It's a Girl!!! And, Don't Call Me "Tomato Face"

I HAVE A NEW NIECE!!! My sister, Michelle, gave me the greatest present last night - a brand new beautiful baby niece! (How did she know what I wanted? And, yes, it really is all about me.) She was born at 8:26 PM MST and her name is (drum roll please...) DEVYN RAE BISCHOFF! Isn't that beautiful? Um, no it's not. It's freaking GORGEOUS!

I'm sensing a Devyn appearing in my next book. She'll be beautiful, brilliant, talented and generous. She'll create world peace and find the cure for all types of cancer. And, she'll be elected President of The Universe and win America's Top Model. Ooh, I'm feeling so inspired!

The only problem is, my new niece is in Denver and I'm in Philly. I'll have to wait over three, long, excruciating weeks to see her.

To Michelle and Travis: May you be blessed with a lifetime of joy and happiness with your beautiful new bundle of love. I can't wait to give that little butterbean a face full of kisses and a brand new wardrobe! (How old does she have to be before we can go shoe shopping together? What about fine, supersoft, leather handbags?)

IN OTHER NEWS...

I received many insightful comments on whether or not to leave my current wip in the dust and move on to the next project that's seductively calling my name. Although I love it when anyone or anything seductively calls my name, I've made a decision. My current novel is the second in a mystery series, but both MURDER ON TWILIGHT CIRCLE and MURDER ON SONGBIRD LANE are easily stand-alones. Because of that, I'm going to forge ahead. I'm having too much fun with the quirky, naughty characters in this book. Heck, they'd probably follow me over to "new project" and haunt me (or, knowing them, flash me) until I finished, so why bother?

Plus, I'm at 40k words, so I'm nearing the halfway point. If I quit now, people will make fun of me, call me a loser, shun me, and throw tomatoes in my face. I love tomatoes but not when they're splattered all over my face. For no other reason than I don't want anyone calling me, "Tomato Face" I'm finishing the book.

IN EVEN MORE NEWS...
The lovely Kelly Hartog of Kellifornia Dreaming has deemed it fit to honor me with a Kreativ Blogger award, which I am most humbled to receive. In addition to being a writer extraordinaire, Kelly is an actress, journalist, and has lived in four different countries. You simply MUST check her out. I'm verklempt to be acknowledged by her.

And here comes the technical part:

KREATIV BLOGGER AWARD RULES:

• 1. Thank the person who nominated you for this award.
  
• 2. Copy the logo and place it on your blog.
• 3. Link to the person who nominated you for this award.
• 4. Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
• 5. Nominate 7 Kreativ Bloggers.
• 6. Post links to the 7 blogs you nominate.
• 7. Leave a comment on each of the blogs letting them know they have been nominated

Number 1 - Check!
Number 2 - Check!
Number 3 - Check!
Number 4 - Uh oh...

Name 7 things about yourself that people might find interesting.
Okay, fine. Here goes:
1) I have performed my original music on stage and had my music played on the radio. We still perform live. You can check out our music here. (Note stage name: Jamie Keys)
2) I'm the oldest of four girls (or "faw gawgiss dawtas" as my mom w/her Queens drawl used to say before Colorado tamed her accent!)
3) I met my husband, Chuck, when I moved to Huntington Beach, California to start a band with his best friend.
4) Chuckie and I got together the day John Lennon was killed: 12.08.1980.
5) I worked as a marketing manager for architects and engineers and had my own marketing business. I've also worked as an interior decorator.
6) Both my kids are amazing musicians. (Drums and guitar.)
7) It took me over 14 years to write my first my first novel, about a year for the second, and six months to write my last two.

Number 4 - Check!
Number 5 - Uh oh...

Here are the seven bloggers I nominate for their extreme creativity in approach to their blogging:

1 - The BRILLIANT and TALENTED Koralee at Bluebird Notes. This is my go-to sight whenever I need an instant lift. The soft, soothing blues and mind-bending photos on this blog are not to be believed. I've got her on retainer to design my novel covers.

2 - My soul sista PenPen from Penny Lane Sugar Spun Dreams fame. She is the coolest. She reminds me of an earlier and much cooler version of myself. We share so many important values like the love of cupcakes and our mutual girl-crush for Katy Perry!!! Stop by her place and give her a kiss for me.

3 - Jody Hedlund at On The Path. Hey, some of my best friends are Christian! I LOVE her sight. She's recently been agented by the lovely and talented Rachelle Gardner and her posts on the writer's journey have proven invaluable to me.

4 - My friend, Suzy, a teacher, is brilliant and beautiful. I can't wait to meet her one of these days and share our stories in person. Her blog Tales of Extraordinary Ordinariness is filled with well-written prose on her journey through life.

5 - If you love shoes, you can't miss out on Susan Mill's blog A Walk in My Shoes. She's a YA writer who has pics of some really great shoes on her blog. Her writing is fresh and genuine. Did I mention she loves shoes?

6 - To show how open-minded I can be, I - a vegetarian - am nominating a very fun sight with a great name: The Vegetable Assassin. She doesn't really like awards, but oh well, too bad. She's a crack-up and you should check her out.

7 - And one of my favorite peeps on the world wide web is Mandy at Mandy's Life After 30. She helped design her beach-splashed website, and it's a great place to hang out. She also writes novels and clever poems about her life. She just all around rocks.

Number 5 - Check!
Number 6 - Check!
Number 7 - Uh oh... (Don't worry, it'll get done.)

Thanks again, Kelly. Virtual hugs right back atcha!

Have a great weekend, y'all. I don't know about you, but I'm an aunt again!!!