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Wild Women ~March 31, 2007 at 9:34 am | Category: blog Hi Sandy! Thank you so much for inviting me to blog. April 2007 is a really big deal for me as my first book hits the stands. Claiming the Courtesan is a dark, intense Regency historical that charts the stormy relationship between London’s most notorious courtesan, Soraya, and her passionate, tormented lover, the Duke of Kylemore. Which brings me to a burning question: Voulez-vous coucher avec moi ce soir? No! We were glamorous French-speaking courtesans sashaying around New Orleans exercizing our hypnotic power over any man we cared to cast an eye upon. Whoo-ee. Pretty heady stuff! We were all Lady Marmalade (which has always struck me as a strange name – I mean, marmalade is sour, lumpy orange jam!). I’m not sure if that’s where my fascination with courtesans began. It could actually have been history class. I LOVED history but what really interested me was the stuff they didn’t put into textbooks. I loved details about private lives. I wanted to know about love and sex and daily things like what they wore and ate and did in their spare time. To me, that’s where you get the sense of what life was like in the 16th or the 19th century. Wars and politics and all that guy stuff was OK. But I wanted to know about what the girls got up to. And often that meant illicit liaisons. My commitment to the causes of the French Revolution was fairly shaky. My interest in what happened when Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI finally had sex (a long time after their wedding!) was much stronger! And then I couldn’t help wondering what it had been like. Not much fun for her, I suspect! So move forward many years and my debut book is coming out with Avon. What’s it about? A COURTESAN! Those early thoughts had obviously been stewing away at the back of my mind all that time. I’d written a couple of stories about women in high society with money and influence and people to look after them. Then I asked myself what if that wasn’t you. For most women, life was tough in the Regency. Legal rights were thin on the ground as were career opportunities outside marriage. What if you were young and poor and had no family to turn to? What if a younger brother and sister relied on your capacity to earn a living? What if you were beautiful enough to stop traffic and your attempts to find honest work came to nothing because powerful men wouldn’t take no for an answer? It was out of such musings that my heroine Soraya/Verity Ashton, the reluctant courtesan, was born. Who’s the most unusual heroine you’ve ever read about? My favorite comment wins a signed copy of Claiming the Courtesan and some Aussie chocolate. Because let’s face it, chocolate goes with a luscious romance, doesn’t it? Happy reading!
Police~March 28, 2007 at 9:23 pm | Category: blog Who here hasn’t thought, where are the police when you need them? You know, like when that creep in the blue K-car cuts you off and then proceeds to leave your slightly-above-the-speed-limit butt in the dust? What’s he doing? 150 MPH? Ok, so maybe it isn’t a K-car. I had one of those in high school. We called it the “Flintstone Mobile.” There’s no way that thing, with its missing driver’s side floorboard, could have gone much past 70mph. But, you get my drift. The only time the police are around is when it’s YOU blasting past the slow-poke, Sunday driving in the fast lane. Wouldn’t it be cool if you could just press a button and voi la, instant officer with a radar gun not focused on you. Oooooo! What if you had a button for other things that should be policed…like the Phone Etiquette Police. My co-worker could have used that one today. Ummm, you have to picture Terri. She’s very proper. Her clothes are just so, she always has a lint brush. Her desk is uber-organized…Did I mention she very proper? So, you can imagine her mortification when she went to the ladies’ room today only to find/hear a girl on her cell phone in the next stall over. Poor Terri didn’t know if she should pee or not. And then, when she finally couldn’t wait for the girl to stop talking about the guy she met on the internet and if she should dress “Victoria Secret sexy” for her first date with internet guy, Terri found she couldn’t ummmm, perform. ROFL! She had a touch of stage fright. She finally took care of business and flushed when the girl did. But then, Terri didn’t want to put a face to phone girl as she must work in our building (How awkward would that be? LOL), so she stood in her stall waiting for phone girl to wash her hands and leave. Only phone girl wasn’t in any kind of rush. So, proper, always put together, Terri stood quietly in her stall until the coast was clear. People, it is not cool to do your business while you’re talking to someone on the phone. Or to eat, or to smoke…It’s gross. Don’t do it. Take pity on us. We don’t want to hear you peeing or munching or blowing your chemicals into our ear… Hmmm, what about the Forward Police? I don’t know about you, but someone needs to save us from the myriad “Send this to 200 people you know in the next nanosecond or you with incur the wrath of the great and terrible email god who will smite you down and steal your first born.” emails. Back away from the forward button. It’s not worth it. You are not going to get $25.00 if you send this to everyone you know in the next 10 minutes. You’re not. Don’t do it. I suppose this could lead to the Spam Police, of which I was one so they really exist even if you couldn’t tell by all the freakin’ spam in your inbox…this can also be connected to the forward police if you have a caring family member who likes to forward their spam to you, asking, “is this legit?” NO! It’s not! Oh, and who hasn’t needed the Not-so-handicap-handicap-parking Police? You know what I’m talking about. That bum shoulder is not a valid excuse for having to park in the handicap zone. There are people who really need those spots! People who have trouble walking. They have a cane or a walker or wheelchair. They have to park in Timbuktu because the 150 handicap spots right in front of the store are all filled. That’s just mean. I’m pressing my button for the Not-so-handicap-handicap-parking Police. Ahhhh, and we can’t forget the Fashion Police GFU – That would be the Fashion Police Ghetto-FLABULOUS-Unit. I think it speaks for itself. Don’t you? In case you aren’t quite sure, sequined tube-tops and barely there mini-skirts do NOT go with rolls and rolls of belly fat. It just doesn’t. Don’t do it. Please. What kind of “Police” do you wish you had a button for? A $15.00 Amazon.com gift certificate goes to the most original and entertaining suggestion. Sandy
It’s Blog-Off time again…March 28, 2007 at 9:05 pm | Category: blog Today’s post topic is Police. And I thought Laughter was tough! Sheesh! Anyway, considering the fact that I am a very boring person who has never had a scandalous or humorous run-in with the police, I’ve come to the conclusion that I will have to be very, very creative with this week’s post. But, hey, I have until midnight tonight to come up with it, right? I’m a writer, right? I should be able to come up with something, right? Right? Gah! Deep breath, Sandy. Let’s talk about something different for now. Whew. Ok, here’s some cool news. There are only 15 contestants left in Karin Tabke’s 1st Line contest. You guessed it! I’m still there! Wooooo Hoooo! There are only two rounds until the final 5. Did I tell you what happens when there are only 5 standing? They submit the first 10 pages of their ms, that would be the one we’ve been using for the contest, for final judging by editor, Hilary Sares of Kensington Books. I was sorry to see Sharon did not make this cut. However, as I mentioned on my home page, I can’t feel too sorry for her. She finaled last year while I was cut in round 8. (There were only 10 rounds last year. So I think I still did pretty well. Perhaps I’ll post those lines here sometime.) Well, here is my entry with the next line. Enjoy!:
Don’t forget to stop by this Saturday. Anna Campbell will be here and I for one am excited to see what she’s going to share with us. I also can’t wait to read her debut novel, Claiming the Courtesan. From what I’ve been reading, it’s dark and sexy and, oooooo I love books like that! Stay tuned for my Blog-Off post about…Police. Gha! Sandy *March 31, 2007 at Sandra’s Goings On – Guest Blogger, Anna Campbell – Claiming the Courtesan
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles…March 24, 2007 at 10:27 am | Category: blog Kicks ASS!!!!! Keith and I took the kids to see TMNT. I wasn’t sure what to expect. Although I’d seen the cartoon as a kid, it’s not like I was an avid fan. Well, I am now! This movie was so Freakin’ cool! I didn’t even want to leave the theater long enough to take Jonas to the bathroom. I made my husband do it. Then, I excitedly whispered what he’d missed when he got back. I also told him we have to see it again, sans kids. The plot was interesting, the animation was amazing, the acting was even good. I loved all the characters. And, for an animated film, I was surprised to see they took the time to have subplots as well as the main adventure plot. I’m giving this one two thumbs up. It’s lots of fun and beautiful to look at (Those animators are pure genius.) Plus, it had lots of action. Oh! And the fight scenes! I LOVED IT! Also, a while back, I mentioned sending my query letter to Evil Editor for a face lift. Well, it was revamped and posted at EE’s site last week. And, I couldn’t be happier! I have a baby shower to go to today, but when I get back, I intend to take EE’s excellent suggestions and rework my letter so I can start querying agents with it. Ok, in the name of shameless self-promotion, if there are any literary agents reading my blog, I am still looking for representation. Feel free to contact me for a sample of my work. Don’t forget, Anna Campbell will be here next weekend. I have it on good authority that there will be a contest involving your comments, so be sure to stop by and make your thoughts known. Have a great weekend everyone! *March 31, 2007 at Sandra’s Goings On – Guest Blogger, Anna Campbell – Claiming the Courtesan
Laughter~March 21, 2007 at 10:32 pm | Category: blog The theater was quiet. Everyone, rightly so, was watching the movie. I was watching the movie. It was a very serious scene…the heroine stood before her beloved, begging him not to abandon her. Not to take this path he seemed bent on taking. “You’re breaking my heart,” she wailed…and I burst out laughing. I couldn’t stop. The glares and perturbed head-shakes of the people next to me; the shocked look my husband sent my way, only made it harder for me to stop. I don’t know why. Perhaps it was the awkward dialogue. The blatant statement of the obvious, “You’re breaking my heart…” Well, duh. The tears and first half of your impassioned, awkward speech told me that. I’m a writer. As such, I am doomed to watch movies and to read books through a writer’s eyes. It’s a curse at times. The internal editor is constantly at work. I partly blame this internal editor for my completely inappropriate reaction to this heart-wrenching scene. Or, it could be hereditary… My mom, it seems, has this same affliction. Although, I think her bout of inappropriate hysterical laughter far exceeds mine. I mean, my movie was only Star Wars: Episode III. Not something profound and serious like, say…The Passion of the Christ. Now, I haven’t seen this movie–Anyone who knows me will tell you I have to be dragged to see any movie I know will make me cry–but I’m pretty sure there are NO scenes in which it is appropriate to laugh one’s ass off. That didn’t stop my mom, though. It’s little consequence that she wasn’t laughing at the movie, but rather her friend’s leap almost two feet into the air when a contorted, evil-looking face flashed across the big screen. No, everyone in that theater pretty much thought they were in the company of psycho-laughing-lady. Thanks, mom. I wonder if I should warn Amelia and Jonas that they may carry the inappropriate laughter gene? Sandy
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