A Day with Mr. Blond

Does anyone else remember Mr. Blond? No, not Oldest, but the guy from Reservoir Dogs? All the heist guys took color names like Mr. Red, Mr. Black - but when it came to yellow they said it was too cowardly sounding so they called the "yellow" guy Mr. Blond instead? Good movie, but I digress.... :P

Last night I gave Oldest new hair - a bleach out and cut. It's tapered all over except his fringe/bangs. The color turned out a nice baby blonde (the color of his fringe shows the results best - the lighting in the house is just terrible!),

We still haven't put the M/P Virgin Snow on it; there hasn't been time to do that yet, so that'll have to wait until tomorrow after school. I'm going to do a touch-up bleach job on it next Saturday, he wants to see if we can take the color down another shade. It's his wishes, and since hair seems in pretty good shape, I'll give it a go. I'll post more pictures of Oldest's hair trauma as the bleach sessions commense.

Today Oldest and I had a mommy-son day, and I took him to see Twilight. We drove to Ruston and made it in time for the first showing. We arrived at 11:45 a.m. , and the movie started at 11:50. How's that for timing! The movie was very good - tres romantic! The acting was a little stiff, Oldest noticed that as well, but then the characters are young, so all is forgiven. The Twilight movie doesn't progress along the same way as the book, but I think the screenwriters/directors got as close to the original as they could. Sometimes book things don't translate over to film well, but they did this one nicely. They made the story more involved around James' vampire tribe that comes to Forks; and the movie isn't strictly from Bella's viewpoint. Oldest and I loved it, and it was well worth the cost of going to the theater to see it. I hope it will convince Oldest to actually read.the.book. :P He can be a knothead about that sort of thing. We will see....

After the movie, we drove over to F.Y.E. and I discovered they don't have a single copy of Disturbing Behavior. Boo, hiss! They don't have it anywhere around town either, so it looks like that's one I'll have to scrounge up off Amazon. Oldest, on the otherhand, discovered two GIRLS at F.Y.E., and I had to wait while the three of them all exchanged email addresses.

We did a bit of shopping at Beehive after that, then I jaunted on down to Sally's Beauty Supply and bought black and pink hair extensions for myself, as well as a gorgeous bottle of red nail polish called Ruby Slippers. Oh! I bought a royal purple color too, it's called Coconut Kisses, although I have no idea what purple has to do with coconuts. Maybe someone can enlighten me on that.

After all the shopping rounds were done, Oldest and I left Ruston. We made it back to The Village (aka home town) around 3:50 and stopped by the Chinese buffet before picking up a gallon of milk for Mini beast.

A fantastic day to be sure, but I am soooo soooooo tired right now. Tomorrow Oldest is back to school until Xmas holidays rolls around, and Hubby will be calling into the main office to get his assignment for this compressor station he's going to be trekking across the swamps to go work on. I guess for Mini and Me, between writing jags, we'll bake a cake and find a comfy spot on the couch to take in some Dora and Diego. Sounds good to me. ;)

Happy weekend!

Hanging Out

Aw, cute kissing fish... they have absolutely nothing to do with the post, but the fact I heart them. ^_^

I'm actually waiting to see the result of Oldest's hair. I just bleached it for him, and he's in there washing the chemicals out as I'm tying this. I'm going to give him a cut once he's dry, and tomorrow, I'll put some Manic Panic Virgin Snow in to take out any residual yellow.

Tomorrow I'm taking him to see Twilight at the theater. We were coming back from my parent's after Thanksgiving dinner, and he mentioned he doesn't get out enough. *angst* We've had a busy holiday - Hubby's been off work and both kids are here - there hasn't been a lot of time to run the kidlets around here and there just for the heck of it. So, I promised him a movie, and that's what he wants to see. I keep encouraging him to read the book, but he's only thumbed through it so far. Maybe after the movie he'll sit down and read it.

**It's now thirty minutes later than when I started this post. Oldest came out with very light blonde hair. Next week we'll bleach it again to try for pure platinum. He really wants it white. Do a search on this blog for Quest for white hair and it should bring up previous efforts. Either way, it looks nice. I gave him 'scene hair' like he asked for. It's short on the sides and back, but has long tapered side bangs that are really fringy. I told him if it's still not fringy enough after it dries, we'll touch it up in a day or so. By far, it looks better than the "church lady haircut" the salon gave him that time. *_* Never again....

On to other things... I am not sure when my Winter Newsletter will be out. It could be in a few days, it could be in early January. I'd planned to put it out in early to mid November, but when Silver laptop died, it took my newletter capabilities away. So now I'm going to have to find another program to handle what I'm looking for. At this point I'm a little squeamish about going out to buy Microsoft Publisher - which is really what I prefer to make newsletters on. We'll see. At any rate, that's just a head's up. I have the content, but no way to get the thing out at the moment. I'll be sure to post far and wide with the next issue is ready.

That's about it tonight. I'm a bit sleepy, and I still have some work to do. I better get on it while I have the energy. Happy weekend, everyone!

Meet The Behemoth

I haz a printer!

My lovely Lexmark Z25 is no more. I unplugged it last night and turned it over to Oldest to live out the rest of its days with him in the Fungus Cave. Apparently it isn't compatible with the new laptop, so I showed Oldest how to go online and download her print driver from the Lexmark site for his own comp. Voila!

With the Lexmark out of the way, I finally dragged the unopened Dell printer box out of my office - the one I ordered to go with Pinkie laptop - and hooked it up. This new printer is so HUGE I've dubbed it The Behemoth! But truly it is a nifty little printer/scanner/copier thing. That is a Dell website picture of her, on the left: a Dell V305 wireless.

My personal Behemoth has a nifty little tramp stamp, which isn't shown in the picture. It's right next to the paper output tray on the far left. It looks like this:

Truly, with a printer this size - over twice as big as the Lexmark, and comparable in width/depth to a good sized microwave - I hope it's as ink efficient as it is energy efficient. We will see... The main thing is it works. ~_^

Earlier today I took Oldest to stay with my mom, and in the morning I have to get up and make a batch of devilled eggs and a pie to take to Thanksgiving dinner at the parent's house. I sat and chit-a-chatted with her for a while then returned home to help Hubster manage Mini. He's finally over his case of ick and is basically running us ragged and making up for lost play time.

Once I was back, hubby and I cleaned out Mini's room. I dug through all three extra large storage bins we use for toy boxes, and sorted baby stuff from broken stuff; and things with wheels on from things missing wheels. Mini has this terrible habit of "mechanic-ing" on his cars - taking the wheels off, etc. There were a startling number of cars you'd likely see sitting up on blocks in some weeded lot somewhere. T

Mini watched me sort all the hotwheels and other cars/trucks/vans, etc into the Diego bins - which is like a 3 tier shelf but instead of actual shelf, even tier has 3 color code plastic bins for storage. The thing was stuffed to overflowing. I honestly thought there would be a lot less to keep. And, oy, what a challenge to keep it all in the bins once I got around to that. Mini kept seeing toys he'd forgotten existed and was going on a moc toystore rampage. *_*

With everything did and done, we're down 1 toy box - the largest one - which two grown adults could climb into and use for a bathtub. No kidding. We put all the baby toys (batteries removed) into that one and put it out in the shed.

We threw out three 30 gallon garbage bags full of broken/junk toys. I tossed everything from plastic easter egg casings to McDonalds junk. Ridiculous! We also got rid of the sit and spin, and Toecrusher (aka "The Mini-Cycle", which is one those ride or walk behind pedal free riding toys for babies). I spotted Mini tooling around the house on Toecrusher yesterday, and he was having to do a drag-knee platypus walk to get around on it because his legs are too long for it now.

Now, in order to initiate the room swap, we only have to clean out my office. Oh dear. It's far, far worse than Mini's room, I'm afraid. ~_~' There is a mammoth L shaped computer desk in there, a plastic utility cabinet full of disks dating back to 1992, yarn bins, a portable photo/lighting studio, two full book cases, my entire comic book collection (which weighs around 200 pounds all on its own!!), a vintage SSC Berry Happy Home on a wicker side table, a wicker egg chair, the main double-door curio cabinet in the house, OH...and that doesn't even take into account my dolls. Jeez, the dolls.... How the hell did I acquire all this junk?! *forehead smack*

I've determined a good many of the newer NRFB Cabbage Patch Dolls, Care Bears and My Little Ponies are going into the Toys For Tots donation box this year. I've accepted that I simply can't keep them all, and they'll be going for a good cause. But I digress.... The point is this room is going to be a JOB. Friday, I tell myself. Friday.

I'm doing another round of red penning tonight - so I better get on it! I tell ya, I will be so glad once I've shoved this story out the door. It's like the child clinging to the apron strings, I swear.

So that's it for me. In case I don't make it in to post tomorrow - Happy Thanksgiving!

Book Smackdown

It's a late day post - sorry about that! I still have the entire family home with me during the days - hubby, oldest, and of course, Mini - so I rarely get five minutes to myself. But I'm sure I'll be thankful for all this family time next week, because hubby will be working out of town for several months after Thanksgiving. He'll get to come home some weekends and for Xmas, but that's still a long time between here and there.

Tomorrow I'm taking Oldest to spend the night with my mom, and then I'll be sorting Mini's toys to give some away, haul some out the shed, and trash the others. He has way, way too many, and we are planning to swap bedrooms. Or rather, we're swapping his bedroom and my office. So by the weekend, I'll be sharing the haunted bedroom (as an office) with the house ghosts. And they should beware. Seriously. I'm not above dust bustering them. Or saging the room. *shakes fist at potentially angry ceiling weasles*

So, I've dragged in a few more books from my TBR stack. I really need to either read some of these books, donate them, or something.... I always buy more than I can ever read in a lifetime. It's an illness, I swear. ~_~'

Currently on the reading menu is Red, by Jack Ketchum. I've started reading this book several times since I bought it last year, but the theme itself, as well as what feels like an exponentially long build up leading into the main action makes me put it down every time. I'm bound and determined to finish this damn thing this go around, though. No rest for the weary. This book is going down tonight.

While thumbing through it earlier, I realized the book isn't as long as I'd thought. Red is only 211 pages long. At the back of the book - the back 4th of it, actually - there is a novella called The Passenger. No reason I should leave it to linger. Know what I mean?

First things first though... I must get this one section of wip squared away. I plan to print it up for a thorough red penning session. Wish me luck!

Happy Tuesday, everyone. ^_~

Declare Yourself

And it is done.... I have come out from under my shiny little rock to admit that I have finally read Twilight.

The slamfest against Bella's character is really what has kept me from reading this book until now, but with a teenager living in the house with me, the hype was just too much to resist. I picked up the book off my TBR stack yesterday, and finished it this afternoon. Make no mistake, it's a page turner.

Now for the nitty gritty....

My overall impression of the book: Twilight is a very good, infectious story. Clean, romantic, with just the right amount of tension and mystery to keep the book going at a steady pace. I've passed the book on to my oldest with my highest recommendation, and can easily recommend it to anyone who likes YA and/or paranormal romance.

About the Bella bashing: There is a high level of sophistication that seems to be expected of the YA market that didn't previously exist - at least it didn't in the books I read when I was a teenager, and I think that stems largely from the number of adults who read YA now. Having adult readers in the mix, there is more expectation for characters to act wise beyond their years - specifically female characters - Hermione, from Harry Potter, is a good example of what I'm talking about.

Because of that, I think it can sometimes be difficult for adults to view YA books from a true, this is a book written for a teenager perspective. Age and experience gives us a better insight into life, a better ability to judge and avoid problems by using our head instead of our heart. I think that adult readers of YA are far more likely to project expectations and supposed maturity onto a teen character, especially once the character heads down a dangerous road, even if it's logically, from the mindset of the character, a fitting road for that individual to take.

The truth is a teen's logic and sense of justice isn't the same as when you're 33. There is still very much a black and white view of the world. Good versus evil often wipes out any visible gray path, and rarely is there a middle road to be found. I say that not only as a mother with a 17 year old, but also as someone who was a mother at the age of 17.

While Bella is a complete klutz and aloof to the dangers present around her in almost every situation, I found her character to be age appropriate in terms of mentality and romantic expectations - once she falls in love with Edward. In this day and age, considering how fast kids are becoming sexually active, Bella is actually quite tame in the physical sense. However, her expectactations of where her growing relationship will and should go with Edward - despite his insistence that he will not turn her - are right on the mark, in my opinion. At 17, I was persistent in the face of my first true love (I'm still married to him), but then again, I was also convinced of how worldwise and intelligent I was for someone my age. *forehead smack*

Bella was spot on, in my opinion. As for Edward.... As mysterious, handsome, and interesting as his character is, he is still a 107 year old man even if he is trapped in an eternally youthful, 17 year old body. That he and his siblings still hang around high school is a bit disturbing. Nothing can really excuse that in my mind. However, I guess for the sake of (physical) appearances, and for the sake of YA fiction, I can see why Edward would target his affections to someone in Bella's age range.

But at the same time, I can't help comparing Edward to Claudia from Anne Rice's Vampire Chronicles. Without a doubt, my view of the complexities of Bella and Edward's romance are biased by my age, as well as the previous vampire books I've read - most pointedly the affection shared between Claudia (a child vampire) and Louis (her maker) in Interview with the Vampire.
As complex as Edward may say Bella is, I find it extremely hard to believe that a 107 year old man would truly find a 17 year old girl "complex", even if he can't read Bella's mind as he can with other people. That he finds her beautiful, fabulously scented, and alluring, sure! But let's be realistic about complexities.

There is a certain intellectual refinement that comes with age, and it actually made me wonder if Stephenie Meyer's vampires (as with Christine Feehan's Carpathians) mature at a much slower rate than humans. After all, Bella is pretty transparent in everything she does, and she's admittedly no skilled liar. I don't see her pulling the wool over the eyes of a predator with any kind of skill. That in mind, Edward's relationship with Bella roughly would equate to Claudia (who happened to be an 80-100 year old predator at the time she is trapped and left to die in the sun with Madeleine), if she she decided she only wanted to befriend, or try to turn, children.

But then, that is perhaps too complicated a theme for a young adult book. And really, that is the only thing that threw me when reading Twilight: Edward being mentally "too old", "too mature" for Bella. At least, at his age, he should have been. When the newness of their romance wears off, what then? They plan to fall back on stimulating conversation?

I know that sounds pessimistic, and I don't mean it to. Truly, I did love the book. And I loved reading about Edward and Bella. My own floundering over Edward's development and the plausibility of vampires willingly remaining in high school long after they've paid their dues - meh. But that put aside, I can take the book at face value, and for as good as the storyline is, I can go on, accept the terms and conditions as they are, and that's what I did while reading this book. Twilight is well worth the time spent, and I will be picking up the next book in the series when I get the chance.

Oh, one last thing, just for the record. (And because I've already been asked a bazillion times, ROFL!) I'm officially declaring myself. I am 100%, without a doubt, on Team Edward. Romantic origins alone win out; Bella and Edward seem a far better match. Sorry, Jacob!

Happy weekend, everyone!

Fabulous Friday

Book haul! I just picked up a copy of a Touch the Night by Susan Spencer Pual, and Fatal Attraction, by Alicia Fields. However...this weekend I've promised friends to sit down and read Twilight. I plan to do it, too!

Hubby is home today, and not feeling tip top. Yesterday was his last day on that particular job. Thankfully! He's been hating that place for weeks now, and there hasn't been an end in sight. Then yesterday around noon two job offers arrived while he was at work - one of them too good to refuse.

Soooo...hubby will be off for the next two weeks, then he'll be off to supervise the building of a compressor station in Texas.

He'll be in an area he's worked before, and he feels comfortable with, so there's a plus. I'll be home with the kiddies, so while the hubster is home, I plan to take advantage of the help time and get the last of my projects wrapped up and sent. This way I won't feel strained to accomplished something while he's away. I can work at a slower pace.


Today's pic.... OMG. The kitty-thing reminds me of that one school yearbook shot where you're sorta smiling but not quite, and it looks a little bit like a grimace of pain? You look at it and go, "Oh, damn. Immortalized forever!" And all your friends try to assure you: "No, really, it's not that bad." *giggle, giggle*

Yeah, right....


Happy Friday, everyone!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

(from email, for those who may be interested)
BESTSELLING AND AWARD-WINNING AUTHORS SIGN WITH RAVENOUS ROMANCE™ Digital publisher signs bestselling and award-winning cross-genre authors and their protégés to new venture

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Dalyn A. Miller
Dalyn Miller Public Relations
617-504-6869
Dalyn@DalynMillerPR.com

[Boston, MA, November 19, 2008] –Ravenous Romance™, slated to launch December 1, 2008 online at www.RavenousRomance.com , has signed several best-selling and award-winning authors to their roster, many of whom have crossed genres and will appear on the company’s launch list in early December. New York Times best-selling author John Skipp has penned a novel called Opposite Sex for the company under the pseudonym Gina McQueen, and recently quipped: “Sometimes you just get tired of killing people, you know? I just wanted to write something sweet and funny and sexy and wild, where nobody gets hurt, and the worst thing that happens is your characters are probably going to have to stop kissing eventually!”

John Updike’s protégée Catherine Hiller’s novel Cybill in Between will publish in early December. Updike has provided a quote for the book cover that calls Hiller’s writing “brave and joyful.” Mimi Leahy, an Emmy-nominated writer for “All My Children” and “As the World Turns”, will write several books and short stories for the imprint.

Award-winning author Rachel Kramer Bussel, already well known in the erotica community, has signed on to edit several anthologies for Ravenous Romance, as has Cecilia Tan, who is also writing a novel for the company. A prolific and widely recognizable multi-award winning horror author who prefers not to be revealed has signed on to write several books under the pen name Morgan James. “I’ve always wanted to write about matters of the heart and desire,” said James. “I’m thrilled to have an opportunity to do so.”

President Holly Schmidt and Editorial Director Lori Perkins bring years of experience in both non-fiction and fiction publishing to the venture, and have tapped accomplished writers in the sci-fi, mystery, horror, and non-fiction communities, as well as in the romance and erotica communities. “We’ve found that a number of our most versatile and talented writers from other genres have either always written erotic romance, or have always wanted to,” says Schmidt. “For example, I’ve published a number of Skye Alexander’s non-fiction books over the years.
As it turns out, she wrote a romantic suspense novel a few years ago that won a Romance Writers of America award. Now she’s writing for us.”

Ravenous Romance is publishing both previously published authors and talented new voices, and is buying both agented and unagented work.

When asked why he agreed to sign with a digital publisher instead of a traditional print publisher for his next book Skipp/McQueen said: “It's a great experiment, at the new frontier of 21st century publishing. I'm in!”

Visit Ravenous Romance™ online at www.RavenousRomance.com .
For more information please contact Dalyn A. Miller at 617-504-6869 or via email at Dalyn@DalynMillerPR.com About Literary Partners Group, Inc. and Ravenous Romance™

Literary Partners Group, Inc. is a partnership among three creative industry executives. Holly Schmidt is a publishing executive with 15 years of experience in editorial, marketing, and sales. She joined forces with award-winning photographer Allan Penn to launch book packager Hollan Publishing, Inc. in 2006.

Lori Perkins is a New York City literary agent with over 20 years of experience and an impressive stable of authors.Ravenous Romance™, an imprint of Literary Partners Group, Inc., will offer erotic romance – stories with strong plots and character development, but with steamy sex scenes and explicit descriptions of sexual encounters. Beginning December 1, 2008 they will publish daily novel-length erotic romance books which they will sell in both ebook and MP3 format. Short stories will be available to readers for $.99 while full-length ebooks will sell for $4.99. All full-length titles will also be available in audiobook format and are priced at $12.99 directly through the company’s web portal www.RavenousRomance.com .

Year of the Emo Tree

I still mourn the passing of our beloved, fiber optic disco tree from years past, and knew we would have to get a new Christmas tree this year. Hubby took on the task of buying the tree, and I should have known....

Behold 2008 is officially the year of the Emo Tree, which is really sort of fitting because very little came out of 2008 for us except for tears.

My husband took this effing tree out of the box and I kid you not: it is black tinsel. Not grey, green, or dark blue. Goth black. I stared at this thing, then at hubby. I know he's still hung up on the all black, 80s new wave thing - Soft Cell and all that, ya know? A black Christmas tree? But I thought we were putting one up for the kids?

"We are!" He tells me, and presents me with Disney Cars Christmas ornaments, as well as blue garland, and glittery green disco looking balls. You can see one of the checkered flag Cars balls on the left side of that picture. Egads, man.

Honestly, this has to be the ugliest, gaudiest tree we have ever had, and who am I to understand it, but with those Cars ornaments Mini thinks it is the finest tree ever. I am NOT impressed. All I can say is that hubby is lucky the tree is pre-lit, because otherwise it looks like one of those long skinny brushes you use to clean out behind the refrigerator.

I plan to buy rainbow garland, spray snow, and 4 boxes of silver icicles on Friday and I am burying this tree in all of it. When I'm done no one will know besides the three of us that the hideous emo tree is actually black. And if they tell, no one will find their bodies! >:P

Anyway, I was taking pictures of the tree tonight and asked Kinz what he thought of it. His reaction....

I take it that means "not worth lifting a leg to", but I don't speak doggish. Not fluently anyway. For all I know he could be telling me my leather shoes smell tasty. I'd probably agree, but then that's just weird. I do like that "new shoe smell" though.

So I'm off to go try and type up that LAST chapter to my formerly lost wip. I'm almost ready to send it. If I don't have it all together by Friday, someone please hit me with a big stick. Just don't hit me hard. I'm a total wuss when it comes to pain.

Happy Hump Day, everyone!

Sinus Infection is to Alien Abduction...

Mini came and woke me up this morning around 8 AM. I stared at him, then at the clock. I couldn't believe I'd slept that late, and that I hadn't felt him climb out of bed. Usually he rolls over and flops his feet on me, or starts talking to me about cars or something interesting to him - Speed Racer, Pingu, Diego - stuff like that in general. It's like someone flips a switch and he's talking.

None of that. I remember nothing. I stayed up late Sunday night and did a heap of laundry, and in between loads, I typed up part of my manuscript. I've almost got it down now, and I hope the person I promised to send this thing too doesn't black list me for not having sent it by now. I couldn't avoid the delay with the comp crash and all this sickness going around combined. I plan to toss a note in when I send it - hopefully they'll still accept the submission. *crosses fingers*

Anyway, I don't remember a thing, and he's looking at me and saying something like, Mimi,are you going to get up already? I could barely hear him, I'm deaf in one ear thanks to the sinus infection. I'm popping Mucinex like TicTacs and taking a round of Doxicyclin - it's a wonder I'm not spewing like Mt. Vesuvius. I sit up on the edge of the bed since my balance is a little off due to the ear thing, and Mini grabs my hand, "Come on, Mimi! Let's play!"

OMG. Where are the coffee gods when you need them? I could seriously use a Starbucks version of the Kool-aid Man. Now tell me that wouldn't rock? I make it to the kitchen and the MiniMite comes up with a sudden gusher of things he wants me to do - "Can you put the TV on Diego? Will you play with me? Come on, Mimi, let's find a toy!"

I don't remember how exactly, but I manage to appease him with a dump truck and Noggin while I go on a mad hunt for the bottle of Triaminic. I come back into the dining room and sit down with a Dr. Pepper and the computer - and that's when I see my to do list...

Picking up Oldest's photos takes top priority. His chemistry teacher came up with this brilliant plan to make all the kids do a project requiring them to have a disposable camera. No problem! The only thing is, she gave a set amount of time of a week and a half to complete the project. OK. We have no one hour photo here anymore, and I wonder if she was aware of this before she assigned the project. It took Oldest's pictures a week to be developed, and they called me today to pick them up -this being right after they received them. The project is due tomorrow. Oldest managed to pull everything together this evening, but I imagine there are going to be quite a few of the kids who don't have pictures for their project. Whatever was she thinking? That parents are going to drive to Ruston or Monroe for 1 hour photo? In this economy? Just saying, ya know?

Mini and I made it back with the pictures late in the afternoon. The photo lab didn't call us to come and get them until 1pm. I also needed to pick up cough medicine for Mini, dog food for Doggi, and paper towels. End of list. Yet somehow I ended up with all those things plus a cart full of junk: an extra space heater, candles, chicken soup fixin's, a red fakie silk shirt, and a bottle of nail polish, blah, blah. It's an illness, I tell you! There has got to be some way to blame it on the shoe gnomes, I just need to think about it for a while....

So here I am, back home again. The day went well, but I feel like I went through it in huge skips. Missing time and all that. Sinus infection - alien abduction. What's the big difference, right? Hey, now that I think about it, that could very well be an SAT analogy question. Hm....

Sinus infection is to alien abduction, as Demented Torture is to
a.)Britney Spears
b.)Political Tele-Pundits
c.)Wall Street Bailout

It makes about as much sense, doesn't it? And at least with my analogy, there is no wrong answer. But then, I digress....

It's midnight now, and for the record, I've managed to type up several pages of wip. I'll have this thing back in order and ready to send by the end of the week. Keep your fingers crossed for me. I need to get this thing out the door so I can give my brain a cookie and work on something else.

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Sanctuary has Great Hair

I did it! I sat through an episode of Sanctuary over the weekend.

Now, admittedly, I'm not much of a TV watcher, so don't be expecting some gush fest over this show - you're not going to get it. It's really difficult for me to sit through an episode of some show I haven't been with from the beginning, and know very little about.

However, I've been seeing the Sanctuary preview/commericals/trailers plastered all over the place so when I sat down to do some reading a few nights ago, I noticed the show was coming on and I had to check it out. I assumed it was to do with something paranormal - and it is, but not in the way I expected.

I'll start by saying I like Amanda Tapping. I liked her in the Stargate TV series, so I figured at least the acting would be tolerable if the storyline flopped. In the first few minutes, of this particular episode, Amanda Tapping's character is giving a lecture about a kind of mutation in humans, and just as they show the picture of the human brain on the screen to explain more about this, she gets an anonymous note that she is about to die in three minutes. Oh, and that she looks hot. Whatever.

She goes out into the corridor and there is this sorta-kinda-but-not-really-cute-in-a-geeky-way guy out there. Apparently they are long lost friends, blah, blah. He asks for a kiss, and before you know it, he's tricked her into planting a smacker right on his mouth. I can forgive the elementary school pick up lines, but the story jumped the shark the minute it was revealed this guy was supposed to be Nikola Tesla.

I know there are a lot of people who go for rewriting historical figures into fiction, but this is one thing that annoys the every loving bejeezus out of me.... particularly if I know anything about the historical figure. I will say it made me ill to see Tesla portrayed as an evil vampire who seeks out help from Amanda Tapping to make an undead army to take over the world!


What are we going to do tonight, Brain?

We are talking about a man who reportedly never had a relationship with a woman, was cheated by Thomas Edison, and eventually died in poverty. Before he was even cold in his grave the government came in to pick his bones papers clean. To turn around and paint him as an evil vampire in a TV show...well, it's just disgusting.

I sat through it, however, and I think the show is OK. Probably the best thing I can say about it is the special f/x. Oh, and Emilie Ullerup's hair.



She is seriously rocking those hot blonde bangs.

As for the rest of the show...meh. I'd probably sit through another episode if I had nothing better to do, no stories to write. But to make it a weekly thing? I think I'll wait until they bring back Battlestar Galactica in 2009.

Got A Gateway

Sorry no picture for this post, but I'm just now updating my brand new outta the box laptop so I don't have any pictures on here yet. Even so...woohoo! I'm back online.

I've floundered around with choices over the past few days. I knew I didn't want to go with another Dell - that experience with Pinkie totally turned me off with that brand. A darn shame, really, since Old Silver was a Dell and it served me better than any other computer I've ever owned. Still, I don't want to go through the hassle of Dell tech support anymore, nor do I want top risk getting a dud computer out of the box, so no Dell this trip.

Truthfully, I really, really wanted a Macbook Pro, but we learned over the weekend there are no Apple stores within a three hour drive of us, and I honestly didn't want to buy anything that didn't come from a brick and mortar store. Another symptom of a "Dell-Burned" customer. So, I went with a Gateway. It's a sleek silver and black, retail store version with Intel Pentium Dual-Core Processor and 4 GB memory, 250 GB hard drive, digital media reader, built in webcam, and DVD/CD burner. Not too shabby for an ROOB PC. Speaking of "right out of the box", I will say this is the easiest, fastest set up and registration I've ever gone through. Crazy easy! I love it.

I'm sad to say Old Silver is a total loss. It's ridiculous, I know, but I'm so used to that computer, I miss it. That aside, I'm just glad I updated and burnt everything down when I did, because the only file I lost was the wip I was working on - which I have a print copy of it in its full form, in the very latest draft, so technically I've lost nothing. Rather, I just need to retype the wip and I'll have everything back where I need it to be - a small miracle. That has to be a first for me, ever.

So now I only need to buy the Microsoft Office Suite. I'll have to wait until next weekend to get Office, because I won't have a chance to make a dash to Ruston until then. I could do the desktop update, and do an upgrade online, but I do prefer to have the disks in hand. At any rate, I'm back in business. It may take me a few days to learn everything over again. This computer has Windows Vista - oy, same as Pinkie. I do prefer XP, but I'll take what I can get and keep on truckin'. ~_^

On the home front, it's been a quiet few days. I've been sticking by the phone to hear updates on my crit partner, who is in the hospital. I have prayer candles burning for her, and she never leaves my thoughts. That has been my #1 gray hair worry. I even dreamed I floated into her hospital room on Friday night. I'll be so glad when I can talk to her on the phone.

Mini has been sick since Friday. He woke up Friday morning and yucked all the way to the bathroom. Poor beast! His cough has gotten worse, it's dry and raspy, and last night I slept on the couch with him on my lap. I patted and rubbed his back, and he snored baby snores because he couldn't breathe. I ended up waking him around midnight so I could give him Triaminic expectorant, and baby Ibuprophen.

I'm doing much better, but my sinus problem has shifted to one side. I can feel it and HEAR it crackling behind my right ear. Which is the only thing I can hear out of my right ear at the moment. It feels like it's stuffed with cotton, and sounds like it too. *sigh* At least I can breathe, though.

Tonight Oldest went to his highschool homecoming dance. No date, but I'm sure he will be ok. He looked great in his jacket and tie, and I took pictures before I drove him up to the community center. That's one thing that kind of threw me for a loop - the location. Who else would think to have a high school dance across the street from the local prison? Ah, only in Louisiana....

So that's my latest news. Tonight I plan to do the laptop dance and check out all the spiffy features. I have no idea what kind of word processing system I have on this thing, so I better give it a thorough check over. Hopefully I have something to write with. We will see....

At any rate, I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend!

RIP Old Silver 2006-2008

Just a quick note to anyone who may drop by, I'll be without a computer for the next few days. I've taken over Oldest's so I can blog a quick message here and check my emails, but it happened this morning...Old Silver, my laptop, kicked the bucket.

I'll be going out for a new "temporary" laptop tomorrow - one that I'll use until I bring home the Mac, and then the temporary one will go to hubby. Heaven help me if I have to use a Dell, but that's all they had where I checked today. *boo, hiss!* But...I'm definitely sitting dead in the water right now, so I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to run uptown and get one from Wal-mart until I can make it to the Apple store. Dell it may very well be...

I hope you are all doing well. And in case I don't get the chance to say so tomorrow...happy weekend!

Home At Last

It's been a long day! Yesterday, Mini was complaining of a tummy ache, so I gave him a bit of MoM. Nothing happened. Tummy discomfort remained. He still hadn't gone to the bathroom by the time I put him to bed. I worried about that, knowing I would have to take him with me to Ruston when I drove mom to the doctor, so it was decided that someone would have to stay home with him. Thankfully, Hubby took up the mantle.

He stayed with Mini today while I took mom to her appointment. I got up at 6 and left the house around 8. I dropped by the gas station for a fill up, then hopped on over to mom's and waited for her while she let the doggy outside to pee. :P We locked up and drove to Ruston. Mom isn't very good with explaining directions, but I had an idea of where the office was and found it, easy peasy. It was off of Maryland Ave, directly down the street from where my grandmother used to live.

I stuck around with mom until she was called in, then I drove across town to Office Depot and picked up a copy of Panda Internet Security 2009. Last night, when I went to work on the clean up of those final two chapters, I brought up my files and suddenly I was hit with getting a swarm of popups - ones I couldn't clear out. Well, foo.

I stayed up until 2 am scanning with AdAware, Spy Hunter, Trend PC Micro - which was my main anti-virus until earlier today. Everything would identify that I had a Virtumonde infection, but nothing would get rid of it. Le sigh. No writing or clean-up done *sob*, I left the computer on in quarantine mode and I went to bed dreaming of lost files and shuffling the program aisles of the Apple Store in Houston, unable to find what I was looking for.

But back to Ruston.... I'd just come out of Office Depot and got off the phone with hubby when Mom rang me. I hurried back across town and when I turned onto the street, I could see her standing under the alcove waiting for me. She slipped into the Jeep and we left.

After the doctor, mom and I went out to eat Chinese. Darn it, I was sooo tired, and lunch was relaxing...it's a miracle I didn't fall asleep in my plate. :P I took her on home after that, and checked the mail for her before I came on home.

It was good to get out of the house, but I feel like I've been dragged and beaten. I am sooooo tired. Mini swore up and down I'd "got away" - lol. I rearranged a few things around the house, got settled, stripped out Trend PC, and installed the new Panda software. Hubby bundled Mini in a coat and shoes and took him for a quick ride to the store, and while they were gone, I set the scan running and left it while I crashed across the bed.

So here it is, 6 pm, and the house is a wreck. I need to toss some laundry into the wash and pick something to cook for supper. Oh, and I got Oldest's progress report today as well. I'm not too happy in that department, and I've told him yet again I'm not taking him on a week longraduation trip to Japan if there is a single D (or lower) on his report card between now and graduation. Since we'd have to take out a major loan for this trip, which he claims he wants to take, but doesn't seem to want to work for academically, my terms are 100%, cry all you want to, NON-negotiable. And at this point, he's pushing his luck. But that's news for another day....

I hope you're all well. Happy hump day!

Eyeing the Straitjacket

Rain, rain, rain... I took both boys to the store with me to pick up necessary stuff: paper goods, milk, bread, and dog food. We ended up buying a few DVDs as well - Hellboy 2, which just came out. Hubby and I went to see that one at the theater and thought it was a fun movie. I figured Oldest would like it. I also picked up a copy of Underdog for Minibeast. During that time the bottom fell out and rain was pouring by the time we left the store. I rarely ever carry an umbrella, of course. I covered Mini's head with his jacket on the way out, and we braved the weather to get to the Jeep.

I managed to get part of a scene cleaned up yesterday, but that's about it. Still two chapters to go, and it looks like no one is going to cut me any slack. Yesterday hubby was home and it ended up too much of a chore to try and write and keep Mini quiet. Today Oldest is home and the boys love to irritate each other. Too, now that we're home, Mini says he isn't feeling well. His tummy hurts. ~_~' I gave him a tsp of MoM for his tummy, and I'm hoping that will do the trick because tomorrow I have to take mom to the doctor - which as it turns out, isn't located in town as I'd first thought.

I also wasn't aware mom's dr visit would take about 2 hours to complete - it's nearly impossible to keep Mini occupied for that long. Needless to say, I am NOT looking forward to that trip, but I'll just have to manage it. If Mini is too sick, hubby may have to stay home with him, or give my mom a lift. Oy, vey. I may need a straitjacket by the time I'm back home, but heck, what else is new?

Back to the manuscript.... The first scene in the third chapter needs rewriting, and I've been trying to look at how to jazzy it up. My characters have plenty of conflict and chemistry in the latter half of that chapter, but they don't seem to want to make that initial romantic connection that sets it off. I'm guessing that scene is missing an inciting incident, so tonight after Mini is in bed, I'm thinking it's time to break out the thumb screws plot cards.

I bought an OOP horror novel off of Amazon about a week and a half ago, (Wilding by Melanie Tem), and it arrived yesterday. Woot! I was excited to see it in the mail box. Really fast shipping, the packaging looked great. Well, I opened the package and OMG.

You know something? It takes a lot to gross me out. Really. It's nothing to find a molded 2 month old cookie with God knows what stuck on it between the seats in my Jeep. Eh, whatever - toss it over shoulder. Rubberized gum drop with dust bunnies stuck all over it under the couch? Flick it into the garbage. No bigs. With kids and pets, you pretty much face it all: yuck and bathroom fodder. Diapers. Litter box duty. Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. Weak stomachs need not apply.

Well, I opened this package; this book.... I cannot say how disgusted I was by the condition. I've never received anything like this in all the years I've been buying used books online. The seller I bought it from described it as being in "good condition". My ass. First of all, the book had a strange smell right out that pack. Acidy. Not like cigarette smoke, which I don't like, but can stand it if I have to. However, when I flipped the book over to the back blurb I noticed there is this hard, smudgy "stuff" on the back cover. Ewww.... I took it to the bathroom to try and scrub the cover with a baby wipe, and that's when I noticed there's a boa's worth of fine white cat hairs sticking out of the top of the book. *_*

Ok. I scrubbed the book down and figured I could make due with it if only I remember to wash my hands, you know? Looking at the book, I'm not likely to forget. I look the book over and consider tearing off the back cover, and making a it a quick read. That's when I opened the book to check the inside to see if the binding would hold if I did tear the back cover off, and there are chew marks on the bottom edge of about the thirty first 30 pages. Cat bites, I guess. I hope.

I'm going out on a limb here and guessing the weird acidy smell is cat pee. And the crud on the back cover.... well, I'm sure we can all guess. A true horror novel indeed, and I'm really shocked someone picked this book up off their bedroom shelf and thought it was in a condition to actually be SOLD. It's too freaking disgusting to be read. *sob* I hated to do it, oh man, it nearly killed me, but I tossed the book out. I'd send it back to the sellers, but then I'd be out even more money to do it, and I imagine they'd just try and resell the book to someone else. So effing gross.... and I can't seem to stop rubbing Germ-X on my hands since I tossed it out.

At any rate, I went ahead and ordered another copy of Wilding off ebay. I've got my fingers crossed the next one will be in readable shape.

That's it for me today. Happy Veteran's Day, everyone!

Mini-lope Sighting

As you can see, I captured a rare, antlered Mini-lope with my cell phone. Yes, we are ready for Christmas. And do you see that spare dining room chair in the background? That is where every male in the house drops his hat, coat, and even the occasional laptop bag. Drives.Me.Crazy. But, every so often I have to remind myself, if it looked like no one lived here, it wouldn't be a home. So I guess for now the hat rack chair can stay.

I'm feeling much, much better this morning. Thanks for all the well wishes and cold remedies. I do take notes on those and try them out. I can actually breathe this morning, which is just the bees knees. Just saying. I still can't smell anything, but eh, with the guys in the house that may not really be such a bad thing.

Hubby woke up feeling all yukked out this morning, so he stayed home, and is at this very moment snoring away on the couch. It's been kind of hard to get anything done this morning, but I'm planning to chip away at it until I accomplish something - even if it's just to knock down that mountain of laundry that has grown in the hallway since I got sick. Yeah, that definitely must go. I'm tired of looking at it.

I'm rewriting a chapter today, and I half way wonder if maybe I should swap POV to the hero for this one. At the same time, I don't like a lot of POV switching in a short story, especially something that will have the POV switch for only one small chapter. In that case, I really prefer to keep the POV consistent throughout the book.

I'll probably end up writing it both ways just to see which I like better, but I still need to get some character description in for her - the sooner the better. Anyway, that's my goal for the day...to finish this chapter.

Not much else to report really. The house is quiet, the dishwasher is running, hubby snoozing, and Mini is playing in the den. It's starting out to be a cozy Monday.

Well, time to write. I hope you all have a great day!

Fifteen Minutes Til Midnight

It has been a long, long, loooong day. I have a full-on case of Sinitus, complete with sore throat and achy teeth - weird but true! Since I'm too darn stubborn to go to the doctor, it's partly my own fault I've got a killer headache, but then again.... :P

I had plans to pick up my mom at her house Friday morning (I'll say Friday since it's almost midnight so I know this post will probably read Saturday once it goes up). It was going to be a mommy/daughter/Mini day since I had to drive the rounds with her so she could pay her bills. She hurt her back getting in and out of her truck, and it's painful for her to walk. Well, Friday morning she called to say she'd pulled her back again - doing what, I have no idea, but someone needs to duct tape her to the recliner until she goes to her doctor visit on Monday!! Anyway, I ended up going the rounds for her. I took Mini over to her house, gathered all her bills, banking, shopping list, etc. and off I went.

Normally this would be no big thing. But I'm sick. My brain isn't functioning at full capacity. By the time I took care of the banking, returned library books, mailed bills, checked the post box, and bought groceries for mom and for my household...well, I was kinda ready to lay down for a nap. Or cry. Or maybe both. But I went on as promised, I drove back into town after groceries, sat in the drive through at BK for 20 minutes to pick up lunch. From there I headed back to mom's, and we all had a late lunch before I bundled Mini up and took him home.

It was around 2pm by the time we made it back to our house. I took two sinus/allergy tabs and put all the groceries away. I'd planned to sit down and do a bit of writing once I kicked off my shoes, but I tell ya - my brain was numb. Empty.

I sat in the den and watched Pinky Dinky Doo with Mini, and sipped honey tea. And cried. Which only made my sinuses feel ten times worse. :P Mini patted me on the knee and said, "It'll be ok, Mimi." And I told him I was ok, just a bit under the weather - which I don't know why I said that phrase in particular, because it kind a blew his toddler mind. *lol*

By the time I got back to the computer, hubby was coming in. I had a heap of emails, but I didn't get a chance to sort through them all. It'll have to wait until in the morning. I just finished cleaning up a chapter for a piece I'll be sending off on Monday. Hot, hot stuff....

Speaking of writing... I've been asked to recommend more writing books similar to Beginnings, Middles and Ends by Nancy Kress. I want to mention that the Nancy Kress book is part of a series called Elements of Fiction Writing, and all the books are put out by Writer's Digest.

They are the creme de la creme of writing books, in my opinion. I own most of the books in the set. There are books on Setting; Conflict, Action, and Suspence; Voice; Plot, and quite a few others, all by various authors. All thse books are easily searchable on Amazon.com, and usually when you look up one book from the series, it will show you a handful of others if they're available - just remember to check the listings for publication dates to ensure you get one of the latest printings....this is just in case they revised anything from the earlier editions.

Of that series, there is a really good book in particular - another one that appeared on the recommended book list for the Lone Star Conference/Pat Kay workshop - is Scenes and Struture by Jack M. Bickham. This book is invaluable because it focuses on how to build scenes and how to balance your story structure as you move your characters from point A (beginning) to point B (ending). He also covers cause and effect, flashbacks, and how to fix common errors in tough scenes. There is truly more to building a successful scene than we sometimes realize.

Whether you're struggling to get your characters to do what you want them to, or if you're having trouble keeping events from sounding contrived, this is a really good book to study. No stone is left unturned. Mr. Bickham even covers how to "plan and revise scenes for maximum effect". Scenes and Structure is available new and used from Amazon.com. This book is on my keeper shelf, and I've found it well worth the $10-$15.00 pricetag.

Wow! I just noticed the clock - and my laptop battery indicator. :P I better go on to bed. (And please forgive my typos - I'm too tired to check back through!)

Night night, everyone - and happy weekend!

I've had a busy, albeit productive day. First thing out the gate I updated the Midnight Moon Cafe website. There is a new calendar of events up, and the navigation tab for "blog" now actually links to the MMC blogspot blog.

I also pdf'd and posted 9 Midnight Brew Interviews to the Interviews page at the website - these are available for free download for anyone who wants to read them. www.midnightmooncafe.com Lots of wonderful authors are on the roster, so be sure to check that out.

I also managed to write 2k words today, and I finished a short story that I started working on yesterday. It's a very, very naughty contemporary romance that I'd love to see picked up before the year is out. I'm going to print it up tonight and glance through it, red pen it where it needs it, but I don't think it will need but maybe a touch of work.

The progress on Love Fool is another story entirely. It's coming along, but the clean up is a big challenge. I've been hitting it chapter by chapter, because looking at it as a whole project is just too overwhelming. I have two publishers in mind for it, so we'll see what happens once I get it ready to go out. I'm going to check my options carefully and may just simulataneous submit that story. I'll have the check the guidelines for those publishers.

Tomorrow I have to pick up my mom and take her around to all her business places. She hurt her back and can't get in and out of her truck. I volunteered to drive her, so we're going to make it a mommy-daughter day on top of the businessy stuff. It's been a long time since we've done that.

My common cold has run into a bout of sinitus. Ho hum. I've about vaporized myself into a shriveled prune with...well, the vaporizer. And I've probably taken enough Benedryl Sinus and Allergy to drop a horse. Still I'm stuffy and congested, bloody nose, ewwww just darn feel bad grossness that I'm sharing with you now by telling you all about it. Wonderful, aren't I?

Anyway, I'm trying to get a grip on the day. I know I've done quite a bit, and it should be enough, but it always feels like there's something I missed, or I could have done more. Ah well. That can't be helped.

I'm off now to go get the laundry out of the dryer. Gotta make sure the guys have jeans and uniforms for tomorrow. Happy Thursday, everyone! ^_^

Future Raver - Mini on Video

First things first, RIP to author Michael Crichton. The author of Jurassic Park and a string of other first rate novels has passed away. He was 66. :*(

On the homefront, I have the ick. Oldest, oldest.... He's brought school germs home, coughed them all over everything and now I have a runny, yet stuffy nose and itchy watery eyes. It's that time of year.... I hate the congestion - I can't breathe and I can't smell anything. ~_~'

Even so, I had a pretty good day. I wrote roughly 2k words on one story, then did a few pages of clean up on Love Fool. If nothing else, I feel like I'm finally getting my writing groove back.

Today I was listening to something on the computer - Oh, I think Armin or something - and Mini comes in with his Cars flickering glowstick and says, "I want the Ninja Turtle song, Mimi!". Now, Mini has never watched Ninja turtles. However, someone on Youtube made a video of DJ XRAY's Pretty Rave Girl that has Michael-Angelo glowsticking with nunchucku. Very cute. Anyway, it's his favorite song and his top request.

Anyway, I put the song on with him, and after a few minutes of relative quiet (I always suspect he's up to something if he's quiet), I looked around and he's twirling his glowstick in front of the TV. He wanted me to take his picture, but instead I took a quick video of him with my camera and loaded it on Youtube. Bear with me on the bad quality. It's my first video!



MINI BEAR GLOWSTICKING!



So cute! =^_^=

I've been getting quite a few guest blogging requests lately, and "blog this" emails. One of interest caught my attention today. There is a new ebook publisher coming up with backing by Lori Perkins. It's called Ravenous Romance and OMG take a look at their site. It looks fantastic! http://www.ravenousromance.com/

They will be opening December 1st, and are offering a free story download on their front page. You can also register to win...I think it's an Ipod or an Iphone. Whatever the case I'm seriously impressed with their quality, and you bet your boots I'll be submitting there shortly.

As a pre-launch contest, Ravenous Romance is holding "tweet" contest!

Ravenous Romance™ TwittErotica Contest

Are u the Twitter Master? Can u get ur message out in 140 characters or less? If so, then prove it. We challenge u to put ur fingers to ur twit & send us ur hot, erotic short, but remember, short is the key... it has 2 fit in2 140 chrctrs...or less! Check back on Dec 1 to read all entries + the winning Tweet!

Winner receives a $15 gift certificate to Ravenous Romance = 3 novels or 15 shorts!

Submissions: Twitterotica@RavenousRomance.com

Ready, set...tweet!

Again, I think this looks like a really good company. They've hired outside PR and they've done a rocking job on the website. This looks like a good epublisher coming, and I'm excited to see it opening. Writing guidelines are posted there, so if you're looking to branch out, be sure to go and take a peek!

On an entirely different note, I'm currently working on my November newsletter, and tonight I'll be doing a major update at the Midnight Moon Cafe Website. Be sure to drop by there late, late, late tonight (or tomorrow - lol) to catch the new events calendar and all the latest Midnight Brews. Don't forget! The MMC download library is always open!

That's it for me today. I need too go start a bit of supper and get the laundry folded. *grumble, grumble* Ah, life....

Happy Hump Day! ^_^

Vote Sexy...and Featured Author Jeff Rivera!

Today has been a long day. Both boys were home today, and the phone's been ringing off the hook with reminders to get out and make my opinion count at the polls. Well, I did just that. I rocked the vote. Hubby and I managed to get out last minute and make a dash to the local fire station to cast our ballots. The polls are closed here in Louisiana now, and it is surreal to be a part of this history making election. My vote is just one small voice, but as small as it is....

I give special thanks to the women who blazed the trail for women's suffrage, that made it possible for me to cast my ballot today.

To me, the RIGHT to vote, is far more important to me that who makes it to the White House. There are people in the world who are still fighting for the right to do something so simple as what I did today. It's something to think about. If there is still time in your area, I hope you'll go out and cast your ballot. Remember, y'all, voting is sexy.

Speaking of sexy.... Romance! I haven't read many modern, urban romances, so this is still a new genre for me. However, what is there not to like about a hero who has made mistakes, but realizes when he's about to be a father, he makes it his mission to reform himself?

In Jeff Rivera's Forever My Lady, Dio Rodriguez grew up on the streets and knew all too well the hard, cool feeling of the barrel of a gun tucked down the back of his jeans. But his hard exterior softened when he met Jennifer. Jennifer understands Dio like no one else and makes him want to be a better man. Suddenly a drive-by shooting lands Dio in a prison boot camp and sends Jennifer to the hospital. When Dio learns that Jennifer is pregnant, he realizes that he must find a way to turn his life around and return to his lady. But can trainee Rodriguez get his act together among the hardcases in prison? And will Jennifer be waiting for him if and when he does?

Forever My Lady has been on many hot lists, and has received some truly stellar reviews, including an award for Best Urban Romance. This book is out through Warner Books/Grand Central Publishing.

Author Jeff Rivera has answered a few questions about his book....

What challenges in writing a love story from a male's perspective did you encounter?
My greatest challenge was worrying if my female readers would have any desire to read a love story from a male perspective. Cora, I soon found that they did want to and I've felt really good about the emails I've been receiving from women and men about how much the book moved them and how much they could relate to it.

What are you working on next?
Now I'm working on a Young Adult book. I love writing love stories and stories for young people.

How can readers contact you, and where can they pick up a copy of your book?
You can pick up a copy of Forever My Lady at your local bookstore, my website www.jeffrivera.com, or Amazon.com

For those interested in a direct BUY LINK: http://www.amazon.com/Forever-My-Lady-Jeff-Rivera/dp/0446545562/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1225855063&sr=8-2

To find out more about Jeff Rivera, please visit his website at http://www.jeffrivera.com/

Thanks for dropping by Jeff, I wish you much success with your book!

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

Monday Haz Landed

I went around lost for the better part of yesterday - daylight savings time totally screwed me up. Nonetheless, I made it through, and as it turned out, Mini went to bed an hour early because I can't be trusted to set the clocks. Hubby followed about an hour after Mini. He'd been up since about 4 AM, so he called it a night as well, leaving me to the silence of the house and not a damn thing on TV.

About five minutes after he trotted off to bed, I could hear his BEAR SNORES coming from the bedroom (and he teases me about needing a neti pot!). I go in there to make sure the fan is on low so he doesn't wake up with laryngitis or something the next morning. Mini is sacked out like a pajama'ed starfish on top of the covers, an arm throwed across hubby's face. I carefully rearrange him, tuck him in so his legs won't freeze, then I leave out before I either stub my toe on something in the dark or elsewise wake them up.

Nothing else to do, I go to work on my wip. Technically, the book is finished, but since I'm trying to rewrite parts of it, I've downgraded its "class" from full manuscript to wip. I'm trying to take into account what the judges recommended about the story, the things I add or change, but at the same time there are certain elements that I've found unmoveable - the story falls apart if I shift too much of it.

Anyway, I worked on the wip for a few hours, and I'd just rounded up a particularly tough section when the phone rang. I've been getting a lot of automated political calls, so I kind of frowned when I didn't recognize the name on the caller ID, but I answered it anyway. Good thing I did - it was my crit partner!

We always have the best chats, and we stayed on the phone for several hours. She called me to ask something, and we did eventually get around to figuring that out, but poor her, up to that point I think I dominated the conversation. *blush*. I didn't mean to, but darn, I couldn't help it - everyone else had gone off to bed! I'll have to email her later today and apologize for that. I can only imagine her tapping her foot thinking, "Cora, please shut up, Cora." and here I am, "Blah, blah, blah". Once I get started....^_^

We talked until her phone battery started beeping at her, and the connection fuzzed up. It was close to 2 in the morning when we finally called it a night. I came into the dining room and shut everything down after that - computer, lights, etc. I went back to the den and stayed up just a bit longer. I decided to flip through a few chapters of Shotgun Wedding by Charlotte Lamb and got sucked into it.

It's been tough to get motivated this morning. I really should walk out to the mailbox to drop a few letters in, and dress Mini for a ride to town. I need to take back my library books, which are well overdue, and we also need milk. I know I'll end up doing it at some point today, but at the moment it just seems like a big hassle.

It's not going too bad, though; it's been a calm morning. Hubby has called a few times, and Mini has wrecked the den while playing. Here he is, still in his PJs, building towers in the den. My little ham....



That's it for me. I'm thinking it probably wouldn't kill me to put the plates in the dishwasher, so I best get to it while I'm feeling all motivated to clean. Until next time.... Happy Monday, everyone!

NaNo Madness Begins

I've talked to at least a dozen people who are geared up for NaNoWriMo. If you're doing NaNo this year, I wish you the very best of luck! *pom swish*

I'm not registered this year since I must finish this current project before starting a new one. I have a book to clean up that needs to be rewritten in several areas, and I'm on a deadline to boot.

For those who are interested in the craft of writing, I'm recommending Beginnings, Middles, & Ends by Nancy Kress. It's available through Barnes and Noble, and at Amazon.com. Please note that the book does have a white, variant cover, so be sure to search by author, and check the publication dates to ensure you get the latest printing available. (Incase updates were made to the content.)

This book is currently on my nightstand. It was on author Patricia Kay's recommended book list at the NW Houston Lone Star conference, and I ordered a copy as soon as I was back home. After reading only a few pages on conflict, I figured out how to make chapter two of my current project end with a stronger hook to propell the story events into chapter three.

If you struggle with specific sections of your manuscripts, Beginnings, Middles, and Ends is definitely worth a look. It's designed to help you write a solid manuscript that shows a clear inciting incident from the first chapter, and how to follow it through to the end of the book. This is one for the keeper shelf.

I got an email this morning that Wicked Temptation has received 4.5 Blue Ribbons from Romance Junkies. To read the review, click here.

That's it for me today. I hope you all have a successful NaNo day! Remember, you only have to write 1667 words a day to have 50k by the end of the month. Now, write, write, write! *whip*

Happy Saturday!