Dear friends and readers — I wanted to share some important news with you in hopes that it will make a difference in your life or the lives of those you love. I have breast cancer. I went in for my routine mammogram in early April and was called back for a diagnostic mammogram, ultrasound, and biopsy. They knew just from the imaging that it was cancer. The biopsy confirmed their diagnosis, revealing that I have invasive ductal carcinoma. Fortunately for me, we appear to have caught this relatively early. The tumor is relatively small — 2 cm — and the ultrasound showed clear lymph nodes. The tumor is made up of the most treatable form of breast cancer, which helps, too. My blood work came back normal, as well. Still, we won’t know whether the cancer has spread until after my surgery on June 5. I have opted for a bilateral mastectomy — the removal of both breasts — because I want to do all I can to minimize my chances for a recurrence of this disease. I’m sharing this story for one important reason: Getting a mammogram saved my life. I don’t know any woman who enjoys getting a…

Last Saturday was our annual Boas and Tiaras Tea, and if you follow our musings you’ll know we posted a recap and link to Felicia’s blog about the event. I’ll wait if you need to go catch up. In the meantime, it was fun to reminisce about it. There are over 50 pictures you can check out on our Meetup.com page. We filled the room with readers, I got rid of a couple of boxes of books (ha!) and we meet old friends and new friends. But now, I’ve put away my tiara (gasp) until either next year or the next “big” event! We did miss several of our members and also has had people say, why didn’t you tell me about it? It’s hard to judge with the effectiveness of getting the word out, but we try really hard. SO I thought I’d tell YOU all now, next year’s big event, the Boas & Tiaras Tea will be held on Saturday, June 11th, 2011. It will be held somewhere with high tea, chocolate, scones and champagne! Promise! And no long walking in the heat (had to promise that after last year’s tea in the Arboretum, we’re precious flowers, ya…

If you’re a single adult in the early 21st century, chances are you’ve tried some kind of online dating service. Hey, if I can admit to having tried it, you can, too. You know the process–you sign up, answer a zillion really dumb questions about your interests, inclinations and preferences. Then the computer plays cupid and matches you up with potential dates whose answers most closely match your own. And then… Well, if finding your soul mate were that easy, there’d be significantly fewer single people in the world and a lot more “happily ever afters,” wouldn’t there? Besides, how exciting can it be going to dinner with someone who agrees with you about everything? “You say potato; I say potato, too/You say tomato; I say tomato, too.” It doesn’t even make a good song. Maybe we’ve got it backwards. Remember the old adage “Opposites attract”? Maybe online dating services should get a clue from romantic fiction and bring people together whose backgrounds, interests and preferences are very different. Do opposites really attract? For Kat James and Gabe Rossiter, the hero and heroine of Naked Edge, the next book in my I-Team series, that’s certainly the case. Yes, he’s male…