Ok, it's never pretty when you get hit in the face by a wad of rice.

I love traveling and trying new things.  Last night, Tina and I were invited to dinner by author Sherrilyn Kenyon and her family.  They took us to a Japanese restaurant (a first for me).  I know the best part is the preparation of the food and our chef really put on a show.  Lots of flames, volcanos, beating hearts and the highly entertaining food toss.  If you've never ex...Read More

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Chris Barton, firefighter, bookclub member

I arrived in Nashville to visit pal Tina, expecting sunshine and warmth.  Got cold and rain, but better than the cold and snow I left.  But the surprise I got was a chance to interview Janet Evanovich of Stephanie Plum fame.  Janet was at Borders signing her latest "between the numbers" book, Plum Spooky.
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Well, I'm off on holiday to Nashville to visit a friend for a couple of weeks, so I'll be blogging from there.  Let's see how they feel about stalkers in bookstores and libraries.

Now here's this weeks WW Ladies Book Blurbs:

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Well, the 2009 conference schedule is on the calendar...kind of.  I have the for sures, the maybes and the I wishes.

The for sures are:

New York Comic Con, February 5-7
Washington RWA,  Leesburg, VA, April 17-19
WisRWA, Green Bay, WI   June 5-7
Romance Writers of America (RWA)  Washington DC, July 15-18
San Diego Comic Con, July 23-36
Dragon Con, Atlanta, September 4-7
Moonlight and Magnolias, Atlanta, October 2-4
K-Con, New Orleans, October 9-11

Maybes are:

Heart of Dixie Readers Luncheon,  Huntville, AL, May 2
Thrillerfest, New York, July 3-11

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Over the holidays I was on a readathon.  I read a ton of books, all different kinds, and what happens when you read nonstop is that they all start to meld together.  Especially if they are the same genre.  So I really mix it up by reading a historical, then contempory, paranormal, thriller, historical fantasy, humorous and so on.

Here's the thing that really jumped out at me.  A lot of the contempories seemed to have a race to see how fast the characters could have sex.  I started watching page numbers to see when the deed was done.  Now this is all fine, but give me a reasonable explanation as to why they would fall into bed (ok, usually not a bed) right away.

Now, historical...Read More

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This morning I posted on Twitter that I wanted to finish the book I was reading, but my eyes just wouldn't focus.  My greatest fear is that I'll need glasses.  Now, I don't have anything against glasses, I do need them for distance, but I just don't want that hassle when I'm reading.  I lose my driving glasses all the time, I know it would happen even more with reading glasses.  Since I read all over the place, they could end up anywhere (yes, even in the bathroom).  And don't even get me started on bifocals.

Instead, I think publishers should consider making the print just a tad bigger.  Some of it is so tiny I find myself missing whole sentences when my eyeb...Read More

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Well, I didn't get the Wii Fit for Christmas, but Andrew did, so I guess I need to get over to his place and try it out.  I'm hoping he gets too busy for it and will let me borrow it for a while.  When I was at my sister's the other day I got to play the Wii bowling with her and my niece.  I creamed them (ha, ha).  Finally, a video game I'm good at.  Of course, we played the cow racing next, and if you've never tried it, you are in for a treat.  You sit on top of a cow and race to run over scarecrows.  I ran over more trees than anything (and you don't get points for that), but it's great fun and laughing burns calories.

But here it is, Sunday already and tim...Read More

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How weird is this?  It is already 52 degrees here in South Milwaukee at 6:30 a.m. and it is December.  Right?  And this is after 11+ inches of snow last week.  It looks like everywhere it's going to be unseasonably warm, so enjoy!

Just because there was a holiday this week (and next) doesn't mean that the WW Ladies haven't been busy reading and ready to offer you up some books for your to consider.

First Blood by Susan Sizemore, ...Read More

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Annual Christmas sister party with Mom

Ok, I'll admit it, I thought today was Monday.  With everyone I know off of work for 2 days in a row, my mind automatically said it was the weekend.  The sad thing is that I'll do this all over again for New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.  My version of Groundhog Day.


And my special Christmas present is that I get to see my grandkids today.  They live in St. Louis but they are here for the funeral of their great-grandpa.  So, a bitter sweet visit, but I'm...Read More

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Yes, this a Christmas movie.  It has Christmas trees, Christmas songs and when he kills a terrorist, he puts a Santa hat on him.

Christmas Eve finally!  Or to, some Christmas Eve already??  But, either way, the day is here and I'm excited.  Andrew is coming over to spend the day.  A whole day with my little guy.  As any of you with children know, once they grow up and become adults, these days are golden.

I'll spend the day preaching the virture o...Read More

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Yesterday my boys lost their grandfather (their father's father).  For my youngest (26), it is his first experience with death on such a close personal level (my son's are 10 years apart).  It was a very emotional day filled with a lot of questions and not too many answers.

I tried to explain what came next, the funeral plans, the timing because of the Christmas holiday.  Death isn't an easy thing for any of us and it seems to be especially profound around any holiday.  We talked about the happy times and memories he had of his grandpa.

I spoke on the phone with my ex-husband to offer my condolences and even though we haven't talked in many years, the time seemed to melt away as caught up on old friends and relatives on both side...Read More

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Last week I sent a box of Christmas presents to my son and his family in St. Louis.  I won't  be able to be with them during the holidays (which is darn right painful), so I did the next best thing.  It just isn't the same.  They got the box and opened the gifts, but I didn't get to see their faces or hear what they thought.  I didn't get to play the games or cuddle in the blankets I made for them.  I didn't get to share the Mike and Ike's while watching the video.  But mostly I didn't get to read the books to them.

There's nothing like cuddling with a little one and reading a book that keeps them so enthralled that they want you to turn the pages faster to find out what happens next.  Those precious moments that you spend tal...Read More

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