Who likes romantic movies? Do you see my hand waving in the air? Darn, right. I’m always looking for movies to rent that will let me feel happy and satisfied when the credits roll. Right now the ones I have on my to-be-rented listed are Nights at Rodanthe, Freedom Riders (it doesn’t sound like a romance to me…but someone recommended it) and August Rush (another non-romance sounding title)

 Web MD recently came out with a list of top romantic movies. Here they are:

Breakfast at Tiffanys *
When Harry Met Sally
The Way We Were *
Harold and Maude
Love Story *
The Lake House
Roman Holiday
Sleepless in Seattle *
Doctor Zhivago *

I’ve seen the ones marked with an * I’d say they were all “romantic”, but not necessarily a romance (which to me comes with the requisite HEA (happily ever after). If I invest time in watching a movie and bonding with the characters, I want a happy ending. What about you?

Let me know what you think of the movies I’m listed and, if you can recommend some good movies (remember…for me that means a happy ending) I’d appreciate it! And I know others reading these posts will thank you, too!

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I was listening to an interview on the radio the other day with a famous writer who has now passed away. The interviewer asked the author whether writing talent was something he thought writers were born with or something that can be learned.

I have to tell you that I sat up and took notice because this is a topic that has always interested me. Not only am I a writer, I’m also a writing teacher. Because I occupy those two roles (exclusive of one another), I tend to be a bit schizophrenic on the issue.

As a writer, I believe that writing talent is something I was born with. I was always a storyteller. I always had stories and plots and characters in my head. When I first sat down to write a novel, I had no training, no instruction. I knew nothing, but I had an innate sense of how a story should go, how a chapter should arc, how a conflict might be fleshed out. I’m not saying that my first attempt at novel writing was spectacular. I have to refine my skills. I had to learn a lot about characterization and plot and point of view. But the basics were already there. So if you ask Shana Galen, the writer, if a writer is born or made, her answer is born.

But how can Shana Galen, the teacher, agree with that verdict. If that’s true, isn’t all the hard work I put in teaching kids to write all for nothing? Am I just wasting my time 40 hours a week? What about the improvement I see in those young writers? And I definitely do see improvement. Take the first writing sample my students turn in in August and the last one in May and compare them, and almost 99% of the time, there is improvement. So as Shana Galen, the teacher, I believe writers can be made.

Professional writers? Can professional writers be made? Hmmm. I don’t know about that. What do you think? Born or made?

It’s been about nine months since we moved into our new house and it’s finally feeling like home. I’ve written a book and a half in my new office – I wrote nine in my old “writing cave,” as I used to call it. My new digs are light and bright. We no longer live on a busy street. So when it’s mild outside I can open my windows and enjoy some fresh air without asphyxiating or being bothered by the traffic noise.

I thought you might like a tour of my new office… So come on in…

It’s a good-sized room, with a huge glass-top desk big enough for my computer, an Eiffel Tower desk lamp, photos, and, of course, my work (to the left of my keyboard). I use a wireless keyboard and mouse. To the right of my keyboard is a very cool agenda that I found at Anthropologie. I always have a glass of water and a Coke Zero at hand. I live by Post-It notes (You’ll see them attached to my monitor. On them, I write various reminders and keep track of my daily page quota). Also, there’s always a couple of containers of hand lotion and tubes of lip balm within reach.

In the chair across the way my kitty-cat Marie is enjoying a quiet break from our dog, who loves to torment her. The pillow behind her says, “A friend knows all about you and still likes you.” To the left and right of her are my reading stacks. Behind her is a wall of bookshelves – stacked two-deep in most places.

This is a closer look at my “wall of books.”

This is a detail of the corner of my desk – my little dream “mantra;” and I love the way the light was shining through my glass of water.

This is a storyboard of my work in progress. I work from a very detailed synopsis, which I cut up and tape onto the board in the various squares that represent the chapters in my books. This is my story roadmap. Without it I would be lost.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this tour of my office. I’m glad you stopped by!

I think my little girl kitty has an eating disorder. I mean that sort of in a funny way and in a serious way. I’ve dome some preliminary internet research and I think she might have something they call PICA – which tends to be when cats suck on wool and other dense yarn-y type materials. Sydney does this, but she also just eats all kinds of junk she finds on the ground. Crumbs, dust, string, rubber bands, ribbon – I have to keep any ribbon in the house totally locked up, etc. We had an incident last Easter with some grass from the candy basket.

The other morning, early, I was up trying to get some writing done so I had my laptop in bed and the lights were still out and it was dark outside and I didn’t even have my glasses on. I could see Syd was jumping around on the floor by the foot of the bed, but I couldn’t tell what she was doing. So I put my glasses on and flipped on my lamp and there she was with some long white puffy thing hanging out of her mouth. “Sydney,” I said and off she ran to another room. Miracle of all miracles though she jumped up on an end table and I was able to extract the material. A stretched out cotton ball. I don’t think she swallowed much of it.

But seriously does she have to put EVERYTHING in her mouth? She’s like a toddler only faster and can hide under furniture. Another way I think she might have a bit of a disorder is that if we’re out of town, when we come back she always seems plumper. I think she, like most women, is an emotional eater and when we’re out of town and she’s stressed, she chows down. I suppose I might should talk to a vet about all of this, but for hte most part it doesn’t seem to affect her life. Other than an unfortunate regurgitation every now and then, she seems healthy and spry.

But seriously, she could be part goat.

By the way, first picture, not my cat, second picture is the culprit. So do your animals have any bizarre behavior like this?

Congratulations eap—you’re the winner of an Ann Roth book!!!

Email Ann at the following address: ann@annroth.net

She’s currently out of town and will respond back to you Monday.

Here are some Jaunty jokes for St. Patrick’s Day! Have a good one!

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Q: Why do people wear shamrocks on St. Patrick’s Day?

A: Because real rocks are too heavy!

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Paddy was driving down the street in a sweat because he had an important meeting and couldn’t find a parking place. Looking up to heaven he said, “Lord take pity on me. If you find me a parking place I will go to Mass every Sunday for the rest of me life and give up me Irish Whiskey!”

Miraculously, a parking place appeared.

Paddy looked up again and said, “Never mind, I found one.

——————–

Q: What’s Irish and stays out all night?

A: Paddy-O Furniture

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A man stumbles up to the only other patron in a bar and asks if he could buy him a drink.
“Why of course,” comes the reply.

The first man then asks: “Where are you from?”
“I’m from Ireland,” replies the second man.

The first man responds: “You don’t say, I’m from Ireland too! Let’s have another round to Ireland.”
“Of Course,” replies the second man.

Curious, the first man then asks: “Where in Ireland are you from?”
“Dublin,” comes the reply.

“I can’t believe it,” says the first man. “I’m from Dublin too! Let’s have another drink to Dublin.”
“Of course,” replies the second man.

Curiosity again strikes and the first man asks: “What school did you go to?”
“Saint Mary’s,” replies the second man. “I graduated in ’62.”

“This is unbelievable!” the first man says. “I went to Saint Mary’s and I graduated in ’62, too!”
About that time in comes one of the regulars and sits down at the bar. “What’s been going on?” he asks the bartender.

“Nothing much,” replies the bartender. “The O’Malley twins are drunk again.”

——————–

Share some good ones and have a green beer on Jaunty!

I’m glad I’m a girl (woman, whatever). Women rock. We get to give birth (some would argue that’s not a positive, but I had fun doing it). Our hair is prettier (most of the time). Our shoes…definitely prettier. We’re better at forging and maintaining friendships. We tolerate pain more stoically. But one of the bigger advantages in my opinion is that — in general, anyway — we don’t have to pop the question.

McIrish and I had been dating a ridiculously short amount of time  — six weeks — when he asked me to marry him. (I like to think that he knew I was a gem and didn’t want to waste a moment.) Whatever the case, we were courting in New York City, and he led me to that most scenic of places. The observation deck of the Empire State Building, you ask? No. Windows on the World in the World Trade Center, which was still standing back then? No. The Brooklyn Bridge? Ah…no. Central Park? Nope. Staten Island Ferry? No. Greenwich Village? Upper West Side? The Metropolitan Museum of Art? No, no and no.

The United Nations. I know. What did that say, right? That we needed peacekeeping troops? I’m still not sure. But there we were, and to his credit, a full moon was rising and it was a beautiful winter evening, and he asked, and of course I said yes, and here we are, many years later, very happy, so it all worked out.

A friend of mine tried to plan his big moment. Took his girlfriend on a hike up a mountain. Forgot the ring in the glove compartment. Had to leave her on the scenic overlook to go back to the car to get the ring and hike once again up the mountain. Was sweating bullets by the time he got back. And of course, his girlfriend knew exactly what was going on, so it wasn’t quite the big surprise he’d hoped for.

Another guy I know had a long distance thing going on…he flew his girlfriend in for the weekend, had already bought the ring, cooked for hours to create a romantic dinner, lit the candles, poured the wine, only to hear his girlfriend say, “I think we should break up, don’t you? I mean, it’s not like you’re the type I’d actually marry.”

Men have a lot of pressure on them to think of something original, romantic and unexpected. At the same time, they have to be pretty dang sure that they’re going to get the answer they want. So basically, they know their sweetie is just waiting for The Question…they know she’s been talking with her friends…she’s been pausing meaningfully in front of jewelry store windows …she’s been telling her family it’s just a matter of time…but somehow, he has to sweep her off her feet, have her gasp in surprise, weep with joy and fall into his arms and kiss the living daylights out of him, sobbing “Yes! Yes, yes, yes!”

Tough job, don’t you think?

What’s the best proposal you’ve heard of? Did you ever turn anyone down? Are you one of those rare women who did the asking? If you’re not married and would like to be someday, how’d you like your guy to pop the question? And if you are married…how’d he do?

Today, the Jaunty Quills welcome Harlequin and Kensington author, Ann Roth.

Publication didn’t come easy for Ann. After seven-plus years, while working full-time as a banker, writing nights and weekends, and countless hours spent hunched in front of her trusty computer, her efforts finally paid off. In 1999 she won the Golden Heart for best long contemporary. Six months later, just four days before Christmas, she sold her first book to Silhouette Special Edition. That book, STRANGER IN A SMALL TOWN, was a 2000 Romantic Times nominee for best first long series novel.

Since then Ann has sold multiple novels to Silhouette Special Edition, Harlequin American and Kensington, as well as an online serialized novelette to eHarlequin, and a novella for a Harlequin anthology. Check out some of her gorgeous book covers at www.annroth.net

Breaking news:  Not only is OOh, Baby!  a March, 2009 Romantic Times Top Pick, but Ann has just learned she’s a double finalist in the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence contest!  WTG, Ann!! The books that finaled are The Pilot’s Woman, the second book in the Halo Island series, and My Sisters, a women’s fiction novel released in November, 2008.

You have a chance to win one of Ann’s books! Ann will pick a winner from everyone who comments on her blog. The winner will receive an autographed copy of The Pilot’s Woman or All I Want for Christmas (winner’s choice)

Tax Season is upon us

If you’re like me, you’d rather suffer through a root canal than fill out dreaded tax forms. Yet long ago in another lifetime, I loved crunching numbers, loved filling out those forms. So much so, that for several years during tax season I worked as a tax preparer. I also enrolled in a graduate program to earn my MPAcc-MBA (Masters of Professional Accounting and MBA), with an eye on taking the CPA exam.

But after a grueling summer when I completed six accounting classes in ten short weeks, I realized that I no longer wanted to be a CPA. I dropped out of the MPAcc part of the program and ended up graduating with an MBA.

Now my husband and I hire a CPA who keeps up with the ever-changing tax code and forms. For months and months every year our CPA works long hours, seven days a week. Can you say, grueling?

As important and valuable as the work is, tax preparation definitely isn’t what you’d call sexy. Unless the CPA happens to be Carter Boyle, the hero in Ooh, Baby! Okay, the job will never be sexy. But Carter’s pretty darned hot. Lily Gleason, who hires him to help with her audit, certainly thinks so.

What happens when they meet is You think I’m going to tell you here? Uh-uh. As much as I’d love to share their story right now, I’d rather you read the book.

What about you-do you prepare your own taxes? If so, do you enjoy it?

Thanks for inviting me to guest-blog, and wishing you an IRS refund.

Are you reading this at home because you chose not to venture out today?

Friday the 13th is probably the most common superstition found today. I tried finding the origins of Friday being unlucky and 13 being unlucky and Friday the 13th being the unluckiest of all, but I think it can’t be pinned down. Maybe it’s the culmination of many true incidents compounded by myths and legends.

Some point to Norse mythology, where Loki the troublemaker crashed a dinner party of 12 people (making him the 13th) and started a fight that ended in someone’s death. There were 13 people at the Last Supper. In pagan Rome, Friday was execution day. Christ was crucified on a Friday. And there was the mass arrest of the Knights Templar on Friday, October 13, 1307. Thousands of Templars were chained and tortured because of trumped-up charges.

The whole topic of Friday the 13th got much more press in the 20th century than probably all its previous press combined. Something that may have stuck in the cultural sub-conscious was a novel published in 1907 titled Friday, the Thirteenth. From the source I found: “The book, all but forgotten now, concerned dirty dealings in the stock market and sold quite well in its day. Both the titular phrase and the phobic premise behind it — namely that superstitious people regard Friday the 13th as a supremely unlucky day — were instantly adopted and popularized by the press.” Shady stock market deals? Hmm, maybe it was prophetic. But I digress.

One urban legend involves the HMS Friday. Sailors are well known for being a superstitious lot, and no sailor worth his hardtack would willingly begin a voyage on a Friday — it’s bad luck. To combat this once and for all, so the story goes, the British Navy commissioned a new ship and named her the HMS Friday. Her keel was laid on a Friday. Her captain was James Friday. She was launched on a Friday. She even set out on her maiden voyage on a Friday … and she and her crew were never seen or heard from again. (Totally untrue but it has a good punch line.)

A 1993 British study measured the volume of traffic and the number of hospital admissions following traffic accidents on Friday the 6th and Friday the 13th in one region for several years. The results showed a marked decrease in traffic volume on the 13th but a marked increase in the number of hospital admissions. Fewer cars on the road but more accidents. “Friday 13th is unlucky for some,” the researchers conclude in their article. “The risk of hospital admission as a result of a transport accident may be increased by as much as 52 percent. Staying at home is recommended.”

I tend to think of superstitions as self-fulfilling prophecies. If you think you’re going to have bad luck, you probably will. Used for good or bad, the sub-conscious mind is possibly the most powerful weapon ever created.

Let’s just be thankful this Friday the 13th does not also fall on a full moon. Lunacy is a topic for another day, but I will say that a veteran police officer I once met would do almost anything in order to not be on duty on any Friday the 13th that coincided with a full moon.

So… are you superstitious?

I thought you might be interested in the process of getting a book published. My experience is limited to Avon these days – I used to write for Harlequin, but I understand their process is somewhat different from my days with them. But prior to any publishers – you’ve got to have a writing process. Here’s the way it works for me:

1. Come up with a viable idea.
Most people can do this. Heck, my husband does it all the time. He’ll see something in the paper or one of his journals and say, “Hey, you ought to write a book about this!” And my answer is, “OK, that’ll give me a couple of good pages, have you got any suggestions for the other 398?”

2. Figure out characters and a conflict that will make your readers care, and come up with a twist that hasn’t been done a million times before. There are so many ways to have a boy meet a girl and eventually live happily ever after. But you want your readers engaged in the process, want them invested in the process of achieving the happy ending.

3. Now you get your editor involved. See if she thinks it’ll work.
She might say, “Is this a story you really want to write?” Then it’ s probably back to the drawing board, because if she doesn’t ‘get’ the concept, then you’ve either presented it poorly, or it really isn’t going to work. You might re-work the basic idea and send it back to her.

4. Cover Conference: At Avon, this will happen very early in the process. The editor and marketing dept want information on the setting and characters, as well as a short syopsis of the book. Before you’ve written it (ack!)

5. Write a synopsis. This can be loose or very tight. I know some people who plot out every scene of the book. They know what’s going to happen on every page. Mine happen to be on the loose side, although I do write in a lot of detail, so I know exactly where I’m headed as I write. But sometimes I let the story take me on a few detours along the way.

6. Write the book. Some authors do a quick first draft. They might write three hundred pages and then go back over it and layer in some detail, some character depth. I’m a much more linear writer. My first draft is sort of a final draft, although I print out the whole thing just after the halfway point, and read through in order to make corrections and regain the momentum of the novel. Sometimes you can start out with, say, 10 threads, but you only have 6 by the time you get halfway through. Have you ever read a book that didn’t wrap up all the loose ends? You’re left to wonder what happened to a certain character or how a particular issue was resolved. Sometimes, when you’re planning a sequel, you want loose ends. But if it’s not that kind of book, then you want everything tied up satisfactorily.

7. Finish the book. Once I’ve gone over my early work, I write all the way to the end, about 400 pages. Then I print the whole thing and sit down and read it through again. (So – this is what, the second time I’ll be reading the work, but that’s ok – I sort of like it. I’m glad I came up with the idea!).

8. Send it to the editor. By the deadline date, preferably. It’s important to treat this work like any other job, in that there are deadlines and production schedules to meet. It might be a creative process, but hey. It’s a business, too. Tell that to the people who want to meet you for lunch, or a midday coffee. Or to volunteer for some major school or community project!

8. Get a call from the editor. This will be about revisions – a request to revise certain aspects of the story that the editor thinks doesn’t work. This can be general, or specific. General: I think your villain is too crass and too one-dimensional. See if you can make him more real to me. Specific: There’s too much discussion about the price of corn on pages 228-235. As you can see, either type of revision will require a lot of work. AND, it’s the third time you’ll read the book. (It’s ok, I don’t mind going over it again).

9. Send the revised version to the editor. And hope for the best. If she likes what you’ve done, then #10 will soon follow, hopefully, when you’re not on vacation.

10. The copy-edited version of the book arrives. A copy editor has gone over the manuscript with a fine-tooth comb (or is that fine tooth, fine-toothed, or fine toothed?) This person will read for grammatical, spelling, and punctuation errors. The CE will also pick up on any inconsistencies in the manuscript (Five years? You said seven years in the last chapter). This usually arrives when you’re working on the next book, just as you’re getting really involved and into the heads of your characters. And, by the way, this makes the fourth time you’ve read the story. (I’m wondering if maybe there isn’t a faster way to do this. Please).

11. You wonder if you actually wrote some of those passages, and yes – you check the master copy, and they’re there. Huh. Now you send it back with any changes you want to make to the CE’s work, or even things you don’t like, as long as you’re seeing it again.

12. Galleys arrive. You’re deep into writing the next book, probably around #6 or 7 above, when this package arrives at your door. It’s the last pass. The production team doesn’t really want you to make any significant changes here, but just look for things they might have missed. A misspelling of a character name, for example. It’s the fifth read-through, and oh boy, I am SO done with this book! I don’t ever want to pick it up again!

But I’m hoping my readers will, and they’ll have a smooth, satisfying read that takes them somewhere out of their normal, humdrum world, into a place where they can escape – and smile, for just awhile.

12.