Well, this summer has been busy for me — and, according to the calendar, it’s not over yet! But, as my youngest enters college in another week, I’ve been thinking over my summer experiences and thinking on what I’ve learned this summer.

1 – Florida is actually steamier than New Jersey! I’m not talking about romance novel totals, I’m talking about the unrelenting humidity and heat during July and August! I had blithely believed that because I live in humid southern NJ, I could withstand any weather I met up with in Florida, going to the RWA conference in Disney World. Okay – I learned I was wrong and that Florida humidity kicks the butt of NJ humidity.

2 – I learned that there are more old friends, acquaintances and writing colleagues at the RWA conference than there     is time to chat or even to see them. It never ceases to amaze me how I run into people as I leave the conference who I never even saw during the conference!  Or I get an email from someone who saw me in the hallway or at a meal or in line for one event or another and wanted to say hello — after the conference.

3 – I learned that too much of a good thing isn’t good for you. I had the chance to attend a lovely afternoon tea – complete with cream tea, scones, finger sandwiches, cream and whipped cream – at the Garden View Tea Room at the Grand Floridian Hotel. It was real lovely — an orchestra played in the lobby, gracious waiters and waitresses poured tea and offered a selection of desserts and sandwiches. It’s been a long, long time since I ate such rich foods and I paid for it later! So, next time, I’ll be wiser and not suffer from the excesses of cream tea!

4 – I learned that I have even more respect for Disney’s approach to storytelling than before! Hubby, son, daughter-in-law and I took the ‘backstage’ Keys to the Kingdom tour of the Magic Kingdom on our last day there and I am so amazed at the detail to which Disney imagineers and cast members protect the integrity of the story they tell. Secrets were revealed (but I swore never to reveal them) about the design, layout and operations of the Magic Kingdom and I saw (or noticed) things I’d only walked by on previous visits. And everything they do there, is to tell the story. As a writer, I love it! (This is my special Key to the Kingdom pin and souvenir nametage from the tour! >>>>>>>>>)

5 – I learned I can still shock my children! Okay, first I should explain that I don’t drink…well, not much and not often for a number of reasons. A single French martini can make my lips numb. But after having a wonderful dinner with hubby, friend, son and daughter-in-law I decided to try out a ’3 flight’ of Scottish whisky. I’d accomplished a whisky tasting last fall while in Banchory and thought I should try out a couple more. After all, it’s only about 1/2 ounce of each whisky — far less alcohol than in a French martini. From the expressions on all the faces at the table, you would have thought I’d gone on a drinking binge and finished off bottles of the hard stuff. My photo (the one next to this section) was immediately texted to my other children not present because those who witnessed it were SHOCKED!

And the last thing I learned was that I’m a much better photographer when I don’t try to aim and frame and plan my photos.  Doesn’t this look like a postcard? I took it as we walked quickly past the Castle during a dancing-and-singing show that included fireworks. I just snapped it and didn’t see it until after we got away from the crowds.

Terri is recovering from an overdose of Disney and heat and humidity, too. (There were no deleterious effects of the flight of whisky!) Just before heading into a deadline-binge-o’-writing, she’s enjoying a few last days of reading and relaxing. Visit her website (www.terribrisbin.com) for info about her current and upcoming releases!

First — speaking of pretty — I want to congratulate fellow Jaunty Kristan Higgins for bringing home the beautiful RITA statue with her from the recent RWA conference in Orlando! Huzzah, Kristan!

And also pretty were the new fireworks in the newest fireworks show in Disney World – Nightastic! in Magic Kingdom. Though first reports (from our son AKA Mr. Little Walt Disney!) were less than stellar, I was thrilled by the new show! It focuses on fairy godmothers then brings in pirates (Captain Hook AND Jerry Bruckheiser music….not bad!) and then in comes Tinkerbell to save the day! And, having stood in front of Cinderella’s Castle before, Tink is a real person who ‘flies’ down a wire to set off the fireworks.  Stunning!

I’m going to the parks with a friend who has not experienced most of them before — her last visit was more than 20 years ago — so I get to see it through her eyes. Fun! She asked me if seeing the various shows again was boring and I realized that my answer to her about returning to WDW is the same as my answer to anyone who asks why I read my favorite books again:

When I know what to expect, I can look for the unexpected!

By that I mean that once I don’t have to focus on the main story before me, I pick up on more details — little things I’d not noticed before…little bits of the story (or show) that enhances the main plot or scene, but that I’d been too busy to notice before.

For example, during the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we watch as a Harrison Ford-stunt double faces the same kind of  action scene that the ‘real’ Indiana Jones faced in his movies. But sitting there today, I noticed where all the ‘actors/cast members’ stood and moved and what they did while ‘Indie’ was facing wooden stakes and snakes and explosions and more.

When I recently re-read one of my favorite books, I noticed the way the author drew me to focus on some dialogue while all the time she was weaving the plot in a different direction that I’d expected! Like listening to a favorite song and finding a note or instrument never noticed before, I love these little surprises I discover when I no longer have to focus so closely and I let the whole picture flow before me.

So, I’m spending the next few days, picking up on all those new things — things I’ve missed while watching and listening before. Things I didn’t know were waiting for me. Things I will enjoy even more because they were completely unexpected joys…. and all in the Happiest Place on Earth and one of my favorite places — Disney World!

Terri is still celebrating the release of THE MERCENARY’S BRIDE, her July 2010 Harlequin Historical romance.Barely surviving the wonderful, busy, informative, rejuvenating RWA conference, she is enjoying a few more days of vacation before returning to her real life and more deadlines! She’ll be revealing the results of her death-defying experience (she had new author photos taken at the conference!) on her website soon! Visit it at www.terribrisbin.com

Do you remember the lovely, sweet Regency romances that were popularized by Georgette Heyer…and Barbara Cartland? The ones that featured the witty repartee between an original young miss and the handsome rogue or rake? The ones that might have featured a kiss or a caress but that closed the bedroom door before the action really got started?

Well, this year’s finalists for the RWA RITA® Best Regency Historical romance aren’t THOSE! These books are by some of the best known romance authors of the day and by some new and not-so-known authors, too. And they aren’t shy about sharing  the physical part of the romantic relationship with their readers!

The finalists are: Surrender of a Siren by Tessa Dare, Scandal by Carolyn Jewel, Tempting Fate by Alissa Johnson, A View To A Kiss by Caroline Linden, Revealed by Kate Noble, What Happens in London… by Julia Quinn and Lord Braybrook’s Penniless Bride by Elizabeth Rolls. This group is a cross-section of Regency writers today — from the extremely-well-known Julia Quinn to the strongly-established Carolyn Jewel, Alissa Johnson and Caroline Linden to relative newcomers Kate Noble and Tessa Dare and the categoryhistorical romance favorite Elizabeth Rolls.

I confess — I read a lot of Regency-set historical romances and have most of these (if not all!) in my prodigious TBR pile…er….closet! I love the stories set in the polite, or not-so-polite, society of early 19th century England. I love watching dukes be dukes, earls be earls, ‘originals’ be ‘originals’  and watching as love conquers them all! I think that opening this subgenre up to steamier love scenes is a difficult thing for a writer to balance, but the writers mentioned above have no difficulty in finding that balance and their nominations speak to their abilities to recreate that long-ago world of manners and society and royalty and nobility and the consequences of flaunting society’s rules and mores.

So — who is your favorite Regency romance author? Your favorite Regency romance? Are they nominated this year? Have you read any of the authors or books named as finalists? Tell us about them and I’ll choose 2 commenters to receive a copy of their choice of one of the finalists along with a copy of my July book – THE MERCENARY’S BRIDE. Post away!

BTW — congrats and best wishes to all the finalists in the RWA RITA® contest this year. The results will be posted all through the evening of Saturday, July 31 as the winners are announced at the RWA Conference in Disney World. Check out the list of all the finalists in all 12 categories at www.rwa.org.  Huzzah!

Terri will be attending the RWA Conference and cheering for all the nominees. Anyone in the Orlando area is invited to the HUUUUUUUGE Booksigning for Literacy event to meet Terri and many of the finalists on Wednesday, July 28 from 5:30-7:30pm at the Dolphin Hotel (of the Swan and Dolphin Resort!).  And since many of you know that WDW is one of Terri’s most favorite places to visit, it shouldn’t surprise you that she’s staying on for a few days extra to visit the House of The Mouse and to see if those Celtic musicians wear their biker shorts under their kilts in the heat of the summer…!Oh MY! Stop over at her website for more info about her current and upcoming releases… www.terribrisbin.com

RITA® you say? Who is RITA® you ask?

The RITA® Award is given by the RWA (Romance Writers of America) for excellence in published romances in various (12) categories each year. This is a peer-judged contest similar to the Oscars ® or similar to Nebula® in Science Fiction or the Edgar® for Mysteries. Right now the excitement is building among the romance writing community because the winners will be announced at the upcoming RWA Conference in Orlando on July 31!!  Around here, the Sisterhood is pretty excited because one  of our Jaunty Quills is nominated, too!!!  The finalist novels and novellas are among some of the best romances on the market,  so some of us thought it would be nice to share that info with readers who are always looking for a good romance to read.

My favorite categories are those I read the most of — Historicals and Regencies. (I know – I am hopelessly caught up in history for both my reading and my writing!)  These categories include all lengths from short to long and this year have some recognizable and some new names in them. Let’s talk about the Best Historical Romance category today!

The finalists – announced in late March are: Wicked All Day by Liz Carlyle, With Seduction in Mind by Laura Lee Guhrke, To Beguile a Beast by Elizabeth Hoyt, Make Me Yours by Betina Krahn, Knight of Pleasure by Margaret Mallory, The Lone Texan by Jodi Thomas, Not Quite a Husband by Sherry Thomas and Taming Her Irish Warrior by Michelle Willingham.

Ooh – all the major places that we historical romance lovers like to read about are covered – a wide selection of time periods and locations including England(Victorian and Medieval, too!), Scotland, Ireland, India and Texas…LOL!

Betina Krahn, Jodi Thomas, Liz Carlyle and Laura Lee Guhrke are mainstays in historical romances, Elizabeth Hoyt is making her mark (and writing as Julia Harper too!)  while Sherry Thomas and Margaret Mallory are relative newcomers. Michelle Willingham is well-known to category historical readers for her many wonderful historical romances published by Harlequin Historicals. Betina and Jodi and Liz are past RITA® winners while Elizabeth,  Sherry and Laura Lee have been finalists before. Michelle and Margaret are RITA®….ahem….virgins! So a wonderful collection of storytellers are being honored for their excellent writing and readers get the best of it all – we get to enjoy their work!

To get into the spirit of things — Let me know if you have read any of these nominated books or these nominated authors before? Plan to? Do you want to guess who is going to win the RITA? Go ahead post your guesses and I’ll pick one commenter and give them a copy of their choice — any of the finalist books in this category — along with a copy of my new release, THE MERCENARY BRIDE, too! And as a special ‘extra credit question’, the first person to post the name of the Jaunty Quill who is a finalist this year will win another prize!

FYI — results will be updating all evening as they’re announced from the ceremony so check the RWA website throughout the evening to find out — www.rwa.org

Terri is thrilled to see the second story in her Knights of Brittany trilogy on the shelves – THE MERCENARY’S BRIDE is a July release from Harlequin Historicals and available in print and digital formats. She just turned in the third book which should be a Spring, 2011 release. Her May release, “A Storm of Love” in the Kensington Brava trade release, UNDONE, is still available. For more info, please visit her website at www.terribrisbin.com or stop in at the booksigning at this weekend’s RomCon Romance Convention at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Denver, CO or at the  HUUUUUUGE Booksigning at the RWA Conference at the Swan&Dolphin Resort in Orlando (aka DISNEY WORLD – Wooooohoooo!) on July 28.

Well, as anyone whose been reading my posts lately can tell you, I’m waist-deep in nostalgia so far this year — I have been going to concerts presented by some of my favorite oldies (RAIN-Beatle tribute group, James Taylor, Carole King, Pat Benatar -this weekend, SIR PAUL MACCA in August!!!) and spending time with my favorite 80s-heartthrob Rick Springfield…

(forget those rumors that people around here were spreading about my disappearance with him and I don’t care if this photo makes it look like I was hiding out, I was home writing a book on deadline like a good writer should!)

Overall I just feel as though I’m constantly looking to the past.

Tomorrow is the king of all nostalgia days for me — my baby (aka almost-19-year-old child #3) graduates from high school!!

I can’t imagine how this happened though I think I figured it out – by the grace of God! LOL – I mean the graduation part of course.  But this kind of caught me off-guard. Because of the length of time between having my boys (5-5&1/2 years between each of them) I have had ‘school-age’ kids for half my adult life. . . or maybe more? I even remember having one in elementary school, one in high school and one in college at the same time once.  I’ve been the room parent, the fashion-show working, cake baking, car-washing, spaghetti-cooking, raffle ticket-selling, chaperoning, gift-wrapping, soccer/t-ball/baseball mom for so long I’m not sure I know how not to be…all those things!

So, this is not really empty-nest syndrome since he’ll still be living here at home while attending a local college, but it is a line of demarcation of a sort. Another of his steps towards adulthood and independence (pray God!)….the end of an era….

Any of you out there facing the same thing? Any strategies to suggest to me to make it easier? Post a note either commiserating with me or suggesting ways to celebrate and I’ll choose a winner to receive a book and a small giftie. (And yes, I know I am really, really behind in sending out blog prizes but I haven’t forgotten! I have a list and I’m checking it twice…oh, wrong day!)

Thanks in advance for all your suggestions. I’m going to read them tomorrow to keep from crying during the graduation so go for humor….LOL!

Terri is now awaiting the release of book 2 in her Knights of Brittany series from Harlequin Historicals — The Mercenary’s Bride is a July release and will be out this coming week! Stop by her website for more info on her current and upcoming books, her events and signings and other info… www.terribrisbin.com She’ll be posting a complete list of contest and blog winners there in early July, so if you’ve commented or entered, stop in to see if you’ve won! Otherwise, she is gathering together her prodigious TBR pile and getting ready for a few weeks without a writing assignment! Woohoo!

Renowned romance author Terri Brisbin has gone missing!

 Shortly after experiencing a truly-fangirl moment at last week’s Book Expo America (aka BEA) in NYC with rock star and GH alum Rick Springfield (seen below)

Terri disappeared and has not even been seen online in her frequent haunts. Speculation is that she was overwhelmed by meeting the rock star/author and has had a cases of ‘the vapors’… Either that or she’s on deadline and the book is due now and it’s not done yet? Dear Readers, which do you think is true?

Go ahead, post some wild speculation of your own about where she could be and you’ll get a chance to win that wonderful ebook reader the Jaunty Quills are giving away AND a fun book Terri picked up while at BEA AND a signed copy of her May Brava anthology….But not Rick. And certainly not Gerard Butler –she’s not giving them away…no matter her mental state OR deadline mania!

For those in the Springfield NJ area, Terri hopes to be found at the Barnes and Noble store on Route 22 on Saturday, June 5th between 2&4pm. Stop in for more photos, chocolate and maybe even a glance at the signed (with a HEART!) coverflat of  Rick Springfield’s upcoming book LATE, LATE AT NIGHT….sigh…..

You are probably thinking that the title of this blog is a bit of a downer, huh? Or that I’m referring to my recent and current mental condition — my mind has been like a sieve lately, with everything simply leaking out into oblivion. LOL!

Actually, for those of you grunge rockers out there already know, those words are from a very popular song by Pearl Jam — Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town. The lyrics refer to those parts of life that fade with time — memories, thoughts, relationships, etc. It also happens to be the rather unorthodox music that I chose for the very traditional groom-dances-with-his-mother dance at my oldest son’s wedding almost four years ago.

You see, originally, after much gnashing-of-teeth and general wailing, I’d chosen a more appropriate song to dance with my son to at his wedding – a lovely song written by Carole King and sung by Emmy Lou Harris called “Child of Mine”. So appropriate that I burst into tears every single time I tried to listen to it! Clearly, it would be a warm and emotional moment when I turned my son over to the woman who now meant more to him than I do…. Um….not!  After listening to it, my son begged me not to use it. He knew what I knew–I would not cry discreetly at all, it would be open and loud bawling on his shoulder!  Not really wanting to have him and his lovely bride remember me for how much I cried (and therefore gave the wrong impression about being in favor of their marriage), I decided to do something I do well for special occasions – I lied!

I should explain that, huh?

I take pride in the fact that I can pull things over on my kids and hubby. I take aim at them for Christmas and birthdays and then lie ruthlessly in order to surprise them with a wanted gift or other desired present. I managed to surprise my youngest son with a Nintendo Wii when they were unavailable. I managed to sneak in tickets to various concerts and even planned a trip to Disney World without them knowing (at least too far ahead). So, in that same spirit, I approached THE SONG for his wedding. And when I thought about him as a teenager and them as a couple and the attitude they had about their wedding over all, I knew Pearl Jam was the answer.

The day before the wedding I made a CD of  “Elderly Woman Behind a Counter in a Small Town” and gave it to the DJ at the wedding rehearsal, swearing him to secrecy. At the reception, when he called my son and I to the floor, my son kind of dragged his feet, expecting that other song and dreading it.  Then the music began and his face lit up and he smiled at me — knowing I’d pulled off another surprise. He laughed, his friends cheered and we danced. . .

And I cried anyway! LOL!

My son first became a fan of the group waaaaay back in the 1990′s when he was only 14 years old and the group was just getting some national attention. When he was 15, hubby and I took him and six of his friends (all that age!) to their first Pearl Jam concert in New York City. What an experience! We rented a big van, stocked coolers of food and soft drinks and off we went onto and across Staten Island, across to Brooklyn and onto Randall’s Island and the ancient Triborough Stadium next to the Triborough Bridge. Hubby and I sat in the rain, laughing at the boys who knew and sang every single word of every single song. It took us almost three hours to get out of the parking lot and off the island after the concert and three more hours to get home. Oh, what a day!

Then a couple years later, one of the patients I see in the dental office where I work turned out to be a roadie and he worked some Pearl Jam concerts. We would talk about those, and many others, when he would come in for his visits and one day he brought me in a treasure trove — Eddie Vetter guitar picks and handwritten set list from one of the concerts! I was proclaimed mother-of-the-century when I brought home those goodies!  I did it only to see the sparkle in my son’s eyes when I managed to surprise him yet again….

Pearl Jam - Hartford CT

Since then, Matt has found a kindred spirit in his wife and then tend to get to every Pearl Jam concert within driving or train-ing distance. I’ve gone with him a couple more times (took my youngest son to HIS first Pearl Jam concert a couple of years ago too) and tonight hubby and I will travel to NYC with them.  We’re going to be at Madison Square Garden enjoying the music and the company and I will be remembering that first concert and that dance and trying not to cry as I watch my baby growing up.

So, is there a musical group or singer or song that you associate with the emotional times in your life? Something to do with your kids? Hubby? Family? Special person? Post a note and tell me about it and why it’s so important and I’ll pick a winner who will receive a Pearl Jam CD (or we can choose another) and a copy of my current Brava anthology UNDONE.

Terri admits that she is waaay behind sending out blog and contest prizes but hopes to catch up now that her ‘assistant’ is back from college and ready to help! She’s also excited to be going to the huge BEA (BookExpoAmerica) in NYC next week to sign at both the Harlequin and RWA booths — and hopes that any readers or booksellers reading this who will be there will stop over and say hello to her during her first-ever appearance there! Visit her website at www.terribrisbin.com for more info

C’mon Muse!! What the heck is going on? Why is it that when I need to write, I can’t? And when I can’t write, I get great ideas? It’s just not fair!!

So, last week I’m at home, trying to write before leaving on two back-to-back work trips (one planned, one unplanned) and do you think my muse would get off her lazy bum and help me? Oh, no, of course not!

In my writing process, I struggle truly madly deeply over the first 100 or so pages of any book I write. If it’s a novella or short story, it’s about the first third of the work. I guess it’s because the story and characters are still percolating in my brain and not ready to come out and play? I force every word out of my brain and onto the page and angst over every single one of them…changing them, moving them, deleting them, fixing them. I finally figured out that it’s because I really don’t know what my characters want from their adventure (besides love and a happily-ever-after ending!).

When I run into a block or a problem, I play the ‘what-if’ game with the characters, trying to guide, ease, finagle, arm-twist them into behaving the way I want them to… and they usually won’t. Then, I try staring at my synopsis to see if that will help….it usually doesn’t. Then? What do I do then?

I go driving! For some reason, driving (or listening to my former pastor’s Sunday sermons, but that’s a topic for another blogging day!) puts me in the writing zone and allows my unconscious mind to sort things out in my story and solve my. . .er… their problems. I can’t explain it or how it helps, but it happens.

But, did it have to happen as I was cruising at 65 mph on Route 88 through rural NY state TODAY? When there was no one to tell and no way to write it down so I wouldn’t forget it? As I said, SHEESH! Does my muse have to work at the most inconvenient of times and places?

Apparently….Then to make things worse, I did forget something that seemed oh-so-brilliant when I thought of it… I lost it when I drove through a construction zone and had to think about actually driving instead of not thinking about it…. My only hope is that I have about a 5-hour drive home on Thursday with lots of quality driving…er…’musing’ time AND I figured out how to use a cool iPhone app so that, with a touch on the screen I can record voice memos! I’m very hopeful that I will return home with my muse under control…or at least beaten into semi-submission….and more of those terrible-horrible-first-hundred-pages planned out.

Since the book is due by the end of the month, I’d better!!

Terri

Terri is thrilled to see her Kensington BRAVA anthology UNDONE on the shelves and available online now! Visit her website at www.terribrisbin.com for more info about it and her other books!

PS – thanks to InkyGirl.com for use of her Muse cartoon above!

I just received coverflats for my October Brava release and it’s stunning – absolutely stunning >>

BUT, even more beautiful is the backcover blurb – the short description on the back cover that’s designed to entice readers into opening or buying that book. In this case, the blurb is fabulous and hits all the emotional and sexy elements of the story I’ve written. I sighed when I read it and decided that, being completely and utterly unbiased, I would buy this book if I read this blurb in the store or online! And that’s exactly the reaction that publishers are looking for when that blurb is written.

Okay — here it is — as an example about hitting all the elements –

On the beautiful, remote Scottish coast, two lovers are drawn together by a dark legacy and a wild dangerous desire. . . .

Rumors of a truthsayer have brought Katla Sveinsdottir to Orkney, searching for a way to clear her brother’s name. What she finds is far from what she expected. Gavin is a recluse, driven close to madness by the voices that crowd his mind. Katla strikes a bold bargain—offering to share Gavin’s bed in exchange for his help. But as she watches this proud, magnificent man struggle to keep his humanity, she knows that more than her brother’s fate is at stake.

Gavin’s mysterious abilities have grown more powerful over time, as have their terrible consequences. Katla is the only person whose thoughts are hidden from him, though he longs to know if she shares his passion. At last he has found the woman who can calm the demons within him—yet the truth he has sworn to reveal may tear her from him forever. . .

More so than the beautiful cover (which doesn’t exactly scream 1098 Viking Scotland to me….), this gives enough info to indicate setting, type of romance (historical with paranormal elements), sensuality level (oh-yeah-baby!), and the conflict between the characters. Of course, it conveniently leaves out how it all works out.

Oh yes, we know that a romance is going to end with a satisfactory H-E-A ending so, really, that info isn’t necessary. There’s enough, just enough, to cast a lure for a susceptible reader and reel her in!

So, tell me, just between us….do you read the blurb? Do you make your final decision about buying a book based on that? Or on the cover? Or on something else? What makes you buy the book? Post a comment letting me know how you are influenced and I’ll send out one of those gorgeous coverflats to you…and one post-er will win a copy of my current HH anthology – PLEASURABLY UNDONE – or my May Brava anthology – UNDONE – their choice!

Yes, Terri has noticed the pattern in her upcoming titles in 2010 — most have either ‘pleasure’, ‘undone’ or ‘pleasure’ AND ‘undone’ in them! Since authors have no control over their titles or the timing of her books (at least THIS author has no control over them!), she’s just letting those words speak for themselves…and her stories! Stop over at www.terribrisbin.com for info about all those books!

Bah! Humbug! That’s what I say to Spring!

Now that March is gone and April is bringing temps in the high 70s to my area, I can only think of one thing –  ALLERGIES!

Beautiful flowers blossoming and trees budding like these forsythias  make my eyes itch and my nose run! When the tiny blooming plants push their way through the soil towards the sun’s light, I begin to suffer.  Even if the crocuses around my house decide to erupt from their winter hibernation early, I burst forth, too, with teary eyes and sneezes. I’ve just started my umteenth ‘new’ allergy medication trying to control my symptoms but I am beginning to suspect that the side effects will outweight the small difference in symptoms I’m getting.

And who could forget this symptom of Spring? Yes, spring training for this sport is almost done with the SEASON openers scheduled this next week. And for the next six months, my household will be plagued by baseball games — on too many channels to count. Everyone in my office is a big baseball fan so the discussions will go on daily…I’m beginning to believe that the I-love-sports gene is linked to the I-love-pets gene – of which I have neither!

Then we come to Easter….candy! Gosh — what an overwhelming assault when you’re trying to eat better and avoid tons of sweets! I confess — I always made sure that the Easter Bunny filled my boys’ baskets with my favorites. That way, I could enjoy it with them… Peanut butter cups, dark chocolate eggs of all sizes, even crunchy chocolate bunnies and a HUGE empty chocolate egg that could be filled with jelly beans. (Those marshmellow animals were never one of my favorites so they rarely found a place in the baskets…but hubby did manage to find them in their hiding place since they are one of his faves…)

I could go on but I realize that longer, warmer days filled with sunshine and gentle breezes and the lovely scent of fresh flowers wafting in those breezes appeal to most people. And I certainly don’t want to rain on anyone picnic, so I’ll end with one more heart-felt….

Spring — BAH! Humbug!

Terri is actually thrilled about something going on this SPRING — her short story, A NIGHT FOR

HER PLEASURE, is in the just-released PLEASURABLY UNDONE! and for those who like short and sexy romance stories, there’s also her novella A STORM OF LOVE in the May Brava anthology, UNDONE.   Visit her website at www.terribrisbin.com for more info about everything going on in her life….or maybe just about her books and upcoming events!