Happy Tax Day!

If you’re one of those last minute tax preparers, I hope you get your return filed in time (I believe you have until midnight tonight). I may be a procrastinator, but I NEVER wait until the last minute. The IRS scares me too much to do that. Haha!

I got my return filed weeks ago and already received my refund (another reason I filed early). I’m sure I would have waited until later if I owed money, but I still wouldn’t wait until the last day. Nope. That would just be too much stress for me.

I do not have any pictures from Sunday’s Reds game. That’s because we didn’t go. It was raining pretty steadily by the time we had to leave for the 1:10 game, so we waited. Game kept getting postponed until first pitch started at 3:45. By that time I was already into the Penguins game (they’re now up 2 games to 1—whoo hoo!). Plus it was getting colder by the hour. Thank goodness the tickets were free. I didn’t feel that guilty not going.

I took a walk to the post office on Friday. It was pretty windy, but nice and warm (close to the 80s!). Thought I might actually get to start walking outside this week. Then I checked the weather.

Yeah, it ain’t happening this week. Rain, rain, maybe snow, and cold weather until Friday. Some spring this is turning out to be. We’re going to go straight from brrrr to sweaty, I just know it.

So… Has the weather put a crimp in your weekend plans? Next Saturday I’ll be in Corbin, KY for the Southeastern Kentucky Author Event. It’s not an outdoor event, but I sure hope the weather is nicer. Maybe then more people will attend!

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and Happy Birthday to Hubby!

Today is Hubby’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Sweetie!). He’s officially an old person. At least, that’s what he’s telling everyone because he was forced to start Medicare this month. I say he won’t be old until NEXT year, when he starts collecting Social Security. Haha!

Guess I shouldn’t laugh too loud, though. I plan on collecting SS in 1-1/2 years. It’s not like I’m making tons of money now, so I really doubt I’ll have to worry about giving any of it back. But hey, things could change. My books could take off!

One can hope.

Here’s what I finished reading this week:

Book #4

Dates read: February 7-14
Title: “Into the Black Nowhere”
Year of publication: 2018
Author: Meg Gardiner
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Series: UNSUB #2
# of Pages: 352
Paper or plastic: Hardback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: On Saturday nights, women are disappearing. One vanishes from a movie theater. Another is ripped from her car at a stoplight. Another vanishes from her home while checking on her baby. Rookie FBI agent Caitlin Hendrix, newly assigned to the FBI’s elite Behavioral Analysis Unit, fears that a serial killer is roaming the dark roads outside Austin, Texas.
    Caitlin and the FBI discover the first victim’s body in the woods. She’s laid out in a bloodstained white nightgown. A second victim lies deeper in the forest’s darkness. Both bodies are surrounded by Polaroid photos, stuck in the earth like headstones. Each photo pictures a different woman, wrists slashed suicide-style—posed like Snow White awaiting her prince’s kiss.
    To track the unknown subject, Caitlin must get inside his mind. How is he selecting these women? Working with her mentor, a legendary FBI profiler, Caitlin searches for that elusive point where character and action come together. This is a confident, meticulous killer who convinces his victims to lower their guard until he can take them in plain sight. He then reduces them to objects in a twisted fantasy—dolls for him to possess, control, and ultimately destroy. Caitlin’s profile leads the FBI to focus on one man: a charismatic, successful professional who easily gains people’s trust. As another Saturday nigh approaches, Caitlin and the FBI enter a desperate game of cat and mouse, racing to capture the cunning predator before he claims more victims.
My thoughts: Another winner from Meg. I’d have read this book much faster if I didn’t feel guilty every time I picked it up (you know, because I should be writing!). I like how Caitlin isn’t perfect. But sometimes I’d like to slap her upside the head, too. Not because of the case she’s working on, but because of her private life. But I also like how she has one…sort of. J If you like FBI suspense dramas, you’ll definitely like this book.

Book #5

Dates read: February 16-20
Title: “Poisonous”
Year of publication: 2016
Author: Allison Brennan
Genre: Suspense/Thriller
Series: Maxine Revere #3
# of Pages: 420
Paper or plastic: Mass market paperback
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from book: When teenage Internet bully Ivy Lake fell off a cliff, few people cared—except her developmentally challenged eighteen-year-old stepbrother, Tommy. In spite of her occasional cruelty, Tommy loved her. Now it’s been a year since Ivy’s disappearance and the police still have no answers. Was it suicide, an accident, or something more sinister?
    This isn’t the type of case investigative reporter Maxine Revere normally takes on, but when she receives a heartbreaking plea from Tommy, Max feels driven to help. At first, the police are willing to cooperate as she looks for clues about what happened to Ivy. But once Max delves deeper into the investigation, and learns more about Tommy and his dysfunctional family, the more she thinks she’s taken on an impossible task: this may be the one case she can’t solve. If Ivy was murdered, it was exceptionally well-planned…and that kind of killer could be hiding in plain sight and plotting the next act of violence. Max believes the truth is the only path to justice. Will finding it get her killed?
My thoughts: I might not have been planning on reading this book right now, but wow, what a great read. I keep forgetting how much I love Allison’s books. Of course, I think I have a whole stack of books from authors I keep forgetting I love, too. If only I could read all the time. But my writing wouldn’t be the only thing that suffers. My eyesight would too! J

The taxes are now behind me. Yay! Wasn’t quite as bad as last year. Not good, but not as bad. It helped taking it a little bit at a time. It also helped seeing we’re getting a refund. Double yay!

So…  Did you read to the end? (thank you, by the way) Do I bore you with my books? Or have you been tempted to check some of them out?

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Since today is St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d go with a GREEN theme! That way you can’t pinch my blog. Hahahahaha!

My last name is Irish (now), but would you believe I’m more Irish than my husband? My paternal grandmother was born there as was my maternal great-grandfather. Hubby’s Irish ancestors came over way back in the early 1800s! But my maiden name (Thurber) didn’t reflect my Irish roots.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, I AM related to James Thurber. We share a distant relative (I just don’t remember which one).

I like the fact my last name is Irish now (and has been for 37 years). Now I just have to remember to wear something green today (because that’s the only Irish thing I do). I tend to forget that stuff when the Penguins are playing—I just grab a Penguins t-shirt.

Yesterday I finally got time to complete my city income tax. I really hate their site. The instructions are in docx files (I can’t open those and don’t necessarily want to download another program on my laptop so I can). Why would they do that? What’s wrong with PDFs? Ugh.

Then their fill-in form doesn’t even calculate correctly. After printing it, I crossed off the wrong number and filled in the correct one. I plan on taking the form to the office and will pay in person (yeah, we owe a little bit), just in case they have issues with my return.

I liked it so much better when they used to mail me the forms. I get nothing from them now. Not even a reminder.

After a pretty busy week, it would be nice to have a quiet weekend, but that won’t be the case. My RWA chapter is having a mini event (two speakers) which will last all day (8:30-5:30 + 2 hrs of total driving). I may be lucky to get out of bed on Sunday.

So… Do you celebrate St. Patrick’s Day? Drink green beer? Eat corned beef and cabbage? Go to Chicago to see the river turn green? Or are you like me: stay at home, eat normal food, and watch TV?

Happy Friday!

Stacy

A Change in Plans and Forever Thirty-two

Well… Hubby was supposed to start chemo and radiation on Wednesday. However, when the nurse tried to put in the IV, she met with some resistance. And Hubby met with some pain. Not good. Therefore, Hubby needs a port inserted to make life easier for the nurses and him. That’ll occur on Monday (minor surgery) so chemo and radiation have been moved to next Wednesday.

It’s frustrating, because we just want to get this started and over with as soon as possible. Didn’t exactly want to wait another week, but it is what it is.

We did get to see what the place is like, though. A lot of people get crammed into this small room. I had hoped to bring my laptop and work, but with the tiny chair I’m given, I’m thinking I won’t be able to do that. Not comfortably, anyway.

Would you believe Hubby said I didn’t have to go with him? Like anything would keep me from going.

The guy is nuts, I tell you. NUTS!

^^^^

Last year (or maybe the year before) I finally got around to putting my short story, Forever Thirty-two, up on Amazon and making it free. Recently I noticed it’d been for sale for 99 cents (which is the default). I gave Amazon a link to B&N to show it was free there, but that didn’t seem to help. Not wanting to go through another e-mail discussion where they tell me I’m breaking my terms of service, I decided to just take the short story down from Amazon. If anyone wants it, they can get it free on my website (and various other places).

I can see why Amazon wouldn’t want to sell anything for free. I mean, what’s in it for them, right? I guess if a lot of people had been downloading the short story on Amazon, it would have been a harder decision to remove it, but I give away more copies on Smashwords, iBooks, and Nook than I do on Amazon. Then again, it stays FREE on those sites.

^^^^

I finally, FINALLY, received the Schedule K-1 I’ve been waiting for and guess what? I don’t need to report anything. Figures. Guess that means I can finish my taxes now. Oh joy! I can’t complain too much, though. We are getting money back.

So… Doing anything fun this weekend? The weather is supposed to turn back to cold (grrr), but our friends are coming over from Columbus and will cook dinner. Yay! Which means… I’ve got to clean the house! Aaack!

Happy Friday!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads and I Still Haven’t Filed

Would you believe I still haven’t filed my taxes? That’s because I’m still waiting on a Schedule K-1 from some partnership distributions we received during the year. But once I get that form, I’ll be entering all my data, hoping I haven’t forgotten something that the software reminds me about. At least I have a GOOD reason for not filing yet. It’s not one I like, but hey, it’s a nice distribution so we don’t want to get rid of that stock. Not yet anyway.

Here’s what I read the past week:

Dates read: February 15-20
Title: “Bound by Moonlight”
Year of publication: 2008
Author: Donna MacMeans
Genre: Historical paranormal romance
Series: Bound By #1
# of Pages: 257
Paper or plastic: Paper
How obtained: Purchased
Blurb from Book: Lusinda Havershaw turns invisible in moonlight—just her, not her clothes. She can’t help it or prevent the process; it just happens. The descendent of a rare race, her ancestors have been burned as witches, persecuted and tormented as the devil’s children. She must be careful to avoid detection. However, as her family has no other means of support, she reluctantly sheds her petticoats and corset during a full moon to prowl the gaslit streets of London, stark naked, as a thief for hire.
The only tools British spy and master safecracker James Locke needs are his hands and his brains. But when a hand tremor threatens his mission to secure a list of agents for the Crown, the accidental discovery of a lady thief with an extraordinary secret may just be his salvation. However, as James and Lusinda discover, there’s more than one kind of trouble to be found in the moonlight. The kind that begins with blackmail and ends with a kiss…
My thoughts: This book was first published under the title of The Trouble With Moonlight. After reading some non-romances in a romance contest (argh!), I needed to read a romance. This one filled the bill! I only had a tiny problem with the moon phases, but overall a very enjoyable read with some great sexual tension! Yay! Historical romance isn’t my go-to genre, but I could see me reading all of Donna’s books now.

I have finally finished my judging duties (yay!) and can now concentrate on writing, of which I need a swift kick in the behind to get started again. But looking at my WIP, I’m wondering if I’ve got the players right. One character started out being the ghost’s brother, then I switched him to the heroine’s brother, now I’m thinking he really does need to be the ghost’s brother. I know, you have no idea what I’m talking about. Sometimes I don’t think I do either. J But I just have to remind myself that the beginnings of most of my books have changed numerous times before I finally got it right. I’m sure it’ll be no different this time around.

Wait… It is no different. Ugh.

So… Have you watched the new series “Doubt”? It stars Kathrine Heigl and is about a defense lawyer (Heigl) who becomes romantically involved with a client who may or may not be guilty of a violent crime. We’ve watched the pilot and I was very impressed, so we’ll stick with this series for a bit. Of course, I liked “Conflicted,” too, but that series appears to have been cancelled. Boo.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

Hoping Life Gets Back to Normal Soon

Last week was hectic. This week is looking to be the same, but for a whole different reason.

Last week I was hosting the Sizzle and Sass page. I decided to just give up and dedicate my time to Facebook for the week (and ended up forgetting to post here Friday—oops). Did it get me any sales? No, but then I didn’t really expect it to. I did gain some likes on my own Facebook page, so that was nice. I might have even gotten a new subscriber to my newsletter, too.

Because of Facebook, I didn’t get much writing done. Then again, I find it hard to write when Hubby is home anyway. That could change this week if not for one thing:

Taxes

Yesterday I completed the LLC taxes (Hubby’s formatting business). What. A. Pain. The H&R Block software isn’t as easy as I thought it would be. I tried to file electronically. It said I had to scan some form and add it to the pdf file. Of course, it doesn’t tell you HOW to do that. So the return is getting mailed today.

Next up, the 1040.

UGH!

I can only imagine the headache this will give me. But the taxes have to be done, so I might as well get them over with and do them this week. And yes, I expect it’ll take me all week. Most of my time will be spent getting the stuff together so I can easily enter it in the software.

I sure hope it’ll be easy.

I really must think about getting an accountant one of these days. I just don’t have any idea how to go about getting one. I’m so afraid of getting ripped off.

Last Tuesday Hubby and I actually made it to the theatre to see “Hidden Figures.” Wow. What a great movie. It’s kind of sad what those women had to go through, though. I’d like to think we’re a different country now, but sadly, I don’t think I can. The “stuff” just shifts. Seems like there is always some group who will be treated badly because of how they look/act.

Whoever said “the more things change, the more things stay the same” got it right, huh?

Hubby returns to work today. Tomorrow he has another doctor appointment where we hope to get some news. Hope it’s some Happy Valentine good news. Sure could use some of that. We just want life to get back to normal.

 

So... Have you filed your taxes already? If so... I might hate you. Just a little.

 

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Taxes Update – Yeah, I’m Not Done Yet

Well, the taxes are moving along slowly. On Friday I was able to get Form 1065 (and accompanying K-1s) filled out with the help of my hubby’s co-worker. It wasn’t near as bad as I thought. Next year I’ll make sure to get the right software!

I hope to finish the federal taxes today. Unless I wait for that K-1 from Cedar Point. We have stock with them, and that’s how they report the dividends since they’re really partnership distributions. It’s not like it’s a lot of money. In fact, I don’t think it affected our refund at all last year. Still, I probably should wait. Right?

I suppose if I needed the refund right away (which I’m glad we’re getting—we’ve had to pay many years in a row), I would file now and hope for the best. But since I don’t (and boy, am I glad we’ve finally reached that part in our lives—never thought I’d see the day!), and since the refund is going into our “pay the house off” fund, then I could probably stand to wait a few more days/weeks.

Of course, I still have the state and city taxes to file. State is a pain (oh wait, they’re all a pain). I usually print out what H&R Block figures out and then file on line on their site to save $20. But I think I might just give in and pay it this year and let H&R Block file it for me. I have to think my time is worth 20 bucks, I guess.

But city? I refuse to file on line for that. I did that last year and then I had to go and mail it all in anyway. What a pain! (Like I said, they’re all a pain.) This year I’ll just fill in their form on line, print it out, and mail it all in. It’s not like I get anything back anyway.

So far Big Red is doing okay. I finally got all my software loaded on Friday night and my files transferred. It’s nice to have it back, but still, I have to get used to the smaller print again. And Windows 10.

Dell did contact me and asked me how I felt they were doing. I told them I thought it was pretty bad how long I had to wait for a problem I had contacted them about twice before. I also asked them if I still had to leave my laptop unplugged overnight (since one of their technicians said me leaving it plugged in when it was off was causing the overload). To my surprise, they replied and apologized. Said they would put my case in archive, but would reopen it if I ran into more problems. They also said the plugging in the laptop had nothing to do with the hard drive. So, I’m leaving it plugged in again and we’ll see what happens.

Hopefully NOTHING!!!!

So… don’t you love it when I talk taxes and computers? That’s what happens when that’s all I’ve done for the past week, I guess (well, I was editing, too, which is definitely boring). Anything interesting happen in your part of the world? Please share!

Happy Monday!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads--It's BAAAACK!

I’m sad to say that Blind Temptation did not win either the judges or readers award in Judge a Book By Its Cover (**heavy sigh**). But maybe I’ll get lucky and some of the judges will like what they saw and buy my book! I can hope, right? Anyway, I’m back to reporting books and here’s what I read this week:

Feb 14: “Witchlight” by Sonya Clark. #2 in the Magic Born series, a paranormal romance at 240 pages. Blurb from Goodreads: In 2066, the Magic Born are segregated in urban reservations. The laws do not protect them, or their allies. Councilwoman Elizabeth Marsden is a powerful player in New Corinth politics, but a closely guarded secret could destroy her life—she's a hidden Magic Born. Her family has gone to great lengths to erase all her magic-related records, until a trancehacking outlaw discovers the last remaining one… Vadim Bazarov smuggles Magic Borns through the underground railroad and threatens to reveal Elizabeth's secret unless she helps him access blank ID cards. Elizabeth wants to hate him for having a stranglehold on her life, but can't help being attracted to someone so sure of who and what he is. Vadim initially sees her as a political ice queen, but is intrigued by her suppressed magical abilities. He trains Elizabeth to use her magic, and before long finds himself falling for her. But their newfound love may be shortlived; an anti-magic ordinance forces one of them to make a choice that will change both their lives for good. This one read a little slower for me than the first one did. The pace would pick up and then get bogged down, sort of like a roller coaster. I still enjoyed the story, and the ending was upbeat (this is a romance after all), even though the world projected here is a very sad one. Won't stop me from reading the next one in the series, though.  

I started the taxes yesterday, but didn’t finish. Apparently there’s this other form we have to complete and I’m not at all familiar with it (and of course the software doesn't take care of it, either). Have I mentioned how much I. HATE. TAXES??? I’m tempted to send hubby and his company to an accountant and let them deal with it. Ugh!

So… Have you watched “Lucifer” yet? It kind of reminds me of “Castle,” but with a supernatural bent. I think it’s funny.

Happy Reading!

Stacy

I’m Singing the Taxes Blues and HB to My Dad

Make that Wailing the Taxes Blues. That’s right. I’m going to do my taxes this week. At least, that’s the plan. I’m sure I’ll be in a wonderful mood once I begin.

NOT.

I so hate doing them. I’m hoping it will go easier this year, but I doubt it does. It never does.

So fair warning all. If I seem rather grumpy this week, you’ll know why!

Tomorrow is my father’s birthday. He’ll be 91! This is one of my favorite pictures of us together. It was taken in Aug 2004 (so I was 47 and he was 79) at our family reunion. I’m still boggled over that being 12 years ago. Man. It’s like I blink and a decade has passed!

So… Did you get any snow for Valentine’s Day? It snowed while hubby and I were at dinner. Weather didn’t seem to stop a lot of people from going out, either. I’d bet the schools would close this morning, but then again I’m not sure they were to be opened anyway. Do schools still close on President’s Day? Well, even with all this cold and snow early this week, it’s supposed to be up into the sixties by Saturday. Now THAT’S an Ohio winter! J

Have a great Monday!

Stacy

Happy Friday the 13th—Again

When there are only 28 days in February, the February calendar can be pretty much used for March. Well…until you get to days 29, 30, & 31. At least Valentine’s Day doesn’t follow this month’s Friday the 13th. No, instead we have St. Patrick’s Day to look forward to (I know some places are already decorating. Are they expecting the celebration to start this weekend?).

I most likely won’t be able to answer any comments today because…I’m driving to Chicago (actually, Lisle). Why? I’ll be attending a retreat the Windy City RWA chapter has put together. Donald Maass is giving a day-long class on Writing in the 21st Century and I’m looking forward to it.

Unfortunately (or maybe fortunately?), I couldn’t find anyone to go with me and share a room, so my hubby kindly took the day off and will drive with me and be my roommate for the night, even though he’ll basically be on his own until the class is over Saturday. He doesn’t care. He just likes being with me (insert AWWWWW here).

Now, I hope the fact that today is the 13th and it is a Friday doesn’t mean bad things will happen during our drive. I do expect some rain on the way, though. I can handle rain. It’s not snow.

Winter is over, right? RIGHT???

Remember me complaining about doing my taxes on Tuesday? Of course you do. How could you forget? Anyway, that little (humongous) task rolled right into Wednesday.

Just like when I’m editing, I had to make sure I didn’t screw anything up so I pretty much went over everything. Then, because my stupid software (H&R Block) charges $20 to e-file my state taxes, I went on the state’s site and had to enter all that crap again so I could file on-line for free (told you I’m cheap). Oh, and just when I thought I was finished, I remembered the city taxes. I filed on-line, but their stupid rule said I had to mail it in (along with the W2s), too! Why bother filing on line then? Makes no sense.

All in all, I spent another three hours filing my taxes. It’s really making me consider getting an accountant now. I do NOT want to go through that again. But I’m cheap and just the thought of paying someone to do what I COULD do, but don’t WANT to do, is enough to make my head explode. Ugh!

So… When do you think it’s worth paying someone to do something you’re capable of doing yourself?

If the hotel doesn’t offer free WiFi, I won’t be able to reply to your comments until I get home. Otherwise, it might be late tonight (or early tomorrow morning). Just know I’m not ignoring you. Really!

Happy Friday (the 13th)!

Stacy

Wednesday Reads, Taxes, and a Movie

Well, yesterday was a big waste of time. Okay, maybe not a waste—I did have to do the taxes—but it took so freakin’ long! I didn’t finish until 4pm. By that time I didn’t even want to write, so I read instead. Had to reward myself somehow.

Then later, after my hubby came home from work, we went to see "McFarland, USA" at the theatre ($5.50 Tuesdays). That was a good movie and I highly recommend it. I love those feel-good movies and this was definitely that.

Okay, on to what I read this week (I’m still TWO books ahead of schedule, too—whoo hoo!):

Mar 5: “Allegiance” by Susannah Sandlin, #4 of the Penton Legacy Series, a paranormal romance at 322 pages long. Blurb from book: British vampire psychiatrist and former mercenary Cage Reynolds returns to Penton, Alabama, looking for a permanent home. The town has been ravaged by the ongoing vampire war and the shortage of untainted human blood, and now the vampires and humans that make up the Omega Force are trying to rebuild. Cage hopes to help the cause, put down roots in Penton, and resolve his relationship with Melissa Calvert. The last thing he expects to find himself drawn to Robin Ashton, a trash-talking eagle shape-shifter and new Omega recruit. Meanwhile, as a dangerous saboteur wreaks havoc in Penton, the ruthless Vampire Tribunal leader Matthias Ludlam has been freed on the eve of his scheduled execution. But by whom? And to what end? As war and chaos rage on, love isn’t something Cage is looking for, but will his attention to Robin distract him from the danger living among them? I like this series and the characters who have been featured before. This book was good, too. Had lots of suspense. I just wish it had a little more romance. Not sure if the series is finished yet. If it isn’t, I’ll grab the next one for sure (and hope for more romance!).

Mar 8: “The Immortal Who Loved Me,” by Lynsay Sands, #21 of the Argeneau Vampire Series, a paranormal romance at 357 pages long. Blurb from book: A few hours ago, Sherry Carne would have sworn that vampires didn’t exist. That’s before rogue immortals rampage through her store, leaving bloody chaos (literally) in their wake. The kicker comes when Sherry learns that one of the vamps on the bad guys’ trail may be her life mate. Her head says it’s impossible. The rest of her takes one look at Basileios Argeneau and has much more interesting ideas. Whatever Basil expected in a life mate, funny, outspoken Sherry isn’t it. But mind-blowing chemistry and instinct don’t lie. They tell him something else, too—that Sherry’s connection to the immortal world goes deeper than she knows. And that she’s in the kind of danger only Basil can save her from—if she’ll just trust him, now and forever… Oooooohhhhhh, I just LOVED this book. It’s been awhile since I could just sit and read (finishing my edits might have helped in that regard). So glad it happened with this book, because I would have had a hard time putting it down otherwise. It was one sexy and funny read. This is one of those series I could re-read back-to-back-to-back if I didn’t have a ton of other books to read!

So… Have you filed your taxes? It took me 5 hours to complete mine. Actually, it’s taking longer than that. I still have to file them all (I wanted the hubby to look them over before I did that). I’m using software, too! What. A. Pain. I can only imagine how long it would have taken me if I did it manually. If I ever start making real money with this writing gig (real money=profit), I may just go out and get myself an accountant.

Happy reading!

Stacy

Musical Monday

It doesn't seem like a lot, hosting a Facebook page for a week, but it's harder than it looks. Just staying on-line, trying to keep the page active (and people commenting) is time consuming. It took me all day yesterday to recover.

And what did I do during my recovery? Got my expense receipts from 2014 all organized. Yeah, that really relaxed me--not!

At least I'm better prepared to file my taxes this year and I won't have to wait until the last minute. Doesn't mean I won't wait until the last minute, just that I don't have to. Got that?

Anyway, as I was listening to my music last week, this song came up and just made me want to dance. Not that I moved like Mick Jagger, though. Haha!

Enjoy!

So... Anyone going to watch the BIG game tonight? Go Bucks!!!! 

Stacy

Wednesday Reads And a Day Shot to Heck

Yesterday I filed our federal taxes. Took all gosh-darn day! And if H&R Block software didn’t charge $19.99 to file the state tax, I would have filed that, too. At least it’s done, so I only have to insert the numbers into the state e-file form (which is free--go figure!). I’ll be so glad when I can get back into writing. Maybe today??

Anway, here’s what I read during the week:

Mar 12: “Twisted” by Rebecca Zanetti, a paranormal romance novella. Blurb from Goodreads: Maggie is a wolf shifter who was captured and experimented on by the Kurjans. Now that a cure has finally been found for shifters (although not for vampire mates or witches), she can concentrate on creating a new life for herself and finally accepting that her memories are gone forever. Most memories, that is. Sometimes in the hazy world between dreams and dawn, she hears a Scottish voice, dark and deep, that sounds suspiciously like wolf-shifter Terrent Vilks. A man she happened to anger by kidnapping a few years back. Hey, it was for a good cause. Terrent Vilks knows more than he’s let on for the past several years. After digging for answers, he knows exactly why the demons want Maggie dead. And he remembers his past with Maggie…very well. She is finally where he wants her. Now all he has to do is discover what exactly the Kurjans did to her, beat the demons into so much submission they leave her alone, and get her to fall in love with him. Again. Good thing he’s used to wrangling monsters. This series is becoming a “must read” one for me. That, or I was really hungry for a paranormal romance. I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.

Mar 16. “Fashionably Dead” by Robyn Peterman, a comedic paranormal romance. Blurb from Goodreads: Vampyres don’t exist. They absolutely do not exist. At least I didn’t think they did ‘til I tried to quit smoking and ended up Undead. Who in the hell did I screw over in a former life that my getting healthy equates with dead? Now I’m a Vampyre. Yes, we exist whether we want to or not. However, I have to admit, the perks aren’t bad. My girls no longer jiggle, my ass is higher than a kite and the latest Prada keeps finding its way to my wardrobe. On the downside, I’m stuck with an obscenely profane Guardian Angel who looks like Oprah and a Fairy Fighting Coach who’s teaching me to annihilate like the Terminator. To complicate matters, my libido has increased to Vampyric proportions and my attraction to a hotter than Satan’s underpants killer rogue Vampyre is not only dangerous . . . it’s possibly deadly. For real dead. Permanent death isn’t on my agenda. Avoiding him is my only option. Of course, since he thinks I’m his, it’s easier said than done. Like THAT’S not enough to deal with, all the other Vampyres think I’m some sort of Chosen One. Holy Hell, if I’m in charge of saving an entire race of blood suckers, the Undead are in for one hell of a ride. I labeled it a romance, but there’s no HEA or HFN, so probably more like romantic elements??  And the reason there isn’t any happy ending is because it’s the first in a series, so there’s this huge cliff hanger. I did enjoy the story, though. It started slow, but once Ethan showed up, I became hooked. Hot, hot, hot! I knocked a star off due to that cliff hanger and gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

 

So...have you filed your taxes? Does it take you all day to do yours, too?

Happy reading!

Stacy

 

Ahhh!!!

Wednesday evening I let out a HUGE sigh of relief. Why? Because I sent my manuscript to my editor. Two days early, even!

I had cut out most of the filler words I could find, some of the repetition I could find, and cleaned up a few paragraphs. All in all I eliminated almost 2500 words and didn't change a darn thing to the story. This little process really opened my eyes. Let's hope it did some good (for future stories, that is).

So now I have two to three weeks free before I get hit with the next round. What to do? What to do??

My short story isn't due until 3/15 (deadline moved), so I sent it to some readers. That left Book 5, so I started on that yesterday. Then I realized maybe I better not.

Why is that? Because once I get neck deep into my stories, I don't usually WANT to do anything else, and right now I HAVE to do something else. Something IMPORTANT.

Granted, it's also something I don't want to do, but hey, Uncle Sam waits for no one, right? So I'm off to do my taxes. So if you don't hear back from me today, don't worry. Besides, you might not WANT to hear from me. Taxes make me grumpy. Heck, they make me more than grumpy. I just hate doing them.

Of course, I hate paying someone to do them MORE!

* * * * *

Do you get the word of the day from dictionary.com? Most of the time the words that come through there I'd never EVER use in regular speech, no less a book. But I keep the subscription, because you just never know.

Well, on Wednesday, the word of the day was zakuska. It's Russian (yeah – I thought that was strange, too) for snack. I almost disregarded it then remembered, hey, I have this idea for a Russian vampire and I had been looking for some terms of endearment he could use for his future mate. Well, he's a vampire, she's human, so she'd be like a snack to him.

Aaaannndd….My Little Zakuska* was created.

I almost can't wait to write the book, now!

Have words given you any ideas lately?

Hope your Friday is great! I'm sure mine won't be. Not until I finish those blasted taxes. Argh!!

 

*I thought about using the whole phrase in Russian, but it's just too much of a mouthful!

 

What Month is This?

Saturday was a blur. No, I wasn't buried in my manuscript. I wasn't that lucky. Bills, taxes, and laundry kept me busy.

Sunday I was buried in my manuscript.

But even with all that, I was able to enjoy some of the beautiful weather we've been favored with. This is March, right?

On Saturday, my husband and I walked to Bob Evans for breakfast after dropping his car at Goodyear (his battery died and the car was due for an oil change). During our 1.2 mile walk, I felt like I was back in Santa Barbara. Beautiful blue sky, dry air (no hint of humidity), and 70 degrees.

On Sunday, it was warmer. We drove to dinner with the top down on his car.

I know this warm weather won't last. It's March in Ohio, it's not meant to. But I'll certainly enjoy as much of it as I can.

Oh – and my taxes? Filed. Took me until nearly midnight on Saturday, but I got federal, state, and local completed. Now I can relax and look forward to the Romantic Times convention without fear. And maybe finish editing SARAH'S TURN by Easter. That's my goal – it's been set.