Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

by Malena Lott You know the advice to never save your china for special occasions? And to not wait until your house is clean to have a party? And the one about not waiting 'til tomorrow to do what can be done today? Yeah...I'm workin' on that. As many of you know, I've been working on a Create Your Own Renaissance series over on my blog at www.malenalott.com. The whole gist is that we'll not wait for great things to happen to us - we'll go for it. NO TIME LIKE THE PRESENT.  So that got me to thinking about the lil things in life that I love to do, but don't do enough. Like dancing. Anytime, any place. And apparently, any music. My kids have started attending one of those big, high-tech, non-denom churches with the Christian rock music, big screens, donuts and prizes for things like learning your Bible verse. A far cry from the shhhh, let's be quiet and not shake your foot in church I grew up in. Thing is, I LET MY KIDS PICK THEIR CHURCH. In my own spiri...

by Malena Lott I'll admit I've always been in love with love. Crushes. First dates. First kisses. I love you's. What not to love about love, however fleeting?  I've been blessed in real-life with a really romantic guy. When we met at the University of Oklahoma, he was shy and charming and I was really caught up in my social life - particularly all that my sorority had to offer. My heart had been broken many, many times, which is an unfortunate side effect of dating a lot and falling in love probably too easily. When Rod and I became an item at the end of my junior year in college, I wasn't ready to settle down, but I was hopeful. When two guys from my past called me for a 4th of July dates that summer, I was thrilled I could tell them that I was dating someone new - someone I really liked.  We went to the Grand Canyon that summer and slept in a tent, something we haven't done since. But it was a great test of our relationship - all those hours in the car togethe...

by Malena Lott Last Saturday I participated in a local author book fair. While I thought it was strange that a bookstore (we have a great indie) didn't handle the book sales, I bought the books from said indie and schlepped them to the event and managed to sell 7 (seven) in three hours. Why would *that* make me love being an author? Well, here's the deal. Out of the thirty+ authors there, only four were published by a recognized publisher.  I pitched my book to every white-haired sweetie that passed my table (no one over 70 bought my book), but I sat there feeling REALLY happy that I didn't have to do book fairs and hand-sell my books every weekend like the self-published authors. The recent article on self-publishing services flourishing while mainstream publishers falter proved itself in 3D. I was outnumbered 10-1.  I admire their perseverance and passion. To PAY to get your book published, you'd really have to believe in it (the story) and yourself, let alone be able...

Happy Day-After-Christmas. The wrapping was torn from the presents without care in hope that an (iPod) inside would be there. (Insert tech gadget here.) Isn't it so fun to get what you want for Christmas? It's even better to get the life you want, all year around. Wanna hear the good news? It's *not* just the day after Christmas; it's the beginning of Reflection Week. This is how it works. You start thinking about all the things that really rocked in '08 in your life. As they say, you can't know where you're going if you don't know where you've been. When I started the ATHENA Institute in '06, I started facilitating workshops in five life areas - so that's a nice starting point for reflection. Grab a notebook and do a list of whatever comes to mind in these areas: Body, Mind/Spirit, Home, Work, Relationships. For example, under Body, I'd list that I started working out in October, and did a fairly good job of cutting out fast food. ...

Here we are - me in front of my big Mac, you in front of your tech tube, connecting again via the dub-dub-dub. Though the world wide web and e-mail have been around for me since 1993, I feel like this is my first e-Christmas. Sure, I've got real life plans here in the real world, but I'm gonna be straight up Midwest honest with you now: my e-life is much bigger and sexier than my real life. I know. Shocking, right? I mean, what's not to love about my toddler chasing the shih tzu around the house right now? Who doesn't appreciate that you get to work all day in black work-out pants and a cotton T? I don't have a lick of makeup on, and my hair is in a ponytail. My "real life" friends are either working or caring for their kiddos, or like me, both. But on the web? Ooh, baby. On the web, I can be superwoman 24/7. Author Malena always has her hair done, her makeup on, her smile stuck on her powdered face. (Sure, I'm tiny - on Facebook I'm a 1/2 inch squ...

By Malena Lott John Edwards actually did a nice set-up for my blog entry today. Convincing the country that no matter how cute your face, eloquent your speech, big your bank account, happy you seem to be in your marriage to your smart wife, you can still screw things up for yourself - literally. Marital infidelity may well be the best example of sin immune to race, age or income bracket. You see, in my November novel Dating da Vinci, my protagonist Ramona believes her late husband may have been unfaithful before he died – with his ex fiancée who broke his heart just before he hooked up with Ramona. That he may not have been completely “over” her. It doesn’t help that Monica is a gorgeous, powerful attorney. Ramona decides she can’t completely move on until she knows the truth about Joel and Monica: why their engagement was broken off and if Joel cheated, since he was the architect on the new law firm where Monica was a partner and was spending a lot of time with her. To make matters w...

You know the saying - location, location, location . I used to be the same way about my writing. Same seat, same time of day, muse enters. Voila . I fondly remember the days in my mid-twenties where I could write until way past midnight and still feel the creative juices flowing as I put my computer to sleep. Yet the more kids I had (now up to, and stopping at, three) I've learned I have to be able to write anywhere, any time, or well, it just ain't happenin'. My muse, it seems, is now a morning owl. And she requires coffee. Not just Folgers, either. If she doesn't get Starbucks, she just doesn't put out, the wench.  When my youngest was two, I hammered away in the early morning hours writing Dating da Vinci (Nov. '08) up in the playroom/office on a big Mac. Then my toddler Owen's demands usurped that of my muse's. I was upstairs, he was down, and that doesn't bode well for the whole supervision thing. Big Mac couldn't be lugged around, so I inve...