I heard last week from a close friend that she has cancer and it seems to have spread to more than one site. I am devastated. She is super-conscious of health issues – careful of her diet, exercises regularly — yoga, Reiki, meditation . . . and now this!

I feel very vulnerable. Is there any hope for our human condition?

I think it is this sense of vulnerability that made me go out yesterday and buy the newly released book, Slow Death by Rubber Duck: How the Toxic Chemistry of Everyday Life Affects Our Health by  Rick Smith and Bruce Lourie. Haven’t started reading yet.

But I do wonder . . . will I feel more hopeful or more depressed after reading this book??

I’ve had quite a few e-mails from people who are responding to something on my blog. I don’t know why they don’t want to put their thoughts out there for others to read, especially if they are authors. Blogging as a guest gives you a wide audience, if you have a book to promote. It’s also great for people (like me) who are in solitary occupations and need to network for their mental health.

The RWA conference in July: I’m giving it a pass this time around. I can’t face all the hassle at airports and the cut-backs in service. Apart from that, I have to finish this manuscript - the third in my Scottish series. Deadlines - the bane of  a writer’s existence. I loved the movie Stranger than Fiction because I can easily see myself as the character Emma Thompson plays.

I’ve heard through another blog that one of my readers can’t find my books at Borders or Barnes & Noble. Anyone else having difficulty finding my books? Let me know and I’ll get onto my editor at Berkley.

I was in a bookstore the other day, and right by the entrance was an older lady (about my age!) signing and autographing her first book. There wasn’t a soul paying any attention to her. Her first book is self-published - not a great draw for most readers.

But hey, most best-selling authors have been there, too. It’s par for the course. It’s not only that no one will buy your book, they won’t give you eye contact.

I stopped, talked to the author and was overwhelmed by her eagerness to talk to a published author. We hugged and wished each other well.

What’s my point? Next time you see an author sitting alone with a pile of books by his/her elbow, and everyone is giving her a wide berth, stop and talk to her for a minute or two. It won’t cost you anything, but the reward for her - priceless.

Did anyone notice that I didn’t advertise The Scot and I (June 2/09 publication) in Romantic Times? This time around, I’m trying something different - a flash panel banner ad on the Romantic Times web site and a series of Google AdWords ads for the Google web site.

Any advice? Where do you look for information/reviews etc., for latest books?

More on vampire books: I did pick up a few in the bookstores, but the print was so small on some of them that I knew I would never get through them.

Is print getting smaller or am I just getting older?

Are there any other stories about vampires or shape-shifters that I should try? All recommendations will be gratefully received.

My new book, The Scot and I, will be out in bookstores on June 2/09. You might want to check out my latest Scot and I contest which will end June 28/09.

I’ll be spending a week in Toronto after that with my son and his family.

Twilight, the Stephanie Meyers’ series. I’ve just read all four books in the series and I’m absolutely captivated. My eldest granddaughter is a fan, so I thought I’d give the books a try. I was reluctant to begin with because I’d heard about all the bad-mouthing the books attracted. I didn’t like everything, especially when Bella went catatonic when Edward split. Also, it took me a while to realize that books three to four had transformed from a romance to a fantasy, much like Tolkien’s work (Lord of the Rings) or the Harry Potter series.

Now my granddaughter wants me to try Charlene Harris books. Isn’t she Candace Proctor?

So, who has read the Twilight series and what do you think?

Is the first book a romance? My editor says ‘no,’ but she hasn’t read it. I give it a resounding ‘yes’.

It’s interesting to hear where authors are going with their stories, but I’d still like to know what has happened to Penelope Williamson. Is she still writing?  I loved her western romances.

Kim, Caffey, you both mentioned C.H. Harris (or C.S. Harris) writing Regency mysteries. Kim, you say that she is Penelope Williamson? I loved her western romances and always wondered what had happened to her.

If, however, she kills off her heroine in between books 3 & 4, count me out. I won’t be reading the series. It would be like killing off Harry Potter’s best friends at Hogwarts. What, no Hermione? No Ron?

Elizabeth George did something similar with Lady Helen. I suppose that left the hero free to make other connections with different women and spice up the author’s stories. It doesn’t work for me as a reader. I’m not even tempted to pick up an Elizabeth George novel now. I think J.D. Robb (Nora Roberts) and Ann Perry have the right idea. Just because a couple is married doesn’t mean that everything is plain sailing.

As for my own continuing mystery series, I’m not sure how that will fly. My agent wasn’t too keen on the idea when I pitched it to her, mainly because I can’t write two books a year. Seems every writer is trying to publish two books a year. That’s what publishers want.

I’m just finalized a new contract with Berkley for two more books and all that I’m hearing from my agent is doom and gloom. Advances are being cut back because readers are not buying as many books as they used to and many writers are being let go. This is happening all over.

One last word. Yes, I’ve read Victoria Thomson’s series. All credit to this author for making herself over when times were almost as gloomy as they are now.

Elizabeth is smiling because she got a new contract!!

In response to Kim: You’re currently reading two different mysteries set in Victorian England? So am I, and enjoying them both immensely.

One series is by a long time favorite, Anne Perry, the other is by a new author, Deanna Raybourn. Yes, their books are light on romance, but rich in historical detail, and fabulous on characterization.

This is the kind of series I want to pitch for my next contract, a series that carries a love story forward for several books. It’s been done many times. Think of Dorothy Sayers, Elizabeth George and J.D. Robb. I like mystery but, for me, it’s the romance and the suspense that keep me turning the pages. Once I get to the end of the series I’m working on, I may have a clearer idea of where I’d go with this.

Any suggestions?

Cécile, in case readers are wondering which book “Hellie and Jack” appear in, that would be THE MARRIAGE TRAP.

Are you the Cécile who was a winner in my RUNAWAY MCBRIDE contest? I’m thrilled to hear that I have a devoted following of French readers and that I’m the author of the month on the website -lesromantiques.com.

I get many letters in various languages depending on where my foreign rights are sold, but I’ve yet to hear from readers in Japan, and my books seem to do well there.

The second book in my paranormal series, following THE RUNAWAY MCBRIDE, is entitled, THE SCOT AND I and will be out the first week of June 2009. My editor said this book was ‘fabulous.” I love it because the action takes place where I spent many holidays with my husband and three sons before we moved to Canada. The area known as Deeside was in my back yard and I was there last June with my husband. It was as beautiful as I remembered it.

I’m working on the third book in the series and once again have set it in Deeside. Once this book is finished, I’d like to start on a different kind of series. I’d keep the paranormal elements but have the relationship between the hero and heroine go on for four or five books. What do you think? A sort of historical romantic mystery series.

I started the New Year blogging about balance in my life. So how am I doing? I’ve lost 12 pounds, go on my treadmill three times a week and continue with my Reformer Pilates twice a week.

A long time ago, I learned that there were three sides to our wholeness as people - body, mind, spirit - three sides that make up a perfect triangle. For some reason or other, I’m lax about keeping track of my physical well-being. I’ve made a start.