Under and Over with Denise Rossetti

On his 65th birthday, a man received gift certificate from his wife. The certificate paid for a visit to a medicine man living on a nearby reservation who was rumoured to have a wonderful cure for erectile dysfunction.

After being persuaded, he drove to the reservation, handed his ticket to the medicine man and wondered what he was in for.

The medicine man slowly, methodically produced a potion, handed it to him, and with a grip on his shoulder, warned, “This is powerful medicine and it must be respected. You take only a teaspoonful and then say 1-2-3. When you do that, you will become more manly than you have ever been in your life and you can perform as long as you want.”

The man was encouraged. As he walked away, he turned and asked, “How do I stop the medicine from working?”

“Your partner must say ‘1-2-3-4,’ ” the medicine man responded. “But when she does, the medicine will not work again until the next full moon.”

He was very eager to see if it worked so he went home, showered, shaved, took a spoonful of the medicine, and then invited his wife to join him in the bedroom. When she came in, he took off his clothes and said, “1-2-3!” Immediately, he was the manliest of men.

His wife was excited and began throwing off her clothes. And then she asked, “What was the 1-2-3 for?”

And that, folks, is why we should never end our sentences with a preposition because we could end up with a dangling participle.

Boom, boom!

What’s that old saying? You can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family. Or - Friends are your family of the heart.

One of the most precious things this crazy business of writing has given me is friends.  Not just girlfriends, but women who share my obsession, who understand. There’s Joey Hill, whom I’ve never met, though we’ve spoken on the phone and by Skype. From Joey, I get unqualified support and an unsparing critical eye.

Then there’s Christine Wells, who actually lives not far from me. I’m so lucky! We meet for lunch and too much bubbly followed by rather giggly critique sessions. Occasionally, we run away to spend a weekend with the amazing Anna Campbell.

Quite often, Christine and I talk on the phone. Take last week - I was feeling very down. Yeah, yeah, I know, but I get like that sometimes, especially staring down the barrel of a deadline. Writers are neurotic creatures.  In desperation, I rang Christine.

And what did I get? Exactly what I needed, that’s what! Complete support and understanding - straightaway - followed by a good (metaphorical) slap around the chops and the reassurance that I really can do this. I’ve been able to move forward since then. Plus, it’s a two-way street.  I try to give back to the best of my ability. We’re there for each other, you know?

And yet, on the face of it, it’s not a likely friendship. Different professions, different backgrounds and quite an age difference. (I won’t tell you which way it goes. I’m sure you can guess! *snork*)

Christine has a new release, Sweetest Little Sin, a sexy, action packed spy thriller that stars reader favourites Lady Louisa Brooke and that ruthless bad boy of the Beau Monde, the Marquis of Jardine. You’ll love it! Click on the image to read an excerpt.

BTW, my family are terrific. Love them to bits, but they’re not writers!

Do you have a friend who’s always there for you? How do you show them what they mean to you? (Apart from writing blog posts about their new books, that is!)