Wednesday Reads and a Week from H-E-Double Hockey Sticks

It’s been a bad week of editing. Of course, is it ever good when you’re told the story is moving too slowly? Cut, cut, cut. I hope I’ve cut enough. I don’t think I can take much more. I think I’ll be done tomorrow and then I’ll have to read it to make sure I didn’t screw everything up. I really hate it when I do that!

At least the Penguins won the first round of playoffs. Something good DID happen this week!

Plain old reading has been taking a back seat, that’s for sure. Here’s what I read during the week:

Apr 22: “Bobbie Faye's Sizzling Heart Breaking Can't Stop Collision With Heat (Bobbie Faye 0.5)” by Toni McGee Causey, a short story. This is a Bobbie Faye and Cam prequel, which takes place before book 1 of the series. This was a fun little glimpse into what Bobbie Faye and Cam had before the relationship bombed. I gave this 5 stars on Goodreads.

Apr 22: “Bobbie Faye's Critically Spectacular Insanely Bad Failure to Communicate (Bobbie Faye 1.5)” by Toni McGee Causey, a short-short story. About a hostage situation featuring…who else. Takes place between books 1 and 2 of the series. The story isn’t told linear and, added to my problems with the formatting, made it a little hard to follow. Because of that, I gave this 4 stars on Goodreads. Otherwise, the story is funny, just executed strangely (which others probably don’t have a problem with).

Apr 23: “Bobbie Faye's Whacked Out, No Good, Really Sucky, Hot Mess of a Wedding” by Toni McGee Causey, a short story/novella that wraps up the series. And a fine wrap-up at that. I gave this 5 stars on Goodreads.

I received all three of these as one pdf from the author when I signed up for her newsletter (Goodreads only had a cover for one) and was so happy to get them because I couldn’t find them anywhere else! (These stories show up separately on Goodreads, so I’m taking credit for reading THREE books. That means I’ll aim for reading two books over my goal.) I love this series. I love Bobbie Faye. It was nice being back in her world, even for a short time.

Tonight the hubby and I are going to Columbus to see Cher in concert. I expect to be highly entertained--I kind of need it. I mean, it’s Cher! When is she NOT entertaining?

So… Who performed at the last concert you attended? Good? Bad? Indifferent?

Happy reading!

Stacy

 

My First Retreat

First off… Sorry, no pictures. I never even pulled the camera out. Frankly, that’s not a surprise where I’m concerned. I guess if other people took pictures, I might have done it, but they didn’t so I didn’t.

I had fun! Just being around other writers, talking about writing (and publishing), was pretty cool. There were some newbie writers as well as published ones. I’m still amazed I’m part of the published ones. I still don’t feel all that experienced with only 5 years of writing behind me.

I managed to get over 900 words added to Book 7 AND edited 78 pages of Bite Me. Shocked me! I also got some critique comments for Book 7 (told me what I needed to pay attention to) and I critiqued three other first chapters. I also found new authors I want to try out (and support). Overall, pretty productive.

Know what else it was? Exhausting! You’d think not, huh? But the beds weren’t the greatest and when staying up Saturday night until 1:30 talking (I crashed about an hour before the majority), waking up at 7:15, staying for lunch (at a nearby restaurant), then driving home for nearly 2 hours, took its toll. I guess if the bed was more comfortable, I would have slept longer, but it wasn’t, so I didn’t.

The place was pretty and it did warm up a bit on Saturday (after the rain left). I stayed in and worked, though (hard to write on my laptop with the sun blaring on the screen--can’t see anything--and my battery only lasts about an hour anyway). But having only two bathrooms with 15 women (one had to cancel) did make it difficult at times. Not something I would recommend for anything longer than a weekend! Heck, I don’t think I could survive there longer than a weekend. It might look pretty, but it wasn’t always comfortable.

Would I do it again, though? You betcha!

So… The Penguins head to Game 6 tonight. In Columbus. And they’re up 3-2 (best out of 7). I’d like to be there and watch them win the first round (I’m thinking positive, here), but not at their prices. Guess I’ll just have to suffer with watching it on TV. Go Pens!!!

Hope your Monday isn’t a drag!

Stacy

 

I'm Going on a Writers' Retreat

This afternoon I leave for my very first writers’ retreat at Crockett’s Run in Logan, Ohio. I have no idea what to expect, except it’s a lodge where 16 of us writers will spend the weekend getting to know one another pretty darn well (there’s only two bathrooms!).

I hope to get some writing on my newest project done, but I’m knee-deep in editing, so we’ll see how it goes (at least I have a May 7 deadline for the editing). We’re also having a critique session and brainstorming session. I may come home with information overload! I plan on taking my camera, but that doesn’t mean I’ll take pictures. If I do, I’ll be sure to post them. At least of the lodge. The weather is supposed to be great. We’ll see.

On Wednesday, I did receive the edits back for Bite Me. On thing that never fails: I read them over and depression sets in. Luckily it doesn’t last. And I make sure NOT to edit anything until after I’ve read ALL the notes and slept on it (I’m less defensive that way!). When I saw it with fresh eyes yesterday morning, I could see where stuff could be better (and then I hit myself for not catching it earlier). I really do enjoy this part (after the depression has diffused, that is) and love making my story better. Can’t wait until this puppy is set free for the world to see!

So… Do you have any plans for the weekend? Rooting for any hockey teams? How about baseball?

Stacy

 

Wednesday Reads

Well…my daughter has finally finished reading “The King” (by JR Ward) and it’s sitting in the house tormenting me. Must get my edits done first. And then I’m going to a writers retreat on Friday, so I doubt I’ll want to be in the middle of it for that. Guess I’ll just have to be tormented for a while. Argh!! Anyway, here’s what I read during the week:

Apr 20: “Second Avenue, Second Hand,” an anthology put together by Wendy Tyler Ryan. Blurb from Goodreads: There is a shop on the corner of Second Avenue and Main. It is a shop filled with things. It is a shop filled with this and that, bits and pieces, odds and sods. You know the kind I mean. Ask anyone how long it’s been there and they’ll say, it seems like forever. Yes, the exterior needs some tender loving care and most of the lights in the old sign were burnt out long ago, but still they come. Some come with hopes of finding the perfect treasure to place upon their mantel. Others come to rid themselves of things unwanted. But this is no ordinary shop, and for those who are compelled to cross its threshold, well... I fear they may never be the same. So come. Come if you dare. Open the door, wipe your feet on the mat, and have a look around. The proprietor, Mr. Blank, is looking forward to meeting you. Just ask anyone how long he’s been there and they’ll say, it seems like forever…  This anthology has a mix of genres. Sweet romance to horror to just plain bizarre. Can't tell from the titles which is which, either. But I enjoyed reading them all (even the bizarre--although the romance was my favorite. Duh!). All stories revolve around the same second hand store (and proprietor), so it has that theme going for it. If you're looking for some interesting short stories to read, can't go too wrong here. I gave it 4 stars on Goodreads.

Apr 21: “Jingle Bell Rock” by Rie Warren, a sexy, hot, m/m romantic short. Blurb from Goodreads: A bashful bouncer, a Cajun rock boy, and a Christmas Eve kiss that changes everything… Brian “Beef” Carroway thinks he’s gay. No, he knows he is. He’s gruff, buff, and overcompensating for his big size and soft heart. Brian’s the badass bouncer at Mosh rock club where Cajun singer Jack Cotille moonlights for the month of December. With a voice like sin, Jack is walking, talking, sexy temptation in the flesh. He’s also fly-by-night, possibly homeless, and chancing everything on a wing and a prayer. Just about the only thing Brian is sure of is traveling man Jack belts out dirty rock lyrics while promising the kind of pornographic sex he’s only fantasized about. He’s definitely gay for Jack. One Christmas Eve kiss leads to a night of heaven, a morning of hell. The holiday week leaves Brian aching for more than his wanderer singer can give as the New Year’s Eve countdown begins. Wow! I’m not a fan of first person, and definitely not when it’s borderline erotica, but somehow I had no problem with it in this short story/novella. I did have a problem with it being a pdf on my e-reader, but I’ll blame that on my e-reader. Besides the issue with that, I enjoyed the story very much and gave it 5 stars on Goodreads.

 

I’m currently reading another group of shorts that was given to me on pdfs (which I’m really, really hating). My husband has been kind enough to “format” it to epub, but that didn’t really work all that well. Do you have problems reading pdfs on e-readers? Maybe next time I should just print them out. What do you think?

Happy reading!

Stacy

 

I Guest-Posted and E-Reader Dissatisfaction

Hey! I’m a nut! Okay, maybe you already know that, but this time I’m a nut over at Cd Brennan’s blog. Every Sunday she features a different author on her “Sundae With Nuts” and I happen to be the author featured yesterday. So if you’re curious (and you are, aren’t you?), click HERE and check out my answers to her questions. Am I nutty or what?

Yesterday was Easter (duh!). It was supposed to be a fairly relaxing day. I thought I would get some editing done and finish the anthology I was reading before the kids came over for dinner and games. Well I guess I can wish in one hand and get you-know-what in the other.

I pulled out my Nook and noticed the screen had faded. Now, I turn that sucker off after I use it, so I knew it wasn’t the battery. I turned it on and everything seemed fine until a message popped up saying it was reformatting (or something to that affect) and to NOT turn off the Nook. After waiting 10 minutes (the 10 minutes it would have taken me to finish the darn anthology!!!), the reformatting finished but reset EVERYTHING! It was like having a brand new Nook. All my freebie books were gone. All my shelves were gone. All my settings were GONE!

This is why I hate e-readers. I wouldn’t have had this problem with paper books. Well, I would if a tornado came through the house or an earthquake struck, but the odds of either of those happening are waaaay less than my Nook reformatting.

At least I had my freebie books on my computer, so they weren’t totally gone. But going through my books and figuring out which ones I’d already read….what a pain! I can’t remember that crap. That’s why I created the shelves!! That’s why I have separate shelves for my paper books. Ones that hold books to be read and several that hold the books I have read (and they’re in different rooms, too!).

Okay. Rant over (until the next time, that is--haha!).

Other than that unfortunate incident, my Easter was pretty good. I got a nice message from someone who won a copy of MSV. She’s very excited about reading it. Now I am, too! Amazing what can please me, huh?

Easter dinner was nice. I actually cooked! Shocking, I know.

Gotta work like crazy this week to get my pre-edits finished for Ghostly Liaison, so it’s probably a good thing my daughter hasn’t finished reading J.R. Ward’s book yet. I’m not ready to read it!!

So…did you spend the holiday with family? Do anything fun? We sat around and played board games. I actually won one game. Yay!

Have a great Monday!!

Stacy