Last weekend I flew to California for the Sacramento Valley Rose’s Writing Retreat in Monterey. It was The Bomb.

It started out with my fabulous crit partner, Virna De Paul, picking me up from the bay area and driving us down to the coast. That’s us in the pic above, across from our frequently visited Chocolate Shoppe in Pacific Grove.

We found an awesome Coffee House a couple blocks from the beach and the Chocolate Shoppe — how perfect is that? I worked on revising Peek-A-Boo Brain (formerly known as Mind Reader) and I edited well more than half of my ms - yay!

Virna busted out almost all of her wip, and the weekend was nearly perfection…just missing our other crit partner, Misa Ramirez, who was there in spirit–and on the phone line since we kept calling her all weekend.

Great friends, awesome location, and lots of writing. This Retreat was The Bomb and I wish we could do it every month. Hope your weekend was as wonderful, too!

This weekend, I went to a little independent bookstore in Whitefish called Bookworks. I adore browsing books–shocking, I know–and I was perusing the bookshelves and saw a familiar title, Unlacing Lilly.

How did I know this title? It wasn’t the one of the genres I usually read (chick lit or young adult). Then, I saw the author’s name . . . Gail Ranstrom! Gail’s a writer friend of mine who I met through my local Montana chapter of RWA.

There was Gail’s book, Unlacing Lilly, right there on the shelf. I snatched the last copy, raced to the register, and bought it. It has a gorgeous cover and I’m excited to read it!

The Angels over at Chasing Heroes (yes, I’m one of them) have started an online book club and the first babble is this week! We’ll read one book a month and discuss it on the last Friday of the month. We’d love to have you join in the babble -or- feel free to lurk and see what is said about the book.

How to participate? Join Chasing Hereos over at BookBlogs. This month we are reading Wake by Lisa McMann. Hope to see you there on Friday!

Also, did you hear the news that Twilight has been released onto DVD? I saw it three times in the theatre, but I think I’m still gonna have to buy a copy.

I’m stoked! My amazon order just arrived.

Tucked in that brown box were:

1. Hold Back the Dark by Eileen Carr (for the suspense);
2. A Little Ray of Sunshine by Lani Diane Rich (for the humor); and
3. Wake by Lisa McMann (required reading for the Book Babble Book Club on
Chasing Heroes)

If you’ve been following my Susan’s Reading you know that I’ve been in a reading slump. Time to get back in gear. I have new books and am ready to roll.

Have you read any of these? Thoughts on them? What are you reading right now?

I’ve been “angeled” over at Chasing Heroes!!! For the most part, this means I blog there every Monday, so come by and say hi.

At Chasing Heroes, we’ve also started an online book club called Book Babble, so feel free to sign up and join in our monthly book discussions. This month we’ll be reading Wake by Lisa McMann. Anyone read that yet?

As for my writing…Zombie Love is complete and waiting for me to edit it, but a new book has called to me, and I had to answer. It involves a teenage heroine and a haunted hotel. The beginning is a little dark, which isn’t like me, so we’ll see how it ends up.

Hope you’re all having a wonderful week!

The awesome ladies at www.chasingheroes.com have invited me to blog over there on Mondays in December.  Drop by and say hi when you get a chance!

I blogged today over at Chasing Heroes. Come check it out!

I just got wind of a cool website. Check it out by clicking here.

This website, WRITEES, was created by two fantastic writers and offers fun shirts related to writing. The red Lit Chicks tee is one of my faves.

True, I’ve been browsing this site instead of finishing up Zombie Love (how did my wip get sooooo complicated?), but now it’s back to plugging through those last chapters.

Hope you enjoy the new online store. Happy shopping!

Where does the time go? I aim to blog weekly, but August zoomed by. Did it zoom by for you all, too? I’ve been doing lots of playing, which has been a blast. Boating, hiking, shopping, movies, reading, you name it. But, I’ve been working too.

Yesterday morning, I met with a fabulous new writing friend at Starbies (my cutesy name for Starbucks). We drank coffee, gabbed about books, writing, and had a grand time. Did I really just say grand? My friend is married to an English guy and must be rubbing off on me.

Today, I finished THE TRUTH ABOUT FOREVER by Sarah Dessen. I absolutely adore her books and think about her characters long after the book’s over. She totally rocks. Can’t wait to read her next one.

I’m dying to read the 4th book in the TWILIGHT series. I need to pick that up. Did you all hear about the midnight bashes the bookstores threw when BREAKING DAWN came out? Apparently, a lot of wedding dresses were worn. Does anyone know if Bella married Edward? Don’t tell, just curious if anyone has the 411! Went to the SISTERHOOD OF THE TRAVELING PANTS movie yesterday and saw the preview for TWILIGHT. No way I’m missing that when it comes out.

Lastly, I’ve written a few more scenes in ZOMBIE LOVE. It’s getting near the end (so sad!) and is so hard to wrap up. More and more keeps pouring out. Ah, well. I’m sure I’ll have to cut later. Although, Stephenie Meyer didn’t have to! Or maybe she did.

Hope you’ve all had a fabulous few weeks. Been balancing the work and play as well?

Well, the summer is blowing by quickly. Love the sunny weather. In addition to great hiking, I’ve been doing lots of reading. If you’re wondering why I’ve only added one book to my Susan’s Reading list lately, it’s because I’ve been perusing non-fiction health books (guess who’s been juicing?!).

I’ve also been browsing mags about Reece and Jake’s Paris vacay (so cute!), but that doesn’t really count as reading.

Anyway, I’m looking to pick up a good YA novel after I finish the book I’m currently on. Anyone have an awesome recommendation? What are you all reading right now?