A Limited Engagement is out in print!

I'm going to be doing my first ever booksigning soon--at Barnes & Noble in Pickerington, OH on February 23, 2008 from 2 - 5 p.m. (I think) along with a whole bunch of other Cerridwen Press and Ellora's Cave writers.  If you're in the area, please stop in and say hello!

It's exciting to think that my book's release date is less than two months away. If you're in central Ohio, you might see a story or two appearing in a local paper. For anyone online, however, the place to go are on-line sites that review romance novels.

These sites are great for finding out about what's the latest in the romance world--sites like www.likesbooks.com, or www.romancejunkies.com, www.romancenotes.com, or www.theromancestudio.com,  or even, for those interested in the steamier side of things, www.fallenangelreviews.com. There are more, but I can't think of them off the top of my head.

For a tart look at the romance industry (and hilarious takes on some of its cover art) www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com is a keeper.  It's easy enough to google. These sites keep me happily entertained for hours.

It's a romance readers' paradise on the web.

Isn't it lovely? Don't you just love it? I do.

This is the cover of A Limited Engagement, which will be released on August 2, 2007 by Cerridwen Press' Cotillion line. http://www.cerridwenpress.com/BookList_cotillion.asp?Category=RomReg

When I sent in my cover art form, I included a link to this great painting, "The Duchess of Richmond's Ball" by R. A. Hillingford (see it at Goodwood House's site, http://www.goodwood.co.uk/house/treasures/painting.htm

 by scrolling down under the hunting scene) and said that I loved the luxurious and elegant feel of the room, with its gorgeous chandelier and the gold-washed walls, punctuated by the officer's red coats. The art department did a great job of recalling that beautiful scene in my cover!

And in just a couple of months, the book itself will be available to read.

The Great "Eight Random Things" Blog Challenge

Arrgh. I've been "tagged" by my buddy Donna MacMeans (displaying a hitherto unsuspected streak of malicious glee) in the "8 Random Things" blogging thing that's going around.

So here are the rules:

1. Each player starts by posting eight random facts/habits about herself.

2. Make sure to post the rules of the game, too.

3. At the end of the post, the player has to "tag" eight people and post their names.

4. Don't forget to send an email to your eight "taggees" and let them know they've been tagged so they can read your blog.

Now that the rules have been laid out, I suppose I'll have to come up with eight random facts. Here goes:

1. I met my future husband at a well-attended business seminar in the Marriott Marquis in Manhattan. He likes to tell people he met me in a hotel room off Times Square.

2. By the time I was 21 years old, I had learned to speak Spanish, French, German and Italian in addition to my native English. None of this impressed the U.S. State Department when I applied to them for a job.  I went to law school instead.

3. In Tae Kwon Do competitions, the Adult category covers ages 18-33. I won my last gold medal a few months before I turned 34--I didn't want to compete in the Seniors category, for competitors aged 34-45.  If I were to compete again (not likely, folks) I'd be in the Masters category. Yeah, don't ask.

4.  While on a semester abroad in high school, I visited East Berlin for an afternoon. This was before the wall came down--compared to the lively neon lights and whizzing cars of West Berlin, communist-controlled East Berlin was gray, depressing and horribly industrial. The food was terrible, too.

5. I had a ton of fun acting in high school plays and community theater productions. I still think going to the theater is more fun than going to the movies.

6. When I was a teenager, my mother made a deal with me: I could wear anything I wanted as long as I sewed it myself--bell-bottoms, miniskirts, hot pants, whatever. If I wanted her to buy me an outfit, it had to be something she approved of. I did a lot of sewing in high school.

7. I have one green eye and one blue eye. The condition is called "heterochromia iridis," which is Latin for "two different-colored eyes."

8. I was named for my paternal grandmother Sarah and my maternal grandfather Leo. There were no Sara Lee cheescakes when I was born.

Whew! that took a lot of thinking! All right, now brace yourselves for the moment of truth...the eight taggees are:

Becky Barker

Jules Bennett

Cindy Carver

Paige Cuccaro

Tabitha Gibson

Toni Leland

Beth Morrow

Kay Stockham

DeNita Tuttle

Hope to see you posting soon, guys! I know you're all good sports.

Posted this elsewhere, but had to put it here too:

My son's superhuman powers of persuasion (aka The Eternal Sunshine of the Kindergarten Mind) have resulted in his getting the pet of his dreams, a hamster. We brought the little bundle of joy home today, complete with about as much equipment as my son required when we brought him home from the hospital.

The hamster has been christened "Chewie," a not-inappropriate moniker for a rodent with teeth that never stop growing. Or that's what I thought. Then my son whispered in my ear, "Next week, let's go back and get three pet mice--we can call them Luke, Leia, and Han Solo!"

Tune in next week for The Parents Strike Back, or, "It's Your Job to Clean that Critter's Cage, Young Man!"