For some folks, St. Patrick’s Day is an excuse to get drunk on green beer and eat corned beef and cabbage without guilt.
Now, I like a hearty meal of corned beef and cabbage as much as anyone, but I don’t do beer — green or otherwise. Like Meg, the heroine in BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER, I prefer the taste of mixed drinks.
St. Patrick’s Day reminds me of my visit to Ireland. In 1992, my sophomore year of college, I spent spring semester studying at Harlaxton College. We had classes Monday-Thursday, with Fridays reserved for either class field trips or the start of long traveling weekends. Spring Break offered two trips: Paris for the first half and then Ireland.
Our Irish tour took us to many of the country’s popular tourist spots. In a movie theater in Dublin, a friend and I took in “The Commitments.” (The rest of the group opted to watch Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves in “Point Break,” but Amy and I decided it made more sense to watch a movie about an Irish band.)
Another of our stops was at Blarney Castle in County Cork.
Naturally, while I was there, I had to kiss the Blarney Stone. Who could pass up the opportunity to touch lips to the same stone kissed by heads of state, Hollywood hotties and millions of others?
Legend has it that kissing said stone imbues the kisser with the power of persuasion … the gift of gab, if you will.
Even then I knew I wanted to be a writer, and I’d been practicing so long I doubted I needed help in the persuasive writing department. Still, if kissing a stone would give me extra polish, I didn’t want to squander the chance.
When I saw what was involved in the kissing, I almost chickened out. It’s not as simple as leaning into a wall and puckering up. Oh no. The stone isn’t that easy to get to. You have lie on your back and grip iron handrails, levering yourself over the edge of the wall. A castle employee holds you by the waist to make sure you don’t fall.
I thought I had a picture of myself kissing the stone. I remember it well, down to the maroon paisley shirt and brown fanny pack I wore (1992, remember?). However, when I looked in my photo albums, I couldn’t find it. You can see pictures of others doing the deed at Wikipedia.
Photo or no, I’ll certainly never forget that kiss. It may well be the most frightening and exhilarating smack of my life.
To celebrate the impending releases of BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER (this month) and SLIDING INTO HOME (April), I’m doing a Goodreads giveaway. Enter to win one of 5 print copies of my debut DIVA IN THE DUGOUT.
Goodreads Book Giveaway
Diva in the Dugout
by Arlene Hittle
Giveaway ends April 30, 2014.
See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.
OK, OK. Technically, it’s not a reveal. You’ve probably already seen it on Facebook and/or Twitter, but now I’m plastering it here, on my blog: The cover for my April release from Turquoise Morning Press.
Gorgeous, isn’t it?
I love Jenn’s striking eyes. You can certainly see why her sister took Jade as a stage name.
SLIDING INTO HOME (until recently known as Untitled Book 3) comes out in mid-April. I can’t wait to share Greg and Jenn’s story.
Here’s a sneak peek:
More than anything, Arizona Condors first baseman Greg Bartlesby wants to make his own name in the big leagues. Too bad being the son of MLB legend Jake “Big Man” Bartlesby makes that impossible. Even worse? His attempts to differentiate himself from his old man more often land him in legal trouble. His latest brush with the law brings him in contact with an attorney he’s met before — as a dancer at the club where he was arrested … for protecting her.
Jenn Simpson isn’t a stripper—not that she can convince her bonehead client her twin is the one doing the dancing. When Greg offers her sister a job at his father’s Foundation, Jenn is the one who accepts, at her sister’s urging. She soon discovers she likes the work—and her new boss. As she and Greg forge a friendship and more, she knows it’s time to convince him she’s not who he thinks. But when his father’s hospitalization compels Greg to fast-track his leap to the majors by capitalizing on Big Jake’s fame, it might be too late for her to come clean.
Writers, take note!
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Today must be the day for motivating thoughts, because this Ruby Slippered Sisterhood blog post also has me thinking: What I really want to say on Twitter by Liz Talley.
I’m pretty sure that’s what every author really wants to say on Twitter (and everywhere else), but can’t. “Look at me! Look at me!” gets really old, fast.
An endless stream of RT’s of fellow authors’ books, all at once — bang, bang, bang — also doesn’t cut it. That’s why I use Buffer to space out my tweets.
Liz also talks about planting butt in chair to write the next book, which is something I need to get back to doing. With releases coming from TMP in March and April, as well as plans to self-pub in June, I haven’t written any new words in too long. Been self-editing BLIND DATE BRIDE and prepping for the release of BEAUTY AND THE BALLPLAYER and SLIDING INTO HOME (formerly Untitled Book 3).
Speaking of SLIDING INTO HOME, I don’t think I’ve shared the cover on my blog yet. Look for it later this week.
At least Saturday’s plot group meeting got my creative juices going again. I now have some ideas for a fourth Love & Baseball story, thanks to some brainstorming with the NARWA crew. I’ll be back to banging out new words in no time.
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