Adventures in Parenting: The Seven-Hour Rock Concert

Somewhat by accident, I took 14-year-old Seconda to her first rock concert this past December.  It was one of those radio-station-sponsored affairs, with a lineup of ten bands and a running time of seven hours, and I bought the tickets assuming 17-year-old Prima, usually an exemplary sister, would be willing to go with her. Bad [...]

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Progress Report: Starting the Next Book

Starting work on my third consecutive heroine with likability issues.  Because that seems to be the kind I write. Having already churned out Humorless & Judgmental, and followed it up with Unscrupulous & Unkind, I will now try my hand at Snobbish & Impractical.  Simmering on the back burner are Vain & Mercenary, and… actually, [...]

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Best of 2010: Six Great Scenes

Today I wrap up my look back at 2010 romance-reading with half a dozen scenes that have lingered with me all the way into 2011. In no particular order: The epistolary prologue Last Night’s Scandal, Loretta Chase Ounce for ounce, nothing I read in 2010 gave me more pleasure than these few letters, sketching out [...]

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Best of 2010: Heroes and Heroines

Romance, for me, ultimately sinks or swims on how much I care about the two people at the story’s center.  Everything else can be right – inspired premise, twisty plot, sparkling prose – but if I’m not deeply invested in seeing those crazy kids find their Happily Ever After, the book won’t make it to [...]

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