What flavor of ice cream are you?

Janet Spaeth made a comment that maybe we'd have ice cream flavors named after us one of these days, and I started thinking about that. Hmm. So I asked my pals to name an ice cream after themselves, and here are the flavors they came up with:

Janet Spaeth, Barbour Books and Heartsong Presents author: Anyone who orders a Janet will get coffee ice cream streaked with hot fudge! Yum!

Sandie Bricker, Summerside Press and Avalon Books author: She’s always been called Red because of her hair, and red velvet cake is one of her faves. So the Sandie would be lots of pieces of red velvet cake mixed into smooth vanilla ice cream. Sounds out of this world and very pretty!

Tina Russo, Woman’s World fiction author and blogger: Vanilla. The Tina Vanilla. Why mess with a good thing? You can dress it up, you can dress it down. It can go anywhere with panache. Vanilla is a classic, like pearls and denim. They aren’t showy; they don’t worry about trends. They don’t have to. They never go out of style.

Rhonda Gibson, Barbour Books and Heartsong Presents author: She loves chocolate but not alone. Nope! Rocky road is her choice, and if it’s a DQ treat, she wants the Chocolate Extreme to be renamed the Rhonda!

Carrie Henderson, Home Shopping Network PI Writer: Smooth vanilla (for the color of her skin), chunks of pineapple (rays of sunshine), and chopped nuts (which she says is self-explanatory ) all in one scoop will be the Carrie.

Margaret Daley, Steeple Hill author: She loves cookie dough, so the Margaret flavored ice cream would have to be chocolate chip cookie dough. Unfortunately, she'd have to ban it from her house because she could eat the whole gallon in a few sessions. It's strictly a special-occasion treat for this gal!

Gail Gaymer Martin, Steeple Hill and Barbour author: Mix some large hunks of peanut butter and peanuts, swirl them with chocolate in some vanilla ice cream, and add some dark chocolate syrup running through the mix for the Gail. Similar to moose tracks only better! Delicious!

Me: I’ve always liked layering, so natural double vanilla with toffee crunch for flavor and swirls of caramel for tone-on-tone color would be my choice for the Debby. Lots of texture and flavor. Plop a strawberry on top for that perfect splash of color.

American Idol!

One of my favorite things to do is watch “American Idol.” My husband and I prefer to watch it live, but if we have other commitments, we record it on the DVR. I have my favorite singer, and my husband has his—and it’s not always the same. However, one thing we do agree on is our faith. We know why we’re here on earth and where we’ll be after this earthly life, which is comforting and keeps us grounded. It’s okay, though, to enjoy the pleasures He has granted us on this earth, so we’ll continue watching “American Idol,” as long as we don’t put too much importance on the outcome of a TV show. This season, I like David Cook. Who is your favorite?

Writers do other stuff!

Believe it or not, writers have lives aside from…writing. I asked my friends what they like to do in their spare time (besides write), and here are their answers:

1. Margaret Daley: I like to read a good book, go to lunch with a friend, go to a movie, see my grandchildren, exercise (you didn't say we had to enjoy it, which I don't, but it's important for health reasons), volunteering (now that I'm retired--sort of), talking to friends on the phone.

2. Carla Capshaw: Spend time with my family, travel, read, watch movies and make crafts.

3. Kim Vogel Sawyer: I love to quilt, and whenever I can commit to it, I adore acting in community theatre. I wish I could do more of it.

4. Tamela Hancock Murray: I crochet poorly and read rapidly.

5. Lena Nelson Dooley: I love to read. James and I like to travel, but we don't do as much as we would like to. We like to spend time with our family.

6. Sandie Bricker: I'm ridiculous about scrapbooking. I love it. I've become the most annoying friend because I'm always in people's faces with my camera. And as I take the pictures, I've already got it in my mind how it's going to be placed on the scrapbook page.

7. Rhonda Gibson: I love to read and make greeting cards.

8. Paige Winship Dooly: walk on the beach, hike in the woods, read, paint, 4 wheel with dh.

9. Janet Spaeth: Reading, of course. Do puzzles. Knit. OH! And shop. I do love to shop.

10. Shelley Galloway: I like to bake and I love to shop. : 0

Cute pets!

Many writers are inspired by our pets. Here are the top 10 cute things our pets do:

1. Kim Vogel Sawyer: I've had my cat, Isabella, for over 15 years now. Or maybe I should say...she's had me! When I don't pay attention to her, she jumps in my lap and sits facing me. If I still ignore her, she takes her paw and taps my cheek.

2. Sandie Bricker: My dog Caleb (who died last year) was an Old English Sheepdog, so he was a born herder. If I'd stay up too late, he'd start nudging me and circling me, trying to herd me toward the bedroom.

3. Carla Capshaw: I have two cats. My little girl hates when I have to wake up and leave in the morning. Whenever she hears the alarm clock, she jumps on my chest to keep me in bed. I've brainwashed little boy into thinking he's a tiger. He patrols our yard and chases off the neighbor's dogs when they jump the fence.

4. Kim Vogel Sawyer: I recently lost my dear little Dachshund, Meinie, and what I miss most is her happy front-feet-only dance of joy when she saw me. I could have been gone for two minutes or two weeks, the welcome was always the same.

5. Rhonda Gibson: Sheba's (my dog) bark is way cute.

6. Paige Winship Dooly: Our new puppy, an Australian blue heeler, stands on her hind legs like a meerkat and jumps like a Jack Russell. She's full of energy.

7. Janet Spaeth: Roll over. Trust me, it's cute. (She's a huge gray Maine Coon cat.)

8. Shelley Galloway: Suzy the wiener dog 'penguins' when she wants attention. She also burrows under anything.

9. My cat Misty, a fluffy gray and white Maine Coon cat, chirps when she wants to play.

10. My gigantic male cat Felix greets everyone at the door and begs to be picked up. He’s never met a stranger.

Top 10 vacations!

It's been a long time since my family has been able to take a vacation, so I decided it was time to start thinking about one. I asked some of my favorite authors where they liked to go, and I added a couple of my own.

Here's my list of the top 10 vacations:

1. Carla Capshaw’s favorite vacations were in Italy and Japan.
2. Kim Vogel Sawyer had a great time taking a cross-country trip from Kansas to California with her husband and daughters. They saw some beautiful country along the way, including the Grand Canyon, and she cherishes those memories.
3. Sandie Bricker loves to go to San Diego as a tourist. She stays in a particular hotel where they have English high tea, fireplaces and journals in the rooms, and live jazz every Friday night. She enjoys going to Sea World, taking a whale watching cruise, or walking around Seaport Village.
4. Tamela Hancock Murray and her family have gone to Myrtle Beach almost every year for 25 years.
5. Lena Nelson Dooley enjoys taking trips to Minnesota to visit relatives.
6. Margaret Daley loves to travel, and her favorite places include the Southwest United States, England, Scotland, all over Europe, Tahiti (one of her all-time faves), Belize (loved looking at the Mayan ruins), Hawaii (favorite island is the Big Island with the volcano), Alaska (cool helicopter ride and fun dog sledding), Bermuda, Costa Rico, and Biloxi (to see family, fish, and enjoy the sun & fun).
7. Paige Winship Dooly loves the beach and the Ozark Mountains in Southern Missouri.
8. Tara Randel and her family spent many memorable Thanksgivings in the mountains of north Georgia. Just a few days in the cool weather, collecting colorful leaves and visiting quaint towns made for wonderful family memories.
9. I love San Francisco because of the cultural blend, pastel colors, hills, water, and fabulous food!
10. Even though I live in Florida, I still enjoy going to any tropical place where my husband can play golf, and I can enjoy the warm weather and sunshine by day and a seafood dinner at a laid-back restaurant on the beach in the evening.

Top 10 coming soon!

Starting next week, I’m going to feature some top 10 lists—strictly for entertainment. People are always asking me questions, like what do writers do when we’re not writing, what inspires us, and what our home life is like. I’ve polled some of my favorite authors and asked them to send some of their top 10 answers to add to my own lists. I’ll post a new list every couple of days, so drop by occasionally and take a peek into the world of a few of my published author buddies.

Books arrived!

Last night my husband walked into the house carrying a box filled with copies of my brand new book, If the Dress Fits! This means that bookclub members will be receiving their copies very soon!

Even though this is my seventeenth published book, I’m as excited as I was when copies of my very first book showed up on my doorstep. The process of writing the synopsis, submitting, writing the book (the most fun part!), working through issues in copy editing, and looking over galleys is long and requires lots of eagle eyes, but it makes the final result much better. I’m thankful to my agent, Tamela Hancock Murray, my editor, JoAnne Simmons, and Barbour Publishing's Heartsong Presents staff for all their hard work and commitment to excellence!