Happy Holidays from the Wordy Wenches!

I was going through photos for another project when I came across shots of our group over the years that I thought I would share. Obviously, we've had a lot of fun. As we enter this season of celebrating with friends and family, the Wordy Wenches wish you a happy and safe holiday season.

:) Carol Stephenson

Dating for dinosaurs

Okay, so you've been married for umpteen years and now you're dating again. How do you navigate this brand new world of dating without getting frustrated? First, keep your expectations at a minimum (this is not to say lower your standards.) All I am saying ladies is that this is another day.

So where do men and women meet these days? Forget the workplace, too many no- fraternization policies in place. Ladies are posting ads on the internet. We're speed dating. We're attending meet ups, and inserting keys into locks of strangers hoping they will fit. Those are called Lock and Key parties. These are the places virtual strangers meet.

Okay, so you meet him finally, and you like him, and want to see him again. The days of sitting waiting for him to call are over. If you're interested, better make the next move. Text, phone, ask him out. Women have become bolder, and if you snooze you lose.

What is that beep or buzzing sound coming from your purse? It's the sound of a text coming in. Maybe he's asking you out, canceling a date, or heaven forbid, breaking up with you. Forget the personal touch. It's technology at work aiding the cowards.

You've had dinner and the check arrives. Does he reach for it (though most decent guys will at least for the first or second date?) Heavens no, be prepared to pay, at least for your portion.

Dates over, you're relaxing reading e mails.Up pops an IM. It's him. He's asking "what are you wearing?" Don't be surprised if things get hot and heavy from there.

It's a brand new world out there; one our mother's would not call courting. Today it's the 'hookup.' I still say romance has a place. As women we should settle for nothing less.

Silent Writing Partner

This isn't the blog I intended to post but my silent writing partner is missing this morning and the office feels empty. My partner is not my muse and neither does he provide inspiration...a writer waiting for either might as well be waiting for Godot. Bob offers company and quiet support. He breaks the isolation bubble most writers live within. He never approves or disapproves of what I have written. My son - I call him my second son - is the very soul of acceptance. Although I barely notice, every so often he moves to a different spot in the office but rarely does he leave me alone.
Bob is my 11...or perhaps...12 year old dog adopted from the Miami-Dade County pound over 8 years ago. No one is quite certain of his age. He qualifies as a mutt but is mostly Carin Terrier. At least that is how the vet identifies Bob. Except for having slightly longer legs than most Carin's, he resembles and behaves like the tough, sweet little Scottish breed. And that includes the dry skin problems and the subsequent itching and scratching that frequently plagues him and that he's been treated for in the past. But his current skin problem might be much worse.
This morning I took Bob to the vet's for minor surgery - a biopsy that will remove a significant patch of skin. They suspect the tiny bump I felt might be melanoma.
We won't know for several days.
I can't imagine writing without my sweet, silent partner. And I'm wondering how many of you have a silent partner to keep you company while you write. I'd like to hear about them.

EBooks for the Technology Challenged

My name is Sandra Madden and I know I cannot be the only writer dealing with an insidious inaptitude. In the age of e-publishing, I am seriously technology challenged.

Which is why I avoid technology whenever possible - or call my teenage granddaughters. But I can't ask them to convert and upload one of my books for me. They have better things to do. Boyfriends, mani's&pedi's, shopping for mini- anything.

Rather than throw my keyboard against the wall or blister the air that I breathe with profanity so unbefitting a grandmother (things I've thought or actually, shamefully done), I've turned to the experts.

I'm amazed and delighted that earlier print books can now enjoy a whole new life and readership as e-books. Technology! Awesome...as long as I do not have to master the inconceivable - to me.

"Lord of the Sea" my latest release from www.BelgraveHouse.com was originally released by Kensington as "Take By Storm" - I never quite liked that title although the novel is about the wreckers in Key West and a great deal of wrecking took place during storms - as in my opening scene. It's a romantic book packed with drama and laughter and I'm so happy it's available again. But it wouldn't be without a talented person to scan and convert and publish to Amazon, Fictionwise and EBooks. Many writers have taken the opportunity to become entrepreneurs in the e-pub world. New businesses have been born and that can only be a good thing in this economy and for this business.

I don't mind sharing profits at all. Sharing with other writers is well worth the time I can now use to write new books. Rather than feeling my stomach tied up in knots and turning a dangerous shade of scarlet, I'm angsting over a new plot! I've given up threatening my computer (through my teeth in dark, menacing tones) to allow my fingers to fly over the keyboard. Well, not exactly fly. I'm not wasting hours of time, instead I'm sending out queries.

In the end, paying a technology blessed writer the price to re-format and re-issue novels like "Lord of the Sea" is a win-win situation for both of us. I'm grateful for the peace of mind it brings me and the freedom to do what I know best. And that's right...er, to write. How do you feel?

What A Weiner!

I've decided that men simply have lost their heads - their little head that is, or maybe they have always been a little bit over the top, except now the Internet and Smart Phones make it so much easier to expose their shortcomings.

At the risk of sounding like an old fud, I still can't understand why sending pictures of private body parts, or sexting is supposed to turn anyone on. The first time I received pics of private parts, I texted the man in question asking him what I was supposed to do with them. He was not exceptional in anyway, nor did those pics cause my mouth to go dry, or make me forget his boorish ways.

But this isn't about me. Men in the public eye have gotten into the act. Maybe it's because they're arrogant (surely it couldn't be stupidity, insecurity, and a lot of narcissism,) that would prompt them to take pictures of themselves, and "sext" a perfect stranger?

The latest bonehead, or should I call him Weiner, photographed both his big and little head, and sent it hurling over cyberspace to many women. Did he really think no one would notice he was a man of prominence?

Athletes before him have gotten into the act. Look at the prominent golfer whose wife whacked him with his own club, and the aging quarterback who came onto several women. Then there was the Patriot's scandal featuring the very newsworthy Kim K..

While this does not in anyway involve the Internet, in the last month or so, one prominent French man landed in jail because the little head got in the way. Another had to own up to being a baby daddy.

Come on guys take a pill and chill.

Hasta la Vista!

The Power of Women's Friendships

One of the lynch pins of the Legal Weapons series is the friendship of the three principal characters: Kate Rochelle, Carling Dent and Nicole Sterling. The fact that three law school friends eventually come together to form a law firm was not plucked out of thin air. The friendship of three women with careers stems from several influences on my life.

First up was the cartoon strip “Apartment 3G” about three young women sharing an apartment in New York City. When it was first created, the strip featured the then growing phenomenon of working women. Every week readers followed the characters LuAnn, Tommie and Margo as they struggled to juggle careers and men with their enduring friendship being the constant.

The next influence was my law school experience. At that time the percentage of women in my class was roughly 33% so we tended to band together. During the first year I developed a group of girlfriends with whom I would hang out in the school’s lounge, complaining about the courses, professors, and lack of sleep. Over the three years I would watch my friends go through pregnancies, marriages and divorces. On Friday’s we would head across to the local ‘pub’ to grab a beer. We would celebrate and/or commiserate surviving exams, law clerk positions and anything we could come up with. The recurrent joke was forming a law firm with the name “Debt, Default or Miscarriage”.

However, what may be the deepest influence are the friendships that I have developed with other writers in the romance community. The support through the good, bad and the ugly we all go through in publishing, the jokes, and simply being with people who understand the writing process is not only priceless but powerful.

What has having good friends meant to you? Carol Stephenson

It's contagious -- I've come down with Royal Fever!

On the eve of the royal wedding between Prince William and Catherine Middleton, I confess I'm giddy with excitement to see the opulent pageantry of British history in the making.

Tomorrow morning, I plan on waking up at 4:00 a.m. to watch the pageantry on TV along with billions of other viewers worldwide. We will herald in the royal wedding with warm scones and raspberry jam, ham and cheddar biscuits, fragrant Fortnum & Mason jasmine tea, and strawberries and cream. My husband is excited, too—not because of the royal wedding, but because I’ll be up early and baking goodies for him to enjoy.

Media coverage has been addictive and I’ve been running a gamut of emotions. I can’t help getting teary-eyed when they show pictures of the late Princess Diana hugging her little boy, William, who grew to be so much like his mum in looks and spirit. Genuine and idealistic, William embodies the compassion and friendliness that made Princess Diana so beloved. Their mother-son relationship sparkled in public and she will surely be in his heart as he takes his vows with his future queen.

I love the smitten couple’s latest portrait taken by Mario Testino showcasing their playful side with happy grins and radiant love in their eyes. Hip and modern, they have a social conscience, evidenced by their request to guests to donate to charity rather than give them wedding gifts. Yes, William and Kate are what fairy tales are made of: a strong and handsome young prince marrying the beautiful and enchanting girl he loves.

God bless William and Kate and please keep them safe…and may this beautiful couple's love last forever!