Well, I managed to finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows yesterday before I stumbled across any spoilers to ruin it for me. It’s amazing to think that, after all these years and all this time spent with Harry (we listen to the books on CD in the car in a continual loop) I now know Harry’s entire story. Here are my spoiler-free thoughts, in no particular order:

1. The beginning of the book is a little slow, but picks up almost immediately;
2. The death count is high and painful;
3. The book, once it gets going, is a roller coaster ride full of unexpected twists, turns, and developments;
4. It felt a little weird to read about Harry and the gang’s exploits WITHOUT the backdrop of Hogwarts;
5. Most, but not all, questions are answered, and only a few strings dangle at the end;
6. Hermione is the greatest example of a kick-ass heroine I can think of for little girls to read about and emulate;
7. Harry and Ron are true heroes;
8. The book is an amazing, fitting, and emotionally satisfying end to the series.

Anyone else out there finished it yet?

On the music front, I picked up Prince’s latest release, Planet Earth, and it hurts me to say this but, well … it’s kinda disappointing. Pop lite. Sort of a snooze. Not the funky fun of last year’s 3121. *SIGH* I’ll have to listen to it a few more times to be sure, but I’m thinking this may not be one that’ll make it onto the MP-3 player. Ah, well. Doesn’t matter.

Prince will always reign, IMHO. Purple Rain sealed that deal years ago, don’t you think?

How was your week?

Today I’m blogging about stupid pet tricks over at Access Romance. Stop by and say hi.

Well, I’m back from Romance Writers of America’s national conference in Dallas, and I’m feeling almost human again. No, I haven’t unpacked yet; let’s not get crazy. But I have gotten a little sleep, and had a chance to decompress from several days of nonstop networking and socializing. Here are a few pix and a few highlights, in no particular order:

• Lisa Kleypas’s keynote luncheon address. What a lovely representative of the romance genre she is—beautiful, articulate, and classy. She made the point that romance is an important genre—no matter what the critics say—because it’s one in which the WOMAN is important. Is that a great message, or what?

• The literacy signing, which raised over fifty thousand dollars.

• Meeting romance reviewers like Jane, Sybil, and Michelle Buonfiglio, all of whom are lots of fun. Jane gets extra credit from me because she let me play with and post a comment from her iPhone, which is way cool and has pictures of her painfully adorable daughter on it.

• The Harlequin party, which really has to be experienced to be believed. Where else can you see dozens of your favorite romance authors (many of whom do NOT write for Harlequin, BTW—crashers welcome!) sipping cosmos, eating gooey chocolate desserts, and dancing to BOTH John Denver’s Thank God I’m a Country Boy and Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer?

• Seeing Nora Roberts dance barefoot and with joyful abandon at the Harlequin party.

• The Kensington party, where they had DELICIOUS nibblies—with me, it’s all about the food.

• Making new friends, like Laura Drewry, Nalini Singh and Dona Sarkar-Mishra.

• Catching up with old friends, like Eve Silver, Caroline Linden (who also let me see her iPhone), Patricia Sargeant, and Lori Devoti.

• The book signing at the African American History Museum, where I met legends like former bookseller Emma Rodgers, Francis Ray, and Beverly Jenkins, greeted readers who came from far and wide to enjoy cake and punch with us, and laughed with Kayla Perrin (and to think I once thought she was quiet and demure ) and Karen White-Owens, among others.

• Winning a gift basket in the raffle at the Death by Chocolate party, where I sat with Marcia James (who also won a basket) and Pamela Clare. Marcia and I credit Pamela with our wins because she touched us and/or said encouraging words in the seconds before our names were announced.

Whew! I’m re-exhausted just thinking about it! I can’t think when I’ve had so much fun.

Is it too soon to start counting the days until next year’s conference in San Francisco?

If you’ll be in the Dallas area on Saturday, please stop by a Mini Romance Slam Jam book signing. I’ll be joining Francis Ray, Kayla Perrin, Patricia Sargeant, Wayne Jordan, and other romance writers signing their books. Hope to see you there!

If you’ll be in the Dallas area on Wednesday, please stop by the literacy signing. Hundreds of your favorite authors will be there to sign their books, and all proceeds will go to charity. Hope to see you there!

I was sorry to hear of the death this week of Kathleen E. Woodiwiss, one of the true giants in the world of romance publishing. She is frequently credited with creating the modern romance genre and being the first author to follow the hero and heroine into the bedroom and write an explicit sex scene about their interlude.

I don’t know if that’s true or not, but I doubt if there’s a historical romance reader anywhere that doesn’t have a KEW novel on her keeper shelf. The books are long and lush, filled with larger-than-life characters of the type that burrow into your head and refuse to leave once you’ve finished the book.

My personal favorite is Ashes in the Wind, the tale of Alaina, the southern belle/suspected spy forced to masquerade as a boy, and Cole, the Union surgeon with whom she becomes entangled. Over several hundred pages, the two battle their own demons and conflicts, meddling family members of the worst sort, and each other. I first read this book in high school, and I can’t count the number of times I’ve pulled out my battered copy and reread my favorite passages. Now that I write romance myself, I’ve often wished I could create characters as passionate and compelling as hers.

She’ll be missed.

Have a wonderful holiday!

I’m blogging over at Access Romance today. Stop by if you have time–I’m giving away a gift certificate to Borders.

You might want to skip this one.

I’m just saying.

Yeah, I know it’s gotten glowing reviews, and it is true that the Pixar animation is spectacular. Truly. The sweeping views of Paris, the rats’ fur, the characters’ hair—all of it’s amazing, and hard to remember at times that it’s all computer generated.

But the story, well … it’s not great.

I couldn’t get over the story premise of a rat cooking gourmet food and using a human chef’s hair to manipulate him like a puppet. Rats in the kitchen? Bleh! Plus the movie isn’t very funny or charming like, say, Toy Story or Monsters, Inc. In fact, Ratatouille is oddly dark and flat—so much so that at times it was hard to remember it’s a kid’s movie.

I didn’t like The Incredibles, either, so maybe it’s just that I’m not wild about the new generation of Pixar films.

Ah, well. The popcorn was good.