Rituals

It's both sunny and cold in Arizona this morning--cold by Arizona standards, anyway. How I love the sunshine.

I told you about my friend, Althea, in yesterday's blog. Well, she's arrived, and we've been talking up the proverbial storm. We've got great plans for setting our intentions for 2006, getting our visions clarified and in place. We have herbs, and today we're buying candles. (The new moon begins today, and I like to do nine-day novenas (formal prayers) beginning at this time). Rituals, in themselves, have no power--but they do focus the mind, which does have power. I believe there is a deep human need for ritual, for not just saying our prayers, but acting them out. There is tremendous healing in this. Women are instinctively drawn to ritual--a bubble bath, a walk, journaling--all these things can be prayer. So can reading a book, exploring another world, in the company of characters who dare to do and be all that they can. Tony and Clare are like that--they are bold adventurers, as well as tender lovers. Yes, this too, this losing ourselves in a story, can be a form of prayer.

My prayer for you is that you will find your own unique vision, and lay claim to it. That you will put your roots down deep, and grow into a great tree, sheltering seedlings beneath your generous boughs.

May you be blessed.

Have a wonderful weekend. Set an intention. Light a candle.

My Friend, Althea

My friend Althea will arrive today, with her delightful pomeranian, Ti Amo, in tow. (Or, more properly, peeking out of her purse.) He's even smaller than my beloved yorkie, Bernice, but he holds his own with the rest of the menagerie whenever they visit. The two of them spent Christmas in New York, with Althea's lovely and accomplished daughter, Ava. After the snow and the transit strike, Arizona will be quite a change.

It's a wonderful thing to welcome in a brand new year with a friend like Althea. We'll light candles, set goals, and talk about our dreams. We'll do plenty of laughing, too. Althea's a kick. She can calculate your astrological sign down to the degree, but has trouble with Weight Watchers' point system!

I hope you're preparing for a wonderful 2006, with your friends and family.

I also hope you're reading my new book, "One Last Look", and enjoying every moment with Tony and Clare and the regular secondary characters--Clare's best friend, Loretta, her niece, Emma, the dogs, Waldo and Bernice (no coincidence, and my beagle, Sadie, has her nose out of joint because she's only in one book, and Bernice is in three), the magical Mrs. K, and Eddie, Sonterra's former Scottsdale PD partner. Of course there are new people, too--some good ones, and some stinkers. I'll leave it to you to figure out which is which!

Back from California!

I had a wonderful time in LA, with my daughter and her beau, Jeremy. It was really hard to leave, but I'm glad to be back home, too. Pushing up my sleeves to continue writing "Sierra's Homecoming", the parallel lives story I'm doing for Silhouette Special Edition. (December, 2006). The dogs greeted me with a welcome home party, and the cats essentially said, "You again?"

Over my vacation, I went to see "King Kong" at the fabulous Arclight Theatre in Los Angeles. The movie was too long, and if you like animals, don't go. I hate to be negative about anything, but even though the special effects are awesome, the thing was three hours out of my life that I'll never get back.

The email registrations have jumped so much that I know you've received the email newsletter about "One Last Look". There's a lot at stake in this story, with Clare and Tony having to go through some real trials, but I promise you, you'll be satisfied with the ending, and the journey as well. You'll laugh. You'll have a hair-raising adventure. And when it all winds up, you'll be cheering for the good guys!

More tomorrow. To all of you who have already bought the book, "Thank you!" To those of you who haven't, "What are you waiting for?" :)

And now I'd better go. I have 200 scholarship entries to review, and the final winners will be announced soon. Are YOU one of them? And if not--well, we're gearing up to start all over again, so sharpen those pencils.

Good morning!

I am, as you can see by the time of this posting, an early riser. As of now, I have been up for three hours, most of which were spent writing in my journal and morning pages.

Today, I am off to LA, on Southwest airlines, and my beautiful daughter, Wendy, will be waiting for me when I arrive. We are planning to watch movies, check out the local Sephora store, which is one of our favorite things to do, and even to have some mother-daughter writing time. Wendy is a screenwriter, you see, and though she hasn't had anything produced yet, mark my words. She will. I can see her name up on that screen, clear as anything. The best part of this time, of course, is Being Together.

I'm taking a hiatus from my stresses and worries (yes, even published writers have them!), and concentrating on staying in the moment and enjoying my many blessings. My daughter is the greatest of these, along with the privilege of doing what I love for a living, having so many friends, some of whom have four legs and fur, and living in a free country. I'm on a first-name basis with God, and I'm growing. I'm learning. I'm stretching. Sometimes, it hurts a little, but it's all worthwhile.

Like Clare and Tony (five days now), I'm determined to show up, suit up, and play the game with all my heart, no matter how rough it may get. The key is to remember that it IS a game, and that's hard sometimes, I know. It can be fun and easy, too, this game--if we choose to see it that way. There is enormous power in Vision, and we are always at choice.

I'm choosing joy. I'm choosing faith and courage. What are YOU choosing?

I will be back on this blog on the morning of December 28. Meet me right here, okay? I'll have a lot to tell you!

In the meantime, Merry Christmas. Relax and enjoy.

May you, and all your loved ones, human and furry, be blessed in all things and in all ways.

6 Days and Counting

"One Last Look" is on its way to you, in trucks and airplanes, right this very minute!

It is a romantic suspense, so there is a lot of both those things. Murder and mayhem, and some really hot love scenes.

What do I love most about Tony and Clare?

Their can-do, keep-going spirit. Their love for each other. Their humor. Their intelligence.

If you've registered in the guest book, you'll be receiving a beautiful newsletter soon, by regular mail, and another by email.

Take some time out, after all your holiday doing and giving, and give yourself a gift. "One Last Look" probably won't change your life or improve your mind. But it WILL entertain you, I promise.

Blessings to you and yours.