You won’t read it on Publishers Marketplace, but you’ll read it here: I’m delighted that my publisher offered to buy two more Gardella Vampire Chronicles books, both to be released in 2008.

In honor of the news, I broke out a bottle of my favorite champagne, Roederer, and shared it with two of my dearest writing friends. Along with a bit of chocolate.

What do you do to celebrate exciting news?

(No, this isn’t another retro day, although if you can name the reference, I’d love it ’cause I’m blanking on who sang that song.)

I’m in love with my new guy. See what he did to me?

(They aren’t great pics because it’s humid and been raining cats and dogs here, but you get the idea.)

We’ve been together for more than eight years.

We met through a mutual friend, and since then, it’s been a wonderful relationship. I’ve never looked back, never strayed (well, once, last year, when I was desperate for some pizzazz…but it was a mistake, and I came running back).

But lately, it’s been starting to sour. I feel like I’m not being heard. I feel like it’s the same-old, same-old. I feel like I’m being taken for granted.

I have a rendezvous with a new guy today, and I’m excited, nervous, and feeling more than a bit guilty. I’m doing it on the sly, though, so in case things don’t work out, I can go back to my old stand-by and no one will be the wiser. (Hence the title of this blog post.)

Except that, well, if I go back, she’ll probably notice that someone else has cut my hair. After all, the last time I saw her was in July, for a quick color touch-up.

But I need someone new! Exciting! Someone who’ll take a chance. Someone who’ll listen to me and who will have an opinion.

But if things don’t work out with the new guy, how will I explain this lapse to my regular hairdresser? Should I have to? These are tough decisions.

Maybe all will go well, and I won’t have to. I can make a clean break of it.

Wish me luck.

Okay, name the movie from which the quote is taken, and the character(s) and/or actor(s) speaking:

1. “So you lost your job? I’ve lost twenty of them since graduation. Plus a wife and kid. And, in a new development this morning, a handful of hair in the shower drain.”

2. “Wait a minute–he’s after you. Who the hell are you?”
“Well, I’m a romance novelist.”
“You’re what? What are you doing here?”
“I told you, my sister’s life depends on me.”
“Ah, don’t give me that shit. I thought you were donating a kidney or something.”

3. “You’re not the man I knew ten years ago.”
“It’s not the years, honey, it’s the mileage.”

4. “I’m your boyfriend now, Nancy.”

5. “Ray. When someone asks you if you’re a god, you say ‘yes!’”

(All right, I know some of these are easy…but they made me laugh out loud!)

It wasn’t like there was a frenzy of bidding on my ARC over on eBay, as I mentioned last week, but since the ARC sold for more than the cover price of $6.99, I’ve decided it’s a good thing. Plus the buyer has to pay shipping, too (there’s no Amazon Prime on eBay).

(I’m just hoping it wasn’t someone like my mom, bidding it up high to make me feel good. You know?)