August 25, 2008

Flown the Coop

Greg and I are now, officially, empty nesters.  We drove our youngest daughter up to college last week and moved her in.  It was an all day affair that she had prepared for in advance with many hours of planning and shopping.  On the drive up, God gave her a rainbow.  Pretty cool, huh?

Here's the Before and After shots of her dorm room.

She is attending the same university as her older sister, so Big Sis helped us move in.  Because the built-in chest of drawers is right next to the closet, we had to shut her inside while she hung up her little sister's clothes.  We'd be talking away and all of a sudden, a comment from the closet would be thrown out.  It would crack us all up.

This daughter (the one we are moving in) is the one that has done some modeling.  One of the things she loves to do is tear pages out of high-fashion magazines and make collages out of them.  Her room at home is literally wallpapered with these collages.  There's not an empty spot on the walls.  So, she came to move-in day with a file folder full of tear-sheets and made a collage with them.  She had no plan.  Just flipped through the pictures and up they went.  How she manages to make it all come out perfectly at the edges is nothing short of an art.  Here's a pic of her directing Dad and Big Sis on where to tape what while she held the rest of it down.

We started at 7:00am and didn't finish until 9:00pm.  Dad and I were exhausted, but pleased our little girl was all settled in.

She did pot-luck on a roommate and it looks like the Lord was gracious.  Her new roommate is sweet, soft-spoken and loves the Lord.  Praise God!

Meanwhile, it's awfully quiet around here.  I love it during the day because I get so much more writing done when it is totally silent.  But the evenings are a little too quiet for Greg and I.  I'm sure we'll adjust, though the puppies are not happy with this new arrangement at all!

posted by Deeanne on 08/25/2008 - 13 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

August 14, 2008

Lifetime TV

A bunch of us are having a big discussion about Edgy Inspirational over at Lifetime TV's online romance community. But we need YOU to make the day super fun!  Please stop by to swap comments with me, the host, Michelle Buonfiglio, and other romance fans. 

You must register to comment in the “comment section,” and be sure not to leave any spaces in your UserName.  (Registration isn’t a sales tool, it’s to make sure you’re experience at myLifetime.com is free from annoying, aggressive commenters.)

I met Michelle Buonfiglio back in 2005 when BRIDE first came out.  Since that time we have kept in close contact and see each other at the conventions we both attend.  (The above is a pic of Michelle and I at the RITA award ceremony in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago.)

Here's a clip from an interview Michelle did with me where we discuss Christian Romance:

Here's another one about Edgy Inspirational Romance ***SPOILER ALERT*** If you haven't read COURTING TROUBLE, don't watch this video.  We openly discuss how it ends!:

And last, here's a personal introduction to Michelle:

So, come on over to myLifetime.com and let's talk romance!  See you there!

posted by Deeanne on 08/14/2008 - 12 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

August 11, 2008

Romace Writers of America

I had a big time at the Romance Writers of America Conference in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago.  I roomed with Susan May Warren.  What a fun, crazy gal.  When she arrived in SF, she'd just finished jumping out of an airplane!!!  Check out her website for a video of that.

Susie was also a finalist for the RITA awards for Best Inspirational Romance 2008.  This award is the highest award of distinction in the secular romance industry. I can't begin to stress how hard it is to get nominated and how much harder it is to win.  So, I was thrilled for her and my good buddy, Amy Wallace, along with all the other nominees.  Linda Goodnight took the prize for Touch of Grace.  Congrats, girls!

Here's a pic of a few of the finalists, from left to right:
Irene Hannon, Susan May Warren, Linda Goodnight, Pamela Tracy

Every year at RWA, they host a HUGE autographing event and give the proceeds to Literacy for Life.  With over 450 authors signing books, it is quite an event.  And this year it was extra-special because I got to meet our own Evelyn from the Chat Room.  Now, I love ALL my readers, but I have a very special spot for our Chat Room members.  So, I love, love, love to meet them in person.  She brought her buddy, Olivia, along.  We had a great visit.  From left to right: Olivia, me and Evelyn.

posted by Deeanne on 08/11/2008 - 8 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

August 04, 2008

Gotta Have It!

While in San Francisco last week, my sister and brother-in-law (who live in the area) took me to Half Moon Bay (about 20 miles south of the city).   What fun it was to see them and what a GREAT town.  We walked the streets, visited the shops, spent lots of time in bookstores, ate a yummy lunch and drove back to the city via the coast with the top down on the convertible.

My favorite store that we visited was called Gotta Have It.  It was filled with collectibles and all kinds of unusual merchandise.  It's got so much stuff that you could go a million times and still see something you missed the last visit.

These are some of the things that I saw and said, "Oh, I Gotta Have It!":

A sign for our upstairs bathroom.

A door-hanger for my office when I'm on deadline and having to crunch out chapters.

And my favorite, two pairs of Crazy Glasses and Crazy Girls!:

Next week, I'll show you pics from the actual conference, which will include pics of the RITA winner for Best Inspirational 2008, pics of Susan May Warren, and pics of our very own Chat Room member, Evelyn!

posted by Deeanne on 08/04/2008 - 4 comments - Post a Comment    RSS FEED

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