Penny Watson's Blog, page 82

Happy New Year!

Thank God....it's a brand new year! Happy 2011 to all!
Ready for Anything,Penelope

Beard of the Day

I first discovered Simon Pegg in the most excellent movie Shaun of the Dead . I was on a "girl's weekend" with my mom and sis, and we were lounging in our hotel room watching endless hours of television. This movie came on and my sister said...."Oh, you're gonna love this one. It's right up your alley." Well hell, I was in LOVE...a funny, brilliant, quirky zombie movie. I was instantly hooked on the comedic couple of Pegg and Nick Frost. If you haven't seen this movie, it's a freakin' fantastic classic...you gotta see it! Also, Pegg's version of Scotty in the updated Star Trek was wicked good. I thought he stole the damned show.
Well, onto our beard critique. One, this photo is great because it totally captures his boyish good looks as well as his naughty sense of humor. I love red-heads...just think time-travellin' Scottish warlords with legs like tree trunks, thick, red beards, those luscious accents...hear me? Well, Pegg's got a British accent and a nicely groomed beard and stache. Hot Fuzz for sure. (Hee hee...sorry, that's a horrible joke but I totally couldn't help myself). Anyhoo, there's something sexy about a guy who knows how to make people laugh.
Be on the lookout for Paul , a new movie with Pegg and Frost, coming out this spring. It looks absolutely hilarious. Here's the link for the youtube preview...check it out!
Happy Hairy Friday to All! And Happy New Year!!!!Penelope

Random Thursday Updates

Here are some random updates and observations....
1) You know you're getting old when you're invited to a New Year's Eve party that promises to have you back in bed by midnight. O-kay. Sad, yet true....and the worst part is I love the idea! (Note to self: Get "L" tattooed on forehead in 2011.)
2) Read a couple of great books recently. In Too Deep is the latest Jayne Ann Krentz Arcane book...Fallon's story. I loved it! I cannot get enough of that funky paranormal stuff. Also, Do Over by Mari Carr was absolutely wonderful...so incredibly romantic and sexy. I adored the premise for this one (on 25th wedding anniversary, awesome husband from heaven re-creates all the couple's "first" special moments/places/events, etc.). Dude...you are the man!
3) Forget about M/M manly love obsessions. How about some hot girly action? hee hee...seriously, KT Grant's The Princess's Bride is smoky hot and I love the hilarious take on The Princess Bride. Such a cute and funny idea! Not done with this one yet...still working on it.
4) I decided to re-kindle my knitting addiction. Had a killer trip to the yarn store; now working on yummy pumpkin-colored scarf. My daughter has informed me I look like a little old lady as I sit by the fire and knit. (Maybe I should knit an "L" into the scarf.....)
5) I am going to work on two items from my bucket list (see side bar) in January. One is a visit to the Blaschka Glass Museum at Harvard. I'm also going to work on my terrarium with Natty. I love the plant nursery in the winter-time...it's like a hot, steamy jungle in there.
6) My profound New Year's resolution....Be Happy. ☺☺☺


Hope all of you have a festive New Year's!
Penelope

Penny's Favorite Themes In Romance

I realized this week that I am gravitating towards certain kinds of stories. There are certain themes that really rock my boat, and certain themes I can't stand. Here's a run-down....I'm sure I'll think of more later.

Favorite Stuff:
1. Older Couples Rekindling Their Spark
2. Big, Curvy Girls
3. Funky Stuff....such as autistic characters, etc.
4. Amazing Paranormal Stuff
5. Beauty and the Beast
6. Redemption of Tortured Heroes
7. Brotherhood-Style Books
8. Humor in Romance
9. Highly Romantic Stories (think Balogh)
10. Super Loving Alpha Male Heroes...I love this combo!
11. Alternative Families
12. Bearded Heroes (I know...that one's a shocker, right?)
13. Shapeshifters
14. Metamorphosis....girly-girl turns kick ass, etc.
15. Raw, Lusty Historicals....another great combo!
16. Intellectual Hero/Heroine
17. Foodie-Style Books
18. Snappy Chemistry Between Hero/Heroine
19. Beautiful Prose
20. Symbolism
21. Ethnic Themes...gypsies, etc.
22. Unique Voice

Here are some themes/issues that drive me nuts:
1. Contemporary Romance
2. Too Much Deep POV
3. Too Much Mundane Detail (what the characters ate for breakfast, lunch, dinner....blah blah)
4. Eroticas Where The Characters Fall In Love After 50 Pages of Boinking Their Brains Out
5. TSTL Characters
6. Hardcore BDSM....don't like pain and suffering
7. Big Misunderstanding (aka Three's Company problem)
8. Cougar Stories (older woman, younger man)

My new favorite is the more mature couple theme...I am searching out more of these books. Any suggestions?

How about you....anything really rocking your boat lately? Driving you nuts? Let me know!
Ciao,Penny

It Was The Best Of Times, It Was The Worst Of Times...

2010 has been the weirdest year of my life.
It started out well enough. In fact, pretty great. My first book was published in December 2009, and it made a whole slew of e-bestseller lists in January 2010. One of the coolest things I've ever seen is the image of my half-naked Santa Claus book cover next to Stephen King's Under The Dome and Dan Brown's The Lost Symbol. I spent the next six months working on my second book, and by July it was finished.
I was looking forward to celebrating my 20th wedding anniversary with my husband, and travelling to Jackson Hole for an awesome adventure vacation with the kids.
On August 3, 2010 everything changed.
I had a heart attack, at the ripe old age of 44. I had a bare metal stent inserted into my clogged artery. I spent a week in the hospital with a roommate who was 92 years old. My dream trip to Wyoming was cancelled. My anniversary celebration was postponed. My father fell ill a few nights after my heart attack and died a week later. He knew about my heart attack, but did not regain consciousness before his death, so he never found out I was okay. I really hate that. I pray that somehow he knows now. August 2010 had officially turned into the worst month of my life.
Facing your own mortality is complicated. I am handling it with humor, anger, disbelief, determination, hostility, melancholy, denial. Dealing with the physical recuperation (drugs, diet and exercise, fatigue, myriad doctor appointments, etc) has been far easier to handle than the emotional and mental process. I am still struggling with this part, and I'm not sure when, if ever, I will come to terms with why this happened. Why I got a second chance when others have not been so lucky. Who I am, why I am here, what my purpose is. Sound heavy? Yeah, well almost dying has the unfortunate side effect of making you introspective, even if you fight it.
So, as I face the close of this shocking year, I really have no answers. My will to live is strong. Strong enough to change unhealthy habits and restructure my life. My identity is up in the air. I feel as though I've pulled myself into a cocoon and am awaiting metamorphosis, unsure when I will emerge, and what exactly I will become. The person staring back at me in the mirror looks like a stranger. Fifty pounds lighter, with a starkness etched on her face, I don't recognize who she is.
All I know is I got a second chance. It's an incredible gift. It's more time with my husband, more time with my children, more time with my friends and family. Time to write more stories. Time to see an Orca in the wild? Sip mango margaritas while watching the sun set in Hawaii? Snuggle with my dog. Take a walk around the neighborhood and chat with good people. Simple things, adventurous things, everything.
I am looking forward to a fresh start. I am looking forward to leaving 2010 behind me. The good, the bad....I am ready for new.
I am ready to embrace 2011. Ready to embrace my second chance.
Not knowing what the future holds for me. Just thankful I have a future.
Bring it on.

Happy Boxing Day!

Hope everyone had a great Christmas celebration. We had an amazing day...the kids were so happy and appreciative, our dinner was delicious--especially my husband's beef tenderloin with three sauces....red (Southwestern), green (chimichurri) and white (horseradish)--and I got some awesome gifts, including this really cool black wool hoodie! Yippee!
I am visiting Ex Libris today for an interview and giveaway. Stop by to find out what my favorite job has been over the years (you'll never guess!).
Now I have to gear up for a huge snow storm...which means getting some extra sleds (who needs food and water?).
Happy Boxing Day,Penny

A Visit From St. Nicholas

Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.
The stockings were hung by the chimney with care,
In hopes that St Nicholas soon would be there.

The children were nestled all snug in their beds,
While visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads.
And mamma in her 'kerchief, and I in my cap,
Had just settled our brains for a long winter's nap.

When out on the lawn there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the bed to see what was the matter.
Away to the window I flew like a flash,
Tore open the shutters and threw up the sash.

The moon on the breast of the new-fallen snow
Gave the lustre of mid-day to objects below.
When, what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a miniature sleigh, and eight tinny reindeer.

With a little old driver, so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St Nick.
More rapid than eagles his coursers they came,
And he whistled, and shouted, and called them by name!

"Now Dasher! now, Dancer! now, Prancer and Vixen!
On, Comet! On, Cupid! on, on Donner and Blitzen!
To the top of the porch! to the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

As dry leaves that before the wild hurricane fly,
When they meet with an obstacle, mount to the sky.
So up to the house-top the coursers they flew,
With the sleigh full of Toys, and St Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard on the roof
The prancing and pawing of each little hoof.
As I drew in my head, and was turning around,
Down the chimney St Nicholas came with a bound.

He was dressed all in fur, from his head to his foot,
And his clothes were all tarnished with ashes and soot.
A bundle of Toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a peddler, just opening his pack.

His eyes-how they twinkled! his dimples how merry!
His cheeks were like roses, his nose like a cherry!
His droll little mouth was drawn up like a bow,
And the beard of his chin was as white as the snow.

The stump of a pipe he held tight in his teeth,
And the smoke it encircled his head like a wreath.
He had a broad face and a little round belly,
That shook when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly!

He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of myself!
A wink of his eye and a twist of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread.

He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the stockings, then turned with a jerk.
And laying his finger aside of his nose,
And giving a nod, up the chimney he rose!

He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like the down of a thistle.
But I heard him exclaim, 'ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!"


☃Merry Christmas!☃
Penelope

Christmas Eve Eve Updates

Hi everyone! I'm at Book Chick City today, doing a "Where Books Are Made" feature. There are photos of my home office (decorated for the holiday, of course!), Christmas tree, weenie dog in Santa hat, etc. etc. The photo above is one of my special antique elves from my Nana. I have a whole posse playing different musical instruments. Please stop by to say hello!
I also had two great reviews recently for Sweet Inspiration...
From ALPHA Reader:
"I've got to hand it to Penny Watson; she has some seriously big baubles. It's not easy making a sexy contemporary romance out of pop culture's most un-sexy man...."
heee hee heee...I've got big baubles! Well, all right!

From Babbling About Books:
"Penny Watson's Sweet Inspiration is chock full of Christmas cheer. This is an adorable, sexy story that should be wrapped in a big red bow and given to any reader as a present."
I am so stoked to get two wonderful reviews. Good Christmas gift for me! Today is shopping day for Christmas dinner...beef tenderloin with three sauces....red, green and white (my husband's specialty). And for Christmas Eve, our tradition is having home-made pizzas! It's a lot of fun. Hope all of you are surviving the spectacular count-down....
Feliz Navidad,Penelope

A Christmas Dream

Hugh + Beer + Beard = Now That's What I'm Talking About.....
☺☺☺☺☺A Christmas Dream Come True! ☺☺☺☺☺
Enjoy,Penelope

Julia Barrett's Camping Trip From Hell: My Favorite Blog Post of the Year

My first introduction to the term "serial" as a fictional device was in the 9th grade, when my class was reading David Copperfield by Charles Dickens. The idea of getting a reader addicted to a story, and releasing it little bits at a time, seemed like a diabolical and brilliant idea to me. Just ask anyone obsessed with a daytime soap, the Black Dagger Brotherhood by JR Ward, or Project Runway, how compelling a "serial" can truly be.
Of all the books, magazine articles, newspaper bits, and blog posts I read this year, the most effective serial was undeniably Julia Barrett's ill-fated canoe trip, also known as The Canoe Trip From Hell. Julia is a very talented writer and blogger, and this accounting of her canoe trip in Northern Minnesota caught me totally off guard. I didn't realize I would become seriously addicted, agitated, amused, amazed and emotional about a story that dragged on for 6 long days. And I do mean, long. We live in a time of immediate gratification. How difficult it is to be patient (24 freakin' hours!), waiting for the next installment of the story.
And this real-life story has everything in it. An intrepid heroine (Julia), a sweet, sexy, strong hero (Julia's hubby), an evil villain and his wife (Mr. Bob and Mrs. Bob), a suspenseful story line, a wicked sense of humor, a gorgeous setting and the requisite HEA. This series of blog posts is hands-down the greatest blogging I read all year. Here are the links to the series...please read them in chronological order, but realize you are all cheating because you get to read the whole story at the same time. Cheaters!!!!!!!
I'll leave you with my favorite quote....
"I have to go stand near the bear shit to cool off. I'm sending out bear vibes, hoping a bear comes and eats Mr. Bob tonight."
Sunday, August 29.... Preamble--Red Flags Monday, August 30... Day One: No Good Deed Goes Unpunished Tuesday, August 31... Day Two - Having Fun Despite Everything! Wednesday Sept 1... Day Three - The Stupids or Stupid Is As Stupid Does Thursday Sept 2.... Get Me Outta This Stinkin' Fresh Air Friday Sept 3.... In the end....

Thanks, Julia for this brilliant story. So glad you made it back alive. (Bet you didn't send Mr. and Mrs. Bob a holiday card this year...hee hee hee!)
Addicted to 5-star hotels and indoor plumbing,Penelope