Reach for the Stars!

The next interview is with my Bella Luna; wonderful and kind, she is a pleasure to know! A woman of many talents, she is the painter of this "Reach for the Stars" watercolor and her first book, "Open Proposal", will be published Soon! Keep up with her at www.rosemarygunn.com.

Describe your home keeping routine, do you have a process?
Is there really supposed to be a routine? I guess there is, but for me it never lasts. Seriously.. I pour over Real Simple and Martha Stewart Living each month and truly aspire to be THAT woman, but have come to the realization that it isn't ever going to happen. Get-togethers usually motivate me to really clean, or at the very least, gather the piles of books, magazines, and papers (for some reason, these accumulate on every flat surface in my home!) and stuff them into the office, then close the door on all of it. The idea behind that is to go through the chaos at some undetermined time in the future that never seems to arrive. The living room is usually clean though, so it's ready at a moment's notice if the grandbaby comes over. I also try to stay ahead of the laundry and dishes...and scoop up the dust bunnies before they start demanding names and food.

What is the last cooking recipe you followed?
Ooh, I actually made a very easy beef stew in the slow cooker last week. It was a recipe from my wonderful friend Jennifer (that would be author Jennifer Skully/Jasmine Haynes [www.skullybuzz.com, if you're looking for something hot to read over the summer...in addition to my book!]) out of a book she'd picked up. It was yummy and the house smelled oh-so-delicious all day as it cooked. The recipe itself wasn't anything spectacular, but the stew was delicious. Red potatoes, carrots, some onion (just a little bit...I'm not a huge onion fan), London broil, can of cream of mushroom soup, can of water, little bit of red wine and some salt and pepper. It cooked on HIGH most of the day...probably 5 or 6 hours.

I'm pretty compulsive when it comes to recipes. I tend to pull out the recipe card, even if it's something I've made many, many times...like my Grandma's pie crust or French Pancakes (crepes with strawberries). I imagine this could just be a desire to feel that connection with her again. My grandmothers were very special women in my life and I miss them dearly.

What Spring activities do you like to enjoy?
Spring is my favorite season! Everything's new and exciting. All the perennials popping up and the yards covered in thick, green grass. Walking through the neighborhood and our little town in the Spring is one of my absolute favorite things to do. It's a pleasure to share those walks with my hubby...or my daughter and granddaughter. My son isn't much of a walker, but he'll go for a bike ride with me, especially to the library or ice cream parlor!

Being a published writer must be a dream come true. How did you help those dreams come to light?
Moving from "aspiring" to "published" author is hands-down the most fulfilling thing that I've ever accomplished strictly for myself. Don't get me wrong...being married for over 23 years to my best friend and Mom to two amazingly cool kids are both satisfying...but in completely different ways. For me, words are like air...vital. Knowing that I'll finally be able to see my name (or the pseudonym that I've created) on the cover of a book...quite frankly, still takes my breath away. I've seen my name in the byline before when I had several articles and column-type things appear in a local newspaper, but this has a totally new feel to it. This is a book! A couple of years ago I was writing away on a light-hearted, fun romance when it suddenly took a sharp turn into a dark erotic tale of lust and death, hunger and rebirth. I literally sat there staring in shock at the pages I'd written, wondering where they had come from. It was then that I realized that erotic fiction is what I needed to write. Erotic romance...since I believe there should be a Happily Ever After for everyone.

Having kids all grown up and having babies of their own, what advice do you have to share for us "still in the thick of it"?
I wish, in a bizarre Back To The Future space-time continuum way, that I could have been a young mom with you as a close friend, Dawn. When I was a new mom I felt very young (and I was...just 18), but what I felt even more was alone. It felt like I was screwing up all the time, doing everything wrong...ruining my kids. So I guess for those "still in the thick of it" my best advice is to surround yourselves with other moms that love you and love your kids. It's easier to see that you're not a bad mom for losing your temper, or having a job, or not knowing the exact answer to everything, when you can look at your "mommy" friends and realize they're doing the same things. Oh...and make sure the lines of communication are open, strong, and always available. Let them know they can come to you with anything, anytime. And, believe me when I say, there will be conversations that will weigh so heavily on you, you'll be kneeling by the end of them, hugging that baby of yours (probably a teenager) tight in your arms while you cry together. Parenting is incredible... but it is definitely not for the faint of heart or weak of spirit. And when they're all grown up, quite possibly you'll get to enjoy the perks without the pains when the grandbabies start arriving!

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