Jul 2nd 2009
Karen HawkinsKaren Hawkins & When Goddesses Fall To Earth
There’s been a lot of death in the news lately which I find disturbing. I mean, I’m not exactly AFRAID of death, but I’m not inviting him to a dinner party anytime in the near future. It’s interesting to note that this rash of deaths has spawned a whole plethora of news articles on every possible aspect of ‘that moribund state.’
For example, from last week’s MSNBC.com: A company called DNA2Diamonds is offering to create sparkling gems from a deceased pet’s ashes or a lock of its hair. In just 70 days, they can turn what’s left of your beloved furball into a red, yellow-green or cognac diamond (you can choose the shape and carat size) and set the stone in a ring, bracelet, earring or pendant.
Wow. Fluffy is now a necklace. Who knew?
Sadly, in case you were thinking of getting a set of CZs made from your now deceased six cats, this ice doesn’t come cheap and can cost from $2,000 to $18,000 depending on the cut, size and color of the stone you pick.
Of course, if you’re slightly demented like me, you’re already moving on and wondering, “Yes, but . . . what about Granny? Can SHE be made into oh, say, a ruby? Something that might go with that wig she liked to wear?”
Well, just keep reading . . .
Though diamonds can also be made from human DNA, that’s not where the largest percentage of DNA2Diamonds’s business lies. “These diamonds last forever,” company president Bischoff tells PEOPLE Pets. “And we’re finding that even in a recession, creating a diamond in memory of a beloved pet continues to be our most popular option.”
When Hot Cop read the above article, he snorted and said, “That’s the dumbest thing that I’ve ever heard!”
I started to agree, but at about that same time, my sweet not-so-little Po dog lifted his head and gazed at me soulfully as if to say, “Why WOULDN’T you do that for me, Mommy?”
Ok, he doesn’t call me ‘Mommy.’ That’s silly. But he DOES gaze at me soulfully.
Seriously.
So tell me, would you consider making a memorial jewel when your dog/cat/parrot/granny goes to the great water dish/hair salon in the sky? Personally, I find ANY reason to acquire bling a VGT (Very Good Thing), even fake bling made from Doggie Remains. What do you think?

Now, I have to tell you that my office has changed a bit in the last month. Mr. R has been home this summer and has undertaken my office as a project. Initially, he said some rather disparaging things about my filing system - which was basically lots of piles of paper on the carpet. He whooshed in and grabbed everything and spent a day sorting and pitching. Filing is beyond even his mighty powers, LOL. But now I can open my mini-fridge and I can see my carpet again! All of my carpet, not just the footpath from the door to my computer chair.
napshots of my travels
o), and I looked up and saw my license plate. A scene popped into my head which would be one of the core storylines in the book - a black car gliding by heroine Susannah Vartanian, with the plate DRC119. If you’ve read KILL FOR ME, you’ll remember. If you haven’t read it yet, for Heaven’s sake, go get it! Then when you read the scene with the license plate, you’ll know where it came from — one of my cavepaintings 

Please welcome Mary Jo Putney to Mt. Oly! Mary Jo has been so incredibly kind to offer a signed book from her backlist to one commentor.
Amnesia is a jolly plot element, but also, an intriguing puzzle. What is a person when memory and inhibition are stripped away? What is a man or woman when he or she is no longer constrained by the expectations of others? What emerges then? Does the amnesiac person have the chance to become a truer, more honest self?
Madeleine Stowe, for example. She was great in “The Last of the Mohicans” and “Blink” yet she hasn’t had a major role in years. Is it by choice? Or does Hollywood just throw away good actresses when they get old? I saw her play a doctor in “Raines,” a TV show that didn’t make it past 6 episodes, and though the show was so-so, she was fabulous as always. I want to see her in more stuff! Or how about Mary Stuart Masterson? I loved her in “Benny and Joon,” opposite our Johnny, and “Fried Green Tomatoes.”
An actress that was never well-known, but whom I loved is Lori Petty. Not only was she fun in “Tank Girl” and her brief sitcom, “Lush Life,” but she was the voice of Stephanie Plum in the audio of the first three books, and she is STILL Stephanie Plum in my head. She’s barely working now. I hate that!





I’ve always been a reader. I could read before I started kindergarten, and I read everything I could get my hands on. During the summer we would go to the library every other week, and I would check out twenty books, carrying them stacked up past my head. Little House in the Big Woods and all of the accompanying books are the first ones I remember reading, though my mom would read books to her three girls during lunchtime during the summer even before that.
After that, I was hooked. My fondness for romance, though, didn’t stop me from reading Tolkien, Heinlein, Harper Lee, Dumas, or Anne McCaffrey. I secretly read Jaws in fifth grade, which could be the reason I’m still afraid to go into the water.
What’s the first book you remember reading? What was your favorite book as a kid? Have you always been a reader?
I have a pretty eventful summer planned. The fun starts on the fourth of July when Mr. G and I and all the kids head up north to spend the weekend on the lake. We set off tons of fireworks, eat great food, catch up with relative, and have a great time.












