Welcome to my daily blog. If this is your first time, I'm a romance writer and a misplaced city girl currently living in the wild Sierras. I tend to have a lot of I-Love-Lucy moments that I share here but sometimes we talk about books, TV, and our favorite cookies. Okay, my favorite cookies. In any case, please feel free to comment by clicking on the Comments at the bottom of any entry. If you're too shy, that's okay, just know I love having you.

Hump Day

August 10, 2011 | Filed under: Stuff

Happiness is having someone to sit on a rock and sun with.

Was hoping to hear some of your happiness is stories today…

(pic by Youngest)

I need a sharp stick to poke out my eyeball

August 9, 2011 | Filed under: Stuff

I forgot – FORGOT – to pay the car insurance. I might have never remembered to pay it except that an agent left a message on my machine telling me if I didn’t pay by the cut off date – yesterday – we were cancelled. So in a desperate panic, I called the number, my excuse ready, that I was terribly sorry, a stupid oversight, please don’t cancel us . . .

Only it was an automated line. My ensuing conversation with a computer went almost verbatim like this, I kid you not, except my language has been cleaned up considerably:

Insurance Robot:
Please state your name.

Me:
Jill Shalvis

Ins. Robot:
Joe Chavez, I’m sorry, you’re not on record with us.

Me:
Jill S-H-A-L-V-I-S. S like Sam, H like—

Ins. Robot:
I am not understanding you. Please spell your last name.

Me:
That’s what I was doing!

Ins. Robot:
Okay, Mrs. That’swhatIwasdoing, hold on a moment while I search our records.

Me:
No, you don’t understand! I—

Ins. Robot:
Mrs. Noyoudon’tunderstand, you’re not on record with us.

Me:
DAMN IT!

Ins. Robot:
Could you spell that?

Me:
I need to speak to a real person!

Ins. Robot:
Please speak more clearly. Do you need to speak to an agent?

Me:
Yes.

Ins. Robot:
I’m sorry, can you repeat that?

Me:
YES!

Ins. Robot:
Please speak more clearly.

Me (thunking my head against the wall):
Y-E-S!

Ins. Robot:
I think you said no. You may hang up now. Have a good day!

How to face a Monday

August 8, 2011 | Filed under: Stuff

I don’t know about you, but I’ll take one to go …

Oh and I got a review for ANIMAL ATTRACTION from Publisher’s Weekly, who says: “Shalvis delivers another winner with this passionate and uplifting yarn.”

Made my day! You got anything making your day?

Name That Excerpt

August 4, 2011 | Filed under: Stuff

Update:
Random winners drawn using random.org: #18, #80 and #138 …

Original Post:
You know the drill. Name the book this excerpt comes from and I’ll pick a few random winners from the comments for a book. Hint: It’s one of mine. Also, cheating is entirely allowed. In return, you have to let me know if you’ve read the book. It won’t affect your chances to win …

Oh and the book that you’ll win? It’s an advanced reading copy of Animal Attraction.

Excerpt:

He tried to go to sleep but his knee was killing him, and his bed buddy was sputtering, working her way up to a conversation he didn’t want to have.

“You can’t just . . .” she started. “I mean, surely you don’t mean to . . . “

With a deep breath, he opened his eyes and took in the woman sitting in his bed. She wasn’t a hardship to look at, even while irritating the hell out of him. She had light brown hair, which was currently in bed-head mode, flying in crazy waves around her jaw and shoulders. Her creamy skin was pale, with twin spots of color high on each cheek signifying either arousal or distress, of which he’d bet on the latter since he hadn’t exactly been Prince Charming.

And then there was those slay-me eyes, magnified behind her glasses. They were the color of her hair, and also the exact color of the whiskey he wished he had straight up right now. (more…)

Middle, aka Heart Patient, doing her thang

August 3, 2011 | Filed under: Stuff

It’s hard to keep her down. But she’s been having some pesky little troubles, so I figured there was no better place than here to get a bunch of well wishes sent her way.

And if you want to send some my way for having to deal with boatloads of teenage angst and stress, well that would be welcome too.

Best Of I Love Lucy

August 2, 2011 | Filed under: Stuff

Not too long ago, I had a major I LOVE LUCY moment working the Disable Sports Event on Donner Lake. It all started out when we pulled up at the lake, towing the boat. It was a windy morning, and the water was the most brilliant blue . . . with whitecaps dotting the entire thing. The plan had been for me to drop the boat into the water and drive it across from east shore to north shore, where the event was taking place. Alpha Man would drive the truck and trailer around the lake and meet us there, mostly because he doesn’t trust me with his baby—er, truck.

But as he got out of the truck and helped me into the boat, he was looking at the water with this “oh shit” look on his face, and I knew. He didn’t think I could handle the boat across the incredibly wild conditions on the water.

And he was absolutely right. My heart was knocking against my ribs and my knees were wobbling at the thought of handling myself on the water without him. I am NOT equipped for such conditions, not even close. Hell, I can barely, and I do mean barely, handle the boat when the water looks like a sheet of glass . . . “This is such a bad idea,” I told him.

He slid his gaze in my direction and said nothing, but he didn’t have to. It was all over his face. Now the guy was in a quandary, and a big one. Which disaster did he want to go with, me driving the boat, or the truck with a trailer on it, which I’ve never done, around a windy, narrow, scary road. I got out of the boat and into his truck, making the decision for him. No way was I handling the boat on that water. Hell, no. He stood there for a long moment in rare indecision, and I wish I could have taken his picture to show you his face, but you’ll just have to imagine it. He walked up to the driver’s window and stared at me. I’d like to tell you his expression was love and adoration but it was not. “Drive slow,” he finally said.

“No problem.”

The look he gave me reminded me I had more than a few speeding tickets under my belt. “The trailer is wider than the truck, remember that on your turns or you’ll drop the trailer tires off the road.”

Big gulp on my part. “No problem.”

“If you have to back up to park, turn the steering wheel in the same direction that you want the trailer to go, not the opposite, like you do when it’s just the truck.”

An even bigger gulp. “I know that.”

We both knew I didn’t know that. He sighed. “See you on the other side. Call me if you need me.”

Nope. Not going to need him. No way. I was doing this on my own, just to prove to him that I could. I waited until he got into the boat and hit the gas, taking off into the sunrise, the boat slamming hard on each swell. I was very happy to not be the one in charge of that. I pulled out of the launch parking lot, turned right, and promptly ran the trailer tires over the curb, into the grass and on top of some very pretty flowers. Shit. The trailer is wider than the truck, he wasn’t kidding!!! Okay, heart back in place, I kept going, slowly, handling the narrow, windy curves with enough ease that I relaxed.

I think, in hindsight, that was my mistake.

When I finally came into view of the Disabled Sports camping site, I realized two things. One, the wind had died down and Alpha Man was probably having a GREAT ride on the water. And two, that the only spot to park was on the other side of the road. I was going to have to turn around. Oh, boy. I cranked the wheel and went for it, and promptly ended up blocking the entire road, and worse, blocking myself in. I cranked the wheel the other direction and attempted to right myself, but all I managed to do was get myself further wedged into an impossible situation. That’s when I remembered – turn the wheel in the SAME direction of where I wanted to go. Right. Of course it was far too late for that. I got out of the truck and looked at the truck and trailer. No way in hell was I ever going to manage to get of this situation. There were three wake-boarder guys wearing board shorts and nothing else watching me, and looking just amused enough that I waved them over. “Free ride on my boat if you get me out of this situation before my husband finds me.”

Those guys leapt forward to help, LIFTING the trailer and moved it around for me with sheer muscle power. Now that’s what I’m talking about!!! In no time at all I was facing the right way, in a great parking spot, damn pleased with myself. I hopped out of the truck again, grinning ear to ear, full of myself to be quite honest, and came face to face with Alpha Man, who was standing across the road, arms crossed, feet spread, looking at me.

He’d seen the whole thing.

Damn it. I really hate when that happens.