I just finished a manuscript and overnighted it to my editor, so it should be on her desk by noon today. This book out of my usual genre, so it took a good bit of research to get the time period right … and it’s also paranormal. Not just paranormal elements (which I’ve had in a number of my past books), but the hero is a sorcerer-warrior who has to leave his own realm to come to earth in order to find an artifact of power. Of course he meets the heroine (a mere human) and falls for her.

Well, I didn’t mean to go on about the story … what I do want to go on about is something Shirley asked me. She wanted to know how I’m going to reward myself for finishing on time.

I need suggestions. Bear in mind that my birthday was less than 2 weeks ago, so I had some nice ‘rewards’ then … So what do I do now? Food is out – I try not to let that be a reward, ever. It’s a cold, rainy day here in Michigan so I can’t even take the dogs to the woods for a nice, long hike.

So I’m open to ideas … and if anyone gives me a winner, I’ll send them a signed copy of The Perfect Seduction (my September Avon release).

That really should read “couplet,” but I couldn’t resist.



Last chance to win an ARC from Anne,
A drawing after dark is planned,
Who will win a book today?
Only a comment below can say!



Comments made today count in the drawing. Winner to be randomly drawn at midnight PST! Winner will receive a signed ARC of my November release, The Earl of Her Dreams.

Post a couplet – goofy, book-related or otherwise – or, as the past weeks, just comment about your day/weekend.



Couplets for The Earl of Her Dreams:

Christian seeks a stolen book,
In The Dragon’s Tale Inn he knows to look,
Kate seeks a place to hide,
Instead she finds her future mate inside.

Kate has a scar and pain that runs deep,
Christian a wretched past and promise to keep,
Stuck together in a snowed in inn,
More than healing they may find within.

Ever meet someone and instantly feel as if you’ve always known them? Make an instant connection, like you knew each other before this life? I’ve been fortunate to meet at least two men like that. I married one of them — Mike. The other is my friend Robert.

After my dad retired from the Air Force, we settled in a small town in southern Oregon. Myrtle Creek is so small, it didn’t even have a stop light. Everyone knew everyone else, and half of them were related to each other. I felt very much the outsider when I began junior high that fall. Somehow I met Robert. Still not sure how that came about because we didn’t have any classes together or even the same lunch period until the second half of eighth grade. But we did get acquainted, and I clearly recall considering him my best friend even in seventh grade. Just friends, mind you, despite what his girlfriend believed. Donna wanted me to meet her behind the gym after school. (Talked my way out of it.)

Our friendship continued through high school and beyond. We were both involved in journalism and drama, and comfortable enough to have rows and slam doors in the other’s face but everything was always fine again. Want to go to a movie but don’t have a date? No problem. Lock your keys in your car at work, and don’t realize it until the end of shift at 11 pm? He drove 20 miles each way to bring me the spare set. We even talked of getting an apartment together after high school since neither of us made enough to live alone.

Our math teacher Mr. O’Neil gave a test every Friday, and of course there was no talking allowed. But talking was not allowed even after all the tests were turned in. Since this class was the all-important period right before lunch and it was essential we confirm our plans, Robert and I would pass notes. After all the tests were turned in, of course.

Once our paperwork inadvertently caught Mr. O’Neil’s attention, the following week he reminded us no talking and no passing notes, either. He also made us change seats so we were on opposite sides of the room.

No problem. A deaf family had recently moved in to the area and a volunteer was teaching sign language classes at night, which Robert and I were both taking. (You know where this is going…) The next week, Mr. O’Neil admonished no talking, no passing notes… and no signing.

Killjoy.

Robert and I walked together at junior high graduation, when we were both the same height. We went to the senior prom together, because he’d broken up with Donna again and the guy I liked had moved out of state. We walked together at high school graduation when we were, well, no longer the same height. Let’s just say we were called Mutt & Jeff more than once. My mom teased that this was the last time he could walk me down an aisle with no permanent repercussions. Almost everyone believed we were a romantic couple, no matter how much we insisted we were just friends. It was a big shock for Mom when I told her I was marrying Mike. I love Robert dearly, but it’s always been more of a sibling vibe than a soul mate vibe. She didn’t really understand until we were in our 20′s and Robert confided that his romantic partner was another man. He has a photo of us in our cap and gowns hanging on a wall of the home he shares with his partner. (Oh, and we’re both still in touch with Donna.)

Though living far apart, we’ve stayed in contact over the years through phone calls and exchanging deep, meaningful e-mails. Here’s one he sent me:

(In case you can’t read it, the text on the pencil is “Microsoft Word For Blondes v1.0″.)
Last weekend when I went up to Seattle for the Emerald City conference, we had the chance to say hello in person for the first time in, oh, about 18 years. He has a bit of grey at the temples and goatee now (I don’t remember growing older – when did he? ), but in this almost-middle-aged responsible adult, there were still glimpses of the teen boy who used to play Monopoly on the sidewalk outside Circle K at three in the morning when my mom was working graveyard, or giggle in the back row of the theater during Dollar Night screenings of Airplane. We solemnly promised it wouldn’t be another 18 years.

Btw, at dinner the first night of conference one of the gals from Portland asked if my, um, husband had come to the conference because, um, she saw me in the hotel lobby with a, um, guy.

Have you been fortunate to have a Robert in your life?

Sometimes when life seems overwhelming and obligations are closing in, I like to imagine what I would want to happen if Calgon could really take me away… I imagine what my perfect day would be like…if it was just me and I could spend it anyway I wanted.

It actually wasn’t hard for me to decide..but first I had to make the caveat that I couldn’t write (because I love to write and leaving that as an option wouldn’t make me look at anything else)

I would read. I would sit on my deck on a perfectly lovely (translation: warm and not too windy) day with either the radio or a CD playing….a cup of flavored coffee with cream and sugar in one hand, a book in the other. By the time the day ended I would have throughly immersed myself in several books and been transported away from day-to-day cares.

Can you imagine anything better?

According to Fred Head, a candidate for Texas State Comptroller, they are. His opponent, Susan Combs, wrote a romance novel in 1990, which Head calls pornographic.

I particularly object to statements like “Susan Combs claims to be a person of high moral standards. Her record of writing, having published and selling a pornographic book clearly shows that Susan Combs is a two faced, hypocrite who was obviously more concerned with her literary career and seeing her name in print than the morals of the young People of Texas who are exposed to her 222 page book, A Perfect Match, which has her name at the top of every other page–a clear testament to Susan Combs’ insatiable ego and desire to see her name in print.”

Okay, so because the publisher puts her name at the top of the book’s pages that means the author has an insatiable ego? Jeez! I’ve published 5 books to Combs’s 1. What does that say about my ego?

And when did romance suddenly become pornographic? Is any depiction of sex pornographic? If John Grisham writes a sex scene is that porn, or is it only when Nora Roberts pens one? Is a written depiction of two adults falling in love and expressing that love physically pornographic? I have always felt that my books promoted conservative, family values like love, fidelity, and marriage.

And if Fred Head is so concerned, why did he post the “pornographic” pages on his website for the “young People of Texas” to see?

I’ve written letters to both candidates. I complimented Head on tackling the issue of pornography but wanted to know what he plans to do about the real problem (i.e. kids having access on the internet, illegal “massage parlors,” and the fact that Houston has the highest number of strip clubs per capita than any other city in the country—aren’t these more problematic than the steamiest romance novel?)

I did receive a response from Susan Combs. She said “I am proud of my book…and my romance writer friends.”

Maybe you’d like to write Fred Head too and set him straight about romance novels. His email is fredhead@goquest.com and this links to his website

You can read Head’s statements about Combs’s book here

So what do you think? You read romance, trade books with your friends, give them as gifts. Are you a purveyor of porn?

A friend sent this to me. This little guy looks like the illicit love child of my two cats.

Original picture link

Any good pictures out there that you’ve enjoyed lately?

I think Jaunty might have a crush on me. He’s always popping in on my day. Hmmmm….

So I’m nearing the end of my current rough draft and with everyone, I’m always convinced that it’s the worst book ever. And I usually have a conversation with a friend that goes something like this:

ME- “This book sucks.”
HER- “You always say that.”
ME- “Yes, I realize that, but I’m serious. This book is terrible.”
HER- “But you always feel this way about your writing at this stage and then you fix it.”
ME- “I don’t think you believe me when I say that this book is beyond the worst.”

Lucky for me, she’s out of town right now so I don’t have to have the same conversation with her since she clearly never believes me. And it appears I’ve made an error in the past. Because while the other books might have felt like they were the worst books ever, but in fact, that honor goes to the one I’m working on right now. I had such high hopes for this book, but I think I might have forgotten how to write.

It’s embarrassing. Because then all of you, my friends, fellow writers, and readers will know what a total hack I am. I’m still holding out hope that I might be able to pull the mess together at some point. But right now, that’s looking doubtful. I can’t even tell y’all the worst of it – it’s humiliating. Suffice it to say, the book needs a lot of work. And I know this before I’m even done. I have 4 chapters left and I’m hoping to finish it this week. We’ll see how I manage that goal.

The good thing about me….no matter how much I complain, I never give up. So I’ll keep working on this piece of literary junk and hopefully shape it into something that resembles a book before it has to go to my editor.

Hello! Jaunty P. Quills, Porcupine Extraordinaire back again with a confession. I may have…um, inadvertently hired a new Jaunty Quill without consulting the current Jaunty Quills. And I may have—ahem, forgotten exactly who I hired. But have no fear! I will discover who the new Quill is before she or he is unveiled on November 1st. (Either that or the Jaunty Quills have threatened to send me back to the woods.)

Porcupine Extraordinaire: And here’s the new Quill now! Hello! I thought we might continue with our investigation—I mean, interview from last week.

Mystery Quill: Heh. I totally have the upper hand here, don’t I? I mean, you don’t know who I am and the Jaunties have no idea why I’m here! My plan to take over the world is going along very nicely.

Porcupine Extraordinaire: First completely original question—not from The Actor’s Studio at all—what sound or noise do you love?

New Quill: Yeah, I’ve totally never heard that one on The Actor’s Studio. You’re so right. Anyway, I like the click of a keyboard. I also like music of all kinds (pretty much). And my husband’s voice.

Porcupine Extraordinaire: What sound or noise do you hate?

Mystery Quill: Dog’s barking endlessly.

Porcupine Extraordinaire: Oh, I understand completely! Dogs terrify me! One time a dog chased me into a—sorry…

What profession, other than your own, would you like to attempt?

Mystery Quill: Aw, Jaunty. You can cry it out if you want. We’ll take a moment… Okay, I think I would have been a great bassoonist. If I could play the bassoon. If I had ever tried, I would have been a true proficient.

Porcupine Extraordinaire: Look new Quill, this isn’t helping much. Try giving me an answer that will enlighten our readers (and yours truly). What profession would you not like to do?

Mystery Quill: Porcupine Interviewer.

Porcupine Extraordinaire: [mutters] Try this one: if Heaven exists, what would you like God to say when you arrive at the Pearly Gates?

Mystery Quill: The people you love and have lost are waiting for you.

Porcupine Extraordinaire: Fine! I can see that my subtle yet debonair approach is not going to work with the likes of you. I will have to be direct. What do you write?

Mystery Quill: Books.

Porcupine Extraordinaire: What kind of books?

Mystery Quill: Really good ones.

Porcupine Extraordinaire: Okay, fine. You’re not the only one who can play this game. Where were you born?

Mystery Quill: At a hospital. We’re country, but we’re not that country.

Porcupine Extraordinaire: Aha! Britney Spears, right? You’re Britney Spears?

Mystery Quill: Yeah, totally not that country.

Porcupine Extraordinaire: Where do you live?

Mystery Quill: In a domicile.

Porcupine Extraordinaire: Look, Mystery Quill, I don’t think you understand what’s at stake here. If I don’t figure out who you are, and soon, those mean Jaunty Quills have threatened to send me back to the woods. The woods! With bears and wolves and all manner of porcupine-hungry things. Do you know how difficult it will be for me to purchase my copy of Robyn DeHart’s Deliciously Wicked Porcupine in the woods?

So are you going to help me or not?

Mystery Quill: Wow. Sad story. Really. But I’ve been sworn to secrecy. And you don’t want to know what will happen to me if I tell.

By the way, that Deliciously Wicked Porcupine book? Awesome.

Porcupine Extraordinaire: I guess it’s up to you oh, loyal readers. Please save me from banishment. Help me figure out who the new Quill is!

I was planning to write today about my favorite love scenes in movies – the scenes that culminate the love story like the end of When Harry Met Sally – when Harry shows up at the party and tells Sally he can’t live without her. They kiss, but it’s the emotion that comes through and makes you love that scene. And then Harry becomes blabbermouth Harry again, and Sally can’t help but laugh, while she’s crying.

Same thing with Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in It’s a Wonderful Life. He’s absolutely adamant about leaving town to get himself a life somewhere else. But he realizes he can’t live without Mary. The intensity of emotion in that scene is amazing. Her eyes are bright with tears, he’s beside himself with frustration, wanting her … wanting to leave …

And don’t you just love it when Mark Darcy and Bridget Jones get together at the end of that movie? She’s wearing nothing but a sweater over her undies, and tennis shoes, standing on the very tips of her toes to kiss him in the falling snow. After all of Bridget’s bumbling, she ends up with the right man.

As I said, I was planning to write about all my favorite culmination/love scenes, and I’m not necessarily talking about sex, (although I don’t discount the impact of sex in a love scene, so that’s fine, too, if there’s an emotional impact).

But I’ve got serious brain-freeze this morning, and I can’t think of any more! I need you to tell me … What are the best culmination/love scenes that you can think of? Scenes that send you away from the theater, feeling happy and satisfied.



ARC to give away
At the strike of 12 today
Will your name be drawn?



Comments made today count in the drawing. Winner to be randomly drawn at midnight PST! Winner will receive a signed ARC of my November release, The Earl of Her Dreams.

Post a haiku – goofy, book-related or otherwise – or, as last week, just comment about your day/weekend.



Haikus for The Earl of Her Dreams:

Christian seeks a book
Kate Simon, a place to hide
Will the two collide?

A murder within
Secrets too dark to be told
Mystery abounds.

Love, the greatest gift
Embracing it the challenge
In the midst of change