Flowers, romance and the 'oh my!' factor

Earlier this week a few of the local romance writers (members of Greater Seattle RWA) were asked to judge at the NW Flower and Garden show. Anna Alexander, Olivia Waite and I were thrilled to agree--once we got over the initial shock of being asked. I mean, a garden show? really? My master-gardener mother-in-law had a much harder time accepting that this is something I would be asked to do because of my writing, but we were excited. We were to judge the displays before the show opened to the public to help pick which of the displays spoke to the theme of "Romance Blossoms."

We were given our clipboards and set to work...and quickly realized that while we might not be master gardeners or landscape artists, we were very critical when it came to the subtleties of the displays telling a story. We spent a lot of time checking out the details, reading the descriptions and discussing if the various display lived up to their promises.

And, as a person who loved to dabble in the garden myself, I felt incredibly humbled by some of these displays. The gardens were gorgeous, all across the board. We wished we could have awarded them all something, just for the sheer amount of time and effort all the artists put into each display.

Overall, it was so much fun and we loved every minute of it.  Rather than try to narrate my way through all the photos, I'll share bits and pieces...

This steampunk inspired garden captured all of our imaginations. It was a spectacular display. We later discovered it was a first time designer who put this together. My cell phone photos doesn't do justice to the level of details in this display (or any of them really).

This rustic cabin display really captured our imaginations. It wasn't until our second pass through that we discovered the very subtle nod towards the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy. (When we mentioned it to the coordinator she hadn't realized the tie in at all. At the time, we were the only ones to see it.) Ultimately, we all decided we'd love to spend a weekend here.

I called this one my "happily-ever-after" garden. And, again, my cell phone photo doesn't do it justice. There were so many really wonderful things happening in this display, with an assortment of textures, mediums and levels. I would love to have this garden in my back yard. (There's a Valentines Day gift idea! LOL)








There were so many really wonderful details in the various gardens:

I hope you've enjoyed this little peek into the garden show. Which is your favorite so far?

And lastly, I'll show you one more really spectacular garden. This one was huge, but every angle you looked at it you discovered more really wonderful details:

 

 

Enjoying it while it lasts

The sun was out in Seattle yesterday. It was completely spectacular. So, my friend Anna Alexander and I decided we needed to head to the waterfront to write.

This was the view from our table at the Edgewater. Isn't it spectacular? 

 And we weren't the only ones enjoying the weather. Several boats of various sizes slowly meandered by that window in the three hours we were there.

So, okay...we didn't get much writing done. Instead we jabbered endlessly and enjoyed the day. 

Next time we'll write.

Sometimes you just have to enjoy the little things, right?

What have you done to enjoy the day lately? Gone anywhere wonderful?

One is the loneliest number...

I hear a lot about how writing is an introverted activity, how writers feel solitary and how a lot of that is by choice.

This has always made me feel like something of an outcast. See, I've met some AMAZING people through my writing. I've been mentored, encouraged and engaged.  I can't talk about other people's endeavors but for me, writing opened up a whole new world of friendships and peers.

I'll start by talking about Sabrina York...mostly because she will get upset if I don't.  Sabrina has been here before, talking about one of her books. I can't remember if she said it or not, but she's been published for a year. Fifteen titles in the past YEAR. Can you believe it?  Today is the anniversary of her first release, so as a thank you to all her fans...and those who want to be fans but haven't discovered her yet, she's offering her first self published title, Rebound, for free on Amazon.
Get it here.

I met Sabrina through our local RWA chapter and by volunteering for the Emerald City Writers' Conference, which she was chairing at the time. We've dragged our husbands to dinner, where they sit and listen to us chatter about everything...
This is a friendship I treasure...even if she doesn't give me any bling in her give aways. (There will be more giveaways today to celebrate too.) Go to her website or track her down on Facebook...tell her I sent you.

Another wonderful friendship developed in the same way is the amazing Anna Alexander.  Anna released her first book the same day Sabrina did. Talk about thick as thieves   Anna writes about erotic super heroes.  Freakin' YUMMY!  And, she's the only person I know who has been told that something she wrote was TOO HOT for Ellora's Cave.  I can't make this up!

Anna took me on as her assistant, introduced me to everyone and showed me how a smile can win over the worst critic.

I owe these women so much. For their smiles, laughter and friendship I thank them more than I can express. And I never would have met them had I not stepped out of my writing cave.

Over the next few weeks I'm going to introduce you to a few other friends who have held my hand at times and always been encouraging.

More soon,
Carmen