New Year's Eve!

Hotrod and I will ringing in the New Year this evening with my parents and a lovely Italian family that we're all friends with. The food alone will be worth celebrating. I'm sure there will be much laughter and chaos like any good gathering of a large group of pisans.

How are you spending the evening?

Have a fun, safe time, whatever you do and wherever you go!

Did you know?

I now have a fan page on Facebook. I know, you're thrilled aren't you? Well, feign interest for my sake, would ya? lol

I'll be running some exclusive contests on that page as the release of my Orbit books approaches, so if you're interesting in becoming a "fan" (man, that sounds weird) you can find me here.

What's new in your world?

Goals

I'm over at Fictionistas today talking about what goals are, how important goals are and about my goals for 2010. Come chat!

Call for submissions!

This just in from my friend, Marley, one of the authors of the Christmas Miracles book:

The Christmas Spirit the sequel to the wildly successful "Christmas Miracles" book. This new project is a book that we have contracted with St. Martin's Press for the fall of 2011. However, the completed manuscript is due in the spring of 2010. Bestselling author, Debbie Macomber, has agreed to write the foreword.

We seek true stories that emphasize the significance of the Christmas season. So often, we get caught up in the busy-ness of the season—the shopping, the family drama, and the event planning—that we lose sight of the true meaning of Christmas. Sometimes, through God's grace or what some call a twist of fate, we're able to step back and grasp the real meaning of Christmas and our lives are enriched. These are the kind of stories we are seeking.

http://www.christmasspiritbook.com/

Thanks so much!
Marley = )

Caturday

Laser cat dares the hoomans to take his box away. Also, they should stop laughing. He fits just fine.

December 25th!

Merry Christmas!
May you have a blessed day surrounded by those you love.

Christmas Lolcats - Day Four

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Christmas Lolcats - Day Three

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Christmas Lolcats - Day Two

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Christmas Lolcats - Day One

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Caturday - the Christmas edition

Santa?

Free read!

My friend and fellow Fictionista is giving away a free read. Check out the first chapter here!

I'm thinking about doing a free read as part of the incentive to sign up for my newsletter. What do you think? Do you like free reads? Do you read them?

Best Gifts

I'm over at the Samhellion today talking about memorable Christmas gifts. Stop by, read about one of mine, then tell me yours!

Awesome workshop!

January 18, 2010 Self Editing Workshop by Angela James at ESPAN!

Check it out and register here: http://espan-rwa.com/workshops/

Join Angela James as she shares some of the common pitfalls she’s seen in submissions and contest entries. She’ll give you ideas, tips and tricks for polishing and self-editing your manuscript. Discuss things such as dialogue tags, whether all forms of “to be” really are evil and just what you’re doing to your life expectancy with your use of that exclamation point. Through it all, she’ll be available for clarification and questions in order to help you on your way to a cleaned-up manuscript.

This course will run over several days on the ESPAN forum, so you can pop in and out as needed to ask Angela questions or see the new information she’s posted. So, you don’t need to be available at any certain time of day, but you do need to sign up for the course to attend.

The course will be $5 for ESPAN RWA members, $10 for non-ESPAN RWA Members and $15 for non-RWA - what a bargain!

Best Christmas decoration ever!

I'm over at Fictionistas today showing off the best Christmas decoration ever. You've got to see it!

Yep. It's Monday.

Actually, I have to acknowledge today because I have a lot of work to be done. Like printing out all 103,150 words of my draft, reading through them and marking them up with whatever necessary changes they need. Granted, I won't read through the whole thing today, but I hope to get through at least 150 pages.

First, I have to go buy paper. Hard to print something when you're out of that little item.

What are you working on this *fine* Monday?

Caturday - the Christmas edition

Really, who needs ornaments?

What cute looks like

One of my nieces in the Halloween outfit I got her. How much do you love the wig? Seriously, isn't she so cute your back teeth ache?

They like me, they really like me!

All Fired Up just got another wonderful review! Check it out here.

You can read an excerpt of the book (and find the buy link) here, if you're interested. It's also available on Kindle here.

Today is a good day.

Wednesday is for readers

I've been so caught up in writing that I haven't been doing much reading lately. I'd like to, but reading and writing don't always go hand-in-hand for me. And I especially can't read in the genre I'm writing - I think a lot of writers feel this way.

So tell me what you're reading and maybe I'll find something new to tempt me!

Entertain yourselves

Have you played this crazy Christmas game yet? Head over to Fictionistas to see what I'm talking about.

Eight years ago today

I realize today is Pearl Harbor Day.

It is also our wedding anniversary. Hotrod thought December 7th would be an easy day for him to remember as it's a date so closely linked to the formation of the Air Force.

So far, so good.

For our anniversary present, we bought ourselves a Wii. Tons of fun!

And I couldn't ask for a better husband. He's sweet, supportive, does chores without having to be asked, funny, loving and my best friend. I love that man!

Caturday!

Proof that cats can sleep anywhere.

An Open Letter To Pets

Dear Dogs and Cats,

The dishes with the paw prints are yours and contain
your food. The other dishes are mine and contain my food.
Placing a paw print in the middle of my plate and food does not stake a
claim for its becoming your food and dish, nor do I find that aesthetically
pleasing in the slightest.

The stairway was not designed by NASCAR and is not a racetrack.
Racing me to the bottom is not the object. Tripping me doesn't help because
I fall faster than you can run.

I cannot buy anything bigger than a king sized bed. I am very sorry about
this. Do not think I will continue sleeping on the couch to ensure your
comfort, however.. Dogs and cats can actually curl up in a ball when they
sleep. It is not necessary to sleep perpendicular to each other, stretched
out to the fullest extent possible. I also know that sticking tails
straight out and having tongues hanging out on the other end to maximize
space is nothing but sarcasm.

For the last time, there is no secret exit from the bathroom! If, by some
miracle, I beat you there and manage to get the door shut, it is not
necessary to claw, whine, meow, try to turn the knob or get your paw under
the edge in an attempt to open the door. I must exit through the same door
I entered. Also, I have been using the bathroom for years - canine/feline
attendance is not required.

The proper order for kissing is: Kiss me first, then go smell the other dog
or cat's butt. I cannot stress this enough.

Finally, in fairness, dear pets, I have posted the following message on the
front door:

TO ALL NON-PET OWNERS WHO VISIT AND LIKE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUR PETS:
(1) They live here. You don't.
(2) If you don't want their hair on your clothes, stay off the furniture.
That's why they call it 'fur'-niture.
(3) I like my pets a lot better than I like most people.
(4) To you, they are animals. To me, they are adopted sons/daughters who
are short, hairy, walk on all fours and don't speak clearly.

Remember, dogs and cats are better than kids because they:
(1) eat less,
(2) don't ask for money all the time,
(3) are easier to train,
(4) normally come when called,
(5) never ask to drive the car,
(6) don't smoke or drink,
(7) don't want to wear your clothes,
(8) don't have to buy the latest fashions,
(9) don't need a gazillion dollars for college and
(10) if they get pregnant, you can sell their children ...

Love/Hate Relationships

At this time in my life, I don't work out like I should. (I sit in a chair all day. I really need to move more.) I'm well aware of that. However, there have been other times in my life when I probably worked out more than I needed to.

Unfortunately, you can't "save up" extra exercising.

So at some point today, I will be dragging myself upstairs to our home gym and spending some quality time on the elliptical. I may even get crazy and lift some weights. I know I'll feel great when it's over, but until then...

I wish I could hire someone to work out for me. The Wii fit makes it look so easy. Maybe I should buy that. Anyone have that? Is exercising more fun with the Wii? I know, I'm stalling now.

Must go sweat. What exercising do you do?

Head Hopping, Or Why Some Books Make Me Crazy

More and more I think being a writer can ruin the reader experience. Like most writers, I don't just read any more. I read and edit. And I'm not talking about my own work.

I rewrite sentences in my head, wonder about word choices, marvel at a deft turn of a phrase. If you're a writer, you're probably nodding your head because you do this too.

The thing that trips me up is shifting POV. Otherwise known as head hopping. Nothing ruins a book faster for me than going from one POV to another with every other paragraph. It is my ultimate pet peeve.

Does head hopping bother you or can you forgive it? If so, under what circumstances?

The Right Gift

I'm at Fictionistas today talking about the hard people to shop for. Who's yours? Come tell me here.