Word of the Week:
friend high — The pleasant “high” feeling one acquires around close friends, often compared to being on some sort of drug. Accompanied by lots of laughing, stupidity, excitement, good conversation, and loud obnoxiousness.  i.e. the act of getting “high” off another’s good friendship vibes.

So y’all know I’m working on my “Dynasties:  The Kincaids” story for Harlequin Desire, right?  Set in Charleston, South Carolina.  That would be why I’m so fond of using “y’all” lately. :wink

And things were going really smoothly.  I was moving right along, loving the story, loving the characters, & especially loving the intense sexual tension between them.  Then came the moment when I was supposed to have them go off for a long weekend at the hero’s ocean resort.  And this was going to be fun, too, because he said it was for business, but had much more nefarious plans in mind. :us

Now, this oceanside resort was supposed to be located on the Outer Banks.  And I was all for that.  I’ve never been there, but the Outer Banks sound lovely, & I’m always game for anything that gets me closer to the water, even if only vicariously.  (What can I say?  I’m pretty sure I possess at least a sprinkling of fish DNA. I would live in water, if I could.)  So I get online & begin doing my research.  I wanted pictures of the islands & some of the luxury resorts there, & needed to know the distance between Charleston & the Outer Banks so I’d have an idea of how far my hero & heroine would be traveling.

Anyone who is less geographically challenged than I am can probably see where this is going…  Can you?  Can you see where this is going? :scared

The Outer Banks are eight to ten freaking hours from Charleston!  But Hilton Head Island…not to mention a whole string of other lovely islands, such as Kiawat, Folly, & Seabrook…are right there, like, half an hour from Charleston.  (I might also mention that the Outer Banks are North Carolina islands, while Hilton Head & the others are in South Carolina right along with Charleston, South Carolina, but that seems a bit like beating the proverbial dead horse. )

And while continuing to use the Outer Banks location may work for other authors in this series, it does not work for me.  I simply cannot wrap my mind around the idea of anyone traveling all the way up there to another string of islands on the outskirts of another state just for an island atmosphere when they’ve got a perfectly good string of islands right in their back yard.  Plus, sticking to the South Carolina islands keeps the tone of the Charleston/South Carolina setting better, wouldn’t you agree?  (Yes, I know you would—Mistress Heidi wouldn’t have it any other way. :mistress )

Thankfully, I’ve got a great editor at Harlequin Desire who understands the way my mind works & agreed that it would be best to use Hilton Head & the surrounding islands for my story.  I also happen to have friends who visit Hilton Head quite frequently & responded to my plea for help by positively flooding me with research information.  Newspapers, magazines, websites…even an invitation to go with them next time they visit, if I’d like.  Woot!   It’s almost like being there, but without all the annoying sand in my butt crack. :eggcrack

So as it stands now, my hero’s luxury ocean resort is going to be on Seabrook Island, South Carolina.  He & the heroine are in his shiny black Mercedes as we speak, driving down there.  I just have to figure out how to get them into bed as quickly as humanly possible…  Any ideas? :whichone

Holiday or no holiday, we mustn’t forget to announce the winner of our very special Earth Day Giveaway…

:getdown   Amy Bleich!!! :getdown

Congratulations, Amy! :vday Please contact me with your full name & mailing information, & I’ll get your Earth Day goodies out to you as soon as I can!

And since I’ve got a stack of them now (though I am still quite dedicated to the Animal Rescue “Adopt a Shelter Pet” stamps) I’ve decided to toss a sheet in with the previous two Earth Day Free Book Friday giveaways from this month.  So Emily…Jessica…when I finally get your eco-friendly books in the mail, you’ll be getting Go Green! forever stamps, too.  ‘Cuz that’s just how I roll. :eyelashes

I am canceling today’s Sexy Fail post to share with you some extremely sad news.  A friend & fellow romance author, Beverly Barton, passed away very suddenly this past week, & I am still in shock.

Those of you who may have met Beverly somewhere along the way know how wonderful she was.  Those of you who never had the privilege, believe me when I tell you that she was the sweetest, kindest woman I think I’ve ever met.  And that’s on top of being an amazingly talented author!

When I was thinking of signing with Agent Extraordinaire, Beverly took the time to chat with me about him, because he was her agent, too.

When I first sold to Harlequin, Beverly told me everything she knew about them, because she’d written for them, too.  (Intimate Moments, Desire, even some single titles.)

When I got the offer from Kensington to write paranormals for Brava, I turned to Beverly because she was also writing for them (her fabulous, bestselling romantic suspenses) & we would soon share Editor B, as well.

In fact, her newest title with Kensington, Dead by Morning, is scheduled to release on Tuesday, April 26th.

Beverly was just always there, happy to chat & share.

She was also such a bright spot at RWA National every year.  I couldn’t wait to see her smiling face & hear that soft Southern drawl of hers.

I still simply cannot believe she’s gone.  I can’t believe I’m never going to see her again or talk with her again.  And she’ll never get the chance to visit us here in The Dungeon—which, yes, was in the works.  She would have been a fabulous guest, too.

The romance community will certainly never be the same without her in it.  But then, neither will the world.

We love you, Beverly.  Rest in peace.