I can’t believe its May already. When I was a kid May was that perfect time that meant the school year was almost over and summer waited just around the corner. I loved May!

When I worked at my very first job at Walt Disney World, May was one of those months with five pay periods which always made me think of found money. I realize now that I’m not making more money but at the time I was 17 and it seemed like a bonus!

I still like May. I get to celebrate Mother’s Day both with my mom and with my own kids. We get days off for holidays (Memorial Day in the US, another Bank Holiday in the UK) and it is the start of summer. Its still dreary in the Midlands of the UK but I bought some new summer clothes and I’m ready for it.

What do you like most about May?

I’m giving a way a copy of THE GREATEST GIFT: A HARLEQUIN MOTHER’S DAY Collection today to one blog participant. Its only available in e-book form and has stories from myself, Kathleen O’Brien, Donna Alward and Tonya Micheals.

This week, we’re going to hear a lot of great things about a lot of great moms. But I thought it might be fun to visit our less than stellar moments. We’ve all had them. (Except my friend Lisa, who makes the rest of us look terrible.)

So here are a few notable moments in the old mother/child relationship that maybe aren’t so great.

My mom goes to the hospital with a broken foot. We see the orthopedist, whose name sounds like the Hungarian word for granny-style underwear (it’s a weird language). The snorting begins. He is confused at our amusement, which only makes it worse. When Mom is given crutches, both of us know she’s going to fall. She does. Hilarity ensues. Nurses express concern that my mom is being discharged into my care.

My neighbor pretends to give her children up for adoption. Okay, this was a different time. My neighbor is 77 years old. When her boys were fighting and breaking stuff (which was daily, let’s be fair), Carol would pick up the phone and say, “Hello, Bad Boys Home? I have two boys I’d like you to pick up.” Today, that would be considered emotional abuse, but I’m happy to report that both boys are now men and seem pretty dang happy and successful to me.

I embarrass my daughter and godchild by referring to anatomy in a mall. “I’ll meet you at the nipple store,” I blithely call, referring to Hollister, whose name always escapes me. The girls shush me in horror, then bolt into the crowd.

Star Wars dorkiness revealed when I engage in a heated debate about who is cooler — Han Solo or Yoda—while out to breakfast with my daughter. (And please. It’s Yoda.). My daughter’s gentle advice: “You probably should keep some things to yourself, Mommy.”

My mother pretends to abandon her three small children in the car on a dark road, warning us not to open the doors “no matter what you hear.” She’d get out of the car, walk a few yards away, wait us out until our whimpering became loud enough, then come back, laughing. “Oh, you didn’t think I was serious, did you? You kids!” I know. I’d like to say the emotional scars have healed. But I can’t. That being said, I seem to be a normally functioning adult, so clearly Mom did something right!

Got any funny stories of your own less-than-notable moments in motherhood…or your own mom’s? You know you’ll be bringing her flowers on Sunday, so for now, go ahead. Tell us!

Kathryn!  Congratulations!  I just drew your name as the winner of an eBook copy of Dance of Desire, the prize I offered in my recent blog post.  Please check your email for my message.  Thanks to everyone who left comments, and look for more chances to win great stuff here at the Jaunty Quills blog.  Have a great week, everyone!

Here is the list of winners from my blog about Rock*It Reads on Monday. You will soon be contacted by the Rock*It Reads authors on how to claim your books (if you haven’t heard from them already). If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact me. (Margomaguire@yahoo.com). Congratulations, ladies!

Donna Ann
Julia
Jane
Stella
Jenni
Breanna
Megan
Ebony
Sharon D
Stacie D

When I was growing up, our family didn’t travel much.  Translation: not at all.

Other kids would talk about going to Disneyland or the Grand Canyon and I would just sigh.  Because from the time I was a little girl, I wanted to travel.  I didn’t fly on an airplane until I was 19 when I went to visit a friend who had moved to Chicago.

As an adult I’ve made a special effort to visit places that I longed to visit as a child.  Granted, Cinderella’s Castle doesn’t quite have the same magic when you’re no longer little, but I enjoyed it.  Until the past week, I’d never been to the Grand Canyon.  When I’d tell people that, they’d look at me strangely.

No longer.   When I made plans to visit a friend in Tucson and mentioned that I’d never been to the Grand Canyon, she said “We’ll have to do a day trip there.”  I saw that big hole and was filled with awe.  It was so incredible I almost couldn’t believe it was real.

It didn’t matter that I wasn’t seeing it as a child.  I actually think that I appreciated the view more as an adult!

Have you been to the Grand Canyon?  What did you think?

If you’ve never been there, where have you been that took your breath away?  I’d really like to know.

I love life’s little surprises—the nice, unexpected gifts that come my way now and again.

I stumbled upon one such gift earlier this year.  My family and I had bought a composter the previous spring, and I’d diligently tossed in our veggie scraps, overripe avocados, banana peels, rinsed egg shells, melon rinds, and also a few fat worms I’d dug up from a flower bed.  By the fall, the composter had done its work; a layer of dark, rich soil filled the bottom, and I scooped it out and added it to the earth around my fall annuals.

Winter came and went, but what should appear amongst my annuals?  Tomato plants!  Strong and healthy, they demanded a place in the sunny front garden, so I stuck wire cages in the ground and said “go for it” (but don’t tell anyone I talk to my tomato plants!).  Yes, it’s rather unconventional to grow tomatoes in the front garden but they have grown like crazy.

We’ve had a couple of pickings so far—my teenage daughter even volunteered to gather them—and there are lots more tomatoes ready to ripen.  I’m thrilled, because I LOVE tomatoes (or to-MAH-toes, as The Brit would say), especially in salad, drizzled with a bit of olive oil and sprinkled with sea salt.  Yum!

My most recent surprise actually occurred a couple of months ago.  As most of you probably already know, I adore cats.  I would have a house full, if my family would let me (but they won’t).  We already had one kitty named Kai, a three-year-old Maine Coon mix we’d adopted from the local animal services when he was three months old.  However, he started having behavioral issues.  For no reason, he’d lunge at us and bite.  Not fun.  After my daughter had endured several bites, my husband even talked about getting rid of Kai, which was not a good thing to hear, since he and I are, well, good buddies.

When I mentioned Kai’s behavior to the vet during his annual check-up she said, “Does he have any other cats to play with?”  In other words, he was bored.

The Brit had been resistant to getting another cat, but when I relayed what the vet had said, and when my daughter insisted she’d love a kitten, we went the same day to the local animal services where we’d found Kai and ended up adopting an 8-week-old gray furball my daughter named Sherlock.

It took a while for Kai and Sherlock to become friends, but now they are inseparable and Kai is much happier.

Sherlock?  He’s the cutest, sweetest, happiest little dude and my daughter adores him.  So do I.

***

How about you?  Has life handed you any nice surprises lately?  One commenter will win an eBook copy (Nook or Kindle verson) of my award-winning medieval romance Dance of Desire, which contains a few surprises within its pages.

Ultimate Sportsfan is reading this right now and thinking, whoa! She’s blogging about that? He always likes to give tours of our house and point to the bedroom and say, “That’s where the magic happens.” But this blog is about where the book-making magic happens.

For me that’s in Naperville, Illinois at the headquarters of Sourcebooks Publishers. I was lucky enough to get to tour the publishing house in April when I went to Chicago for the Romantic Times Convention. Dominique Raccah, who is the CEO of Sourcebooks, got us party limos and drove all the Sourcebooks’ authors to Naperville.

Here’s a picture of Barbara Vey, editor at Publisher’s Weekly and romance guru, trying out the stripper pole en route.

I was surprised at how unassuming the Sourcebooks’ building looked on the outside, but on the inside it was warm and welcoming.

Here’s the sign that greeted us when we walked in the door.

 We got a lovely tour and met all the important people.  Here’s my editor, Deb Werksman.

Here’s my publicist, Danielle Jackson (she’s the one that sends all those prize books out when I go on blog tour).

And here are just a few of the books on display in the offices. There were thousands more scattered throughout the building, and I really wanted to do some “shopping.”

Finally, here is the famous cow, with quotes from poets and writers from the Chicago-area. The rumor is that Dominique outbid Oprah for the cow.

Here I am with the cow.

And here is the author-part of the Sourcebooks’ family.

Going on a tour like this is every aspiring author’s dream, so this was truly a dream come true for me.

I read and I write emotionally driven romances where finding real love is the prevalent theme.  But finding love usually isn’t my characters main goal.  In fact, love is usually the last thing either wants, especially from the other.

Of course, I never make it easy on my characters.  I heap internal conflicts on them, mix it with a good does of lust and toss them into a world of emotional chaos.  I don’t give them easy avenues out – they have to stick together to the bitter end, dragging their baggage through mud with the hope both will recognize that they complete each other – that they can have true love after they’ve lightened their burdens by tossing away the old beliefs and fears that have chained their hearts all this time.

From one who’s been in that dark camp for too long, I know it isn’t easy to break out.  Opening your heart to possible hurt again is terrifying.  Experiencing only conditional love – the pat on the head, you done good feeling – is a poor substitute for finding somebody who loves and accepts you for who you are, who doesn’t judge, doesn’t try to change you.

Typically my heroines are similar to me – looking for the real thing but just haven’t found The One.  They aren’t going to settle for conditional love – it’s all or nothing for them.

My heroes tend to be jaded.  They either don’t believe in love, have been burned to a crisp by the emotion before and avoid it now, or just don’t know what love is.

And really, what is love?

That’s a question I’ve asked myself a lot of times.

Love is invisible.  Felt not seen.  Elusive.  The precious gem to find amid a sea of sand.

True love is unconditional.  That’s the love that fills us, warms us, makes us whole.  Unconditional love completes us.

It is as much the giving of deep emotional support as much as it is receiving the same from that someone special. It’s the companionable silence of two hearts watching the same sun set and feeling happy to share such a moment together.

Each time I start writing a new story, I face the challenge of finding the right way to show how two people can find real love and finally experience that blissful happiness that comes out of such a deep abiding love.  I love writing about their journey as they find a way to cast off their fears and embrace a new tomorrow with that one special love.  And when I’m not writing them, I love reading about them.  Because really, what’s more satisfying than watching two people fall in love?

Why do you read romances?  What made you know your wife or husband or lover was the real love to last for all time?

CONGRATULATIONS, Rebe!! You’ve won a copy of FORTUNE’S UNEXPECTED GROOM. Please email your snail mail address to me at NRobardsThompson@yahoo.com.

Thanks so much to everyone for posting!

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.

**************************************************************************************

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