I was thinking today about a workshop I attended several years ago. It had something to do with enriching your life and the lives of others. The challenge presented to the group was for a month to give three sincere compliments per day.

My co-worker and I tried but we only lasted a week.

I’d like to challenge you to try this for the next seven days. I’ll also take up the challenge.

Next week I’ll report back on what I discovered…and, everyone who completes this challenge AND reports back on how it went for them next week will win a copy of my upcoming release, The Doctor’s Baby.

If you’re on the fence about doing this, I’d encourage you to give it a try.

Anyone want to give it a try? Anyone have any questions?

There are so many times when you have to decide whether to “go for it” or stick with what’s safe and known. I made a switch from a nice, successful nursing career to become a full-time writer.  Did I know if it would work out when I quit my job? No, but at least I’d sold one book, so there was a pretty good chance I’d sell some more.

How about moving away from our childhood homes? Not the house itself, but the places where we grew up, where our families are? No doubt there are greener pastures out there, but is it worth sacrificing our roots to go after them?

Dating – should we keep on with that person or break it off and try for someone different, more suited to us? Are we being too picky? Or is he the closest we’re going to get to perfection?

Then there’s the question of kids. Should we have some? Yes? Is one enough, or should we go for a few? Or no, none at all . . . because there are some other pretty great things to do with life than raising a family.

Some things just seem to happen in the natural course of life. They seem right at the time, and so we “go for it.” I’d like to know what big risk you’ve taken lately – and how it’s working out for you so far. I’m going to draw one reponder’s name and send her (or him) a copy of my last book, Taken by the Laird and a few goodies from some of my author pals. So come on – inquiring minds want to know!

Please welcome my guest blogger, Jessica Anderson. Jessica writes amazingly detailed, sexy romances centered around the Mayan 2012 prophecy. Her next book, Demon Keepers is an April 6th release.  And now, on to Jessica!!

It is a truth universally acknowledged in my household that if one of our vehicles is fated to die at the side of the highway, I will be the one driving when it croaks.

The other day, I was loafing down a hill, minding my own business, when the engine just turned itself off. No cough, no sputter, no nothing. Just a dead stick on route 395. And then, once I had horsed it into the breakdown lane and coasted up the next hill a little, all the lights came back on and the cheery ding-y noise started dinging away.

Um, yeah. Poltergeist, aisle five.

According to Chad the mechanic, there was a factory-tightened nut that hadn’t gotten factory tightened, worked itself loose, and shorted my starter. Or something. The point is that it was a fluke. I was going downhill at exactly the right speed and angle to short it out, and then rolled back uphill with enough oomph to unshort it.

That’s the sort of thing that happens to me and cars. It’s anti-kismet. Murphy’s Law #69. (Number 68 is, of course, that if there’s a raffle, the person sitting next to me will win.)

Or are those things just coincidences?

The magic-wielding warriors I write about, the Nightkeepers, have a saying: There’s no such thing as coincidence; it’s all just the will of the gods. But today’s Nightkeepers, who grew up among us humans, don’t always like buying into their destinies. They’ll do their best to save the world from the disasters prophesied to hit in 2012, but they’re going to do it on their terms.

That’s particularly true for Lucius Hunt, a human researcher who becomes far more than human when he’s caught up in an ancient Mayan sacrifice. Now a changed man, Lucius holds the Nightkeepers’ only hope of unlocking their ancestors’ library—a treasure trove of spells and magic. But in order to do so, he and sexy spell-caster Jade, the one-night stand he never forgot, must unlock the secrets of the sun god in a high-stakes race that takes them from Lucius’s alma mater and a romantic rangeland getaway, to the pits of the underworld itself.

With that, I’d like to invite you to join me in celebrating T-minus twentysomething days to the April 6th release of Demonkeepers! Kicking things off (this is my first guest blog for this book!), I’m giving away an early copy of the book today to a randomly chosen poster J.

To enter, tell me about your own personal Murphy’s Law. Do you always get the brown M&Ms even though the law of averages says you should get a green one every now and then? Does it always rain on your birthday? Or you can hit me up with a question, or just pop in and say hi! We’re keeping it loose today!

For more information on the Nightkeeper novels, check out www.JessicaAndersen.com. To order an autographed copy of Demonkeepers (and/or the other books), go to http://store.radcliffbookstore.com and click on the Virtual Signing!
Any questions for Jessica? Want to rave about the first books in the Nightkeeper series? Now’s your chance to do so!

Or in my case the candy aisle.

Easter is just around the corner and the store shelves are crowded with a variety of foil-wrapped candy in soft pastels, pastel colored M&Ms, pastels peeps, jelly beans, and chocolate bunnies in way too many choices, as well as pre-made baskets and supplies for those into do-it-yourself. 

It was a tradition in our family do the Easter egg (and basket) hunt. I can remember finding candy that eluded detection that first round, usually when cleaning. Love surprises like that!                          

But then I love chocolate.

The temptation to go into the store and out without a bag of something is just too much for me to resist. Its made harder by the face that I have a special candy that only is made at this season.

Cadbury mini eggs. OMG they are some kind of wonderful. Oh, and the caramel crème eggs. Mmm. Of course I always like to have a bowl of M&Ms in all their varieties.

But all this marketing hype provides us with another way to consume far too many calories.    I find it odd (disturbing?) that another religious holiday is wrapped around oodles of candy. And yes, I do know the pagan reasoning behind it. Is the Easter candy mainly a US thing? Do other counties do the same or similar with the Easter egg hunts?

And why don’t we celebrate with candy at all other holidays. Say, like July 4th. I mean, come on. Where’s the red, white and blue M&Ms? The US flag foils wrapped around mini candy bars?

Oh, I know. How about Cadbury mini stars with red, white and blue candy coating? Hmm, I can just see it now — chocolate Uncle Sam’s.

OK, maybe not.

What’s your favorite Easter candy? Do you have traditions that you hold at this time?

I’ve started doing yoga again with the Fraulein. If you don’t remember the pain of my previous bout of yoga with her, you can read about it here.

Previously, I went in the evening classes at this very trendy place in an overpriced neighborhood. Now, I’m going to the day class, which is still wonderful (and painful) but meets in a slightly dodgy strip mall in South Austin wedged between a vintage clothing store and a holistic medicine shop. It’s very yoga and very Austin.

The place used to be a storefront of some kind. Now, the bathrooms are unisex, but one was once obviously a women’s room and the other was obviously once the men’s room. In the room that was once the woman’s room there’s a sign on the wall. It starts with an apology for the age and vagaries of the plumbing. It goes on to list the things that can and can not be flushed due to the plumbing. It mentions the ways to best respect the Feng Shui of the room. It suggests things you might do to be respectful of future users of the bathroom.

In the bathroom that was previously a men’s room, there’s a sign that simply reads: Flush thoroughly.

I could elaborate and talk about how this illustrates the innate differences between men and women. But I think I’m just going to leave it there.

Watching the Oscars and making my living in a creative art always makes me wonder who I’d thank if I received an award in front of millions of people. I’ve been lucky enough to win two GRW Maggie Awards and attend the ceremony so I’ve given thank you speeches before. But with the added pressure of people watching from all over the world, would I say something different?

I think not. I think I’d thank my family for their support, my friends for their friendship and always having my back and my kids for making me laugh and remember that life shouldn’t be too serious.

What about you? Who would you thank if the world were watching?

Katherine
PS the winner from my blog on Feb. 18 is Minna. Email me at kathy@katherinegarbera.com with you snail mail address.

I was talking to another writer the other day and she said she was applying (along with her good friend) to be a contestant on The Amazing Race. Now I love to travel but it’s not like these contestants get to enjoy the sites they’re seeing. It also seems like it would be extremely stressful.

If I could go on a show, I think I’d like to try:
Is this because I’m a great dancer? Absolutely not. But I’ve seen how people improve on that show. They lose weight, get more toned and graceful. That’s what appeals to me.

How about you? Would it be The Amazing Race or Dancing with the Stars for you? Or is there another reality show you’d rather be on?

I’ll draw a winner from everyone who comments. That lucky person will win a copy of my soon-to-be released book, The Doctor’s Baby.

If you were to visit my house on any given day around 6:45 p.m., you’d hear a lot of “Goodnight Moon.” We say it over and over as bedtime approaches. That’s also the book I read my daughter every night right before I turn out her light. She’s not a very good listener. She’s more interested in trying to grab the pages and get them into her mouth, but still I persist. I don’t remember my mom reading a particular book to me at bedtime. I know she read to me, but I don’t think it was any particular story.

I was thinking recently about books I loved as a child. I liked all the Dr. Seuss books and The Little Golden books too. The first “real” book I read was THE BLACK STALLION. I was never one of those little girls who wanted a pony—I wanted to be Han Solo and fly a starship—but that book did open new doors for me.

I was one of those kids who was always looking for something to do. I didn’t like playing with dolls much, and I wasn’t allowed to watch more than an hour of TV. When I discovered reading, it was a Godsend. Finally I could travel all around the world, do new things, meet new people—and all without leaving my bedroom.

Was reading an escape for you as a child? What books were your first loves? What was your bedtime story?

My daughter loves to play our Wellington upright piano that dates from the 1930’s.  It’s usually late evening, after her homework is finished and she’s winding down for the day, when she’s inspired to sit down and let her imagination pick out the notes.  She really enjoys making up her own songs and I encourage that as much as possible.  I used to do that, too, in my angsty teenage years, and remember how fulfilling it is to undertake that creative process.

When my daughter begins to play, I close my eyes, stop whatever I’m doing, and just listen.  I marvel at the richness of the sound filling our house.  It’s a warm sound, full of energy and promise.  Her passion for her composition rings through in the soft and strident phrases, the fast and slow sections, the dramatic pauses, and the fading resonance of the final notes.

Piano Interior. Photo copyright (c) M. Kean

To me, music is a lot like writing.  A great song pulls you in, sets your toes a-tapping, tugs at your emotions, and makes your heart sing.   A great romance novel—strong plot, intriguing characters, well-written prose–it’s equally as engrossing.  Chapters fly by, and while other things might be demanding your attention, you’re happy to shut it all out, because you can’t wait to find out what happens next.

When playing a tune on the piano, it’s important to hit all the right notes; otherwise, the melody doesn’t sound right.  Hitting a wrong key means the listener is jolted out of the pleasure of the music.  In terms of writing a novel, getting the words right on the page is crucial.  Words are their own kind of music.  They are notes of consonants and syllables, with punctuation added to create melody and enrich meaning.

As a writer, it’s really important to me that my sentences flow just right.  Whether I’m writing description, a conversation, or relaying my heroine’s flustered musings, each word has to “feel” right to me, not just within the sentence, but the paragraph and indeed the whole chapter.  I want my readers to be drawn so thoroughly into the story I’ve created, they forget the physical words on the page, and become swept away in the melody of the story.

It’s not easy.  Some days, I agonize over finding the right word to make a sentence sparkle.  But when I find that right word, I know it’s the perfect one and no other one will do.

I love finding authors whose books are so beautifully written and brilliantly crafted, they leave me in awe.  Those are the stories that resonate with me for a long time.  Just like a wonderful song.

***
Catherine’s next medieval historical romance, A Knight’s Persuasion, Book 4 of her Knight’s Series, will be released in May.  For an excerpt from this book and her other novels, please visit her website at http://www.catherinekean.com

I couldn’t put the punctuation markings over the vowels correctly with WordPress but those first words are supposed to be in Latin….They are the immortal words of the Bard, a warning given to Julius Caesar about impending doom (which had occurred when Caesar was assassinated by conspirators on March 15, 44 BCE). Now, of course, Shakespeare knew that date so it was more a case of ‘Monday morning quarterbacking’ than a portent, but March does seem to be an unsettling month overall, doesn’t it?

Just think about the weather. . . how many have heard the old saying “In like a lion, out like a lamb”?   The beginning of the third month of the year is firmly entrenched in winter, with storms, both snow and rain, expected. By the end of the month, spring has arrived. Some of the worst Nor’easters in my area on the East Coast have arrived in March, one I remember because it began on my sister’s birthday on March 14 and ended on the 15th, dumping more than a foot of snow on us.

Then, just after mid-month, there are the dueling saints — the Irish have St Patrick first and they do things like drinking, partying, singing Irish songs and other fun things like turning the Chicago River green! And, in his honor, Southwest airlines offers passengers free beer to celebrate… On the other hand,

the Italians have St Joseph and they go to Mass, cook big family meals and pray.  A different approach for sure!

And after all the feasting, a day of balance in the universe known as the vernal equinox, a day of equal daylight and night, the end of winter and the beginning of spring!  The earth wobbles back up straight on its path in the other direction, giving the northern hemisphere more hours of day as the southern hemisphere. Again, doesn’t sound like a stable time of the year to me!

But, brighter and warmer and longer days are nearly here! March leaves like a lamb, all the uncertainties and unsettledness behind us and the calmer, gentler winds of April approach. The weather eases, the winter wimpers away and our moods and days lighten.

So, though many think of the warnings about March, I see the opportunity of change and the expectations of the future.  I welcome the winds at the beginning of the month, but also the calm breezes at the end.  How about you? Do you hope for the end of winter and the beginning of spring?  St. Patrick or St. Joseph? Portent of doom or opportunities abounding? Leave a note telling me what you will miss the most about the winter or what you look forward to the most about the spring and I’ll pick two people to receive copies of my upcoming Harlequin Historical anthology – Pleasurably Undone.

While lamenting the end to the the terrific snow season, Terri is also looking forward to her new releases – PLEASURABLY UNDONE! is an April release from Harlequin Historicals.  Then in May (April 27th actually!), her novella A STORM OF LOVE will be part of a Kensington Brava anthology that includes Susan Johnson and Mary Wine. Visit her website at www.terribrisbin.com to find out about the new books and her upcoming appearances!