Thursday Thirteen - 218 - 13 Things About My Trip to New York City

1 - This mega trip had multiple layers for me. It's been so amazing that I'm going to split it into several Thursday Thirteens, which I'll post in the coming weeks.

To begin with, this was the start of a two-week vacation from my day job. I had a very challenging winter and spring as my department switched capture software for my scanner. I was really, really up for this break.

Everything began with an overnight stay at my cousin's, because we had to leave very early for the airport. She treated me to some Jameson's Irish whiskey as we settled in to watch TV. Her husband and their dog Molly joined us, as Molly was very keen on demonstrating proper chillaxin technique.































2 - Having had a bit of a journey to obtain my passport, due to replacing lost documentation, my true enjoyment only began after we were safely through security and customs.

I sat next to my sister during the flight. She came to New York with my cousin and me - we're very silly at the best of times, and this handy tip on the instructions-in-case-of-emergency card aboard the aircraft had us in giggles. Apparently, using alien x-ray vision will be very important in a crisis.





























3 - Our cab driver took us from Newark Airport in New Jersey into midtown Manhattan.

Destination - the Marriott Marquis Hotel on Times Square.























4 - The hotel was massive. Very Matrix-like interior. I adored it.






























5 - But wait.

It gets better.

We opened the door to our hotel room and this is the view we found. For someone like me who thinks bigger is better when it comes to things like metropolis cities, castles, cathedrals and that sort of thing, our hotel room and view were beyond what I'd ever expected.

If you notice in the second photo in the upper left corner, those are the giant Blade Runner billboards revealed by the open curtains.























6 - On our very first day in The Big Apple, a red carpet premiere broke out in Times Square directly below us. It was for the third Transformers film.
























7 - New York is highly associated with film and television for me, so I was pleased when we strolled by a film crew on our way to Rockefeller Center and we saw a camera crew mounting a heavy camera on a crane attached to a car for travelling shots.

I also stopped to chat with Romantic Times magazine's website editor Morgan Doremus, who was interviewing authors during the writers' conference.























8 - We passed by NBC studios and CBS studios during our city treks.




























9 - Being the complete dance freak that I am, I tend to think of New York in dance terms.

Also on our way to Rockefeller Center, we passed by the hallowed Radio City Music Hall. There was a touring production of Cirque du Soleil during our stay, so no Rockettes. I had the incredible pleasure of seeing them on tour in Toronto, so I'd love to see them in their home venue some day.

Even though this trip was 90% writing conference, for me the performance of Swan Lake by American Ballet Theatre on our last day in New York was the highlight of the trip.

Some of you may remember that very, very high on my bucket list is to see the top ballet companies of the world perform in their home venues. As a surprise early birthday present for me (a few months early) my sister and cousin purchased tickets for the three of us to see Swan Lake while we were in town.

American Ballet Theatre is second on my all-time dance company bucket list (after the Mariinsky Ballet in Saint Petersburg, Russia.) When they gave me the ticket at dinner back home in Cole Harbour, I seriously wept with joy for a solid hour. I had no idea what could be in the gift my sister was handing me, and when I folded back the tissue paper and saw the words 'The Met' in the upper left corner of a ticket, I lost it completely.

I made sure I didn't wish away the whole week, but in reality I was counting down the seconds until the curtain opened. I was so excited all day, I couldn't eat. It felt exactly the same as my wedding day.























10 - Having been an usher myself, I knew there were no flash pictures allowed inside the house. So I snuck these available light shots during intermission.

What a GORGEOUS theatre.
























11 - Also from my usher days, I didn't get too attached to the scheduled principals, knowing the dancers may be changed at the last minute due to injury.

We did have the scheduled Odette/Odile - Julie Kent, dancing in her 25th anniversary season.

But the prince was recast with Jose Manuel Carreño, who elevated the exceptional performance with a stellar turn as Siegfried. He had great chemistry with Julie Kent, and together they gave me chills.

I'll never forget his passionate leap from the cliff at the very end of the ballet. The audience gave the two principals three curtain calls. I LOVE curtain calls. During the final one, he took a personal moment between them as longtime company members and gave her a tender kiss. It's giving me shivers right now, thinking about it.























12 - Of course, the real reason for this trip was to attend my first Romance Writers of America's Nationals convention.

I've been a part of RWA for eight years, but never had the pleasure of going to the conference because I was never in a position to pitch my books before this year.

Of course, any member can attend, at any stage of their writing career, but I never wanted to go until I could pitch.

I am very pleased to report that I got requests for partials from both the agent and editor. Partials are the first 30 or 50 pages, plus synopsis, of your manuscript.

Yeah, baby.






























13 - That's my celebration Lemon Drop Martini at the airport on the way home, and my dog Xena greeting my sister on our return.

Join me next week for an in-depth look at the conference itself. An amazing, info-loaded experience that required a decompression period when I got back.

Thursday Thirteen - 159 - 13 Reasons to Read Sweetest Little Sin by Christine Wells

Well, here it is - time to announce the winner of our book giveaway from last week's Q & A with Christine Wells.

Here's what Christine asked A Piece of My Mind readers:

Julia, there's one more special treat - I've got a signed copy of Sweetest Little Sin to give away to someone who answers the question:

What is your creative talent or hobby? If you don't have one, what creative talent would you like to have?

Using the Random Number Generator at Random.org, from the commenters who answered Christine's question, we have a winner!



Cassondra - come on down!

She said:

Lessee....

I've been TRYING to do something creative very nearly from the cradle, and I've tried a bunch of different stuff. I dunno that I've even gotten good at anything. :0/ And I've certainly NOT mastered anything. I've tried painting, and I still love that - trying to get better at watercolor - and songwriting, which I think I'm actually best at, and a ton of other stuff from landscape design (in which I have a degree) to macrame (which I was very intense about in the 8th grade).

Obviously born to create something, Cassondra! Please email me at julia.smith2@gmail.com with your snail mail address, and Christine will send Sweetest Little Sin your way.

And now...on to the book review.

1 - I first came upon this fictional couple when they appeared as the secondary love interest in The Dangerous Duke. Here's what I wrote about them in that book review:

Christine includes a very charged secondary romance between Lyle's sister, Louisa and his fellow Home Office operative, Jardine. Lyle and Jardine have been rivals as well as working together as spies for the security of the country. Their relationship circles like arena combatants, and the romance between Lyle's sister and Jardine is just as edgy.

2 - Who are these characters who set their own story in motion by popular demand?

Louisa is the sister of the newly-minted Duke of Lyle - and an unexpected duke, at that. Having scraped by on the edges of polite society following the earlier death of their father, Louisa and her brother were thrust to the forefront of the ton upon the recent deaths of the heirs to the title and fortune. This puts Louisa in the fairytale position of being a spinsterly age with eligible suitors suddenly vying for her hand.

3 - The Marquis of Jardine appears to lounge in caustic idleness, but is well-known to the sordid underbelly of society. Not because he's an unrepentent rake. No - Jardine is an operative serving England's Home Office in the deadly game of espionage.

4 - Here's a taste of their relationship from The Dangerous Duke :

" 'My dear Louisa. All alone?'

The unwelcome voice jerked her out of her thoughts. She turned swiftly, and an even more unwelcome figure stood there in all his dark-edged masculine glory.

Smiling at her, rot him. Jardine had the most devilishly attractive smile.

Too late, a voice inside her whispered. You are lost.

Louisa forced her tongue to work. She managed to say in her usual, calm way, 'The family is from home this evening. But I'm sure the butler told you that at the door.'

He inclined his head. 'Yes, I believe he mentioned some such, but I wasn't attending. The mere sound of your name obliterates all else from my mind.'

She scowled. 'I've been unwell, if you must know. In fact, it's very likely an infectious complaint, so you'd best leave me before you catch it.'

He strode forward and took her chin in his hand. Slowly, Jardine turned her face to the light with a deft, delicate touch as if he were an expert examining fine porcelain.

She stared into his face with its angular lines and dark velvet eyes. The spoiled, rich, beautiful mouth that begged to be...kissed.

It took every ounce of her will to resist the standing invitation of that mouth. She batted his hand away and stepped back. 'Your concern is touching but unnecessary.' "

5 - No wonder readers everywhere couldn't stop thinking about Louisa and Jardine, even after Kate and Max found their happily ever after. This is how Christine describes their journey from secondary characters to hero and heroine of their own book:

"I expected a few people to complain that Jardine and Louisa's romance wasn't resolved in The Dangerous Duke and I was prepared to do a novella or a free short story to give Louisa and Jardine their happily ever after.

Funnily enough, I didn't get complaints at all, but I did receive an amazing number of requests for their story. I was thrilled when my editor agreed to let me do a novel-length sequel."

6 - Sweetest Little Sin picks up the main conflict between Louisa and Jardine where it left off. The two are inexorably drawn to one another, though Louisa rejects the lethal nature of his line of work, and Jardine fights to keep her out of his enemies' clutches, men who will make her suffer to get to him.

7 - Being a huge fan of Spooks / MI-5, I completely lost myself in the Regency version of the cat-and-mouse spy game running throughout this novel. Jardine is spectacularly yummy as he doles out grief to the villains of the piece. What I really love is the way Louisa rises to the occasion. She confronts terrifying situations with an inner fear but a cool outer demeanor that makes Jardine adore her even more.

8 - Louisa realizes something rather life-renewing when she's enlisted by Faulkner, the puppet master from the Home Office, to engage in spy work for him. An initial desire to enrage Jardine gives way to a hands-on appreciation for the life-and-death work in which her lover engages, and which has always been a sore point between them. I really enjoyed the scenes where Louisa blossoms into a formidable rookie agent.

9 - Christine sets the tension level quite high for the action/suspense scenes in Sweetest Little Sin. When danger looms, just as in Spooks / MI-5, where a main character can suddenly get caught in an explosion, just because Louisa and Jardine are the hero and heroine of a romance novel doesn't let them off the hook.

10 - Christine really knows how to end each chapter with suspense. Like this, for example:

"That night, Louisa couldn't sleep. The fragment of a message haunted her, tormented her even as it tempted.

She was done with Jardine. Moreover, he'd told her plainly she meant nothing to him. Why couldn't her idiotic heart remember that?

He wanted to meet. Why? Was it a test? Did he risk this meeting to see whether she would still come running, like a dog to heel? She rubbed a hand over her face, pressed her closed eyelids with her fingertips, willing herself not to succumb to useless tears.

She sat curled on the window seat for hours, deep into the night. Forced herself to consider the peremptory summons from every angle, calmly, dispassionately.

And couldn't think of a single reason, beyond a nagging curiosity and her unbearable longing to see him, why she should go.

Unfolding her long body from the cushioned embrasure, Louisa carried a candle over to her escritoire and set it in the carved holder.

Her mouth firmed in determination, she took out the card Faulkner had given her and drew a piece of writing paper toward her.

Dipping her pen in ink, she composed a short note.

I accept."

11 - Romantic Times gives Sweetest Little Sin a 4 1/2 stars Top Pick review:

"With a clever, pulse-pounding spy thriller Wells completely enthralls readers. Not only is the suspense high, but the surprising plot twists and nonstop action will keep you turning the pages with bated breath. Once you start reading, don't plan on doing anything else."

- Kathe Robin

12 - Beyond the James-Bond-meets-Jane-Austin aspects (to quote Christine,) for me the true strength of this novel is the incredible love story that evolves between two well-matched adversaries/lovers. The inner turmoil that drives each one of them has a refreshing sophistication which I really enjoyed. It fills their scenes together with true pathos. And you know I love me some of that.

13 - I leave you with an another excerpt. Enjoy!

"She cleared her throat. 'I must go. We cannot afford to be seen together like this.'

She tried to sidle around him, but he caught her arm in a firm, inescapable grip.

He didn't hurt her, but she winced anyway. His touch was torture. It was bliss.

'Why did you come here, Louisa? You are not meeting someone?'

'Is it likely I'd arrange to meet anyone, much less in this locale?'

Jardine let go of her and shrugged. 'I'm not altogether certain I know what is likely that you would do anymore, Louisa. I'm not sure I know you.'

She remained silent.

'Your betrothal to Radleigh.' He spread his hands. 'That, I did not expect. What are you doing here? Isn't your future husband satisfying you?'

Before she could stop herself, her hand flew up to slap his face. But his reflexes were daggar sharp. He easily deflected the move, brushed her hand aside as if it were a fly. Moved closer with purposeful intent etched over his patrician features.

Louisa started backward, a hand on the table to steady herself. 'If it becomes known that you and I were here like this, there'll be a scandal.'

'It won't become known.' His fingertips feathered her cheek.

She shivered. Anticipation coiled tightly in her chest. 'Don't. I don't want you to -'

He lowered his head to capture her earlobe in his teeth.

Ohh. He knew that always drove her to madness."

- Christine Wells, 2010

Janet says Well, I knew I needed to read this book when Christine was here last week, but after that Thursday Thirteen I have moved it up on my TBR list. Sounds great.

Brenda ND says Oh, this sounds like a really good read. Thanks Julia. :)

Christine Wells says Jardine and Louisa have loved one another for years, but they could not have lived together happily without going through all the pain I put them through in Sweetest Little Sin. Yes, I'm a cruel, cruel author who loves to torture her characters!