Celebrating a Life Well-Lived

Last night my friend, Barbara, passed away. I say "passed away," not died, because it's my personal belief that energy never really dies but instead changes forms. And hers is a big spirit, huge. Something so wild and beautiful and free doesn't ever die. It just doesn't.

I'd say Barbara was my best friend, but I'm not in the habit of ranking my relationships. Suffice it to say we were tight. She wasn't only a girlfriend in the peer sense. She was--and is--a mentor, a soul mate, and yes, my very dear friend.

When I got The Call from her son, also my friend, it was creeping up on one AM. I was still up, though, if not wide awake then certainly wired, writing. Because the manuscript for my next book, UNTAMED, the finale to my Men of Roxbury House series is late. Not egregiously late or shockingly late, not the kind of writer's blocked lateness that results in pushed up pub dates and editor frenzy, but a week late. And at the moment, I don't really care.

I shut off the computer and met a small group of my friends at a local bar still open in our otherwise roll-up-the-sidewalks early-to-bed small town. We had a drink, a drink for Barbara, and then we went back to our friend Tim's house and had another round in the timeless quiet of his 1800's living room.

But mainly we talked. Barbara's three adult children who have been her round-the-clock caretakers for the past three weeks shared something of what that had been like, including some of the moments of dark humor involved in physical dying. But mostly we celebrated life, Barbara's life, and the profound ways she had touched us as parent, mentor, lover, and friend. In the course of the next two hours, her one musician son shared the song he'd written for her and then our musician friend, Tim sang the one he'd written, too. We cried some but we laughed even more as well as smiled at all the many memories. Above all we celebrated a life, Barbara's life. A Life Well Lived.

Sitting there last night amongst dear friends, it struck me that it's not the deadlines met or missed, the bestseller list rankings, the contest wins or losses, the sales numbers on our latest release or the sundry other successes and failures that define a life. All the must-do's and should-haves that fill and sometimes clutter our days aren't what we remember or even care about. In the so-called end, it's how our lives touched others, how their lives touched ours, that matters--period.

Bon Voyage, Barbara. Congratulations on a Life Well Lived and deepest thanks for all you've done to teach me how to better live mine.

Love,

Hope

Got...ENSLAVED? Countdown to contest closing.

Hi Folks,

We're counting down to the finish on my end-of-summer Got...ENSLAVED contest. Just six more days before the contest closes on 9/1, so if you've seen ENSLAVED out and about, or elsewhere online, please email in.

"Alert readers" continue to email me their ENSLAVED sightings, including readers from other countries. Recently added to the list of early release sightings are Chapters book store in downtown Montreal and online at The Book Depository (www.bookdepository.co.uk).

:-) Hope

Latest ENSLAVED sighting...

Multiple copies of ENSLAVED (turned face-out, no less!) were sighted in the romance aisle of a Books-A-Million in Pensacola, Florida as of August 14th. Many thanks to Lucile for reporting in. Good luck, Lucile, in the end-of-summer Got...ENSLAVED Contest.

:) Hope

Got...ENSLAVED Contest Closes 9/1

With temperatures soaring, at least here in Virginia, it's hard to believe fall is right around the corner but it is. Soon school bells will once again be ringing and back packs will be filled with crisp new textbooks to be cracked open--and closed.

Along with those harbingers of autumn, my summer "Got...ENSLAVED? Contest" closes on 9/1. So, if you've happened upon one of the advance copies of the book, don't forget to drop me an email with "Got...ENSLAVED?" in the subject header to make things nice and simple. I'll add the location to my growing list and enter your name in the contest pool.

Hope

Got...ENSLAVED? Latest Sighting

Copies of ENSLAVED have been sighted most recently at the Barnes & Noble in Daytona Beach, Florida. Thanks to Lucile F for emailing the info. Lucile, good luck in the "Got...ENSLAVED?" summer contest.

Hope

Back from RWA in Dallas...

Hi All,

I'm finally rested up from the Romance Writers of America Conference held in Dallas and ready to dish. The conference kicked off on Wednesday evening with the Readers for Life Literacy autographing. Think 450 romance authors packed into the Hyatt's grand salon signing their books and chatting up readers. That was enough to steam up even the most Arctic air conditioned of rooms.

Instead of my normal slinking to the hotel bar post-signing for vino and fried munchies, I joined fellow authors Kathryn Caskie and Sophia Nash on a out-of-hotel foray to Cowboy Red River, a "real live Texas cowboy bar" complete with mechanical bull. Romance Novel TV came along for the proverbial ride, film crew in tow. Courage bouyed by a very large and very strong Texas style Margarita, Yours Truly climbed aboard the about-to-be bucking beast. Maybe it was the tequila, maybe it was the white Stetson borrowed from a cute cowboy called Ray, or maybe it was just my stubborn Irish pride, who knows, but bumps and bruises aside, I managed to hold my seat for the full eight seconds. For those of you tempted to remark that eight seconds isn't all that, I say this--Try It. ;)

That was, of course, only the first of my four days in Dallas. Other highlights include dancing to "Love Shack" at the Harlequin Party on Friday night with about-to-be Rita winner, Julia Quinn, dishing with RNTV emcee Sophia Nash on "the red carpet" at the Saturday night Golden Heart and Rita Awards ceremony and gala, and sipping champagne with Kathryn Caskie, Nocturne author, Pam Poulsen, and romantic suspense writer, Terri Ridgell in the Hyatt lobby lounge while the rest of the hotel guests evacuated in response to a (false) fire alarm--think the orchestra playing on the deck in "Titanic."

Okay, enuf about me. Anyone else go?

I'm sure I'm leaving out lots of fun times and events, but summarizing four action-packed and star-author studded days into a single post would make for one book length blog. That said, I hope you'll check back for pictures from the conference to be posted. In the meantime...

Happy Trails,

:-) Hope

Got ENSLAVED--latest sighting

Copies of ENSLAVED can be found at Barnes & Noble and Waldenbooks stores in Mesa, AZ. Thanks to Joy I of Mesa, AZ for emailing the information.

Got (a copy of) ENSLAVED? Email me the store name and location with "Got ENSLAVED?" in the email subject header, and you'll be automatically entered in my special summertime contest. The winner will be announced in early September.

And please check back in a day or so for the dish--garnished with the occassional "naughty bit"--from the Romance Writers of America conference in Dallas.

Hope