Maureen Child's Blog, page 3

Why is it........

so I've got these cracks in a few of the windows at my house. What can I say? Kids throw footballs, basketballs, footballs, other kids...never mind.

Anyway, call a glass repair guy finally after threatening everyone at my house that if they break another window I'm going to start breaking people.

Glass place doesn't answer their phone. What? Do they not know how this whole thing works? Phones ring, they answer, I write a check.

Two more times I call. Still nothing. They've been in business, their ad says, since 1975. How is that possible if they don't answer the phone? Or hey, answering machine mean anything to you guys? Email? Nada.

Call someone else. Lookit that! They answered. An actual person!! Very exciting. They're coming out to give me an estimate and I'm thinking I'll go with them no matter what.

They're real people.

Memorial Day.....

Have a great weekend, everybody.

But between the barbecues and the baseball games and the hot dogs and beer...take a minute or two and remember the REASON for this holiday.

To remember and give thanks to all of those who died to protect us all. Hang your flag outside proudly. When you see someone in uniform, take a second to thank them for their service to all of us.

And say a little prayer that they will never be forgotten.

KINGS OF CALIFORNIA

Soooo the latest Kings of California Harlequin Desire hits the shelves THIS Tuesday!

This is a fun one for me....people always ask where I get my ideas...this one invaded not only my mind, but my HOUSE.

See, the story takes place around a kitchen remodel...yep. You guessed it. During that time last summer when I was making myself and everyone around me nuts, I was also coming up with a way to vent my frustration!

Rafe King is a contractor, assigned to remodel the kitchen of Katie Charles, the Cookie Queen.......oh yes. And there's seduction and a little revenge and secrets and COOKIES!

So don't wait.......rush out and get your copy right away! You can even pre-order by clicking HERE.

And don't forget to let me know what you think of it!

Oooh.

Okay, so what brings me back to blogging? Not work. Not books.

Supernatural. It's been renewed for season 7 and I'm happy. What does this say about me?

I like eye candy? Sure why not? I love the paranormal? Oh yes.

Mostly though, I love good writing. Great characters. A story arc that blends family drama, humor, horror and at the heart of it all, brotherly love.

Color me happy.

ebooks

So....what do you think about ebooks? Yeah I know. Paper or electronic--that is the question these days. For me, I'm a paperback girl. I like the feel of a real book in my hands. I love opening it for the first time. I love the smell of a brand new book. And the satisfying feel of turning a page to move further into the story.

But hard to miss the fact that ebooks are taking off like never before! Heck, a well known author, Barry Eisler, even walked away from a 500,000 dollar publishing deal in favor of publishing himself online!

WHAT? As a working writer, that's just unfathomable to me. I have nothing against publishing your work online--buy why walk away from a tradtional contract? Why not keep your erights and have the best of both worlds?

So what do you think? Is E the future? Are books going the way of the horse and carriage?

RITA finalist

Found out today I'm a finalist for the RITA award for my story The Wrong Brother in last December's UNDER THE MILLIONAIRE'S MISTLETOE!

The RITA award is like the Oscars for romance writers, so it actually is an honor to be nominated!

The RITA will be presented this July at our national conference. To be honest, there are some fabulous writers in my category...not to mention, the wonderful Sandra Hyatt who was in this anthology with me is also nominated...so I'm not really expecting to win.

But, boy it's nice to have something you worked so hard on noticed by your peers.

Winter Southern California style

Of course, it's not winter NOW. Not technically anyway. But these flowers have been blooming since last month!

For ME!!

It's like a tiny miracle. Apparently all the rain we've had has made them hardy enough to withstand my lack of gardening skills.

Sniffle. I'm so proud.

Rainy Monday.....

I love the rain.

Mostly because, living in Southern CA, I almost NEVER see actual weather. Honestly, to my friends, I'm known as a weather free zone. Whenever I travel, wherever I happen to be is suddenly hit with blue skies and sunshine. No clouds. No rain. No nada.

So imagine my pleasure at having an actual storm here again! This winter's been a very wet one, and I'm loving it--in spite of the lake that seems to form between our house and the neighbors. I'm sure it's all their fault.

Today, I'm polishing a synopsis, making some changes for my editor, and then making a big pot of soup--we have weather soup--very exciting. What's up for you>

Next Book

A little shameless self promotion never hurt anybody, right? So here's mine.

This is my next release...due out in May. KING'S MILLION DOLLAR SECRET.

Lots of people ask me where I get my ideas. This one was born in my kitchen. While it was being gutted...... sigh. Yes, it's a kitchen makeover book! And most of what happens to that poor kitchen happened in mine! LOL

Just got back from plot group, with Susan Mallery, Kate Carlisle, Christine Rimmer and Teresa Southwick. We spent five days plotting ten books and came home victorious and exhausted.

How about you? What's new? What's going on??

And I'm baaaacccckkkk...........

Finally, I'm back. I swear, between Christmas, two colds and a sinus infection that refused to leave....anyway.

It's a new year and I'm starting it out right.

That's the cover of my dark paranormal VISIONS OF MAGIC out on Feb. 1 from NAL. It's under a new name, Regan Hastings.....since let's face it, this story is wildly different from my Silhouette Desires....

So now that I'm back, I'm going to be posting more regularly. Call it a resolution if you must, but I'll be here at least a couple of times a week! So stop in and talk to me........I'll be running some contests too. Signed books. Amazon gift cards........so keep checking in!

And meanwhile.....go buy a copy of VISIONS OF MAGIC your local author will thank you!