Dear Carolyn,

I went a little Kindle crazy myself this weekend and you'll see that there's a number of new titles in the reading list.

I finished A Kiss at Midnight by Eloisa James which is a retelling of Cinderella. It was enjoyable. Not as brilliant as When Beauty Tamed the Beast but still heads and shoulders above the crowd.

The difficult thing when reading a book you enjoy so much is choosing what comes next. I really wanted to stay in the happy place and so I'd decided to read The Wallflower books by Lisa Kleypas. But then I decided to shop.

So you'll see we have three paranormal, humorous romances, 4 books about food and a Debbie Macomber novel set in Seattle. I guess I'm returning to my comfort zone also.

I started reading Ravenous: A Food Lover's Journey from Obsession to Freedom. It's non-fiction and I'm enjoying it greatly. Not surprising since it's a woman writing about her food obsessions and enjoyments. It's funny to me also because we don't share the same obsessions really.

Then again, you and I don't share all the same obsessions either except for Spaniards and humor. And look how well we get along. I'll be interested to know which books yyou'll choose to read and which you'll ignore.

Well, I'm going back to reading about a stranger's obsession with olives. Yuck. But I like the writing and sentiment so back to her story I'll go.

See what I'll do to avoid my line edits?

Love ya,

Lori

Dear Lori

I must be feeling nostalgic because I've acquired a couple of books written by authors from my past and eyed a third, but decided to pass. Even worse, I'm not even sure they're romances, lol.

The first is The Mulberry Tree by Jude Deveraux. This one is definitely a romance and probably a book that was shot down by feminists in its day. But I loved it, always have and never hesitated about getting the ebook.

Lillian was married at seventeen to billionaire James Manville. It wasn't even love at first sight; I'm not sure what it was. They had a strange marriage. For example, Lillian was fat and James wanted to keep her that way. He refused to let her change anything about herself. Stranger still, when he died, he left her nothing but a rundown farm. James' lawyer Phillip, well aware of the furor about to erupt, hides her away.

The stress of the press coverage, the accusations of the talking heads, the grief and guilt Lillian is feeling plus the fact that her husband can no longer sabotoge her, all lead to weight loss. To disguise her further, she gets a nose job and her name is changed to Baily. (I prefer Lillian)

The book is a combination of a woman finding herself while falling love, with a little mystery thrown in for good measure. Sort of a Cinderella story.

She enjoys cooking - does that entice you? Lol. She wants to start a business selling her gourmet stuff. Anyway, I just reread it and finished with a satisfied sigh.

The second book is a Maeve Binchy that I've never read - Heart and Soul, only five bucks for the ebook. I ♥ Maeve Binchy, I'll read anything she writes. I thought she'd retired though, guess she's just a born storyteller and couldn't stop writing. Lucky for us. *grin* Anyway, her newest is just a tad pricy for the ebook edition, so I'll have to wait on that one. Still - a new to me Binchy! I am happy.

The third book is the last book in the Earth's Children series by Jean Auel. I didn't know she was still putting these out. I enjoyed the first, Clan of the Cave Bear but lost interest in subsequent offerings. I wanted to bitch slap Ayla - no woman is that good! Or lucky. Or smart. Or whatever the hell she was.

I didn't get this one and probably won't. Too pricy even if it is almost 800 pages. There's so much repetition it should probably be 400 pages. Still, it did bring back memories (harder and harder to do these days; they don't call me an Old Fart frivolously) and I might reread Clan of the Cave Bear. Might - I have it in hardback and if I'm remembering correctly, that's a damn heavy book! Oh, btw, this new one is called The Land of the Painted Caves. Nice title, I do like a good title.

Anyway, I see I've almost written a book here myself, so I'll close now. I've just started reading Eyes of Silver, Eyes of Gold by Ellen O'Connor - bronzed male with cutting cheek bones. Yum. I'll surface sometime this weekend. Hope to see you then, lol.

Carolyn

Dear Carolyn,

I want my 99 cents back!

I bought a terrible book from Amazon called Diary of a Mad, Fat Girl (or was it Lady?) that was part of my chick-lit glom. Oh my gawd. Whoever gave that author permission to type unsupervised needs to be throttled. And Amazon owes me 99 cents!

Besides the fact that the 1st person heroine was a bad tempered, nasty bitch who treated her best friend like shit ... she used the word cooter. Cooter! I think Cooter was the name of one of the characters on the old Andy Griffin show.

"Hey Opie, how's the fishin' at the water hole?"

"Well hey Cooter, caught me an eight incher and he shore do wiggle."

Gah. I'm horrified than anyone would use such a word for the flower of femininity. The lilac of luciousness. The marigold of maidenhood.

Anyway, I was so appalled that I had to wipe that nasty taste from my mouth and eyes and so I returned to Eloisa James. A Kiss at Midnight, to be exact. It's a Cinderella story retold with a lion, an elephant and a lovesick monkey, a Godmother named Henry and fake breasts.

I've decided that I should honor the brilliance that is Ms. James and name my first daughter Eloisa, but my first daughter is aghast at the idea. Why nine, almost ten year olds, refuse to follow the whims of their mothers is just shameful.

I decided to buy a pocket calendar at Barnes and Noble to start forcing myself to keep word counts. But would you believe that B&N went and put their calendars away? The end of February and they did such a thing. I was heartbroken. So heartbroken in fact that I couldn't write a word.

Well anyway, I should be doing something a little more productive than sitting here and being silly. I'm thinking of a nap. Or a little more Eloisa James. Maybe I'll call you and we can brainstorm ideas for stories we're not writing.

Talk to you soon.

Lori

Dear Lori

Thank you for the talk last night. It sure did help get my thoughts straight about Cam's background. You are and always will be, my idea lady. :-)

I forwarded you an email from Amazon; your lusty, trusty Kindle is about to get an upgrade. :-D

I've been so twitchy today, don't know why. Perhaps it isn't important why. The result is I've been windowshopping for books when I can. Found another freebie, but it's a mystery so don't know if you'll want to read it. It sounded like a great character study though, assuming the writing is up to par.

I'm reading Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas. I was curious about Derek Craven when he was briefly mentioned in Sebastian's book, The Devil in Winter and thrilled when I discovered he had a book of his own. Once I started reading, I discovered there was a previous book about a woman named Lilly. All these damn books are intertwined, almost incestuous, lol. Still, they can all stand alone, so I'll continue along, hopping about like a drop of water on a hot griddle. At least it's exercise - sort of. As much as I'll ever get anyway. :-)

Are you allowed near the computer yet? Perhaps you'll never read this. Oh woes ...

Carolyn

Dear Lori

Nothing much has pissed me off lately so I'm sort of in a vacuum as to what to write.

Not that I need to be pissed off to write you! No, no, never think that! But, as you know, I have no life outside writing and the internet, so if nothing is brewing and the muse is AWOL, well ... *shrugs*

I could talk about our individual series. I could, but since I haven't seen yours, I won't. And mine isn't a series. You might could call it a duology, but I wouldn't. I mean, all the two books have in common is an old house. And it's not even a main character!

You reckon I'll ever finish either of them? You reckon you'll finish yours? Since you sold the first one, I bet you will. Me? I pick and prod and occasionally add sentences. I think the whole thing might go faster if I had a plot, lol.

It will be interesting to see which is finished first, the books or me. ;-)

And on another note, I found another blog, you might want to check it out and add to the sidebar. Or not.

Hope you enjoyed your day off. Hope you enjoy your day off tomorrow.

Bitch.

But I love you anyway.

Carolyn

Dear Carolyn,

I seem to be on a contemporary, chick-lit glom right now. I think it matches my current mood and life.

Are we what we read?

The book you got that you said I'd like, Life From Scratch, is pretty good. It's a good choice after The Love Goddess Cooking School. I'm really enjoying these woman driven stories with a touch of cooking and female growth. I think you're right that the difference between chick-lit and romance is that the chicks are about the heroine's journey where romance is a part but not the center and romance has the lurve asthe core of the story.

I like me some romance but I love me the chickies.

I'm really looking frward to either next pay day or deposit of my tax refund check. Our Kindle account is going to have many added books and all will have to do with food somehow. I expect you'll forgive me. You might even read one or two and enjoy them. But I have a list going and it lengthens by the day.

One annoyance though. A book I've been wanting to get: The School of Essential Ingredients is $12.99 for Kindle edition and about $5.00 for paperback. I don't get it. And I haven't gotten it. In either form. This agency pricing is driving me bat-shit.

Well it's cold as a witches tit today (I question that analogy) and my boy Clark is coming over tonight. I'm thinking of my Mother's tuna casserole (comfort food), a fire (comfort) and something chocolate. Doesn't that sound like a perfect menu for loads of conversation, laughter and life changing fun?

Lori

Dear Lori

OMG!!

Antonia is threatening to send The Seduction of Lady Bea to line edits!!

Now that I've had a chance to think about it, I wonder: did we go through so many edits because we were polishing a pearl with potential,or simply because it needed that much more work? Well, it is very definitely polished and I'm very pleased with the changes, as is Antonia, I think. She kept them, anyway, lol.

I gotta tell ya, Lori, this is nerve wracking stuff. You know how I hate rewrites and I've been rewriting my ass off. Actually, that's not true, my ass is still there in all its glory, so we'll just say there's been a lot of rewrites. Makes me wonder why the story was accepted in the first place!

However, I'm not complaining, it just sounds that way. I'm musing - there's a difference, you know. I'm trying to understand. Trying to sound intelligent and like I know what the hell's going on.

I keep checking my email, but so far no word. If she really sends it to the line editor ... should I stock up on chocolate? Maybe vodka?

Who says you can't teach an old dog new tricks!!

Love

Carolyn

Dear Lori

I hope you will write, because you know I love to read.

And speaking of reading, I have a recommendation for you. A freebie from Amazon that is turning out to be a little gem. I'm not too far into it yet, but I think I can safely say it'll be finished.

It's called The Portrait by Megan Chance. The hero, Jonas, is a very talented artist. He is also bipolar. The real deal.

The heroine, Immogen, is struggling with an inferiority complex and feelings of inadequacy, due to her parents distancing themselves from her while embracing in every way her talented sister, Chloe. Chloe died and Immogen thinks that if she can learn to paint as well as her sister, her father will come to love her too. So she's taking lessons from Jonas, who feels he was blackmailed by Immogen's godfather to take her on. He therefore treats her like dirt. *pauses to take a breath*

She has a spine though. I'm at the part where she's learning some things about Jonas' past from another student.

This book is very different - so far. Why, the hero even had standup sex with a tart after he'd met the heroine! I want to see how the author creates a HEA or HFN out of this situation. You have to admit, these two people have a lot of problems to overcome.

I love character-driven books. Of course, I also love action stuff too. I guess it just all depends on the mood I'm in. This books strikes a little close to home for me; I'm straining for a HEA!

Hope you'll give it a try between your bouts of writing. *grin*

Sincerely

Carolyn

Dear Carolyn,

I know, I know... writing again?

Well I have a bit of a conundrum. Or a problem. Or maybe I'm just all fucked up and it's time to move on the old age home and scheduled bowel movements. ("Ms. Green, it's time for your 2 pm BM.")

Anyway, I'm having an issue with writing. I've been working on our secret project with those lovely Aussie ladies as you well know and I've also been working on my sex scene with Satan. The joy of writing "Satan has a beautiful cock" truly made my sunday night. But writing, really writing... well, I haven't been.

I mentoned that I bought that cooking chick-lit book and I started reading it this morning. It's okay. Maybe it's more than okay. What I know is that I've been reading it in a way that makes me feel like I'm ravenous for words. A starving woman needing an IV of adverbs and descriptive phrases to stay alive.

I'm devouring this book. I'm almost licking the Kindle to make sure no word goes untasted. Carolyn, this is getting a little intense. And then after I ate a giant Kit-Kat bar and calmed down, I realized that I was craving love.

Oh heavens, not a gooey, wild-eyed, fuck me in the afternoon and all day Sunday kind of love but a I love these characters and never want to let them go kind of love. The way I used to feel about some of my fan-fic characters from way long ago when we were cutting our teeth on Father Knows Best fan-fic.

I'm a nutcase to be sure but I want to write some characters that make me melt a little inside. I want to feel a little swoony. I want ambiance and passion and ultimately, a sense of knowing these people and being invested in what happens next. I want kitchens redolent with cooking, brothers and sisters who fight and tease and would kill for each other, love that doesn't come from Satan's snack bar.

Oh Carolyn, I really want to write.

Lori

Dear Carolyn,

Happy Valentines Day.

I went to Amazon to buy a few books for our Kindle account (yes to anyone who isn't us: we share an Amazon Kindle account so we can share books) and saw that you had already bought one of the books on my list. So Happy Valentine's Day to me!

I got the first Happily Ever After book by Eloisa James, A Duke of Her Own. I just have loved what little I've read of hers so far and want to read much more. I love her heart and humor.

I also picked us up a chick-lit book with cooking and romance. I love books with cooking. Wish to hell I could write one.

I had a lovely weekend. Mollie was busy all weekend and left me to my own devices. I had a girl's day with Erica which was awesome. We drove out to Duval and went to an antique mall. A hell of a lot of crap to be sure but there was a lot of beautiful stuff. I bought only a lamp set and a footstool but I'd love to go back and browse again.

We also went out to lunch and it was the most adorable cafe with the most delicious burger. I'm such a sucker for a delicious burger. Is there anything better than a big beef patty with melty cheese, yummy sauce and a good bun? Oh goodness. I think I'd celebrate a Hamburger Day before Valentines. Think Hallmark might make a card for that?

Anyway, the kitten is inside my shirt sleeping and I have to convince Mollie to go to bed. I didn't write very much but at least I did some writing.

Hope you wake up to something sweet. Happy Heart day sweetheart.

Lori

Dear Lori

Did you read First Page at DA today? I bet that poor author didn't know she was a bigot. I bet she's an old fart, just like us. It's hard to keep up with all the political correctness, isn't it?

We used words in everyday speech and they were just words. Back then Indian was not a racial slur, it was an ... Indian. What the hell else would you call them, except their tribal names which I never could pronounce. Now I'm a bad person because I'm not supposed to use it anymore, I'm supposed to use Native American, and I keep forgetting because for me, Indian is NOT a racial slur.

My coworker, who started life as a Filipino, was having a conversation with her son, who told her not to use Oriental, that the correct term was now Asian. Boy, was she surprised. Still, it's always handy to know what you're supposed to be called. I suppose, way back in the day, I'd have been called a potato eater or spud or some other term related to potatoes. Famine is so comedic.

And did you know there are no dwarves anymore? No, the polically correct terminology is little people. I've always wondered if this included midgets because, after all, they are little and they are people, nevermind that the medical condition is completely different from dwarfism (I believe that's a legal medical term there), as is their appearance.

Now I'm wondering how this will affect books. Will some dedicated scolar go through LOTR and The Deed of Paksensarrion and all other fantasies, to change all the dwarves to little people? The term 'little people' does not invoke the same image-you know, fierce warriors wielding big axes and collecting enemy heads to count coup.

You gotta be careful these days. No telling when or where or how you'll slip up. Being on the internet is very educational, but it also heightens the chance you'll make a big fool of yourself. Or others will make big fools of themselves.

Take your pick.

Sorry to be so serious, but this old fart is frustrated as hell. Don't even get me started on food!

Love

Carolyn

Dear Lori

Got a letter from Michael today. He's so lonely, with absolutely nothing to read. So I had this idea. I wonder if I could do a serial story and put it in my letters. I wonder if that would be okay. I've sent out emails to family members soliciting letters for him. I hope some, at least, will respond.

You know how much I love Meljean Brook's new series. Love it! So why can't I get into her Guardian series? I enjoyed the short story I mentioned before and I thought I'd lap up Colin's book. But I'm not. There's much more of Caelum and Chaos and Hell in this book, maybe that's why. I just don't know, but I shall perservere. There must be a reason these books are so popular.

Got the new edits for Lady Bea, some of which have me scratching my head. I'll tell you, the more I read this thing, the sappier it sounds! Pretty soon it'll be reduced to "See Dick run. Run Dick, run." Now that I look at that sentence, it might not be too bad for a romance .... keep your dick - run! Nah. Maybe a suspense thriller though.

Did I ever tell you I started the Bow Street series by Lisa Kleypas? Well, I did. Gift cards were intended to be spent, right? And that's what I did, lol. I got the Mary Stewart Merlin bundle, the Kleypas, First Grave on the Right by Darynda Jones, Archangel's Consort by Nalini Singh - oh, I can't remember what all I bought. I intend to enjoy every one of them too.

The car's leaking something. It goes to the car doctor Monday. I tremble in fear.

And last, but certainly not least - it's TGIF!! At last! My gratitude to whoever created weekends.

Dear Carolyn,

I finished When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James. I'm reluctant to start another book right now for fear of disappointment. After reading something this perfect, whatever comes next is sure to be disappointing.

I loved everything about the book. Linnet, the heroine, was perfect while not being obnoxious or coy. Piers was a beast but also sympathetic and brilliant and damned funny. I was madly in love with him. Oh hell, I was madly in love with them both.

And yes, I loved Sebastian also. I hope Ms. James thinks about giving him a story. But it must be brilliant also.

I should take a break from reading and do some writing. I have a sexy sex scene I'm working on and it's killing me. I've never had sex with two men so it's a little hard to write. And since I don't want to have one boinking her while the other chokes her on his man meat, it's taking a little more work.

I hate those sex scenes, by the way. I'm still cringing over a Maya Banks story where he shoved down her throat so deeply his pubic hair was almost in her throat. I started to gag just reading that. I mean, yuck. Oral sex is fine on occasion but any man shoves his sausage down my throat and it's breakfast time and I'm chewing, if you know what I mean.

I don't know how I moved from a wonderful book to the subject of having breakfast balls dangling from one's mouth. I think I'm going to go have some cake and consider how to move three bodies in a way that pleases me.

Sleep well darlin'. Hope I have something for you to read in the morning.

Lori

Dear Lori

You know it takes me an average of two years to write a novel. I'm afraid March is out of the question since I seem to have the winter blahs and not a whole lot is catching my interest. Damn and double damn.

However, your Eloisa James book, When Beauty Tamed the Beast most certainly did.

What a great book. I bonded with both characters, but I particularly liked Linnet. She was perfect for her Beast. I grew fond of Sébastien too. What is it about men named Sébastien or Sebastian? They just absolutely charm the socks (and perhaps other articles of clothing) off a girl. I wouldn't mind reading a book about this Séb. ♥

Did you know we have a novella by Ms James in our Kindle account? It's called Storming the Castle. It may be based on a fairytale too, but which particular one escapes me at the moment. You should read it and let me know. I'm totally onboard re getting her backlist.

I'm venturing into Meljean Brook's Guardian series. They're not all in ebook form though, that's a bummer because I just can't rationalize bringing another book into this house; I'm tripping over piles of books as it is and the attic is full. I read the novella Blind Spot in the anthology Must Love Hellhounds (a really great anthology, btw, with stories by Brook, Nalini Singh and Ilona Andrews! Oh, and Charlene Harris, but I don't care for ...Sukie, is it?). Anyway, that led me to Demon Moon which is available as an ebook and which I've had for some time and which I'm now ready to read. Secondary characters from the novella are front and center in this one. I can't believe I forgot I had it!

Kindle should really look into getting a decent bookshelf!

Somewhere in amongst all this, I will work on the WIP. Sort of. A sentence a day keeps ... never mind. Spring will have sprunged one day and hopefully so will inspiration.:-) Meantime I'll huddle in front of my heater.

Need to find me another Sebastian. I really, really like these guys.

Carolyn

Dear Carolyn,

Sanhain is looking for post-apocolyptic novellas but it would need to be submitted by March 1, I believe.

That seems to be my experience with Samhain: they're always looking for exactly what I've started writing but there's never enough time to finish and submit. Maybe you could do it if you were motivated enough and I was willing to nag enough but I doubt either of us is willing.

Well, I finished Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain and enjoyed it quite a bit. It was a funny as hell inside look at how some restaurants run. The only thing is that Chef Bourdain puts a little too much testosterone into everything he says and it's hard to know how much is jism talking and how much is real.

I had a strange feeling while reading the book that Chef Bourdain was a bit of a poser. He certainly would see himself as an alpha male, I think he might be more the loud-mouthed friend of the hero who bails out when needed.

So we went to the pool again today and since I finished the book I needed something new to read. I started When Beauty Tamed the Beast by Eloisa James. Carolyn, start reading this immediately!

I've never read Ms. James before but if this is her usual then we'll be buying her entire backlist soon. O.M.G. This woman writes like a spun candy. It's completely gossamer with threads of humor, description, snark, brilliance...

I have to finish the pre-edits on Hot, Hexed and Bothered. I signed up to do a guest blog and give-away on Fang-tastic Books blog on release day. Does that make me Nora Roberts yet? (Now let's compare royalty statements and watch La Nora bust a gut laughing.)

Right now I have curtains to hang, another load of laundry to do and I was going to hang pictures. Ha! There's always another weekend on the way.

Lori

Dear Lori

Another day, another post. I'm on a roll here.

Can someone please explain why it's impossible to sleep in on the weekends? Even when I stay up late, I still wake up at 5:30, just like a work day. It's very depressing and makes me feel sleep deprived. I know it's probably because of routine, but what I say is that the routine ought to allow for weekend sleep ins.

I've changed my WIP to first person. I was getting nowhere fast with third, and now I actually have three more sentences! So, the opening is changed:

I slept through the end of the world and awoke in the Twilight Zone. Only the music was missing.

Much more intimate and one should be intimate in an apocalypic, magic laden, slightly snarky epic. Don't you think so?

Changing the subject slightly, I just finished reading Animal Magnetism by Jill Shalvis. I enjoyed this book. It had alpha males and animals and they weren't the same characters. Can't get any better than that. I liked that the heroine went to bed with the hero but was perfectly willing to let him walk away, no matter how much it hurt. In fact, he thought she was a little too willing, lol. Anyway, I recommend this book to you and will definitely read the next books. The hero has two 'brothers', so you know there'll be more books. I even recognized the setups even though they weren't overwhelming and didn't overshadow the main plotline.

I'm getting better at this stuff. *grin*

It's almost 7:00 your time. Wonder if you're up yet. Guess what - I've been up over three hours already! Time for a nap.

Oh, but David's cooking breakfast. Turkey bacon. Uh - yum? Okay, eat turkey bacon and then a nap.

Love

Carolyn

Dear Lori

Here I am back again and so soon!

David's moving; they sold the house he was renting right out from under him. Told him yesterday they wanted him out by tomorrow and since it was an unoffical agreement between friends, there's not a whole lot he can do about it. Except move out as quickly as he can.

I found him a storage place to store his furniture until he finds somthing else to rent. He finalized that deal this morning and he's rented a truck and shanghaied his father and they're moving appliances and furniture even as I type.

I haven't seen John so active for months. David may be pissed but it's doing his father good. Made him forget why he's been so depressed.

They'll load up the truck and come here for a nice, hot supper. Meatloaf, mashed taters and baked beans. Hearty and comforting. They'll have earned it.

So, David's moving in again, lol.

To all those sweet young things that may stumble across this post - beware and be careful. Kids are yours for life, it doesn't stop just because they hit a legal age, Be very sure you are capable of a lifetime responsibility, because shit does happen, even to those who think they're well prepared for life.

Oh my goodness, I went and got profound! I do apologize, darlin'.

Love

Carolyn

Dear Lori

I hear you darlin', and like Fat Albert I just go 'long. Heh.

It is handy we're back though, because I have Something To Say and didn't really know where to say it.

I saw a book cover I fell absolutely in love with. The book's called Blood of the Rose by Kate Pearce. Tudor England and vampires. Yum.

But it's the second book of a series and immediately my spotty OCD kicked in. I had to start with the first book, Kiss of the Rose.

Now - you'll find this book in our Kindle account, but my advice is just leave it alone. Aside from the fact that you don't like vampires, it contains immoderate lusting for no discernable reason in the first chapters. And while they've chased a vampire twice, it just seems like nothing's happening. Except the lust, of course. Oh, and there's a potential triangle.

Well, long story short, I got bored and stopped reading. I may go back and try again, despite the fact that I don't particularly like either of the main characters and just don't feel a connection to them. Or maybe not.

Anyway, just a heads up. *grin*

Otherwise, nothing happening here. It's damn cold though. Thank you for the new header, that guy warmed me up nicely. I believe I'll call him Sam, he just looks like a Sam.

Sincerely

Carolyn

Dear Carolyn,

I changed my mind. I don't know what exactly we're doing and I admit I got upset at the lack of responses we seem to get out here in the big, bad world. But then I thought about who we are and who we've created ourselves to be and I heard a voice as clear as day say:

Fuck 'em if they can't take a joke.

So we'll make it work somehow. We'll muddle through in our own way with our hands clasped, our tongues in cheek and our Depends tightly on to catch the drizzles when we laugh.

Well, we are old...

Dear Carolyn,

It's so strange to think of you in Alabama being cold and rained on and here in Seattle we've had cold but clear, sunny days. For some strange reason, our weather is acting like a 40 degree springtime.

Mollie is suffering with homework right now and I'm trying to concentrate on writing. My mind is everywhere else currently. Writing is so hard when it's hard. The idea for this story is really simple and should be a walk in the park to write but I just want to do anything but write.

I'm a lazy sack.

I think it's hard to motivate right now because work is sucking and I want so much to change jobs. The idea of remaining in my current situation is painful. I need to move soon for my own sanity. I spend way too much time planning ways to get fired so I can leave. That's just not healthy.

And I want to be home right now. I want to sit on my new chair and read a Kindle book and enjoy my home and my life.

I created a writing space and everything to motivate myself. See how well I'm doing?

Let me try some more. My Latina heroine is about to throw some peppers in a pot and make a spell that's sure to backfire on her. I do so love a good spell with unexpected results. Hope there's a reader out there who loves it too.

Lori

Dear Lori

It's cold as hell here in the once sunny south. I've heard rumors of sleet and ice tonight and I hope that's all they are - rumors.

It's gray and dull and did I mention cold? The weather center insists it's 40º but I think they're lying through their teeth, it's got to be in the 20's! That's what it feels like anyway and with the wind .... brrrr.

I wanted to congratulate you and give you a big hug. You are now a multi-pub'd author. How kewl is that?

There's a couple of kerfluffles going on in blogland: one at Smart Bitches re triggers and feminism, and one at DA about piracy. Hey! Should we try to find out if you've been pirated??

Think we'll get pizza in tonight, I'm not feeling the lurve. Perhaps I should dress up like TL and saunter into the living room, lol. Hmm - wonder if anyone would notice? Probably not, after all we do visit WalMart, I'd blend right in.

Can't wait til Saturday, I'm flexing my writing muskles.

Love ya,

Carolyn

Dear Friends

Dear Friends,



we realized that we were approaching our year blog-aversary and we weren't enjoying what we were doing. We entered into this with a wish to have a writer's blog because it seems to be the rule that to be a writer you have to blog, Twitter, Facebook and be socially media savvy.

It wasn't fun.


A year later we recognized that we don't like pushing our work in front of others. We don't like reviewing books, telling other people how to write when we're learning still and we have nothing to say that's relevant to anyone but ourselves.

So we've gone over to wordpress and we're making simple pages to promote the writing. And Old Farts is quitting being Two Old Farts Talking Romance and is now going to reflect who we are and like being: Two Best Friends Talking About Everything.

We don't really care too much about being interesting or funny anymore. We want to talk to each other and if there are interested friends who want to join us, well, the conversation is open to all.



Thank you for a fun year. And thanks for the support.



And kisses, hugs and cuddles. Take care.



These two old farts are out.