This here is David Callis. In his non-Wal-Mart-shopping hours, he works at the office where I used to work full time and still do some contract work. He’s the government relations guy, techie on call (as in you buzz his office and say, “Yo, David, my computer isn’t working. Come make it work.”), and resident smartypants.

So when I went over to the office today to do some copy editing on a book the magazine is producing, David came by my desk with these four copies of my book — one for his lovely wife, one for his secretary, one for the office’s executive secretary, and one for a friend. He wiped out his local Wal-Mart. Gee, what a swell guy. (Don’t let it go to head, Callis!)

Do you smell the smoke? That’s my brain. It’s overheating from all the revisions I’m doing. I really hope this book is fabulous when I’m done. I’d hate to have a scorched brain for nothing.

I’m blogging a couple of other places today. The first is at my very good friend Colleen Gleason’s blog. She’s the author of the fabulous Gardella Vampire Chronicles (Go, Max!), and I’m blogging about the power of music and how I incorporate music into my books.

It’s also my day at Title Magic, the blog of last year’s American Title finalists. I’m talking about how I approach large revisions.

My sister has been good about giving me regular updates about how many copies of my book she’s seeing at various stores. She points it out to people and says, “My sister wrote this.” She took two copies up to cashiers at a store where she used to work and said, “This is my sister’s first book. These are the last two copies. You should buy them.” I call her my PR person for the Pacific Northwest.

Two good friends have sent me pictures of them with my book.

Here’s Mary (who writes as M.J. Fredrick) at her local Wal-Mart.

And here’s Steeple Hill author Merrillee Whren at a drug store in Rapid City, S.D., where she’s visiting

Remember, I’m currently running a contest in which a lot of nice prizes will go to one entrant who sends me their photo with my book and a note about where they bought it. Check out my Homepage for all the rules and prize listing.

Are you confused about the financial crisis that’s going on here in the U.S. right now? For those of us who aren’t accountants or economics gurus, it can be confusing. A friend sent me this link to a layman’s description of what the heck is going on. Be warned, there is some crass language in this, but it might be the best explanation I’ve seen. I now have a pretty good idea of what an amazing series of bad decisions on the parts of people who should have known better have brought us to the point of a $700 billion government bailout. And if we’re already in debt up to our eyeballs to countries like China, where in the world does $700 billion come from? Is there a money tree growing in the District of Columbia that I don’t know about?

Sigh. I think I’ll go back to my revisions. While mind-twisting at times, they are less so than this behemoth of a financial mess.

Oh, and by the way, if you live in the Knoxville, Tennessee area and can come by the Food City Food Show at the convention center tomorrow, I’ll be there signing A Firefighter in the Family from 3:30-5 p.m.

I’m still plugging away at my revisions on Arctic Heart, which I found out will be renamed at some point. I really hope I like the new title because I’ve grown attached to Arctic Heart because it fits the story so well. But it seems an upcoming release from my publisher will have a similar title, so ixnay on the itletay for my book.

I really got to cranking yesterday and got through three chapters of revisions even though I’m only shooting for two a day. Usually after two, my brain is fried. But I was able to save some material from the original version of the book in the chapters I was working on yesterday, so that helped me get farther. I’ve gone through two today, much slower going since I was writing new scenes. So far, the new version is rough, and I already know I’m going to have to go back through and add some things. But right now I need to get the new story down in its new structure before I can go back and beautify the language, pepper in ideas from the revision letter.

Diane Gaston sent me this link to Harlequin’s eBook Boutique. A Firefighter in the Family is listed as one of the top e-books in the Protectors category. So if you’d like to read my debut in e-book form, here’s your chance.

I’ve plunged into big revisions on my second YA novel, but after revising two chapters today I decided to watch the final episodes of Season 2 of the BBC’s Robin Hood so I could send the discs back to Netflix. If you haven’t seen it and think you might and don’t want to be spoiled, stop reading now.

What the heck were they thinking killing off Maid Marian!!!!???? I don’t mind the reimagining of shows — after all I like the new Battlestar Galactica much more than the original — but honestly, how can you have Robin without Marian? And now the BBC says that Robin might have a new love interest at some point in Season 3. I’m sorry, but that is just wrong. And I predict if they do this, that character will be universally hated. Remember how much everyone hated Riley in Buffy the Vampire Slayer? It wasn’t that anything was wrong with Riley. He just wasn’t Angel, the character we’d been led to believe was a destiny kind of love, a forever love for Buffy.

I know Lucy Griffiths (who played Marian) wanted to leave the show. While I’m not a fan of recastings, that would have been better than killing Marian. I’ve read some online message boards full of irate fans who vow not to watch Season 3. As one said, “You didn’t just kill Marian. You killed the show.” And with talk of Jonas Armstrong (who plays Robin) leaving after the third season, I’m thinking that will be its last. Or at least it should be. Shows just lose their power and chemistry when beloved actors and characters leave. A classic case is Northern Exposure. It wasn’t the same after Dr. Fleischmann left.

In honor of Robin and Marian, here’s a nice fan vid with a pretty song.

Harlequin Blaze author Tawny Weber and I are guesting on each others’ blogs today. Instead of writing about a certain topic or doing a lengthy interview, we asked each other three random questions.

Tawny’s newest release, Risque Business, is getting a lot of buzz. Here’s the scoop on the book:

A literature reviewer out to make a name for herself and an erotic suspense author out to save his reputation go head to head in a game of sexual one-upmanship. When newly made over Delaney Connor publicly critiques best-selling author Nick Angel’s inability to bring emotion into his stories, it hits him where it hurts… his sales and his ego. In retaliation, he issues her a challenge of his own. Either prove good sex needs emotions… or admit the greatest sex in the world is purely physical.

So, how did Tawny answer my three random questions?

Which actress’s work do you most admire? Why?

Kathryn Hepburn. She was an incredibly strong woman who lived her life on her own terms. She brought a passion and true sense of Movie Stardom to all her roles.

What was your favorite board game as a kid?

Clue. I loved to pretend I was Ms. Scarlet. She had the best dress.

If you could win round-trip airfare to anywhere in the world, where would it be and why?

Greece. I’d love to cruise the islands there, to bask in the sun and take a step back into they history and myth of the Greek people

So there you have it — a quick peek into the mind of Tawny Weber. Don’t forget to see what she asked me and how I responded at Tawny’s blog.

I’d planned to put up a big catch-up post this morning about my travels, complete with photos, but the desktop computer, on which I do the photo work, has decided not to boot this morning. I think hubby will have to work his computer magic on it after work today. So I’m on the laptop. Until I can get the Travels with Trish post up, be sure to pop by Love is an Exploding Cigar, where I’m guesting today and talking about one of my pet peeves. I’m giving away books to one lucky winner.

I’ve been busy in the D.C. area the past few days. I’ll blog more about that, complete with photos, when I get home. Until then, I’m visible at a couple of other online spots.

P.J. has written a lovely review of A Firefighter in the Family and posted it on RomanceNovelTV. Smooches, PJ!

And while Loucinda McGary (aka Aunty Cindy) is off cruising again, I’ve been allowed to highjack her blog. Be sure to check it out to find out what totally wild thing happened to me today.

This month, several members of the Wet Noodle Posse, including myself, are on an Unleash Your Story team. We’ve all set writing goals for the month and are reporting in each week. We’re also raising money for the cause behind Unleash Your Story, cystic fibrosis. The young son of our team leader, Colleen Gleason, suffers from CF, so it’s a cause of great importance to her and her family and friends. Colleen blogged about her son on the Unleash Your Story page. Be sure to check it out.

And if you’re able to donate to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, please do so here.