Facebook part 2

I said I'd given an update on Facebook, once I was on it for a while. I've discovered that unlike Twitter, which I remember to do about once a day, if that, I really enjoy Facebook. I'm on it two ways. One is my personal page, and the other is a page where anyone can be my fan, which is at this URL: http://tinyurl.com/r8hkd7

On my fan page I've got pictures of my book covers from other countries and a bunch of pictures not on my website. I talk about my books. On my personal page, I don't have that many pics and mostly I keep up with people and post stuff that might be relevant or interesting.

I'm having tons of fun with Facebook. Remember that statement that being friends with your exes is a bit strange? Well, I'm friends with my high school boyfriend and my first college boyfriend, and it's been cool to catch up with what's going on in their lives. I've found most of my college pals from UMSL.

Mostly, it's been a great way for me to keep track of my former students, a bunch of romance writer friends from all over the country and my journalism buddies. I'm up to date with all my best friends from high school. I'm up over 110 friends and if I added everyone I knew, I'd probably go insane, even though I have my feeds set up on lists. But I like to read everything. While I don't play mafia wards, do pillow fights, or take half those quizzes, it is rather fun to read everyone else's results. I'm enjoying viewing pics of my former student Ryan and his wife's trip to Alaska. I keep track of Peter, who is serving in Iraq.

The only downside is that Facebook is such a time suck. Being home for the summer, I check it several times a day for someone is always posting something and often chats pop up from people I haven't talked to in years, and we gab for a few minutes.

But what's been really fun is that I just wrote my first Facebook chat into Under Doctor's Orders, my latest Harlequin American Romance. Chandy talks to her brother Chase (hero in Bachelor CEO, coming in July) and then when he types something she doesn't like, she says she has to go and disconnects. I loved it. Texting and Facebook will play a role in this story, for that's the reality of how people communicate these days.

For example, I haven't talked to my best friend Susan, who only lives here in town, since she got back Friday night from her week-long adventure being at mom and me boy scout camp. But from Facebook I know she survived the bugs, the extreme heat, the torrential downpours, life in a tent and is now at home--which is quiet since her husband gave her a break and took her boys to his mother's for the weekend. I'll call her later in the week--and let her enjoy the silence and a nap in her own bed.