Romance writing is much more fun than buying a car!

Buying a new car is nothing but a game of numbers. Whoever ends up mixing the numbers better wins! Or so I discovered today.


Who'd ever have thought that buying a car could be so difficult? My husband and I are in search of a new mini-van. We're already a 2 mini-van family because we have 4 kids and since the kids are getting bigger, it has become apparent that we'll continue to be a 2 mini-van family for at least the next few years because we need the room. Anyway, we spent about 3 hours picking out the a newer model mini-van which was the next size up from what we have right now. With a growing 16 year old boy who is already 6 foot 4 inches tall, I need to pay attention to leg room and height.

After a bit of back and forth negotiations we were happy with the price, but not the trade in. I'd done my homework already and knew that the trade in value on my old mini-van was double what they were offering. Without giving us a fair trade they'd be getting more than the original price. Okay, so we haggled a bit more. I kicked my husband's leg under the table to tell him I'd had enough and it was time to go when they suddenly decided they'd give us our trade in price.


It was time to get the financing. No problem I thought. I'd already done my homework and checked with several banks. We were already pre-qualified with an online lender but we had to wait a few days for the paperwork to come in the mail before we could write out the check so we thought we might try to see if we could get a better rate locally. WRONG! Not only was it not a better rate, but it was 5 points higher than the lender online gave us. Of course, I learned later, after we smiled and told the dealer we'd wait for the online lender's paperwork to come in, that this "rate" was really the rate the dealer was willing to give us and not the banks. Bottom line, no matter how you haggle, they get the money they want in the end.

Now, I'm not adverse to paying good money for something that is worthwhile. I know I'd get a lot of pleasure out of driving a nice new van. My kids would certainly love the DVD player and my 16 year old wouldn't complain about not having enough leg room. But what I do mind is the numbers game that feels like the slight of hand. I want fair play. Whatever happen to honesty? Okay, I know you're all rolling your eyes at me. I mean, come on, a fair car dealer? Yeah, right. But why not? Why not put all the facts on the table and not hide them behind false numbers?

This is why I love writing romance novels. While writing a romance isn't easy, it certainly is a lot more enjoyable and honest as it comes straight from the heart. Right now I've taken off my writer's hat for tonight and I'm going to sink into a comfie chair and finish reading Pam's book, Pursuit of Justice. So far, it is awesome! Those of you who don't have a copy, run right out and get yours before they're gone. You'll be so happy you did. So tonight I'm leaving my mini-van whoas behind and will just be a reader who loves reading a great inspirational romantic suspense.



For tonight, I'm back to finding out how this hunky cop named Sam helps Rosa get out of this little mess she's in. I'll deal with buying a new van tomorrow.


Many blessings to you,
Lisa

I'm sitting at my desk. I have two things to do.
One: get ready to teach Ladies' Bible Class in about four hours. I'm 90% done with the lesson, just have a few more things to do. I'll finish with plenty of time because the cat woke me up at 5:30. She claimed she needed food. I pointed at the full kitty food dish. She ignored my hint. She has a very loud meow and so received fresh food, which she sniffed and walked away from. I'm rethinking my desire for a new puppy and second cat.
Two: I'm behind on my writing. There is a calendar next to me (Well, really it's buried under a lot of papers). On it I've jotted down my daily writing schedule. Five pages per day, except for Saturday and Sunday. Those are family days. Should I get to write, that's cushion. I'm ten pages behind (think camping over Memorial Day. Yes, I took my laptop. The charge didn't work. Yes, I took my AlphaSmart. It never left my bag. I spent a lot of time with my two-year-old, and I read Johnny Cash's autobiography).
I'm reading lots of posts, thanks to the June RWR, about writing multiple books a year. My short-term goal is three books a year. To do that, I must, must, must write 5 pages a day. Today, I need to write fifteen. That will catch me up the two days I didn't write: Friday and Monday, and get my Tuesday requirement in. Unfortunately, after not looking at my book for four days, I must go back and reread a lot to get in the mndset of my story (found my calendar, not buried but off to the side).

Holiday Weekend!

I hope you are all enjoying your holiday weekend either spending it with your families or friends. So far the weekend has been wonderful. I was surprised with a wondeful birthday gift from my husband yesterday, a new patio set for the deck. I was so excited about the gift that we had to set it up immediately and have a barbeque so we could use it. It was wonderful having friends over to wish me a happy birthday and then to sit on the deck in the candlelight. Since I live in the country, wildlife is all around us and I love to hear movement in the woods at night.

A friend of mine reminded me that I tend to get excited about gifts that my whole family can enjoy, not just me. I love being with family and friends and anything that enhances that is always a pleasure. This gift also means that instead of spending the summer months chained to my computer inside the house writing my next book, I can sit on the deck in the morning with my laptop and write the sequel to Cradle of Secrets.

Today we're heading off to a barbeque with friends. I wish you all a wonderful weekend filled with laughs, good food and good company.

Many blessings,
Lisa

Easing into the week...

I'm thrilled Pam invited me to post on this blog. It gives me a great way to connect with readers, especially when the characters in my book tell me they want to do something I haven't planned on them doing. Okay, I know it's fiction. But it happens!

I'm really excited to tell you about my November 2007 release from Steeple Hill Love Inspired Suspense called Cradle of Secrets. Although I've published 7 books, Cradle of Secrets is my first romantic suspense and it gives me a great way to blend two things that I love. Romance and suspense! In Cradle of Secrets, Tammie Gardner discovers at the age of 27 that the people who raised her are not her biological parents. In fact, when she travels cross country and meets Dylan Montogomery, former Marine and Chicago Cop who is searching for his missing brother, she's not even sure if she was adopted at all! All small towns have secrets and Eastmeadow has its own. I'll have more teasers for Cradle of Secrets in the months to come as well as cover art.

If all goes well, the Steeple Hill editors will like the next proposal my agent, Michelle Grajkowski, has just sent into to them. The working title on that book is Desperate Secrets. (Are you seeing a theme here? I love secrets!) It features Dylan's kid sister, Sonny, and a seriously handsome bounty hunter who tracks Sonny down in Columbia. More on that later.

For now, I must run. I have Elton John on my Sony MP3 player and I must finish up a Young Adult book I'm writing with my 15 year old daughter. It's my first collaboration with my daughter and it's been a blast!

Many blessings to you all!

Lisa

First Time and Lost

Well, I've spent my morning trying to figure out this blog stuff. (Did you know that when a cat walks over your keyboard and steps on the keys it messes things up). Basically, I want to become Samantha Stevens, twitch my nose, and have the blog site of my dreams appear. (I write romantic suspense, I never really saw Darren as much of a hero. Now, put Samantha with someone like, say, Mel Gibson, and you've got a hit). It will, of course, impress the masses and spiral not only my career but the careers of my fellow bloggers (whoever they may be) to fame and fortune.

Wait, fame isn't always a good thing - think Paris Hilton. Fortune certainly didn't make Howard Hughes happy. So, maybe I'll settle for fa... and fo... Faith and Forward. This blog touts my faithbased suspense novels, and this blog is an effort to get my career moving forward. Unfortunately, because I didn't drop any pearls of wisdom here, I've probably bored you all and you'll twaddle off to read the morning newspaper and find out all the news: woman surprised to find bullet lodged in head from 64 years ago... or what's in our oceans.

I write about bullets. There are bullets in my latest Love Inspired Suspense Pursuit of Justice. there are homemade bullets in my next Love Inspired Suspense Price of Redemption. Since I write about where I live, Arizona, there are no oceans. In Price of Redemption, however, I did have a wash. No, not with a handtowel and soap, but we're talking run-off.

Time to sign off and go figure out if this post actually went anywhere, and then how to add my fellow suspense bloggers.

Have a great day!
John 3:16
Pamela Tracy