The women from my church are getting together for a weekend retreat. I remember the first time I attended a women's retreat and left Wayne alone with all four children. The kids were little, and his last words to me, as I excitedly walked out the door, were a weak utterance of, "Don't go." I pretended not to hear him and escaped as fast as I could. My return was hilarious. It went something like this:

"I had a fabulous weekend. I feel so close to God and to my friends."

Wayne said. "Ted threw up."

"I can't believe how two days away can revive my spirit."

"It got in the carpet, in the hallway. He never did make it to the bathroom."

And I said, "I stayed up all night and talked with friends. We laughed and prayed, and it was just wonderful."

Wayne said. "I think it was the ten hot dogs he ate for lunch."

"Oh, Sweetheart, I'm so glad to be home. I love you all so much. Did everything go all right?"

"I love you, too. How was the retreat?"

Who says Wayne and I don't communicate well?

I'm back from my three day jaunt to New York City for the launch of MORE THAN WORDS, Volume 2, an anthology that features five short stories about women who have made a difference in their communities. I was one of five Harlequin authors who participated in this project. My story highlighted MELISSA'S LIVING LEGACY FOUNDATION, founded by Melissa's mother, Lauren Spiker. Melissa was a lovely teenager who died of cancer; before she passed she asked her mother to help other teenagers struggling with this disease. Lauren took that promise to heart and has done a phenomenal job befriending and helping teenagers with cancer.

The MORE THAN WORDS event was held at Lincoln Center. It included a wonderful lunch with each of the five recipients and the authors who wrote a fictional story to highlight their causes. All the profits from MORE THAN WORDS are reinvested into the More Than Words program to help support causes that are of concern to women. I'm honored to be part of this project and to write for a publisher that genuinely cares about its audience of readers.

Wayne and I are leaving Sunday, heading in different directions. Wayne is flying to our Florida condo to get it geared up and ready for us this winter. (We leave after Christmas.)

I'm on my way to New York. It'll be a quick trip and the first of three such NY journeys within the next month. I'm flying in for the MORE THAN WORDS event, which is the philanthropy project my publisher does every year. I'm one of five authors who have contributed to an anthology highlighting charitable projects started by women. The book will be released next week. My story involves Lydia and the gang from Blossom Street. You'll get more details later. Oh, and if you haven't taken a gander at the scrapbook page on my website, please do. I promise you'll laugh.

I wish you could have all been in my office yesterday afternoon when my publisher phoned. 50 HARBOR STREET is #2 on the New York Times list. I was simply breathless with excitement. I raced down the stairs to tell Renate, Wanda and Heidi, and we all did a little jig around the office. I know, however, that I owe this achievement to all of you, my readers, and so I'm sending you a great big hug of appreciation. Golly, #2. I still have trouble believing it. Go, Cedar Cove!

It's Wednesday, which means I'm putting aside writing on 6 RAINIER DRIVE and tackling the accumulated tasks on my desk, which is something I do every week in an effort to keep current. Today I'll be writing another letter from a Cedar Cove resident—probably Maryellen–and sharing a recipe (a yummy one, too).

In addition, I'm going to catch up with my correspondence. Yes, I still write regular letters. I have a precious Aunt Betty who's 94 years young and loves to get mail, so I like to send her something at least once a week. She's the aunt I went to visit this summer in South Dakota. We had a wonderful time together and were both on local television. The town newspaper wrote up an article about us, as well. My Aunt Betty and my cousin Karen held a special tea in my honor. Now you can see why I love her so much. Later, I'll join writing friend Jill Barnett for lunch, and then it's off to get my nails done. It's going to be a busy day.

As I mentioned yesterday, I'm back in Cedar Cove and loving it. These people are like friends. In fact, I have a hard time remembering they aren't real. Over dinner last night I started telling Wayne about something that Terri from Get Nailed did that I found wonderfully amusing. He gave me the funniest look until I explained that Terri was a character in this latest book. He had a look reminiscent of Jack Benny.

Oh, and it looks like we're going to have to cancel our trip to Houston because of this latest hurricane threat. We're both terribly disappointed.

I could hardly wait to get into the office this morning. I'm plugging away on 6 RAINIER DRIVE and I'm in the zone–that writing groove where the story flows together effortlessly. This doesn't happen often. The advantage to writing these Cedar Cove books is that I'm so familiar with the characters. It's really like taking a trip home and not having to worry about getting lost because I know my way around town. This is a rare condition, and much appreciated, when it happens. So off I go . . . Cal and Linnette are calling to me and are impatient for me to finish up this scene.

I recently subscribed to Psychology Today magazine, thinking it would be a great source for understanding and creating characters. Sure enough, the first issue that arrived gave me a fabulous idea, involving a Cedar Cove character. Another issue arrived, and an article caught my attention just this morning. It's titled, WHAT YOUR DESK REVEALS ABOUT YOU. You, my friends, already know I have a cluttered desk. Infrequently, I go into a cleaning frenzy and attempt to clear it off. Very infrequently. This is what PT has to say about someone like me. "Simply put, people with tidy, organized desks are tidy, organized people. No matter how hard messy people try to clean up, usually they can never fully hide their true nature." I'm here to tell you that beneath all this clutter lies a truly organized woman. And I will be – someday.

There's such a feeling of autumn in the air here in the Pacific Northwest, and it's come unusually early this year. I do love the fall, I always have. I suspect it has something to do with new beginnings; the start of school, and all that. It's the anticipation of the upcoming holidays, too, and all the family gatherings that come with those special days. With that thought in mind, I'll get back to Cedar Cove.

I just got a role of film developed from the national RWA conference this summer and will be posting a few of the pictures on the Scrapbook portion of my website soon. Be sure and check them out. My oldest daughter, Jody, and my youngest son, Dale, and his wife, Laurie, were able to join us. These photos were taken at the infamous Harlequin party. You'll be able to see from the pictures that Wayne and I raised reserved, demure children. Depending on how well the photo scans, you might also get a glimpse of Nancy Berland, my personal publicist, whose name is on all those e-mails. She's the shy and retiring type herself! As much as we like to have a good time, we were especially joyful this time. You may recall that I was the keynote speaker at this year's conference—a huge honor—and I also received an award for reaching the milestone of 125 books published.

An update on Wayne and his volunteer efforts with the Red Cross. He went to an interview yesterday and will take some orientation classes. While he's waiting, he's finding other ways to help. We both are. In fact, we'll be flying into Houston next week for Guideposts Advisory Cabinet meetings, and have been asked to help at one of the shelters. I'm sure it will be an eye-opening experience for us both.