My daughter is, among other things, a collector.  On her desk is a wicker basket filled with buttons that once were stowed in several glass jam jars.  She and I found those filled jars at a local antique store, and snapped them up at $4 each.  The $35 dollar pack of about 30 buttons—very nice vintage buttons of collectible value, I’m sure–was beyond our budget, but $4?  We couldn’t resist, especially when we’d pay that much for just a few modern plastic buttons at the local craft store.

Underneath the basket on my daughter’s desk is a round metal Mrs. Steven’s candy tin.  The lettering on its lid dates the tin to probably the 1940′s or 50’s.  That, too, is filled with buttons that my mom recently mailed to my daughter from Canada—a collection that was started by my mother’s grandmother many years ago.  Back in the Great Depression years, if a garment wore out, the buttons were cut off and saved for another use.  An early form of recycling.

Opening the tin reveals a bright mosaic of colors.  There are small, ordinary looking plastic buttons of all hues, as well as military-style ones of tarnished metal.  Swirls of round, clear plastic glint alongside big, yellow fabric buttons that probably date from the 60’s.  I see those on a swingy, daffodil yellow hip-length coat.  I can’t help but think of all the fashion styles that have come and gone that are represented in that tin.  And all the buttons that quietly connect my mother’s grandmother—a woman I know only through grainy old photographs–to my teenage daughter.

My daughter has enjoyed sorting through all of the buttons and picking out her favorites.  Some she has put aside for funky bracelets she makes for friends at school.  Others will brighten up hair ornaments she renders out of scrap fabric, feathers, beads, and sparkly gemstones.  Still others are so unique to her, she’s reserved them to enjoy just as buttons.  A great idea.  The buttons are proof that there’s beauty in the smallest of everyday objects.

***

There must be some collectors among our JQ blog friends!  What do you collect?

From an article on the internet:
A school district in Florida is advising teachers not to “friend” students on social networking sites, claiming that teacher-student communication through this medium is “inappropriate.”

This is the first school district in the state of Florida, possibly even the country, to issue teacher-protocol guidelines for social media.

I’m interested to know what you think of this? Should teachers “friend” their students? Or are they only asking for trouble?

This week everyone who comments will be entered into a drawing to win a copy of Virgin With Butterflies from Harlequin’s Vintage Collection:

The drawing will be held Sunday night at 9…so check back then to see if you’re the winner!

A lot, I think!

When I choose names for my hero and heroine, they’ve got to be true to the time period and create a “picture” of the character. If I give her a whimsical name, I might be indicating that she’s a a bit playful, a blithe spirit. Or I could give her a solid name to go with a staid and firm personality. In each case, I want to be careful not to give her a name that takes my reader out of the story. I don’t want you to stumble over it every time you read it. For example, Zylphia and Almira might be common names of the Regency era, but I’m not sure I could pull off a heroine named Ruffina. Or [gulp] Uriana. 

So I’ll pick something I think is pretty, like Mia. Or Sarah.  I don’t want anything too trendy, or (as my sister would say) a soap opera name. I want to steer clear of Jayden and Joran, Tiffany and Kimberly. They’re just too modern.

As far as men’s names go, I have more leaway. During my historical era, their first names were often unusual, family names. And then there were their titles – the names they were called by – Lord Malden would have been called “Malden” by his family and friends, even though that was not his given name. Still, that can be a problem for the modern reader, because we’re accustomed to using first names. (Wouldn’t my husband love it if I called him “Maguire” all the time and skipped his first name? )

So, for my purposes, my hero’s first name is important, because the heroine is eventually going to say it during a crucial scene, as their intimacy increases.  When they first meet, she’ll call him “Lord Dangerfield.” Then it’ll be just “Dangerfield.” And finally, when they become intimate, she’ll call him… Well, probably not Buford or Herbert, although those are perfectly decent names.  (Someone like the guy pictured above could be called Egbert, and who would care, right?) It’s all in the picture I paint for you, and I want to use all the tools at my disposal to create an accurate picture of the character.

In Seducing the Governess, (my February 22 release) my heroine finds out that her parents are not really her parents at all, and they gave her a new name when they took her in as a toddler. That name is Mercy Franklin. Her adoptive father was a strict and rigid clergyman, who believed Mercy’s mother must have been a loose woman. On some level, Mercy realizes that her name is a subliminal request for mercy from God every time it is mentioned. And she finds that she resents it, for she has done nothing wrong. Discovering what her real name is becomes quite important to her.

The hero’s name is Nash Farris, Earl of Ashby – a nice, strong, masculine name. It suits the third son of an earl, a soldier who never expected to inherit the title held by his elder brothers before him. Badly injured at Waterloo, Nash returns home to find the Ashby estate in a terrible, rundown condition. And the only way to raise the money he needs to make the improvements is to marry it.  Nash tries to do right by the title, right by the land, and right by his orphaned niece. But he falls for his niece’s new governess with the strange name of Mercy. Eventually, they find out the name her true parents gave her, and discover who she really is. (And it’s not the daughter of a stolid vicar in Lancastershire!)

My all time favorite hero’s name was Ruark Beauchamp in Kathleen Woodiwiss’s novel, Shanna. I’ve read a lot of novels since then, and have added to my list of favorites.  How about you? Are there any hero or heroine’s names that stand out in your memory – either because they were great, or just horrible?

I was watching the news the other night and the anchor was reporting about “Blues Week”. Now did you just think, as I did when I heard it, that this was something related to music? Jazz? Blues? That was my first reaction but then I watched the segment and found out it’s something completely different!

Apparently, according to mental health professionals, the third week in January is the most depressing week of the year. There are more incidences of depressed behavior and reports of depression during that week than any other!

They explained that between our bodies just realizing how dark and cold it’s been (for months) and the aftermath of the holidays (both emotional and financial), depression strikes right about that third week!  According to the photo above from the Mayo clinic, even our brains turn blue….when depressed….on brain scans…

Then today, Oprah has a show all about ‘Are You Happy?’  She asked her studio audience all kinds of questions about if they’re happy, what makes them happy, how often are they happy, etc. Some of the studios she quoted about happiness were interesting — who knew that 10 minutes of complete silence during your day raises your happiness?  Who knew that having sex is one of the best ways to raise your overall happiness levels? (oh! wait! we’re romance writers and readers, that should have been obvious!) Who knew that having children could actually lower our happiness levels — and then having those children turn 18 raises it back up to ‘normal’ levels?

Who knew?

I wonder if this blues week affects romance readers as much as it does others? I read romance because I know that there will be a happily-ever-after ending that I can count on every time. I know that even if things seem dire, it WILL work out. I love that romances will lift up my spirit and my heart when I finish them.

So, I’m not going to worry about Blues week — I’m just going to keep on reading romances though it and suggest doing the same to anyone else who might need some help!

Do you read romances for the fun? the happy ending? the relationship? the sex? What makes a romance ‘blues-week-worthy’ to you? Please post a comment and let me know which romances made you smile lately?

Terri is catching up and running behind but would love to hear from readers on her website ‘blog’ or on her FB page. Her next book will be the last in her Knights of Brittany trilogy from Harlequin Historicals, HIS ENEMY’S DAUGHTER, in March. Visit her website for lots more info about her books!

Thanks everyone for sharing your guilty secrets! The winners chosen randomly by my daughter are: eap, Sandra G. Rogers and Kristen.

Please email me at kathy@katherinegarbera.com with your snail mail address.

Thanks!
Kathy

I’m pretty excited about my February release from Silhouette Desire because it has one of my guilty pleasures in it. I think I’ve blogged about Dancing With The Stars before but I couldn’t resist doing it again. You see the show was the impetus for this new series. I don’t know what it is exactly about my personality that makes me feel guilty about just watching television but I always do unless I can find something usual to use it for. Normally I watch cooking or history stuff that I can learn from, but at my age the chances of me becoming either a star or a professional dancer are getting slimmer so I needed a reason to watch Dancing With The Stars guilt free and I found it in Jen Miller.

Jen is the heroine of Taming The VIP Playboy and she is a professional ballroom dancer. In my original version of the story Jen and Nate were participating in a fictional version of the show but that idea didn’t have enough conflict so we ended up with Jen being a professional dancer in the hottest Miami nightclub…Luna Azul owned by none other than Nate.

But back to guilty pleasures–having found a real reason to watch it I gobbled up everything I could on Dancing With The Stars including going on the Internet and reading blogs by the stars and the dancers. It was so much fun and it had a purpose!

I have three copies of Taming the VIP Playboy to give away today and I’m going to choose from one of you! Tell me what your guilty pleasure is and like me do you find a way to indulge in it without feeling too guilty?

Kathy

He brings her a dozen roses. She writes him a poem about love. He cooks her a gourmet meal. She shaves his back. Oops, did I say that last one out loud?

Here’s the thing. The flowers are gorgeous. A card is so sweet. But sometimes it’s those not-so-picturesque things that really seal the deal. And so, in no particular order, here are a few real signs that he’s The One.

Holds your head during stomach virus. Oh, it takes a lionheart to withstand this (and not puke oneself). And the thing is, if he’s The One, he’s going to think you’re kissable the next day.

Walks the floor with the colicky baby. It sounds so tender and (let’s be honest) hot, doesn’t it—the man who can endure the crying infant? In reality, not so much. The baby’s screaming with rage and pain, completely inconsolable, and it’s not ten minutes, gang. It’s hours. There’s nowhere to hide from that baby. The baby seems to hate both of you. You wonder why the hospital let you leave with an actual human child, because clearly you’re not cut out for this. You’d sell a kidney to get the baby to stop crying. The baby does not stop crying. But the man who can withstand this…night after night after night…oh, he’s a keeper. (And you’re welcome for that picture.)

Scratches under your cast. I think this one’s self-explanatory.

Visits you in the hospital. See this woman? This is not how you look in the hospital. No one looks her best in the hospital, no matter what Grey’s Anatomy shows us. No one smells her best in the hospital. The matted hair, the tubes and wires…but here he is, keeping you company anyway. I love him, don’t you?

Watches girly movies with you. Dear McIrish. How many times has he watched something starring Drew Barrymore or Sandra Bullock? Yet he takes it like a man. Let the record reflect that I have seen The Bourne Identity 1,398 times in return.

So what are some of the non-Hallmark gestures that won your heart? Did he fill up your gas tank just because he knows you hate it? Talk to your mother when you were pretending not to be home? Bring home Bridget Jones’s Diary on Superbowl Sunday? Do tell!

The winner of an autographed copy of Gray Quinn’s Baby by Susan Stephens is Marian Yedinak.  Marian, please send your email and mailing address to me at JanetteKenny@gmail.com, and I’ll forward your information to Susan Stephens.  

Thanks!

Every January I look forward to American Idol. A couple of friends from work and I always watch and then when we meet for lunch several times a month we compare notes…who we like, who we hope gets voted off etc.

I’ve watched AI since the first season so I wasn’t sure what to think about Simon being gone and the new judges. But you know what? I liked them. I thought they were…nicer.

You might say, but Simon was so much fun. He was, but I empathized too much with those contestants who had a dream and were putting themselves out there to achieve it only to have him be nasty. Like when the overweight 15 year-old sang and they all talked about his voice, then J Lo said “you’re so cute.” I knew what Simon would have said if he’d been there. He’d have been mean. Remember how he was with Mandisa?

So, as far as I’m concerned, J Lo and Steven Tyler are good additions to the show.

Your thoughts?

Is there a method to your madness when you really need a book?

I’ve been on a crazy writing schedule lately and knew that I would have about a week between finishing 2 short projects and beginning a new one. So, about 2 months ago, I began planning which books I would read during this brief hiatus. Is that a strange thing to do? Is reading always spontaneous for you?

I think my reading tends to be less spontaneous since I’ve been writing. I can’t allow myself to read ‘new’ books while on a writing deadline because they distract me. Since I don’t know what’s going to happen or how the story will unfold, I can’t simply stop. . . I keep turning the pages and find myself pulled from writing for hours, instead of the couple of minutes I’d planned.  So, during writing deadlines, I keep a pile of ‘classics’ close at hand so I can reread — either my favorite bits of the story or even chunks of them, but ones I can read and stop at will.

Other than that, I have a list of must-read authors and I try to buy up their books when they hit the shelves in order to have them at-the-ready. I haven’t noticed any other patterns — I don’t read lighter stories when feeling low or heavier-more-conflicts stories when I’m feeling lighter….I tend to pick up a book and begin it…and see where it leads.

And, of course, in the next weeks, I have a pile of books to be read for the RWA RITA contest….which kind of takes the decision (or need for one!) out of my hands. It doesn’t hurt that all the books I received in my judge’s packet look interesting to me!

So, how about you? Any patterns to your reading? Any habits to how and when you read? Are you a planner or a spontaneous reader? Does it change with the seasons? Hmmmmmm…I’ve never really thought about this before!

Terri is thrilled that her short story, KIDNAPPING THE LAIRD, is now on the shelves in the MAMMOTH BOOK OF SCOTTISH ROMANCE. For info about this and her upcoming Harlequin (March!) and Kensington (July!!) releases, visit her website at www.terribrisbin.com . And….Terri will have  news about an exciting  new project to share soon — very soon!