In a word - I can't do it. My characters just stand in my head and look at me. So nothing has been written this week, including this blog. When I'm suffering with the crud all I want to do is stay in bed, eat chips and really hot salsa, drink lots of water and orange juice and snuggle with a good book, a box of Kleenex and my dog. Wait! I'm reading when I'm sick, so does that count as working? Hmmmmm....
Anyway, the crud seems to be going bye-bye so it's time to attach butt to chair and do some heavy duty making up.
Time to write fiction!
Hugs,
~Cookie~
Friday, July 27, 2007
Sunday, July 22, 2007
Would you date this guy?
We get our inspiration for our heroes in all sorts of places. Found this guy on youtube and while I don’t think he’ll be the main love interest, I’ve got to find a way to work him in somehow. I think I’ll have her go to a dating web site and find someone like him. I’m sure their first (and last) date will be hilarious. So here’s Stephen Morris – he knows what he wants and isn’t going to get it anytime soon. And don’t forget: “Height is in the eye of the beholder!”
Saturday, July 21, 2007
The End of Harry Potter
This would be a good place to tell the ending of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. But I don’t dare. Standing in a Wal-mart line at 1 a.m., 59 minutes after JK Rowling’s seventh (and last) installment of the teenage sorcerer’s coming-of-age story went on sale, I put the time to good use and read through the last chapter, especially the last page. Then all the way home, I threatened to tell Jessica the ending if she didn’t clean her room today.
Before you start gushing about what a good mother I am to be at Wal-mart when the books went on sale, let me stop you. I’m not that good. But we did take Jess to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and spent as much on popcorn and cokes as we did tickets. And when the movie was over at 12:02, we ambled down the street to Wal-mart to get some milk. It was only when we noticed the crowd of people trickling out of the store clutching one bag with one item in it that I remembered the book was on sale.
I’m so jealous of Rowling’s success. For a story first penned on a cocktail napkin, she’s done alright for herself. I can’t blame Rowling for anything. She had a story to tell and she told it. And the world listened and clamored for more.
The only difference between Rowling and me is she didn’t let her own insecurities and doubts drain the ink from her pen.
Before you start gushing about what a good mother I am to be at Wal-mart when the books went on sale, let me stop you. I’m not that good. But we did take Jess to see Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and spent as much on popcorn and cokes as we did tickets. And when the movie was over at 12:02, we ambled down the street to Wal-mart to get some milk. It was only when we noticed the crowd of people trickling out of the store clutching one bag with one item in it that I remembered the book was on sale.
I’m so jealous of Rowling’s success. For a story first penned on a cocktail napkin, she’s done alright for herself. I can’t blame Rowling for anything. She had a story to tell and she told it. And the world listened and clamored for more.
The only difference between Rowling and me is she didn’t let her own insecurities and doubts drain the ink from her pen.
Friday, July 20, 2007
Kathleen Woodiwiss obituary
As a young girl, I learned about the birds and bees between the pages of Kathleen Woodiwiss novels. Later on, this proved to be unfair to each of my three ex-husbands because they couldn't compete with the handsome valient heroes I fell in love with in her books.
Ms. Woodiwiss will be missed. Because of her and writers like her, lots of teenaged girls dreamed of becoming best-selling authors. I am one of them.
*****
A statement from Avon Books/William Morrow:
Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, creator of the modern historical romance, died Friday, July 6, 2007 in Minnesota. She had just turned 68.
Her attorney, William Messerlie, said that she died after a long illness. Born on June 3, 1939 in Alexandria, Louisiana, Mrs. Woodiwiss was the youngest of eight siblings. She long relished creating original narratives, and by age six was telling herself stories at night to help herself fall asleep. At age 16, she met U.S. Air Force Second Lieutenant Ross Woodiwiss at a dance, and they married the following year. She wrote her first book in longhand while living at a military outpost in Japan.
Mrs. Woodiwiss is credited with the invention of the modern historical romance novel: in 1972, she released The Flame and the Flower, an instant New York Times bestseller, creating literary precedent. The Flame and the Flower revolutionized mainstream publishing, featuring an epic historical romance with a strong heroine and impassioned sex scenes.
"Kathleeen E. Woodiwiss is the founding mother of the historical romance genre," says Carrie Feron, vice president/editorial director of William Morrow and Avon Books, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers.
Feron, who has been Mrs. Woodiwiss' editor for 13 years, continues, "Avon Books is proud to have been Kathleen's sole publishing partner for her paperbacks and hardcover novels for more than three decades."
Avon Books, a leader in the historical romance genre to this day, remains Mrs. Woodiwiss' original and only paperback publisher; William Morrow, Avon's sister company, publishes Mrs. Woodiwiss' hardcovers.
The Flame and the Flower was rejected by agents and hardcover publishers, who deemed it as "too long" at 600 pages. Rather than follow the advice of the rejection letters and rewrite the novel, Mrs. Woodiwiss instead submitted it to paperback publishers. The first publisher on her list, Avon, quickly purchased the novel and arranged an initial 500,000 print run. The novel sold over 2.3 million copies in its first four years of publication.
The success of this novel prompted a new style of writing romance, concentrating primarily on historical fiction tracking the monogamous relationship between a helpless heroines and the hero who rescued her, even if he had been the one to place her in danger. The romance novels which followed in her example featured longer plots, more controversial situations and characters, and more intimate and steamy sex scenes.
"Her words engendered an incredible passion among readers," notes Feron.
Bestselling author Julia Quinn agrees, saying, "Woodiwiss made women want to read. She gave them an alternative to Westerns and hard-boiled police procedurals. When I was growing up, I saw my mother and grandmother reading and enjoying romances, and when I was old enough to read them myself, I felt as if I had been admitted into a special sisterhood of reading women."
New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips, a leading voice in the women's fiction arena, says, "We all owe our careers to her. She opened the world of romance to us as readers. She created a career for us to go into."
The pioneering author has written 13 novels over the course of 35 years, all New York Times bestsellers. Kathleen E. Woodiwiss' final literary work, the upcoming Everlasting, will be published by William Morrow in October 2007. "Everlasting is Kathleen's final gift to her fans," notes Feron.
Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, who was predeceased by her husband and son Dorren, is survived by sons Sean and Heath, and numerous grandchildren.
Ms. Woodiwiss will be missed. Because of her and writers like her, lots of teenaged girls dreamed of becoming best-selling authors. I am one of them.
*****
A statement from Avon Books/William Morrow:
Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, creator of the modern historical romance, died Friday, July 6, 2007 in Minnesota. She had just turned 68.
Her attorney, William Messerlie, said that she died after a long illness. Born on June 3, 1939 in Alexandria, Louisiana, Mrs. Woodiwiss was the youngest of eight siblings. She long relished creating original narratives, and by age six was telling herself stories at night to help herself fall asleep. At age 16, she met U.S. Air Force Second Lieutenant Ross Woodiwiss at a dance, and they married the following year. She wrote her first book in longhand while living at a military outpost in Japan.
Mrs. Woodiwiss is credited with the invention of the modern historical romance novel: in 1972, she released The Flame and the Flower, an instant New York Times bestseller, creating literary precedent. The Flame and the Flower revolutionized mainstream publishing, featuring an epic historical romance with a strong heroine and impassioned sex scenes.
"Kathleeen E. Woodiwiss is the founding mother of the historical romance genre," says Carrie Feron, vice president/editorial director of William Morrow and Avon Books, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers.
Feron, who has been Mrs. Woodiwiss' editor for 13 years, continues, "Avon Books is proud to have been Kathleen's sole publishing partner for her paperbacks and hardcover novels for more than three decades."
Avon Books, a leader in the historical romance genre to this day, remains Mrs. Woodiwiss' original and only paperback publisher; William Morrow, Avon's sister company, publishes Mrs. Woodiwiss' hardcovers.
The Flame and the Flower was rejected by agents and hardcover publishers, who deemed it as "too long" at 600 pages. Rather than follow the advice of the rejection letters and rewrite the novel, Mrs. Woodiwiss instead submitted it to paperback publishers. The first publisher on her list, Avon, quickly purchased the novel and arranged an initial 500,000 print run. The novel sold over 2.3 million copies in its first four years of publication.
The success of this novel prompted a new style of writing romance, concentrating primarily on historical fiction tracking the monogamous relationship between a helpless heroines and the hero who rescued her, even if he had been the one to place her in danger. The romance novels which followed in her example featured longer plots, more controversial situations and characters, and more intimate and steamy sex scenes.
"Her words engendered an incredible passion among readers," notes Feron.
Bestselling author Julia Quinn agrees, saying, "Woodiwiss made women want to read. She gave them an alternative to Westerns and hard-boiled police procedurals. When I was growing up, I saw my mother and grandmother reading and enjoying romances, and when I was old enough to read them myself, I felt as if I had been admitted into a special sisterhood of reading women."
New York Times bestselling author Susan Elizabeth Phillips, a leading voice in the women's fiction arena, says, "We all owe our careers to her. She opened the world of romance to us as readers. She created a career for us to go into."
The pioneering author has written 13 novels over the course of 35 years, all New York Times bestsellers. Kathleen E. Woodiwiss' final literary work, the upcoming Everlasting, will be published by William Morrow in October 2007. "Everlasting is Kathleen's final gift to her fans," notes Feron.
Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, who was predeceased by her husband and son Dorren, is survived by sons Sean and Heath, and numerous grandchildren.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Looking for Mr. Goodcookie
All your hard work at that computer deserves a break every once in a while. That's when it's time to dig into the cookie jar and pour an ice cold glass of milk for a delicious treat. Just keep those crumbs away from the keyboard!
We're looking for some yummy recipes to try. Please post your best cookie recipes here as a comment to this post. I promise to try them all (hazard of the job!)
Thanks bunches,
Cookie
We're looking for some yummy recipes to try. Please post your best cookie recipes here as a comment to this post. I promise to try them all (hazard of the job!)
Thanks bunches,
Cookie
A Cookie Crumb - Nora Roberts
If you don't go after what you want, you'll never have it. If you don't ask, the answer is always no. If you don't step forward, you're always in the same place. - Nora Roberts
Wednesday, July 18, 2007
I got the Cookie Blues
What better way to start the blog for the writer of romantic comedy than with a hilarious video of singing cookies? Take a cookie break from your writing and enjoy.
Hugs,
Cookie
Hugs,
Cookie
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