A Match Made In Heaven

“Oh…oh, yes…yes... ”

Heat rippled through her veins and settled in the pit of her stomach. This is what she had waited for. The intense moment sent shivers up her spine. Nothing at that very moment would ever surpass the thrill she felt. This is where she wanted to be…this is what she had needed for so long.

Hmmm….what do you think is going on? Maybe someone is about to have the big “O”? NOT! Well, if you love talking books, maybe so. Because that’s what I’m talking about—the thrill of discussing erotic books and knowing that your listener understands exactly what you’re talking about. No questions from either readers or other authors that don’t quite understand the concept of ‘Romantica’, Ellora’s Cave’s coined term for erotic romance.

Relationships…reader to author, reader to reader, author to author, and I was fortunate enough to experience this thrill last month and on all accounts. Hence the ‘match made in heaven’ theory. I’m talking about the Ellora’s Cave Romanticon in Ohio and the entire experience was close to the big “O”. No shit! If you don’t believe me then I would start saving right now and plan to attend the 2010 conference. I know I’ll never miss one.

All in all, the Romanticon was THE best conference I’ve ever attended. I’ve been to other writing conferences and yes, they’ve always been fun and informative, but I came away from Ohio with a renewed enthusiasm for the reading world that I’m so attached to. I think most attendees, readers and authors included, came to “feel out” the atmosphere, this being EC’s first stab at something like this. The company did a phenomenal job.

The venue was tight since the conference was only a three day event, yet if magically flowed from morning to night. I personally have never spent so much time just talking books and meeting fellow authors and readers who were specifically in Ohio for the same reason as me. They love EC, TLC, and CP books. Period. For the first time I felt that all the authors and wonderful readers were on the same level. It didn’t matter if you were standing in the hallway, out front having a cigarette, attending a seminar, eating breakfast or sitting in the bar. We were all there for one reason and an air of intimacy prevailed, something I’ve never experienced outside this conference. I’m not quite sure what fostered this familiarity between everyone—whether is was some unobtrusive thing the employees of Ellora’s Cave did or if the stars were aligned perfectly, but new relationships abounded and I’m sure everyone left with a sense of complete contentment.

So, kudos to everyone who was on Ohio. Thank you to the publishing company and thank you to the readers and authors who cradled my books and lovingly spoke about them. Whether you’re the author who wrote a book or the reader who relives moments within them, we all know those pages, those storylines, those characters are like family. Isn’t it great?

See you in Ohio!

Hell in a hand basket

After reading Arianna's blog last week, I couldn't stop laughing.
I had taken my 16 year old shopping for jeans. It seems that Ari is right.
There are no jeans to fit the 'normal' sized women. My daughter is no slim jim.
I'm proud to say she takes after me, round and voluptuous. LOL

What has this world come to that women have to diet and exercise to fit some
golden mold? And what is considered the 'golden' perfect size? Who ever heard of
a size 0?

Wouldn't you think a man would want a woman he could hold onto and not one that a good
stupping in bed would leave battered and bruised?
I think we should start a campaign called 'For the Love of a Woman with Curves'.
So many times you hear about these young girls doing stupid things to their bodies
just to fit in. Self esteem is important at their young age. I'm not saying let's promote
laziness and obesity but good healthy living.
Not everybody's a size 0. I'm not and never plan to be.
On that note, I'm leaving ya'll with a recipe that's fun and tasty.
Don't count the calories on this one :)

Pumpkin Dip

8 ounces of cream cheese
2 cups confectioners sugar
15 ounce can of pumpkin pie filling
1 tablespoon of ground cinnamon

Mix together well, chill and serve with ginger snap cookies or graham crackers.
UHM, UHM tasty.

Oh and thanks to my friends, this isn't bad with a little Jeramiah Weed on the side to wash it down.

Mission Impossible

Yesterday I embarked on a mission as hazardous, frustrating, and fruitless as any crusade in my life.

Yes, I went shopping for jeans. This is on par with going bathing suit shopping, except I KNOW a bathing suit won’t hide any sins, I expect more from a pair of jeans.

First, let me prepare you for the reason for my angst. . .

I am tall—around 5’9” tall, and a good majority of that is in my legs. I’m also rather large around the middle. I’m shaped kind of like an apple on two asparagus stalks. Finding a pair of jeans that are long enough involves digging through rack after rack of jeans. If I’m lucky enough to find a pair that won’t look like Capri pants, I then need to find a size that will fit around my rather rotund tummy.

I don’t know how many size 0, 2, or 4 women are out there buying jeans, but apparently, they must be legion, because those were all the sizes that were in stock at the stores I was visiting. Maybe the size 12 and 14 women had already swooped down and picked up the jeans in my size, I don’t know. All I know is, I could find one, maybe two pairs of jeans in my size after searching through mountains of denim. When I did miraculously find a pair in my size, the waist was so low, I had the mother of all muffin tops hanging out.

It’s enough to make a girl switch to mom jeans! (Because, God forbid, I actually diet and exercise.)

I wonder if this experience will translate to my next story? Perhaps my next heroine won’t be svelte and will have trouble finding clothes that fit. Maybe, just maybe, this experience will make me a better writer.

It sure didn’t help me get a new pair of pants!

Subject, subject, what's the subject...

So it's my turn to blog again and I have no single topic. There are lots of things I want to blog about this weekend but my mind just won't settle on one. It's not like I didn't have warning, my fellow scribe Lynn LaFleur has kindly set up a reminder on our yahoo group calendar for the more absent minded of us. Thank you Lynn! Speaking of that reminder... have I mentioned my love hate relationship with it? If I have my blog all planned out, then I am glad to see it and pat myself on the back every time it appears. Other times (and far more often) it appears when I am least expecting it and nags me like a disappointed mother right up to the last minute when I am still trying to think of a subject. Like this weekend.
So I am just going to tell you all about the things I wanted to mention. Some I feel very strongly about, some were just of personal significance.

My WIP. I have written 1000 plus words on it every day for a week when it's been months of no progress. Yay me! I just need to keep it going when I go back to work on Tuesday because work seems to suck all the creativity out of me and encourage procrastination.

RomantiCon. I wish I was there! Ellora's Cave held their first convention this weekend in Ohio and I can't wait to see the pictures and hear all about it!

X-Factor. If you are in the UK (or on Twitter) then you will know what I am going to say. SHAME on that judge for using that guy's sexuality to take away from a phenomenal performance. It doesn't matter if that's what you meant to do. At the time, that's what you did. If you want to look at it yourself go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IOyPX-P57Q

Stephen Gately. 33 is too young to die, you will be missed. He was brave enough to come out as gay having been a member of one of the most popular boy bands in the UK. His band supported him by giving him a male partner in their music video despite risking their popularity. He was one of the first UK couples to have a civil partnership. It's testament to his character that in all the reports on the news today, not even the British press has anything bad to say about him. Hats off to you Mr Gately, may you rest in peace. My heart goes out to his husband, family and friends.

President Obama addressing the HRC. There are a LOT of strong opinions on this one and despite my own mixed feelings I still believe it was very a important speech.

The March For Equality. Suffice to say that if I were on the right side of the Atlantic I would be there to support the LGBT community. They are fighting for many of the things that I take for granted and it is time for a change.

So there you have it. The reasons I was unable to settle on a subject today. These are all issues that have had an effect me this weekend to varying degrees.
What about you?

ROMANTICON!

Okay, I don't know about you, but I'm psyched! This coming weekend is Ellora's Cave's first every convention, the Romanticon! And I'm going to get to not only meet some of you wonderful readers, I'm going to get to see several of my fellow Scribes!!!

Okay, I know, enough with the exclamation points, Diana. Just calm down. They're only people, you know. Just people who happen to read and write some of the most fantastic erotic romance on the planet!!!

Oops. Did it again. I'll try to be better, honest. But when I think about getting to talk to fellow authors about using Second Life to promote their books, or when I realize I'm on a panel with Tawny Taylor AND Joey Hill???!!! And then there's our very own Lynn LaFleur who's in on the discussion of the Editor/Author marriage to start off the conference, and Ruby Storm talking about writing in historical genre to finish us off!!!! Sorry, the exclamation points just have to come out again.

I'm gonna get to see so many of you! If you're going, leave a note here and let's see if we can't all get together (at the bar drinking Cosmos if Ruby has her way).

Yipee! Just a few more days!

Diana

Great Beginnings

I belong to several Yahoo groups dedicated to writers and writing. There was an interesting discussion on one this week about opening lines of a book. It was such fun to read what the authors posted. My MasterCard wasn't happy since I had to make a trip to Barnes and Noble.com on a shopping trip after reading so many of those great openings. Well, at least I earned a lot of points toward a B&N gift certificate. :-)

I decided to ask the Sizzling Scribes to contribute to my blog this week with their favorite opening lines of one of their books. They graciously agreed to help me.

He saw her standing with a group of three other women. Lust hit him with the force of a size thirteen combat boot rammed into his stomach.

One Night of Pleasure

by Lynn LaFleur

Ellora's Cave

"Mr. Coleridge, I'm Constable Anderson." The officer walked forward, his face and hands scrubbed clean, but his uniform reeking of smoke and dust and death. His eyes and his stench told the story long before he spoke. "I'm very sorry to inform you that there's been an accident."

Firefly Promise

by Nikki Soarde

Ellora's Cave

The corner of Jackson McCay's mouth lifted arrogantly as he stared across the room directly into a set of angry slanting eyes. Lowering his gaze to the barrel of the small derringer pointed straight at his heart, he reached for his own gun lying heavy at his side and lifted it slowly from the holster to set it carefully on the table before him. The sudden click of the silver derringer's hammer being pulled back echoed in the quiet room, an ominous threat as to what would transpire if he didn't continue to follow orders.

Perfect Betrayal

by Ruby Storm

Ellora's Cave

Kendra stood to the full stretch of her five foot seven inch height and glared down at the gorgeous man lounging in the visitor chair on the far side of her desk. "Brand, if you ever put your fangs on one of my friends again, I'm going to rip them out and make myself a pair of earrings."

Vampires and Donuts

from Ellora's Cavemen: Legendary Tails II

by Tielle St. Clare

Ellora's Cave

"Mayday, mayday, this is Rafferty Sloan of the Imperial Cruiser The Federation. We're caught in an unknown planet's orbit at the following coordinates." Sloan rattled off the coordinates and launched the emergency beacon. Feck, he hoped at least one beacon escaped the gravitational pull and made it into open space.

Sloan's Heart

by Arianna Hart

Ellora's Cave

Like the cover of a romance novel, the young couple lay intertwined with each other on a heart-shaped bed, modesty safeguarded only by the closeness of their bodies and the tangle of the red satin sheet. The gold of their hair and of the rings on their fingers glinted in the light from the candles that flickered over them. Clothes lay scattered around the room, and a table by the window held the remains of two meals. On the nightstand, an open bottle of champagne rested in a bucket of swiftly melting ice next to two empty champagne flutes.

Believe in the Magic

by Cait Miller

Ellora's Cave

This was such fun! My only problem with reading all these great opening lines is that now I want to read the whole books!

I think my MasterCard is in trouble again.

Lynn

A Low Tech Kind of Day

We all talk about how technology has invaded our lives…we’re strapped to our cell phones, the kids are always texting, and there is no place to escape it. I’ve started to wonder if anyone has a conversation these days that doesn’t involve hitting a button to send or connect.

But yesterday, I went to the Alaska State Fair and you know…it’s a lot like I remember it from when I was a child. Very low tech.

Oh, the cell phones were still present and a lot of people were on them…usually saying “I’m just down from the Grillin’ Challenge booth. I’m waving. Can you see me?”

I saw one TV…at the Direct TV sales booth…but beyond that everyone was engaged in the fair. I didn’t see one video game in a child’s hand. Even the ear-buds were gone from most ears.

Like most Fairs, our day was all about the food and the rides and the strange little booths you only see at the Fair. The rides have gotten a little scarier from when I was a kid but everyone still eats candied apples and cotton candy and the line for a pork chop on a stick was huge! My favorite food of the day was the Denali Cream Puff...5-inch diameter custard fill pastry with chocolate fudge topping. Yummy!

Going to the Fair reminds me of how low tech our lives can be—not all the time, but just to get away from it. The textiles displays are amazing. Admittedly, it was more my generation checking out the quilts but they are still pretty freakin’ impressive.

Over in the barn area, a pig had given birth the night before to 11 piglets. That grew quite a crowd from kids and adults alike as did the baby chicken section where you can actually watch them hatch and see the various growth stages. Including petting the baby chicks at the end. Sooo cute.

And the highlight of the Alaska State Fair…the giant vegetables. A 127-pound cabbage on display. New world record holder I believe. Here is when the tech came out…we all pulled out cell phones and digital cameras to take a picture!

(Note: the picture is the 2nd Place Cabbage...only 125.9 lbs. Same grower.)