Lately, the Norwegian and I have made several day trips out of town to handle family business.  In the past, we’ve used our GPS, which we lovingly call “Emily,” because that’s what the company named the particular voice setting we use. Well, it turns out that Emily is a much better navigator than I am. Never mind it’s her job and she has most routes plotted out and stored in her electronic mind. How in the world could anyone else compete? Usually, I don’t. Because I am a terrible navigator.

However, on this trip we forgot Emily. Yes, went off without her. And we suffered for it because we were left to our own devices.  Actually, the Norwegian wasn’t too concerned because he has a “map ap” on his smart phone.  The words map ap should’ve been my first clue that we were in trouble.

We knew how to get to the outskirts of where we were going; then we decided to use his handy-dandy  map ap to guide us to the specific addresses we needed to find. Sounds simple, right?

The scene went something like this:

Norwegian (driving, hands me his cell phone): Just type in the address and follow the blinking dot. That purple line leads us to the address. Just make sure the blinking dot stays on the purple line.

Me:  Blinking dot? I want a list of streets, not a blinking dot.

Norwegian: No, you want the blinking dot because it will tell you where to turn before we get there.

Mind you, the display area is a 3.5 x 2 inch cell phone screen. I’m blind without my  reading glasses and  get a little woozy if I try to get up and walk around with them on, much less try to read something tiny in a moving car… because, of course, the Norwegian, bless his stubborn heart, would rather get lost than pull over and give me time to familiarize myself with his darned blinking dot map ap.

Still, I tried to be a good copilot and make it work. Despite how the blinking dot, which represented our car, seemed to be moving in a different direction than we were traveling. I turned the phone every which way trying to get the dot to move in the same direction. Soon, I thought I was getting the hang of it.  Until the Norwegian asked me the name of the street BEFORE we were supposed to make our turn. 

Me: I can’t read it. The print is too small.

Norwegian: Just do this (indicating that I should use my fingers to enlarge the screen).

I did this… and the blinking dot went off the screen. Panicking, I jabbed at the page trying to minimize it so the blinking dot would come back into frame, but a different page popped up – some sort of advertisement. Of course. I couldn’t figure out how to make the darn thing go away.

Me: Are you kidding me? Just tell me how to get to the darn page that lists the directions. If I’m going to navigate I have to use a system I can understand – unless you want to pull over and show me how to work this thing.

Norwegian (who kept driving on): How can you be so good at backseat driving, but so bad at navigating?

As I made a conscious decision to bite my tongue, I realized why our daughter says that when the Norwegian and I are in the car she sometimes feels as though she’s stuck in a Seinfeld scene featuring George Costanza’s parents. Poor girl.

How about you? Are you a better pilot or copilot? Do you have any funny road trip stories to share?

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RT Book Club gives CELEBRATION’S BRIDE 4.5 stars! They say, “…Her couples’ imperfections make them realistic and alluring and their love scenes are provocative and passionate.” CELEBRATION’S BRIDE, book four in the Celebrations, Inc. series, will hit the shelves in July.

“All who joy would win must share it.

 Happiness was born a Twin.” –Lord Byron.

My father loved poetry.  I adored my father; therefore I love poetry, too.  I’m sure there’s a name for this reasoning in the math or logic world, but I don’t know what it is. (Fallacy? )

Anyhow, as a result, I frequently interpret my life in famous quotes, which makes me very annoying to a lot of people.  This is not a deduction on my part.  They actually tell me so.

But I can’t help it.  Poetry isn’t just pretty.  Sometimes, it is capital-T Truth. Like this past Sunday night.  One of my books won a contest, and I didn’t have anyone to tell.

Well, I told the cat, who roused momentarily, in case “Holt Medallion” meant “tuna fish,” but then went back to sleep.

I was happy, of course.  I was.  Ecstatic.  Really.

But His Highness was out doing errands.  My son and daughter were busy being young and cool.  My special writer buddies were living their own lives.  It was Sunday night.  NBA finals night.  The Tonys night.  Let’s use that pizza coupon night.  Discover you’ve nothing to wear to work tomorrow and do emergency laundry night.

I couldn’t just start texting, busting into their family fun as if my news trumped all that. So I sent a few emails and waited.  And waited.  I felt like water trying to boil on a cold burner.

Finally, my husband came home, and all my considerate “remember you’re not the center of the universe” restraint evaporated.  I bounded out to him, ignoring his struggle to lug in heavy boxes, and shouted, “Hey!  Guess what about ME?”

He’s not the type to squee, but he is not a fool.  Despite having no idea what the Holt Medallion is, he grinned, made a big fuss, hugged me, and the pot finally began to boil.  Once all next-of-kin had been notified, I posted on Facebook.  The famous “like this” friendliness began to flood in, and suddenly I was bubbling over with joy like a crazy woman.

So, for me at least, Byron got it right.  Happiness really was born a twin.

(Hey…just occurred to me that my dad might have loved this quote because he, himself, was a twin!)

What about you?  Does an unshared joy feel a little flat?  Who is your go-to person–the one you can’t wait to tell?

Since this is my first post with the wonderful Jaunty Quills, and I’m so excited about having new friends to share the writing world with, I’m giving away books to three of the people who comment here.  If you win, you can choose either WILD FOR THE SHERIFF, the book that leads into my upcoming July release, or THE VINEYARD OF HOPES AND DREAMS, the book that just won the tuna fish…I mean Holt Medallion.

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I hope you’ll check out BETTING ON THE COWBOY, which will be available July 1. It’s the second in my Sisters of Bell River Ranch series from Harlequin Superromance.

Chey, BN100 and Kathleen O are my winners. Please email me (kathy@katherinegarbera.com) with your email address and if your preferred ebook reader app either Amazon, BN or Harlequin and I’ll get it on its way to you!

Happy Holidays!

My new release A Case of Kiss and Tell, this is the third book in the Matchmakers, Inc. series and tells the story of reporter Nichole Reynolds who’ll do anything to get her story.  And media shy billionaire recluse Conner Macafee who happens to own Matchmakers, Inc.  Click here to read an excerpt!

Conner is one of those guys who pretty much keeps himself out of the limelight and away from scandal having grown up surrounded by hit as a teenager when his father’s secret life was revealed.  And Nichole wants to be the reporter who finally gets him to talk.  They both have something the other wants.  Conner simply wants the fiery redhead who crashed his family’s Fourth of July party in his bed.  And Nichole of course wants the elusive and exclusive interview with Conner so she can get that figurative corner office.

Both of them are tough characters who don’t want to give an inch or reveal to the world or each other that they have any chinks in their armor.  I love how they both are willing to reach for what they want and have that belief that they can out maneuver the other one.  Both of them see only strength in themselves and weakness in each other.

I’ve always been one of those people who is willing to do whatever it takes to make my dreams come true so in that respect I can easily identify with both Conner and Nichole.

But I think in this case I’m more like Conner who is very reclusive.   I am also very quietly stubborn about it.  I don’t like for the world to see the things that matter most to me or my own struggles to achieve them. Unlike Nichole who puts her desires out there for the world to see and then boldly goes after them.

What about you?  Are you more like Conner or Nichole?  I’m giving away a copy of A Case of Kiss and Tell to one commenter today.

Food is one of my favorite things in the world. I love to eat and I love to cook. In fact, my new three-book Special Edition mini-series, “Celebrations, Inc.,” which will be out September, October and November 2012, is about a catering company that finds itself at the center of a reality television show.  

As I was doing my research, watching as many cooking television shows as I could digest, I noticed that there’s an amazing crop of men in the kitchens of the various food and travel television networks.  Really, there’s a guy for every taste. I also noticed that the different chefs represented a smorgasbord of hero archetypes.

Here are some of my favorites – and I admit that most of them aren’t traditional archetypes…they’re made-up to order:
Jamie Oliver: THE BOY-NEXT-DOOR

He’s so darn adorable and unassuming that sometimes I forget not only is he a great chef, but he’s also civic-minded. Through his restaurant, Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen, he takes an active role in helping troubled, unemployed youth gain a sense of worth and belonging in their communities by training them in the culinary arts. The training equips at-risk young adults with a career so they can look forward to a better future, and all profits from the restaurant go to the Jamie Oliver Foundation.

Alton Brown: THE SEXY GEEK

His offbeat show Good Eats (which ceased production in 2011 after a twelve-year run),  is smart and goofy. It blends equal parts nerdy humor, knowledge, history, pop culture, and science with basic cooking techniques.  Long before this guy ever appeared on TV,  he admits he used his culinary prowess to get dates.  He parlayed his wit and unique approach to food into a gig that allowed him to write, produce and star in each of the 249 episodes of Good Eats.

 
David Rocco: THE METROSEXUAL

This Canadian claims: “I’m not a chef. I’m Italian!” In his show David Rocco’s Dolce Vita, he scoots all over Florence on a moped – and sometimes in a golf cart – exploring the city’s sophisticated cafes, trendy restaurants and lush markets. He and his friends, who are quite a cast of characters, are always dressed casually chic – and sometimes to the nines – as they prove that life is a party of pleasure and indulgence waiting to be discovered.

 
Anthony Bordin:  THE BAD BOY

The first time I saw Anthony Bordin on television, he was gobsmacked by a 20-course tasting dinner prepared by chef Thomas Keller. Mid-meal he and the other reverent diners took a “coffee and cigarette” break. But not in the traditional sense. Their “break” came in the form of coffee custard infused with tobacco, which Keller said he created in homage to Bordin’s two-pack-a-day habit. I thought, whoa, anyone who would inspire tobacco-infused custard has to be a bad ass. I was instantly smitten. With books to his credit titled, Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly and The Nasty Bits (which, incidentally, is dedicated to punk rockers ” Joey, Johnny and Dee Dee Ramone) and a television show, Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations, that carries a viewer discretion advisory (because of his fondness for profanity and sexual innuendo), Bourdin has, in fact, proven himself to be the archetypical bad boy of food tv.

 
Tyler Florence: YOUR BEST FRIEND’S CUTE OLDER BROTHER

What I love about Tyler is that he delivers great food in a very unpretentious, easy going way. He also serves on the board of the national nonprofit Afterschool Alliance, an organization that works to promote and support quality after-school programs.  He reminds me of a friend’s big brother I might’ve had a tiny little crush on back in the day. Okay, maybe I’m crushin’ on Tyler just a little bit now…

What are some of your favorite character archetypes  - traditional or made-up? Or share your favorite food tv personalities.   I’ll give a special surprise to one lucky person who posts today.

I’m a quote collector. I love stumbling across a quip or a pondering that strikes a chord.  It probably started back when I was a kid and my mother – trying to help me loosen my mind-grip on whatever was troubling me – offered the Prayer of Serenity. Now, I have the saying taped to my computer and refer to it when I’m struggling with something I have no control over. Sometimes it’s my saving grace.

Another of my favorite quote comes from the philosopher Voltaire: “Perfect is the enemy of very good.” It serves as a gentle reminder when I’m having trouble letting go of something … say, a book I’m writing… because it’s not quite there yet…. Sometimes I want to stop – or worse yet, not even start- because I can’t get it as perfect as I think it should be. Then I remember, it will never be perfect, because nothing is perfect. Perfect is, indeed, the enemy of very good.

Jordana Fortune, the heroine of my latest book, FORTUNE’S UNEXPECTED GROOM – book five in Harlequin’s latest Fortune’s of Texas series, would’ve benefitted from Voltaire’s little ditty. In her quest for perfection – being the perfect daughter; cultivating the perfect life; finding perfect love– she almost misses out on “living” altogether.  That is, until fate blows her right into the arms of Tanner Redmond and turns her entire belief system upside down.

Along their journey, Tanner and Jordana realize that the most perfect kind of love is imperfect; it encourages a person to be herself and knows that even on those very human bad days there’s a safe haven in the forgiveness of unconditional love… which reminds me of another favorite quote from Marilyn Monroe: “I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control, and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, you sure don’t deserve me at my best.”

Those are words we can all remember when we’re feeling less than perfect.

Do you have a favorite quote? If so, please share it with us. Each person who comments will be entered in a drawing to win a copy of FORTUNE’S UNEXPECTED GROOM.

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Be sure to check out all six books in the newest Fortunes of Texas: Whirlwind Romance series

Available Now:

FORTUNE’S CINDERELLA – by Karen Templeton

FORTUNE’S VALENTINE BRIDE – by Marie Ferrarella

MENDOZA’S MIRACLE – by Judy Duarte

FORTUNE’S HERO – by Susan Crosby

FORTUNE’S UNEXPECTED GROOM – by Nancy Robards Thompson

Coming in June 2012

FORTUNE’S PERFECT MATCH – by Allison Leigh

Covers are the bane of any author’s existence. .  and the bliss, too, when done well. Nothing gives an author more reasons for angst (well, other than titles, reviews, editing, synopsis-writing, and so on) than waiting to see how their publisher’s art, marketing and editorial departments envisioned their story. Did they pick up on the conflict? Do the hero and heroine actually LOOK like they’re supposed to? Hair color? Age? Body type?  Sometimes they’re spot on and sometimes, well, they’re not at all.

Last year, I put together a presentation for an event about the mysteries and possibilities of romance novel coverart and I collected examples of many — some beautiful, some questionable and some downright horrendous covers to show to my audience. I talked about author branding, marketing concepts, reader/story expectations and the one thing that the attendees could simply not believe was that authors have little or no control over covers.  It’s true but after having input on the four covers of my recently republished books, I can say that I think I’m grateful for not having been involved in all those others! LOL!

Actually, that’s not completely true — working with the cover artist/graphic designer on my covers forced me (FORCED!) to sift through dozens and dozens possibly hundreds of photos of gorgeous young men. It was a terrible experience, comparing their eyes and faces and . . . other bits, trying to find the perfect representation for my heroes. As I explained to my husband who was wondering why I was looking at gorgeous young men for hours and hours, it was my responsibility to find the right one from among all the wrong ones.

So, back to the other covers — the ones designed and created by my publishers. I have been blessed with mostly fabulous covers over the years. Lovely ones, gorgeous ones for the most part, across time periods, with hunky Highlanders, Saxon maidens, Regency duchesses and earls, and a few headless women, too. More than a few headless people–LOL!  To capitalize on the trend for my books to feature headless heroines (THE COUNTESS BRIDE, MAID OF LORN, THE BETROTHAL, THE CONQUEROR’S LADY, and all of my Bravas) then headless heroes (THE NORMAN’S BRIDE, TAMING THE HIGHLANDER, SURRENDER TO THE HIGHLANDER, etc), I even held a website contest to guess what the next cover would be!

Well, today I got the first peek at my next Harlequin Historical’s cover and I am blown away by it! I think it’s the best one yet — but I may be biased. What do you think?

When you look for a romance novel, in stores or online, what do you like on the cover? Are you partial to clinches? Hero-only? Heroine-only? Naked manly chests? Images not people?  And which of mine (found here ) do you think is the best? This new one or one of the others? Post a comment and I’m going to choose two people who will each receive a signed book (from this weekend’s Desert Dreams Conference in Phoenix AZ).

Terri is on her way to the Desert Dreams conference this weekend where she’ll be presenting a workshop and signing at the conference bookfair. The bookfair on Saturday is open to the public.  Stop by if you’re in the area!

The Jaunty Quills are thrilled to welcome Susan Crosby to the sisterhood today. She and I are chatting about her new book, FORTUNE’S HERO, the fourth book in the latest Harlequin Special Edition series,  Fortunes of Texas – Whirlwind Romance.

Nancy Robards Thompson: Welcome, Susan! Please tell us about your latest book.

Susan Crosby: FORTUNE’S HERO has an older hero and younger heroine who are such complete opposites you’d never think they could end up with a happily ever after.  Garrett Stone rescues Victoria Fortune after she’s crushed in the aftermath of a tornado, then he disappears into thin air.  Victoria never gets to thank him, so a few months later she goes in search of her unsung hero.  Garrett thinks he’s perfectly content with his life.  He and the many stray animals who come or are brought to him on his ranch are content together.  They don’t need a woman around.  But even his dogs start to favor the lively Victoria, and Garrett can’t fight his feelings forever.

NRT: What life lessons do the hero and heroine of FORTUNE’S HERO learn before they earn their happily ever after?

SC: Victoria learns about true passion, not just for the man she comes to love but for a particular, satisfying kind of work in a world vastly different from what she’s known all her life.  Garrett learns he can count on another person.  This is huge for him.

NRT: Why will readers enjoy this story?

SC: Garrett is an old-fashioned cowboy, a modern day knight in shining armor—and he wants no gratitude from the woman whose life he saved.  How Victoria wriggles her way into his life leaves him baffled, amused and ultimately deeply in love.

NRT: That sounds fabulous, Susan! I can see why readers will love it, but what will they enjoy the Fortunes of Texas series as a whole?

SC: I personally love the Fortunes, the whole continuity of family and all it entails—support, criticism and a love you can count on, no matter what–unconditional but also honest.

NRT: They sound like quite a bunch!  On another note, what’s a typical writing day like for you?

SC:  I start early in the day because I’m a morning person.  I’m generally done by 2:00, which gives me time for other things.  I begin by reading what I wrote the day before and making changes, if necessary, then move into new material.  When I stop, I almost always write a few sentences about what happens next so that I have a place to start the next day.  It’s rare for me to work on Saturday, and never on Sunday.

NRT: What was your path to becoming a romance writer?

SC: I read THE FLAME AND THE FLOWER by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss in my late 20s.  That fueled the fire for me.  I wrote a few historical romances just for fun, then abandoned that to return to college in my 30s.  After an 8-year pursuit of a bachelors degree in English, as well as raising a family, I got serious about writing for publication.  By then I was more interested in writing contemporary romance.  I went to book signings and talked to authors.  I read like crazy.  Then I sold the 2nd book I wrote—because I’d done so much preparation in advance, I felt.

NRT: What advice do you have for aspiring romance writers?

SC:  Writing is a learned skill.  Yes, you have to be a good storyteller, first and foremost, but the mechanics of writing is a skill you develop.  I had no idea was conflict was when I started.  I thought it meant fighting, and I didn’t like fighting.  Then I learned that conflict drives the whole story.  What is keeping this couple apart now?  More important, what could keep them apart forever?  How those conflicts get resolved in a believable way is the biggest challenge.

FORTUNE’S HERO is my 36th book, and my fourth Fortune continuity.  I love revisiting the Fortune family as much as I love creating my own fictional families.

Award-winning, nationally ranked #1 bestselling author Susan Crosby began writing in 1992 and made her first sale a year and a half later to Silhouette Books, a division of Harlequin Books.  She was selected as their Premiere Author, which is their “rising star,” for Silhouette Desire for her first novel, The Mating Game, released in 1994.

She has since published 35 more novels, including the current FORTUNE’S HERO for Harlequin Special Edition.

Susan has made the USA Today and Borders best-seller lists, and has been nominated for or won every major romance award, including having one of her books, His Seductive Revenge, named by Romantic Times magazine to their Top 400 Romance Novels of the past 2 decades, a list culled from 25,000 books.