ZHU-ZHU PETS???

Linda Goodnight here. Remember when Cabbage Patch Dolls were the rage? Or when parents tackled each other in toy stores to get the last Tickle Me Elmo? It seems every few years a toy becomes "the thing". I’m not sure if Zhu-Zhu pets qualify as the big thing today, but if you have a child under the age of 12, you know about them. You probably even own some. A Zhu-Zhu puppy was the only toy my 11 year old requested for her birthday.

So I got to thinking about Jace and Kitty, main characters in my current Love Inspired, A PLACE TO BELONG. What toys would they have played with as kids? For Kitty, a child of the 80’s, the answer was easy: Strawberry Shortcake and all her assorted items. As for Jace, he’d have begged his mom for a Big Wheel Hot Cycle. Remember those?

So how about you? What was the popular toy from your childhood? Or one your child just had to have?

Thanksgiving and the Internet

Merrillee here. During this time of year, at least in the United States, we are thinking about being thankful. Thanksgiving is a time to count our blessings. I have many--too many to lists them all. The most important are my faith and my family.

But as a writer, I'm so very thankful for the Internet. Research has become much easier because of the information found there. I can find out hundreds of things just sitting in my chair. For the book I'm working on now, HOMETOWN PROPOSAL (the second book in my Kellerville series), which will be out in August 2010, I've used the Internet to find out about people who work on cruise lines. That is part of my hero and heroine's back story. I've researched things about Cincinnati, Ohio, and the surrounding area because my book is set in an imaginary town in southeastern Ohio close to Cincinnati. I lived in this area over thirty years ago, but I needed more up-to-date information.

There is a two-and-half-year old girl in the story. I needed information about how a child of that age would be talking. There is a site on the Internet for that. I researched toys for children that age. I learned about parade floats because my hero and heroine ride on a float in the town's Fourth of July parade. The heroine's father loves Karaoke, so I studied Karaoke machines and found dozens of songs that my characters could sing.

My hero is in a car accident and breaks his leg. I needed to learn about broken legs. Did you know there are Internet sites where people share their broken leg stories? My characters play wiffle ball on several occasions, so I looked up information about wiffle ball. This was the most entertaining site I found. A guy tells the story of how he came to have a wiffle ball stadium in his yard. I love this story. You can find the story by going to www.youtube and searching for wiffle ball.

What are some of the things you are thankful for? Do you have any interesting Internet sites that you have found?