Thanks to everyone who came by and shared their guilty pleasures today.  I smiled all day long, and many times laughed right out loud.  You guys are so much fun that I wanted to share something — er someone special with you.

Enjoy…….

You know if you can’t find something defined on Wikipedia, it doesn’t exist. Guilty pleasures are real, however, and here’s the definition: “A guilty pleasure is known as something someone considers pleasurable despite feeling guilt for enjoying it. Fashion and food can be examples of guilty pleasures.”

At my last local RWA chapter meeting, our illustrious president, Cyndy Salzmann asked, by way of introductions, for each person to share their guilty pleasure.

Dee Ann W said: “Music is my guilty pleasure. It’s more of an obsession. I’ll hear a new song and I have to have it. Not necessarily the artists’ entire CD but that one song. Dee Ann has a passion for any song sung by the latest American Idol winner, David Cook. She downloads all songs sung by the sexy Idol. “My realization from writing this,” said Dee Ann, “is that music is not my guilty pleasure. David Cook is my guilty pleasure.”

Rest assured you’re not alone there, Dee Ann. I listen to David Cook as I drive.

One of my friends confessed to playing Fashion Solitaire online. I admit I checked it out, but I resisted the free hour. I don’t need any more addictions.

Tina Gayle responded: “When I was younger one of my guilty pleasures was wearing my sister’s clothes. I had to be real careful though, and make sure I put it back in the exact same place in the exact same way it was hung. Luckily, I left for school after she went to work and got home before she did. Oh, to have a sister who is the same size as me again.”

The confession that had everyone in stitches was a writer who will remain anonymous unless she reveals herself here, because I don’t have permission to post her identity. Said writer keeps a can of chocolate frosting hidden in the back of her refrigerator and eats a scoop while watching Cops. Watching Cops is part of that guilty pleasure, because she can feel superior in that her husband wears a shirt.

The rule: This frosting may only be eaten with an index finger. In case of discovery, the offending finger can then be poked into her mouth. “What are you doing?” “Nothing.”

You know who you are.

In the midst of hearing about hidden chocolate, doughnut binges, and feasting on Chinese for a week while husbands are gone, I kept thinking that I do a lot of that stuff but I just don’t feel guilty about it. In order for it to be a guilty pleasure, one must actually keep it a secret from someone and have remorse about the compulsion.

By the time my turn came around I finally came up with something. Most of you already know I’m a collector of the highest caliber. I stop at all garage sales and flea markets and antique malls I can find, and I can’t pass a Goodwill without stopping to browse.  Do I need anything? No! Do I buy things? Undeniably yes. My family and my husband cringe over these purchases. My family cringes because they’ve all helped us move a couple of times.  My husband cringes because he’s always building new storage and display. So, my guilty pleasure is that I buy things and then leave them in the trunk until no one is home, then wash them up or whatever they need, and put them away so it looks as though they’ve always been there. And no one’s the wiser. Well, until now.

After that day, I did come up with another guilty pleasure. Even when we both have to get up the next morning, my daughter Kristin and I often stay up until midnight or later engaged in Boom Blox competitions. When we play several nights in a row, our arms and shoulders get so sore we can hardly move them.

Boom Blox is a Wii game created by Stephen Spielberg. The fiend. Our favorites are the towers you have to slide blocks from and try not to topple them, and also the blocks of towers you do try to knock down systematically. You can play alone or as partners, but most often we compete against each other. And this from me, the person who won’t have games on her computer.

Here’s what Charlene Sands said about her guilty pleasure: “Everyone who knows me, knows I’m a huge Tim McGraw fan. I’ve never belonged to a fan club, ever, not even for Elvis, but I belong to his. I’ll pay outrageous prices on ebay for Very Good Seats to his concert. Thankfully, my good friend, Tanya is my enabler. She loves Tim too and we go together and have a blast! I see every movie he’s in, buy his records, visit his website, know the names of his band members and his children. I’m a die-hard fan.”

Tanya Hansen didn’t confess to the Tim addiction, but she did tell me that in winter she sits in front of the fire with a book instead of doing the things she should be doing, and in summer ditto with walks along the beach. Who can blame her there, eh?

Since I was having fun with the subject, I polled readers as well. All the responses were fun to hear. Cindy said this: “Nancy Drew PC Games are my guilty pleasure. These things are sooooo addictive. Me and my girls sit at the computer for hours playing these things until we finally (usually days/months later LOL) solve the mystery.”

Connie in Nebraska says: “I love old movies, especially musicals, and especially Elvis, and if I can watch them while playing with my beads, I am in heaven.”

Robyn told me: “My guilty pleasures are my ‘afternoon naps’. I am not napping as much as I did, but when my 2nd one was born, I was under doctor’s orders to nap every afternoon to help keep my blood pressure down. I never gave it up. We trained family and friends not to call or bother me in the 2-4pm range. Even if I didn’t nap, I’d sit quietly and read or watch TV. Just some ‘me’ down time. I still sneak in naps, but my afternoons are still my downtime.

So my questions for you today:

Do you have chocolate remorse?

Do you have a favorite Wii game?

How about a fascination with a celebrity?

What is your guilty pleasure?

I can’t take credit for these.  Barbara Vey, who’s a romance blogger/columnist for Publisher’s Weekly, graciously gave me permission to share the photos she took at RWA.

Here’s several of Nora Roberts. 

This one was taken at Registration, right before the conference began.  Love these strappy sandals!

Can you imagine being so famous that people even want to see your shoes?

Thank you, Nora, for being so patient and letting the rest of us ogle you! 

These were taken at the Rita Awards Ceremony. 

Love the rhinestone pair in the lower right hand corner!  sigh . . .

Black is definitely the color of the evening.

Thanks to Esri Rose for sharing the following pictures with us.  She had a bunch!

(I’m posting them with her permission.  Check out her site   http://elvesamongus.com/blog/  for the rest of her collection.  It’s amazing!  And thanks to Cheryl for mentioning it this morning.)

How’s this for gorgeous elegance?

 Or something more whimsical?

For those who don’t want heels?  These are beautiful!

Elegant, elegant!

Even before I attended the Romance Writers of America conference in San Francisco last week, I’d decided to do a blog on women’s high-fashion shoes.  I thought I’d start out giving a little history on nineteenth century styles, touch on design and fabrics and how the shoe has evolved during the century. 

I started researching.  Dabbled with a few ideas.  Found a picture or two.  And then I thought . . . nah.

Let’s go right for the bling!

And what better place to do that than where 2,200 women are gathered?  Twenty-two hundred women who WRITE, and every writer knows how solitary sitting in front of that computer can be, week after week.  Month after month.  Toiling over manuscripts and emails and blogs just like this one–all by our lonesome.

RWA’s national conference is one place where we authors come out en masse, strut our stuff, show our professionalism.  Our successes. 

Our shoes.

After much shopping and planning and travel, aspiring writers arrive to blend with industry professionals.  Published authors meet with their editors and agents.   Newbie authors rub elbows with nationally known bestselling authors.  During the conference, we learn.  We network.

And we party!

One such party is the esteemed Rita awards ceremony and reception.  Another is the gala event Harlequin throws for its authors, and every year, the party is incredible.  Cocktails, fine food, and music.  Everyone comes dressed for the occasion, and it’s something to see.

Including the shoes.  Here’s a few I’ll share with you!

Aren’t these yummy?

Stacey Kayne is wearing the black pair at the top.

Going clockwise, Gail Ranstrom, a Harlequin Historical author.

Rounding out the circle is Charlene Sands, Pam Crooks and Kate Bridges.

These tootsies belong to Nora Roberts.  

She’d been dancing shoeless, but I happened to catch her just as she was putting them back on again before she left.

Aren’t these pretty?  The ties are unusual!  Margaret Marbury, one of the Harlequin editors, wore them.  Except I didn’t know that’s who she was, and we had a giggle over it.  She’s gorgeous–tall, blond and willowy.

I just love this one!  Michelle Buonfiglio is a romance columnist for Lifetime Television’s myLifetime.com.

This strappy little number was worn by Michelle’s good friend, Amy Fosseen, who was happy to oblige me, too! 

Bet you weren’t expecting these, eh?

Scott Eagan, with Greyhaus Literary Agency, and his wife, Nikki, who writes as

Bronwyn Scott for Harlequin Historicals.

Scott’s kilt is an Irish Ancient Galway Tartan from where the Eagan family comes from.

Julianne McLean, currently writing for Avon and a former Harlequin author, posed on the dance floor for me.  Her shoes reminded me of the ones our Barbie dolls used to wear.  Red polish and all.

Walmart, $19.99.  (And yes, she told me I could tell you that!)

I could have snapped pictures of pedicured toes, nail polish that ranged from bright pink to bold black, and shoes with rhinestones and stiletto heels all night long.  Even now, I’m drooling over the memories of all those gorgeous shoes.

So how about you?  Are you a shoe hound?  Do you have a closet full, all kinds?  Or are you a one pair of Nikes kind of gal?  (Or guy.)

How much are you willing to spend for that perfect pair of shoes to accessorize the perfect dress?  Are you a bargain hunter?

Let’s talk shoes, girls!

I’ll let you in on a secret.  Remember my shoe in the top pic?  The one with the black polka-dot bow?  $9.99 on clearance.  Best ten bucks I’ve spent in a long time!  Hee!

Back in the late 1800’s when rodeos first started they were called Cowboy Reunions or Cowboy Competitions. They were rarely called rodeo until after the turn of the century. Plain ol’ cowboys came from all around to compete in these. They were fun and they allowed cowboys to get together, let off some steam and renew acquaintances, hence the name of the affair.

Every August here in Wichita Falls we host a similar kind of thing that we call the Texas Ranch Roundup. It’s where all the competing ranches sign up for events that feature just ordinary, everyday cowboys. There are no professionals allowed.

Some of the participating ranches are the Waggoner Ranch founded in 1851, the Pitchfork Land and Cattle Company established in 1883, the JA Ranch (1876,) the Tongue River Ranch (1898,) the Moorhouse Ranch (1900,) and the Spade Ranch. The area has a rich and storied ranch history that is imbedded in our way of life and we’re very proud of our heritage.

But, back to the Texas Ranch Roundup. Each event awards points for the top hands and they go toward a combined total at the end of the rodeo. The ranch with the most points at the end is declared the winner. No money is involved; simply braggin’ rights. But those cowboys are very serious about winning. They’ll risk life and limb just to be able to be called The Best.

The events are things cowboys normally would do around the ranch. There is no bull riding event because cowboys don’t generally ride bulls when they’re at work. Here are a list of the events of the Roundup:

Bronc Riding

Roping

Steer Wrestling

Wild Cow Milking

Calf Doctoring

Branding

Team Penning

Chuckwagon Cook Off

Arts and Crafts

* * * * 

In GIVE ME A COWBOY, the new anthology I have coming out in February with Jodi Thomas, Phyliss Miranda, and DeWanna Pace, all our stories take place during rodeo week on the Fourth of July Independence Day celebration in 1890. All four stories are set in Kasota Springs, Texas and because they’re sort of interconnected they were challenging as all get-out to write. The heroine of mine is the mother of Phyliss’s heroine so you can imagine the difficulty of coordinating our stories.

My story, Texas Tempest, is a humorous adventure between a tough gritty gunslinger and a lovely widow who’s seriously husband-hunting. Tempest LeDoux simply has the worst luck in keeping a man. In rides McKenna Smith and they’re immediately thrown together because of the rodeo.

Of course, McKenna has no desire to become another notch on Tempest’s bedpost. He’s content with the freedom of single life.

But Tempest doesn’t play by anyone’s rules. Life has given her a raw deal and she’s fighting tooth and nail to get a husband that won’t up and die on her. She’s already buried five good men and that’s five too many. Now she’s looking for someone tough enough to become husband number six and stick around long enough to help her mend a broken heart!

When the tall lonesome gunslinger named McKenna Smith rides into town, Tempest knows he’s the one for her-if only she can rope him!

With their annual Fourth of July Rodeo about to start, she’s terrified he’ll get it in his stubborn head to sign up for the bronc riding since he has quite a reputation for taming the beasts. She’s terrified he’ll get killed before she has a chance to convince him to give up his dangerous ways. Fortunately, love and fate have a mind of their own. All it takes is a little Texas Tempest to get things going the right way toward a happy ending.

GIVE ME A COWBOY will arrive in bookstores in February. I know that’s months away, but I hope everyone will mark the release date on your calendar. It’s already available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble’s websites for pre-order.

So ladies, round up those doggies!  Have you been to a rodeo?  Do you have a favorite rodeo event? Do you like reading western romance books that have rodeo themes? Or maybe you have other events in your area that showcase your history and would like to tell us about it. I’m all ears. I’m giving away a copy of “Give Me a Texan” to one lucky winner.

And don’t forget to register for our Sizzlin’ Summer Stampede of Prizes that’s in full swing!! There’s a link on the left side of the screen.

I lived in Calgary for twelve years.  In fact, Calgary, Alberta was my address until May 28^th…when we moved all the way across the country, about a five-hour drive from where I grew up.  But I’ve spent the bulk of my marriage in Calgary…we moved when we were married less than a year, had a small car, mostly hand-me down possessions, and no kids.

The first year we arrived too late for the Stampede, but just ahead of the beginning of hockey season. (Go Flames Go!)   It was a heat wave, and we couldn’t believe how HOT it was.  One of my first memories was going to a WalMart by where we lived, and seeing an oriental man, in a cowboy hat and boots, talking on a cell phone! 

The second week of July, there are no hotel rooms to be had in Calgary.  It’s Stampede Week, complete with Princesses, a parade, and free pancake breakfasts all over the city.  We did make it to Stampede the next year, and I was pregnant with our first child…just pregnant, like about 8 weeks along and sick.  It was hot and all these people were drinking cold beer in the stands and I was stuck with water.  I had beef on a bun…red meat was a must while I was expecting, apparently…and laughed at the mutton bustin’ kids, admired the dexterity of barrel racing, and oohed and aahed over the broncs and bull riding.  I still love the smell of mini-donuts and hate the crush of people on the C-Train.  But I liked the Rodeo so much that I knew I had to have one in my second Romance, Marriage at Circle M.  Complete with a sexy ex-bronc rider.

We fell in love with the mountains, being able to see them from the city (there’s a great view from the Calgary Tower if you get a haze-free day), driving to them, skiing in them, hiking…I always thought when we moved away what I’d miss most was the mountains.  But I was wrong.

It’s the prairie.

It’s the wide open expanse.  Because truth be told, those cowboys and girls that make it to Stampede don’t live in Calgary.  They live in Longview, and Caroline, and Madden, and Wetaskawin, and all sorts of small towns that hardly appear on the map.  They live on the land and farm it, raise their stock and travel around during rodeo season.  Those towns mean something.  And I fell in love with one of them – Sundre – a few years ago.

Sundre is a typical western town – a hotel, a grocery, a department store (I love browsing around the V&S!), a library, a few restaurants…the amenities you need, but still a bit of a drive to Red Deer and about an hour and 20 minutes to Calgary.  When you take the highway in from Olds, you crest a hill and if you hit it at the right time, the sun is setting over the mountains and it’s spectacular.  It’s ranch country. And maybe a little oil and gas country.  And it’s beautiful.

When I wrote Hired By The Cowboy, it was a natural choice for the setting, and so Windover Ranch was born, and featured again in Marriage at Circle M.  I was a little homesick after that so I wrote The Soldier’s Homecoming and set it in my east-coast hometown of Fredericton, New Brunswick.  But I wasn’t done with the characters or the setting from my first 2 books yet, and so that became Falling For Mr. Dark and Dangerous.

I went slightly south of Sundre to the community of Bergen for this story, where the main feature is the General Store.  I’d e-mailed for some info, and one weekend when we were camping in Elkton Valley, we popped in and I introduced myself.  It was so much fun…I got to see the store, drive the roads…and knew exactly where Maggie and Nate would park in the parking lot!

Falling for Mr. Dark and Dangerous is out this month with Harlequin Romance, and in some ways it takes me back to my other “home” where I can see for miles and feel the blustery warmth of a Chinook on my face.

Is there a place that calls to you?  Have you moved, and what part of that home stayed with you the most?

I’ll select one person from the comments after the weekend to win a copy of FALLING FOR MR. DARK AND DANGEROUS…guess what I’m doing this weekend?  I get to witness a real-life love story.  My mum, who is 75, is getting MARRIED.  Seems genetics might have played a part in my romantic heart!!!

Donna

www.donnaalward.com

ORDER ONE OF DONNA’S BOOKS FROM AMAZON

With the two hour time difference, and an incredibly busy day, I’m late adding a couple more pictures to share with you all.

For those of you unfamiliar, we Harlequin Historical authors are edited out of London.  The London editors, headed by Linda Fildew, arranged a lovely afternoon of tea, scones and delicate sandwiches for us in a unique tea and equestrian shop. 

While we waited for the staff to seat us, we congregated on the back patio and got to know our editors better. 

Here’s Charlene, Stacey, Kate and me next to an antique carriage.

Here we are with three of the London editors.  Linda Fildew, the senior editor, is flanked by Suzy and Sally, her associate eds.  Wonderful, gracious ladies who made us all feel so very welcome. 

The tea had a delightful British feel.  Linda sat at my table, and we had a very engaging discussion.  I was thrilled and honored to learn she has visited us at Petticoats and Pistols, and is quite enthralled with what we are doing.  She mentioned especially loving those Wanted Posters with each of our pictures.

I’m finally able to take a few minutes to sit and upload some pictures from last night’s Literacy Signing from the RWA Conference here in San Francisco.  I haven’t heard how much money was taken in to donate for literacy, but every year, it’s a huge success.  Judging by the long lines, it’s gonna be a bunch.

For me, this year’s signing was so-o fun.  The time flew by, and it was great signing copies of KIDNAPPED BY THE COWBOY for readers.  Of course, that hunky cowboy hand fan was a huge help.  The ladies love him!

The highlight, though, was finally meeting two of the Fillies I hadn’t met before.  Pat Potter and Stacey Kayne.  So wonderful to put faces to names, and having five of us together was so awesome.  My only regret was that Karen, Elizabeth, Mary, Cheryl and Linda weren’t there to join us!

My roommate, Renee Spencer, took these photos of us during the signing.

Stacey Kayne and a reader!

Charlene Sands with Sherri Shackelford, one of my roommates.

Pam Crooks signing for a reader.  Note that fan in her hand!

Kate Bridges, always photogenic!

Patricia Potter who is an absolutely charming lady.  Keep your fingers crossed she wins that Rita Saturday night!!!

Last but not least, my favorite picture of all–the five of us together!

Hello from California!  It’s absolutely gorgeous here! I’m driving up the Pacific Coast Highway on my way to San Francisco. We left Los Angeles Monday morning and missed the earthquake by a day. Luckily there were no major injuries or damage. We were in Napa Valley when it hit and didn’t feel a thing. I’ve got to show you these pictures. I grew up on Gidget movies and Beach Blanket Bingo, and have always wanted to see the land where they were filmed. Malibu mostly, I’m told. Oh, Moondoggy…

  This is the Big Sur area.

  This is a lookout point close to a seal feeding ground. In the distance, we spotted what looked like a shark jumping in the water, or maybe a dolphin. We were told that sharks feed on seals, so it’s possible it was a shark. Up on the cliffs, I spotted two eagles guarding their nest. The hairpin turns require such concentration when driving!

 I didn’t expect the landscape to be so dry all the way up the coast to San Francisco. We drove inland north of Santa Barbara, expecting thicker foliage, but it was as dry as straw and all crops have to be irrigated. Incredibly beautiful, and the grand scale is breathtaking.  North of San Francisco, we saw some areas along the road that were burned from the wildfires, and in fact saw a team of firefighters (about 10 trucks and helicopter crews) dousing a grass fire.

Below is a shopping mall in the middle of it all that looks like an oasis!

We hit San Francisco mid-Tuesday and drove north a couple of hours into Napa Valley. My daughter and niece wanted to see where Parent Trap was filmed. My husband and I wanted to sample some of the best wines in the world. 

And now, San Francisco…

  Painted in the international color of orange so that pilots can see it on a cloudy day.

  This is the beginning of Fisherman’s Wharf. Can you see the famous island of Alcatraz in the bay? It’s in the middle of the photo, to the right of the second big lamp post. A federal prison until 1963.

Union Square above–in the heart of shopping district. Beside it is an example of the architecture. There are seven variations of Victorian architecture in the world, and San Francisco proudly has four types. The city is amazing!  Hope you enjoyed the slide show.  Now I’m off to join the RWA convention and meet up with fellow Fillies.

Love from San Francisco…

Well I have another book coming out. Golden Days is a short sweet romantic comedy set against the Klondike Gold Rush. It is being re-released in an anthology.

 Golden Days is part of a three book series set in historical Alaska for Heartsong Presents. Here’s a short description of Golden Days:

The first book in the Alaska Brides anthology is Golden Dawn by Cathy Marie Hake. My book, Golden Days, is book two and Kathleen Y’Barbo is the author of book three, Golden Twilight. 

I find myself writing heroine characters all that time that are…in my opinion…nothing like me. Golden Days is a great example of that. Amy, my heroine, is how I’d LIKE to be. So strong, brave, competent at everything. Vocal about how she feel and what she wants.

In my life, I spend my time spreading oil on troubled waters. I’m very much the pacifying mom, “Now you kids quit fighting.”

Discovering characters is one of my favorite parts of writing. It always takes me a while to really get a handle on them in a three dimensional way, but I enjoy the process of getting to know them. So even though the basic traits of Amy and Braden were there when I started, making her so angry about her father disappearing and making Braden fight his need to care for everyone.

 I love creating complex funny scenes, lots of characters, lots of movement and dialogue. If possible I like everybody to be talking over each other, misunderstanding each other. I like their words to break in, in such a way that the sentence reads in a comedic way, like she starts a sentence, he ends it, they’re both talking about different things and the combination of the words is a joke. And the READER gets that joke but the characters don’t.

This is tricky. And it needs to be done with a lot of what I think of as wordsmithing. Going over it again and again, leaving it and coming back. Making it sharper. Making the dialogue and everyone’s reactions sing. Trying to make sure it’s written in a way that reader can follow and if there’s a lot of movement it’s very easily visualized. The characters aren’t following it but the reader needs to get it all.

My favorite scene in the book is when a bear attacks. The lead up to this is chaotic and, I hope, really funny, then the bear makes it all worse. This was fun to write and I got it almost like I wanted it. But it can always be better.

 There are so many forms of comedy. What’s your favorite? Do you like romantic comedy in books? Movies? TV?

Favorite Romantic Comedy TV show? Remington Steele

I used to be a huge Remington Steele fan. I loved the humor and snap of romance in that show. For a lot of people it was Moonlighting but for me it was Remington Steele.

Favorite romantic comedy movie? While You Were Sleeping.

I think true richness and excellence in a movie is when ever little character is memorable and worth watching. There isn’t a moment in While You Were Sleeping that isn’t fantastic. Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman are fantastic but Bill’s family members are each and every one priceless. Jon Turtletaub directed this. He also did the National Treasure movies and he’s got a knack for making all the little moments wonderful while telling a much bigger story.

Favorite Romantic Comedy novel? This is harder because I’m such a reading fanatic. It’s possible my favorite is Getting Rid of Bradley by Jennifer Crusie. I also love Boo by Rene Gutteridge. These are true comedies. Lots of books have humor in them and I love romantic suspense, and Getting Rid of Bradley has a suspense thread in it. But mostly it’s just funny. Boo is just frenetic madness, hilarious. I love that book.

 How about you? You want to list your favorites?

Book—

TV—

Movie

 If you’ve got favorites in other categories (romantic comedy theater? Painting? Song? What other categories are there???)

Go for it. Tell me what makes you laugh.

Click on the cover to purchase from Amazon

Or find out more at http://www.maryconnealy.com/