Order!

One of the things I find fascinating about living in an apartment is the assumption that most inhabitants eat a lot of take-out food. We must find twenty flyers tucked in our door knob or door knocker per week.

What exactly can we order?

Pizza. Pizza. Pizza. Southern Kitchen. Chinese. Pizza. Chinese. Pizza. And more pizza.

I'm waiting for someone to open a carryout restaurant with something other than pizza or fried food. Oh, I know most restaurants have a carryout capability, but most of them are not really set up for it. They dump the food in a carton designed for taking home your leftovers. By the time you get the food home and open it, the bread's soggy, the meat is cold...

No. I'm thinking more along the lines of a place that focuses on producing meals specifically for take-out. I recently ordered a hamburger at a restaurant for carryout. By the time I got home, it was cold. Very soggy. And the components had slid apart in the container so I had to peel it apart to put it back together. Ugh.

We don't order out very often. I mean, really? Pizza or Chinese? That's it. I discount the southern cooking place as everything is fried and my cholesterol really can't deal with that. There used to be a restaurant where I could order a salad, but they went out of business.

Perhaps it's just as well. Food cooked at home from scratch is healthier and you tend to not eat as much. But once in a while...

You just want to order out!

anny

Apheli Solution now available!

When Danamara Higgins is attacked by a vampire, her life turns upside down. Vampire Bootcamp class seems to be the answer to her prayers. In her wildest dreams, she doesn’t consider meeting not just one, but two hunky vampires who take her—in the car, in the shower, in the living room, in the hot tub, in hand—as they teach her everything she’ll need to know about her new vampire life.

For centuries, Pierre has loved and pursued Julian with no success. After a hostile takeover of Julian’s financial assets, Pierre is positive Julian will have nowhere else to turn. Julian, though, chooses to teach the Vampire Bootcamp class rather than surrender to Pierre on unequal terms. When one of Julian’s students approaches him for help identifying her sire, Julian is stunned that she is his alpheli—an extremely rare mate whose blood will allow him to subsist on real food. What will that mean to his love-hate relationship with Pierre?

There are just one or two problems. Danamara is descended from Pierre’s bloodline. And she’s on someone’s hit list. Julian and Pierre find unexpected erotic rewards and eternal love when they join together in a brutal war to protect their alpheli’s life.

I'm so excited~~my first vampire novel is available today! I fell in love with Julian, Pierre and Danamara. Check it out at Resplendence Publishing.

anny

RomantiCon 2010

Prepping for the conference was intense and started about six months ago. I made lots of goodie bags and I’m happy to say that most of them were gone by the time I left on Sunday.
RomantiCon 2010 is over, but far from forgotten. The partying went on for four days straight and let me tell you I enjoyed every last moment. I got to spend some time with Cindy Spencer Pape and Anny Cook. These two women are incredible. I had so much fun getting to know them better. They made this shy author feel right at home.
All the women of the Cougar Challenge series did the same. Hugs were plentiful over the weekend. I also had a chance to meet a new author – Shoshanna Evers. I sat down next to her in a workshop and introduced myself. She immediately said, “Oh I’ve read your work.”
I blushed, surprised that someone read my stuff. I know there are people out there buying my books, but I’ve never had someone sit next to me and tell me.
Then there was this reader, Cindy, who came up to me at the booksigning who had a star next to my name. She just had to meet me. It was so exciting to think someone wanted to seek me out. :o)
While I was a newbie when it came to conferences, the fellow readers and authors made everyone feel right at home.
Then there were the Cavemen. Oh they are hot and so very friendly. They didn’t have that I’m too sexy for you complex. They were down to earth and ready to show everyone a good time. Angelo, who is on the cover of my Dante’s Desire book, was kind enough to autograph a cover flat for me. Speaking of when he walked in to the meet and greet the DH said, “I know him. He’s all over our house!”
He is…I just love my cover.
Overall it was an amazing time and I’m really looking forward to next year.
In other news – Book Three in the Freedom Fantasies series PLAY WITH ME comes out tomorrow. :o)

Optimism

Some people are primarily pessimists, always seeing life through a dark glass. Others are optimists, always expecting the best outcome from every turn in the road. A little pessimism is good. It prevents the unwary from falling victim to scams and predators. But too much pessimism makes for a very negative life.

Optimists tend to be cheerful and calm. After all, they're expecting good things...right?

As with all things, too much of a good thing can be destructive or dangerous. When my son jumped off the six foot wall in front of our house, his unwavering faith that he would be all right didn't prevent him from breaking most of the bones in his feet. That's where a little bit of healthy pessimism would have come in handy.

With all things in life balance is the key.

anny

Serenity, Courage, Wisdom

This column is a reprint from November 2007. Many of my friends are suffering discouragement, loss, and even tragedy. I was looking through some of my old posts for a specific quote (never found it!) but found this post instead. It spoke to me. Perhaps it will speak to those who need it. Blessings on your day.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change; the courage to change the things i can;and the wisdom to know the difference. The Serenity Prayer is the common name for an originally untitled prayer written by the theologian Reinhold Niebuhr in the 1930s or early 1940s. For more information about the Serenity Prayer... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serenity_Prayer

A friend and I were talking about why I'm called the Zen Queen. She asked, "How can you be so calm?" I had to think about it for a while. I think it's because I took the Serenity Prayer as my general "motto" for life. Everyone has some tenet that they live by. It may be the Golden Rule or a quotation or a religious saying.

Many years ago when one of my children was involved in all sorts of dangerous behaviors, I attended Families Anonymous. In many respects it saved my life. At the beginning of each meeting we recited the Serenity Prayer. And I found it good.

There is a lot of old wisdom contained in this relatively short sentence. The sentence as printed at the beginning of this blog is the way it was originally written. Did you notice that the i's are lower case? That's one of the first things you learn in any of the anonymous programs... that it's not all about you. So. Small i's.

Serenity is a product of acceptance. There are certain things in life that we cannot change. I will never be five foot ten. I'll never be younger than I am right now. I know that you're thinking well that's just silly. Everyone knows you can't change things like that. What about bad judgment, hurtful words, or stupid choices? They're in the past. Things in the past are simply that--past. They cannot be changed. You can ask for forgiveness. You can make amends. But you can't change the past. "Grant me the serenity to accept the things i cannot change."

Courage is a little understood word today. We equate it with the military mostly or heroic deeds. But courage is really taking a leap of faith. It requires an immense leap of faith to make some changes. Changing a job. Changing a life style. Changing an address. Eating healthier. Going for a walk. Getting up an hour earlier. All of those require us to take a leap of faith that there is something better out there. Change is uncomfortable. Just ask anyone who's moved recently. We like our comfy little niches in life. Change requires us to move out of our comfort zones and try something new. "Courage to change the things i can."

Wisdom is mistaken for intelligence or education. Some of the wisest people I know are small children. They cut through the trappings of adulthood and go right for the heart of the matter. Unfortunately, as adults we don't gain wisdom without experience. Frequently the experiences are painful or bitter. It takes a while to understand the difference between "book learning" and "horse sense". With that hard won wisdom, we can determine whether the circumstances require change or acceptance. Sometimes it's best to simply accept the place we are in life. Other times we need to seize the courage to change. The wisdom we've accumulated helps us decide which choice to make. "The wisdom to know the difference."

I use these three short phrases to get through life. My child calls with an emergency. Not my emergency--but her emergency. The immediate visceral response is to leap in to save her. But wait. That would deprive her of hard won experience so that she can gain her own wisdom. So what exactly is required of me? Perhaps... all she really needs now is encouragement to follow the path of serenity, courage and wisdom.

Anny

Chrysanthemum by Anny Cook

All my spare time today was spent reading.


That is unusual since most of my spare time is spent writing.


Today I read Chrysanthemum by Anny Cook.

Anny Cook is an author who I have had the privilege of working around. She has the same editor as I have. And as authors do, we share excerpts of our writing - sometimes for fun, sometimes for critique, sometimes we want to get something started on our message group. The reason I mention this is that I knew something about Chrysanthemum before I started reading it.

Chrysanthemum is the first in the Flowers of Camelot series. You know King Arthur, Camelot, the Round Table. Well, that is where the premise starts.

Here is a blurb:

"On that dark day Arthur, mortally wounded, was taken to the Isle of Avalon by Vivian, Lady of the Lake, and Merlin, where he died and was laid to rest in the crystal cave…"

Well, actually, that's not quite the way it happened.In truth, Queen Vivian and Merlin abducted the king and returned him to his home planet, Avalon. Now he's anxious to marry off his youngest son, Gareth. When Florian LeFleur, his wardrobe guardian, asks permission to bring his three unmarried daughters to court, Arthur decides it's the perfect opportunity and assigns Gareth to oversee their time at Came-a-lot Castle.

Despite her determination to remain heart-free, Chrysanthemum immediately falls for Gareth. Life should have been rosy but there were roadblocks along the path to happily ever after. The Blue Knight captured Arthur, Percival the dragon demanded a virgin, Queen Vivian decided it would be the perfect time to stage a coup and the Abbott at Solomon's Choice Abbey chose Chrysanthemum for their ritual deflowering.

Will Gareth get Chrysanthemum to the priest in time to save the king and Avalon?

There is only one thing I can say about the book Chrysanthemum - It is delightful. It is fun to read, constantly surprising you with twists and turns where Anny takes English Literature involving King Arthur, Camelot, and all the Knights of the Round Table and turns it on its head. If you like a rollicking romp filled with love, dragons and lots of hot sex you have got to get this book. It is available at Ellora's Cave. Trust me, you will thank Anny for a fun summer read.

Charlene Leatherman

Interview with Author Anny Cook

Joining us to day is Ms. Anny Cook. Anny, tell us about your current project.

At the moment, I have two. One is a ménage titled The Kama Sutra Lovers. The “actions” are based on random drawings from a Kama Sutra deck of cards. Hmmm. Enough about that one. The other is tentatively titled Love at Last. It’s the next book in the Mystic Valley series, another two-fer story about Bishop and his half-brother Nikolas and how they find the two women perfect for them.

2. Do you think a writer needs an agent?

For myself, I don’t think so. I don’t have one and I’m not looking for one as I’m not interested in publishing for a New York house. I like what I’m doing now.

3. Does music beckon your muse?

It depends on the day. Some days I write with the minimal boost. Other days, I could definitely use something to put me in the mood. When I worked on my Christmas book, I listened to Christmas carols.

4. If so, what type of music?

Usually, I prefer writing to Josh Groban’s music. Many of his songs are in Italian or Spanish which means that I can enjoy his voice without the words interfering with my writing. I find that if I listen to a singer in English, the words get stuck in my head and I end up typing the song! Not productive at all.

5. What’s your preference: getting a tooth pulled or writing a synopsis?

Oh, writing the synopsis. Anesthesia doesn’t work well on me so getting a tooth pulled is a real pain. The synopsis doesn’t bother me too much. I spent a lot of time in school summarizing books and stories, so a synopsis is pretty similar, isn’t it? I think it’s a scary word. Try using the word summarize instead.

6. What books of yours are currently for sale and where can a reader buy them?

Oh, wow! Well, First of all, the Mystic Valley series is all for sale: Dancer’s Delight from Cerridwen Press, Everything Lovers Can Know, Traveller’s Refuge, and Cherished Destinies are all from Ellora’s Cave. And the first Flowers of Camelot book, Chrysanthemum is also for sale from Ellora’s Cave. The second one, Honeysuckle will be available January 30^th. And my first book in the Ardent Angels series, Winter Hearts will be available December 12^th from Ellora’s Cave.