Adventures in Romance

2012-01-23T07:41:00.000-08:00

In From the Cold has a cover (obviously) and a release date, January 26th.

My current WIPs are moving along slowly. Its been cold in my office so I moved to the living room..it's warm but full of distractions. I managed almost 1K while the kids were curling yesterday but thats the most I've done all week.

I've had to re-evaluate my plans for the next few months. There are a few submission calls I'd really like to try for but figuring out which from my list to post pone is a little harder than I thought it would be.

I knew this would happen though. Submission calls with interesting themes pop up and I get excited to try my hand at them. Its made worse when the publisher is one I've wanted to submit to for a while. I'll fiddle with my list today since I'll probably be on the road for a while (I won't be driving LOL not that I haven't seen drivers do worse)

Thursday 13

2012-01-12T05:28:00.000-08:00

My Favorite 13 Romance series

I thought this would be easy. I have a lot of favorite romance books but limiting myself to a favorite series was a little harder.

1. The Cynster Family - Stephanie Laurens - LOVE possessive, protective, overbearing heros.

2. The Quinn brothers - Nora Roberts - My favorite couple in this one is Phillip and Sybill. The brothers are such great characters and Sybill's growth was wonderful.

3. The Malory Family - Johanna Lindsay - These were some of the first historical romance novels I ever read, and I will re-read them on an annual basis. I especially love James and Anthony.

4. The Gallagher Family - Nora Roberts -I love a good Irish hero, and I love Aiden and Jude the best. I have a soft spot for heroines who start off thinking they have no courage, and end up finding themselves.

5. Three Sisters Island - Nora Roberts - First one again was my favorite, for the same reason.

6. Deadly Series - Brenda Joyce - I love mysteries, so adding that to a historical series that also has romance is awesome.

7. The Sherbrooke Family - Catherine Coulter - I fell in love with Douglass and Ryder when I was a teenager.

8. The Bridgerton Family - Julia Quinn - A fun family. It's been a while since I've re-read the series, must do that again soon.

9. Dark Hunter Series - Sherrilyn Kenyon - Just Yum!

10. Highlander Series - Karen Marie Moning - more pure yum!

11. The Magic series - Catherine Coulter - More historical romance. My favorite of the three was Midsummer Magic with Philip Hawksbury and Frances.

12. Bastion Club - Stephanie Laurens (okay I pretty much love all her books)

13. The Star series - Catherine Coulter - I'm not usually a fan of historical romances set in America, but I really liked this one set in California.

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Valentine short

2012-01-09T05:10:00.000-08:00

I finished my short Valentine story yesterday, polished it up and sent it off. This will be the third story in the Tiara Islands Inn series, and for this one, I went back to Julie and Noah, the characters from Jewel of the Highlands.

When I started the series, I hadn't planned on it being a series of disasters for this couple. Poor Julie, every time she plans some big special event for the inn's guests, things fall apart, and it's all completely out of her control. Valentine's Day proves no different.

Back to work. The kids head back to school today, so I've upped by word count goal to 2K for each of the other stories on this months plan. We'll see how it goes.

7 Day Check In

2012-01-07T05:08:00.000-08:00

A week into the new year, I decided to stop and take a look at how I'm making out on my writing goals. I came up with a new strategy for the year. Because I know how depressing it is to not meet my daily word count goal, but because I also want to have LOTS of books finished this year, I decided I had to make a change.

My old method was to take the intended word count of a book I was working on, and divide it by the daily word count I set for myself. So, a 30K story, if I was writing 4K a day would take me 7 and a half days. (Not including polishing afterwards) Inevitably, I get stuck. I have days when I just can't spend more than an hour or two at the computer, and those hours are never peaceful, solid writing time. So, I'm testing out this new way I came up with. In each month, I pick 3 stories. I then divide the daily word count between them.

Sounds kind of foolish when you think about it. I mean, you're making very slow progress on 3 things, rather than quickly finishing each story. Plus, how do you move from story to story without getting mentally bogged down on one so it affects your other stories?

Like I said, it's an experiment. The reasoning behind it was that on those days when you can't get lots of solid writing time to do a full 4 or 5K you may be able to bang out the 1K goal on at one of those stories, and at least then you've met one goal. Some days you might get all three, somedays only 2, but maybe it would feel better to say you hit 2 out of 3 instead of a big "fail" I also realized I had to take into account that I wouldn't get to write every day, so figured on at least 6 days in the month where I would get no writing done.

As for the mental aspect, well it's rare for me to actually get the chance to get totally immersed into a story. In the time it took me to get this far in this blog post, I've had to stop to hear about my daughter's plans for her birthday party, feed the dogs, let the dogs out (twice) and watch my son demonstrate his prowess at a video game.

Now, a week in, how is it working out for me?

WIP #1 Starting word count was 4370, and my goal was 1400 words a day for at least 6 days which would put me at 12,770. Current word count 8719. I only managed to make my word count on 3 of the six days.

WIP #2 Starting word count 0, with a goal of 1400 words a day for 6 days. Should be at 8400 am only at 2824. I had some trouble with this one, and really struggled the first few days.

WIP #3 Starting word count 819 goal of 1000 words a day for 3 days. I've surpassed my intended place of 3819 and am currently at 5794 words.

Thoughts: WIP #3 is intended to be short, and because I'm hoping to submit it ASAP (Valentine story) I've put a bit more effort into it than the others. Once it's done, I'll up the other two to 2K a day. Flexibility is the key here. I'm also hoping once the kids go back to school, I will get a bit more of that uninterrupted writing time.

I'll check back in next week for another update.

Post Christmas exhaustion

2011-12-28T06:13:00.000-08:00

Compared to usual, it wasn't a crazy, chaotic Christmas. We didn't have to cram all our visiting into one day, and managed to get it all done without having to post pone anything due to illnesses. (One year we didn't see my grandparents until February.) Both of our days of traveling were capped by really treacherous drives home (finally got the damn snow the kids had been asking for).

I had set only a few Christmas goals this year -

1. make figgy pudding. CHECK! It was actually pretty good. Kind of like carrot cake.

2. remember to give out pictures of the kids from school. Almost got this one. I forgot to take some to my grandparents but I'll be going back up there in a few days.

3. Don't make so much baked goods that it all goes to waste. CHECK I didn't actually bake much this year, so this wasn't an issue. There just wasn't time. Last year I spent a whole day making half a dozen different types of cookies, 4 types of brownies as well as little tarts and squares. Then realized only a few of each kind would fit in the tins I'd bought, so I had dozens of everything left over. I froze some, pigged out big time, and ended up throwing a lot of it away.

But now that the main rush of the holidays are over, it's time for the dreaded new years resolutions. As I type this, I'm surrounded by candy (turtles, dark chocolate mint truffle kisses, a few donuts and some jam tarts) so I'm thinking eat healthier should be on the list. Maybe a bit of exercise wouldn't hurt either. Actually, I hope to improve the strength of the muscle around my knees so I can manage the hikes when we go camping without wanting to throw myself off a cliff.

On the writing front, yeah big time plans there. I have at least 4 more stories I want to write for the Tiara Islands Inn series, plus several stories that fit in the Highlands Hills town where the Inn is located. Let's not forget the Dragons that have been giving me guilt trips now for 5 years. So much writing to do! I also want to commit to actually doing a monthly newsletter this year, having monthly giveaways, creating better promotion methods, and being more active in the social aspect of writing.

And keeping my desk clean is pretty big too.

What are your resolutions for the new year?

The Figgy Pudding Disaster is out!

2011-12-21T04:50:00.000-08:00

A very merry tenth day of Christmas to everyone! Figgy Pudding is available now from Red Rose Publishing.

This story was written very much off the top of my head, with no planning, but I'm very happy with how it turned out. It's all about traditions, and second chances. I hope you enjoy it.

News on Figgy Pudding

2011-12-16T13:18:00.000-08:00

Five days into the twelve days, and I haven't blogged about the releases! I'm so bad! I can tell you Figgy Pudding is scheduled for release on the 21st, along side Aline de Chevigny's A Master for Christmas. I've just finished edits and am awaiting line edits.

On the personal front, Christmas shopping is almost complete. Again, spent way too much money and will regret it horribly come January. Next year I am making a vow to do all my shopping super early, and online so I don't have to face the crowds in the malls. Maybe I can manage to get something for everyone on my list at the Apple store. That would be awesome.

How's everyone else doing on their shopping?

A New Cover!

2011-12-05T05:23:00.000-08:00

So, before I left for the weekend, I got the cover for my Christmas story, The Figgy Pudding Disaster. It's very sweet and old fashioned, like a Christmas card, which fits perfectly with the story.

What do you think?

Christmas at Tiara Islands

2011-12-01T04:34:00.000-08:00

I'm the first to admit, my motivation to write in the last few years has been rather lacking. A week and a half ago, I started writing a Christmas short on the off chance I'd finish it in time to send it in for the Red Rose 12 of Christmas submission call. I didn't, but a few days after the deadline, I was asked if I had any Christmas stories. I managed to finish the story within 2 days and send it in, and it was accepted. *whew* I've never started, finished, subbed and sold a story in about a week.

The Figgy Pudding Disaster is the second of the tales set at the Tiara Islands Inn. When I started it I had only two goals...write a christmas story set at the Tiara, and somehow include figgy puddings. I've never had figgy pudding...but I love the name. It always makes me smile.

The story is about Dizzy, a single mom who lost contact with, Dean, the love of her life before she could tell him she was pregnant with his child. When she and her son travel to The Tiara for a Christmas vacation, she finds him working there, only he doesn't seem to remember her. An injury sustained while serving over seas has left Dean with jumbled memories, but the one that's always been clear, is of a blond with green eyes, he just can't remember who she is.

In other news, I just finished the rough draft on Family of Four, another story set in the same town as Jewel of the Highlands and The Figgy Pudding Disaster. I'm hoping to have it polished up and submitted soon.

A little pissed at Nintendo

2011-11-25T12:11:00.000-08:00

Our Wii was heavily used, and more often than not, the kids would leave it running all night long because they didn't want to stop the game if it couldn't be saved. So naturally, it broke. After almost a year, we finally were able to set aside the funds to get a new one, and when the blue one came on sale this weekend, we thought "cool! Blue is different."

This one didn't come with any games, which was fine with us, as we already had the games the other consoles come with. So we rushed out to get one, worried they would sell out quickly, and because it was a Black Friday sale and the crowds were a little thick, we didn't bother to read the side of the box. Nor did I bother to search up reviews online, because hey, we'd already had a Nintendo Wii and I honestly didn't think there would be any difference other than color. Why would anyone think that certain features would be left out of one color of console? Unless you happen to be the kind of person who reads gaming blogs on a regular basis, you'd never know until it was too late.

Apparently, I was wrong. The blue console doesn't have the ability to play gamecube disks, nor use gamecube controllers. When we tried to open the area where the controllers would plug in, it wouldn't budge, so I went online thinking maybe I just missed some secret to opening the compartment...nope. And apparently, it also doesn't have wi-fi capability which is really going to piss the kids off when they can't enter the mii contests anymore.

A very squinty eyed look at the box revealed it did actually say no gamecube compatibility..in very tiny letters that took me forever to actually see.

We've had every model of Nintendo to ever be released, including every version of gameboy/DS. I've always been a very loyal Nintedo fan, even when others have tried to sway me to other systems that had better graphics or games that just weren't available on the Nintendo platform. This just infuriates me because it makes no sense. The one thing I loved about the Wii was that it did play Gamecube games, which for us was wonderful as our son had destroyed our Gamecube when he was a baby. What purpose does it serve to make one version of the console without that feature? And for God's sake, why didn't they at least make the lack known on the front of the box? People who were going to buy a Wii, but wanted the Gamecube compatibility would buy the other versions, and nobody would be furious and feel like they'd been cheated.

Arg. Off to deal with two kids who are severely disappointed. Maybe I'll buy them a PS3 or an Xbox for Christmas and take this thing back for a refund.

Christmas already?

2011-11-19T12:55:00.000-08:00

So...back in the spring I had planned to write at least two Christmas stories and here it is, almost a month until Christmas and no stories in sight. I also haven't really bought any presents yet, nor have I gotten the yearly "where are we going when" holiday disaster sorted out. Every year, we add more people to the equation, so every year, it becomes even more difficult to figure out when each section of the family should hold it's gathering.

So, I was giving some thought to perfect Christmas gifts for writers. Obviously #1 is an iPad (for those who don't already have one) because lets face it, they rock. I love mine, and take it and my keyboard/dock everywhere I go so I can write.

I did a bit of net surfing to see what other people thought would be awesome gifts for writers and here's a sampling of what I found....

ebook reader - pretty cool. I have apps for kindle, kobo and ibookstore on my ipad so I don't really need one but I admit they look very nice and whenever I'm in Chapters, I drool over them a bit.

Digital Voice Recorder - Again, cool and useful. I'm sure if you don't have hangups about hearing your own voice on stuff, it would be a handy little gadget...I get all squicky when I hear myself so I don't know if I'd use it much.

Going in the less tech-driven direction, there are some less expensive ideas that writers will always want and need. Pens, highlighters, paper clips, staplers, notebooks...a nice gift basket of these essentials would be thoughtful. Add in a mug and a supply of tea/coffee/hot chocolate and I think that would make a great gift.

What do you other writers wish for this holiday season?

Nano shouldn't be in November

2011-11-01T05:53:00.000-07:00

Uggg, after the chaos of getting ready for Halloween, the last thing I want to do is sit and write. Its cold, the house is a disaster, and there are pumpkins to take a sledge hammer to...

Good luck, and happy Nano-ing to everyone who is participating this year.

Too hot to do anything

2011-07-21T06:10:00.001-07:00

I swear a week ago, I was bundled in a sweater while eating on my parent's patio. It was windy and just chilly enough to need a long sleeve shirt and jeans. Now, I feel like I'm melting and it's only 9 in the morning. Heat wave's suck. Today's forcast is calling for 36 degrees (before humidity is taken in to account, which will apparently make it feel like 46) for those not using celcius, that's 97 feeling like 110.

This is perfect laze around reading weather. Too bad I'm not exactly going to be allowed to do that. I should be writing, or cleaning the house, or planning our camping trip, or weeding my garden. Yeah, I don't think so. Poor Chris is going to be working in a hot restaurant kitchen.

So, I'm going to go make a batch of lemonade, keep the kids and dogs hydrated, and hope the heat doesn't result in another 3 day long power outage. We don't have an air conditioner, so at least I won't be contributing much to the strain on the power grid.

March Break

2011-03-15T09:46:00.000-07:00

It's four days into march break, and I've had a great time lounging on the couch, watching my Star Trek Voyager DVDs. Today though, I'm going to make some attempt to get some writing done.

It's been interesting, watching this show. Not only is their out-of-uniform fashion something to be remembered with fascination (there are some speedo shots that should have been banned...seriously) No, what I find the most interesting is the politics. What makes Star Trek so interesting to me, is the rich history and depth of world building that's grown with each new series and movie. As someone who's favorite part of writing is developing the character's history, and in some cases, the history of a made up world, Star Trek has always been something of an inspiration for me.

It had been a long time since I watched any of these (except the new Star Trek Movie...yum!) I'll be watching them now with more in mind than entertainment.

A Sale!

2011-03-02T06:26:00.000-08:00

I received a contract for Jewel of the Highlands yesterday from Red Rose Publishing. Very excited. It's been a while since I've had a sale, well it's been a while since I've done much serious writing.

I've been trying my best to keep up with my writing goals the last month, but with no real heat in the house, it's hard to write. My writing office is now a pillow on the floor of the living room, with the laptop on the footstool for our poang chair. I think my butt and back are going to go on strike at some point. It's not the most ergonomic set up. But, since we can't heat the sunporch, where my desk is, it'll have to do. Apparently, their best guess for when we'll have our new furnace set up is March 21st....

Okay, back to work. Or maybe out to get a coffee...at least the car can be kept warm.

Hello 2011

2011-01-01T07:19:00.000-08:00

Another year over, and not much writing to show for it. I suppose I did better this year than the last, but not as well as I'd hoped. I'll keep my fingers crossed for 2011 to be the year I get my ass in gear.

I usually make resolutions for my writing, and usually is a list of stories I want to finish. This year, I'm just going to go a bit simpler.

1) try for one submission a month
2) try to blog and tweet more. To do this I'll need some sort of a life, so I have something to talk about *grin*
3) Sub to Harlequin, for a print line. Not sure how successful I'll be in this one, but I'll do my best.
4) 2011 reading challenge - 104 books.

For the challenge, I'll be posting my reading list here as well as on my "other name" blog. If anyone wants to participate in the challenge, the information is posted on the Daughters of Circe website www.daughtersofcirce.com

Finally making progress!

2010-11-21T15:44:00.000-08:00

After a long (2 years, 1 month and 10 day) Hiatus, I've finally managed to submit something. Jewel of the Highlands is a short contemporary, sweet romance...not my normal thing. There's no para or sci-fi elements...well, except for a pervy ghost, but he doesn't get much page time.

The inspiration for the story came from personal experience. Julie, the heroine, used to work at a resort called Tiara Islands Inn, and has nothing but fond memories of those summers. When the resort is slated to be sold to developers who plan to demolish it to build condos, she decides to buy it herself and fix it up to it's former glory.

I worked at a similar place when I was younger. Life was one big party back then, with far too many days going in to work with a hang over. If you can believe it, I went to college to get away from the partying. For a while, I lived on property, so stumbling home in the dark was pretty common. But the drinking aside, it was a good time. I made a lot of great friends, did a lot of stupid things, and managed to survive without destroying resort property.

So Jewel of the Highlands is my way of tipping my hat to those days, at least the fondly remembered ones. I know there were a lot of days that sucked big time. (New Years was pretty much 2 days straight of work...from 7am on the 31st straight through to midnight on the first....and we didn't even get to toast in the new year.)

Any one else work at a resort in the past? Got any good stories to tell?

Progress Report

2010-09-01T06:56:00.000-07:00

It's been over a year since my last post. That says a lot about what's been going on in my life. Nothing!

In the last three weeks or so, I finished a novella and almost finished a second one. Let's see if I can come up with some kind of blurb for them...

Jewel of the Highlands

Julie Murdock planned to renovate the old Tiara Islands Inn for her reality show then sell it. Simple. No complications, no commitments. She didn't count on falling in love with the place, nor did she anticipate reuniting with Noah Kerry, a summer fling from her teen years. Now with problem after problem plaguing the renovation, and Noah's persistent flirting, Julie's got more complications than she can handle.

Noah wants nothing more than to get out of Highland Hills, so he's not too happy that his first big city job with Home Network requires him to stay there for the duration of the project. Of course there are compensations, namely Julie, the proverbial one-that-got-away

Whew, well, its rough, but that's the gist of the story. The other one is tentatively titled Family of Four....

Considering he spent all his childhood and teen years in the backwoods, widower Jake Randall is having one hell of a time handling a simple camping trip to a campground with his six year old son. Help comes in the form of single mother, Josephine Clements, an old friend and proud owner of one slightly ugly camping trailer.

Jo isn't exactly hiding, but sometimes, its better for ones sanity to just avoid unpleasant people, like her ex boyfriend and her parents. She's quite content to spend her summer living like a gypsy with her three month old daughter, until Jake walks into her life making her realize how much she's missing out on. Both are leery of opening their hearts, but they can't deny the attraction between them, nor how easily they seem to form a cozy family of four.

Now to do the whole submitting thing and then the waiting thing...

Family of Four is going to introduce one of the characters from a contemporary romance series I'm working on, one I'm super excited about. Jake's best friend, Daniel Sheppard, and his three brothers work at their family business, Wild North Outfitters. They're a bit rough around the edges, a bit wild, but oh so sexy. I'm still working out the characters and plotting for them, but I hope to have the first two on the go this fall.

With less than a week to go before school starts, I'm busy getting the kids ready, making sure we have stuff for lunches, and plotting stories so I can jump right in once I have the peace and quiet of a kid free house three days a week (since the husband has days off midweek.) I'm also going to be doing some work on my office. I'm currently set up in the sunporch, which is sort of winterized, but not fully. I don't want to be writing with numb fingers.

If anyone is interested, I posted three of the world building articles I'd written for Enchanted Ramblings on my website. I'm hoping to write more articles to post...we'll see how it goes. It's good to be back in the writing swing of things. Hopefully I'll manage to stay in the zone without getting side tracked.

Off to work on Family of Four. I'm hoping to have it finished by the weekend. My goal for finishing Jewel was yesterday, and I actually got it done yesterday as well as the synopsis! Woot! Now lets see if I can manage this miracle twice. How's everyone else doing on their goals?

Summer's End

2009-08-29T10:12:00.000-07:00

I can't believe there's a week till school starts! Mental! I didn't accomplish much of anything this summer, sadly, though I guess, given all the stuff going on I shouldn't be surprised.

First, we had Bolerama, which was awesome this year. The kids are now at an age where I don't have to spend all my time yelling at them to stay off the road. Then again, I did spend all my time untangling fishing line from the trees around our camp site...they were practicing casting. They did catch a few fish when their daddy took them to the lake, so all that practicing came in handy.

Next the kids were in art classes for a week, which should have netted me some good writing time, but I was having a mild panic attack about my own course and the upcoming "having to read outloud to strangers" thing.

Obviously, the next week was my own workshop...AWESOME! I won't go on and on about it again, but it did have my hyped up to write like crazy...except...

My aunt died the next week. It was really devastating for everyone because she wasn't very old and it could have been prevented had she not been so afraid of going to the doctor in the first place. I spent a lot of the next week scanning old pictures with my brother to help put together a slide show for the memorial. She was a great woman, one of the best teachers in the county, and a wonderful aunt.

Anyway, the rest of the summer we did a bit of swimming, went on a canoe trip to Bottle Lake (Kawartha Highlands Provincial Park) and spent a night camping at Balsam Lake. Next week, we're going to try and hit Algonquin, do some hiking or maybe camp one night if it isn't too cold...it's been getting down to almost 0 at nights! How nuts is that?

Excuses

2009-05-01T07:29:00.000-07:00

Four months of 2009 gone and I've done...no writing! Bad me! I could say there were legitimate reasons, but that would be a lie. I've been reading fan fiction, and doing other pointless things. I have found some cool ways to procrastinate though...

Delicious Library - a mac platform inventory software that lets you use your iSight (or other web cam) as a UPC code scanner. Very cool and soooo much fun. I've been scanning books, movies, and video games.

SousChef - another mac program that is for organizing recipes. I have HUNDREDS of cookbooks and magazines full of recipes and I can never find what I want. I've spent hours sitting on the floor in the kitchen, with magazines scattered all over the place, and by the time I find the recipe, I'm either too damn tired to cook, or I don't have all the ingredients. I've spent a week wittling down the pile though. Most of the ones I've done are from Canadian Living magazines...which is cool cause all the recipes are online on their web site...I just copy and paste. I hate having to type out the instructions for a long complicate recipe.

Bento Lunches - weird way to procrastinate, I know. It started with my daughter being so picky. She won't eat sandwiches, or wraps and because of loose teeth, won't eat apples in her lunch either. I was having a hard time finding things that I could give her until I got the may 2009 issue of Canadian Living (Yes I love this magazine) and saw the article on Bento Lunches and the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival. *light bulb* The kids love Naruto, and so I thought, why not do bento lunches for them? Beats buying prepackaged snacks all the time. So I've been researching, compiling lists of ideas and trying out things on the kids to see if they like it. They LOVE rice balls. In my searches, I found an amazing thing...people post pictures of their lunch online! I was shocked. I mean, yeah, some of them are pretty damn artistic, but it was still odd...helpful though! I got lots of ideas for things to feed my kids. My son LOVES steamed asparagus, cooled, and cut into bite sized pieces. Not to mention there are some beautiful bento boxes for sale out there. I'm using containers from the dollar store, but I think for Christmas I might get them each a nice one.

So yeah, that's how I've been wasting my time. There's also the leaking roof, the broken hot water heater, and the frantic cleaning rush that preceded a home inspection so we could get a loan to fix the roof. I did manage to almost finish making myself a real office though, so I can get the desk out of the living room and have so privacy when I write. This is handy because the kids are starting to get really good at reading and I don't want them peeking over my shoulder as I write sex scenes. Bad enough when the hubby does it.

High speed

2009-01-08T14:30:00.000-08:00

Yay! Finally! High speed internet is here. We had weather problems for the installation guy, then he got sick, then car trouble! But now, I'm all speedy and stuff.

Writing news.... I'm working on a couple of new projects. I feel bad about not working on the sequel to Dragon's Birth, but I'll get to it. Right now I'm working on a 4 part series that involves camping and canoeing...my favorite all time thing to do. I'm hoping to do short webshows from the routes that will be used in the books. Should be fun.

Back to surfing!

D'Arc Side Challenge

2009-01-01T09:09:00.000-08:00

It's a new year and in an effort to get more writing done, I've joined Bianca's writing challenge. 2500 words a day, with 2 days off because of the hubby. Oh and some Wii fit each day.

To keep up with all the other challenge participants, check out Bianca's blog: biancadarc.com/blog

Something Sweet is DONE

2008-09-22T14:49:00.000-07:00

ANd subbed. So that's one item off my list for the PWC. I can practically taste the whiskey...*shoves shot glass behind computer*

Next up is Brazen's Army and Enemy of the Heart. I'm thinking I'm going to do a massive rewrite on Enemy though. Brazen was left at the start of a sex scene, stupid me.

I'm hoping I'll get a celebratory season of Smallville for submitting something *grin*

Personal Writing Challenge (PWC)

2008-09-18T11:32:00.000-07:00

Okay, so Kim and Dawn started this thing, and since I'm not getting too far on my own, I figure why not.

So, my goal for December 31 at 11:59 is to have done 2500 words a day, which, if I start tomorrow (since today is almost over) is 182500...sweet Merlin. I'm insane...Well, we'll see how we get. My story goals will be listed below, though some of these are Piper stories...just so I don't confuse myself later on.

Something Sweet (m/m) PIPER

Greg isn't the same cheerful guy Alex remembers. After ten years of estrangement, he's now faced with a quiet, twitchy shadow of his old friend. He's only got a week or so to get to the bottom of this, overcome their past and claim Greg as his own.

Forgotten Heir (m/f)

Sequel to Dragon's Birth

Vander has a secret and in the wake of war, he may have no choice but to reveal his true identity even if it thrusts him back into the political arena and an old betrothal agreement.

Twilight Witch (m/f) PIPER

Captain Hilary Burke is living under a curse that prevents him from returning to his homeland. Sophie needs to find her dead fiancee's brother in hopes he'll honor the marriage contract, that will save both their families from scandal. In the sin-filled city of Port Royale, Sophie finds the new Lord Burke living the life of a pirate, but is everything really as it seems?

Brazen's Army (m/m) PIPER

Lt. Col. Brazen Malone's assignment was simple - assassinate Ridley Sikes, pretty boy scholar and supposed threat to the Atlantic Rim Alliance. In a war torn, post-apocalyptic future, it's two men against the world, and powerful, unimaginable threat.

K, I'll edit this post later and add more...need to think about this some more...
**edited to add**

A Cache of Bones (m/f)

When a group of hikers comes across a bone in a geocache leading the local sheriff and a forensic anthropologist on a state wide search for clues.

Enemy of the Heart m/f

Okay, this one has been on the go for ever...I want it done before I start screaming

Black Star Conspiracy m/m/f/m (also known as SF4 = Sci-fi foursome) PIPER obviously

A space opera menage with lots of action (both of the naughty and the bloody kind)

Okay that puts me at about 110K so lets continue....

Flirting with the Sandpiper m/f

not sure where I'm going with this except it's got an assassin...I came across the title in a bar guide and loved it....

7 Days to Darkness m/f

The Oakcroft family has been charged with guarding the gate to the demon realm, but when all but four are slaughtered, it's up to one man, bitter from his years fighting a Holy War, to prevent all out invasion. (This is the beginning of a series that spans centuries with about 6 stories set in regency period, a few in modern times and then a few set about 400 years in the future)

Golden Cadillac m/m PIPER
Blood Ties m/f PIPER (sequel to blood Bonds)
From the Ashes of War - m/f third in the Dragon Wing series (and then it's all done!)

That's about 205K I'd be happy to get even a few of these done

My Brain Hurts

2008-08-02T07:06:00.000-07:00

Okay, so had forgotten just how hard it is to be in school. After a week of sitting in a room full of artsty people who could all wax poetic about the latest Oprah Book Club selection, I wasn't sure if I should make a run for it. But the class, and all the students were awesome.

I hadn't thought about the possibility of travel writing since my ill fated year in college studying Travel and Tourism, and when my mum signed me up for it I thought I'd be lost because I've never gone anywhere. In a way, I was lost. Everyone else seemed to be well travelled, from India to China to well pretty much everywhere, but I did learn a lot. First and foremost, I learned that pretty much every experience can be turned into an article if you put yourself into the midset to view things a certain way. There are sooooooo many magazines out there, and there's a good chance one of them will be interested in your story.

Apart from the mechanics of writing for magazines, query letters, marketing and the rest, I learned it isn't quite as daunting as I'd thought. The teacher, Kate Pocock, is both a writer and an editor, and she didn't have horns or growl. She told us a lot of things from the editors point of view as well as from the writers, and it helped to reduce the anxiety of sending a query to a big magazine.

Will I attempt to write travel articles? Probably. Did I have fun? Yes! I'm already planning what writing courses to take next year. The Haliburton School of the Arts is being asked to include more writing and photography courses. When next years course guide comes out I'll post the selections.

What's up?

2008-07-26T08:10:00.000-07:00

Not much, actually. I've finally got the websites revamped. Yay!

Next week I'm taking a travel writing workshop, which is odd as I don't really go anywhere. I think that was the point. My mum thinks I'm becoming a hermit (and she's not wrong) so she suggested it. (Suggested might not be the best word.)

Other than that, it's been a lot of storms, temper tantrums and general summer stuff. The kids aren't happy that they've been house bound so much, but we've seriously had no more than 4 consecutive rain free days since like April. It's really odd. Normally we're worried about drought and forest fires. The mosquitoes are wicked bad because of all the rain, so camping and hiking has been kinda not as much fun as usual. We did manage to get through Bolerama without getting rained on, but the nights were soooooo cold! Ah well, thats why it's called roughing it, right?

Anyway, gotta get organized for next week.

I've been Tagged!

2008-05-01T06:11:00.000-07:00

The Rules:

Tell seven random and/or interesting things about myself. Get five blog buddies to play, too and link to their blogs. Don't forget to post the rules.

1. I have five guinea pigs. Chloe, Foxy Cleopatra, Cookie, Jack and Malfoy.

2. I'm addicted to all mac toys...when apple releases a new version of ipod, or something like appleTV or iphone I slobber all over the screen for days wanting one.

3. I also have an addiction to fanfiction *glares at Kim*

4. There's a song sparrow at the bird feeder right outside my window right now and I can hear cardinals singing nearby.

5. I want to be out in my canoe...RIGHT NOW!

6. I always wanted to learn to play drums. For some reason, my parents weren't supportive of the idea...now that I have kids I can sorta see why.

7. I'm currently listening to the soundtrack for High school Musical 2...I'm so lame!

People I'm tagging

Kim Knox
Dawn Montgomery

I know...it says five, but I don't know anyone else who hasn't already been tagged!

Living Vicariously

2008-02-29T06:59:00.000-08:00

I've always been the kind of parent who was determined not to push my kids into activities based on my own childhood wishes. if I did, my kids would be in guitar and drum lessons, and my husband would have had them on a snowboard as soon as they could take a few steps on their own. So there I am, feeling all self-righteous when I realized we may not be living vicarously through them as far as activities go, but we are definately doing it through their clothes.

This realization came when my husband went bonkers over a pair of rubber boots for our son...blue with little shark teeth, eyes and fins on the back. he talked about them for DAYS before finally dragging us in and buying a pair but I could tell he really wanted them for himself, because he would look so damn cool in shark boots. *snicker*

But the fact is, if I could fit into my seven year old daughter's clothes I'd be a happy camper. It's depressing to go through the girls section in the store and find a million things I wish would fit me, only to find zilch in the woman's section. I hate hate hate shopping for clothes for myself, but could shop for my kids every day and not get bored. I'm not sure what this says about me. Maybe I'm just fashion-challenged, or (and I prefer this one) I'm just young at heart. Either way, if I ever come across a pair of shark boots in my husbands size....

Well, holy cow has it been a while!

2007-11-20T09:33:00.000-08:00

Yep, I've been in hiding cause, frankly I was suffering MAJOR writers block and nothing I did managed to break me out of it. I think I'm doing better now. I finally got tired of staring at the same last line of stories I'd put on hold for about 11 months, and decided to try something completely radical to break me out of the rut I'd been in.

I wrote fan fiction. Yep, I know. It seems very 12 year old fan girlish, but I think I got some good out of it. First of all, in the last um, lets see, about 13 days maybe, I've written over 106,000 words. CRAZY huh? And okay, so maybe only a small percentage of that was on something I'll ever be able to publish, but it was fun, and I got to practice writing sex scenes by doing a few short "Porn without Plot" stories. It also let me work out the kinks that had built up not having written for so long. Wait, not kinks as in kinky, naughty things, but as in the wrinkles. Well, you know. I swear, for the first 20K or so, I had completely forgotten how to put a sentence together.

So, am I working on actual salable material now? yes and no. I am working on some, but I'm also playing around with fandoms because it reminds me that writing is fun and not all deadlines and paranoia over quality. I may post the fan fiction I wrote on one of those websites that has sucked away so much of my time over the summer and fall, just to say I did something with those 100K.

Anybody out there read fanfiction and have favorite pairings? I know Kim's been asking me to try an Angel/Jack O'Niell and I think a Ba'al/Daniel Jackson would be fun (Having the evil and self-serving Ba'al fall for Danny's boyish charms hehehe) My favorite is Harry/Draco though. Such cuties.

Thursday Thirteen #6...I think

2007-05-09T17:53:00.000-07:00

Thirteen of my favorite fight scenes from TV and movies

This list was inspired by super awesome hubby who got me season 8 of Stargate SG-1 for our anniversary last weekend.

1. Vala Mal Doran VS Dr. Daniel Jackson in Prometheus Unbound in Season 8 of Stargate SG-1
- Oh my God, when I first saw this episode, I almost peed my pants. After she beats the crap out of him (including bagging him with a fire extinguisher, she says they should have just had sex. That's just so Vala.

2. The Rock VS the rebels in The Rundown
- they're flying at him from all sides and he's totally over powered by all these little guys.

3. The Thirteenth Warrior
- Near the end, when Antonio Banderas's character has filed down the sword...and it's raining...love that scene

4. Teal'c VS Jonas Quinn in Redemption (Stargate SG-1 season 6)
- Teal'c is teaching Jonas how to box, and Jonas keeps going down but bounces back like a rubber ball everytime.

5. Kar vs Jade in Bulletproof Monk
- lots of sexual tension in this fight

6. Ronan VS the Marines in Duet, Stargate Atlantis season 2
- when Ronan is beating the crap out of the marines he's training and Sheppard says..."Ok, let's try that again." One of the marines responds with "How about you try that again sir." Sheppard wisely says "Ok, I think that's enough for one day."

7. Qui Gon Jinn and Obi Wan Kenobi VS Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Phantom Menace
- the double lightsaber thing was SOOOOOO cool

8. Wesley (aka the dread Pirate Roberts) VS Fezzik in The Princess Bride
- for a while there it looks like Wesley is going to burst a few blood vessels in his forehead hehe

9. King Arthur VS the Black Knight in Monty Python and the Holy Grail
- It's just a flesh wound!

10. Neo vs Morpheus Kung Fu Training in The Matrix
- we watched this scene about a million times when working out the choreography for a fight scene in my student film

11. Simon Phoenix VS future cops
- lord that was funny

12. Samuel and Marty (?) VS Arnie the Dinosaur in Nine Months
- anybody who beats the crap of of a Barnie look alike is cool in my books

13. Anchorman
- the alley fight scene with all the other TV stations.

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Well darn

2007-05-05T19:59:00.000-07:00

So, I went to change the picture and the stupid computer stalled...then I couldn't get back into blogger. *sigh*

After all that frustration, I did manage to have some fun on Thursday. We went canoeing up by Bracebridge and had an awesome time. We try to get out in the canoe every year on our anniversary, or close to it. (Our anniversary is actually today, but DH had to work.)

Now I'm chilling with a beer, some chocolate erection cake and working on my first attempt at a m/m erotic romance. Things are going very well so far *grin* so I'm happy. The urge to dive into all my canoe books and plan every single day of the summer is hard to resist though.

Back to work. Hopefully blogger will be cooperative this week.

Thursday Thirteen - Stargate Atlantis Quotes

2007-05-02T11:25:00.000-07:00

Thirteen quotes from STARRGATE: ATLANTIS

ok, so a few weeks ago I did quotes from Supernatural, and I was going to do something a little more insightful this week, but since Blogger wouldn't let me in, I'm cheaping out and doing another quote list. This week I'm doing my favorite quotes from Stargate Atlantis, most of which will probably involve my two favorite snarksters, Rodney McKay and John Sheppard.

1. From "Rising - Part 1"
McKay: We need the ZedPM to power the gate.
O'Neill: What?
Jackson: ZPM. He's Canadian.
O'Neill: I'm Sorry.

2. From "Rising - Part 2"
Sheppard: Flight, this is ... (he smiles) Puddlejumper. We’re go for launch.
McKay: Er, this is Flight. I thought we were going with Gateship?
Sheppard: Negative, Flight.
McKay: Stand by. (to Weir) It’s a ship; it goes through the Gate, I ... Fine – Puddlejumper, you are clear for launch.

3. From "Rising - Part 2"
Sheppard: I was just wondering where we go from here?
(map pops up)
Ford: So, how do we find them once we land?
Sheppard: I've been thinking about that too...
(life-sense detector device appears)
Sheppard: Now I'm thinking about a nice turkey sandwich...
(looks around, nothing happens)
Ford: Worth a try

4. From "Hide and Seek"
McKay: (looking at mice) You got your eye on anyone?
Beckett: Not really.
McKay: Actually I was talking to the mouse. But now you mention it some of those Athosian women are pretty hot. And we did just save them from the Wraith so we got to trade on that while we can, you know? Before they discover that we're not actually that cool.

5 From "38 Minutes"
Kavanagh: I happily left the SGC because I had had it up to here with the military running things, and you just busted me like a Private.
Weir: Don't be so dramatic. Besides, the Air Force doesn't have Privates.
Kavanagh: Neither do I. You just cut them off. Right in front of my research team.

6. From "Underground"
McKay: I built an atomic bomb for my grade six science fair exhibit.
Ford: They let you do that up in Canada?

7. From " Brotherhood"
McKay: Suddenly I feel so tired.
Allina: You’re a scientist. Are you not used to this by now?
McKay: Ah, but my kind of science is the good kind of science. The kind you can do sitting on a chair or… laying on a couch.

8. From "Letters From Pegasus"
McKay: I once caught mono kissing a girl in Algebra Club. Missed an entire month of school. Still, the kiss was, uh, something, so it was, uh, probably worth it. April Bingham – cute blonde! God – you see, I love blondes, especially with the, uh, the short hair. Mmm. Samantha Carter – if you're watching, the torch is still burning – sadly, soon to be extinguished, but, uh...You know, you should know – I think you are just...so...well, you're great – you're really, really great, and, uh, I would go so far as saying you're the hottest scientist I've ever worked with. In fact, there's probably not a night that goes by that I don't, uh, find myself, uh...okay, Ford, let's, let's lose that.

9. From "The Intruder"
Sheppard: This is what I do when I have problems with my laptop, I turn it off and then I... turn it on again.
Weir: I think this is a little bit more complicated than that.
Sheppard: I'm just saying that if we're taking a page from the John Sheppard book of computer repair, we're really desperate.

10. From "Runner"
Sheppard: It almost smells like I’m on vacation.
McKay: (smearing on sunscreen) Could it be the simulated tropical aroma of cocoa butter?
Sheppard: Strong enough for anyone within five miles to smell you.
McKay: Like they haven’t been tipped off by the Aqua Velva

11. From "Runner"
McKay: So exactly what kind of special training do you guys have to go through to get this sort of mission?
Lorne: 'You guys'?
McKay: Yeah, you know – 'Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines. It’s a great place to start'.
Lorne: And by this mission you mean hunting down a skilled weapons expert hopped up on Wraith drugs, in the pitch black of an alien planet?
McKay: Yes.
Lorne: Actually, I skipped that course in Major School.
McKay: I was afraid of that.
Lorne: I was hoping Lt. Ford would recognize a friendly face and turn himself in.
McKay: You mean me?
Lorne: Well you were friends, weren’t you?
McKay: Oh yeah, when we weren’t out on harrowing missions, we used to hang out together. I’d share my dreams of a self-sustaining fusion, he would talk about how you could sever a man’s torso with a P-90.

12. From "Duet" - one of my favorite episodes. Rodney has a woman's conciousness sharing his brain and when she takes over and sashay's it's just so funny.
McKay: I'm not crazy. I just have another consciousness in my brain.
Sheppard: So he just looks crazy.
McKay: I'm sure I do, but only because Dr. Fumbles-McStupid over here was in way over his head!

13. From "Condemned"
McKay: What are you...oh my God, he's tasting it! You don't know what that is. That could be their laundry!
Ronon: (sampling stew) Very good!
McKay: Oh yes, good idea! And when you're finished with their porridge, why don't we try their beds, hmm?
Ronon: (to Teyla) Want some?
McKay: How good is it?
Sheppard: Leave it be, Goldilocks.

and a bonus one, because this is just such typical McShep interaction....

From "Aurora" This is an awesome episode full of snark
Sheppard: That's her.
McKay: That's the Wraith?
Sheppard: Yeah.
McKay: (in awe) Wow... she's hot... I mean seriously hot.
Sheppard: Rodney, you're drooling over a Wraith.
McKay: I know I disgust myself sometimes.
...and a few minutes later....
Sheppard: There are Wraith ships on the way??
McKay: I’m sure I mentioned that…
Sheppard: No you didn’t.
McKay: Well, it…it threw me when she was so hot

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Holy Cow!

2007-05-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

I haven't been able to log into blogger for 2 weeks. I dont' know why, but it evidently hates me. I'll post my TT tonight incase I can't get back in tomorrow LOL. Sorry for the long dry spell.

Thurdsay 13 Supernatural quotes

2007-04-12T16:19:00.000-07:00

Thirteen quotes from SUPERNATURAL

For those of you who don't watch this show, you should give it a shot. Supernatural is such a well written, well acted show, and is a breath of fresh air among the dozens of crime and medical dramas on out there. If you were a fan of Buffy/Angel/Charmed and are looking for some awesome paranormal entertainment, Supernatural is worth checking out. (plus...2 hot guys...) I thought I'd scrounge up some quotes from the show for this weeks TT since new episodes start up again tonight.

1. From the pilot episode
Sam: Dude, you gotta update your cassette tape collection.
Dean: Why?
Sam: Well for one they are cassette tapes. And two, Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Metallica... its the greatest hits of mullet rock.
Dean: House rules, Sammy, driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cake hole.
Sam: Sammy is a chubby 12 year old. It's Sam okay.
Dean: Sorry cant hear you. The music's too loud.

2. From "Wendigo"
Haley: You're rangers?
Dean: That's right
Haley: And you're hiking out in biker boots and jeans?
Dean: Oh, sweetheart, I don't do shorts

3. From "Dead in the Water"
Andrea: (to Dean) Must be hard, with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pick-up line

4. From "Skin" which, BTW was directed by Robert Duncan McNeill who was Tom Paris in Star Trek Voyager
Dean: I really wish things could be different, you know, I wish you could just be Joe College.
Sam: Nah, that's okay. You know, truth is, even at Stanford, deep down, I never really fit in.
Dean: Well, that's cuz you're a freak.
Sam: Yeah, thanks.
Dean: Well I'm a freak, too. I'm right there with you, all the way.

5. From "Hook Man"
Dean: I told him you were a dumbass pledge and that we were hazing you.
Sam: What about the shotgun?
Dean: I said that you were hunting ghosts and spirits were repelled by rock salt. You know, typical Hell Week prank.
Sam: And he believed you?
Dean: Well you look like a dumbass pledge.

6. From "Hook Man"
(at a frat party)
Dean: Man, you've been holding out on me, this college thing is awesome!
Sam: This wasn't really my experience.
Dean: Let me guess - libraries, studying, straight A's.
(Sam nods)
Dean: What a geek.

7. From "Bugs"
Sam: Well, Dad never treated you like that, you were perfect. He was all over my case. You don't remember?
Dean: Well, maybe he had to raise his voice, but sometimes you were out of line.
Sam: Right! Right, like when I said I'd rather play soccer than learn bow hunting.
Dean: Bow hunting's an important skill!

8. From "Home"
Dean: Listen, Jenny, it's important, Ow!
(Missouri hits him on the back of the head)
Missouri: Give the poor girl a break, can't you see she's upset. (to Jenny) forgive this boy - he means well, he's just not the sharpest tool in the shed.

9. From "Simon Said"
Sam: The demon said he had plans for me, and children like me.
Dean: Ya...?
Sam: Maybe this is the plan. Maybe we’re all a bunch of psychic freaks. Maybe we’re all supposed to be...
Dean: What, killers? (off Sam’s look) Gimme a break. You’re not a murderer, Sam.
Sam: No? Last time I checked, I kill all kinds of things

10. From "The Usual Suspects"
Sam: I needed some time off. To deal. So, I'm taking a road trip with my brother.
Ballard: How's that going for you?
Sam: Great. I mean, we saw the second largest ball of twine in the continental U.S. Awesome.

11. From "The Usual Suspects" Dean is being interogated by the police
Sheridan: Talk directly into the camera, start by stating your name for the record.
Dean: My name is Dean Winchester. I’m an Aquarius, I enjoy sunsets, long walks on the beach, and frisky women.

12. From "Hunted" This one had half a dozen good quotes and it was soooo hard to pick
Sam: These are .223 Caliber, subsonic rounds, the guy must've put a suppressor on the rifle.
Ava: Dude, who are you?
Sam: I ah...I just I...I just watch a lot of TJ Hooker.

12: From "Hunted"
Dean: What’s the point of saving the world if you can’t get a little nookie once in a while, huh?

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Thursday 13 #4

2007-04-11T14:56:00.000-07:00

Thirteen cool things about AppleTV

My brother sent me the new AppleTV for my birthday and though I need to get a new airport card, I was just so excited I thought I'd do my TT on how awesome this new toy is.

1. It has the the potential to radically increase my couch potato skills...300 movies, a bunch of TV show seasons all available without having to do more than push a button...wait this one might not be good

2. no more getting up to hunt for a movie on the DVD shelf, just push the buttong and scroll through the menu. Sometimes it takes me ages to find a movie, only to find it under the couch or up in the kids room...or DH leant it to someone at work and forgot to get it back.

3. It's shiny and purty and new

4. The remote is tiny and doesn't have a million buttons

5. The itunes store has shows I love but can't get the newest episodes of. Example Stargate Atlantis season 3 only airs on a movie channel up here in canada that I've ever seen and it would cost way too much money to get the movie package on our satelite just for one show so DH says no way

6. it's wireless, so I don't have cables running all over the place that the bunny can chew or the kids can trip on

7. I can actually say I'm using th HDMI input on the TV which DH didn't think was worth paying extra for...HA!

8. Storing movies on a hard drive takes up WAY less space than 300 DVDs

9. It's a new toy...I love new toys and apple makes the coolest toys around

10. It's super easy to have a movie marathon and not have to get off the couch to switch movies.

11. by storing the kids movies on the computer, I don't have to get upset when they've totally scratched the disk...or snapped it *sigh*

12. it was an excuse to rip all our movies, and now I can put them on the ipod for the kids to watch on car trips...oh wait...no way I'm letting them touch my ipod...

13. someday itunes will have episodes of shows like Star Trek Voyager which, hopefully will be cheaper than buying the DVDs for 140 bucks a season...and I'll still be able to watch them on the TV without burning a bunch of DVD-Rs...which is good since i don't have a DVD burner in this puter.

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Past Lies by Kim Rees

2007-04-10T07:20:00.000-07:00

The lies were no protection. Not anymore…

Anna Shrewsbury is trapped.

The whims of her sister control her life. She wants to be free…and she thought her brother-in-law had helped her find freedom with his last act. But instead, she seems to be the butt of one of his infamous jokes.

She now has a half share in a company she doesn’t want, while her childhood home and her promised sanctuary is bequeathed to a man who hates her. And then there’s the deal. She has to live a week with him. A whole week with Zachary Quinn.

For six years, a shield of lies has protected Anna. But in beginning a new life, she must break away from those lies. Be prepared to face Zach’s fury. And his passion…

Check out this new release, at samhain publishing

http://www.mybookstoreandmore.com/product_info.php?products_id=485

Catching up

2007-04-08T08:05:00.000-07:00

Whew! Its been a nutty few weeks. We ran out of water and decided we weren't going to keep doing the cistern thing so we hunted around for quotes to get someone to hook us up to town water...turns out it's way cheaper to do it ourselves, and not as hard as we thought. So we rented a little back-ho and dug the trench (and two of our neighbors as well) and hopefully we'll have lovely, clean non-dead-mousy-water. (Yep, we found dead mice floating in the cistern which is what prompted this whole fiasco. Gross gross gross.)

I've also joined two new group blogs. Paranormal romance, and Fantasy. I'll put the links in the side bar. There are some awesome authors at these blogs, so I'm really excited to be a part of them. Also, the Daughters of Circe blog is up and running, I've updated the Daughters website with some beautiful new covers and new sales, and some other stuff. There will be a new contest running in the next few days.

Other than that, I've been aching to try out my new AppleTV. I just have to wait on the new base station for wireless networking then I can veg and not have to move for days. (until Aline comes down from the frozen north to whap me with a fish) I've been renting the season one disks of Supernatural (LOVE LOVE LOVE that show! Definately one of the coolest, most original shows on TV that deserves WAY more attention than it is getting) The hubby has cut off my spending on TV box sets until I get writing more, but I just couldn't wait to see season one. If you haven't seen this show, definately check it out. New episodes start airing on April 19th, unfortunately at the same time as CSI and Grey's Anatomy...but you can usually catch it other nights of the week too (especially in Canada hehehe)

K, back to writing...Happy Easter

Thursday 13 #3

2007-03-28T12:59:00.000-07:00

Thirteen reasons why sci-fi heros shouldn't flirt with/kiss/sleep with every hot alien chick they meet

This week’s 13 is inspired by a recent web-surfing find—a discussion of the pros and cons of “Kirking.” For those who don’t know (cause I didn’t until a few weeks ago) Kirking is when the hero of a show (usually sci-fi) hits on every hot alien bimbo he meets (Ala Captain Kirk of the original Star Trek Series)

1. You could get pregnant (Commander Charles “Trip” Tucker in “Unexpected” S1 Star Trek Enterprise)

2. You could get an alien virus that shortens your lifespan to a week (Col. Jack O’Neill, “Brief Candle” S1 – Stargate SG-1)

3. You could become addicted to alien devices and end up going crazy from withdrawl (Dr. Daniel Jackson “Need” S2 – Stargate SG-1)

4. You could get set up and accused of murdering the chick’s husband (Lt. Tom Paris “Ex Post Facto” S1 Star Trek Voyager)

5. You could end up getting linked to a mini-borg collective (Com. Chakotay “Unity” S3 Star Trek Voyager)

6. You could end up running for your life because the woman plans to kill/eat you (Ensign Harry Kim “Favorite Son” S3 Star Trek Voyager)

7. You could find out she’s got a reputation as “The Destroyer of Worlds” (Dr. Daniel Jackson “Past and Present” S3 Stargate SG-1)

8. You could end up getting being attacked by a Ferengi who is convinced the chick stole from him, and given the item to you (Captain Jean-Luc Picard “Captain’s Holiday” S3 Star Trek: The Next Generation)

9. She could be a goa’uld host, out to steal your naquadriah so she can set herself up as a major power in the galaxy (Jonas Quinn “Fallout” S7 Stargate SG-1)

10. She could get you hooked on a game that brainwashes you into hooking all your crewmates as well, till you’re all following orders from an unknown enemy who wants control of your ship. (Commander William Riker “The Game” S5 Star Trek The Next Generation)

11. She could end up being a hallucination that brainwashes you into flying yourself into a star (Lt. Tom Paris “Alice” S6 Star Trek Voyager)

12. She could sabotage your spaceship so you blow up at the end of a huge, inter-planetary race intended to bring peace to the sector, thereby returning the inhabitants to war. (Ensign Harry Kim “Drive” 7 Star Trek Voyager)

13. She could use your DNA to create a bunch of snakes, and turn your friends into her personal slave army (Dr. Daniel Jackson “Hathor” S1 Stargate SG-1)

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

13 Things I did to avoid writing this week

2007-03-22T11:34:00.000-07:00

Thirteen things I did to avoid writing this week

1. Watched lots and lots of Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis

2. Made 2 quilt tops

3. Baked cookies

4. Sorted my underwear drawer

5. Read a bunch of fanfiction

6. Research

7. Made a wishlist of camping gear I'd love to get my hands on

8. Planned a summers worth of camping trips

9. Organized a few boxes worth of cookbooks

10. Played Mario Sunshine with the kids

11. Cleaned! You know I'm desperate when I clean

12. Stared out the window while drinking tea....now, technically I could say I was plotting, but in actuallity I was mostly just staring into space

13. Attended a promo chat with the other Daughters of Circe...so I guess the week wasn't a total write off

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!

(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Congrats to Bianca D'Arc!

2007-03-11T06:27:00.000-07:00

Bianca won an Eppie for her book The Ice Dragon in the category Best Erotic Romance Fantasy/Paranormal. The Ice Dragon is book 3 in the Dragon Knights series. To see more of her work, check out he website www.Biancadarc.com

In other news....well, I have no other news. We've got some awesome weather for March Break. The sun is out, the snow is melting and I actually have a craving to go snowboarding. When we were in highschool, spring boarding was always my favorite. I haven't been to a ski hill in about 8 years though so I imagine I'd just fall on my arse a bunch of times.

Season 2 of Stargate Atlantis came out on DVD last week. DH promised me I could get it for my birthday but thats a few weeks away and I'm not known for being patient. *sigh* I guess I can hold out. *fingers twitching*

Anyway, I think I've gotten over my burn out, and I'm back to writing. Now to make up for 2 months of slacking!

Oh the wonderful world of Figure Skating!

2007-03-10T11:57:00.000-08:00

So DD's skating competition was today. What a chaotic, stressful day. Started out with freezing rain and a sleepless night where I kept worrying about how I'd deal with DD if/when she lost. See she hasn't been too good about practicing (Ok, so she mostly has been poking around giving me dirty looks and crying cause she's cold) We get up, get out the door and head to the arena which is TINY. 3 skating clubs were crammed into the smallest dressing room I've ever seen in an arena. No way they could fit a whole hockey team in there.

Anyway, DD did well. She got gold in her team elements event, and silver for her solo. Somehow she managed to pull off all the tricks she was only half-assing all year long. Now I just have to deal with her dancing around singing "I'm the best skater ever!" I dread the thought of how much she'll shirk practice next year after this, but she is only 6.

13 fiction universes I'd love to live in

2007-03-07T16:52:00.000-08:00

Thirteen fictional universes I'd like to live in

1…. Star Wars. I've wanted to be a Jedi all my life!

2. Dark Hunters - lots of hot guys kicking butt? I'd be happy there.

3. Valdemar - I grew up with Mercedes Lackey's Valdemar stories and always wanted to be a Herald.

4. Stargate - Ok, so I know the whole military thing wouldn't work for me...I'm not good at following orders without snarky back talk, but still so much to explore.

5. Celta - I think that's the planet name in Robin D. Owens's Heart series. I love the concept of flair.

6. Charmed. Ok, so I wanna be a kick ass witch. Who doesn't?

7. Harry Potter - Riding a broomstick, battling ultimate evil and tending to magical creatures...that's cool, but what does it for me is the robes and the wand. Wands are cool.

8. Star Trek - K, I wanna be an "ensign expendable" over and over again. Just cause.

9. Shrek - Wouldn't it be cool to hang with Gingie, the 3 blind mice and donkey?

10. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World - living in a tree house, fighting dinos and other cool enemies with a few hot guys? Why not? The tree house would be awesome.

11. Etheria (I think that's the name) When I was a kid I was soooooo She-ra! Princess of Power, yep, that was me.

12. Gail Dayton's Rose World (LUNA) - cause it might be interestng to try the whole polygamy thing.

13. Pirates - who wouldn't want to sail away with Johnny Depp and Orlando Bloom?

Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. http://its-a-raggedy-life.blogspot.com/
2. http://everythingshouldbefun.blogspot.com/
3. http://opinionminions.blogspot.com
4. http://annedouglas.blogspot.com/
http://caylynn.blogspot.com/
(leave your link in comments, I’ll add you here!)

Ok, I'm lazy

2007-03-06T16:33:00.000-08:00

Yep, it's been a while since I've posted. Have you ever gone through a period where you just can't stand the thought of sitting at the computer? That's what I've been feeling the last few months. Needless to say, I have hardly written anything, I've not promoted the books I've already got out and I'm WAY behind on reading emails.

So what have I been doing? Well, I've been reading my Kevin Callan books, and itching to get out camping. I've been making quilts and curtains for the trailer, and I've booked a site for one camping trip. The kids are riled about camping and have already started setting aside the toys they want to take with them. I want to pull the Boler out of it's winter resting spot and go through all my camping gear. Too bad there's several feet of snow, it's well below -20 out and camping is a few months away yet.

Other than that, I've been watching Stargate. Yep, I know. Not exactly productive, but what can I say? I have a few years (like 10) of episodes to catch up on.

I promise to try and post more often, and lord help me, if I have to staple my butt to the chair, I'll pick up the pace on the writing front.

Paranormal Romance feature

2007-02-17T16:58:00.000-08:00

Moving Atlantis has been featured at PNR along with several other books with a mythological bent. Other authors being spotlighted include P. C. Cast, Gena Showalter and Sherrilyn Kenyon! How awesome is that?

http://paranormalromance.org/NewFeature.htm

Top 10 Cartoons from my childhood

2007-01-28T06:24:00.000-08:00

I just watched the Top 10 alien species countdown and got to thinking...what could I do for a top 10? Finally I settled on cartoons since the kids are watching one of my old faves. So here they are, in no particular order. (oh and I went a little over the 10...)

1. Smurfs
2. Inspector Gadet
3. She Ra and He Man
4. The Tick
5. Bugs Bunny and Road Runner Show
6. Thunder Cats
7. X-Men
8. The Amazing Cities of Gold
9. Animaniacs
10. Scooby Doo
11. Ghostbusters
12. Fraggle Rock
13. The Raccoons
14. Tom and Jerry
15: Ewoks

Some of the coolest cartoons that are on now
1. Class of the Titans
2. Skyland
3. 6Teen
4. Backyardigans
5. The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy

2007....off to a slow start

2007-01-26T10:04:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I'm puttering along on my 2007 WIPS. I thought I'd be doing better than this, but yikes. not good.

These are the WIPS I'd hoped to do this year:

Enemy of Crown (18K done)
Healer'sCurse (12K done)
Summer Storm (8K done)
The Forgotten Heir (18K done)
The Black Star Conspiracy
Descendants of War
Enemy 2
The Last Bridge Burned
Famous Last Words
Flair
Under the Blood Moon
Banner of the Black Star
The Last Performance
7th Symbol
7 Days to Darkness
unnamed sci-fi novella
Oakcroft Chronicles 2375 (unnamed) 1-4

yeah, I know...way too much...Thats 9 novels, 8 Novellas and a couple short stories. Excuse me while I go laugh at myself until I puke...ok...LOL better now.

80's Theme Song

2007-01-21T15:14:00.000-08:00

Your 80s Theme Song Is:

Every Rose Has Its Thorn by Poison

What's Your 80s Theme Song?

7 degrees of complete exhaustion

2007-01-21T06:08:00.000-08:00

The human body is an amazing thing. You think you can't be more tired, but then after a while you get used to that level and it seems like normal to you. Then the kids get sick and you move to the next level and wait for that to feel normal. I'm guessing that after a while you cease to be human and turn into some sort of drooling, crusty eyed freak whose hands are shaking so bad they won't hold a cup of coffee without it sploshing all over the place.

This can have one of two possible effects on my writing. 1) I can end up staring at the monitor while the drool dribbles onto the keyboard, or 2) my internal editor shuts down and I can write tons without that nasty voice saying "you suck." The second scenario is great when I have to write love scenes because there isn't anyone in my head saying "oh, don't write that, what if mum read it?"

Then again, it could be that what I write in that state is a pile of crap and I'm just too tired to know it. At this point, I think I'll just crawl back into bed and pray for fifteen minutes of sleep.

Preditor's and Editors Poll is up!

2007-01-11T08:29:00.000-08:00

there are just a few more days to vote for your favorite book, publisher, cover art, artist etc etc etc.

Moving Atlantis has been nominated in the cover art category. I'm not going to beg and plead for votes, but if you're interested in checking it out...here's the link:

http://www.critters.org/predpoll/bookart.shtml

BLOG TAG: Favorite TV series and episodes

2007-01-06T15:12:00.000-08:00

Ok, so the question is....what are your 3 favorite TV series that you would like to get on DVD and your top episodes from each series.

1 - CHARMED
> Something Wicked This Way Comes - the series opener.
> The Good the Bad and the Cursed - this is the episode when Prue and Cole have to go to a ghost town that's stuck in a time loop.
>The Courtship of Wyatt's Father - this is the episode where Chris is desperate to get Piper and Leo back together so he can be conceived.
> Witchstock - this is the episode where Paige goes back in time to the night their grandfather was killed and has to keep Grams from remaining a pacifist.
> Forever Charmed - the series finale was sooo good. It was good to see all the cast appear...from older Chris and Wyatt to grams and Patty and Vince.

2 - STAR TREK VOYAGER
> Caretaker - the 2 part series opener...I love how charmingly petulant Tom Paris is in this episode
> Investigations - the episode where Tom leaves the ship and Neelix flushes out a traitor.
> Blood Fever - Vorick starts the Pon Far and ends up transfering his mating needs onto Torres who gets real pissy hehehe
> Scorpion - 2 parter where 7 of 9 joines the crew
> Year of Hell - 2 parter - lots of time stuff....and the father from That 70's Show is on it
> The Killing Game - A WW2 holodeck program puts the crew in danger when aliens take over
> 30 Days - Paris is confined to the brig for disobeying orders
> 11:59 - Janeway learns the truth about an ancestor who has always been her inspiration
> Shattered - my favorite all time episode....Voyager is split into a bunch of times and Chakotay must rally allies from the past and the future

3 - CSI: CRIME SCENE INVESTIGATION
> Fannysmackin' - the episode where Greg gets beat up was soooo good...not that I want Greg getting beat up, but it had me on the edge of my seat the whole time.
> Grave Danger - the episode where Nick get's buried in the glass coffin...
> Pirates of the Third Reich - this is the one with Lady Heather's daughter...and the weird guy who tortures people and does experiments on them in the desert. VERY CREEPY
> Living Legend - the episode where the vegas legend comes back and kills his enemies and we get to see a young Willows

I'll be tagging Kim Rees, so follow the link on the side bar to see her answers sometime on the 8th

Is this January or May?

2007-01-06T06:31:00.000-08:00

It's now the 6th of January and there isn't a snow flake in sight. What's up with that? it's raining here...the driveway is a huge mud puddle, I swear my bulbs are going to start to pop up and I know some of the shrubs are budding with lovely little green leaves.

The scary thing is, what happens if, say next week, it finally decides "oh yeah....it's winter..." and all these trees that think it's spring suddenly lose their new little buds? I mean, that can't be good for them right? *sigh* all my perennials that I've tried so hard not to kill. Well, at least I'll be able to say it wasn't my black thumb of death that did them in this time.

On the writing front I've done SFA. So much for the new years resolution to write every day huh? I also broke down and had a can of coke...*sigh* I'm so weak. In my defense we were out of milk and water leaving only grape juice which I HATE. Grape juice is so gross. I guess I could have had a beer...forgot we had that.

A look back at 2006

2007-01-01T06:44:00.000-08:00

Well, it's officially over, except for the hang over and the mess. Ah, who am I kidding, my house is always a mess. But the point is, 2006 has ended and it's time to take a quick look over the year before moving on to 2007.

Obviously, the first thing that comes to mind is that my first book was published in 2006, so it will always be a memorable year for me in that respect. Two other releases, including one in print followed, not bad for the first year.

This year also saw the destruction of my laptop, the end of my ipod and a few other small personal disasters. On the larger scale, I lost my maternal grandparents (Grampa in September to heart failure and Gran just two days before christmas to cancer)

All in all, it's been an up and down year, which is pretty normal I guess.

So for 2007...my resolutions are:
no more coke...(the cola I mean...not the white powdery crap)
write more and submit at least 12 things
go camping more often and get out in the canoe a lot
cut back on the sugar and junk
pay off some debts and get the finances under control!

Here's hoping for a good year for everyone in 2007

Christmas is sneaky

2006-12-17T11:02:00.000-08:00

How does it always creep up on me like this? Ack! I'm so not ready! I have presents to buy, meals to plan and trips to prepare for...and there's no time left. *sigh*

Reminder tonight is the Survivor Cook Islands finale and tomorrow is the chat at Realms of Love. Remember you need to register as a member to get into the chat (I think). Should be fun though. We'll be giving away free books, so come play.

Last Prophecy is a Recommended Read!

2006-12-15T06:09:00.000-08:00

Yesterday I saw that Last Prophecy had been given a RR...Recommended Read at Rites of Romance Reviews. Here's a snippit about what Reviewer Adra Steia had to say:

"This is a funny, sweet, creepy novella that shouldn't be missed!"

To see the whole review, go here: http://www.ror-reviews.com/lastprophecy.html

In Survivor news...we're down to the final episode! I always get so excited and so depressed at this point. This means February until the next season..if they do another season. I guess we'll find out on sunday.

So about last night's episode....well, I thought someone should tell Parvati and Adam that when you're down 2:4, it's not likely that you'll get one person to flip...what good would it do them? Forcing a tie that, if your side lost, makes them a bad guy. Nope, Ozzy wouldn't been an idiot to flip. That being said, I hope he does make it to final 2. If anyone out there deserves to win, he does. He's played a low key game as far as strategy goes....weighing in with opinions when needed, but for the most part, letting Yul be the leader and usually, as we all know, the leaders take the flack with the jury. Yes all of them voted that way, but with Yul as the apparent leader, he's the one who they'll be pissed at. I guess Yul has this last chance to play the idol next week so we'll see how that goes. At least the idol came into play in some way this season.

The naked hot tub bit was cool. LOL It's always funny to see how the survivors react to alchol after not eating much for a month...that and coffee.

Best part of the episode? When Becky and Sundra came to the realization that Ozzy was a huge threat. Um DUH! if you're just figuring that out now, you so don't deserve to win. Maybe this turn of heart was sparked by jealousy over not winning the challenge...but honestly, if they didn't notice how Ozzy dominates these women need glasses or something.

Wedding Wars

2006-12-12T07:10:00.000-08:00

I have been watching the previews for this on A&E for well over a month now, so I just had to watch it. Boy am I glad I did. What a clever, funny, heart warming story! The issue of same sex marriage is one that's very dear to me, so I knew I'd enjoy it, but I had no idea how much. I'm generally not a huge fan of made for TV movies...I just gotta say, the writer on this one deserves a huge ovation. the characterization, the dialogue, the storyline...wow. It also had a great cast.

If you missed it last night, there is an encore this saturday at 10 (I think it's at 10) Definately check it out.

k, for someone who writes, that review was really pathetic LOL but I was up really late, then got woken early by the kiddies so my brain feels a little melted.

Maybe I shouldn't do any editing or new writing today. LOL I fear for the quality if I do.

Finally! A review for Moving Atlantis!

2006-12-10T15:21:00.000-08:00

Moving Atlantis has been out for 3 weeks or so now, and I have been nervously awaiting the reviews. I know Enchanted Ramblings has done one, but it's not on the website yet. Yesterday I found a review for it on Once Upon a Romance. Janet, the reviewer, calls it "refreshingly different" so that's pretty cool. To read the full review, click here:

http://www.onceuponaromance.net/MovingAtlantisReview.htm

Join us for a chat at Realms of Love

2006-12-08T06:05:00.000-08:00

Join myself, Aline de Chevigny, Kim Rees and Michelle Hasker for a live chat at Realms of Love - December 18th at 9pm

We'll be discussing our latest books and giving away goodies. I'll be giving away a download of Moving Atlantis.

http://www.realmsoflove.com/

Survivor ranting

2006-12-08T05:48:00.000-08:00

STOOOOOOOOPID! Sorry, but I just think it was dumb to vote out Jonathan. Personally, I could live with someone I didn't like for a few more days, but Adam has a chance to win challenges so they should have kicked him out. And did you see Adam's face when he only got one vote? Good lord, you'd think the guy just won the million. I'm hoping that Ozzie doesn't flip, cause I really don't want Adam or Parvati to make it to the end. They so don't deserve it. Ok, if your strategy is to be lazy and charm the others into carrying you, fine...but that so wouldn't wash with me. Neither of them has done much in the way of playing the game, no plotting, no planning. At least the others have worked the out play, out wit thing.

Personally, I can't see the problem with Jonathan. He did what he had to do to stay in the game and I think that, if put in the same place, any of the Raro people would have done the same. I wanted to slap Adam for saying Jonathan is responsible for voting out all the people on the jury...WHAT? Um, hello! Wasn't it your idea to vote out Brad? Wasn't it your idea to vote out Jennie and that other chick? Duh. Jonathan went along with YOUR plan, dumbass. Nice try at deflecting the blame though. I doubt any of them fell for it, but nice try.

The reward challenge was cool. I almost wish that they hadn't brought home food, cause it would have made things interesting if the hiding food thing had happened. It would have meant less chance of Ozzy being tempted to switch over to Adam and Parvati's side. I really hope that doesn't happen. *sigh*

Criminalists in training

2006-12-06T06:21:00.000-08:00

In preparing for a new series I'm planning, I've been watching a ton of CSI reruns which has totally annoyed my kids. Usually they groan and complain when I changed the channel but the other night they decided to imitate what I was watching.

My 5 year old daughter was the CSI. She took a pair of plastic tweezers from her fisher price doctor kit and collected evidence (mostly her socks, a wrapper from a rice crispie square, and other bits. Then she took them to the "lab" where my 2 year old son would analyze them for blood spatter, while he ran finger prints on their ibook. They also ran DNA tests using plastic cups and the syringe thingie that came with the doctor kit.

I'm totally into encouraging creativity so I went looking for toy CSI kits...well I found some but they were for ages 10 and up. After thinking for a minute I realized I could probably make them each one with stuff from the dollar store and makeup section of Zellars. So here's my plan:

small metal make up cases
q-tips
pimple pads for GSR testing
flashlight
pressed powder brushes for dusting for prints
magnifying glass
note pads
rubber gloves
camera
little squirt bottles

The oldest wants a microscope but those all say ages 8 and up so I don't know if I'll go that far. We'll have to see what we can find.

Reviews

2006-12-05T10:13:00.000-08:00

I've been googling my name just to see if anything new pops up and I found a new review for Last Prophecy from Romance Reviews Today. Here's what they had to say:

Great suspense, terrific characterization and a charming romance, this first person short story is an absolute winner!

*squeeee!*

K, now that I've gotten that out of the way....I'll go back to plotting christmas shopping.

Flaming bags of popcorn

2006-12-04T13:33:00.000-08:00

I know it shouldn't be possible, but yes, I did indeed ignite a bag of microwave popcorn yesterday and the house still stinks. See, it was one of those little packages, single serving size. Normally I'd stand there and watch it, after simply pushing the popcorn button, but I looked on the directions and it said 3 minutes. So I put it on and went to put on Ice Age 2 for the kids...yes I should have watched it...but Mr. reddibacher has never steered me wrong in the past. Well the kitchen was so thick with smoke I couldn't see, my eyes burned for hours and the inside of the microwave was black with soot. Inside the bag was a glob of blackened goo which nobody could have mistaken for popcorn.

I think I'll stick with the normal size bags from now on. At least I know the popcorn button cooks them perfectly every time.

It's that time of year again...

2006-12-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

With the snow we've been getting, it's hard to deny that Christmas is on it's way. How does it happen that I manage to leave presents to the last minute every year? I have the greatest intentions to get all the shopping done by October and every time I find myself braving the shops mid December in a panic. Of course it could be that we never have any money so buying presents isn't usually possible until it's cruch time. I'd hoped to be able to put all my writing income for christmas but things came up...like bills...stupid bills. On the other hand, there wasn't much income to put away. Sad. Hopefully this year will be better now that I've gotten my feet wet.

The other thing the snow makes me think of is new years and those resolutions that I never seem to be able to keep. Keep the house clean *snort*, take the dogs for more walks *eep*, write every day *oops*, stop eating so much junk *sob*. Why do I torture myself? I mean, who can vow to do that for a whole year? It's just not feasible.

Well I'm off to bake, clean and walk the dogs....at least if I'm going to clean I should be able to eat the junk...and walking the dogs makes the extra calories sort of disappear...it's all good.

Survivor and laptop demise

2006-12-01T09:19:00.000-08:00

Ok, first I'm going to rant...it's better than crying.

Last night on suvivor things got beautifully nasty. That was the survivor we've all missed! With half the people calling Jonathan a "Filthy rat" and the other half being bombarded with pleas, it was a good episode. All I can say is THANK GOD Candice is gone! Her and Adam kissing was just getting gross. I mean, these people haven't bathed in a month....ewwwww! And what was with the big slobbery smooch when she left? Say what you want about Amber and Rob, but at least they weren't acting like horny teenagers on the show. Yuck. Jeff made a good point though....if it was love, he'd have given her immunity. I hope Adam goes next.

As for Jonathan....I felt bad for the guy. It's a game, and he saw a chance to make a good play. Really, given the circumstances, it was the only play he could make. Anything else and he'd have been voted off. I wanted to slap Adam, Candice and Parvati for just laying around in the hut while the others worked....I so would have refused to feed them too. Good move to Aitu. You can't be down in numbers and be lazy...even if you're up in numbers...being lazy is one sure way to not get any votes from the jury....at least act like you give a damn about being in the game.

Ok...so rant over....now I'm going to get weepy. My ibook bit the big one last night. A few months ago, the 2 year old dropped it..pulled it off the desk. I finally got a new power cord for it (Thanks Jeremy!) and after about 1 hour of use, the monitor died. Apparently it broke in the fall, and it was only a matter of time. So I mounted it as an external hard drive to the emac and got all my files, pics and music off it. At least I didn't lose two years worth of work, not to mention all the baby pics of the 2 year old responsible for all this depression.

I'd planned a massively unrealistic schedule for 2007, writing wise, based on having the laptop but now without it, it's gone from unrealistic to pretty much impossible. I need to get my sales up so I can buy a new one!

And just because my day wasn't enough in the crapper, the ceiling is leaking.

Moving Atlantis is now available!

2006-11-26T15:49:00.000-08:00

Yeah, I know...I'm a bit behind on the announcement. It's been a week of sick kids, ER visits and cleaning. We had a wedding to attend yesterday and today the inlaws came for a visit. So, yes I'm five days late in announcing that Moving Atlantis is now available at Samhain publishing.

www.samhainpublishing.com

Now, I'm the first person to admit that I suck at promoting. I dislike dropping excerpts at 100 different yahoo groups because I feel it's not fair to do that if you don't participate in conversations on those groups. If I could keep up with all those conversations I'd been glued to the computer 24/7 and would never get any actual writing done...not to mention my kids would starve.

On the other hand, if I don't get my butt in gear and start promoting myself, I'll have to start looking for a job when the youngest heads to school. *eep*

Accepted!

2006-11-20T08:08:00.000-08:00

Has anyone seen the movie "Accepted"? I've watched it about 20 times this week (yeah yeah..should be writing...) and I can't get enough of it. Justin Long is so funny. We've also rented Divinci Code but I haven't watched it yet. Anyone else seen any good movies lately? Lately my movie selections have consisted of Barbie, Shrek and Cars.

Nano progress...um..yeah well maybe we shouldn't talk about that. It'll only depress me. Things started slow, got really good then went Pttthhhht! On the other hand, Raewyn's story is much better this time around and Seth is a stronger character I think. Now if I could just stop writing out scenes for this OTHER story that won't leave me alone, I could get back to my nano.

Double Whammy

2006-11-17T11:25:00.000-08:00

Another awesome survivor episode...things are getting good after a half dozen episodes that almost put me to sleep. Aitu rocks. I was so worried aftert they won the reward challenge that they would get all cocky then lose immunity, but nope. They had a great time at their reward and came back even more a family. then they whipped Raro's butt in immunity. I am not ashamed to admit that I cackled with evil glee when they won.

Jonathan's still hanging around, providing fish seems to be saving him from the vote though it could also be that he's now not much of a threat. Even if all the Aitu members are on the jury, he's going to have a hard time winning. Basically, he's a free vote that they are holding on to.

Jeff always says there may never be a merge...and wouldn't that be something? This has been a good season for twists, no merge would be a biggie.

I gotta say when Parvati read the note from the bottle, I laughed so hard. Mwahahahaha! 2 voted off! If only someone had decided to pick off candice or Adam cause I really don't want to watch two sweaty, dirty people making out. *gag* didn't we get enough of that crap with Rob and Amber? And didn't anyone learn anything from that season? You do NOT let a couple form up...vote them out and let them play back at the hotel so nobody at home has to watch.

Anyway, I'm back in the Yay survivor mode. For the last few weeks I've been more excited about watching Shark and CSI (all three) than watching survivor...which is saying something since for 3 years Surivor has been the only show I actually got excited to watch. Shark is amazing. If you haven't seen it, you should definately check it out.

Off to get some writing done...hopefully.

Caffine please!

2006-11-12T05:29:00.000-08:00

After writing SFA for three days, I'm feeling decidedly depressed. Nano is slipping away from me yet again this year. The same thing happened to me last year. I ended up getting antsy to finish other projects and but felt like I had to do nano...thereby getting nothing done on anything. I do have way too many projects on the go (again) The sequel to Dragon's Birth, and a second short for WCP should be topping the list. Instead, I'm surfing the net for pictures, daydreaming and thinking about baking cookies. *sigh* I should duct tape my butt to the chair, but then what would I do when the kids wanted snacks or the dogs needed to go out?

Back to staring at the screen...

Mutiny!

2006-11-10T06:59:00.000-08:00

Yeah! Thats what survivor is all about. So let's break it down...Candace decided to mutiny when she was part of a very strong 5 person alliance that could have gotten her to the end...she's strong and would have done well in individual immunity so she had a good chance to win...so why did she switch over? Cause she's got the hots for Adam. Wow. the guy must have something beyond a nice body. Now Jonathan...well he switched because he believes the 4 person white alliance is still a go. Not likely. The funny thing is, everyone was terrified that at a merge, the white people would have the numbers and would be unbeatable. Then all of a sudden they were concerned that Brad would switch over and join Yul and Becky at a merge? What about Jenny? Does nobody worry about her switching over?

I can see the fact that Jonathan is basically done so why vote him off right away. It makes sense because Aitu isn't happy with him (Or Candace for that matter) so he can't go back to them at a merge. The problem is, Jonathan is one of those players who is good at manipulating people. They've just given him time to shmooze his way in, to stir things up. He knows he's on the chopping block so he has nothing to loose. If I was Jonathan, I'd be stirring every pot I could and if he's smart enough, he could totally mess up that tribe.

Anyway, what's important to remember is that AITU KICKED ASS! Holy cow! There's nothing like being turned on to cement your alliance and make you work extra hard. way to go.

Back to writing. Nano word count is 15205.

a milestone....even if it is a small one

2006-11-07T13:36:00.000-08:00

Last year I only made it to 13,300 words on Nano. I've passed that today so at least I'm doing better than last year. I can't remember how long I went until I stopped my nano project and started polishing Dragon's Birth for submission. It doesn't matter I guess.

Current word count is14676.

Beginnings is available for pre-order at Amazon!

2006-11-06T14:47:00.000-08:00

Ok, so my name isn't listed in the author search part, they only put 3 out of the 6 authors in the book, but the important part to remember is that I have a book coming out in PRINT!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1599982803/ref=wl_it_dp/002-1699097-7621614?ie=UTF8&coliid=I1FKWTSAHXOARC&colid=1K4SCTO7CDG34

Now I'll be dancing around all night and won't get any writing done...oh well, I'm on top of my nano goals so it's all good. I need a celebratory beer!

Thank you Treehouse!

2006-11-05T15:53:00.000-08:00

I've been behind on my nano word count and then bang! Tonight Treehouse played back to back episodes of my kids favorite show. they havent' moved or bugged for food. It's like the TV people were taking pity on me or something!

Thank you Toopy and Binoo.

Nano count up to this point.... 8027 - aiming for 10K by tonight

Survivor episode 7

2006-11-03T05:20:00.000-08:00

survivor was actually pretty good last night. There was some good tension and some last minute scrambling that didnt work but still...there was scrambling.

First off, Nate being in the other camp - usually that means the merge is coming real soon. If they give you a reason to find out more about the other tribe it's so you can use it to your advantage. They didn't really show Nate learning anything important except that Flicka was on the outside...but since she got voted out it's sort of a moot point. At the reward challenge, Brad chose to do the puzzle. Bad move? In hind sight, yes, but if you think back that tribe has always done well in the physical aspects than screwed the whole thing up on the puzzle part. Then again that was when they had 4 big strong guys, With Nate on the other tribe and JP voted out, that left Adam to do all the hard work....still, it was a strategy that could have worked if Nate hadn't been on the other tribe. I also get the feeling Brad doesn't like his tribe. I bet he's really looking for a merge but I don't know if it'll do him any good. The other tribe is pretty tight (that alliance SOOOOO bugs me. does nobody else see that Becky and Jonathan are shifty looking? And Candace is a good competator, almost as strong as Ozzy in a lot of ways...If they get rid of Ozzy she'll be tough to beat I think.)

Immunity Challenge - Nice butt shot on nate there huh? I bet that's something he'll be proud to see on TV...mind you others were flashing their boobs so no biggie right?

I was really sorry to see Flicka go. Voting someone off because they are annoying is so stupid in this game. They all agree she's nice and not much for alliances etc...she was no threat (well, maybe a bit of a physical threat) You'd think that at this point, good strategy would be to get rid of the people that are a physical and/or strategic threat. Jonathan would have been a better choice I think. In this game if you latch onto a good strategic player, you can go all the way to the end, but the problem is...how do you know you are the ONE he really intends to take? You don't. People like that have made promises to everyone and only he/she knows who they really feel loyal too...then they might decide you're more of a liability and turn on you. The very blatent strategic players are WAY more dangerous than the physically tough ones. Look at Terry in last season, he never lost a challenge but he still didn't win.

Anyway, things are starting to get interesting...finally.

Halloween, Nano and other bits

2006-11-02T04:50:00.000-08:00

first of all, Halloween was great. We actually had a fairly mild night (with no freezing rain for a change!) so the kids didn't have to wear snow suits under their costumes. I took the kids around the neighborhood while DH handed out loot at home. Last year we had kids hitting us before it was even dark. I hadn't had anything set up and was trying to get our kids dressed...this year I got everything ready nice and early and *tumbleweeds* nothing. It was like our street was a no-trick-or-treating-zone. Last year we almost had to hand out cans of tuna and OXO cubes this year we had so much left over we could have not bothered going out with the kids. Of the kids we did have come to the door, a lot were teenagers and one, dressed as a hippie, was actually smoking a cigarette. there comes a point where you have to accept that you're too old to dress up for halloween.

Nano...*sigh* yeah, that's not going so well. I managed to write about 1000 words yesterday, not even close to the recommended 2500/day they suggest for the first week. Oh well, today is a new day right? I did write some by hand last night at the skating rink so I'll put that in this morning and carry on.

survivor is on tonight and I can barely make myself care. Is it just me or is this season insanely boring? It started out well, the whole race issue promised lots of controversy etc, but so far, nothing. I think they are eating too much. The whole point of survivor is to starve and be bitchy..that's what makes good TV. I'm more looking forward to CSI tonight.

Moose Man is Loose!

2006-10-31T04:49:00.000-08:00

Happy Halloween everyone!

Traditionally Halloween hasn't been a good day for me, but I'm hoping that this year things will be different. Last Prophecy releases today at Samhain (It's up and available now squee!) and I'm really excited. When I submitted the proposal for this story, I thought no way in hell it would be chosen...and then when the edits were finished and it was making the review rounds I thought, well it's gonna get bad reviews...it's a moose-shifter after all. To my surprise it's gotten great reviews. I guess being a little off-beat is a good thing.

I'll be holding a contest soon. Getting the kiddies ready for trick or treating has taken up all my time (not to mention trying to deal with computer issues *sigh* )

Oh! And NANO starts tonight at MIDNIGHT! Ack! I feel about as unprepared as it's possible to get. *sigh*

If anyone is interested in following the progress of a bunch of us crazy nanoers, go to the messageboards at Enchanged Ramblings www.enchantedramblings.net and you can follow our journey...and listen to us bitch....

Happy Thanksgiving!

2006-10-07T11:12:00.000-07:00

So it's my favorite holiday of the year and I'm totally geared up for lots of turkey, stuffing and punkin pie! I'll be gone for the weekend and when I get back I might be waddling a bit *grin*

While I'm gone I'll be working on stuff, hopefully. I always say that then never get the chance to actually do anything. Hope everyone else has a great weekend.

Poor boobies

2006-10-06T05:37:00.000-07:00

Ok, so judging by last weeks previews for survivor, it looked like Cai Boi pulled down a nest of baby birds and they had to talk him out of frying them up. Instead it was a big sob fest with big bad Jonathan nearly in tears. I gotta say I'm relieved. Most kids learn by about age 12 not to bug a bird in it's nest...

It was soooo good to see the Raro tribe get their egos brought back down to earth, especially the men. I thought it was funny that they were all like "we're Gods out here" after winning one challenge. Um...ONE challenge. hello! Maybe if they'd won a bunch in a row they could get nicely inflated heads, but one? Nice to see them humbled.

I am so happy that the women of Raro stood together, and were smart enough to pull in Brad as a back up. I wonder who told Adam? Also makes you wonder why Parvati didn't tell Nate, since they are so close.

I loved how pouty Ozzy was after last weeks tribal LOL. Not so cocky when things aren't going your way huh? As annoyed as I was with him, you gotta give the boy credit - he's good. He saved his tribes ass on that challenge, and Cai Boi with his fire dance thing? oh man! I was so waiting for him to basically screw it up, for his zen mystical stuff to fail and for him to get voted out (not that I want him gone, I just though it was sure to happen.) But wow! And that nobody in his tribe was yelling "WTF are you doing?" was totally cool. (or maybe they were and it got edited out) If he doesn't make it to final four, that bit will be in his memorial video thing for sure.

Anyway, all in all a good episode.

And skating season has begun!

2006-10-05T16:06:00.000-07:00

And that means writing lots of hot nookie while surrounded by unknowing mothers watching their little darlings twirl. Ok, so tonight I didn't write any nookie, I stuck to a clean bit. It WAS the first night though, so give me time to get brave again.

It's also less than an hour till survivor! Yay! Thank goodness I got some writing done at the rink tonight, cause it'll be an hour of yelling at the tv followed by a few hours of ranting to the hubby.

Celebrity sighting

2006-10-04T13:28:00.000-07:00

Ok, so maybe celebrity isn't the right word, but today, when we stopped at a corner store to get the kids a drink, I saw Kevin Callan. A few years ago I had the opportunity to take a photography course he was teaching and it was so much fun. I've been a huge fan of his wilderness guidebooks for a long time, and every spring I haul them all out and read all his adventures, even though I mostly have them memorized now.

It's made me want to brave the cold, rainy weather and go camping right now. *grin*

Survivor is back!

2006-09-29T08:12:00.000-07:00

Yay! I meant to post comments about the new season of survivor earlier, but got distracted. I get so excited when a new season starts up and usually spend a few days dancing around singing "Survivor's on tonight" which really annoys my kids.

So what do I think about the race division thing? *shrug* People can complain all they want but the fact is, survivor is all about learning to get along with others, regardless of ethnicity, to survive, and isn't that what life is all about on the grander scale? The world is shrinking and you can either accept that or hide. Personally, I think hiding is boring...sooner or later you run out of chocolate.

After the first episode I thought Ozzy rocked...then after episode 2 I started to think he's one of those guys that seems to increase his self esteem by making others feel bad about themselves. The whole Billy thing made me crazy. Billy was so Rah Rah team until Ozzy started shooting down all his ideas. Ok, so maybe Ozzy has more experience in outdoor stuff, it's not the point. I really think that if that team had been more of a team, Billy wouldn't have ended up feeling left out, and would have been more involved around camp. And to say "I'm not going to carry someone" well holy CRAP! I think those survivors are eating better than I do! Who cares if you have to catch one more fish! It's not like you're hurting for food or anything! Bloody hell! Starting off by alienating someone is a dumb move and now I want to see Ozzy gone so bad it's become my manta "Send Ozzy Home! Send Ozzy Home!" The rest of the tribe should have kicked his ass for suggesting he throw the challenge. STUPID! And really, what good did it do them when the tribes got switched up the next day anyway? All you've done is eliminated one person of your original tribe who could have sided with you when you got the switch up. People are so stupid. Even if the switch up hadn't occured the next day, you knew it was coming soon.

So far there isn't anyone I can say I really like. Jonathan is too cocky...knowing what's best for Jessica so she doesn't have to think (WTF was up with that?) Yul seems like a solid player, strong, smart and socially adept. Most of the girls are just faces to me other than Jessica and Parvati. Now, I was prepared to like Parvati because of the name (YAY Harry Potter!) but ugg! Can you be a little less obvious with your pathetic flirting attempts? Sheesh! Why not just rip off your clothes and parade around in the buff (haha pun not intended) She's going to tick the other women off big time with that.

On a related topic, I'm so glad they brought back the Survivor Strikes Back Blog. I love this almost as much as the show itself...Brian's posts always make me laugh.

Anyway, I'm baking cookies and stuff even though I should be working on dragons. *sigh*

Baby's first fan-fic

2006-09-25T08:38:00.000-07:00

Ok, so she's not really a baby anymore, she's five, but still, I thought it was cute that she wrote her first piece of fan fiction last night - a tale of Diago, animal rescuer...where Diago and click the camera saved a baby fox and a baby bull. Thought it was pretty funny. Maybe it's a sign that she'll follow in my footsteps....hmmm.....

Moving Atlantis Cover is Here!

2006-09-24T16:36:00.000-07:00

Yipee! I just got approval to show off this awesme cover for Moving Atlantis. It's exactly what I'd pictured, only even more pretty. YAY to Anne Cain for the amazing job she did!

Now if only I can figure out how to put pics in the side bar....

I thought bad things came in threes...

2006-09-24T06:24:00.000-07:00

Do you ever feel like you're under some kind of curse? You're going along, enjoying life then BAM! all of a sudden everything breaks down, and Murphy's having a hay day at your expense? Welcome to the past few weeks of my life. Between cars breaking down, roof leaking, files disappearing, computers breaking and, worst of all, a death in the family, I'm starting to think I must have done something really bad on the karma scale.

So I've thought about it. Nothing particular comes to mind. The fact is, these things just come in cycles and it's best to grit your teeth and wait until you pop out on the other side. A few years back my family went through a really bad period of about 2 years where cars broke down every other day, bills got lost and collection agencies called, people were sick and for a while I was afraid to answer the phone because it seemed everytime I did, someone had died. Then, gradually we got through it.

Now I'm off to work on the first sex scene in the Dragon's Birth sequel...while gritting my teeth and hoping that this time, things settle down sooner rather than later.

Upcoming releases and news

2006-09-22T10:37:00.000-07:00

I'm hard at work on the sequel to Dragon's Birth. Originally I'd thought I'd call it Dragon's Return, but the name started to bug me. At this point, the title is The Forgotten Heir. This book will be Vander's story. I hadn't planned to write a story for him, but during edits, it was pointed out to me that one point in Dragon's Birth hints that Vander was of very humble birth, and in another spot it suggests he's very highborn. It was a goof, but when I looked at it, the idea popped into my head and I knew I had to tell his story.

Van's been a pain in the butt (which seems to be a big part of his character anyway) but this book has been SLOOOOOW going. I've scrapped dozens of pages, started from scratch 3 times and only by forcing myself to continue on this version have I made it past chapter 3. I'm hoping to have The Forgotten Heir done by the end of October, just in time for my next release.....

The coming soon pages have been updated at Samhain. I'm so excited to be able to announce that The Last Prophecy will be released on October 31 in ebook format and print as part of the Beginnings anthology . There's a great bunch of authors in this collection and I'm thrilled to be among them.

Then, a few weeks later, Moving Atlantis will be released from Samhain (November 21)

Should be an exciting few weeks for me *grin*

Just a little change of scene

2006-09-21T06:15:00.000-07:00

When somethings not working on a story, we blame our muse. Lately I think my muse has decided to make himself a permanant fixture at the local nudey bar.

Ok, so the truth is there are more solid (non-mythical) reasons for flow blockage. (ewww that didn't come out right) Most of the time it's because I've plunged into the story without doing enough preperation on the characters background. So when they do something or say something that doesn't fit with some subconscious notion i have of them, it stalls me.

The other reason that I get blocked is because my writing area is a full on disaster zone. Coffee mugs, note books, a card reader for my digital camera, a bottle of school glue, nail clippers, coupons for the bookstore, a game boy, some toys, a mess of cables...and that's actually clean for me. Sometimes I'm afraid the piles of papers will topple over and the avalanche will knock the laptop to the floor. When things get that bad I have two options....clean *gag* or take the laptop somewhere else.

Normally that means sitting in bed, or on the couch, but last night I took a walk to the library and wow. It's amazing what a quiet space can do for you. No kids asking for snacks, no dogs barking to be let out, no pile of dishes giving you dirty looks (haha, pun not intended) but more than that, it was almost as if I had to write, simply because the opportunity to do so in peace is so rare.

It made me realize that when I took the laptop to the arena and wrote while my daughter had her skating lessons, I actually got a lot done. None of the parents bothered me (though they may have thought I was a bit weird.) Writing naughty bits while surrounded by unsuspecting mothers watching their daughters twirl and jump is a bit strange at first, but I got used to it.

Now if only there was a nice little coffee shop somewhere that i could go to....

Cover for Moose Man!

2006-09-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

I just got approval to put up the cover for Last Prophecy (other wise known as Moose Man) This is the individual ebook cover. For the anthology print edition there won't be people on it, just the names of us lucky authors.

*grin*

I also have the cover for Moving Atlantis, but I'm waiting on final approval. I'll post it when I get it up.

Nano is coming up fast

2006-09-03T11:40:00.000-07:00

Hard to believe it's been almost a year since I last felt the anxiety inspired by NANO. For the past 2 years I've participated in National Novel Writing Month and I've yet to manage to meet the 50,000 word goal. Sad, I know. I'd like to think I've become more disciplined since last November, I mean, I've sold 4 books since then, so surely I can manage to succeed this year. On the other hand, I've gotten very good at procrastination as well. When the words just aren't flowing, do I sit and fight with determination? No, I go watch a movie or read a book. I've managed to read a lot of books this year, way more than my entire 2005 total and it's only September.

So this year I'm going to start early. I'm going to have a story idea ready before hand so that I'm not stuck 15K in with absolutely no clue what happens next.

The only catch is that, with the release of Moving Atlantis scheduled for late November, I'll be doing edits for part of the month so I'll really have to buckle down and work if I'm going to succeed.

I'd really like to see NANO being used in English classes in our local schools. I thought this last year, but didn't know how to go about suggesting it. I still don't have any idea how to do that, but it's my goal to one day, see it happen.

Something to think about while procrastinating this month...hehehe.

what a weird month!

2006-09-02T08:10:00.000-07:00

August has been cool this year and I've been hiding in the house wishing I was out camping. I managed to finish and send in "the Final Prophecy" and I just finished the first round of edits on that. It'll be exciting to have a print release this winter!

I spent a lot of the month watching high school movies. Yeah, weird I know. I feel a little odd about it, but after some serious thought I realized there were good reasons for it (beyond cute guys that is...which would make me a pervert right?) Reason #1 is that high school sucked hard core for me. I think I like watching other people have a grand adventure in thier own high school time. I suppose it's like reading a romance novel even though you're married. How many of us wish we'd met our own husbands through some vastly romantic adventure? and 2) our high school was boring. We didn't get out to watch sports, didn't have the kind of cliques you see in movies. It sort of makes me wonder if those things actually happen.

Anyway LOL now that I've blabbed about liking teeny-bopper movies, I'll get back to writing. School starts up in a few days so I'll be down to one kiddie in the house. Hopefully I'll get more done then than I have this summer.

Writing Update

2006-07-24T14:52:00.000-07:00

Whew! It's been a slow month for writing for me. Between camping and fixing up ournew trailer we've been busy.

So what am I working on? Moose man first of all. it's due by August 15th, though I'm hoping to have it done by the weekend. Then I have to work on the next dragon Wing book. I should have had it done ages ago.

Also I have to polish up a submission - courting damnation - and send it in.

Between camping trips that is.....

Camping again

2006-07-21T06:05:00.000-07:00

Well I got one step closer to being one of those wilderness chicks that I so admire. On Wednesday night we dropped the kids and dogs with my parents and went camping. Unfortunately, due to car troubles we didn't get to the put in until 8PM giving us only an hour to unload, canoe around the lake and find a campsite, then set up, before it got dark.

We managed, barely. We arrived at the put in to Big East Lake only to find the parkinglot full....and since I knew there weren't many campsites, and all of which were at least 1/2 hour paddle away, we decided to try the smaller lake across the highway...Bentshoe. At the end of the lake we found a great campsite (or it would have been if previous occupants hadn't left garbage and about 4 cases of empty beer bottles.) Our dinner was cooked in pitch black (thought thank goodness we remembered that we'd forgot to pack a flashlight and bought a new one on the way there!) Steak for Chris, pork chop for me and beans. Yum. Then we went out to this little rocky spit and layed down to look at the stars. (after rescuing our sleeping bag from the lake since it had sort of rolled away once it got set down.)

Ok, so I admit I was awake half the night listening for the sound of a bear lumbering through the underbrush. Lucky for me the night was full of the sound of bullfrogs and loons (though I gotta say, it did sound like about a dozen loons were being attacked on Big East)

I got up early and decided to brave the bathroom...(a wooden box with a hole cut in the top.....) then took the camera out and got some pictures while Chris was still asleep. We ate our breakfast on the rock where we'd watched the stars the night before then packed up.

Was it the backwoods experience I was hoping for? Not really. The garbage left on the site, the herds of girl guides (or whatever) tromping through the nearby portage into Poker Lake (did you know that aluminum canoes bouncing off rocks sounds a lot like the tail gate of a dumptruck slamming shut?), and the highway sounds sort of took away from that, but it was still a blast. Next time we'll get there earlier and portage into the other lakes where hopefully it will be less noisy.

Now...back to work I go! Much writing to do!

Jennie

yikes! A month since my last post?

2006-07-12T07:54:00.000-07:00

Holy crap!

Sorry about that. I was having issues.....wrist issues, computer issues and mental issues....I was exhausted basically.

This past weekend we went camping with some friends at Emily Provincial Park. It was the annual Bolerama - a gathering of campers with those cool boler trailers. Our friends have a Boler and we're looking for one but they are super hard to find. When you do find one for sale they are sold within minutes.

The weather was great. The kids had a blast and haven't stopped asking when we're going camping again. If it was up to me I'd be camping every day of the summer but I know that's not realistic. In my head I'm a rustic, wilderness chick who can handle lugging gear across swampy portages. In my head I can face down bears, cook gourmet meals on a firepit and handle the lack of a toilet.

In reality, I'm terrified of bears. If I saw one I'd pee my pants and the bear would probably think that killing me would be the most humane thing it could do. I also know that peeing in the woods isn't my greatest skill, and though I can cook on a fire, it's mostly hotdogs on a long stick. I have piles of books on camping, canoe routes and wilderness cooking - and I have them pretty much memorized. One day I'll get out there and prove my ruggedness, but for now I'll stick with campgrounds where the most wildlife you see is a skunk or raccoon and where the tents are closer together than houses in the city. It's sad, I know.

If anyone is looking for books on wilderness canoe trips in Ontario, I'd highly recommend Kevin Callan's Paddler's guide series. I have them all and pull them out every spring and dream. I took a photography workshop with Kevin (mostly because I have his books and wanted to meet him) and he's a great guy. All the canoe route descriptions are detailed and full of humorous stories of his own times traveling on them.

Here's a list of his books
Cottage country Canoe Routes
Up the Creek - Paddler's guide to Ontario
Further of the Creek - Paddler's guide to the Rivers of Ontario and Quebec
Brook Trout and Blackflies - Paddler's Guide to Algonquin Park
The Happy Camper - Essential Guide to Life Outdoors
Ontario's Lost Canoe Routes
Gone Canoeing - Weekend Wilderness Adventures in Southern Ontario
A Paddler's Guide to Killarney and French River

There's another one coming out in August as well...

Waearing out the seat of my pants

2006-06-11T11:23:00.000-07:00

Some days it's a huge struggle to get words on paper. I can remember when I first came back to writing after a few years of college and other activiites and got the advice "Put the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair and don't get up until you've written something."

Good advice...if you aren't a stay at home mum with young kids who want something every 2 seconds. I need a drink. I'm hungry. I have to go to the bathroom. Can we do a craft? Can you put on a movie? Not to mention the fights and diaper changes. I swear the instant I put the seat of my pants to the seat of my chair, I have to jump right back up again.

On the other hand I only have....2 and a half years? until the littlest one is in school part time. Now if I could just send the dogs off somewhere so they will leave me alone too...

A contest, a party and some other stuff

2006-06-06T07:04:00.000-07:00

CONTEST!

As you may know, I am Canadian, and so is my friend Aline. To celebrate Canada Day (July 1st for those who don't know) we're having a contest. the prize is a basket of Canadian goodies and in order to enter, you must find 2 flags on each of the following websites:
http://jennieandrus.com
www.alinedechevigny.com
www.enchantedramblings.net

The flags on the contest pages don't count.

Then when you've found them (six flags) email one of us and tell us which pages you found them on. The deadline is July 1st.

PARTY!
On June 15th I'll be at a party on Bianca D'arc's yahoo loop. Lots of authors will be posting excerpts and I'm sure there will be prizes and stuff too. If you'd like to come and find some great new books to read, here is the link to join her group:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BiancaDArc/

OTHER STUFF

Hmm let's see....my friend Piper has a release this weekend from Silk's vault... Blood Bonds. Aline has a release at Silk's Vault on the 23rd...Toss of a Coin.....what else is going on? Oh! Don't forget the deadline for issue 5 of Enchanted Ramblings is fast approaching. If you have a detective/police/mystery story you'd like to submit, the deadline is June 15th. Email submissions to submission@enchantedramblings.net

Not sure if there is anything else worth mentioning. I've been procrastinating and started making a new quilt for my bed. Chris isn't too keen on the fact that there is a tiny bit of pink in it...but oh well. It's cheery and more summery. Now the kids want me to make them new quilts as well. *sigh*

Have a good writing day everyone!

Freezing my butt off

2006-05-23T19:07:00.000-07:00

It's hard to believe it's the end of may. April was so beautiful and May has been cold, rainy and-oh, did I mention it snowed the other day? I am so glad I wasn't camping on the may 2-4 this year!

I finished Courting Damnation yesterday...it's just under 20K. I actually managed to get it done before the deadline too.

Time to get moving on Mad Maddy now...and update my website, finish the articles for enchanted Ramblings....Lots I could be doing and here I am watching the Stanley Cup playoffs. Go Oilers!

moose and beaver...quite a combination

2006-05-16T13:44:00.000-07:00

If there are a ton of typos in this, I'll appologize ahead of time. I just got a manicure from my 5 year old daughter, who is now trying to paint my toe nails....somehow she's getting it between my toes and it's tickly.

I've had a great writing week..which is why I haven't updated my blog in a while. I've been working on a short story that is part of an anthology with the theme "beaver tales" yep....I know. it's a little odd, and I'm sure you're thinking it's a little rude too but each of the stories is about a beaver-shifter and I'm pretty sure everyone's shifter is a male.

The idea came to us because there is hardly every any books that celebrate canada day...a holiday that inevitably gets overshadowed by the American holiday which follows 3 days after. So, we thought...what's more Canadian than a beaver? And so Beaver Tales was born.

My story is almost finished...and Aline has her first draft done...now we wait for the others to catch up and hunt for a home for it.

Cheers to all!

Moose man is a hit

2006-05-10T19:57:00.000-07:00

I'm completely in shock right now. Samhain has accepted my proposal for The Last Prophecy of Mad Maddy MacElewain. The story itself is pretty cool....a young woman with a gift for healing (which she refuses to admit to) is being stalked. Her sister, who has visions, foresaw it and also forsaw that Lottie's only hope was a moose....so...anyone who knows me knows I love all things moose. So the hero in this story is a moose shifter in newfoundland, where Lottie runs to hide from the madman.

I'm happy that they liked the story...honestly...I'm just shocked that I didn't get an email telling me I should maybe up the dosage on my meds...(not that I'm on meds..)

Survivor Rant

2006-05-05T05:13:00.000-07:00

*sigh* I know this is so totally not about writing but I had to get it off my chest...

Why does every survivor fan have a huge hard on for Terry? Geesh, the guy is strong, yes we know that....who give a crap? He's so not a likable person and yet everyone is saying he's playing an amazing game...hello! he's done basically no stratagizing what so ever (unless you count is pissant attempts right after merge) He has the immunity idol so he's not even trying to make friends. He knows everyone on Casaya is going to have to turn on each other at some point but you'd think he'd make some effort to be nice so that if he makes it to final 2 those who were pissed will see him in a better light. Right now it's going to come down to a cocky, smug prick and someone who played you... Hmmm let's see...who would you take, the devil you know or the devil you don't know? Why does he not see that?

And the reward challenge! OMG! Why does everyone agree with him that a mother doesn't compare to a wife? Yes maybe those who are married would rather see their wife/husband than their mother...but when you're a young guy who has no spouse and you are that close to your mother...how DARE Terry belittle that and say it's only his mother? How freaking stupid do you have to be? He should have kept his mouth shut about why he chose because he pissed off Aras big time with that. Can the guy possible do anything more to piss off the people who may have to chose if he's worthy for a million bucks?

Just once, I'd like to see the guy do something intellegent in the game...and I'm not talking about puzzle challenges...I'm talking about the game-as in dealing with people. So far they've shown him do nothing that would make me say..well...Terry's a nice guy...I wouldn't mind him winning...he comes off as a complete stuck up, arrogant ass...and not just because of the fact that he's winning challenges. It shows a high level of arrogance that he's not attempting to be friendly. He just sits back looking smug...

Maybe I just don't like smugness. *sigh*

I hope he doesn't win. I know I'm probably the only one who feels that way but whatever. I think those people who think Terry is the best player to ever play survivor forgot the "outwit" part....

Ok...rant over...back to writing...

Some good news!

2006-04-27T19:40:00.000-07:00

Yay! Samhain accepted Moving Atlantis today!

I'm very excited....so excited that I can't think of anything to say...

I could talk about Survivor....my pick in the eharlequin survivor pool got the boot tonight so i won't be winning that one. Oh well...other than that it's been an awesome night!

Something Wicked

2006-04-24T15:43:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I finished reading Something Wicked by Evelyn Vaughn - a silhouette bombshell. It rocked! Great story, great plot etc but what I found wonderful was the descriptions of the locations because the author has been to them all. It was wonderful. The other thing I loved was the magic. yes some of the spell casting was exagerated but the essence of wicca was very accurate.

I should give a blurb for it huh?

Kate Trillo is a non-practicing witch. But when she walks in on a man killing her sister, she casts a curse on him, and inadvertantly herself as well. The problem is that she cursed the wrong man, the killer's identical twin brother. Now she has to fulfill her destiny and find the Hekate grail if she wants to lift the curse.

A really awesome book.

Enchanted Rambllings cookbook author promotion info

2006-04-22T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here is the information for the next ER promotion cookbook. The first one was super popular and is still downloading at a pretty good clip so for all you authors looking for a free way to reach readers, check this out....

ANOTHER FREE PROMOTION OPPORTUNITY

FROM ENCHANTED RAMBLINGS

We had so much success with our first promotional
cookbook that we’re going to do another one.

The theme for this cookbook will be a holiday that is
close to all of our hearts

CANADA DAY/INDEPENDENCE DAY

How does food fit into your holiday weekend? Do you
have a huge family picnic or a quiet picnic for two?
Share your favorite outdoorsy recipe with your readers
as well as information about your newest release(s)

Pull out your favorite memories and stories and tell
us what you do to celebrate on the 1st or 4th.

A form will be available on the enchanted ramblings
mailing list, which you can then attach to an email.

To get the form, and to find out about our other
promotional opportunities, you can join our mailing
list:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ermailinglist/

entries should be emailed to
authorspotlight@enchantedramblings.net

to keep the finished download from getting too big, we
ask you not to submit more than 3 entries. Each entry
must be a different recipe and a different book and we
ask that the books be released between April 1st and
June 30th.

Deadline for entries is: June 1st.

The cookbook will be available for download at
Enchanted Ramblings on June 15th.
You are welcome to link to it from your site.

Dreary days should be good writing days

2006-04-22T13:56:00.000-07:00

but they aren't. I'm sitting here staring out the window while my kids go bonkers from bordom.

I'm closing in on the end of my proposal for the Samhain anthology and on an article for Suite but alas, my shape shifter novella is lagging.

With summer coming, my thoughts turn to camping and being outside, which is why I'm anxious to get back to my hape shifter story since it takes place in Algonquin Park. Can't wait to get out in the canoe...

off to dream of a wilderness escape...wait...there's no power...no laptop! eek! writing with a pen and paper!