November 17, 2008

Canasta on the Beach

So I’ve just written the scene in my latest book in which my characters …. um, ahem … well, for the sake of keeping this post PG, let’s just say they were “playing canasta.” Now I for one have never been a fan of having characters “play canasta” in exotic or strange locals. I’ve always thought beds were nice and comfortable. Kitchen tables, not bad. In the office break room, yeah, it could work. Anything more than that starts to strain my willing suspension of disbelief.
If characters are “playing canasta” up against a tree in the Amazonian rainforest, for example, I start thinking things like, “Wow, isn’t that bark sharp?” or “Wouldn’t you be too busy watching for pumas to really enjoy what you’re doing?”
As a teenager, I remember reading a western in which the hero and heroine “played canasta” while on horse back. I’ve never been much of a rider myself, but this seemed believable to me. After all, horses are smart. They’re not going to jump off a cliff if the riders are distracted. I’m saying I’d want to do that myself, but believed it was physically possible. A few years later, I read a similar scene in a contemporary. But this time, it was on the back of a motorcycle. Seriously. And no, the guy didn’t have super powers or anything like that.
Needless to say, I put down that book. Which brings me to my point. In the scene I just wrote, my characters “play canasta” on the beach. And I’m a little worried the reader is going spend the whole scene thinking, “Yeah, but what about all that sand?”

So what do you think? Is that kind of thing distracting or romantic?

November 5, 2008

Today’s winner …

Is Jane! Jane email me at emilybmckay at gmail.com and I’ll get your address to mail off your prize.

Also, back in October I promised a special prize for anyone who entered all three of my contests. The prize is a book of your choice from my backlist. So if you did, email me at the above address and I’ll double check it against the archives. And be sure to tell me which book you’d like. You can find information about all my books on my website. Thanks for playing!

November 4, 2008

Go Vote!

I didn’t intend to blog on election day. (I was going to blog about zombie geisha transvestites, but that will have to wait.) I picked this date about a month ago and didn’t give it another thought. But since it is election day, I feel obliged to encourage you to vote if you haven’t already. ‘Cause let’s face it, regardless of where you stand on the political spectrum, this is a big election and our government should hear all our voices.

To encourage you to vote, I’ve got a fun give away. So once you’ve voted (or now, if you voted already) reply here and tell us about it. No, not who you voted for, but something about the experience (where it was, how long the line was, anything!). One of the people who responds will win fabulous prizes.

In case you’re wondering, these are all the free books I got at RWA that I’m not going to read. So I thought I’d share. There’s also the cool tote and a mouse pad. A great reward for doing the right thing. Or something to lift your spirits if you guy doesn’t win.

October 27, 2008

Why I love Apple TV

(okay, for those who unenlightened, Apple TV is this wonderful gadget my hubby brought home via which I can download anything from the itunes store and watch it effortlessly on my tv.)

First off, let me say, I thought I loved Tivo.

Tivo was like tv but without the vagaries of human frailty to muck things up. Tivo and I had a nice long term relationship. We’d been together for six years now. Tivo knows me and all my foibles. But maybe we’d gotten too comfortable together. Tivo’s suggestions no longer surprised or charmed me. We’d fallen into a rut.

Then along came Apple TV.

Sigh.
No matter what the situation, Apple TV has something wonderful for me to watch. If the Geek is working late and the kids and I are at home alone, in just a few short clicks, I can buy Nim’s Island. If the kids fall asleep early, the Geek and I can rent something horribly violent (like In Bruges) and have it downloading in a manner of minutes. If I’m eating lunch in front of the TV, I can kill some time watching movie previews for free. And if (gasp!) Tivo forgets to record one of favorite shows, Apple TV is there waiting in the wings, ready to hold me in the sweet embrace of downloadable tv show for only $1.99 a pop.

Perhaps I should be more cynical about buying love via Apple TV, but I’m not. With a busy life and two small kids, I’ll take my brief moments of entertainment where I can get them.

P.S. I never announced last week’s winner. So here it is:
Maureen — I loved your caption, so you’re my winner. Email me your information at
emilybmckay at gmail.com and I’ll send you a copy of Baby on the Billionaire’s Doorstep!

October 21, 2008

Book Videos

Here’s the book video for my new book. I think the jury’s still out on whether or not actually doing book videos is worthwhile, but I’ve got a friend who enjoys doing them and I really appreciate any help I can get.

I love the concept of this video and hope you get a chuckle if not the urge to run out a buy the book.
If you do want to run out and buy, then you might check out the eharlequin site, ’cause this week, all the passion books are on sale (and mine is one of them).

So, let me knew what you think of the video (or go ahead and caption my cover) and I’ll pick one lucky poster to receive a copy of this book’s prequel, Baby on the Billionaire’s Doorstep.

Thanks for playing!

October 14, 2008

Winner from last week

Since lots of people decided to play last week when I had my contest, I decided to do two winners. The winners are:
Fedora and Stacie Mc

Ladies, email me at emilybmckay at gmail.com with a mailing address and I’ll ship of copies of Baby on the Billionaire’s Doorstep.

Thanks for playing!

October 8, 2008

My daughter, food detective

I have a secret. Sometimes, when no one is watching I sneak sweets. Yes, it’s a bad habit,  but it’s how I was raised. My mother taught me how from an early age. For example, when you arrive home from the grocery store, the ice cream is probably a little melted. So you can skim a little off the top–just the slushy part–and it’s almost unnoticeable. And if you have a sheet cake, you slice about a quarter inch off the cut edge and no one can tell. 

I know. It’s crazy and strange, but this is just the way I was raised.

So it’s probably no surprise that I like to keep a little chocolate stashed away in the pantry to pop in my mouth from time to time. Hey, life is stressful. Sometimes you just need a handful of Ghirardelli chocolate chips while on hold with the credit card company. Or a Dove chocolate mid-way through the ten-thousandth viewing of Blues Clues, The Pool Party.

For a long stretch of my daughter’s life, I could get away with this behavior, but no more. She has some preternatural sixth sense when it comes to candy. Or I don’t know, maybe I’m just less good at silently unwrapping foil-covered chocolates than I think I am. Whatever it is, nine times out of ten, as soon as I pop something tasty in my mouth she trots over to me, places her hands on either side of my face and sniffs my breath. 

“What you have?” she’ll ask, we sweet little face mere centimeters from mine. 

And so I’ve passed the torch to the next generation. Without meaning to, I’ve taught my daughter to sneak food. 

Do have any bad habits you’ve unintentionally passed on to your children?

As promised, I’m having another contest. If you reply today, you’ll be automatically entered to win a copy of my previous book, Baby on the Billionaire’s Doorstep, which is the prequel to my current book, Baby Benefits.

If you entered last time, be sure to enter again, because I’ve got a special treat for everyone who enters each time I run this contest.

September 28, 2008

Winner of Thursday’s contest

The winner of Thursday’s contest of Catslady.

Catslady, please email me privately at ebmckay at gmail.com with your mailing address, etc. and I’ll get the book out to you.

Everyone else, never fear, I’ll be blogging a couple more times in October, so you can still win. And as an extra bonus, I’ll have a special prize for anyone who enters the contest all three times. 

September 25, 2008

The Evils (and Joys) of Imagination

So here’s the cover of my October book.

No, this post isn’t about my book. At least not yet. Just keep reading to the end. Then you’ll see why I’m shamelessly promoting myself. 

A couple of weekends ago, I lost my girl in Babies R Us. She was only out of my sight for maybe five minutes total. One second, she was by my side while I thumbed through a rack of PJ’s. The next she was gone. As soon as I realized she was gone, I sent hubby to the front of the store to make sure no one left with her. I notified a store employee. I searched in ever-widening circles, calling out her name. 

I barely kept a rein on my panic. My heart was thundering. My throat tight. My imagination had taken flight. In my mind, she hadn’t just wandered off. She’d been snatched. We’d never find her. She was already being hustled out the back of the store and into a car. Her fate was unthinkable. 

I lived a lifetime of sorrow and remorse in those few minutes. And then I found her, sitting on the ground, behind an aisle of toys, humming to herself, not ten feet from where I’d been. She was safe. She was fine. Never in any danger. But in those briefs minutes she’d been missing, my imagination had complete control of my mind and my body.

It’s a powerful thing, we have, this ability to transport ourselves with our minds. And it’s not just in our minds either. Our bodies have physiologically responses to what our minds imagine.  It’s an amazing thing when you think about it. It’s what separates us from every other creature on earth. At least as far as we know, no one but humans can imagine.

That day at Babies R Us, I cursed my vivid imagination. My morning would have been much more relaxing if I’d been able to calmly search the store for my missing daughter until I found her. No fear. No panic. No tears or nausea. But most days, I’m profoundly thankful for my imagination. 

It’s what gives me the ability to write books. More importantly, it’s what makes reading books pleasurable. It’s the difference a book conveying information and transporting you to another world. And,frankly there’s nothing else like it in the world. Movies and TV entertain and amuse, but they don’t engage the imagination in quite the same way. That’s what makes books so special. 

And now, here’s an awkward segue back to my book …. 

Come October my new book, Baby Benefits, will be released by Silhouette Desire. Since it’s the sequel to my April book, Baby on the Billionaire’s Doorstep, I’ll be giving away a copy of that to one of the people who responds to today’s post.

When was the last time your imagination got the better of you?

September 18, 2008

It’s May … sort of

I was raised on a steady diet of musicals. West Side Story, Oklahoma, My Fair Lady…. well, you can see why I grew up to be a romance writer. My earliest memory of TV, in fact, was all the women in my family piling on to my grandmother’s sofa to watch Camelot on TV. (Boy, am I dating myself, because this was back when catching a movie in TV was a big deal, before dvd’s or even vhs.)

In our house, on May first, every year of my childhood, Mom would put the Camelot LP on the turn table, cue up The Lusty Month of May and we’d dance around the living room, singing along. At the time, I didn’t know it was about giving into your sexual urges. I just thought it was enjoying the nice spring weather. So as an adult, whenever the weather turns nice, I can’t help humming a few bars of the Lusty Month of May.

So, you’re probably wondering, what does that have to do with anything? It’s mid-September. Ah, but it’s mid-September in Texas.

I have a theory about fall in Texas. I imagine it’s like spring is in other, colder parts of the country. After the oppressive, seemingly endless heat of summer—during which you can’t leave the house without feeling miserable—fall hits. You wake up one morning and it’s 70 or even 65 outside. You throw open the windows, you dance around humming, you pack a picnic lunch and eat outside at the park, all the while thrilled to be blessed with such glorious weather.

The first glimmers of fall have come early to Central Texas this year. It’s courtesy of Ike and I know other parts of Texas are paying the price for our glorious weather. Still, I’ve been enjoying every moment. The house is cool, the breeze is fresh, the air seems filled with possibilities. I’m filled with energy and not just because I had an extra cup of coffee this morning.  And for the past three days, I’ve been humming “It’s May” … even though it’s really September.