New Contests coming soon!

Look for a new contest coming soon at Petticoats and Pistols. Keep an eye out for a chance to win an Amazon gift Card.

And a brand new contest coming soon at www.charlenesands.com. Yes, you'll find it in May on my contest page.

Have a great weekend everyone.

I'm off to see Wolverine!!

Surfing for a Hero!!

I'm blogging today at Petticoats and Pistols!

Stop on by, and enter to win a signed book from my backlist!

We'll be chatting about how to choose a hero for our romances!

Predicting the Winners!

I love three shows. The first one I find extremely motivating and it helps keep me on track with a good diet and exercise. The Biggest Loser!

When I first heard of the show I thought, there's no way I'm watching that! I'd prejudged it without giving it a chance. Now it is by far the one show each week I won't miss.

Before and After

My predictions for The Biggest Loser is and always has been Tara. She's an amazingly strong willed and powerful woman. Mike is doing great and who knows, he just may pull it off.

I also love American Idol for sheer entertainment value. It's fun to watch the performances and see what each of the contestants will sing. My hubby and I critique their songs and most often agree (we both have NO musical talent, btw). Both of us are blown away by Adam Lambert. He's in a class by himself. I think Chris Allen will come in second.

And of course, because I love to dance, I watch and cheer on the celebrities on Dancing with the Stars. I was shocked by last night's elimination. All of the remaining couples are very good and I hated to see Chuck and

Julianne go. Julianne is my favorite of the professionals with her brother Derek, a close second. My prediction is really a toss up between Melissa of The Bachelor fame, who remained despite a bad injury and Giles, the

Frenchman who looks like a professional already and my sentimental favorite, Olympic gymnast, Shawn Johnson. She's too cute for words and so talented!





So there you have it! When I'm not writing, I manage to get these shows in along with Lost, Desperate Housewives and Medium. We are now a 2 DVR family... thank goodness!

Notable Quotes - Western Style

Notable And Quotable - Western Style!

"If he'd just pay me what he's paying them to stop me from robbing him, I'd stop robbing him!"


That's Paul Newman's clever rationalization in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid! Those two lovable bankrobbers had some classic lines and put smiles on our faces.


"Think ya used enough dynamite there, Butch?"


And who could forget this exchange?


Butch Cassidy: Then you jump first.

Sundance Kid: No, I said.

Butch Cassidy: What's the matter with you?

Sundance Kid: I can't swim.

Butch Cassidy: Are you crazy? The fall will probably kill you.


Here's a few more notable quotes from our favorite westerns.
"When you have to shoot, shoot, don't talk." -- The Good, The Bad, & The Ugly


"The public doesn't give a damn about integrity. A town that won't defend itself deserves no help." -- High Noon


"Are you gonna pull those pistols or whistle Dixie?" -- The Outlaw Josey Wales

"There's always a man faster on the draw than you are, and the more you use a gun, the sooner you're gonna run into that man." -- Gunfight at the O.K. Corral

"People scare better when they're dying." (Henry Fonda, Once Upon a Time in the West) (1)

"If God didn't want them sheared, he wouldn't have made them sheep." (Eli Wallach, The Magnificent Seven)

"I come close to killing you a couple of times when we were younger. It saddens me I didn't." (John Wayne, McLintock)

"Since you haven't learned to respect your elders, maybe you'll learn to respect your betters!" (John Wayne, Big Jake)

"Men are gonna get killed here today, Sue, and I'm gonna kill 'em. " (Kevin Costner, Open Range)

See if you can guess who said this:
1."A cows nothing but a lot of trouble tied up in a leather bag."

A. Gene Autry

B. Clint Eastwood

C. John Wayne

D. Steve McQueen


2. What movie did this quote come from?
"Man's got a right to protect his property and his life, and we ain't lettin' no rancher or his lawman take either.


A. Open Range

B. High Noon

C. Stagecoach

D. Quigley, Down Under


3. What female star said this, ""If you weren't the Sheriff, I'd call one."


A. Maureen O'Hara

B. Raquel Welch

C. Sharon Stone

D. Dale Evans


So, do you have a favorite line from a movie, TV show or book? And who's your favorite all-time notable quotable western star?




Answers:
1. C (John Wayne in "The Cowboys" 2. A (Robert Duvall in "Open Range") 3. B (Raquel Welch in "Hannie Caulder")

How Koala's Stay Cool

Since it's nearly 100 degrees here in Southern California, I thought this appropriate! Even koalas need relief from intense heat!

Thanks to my friend Debbie for passing this along!

Kinda cool!

Blogging Today on Petticoats and Pistols

Stop on by and see the Games People Play!!
Would love your input!!



Do you play any of these?

Tell me at Petticoats and Pistols!

Today's the Day

I'm blogging on our brand new Desire Blog at Eharlequin!
Stop on by and say hello!

And have you signed up yet for the Eharlequin newsletter?
It's on the Sidebar here. They have books for 76% off!
You can't beat that!

Happy Easter Bunnies to YOU

Hope you have a great holiday!!

Silhouette Desire Blog starts on Monday!

Come and meet us!

22 Desire authors have come together to form the Desire Blog on Eharlequin. Maureen Child will be launching our site and I'll be blogging on Tuesday, Leanne Banks will blog on Wednesday and so on. Each day, you'll meet a different author!

Please stop by and say hello.

We'll be having fun giveaways all week and hope you'll post a comment.

On Tuesday I'll be giveaway my entire Suite Secrets Series, that's 3 books to one lucky commentor!

Bookmark or Favorite this Link!

Couldn't Resist these Easter Keesters. You Have to See This!

Don't you just love these Easter Keesters!!

ALL I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE I LEARNED FROM THE EASTER BUNNY

Don't put all of your eggs in one basket

Walk softly and carry a big carrot

Everyone needs a friend who is all ears

There's no such thing as too much candy

All work and no play can make you a basket case

A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention

Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day

Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits

Some body parts should be floppy

Keep your paws off other people's jellybeans

Good things come in small sugarcoated packages

The grass is always greener in someone else's basket

An Easter bonnet can tame even the wildest hare

To show your true colors you have to come out of your shell

The best things in life are still sweet and gooey

Recession Busting Romance!

There's good news on the horizon for romance!

We're Recession Busting.

POSTED FROM THE NY TIMES:

In a recession, what people want is a happy ending.
At a time when booksellers are struggling to lure readers, sales of romance novels are outstripping most other categories of books and giving some buoyancy to an otherwise sluggish market.

Harlequin Enterprises, the queen of the romance world, reported that fourth-quarter earnings were up 32 percent over the same period a year earlier, and Donna Hayes, Harlequin’s chief executive, said that sales in the first quarter of this year remained very strong. While sales of adult fiction overall were basically flat last year, according to Nielsen Bookscan, which tracks about 70 percent of retail sales, the romance category was up 7 percent after holding fairly steady for the previous four years.

At Barnes & Noble, the country’s largest book chain, where its chief financial officer, Joe Lombardi, recently warned that overall 2009 sales were likely to fall between 4 percent and 6 percent, sales of romance novels are up. And in the first three months of this year Nielsen Bookscan tracked a 2.4 percent rise in romance sales compared with a slight decline in sales of general adult fiction for the same period. Those figures may underestimate the demand for romance, since a significant portion of sales come from retailers like Wal-Mart that are not tracked by Bookscan.

Like the Depression-era readers who fueled blockbuster sales of Margaret Mitchell’s “Gone With the Wind,” today’s readers are looking for an escape from the grim realities of layoffs, foreclosures and shrinking 401(k) balances.

“Given the general dismay and gloominess,” said Jennifer Lampe, a lawyer in Des Moines and avid romance reader who runs a book blog under the pseudonym Jane Litte at dearauthor.com, “reading something like a romance with a happy ending is really kind of a relief.”

Such escapist urges are also fueling sales of science fiction and fantasy, said Bob Wietrak, a vice president for merchandising at Barnes & Noble. Mr. Wietrak said sales of novels with vampires, shape shifters, werewolves and other paranormal creatures were “exploding,” whether they were found in the romance, fantasy or young-adult aisles, where Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series continues to dominate and inspire look-alike books like the House of Night teen novels by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast.

Romance readers are considered among the most loyal fans, sticking to a series or an author once they have grown attached to one. “It’s a very dedicated audience who doesn’t see it as a luxury as much as a necessity,” said Liate Stehlik, publisher of William Morrow and Avon, imprints of HarperCollins Publishers.

The romance genre may also be especially attractive to consumers during difficult economic times because so many of the books are sold in the mass-market format, smaller paperbacks often found on racks at the grocery store or in airport bookshops. These books sell for $7.99 or less, compared with $12 to $15 on larger trade paperbacks.

Romance novels also often appear in discount chains like Wal-Mart or Kmart, where shoppers make impulse buys.
“If you’re going to Wal-Mart or Target anyway, you’re more likely to go and pick up a book,” said Ms. Hayes of Harlequin. “And a book is such incredible value in this environment.” Several retailers including Kmart, Wal-Mart and Kroger have been running three-for-$10 or two-for-$5 specials on Harlequin’s new titles.

Romance readers have always tended to buy in much higher volumes than people who read other genres like literary fiction. So even though some romance readers may be cutting back — Sue Grimshaw, the romance buyer at Borders, says people are buying four or five instead of five or six books a week — they are still buying more than readers of other book categories.
Some publishers have seen such strong sales on particular authors that they are willing to test hardcover editions for the first time, even in this market.

New American Library, a division of Penguin Group USA, has published six paperback-only versions of vampire romance novels in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series by J. R. Ward. Later this month it will publish Ms. Ward’s “Lover, Avenged” in hardcover, with a planned first printing of 125,000. (These numbers are generally known to be exaggerated, but they are a sign of the publisher’s confidence.)

Desire Fans!

Twenty-two of your favorite Desire Authors will be blogging very soon on Eharlequin's website. You'll get a chance to speak with them, learn about their writing lives as well as their personal lives in a fun and informative Blog.

We go LIVE on April 13th!

Details to follow.

Nora Roberts on Lifetime

Nora Roberts Fan Alert!

Have you seen these Lifetime Movies? I saw Northern Lights and Midnight Bayou already. Coming up next is High Noon. Here's a little more about it.

In the Nora Roberts movie "High Noon," expert hostage negotiator Lieutenant Phoebe McNamara (Emilie de Ravin) juggles her high-pressure career with the demands of raising her young daughter and contending with her agoraphobic mother, Essie (Cybill Shepherd). When Phoebe meets handsome bar owner Duncan Swift (Ivan Sergei), he can’t resist her take-charge attitude and attempts to earn her affections. Though she tries to resist his charms, Phoebe soon realizes no amount of negotiation will keep Duncan at arm’s length. When Phoebe is assaulted by an unknown assailant in her precinct, she can’t help but be deeply shaken.

Here on the west coast these shows have been airing on Lifetime on Saturday nights from 9 to 11 PM. Set your DVR's. They're worth watching!

Isn't Nora an inspiration to all readers and writers?

American Idol Choices ... do you Idol?

Do you American Idol?

I have to admit that in the past I've never missed it. But Tuesday and Wednesday nights are so full of my favorite "unwind" shows, that I often have too many to watch and not even space on my DVR to tape them all.

So it's been hit and miss with me. But I do enjoy the singing and the whole process. I've narrowed it down to 2 favorites. The last two weeks I've seen great things from Adam Lambert -- his Elvis look last week when singing Motown, gave me goose bumps! He's very talented and versatile and I think regardless if he wins or loses the top spot as the AMERICAN IDOL, he will still have a great singing career.

I also like Kris Allen. He has a beautiful tone to his voice and last night's performance blew me away!

My other weaknesses on Tuesday night are The Mentalist, Biggest Loser and Dancing With Stars . Don't you hate when they pit your favorite shows up against one another?

I'm not even going to mention losing Life On Mars -- in my opinion, the best written, best acted TV drama on this season. It was cancelled and I've petitioned, along with many others for it's return. If you didn't get to see it this season, you missed something special!

Contest Ending today!

My Suite Valentine's Contest ends today! I'll be posting the winner's name and starting a new contest soon! So check back.

Thanks to all of you who entered. Good luck!

Just Finished the 1st Napa Valley Vows Book!

Oh boy, it's a great feeeling to finish this story! The beginning of a new series always requires a great deal of time to set up all three of the main characters involved in the 3 stories. I have to show them in their element and make sure each one of my heroes will have distinct personalities. I also usually introduce the heroine of Book 2 in the first book, showing a little intrigue or conflict.

So, now I'm done. I'll edit and proofread the story, fix any glaring errors and send it off. I may give myself 2 or 3 days to play before I get right back into the Book 2. I'll be writing these next two books and have the series completed by October 1.

That's if all the stars align properly!

I have to say I've enjoyed researching the Napa area and if time permits, I'd love to travel up north to spend a few days there. The only problem with that is that I would love to be there at harvest time, which is usually from Sept to November. Oh well ...

HIGH SCHOOL EXAM ... SEE IF YOU CAN GET THESE RIGHT!

New High School Exit Exam,

(Passing requires 4 correct answers)

1) How long did the Hundred Years' War last?

2) Which country makes Panama hats?

3) From which animal do we get cat gut?

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution?

5) What is a camel's hair brush made of?

6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal?

7) What was King George VI's first name?

8) What color is a purple finch?

9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from?

10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane?


Remember, you need 4 correct answers to pass.

Check your answers below ...

ANSWERS TO THE QUIZ




1) How long did the Hundred Years War last? 116 years

2) Which country makes Panama hats? Ecuador

3) From which animal do we get cat gut? Sheep and Horses

4) In which month do Russians celebrate the October Revolution? November

5) What is a camel's hair brush made of? Squirrel fur

6) The Canary Islands in the Pacific are named after what animal? Dogs

7) What was King George VI's first name? Albert

8) What color is a purple finch ? Crimson

9) Where are Chinese gooseberries from? New Zealand

10) What is the color of the black box in a commercial airplane? Orange (of course)

What do you mean, you failed? Me, too.

And if you try to tell me you passed, you FIB!)

Pass this on to some brilliant friends, so they may feel useless too.

A Weekend Funny!

Thanks to my friend Sandy for sending this along!

Daddy, how was I born?

A little boy goes to his father and asks "Daddy, how was I born?"

The father answers, "Well, son, I guess one day you will need to find out anyway! Your Mom and I first got together in a chat room on Yahoo. Then I set up a date via e-mail with your Mom and we met at a cyber-cafe. We sneaked into a secluded room, where your mother agreed to a download from my hard drive. As soon as I was ready to upload, we discovered that neither one of us had used a firewall, and since it was too late to hit the delete button, nine months later a little Pop-Up appeared that said:

Scroll down...




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Dear Reader

When we write our Silhouette books, our editors ask us to describe the inspiration for the book to our readers. Why did we write it? Did we have any personal history or special endearment for the location or plot of the story.

We spent one glorious week on Maui a few years back. We had some amazing experiences, including biking down the volcano, Haleakala and touring around the island in our rented convertible car! That was one research trip I wouldn't mind repeating.

Here's my Dear Reader letter for Reserved for the Tycoon.

I've never met a tropical island I didn't like! Maui is one of my favorites, with its stunning golden sunsets and deep aqua blue waters. So it seemed fitting that the final SUITE SECRETS story, Reserved for the Tycoon, would conclude where it began initially with The Corporate Raider's Revenge, in Hawaii.I've always wanted to write a story filled with deception in its simplest form. With Brock Tyler and Vanessa Dupree you'll meet two people who are as cunning as they are appealing. I enjoyed plotting their escapades, where nothing is as it seems and their cagey games of cat and mouse end only when they enter the bedroom. There, the sizzling heat of the tropics is turned up and emotions run very high. Make your reservation to be swept away with surprising twists and turns and of course, romance.

'Suite' Reading!

Charlene

Eharlequin Newsletter Saving you Money!

Are you an avid reader? If so, the free Eharlequin newsletter delivered to your email address each week, can save you lots of $$ Whenever I see something I think my readers would enjoy, I try to post it to my blog here.

In today's economy, let's face it, we are all looking for a good buy. And Eharlequin delivers. From Free Book Fridays, Bonus Bucks, free shipping and 40%, 50% and sometimes 60% off current books, you can't afford not to sign up. You'll get the deals as soon as they are available.

If you are new to Eharlequin online, you also get $4.00 off your first purchase!

Did I mention the newsletter is FREE! And so easy to do.

Just find the Eharlequin Newsletter Sign Up on my side bar under my book covers. That's all you have to do to start getting the newsletter.