After leaving Rochelle, Illinois on my trip north, I headed to Madison, Wisconsin, where my agent is located. On the way out to dinner, she drove me through the University of Wisconsin campus. I know it’s cold in the winter, but the campus has some lovely lake views. We ate dinner at a place called Nau-ti-Gal on one of the lakes. We sat outside and listened to the live band that was set up and playing under the trees in the yard. The place was packed, and I had some absolutely delicious stuffed grouper. We talked business for awhile, then just some fun non-business stuff. After leaving there, we went to a Madison landmark, Ella’s Deli and Ice Cream Parlor. This place is amazing — not just the ice cream but also the decor. It’s full of old toys everywhere, even moving back and forth across the ceiling, and a carousel.

The next day, I headed to Green Bay for the WisRWA conference. I’d never been to Green Bay, and pretty much all I equated with it was the Packers and being really friggin’ cold. I made my way to the hotel attached to the Oneida Casino, where I checked in and found this in the lobby:

Let me just say it’s still very weird to see my name listed as a featured speaker, especially with New York Times best-selling author Sherrilyn Kenyon. Now, I know Sherry, and she’s as down to earth as they come, but it’s still a little squee moment to be listed with her. Here we are together.

I spoke at the conference on Making Your Setting Come Alive, and I was also able to reconnect with writers I’d met at this conference 2-3 years ago when it was last held in Madison.

Here I am with Meagan Hatfield and Ann Voss-Peterson.

And with Lori Devoti.

With fellow guest author Karin Tabke. We were next-door neighbors at the book signing.

With Rachel Berens-VanHeest.

I was also able to have a nice meeting with Harlequin Executive Editor Birgit-Davis Todd. She’s not my editor but does work closely with my editor.

With fellow writers Ann Curtis and Cat Shield (who won the WisRWA Fab Five award for best YA manuscript).

With Publishers Weekly blogger Barbara Vey.

I’ve got one more Wisconsin trip post in me, about my post-conference trip through the lovely Door County and the journey back south. Be sure to check in over the weekend for the final installment. And for those of you in the U.S., Happy 4th of July!

Back in early June, I took a trip north to Wisconsin to visit with my agent and to speak at the Wisconsin RWA chapter’s conference in Green Bay. Over the next couple of days, I’m going to put up photos from my trip.

The first stop was my hometown in Kentucky, where I had a book signing at the local library for my two newest books. Before the signing, however, it was annual Take Mom to the Cemeteries Day. We drive to several cemeteries in two counties to place flowers on the graves of family members. OMG, it was hot! I think I heard the grass screaming for mercy. Prior to heading out on our excursion, I sold a couple of books to my mom’s next-door neighbor, a very sweet lady who is 90 and is constantly on the go. I caught her on her Red Hat Society day, so she was dressed all in red and purple. Make note that this transaction took place around 2 p.m. That will matter later in this story.

After returning from traipsing over two counties, it was freshen up and change time. Then off to the library. This lovely flower arrangement from high school friend Kim and her mom, Tammy, who has a floral shop in town, was waiting for me. Isn’t it pretty?

Kim wasn’t able to make the signing, but Tammy did. I probably hadn’t seen her in 20 years and she looked the same! Kind of like Kim does. I, um, do not look like I did on graduation night.

During the signing, my cousin, Debbie, told me she had stayed up until 1 in the morning to finish my latest Harlequin American, Her Very Own Family. To which I said, “Yes! I’ve done my job.”

After signing books and chatting with friends and family, I took Mom back home. Helen poked her head out her door and said she’d already finished reading Her Very Own Family and really liked it. It was about 7 or 7:30 p.m. at this point. She also said she was getting ready to go back inside and start reading my YA novel, Heartbreak River. Did I mention that Helen is cool?

I drove to a town about an hour away next to the interstate so I could just hop on I-24 in the morning and head farther north.

Illinois is tall. The next day, I got a bit of a late start but I was still able to cover most of the Illinois miles. I even got a totally out-of-the-blue story idea that I was excited to get down before I forgot it. I also saw the oddest thing — a police officer had someone pulled off to the side of the road (wasn’t the interstate at this point; I took a little scenic detour). When I came up alongside them, it was a team of mules pulling a covered wagon with “Jesus Saves” written on the canopy. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why he was pulled over. I seriously doubt the mules were speeding.

In the northern part of the state, you start seeing wind farms with lots of enormous windmills like these. They’re oddly mesmerizing. If you’ve ever passed a truck on the interstate hauling just one of the blades for these things, you know how huge they are.

I also had a chuckle and had to take a picture at the rest area where I stopped at one point. It was called Willow Creek Rest Area. The original title for Her Very Own Family was The Willow Creek Cafe.

I stopped for the night in Rochelle, Illinois. I even got there early enough to go for a walk in the lovely, shaded neighborhood next to the hotel. Although I did get chilly. Remember the hot trek through all the cemeteries the day before? It had been about 90 degrees then. When I went for my walk to get out the driving kicks in Rochelle? 60 degrees.

Curious when I got back to my hotel, I logged on to Weather.com to check the temps in Wisconsin. When I saw they were going to be in the 40s at night and I’d only brought summer clothes, I e-mailed my agent and said, “I’m going to freeze to death!” Okay, obviously I didn’t since I’m typing this, but there were some shivering moments ahead. Come back for those moments and the rest of the story.

Had to leave San Antonio today — sad to leave Mary’s but will be glad to get home and see the hubby. But today’s agenda included driving just as far as Houston for a meeting at the RWA office. As luck would have it, it started pouring down rain just as I was getting onto the Sam Houston Tollway and had to start looking for an exit I’d never had to locate before. Normally, I have a really good sense of direction and love maps, but there must be a curse when it comes to me and Houston. The last time I was here, I got lost. Today, I got lost twice. Ahhhh!

Had a good meeting though and dinner with several of the wonderful RWA staffers at a Mexican place called Lupe Tortillo. Headed out of Texas tomorrow toward home. We’ll see how far I get. Unfortunately, once again, I don’t have time to head to another part of Houston to visit some college friends. Next time I come here, I need to build in an extra day. And hopefully next time I won’t get lost!

On a different topic, good friend and 2009 Golden Heart finalist Kim Law just launched her new Web site. Check out the whole thing, but I’m in love with her cool crossword puzzle function on her Fun page.

Haven’t blogged in a few days, but I’m been busy (as usual). But it’s been fun busy. I got to San Antonio on Thursday; then Mary and I headed to Kingsville (where we toured the famous King Ranch) and then to Corpus Christi (where we attended a PRCA rodeo). This portion of my trip was research for a rodeo book I’ll be working on when I get back home. It’s been awhile since I went to a rodeo, so that was fun. And the bonus? We got to spend the night out on Padre Island. Yay — seafood and sea air!

Yesterday, before heading back to San Antonio, we went out to Padre Island National Seashore to walk on the beach and so I could add another stamp in my National Parks Passport. Yes, I am a geek. Why do you ask? Then we went downtown for one of the Fiesta parades, but we had to leave before it started because Mary’s son’s car broke down.

Today, we had a birthday party for Mary with several members of her family and friends. Loads of fun — and loads of food. That, combined with the Guenther House biscuits and gravy I had this morning, have me feeling like I should flee San Antonio before I gain a few hundred pounds. Seriously, there is so much good food in this city that if I lived here I’d be enormous. Mary and I also went to several bookstores today to sign our books. Big fun!

I’m here for one more day, then it’s on to Houston for a meeting and then home.

I never did get around to sharing photos from my San Diego trip last month. So here you go, a photographic tour of my trip…

The desert of New Mexico outside my train window.

The Marriott where the RWA board meeting was held and where the conference will be in a few years. Gorgeous location with lots of restaurants nearby. I think the members will love it.

Coral trees in the park in front of the hotel. Beautiful.

With a Navy base across the bay from the hotel, I saw lots of Navy vessels go by.

Nearby was the USS Midway aircraft carrier, which is now a museum. Here I am on the flight deck. Funny that I’m in a plane since I don’t like to fly.

And here I am in the brig. Oops, I was bad.

Beside the ship was a huge statue of that sailor kissing the nurse made famous by that photo snapped in New York at the end of WWII.

After my meeting was over, my sister and her family came down and we played tourist for a few days. Here we’re at the Shamu show at Sea World. We all got sunburned because we were dorks and forgot out sunscreen.

Another day, we went to Cabrillo National Monument. Here I am with my two nieces.

This cute lighthouse was at Cabrillo. It was the original, but they eventually had to build one down by the water because this one gets socked in with fog all the time.

These tidepools were down below where the lighthouse is located.

Friday I drove up to Cincinnati and stayed with the fabulous and cool Liz Bemis, who is the program director for Ohio Valley RWA and a double Golden Heart finalist this year.  That night, we drove through the pouring rain that had been chasing me to Ohio to meet up with the equally fabulous and cool Jenn Stark for a yummy Mexican dinner.

Yesterday, I spoke to the OVRWA chapter on perseverance, a subject near and dear to my heart since it took me 11 years to sell. I know there were people in the audience sitting in the same boat I was such a short time ago — Liz and Jenn among them — where they’ve got tremendous talent and have found success on the contest circuit but haven’t quite made that first sale yet.

Liz Bemis, me, and Jenn Stark

Since it was the day before Easter, I rewarded audience participation with Carmello bunnies, Cadbury’s Creme Eggs, Peeps and a couple of free books. Hey, I’m not above some sugar-filled bribery.   The ladies were wonderful, and I was thankful for such a nice turnout the day before Easter. I even got to meet Becke Martin (aka Treethyme), who hangs out with us a lot over at the Romance Bandits blog.

With Becke Martin

After the meeting, some of us were about to chew our arms off we were so hungry. So before I hit the road home, I went to lunch at the Cheesecake Factory with Liz, Jenn, and two other great and interesting ladies named Amy and Libby (man, I hope I got that right or I’m going to be really embarrassed). Then it was time to hit the road home. I plugged in the iPod and passed the hours listening to PotterCast and an the Supernatural podcast.

Two funny signs seen along the way:

On a fence surrounding a field: For Sale, Used Cows

On the ladies restroom door inside a gas station/Subway combo: Now hiring servers. Apply within.

Two other notes:

Liz has a fun blog series going on at her site counting down the 100 days until the Golden Heart ceremony. Be sure to check it out.

And Jenn isn’t just a writer. She’s a whiz at author branding. Check out her branding site at www.knowyourbrand.com.

I’ve decided I could be a California girl — if not for how expensive it is to live here. Last summer, I thoroughly enjoyed my time in and around San Francisco. And now I’m loving my time in the San Diego area. It’s beautiful, I’m near the ocean, it’s pleasantly warm, gorgeous flowers are blooming everywhere…ah, what’s not to like? Okay, so I know they have earthquakes and wildfires here, but when neither of those things is going on, it’s darn near perfect.

I’m off to Sea World with the sis and her family tomorrow. Guess I should get some sleep — going to be a long day. We’ll also hit the famous zoo this week and a few other things.

The weather is finally gorgeous here, so I took the opportunity to work on the travel part of an article I’m doing for the magazine I write for part time. It’s a travel piece about driving along one of the highways that crosses the state, one of the main east-west routes in the pre-interstate days. I loved seeing the blooming forsythia and Bradford pear trees, the hundreds of yellow daffodils and the first sprigs of green. But the one thing that made me chuckle out loud was the name of a business I passed in one of the little towns. I kid you not, it was called Redneck Bail Bonds. LOL!

Got my RITA scores turned in yesterday, so next up is writing on the next Harlequin American, which is due April 1.

Someone on the children’s/YA writers’ loop I’m on posted this link. I think it will give all you Jane Austen fans a good chuckle.

Been a busy weekend. I went to Jackson, Tennessee yesterday for a group book signing. I only sold two books, but I had a nice time hanging out with my writing buddies and got to catch up on the ride to and from with my good pals Beth Pattillo and Annie Solomon. We brainstormed ideas for our chapter’s retreat in February.

Today, hubby and I met my oldest friend — as in I’ve been friends with her longer than anyone, not that she’s literally older than all my friends — and her family for lunch. They were in town doing lots of fun things for the weekend.

I got all of my books reshelved and organized late Friday night. More on that later. I’ve been working on lots of paperwork this afternoon and evening. Seriously, I think paper is like rabbits. When you turn around for five minutes, it’s produced a pile more.

So, you all know I was in New York City and Washington, D.C., last week, so I thought I’d share some photos and other tidbits. And when you get to the end of the post, I have some fun news.

Here’s Times Square the night my agent and I were headed out to see Wicked.

Here I am after the play. Dude, it was cold, but I wanted a picture with the poster since I was still on the post-play high.

After the RWA board meeting was over in D.C., I had a few hours to play tourist in D.C. before my train arrived. So, I took the subway to the Smithsonian, in particular the National Museum of American History. The big draw was the 1814 flag that flew over Ft. McHenry and inspired the writing of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” I couldn’t take a picture of it because no photos are allowed in that exhibit, but you can see some and learn more here.

Other items in the museum included the ruby slippers worn by Judy Garland in The Wizard of Oz and…

Kermit the Frog and…

a piece of the Berlin Wall.

After I finished touring the museum, I still had some time to walk around before heading back to the subway. I bought a map at the museum store and saw how close I was to the White House. So off I went and ended up with a few pictures from the fence area at the front of the property.

On the way back to my Metro (subway) stop, I paused to take photos of the National Christmas Tree located at the edge of the Elipse, a grassy area that sits in front of the White House property.

The day had started out pleasant, but by the time I was headed back to the Metro, the clouds and cooler temps were moving in, as you can see in this photo of the Washington Monument. Someday I’m going to go up in the monument, but I didn’t have time during this trip.

Okay, on to the good news. Sometime during my ride on the subway, my agent called. Since she couldn’t get through to me, she left a message, which I got once I emerged into daylight again. I sold two more books to Harlequin American! Those of you who have read A Firefighter in the Family will hopefully be happy to find out that the first of these new sales will be a sequel. Adam, Zac’s best friend from Firefighter, will be getting his own book. Yay! The second is part of a continuity with five other authors, but I don’t know any details yet. I’m VERY happy to have some sales in 2008, just in time for Thanksgiving.

Speaking of which, I hope everyone here in the States had a fabulous Turkey Day. Gobble gobble.