From the Way Back Machine by Ellen Hartman

The New York Times has a new Tumblr site called The Lively Morgue.

The Lively Morgue is a glimpse at the millions of photos stored in the picture archives of the Times. Each post includes a picture and a scan of the back which includes various hard to read stamps and scribbles and stuff I'd like to understand.

(Here's the About page for the Tumblr site. It's fascinating.) They're just getting started, but I can tell I'm going to love the site. Old photos really get my imagination pumping. I love to think about the details like the dads in suits in the photo from Bat Day at Yankee Stadium and the size of the mannequins in the photo from the rummage sale. (I just bet those mannequins are shaped differently than the ones in stores now.)

When I see pictures like those, I can't help myself. I automatically start trying to piece the specifics together into some kind of story. So much of life is in the details of our old photos and the little vignettes we hand down from generation to generation.

Here's a story that combines my family history and my husband's.

My husband's family is pictured in an old photo from their hometown newspaper. The entire clan is gathered on the front porch of their home, around 1912. Everyone is lined up across the porch from an older man in a rocking chair right down to a baby held in her big brother's arms. Also the cow.

Yes. The cow.

I was joking with my husband one time about him being from a family who would include their cow in their family portrait for the newspaper. My grandmother said, "At least they had a cow."

Her understanding of that time and place changed my perception of the photo, and also increased my respect for my grandmother who came a long way in life considering she started from a family who didn't even have a cow.

(Additional fact: When my son was little, he was obsessed with that photo which he said pictured "his cousin the bull." Hee.)

What about you? Do you have a story from the "olden days" of your family or town? Do you live in a house with a history? Are you going to add The Lively Morgue to your Tumblr favorites?

P.S. I couldn't lay my hands on the photo of our cousin the bull, but I did pull this one out of my family archives. It's my other grandmother (I'm sure her family didn't own a cow either) with her new husband and her sister. If not for this photo, I wouldn't believe my grandmother had ever worn a dress. The historical record is a good thing!

Expect the unexpected

by Sarah Mayberry

I have a book out in March - always an exciting time - and today I wanted to talk about the inspiration behind my story. Since there's a pregnant woman on the cover, I don't think I'm giving away too much by telling you that More Than One Night is an accidental pregnancy story. This is pretty much a staple of romance - right up there with the arranged marriage and the reunion story! - and for some reason I really wanted to try my hand at writing this theme. And once I started thinking about my take on this perennial story, I got "pictures" in my head of who my hero and heroine should be.

Now, when I say pictures, I don't mean images (that's why I used the " marks!) I got this sense of who they were, what they did, what they wanted. And, yes, I sort of/kind of got an idea of what they looked like, too. Charlie, the heroine, in particular was very clear. She pretty much sprung, fully clothed and kitted out with issues and backstory from my subconscious. ( As a side point, I think Charlie is one of the saddest, bravest heroines I've written. I felt for her so badly as I was writing this book. If anyone deserves a happy ending, I think it's Charlie, and I loved matching her with Rhys and helping her find her way to accepting that he loved her.)

The reason I wanted to tackle the "accidental pregnancy" theme was because I'd read it lots of different ways, but often the man insisted on him and the woman marrying "for the sake of the baby". Now, I know there are some people who are very traditional about this sort of thing, but for me, marrying a virtual stranger seems far more problematic and scary than being a single parent! So I decided to tackle this story from a less traditional viewpoint. I wanted to imagine what a smart, independent 30 something woman would do if she found herself in Charlie's position. And I wanted to imagine how a man who felt he'd just managed to grab the world by the tail would feel if he found out that he was suddenly going to be a parent with a woman whose last name he didn' t know.

The result is More Than One Night, and I really hope you enjoy it if you get a chance to read it. I got a lot out of writing it, that's for sure. If you're interested, there's an excerpt over at my site, here, and some behind the scenes information here.

I'd like to give away 2 copies of More Than One Night today. Tell me about a moment when life threw an unexpected curveball your way. I'd love to hear your stories of rising to the challenge!

Wat if?

I was in one of my favorite stores the other day – the
cupcake bakery – and it took me quite a while to make my decision about which
cupcakes to buy. Red Velvet? Chocolate raspberry? Banana nut caramel? Way too hard to narrow it down. And as I stood there, trying to decide, I had
one of those 'what if' moments that writers love. I've always loved to bake – I'm a cookie
machine at Christmas. I always bake the
desserts for family parties. Maybe I
would have been a pastry chef!

For the record, I have no interest in another career
path. I have the best possible careers
ever. I get to make up stories that
become books. Best job in the world,
right? I think so! And as a veterinarian, I have the privilege
of helping sick animals become healthy again. What could be more inspiring than helping pets
heal from injuries and illnesses and reunite with their owners? In both of my careers, I'm in the
happily-ever-after business. I love
that!

But the writer in me always goes for the 'what if'. And since I was standing in the cupcake
bakery, trying to make a tough choice, I thought 'what if I was a pastry chef?'
Which, of course, led to other 'what
ifs'. I love music. What if I'd become a musician? Although full disclosure forces me to reveal
that, as someone once told me, you have to actually have some talent for that
to happen.

The trip to the cupcake shop is what started me thinking
about this. But as I wrote this blog, I
realized that I do have a way to find out 'what if'. I can give my characters careers that
fascinate me. And I recognized I did just that with my March Superromance, A Safe Place. The heroine, Frankie Devereux, is a part-time
pastry chef who makes cupcakes. So,
while I wrote that book, part of me was a pastry chef. How cool is that?

If you could do anything you wanted in life, what would it
be? What is your dream career? Your what if?

Daily drawing winners week ending February 26 ...

Monday February 20, 2012

Amalie

A book from Karina Bliss's backlist

Tuesday February 21, 2012

Sonya Natalia

A copy of Tracy Wolff's From The Beginning

Wednesday February 22, 2012

Kaelee

A copy of Emmie Dark's debut Super Romance, Cassie's Grand Plan

Thursday February 23, 2012

Marybelle

A copy of Linda Warren's Skylar's Outlaw

**Please use our contact page to claim your prize**

And don't miss this week's bloggers...

Monday, February 27, 2012

Margaret Watson

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Sarah Mayberry

Wedesday, February 29, 2012

Ellen Hartman

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Joan Kilby

Writing Tip of the Week

"It's easy to find a reason not to write, but writers who need to put ideas to paper, find the time. Use your 24 hours wisely and before you know it, you'll have pages."

~Kimberly Van Meter

Marcy is our 5 page super critique winner!

To enter our drawing for a 5-page super critique simply comment here and

check back next week.  Winners please use our contact page to claim your prize.

CALL ME MAYBE

Strange title for a blog? I’ll explain. Emmie stole my title yesterday.LOL The post are different though and I used the title the blog is about. Change is good.

About two weeks ago I received an email from a Canadian reader who sent a link and said I needed to watch a YouTube video by Carly Rae Jepsen. She added that Carly is a Canadian singer and her single Call Me Maybe is Number 1 on the pop charts.

I wondered what that had to do with me and I was really curious. I clicked the link. A very catchy tune came on and a few seconds into the video I almost fell out of my chair. The video is a take on the Harlequin novel and three books are shown—quickly. So quick I thought I was seeing things. I watched it again and there was my book Skylar’s Outlaw as clear as day. Wow! I’ve watched it about twenty times now. I love the song and I'm going to buy it.

http://bit.ly/thXDAK

(You might have to CTRL + click to load.)

Beside the song there were three things that caught my attention in the video: the books, of course, the shoes she’s wearing to wash the car, and the ending—definitely not a Harlequin ending. Now I have, “Here’s my number so call me maybe,” stuck in my head. Could be because I’ve listened to it so much.

In the video, Carly is fanning herself with a Dana Marton book. Skylar’s Outlaw is on a table with another book I can’t make out. When I pause the video, the book is blurry, but I can read Men in Uniform at the bottom. Maybe you’re more tech savvy. Can you name the third book?

This week Carly signed with Justin Bieber’s management, School Boy Records, and it’s rumored she will be touring with him. I love these updates I’ve been getting. The video has over 3.7 million views. Wow! Now that’s promo. And it was free. Happy dancing!

After I finished writing this blog, I got another update. Carly has now done a new YouTube video for Call Me Baby with Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez (my nieces will swoon) without the Harlequin books. Darn!! It has now surpassed the views for the first one in a short amount of time. It was nice while it lasted, but the first video is still up. I have no idea how the books were picked. Maybe someone who wrote the video or someone on the set reads them. I thought it was neat for Harlequin books to be included in the video. What do you think?

From the posts a winner will be drawn to receive a copy of Skylar’s Outlaw. My first cover with a shirtless hero. Now I want all my heroes to be shirtless. They get noticed.

Thanks for letting me share and thanks to my Canadian friends for the emails and updates.

Linda

You've got mail

by Emmie Dark

I had a birthday last week. Not a very special birthday in the scheme of things, and life was busy with work and travel and all sorts of other things, so as it turned out I didn’t have any kind of celebration. This is unlike me, because there’s nothing I like more than getting together with friends and family, whatever the excuse!

But I discovered there was an up-side. When you don’t meet up with people face-to-face, there’s only one other way for them to get a card or gift to you: they have to send it in the mail.

Photo by Stuart Miles.

There are few things that provide the smile-inducing pleasure of opening your mailbox to find a hand-addressed envelope, don’t you think?

I think one of the reasons is that in today’s time-pressured world just the very fact that someone has taken the time and care to send something speaks volumes about their feelings for you. They went to a store and chose a card, took the time to write a special message on it, bought a stamp, and then traveled to the nearest post office or post box to mail it. That’s a pretty impressive effort!

Parcels and packages are rarer and although they’re exciting, for me it’s a slightly different, delayed kind of pleasure. An Express Post satchel or a FedEx envelope could, all too easily, be work-related. It’s not until I get to examine the sender’s details and realize it’s something personal that the little-kid-deep-inside-me starts to clap her hands in glee. Then it’s a race to find the scissors and slit the tape and open it up and grin. Doesn’t matter how many birthdays you have, I think that little-kid joy of an unexpected present never goes away.

Don’t get me wrong—it’s still lovely to receive birthday greetings on Facebook and Twitter and email too. They are wonderful reminders of the international friendship network today’s technology allows us to build. Although our grandparents and great-grandparents were probably far more adept at letter writing than we are now, I also doubt that my grandmother could travel to just about any continent in the world and know people she could look up when she landed. I can, and I’m incredibly grateful for that, even if it means fewer hand-written envelopes in my mailbox these days.

I’m pretty good at remembering to send birthday cards to my nearest and dearest. And each Christmas I set aside an evening or two for marathon bouts of card writing and envelope addressing. I do wish I was better at remembering to write and send thank you cards (hardly ever), and I can’t even remember the last time I wrote someone a letter. But in the past 24 hours I’ve wished three people happy birthday on Facebook, sent an email to a dear friend to set up a lunch date during an interstate visit, organised a night out at the Comedy Festival over Twitter, and connected with an old friend on Pinterest. I don’t know how I could have done all of that if I’d just been relying on mail—I’d have needed telegrams and my own personal delivery service!

One lucky commenter will receive their very own hand-written parcel in the mail! I’ll choose someone at random to receive a copy of my debut SuperRomance, “Cassie’s Grand Plan”, which will be on sale from 6 March.

Running Away to the Circus and other Escapes

I had to laugh when I saw the topic of Karina's blogpost yesterday, because in its own way, it relates very much to what I want to talk about today.  I, too, am a serial murderer-- both on and off the page (more on than off, if I'm being completely honest).  But, even more than that, I am a gypsy.  At least in my head.  In my books, I get to explore all the places I want to go (or re-explore then if I've already been) and even better, I get to be whoever and whatever I want to be.  Artist, check.  Mermaid, check.  Doctor, check.  Circus performer, check ...

My newest project, which does not currently have a name, is a circus book.  Yes, a circus book, and I have to admit, the more I explore circus life, the more I'm tempted to run away and join one ;)  I know it's hard work, know it's often dangerous and dirty and everything else, but at the same time, there's nothing quite like it.  Nothing like the lights, the colors, the acrobats soaring through the air ...  In this book, my heroine is a seventeen year old girl who's been raised in the circus and wants desperately to leave it even as she trains to take her mother's place on the highwire.

But as I write about Star, I realize how much escape is a theme in my books.  My characters are always trying to get away from something-- whether it's a thousand year old prophecy in my dark mermaid YAs or a paranormal legacy she can't live up to in my urban fantasies-- my characters are always looking for a way out.  Rarely do they find it.   

In my February Superromance, From the Beginning, my heroine is looking for a way to escape the pain of losing her daughter.  A doctor for many years with For the Children, an organization that helps out in developing nations and disaster areas, Amanda runs back to Africa in an attempt to esape the grief of burying her child.  But like all my characters have to eventually figure out, Amanda must face the fact that running away won't make the pain go away.  In the end, she returns home to fix  herself and the life that she abandoned upon her daughter's death, including her relationship with Simon Hart, her child's father and the only man she's ever loved.

So, how about you?  If you could run away and be anything, what would you choose?  To join the circus?  To be a doctor in Africa?  To be a mermaid?  Or something else entirely?  Comment for a chance to win a copy of my February Superromance, From the Beginning.

Confessions of a serial killer

By Karina Bliss

I have a confession to make. I’m a serial killer. To be specific I’m guilty of matricide, patricide and parricide (killing of a close relative). I suspect I’m not the only one. I suspect many, many romance authors are similarly cut-throat about killing off extraneous characters. In my defense I don’t often murder on the page – okay, twice, including my June release Bring Him Home – Usually I do it in backstory.
But I always thought I was judicious about it. Thoughtful. Surgeon-like. The majority of my superfluous parents were on a cruise, helping out in Africa or enjoying retirement on the Gold Coast.
That’s what I thought.
When I actually checked through my ten books to see how many hero and heroines were orphans (i.e.: parents dead at the beginning of the book), I toyed with sending sympathy cards to my happy couples. With your genes, don’t bother saving for retirement.
Worse, I discovered I’d dispatched these hapless innocents in unkind ways. They died addled with alcohol, killed in a car accident, after suffering a long debilitating illness or dropping dead of a heart attack.
But you’re my accomplice. Yes, you. Because you don’t want these people constantly interrupting the romance either.
And there are worse offenders than Super authors. I’m sure the parental body count is higher in suspense and paranormal. It’s very hard to be snarly and dangerous when your mom is phoning to remind you to come to dinner next Thursday because Aunty Marg is in town. Surely it’s no ‘accident’ that Eve and Roarke in JD Robb’s In Death series are both orphans?
But be assured I’ve already been bought to poetic justice. I’m currently writing the fourth in my SAS hero series which means I have many, many secondary characters clamouring for space. I can’t default to my usual homicidal tricks because I’m dealing with heroes from previous books. And I gave them Special Forces training which makes them impossible to kill. Instead I have to delicately negotiate boundaries while I’m muttering things like, “I hear the Bahamas is nice.”
And trying to avoid what author Joanna Bourne calls ‘scenery with arms.’
She thinks readers can care about a maximum of eight or ten characters.
Here’s a link to her blog on the subject.
http://jobourne.blogspot.co.nz/2010/10/how-many-characters.html

So how many characters can you care about in a book? Do you want studly ex heroes or parents and siblings to get page space?
Make a comment and go into the draw for any of my backlist books (except Mr Imperfect). Make your pick from my website: http://www.karinabliss.com/.

And the picture...the shower scene out of Psycho. No one beats Hitchcock at killing off his darlings.

Daily drawing winners week ending February 19 ...

Monday February 13, 2012

Linda S

A copy of one of Mary Brady's Super Romances, or a Toss On bracelent

(and Mary will kindly eat chocolate in Linda's honor)

Tuesday February 14, 2012

Chey

A $15 Amazon voucher courtesy of Jeannie Watts

Thursday February 16, 2012

Quilt Lady

A set of Liz Talley's Oak Stand books

**Please use our contact page to claim your prize**

And don't miss this week's bloggers...

Monday, February 20, 2012

Karina Bliss

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

Tracy Wolf

Wedesday, February 22, 2012

Emmie Dark

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Linda Warren

Writing Tip of the Week

"An approaching deadline can be a powerful motivator. The good news is that you don't need to be contracted to have deadlines. You can either set your own or, better yet, join a critique group. My group meets every few weeks so I have a series of self-imposed mini deadlines that help me get my manuscripts in on time. No use being in a group if you don't submit anything to be critiqued." 

~Darlene Gardner

Comment here to win a Super Critique of your first 5-pages.

Power of Positive People

By Liz Talley

We've had some really fun topics over the last few weeks - contests with surprise guests (still trying to figure out how Weannie got her name), hunky crushes, and our writing uniforms (visualizing Ellen in her bow hat), but I'm going to take it down a couple of notches...just like that slow song at the skating rink (which will forever be for me "Sad Eyes"...turn the other way. I don't wanna see you cry). Sorry. I digress.

See, it's been a while since I've blogged here, and I've been thinking hard about what I wanted to blog about today. And after a guest speaking engagement and a tap dance to get volunteers to step up at my local chapter meeting, I've been focused on who I surround myself with and why it's important to make sure the people around me are positive influences (Good gravy, I sound like my mother!)

A long, long time ago in a galaxy called Shreveport - which is where I live - I got a crazy idea to start writing. It was a spontaneous idea, nothing like a dream that lived in my heart, that called out to me like a song. Nope. Just an urge to meddle around with a story idea. And that's when it bit me - that horrible ol' writing bug. For three years I piddled with that Regency manuscript until one day...I finished it.

I didn't really know what to do with that absolute masterpiece of literature. No clue. All alone I'd tapped at the keyboard, writing wicked love scenes and funny scone-flying scenes, with nary a friend to encourage me, tell me I'm awesome or lend an ear when I couldn't figure out what type of carriage a rake drove around the Serpentine. All by my little lonesome...poor Liz Talley.

But then a beacon appeared, or rather a link on my search for "romance writing." That's right, I joined RWA and my local chapter (couldn't believe they had one in my town!) Suddenly, I was surrounded by writers who knew what they were doing. Some were published, some taught writing, and it was like hitting the veritable jackpot. They took me under their wing, encouraged me, told me I was great and that one day I would be published. They believed in me, and here's the deal, they made me believe in me.

The reason this has been so on my mind is because I lost one of those dear friends several weeks ago. Katie Sue Morgan (Ms. Sue to me) was published almost ten years ago by Precious Gems and took a special interest in me. She was one of my first critque partners and hated when I went all laundry list on my descriptions. She also infamously told me when I complained that Nora Roberts head-hopped all the time on POV, that I could head-hop when I became Nora..until then I HAD to stick to one POV per scene. She had twinkling blue eyes much like the blue bonnets that she so loved in her native Texas and drove a car with a front license plate that said "Native Texan" so no one would mistake her for a Louisiana gal (even though she lived in Louisiana for most her life). She was funny, fierce and shepparded every editor and agent she could find my way..and I'm not kidding about that. She'd wave her cane and make them stay to meet me like I was the next J.K. Rowling or Stephanie Meyer. In fact, she signed me up to pitch with Wanda Ottewell without my knowing about it. That's how Ms. Sue rolled.

I've been blessed to be surrounded by people who believed in me, not just in my RWA chapter, but throughout the writing community. Surrounding yourself with positive people is pretty darn important if you want to be successful. No, it's very important. If you are pecked by negative Nancys (apologies to the Nancys out there) or Critical Carlas (and to all the Carlas) you won't get as far as fast. I'm not saying you need to surround yourself with people who lie to you about your talent or ability cause Lord knows someone should have shared some truth with some of those kids that go on American Idol try-outs. Sheesh. But if you have a dream and enough gumption, talent and desire, the people behind you, beside you and in front of you should be dragging you toward the pinnacle.

That's what Ms. Sue was for me...along with my former CP Keri Ford, my current CP Connie Cox (debut M&B Medical author btw), my chapter, The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood, my Superromance community, ENALR, Wanda, Michelle, my husband...okay, you get the picture. Surround yourself with positive people who believe in you and you will go far.

Okay, I'm putting down the pompons. LOL. So tell me about a time you felt the power of positive people...or positive thinking. One lucky commenter will win a copy of any of my Oak Stand books (and you can feel free to be totally positive about them. LOL!)

Clothes to Make the Author

A few weeks ago, my sister went through all the closets in the house and culled a ton of old, outdated, ill-fitting clothing and donated it to a local charity. It got me thinking about the clothes we wear for our jobs, and the expectations and perceptions attached to one’s unique sense of style.

Currently, my day job requires simply that I be comfortable and relatively neat looking. Whenever I wear a nicer business suit or dress, perceptions change. At an old job, I was frequently asked, “Are you going for a job interview?” My response was always the same: “Nah, it’s laundry day.”

Then it occurred to me that writers don’t really have uniforms. We often work alone all day, usually in the comfort of our home office. I was surprised to find out how many writers get fully dressed to write instead of wandering to their computers in their underwear. Considering how writing has become an after-work ritual for me, I couldn’t conceive of wearing anything that might stifle my creativity.

Which brings me to my “writing uniform.”

I can’t quite imagine Margaret Atwood, Nora Roberts, Georgette Heyer or Jane Austen schlupping around in their footie jammies while penning masterpieces, but neither will I believe couldn't be comfortable and look fashionable while working.

Unfortunately, I can only achieve one of those at a time.

In my opinion, the writer’s uniform should play two important roles: it should (a) be comfortable; and (b) indicate to the outside world that you are WORKING, and that you CAN’T BE DISTURBED RIGHT NOW.

Note: I’m sure there are people out there writing in three-piece suits and high heels, so comfort is subjective. In my definition, comfortable means that state in which you can produce the highest word count possible.

My writing uniform starts with stretchy cotton jogging pants and a soft sweatshirt. I have two of each in my “writing clothes” drawer. A pair of cozy fun socks is essential; I usually opt for either my knee-high rainbow socks or the puffy spa socks I got for Christmas.

Sitting in front of a screen and not moving for hours means your blood stops circulating and you get pretty cold, so I will usually don an oversized zip-up hoodie. The one I own has what I call “writer’s elbow”--a giant hole in the left elbow worn in from propping your chin up while sitting in front of the monitor.

Unfortunately, a sweatshirt and hoodie aren’t usually enough for me, since I am a cold-blooded lizard woman, and because I’m somewhat frugal and enviromentally conscious of energy use, I don’t usually turn up the heat. Instead, I’ve taken to wearing hats indoors.

I have two hats for writing: a hand-knit beanie, and THE SERIOUS HAT. If I am wearing THE SERIOUS HAT, it is because all the blood has gone to my brain. THE SERIOUS HAT is very warm. My husband and cat both know not to talk to me when I wear it. If I am wearing it, I have likely locked my office door because I’m on deadline. One look at me in THE SERIOUS HAT, and you will understand that I AM SERIOUS about writing.

Finally, to combat the dreaded “mouse hand,” I put on a pair of Dickensian writing gloves. They’re a pair of white cotton dollar-store gloves with the tips cut off. When I put them on, I like to pretend I’m Bob Cratchit, counting beans for Mr. Scrooge who won’t turn the heat up.

I think you'll agree, my outfit definitely gets the job done.

Do you have a uniform you wear for a specific activity other people wouldn’t wear one for? Maybe you have a vacuuming outfit? A poker night suit? A wine-drinking dress? Bacon-frying socks?

Let me know in the comments!

Crushes from the Olden Days

By Jeannie Watt

Last month I blogged about covers through the ages, so, since today is Valentine’s Day, I thought it would be appropriate to blog about crushes through the ages. My crushes. And speaking of ages, this blog is going to date me. But so it goes. I must admit that I can look at some of these guys and think, "Yeah--good taste." (David McCallum) But a few of the others...well...you know...taste develop as you age. 

My very first official crush occurred at a very young age. And my crushee wasn’t real. He was animated. Jonny Quest was everything I wanted in a man. He fought aliens, swamp monsters and giant spiders. He had a  cute dog. What more could a (very young) girl want?

The answer to that is 

flesh and blood. As my cognitive abilities developed, I started noticing guys who were three dimensional. My next memorable crush was on Sandy Ricks (played by Luke Halpin) the older brother in Flipper, a show about a dolphin. He was blond and a little pouty, but did his chores and got into just enough trouble to keep him interesting. And he had a dolphin.

After Sandy came Davy Jones of the Monkees. Dear heavens but he was cute. So cute he rates two pictures here. Those eyes. That accent. That shortness.  However…I was fickle. Peter Tork was kind of cute, too. But Davy had once been a jockey and horses carried a lot of sway with me back in those days, therefore Davy it was...until Ilya Kuryachin came onto the scene.

I am such a sucker for a Russian accent. David McCallum played a Russian troubleshooting spy in The Man From U.N.C.L.E. (Open Channel D anyone?) and even though the show was probably hokey--they were battling an organization named THRUSH, which was bent on world domination--David was gorgeous.

And then there’s Bobby Sherman from Here Comes the Brides. The show was about the Bolt brothers, who transported 100 would-be brides from New Bedford to 1860s Seattle, an area woefully short of women. Bobby Sherman played shy Jeremy Bolt, who had a stammer. And he did it well, melting my heart week after week.

After that, as I headed into my teens, the crushes started bunching up—David Cassidy, Shaun Cassidy, anyone from England who sang. It became a lot of here today, gone tomorrow--kind of like the careers of many teen idols. Perhaps there's a connection....


Anyway--here's a gallery of photos that adorned my locker at one time or another:

And there you have it--my locker pinups, my secret and not so secret crushes.

Now, to celebrate Valentine’s Day, please share your own adolescent celebrity crushes. Whose picture hung in your school locker or dominated your bedroom wall? Do you still think they're hot?  I’m offering a $15 Amazon gift card to a randomly chosen respondent.
Happy Valentine's Day!

Be Your Own

by Mary Brady

I am currently clearing all my table and counter surfaces for all the candy, flowers and cards that will arrive tomorrow. It’s always such a blessing to have my house filled with the smell of a thousand roses, boxes upon boxes of divine chocolates, and cards, small and tall expressing love, admiration and adulation. 
 

Reality! I suspect, if I did indeed get all the surfaces in my house cleared of clutter, it would be a very happy Valentine’s Day indeed!

 

It isn’t that me and mine are a couple of St. Valentine’s Day Grinches, but some years we do have a tendency to give the day a passing nod and move on with our stuff. Formal celebration or not, we do practice the rituals. There are extra kisses. There are more smiles handed over accompanied by direct looks into the others eyes rather than a passing glance quickly punctuated by the backs of our heads. And there are usually more than the average I love yous and can I get you anything(s).


  Rather than a dreamy celebration, which is perfect for many, we have a tendency to acknowledge the trust we feel in each other. On those Valentines Days when we stop only to smell the roses and not to spend the day or evening together, we have the solid feeling we will get to try again next year—or more likely the next day and week—and next year.

Tomorrow, love yourself first and then give some love away. If hearts and flowers are your fondest desire, I hope you make them happen.

Now, how would your Valentine’s Dream begin? Remember, you are your own “valentine” first and always. That you might share the love with another or others makes them lucky.

 

 To one commenter I’ll send either a set of TossOn bracelets (see www.etsy.com/shop/julsandmaude for examples) or your choice of one of my books. I will also eat chocolate in your honor.
 
Hugs all around on Valentines Day!

Daily drawing winners week ending February 12 ...

Tuesday February 7, 2012

Kai

All 6 of this month's Super Romances courtesy of Harlequin

Wednesday February 8, 2012

Marcy

A copy of A Hero in the Making by Kay Stockham

Thursday February 9, 2012

Pamela Hearon

A set of Rogenna Brewer's Marine trilogy: The Marine's Baby, Mitzi's Marine and Marry Me, Marine

**Please use our contact page to claim your prize**

And don't miss this week's bloggers...

Monday, February 13, 2012

Mary Brady

Tuesday, February 14, 2012

Jeannie Watt

Wedesday, February 15, 2012

Vicki Essex

Thursday, February 16, 2012

Liz Talley