I’ve always been intrigued by little things. I am awed when a craftsman of any kind can reduce something to its smallest possible perfect form. Uncluttered, unbloated. Stripped of the unnecessary. Beauty you can hold in the palm of your hand, or absorb in sixty seconds.
Exquisite miniature things, like…
Russian lacquer boxes
Tiffany eggs
Bonsai trees
Haiku
And modern, sassy shorts, like…
Movie trailers
Superbowl commercials
Clever Tweets
LOLcats
Or…coming back to the world I work in…well-written short stories and novellas! 🙂
I’ve been doing some of that short writing lately, and it’s definitely given me a new appreciation for how hard it is to capture emotion, texture, richness and excitement in a limited space!
I have two short online reads coming up soon on Harlequin’s website, eHarlequin.com. The first one starts Monday! It’s called Hideaway Hero, and it features Greta Kinyon, a young real estate agent struggling with commitment issues, and a hunky hotelier who is haunted by his own past. Greta is one of the secondary characters from my upcoming March Superromance, THE VINEYARD OF HOPES AND DREAMS. It was great fun getting to give her a romance of her own!
Then, in May, I will have a Mother’s Day novella online—so watch here for details of that! Both online reads are offered FREE by Harlequin. (Another great small thing…price! 🙂 )
I hope you’ll come read along with Hideaway Hero, and join in the online discussion. I’ll post the link here Monday, so that you can zip over with ease!
Meanwhile, I’m celebrating the fun of the online read by offering some giveaways here. I’ve written several novellas in the past, and anyone who posts a comment on the Hideaway Hero pages at eHarlequin.com will win one of my backlist novellas! Each one is part of an anthology, so you’ll be winning a chance to read several other writers, as well—ladies who are so talented it’s an honor to share a book with them!
Here are the titles you can choose from:
Mysteries of Lost Angel Inn, a Gothic novella with Evelyn Rogers and Debra Webb.
More Than Words, with Linda Lael Miller, Sherryl Woods, Curtiss Ann Matlock, and Jennifer Archer.
That Christmas Feeling, with Brenda Novak and Karina Bliss.
Pretty awesome line-ups, right? 🙂 Remember, when you join me for the Hideaway Hero discussion at eHarlequin.com, make sure you send me your choice of titles, and your snail mail address, either here, or privately at KOBrien@aol.com, and I’ll get your book off asap.
Hope to see you there! Meanwhile, happy weekend wishes from one of my favorite tiny things…my Wee Forest Folk cutie, “Best in Show.”
AWWW!! I love that bunny – how cute! and your books, too, of course. 😉
Meg, actually I think she’s a mouse…but those ears really are big, aren’t they? The whole collection is to-die-for cute, and apparently I’ve never outgrown my love of miniature collectibles. For one thing, they don’t take as much room as full-sized knick-knacks! Are you a collector?
Thank you for your post and giveaway, Kathleen. I bet we’re all looking forward to reading “Hideaway Hero”. I know I am!
About collecting . . . well, I don’t collect anything I can’t read, watch, or listen to. But my grandmother, Amy Buchanan, collected LOTS of stuff, mostly china and glass. I lived with her for many years, and still have quite a few of her collectibles. That includes a whole cabinet full of miniature teacups with matching saucers, in a variety of styles. If only we lived close enough for you to see this collection!
Good luck with “The Vineyard of Hopes and Dreams” and your other projects. Keep up the good work!
Oh, Mary Anne, I’d *love* to see those miniature teacups! Any chance you’ll ever take a picture and share it online somewhere? Be sure to alert me if you do!
When I was in elementary school, our class was divided at recess between the people who likes to play horses, and the people who liked to play “little things.” Guess where I fell? 🙂 We brought in all kinds of tiny toys and made elaborate homes for them among the oak tree roots.
How lovely that you have kept your grandmother’s things! I bet you think of her whenever you look at the collections!
Kathleen: I’ll be happy to send you the pics as soon as I figure out how to use my new digital camera. If I come across any other miniatures in her collection, I’ll add those.