Well, the new blog has taken off, and it's mostly due to this post. I found a ring for sale on eBay, which is supposedly possessed by "Ricardo" an" EXTREMELY POWERFUL INCUBUS NYMPH SPIRIT." I tell you, I might have to buy one of these puppies and give it away on my site. It's been the making of me.

(Artwork that I made to promote my book site, ElvesAmongUs. Copyrighted me.)

I'm trying to learn WordPress, with an eye to using it as a website platform at some point. Also, a new blog keeps me from having to go back through this blog, making entries private so they don't shock, concern, or open me to the ridicule of, potential book buyers.

I'm trying to post on every weekday, keeping writing shop talk to a minimum and posting pics of my cat Musette, who was made to shill for a product (i.e., my book). So here's the link. I can't get the dang RSS feed to work properly (it's at the bottom of the page), and there are other issues -- which begs the question, why not stick with LiveJournal? Maybe if I paid WordPress money, like I do LiveJournal. But I know a lot of people swear by WordPress and have bee-yootiful sites. Anyway, go to the new blog, where I try harder to be useful/entertaining/focused. And don't forget Musette. You know you want to see her.

I get to wear my Barbara Walters hat today and interview fellow author and Wet Noodle Posse member Trish Milburn, who is a finalist in the Dorchester Publishing/Romantic Times American Title contest. Trish is an eight-time finalist in RWA's Golden Heart contest for unpublished romance writers, and a two-time winner. Her American Title entry is a paranormal story called Out of Sight. Starting today, you can read the entries and vote for your favorite first line to progress in the contest (vote for Trish!).

 
Q: Trish, apparently Out of Sight is not a book about the Swinging '60s.

A:  Nope. It's a book about a gal who can make herself invisible, though she doesn't know why. Her secret is discovered, however, by a covert government agency, and they coerce her into going undercover for them in the White House to try to identify a potential political assassin who is working from inside 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.

 
Q:  How old is the heroine? Is there a romance, or is it pretty much a turbo-charged girl adventure?

A:  She's 30-ish. Though there are the beginnings of a romantic relationship, since this book is written to be the first in a series, the romance isn't complete or tied up with a bow at the end. Though I think the ending will having readers really wanting to see what happens next between my heroine and her hunky government agent. 

 
Q:  What was the spark for this story idea? Did you personally wish you could go inside the White House -- maybe plant some whoopee cushions or rearrange that tired old furniture?

A:  Honestly, the idea came as I was watching the news about how the U.S. military couldn't seem to find Osama bin Laden. I won't get into politics, but I got to thinking how much easier it'd be to find the bad guys if you could make yourself invisible. Talk about going "undercover". :)

 
Q:  How hard was it to place a story inside the White House? Did you ever take a tour and if so, did you ask so many questions that you now have a muscular secret agent attached to you? Was that your goal all along?

A:  I've been to the White House once, in high school, but I honestly can't remember if we went inside or if we just toured the grounds. It was a large school group. I did most of my research by reading about the White House, mainly on the fabulous Web site maintained by the White Historical Association.

 
Q:  You're not the shyest Noodler I know, but you're not the attention pig that others in our group are. (Ahem... is this mike on?) Does the premise of this book mean that you'd like invisibility as your superpower? If so, what honorable goals would you accomplish, and what downright sneaky stuff would you do?

A:  Invisibility would be cool, though I admit to really wishing I could fly. My real, superpowerless self is afraid to fly, but if I could do it myself, dude, I would go everywhere. But if I could make myself invisible, I'd try to do a bit of what my heroine does -- find and bring bad guys to justice. I might not have what it takes to take down the bad guys, but I could tell law enforcement where they were and the details of their overheard plans. Hmm, sneaky stuff -- I can't really think of anything except possibly using the invisibility to visit places that I would be scared to visit otherwise.

 
Q:  Most presidents seem to be dog people. Was Fido a problem for your heroine or are pets not allowed in your hypothetical presidency?

A:  LOL! This is something I didn't even think about. However, sneaking around the White House while invisible is not as easy as one would think. I'll leave it at that.

 
Q:  One final question: Does your heroine, at any point, grab the landing rails of a departing helicopter?

A:  No, but if I hurry, maybe I can fit that in. :) She does get shot at and threatened with dissection, and her task takes her on a mission far beyond the White House, a mission in which a helicopter is involved -- though she doesn't swing from the skids.

So there you have it. I didn't make Trish cry, so I guess Ms. Walters won't be giving me a gold star. Grand prize in the American Title contest is publication. The contest runs through March 2, with a new category each month or so (best first line, best dialogue, etc.). Go over and entertain yourself while helping a promising writer's career.

I see that bowling, which I picked up three or four  years ago and quickly dropped because there weren't enough non-smoking venues with class, is undergoing a renaissance on the West Coast, where savvy businessmen have opened non-smoking lanes decorated in the style of Rat Pack hangouts. About the same time, I became fascinated with Art Deco and Art Moderne fashions and architecture (this fascination continues). September's Elle magazine did a page spread on the resurgence of the cloche hat, and the ads were full of 1920's and '40's style -- also 60s, but that's for the fantasists. And then there's tea. I wasn't quite as quick off the mark with that one, but plenty of people still haven't heard of oolong. We shall see.

Given my increasingly accurate trend-spotting record, here are my predictions for the entertainment industry during the next seven to ten years.

The ongoing economic crunch will see more lightening of popular taste. How many frothy musicals are playing on Broadway right now? A lot. They're turning movies like Clueless and  The Brady Bunch into Broadway shows, but this serpent can't eat its own tail forever, and at some point there will have to be new scripts. After Three's Company becomes a movie musical, I look for new musicals to turn up in indie films. Moms, sign the kids up for tap dancing.

Dark thrillers and crime dramas are going to peter out. In print mysteries and TV shows, we'll see a fluffy version of the 1920s exploited, along with witty '40s noir (these two eras are popping up everywhere in fashion and furnishings right now). Forensic and medical dramas will wither like a gangrenous limb, and we'll see more family programs, a la the Bill Cosby Show. Print romance will turn from sexy to sweet, the protagonists will move back to small towns, and they'll be firmly middle-class -- not too rich, not too poor. Humor will make money again in hardcover. Publishers, start looking for the next Dave Barry or, given a new climate of domesticity, the next Erma Bombeck. Expect new biographies of Humphrey Bogart and Gary Cooper, those strong, sensitive males with dry wit. In history, look for accounts of post-empire recovery, like Britain after WWI and India after Britain. In kids' books, fluffy animals and rhymes will prevail. In fact, I'm waiting to see a new, cute-animal comic strip. Raccoon? No... Pengin? Maybe, but it's already so done. It's getting clearer, clearer... It's a dachsund. We're back to basics.

The Wet Noodle Posse is using the month of October to help you final in RWA's Golden Heart competition.  Here's the skinny.

When it comes to the Oscars and the Golden Heart, it’s an honor just to be nominated. Of course, it’s a honkin’ thrill to win. The Wet Noodle Posse wants you to be thrilled or honored next year, so starting October 1st, we’re devoting our entire blog to Golden Heart tips, to help you get your purty face on the big screen in San Francisco.

What’s the best category for your entry? How do you interpret this year’s formatting instructions? Where do you break your partial? What mistakes can you avoid and what stand-out traits do winning entries have? Every member of the Wet Noodle Posse is a previous GH finalist, lots are multi-finalists and winners, and a few have enough bling to start to start their very own heart-themed gift shop.

Believe it or not, entering the Golden Heart can be fun. Join the camaraderie that is the Wet Noodle Posse and get help bringing home the Gold!

Mark your calendar for October 1st and visit http://wetnoodleposse.blogspot.com.

Send any suggestions of Golden Heart topic areas you wish the Noodlers to address to Jill Monroe at jillmonroe@cox.net.

Take a break by visiting our free monthly ezine: http://www.wetnoodleposse.com.


Who is the Wet Noodle Posse?
In 2003, a group of about sixty women met each other online for the first time as finalists in the Golden Heart. They found a special friendship, and stayed together - through births and deaths, the inevitable agent and editor rejections, giddy-making first sales and more sales. When anyone expressed doubt about her talent, the others threatened to thrash her with a wet noodle. The name Wet Noodle Posse was born. Today the Posse has any multi-finalists and winners, and a few have enough bling to start their very own heart-themed gift shop.

The Wet Noodle Posse went on to launch an e-zine designed to celebrate and support women in all kinds of ways. Of the Noodlers who take part in the e-zine, nearly 69 percent are published. They also started a blog to expand their contact with others. Now the Wet Noodle Posse wants to share their collective experience to encourage other writers to enter the Golden Heart.