Wednesday Reads and Man, It’s HOT!

Made it to Santa Barbara yesterday. Normal temps this time of year is in the mid 70s. It was 98. Supposed to reach 90 today. Normally, the temps don’t bother me so much, but my parents’ house doesn’t have A/C.

I’m melting…

I know. It could be worse. It could be humid, too. Luckily, it is not.

Here’s what I read the past week:

Book #54

Dates read: October 15-21
Title: “Immortally Yours”
Year of publication: 2017
Author: Lynsay Sands
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Argeneau Vampire Series #26
# of Pages: 367
Paper or plastic: Mass market paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: One hundred and twenty-five years is a long time to nurse a crush. That’s how long it’s been since Beth Argenis first met Cullen “Scotty” MacDonald and he instantly became the star of her most X-rated dreams. Back then, he was rescuing her from a rogue immortal. Now Beth’s a Rogue Hunter—and a damn good one. She doesn’t need saving anymore, despite what Scotty thinks. What she does need is the fierce, wild desire that finally erupts between them.
    Scotty has hesitated to claim Beth as his own. But one explosive kiss confirms what he’s long suspected: She’s his life mate. But Beth is tough, fearless, beautiful…and in immortal danger. Unless he wants to lose her forever, he’ll have to rethink everything he once believed about love and destiny as well as confront an enemy who’s terrifyingly close.
My thoughts: I still enjoy this world so much. A Lynsay Sands book is always an entertaining one for me (which is a good thing, because these books are an auto-buy). They’re sexy AND funny (but not in a crazy-funny way).

There’s a huge giveaway of paranormal romance & urban fantasy books going on HERE (to help generate Amazon followers). Each author is sponsoring a book. Check it out and click on any of those you’d like to win (you’ll see who’s sponsoring it, too). And if you click on Lynsay Sands’ book, you might recognize who’s sponsoring that giveaway. Hint: it’s ME! J

So… How about those Dodgers? Whoo hoo!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Pictures Taken Over the Weekend

I found a city I could easily live in: Carlsbad, California. Of course, I'd probably have to win the lottery to afford it. I can only GUESS how much it costs to live here.

Daughter's footy games didn't go so well. They lost all four. She still had a good time and the weather was OUTSTANDING! I mean, you couldn't have asked for a better weekend. Well, except for a win. She would have liked one of those.

Today we visit an aquarium before taking Daughter to the airport. Then maybe Hubby and I will go over to the USS Midway Museum. Maybe. We haven't made up our minds yet. Anyway, here are some pictures I took over the weekend:

I'm thinking you can only find this in California.
We discovered this at our hotel.

This is where the USAFL Nationals was played at:
Surf Cup Sports Park in Del Mar, CA.
I can only imagine how much those homes must cost.

My daughter in the pink, #66.
I'll let you guess WHY she has 66.
Or you can ask in the comments and I'll tell you. :)

Beach in Carlsbad, CA

The other view of the beach in Carlsbad. We walked to the
end in this direction.

Some of the homes/apartments/vacation suites
overlooking the beach. I wouldn't mind staying at
one of them, but I'm sure I couldn't afford it.

Reached the end of the beach and took this picture.
As I was uploading it to Instagram, I stupidly turned my
back to the ocean. Yep, a wave got me. Ooops.

Sunset in California!

That's all for today. Tomorrow I head up to my parent's house. I'm not sure if they have wifi or not, so next post might be difficult. We'll see.

Happy Monday!


Stacy

Vacation, Cancer Update, and Horror Flash Fiction

My vacation starts today! Yay, yay, yay!

I can’t guarantee I’ll continue to blog during the next couple of weeks, but I will if I remember and I have something to say/share—like a good picture. I mean, I’ll be in Southern California. I’m sure I’ll have lots of good pictures!

Now here’s hoping the flight doesn’t mess with my hearing. I really hate flying because of that (it HURTS when the plane descends), but it’s just too far to drive this time around.

So… Yesterday I saw my surgeon. Yes, I need more surgery. But… it doesn’t have anything to do with the cancer. He got all of that and the margins were great (yay!). The area that is giving me problems is an area that could develop into cancer. Apparently, “the book” requires a larger margin for that than the cancer and it’s not known if radiation will get/kill it all. Since the surgery isn’t as long (about a 15-minute procedure) and I won’t need to be completely out (like I was before), it made the decision to go with another surgery a lot easier to make.

Besides, Hubby pretty much said I need to do whatever it takes for me to still be around when he turns 80. J

That means I’ll have surgery after I get back from my trip (Nov 6), and radiation will be pushed into mid December provided I don’t need chemo. Now, my lymph nodes all came back clear (yay!!), but there’s another test that’s being run to determine if I have some gene that indicates I have a higher chance of reoccurrence. I find out that answer on Nov 27th. Hopefully the answer comes back NO. I really do not want chemo (but I’ll do it for Hubby if needed).

Okay, enough of that depressing stuff. Here’s something fun. I got a question from Goodreads (in the Ask an Author section), to write a two-sentence horror story. After thinking for a bit, this is what I wrote:

She walked into the garage and the spider taunted her as it sat blocking her way to the car. But after smushing the nasty arachnid, like she had done to all the others, millions more rained down upon her head in retaliation.

Was that horror enough for you? It certainly was for me! I hate spiders!!!

So… Are you having a second summer this week? I was all set for moderate temps back home only to find it’ll be close to 100! Yikes!! That is definitely NOT fall weather for Southern California.

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and I’m a Little Mad

Here’s what I read the past week:

Book #53

Dates read: October 5-14
Title: “Dark Legacy”
Year of publication: 2009
Author: Anna DeStefano
Genre: Paranormal romance
Series: Legacy #1
# of Pages: 307
Paper or plastic: Mass market paperback
How obtained: Free from a convention
Blurb from book: “Die!” scream her nightmares. The voice is her sister’s, the compulsion stronger than any ordinary dream.
    Maddie Temple can’t go through this again. Her twin has been in a coma for the last ten years. Their psychic link was severed. At least, that’s what she thought.
    But there’s a lot Maddie doesn’t know—about the 200-year-old curse on her family, about the shadowy group that wants to exploit the Temple twins’ powers for themselves, about the sexy psychiatrist offering to help her. The only way to find the answers and avoid being pulled into the abyss of madness is to trust her heart and confront her dark legacy.
My thoughts: This is one of those books that I nearly threw across the room when I reached the end. Why? Because the ending was not satisfying. Wait, it would have had to have an ending for that to happen. This story isn’t over. Not by a long-shot (I still don’t know what the 200-year-old curse is!). It’s a tactic some authors use to get you to buy the next book, but this book would have had to be great to rope me in, and it wasn’t. I saw the low rating (and bad reviews) on Goodreads, but gave it a try anyway because it’s a romance. Except it really wasn’t (not in the way I like them). Yay me for sticking with it. Not so yay for the author, because I really have no desire to continue reading this series. Not when I don’t trust the author.

Can I be a little mad? And no, this has nothing to do with the book. I arrived to what I thought was an appointment with my radiation oncologist on Monday in preparation for radiation treatments (which are to start in Nov). But… he said the appointment was for the following Monday. Not so, I said. I won’t be in town (so I know I wouldn’t have agreed to that date!). He wants to wait until after I see my surgeon, which I see tomorrow. Luckily, he can see me that day, after that appointment. The not so lucky part was that he hinted that the margins might not have come back good enough and I might need more surgery.

More surgery? I specifically told my surgeon to take MORE than was needed. That I wasn’t worried about disfigurement or anything like that. So yeah, I’m kind of pissed. I sure hope the radiation oncologist was wrong because I really don’t want to have to go through another surgery. And really, why should I? Won’t the radiation kill whatever cancer cells I might have remaining? I’ll let you know Friday what I find out.

So… Have you read any books this year that you wanted to toss after reaching the end? What did you do with it? Like all of my free reads this year, I’m giving mine away (via my newsletter), but I feel so bad about the ending, I’m also giving away a bonus book. Gotta keep my subscribers HAPPY!

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Publishing Update and Have Lunch With Some Authors

I finally got the print format for Ghostly Liaison and My Sunny Vampire uploaded to Createspace, so now the waiting game begins. I’ll still get a proof copy first (because you never know…), but I sure hope I’m done with these two.

Bite Me, I’m Yours is with Hubby (via Enterprise Book Services) to format the e-book and paperback. He said I should get the e-book version by today to upload. It’ll probably be a few days later for the print format. I just hope it’s all done before I leave on my vacation (which starts Friday—yay!).

By the way, here’s the new cover to Bite Me, I’m Yours. Isn’t it great? I think Maria Zannini (www.bookcoverdiva.blogspot.com) has done a wonderful job in creating my covers. And she puts up a lot from me, too (because I can be so indecisive at times).

So, to sum it up, here are the statuses of the following books I’m working on:

• My Sunny Vampire: e-books available for sale; print book in process
• Bite Me, I’m Yours: e-books and print book in process
• Ghostly Liaison: e-books available for sale; print book in process
• Ghostly Interlude: with copy editor.

I can’t believe how time consuming it’s been to get these books out. I DESERVE that vacation now! And I’m really hoping I get some writing done because yes, that does sound like a fun thing to do on vacation. It’s been way too long since I wrote anything NEW.

If you’re in the Cincinnati area (or even if you’re not—haha!) and you’d like to have lunch with a bunch of us authors (because hey, that’s fun!), here’s a great opportunity and it’s for a good cause, too. The Book Chicks of Cincinnati is holding a Christmas luncheon/book signing with proceeds going to the Toys for Tots. I had a blast last year (as did everyone), but if we don’t get more tickets sold, it could very well be cancelled this year. L You can find all the details HERE, but before you go registering, email me first (stacy @ stacymckitrick . com—without the spaces). I’ll send you a code to get $5 off.

SPORTS! Wayne HS won on Friday, with 14 seconds left in the game!!! I even found a video of it HERE (it's not long, less than a minute). Aaack. Too exciting! Saturday was a nice sports day. OSU won. USC won. Penguins won. Dodgers won. And WVU won (yes, I like them, too). And Sunday the Steelers squeaked by KC in a nerve-wracking win, the Rams beat the Jags, and the Dodgers won it in the 9th inning with a walk off home run!! They’re up 2-0 in the NLCS. I could use more fun sports weekends like that.

So… Which sports are you enjoying/focusing on now? You can see what interest me (and did you notice I don’t mention the NBA? Yeah, I don’t like them). This certainly is the busy season, isn’t it?

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and I’m Getting There

After Monday’s fiasco, I still managed to get My Sunny Vampire back into the stores (Amazon, B&N, and Smashwords for now). That’s two down and one to go (as long as you don’t count the print books—still need to work on those). Well… actually, two to go. I still have Ghostly Interlude to publish, but it’ll be after Oct 23 (because that’s when my copy editor can get to it). But I’m getting there. And hopefully they’ll all sell like popular books. Hopefully.

Here’s what I read the past week:

Book #52

Dates read: September 27-October 4
Title: “I Know a Secret”
Year of publication: 2017
Author: Tess Gerritsen
Genre: Suspense
Series: Rizzoli & Isles #12
# of Pages: 314
Paper or plastic: Hardback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: Two separate homicides, at different locations, with unrelated victims, have more in common than just being investigated by Boston PD detective Jane Rizzoli and medical examiner Maura Isles. In both cases, the bodies bear startling wounds—yet the actual cause of death is unknown. It’s a doubly challenging case for the cop and the coroner to be taking on, at a fraught time for both of them. As Jane struggles to save her mother from the crumbling marriage that threatens to bury her, Maura grapples with the imminent death of her own mother—infamous serial killer Amalthea Lank.
    While Jane tends to her mother, there’s nothing Maura can do for Amalthea, except endure one final battle of wills with the woman whose shadow has haunted her all her life. Though succumbing to cancer, Amalthea hasn’t lost her taste for manipulating her estranged daughter—this time by dangling a cryptic clue about the two bizarre murders Maura and Jane are desperately trying to solve.
    But whatever the dying convict knows is only a piece of the puzzle. Soon the investigation leads to a secretive young woman who survived a shocking abuse scandal, an independent horror film that may be rooted in reality, and a slew of martyred saints who died cruel and unusual deaths. And just when Rizzoli and Isles think they’ve cornered a devilish predator, the long-buried past rears its head—and threatens to engulf more innocent lives, including their own.
My thoughts: I think this series will always entertain me. I like seeing where Jane and Maura’s lives are going as well as solving the crime. And this one has some strange twists to it; fooled me at the end.

Would you believe that I actually sold TWO copies of My Sunny Vampire on Amazon between the time the book finally finished processing and I was able to unpublish it? Why can’t I sell them like that ALL THE TIME? Because yeah, it’s out there and…**chirp chirp** Still, I feel bad those two copies went out there without the italics. I hope the reader doesn’t become too confused. Or maybe I got lucky and Amazon automatically sends the most current version? Well, I can hope!

So… What are you reading now? I’m reading a book I got from a convention that is turning out better than the reviews led me to believe. Which just goes to show, you can’t always go by the reviews.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

When You Can’t Sleep…

Got so busy last night uploading My Sunny Vampire to KDP, Nook, and Smashwords, that I never got around to writing up a post for this morning. Then I woke up at 3am.

No, the blog wasn’t calling me. My book was. Hubby had mentioned on Friday (yes, Friday!) that the italics hadn’t come across when he was formatting it for print. I never bothered to check the e-book.

Until 3am this morning.

Yep, no italics anywhere. Ugh!

Smashwords thankfully had already denied the book (the epub failed something), and it appears I might have been able to stop publishing it on Nook, but I can’t pull the book from KDB until it finishes processing.

What a mess. I just want to cry.

Wait, I might have done a little of that already. *sniff, sniff*

Now that I know what kept me up and I’ve done all I can do at this time, I still can’t sleep. So why not write?

I have to say, it doesn’t hurt to sleep. I’m so bound up by this bra the hospital gave me that I can sleep on my side without any pain. And I’m not taking any pain medication, either (and I hope I won’t have to—hate taking that stuff). Of course, it’s not helping that the area is starting to itch.

I know that’s a good sign that it’s healing, but man, it’s driving me nuts!

Football yesterday was pretty nasty. Don’t know what team showed up against the Jaguars, but it sure wasn’t the Steelers I know. And I had hoped the Rams could have pulled out a win against the Seahawks, but it wasn’t meant to be, I guess. L

Looking forward to being able to actually WATCH my first hockey game this season. I think the Pens are on NBC Sports on Wednesday. I might even check out the Vegas Golden Knights this week (they’re on late one day). I’ve become a fan of that team because of Fleury (I love that goalie!).

So… When you can’t sleep, what do you do? Toss and turn? Or go to another room and read or something? I might try the reading part next. I refuse to toss and turn.

Happy Monday!

Stacy

I Scared Hubby

Thank you for all the well wishes! My surgery went fine (after some unpleasant pre-operation procedures) in that the doctor thinks he got it all and only had to remove two lymph nodes for testing. I’ll know all the results when I see him on the 19th, the day before we leave for our California trip. He said he’d send me on my way with good news. I sure hope so.

But Wednesday night Hubby didn’t think it went so well. You see, I had problems coming out of anesthesia. Something both his parents had basically died from.

I was supposed to come home on Wednesday. Told Hubby I’d probably be starving, since I wouldn’t have eaten anything all day. Instead, I came to groggy and nauseous (Hubby said I was unresponsive, which scared the you know whatsis out of him), and I couldn’t keep anything down (food was the last thing I wanted). Doctor thought it best I spend a night in the hospital.

I was a mess. I kept thinking, what if this was my heart surgery? And will I have to go through all that again? Gosh, I hope not. I was miserable. I hate feeling nauseous. And Hubby felt a lot better when I started talking coherently with him. I don't think he'd have gone home to sleep if I hadn't.

I woke up in the morning with a headache, but once I got some coffee in me, I felt tons better (those caffeine withdrawals will get you every time). I arrived home yesterday afternoon feeling much better. Actually ate something!

The pain isn’t as bad as I thought it would be, and I’m only on ibuprofen. For now. I have some vicodin, but I’ll probably only use it before bedtime. At least until it doesn’t hurt to lie down (because this gal likes to sleep on her side!).

So… Who, besides me, is looking forward to a nice, uneventful weekend? And have you ever scared your significant other?

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and Today’s the Day

Today’s the day I get this cancer cut out of me. I hope they get it all. And I hope I get to come home tonight. As long as I come out of anesthesia okay, I will. Because, hey, there’s a hockey game on TV at 8pm (Let’s go Pens!). Sure hope I can stay awake to watch it. J

I’m also hoping to get a lot of reading done today (since I was told there’s a lot of lag time before my surgery), but at least I do have one book to report this week. Here’s what I read the past week:

Book #51

Dates read: September 15-27
Title: “Tempting the Light”
Year of publication: 2016
Author: Bonnie Gill
Genre: Paranormal romantic comedy
Series: L.A.M.P.S. #1
# of Pages: 263
Paper or plastic: Trade paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: Bad luck magnet Abby Fitzpatrick gets fired, catches her boyfriend cheating with a mime, and is cursed by an evil genie who pops out of a tampon box. She’s bound and determined to remove the spell and, as fate would have it, the hottest guy she’s ever met is out to kill her.
    River Stone, a Cryptid hunter for Legends and Myths Police Squad (L.A.M.P.S.), poses as sheriff for Abby’s hometown of Haber Cove, New Jersey. He’s out to find and capture a man-eating gnome and bag the legendary Jersey Devil monster. Little does he realize, the woman who catches his heart is the same creature that he was sent to destroy.
    Tempting the Light is the first novel in the L.A.M.P.S. series that features hunky secret agents who find true love while hunting and slaying dangerous Cryptids.
My thoughts: If you’re into crazy-humorous events, then give this book a try. Definitely light-hearted.

I’ve got some good news. I set up Ghostly Interlude on Goodreads. So if you’ve been waiting to add it to your “Want to Read” list, you don’t have to wait any longer. And to help you out, here’s the link for the book page: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/36347633-ghostly-interlude

Happy Reading!

Stacy

45 Degrees? Hello, October!

The house felt a little cooler than usual when I woke up yesterday. There was a good reason for that, too. Seemed it got a bit chilly out side: 45 degrees! Well, that’s what it was at 8:30am. Might have been colder before then.

Boy, October struck quickly!

I like walking in the morning, but not when it’s that cold. I foresee future walks at the fitness center. Which is just as well. I kind of need to exercise, too. But not this week. Probably not next week, either. But I can keep walking (doctor said so), I just hope it’s outside and not at the fitness center. I really hate walking on the treadmill.

Although, I tend to read more when I do. Hmmm…

I’m hosting Sizzle and Sass (over on Facebook) this week. If you have a Facebook account, come on over and say hi. It gets lonely there sometimes. Okay, most times. Not many people see my posts. Which is kind of ironic when Facebook keeps telling me I need to post more. If they want me to post more, they should share my posts with more people! Or at least the people who have liked my page. Is that too much to ask? Apparently so.

The Steelers won yesterday! Yay! So did the Rams! Super yay! It was a good football day yesterday. It wasn’t so good Friday night. Wayne (HS) got their butts kicked. As did USC (Trojans). Ouch.

So… Are you a fan of fall? Do you like the colder temps? Fall never bothered me so much when I grew up in California. Now it does. I don’t like being reminded that summer is over and winter isn’t far ahead.

Plus, all those leaves! Ugh.

Happy Monday!

Stacy