Or is it?

This is the first year since I’ve been published that I don’t have a deadline in December.

Deadlines can mean a lot of things. Turning in the manuscript, copyedits, page proofs, proposal — important things that need to be done, preferably on time. But this December, I don’t have a major deadlines.

I have little things to do. Blogs to write–such as the Amazon Kindle piece I was working on yesterday for the release of LOVE IS MURDER, a novella to be released exclusively for the digital market. The blog I turned in last week for Borders Romance that will run on January 2. Updating my website . . . which will be a lot more extensive after Sylvia’s thought-provoking and fabulous blog on Monday. The short story for the untitled Thriller 3 that I’m also managing editor for. (Due 3.1 . . . the same day I need to have the rough draft of Lucy #3 done.)

And then there are the things I want to do . . . but don’t have to do. Writing short stories for the Horror Writers Association anthology (due 1.10) and the Mystery Writers of America anthology (due 3.15). I have ideas for both anthologies, but I’ll admit it’s the MWA story that currently has my heart. I’m writing it in first person. I started it in third and then the protagonist, Sacramento Police Detective Lena Moore, took over the voice and I knew it had to be first person.

I wrote my first first person POV (the villain only) for LOVE ME TO DEATH, the first Lucy Kincaid book. (Lots of firsts there!) I wrote the villain in first, and it worked well (after getting a down and dirty grammar lesson from my editor!) But I had never seriously considered writing any story in first until I started this short story. If MWA doesn’t want it, I’ll submit it elsewhere. I only have 1,000 words done out of a projected 7-9K story, but already I like it. It’s very dark, very edgy, and very sexy even though there will probably be no sex in the story. (I don’t know yet because, well, I’ve only written 1,000 words.)

But I am having SOOOOOO much fun writing this story that even if no one takes it, I don’t care. In fact, I’m going back to it after I finish this blog and if I don’t sleep much, oh well.

And I thought I had a reprieve.

Last year, I took 12 days off and it took me two full weeks to get my routine back. I realized then that I can’t take time off–at least, not that much time. A day here or there is fine, but two weeks? No. For every day I take off, it takes me a day to get back to my regular pace. I don’t have that luxury. So even when I step away from the computer for a day, I need to write at night. It’s such a part of me and my routine that without writing, I feel a little lost.

Yet, in many ways I do have a break. I didn’t stress this morning when I took time to watch my youngest sing a solo in his Christmas Pageant even though I saw him Tuesday night. Because there’s nothing better than a six year old singing. And I spent three hours Christmas shopping on-line, going to my favorite sites and comparing prices and getting what I hope my kids will like. And I’m thrilled I’m already half-way done with my shopping and still have more than 2 weeks before Christmas! Yeah me!

And I’ve been watching more television, spending more time with the kids, and taking out the Christmas decorations . . . all without the little voice in the back of my head telling me I have to get back to work. Tomorrow, I’m visiting family out of town, then heading to the Capitol for a retirement party for someone I worked with for years in the capitol. All without worry that I’m going to be late on anything.

I won’t lie. It’s 1:16 am as I write this and the kids were all asleep by 9 (bigger kids later, but I don’t have to tuck in the 17 year old and read her a bedtime story . . . she just says, “‘night mom” and staggers off to bed.) I worked on my MWA short story and edited the chapter I wrote earlier today in Lucy #3 (IF I SHOULD DIE.) I’ve been at my computer from 11 am until 4 pm, and again from 9 pm until now, because even when I have a reprieve, all that means is I can take a breath.

And that’s okay. I’m certainly not complaining! Today, I’m going to edit the Amazon blog and send it off; I’m going to finish reading an ARC for a friend; and I’m going to take my oldest daughter to her volleyball practice even though she can drive herself . . . just to watch her play. And tonight? I’ll be back at the computer to write. Because honestly, I can’t not do something. If I had nothing to do . . . I’d create something to do! (As long as it’s not cleaning, because I’d rather stare at a blank wall than clean the house.)

Come February, I know I’ll be back in full stress mode. I’ll have the anthology to manage, my short story (or two) to finish, and a book due . . . but for now, I have a reprieve.

What do you do when you have a night, a day, or a week where there is nothing so pressing that you can’t stop and smell the roses?

To celebrate the lull before the storm, someone who comments will win an early copy of LOVE ME TO DEATH, Lucy Kincaid’s first book which will be on sale December 28.

LOVE ME TO DEATH
“World-class nail-biter . . . Brennan is in the groove with this one.”—Lee Child

Six years ago, Lucy Kincaid was attacked and nearly killed by an online predator. She survived. Her attacker did not. Now Lucy’s goal is to join the FBI and fight cyber-crime, but in the meantime, she’s volunteering with a victim’s rights group, surfing the Web undercover to lure sex offenders into the hands of the law. But when the predators she hunts start turning up as murder victims, the FBI takes a whole new interest in Lucy.

With her future and possibly even her freedom suddenly in jeopardy, Lucy discovers she’s a pawn in someone’s twisted plot to mete out vigilante justice. She joins forces with security expert and daredevil Sean Rogan, and together they track their elusive quarry from anonymous online chat rooms onto the mean streets of Washington, D.C. But someone else is shadowing them: A merciless stalker has his savage eye on Lucy. The only way for her to escape his brutality may be another fight to the death.

I was going to ask everyone to comment what they were thankful for, but as my daughter sarcastically said, “Oh, that’s so creative.” So instead, I’m going to ask for funny Thanksgiving stories. You know, something you were totally humiliated over or something so hilarious that even though it was awful you still laugh about it.

For example, on my husband’s side, the time his chocolate lab ate the apple pie. Or more recently, when my husband humiliated me by posted a picture of my turkey on facebook. The turkey I thought the store had gyped me on because it had no breasts but, in fact, I had cooked it upside down :/

But fair warning to all husbands who attempt to humiliate their wives by posting photos of their cooking failures: I have refused to cook another turkey. For Christmas, I bought a complete dinner from Bel Air, Easter was ham, and this Thanksgiving we’re having friends over and they’re bringing the turkey. I may never cook another turkey again!

So share your funny or humiliating stories if you’re online! I hope everyone has a wonderful day filled with good food, friends, and family. God bless!

I am so excited to interview our own Debra Webb!

It seems appropriate somehow that I’m interviewing Deb on Veterans Day. Her husband, Nonie, is a veteran (thank you Nonie!) who served in the U.S. Army. By the way, they have been married for 36 years. And no, she doesn’t look old enough to have been married for 36 years—they married when she was 16. They met at her father’s 50th birthday party when Nonie was guest of one of their farmhands. Deb saw him and said to herself, “That is the most handsome man I’ve ever laid eyes on.”

After the birth of daughter #1, Deb went back to college. When Nonie was stationed in Berlin, Deb took a position with the commanding general’s office. Once back in the States she worked for NASA in the space shuttle program. Not only is Deb a talented writer, but she’s smart too!

Deb’s first book was published in the Precious Gems line in 1999—it was called UP CLOSE. She had 7 Precious Gems books, 75 Harlequin novels (over 50 are Intrigues!), and 6 single title romantic suspense with St. Martin’s Press. Her December 2010 book, COLBY CORE, will be her 88th full-length novel.

That’s right—88 books in 11 years. You do the math.

But today I want to talk about Deb’s Harlequin Intrigue series, The Colby Agency.

The Colby Agency series has the greatest number of books published in any author’s series at Harlequin. The first Colby book was published in September of 2000, and #42 will be published next month. And there’s more coming: she’s contracted for ten more—five to be released in 2011 and five to be released in 2012.

I asked Deb how she keeps the series fresh, both for herself and her readers. She said, “I try really hard not to write the same story twice. Even if the plot has some similarities, like a missing child, I try to shake it up a little with a new twist or a different type of character that I haven’t written before.”

One of the problems in a long-running series like Deb’s is dealing with characters aging. “I try to keep story time as close to real time as possible. If a child was born five years ago, I keep him about five years today.” Sometimes she has to fudge the years, but readers haven’t minded—it’s always relevant to the story.

The end of 2010 marks the release of two brand new Colby Agency books, COLBY BRASS and COLBY CORE.

“The theme of these two Colby books is ‘A Christmas Miracle’ and I love to incorporate the holidays into my stories,” Deb said. “They are about missing children, and while missing children stories have been done many times, I tried to do something a little different to give the reader a new way to look at the story.”

Starting in April 2011, Deb is releasing a back-to-back Colby Agency trilogy: MISSING, DAMAGED and BROKEN. “This trilogy will launch a whole new cover design that signifies it’s a Colby Agency book. Though I haven’t seen the changes, I’m very excited about the re-design.”

COLBY BRASS just went on sale last week.

As a Colby agent, Trinity Barrett is one of the best at finding the missing and delivering justice. He hasn’t confronted a challenge he couldn’t handle with ease—until now. To locate an abducted child and bring her home safely, he must team up with Equalizer Evonne Cassidy…his ex-wife.

Launching a dangerous search in Chicago’s underbelly is not Evonne’s biggest obstacle—partnering with Trinity is. They’d managed to keep their history a secret, but in close quarters they can’t deny the passion that still connects them. And if there’s any hope for a Christmas reconciliation, they’ll first have to survive their risky assignment….

COLBY CORE comes out the first week of December.

After years in captivity, waiting for a rescuer who never came, Tessa Woods meets a mysterious stranger who’s determined to help bring down a human-trafficking ring and save the other victims…including her child. But can she put all her dreams of a merry Christmas into the hands of a handsome agent?

Colby agent Riley Porter thinks being a former SEAL has prepared him for anything. When he goes undercover to find Tessa, he doesn’t expect his professional mission to become personal. Yet caring for the brave, passionate woman who’s ready to risk her life to end an evil cycle is far beyond his control. As the danger escalates, Riley must convince Tessa to do the impossible for their own survival: trust him to protect her.

If you have never read a Harlequin Intrigue before, start with these two by Debra Webb. I’m certain you’ll be entertained and quickly turning pages–and eagerly awaiting her Spring trilogy!

Deb has had ups and downs in this business like every other writer on the planet, but this last summer at the RWA conference one of the worst things that could happen to a writer happened to Deb.

She lost the use of her arm.

The accident wasn’t Deb’s fault, but she’s the one who is paying the price. She told me I could now share with the Murder She Writes faithful how devastating this injury has been. She does physical therapy—in and outside the home—four to five hours every day in the hopes of regaining use of her arm and hand. The doctors believe that she’ll gain up to 90% use of her arm—after years of physical therapy—but her hand will never be fully healed.

Deb’s accident would be devastating to anyone, but for a writer it’s particularly tragic. She’s currently writing one-handed because she didn’t want to change her process and learn the new Dragon Speak software while in the middle of a book. (I can SO relate to that!) When she’s done, she’ll load and train the software so she can speak instead of type. But there’s a learning curve involved, and it’ll take time and hard work—and a lot of physical and emotional pain—to persevere.

If anyone can do it, it’s Deb. In fact, she’s maintaining her intense book schedule even though it’s painful, because she knows that for a writer, time off is not possible. If you disappear for a year or two, it’s impossible to pick up where you left off. It helps that Deb loves telling stories and has a wonderful supportive family, but that doesn’t make the battle any less difficult.

I asked her how she has kept such a positive attitude—because when I talked to her on the phone, she still sounds like the happy, warm, compassionate woman I have grown to love since I first met her in 2005.

She said, “I had my cry and I’m done crying. There are people far worse off than I am. My oldest daughter was born with great physical challenges. She has a rare genetic disorder that affected the muscles around her joints. Everything was physically harder and more painful for her, but there is no one I know who is stronger or kinder or harder working. She is my hero.”

Deb then told me about a reader letter that touched her so deeply that—after ten years with the same editor—was the only reader letter she ever forwarded.

“A woman recently wrote to me that she read my first Colby Agency book in September of 2000 and loved it. Shortly after, she lost her eyesight and was totally blind. The doctors ran tests and didn’t have any ideas on how to cure her. Several years later, they felt a new surgery would give her back her eyesight. Though it didn’t return immediately, eventually she could see again and the first thing she did was start reading. And the first book she read was book two in the Colby Agency series. She had asked her sister to buy the books when they came out, and she has the entire series and wants to read them in order.”

Deb grew teary-eyed when she read what the fan wrote. “She said, ‘The stories and characters have lived in my heart all these years, and I couldn’t wait to get back to them.”

Deb is not only a prolific and talented writer, but a wonderful person. I know I’m not the only one hoping she has many more stories to tell!

Trivia question: This is a hard one, but the winner gets copies of both new Colby Agency books. Even if you don’t know they answer, give a shout out to Deb and tell her you’re thinking of her!
What are the names of the hero and heroine in the very first Colby Agency book?

Next Tuesday is election day.

You probably expect me to tell you to go out and vote. People fought and died for your right to vote. It is your duty and obligation to vote.

But I’m not.

One of my biggest pet peeves has been rubbed raw these last two weeks, and I apologize but you all are going to take the brunt of my rant. I have had to remove multiple posts on my facebook page from the “Just Go Vote” people. I’ve had to ignore numerous tweets about how important it is to vote. I’ve had it up to here with people yammering about the importance of voting. Why? Because they don’t talk about voting smart. They don’t talk about knowing what and who you are voting for or against. It’s as if the act of voting is what matters–that it is a right–when, in fact, it is a privilege.

Felons can’t vote. Citizens under 18 can’t vote. Non-citizens aren’t suppose to vote, either. Voting is a privilege–and yes, a right guaranteed by the Constitution. And I am honored and proud of all the men and women who have died defending my right to vote. I am humbled that we live in a country where we can vote–easily–without fear for our lives or retaliation.

But honestly, the next person who tells me to “just go vote” is going to get an earful.

Please do not vote unless you know what you’re voting for–or against.

My husband and I were discussing this today, because I was on a tear after hearing someone espouse the necessity of voting. Dan said it was like telling the surgeon to “just make the cut.” We know the patient needs surgery, just go cut into him.

We’d never want a surgeon cutting us open unless he was trained. And I don’t want people voting for candidates or initiatives unless they know what they are doing.

Elections mean something. Just last year, two Georgia elections were decided by just one vote. But it’s not just a single vote–what about elections decided by ten votes? Less than one hundred votes? In close congressional races with tens of thousands of votes cast, many elections are decided by less than point one percent (.1%).

I worked in the California State Legislature for 13 years. There are a lot of idiots elected. And a lot of good people. And a lot of good people who end up acting like idiots after they are elected. But every one I have voted for, I knew that I agreed with them more than I disagreed with them; I knew what to expect from them should they be elected. Every initiative I have voted for or against I’ve read most or all of the text so that I had a good idea what the initiative would do should it pass. Last election cycle there was a local issue that I completely missed in my sample ballot. When I couldn’t figure out what it would do from the summary available in the voting booth, I skipped it. I consider myself fairly well educated about government, but I refuse to vote on an issue if I can’t be confident in what my vote means. And while I generally vote party line, I refuse to cast a vote in a race unless I can agree with the candidate more than disagree. I’ll just skip the race.

Your vote matters. It means something–something so important that it was a factor in the American Revolution. Don’t throw your vote away. Don’t “just vote.” Don’t vote without thought. Your vote, not voting itself, is what matters. So go to the polls on election day and vote with knowledge and confidence, not because you think you just have to go vote.

P.S. While this is a political post in one sense, it’s not partisan, so please refrain from making partisan political statements because I will delete them–even if I agree with them. You can disagree with my premise, however!

What I’d like to discuss is something my friend and blogmate Louise Ure over at Murderati brought up a few weeks ago. If she disagrees with someone politically or on an issue important to her, she’ll stop reading their books or listening to their music. As a former legislative staffer, I of course have definite opinions about many things, but I don’t generally share them publicly. Some of my feelings about criminal justice and crime in general are evident in my books–I think necessary considering my focus of crime fiction–but I don’t get into most political arenas. In fact, in my first short story I wrote–”Killing Justice” in KILLER YEAR–I had a Democrat hero and a Democrat villain. In my second short story–”Capitol Obsession” in TWO OF THE DEADLIEST–I had a Republican hero and a Republican villain. Both stories had many of the truths I dealt with as a staffer that I found frustrating, but they were still fiction.

Unless someone is particularly offensive or in-your-face, I don’t like or dislike their work (books, music, movies) because of their political opinion or personal values (e.g. being an adulterer.)

What about you? Again, please don’t be partisan in your comments, but I’m genuinely curious. One commenter will win a copy of KILLER YEAR and one commenter will win a copy of TWO OF THE DEADLIEST.

I’m neck deep in revisions for KISS ME, KILL ME — due in four days — so my creative energies are focused solely on rewriting the climax scenes. (And no, I’m not talking about sex!)

Last time I was here, I posted a story my daughter wrote for a school project on ENDER’S GAME. It was amazing. Well, I just read her latest school writing project–a 1200 word short story. She wrote a ghost story that is amazing. But what is really hilarious, is that it’s not due for two weeks. What WAS due was a basic outline–character, conflict, theme, etc. She told me she couldn’t fill out her teacher’s “stupid form” (her words, not mine!) until she wrote the story. My, but how that sounds very familiar! So she wrote the story, then filled out the form, and is one happy camper because while all the other students still need to write a story, she’s done.

The reason I did a quick blog then was that I spent that Thursday traveling to the Moonlight and Magnolia’s Conference that the Georgia Romance Writers put on. Wow. I had so much fun, learned a lot, and even wrote a speech that I almost stuck to. (Rocki would be so proud of me!) I posted the speech Sunday over at Murderati because, well, I was on deadline last Sunday, too. :/

Speaking of Rocki (isn’t her new website absolutely AMAZING?!?), I read everyone’s comments. Excerpts, book lists, links to buy. No clutter, easy to navigate. Check. I’m revamping my landing page (well, my more talented web-guy is revamping it.) I am 50/50 about doing a book trailer. I loved them when I started because in 2005 not everyone had book trailers. But now? I’m not sure. What do you think?

I have a half-written blog that will have to wait for next time. It’s called, “Is the Road to Hell Really Paved with Adverbs?” It started as a rant against killing all adverbs. I like adverbs. Adverbs modify verbs. They are a perfectly acceptable–and needed–part of speech. Adverbs are not evil; in fact, I would call them pretty dang good. But like anything good, they’re best used in moderation. That’s your public service announcement for the day.

I’ve been following the Chilean miner story from the beginning primarily because my husband was following it, but also because of the dire situation those trapped miners were in. Let’s here it for the United States and everyone who worked hard, as a team, to bring those men to the surface. You are all heroes, the 33 miners and the people who helped save them. On Facebook, Toni posted a link to this amazing article. I agree with the columnist’s comment: “it is so refreshing to see us at our best again.”

And now, that’s the conclusion of my blog! Because it’s back to work. I searched for some fun questions on the Internet to keep you all chatty so that I can finally have more comments than Lori, but I settled on a good book standard. Comment and I’ll randomly pick someone to win a copy of any book in my backlist

What are you reading right now?
An ARC of LOVE YOU MORE by Lisa Gardner (neener, neener! It doesn’t come out until March!)

Do you know what you’ll read next?
Um, no. It’s a toss up between PROMISES IN DEATH by JD Robb (I’m several books behind in the series) and Joe Hill’s HORNS. But I could change my mind

What’s the last book you stayed up half the night to read because it was so good?
IN HARM’S WAY by Ridley Pearson

What about you?