Offline

J.C. Wilder had an accident today and will be offline for an unspecified period of time. That's all the news I have.

Jamie, PA to Ms. Wilder

Thirteen Things I Love About Being A Writer 1. I can sleep in as late as I want. 2. My clothing doesn't have to match when I go out in public because looking at me, no one would guess I write hot, torrid romances. 3. Slippers are appropriate shoes to wear to the store. 4. I can ask people the most intimate and bizarre questions and it's okay because, 'I'm a writer.' 5. Just love it when a reader asks me to sign a book, especially when it's mine. 6. I can write off my vacations...um...research trips. 7. I can wander around my house talking to myself and no one will call the funny farm. 8. Living off frozen dinners and take out is perfectly acceptable behavior. 9. I don't have to do housework because I am easily sidetracked and rarely manage to finish anything domestic (Thank God for crock pots!) 10. My vacation time is whenever and where ever I want it to be. 11. Meeting the readers is great fun and I spend most of that time hoping I don't have something stuck in my teeth or a boogie hanging out of my nose. 12. I am constantly amused by all the voices in my head so I'm never really alone. 13. Did I mention the slippers? Links to other Thursday Thirteens! 1. Joan 2. Michelle 3. The Gal Herself 4. Shiloh Walker 5. Puss Reboots 6. Barbara 7. Janie 8. Nicole 10. Carolan 11. Tinker 12. NJ 13. Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

Photo of the Week

I took this a few weeks ago when I was in New Orleans, LA. This is Jackson Square, one of the oldest churches in America. The carriages line up for people to hire and the rides are lovely. If you're in the area and want to take a ride, ask for Ms. Diana and tell her JC sent you. :)

Post Romantic Times Convention Report

Sorry it took me so long to get this post up - I've been recovering from the RT Conference in Houston, TX. I came to the conclusion a long time ago that I don't recover as well as I did when I was younger, this is why I gave up drinking. :)

Carolan Ivey and I left Columbus very early on Monday morning, April 23rd. We drove to New Orleans where we met up with Crissy Brashear and her daughter, Amanda. We stayed at the Maison Dupuy - a fabulous hotel in the heart of the French Quarter. Bourbon Street was two blocks away so that's where we spent the evening. Did some shopping, hit the voodoo shop and had dinner at a little restaurant. Unfortunately I can't remember the name of the restaurant and that has nothing to do with the hurricane I drank. :)

The next morning Carol and I hit the Cafe DuMonde for breakfast then took a carriage ride with a friend. Very touristy but I enjoy the rides anyway. The weather was picture perfect and when I manage to unpack my camera, I'll post some photos.

We then headed for Houston and arrived at the hotel around 10:30 at night. By then we were both SO incredibly tired that we headed up to bed. I know, shocking coming from me, but that's what we did. Usually I'm in the bar until all hours of the night - not on this trip.

The best part of RT is just sitting around with friends and chatting. This RT had a very different vibe from ones in the past. It was very laid back (from my perspective at least) and I met tons of new authors and readers. I did end up spending most of my time in the bar but it was usually during the day. And the entire week I was there, I had only one drink.

Maybe that was the problem.

The industry gossip was the same as it is every year - write the book of your heart and it will sell. Unfortunately that isn't always true. Editors constantly tell writers they want something new and different but they can't really explain what they mean. Paranormal, urban fantasy and erotic romance are still going strong. My personal prediction is that the erotic romance market will begin to get much tighter this year but we'll see what happens.

As usual I had a fabulous time. It was great getting to kick back and catch up with old friends and make tons of new ones. Of course the entire time I was there I didn't take ONE photo. What is up with that???

We're all Hokies Now

When I awoke last Saturday, I was in New York City preparing to have a fun-filled day. Within hours I'd be struggling to get a flight out in order to avoid the nor'easter coming in to dump inches of rain on the city - and within twenty-four hours I'd be long goneback to Ohio.

It was a pain in the butt trying to get out of the city because everyone else was trying too. I was quite cranky because my weekend getaway was cut short and I had been inconvenienced.

Inconvenienced, poor little me.

On Monday I awoke to the same news everyone else did, college students slain in class. My immediate thought was that would've never happened to me in college because I skipped so many classes the teachers had problems keeping track of me, let alone a sociopath-madman whose Mama didn't hug him enough.

Humor has saved my life a million times, but I, like the rest of the nation, didn't find anything remotely humorous about this situation.

What is happening in America that people think killing others to gain notoriety is okay? With each incident the violence has escalated and I think its time to start asking, is there an answer to this? Why are children slaughtering children?

I don't claim to have any answers, I wasn't even a psychology major in college, but I have to wonder if society is paying enough attention to the next generation. My generation (I'm 41) was determined to be 'friends' with their kids and do the opposite of our parents. Yeah, we did a bang up job, didn't we?

I don't have kids, but I agree with Hilary Clinton in that it takes a village to raise a child. Our society condones sexualization of children, maximum violence and a myriad of other behaviors that aren't conducive to raising a mature, level headed person. Someone who can make the right decisions and handle the craziness around them without joining the anti-depressant of the month club.

Isn't it time we reclaim the America we love?

http://www.vt.edu/

The Demise of Winter's Daughter

Dear Readers,

I will go on record to say that I possibly have the record for the shortest period of time an ebook was published, roughly eight days. Hey! I'm all about awards ya know... ;)

To make a long story short, I have pulled WD from the publisher due to breach of contract and irreconcilable differences. I put my heart and soul into this work and I'm not willing to give up on it. It means too much to me to allow it to languish into obscurity.

Readers, Writers and Friends - I cannot, absolutely cannot thank you enough for your support. This has been a very difficult time for me both personally and professionally and the only bright spot are the supportive emails from all of you. You humble me.

On The Road Again...

Greetings and salutations - April is a month of traveling for me. In five days I leave for New York City. I'm pretty excited as its been a few years since I've been there. After my meetings are done I can play, play, play!

I'm staying with a friend in Manhatten and we plan on getting theatre tickets see at least one a day while I'm there. I so love Broadway shows and this will be an incredible indulgence for both of us. She's a stockbroker and rarely takes time off either so the time I'll be there will be a vacation for her too.

I'm hoping to load up on Korean Barbeque and hit Serendipity's for a frozen hot chocolate. I don't care if it is 20 degrees outside, I want my frozen hot chocolate! :)

After I return home it's time to get ready for the Romantic Times conference in Houston. This conference is roughly a week long and always an endurance test. Lots of standing and talking and drinking... I'm actually going to have to take it easy in NY and not walk enough to annoy my knee. If I can't walk at RT then I'm screwed - how do I get the bar if I can't walk? :)

IT'S HERE!!!

In ebook at least. Winter's Daughter, the first book in my new series entitled, The Coven, is now available in ebook format. The paperback will be available very soon.

Winter's Daughter - Ebook

Winter's Daughter - Print

I can't begin to tell you how utterly proud I am of this book. As with everyone, we do some things out of duty or necessity and, if we're REALLY lucky, every now and then we do things out of sheer, unadultered love and pleasure - that is what this book was for me.

I truly hope you enjoy it!

Chicken McNuggets

I can't say that I'm a McDonald's Chicken McNugget afficianado, the only time I ever buy them is for children or my dog (she loves them). So today I purchased some McNuggets for my dog and, out of curiousity, I decided to taste one.

The coating tasted like popcorn.

Is it just me or is this a Nationwide phenomenon? It wasn't that it tasted bad, it just tasted like popcorn. Under normal circumstances I do enjoy popcorn, just not on my chicken.

Did you know...

If you take Yoplait Whipped Yogurt and let it get to room temperature it tastes just like flavored whipped cream? It's fab really.

Thirteen Places I'd like to visit in the next eight years!1. Paris, France - I wasted three years on French lessons, I may as well use them!2. Grand Canyon, USA - I flew over it once...3. New York, NY - I'm actually going in a few weeks so I thought I'd throw a 'given' up here. 4. Egypt - I'm pretty sure I was an Egyptian Goddess in a previous life - LOL!5. San Francisco, CA - I'm all about Ghiradelli chocolates.6. New Orleans, LA - one of my favorite cities, the food can't be beat!7. Australia - I probably will never make it there unless I can take the space shuttle. The thought of being held hostage in an airplane for roughly 21 hours is enough to send me over the edge.8. A bathroom at the White House - Why not? My taxes paid for it...9. Scotland - I've always been a Scotland-aphile so I can't wait for this trip.10. Ireland - I'm all about the ale...11. Germany - I'm all about the beer, did I mention that?12. Mexico - I'd love to see the ruins and drink tequila in the sun13. Peru - I want to hike to the ruins up in the mountains - I'd have to hire a goat to carry my fat butt though!!Where do you want to go?Links to other Thursday Thirteens!1. (leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
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Tyler Perry - as prophet?

Tyler Perry, playwrite, director, actor and author is, IMHO, one of the funniest and most talented men in the business. He has a slew of movies he's written
but I prefer, the filmed stage plays. The reality of theatre is you never know what will happen during a play - which is just like life. You just never know what will come at you.

So I was watching, MADEA GOES TO JAIL (Perry plays Madea, a hilarious pot-smoking, gun toting grandmother with a whacked sense of humor and a very strong sense of family - in all of Perry's work there is a deep gospel element) and I was contemplating my bellybutton...sorry, wrong dream.

I was thinking about friendships. Lately it seems that a few of my friends have done lost their minds and I was debating one of life's most difficult lessons, at what point do you cut off a potentially explosive relationship?

I'd put MADEA GOES TO JAIL in the DVD player and was lauging myself silly - Perry is brilliant, did I mention that? There is actually a part in the play where Madea talks about relationships and she made the statement, 'There are three kinds of friends, leaves, branches and roots.' Leaves are the ones that toss in the wind and come and go like bad weather. They're the ones that you'd go out and party with but they'd leave you stranded if they found a better proposition.

Yeah, we all know those.

Branches are the friends who are weak and they bend in the breeze. They want to help but every time they let you down when you need them. They are usually self-centered and they lack a spine when the chips are down.

Then come the roots. These are the ones that are in it for the Long Haul. They grow deep and they hold you up when you need it, strap you down when you act out, and they hang tight no matter what the circumstance. Everyone needs at least one root in their life.

Most of my friends are branches and leaves - but I have some roots, at least eight come to mind. Debbie, Cheyenne, Carol, Lorraine, Libby, Kat, Tim and my dearest Dano. How I love them all - they've kept me sane and smacked me in the butt when I needed it and cheered me on when I didn't. They've been there for the good and the bad - that's what a root is all about.

So tell me about your roots.

Thirteen People I'd Like To Meet...

Dead or alive, of course. There are hundreds of people I'd love to meet, unfortunately most of them are dead. Sometimes it just works out that way I guess. 1. Dorothy Parker - Any woman who had her tombstone inscribed with "Pardon my Dust" is someone I want to meet. She was one of the wittiest writers of her day and the best part is this woman was no pushover. If she was pissed off, she wasn't afraid to show it. Considering she worked in the journalism world between 1920 - 1940-ish, that is quite the requirement. 2. Muhammed Ali - Nothing more needs to be said about this man. 3. Queen Elizabeth - Just what does she carry in that purse? Does she have a driver's license? Credit cards? 4. Edgar Alan Poe - When I was 10 or 11, I had his poem 'The Raven' memorized along with others such as Annabel Lee. It is any wonder I grew up to write paranormal books? 5. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Possibly the greatest composer or all time, in my opinion at least. The man was both brilliant and tormented. 6. James Thurber - One of the greatest writers and cartoonists that ever lived. He was a contemporary of Dorothy Parker and a member of the Algonquin Round Table - a truly 'romantic' time for writers. 7. Edward Degas - Amazing artist. I'm not into the ballerinas he did. I love L'absinthe - he took a simple scene and put so much feeling and pathos into it I'm just amazed every time I see it. I am also a painter and I would love to see how he did what he did. 8. Benjamin Franklin - This man was brilliant and instrumental in crafting the USA into what it is today. Wouldn't it be cool to hoist a brandy with him? 9. Stephen King - I mean...it's Stephen King for crying out loud. What writer wouldn't want to hang with him for a few hours? 10. Walter Cronkite - I would just sit and let him talk about all the things he's seen over his life and career. 11. The Mercury Seven - the original seven astronauts - what amazing stories they'd have to tell. I've always been fascinated by the astronauts since I was in Houston and had the chance to go to Mission Control - it was amazing. 12. Andrew Lloyd Webber - one of the greatest playwrites of all time. 13. Broken Lizard - so what is broken lizard? They are the guys who wrote, produced and starred in SUPER TROOPERS, BEERFEST and another movie I can't name. It's not that I think their movies are great (though they are funny in parts) but these guys had a dream, got together and maxed their credit cards to make the first movie then crossed their fingers that someone would pick it up. Someone did and voila - they are now 'stars'. I absolutely love the wholw concept of people giving up everything and just GOING for it! So - who would you want to meet? Links to other Thursday Thirteens! http://creativegoddesses.blogspot.com/ http://carolanivey.blogspot.com http://www.daisydexterdobbs.com http://ciarcullen.blogspot.com/

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Trying to get caught up...

If you look up the word, 'overwhelmed' in the dictionary, you will see my photo. :) That said, things are revolving around in my brain at about 3000 miles but this is a good thing, I assure you.

2007 started off with some excitement for me. Mom and I have been wanting to remodel the upstairs bathrooom for years now but didn't want to take the plunge. I finally gave in because I was tired of hearing about it.

I'm not sure why she was so obsessed with the bathroom as this one is mine - hers is downstaris with her suite of rooms. I was the one that ended up without a toilet for 7 days - and 10 days without a shower - thank goodness for the rec center - at least I could take a shower.

Above you can see where Adam pulled out the wall around the bathtub. This house is 40 some years old (just like me!) and it had some water damage. When my bro and I were kids we were always splashing around like fish in the tub so this wasn't a surprise to anyone.

Here is the rest of my bathroom - that floor was SO horrible. About ten years before we'd had someone come in and put down tiles and the IDIOT put them down over the original floor that than pull that up. We decided to do it up right this time and had everything pulled up and most of the subflooring replaced.

Here the bathtub is All Gone... We opted to put in a walk in shower with seats on each side and I'm glad we did. I never realized how annoying it was to be attacked by the shower curtain while taking a shower.

No more....no more....

Tomorrow I will post the photos of the completed room. It came out really lovely if I do say so myself. :)

My world famous cranberry pie!

I know, I'm SUCH a slacker lately. I've been meaning to post this ever since Thanksgiving.

Here is the pie I made for dessert on turkey-day. It is cranberry walnut and it was WELL received and very, very rich. I loved every bite. My mother kept having small pieces for breakfast. Hmm, I seem to remember her telling me that cakes and pies weren't good breakfast foods...

Sneaky isn't she??

CRANBERRY PIE

2 bgs cranberries
white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
lemon juice
lime juice
1 orange
cinnamon
pecans (walnuts - whatever you like, this is optional)

In a crockpot, put in both bags of cranberries and a dash of lime juice.
When they begin to soften, add brown sugar, white sugar, cinnamon and a dash of lemon juice. You have to let this cook a while before you begin tasting. It is up to you to decide how sweet or tart you want this - thats why I don't have an exact amount of some ingredients.
Add in some orange zest then shred some orange slices (don't add a cut slice, you don't want any pith in there)
Keep tasting it then adding whatever you want to adjust the flavor to your liking.
Refridgerate overnight. (this will make the filling taste SO much better)

Mix up a two crust batch of pie crust.
Put the bottom crust in a pie dish
Sprinkle nuts on the bottom of the pie crust
Add cranberry filling
Put on top crust (make sure you have vent holes if you aren't going to do a lattice top.
Bake at 400 for 40 minutes (or however long you would normally cook a fruit pie)

Serve with real whipped cream (cuts the tart flavor) or ice cream.

Top 10 Reasons I Know It's The Holiday Season...

Number 10 - I went to the grocery store and was run over by a plastic car-shaped shopping cart.

Well, I wasn't run over, I was run into though and it hurt! I went to the grocery store this morning before 9am and it was packed. Everyone had that harried, gotta-get-the-grocery look and you took your own life into your hands just trying to get out of an aisle and into the stream of traffic.

It was ugly.

I was trying to exit the salad dressing / vinegar / bbq sauce aisle and this woman came around the corner, looking completely away from me and plowed her bright blue car-shaped cart into my normal, big girl cart. I was the recipient of an accusatory glare because I got in HER way, ignoring the fact that I wasn't even moving at the time, and she takes off with her kids packed into the cart like sardines, muttering something about olives.

Yup, its the season the be jolly alright. Next time I go to the store I think I'll arm myself with a German Shepard just to make my way through the crowds.

Falling off the bandwagon!

Ya know, this whole losing weight thing just sucks. There are no ifs, ands or buts about it. All of my life I've had problems with my weight and to be honest, I'm just plain tired of fighting it anymore.

Maybe, just maybe, I was meant to be fat!

What a concept. Learning to love yourself irregardless of what you look like. Wow, can society handle it?

Probably not. Every minute of every day it is pounded into our heads that thinner is better, chins should not sag, gray hair should be destroyed and, heaven forbid, we enjoy a nice pastry from time to time.

What's up with that?

From a psychological standpoint, this is so not good. Those who tell you that you should lose weight and look like this or whatever - obviously have issues concerning how their own bodies look and it's time they keep their issues to themselves. If I had a dollar for everytime someone had said to me, 'You know, you have such a pretty face. Just imagine how beautiful you'd be if you lost some weight.'

So, I'm not beautiful now because I don't conform to what the fashion magazines consider sexy? Do we take into account that the models in the photos are often ill, on drugs, or don't eat just to remain thin? Have you ever seen the airbrushing that goes on with these photos?

We could all look that good if we had a team of people painting our faces, doing our hair and picking out our clothing. Of course we'd need another group of people to make sure the lighting is correct, the shadows are placed just so and pulling and tucking our clothing constantly. Heaven forbid we be caught with our sweater stuck in a fat roll or something. If we would ever admit to having cellulite, maybe they just wouldn't like us anymore.

Who cares? As a writer I spend most of my time in sweatpants, tshirts and a sweater. Every now and then I even don socks. I run out for coffee in my slippers (and I'm not talking about a drive through here) and I've been known to hit a drive through in my pajamas. Even though I dress like a hermit I've yet to lose friends over it. I might get some strange looks but I couldn't care less about that. People need something to talk about, it might as well be me.

So ladies and gentlemen, it's time to stage a revolt against our cultures ridiculous ideas of beauty. Being beautiful has nothing to do with your weight or your hair color or your clothing - it comes from your actions and how you treat those around you. If the biggest thing on your body is your heart, you're headed in the right direction.

So don your slippers and hit the market - you'll be glad you did.

I'm not dead...yet!

Pink's new CD entitled I'M NOT DEAD YET is my latest obsession. I've always been a big fan of Pink because she is an intelligent woman and she doesn't sing empty, bubbleheaded pop like most of the singers today. She has a message and it is a positive one for teens and that is yet another reason to like her. I've had this CD in my car stereo for the past three weeks and I don't feel any inclination to remove it yet.

So run out and buy this CD.

In other news, I'm preparing for my final trip to New Orleans for 2006. I'll be speaking at a writer's group meeting in mid-September then I have to race back to Ohio and write! Boy do I have some deadlines now. I swear I've lost my mind. Oh wait, in order to lose it I'd have to have one in the first place wouldn't I?

Nevermind.

And finally...

Now I don't normally do this, recommend books, but a friend has a new book coming out September 12th and I just LOVED it. A book really has to rock my socks to get and keep my attention. I'm afraid that I've become ADD where fiction is concerned - if you don't get and keep my attention in the first five pages, I will put that book down and not pick it up again.

But I didn't feel this way about GETAWAY GIRL by Michele Hauf. I loved this book. I have SUCH a passion for fast cars (which is probably why I had 2 speeding tickets before I'd had my liscense for six months ) that this book caught me. Below is a blurb for the book and a link to the cover and excerpt.

Happy Reading - JC

Jamie MacAlister has a need for speed. Now she's making a break from the illegal racing circuit to run a professional driving service. That's right...Jamie is a getaway girl.

Her first assignment: help rescue a kidnapped woman. Suddenly, though, Jamie's taking a wild ride through the streets of Paris with bad guys in hot pursuit. To further complicate things, her own people‹‹the good guys?‹‹have just double-crossed her. What's the world coming to when the very sexy Sacha Vital, perhaps the baddest of all bad guys, might be the only one she can trust?

Maybe fate will decide, because Jamie's not about to put on the brakes for anyone.

http://www.mninter.net/~mhauf/getaway.html

Sponsored Weddings

I caught a small blip on the morning news about 'sponsored' weddings becoming all the rage. Rather than planning a wedding and inviting friends and family to share your special day, couples are now shopping for SPONSORS to help pay for the shindig.

Yes....you read that right.

This questionable practice became popular thanks to Star Jones when she married that Reynolds guy. The entire wedding was almost paid for (something like a quarter of a million) by sponsors like Mastercard. So when the blushing bride and proud groom enjoyed their wedding, their guests were bombarded with advertising. I personally think that Mastercard should have just plastered their logo over her cleavage, that would've given them much more exposure.

So sound off - what do you think of sponsored weddings??

Messages....good or bad?

I have a Monday morning routine that I can set a clock by. The television comes on at 9am and I watch Regis, Dr. Phil and the first part of The View while I do laundry and household chores. This morning I noticed the number of diet ads in those 2.5 hours were astounding.

Lose weight...
Get thin...
Eat right...
You can only lose weight with THIS product...
Your life will be So Much Better if you were thin...

Of course these commercials were shown two or three at a time along with fried chicken and chocolate ice cream spots.

What is up with this?

I've always had issues with diet commercials especially because they usually target susceptible people with the hints that their lives will be better if only they buy a product that doesn't work. Yes, I am a woman of EPIC proportions and yes, I need to lose weight - but I'm really tired of being told that until I comply with society's standards of looks that I will never be happy or complete.

Bullshit. (Pardon my French)

What kind of message does this send to children?

Yes, 67% of American's are overweight but we live in a society that does not lend itself to eating properly. We tell kids to eat right and exercise but in the next breath the cable channels Nick and the Cartoon Channel are selling them Spongebob snack crackers and Scooby Doo cereal. A McDonald's 'Value Meal' has doubled in size in the last ten years and let's face it - who really needs a VAT of soda?

I'm not sure who's more screwed up, the money grubbing rip off artists who sell capsules of whale urine to 'lose significant amounts of weight' or the way we adults are running around trying to lose weight and 'conform'. (Or have the 'right' car or send the kids to the 'right school' or have the 'right' job) In the media we are bombarded by impossible standards of beauty that even supermodels cannot achieve without airbrushing.

How is this, 'standard'?

I learned a long time ago that what is on the outside fades so quickly and it is your character that will keep you going. So when are we going to turn our backs on these impossible standards and ridiculous claims from diet drug pushers and embrace who we are on the inside?

(Can you tell I'm a little cranky today? )