Full Swing

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I've been slow to post...again. Partly because I'm a springtime slacker, and partly because the blog had to be moved so it wasn't FTP-something-that-I-don't-get. However, thanks to my wonderful, highly skilled web guru, everything was safely moved and we're up and running. (Thanks, Maddee!)

In the meantime, having taken sixth place in my yearly NCAA Geek Pool (and soundly beating President Obama's tourney entry), I've moved on to baseball season.

First order of business: Fantasy baseball. I am once again playing in the ESPN Baseball Challenge. It's the world's easiest fantasy baseball league. You can join anytime, and you don't have to engage in a round robin draft of players or keep stats. Instead, you are given a (fictional) $50 million budget you simply pick whichever players you want by clicking on them. Easy, peasy. Then ESPN keeps track of how they do at the plate and tallies the score for you. It's a lot of fun. (Especially when you're doing well. I'm currently at the 95% of all players in the league. I don't expect it'll last.)

Second order of business: Real baseball. I signed up for my yearly wallet-depleting subscription to MLB Extra Innings so I can watch the Rockies games here in Boston, and I've already stayed up late for quite a few. It's painful, given the late starts and the two-hour time difference, but worth it. I also managed to get tickets on top of the the Green Monster at Fenway during the first Red Sox-Yankees series so I could see a game in person, and I'll be in my usual third-base seats for one of this weekend's games. Color me happy!

On the other hand, most of my baseball-loving friends claim they aren't as hopped up for the season as usual. Earlier this season, news stations in Boston reported that sales were down, and that the Red Sox might not continue their sellout streak at Fenway, but I'm not seeing it.

Anyone else feeling this way? Or is this a woe-is-me, typical Boston-area phenomenon? Do you care more about baseball (or whatever sport's your fave) once the season's in full swing than during the first month of games? Does playing in a fantasy league amp up your level of interest? Weigh in!

All That's Good In The World

After whining about all that's wrong with baseball, I figure I ought to balance that with all that's good in baseball. Or--hey, why not?--things that are simply good in the world.

In baseball land:

• Mark Buehrle's perfect game. Doesn't matter if you're a White Sox lover or hater, whenever a pitcher pulls this off, it's something to cheer.

• The Rockies are moving into positive territory. I don't believe their sudden uptick in the win column is related to firing Hurdle (sorry, I'm still grumpy about that.) Whatever it is that's going right at Coors Field, I hope it keeps right on going.

• Matt Holliday is now 1,000 miles closer to me, having been traded from the A's to the Cardinals. As I've previously stated, Matt is My Next Husband After Jacoby Ellsbury (and, presumably, after my actual husband.) It may be time for a road trip to St. Louis. Plus, St. Louis has the added attractions of a great ballpark and Albert Pujols. What's not to like?

• I got to add another ballpark to my Been There, Done That list this month! While visiting D.C. for the Romance Writers of America's annual conference, I managed to hop the Metro to catch last Saturday's game between the Washington Nationals and Chicago Cubs. Beautiful, easily accessible ballpark, friendly employees. I saw lots of players tossing balls to kids in the stands, which earns a team serious brownie points. And best of all, I had great seats, right behind the Nats' dugout.

• Tonight, I'll see the Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles at Fenway. Any day at Fenway is a good day. (Assuming the Sox win, of course!)

And in the real (aka: non-baseball) world:

• I've been writing like mad (thus my relative silence on the blog front.) I've gotten TONS of e-mails asking me what I'm working on. As soon as it's in the can, I'll spill. Until then, I'm superstitious. But suffice it to say that I'm in a happy place with the writing, and I hope readers will be excited about the results.

• Writing has also been happy for Hakeem Bennett of Brooklyn. His essay about heroes won the Stone Arch Books national essay contest, landing him a spot in a Superman comic. I think it's incredibly cool that DC Comics rewards great writing this way. Congrats, Hakeem!

• I had the chance to meet LOTS of readers last week during the Romance Writers of America's booksigning for literacy in Washington, DC. Thanks to all of you who turned out. I love getting the chance to talk about various characters (Val and Georg from the Royally Jacked series still generate the most questions) and to hear what books you're carrying around with you right now. Huge thanks to author Jennifer Echols, who not only stopped by to chat, but who took this shot while I was getting set up for the event:



If I had proper cropping skills, I would. But there you go. It was still a lot of fun, even with those exhibition-hall type ceilings!

Got more happy news? Cool stuff happening in your neighborhood? An AAHHHHH moment you saw on TV? Put it in the comments! It's finally summer at my house (in other words, the rain has stopped at long last!), so I'm in the mood to hear all about your Big Happy.

O Niki, Where Art Thou?

Check the date? Yep, it's been a solid month since I've posted. HORRORS.

So here's the scoop on where I've been since San Francisco:

1) Two weeks in Colorado, which included a Fish Episode (as in, I caught four trout plus a gigantic sucker, which is an ugly bottom feeder that slimed me when I pulled it out of the stream.) But I did take some great non-fish pictures. Like this one:



And my brother took this one of me, sitting at the one-mile mark at Coors Field for a Rockies/Reds game:



You know I couldn't manage to travel to Colorado without taking in a game, right?



2) Remodeling the bathroom. I'm not doing it myself--though the idea of knocking out the ugly old fiberglass tub enclosure with a large hammer held a certain appeal--but I still spent oodles of time picking out a new tub, faucets (who knew there were so many out there?), tile, and everything else. Construction got going in earnest last week as the contractor ripped everything out--the vanity, all the old tile, the cheap toilet, even the aforementioned ugly tub--and this week, stuff starts going in. A couple days ago was the new tub (hooray!) and today is floor day. Like the blue? The walls will be a pretty white tile, and a new white vanity goes in late next week. In the meantime, my garage has become a dumping ground of sinks, faucet parts, tile, and grout.

3) Getting ready to go to KOREA! My husband has to go for work next month, so of course I'm cashing in the frequent flyer miles so I can tag along. Though I'm pretty well-traveled (side effect of being an Army brat), I've never been anywhere close to Korea. I'm completely pumped--I'll have three and a half days to soak in as much of Seoul as possible. I've been immersing myself in guide books, online travel sites, and history books on Korea. I think I could easily find a month's worth of things to do, but I'll take the three days in Seoul. I plan to visit as many palaces and temples as possible, take a tour to the DMZ, shop, and eat all kinds of foods I've never tried before. (Thankfully, I've had kimchi and I like it...so I'll always be able to eat that!) If any of you have been to Korea (or live there!) send me your must-do-in-Seoul suggestions. I'm up for anything!

I promise to post pics when I get back, so stay tuned. And when Korea pops up in unusual ways in my next book, you'll know why!

Can't Miss Parks (and Niki in CT!)

MSNBC.com posted this great article today about America's baseball parks--three all-time classics and four "new" classics. I've made it to three on the list (Fenway, Wrigley, and Coors.) I don't think I'm going to get to see Yankee Stadium, sadly (though I've wanted to!) If you're a baseball fan, or just appreciate the history of sports and want to see a stadium while you're being a tourist, it's a great article to read.

In other news, I'll be in Connecticut tomorrow night--if you're in the area, come see me! Here's the official info:

Niki Burnham at the New Britain Public Library
6:30 - 8:30 p.m.
20 High Street
New Britain, CT 06051

Niki will be talking about her books, what it's really like to be an author, doing a little show and tell (want to see the covers that didn't make it?), and answering all your questions (like why the ski poles are hanging on the side of the lift chair on the cover of Do-Over.)

This event is free and open to the public.

Twenty-two

Ouch. Anyone watch all six hours and sixteen minutes of the Rockies and Padres game last night? I gave up at 1 am ET, about the middle of the eleventh inning, but did get a kick out of seeing the twenty-first inning stretch on SportsCenter this morning. Both teams are in transit today. Makes me tired just thinking about it.

On the bright side: Not only did the Rockies finally win thanks to Troy Tulowitzki, I had the Padres pitching staff on my ESPN Baseball Challenge roster. (Thankfully, I dumped the Detroit Tigers pitching staff awhile back.) Between the long game in San Diego and my current third baseman, Chipper Jones, doing some serious damage with his bat, my fantasy team earned ninety-one points yesterday. Sadly, I'm still in sixth place out of the (you guessed it) twenty-two players in my Challenge league. But the season is long, and I have the Cubs pitching staff tonight. I'm planning on a slow and steady climb.

Opening Day

Most MLB teams play their opening day games today. Anyone else in the mood to sing a little Take Me Out To The Ball Game?

After watching the Nationals game (and oohing and ahhing over their new stadium), I celebrated the beginning of the 2008 season by joining ESPN's Baseball Challenge. If you like the idea of playing fantasy baseball, but don't have the time to commit to a draft or following stats/trading players each day, this is a great way to go. Join up and see how you do...it's not too late, and it's very easy. You get $50 million to spend on a team, then you pick and choose from a list of available players. The pitching staff is something you select in its entirety...instead of picking individual pitchers, you would, for instance, nab the Tampa Bay pitching staff for one low (low, low) price. I opted to go for the Tigers pitchers. Let's hope they were a good buy.

(And no, I did not create an all-Rockies and Red Sox roster of position players, though I did snag Matt Holliday for center field.)


Let's hope my Baseball Challenge team fares better than my Geek Pool entry for the NCAA tourney. I'm now in 20th and 24th place with my two entries. Talk about sheer suckage. I don't think even a Kansas-Memphis final could pull me out of the basement now. So if anyone has tips on creating a first place baseball lineup--under that $50 million salary cap, of course--please let me know. I need to redeem myself!

Seattle Recap, Award Predictions

Had a fabulous trip to Seattle this past weekend. Kicked it off by meeting a group of librarians from the King County Library System. If you live anywhere near Seattle, check out their website--King County is the second-largest library system in the country, and they've put together wonderful programs for teens and adults.

I did a booksigning alongside several other authors in town for the Emerald City Writers' Conference, which meant the trip allowed me the opportunity to network with writer friends. I spent a great deal of time with Leah Vale and Terri Reed, then had a to-die-for Italian dinner with Susan Andersen, Elizabeth Boyle, Christina Dodd, Rachel Gibson, and Laura Lee Guhrke. They even tolerated my rude behavior when I kept checking the Rockies/Red Sox score on my iPhone (which was semi-hidden under the table.)

On Sunday, after the conference wrapped up, I spent the afternoon with Elizabeth Boyle and her family. We sat on her deck and enjoyed the great weather, set up her new MySpace page, then watched the first half of game four of the World Series. We made a dash for the airport during the seventh inning stretch and I managed to catch most of the eighth and the entire ninth inning in a sports bar at SeaTac before flying back to Boston. (Thanks, Elizabeth!)

Needless to say, huge, huge congrats to the Boston Red Sox, and to Series MVP Mike Lowell! I thought the Colorado Rockies would pull off that last game (it was close!), but in the end, I do think the stronger team prevailed. However, the Rockies had a fabulous season, winning 21 of 22 games right before entering the World Series (including a playoff sweep of the Diamondbacks), so I hope that's not lost in the celebration for the Sox (probably one of the strongest lineups ever to take the field....thanks, Theo!)

Since today's a parade day here in Boston, I figure it's as good a time as any to make award predictions:

NL Cy Young:
• Who Should Win: Jake Peavy
• Who Will Win: Jake Peavy

-- Solid all year, and strongest in the NL with 19 wins.

AL Cy Young:
• Who Should Win: Josh Beckett
• Who Will Win: Josh Beckett

-- Biggest no-brainer of all. You go, Josh!

NL Rookie of the Year:
• Who Should Win: Troy Tulowitzki
• Who Will Win: Troy Tulowitzki

-- He's been amazing in the field and is a big reason the Rockies went to the Series. If he steps up with the bat, he could be the next Derek Jeter.

AL Rookie of the Year:
• Who Should Win: Dustin Pedroia
• Who Will Win: Dustin Pedroia

-- Made spectacular defensive plays and kept a high batting average all year. I kept waiting for him to fall apart (no rookie can keep hitting like that, can they?) but he never did.

NL MVP:
• Who Should Win: Matt Holliday
• Who Will Win: Matt Holliday

-- Nabbed the NL batting title, was solid in the field and inspirational in the clubhouse. Go, Matt!

AL MVP:
• Who Should Win: Mike Lowell
• Who Will Win: Alex Rodriguez

-- I'm Sox-centric. So shoot me. Lowell is Mr. Steady. Hope he has a blast during today's parade through Boston.

Dual Citizenship at Game One

First off, yes, I realize I should have posted this immediately following the game. However, immediately following the game I had to hustle home, get ONE HOUR of sleep, grab my suitcase, then drive back past Fenway to get to the airport to fly to Seattle. So I'm a little pokey on posting.

HOWEVER...I had a FABULOUS time at game one, despite the blowout (which is not so fun, no matter which team you want to win. Blowouts suck.)

I got to Fenway just as the gates opened. Instead of going in, however, I decided to walk down Lansdowne Street to the studio of WEEI Sports Radio to catch the pregame show. Glenn Ordway was taking calls, and of course everyone was talking about how the Rockies stink and the Red Sox are perfect. There wasn't a Rockies fan to be seen on the street.

I had on a black pullover, so I took my Rockies cap out of my backpack and put it on. Just because. As much as I'm a Red Sox fan, I thought the conversation was a bit one-sided.

Well, Ordway stopped the caller, pointed at me out the window, and said, "Wait a minute! I think we have Miss Colorado out here! She's actually wearing a Rockies hat!" (I'm telling you, there were NO other Rockies fans in sight. I was taking my life into my hands.) Ordway said something else about me maybe being on his flight to Denver on Saturday, and something about how he couldn't stop the show to do _____? I couldn't hear what he said, because the people around me were booing my hat. (Little do they know I'm also a Sox fan.) Wish I knew what he'd said!

After watching for a while longer, I decided to go around to Yawkey Way and see what was happening inside the park. As I went through the turnstile, Larry Lucchino shook my hand and welcomed me to Fenway Park. Must say, I felt really, really wrong shaking his hand while wearing a Rockies hat.

Once inside, I made my way past the Rockies' dugout to stand behind the Fox broadcast platform, just down the third base line. Arizona Diamondbacks outfielder Eric Byrnes was broadcasting alongside Kevin Kennedy and the rest of the Fox News anchors. But check out Eric's shoes:



Yep, he was wearing ripped up jeans and Vans. They were giving him a hard time pre-broadcast, and I loved every minute of it.

I counted a grand total of eight Rockies fans inside the ballpark (this was my count during the entire game), but one--who'd flown in from Denver--was down watching the Fox broadcast with me. I took a picture of him with his friend (a Red Sox fan), then he took a picture of me, just so I could prove I was there. (Plus, I doubt any Sox fans would have been willing to take my picture.)



The Rockies were catching balls in the outfield if they weren't in the batter's box. My next future husband, Matt Holliday (after Jacoby Ellsbury...but there's a whole 'nuther blog on that) was chatting with Brad Hawpe and Troy Tulowitzki as they fielded balls.



When it was Holliday's turn to bat, he walked my direction, saw my hat, and gave me a huge grin and a wave when I gave him a thumbs up (remember...the stands were a solid blanket of red-hatted fans, so I stood out.) I called my husband to let him know my Series was officially complete, because Holliday smiled at me. I suspect it was yet another moment he regretted giving me his ticket.

I watched Holliday take batting practice, made my way through the crowd (with much heckling), got a high five from Wally, the Green Monster, then hid in a bathroom stall (I know where the clean ones are located) to change into a red long-sleeved shirt, a Manny Ramirez jersey, and Red Sox hat. Before heading to my seat, I did pin a Colorado flag to the top.

I think I represented my home state well (hey, the Big O called me Miss Colorado on the air!) But at Fenway, after 8 pm, I was once again a member of Red Sox Nation. I got back to my seat just in time for team introductions. Took this shot of the lineup, but hate to guess what Manny Corpas was thinking here:



The shot of my two favorite managers, Terry Francona (best thing ever to happen to the Red Sox) and Clint Hurdle was better:



John Williams and the Boston Pops did the Star Spangled Banner, the first pitch was thrown by Yaz and the rest of the '67 Red Sox, and we were underway!



Josh Beckett threw a fantastic game, as everyone knew he would. Even Matt Holliday struck out in the first. (Sadly, I took a picture of that, too.)



Jeff Francis, unfortunately, had one of his worst outings of the year. Bummer, because I wanted both teams to play to the level of which they're capable. And I wanted to see how the Sox handled Francis when he pitched his best.

In the end, it was a 13-1 blowout (game two was much more balanced, with a final score of 2-1, in favor of the Red Sox, thanks to great pitching by Jonathan Papelbon and the super-cool, always underrated Hideki Okajima.)

On the way out, I spotted the coolest hat in the park...it has Fenway Park, the Green Monster, and the Citgo sign on top, and helmets of all the AL teams around the outside:



Now that's a fan!

The "Ticket-Buying Experience" (With Bonus!)

Sounds like a Disney ride, or something Trekkers might see at the Las Vegas Hilton, but it is sooooo not.

Try staring at these words for, oh, THREE AND A HALF HOURS:

Please wait for the server to become available. The site is experiencing heavy loads at this time.

To improve your ticket-buying experience and to make it as pleasant as possible, this site permits entry to a limited number of patrons at a time.

This page will refresh when the countdown timer below reaches zero. When this happens, the system will automatically try to access the site again.

Do not refresh this page or you will be dropped to the end of the line. Thank you for your patience.

Here's what would have made "ticket-buying experience" (experience? they call this an experience?) "as pleasant as possible": If I could GET THROUGH.

Two and a half hours on Monday, then they announced a server crash. Then three hours yesterday before my screen told me that games three and four were sold out, and there were a "limited number" of seats still available for game five. A half-hour trying for game five, and it, too, sold out. (I'd originally been trying for game four.) And what's worse? That little line about not refreshing the page. What do you do when it freezes? You HAVE to refresh.

Some experience.

Same thing happened to everyone in my family (and extended family, and friends, nearly all of whom are in Colorado) who tried to get tickets. Not one of us got through, ever. Grumble, grumble. I *so* wanted to see a game at Coors Field to cheer on the Rockies. Apparently, however, they do not want me.

On the bright side, I'm going to game one tonight at Fenway. We have ONE ticket, and my husband told me six weeks ago (thinking he was making the safest promise ever), "If it ends up being the Red Sox and the Colorado Rockies, you can have it."

I'm still waiting for the planet to spin off its axis.

So I'm there. My husband is kicking himself. And the biggest surprise is probably awaiting the poor guy who has the other of our two seats for the game...we split our tickets six ways, and Jim has the other seat for tonight. I'm sure he's expecting to kick back, enjoy the game, and have a beer with my husband while he cheers on the Sox. Instead, he gets The Wife. And not only that, he gets The Wife Who Is Also A Rockies Fan.

That brings me to a big dilemma: What do I wear?!? If I'd snagged a seat at Coors for later in the week, it'd be easy...wear Red Sox gear at Fenway, Rockies gear at Coors. Cheer for each team in their home ballpark and enjoy the fact that I get to see my two absolute favorite teams in the Series. But I'm just not willing to shell out over a grand for Rockpile seats on StubHub so I can give a healthy profit to the jerk who managed to buy a ticket online yesterday with the sole motive of reselling to an actual (gasp) FAN.

Instead, I think I'll end up wearing my Manny Ramirez jersey over a Colorado State T-shirt, then pinning a Colorado flag to my hat. (Though which hat, I haven't decided yet. Probably a Sox hat, if I want to survive the evening in one piece.) I'll try to get online sometime tomorrow to post pics from game one (the camera battery is fully charged this time!) Maybe I can convince Jim to take a picture of me before some drunk fan rips the Colorado pin off my hat.

In the morning, I fly out wicked early for Seattle. Come on over to Bellevue and see me, get an autographed book, tell me who you think will win the Series and feel free to make fun of my ticket-buying "experience."

There will be copies of Goddess Games, as well as at least a few other recent titles. This is your chance to ask me, face to face, anything you want about writing, my books, or whatever!

In the meantime, check out the "bonus" promised in the blog's title: The cover for my upcoming book is in! My editor sent it yesterday. Does it not ROCK??



I'm thrilled to be included with the fabulous Terri Clark (author of the upcoming book SLEEPLESS), New York Times bestselling author Ellen Hopkins (author of CRANK and GLASS), and the ultra-cool Lynda Sandoval (author of WHO'S YOUR DADDY? and CHICKS AHOY.)

Look for BREAKING UP this spring!

Lucky Seven

Game seven ROCKED. Got there early for batting practice, watched former Boston Red Sox player Trot Nixon (now a Cleveland Indian) hit, then talk with Peter Gammons.



Took some shots early in the game...first, of Kevin Youkilis prepping to smack one with Dustin Pedroia on first base, then a shot of Jacoby Ellsbury on third, waiting for the signal to go home.




Unfortunately, the camera battery went before Jonathan Papelbon stood on the pitcher's mound and poured his beer all over the AL Championship trophy after the Red Sox won 11-2. Maybe it's best not to immortalize that moment, anyway.

Made it home just before two a.m., then got up and made a run at buying Rockies tickets for one of the games at Coors Field. No dice...the system crashed. (There go two hours of my productive work time!) I'll try again when they re-post the tickets at noon. Wish me luck!

I think I'm in baseball heaven. I'll be at Fenway for game one on Wednesday night, then head to Seattle for a large group booksigning on Saturday night. If you're in the Seattle area, please hop on over to Bellevue and introduce yourself! There will be many, many authors signing their books, including Julia Quinn, Stella Cameron, Cherry Adair, Elizabeth Boyle, Jane Porter, and a slew of others.

Weekend in Denver

Remember how I said tickets on Stubhub to the Rockies NLCS games at Coors Field were so much less expensive than trying to get seats to see the Red Sox here at Fenway? Well....I ended up cashing in the frequent flyer miles, hitting up my parents for a place to stay (thanks, Mom & Dad!) and flying to Colorado to see Sunday night's game three. Total cost, including four tickets thirty-one rows behind the Rockies dugout, road tolls and airport parking? About $900. An equivalent seat at Fenway--one seat--will set you back the same amount or more.

As you might guess, I had a blast. Took this shot of the water-soaked field between innings with my cell phone, as the grounds crew worked to add layers of dry dirt to the base paths:



They did a great job given the constant rain. I lucked out, seating-wise. We were exactly two rows under the awning. The D-back fans two rows in front of us got soaked, we stayed (mostly) dry. My flight home yesterday got me in at 12:33 ET, meaning I had to race home to see the bottom of the eighth and top of the ninth inning of game four...and wow, was it worth it! Any team that can win twenty-one out of twenty-two games deserves to go to the big show. On top of that, they won an amazing seven straight postseason games, have a likely Rookie of the Year in Troy Tulowitzki, a possible Cy Young winner in Jeff Francis, and a (please, please, please) National League MVP in Matt Holliday.

Congrats, Rockies! Can't wait to see the World Series played in Colorado (hopefully without snow!)

Two Interviews, A Website, and Those Yankees

I'll attack the last part first. I saw a news poll on one of Boston's television stations yesterday afternoon that said 71% of Red Sox fans wanted to have the Sox face the Cleveland Indians in the American League Championship Series, rather than face the New York Yankees. After last night's game, they're getting their wish. But I have to wonder why they felt this way. IMO, either team would be tough. I was just hoping the series between the Yankees and the Indians would go the full five games so the advancing team would be tired before arriving in Boston.

Last StubHub check: cheapest tix to the Boston/Cleveland game are running $293 for the nosebleed section of the bleachers. A good seat near the action is running $2718.

On the other hand, the cheapest tix to the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks first playoff game start at $40. Not great seats, but still. What a price differential. I think I could almost get the airfare out west and a game ticket for what it'd cost me to get one ticket to see the Sox. Insane.

However, I have tres coolio news! First, I e-mailed the revisions on my upcoming novella, Last Stand, to my editor this morning. (Did ya hear the woot-woot sounds?! LOVE when I have a project wrapped!)

Second, Joy Siegel of Working Palms Radio Magazine in South Florida has asked to do an interview with me. It will air down there on the following stations:

WLVJ - 1040AM
WFTL - 850AM
WMEN - 640AM
WFLL - 1400AM

As soon as I know the exact dates and times, I'll post 'em here. I'm also doing an interview with the fantastic Cynthia Leitich Smith for her popular Cynsations blog. Again, as soon as I know the exact date the interview goes live, I'll post it here.

Speaking of live, you've gotta check out Lynda Sandoval's new website, which re-launched today. I think it's one of the best I've ever seen. (And if you haven't read Lynda's books yet--either for teens or for adults--you're missing out.)



And a P.S.: Thanks to everyone who e-mailed me to tell me that Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper IS a seasonal release (I'll stock up next year!) and that Diet Cherry Coke is not. I'll go hunting for that Diet Cherry Coke now and hope they don't replace it with Cherry Coke Zero, which is way too sweet for me.

The Dangers of Salad Dressing

I spent the last forty-five minutes or so sweeping out and then vacuuming my garage. I'm a neat freak (as you may know from past blog posts) but not to the extent that I vacuum my garage. The only garages that should be vacuumed are those that are more like car museums (think Jay Leno, Oprah Winfrey.) My garage is of the standard cement-floor, stuffed-with-sports-equipment variety. Worthy of the occasional broom cleaning, but not vacuuming. Not until this morning.

Tip: When taking salad dressing bottles to the recycling bin in the garage, be careful not to drop them. The glass goes EVERYWHERE. Under the car, into shoes, you name it. I managed to drop not one, but two glass bottles. I swept out the glass the best I could, then vacuumed. I got most of it before I backed out the car (thinking, please, please, do not let me have missed any glass under the tires) then swept and vacuumed some more.

So much for saving time by carrying as many bottles and cans as possible.

I suspect it's because last night I uttered a sentence that's never before passed my lips. I actually said, "Both the Rockies and the Red Sox won their playoff games!" Jeff Francis had an outstanding outing against the Phillies and the Red Sox pitcher, Josh Beckett, threw a shutout against the Angels.

It's giving me a spooky feeling, like something really, really bad is about to happen...I'm not used to having both my teams win, let alone win in the playoffs.

Wonder if this means I'm going to end up with flat tires tomorrow, thanks to the glass in the garage? Something's gotta give.

On another baseball topic: For those who're interested in the finances behind professional sports, I came across this article on CNN Money about how much teams stand to lose financially when their teams are expected to make the playoffs, but don't. Somehow, I doubt Mets ticket sales drop off drastically in 2008. Mets fans are die-hards.

You Know You're A Writer When...

You know you're a writer when you have an entire conversation with your keyboard as you're doing a post-book deadline cleaning.

Me, prying off the space bar with a letter opener: You're disgusting!

Innocent Apple keyboard, speaking in my head: It's your fault. You're not supposed to eat while you work.

Me: Book wouldn't get written otherwise.

Keyboard: But chocolate rice cakes? That's sticky. And crumbly. I don't like the way the fluffy parts feel when they're lodged under my F-D-S-A keys. (And have you checked the option keys at the bottom?)

Me, prying off option keys: Oh, yuck! What's the green?

Keyboard: You tell me.

Me: Hey! Where'd the D key go? You throw it somewhere?

Keyboard: You flipped it across the room when you used the letter opener to pry it off, idiot girl.


Yep, I officially have a wild imagination. I also have a clean keyboard now, which means it's no longer talking to me.

If you can't tell, I'm a tad loopy after staying up late Sunday night to give my novella one final read-through, then staying up again last night to watch the Rockies and Padres game. I missed with my 7-5 Rockies prediction; the game (finally) ended in thirteen innnings with the Rockies winning 9-8. There was a blown home run call in there, as well as a questionable home plate tag at the end. But all in all, a fabulous, hard-fought game--the kind baseball fans love to watch.

I feel awful for Padres fans...the team looked great for a long time, and to have a slow slide at the end (and then lose in a tiebreaker) is disheartening. But I do think they'll be back strong next year. (Have faith, Padre fans!)

In the meantime...I looked up seat prices for the upcoming Red Sox games on StubHub. You could sit down near the field this Friday night if you were willing to shell out somewhere in the neighborhood of $3500 a ticket. Twenty-four hours ago, those same seats were $1280. Talk about inflation.

Rock Me, Baby!

Most writers say their happiest days are those when a new book hits the shelves. Not me. I'm all about the day I turn in a book to my editor. Today's one of those days. (Happy, happy, joy, joy!) This latest is a novella titled "Last Stand" that will appear in a collection called Breaking Up (Is Hard To Do) . The other stories are by Ellen Hopkins, Lynda Sandoval, and Terri Clark. Needless to say, knowing the story's now in my editor's hands has put me in a fabulous mood.

Now, to do my usual post-deadline routine: clean the house, get a haircut, and work off the snack food consumed at my desk over the last couple of weeks. I'm also off and running on a new book, set at a high school in the central U.S. It's a project I'm excited about, so I'll be posting more on that another day.

The other thing making me over-the-moon happy today, aside from the fact it's a mere thirty days until Halloween: The Colorado Rockies. They played a fantastic game against the Arizona Diamondbacks yesterday at Coors Field to finish the season dead even with the San Diego Padres. The game was actually on television at my house (go figure!) I was jumping up and down yelling every time the Rockies got a hit or made an out. When they got the final out, I cheered so loud I think I scared the dog.

The Rockies' win forces a one-game playoff (tonight at 7:35 ET on TBS) to see which team will grab the final playoff spot in the National League. I predict the Rockies win it, 7-5. They've been on an upswing, winning 13 of their last 14 games to get to this tiebreaker, while the Padres are 8-6 over the last 14.

But we'll see...I'm no sportscaster, just a writer in a good mood.

Eleven

When I talk baseball, it's usually about the Boston Red Sox. It's natural, since I live in Boston and have season tickets (they're split with friends, though, or I'd be broke.) Plus, there's always plenty to write about the Sox. But my National League team is the Colorado Rockies. I can't watch them on television here in Boston (grrrrrr) but every night for the last month, while I've been typing away on the novella I have due on Sept. 30, I've had the ESPN live baseball scoreboard running in the background, letting me keep track of how my Rockies are doing. I've been cheering each run scored, hoping against hope that they'd stay above .500.

Now, not only are they going to finish the season well above .500, they just won their eleventh game in a row and are just-this-close to grabbing a spot in the playoffs. I'll be watching their remaining games closely...if they sweep the Diamondbacks, they'll either clinch a postseason berth or will have to play a tiebreaking game. I predict their win streak goes from eleven to fourteen, but even if it doesn't, I've loved watching them this summer. They've beaten preseason predictions (Google the words "national league 2007 preview" -- without the quotes -- and you'll see what I mean), and they and continue to ignore naysayers to play good, solid, optimistic ball.

There's always one team to watch during the last week of the regular season. This year, I'm thrilled that it's the Colorado Rockies.