Kate Collins's Blog, page 296

Too Soon for Christmas?

By Heather Webber / Heather Blake

Okay, it's a *little* early for Christmas talk, but it seems as though I'm already getting Christmas catalogs in the mail.

And I'm reading them.

And I'm making my Christmas list.

So far, I have these:



I want the Cookie Monster and Oscar mugs (not so fond of the Elmo--sorry, Elmo!). Usually, I only drink out of mugs that have lips around the rim (or I dribble), but in this case I may make some exceptions. How can I not? It's Cookie and Oscar! They're worth a little dribble.

Do you have anything on your wishlist yet?

~Heather

PS: Here's my new cover (I love it!) for It Takes a Witch--it comes out January 3rd--a great after-Christmas gift...

Books, Resurrected

They're the worst six words an author can hear from an agent: "Your Series Is Not Being Renewed."

What does that mean? It means the three books you wrote didn't wow enough buyers. Your dreams of making bestseller lists fell short and the stories you'd planned for Book 4 will have no audience.

Tragic.

And then you have to answer all the emails asking, "When is Book 4 coming out? I can't wait to read it!"

Heartbreaking.

Or so it used to be.

My first three books revolved around the world of antiques and collectibles. The topic has always been a passion of mine and it made sense that I would begin my career writing about something I knew and loved. So I invented Molly Appleby, a single, pleasantly plump, middle school teacher-turned reporter and set her loose on the world. She wrote articles for Collector's Weekly, ate way too much junk food, hung out with her mom and her two cats, and developed a serious crush on a hunky coworker. She also stumbled on dead bodies and priceless valuables. I had a ball writing them.

But the series was canceled and until recently, I thought it was dead in the water. But ebooks give our canceled series second lives. Sure, we might only sell 5000 copies instead of the 20,000 the publisher was hoping for, but we'll take it.

Heck, the books might catch fire and sell 50,000 copies! You never know.

So I jumped into the epub pool this month and edited, polished, and republished my Molly Appleby books. And now, finally, I can work on Book 4, and tell the readers what happens between Molly and her man.

Do you have an ereader? If so, I'm offering A Killer Collection at 99 cents for a few weeks (on all types of readers). The other books, A Fatal Appraisal and A Deadly Dealer, are priced at a reasonable $3.99.

I hope you'll give Molly a try!

Ellery's Mystery Cozy Contest - Answer

Thanks to all for entering this month's contest. The mystery line is from the Cat in the Stacks mystery, Classified As Murder, by Miranda James.



The winner of the gift card is Nancy Roessner! Thanks for playing!

Dancing Into A New Dawn

by Deb Baker/Hannah Reed

I'm a really positive, happy person. Usually. But right now, this morning, I can't deal with any more broadcasts about unemployment, riots, stock markets, politics, or the aftereffects of recent natural disasters.

So I'm taking the day off. No newspapers or news networks or links to the New York Times. In fact, I'm going to do a little dancing in my nightgown and forget about the rest of the world for one brief moment in time.

When I was sixteen, I used to sneak into Wisconsin's eighteen-year-old beer bars. Not to drink, but to dance all night. That was a little before John showed up on the disco scene. Dancing was more like free-form expression in the early 70s. But I've also wiggled and waggled through the twist,  hokey-pokey, the chicken dance, the Hustle... Dancing was a big part of my life. What happened? Where did the dance halls and clubs go?
 
This morning, let's all join together, crank up whatever music makes us happy, and let 'er rip!  



And here's a fun fact to start your day.


Dirty Dancing is going to be remade!

Isn't that sweet?!
And if you need a little help getting started...

Updates From the Caregiving Front

Daughters Serena and Maria flew in from their separate locations (near Houston & Washington, DC) for a super quick vsist this past weekend. I picked them up from Denver airport Friday late morning and returned them there about the same time on Sunday morning. A whirlwind visit but wonderful.









They made the effort so they could visit my mom who's now in what I was calling a "full service" care facility. Then I checked the name on the paperwork and found the name is actually Columbine W est Health and Rehab. And, they're not kidding. There are physical therapists there working with the residents as well as occupational therapists and the nurses are also trained in what they call "restorative care." All of these efforts are designed to help the residents regain as much of their physical strength as possible and do as much as they can for themselves so that their quality of life is improved.









And, I have to report that my mom's condition has definitely improved. They've been doi ng some gentle leg exercises with her and she's able to move herself up to a sitting position from bed and can now stand (with them beside her) to take care of personal functions. That is a marked improvement in only two weeks. It would be wonderful to see her be able to return to using her walker instead of the wheelchair, but we'll have to see if that's possible. And if it isn't, that's okay. The fact that she's adjusting very well indeed for a 91-yr lady is huge progress itself. And---there's even an unexpected benefit. The hairdresser at this facility does a much more flattering shampoo and set on my mom's lovely silver hair. :) Women never get too old to care about their looks.







Serena and Maria really enjoyed visiting with their grandmother, and they even made two videos of her talking about things in her childhood. Apparently those memories stay in our minds even when we've forgotten most of everything else. And the girls also bought, assembled, and installed a lovely bird feeder outside my mom's large window. It's a crook (Bishop's crook ) of black metal with two "crooks" which they used to hang two separate feeders--one with a "squirrel-proof" feeder for birdseed and the other for a nectar-filled hummingbird feeder. She and I saw a sweet little brown wren show up this afternoon and eat and eat and eat. He's was a little skinny, so this new feeder was a bonanza for him.







Oh, and I learned that I'd made an observational mistake regarding the Kennedy Space Center exhibit building which was located at the Banana Creek viewing area where our family watched the Atlantis shuttle launch. Serena told me the rocket which is on display there is the Saturn V rocket, which Serena told me is MUCH bigger than the Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V is going to be the rocket used to launch the mini shuttle Dream Catcher in the near future.

A New Birthday Norm

By Kate Collins

That I was dreading my birthday was an understatement. All last week I wept every morning about not having my husband there to celebrate with me. Why celebrate at all? What was there to feel good about?

In the past, my special day would start with a surprise – a gift my husband had chosen and then hid. I'd open a cabinet, drawer, refrigerator, or whatever, and there would be a wrapped box. He always made it exciting. Then we'd go in to Chicago to dine at one of our favorite restaurants with our daughters, who live there. Years past, our sons lived there, too, and we'd all gather together to eat and laugh and eat some more.

This year, my kids went into action. My daughter organized a surprise party and together with her brother and stepsister, decorated, cooked, grilled, baked, and, most importantly, ordered me out of the kitchen. I was told not to even think about helping. I had to sit on my hands for a few hours, but what a treat!

All of the people who are closest to me came, the ones who have lifted me up these past months and helped me stay grounded. The day passed and I smiled most of the way through it. And all the while, I felt my husband's presence. I could almost hear him saying, "Way to go, sweetheart. Honor my life by enjoying yours."

At the end of the day I sat down with my laptop and a glass of wine and read my Facebook messages. There were nearly 300 birthday wishes and that finally did bring me to tears.

What a day this has been. It was not my normal birthday, for sure, but it also wasn't anything to dread. Next up is my wedding anniversary, another "first" to get through without my beloved Greek. The kids are already making plans, however, so I'm in good hands.

Have you had to get through a special day without someone you loved? How did you do it?

Had I But Known ...

by Leann

As reported earlier by this blogger, I welcomed a kitten into my home about a month ago. With one of my senior cats already gone, the decision was not about replacing my beloved Indigo, but about preparing for the future. I have two other senior cats and they both have health issues. If they were both to pass on one after the other in the near future, I knew I would be dealing with serious depression. My cats are my friends and since I am alone most of the time, important and well-loved companions indeed.

Wexford is now 3 1/2 months old and what new life he has brought to this house. Today, even my diabetic cat, who has had a serious kidney infection for nearly 3 months, was playing! WOW. It is hard to ignore a whirling dervish who doesn't care if you swat at him or hiss. He just keeps trying to engage with all the animals. Today, Agatha Chri stie finally caved. The toys are fun after all!

There is also a change in me. I smile more. I laugh more. My heart doesn't hurt as much for the loss of my Indigo, my health and the fact that I cannot write as fast as I used to. I'm still not thrilled about all that, but what a great distraction a kitten is. And this one is so loving and sweet and smart and fun. Since the first night he arrived, he has curled up with me at bedtime and stayed until morning. The other cats don't seem to mind, either. That was a big surprise. He's just such a force of nature, my Wexford. Even Rosie is figuring out how to play with a cat--though that's coming along a little slower. She's rather rambunctious and the kitten is still reticent. Wise, I'd say. Had I but known what a good decision this was, I might have brought a kitten home sooner.

How about you? Have you made any decisions that you pondered, worried over and in the end, they turned out to be exactly the right thing to do?

Sleeping in

by Lorna Barrett / Lorraine Bartlett / L.L. Bartlett

When I lost my day job (almost six years ago), one of the routines Mr. L wanted to observe was getting up at a regular time.

Why the heck did I want to do that?  I'd been getting up at the crack of dawn for more than twenty years.  I wanted to sleep in.

But noooooooooooo!  These traditions must be upheld.  And they were
. . . for a while.  But then I'd conveniently forget to set the alarm.  The only problem was . . . I'd trained myself to get up early and I couldn't STOP it. 

So ... it's been a bit of a surprise that lately we've been sleeping in.  Until SEVEN o'clock!  Well, not every day.  But maybe two out of seven days.   That's quite a departure from four or five in the morning.  Of course, to sleep in, I probably have had to have been awake for two or three hours during the night, tossing, turning, listening to cats fight, or thinking about my latest work in progress.  (Usually those last two.)

And of course I couldn't sleep in today.  I had to get up and write this post.

Do you get to sleep in?

Family TV Time

By Heather Webber

When I was little, I loved watching prime-time TV with my family. Shows like Family Ties and the Cosby Show (the Monopoly money lesson episode is still my favorite) and Who's the Boss.

I miss those days.

Because these days there's hardly anything to watch as a family, which I think is a real shame. TV watching is much easier now that my kids are older, but there are still things that make me uncomfortable shown on the screen (some of those adult situations—yikes!).

That being said, there are some shows we gather round to watch. Jeopardy! for one. Yes, we love this show—especially when we get the answers right. Though it's not my favorite show, the kids and Mr. W hardly ever miss Dragon Ball Z Kai – an animated show on Nick Too. We've recently tuned into Modern Family, which we find hysterical even in those moments it makes me uncomfortable. My daughter and I watch a lot of home shows, cooking shows, animal shows, and Project Runway. The guys watch a lot of sports. But it's not the same as those old-fashioned sitcoms...

What shows does your family watch? Any recommendations?

Ellery's Cozy Mystery Contest

By Ellery Adams
It's that time of the month again - your chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Mystery Lovers Bookshop (you can use this online).

I'll give you one line from a contemporary cozy and you have six days to email me the title and author at elleryadams@verizon.net.
Please DO NOT POST the answer. You can certainly post a comment, but no title or author name in the comments, okay?
Here's the line: "I let Diesel go out with the poodle, and Sean and I stood on the porch, gazing into the dimly lit backyard."

Ellery's hint: Though I couldn't resist a line about a poodle, the animal star of this book is a kitty.