They couldn’t survive my dh, though. Early this spring weeds encroached on the plants, so I asked the dh to put some week killer on them. He did a fantastic job of it, except he put weed killer on ALL the plants! The weeds died, but so did some of the herbs. A few of the bushes struggled and turned shabby-looking, but luckily the butterfly bush and the lilac were not too damaged.

It gave me an excuse to to replace some of the bushes, which was something I wanted to do anyway. The ones I’d chosen before just were not as pretty as I’d hoped, and now they were half their former selves. I moved them to the side of the house, which desperately needed plants.

The new bushes I selected were two green velvet boxwoods, two japanese willows, two crimson barberries, and one gardenia.

Here is the result!

It is a little hard to see, but each side of the house has the same configuration.

I am not a gardener, so I have no idea how these bushes will look when they grow bigger, but I’m hopeful that they will bring some color to the front of the house.

In the next few weeks I plan to plant some annuals all along the border and in the pots on the stoop. The front of the house gets afternoon sun. I’d love to get your recommendations. I want something colorful and not too labor intensive.

What would you plant? Advise me!

©2012 Diane Gaston's Blog. All Rights Reserved.

What’s your favorite Regency quote about mothers? (visit the blog and see why this is a trick question)

©2012 Diane Gaston's Blog. All Rights Reserved.

I’ll bet we all have one–a website that we come back to time and time again when we are bored, or sleepless, or plotting a new novel. Maybe for you it is Facebook or Twitter. Or Pinterest (very cute baby and puppy video on it last night). I’ve been known to stay up late watching Britain’s Got Talent videos on YouTube and discovered a truly marvelous male singer on Australia’s Got Talent (Mark Vincent who won that competition in 2009)

I’ve also become lost in research books on Google Books or searching for antique prints or jewelry on Ebay. We won’t speak about ICanHasCheeseburger, also known as LOL Cats…

Some favorite Regency or Historical sites to kill time: Georgian Index,  The Regency Encyclopedia (try this Regency Paper Doll interactive site), and Jane Austen’s World.

Of course, I call browsing on those sites “Research.”

I call browsing through Macys.com or Amazon or Lenox.com, shopping, but when I’m lost in those sites, it really is wasting time.  My friend Mary Blayney frequents Shoe of the Day.

This week, however, my dh sent me a link to another great time-wasting site: Retronaut, filled with photographs and images dating back to the beginning of the nineteenth century. It has all sorts of interesting things, like Black Cat Auditions in Hollywood. Oh, one could get lost for eons in this site.

Do you have any favorite sites where you tend to stay much longer than intended?

If not, here’s a good place to start: Most Addictive Websites

©2012 Diane Gaston's Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Go to Risky Regencies to find out who this is.

(Isn’t he gorgeous????)

©2012 Diane Gaston's Blog. All Rights Reserved.

For many years the Retreat took place at Hilltop House in Harpers Ferry, but the hotel closed about five years ago and we’ve been searching for a place to replace it, a place where we can truly gather together and share the whole experience. This Best Western worked beautifully in that way. Its conference center had plenty of meeting rooms, a dining room, and a bar and great room that created plenty of togetherness.

Friday:

Our dinner speaker was Elizabeth Boyle, who started a trend that lasted throughout the Retreat of telling the color of one’s underwear. Needless to say she was a very entertaining speaker and a lot of fun. There also was an agent/editor panel where the agents and editors answered questions. They discussed the appeal of Fifty Shades of Grey, one of those phenomena that make Romance acceptable to the general readership.  The agents and editors said that it is more important to write a book you are passionate about than to write to whatever is the latest trend. I thought that was good advice.

Saturday:

We had a treat for the opening workshop. Kathy Gilles Seidel was joined by her former graduate school colleague, Pamela Regis, to talk about the Ritual Death in Romance fiction, what we talk about as the Black Moment, that place in the book where it looks as if all is lost. The first hour of this workshop, these two Ph.D’s lectured, but in the second hour they organized questions for discussion that allowed us to apply to our own works in progress. Loved it.

In the afternoon, Mary Jo Putney came to talk about her 29 years in publishing. I talked about her workshop at Risky Regencies this week.

Later we had American Author, modeled after TV’s American Idol. Attendees submit the first page of their manuscripts and editors discuss their impressions. One of the points that stuck with me was that they often see books that are fine, but they are looking for books that wow them.

The evening was for Romance Jeopardy, the game based on the TV version. This raucous affair is run by Kathy Gilles Seidel, editor Jennifer Enderlin, Karen Smith and Keely Thrall. I was actually on the winning team, but mostly because of my friend Julie Halperson, who is a master of trivia, and Michelle Butler, almost as good. The only question I answered I got wrong…

Sunday:

The fabulous Kimberly Kincaid started the morning with a wonderful yoga lesson, the best I’ve ever taken. I ended it feeling fabulous, which was a very good thing. Cathy Maxwell, who was our “Final Word” speaker could not attend and a replacement was needed.

It was me.

I’m not a public speaker and the last thing I wanted was to read a speech, so I just wrote an outline. I told my story, my journey to publication. I did get a bit mixed up and had to backtrack, so it was not a smooth job, but I managed to get through it. It was a friendly audience, as well.

When I was speaking, it amazed me how many connections I had in my “story” to WRW members and events. And the Retreat. Each Retreat I’ve attended since 1995 has been woven into the fabric of my writing life. This year’s added more, I’m sure. I just don’t know quite what yet.

At the very end of the Retreat we do the WRW Raffle. I was involved in a bunch of baskets or raffle items this year. Here’s one of them, done with my pals, Julie, Helen, and Virginia:

I do know that I treasure this time In The Company Of Writers, my lovely WRW friends. I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

©2012 Diane Gaston's Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Come back here on Thursday for more about the Retreat!

©2012 Diane Gaston's Blog. All Rights Reserved.

My advice is, always look before you back up, even if you think the way is clear….

Now I have to go to all the trouble of getting the car fixed and putting daughter’s bf through the inconvenience of it all as well. Arrggghhh!!!!

I did try to set it all aside when I was in Merle Norman. Have you heard of this place? Merle Norman manufactures and sells make-up and skin care products and has done so for 80 years. I used their products for years and years, but the store I purchased from closed. It has been over a decade since I knew the company still existed. Turns out there is a store quite near to me.

The salesladies there demonstrated the products on my face and I purchased foundation, cleanser, eye liner, and night cream. I’ll definitely return.

Turns out the ladies are readers and I wished I’d had some backlist books with me to give to them. Lori Wilde recommends carrying books with you wherever you go. I should have listened….

Do you love make-up like I do? What brands do you use?

Have you ever had a fender bender?

This weekend I’ll be at Washington Romance Writers Spring Retreat. I’ll give you a report next week.

©2012 Diane Gaston's Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Have you ever seen this image on Byron before?

I’ll be back here on Thursday!

©2012 Diane Gaston's Blog. All Rights Reserved.

The occasion for these articles is the publication of Nora Roberts‘ 200th book, a Romantic Suspense titled The Witness, released

The Wall Street Journal, of all publications, published an article about Nora Roberts, commemorating her 200th book, The Witness, released April 17. Of course, they couldn’t help giving it a less-than-serious title, Keeping The ‘Noraholics’ Happy. And describing Nora as having “a gravelly smoker’s voice,” which was what the initial male commenters latched onto.

But, all in all, it does give credit to Nora’s creative genius, her work ethic, and the incredible achievement of having written 200 books (up to 204 now, actually).

The near perfect article is from The Washington Post. This article lets the essence of Nora shine through and it speaks respectfully of her work and her fans. What is even better, Nora explains the appeal of romance without apology to what she terms “the literati.” I don’t think I’ve ever read an article in the mainstream press that has been content to write about romance without making some kind of disparaging comment.

The comments to this article are mostly very positive and I’m touched by readers’ explanations of their love of Nora’s books.

I have the good fortune to be acquainted with Nora through Washington Romance Writers and from being a friend of one of her good friends. I admire her enormously. She is a strong, intelligent woman to whom family is of primary importance in her life. In addition, she has a solid sense of community and has, I dare say, been a boon to Boonsboro! In the 2010 Giving Back Fund list, Nora was second only to Oprah Winfrey for celebrity charitable donations; in the 2011 list, she’s number 5.

Nora is also very unpretentious about her work. She doesn’t talk about “muses” and doesn’t believe in writer’s block. Like any other job, she just shows up and writes. She’s a natural storyteller who has honed her craft and who listens confidently to her creative mind. 

She is also genuinely appreciative of her fans. I’ve been lucky enough to participate in book signings at Nora’s husband’s bookstore, Turn the Page Bookstore in Boonsboro, like the one described in the Washington Post article. This photo is from one of those signing (Left to Right Pam Palmer in the back, me, Nora’s husband Bruce, Nora, Michelle Willingham in 2007). Fans arrive in buses and the lines are so long people are given tickets to get in. The signings last for hours and Nora never hurries anyone along. She greets fans as faithful friends (some of them are!), willingly smiles for endless photographs, and signs totebags, Tshirts and whatever fans wish her to sign. This part of the reason fans love her and are loyal.

But the main reason are the books. Nora never disappoints and always delivers a good story with great characters and a happy ending. It’s a plus that she is a great person as well.

So, congratulations to Nora for her wonderful achievement of 200 published books with more to come!

What Nora book is your favorite? Which one was your first?

©2012 Diane Gaston's Blog. All Rights Reserved.

Come back Thursday. I’m talking about Lord Byron!

Enter my contest!

©2012 Diane Gaston's Blog. All Rights Reserved.