Sadly, it's not my news. Happily, it is news about some writers I know and love.
Cathie Linz
Cathie Linz in my local writers group and is one of the most nurturing and supportive writers I know. She's a big proponent of protecting the writing process.
After publishing about 50 series contemporary romance novels, she branched out into single-title contemporary romance. Smart Girls Think Twice (Berkley Sensation) is, I think, her 55th novel.
I took these photos at a signing she did a few weeks ago at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Ill. Despite a horribly snowy day, she had a nice turnout of people.
Linz is known for her warm humor in her stories. Oh, and she once borrowed my name for a heroine in her book The Cowboy Finds a Bride (Harlequin Duets #17), although she did modify the spelling to "Hailey Hughes". An author's prerogative. :)
Susan Elizabeth Phillips
Susan Elizabeth Phillips is a New York Times bestseller, and it's probably only a matter of time until you see one of her books adapted to the big screen.
She's also a member of my local writers group. About 12 years ago I was lucky enough to have her read my very first draft of the first chapter of my first attempt at writing a book. She gave me incredible feedback that bolstered my confidence in my writing while still pointing out areas to work on.
Before I read her, I was a committed reader of only historical romance. Her books were the first contemporary-set romance novels I read that successfully sucked me in and wouldn't let me go. They still have that ability.
Phillips' newest book, What I Did for Love: A Novel, comes out next week in hardcover. She has a booksigning set up on Saturday, Feb. 7, at Anderson's Bookshop in Naperville, Ill. I really hope I can make it.
Grace d'Otare
Grace d'Otare is one of my very best friends in real life. She and I have shared rooms at conferences, critiqued together, and even decorated her Christmas tree together. Of course I'm excited to be able to share some of her latest news.
She writes erotica, and her first short story, The Queen's Tale, which was published electronically last year, will be included in a trade paperback collection of stories called Naughty Bits due to be released in March.
She also has a new short story, The Pirate's Tale, that is coming out even sooner. It's a February release from Spice Briefs that will be available for electronic download from various sites -- definitely the Harlequin website at first, but probably Amazon Kindle soon.
The Pirate's Tale is the second in the series started by The Queen's Tale and packaged under the unifying logo of "A Maeve and Devlin Story". And this time, Grace's story gets a proper beefcake cover. :) Oh, and this story is a take on the tale of Blackbeard.
Rumor has it that Grace has sold a third short story, The Dancing Girl's Tale, I believe it's called. There is no date yet for its publication. Publication has been set for November.
Destiny d'Otare
Destiny d'Otare is also one of my very best friends in real life, and I am quite excited to report that she has also sold a short erotic story to Spice Briefs. Her story is called Knightley's Tale and is part of the "A Maeve and Devlin Story" series started by Grace d'Otare.
Destiny's story is an erotic take on Jane Austen's Emma. It does not yet have a publication date so, unfortunately, I can't tell you anything more about it. Late-breaking word is that it has a March 2010 publication date.
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
News on the writing front
Friday, January 16, 2009
Blue skies in January
Something about January leaves me uninspired to take photos. It's the second year in a row where my photo-taking has noticeably dipped. Maybe it's because things are so cold and uninspiring outside. Lots of dreary, overcast days.
So, this week, when the skies turned blue, I headed out over lunch to investigate a big, old Dutch-style windmill that I pass on the way home from work. It's in Mount Emblem Cemetery in Elmhurst, Ill.
We'd had a couple inches of fresh snow the day before, so I figured it would be really pretty in the cemetery. It was.
So, I parked my car, took a few minutes to adjust my camera settings and make sure my polarizing filter was clean, and I started tromping through the snow, looking for the best views of the windmill. It was freezing cold, single-digit temperatures, so I moved quickly and trusted my camera settings. Big mistake. Call it a learning experience.
Turns out, I accidentally set the camera on fully manual, instead of program mode, and all my photos turned out horribly over-exposed. Only this photo and two others were salvageable.
Pretty blue skies, right? But here's a hint, blue skies in the winter often mean the coldest weather, because it's too cold to hold much moisture in the air, or something like that. And when it's really cold outside, don't be in so much of a hurry that you forget to double-check your camera settings...
Looks like I'll be going back to photograph the windmill again.
Click here for more about Skywatch Friday and to view other participants.
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
Z is for... Catching some z z z Z Z Z's
My friend's Dad falls asleep during a family birthday party. I took this photo on request. Usually, I'm not the one to make fun of others for falling asleep in the middle of a social gathering. It happens far too much in my family.
When I was growing up, it was a long-standing joke in my family that whenever the Hugheses got together, shortly after dinner you could watch them all fall asleep one by one until you were left with a room full of wide-awake spouses. Everyone who was a Hughes by blood would have fallen asleep.
Fortunately, while my sister and I don't fall asleep at the dinner table (Yes, I've watched my Dad, uncle and cousins do that many times), I do have a reputation for falling asleep while watching movies and television, especially if it's a cartoon or if I've seen the movie before.
Click here for more about ABC Wednesday and to view other participants.
Benign and doing fine
It was a nerve-wracking week at my house last week as we worried about the sudden appearance of a growth over Loki's eyelid.
On Christmas Day, it was just a tiny little bald spot. A week later, New Year's Day, it was a noticeable lump, and two days later it was turning red and ugly. The vet said it could either be a harmless histiocytoma or a mast cell tumor, which is cancerous, but she couldn't tell without sticking a needle in it and taking a sample.
Because the lump was so close to Loki's eye, and Loki would barely hold still to let us look at it, let alone poke at it, the vet said she couldn't aspirate it without sedating Loki.
The plan was to treat it was with a topical ointment for a week and see if it responded, which would mean it was the harmless histiocytoma. If it didn't respond, we would remove it.
We couldn't chance it getting any bigger because if it was a mast cell tumor, we needed to be able to remove it with clean margins to make sure we got all the mast cells, and being on the eyelid, there wasn't a lot of extra tissue to work with.
We were especially worried about it being a mast cell tumor because Loki had a previous grade 2 mast cell tumor removed from her belly in late 2007.
The lump continued to get uglier throughout the week, so on Friday Loki went in to have it removed.
At the last minute, we noticed a second lump on Loki, this one on her lower lip. It was right where her canine tooth hits, which the vet said meant it could be a simple callus, but since she only had it on one side of her mouth, not both, it might be something more so she'd go ahead and remove that lump, too, during Loki's surgery.
Fortunately, Loki came through her surgery fine, with a small shaved patch over her eye and some pretty white stitches. The vet was pleased with the margins she got on both lumps, and promptly sent them off to the lab for analysis.
Loki has been good and barely notices her stitches. She hasn't had to wear her cone since the first night, and really likes to take her medicine, which we hide in a big glop of peanut butter, swallowed whole.
The vet called my husband yesterday with the lab results. The lump over the eye was indeed a histiocytoma. Good news! And the lump on her lip was a benign tumor. The vet was very pleased. I don't have any more information than that. I plan to ask more questions when we bring Loki in to get her stitches removed on Monday.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Y is for... Y.M.C.A.
Last winter, my nephew had a school production titled "On the Radio" where they worked through several decades worth of songs. When they did the 1970s, they included the Village People song Y.M.C.A. Of course, the students made everyone get up and dance with them.
My camera was still really new to me, so I was experimenting a lot with shooting in the gymnasium's available light. I wasn't so pleased with the individual shots I got, so I made this collage. My nephew is the dark-haired boy on the left in all the shots.
The song evokes a distinct memory for me. I clearly remember the Father's Day when my cousins gave my grandfather the 45 version of this song. As we played it on the living room record player, my cousins and uncle thought it was hilarious, but my grandfather didn't seem to get it. I think the 45 wound up in the 45 collection that my sister and I kept (and I still have).
Why did they give him a copy of the song? My grandfather, Noel Hughes, made his career with the YMCA, working for the Y in Evanston, Ill. In fact, the YMCA was the very reason he moved to the United States, as he came to study at George Williams College, which was run by the YMCA.
My great-grandfather, George W. W. B. Hughes, also had his career with the YMCA in New Zealand and Australia, rising to the position of general secretary, and earning recognition for his work with soldiers during World War I.
Oh, I didn't participate in ABC Wednesday last week, so I'm posting my X entry below. It's a literal take on "X", showing the cross supports of a foot bridge in Naperville, IL.
To see this photo in a larger size, click here.
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Tuesday, January 06, 2009
Red toy scarves are good nibbles
Here are Loki (left) and Thor showing off their new toys they received as gifts. Loki's toy is a Santa bear, while Thor's is a moose. The bigger their stuffed toys, the more they like them. And when there are little accessories to chew on, like the red scarves the toys are wearing, all the better.
Unfortunately, besides the accessories on the toys, this photo is a little skimpy on red to be a really good Ruby Tuesday post. But I choose it for other reasons, too -- mainly because it was taken only two weeks ago and it shows both dogs together.
And both dogs are on my mind today for good and bad reasons.
The good reason is it's Thor's birthday. He's 5 years old. Happy Birthday little dude. Let's celebrate many more.
The bad reason is that Loki has a lump over her left eye that she will probably have to have surgically removed on Monday. The lump has me very concerned, but I'll post more about that on my journal blog soon, since it's outside the scope of this photo blog.
Oh, in case you're wondering, it's been two weeks and the stuffed bear and moose are still very much intact. There has been no disemboweling or de-accessorizing yet. Yet.
Click here for more about Ruby Tuesday and to view other participants.
Sunday, January 04, 2009
Finding a routine again
Why is it that when I've stepped away from the blog for a little while, it always feels difficult to write that first post again?
Whatever the reason, I'm going to try to quickly jump right back in again.
Holidays were good. Lots of time spent with family and friends. Fun but exhausting. Didn't spend much time on the computer.
All I know is that if the friendly game of Texas Hold'em we played on New Year's Day is any indicator of the year ahead, it could be a good year, since I won that friendly little game.
OK. Good. That first post is out of the way. Let the blogging resume like normal. :)
