Wow–my weekend is finally over and I’ve got to say–I feel like I need a day or two of rest. Seriously, this was one of the most tiring weekends I’ve had in months.

On Saturday, my morning started off with an early trip downtown because there was an open call for extras. You see, part of a horror movie is going to be filled down here (the movie is Final Destination 4). In case you’re not a Final Destination buff–these movies are the ones in which a group of folks cheat Death at the beginning of the flick, then Death comes after them in a series of increasingly gruesome ways.

When I read about the call in the paper, I thought: Cool. Horror movie. I’m there. My deep and abiding love of horror wold not allow me to miss this chance. So early on Saturday, I went to the casting call with my friend Ashley and my husband Nick. The newspaper had indicated that the movie folks were particularly interested in “pit crew” types (the part of the movie filmed in my city will be about a big car crash at the race track). Since most pit crew types are men, I knew I was going to be at a disadvantage. Sigh.

But anyway…we went downtown. Stood in the hot sun. Chatted. Watched the other folks. Then it was our time. The lady in charge glanced at Nick. (Okay, I’ll tell you, I think my husband is a pretty good-looking guy. Great Greek looks–and the man photographs extremely well.) Anyway, the chick looked at Nick and immediately said, “I think we can use you as a photographer.” Then Nick gets to go to the “special” line–and now he’s being considered for a photographer role/spot in the movie.

As for me…I got turned to the “We’ll call you if we need you line.” Another sigh. Story of my life.

But my day got better. Much better.

Because after I finally got out of the blistering sun (seriously, it was blistering–I have freakishly red shoulders to prove my point), it was time to get ready for my first in-store book signing. The signing began at 2 p.m. on Saturday, and I had an absolutely wonderful time!! I met new readers, I had friends and family come in to buy my book, and I got the chance to talk to aspiring writers. It was a fabulous experience! The staff at Barnes & Noble were considerate and professional–it was a great experience all the way around for me.

Okay, let me tell you about this picture. First, please ignore the glare on my cover poster. Nick, in his I’m-Selected-For-The-Movie-Excitement forgot to bring a camera to my signing–so we were using his camera phone. Grrr. But luckily, I’ll have more pictures later from folks who did bring their cameras.

The lovely dark-haired woman in the picture? She’s Dr. Laura–the real-life inspiration for Dr. Emily Drake in Hotter After Midnight. My friend Laura has her Ph.D. in psychology and when we used to work together and she was in the process of conducting her experiments–well, she fascinated me. She also very patiently would answer all of my questions about the work she was doing. A wonderful lady and friend. After I learned more about psychology work, I knew that I would one day want to write a heroine who was a psychologist (thanks, Laura!) and eventually, Emily was born.

(More pictures to come later. More non-camera phone pictures.)

After the signing finished, I went with Ashley and Nick (and we picked up my son, too–couldn’t celebrate without him) and we went to eat Japanese. I got a fortune cookie at the end of my meal. (By the way, it was technically a Chinese and Japanese restaurant.) The cookie is around here someplace. Basically, it said that my enthusiasm was infectious. Hmm…never really liked to be called infectious.

By the time I got home, I just wanted to crawl into bed. And I did–but then I had to wake up hellishly early the next day because I’d promised my son a trip to New Orleans ( a long overdue trip). My drama will appear in my next post, Weekend Review–Part Deux!!! I say next post because–this post went longer than I intended and I think I need to break things up!

I will say, though, this was my first trip back to New Orleans since the hurricane–and I love New Orleans. It’s one of the cities that I have returned to over and over again–always with excitement–so I was a bit uncertain about this trip. Some things I saw in New Orleans did make me very sad (like the village of tents underneath the interstate), but the city is rebuilding and I was glad to visit again.

I stopped by the Barnes & Noble in Gulfport, MS, earlier tonight and signed stock of HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT (the book is on the New Arrivals table–which was very cool for me).  🙂  I was VERY impressed with this store–they had a terrific selection of romance novels and the two staff members I spoke with could not have been more helpful or professional.  So, if you live in or near Gulfport, MS, and you’d like an autographed copy of HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT, hop on over to the store.

I plan to do a full weekend recap very soon. I had my first official “in-store” signing on Saturday (as opposed to the stock signing adventures I’ve had), and I do plan to post about that–and share pictures. Lots of pictures. But, right now, I’m so tired that my vision is getting blurry, so I may have to come back and post that information tomorrow. But, I will tell you a few of my other weekend highlights (with more details to come later):

1. Casting call for a horror movie.

2. Bears, elephants, and snakes–too many dang snakes!!!  Snakes where there should not have been snakes!

3. Soothing sharks.

4. Fortune cookies.

Hmmm…has my list confused you yet?  If so, check in tomorrow for a full explanation.

Night!

Is it really Thursday already?  This week is flying by.

Here’s my news for the day:

I received my author copies of WHEN HE WAS BAD and I’ve received my ARCs of EVERLASTING BAD BOYS!  (Yep, this sure does mean that a contest will be coming soon.)

I’m guest blogging today over at Love Is An Exploding Cigar (I just love that name), and…speaking of contests, I’m giving away a prize–so do stop by!

Tonight at 9 p.m. Eastern, I’ll be participating in the Red Sage Chat at Writerspace–and the finalists in the Red Sage writing contest will be announced at the chat.  Should be exciting!

I have a book signing scheduled for this Saturday at Barnes & Noble in Mobile.  My first official signing for HOTTER AFTER MIDNIGHT.  If you’re in the area, please come in and see me!  I’ll be sure to post photos from the signing.

The weatherman is predicting some severe weather for my area today–so it looks like it’ll be an inside day for me.  Take care!

Have you checked out the new Sensual site?  It’s great–and, how cool–they posted an interview with me!

If all goes as planned (that means no house disasters today), I’ll finish up the rough draft of my WIP tonight.  Very cool–you see, when I finish, that means I get to reward myself for a few days (before I start the re-reading and editing process) with some really great books.  And luckily for me, there are some wonderful books waiting for me.

Here’s what I’m planning to read (not in my reading order because that will vary, and, yes, I am one of those folks who often reads more than one book at once!!):

1. Wicked Game by Jeri Smith-Ready. The book officially releases today and I can’t wait to get started reading this one!  Vampires and a con artist–come on, what more could I want?

2. The Third Circle by Amanda Quick.  My son gave me this book for Mother’s Day, and sure, I’ve only had it for what? A day and a half? But it has been so HARD not to give into temptation on this one.

3.  I’ve been given a sneak peek–I get to read Marissa Scott‘s manuscript–and this story looks like it will be great! Thanks for the preview, Marissa!

There are more, of course, but I need to get started on my re-read pretty fast–I’ve got a deadline coming up (and birthdays–mine and the hubby’s), so the other books may have to wait until I come up for a second rest.

Any books that I should put on my list?  I’m always ready to add more!