The dictionary calls a friend a person you know well and regard with affection and trust. In my opinion this is a neat, generic definition. Friends can be so very much more. We all have friends. Some are more like acquaintances. You know them and like them but you don’t really know them or hang out with them unless it’s a work or community function. Others are like sisters, you are absolute best friends and you share everything and do much together. Then there are those rare lifelong friends who are kind of a hybrid somewhere between a best friend and a long distance relative. The ones you might not get to see often but you know each other deep down–all the way to the bone. It’s a different kind of friendship. You have known each other your whole lives and no matter where you go or what you do in the future you instinctively know that you will be there for each other come hell or high water.

Joyce is my lifelong friend. We have known each other our whole lives. We went to school together but never hung out. We married the same summer and shared some very special firsts. First homes, first cookware sets, first jobs. We both dropped out of high school to get married and move on with our lives. We took our GEDs together and reveled in that small success. When my husband joined the military and we moved far away from home, we always made it a point to stop by and see Joyce and her husband when we returned for visits. Those visits became more rare later when my family moved away from our shared hometown. During that fifteen or so years, we both had many career successes and somehow managed to stay married when so many of our old schoolmates were getting divorced and remarried. Joyce was building her life in our shared hometown while my husband and I were traveling the world. Then just over twenty years ago, with the military days behind us, Joyce and I reconnected with the births of our baby girls.

Joyce and I have shared a few adventures. Like sneaking backstage after a Michael Bolton concert. Her virgin trip to NYC. Sleeping on an airport floor on Christmas Eve. Our daughters’ weddings. Renovating our homes. Changing careers. We’ve shared many successes and triumphs. And somehow we’ve kept that connection though we might not see each other more than once a year and rarely ever talk on the phone. She doesn’t do email but has recently started doing  text.

No matter that we rarely see each other, we have always been there when needed. Like when our mothers and my father died. When my father died I hadn’t seen Joyce in probably two years but she appeared at the funeral home, a single red rose in her hand, and hugged me so hard. After my tragic injury in 2010, Joyce and her husband checked on me. That same year my family and I attended her older daughter’s wedding. Last year she and her family attended my Melissa’s wedding. Joyce and I exchanged Christmas wishes this past year via text but we’re both busy and hadn’t gotten to see each other even once in 2012. Her younger daughter’s wedding is on my August calendar.

Last week I received a call from my dear, lifelong friend. Her voice trembled as she told me that her husband was in surgery. He’d had a heart attack. I immediately said, “We’ll be right there.” Since their small town hospital had transferred her husband to Huntsville we were only five minutes away. Again, in that waiting room, we hugged so hard. We cried together for a while and then we talked weddings and told silly stories about when we were young. Eventually the doctors came to us and gave us the good news that her husband had survived and that the outlook was very optimistic.

We brought Joyce and her daughters home with us that night where they slept together in our big old king size bed, exhausted and emotionally drained. The next morning we had coffee and hugged before they left for the hospital once more. My family and I visited again in the hospital and have checked on them since they returned home. I might not see Joyce again until the wedding. But there is one thing I know for certain, if I need her she will be there. She knows my heart and soul and I know hers. She is my rare and lifelong friend.

Do you have a friend like that? I’d love to hear your story of friendship. Two lucky commenters will win  autographed copies of COLBY LAW!

Summer time! Time for Hollywood to pull out the catsuit. Bikinis are soooo last fantasy…

I wore a catsuit once–

Several bodies ago.

In the era known as BC (“Before Children”).

These days, I cede that fashion statement to those younger and fitter. I loved The Avengers flick for one reason: for all the testosterone-driven male posturing by her Avenger posse (Iron Man, the Hulk, Captain America) to save the planet from an army of alien invaders, Scarlett Johansson‘s Black Widow (a.k.a., Natalia Romanova) aptly holds her own on the big 3D screen.

And not just in the scenes in which she’s surrounding by bad guys. I’m talking about her vulnerability while being taunted by the arch villain, Loki, who has already deduced that she has a soft spot for Jeremy Renner‘s super sniper character, Hawkeye.

Well, does she?

Let me put it this way: the scene has a great twist to it. A lesser actress may not have pulled it off.

I’ve attached a video clip of Scarlett talking about her approach to the role.

To my mind, Scarlett owns the role–and the catsuit too, since it’s too tight for them to do anything but cut her out of it.

But seriously, she fills it out perfectly. Curvacious, some butt and absolutely no gut. The suit is unzipped just enough to allow us to admire her cleavage, but the view doesn’t detract from her most awesome attribute: the ability to break men’s noses even as she breaks their hearts.

In high-heeled Louboutin boots, no less.

Go see the movie–unless you want the ignominious honor of being the last person on the planet who hasn’t.

Make that the galaxy.

Spandex rocks,

– Josie

RIDDLE ME THIS:
From Jane Fonda in Barbarella, to Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, to all the luscious ladies in Sin City, many an actress has donned a catsuit on her way to film stardom. Which of them do you feel is worthy of our fangirl envy?

Is it possible to be in love with two completely different people at the same time?  Do our hearts truly have the capacity to be in love au duex?

Can one man (or woman) fill your heart but another feed your soul?  If you had to pick just one, your heart or your soul, which one would it be?  Could you pick one and thrive without the other?

My brother said to me when his marriage came to an end, “Karin, I don’t believe in one soul mate, I believe in many.” A hopeless romantic, he believes in more than one true love.  He believes there are many hearts and souls out there for each of us, if we open ourselves up to the possibility.  Now he wasn’t saying he wanted sister wives, what he meant was that he could over the course of his lifetime, be in sustained love with more than one woman. (Not all at the same time, but hey, with him you never know!)

I never really believed that, until recently.  I just wrapped up BLOOD VOW, the final book in my Blood Moon Rising trilogy.  It’s a tumultuous love story between Falon and brothers Rafael an Lucien. A story about survival, revenge and coming of age. Of hard compromises and unconditional love.

My heroine, Falon is literally torn between two lovers.  More than lovers, men she is deeply, profoundly in love with and they her to the point of obsession.  These two men feed her heart and her soul, and when she’s forced to make a choice she can’t.  And won’t.  For her, one without the other leaves her only part of a whole.

Have you ever felt that way?  (I’m not prying really, just asking as in answering in your heart, not here in public, unless you want to  :)  )  Have you ever been in love with two people equally but for different reasons?

In the Blood Moon Rising saga, one brother Rafael is described as the light while his younger twin brother Lucien is described as the dark.  Both are necessary for survival.  Falon’s emotional and physical survival.

She’s a lucky girl having two remarkable men in love with her.  I liken (or lycan hah get it?) them to Prince William and Prince Harry. The eldest, William, from the moment he was born was groomed to be king.  Then along came Harry, the spare.  Harry was groomed to be William’s second in everything he did.  But both men are quite capable of being king. But unlike the serious and honorable William, Harry is cut some slack because he is the spare.  He gets away with things his elder brother would never get away with.  Harry is naughty and fun, William is behaved and honorable. William, I also suspect, has always looked out for his little brother.  It’s what eldest siblings do. I know I did as the eldest, so did my husband the eldest and my eldest daughter mother hens all of her siblings.

Imagine having the heir and the spare, two royal, charismatic, sexy as sin brothers loving you, and you, be still your heart, loving them back.  What’s a girl to do?  And what are the boyz gonna do?  Let’s just say it took me three full length novels to work that out.

In our fantasy world, we get them both.  In reality?  For most of us, we can only have one. This is precisely why I love my job as much as I do. I can fall in love with two amazing men at the same time.  And, be loved by them in return.  Oh, lucky moi, having not one but two cakes and eating them too.

Does it get any better?

I didn’t think being the good girl that I am, and as set in my ways as I am, that it was possible to be in love with two men at the same time, until it happened to me.  One my heart the other my soul.

I’m not sure how I’m going to move on from this crazy, roller coaster love triangle, but I know for my next love story to rise and shine, I’ll have to find a way to live without Rafael and Lucien. Knowing that they will always be there in my heart makes it a little easier.  I mean really, all I have to do is walk over to my bookshelf and pick them up again.  Oh, and I will, regularly.  They are that special to me.

And because they are so special to me, it’s going to be awhile before I’m brave enough to fall in love with two men again.  My heart got pretty wrenched up this time around.

I wrapped up BLOOD VOW over a week ago and my wrenched up heart is still not done, well, wrenching.  Maybe it’s because we have been through so much together.  Not only the characters in my story but my life as I wrote them.  Major life changing events happened during the time I was writing this trilogy.  My granddaughter was born.  Nine months later tragedy struck my family when my beloved father-in-law passed away.  I had to stop writing BLOOD LAW.  It was too painful. It took months before I could open the file. As I began BLOODRIGHT my youngest son went into the USMC, I could barely write while he was in boot camp.  Right in the middle of writing BLOODRIGHT, I tragically lost my nephew.  It brought me to my emotional knees.  My own personal loss was a gut-punch, but it devastated my brother and watching him fall apart in such sorrow devastated me.  Timothy was his youngest son, the apple of his eye.  Two days after we buried Timmy, my eldest daughter was married, the following Friday my youngest son tied the knot.

Writing BLOOD VOW was like coming out of the dark for me, but in its way it was the beginning of the end of a beautifully tragic relationship.  Our love affair has lasted three years. I knew as I was furiously coming up to The End, it would soon be time to begin cutting the heartstrings that keep us attached.  I didn’t want to.  I fought it, hard.  It took me longer to write the book than it usually takes me to write a book that length, and as much as I love the relationship, other parts of the story need a lot of work.  But I think I did that so I could hang on a little longer.

But I have to let it go.  I might need therapy when it’s all said and done, but I would not change any of it for anything, well except to bring dad and Tim back, but I know that isn’t possible, but oh if it was, I would give it all up just to feel dad’s arms around me giving me one of his warm comforting hugs and see Timothy smile his million dollar smile one more time.

As I sit here typing this, my heart is full and it aches. I’m torn between two loves.  My love for Rafael and Lucien and my love for beginning the next adventure.  I hope those guyz don’t get jealous when my next hero sweeps me off my feet, because I will always love Rafa and Luca, they will always have a very special place in my heart where no other man can touch them.

So, the question begged:  Do you think in real life it’s possible to be in love with two men/two woman/one woman and one man at the same time?  And if you want to really share, have you ever been in love with two people at the same time, and what did you do about it!?

I also wanted to mention in honor of Mother’s Day, GUNS AND ROSES is on sale for $2.99!

Oh, and speaking of Mother’s Day, I’d like to say to all the mums out there, I hope you have a wonderful blessed day this Sunday.  We deserve it!

And if you’ve read this far you must really love me so, I have a Mother’s Day prezzie up for grabs, answer one of the questions posed and one randomly picked lucky commenter will win their choice of any one title of a Murder She Write’s ladies’ book, digital only, Amazon or Nook.

As you all might remember, I’d never watched BONES until the end of last year when I spent four months watching the first six seasons, one show every night except for President’s Day weekend where I watched the entire truncated season three when I was sick for three days. (You can read more about my thoughts on this show over at Heroes & Heartbreakers, where I blogged about how they screwed up Booth and Brennan’s relationship.)

I’d become so accustomed my new schedule of late night television, that when I was all caught up on my series, I needed something else to obsess over. I picked NCIS. I’m a little over halfway through the nine seasons of this show, and plan to be finished before season ten starts in the fall. I don’t know why I never watched this show before (well, I know … I gave up television for three years, from 2002-2005, and this premiered in 2003 … completely off my radar!)

NCIS is the most watched show in the U.S., and I’m not surprised. It’s rare that I like all the characters in an ensemble show—usually there’s one or two I love above all others—but Special Agent Gibbs has a great team and it’s been so much fun diving into the series. It wins because of the characters, actors and writing, the key components of any successful show. (And it helps that the studio doesn’t skimp on production value.)

The show is both a crime thriller and a military thriller, plus includes a little psychology and a lot of forensics, two of my favorite things. But another thing I love is that the characters have complex backstories that are threaded through the series without being overwhelming. They don’t over-explain. Characters are flawed, they make mistakes, they get into trouble, they even break the law, but in the end, they are fighting for truth and justice–and they fight together, as a team. I can easily suspend disbelief and get sucked into the story.

My recent television series marathons have taught me a lot about writing. While I have more time and space in a book than script writers have for a 43 minute episode, I’ve learned a lot about pacing and story structure. I’ve also focused on character growth from season to season, and considered how to apply that sense to my own series. Lucy Kincaid needs to both grow as a character, but at the same time be accessible to new readers. The balance is hard, but watching shows like NCIS and how they integrate backstory and character for viewers new and old is a master’s class in storytelling. I also admire how character flaws can be strengths, and strengths can be flaws. For example, Tony’s love and memory for movies can be annoying, but his knowledge of plot helps on occasion to solve cases. Gibbs has made some questionable decisions, but always for the right reasons. I’ll admit, they’re my two favorite characters (though Abby is right up there, too. I like quirky!) No spoilers, because I’m only just beginning season six …

One show I’m thrilled is returning in the Fall is GRIMM. It started a bit rocky, but by episode three or four I was hooked. And of course JUSTIFIED will return … still the best show on television today! I’m considering NCIS: Los Angeles when I’m caught up on the original, but honestly? Over than L&O: SVU I’ve never liked any of the copies. (And I’ve always liked SVU more than the original.) Tell us what show you’re looking forward to returning next Fall, or a show you wish was returning.

Now for a Mother’s Day gift from us to you! For the next week only, the Murder She Writes digital anthology GUNS & ROSES is on sale for $2.99. It’s a meaty, ten-story anthology penned by us, including both short stories and novellas—over 150,000 words of romantic thrillers and mysteries! Perfect for you or a mom (or even a dad!) who deserves an entertaining escape ….

I had the opportunity to meet Alma Katsu at the Romantic Times conference in Chicago and WOW – talk about a fascinating woman! Not only has she held some super cool jobs — check out her bio: Ms. Katsu is a graduate of the Master’s writing program at the Johns Hopkins University and received her bachelor’s degree from Brandeis University, where she studied with John Irving. Prior to publication of her first novel, Ms. Katsu had a long career as a senior intelligence analyst for several US agencies — she’s written a book that’s created a  lot of buzz. So please welcome her to MSW!

First let me thank Lori Armstrong for inviting me to Murder She Writes. We met at RT Booklovers Convention a few weeks ago, where I was one of the new kids on the block. It’s very kind of her to let me meet all of you through MSW. One thing I’ve learned since publication is that finding readers and building an audience is harder than writing the book.

Of course, I didn’t do myself any favors by making my debut novel, THE TAKER (Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster), deliberately uncategorizable. While it has elements of many genres—historical, horror, fantasy, romance, literary—it doesn’t belong to any single category. It’s been compared to Interview With the Vampire and Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander, but more than one critic or fellow author has said they’ve never read another novel like it. But if you give The Taker a chance, I think you’ll be rewarded: it was chosen as one of the top ten debut novels of 2011 by the American Library Association/Booklist.

I got the idea for The Taker a long time ago: it’s about a woman whose unrequited love for a man who wronged her is so strong that it transcends time, and she spends centuries coming to terms with her heartache. Over the ten years it took to write, the book grew beyond that basic story line. It became about the painful journey from child to adult, of a woman’s desperation to make a place in a world that seems to have no need for her. It takes an intimate look at big questions, such as when does a person cross the line between good and evil? Who decides who is evil and who is responsible for bringing the guilty to justice? In The Taker, we peer deeply into the dark side of desire and human nature. I tried very hard to make these characters realistically complex; as one critic said of the characters in The Taker, “no one is entirely innocent and no one is entirely guilty”.

How her love manages to transcend time is where the supernatural part comes in. I devised a unique myth for The Taker, so there are no vampires, witches or fallen angels in these books. There is magic in The Taker, but the magic of dark, old fairy tales, a mysterious magic whose origin—is it religion, science or magic?

The second book in the trilogy, The Reckoning, comes out June 19th ~