Well, yesterday turned out to be a party wash even though Sir Codes-A-Lot rode in to the technical rescue and we did get some comments in (thank you to everyone who kept coming back so diligently — we love all the castle dwellers), BUT we know how much fun a castle party can be when we have the entire day.  So, being queens who believe in doing a party right…we’re doing a party right…today.  Same deal as yesterday.  Yes, castle dwellers, wield your magic wands and let’s party down!

Ah, castle residents, it’s been a fabulous two years, and for this, our final party, we’ve pulled out all the stops. Jen, Rhonda, and I have provided each of you with a magic wand. Whatever you require, be it food, drink, a massage, a mani-pedi, or the celebrity of your dreams, you simply have to wave your wand and it shall be so! Food and drink will be delivered as always by our shirtless waiters and buxom lasses. If you desire a massage or a mani-pedi, wave your wand and the service will come to you! No waiting!

The Soapbox Queens are grateful to all of you for visiting the castle so faithfully for the past two years. To show our gratitude, we’re making this a mega-prize day! From 7-9 am, Eastern time, Rhonda will be on the throne presiding over the festivities. At the end of her royal reign, she will choose four lucky castle residents to receive prizes from her.

When Rhonda steps down, Jennifer will ascend the throne and be the mistress of the revels from 9-11 am Eastern time. She will also choose four castle residents to receive prizes from her treasure chest. From 11-1 Eastern time, Vicki will take the throne and choose four prize recipients. That’s twelve prizes in all!

Following the prizes, we encourage all of you to stay for the fabulous food and entertainment. There’s a rumor that Dorcas will stop by during Vicki’s reign, which means . . . broom rides! We’ll have music, dancing, and all the chocolate you can eat.

Enjoy, castle residents! This party is for YOU.

***ARGH!!! We are having technical difficulties again and Sir Codes A Lot is out of town!!!  Please bear with us.  Sorry!

***We’re still waiting for Sir Codes A Lot to ride in on his gallant horse and save the day. Whenever that happens, we’ll just have the party then and adjust the times for prizes. Don’t worry, because the party will go on eventually!

Love makes the world go around, or so the saying goes, and I agree. 

It’s a powerful thing…the need to love and be loved.  And there are numerous kinds of love — the love between a mother and a child, friends, family, a significant other, oneself, pets, mankind, the world in general — each one of them important.  Certainly it can be argued that love can be obsessive, painful, cruel, and destructive but I believe, ultimately, in the goodness, the richness, the givingness of love.  And that’s part of what drives me to write and read romance.  the belief in the triumphant aspect of love over sometimes powerful odds. 

Take a moment to reflect on who and/or what you love.  Really think about it.  Pause for a moment and send those vibes out into the world and see if you don’t get something positive back. 

I think it’d be really cool by the end of the day to have a whole slew of positive love flowing on this blog.  I invite you to share your favorite saying about love or just your take on love.

Sorry for the delay in posting a winner and thanks so much to all of you for understanding our dilemma.  Ya’ll are the absolute best and we are so very thankful for each and every one of you and will miss the castle terribly.  This has been such a wonderful place to hang out in cyberspace and the visitors are the ones who have made it so very cool.  A big, huge heartfelt thanks from all of us.

Now for the winner..

# 13, Katie!

Katie, please use the contact button on the side of the page to send me your snail mail addie and I’ll get the book out to you ASAP!  Don’t forget to tune in tomorrow for a post from Jen and then the big party with prizes is on Tuesday.  You won’t want to miss it!

Happy Friday, everyone!  Today I’m putting a copy of my July Blaze THE SOLDIER up for grabs.  For those of you who have read LETTERS FROM HOME, this is Adam’s story and I absolutely loved it.  He’s the most wounded hero I’ve ever written and he holds a special place in my heart. 

Also, though I do this with a heavy heart, I also have to announce that Tuesday will be our final blog here in the castle.  (Sniff, sniff.)  Vicki, Jen and I have really struggled with this decision, but we’ve got lots of books to write over the next year and keeping up with the work schedules and the blog is just not possible at the moment.  We don’t like to do anything in half measures and knowing the workload that’s coming over the next year, we know that we can’t do justice to both.  Something would suffer.  And since you’re all fans of our work, we know you don’t want it to be the books.  (Sniff, wail, sniff, sob… )

Here’s a note from Vicki:

You’d think that a Royal Highness such as myself would have so many minions — shirtless waiters, valets, and such — that I’d have plenty of time to write.  But it turns out that even with minions, I don’t have enough time to write.  Wah!  So it is with a heavy heart that I join with Jennifer and Rhonda in agreeing that we all need to concentrate on our books and bid a tearful farewell to the castle.  I’m sure if we put it to a vote, you’d all rather have us write books than blog posts, which is why I know you’ll understand.

And a note from Jen:

I’m so excited to announce that I’ll have a Blaze trilogy out next year.  However, that means lots of focused writing for me (and most of you have figured out I’m just a wee bit scattered).  So, in order to focus more on writing books, I’m bidding all of you a fond adieu.  I will sincerely miss each and every one of you.

In true Queen style we’re throwing a final HUGE bash here in the castle on Tuesday and we hope that you’ll join us for this last hurrah.  We’re going to be giving away lots of good prizes and would love to celebrate our time here in cyberspace with those of you who have made it so memorably enjoyable.  Hope to see you here on Tuesday.  In the mean time, have a wonderful weekend.

Ya’ll know what to do.  Put a  in the comment tail to enter and I’ll choose a winner over the weekend.

All night I kept thinking that I was forgetting something, that there was something that I needed to do, but couldn’t for the life of me remember what that particular something was.  I decide that it wasn’t important, got ready for bed and settled in.  I was  just about to doze off when I suddenly realized what, precisely,  it was.

The blog.  My turn.

Whoops.  My bad.

And here’s the deal–I’ve got nothing.  I’ve been wracking my brain trying to come up with a decent topic and folks, it’s just not there.  Nothing out of the ordinary happened today.  I went and ran, I went to the grocery store, I met an old friend for lunch.  I’m working on a new anthology, so I’m reading the Sookie books again.  (I never read anything new while I’m workng because I have to be able to put whatever it is down.  I know what happens in the Sookie books, so… )

*BIG sigh*  Anyway…that’s what’s happening here.  I’m plodding along, doing what I always do.  Taking care of my family, cleaning house and preparing meals, writing and reading.  Oh, and frying.  It’s miserably hot here at the moment.

So what’s happening in your world?  Is it the same old same old, or is something fascinating going on in your life?  Let us know.  We need to live vicariously.

I just discovered the neatest thing. A Cloud Appreciation Society was organized in the UK in 2005, and I can join if I want. I think I will! When you live in the desert, you become a real champion of clouds. I’m watching some white and gray puffy ones building over the mountains and I hope they bring us buckets of rain.

Besides their physical function in the world, clouds serve an aesthetic function, too. How many times have you looked up and found pictures in the clouds? Clouds can turn a pleasant sunset into a glorious piece of abstract art. Clouds bring depth to a backdrop of mountains and dramatically change the color of water, be it ocean, lake or river.

I went on the website for the Cloud Appreciation Society, and found this manifesto, which I thought you might like to read.

WE BELIEVE that clouds are unjustly maligned
and that life would be immeasurably poorer without them.

And so we say to all who’ll listen:
Look up, marvel at the ephemeral beauty, and live life with your head in the clouds!

Is that a cool concept, or what? For those who are interested in joining, the web address is www.cloudappreciationsociety.org Have you appreciated a cloud today? Do you have any clouds in your neck of the woods today? What do they look like?