Adele Dubois Blog

When I need a break after a long day of writing, I sometimes visit the fun site, I Can Has Cheezburger. Check it out when you need a laugh. They even offer free daily subscriptions.  

 http://icanhascheezburger.com/ 

While trying to decide whether to watch the 81st Annual Academy Awards show or my never-to-be-missed reality series, The Amazing Race, it occurred to me that television is the only darned good thing about winter.

I’m seriously sick of wet, dreary weather and can hardly wait until Spring. Till’ then, I’m a night-time couch potato hooked on television. Here’s a list of the shows I think are great.

1. “24″ starring Kiefer Sutherland. May be the greatest television series of all time.
2. Medium starring Patricia Arquette. I’ve never missed an episode. Terrific stories! 
3. Burn Notice starring Jeffrey Donovan. Wow!!! Fun and fabulous. 
4. Survivor. Still my favorite reality series ever. I never miss this show.
5. The Amazing Race. (I’ll watch it over the Oscars and then flip back to the awards.)
6. American Idol. Still gotta’ love this one.
7. The Mentalist. Offbeat and interesting.
8. Lie To Me. Fascinating stuff. I’d like to learn more about reading facial expressions.
9. Damages. Not for those with short attention spans. Totally riveting. Brilliant writing & acting.
10. The Closer. Absolutely fantastic. Love Kyra Sedgwick and the cast of characters.
11. Judge Judy. There are life lessons to be learned from this Your Honor.
12. Numbers. Whoda’ thought math could be enjoyable?
13. Law and Order Criminal Intent. I’ll see if I like the cast change. 
14. 60 Minutes. Still my preferred news show.
15. America’s Funny Home Videos. When the news on 60 Minutes is just too painful to watch.

Which television shows get you through winter?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29265336/

Read this msnbc.com article by Helen A.S. Popkin about the upcoming e-book reader, Kindle 2, and found it interesting. Dang, I need $400 bucks to buy one of these!

Best–Adele Dubois 

Fabio Lanzoni was born in Milan, Italy on March 15, 1961. He began his career as an Italian fashion model before signing with the elite Ford Modeling Agency as a runway and catalog model.

Fabio is the most popular romance novel cover model of all time. His image graced hundreds of covers in the late 1980’s and throughout the 1990’s.

Fabio’s first book cover was Hearts Aflame by Johanna Lindsey, 1987. 

 Dang. Michelangelo would be proud.   

Fabio retired as a Ford model in 1991, but has continued to work on numerous television projects since that time. He made the product I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter a household name in a series of television commercials that began in 1994.

Here’s the link to Fabio’s official web site. http://www.fabioinc.com/index.shtml/ 

Many thanks to Donamaie for permission to use Fabio’s image in this column from the Fabio International Fan Club site. Here’s the link to the fan club. http://www.fabioifc.com/ 

Author friend and Fabio fan Judi Fennell contributed this personal pic of Fabio from the 2008 RT Convention. Judi is the author of the June 2009 release ‘In Over Her Head’ from Sourcebooks.

Fabio’s stellar career as a cover and fashion model, runway model, and actor make him the perfect CLASSIC HUNK for the romantic month of February. If you are a Fabio fan and have information to share, we’d love to hear from you. Please leave your messages in the comments section. Thanks for visiting!

When I first saw actor/model Jason Lewis (as Smith Jerrod)  in this Absolut vodka ad on Sex and The City, where he played  Kim Cattrall’s (Samantha) boy toy, I thought the billboard was a prop for the show. When I found his pic on the Internet, I almost…(fill in the blanks here…)

Dear God, I think this is the sexiest ad I’ve ever seen.

Happy Valentine’s Day! 

The hardest part about being a full-time author is not writer’s block, but back pain. After several hours at the computer, day after day, the muscles between my shoulder blades tighten to the screaming point. The knife-sharp pain can be so severe it debilitates me for days. Lost time means lost momentum on a project, which adds to my frustration. If I cut my work hours to fend off the back pain, my projects don’t get completed. When I return to writing for several hours to pick up the slack, pain strikes. Either way, my back pain controls my schedule–and I don’t like that one bit.

I’ve tried switching chairs, alternating desks, wearing a neck support, using a heating pad, and writing curled up on my sofa. I take breaks, brisk walks, and beg family members to massage my shoulders. While some of these tactics bring relief, nothing has helped long-term.

My husband and I were shopping recently at J.C. Penny, where a Homedics Shiatsu Massaging Cushion store display allowed customers to sit in a chair and sample a free mechanical massage. I sat for more than a half hour, the remainder of my shopping forgotten. I’d found the solution to my back pain!

The portable cushion can be placed on virtually any chair, and the moving Shiatsu massage mechanism travels up and down the back to loosen tight muscles. Press a button to add quick heat. Press another for localized massage to upper or lower back. Since the mechanical masseuse never tires, I can use it as long as I like.

If you have chronic back pain, and no medical reason to avoid mechanical massage, you might want to give this product a try. I promise, I’m not a company spokesperson, just a very happy and more productive author.

Best–Adele Dubois        

My husband and I are taking the day off to celebrate our twenty-first wedding anniversary.

I don’t discuss my private life much; I prefer to talk about books or the craft of writing or what’s happening in the publishing industry. Today, though, is different. With world events spinning out of control, I feel the need more than ever to celebrate… stability.

Twenty-one years ago tonight, my husband and I were married during a candlelight ceremony in an historic church in Philadelphia. All the stained glass windows were illuminated by candles, candelabras lit the alter, and tiny white glass lights brightened my bridal bouquet of red roses. The night was bitter cold, and snow covered the ground, but we were warmed by happiness and optimism.

All these years later, we are still in love, despite demanding jobs, raising teens, and sharing the joys and problems that come with family dynamics and home ownership. Happily-Ever-After really does exist, even in the everyday life of a romance writer.

In a world that seems to be unraveling, I think it helps to know that enduring love is possible. Do you agree? If you have a story to share, please do so in the comments section. We’d love to hear from you.

Best–Adele Dubois

“A happy marriage is a long conversation that always seems too short.”  ~ Andre Maurois

“Love does not consist of gazing at each other, but in looking together in the same direction.” ~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“True love stories never have endings.”  ~ Richard Bach

It’s good to know the romance industry is thriving despite tough economic times. I’m excited about New Love Stories magazine, whose Premiere issue has just been released. The magazine won’t hit newsstands until the March issue, though subscriptions are available now.  I hope this bright spot in the world of publishing lives a long and healthy life.

Looking forward to reading, “Lust on the Beach.” Sounds like my kind of story!

From the Grassroots Publishing Website: “For all women over the age of twenty, New Love Stories Magazine is designed to invoke in the reader a wide range of emotions relating to love and romance. Each issue contains a well rounded mix of stories of loving female/male relationships that stimulate the readers’ imagination.”

http://www.newlovestories.com/