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New Release Neurotic Syndrome

Jan 26th 2010Madeline Hunter
Madeline HunterMadeline Hunter & On Writing!

Today is a big day in my writing career. Ravishing in Red is released today. It is the first book I have had out in a year. The first book in a new series. And the first book with my new publisher.

Untitled-5Now, maybe you think the title of this blog should be Cheers, Celebrations and Delerious Happiness but, well, this is ME and I like to be honest with all you other goddesses. Trust me, my title is more appropriate to where my head is today.

The truth is that release days are stressful for me, and this one has been more intense than usual. My DH has been finding excuses to stay out of my way for a while now, because I have gotten a little hard to live with. Neurotic worrying started a couple of weeks ago, and has just built.(What if there is a blizzard and all the books end up in a train wreck? What if none of the stores remember to stock it until April? What if—-).  Today I will concentrate far too much of my mental energy on obsessing over the book’s release, and trying to talk  the Force into being with me.

This will continue for at least another week. During that time, I will enter every store that carries books wracked with fear that my book either won’t be there or will be invisible on the bottom shelf. Common sense says just stay out of stores, but instead I will find excuses to go to as many as possible so my neurotic worrying can be fed. I will pounce on any online mention of a sighting of my book, and even ask my readers to feed me those little morsels of relief. I will clench just a little as I open reader email, braced for it to say “man, this one sucks!.” And, as the bestseller info starts filtering out next week, I will pretend I am not waiting to hear, when in fact the waiting will pretty much immobilize me.

The whole experience reminds me of my fear of flying. For years a plane fight for me involved a week of worrying in advance. Then, when the plane began to take off I would inhale—and, in a manner of speaking, hold my breath until we landed. I might look normal there in that seat, but my mind and nerves were on hyper alert, so much so that I used to joke that only my nervous energy kept that plane in the air. Worrying about a new release absorbs all my energy the same way. I suspect my subconscious thinks that if I worry and stress enough, it will keep the book “up in the air” just like those planes.

 Someone once told me the official name of a fear of flying. It had phobia at the end of it. Only a phobia, according to the dictionary, involves an irrational fear. In myairplane2 opinion there is nothing irrational at all about being afraid to fly. (Lemme see—great big metal object weighing many tons rises into air and speeds along on wind and wings, and I am afraid it might fall? Nope, nothing irrational there.) There isn’t anything irrational going on with my NRNS (New Release Neurotic Syndrome) either. I am just having, in both cases, a normal human reaction to being unable to control a situation where the final result really matters to me.

So if you run into me this week and my eyes appear a little wild, and my mood seems a little frantic, now you know why. NRNS passes about 10 days after release, and I’ll be back to normal then. 

Do you have fears or phobias? Afraid of heights (my DH is, to the point of physical distress)? Snakes ? Other things?

 Do you have situations where fears and nervousness just kick in every time, whether it is dentist visits or anything else?

Have you overcome some prior fear? (I am happy to say that after much experience in planes, I pretty much did. The fear just gave up one day.)

****An Advanced Reading Copy of Provocative in Pearls (my March release) will be given away today to someone who makes a comment.

156 Comments »

156 Responses to “New Release Neurotic Syndrome”

  1. MizMacgyver on 26 Jan 2010 at 4:47 am #

    I am afraid of anything with more than 4 legs but spiders are the worst. I don’t just scream, I scream and run in the opposite direction. I hope no one is behind me when I turn.
    I already have Ravishing in Red on it’s way to me, I always pre-order your books Madeline. I don’t have to stop on the way home from work it will be here waiting for me. I made sure I have coffee ready for a nice cup and a snuggle in bed when I start it.

  2. Archer on 26 Jan 2010 at 5:43 am #

    I can’t stand drs and hospitals. Just the smell of a hospital makes me uncomfortable. I also pass out at the sight of blood and get really angry at drs who aren’t nice. Lately drs seem more like pharmacists.

  3. Amanda on 26 Jan 2010 at 6:13 am #

    I HATE going to the dentist! Recently I have found one that doesn’t charge for Nitrous gas so the visits have been much more bearable. I even get anxious hearing dental commercials on the radio, too bad I’m not a hippo who get birds to clean their teeth by eating the left over food.

  4. Angela on 26 Jan 2010 at 6:25 am #

    I hate having blood tests. My veins are deep and they roll. So people have a hard time with me.
    I warn them in advance. Still doesn’t seem to help. Sometimes I bring a little stuffed animal with me so that I have something else to focus on.
    I pre-ordered your book so it will be arriving soon. So don’t have to trudge out to the store to get it.

  5. LoriHandeland on 26 Jan 2010 at 7:08 am #

    I don’t like heights. Doubt I’ll ever get over that, though it would be nice.

    I also have the new release syndrome, Madeline. I feel your pain.

    Good luck with the book. I must go out and do my search for it tomorrow.

  6. Bronte on 26 Jan 2010 at 7:31 am #

    The older I’m getting the more neurotic I’m becoming. I’m the opposite to you Madeline. For years I loved flying but then I had a couple of semi-bad landings and I’ve become quite nervous. I just flew to and from Fiji and I basically got through the flights by embracing the Klingon mantra of “Today is a good day to die”. I know it sounds weird but when I put it in that perspective ie I’ve had a good life and there are worse ways to go it didn’t seem so bad, however it took a good 20 minutes of mental lecturing before getting on the plane and again at take off before I started to relax.

  7. Freshechelle on 26 Jan 2010 at 7:34 am #

    I don’t have any phobias …. yet… I do have anxiety when I visit doctors but that’s not a phobia. Dentists I love. doctors, not so much.

    I do also have your book. Borders put it out early, bless their hearts. From what I’ve read so far, I’m confident you have nothing to be nervous about. Relax and let yourself enjoy the trip up many best seller lists.

  8. Julia London on 26 Jan 2010 at 7:35 am #

    Congratulations, Madeline! Another bestseller flies off the shelves.

    You are nuts, BTW. I, too, get that release week jitter, and I work very hard to distract myself. It is so far out of my control and I can make myself CRAZY, CRAZY IN CAPITAL LETTERS if I look for the book, or see reader comments (ever notice how the less than favorable leap off your computer screen and paste themselves to your eyes?) I get nuttier.

    Last book that came out, I was in the mountains, away from internet connection. Bliss. I highly recommend it.

    Like Lori, I don’t like heights. I get nauseated with fear if I am up very high without a net.

  9. nancyg on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:03 am #

    Congrats, Madeline!! Can’t wait for the new book – your fear(s) should be abated fo’ sho’!! :) In fact, I’ll be running out to Barnes & Noble today during my errand run to get my copy & let you know where your book is displayed.

    I sold Sabrina’s new book over the weekend – a woman was looking at the new releases, I casually sauntered up, looking at cover copies, pointed & said – “Sabrina Jeffries – new series; ’s a good place to start…wicked talented author – you’ll be addicted.” She read the back cover copy & added it to her basket, lol. I do what I can for my goddess peeps! ;)

    Crazy scared of heights. A few years ago, Mr. G & the girls double-dog dared me to go on the GIANT ferris wheel at the Texas State Fair. I think I peed a little when we got to the top – esp. when the girls started rocking the gondola.
    I challenge myself to face my fears – will be taking a hot air balloon ride later this year to cross off my bucket list – maybe a surprise for Mr. G near his birthday in May??

    Don’t especially like needles – small veins. I’ve been poked & prodded too many times. Lab techs have a hard time finding “a good one”.

  10. PJ on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:05 am #

    Good luck with the new release, Madeline!

    I’m afraid of open heights. I love to fly but can’t stand on a second floor balcony without breaking out in a sweat. I’ve forced myself to do things I never dreamed I would in the hopes of overcoming the fear. I stood on the open observation deck of Rockefeller Center. (so proud of myself!) I stood on an open balcony on the 42nd floor of my old office building in order to be able to wave my flag for Navy fliers returning home during Desert Storm. (They flew low through downtown on their way to the base) Doing things like that have helped lessen the fear (a bit) but you won’t catch me leaning on any railings. Just not going to happen.

  11. Kirsten on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:21 am #

    I’m afraid of clowns. Deadly afraid. I discovered this when I was 6 years old and my mother took me to the circus. The clowns came on and I was scared and started crying & crying. Mom asked what it was and I pointed towards the clowns. Ever since I saw a clown I intent to avoid it, take a different road and run for cover. I have trouble breathing and start to sweat. I don’t know what to do about it and it is kind of embarrassing. I don’t know anyone else who is afraid of them. And after words I always feel silly for wanting to cry and running away. Luckily I don’t encounter them so often. I avoid family parties and children’s birthday parties if a clown is on the menu. This makes me sad and I really think I need to do something about it. I’m missing a lot of fun.

  12. SuzyQ on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:25 am #

    Congrats on the new book – I’ll be going to Borders at lunch and will report back later.

    I never had any phobias until recently I discovered I have a fear of heights. My dh suggested we go on a parachute ride at Great Adventure amusement park. It looked harmless enough – you sit in on a bench and the ride lifts you straight up in the air and it floats you gently back down. That’s it. OK, so unfortunately I find out that it is way higher than I thought and I could see the whole park. I had a bit of a panic attack and my knuckles were so white from holding on tightly. So, no more of those rides for me.

  13. Michelle B on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:26 am #

    Big day, Madeline! I won your Advanced Reading Copy of this one and read it several weeks ago. Wonderful story!! I’ve been reccomending it to all my reader friends. It’s so good that I am eagerly waiting the next one in the series.

    I have a phobia with birds, terrified of them. I was raised on a farm and we had chickens, ducks, geese and turkeys. Mom even had a parrot. It’s irrational because none have ever hurt me, but there it is, simply terrified. It must be in my genes because DD#2 is exactly the same way.

  14. Laurie G on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:27 am #

    Congrats on your new book!!

    I’m afraid of sharks!! I live a few minutes walk from the ocean and I absolutely refuse to go in. I only will swim in the pool.

    I dislike doctor and dentist visits. I get really nervous throughout the visit.
    I don’t have any tricks. I just go and hope they get done with quickly.

    I also don’t like driving through the mountains. I hate cliffs. I really dislike the speed you pick up going downhill.

    I’m a terrible downhill skier too. Hate the speed factor.

    I like to feel in control.

  15. Laurie G on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:29 am #

    Oh I forgot job interviews…. even though I’m qualified for the job I get so nervous!

  16. Freshechelle on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:35 am #

    Kirsten, I’m not afraid of clowns and can confidently say you’re not missing much. Don’t sweat your phobia, keep avoiding them because they’re annoying. Your fear is doing you a favor! (disclaimer: except for clowns who visit sick kids, they’re doing a good deed.)

  17. Lisa H on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:37 am #

    Madeline! I just finished “The Sins of Lord Easterbrook” and thought it was spectacular!!!!!!! He was an incredibly hot hero! You should have no worries, you are a amazing author with a huge readership. Your books are the type I cannot put down and reccommend to others.

    I can’t imagine what you are going through, but hang tough, soon it will pass! :)

    I am only afraid of going to the dentist. I have a wonderful hygentist who has been doing my teeth for about 13 years and she is so considerate of my fear. The dentists too try hard to keep me calm. I brush my teeth religiously to avoid the dreaded cavity. If I ever had to have something major like a root canal, I think I would require anestesia. The thought nearly paralyzes me.

    I will be shopping this weekend for your newest release, so that’s one sale you can count on!

  18. elsiehogarth on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:50 am #

    Madeline, I already have my copy and will start reading it tonight. I can’t wait.

    My 2 biggest fears are dying in a fire or drowning in a plane. I feel that it’s because it would be a situation that is completely out of my control.

  19. Claudia Dain on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:57 am #

    Madeline, I LOVE the cover and title of your new book! Just glorious. I can’t wait to get my hands on a copy.

    Fear of heights–check.
    Fear of skulking black scuttling bugs–check.
    Got over the fear–absolutely not. Sorry! No success stories to encourage you from me.

  20. TrishD on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:06 am #

    Congrats Madeline!! I’ll be picking it up as soon as I can make it to the store. Hopefully later today. :)

    I have an unhealthy fear of phone calls late at night. In my opinion nothing good comes from the phone ringing after 10pm. Logically I understand that’s not true but try to tell my body that when the phone rings. I get jerked out of sleep, my heart starts beating like crazy and my hand literally shakes when I reach for the phone. I know where this comes from, but knowing doesn’t help… it just enforces why I should fear late night calls.

  21. crp on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:06 am #

    Dr’s offices although hospitals don’t bother me.

  22. Pesky on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:07 am #

    Firstly, I’m sure your book will be a huge success and I plan on purchasing it tomorrow when I am out.

    Now on to being a neurotic mess:

    I love ridge running and rock scrambling, but will get vertigo if I’m on a high bridge, high escalator or high building. Not sure why. Not a big fan of the high rise thing. Strangely, other than motion sickness, planes don’t bother me at all.

    I have a fear of slipping and falling since my back issues never let me feel 100% sure of my balance. Sounds rational? Not really so much.

    Leaping across chasms freaks me out too, but I’ll do it if I have to.

    Snakes…what can I say about snakes. While I appreciate the beneficial impact they have on the environment the whole slithering about thing gives me the willies.

  23. Amy on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:09 am #

    I already have my copy of the new book, and will be starting it this weekend. I agree completely with LisaH, you are an amazing author! I have read every single one of your books, and I loved each one!

    I am afraid of snakes, spiders, germs, drowning and being buried alive. I am working on my germ phobia, but I don’t think I will ever get over the others. I also have a fear of oceans/lakes, I refuse to swim in either one, I stick to pools that way I know nothing is going to grab me and pull me under.

    P.S. I love the Ravishing In Red cover!

  24. Jo on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:18 am #

    You can rest easy about the book being on shelves in Northwest Arkansas. I picked my copy up several days ago and it is next on my TBR pile.

    I like to write but can never get the nerve up to show anyone what I have written. So I guess my fear is fear of anyone reading what I write.

    I love your books and own most of them.

  25. Aly on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:18 am #

    Congratulations, Madeline on the new book!

    Fears? Moi? Never! LOL! I am sad to say that at 31 years old, I am absolutely, positively petrified of the dark! When it is time to go to bed and I am closing up everything downstairs, I will turn the upstairs hallway light on before I even start shutting off the downstairs lights. If we have a hint of rain, I start lighting candles and have a flashlight nearby just in case we lose power. And yes, we sleep with the TV on in our room as a version of a night light! I don’t know where this came from or why but it is very alive…

  26. Sabrina Jeffries on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:20 am #

    LOL! I feel your pain. I went through it last week (and last year when I had the back-to-backs after fourteen months with no books) so I totally understand. But you’ll do great, I have NO doubt. You and Nicole will both be fine. Maybe if we three chant it all together, we won’t be so neurotic!

    I’m with Julia–the best way to avoid it is not to feed it. I am TRYING to live by that mantra. It helps that I have a book due in a little over a month that I am not nearly close enough to being done with, so I’m spending my time on the non-internet-connected computer.

    nancyg, you’re a doll!!!! We muchly appreciate your touting the books. You ladies are class acts, I tell you.

  27. Sabrina Jeffries on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:20 am #

    Oh, and I already have my copies of Ravishing in Red and To Tame a Dangerous Lord on order. I can’t wait to read them!

  28. Sara E on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:31 am #

    I have the normal fear of spiders and snakes- and bees, especially bees. I overcome my phobia of dentists by not opting for that in my health insurance plan this way I feel a legit excuse not to go to the dentist. I never had a fear of flying or small spaces though.

  29. Marian Pearson Stevens on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:32 am #

    Congrats on the new release, Madeline! It’ll be great, don’t worry! And how exciting — new series, new pub. Fresh beginnings are always fun! If a bit scary.

    The height thing–um, yes. Didn’t realize this until I was on a trip. Went pretty high in an elevator, felt woozy and then felt like the bed was moving or something weird. I clung. Wanted down. And bridges. Yikes. I’m white gripped on the steering wheel. Hate it too! One day I will conquer. For now I ask for lower floors. LOL.

    Your cover is beautiful! Such a rich red!

  30. Gibb on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:38 am #

    I wish I were where you are with a book coming out. Still in the slush piles I’m afraid. But buckets of warm wishes are headed your way. I have every faith it’ll be a winner. You always do a fabulous job.

    Today my oldest (9yrs) is off to her very first far away from home school trip (3hrs). I’ a wreck. I’m trying to act normal but I’m such a worry wort. I watch waaaay too many news programs and most of them talk about missing young girls, ladies – some of them involving school trips (Natalie Holloway and famous in Orlando, Jennifer Kesse (sp?).

    Now I have 3 little girls and until they’re in their little beds at home, I don’t really breathe a sigh of relief. So that’s my irrational fear – worry for my little ones. The school trip was only a go because she has a cell phone with her. I’m afraid it’ll never go away. What about when they start driving with these crazy drivers w/cell phones on the road, go off to college and those scary date rape drugs, move far away…ugh. All I can do is breath deeply and have faith that all will be well.

  31. GSM on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:43 am #

    Congratulations on your release. I’m not too fond of being in the dentist’s chair. I find lots of “Hail Mary’s” get me through it just fine!

  32. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:43 am #

    mizmcagyver, I hope you enjoy it! Where I live the weather is perfect today for staying in and warm with coffee and a book.

    Archer, my DH (don’t tell him that I am outing all his phobias online to the world, hee hee) has the blood thing too. He sort of swoons (don’t tell him I used that girly word) when he sees more than a little blood.

    Amanda, I want your dentist! Not only do I hate going, and talk myself into breaking more appointments than I should, but I hate being lectured to by the technician. So now when I go I look her in the eyes and announce “There will be no scolding.”

    Angela, oooo, you have reminded me of one of mine, which fortunately I don’t have to suffer too often. Blood tests. I also don’t have good veins. Poke, poke, nope, not yet, poke, poke. (get someone in here who knows what they are doing, PLEASE.)

  33. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:48 am #

    LoriH, I sort of thought maybe the other Mt. Oly goddesses went through the same thing. I thought it would get easier with time and experience, but nope.

    Bronte, I have a son who was terrified of flying. So much that while he was growing up, we never took vacations that required plane trips. No Disney, no CA, no lots of places. Finally when he was 18 I wanted to go on a family cruise and I promised to dope him up. It worked, but I have to say there was this tense moment when we were sitting in that plane and I could see him tensing up and I found myself wondering what happens when a passenger freaks out. And whenever I have a bad flight, my problem comes back to me for a spell of time but in the end, I do it your say and the Klingon way.

    Freshechelle, thanks for the encouragement. And it is good to know that Borders stores got their books, LOL.

    Julia, LOL, we are all a little nutty, huh? I will be out of the country soon after the March release, and look forward to the bliss you describe.

  34. Debbie K. on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:48 am #

    Fears? How about needles. They told me many years ago I would get over it since I became diabetic. They lied.

  35. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:52 am #

    nancy g, you are a good friend to writers. We readers need to do all the hand selling we can, because the stores don’t have enough employees for that anymore.

    About the heights thing that so many suffer from— like I said, DH has it pretty bad. Since I don’t, I don’t understand just what it means and what triggers it. So when we travel I am all for the great views and climbing to the top of the domes and he is hugging the walls up there. He totally missed the spectacular Amalfi coast because he could not bring himself to even look out the bus windows down those cliffs. So I know it has this physical effect on him. It is much worse than any of my fears or phobias. Once we got older and he did not feel he had to be with me on everything, we agreed he would just pass on those views and leave them to me to do alone.

  36. Karen R. on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:57 am #

    Ok Madeline,
    First, in our store Ravishing in Red came in on time and you know I’ve got you prominantly displayed ;o) Second, we are using it as our March selection for our romance bk club I sent you an email and fb email on that. hoping we can put together a signing. drop me a line at your convience. Bought my copy already today. Can’t wait to read it. ((Hugs))
    Karen

  37. Angela Fisher on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:58 am #

    I have a fear of heights, snakes, spiders and bees. If I see a snake, spider, or bee (no matter what kind) I freeze and stare, then usually jump,scream and run! I think the worst one yet was right before we moved. I was in our garage getting more packing boxes and I seen something move in the corner of my eye. I turned around to look and there was a snake!! I screamed and threw the boxes at my fiance and ran to stand on a big stack of drywall. I made him “cover me” on my way out the door, after standing on top of the drywall shaking for about 5 minutes. Then I ran to the house and yelled through the screen door to get rid of it or we weren’t moving, because there was NO WAY I was going back in there until I absolutely KNEW it was gone or dead!

  38. Gwynlyn MacKenzie on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:01 am #

    My dh flew Navy fighters. Loves to fly. Not me. I flew for the first time just prior to my 51st birthday. Kissed it up to God, opened up my book, and went elsewhere for a wee while.

    My reasoning for flight aversion? Car crashes, I can crawl. Boat sinks, I can swim. Plane disintegrates in mid air—nope. Can’t fly.

    As for your neurosis? Wish I could help. The book is en route from B&N which means this person has absolute faith the book will be worth the price. ;-)

  39. evlqn on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:04 am #

    Kirsten, my oldest son is afraid of clowns and has been since around the age of six also. His way of dealing is to draw clowns. And he takes pictures of spiders, thought behind that is de-sensitizing.

    As I think I have said here before, anything with more than four legs is NOT my friend! Don’t mind snakes but I hate worms.
    Heights and I, again, not friends, not even nodding acquaintances. I am vertically challenged anyway, so why would I want to go higher than I feel comfortable falling?? Hate glass elevators too,I don’t want to SEE myself plunging to my destruction!

    I guess I am a walking talking phobia.

    Madeline, you will be fine, I’ll let you know where I see your baby.

  40. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:08 am #

    I have always been afraid of needles and getting shots. I don’t like things going into my skin, I don’t even wear ear rings because I cant stand putting them in.

    I hate flying. I am a bit of a control freak when it comes to riding with other people, so I can’t control the pilot. I have to be connected to the ground in some way.

    I also have a fear of my children getting lost in public places or taken from me. I dont let them go out with me a whole lot if I can help it.

    I hate a quiet house and being by myself, before i had children or was married, if my parents were out of town, I would go to the mall or any store just so I could be around other people. I always have the tv on at all times. I hate dead silence.

  41. CrystalGB on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:09 am #

    I am afraid of heights, snakes, flying insects and deep water.

  42. SheridanLA on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:11 am #

    Congratulations on your baby going out into the world! I am sure it will do fabulously after all the love and attention you have shown it. :)

    I am in the spider camp with phobias and that is about it..I used to be terrified of needles (shots) but made myself get over that one.. I was also scared as all get out of floating in open water, then decided to learn to dive. Now I am (mostly) ok with it… now if I fell off some ship in the middle of the ocean and it left me there, different story – I don’t have a boat or the shore close enough to swim to, ya know?

  43. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:14 am #

    Now I will tell you about my 4 year old. He has a phobia of buttons. He will not wear any shirt with buttons on it. He makes himself physically sick if I try to put a shirt on him that has buttons. To try to overcome this, I do art projects with him that include buttons. I also show him pictures of people who wear buttons, and I even took him to a fabric store where i showed him that buttons come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. He is getting better about it, he doesnt make himself throw-up anymore, but i have to talk to him and get his mind off of it when I put them on him.

  44. Karyn Gerrard on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:20 am #

    I have a fear about traveling over long bridges over bodies of water. I always think the bridge will collapse and I will fall to a watery grave. Also Escalators. That noise they make *grind grind* I always think I will fall through into the mechanics of the thing and be ground into hamburger.

  45. Janae on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:22 am #

    I’m claustrophobic, and about the only thing I do to get over it, is ride in an elevator occasionally. Back in college there was a time when it was the thing to go to this one cave, where you had to crawl on your stomach ‘thru the birth canal’ to get to the cave. All my friends would come back saying it wasn’t that bad, but they were all covered from head to foot in mud from going ‘thru the birth canal.’ Looking at them, I knew I couldn’t have done it.

    I’m afraid of heights, too. When we were in DC in 2008, there was one metro station that was just too much. We didn’t realize how steep the escalator was down to the trains. Totally freaked me out. It had the steepest incline of any metro station we went into DC that day. Since it was the closest one to our hotel, we had to come back to it. I made sure that we went on the elevator because there’s no way I could have made it the escalator. The elevator was definitely the lesser of two evils in this instance. It took us about 20 minutes to get on the elevator and leave the station. The whole time my dh is telling me that the escalator isn’t that bad, that I can do it.

  46. Karen Rose on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:29 am #

    Madeline, I know how you feel. On the first day the lists come out after a book release, the family gives me a wide berth. Mr. R makes sure the chocolate stockpile is secure.

    Today is list day in the UK and I have new releases there. I feel your pain!

    I also had to laugh over your fear of flying. I’m the same way. I’ve gotten over it mostly, that bone-deep certainty that doom is just over the horizon, but I’m still nervous at takeoff and landing. I’ll read a romance or do sudoku. Rarely can I sleep unless I’m sick.

    Totally terrified of snakes.

    Ravishing in Red will be marvelous. I’m going out today to get my copy.

    And to check out cell phones. I need a new one as old one died and I’m terrified I’ll pick one, get lassoed into a millennium length contract and then a new better phone will come out.

    Maybe we’re just control freaks?

    Nah.

  47. chelleyreads on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:29 am #

    i think i’m slightly afraid of heights because i get vertigo every time i’m in high places but it usually goes away after a while. and another is (know this sounds gross) but i’m aftraid to throw up–i haven’t thrown up since i was seven. i used to NOT fear spiders and collect spiders around the garden and keep them as pets when i was younger (yup, craziness!!) but when i got older i became really scared of them. congrats on the release, madeline. will definitely be looking for it in stores (if i don’t win it here first!) ;D

  48. Karyn Gerrard on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:38 am #

    I get uptight traveling over long bridges over bodies of water, I always think it is going to collapse I and I will fall to a watery grave. Also, escalators. The ‘grind’grind’ sound…I always fear I will fall down into the mechanics of the thing (insert Urban legend here) and be ground into hamburger.

  49. Karyn Gerrard on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:39 am #

    Sorry I double posted, My computer froze as I was posting and I didn’t think it took.

  50. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:40 am #

    Here is a thought…every month when I pay bills or balance my checkbook, I get a really bad stomach ache. This happens every month. So,does this mean that I have a phobia of paying bills…lol? When does it become a phobia? Imean, we all worry about about things, but when does it cross that line?……Just something to think about.

  51. Maureen on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:41 am #

    Congratulations on your new release Madeline! I can’t wait to read it. When my children started driving I would worry all the time which I think is a logical worry so not a phobia.

  52. kj coker on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:45 am #

    I don’t have a personal fear of flying, I leave that one for my sister, whose fear is almost comical in its intensity. She’s sort of like the kid who doesn’t want a shot and wants you to “let him cry a little bit first”. I used to have a bit of fun taunting her when she would want to know what part of the plane was “the safest” when picking her seat…of course, being the baby sister, I liked to point out to her that at 30,000 ft it really didn’t matter. Needless to say, she never found it as funny as I did.

    As for my own fears and anxieties…

    I’m a *huge* arachnophobe. I always keep the Hot Shot that “shoots up to 12 ft” in my arsenal and my DH likes to laugh at my way of using it.
    He insists that it is, in fact, poison so there is no need for the drowning that I inflict. Sadly, this doesn’t keep me from doing it, because in my fear also lies the logic of the spider’s reaction to being sprayed. HE RUNS! THEN, if he gets out of sight, how do I know it actually killed him? If not, then I not only have a spider in the house, but now he’s mad at me.

    Have already read the book, got in in the mail last week. Loved it! I love your characters. They never disappoint. Another winner!

  53. Sarah Tormey on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:47 am #

    Congrats on your new release! Though I must admit, I was sad to see you leave RH. When I worked there, I use to love selling you books. But sometimes a new publisher (and a stunning new cover design) can do wonders for a bestselling author’s career:)

  54. karenmc on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:48 am #

    Congratulations on the release. I’m buying the ebook later today.

    As for fears, snakes. Definitely snakes. Gets my adrenalin pumping. Clowns make me uneasy, but snakes scare me so much I want to stomp on them, then run like hell.

  55. Gale Laure on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:53 am #

    First, Madeline, you know I want the book.

    Next- Your post was talking right to me. I am getting more and more nervous about the release of my next novel, “The Bunkhouse”. Will it be good? Will people like it? Will it do as well as the first one?

    It is beginning to keep me up some nights, and I still have a lot to do to finish it. I almost think I am procrastinating on purpose so that I want have to see the results.

    Thanks for the post. Good job – as always.

    GL

  56. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:55 am #

    PJ, for me it isn’t the heights, but I am afraid of those railings. Like I am supposed to trust they have been maintained right and lean against them and risk, well, you know? Nuh, uh.

    Kirsten, I have heard of the fear of clowns. It is pretty common. I wonder why. Maybe it is those big mouths they paint. And there is something a little demonic about clown faces if you look at them objectively, don’t you think.

    Suzy Q– I think anyone would panic if they found themselves sitting up in the sky that high! Did you make them get you down, or did you go through with the whole thing?

    Michelle B, I am so glad that you enjoyed it and have been reccing it to your friends! Thank you! As for the birds, I once saw the movie about the birds and it did it for me for a few years.

  57. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:56 am #

    Laurie G, oh, yes sharks! Since I do not get to the shore often, this is a fear that I don’t face much, but the very thought of them gives me the willies. It doesn’t help that I also have a fear of drowning too.

  58. evlqn on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:57 am #

    I am phobic about having my hands trapped, you can hold my hand, arm, elbow; but if you grab my wrist I go postal. I would not make a good prisoner. A psychic once said it stemmed from a past life where I was shackled for some reason, no clue what I did to earn it. Claustrophobic too, cannot even do MRI’s without special meds and at least two failed attempts.
    My youngest son cannot do shots unless someone holds his hand and talks him through it, he will be 35 in March.

  59. Betty Cryder on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:57 am #

    needles!!!! at 56, I still cry just thinking about getting stuck at Dr’s. Main reason I never became a drug addict.lol

  60. ladydawgfan on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:57 am #

    I am slightly claustrophobic, but only when my leg and arms are constricted. If I have full movement, I am okay.

    OTOH, I HATE the dentist! When I was 12, the dentist / butcher / Sweeney Todd-acolyte that I went to put the novocaine in the wrong tooth when he was pulling a baby tooth of mine. I tried to tell him that my mouth was NOT numb, but he wouldn’t listen to me, told me to shut up and stop being a baby, and proceeded to pull my tooth without benefit of any anestesia at all!! I haven’t been able to go to the dentist except for emergency procedures ever since – it is a fear that I cannot seem to conquer.

    Madeline, you don’t have anything to worry about RE your book. I have had it on my TBB list since it appeared on the list to the left, so off to the bookstore will I be, as soon as I am sprung from work!! Woo HOO for release day!!! I LUVS me some new books to read!!! :D

  61. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:04 am #

    Karen R, thank you! Guys, Karen is with my local Borders and is a big supporter of romance.

    Angela, I’m with you on the snakes. They just look unnatural to me. I imagine them silently slithering and–well, never mind on that!

    Gwynlyn, you pretty much nailed why I feared flying. No way out. I used to memorize stats that said the odds were x that it would not happen, et etc. In the end, you just give it up to God, as you say.

    Lori A, I’m a nut when others drive too! If DH ever divorces me, this will be at the top of the list of reasons, I think.

  62. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:07 am #

    I hate going for a job interview..I always get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about getting a new job.

    And I always hated the night before the new school year started when I was a kid. Couldn’t get to sleep on that last night of summer vacation. I was so scared that I wouldn’t make any friends or my teachers would be mean to me..lol!

  63. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:08 am #

    Madeline, that is funny! My husband always tells me to take some tylenol pm when we go on trips, because I’m such a back seat driver…lol!

  64. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:13 am #

    crystal B, you and I match! With water there is a fine line for me between awe and terror.

    Lori A, aren’t fears interesting? One wonders how he developed that? I have a phobia about holes, of all things. Lots of them together, esp in organic things like sea creatures.

    Karyn, I do sort of go into high energy “keeping the plane in the sky” mode when I cross long bridges, now that you mention it. I am imagining the same thing you do.

    Janae, I think that you handle both the closed places and height fears admirably. I’m not sure I would get into an elevator if I were claustrophobic. You are quite brave.

  65. evlqn on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:14 am #

    Control freak driver here! I am a ROTTEN passenger! I will do the driving thank you very much!

  66. Colleen Thompson on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:22 am #

    Madeline,
    I’m afraid I have the same problem whenever I have a new release (getting ready for one in less than a month.) I can’t set foot in a bookstore for fear I WON’T see the book, which will cause me to instantly extrapolate and decide there are no books anywhere on the planet and I’m doomed, DOOMED, I tell you… Ugh. Gets tiresome for the family and critique partners, but I, too, get over it with time. Best of luck with your new release. It’s a gorgeous cover, and I know your readers will be salivating for a new story from you!

    Other phobia: clowns. I could never love a person who collected clown figurines and pictures. Too scary for words!

  67. Pesky on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:26 am #

    KJ: With you there with the spiders! Man In A Can is a specialty of this house as well. I read somewhere that guys figured that most insecticides could be made up of 98% water since most women who use it tend to drown the insect rather than just spray it. *shrug* Can’t disagree, more is better in my opinion and if the little crawly things want to live in peace don’t come in my house.

  68. Pesky on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:29 am #

    Clowns: Anyone see the USPS commercial? Oh Yeah…that’s gotta go. I’m so glad I’m not the only unreasonably neurotic mess around. SISTAS!

  69. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:30 am #

    Madeline, I read an article about phobias and fears a while back, to try to understand what my son was going through. (I don’t think I will ever really understand) It said that alot of them stem from childhood experiences, so when I was looking at all of my son’s photos from the past few years, I did notice that he wore a lot of buttoned-up shirts..lol!..I felt really bad after seeing him in so many of them, that I almost feel like its my fault that he developed his phobia. I was just a mom wanting her toddler to look like a little man, but in a way it has backfired on me. I have decided not to make our youngest son wear them, so hopefully he won’t developed any strange fears, (my fingers are crossed).

  70. evlqn on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:31 am #

    My sister, whom I otherwise love, is a spider-saver. Yes she is, she gathers them up and takes them to safety outside. The exceptions are black widows and brown recluse, all others are on her catch and release list. For myself,if they are in my house they are too dumb to live and I help them out.

  71. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:36 am #

    I wish I could go back in time and document my ancestors fears and phobias and compare them with the fears of my present family..Maybe they are all linked..and maybe it is hereditary..the genes that make us fear things.

  72. Suzanne Enoch on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:56 am #

    You are not neurotic, Madeline. Your worries on book release day are very VERY normal. I’m certain everyone feels the same. Everyone. *g*

  73. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:15 pm #

    Lisa H, so glad you liked Easterbrook. I think he was hot too :) And I have had big stuff done at the dentist’s. No fun. It is a wonder I have gone back. (which I haven’t for too long, now that I think about it.)

    Elsie, I hope you enjoy the book! And thanks for your long support of romance and your reader’s group’s thoughtfulness of us writers.

    Claudia, for me it depends on the bugs. Little ones, I’m okay. Even spiders. Now, centipedes–major ick.

    Trish D– yeah, when those calls come at the wrong hours, I hold my breath. It is a little depressing to explain this, but my bro is a doctor and he told me he always calls with bad news at those hours because that reaction we all have lessens the shock in the long run. And it does. But still, it means any phone call late at night gets me half way to shock no matter what.

    crp, I’m the other way, okay with drs offices, but not so much with hospitals.

    Pesky, you will jump chasms??? Not me. I’d sit down and wait for someone to build that bridge, or go back the way I came. You seem to conquer your fears really well if you have to.

  74. Rachel Gibson on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:17 pm #

    I have a deadly fear of grasshoppers. Would rather face spiders and snakes any day. A few years ago we had an outbreak of Mormon Crickets. Have you all seen Mormon Crickets. Oh. My. God.

  75. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:23 pm #

    I have a phobia of getting lost while driving..I only have certain roads that I drive on all the time..that’s why I love my GPS! One time, I got lost and I pulled over and started to cry…I hate that feeling of helplessness.

  76. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:25 pm #

    evlqn, you are sweet to offer to let me know when you see it.

    Sheridan, Ilike to keep the shore in sight when I am on a boat too. I’m more okay losing sight if I am on a really big ship.

    Karen R, yes, we are control freaks. You know we are :)

    chellyreads, it is intereting how our fears change over time. I did not start out afraid of flying. It developed. I think I just thought about it too much and realized the possibilities and was a goner for many years after that.

    Maureen, I agree that worrying and having fears for our kids is perfectly normal. I have a sister who took it a big far, like worrying that someone would steal her son who by then was 6 feet tall and a black belt in karate, but otherwise. . . .:)

  77. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:30 pm #

    Rachel, no I haven’t seen Mormon crickets. Are they like great big fat grasshoppers?

    KJ, I totally agree that you have to drown them too! I feel bad for those of you who are really afraid of spiders because I’m not sure I have ever lived anywhere where there weren’t quite a few of them. Good thing they made that spray.

    Pesky, are you serious that they know we will drown them and diluted the poison as a result? Hmmm. I don’t know if that bugs me (pardon the pun) because it seems manipulative or because I don’t want a bunch of marketing guys to have figured us out so well.

    Suzie, yeah, I figured I was not alone in having NRNS. It feels better somehow to know that too.

  78. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:36 pm #

    evlqn, anyone with any sense or care for their sanity will let me drive. Really. My excuse is a car accident when I was a brand new driver. It branded a fear of accidenents in me. The latest iteration of this in my psyche is that I have developed a fear of trucks on the highway with me. I hang back or zoom past. I have had too many people I know or friends of friends get in accidents with trucks, and I have become truly neurotic about them (since I don’t have nearly enough neuroses already, you see.)

    Colleen, we can form a NRNS support group. I think most authors would be members right off the bat.

    betty, I was terrified of needles up until I had to give my mother shots. And there are ways to give them so they hardly hurt at all. I don’t know why more nurses and doctors don’t know those tricks.

  79. jackie on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:37 pm #

    I always enjoy your books and can’t wait to read Ravishing in Red. I have seen pre-release information so when I was in the bookstore last week I looked for it but needless to say, it was not in the store!

    Regarding strange fears – I am terrified of anything with feathers. There was a chicken processing plant our the outskirts of the town I use to live in. There were frequently trucks delivering live chickens. If one of those trucks full of chickens was in front of me, I did one of two things: pass it or stop for a cup of coffee. I even worry about pigeons and sandpipers and if a flock of seagulls looks as if it is flying in my direction I will move – fast – very fast! My cat brought a live bird into my house one evening and I called my brother to come remove it; I went in my bedroom and locked the door until the bird had been removed from the house. What kind of bird you ask, I think it was a sparrow.

  80. Jikie on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:44 pm #

    I’m terrified of people. Usually strangers but otherwise authority figures.
    But otherwise I’m terrified of dentists. I had a dentist who once yanked out a tooth without informing me or my mother….

    I picked up the new book right after class today. I’m hoping to finish some math work before reading, but I don’t think that’s going to happen. :]

  81. Pesky on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:51 pm #

    Madeline:

    Lest you think I’m supa woman:

    I like to hike, the area up here has some of the sheerest rock faces in the US part of the hike is the extremes. It’s made up of granite, there are going to be chasms, some you can walk over, some you have to leap… maybe a foot or two across, anything wider there’d better be a bridge or I’m turning back.

  82. Archer on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:57 pm #

    Madeline,

    His secret is safe with me :)

    Plus I may be afraid of drs and hospitals and blood, but I love heights… I’ve done the dare devil dive at 6 flags 2x and want to sky dive some day.

  83. evlqn on 26 Jan 2010 at 12:59 pm #

    Madeline, I hate driving near trucks, several years ago my DH and I were driving PCH from Los Angeles to Portland, Oregon and we were behind a logging truck who’s load had come loose. So every time he made a right curve one log would swing out from the rest and then swing back into place. We had to follow him for at least 9000 miles before we could safely go around him. After that I was sooooooooooo traumatized ALL trucks scare me.

  84. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 1:03 pm #

    Amy, ooo, buried alive. yep, that is one of mine too. I have that fear bad. I hate tv shows that use that as a plot device. I turn them off.

    Aly, I used to be more afraid of very dark places than the dark itself.

    Jo, thanks for the sighting news in Arkansas!

  85. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 1:07 pm #

    My husband has to call to order pizza, because I hate making phone calls. Whoever invented texting…thank you!! I am more of a writer than a talker, and I always tell people that if they really want to get to know me to send me a letter or email me. Sometimes I just can’t get the words out..not very good at verbally expressing myself.

  86. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 1:15 pm #

    Madeline, my mom said that she bought your book, Ravishing in Red ,today. I can’t wait to steal it from her and read it..lol! She lives in Panama City, Florida.

  87. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 1:15 pm #

    Sara E, for me it is not bees (for some reason I see them as “good”) but wasps (which I see as “bad”) Almost like it is a cartoon, and the bees hum happily and pollinate and are friends, and the wasps are sharpening their stingers to come get me.

    Marain, thank you for the compliment on the cover. Yes, new beginnings are exciting :)

    Gibb, moms are always worried and have to just hope all goes well. I think we all become a bit of control freaks once we become moms and realize how we can’t control the really important things as much as we want. It never ends either. I’ll be worrying about my boys when they are forty.

    GSM, I think we should all just go to that dentist that gives gas freely. Works for me!

    Angela, I make DH take care of all the bug, bee, wasp, creepy crawly things. I see that as guys’ work.

  88. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 1:18 pm #

    Lori, say hello to your mom for me!

    Sarah T, How nice of you to say that. Careers go in stages, tho, and I’m excited over this new one.

    Karenmc, what is it with snakes? I have this fear too, but it isn’t as though they have teeth or move fast.

    Gale, We do drive ourselves crazy, don’t we? You probably are procastinating a bit :) Been there, done that, same reason.

  89. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 1:21 pm #

    Madeline, thanks! I will..my mom and I are both huge fans. That will make her day for sure!

  90. Chelsea B. on 26 Jan 2010 at 1:29 pm #

    Oh man. I have the BIGGEST fear of spiders! So big, I cant even kill them. I have to get someone else to do it for me!

  91. Linda in PA on 26 Jan 2010 at 1:32 pm #

    I can get really shaky standing at the edge of high places when I’m looking down. I don’t think about it ahead of time, but it happens anyway. My very own body is a traitor. This is the very same body that doesn’t accept boat rides without a complimentary, full dose of nausea. And I really like to travel and sightsee. How could a gypsy soul be attached to a land lubber body is what I want to know. Think my body was switched at birth?

    Ravishing in Red has such a gorgeous, luscious cover. I have no doubt the Force is with any book that has that beautiful cover with your name on it!

  92. kj coker on 26 Jan 2010 at 2:15 pm #

    LOL Pesky. ‘Man in a Can’ sooo appropriate. Can’t wait to tel the hub he can be replaced in the spider area. ;)

    Can’t find it again now, but someone else said the fear of being tied down or restrained…don’t know if it would be a phobia or not, but it freaks me out to be held down too. Even just playing wrestling with my kids can come to an abrupt halt if Mom feels trapped or totally immobile.

  93. SuzyQ on 26 Jan 2010 at 2:18 pm #

    Here’s a new phobia – going to the bookstore and not being able to find a book. That’s what happened to me at my lovely local Borders who NEVER puts out the books on release day. I had 3 people looking for your book when finally I had to get back to work. I was about to get in my car when the girl came running out in the parking lot to tell me they found them. So yes, I did get your book and I told them to make it up to me for waiting around so long, they should display them in front.

  94. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 2:21 pm #

    Just a reminder that goddess Nicole will be blogging tomorrow. We share a release date and i won the toss up for today’s blog, but be sure to check out her web site ( <—-) for info on the book and lots of other good stuff.

  95. Chloe Harris (Noelle) on 26 Jan 2010 at 2:33 pm #

    Hey Madeline. I can’t wait to start my copy of Ravishing in Red.

    I can totally relate to your post today. It took two stiff glasses of sangria to clam me down last night. lol

  96. cmoore395 on 26 Jan 2010 at 2:37 pm #

    Mine is enclosed spaces, heights and the dark!

  97. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 2:41 pm #

    Sabrina, I used to have a non-internet computer and have decided to go back there. It really helped! This is too available when everything is right there a click away.

    Hey, Chloe! Congratulations on YOUR release day. This is Chloe’s first book ever in print, guys. Click on her name on her post to learn about it, but, warning, she writes HOT. (hee hee. click click click click click. . .)

    cmoore395, I wonder if the enclosed spaces and the dark often go together. I mean, the dark is sort of enclosing, in a manner of speaking.

  98. Amanda on 26 Jan 2010 at 2:43 pm #

    Hmm I get panic attacks sometimes when I feel like im losing control but I have managed that but acknowldeging what I can and cannot do

  99. Chloe Harris (Noelle) on 26 Jan 2010 at 2:45 pm #

    LOL Thanks Madeline!!!

  100. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 2:46 pm #

    Suzy Q, I owe you! Thank you so much for making them find those books. See, and people say I am neurotic. But sometimes there is a reason!

    Chelsea, that is why men were created. I wonder if any of them secretly are afraid of spiders too, but can’t admit it because it would look wimpy.

    Linda in PA, it is really though when our fears don’t match our interests. Hmm, that sounds odd. But you know what I mean, hopefully.

    kj, tied down would freak me out. Now, if it wasn’t serious, I’d be okay. But tied down/restrained as in helpless would make me panic

  101. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 2:49 pm #

    Pesky, LOL, I had this vision of you jumping and floating in slow motion over a chasm that was pretty big. Like the actors in those stylized Chinese movies. Tho if it was only 2 feet but it was deep, as in one slip and you are a goner, I’d have a hard time anyway.

  102. Kayte Vayne on 26 Jan 2010 at 2:58 pm #

    My biggest fear is SHARKS!! But for some reason I can’t figure-out, I DVR Sharkweek every year and then I can’t even take a bath for weeks!! I think I torture myself with shark documentaries so that I’ll be ready to fight them off with my bare hands, on that inevitable day in the future when I get dropped in shark-infested waters. Talk about neurotic, huh?? I also hate clowns and things that creepy-crawl, like all the new scary things in horrow movies (The Grudge or Silent Hill anyone??).

    Madeline I’m sure your book will be awesome!! I would have bought the book simply because its cover is so beautiful and interesting!!

  103. Angelique on 26 Jan 2010 at 3:09 pm #

    I’m afraid of heights also! I’m getting better though (honest!). It used to be that I couldn’t even look out windows of tall buildings or out the car window as we drove over bridges. Everything started to get slightly better when I went on a 10 day tour of Greece with my aunt in 2006. We spent a day touring some amazing Monasteries nestled in the cliffs of Meteora (seriously gorgeous – you should google it). I was 99% sure that I would never be back to Greece and I didn’t want to miss out on the experience, so I climbed up tiny staircases that wove their way up the cliff to get to a couple monasteries and I walked across one bridge that hung over a ravine with my eyes shut and my hand clenching on the rope railings. After that (terrifying) experience, I can now tolerate heights as long as I don’t look directly down (then my stomach still flip-flops).

  104. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 3:10 pm #

    I hate gas stoves, or anything to do with gas!..I am so not kidding..I’m afraid of blowing up the house.

  105. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 3:13 pm #

    I also hate to touch raw meats, afraid I will get sick from it. I always wear gloves when I have to handle it. Hate to think of all those little tiny germs crawling all over it, it makes me cringe.

  106. chey on 26 Jan 2010 at 3:29 pm #

    I’m afraid of heights too. The worst for me is walking on a catwalk or stairs that I can see through to the next level down.

  107. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 3:29 pm #

    jackie, I have had cats bring in birds, not always dead. For a while birds found a way into our basement. The cat would catch it and trot upstairs to play with it. I’d come down to the living room and this bird would fly around. What a problem. But it happened often enough that I found a way to get them out.

    jikie, I think you can be excused a fear of dentists if one did that! Although being forewarned doesn’t help much. I am terrified I’ll be told that due to the work he has to do he must numb my whole mouth. No fun, even if the dentist is pretty good at giving those novacain shots.

    Angelique, I think it is cool that you braved it out. It would have been a shame to miss those eperiences. I got over my fear of flying sort of the same way. Just braved it out, because I wanted to go where the planes could take me.

  108. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 3:37 pm #

    Betty C, the trick with needles is this– you tell them to thump your skin where they are going to poke. If they do, the impact of the thump numbs you for a bit, and you don’t notice the needle. So remember to tell them that if you need to get one.

    ladydawgfan, well, you sure had an idiot dentist. No wonder you never got over it.

    kayte, I can’t watch horror movies at all. Any one will have at least one, maybe two, of the things I can’t handle. I do not find it amusing to be scared out of my wits, either, so I just avoid them totally.

  109. Judy F on 26 Jan 2010 at 3:49 pm #

    COngrats on the new release. I miss working at the bookstore. I do take care of my peeps when I am out at my local store. Will move books to face outs or move them to the end cap. I am sure the love when I do that.

    I fear bees, they just terrify me no end. shudder

    I have a fear of heights with rules. LOL I can be on the top of a huge building if its fenced off but otherwise forget it.

    I have a real hard time talking to people I don’t know. It took be forever to go to booksignings and actual talk to authors. I am a lot better at that now a days.

  110. amy s-p on 26 Jan 2010 at 4:32 pm #

    Madeline, congrats on the new book! I am shocked that I haven’t gone out to buy it yet, I’ll probably stop at the store on my way to work tomorrow.

    One of my biggest fears was needles. Vaccines, IVs, and especially blood tests, made me nauseous. I was actually able to get over it this year – mildly…I don’t fear the flu vaccine anymore. I’d never had one and our workplace offered it for free, so I made myself go and nearly had a panic attack…and I never felt a thing. However, I’m sure next time I need blood work done I will be freaking out again. The reprieve was great while it lasted.

    Good luck!

  111. stacey smith on 26 Jan 2010 at 4:44 pm #

    I have meny Fears=Heights,Spiders,Bugs,Dentist ,Fire,and some Times People.
    Yes Spider’s and Dentist get me avery time.
    Yes I got over a Fear of Trying out Foods that I have never eaten.
    Congrats on your book coming out.
    sasluvbooks(at)yahoo(dot)com

  112. Jane on 26 Jan 2010 at 4:51 pm #

    Happy Release Day, Madeline. I’m afraid of heights, but it’s gotten better. I can now stand on a balcony without freaking out, but I can’t look down for more than a second. I do hope to conquer this fear eventually and maybe someday I would be able to bungee jump.

  113. cail on 26 Jan 2010 at 4:59 pm #

    Ah, phobias. I’m not a fan of tight spaces. I lived in NYC for most of the last decade, and managed to go a few years living in Queens and working in Manhattan with out getting on a Subway. Underground trains are really the worst, especially the ones that go under water. I also don’t like slow elevators. I’ve gotten better with both, and can now ride either with my crutches (a good Romance Novel, my iPod, gum and H2O) on hand. Trust me, you do not want to be nearby if we get stuck in one spot for longer than one minute. Once they even had the audacity to turn off the lights and engine while I was on the train. NOT FUN.

    Madeline, I’ve been devouring your backlist, now that I’ve finally acquired most of it. I read the Seducer series and was thrilled (and added The Romantic into my all time favorites section.) I am definitely anticipating your next series with bated breath, and will be taking my borders coupon with me tomorrow to buy both of this week’s goddess releases. I can’t wait!

  114. Sabrina Jeffries on 26 Jan 2010 at 5:20 pm #

    Madeline, it makes a huge difference having a non-internet computer to write on. Otherwise, I’d never get offline!

  115. Meg on 26 Jan 2010 at 5:28 pm #

    I have an INSANE fear of spiders!! It doesn’t matter how small. For me, the only good spider is a dead spider. I also have a crazy fear of heights. I don’t even have to actually be that high. Step stools over one step high are a no-no. Even the final scenes of Sherlock Holmes freaked me out. I used to be afraid of flying but I have pretty much gotten over that. Turbulence still freaks me out, though. I’ll probably never get used to that part.

    I am very excited about your new books!! Can’t wait!!

  116. Jody F. on 26 Jan 2010 at 5:35 pm #

    I get stressed out whenever I’m running late. It physically makes me queasy to be late. Unfortunately I don’t think it’s something I’ll ever get over–too many OCD-like qualities I have.

  117. Tina on 26 Jan 2010 at 5:45 pm #

    Happy New Release Day.

    I dislike dentists, snakes and spiders.
    I do not fear heights, just falling and getting hurt.
    Done that too many times off a horse.
    Still love horses and wish I had one again.

  118. TrishD on 26 Jan 2010 at 5:49 pm #

    ***Ravishing in Red Sighting***

    Madeline, I went to the local Walmart to pick up the book and had a hard time finding it… there were only 2 left! Needless to say I bought my copy and it’s now next on my tbr pile.

    :)

  119. Quilt Lady on 26 Jan 2010 at 6:06 pm #

    I am afraid of heights I wasn’t when I was young but am now! I don’t why this has happened. It happened in my early twenties! Snakes I have always been afraid of from the time I was a child! We found one in the back yard last year and my son went over and picked it up and I about died!

    Your book sounds fabulous and I would love to read it!

  120. Sherri W. on 26 Jan 2010 at 6:27 pm #

    I am afraid of public speaking. My mouth gets dry, my voice quivers, and everything I planned to say flies right out of my head. I am a mess. I have made it a point to avoid public speaking whenever possible. It is just too embarrassing.

  121. Ann on 26 Jan 2010 at 7:14 pm #

    Maybe I’m lucky or perhaps feel sorry for me that I haven’t done enough stuff in my life to discover a phobia. I have a number of things that would be dislike or EWWWW such as snakes, rodents, spiders but they aren’t really phobia.

  122. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 7:18 pm #

    Judy F, be sure you keep talking to authors at signings! We feel bad if no one does.

    amy s-p, maybe you won’t freak out again next time. Could be gone for good, right?

    stacey, we seem to have a consensus on this blog about spiders and dentists. Poor dentists. I wonder if they know the terror they strike in so many hearts.

    jare, you are like me. I dream of ding lots of things that my fears won’t permit. Bungee jumping would be cool, but I know I’ll never do it, LOL.

    Meg, my flying fear recovery took a big step backwards when I was in a storm while in a tiny turbo plane. A big storm. A teeny plane. The wind laughed at us.

  123. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 7:20 pm #

    Jody F, being behind is a stress I can’t take either, esp in airports.

    Tina, thank you for your good wishes!

    TrishD, only 2 left is a good sign! Thanks for the report

    Quiltlady, I think phobias are like allergies. We pick up more as time goes by. I certainly have.

    Sherri W, lots of people are afraid of public speaking. Some get over it with practice, but some don’t. I feel bad at school when kids who are afraid are forced to do it.

  124. Barbara Elness on 26 Jan 2010 at 7:41 pm #

    I don’t care for heights much, the higher I get, the more unsteady I become. And in social situations, I have a mild case of social anxiety. It’s usually not as bad as I fear, but I’m always ready to just skip the party rather than deal with the anxiety. I’m always glad when I don’t give in to it though, and end up having a good time.
    Congrats on Ravishing in Red’s release today. I’m looking forward to reading it.

  125. Louisa Cornell on 26 Jan 2010 at 7:43 pm #

    Madeline ! Ravishing in Red was actually on the shelves in the Wal-Mart where I work last week. I snatched the first copy out of the poor book vendor’s hand and said “I’ll take that!” I should have snapped a photo for you – it was definitely face-out and in not one but TWO slots! Can’t snap a photo now as every last copy is GONE !! Sold out !! And before my usual cadre of historical romance readers all got their copies. Book vendor is supposed to come tomorrow so I know it will be back on the shelves. The cover is gorgeous! It is sitting on my desk tempting me insanely! I am using it to force myself to finish the revisions my agent asked for, but I MAY break down and read it before I finish them. I can’t wait !!

    I sang in public from the age of six. I was always nervous, but never frighteningly so UNTIL my debut performance as a professional opera singer. OMG! I was sweating like a virgin at a prison rodeo. (I know, I’m a BAD girl!) But, I got over it and the next time was a bit better and the next time even better.

    One thing I never got over was my fear of swimming. I like the water fine, but there is something about the act of swimming that terrifies me. Even after lessons!

  126. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 7:51 pm #

    Do any of you ever get freaked out after you hear about those fast-food horror stories? For example, the “finger in the chilli” incident. I get so paranoid after I hear those that I will avoid those places for like 2 months before i eat at them again.

  127. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 7:58 pm #

    Lol!…which one of you ate fast-food today?…Taste anything weird?…lol!..Just kidding!

  128. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:07 pm #

    Barbara, most people who meet me would never guess I have a bit of social anxiety in groups of new people too. (stop laughing, Sabrina!). It is good to swallow it, though, cause like you said, we’d miss out on a lot of fun if we didn’t.

    Louisa! Thank you for the info. How exciting to hear it already sold out. I sent my editor your post. Editors get a little antsy with new releases too. Very cool about the opera career. You sang in Europe, didn’t you?

    Lori, you are bad! Now I’ll be thinking about what is in that food. . . . naughty Lori.

  129. Amy on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:15 pm #

    I once heard a story about a lady that opened a bag of potatos and there was a snake at the bottom of the bag. Who knows if the story was true, but ever since reading that story, I always open the bag and tentativly look in before sticking my hand in the bag. My chest is getting tight just thinking of it. I know I would have a heart attack, that’s if the snake didn’t get me first!

    Lori- I don’t eat meat from fast food places, and you just reminded me why!

  130. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:16 pm #

    Sorry guys…lol!…I had to do it.

  131. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:28 pm #

    cail, I am so glad to hear that you enjoyed The Seducer series, and especially The Romantic. That book was a challenge for me because the hero was a quiet man, but I loved writing about that eternal love, and the way he found his own ways to protect the heroine because of it. I think Julian is one of my most unique heroes. I hope you enjoy this series as much!

  132. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:29 pm #

    Amy, I can’t imagine how a snake got into a bag of chips! Have you ever seen the machinery used to make and bag chips? I wonder if it made a hole in the bottom somehow. (I’ll be checking the bottoms of my chips bags for a few years now, just wait.)

  133. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:30 pm #

    Ann, be glad you don’t have any. Really. They are sort of a nuisance, and get in the way when you least need it.

  134. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:39 pm #

    I had to laugh the other day when I saw someone trying one makeup at the store from one of those sampler compacts..YUCK!! I will never do that, I mean you don’t know who was touching it last and what kind of germs might be on it.

  135. Natural Disaster Phobic on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:48 pm #

    Well… as you can tell by my name – I have a fear of a Natural Disaster – just one! Which I know sounds weird – but, as I live in Florida – a State filled with “Natural Disasters” of one kind or another throughout the entire year – with the exception of “Earthquakes” – I have a very HIGH tolerance to “Natural Disasters!”

    However, there is is one that I’m new to since I started living in Central Florida – SINK HOLES! There every-frickin-where in Central Florida! I’ve had them open up right in front of my house on the road I have to use to go in and out of my house!

    The swallow entire HOUSES, BUILDINGS, CARS, ROADS, ACRES, etc…. And mostly WHILE YOUR SLEEPING! It’s really the only Phobia I have and I learned it very late in life! I don’t think I’m ever going to get over this phobia! I don’t think I want to….. The moment I hear a strange creak in my house – I’m running out the door!

    I think they are “kissing-cousins” to EARTHQUAKES! They really, REALLY SUCK – BIG TIME! They’re in the news all the time – they’re more famous in my City than the Mayor! They get more press and they look positively HELLISH!

  136. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:59 pm #

    I know what you mean, Natural Disaster Phobic. I live in Florida too. That’s crazy about the sink holes. I haven’t seen any here in Tallahassee yet. Then again, I just moved here, but I havent heard of any. I hate hurricanes!!

  137. Natural Disaster Phobic on 26 Jan 2010 at 8:59 pm #

    I’m not sure if SINK HOLES are common anywhere else – but, in Central Florida they also fill-up immediately with water – INSTANT POND! In some cases – INSTANT LAKE! It’s not uncommon for these suckers to be 150 feet deep and/or as wide…..sigh

    Well enough about my phobia – as you can tell – I get very emotional just talking about the suckers! What I really wanted to say to MADELINE HUNTER is that I ADORE – RAVISHING IN RED! Madeline – you are such an incredible Author/Writer/Blogger et al….. :) I can’t wait to read PROVOCATIVE IN PEARLS! Great titles and I love, LOVE the covers!

    By-the-way, I just saw your BOOK VIDEO on Borders website – WOW! Incredibly sexy Book Video and it really portrayed the book really, really well! I love all the artwork also! It went by so quick and there were NO TELLS! I love it when Book Videos are short, move quickly and don’t look like a book read! It looked more like a Movie Trailer! The guy who plays the HERO is HOT, HOT, HOT……

    Can’t wait to see the next Book Video for Provocative In Pearls! I love the dress on that cover! Love you and your work Madeline and am really happy to see books come out backtoback!

  138. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:05 pm #

    Natural disaster, I’m not sure I could handle the idea of sink holes, but I guess if I lived in Florida I would have to. Yeah, I’d be out of the house fast too! Good heavens, the idea of the ground just opening up and eating my house—-it is like an earthquake and a shark rolled into one.

    Thanks for your compliments, and your mention of the video. I am very pleased with it. It can also be found on my home page now, if anyone likes videos and wants to check it out http://www.madelinehunter.com

  139. Amy on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:08 pm #

    Sorry, I should have clarified, it was a 10lb bag of potatos, not a chip bag. Thank goodness because I love potato chips too much to have to worry about snakes in them! lol.

  140. Natural Disaster Phobic on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:13 pm #

    You know…. I think we have almost all the Phobias in this state – with the exception of the Mountain kind…. Florida is pretty flat but we have LOT’S AND LOT’S of planes…. :)

    Ooooo…. Lori A – don’t get me started on Pigmy Rattlesnakes in my kitchen, Spiders the size of buildings – including Tarantulas, Bobcats, Panthers, Bears, Alligators in our pools or front doors, Serial Killers – KAREN ROSE lives in FLORIDA – HA! Oh yeah – and then there’s Hurricanes, Thunderstorms, Floods, Lightening, Tornados, Water Spouts, 100% HUMIDITY, 100 Degree Heat, Cockroaches the size of pets, Mosquitos the size of birds, Sharks, Poison Oak, Stingrays, Poison Jellyfishes, 120 mile winds and SONIC BOOMS! You haven’t lived until you’ve been woken-up out of a dead/deep sleep by a SONIC BOOM coming off of the Space Shuttle as it breaks the sound barrier landing in Cape Caniveral!

    I swear – I think that the Space Shuttle is probably one of the top causes for “Heart-Attacks!” KAREN ROSE would be the SECOND! None-the-less, can you tell? I LOVE FLORIDA!

  141. Lisa G on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:14 pm #

    Beautiful Cover! Congrats on the release! I hate going to the dentist! I freak out! I don’t like them poking around in my mouth. I hate the shots in my mouth. I despise the smell, oh yes, the smell! How do I conquer it? I floss, I brush and everything else I need to do so I don’t have to go. But when I do, I just freak out!

  142. Lori Adkison on 26 Jan 2010 at 9:25 pm #

    lol!…SHOOT!!…I forgot about all that mess…lol!

  143. Mariska on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:01 pm #

    My fear, will be frogs. i just can’t stand especially when they leap ! urghhhh..

    nervousness always come when i’m doing my dentist visits : )

  144. Karen Hawkins on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:07 pm #

    Dear Natural Disaster Phobic, I am now hiding under my bed with two cans of canned chicken and a jug of fresh water.

    You people are scaring me!

    Madeline, I’m the same way during release week. I get nervous and worried and weep whenever someone used the word ‘not’ in a sentence. Hot Cop calls it Opening Day Jitters.

    I have my fair share of fears. Mostly, though, I don’t like big winds. They scare me. I’ve hidden/sat through a few hurricanes and tornadoes and they made me thankful for solid ground and big, heavy beds.

    It’s interesting to see how many people are scares of various things. I had no idea!

  145. Madeline Hunter on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:14 pm #

    Mariska, the only reason I’m not too afraid of frogs is because I almost never see any.

    Karen, your mention of winds reminded me that I am terrified of lightening. In fact, I make sure that DH sleeps on the window side of the bed. I explained to him early on that if he does, and lightening comes in the window or hits that wall, I will be safer with him between me and the lightening. He did not find my theory nearly as charming as I thought he would.

  146. Linda Henderson on 26 Jan 2010 at 10:58 pm #

    I have a terrible fear of heights. It makes flying pure torture. I had to fly on a business trip once and it was not fun. To make matters worse the flight was really bumpy, it was like riding a roller coaster. I haven’t flown since.

  147. seton on 26 Jan 2010 at 11:56 pm #

    Hi Madeline!
    I found RIR at the train terminal last week and read it in one swoop! A very good start to the series and I look forward to PIP.

    As for phobias, I have loads. I havent visited the Statue of Liberty since I was around 12 because I realized that someone who is afraid of heights shouldnt be stuck at a tight cramped spiral staircase inside her shoulder looking down 100 ft below. Fear of spiders? yes. Mice? Yes. Racoons? Yes. Snakes? Yes. Need i go on?

  148. Cassie on 27 Jan 2010 at 1:59 am #

    Hi, Madeline!!
    I purchased your book today at a Barnes and Nobel here in San Diego, CA. I cannot wait to read it and am so happy that the next book will be following along shortly.
    When it comes to fears, I used to be deathly afraid of spiders. I mean so afraid that I would begin screaming and crying and my heart would feel like it was going to pound out of my chest. Then, hubby joined the Navy and I had no choice but to get over that fear since he’s gone so often. Now, anytime I find a spider in my house, I gently catch it in a cup and release it back outside. Talk about a complete 180!
    I do still have a fear over water I cannot see the bottom of though. My imagination always runs wild anytime I swim in the ocean or a lake. Damn movies! Haha.
    I know exactly what you mean about the flying ordeal though. I, too, am the same way. I’ve only flown in a plane twice though (pre-9/11), but am planning on flying in one again here soon and I am extremely nervous in doing so. I still don’t know if I can go through with it. LOL!

  149. Juliet on 27 Jan 2010 at 9:24 am #

    Hi!

    I read about your fears and could totally relate. When it came to flying, I used to think , “Why don’t they have a parachute fall into your lap instead of an oxygen mask if something goes wrong?” Of course, a parachute won’t help at that altitude, so the only option is to take a risk. It’s so hard to tell doubt to shut up!

    What I am afraid of now are school loans. I’m a returning student with a hubby and two kids depending on me to get a job and and save the day. It’s a lot of pressure, and when I see the student loans building up in this economy, well . . . I think I’d rather get on a plane!

    Every book of yours that I have ever read I have loved. This one will be great, too, so congradulations to your new release, and enjoy the moment!

  150. Barb Chansky on 27 Jan 2010 at 10:41 am #

    It was always a great fun for me to fly – even after 9/11, but I do have a paralyzing fear of roaches and bugs; also did not go into any kind of medicine-related field as not only I am afraid of blood and gore, but become an absolutely useless entity in any kind of emergency. And another slightly irrational thing – for almost twenty years after living step-mother country refused to buy anything red, because it reminded me of Russian flag – twenty one years of living in this wonderful country finally healed me (as red is actually a very becoming color):)

  151. Madeline Hunter on 28 Jan 2010 at 10:44 am #

    The winner of the ARC is Jikie!

  152. Selly Santos on 05 Feb 2010 at 10:30 am #

    My phobias are needles, tarantulas, snakes, centipedes, bees, and huge roaches. Any kind of big dogs scare me. I am an overall chicken when it comes to my phobias.

  153. Kit Throneberry on 08 Feb 2010 at 8:21 pm #

    I absolutely adored ‘Ravishing in Red’!
    As far as fears and phobias go, how sad that mine is the fear of forgetting to pack Lunesta when I travel. simply can not sleep well in hotel rooms and I have actually been mortified when I couldn’t find the Rx.

  154. anniem on 08 Feb 2010 at 8:49 pm #

    I’m afraid of heights. I tried skydiving to see if I would get over my fear. My second jump was worse than my first because I’m short and couldn’t reach the strut I was supposed to hold onto until I felt under control and let go. Imagine, falling out of an airplane before being ready to fall! I would have had a heart attack! My instructor shoved me onto the strut and I was able to jump. I haven’t made another one, though.

    Next, I tried getting my pilot’s license and on my first lesson the door to the Cessna popped open while I was flying above the foothills. My instructor had to lean over and close the door for me because there was no way I was putting any body part out of the airplane. I finally gave up that dream because you have to purposely put the plane in a stall and it was too scary for me.

    I tried rappelling and it took more than an hour for me to jump off the roof of the building. I spent the rest of the afternoon watching a friend as she alternated between traditional and Australian rappelling (jumping face first off the roof). I’m still afraid of heights and no longer try to overcome it. It is just a part of me.

    Enjoyed the new book in GA!

  155. Lorraine Larose on 08 Feb 2010 at 11:21 pm #

    I wish you great success with your new novel. My biggest fear is to try to write one.

  156. Donna on 10 Feb 2010 at 12:47 am #

    I call it the what IFs which drive me crazy, but Im learning to stop and smell the roses because all the what ifs will not change what happens one day at a time LOLO love the new book.

    Donna

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