Two of my favorite writers are Robert Crais and T. Jefferson Parker. Both write novels of suspense–but not really. I think of their books more as relationship studies, character studies, though with lots of mystery and action and plot twists. 

 I just read new books by both authors and what struck me was that each novel left me still thinking about the characters, about what had happened to them, about what might happen next. In other words, I saw these characters as people with existences in the real world.

Crazy? I don’t think so. For me,  that’s the key to good writing, whatever the genre. Your characters must seem to exist in the real world. If you finish reading a story and you stop thinking about the characters in it, then the story hasn’t delivered.

I’ve shared this with writer friends and I thought you might enjoy it, too. Consider it a late holiday gift from me to you….

A store opened in New York City that offered free husbands. When women go to choose a husband, they have to follow the instructions at the entrance:

“You may visit this store ONLY ONCE! There are 6 floors to choose from. You may choose any item from a particular floor, or may choose to go up to the next floor, but you CANNOT go back down except to exit the building!

So, a woman goes to the store to find a husband. On the 1st floor the sign on the door reads: Floor 1 – These men Have Jobs

The 2nd floor sign reads: Floor 2 – These men Have Jobs and Love Kids.

The 3rd floor sign reads: Floor 3 – These men Have Jobs, Love Kids and are extremely Good Looking.

“Wow,” she thinks, but feels compelled to keep going. She goes to the 4th floor and sign reads:

Floor 4 – These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Good Looking and Help With Housework.

“Oh, mercy me!” she exclaims. “I can hardly stand it!” Still, she goes to the 5th floor and sign reads:

Floor 5 – These men Have Jobs, Love Kids, are Drop-dead Gorgeous, help with Housework and Have a Strong Romantic Streak.

She is so tempted to stay, but she goes to the 6th floor and the Sign reads:
Floor 6 – You are visitor 71,456,012 to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as proof that you are impossible to please.
Thank you for shopping at the Husband Store.

To avoid gender bias charges, the store’s owner opened a Wife Store just across the street.

The 1st first floor has wives that love sex.

The 2nd floor has wives that love sex and always listen to their husbands.

The 3rd through 6th floors have never been visited….

We expected a blizzard and got the blizzard winds but only about 4-5 inches of snow. Not a lot, here in northern Connecticut, but enough to make for icy roads.

Here’s a photo I meant to post last week. This is winter sunset in our back yard.

Aren’t the colors beautiful?

Is it me, or  do you feel the way I do? How did winter arrive so quickly?

What happened to fall? Heck, what happened to summer??? One day it was warm  here in New England and the next it was freeeeezing cold.

Mother Nature  flashed all her signals. Our summer birds left; winter ones took their places at the feeder.  What I think of as our resident deer herd separated out into the Guys (antlers and attitude ) and the Girls (no antlers but lots of feminine wiles).  The beautiful  mums on the porch turned into strawlike disasters.

Still, I was surprised by the  snow flurries,  the thin layer of ice in the birdbath, the thermometer on the deck that read–gasp–20 degrees early this morning. And I shouldn’t have been.  Those of  you who live in England or near the US Great Lakes have already had a HUGE taste of winter,  never mind that it won’t be official for another couple of weeks.

And I have to admit, there are things I love about winter. Fresh snow. Crysals of ice gleaming like jewels in the bare trees. A clear winter sky, alive with stars.

I might feel differently if I had to struggle through snow-stalled traffic to get to work, but all I need do in the morning is pour myself a cup of coffee and stroll down the hal, to my office.

Being a writer has advantages!

I had great news yesterday. A  friend e-mailed to tell me that NICOLO: THE POWERFUL SICILIAN, was on the USA Today Bestseller list. Nick had already been on the Borders Bookstores Bestseller List for  two weeks, but USA Today is… well, it’s special.

I’m grateful to all of  you who put Nick on those lists. Your support, your loyalty, your commitment to my books and to the Orsini mini-series are  just wonderful.

Speaking of the Orsinis… Several of you have written to ask me if I’m going to write Cesare’s story. Sort of a prequel, I guess. I hadn’t even thought about it until I began hearing from  you. Now, I’m wondering… What do you think? You can get in touch with me through the Contact page .

Sandra
xxxx

Well, not exactly the blues, but…
Thanksgiving Day was wonderful. We were 9 people… and 4 dogs.   The dogs weren’t exactly at the table with us but they were there, sharing in the feast and the fun.

The thing is, if  you’re like me, you feel as if you gained ten pounds since yesterday. All that turkey and stuffing, sweet potates and cranberries, gravy and pie, pie and more pie…

Now my fridge is full of delicious leftovers. In fact, I just had a turkey on white bread with mayo and cranberry-apple-orange compote slathered on  for lunch.

Today, we eat.
Tomorrow, we diet.
Maybe.

Sometimes, I get so wound up in details that I tend to forget that good stuff happens all the time, and often when you least expect it.

For instance,  the nomination of  FALCO: THE DARK GUARDIAN for the Romantic Times Reviewers Choice Award for Best Harlequin Presents of the Year.  The publication in a few days of NICOLO: THE POWERFUL SICILIAN. The completion of the first of the two Orsini Brides books that will be published in 2011. My editor said she loved the book (Anna’s story)  as much as I do and believe me, no matter how many books you’ve written, you always wait a little nervously for your editor’s opinion. 

Then, yesterday, I got the cover for my April book, NOT FOR SALE, and it’s absolutely beautiful! 

Plus—drum roll here, please—this is the first time in what seems forever that I’m not busy working on a book as Thanksgiving approaches. I’ll start my next one right after the holiday but for now, I can think about brining the turkey, what veggies to make, cornbread stuffing or herb stuffing, should I or shouldn’t I do my time-honored sweet potato-maple syrup-marshmallow bake, and all the rest. The sweet potato thing is always an issue. One year, I tried something new. Everyone said they loved it but they also said that sweet potatoes-marshmallows-maple syrup was part of  our family  tradition and the message was pretty clear. Nobody should fool around with tradition, at least not when it comes to Thanksgiving. 

I’m all for innovation but, you know, there’s something to be said about sticking with the tried and true.

So many things have been happening at once! For starters, if you’re here you know that I’ve finally launched my brand new website!  I’ve talked about it in emails and in my newsletter but here it is, the real thing, at last! I hope you find it as beautiful and as delightfully simple to navigate as I do.

And there’s news about my current book, FALCO: THE DARK GUARDIAN. Romantic Times magazine just  named it  a finalist  for RT’s Reviewers Choice Award for  Best Harlequin Presents of 2010. It’s a lovely honor, especially because the other Presents  nominated are all wonderful.

Last but hardly least, you asked for books about the two Orsini sisters. Well, I’ve just finished writing Anna’s story. Remember Anna? The rebel, the firebrand, the sister who can’t image a woman who’d want a permanent relatioship with a guy? The title is  THE ICE PRINCE and, believe me, Prince Draco Valenti may have a heart of ice but his story, and Anna’s, absolutely sizzles! The book will be published  just about  a year from now and I’ll tell you lots more about it in the coming months.

I’ve just returned from a whirlwind 6 days in London. My husband and I flew there last week so I could attend a special lunch held by AMBA (Association of Mills and Boon Authors). Just in case that name is new to you,  Mills and Boon is the Harlequin division that buys, edits and publishes what are called Modern romances in the UK, Sexy romances in Australia,  and Presents romances in the USA.

What a week it was!

The very first afternoon, Michelle Reid and her husband treated my husband and me to tea. This was a HUGE event! Michelle and I have been email friends for years, but–except for a brief ‘hello, nice to meet you’ a long time ago (in 1996, gulp) this was our very first face-to-face. It was lovely! We were joined by Kate Walker and her husband, and the six of us had a wonderful time!

That night, in keeping with my long-standing tradition of  “doing” Special Occasion Pizza and Wine Parties (meaning, laid-back, late-night, totally fun meals)  we three couples went out for… guess what? Pizza and vino. Lots of laughter–truly lots–and only exhaustion finally sent us all back to our (gorgeous) hotel.

The next day,  my husband and I attended  a delightful reception at the HMB offices located in Richmond, a  posh London suburb, where I spent a great hour meeting editors who were new to me and getting reacquainted with those I already knew. I had a peek at a current (and beautifully bound) reissue of mine, on sale in the UK right now.  After that, Executive Director Karin Stoecker and  Executive Editor Tessa Shapcott took my husband and me to a charmingly tucked-away Italian restaurant for lunch. We talked, laughed, ate and drank and had a marveous time.

That night, we went to what’s known as THE Presents Dinner (caps deliberate!) that Kate so brilliantly organized. Three of us from the States were there: Lynn Raye Harris, Jennie Lucas, and me (and my husband), along with many wonderful UK writers: Kate Walker (and husband), Michelle Reid (and husband), Abby Green, India Grey, Sara Craven, Christina Hollis, Sarah Morgan, and Natalie Rivers. (I hope I didn’t leave anybody out!) What did we all learn? That we can TALK and TALK and TALK!!! And laugh a lot, and have a great time together, eating delicious food and quaffing wonderful wine.

Friday was the elegant AMBA lunch where I renewed friendships with HMB authors  I’ve been fortunate enough to have met before, and met others for the very first time.  I was finally feeling a touch of jet lag–actually, a ton of it seems more honest.  (Carole Mortimer said it was the first time she’d seen someone sleeping with her eyes wide open.) So after lunch, I went back to my hotel and took a quick, restorative cold shower, then headed back to the luncheon hotel where HMB graciously hosted, as it always does, a cocktail party to honor all us authors. It was absolutely lovely. 

Saturday my husband and I strolled the beautiful strees around our hotel and spent hours at Hamley’s, a marvelous and HUGE toy store on Regent Street, buying things for our 9 year old granddaughter and 7 year old grandson. (Wait until you see what we bought for you, kids!)  Sunday, we relaxed in our suite, read the Sunday papers… and, big sigh, packed for our return trip home. But returns home are kind of nice when you get to spend almost two hours browsing the Duty Free shops at Heathrow Airport. The Dior counter, the Jo Malone perfume section, and a couple of  sweater and jewlery areas at Harrod’s may never be the same…

The trip went far, far too quickly and I’m already thinking about going again next year.

Love,
Sandra