ROBYN: Do you know what day it is, Anne?

ANNE: Tuesday?

ROBYN: *deadpanned* Very good, Anne. But today is-

ANNE: July 31st!

ROBYN: Yes, but-

ANNE: Harry Potter’s birthday!

ROBYN: And-

ANNE: The end of July!

ROBYN: Which is-

ANNE: Harry Potter’s birthday!

ROBYN: And-

ANNE: The day before August begins!

ROBYN: I swear to all that is holy, Anne, that if-

ANNE: I don’t let you finish your sentence?

*sounds of strangulation heard*

ROBYN: *reappears, straightens shirt sleeves* Let’s try this again, do you know what day it is?

ANNE: Tuesday!

ROBYN: Yes, Tuesday. And therefore, release day!

ANNE: Oooh! What type of trout do we get to release?

ROBYN: No, not trout! Book release!

ANNE: *nods sagely* We must release all of the books.

ROBYN: What?

ANNE: Trapped in their bindings! Mad with loneliness and grief! We must help them!

ROBYN: What? No! No! Book release! When all of our lonely – what, no, HAPPY books hit the shelves.

ANNE: That must be painful. Should we do a cushioning charm on them?

ROBYN: *counts to ten*

ANNE: *smiles benignly*

ROBYN: You need to get in the spirit, here. Book release day is a MAJOR day for authors. It is when our babies, er, BOOKS, hit, er, appear on shelves for the first time.

ANNE: *nods sagely again* They apparate to the shelves.

ROBYN: No, you Loony woman, they get PLACED on the shelves. Now get into the spirit. Release day spirit is not to be toyed with.

ANNE: *light bulb appears* OH! I’ve got it now!

ROBYN: Excellent. I knew you’d come around.

ANNE: How about this one – Give me an R! R, R, R, RRRRRRRRRR!

ROBYN: What?

ANNE: Give me an E! E, E, E, EEEEEEEEEE!

ROBYN: *issues a blank stare*

ANNE: Give me an L! L, L, L, LLLLLLLLLL!

ROBYN: No. Stop that! Not that kind of spirit!

ANNE: Give me an E! E, E, E, EEEEEEEEEE!

ROBYN: *puts Anne in choke hold*

ANNE: *slightly strangled* Give me an A! A, A, A, AAAArgh

*wrestling ensues*

Released/apparated/placed onto shelves near you:

Join the insanity. What is today to you? Tuesday? The seventh month dying? The middle of the blasted week? A joyful renewal of summer’s bounty?

The second part of the interview I did with Jacquie D’Alessandro at RWA National is up now at http://www.romancenovel.tv! Enjoy! And be sure to scroll down and talk about concerts with Shana. We’re all dating ourselves.

Recently, Ultimate Sportsfan and I were talking about concerts we’d been to, and I realized that I have been to quite a few and some that might now be considered classics. I saw some bands at the height of their fame: REO Speedwagon, Heart, Debbie Gibson (ugh!–my little sister dragged me to that one), Depeche Mode, Erasure, George Michael, Madonna, OMD, Nine Inch Nails, The Violent Femmes, Whitesnake (a date took me to this one–not my choice), Huey Lewis and the News, and Morrissey.

But there’s one concert I had to miss, and I can’t tell you how upset I was. I was upset for years. I might still be upset.

I couldn’t go to see Wham!

I was in 7th grade when Wham hit it big with “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go,” and though my dad might go with me to REO Speedwagon or Huey Lewis, he was not going to see Wham!

I had to stay home.

So what about you? Any great concerts? Any you wish you had been able to go to? Have I totally dated myself now?

I just wanted to post a quick reminder that my “You Tell Me the Story” novella, “A Woman Scorned” continues at Jenna Petersen. I’ve posted the third chapter today and you can vote for what happens in Chapter 4 until August 12.

I’ve also done a full August update for my website, so come on by and check it out!

Today I’d like to talk about what tugs at your heartstrings? What brings a tear to your eye? A sigh to your lips? Emotion swelling up and closing your throat….okay, you’ve got the picture.

Most authors feel they’ve done their job when a reader gets vested in the story, when they care about the characters, when they feel an emotional reaction to what is happening. I once read a scene where a mother was desperately trying to hold onto her child as someone tried to pry the child from her arms. As a mother, I experienced the anxiety and fear that the woman in the book was feeling.

What other kind of scenes bring out the tissues? Loneliness in the elderly. A friend told me about her husband laying tile in a grocery store…and how an older gentleman stood and talked to her husband all morning while he worked. It was hard for the guy to concentrate on his job, but he could tell the man was lonely so he didn’t tell him to leave. All I can say is that tilesetter is definite hero material.

In my book–When She Was Bad—I felt sick when Jenny’s lies were revealed and Robert walks away from her. The two were perfect for each other and they “had” to be together. (The black moment in most books affects me this way)

I’m sure you’re thinking I was crazy to be so stressed, because I had to know they’d get back together. Yes, in a romance a happy ending is guaranteed. But I’m a pantzer, not a plotter and, at that point, I just wasn’t sure “how” they’d get back together.

Anyway, I’d like to hear about scenes in a book you’ve written or one you’ve read that brought your emotions surging to the surface. C’mon, everyone should have at least one example to share…

Amid all the hype over the release of the long-awaited last book in the Harry Potter series, I haven’t been able to help but wonder just what author JK Rowling has up her sleeve next. As wonderful as I know it must feel for her to finally write THE END after 17 years of living with the boy wizard’s story in her head, it has to be a little daunting for her as well. Not only is she saying goodbye to this wonderful world she has created, but for the first time in years what lies ahead for her is unknown. What an exciting yet frightening crossroads to be at.

Where does Rowling go from here? Having created such a beloved character and mega-bestselling series, what will she do next? To be perfectly honest, I don’t envy her at all. Well, okay, maybe a little. She is, after all, an ultra-talented writer and obviously far, far wealthier than I will ever be. (Sniff-sniff) But I can’t even begin to imagine the sort of pressure she will more than likely be feeling when it comes time to sit down and come up with the idea for her next tale. I’ve watched her recent interviews on the Today show and she has said that she definitely wants to keep writing, that she can’t imagine not writing, and as an author I can totally understand that sort of drive. However, at the same time, any work she turns out after this is bound to be subjected to intense scrutiny and will probably constantly be compared to Harry Potter. What a very difficult act to follow!

So, what do you think? If you were JK Rowling, what would you do? Would you continue with the Harry Potter series or perhaps write some sort of spin-off with some other character from the series? Would you try something completely new? Or would you retire your pen, content to know that you are going out at the top of your game?

I’m so excited and I’m so proud. We got a new book cover yesterday and I just think it is beautiful. It really fits the book too, so three cheers for marketing for getting this one right. Only this book isn’t mine. It’s The Professor’s. That’s right, he’s a writer too. This fall his dissertation (which he is publishing in book form with the University of Missouri press) will hit university libararies everywhere. Perhaps a few bookstores. And it will definitely be available for order on Amazon and whatnot. I think the footnotes alone are longer than most of my books. And it took The Professor like 6 years to write this sucker. Thank goodness my books don’t take that long, I’m afraid I’d poke my eyes out. But academic publishing/writing is a totally different animal. So indulge me today while I say congrats to my sweetie for all his hard work. And here’s a peek at his beautiful cover.

Hello! It’s me, Jaunty P. Quills. I’m back from my fabulous vacation in Dallas, Texas. I was a guest of honor at the Porcupine Writers of America (PWA) conference there. We had a blast—such great workshops, so much delicious tree bark, and tons of free porcupine romances. I even read a couple on the plane back—A Porcupine’s Taking and When Jaunty Was Bad.

But now I’ve returned, and oh, the struggle to go back to work!

Yes, I work. Porcupines work. We don’t just eat pine cones all day. In fact, I’m writing a fabulous new romance about a Druzai warrior porcupine who travels 900 years…

What?

No, I did not steal that plot from Margo Maguire!

Fine. I have more where that came from.

What about a story featuring a boring porcupine accountant who meets a sexy skunk and pretends she’s also a wild and sexy skunk. But then when the porcupine falls in love with the sexy skunk…

No! I did not steal that idea from Cindy Kirk! It’s my idea!

Fine. Back to the drawing stump.

Never fear. I shall return.

Santa!! Santa, I’ll email you right now. Thanks for commenting everyone! And I hope you all enjoy the short stories that launched today AND SIF when it hits shelves in October!

It’s like a Jenna day today, sorry! Romance Novel TV has just put up the first segment of my interview with Jacquie D’Alessandro from Dallas! You can find it here:

http://www.romancenovel.tv

Enjoy! I’m too scared to watch it.

Oh and don’t forget to scroll down for Jenna’s latest news and prize giveaways! Jenna is Godzilla. Jenna smash.