Having Fun!

I'll be incommunicado for awhile. Gee...I wonder why???

Before I go, I have to tell you - because of the Saints 3:30 game yesterday, we never made it down to the French Quarter, so we went to the movies instead (yeah, we're wimps, but we saw the traffic - ugh). We saw "Skyfall", which is a pretty good. And considering I've only seen maybe one James Bond movie before (a hokey one with Roger Moore), well, I can say there wasn't any hokiness in this one! After the movie we found a great restaurant - Copelands. If you ever find yourself in New Orleans (or in my case, Kenner), you should check it out. They have really great food!

Hope you have a great week. I know I will!!!

 

 

 

Best Laid Plans?

You can plan, but that doesn't mean things will go your way.

Our cruise doesn't take off until Monday, but we left today (driving) so we could get to New Orleans a day early and spend some time there to sight-see. If we had thought this through better, we probably wouldn't have bothered. See, today was the OSU game vs. "That Team Up North" (uhhh, Michigan). We wanted to watch that game! How could we be so stupid???

The game started at Noon. The plan? Drive to Louisville and stop at Buffalo Wild Wings to watch the game. What's a four hour layover? We're spending the night in Birmingham, AL anyway. No biggie. We'd still make it there before bedtime.

We planned to leave home at 8:00 am expecting to arrive in Louisville by 11:00 am. Instead, we left around 8:30 am and arrived at 10:40 am. Hmmm…does our friend have a lead foot or was MapQuest totally wrong?

No matter. We wait for BW3 to open, get a seat, and wait for the game. It's on ABC at home. Figured it wouldn't be a problem. They said it wouldn't.

A lot of other OSU fans thought the same thing. By Noon, the place filled up with Buckeye fans. Looked to be a nice rowdy time!!

Only problem: BW3 couldn't get the game. ABC wasn't offering it in that area and it couldn't be found on-line, either. Direct TV SUCKS!!!

Talk about crappy! Oh well, we arrived in Birmingham four hours earlier then planned, and was able to get the game on our friend's XM radio (she's a peach).

Still, would have LOVED to watch OSU BEAT That Team Up North.

Score: OSU 26, Michigan 21. 12-0 season! Yeah, baby!!!

 

What I Read Last Week

Now that I've gotten GHOSTLY LIAISON off to some readers, I can now take a breather and read some more. Of course, that has to wait until AFTER I clean the family room (ugh). And yes, I have started!

Because of all that editing, I only finished one book in the past week (I'm beginning to see a pattern here). That will change in two weeks (next week I'll be on a cruise, so no blogging), in which I plan to post a whole hassle-full of read books. Well, it's my PLAN. I'll pack the books anyway!

Anywho…here's what I read in the past week:

Nov 15: "The Paradise Prophecy" by Robert Browne. I've read all his books. Well, his printed books anyway (I don't own a reader – yet). I like the supernatural elements to his stories. Blurb on jacket cover: "For millennia, God's angels have been fighting Satan's demons on Earth to try and prevent Satan's greatest ambition – the Apocalypse. Satan has never been closer to his goal than right now. Agent Bernadette Callahan is a talented investigator at a shadowy government organization known only as Section, on the trail of a serial killer with nearly supernatural abilities. Sebastian "Batty" LaLaurie is a religious historian who knows far too much about the other side – and that hard-earned knowledge is exactly what Callahan needs. This unlikely duo pairs up for a race across the glove, decoding clues left in ancient texts from the Bible to Paradise Lost and beyond. In the process they stumble into a vast conspiracy – one beyond the scope of mankind's darkest imagination." There were lots of suspense and interesting twists and it kept me turning the pages. I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads.

I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving, however you plan on spending it.

Happy Eating!

 

Goal Met!

I'm another step closer to querying. Got the edits finished on Book #4 and only have to read it through to make sure it all makes sense before I hand it off to some readers. I said I'd finish it by Thanksgiving and by gosh, I did!

**Happy Dance**

Now I can take a break and actually clean the family room. You think I'm joking? Well, I'm not taking pictures to prove my point. That would be too embarrassing. Well, maybe I WILL take pictures, if only for my own reference. If I think I've done an awesome job, then I'll post before and after pics. But don't hold your breath.

But really, this place is a mess. I have no place to put the Christmas tree right now. And there's too much stuff (junk) in front of the fireplace, making it useless.

Of course not all this mess is mine. Half belongs to the husband. I think I'll put all his stuff in a box and let him go through it. What do you think? Sound like a plan? I think so!

Are you ready for Thanksgiving? Got any plans for Black Friday? I have to cook this year (bummer), and the only thing I'm doing on Friday is going to the movies, like we do every year. Right now "Red Dawn" seems to be the likely choice for our family tradition. I wish the reviews were more promising, but hey, it's got Chris Hemsworth. Can't be all bad!

 

 

I'm Waning

Before I get into my "rant" I just have to say – "Breaking Dawn Part 2" was great!! That ending really blew me away. That's all I have to say. That, and I'll be seeing it again (with my daughter – again) this morning!!

 

Now, where was I? Oh yes. Since I lost my job, I've been doing a decent job at exercising. Hit the gym on M-W-F, walk outside on T-Th. Then the weather turned cold and put a wrench into things.

My motivation is waning.

I still go to the gym on M-W-F (well, except for those days, like today), but the walking isn't happening. First, it became too dark and I didn't have anything light colored to wear so I could be seen (since part of my course doesn't have sidewalks). Then it became too cold, so I resorted to the treadmill.

I'm finding I really, really, REALLY hate the treadmill in the basement. Ah heck, I just hate the treadmill. I don't mind using it for 20 minutes at the gym (as warm-up to weight-training), but for an hour, it's just too much.

I love walking outside. There's no quitting in the middle because I still have to walk back. But on a treadmill?

Yeah, I can step off that thing any damn time I want. And I am.

30 minutes into my walk outside, and I have a 30 minute walk home. 30 minutes into my walk on the treadmill, and I'm done. That's if I make it that far.

Why oh why is it so hard for me? My willpower SUCKS, that's for sure.

I sure hope I survive the winter. I'd hate to have to start all over again, because that's even worse.

Any tips on how I can stay on the stupid thing? Reading apparently isn't working (and I LOVE to read!!). Or should I just be glad I'm at least walking 30 minutes on the sucker?

Happy Friday!

What I Read Last Week

Tomorrow night the daughter and I will be at the theatre to watch "Breaking Dawn Part 2" – yeah, baby! It looks to be a chilly, yet dry night, but standing in line for hours also gives me plenty of time to read. Of course, watching everyone in line can be entertaining, too. Young adults are a strange breed.

Anyway, I only finished one book in the past week (I've been on an editing mission!):

Nov 9: "Killing Johnny Fry: A Sexistential Novel" by Walter Mosley. I've never read anything by him before, but a couple of years ago, while perusing the sale "bin" at B&N on line, this book intrigued me. Now I finally got around to reading it. The blurb on the inside cover: "When Cordell Carmel catches his longtime girlfriend with another man, the act that he witnesses seems to dissolve all the boundaries he knows. In that instant, the calm existence of this middle-aged New York City man becomes something unrecognizable: he wants revenge, but also something more. 'Killing Johnny Fry' is the story of Cordell's dark, funny, soulful, and outrageously explicit sexual odyssey in search of a new way of life. Along the way, he encounters a mysterious woman named Sisypha, who leads him deep into the city's forbidden heart." The story certainly kept me curious 'til the end, but if you're not into erotic noir, you might want to stay away. I gave this book 4 stars on Goodreads.

I'm getting soooo close to finishing the editing of Ghostly Liaison. But I have to make sure not to rush it at the end (something I tend to do). I'll be glad to finish, though, and then pass it on to my daughter to read (and review). Maybe my husband, too. He read my rough, first draft of Alien Desires (I needed some feedback before I edited), and even after reading that mess (because, let's face it, first drafts SUCK), he's anxious to read Ghostly Liaison. That made me feel good, in a writerly kind of way!

So, are any of you planning on seeing "Breaking Dawn Part 2"?

 

Still Thinking...

I'm still thinking about writing a short story for the Beatnik Café (to be held on Dec 7). My husband wants to shoot Jennette (yeah, you!!) for putting the vampire elves in my head. I'm coming up with all types of ideas (and most of them are, well, pretty bad):

 

A couple sleeping in bed, hear noises on the roof. He goes up to investigate and gets bit by vampire elves.
***OR***
A witch wants to get rid of her husband, so she summons vampire elves on Christmas Eve.
***OR***
A vampire couple is greeted on Christmas Eve by…vampire elves!!

I'm still playing around with that centerfold idea, too. Those ideas are a little more clean, and maybe the way I should go. But damn, those vampire elves just crack me up! I'll figure something out. Maybe.

And if you have any other suggestions for "Up on the Housetop", bring it on!

********

On Saturday I got my hands on the print version of the anthology book (and it is soooo pretty!!). I was even asked to sign a few copies. Talk about UNREAL!!

********

Next Saturday the husband and I will be attending a wedding. I'm not one who likes to shop (or even dress up), so I went through the clothes I did have. Lucky me, I found a dress (well, it was actually my daughter's) where I don't have to go out and buy new shoes and I even had a jacket that went with it well enough (yep, not picky here!). I think I'm good.

My husband went through all his suits, most of which were WAY too large (since he'd lost 50 lbs), but he found one sport coat and one suit that fit (yay!) and are now at the cleaners. Seven (yes, SEVEN) suits are headed for Goodwill. He hates wearing suits, and most of these were only worn once.

Of course, now he was on a roll and decided to hit the hallway closet to go through all the outerwear. One jacket is being tossed (broken and too large), three are being repaired (if it's Steelers and/or it fits, it's getting fixed), and two are being donated. I think I now have room to hang MY coats in there!

So, we had a semi-productive weekend. I didn't have to buy any new outfits, and we'll have a good tax donation this year!

How was your weekend?

 

What's Wrong With This Picture?

Are proof readers a dying breed or is it the first position a publisher cuts back on? I kind of hope the latter, because if the former, then they're not doing a very good job. Of course, if that's the case, maybe those publishers better rethink things!

 

Now, I can excuse the occasional typo in a news article. Catching every error is almost impossible, especially if you've read the article several times. But headings? No. There's no excuse for a typo in a heading. I mean, the type is LARGE and BOLDED. Should be easy peasy to review, right?

Well, apparently not. As I perused my daily paper Wednesday morning, I came across this article and the heading stopped me (if you click on the photo, it should enlarge for you to see it better).

 

I thought the article was about some person personating an owl and couldn't figure out why it would be an offense. Not so. That one little missing LETTER made a serious article (about a shooting) look humorous (I won't even go into what my daughter had to say about the blurb before the article – she's a grammar freak, what can I say).

Proof reading shouldn't stop with books, magazines, or newspapers. People writing e-mails should practice the act – many times. I don't know how many e-mails I've received in the past where I couldn't understand what was being communicated.

I re-read everything I write – e-mails, comments, blogs, letters, you name it! It only takes one wrong word to turn something serious into a joke.

So what do you think about proof reading? Do you think people have gotten lazy or just cheap? Or is it the same thing? Hmmm.

CORRECTION: After all of the above, I realized I made a mistake (which I have since corrected) in a previous post about an upcoming Beatnik Café my writers group is putting on. It will be held on Friday, Dec 7 (NOT today). Don't know WHAT I was thinking! But hey, if you're still interested, it will be at the 4 Starters Coffee Café, 2495 Commons Blvd, Beavercreek, Ohio. It starts at 7 pm and runs until 9. And that is Friday, DEC 7 (yeah, Pearl Harbor Day AND my sister's birthday!). I'll be there.

Hope you have a super-duper weekend.

What I Read Last Week

Editing is going along great. I foresee finishing Ghostly Liaison by Thanksgiving. And because I'm going along at a good clip, reading time has been reduced. Here are the books I completed since last Wednesday.

Oct 31: "Iced Chiffon" by Duffy Brown. This book is a straight (cozy?) mystery. Blurb on back: "There's always something to gossip about in Savannah, Georgia, and Reagan Summerside always seems to be in the middle of it. She's busy enough running her consignment shop, the Prissy Fox, with her vivacious auntie, KiKi, but now the gossip – and the sales – are about to pick up, after a gruesome discovery…" Not my usual genre, but the story looked fun and I attended Duffy Brown's Mystery Party during Lori Foster's Reader/Author Get Together (which she also helps run), so I bought her book. I sort of thought there might be some kind of romance involved, but there wasn't (although one was teased, sort of). I didn't figure out "who done it" until it was revealed at the end. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

Nov 6: "Claimed" by Rebecca Zanetti. This is the second book in the series and now I need to purchase #3. I liked the story, although the alpha male is a little meaner than I'd prefer (I felt the same way about the alpha male in the first book, too). That won't stop me from continuing on with the series, though. Blurb on back: "Emma Paulsen is a geneticist driven by science. But she's also a psychic, so when a dark, good-hearted vampire frees her from the clutches of the evil Kurjans, she realizes he must be the man who's been haunting her dreams. But with a virus threatening vampires' mates, Emma may discover a whole new meaning of "lovesick"… As King of the Realm, Dage Kayrs has learned to practice diplomacy. Still, it's taken three hundred years to find his mate, so he'll stop at nothing to protect her – even if it means turning his back on his own kind…" I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads.

So what have you read this past week? Please share!

Here's to another week of happy reading!

 

 

Brainstorming

I need to brainstorm and thought you might be able to help. I'd like to write a short story (between 800-1000 words, yeah, REALLY short) for the Beatnik Café my writers group is holding next month. The theme is "Up on the House Top." I'm assuming that means Christmas.

 

It has to be clean since kids might be there. One guy in our group said "no centerfolds," so of course I want to use that (insert evil laugh here), but then I thought up something that was kind of dirty (but funny). I should also not dish Santa (just in case – don't want to ruin any kid's Christmas).

Now all I can think about is sexy romance or evil horror!

Sometimes one little word can get me going. My husband told me to write about a Ferris wheel and I was able to do that for the last Beatnik Café I attended (but then, we weren't given any theme). Then my husband said I should write about an alien, and I got a whole book written about that. So why can't I think of a clean short story with a centerfold?

Why does clean seem so BORING? Or is that just me? Do you have any suggestions for me? Any way I can use centerfolds and still keep it clean (and maybe funny)? Your opinions matter to me!

This is strictly for fun and not to be published (except maybe on this blog, if you're interested or I'm so inclined). My goal is to have something to read that night and to show people – hey, look, I can write (and it's not boring)!

I'm ready to brainstorm – as soon as I return from the gym, that is!

****

In other news… I heard back from the job I interviewed with AND the editor I submitted Book #3 to. Yep, both rejects. These things happen. I'll continue to send out resumes and I sent out Book #3 to another publisher. One of these days something good will happen. If I had my druthers (and I do), I'd rather be published than employed!

 

What Does This Picture Say?

It's said "A picture is worth 1000 words." So, what is this picture saying to you? Is it saying "Go out and buy some sunglasses"?

So, girls in bikinis get the car ads, and hunks, like this one, get the eyeglasses ads? Does that mean more women purchase glasses?

I seriously wonder what advertising agencies think in situations like this. Yeah, he's great eye-candy, but how many people do you think would go out and purchase eyeglasses based upon this picture? I would think a picture of the frames would do just as well. Hey, but that's probably just me!

Sorry for the late post. I was going to write something last night, but forgot I don't usually do that after my writers group meeting (since it ends at 10pm). If I planned it better, I would have had it written before I left for the meeting.

My writers group is having another Beatnik Cafe on Friday, Dec 7 at the 4 Starters Coffee Cafe, 2495 Commons Boulevard, Beavercreek, OH. It runs from 7-9pm. If you're in the area and want to hear local writers read their short fiction, come on by. The theme is "Up on the House Top."  I haven't decided if I'll be part of the readings (I haven't written anything yet), but I will be there to listen and support. The cost is FREE.

And lastly, the anthology, "Home for the Holidays," which includes my short story, "The Last Christmas Visit," is now in print and can be found HERE. I'll be getting my copy soon!! So excited.

Hope your weekend is fantabulous. If you're doing NaNo - go you! I'm not that brave, yet.