Well, I thought I was back in with the Fast Draft. I did 10 pages yesterday and was very pleased…even interrupted the flow several times to do a quick bit of research on the internet. Today…nothing so far, and things are not ‘percolating’ yet. And I think I’m going to have a little trouble in future days. Yesterday I picked up a novel I’ve had on hold at the library for-ever! I’m pretty sure it’s been on order this whole time and they just got it in, and I’m getting first crack at it. I can’t even remember how I found out about it, but it sounded so unique and different that I have been waiting eagerly to get my hands on it.

The book is Hope Tarr’s Vanquished from Medallion Press. And although I’m only a few pages–maybe 20 into it, so far so good! I’m not one of those people who just can’t put a book down–no matter what the book, I can put it down. I never stay up all night reading…about 12:30 is my limit… Anyway…the book is set in Victorian England, where the heroine is a suffragette leader and the hero a photographer. She needs portraits done, and someone in the Parliament, interested in quelling the vote for women, hires him to seduce her and capture ‘her downfall’ on film. I’m totally titillated!

Confession: Candy Havens told us to reward ourselves after a successful Fast Draft. Well, I haven’t really finished FD, what with the hiatus and all, but I went shopping today….and totally rewarded myself.

Inspired by Colleen Gleason’s 80’s Retro Tuesdays (and because it’s been in my mind for the past few days), I want ask if anyone remembers (ever saw) The Tales of the Gold Monkey, which aired from 1982-1983. Let me just say that I LOVED that show, and it was one of very few my parents let me watch. You can name just about any show in the 80’s–no matter how popular, and my dad probably didn’t let us watch it. The only other one I can remember off-hand is The Cosby Show. Anyway, I don’t really know what happened to this show or why it disappeared so quickly, but I still think about it from time to time.

And now that I’ve actually looked it up, I see that the pilot (on whom I had a great crush, despite all that sweat) is actually Stephen Collins–the dad on 7th Heaven. And no, I don’t watch that show. All this time I’ve been wondering…

Photo copyright to ABC-Universal-Bellisarius.

Well, last night, after months of planning, my RWA chapter had its first (who knows if it will end up being annual) Author/Bookseller Reception. And I really think it was a huge success! I sort of suggested it back in April or so when I’d read an RWR article in which Eloisa James had mentioned that her chapter does an annual Bookseller Luncheon, and I thought, what a great idea! Houston is a BIG city, and we have plenty of bookstores (our invitation list topped 40!). What a great way to introduce authors to local booksellers and booksellers to local authors.

So…we brainstormed, and planned, and divvied up the tasks between board members (I was drafted to be Secretary after someone else had to quit for personal reasons), and then got to work. We ended up having it at one of our local author’s houses, and it was lovely. There were about thirteen booksellers in attendance and maybe twenty authors, and pretty much everyone mingled with everyone else. Then, when it was time to leave, the booksellers took home goodie bags that were filled with promo items from most every pubbed author in our chapter. We also handed out bound pamphlets entitled ‘What Every Bookseller Should Know’, which included creative and useful tips from Stephanie Bond (used with permission) on how to revitalize romance sales. We also requested giveaways from RWA National, so the bags were chock full!

We did hors d’oeuvres (provided by the authors), and bought chocolate dipped strawberries, champagne, and wine. I made mini cherry cheesecake bites. It was really quite elegant. What a relief….we’ve all been worried over bookseller turnout, and I think we had the perfect number. I came home happy. (Obviously, I’m still on hiatus from writing…)