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 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?

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?

I’m the keynote speaker for the upcoming Moonlight & Magnolia conference in Atlanta the first weekend in October. I like writing speeches about as much as I like plotting—which is to say, I’d rather walk over hot coals in bare feet being chased by a pack of hungry, man-eating arachnids.

Rocki, of course, thought I was insane two years ago when I told her I wasn’t going to write a speech for the Emerald City conference. For those of you who have had the privilege of hearing Rocki speak, you know she’s an amazing public speaker. She’s poised, polished, professional, and . . . and . . . and . . . I’m trying to think of another “p” word that means “everyone who listens to Rocki is in awe and talks about her fabulous speech or workshop.”

You get the point.

Rocki writes, rewrites, and practices her speech a gazillion times. She lectured me (and yes, it was a lecture, because I felt if I didn’t follow her advice I would be buried to the neck in the desert and have honey poured over my head) that I had to do the same thing.

I . . . can’t.

But I tried.

For Emerald City, I wrote bullet points. That didn’t work out so well because I was so paranoid about those bullet points and the speech I should have written that I started taking notes before the speech, and ended up with a mess. It wasn’t my finest presentation, but they didn’t throw tomatoes.

So, when I spoke to New Jersey RWA last year, I wrote a speech. It wasn’t bad—I actually had a theme (You’re Not Normal) and had fun writing it. No, I didn’t practice it over and over again (though I did read it out loud once to make sure it sounded natural) but I did print it out in large font and have all 10 or 11 pages there for me to read. And I knew the material well enough that I didn’t really want to read it, I was just going to use the opening lines to seque into what I wanted to talk about.

The problem? I digressed. A lot.

I think the speech ended up being pretty good, but God knows I have no idea what I said after page two. All I remember was Madeline Hunter giving me the “time” signal, though I didn’t know that at the time ☺ I looked at my speech, realized I hadn’t really given it, and jumped to the last page so I could have a conclusion.

So as I started thinking about what I would say to the Moonlight & Magnolia conference goers, I knew I’d need to find a happy medium between the bullet points and the full-length speech that never was read.

But what would I talk about? What would I say? How can I inspire people while also being realistic about writing and publishing and the whole enchilada?

That’s where I am now. I’m using the conference theme as my springboard: Master Your Story, Master Your Destiny. First, I have to figure out what that means.

I like my “You’re Not Normal” theme. My kids have told me that I’m not like other moms, and I take that as a compliment. Why be normal? What’s the fun in being like everyone else? So I’m thinking of a “Master Your Story Because Your Family Already Thinks You’re Crazy” approach.

Or maybe a Star Wars theme, where the Padawan turns into a Jedi Master because it’s his destiny . . . and the force is what we learn that makes us better storytellers, and the dark side is the negative people who try to stop us from achieving our goals.

Or not. :/

So I have a few questions for MSW readers. What types of speeches do you enjoy listening to? Do you want to learn something? Be entertained? Be inspired? Or learn something while simultaneously being entertained and inspired? (Whew, big shoes to fill! I hope Rocki hasn’t spoke to M&M yet because I don’t think I can reach her bar!)

Do you like journey stories? (What I did to get from point A to B.) Or not? What’s a recent speaker you’ve heard where you think, wow, that was fabulous! And then remember something about the speech later. What is that tidbit that stuck with you?

I’m very interested in your comments and opinions, so please share . . . and if you honestly have nothing to say, say “hi” because I’m giving away books to commenters! Three people will win any backlist title of mine they want.

I’m committed to giving away over 200 books between now and the release of LOVE ME TO DEATH on December 28. I’m giving away a book every week to my Facebook Fans and to my Twitter Followers, and a book a day in December. Plus other days with special contests and fun things through those two venues and my newsletter. So follow me, like me, whatever you want, and you will get more chances to win free books in my #lovemetodeath giveaway!

I am thrilled to have as our guest today the talented and successful author of twenty-eight books, Mariah Stewart! (Applause, whistles.) Mariah writes both romantic suspense and women’s fiction for Ballantine, most recently her Chesapeake Bay series that launched last March with COMING HOME. Book two, ALMOST HOME, was released on July 27th. A native of New Jersey, Mariah now makes her home in Chester County, PA which, as you’ll read below, puts her much further from bookstores that most of us would prefer! Mariah has generously agreed to give a signed copy of COMING HOME to on lucky commenter, and she’ll pop in throughout the day to chat and answer questions, so please give a big, warm MSW welcome to Mariah Stewart!

Thanks, MSW, for inviting me to chat! I spent way too long trying to decide what to write about, but kept getting pulled back to Laura Griffin’s 8/13 blog about book stores.
I love book stores. While I do admit to loving the convenience of ordering books online — we live 24.7 miles from the nearest book store — for me, there are few happier ways to spend an hour or so than wandering around a good book store and picking up books that catch my eye and chatting with a knowledgeable staff.

All of which makes me think about book sellers.

Is it me, or does it seem that real book sellers are hard to find? Does anyone share my frustration with the stores whose staff don’t seem to know books beyond the latest best seller? Not to knock anyone, but I’ve asked to be directed to the latest J.D. Robb only to have the book seller ask, “What does he write?”

Sigh.

I want to talk about the book sellers who are worth their weight in gold. I’m talking about the book seller who really hand sells books — the one who, when you say, “I want a dark suspense novel”, knows what to show you — or who, when you say, “I want a romantic suspense that’s both darkly suspenseful yet sexy and romantic”, immediately responds, “Have you read Allison Brennan? Roxanne St. Clair?”

That kind of bookseller.

Oh, and one whose upper lip doesn’t curl into a sneer when you ask where the romances are.

Yeah, that book seller.

I’ve been lucky to know several such book selling stars. RWA’s Bookseller of the Year, Gail Link (who is also a published author), is one. When I first met Gail, back in the early 90′s, she was working for Waldenbooks in Granite Run Mall in Lima, PA. Now she’s hand selling for Barnes & Noble in Wilmington, DE, and running a terrific romance readers group there. If you’re a published author and you’re going to be in the area, you should put this B&N on your list of stores to visit.

Another local (well, if you consider a 65 minute drive local!) book store where they know their customers and cater to them, is the fabulous Borders Express in the Springfield Mall in Springfield, PA, where Maureen Downey as manager and Jennifer Wilson as assistant manager really know their stuff!

Maureen and Jenn not only sell romance and romantic suspense and mysteries and thrillers by the boat load, they read it. They know which customers read which authors, and when a new author comes on the scene, they don’t hesitate to let their customers know about it. Their customers rely so heavily on their recommendations, that several of them have standing orders for the store to put aside books they think the customers might like. That might be my new definition of trust, folks!

Chester County Books & Music in West Chester, PA, has a whole slew of real book sellers on their staff. Imagine, if you can, an entire store full of people who love books and love to talk about books and love to help you find just the right book. It’s tough to single out anyone at this store, because the staff here is all pretty wonderful, but I can’t think of CCBM without thinking about Joe Draybak, who is one of the best book sellers I’ve ever met: a man who not only loves books, but loves writers and readers alike. I’ve spent many hours in this store, sometimes shopping, sometimes signing my own books. It’s no accident that this large independent book store is a book tour “must”. It seems that everyone who’s anyone has signed here — I mean, name a really big-name author, and chances are, they’ve been here at least once or twice. By the way, CCBM has a huge mystery and thriller section — more authors than I’ve seen represented anywhere else.

In my experience, book sellers like these are too few and far between, but those who are out there, are a reader’s (and an author’s) best friends.

So my question to you all today: Is there a store where you love to shop for books because the staff knows you and knows what you like to read? Do you know any book sellers like Gail, or Maureen and Jenn, or Joe and his remarkable co-workers? If so, give them a shout out — tell us who they are, and where their store is.