I don’t know about you all, but I want a Taser gun. I want to carry it in a holster strapped to my hip like John Wayne.

Okay, so maybe people shouldn’t be allowed to run around Tasering each other, but I swear to God some people need a good Tasering. I was at Panda Express last night and the woman in line in front of me insisted on tasting a sample of everything on the menu before she could decide what she wanted to order. If I’d had my trusty Taser, I would have zapped her, stepped over her flailing body, and ordered my Kung Pao Chicken. I’d have been in and out of there in five minutes.

I’ve made a list of people who need Tasing

1) People who sit through green lights
2) People who cut in line
3) Jim Carrey for subjecting me to The Mask and The Cable Guy
4) People who act deaf when their children scream in the grocery store
5) The neighbor’s dog for crap in my front yard all the time and the neighbor for letting him

Who or what would you Tase? Or are you a lover not a fighter?

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Hi, my name is Nicole and I’m a bookaholic.

I doubt I’m alone here on Mt. Oly. All the goddesses probably share my addiction. That thought gives me great comfort.

My symptoms are quite obvious even to the untrained eye: I would rather shop for books than for clothes or shoes or jewelry. I can’t eat a meal alone or stand in line at the post office without having something to read. I can’t fall asleep at night without getting at least a few pages of a novel in before I turn out the lights.

A few months ago there was a funny list going around the romance loops entitled You Know You’re a Bookaholic When… I tried not to read it since I wanted our clever and creative goddesses to come up with our own list. But one example was “You pack all your books for a trip but forget your underwear.” I confess I’m guilty of that one, among many others.

So today’s blog is simple:

What telltale signs do you and other bookaholics exhibit that reveals your addiction?

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I’ll bet some of you Goddesses and visitors to Mt. Oly are getting tired of me talking about my books, since I have three Courtship Wars romances out in a row.  I promise this is the last for a while!

So except for mentioning that TO SEDUCE A BRIDE officially goes on sale today, I’ll skip over the promo part and get straight to the good stuff! Specifically, another romance quiz.

So please name your favorite:

1. Setting for a romance novel.

2. Hero’s name(s)

3. Heroine’s name(s)

4. Romance subgenre (paranormal, historical, contemporary single title or series, etc.)

5. Romance title(s)

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I’m proud to claim some Irish roots in my family. There’s even a castle in Ireland originally owned by one of my ancestors. And my wonderful jumper is an Irish Thoroughbred named Irish Outlaw.

Yet I never have been overly fond of St. Paddy’s Day, ever since I was traumatized in the fourth grade by a boy who tried to pinch me because I forgot to wear green to school. When I ran away to avoid his cruelty, I got caught by the hall monitor for running and was sent to the principal’s office. My first time ever.  To this day I have never recovered from the humiliation.

Maybe it’s my Irish heritage, but I have a great knack for finding four leaf clovers. (At least I did before moving to Utah, where it’s so dry, there isn’t much clover to be found.) Give me a green field, and I can usually pick at least a half dozen clovers with four leaves. Isn’t that supposed to bring you good luck? Funny how all those clovers never seemed to influence my luck!

So today’s blog is about stories we have about all things Irish – St. Patrick’s Day and the Luck o’ the Irish in particular. And since my third Courtship Wars romance, TO SEDUCE A BRIDE, will be out next Tuesday 3/25, I’ll be drawing a name from all of today’s participants (other than resident Goddesses, of course). The (lucky?) winner will receive a signed copy of TO SEDUCE A BRIDE hot off the presses.

Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s day? Does any Irish Luck ever rub off on you? Have you any good Irish stories to share with your fellow Goddesses?

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Going through some of my keepers the other day, I came across two of my old favorites: Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon, and A Knight in Shining Armor, by Jude Devereaux. It reminded me how much I like time-travel, not only in books, but in movies like Back to the Future, Somewhere in Time, and the TV show Charmed.

Not everyone does, though. Some scoff at the methods of travel (a De Lorean? Really?). Some take issue with the physics (you should see the intense discussion of the physics of time travel at Wikipedia). Some just can’t suspend their disbelief.

What about you? Just for fun, here’s a little time-travel poll:

1) Have you ever read a time-travel romance? Did you like it? If not, why not?

4) What was the last time-travel romance you read?

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Have you had any really cool stuff happen in your life? A friend told me that last week she actually took her three teenaged boys out of high school to attend a rally for one of the presidential candidates because she thought it might be an historic occasion and she wanted them to participate in history. Her kids weren’t thinking about history, she says. They just thought it was “cool” to see the political equivalent of a rock star. But I’m sure it’s something they’ll always remember.

I can remember attending my first rock concert. And then another concert where the opening act was a group I’d never heard of before, but who went on to achieve superstardom. One of my coolest memories was watching Swan Lake danced by the Paris Ballet in the courtyard of the Louvre Museum. I also will never forget my first time seeing the incredible Mikhail Baryshnikov dance, or going to the Atlanta Olympics and seeing the U.S. Showjumping team win the team silver.

But there are lots of cool things I still would love to do. I’ve never seen a play on Broadway, for example, even though I’ve seen countless plays and musicals that made it to Broadway.

Have you seen or done some Really Cool Stuff in your life? Is there more you would like to do?

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Have you heard there’s a new book out about training husbands to do what you want? According to Newsweek Magazine, WHAT SHAMU TAUGHT ME ABOUT LIFE, LOVE AND MARRIAGE recounts how author Amy Sutherland used animal training techniques to get the specific behavior she wanted from her husband.

The article goes on to share Sutherland’s key animal training techniques: reward positive behavior, avoid reacting to negative behavior, and don’t take negative stuff personally. And I know all that works on horses at least, since I have a young mare in training and I’ve watched her trainer work magic with those consistently applied principles.

But do they work on men?

When I was growing up, I was told that girls needed to act like “clinging vines” in order to appeal to boys and that I had to develop my feminine wiles if I wanted to be popular with the male sex. I never could quite master the art of feminine wiling, but the premise that we women can coax specific behavior out of men fascinates me.

In fact, I unconsciously explored that question in my latest romance, TO BED A BEAUTY. In my book, my brainy heroine convinces a cynical duke to teach her what appeals to him in a mistress so she can use the same methods to persuade a neighboring earl to fall in love with her. (Of course, her best laid plans go astray when her noble tutor finds himself annoyingly attracted to his beautiful pupil.)

In Sutherland’s book, she reportedly points to Pavlov’s experiments with dogs and Skinner’s with rats to bolster her theory that men can be trained like animals. She also claims that animal training techniques work on both genders.

Frankly, the idea of my dh willingly obeying my commands to “sit” and “stay” or to jump through hoops boggles my imagination. But Sutherland may have a point. And I do admit to using on Mr. J some of the successful management techniques that I learned in my early career as an engineering manager.

Do you see value in treating the men in your life like dogs and whales? Do you ever use any special techniques (manipulative feminine wiles or not) to get the behavior you want from spouses, kids, your mother, coworkers, friends, enemies?

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Today, the last day of our anniversary week, we wanted to tell you guys how much you have meant to us. When these eight noisy, sassy, love-to-laugh writers came together, we found more than we ever thought we would — friendship, laughter, and an incredible community of romance-loving women.

After today, we’ll stop being all mushy and get back to the business of just hanging with ya’ll. But for today, we wanted to tell you . . . .

Rachel Gibson: I love TGB because I get hang out with smart, interesting goddesses.

Sabrina Jeffries: I love TGB because I can be myself with them.

Julia London: I love TGB because they have given me a life outside my office day after day.

Suzanne Enoch: I love TGB because I found a place to share my avid love for Hugh Jackman. (Stand back, KarenH! I have my light saber and I’m willing to use it!)

Karen Hawkins: I love TGB because it starts my day with a smile. No one could ask for better water cooler pals or–’ Hey! Did you just see Suzanne Enoch run by here with a light saber?

Claudia Dain: I love TGB because I’ve found other organizationally gifted goddesses who don’t scoff at my post-it notes.

Karen Rose: I love TGB because I’ve met so many new friends who love books as much as I do.

Nicole Jordan: I love TGB because I’ve found some of the most wonderful heartwarming readers among my fellow goddesses.

We know that what really makes TGB work is you — our reader goddesses who drop by, share their stories and lives, and give us all such a wonderful place to visit when we don’t want to work, clean the house, or do things that Need To Be Done.

How about you guys? For fun, give us a glimpse into your workplace — at home or in an office — and share some other things you do at work that allow you to rest, relax, and avoid that annoying Need To Be Done list!

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To honor the spirit of upcoming Valentine’s Day, I searched long and hard for the perfect classic-movie romantic couple for our latest “Caption This Pic” game.

And of course I found some great ones: Bogie and Bacall wrapped in a passionate embrace. Scarlett and Rhett silhouetted against a blazing sky. Fred and Ginger dancing light as air in each other’s arms.

But then I came across a photo that offers lots of “scope for imagination,” as Anne of Green Gables would say. Katharine Hepburn with not one but two leading hunks.

Can you imagine having to choose between Cary Grant and Jimmy Stuart for Valentine’s Day? Or is Miz Hepburn even choosing?

If you’ve hung out with us on Mt. Oly for a while, you know how this works. For all you new goddesses…welcome and please jump in! Just look at the pic and write whatever comes to mind.  If you make us laugh, all the better.  And if you make us laugh a lot, you might just win a copy of my latest romance hot off the presses, TO PLEASURE A LADY — also in the spirit of upcoming Valentine’s Day!

So whip up your creative juices and give us your best caption/short scene/or funny comment.

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Suzanne’s birthday blog last week made me think about those few moments in time when people share a common memory. For example, whenever my grandparents and their brothers and sisters get together, they inevitably talk about ‘the day Kennedy was shot.’

You guys know i love quizzes, so here we go!

Where were you when you first heard about. . . (and if you don’t remember or weren’t on this planet yet, feel free to say so!)

1. the space Shuttle, Challenger, blew up?

2. Princess Diana died?

3. 9/11?

And (for a little more personal insight) do you remember:

4. when you lost your first tooth?

5. when you met that special someone?

6. when you drove for the very first time?

7. when you picked up your copy of my new book TO CATCH A HIGHLANDER? Oh wait. TO CATCH A HIGHLANDER comes out TODAY, so I guess we all know when you did that! Silly me!

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