TWITTER 101

If you've seen that ubiquitous little bluebird flitting around the internet or heard some television reference to "tweeting", "tweet-ups" or "twantrums", you may be wondering what the latest internet craze is all about.

TWITTER is a new form of social media where everyone communicates in sound bytes of 140 characters or less. Some call it micro-blogging, some call it haiku for the semi-literate and others just call it thinking out loud. Personally, I adore Twitter for several reasons:

1) My brain "tweets" all the time and now I have a place I can share my pithy (yes, I said pithy, not...well...you know...) meanderings on the absurdities of life, pictures of my cats lounging on my desk, links to fascinating articles and YouTube videos, all the latest news about upcoming books, blog appearances, etc.

2) I can type 90 words a minute so it's not that time-consuming for me

3) It's far more "linear" than Facebook so it doesn't aggravate my ADD

4) It gives me a chance to establish a much more intimate connection with my readers

Some have tried to set up a competition between Facebook and Twitter but the two are now totally compatible. You can easily set your Tweets to post to Facebook or your Facebook updates to post to Twitter. The only difference is that on Facebook, you have "friends" or "fans" and on Twitter you have "followers" (all the better to increase your chances of achieving world domination).

Twitter is the place to be to "Follow" your favorite authors, celebrities, musicians, politicians and/or syrup (yes @mrsbuttersworth is really on Twitter in all of her sticky goodness). The immediacy of it is stunning. We were instrumental in protesting the recent election fraud in Iran. We knew the balloon boy was a hoax long before the rest of the world did. And when a small fire broke out at the recent Romance Writers of America conference, the news was "tweeted" before the fire alarm was even pulled. When I wondered how Elizabeth Taylor (@DameElizabeth) was feeling about Michael Jackson's death, she "tweeted" and told me less than five minutes later. (For a real blast follow @kirstiealley. She tweets like she's roaring drunk all the time, even though she's not.)

If you want to give Twitter a try, go to http://www.twitter.com to sign up for a free account.

I also HIGHLY recommend downloading a "client" to manage your tweets. Some of my friends use Tweetie for their iPhones but my heart belongs to Tweetdeck. Just go to http://www.tweetdeck.com to download this app for free. You can use it to separate your Tweets into columns. I have AUTHORS, CELEBRITIES, SQUAWK RADIO GALS, FRIENDS, etc. on mine. And some people become intimidated by the number of people they're following. You don't have to actually READ the tweets of everyone you're following. I just check them when I happen to be on-line.

The control is all up to you. You can FOLLOW 400 people or you can FOLLOW 3 people. It's also very viral. Once you're following a fave author, you may find several other authors to follow just by reading her tweets. I've found that Twitter gives you a far more intimate glimpse into an author's life and creative process than any other form of social media. And if you're an aspiring author, the publishing tips and info are invaluable.

You can also UNFOLLOW people at any time. Or even BLOCK those spammers who will occasionally try to send you naughty photoshopped pics of Britney Spears.

And if you're Following several of your friends, you can use it as a form of mini-e-mail to have wonderful, scintillating conversations, which actually vastly cuts down on the number of e-mails hitting your inbox on any given day.

I'm doubly excited about Twitter because I'm working on a book right now called GOODNIGHT TWEETHEART about a man and woman who meet and fall in love on Twitter :). (Don't worry--I'm doing this in my downtime BETWEEN historicals so it won't affect my next deadline.)

So that's my Twitter primer. If you sign up and have any questions, you can always find me over at http://www.twitter.com/teresamedeiros

Come join the best cocktail party in the world! :)

MEET THE GUY TERESA DOES NEARLY EVERY DAY

If we're going to be honest with each other, I thought it was time to introduce you to the guy who REALLY has my heart. That's right--Richard Simmons! Richard first saved my life about 15 years ago when I suffered a severe back injury after being body-slammed across the footboard of a hospital bed by a psychotic patient. I was too afraid to move to go back to the free dancing that I loved and it was Richard's SWEATIN' TO THE OLDIES that got me moving again and re-built my confidence.

I now own nine of his workout tapes and DVD's and have been fairly consistent over the years in doing them at least 3 times a week. I'm not a big believer in doing anything I don't enjoy. I hate treadmills. I hate ellipticals. I hate indoor bikes. But I love to dance! And since Richard's workouts are essentially dancing to some really cool music, I do enjoy them. (Plus he uses real people in the videos instead of buffed-out size zero freaks so you feel like, "Hey, if that 300-pound man can do that, so can I!")

I'd been struggling a little with my weight recently as women of a certain age (22?) tend to do. I couldn't figure out why my bras were getting tighter in all of the wrong places. Then suddenly the missing ingredient of my exercise plan came to me! It was Richard! I'd quit doing the workouts when I was on deadline in and had never gotten back to them. And all of the biking and weight lifting in the world wasn't going to loosen up those bras. So I dragged out SWEATIN' TO THE OLDIES on Monday afternoon. By Tuesday morning (I kid you not), I had lost 4 pounds.

As I was dancing that afternoon, a couple of other miraculous things began to happen--my mood began to lift and I started having new ideas for my book. I also had a really corny thought--When I do this, I feel like the person I'm supposed to be.

I know. It's hard to believe an excercise DVD could have such a profound effect on a life. But when I'm sweating to the oldies and Richard gets that wicked twinkle in his eye and shouts, "You were born to be a star!", I almost believe him.

THE LONG GOODBYE

Almost three years ago, we lost our 20-year-old nephew Daniel to an accidental drug overdose. This is the first time I’ve been able to write about it.

Daniel was a lean kid with a tender heart, a shy smile and more baggage from his childhood than even his broad shoulders could bear. No matter how tall he grew, I never let him get too big to give his Aunt Terri a kiss and a hug.

We got the call on a Friday night that Daniel had gone home after his shift at Sonic, stopped breathing and was on a ventilator in Intensive Care. They found a combination of Ativan, Valium, Xanax and Methadone in his system. (I’ve since learned that even ONE Methadone can induce respiratory failure in some people). At first we assumed he was going to be okay, that this was going to be the wake-up call that would allow him to get the help he needed. As one person after another came forward, we realized that Daniel had known he was in serious trouble but had been asking the wrong people for help. This was not a suicide attempt. It was an addiction to the prescription drugs used for recreational purposes by so many of our kids.

For three days the family kept a vigil at his bedside, crying and raging, pleading and praying. Since my husband and I are both nurses, we knew what it meant when the ICU nurses told us we no longer had to adhere to the visiting hours but could sit with him whenever we wanted.

After a series of tests, the neurologist finally gathered us together to tell us that Daniel had been gone all along. That there was nothing left to do but say our goodbyes and offer his organs to someone who could keep some small part of him alive in this world. As I held his seventeen-year-old sister in my arms and promised her she would survive this, I’ll never forget her broken wail of, “But I don’t want to!”

Daniel was more like a son than a grandson to my husband’s parents and watching Mike’s dad weep over his coffin was like watching John Wayne cry like a baby.

After he was gone, I used to talk to his picture—I’d remind him of how much we loved him and yell at him for doing something so terribly foolish. Now I smile when I pass it and touch my fingertips to my lips, then briefly to the cool glass covering his face, knowing he is at peace and finally in the arms of the Father he always deserved. The Father we all deserve.

If you know a kid that you suspect is in trouble, act. Open a dialogue. Confront. Get the rest of the family involved if you have to. Don’t just assume they’ll grow out of it.

Because they might not get the chance.

You looked as handsome as a sleeping prince in that hospital bed but my kiss could not wake you

As I touched your cheek for the last time, you were everything to me that you would never be to any other woman—nephew, son, friend, brother, lover, father

All I could do was lay my head upon your breast and weep my goodbye

In memory of Daniel Lee Medeiros October 1985 - August 2006

TERESA TWEETS HER FAVORITE RWA SURVIVAL TIPS

1) Avoid authors who are screaming, "LOOK AT ME!" and find someone interesting in the corner to talk to. (I discovered Shane Abe this way.)

2) If author seems unfriendly, give her benefit of doubt. She may be a) shy b) tired c) distracted d) deprived of warm/fuzzy gene at birth or e) utterly devoid of social skills.

3) Bars are a great place to meet authors and editors. Order yourself a club soda and lime and go cruising!

4) Don't drink too much at RWA. Some authors are scary sober. Drunk they can be truly terrifying.

5) Editors are people too and some of them are shyer than you are. If you're pitching a project, just relax and act natural.

6) You'll know you've finally made it when editors start following YOU into the bathroom.

7) Practice your editor/agent pitch as if you were pitching to Simon Cowell.

8) Pantyhose are OUT. But if you have a complexion like Gollum (or me), pack them anyway.

9) Yes, you ARE back in high school for 4 days. But now you have the confidence and social skills to thrive!

10) When in a crowd of milling writers, it's easy to hide exactly who pushed who down the escalator.

11) Allow time for at least 1 crying jag in hotel room. (Even more important for male attendees.)

12) Leave hubby and kiddies at home. Slow motion pillow fights with roommates much more fun that way.

13) Leave hotel every chance you get. Enjoy sunshine, fresh air, and people who don't care if they ever get published

14) Always put on lipstick before you leave hotel room. Even if it's a fire drill. Even if it's a fire.

15) If you want everyone to think you're an editor or agent, wear a lot of black but no name tag.

16) Never talk about author/editor/publisher in bathroom. Odds of them being in next stall: 100%.

17) Don't worry if U come out of bathroom with skirt tucked in panties. There are 2000 women 2 help. Or take pic.

18) If U don't recognize somebody U should, tell them U left glasses in your room. Even if U don't wear glasses.

19) Beg, borrow or steal an invitation to the Harlequin party and be prepared to boogie the night away.

20) If an editor asks you to step outside for a smoke, go with her. It's never too late to start smoking!

21) Always pack speech & make-up in carry-on bag. You can do w/o clothes if you have to.

22) Nobody is really looking at YOUR 1) clothes 2) hair 3) fake nails because they're 2 busy looking at their own.

23) An enormous chocolate sundae goes a long way toward softening grief of not winning RITA or Golden Heart.

24) If your luncheon tablemate has this look in her eye...change tables.

TERESA BRINGS YOU A YUMMY NO FAT SUMMER TREAT

You can't beat delicious, no-fat AND simple to fix. This cake brings it all!

ANGEL LUSH CAKE

INGREDIENTS

1 can (20 oz.) Dole Crushed Pineapple, undrained

1 pkg. (3.4 oz.) Vanilla Flavored Instant Pudding

1 cup thawed Cool Whip Free Whipped Topping

1 Angel Food Cake (can use store bought or make your own)

Fresh Strawberries and Blueberries

INSTRUCTIONS

1) To make filling, mix pineapple and dry pudding mix in medium bowl. Stir in whipped topping.

2) Cut Angel Food Cake horizontally into 3 layers. Fill layers with filling. Top with fresh sliced strawberries and blueberries. (You can add berries to individual slices if you don't want to put them on cake for storage.)

3) Chill 1 hour and store in refrigerator.

(And yes, I said it was simple to fix but my husband tried the first time and he'd never used Angel Food cake so he was trying to use the cake exactly as it came out of the pan--upside down--and couldn't figure out why it kept falling over :)).

Teresa Medeiros's Favorite Guy Candy

Looking for a few good men? Or a few bad boys? Then enjoy this special gift to all of my readers!

Medeiros and Enoch on Star Trek vs Star Wars

Last year at RWA, Avon gave Suzanne Enoch and I the chance to embrace our inner geeks and fan the flames of our rivalry over Star Trek vs. Star Wars. This was the result.

Teresa Brings You A Sinfully Good Recipe

Perfect for taking to that next church potluck or cookout! And it really is sinfully delicious although I tend to think anything this yummy must be a gift from God ;)

SINFUL CHOCOLATE CHESS PIE

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs

5 ounces of evaporated milk

4 TBS butter, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 TBS baking cocoa (I used Hershey's)

1 unbaked 9-inch pastry shell (Deep Dish works fine but cover the edges of your crust with aluminum foil so it won't scorch)

Whipped Cream or Cool Whip Free

Chocolate Shavings (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk eggs, milk, butter and vanilla in a bowl until well blended.

Mix sugar and cocoa together and add to egg mixture, mixing well.

Pour into pie shell.

Bake 30-45 minutes or until a knife inserted near center comes out clean (Mine cooked closer to 45 minutes in a deep dish pie shell with good results but check it sooner.)

Top each serving with a dollop of whipped cream. (If desired, add chocolate shavings for presentation.)

Serves 8.

Teresa Brings You RICH CHOCO CHIP TOFFEE BARS

Well, I wish I could REALLY bring them to your door warm from the oven but you'll have to settle for the recipe:

INGREDIENTS
2 ½ cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
¾ cup (1 ½ sticks) butter or margarine
1 egg, slightly beaten
2 cups (12-oz package) Hershey's Semi-Sweet Choco Chips (divided)
1 cup coarsely chopped nuts
1 can (14 ounces) Eagle Brand milk (can use no-fat version if desired)
1 ¾ cups (10 oz package) English toffee bits (divided)

1. Heat oven to 350. Grease 13 X 9 baking pan
2. Stir together flour and brown sugar in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or two knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg; mix well. Stir in 1 ½ cups choco chips and all nuts. Reserve 1 ½ cups mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture onto bottom of prepared pan.
3. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and pour Eagle Brand milk evenly over hot crust. Top with 1 ½ cups toffee bits. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture and remaining ½ cup chips over top.
4. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle with remaining ¼ cup toffee bits. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut in bars.

Very rich and very good!!!

WOLVERINE EYE CANDY BROUGHT TO YOU BY TERESA

No one has done more to bring back that "wife beater/tank-top-your-grandfather-used-to-wear" look than Hugh Jackman as WOLVERINE.

And if you've seen BLADE: TRINITY, you already know that Ryan Reynolds is no slouch in the beefcake department either.

With that scrumptious voice and dangerous edge, Liev Schreiber is the thinking woman's hero.

And you know I love me some fine hobbits. Whether stealing our hearts as the loyal and mischievous Merry in LORD OF THE RINGS or breaking them as tortured rocker Charlie Pace on LOST, Dominic Monaghan's baby blues are irresistible.

Teresa Marches Through Atlanta

Dear Friends,

Here are some of my pics from my recent keynote gig at the Georgia Romance Writers Moonlight & Magnolias conference. A wonderful time was had by all, as you can see by the pics! (Many of them taken by the lovely and talented PJ Ausdenmore, who is almost as good a photographer as she is a candy-maker.)





With fellow authors Jenna Petersen (Jess Michaels) and Tanya Michna (aka Tanya Michaels). Hey, how come I only get one name?!











Sharing breakfast with former Squawk Radio regulars PJ, Gannon, Buffie and Andrea (Tricia must be behind the camera on this one.)














With wonderful Avon editor Tessa Woodward and dear friend Jean Willett









Hanging with Tricia, Cynthia, J Perry Stone, PJ, Gannon and Buffie.






With Andrea and her adorable sister Tricia
















J Perry Stone brought me a very special surprise! We get the funniest looks from...everyone we meet! :)












No wonder I'm smiling...PJ brought me an incredible selection of her homemade chocolates!











Jean and I celebrate on Maggie Award Night











Showing off my covers for SOME LIKE IT WICKED and my upcoming April release SOME LIKE IT WILD











Sharing my wit and wisdom (quit snickering, J Perry Stone!)















Oh look...another photo op!






With reader Missy Wickersham, the inspiration for "Miss Samantha Wickersham" in YOURS UNTIL DAWN












Voguing it up on the dance floor. I couldn't go to bed until they'd played "my" song...BABY GOT BACK!









With the ever gorgeous Jacquie D'Alessandro and her equally gorgeous husband

HOOT, MON! (TERESA DOES SCOTLAND).

Hoot, mon! I just returned from a research and pleasure trip to the bonny land of Scotland. It was my very first trip to the country I’d lovingly written about so many times in books like HEATHER AND VELVET, A WHISPER OF ROSES, TOUCH OF ENCHANTMENT, SOME LIKE IT WICKED, SOME LIKE IT WILD and in my upcoming September 2010 release THE DEVIL WEARS PLAID. With its brutal, stunning beauty and its mercurial weather, it's not a country for the faint-hearted and I now have a much deeper appreciation for the hardy nature of the native Scot. There's a reason they wear fabulous sweaters and drink gallons of hot tea and whisky.

Although we nearly froze to death at times, the natural beauty of the landscape was fully equal to the splendid visions of my imagination. I knew it was going to be a great trip when we turned out of the airport to see a young man who looked just like a male model hitchhiking. Alas, he wasn't wearing a kilt and we couldn't coax our husbands into stopping and picking him up. (But my husband did buy a gorgeous kilt of his own while we were there!)

On one glorious day at Dunnottar Castle in Stonehaven, it was freezing, incredibly windy, sunny, and raining—all at the same time. And everywhere we looked on the horizon, we found a rainbow. We had our share of misadventures—exploding Diet Cokes in the back seat and me returning our rental car to the Hertz counter by handing the attendant our rearview mirror—but the only true horror we suffered was me blowing up my hair straightener on our first day there and being forced to walk around looking like a demented Shirley Temple for the rest of the week.


Here are our traveling companions and dear friends Teresa and Freddy in front of Inveresk House in Musselburgh, the B&B where we spent 5 days.



Standing in front of the breathtaking vista at the top of Edinburgh Castle


Here I am in Edinburgh with the famous statue of "Greyfrairs Bobby", the loyal pup who kept vigil at his master's grave for 14 years after his death.

The Elephant House in Edinbrugh--the famous pub where J.K. Rowling first started working on HARRY POTTER
The beautiful edifice of Stirling Castle



View from the top of Stirling Castle
Typical view of Old Edinburgh street
Our lodgings in Aberdeen--the Ferryhill House Hotel

The spectacular ruin of St. Andrew's Cathedral
In one of the courtyards of St. Andrew's College where Prince William attended
My favorite site--the glorious Dunnottar Castle on the coast at Stonehaven


One of the beautiful coves at Dunnottar
There were rainbows everywhere!

A little slice of heaven...
Even the potties were pretty!
And speaking of...here's our favorite street in St. Andrews.
The enchanting Logan Cottage where we spent the night in Inverness
Castle Urquhart on Loch Ness
Me at Castle Urquhart bundled up like the Abominable Snowman. I didn't really wear the same clothes all week but I did wear the same sweatshirt and scarf. (Did I mention that it was REALLY cold?) The famous Rosslyn Chapel--the 15th Century chapel featured in Dan Brown's THE DAVINCI CODE

Dear Friends,
I wanted to let you know that I probably won't be actively blogging for a while. I was so fired up after finishing my new historical that it made me want to devote all of my creative energy to starting the next book. I'm going to be spending less time on the internet and more time nurturing that fire by reading wonderful books, watching romantic movies, going for long walks, etc.

I'm going to leave this site up so all of my non-fiction offerings will still be available plus I'll probably be using it to post pics, etc., in the future and as a place we can hang out when the new book is released. (I'll announce the pub date in my newsletter as soon as the publisher lets me know when it's going to be.)

If you haven't done so already, you can sign up for my bi-monthly newsletter at www.teresamedeiros.com (Just hit the JOIN NOW button in the right hand corner of the page). I'll let you know in the newsletter whenever I post new pics, etc., over here at CHARMED LIFE.

I love you all and don't forget that you can always reach me through my website!

Hugs,
Teresa

Teresa Does Dallas!

Good morning, dear friends! I just got back from the annual RWA conference in Dallas yesterday and have tons of pics to post. One of the best parts of the conference was getting to spend time with YOU guys, including Santa and J Perry Stone (pictured at left), Sara Lindsay, Keira, Kim C, Desiree B., and a host of charming others who made my conference a true delight. The signing in Plano on Thursday night was a great success and several of you hopped a bus or a car and came out to cheer us on.


Of course Xtina Dodd will tell you that HER favorite part of the conference was when we had a fire alarm go off in the hotel (accompanied by the actual smell of burning electrical wires) and I stopped to put on lipstick before running out of the room. Hey, if I'm going to die, I want to look good while I'm doing it!


Here I am with Authors at Sea cruise mate Barbara Vey, who is now doing the blog BEYOND THE BOOK for PUBLISHERS WEEKLY. We had a fun interview in my suite and could have spent all day talking about books. For more fun conference reports, check out her blog HERE





Me and fabulous Pocket author Karen Hawkins hang out at the ROMANCE NOVEL TV suite. They did several fabulous interviews which you should be able to find on their site in the coming weeks and months. We even filmed a "Squawker Reunion" breakfast. Move over THE VIEW!






The amazing Michelle Buonfiglio from ROMANCE BY THE BLOG was also there doing video interviews for her new LIFETIME affiliated site and got to enjoy our little Squawker reunion. Their make-up artist made me look ever-so-glamorous! (Although I was a little worried when she started talking about Mimi from the Drew Carey show.)



Here I am with the always adorable (and talented!) Sara Lindsay, who traveled all the way to Plano, Texas from Dallas to support us while we spoke and signed.











Here I am cuddling with Barbara Freethy and Candice Hern, two of my favorite pals to breakfast with.













Xtina, Lynn Kerstan, Jayne Krentz and me at a gorgeous librarian hosted tea at the elegant Adolphus hotel. (And no, I was NOT stuffing truffles in my purse. Don't listen to Xtina!)








I've known dear friends Jill Marie Landis and Kristin Hannah since I was twelve. Okay, so it only feels like it. Jill shared my very first conference dinner table in 1989, along with LaVyrle Spencer and Kristin is my rock whenever I need a cooler head to prevail.





Here's Barbara Freethy, Victoria Alexander and Xtina chowing down at breakfast.












Here are the Squawkers reunited for a pic! Silly Connie decided she'd rather go fishing in Alaska than hang out with us in Dallas but she was thoughtful enough to overnight a giant pic of her head so we could take it to interviews with us. On the first day the hotel LOST Connie's head so I was running around everywhere looking for it.

In typical Squawker fashion, when Connie told us she was sending her head, I suggested that it "might be difficult to find a box that big" and Xtina replied with, "She's sending her head, not her thigh." That's right--just when you think you've gone as low as you can go, another Squawker limbos right under you!



Here I am with the amazingly efficient Kim C., who made our lives so much easier by administering some of our Squawk contests for us.










Three of my funnest (is that a word?) fellow Avon Authors--Sophia Nash, Jacquie D'Alessandro and Kathryn Caskie. Don't they remind you a little of CHARLIE'S ANGELS? (And if you see the elegantly refined Sophia anywhere, make sure and get her to tell you her mechanical bull story!)





Hanging at the Avon Dinner with delightful Avon editors May Chen and Lucia Macro.

Nobody loves a hot purse more than Xtina!












Here I am with pal Julia Quinn. She looks happy here but she looked even happier the next night when ON THE WAY TO THE WEDDING won the RITA for BEST LONG HISTORICAL :)










Here I am with Toni Blake at the Avon Family Dinner. Blondes really do have more fun!

















Here I am enjoying breakfast with pals Suzanne Enoch, Stephanie Laurens and Christie Ridgeway









Here's Heather MacAllister, Xtina, me and Eloisa voguing in our room before the RITA awards.














Here I am with fellow Avon Author and Donny Osmond enthusiast Jacquie D'Alessandro (note her stylish alligator purse).














Me, Lisa and Xtina after the RITA ceremony. Lisa was our RWA keynote speaker this year. She made us laugh, she made us cry, and she made us appreciate all over again how blessed we are to be able to write books we love so much.






With Harlequin author Heather MacAllister, who just happened to be one of my roomies this year. Heather is the go-to girl for jewelry and shoe advice and I'm...well...not. I'm sure she got really tired of me asking, "Does this go with that?"







Stay tuned! I'll be posting some more pics later in the week as they start to trickle in!