Before I get to that. There’s more chatter cropping up, as it does, on Eve finding blood relatives. I’ve blogged about this before, and won’t go into a bunch of detail on why this isn’t going to happen. I’m just going to say it’s Not Going To Happen. I am not going to change my mind as if often suggested, or ‘listen to the readers’ as is often pressed.
I can only try to again make it clear. She won’t seek, ask Roarke to seek, find or accidentally stumble onto any other blood relations. That’s the way the series has been, is, and ever will be for all the reasons I’ve already outlined in detail.
Moving on!
Last week was a short work week as our Kat had a birthday. Our tradition is to celebrate this with an all-girl shopping spree which added on an overnight last year.
And I think this may have been the best yet!
We met up Friday morning, me, Laura, our pal Sarah and the birthday girl. Clothes, shoes, bags, champagne! (Not so much on the champagne for Kat who is endearingly an alcohol lightweight.) I work with an amazing personal shopper and team at Saks–I do this intense shopping twice a year–and they’ve selected some terrific choices for Kat–and for me. Plenty for Sarah and Laura to play with, too.
Kat and I are very interested in pretty conference clothes as RWA is around the corner–and Kat also attends conferences for our foundation. Girls wanna look good! And girls understand the fun of trying on clothes, putting outfits together and showing them off to other girls for opinions.
Girls are gonna look good!
We also have signings, vacation and just life to deal with, so try on and consider clothes (shoes!!) that will work there, too.
We’re at this for hours, with a lovely lunch break courtesy of the team, and head off to our hotel room well satisfied on all counts for an easy, relaxing evening–rather than driving a couple hours in ugly traffic.
More champagne!
Lots of girl hugs before our leisurely departure in the morning.
Then I get to work. No, not at the keyboard. In the closet. If I’m bringing all these pretties in, some things have to go. It’s my personal rule. So I purge, and pretty ruthlessly. I bought shoes and booties and sandals. So some of the same that have served me well must now make room–and will serve someone else just as well. I bought dresses, so others have to make room. Shirts, jackets, all of it. I was strict enough I culled out at least double what I’m bringing in. And so I can put all the new away with a clear conscious.
I have pals who will be delighted with my closet rule.
With the fun, the purging, the putting away done, I can devote a good chunk of my Sunday to the gardens.
A good workout to get the blood moving, and out I go for my weekly weeding and deadheading. My nasturtiums are huge and starting to bloom! The purple coneflowers along with them. Lots of new flowers to enjoy. And the misery of finding a big section of Black-Eyed Susans consumed by deer–not in a far-flung bed, but right along my drive. The repellent’s working, but right after the last dose we had a major storm. When I discovered this deer damage earlier in the week, it was about ten minutes after the damn storm. They must have raced to the banquet.
Come on, girls, let’s eat!
I have to accept what’s lost and enjoy what I have. I have my first tiny little tomato on the vine and lots more Susies about to burst into bloom. And I manage to garden without once seeing a snake. That’s a very good deal. The basil that faded so in all the May rains has perked up beautifully in their pots.
When I make dinner Sunday night, I use herbs from my gardens, and that’s as satisfying as a closet purge.
I very fine three-day weekend for me–with the capper of Game of Thrones awesome season finale.
Now it’s a very short work week as we leave in the middle of the week for our family/friend week at the spa.
I’d better get to work and make the most of the keyboard time I have.
Nora
Love all of your blogs Nora!! Love hearing about the shopping spree and about Kat’s fun with it all!! I love Eve and Roarke just ghe way they are….keep them coming!! Cannot wait to hear about the girls spa week..its always such a good read!!
As you always tell me “Have Fun”! Robin
If there’s a second to consider my questions? I’m getting toward the end of my very enjoyable read of “Bay of Sighs” (dern it), and wondered if you ever considered adding renderings of Sasha’s painting? Especially as she paints the six of them. Also, do you research myths or does your imagination just naturally go there? Enjoy your vacation.
What a weekend you had. I purged my closets in the Spring and it truly works well – I can easily find outfits to put together for work. I must say, those are some snazzy shoes you posted.
Do not say a word about G of T. We had a storm last evening and it took out the satellite connection at 7:55 CT (G of T starts at 8:00 CT). Surely they will repeat it sometime this week.
Have a great week,
Happy Birthday to Kat.
Doing purging as well
And a voice of reason in the chatter stating “Nora says no relatives for Eve”. Alas, not listened to. Want to run screaming into the woods with “it’s fun to speculate”…. Right up there with the baby question.
U r living your books! Cool!!
I enjoy your emails so much!
Eve Dallas is who she is because of the circumstances of her background. You are so right not to change them! Thank you for the many happy hours I’ve spent reading your books!
whole-hearted aggreement only the author should have any say on this type of thing she has entertained us for years her way and it works blees you for all the escape you give us.
Glad you’re sticking to your guns about Eve & Roarke. The books are just right, as always. What a fun time you all had – great pictures! With our extremes in weather, I never know what’s going to stick and what will wither. Right now, the double and wave petunias are going like mad while the geraniums are trying to decide what they want to do. I’ve a single cherry tomato showing, but lots of blooms. Enjoy your spa time@
Love reading your blogs. Stick to your guns on your vision for Eve and Roarke. To paraphrase (badly): all the world is a stage and everyone is a critic. I have read your books since you first started, I believe I have a copy of all of them. One of the things I have looked forward to since I have recently retired, is to take them all off the shelves so I can reorganize them. I may have to purge some other authors to make room for my growing collection. Have a WONDERFUL summer!!
Thank you, Nora! I agree, as the two blood relatives so far wouldn’t have me wanting to look any further! And she’s developed a wonderful family as it is; some whether she wanted them or not! when I read the early release part for “Dallas”; I was terrified that it was going to turn out that the villain was her half-brother! Man, a half-brother that tortures & rapes little girls? With Eve’s history? That would have been horrible. And I was glad to get rid of any idea of her mother cropping up like that foster mother in future books!
Now, all those telling Nora how to write the books, or “making suggestions”…Why? I agree with previous statements from others; you think you know how something should be written, or you want to see something written a certain way; do it yourself. But be careful of copyright infringement!
Love the garden pictures, and yes, those deer have learned, rain washes away repellant! They’re not as smart as squirrels or raccoons, but they’re not dumb either!
See, as I read that she’s not going to meet any blood relatives, I’m thinking, why the bloody hell would she even WANT to? Even her foster mother was horrible to her.
Now, if someday, the Miras offered to “adopt” Eve, I would cheer loudly and wholeheartedly! Cause they’re already family, and they deserve each other.
🙂
Your gardens are lovely. I have a yard that is begging for landscaping, and I just don’t know what to do or where to start. Hmm, one day.
love reading your blogs, your purging discipline is amazing…..need to make room for all the goodies & those shoes, those shoes, omg those shoes, delicious!!
I’m so sorry you feel you have to explain, yet again, that there will be no family relations for Eve.
So happy everything went well on the shopping and purging.
I’m just glad you share a part of yourself in your blog.
Have a great week.
With her wonderful friends serving Eve better than family, why don’t people just leave it alone? In looking at your lunch table, I love the deco relief wall in the background. Now I’m considering copying you, & purging my closets. I don’t have the discipline. As for shoes, I have 200+ pairs- & one of my granddaughters, loves to look thru them. When she was 12, she said to me- Bubby, I don’t ever want u to die, but when u do, can i please have your shoes?
With so many authors today having other people writing their novels, it is a joy to support your work. Thank you for being steadfast in your creating and presenting such varied work for us. Thanks for sharing in your blog. Enjoy and have a great summer.
The deer are well fed here too. You have a great garden none the less.
Eve doesn’t need to find any long lost relatives. She made herself and she made her family. She actually got to choose her family unlike the rest of us who are stuck with what we’ve got. Would it be nice to learn she actually had a decent person in her family tree from way back when? Sure it would, because it would be a comfort to know that there is more inside you than what the two sociopaths that created you put there. But I don’t think that’s her path and that’s okay too.
As far as the garden, it’s quite lovely! My thumbs are black and I can barely keep weeds alive. I live in WV and we are going through quite a bit of flooding so gardening is out of the question now anyway.
Thank you for sharing this bit of yourself with us.
I love your garden photos. I can smell them as though I’m standing next to them. I’m fortunate to live in an era of great reads. ?
Hi Nora,
It sounds as if Kat had a wonderful Birthday. (Happy Belated Birthday Kat.) And closet purging is something that I really need to do, but not clothes but to go thru some boxes that are taking up room and I have a rule too. If it isn’t worn or used in a year then it needs to go.
I find it annoying that people want to add in or suggest or redo what already is. In my scrap booking world I get that all of the time. Why did you put this border here, take that flower off the page etc. I do not take down what I have already done and re-do it. If I like it enough to post then I like it enough that it stays put. Not that I am not open to suggestion. I am, but I will usually just ask the designer what she prefers as it is her products that I am working with.
So I understand about readers who want to add their requests about Eve finding blood relatives. You have already decided what the story line is so that should be the end of it.
My patio got a nice scrub down yesterday and my 2 plants are happy in their clean home. I didn’t do much with the patio this year so I enjoy seeing the gardens from others.
Have a nice week! Beth Reed
I am so happy that you are not going to give
Eve relatives. It would totally ruin the stories. I always look for the new books and pounce on them with greedy delight. Thanks for all the late nights.
Happy belated birthday to Kat.
I am now picturing deer lining up in the rain waiting for the garden buffet to open – lol.
Can’t quite understand the obsession with finding more blood relatives for Eve since it has been so satisfying to watch the slow growth of really satisfying relationships with the friends Eve has made as the series progresses. Love the books, love the characters, always looking forward to the next book. And now I’ve got my husband hooked on them, too–so much fun to watch him discover all the things I’ve enjoyed over the years.
“I can only try to again make it clear. She won’t seek, ask Roarke to seek, find or accidentally stumble onto any other blood relations. That’s the way the series has been, is, and ever will be for all the reasons I’ve already outlined in detail.”
a lot of those people are probably either trolls or don’t know how to handle a website. But I want to go on record and agree with you on not giving Eve Dallas anymore relatives.
Now on Portrait, obviously the big subplot involved Roarke finding out about his real birth mother and how she was murdered by Patrick Roarke. His aunt and uncle made an effort to rescue him but the uncle almost died because of it and so the decision was made to let Roarke go and hope Roarke would find a way to escape. They obviously welcomed him with open arms once Roarke came to them and loved both him and Eve ever since.
But I don’t think Eve would have a happy reunion if she and Roarke found any blood relatives on her end, she would probably lash out at them for not saving her from Richard Troy and Stella. I also think they may go after her and Roarke for money that she doesn’t want to even use. Also let’s face it, Eve is pretty much still building a real parental relationship with Feeney and the Mira’s to the point where I do believe they’ll hold the titles of Grandma and Grandpa for Eve and Roarke’s children. I know you’re not going to give Eve and Roarke any children yet, especially since you have said that when it does happen that it would be a formal end to the series, I’m just making a point.
Side note: I know you guys are still gonna release more audiobooks through Brilliance Audio, but there’s another Audio Book company I’ve been following for awhile now called GraphicAudio and I think they would be a good fit for the InDeath series. I’ll reply back in case you haven’t heard of them.