Lynn Raye Harris

I created a Fan Page! If you’re on FB, come on over and become a fan. I hope to put more info about my books and events there, plus there’s room for discussions, etc. I still have a regular FB page, and will continue to use that as well. But I think the Fan Page gives me more options for the future, so I want to get it going now. I’d love your participation! Come on over and post a note, start a discussion, comment on the books, etc!

Hope to see you there.

For the writers amongst you, I’ve put the links to my series on how to write a Harlequin Presents in the sidebar. Scroll down to the “For Writers” category, and all the posts are listed there to make it easier to find in future. Hope you enjoy.

I’m still buried in this Russian book, but things are looking better. I was browsing the web for images for my inspiration file, and I came across these that I want to share with you. (Yes, these were taken by talented photographers who are not me.)

I believe this is from the Winter Palace in St. Petersburg, but I’m not quite sure. (It might also be from the Smolny Convent.) Years ago, and I won’t say how many, ahem, I had the privilege of traveling to Russia. We flew to St. Petersburg first (still called Leningrad, if that gives you an idea), and spent 3 days there before boarding an overnight train to Moscow, where we spent another 3 days. It was an amazing trip. The palaces are beautiful, and the landscape was prettier than I expected it to be. Fortunately, we were there in May, and it was quite warm. It also never got fully dark at that time of year.

This next picture is of Peterhof, Peter the Great’s palace on the Gulf of Finland. We got to tour it, and I have a photo of me standing on one of the bridges over the canal with this palace in the background. It’s an amazingly beautiful place, full of gilt and art and antiques. My hero also has a palace, but it’s not this grand. And of course he had to buy it back from the State after the fall of communism. But looking at these photos gives me an idea of what his palace is like, though on a smaller scale.

This is the Winter Palace, also known as The Hermitage Museum. It’s a gorgeous palace on the banks of the Neva river. We spent hours wandering through the galleries. I see this photo as representing my hero’s home. The Winter Palace is actually quite grand and vast, but this small slice of it makes it look like it could be a grand house on an estate somewhere. I especially love the snow capped trees.

More info on the Winter Palace here.

I love finding photos for inspiration. It’s one of the most fun parts of beginning a new book. Thank heavens for Google! You can have photos at your fingertips and start writing about a place you’ve never been in a matter of hours. Yes, I’ve been to Russia, but I’ve never been to Argentina (The Devil’s Heart, July 2010 UK) or the Arabian desert (Kept for the Sheikh’s Pleasure, Sep 2010 UK). As much as I’d like to go to these places for real, I’m grateful for the tools that bring them to my fingertips. Even with Russia, it’s been a long time and I needed a refresher.

It’s snowing again in Alabama. It’s March, people. Snow does not fall in Alabama in March. Did someone upstairs not get the memo? I’d have loved this snow, scant though it is, in December. That’s when it’s supposed to snow. But this is Alabama, and it doesn’t really snow here.

Except now. Why now? Why, when I want warmth and sunshine, do I have to put up with more snow? At least the weekend forecast is supposed to be sunny and 60s. That’s more like it! We’re accustomed to 60s in March. (We’re accustomed to them in December too.) Can I please have my normal weather pattern back, dear El Nino?

Aside from the snow making me grumpy, I’m working on the latest book. Yes, it takes place in Russia. Yes, there is snow. I’m rather sick of snow.

In other Chez Harris news, I believe I’m going to have to track down and terrorize a misbehaving cat any minute. Nimitz, the evil beast, is yowling. Which wouldn’t be a bad thing, if he were a normal cat. But destruction usually follows on the heels of the yowling. He likes to get on my hall table and knock over pictures. Or he’ll open cabinets and crash around through the pots and pans. Then there’s his fascination with the fireplace. And yes, he’s actually tried to get into it while the fire was on. That’s why I keep a handy dandy squirt bottle available. It’ll either keep him out of the fire, or douse him once he’s set himself ablaze.

So, today it’s snow, writing, and flaming cats. What about you? Anything interesting going on?

Some years I watch American Idol, and some I don’t. This year, Hubby wanted to watch it so we started at the beginning and we’re still watching. And I have to say, after Hollywood week where I thought they really did have some awesome voices picked out, it’s been pretty blah. NO ONE knocked it out of the park on either night. There are some talented kids, and much Idol left to come, so anything can happen. But though I like some of them a lot, I don’t have a lot of hope this will be a stellar year.

I hate, hate, hate having to listen to FOUR judges critiques. And I have no idea how this show will survive without Simon. Prickly though he is, he seems to be the only one who hears the truth. I usually agree with him, though not always (he wasn’t big on David Cook to begin with a couple of seasons ago, and I loved David from the start).

I think I’ve finally figured Idol out, though. Maybe you already knew, but it hit me last night what the show really is. It’s a very expensive, very flashy karaoke contest. In 8 years (not counting this year just yet), they’ve only found two really viable stars who are still relevant today. Kelly Clarkson and Carrie Underwood still make hits, and they aren’t in danger of their careers fading anytime soon. You could even argue that Chris Daughtry and Adam Lambert will continue to shine (I really think Adam will), and though I still have hope for David Cook, he hasn’t launched out of the mid-list singers yet.

But what about all those talented kids who were in the top 12, or the top 24, who you never hear from again? Apparently, a good voice is a dime a dozen. It’s that extra something that takes them above the level of really awesome karaoke singer. And very, very few of them have it.

America gets into the drama of the season, the stories, the idea that someone’s life will be forever changed by winning this contest. But then next year rolls around and we forget, or lose interest, in the previous year’s winner (and all the finalists). This is entertainment, pure and simple. It’s not really about launching a superstar — because the chances the winner will be a superstar aren’t great. Taylor Swift is a superstar (not that I understand it), and she didn’t need a contest to get her there. Miley Cyrus. The Black-Eyed Peas. Beyonce. Lady Gaga. The list could go on.

Whatever the reason, those singers have that something that Idol contestants, with rare exception, lack. I’ll keep watching, because it’s entertaining, but at least I know not to expect greatness anymore. This is the finest karaoke on the planet, but that’s pretty much all it is.

I’m over at Tote Bags ‘n’ Blogs today, talking about cabin fever and the cabin romance! I’ll be away from the computer for a while today, but I’ll check in later, so leave your comments and questions.

Have a great Monday!

PS: The post wasn’t up when I checked at 5:30 AM my time; hopefully, it will be up soon!

My hubby recently got to go on a business trip to Rome. Talk about jealous! I would have gone with him, but for two things: first, it was last minute and flights were more expensive; and, two, I carelessly let my passport lapse quite some time ago.

I’ve had a passport since I was seventeen, and it’s always been current, but once we moved back to the States permanently, I didn’t feel any sort of urgency to renew it when it finally expired. Duh. I mean I filled out the application, had it with the passport, and kept planning to go get photos so I could mail it. But I never would get around to the photo portion. Finally, last week while Hubby was enjoying himself in Rome, I went and got those photos and marched down to the Post Office. The next time he has to go to Europe on business, at least I’ll have a passport! I may not be able to control the flight prices, but I’ve got half the equation covered now.

So, he was supposed to get back on Friday, but once he landed in Atlanta, he was stuck because of the snow. All flights to our neck of the woods were canceled, though we didn’t have a bit of snow here. He had to stay overnight and drive back on Saturday. But, he brought me lovely presents!

Though I didn’t get to go, I did get to do some vicarious travel though his photos. I’ve been to Rome before, but it’s been a long time, so these pictures really brought it all back for me.

Ahh, the Coliseum. When I was there, it was over run with cats. Hubby says there aren’t so many cats now. I don’t want to know what happened to them.

Don’t know precisely what it is, but it’s pretty!

Recognize this from “Angels and Demons”?

Remnants of an aqueduct.

Would a trip to Rome be complete without a visit to the Trevi Fountain?

No, this isn’t Chicago. It’s Atlanta. This isn’t supposed to happen in Atlanta. It’s the South! It’s Hotlanta! Where did all this snow come from?

I enjoyed my vicarious trip to Rome, but a real trip would be even better. Then I could think up a to-die-for Roman hero, give him a spunky heroine, and plop them down in Rome. What fun! Speaking of heroes and heroines, I better get back to the current WIP. It’s yucky and cold out, and we even have a little bit of snow on the ground, so it’s a good time to dream. Too bad I picked snowy Russia as a setting. Brrrr!

Clearly, it isn’t spring yet. But a recent “What Not to Wear” binge sent me to my closet, brimming with determination. Time to get rid of stuff. I have a bad habit of keeping things that no longer fit in the belief that if I just lose that last five or ten pounds, they’ll fit again. Clinton and Stacy have made me realize that’s not very good in practice.

I’m not done yet, but I’ve gotten rid of several things. Truthfully, I think more than half of the closet will go. And that’s not because it’s all too small, but because I don’t actually wear most of it. I keep stuff thinking I’ll wear it, but I somehow never do.

The beauty of this process is that it gives me a fabulous excuse to go shopping for new clothes. I wish I had that 5K that Clinton and Stacy hand over every episode, but if I spend that much on clothes, my husband will probably kill me. Guess I’ll have to be reasonable.

Presents heroines often end up going on fabulous shopping sprees, don’t they? I know I’ve written one spree, when Nico takes Lily to Paris, but my editor made me cut most of the shopping detail (darn it). But I love to read those sprees. Jennie Lucas wrote a great one not too long ago, and one of my favorites is in one of Jane Porter’s sheikh books. I love the parade of clothes, the handbags, the shoes, the super-expensive price tags, and the enigmatic hero who stands by and basically says that money is no object.

It’s not the money, though, it’s the way he wants to clothe the heroine in beautiful things. It just gives me that little catch in my heart. Like the shopping scene in “Pretty Woman” when Richard Gere goes to the stores with Julia Roberts, after the shop girls wouldn’t wait on her, and buys her all those gorgeous and swanky clothes. Oh swoon.

I know my hubby would buy me whatever I wanted if a) we could afford it and b) he didn’t have to go shopping with me. But of course he’s not a billionaire and I’m not a 20-something Twiggy who can wear anything and look fabulous in it.

*If* I could go on that fantasy shopping trip, I’d hit the Christian Louboutin store for shoes, and then I’d go to Prada, Hermes, Yves Saint Laurent, Versace, Vera Wang, and etc. I’m not sure I’d know how to act when faced with those price tags, though.

So if you could go on a fantasy shopping trip, what would you buy? Doesn’t have to be clothes, btw. Cars, vacations, homes, whatever. What is your fantasy?

There’s simply too much to do, and I’m failing at thinking up interesting and witty blog posts these days. When I realize it’s been a week since my last post, I’m surprised. Where did the time go?

It would be nice to have a clone, wouldn’t it? Or maybe just an intelligent robot who could do some things for you. I DO have a robot to vacuum for me, and I love it very much. My hubby insisted on getting a Roomba a few months ago; I resisted, as I often do, thinking there was no way a little, round robotic vacuum could do that good a job.

The Roomba (we call him Jeeves in this house, even though he speaks with a lady’s voice) ROCKS. I have officially eaten my words and I could not live without Jeeves. Jeeves is so fabulous, in fact, that he has accomplished something quite miraculous: my husband now does most of the vacuuming. Seriously, how could I not be pleased?

Now I need a robot who will do laundry, shop for groceries, cook, and run errands for me. Hubby says I need to hire a maid, but I don’t begin to know how to find one. Not to mention I’d have to clean the house before I could let someone else clean the house.

The other thing I need is a vacation. Not a vacation from writing, but a vacation from the gray, cold, rainy place where I live. I am so missing Hawaii right about now. *sigh* If I could take my computer and go to a sunny place, I’d happily do it. But, the hubby has to work and the cats need food and water on a daily basis, and going away alone is no fun. So I’m staying home.

I guess I could get out the Hawaiian CDs and the Aloha wear, and pretend I’m enjoying balmy temps and tropical flowers. It might work. (The South is not supposed to be this cold!) If you’re living somewhere gray and cold, what do you do to cope with the winter blues? And if you know where to get one of those house-cleaning, errand-running robots, I’d like to know that too.

Hey, y’all! Just a quick post to tell you about an interview I did over at CataRomance. When you’re done reading that, take a look at the nice review Julie gave me.

Here’s a snippet:

Cavelli’s Lost Heir’s winning blend of steamy sensuality, electrifying sexual tension, heart wrenching emotion and intense romance will keep readers riveted from the first page to the very last! Tender, sexy, glamorous, dramatic and fabulously readable, Cavelli’s Lost Heir is a must-read for Harlequin Presents fans from a fabulous new writer who is on her way to becoming one of the line‘s brightest stars: Lynn Raye Harris!

And tomorrow, I’ll be over at The Pink Heart Society! I’ll update with a link as soon as it’s available.

As promised, here is the link to my blog over at PHS!

I’m starting a new book this week, and I’m at that stage where I’m trying to figure out what the driving emotional problem is. I wrote a chapter back at the end of August on a new idea, and I think that’s what I’m going to go with, but as I reread what I had, there’s a big gaping hole: emotional conflict. *sigh*

I always do this. I always see a scene, write it, and wonder what is really going on. I still don’t know, but I hope to figure it out quick. This book, if I am able to figure it out, takes place in Russia. That’s a new setting for me, but I have in fact been to Russia — though it was many years ago, and things have no doubt changed quite a bit.

But I remember how extraordinary Red Square was. How vibrant the colors on St. Basil’s. How brilliant the golden onion domes of the churches inside the Kremlin walls. The Faberge eggs were amazing too. I can hardly remember all the impressions I had of the country, but I love exploring my memories this way. It was a truly extraordinary experience.

What kind of settings would you like to read about? So far, I’ve written about Spain, the Caribbean, a Mediterranean kingdom of my invention, a desert kingdom, and Argentina. Next, it looks like Russia (assuming I figure out what the emotional conflict is). Have you been anywhere that you would love to read about in a novel?

P.S. Cavelli’s Lost Heir has spent four weeks on Bookscan’s Top 100 Bestselling Romances List! Thanks so much to all my readers for making this happen.