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New York, New York by Leann Harris

I'm going to New York next week to attend BEA and sign my latest book.  I am excited to be in the Big Apple for a week.  I'm going with another author, Pat Davids  We are going to visit the office of our publisher...which is a always a kick.  I've been to New York before, but going there is always a treat and you never get board there.  One time I went to New York, I took the train from Stamford, CT to New York.  I visited my aunts and uncles.  When the train pulled into Grand Central Station I had a long, steep set of stairs from the train to the main reception area.  Well, I struggled up those steel stairs.  Finally, a nice young man offered to haul my suitcase up the stairs.  I was grateful, then worried he'd run off with my luggage.  (Understand, I wrote suspense for a long time.)  I was wrong.  The young man was a champ.

Each time I've been in New York, I've found the natives helpful and nice.  I'm so excited to go. I'll also see my family in Ct.  Any places you like to go in New York?

posted by Leann @ 1:00 AM   11 comments

Ideas Along Country Roads by Marta Perry

Many of my books revolve around the Amish and other Plain people in our part of rural Pennsylvania. One summer morning my husband and I had an opportunity to take a buggy ride along the back roads of a nearby county with an Amish driver, so of course we were quick to take advantage of that fact. As Amos and my husband chatted about their similar experiences growing up on farms, I soaked in the beauty of the surroundings, which seemed so different when seen from the slow pace of the buggy. The pastures, hay fields, and corn fields created a patchwork that reminded me of an Amish quilt.


Only one thing interrupted the pastoral scene—a raw new building along a country lane, its sharp angles and brash colors an annoying clash with the image I had been so happily creating in my mind.

“What is that?” I asked, pointing.

Our driver frowned in the direction of the intrusion. “A new motel, as if we didn’t have enough already. On prime farmland, too.” He shook his head. “Not supposed to be able to get permission to do that without hearing from the public, ain’t so? But all of a sudden that building was going up, with all the permits already granted. I’m guessing the owner just knew the right person.”

I commiserated, but I probably sounded a bit distracted, because his words had already set a plot twist dancing in my mind—a twist that eventually found its way into my newest suspense novel, Danger in Plain Sight, out now from HQN Books.

Ideas, so they say, are everywhere, and sometimes they’re handed to you with no effort at all!

posted by Marta Perry @ 8:26 AM   4 comments

I bought a Nook for my dad for his birthday

Camy here, and I just bought a Nook for my dad for his birthday. I wasn’t entirely sure how that would fly since Dad turned “seventy-mumble” this year. He’s actually rather decent with new technology, but once in a while it will take him a little longer to figure something out than it used to.

But Dad also loves to read novels. (So does my mom, so I got my love of reading from both sides.) I got him into ebooks several years ago when I first discovered that many science fiction books were available as ebooks, and since Dad had a PDA at the time that could read ebooks, he bought several and loaded them onto his PDA to take with him wherever he went, so he could read any time.

However, at one point his PDA battery got drained entirely and when he rebooted it, he found that he was denied permission to read his ebooks, which was security protected. He tried his password but it just wouldn’t work.

I got him a Nook Color for his birthday since it also has lots of apps he can download so he can play games on it. I called him to ask how he’s been liking it, and apparently he’s been reading a lot more now than he had been for the past couple years. He downloaded his favorite author, Alan Dean Foster, and bought the last few Flinx books in the series. Mom says he’s reading on his Nook every night before bed. He also plays a poker machine game app that he downloaded.

Yay! I finally got Dad a present he actually likes! And thank goodness the Nook was a) inexpensive enough that he didn’t feel bad I was spending money on him, and b) easy enough to use that he didn’t have any problems setting it up. Plus now he’ll be able to find and enjoy the science fiction novels he loves. And as he gets older, he’ll be able to increase the font size if he needs to. (Which, er, his daughter already has to do ...)

So would you get a Nook or Kindle for yourself or your parent?



Camy Tang writes romance with a kick of wasabi. Out now is the third book in her Sonoma series, Stalker in the Shadows. She is a staff worker for her church youth group, and leads one of the worship teams for Sunday service. On her blog, she ponders frivolous things like knitting, running, dogs, and Asiana. Visit her website to sign up for her quarterly newsletter.

Labels: Camy Tang, ebooks, Nook

posted by Camy Tang @ 5:00 AM   7 comments

A Memorial for Memorial Day

Hi, this is Margaret Daley. Memorial Day is a time to remember our loved ones who have passed away. My mother would have been eighty-nine years old today, May 28th. She died thirteen years ago and I miss her everyday. But I’m comforted by the knowledge that she touched so many people’s lives.

 After my father died when I was twelve, she moved us to Mississippi so she could be nearer her family. There were three of us and she always was there for my two brothers and me. She’d taught nursing in Kentucky where we had lived. When we arrived in Biloxi, she went to work as a nurse. She filled several different positions in various hospitals over the years and even taught nursing at the junior college on the coast.

 One year she was a school nurse for the Biloxi School District. That was the year Camille, a hurricane with winds over two hundred miles an hour, struck the coast and destroyed a lot of my hometown. She spent hours helping people get back on their feet as a nurse and friend. When something had to be done, my mother was at the front of the line volunteering to do it. When she would talk about one of her patients dying, you would have thought it was her best friend. That was the way she was. She felt deeply another’s pain and was there to help the person get better. She was a caregiver and a deeply religious woman whose faith in the Lord never wavered through loss, illness and destruction (more than Hurricane Camille wrecked havoc on the coast where she lived).

When my mother retired from being Director of Nursing at Biloxi Regional Medical Center, the Board of Directors said: Catherine David has been an inspiration to the nursing profession. She was a moving force and leader in the establishment of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation Coastwide. She had shown genuine concern for the welfare of the patients and has demonstrated support and concern for physicians, employees and people of the community. That was my mother, a caring, loving, concerned Christian.

I miss you every day, Mom. Who do you miss this Memorial Day?

posted by Margaret Daley @ 1:25 AM   9 comments

WHAT WOULD WE DO WITHOUT ELECTRONICS? by Merrillee Whren

This photo is a jumble of the cords I use on the gadgets that keep me connected. I have cords for my computer, cell phone, i-Touch, Nook, GPS and digital camera.

What did we do before we had all of these gizmos? I'm fairly certain that I may not have ever submitted a book to a publisher if it hadn't been for the personal computer and the printers that go with them. I can't imagine how authors did edits before the use of the computer. I'm a terrible typist, but the computer frees me from the fear of making a mistake because I know I can easily fix it.

I am also enjoying the Nook I got last year for Mother's Day. It is so nice for traveling because I can have dozens of books with me, and they don't take up space or add weight to my suitcase.

Do you have a favorite electronic device?

posted by Merrillee @ 3:00 AM   18 comments

Allie Pleiter on birthdays

Labels: allie pleiter, birthdays, celebrating, Homefront Hero, Milestones

posted by Allie Pleiter @ 12:30 AM   13 comments

Renee Ryan's Wedding Survival Tips

Well, we made it through the wedding. Our son is now a married man and our pockets are much lighter due to travel expenses, wedding gifts, rehearsal dinner, etc. The picture is of our son and his new bride. I think it looks like a romance novel come to life (at least in sentiment). What say you? As a writer of romance novels I've spent a lot of time thinking about weddings. I've included a lot of ceremonies in my books, but always from the bride or groom's perspective. Today, I've decided to give a few survival tips for the guests. There are only two! We'll call them the golden rules of wedding attendance. 1. This is the bride and groom's day, not yours. 2. When in doubt, refer back to rule number one. Okay, maybe I've simplified things a bit. Nevertheless, it's an honor to attend a wedding, a time when we spectators are given a small glimpse into the private love of a man and woman. We have been asked to witness a public pledge by two people who plan to spend the rest of their lives together, in good times and bad, sickness and health. What a blessing.

posted by Renee Ryan @ 10:18 AM   15 comments