Well, its been a long time since I’ve posted much. And since I’ve promised to post photos (just click on them to enlarge) of my trip, I figured I’d better do it before the season has passed.

About a week and a half ago, we took the boys to my hometown. But instead of staying locally, we headed an hour or so north to the Finger Lakes. Growing up in the region, I had no idea there were wineries. Not until I brought my future husband home years ago and my parents took us north on a wine trail….

Getting ready for NaNoWriMo, I decided to set my new novel in the Finger Lakes region. Well, what with a lot of school vacation days and the boys driving me nuts, I had a bright idea. My husband cashed in a vacation day, and we headed off on a ‘research’ trip (some things about writing are fun and my husband hoped on board this project willingly enough).

Its been a while since we’ve been back, but this past weekend had those perfect fall days that start off cold, but warm to a pleasant 70 degrees. The sun was out and a recent frost had caused the leaves to break out in brilliant color, but the rain and wind had yet to knock the leaves off their trees…

On a Saturday, we took the boys to Glenora Wine Cellars, mostly for the tour (but we did sample the wines and walk off with a few). They showed us the machinery that separates the grapes from their stems, extracts the juice, then filters out the sludge. Then it was off to the barrel room.

Here’s a photo of a barrel. Note the plaque? You can buy your own barrel, visit it (I kid you not, the guide says people do), and at last, collect the wine AND the empty barrel.

Here are the fermentation tanks.

The bottling/corking machinery.

By the end of the tour, the boys were getting a bit wild, so we took them to Watkins Glen. Nothing like about a thousand steps to wear them down. Unfortunately, it did us in too.

The next day, my parents kept the kids at home and we set off to sample the wines of those wineries between the lower halves of Lake Cayuga and Seneca. Our favorites? Lucas, Lamoreaux Landing, Wagner, and Standing Stone. The photos below are from Wagner.

On our way out, we passed a ‘limo’. You can sign up for tours that include a driver. No need to sip discreetly and dump the rest (or spit). Those individuals debussing had definitely not been dumping their tastings. They looked to be enjoying themselves thoroughly… Wiffer Wine Tour anyone?

While I wasn’t a tomboy, I was certainly not into the whole girly thing that I see around me today.

What were you like?

Didn’t I just finish college a few years ago?

Wait, no, there’s also those advanced degrees I hold….

And somehow a lot of my free time seems to have been devoted to a four-year-old and a seven-year-old who starts second grade this fall! Time is flying by.

And, given my recent change in employment status from tenure-track-professor to stay-at-home-mom, this seemed like a good post to share my results from the following quiz. Go ahead. Take it yourself and let us know, how do you rate as a 1930s wife?

Here’s my score:

20 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Poor (Failure) Take the test!

Oh well, after 12 years, I’m afraid not much is likely to change.

I was in the middle of moving.

But now the boxes are unpacked, curtains are up, and most of the pictures are hung (don’t ask about the cellar, we’re pretending its not there). Its time to start writing again.

I bravely sent out queries via email just before moving. Mostly I’ve been rejected or simply ignored, but one agent requested the first five pages! I’ve claimed office space in the new house (it has a door I can shut) and today I shall at last get those five pages off to the agent.

That means we’ve eaten out quite a bit. My four-year-old (self named DahDoo) has always had an interesting take on words and phrases….

So, we’re at Red Robin. DahDoo points to a photo on the kid’s menu. The waitress arrives and I order his request – grilled cheese. He screams indignantly, “No!!!” We all stare at him in confusion as he turns bright red. “I’m a boy! I want a boy cheese sandwich, not a girl cheese sandwich.

I’ve spent the last two days puzzling out why this site and another site required all of you to hit that refresh button so often. It was really annoying, so I’ll name names. Turns out it was our hosting site, HostGator and the even slower site was being hosted at GoDaddy. I’d like to thank all of you who let me know that you couldn’t see posts and comments quickly – thanks for sticking it out.

Now, I’m upgraded to 2.5 and running quickly. :

I can’t tell you how happy I am to be on a hosting site that runs WordPress so well

Now, however, I’m tempted to play. So, please don’t be surprised if you see the themes change – I’m feeling like trying a new template because this one is feeling a little cluttered. Something in a two column I think… I promise I won’t do it too much.

Here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to the person who tagged you once you’ve posted your three sentences.

The closest book is Medically Important Fungi (my husbands, not mine). So, I’ll assume you meant the nearest fiction book. That happens to be The Singing Stones by Phyllis A. Whitney. Its pretty good so far..

“He closed his eyes as though he wanted to shut everything away, and he made no effort to answer his daughter. Paul wheeled him away, while Jilly stared after him darkly. “He doesn’t care!”

Okay. I’ll tag Carat, Cynthia, Mama Moose, Gina B, and nomadshan.

I know tags annoy some people, but this one was kinda fun. So, pass on the tag, or let it stop here – your choice.

For me, it was a box set of six mystery books by Wylly Folk St. John including The Secrets of Hidden Creek. I can still remember some of the plot line (and I still have the box set).

From there, it was off to the Nancy Drew mysteries and countless more. Years later, I discovered Mary Stewart and all other gothic romance mysteries. But it was my discovery of Elizabeth Peters a.k.a. Barbara Michaels and her books that first made me think about writing my own novel.

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1) Where were you born? Where did you grow up? Where do you currently live?

I’m a California girl. I was born in LA and grew up in a small suburb about forty-five minutes from the city. At the time, all of my parents’ friends thought they were crazy for living out in “the boonies.” It was a brand new housing development far from my dad’s place of work, but back then there was no traffic. (Don’t even ask me about traffic now. It’s practically at my front door.) I currently live about ten minutes from my childhood home (my parents are still there), so I haven’t strayed too far. I’m lucky. It’s a great place to live and raise my kids.
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2) What has been your biggest challenge (so far) raising two boys?

Hmm…I have to say I’m thankful I’ve got boys in this day and age and not girls. The biggest challenge is probably all the testosterone in my house! I get to be part of all those wonderful male qualities we know and love, while at the same time making sure my boys are well mannered and know how to be respectful to others.
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3) Do the reptiles in your house keep anyone away (my mother-in-law would never visit again)?

LOL! I wish. (Just kidding.) They’re very nice reptiles and honestly, rarely make an appearance outside of their enclosures.
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4) Do you remember the moment when you decided to write a novel? And is this your first one? What kind of romance novel is it?

I remember the exact moment! In a nutshell, I was working freelance for a website, writing letters from a bride’s perspective about her wedding. The letters pushed the envelope on the heat level (per my instructions) and when I’d finished them (about 25), one of the writers on staff emailed me and asked if I’d ever written a romance novel, and if I hadn’t, I should. A bell went off in my head at that moment, and I decided that’s exactly what I should do. (I had actually thought about writing a novel before that, but didn’t know when or if I really would.) I started reading some romance novels (I never had before, she says, hiding under the chair) and shortly after that sat down to start writing. That was a year and a half ago and I’m having the best time! I just finished my first single title and have written three category and one novella. I write contemporary, but am trying my hand at a paranormal right now.
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5) Your posted excerpt is from the male point of view. Did you have any problems getting into the head of a guy?

Good question! And one I’d love to hear other’s perspective on. I don’t have any problems other than the fact that I do find it harder than writing from my heroine’s POV. (Ha! No problem there, huh?)
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6) Did you spend any time with a veterinarian as ‘research’? If not, how did you research this character?

I didn’t spend any time with a veterinarian. Nate’s occupation is important in that he loves animals and my heroine, Grace, hates them. When they meet, he’s in New York visiting friends so is away from work. Grace is strapped with pet sitting for her best friend and the only thing that makes it bearable is running into Nate and receiving his help with her pet obligations. By the way, I tried to get a little creative with the pet. It’s not a dog or a cat. And it’s not a reptile.
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7) If we wouldn’t let you have romance books on your desert island, what kind of books would you take? (Remember, we must torture the MC.)

That’s easy! I’d take mystery/suspense novels. Until recently, that’s all I read. And embarrassingly, not that often (hiding under the chair again). Janet Evanovich’s Stephanie Plum novels are a favorite, as well as Sue Grafton, Tony Hillerman and Sujata Massey. And I’d bring all of Jim Butcher’s Dresden Files books.
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8. Pantser of plotter? And have you tried it the other way?

I’d say 75% pantser, 25% plotter. I love it when I’m writing and the story takes me in a direction I didn’t see coming.
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9) Given unlimited funds and two weeks, where would you go on vacation?

I’d go to Europe. Since I’ve never been, I can’t pick just one spot, so I’d forget sleeping and see as much as I could!
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10) How did you find ‘Will Write for Wine’?

The wonderful Book Lady, Caryn, introduced it to me.