day everyone! However you choose to celebrate, may your day be filled with romance and kisses!

Two Goals Accomplished!

Everyone is talking about goals these days. Writers especially seem to love to set goals for themselves. Word count goals, submission goals. Myself, I think this adds too much pressure (These days I'm all about de-pressurizing - there's a new word!)

I've heard so many varieties. Write 100 words a day. Write for 20 minutes a day. Write a chapter a week. Write a book in a year (that one is usually not bad). But honestly, I just don't have the time or inclination to keep such stringent records. And if I don't do what I was supposed to that day or week, then I beat myself up about it. Another reason why I don't do New Year Resolutions. I always want to lose 10-20 pounds. Does it happen? No. One day I'll be ready for that. In the meantime, I don't want to constantly feel bad about it. So I exercise when I can, and try to watch what I eat.

However, this past week or so, I did accomplish two important things.

1. I submitted a short story to a local newspaper contest. This was a challenge because I haven't written a short story since elementary school. I went on-line to research what a short story entailed, and then WROTE IT! I don't even know where the idea came from. It just appeared, fully formed, in my head. And it is now in the mail! Aside from the monetary winnings, first prize includes tuition to a college writing program. Wish me luck!

AND ...

2. I took out my resume, blew off the dust, and revised it for the first time in about 11 years. And I sent it out to the place I most would like to work - the Library! (I think I should have been a librarian! LOL) Not that there is even a hint at a job opening, but hey, wishful thinking (or should I say positive thinking) never hurts.

So even though I don't consciously set goals, I do congratulate myself when I achieve one or two!

How do you celebrate achieving your goals??

WHAT ARE YOU WATCHING THESE DAYS?

It's that time of year where the January blah's set in. TV is rather boring, except for the new season of the Bachelor! Poor Jake is getting twisted every which way by these women. Who will he choose?

I did go and see "New Moon" which I enjoyed very much. Of course, having read the book makes a big difference, I think. Lots of great conflict in this story. Great effects, too.

Another movie I've seen recently, was Amy Adams in "Leap Year". This was very cute! And the Irish setting was wonderful. Anyone who likes romantic comedies will love this one.

I haven't yet seen "Avatar" but my son and husband assure me it's a must see on the big screen (3D glasses and all!) I hope to get there before it leaves the circuit.

On the smaller screen, I have become re-aquainted (and somewhat obsessed, I must confess) with the mini-series "The Thorn Birds". I got it on DVD for Christmas and was prepared to be disappointed. I hadn't seen it since it originally aired in the early 80's and figured I had romanticized it in my memory. But I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed it again. I'm reading the book too, but am a little disappointed with it. There's too much description of landscape and the war for my liking. So I tend to skip through a lot. Good lessons for my writing though. Slow pacing is indeed a killer!

On the writing front, I am trying my hand at a short-story. A local newspaper is hosting a short story contest, so I challenged myself to try it. I have a new-found respect for shorter fiction. It's really hard to get everything into 2,500 words. I have been chopping without mercy to get it down to size. One final edit and it should be ready to enter!

What are you doing to keep your spirits up this winter?

I DID IT!

It's official! I have entered the 2010 Golden Heart Contest with the Romance Writers of America. After last year's huge disappointment, I didn't think I would enter this year. But hey, I had the book finished in time, so why not!

This year may be it for a while. No plans for a new book at the moment. Instead I want to take my 'new & improved' writer-self and fix up some previous books that I think still have potential. In a lot of ways, this is harder than starting a new story from scratch, but I have to try.

To all you who have entered, good luck. We have a while to wait for results. Between now and March 25, I plan on polishing the rest of my manuscript, in case I get that magical call. This time I won't almost hang up, thinking it's a telemarketer!

On another, totally unrelated topic, I went to see the new movie "2012". Even though it's quite far fetched at times, I really enjoyed it. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. And with all the amazing affects, it's worth watching on the big screen.

Next movie to see: NEW MOON. Review to follow.

Till next time,

Happy Writing!

Now That's Love!

Been meaning to write about this for a week now. I saw a show on Oprah last week (I think) that really struck me.

A story that highlighted just what True Love is all about!

This woman, Stephanie and her husband, Christian, both really attractive people, were in a horrific plane crash. Christian, whose back was broken on impact, made sure he could get his wife out. The pilot was dead, the plane on fire. He cleared a path to get Stephanie out and then tried to put out the fire that was consuming both of them. Stephanie almost didn't make it. She talked to Oprah about how, while in a coma, she had a vision where someone (an angel?) told her she had a choice. She could cross over or she could face a very hard life and go back. For Stephanie, there was no choice. She had to go back for her husband and children. Now horribly scarred, facing many more plastic surgeries on her face, hands that don't work properly anymore, she does not regret her decision.

Christian suffered some disfiguration as well. A bit of scarring on his face, an ear that he covers with his hair. Nothing like Stephanie's alteration. Yet the love on his face as he joined her on Oprah's couch was undeniable. His face literally shone with love as if she were the most beautiful woman in the world. And she mirrored his love right back. What woman wouldn't, with adoration like that?

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the epitome of true love. Soul to soul. Heart to heart. Forever. [Sigh.]

Now back to my romance writing!

Did you ever have 'one of those days'?

Well, I did yesterday. A camera really should've been following me around and TV producers would've had some great material for a new sitcom!

First of all, I was cooking dinner for my family, and trying to do it quickly since I was supposed to meet my friends at 5:45 to go to the movies. The meal-du-jour was homemade macaroni and cheese. The onions, butter and flour were simmering, awaiting the milk and cheese. As I measured the milk (over the pot, which in hindsight was NOT a good idea), my hand touched the very hot pot. (Aside, I do handle any kind of heat well).

The next thing I knew, I was covered in milk, as was half the kitchen! My hand jerked back so violently from the heat, that I threw the contents of the cup at myself. My hair, glasses and clothes dripped with milk. The shock of the freezing cold liquid had me stupefied for a moment. I couldn't see a thing - my glasses needed windshield wipers. I just stood there, not knowing where to turn first, while my onions began to burn. It reminded me of all those slapstick moments on TV when characters got pie or cake in the face. Great!!

When I finally cleared my vision, and wiped down the stove, cupboards and floor, I was running way behind. Plus I now needed a shower because my hair had hardened into breakable pieces that would soon start to smell like sour milk. Couldn't sit in a movie theatre like that!

Well, I eventually made it to the movies (with damp hair). The next bizarre incident happened later that night near to midnight. I had left my friend's house, and went to pick up my daughter at her friend's. As we pulled in our driveway, she said, "Is that a raccoon on our lawn?" A very reasonable question since we seem to have a family of four living under our deck and/or in our garage, as the weather suits them. Thinking nothing of it, I got out of the car and took a look. It was very dark and the animal blended right in with the wet leaves on our lawn. Then I saw the white stripe!! Olympic sprinters have nothing on me!

"Get back in the car!" I shouted to my offspring. "Lock the doors quick!" (Like a skunk could open our car door??)

And so we sat as the minutes ticked on, held hostage on our driveway by a rodent digging up my front lawn at its leisure. Thinking quickly, decided I needed something to scare it off with. I fished an old coffee cup out of the garbage and prepared for battle. Too bad my armour was in the cleaners!

Quietly I got out of the car and hurled the cup at the scavenger. Was Peppy Le Pew scared? Oh no. He thought I was throwing him treats and promptly went to investigate said coffee cup. Frustration was mounting. I needed to get inside the house (for various unmentionable reasons). I started yelling and clapping my hands. "Shoo. Get out of here!" I yelled. Finally a response. It moved one foot further towards the house. "Not that way! Geesh!"

I returned to the car and waited some more. The back door was locked (I have no key to the back door) and everyone else was asleep. Hmmm. Mother Nature was getting more insistent, so I decided to scope out the varmint's location again. I got out of the car, slipped around my husband's car and my heart stopped! The skunk was right there! Eyeball to eyeball.

I did what any skunk-fearing woman would do. I screamed very loudly and hopped back into the car. "Hey, mom. You sound just like me when I see a spider." Daughter was finding this a little too funny. I didn't see her out there battling the enemy.

After several more minutes when I couldn't tell where he'd gone, I decided to move my car back down the driveway so the headlights could shine on our lawn. That worked well, except we couldn't see him - anywhere. Was he planning an ambush from the hedges? Was he hiding under my husband's car, just waiting for us to walk by and douse us but good?

Finally, we had no choice but to make a run for it. That's what we did and to this day, I have no idea where that skunk went. Probably to visit with the raccoon family under the deck and have a good laugh!

There must have been a full moon last night. No other explanation for it!