Saturday, February 25, 2012

I think your self emerges more clearly over time. Meryl Streep

We will have to see if Meryl Streep wins on Sunday but this I do know -  she is a master at her craft. She is THE actor - female or male.


I would love to have lunch with this fascinating woman. Here are some quotes from her...


I think the most liberating thing I did early on was to free myself from any concern with my looks as they pertained to my work. Meryl Streep

I want to feel my life while I'm in it. Meryl Streep


It is well that the earth is round that we do not see too far ahead. Meryl Streep

There are improbable things suspended in space, like the earth. Meryl Streep


We are who we're going to be when we're very old, and when we're very old we are who we were when we were 8. Meryl Streep


Acting is not about being someone different. It's finding the similarity in what is apparently different, then finding myself in there. Meryl Streep


Which is your favorite?  And see my post below - and vote for the dress I should wear.

Tuesday, February 21, 2012

And the Oscar goes to.....

ME! When I was a little girl I'd flip thru magazines and pick out the dress I would wear to accept the Oscar not for Best Actress but Best Writing - Adapted Screenplay (from my novel, of course).  Now that I'm older .... well... actually the only difference today is now I scroll through images on Google.  So let's play pretend. Which dress should I wear on Sunday, February 26?

Sunday, February 19, 2012

You never find yourself until you face the truth. Pearl Bailey

What I love about doing the Quotes By Famous Women series is that I learn a whole a lot. As a child I remember Pearl Bailey appearing on The Muppet Show and didn't know anything about her fabulous life which you can read about here  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearl_Bailey


Here are my favorite quotes from Pearl...


The first and worst of all frauds is to cheat one's self. All sin is easy after that.
Pearl Bailey



Sometimes I would almost rather have people take away years of my life than take away a moment.
Pearl Bailey

There are two kinds of talent, man-made talent and God-given talent. With man-made talent you have to work very hard. With God-given talent, you just touch it up once in a while.
Pearl Bailey


What the world really needs is more love and less paper work.
Pearl Bailey

We look into mirrors but we only see the effects of our times on us - not our effects on others.
Pearl Bailey


Which is your favorite?

Sunday, February 12, 2012

The Very First Nook Signing Ever - Hudson Valley Romance Writer of America

Allie Boniface and Liz Matis
My indie titles, Love By Design and Playing for Keeps, have been selling well on Kindle but I haven't been feeling the Nook love. So when Elf Ahearn, President of HVRWA, arranged with the Barnes and Noble at the Palisades Center in West Nyack, NY for the very first Nook signing ever - I was, as the NY Giants say, all in.

This is especially timely - I think we've all been hearing that Barnes and Noble may open smaller Nook stores. (also, one of the employees talked to us about those machines that can produced a book in the store - though I'll say right now I don't think he was talking about Barnes and Noble doing it, but I did think it was odd?) Side note: Of the 10 of us I was the only indie.

We ten authors, armed with promotional materials such as rack cards, bookmarks, chap book excerpts, magnets, pens, and of course chocolate, impressed the management of Barnes and Noble. They hadn't known we would be bringing items so they had printed up sheets about our books. Also provided were slips of paper for each author with the book names, and ISBN numbers to hand to the customers in hopes they would go up to the register and buy the Nook Book in the store either for themselves or as a gift. The clerk would give the customer a gift receipt that would be put in a gift card envelope to present to their Valentine to be downloaded later.

Management encouraged us to approach customers. During the scheduled 2 hours the store made announcements about this first ever Nook signing and for customers to stop by and say hello.

                                                              So how did it go?

Elf Ahearn (back) Charmaine Gordon (left),
and Janet Lane Walters
It was a positive experience. Shoppers stopped by to say hello even the non-romance readers. A few men braved a hello. My favorite was a teen boy into Manga telling us we were cool.

When there was a lull our wonderful President Elf would bundle a couple of items (and chocolate) and wandered the store handing them out.

Did we sell eBooks? I sold 2 that I know of, which was 1 more than the day before. Like I said I get no Nook love. Kindle? Gangbusters!

Wendy Marcus and Jennifer Probst
Maybe we didn't sell many books, but we created buzz and made an impression. So much so that Barnes and Nobles wants us back right before Mother's Day! They've already thought of ways of improving the signing by placing us by the Cafe where there is more traffic and instead of the 10 of us at one time we will 'woman' the table 3 at a time.
Liz Matis, Heather Thurmeier, Gianna Simone, & Kathy Attalla





Hudson Valley Romance Writers of America are embracing the future. As the teenaged boy said - We are very cool.

Friday, February 10, 2012

NOOK Book Signing with Hudson Valley Romance Writers

I will be signing promotional materials here on Saturday:

Barnes and Noble at the Palisades Center in West Nyack, NY
NOOK Book Signing with Hudson Valley Romance Writers

Author Signing
Join us for a special Valentine's event -- a NOOK Book signing!
Meet writers from the Hudson Valley Romance Writers of America.
The group is dedicated to supporting its members' creative and publishing goals,
 and to the promotion of the romance genre.
Saturday February 11, 2012 1:00 PM

Palisades
The Palisades Center, 4416 Palisades Center Drive,
West Nyack, NY 10994, 845-348-4701

Come meet me and other awesome romance writers!




Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Gravitation is not responsible for people falling in love. ~Albert Einstein

I love reading famous love letters and I thought with all the campaigning crap going on we all could enjoy a love letter Ronald Reagan wrote to his wife Nancy. 


Aboard Air Force One

March 4 1983

Dear First Lady

I know tradition has it that on this morning I place cards   Happy Anniversary cards on your breakfast tray.  But things are somewhat mixed up.  I substituted a gift & delivered it a few weeks ago.

Still this is the day, the day that marks 31 years of such happiness as comes to few men.  I told you once that it was like an adolescent's dream of what marriage should be like.  That hasn't changed.

You know I love the ranch but these last two days made it plain I only love it when you are there.  Come to think of it that's true of every place & every time.  When you aren't there I'm no place, just lost in time & space.

I more than love you, I'm not whole without you.  You are life itself to me.  When you are gone I'm waiting for you to return so I can start living again.

Happy Anniversary & thank you for 31 wonderful years.

I love you

Your Grateful Husband 

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Road to the Super Bowl - BEER

Misquote? "Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy." - Benjamin Franklin

Good old Ben would appreciate the Super Bowl but between being born in Boston and living in Philly where the NY Giant's enemy the Eagles hail from I fear Ben would be cheering for the New England Patriots today. I will forgive him though because he is a Founding Father and formed the first public lending library.

But I wonder what beer would Ben drink today? I bet not Samuel Adams!!!

I'm partaking in some Killans Irish Red. What about you?

And here is one last excerpt from Playing For Keeps my football meets romance romp!

The bell dinged and the doors slid open. Trudging down the hall, bleary eyed from the events of the day and lack of sleep, he felt like a zombie in some B movie.
     “Terell, why the hell aren’t you in your room?”
     Ryan cringed at his coach’s gruff voice, wondering if anyone on the floor would wake up.  “Couldn’t sleep,” he said in a near whisper.  
     “Can’t sleep when you’re messing around with some bimbo.” Coach Werner lowered his voice slightly.
     A former NFL player, his coach packed on the pounds when his career was over. His face weathered from the countless days in the sun and the biting winds of winter. After three seasons as head coach of the Cougars, his once jet black hair grayed to a stainless steel finish.  
     Ryan took in his coach’s rumpled sweat-suit and half finished Yoo-Hoo. No doubt he was taking a break from reviewing game films, even though it was two in the morning. His coach was a heart attack waiting to happen. 
     Ryan hoped he fared better in retirement. 

Saturday, February 4, 2012

Tailgating - Road to the Superbowl - Day 3

How about something sweet?

Here's my recipe for People Chow.  (remember we don't count calories on Superbowl Sunday)

People Chow
Melt 1 stick of butter in large pan
then add 1 cup of smooth peanut butter
and 1 package of MILK Chocolate morsels (not semi-sweet)
when this has all melt stir in
1 box Golden Graham cereal
place in a paper bag and add confectionary sugar to coat
and shake, shake, shake
put the yummy mix onto a cookie sheet and chill in the fridge for 3 hours

Enjoy!
And here's another excerpt to Playing For Keeps, my football meets romance romp!

     “Jameson, your boy is putting on a show. Did you give him any advice in the elevator?” asked Bradley.
     She nearly jumped in her seat, but recovered quickly. “I told him those o’s and x’s in his play book stand for offense and defense and not hugs and kisses.”
     Most of the sportswriters broke out in laughter.   
     From across the room a local reporter yelled, “Hey Jameson, I’d like to see you in a Dallas cheerleading uniform.”
     A hush fell over the room. 
     She flipped her pen back and forth on the table in aggravation. The juvenile atmosphere of professional football extended away from the locker room. These reporters knew she was no young thing. Not that she expected a hall pass but she reported from the middle of war zones, earning the respect due her and yet even here in the States she was still subjected to sexist remarks. Was it worth it? She really didn’t know, but for now she would play along. “It would look better on you.”
     Various vulgar comments were made to the other reporter.
     “Good one,” said Bradley looking at her with respect.
     Samantha smiled. She could always play with the big boys.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

Tailgating - Road to the Superbowl - Day 2


Looking for recipes for the big game? 
Another very simple but popular recipe - my famous TACO PIE

One pkg of cresent rolls - spread flat into a 9" x 12" pan - 
      cook in heated oven about 5 min. (it s/b risen but not done) Take out of oven.
1 Pound of chopmeat in frying pan - cook - then add taco seasoning mix and cook per the pkg.
When done - spread it out on top of the crust
add pepperoni
add chopped onion
add chopped peppers (any color)
then spread 2-3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese on top.
Bake at 375 between 15 - 20 minutes.
Serve with shredded lettuce / chopped tomato / salsa / sour cream
ENJOY!

Here is another excerpt from Playing For Keeps by Liz Matis - my football meets romance romp
Available in paperback and all eBook devices.
     As she drew closer, she noticed he’d gained about ten pounds since college - all muscle. His hair was cut in a military type buzz. Did the owners of the team make him cut it? Or was he trying to hide a receding hairline?
     Fresh from the shower he wore a towel wrapped around his hips. Drops of water still clung to his well- muscled shoulders. The urge to lick each droplet away abruptly entered her thoughts. She shook off the craving, reminding herself that she was a professional journalist and not some love struck teenager. Apparently the ‘girl now a woman’ theory wasn’t holding up. Should she show disinterest or put him off guard with a smile to show she wasn’t intimidated by a roomful of giant naked men? A roomful of naked men? What am I doing here?
     “Hello, Terell,” she said with false bravado