What a thrilling experience being a 2012 Golden Heart® finalist has been so far! And as I journey toward the Romance Writers of American® National Conference in Anaheim, California this coming July, the excitement builds. I belong to an online group of finalists where we share news, build friendships, and glean information from those who’ve traveled the Golden Heart® road before us. What kind of clothing should we consider was one of the first questions raised, especially with regards to the formal awards ceremony where the Rita® and Golden Heart® finalists will be honored and the winners announced (truly, we’ve all won just by being nominated).

For the most part, the conference calls for business casual, except for a few cocktail parties and the awards ceremony with over two thousand people in attendance. It’s those dressier events that have me thinking about what to pack for the long trip. Particularly … [+]

As mentioned in previous blogs, I currently reside in beautiful Budapest. For how long, I don’t know, but while I’m here, I’ve been making the best of it.

Making the best of it?

OMG, what an understatement!

Budapest is such an amazing city that merely stepping out my front door means a remarkable day is in the making. If it weren’t enough that my tree-lined street is an enclave unto its own—venerable buildings adorned with statues and all manner of baroque ornamentation, a post office, hair salons, vegetable stands, restaurants, pubs, super market—a couple hundred feet to my right is a trolley stop. Climbing into one of those finicky communist era transports and I’m minutes from connecting to all the efficient public transportation I need.

Turn left out my front door, walk to the end of the block, and … [+]

For however long I am meant to reside here in Budapest, Hungary, a post-Communist city with an incredible history, I feel compelled to explore both its past and present. I’d like to share some of my experiences with you, if you care to follow along. But first, I’ll start with a trip outside the city—my journey to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp near Krakow, Poland:

A few days after my friend Bette arrived from Texas for a three week visit, we boarded a train to Krakow from the Keleti Train Station in Budapest. The station, built in 1881, and considered the most lavish station in Europe at the time, is still beautiful today. How novel, I thought—a slumber party aboard a sleeper train, and we’ll arrive first thing in the morning, fresh and ready to explore the city and its … [+]

I’ve been absent from blogging for awhile, so this is going to be a bit lengthy while I explain my whereabouts this past year. Some of you know why I have been missing in action, and some don’t. For those who are aware, please bear with me, and then we’ll get on with life.

Last summer (2010), I had been living along the beautiful Adriatic Sea and enjoying the heck out of my life. In June, I returned to the U.S. to visit friends and relatives, and to conduct seminars. Topping off my trip was attending the RWA National Conference in Orlando, Florida.

I flew back home via Frankfurt, where my German husband was to meet me, driving up from Croatia. A long trip, but we planned to stay overnight in Stuttgart where his family lived.

When I landed in … [+]

Oprah occasionally features child prodigies on her show. One of these special children was a sixteen-year-old girl who oil paints—in three entirely different styles. She has been called a modern day Monet and her paintings sell for $15,000+ apiece (probably a whole lot more after Oprah’s show).

The girl was discovered at age thirteen by her junior high school teacher when he gave the students easels and oil paints, put some music on, and told them to let go and see what came of it. When he came around to this prodigy’s easel and looked at her magnificent painting, one of a mother and daughter in quiet repose, he gulped and said, “Oh, my, have you worked with oils before?”

“No,” she answered.

 “I…I think we need to speak with your parents.”

Oprah queried the young woman, asking her if she had shown any prior signs of this mystical gift. Had she always had … [+]