Cool Award!

Big thanks to Emily Bryan for bestowing the Kreativ Blogger Award to The Quirky Ladies blog. This is a cute idea....we now have to pick 7 of our favorite things, and 7 of our favorite blogs! Here's the Quirky consensus....

Dalton: Favorite thing is making my husband laugh. Corny, I know, but there's something about seeing that smile or hearing him laugh, especially when I've said something only he would get. Fave blog is Readlines & Deadlines because it's not only entertaining, it's incredibly informative.

Tara: My favorite thing is the sound of my nieces' laughter and joking around together. Their voices sound like music to me!!! My favorite blog, Penelope's Romance Reviews of course! And the Quirkies. All About Romance has a lot of fun stuff to read as well.

Kate: My current favorite thing is Macarthur's tiny little boy voice, especially when he's being sassy (though I try not to let him know that). And my favorite blog (aside from Penelope and the Quirkies) is Readlines & Deadlines - the EC Editor's Blog.

Michelle: One of my favorite things: The smell of spring in the air.

Favorite blog is Deadline Dames.

Victoria: Favorite blog is easy--Penelope's Romance Reviews :) 

Favorite thing: Well, besides diving into a great book, I'd have to go with admiring a beautiful painting, or the sound of my kids' laughter.

Penny: I get 2 votes to get us up to 7!!! :)

Favorite things: (other than group hugs with my family)

1) Waking up on the first true fall day when the sun is shining and it's cool and I get a hankering for picking apples, starting a pumpkin collection and planting mums....

2) Burying my face in Lucy the Wiener Dog's neck when she's just awoken from a nap and she's all warm and snuggly!

And 2 favorite blogs....Smexy Books (awesome romance site) and The Long and Short Of It All (really fun doxie site!).

Thanks again to Emily Bryan for the fun award!

 

FEELING THE BUZZ!!!

Now that the champagne bottle is empty and I've slept off the aftermath, I wanted to touch base with our Quirky followers and share my good news. I've been offered a contract by Ellora's Cave for BOUND ODYSSEY, my futuristic romantic erotica. I wrote this story faster than any before it, despite the fact it is a full-length novel plus, a less typical length for romantic, erotic fiction. It has all the intrigue and plot, all the world building, all the characterization, all the romance, as any other futuristic. And, of course, all of the hot parts. Mira, Jace and Roman, my three protagonists, jumped off my keyboard onto the page as vibrant, fascinating, complex characters and it was a joy to tell their story. (Thank you, Muse.) I will share news about my cover and release date as I receive it. And, of course, tease you with more information about the book. But for now, I will continue to jump up and down and grin madly during that euphoric period after receiving the good news. Thank you for your momentary indulgence. May your days be filled with just as much good news.

TBR Piles: Taking the Fun Out of Reading Romance

I still have academic stress dreams even though I finished up graduate school fifteen years ago. You know, those dreams where you're sitting in a final exam room for French, except you never actually took French and can't figure out why you have to pass this test in order to graduate. These dreams pretty much wreck the whole next day since I find it hard to shake that "Oops, I forgot to take French" feeling that lingers all day long. 

Romance novels, for me, are all about fun. No pressure. No tests. No comparative literature examinations. If something strikes my fancy, I read it. If someone recommends a good book, I check it out. But I have noticed something that makes me break out in a cold sweat like those nightmares. A very common theme on the romance boards. There are a heck of a lot of readers who have turned reading romance into an obligatory, pressure-filled experience culminating in the ever-dreaded...TBR Pile. (Took me a while to figure out this meant To Be Read.) They're seriously stressed that they haven't finished all of the Julie Garwood historicals. Or worried that a new paranormal author has started a series, and they have not read it yet. They have spread-sheets with all of their books organized into lists. Folks get high-fives for TBR Piles nearing zero, and others lament their piles are inching upward. They are filled with anxiety about reading romance novels!!!! Christ on a crutch, batman! 

Uh, I hesitate to say this (not really) but something tells me these folks are missing the big picture. Romance novels are not supposed to promote anxiety, they're supposed to make us happy. Ergo, the HEA (Happily Ever After), the sizzling sex, the snappy banter, etc. etc. (Hey Kate, did you notice I got "Christ on a crutch" and "ergo" in this post?--a few of my favorite expressions!) Anyway, I really want to shake these people and remind them of one simple fact...."Romance novels! These are romance novels, people! Sheesh!" There is no way I am turning one of my most favorite, relaxing, fun-filled, mindless, wonderful, endorphin-producing hobbies into an academic-like endeavor. I'm thinking of having a Just Say No To TBR Piles! bumper sticker made for my car. 

Honestly, there are a few vague thoughts floating around in the back of my head concerning books I'd like to read, like "One of these days I'm going to check out a Nalini Singh book," but there's no sense of urgency, no anxiety. I figure I still have a few decades left to devour all the great books I want to, and I refuse to make it a sweat-inducing source of stress. Not sure why certain readers want to elevate reading romance to an academic endeavor, but I'm staying out of it. Next week on vacation, I'm looking forward to a cold, frosty beer, a hammock and a pile of unplanned, unknown romance novels that I'll probably pick up in the Narragansett grocery store. Perfect!

Penny Watson

Two Creative Muses

I love writing, but sometimes another creative muse pulls at me. During these times, I set aside my laptop to pick up a paint brush. I've always been an amateur artist, taking numerous classes and dabbling in several mediums from graphite to charcoal, pastels, and pen and ink. Then I discovered Winslow Homer's paintings and fell in love with watercolor.

I love the beauty of the flowing, merging washes. I love its transparency. I love how it can be extremely detailed like some of Edward Hopper's works or incredibly loose like those of Maurice Prendergast. I love the wet, luminous qualities of J.M.W. Turner's London sunsets and the dry, scraped, churning seas by Winslow Homer.

I recently signed up for a writer's conference and after finishing a two-day watercolor workshop, I couldn't help but compare and contrast these two creative outlets.

Okay, if the truth be told, after sweltering all day under the hot August sun painting this beautiful garden, it crossed my mind that writer's workshops were a tad easier. Standing before my easel eight hours later and feeling the sweat drip down my back, I yearned for a comfortable chair and air conditioning.

I went to clean up my stuff, and it took a couple trips to the car to lug easel and umbrella, the finished painting, the paints, brushes, water jugs, and paper towels, etc. I won't be complaining the next time I have to slip my laptop in its case and carry it from library to car.

While the logistics involved in writing have an advantage over painting, there is still nothing like seeing a finished picture at the end of the day. Seeing a painting I've worked hours on come together is like magic. And -- there are no edits and revisions aside from a small touch up here and there. Toss it in a frame, and everyone can admire it.

There are also many similarities between the two. Surprises can be found in both. In writing, characters can go off script and yet these detours often enhance a story. Sometimes what I believe to be a mistake in my painting, like two colors inadvertently merging can make a picture beautiful. Similar to story ideas popping into a writer's head, I'll see a beautiful scenic vista and yearn to capture it in paint.

Best of all, in both writing and painting, I can get blocked. It's at these time that I'm lucky to have two creative outlets to which I can turn. If both outlets are blocked, I simply pick up a book and dive into another love.