Sun vs. Fun

I admit I’m not the sun-worshipping kind. Oh, I love beautiful, sunny days. That is, as long as I’m in the shade, or looking out through a window while in air-conditioned comfort. I love walks on the beach—in the evening at dusk or later. You won’t find me sunbathing on the patio. Not me. No, I’m the one who becomes nauseated or develops a major headache if overheated.
This is why Jeanmarie (my critique partner) has been making good-natured fun of me. She knows all of this and how I dress when I mow my lawn. Let me say right here that I love to drive the riding mower over our yard. I don’t know why, but I do. Makes absolutely no difference that I’ve occasionally mown over one or two things I didn’t intend to—including my eyeglasses—I still love the job. The problem is, I can’t take sun exposure so I wear high-top shoes, jeans, and a knit T-shirt. Over the T-shirt, I wear my husband’s long-sleeved cast-off shirt, unbuttoned so the breeze catches it, and leather gloves that extend up over the shirt cuffs. On my head I wear a wide-brimmed hat that ties under my chin so it won’t blow off, and I wear one of those disposable face masks over my mouth and nose to cut down on inhaled dust and pollen. By the time I add my sunglasses, not much of me is visible, which is the point. No skin cancers for me, thank you very much.
When I first started venturing out into our yard looking like this, a couple of neighbors asked if my mom was visiting. Yes, I look weird, but I’m not dressing up for yard work. I guess I’m dressing down for it. That’s why Jeanmarie laughs when I say I mowed our lawn that day. She’s picturing me in my costume, which she insists should be a cartoon on my website. No, I don’t think so.

Read, read, read

What have you read lately that inspires you? I don't mean self-help books, but other writers in your genre who write so well they set an example? Those writers whose books you study for technique?

Recently, I read and loved Loretta Chase's LORD PERFECT. I had thought she couldn't top her earlier MR. IMPOSSIBLE, but I like this one so well that I think it's a tie between the two. Write faster, please, Loretta! Last night I finished Lorraine Heath's latest, PROMISE ME FOREVER. As usual, she delivers a well-written story. I also just read two books by new author Robyn DeHart and loved her work. Although she has moved from there, I first met Robyn when I attended a conference hosted by the San Antonio Romance Authors. She attended the recent Dallas Area Romance Authors Dreamin' in Dallas Conference where I bought her two books published by Avon. Start with her debut book, COURTING CLAUDIA.

Do you read across the board as I do or only in the subgenre in which you write? I read all types of romance and some mysteries. I write soft-boiled and cozy mysteries and several subgenres of romance that include historical, contemporary, paranormal and--currently--a women's fictionish work-in-progress. Do you prefer ebook format or printed books? I read both, but prefer published paperbacks. My only publications have been in print books, although one was released in recorded form.

I never get enough reading to satisfy my hunger. Although my husband good-naturedly complains about the amount of money I spend on books, fortunately he loves to read too. His favorites are Tony Hillerman and the deceased authors Dorothy L. Sayers and Marjorie Allingham. Who can resist Lord Peter Wimsey or Mr. Campion? My husband and I both love the western books of the late Louis L'Amour. What a great and prolific writer. Apparently never bothered by writer's block, he once said he could write sitting in a folding chair at the corner of Hollywood and Vine with a portable typewriter balanced on his knees.

Don't you love finding a new author and reading his or her backlist? I do, and also love a new release by one of my favorite authors. I'd name them but the list is too long---and growing every week.

Happy reading!