I’m taking a break from copy edits, agent revisions and my longer-than-hell-and-back to-do list — which all has to be finished before I leave for San Francisco on Tuesday (How the heck does everything manage to come at once?!) — to pop in and say hello. I know I’ve been scarce. See above list and you’ll know why.

But without further adieu, I thought I’d share my official author photo for my books:

What do you think? Personally, I love it. The photographer did a fabulous job. He took a bunch of shots, but this one just screamed I’m it! I just got it today and already zipped it off to my editor. One more thing crossed off that list!

My copy edits for STOLEN FURY are also done – thank goodness! And now STOLEN HEAT gets one more quick read-through before being sent to my editor. Then it’s party time in San Francisco. I had a whole blog planned about shopping for conference clothes (and my DH saying, “Why the heck do you need new clothes again?!) but I don’t have time to write it. Maybe if I get some down time in SF…of course then I’ll have all this fun dirt to share with you!

If you’re going to be in San Fran for the RWA conference, stop me and say hi. If not, I’m taking my camera, so don’t fear, I’ll have lots of juicy tidbits to share when I get back.

Bad.

My arms, especially the left one. And this morning I have a newfound appreciation (and utter awe) for those who serve in law enforcement.

Overall, it was a great day, and worth the soreness in my arms today. The pic to the left is Kendra and I mid-way through the course. I definitely see the allure in owning a handgun, going to the range and firing, though I don’t think I’m ready to run out and buy one myself. There’s a real sense of power when you’re holding that gun in your hand and you know you have a live round in the chamber. And it’s followed quickly by the reality that you’re responsible for where that round goes and who/what it hits.

One funny thing that did happen…At the beginning of the class we had to go around and introduce ourselves, explain why we were there, etc. Now, keep in mind this is a gun class, therefore the instructors themselves are very pro-gun and right to bear arms, etc. I was first to go and told everyone I was a writer who was taking the class for research. A few of the other students thought that was cool, but the instructor simply nodded, then quickly moved on to the next person. Not that I expect everyone to be interested, but I did find it strange he didn’t ask anything about my books or what I write and why this was important for my research. In the end, I figured he just wasn’t much of a reader and shrugged it off. Well, at the first break everyone left the room and I stayed to ask some technical gun questions for my WIP and he looked at me with a wary expression and said, “So, you wouldn’t happen to write for the Oregonian, would you?” For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Pacific NW, The Oregonian is the biggest paper in Oregon (based in Portland) and very liberal. Very pro-gun control. I laughed and said, “Oh my gosh. No, I’m not a reporter. Don’t worry. I write fiction.” He breathed much easier after that and answered any and all of my questions. So much so in fact that I came home last night and immediately emailed my editor two minor changes to STOLEN FURY based on what I learned from him in the class.

If you write RS (or really any genre that includes handguns, no matter how minor), I highly recommend taking a class like this. Most of the actual class information you can find online – there really wasn’t much technical I hadn’t found through researching handguns myself – but that experience of holding the gun, loading, unloading, sighting and what it really feels like when you pull that trigger is one you can’t get from research in a book or on the computer. The sound, the smell, the feel of hot metal as the case flies out of the slide and lands against your skin (yes, I know how it burns because it happened to me), it’s priceless. And just shooting a handgun once won’t give you the same experience. The whole first hour we were shooting I was really nervous, adrenaline was pumping, my hands were shaking and I jumped every time a gun went off in one of the booths next to me. By the end of the class, I hardly heard the sounds of gunfire around me, and the mechanics of loading, firing, unloading became second nature. I know my characters and the suspense portions of my books can only benefit from this class.

I’m going to leave you with a video they showed us in the class yesterday. This one really stuck with me. The DEA agent in this video is talking to a group of kids about handgun safety. He thinks the gun he has is unloaded. At one point he goes off camera and asks someone to check to make sure it’s unloaded. They look and, since the magazine is out, hand it back. They don’t, however, check the chamber.

This guy – this trained DEA agent – shot himself in the foot in the middle of this presentation. He’s bleeding all over the floor and continues to talk to the kids, who are, of course, freaking out. Just goes to show, you have to be careful around guns no matter who you are.

Have you ever shot a handgun before? Do you own one? Do you have any desire to learn how to shoot, either for personal reasons or for research?

I’m blogging at the Mid-Willamette Valley blog today about random male silliness. Funny videos to share, so pop over and take a look if you’re in the mood for a good chuckle.

…your very own Biker Witch Name!

Fellow Dorchester author Angie Fox’s debut, The Accidental Demon Slayer, releases later this month. To celebrate, she’s hosting a way cool contest on her blog. And the really fun part (aside from possibly getting your name in her next book – The Dangerous Book For Demon Slayers – which releases Aug, 2009)? You get your very own Biker Witch Name! So pop on over and take her quiz. If you’re brave enough.

And, by the way, I think instead of using my name, from now on I’ll be known by my biker witch name. You can just call me Looney Libby Fast Pants.

(Hey…that’s not too far off the mark…)

There are babies everywhere!!!

I know five people who have had babies in the last few months and a couple more who are pregnant and due shortly. Yesterday I went to yet another baby shower, this time for a friend who tried for years and years to get pregnant, doing everything science could do for her, was never successful, finally adopted a beautiful little girl, then found out two years later, voila!, she’s pregnant the old fashion way. It’s really a fantastic story, and I couldn’t be more thrilled for her, but oh, my God. It seems like everywhere I look there are babies and pregnant women coming out of the woodwork! What was going on nine months ago that started this baby boom?

When I pointed this out yesterday, a friend laughed and said, “You must have baby fever.” I nearly dumped my margarita on her. You all know I have three gremlins I love dearly, but I am definitely done. Finished. Kaput. Three is all I can handle. I do love holding babies – which I did yesterday with a 3 wk newborn who was at the shower – but I’m more than happy to give them back when they start screaming. I never liked the newborn stage with my own kids – the sleepless nights, constant feedings, endless diapers. It wasn’t my favorite time. I much prefer when those newborns get to be more fun – say 6-9 mo. old. In fact, after I came home from the shower (sorry, side trip here….but honestly, who comes up with those silly baby shower games???? Since when do mature, educated women find sniffing melted candy-bar encrusted diapers that look like a surprise my three year old might have left amusing entertainment????), I said to the DH, “I am sooooo glad that isn’t us.” He agreed.

I find it interesting women get so worked up over babies. I have a good friend who’s working on a proposal that includes quads. Yes, you read that right…quads. Her editor suggested the quads because (as the editor put it), “You write babies well.” Obviously, this editor loves books about babies. Me? Not so much. Perhaps that’s because I’m still sorta in the baby stage, with a three year old at home. Babies to me are not romantic – for all the reasons I stated above – sleepless nights, constant feedings, endless diapers. They are the killer of sex for at least the first six months, not only because who feels like having sex when you’ve got a cling-on 24/7?, but because anytime the mood strikes, you can be guaranteed someone’s going to start screaming (and it isn’t one of the participating parties). And in a book with a couple that’s just gotten together, I hate to think of the sexless nights that lie ahead for them. Maybe I’m weird, but oh, baby, newborns are so not sexy.

I’ve never written a book that included a baby or newborn. The logistics of including a child in one of my chase/adventure books is just too much. And because I don’t find babies romantic, I’ve never written a pregnancy into one of my books either – though I do have some ideas for that down the line, and I never rule anything out.

What about you? What’s your take on babies? Romantic, not romantic? And if you have kids, how old are they? (Scientifically speaking, I think the age of one’s child affects how ga-ga they get over newborns.) Also, do you like reading books that include babies or pregnancies? Why or why not.

First item of importance – my cover flats for STOLEN FURY arrived yesterday from my publisher. And, um, can I just say…I’m in TOTAL FRICKIN‘ LOVE with this cover!!!!! I know I saw it in .jpg form already, but the real deal is sweet! The title’s embossed, my name is embossed (and looks huge!) and the back and spine are just gorgeous. (I don’t know why the spine excites me so much…maybe because it just looks so…real!!!) I’ve already gushed to my agent, my editor and my CPs. I know they’re probably sick of hearing about this already but…oh well! I’m giddy all over again! Now I can’t wait to see the book with pages inside.

So…busy day here today…I’m having my author photos taken this afternoon. I hope we get at least one good – usable – shot. We’re also doing family pics afterwards with the same photographer (he’s awesome), so I’m busily doing laundry, making sure everyone has something clean that matches. Last night I was up until one AM doing research on poisoning deaths for the wip. I ordered a bunch of books from amazon on poisonings, which I hope arrive ASAP. I’m at a point in the wip where I need this info like, now. I’ve contacted several people with my research questions about how to make a poisoning death look natural, and the best response I got came from my beta reader’s brother (who is a PA in the local area). He said, “Um…does your husband know you’re looking for this information?” I did have to laugh. I suppose if you didn’t know I was a writer, it could raise all kinds of red flags.

Okay, off to heard gremlins. Will report back on the photo shoot later. And hopefully soon I’ll have author pics to share – I’ll probably need opinions on which one to go with.

I’ve posted this before. Elisabeth’s Manuscript Stages. Ironically, it’s still the same today as it was nearly two years ago. Right now I’m in the middle of state two – give or take a few chapters – where my hero is sooooo completely irritating, I’m considering dropping him and letting the heroine have her HEA with someone else. I realized I was in trouble last week when my hero and heroine were in a car that goes off into a slough in the Everglades. The heroine (bless her soul) swims toward shore, but something brushes past the hero’s leg. And when I stopped typing and seriously considered letting the hero be lunch for some innocent gator, I knew I had a problem.

I go through these stages with every book. Doesn’t matter how much I love the premise or the characters or the plot, eventually I hate the entire thing with every fiber of my being. But I’ve learned if I push through I’ll end up loving it again and all will be well. The plot problems will work themselves out, the heroine will stop being wishy-washy (thank God for edits), and if he’s lucky, the hero will find redemption (and save himself from being a tasty morsel). Sometimes I just wish the process would move along a little quicker.

In good news…today was baseball team day at my gym. (Meaning, the local minor league baseball team was at my gym working out). Hubba Hubba. Now that’s inspiring.

How do you keep your enthusiasm up for a project when it starts to dwindle or gets tough?