KRISSIE: Who Comes Between Me and My Man

That's why Lizzie, better known as Elizabeth Alicia (Spanish pronounciation) O'Brien-Ortiz immediately disappears into her bedroom/workshop and doesn't come out again. So she doesn't have to deal with Dee and Mare fighting and can concentrate on the entirely luscious, slightly scary wizard type who's appeared in her kitchen and plans to teach her all sorts of things. There was a time when everyone who was writing series romances was encouraged to put babies and children in them, and I fought it like crazy. You can't have wild monkey love (where did that phrase come from?) if your kid is going to wander into the bedroom, and I've always had a weakness for the kitchen table ("what's mommy doing with the cornflakes?"). So no kids interfering.
And no sisters wandering around. Lizzie is the one who doesn't have an outside job, so she gets the house as her playground, and I'll fight to the death for it. Even though I'm so sweet and demure.
Eileen's right -- we'll all kill to have our characters be true to themselves. At least there can't be bloodshed via e-mail.
I think I'm going to run off to a hotel and write for a few days. Jenny invited me back to her wonderful, quirky house with the great guest room overlooking the river, and she still has a twelve pack of Tab waiting for me (my drug of choice) but that would require getting on an airplane (not that I'm loath but it takes more time) and besides, given the choice of writing or playing with Jenny guess what I'm gonna do? And if I'm up in that wonderful room working I'd still keep thinking of the fun that awaits downstairs. Sigh.

Nose to the grindstone, pedal to the metal, onward and upward. It's time to be a genius. A really fast genius.

In the meantime, one of my major influences on this novella is coming out on DVD on Tuesday, and anyone who has any taste at all will run and get it. It's Howl's Moving Castle, the most romantic movie of the year, and if you don't like anime, get over it. The hero will make your bones melt. Plus one firecracker of a heroine. And when he turns into a bird of prey ... Sigh.

Go for it. You won't be sorry. And the dubbed version is delicious as well, with Christian Bale sounding hot enough to make one forget about American Psycho.