My article, “Book Videos Sell Books: How To Make Them” is in this week’s issue of WritersWeekly.com. Just click on the article title if you’d like to read it. If you’re a writer, they have interesting articles each week. Also I received payment for this article. If you’re looking for a spot to submit your short freelance articles on some aspect of writing, WritersWeekly.com always pays promptly.

They also have new markets for writing jobs listed in each Wednesday issue.

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The bad weather will be late tonight so that’s good for traveling to the game. Probably won’t be good tomorrow morning though. We are to get a mixture of sleet, rain and snow. Amanda wore her Snapdragon basketball T-shirt to school today. There are three other students in her class on the basketball team, so they are going to write an article and take their picture today at school for their newspaper. The varsity team consists of mostly high school students with disabilities from Clermont County.

It’s very COLD here but the sun is shining. We might get snow tomorrow evening. I hope not because Amanda has a basketball game. It’s so much fun watching her play with other kids with special needs. Amanda is an awesome dribbler which impresses us. Some of the kids are great at making their shots but have trouble dribbling. Amanda doesn’t shoot often. They lost their game on Sunday but they were playing against adult men with disabilities. The other team was good, too. The score was 48-35. Amanda’s coaches make sure everyone gets equal playing time. Seventeen showed up for the game so I’m hoping next year the team will be split into two. There are twenty-one on the team but they don’t all show up for each game.

Yesterday Lisa helped the Samhain authors make flyers for our books. Isn’t that terrific? I really enjoyed making a brochure for NO GREATER LOSS. I want to make ones for the other two today and check out prices to get them printed. Samhain is going to send the brochures to booksellers and even though mine aren’t new releases, they will still send ones for older releases.

I’m going to pick THREE winners for the January blog contest on February 1st. Can you believe January is almost over? The winners may choose from the list below of gently used books. If you have left a comment this month, I’ve written your name on my list for the blog drawing. If the winners should live outside the United States (Canada is fine), I might have to substitute a gift certificate for $5 instead.

BOOK LIST FOR JANUARY

The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Jennifer Crusie, Eileen Dreyer, Anne Stuart

Dying to Please by Linda Howard

She’s The One by Patricia Kay (Silhouette Special Edition)

Dance With Me by Luanne Rice

Sun Kissed by Catherine Anderson

The Husband Hunt by Jillian Hunter

The Marriage Game by Fern Michaels

Hey, Good Looking by Fern Michaels

The Devil’s Necklace by Kat Martin

Outsider by Diane Palmer

Dockside by Susan Wiggs

On the Way to the Wedding by Julia Quinn

Never Seduce a Scoundrel by Sabrina Jeffries

Colter’s Wife by Joan Johnston

Celia’s Grand Passion and Lucy in Disguise by Lynn Kerstan

What Price Love? by Stephanie Laurens

A Wicked Gentleman by Jane Feather

The Rocky Road to Romance by Janet Evanovich (reissued in 2004 - cute romance)

Ben’s Bundle of Joy & When Love Came to Town (2 Love Inspired novels in one paperback) by Lenora Worth. I read the first one and it was very good.

Time After Time by Constance O’Day-Flannery

When Darkness Comes by Alexandra Ivy

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers (a large paperback)

An Independent Woman by Candace Camp

Highland Bride by Hannah Howell

Hero, Come Back by Stephanie Laurens, Christina Dodd, Elizabeth Boyle

A Regency Invitation to the House Party of the Season by Nicola Cornick, Joanna Maitland, Elizabeth Rolls

On Bended Knee by Alice Holden, Kate Huntington, Laura Paquet

Wait Until Midnight by Amanda Quick

The Moon And The Stars by Constance O’Banyon

Luke’s Proposal by Lois Faye Dyer (Silhouette Special Edition)

Forbidden Merger by Emilie Rose (Silhouette Desire)

My Scandalous Bride by Christina Dodd, Stephanie Laurens, Celeste Bradley, Leslie LaFoy

The Widow’s Kiss by Jane Feather

The Bliss by Jacqueline Navin

Match Me If You Can by Susan Elizabeth Phillips

Manhunt by Janet Evanovich (reissued in 2005)

Just Perfect by Julie Ortolon

Proper Conduct by Shannon Donnelly

Exclusive! by Fiona Hood-Stewart, Sharon Kendrick, Jackie Braun

A Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing by Joan Johnston

For the second time in eight years, a Bearcat has claimed the title of Miss America. University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music student Kirsten Haglund won the 2008 national crown in Las Vegas Saturday night, following in the footsteps of former Miss America, Heather Renee French, DAAP ’97, who was crowned in 2000. My husband is employed by UC and three of our children graduated from UC so pretty neat a UC student won. Kirsten was representing Michigan, her home state.

Her platform is to raise awareness of eating disorders, which she revealed she has had to overcome. I think this is great she’s focusing on this problem. There are so many people of various ages suffering from eating disorders. My character, Dr. Jennifer Hunter, in NO GREATER LOSS has a radio segment about eating disorders.

Years ago, I watched the Miss America Pageant. It used to be televised in September. For some crazy reason, after I heard about the new Miss America, I went down memory lane remembering Miss America of 1965 which was Vonda Kay Van Dyke. Why do I remember her? I was only a child at the time, but her talent impressed me so much that I asked for a dummy for Christmas. I never became an accomplished ventriloquist, but I did learn how to throw my voice. I checked out Paul Winchell book on ventriloquism in order to teach myself how to become a ventriloquist. By the way, Winchell was an early television ventriloquist who provided goofy voice-overs for such animated characters as Winnie the Pooh’s friend Tigger. In the mid-1950s, Dr. Paul Winchell patented an artificial heart.

I named my dummy Chris since he was a Christmas gift. I’m afraid I don’t even know what happened to Chris. And that’s a shame. It was fun to inject jokes into dialogue with a dummy and not move my lips. Actually I might use ventriloquism in my new book.

Miss America of 1965, Vonda Kay Van Dyke with her dummy Curley

I’m glad “Friday Night Lights” is on at 9:00 on Friday night! They switched it around to different nights during the first season. The second season just started recently instead of it resuming last fall. With the writers’ strike, I’m glad they delayed the second season. It’s been nice to have something new to watch. My husband and I really enjoy watching this TV show together. The football scenes are mesmerizing and exciting while the emotional drama is heart wrenching. You don’t have to like football to enjoy watching “Friday Night Lights” because there is so much other stuff going on. The writing is outstanding and the interaction between the characters is always interesting. A lot of the struggles by the characters are all things we can relate to and learn from so is a show you might want to start watching if you haven’t already.

Last night’s show didn’t have any scenes on the football field, but focused on relationships, an interracial problem and the girls’ volleyball team. Connie Britton plays Tami, Coach Taylor’s wife. She’s mother to two TV daughters, Julia and Grace. Connie’s great playing the person so many people depend on. She’s a guidance counselor at Dillon High School, and gives encouragement to Tyra and several other students. Connie gives a very talented acting performance each week, and actually played the wife of Billy Bob Thorton in the movie “Friday Night Lights.”

Last night’s episode reminded me of my daughter April playing volleyball in high school. Tami is the coach of the volleyball team and she gets Tyra on the team. As the spiker, Tyra helps the team win their game. It was great having a girls sports team featured. In order to get Tyra to join the team, Tami mentioned how it would look good for her to have a balanced student life when she applied to colleges. Our daughter April had a full ride to college because of her athletic abilities in track and she was also valedictorian of her high school graduating class.

I felt sorry for the character Tim Riggins, a linebacker and fullback, for the Dillon football team. He told Lyla his true feelings and how he loved her. She told him that she doesn’t return these feelings. They had a history together during the first season. She’s interested in a young man who’s a Christian. She met him from the Christian radio show and youth group.

By the way, “Friday Night Lights has been a critical success and was featured on a number of critics’ top ten lists following its first season as well being identified twice by the American Film Institute as culturally significant. Lauded by critics for its realistic portrayal of Middle America and deep personal exploration of its central characters, the show has been awarded a Peabody Award, an Emmy Award, and a Television Critics Association Award.” (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

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Enjoy your weekend! I’ll be back with a post on Monday!

Heath Ledger in “A Knight’s Tale”

Heath Ledger with his daughter Matilda

My prayers and thoughts are with Heath Ledger’s family and friends during this time of great sadness. Like others I was shocked to learn about his death on Tuesday, January 22nd. He was only twenty-eight years old so my heart goes out to his parents. He was a devoted father to his little daughter, Matilda, so I’m sad she won’t have him in her life any longer.

Heath Ledger was a talented actor. He was adorable in “Ten Things I Hate About You”, which is a teen remake of the classic Shakespeare play “The Taming of the Shrew”. But I will always remember his role in “A Knight’s Tale”. I’m sure other women also fell in love with him after watching him play the knight willing to lose the jousting tournament to win his lady’s love. Of course, she changes her mind and decides she wants him to win instead.

Ledger gave an outstanding performance in “A Patriot” when he played Mel Gibson’s son. “The Four Feathers” wasn’t a movie I’d watch again, but Ledger did an excellent job of playing the British officer who resigns his post before the battle and then redeems his honor by going undercover. Ledger was an Academy Award nominee (Best Lead Actor) for “Brokeback Mountain”.

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It’s unbelievable that Amanda didn’t have school today. There was only a dusting of snow this morning. First, it was a two hour delay, then the school closed at 8:00. I’m afraid we will actually get some accumulating snow in February and the school will again go over their 5 days they are allowed to miss and have to make up days at the end of the school year.