I hope you’ll all forgive me as I “cheat” for my blog today and I give you a little bit of “this” and a little bit of “that”. 
Honestly, this past week for me has been insane and I’m brain dead and I just can’t come up with a clever topic. 
Last week Don had major foot surgery on his OTHER foot, so he’s in a cast from his toes up to his knee and I’m running him around to doctor appointments and overall just being his maid since he’s immobile. During all this, I’ve been having problems with my teeth and I’m going in on Friday for THREE root canals. 
Then bone graphing that needs to be done as a result of a tooth infection that raged out of control and destroyed a good amount of the bone around these three teeth. :yikes:
So, I did come up with a few things to post today, and for me it was all “no-brainer” stuff so I didn’t have to think! 
First off, I wanted to announce the winners of Jaci Burton’s contest last week! We loved having her here as a guest blogger! The winners need to contact her directly at jaci@jaciburton.com with your mailing addresses.
Ardie (Comment #29) Surviving Demon Island
Jeannie & Zoey (Comment #34) Wild Wicked & Wanton
Now, for a bit of shameless bragging. I just recently found out from Night Owl Romance that BORN TO BE WILDE was selected as a finalist for their NOR Award for Best Print Contemporary Romance. :banana: I’m up against some great competition — some of which are MY favorite authors! Anyway, the cool thing about this contest is that the general reading public votes on all the categories. So, go and vote on your favorite books and authors here: Night Owl Romance NOR Awards
Recently I did an interview for Just Erotic Romance Reviews and realized that it’s been a very long time since I’d done an indepth interview for anyone, and the person interviewing me asked some great questions. So, I thought it would be fun to share it here — and hopefully some of you will learn something new about me that you’d never known before. :grin1:
Interview with Janelle Denison:
Q: When did you start writing seriously in order to become published? Did you always want to be a writer?
A: First I do have to say that I didn’t grow up wanting to be a writer. In fact, high school English was one of my worst subjects. I hated it! So, writing for a living never crossed my mind. It wasn’t until after I was married and I started reading romance novels that I realized how much I enjoyed them. At the time, I was reading a good 20 books a month, and my husband made the comment that since I liked reading romance novels so much why didn’t I try writing one? So, I did. That was nearly 20 years ago!
Q: How long did it take you to have your first book submission contracted?
A: It took me a good six years of writing before my first book was contracted. That first book was THE FAMILY MAN, written under the name Danielle Kelly, and was a short novella published by Harlequin. It took me another three years after that to sell my second book, HEAVEN’S GIFT to Leisure publishing, and yet another three years after that to sell my first Temptation, PRIVATE PLEASURES, back in 1997. Luckily, I’ve been selling my books steadily every since then.
Q: What motivated you to make the transition from series romance to mainstream? Was that something you had planned to do or did it just happen.i.e. You got the sort of offer that no author can refuse?
A: I did not make the transition from series romance to mainstream single titles easily. I know a big part of me would have been very happy to continue writing category romances, because I knew my genre and there was a certain sense of comfort writing what I knew best. But when Kensington started publishing stories for their erotic romance line, Brava, I submitted a novella idea and they bought it. From there, they wanted more stories from me, and asked me to write single titles. Yikes! I took the plunge and signed a two-book contract to write two single title Bravas, the first of which became the first of my Wilde books, WILDE THING.
Q: Have you always written romance?
A: Yes. I’m a romance purist. I look books with romantic elements and that end with a happy ending. I can’t imagine writing anything else.
Q: Have you considered writing any other category of romance i.e. paranormal, or are you perfectly happy where you are?
A: At the moment, I’m perfectly happy writing my contemporary romances, even as the paranormal market is flourishing all around me. I do enjoy reading a paranormal romance every once in a while, but when I think about writing one I’m very intimidated by the talent already out there. I’m a very linear writer – I find it hard to think in terms of creating new worlds and breeds. I have a lot of respect for authors who can do that, and do it well.
However, that being said, I have written one paranormal romance during my writing career, and that was HEAVEN’S GIFT, which is a story about an angel who comes down from heaven to protect her childhood sweetheart. It was published back in 1995 and is now out of print, but I’d love to see it back in print some day. I loved writing that story, but I don’t see myself writing any more paranormals.
Q: What do you like best about being a writer?
A: The thing I love the most about being a writer is that is has enabled me to be a stay at home mom with my two daughters. When I first started writing I had to work a full-time job (California’s cost of living is horrendous!), and that meant my kids were in daycare. I wrote at night when they were in bed, and after selling my 5th book and my writing career was on a steady rise, I made the decision to quit my day job and focus on writing full-time while raising my girls. At the time, they were 4 and 6 years old, and now they’re 15 and 17! Where has the time gone? I love that I’ve been able to be home for them for the past 11 years.
Q: How do you go about writing your books? Do you fly by the seat of your pants or do you outline your story first before writing?
A: I’m an “outline” type of writer. I need to know my characters, their conflicts, and the plot before I can start writing. I need to know that I DO have a story before I start writing it. When I write a synopsis of the story, it’s at least 12-15 pages long. If it’s any shorter, I’m afraid I won’t have enough story to fill 400 pages! That said, there have been times in writing a book that it’s taken a different direction than I’d anticipated, and in that case I do write by the seat of my pants. But not often!
Q: How long would you say that it takes for you to complete a book?
A: When I was writing category romances (Temptation/Blazes), it took me about 3 months to write a book. Now it takes me about 6 months to write a 400 page manuscript. I’ve published over 40 books, and I have to say that with each book that I write, it gets harder, not easier, and as a result it takes more time to write books!
Q: Describe a day in your life.
A: It’s very boring and mundane, LOL. My kids are out the door to go to school by 7:30 AM. I usually head into my office at that time (with coffee!), and check email, cruise the internet, or call Carly to chat. I get writing related stuff done (interviews, blogs, promotion, etc.), and like to settle into writing at about 10 AM. If I’m lucky, I can write until 2 PM when my girls get home, but the bad part about being a stay-at-home wife and mother is the fact that I’m HOME, and that makes it easy for me to get distracted from writing. Not a good thing, LOL! From 2-6 PM I spend with my girls. My husband is home from work about then so we eat dinner, watch a few TV shows together, and once the kids are in bed and my husband is doing his thing on the internet, I’ll head back into my office to try and get more work done. See, I truly live a normal, boring life!
Q: What has been, so far, the highlight of your career as a writer?
A: Being a RITA finalist was pretty exciting, and winning the National Reader’s Choice Award ranks pretty high, too. And of course selling my first book and making USA Today with my first single title. But ultimately, the highlight of my career has been being contracted and published by Berkley Books. They are a fabulous publisher and I love my editor, Cindy Hwang. I’m precisely where I want to be in terms of a publisher.
Q: How did your idea for the highly popular Wilde series come to be? Was it something that you had been mulling about, did someone suggest it to you? How did it all happen?
A: When Brava contracted me for my first two single titles, I knew I wanted to write about three brothers. My purpose for choosing their last name of Wilde was to use it as a play on words in the title of each of their books, to connect each story and make readers aware that it was all part of the same series. During the course of writing those Wilde brother’s books, four Wilde cousins were introduced, and readers started asking for those stories, as well. All in all, the Wilde family has spanned seven books, with BORN TO BE WILDE (out on bookstore shelves NOW) telling the story of Joel Wilde, the lone bachelor of the family.
Q: Do you have a set number of books planned as part of the Wilde series or are you keeping your options as to the future of this series open?
A: Well, there was only supposed to be 7 Wilde books, one story for each of the Wilde brothers, then the Wilde cousins. That 7th book, BORN TO BE WILDE, has been written and is just now hitting bookstore shelves. That should have been it for the Wilde series, but it seems like the Wilde books have taken on a life of their own. In BORN TO BE WILDE, you’ll be introduced to four of Joel’s ex-marine buddies, all of which work together at a security firm, and so the Wilde series will be spinning off into a new Wild series that isn’t about the Wilde family, yet you will see the Wilde characters throughout each of these new books. Because these new books are loosely related to the original Wilde’s, I decided to keep “Wilde” in the title, but dropped the “e” to make it “Wild”, so readers would know that it was part of the series. I’m writing the first book in that new series, WILD FOR HIM, which will be out in the summer of 2008.
Q: How comfortable are you about writing steamy love scenes? Do you have to force yourself to write them or does the inspiration come naturally depending on the characters?
A: With each book I write, the love scenes are more difficult to write. I think it’s because I strive to make each love scene different and unique, and after 40+ books, there’s only so much you can do, LOL! Sometimes the love scenes write themselves, depending again on the characters and the scene, and other time they take DAYS to write!
Q: If you could give some advice to hopeful romance authors, what would that advice be?
A: I have one bit of advice. If you are driven to write, and love the writing process and want to be published, DON’T GIVE UP. You’ll never know if the next book you write and submit will be the one to sell.
I hope you all enjoyed my “this ‘n that” today! I’ll be back next week with a regular blog. Promise! 
Janelle Denison finds it hard to believe that it’s been nearly 25 years since she first started writing romance novels. At first, it was a way to pass idle time while her husband worked swing shift, but before long it became an obsession to get published. Luckily, she kept at it (it took her over 5 years to get that first book published!) and is now a Waldenbooks, Barnes & Noble, and USA Today Bestselling author! Now, after selling over 45 plus novels, she finds that her Plotmonkey pals help to keep her stories fresh and unique, and she can’t imagine writing a story without their input. Janelle lives in Oregon with her husband, Don, along with two teenage daughters that keep life interesting.
Destiny
Dirty Little Secrets
Once Upon A Valentine
Through The Night
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HUGS on the root canals … I’m recovering today from one and I am so bad with pain. I’m seriously not a good patient, so I’m hurting. Hopefully you’re a lot stronger than me!
Congrats on the NOR finalist! Woo Hoo!
Everyone, Janelle also hit # 10 on WALDEN’S Bestseller List!
And Congrats Jeannie and Zoey, and Ardie on winning Jaci’s contest.
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Hey congrats Janelle, and Carly thanx for letting us know about the Walden list!
Sorry to hear about your root canals. I hope everything goes smoothly. I’m a big baby and can’t tolerate much pain. And I hope Don heals soon as well. Hugs to you all.
Congrats to the winners!
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:hug2: I’m sorry to hear about the yucky stuff going on. I hope Don heals quickly and that your root canals aren’t too bad. I’ll be thinking about you on Friday, maybe Carly can let us know how you’re doing.
Congrats on being a finalist for NOR and of course, I’ll go vote! Right now! That was a great interview, thanks for sharing.
I’m off to the surgeon with my 20 year old. Tonsilectomy time. After today, I think everyone is going to be on the road to recovery and we’ll get a break! I hope!
Hope everyone has a great day!!
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Hey Janelle, sorry to hear about Don’s foot AND your dental worries…it is quite understandable why you are so busy…I loved the interview questions and your responses were great too…the only new thing I learned though was that your next book is coming out in 2008…can’t wait for that one…I hope all goes well for you at the dentist…Have a nice day…gotta go to work now…
Love the new emoticons…pirates….
Congrats to Jeannie & Zoey and Ardie on winning the Jaci Burton contest…
Peace and love,
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Hi Janelle,
First, I feel your pain with having root canals. I had to have “3″ when I hit 40. I’m so sorry about the bone grafting. Oh, that doesn’t sound good. I’m sending you a big cyber hug along with this e-mail. :hug2:
Congratulations on being a nominee over at NOR. I actually voted for you the other day. I hope you are front and center in the winner’s circle. :banana:
Thank you for posting your interview.
Have a great day everyone
Cher
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Hey Janelle~
Hope you and your husband are both up and about and feeling better soon.
Congratulations on being selected as a finalist for the NOR Award. Your a winner in my book!
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Congrats Janelle on being a nominee over at NOR. I already voted this morning. Hope Don’s foot heals quickly and your 3 root canals aren’t too bad. I’m a big baby when it comes to dental stuff, but hope yours goes smoothly. :hug2: Sending a cyber hug and good thoughts your way.
Congrats to Ardie and Jeannie & Zoey for winning the Jaci Burton books.
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:hug2: :hug2: :hug2: :hug2: :hug2:Sending cyber hugs to Janelle :hug2: :hug2: :hug2:
Yey on the NOR finalist!
Yey to Jeannine and Ardie on the books (Zoey, too!).
I didn’t mean to freak anyone out with my random knowledge of Bruce dressed like a pirate yesterday. I just have this useless gift of remembering dumb stuff that really is not purposeful. I didn’t remember the name of the book (Thanks, Leslie). Obviously, I loved the book! Would my hubby dress like that? No way…he doesn’t have good looking legs…
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janelle,
I really enjoyed reading the interview.
Like you stated it is hard to write the love scences and make them different.
I know sometime I skip the love scence in a book just because it is the same ole same ole thing. Than goodness you plot monkeys find a way to make it unique and interesting.
:flamer:
I hope all goes well with the root canals.
I had lots of trouble 19 years ago with a root canal. Needless to say if you have too much pain it might be a sign of infection. Make sure your endodontist knows and give you something for the infection.
The endodontist rarely give antibiotics unless you are displaying symptoms of infection. Of the 3 root canals I have had ,each them got infected.
Take it easy. :dog1:
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Thanks for the well wishes, everyone — I so appreciate them! I love that we now have a “hugging” emoticon. :wub:
Gigi — I’m HEAVY duty antibiotics! :sicksick:
Congrats again to Jeannie and Ardie for winning Jaci’s books! whoo-hoo! And Zoey, be a good doggie and leave mommy’s books alone. They are not chew toys! :angel7:
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Arrgggh! :arrr: I’m sorry I missed yesterday’s post – you all had so much fun! Hey Janelle, congrats on being a finalist for the NOR award! I just went over and voted for you. Hope you hear
And I’m sorry to hear about you and Don. I hope he’s up and around soon and I’ll be sending get well wishes to you tomorrow. :hug2: Thanks for posting your interview. I enjoyed reading it!
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I just voted. They show you a chart … and we don’t have enough plotmonkey posters voting for Janelle. GO FORTH!
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Hi Carly! I saw the chart. Can we go back and vote every day? Or every hour? Cuz I’ll do it!
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Wow I won! Just in time for vacation too. Hubby :argue2:says
I have to cut back my book spending so this is terrific. :banana:
Thanks Jaci Burton and Plotmonkeys. You’re the best. :hug2:
Janelle cheat away. Nurse maid, bone graphing and
3
root canals. :bigcry:
I’d love to see “Heaven’s Gift” re-print. :heart1:
Now you’ll have to excuse me I have to
“Go Forth” :arrr: (Carly is still in pirate mode)
and Vote for Janelle :flower4you:
“Vote for Janelle?” Zoey questions.
“That’s right Zoey we have to run over to Night Owl Romance
(link above) and vote right now.” jeannie says excitedly.
“Well what are we waiting for? I love Janelle!” Zoey
exclaims.
Janelle I can’t believe JE is getting so many votes.
That was so not her best book and I do enjoy her writing.
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Wonderful interview Janelle!!
And congrats on the NOR final. I voted! GO GO GO! :banana:
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Congrats, Janelle! Very interesting interview, so thanks for posting that! And praying for a swift recovery for both you and Don!
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The NOR site says you can vote everyday until Oct 31.
Katie, I love that you knew the whole story of Bruce in the pirate outfit. My friends all tell me I’m the queen of useless information(but if we play a trivia game they all want to be on my team).
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I wish you the best and hope that you’ll soon feel better. I definitely feel your pain and can understand you : I myself had a teeth operation about three weeks ago and it still isn’t healing. So I know how you are feeling and what you’re going through. But believe: The bad things come to an end too.
I hope I’m easing your pain a little by telling you that after reading your blog I instantly voted for… have a guess…YOU of course.
I think you really deserve it.
great blog as always and a very interesting interview. Cyber -hugs from me, too. :hug2: :hug2: :hug2:
So, see you soon :wave:
And keep thinking about the good thins in life;it will definitely help you :flower4you:
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Janelle, good luck with the root canals, not one of my favorite things. I did not have any pain after any of mine but I did not have the bone grafting. I’m sure that changes everything. :hug2: I hope Don’s recovery from foot surgery goes well. You two will be quite a pair! Take good care of both of you. :hug2:
Congratulations on NOR. I’m going to go vote now.
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Congrats on the nomination. It is well deserved.
I hope the dentist is kind and gentle and your husband waits on you
while you recooperate. :flower4you:
The article is wonderful and insightful. Thank you for letting us read it. Your forty books are an inspiration.
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Enjoyed the interview. I’ve been trying to do a hodgepodge on the synopsis-no synopsis thing, and have found that I’m definitely a synopsis-before-writing person. At least before writing the bulk of the story. The first couple of chapters seem to leap out.
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Liza: Yeah, I beat everyone at Trivial Pursuit…it’s funny…I just hope Leslie and Bruce didn’t think I was creepy
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Katie,
They were so busy “Swashbuckling” they probably didn’t even notice.
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Oh WOW!
Carly’s site has the winner list for the Digger Dogs.
This a very special day. I won a digger and a Book.
Zoey had a shot this morning :sicksick:she is resting quietly or
I am sure she would be dancing on the desktop too.
Don’t forget Carly’s book release date is raaaaaapidly approaching.
That’s right “Sealed With a Kiss” 4 days 8 hours blink blink minutes.
:wub:What a vacation I am going to have :wub: 
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I just went and cast my vote
It says you have until October 31 to vote. :dog1:
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Am so glad the Wilde family is going to live on!
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Wow what a nice surprise. This is for everyone :hug2: I hope that everyone will be feeling better really soon. Congrats, Janelle on the NOR award. I will be casting my vote daily for that “Wilde” man.
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Hi, Janelle,
So sorry about your root canals (my teeth scaling at Periodontist is tomorrow, so, dental must be in…), & hope both you & Don improve swiftly.
Just voted at NOR.
Wanted to let you know that I feel BTBW is your best ST yet. I love character-driven stories, & this book is laden with character elements, & light on action–just the way I like it. Other than you, I am the 2nd happiest that you moved to Berkley, because, as you may remember, I will no longer purchase a Brava book after the word, “retard”, hit print in one of its anthologies. Another of my fave authors, Kathryn Shay, also writes STs for Berkley, so, hope the publisher does really well.
Again, fingers crossed on the dental surgery.
Patricia A.
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Katie, no worries. A creepy Plotmonkey fan? Never heard of such a thing! Actually, I was impressed. I used to be really good at Trivial Pursuit too. Back when all the brain cells were functional.
Jeannie I can neither confirm nor deny your comment. I can only say that I do not swashbuckle and tell.
Janelle, chalk up another vote.
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Bruce:
I am glad you don’t think I am creepy….I am really not creepy. I always think I should just go to the RWA conference, show my face to the plotmonkeys and go, ‘see, I am not creepy!!!” I am about as plain Jane as they get (extremely boring….I give myself a guilt trip if I speed)…
LOL on the swashbuckling comment, Jeannine…..remember, they do have a door, now!
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Well Bruce,
I wouldn’t expect anyless of one of Janelle’s Hunkie Pirates :arrr:
Just make sure you keep Leslie in a creative writing mode.
I’m such a :dominatrix: pushy reader.
No details required!
Julie,
My 12 year old Grand Daughter :arrr: is going to be a pirate for
Halloween. She’s my reader.
Strong adventurous women run in the family.
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Katie – it obviously wasn’t useless information because it won you a book! It’s like hubby collecting all this random hardware (nuts, bolts, screws, hex head nuts, etc.) you just never know when you might need that particular one.
Son’s tonsilectomy went great. I’m more worried about him now because he’s in the care of his room mates. He’s assured me they’ll take good care of him but I think I’m gonna go check on him in a little bit just to make sure. Their idea of taking care is a pizza and 6 pack. Both major no-nos!
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bring vanilla ice cream, mom!
no laughing matter when over 8 years old.
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He’s got lots of ice cream, apple sauce and chicken soup. I just went to check on him and they said he had eaten really well (good stuff) and they’d given him his medicine just like they were supposed to so I feel better. One of the guy’s girlfriend is staying tonight and she’s very mothering so I’m sure he’ll be OK.
Janelle – I’ll be sending lots of good vibes and thoughts your way tomorrow! :hug2:
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Janelle, good luck with the root canals. I had one many years ago. It wasn’t too bad, but good luck nonetheless. :)
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wtg Janelle . the book was great.
:banana: 
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loved born to be wilde and overexposed. thanks for writng great . sexy books ladies.
:banana: 