Sandra’s Miscellany

It’s been a long while since I posted anything, partly because I’m incredibly busy and partly because I’ve been really annoyed. Not annoyed at anything writing-related, but I promised myself not to ever get into politics on my writing blog. So I’m not. But it ain’t easy.

So I’ll focus instead on the staff cuts at Harlequin and on some new stuff. The Harlequin cuts were inevitable, I suppose, in a conglomeration like Torstar, Harlequin’s parent company. I don’t always understand business decisions, but I’m very grateful my editor survived and is still going strong.

Other new stuff: My job search continues apace. I’m interviewing pretty regularly, but my experience seems to always be just outside whatever arena the companies are looking for. I’m still hoping for a good fit down here in my neck of the woods. Contract is ideal, but even full-time permanent is looking good these days as the coffers are dwindling.

Good Diva news: A big Happy Birthday to Diva Suzi! You rock, girl! (Check out the tunes her husband writes and records down in the Keys at his web site. They write some great songs together.)

And more good Diva news: Diva Frances is coming to Texas and is going to be about ten minutes away! Time to put the white on ice and prepare for an afternoon of hanging out enjoying good Diva company.

So why is the Diva stuff so important? Check out this article on the recently released book, The Female Brain, by Dr. LouAnn Brizendine. When women get together in a supportive social situation, our brains apparently generate gallons of oxytocin, a hormone that creates feelings of warm fuzzies.

This is kind of new to me because I’ve never had scads of women friends before. I’ve had one or two women who were confidantes, but even then I’m not sure I really shared any of the deep stuff with them. But these days I’ve been meeting regularly with a couple of smart, interesting women and I feel almost like I’m in uncharted waters — developing mature relationships with women I “click” with, being vulnerable with them and sharing deep stuff that I’d ordinarily gloss over or think they wouldn’t care about.

The Divas aren’t on that scale at all — they were much more about fun and hanging out in the sun and going dancing — but connecting with my cousins was going down the road of getting close as we shared stories about growing up.

So, whoever your Divas are, have a sit-down with’em and generate that oxytocin. It can be a real pick-me-up when you’re in a bad mood….