What's Bad for the Teeth is Good for the Books

As most of the Midwest knows, we are covered in ice. Literally. Tomorrow for the third day in a row, my boss is unable to open his dental office. So, a whole lot of people with a whole lot of teeth won't be getting them cleaned this week. Their teeth will just have to keep wearing their fuzzy sweaters until I can get back in there.

But...the upside is, I'll be putting that time to good use here at home. My current work in progress, "Grin and Barrett" is about two dentists who compete for all the new patients in their small town, but end up falling in love anyway.

Yes, I realize that the majority of my romance novels have to do with dentistry. Hmmm. Wonder why that is? Maybe, write what you know? Well, I'm very well acquainted with teeth and how to de-gunk them. So I guess it's not a stretch for me to write about dentists, hygienists and tooth fairies, right?

So, to all of my patients who are missing their de-gunking appointments this week, I'm sorry. We'll get you in for an appointment. I promise. But just know, I'll be plugging away at my story about the dentists while you wait. So, at least in a virtual world, I'm still doing dentistry, right?

Trixie, Meet Grace

Trixie has been a huge help with promoting my book, "Pillow Talk." She'll still be around, but I've introduced her to Grace, the heroine from my upcoming romance, "Flossophy of Grace." She'll show Grace how a book's main character can help her author promote their book.

Grace is a real sweetheart. She's a dental hygienist, like me. But, unlike my boss, who is very kind, Grace's boss is a troll. Not literally, he just acts like one. You'll be hearing more from Grace in the coming weeks. I'm sure you'll enjoy meeting her.

Blog Tour is Over, But Trixie is Back!

Okay...I know I've been very busy supervising Ruth Hartman's book, "Pillow Talk" during its blog tour, but I'm back now. It's been quite a busy few weeks, that's for sure! I'm exhausted from spending time at a different person's blog every day. It was fun, though, and the people who hosted us were so nice.

Now where were we? Right. I was telling you about my fantastic date with Graham Keebler. He's so sweet. So handsome. So...perfect. Sigh. And therein lies the problem.

You see, as wonderful as he is, and as our date was, it hit me that it can never be, Graham and me. How could it? He can never know I'm a tooth fairy. I'm not supposed to tell anyone. Not that he would believe me anyway. And I couldn't go all through life in a relationship with him and not tell him something that important. That's not me. I wouldn't want to live a lie. So, I told him it was over. He's not taking it well, though. For that matter, neither am I. I'm miserable. What's a tooth fairy who's in love with her dentist supposed to do?

Molar Woes

Trixie Trident here...

You will not believe what just happened to me! I crunched down on a French fry and broke my back tooth! I'm not sure what was in there, but whatever it was, did some damage. Just great. Now I'll have to find a dentist. Not only do I not want to go hunting for one, I don't even like hanging out with dental humans. At all. You see, they don't believe in the tooth fairy. So where does that leave me? Because that's what I am. I'm not sure where they think little kids get all that money, but it's not from the Easter Bunny! That fat rabbit wouldn't give you the time of day, much less hop in someone's window and leave cash. We have a history, you see...but that's a story for a different book.

Whatever dentist I find, he or she better be quick at fixing teeth, because  I don't want to spend any more time than I have to in the presence of a tooth fairy non-believer.

I'll keep you posted about my dental appointment. Although, aside from getting my molar repaired, I can't see anything good coming from the visit.

Jewelry by Day...

Hi, It's Trixie again.

Ever walk along the sidewalk and see a penny? Ever take a walk in the woods and notice acorns or tiny smooth rocks? Most of you might just step over these items, or even on them, Heaven forbid. For me, though, I'm always on the hunt for such treasures. These are some of the things I use to create my one-of-a-kind bracelets, necklaces and earrings. And maybe the occasional pin, if the mood strikes.

You see, I needed a day job. Yes, I'm a tooth fairy, but I can only do that after dark. People might frown on a woman climbing in a kid's bedroom window at three in the afternoon. And besides, stealing teeth pays nothing. And I have to pay my rent and buy cat food, you know? Otherwise my spoiled cats might...well, we won't go there for now. Let's just say there would be growling and thrashing tails if I came home without their supper. And nobody wants that!

I have a small shop in town. It's not much, but it's all I need for now. I'm not very well-known yet, business-wise, so my money has to stretch really far. My best friend, Julie, works there with me. I make the jewelry and she does all the advertising, pays the bills, and does most of the sales work. I love making jewelry! I just wish we had a few more customers.

Well, better get back to the bottlecap earring I'm painting. See ya later!

Trixie Trident - Tooth Fairy Extraordinaire

Hi Humans,

My name is Trixie Trident. I'm a tooth fairy in the story, "Pillow Talk." Although you wouldn't know I'm a tooth fairy just by looking. I'm the same size as an average human woman. No wings. And I definitely won't be wearing a tutu any time soon! That's not a good look for anyone, know what I mean? The writer of my story, Ruth J. Hartman, asked if I would mind telling you a little about myself. So for a while, I'll be doing her blog posts.

By day, I make handmade jewelry. I have a knack for looking at something ordinary, like a button, or an acorn, and creating a one-of-a-kind piece of wearable art. And I do enjoy doing that. But my night job is my passion. Climbing in windows to steal exfoliated teeth from little kids is what I live for. But being a tooth fairy isn't something you can fill out a resume for, or apply for online. No, being a TF is something you're born with. And I was fortunate enough to get the gift.

I love all of my little dental charges. They are all unique. But there's this one kid, little Timmy Westfellar. He loses so many teeth, his mouth will be bald by the second grade. I'm getting kinda tired of climbing in that particular window. I keep thinking one of these days, I stop getting my night-time calls from my supervisor to go to his house. But for now, to Timmy's house I'll go...

Pillow Talk is Now Available!

"Pillow Talk" my sweet, contemporary romance, is now available from Class Act Books!!


http://www.classactbooks.com/Pillow-Talk-by-Ruth-J-Hartman_p_211.html

Stink, Stank, Stunk

Whenever life tosses an inconvenient grenade your way, try using it in your writing. The more bizarre or uncomfortable, the better fodder for interesting story-telling. I'm already thinking about where I can use the following to perk up one of my novels:

At the office where I work as a dental hygienist, I showed up on Tuesday as usual. Nothing out of the ordinary as I walked up to the building. Opening the front door, however, was another story. My head snapped back as an extremely unpleasant stench wafted to my nostrils. Skunk! The receptionist told me she thought the little bugger had let off a stink bomb right below our front porch sometime during the night. When the assistants arrived, they were covering the lower part of their faces with their hands. The dentist we work for entered the door ten minutes later. He encountered the same snapped-head reaction I had. "This can't be happening," he said, "I'm not sure I can even concentrate, the smell is so bad!"

I didn't say so out loud, but secretly hoped we'd close up shop until the rodent under the building left the premises. And took his unwelcome smell with him. But it was not to be. We saw patients all day long. Everyone who came in the door had the same reaction. Heads snapping back, eyes watering, holding their noses. Now let's face it, even on the best of days, going to the dentist isn't most people's idea of Mardi-Gras. But having to lay there with their mouths open, having their teeth poked at, and having to smell that stench? Not fun. My boss, determined to win the war against pungent crimes, went outside with a sprayer filled with water and bleach. The skunk smell remained, but now had an April-fresh scent.

It seemed to be better by the time we left for lunch. But when we returned nearly an hour later, the smell hadn't lessened. We just had to adjust all over again. By the time we ended for the day, the staff, and probably all the patients too, had a collective headache the size of Montana.

The next day, I hoped against tiny hope that the skunk smell would be gone. Amazingly, it was.  However, a new odor had jumped in to replace it. My boss came up with a different solution to get rid of Mr Skunky. He put something under the building to scare him away. The only drawback was, the solution had a smell all its own...

Ever try to work in a building all day with the strong stench of moth balls?

Okay, Now it Really is National Tooth Fairy Day

February 28th is National Tooth Fairy Day. Although according to some, it may also be August 22nd. What a lucky fairy. She gets two national days! I still think, though, she should have her own month (see my post from February 3rd).

I'm way past the tooth-shedding stage, but I can still remember getting a quarter under my pillow when I lost a tooth. Just last week in the dental office where I work, a little boy told me he'd gotten ten dollars under his pillow. Ten dollars! It seems inflation has even hit "mythical" characters. How do they make ends meet? Poor things. They don't get paid for their services, yet have to somehow come up with the necessary funds for gap-toothed little kids. Guess I'm lucky I get paid for cleaning those teeth before they fall out.

So be kind to fairies. They have feelings too. Just because you don't see them, doesn't mean they don't exist.

June is National Tooth Fairy Month (not really...)

The tentative date for the release of "Pillow Talk" is set for June 2010. Between now and then, I've got a lot of work to do promoting and planning for the final product. But it will be a joy to do!

I know the title of this blog is a little silly (but then, so am I), but honestly, who would a person contact to suggest a new National Month? I mean, we've got National Dental Health Month, and National Dental Hygiene Month. But what about the tooth fairies? Don't they deserve respect? Don't they deserve a least a month's worth of recognition? They spend their nights sneaking up on little kids in their beds, hoping they won't wake up, only to be ignored by the general population as figments of their imaginations. I don't know about you, but I wouldn't want to be considered anyone's figment. Of anything!

So the next time your little one is about to exfoliate a tooth, have a heart. Give a shout out to your friendly neighborhood tooth fairy!!!