Heading to the Sea

This will be my last post until November. And hopefully, HOPEFULLY, I’ll have pictures to share then. You see… I’ll be on this big boat and they don’t have the internet. I’d like to say I’ll get some writing done. Or even get caught up in my reading. And maybe I will, but they’re not in the plan.

The plan includes FUN. And lots of it! J That’s the way it should be, right?

I’ve been advertising on Goodreads. Not a lot of money (only ten bucks), but it’s garnered some author ranking fluctuations (in a good way) on Amazon. I can only hope it’s doing the same at other vendors. I’ve only noticed one sale since I started the advertising campaign, but then, I can’t see sales from anyone except for Kindle.

One thing I did notice on Goodreads, though. 517 have added My Sunny Vampire to their to-read books (8 since I started advertising on 10/10). Who are these people, I wondered. Well, I CAN check that out. And what I discovered kind of blew my mind.

When several of them have over 20,000 books in their “to-read” column, can I really expect they’ll ever get to mine? Granted, most of these people added my book when I ran a giveaway back in January. At the time I was thrilled people were adding my books. I figured they’ll see it on their lists. Now, I’m not so sure. I find it akin to garnering “likes” on Facebook via a contest. Sure, they’ll “like” you to try and win, but how many will really stick around? How many REALLY like you?

This publishing business is insane, isn’t it? But I love it anyway! Really, I’ve never been happier working at any job than I have been since I started writing. My husband notices it, too. I’m a completely different person! In a good way, of course. J

So… I’m looking forward to doing nothing for a week. No, take that back. Having FUN! What are you looking forward to?

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and a Video!!

I’m still writing more than reading (yay!), which was hard this past week. Here’s what I read:

Oct 18: “Immortal” by J. R. Ward, the sixth and final book in the Fallen Angels series, a paranormal romance. Blurb from book: The Creator invented the game, and the stakes are nothing less than the fate of both the quick and the dead: seven souls, seven crossroads—each an opportunity for salvation or damnation. Coming into this sixth round, reluctant savior Jim Heron has compromised himself, his body, and his soul, and even still, he’s on the verge of losing everything… And that includes Sissy, the innocent he freed from Hell. Jim’s determined to protect her—but this makes her a weakness the demon Devina can exploit. With Sissy once again in danger, and Jim torn between the game and the woman he’s sworn to defend, evil’s ready to play dirty and finally claim Jim for her own. As the war comes into its final chapters, humanity’s savior is prepared to do anything it takes to win—and that includes embarking on a suicide mission into the very darkest shadows of Purgatory. True love is Jim’s only hope for survival—and victory. Bit can a man with no heart and no soul be saved by something he doesn’t believe in? As this series progressed, each book got better. This last one definitely the best. You know, it’s hard to read something slow when all you want to do is read it! Devina, as evil as one can be, cracked me up with her OCD. I never liked a villain more. While this series ended, I get the feeling some of these characters will continue on in the Black Dagger Brotherhood series (yay!). I look forward to that next book. Spring, I believe. I’m ready!

Now for a bonus VIDEO! Saw this and just had to share. That's my high school! And you know what? It really hasn't changed all that much.

The funny thing is, at the beginning of the video, where the band is playing, I'm thinking, "I haven't heard that song in ages. What is it?" Well, DUH! It was our fight song! Yeah, I really AM getting old.

(I also just learned that Katy Perry went to my high school. How did I not know this? Hmmm...)

So... What have you discovered recently that flabbergasted you?

Happy reading!

Stacy

Geschlechtsverkehr

Want to know what that word means? Watch this funny video.

Did you see what word it is? Have to say, this video cracks me up every time. Mainly because Victoria, the heroine in Blind Temptation, is from Germany. I don't imagine her speaking like the fellow in the video, though. And she tends to only speak the language when she swears.

Can you tell I was at a loss of what to blog about? Hope this will give you a chuckle anyway.

So... What foreign language did you take in school? I took Spanish, but then I lived in Santa Barbara and was curious what the meaning of many of the street names were! I lived near the street Camino Campana, which I discovered means Bell Street. When you look at the map, the street looks like half of a bell. I thought that was pretty cool.

Have a great day!

Stacy

Let's Laugh

Or you can cackle maniacally if you want.

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads

I’m back to my slow reading. Here’s what I read this week:

Oct 10: “Trancehack” by Sonya Clark, a paranormal romantic suspense. Blurb on Goodreads: It’s 2065. Those born with magic abilities live in government-run zones, without rights or freedoms. Fear of magic created this segregated world and fear keeps it intact. A high-profile murder brings Detective Nathan Perez to Magic Born Zone 13. He’s had little experience with the Magic Born and isn’t sure what to expect during his first encounter with a witch, but he never thought he’d be so drawn to her. Trancehacker Calla Vesper uses magic to break into computers and aid the Magic Born underground. She has no interest in helping a cop, even if he is smoking-hot, but money’s tight and Nate offers a tidy amount for help navigating the Zone. Calla’s determined to keep it all business, but sparks start flying before the investigation even gets started. When Calla’s trancehacking and Nathan’s investigation uncover a conspiracy, Calla becomes a target. Nate can protect her by keeping her role a secret—but then who will protect Nate? Wow! I won this book and, I’ll be frank, hated the cover. So it sat unread. My mistake. See, I really SHOULDN’T judge a book by its cover, because the book was great. I had a hard time putting it down. It read more like a romantic suspense/thriller than a paranormal romance, which is fine with me. I’d hate to think we’d be so cruel in the future by segregating people again, but it made for an entertaining read. I just wish my e-book wasn’t all funky. The lines were too close together and every time I shut my device down, it never saved my spot. Even with these annoyances, I kept reading. Just had to know what happened next!

Exercise update: I’ve consistently been going to the gym four days a week for five weeks now. I’m so proud of myself for sticking with it. Unfortunately, if I’m making any progress I’m not seeing it. But I do have hope. The ice cream is out of the house now. Yeah, it went through my body first (and maybe stuck around on my thighs and butt), but it’s out of my freezer and will not return. That’s the important part! J

So… What are you currently reading? Anything good?

Happy reading!

Stacy

Disappointing Weekend—Sports-wise

While sitting in the rain Friday night watching our Wayne Warriors easily beat the Kettering Fairmont Firebirds (and keeping their number 1 status in Division I Region 2), I should have known the weather was a sign of things to come. If only that win by Wayne could have propelled our other teams to win.

The poor Frozen Jillademons (which was what my daughter called their Footy team since it comprised of the Minnesota Freeze, Columbus Jillaroos, and Boston Demons) had a rough go of it this weekend at Nationals. Three games and they scored a total of one point. Yep. One point. My daughter plays defense and she definitely got knocked around—a lot.

The Columbus Jackaroos played better. Won their three games and made it to the finals. Then promptly forgot how to play! What the?

The Los Angeles Dragons are Division II champs this year. They looked it, too. ***heavy sigh***

We had a break between games, so my husband hunted down a radio station and listened to the Steelers game. Yeah, he shouldn’t have bothered. Were the Steelers actually playing? We’re thinking not. We were kind of glad to leave that game behind at halftime to watch the Jackaroos (until the Jackaroos lost, that is).

On the way home, I noticed the Cincinnati Bengals were winning (I am finding some GOOD uses for my iPhone), but the Carolina Panthers were close to either tying it or winning it—with only six seconds left of the game. We found a radio station. Game went into OT. Bengals had a chance to win it with six seconds left of OT. The distance wasn’t all that long. Game ended in a tie. Ugh!

Guess I should be glad the OSU Buckeyes didn’t play this weekend. My Rams play tonight against their (my) rivals, the 49ers. Here’s hoping for a nice surprise ending to a disappointing weekend.

In some GOOD sporting news… The Penguins are undefeated. Yeah, baby! J

So… How was your weekend? Did you go out and do things? After Friday’s constant rain, the weekend turned out fairly nice, although a bit on the windy/chilly side. I even ended up getting a bit of sunburn on my face.

Stacy

Cover Reveal—Ghostly Liaison

Here it is. FINALLY! The cover to Ghostly Liaison!

Avoiding love is hard. Catching a killer can be fatal…

When Rob’s sister passed away, she left him her dog and her house. He can handle the dog part, but he doesn’t need another home. Especially a fixer-upper the neighbor swears is haunted. Then he meets Bridget, who’s working on getting her life back together after a car accident left her scarred in more ways than one. She can’t pass up Rob’s offer of free lodging, regardless of the shape it’s in. Or the roommate that’s part of the package. She’s never believed in ghosts, but now she’s living with one who wants Bridget’s help in catching a killer. There’s only one problem: the killer has unfinished business…

Ghostly Liaison is a paranormal romance and is due out January 19, 2015 from Lyrical Press/Kensington Books. I’ll be sure to post purchase links as soon as they’re available.

Footy Nationals. If you find yourself in the Dublin, Ohio area this weekend with nothing to do, you can always come see the U.S. Australian Football League in action. Nationals are going on this weekend and the Columbus Jillaroos (my daughter’s team) play on Saturday at 11am and 2pm and on Sunday at noon. I’ll be there cheering them on. Oh, and I’ll check out the Columbus Jackaroos, too. They were last year’s champs in Division 1. It might be a bit chilly (highs in the 50s), but at least it won’t be raining! Looking forward to a good time (and some wins for the Jillaroos!).

Canada Photos. I finally downloaded the pictures from my camera, so now I can share with you the photos I took while in Toronto, Canada.

 

The Columbus Jillaroos

Considering it was something like 55-0 after the first
quarter, the total score isn't all that bad!
(FYI: 6 pts for a goal, 1 pt for a behind)

On Sunday we made it to the Hockey Hall of Fame

Wayne Gretzky broke the record scoring his 802nd goal.
This is the actual goal he scored it in, too.

Gotta show the Penguins!

The actual Stanley Cup. This cup is the same
cup since the beginning. They just remove
the top band, and scoot up the others when
the bottom band becomes full.
By the way, my daughter DID get to touch it!

Here are the bands that have been removed.
They are stored in a vault.

This is the ceiling where the Stanley Cup is displayed.

 

Told you I didn’t have much. J

So…what do you think of the cover?

Have a great weekend!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads

Road trip meant more reading! Here’s what I read this week:

Oct 3: “Hearts in Darkness” by Laura Kaye, a contemporary romance (novella). Blurb on Goodreads: Two strangers… Makenna James thinks her day can't get any worse, until she finds herself stranded in a pitch-black elevator with a complete stranger. Distracted by a phone call, the pin-striped accountant catches only a glimpse of a dragon tattoo on his hand before the lights go out. Four hours… Caden Grayson is amused when a harried redhead dashes into his elevator fumbling her bags and cell phone. His amusement turns to panic when the power fails. Despite his piercings, tats, and vicious scar, he's terrified of the dark and confined spaces. Now, he's trapped in his own worst nightmare. One pitch-black elevator… To fight fear, they must reach out and open up. With no preconceived notions based on looks to hold them back, they discover just how much they have in common. In the warming darkness, attraction grows and sparks fly, but will they feel the same when the lights come back on? Oh, man! I found a new author to follow (and will probably start buying her books—I swear, I’m doomed!). This hooked me from the get-go. I really loved it (but then I love attraction stories)—the voice, the characters, it’s in third person, everything! I could have kept on reading it if it were longer.

Oct 4: “Night Walker” by Lisa Kessler, a paranormal romance. Blurb on book: Two and a half centuries ago, Calisto Terana lost everything when a zealous priest murdered the woman he loved. Now, desperate for another chance to love her, he wants redemption for the mistake that cost her life. After catching her finance with another woman, Kate Bradley returns to San Diego to clear her head. The last thing she needs is romance, but after meeting Calisto she’s drawn to him in ways she doesn’t understand. Calisto has no doublt Kate is the reincarnation of his lost love, but the Fraternidad Del Fuego Santo has a new watcher with dark ambitions of his own. As old enemies reemerge and a new threat arises, the betrayal that enslaved Calisto to the night might destroy the only woman he’s ever loved again. I liked the story, but had some minor issues with the hero (even though he was sexy, but I like more than a pretty face). Had a nice suspense going for it, which made it hard to put down at times.

Oct 5: “Silver Wolf Clan” by Tera Shanley, a paranormal romance. Blurb on Goodreads: Loving him will be legendary...if she can survive it. What happens when monsters turn out to be real? One summer night while camping in the woods, Morgan Carter finds out in a big way. A tall mysterious stranger, Greyson Crawford, risks his life to try and save her sister from the vicious wolf attacking their camp. When he’s bitten and disappears into the night, Morgan can only assume the worst. Greyson shows up a year later, and he’s a different animal altogether. His eye color shifts constantly and the rumble in his throat sounds more animal than human. She hasn’t any idea where he’s been all this time, but a good guess as to what he’s become. Grey is determined not to let the darkness of his new existence affect Morgan and the little girl in her care. He hasn’t been able to stop thinking about Morgan but knows he should stay away and let her live a normal life. That’s easier said than done, though. A new danger pulls him from the shadows to keep her safe, and he’s no wolf in sheep’s clothing. Can she accept what lurks just below his surface? More importantly, can she survive him? My only complaint? No sex scene. L Although I was teased a couple of times. I enjoy her books and this one is a great love story (and I love love stories).

Okay, so maybe some of these books were shorter than usual, but it was nice to get caught up in my in my reading goal, even though I’m STILL two books behind. Yikes!

I’m going to a book reading/signing tonight (David Bell), which means if I like what I hear, I’ll probably come home with an autographed book. Sometimes I wonder if I’ll EVER get through my stack of unread books.

So… How many unread books do you own? I’ve lost count, but I’m guessing it’s close to 100. See? Doomed, I say! J

Happy reading!

Stacy

Musical Monday

Don't have much to say. When I arrive home after 8:30pm on Sunday from a weekend trip, the last thing I really want to do is blog. My pictures are still on my camera (not that they're all that great, or all that many). I did post a short video on Facebook of the Footy game we watched. You could always go over to my profile (link is on the sidebar) and hunt it down. If I knew how to post it here, I would!

So instead, I'm posting a video of a song I've come to enjoy listening to on the radio. I love to dance to this thing, it has such a great beat. Eventually, I'll own it.

Oh, and now that I notice it, today is my parents' 58th wedding anniversary. I see a phone call in my future!

So... Do you take any videos on your iPhone? Do you know how to post them on your blog?

Hope this Monday doesn't suck for you! I'm looking forward to a day of writing.

Stacy

Busy Weekend

Oh Canada! Yep, that’s where I’m headed. My daughter’s Footy team (Columbus Jillaroos) is playing the Toronto Footy team on Saturday. So we’ll leave tonight, after our football game.

Because, yeah, we just don’t get enough sports!

We’ll probably freeze up there. Okay, maybe “freeze” is overkill. Still, with a high in the 50s when we enjoyed 80 degree weather yesterday, it will certainly feel like freezing. I’ll have to make sure to pack some blankets (as well as our passports—can’t forget those either!).

Writing Update: While I managed to reach my daily writing goal of 2000 words once this week (and yes, I jumped for joy at that), I’m well short of my weekly goal. Still, 5000+ words going into today isn’t too shabby. And I’ve started the pre-edit on Blind Temptation. What is pre-edit you ask? Pretty much removing filler/weak/telling words. It’s kind of nice to have that to fall back on when the writing stops (basically, when my brain says “Wait, I have to figure out what comes next.”). And let me tell you, I want this puppy clean. The cleaner it is, the less I’ll have to pay for an editor. And yes, I’m getting an editor. Won’t self-publish without one.

Convention News: I registered for the Romantic Times Convention (held May 12-17 in Dallas, TX) this week. Why am I going? Because my friend Jan bugged me to. This is what happened when I told her about this convention (and she just LOVED going to Lori Foster’s event). Oh well, it’s not like I don’t enjoy going. At least I have someone to help pay for the trip and room.

Something I didn’t do at the last RT Convention I will do at the next one: Make some appointments with agents (pitching my book, “Alien Desires”—which means I gotta clean that one up, too). Just curious if they could help my career. Certainly doesn’t hurt to talk to them, right?

Well… I’m looking forward to getting some reading done on the drive up north (oh, and the drive home, too). The Nook will certainly come in handy tonight, since it has a light (and that’s about the ONLY time you’ll hear me say something nice about an e-reader). What are you looking forward to this weekend? Hope it’s good!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads

It's October! And it will be a busy month. Going on a trip to Toronto to see my daughter play Footy. Going to Dublin, OH to see my daughter play Footy. Oh, and I go on a cruise in 25 days!!! Whoo hoo!

Writing is going well, which means reading isn’t. That’s the price I pay, I guess. Anyway, here’s what I read this week:

Sep 25: “Exposed to Passion” by Gemma Brocato, the 3rd book in the Five Senses series, a contemporary romance. Blurb from Goodreads: They walked through the shadows individually. Will they emerge into the light together? Leading a vagabond life as a curator for a traveling photography exhibit translates to a lot of bad days for Rikki Salerno. But her trouble doubles when a careless high school student shoves her into a marsh. Being rescued by teacher Sam Kerrigan should have made things better, but Rikki's inability to confess her true identity casts a shadow over their budding affair. When Sam refuses an overly aggressive parent's marriage proposal, she's determined to ruin him. Not only does she doctor photos to make it look like Sam's behaved inappropriately in front of students, she hacks the foundation website to reveal Rikki's true identity. Faster than the blink of a shutter, Rikki's focus changes from pursuing her full-color future to the black and white necessity of clearing Sam's name. Choked me up there at the end. That doesn’t happen too often. Highly recommend if you like contemporary romance. I’m not a huge fan of the genre and I thought this book was great. Now I have to wait and see if another one is coming out (I hope there is) and wonder which character will be featured. All the siblings have been taken! By the way, I won this book, but was ready to order it as soon as it was available, which I believe isn’t until October 20th. So you all have to wait! Neener neener!

Sep 26: “Bringing a Ghost to Life” by Meg Cooper, an erotic paranormal short story. Blurb from Goodreads: Rebecca Fletcher and her sorority sisters plan to spend Halloween night in a supposedly haunted abandoned frat house. Legend says that if you stay in the frat, the ghost will visit you and give you an unbelievable night of passion. Rebecca doesn’t believe in the legend, much less ghosts. But when the ghost of Lawrence Lawson — Law, for short — visits, Rebecca finds she may just want to open her mind. And body. I'm not a huge fan of short stories because they're, um, short! But this was free and I couldn't resist and for a short story, it did what I wanted: it entertained me for the thirty minutes I walked on the treadmill (which was perfect). J It also counted as a book toward my Goodreads goal (yeah, I cheated, so sue me!). But for a Halloween story… well, I would have liked it to be spookier. But hey, that’s the horror reader in me. I see Halloween and that’s what I expect. Interesting story, though.

Happy reading!

Stacy