School was canceled here this past Thursday and Friday on account of the heat wave and lack of air conditioning in many local schools. So, desperate for an activity to keep my children occupied that didn’t involve extended periods of time outside, I took them to see Daddy Day Camp.

This, it turns out, was not the brightest idea I ever had.

How bad was this movie? Let me count a few of the ways:

1. The overacting. Sure, Cuba overacted in Jerry Maguire, too, but that was funny. This was just painful.
2. The lame premise. Daddy and his best friend buy a day camp without researching it enough to know that it has liens and other problems too numerous to list. As a former lawyer, this kind of too-stupid-to-live stuff just drives me insane.
3. The potty humor. I know it’s a movie for kids, but don’t they know that kids enjoy jokes that don’t have to do with bodily functions?

Cuba, Cuba, Cuba … Is it the Oscar jinx? Is that it? You’re way too good for this kind of thing!

Taking a deep, calming breath …

Ah, well. The bottom line is, the kids enjoyed it, and it got us out of the house for a couple hours. Oh, and I managed a nice nap in the dark, air-conditioned theater.

Today I’m blogging about sagging (book) middles over at Access Romance. Stop by and say hi.

So here’s what happened:

The books reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer, a delightful woman named Sara Pearce, decided to write an article about local authors to watch, and e-mailed to ask if I wanted to be included.

I don’t think you need to guess what the answer to THAT question was.

Armed with my black outfit—could have chosen a white shirt, but went with the black—and a great pair of heels that didn’t make it into the final picture, I headed downtown to have my pic taken with the likes of young adult author Kaza Kingsley and author Brock Clarke, the husband of one of the members of the book club to which I used to belong.

One of the highlights of the whole event was meeting fellow romance author Marjorie M. Liu, who is tall, thin, and beautiful. I decided not to hate her, though, because:

1. She’s a lovely person; and
2. She’s a former lawyer like me.

Thanks to Sara Pearce and everyone at the Enquirer, who made this such a great experience.

This week I’m reviewing galleys for my January, 2008 Harlequin/Kimani Press release, Sweeter Than Revenge, which is now available for pre-order on Amazon.

(BTW, have you ordered six or eight copies yet? No? What??? You’re going to, though, aren’t you?)

Anyway, I don’t have a cover yet, alas, but here’s the back cover copy, in case you’re interested:

COFFEE, TEA OR . . . THE BOSS?

Not with—for, David kept reminding her. He was back in Maria’s life for one reason only, R-E-V-E-N-G-E! And he knew the sweetest way to get it, too….

I’ll post the cover as soon as I get it…