If You Give Me A Pen

I’m writing again. I spent my free time over the weekend, what little there was, sitting at my computer and working on my sequel to TheSeduction of Esther. It was wonderful to get back to it and to feel free to dive into my dream world for a bit, without fear that the real world would come crashing down around me.

But it was also good for another reason. If I’m writing, it means I’m dreaming again. I’m thinking about my characters before I drift off to sleep, which is when I get most of my inspiration. I’m not waking up with a pounding heart from stress dreams (although I admit I did dream my husband left the dog in the garage all night—while we sometimes forget where she is since she doesn’t bark, we’ve NEVER left her anywhere all night! Promise!).

Dreaming means I’m sleeping.  Yep, actually shutting my eyes and keeping them closed for multiple hours at a time. I’m no longer waking to administer meds, being disturbed by anyone entering to check vitals, or sleeping on uncomfortable sofas that really weren’t ever meant to be sofa beds.

And sleeping means I can function the next day and use my rest to gain perspective. It’s true, what they say about big things putting life into perspective. I’m not stressing over the small stuff and I’m not even rushing to get back into the small stuff. I don’t miss it and I don’t care about it.

I’m thinking this might lead to some changes in my life in the next few months so stay tuned. But in the meantime, I’m off to write!

Valentine's Day

As a teenager, when I didn’t have a boyfriend, I hated Valentine’s Day (or, as some “brilliant” kid in high school wrote on a sign in the hallway, VD Day). I was jealous of all the girls who had someone with whom to celebrate the holiday.

Once I met my husband, the holiday was much more enjoyable, filled with romance, candy, stuffed animals and flowers. It wasn’t until we got married that I truly found out his dislike of the holiday. No, he doesn’t dislike showing me how much he loves me; he just dislikes having to do it on some predetermined date set by a card company. He’d much rather show me he loves me on March 3 or April 27 or ten minutes from now.

Now that I’m older and wiser, I understand his feelings and can appreciate the thought he’d rather put into his feelings on his own. I, too, would much rather spontaneously say, “I love you” than say it on command. And there’s something not quite comfortable about the competition to make the most of the holiday.

Still, I like anything that celebrates love, which is why I insist on some form of acknowledgement of the holiday.

It’s also why I like writing romance. While I don’t like writing perfect characters, I do like writing perfect moments, perfect reactions, perfect demonstrations of love. They are sprinkled throughout lots of imperfect moments, unanticipated reactions and less than ideal demonstrations of emotions. They’re rewarded to imperfect characters who have a lot to learn before they get those hearts and flowers. But they hopefully give the reader an escape, a chance to dream about what could be, and a moment away from the reality of life.

My latest romance, The Seduction of Esther, (http://www.amazon.com/Seduction-Esther-Jennifer-Wilck-ebook/dp/B00D4J6A80/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1389974309&sr=8-1&keywords=jennifer+wilck) is on sale for Valentine’s Day for a special price of $0.99! So if you haven’t bought it yet, now is a great time!

And this Valentine’s Day, nine other author friends of mine are celebrating love and romance with a Words from the Heart Valentine’s Day party. Feel free to hop along to any of their blogs and check them out:

Donna Steele http://www.steelestories.com/blog

Nancy LaPonzina http://nancylaponzina.com

Bethann Buehler http://bethannbuehler.blogspot.com

Denisea Kampe http://www.lilamunro.com/realmantic-moments-blog.html

Sheila Dool http://itsmesheila.blogspot.com

Jane Wakely http://www.janewakely.blogspot.com

JL Oiler http://jloiler.bravesites.com

Eleanor Tatum http://eleanortatum.com/category/blog/

Nick Santa Rosa http://nicksantarosa.blogspot.com

However you celebrate, and with whomever, Happy Valentine’s Day!

And don’t forget to enter to win a Kindle Paperwhite! <a id="rc-c5869e13" class="rafl" href="http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/c5869e13/" rel="nofollow">a Rafflecopter giveaway</a>

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Valentine's Day Party

It's a party and you're all invited!

Words From the Heart Valentine's Party...Join me and nine other wonderful authors for a three day celebration of romance...

February 12th we'll get the celebration started at Goddess Fish PartyPavilion from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. EST with a release party.

February 13th you'll get a chance to visit each author's blog and get their thoughts on Valentine's Day:

Donna Steele                         Jane Wakely

Nancy LaPonzina                  JL Oiler

BethAnn Buehler                   Jennifer Wilck

Denisea Kampe                      Eleanor Tatum

Sheila Dool                            Nick Santa Rosa

We'll end on February 14th at the Rebel Ink Press Readers' Club for an all day freestyle chat.

Grand Prize will be a Kindle Paper White drawn for through Rafflecopter so be sure to visit us daily as there will multiple ways to enter. There will also be a gift card giveaway on the Rafflecopter, various other flash giveaways from some of the authors along the way, and we'll have featured reads on sale for $0.99 for the entire three days. Don't miss out. Mark your calendars and bring a friend!

Snow Day

It’s another snow day in New Jersey and my kids are actually bored. We’ve gotten to the point where, while they still hope for snow days, there’s no jumping around, no squeals of glee and no running to tell the other they don’t have school.

Of course, it could be that the teenager goes back to sleep and spends the morning in bed, while the pre-teen knows better than to wake her up.

When my girls were little, snow days meant bundling up in snow pants, hats, mittens and coats and playing outside. We built forts and snowmen and fought valiantly with snowballs. When the roads were cleared, we’d drive to the local park and sled down the hills. We have the requisite photos and videos of the activities.

But now, they have no desire to play in the snow. Snow is cold and wet and they like to be warm and dry. They’d rather Snapchat their friends, watch TV or do some other indoor activity.

There’s only so much they can do by themselves without getting bored. They want to see their friends, they want the typical routine of their days, they even want to be in school, because that, at least, keeps them busy.

They’re old enough, at this point, that having them home doesn’t necessarily infringe on my day. Sure, there are interruptions and I don’t have the house entirely to myself, but I can get my work done when I need to.

I think it’s all the stopping and starting. Start the school routine; get interrupted and stay home. Stay home long enough or often enough and get bored. Get ready to go back to school. Rinse and repeat.

I’m not one to complain about weather—it’s supposed to snow in the winter and be hot in the summer. But this winter has been brutal and endless and it’s only the beginning of February.

And you know it’s bad when the kids are unimpressed with snow days!