See?  I told you it was fabulous!

This past weekend while we were plotting away, toiling over books and ways to improve this site, we were chatting amongst ourselves, eating petite fours and pimento cheese, and wondering what sort of prize we could give away on the site that would really get you guys excited.  The last time we hosted a Win Your Name In A Book contest, you all seemed to really enjoy it.  (Our own Tina Martinese won last time and her book will be out in August!  Tina’s a hot Italian chick who knows how to cook up some romance in this story.)  Anyway, the Soapbox Queens are doing a Blaze Christmas anthology for ‘09–yes, we have to plan that far in advance–and we thought it would be cool to include THREE lucky winners. 

Vicki, Jen and I will each choose a winner today from the comment tail.

And this anthology?  OMG, it’s going to be absolutely HYSTERICAL.  

Put a in the comment tail to enter!

HAVE YA’LL NOTICED THAT I’VE BEEN USING A LOT OF CAPS FOR THIS POST?  HUH?  HAVE YOU?  That’s because I’m still so STOKED from our retreat.  Creatively, we were ON FIRE.  Lots of great stuff coming down the pike.  And have I mentioned that I  Jen and Vicki?  Because I do.  I BFF heart them 4ever.  *fans face*

# 34–Courtney!

So sorry about forgetting to do the post, everyone!

Courtney, please use the contact button on the left to send me your snail mail addie and your choice from my backlist.

**Special COOL, AMAZING Soapbox Queen prize up for grabs tomorrow!  Don’t forget to tune in!**

It’s truly a mystery.  I’ve recently become bonkers over baseball.  I never much cared about sports before, but now you can find me trekking up to Chase Field in Phoenix to watch the Diamondbacks. (Conor Jackson).  I can’t tell you how much pleasure I get from a game (Conor Jackson), seeing the colorful uniforms and feeling the excitement of the crowd.  It’s easy to keep track of the game (Conor Jackson),  especially with a scoreboard the size of the Grand Canyon.  Even if you can’t see the players (Conor Jackson) as well as you’d like, the jumbotron takes care of that, and it’s as if you’re right on the field! 

I am truly becoming a student of the game (Conor Jackson).  It bears a lot of scrutiny, I’ve found.  Baseball (Conor Jackson) has a lot of hidden thrills that somehow escaped me before now.  Truly, I am becoming a dyed in the wool fan (Conor Jackson), an afficiando (Conor Jackson), yes, an enthusiast (Conor Jackson)!  I’m not sure when the transformation took place, or exactly why (Conor Jackson), but I’m completely hooked.  I have shirts, sweatshirts, programs, the works. 

Can you explain this odd phenomenon?  I’m still not sure why I’ve developed such a fondess for the game.  It’s perplexing, to say the least.  Perhaps, by writing it out here, and having the castle residents read between the lines, you can tell me what sort of strange spell has come over me.

*CONOR JACKSON, Diamondbacks First Baseman

 Note from Rhonda–So we’re sitting around on Friday talking about what cool new things we’d like to do on the blog when I ask “Who had Free Book Friday today?”

Jen and Vicki share a look, then say, “You did.”

 Oops!  Sorry, Queens!  I’ll choose a winner from the comment tail today!

Sunday afternoon I’m going to my first ever mineral and gem show and I can’t wait. I’ve always been interested in rocks and stones. In the last couple of months this has really intensified for me. I keep several crystals on my desk. One of my favorites is a rose quartz “egg”. Rose quartz is, not surprisingly, the stone of unconditional love and infinite peace — both pretty useful things for a romance writer. I also have a much larger onyx egg, a fairly large quartz piece (stimulates creativity), and then an assortment of other tumbled stones such as carnelian, moss agate, blue tigereye, adventurine, and others.

Then there’s the jewelry. One of my favorite pieces is five medium-sized turquoise stones on a leather cording. Turquoise has long been revered as a healing stone and a protective stone. Another favorite is a fret-work cross carved from carnelian. And then there’s the chakra necklace I bought in Sedona which is a beautiful piece that includes carnelian, amethyst, jade, citrine, turquoise, and quartz.

And now finally, coming to a civic center near me is a mineral and gem show. I won’t be back from the retreat until Sunday afternoon and it ends on Sunday at 5 p.m. but I’ve heard that’s when things get marked down so the seller doesn’t have to pack it up and haul it back home. So, I’m making plans to grab Girl up and head to the show. I’m going armed with an “I Want” list. It is, after all, Mother’s Day.

What about you? Got a favorite gemstone? Emerald? Diamond? Or do you prefer turquoise? Amethyst? Citrine?

If you’re interested in finding out more about crystals, two great books are The Crystal Bible by Judy Hall and Crystal Energy by Mary Lambert.

Queens, today is a very special day. 

  Vicki is coming to my house today! 

She’s never been here before, so naturally there’s been lots of preparation.  Cleaning, of course.  Making lots of lists to make sure that I don’t forget anything important.  Tomorrow morning, after we’ve had our pedicures and lunch at a cool little restaurant in the park, we’re going to drive over to Georgia to our little cabin in the woods and meet Jen.  As we’ve mentioned before, we get together a couple of times a year and I don’t think I would stay sane were it not for these creative sessions.  We plot, plan, laugh, build fires and I have been known to drive to the little store in my caftan and Crocs in order to get fire wood.  (Vicki is the Official Keeper of the Flame.)  It’s always fun to watch Jen, who has a very difficult time sitting still.   She’s tidying, exercising, fidgeting whathaveyou ALL the time.  (Although I do seem to remember her sitting still while watching a Daniel Craig movie.)

At any rate, we always have an absolute ball and I come home from our retreat refreshed, rejuvenated and ready to write.   In addition to being fabulous writers, these ladies are two of my closest friends and I  them dearly.  So lets talk friends.  Tell us about your best friend(s).  How long have you known each other?  What makes him/her special?  Inquiring minds…

HUZZAH!!  HUZZAH!!  The champagne fountains are flowing, and the shirtless waiters (buxom waitresses for the guys) are moving among us with trays of bubbly.  So grab a flute and raise a glass, because we have something incredible to toast!  Everybody ready?  Here’s to our very own

KIMBERLY, who has sold a book to Harlequin Mills & Boon!!  Three cheers for Kimberly!

Kimberly, we’ve commissioned a special throne for today, one that’s created to look like an open laptop.  If you’ll take the seat of honor, we want to hear all about it.  Where you were when you got the call, how you reacted, who you told first, how long you’ve been writing, what the book’s about, and when it will be coming out.  Did I forget anything?  If so, everyone feel free to yell out more questions.

Besides the champagne, we’ve stocked the bar with the makings for Godiva martinis.  I’m sure the castle residents will want to contribute their favorite party fare, and I’m thinking specifically of King David and his desserts!  We’ll also keep the cooks in the royal kitchen busy whipping up any delicacy that would tickle your fancy!  This is your day, Kimberly!  Party down!(Kimberly is also partying at The Writing Playground today, so be sure to click on over and wish her a congratulations there as well!)

Last October I was getting ready to attend my chapter’s (Georgia Romance Writers) annual conference, Moonlight and Magnolias. I was slated for dinner with a guest editor and me being me, I wanted to figure out the other folks that would be going to dinner as well. There was a name I didn’t recognize — Elizabeth Hoyt. I checked out her website and while I was there I checked out her books…which then led to me reading the excerpts and I LOVED THEM. Which actually made me a little more nervous about meeting her. I couldn’t wait to read her books, but what if she turned out to be a…well, let’s just settle for witch? Hey, it happens. You meet a writer who’s obnoxious and it’s darn hard to read their books after that. I’m so happy to report that
Elizabeth is totally charming. She’s funny and very genuine. Thank goodness, because I could then read her books which I loved even more than the excerpts. I’m thrilled for her, but totally not surprised, that she’s a RITA finalist this year. I’m psyched her new release, To Taste Temptation, is now available and better yet, that she’s here with us as our Queen for a Day. Please join me in extending a big Soapbox Queens welcome to Queen Elizabeth Hoyt!

ELIZABETH HOYT DISCUSSES WRITERLY INSPIRATION…AND DANIEL DAY LEWIS’S ASS

First of all I just want to clarify that Jade Lee is my critique partner and she’s assured me that the word ASS is bandied about on the Soapbox Queens all the time. So if anyone is offended, please go yell at Jade. ;-)Anyway, so every once in a while someone asks me where I get the inspiration for a book. They usually ask this question with a furrowed brow and serious expression, and I get the feeling that I’m supposed to tell them that I was inspired by watching the mating dance of Sandhill Cranes whilst listening to Mozart’s Don Giovanni and sipping chilled Champagne.

Except, NOT.

For instance, the inspiration for my latest book, To Taste Temptation (shameless plug: available now!) was basically Daniel Day-Lewis’s ass. There I was shlumped on the couch, eating popcorn and watching The Last of the Mohicans—possibly the most romantic movie ever filmed—and wondering if Mr. Day-Lewis ever got chilled from his buttock-revealing authentic Native American leggings when I had A Thought. What if Hawkeye, Daniel Day-Lewis’s character, showed up in London? No, really! A rough, to-the-point, doesn’t-suffer-fools-gladly, American colonial in Georgian England with all the pomp and rules of London society! And he could wear leggings, I thought! And have a really hot ass!And wham! a book was born—more or less, anyway. There certainly weren’t any Sandhill Cranes involved, at least not to my recollection.

So, discussion questions: How do you get the inspiration for your books (if you write books) OR What does Daniel Day Lewis’s ass inspire you to do? Or you could talk about Sandhill Cranes, I’m not picky. In any case, I’ll pick one person who comments to win an autographed copy of The Raven Prince!