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The summer hasn’t actually started yet, but the blockbusters are already launching. Last weekend, we went to see Wolverine. It’s full of action and has a nice take on the character. As a former (but not current) X-Men geek, I thought it tied in nicely with what I remembered of the character’s backstory. My son, who’s more up on the latest developments, agreed. As a Gambit fan, however, he lamented the size of Gambit’s role. I do think the character was great and hope to see him again. It was a fun movie, but I could’ve done with a bit less impaling.
This weekend, my guys are taking me to Star Trek. I can hardly wait. I’ve loved Trek since discovering it in the summer of 1972, and this film looks like a worthy successor. Anticipation, of course, opens the door for disappointment, so I’m being cautiously optimistic. Considering that the New York Times gave the film a rave review, though, I’m letting the optimisim creep upward.
On May 21, of course, comes Terminator: Salvation with Christian Bale stepping into John Connor’s shoes. The preview looks intriguing. I loved the original Terminator film. Linda Hamilton did a great job with Sarah’s transformation from frightened waitress of “mother of the future.” Michael Biehn, of course, was spot-on perfect as Kyle Reese, so much so that the guy Fox cast in the role on the TV series (which I hear they’re cancelling, alas), never had a prayer of measuring up. Biehn fans may be interested to know he’s on the guest list of DragonCon.
June 4 brings the return of one of my favorite TV series, Burn Notice. Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, and Bruce Campbell make a terrific team, with wry humor and great chemistry, and Sharon Gless is wonderful is Mike Westin’s mother. Plus stuff blows up a lot. What’s not to like?
Our family’s eagerly awaiting July 15 and the release of Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. We think Alan Rickman will deliver a masterful performance as Snape. Even if we didn’t, we’d be going. We love the books and have been, overall, delighted with the movies.
We’ll close out our summer at DragonCon. In addition to Michael Biehn, the guest list includes Leonard Nimoy (!) and a host of Stargate and Star Trek actors. There are also some terrific writers coming, including Lois McMaster Bujold, Sherrilynn Kenyon, and Charlaine Harris. There will also be tens of thousands of fans, so we’re steeling ourselves for long lines to get into panels.
What are your summer plans? Which movies or TV shows are you anticipating? Which ones have you seen (please avoid posting spoilers for now), and what did you think?
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How do you decide which movies you’re going to see? Do you like indie films, art films, epics, romances, or war movies? Or some combination thereof?
When our son was small, we had to want to see a movie a lot for it to be worth finding a sitter, paying the sitter, and feeding both boy and sitter. And that movie had better be good once we went through all that! We gravitated toward movies with engaging stories. If we were interested in the story but not sure, we might go anyway if the lead roles were played by actors we particularly liked.
Now we base our decisions more a what else we have to do and how soon it has to be done. The movie has to interest us, of course. Romantic comedy is always a possibility. We also like quirky character pieces, though they don’t tend to stay in the theater long. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day is just such a film. We intended to see it in the theater but didn’t act quickly enough, so we recently rented it. I’ll review it in the next newsletter.
I’m always a sucker for super-heroes. Unless I think they’re going to be badly done. If you’ve seen the newsletter, you know I regarded Hancock with great anxiety, which the first third of the movie fully justified, but ended up loving it. Iron Man was just plain fabulous. James Bond is a draw for us, but Quantum of Solace went away before we got there.
So what kinds of movies do you like?
Post a comment enter the drawing for a copy of Homicide in Hardcover, my friend Kate Carlisle’s new mytery.
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Well, here we are in late January. This is about the time when New Year’s resolutions either begin to flag or are verging on becoming habits. I try to take stock about this time and see how I’m doing. Since I don’t generally handle resolutions too well if I’m not meeting them–way too much guilt involved–I didn’t make any resolutions this year. I have goals instead.
I want to do well with my teaching, lose a little weight, and start a new writing project as soon as I get out the submissions for which I already have requests. I also want to get back into the habit at the gym. I made it a full week before Christmas, and then the holidays exploded.
Speaking of which, I also want to be more regular here with updates and the newsletter.
So far, I’m not doing as well as I’d like to be on any of those goals, but I’ve made progress. So I’d have to say I’m off to a reasonably good start.
What about you? Do you do goals, resolutions, or something different? Care to share?
One commenter will receive The Nightkeepers by Jessica Anderson, whom I’m hosting on the Romance Bandits blog on January 26.
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I’m a sucker for Christmas decorations. Really. Unlike many other types of decorations, they have to go a long way before they hit my tackiness threshold.
There used to be a guy living in our neighborhood who decorated his house right after Thanksgiving–spent several days outlining the house and fence in lights, putting inflatable figures in the yard and on the roof, adding wreaths and lights of miscellaneous sorts in various spots. With the leaves off the trees, you could see his house at night from several blocks away, even though he lived in a little hollow. It was a hollow on a cul-de-sac, so we never were sure how his neighbors felt about all the traffic, but we loved his house. We called him Christmas Guy.
Alas, Christmas Guy moved away, so we have to get our fix in other places. A recent trip to New York gave me several opportunities to enjoy holiday decorations, even though I was a little early for most of them. The big tree at Rockefeller Center was still hidden because they were decorating it. And celebrating Swarovski, which had a booth nearby on the plaza.
 The plaza itself was already decorated. At one end, Saks Fifth Avenue had snowflakes outlined in lights on the building, but they weren’t illuminated yet. Below is a shot of the plaza with Saks visible in the background. I once got to spend time in New York in December, and I remember being entranced with the various decorations.
 There were also toy soldiers guarding the skating rink behind the usual flags. I noticed on TV last night that the various nations’ flags have given way to ones with a holiday motif, which I couldn’t quite make out. This guy is one of several surrounding the rink, each with a different instrument. The trees behind him appear to be wired for lights, but I didn’t get to see those illuminated.
No one I knew played with toy soldiers like these, though you could argue that the board game Risk comes from about the right period. I have seen marching bands wearing similar gear. Regardless, they look festive in the plaza.
 Some of the stores also were decorated. This one also is on Rockefeller Plaza. I didn’t go in since I was in a hurry, but it certainly struck me as cheerful and inviting, if a little chaotic. Like I said, I love holiday decorations. This window certainly put me in mind of the season.
 Many of the stores on 5th Avenue had their decorations up. My favorite was probably the wintry wonderland tree branches at Van Cleef & Arpels, though the lights don’t show up very well in these daytime shots. I liked the sort of fairyland aspect to the silvery branches and the lights, which weren’t bright white but also sort of silvery.
 I liked the winter wonderland aspect of this one, too. (Of course, it also includes cake, something I can enjoy vicariously even if I’m not having it at the time.) Other people were photographing this woman and her cake, too. She looks as though she could be the Queen of Winter in that gorgeous dress with all those cakes and decorationis surrounding her. The little creatures in the suits could be putting the finishing touches on a party for woodland creatures and people. I just wish I could remember which store this was–but I do remember it’s on 5th Ave. Of course, I should’ve had a note pad, but I didn’t think of that until I was almost finished.
 This is probably the most unusual window I saw, with boxing polar bears. Other people were photographing it, too, so I had to wait a few minutes for a clear shot. We have a weakness for polar bears at our house , so I was naturally drawn to these. At Bergdorf Goodman, a fact I remember mainly because part of the store’s name is in the photo.
Our son had a picture book about a polar bear’s Christmas when he was growing up, and we have a polar bear ornament, a white bear on a deep blue glass orb, for our tree. And we love Gus, the back-stroking polar bear at the Central Park Zoo. We go see him whenever we’re in city. I did that day and was delighted to find him in the tank, doing “his thing.”
 Of course, there were also more traditional decorations. I’ve included, left and below, two pictures of ones I liked a lot. Take a look and then tell me: What kinds of holiday decorations do you like? Understated and subtle? Or gaudy and bright? Or in between?
 So which kinds of decorations do you prefer? Do you have a favorite on this page? One commenter chosen at random wins, in honor of the holiday season, a $10.00 gift certificate. I’ll draw the winner on December 23.
Time to sign up for my newsletter and win a writer or reader book package ends December 17th, so if you want to enter, use the newsletter link. I’ll draw winners on the 18th.
Wishing you all the best this holiday season!
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I won the Georgia Romance Writers’ Maggie Award. I still have to touch the necklace to believe it sometimes. Until Stephanie Bond called my name, the Maggie had been something other people, including several of my friends, won. I’ve had good luck, gotten terrific advice, and had wonderful, supportive results from the RWA contest circuit, and I appreciate all of it. As a GRW member, though, I have a special soft spot for the Maggies. I’ve wanted one for a long time, and winning it provides invaluable encouragement on the road to publication.
Publication, you see, is still something other people attain. It’s tempting, sometimes, to think they’re just luckier than I am. Of course luck enters into the equation. The right book, the right editor, and the right time, as the mantra goes, are all essential ingredients luck frequently influences. The late Cheryl Ann Porter (quoting someone whose name I can no longer remember) said, “Success in publishing requires talent, persistence, and luck. You can get by with any two as long as one of them is luck.” But luck, alone, isn’t enough. You need talent and/or persistence, too.
The people I know who’ve leaped the bar to publication demontrated both of those as well as luck. A friend of mine said, after selling her first book, “I’ve been lucky.” While I can’t argue with that, I also think she made her own luck. She kept working to improve, taking advantage of opportunities like contest finals, and even making opportunities by submitting everywhere she could. I firmly believe that all of those–plus an element of luck–went into my Maggie win. I never expected to win, but I hoped I might and worked toward the possibility.
My friend kept trying. So am I. By persisting, I think, we grab for ourselves some of what appears to be other people’s luck.
What about you? Was there any luck that appeared to favor someone else that suddenly swung to favor you?
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by Loucinda McGary
 Nancy has very generously let me take over her blog today and when I asked for suggestions on what to blog about she suggested I give my “Call Story” and “Advice for Writers.”
I never get tired of relating my “Call Story” because it proves beyond a doubt that truth really is stranger than fiction!
It actually started in an elevator at the 2006 RWA conference in Atlanta. My roommate and I were on the 20th floor. One morning when we got in the elevator to go to breakfast, a man and a woman were already in the elevator. The woman introduced herself as an editor. She noticed the Golden Heart Finalist ribbon on my name badge, and asked about my Golden Heart manuscript. I told her it was a romantic suspense and she said she would really like to read it and gave me her business card.
I sent her the manuscript and eventually she rejected it. But since it took her awhile, I sent her a “nudge” email asking for the status of manuscript. While I was at it, I pitched my current work-in-progress.
I distinctly remember when I emailed her because it was Valentine’s Day 2007. Three months to the day later, May 14, 2007, she emailed me and asked for a partial of my WIP. Then on July 27th (see above) she called my house and asked for the full manuscript. My poor DH was so rattled when he answered the phone (I wasn’t home) that he wrote down every word she said because he knew “Cindy will kill me if I screw this up!”
On September 14th at 8:45 am, my phone rang. Since everyone knows better than to call me before nine in the morning, I picked it up expecting bad news. Instead, it was my editor, Deb Werksman calling to say she wanted by buy “my Irish book!” I started screaming and jumping around! My DH wasn’t home, but my two dogs thought I’d gone crazy. I spent the rest of the day phoning and email everyone I knew. I had also planned to meet three friends for lunch that day, so I got to tell them in person and we all screamed and jumped around some more!
It was such a fun day that I swore from then on I would have my major holiday celebration on September 14th. And this year, I celebrated on board a cruise ship!
My advice for writers is this: Keep writing and keep submitting!
There are many things in the publishing business that are beyond the writer’s control, but these two you very definitely can control. As long as you keep writing and keep sending your work out, eventually you will get there! You must believe that and believe in your work.
 I also encourage all writers, but especially beginners to find a good critique partner or group. Getting another (and at least somewhat objective) perspective of your work is invaluable. Finding a good partner or group can be difficult and take some effort, but is well worth it. My first book, The Wild Sight, is out now from Sourcebooks.
For more information about the book and about Loucinda, check out her website.
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 Did you have imaginary friends when you were a kid? You know, that special someone that only you could see. The perfect ‘person’ to share your secrets with, to confess breaking the cookie jar when you were sneaking a treat, or to tell fears in the dark. A playmate when nobody else was available. That kind of imaginary friend.
I had a few. The first ones I remember were “ghosts” and they hung out in my bedroom walls, coming out at night to visit with me as I fell asleep. Then there were the ones who came to listen to my stories, or to share stories of their own. We’d talk, I’d make up an adventure, again – as I fell asleep.
Then there were my teenage years… I’d make up love stories (what a shock, huh?). I was always the heroine and whichever cutie patootie I was crushing on – be he in school or a hunky actor on screen – would star as my hero. I didn’t spend as much time with my imaginary friends, they were more an audience for my mental fiction than anything else.
 As I started writing, my imaginary friends took on a new role. They became characters, both major and minor. They became my first line story critiques, so to speak. I’ve heard of authors who write for their readers. I admire that. A Lot. I wish I could do it. But I just can’t imagine readers out there – nameless faceless people who buy my books. Maybe it’s because I’m still a new author with only 3 books on the shelves and it hasn’t become real yet. Or maybe it’s the idea of writing to people I don’t know, whose likes, dislikes and experiences aren’t familiar to me. But for me, right now, it’s so much easier to tell the stories to my imaginary friends.
For some, I think this is like writing to the Muse. Having inspiration whispering in their ear, guiding their story. While I do believe in the Muse and her amazing inspiring powers (my Muse has a whip and a stopwatch… she’s a toughie) but she’s there to get me writing. My imaginary friends are there to enjoy the end result. To give me feedback and let me know if a story works or not. They are rarely there while I write, but when I finish and am reading through a book before I turn it in, they are reading over my shoulder. Call me crazy, but it makes me feel much better when I turn the story in to know it’s been read and approved. (and btw, my imaginary friends LOVED Risqué Business!)
So I’m curious… this is just my process and obviously the imaginary process that I write to. How about you? Did you have an imaginary friend as a child and if so, when (if at all) did you outgrow them? How about now? If you write, do you find yourself imagining your readers and their reactions? Do you look to them for feedback?
For more information about Tawny Weber and her books, visit www.tawnyweber.com.
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By Trish Milburn
 It’s been a little more than 13 months since I got the call that I’d sold my first book. That book, Heartbreak River, will come out next April under my Tricia Mills pseudonym. But my first book to be published, A Firefighter in the Family from Harlequin American, written under my real name, hit shelves this week! There’s nothing like seeing your book on bookstore shelves for the first time. All the hopes, dreams, tears, frustrations, rejections packaged together in one 209-page book.
There were definitely times when I’d begun to doubt I’d ever see this day. Back in the early years of writing and submitting, the rejections made me sad and wonder if I had any talent. But what I didn’t know then was that I still had a lot to learn about crafting novels and about the publishing business. Eventually, I began to final in RWA chapter-sponsored contests, even won some. But I couldn’t crack the ultimate unpublished contest – the Golden Heart. Not for eight years worth of entries. But then came 2003 and a call that changed me forever. Someone on the RWA board of directors (I’m sorry I can’t remember who) called to tell me that I’d finaled in the Golden Heart for the first time. And not only did I final, I double finaled. I remember sitting down on the edge of the bed, shaking, nearly crying. And then I went squealing and dancing through the house.
It’s easy to think that a Golden Heart final means The Call is right around the corner. For some, that proves to be true. But not me. I did continue to final in the Golden Heart for the following four years as well. I even won twice – for Romantic Suspense in 2004 and Young Adult in 2007. Neither of those books have sold. In fact, I believe I hold the record of most GH finals with eight. That still seems totally unbelievable to me. I’ve loved finaling in the Golden Heart each time because it’s an honor, an accomplishment, and I’ve gained some of my very best friends as a result of finaling in the contest. But if I’m being honest, there was another side to finaling. I began to wonder if that was my plateau, if the Golden Heart was going to be the pinnacle of my “career” and that I didn’t have that little extra something that would bring about a sale. That was a hard thing to consider.
 But it wasn’t. And when I saw my book on a store shelf for the first time last Thursday, I wasn’t running a fever. But it was a dream – a dream come true.
For more information about Trish and her work, visit www.trishmilburn.com.
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No, this isn’t really about the NBC department that set the tone for the original Star Trek. It’s more about what we ask of ourselves. Sometimes we push hard and reach for the stars. I’d like to think I always do that, but I know I sometimes don’t. Like with dusting. I admit it to taking shortcuts. Proper dusting of a bookshelf requires taking the books down and dusting them as well as the shelf. I’m so not there! I’m lucky if I run the vacuum, with that skinny little attachment, over the tops of the books every blue moon or so. Otherwise, I dust the front of the shelf, give the spines a lick and a promise and call it done.
Then there’s ironing. What ever happened to “permanent press?” So many garments require “light touch-up with an iron.” No matter how the vendors dress it up, that means hauling out the ironing board, messing with the iron, and finding space to hang things until we finish. Most of us don’t exactly have a cadre of magic helpers to do these things. So the to-be-ironed pile sometimes dwarfs the TBR pile. Well, occasionally. The TBR pile is now approaching mountain status. Which reminds me of that wonderful movie, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down a Mountain, but that’s a subject for a different blog. Ironing’s one thing that has to be done right if I’m going to do it.
So is revising. If I’m really rockin’ on a draft, blitzing along with everything flowing and that wonderful, creative high buzzing in my brain, I’ll leave things in that I know are inconsistent with other things, mentally marking the inconsistency for later resolution. When I go back through, I’ll decide which way I like better. When I start to revise, though, I become a detail fiend. “Control freak” might be a better term for it.
What about you? Which things do you really home in on, and which do you let slide?
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Some things we read, we forget in a few minutes. Some movies don’t affect us farther than the theater door (or the moment we stand up to leave). Others, however, endure. I still love the Dig Allen, Space Explorer, books I discovered at a school book fair in third grade. Thanks to the wonders of the internet, I located most of the series for our son, who loved them, too. Janet Lambert’s YA romances about the Parrishes and the Jordans, two Army families, engrossed me over a couple of summers. Thanks to book sales through Weekly Reader, I managed to obtain most of those.
On television, I loved to watch Guy Williams as Zorro on The Wonderful World of Disney. I sneaked looks (I can admit this now because both my parents are gone) at Anne Francis’ short-lived series, Honey West, about a woman private detective who kicked serious butt. My mom didn’t approve of that or The Man From U.N.C.L.E. or Star Trek. Just as water has a way of finding its own level, I found my way to Napoleon and Illya and Kirk and Spock and Mrs. Peel of The Avengers.
I also loved Superman and Batman and the Legion of Super-Heroes, all of whom consumed a huge chunk of my allowance every month. Then there was Nancy Drew, whose adventures were my rewards for monthly trips to the orthodontist. I remember being aghast when the books rose in price from $1.00 to $1.25.
My enjoyment of Williams’ Zorro led me to Tyrone Power’s and, eventually, to Antonio Banderas’. Star Trek and Superman led me to science fiction and a stint in fandom. The same daring and determination I admired in Nancy Drew led me to books and televisions shows and movies with strong female protagonists such as attorney-detective Avery Andrews, Stargate SG-1′s intrepid scientist and explorer, Col. Samantha Carter, tomb raider Lara Croft, and journalist Murphy Brown. My interest wasn’t limited to fictional women. I also admired HelenKeller, Elizabeth I, Joan of Arc, and pioneering doctor Elizabeth Blackwell.
How about you? What interests did you form in childhood that remain with you today? What movies, books or television programs you loved remain among your favorites?
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