Happy New Ear!

My favorite New Year's celebration was in Punta del Este.

It was 1989, going to 1990. We had been in Punta del Este for nearly a month, staying at a hotel affectionately called 'The Waffle Tower' because every day, at tea time, it served home-made waffles. The waffles were incredible. They were made with old-fasioned, cast-iron waffle irons heated over a huge fire. The tables were all set with white linen and silverware, and the dining room looked out over a garden full of lavender and roses. During the day, we went to the beach, or to a huge park in the middle of a eucalyptus forest. The park was filled with fanciful, fantastic wooden figures, cars, boats and trains all painted in bright colors, all for children to climb upon and play with. There was also a double-humped bridge, that we called 'the up-and-down bridge'. Everyone loved to go over it as fast as possible, so there was always a long line of cars in front of the bridge waiting their turn to zoom over it. The ocean in Punta del Este is dark, ultramarine blue, and the sand is naples yellow. Huge, black sea lions swim in the waves, and inland, past the dunes, the pine forest, and the eucalyptus groves, are huge plains where shaggy, long-legged emus run. We were there for a polo tournament. Every evening we would watch the games as the sun went down, and the dust rose and made everything gold and shadows.

That New Year's eve, we went to a pizzaria with the twins, who were 3 years old, and with two young polo players from France. We had a great time, and when midnight came, everyone stood up and cried 'Happy New Year!' The twins looked at me, and Sebi said, "Who got the new ear?"

They thought we'd been celebrating someone's new ear.

What was your favorite New Year's eve?

Edits and such

My cast is off, but my arm is still not back to normal. My husband, who broke his elbow once, told me to be patient. Patient? I am not patient! I want to be able to use my arm Now! Every day it gets better though, so I guess resting it in the sling is the best idea. I can type, but not for very long. I have three books in for edits right now: A World Between - which is a science fiction novella to be paired with Virtual Murder will be coming out soon in paperback, so we're finishing edits and blurbs for that one. I just finished Apocalypse, a book for Changeling Press, and another book, Renegade Aquarius, for Ellora's cave, both under my pen name. So I've been busy this past week. All the books arrived for edits the day after I broke my arm (on Monday) so I had to call my editors and tell them to be patient. (they are patient, lol) And now I'm finishing up here and should be done by the new year.

I'm very concerned about edits. Have you ever picked up a book and been pulled out of the story by typos and poor editing? It's hard to get involved in the tale - you spend your time wishing you had a red pen. As an author, I try to turn in a clean copy. But when you are writing you get so lost in your own story you often push everything else to the back of your mind. A good editor is essential to an author. I don't know many authors who won't agree with me. A good editor is also important to the publisher. Putting out a poorly edited book makes the publisher look bad. When I read a book and find an editing error, I don't blame the author. I think, 'the editor and proofreader should have caught that!' Because in most of my publishing companies, there is an editor who works closely with me, and then there are proofreaders (usually two) who go through the book afterwards with a fine-tooth comb and clear up any typos they find.

Also, if you read a book with faulty editing, remember this: an author rarely has access to the final edition of their own book. The book gets edited by someone else, proofed by someone else, and published without the author's final approval. The author, after the first round of edits are done, doesn't see the book until it comes out in print. So it's important the author feels confident that the publisher is doing his best to put out a clean copy.

For one of my publishers - this is how it works. My contract does not give me ' final approval' for my manuscript. After first edits, I am obliged to OK the corrections already made and ignore the editing faults with the assurence they will be corrected by my editor. My other publishers all have a different policy - we work on the book together until the proofreaders get it, and I get all the edit copies and can go through them. Which method do I prefer? The second one, of course. I'm a perfectionist and I like to think my book is going out into the world with as few faults as possible. What kind of editing process would you prefer? (which reminds me, I better get back to work!)

Christmas in France

I just spent half an hour typing a report about Christmas - unfortunately, the computer glitched and ate it. So I will recapitulate:

We had a lovely time with my inlaws. The new baby (my neice's son) is one month old and just beautiful. We had a great dinner, and the next morning we opened presents in front of our tree with a lot of help from a certain little puppy. We went to see Narnia, which we all hated except for my daughter, who loved it. Last news was my cousin Sara was giving birth last night to a Christmas baby - a wonderful gift to the family! And my cast is off, although I have to wear the sling and be careful - I don't have my huge, clunky cast! Yay! I go back next Monday for more x-rays, today's x-ray showed the crack was still there but healing, so I go back once more to check that everything is going all right. My husband threw his back out somehow (he has no idea how) and he's at the doctors now trying to get it fixed. He can walk around and drive, but it hurts him when he lies down to sleep, so he's tired and crabby. (I can relate, lol - no sleep and I'm an ogre)

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas!

Peace and Joy!

music

i added music to my sites -
anyone else use music files?

www.jennifermacaire.com
www.horsepassages.com
www.samanthawinston.com

thanks for the kind words about my arm - sorry, but i still can't type!
happy holidays!!!
hugs
sam

broken arm!

i fell down on the sidewalk yesterday and broke my arm! it's a very small, insignificant fracture, but very painful because i also twisted my arm when i fell, so i have a cast from shoulder to elbow! i only have to keep the cast for 8 days ( i told you it was a tiny fracture) and i can't wait to get it off. i never had a cast on, and when the doctor finished i told him my arm was claustraphobic and to please take it off.
i think the painkillers had kicked in then. but the cast took the pain away, so today i feel rather silly with it on. Not to mention clumsy. (my son pointed that out.)

the puppy is being a perfect angel. he looks so mischievous, but he doesn't do any of the silly puppy things most puppies do - he only chews his toys and bed, and he's nearly completely housetrained. he and rusty are almost best of friends - and i'm watching the complete series of LOST - which is keeping me glued to the TV and away from the computer!!
here is the new cover -

Another Cover

Aplocalypse is due out in January, so I just got the cover - it's so cool, totally "kitch" and goes perfectly with the series (homoerotic science fiction)
Here is the banner.
I'll post the cover up tomorrow when I get the OK from the artist (I only have the draft for it)
Here are the titles for the Paradise Earth series:
Adam and Evan
Revelations
Apocalypse
The story is set in the far future, after earth has been destroyed first by war and then by a massive meteorite. Forced to accept the help of the Federation, proud, insular earth seethes as aliens arrive with their technology and specially adapted creatures to re-seed the planet.
The story is between Adam, a pure-blood earthling, and Evan - the man from Mars - a shapeshifter with an agenda of his own. Thrown together in the lab, and afterwards on a small island called Paradise, they fall in love. But another meteorite comes and life on earth hangs from a thread - a thread only Adam and Evan can save with their supply of Yrg eggs and Quick-Gro. Fashioning creatures from Evan's shapeshifting DNA, they break all the Federation rules.
But on another island, Cabel and Abe, two scientists who want to take over the earth, have begun develping creatures of their own--sea creatures who kill for sheer pleasure, and angels who will fly to the mainland and colonize it before Adam and Evan's children.
It's a pretty cool story and I can't wait to see the whole series together!

The series is available from Changeling Press at this URL:http://www.changelingpress.com/author.php?uid=18

"...unusual and original... A scary vision of the future in wonderful detail..."
-- Jaynie, Fallen Angel Reviews

I'd like some sleep for Christmas....

What was I thinking getting a new puppy, lol?
My nights are now broken in many little peices, as Auguste whines, barks at a shadow, or scratches at the door. No one else really hears - I'm just a very light sleeper. But the puppy is being awfully good. No damage done - just little puddles, lol, and that I can live with, seeing the house is all tiled floor.

But I have been waking up so early every morning. It's nice. Across the street is the restaurant, Le Jument Vert, where we ate dinner last night. In the morning, they are already up too, getting things ready in the kitchen. I can see the lights on and hear the sound of pots and pans. Then there is Farmer Duval, who comes up every morning early to open his aunt's shutters and check that she's all right. (Georgina is almost 100 and bedridden, and her mind sometimes strays. She thinks there is a German hiding under her bed most days, according to Cathrine, the nurse who goes to visit her twice a day.) The delivery trucks come early to the restaurant, and on Tuesday there is the garbage truck with the three workers who always wave and call out a cheery 'Bonjour!'

The garbage men, the firemen, the police, and the postman traditionally go door to door each year for their Christmas bonus. We give about ten dollars to everyone. Some people give more, some less. They offer little calendars in exchange. The police, the postman, and the firemen have no trouble going door to door, but the poor garbagemen have to first drop off a paper with their pictures, names, and the heading "We're coming by for our Christmas bonus soon - Wishing you Happy Holidays"
This is because they are north Africans - very black and very tough-looking. Plus they don't have uniforms, only orange overalls. This year, their paper had a cheerful frame of jack-O-Lanterns around the men's pictures. It made the paper look less like a 'WANTED' sign, which is just what it has looked like these past few years. The police usually show up on a Sunday, the firemen at night, and the postman on his day off. The garbage men come during the day - around noon - with their stack of calendars and pumpkin papers.

Anyway, it's nice to see them in the early morning, they are always smiling and polite. So is Farmer Duval, who goes to the Jument Vert for a cup of coffee after he checks on his aunt. It's very dark out, so I stand there with my flashlight and wait for Auguste to finish his business (it takes a while, he has to explore the garden a bit) and I'm glad my daughter told everyone in the village we were getting a new puppy, because otherwise I don't know what the neighbors would be thinking about me, standing outside by myself so early, saying, "There now, go pee pee!! Good boy!!"

Rusty and Auguste Act II

Yesterday I was raking leaves in the garden. At first it was hard, as Auguste wanted to attack the rake and subdue it, but he understood well enough after I told him not to do it and lifted him off the rake by the scruff of his neck about twenty times. All the while Rusty sat and watched. But when Auguste left off chasing the rake, he went over to play with her. Rusty backed up, and Auguste followed. Rusty decided this was her big chance. She led Auguste to all the places in the fence she usually uses to escape. The swing gate, the temporary chicken-wire gate, and the small hole under the fence I blocked up. At each place, Rusty stopped and sniffed around the weak spot - showing Auguste how he could get out of the garden if he wanted. I could practically hear her thoughts. "Look Auguste - see this hole? You could fit out there. Then you're free! You can leave whenever you want. And don't forget to write."
Of course, Auguste was more interested in eating the leaves than escaping, but I thought it was nice of Rusty to take him all around the garden to show him all the possible means of leaving her alone...
Today though, things are different. Rusty and Auguste discovered they liked to play together. Auguste had taken rusty's NEW toy, and Rusty wanted it back, so there ensued a tug-of-war, with Rusty lifting Auguste off the ground, the little dachshund hanging on for dear life. It became a game of tag, then more pulling, then Rusty actually licked Auguste--I think the ice has been broken. It's still not perfect. I have to train Auguste to stay in his carry-cage, and that is not easy. He has to get used to being locked up inside, and he just howls. I can't let him out until he stops for a while and calms down. When it's reduced to whimpers, I praise him and open the door. Each day the howling is shorter - today it only lasted three minutes. I left him in a good fifteen minutes though, and gave him a bit of hard cheese as a reward inside his cage, so he sees it's not all bad in there. Rusty, however, has sensitive ears and she has to go hide when the howling starts.
I just start the vacuum cleaner. The one I feel sorry for is my son, home from college and sleeping upstairs. I had to do all this at 8:30 a.m. because I have gym at 9 and I don't want to miss it...

Auguste and Rusty Act I

Auguste is just a baby. He lies on his back and sucks his toes, he pees whenever and whereever he feels like it, and he cries at night, because he hates to be alone. A good mother knows you mustn't yell at your children when they cry at night. Nor may you bring them to bed with you. So I go downstairs, lift Mr. Auguste up by the scruff of his neck as his real mother would do, and deposit him in his own bed, saying firmly, "Stay!". Repeat fifty times. Do not lose your calm, or the puppy will become scared and cry even louder. After fifty times, (well, actually more like ten) Mr. Auguste stayed in his bed.

Rusty has decided she does not like having a baby brother after all. Like most only children, our 'only dog' was used to having her own bed, her own room, her own water dish. And now this little fuzzy sausage on legs is sleeping in HER bed, drinking from HER waterbowl, and even more horrifying - it eats dog food! (there won't be any left for her!) I can see her thinking, "I hope this is a rental."

Auguste is blissfully unaware of sibling rivallry. In the garden, Rusty runs and leaps as fast and high as she can to show how strong she is. Auguste just sticks his nose in the grass and snuffles or fights with a leaf. Then Auguste notices her and barks - this perplexes Rusty - she does not bark except at hedgehogs, so she goes lookig for that dratted hedgehog, and Auguste is convinced he scared her off and is Proud.

Auguste does not like the rake. He attacks it. He also leaps on the mop and tries to kill it. He is absolutely fearless, dashing up to the garden gate when the garbage truck rumbles by, unfazed by noise or size. Rusty is timid, and watches all this with a "Look at that fool" expression. Auguste naps between bouts of energetic playing. He also hides all his toys in his bed, and this morning dragged his food dish into his bed and proceeded to fight with it. The fight ended with the dish upside down and Auguste unable to get a hold of it. So Auguste barked and growled at his dish while Rusty looked on with a pained expression.

Today I bought Rusty a new dog bed to replace the one Auguste has commandered, and also I bought her a rope toy. She is thrilled. She is lying in her new bed with her new toy, and when Auguste comes over she gives him a low growl to put him in his place. Auguste pretends not to hear and trots over to her old bed and plops down in it with a sigh of contentment. I bought Auguste a purple and orange spikey plastic hedgehog that squeaks.
They are both in Rusty's new bed. Auguste just got a spanking because he thinks he might be the boss of the house and he growled at me. A baby growl, but that earned him a swat on the butt with a folded newspaper. He took refuge in Rusty's bed, and since he's punished, Rusty feels smug and is letting him cuddle up to her.

Happiness is a new puppy

Today we went to get our new puppy, AUGUSTE (you say it Oh-Goosed) LOL, a 10 wk old
wire-haired dachhund. He's feeling a bit out of place right now. He explored the house, and has made friends with RUSTY, our chocolate Lab, but he is homesick, and if we leave him alone, he cries. (So my daughter is staying with him until he falls asleep.) He was the fattest, fuzziest puppy in the litter, and he has a very calm, freindly personality. We all adore him. (Especially Rusty, who never wanted to be an 'only dog'.)
Rusty's bed is in the kitchen, in the fireplace (that is blocked up and never worked), and she is happy to share her bed with Auguste. I ran out and bought lots of paper towels - Mr. Auguste had a couple 'accidents' since he's been here. Luckily I don't have any rugs - only old tiles - and I use white vinegar to clean with - it takes odors away.

Twins home from college!!!

It's so nice to have the boys back home again. The house seems smaller, but a lot warmer (and noisier, lol)
Sebi bought Japonese wooden swords for him and Alex to practice their Aikido with (I think that's what they call it - I have no idea really, but it looks cool)
My daughter is thrilled to have her older brothers home. The dog is thrilled.
The house is cleaned.
The new website is done (www.samanthawinston.com)
Angels on Crusade is now available at Cerridwen Press
The blog is re-vamped
My edits for Renegade Aquarius are done. (Well, first edits, lol)
And I'm off to Paris today to see my niece's new baby!!
Hugs to all,
Sam

Yes Virginia, Samantha does exist

I was working on my website today - I'm creating a whole new look for Samantha, and I plan to launch my new website soon. (uh huh) anyhow - I'm fiddling with links when mly daughter comes up behind me, stares at the screen, and says, "What is that person doing with your picture?"
Not paying attention, I said, "What person?"
"Samantha Winston. Who is she? Why does she have your picture on her site?"
I come back to earth and blink. My daughter is eleven. She is remarkably bright, but at the same time, she has the power to ignore everything that goes on around her for example, this summer we spent ten days with my brother and his pregnant wife. My sister-in-law was six months pregnant and it showed. Plus she went swimming, had a bathing-suit that showed her lovely big tummy - and we talked about the coming baby for nine days. On the tenth day, we were in the car, and my sister-in-law said, "The baby is kicking really hard."
My daughter, who was sitting right next to her, looked mildly interested and said, "What baby?"
"The one in my tummy," said my sister-in-law.
My daughter was thunderstruck. "What?? You're having a baby? You're pregnant?"
Silence as we all digested this. Then I said, "Haven't you been paying attention? What did you think we were talking about, and didn't you notice your aunt's fat tummy?" (Here I get a not so gentle punch on the shoulder from my SIL.) "I mean, lovely big tummy," I amend.
Anyway, it turns out my daughter has this amazing ability to not pay attention. It's not like I don't mention my alter ego at home, or talk about the publishing business or my books. At any rate, I told my daughter that I was, in fact, Samantha Winston.
"But why would you want to do that?" she exclaimed, indignant.
"Because I write books for adults and I write books for children, and I don't want them to get mixed up. I use one name for my children's books, and the other name for books that only adults can read. Is that clear?"
She nodded, her mind already elsewhere. You see, we put the tree up, the lights are blinking, and her next question was..."If Santa Clause doesn't exist, can I open just one of my presents now?"
So she was paying attention to me when I was talking to her aunt on the phone the other day and we were trading santa stories abotu our kids.
My daughter has selective hearing.

Interview with Tawny Taylor!

I loved Karen's interviews on her blog, so I'm copying directly here! For my first interview I'd like everyone to meet Tawny Taylor - a very talented author from Ellora's Cave, and about the nicest person you'll ever meet!

Sam: Tawny, can you tell us about your new book, Light my Fire?

Tawny: First, Sam, Thanks SO MUCH for inviting me to do this interview!
Light My Fire is the second book in my new Immortal Secrets series. It's a full length novel, longer than the launch book to the series, Dragons and Dungeons, which means there was more room for all the good stuff--more dragon love scenes , more gripping suspense scenes and more play in the dungeon . I'm extremely excited about this book, and am hoping readers will enjoy it as much as Dragons and Dungeons.


Sam: Light my Fire is one of my favorite songs - I even went to visit Jim Morrison's grave here in Paris - was his song behind the idea of the story?

Tawny: No, I'm afraid to say it didn't, though I LOVE that song too! Light My Fire was actually inspired by a huge chemical plant fire we had not to far from here. The fire was so huge, it lit the night sky for miles and miles around. I knew I had to write a story about a fire, and a hunky dragon fireman. The title just fit the concept perfectly.


Sam: I've read nearly all your books (I still have Sexual Healing on my TBR pile!) And I fall in love with your heros in each book! Tell me about your new hero, and why I'll fall in love with him too!

Tawny: Let me see...You'll fall for Alec because he's hot, and strong and protective, but also oh so gentle and erotic {{dreamy sigh}}. He's a dragon, an Immortal. I adore heroes who are strong--physically, mentally--but also have a soft spot for the heroine.

Sam: Cool! A dragon hero! I'm in love already! When can we read this book? What is the release date?

Tawny: The ebook is releasing Wednesday, December 7th! It's release is coming fast.

Sam: In this blog I try to give readers a glimpse of what it's like to write erotica. Do you have a story you can share?

Tawny: Oy. I try to tell everyone it's so NOT the glamorous life people seem to think it is when I tell them I'm a writer. I don't sit around in satin gowns pecking at the computer while snacking on bon-bons and counting the bazillions of dollars I'm raking in. My hubby and I have a large family, which means it's very difficult for me to find not only the time to write, but a space to write in. My little computer desk is wedged in the corner of my kids' bedroom, buried under a towering heap of stuffed animals. I discovered my poor printer had a cookie wedged in the paper feed, LOL. Kids! But that's my life. It's not perfect but it's wonderful :-D Maybe someday I'll be able to sit around in satin gowns snacking on bon-bons.

Sam: What? No satin gown and bon-bons?? LOL! Best of luck with this book Tawny - I know it will be a best seller! And thank you for taking the time to pop by and do my interview!

Tawny: Thanks again, Sam! From your lips to the book goddesses :-D

The Argentine Lover at the Romance Bookclub

Hi guys!

The Romance Bookclub is now starting the December 2005 book club features, and The Argentine Lover is the erotica book of the month!
I hope you are as excited about that as I am!
If you want to join the discussion and answer the questions I posted about the book, just follow the link below and sign up - the bookclub is free.

http://www.theromancebookclub.com/forums/index.cfm

Please RSVP in the message boards under the erotic romance book. They want active participants. Let them know if you have the book, have started the book, and what you think so far!

I look forward to discussing The Argentine Lover with you this month.
(The questions aren't that hard - really!)

Horse Passages

I have taken off my author hat, now that I turned in my last book to my editor, and I have put on my promotion hat!
Promotion is hard. When you're little, you are sternly told 'Not to Show Off', and 'Don't blow your own Horn!' so it's hard to wave your book around, jump up and down, and do a happy dance while blowing in a brass trumpet and yelling, "My Book is Out, come and get it!" (It's the blowing the trumpet and yelling at the same time that's really tough.)
It's great when other people promote your books. That way you don't feel A) Pushy, B) Like you're bothering people C) Like an amateur - because face it, without a big promotional budget you can barely reach family and friends.
But I struggle on. I join groups, I blog, I take out ads in papers and in online sites, I send the books to reviewers, and I throw myself upon the mercy of my friends.
So, dear friends, please tell your friends and family, your dentist, your librarian, and your local bookstore owner about Horse Passages.
It's a science fiction book for teens and up. My husband who is Not a reader took it off my desk one day and started to read it. He stayed up all night to finish it.
Here is the book's site:
http://www.horsepassages.moonfruit.com
(I will get horsepassages.com up and running soon)
Please visit, and plug in your kids and horse-crazy friends!
Thank you So much

Sam

Thanks giving

I just finished writing a poetic and touching post about Thanksgiving and giving thanks... and the blog program crashed and everything disappeared. So I am taking the part about thanking technology out, and starting over again.

I'm thankful for my friends and family, and for those who pop in to my blog to visit. I'm thankful for the small things in life - like the dog sleeping at my feet, the beautiful sunrise I see through the window, and the churchbells that ring at 8 a.m. and not 7 a.m. like in the next village over.
I'm thankful for my crit partners who help me out, for my neighbors who help me out, and for Scott who chats with my in the morning and doesn't mind that I'm still half asleep!
I'm thankful for the time I get to spend on this good earth...and in the evening I am thankful to be able to see the stars through the window and hear my hubby's snores - (a little less loud and I'd be really thankful)
I'm thankful for the chance I have family scattered across the globe so I can travel and visit.
Happy Thanksgiving to All! I hope you have big and small things to be thankful for -
Best wishes,
Sam

writing the dreaded S-Scene

Since this is a writer's blog and I write erotic romance, I thought I'd take some time and write something useful for new writers of erotic romance. (Or at least I'd try - you never know what can be useful as everyone has a different approach to writing.)
Anyhow...
I was chatting on the msn yesterday with a really talented new writer and she made a confession - she has trouble writing sex scenes. And then today, while blog-hopping, I saw two other authors saying the same thing. One said she made them too jerky, and the other said she didn't know which words to choose without either offending readers or offending herself.
That got me thinking back to my beginnings at writing sex scenes. The thing that held me back was thinking "My mother is going to read this." That would be enough to paralyze anyone. And worse, "Maybe my father will read it!" (Well, extremely doubtful - men read books about World War One and car racing, not "The Argentine Lover". But if I wanted my books to sell, I had to get over that, so I did. And I did it by writing as sensually and quickly as possible to sketch out the scene, and then go back and add the details. I started to work like that, and because it worked so well for me, I have continued to use that technique.
It goes something like this - I'm writing the book, and I get to a place where there has to be a sex scene, so I'll write, (the names have been changed to protect the innocent)Zach shut the door behind him. Dora spun around at the sound. She hadn't expected him to follow her. She took a step back and hit the bed. Off-balance, she tripped and would have fallen but Zach caught her. (We'll skip the dialogue, although I usually go ahead and pen that in here too)
His touch sent waves of heat through her. (Now I'll speed things up and describe the physical things they have to do in order to get naked and get into bed - )
Her shirt had buttons and her fingers trembled as she undid them. (check to make sure your character is wearing the same clothes in the beginning, middle, and end of a scene - if that morning she pulls a sweater over her head, she better not unzip the sweater when she takes it off and then button it when she gets dressed again after the tryste! - and I've see male characters unzip their pants and then button them up after, which always intrigues me and makes me wonder if the characters haven't switched pants...)
Dora took off her clothes (I'll go back and fill that in later) Zach took off his clothes (idem - depending on what mood I want - did he tear them off? Slowly push his jeans off his hips? etc.) And then the physical act - Who's on top...etc.
She lay on the bed (alright, she's being a passive lover this time - Zach - get to work...) Zach looked at her (time for some visuals) and then knelt on the bed (you sort of have to do this as a movie scene, so you don't have her lying down, him kneeling over her, and then suddenly have her sitting up and running her hands over his chest - for one thing she'd smack him in the chin with her head, and if he's further down, with his head between her thighs, for example, her arms would have to be awfully long to touch his chest. (not to mention it would be awkward)
Anyhow - once the characters have moved in the way they have to, have pretty much finished what they are doing, then I move on to the next scene to keep the story moving forward.
Zach looked at his watch and swore (men always do that - it's not a cliché, honest, lol) Dora sat up and pulled her blouse back on, buttoning it up as quickly as she could. She didn't notice she'd buttoned it wrong...
Then, maybe a day or two later, I'll go back and polish the scene. I'll add the details that make the mood. You have to use the five senses, so there's touch, sight, smell, hearing, and taste. Don't forget any of them. The lighting, the feel of the sheets, Dora's perfume,the taste of Zach's lips...And then I'll go back a third time and see what I can add to make it even more sensual or sizzling.
And that is one way to make a sex scene less intimidating and more technical. If you can look at it as a director looks at a scene through a camera, and then come back to it like an artist touching up a painting, then I think it will be easier to write the scenes that give you trouble.
At any rate, I hope this helps!

Another gorgeous cover

I got this cover from Cerridwen Press for my time travel novel, Angels on Crusade.
It's very evocative and I think it captures the mood of the story perfectly.
When you get the publishing contract, the publisher usually sends you a cover request that you fill out. I'm terrible at covers. I usually just tell the artist, "Do whatever you want - this is the story, here is an excerpt - have fun."
When you do ask for something specific, like in my Secret of Shabaz - they usually do the opposite. For Shabaz I wanted a cover that was wintery - (the whole book takes place during one winter) and I thought blues and grays or silver would look cool and fit the book. I got tropical green and orange.
For Horse Passages I specified that it was a space-cowboy sort of feel - reds, oranges, dusty, desert, cowboys, horses...I got something totally science fiction with horses with huge sparkling horns on their heads (I have no idea where that came from - not in the book - I had to Add them in edits.) All you can do is believe that the publishing company knows best, grin, and bear it. But Book Covers Sell Books.
That is SO true. My Argentine Lover had a terrible cover and I asked (begged) them to change it and they did - and sales shot up.
So you can imagine how happy and excited I was when I got this cover. It is truly beautiful.

Teaching kids the value of Money

I grew up poor. That's nothing big - 90% of everyone in the world grows up poor, and when you're a kid, you don't even notice you're poor.
So it was a surprise when I left school, became a model, and started making money. I got married young and my husband the polo pro earned enough moneyh for us to pay rent and pay our travel expenses (would you believe the polo patrons make the pros pay their travel expenses and rent)
SO...I wanted to raise my kids knowing the value of money. I was very careful about that.
One day we went to a supermarket to shop. My twins wanted some chewing gum so I gave them a five franc piece to put in the gum machine. (about 1$ - it would have bought two balls of gum - outrageouly expensive, no?) Well, the machine ate the money and refused to give the gum.
I went to the machine and jiggled it a bit, reached up under the flap to see if I could get the money or the gum. Nothing. So I went to the checkout and said, "The machine ate 5 francs, I want it back."
The check out girl said, "That's not our machine. It belongs to a private company. We let them put the machines there. But we don't have anything to do with them."
I said, "Just give me the money back and tell the company they owe you five francs."
The checkout girl refused. "Well, it's only five francs," snapped the checkout girl.
I was 8 months pregnat here, wearing my sister-in-laws old dress and my husband's sneakers because my feet were so swollen, and this lady was telling me that it was Only five francs.
I went to the gum machine (and it had wheels), so I started to push it out the door.
The checkout girl stood up and said, "Where are you taking that!"
"Home," I said. "It has My feive franks in it. I'm not leaving it here. I'll give you my name and phone number so the company representative can call me and come get his machine."
"You can't do that!" she shrieked.
"What do you care? You said this had nothing to do with your store." I kept pushing.
The checkout girl knew when she was defeated. She pulled open her cash register and ran after me. "Here! Here is your five francs!"
I took the money and thanked her.
My twins have never forgotten the value of money.
The checkout girl now knows when an 8-month-pregnant woman comes in and asks for something, she better do it or else.

Today I'm a Grape!

I got a lot of work done yesterday on my WIP - a LOT of work. Was amazed at the end of the day when I hit statistics and checked my word count. Somedays just flow like that - and the story is coming along really well.
The only problem is...It's going to be hard to work in a HEA in this story!!!! I had the ending all planned out, but it looks trite, suddenly, and a new ending came to me as I was writing, so now I'm stuck at a fork in the road. Do I make a HEA, or do I make it a Sad but Hopeful ending?
My publishing house has a Happy Ending policy, so I imagine I'll be heading that way, lol. But maybe I'll write both endings and put them both in so that readers can choose. What do you think?

I was cruising the blogs and over on Smart Bitches they had a contest - "Guess Which Title is a FAKE" (all the other ones are real) Yes folks, Harlequin Presents have paid people to think of titles like these, so I copied some down and made up one and here is the contest - guess which title I made up:

Possessed by the Sheikh
The Italian's Stolen Bride
The Ramirez Bride
The Sheikh's Virgin
Innocent as the Night
The Italian Boss's Secret Child
The Greek's Innocent Virgin
Bought: One Bride
The Future King's Bride
The Sheikh's Captive Bride
The Purchased Wife
Expecting The Playboy's Heir

Can you guess which one I made up?

It's Innocent as the Night. There is no Harlequin Presents named that, as far as I could tell with Google. All the rest exist. Honest. If you don't believe me, go to Smart Bitches and see!

And on a lighter note, I was over on Karen's blog and I remembered a story about my son Sebi (there are Lots of stories about him, lol).
He stuck his little arm out one day and said, "Mom, am I always going to be this color?"
I wasn't sure what he meant, so I said, "Well, yes, give or take a bit of tan. Why?"
He looked at me and said, "I was hoping for something a bit brighter."

This is the same Sebi who one morning dressed in purple pants, purple shirt, and purple sweater, and then was looking frantically for his purple socks. I kept trying to give him blue or white ones, and finally he looked at me and yelled, "Those are no good! Today I'm a Grape!"