WINNER OF GIFT CARD FOR 500th POST IS JEFF SALTER! CONGRATS TO HIM AND THANKS FOR ALL THE GOOD WISHES!!
My heroine in one of my novels loves nothing better than a good cannoli. This one has fresh strawberries dipped on chocolate on top. I was working on some edits for the story this week and thought I’d share her weakness with you. This is from my favorite restaurant in Little Italy. YUM!
Posted in Writing | Tags: book, cannoli, heroine, Little Italy, novel, NYC, Romantic Suspense
Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Tags: wordless Wednesday
First things first- this is my 500th post. Who knew I had so much to say? I’m giving away a $10.00 Amazon giftcard to celebrate my milestone post. Leave a comment about something new you learned this week for a chance to win.
Secondly, I got into a conversation on twitter the other day with Jeffe Kennedy- who is a wonderful, witty writer, by the way- We got into a discussion about coyotes. I confessed my fear of them. I have a friend with a cabin in North Carolina that hangs off the edge of a mountain and whenever I stay there, I get really antsy at night when the coyotes are out and howling. I thought they were nocturnal animals and only active at night. I’ve only ever seen them from a distance and at night.
The marvelous Jeffe told me that they are crepuscular animals. This was a new one on me. I’d not heard of this before. I recognized the root word of course, because it’s Latin. Crepuscular comes from the word for twilight. So these animals are active during twilight times- early morning as the sun comes up and late afternoon as it goes down.
I told Jeffe that I was going to work the word into conversation every day this week, so be glad you don’t live near me and my obnoxious self this week! 
Posted in Random thoughts | Tags: Arizona, coyote, Crepuscular, Jeffe Kennedy, North Carolina
On one of my writer loops, a new writer who was working on her very first edits had some questions about the process and we got on the topic of voice. So, today, I want to talk a little bit about voice. My writing voice is something precious to me. I think that’s probably true of most of us writers. After all, our voice is what makes each of us unique. I don’t mind if someone hates my voice because that is their right. I don’t like every writer I read and I’m quite sure that everyone who reads my work doesn’t like it. Reading and writing is super subjective. I have a sassy, irreverent style and I think that’s because that’s who I am.
I know many kind, gentle people who write inspirationals. But I also have a friend who I always want to assign her the role of an inspirational writer because she’s so quiet and sweet- then she let me read some of her work- which I adore, by the way, but she’s pretty sassy herself in her writing. Goes to show you that we can’t always tell how someone writes by talking to them.
So, I guess the point of this post is that we all should stay true to our voice even if it’s nothing like the personality we show to the outer world and we should defend our uniqueness against all who try to make us into something we aren’t. My advice to all writers is to defend your voice. No matter what. It is what makes your writing special and once it’s developed well, anyone will be able to tell your stories are written by you since the voice will remain the same whether it’s a contemporary, a historical or a paranormal story.
Hang tight. Always!
Posted in Random thoughts | Tags: contemporary, historical, paranornal, random thoughts, voice, writer
Check out this new website. It belongs to someone I know and he’s known as eco-boy around his home-parts. This is his wonderful idea for his disseration. http://thehybridcityplan.wordpress.com/
Posted in Random thoughts | Tags: architecture, Eco-boy, hybrid city, random thoughts, sustainability, website
Here’s the cover for the new anthology I have a story in- My story is called Sophie’s Snow Day and the anthology will be available in January 2012 from Still Moments Publishing. I am in love with this cover- I want sit in front of a fire and under a blanket. Cocoa anyone?
Posted in Books | Tags: Anthology, January 2012, Snowbound Hearts, Sophie's Snow Day, Still Moments Publishing
Mistletoe is a parasite. it grows on host trees and sucks nutrients from that host. It has been revered back to ancient times – believed to bestow fertility and be an aphrodisiac, it was used as far back as Druid and Roman times in fertility rites. It was also believed to protect against poisoning.
Branches of mistletoe were hung in ancient dwellings to protect from evil spirits as well as witches. If you get a chance, read this article. It is full of wonderful information: http://www.theholidayspot.com/christmas/history/mistletoe.htm
No wonder we kiss under the mistletoe- it was a fertility rite in ancient times- I’m happy to say that I didn’t conceive any children under the mistletoe and muse be immune to its power.
Happy kissing this holiday season and be sure to wear protection!
Posted in Friday Facts | Tags: Firday Facts, Friday Facts, holiday, mistletoe, plant
I have been battling an ear infection since Thanksgiving and it is getting worse, not better. The doctor is a jackass and hasn’t helped me at all. My face is swollen and all my lymph nodes are inflamed. Not fun to be me! The last two days have been really bad. To top it off, I’ve had court every day this week, so needless to say, I have no energy as all my focus has been on getting prepared for court and doing my job all while feeling like I have a huge throbbing heart on the side of my head. Thump, thump, thump. Do you have any idea how hard it is to concentrate when every heartbeat is on the side of your head? UGH!
And I’m a little blue- missing my son. I get to see him on the 18th, but since I feel bad, it seems like I’m moping about everything.
Have a good day. Me and my ear will be over there in the corner whimpering.
Posted in Random thoughts | Tags: ear infection, random thoughts, the blues, whining
Posted in Wordless Wednesday | Tags: wordless Wednesday
I bought this book at the literacy signing at the RWA annual conference and finally had a chance to read it. I really enjoyed the story. It’s sold as a YA novel but I really didn’t feel like it was YA. True, the hero and heroine are of the requisite age, but it read more like an adult novel. That was fine by me. It had a time travel element. The characters traveled from 1803 to 1940.
The premise of the story is that magic is not acceptable to the peerage in the early 1800s. The heroine, Tory, is shown to have magic powers and is sent away from home to a school that “cures” students from magic. While there, she becomes involved in an underground (literally!) group of magicians. When they are chased by the school adminstrators, Tory finds Merlin’s mirror and falls through it and lands in 1940.
She finds help with a family of other magic people and eventually, she and some of the other students from 1803 come back to 1940 to help with the evacuation at Dunkirk. It was clear that the author did her research. Being a big history buff, I was thrilled to read these parts and know she was spot on with detail.
I recommend this book highly. It was a fast, good read. 
Posted in Books | Tags: books, Dark Mirror, M.J. Putney, Reviews
Jillian Chantal 