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Mt. Oly Welcomes Elizabeth Boyle!

Dec 12th 2007Karen Rose
Karen RoseGuest Goddesses

elizboylepubjpg.jpgboylecoverjpg.jpgThe Goddesses extend a warm welcome to Elizabeth Boyle!

My Life as a Goddess ~

Wow! Being invited to be a goddess, even for a day, is quite an honor. But let me tell you, after the Olympic glow wears off a sudden panic sets in. I mean, what do I know about being a goddess?

So the first thing I did was make a quick study of how to be a goddess. So like Scarlett O’Hara, I woke up the next day and whipped off the sheet from the bed, wound it alluringly around my frame and strolled down the hall. Of course, I was met with my husband’s usual morning wit, when he asked, “What, is your robe in the wash again?” After explaining that no, my robe is just fine, that I am practicing being a goddess, I suspect I should have admitted that the robe was in the washer, because the look I got was the one you get from your husband when he starts looking for the wife warranty to see if he can still get his money back.

Then I was greeted by one of the little heroes, who came rocketing out of his room to tell me that his younger brother “had poops” and “couldn’t I smell them?” Well, actually, no I couldn’t. Now this was part of being a goddess I could get used to. Then I told the little offender to “Go give Daddy a big hug” and continued on with my day in the regal and supreme confidence that I was on to this goddess thing.

But the day was just beginning and after finding that my new choice of wardrobe is getting odd looks from the UPS guy, the lady in the school pick up line, and the barista at Starbucks, I am sheets.jpgsuspect my Target sheets are not going to cut it, so I send out a little private email to the goddesses about what sort of sheets I should be wearing.

Oh, heavens! Never get the goddesses going on sheets. There were debates on thread counts, Egyptian cotton (which apparently there is some rivalry between goddesses there—who knew?!) v. pima, whether a Queen sized will make you look hippy or does wearing a Twin make you look like you are trying to act 10 years younger then you really are. Now I never meant to set off this firestorm, so I thought I would cut to the chase of what mattered to me and I dropped the f-word into the debate.

Yes, ladies, I asked if flannel would be acceptable.  It is December after all. By the unholy silence of horror that followed, I had my answer. Um, I guess not. This goddess gig is tougher than I thought it would be.

So instead of trying to pass myself off as a goddess, I’ll just stick to what I do know something about reading and writing romance. Ask me anything and I’ll try to answer it.

50 Comments »

50 Responses to “Mt. Oly Welcomes Elizabeth Boyle!”

  1. Karen Rose on 12 Dec 2007 at 2:12 am #

    Welcome, Elizabeth! We’re glad to have you here on Mt. Oly :-)

  2. Buffie on 12 Dec 2007 at 7:09 am #

    Hey Elizabeth!!! Too funny about your little one tattling on the other one — sounds just like my house :)

  3. Keri Ford on 12 Dec 2007 at 7:30 am #

    Hi Elizabeth. I’ve been trying to teach my little one ‘Go find Daddy’. He’s got the crawling part down, now if he could just figure out what the heck I’m saying!

    If I were to walk around the house in my sheets, the hubby would look surprised and ask if I were going to wash them. Like all I do all day long is lounge in a shaddy spot and eat grapes while cherubs fan me or something.

  4. Gannon on 12 Dec 2007 at 7:32 am #

    Hi, Elizabeth! It’s tough to pull off the goddess routine with the kiddos and hubby not playing along, isn’t it?! ;)

    So, what are you working on now? Can you share a little with us?

  5. cail on 12 Dec 2007 at 8:12 am #

    i myself are quite partial to my 1000 count from target- hooray for sales!

    you would have fit in perfectly in my parents house. my brother, as a teenager, used to come down wrapped in his sheet nearly every weekend when we were growing up.

    what’s your favorite kind of book to read and where?

  6. Anna on 12 Dec 2007 at 8:32 am #

    Hi, Elizabeth! I love your description of the hubby and kids! Too funny. Here’s my question: how much self-editing is too much? Sometimes I write a chapter, feel perfectly happy about it, and then go back and tear it up, looking for grammar, punctuation, too many adverbs, etc…The page that took me five minutes to write now drags into an hour of wracking my brain, fighting self-doubt, and just generally hitting panic mode. Do editors look at something and then say, “this is a great story, but the grammar needs tweaking, so toss it?” Thanks a lot for your input!

  7. Patty L. on 12 Dec 2007 at 8:39 am #

    Hi Elizabeth! Let me start by saying that I love your books. That being said, I also would like to know what your currently working on. I would also like to hear about “the call” and how it has changed your life. Do you work outside of writing?

  8. Karen Hawkins on 12 Dec 2007 at 8:43 am #

    Welcome to Mt. Oly, Elizabeth! And I bet you looked divine in your toga sheets. All of those ‘odd’ looks were just people overcome with admiration.

    Get used to it, dahlink! You’re a goddess now!

  9. Sherri Browning Erwin on 12 Dec 2007 at 8:48 am #

    Popping in to say hi to Elizabeth! I’m all for flannel. It’s cold here, too!

  10. SuzyQ on 12 Dec 2007 at 9:22 am #

    Hi Elizabeth! I personally love my micro fleece sheets - yes they are just like those cozy throws - for the winter. Other times, it’s only jersey knit.

    My question is when you are not writing, what type of romances do you read most?

  11. doglady on 12 Dec 2007 at 9:30 am #

    Hello, Elizabeth! I LOVE your books!! Several of my questions have already been asked. Do you write straight through and wait until the end to go back? Like Anna I tend to edit the stuffing out of something if I go back over it immediately. Is it better to let something “soak” a while before going back to it. What ARE you working on next? Inquiring minds want to know! What are your favorite period research books?

    Flannel sheets this time of year! Yes! However, here in Bama it is now 80 degrees. Love silk in the summer. The detractors were simply struck dumb by your goddessness! I LOVE your kids! Too funny!

    Which authors do you love to read?

  12. Julia London on 12 Dec 2007 at 9:50 am #

    Hi Elizabeth, and welcome to Mt. Oly. We are happy to have you…in spite of the flannel. Really. :-)

  13. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 10:04 am #

    Hello all! I was so surprised to come online and discover so many of you are awake. Ah, yes, East Coast time. I feel so sorry for all of you having to get up so early. :) I am up early because the littlest hero, aka “the bed bug” awoke early and came to get me so I could come help him greet the dawn. So if my answers aren’t completely coherent, I’m not quite awake yet.

    So first off, thanks to all the goddesses for inviting me and to Karen for her help in getting my blog together, and to Karen and Julia for greeting me so graciously–not that you would expect anything less from these wonderful ladies.

    So on to the comments:

    Buffie, my days are an endless chorus of “MOM! Matthew did ____(INSERT infraction here.)” Which is both annoying and helpful, as Matthew is a handful.

    Keri, better still to train the husbands to do laundry. Diapers come and eventually go, but laundry is forever.

  14. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 10:11 am #

    Gannon, I am currently writing Tally’s book, the next one in the Bachelor Chronicles. Then I will buckle down and write Pippin’s book and the two will come out, back to back, in 2009. I’m sort of excited about that.

    Cail, my favorite sort of book to read is hard to say. I love historical romance, of course, and enjoy paranormals–but I tend to be very picky on my paranormals. I’m a huge fan of Georgette Heyer, and am working my way through her books. I adore historical mysteries, and read several series–the Sano mystery series by Laura Joh Rowland, the Margaret Frazier Sister Frevisse mysteries, and just about anything set during the reign Henry the VIIIth or Elizabeth I. And where do I like to read? Anywhere I won’t get interrupted. :)

  15. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 10:15 am #

    Anna, thanks for dropping by. This might sound wrong, but please consider this: could the self-editing bug just be a way of avoiding the writing? I know when I start peering over my shoulder at the pages I’ve written, it has nothing to do with what I wrote before, but what is facing me on the page ahead. My advice is to move ahead until you have the draft done. Then the editing that is necessary is more obvious and the temptation to keep fixing and fussing over it as a means of avoiding the pages that need to be get done isn’t there. You’ll see the entire story and know what needs to be done. I personally try very hard to write page 1 to the end in order. That doesn’t mean I don’t go back occasionally and rearrange or add scenes, but for the most part, I try to avoid revising before the draft is done. Then I make a pass through the book to clean up all the holes, patch the drywall, tape the corners and get it ready for painting.

  16. claudia dain on 12 Dec 2007 at 10:15 am #

    Elizabeth! Welcome! About the flannel…you’ll learn the dress code. Until then, pima cotton is a safe choice.

  17. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 10:19 am #

    Anna cont,

    Then I go through and add the love scenes and sexual tension–that isn’t always my strongest suit with the first draft, but by this third time through, I know the relationship well enough to make sure I have all the right layers in. Then I print the manuscript out like a galley (single-spaced and in two columns so it looks like a book page) and read it. Amazing what sort of errors you find–typos, word repeats, things like that. Then I fix all those, and off it goes.

    As for editors loving the story with mistakes. Imagine this: you are the editor. You have two great stories in front of you and you have only one slot available. Both stories are great, but one book needs a whole bunch of editing and the other one is polished. Which book would you choose? The one that will have you working all weekend editing or the one that can go to copy edits with little revisions? I know which book I’d buy.

  18. Nicole Jordan on 12 Dec 2007 at 10:45 am #

    Welcome Goddess Elizabeth! Flannel in Dec is perfect toga material, lol.

    Now will you tell us all about LOVE LETTERS FROM A DUKE? It sounds delish!

    NicoleJ

  19. RachelG on 12 Dec 2007 at 11:37 am #

    In the winter, I rock the flannel. Flannel PJs. Flannel sheets. Flannel duvet cover. A true Goddess looks good in everything.

    rachelg

  20. ladydawgfan on 12 Dec 2007 at 12:20 pm #

    Welcome to Mt Oly, Elizabeth!!! You could start a new fashion trend with flannel togas!!!

    Can you tell us a little about Tally’s story? Will we see Felicity and Thatcher again? Any hint of a working title, or can we here at TGB help you with that, ALA the title contest last February?

    I loved “Love Letters” and can’t wait for the next one in the series.

  21. ct009ct on 12 Dec 2007 at 12:23 pm #

    Just wanted to say “Hello. Elizabeth”
    (Add me to the flannel sheet contingency - I am always cold.)
    I’m not a writer, But I am an avid reader.
    Unfortunately, I’ve never read any of your books (Please don’t take my flannel sheets). You are on my authors to check out list.
    If you could recommend just one of your books to get me hooked - Which would it be?
    P.S. - If I had seen you walking around in your sheet, I would have waved.

  22. OV_099 on 12 Dec 2007 at 12:50 pm #

    Hiya! :) No questions here. . . and I’m sure you don’t remember my post at Tote Bags and Blogs, but I happened to say when it came to series books, as an example I said that yep, I had Love Letters From a Duke, but alas, didn’t have the one before it, and I am a stickler (anal, whichever LOL) in reading books in order. . . well, yep, sure got it and read them and just can’t wait for the next! :) But I did finally get a couple others of yours that I had on my wish list, so I do have a couple to tied me over till then. LOL :) Just loved them!! :)

    Lois

  23. anneriailin on 12 Dec 2007 at 12:53 pm #

    Hello Elizabeth! I’m going to gush now, but I just adore your books! Love ‘em, love ‘em….love ‘em. Not a writer but love reading books.

    I agree with Karen Hawkins. Those people that gave you those ‘odd’ looks were just envious and wished they looked as good wrapped in a sheet toga as you did.

    –dorothy

  24. Kim on 12 Dec 2007 at 12:54 pm #

    Welcome to the Mt, Elizbo!

    I’m going to back up Goddess RachelG and say that flannel is perfect. Us Goddesses look beeyuteeful in anything.

  25. Lisa H on 12 Dec 2007 at 1:12 pm #

    Elizabeth, I read the story about your husband flying your mms to NY to enter in the contest, and then, you won!!!

    I must say, that is soooo ROMANTIC!

    Now about sheets, do not wear satin. Let me explain why.

    While trying to breastfeed my new baby at Applebees, I covered my engorged breast and baby with a lovely satin blanket. Well, it kept slipping down, exposing things that should never be seen in a family restaurant. Therefore I think cotton or flanel might be a better choice than satin.

    Now if per chance you are answering the door in a lovely satin toga, and lets just say its the UPS man, and suddenly your toga slips, you just might end up with a few more boxes than were originally scheduled to be delivered to your house. (Satin does have its benefits)

    Anyway, your writing is amazing…Welcome to our humble mount!

  26. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 1:58 pm #

    Patty, I actually never got “the call” but won my first contract in a contest. The winner was announced at a luncheon at RWA in front of 1500 women. So I got a huge group hug when I sold! You can read all about my first sale over on my website: http://elizabethboyle.com/fave-hero.html.
    My writing is my full-time job, but I am also a stay at home mom, so it is more like a part time job hours with full-time job responsibilities. Makes me crazy at times, but I can work in a sheet and that is all that counts! Before I quite the outside world, I worked as a paralegal–a job I adored. Now I chase the kids, the laundry, what’s for dinner, where is my reading book and homework, “Mom, Matthew broke my _______ (insert essential, life-renewing toy that I now cannot live without because my little brother broke it.)”. Lawyers and small children have many traits in common, so it really hasn’t been that much of a change.

  27. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 2:03 pm #

    Sherri, I am completely a flannel girl. I love my flannel sheets. But then I read SuzyQ’s comments about micro-fleece and was intrigued. I’ve seen those and wondered what they would be like to sleep in. The DH would probably think I’m trying to get all weirdly kinky if I put something other than flannel or cotton on the bed.

    And SuzyQ, in answer to your question, I love historicals. Always read them, since I was 15–can’t put them down. Regency, Medieval, those great sweeping colonials that used to get published in the 80s. Not a huge western fan, but did love the ones that Marsha Canham did years and years ago. Lately I’ve been branching out and reading vampires. Tried to avoid it as long as I could, but I ‘fess to being a bit hooked on them. Lara Adrian, Kathryn Smith, and I’ve JR Ward on the TBR.

  28. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 2:12 pm #

    Doglady, I LOVE you. Anyone that enthusiastic about my books must be a kindred spirit. I will send you some of our cool, moist (read rain-soaked) Seattle weather your way if you could spare me 20 or so degrees of heat. Otherwise it is a typical December day here–I’ve got pot roast in the slow cooker and I am determined to get all the Christmas presents wraps, the space cleared for the tree and make this house look like we actually will have a holiday around here.

    As for writing, I do like letting stories simmer a bit (like a good pot roast). One thing i do when I am puzzling over a story problem is think about it as I go to sleep and ask the powers that be (in my case, as a good Catholic, I pray to St. Francis de Sales) to help me figure out what I need to do, then I let it go and usually in the morning or some time that next day, I have one of those aha moments and I get my answer.

  29. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 2:14 pm #

    Doglady, cont,

    Fav research books? The A to Z of Regency of London, which is nothing more than maps, but it helps me situate my stories. Emily Hendrickson’s Regency Reference Book, English Surnames, and The London Encyclopedia–which comes in handy all the time. Then a myriad of various books–any of the Jane Austen’s Furniture or what have you are helpful.

    As for authors I read, in addition to the ones I’ve mentioned above, I like the Goddess blog ladies, all fine writers, Candice Hern’s books, Julia Quinn, and so many others it is hard to count. I’m a huge fan of LM Montgomery, who wrote the Anne of Green Gables series. LOVE her stories.

  30. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 2:20 pm #

    Claudia, thank you for the pima advice. I figured RachelG would insist I go to Ann Taylor for my sheets. :)

    Nicole, how nice of you to ask about Love Letters from a Duke. The book is part of my Bachelor Chronicles series, and this is the story of the primary meddling matchmaker from This Rake of Mine, Felicity Langley, who is determined to fall in love and marry the Duke of Hollindrake. Except she’s falling in love with her footman–who happens to be the duke, whom she mistook for the new footman and is now perpetuating this deception if only to discover who this meddlesome, matchmaking whirlwind is. When I came up with the three girls, Felicity, Tally, and Pippin, I was thinking of Julia Quinn and her two sisters. Felicity is really very much like Julia, with a dash of Abi thrown in. Fun to use those three as models for my characters. And do watch out, I steal characteristics from everyone I meet.

  31. Ladytink_534 on 12 Dec 2007 at 2:53 pm #

    Flannel makes sense to me! Well… not down here on the Mississippi coast where it’s currently 75 degrees but anyways.

  32. SuzyQ on 12 Dec 2007 at 3:30 pm #

    The only drawback to sleeping in micro fleece sheets is that you never want to get out of bed. If I didn’t have two kids to get off to school and a job to report to, I wouldn’t mind so much!

  33. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 4:05 pm #

    ladydawgfan, tell you about Tally’s story? Well, that would be wrong! But this being the holiday season, i am feeling generous and will tell you that Tally finds true love with the vicar. Yes, a vicar. Rather like her sister found true love with the footman. My working title is Tally and the Spy, (while I refer to Pippin’s book as Pippin and the Pirate!) which is quite unimaginative, but I’ll get something better going soon. And yes, you will see Felicity and Thatcher as the entire story takes place at Felicity’s first house party in the country. And you will also see Pippin and . . . .Dash–who causes all kinds of problems. Thanks for the compliments and thanks for dropping in to see me!

  34. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 4:08 pm #

    ct009ct–no worries about not having read a book–I hope you will give one a try–what do you like? Comedy? Adventure? A little magic? Dark? Light? Let me know and then I’ll steer you to the one I think will work the best. :)

    Lois, thanks so much for diving in there and trying the books. I hope you enjoy them in one fell swoop when you get them all lined up. I tend to find a series and dole them out like fine chocolates—one every couple of weeks or so. Like the Margaret Frazier mysteries–she’s got a great backlist and every month or so, I read another one. I’ll be so sad when I catch up with her current books and have to wait like everyone else!

  35. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 4:11 pm #

    Dorothy, you gush all you want, I am a goddess now and am quite used to it. LOL! I find it so incredibly amazing that people find my books, read them and enjoy them. Boggles the mind, really it does. I really try to write what I would want to read and when people like my stories, then I know they are kindred spirits, or family, or my mother. :) Thanks for the praise, and I hope you keep enjoying the books.

  36. Suzanne Enoch on 12 Dec 2007 at 4:14 pm #

    Welcome, Elizbo! Didn’t anybody tell you about the other part of being a goddess — the food pyramid becomes a quadrangle with chocolate in the center? I’m sure we sent a memo about that. Hm.

  37. RachelG on 12 Dec 2007 at 5:07 pm #

    Elizbo, you don’t sheets that you knitted out of goat hair? Weird.

    rg

  38. ct009ct on 12 Dec 2007 at 5:34 pm #

    I am very fond of humor. Don’t mind an adventure or two. A little magic never hurt anyone. Not so much dark - more of light for me.
    Steer away!

  39. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 5:39 pm #

    I swear, RG, I am going to knit you a goat hair bikini. Or at the very least, this hat to wear around the homefront:

    http://www.knitty.com/issuesummer06/PATTsockmonkey.html

    No, no, don’t thank me. The look of love in your eyes is more than enough.

  40. Kim on 12 Dec 2007 at 5:52 pm #

    *snork* That’s funny, Elizbo. Just make sure you knit her dogs one too. *waves to RG*

  41. Kimberly W on 12 Dec 2007 at 7:36 pm #

    Sock Monkey! They are full of win.

    I read some of the excerpts from your site and can’t wait to get to the bookstore now, Elizbo.

  42. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 10:48 pm #

    Lisa H, you cracked me up!! I have a similar breastfeeding story. When I had my first son, we were living in Phoenix, and it was summer time, so it was awful hot, and of course where ever you went the AC was cranked on. Nick was about 6-9 months old, so at that age where you cart them around on your hip all the time. So one day I am in the Post Office and I’m thinking, “wow, it is really cold in there, and why the heck are those creepy postal guys staring at me.” And then I look down, and realize my little helper had my t-shirt up and was giving the creepy PO guys a nice show. I had to find a new PO after that. :)

  43. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 10:50 pm #

    Suzanne, as long as the food pyramid includes Cosmos, cracked crab with drawn butter and pool boys, I am so there.

  44. Elizabeth Boyle on 12 Dec 2007 at 10:52 pm #

    ct009ct–then try His Mistress by Morning–funny and a little bit of magic. Or try Something About Emmaline–another one of my lighter, funnier books.

    RG, picked up the sock monkey yarn this afternoon. Will demand pictures of you modeling said monkey hat.

    Thanks to everyone for dropping by and making me feel so, well, goddess-like.

  45. Sabrina Jeffries on 12 Dec 2007 at 11:02 pm #

    I’m a bit late weighing in (flew in from Chicago and only just now got to a computer), but we’re delighted to have you here, LizBo!

    As for the flannel vs. pima controversy, I dispense with either and go straight for the electric blanket. Flannel isn’t warm enough for this Goddess of the Thin Blood. Of course, the cord presents a bit of a problem when I run errands, but I’m working on a solar version with Zeus, and he promises to keep me warm until that’s perfected. Although come to think of it, I should probably be wary of that, considering the source!

  46. Sabrina Jeffries on 12 Dec 2007 at 11:09 pm #

    LizBo, thanks for giving me my laugh for the day! I LOL over your Nick giving the postal guys a show!

  47. Karen Rose on 13 Dec 2007 at 3:46 am #

    Hey Elizabeth, also weighing in late as yesterday was insane at my house! I’d vote for that new NASA fabric that senses your internal temperature and responds accordingly. What? No fabric exists on the market? If NASA were run by perimenopausal women it sure would…

    Thanks for coming to visit with us!

  48. Elizabeth Boyle on 13 Dec 2007 at 8:03 pm #

    Karen–I am so all over that Nasa idea. Too hot, too cold. The fact that the internal thermostat goes out when you hit 45 is just not far. I wonder if I can get a replacement one on eBay . . . .

  49. Brenda on 13 Dec 2007 at 9:10 pm #

    Elizabeth, naturally I have to respond on the choice of sheets debate, since I wash so many of them!! Personally I am a fan of higher number counts, but honey when it’s cold and so is your love life, flannel is the only option. My personal favorite to cuddle with is Jasmin (Disney), penguins (cute tuxedo-clad creatures), and clouds. I try to save my NASCAR, Ariel, and lips type of sheets for slightly warmer weather since they are of the pima family.

    I’m trying to give a hint that once my kids “outgrow” their sheets, they’re mine for cuddling purposes!!!

  50. Brenda on 13 Dec 2007 at 9:18 pm #

    Also Elizabeth, I have read quite a few of your books and really enjoy them. I just want to thank you and the other goddesses for giving us fans these wonderful stories to lose ourselves in.