I know I’d seen sexy Chris Pine around, but really got a great look at him in PRINCESS DIARIES 2. A fun movie, although not as good as the first.
Chris played the nephew of the man who wants to stop Princess Mia from assuming her spot on the throne of Genovia. There was nice chemistry between Chris and Anne Hathaway as Princess Mia. You can check out some of that chemistry (and way cute Chris as Nicholas Devreaux) in this trailer courtesy of Disney. Continue reading “Guilty Pleasures Monday – Chris Pine”
So sorry guys for not posting, but work has been crazy and on top of that, I’ve got two massive writing deadlines and an upcoming conference this weekend for which I have to prepare.
My apologies for not offering up anything fun today or for the rest of the week. DUTY CALLS (LOL! — I swear I will never use that one as a title in THE CALLING).
This morning’s Guilty Pleasure is Jerry O’Connell.
You might remember him best as the cute little kid in STAND BY ME, a movie classic based on a novella by none other than Stephen King (see the poster for the movie down below)
Jerry has been in a bunch of shows, most of which I’ve enjoyed, like SLIDERS and CROSSING JORDAN though I was always kind of annoyed that the romance on CROSSING JORDAN never went anywhere. He also did cross-appearances on VEGAS based on his CROSSING JORDAN character.
Jerry also wrote the screenplay for FIRST DAUGHTER, which was actually quite a good romance. Jerry served as the executive producer on the film, which was about a young secret service agent (Marc Blucas) who is sent to keep an eye on the president’s college-age daughter (Katie Holmes) and falls in love with her. If you haven’t seen it, check it out.
Guess that makes Jerry cute and talented. What’s he up to now? Expecting twins with new wife Rebecca Romjin
Okay, so maybe not sixty seconds. It’s like a minute and a half, but in that minute and a half you get backstory, action, conflict, resolution and a happily-ever-after! A complete romance.
So what am I talking about? The lumberjack ad from HSBC. I especially love that hug and smile at the end that says it all — no matter how we disagree, I still love you.
Thanks to my friend and fellow author Sue McGee for finding the link to the YouTube video for the commercial. Hope you all have a great weekend!
It gives me the willies to hear the words “spreading the wealth” maybe because I’ve had a very personal experience with that concept.
Castro.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s nice to think about spreading the wealth. It’s just that I like to decide to whom to give the money that I worked so hard to earn, namely — family, friends and groups that I like to support, like my writing groups and the assorted charities to which I regularly contribute.
Having someone else decide that bugs me.
And while it’s nice to imagine being the Robin Hood who steals from the rich to give to the poor, don’t ignore the operative word in that sentence — steals.
The American tax structure seems to have firmly embraced that concept. When you talk about taxing the top wage earners, consider these numbers from the National Center for Policy Analysis:
According to data from the IRS, the bottom 50 percent of income earners pay approximately 4 percent of income taxes. The top 25 percent of income earners pay nearly 83 percent of the income tax burden, and the top 10 percent pay 65 percent.
The top 1 percent of income earners pay almost 35 percent of all income taxes.
The top 400 richest Americans paid 1.58 of total income taxes in 2000.
The emphasis added on the second line is mine. Consider those numbers. 25% of wage earners pay 83% of the tax burden. It just doesn’t seem right to me somehow. What will they pay in the future? 90%? 95%? 100%?
When will those top wage earners chuck their papers, work and responsibilities and decide it’s just not worth it? Why would people risk starting up new companies? Why would people invest in stocks and other things? Why do people have to pay estate taxes? Didn’t they already pay taxes on all that stuff while they were alive?
What I feel isn’t just because I’m a child of Castro. It’s also because I’m a child of Reagan. I prospered under his trickle down theories as did most people I knew at all levels of the economy.
When faced with criticism about his tax cuts, President Kennedy said “A rising tide lifts all boats.”
Seems to make sense. Increase prosperity and all benefit.
Something for all our political leaders to consider.
This Wicked Wednesday’s treat is an excerpt from my upcoming December release from Silhouette Romantic Suspense – SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD.
Macy Ward, the heroine, is the mother to troublesome teenager TJ Ward. TJ’s a good kid, but he’s still not handling the loss of his father from cancer six years earlier. The hero, Fisher Yates, is a decorated Army Captain who is at a cross roads at his life. He has the choice of going back for another tour of duty in the Middle East or teaching at West Point. He’s not really considering the latter since he doesn’t picture himself as a family man . . . until Fate brings him back together with Macy Ward. Together Macy and Fisher must not only work out their differences and rediscover love, but also deal with a threat to TJ.
Today’s Wicked Wednesday excerpt is a tidbit from the first chapter. I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1
Macy Ward had never imagined that on her wedding day she would be running out of the church instead of walking down the aisle.
But just over a week earlier, she had been drawn out of the church by the sharp crack of gunshots and the harsh squeal of tires followed by the familiar sound of her fiance’s voice shouting for someone to get his police cruiser.
Her fiance, Jericho Yates, the town sheriff and her lifelong friend. Her best friend in all the world and the totally wrong man to marry, she thought again, her hands tightening on the steering wheel as she shot a glance at her teenage son as he sat beside her in the passenger seat.
“You ready for this, TJ?”
He had been listening to his Ipod, but at the sound of her voice, he pulled out one earbud. Tinny too loud music blared from it as TJ asked, “Did you want something?”
It was impossible to miss the sullen tones of his voice or the angry set of his jaw.
When she had announced to Jericho that it was okay for him to go handle the incident and that they could postpone the wedding on that day, she had seen the change in Fisher’s gaze.
She wasn’t sure if it had been relief at first, although that was what she had thought that it was. But the emotion that followed and lingered there far longer had been something possibly more dangerous.
There was no relief in TJ’s gaze as he glared at her. Just anger.
“Are you ready for this?” she repeated calmly, shooting him a glance from the corner of her eye as she drove to the center of town.
The loose black t-shirt TJ wore barely shifted with his indifferent shrug. “Do I have any choice?”
Choice? Did anyone really have many choices in life? she thought, recalling how she would have chosen not to get pregnant by Fisher. Or lose her husband Tim to cancer. Or have a loving and respectful son turn into the troublesome seventeen-year old hellion sitting beside her in the car.
“You most certainly have choices, TJ. You could have failed your math class or gone to those tutoring sessions. Coach Wilson could have asked that you do time in juvie instead of community service. And now — ”
“I’ll have to stay out of trouble by working at the ranch since you decided not to marry Sheriff Yates.”
It had been Jericho who had convinced the man who had been both his and Tim’s old baseball coach to spare TJ a juvenile record for the incident which had resulted in rolls and rolls of toilet paper all over his prized landscaping and a mangled mailbox which had needed to be replaced.
“After postponing the wedding, I realized that I was getting married for all the wrong reasons. So, I chose not to go ahead with the wedding and I’m glad that I did. It gave Jericho the chance to find someone he truly loves,” she said, clasping and unclasping her hands on the wheel as she pulled into a spot in front of the post office on Main Street.
“I told you before that I don’t need another dad,” he said, but his words were followed by another shrug as TJ’s head dropped down. “Not that Jericho isn’t a nice guy. He’s just not my dad.”
Macy killed the engine, cradled her son’s chin and applied gentle pressure to urge his head upward. “I know you miss him. I do, too. It’s been six long years without him, but he wouldn’t want you to still be unhappy.”
“And you think working at the ranch with some gnarly surfer dude from California will make me happy?” He jerked away from her touch and wagged one hand in the familiar hang loose surfer sign.
She dropped her hands into her lap and shook her head, biting back tears and her own anger. As a recreational therapist, she understood the kinds of emotions TJ was venting with his aggressive behavior. Knew how to try to get him to open up about his feelings.
But as a mother, the attitude was nevertheless frustrating.
“Jewel tells me Joe, Jr. is a great kid and he’s your age. Maybe you’ll find that you have something in common.”
Without waiting for his reply, she grabbed her purse and rushed out of the car, crossed the street and made a bee line for the door of Miss Sue’s. She had promised her boss, Jewel Mayfair, that she would stop to pick up some of the restaurant’s famous sticky buns for the kids currently residing at the Hopechest Ranch.
When she reached the door to the restaurant, however, she realized he was there.
Fisher Yates.
Decorated soldier, Jericho’s older brother and unknown to him or anyone else in town, TJ’s real dad. Only her husband Tim had known, but as honorable as he had been, he had kept the secret to his grave.
The morning that had started out so-so due to TJ’s moodiness just went to bad. She would have no choice but to acknowledge Fisher on her way to the take out counter in the back of the restaurant. Especially since he looked up and noticed her standing there. His green-eyed gaze narrowed as he did so and his full lips tightened into a grim line.
He really should loosen up and smile some more, she thought, recalling the Fisher of her youth who had always had a ready grin on his face for her, Tim and Jericho.
Although she couldn’t blame him for his seeming reticence around her. She had done her best to avoid him during the entire time leading up to the wedding. Had somehow handled being around him during all the last minute preparations, being polite but indifferent whenever he was around. It was the only way to protect herself against the emotions which lingered about Fisher.
In the week or so since she and Jericho had parted ways, it had been easier since she hadn’t seen Fisher around town all that much and knew it was just a matter of time before he was back on duty and her secret would be safe again.
She ignored the niggle of guilt that Fisher didn’t know about TJ. Or that as a soldier, he risked his life with each mission and might not ever know that he had a son. Over the years she had told herself it had been the right decision to make not just for herself, but for Fisher as well. Jericho had told her more than once over the years how happy his older brother was in the Army. How it had been the perfect choice for him.
As much as the guilt weighed heavily on her at times, she could not risk any more problems with her son by revealing such a truth now.
TJ had experienced enough upset in his life lately and he was the single most important thing in her life. She would do anything to protect him. To see him smile once again.
Which included staying away from Fisher Yates no matter how much she wanted to put things to right between them.
Check out the video trailer for SOLDIER’S SECRET CHILD
Available December 2006 from Silhouette Romantic Suspense
The days are counting down! Halloween will soon be here! Like any paranormal writer, it’s a time of year I especially love!
But with the economy the way it is, how can you keep in the spirit and not spend a fortune? One way is by making your own Halloween costumes. Back when my sis and I were kids, we never had store bought costumes. Too expensive. We used whatever was in the closet that could be turned into a costume.
My mom used to have a funky patchwork design shirt and for more years than I care to remember, we used it to be either hobos or scarecrows.
When my daughter was in elementary school, they held a Halloween Hop every year and we used to have the best time making the costumes and so did many of the parents. Everyone joined in to make it special.
One of the first costumes we made for me was Scully from The X-Files. I got a cheap red wig and wore a suit from my closet. The highlight of the costume was my alien baby. My daughter and I searched for an alien-looking toy. Found a cheap wax candle of a UFO alien. We placed the candle in a big empty plastic pretzel jar and then filled it with orange Jello. It looked really cool and I carried it around all night. Of course, we hadn’t counted on just how heavy that jar would be and my arms ached the next day.
Another timer my daughter went as Buffy and I went as a . . . A vampire of course!
A vampire costume is probably one of the easiest to make. White shirt and black pants. A long length of thick red ribbon with some kind of medallion. (The year hubby went as a vamp he used an old Cadillac hood ornament that had come off one of his cars.) You can buy either a plastic or cloth cape rather inexpensively, but another option is to use a black garbage bag as a cape. Some inexpensive plastic fangs and kid’s Halloween make-up kit and you’re set to go.
For some more hints on home made Halloween Costumes, visit some of these links:
This morning’s Guilty Pleasure is Jerry O’Connell.
It gives me the willies to hear the words “spreading the wealth” maybe because I’ve had a very personal experience with that concept.
This Wicked Wednesday’s treat is an excerpt from my upcoming December release from Silhouette Romantic Suspense – 
