Jill Monroe's Blog - Off The Keyboard

Favorite Romantic Scene

2009-07-01T07:19:00.000-07:00

I was asked by author and agent Deidre Knight to talk about my all time favorite romantic scene from a movie over at her blog. I tell you, it was tough to narrow it down - so many great movies out there. Some favorites are from:

Princess Bride
The Runaway Bride
Casablanca
Pride and Prejudice
Dirty Dancing
French Kiss
Somewhere In Time

So join me over at Deidre's blog here and find out which one I chose, and tell me a favorite scene of yours!

Guest Blogging

2009-06-23T05:23:00.001-07:00

I'll be blogging at the Harlequin Blaze Blog, today. Go here to read!

It Was In My Hair!!!

2009-06-22T07:18:00.000-07:00

Okay, I've been camping with the kids for seven years now. Never, not once, in all those year has there ever been a mouse in our cabin.

Streak Broken!

The cabins are sealed tight, but it is the wilderness so a mouse in the cabin although not unexpected, is pretty rare. And certainly never in my bedroll!

Asleep, I felt something in my hair. I sat up, did the mouse-is-in-my-hair dance while trying not to freak out children. I must have done a pretty good job because no one but the other adult in the cabin, my sister-in-law, woke up. Somehow in my sleep stupor, I convinced myself I'd imagined it.

When dawn finally broke, I found mouse poop in my bedding. By my pillow. And yes, I suspect in my hair. Being a girl with naturally curly hair, my mom always said I woke up with my hair looking like a rat's nest. It's life's irony to make my mom right, once again.

Luckily we moved to rodent free cabin. This cabin had carpet, that I suspect was older than I am, a beautiful rust colored shag. And I loved every minute of it.

Here's a picture of camp at a more peaceful time. It's beautiful. You can see some of the red dirt and rock Oklahoma is known for.

Sometimes Writing Feels Like This

2009-06-17T09:39:00.001-07:00

and it's why I write!

Endless Summer

2009-06-16T04:46:00.000-07:00

I'm blogging today over at the Blaze blog about Endless Summer - the anthology I'm in with Julie Kenner and Karen Anders. This book was so much fun to write, and I can't wait until it hits the shelves.

Check out the blog here.

I'm blogging on the Blaze blog again on the 23rd this month (hope people aren't getting sick of me) Thinking of ideas right now. Last time it was the tooth fairy.

Free Book

2009-06-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

Today is National Give A Girlfriend A Book Day - summer is the perfect time to read!

In honor of this day, I'll give away one of my books to one randomly selected person who comments on my facebook here. Share a favorite book, say which book you'd give to one of your girlfriends or really anything. I'll draw winner at Midnight and contact winner on the 16th - National Going To The Post Office Day to mail book.

Also, Beth is only processing requests to appear on Author Talk for a few more days. If interested, go here.

Author Talk at RWA National This Year

2009-06-12T06:52:00.000-07:00

Gena and I have been asked if we're filming Author Talks this year again at RWA National, and yes, we are. (Sorry if you've seen this post numerous times, but I'm trying to cover all my bases for information.)

If you are an interested author, you can contact Beth by going here. Just for fun, I'm going to post a video we filmed last year at RWA National with Vicki Lewis Thompson (an awesome writer and a great lady)!

The Truth About Twitter

2009-06-11T10:59:00.000-07:00

Besides that fact that is easy with her favors, there are more secrets out there. I found this off of BookSquare University, and laughed out loud several times. By the way, I keep my twitter updates on the sidebar. Thanks to Mel for setting that up for me.

Writing With Children

2009-05-27T08:31:00.000-07:00

Today marks the first day of summer vacation, both kids home. I'm brainstorming a list of ways to write while kids are out of school.

1. Let them stay up late. They sleep in while you write.

2. Your mom taxi service is closed until their room is clean. No trips to the pool or zoo or science museum to take me away from writing, BUT if they do clean their room - it's a bonus and I enjoy being with them!

What else?

Run and, well...

2009-05-26T15:15:00.000-07:00

I learn the most interesting things from NPR. Today it was a bout a site called RunPee.com. Basically, the site tells you the best place in a movie when to run and, well pee.

Click here to read their suggestion of when to run for the recent Star Trek movie.

Another New Author Talk

2009-05-15T05:13:00.000-07:00

New Author Talk

2009-05-08T05:35:00.000-07:00

After a bit of hiatus, we have a new Author Talk. I can't tell you how excited I am.

I'm Guest Blogging

2009-04-23T05:11:00.000-07:00

About my hatred of the Tooth Fairy - you can check it out here.

Also, I with American Idol would do more of this - it rocked!

Today's Blog

2009-04-21T05:22:00.000-07:00

Today I blogged over at Gena's blog, about what a good friend she is. You can check it out here.

Links Galore!

2009-04-13T06:24:00.000-07:00

Wow, you spend the weekend with the family, and come home and things have just gone crazy. Some in a good way, some in a not so good way.

First, NPR profiles Beyond Heaving Bosoms, and talks Romance Novels - yea. Check it out here.

Second, the Today Show, had a nice profile of Harlequin. Check out the video here.

In case you've been disconnected like me, and haven't followed #amazonfail, here are some great places to starts: Booksquare and Dear Author. I'd also like to point out fellow Oklahoma romance author, Jaci Burton whose books have been delisted. You can read her letter to Amazon here.

What's With Adam Lambert?

2009-04-09T04:28:00.001-07:00

Or the more important question...what is wrong with me?

Sorry if you're living outside the US, but I'm talking American Idol. AI is something I used to watch on a regular basis because I could view it with the kids, but with the their sports schedule this semester, it's not been happening. So I'm a little late on this whole Adam Lambert thing.

So after reading a bunch of people complain on Facebook that their DVRs cut off his performance, I had to check it out. This is the performance I first saw on Fox. (sorry, I'd post the actual video, but Fox won't let me do this and the youtube only had videos people filmed with their home video cameras, and that was a nightmare.)

So I watched his performance of Ring of Fire. I'm not even sure if I like this. Do I find this sexy, even? Was I too distracted by the silver zipper? This really needs further investigation! And just to make sure I really became a cougar, I watched it like 10 more times.

I listened to Johnny Cash with my grandparents, and it didn't sound nor looked anything like Adam. This guy can sing, wow, yes, he can sing. In fact, this guy has that quality that I think would make him a rock star. He could hang with Freddie Mercury.

So, tell me your thoughts!

Green M&Ms

2009-04-08T05:27:00.000-07:00

I was walking in Circle K yesterday and noticed a large display just for green M&Ms.

The love for Green began sometime around 1997 (yes, I did look it up - darn journalism background), but it wasn't always the way. When I was a little girl, I remember reading a book in elem school (I'm thinking it was a Charlie Brown) where they were listing things that made them sad...one of them was green M&Ms. This was particularly distressful to me as green was my favorite color, and those things are important in the second grade!!

Somewhere around junior high, the whispers that green M&Ms made you hot for the opposite sex came along. A rumor so persistent, snopes had to get involved. You can read it here.

Anyway, I do feel happy that now the green M&Ms don't evoke sadness. I will also say, after babysitting my nephew, that M&Ms don't melt in your mouth, but do melt in your nose! Happy 18th birthday, little guy!

Announcing...

2009-04-01T06:10:00.000-07:00

The new Blaze Author blog. I'll be posting there occasionally (I can barely write on my own blog), and I'm so excited to see a blog totally devoted just to Harlequin BLAZE!!

Bookmark this page: http://blazeauthors.com/blog/

First official post is by Blaze editor Brenda Chin (who bought my first book). Come check it out!!

New Cover

2009-03-30T10:34:00.001-07:00

Just spotted the cover for the anthology, Endless Summer, that hits shelves July 1st. I'm really excited because I was able to work with Julie Kenner and Karen Anders - such fun ladies!

What do you think?

Yes, I'm Still Here!

2009-03-13T20:34:00.000-07:00

Just so busy right now. Thanks to those who asked!

Links and Creepy Friday

2009-02-12T19:36:00.001-08:00

First, some links. The first one is for an interview with NewsOK.com Gena Showalter and I completed a video interview, too. You can check it out here.

Second, with some help from Gena, I entered the Smart Bitches videomo contest. You can view all the entries and vote by clicking here.

Lastly, Creepy Friday. You know it's getting closer to spring when the gnomes begin appearing. Snapped at my local Walgreens.

There Goes My Chicken Boob Book Idea

2009-02-08T21:45:00.000-08:00

Sigh. You work hard on your idea, in my case, animal boobs, then realize the market is already taken by Chicken Cheeks by Michael Ian Black.

Black's premise is brilliant. The two interests of any 3 to 7 year old child, animals and animal behinds, brought together in one book.

Confession Time: I didn't really consider a book about animal boobs, but it could work, right?

No go forth and read!

We Can All Compare Panties After The Video!

2009-02-06T05:36:00.000-08:00

Super Bowl Ads

2009-02-02T09:57:00.000-08:00

It's become kind of tradition to talk Super Bowl ads on my blog. Being a Journalism major, I had to take a few marketing/advertising classes, and since then always look at ads a little more closely.

My overall impression was that there seemed to be a bit more sexual crudity. This strikes me as especially strange marketing as more women and children are in the audience than a normal NFL game.

One of my favorites featured Bob Dylan. I liked the images, like the song, like everything:

Another favorite was the Crystal Ball Doritos Ad. If I remember correctly (meaning I'm too lazy to actually go and look it up, man, my journalism profs would be disappointed) this ad was submitted by two out of work brothers from Indiana:

Castrol Edge Grease Monkeys made me laugh out loud:

Lots of great movie ads like Star Trek, Land of the Lost and Angels and Demons. The ads must have done their job because after both, the dh said, "That looks good."

We did finally learn what was behind the What is G commercial. But other than the game, which was fantastic (even though I had a soft spot for the Cards and their underdog status) The Boss was fantastic and I loved, Loved LOVED the episode of The Office which followed.

There is a lot of talk about the Teleflora ad over at the Smart Bitches site. If you haven't heard, check it out by going here.

Creepy News Friday

2009-01-30T04:39:00.000-08:00

Creepy News Friday used to be a tradition - one that really needs to be returned. Today's will be a bit of a hybrid.

I was doing one of those 25 Random Things About Me on Facebook, and realized I'd forgotten this random thing. When I was about 6, I was eating breakfast with my family. My brother reached up to scratch his head and discovered a tick. To this day if I ever scratch my head or pull something that's gotten stuck in my hair, I'm always relieved that's it's not a tick.

Ticks really creep me out!

So here's today's creepy news: The BigDog. Actually, it's an amazing work of science - this robot traverses across ice, snow and goes uphill...BUT IT'S CREEPY LOOKING.