Random Things

1. Today is my agent's birthday! You can wish her a happy birthday on Twitter at @elainespencer

2. Got comments back from one beta reader. Book Two does not suck as much as I'd thought.

3. Am working on V-Day freebie for Samhain. Will involve the further adventures of Alrik and Calleigh from ALL FIRED UP. In theory.

4. Spa was THE BEST. I wish I could get a doctor to prescribe monthly visits.

5. Stop by Louisa Edward's blog and ask her if her book is done. She'll enjoy that. Promise.

What are you up to today? I have edits to finish on one book and edits to start on another. Busy busy!

Caturday! Celebrity Edition

Piktur fur treats. That wuz the deal. Pay up!

Today's non-cat is Claude! Claude owns super agent Elaine Spencer of the Knight Agency. Elaine just happens to be my agent and after I saw pics of her cute little pup, I just had to have him for Caturday! Say hi to Claude, y'all!

It's been a big, big week

This has been one of the craziest, but best, weeks of my life.

First I got my very awesome Samhain cover. Then I found out I was selected to be one of the people who gets to try out a Sony reader for 2 months. Then yesterday, the biggest news of all...

My agent, Elaine Spencer, sold my urban fantasy to Orbit in a three book deal!

I feel pretty blessed right now. And I want to say thanks to my friend and Romance Divas co-founder, Jax Cassidy. Jax has always believed in me, always been a strong supporter of my work, always encouraged me when I wasn't feeling so great about this business, always told me I would sell. And while there have been other people in my life who've been there for me, Jax and I have pretty much been in this together from the beginning. So not only is she a talented writer/author herself, but she's a great friend. (And my webmistress!) I hope you all have a Jax in your life.

People Worth Following

Twitter is turning out to be a lot of fun. I'm so glad I've gotten active on it! If you're not, you should be. It's a great way to get some scoops on industry info.

Here are some people to follow to get you started:

Me: http://twitter.com/Kristen_Painter
My agent: http://twitter.com/ElaineSpencer
My editor: http://twitter.com/angelajames

Now go have a great weekend!

Keeping Up With The Bloggers

I currently use Google Reader to keep up with my favorite blogs and it does a nice job, but there are a few blogs it just won't pick up for some reason. Regardless, I really like that I can preview and read the blogs without leaving my iGoogle home page and then if I want to comment, simply click a button to take me there.

What sort of blog roll do you use, if you use one? Do you use one? If not, why not?

Speaking of blogs I read, check out Kwana's blog to read some questions and answers with our lovely agent, Elaine Spencer, from the most amazing agency on the face of the earth - The Knight Agency. Seriously, it won't be long before they take over the world. Get to know Elaine now before she's crowned Princess of the Universe. (Because of course, Deidre would be Queen.)

And lastly, speaking of agents, check out Nathan Bransford's interview with the Fictionistas - he's actually up for Hottest Man in Publishing. lol - Oh, and he's a really great YA agent to boot.

My Agent Can Beat Up Your Agent

Well...I don't know if that's exactly true, but my agent rocks pretty hard. She's a great encouragement to me, even when things are slightly poopy. Yesterday she sent me the lovely lucky bamboo you see in that picture as a "pick me up" after the devastating loss of my main hard drive and 200 pages of my WIP.

And this is why I love her.

And this is why someday (hopefully soon) I'm going to write a book(s) that will make her ridiculously wealthy. Of course, it will benefit me as well. Then Hotrod can finally live the life he's been dreaming of - the kept husband who whiles away his days playing golf and driving a different American muscle car every day.

Now, I must go write. Did I mention I've lost another 2 pounds? Yep. There's going to be less of me to love at conference!