Happy Anniversary!

Today is a pretty special day in the Denton household. Today the husband and I will be celebrating our 30th wedding anniversary. Not bad, huh? Of course, we won't be doing anything spectacular to celebrate this auspicious occasion today because, well, the truth is, I'm in the middle of deadline hell and just can't afford the time off. So we're tabling our celebration for a few weeks and have a trip planned for the Poconos during the height of Fall when the colors promise to be gloriously rich and picturesque.

Thirty years of marriage. Wow, that makes me sound old. Having six grandchildren makes me sound (and sometimes feel) even older, but the truth is, I'm only 46.

Yup, you did the math right: 30-46=16.

Yes, I really was a child bride, a mere sixteen when I married my own personal hero. I'm sure you can easily imagine the number of people who said it'd never last, too, huh? The odds were most assuredly against us by getting married so young, but not only have we proven them all wrong, we've thrived. When it comes to happily-ever-after, I'm a believer. Is it any wonder I write romances for a living?

Just like Jean mentioned the other day in her Knitting and Love post, I'm one of those who didn't always know I wanted to be writer when I grew up. The writing bug hit me sometime in my 20's, but I didn't become a serious writer until I turned thirty. In fact, it was on my 30th birthday that I admitted to my husband what I wanted to be when I grew up. At the time, I was a legal secretary, raising three boys, taking college courses at night and gearing up for law school. After my confession that night, however, law school became a thing of the past and I began to seriously study the craft of writing -- with the hubster's blessing and full support.

Four years later, I sold my first book to Harlequin Superromance. It took me another two years, ten months and eighteen days (not that I was counting or anything) of suffering through the most agonizing case of second book syndrome before the evil curse was broken and I made that all important second sale to Harlequin Temptation. I didn't stop there, and am thrilled that the release of my 21st novel, THE MATCHMAKER, a single title romantic suspense from Kensington Brava, is scheduled to hit bookstores in November. The release of this novel is extra special for me because of a few obstacles that had to be battled, which you can read about here.

On occasion, my passions extend beyond writing. In those rare moments away from the keyboard, I enjoy refilling the creative well with gardening projects, cross-stitch, crochet, needlepoint, and thanks to Barbara, I've rediscovered the joys of knitting. I've even completed several knitting projects of late (and promise photos at a later date when I figure out how to get them from my camera phone to my computer). In my opinion, stormy days, whether rainy or snowy, are best spent curled up with a needlework project or a good book (what else but a romance?), along a steaming cup of coffee and the company of our old yellow Labrador Retriever, Dauber, and my spoiled rotten purebred Somali cat, Cookie, snoozing nearby or on my lap demanding affection - uh...that's the cat, not the dog since he's a little too big for lap dog duty.

In addition to happily-ever-after, I'm a believer in passion and feel it's an important factor in life. So tell me, what are your passions?