Plot Monkeys

QUESTION: While in Atlanta with the Plotmonkeys, what stories did each of you plot, and can you tell us a bit about those stories?

JD: I plotted my next “Wilde” book, which is actually going to be a spin-off into a new series I’m calling the “Elite” series. (You’ll still get updates on the Wilde family in these books, but there aren’t any more of the Wilde family to write about!) This book will tell the story of one of Joel’s Marine friends that he’s in business with, and we came up with a fun and sexy story I can’t wait to write. Security specialist Jon Knight is hired to watch over sexy, spontaneous night club promoter, Jillian Shaw after her father, who is running for governor, starts receiving death threats against himself and his daughter. Except Jillian has no intention of going into hiding when she has work obligations to fulfill and one of the biggest nights of her life that could make or break her career as a night club promoter. So, Jon is forced to kidnap Jillian in the middle of the night and takes her to the family estate where he can watch over her until the election is over. What ensues is a battle of wills, (Jillian is a feisty, independent heroine!), and the kind of close confinement that leads to a whole lot of sexy situations that the hero is hard pressed to resist! But once the election is over and Jon and Jillian return to civilization, the threats take on a different twist and turn that neither one of them ever suspect.

I came to Atlanta with no idea of what my next story would be, and I have to admit that it took us a long time to nail an idea that “sparked” for me. But once Julie and Leslie hit on this story idea, I knew it was perfect for me, and my characters, and promises to be the kind of fun, sexy story I love to write. Carly chimed in with character and conflict, and whaa-laa, I now have a fully formed idea and story. While this will be the first book in the “Elite” series, I had a talk with my Berkley editor in Atlanta, and we decided to keep the “Wild” titles (but drop the “e” at the end) so readers would know that these books are loosely connected to the Wilde series. I can’t wait to get started on this one!

CP: I came to Atlanta knowing I’d recently decided to continue the HOT ZONE series because of reader letters asking for more books. Also thanks to reader letters (see, we DO listen!), the first story is going to be John Roper and Amy’s (Riley’s cousin) story. The three titles are tentatively: (HOT PROPERTY, HOT TICKET, HOT STREAK). We plotted Roper and Amy’s story and I am really jazzed. It turns out Roper has a close knit family – who knew! – and he’s the man of the house. The YES man. Anything his mother or sister need, Roper says yes! And until now, he’s had the money to back up their desires. But what happens when he’s in a professional slump, has an injury that may prevent him from returning to baseball, when he’s lost money in an investment and now his sister wants the wedding of her dreams? The pressure is mounting on our favorite guy who loves the finer things. Bring in Amy who has arrived from Florida, ready to turn her life around. She meets up with Roper in her job as a party planner, helped along by her cousin by marriage, Sophie Jordan, who has just the connections to hook Amy up with THE party of the year – Roper’s sister’s wedding. They each have something huge at stake – they each need to succeed – but their goals are very different. Roper needs a small wedding. Amy needs a blowout to launch her business. And of course then there’s the little problem of falling in love …. OK this is a loose idea. But you get the gist. I’m psyched! Now back to finishing SEALED WITH A KISS …

LK: I was there to get the monkeys to help me figure out what to do with the next Trouble book, which comes out next summer. I had it plotted out but it needed some refining, which they were able to help me do. It’s the story of Mike Taylor, (Max’s younger brother) who is a cold case detective in NYC. He comes to Trouble to visit Mortimer, and meets this sexy, smart-ass woman stranded out in the middle of nowhere (she was dumped by her great-aunts, Ida Mae and Ivy.) The two of them get caught up in a 40 year old murder mystery–an up and coming rock-and-roller who may have been murdered by the heroine’s own great aunt. Should be lots of fun and a worthy follow-up to Here Comes Trouble. (Only, from what I found out today, suddenly it won’t be called Trouble Or Nothing…Harlequin has decided I have to change the whole concept of covers/titles…can’t say I’m sorry aboutu the change in covers, but I sure did like those Trouble titles!)

Other than that, we also plotted my next Blaze, a “Bad Girls Club” book next September. It’s the last of the Santori family stories–about brother Nick, who’s been off in the Marines throughout all the Santori stories. His family is pushing him to find a “nice girl and settle down” and he thinks he’s found one–the sweet, pretty, quiet baker at the local Italian bakery. But by night, he’s totally out of his mind hot over a masked stripper who’s driving the men of Chicago wild…never realizing they are one and the same woman.

Can’t wait to write that one!

JEL: I also plotted my “Bad Girls Club” Blaze. Mine will be out in August of next year. (Tori Carrington is writing the third in the series…this is a redux of the series we did in Temptation.) Mine will have a paranormal touch, as my heroine is a witch who had her powers stripped because she was using them for personal gain. (Shades of Charmed, yes, I know.) She hooks up with a former lover who left her because of her powers. He’s a no-nonsense, Show-Me state cop who didn’t appreciate my heroine manipulating him, but she might just have the key to take down a crooked lawyer who possibly has powers of his own. I know it sounds heavily paranormal, but actually, since the heroine’s powers are gone, she has to learn how to manipulate the hero with her more ‘natural’ charms rather than the supernatural ones. Should be fun. It will lead into a witch-themed anthology I’m doing the very next month with Rhonda Nelson and Mia Zachary.

We also finalized the storyline on the third Marisela Morales adventure. I can’t say much without giving away quite a bit of DIRTY LITTLE LIES, but this one is called TALK DIRTY TO ME and the plot will revolve around a stolen Church relic, Marisela’s struggle with her faith in both herself and in a higher power, Cuban politics (very timely!) and will feature quite a bit of the Max character, who was a reader favorite from DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS. We learn all sorts of cool stuff about him…and how he affects Marisela’s life. And of course, Frankie will be sniffing around, luring Marisela into all sorts of carnal delights. Only he’s not exactly working WITH Marisela anymore…they’re working together yes…but also against each other. I’m writing the synopsis right now.

Of course, this book won’t be written unless DLL sells well and Pocket invests in the next book. Cross your fingers!

As I read over all that we plotted during a super-busy conference, I’m amazed all over again. We’re a fine-oiled monkey machine!

Here Comes Trouble!!!

In honor of my current release, and in honor of the fabulous Monkey pj’s Julie got all of us for Atlanta, I’m offering this week’s Jungle Madness winner a chance to be an honorary Plotmonkey. You’ll get your very own Monkey PJ top…with my favorite slogan, HERE COMES TROUBLE!!!

Along with the sleep shirt, the winner will get an autographed copy of either She Drives Me Crazy, or She’s Got The Look, my first two HQN single title romances. Both of them are full of trouble, too!

Just comment and I’ll draw a random winner this weekend.

Speaking of HERE COMES TROUBLE, here’s a shameless plea: I could REALLY use your support on this book. I’m very worried about the future of the TROUBLE books and a vote in the bookstore could make a big difference for me. So if you like my books in the past, or like the excerpts you’ve read, and you are thinking of buying the book, I am falling on my knees begging you to do it. I *promise*–if you like my books, you will NOT be disappointed by this one. It’s very funny, very sexy, very outrageous.

Begging done. As always, THANK YOU for your amazing support and encouragement!

Leslie

Food.
It may not be the obvious topic of choice for my blog about the RWA National conference in Atlanta, but as you’ll see, it’s the most fitting. First, you should know that Janelle usually comes to the conference as the goodie lady and I’m not talking about promo products. Hershey’s kisses with caramel, nestles milk chocolate, chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. You name it, she brings it. I love it! Not this year. This year we both came armed with protein and energy bars. If nothing else, we were determined to come home and not have gained weight.

My problems with food began the very first day. In the airport, I ate a 2 point Weight Watchers bar because I had no time to eat breakfast at home. On landing, while waiting for my luggage, I had another bar because I was starving and knew I wouldn’t make it to the next meal. At noon, I had lunch with Nancy Berland, my publicist at the Ritz Carlton Hotel. By the time I arrived, I was so hungry, a mere salad wasn’t going to cut it. I had a hamburger and fries, took off the top of the roll, and inhaled everything else on the plate. You see? This is what happens when you skip breakfast, the most important meal of the day.

After a cocktail party at Stephanie Bond’s, where we experienced true southern hospitality, off we went to dinner where the plotmonkeys ate with our editor Brenda Chin and talented historical and contemporary author Jacquie D’Alessandro. (The gorgeous woman in the teal dress) It doesn’t help that Jacquie is the cutest thing going or that she dresses to the nine’s making the rest of us (me) feel like chopped liver, but I love her anyway. She is just one of those honestly good folk. A little Southern talk here. Plus she likes dessert. And speaking of dessert …

Dailey’s can be described in one word: DESSERT. Dessert was included in the price of dinner and there was an entire bar devoted to displaying the choices. Needless to say, everyone ordered something different and we shifted the plates around the table. I’m a picky eater and so once I tasted the bread pudding, I refused to share. No matter how delicious the other desserts looked, I only liked the pudding. Like Daffy Duck says, “Mine, mine, mine, all mine!”

Wednesday morning, I had breakfast with my agent, Robert Gottlieb and Jenny Bent. I ordered my usual AM meal, Raisin Bran cereal and skim milk. The plotmonkeys love making fun of me because I will happily pay a $20 room service bill to have my fix late at night. Then we plotted and as everyone said, boy did we rock. The next HOT ZONE story will be John Roper and Riley’s cousin Amy from Florida’s story and I can not wait to dig into writing it!

Wednesday’s plan was to work all day and eat late in the afternoon in order to hold us over for the Literacy Signing, where the authors sit from 5:30 – 8:30 and have no time for dinner. Let me tell you something now. Raisin Bran does NOT hold one over until 4 PM. I was a raving bitch. And yes, I said it, the other monkeys didn’t have to. Starve me and I go mad. By the time we made it down to the restaurants, I was downright nasty. Still we were able to get a table in the bar and once again, starving beyond belief, I ordered a hamburger and fries. I’m supposed to be watching my cholesterol AND my food intake. I wasn’t happy with myself but I can honestly say it was the best hamburger I’ve ever had in my entire life. Stomach full, I was ready to take on the three hour Literacy signing.

At Literacy, I only had copies of CROSS MY HEART. This is a good and a bad thing. Good because readers wanted it. Bad because it hit shelves the day before and it’s always better to sell where it counts towards first week of sales. Good because the money goes to Literacy. Bad because not all readers there want to pay money for a hardcover. I sold about a case and a three quarters – roughly 30 or so books. Pretty darn good! And I got to catch up with old friends: Kimberly Raye (can’t WAIT for her new book Dead End Dating). I waved to Sophia Nash because what else can you do for three hours with tables separating you? Sophia did throw chocolate kisses at me, feeding me when I was hungry, and boy was I grateful! I sat next to Barbara Pierce who writes historicals and is just about the sweetest person ever, and many many more.

Back to food, on Thursday I had breakfast with Liz Pearson’s from Brilliance Audio, who publishes my hardcovers in audio format. I love her. We have so much in common and she’s gushes over my books and my covers (but that’s not why I think she’s so great – she just IS). Anyway, I had THE best Crispy French Toast – LoCholesterol – dipped in eggwhites – that I have ever had. I even poured Equal over it instead of sugar (I like sugar not maple syrup on my French Toast) and pretended it wasn’t fattening. Again, I licked the plate clean. I had a chicken salad for lunch, and dinner was, shall we say … interesting?

First Janelle and I went to our agents’ party (Trident Media Group) and then we dinner plans with Robert Gottlieb, Jenny Bent, and author duo Tori Carrington, Tony and Lori Karayianni, who write the Sophie Metropolis series. The original plan was to go to Dailey’s but since we’d been there and didn’t want to repeat the cake, Robert graciously agreed to make reservations somewhere else. That somewhere else ended up being: FAT MATT’S RIB SHACK. We received an email confirming that read like this: Hi! The 8.45pm Thursday dinner following the Trident party has been changed to FATT MATT’S RIB SHACK, a short (4 mile) cab ride from the hotel. It is first come, first serve, cash only, no tight ties. Have fun! Amy Assistant to Robert Gottlieb. We were prepared. We changed from party clothes into jeans and it’s a good thing we did!

Right next to Fat Matt’s Rib Shack is Fat Matt’s Chicken Shack. The chicken shack was closed but I’m not sure why. The Rib shack was packed. And rocking. There was a band but we’ll get to them later. This is WORLD FAMOUS FAT MATT’S RIB SHACK. We waited and quickly got a table. Tony and Robert, ever the gentlemen, went up to order and bring the food to the table. No waitresses or waiters, only bus boys. The menu was on the wall. See? To make it easier for Tony and Robert, we wrote our orders on a piece of paper – Janelle and I wanted BBQ chicken. We wrote: 2 ½ Chickens. Meaning, we each wanted a ½ chicken from the menu. We told this to Tony as we handed him the paper. Tony has the cutest Greek accent and sometimes things get lost in translation. So Tony looked at the paper and said, “You want two and a half chickens?” All I could picture were two whole chickens coming out of the kitchen. Alive. Not sure where the half would have come from. “No, Tony, we want 2 half chickens.” He nodded. We weren’t sure what we’d get, but Tony got it right. Hurray!

The atmosphere was so much fun and as I said, rocking. The band was playing loudly. Robert called his wife so she could hear for herself. And I took a look at them and said, “I get dibs on the drummer.” I really don’t know what possessed me to say it or why I thought I was so funny. But I did. So I took his picture, knowing I’d show you all and hope you thought it was funny too. But maybe you just had to be there! I ate my half chicken which was delicious and I should have left it at that, but wouldn’t you know, they had to serve 2 pieces of white bread with the dinner. You know the kind? Soft and mushy like Wonder Bread – ready to dip into the BBQ sauce. Yum. So I ate them. Both. Crust and all. Sigh.

By Friday, the plotmonkeys learned to work around my eating schedule and so I had a normal breakfast and they agreed to a 1 o’clock or so lunch so I couldn’t pass hungry and get to bitchy. I had a wrap and was a good girl. Until dinner at the HQN Author dinner, where I ate not only the chicken, but the entire cheesecake. It was worth it. I also had so much fun at the dinner, with Harlequin President Donna Hayes and authors Gena Showalter, Susan Grant, Susan Mallery, Linda Lael Miller and Diana Palmer! What a real treat this was for me. When we got to the Harlequin party at the Ritz Carlton, I was not hungry for dessert which was a pity because they had a chocolate fountain and yummy looking food! Of course this is after I took a cab ride there with Leslie and Roxanne St. Claire and realized halfway to the restaurant that I HAD NO MONEY. All I can say is, thank goodness for friends!

Which about sums up my fabulous week. Good food and even better friends. What more can a girl ask for? Well, her book can be displayed front and center at the Atlanta airport, which mine was. For more pics, including CROSS MY HEART at the airport, visit my website photo page

If you’re curious about what you missed at the workshops including Chat with Carly Phillips (aka The Devil is in the Details) and my PAN workshop on Business Balls (Not my choice in titles, LOL!) click on those links and check it out.

For the history of writing Cross My Heart, I guestblogged on August 2 at The Idea Boutique and you can visit me there to read about it.

I think that’s about it for now … I hope you’ve enjoyed our RWA Atlanta retrospective as much as enjoyed telling you all about our trip!

Oh and did I gain weight in Atlanta? That’s between me, myself and my scale. And we’ll never tell …

Sorry this went up late…I had it all written and then messed up the date. Sorry!

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I was in Atlanta. I have pictures to prove it.

Okay, not this one…

…but this one!

Because this has been such an exhausting year for me, I made the hard choice to make myself rather scarce except during official “appearances” or scheduled meetings. The rest of the time, I was in the room chilling out, working or well, working. Work is not stressful for me. I love to work when it’s writing we’re talking about. So I’m really sorry if I missed meeting anyone…I honestly was protecting my health and mostly–my sanity.

RWA can drive you crazy. Anyone who has been there knows this. Since I long passed crazy and went into insane about March or April of this past year, I didn’t want to risk someone in a white coat actually finding me and dragging me off to a padded cell where I belong. Luckily, I got to meet plenty of wonderful readers when I was out and about…big hugs to Stacy…but lots of others, too. One particular woman was a huge Marisela fan and though she talked too quickly for me to get her name, I totally enjoyed seeing her. (Very petite, short curly hair, absolutely adorable…who are you?)

I was at the Literacy Signing from the start time until just before 7:30, when I had to leave to meet with my agent. We went to this uber-funky restaurant called Two Urban Licks. We had mojitos, but I’m not sure that they had much rum because I drank two and felt zip…and trust me, as much as I love to drink, I’m a relative lightweight who feels her booze pretty quickly (as all the plotmonkeys will testify to!) However, this place was tres-hip, and I loved the whole experience yet again.

I also did the Pocket Signing on Friday where I have to say I was both excited and dishearted that 48 people had never read DIRTY LITTLE SECRETS, the book from last year that I was giving away again this year. Okay, 46. Two people had read the first book and were getting copies for friends. But excitement set in quickly after (did I mention writers are neurotic?) when I realized that maybe those 46 new readers will buy DIRTY LITTLE LIES when it comes out next month. Everyone at the Pocket signing received a cool, four-color brochure/excerpt from the book, a beautiful bookmark and a silver packet of cinnamon red hots that said “She’s red hot and she’s back! Readmarisela.com.” Those went over very well…and I’ll soon be making the whole package of goodies available to Plotmonkey readers if there is any interest.

I was also at the Blaze party, where my cover for THE DOMINO EFFECT was used to top the cake, though they changed the name of the book and the author. Here’s a pic Janelle took…the marzipan broke by the time it was removed from the cake, but it was cool anyway.

The highlight of my week, not surprisingly, is the time we spent in the room working together. We’d never attempted to plot at an RWA conference, though we had tried in NYC at RT and it simply didn’t work. Of course, we’ve gotten much better at the process now. And knowing that I wanted this time most of all, during my shopping spree before the conference, I found these adorable Bobby Jack pajama bottoms that I had to buy for my monkey sisters!

Most fun of all was matching them to our personalities. I bought the “100% Mischeivous” ones for me. Janelle’s have the naughty double-entendre. Carly’s show the monkeys napping. Leslie’s say “Here Comes Trouble.” They were the perfect uniform to wear when working (even when Leslie stole mine to wear to the eHarlequin pajama party…LOL!)

And this is what we look like when we work:

We lounge. We drink (that’s caffeine free diet coke by me…we don’t drink hard stuff if the books actually have to make sense) and we record the sessions, too. Take notes. Laugh. A LOT. Good times.

In the spirit of Leslie’s post with screw-ups, I must mention mine. Look at these two pictures. What is different?

I’m not in the first picture. Imagine…I go to the Harlequin party specifically to get my coveted 25 book pin and then they announce my name and I’M NOT THERE. No, I wasn’t in the bathroom. I was just outside the ballroom, taking pictures of my friend Carmen Green and her friends. I haven’t seen Carm in a long time, so chit-chatting was involved. I still don’t remember who grabbed me and yanked me back into the ballroom, but I’m very glad they did. It might have been Carly. I’m almost sure it was.

And yes, the red dress was a big hit (even if my bra strap is showing…trust me, most of my mishaps for the week involved lingerie and cleavage. And that’s all I’m going to say about that.)

All in all, the week was utterly marvelous. Kudos to the staff of the Marriott who were phenomenal. (Rumor has it that some native New Yorkers–Carly excluded–complained mightily about the pace of the workers in Atlanta…uh, welcome to the South, ladies.) I found everyone completely delightful, friendly and accommodating.

I left as the other plotmonkeys…refreshed and raring to get to work. We plotted my third Marisela book…and probably the only tense moment of the conference was realizing in no uncertain terms that that book might not make it to contract if the second book, DIRTY LITTLE LIES, didn’t do well. So, the pressure is on. But you know what? I’ve done all I can…I wrote what I think is an excellent book. I’ve done a ton of promotion. Now, it’s up to the readers!

Today, to top off my conference experience, I learned that RT Bookreview (who knew they’d changed their name again?) agreed that the book is good. If you don’t mind a little blatant self-promotion, here’s a quote:

Leto jumps in with both feet in her latest entry in the Marisela Morales series. The heroine is sassy, saucy and sexy, and the book sizzles. Leto’s style is fast, breezy and loaded with tension. She’s created a complex plot that’s executed with precision. Her characters have no middle ground and are worth a second look. Plus, Boston makes a wonderful backdrop.

It’s enough to make a girl blush.

Most of all, I’m glad to be home. Now…off to write!

From year to year, there are RWA conferences that are better than others. This year in Atlanta was, for me, one of the best ever. I think the reason is because I was so relaxed and there was no pressure to do any workshops or anything else equally stressful. I also think it helped that the Plotmonkeys had adjoining rooms this year, so it was like a five day slumber party for us. We plotted our upcoming stories we need to write (wow, are there some awesome books coming out from the Plotmonkeys in the next year!!!), dined on room service, and lounged around in the day and evening in our cute Plotmonkey pajamas that Julie got for us. Karen also got each one of us an adorable “Monkey” keychain, to keep us inspired even while we’re apart.

So, yes, we did work. But we also played and shared many laughs and good times. There are so many high-lights of the conference, but for me, I truly enjoyed the RWA Literacy signing. If you are a big reader, this booksigning is like something you’ve never seen before. Over 500 published authors are seated in a huge ballroom (many readers find it truly overwhelming!) and hundreds of readers get to meet and greet their favorite authors, and get their books autographed as well. This is where I usually meet so many awesome readers, as well as friends I’ve made over the year on the internet.

We mentioned last week that we had a special something for readers who stopped by one of our tables and announced “I Love the Plotmonkeys!”. We gave those readers a fun and special Plotmonkey pin, and some other goodies, too. There were a few reader’s names I recognized, but a few I didn’t. And when I asked if they posted on the blog site, they admitted to being lurkers – but promised to start posting in the future. I really, truly, hope you all do! One thing all four of us Plotmonkeys realized this past week after talking to many authors who blog is that we have the absolute BEST posters right here at Plotmonkeys!!!

And now, here are some fun pictures from the literacy signing and the conference for you to enjoy!

One of the very first person who came to my table was our very own Stacy, who posts regularly at Plotmonkeys. She was so incredibly sweet, and you could tell she was having a great time. Check out the Plotmonkey pin she wore during the conference! Thanks, Stacy! :wink:

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Another monkey from our jungle who introduced herself was Julie. It was so great to be able to put a face to her name, and you can tell by that smile that she is super-friendly!

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If you haven’t heard about “Bad Barb”, then let me introduce you! Bad Barb came by her name very honestly. She’s trouble . . . of the very best kind, and one of Plotmonkeys most loved advocates!

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I had the pleasure of meeting Steve, who reads my books and loves the hot and sexy stories. Yeah, Steve! He’s also a writer, so hopefully we’ll see his books in print one day soon! :)

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Here we have Jan, Heather, and Anne-Marie. They roomed with Bad Barb and are trouble in the making! Seriously, they are super-nice and a whole lot rowdy, LOL!

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Here I am with Walt Stone from Access Romance, who was the official conference picture-taker. Well, not official, really, but the “Press” badge he stole . . . er, wore, made him look very official. Since he was taking everyone else’s picture, I decided that he needed to be in one, too!

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Mica Stone, aka Alison Kent, is one of my oldest writing friends! (Not old as in “age”, but old as in how many years we’ve known each other!). We’ve been buddies for almost 20 years! Wow! 8O If you haven’t read her Brava books, you’re missing out on some awesome stories!

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I was looking forward to getting an autographed copy of Diana Peterfreund’s book, SECRET SOCIETY GIRL, but her publisher didn’t send any copies for the literacy signing! For a first time author who is looking forward to meeting new readers, not having your book there is so upsetting! However, Diana made the best of the situation and greeted readers with a big smile.

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Every year Jacquie D’Alessandro brings her alligator purse to the conference, and she (the alligator) is always a huge hit. Jacquie writes sensual Regency-Era Historicals and super-hot contemporary stories for Harlequin Blaze.

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Best-selling author Julie Kenner is one of those authors that make you think of super-woman. She is mega-talented and writes a gazillion books a year, and juggles a hundred other things at the same time, LOL! Okay, maybe not a gazillion books, but close! Her “Demon” books are a not-to-be missed series!

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Our own Leslie Kelly signing HERE COMES TROUBLE with Karen Kendall seated next to her. As you can see, they are both very mellow after a few glasses of wine. Now that’s a way to enjoy a booksigning, ladies! If you weren’t able to get a signed copy of HERE COMES TROUBLE, be sure to pick it up at your local bookstore sometime soon. It’s a laugh-out-loud story you don’t want to miss!

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Carly Phillips signed her newest hardcover release, CROSS MY HEART, for many excited readers. If you haven’t read this book, it’s out on bookstore shelves NOW! It’s a sensual, emotional read guaranteed to pull on your heartstrings.

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Be on the look-out for Kimberly Raye’s upcoming release, DEAD END DATING. This author certainly knows how to write a sexy book, and this one is no exception. Kimberly is one of the sweetest, most gracious (not to mention gorgeous) authors you’ll meet!

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Nikki Burnham (left) writes for Silhouette romance, and also young adult novels that my daughter absolutely loves. (My daughter says I know the coolest people, and she’s absolutely right!) Husband and wife writing team, Tony & Lori Karayianni (aka Tori Carrington), were at the literacy signing autographing their “Sofie Metropolis” series. These two are such a riot and I enjoyed visiting with them during our dinner at Fat Matt’s Rib Shack (More on that adventure in Carly’s blog!). :happy2:

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Here I am with my Harlequin editor, Brenda Chin at a cocktail party. People say I look like a giant sized version of her, LOL!

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I had a great time meeting up with my agent, Jenny Bent, at the Trident Media Group cocktail party. She’s a fabulous agent and always makes me laugh.

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As you can see, the literacy signing was a blast for me. On a personal level, I came back from the conference refreshed and energized thanks to Carly, Leslie, and Julie, and our plotting sessions. I’m ready to get back to writing and finishing BORN TO BE WILDE!

Speaking of BORN TO BE WILDE . . . my Berkley editor showed me the cover for Joel Wilde’s book, and I’m so excited. It’s red and absolutely gorgeous! It has a couple on the front just like TOO WILDE TO TAME, and Joel is HOT! . But, I’ll leave that cover for another blog post!

Well, I’m back in Florida after a whirlwind few weeks that took me from here to Maryland to Chicago to Atlanta. Had a fabulous time and wanted to say hello. I also wanted to report in on the goings on at the RWA National conference in Atlanta. I know Carly, Janelle and Julie will have more great news to share, so I’ll just touch on a few things and leave the rest of the fun tidbits to them.

First of all, WOW, what a great conference! I can honestly say this was my favorite national conference ever. I came home feeling absolutely empowered, excited, anxious to get to work and positive about what I’m doing. It’s honestly been a long time since I’ve been so hyped up about my writing, but thanks largely to the great plotting (7 books in, essentially, 3 days…woo hoo Plotmonkeys!) I am raring to go again.

Of course, since this is ME we’re talking about, there were a few, uh…snafus.

Like me forgetting our room number. I kid you not. I was visiting my agent on the 38th floor, calmly went down to the 10th floor to get on another set of elevators that went to a different set of floors. Pushed the button for the 28th, got off, went to room 2838 and began putting my key in the door. Didn’t work. Tried again. Nothing. So I knocked, figuring Julie, Carly or Janelle might be around (we had adjoining rooms.) But nothing.

Then I stopped. Looked around. Realized I had come a different way off the elevator than we’d been coming all week…and it dawned on me that I was on the wrong floor.

I drew a TOTAL and complete blank on our real room number, isn’t that awful? I had to go all the way down to the lobby and humiliate myself in front of a very amused-looking young man at the front desk by asking him to tell me where the heck I’d been sleeping for the past three nights.

That, unfortunately, was not the end of my conference boo-boos. As you can see in this picture, I was all set to wear an absolutely gorgeous white pantsuit to the HQN authors dinner and Harlequin party at the Ritz Carlton Friday night.
I had spent time getting all ready to go, posed for a few pictures, then Carly glanced down at my slacks and said, “What’s that?”

“That” was makeup. Smeared on the front of my pants. And we spotted it about 38 seconds before we were due in the lobby to meet the bus to go to dinner. I panicked. Tried washing it off–made it worse. Finally, I had to resort to the “backup” little black cocktail dress I’d packed, just in case. Only, I packed it a good month ago and I obviously picked up a few pounds during my travels. Because oh, my God, was that thing tight. Not to mention VERY low-cut.
I felt utterly bovine all night long and kept wanting to cross my hands over my chest.

Funny, when my hubby saw the pictures, he really didn’t mind so much.

Hmm…what else? I accidentally put on someone else’s pajamas and went to the eHarlequin pajama party (sorry again, Julie!)

Forgot an absolutely adorable and sweet eHarlequin moderator’s name THREE times. I have the WORST memory, especially. when it comes to names. If you’re out there, Danica, mea culpa!

I also nearly got mugged for my fabulous spice cake
as we walked back to the hotel from Daley’s (I wasn’t giving up that cake…) You know, my hubby kinda liked this cake picture, too…lolol!

I also scampered barefoot across several tables putting up the posters for the Blaze 5th Anniversary Party and nearly broke my neck–just lucky I didn’t break the table, Lord, I so did not need that spice cake! (By the way–check out my October cover! Gorgeous, isn’t it?)

But I also had so much fun doing my workshops, catching up with friends, signing copies of Here Comes Trouble until my hand felt like it was going to fall off, and enjoying fabulous room service.

All in all, a big thumbs up from Leslie for the 2006 RWA conference.

So, there you go, a few tidbits from my week. I have to again say it was just the most wonderful experience because I was there with the three best plotting partners–and dearest friends–anyone could ever be blessed to have.

Julie, Carly and Janelle…you guys are absolute lifesavers. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for everything.

THE WINNER OF FRIDAY’S JUNGLE MADNESS CONTEST IS . . .

Barbara-Jo – Post #19

CONGRATULATIONS!!! In order to claim your prize, be sure to email me with your mailing address at janelledenison@sbcglobal.net

A big thanks to everyone else who stopped by and entered the contest! And now, for your chuckle of the week. This cartoon is called “HOT FLASH”, and you need to watch it for a few moments because it’s animated — I guarantee it will make you laugh! :happy2: I know there are many days that I feel just like those birds do!

I hope everyone had a great week while we were away in Atlanta. Things will be back to normal in the jungle this coming week. We have a whole lot of fun stories and pictures to share

Kelly Francis asked: HOW DO YOU JUMP START WRITER’S BLOCK?

CP: For me, writer’s block is usually a few specific things: a) a result of a transitional issue – how to get from point A to point B and I call Janelle or another Plotmonkey and cry until they help me; b) I’m in the wrong character’s point of view. This happens to me ALL the time and instead of recognizing it, it takes me two weeks of NOT writing to remember that’s my problem and try again in another character’s point of view, one who has more at stake in the scene; c) I have NO idea where to go next, in which case I call Janelle or another Plotmonkey and cry until they help me; or d) I’m just not writing in which case I call Janelle or another Plotmonkey and cry until they help me!

JD: Most of the time it’s a matter of the story not going in the right direction that leads to writer’s block for me. Or I need to rethink a plot point or conflict issue. When that happens, I take time away from the story — believe it or not, sometimes a nap can make things gel for me! Or a walk. Something where my mind can just THINK. When that doesn’t work, Carly and I try and talk things through (she’s my one-on-one critique partner). It’s funny how the two of us can nail each other’s problems in a story, but can’t fix our own, LOL! However, there have been many times when I’ve posted a “help” message on our Plotmonkey loop, and Julie and Leslie come to the rescue and we’ll all four figure out what the problem is. The nice thing is, I never feel alone when I come up against writer’s block — I always know that even with the toughest story, I have my Plotmonkey pals there to help me through the rough spots.

LK: For me, writer’s block isn’t so much a block as it is a dead end. I don’t hit a wall, I simply “run out” of road. The story has taken me down an interesting side path on my travels and it’s dropped me on my butt out there in the midddle of nowhere.

If I’m in a “normal” writing mode–i.e., everything is good in my life, I just let myself get off track–I can almost always get myself moving in the right direction again by asking for a road map from my Monkey pals. 95% of the time they point me the right way. In an “abnormal” writing mode–when life has just interfered (or I’ve *let* it interfere) I just have to wait out my awful frame of mind and jump right back in the moment the energy, enthusiasm and excitement for the story & its characters returns.

JEL: I find tequila works best. A good mojito (little rum, little lime, little mint) also helps. Seriously (do I have to be serious?) writer’s block is usually an issue of getting back to basics, talking to my plotmonkeys and rediscovering my direction. I sometimes skip troublesome scenes or jump around to a scene I really want to write and then fill in later. I sometimes use my layering techique, which can help in getting me going again.

As most of you know, Fridays in the jungle are for free giveaways! Whoo-hoo!!! As some of you know, I’m eating healthier now, so I don’t keep chocolate or cookies in the house (since that seems to be the theme within the contests lately ). Sorry! However, to make up for that, this week I’m giving away THREE autographed copies of three of my very-hard-to-find, out-of-print books to one lucky winner. These three books are what I refer to as my “seduction” series, and are connected by two brothers and a sister. There’s A WICKED SEDUCTION (HQ Blaze), A SHAMELESS SEDUCTION (HQ Temptation), and THE ULTIMATE SEDUCTION (HQ Blaze).

The winner will also receive a “Wilde and Sexy” mouse pad, along with a leopard print bookcover and a fun book thong so you can “give your book a wedgie”. All you have to do to enter is post something, anything, in this comments section. Winner will be randomly drawn by a family member on Sunday, so be sure to check back then!

:party::cooldance::party::cooldance:

Good luck, everyone!

Since you’ve had three days of awesome excerpts, and I don’t have a book out this month, I thought I’d post something fun. Here’s a list of facts a man should know about a woman, and if you feel the need to print it out and post it somewhere for your significant other to find and read, go right ahead!

Oh, and enjoy the hotties, ladies!

1. Women like wild and crazy men for dating purposes because they’re exciting and unpredictable. But when it comes to choosing “The One”, we don’t want tempestuous, temperamental and tattoos; we want responsible, reliable, and real. (See, we’re not so different from men after all!)

2. A surprise weekend at a romantic bed and breakfast is to a woman what 50-yard-line seats at the Super Bowl are to a man.

3. As a rule, we know when you’re lying.

4. We always know when you’re sneaking looks at (a) another woman, (b) our breasts and/or (c) our butt. It doesn’t matter how shrewd, furtive, or quick the glance is.

5. One lie spoils a thousand truths. Once discovered, it will be stored in long-term memory for later retrieval.

6. There is no such thing as too many shoes. Ditto for the perfect little black dress.

7. A great haircut can give us a new lease on life. A bad one is not to be trivialized, minimized, or joked about.

8. A good woman is as excited about a gift that costs nothing as she is about a gift that costs a lot. (The perfect, quirky gift that shows that you’ve been listening is worth twice the value of anything you’d find at Tiffany’s).

9. “Menage a trois” is French for “In Your Dreams”.

10. Love does not mean never having to say you’re sorry. It means having to say you’re sorry over and over again, in new and different ways, every day, every week, every month, every year, even when you don’t want to, until God grants you his mercy and you finally, blissfully, die.

So, which fact was your favorite? And is there any other facts for the man in your life that you’d like to add to the list?