Happy St Patrick's Day

It's still St Patrick's Day here for a few more hours -- and in points further west. So I wish you the joy of the day.

My youngest granddaughter who believes in the joy of holidays, thinks it's a celebration in honor of one of her uncles.

Her dad says that all day long she's been telling everyone she meets, "Happy Uncle Patrick's Day!"

Sounds like a good idea to me.

I wish you the same, whether your name is Patrick or not.

I hope to be more timely in my blogging now that my mother is situated in an assisted living apartment and not moving from place to place on a nearly weekly basis, and I am not coughing my head off.

Next week I'm off to New York for a wedding. I'd actually forgotten because I'd made the reservations ages ago. I usually spend time ahead looking for things that will be going on in the city before I go. This time I made reservations to see one play back when I bought my plane ticket. And then life got interesting and I never got a chance to see what else might be happening.

If you have suggestions for things happening in the city now, please comment and let me know. Even if you haven't been there, but have ideas of good stuff to do, I'd love to hear about it. I've been to NYC lots of times, but there's always more to see and do than I ever have time for.

Suggest! I'd appreciate it. And you might well win one of the books in this week's Great Book Give-Away.

Great Book Give-away Update!

Hi,

I've stolen my blog back from Christo (and Natalie, apparently) just briefly to say that I've sent off the books to the winners from weeks one, two and am just finishing up week three.

If you commented on a blog piece in week three, you should also just hit the 'contact me' link at the bottom of the page and send me your name and address. Some people put them in comments, but if you would prefer not to (and I generally would prefer not to) sending it to me via the contact link means I will have it. Otherwise, I don't get your email address, so I have no way to contact you to ask you for it so I can send you a book.

The response has been really good -- and I'm delighted to be supporting the US postal service sending out all these books. I hope that those who receive them will enjoy them and maybe will find a new author they like or at least a book they will have enjoyed.

I'm getting the finishing touches on the cleaned-up house prior to Sol's arrival. All things knee-level and below have been vetted for chew-ability and put up high if they don't pass muster.

Also doing the line-edits and copyedits of George's book which have to be returned next week. As if I'll be doing them when I could be playing with Sol. Maybe Christo would like to do them, too, along with standing in for me here! I'll have to ask him.

We Have Winners!

Micah and Mitch have picked the winners for the first week of my 25th anniversary Great Book Give-Away. Winners have been notified.

If you didn't win a book this week, you can submit a new entry with the answer to week two's question. And your old entry will continue to be active all during February as well (so you have two chances to win a book).

If you did win, I'd be delighted if you want to answer the questions this month, but I'm trying to spread the goodies around, so if you have already won a book in February, you're eligible to win again in March.

I would appreciate your including your snail mail address with your answer so I can address the packages as soon as M&M pick the winners. Thanks!

I've been out of commission this week as my mother has been ill and in and out of the hospital. She is currently 'in' which means I have time to address envelopes. I hope she'll be out and on her way to improvement early next week. Worrisome times.

The books for next week's contest are:

• Anne McAllister — Savas' Defiant Mistress
• Loucinda McGary — Treasures of Venice
• Linda Taylor — Falling into Place
• Christie Craig — Weddings Can Be Murder
• Cara Lockwood — I Did (But I Wouldn't Now)
• Robyn Donald — A Ruthless Passion
• Nora Roberts — A Little Fate

The question you need to answer is:
In what state do most (not all) of her series of Quicksilver books take place?

Send your answers to me via my contest page.

Thank you!

My first book to be published (the second book I wrote), Starstruck, came out in February 1985. That's 25 years ago. And I had no idea then what an amazing 25 years it would be.

I've met so many interesting people, written about lots of other interesting people, gone places and done things I never would have been able to do if I'd continued on my pre-publication life.

I have a lot of people to thank for where I am today. Going way way back, I want to thank my mother who, not a reader particularly and not a writer certainly, still supported my interest in telling stories. She even has -- in her safe deposit box, no less -- the first 'real' story I ever wrote.

And there was my mother-in-law, too. You know how mothers-in-law are supposed to never think you're good enough for their dear son . . . well, mine might have felt that way, but she never showed it. And she made a point of supporting my fledgling efforts at writing fiction to the extent of buying me an IBM Selectric (in those days before computers, IBM Selectrics were the holy grail of the typing writer) as I was working on my second book.

The first one I didn't really tell anyone about because I didn't know if I could actually finish it or not. But when I had, I said I had -- and as I started number two, she said, "I have something for you to make your work easier."

Boy, did it! And I wrote books number 2-6 on it before I invested in a computer that only did word processing (no graphics card even) to write number 7.

There were others, too. My husband, The Prof, who supported my quest for publication and breathed a sigh of relief when I actually had an advance to help pay for groceries and the pediatrician, was a great help. I feel sorry for any writer who has a spouse or significant other who feels the dream of writing is somehow in competition with their relationship. I never had that happen, but I know people who have. It isn't pretty.

My kids have been wonderful -- particularly memorable was the five year old who told my editor he was going to grow up to be a romantic hero. He has, too. More or less!

And my friends -- writers and non-writers alike -- listen patiently and discuss the motivations and personalities of people who don't exist. You know who you are, but greater more specific thanks will be coming in future blogs.

And thank you to all my editors, copyeditors, editorial directors, my agent and especially to my readers who have enriched my life with their letters and comments and, incidentally, helping me put my kids through college by buying my books. You are stars -- all of you.

The Great-Book-Giveaway will begin this month. Heather (thanks to Heather, too) will be putting up the specifics. Watch my contest page -- and this space -- when she tells me what I'm doing!

Life . . . or complications

Sorry I've been missing in action.

Life has been complicating the things I would normally be doing if I weren't out living it.

I would be blogging and telling you all that come February I'm starting a year long celebration of 25 years of being published by Harlequin and Silhouette. To do that I thought the best thing would be to invite you all to share the celebration with me by doing what we all do best -- read.

So starting in February (check back the first week), I'm going to be giving away a book a day for a year!

Some of them will be my books. Some will be books of my friends. Some will be books I've read and enjoyed and want to share with you (and incidentally make room on my bookshelves -- which means that some of them will havebeen lightly read -- by me).

I'll be posting what you need to do to be part of these weekly drawings -- SEVEN WINNERS per week -- every month. You can find the info after February 1st on both my website and here.

But the website will have a more permanent link unless Heather my wonderful webmistress wants to stick a link in the sidebar of the blog, which she might, as she is clever that way.

So . . . stay tuned. I'll introduce you to my 25 year old "oldies" in case you missed them. And if I can get The Prof to dig deep in the attic, I may be able to share a few of them with you -- starting with Starstruck, the first to see the bookshelves that February 25 years ago.

Kate Walker is also celebrating her 25th this year. And you can bet I'll be giving away some wonderful Kate books as well. Stick around.

It's going to be a good year.

Hugh and Dan's WInner!

I didn't forget. It just took me a while to get Micah and Mitch's paws cleaned off enough to allow them into the living room where the names of the contestants and the treats were all set out so they could choose.

We spent a lot of the last week under water -- or so it seemed. And almost every day was a "96 dog foot day" -- one where I measure the day in terms of how many dog feet I wipe. It used to get to 96 a lot faster when we had four dogs. But these guys go out often enough that I had a lot of paw-wiping to do here, too.

All of which is prelude to saying that they have finally come in and made their choice -- and the winner of the Hugh and Dan contest is Jillian from Ohio!

Congratulations, Jillian!

And many many thanks to all the hard-working contestants who entered and who took the time to look up the answers to the questions. You are all wonderful. And I hope you all have Hugh's and Dan's birthdays on your calendars now, so that when I ask again next year (you don't think I will?) that you won't have to go looking for them.

Jillian's prize, including DVDs of Defiance and X-Men, as well as my new book One-Night Mistress...Convenient Wife, some other books and goodies, will be going out to her today. I hope you enjoy them, Jilian.

On the home front, besides mud, there's not much new. I do have the galleys back for Demetrios's book, which also now has a title. Did I tell you that? It's called The Virgin's Proposition. It actually has something to do with the book! Imagine that.

I don't know when it's coming out yet, but they seem to be moving it right along, so I hope it will turn up mid 2010 sometime.

George went back to the drawing board because he had far too much backstory in the first three chapters. So I'm pruning him and hoping that his book moves faster now.

Speaking of Georges, Liz Fielding has a terrific book out in November with a hero named George She sent it to me because she knew I was working on a George, too. It's supposed to be inspiration, but it's so wonderful, my George is despairing of ever living up to the name.

Her book is called Christmas Angel for the Billionaire and it's out in North America by itself as a Harlequin Romance, and in UK as part of a two-fer with Jessica Hart's Under the Boss's Mistletoe (another really lovely book).

Liz's George is a wonderful George (all Liz's heroes are wonderful) -- with a teenage daughter who is giving him fits and a father he's never been able to please.

I fell for her George the first time I saw him. I wanted to be Annie, her heroine. I loved the way Liz brought them together, loved the way Annie found herself (her real self, not her royal self) in George's family. And I loved the way Annie gave him the support he needed to make peace with the people he loved the most but couldn't seem to connect with.

As always, Liz did a terrific job with her people. I always like to spend time in Liz Fielding's world, and George's book was pure delight.

I'm looking forward to Her Desert Dream, the other half of the "trading places" duo where I get to find out what happened to Annie's look-alike Lydia who took her place and, from the look of things, may end up with a sheikh!

Watch out for Liz's book this month. And keep your eyes open for Lydia's book as well.

I loved the first. I can't wait for the second.

Happy Hugh Day!

I feel as if I've failed.

I offered a free contest entry to my Hugh and Dan contest last week by telling anyone who could tell me whose birthday it was today that they were automatically entered.

The paltry number of those who wrote in with the information that today is Hugh Jackman's birthday (and also my niece's) is dismaying. Disheartening. Downright disturbing.

So, here we are on Hugh Jackman's birthday, and now to enter the contest -- unless you're one of the few with the free pass -- you have to tell me:

• Daniel Craig's birthday

• the name of the play they are starring in together right now on Broadway

• the name of the author who first mentioned Hugh Jackman to me as a potential hero by telling me he was playing the role of Curly in Oklahoma in London. (hint: check old Hugh birthday posts)
  

• the name of the hero of my upcoming (later this month) Presents book, One Night Mistress...Convenient Wife.

Which means you have to work lots harder to win. The prizes are pretty good, though -- a couple of DVDs starring Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman (no, not together), some books including a my newest one (the said One-Night Mistress...Convenient Wife), some chocolate, some other yummy edibles and, well, who knows?

It would have been sooooo much easier if you'd just known what today is. I can see that this year we will have to have monthly quizzes or something to make sure that everyone knows the important dates in history.

Why is he important? Because he's inspired a whole battalion of books that might never have seen print if he hadn't been cast as the romantic hero. He certainly has inspired mine -- and I give credit where credit is due.

So, while you're coming up with the answers, here's a bit more inspiration for you to sustain you. Kate Walker says she's getting him a new set of towels for his birthday. This one will do for me.

Send me an email through the "contact Anne" link at the bottom of the page -- or go to my contest page and enter there.

Me and George

I got home from New York last week and threw myself at George.

He threw me back.

He wasn't ready to talk, even though I'd found him a fantastic brownstone to live in, a good office at Columbia University to work at, and a plot that would get him Sophy in the end.

He was busy, he said. He had experiments to work on. He had things to think about. He couldn't talk to me now.

So I threw him under a truck.

That'll teach him.

Now he's in the hospital recovering. And when he opens his eyes he's going to find himself staring into Sophy's big brown ones.

We might have a book here, folks. I'll see what George thinks tomorrow when I turn up at the computer and open his file.

At least now he knows I mean business.

ps: I'm putting together my Hugh and Dan contest -- which I would have had up by now, but battles with George, and piles of laundry and suchlike have kept me from sending the stuff to Heather my webmistress.

But you know what next Monday is, don't you? Whose birthday it is?

Send me an answer to that question, and I'll put you in my contest before it even starts.

Kids and Babies

Deep in the throes of grandparenting, and getting not very much writing done, I decided that my post this weekend on The Pink Heart Society blog would have to be about babies and kids and their role in romance fiction.

Sometimes I feel personally responsible for the population explosion in our books because of my first Harlequin American (and first book published) back in 1985, Starstruck, which was about a heroine with five children -- and a rabbit. (See, all the livestock in Savas' Defiant Mistress had early precursors in my books).

So please drop by and let me know what you think about all the babies and kids in romance. You can read what I think while you're there. And if you have keepers that feature babies and kids, please let us know in the comments section here or there what the titles of your keeper books are.

Those of you who haven't entered my mothers and babies contest, it ends Saturday night at midnight my time (Mountain Daylight right now). So if you want to win some great books and other goodies, drop by the contest page and enter.

Micah and Mitch have picked a winner!

Micah and Mitch were up early and practicing so they would be sure to have the 'picking a winner' for my New Look Contest down pat.

The 'up early and practicing' entailed following me around and looking hopefully in the direction of the treat jar until I allowed them to sit and wait, then pick them off the slips of paper containing the contest entries. They are both very good at sitting. The 'waiting' is a bit tricky. I can assure you they have mastered the eating treats part.

The other bit is, they have to agree.

And this takes more treats and more sitting and less waiting, though still a fair amount of discussion (mostly, I'm sad to report, about more treats).

But at last, they have a winner!

Laurie of Florida is their unanimous choice. So, congratulations, Laurie!

Your goody box of books, including Savas' Defiant Mistress, and chocolate -- and a plush frog! -- will be on its way to you this coming week. I hope you enjoy them all.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to match my books and their heroes and heroines. You are all winners in my book. There will be further chances down the road -- I'm thinking of a Mother's Day contest -- to win back list titles and, perhaps, another frog. Not to mention chocolate. So I hope you will all enter then.

In the meantime, I hope you've all had a great St David's Day and that the spring flowers are peeking up where you are -- unless you're in the Southern Hemisphere, where I hope you're finally getting cooler weather.

I'm looking forward to spring. But this winter has been so much more pleasant than last winter that I'm still not minding the bit of snow underfoot. How about you?

Last Day for Contest Entry!

If you haven't entered the contest on my website to win a copy of the upcoming Savas' Defiant Mistress, you can do so until midnight tonight. That's just one of the goodies in the Goody Box the winner will receive.

There's my Year of the Frog plush frog and a few other books (not just mine) and some chocolate and, hmmm, maybe another surprise or two.

To enter, just go to the contest page and match the book titles and the hero and heroine of each book. Answers are scattered all over this blog, so it's not rocket science.

Sunday Micah and Mitch will be picking the winner. They've been licking their chops in anticipation for the past two weeks.

The book pages are coming along slowly but surely. A few are up -- but lots more will be along during the next week or so.

Anne McAllister : : New Look! New contest! New cover!

It's here! The new look has arrived!

For those of you who are lurking on the blog wondering why nothing has changed, it has. But maybe not on the blog just yet. Soon!

But if you hurry on over to my website, you can see the "new look" Heather has brought us! I really really like it. I hope you do, too.

There will be continuing updates throughout the coming week -- or perhaps even longer -- as Heather links up all the backlist books and puts up "portal" pages for the different lines, publishers and mini-series. I've got over 60 books in my backlist now, so it is no easy matter to slap them all up there.

She's done a great job of putting my mini-series books together and providing the links. So you should soon be able to find the linked books without wondering if you've missed something along the way. How you get them, of course, since most of them are out of print now, is another story. But maybe Silhouette and Harlequin will decide to reprint. We can hope!

In honor of the newness of everything, I have put up a new contest as well. The winner will get a goody box containing, among other things, a copy of my upcoming Savas' Defiant Mistress which will be coming out toward the end of March. If you want a taste of Sebastian's life, you can read an excerpt on my website now.

There will be other things in the goody box as well. I've been collecting some fun things for the past few months -- including a wonderful plush frog in honor of the year of the frog (you remember, the ducks are out now and the frogs are in) -- and I always add in other writers' books as well as some of my own backlist titles.

So if you want to have a chance to win a great prize, go to the contest page, hook up the four books and their heroes and heroines I've mixed up there (answers are all over the place -- on my blog, on my website (as soon as the links are up) and if you google them, you can probably figure out the answers, too.

Send your answers to me by March 1st to enter. Mitch and Micah, my golden retrievers (and contest chairmen), will be wrestling over the choice the next day. They say they won't take bribes. I hope that's true!

While you're visiting the website, sign up for my newsletter if you want something in your email box irregularly. It will be rare, I promise. I won't be giving your address to anyone. It's all mine.

And if you have comments or suggestions or wonderful things to say to Heather, please contact me as well. We'd love to hear from you.

What do you think? Like the new look? I hope so!

Meet Ally

Hi. PJ still here.

Anne is enjoying her week or so off. She did pass along to me an email from Janet who said she would like to see a pic of Ally. Hey, no problem. Always glad to share pics of my wife.

This was taken not long after I first met her. She was working at Benny's, which was a diner sort of place near the beach in Hawaii. I used to buy my plate lunch from Ally. She was a college student at the time, under the thumb of her dad who definitely thought he Knew What Was Best for her -- including who she should marry and what she should major in.

He had her whole life mapped out.

Ally had other ideas. But she needed a little help then in order to realize them. Once we got married, she managed just fine. Took off. Lived her own life. Made a success of things.

Sometimes marriage just sort of jump-starts things for you.

Trouble is, I had some very strong memories of a wedding night I didn't think was going to happen. But once it did, well, a guy doesn't forget that.

I wasn't sure Ally remembered it, though. Not until she came back. And even then she came back saying she figured it was time we got divorced.

I didn't think so.

Anne is still looking for Santos's book. She promises to find it. She'd better. The contest ends this week! Don't forget to enter.

If you don't win, Santos's book will still be on sale in February.

Anne . . . flattened

Hey. PJ here.

Anne says to tell you she's been flattened by a bus. Or it feels that way.

She was up all night with Christo and Natalie and she's gone to bed with Burn Notice and isn't coming out until either Christo and Natalie come back for more revisions or she's seen all of Burn Notice or I run out of things to say.

She's hoping for the second alternative, praying like mad that Christo and Natalie stay gone (though by 7 a.m. this morning she could be heard muttering, I think it tracks. I think it tracks. I think it tracks. But how would I know?) .

Christo says it tracks and he got to spend a lot of time in the bedroom, so he's happy. Natalie says it tracks and they got a happily ever after so she's happy. And she just poked Christo and he said he's happy about that, too. And from the look of him -- a little tattered around the edges, but definitely grinning -- he's telling the truth.

Anne figures Burn Notice will be a nice distraction. And she's sure I have plenty to say -- especially since I've seen that Nick "prop me up on an altar and give me a bottle of booze" Jago is making crap out of me and Santos on Liz's website.

I would defend my honor -- and the marriage I've had to put out of my head -- but Jago is so far off the mark that I can't even dignify his comments.

As Santos is on the same island at least, I'm going to let him take care of things for both of us!

Just let me say that he's darned lucky to find a woman like Manda who will put up with him. And since he's saying things like "cancel the honeymoon" -- though God knows what he means -- I want Manda to know I've got a kid brother, Lukas, who might be just the man she's looking for. Truly.

If you get fed up with Jago, Manda, give me a shout. I'll muster up Lukas and introduce you.

Aside to Liz: how did you put up with him?

Don't forget, people, if you want copies of Santos's book and mine -- and the one where Jago is an idiot -- answer the questions in the Here Come the Grooms contest piece. Send your answers to Anne and Liz and Kate by January 21.

You'll be glad you did.

99 Things

As we are looking forward these days, I was just given this meme by a fellow blogger. It made me stop and think about what I've done and what I'd still like to do. What about you?

Let me know if you do this on your blog. I tag any and all readers -- and if you do it, send me a link or link back here. I'd like to see what everyone else is up to.

THE 99 THINGS MEME

Things you've already done: bold
Things you want to do: italicize
Things you haven't done and don't want to - leave in plain font

1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Given more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to Disneyland/world.
8. Climbed a mountain.
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo. (absolutely no way)
11. Bungee jumped. (ditto)
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch. (Does Jezzball count?)
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning.
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty.
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train.
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you weren't ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a marathon.
28. Ridden a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run.
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing. (but they weren't really big rocks)
40. Seen Michelangelo's David in person.
41. Sung Karaoke.
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal in a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight.
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris. (well, as high as they would let us go that day.)
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkelling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen.
61. Sold Girl Scout cookies.
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Gotten flowers for no reason.
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp.
67. Bounced a cheque.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten Caviar.
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job.
76. Seen the Changing of the Guard in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating.
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone's life. (If someone around me needed their life saved, I would hope I'd be able to do it. But I'd just as soon no one did)
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swum in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a cell phone.
99. Been stung by a bee.

Right now I'm close to finishing the revisions. That's what I really want to have done.

Watch this space in the coming week for the 3rd annual Here Come The Grooms contest when Liz Fielding, Kate Walker and I turn our heroes loose with their questions -- and you get a chance to win copies of our books!

Gunnar's Choice

Gunnar the flatcoat, with his stalward treat-snarfing golden retriever apprentices, Micah and Mitch, has picked ArkieRN as the winner of the drawing held on the Pink Heart Society blog.

So, Arkie, if you're reading this here, go to my website and hit the "contact Anne" link and send me your address. Then we will package up your book and send it on to you.

Many thanks to everyone who posted comments here and on the Pink Heart. I found several new authors to check out -- and I hope you did, too.

Also, I enjoyed reading about all the books you've enjoyed reading aloud with the children in your lives. Thanks for sharing!

And the winner is . . .

Kate Walker!

I suspect Gunnar of being bribed, but he insists that I am the one who put the treats on the names. He's only the eater.

And Kate's name was the one on the slip of paper he gobbled his first treat off of.

So, Kate, you are the winner of the signed copy of Tess Gerritsen's The Mephisto Club -- and a definite departure from your normal reading fare it will be.

I'll post it on Monday. Gunnar hopes you enjoy it. And of course, so do I.

Thanks to everyone who participated this week. I appreciate the discussion.

I spent part of the afternoon at the movies enjoying Indiana Jones -- and the other part with the three ideas for future books I sent my editor yesterday.

We are going to discuss them on Monday. So I need to be prepared. It's not often I juggle three book ideas in my head at once. It's not often I even have enough plot to talk about one of them. Let's hope I do on Monday.

So the next guy up might be Christo -- or it might not.

I'll keep you posted.

In the meantime, on Sunday I'm going to be blogging over at Tote Bags 'n' Blogs, so drop in and say hi. I'll come back and make a live link when I've put up my post.

I was wrong!

A closer look at my trade-sized foreign edition has convinced me I erred. It isn't Dutch (it didn't look quite like Dutch somehow, but I knew it wasn't German).

It's Afrikaans.

It was printed in Natal. That's the give-away. At least I think it is. Maybe it's Dutch as spoken in South Africa. I can sort of read it. A little. Very little.

Anyway, I'm thrilled as not all my books get translated into Afrikaans. I hope some readers will enjoy Spence and Sadie's jaunt to Fiji in Afrikaans -- or whatever languages it gets translated into.

I'll be back as soon as Gunnar has determined the winner of Tess Gerritsen's The Mephisto Club.

He's just had breakfast and can't be counted on to do justice to a number of treats so soon after (unlike Mitch and Micah who will snarf them down with nary a qualm). Gunnar is, um, fastidious. And inclined to be grouchy when I impose on him.

So . . . stay tuned.

Oh, and a Japanese edition of The Santorini Bride appeared late yesterday afternoon.

Where Have All My Red Dots Gone?

Those of you who drop by here frequently might have occasionally glanced at the sidebar and noticed the ClustrMap which shows the whereabouts of people who drop in here. Or if not the people themselves, at least where their IP address is coming from.

I love seeing those little red dots turn up. Between ClustrMaps and Neoworx I can get a feel for the global scope of my readers and casual visitors. And it's always a thrill to see new dots or discover the flag of a new country.

Neoworx's flags turn up right when the visitor appears. ClustrMaps redraws its maps every time there is a 10% increase in the number of visitors, so there is delayed gratification as the numbers build. Below is last year's map. We've started over on the sidebar.

My 88th country was Albania. Someone from Tirana (waving to Tirana!) turned up last week. And I was eagerly awaiting my red dot on Albania.

But -- alas! -- ClustrMaps did their yearly archive of my map yesterday. And now I have just a few dots again. No dot in Albania. So I hope whoever it was in Albania comes back. And I hope lots more people from lots more countries visit. It's always a thrill.

I know Kate Walker's flag list is well over 100 now -- creeping up toward 150 when last I looked. I have 12 more to go to reach 100. Hmm.

Could we have a concerted effort here, do you think? Write to your friends in Burkina Faso and Chad and Bolivia and Norfolk Island and tell them to drop by. Not to mention all the places that already have flags but whose dots have been archived!

# # #

Tomorrow is the day I'm giving away a signed copy of The Mephisto Club by the brilliant talented personable Tess Gerritsen, who is -- it goes without saying -- a terrific writer who scares me to death in her books.

Maybe if you're into the less terrifying stuff, you won't want to read Tess. But if you have friends who love that 'edge of your seat' 'what's going to happen next' and 'oh God, it's worse than I thought' then they really need to drop by and comment to get in the drawing.

Or better yet, just tell them to go out and buy Tess's books!

# # #

Post script: 89! I just got my 89th flag -- from Colombia!

Ask and you shall receive, I guess. Anyway, welcome, Columbia, whoever you are. So glad you stopped by.

And to add to the international flavor of the day, the postman just brought books -- The Santorini Bride in its Polish edition and a trade-sized paperback of The Boss's Wife For A Week in Dutch (I think. Well, it's almost German but not quite. But I can't see a place of publication. Must go examine it more closely).

In the meantime, who will be country #90?

Weekend Wind-down Winner!

A little alliteration never hurt anyone, right?

So, the winner of last weekend's wind-down on the Pink Heart blog is Debora. Congratulations, Debora. Gunnar picked your name from the treat-covered slips of paper to win a copy of The Boss's Wife For A Week.

If you will email me from the contact Anne tab on my blog with your snail address, I'll send you a copy this coming week.

Thanks so much to everyone who gave me their choices. You had some great ideas. I'll be considering them and will let you know what I come up with. In the meantime it sounds as if some of you have good ideas for books of your own based on that list.

I have finally downloaded the granddaughter photos and will be posting the high points of my R&R this week. The last three days I spent cleaning my house for an impending visit from a cousin. He is here now -- and very impressed (so he says) with the spotlessly clean guest room he's inhabiting (never mind the upside down lowboy in the corner. It's decorative -- and it has a bum leg and until we can get it fixed, there it stays).

Of course my office is in worse shape than ever as the overflow from the guest room moved -- guess where? Why are there never enough book shelves in my house?

I'll have to show you my beautiful roses, too. Daughter and family sent lovely roses for mother's day. Actually son-in-law is responsible. (I am very fond of him). Tomorrow I will show you. Tonight I'm going to crash.

If you haven't been to Michelle Reid's newly revamped website, give it a look. I will try to post the link tomorrow (having trouble doing it tonight), but if you go to Kate Walker's blog (link in sidebar) you can get to Michelle's website from there.