If you were to visit my house on any given day around 6:45 p.m., you’d hear a lot of “Goodnight Moon.” We say it over and over as bedtime approaches. That’s also the book I read my daughter every night right before I turn out her light. She’s not a very good listener. She’s more interested in trying to grab the pages and get them into her mouth, but still I persist. I don’t remember my mom reading a particular book to me at bedtime. I know she read to me, but I don’t think it was any particular story.

I was thinking recently about books I loved as a child. I liked all the Dr. Seuss books and The Little Golden books too. The first “real” book I read was THE BLACK STALLION. I was never one of those little girls who wanted a pony—I wanted to be Han Solo and fly a starship—but that book did open new doors for me.

I was one of those kids who was always looking for something to do. I didn’t like playing with dolls much, and I wasn’t allowed to watch more than an hour of TV. When I discovered reading, it was a Godsend. Finally I could travel all around the world, do new things, meet new people—and all without leaving my bedroom.

Was reading an escape for you as a child? What books were your first loves? What was your bedtime story?

Goals are important to us. We make resolutions, hire life coaches, jot plans in planners and on calendars. Most of us set goals and want to achieve them.

I’ve had many goals throughout my life, some small and some big. I’ve wanted to run certain distances in certain times, win various awards, see people and places and things. If a goal I set is within my power, I usually accomplish it.

But lately I find myself having to revise my goals. Some of you know I have a new daughter. She’s five months old, and she doesn’t care if I write 10 pages a day or 25 a week or even if I get to go to the bathroom. She just wants to eat and play and nap (sometimes) and you wouldn’t believe how much time all of that takes or how exhausting it is.

Or maybe you already knew that and now you’re smiling indulgently at me.

But I’m not altogether clueless. I’ve tried to adjust. I’ve tried to make more reasonable goals, goals I don’t have to kill myself to accomplish. But there are still some days when even a little goal like writing 2 pages just isn’t going to happen. I try and try and at some point I have to let it go and hope for a better day tomorrow.

So what then? My first reaction is depression. I feel like a failure. I didn’t accomplish ANYTHING I wanted. But that’s not really true, is it? I played with my daughter, spent time with my husband, paid the men who cut down the tree about to fall on the garage (but that’s another blog). But these don’t seem to matter if my to-do list is still sitting there with so many things unchecked.

So I guess I’m appealing to you, dear readers. Maybe some of you are Type As like me and can give me some hints on how to deal. Or maybe you know how I really can become Superwoman….

Saturday morning Ultimate Sportsfan and I were at Starbucks. I was drinking a peppermint mocha (did you know they have those all year?) and eating a muffin when USF grabs my arm and says, real low, “That’s Craig Biggio.”

So I say, real low, “The baseball guy?”

He says, “Yes.”

I watch Craig Biggio, who is wearing a cap and sunglasses, go to the counter, order, and then wait for his coffee. He seems normal enough, so I say to USF, “Do you want to get his autograph?”

USF says, “No. I’m not going to bother him.”

That makes sense to me. If I was Craig Biggio and just out to get a kolache (from the place next to Starbucks) and a cup o’ joe early Saturday morning, I wouldn’t want to have to stop and sign autographs either.

On the other hand, maybe I would. I mean, I’ve been asked for my autograph before, and it was pretty cool. Once in the airport after an RWA conference someone came up to me and asked me to sign one of my books. I was pretty flattered and not at all put out. But that was just one person and one time.

So what about you? Have you ever seen someone famous? Did you ask for his or her autograph? Have you ever been asked for your autograph?

Years ago I did almost all the research I needed to write about Regency England. I spent about a year reading everything I could get my hands on. I’d read a book, look at the sources that author used and read all those books. Read and repeat.

Finally I had either read everything cited or the works cited were unavailable. And mostly everything was becoming repetitive by then anyway. I compiled bunches of notes in huge binders and labeled them accordingly: Travel, Entertainment, Food, Gentlemen’s Pursuits, Country Houses, Servants, and so on. Now, after writing about 12 Regency historicals (not all of which have been published), I rarely have to consult my library or my binders.

You would think if I had it so easy, I would use that to my advantage. But what do I do? Instead, I decide to write about something I haven’t researched extensively: ships and sailing.

It’s not that I really want to write a book that takes place on a ship. It’s just I keep coming up with plots heading that direction. So finally I succumbed and am now working on a book set mainly on ships. It’s not even due until June, so it will be a while before readers see it. That’s a good thing because I’m pretty far behind the curve in the research department.

I don’t know what other writers do, but when I’m writing a draft and come to a point where I need to look something up, if I can’t do it quickly, I make a mark and go on. My mark is XX. Then later I can search all the XXes and do the research then.

So far I’ve written 50 pages, and I have a lot of XX. That tells me I might want to do some research sooner rather than later. I’ve found one of the best sources for researching things, like ships or castles, is children’s books. When I wanted to write medievals, I bought a bunch of kids’ books on castles. Some where illustrated and others just talked, very simply, about life in a castle.

So I adopted the same approach for researching ships. I ordered a book showing the inner workings of a nineteenth century ship. I also ordered a couple of movies that take place on ships of that time, most notably Master and Commander. I don’t know how I missed that one when it first came out. Until those arrive, I’ll be searching the internet.

As a reader, do you ever think about the research an author does? As an author, how do you handle research?

Three days before Christmas, my washing machine died. I paid a guy $49.95 to come out and tell me what I already knew. It would cost more to fix the old clunker than to buy a new one.

Unfortunately, I had piles of laundry as yet unwashed, and we were leaving the next day to spend the holiday with my parents. I debated taking all our dirty clothes with us (a la college), but we already had so much stuff to haul there and would undoubtedly have as much to haul back that it just didn’t make sense. So I sent Ultimate Sportsfan on a quest for a new washer we could have delivered the next morning before we left.

It took him three tries, but he finally found a place who could deliver a washer the next day, and he bought us a nice new shiny one. The washer arrived on time, I did a couple of loads, and we were off. But when we returned and I tried to wash the remainder of the clothes, it wouldn’t agitate.

So I called customer service, who promptly told me they would send someone to fix it in 10 days. Ten days? What? I just bought a new washer to replace one that didn’t work, and now I was going to be 10 days without.

I have to say that normally I’m very nice to service people on the phone. I did phone solicitation in college, so I can appreciate politeness, but I threw a fit. I asked to talk to the manager and their supervisor and everyone I could until they promised to fix the washer the next day.

And the guy who came out did so in about 10 minutes.

But then it started making a loud squeaking noise. At first it was just kind of squeaking. I could ignore that, even though USF bought that washer because it was supposed to be super quiet. But as the days passed, the squeaking got louder. So loud, in fact, that we couldn’t hear the TV over it. So I called again and this time I was fine waiting a few days to have the machine repaired. It still washed clothes…just loudly.

But a day before my scheduled service appointment, the customer service people called and told me that I should cancel my appointment. The squeaking was normal and would go away with use. Well, I’d been using it at least once a day for 2 weeks, and it was getting worse not better. So I said no, I wanted to keep my appointment.

Can you believe the service person actually got mad at me? She was really miffed that I insisted on keeping my appointment. Is this customer service in the recession? Try to convince customers not to fix problems in new appliances that are under warranty and less than a month old?

The same guy came out again the next day, and he told me he saw a note that they had tried to dissuade me from having a service call. But as soon as he heard the squeaking, he knew something was wrong. Again, five minutes later, it was fixed.

So what’s your worst customer service story? I know there are some way worse than this!

I love sneak peeks! When I was in high school some of my friends worked at the movie theater, and they were always inviting me to see advance previews of new movies. I felt so cool and so special. I like to be the first one to see something new.

If you like sneak peeks, you are going to love this! You can get a peek at the cover for my June 2010 release, The Making of a Duchess, now on my new website.

Yes! Not only is my new cover posted, the whole website has been redesigned. That’s a two-for-one sneak peek.

While you’re clicking around my new website, don’t forget to enter my contest. You could win an autographed copy of Good Groom Hunting.

And, the biggest sneak peek of all…

So many of you have emailed me about the fourth book in my Misadventures in Matrimony series. I still have no idea if or when it will ever be published, but I did post an excerpt.

Enjoy!

Last week I blogged about sexy heroes. This week I thought I’d take on appealing heroines. I don’t think readers necessarily want a sexy heroine as much as one we can relate to. We want a girl who could be our best friend. Or maybe a girl whose shoes we think would be fun to try out for a day—especially if she’s with that sexy hero!

So what makes a heroine appealing?

1. She’s a little insecure.
We all like confident women, but someone who is 100% sure of herself all the time? I don’t think so. Heroines are usually challenged by the circumstances in novels. We imagine ourselves challenged in that same way. How would we react? Hopefully the heroine does something interesting or brave or funny, but for us to relate, she should probably also question herself a little bit.

2. She’s not sure of the hero’s affections.
Who in a new relationship—sometimes even in an established one—doesn’t question the other party’s affections at least once in a while? Even if our heroine is drop dead gorgeous, she should wonder if the hero thinks so. Or even if it’s obvious he does, will that make him fall in love/lust with her? And will that feeling last? As a reader I love knowing the hero’s feelings toward the heroine when she is still wondering if he’s even noticed she’s alive.

3. She’s more than just a pretty face.
Lots of heroines aren’t conventionally beautiful. Readers don’t mind that at all because these heroines have a lot more than looks to offer. They’re smart, brave, witty, authoritative, soft, sensitive, compassionate, and so much more! Whatever kind of heroine you like, there’s a book out there featuring someone like her. I tend to like witty heroines. Think Elizabeth Bennett in PRIDE AND PREJUDICE. There’s nothing as appealing as a heroine who makes the perfect comeback at the perfect time.

What do you think? Do I have it right or am I way off base? What other characteristics do appealing heroines offer?

Recently I finished revisions on my next historical romance. It should be out in June 2010, and it’s tentatively titled DECEIVING THE DUKE. But that title will probably change!

During revisions I had the task of making the hero sexier. I thought a lot about how to do that, thought a lot about what makes a hero sexy. I came up with this list. I’d love to hear if you agree or disagree and if you have more to add!

1. He’s dangerous and untamed.
In real life, this is not the guy I’d want to be married to, but you can’t deny that romance novels with dangerous heroes are very popular. There must be something to this! So what makes a hero dangerous? He’s unpredictable. He’s not afraid to risk it all. He doesn’t follow the rules. What makes him untamed? No woman has ever held his heart before. He doesn’t care what society thinks of him.

2. He doesn’t talk a lot.
Again, a guy who didn’t talk would drive me nuts in real life, but in a romance novel, often the less a hero says, the better. The few words he does utter have that much more meaning. He doesn’t blather on about his feelings and thoughts. He keeps all of that to himself, making him kind of mysterious. His silence also draws the heroine to him. She wants to know what’s going on inside him. She wants him to open up to her.

3. He’s tall, dark, and handsome.
Again, we all have personal preferences. You might like blond men (in which case read PRIDE AND PETTICOATS, which features a blond hero!) or short men. But most readers want to read about a hero who is tall—taller than the heroine at least—dark—if not in looks then in attitude—and handsome. I know there are quite a few well-known books who feature sexy heroes who aren’t handsome (I’m thinking JANE EYRE), but by the end of it, hasn’t Mr. Rochester’s ugliness become handsome to Jane? And he’s definitely dangerous, dark, and brooding (i.e. silent).

So, agree? Disagree? What else makes a sexy hero?

Check back Monday. I’ll be blogging on what makes a heroine appealing!

Readers, what do you think of the new site? Pretty snazzy, huh?

When Ultimate Sportsfan told me that it was time to get a new car, I was resistant. I love my car. I have a red Volkswagen Beetle, and it has been good to me. It did have a season a few years ago where the check engine light came on repeatedly, and we were not the best of friends at that point, but it shaped up and has been a wonderful car ever since.

But USF says we need a bigger car, so the Beetle has to go. Hopefully, another family will love it just as much as I do. The thing is that as much as I hate to give up the Beetle, I hate car shopping even more. Why does it take so long to buy a car? I mean, once you test drive the car and decide on the one you want, why does it take so long for the paperwork to be completed and the car keys to actually make it into your hands?

Whenever I buy a car, it always seems like the sales people have no idea what they’re doing and that this is the first time they’ve ever done this. How can that be since selling cars is all they do all day, every day?

I wonder if it was as difficult for people living in the past to buy carriages? Did they have to sign all these documents to finance it? Did they have to wait for it to be washed and waxed and inspected? I have a feeling my heroes would not have the patience for this. They’d want that carriage, and they’d want it now. Actually, they probably had servants take care of buying the new carriage and trading in the old one. Maybe I need a servant…

So what about you? Love your car? Hate it? Love car shopping? Hate car shopping?

I don’t usually write about charged contemporary issues because, well, I’m a romance author, not a blogger for CNN. But I’ve been thinking a lot about Michael Vick lately. Ultimate Sportsfan told me a week or so ago that he was signed by the Philadelphia Eagles’ football team. Later I saw a press conference where some guy—maybe the owner of the team—said that he thought everyone deserved a second chance.

Well, how can I argue with that? I mean, what kind of person would I be if I didn’t want to give anyone a second chance? But then I think, what about those dead dogs? They didn’t get a second chance…

And it’s not like Michael Vick can only make millions of dollars playing football. He could go get a real job that pays 40K a year or something. That would still be giving him a second chance.

Of course, as a writer, I love second chance stories. Many of my heroes and heroines are in desperate need of a second chance. In my next book (which won’t even be out until June 2010, so I probably shouldn’t talk about it but I am anyway) the hero Julien escapes from Revolutionary France with nothing but the clothes on his back. He is looking for a second chance in England. What if the English had sent him back? He’d be headless, and I’d be writing a paranormal romance! Of course, Julien is a good guy. He didn’t do anything to deserve being attacked by angry peasants, but I’m sure the peasants didn’t see it that way.

So what about you? Do you like second chance stories?