Photo Gallery –  
 

 

This is Gay Head Lighthouse on Martha's Vineyard in the Aquinnah section of the island. I'd never been before, despite my lifelong love of the New England coastline. What a great place MV is! Loved the diverse architecture...grand old white sea captains' homes in Edgartown, the tiny and colorful Carpenter Gothic gingerbread houses in Oak Bluffs. Not to mention the great food at Offshore Ale, the incredible desserts at the Harbor View Hotel, and the wonderful breakfast at Linda Jean's. I always identify a place by the meals, don't you?
Now come on. Don't you just want to kiss that face? This is Lilly, a devoted reader (well, her owner is), learning all about how to be big, loud and ungainly from Buttercup, the dog in Just One of the Guys. Don't be naughty, Lilly!
Isn't she CUTE? This is Pucca, the adorable pet of one of my readers. They live in Brazil, and Pucca very much enjoyed hearing about Angus, a fellow terrier, from Too Good To Be True.
Poetic justice...last year when I won the RITA, the (ahem!) Oscars of romance writing, Cindy Gerard (left) was on hand to congratulate me. Cindy and I have the same agent, and she was one of the first writers I met after I got published. Well, this year, Cindy won a RITA for herself...her second, and in a field packed with amazingly talented authors. I was so happy to put my very loud whistling talent to use! Later that night, I had another honor...handing out the award for Best Single Title to Rachel Gibson. Such a thrill! Winning an award was pretty dang amazing, but giving one out was wicked fun, too.

Kate and Gretchen with their care package. Enjoy, ladies!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 I recently got an email from an old friend of mine. Bill is an Army captain serving in Iraq, and he told me that a fellow soldier was complaining that the PX didn't have any romance novels. Luckily, Bill is connected when it comes to romance novels. He dropped me an email, and I popped a few copies in the mail. I also told my publisher that there was a horrifying lack of romance novels on army bases in Iraq, and guess what they did? Sent me an entire case of books to forward to our brave troops. Go, Harlequin! Bill wrote again, "Our experiences here are unlike anything in the States, and many of us escape our daily lives in the books we read.  Please thank everyone who helped you with this and let them know that we all appreciate it. If they know that they helped one soldier take her mind off of all that is Iraq, they can smile."

More books are on the way, guys. You take care. Come home soon.

 

 

The legendary evil kitten, Hyacinth Rosabelle...Oh, sure, she's beautiful, but aren't all Evil Princesses?

 

 

 

 

 

Nothing like a good book on the beach! A reader sent me this photo of herself with Fools Rush In. She was in Aruba...looks gorgeous down there, doesn't it?

 

 

 

 

A Notre Dame football fan took Just One of the Guys to the ND-Washington game
(33-7, go Irish!). My now 90-year-old grandfather played football for Notre Dame, so he got a big kick out of hearing that I had "readers with such good taste" (no offense to the University of Washington folks, of
course!). Note the football antennae...now that's a fan!

 

 

Here's a recent shot of me with the Ugly Anne as she is today...no longer a lobster boat, but a charter fishing boat out of Perkins Cove, Maine. Brought back a lot of great memories, seeing her again...

 

 

 

My youngest reader! Actually, her mom recently read Catch of the Day and e-mailed me this picture. What a gorgeous baby, don't you think?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Levy Books recently sponsored a book tour at Meijer stores throughout Michigan. Here are some of the illustrious authors on board...Allison Brennan, far left; Jade Lee; Leslie Langtry; and Susan Mallery. It was thrilling to be included in the gang, and my feeling of being a kid in a new school faded about five minutes into meeting everyone.

 

 

Do romance writers love chocolate? This one does! I figured my Rita statue would like to see Ghiradelli Chocolate in San Francisco. The Rita is given to the best romance novels of the year...Catch of the Day won for single title contemporary, thrilling me to my very toenails.
Winning the Rita, August 2008. My friend Dee shared the excitement. Very, very happy night! I'm not used to being glamorous... luckily, my 12-year-old daughter picked me out a killer dress (with a train and everything!).

Nauset Light Beach, Eastham, MA. Eastham is the setting of FOOLS RUSH IN. In real life, my family has a summer home not far from here.
My friend took this picture when she was at a lake in northern Connecticut...she was so tickled to see these ladies reading my book, she asked if she could take their picture.
Digger, my buddy, enjoying himself at Coast Guard Beach, Eastham, MA. Coast Guard was voted "Most Beautiful Beach in America" by the Today Show a few years back.
My dad took this picture...I was seven, we were visiting Perkins Cove, Maine, and Dad asked the lobsterman if we could check pots with him. The boat was called The Ugly Anne. When it came time to name the hero's boat in CATCH OF THE DAY, I just had to name it after the first lobster boat I'd ever been aboard. Check out those pants...can you tell it was the 1970s? I recently learned that the Ugly Anne is still in business! Now it runs as a charter boat, but it's still in Perkins Cove, and the owner was quite tickled to find out I'd used the boat's name.

 

Here I am at a Borders book signing. These lovely ladies are Maureen (left) and Maryann (right). According to them, they are my biggest fans. Maureen brought me some pepper relish to prove it. Worked for me!

 

 

Here's Kathy, my best friend from high school. She came to a reading I did in beautiful Bow, NH. We hadn't seen each other in years, but we picked right up where we left off. Kathy reminded me that the first romance novel I ever wrote was with her, in geometry class at our Catholic all-girls' high school. The heroine was Mrs. Boucher, our teacher, a lovely, mild-mannered woman in her fifties. It sure made geometry more interesting, and probably explains my rather lackluster grade.

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