DOES ANYBODY SPRING CLEAN ANYMORE? by Susan Meier

As I was cleaning my mom’s house on Saturday, I gave thanks that she got rid of the old coal furnace and switched to oil heat. It was so easy to wipe down the kitchen, dust, scrub the floors. But as I was cleaning, I remembered how necessary it had been when I was a kid that my sisters, mom and I gave the house a good cleaning in the spring to get rid of the coal dust, and open the windows and let in some fresh air.

And I thought…Does anybody spring clean anymore?

With Swiffers and Swiffer dusters (LOL!) I can pretty much keep my bedroom and downstairs dust free year round.  Scrubbing Bubbles keep my bathrooms sparkling. And my husband has a rule…if you don’t use it, you toss it. So we don’t have a once-a-year run through of our clothes to toss things we don’t wear.

In a way, it’s sad. Some of my fondest memories are of the sweet scent of Pine Sol wafting along the breeze blowing in through open windows. The feeling of freshly laundered throw rugs under my feet. And the crisp look of washed and pressed curtains. The ritual often felt like the first sign that we were shaking off winter and welcoming spring with a clean house. J

Like so many rituals of my childhood that are now gone, I miss it. So I’ve decided to take a few days (as soon as I’m sure it’s not going to snow anymore) and clean with Pine Sol!

So what about you…do you spring clean?

Here's the Rafflecopter! You know what you have to do!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

New Project by Barbara Wallace

I’m starting a new project this week, which means casting a new hero. “Casting” is perhaps my favorite part of the job (besides indulging in post-manuscript rice pudding) because it lets me spend hours upon end playing on the Internet in search of the perfect sexy actor or model to use for inspiration. Like many of my colleagues, I need to have a mental picture of my characters before I can write. Lately, despite my web surfing, I find myself turning to the same five inspirational men over and over. They are, in no particular order: Jake Silbermann. Yeah, I know, you’ve never heard of him. He played one half of a gay love story on As the World Turns. He also has the most amazing blue eyes and swimmer’s body. For some reason, when I want a handsome, but not quite perfect looking hero, he’s who comes to mind. Jake was the prototype for Alex Markoff in BEAUTY AND THE BROODING BOSS. His body also inspired Simon Cartwright in MAN BEHIND THE MASK. Matt Bomer. Now, he’s the man I go to when I want perfection. Seriously, look at that face? Does the man have any physical flaws? Matt was the inspiration for Charles Bishop in DARING TO DATE THE BOSS and Simon Cartwright in MAN BEHIND THE MASK. Max Martini. Rough and sexy, with a voice that sounds like whiskey. He’s a man’s man. The perfect person for a hero with edge. I used him for Ian Black in SWEPT AWAY BY THE TYCOON. I can hear his growl in my head. Jensen Ackles. Okay, we’re back to physically perfect. Plus, he do has that rough bedroom voice that can make your knees weak. Doesn’t hurt that his character, Dean Winchester, is one of television’s most wounded heroes ever. He inspired both Oliver Harrington in FAIRYTALE CHRISTMAS and Grant Templeton in Mr. RIGHT, NEXT DOOR. Chris Meloni. Stereotypically handsome? No. But the man has so much testosterone, it practically leaps off the page. I haven’t used him yet, but he’s on the waiting list. Possibly for a project I'm starting this month. There are others too. Scott Foley, Michael Weatherly, Clive Owens. But these five are the guys I come back to again and again. So what actors inspire the stories in your head? Do these men fit the novel characters they were cast to play, or did you have someone else in mind. Come on, let’s have some fun and share the pretty.

Here's the Rafflecopter! You know what you have to do!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Seven Tips for Aspiring Writers Barbara Wallace

Don’t chase trends.  Ignore talk about what’s hot and what’s selling.  Chances are, by the time you perfect your manuscript, the trends will have shifted.  Focus on writing a good book, not a marketable one.

Hone your voice.  So often I read unpublished manuscripts where the writer attempted to emulate her favorite author.  As a result, the manuscript is often technically perfect, but lacking spark.  As much as you might love their books, there can only be one Kristan Higgins or Ruthie Knox.  Be yourself.  Don’t be an imitation of someone else. 

Finish your book.  Sigh.  If I had a nickel for all the times writers drop a story because they got bored halfway through.  Or spent their energy honing the first three chapters as though writing a proposal.  I’ve got one word for you.  STOP!  The only sure way to publish a book is to have an entire book.  Similarly,

Understand the difference between a finished manuscript and a publishable manuscript.  The dark side of self-publishing is that it’s led some authors to believe that simply writing a book qualifies them for publication.  Not every book deserves to be in print.  I know – I have a half dozen books on my computer that will never EVER see the light of day.  Nor should they.  Be ruthless about your craft, and be honest with yourself. 

Accept rejection and failure as inevitable.  Everyone stumbles.  Falling down is part of the learning process.  What falling down isn’t, however, is a judgment on you as a writer or as a person.  Learn from your mistakes, and grow.

Never stop learning your craft.  Too often, I go to writers conferences only to find the hallways filled with new authors networking.  Meanwhile, there are bestselling authors sitting in the front row of the craft sessions taking notes.  The best writers know that learning never ends.  Strive to be one of those writers. 


Here's the Rafflecopter! You know what you have to do!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

April Showers Bring Spring Flowers! by Samantha Hunter

Well, it’s still spitting snow and cold here in Syracuse, but I am dreaming of my gardens,  sorting through my seeds, and reading (and re-reading) my garden magazines, thinking about this year’s vegetables and so forth. But that’s getting ahead of the game. First, there will be the Spring flowers, and the best thing about those is that they come along on their own, with little help from me.

Tulips, Daffodils (called Jonquils in the southern US, which I didn’t know until friend Anna Adams informed me) and Hyacinths, but also Crocuses and Grape Hyacinths, and tons of ephemerals that bloom all over our yard, even in the grass, and I’m not always sure of their names. A bit later, the Irises.

It’s impossible for me to choose a favorite, I love them all, perhaps especially so after the long, stark stretch of white. Our White Star Magnolia will bloom, and that’s always a treat (and so fragrant!) though I’ll have to chase away the squirrels who rip the blossoms off and throw the petals like confetti. They also used to eat my tulips – I can’t tell you how many times I would go out to find all of my tulips, on the edge of bloom, completely beheaded! While I try not to use too many sprays or chemicals in the garden, I bought Deer-Off and now I enjoy my flowers every spring.

Which ones are you looking forward to the most? Do you have any pests that get after them, and how do you deal with them?


Here's the Rafflecopter! You know what you have to do!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Spring Memories Part 1: Down on the Farm… from Donna Alward

Spring is not my favourite season.

Late spring? Sure. In the late spring green things are sprouting, flowers are starting to bloom, days are longer, and there’s this feeling that summer is right around the corner.

But that happens closer to the May side of things, and spring “officially” starts on March 20^th or 21^st. Why don’t I like it so much? Well, it’s a bit dirty, to be honest. The snow melts, but then the ground is muddy and it smells…not so nice. Dirt tracks into the house. Even the road, when it’s dry, is a pain because it’s covered with gravel from the sand trucks going all winter. The dog tracks in with muddy feet. The trees are still gnarled and bare and the grass is brown. Sigh.

Still, I have some good memories of early spring from when I was a kid. For instance, as soon as the driveway and parking lot were clear at school, it marked the beginning of skipping season. Either singles ropes or doubles, and things really got fun when we had ropes of the same length and could get Double Dutch going. I spent a lot of noon hours skipping during elementary school.

It was also a time of year where I could earn some money. I grew up on an apple farm, and during March my dad did all the winter pruning. In the mature orchards, that meant a lot of branches on the ground, branches that had to be picked up. I spent spring Saturdays picking brush – piling it precisely in the middle of the rows between the trees, so my dad could come along after with the bush hog and grind it up. It was back breaking work, and sometimes there was still snow on the ground so feet and hands got cold and wet. But the money was worth it!

Once pruning was over, it was time to look at fertilizing. By the time I was eight, I was driving the smaller tractor we owned. My dad and our hired hand would fill buckets with fertilizer and spread it around the trees by hand while I drove the tractor with the wagon behind it. If there was a really soft spot, my dad would hop on the tractor and get me around the corner to the next row. I was so short that to push in the brake and clutch, I had to stand up off the seat. But driving the tractor was really cool and I earned some money doing that, too.

By the time the fertilizer was spread, it got more fun. My dad was the local “dealer” for fruit trees in our area, and he took orders over the winter and got the trees in May. The trees needed to be kept somewhere moist, so we also got a few loads of sawdust to keep them in. My job was to go out and water them with the garden hose until “Pick Up Day”. I knew where different varieties were, so when Pick Up Day arrived, I was out in the big metal building that was our barn, helping bundle trees together, putting a little sawdust in the empty fertilizer bags to keep the roots wet for when people took them home. I loved Pick Up Day!

It always seemed like once the trees were gone, spring was over and the real summer work began. 

Donna’s latest book is THE HOUSE ON BLACKBERRY HILL, out on April 29^th from St. Martin’s Press. You can find her at her site at www.donnaalward.com... Meanwhile she’s probably writing her next book or outside pruning and fertilizing her own apple trees. Don’t forget to enter the Chocolate Box Blog Hop contest for a great prize, including one of Donna’s latest books.

 HERE ARE THE PRIZES!

Here's the Rafflecopter! You know what you have to do!

a Rafflecopter giveaway