The Art of Jabbering

Contest! Make sure you pop over to Wild, Wicked & Wacky and leave a comment to be entered in a drawing to win an ARC of Shut Up and Kiss Me.

It’s getting closer. Almost here. Yup, it’s almost time for the release of Shut Up and Kiss Me. Sure, it’s not set to hit the store shelves until May 25th, but about two months before due date, I always start getting anxious. I start hearing from a few reviewers who are reading the book, or booksellers who have been sent a copy of the ARC, and it’s like having false labor pains.

Anyway, I thought today I’d give you just a tiny little peek into the book, into my heroine, and a bit about the title, Shut Up and Kiss Me. You see, Shala Winters, my heroine in Shut Up is a bit of a jabberer, and guess what my hero can’t stand? Yup, you got it. Sky Gomez can’t stand a jabbering woman. In the book he states: He would walk uphill naked and barefoot through the snow and a bed of porcupine needles to avoid a jabbering woman. I bet you can figure out just how that works out for him too, can’t you? There is no uphill path with snow or porcupine needles. He just has to put up with her. Oh, and learns to do it very well.

The crazy thing is that while Shut Up and Kiss Me is the perfect title for the book, I had originally given the title to an earlier book and another heroine who had a habit of talking a wee bit much. So I guess you could say, I have a tendency to write about heroines who aren’t afraid to talk, or who have a tendency to talk before she thinks. Now, why I have so much insight into this character trait is beyond me. I can hear everyone who knows me cracking up right now, and even see a few of you rolling your eyes.

So, fine! I’ll admit it, I’m a bit of a talker, and the ol’ foot-in-the-mouth moment is something I’ve experienced once or twice, maybe a dozen times. Remember the blog about me stepping out into my backyard just in time to hear my next door neighbor, positioned on top of his CB radio antenna, yell down to my husband, “Hey, it works.” And I yelled back, “It should. It’s big enough.” Only to have my husband--after he finished laughing his butt off and after he picked his butt up from the ground--tell me they hadn’t been discussing the antenna, but my neighbor’s vasectomy. Yeah, I had my big toe stuck between my molars for a week on that one. And my neighbor walked a little taller every time he saw me, too. UGG!

Ahh, but when a jabberer isn’t picking her toenails from her teeth, the art of a socially-acceptable jabberer (meaning, they are also good listeners) is evident. Face it, jabberers know how to carry on a conversation and are talented in getting people to open up to them. You simply wouldn’t believe the stories people tell me. And to all you people who are rolling your eyes, you best remember I know a thing or two about your lifes, too. Sure, we’ve all heard the ol’ saying, silence is golden, but have you tried living through those awkward moments of silence? As a matter of fact, ask my hubby why he married me and he’ll tell you it’s because I was a talker. He actually loves my jabbering talent, and believe me when I say that Sky learns to love everything about Shala, too. And I mean, everything!

Oh, my friend and critique partner, Suzan Harden, is blogging/jabbering about Shut Up and Kiss Me at her blog today http://www.wildwickedwacky.blogspot.com/ and I have agreed to give away an ARC of Shut Up to one lucky poster on her blog. So make sure you visit and leave a comment.

I also want to give you all the heads up. On May 18th to celebrate the release of both Shut Up and Kiss Me and Wild, Wicked & Wanton: 101 Ways to Love Like You are in a Romance Novel, I’ll start holding weekly contests and giving away prizes to one lucky person who posts on my website. I will continue the contest until June 22. So make sure you mark your calendars.

So . . . what is your talent/gift/or bad habit? Are you known to jabber when nervous, upset, happy? Come on, share a little.