Turning the Speed Limit

Whether I choose for it to happen or not, there’s no running from it. Today I turn the speed limit. Fifty-five. How in hell does that happen? I bet there’s more than one person out there scratching their head like me and trying to come up with the answer! The only thing I can deduce is I will now begin to fool myself on a daily basis. Fifty-five in my mind has just become the new thirty. LOL! Because I tell you if I don’t keep this mantra running through my brain I may just have to bring out my cane and find some cute little boyscout to help me cross the street.

Is it possible? I just turned the speed limit. What the hell. I don’t feel like what I used to think fifty-five would feel like. For those fossils out there close to my age, I ask you this question. Do you remember when you were in your teens and knew someone who was turning thirty – did you think wow, they are O-L-D? And then as thirty crept close, you readjusted your mindset and switched it up and then began to think about forty and what repercussions there would be to having near adult children? Well hell yeah! Instead of hiring a babysitter you now will be able to party with those same children and show them how youthful forty actually is (keep telling yourself that, baby) And yeah again, your own parents were O-L-D at forty but no way were you going to be like that because damn, the body still seems to be holding out.

Ah yes, here it comes. The day you turn the speed limit. This is what’s going on with me. Some little bitch is running around inside my brain, pointing a finger at me and holding her crotch so she doesn’t pee her pants from laughing. You have just turned the speed limit, she giggles behind her youthful smooth-skinned hand. Now that you’re fifty-five, happy hour will be defined as a nap instead of doing body shots on a bar. That little aforementioned bitch finally gets her wits together and really starts on me. She says, and remember when you loved surprise birthday cakes and all the candles? Hmmph! Now you can use all that wax to wax your legs….and armpits….and the mustache you’ve recently acquired and all those goat hairs springing out on your chin! And hey, old lady, remember having sex and being able to bend? I’ll just leave it at that, but remember, you can live without sex but you can’t live without your cheater glasses! And don’t worry about your friends keeping your secrets safe because they can’t remember them either! And don’t worry about watching the weather channel. Your knees will be a much more accurate way of telling you that weather is about to change. And oh yeah, one more thing. You can quit worrying about droopy breasts and a sagging ass. Why? Because they’ve already fallen. Yup. That knocking feeling on the back of your knees is really your ass.

Argggh, I say! Arggggh! But on the upside, I’m going to make this a good day. I’m going to spend it with my kids and family and friends. I’m actually NOT doing the cooking. I’m going to eat and not worry about calories and cholesterol. I’m going to look around and count my blessings that my kids and grandkids are healthy and that my parents are still here, productive, and not in a nursing home. And for the hell of it I just may do a body shot and set my cruise on fifty-six when I drive home!

Favorite Movies

I'm interested in learning your favorite movie. I don't go out to the movies. Can't remember the last time I even entered a movie theatre. It's easier to simply rent it directly on the TV. Though I do miss the popcorn from the theatre. You just can't get it like that anywhere else. The one good thing about watching movies at home, the pause button so you can go potty and not miss a scene.

The main things I don't miss about the theatre, people talking, cell phones ringing and sticky floors (oooohhh).

Occasionally, I find a great movie that I will actually purchase on DVD. There are some I wish I never spent the money on like Due Date. My son said it was funny. I didn't see it, couldn't even watch it to the end.

But there are a few that I can watch over and over and over.

Here's my list of favorites:

All four Shrek movies. If I'm sick, I curl up on the couch and do a Shrek marathon. my kids hate it.

Ever After

A walk in the clouds

Hell Boy I & II

Expendables

Grown-ups

50 first dates

True Lies

A Cinderella Story-my daughter & I watch this one together

The Proposal (love Betty White)

Lady and the Tramp

The Mummy I & II

George of the Jungle

Tarzan

Sherlock Holmes

Gone with the Wind - this is a given since I'm named after the plantation.

I'm sure I'm leaving something out. Hoping ya'll step and share you're favorites.

I'm always looking for a good movie.

Happy Spring!!!!

Happy First Day of Spring!!!!!

I read today that there is a big difference between the first day of spring and the first spring day.

This year, it's actually warm in New England on March 20th, but I remember many a snow storm on an April day. In fact, my husband and I bought our first house in the middle of a blizzard on April 1st. Apparently, we were the April Fools that year!

In my story SNOWY NIGHT SEDUCTION the main characters, Jake and Sera, are caught in just such a snow storm. They, of course, find all sorts of things to do to keep warm. Lucky buggers.

I've always felt Mother Nature has a sick sense of humor. I swear she gives us a few really nice spring days just to get our hopes up, the BAM! she slams us with a cold snap. I'm sure there are people in other parts of the country or world who have nice, temperate climates where Mother Natured doesn't slap them upside the head on a regular basis, New England isn't so lucky.

So, wherever you are today, I hope you have a chance to go outside and enjoy some nice weather, at least for a little while. If Mother Nature turns nasty, try Plan B and read SNOWY NIGHT SEDUCTION instead! hahahaha

California here I come!

California here I come! In eleven days I am leaving for the USA. Five days in San Francisco, Six days sightseeing in Los Angeles then on to the Romantic Times Convention. This vacation has been arranged since June last year and now with so little time left I am getting nervous. Those who know me may recall that last year I planned a much anticipated trip to New Orleans before the RT Convention. For almost a year I planned and organized and excitement built for a trip to a place I had always wanted to see. Then, disaster.

The damn Icelandic volcano.

I never got to see The Big Easy. In fact, I barely made it to the Romantic Times Convention. I got stuck in Ohio for an extra night on the way home while sick as a dog with tonsillitis and travelled for 24hrs in the same condition as we circumvented affected airports. In the end I had to travel the last 9hrs by coach and train.

So, as the time of departure ticks nearer this year it's perhaps understandable that I'm afraid to be excited. The earth seems to be a very uncertain place these days. Mother Nature has declared war and I am hiding in a ditch hoping she passes me by this time. Please keep your fingers crossed for me, I'd really appreciate it. All being well, I hope to see many of you in L.A. in a few weeks.
Cait x

It's READ AN EBOOK WEEK!

Betcha didn’t even know there was such a thing, did you? Well, there is and we’re going to celebrate it in style!

Ebooks have only been around a couple of decades and, as many of you know, have found acceptance only in the last few years. Dedicated readers are slowly giving way to multi-use mobile devices to the point where there are no more excuses for not having a book with you all the time. As long as you have your smartphone, Ipad, Blackberry or netbook, you have an entire library at your fingertips.

This week, the world sets some time aside to celebrate this accessibility. To help out, I’m offering a free download of Kara’s Captain, a tale of love that spans two centuries and two modes of reading. Robert Walton comes from the pages of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Kara Godwin is the woman he hopes will save him from obscurity (read more in the sidebar). What better way to celebrate future than by reading a story that pulls together the past and the present?

To get a free download of Kara’s Captain, leave a comment sharing with us your favorite ebook of all time (and no, it doesn’t need to be one of ours). At 9:00 pm EST on Friday, March 18th, I’ll put all your names into a hat and my own handsome husband will draw not one, not two, but three lucky winners! Names will be posted here shortly thereafter.

Hooray for ebooks! Play safe,
Diana

Favorite Quotes

I feature a writing quote every month in my newsletter. I enjoy looking for them, finding just the right one for that month. Even though they're geared toward writers, many of the quotes are great for everyday life.

Some of the quotes I've featured so far include:

"What no wife of a writer can understand is that a writer is working when he's staring out of the window." ~Burton Rascoe

"The best time for planning a book is while you're doing the dishes." ~Agatha Christie

"A synonym is a word you use when you can't spell the other one." ~Baltasar Gracian

"Don't tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on broken glass." ~Anton Chekhov

"You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club." ~Jack London

"Creativity is allowing yourself to make mistakes. Art is knowing which ones to keep." ~Scott Adams (I like this one for my scrapbooking.)

"If the sex scene doesn't make you want to do it--whatever it is they're doing--it hasn't been written right." ~Sloan Wilson

"Writing fiction is a solitary occupation, but not really a lonely one. The writer's head is mobbed with characters, images and language." ~Hilma Wolitzer

"Writing is the only profession where no one considers you ridiculous if you earn no money." ~Jules Renard

Is one of these my favorite? Yes and no. I love the last one because it's so true for writers. But my all-time favorite quote has nothing to do with writing:

"A friend is someone who sees through you and still enjoys the view." ~Wilma Askinas

Do you have a favorite quote? Share it with me. And if you want to receive my monthly newsletter, which includes all kinds of goodies along with the quotes, send an email to lynn@lynnlafleur.com.

Lynn

Sanity Savers

I’m overwhelmed at the moment. With work and life. To the point of tears.

Don’t worry. This isn’t a whining blog. We all get overwhelmed at times so I know I’m in good company.

I’ve been filling in for the morning shift guy while he’s been on jury duty for a month. And at the same time, I got assigned four major shows that will all hit in the next two weeks. I’m working long days. No days off. I get home in time to eat dinner before I have to go to bed so I can get up at 3:00 AM to do it again. It's starting to wear on me a bit.

I find I get a little more nuts—i.e., whiny, cranky, bitchy, teary, sanctimonious, etc.—when I don’t take a few minutes for stuff that centers me.

These are my Sanity Savers

A Time Limit: I know the trial my co-worker is on will be done this week and my shows will be done in two weeks. So, it might be a hellish few days but two weeks from today, it’s done. I’ll cling to that and start checking off days.

Knitting: Spending even a few minutes with my needles and yarn seems to calm something in my soul. I don’t even know if it’s the act of knitting or just being in my house, alone. I’m your basic introvert so this is the perfect way to re-energize.

Friends: This is one often adds to my busy days because I have to take time to see them but it really does help. I’ve got three meetings for coffee or breakfast this week. It’s on my calendar and I’ll just slip away from work for a few minutes and come back calmer.

Writing: I particularly feel this one. When I’m so busy with the day job that I don’t have time to write, it weighs on me. Not really a conscious thing but I just get discontented with life. Then I spend a few hours with my characters and suddenly my mind is working again. I’ve got happy little voices in my head. Doesn’t always help with the day job but it makes the time much more entertaining.

So what do you do to save your sanity when you’re overwhelmed with the pressures of life? I’m always looking for something new to try.