Happy Thanksgiving and Anniversay to Mills and Boon!

Yes, a two-part blog today.

Can you see anything wrong with this picture above? Look hard. I'll tell you at the end of this blog ... it's really funny!

First, I'd love to thank you all for our support in my writing endeavors. I'm thankful to each and every one of you who stop by to read my blog and visit my website! And of course, read my books!

I hope you had a wonderful holiday as well.




We had an especially wonderful Thanksgiving this year with our family and friends. After a few scares, we are all thankfully healthy and safe. Below are pictures of the Adult table and our Kids table. Notice the kids are outnumbering the adults now! We had the biggest group ever, 18 for dinner and we went thru 2 turkeys very fast!

Notice the "kids" are all in college or beyond now!

Okay, now for the silliness. In our traditional "carving the turkey" picture, did you notice that the Butterball turkey, was upside down? We didn't realize it, since the bird was soooo round all over, that we prepared the turkey on it's breast so that the backside was exposed. When my hubby went to carve, he was stunned that the "Butterball" had NO meat on it. It was all bone! We couldn't figure it out, until my daughter noticed the white meat was on bottom!! Oh my goodness, after years of cooking turkeys, we've Never done that before. I still laugh when I think about our shock to find the usually plentiful Butterball was meatless. I nearly panicked, with 18 to feed. But all went well, the breast was plentiful, once we turned the bird over!!

It's Mills and Boon 100 Year Anniversary and I just found out that Between the Ceo's Sheets has been paired with Michelle Celmer's House Calls.

Two Desires in One and we are on for December 2008 on the Mills and Boon site. If you haven't read these books, you can find the details here!

Have a safe and restful weekend!

Check out my Always and Never Rules for new writers!

I've been invited to blog today about "Advice to Myself as a Newbie Author."

If you have a minute, check it out today at my Romance Writers of America's Chapter at OCC Blog

You'll get a sneak peak at my new February cover too!

Changes in the Air for Fans of Soaps and Dancing with the Stars

Okay, I admit it, I love soap operas. I remember some twenty plus years ago having a roommate in my hospital room after I gave birth to my son who was an avid Days of Our Lives fan. Not only was I learning from the nurses how to diaper and bath my new baby, but my roommate taught me all I needed to know about the backstory of Days of Our Lives ! We'd watch it together in our hospital room and I became a fan as well.

I was a new mother with a baby and housebound. Very shortly those soap opera characters became my new friends as I changed diapers, washed clothes and paid the bills while I had the show on during the noon hour.

I've been a big Days fan, and though there are criticisms that the acting is bad, the storylines are phony and unbelievable, I don't always agree. What's great about soaps is that there's always something new happening. No repeats to name. We get a new show every day, five days a week. I think of the actors that are GOOD, and the ones who have moved on to become major television and movie stars.

But it seems there isn't a viewing audience for soaps like there used to be. The soaps were geared to housewives. But nowadays, it's rare that a woman is home during those hours. So even the soap stars are subject to budget cuts. Marlena and John, (above) who have been on the show more than 25 years and I imagine are the top wage earners, have been laid off.

For some, this spells doom for the soap as many view those two as the mainstay of the show. I'll still watch Days, but it won't be the same.

How about you? Are you a fan of soaps?

Do you love Dancing with Stars? My favorite, Julianne has decided not to come back in the spring. She's multi-talented and has sought a career in country music. She's good too, if you caught her performance last week on DWTS. I'm a huge country music fan, so I'm torn, because I love watching her dance. But she's persuing her dreams and you can never fault that!

A Nomination and A Chance for you to win!

Dear Readers,

I just got word that my anthology with Jillian Hart and Kate Bridges, Western Weddings, is a contender for Love Western Romances’ Best Western Romance of 2008 by being awarded a 5 Spur review by Love Western Romance.com and published in the year 2008.

Starting December 1, 2008 visitors to Love Western Romances.com will be able to vote for the Best Western Romance of 2008 from the list of books awarded 5 spurs. The voting will run until January 11, 2009 to give fans plenty of time to vote. Each visitor can only vote once.

Below is the link to Love Western Romances.com. http://www.lovewesternromances.com/index.html

Here's the best part for my readers and friends:

Voters will be entered into a contest for a basket of goodies and a Barnes and Noble gift card.

This is a great honor and I hope you take the time to vote starting December 1st. I'll be reminding you all again!

Maybe we both will win!

Don't forget to enter my Suite Secrets Part Two contest today, if you haven't already. You can only enter once. Contest ends after the holidays!

A Thankgiving Funny

Thanksgiving Divorce

A man in Phoenix calls his son in New York two days before Thanksgiving and says, 'I hate to ruin your day, but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough.

'Pop, what are you talking about?' the son screams.

'We can't stand the sight of each other any longer,' the father says. 'We're sick of each other, and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Chicago and tell her.'

Frantic, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone.

'Like heck they're getting divorced,' she shouts, 'I'll take care of this,'

She calls Phoenix immediately, and screams at her father, 'You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back, and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?' and hangs up.

The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. 'Okay,' he says, 'they're coming for Thanksgiving and paying their own way.'

James Bond - couldn't wait to see it!

Are you a fan? I have to admit that unlike my hubby, who loved Sean Connery, my tastes are more for Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig. I loved Casino Royale that came out last year with Daniel Craig (0r was that two years ago?) At any rate I couldn't wait for this new installment and we pre-bought tickets and saw the movie on Saturday night.

I was totally entertained. Thought the pacing between action scenes and more sedate storytelling scenes was good, but what this movie lacked, was what normally separates it from any other hero/action film.

Gone are the clever James Bond one-liners that make your face twitch with amusement. That tell you, he knows much more than he's saying. That tell you he's in trouble, but he knows how he'll get out of it. This new James Bond is deadly serious. He's way above ALPHA. There's no real light moments in Quantum of Solace.

I like Daniel Craig as James Bond, so I can't fault him. But I can fault the writers and directors for leaving out the most fun elements in a James Bond flick. Where were the "gadgets" that gave James the edge? You didn't see them in this movie. Why not?

Why take the Bond factor, out of a James Bond movie? Don't they know that's what the viewing public are coming to see? It's what brings us back. If it ain't broken, don't fix it.

Apparently, the movie made 70 million in it's opening weekend which was more than expected. But I don't attribute that so much with such a great movie, but with the LACK of good movies out this year.

Did I enjoy Quantum of Solace. Yes, I did. But I would have enjoyed it more if they had those gadgets and one-liners than are Bond's signature. If James Bond wasn't so banged up through-out the movie with a bloodied face and torn clothes. Do you remember Sean Connery ever looking that way? Don't you wonder what Ian Fleming would have to say about all of this?

It's Friday and I'm at Petticoats and Pistols today!

Come visit me at Petticoats and Pistols today! We're talking about cowboys' slang!

A Stroll Down Memory Lane

Take a stroll with me down memory lane and see how many of these things you remember. It's funny how we forget many trivial that were, at one time, significant in our lives until someone reminds you. Some of these things I haven't thought about in years, but once I was reminded, they put a smile on my face and the memories came flashing back.

Who remembers the good old 45 RPM Spindles? Gosh I haven't thought of them in ages. But they were necessary when we played our records, because only the 78's were the right size. The 45's needed the spindle in order to fit our record players. Gosh, I remember at my 7th birthday party, we played and replayed my favorite record outside in our backyard, the 45 spindle working like magic as … sang "Venus, oh Venus, goddess of love that you are". Well, we didn't wear the record out, but we'd forgotten about it and the good old California sunshine melted that 45 record. It had curled up at the edges, never to be played again. A sad day…

And who could forget the Drive-In Movies? It was the Saturday night hang-out for teens, back in the day, when it was fun and safe and thrilling to see a movie in your car! For me, it was special, because it's where my husband of 34 years told me he loved me for the first time! I couldn't tell you what movie was playing, but I will say that was one heck of sweet night for me.

Do you remember gum wrapper chains? Again, I haven't thought of them for a long time. Chewing gum was BIG when I was a kid. We had wrappers galore. I chewed Juicy Fruit, my favorite. So my gum wrapper chains were always yellow. We'd have contests to see who could make the longest chain.

Ah, before Microwave Popcorn, the only way you could get popcorn in your home was to JIFFY POP it! What an invention! Our popcorn always burned because we had an electric oven and we never could get the temperature right. I remember standing over the oven, holding onto that handle and shaking and shaking, hoping that we didn't undercook or overcook the popcorn. The bag would burst on its own, right down the middle. If we were lucky, our popcorn wasn't brown and burnt around the edges. Most days, we weren't so lucky!

McDonalds was a big thing in our day. It was one of the first fast food chains to come along. Honestly, I don't remember the 15 Cent hamburger. But I sure do remember a time when there wasn't a McDonalds. Goodness, my mom cooked every meal and occasionally we would go out to dinner at a restaurant, but those times were few and far between. I do remember when Jack in The Box opened up right across the street from my high school. It was very innovative, to drive through and order your food. My goodness … that was a treat!

And lastly, do you remember a time when we only had television stations from major networks, 2, 4, 5, 7,9, 11 and 13? The TV stations would go to "bed" after a certain time. Who remembers when that was, midnight? 1 or 2 PM? I can't recall now, but I remember those Test Patterns. Yep, they'd come on and let all the insomniacs know there wasn't going to be any television until the morning.

Times have certainly changed. Why does it seem like all those old things were sooo good to have? Life was certainly simpler then, but can you imagine a time when we had no 24/7 TV, cable, cell phones and computers?

Hard concept, isn't it?

Her Montana Man!

CHERYL ST. JOHN'S NEW DECEMBER BOOK

Protecting people runs through Jonas Black's blood, and Eliza Jane Sutherland is one woman who needs his strong arms around her.
A rugged Montana man, Jonas will guard Eliza from her vile brother-in-law as fiercely as he guards his own heart. But though he can fight her enemies, he can't fight the attraction between them.
Soon Jonas is sure they have a future together—only Eliza hides secrets that could change everything….

I just fell in love with this cover and I know this story will be an entertaining tale of danger and love with lots of emotion! Check it out on Eharlequin and Amazon and all of Cheryl's other books including her Christmas Anthology!