(First, let me say…I’ve been a bad blogger.  Sorry!  Got caught up in copy-edits.  And Magnificent M, they are winging their way to you!)

Today, I’ve been thinking a bit about the dedications that authors place in books. Maybe it’s just me, but I always read dedications.  Sometimes they are funny, sometimes they are sweet, and sometimes they make me a little sniffly. (Sorry–I can be a sniffly gal!!)

Do you read the dedications in books?  Why or why not?  (I’m a curious one, as well as being sniffly.)

I’m guest blogging today over at Something Wicked–if you get a chance, do drop by!  My post is about psychic powers…and I’m giving away a prize, too!

Have a great Friday!

Those are the two places I’m at today–and I’m giving away prizes!

So, if you have a chance, stop by The Bradford Bunch or The Brava Blog.

And on Saturday, I’ll be participating in the  fabulously talented Jacquelyn Frank‘s “Marathon Chat.”  Each hour, she’ll have a different author joining her for chat-time fun…and, yes, there will be prizes!  Here is the list of authors currently scheduled to attend:

12:00 – 1:00: Gena Showalter

1:00 – 2:00: JJ Massa

2:00 – 3:00 Lauren Dane

3:00-4:00 HelenKay Dimon

4:00-5:00 Lara Adrian

5:00-6:00: Cynthia Eden

6:00-7:00: TBA

7:00-8:00: Meljean Brook

8:00-9:00: Shelly Laurenston

9:00 – 10:00: Yasmine Galenorn

You can gain access to all the chatting fun by visiting the forum page on Jacquelyn’s website.

Jacquelyn is also raffling some absolutely FANTASTIC baskets to benefit the Animal Compassion Network.  Check out her blog for basket photos and raffle information.  (I want that Fire Demon Barbecue Basket! Oh, the fun I could have with that basket…)

I’m really excited to say I’ll be attending the Heather Graham Writers for New Orleans Workshop from August 29-August 31st.  Not only do I absolutely love New Orleans, but this workshop weekend sounds like it will be fantastic!  I’ll post more specifics about the event a bit closer to date, but right now, I’m certainly planning on participating in the book signing on August 31st!  I’m hoping that I’ll be able to sign EVERLASTING BAD BOYS (since it will be very newly released), and I’ll be sure to have copies of HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT on hand, too.

If you’re planning to attend the workshop, let me know!  I love meeting new folks.  🙂

Now, back to working on the copy-edits for MIDNIGHT SINS…

In my spare time (okay, by that I mean five minute snatches here and there), I’m reading a fortune telling book, a book on hexes, and finally finishing THE ART OF MODERN CONJURING.

Gotta say, I love THE ART OF MODERN CONJURING.  Originally published in 1886, I guess technically the info on the conjuring isn’t “modern” but that just makes the book all the more fun.  It’s full of techniques that allow you to fool others into thinking they are seeing magic, and it also some very interesting sections on mind reading.

Which brings me to my topic today, “Willing.”  According to my lovely book, Willing was a popular game/past-time back in drawing-room days.  The idea being that “the combined will of a number of persons will compel one of the party to do what they desire and will.”

Picture, if you will, a group of people gathered in a circle, all holding hands (in one unbroken chain.)  One person stands in the middle of the circle, wearing a blindfold. She (or he) is told to keep her mind completely blank.  All of the others focus on one task (they all know this task—everyone is in the know, except for Ms. Blindfolded), and if the event goes as planned, Ms. Blindfolded will suddenly break through the circle and complete the task that the others were all mentally shoving on her.  They’ve willed her to complete the task.

Now, when I read the info about Willing, all kinds of story ideas popped into my head.  Oh, the things I could do with this scenario.  Both in a novel that is historical or in a contemporary.  This is definitely gonna go down in my idea file.  🙂  (And it’s gonna be included as a game at my next Halloween party, too!)

What do you think? Do you believe you’d be Willing?