Live Like You Were Dying....

I haven't had that great of a start to today. I just found out my terrific editor is leaving the profession to concentrate on her own writing career. I can understand. As meticulous and gifted as she is with editing, it's got to take its toll on her creativity...and her time. We've still got one project we're working on together, and I know she's passing me on to good hands but...

....I'm broken hearted. As I told her, I can't decide if I want to cry or throw up.

To help me feel a bit better, though, I'm heading out in a bit for a Tim McGraw concert with my dear buddy Charlene Sands. I figure this is our sixth concert hunting him down LOL. He's not only a hottie, but the author of much of my life around here:

Live Like You Were Dying became one of our anthems during and since testicular cancer. My Little Girl is the beautiful, tear-jerking song our own little girl picked for her daddy-daughter dance at her wedding three months ago.

And My Old Friend brings to our heart and mind our own dearest friend, my twin brother Mike, who passed away two years ago come Christmas.

I fear I'll be plenty tearful during the concert, don't you?

Tanya Writes About Cowboytown Redux

Sometimes pictures really are worth a bazillion words!



The guys rocking our world.



My hero and me. Isn't he a cutie?



Same here for our dear friends, Charlene Sands and hubby Don.



Grub was good. Shrimp...what else?

Thanks for the pix, Char!

Tanya Writes About Cowboytown

Ditsy Tanya's Almanac #6

It's gonna hurt every now and then. If you fall, get back on again.
--Dunn, Brooks, McBride, Terry



Of course, cowgirls do cry. Once in a while when the journey's tough. But...they get those tears wiped off right away, and often with the help of friends.

In this case, it's my dear friend, award-winning romance author Charlene Sands.

Valentine's Day 2008 wasn't a good one for my hero and me. It was his fourth day of chemo (3 X BEP) and already he wasn't in the mood for See's Candy Bordeaux chocolate hearts. I got him some anyway. And the day at the hospital, that first round, was about eight hours long. So Charlene took me out to lunch. It isn't the first time she's "saved" me from crying my eyes out, but normally it's a rejection. This time was pretty serious.

So a while back, she found that Brooks and Dunn were coming to L.A. Did I want to go? Well, duh. So we asked our hubbies, who both like country music and B and D in particular, and it was decided for the four of us to celebrate Valentine's Day a few days late.

Last night was the big night. We had dinner first (shrimp, what else) at Bubba Gump's (all of us knew all of the waitstaff's questions about the movie), then trekked into a throbbing theatre of eager fans. What's not to like about cowboy music? The guys didn't disappoint.

None of them. Not even the two opening acts: Gloriana and Jason Michael Carroll.

(The only teensie disappointment for me was the guys not doing "That Ain't No Way to Go...") But they far made up for it. Pausing dramatically during "Cowgirls Don't Cry..." my hero jabbed me and said, here she comes.

And there she was. In the flesh. Reba joined them on stage for the that magnificent refrain. Wish she could have stayed longer. But wow.

And during "Only in America," there wasn't a dry eye in the house when four servicemen joined the guys on stage. Red, white, and blue streamers shot through the air like a thunderstorm.

And ZZ Topp coming out for a guitar riff. Wow.

Whew. My ears are still ringing a bit, but I am soooo sorry it's over. It was a to-die-for Valentine's Day...just gotta wonder what next year will bring?

Well, whatever it is, I'll have my own personal hero and my wonderful friends by my side.

Tanya Writes About LARA

Well, whereas Blogger still considers me spam (arrrrrrgh), The Los Angeles Romance Authors (LARA) realize I am an honest-to-goodness real person who wrote a real book.

Today was awesome. Although I don't understand why the meetings are held on Sunday mornings, (I actually like to go to church LOL), I love attending them. So many friendly, supportive people. We had a great speaker today, one of our own who delivered a handout and some helpful advice for writing action scenes...I don't have a lot of action sequences yet for my cowboys, although my first hero (Thomas/Luke in The Outlaw's Woman) had been a fictional James relative and participant in the Northfield, Minnesota Raid.

I actually had researched the raid and written a jam-packed, fact-filled action scene to start the novel when my critique partner and marvelous friend, author Charlene Sands read it and said, Hmmmmm. Let's leave this for backstory, maybe. Or a nightmare he has. And get him and the heroine meeting instead. Sound advice. Charlene is very successful, award-winning and best-selling, so I have learned to listen and take her advice.

To make a long story short, I fixed what ailed it and the book finaled in a major contest and got pubbed pretty quick...

Brix and Minda herself both tangle with outlaws in Marrying Minda but a Jackie Chan-esque scenario, uh-uh. But who knows what the future will hold. Trish Albright gave a great talk.

The Big Deal about today at LARA for me was getting treats for having sold Marrying Minda. A lovely white rose...and a gorgeous silver bracelet with one link as a tiny pink book. Now, I'm only a two-month member. The wondrous gift totally touched my heart.

That's a phrase I sometimes can't help using in my stories, and it is way apt, I think.

After that, Charlene took me to lunch for my birthday. September features my big day and I've been partying for at least three of them now. Great fun, getting presents just for getting born.

Then there's SPEW. I can't quite remember that the acronym words are, but it transpires to setting a goal today and starting tomorrow, finish that goal within the week. So I set a goal of writing 50 pages. I have a sequel in mind.

I've got one of those minds that never sleeps.

Well, I'll save a discussion of my birthday for some other day. It'll be hard blog to write, that one. For my twin brother died last Christmastime. This is my first birthday without him.

And despite the gatherings and fun, gifts and special meals, it's a tough one.

Tanya Writes About X-rated Fortune Cookies (adult content here)

Well, the grandbaby was here all weekend. The photos have been taken. Marley has had her last meal...a double cheeseburger. And while she's perky and bendy and as adorable as always, tomorrow is the day she'll cross the Rainbow Bridge and find her "big sister" Tawny waiting to play. The ugly thing that came to live with us again is a time-bomb inside her, waiting to hemorrhage and end her life in a most unpleasant way. So this is humane, better for her.

Dreadful for me. This is one of the most agonizing decisions I've ever had to make.

Like a true hero, my hero is bearing the burden of taking her in tomorrow, walking the green mile with her. And I, well, I am getting a massage. I can't think of anything else that will unwind the knots in my neck. Just as I can't think of anything to mend my breaking heart.

But I digress. I promised a blog on X-rated Fortune Cookies!

In San Francisco for the RWA convention, my dear friend, roommate, and critique partner Charlene Sands and I took an afternoon away from the convening hordes to shop in Chinatown. We found adorable souvenirs for the fam...and came across traditional Chinese-food boxes claiming to contain a dozen X-rated fortune cookies. Now, what are two self-respecting romance authors supposed to do?

Buy them for their husbands, of course. (We debated on getting a box for our sons...mine is a young husband with a baby boy, hers in a nearly-engaged relationship, but we decided that might be WEIRD for our boys, getting something X-rated from their mommies...)

So the night I got home, after being apart from my hero for four days...I figured the magic cookie would be, well, X-rated, leading to, well. You know. Here's what I got:

"Men who sleep with canaries get twerpies"

Huh?

(It didn't matter. We still got to the, you know.)

It gets better. And just so that you know, I got shorted one whole fortune. One cookie was totally empty. Hmmmm...maybe that was the truly X-rated one.

So I decided to open all the rest, keep the chips of broken cookie in a ZipLoc bag just in case I/we get a sweet tooth some time.

(Or not. They aren't that bad but might go out in next week's trash.)

1. Man who eat many beans can make own bubble bath.

(Hmmmmmmm. Never quite equated passing gas with sex...)

2. Sex drive begins with puberty and ends with marriage.
(Totally disagree here....although not about the puberty part.)

3. Man with ugly wife takes her everywhere so he doesn't have to kiss her good-bye.
(Dude, you picked her.)

4. Safe sex for politician is no reporters.
(Or: no interns for Bill Clinton, and no video makers for John Edwards. Although this fortune definitely fits L.A.'s Antonio Villaragosa.)

5. Sex is like jello --there is always room for more.
(Agreed.)

6. Three words guaranteed to destroy a man's ego: "IS IT IN?"
(Not a guy and never had to hear 'em, but I kinda have to agree, having never had to say 'em.)

7. Difference between "ooh" and "aah" is about three inches.
(That male ego!)

8. Bald man has hole in pocket so he can scratch his head now and then.
(Bald where? LOL)

9. Man who spend time in nudist colony find first day is hardest.
(Yeah, it took me a while with this one, too. Duh.)

10. A pecker is like payday: Neither one comes often enough.
(Okay, not one for crude slang, I'm blushing a little.)

So there you have it. One of my few experiences with X-rated materials. Now, help me out: what sage wisdom (or randy advice) do you think should have been in the empty cookie?

Keep it clean, dudes and dudettes. This is a family blog!

Tanya Writes About the National RWA Conference

At my first Romance Writers of America national convention a few years ago, a friend told us of riding down the elevator and hearing two guys chat.

"There sure are a lot of women in this hotel right now," one mused to his buddy.

"Yeah," his friend replied. "I think it's a lesbian convention."

Needless to say, the remark still draws laughter. Truth is, romance writers come in all shapes and sizes, all classes, cultures, ages and genres. Yes, there is lesbian fiction. But there are a few guys who write romance, too.

We've all got one common goal: romance and happy endings for a couple in love.

I was excited to attend this years national in San Francisco. For one thing, its a to-die-for city although RWA's busy schedule doesn't allow for a great deal of touring. Most of all, I wanted to meet an editor and an agent I've had my eyes on.

Fortunately I met both, and each requested some projects. (Maybe it helped that a recent reviewer compared Midnight Bride, my current release at Cobblestone Press, to the writing of Diana Palmer LOL.) Whatever, that was a goal attained. (Next goal: getting them to buy/sell my stuff!)

I traveled with my wonderful friend, author Charlene Sands, and our friend Kathy Bennett who writes arresting cop suspense. Writing is a pretty solitary occupation, and I'm at best, worst? --a total homebody who likes hanging out with my hero best of all. So large groups are a tad overwhelming. Charlene, who won the Booksellers Best Award for her sizzling Desire, Fortune's Vengeful Groom, and I managed to spend half a day shopping in Chinatown. And we had dinner with two of our great friends who used to be our neighbors but now live in other states --Gail Ranstrom who writes wonderful Regencies. And Cynthia Cooke, whose dark edgy works have landed her contracts with Nocturne.

Over dinner at The Stinking Rose (read garlic-- I even asked for my salmon vampire-style) Cynthia and I discussed vampire sex. How does he, you know, get it up if he doesn't have a living heart to get blood flow? How does he get breathless if he's, like dead and doesn't need air?

Oh, it's a mystery.

I bought so many books at the literary signing of authors I know or long to read that my suitcase at the airport was one and a half pounds over. All I had to do was remove two of them! And I need to let Cynthia know that the research book I bought, The Science of Vampires has a whole chapter on vampire sex. Whatever, the proceeds of all books signed and sold goes to Adult Literacy, and almost $60,000 was raised that night alone!

Hearing keynote speaker Victoria Alexander was a howling success. What a great speech, full of anecdote, wit, wisdom, and humor. I learned that after her third book, when her hubby Chuck confessed he hadn't read her books, she decided that in every future book she wrote, somehow, somewhere, some character would have a dead husband named Charles.

Best of all was meeting staff from The Wild Rose Press, my new publishing home for Marrying Minda. And also at that "Meet and Greet" were members of SARA --San Antonio Romance Authors-- who recently awarded Minda first place in the historical division of the Merritt "Magic Moment" Contest. What a night.

But it is good to be home, though. However, while I was away, we did get bad news about Marley so that's the next emotional venue for this romance writer. But until I'm up to writing that blog, let me know what books you like to read.

Western romance? Vampires? Paranormal? Short contemps? Rich historical fiction like Phillippa Gregory? Oldies but goodies by Georgette Heyer? John Adams?

Let me know!


Next up: The Greatest American Dog

Tanya Writes About Romance Book Cover Heroes

See today's picture? You must agree that's a romance book cover waiting to happen. That hat. That confident pose. Can't you just hear the drawl? That's my friend Richard and yes, he just happens to be from Texas. I don't write contemporary romance, but if I did....

Or if we remove those shades and stick Richard on a horse....

Yowza. Any self-respecting romance reader will agree with me.
We've all got hearts, souls....and libidos.

Once again, I write about heroes. Those hunks who inhabit the books I like to read and write.

After all, women read romance novels for the guys, not the gals. Of course we don't want our heroines to be bimbos or weaklings. They should be liberated in every way, beautiful of course but not overwhelmingly so. Not too slutty and never stupid. But it's the hero that makes a book. The hero has got to be somebody we fantasize about.

He must make our hearts pitter. Our skin sizzle. Whew.

And how best to draw a female's attention? A smokin' hot book cover!

Scroll below to July 13 to see my friend Charlene Sands' latest cover. How's that for a hero? Smoldering gaze. Determined jaw. Stetson situated just right. A bit mouth-watering, right? Notice what's missing?

A girl! We females don't need any competition. Heck, we might not measure up to some artist's vision. And we gotta identify with that heroine.

Another writing pal landed book cover art that's sans the hero's head. It's a close-up his chest! Shirtless. We get to do our own imagining as to what he looks like. Other than those chiseled abs.

Now, my own personal hero, my husband, is always the standard for my fictional guys. Dark eyes, dark hair, a moustache. Forceful and strong but gentle and caring. A man of few words but who makes each syllable count.

However, you will notice that Midnight Bride's cover hero does not have that moustache. Well, in the book he started out with one, but the cover artwork was so gorgeous without that I excised facial hair in the edits. Whew. I think Jed Jones is dreamy. That's one face the artist didn't need to leave off.

But back to real life and real-life heroes, including my pal Richard. We've all got 'em in our lives. Those who triumph over adversity, who stand by our sides no matter what, who lend a hand when we fall. Most times they do it before we know we've tripped.

Dang, my hero has spared me plenty of skinned knees.

Here's to real-life heroes. May they all have story-book endings.


Tomorrow: My RWA Adventures in San Francisco

Tanya Writes About her Friend, award-winning author Charlene Sands

Well, today I've got to tell you about another hero of mine. Make that heroine. Charlene Sands, best-selling author at both Harlequin Historical and Silhouette Desire.

In the former, she writes yummy romances about Western heroes of days-gone-bye...sexy ranchers, delicious bounty hunters and killer sheriffs. And her contemp heroes for Desire are always cowboys. Even as they don the modern guise of oilman or mogul, they've wearing their Stetsons and are no stranger to horseback in addition to their sportscars.

Charlene has been an inspiration to me both as author and as friend. A while back, after years of reading romance novels, I aspired to write one. But the publishing world was such an unknown, vast universe. When I found that the national foundation Romance Writers of America had a local chapter, I figured I ought to join...

But that first meeting was a tough one for me. First off, the location is a good two hours from home, and I'm not that confident of a driver. Then there was the aspect of walking into a convention room filled with hundreds of strangers. (That chapter is one of the country's biggest, most active, and most influential.)

But my hero badgered me until one day, I made it there, swallowed my nerves...and met Charlene. Adoring her is not hard; she's friendly and charming and made me feel at ease right away.

Better yet, we found out we don't live all that far apart! Friendship was easy. Our hubbies get along. And when she offered to help critique my work, well, I couldn't resist.

So it is with pleasure that I send along some news from Charlene's latest newsletter.
I hope you'll visit her website and tell her I sent you there! And don't forget to enter her "Summer and Sands" contest.

Her new Desire Mini-Series launches in August with Five-Star Cowboy. The book is already getting a warm reception --and excellent reviews.

Here's just a few quick snippets of reviews:

4 1/2 Stars **** Romantic Times Book Reviews

Five-Star Cowboy has a surprise coming when Julia strikes a purely professional tone, especially after finding out that he sabotaged one of her potential account to get her out there.Trent is delightfully clueless and Julia is tough enough to teach him a lesson in Charlene Sands' terrific and steamy romance.


Charlene Sands does a good job of making these characters a bit hard-headed so that their relationship has even a bit more oomph. FIVE-STAR COWBOY is a spicy and enjoyable romance. Julia and Trent make you believe in happily-ever-after.

Romance Junkies

Series books are so much fun to read when the author allows us to visit with past friends from other books. Charlene Sands did this in Five Star Cowboy to the benefit of the story. Trent had a lot of learn and Julia was just the one to teach him. Creative and capable, she was also the one to bring his hotel into five star status with her marketing ideas. Superb romance reading highlight Five Star Cowboy with its twist and turns. Charlene Sands continues to deliver satisfaction for her readers.

** ** ** ** **

The end of this month, I'll be joining Charlene at the annual national RWA convention in gorgeous San Francisco. She'll be autographing her books at the Literacy Book Signing where more than 400 romance authors convene to sign their books. All proceeds go to promote literacy in the U.S.!

And I'll be there rooting for her at the Bookseller's Best Award Ceremony. Charlene's a double finalist with Fortune's Vengeful Groom and Bodine's Bounty. Wish her luck!

As if that's not enough to keep a busy author breathless, Charlene's participating in a Harlequin Author Forum, and Saturday she'll be on a panel called Romancing the Internet and speaking about her blogging experiences on Petticoats and Pistols.

Since www.petticoatsandpistols.com is one of my favorite internet addictions, I'll be in the autience for sure!

Well, I've been so happy to introduce Charlene Sands to you. Don't be a stranger!

www.charlenesands.com
www.petticoatsandpistols.com