A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 26: Z is for Z End

Yeah...I'm out of ideas. :)

Here we are...the end of the A-Z Blogging Challenge. And it was tougher than I thought it would be. I did schedule 95% of these posts ahead of time. It was just easier that way for me. Some of the letters were real easy. Some were harder. I liked how some bloggers chose a theme. If I do this next year, I think that's what I'd do.

But I was so excited to connect with bloggers I had never met before! I gained a bunch of new followers!! So yeah for that!! And welcome to all my new friends!!

So now we're back to regularly scheduled programming. Hallelujah! Got all kinds of great posts planned!! Check back often!! :)

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 25: Y is for Youth

Is there any truer statement that "Youth is wasted on the Young?"

I never thought so until I started to get old. And now I understand it completely.

Youth is full of new experiences and I wouldn't trade any of my teen years. At times I had been frustrated and angry, embarrassed, unsure, shy....but everything had been so new and exciting. After 12 years of marriage and 2 kids, there isn't too much that is new and exciting.

Not that I'm complaining!! I adore my family and I love my husband with all my heart....but sometimes I do reminisce about a time when life was always fresh and new.

And don't even get me started on the body...eating anything I wanted with no weight gain.... No back pain, no joint pain...never tired, just go go go! No wrinkles, no gray hairs, no sagging boobs...

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 24: X is for X-rated

Okay, now this challenge is getting tough. Very few words came into my head that have an x: x ray, xylophone. I'm interested to see what X-words everyone else came up with!!

I chose X-rated as my X word. Within my genre there is A LOT of x-rated stuff. There is always talk somewhere of the differences between erotic romance/erotica and porn. And there are HUGE differences.

Sex is a part of romantic fiction, whether the author chooses to hold off til the very end and hide it behind a closed door, or lace it throughout the book with completely open scenes detailing every moment. But even these incredibly detailed scenes are still not considered pornography.

The reason is the intent behind the sex. In a romantic fiction story, sex is there to progress the story forward. It always has a reason. It's an integral part of the romantic journey between the hero and heroine, filled with emotions- desire, lust, love, sometimes confusion, frustration.

Sex is a part of life and no romantic story would be complete without it. Now I'm not saying a romance novel is incomplete without a sex scene. But the story will end with the knowledge that the characters will live happily ever after and will eventually consummate the relationship.

In porn, sex is there for a completely different reason. The sex is all that's there- no emotion. It's there to excite and that's about it.

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 23: W is for Warm Weather

Now I am rarely one to complain about weather. I live in the Northeast, an infamously snowy area of New York. It gets pretty cold here in the winter and it can snow...a lot. But I'm used to it. When everyone else in town is complaining on Facebook because of the latest snow storm, I am replying with "Well, it's Buffalo...what did you expect?" I've lived here my entire life...it snows...I deal with it..no point in complaining.

But I do get to a cracking point. I won't say "breaking point" because I really don't break...I just start to get annoyed a little. This back and forth in spring gets to me. We'll have a nice warm day where Mother Nature gives us a little taste of what we're all eagerly waiting for. Then snatches it away and gives us a week of rain/snow/sleet/hail. I get sick of bundling up...I just want to wear my clothes outside, not several layers. I want to wear my cute summery outfits, I want to wear sandals, I want to go to the park and not freeze.

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 22: V is for Vision

I have a vision for my future. I think most people do. Or at least, they should.

I want the typical American Dream of being able to make money doing something I love, raising my children in a safe environment with love and as stress-free as possible, and enjoying time with my family. I want to be in a place financially where we don't worry about bills. I'm not looking to be rich or buy extravagant things, I just want to be comfortable and lose the stress of existing on one income.

What's your vision for the future??

I can see your future...and it includes a guest blogging spot on my blog or an interview!!! :) Anyone interested?? I'm thinking of starting a weekly feature. Let me know by posting a comment or emailing me directly: haefner919@yahoo.com

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 21: U is for Umbrella

I love the lyrics to Rhianna's song "Umbrella".

When the sun shines, we'll shine together
Told you I'll be here forever
Said I'll always be a friend
Took an oath, I'm a stick it out till the end

Now that it's raining more than ever
Know that we'll still have each other
You can stand under my umbrella
You can stand under my umbrella

Is that not the perfect definition of marriage???

When it's fun and sunny and things are going great, you're together and taking it all in, enjoying it all, basking in the glow. But when the bad stuff comes, and it does, it always does, you need to be able to stick together and get through it, together.

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 20: T is for Tea

I am a tea drinker. I have tried coffee, and various coffee beverages, and I just cannot get used to the taste. I suppose if I dumped a ton of sugar and creamer in it, I could probably drink it, but why do that just so I can be cool??

Instead, I drink tea.

I remember when I was a kid and summers when my mom would visit. She drank tea and let me have some too, and we always added sugar and milk. It was tasty. But when I grew up, I was drawn more to fancy flavored teas that needed no additives. Au naturale. Though I do add some honey of I need to..sometimes certain teas are just too bitter.

Usually I go for a green tea, a fun flavor. No black tea for me. Yuck! But I recently started drinking red tea at the cafe where my writers group meets. Very good!!

And the funny thing is that I do not drink iced tea. Just don't like it...tea should be hot!! Iced tea just tastes like tea that has been sitting out too long...I wanna go throw it in the microwave and warm it back up!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 19: S is for Stephanie

Yeah, that's me! This is the most recent photo I have of myself (with hubby)...I look pretty darn cute if I do say so myself! :)

So, an A-Z post all about me....how do I narrow all the fabulosity of me into one short post??

As you can tell, I'm in a pretty good mood today. No clue as to why exactly. Life is good and I don't have anything to complain about today!!

So for my newer followers, maybe I'll just give you all some quick facts about me!!

Hometown: Buffalo, NY, born and raised and still living here (though I did move to the suburbs when I got married).

Birthday: September 8th, a true Virgo through and through.

Favorite Place to go on Vacation: Walt Disney World (I always have a trip in the works. Visit my Disney Blog here!)


Alltime Favorite Band: New Kids on the Block (Already got tiks for two shows this summer)

Hobbies: Dance (I take an adult jazz class and perform every year in the recital), Scrapbooking (nothing better than taking pictures and making them into works of art!), golf (I'm not an athletic person AT ALL, but I can golf decently)

Got any fun questions about me you'd like answered?? Post them below!!! :)

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 18: R is for Romance Writers of America

I did it! I joined RWA!!

I had held off for a while. First of all, the price seemed steep and I wasn't sure I'd get enough value out of it. Much of it seemed online and there is a local chapter but I already have an awesome writers critique group, so why did I need another?

But then I did the Small Press Book Fair in Buffalo and felt snubbed and completely out of place. I needed to find where the romance readers hang out. And how better to find them them than by hanging out with local romance authors? So I decided to look further into RWA and the local chapter. I visited their site and they have some pretty interesting things coming up, including a meet where a Harlequin editor is coming to accept pitches. I thought that was way cool, even though I have nothing that would qualify.

The online RWA stuff seems good and I look forward to participating. I am dying to go to the national RWA conference in NYC this summer, but I would need some major cash. If I drive and stay with a friend, I would still need about $800. (And I'm already skrimping together funds for our family vaca in November.)

So, I'm giving RWA a chance and hoping I get my $110 worth!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 17: Q is for Queen

I'm not even gonna try and deny it...I am the Queen of my Kingdom (aka, my home).

The King is the one who supports our Kingdom financially, but the Queen is really the one in charge of the show. The Queen keeps the Kingdom organized and running efficiently. The Queen makes sure the Prince and Princess are cared for, though the King does his share too.

We have a lovely little Kingdom here, though it isn't without it's problems. But like any good royal pairing, we work together to keep peace in the Kingdom and make sure everyone is happy.

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 16: P is for Photographs

I love taking pictures! Always have! I even love being in pictures, though most times I am the one behind the camera simple because there isn't anyone around to hand it to.

I am huge on memory making and capturing those memories. I fell crazy in love with scrapbooking a while back and turning my memories and photos into works of art.

I think photography is my favorite art forms..love the way a photographer can capture a facial expression, a landscape, something simple and showcase it in a way that is pure art. I once wanted to learn all about photography and I even bought a fancy slr camera with plans of buying all kinds of fancy lenses and such. But it didn't happen. And now that 35 mm camera is pretty much obsolete.

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 15: O is for Ocean

I just love the ocean!!!

My first experience with the big blue was when I was a kid...seven years old. My mom had moved to the west coast when my parents divorced. The summer when I was seven was my first trip to visit her there. We drove to the beach in northern CA. My mom lived not far from San Fransisco. I remember walking in the ocean...and it was cold! I have pictures of me and my brother in jackets and shorts, the wind swirling my hair around. But there were huge smiles on our faces.

Since that first time I have visited the ocean several times, some east coast visits too, where the water was much warmer! And there is just something about standing in the sand as your feet sink, waves rushing over top, and staring out at the horizon. There's nothing...just blue that goes on forever.

My husband and I took a cruise for our honeymoon and then another with friends a few years later. We got to test the waters of tropical beaches...so so beautiful! :)

And all you writers out there looking for representation...check out this contest at YAtopia!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 14: N is for Nighttime

The nighttime is the right time!! LOL!

There's just something about the changing of day into night and the the twinkling of stars. Magical.

When I was a teen, my family spent summers camping at a family campground. We were seasonal and we went every Friday after my dad got out of work and stayed til Sunday. We were pretty much allowed to come and go as we pleased. Days were spent swimming and hanging out in the camp's rec room playing ping pong and pool. Sometimes we'd get a volleyball game going or paddle out onto the lake in a canoe or paddle boat.

But nighttime...that was a whole different story. To quote Kid Rock, "We couldn't wait for night to come." (Yeah...his song All Summer Long pretty much describes my teen years.) I won't go into explicit detail, but there were many many many fun nights under those stars! ;)

And all you writers out there looking for representation...check out this contest at YAtopia! All genres accepted!!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 13: M is for Mickey!

It's no secret to anyone who knows me personally, I have a semi-obsession with Disney World. I can't really describe it....we just love going there and have such a fun time. It's an effortless vacation and we can really relax and just have fun. Everything that Disney does is amazing and you really feel transported when you visit their parks. I even have a blog that chronicles my adventures and helps others plan their trips. Check it out here!

And is there any other character that symbolizes Disney World better than Mickey Mouse??


I think not. Disney goes as far as hiding his silhouette in tons of random places around the parks. They call them "Hidden Mickeys". My daughter found this one on our most recent trip, on the Swiss Family Treehouse:



And if you're looking for something short and fun and romantic to read, check out Paradise Cove!! It's the perfect length for reading on an iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, or other smartphone!!

AND if you are interested in entering this awesome contest to win some Disney-fied goodies, stop by Growing Up Disney! Click here!!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 12: L is for Lemons

You always hear people say "If life gives you lemons, make lemonade!" So true. From a philosophical point and a literal point!!

I try to live my life by doing what I can with what I'm given. I do work hard and make my own luck, but sometimes life does deal us a crappy hand. And what else can you do?? Crying and throwing a fit isn't helping anyone. So I always try to find a way to turn life's crap into something sweet.

And I so love lemonade! I mean, really, what else are lemons for??? Yeah, I've had some tasty lemon chicken dishes, and it's good mixed into other meals as well, but you don't see anyone peeling and eating a lemon all by itself. Lemonade used to be my go-to beverage whenever we went out to eat. I never used to be a big fan of pop (or soda, as most of the world calls it). I was never very fond of the carbonation. But somehow that changed when I was pregnant with my first child...it was one of my cravings and never went away. But anyway, I used to drink lemonade wherever we went. I adore the Kiwi Lemonade at Applebees!! And Tully's has some really great flavored concoctions too!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 11: K is for Kite

This post kinda coordinates with yesterdays post. I mentioned how fun Western NY is in the summer...there is always somehting going on!!

And one of those things is the Kite Festival. I discovered it a few years back. The first time I took my daughter and went with my mom and dad. I had no clue what it was actually going to be like and it completely blew my mind. Huge kites, small kites, character kites...you name it, it was there. A. MAZ. ING.

So beautiful they were wavering in the wind. Some just flew while others did loops and tricks. I could have stood there for hours watching.

My daughter even got to color her own little mini kite and we flew it. So fun!

The next year it was even bigger, with food and other vendors. Hubby had to buy a kite for our daughter :)

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 10: J is for July

Summer is a great time to be in Western NY. Usually the weather is fantastic, especially by July. May is so so...we get good days and bad. June is usually nice, but not extremely hot, usually highs in the mid 70's. But July is when we can really start going to the beach and playing with the hose in the yard.

The kids here are done with school around June 24th...yeah...we go late. So July is the first full month of summer vacation. We almost never go anywhere in the summer. The weather here is too good. We have a lot of crap weather in Winter and Spring and there's no way I am wasting any of my beautiful summer in my hometown by going somewhere else!! We have festivals every weekend and activities galore!

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 9: I is for Ice Cream

Yeah...if you're just tuning in now, I am participating in this year's A-Z Blogging Challenge. I decided to just blog about whatever word popped into my head first. Today it was ice cream.

I'm not a huge fan of ice cream. But I do like it...usually with lots of fun stuff in it. I'm not a plain ice cream kind of gal.

My alltime fav is cookies n cream. Gotta love ice cream and Oreos! But often times we buy some kind of chocolate, hubby's fav, with soemthing in it. Everyone at our house seems to love Chocolate Panda Paws...chocolately swirls with mini PB cups. I love a good hot fudge sundae...the more fudge, the better!

Ever go to Coldstone Creamery??? We love to go there. I have ordered fun stuff from their menu, but I love to design my own too. I love getting a simple ice cream and adding Oreos and Reese cups! Tasty!

Why are so many of my A-Z posts about food...mainly desserts????

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 8: H is for Home

Before you read today's post, please stop by Sondrae's Corner! We're giving away TWO copies of Paradise Cove, my latest release!!!! And follow her while you're at it!! She's awesome!!!

Okay, on with today's post!

They say "Home is where the Heart is". Home can be the physical place you live...home can be your family...home can refer to the city or town you live in or grew up in.

Home is all those things for me.

I consider several dwellings "home". The house I grew up in will always be home, even though my parents no longer live there. The neighborhood got pretty bad and they decided it was time to move out. My brother does live there now...just so the place isn't empty (plus he was out of work for a while, and a free home was ideal). That house is where I lived from the time we moved in in early 1980, when I was 2, going on 3, til I got married and moved out in 1998. More than 18 years that was my home. And even after that...we'd visit my parents and it still always felt like home. They moved about 2 years ago and I have to say, as inviting and homey as the new house is, it doesn't feel like home to me. It feels awkward to walk into the house without knocking.

Hubby and I bought our first house just after we got married. We closed 2 days after returning home from our honeymoon. We loved that little house and really thought we'd live there forever! But then we had a child and the house got really, really tiny! But we lived there for 9 years...and that place will always be special to us.

When we were ready for baby #2, we knew it was also time to move. We found a house that was a little bigger than our old house, but the set up was also much better. And as weird as it was at first, trying to make this house into a home, we eventually did and now there are so many things I love about it and still so many more things we want to do with it in the future.

My city is also my home, though I don't live within it's borders anymore. I live a few miles outside the city now...a suburb. I have never really living anywhere else and I love this place. I'm proud of my city, and so often it gets a bad rap and people underestimate it. There's so much here that people don't even realize.

And of course, my family is my home. I'd be nowhere without them :)

A-Z Blogging Challenge Day 7: G is for Grammar

Yeah...fun topic.

When I first started writing seriously with the intent on finishing an entire novel, I knew nothing. I just wrote. It was kind of freeing then. No rules, no thoughts of agents or publishers, or sales or reviews.

But then I finished it and wanted to get it out there for people to read. I went through and corrected the errors I found and then I sent it out. I later realized just how awful my grammar was. I am a great speller, so that was fine, and I know the proper usage for there, their, and they're. But tenses and POV and adverbs and dialogue tags.....I could go on and on......

It had been many years since I had last taken a grammar class. Like freshman year of high school, if not before that. I couldn't remember all the rules. I had to buy myself a little grammar handbook and basically relearn it all. And it didn't sick. I had to keep referring back to that little book repeatedly. Even now, after going through the editing process three times with a professional editor, and learning a TON, I still don't remember it all.

But thank God for my editor!! She is fantastic and just keeps helping me!! My only hope is that each time it at least gets a little better!!!

And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE stop by the fabulous Sondrae Bennett's Blog! She interviewed me about my newest release, Paradise Cove!