A Christmas Contest

C.L. Wilson is having a big contest over on her blog. Go check it out!

This is a light post, but with Christmas only a few days away, you have better things to be doing than hanging out here. Shopping done? Cookies baked? Christmas dinner completely planned and purchased? No? Get going!

As for me, I'm reading like a mad woman, trying to finish the last 3 books of the 50 I planned on reading this year. Will I make I? I'm certainly going to try.

Big Fat Squee!

I HAVE AN ARC!!!

Do not disrupt me while reading or I shall swat you away like a gnat.

ARCS I Really Need

I'm hoping Roxanne St. Claire and C.L. Wilson have their Google alerts up and working because I really need ARCs of their next books and I'm hoping this post will go a long way in that direction. Like, really need these fabulous books. Willing to beg, in fact. Not that I think that should be necessary. I'm a fabulous person who deserves to read these before everyone else. LOL

First up would be Roxanne St. Claire's Now You Die, available August 26th. This is the one that concludes the mini-series trilogy within her Bullet Catcher series (first of the trilogy - First You Run, second - Then You Hide). This is Lucy's story - the creator of the Bullet Catchers. Hot, sexy, serious action, plus buff men with guns. 'Nuff said. WANT!

Then there's C.L. Wilson's King Of Sword And Sky, third in her Tairen Soul series, releasing September 30th. This is fantasy romance like nothing you've ever read. Lush, rich, emotive and all with a slight patina that makes each brand new story seem like a tangle of well-loved myth and legend revisited. Good stuff. WANT!

Now ladies, concerning those ARCs...you know how to find me. I'll be waiting. (Plus I promise to buy the book once it's actually released. I always do anyway!)

Monday To Do's

Ahh, Monday.

All I can say is I'm glad the weekend is over. Friday, as you all know, I cleaned until my digits were bloody stumps. The house looked spectacular, though. It's all ready begun the downhill slide towards needing to be cleaned again unfortunately. Thanks to everyone who commiserated with me.

Saturday was my chapter meeting featuring the fabulous C.L. Wilson and her take on worldbuilding. I was also elected Vice President again.

Sunday, I was recovering from a massive allergy attack and didn't get out of bed until after 12. Once I did get out of bed, Lara Santiago and I headed over to our chapter contest coordinator's for a massive Discrepancy Judging-a-Thon. About six of us dj'ed more than 30 entries. It was a long day. I'm glad Lara does math, because all that adding of scores made my head hurt.

So today is a fresh start on a new week that ends in fabulous meal that I (YAY!) don't have to cook or host or clean up after. I do have a few goals this week that I'm hoping to accomplish before that happens. Such as:

1. Some crits for my CP's.
2. Some final polishing on something of my own.
3. Some polishing/updating on a potential article for the RWR.
4. Laundry.
5. Trip to the post office.

What's on your list?

Alan Rickman? Not So Much

You may recall some time ago, right after Nationals actually, I did a little blog experiment where I posted pictures of Alan Rickman, along with the copious use of his name in an attempt to draw more hits on my blog. (You know, this one that you're reading right now.)

Alas, it didn't really have an noticeable effect. (That's right, Alan Rickman, hang your head in shame.)However, there is another name and mention that does with consistant results. Are you ready?

Lord of the Fading Lands by C.L. Wilson and Lady of Light and Shadows by C.L. Wilson.

I consistantly get multiple hits for those search strings. Can't say as I blame the searchers...those are probably the best books that will be released this year.

So now that you know the secret to generating more blog hits, try it and see for yourself. I'd love to hear your results.

Huh?

This is what I feel like today. It's raining (been raining since around 4 PM yesterday afternoon) and gray and just altogether one of those icky days. Lara Santiago and I are supposed to do something today, like lunch, but I think I will have to use my powers of persuasion to lure her to my home instead. Then I won't have to go out. I could make a lovely basil Parmesan orzo for lunch. It's actually a super easy dish and so comforting on a day like this.

Of course, the real reason she and I are getting together is because I insisted she read C.L. Wilson's Lord of the Fading Lands and now she's completely jonesing for the sequel, Lady of Light and Shadows (which I managed to snag an ARC of). And with good reason. Lady may actually be better than the first book in this series - which is staggering, because LOTFL is an AMAZING book. Best of all, it's out now!

I got a signed copy of LOTFL when I was at the M&M conference. It's going on my keeper shelf. Where it belongs. Have you bought a copy yet? What are you waiting for? You will NOT be disappointed.

Deep Thoughts

Just a few random things:

* Recently found a new artist (new to me), Eddi Reader. She's got kind of a Celtic, folksy sound. Very easy to listen to. Check out my myspace page to hear one of her songs, Bell, Book and Candle. If you go and listen to it, I'd love to hear what you think. Oh and friend me while you're there, if you haven't already.

* I've decided that great books, keeper books, shall now be referred to as a DMV. Delicious Mind Vacation. Feel free to use that. (Ex. C.L. Wilson's Lord of the Fading Lands - definite DMV, the recently read Peeps by Scott Westerfeld, not so much.)

* Blog and ye shall receive. I am ECSTATIC to tell you that there is an ARC of C. L. Wilson's Lady of Light and Shadows on its way to me. Sometimes, it pays to express one's self. I'm also thrilled to tell you that C.L. Wilson will be our Author of the Month at Romance Divas this coming October! Woohoo!

* Tomorrow, tomorrow, I'm going to see Annie tomorrow! Myself, Lara Santiago, my sis-in-law and the niece are off for a girl's night of the Cheesecake Factory and Annie. Can't wait! It's a hard knock life, but somebody's got to live it.

I'm A Writin' Machine

I'm doing pretty good on the writing front, despite being occasionally sidetracked to look for images that might make good bookcovers (hey, we all have our quirks). It's really amazing what you can accomplish when you put your mind to it and decide to ignore the usual impulses that distract you.

For instance, reading. I love to read! A good book usually has the power to pull me away from everything else and then that's all I'll do, read - until I reach The End. And I have a book like that in my possession now (an ARC of C.L. Wilson's Lord of the Fading Lands) however, my priority right now is getting my WIP to a certain point (100 pages).

I've committed to reach that goal in two weeks. Not just the 100 pages, mind you, but that 100 pages written and polished to high glossy shine, the kind editors won't be able to look away from. Which is just fine with me, because I love the editing. It's my favorite part. The actual writing, not so much.

Don't get me wrong, I like writing. I love the storytelling process, the creative explosion that happens that takes an idea to a full-fledged book. Love it. But the writing isn't what really gets me going. It's seeing what I've written, then tweaking it and making it better. Making it as good as it possibly can be, then putting it aside for a bit only to have another go at it later.

What's your favorite part of the process?