Hello from Sunny Florida

Hubby and I are in Florida visiting family for the holidays. We had a lovely Christmas/Hanukkah and hope you did as well.

I do realize that I haven't updated my blog in quite some time. I haven't updated my website either. Let's just say, life happens.

And when life happens, I don't do much writing.

But I've been thinking about writing a lot lately. I have a couple of projects brewing in the recesses of my brain. And I have a new sense of purpose - I have been praying to St. Jude about my situation (see life happens) - and I feel my writing is the way.

So, I'm putting together some personal and professional goals. New Year's Resolutions, I guess. I know you will help me keep the faith - and the goals - just like you always do.

Santa Claus is Coming to Town

We took Landon to meet Santa over the weekend. Fortunately for Santa, Landon didn't freak out. On the contrary, Landon liked Santa very much. We even taught him what Santa says, "Ho! Ho! Ho!"

A typical Landon and B.B. conversation:

"Hiya, Bee Beeeeeee!" (Taught him to say hiya, too! - I'm so proud).
"Hi, Landon."
"El-mro?"
"You want to watch Elmo?"
He nods.
I distract him. "What does the ducky say?"
"Crack, crack!"
"What does the kitty cat say?"
"Ma-ow, ma-ow"
"What does Santa say?"
"Ha, ha"
"Ho, ho, ho?"
"Ha, ha"
"Right. Ho, ho, ho!"
"El-mro! El-mro! El-mro!"
Whatever.

Finally...

The sound you just heard? My sigh of relief. That's right kids. I have found a critique partner, and so far, we are getting along famously. Tara is a Canadian living in Norway, and she is writing a WWII epic romance. She's a fantastic writer, and I feel pretty lucky that she wants to work with me.

I'm kind of stressing about my NaNo. It's morphed into a YA. Yipes. I only have 4 days to see where it's going. I really wanted to enter my NaNo into the GH this year. I need to get cracking.

Good news. Tomorrow, I'm having 4 brand new windows installed in Casa de Barbara. Adios, cold winters!

The new forum launches at Romance Divas Saturday. I got a sneak preview, and it looks mahvelous!

It's All About Me

Nabbed from Annalee!

1. First name? Barbara aka - Barb, Barbie, Babs, BeeBee, Babette
2. Were you named after anyone? My Aunt Barbara, my father and my mother - it's a long story.
3. Do you wish on stars? Yes
4. When did you cry last? When my friend Lisa's kitty died.
5. Do you like your handwriting? Most of the time. Unless I'm tired or just plain lazy, then it's chicken scratch.
6. What is your favorite lunch meat? Don't have a favorite. Does cheese count?
7. What is your birth date? Valentine's Day February 14th
8. What is your most embarrassing CD? Nelson, After the Rain
9. If you were another person, would YOU be friends with you? Of course. I'm a fabulous person.
10. Do you have a journal? You're reading it.
11. Do you use sarcasm a lot? Not out loud. I'm really sarcastic in my head, though.
13. Would you bungee jump? HELL, NO!!!!
14. Do you untie your shoes when you take them off? No.
15. Do you think that you are strong? Mentally and emotionally, yes. Physically, I'm a wimp.
16. What is your favorite ice cream flavor? Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough
17. Shoe Size? 11
18. Red or pink? Pink
19. What is your least favorite thing about yourself? I watch too much TV.
20. Who do you miss most? My mom. I wish I lived closer.
21. Do you want everyone you send this to, to answer? I'm putting this in my blog. It'd be cool to see who lifts it.
22. What color pants and shoes are you wearing? I'm not wearing pants or shoes.
23. What are you listening to right now? The ticking of the clock.
24. Last thing you ate? Swiss cheese and wheat crackers.
25. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Periwinkle.
26. What is the weather like right now? A little chilly.
27. Last person you talked to on the phone? Helen S.
28. The first thing you notice about the opposite sex? Maturity and brain power.
29. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Annalee is very funny and cool.
30. Favorite Drink? Diet Sprite.
31. Favorite sport? Hockey.
32. Hair Color? Dark brown, I think. It's hard to tell, I'm growing out a few dye jobs.
33. Eye color? Hazel - green/amber/brown.
34. Do you wear contacts? Yep.
35. Favorite Food? Macaroni and Cheese.
36. Last movie you watched? All of Me with Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin.
37. Favorite day of the year? Thanksgiving.
38. Scary Movies Or Happy Endings? Happy endings.
39. Summer or Fall? Tie.
40. Hugs OR Kisses? Hugs.
41. What Is Your Favorite Dessert? Creme brulee.
42. Who Is Most Likely To Respond? Hmm...
43. Who Is Least Likely To Respond? Hmm...
44. What Books Are You Reading? Goodnight Nobody by Jennifer Weiner and A Wedding in December by Anita Shreve and Public Domain by Bridget Midway
45. What is on your mouse pad? A cat wearing shades.
46. What Did You Watch Last Night? Martha Stewart Apprentice
48. Favorite Sounds? Bamboo wind chimes.
47. Favorite Smell? Roses
50. Favorite animal. Dolphins. Of course, if you mean domestic animal, I like cats and dogs. No birds or rodents, please - I'm afraid of them.
51. Where is the farthest you have been from home? Reno, Nevada
52. Do you have a special talent? Other than writing? Hmmm... public speaking, teaching/training, cooking, telling bad jokes. I'm multi-tlented. lol

I'm Making Some Progress

NaNo Progress Report - Day One

Word Count: 1680 (3% of 50,000 word goal)
First Word: Even
Last Word: Manilow
Favorite Line: It was time to change my life. Really. What other choice did I have? Although, suicide was always an option.
Treat: Nachos
Tip: Write in a different location. I took my laptop and sat in hubby's comfy chair in the living room.

Happy Halloween

First, let me just say this time change thingy is really messing with me. It always takes me a long time to recover.

Second, if you haven't visited my blog lately, you may have noticed I changed the look. My website is all business, but writing isn't ALL business, it's fun, too! I think Wonder Woman is retro-groovy and very me.

The picture on the left is of my grandson, Landon, out at the mall trick or treating. He's 18 months old and frankly he was not digging it. He did like the lollipops, though. The one on the right is of my nieces, Sarah and Katie. Sarah is dressed as Snow White, and Katie is Sleepy!

NaNo-NaNo

November is going to be a super busy month for me. I've been assigned to a district wide training project for November and December. I'm tres excited about it - I love training and public speaking!

I've also signed up for NaNoWriMo. I'm going to be writing a chick-lit. It's in first person, and I'm a little nervous about this - I haven't written in first person in many, many moons.

I've got a ton of stuff to complete by Tuesday. Two reviews to write and two to edit for Romance Divas, finish some character sketches, and get my story board together. Oh, and clean up the office! My desk is a mess as usual. I've been blogging on my hubby's computer.

Speaking of Romance Divas, our Tuesday night brainstorming chats are a big hit. We'll be continuing these chats indefinitely, so stop by the chat room Tuesdays at 9:30pm ET to check it out.

Ode to Fuzzface

My friend, Lisa, lost her precious 16 year-old kitty cat today. Fuzzface got out last night and never came home, apparently the victim of a coyote attack.

It's never easy to lose someone you love. And I hope Lisa can take some comfort in knowing she gave Fuzzface a good life.

Blah, blah, blog

It's rained all day here in beautiful Philadelphia. I didn't do anything productive. I just lounged around on the couch, ate whatever I felt like, whenever I felt like it. I watched stupid, stupid TV shows and took 2 naps.

I feel like crap. I want to write. Need to write. But I feel like I don't have a creative bone in my body.

Yeah. Mars is in retrograde. And it shows. Most of my writer friends are going through the blahs, too. At least we're going through it together.

Welcome to the World, Katie Schweers

I'm an auntie again. My baby brother and his wife have graciously added to my ever growing Christmas shopping list.


Katie was born 10/20 at 9:43 AM, weighing 7 lbs 10 oz and measuring 20 inches long. Isn't she perfect?

Here she is with her big sister.


*****I'm Hosting a NaNoWriMo Brainstorming Chat*****

That's right. I didn't think I had enough to do to prepare for NaNo. Bwahahahaha! Stop by Tuesdays at 9:30 pm in the Romance Divas Chat Room.

You will have to become a member of RD to access the chat. But it's totally free. Come on. You know you want to.

*****I guess I'd better come up with a plan B*****
Nope. I did not win the powerball jackpot on Wednesday.

*****And Finally...*****

Another procrastination device. Mrs. Fields email blender.

First you type in some text. Then blend it! This is what the first paragraph of my post looks like blended: Beauty! I'm brainy, boring anathema. Acidify lavish dog-eared unwashed. Groovy! I'm smarting wretches. Lost shipping.

Uptown Girl?

I've always wanted to live in Manhattan.

You Are Midtown

You love so many things, you don't fit into any one label. Your city girl persona goes to a fancy restaurant one night and a dive bar the next.

Are You Uptown or Downtown?

Remembering Dawn

I received an e-mail from my friend, Lisa today. One of our post-college gal pals was murdered on Sunday. By her husband. In front of her 3 year-old daughter.

I haven't seen Dawn in nearly ten years. And I would never say we were close friends, but rather, friendly acquaintances. I didn't know she was married or had a child. But I'll always remember the laughs we had dancing at Kasey's Cove and hanging out at Raquel's house. And her smile. She had the best smile.

Shakespeare? NOT

LITERATURE! - You have a story...oh yes, you do!
You are not quite sure what it is, but it
burns! It burns to be poured onto the page!
Write! Write I say! And thrill us with your
unique view of the world. YOU are your own
inspiration!


What Kind of Novel Should I Write?
brought to you by Quizilla

YA not?

Andi (my step-daughter) has me hooked on Laguna Beach. And as strange as it is to watch a bunch of spoiled, rich kids half my age, it got me thinking. Maybe I should try writing a YA for my NaNoWriMo project.

Which Astrological Planet are You?

I saw this in Silma's blog. She saw it in Bonnie's blog. And I'm borrowing it.


.:Mercury:.

"Your personality often has two sides. You
have no trouble taking things in stride, but
you like a peaceful balance in your life. You
have a lot of creativity, especially when it
comes to the written word. You are a great
communicator and are very open to new ideas.
You also have a strong desire to learn."


. : : Which Astrological Planet are You? : : . [10 Gorgeous Pics!]
brought to you by Quizilla

My Personality

Your Personality Profile

You are dependable, popular, and observant. Deep and thoughtful, you are prone to moodiness. In fact, your emotions tend to influence everything you do. You are unique, creative, and expressive. You don't mind waving your freak flag every once and a while. And lucky for you, most people find your weird ways charming!

The World's Shortest Personality Test

My Animal Personality

Your Animal Personality

Your Power Animal: Deer Animal You Were in a Past Life: Panda You are a fun-seeker - an adventurous, risk-taker.While you are spontaneous, you are not very rational.

It's Not The Heat -

It's the humidity. Yep. I'm back in the City of Brotherly Love. It's 91 degrees F here tonight and it's stifling. I was in Reno for the RWA conference last week and the weather was in the 90's there, also. But it was surprisingly pleasant.

I began my Reno adventure last Tuesday night. I finished packing two suitcases, a backpack and my laptop case and thought it might be a good idea to confirm my flight for Wednesday morning. So, I pop on to the airline website and discover that while I am booked on the flight, I don't have a seat, and all that is available is the dreaded middle seat. Oh-my-God! I was freaking out. 5 hours to Vegas in the middle seat. No way. The only option available to me was to upgrade to first class for a fee. It wasn't cheap. But my darling hubby felt I should go ahead and buy the upgrade. Isn't he great?

Let me tell you first class is the way to go. If you ever have the opportunity - take it. It was wonderful.

I actually met my first author in the Las Vegas airport. Melanie Jackson writes fantasy romance and she was super groovy. I don't even read fantasy and I bought her book at the literacy book signing.

Anyway I arrived in Reno on Wednesday afternoon. After collecting my bags, I headed out to catch the Hilton shuttle. It was me and like 100 of my closest RWA sisters. I figured it would take me close to an hour to even get on the bus, so I shared a cab with Erin from Phoenix. I checked into the hotel (it's not at all what I was expecting - think 1950's Vegas and The Godfather) and found my roommate, Sherice.

Sherice and I hit it off immediately. She is a fantastic person! We went down to the Passionate Ink party and met up with Sasha White and Sylvia Day. Then we went over to Johnny Rockets for burgers. Yum.

I met up with Sherice again at the literacy signing and we ran into Becca from Romance Divas forum. It's a huge event with tons of authors and the proceeds are donated to help national and local literacy organizations. It was total chaos. I couldn't even get close to Nora Roberts. I did get to meet Julie Elizabeth Leto. She lives in Tampa near where I went to high school. She was really friendly and encouraged me to join TARA when I get back to Florida.

Next we were off to the RWA Online party. I'm not a member of RWA Online, but Melissa the chapter president was gracious enough to let me stay. She even fed me. I chatted with Scott Eagan of the Greyhaus agency for a while and then headed off to bed. I had been up for almost 24 hours by that time and desperately needed my beauty rest.

Tune in tomorrow for the low-down on Thursday workshops and Diva sightings (including a VERY interesting slot tournament)!

Life is Good

Something really cool just happened.

I live a stone's throw away from the Delaware River and I saw an awesome fireworks show from my deck. While it didn't inspire any great patriotic feeling, it was ultimately a relaxing forty-five minutes. Just me sitting in the dark, with a breeze to keep me cool, and a free light show. Sometimes it's the little things that matter. Sometimes life is good.

Countdown to Launch

My web designer, Jax, has made excellent progress on my site. I'm working on getting her the info for my works in progress page. And I'm still toying with the idea of a new picture. Anyway, once it's all done, I'll have my official launch party. I'm thinking theme party - any suggestions?

My TBR pile

I went to Barnes & Noble this evening. I bought 7 books (5 for me, 2 for hubby - although, I'll read his books, too!), and it occurred to me that while the name of my blog is Reading, Writing, and Romance, I never write about reading.

I read a lot more than I write. And I have my reasons.

1. I can read a book in about a day. I can write a book in about a year. (But, I'm really, really, really going to try to finish the NaNoWriMo this year)!
2. I can read a book, write the book review and add a publishing credit to my resume.
3. Reading is easier to multi-task than writing. For instance, I can read while walking on the treadmill at the gym where writing is just not an option.

So there you have it - What I'm currently reading:

• The Rebel Bride by Catherine Coulter (My first Regency!)
• The Laser Age by Justin Tussing (A short story in the current New Yorker).
• True to Form by Elizabeth Berg

My TBR pile:

• The Lie That Tells a Truth by John Dufresne
• The Big Love by Sarah Dunn
• Remember When by Nora Roberts & JD Robb
• All He Ever Wanted by Anita Shreve
• Dirty Little Secrets by Julie Leto (Go Tampa!)
• How I Stole Her Husband by Liz Ireland
• Plus, a shopping bag filled with books my friend Janet gave me.

- and I've finally written about reading!

Working on My Website

I've been busy writing copy for my website. Jax has the design finished, and it's way cool - it matches the blog. I'm working hard to get everything done so I can have my first-ever launch party.

I am a Writer

I attended day one of the Philadelphia Writer's Conference today. The thing that I really like about this particular conference is the diversity of the attendees. There's very little snobbery here. Published, pre-published, fiction, non-fiction and poetry writers mix, mingle and encourage each other. I chatted this morning with a Science Fiction Writer. This afternoon I met a writer who at age 50 is finally realizing her dream of writing about food. She's working on The Food Lovers Guide to Philadelphia. (And let me tell you, Philadelphia is all about the food).

I had appointments with two agents. One asked for a partial and the other wanted a query.
I also reconnected with a former writing teacher and mentor. He asked me to write some book reviews for a new magazine he is editing. I feel revitalized and validated as a writer.

I feel especially fortunate to be a Philadelphia writer today.

Happy Thoughts

Can you believe all the haters? I don't know what's going on at those RWA board meetings, but these so-called Graphical Standards has everyone in an uproar. I don't write erotica, but if I did, I'd be pissed when RWA took my money and then tried to exclude me.

It's a shame that we as women writers do not support each other.

• Curtis Sittenfeld(a woman and author of Prep), virtually bitch slapped Melissa Bank in the New York Times Book Review this past Sunday. (Thanks to my fellow Philadelphian, Jennifer Weiner for translating said review).

• And consider Word of Mouth, an Association of Women Authors, actively lobbying Oprah to include contemporary fiction in her new book club offerings. But they should call themselves an Association of Women Authors Who Write Literary Fiction Only Thank You Very Much because they failed to include commercial authors in their collective.

I always thought RWA was inclusive. Really, we Romance Writers are the bane of the literary world, but our organization respects and supports us. At least I thought they did. Hmmm.

Reading, Writer's Block, and Romance Divas

Sometimes I don't feel like writing. Sometimes I just want to watch HGTV and eat tortilla chips. I've been experiencing this quite a bit lately. Normally I might feel this way between projects or if edits are due. But I have a lot of work to do. I'm just exhausted. Exhausted by my writer's block, I guess.

Projects I should be working on, but I'm not:

Book reviews for Romance Divas

Outline/Notes/Book Proposal for memoir my dad wants me to co-author

Outline/Notes for WWII Epic Romance

Notes for Romantic Suspense

In other news, my web designer says my website should be ready for launch in June. Hey, June is tomorrow. Cool. I have a short story coming out in the next issue of Moondance, and I am currently waiting for an answer on a story I sent in to Philadelphia Stories.

Well, it's on to the book reviews.

I'm Not a Techie

I just spent 2 hours trying to get this blogskin right. Now that I've got it, I'm not sure I like it. But I'm done. For now.

New Website

I am creating this new blog for my new website. When will it be launched? In about a month. I am so excited.