I'll be at the Highland Township Public Library tonight at 6:30–come on over and see me! I'll have books and the new Powered by Vis Bulla tees, which are hot, hot, hot…just ask Megan.

And I'll be signing at the Borders Express in Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi on Sat. I know several of you are planning to come by…so I'll see you there. (Check my Web site for details.)

Okay, awhile back, I was debating whether to continue with watching Season One of FNL while on the treadmill, or Buffy, Season Four.

I got votes supporting either decision, so I split my time. FNL at night with the Music Man (one episode, mayyyyybe two), and Buffy in the am while working out.

I'm here to tell you that all the hype about FNL is right on. It really is a fabulous show, worthy of the buzz and the raves. It's real and the acting is superb.

And there's some really great eye candy–for either gender. So it's not hard to look at.

I'm only about halfway through the first season (no spoilers, please, please, please), but I highly recommend getting your hands on the DVDs. Watch at least three episodes, including the pilot, and I guarantee, you'll be hooked.

Here's the thing: it's not just about football. It's about family and relationships and choices, set against the backdrop of violent, passionate football.

My favorite plotline is Coach Taylor and Tami (love their relationship; sooo Television) and the whole subplot with Julie dating. Cracks both MM and me up every time.

And then there's Riggins, who I surely do like to look at, though the hair in the face is annoying. He'd look much better if he'd just pull it back.

Tyra, I'm not nuts about…but I'm beginning to understand her better.

And I adore Matt Saracen. I just hope they don't ruin him. (Please, please, please!!!)

I think I'm getting a little bored with the Lyla/Jason story…but we'll see. 

So…you? Have you been watching? What's your favorite thread?

And a recommendation: if you're interested, don't start with the new season. You'll miss all kinds of good stuff!

So I was in NYC last week, and on my way there, I sat between a young man in his 20s and a man perhaps a decade or so older than me.

During the course of our brief get-to-know-the-person- whose-personal-space-you'll-be-in-for-the-next- two-hours conversation, the younger man, Matt, mentioned that he was an artist. I've heard that before, but, wow. When he pulled out his sketchbook I almost fell out of my seat (which would have been an amazing feat, considering how bloody small those plane accomodations are!). Talk about talent. Matt, I'll say it again: if you see this blog post, drop me an email. And if you ever read my books, I'd love to see your renditions of the characters. The guy is really talented.

The older man, whose name I don't think I ever got, was the produce manager for a small chain of upscale grocery stores in Brooklyn. He'd been traveling to Michigan for the day to check out some upscale grocery stores here to see what the trends were in organizing the produce department.

Since I love food, in particular fruits and vegetables, I launched into a whole slew of Q&As (after all, what else can you do during a flight?) about storage and prep of those goodies.

I was right in most cases as far as whether to refrigerate or not…but there were a few that surprised me.

So, without further ado, here's a list of dos and don'ts in regards to produce:

Don't ever refrigerate tomatoes. (This is something I'd learned years ago.)

Don't refrigerate mangoes, bananas, pears, apples (something my Music Man and I argue about–he likes them cold "like they are when you pick them in the fall" and I don't), lemons or limes.

You can refrigerate berries, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and most other vegetables. Not potatoes, or onions, of course.

Don't wash mushrooms, just wipe them off with a paper towel before cooking. And when refrigerating them, make sure there are little holes in the plastic wrapping so they can breathe. 

To eat a tamarillo (which was a fruit my daughter had suggested I buy at the store recently, and when she bit into it she thought it tasted horrible), cut it open and just eat the flesh–not the peel or the black seeds.

He explained to me the mystery of the mango pit–which, if you aren't aware, is the oddest, most inconvenient pit I've ever come across–and how to effectively navigate around it to get the most of that wonderful fruit.

And we waxed rhapsodic over one of my favorite fruits–the Asian or Korean pear. He also called it something else, but I can't remember. Love those crisp, juicy fruits.

And then I landed in NY and had a whirlwind two days there, attending the reading at The Happy Endings Lounge (where Colette, Jane, Elizabeth, Megan, Kent, and I met a thick-lashed black male bouncer named Shannon Shamiq), and then found a diner in the Village where we had to eat something to dilute the martinis we'd enjoyed earlier.

So, there you have it. I'm back and on deadline for Gardella Four (so will probably be very quiet for awhile), and should have ARCs of The Bleeding Dusk to give away very soon. So stay tuned for contest winners (I haven't forgotten about the Meatball Contest and the Readers Ask contests…winners announced soon).

Finally, Twisted Kingdom contacted me about a new contest for readers of The Gardella Vampire Chronicles–a fan-fic/fan-art contest. So get your creative juices flowing, and I'll give you the heads up when they post it. 

And last but not least, 'fess up: Do you refrigerate tomatoes? Apples? Have you ever had an Asian pear? What's your favorite "exotic" fruit?

By "there," I mean back.

Back to high school, adolescence, first kisses, clammy-hand-holding, dances where the guys and girls line up across the room from each other as if an invisible wall separates them.

For me, I'll always remember Stairway to Heaven as the backdrop for my first real kiss, courtesy of a guy named Freddie.

And those first ringing chords of You Shook Me All Night Long immediately transport me to middle school, when I discovered heavy metal and bought my first record album.

My senior prom theme song was Almost Paradise. And the theme for one of our fall dances was I'm So Excited, though we wanted Let's Go Crazy. The nuns wouldn't let us use anything by Prince (even though we tried to explain that it had nothing to do with sex…and little did they know what I'm So Excited was really about).

Melt With You was a fraternity party staple in my college days. And we all listened to Where the Streets Have No Name.

So, what takes you there?

Or…no matter how hard you try, you can't shake them. 

Last night I went to a book club meeting at the home of my friend Lauren. She's an example of a friend that was just meant to be.

I met her about eighteen years ago (oh, how it pains me to write that!) when we were in the same MBA program in Michigan. We got to be good friends, and then I decided to move to Philadelphia.

I was in the Philly area for about 2.5 years, and about a year after I got there, I found out–I'm not even sure how–that Lauren had moved to Philly also. Cool! We lunched at Chili's in West Philly and I remember buying my first ever copies of Ann Rice's Sleeping Beauty series at the bookstore right across the street.

So then my Music Man and I decided to move back to Michigan (where we were both from) and get hitched. Lost track of Lauren, because at about that time, she moved to Texas for her job.

Music Man and I ended up living in a different area than either of us had lived before in Michigan, and about a year after that…I found out that Lauren, who was originally from upstate NY and had no reason to keep popping up in The Great Lakes State, had moved back. And was living about ten miles from our house.

So at that point, I gave up trying to shake this gal and decided we might as well be friends. And we had lots of fun hanging out at restaurants (when the Music Man was working late) and talking about stuff–including my books that I was writing and trying to get published.

And then Music Man and I moved about an hour away, to be closer to our families as we were starting our own family. And Lauren got married and stayed where she was–which was fine because we still keep in touch and can get together whenever we want. 

So it was really cool for me to be invited to her book club meeting last night. This was the first book club meeting I've attended where the members had read one of my books. (Oddly enough, I have my second one tomorrow.)(And yes, I love to be at book club meetings. So if you have one, contact me and we'll talk.)

Now, I'm one of those weird people who really likes to speak in public. Really. Give me an audience, and a topic I'm familiar with, and I can run with it. I've done lots of talks–at libraries, bookstores, writers groups, writers conferences, etc.–but what was really neat about the book club meeting was that everyone had already read the book

That's not usually the case with the other venues. Usually, I'm talking about how I got published (perseverance, luck, and talent–in that order), how to self-promote, about The Hero's Journey, or other writing-related topics. This time, I was answering questions about the book and the story, along with some of those other topics.

Lots of fun.

So, the moral of the story is: I'm glad Lauren stalked me from Michigan to Philly and back to the East Side of Detroit! She's been there cheering me along for a long time, and I'm very lucky to have such a supportive friend.

And if this doesn't pull her out of lurkdom to comment…I don't know what will.