Work, Words, and Worth

I've been inundated with work since coming home last week (has it already been a week?!). Besides my darling older furbabies' health issues, I have to literally run from job to job and roof to roof trying to catch up. Then it's running home to ck on the old babies and given them their medication. The other night, I basically sat down and blanked out for five hours, and waking up to hungry dogs and unfinished chores.

Then my editor sent me a major suggestion--to cut out all three chapters containing past scenes from Jed's life because they aren't really needed for the main story to flow. Wahhhhhhh.... I couldn't handle it at that moment and just ate a tub of ice cream. It's a decision that's very hard for an author to take but one has to trust one's editor because we're working towards the same goal--a better book. The important thing, of course, is making everyone happy ;-).

So anyway, if you have read all my excerpts and later don't see the "little Jed" excerpt posted on the right column of this blog, the one that starts with a kid named Conor (Jed's middle name), it's because it didn't make it into the final cut of the book. I think if I don't rewrite/revise them, I'll just post these chapters on the Intermundia blog as well as my website. What do you think? Would you be interested? It's just Jed's past, events that I thought would be perfect mirrors to what was happening in the book, between him and Hell, giving the reader another layer to see how Jed became the Jed we know. Some of you might like that; some of you, like my editor, won't need those scenes.

It's all about work, words, and worth. This is my motto as I think of what is and how it's more important.

It's Friday and fun video time, of course. Here's one of a Perfect Divorce. Every one should end their relationship in this manner, I think!

Happy Weekend! And yes, the totebag contest below is still open for all till Sunday.

Hopefully, your life hasn't been as stressful as mine this past week. If you have a gripe, let's hear it. You hear mine all the time!

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Harlequin Vintage Tote Bag 2009 Giveaway

These pretty bags were given out to RWA attendees this year. It's big and decorated with vintage Harlequin cover art. Many of my friends gave theirs to me because they were difficult to fold into their carry-on luggage without creasing.

I HAVE ONE TO GIVE AWAY. With maybe a book or two inside ;-).

If you'd like to win this awesome tote, write a comment in this post, telling me about your first romance book and what do you want to see/read in your romance book today.

For example, my first romance book was Rosemary Rogers' Sweet Savage Love. Or maybe it was a Barbara Cartland, but I can't remember a single title from my collection of her books. RR's story, however, definitely changed my reading habits forever ;-).

As for what I want to read in my romances today, I'd like fewer sex scenes and more h/h sexual tension and relationship exploration. I feel that 15 pages of bedroom antics followed by 2 pages of plot followed by another 15 pages of sexxoring too boring for my current taste. Thirty years ago, yeah, that was titillating. Good tight dialogue, filled with sexy tension, or angst, or Teh Funny is more satisfying and so lacking in my romance reading these days.

So, your turn.

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You Know Prez Obama Wants To Read It

Check out the pics in this article of President Obama thumbing through a romance novel gifted to his wife by romance novelist Geri Krotow, former naval intelligence officer, Annapolis graduate, and the wife of the current naval attache stationed at the American Embassy in Moscow. I bet he's going to steal it from Michelle and read it when no one's looking ;-).

His expression is priceless!

Imagine putting a quote by the Prez of the United States on your cover: "This is sexy!" I'd love that!

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Post #2: I Cannot Live Without Books

And RWA slakes my thirst, hunger, need...everything! ;-)

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If You Ever Feel Stupid

If you ever feel a little bit stupid, just dig this up and read it again; you'll begin to think you're a genius.

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(On September 17, 1994, Alabama's Heather Whitestone was selected as Miss America 1995.)

Question: If you could live forever, would you and why?

Answer: "I would not live forever, because we should not live forever, because if we were supposed to live forever, then we would live forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why I would not live forever,"

--Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss USA contest.

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"Whenever I watch TV and see those poor starving kids all over the world, I can't help but cry. I mean I'd love to be skinny like that, but not with all those flies and death and stuff."

--Mariah Carey

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"Smoking kills. If you're killed, you've lost a very important part of your life,"

-- Brooke Shields, during an interview to become spokesperson for federal anti-smoking campaign .

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"I've never had major knee surgery on any other part of my body,"

--Winston Bennett, University of Kentucky basketball forward.

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"Outside of the killings, Washington has one of the lowest crime rates in the country,"

--Mayor Marion Barry, Washington , DC . ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

"That lowdown scoundrel deserves to be kicked to death by a jackass, and I'm just the one to do it,"

--A congressional candidate in Texas .

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"Half this game is ninety percent mental."

--Philadelphia Phillies manager, Danny Ozark

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"It isn't pollution that's harming the environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it."

--Al Gore, Vice President

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"I love California . I practically grew up in Phoenix ."

-- Dan Quayle

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"We've got to pause and ask ourselves: How much clean air do we need?"

--Lee Iacocca

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"The word "genius" isn't applicable in football. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."

--Joe Theisman, NFL football quarterback & sports analyst.

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"We don't necessarily discriminate. We simply exclude certain types of people."

-- Colonel Gerald Wellman, ROTC Instructor.

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"Your food stamps will be stopped effective March 1992 because we received notice that you passed away. May God bless you. You may reapply if there is a change in your circumstances."

--Department of Social Services, Greenville , South Carolina

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"Traditionally, most of Australia 's imports come from overseas."

--Keppel Enderbery

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"If somebody has a bad heart, they can plug this jack in at night as they go to bed and it will monitor their heart throughout the night. And the next morning, when they wake up dead, there'll be a record."

--Mark S. Fowler, FCC Chairman

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I Start Them Out Early ;-)

As you can see, my two nieces are either great actresses or brilliant readers ;-).

Aren't my girls the cutest? They are just too cute.

Sorry for not posting more RWA pics and news, but since coming home, I have an emergency with my furbaby and life has been hectic. Please bear with me while I resize the photos slower than a gopher crosses the road. Tomorrow, I'll take a pic of my RWA Book Loot for y'all to drool over, 'kay?

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RWA GALA Pics

More random pics and thoughts for you while I drive the 800 miles home. I can't believe it's now a week since I started the trip!

This is me and Joanna Bourne, one of my favorite historical authors. She won the RITA and I was so excited for her! Joanna is really sweet and a wonderful writer. Hot heros too!

Jacquie d'Alessandro is also one of my favorite authors and good friends. She's both glamorous and fun-loving.

My roomie, Cindy Gerard, also won the RITA for Best Romantic Suspense. It was a really competitive category and so exciting, just like the Oscars ;-). Then our group screamed when Cindy's name was called out.

Friendly Victoria Dahl and her halo was a hit at the bar ;-).

Here are two great writers whom I admire: Jennifer Greene and Anne Stuart. Jennifer was my mentor in the mid-90s and was always cheering me on when I was just an aspiring writer. Anne was also a wonderful presence at the Prodigy boards way back when and I started collected all her books after the first one I tried. Her heros are damn yummy and irresistible.

Now my nieces are calling me to play with them again and I must go, in the middle of packing. More reminiscing later!

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RWA Quote of the Night: "I Can Give Ten Orgasms Too."

Since it's going to take me a few days to reach home (stopping at sis' place and a leisurely drive home), I'll be uploading photos haphazardly and out of sequence. It's hard to find time to resize the photos while my nieces are around! ;-)


The grounds at the Marriott Wardman-Park Hotel are very beautiful. This is part of a glorious landscape that you could view from your window or while walking down to Connecticut Av. to catch the metro. Of course, many of us were wandering the hotel in between workshops and book signings and barely made it out into the sunshine.

And oh, yeah, the bar. It was very, very popular. I bumped into many editors and agents in between drinks and managed to exchange a card or two.

Quick bar story: There were some Marines staying at the hotel/hanging out at the bar. I heard quite a bit about them, and obviously, they quickly figured out from the attendees what those books they toted all over the hotel were all about. One of them said to a pretty romance reader, an earnest look on his face, "I can give ten orgasms too."

Heehee. Nope, I didn't, so you can scrub those naughty thoughts out of your head. I was too busy sleeping with someone else:


And yes, I'd go bi- for RITA. She was heavy, much heavier than I thought she would be, and laid in my arms all night till Cindy Gerard snatched her earlier this morning to take her home, sniff. That Cindy is such an insensitive, stingy bi-otch.

Finally, after saying goodbye to all, and sharing a delicious lunch with Rosemary Potter, the Bookseller of the Year (all the way from Australia!!!), I waved goodbye and drove off in my carful of books.

More pictures coming...but I need to decompress!

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RWA Quote of the Day: "My feet are killing me"

I'm still recovering from yesterday, especially last night. Who knew dancing all night like that would hurt a roofer's thighs? I must remember NOT to do that split again...;-)

Tonight is the gala so many of the authors will be taking it a bit easier during the day, but there are still workshops and booksignings for the brave and willing. I spotted Jim and Sharon Butcher and got some books. I squeed when I caught Joanna Bourne alone for a few minutes. I pouted because Ann Aguirre ran out of books. I am also totally knocked over when attendees came up to me and told me they were impressed with my moderating skillz. That caught me by surprise. First, most of the time, one remembers the workshop, not the moderator. Second, I always think I suck at public speaking. Must have gotten better at it since my first disaster when I announced a workshop as "The UNconscious Writer" instead of the "The SUBconscious Writer." LOL. Man. Yeah, that one was embarrassing.

I know. I'm babbling and no pics. I'll download those later, when my feet stop hurting. I kept telling myself that I really should go downtown to DC to look at the White House, which I heard was kind of an important place. But my feet. They not happy. They're bitching. And, there's an opening at the spa for a massage. It's such a tough, tough decision. Spa...White House...pamperation...walkwalkwalkathon...work on my foot...more footwork. I just don't know.

Anyway, last night was super fun, even though no trees fell on any romance authors. The Conga Line started early and then everyone did Thriller. Like the deejay yelled out, "Show your claws!" We romance authors knew how to do zombie very well, it seemed.

I rubbed shoulders with La Nora, Jacquie D'Alessandro, Jill St. John, Kylie Brant, Liz Maverick, and so many others. I laughed so hard at Jade Lee leading the Time Warp I fell off my perch by the bar. I was also part of the Hair Brigade with agent Lucienne Diver, who could shake and swing her hair better than Cher in her heyday.

Okay, trudging around the White House is looking less and less attractive.

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Romance Quote For The Day

I have meetings and cocktails from noon to midnight. Honest.

So dwell on the Goddess, Ann Stuart's, wise words from her workshop yesterday:

"It's stupid to make love against the wall and on the floor when the couple is in a bedroom. The bed is default if it's two feet away, 'kay?"

"Killing from far away can be sexy."

"I don't know why handsome, sexy heros warm the cockles of my heart."

"Are they (the dark heros) tamed after the HEA?" (Think Viggo Mortensen in The History of Violence)

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RWA Quote of the Week: Cows Are The Devil's Handmaidens

Hee. Moooo.

That's a classic quote straight from Linda Howard's keynote speech at lunch. It sums up La Linda's great sense of humor and her ability to tell a great a story. She had the whole luncheon crowd guffawing at her anecdotes about her family, whom she called "nuts." Basically, her message is about "hanging on out there," even during nutty times in your life. I can only wish for the same funny outlook in life to keep me going during my times of frustration ;-). Now, if only I could write a story around that wonderful title....

If you are in the DC area and want to take a little side trip, be sure to take one to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson. It's a 7000 acre estate and visiting it gives one a sense of history and an intimate inside look at one of our founding fathers. It's also a beautiful place, like stepping into the world of Gone With The Wind's Tara, and it made the writer in me want to try her hand at a historical suspense.



That Jefferson dude was six foot two. He was kinda smart. Owned a big estate. Great sense of humor. Hmm. Good romance hero stock ;-).

Back at RWA, everything is in full swing. Authors, authors, everywhere. Editors and agents too. I was able to bump into my former editor from MIRA books to give her a hug (I really enjoyed working with her and am relieved that we're still friends), connect with some other editors, and basically network with people in the business. Gossip, advice, pointers in abundance. Romance authors are the most generous writers in the world and I'm so fortunate to have such good friends.

A friend's daughter, Emily, posing with Cindy Gerard and me.

Sylvia Day, Cindy Gerard, and Kylie Brant happily networking ;-).

Lauren Dane and Ann Aguirre laughing it up.

The always-angelic Victoria Dahl.

The impeccable Alison Hart and the irrepressible Goddess Anne Stuart (ck out the little horns on her head)

Off I go to ck out some workshops and signings. Need I also say: BOOKS, BOOKS, EVERYWHERE?!

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Quick RWA Yay

I know, I know, Rooferauthor has been bad, but seriously, I haven't been able to find a block of time to play with the puter at all since RWA started. It takes half-an-hour to an hour to get back to the room (bumping into buddies on the way and then waiting for the elevators) and by the time I get back there, it's time to be off somewhere again!

But I wanted to tell you about a special encounter that put a big smile on my face since last night. At the big RWA signing, I approached the Goddess, the Queen, the One Whom I Worship, Linda Howard. I wanted to say "hi" and mention about my friend, Maria, who had just met her on a previous signing. It's always such a pleasure to listen to Linda's Southern accent and laugh.

When she was ready to sign a book for me, I presented my badge so she would know how to spell my name and she said, "You're Gennita Low?"

I nodded and smiled, "Yes," thinking Maria must have told her some silly story about me.

Linda gave me a big smile and exclaimed, "I love your books!"

See my jaw. See jaw fall on floor. No longer there. Still looking for it. I was speechless. Linda Howard read my books! And loved them! SQUEEEEEEEeeeee.

I'm not sure what I mumbled after that. I must have looked like some dazed fool standing there going, "thank you, thank you, thank you!" Yikes.

I've had this big smile on my face since the signing last night. Big, big, BIG smile. This morning I woke up all my roommates by yelling out, "LINDA HOWARD SAID SHE LOVED MY BOOKS, BY GOD!"

I'm sure my roommates are getting tired of the grin.

Got to go. Lunch and keynote speaker is...Linda Howard! I promise pictures of signings and more author talk later. BTW, you can see how fair she is compared to me in the pic above!

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Road to RWA Part Two

The rest of the drive was marred with rain and road work/slow traffic. The radio was a good friend. Virginia was exactly how I remembered the last time I drove through. And I only made one bad turn in DC itself, around that circle that reminded one of the Chevy Chase "Vacation" movies. The hotel is just off Connecticut Av., so quite near to the heart of DC.

Finally I am here at RWA, tired and eagerly looking forward to the hotel room. Then I found out that parking at the hotel wasn't free! $35 freaking dollars a day! Gah. So, tomorrow, I've to look for a cheaper parking lot because man, $35/day?!

My roomies were already here and we went to dinner at an Indian restaurant nearby. As you can see below, we nourished ourselves with some Indian Drinks called Maga Reethas, an ancient delicious brew that tastes tangy and heady.

We chatted and giggled and bantered and generally made a lot of noise. The food was delish too.

Catching up with writing friends is one of the best things at RWA. Tonight is still the quiet before the storm. The 2000+ attendees aren't storming the place yet. Tomorrow the noise begins. Watch out, DC!

And oh, I need a foot and butt massage. All that driving is just not normal for a roofer girl.

(Hey, those of you who are meeting me before the signing on Weds., we're having drinks at the lobby bar and I'll be holding an informal signing there too for BBW. See you there!)

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Road to RWA Part One

A hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles, a hundred miles...

I wonder why that particular earworm always invade my head when I'm driving a long ways. Never fails. I'll hum that song even with the radio blasting.

The drive today was fabulous. Not too much traffic, cops in good mood, and great weather. The GLow Mobile happily sped toward DC, stopping a couple of times for refreshments. The strangest sight was this place that had a thousand billboards advertising it for miles and miles: South of the Border. It was dark when I saw it, lit up like a fair, a giant sombrero right in the middle, like a Ferris Wheel, with firework stalls in the back. I pulled in to get gas and there were only two or three other cars there; the whole place was EMPTY. It was the eeriest thing, standing there filling up my car in this bright, BRIGHT place with no one around.

I'm going to call Fayetteville (or half an hour outside it) the Billboard City from now on. If you ever drive here, you'll see what I mean. Both sides of the highway have billboards thirty feet high, facing both directions, and after miles of trees and sky, it's really very Vegas-like, even down to the ads that scream out 24-hour topless cafes (Cafes?! As in, order a latte from the EEE-cup waitress? Do they offer free Internet? Heh).

Fayetteville is also where Fort Bragg is, as well as some Civil War historical battlefields and museums, so I'm quite tempted to dawdle here for a few hours before resuming my drive to DC. It'd be great research for Viking Dude, don't you think? ;-) A time traveler like him should know a lot about Civil War facts.... As you know, Fort Bragg is home of the Airborne and Special Ops. Corp. I feel I should at least do a drive by ;-). Jed and Killian would approve.

'Kay, Part One ends here. Oh, one more thing. Best billboard sign ever: EXIT HERE (you can get) BRASSIERES TO CHANDELIERS. I don't know why that struck my funny bone. I had coffee all over my steering wheel. Truly, laughing like that while driving alone isn't normal.

REMINDER: You can still ask questions about VHERS in the post, So Many Chores, below.

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But Look! I Fit Perfectly!

REMINDER: Still answering your VHERS questions in the post titled "So Many Chores" below.

I'll be on the road today. Furbabies will be under the gentle care of Alpha males and elves, Lord help them.

If I can, I'll update with some tweets (above the blog) and on Facebook with some pics of the road adventure. Alpha Males are already betting on how many times I'm going to get lost (have they no idea that I, a woman, ask for directions? And I, a savvy woman, has my puter with me?).

Below, my Furry Bad Boy is trying to convince me to fit him into the luggage. He isn't happy with me right now.


"Look, I promise I won't pee on your things. Let me go, pleeeassse, mommy!"


"Hee, hee, hee, you can't go if I don't move."

Sigh. I wish I could take him with me. But the hotel (and my roommates) will never survive him.

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Reminder and Alpha Males' Dream Race

Loving your questions for VHERS. Post under post titled SO MANY CHORES. I'll keep answering!

And now...

IS YOUR ALPHA MALE going to enter you and him in this contest? ;-)



HAHAHAHAHAHA. Loved the commentary!

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Pride & Prejudice as Twitterama!

If you're a Jane Austen fan and a Twitterer, you have to read this version of Pride and Prejudice:

Pride and Twitterverse

Funny and original!

P/S Don't forget, I'm answering your questions about VHers in yesterday's post.

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So Many Chores!

I'm running around trying to get all my chores done before I drive the adventurous trail to D.C. for RWA on Sunday. I'm so looking forward to this trip, but I also worry about my furbabies, especially the two older ones who need their meds and special diets, etc. And of course, Bad Puppy is going to destroy something while I'm gone, no doubt about that! The only one I know will be okay is Sweet Lilah, who is easygoing and is a sweetheart. If I could take Bad Puppy with me, I would! He's such a spoilt possessive momma's boy, I'm already looking around at my piles of books with trepidation.

I started outlining certain scenes for Virtually One, the third book. I'm excited and want to talk about Jed and Helen. What questions do you have from Book One, Virtually His (I know, it's been a while and you might not remember) that you're looking forward to in Virtually Hers? Maybe I can give you hints? ;-) Maybe I can expand on certain scenes that had been on your mind. Maybe you think you know a secret I was hinting....ahem.

I've been thinking up ways to get y'all back into the story--points of discussion, fun facts, even background stories. Any suggestions? I do know that I'll have more excerpts available when the publishing date is closer. Some of you have read the first few chapters already, and hopefully will come out to attest that the first 100 pages are plenty, PLENTY hot because a certain virtual relationship is going to explode as it becomes more physical ;-).

So, let's hear what you're curious about in Virtually Hers. I'll have some fun giving you hints.

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Post #2: Alpha? Males For 2010

From Puter Hell (post #1) to Fashion Hell. Gulp.

Well, at least they aren't wearing mantyhoses any more.

Yes, this is the Mummy's newest disguise:


And here is a zombie pretending he isn't thinking of food:


This one is the Grandson of Frankenstein, with busy fashion sense:

Below is a very rare were-platypus:

And isn't that Woody Allen with a wig? His arms look detachable with those sleeves, don't they?

And the best for last. I have no words. You guys help me out here.

From the LA Times

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Breaking Up A Long-term Relationship

It's been nothing but puter headaches the last couple of days, so pardon my lack of posts. When battling Bill Gates and his minions, my mind tend to become zombiefied and unable to create interesting dialogue. Unless you think screeching as a form of creative communication ;-P.

In short, my Outlook Express that handled all my different mail started to hang in the middle of downloading EVERY time. After ten years of being an experienced OE user, and in spite of many blips and flups, I still was someone who could deftly move her DBX files (ten years of DBX files, mind you) from one puter to the next, BUT after ten years, Bill Gates has decided that that kind of simple happiness couldn't be allowed. No one should be so damn comfy handling their emails.

Anyway, usually, OE just updates with the new IE. They go hand-in-hand like bread and butter. Suddenly, without telling anyone, IE7 does NOT upgrade OE6, so if you have IE7, which I have, you're f**ked if your OE starts to go wonky. There is, in fact, no solution, not unless you're willing to reset your computer back to Day One Factory Settings and who has the CDs these days? Or the time? Gah.

So, the last few days, all my mail were scattered in different servers, waiting to be downloaded and OE was freezing my system while I fought the demons to wrestle back control of my e-life.

Jaysus.

I'm a creature of familiarity. I like things the same boring way because I'm too lazy to take the time to fiddle with settings. It takes a lot to move the mountain Gennita's Unwilling Butt. I hate web mail. Okay, not hate...I just don't enjoy the experience and opening my email at the servers was making me cry.

Finally, one website saved me from Bill Gates' insidious evilness. The dude understood people like me, the unwilling ones, those who would waste all that time f**king with Microsoft Help and Other Horrible Solutions of Time Wasting Registry Key Changing. He said the magic words: "A program that looks and works like Outlook Express, only with a different name." Those magic words even came with a link.

Oh yeah, I clicked on the link and, lo and behold.

Goodbye Bill Gates and thy Hanging Anti-Social Outlook That Isn't So Express Anymore, and hello, Dear Darling Mozilla Thunderbird. My new boytoy has a sexier name too. Let's hope I can keep you for another ten years before you hear me screeching.

Tomorrow, ten years of emails transferred in new folders. Yeeha. Sometimes I wonder why the incessant need to keep these correspondences. Who's going to read them?! But DELETE is soooo final.

I bet the title of the post misled you ;-). So, what crazy long-term relationship have you terminated lately?

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Favorite Freedom Quote

You have to love a nation that celebrates its independence every July 4, not with a parade of guns, tanks, and soldiers who file by the White House in a show of strength and muscle, but with family picnics where kids throw Frisbees, the potato salad gets iffy, and the flies die from happiness. You may think you have overeaten, but it is patriotism. ~Erma Bombeck

Yeah. I'm off to do my patriotic duty today. Happy 4th of July to all my friends and readers!

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Stretching The Muscle

Ahem. It's Friday GLowiki time, heh heh. The acronyms in these articles caught my attention. And the content made me think, "Hmm...this is just the sort of thing my readers want to know on Friday."

I have no words for this, but I thought it might interest y'all, especially my few male readers ;-).

This ain't TIARA or NOPAIN. It's NORM, NOHARMM, BUFF, and NOCIRC. Yes, it's a lot of TMI about the PNI 4SKN (read that out loud).

From another site, one way to achieve "growth" is stimulated growth by tension. If you click on this second link, MAKE SURE YOU AREN'T AT WORK. NSFW because of adult PNI pics. But surely you want to take peek at the different instruments used to stretch that magic piece of skin.

Alas, dudes, the writers of that article warned against using DUCT TAPE. You see? They understand what goes on in your minds.

So what have we learned, my dears? Yes, it's sad. Duct tape can't be used on everything, dammit.

Your thoughts in this matter is also greatly appreciated. Please share. ;-)

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Post #2: Half-Year Reward!

I've been good for 12 months. Other than travel expenses, I haven't spent any of my savings on any pretty, shiny, IWANT-IWANT! things.

I released a book, just as I told myself I would. I've suffered through 6 months of compound and commute hell at the Other Job. I found a publisher I like who also loves my Virtual Series. I edited and edited while being miserable with the commute hell. I quit that job so I could finish editing and getting back to being Happy GLow. I feel happy again.

So, Happy Glow went shopping. Yesterday, books. Today, yes, the long-coveted ASUS notebook, weighing in at 2.5 lbs and costing less than $300. Yes, I shall not be denied. It is mine. No more 150lb laptop! Happy Glow and her make-up case-sized ASUS are now ready for RWA.

One day, maybe in another six months, the Other Coveted IWANT-IWANT! shiny thing--the I-phone. But only if I've been good ;-).

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