AllGrownUp

I will be attending the booksellers convention (BEA) in NY the last weekend of May. Since I've never been to NY before I have no idea what to expect from the weather. Are any of you frequent visitors (or residents) who can give me some advice? Thanks much

My daughters just got their ears pierced and as it turns out both are allergic to the nickel in the cheap pierced earrings. I've been looking online (we live in a pretty small town with limited shopping) for real gold earrings that are not too mature for them and can't find a good selection anywhere. Anyone had this problem?

I'm going to NYC and have limited time, so I'm going to have to choose either the 2.5 hr double decker bus night tour or going to the Empires State Building. Which would you choose and why? Remember I'm going to be a first time visitor (and I'm a book nut so I'm also going to the NY public library lol)

I'm flying to NY through JFK airport for a convention and I've never been. I've also never heard anything good about the airport or transportation. Does anyone have any tips or experience to share? Thanks

Seriously, this is getting ridiculous. She's four and a half and has chameleon eyes, no kidding. They are like this combination of blue, green and gray, usually a blue gray most of the time but some outfits make them look greenish. Sorry I can't provide a pic but based on the description what color would you call them? Someday I'm going to have to put her eye color on forms (and ID) and I have no idea what to put!

We have a '99 Ford Windstar LX. Last May while on a family trip the transmission blew. We have family in OK and they had local connections so we had it rebuilt there--$1400. The day before Thanksgiving I lost all forward gears in the van--meaning it goes in reverse only. We were told we had lost the forward clutch, near as I can recall, and that would mean a new tranny. Our work done in May/June is under warranty, IN SHOP ONLY. Mind you the work was done in North TX and we live in UT. So our options are to pay out the money to repair it locally (in this economy--right!), somehow get it back to the shop in TX or somehow replace our one vehicle with said nonexistent money.

We still owe about $1200 on the van, and when it runs everything is fine. There are other minor issues that bug me about the van but I can live with those. My issue is I have to have a car. Aside from everything else we've shelled out $1600 on a surprise Christmas trip for the kids and now can't make it because we don't have a freakin' car.

As you have guessed most of this is venting, but really--in this situation what would you do? We have horrible credit and no money to buy a new car. I just started a new business this summer so cash flow is pretty light. Kinda slims down the options. :)

Someone in our family lost everything in a house fire some years ago. In the months that followed they received help with clothes, beds, shoes, etc., but found they missed having books on hand. I found purchasing books for them to help replenish their stock to be enlightening and enjoyable. The question is, in that or a similar circumstance, what books would you consider purchasing for someone who had none?

Obviously I'm not the only one asking this question, but for those of you who have been on longer than I have, did this happen last year? I mean, is this a cyclical thing? We just got done with all those summer reading questions and now it's homework! Maybe I'm old school but honestly I didn't go to strangers with my homework problems--I worked them out on my own or with study groups. Where's the growth in having the answers told to you? And what makes you think you're going to get the right answer anyway--maybe someone's just answering with the wrong answer to mess with you.

I have eclectic tastes. I write primarily fantasy novels but I read fantasy, mystery, nonfiction, classics, and the list goes on....

First off let me say I'm only posting this because I've decided to do nothing with the story idea. It's not my genre or even something I want to delve in to--too many land mines.

A friend approached me with an idea for a novel--hopefully I'm not the only one this happens to. The concept is you have two young married couples who are both parents of very young children (under 2). They hang out because Wife A and Wife B are cousins. Wife A and Husband B start sleeping together--sneaking around, even having sex downstairs while their spouses and children are sleeping upstairs. Wife B kicks out her husband without knowing who the "other woman" is. Wife A convinces her husband to take in her lover in the "just helping a friend guise". Not too long into that situation Husband A realizes what's going on. He finds letters between the two conspirators and confronts his wife. She denies they ever slept together, even though he has read in her own hand an admission of doing just that.

I was in the ER with my hubby this week and oddly enough the only magazine in our room was Ireland of the Welcomes. I've a hefty amount of Irish blood within me and have always been fascinated with the place. June 2007 edition of the mag contained a feature on Cork and Kerry counties--just gorgeous. I also have a book on Ireland that is just full of fabulous photos and I wanted to ask anyone who's been there: Is Ireland as wondrous and beautiful as it seems in movies and pictures? Is it more so? And is Ireland of the Welcomes a fair representation of the Irish way of life?

Ok so more than one question...thanks much to all who answer! :)

I find developing strong characters does it for me. Before I write I learn my characters inside and out--their appearance, their past, their motivations, heck even their birthdays!

Plot and setting aren't difficult for me--usually I visualize that pretty easily. But once I've got my characters down the story almost writes itself.

So, what works for you?

I have an open question under Philosophy about who is more forgiving--men or women. The answers have really made me pause. The majority of responders, male and female alike, seem to feel women are less forgiving and more inclined to hold a grudge. This may seem obvious to some of you but I don't live my life that way--though I do know a few women who do--and I wondered are women generally like this? And why?

And do you find that members of your same gender are less forgiving toward you than members of the opposite gender? Or are members of the opposite gender less forgiving?

For me, Patti Larson. She told me I have serious writing talent and it would be a waste not to use it.

I mean, even the Harry Potter novels had a measure of romance when it became age appropriate. What do you think? Is it out of place? Has the introduction of romance enhanced the story for you and, if so, which story?