Workout shoes, research and ballet – Oh, my!

Hey, Bonnie!

Yes, I really did put coal in my hubby’s stocking.  My son’s little jaw hit the floor!  LOL! 

{I know, I have a sick sense of humor.}  😉

In answer to your question…yes, I used to be a dancer.  I danced from the time I was a child until college…it was my major in college, actually.  The ballet project came about one day, when a few of us ex-ballerina’s were chatting about toe shoes, pumping gas in a tutu, and sissy toes.  Someone mentioned there had to be a book in all of this, and a lightbulb appeared over our computer monitors.  The idea was pitched to the Executive Editor at Highland Press, and promptly accepted. 

There are six authors – Kristi Ahlers, Gerri Bowen, Victoria Houseman, Leanne Burroughs, Deborah MacGillivray and myself – telling the love stories of six ballerina’s, all of whom danced at the same theatre, over the course of 150 years.  So, there are historical and contemporary romances in the anthology, and all of the stories are connected. The tentative release date for, Dance en L’air, is set for August 2007.

Now, the workout shoes…I desperately needed a pair.  I am so bad about buying new ones.  My part time job, is working at a gym.  When I’m not working, writing, or playing with the kids, I try to be working out.  I love Tae-bo.  Running, not so much.  Stairmaster, I’m convinced is the devil’s contraption.  But, Tae-bo, spinning, weights and either the treadmill or elliptical, I’m fine with.  🙂

As for research…I love it!  I love taking classes, digging my nose in old musty books and surfing the net.  However, I also love world building and creating new places.  So, I guess it’s a tie.  Getting the chace to write about things or places you know, is like visiting an old friend.  I did this in my contemporary erotic romance, THE WHOLE ENCHILADA coming soon from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid.  It’s set in a beachside town around San Diego, CA called Ocean Beach, where my hubby and I lived after college. It was a lot of fun to “re-visit” that place without having to buy the expensive plane ticket.  😉

I don’t get to watch a lot of T.V…I really need a Tevo!  When I get the chance, I love Prison Break, Lost, Ghost Hunters, ROME, old Iron Chef’s, old Buffy’s, and Family Guy (my guilty pleasure.)

While I wish I could go see every movie in the theater, we usually end up seeing all the kid ones in the theater, and the grown-up ones on DVD.  Ah, the lot of a parent.

I really want to see “The Fountain” with Hugh Jackman, though!  Love him! *grins*