Wednesday Reads and Dragon*Con!

BITE ME is no longer in my hands. I have sent it out and now I must wait. At least I have something fun to do while I’m waiting. Because…

I’m on my way to Dragon*Con. Whoopee!!

You don’t know how happy I am to be able to go to this convention knowing I finished my project. It’s like a real vacation now!! And since my daughter is doing all the driving, I might just get some extra reading done. Didn’t get much last week, that’s for sure. Here’s what I finished reading this week:

Aug 25: “Blood Entangled” by Amber Belldene. This is a paranormal romance, the second in a series. Blurb from Goodreads: Kos Mara’s orderly life is in shambles—he must distribute Blood Vine to a population of ailing vampires, but Hunters block him at every turn. To make matters worse, each night he watches over a temptingly beautiful woman sleeping in his bed. He is convinced love cannot last a vampire-long lifetime and an entanglement will only cause them grief, but he doesn’t have the heart to send her away. From a long line of blood servants, Lena Isaakson is destined to serve a vampire, but a string of humiliating rejections thwarts her pleasure. When Kos shows her kindness, she hopes he will claim her. Instead he proves himself a coward in the face of love and sends her to serve another. Will the dark seduction of a rakish new vampire finally bring Lena the pleasure she desires or deliver her into the hands of Hunters who want to destroy everything the Maras family has worked for? This is one hot and sexy book and I’m really enjoying this series. It does include men on men and girl on girl action, so if that’s not your “cup of tea,” you might want to steer clear. I found it done tastefully, though and didn’t have a problem with it (but then I tend to enjoy erotica, also!). I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads.

Internet will be spotty for me (I hope to connect at least once a day while in Atlanta, since I refuse to pay for the connection in the room). And I always have intentions of blogging on Friday and Monday while there, but I won’t promise anything. At least you’ll know WHY.

I won’t leave you with a question because I won’t be able to chat as usual. But hey, comments are always welcome, just don’t expect a response any time soon. Haha!

Happy reading!

Stacy

 

My Steelers Weekend

First off: How’s 96,530 words? That’s my word count for BITE ME before I start reading it today (and making sure I didn’t screw anything up). That means I’ve got 3,470 words to play around with. That means if my editor likes what I did with my character…well, I just can’t get my hopes up too much. Not yet, anyway. Let’s just say I’m stoked I did it!

I had a wonderful weekend in Pittsburgh. Warm, but not too warm. Not at all humid, either (yay). We arrived in time for lunch and walked up to Peppi’s (which is almost a requirement anytime we visit the city now!). While we were walking there, some idiot was talking on his phone when he leaned over and screamed at my husband. My husband, being who he is, yelled and raised his arm in such a manner that he knocked the phone out of the guy’s hands, in which it then fell apart upon impact. Needless to say, the man was angry and we got a lot of f’in’ this and even the N word (really??). No, he wasn’t black (and of course, neither are we). My husband said that maybe the guy would think twice before being an a$$ the next time. I told my husband I hoped he’d think twice also!! I’m just glad the guy didn’t chase us down the street!!

After Peppi’s we walked on over to the Rivers Casino. Last year my husband joined their club thinking we’d earn points for something good (not realizing they expire after six months - oh well). We did get a lot of free money promotions we couldn’t use. Ah, but this time they gave us $20 which we COULD use. Now, we couldn’t just cash in the money and say thanks, we had to spend it on gambling. So after spending the first $10, I made $9.60, which I gave to my husband (after he lost $10 of our own money-which he used while we figured out how to get our promotion money!). I then spend the next $10 and made $13.45, after which I went and got my own card (since we figure we’ll get double the promotions). So, with my new card, I played the $13.45 and stopped when I reached $24. So basically, we spent $10 and made $14 (but bet a total of $151 including the promotion, our own money, and winnings). I know, we’re lame gamblers. But we had fun! J

Anyway, here are some of the pictures we took at the game.

Taken on our return walk from Peppi's. Heinz Field is on
the left (but you can't really see it here).

This fountain wasn't working at Point State Park
when we visited last year.

We're here!!!

This is the Steeline Team (percussion band). They play
during the game, too.

I ordered seats 5 (bottom of picture) and 6 (where my
husband is standing). The map showed them together.
Apparently they aren't! How ridiculous! I'm glad I didn't
order 4 seats! We moved after half-time to two seats that
sat together.



Our seats might not have been together
but we weren't that far from the field (Row K).

Pregame scene. Notice the ketchup bottles on the scoreboard.

Whenever the Steelers are in the red zone, the ketchup
bottles lower and make it look like they're filling in the
screen with ketchup! I thought it was cool.

Had to get a picture of Troy Polamalu (#43). He moves
around so much, I had to wait until AFTER the play! :)

I won't bore you with more football game pictures, but I could! We have enough of them.

 

I do have to say, I felt relatively safe at the game. The guys with the guns were on the field and not in the stands (I can deal with that). But that bag policy is whacked out. I had a small camera bag, no bigger than my hand. The signs all say I'm allowed a clutch (about the size of my hand). While I was able to take it in, I was told the bag is not really allowed. It was smaller than a clutch! Give me a break!

 

We certainly got our money's worth. Game went into overtime. Unfortunately, the Chiefs won. Bugger! Overall, it was a fun experience and now we can say we've been to a game at Heinz Field.

So, what'd you do this weekend?

Stacy

I'm So High I Could Fly to Pittsburgh!

I am energized.

Who knew cutting words would make me this way? Ah, but once I finally dipped under the 100K barrier (can I get a big YAY?), and still had three-quarters of my changes to implement, my spirits soared.

Happy happy, joy joy!

Another reason for my exuberance? I’ve exercised every day this week (including a thirteen-mile bike ride) and tomorrow night I’ll be in Pittsburgh enjoying a preseason game. Steeler country, here I come!

It’s been a great week and the weekend looks to be better (even the weather is cooperating). I’ll be away from the internet all day Saturday and most of Sunday since I’m actually leaving my computer at home. And no smart phone, either. I know, shocker, huh? However will I cope? Well, I’m hoping I’ll be too busy to miss it all. I’ll still carry a book or two to read, though. Hey, can’t give up everything!

So, did you watch all of True Blood this season? Did the second to the last episode make you cry, too?

Have a great weekend!

Stacy

 

Wednesday Reads and BITE ME News

Decisions, decisions. I had to make a big one where BITE ME is concerned. Keep a character or cut her? Well, I thought cut until I got to her important scene. Couldn’t do it. Not if I wanted the scene to make sense (and I couldn’t cut the scene without scrapping the rest of the book - yeah, that wasn’t happening). So the character lives, but in a different capacity. Good news for the character and hopefully good news for my word count. I’ll find out later this week if it works. You know, once I implement the changes.

Even with all that decision making, I still managed to get some books read. Here’s what I finished reading this week:

Aug 14: “Mistress of the Stone” by Maria Zannini. This is a paranormal romance. Blurb on back: Luisa Tavares has a list of sins the length of the Antilles, but there’s no time to repent for them now. When a pockmarked Frenchman hands her Papa’s ring--still attached to his severed finger--she orders the Coral back to the Caribbean, despite her father’s earlier warning never to return. It’s Luisa’s luckless fate that the only man who can help her is a blasted Inglés pirate hunter who’s more dead than alive and locked in a curse he doesn’t want lifted. Worse, his feral sensuality sparks a hunger she can’t ignore. Xander Daltry hadn’t planned on kidnapping this wild woman--or succumbing to his uncontrollable desire for her. But he needs Luisa and the moonstone she wears around her neck to rescind a witch’s spell. His sister, long dead, and others like her have been cursed to remain in the mortal plan for eternity. Only the stone can set them free. The only way to convince the reluctant pirate queen to help him is to withhold one small bit of the truth. For if she learns who really betrayed her father, the longing in her fiery eyes could easily turn to murderous wrath… The blurb only hints at paranormal, but the book is full of it and I loved it! It was also full of action and love, and man, that just did it for me. I was a happy reader when I finished this book and I gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.

Aug 17: “Fifth Grave Past the Light” by Darynda Jones. This is the fifth book in the Charley Davidson series, an urban fantasy (I think). Blurb on book: Charley Davidson isn’t your everyday, run-of-the-mill grim reaper. She’s more of a paranormal private eye/grim reaper extraordinare. However, she gets sidetracked when the sexy, sultry son of Satan, Reyes Farrow, moves in next door. To further complicate matters, Reyes is her main suspect in an arson case. Charley has vowed to stay away from him until she can find out the truth…but then dead women start appearing in her apartment, one after another, each lost, confused, and terrified beyond reason. When it becomes apparent that her own sister, Gemma, is the serial killer’s next target, Charley has no choice but to ask for Reyes’s help. Arsonist or not, he’s the one man alive who could protect Gemma no matter who or what came at her. But he wants something in return. Charley. All of her, body and soul. And to keep her sister safe, it is a price she is willing to pay. Darynda Jones says she has fun writing these books and it shows. I certainly have fun reading them. As soon as I start, I’m instantly transformed into Charley’s world and don’t want to put the book down (which accounted for me going to bed close to midnight with crossed eyes!). If you love paranormal with a hot & sexy character (Reyes) and enjoy humor in your stories, grab all five books and start reading. You won’t regret it! I gave this book 5 stars on Goodreads.

I think I’ll spend today watching the last three episodes of “True Blood.” After all that decision making, I think I deserve it! What kind of rewards do you give yourself for a job well done?

Happy reading!

 

Stacy

 

NFL's Enhanced Public Safety Policy?

The last NFL game I attended was back in 1992. Maybe 1993. We moved to Ohio in 1991, so it’s hard to remember exactly when, but we hadn’t been living here long, that much I do remember. We went down to Cincinnati to watch the Bengals play.

Now, we’d been to Riverfront Stadium for several Reds games, but those games had elderly-type ushers, not armed security guards. It kind of spooked us in to going again.

Still, we’ve always wanted to attend a game at Heinz Field to watch the Steelers play and when the opportunity arose, we jumped all over it (Happy Father’s Day to my hubby). So, was I surprised at the e-mail I received in the mail last month (in preparation to attending this Saturday’s game)? Not really. This is what it said:

The NFL’s enhanced public safety policy affects the type and size of bags that are permitted into the stadium – not the items that you normally need to bring to a game.

Every fan may use the following specified bags to carry items into the stadium:

• One bag that is clear plastic, vinyl or PVC and does not exceed 12” x 6” x 12” OR
• A one-gallon clear plastic freezer bag (Ziploc bag or similar) AND
• In addition to one of the clear bags noted above, fans may also carry in a small clutch bag or purse approximately the size of a hand, with or without a handle or strap

Please note: An exception will be made for medically necessary items after proper inspection.

To find the NFL’s policy please visit http://www.nfl.com/allclear and refer to your team’s specific stadium policy for complete safety information.

I feel like I’m going back to work at Stern’s (a now defunct department store I worked at for a short period of time while we were stationed at Ft. Monmouth, NJ (1980s)--which I though was located in the Neptune Mall, but I can’t find the mall on a map, so it’s possible it went bye-bye. Talk about a blast from the past reminder!). I couldn’t take a purse inside the store, not unless it was clear plastic. Nice to feel like a criminal before I’d done any kind of crime!

Anyway…I find it sad that the NFL has to have these policies (not to mention those armed security guards). That people can’t just go to the games to have a good time. You’d think with the price of the tickets, they wouldn’t need to worry about this kind of crap.

I have a feeling this may be the LAST NFL game we attend. I’d much rather go to baseball and hockey games. At least there I don’t feel like a criminal (or in fear for my life!).

Have you ever checked out a map of a place you used to live at? I like to see how much I remember or how much has changed. Or are you one of those strange people I’ve met who have never lived anywhere but one city? If so, what is that like?

 

Stacy