Christine Rimmer's News

Bad Boys and Big Bikes....

2009-06-29T06:18:00.000-07:00

Motorcycles, I mean. Harleys. Choppers, particularly.

The book I'm writing now is about the bad boy of the San Antonio Bravos, sixth-born Jericho. Jericho has had a rocky past. He is also a genius. He designs and builds custom choppers of great coolness and beauty. Like the one at left, built by Thunderstruck Custom Bikes and named Paranoid. Totally fitting name, IMO. And what, specifically, is a chopper? Well, according to the Motorcyle Biker's Dictionary, it's "A style of motorcycle that appears deceptively light, has a greater angle on the front end than usually seen, and radical styling." The term is derived from former GI's back right after WWII "chopping" factory bikes to make them faster, removing all "superfluous" parts.

I'm using Gerard Butler as my hero image. Kind of handsome and thuggish at once. But I also kind of imagine Jesse James of West Coast Chopper fame in the mix, also.

Heroine is Marnie Jones. If you've been reading my books for a while, you first met Marnie when she was a tough, angry nine-year-old who swore like a sailor in SweetBriar Summit. Since then, Marnie has been tamed. She needs to rediscover her wild side.

I think Jericho is the one to help her with that...

I haven't done a biker guy (literarilly speaking, of course!) since The Midnight Rider Takes a Bride. That came out back in 1997. So I'm thinking it's about time...

The Passing of Icons...

2009-06-26T11:03:00.000-07:00

How sad is this? Both of them gone on the same day.

Whatever one has to say about Michael Jackson in recent years, well, he remains one of the great musical geniuses of our time.

And Farrah, well, she had that hair before extensions. She was a totally luminous presence. I remember back in the '70s, when I went to New York to be on the stage and ended up mostly waiting tables, I would ride the F train back and forth from our railroad flat in Cobble Hill and sometimes it seemed like every woman on the train had hair done to immitate Fawcett, and was reading Sweet Savage Love. Ah, those were the days.

You will be missed.

A Correction...

2009-06-13T08:08:00.001-07:00

Well, the sex thing didn't work out--the blog on writing sex, I mean.

Instead, on Saturday, June 20 at the Prairie Chicks Write Romance blog, I'll be talking about plot group, about how it works and how great it is. Hope you'll drop in.

Come and Visit Me...

2009-06-01T06:51:00.000-07:00

...on three other blogs this month.

Thursday, June 4: NovelThoughts. This is the lovely Fatin's blog, featuring author interviews and commentaries. The wonderful AztecLady is temporary host this month. Post a comment to my blog there to win a signed copy of The Bravo Bachelor.

Saturday, June 20: Prairie Chicks Write Romance. This is an excellent writers' blog. I'll be talking about sex--well, about writing sex, I mean.

Hope you'll drop by...to one or to both!

And also, as every month, you can catch me the first and fourth Tuesdays at my group blog, the Silhouette Special Edition Authors Blog.

Happy Blogging to all!

List-o-Maniac--and proud of it

2009-05-14T11:35:00.000-07:00

Did you ever see that old movie, MY DINNER WITH ANDRE? In it, two artsy types share a meal. That's what the movie is--the whole movie: a dinner with Andre. Andre, tall, skinny and intense, talks about how hopeless life is, how there's nothing to look forward to.

The other guy--plump and goodnatured--Wally, I think was his name, argued that he got a certain everyday satisfaction from making lists and doing the tasks on the list and then checking the tasks off the list.

I'm so Wally. I keep a clipboad on my desk. It holds a stack of lined sheets of paper. I love to fill a lined sheet with "things to do." You know...

--Renew Drivers License
--Wash towels
--update website
--shred
--organize book closet
--file
--J&M info 2 M&D
--wash windows

I love crossing out the tasks when I accomplish them. I cross out with yellow hilighter. A life coach I once had years ago called that "giving yourself the sunshine." Corny? Oh yes! Satisfying? Even more so.

While I was writing the most recent book, the list kept getting longer and longer. But last week, I finished that book and sent it off to my publisher. I've been giving myself the sunshine ever since. My list could almost be all sunshined up.

But then, there's always something more to add. Plus, I hate washing windows. I'm avoiding that one. Even getting the sunshine isn't enough to tempt me to get to work with my rags and Windex. Thus, my list is forever incomplete. I rather like that.

Do you make lists? Do you find them satisfying...?

Great Review and Today Show Does Romance

2009-04-13T08:29:00.000-07:00

Well, this is my Newsblog, so here's a little news!

Jane at Dear Author really liked The Bravo Bachelor. You can read her lovely review here. Jane doesn't fool around--or pull her punches--so I'm really pleased that she enjoyed this book.

Also, the Today Show did a nice little piece about how Romance is booming during the current recession. For those of us who have been around since the dawn of time, this is no surprise. Romance sales went through the roof back in the '80s, too, when times were rough. Because, after all, Romance is a great escape. For under ten dollars, you, too can be swept away! Coolest thing to me about the Today piece was that they interviewed the wonderful Margaret Marbury,Executive Editor of Mira, Red Dress Ink and Spice, three of Harlequin's mainstream imprints. Margaret stood in front of an amazing cover image as she spoke. Yes, that would be the cover of The Stranger and Tessa Jones. You can check that out here.

Hope you all had a lovely Easter. Ours was rainy, but cozy. We cooked and read and watched the Masters golf tournament.

And Yet Another New Cover...

2009-03-13T11:02:00.001-07:00

Got this off Amazon. No back cover blurb available yet. This one comes out in June.

No, it's not terribly...imaginative. But the truth is, it's a scene I proposed for the art work, so the lack of imagination is totally my fault. Good news is they both look almost exactly as I picture them. And it's beautiful, I think. And, well, I really like it.

Can't wait to see this book in print. It's a sort of modern-day Romeo and Juliet story. The Bravos (him) and the Cabreras (her) have been feuding since the 1950's, when James Bravo won the family ranch from the Cabrera patriarch. So, of course, a Bravo and a Cabrera must fall in love!

What do you think?

Finished...

2009-02-22T13:14:00.000-08:00

I do love to finish. Especially a book. Finishing, for me, is so much more satisfying than, say, starting.

There are times I really hate starting. It's always like "Who are these people and why are they doing these things?" I just don't know them when I start. Even if they already appeared in another book, somehow, when they get their own book, I have to start all over again to know them.

But when I'm finished, well, I know them probably as well as I ever will. I don't have to worry I'll never figure out who the heck they really are, because if I finished, at some point, I did figure that out.

And there's just something about a finished book. A feeling of accomplishment, I guess. It's finished. It's done. And, you know-I did that! I wrote a(nother) whole book.

This time I'm just finishing a book that will come out in December. Yes, a Christmas book. Thus, you get an image of a singing Christmas cat. So festive! Plus the whole "Joy to the World!" attitude fits right in with the way I feel now. I started this book in January. I've written a bunch of Christmas books. Somehow, I never write them during the Christmas season. Doesn't bother me at all. I can get in the spirit in January. Hey, I just did!

So happy holidays, everyone!

Just finished. Ready to start all over again...

New Cover!

2009-01-19T09:06:00.000-08:00

The lovely Maureen Stead at Harlequin just sent me this--and my request. it's for my April release. I swear he looks just like Jake Gyllenhaal. It's not the way I described him in the art information I sent them.

But hey. Worse mistakes have been made. And she looks just right.

Overall, I'd call this a good one. The setting is lovely and reasonably close to what I asked for. And the whole effect is very romantic.

Back cover copy reads...

ONE VISIT TO HER RANCH HAD LANDED HIM IN THE DELIVERY ROOM!

All Gabe Bravo wanted was to convince Mary Hofstetter to sell him her land. But the young widow had barely told him to hightail it off her property before going into labor. Being an honorable Bravo bachelor, he stayed by her side, even after her little bundle of joy appeared.

There was no denying Gabe had declared himself permanently single—and proud of
it. But with his feelings for Mary growing deeper, he was suddenly torn: walk away
from mother and child, or do what he’d sworn he’d never do—get hitched!

This is a little too much information, actually. It totally gives away the first few chapters. Not that readers wouldn't figure out what was going on--but still, some things you want to discover for yourself as you read, right?

Then again, marketing has this wild need to actually sell books, so I totally forgive them.

Is It 2009 Yet???

2008-12-30T06:52:00.000-08:00

This is Ed. Yes, in this picture he looks marginally alienlike. But he's a sweetie, truly.

And he wishes you all the very best in 2009. May all your dreams comes true. May you find joy and love, contentment and excitement. And, always, a whole bunch of great books.

I got some fine ones for Christmas this year. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis, Daughter of the Blood, the first in Anne Bishop's Black Jewels trilogy, and Mad Dash by Patricia Gaffney. Plenty of good reading to do around here.

Then again, I'm always taking recommendations. Any good books I shouldn't miss?

Outlaw Partay!

2008-12-22T10:12:00.000-08:00

Finally made it to my Oklahoma Romance Writers of America chapter's Christmas party--we are otherwise known as the Outlaws, in case you were wondering. Here you see, clockwise from left, Rinda Elliot, Merline Lovelace, me--and Jill Monroe, halfway in the frame. That Jill. She tried to sneak into all the pictures. Pretty much succeeded, too.

Great fun. We played a merciless game of Dirty Santa--with books this time.

A True Christmas Treasure...

2008-12-17T08:13:00.000-08:00

My friend, Hazel, sent me this.

Some of you may remember Bowie Bravo, who has yet to have his own book due to problems with alcohol and anger management issues. Hazel calls him "Tarzan" Bravo--because, as she told me, "he lives in the woods and is anti social."

So...above you have Tarzan's Christmas. So festive!

I especially like the cow skull tree topper! And, of course, the so-attractive monkey tattoo in the exact perfect place. Thank you, Hazel!

Merry Christmas, everyone...

I Love Me a Little Dirty Santa...

2008-12-09T07:02:00.000-08:00

The game, I mean.

We play it every year at the Christmas party put on at the local country club by the DH's real estate firm. The DH thinks it's dumb. He's always with the, "Why can't we just go and eat, drink and be merry like grownups."

And to that I say, "Bah, humbug! I want my Dirty Santa."

Of course, every year he somehow ends up choosing the gift we will contribute to the game. How does that happen? Wish I knew. This year we brought a couple of interesting drink mixers--both for "tinis," one for crantinis one for chocolate. All attractively packaged with this cool stainless steel shot glass thingy and snowflake-adorned stir sticks. The winner of that one gets to provide her own liqour. I say "her" because a woman won it. The room was dark, lit with candles and little white Christmas lights. Even through the candlelit shadows, I could see she was pleased with it. When the MC of the game tried to get her to hold it up so everyone could get a good look and be ready to steal it, she put it to her chest and said, "Oh, it's just some drink mixers." Clever girl. She went home with it, unchallenged. Personally, I wouldn't want a pair of sweet mixers--not even with the snowflake stirsticks and stainless shot glass thrown in. But the DH said his colleagues love sweet drinks, so that's what we brought.

The rules, in case you're totally lost at this point: Bring a wrapped gift that cost you under fifteen bucks. Yeah, most go over a little. Some don't. Either's okay with me. It's the bright wrapping and the stealing other peoples stuff that draws me to this game. I was probably a small furry creature who stole shiny objects my last life...

Back to the Rules... You draw numbers for your turn. If someone before you opens a gift you admire, you get to steal it. But. No gift can be stolen more than three times. If yours is stolen, you go back to the tree and choose another wrapped gift. Every year everyone argues over how the rules have changed. I don't know. I personally think they stay the same but what's a Dirty Santa game without griping over the rules? This year I wanted the small bottle of Bailey's Irish Creme that came up early. So I stole it. Then someone stole it from me. I forget who ended up with it. But I got a scent burner thingy. You put squares of scented wax in it, plug it in and you have candle scent wafting on the air. Hmm. Maybe not for me...

So I let the DH trade it for a book by the political commentator, George Will. I mean, hello. The DH is a total left-winger and George Will is a conservative. But the MC, also a left-winger, looked so crushed, he just had to come to her rescue. I don't really mind. He's a hero, what can I say? And if I want scented wax wafting around my head, I'll light a candle.

So that's it. Another year's worth of Dirty Santa, another evening of fun!

Know any great holiday games? I have a few more parties to attend...

The Tree

2008-12-03T10:36:00.000-08:00

We put it up last weekend--which I guess I mentioned in my last post. Every year, I try to get a good picture. Never satisfied. Here are this year's...
I don't know why it always looks better "in person" than in any of the pictures I take.
And yet, I keep trying...
And trying...
and trying...

Yes, It's Me...

2008-12-01T08:27:00.000-08:00

Again. At last.

I know, I know. I haven't been around here much. But I have been blogging regularly--first and fourth Tuesdays of every month--over at the Special Edition Authors blog on the eHarlequin site. Click the link to the blog on the right of the page if you want to drop in there and see what I've been yakking about.

Hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving. I did. I put on two pounds just to prove it. ;) I cooked, too. A lot. The pies, the turkey, the creamed onions, and on and on... it was fun and very satisfying. Both the cooking and the eating.

Saturday, we did the tree and the house decorating for the holidays. Even got a nice dusting of snow last night. I feel so festive! If only my pants weren't so tight...

Now, it's back to work after the long, lazy holiday weekend. I'm getting my filing and other stuff in order to day and then digging into my latest proposal starting tomorrow.

How about you? Did you have a great Thanksgiving...?

Cover for my January book...

2008-10-01T09:58:00.000-07:00

And may I just say I love it! I do.

So gorgeous. The art department hit it right out of the park with this one. I am so fond of this "epic" style of cover--with the couple above and an inviting landscape below.

I love that he is both killer handsome and grownup looking--not to mention very macho in a smooth, sophisticated way, which is exactly this hero. And the feeling of the scene is totally sexy in a romantic, emotion-charged way.

This is just what I look for in a great cover. It has tastiness--would make me want to pick it up and read the back copy.

Anyway, just thought I would share...

New Special Edition Blog at eHarlequin!

2008-09-16T09:14:00.000-07:00

New blog for Special Edition authors up at eHarlequin.

Check us out here . You can read my blog from yesterday, Color Me Excited. And why am I excited? Because we have have our own blog, of course!

Most of the authors involved will be posting twice a month, so you can learn all there is to know about what each of us Special Edition authors is working on for your future reading pleasure. From now on, I'll have the first and fourth Tuesdays. That means I'll be blogging next on Tuesday, the 23rd. Hope to see you there!

Win a Free Book!

2008-09-03T10:35:00.000-07:00

Well, that was easy. Barb and kimmy, send me an email through my website or the "email me privately" link to the right and I'll get your books out to you! Congrats!

Scratch that. Win two free books.

In honor of my October release, Having Tanner Bravo's Baby, I'm giving away the stories of Tanner's two sisters, Hayley and Kelly, so the lucky winners will be all caught up on that branch of the family when Tanner's book comes out next month.

So... for a chance to win signed copies of A Bravo Christmas Reunion and Valentine's Secret Child, leave a comment to this post between Wednesday, September 3 and Friday, September 12.

I'll randomly draw two winners on Saturday, September 13.

Good luck, everyone!

Oh, and please note that this is a separate contest from my regular contest. Enter both. Please! You can sign up for the One Bravo, One Jones contest here.

The End of the Month Already?

2008-08-27T07:32:00.001-07:00

How is that possible? I have so much to do this month and it's quickly ending. Help! Need to finish my proposal. And then on to the next book. And plot group in Vegas 9/7-9/10. I so cannot wait!

About the speech I was supposed to be planning. Fuggetaboutit. Haven't even gotten to it yet. But I will. Probably on the day before I have to give it. Now that's wingin' it! I think what's needed is a hot-looking wet guy. A little bit of Raoul. Smiling with a cute dog--and his zipper halfway down.

There. I feel so much better.

Younger son is back in school. Just got his tuition bill. Eeek! But the nice thing is his girlfriend is a freshman this year. When he has to get his car fixed--which he does way too often--she can take him there and drive him around while the car's in the shop. I am grateful for small favors.

Oh, and you should see our lawn. A lush carpet of moist green. The DH took over lawncare this year with younger son moving on into his own life. The lawn really loves the DH's loving care.

So...School started where you are? Any signs of fall?

The End...

2008-08-08T06:34:00.001-07:00

Finishing up a book today. What a great feeling. This one will go in by next Tuesday or so--some polishing required. And then I have to write a speech.

Scratch that. I've decided to loosely outline a speech. Because, ya know, I'm too anal for this world and normally I literally write them and read them straight off the page--with a lot of expression and enthusiasm, of course. But I've decided this time I'm going to wing it. I may have a nervous breakdown over it, but that's my plan.

I'll let you know if I survived the process after it's over.

Now, back to that final scene...

The Kids' First House

2008-08-01T06:52:00.000-07:00

Matt, older son, and my favorite DIL, Jenny, married a few years' back. Pictures posted on my website in the pictures area.

They were in California for a while. But a year or so ago, they moved to Oregon. And on July 23, they closed on their first house.
Jenny sent pictures. I couldn't resist sharing them...

Love the one of Matt in his...Has-Matt suit. I think these are mostly of their basement. Can't wait to see more of the interior. They're having such fun.

Makes me totally miss them!

The Ongoing Cover Rag

2008-07-17T06:44:00.001-07:00

Well, this isn't actually a rag. I like this cover, on the whole. My first reaction was that I couldn't decide whether he looked like Jon Stewart--or a homeless person. And what is with her dress? It's too big and it kind of looks like a cheap evening dress. In the middle of the afternoon in a tree-shaded park? Maybe they're both homeless...

But then, well, I sent it to my dear friend Susan Crosby She liked it and told me why. That the heroine looks adorable and the hero actually kind of looks like Harry Connick, Jr.--whom Susan really likes a lot. And then I realized she is adorable. And she looks a little like Kate Hudson, who was my image of her. And he's...not so bad. I mean, he looks like a grown man instead of somebody's shaved-chest boy toy. And he has amazing, big hands.

I really like big hands on a man.

So now, I'm good with it. I even like it. And I think it's perfectly targeted for the SSE reader--meaning it's romantic and sweetly emotional.

You think?

So Here I Am...

2008-07-03T09:30:00.000-07:00

...Starting a book again. I think there's a pattern here. But I know, I know. I've mentioned that before.

I've got my character images up on my inspiration board. I've got the calendar up that shows when important story events take place. I've ordered a book about raising barnyard animals--because, you know. My heroine keeps goats. A book on barnyard animals could come in handy.

Like the two tour books I already got for Austin and San Antonio. Yep. Books on the setting. So important.

I also bought a gorgeous cofee-table book on modern ranching in Texas. Great black and white photos of craggy-looking people who really should moisturize more often. Oh, and a book on raising beef cattle. If you're writing about Texas, you never know when you might need one of those. There's a huge section on calving, with pictures. Really. You don't want to see what it looks like when a cow gives birth. Or to help. People have probably lost hands and arms doing that.

I doubt I'll have any calves delivered in this series of books I'm doing set in South Texas. The book with the rancher hero and the large-animal vet heroine takes place in August and the fall. Not a lot calving in South Texas in the fall.

But I do feel...prepared, you know? Or at least, as prepared as I ever am to start.

Now I get to just do it. Start. Very scary. But starting leads to the grand adventure of writing the whole book. Not complaining.

Oh, and about that ice storm damaged tree in the front yard. Here she is.

I'm thinking in a couple of years she'll be lookin' good. Or at least better...

And back to books, I'm reading Kushiel's Dart by Jacqueline Carey, an amazing loooonng and complex fantasy novel. There's a four-page list of characters in the front. I have to keep referring to it to know who they're talking about. And the plot is...intricate, to say the least. But I'm in love with the heroine, Phedre, so I keep plugging. I highly recommend it if you like fantasy and don't mind working hard for your entertainment reading. Oh, and also, Phedre is a an anguisette. Sort of a prostitute into Bondage and Discipline. But not a prostitute, really. In this world, sex is an art and the ones who provide it are true artists called adepts. But if this element is a turnoff, heads up.

Any good books to recommend?

Visit me at Tote Bags Today...

2008-06-24T08:41:00.000-07:00

I'm blogging on the subject of continuities--meaning what are they and how do they work?--over at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs today. Come say hi--and get the scoop on my latest, In Bed with the Boss.

Hope everyone is having a terrific summer. It's gorgeous here in the heartland. Gotta take a picture of my formerly fabulous front-yard oak that was hit so hard by the ice storm last winter. it's so weird looking now. Like a eucalyptus, I swear. I'll try to do that tomorrow....

I'm Thinking That Guy from Supernatural...

2008-06-18T06:28:00.001-07:00

For the hero of my latest, I mean. He's Jensen Ackles. I'm picturing him as Luke Bravo. Oh, yes!

Here's another. The one on the right--as if you couldn't guess. Great mouth. And he's even got the Bravo cleft in his so-manly chin.

Okay, enough with the hunkiness. Back to work!