It's That Time of Year Again!

This has to be my all-time favorite commercial. I think I will have to make it a traditional post, LOL. I've seen it a hundred times and it STILL cracks me up.

My kids go back to school on Wednesday, although we actually have a "walk-through" at the middle school tomorrow. I can't believe summer is almost over. We didn't do much this year. Other than my trip to Washington DC, we took a short family vacation to Lake Tahoe last week. Tahoe is about three hours away and is definitely my "comfort" retreat. I've been going there most of my life and there is just something so relaxing about the place--winter for skiing and summer for the beach. Can't beat that.

Yesterday we finally got around to taking the kids to Alcatraz. (My husband and I made a run for the dock, but unfortunately the kids caught up with us :)). I've been many times--mostly when I was a kid--but it's one of those things that everyone who visits here does, but locals often never get around to. It's funny how you can live in a major tourist area and never take advantage of the wonderful things in your own backyard. I've got a list a mile long that I've never gotten around to showing the kids: Golden Gate Park, SF Zoo, Fort Point, Haight-Ashbury, Giant Redwoods, Gold Country, Monterey Bay Aquarium . . . I could go on. Yet, they've seen the Tower of London. Ironic, isn't it? LOL.

What about you...do you have a "comfort" vacation spot? Any tourist attractions in your own backyard you haven't visited?

UPDATE:

Jane already has a copy of Barbara's new book so she has graciously offered to have me choose another winner...

TARA, email me with your snail mail addy!

Thanks again to everyone for all the great comments.

Congratulations!

The winners (as chosen by my ten year old birthday girl) are:

Natalie for UNLEASHED and

Jane for SUDDENLY ONE SUMMER

Thanks to everyone for commenting. Natalie and Jane, send your "snail mail" addy to the email on my website. Give me a week or so to get them in the mail...

I will have a sporadic internet connection next week, so it will be quiet around here. Happy end of summer to everyone. I can't believe my kids go back to school in 10 days!

Get those comments in . . .

Head's up: I'll be picking the winners from my last blog on Sunday!

Guest Blogging and Two Books to Give Away

I'll be guest blogging at the Lovestruck novice tomorrow (Friday, August 7th). I met Sarah at a speaking engagement I did for the RWA Yosemite chapter. It's a relatively new chapter and I was blown away by the enthusiasm of the group--including Sarah who is writing Regencies and hoping for the call. They had so much energy, I know good things will be coming from this chapter.

It's probably the last blog I'll do for a while so try to pop on over and say "hi." I'm jumping into book #2 of the series with a tight deadline so promo will be limited over the next few months.

Also, I was lucky enough to get my hands on an ARC of my CP Jami Alden's next book, UNLEASHED, as well as a copy of brainstorming buddy Barbara Freethy's latest, SUDDENLY ONE SUMMER. Both are signed. NOTE: as UNLEASHED in an ARC it has a plain pink cover. If you like Shannon McKenna, you'll want to give Jami a try--very sexy, romantic suspense. Barbara has written across many genres, but her latest is one of the leaders of the new wave of "small town" oriented books--like Robyn Carr. SOS is the first book in her Angel's Bay series.

I'll pick two winners (one for each book) over the next week or so from anyone who comments. You must have a valid email for me to be able to contact you for your snail mail.

So here's my question. In my never ending quest to figure out the most productive use of promo time, I'm wondering what you like. A personal blog? A group blog? FACEBOOK? Twitter? Are guest blogs something you enjoy reading? In other words, how do you like to "connect" with your favorite authors?

UPDATE: oops, I forgot about the "grand-daddy" of them all, bulletin boards. My friend and fellow author Veronica Wolff has one and we've talked about joining forces for a while now. Is that a format you like?

Kicking off the HIGHLAND GUARD

I posted my next cover in my website update yesterday in case you missed it. So what do you think? Nice abs, huh?

THE CHIEF is the first book in my new series and features Tor MacLeod--team leader and swordsman extraordinaire. (Fun fact: He's also Rory from HIGHLANDER UNTAMED's great grandfather six times over!)