MySpace anyone?

I'm trying, gradually, to establish a presence on the net. I think I've finally figured out Facebook - feel free to friend me over there. My next challenge is MySpace. Now I've had a MySpace account for probably about a year and a half, but I've never really done anything with it.

My wonderful webmistress, Rae Monet, took pity on me and did the coding for me and now my MySpace page has a new look. It'll be a familiar one, LOL, but it's MUCH better than the way it used to look.

Whaddya mean there's no morning cuppa?

Leah peered, bleary-eyed, at her monitor and muttered, "Huh. It's Friday already. How'd that happen? What happened to Wednesday? And Thursday? What happened to freakin' summer?"

Curly goes back to school on Tuesday. Tuesday! OMG there's only two more shopping days left. He needs a haircut, He needs new shoes - he's still wearing ones from about two or three years ago and they're no longer black, they're this sort of ashy grey. Thank God, his school requires uniforms and last year's still fit him. Well, sort of, the trousers are little bit short, but they're not floods. But it's his last year of school. I should at least have the routine down by now, don't you think?

I offered to take him out on Tuesday but he stumbled out of bed at about eleven and said "I'm too lethargic, can we do it later in the week?" Honest to God, he did. What teenager uses the word lethargic?

So I went out on Tuesday on my own and got him his stationery goods, but I need those size 11 or 13 feet of his to try on shoes. Same with that puffy head of hair - that's something I can't do without him. See that picture of him - add about another inch and a half to that lovely mop of his.

But I know exactly how he feels. You see I'm more than just lethargic, I'm exhausted. I've been getting about three hours sleep for various reasons for most of this week. It was all I could do to pull myself out of bed and down the stairs to flop in my chair the last couple of mornings. But now it's Friday and I can't put it off any longer. And now the stores are going to be PACKED. *sob*

To add insult to injury, my life saving gotta-have-my-morning-cuppa didn't happen this morning. Oh, I boiled the water. I put a teabag in the teapot (Tetley's please) and set it to steep. No nuking the teabag in a coffee mug for this tea lover. But then--horrors of horrors--I went to pour the milk into my cup - I take it with milk and sugar - and discovered not only was my milk carton in the recycle bin, so was Gizmo Guy's. (Gizmo Guy drinks lactose-free milk, so in a pinch I borrow his.) I cannot stand tea without that dash of milk. And why am I out of milk, you're not asking yourself? Because ... yes, I have to say it ... yesterday, I was too lethargic to go do the grocery shopping.

*sob* So no tea for Leah. You'd think the world had come to an end. I guess this means I'll have to get up off my butt and do grocery shopping now too. Nah, I think I'll crawl back into bed.

Shortlisted in a contest, but not for writing

I'm positively chuffed right now. On Sunday, I blogged about how Gizmo Guy is getting back into photography and last night I got a notification that this picture of the Hyatt Regency I took in Dallas last year has been shortlisted in a competition for a Dallas Map Guide.

How cool is that?

I'd like to thank ...

So many times in this day and age, we hear tales of how unsupportive people can be, how willing someone is to drag someone else down in the mud in order to put themselves above them.

Yet I am always amazed by how supportive authors are toward other writers. At least the ones that I've met - in person and online. It doesn't matter what genre you write - historical or romantic suspense, category or single title, erotic or inspirational.

For years BlueSue has patiently answered every single one of my questions about horses - riding, caring for, illnesses, so my historical fantasies (boy, now there's a double entendre) rang true. Rae Monet, my wonderful web mistress, has patiently answered questions I have about her FBI years. And when I asked her a question about Navy procedures, she forwarded my question to Diana Cosby, of ROMVET (a group of Romance Authors who are also Veterans) who very quickly replied and offered her help. Others have offered help in various ways - from answering questions or support to offering to read my manuscript over for technical accuracy. Red Garnier and Tempest Knight who have helped me with Spanish translations (and Red who crits for me on occasion during her incredibly busy schedule.) Candy Havens, Angela Knight, Janet Miller aka Crickett Starr, Laurie Schnebly Campbell, Mary Buckham - take her upcoming Sex Between the Pages course on Sexual Tension - it's a winner, Margie Lawson who remembers me almost a year after I met her in person, Allison Brennan and oh, there are so many more. And I mustn't forget the gentlemen - Joe P. and Wally L. and Patrick over at Crime Scene Writers They've all taken the time to send me an email about something or other - either responding to a question I had, or a question I answered.

And it's not just on line but face-to-face for the ladies (and gentlemen) at the TRW are equally as enthusiastic and helpful. Whether it's a writing question, or just a swift (and much needed) kick in the pants (Amy/Christine/Wylie and Michelle, not to forget my online buddies who keep me in lineSue, Dani and Marley), other writers are incredibly important in keeping my writing not only moving forward but accurate too.

So when you have a question that isn't easily "googled" where do you turn? Anyone special who's solved that unanswerable question for you? Or given you that much needed kick in the pants that you want to shout a big thanks?

Bitten But definitely not Smitten

(Before you get the wrong idea, I'm still smitten by Gizmo Guy, it's a few gazillion little buzzing bloodsuckers that attacked us yesterday I wasn't so thrilled with)

Gizmo Guy has been restless lastly, so he's taken up an old hobby - photography. Way back when we were first married, we bought ourselves a 35 mm SLR with interchangeable lenses as a wedding present. We took courses and had a dark room and developed our own photos, enlarged them, etc. And then one week before Christmas back in 1983 our apartment was burglarized and all our equipment was taken - heck they cleared us out completely of everything that could be sold, not just our photography equipment. Oh, our insurance replaced our stuff, but the replacement Canon camera that Gizmo Guy thought would be better than our old Ricoh didn't have the same appeal.

But with the advent of digitals, it's made photography fun again because you can take as many pictures as you want and not have to worry about developing costs. You don't like it, delete it!

So in order for GG and I to have some quiet time together, yesterday we headed out to one of the few old wood forests left on the shores of Lake Ontario. Except that we'd forgotten that this has been the wettest summer on record - we're talking record breaking rainfall, folks - and failed to pack the bug repellent. Along the side of the woods was a marsh,so the mosquitoes were swarming. And since summer decided to return and we hit the low 30s (high 80s), I was sweating and those little buggers had a feast. I couldn't bat them off fast enough, and at the far end of the path I declared I'd had enough and beat a fast retreat. Naturally enough, I took the wrong path and ended up on a dead end. After about a half hour of battling bugs and burrs, we stumbled out of the woods back onto the narrow path that lead to our car.

I took my camera too - one not as sophisticated as Gizmo Guy's. For my pictures taken in the woods, I was going for the sun shafts filtering through the heavy canopy. The woods themselves were dark, but unfortunately my camera adjusted automatically and everything came out bright instead of that dark eerie feeling I was going for.

Plus we forgot that it would have been better (nature-wise) to go early in the morning or at twilight - that's when all the birds come out. Yeah, like either Gizmo Guy or I were going to roll out of the bed at 6 a.m. to go hiking. (we used to, but not this weekend, thank you very much.)

As it was, all we saw was a couple of robins, and a flicker (that's a type of woodpecker) In a couple weeks, the woods will be filled with all sorts of birds we wouldn't normally see as they stop at these woods on their migration south.

The woods have been bought by a local conservation group, along with a meadow to its north to prevent logging as there are so few places for birds to stop nowadays as on their journey across Lake Ontario. That's why it's such a great bird-watching destination.




Here's a few other pictures he's taken this week ...







Apparently, when a flower or something in the centre is in focus, and everything around it is out of focus, that's called 'bokeh'. So he's been concentrating on that style lately.

As Twilight approaches

For my birthday last month, Guitar Hero's girlfriend gave me a Chapters gift certificate (Chapters is the Canadian version of a Borders or Barnes and Noble for my US friends.) As I was picking up a few other books, I decided to give Stephenie Meyer's, Twilight, a try. But it took me to this week to actually find time to read it. It was one of those books that I had to stay up til the wee small hours of the morning to finish. And the next day I had to go out and buy the rest of the series: New Moon, Eclipse and the recently released Breaking Dawn, which I finished this morning. Twilight and New Moon are the best of the four, Eclipse was mainly backstory, and Breaking Dawn was ... well, disappointing, but they'll remain on my keeper shelf.

The book is marketed as a Young Adult, but I enjoyed it - perhaps because I remembered it was written as a YA story, not an adult fantasy. (Who can't identify with being the new kid in school in a town you don't like?)

I like the heroine, Isabella - often referred to as Bella or Bells - though I find her clumsiness a little tiresome after a while. Others have called it angsty, but yeah, she's a teenager -- what teenage girl do you know who isn't angsty? However, - don't shoot me all you Edward lovers - I'm not as thrilled with the love of her life, Edward. He just seems a little too controlling. Hard for a 100 something year old vampire not too -- ooops, guess I shouldn't give away too many spoilers. Especially after New Moon, I really found myself rooting for Jacob.

They're making a movie out of Twilight which I"m looking forward to and for those of you who are bummed that they're moving the next Harry Potter movie to next summer, it's going to be a bonus for the Twilight fan because, according to Stephenie's website Twilight will be released three weeks earlier than originally announced and will now be released November 21st. I'll be there.

"Softly he brushed my cheek, then held my face between his marble hands.

"Be very still," he whispered, as if I wasn't already frozen. Slowly, never moving his eyes from mine, he leaned toward me. Then abruptly, but very gently, he rested his cold cheek against the hollow at the base of my throat. "

As Shakespeare knew, love burns high when thwarted by obstacles. In Twilight, an exquisite fantasy by Stephenie Meyer, readers discover a pair of lovers who are supremely star-crossed. Bella adores beautiful Edward, and he returns her love. But Edward is having a hard time controlling the blood lust she arouses in him, because--he''s a vampire. At any moment, the intensity of their passion could drive him to kill her, and he agonizes over the danger. But, Bella would rather be dead than part from Edward, so she risks her life to stay near him, and the novel burns with the erotic tension of their dangerous and necessarily chaste relationship.Meyer has achieved quite a feat by making this scenario completely human and believable. She begins with a familiar YA premise (the new kid in school), and lulls us into thinking this will be just another realistic young adult novel. Bella has come to the small town of Forks on the gloomy Olympic Peninsula to be with her father. At school, she wonders about a group of five remarkably beautiful teens, who sit together in the cafeteria but never eat. As she grows to know, and then love, Edward, she learns their secret. They are all rescued vampires, part of a family headed by saintly Carlisle, who has inspired them to renounce human prey. For Edward's sake they welcome Bella, but when a roving group of tracker vampires fixates on her, the family is drawn into a desperate pursuit to protect the fragile human in their midst. The precision and delicacy of Meyer's writing lifts this wonderful novel beyond the limitations of the horror genre to a place among the best of YA fiction. (Ages 12 and up)

Too many trees (and an update on the Sony Reader)

Sam's story is plodding along. I've managed to edit up to chapter 25 (for the moment they're more place holders so the chapter numbers are likely to change - wordcount wise I'm 51K into the 63K total though I know that word count will be fluctuating for a while.) However, I've gotten into an area where Candy Haven's mantra "Don't be afraid to write a crappy first draft" really kicked in. Oh, the writing isn't too bad, it's just that I changed up a few things plot wise and now I have a ton of cutting and revising to do to get what's there into shape with the rest of the story. To use my forest/trees analogy from the other day, the forest needs one huge MoFo of a chainsaw put to it.

I'm not going to complain too much though because I've managed to edit a couple a chapters a day minimum, so I'm happy. And I'm really happy with how Sam's staying true to character. And best of all, one of my crit partners sent me an email telling me she'd been dreaming of Sam the other night and asking when she could read more. *quiet squee*

* * *

Update on the Sony Reader: The main selling point of the Sony screen is that it is not backlit and therefore there is less eye strain. According to the 'experts', the screen is more like reading from a book. However it is difficult to read if you're in a low-light situation. (same as a book) Sony just came out with a new cover that includes a light that will last up to 38 hours. I know what I'm adding to my Christmas list.

Putting Faces to the Names

On her blog post today, Amy Ruttan posted pictures of how she envisions her characters in her upcoming novel, Enemy Enchantress. And it got me wondering. If I had to choose actors for my characters, who would I choose?

For Private Property, I think if I could cast my hero, Mark, I'd choose Benjamin Bratt. (As I was googling for pictures of him Gizmo Guy looked over my shoulder. When I told him I was trying to find a sexy picture of BB, he said "that's a futile endeavor because he's not sexy." Hmm, jealous much, GG?)

But the heroine, Jodi ... well, that posed more of a problem. Charlize Theron perhaps? As she was in The Italian Job.

And the third character in that story is Sam - who will also star in his own story, if I can ever wrestle that sucker into shape (I'm working hard, honestly I am!)


Sam was probably the easiest character for me to cast because from the moment he first introduced himself early on in Private Property, I saw Dwayne Johnson (aka The Rock though he's trying to lose that nick name). He's even the right height and weight. And that smug little smile of his ... *drools* Oh, right, I'm supposed to be blogging ...


For Sam's love interest who has a tiny tiny tiny bit part in Private Property, Rosie Perez wins hands down - I even named my character Rosie since I see her as the smart-mouthed, fast talking kick-your-ass woman that Ms. Perez always portrays, although my Rosie has a head of untameable hair. (Although to be honest, when I first started writing her character, I was picturing Red Garnier ;) )

But for the other characters in Sam's story? Well, there I've been stuck. I am not a big television watcher, and I am horrible with names of movie stars so even if I can picture my character in my head, actually finding someone who matches is a challenge.

Sam's second in command Chad (who may be renamed - see why below) is a 38 year old distinguished, well dressed, former FBI agent. At six foot two, he's got grey eyes and light brown hair that's starting to go grey at the temples.

Maybe Scott Bakula, though he's a bit too old in this photo? But I loved him in Quantum Leap, and he can command the troops while still maintaining a sense of humor. But he's not quite right. I'll have to keep looking - feel free to make suggestions either of actors or places I could look to find ideas.


Then there's Scott, another operative in Hauberk Security sent by Mark to help Sam out. Though you won't get an in-depth look at him in Sam's story, Scott's a tortured soul . I have plans for him in the future however. Oooh, brainstorm - Colin Ferrel! I loved him in The Recruit. Hmm, maybe I could even let him keep his Irish accent. Absolutely delish.

I also had to cast Chris - an early 20s very earnest young man who is easily embarassed. Strangely enough, though I hadn't thought of the connection before, I think of a young Chris O'Donnell from Scent of a Woman. Thing is my critique partners tell me that Chad's and Chris's names are too alike and one of them needs to change their name.

I've tried renaming Chad but he's getting pretty upset at the identity switch, so it may be Chris who becomes someone else.

Now I've still got to find pictures for Andy - who is mid-30s too, looks more like a biker than a former vice cop right down to his numerous tattoos; Sam's assistant Sandy; and Thalia who figures a huge role in Sam's history. Hmm, look like I've got some googling to do ...

Are blogs now passé?

Another blog I regularly read - The Fog City Divas' Dishing With the Divas Blog - have just announced they're going to stop posting. It's not the first group to throw in the towel. I've been seeing it over and over again lately both with groups and individuals.

Other bloggers I regularly read have cut down their posting schedule from daily to every other day to two or three times a week, and I can read the writing on the wall for others.

Blogging takes an incredible amount of time - both in coming up with an idea that the author thinks people might be interested in, and the actual preparation. I can't tell you the number of edits mine go through even once I hit post. Yesterday's post took 90 minutes - from finding just the right picture and formatting it for posting, to writing and rewriting and rewriting again. An hour and a half that I should have spent writing on my manuscript (or cleaning house - in that choice, blogging wins hands down.) Personally I love reading other people's blogs, getting that insight into other people's lives. It's like being able to sneak a peek into people's diaries ...

When I got serious about my writing, I was told that blogging was both a marketing tool and a networking necessity. Have you ever bought a book based on someone's blog? For my part, I have to answer that question with a resounding yes. So maybe there's something to the marketing idea, but how many books actually got sold based upon someone's blog ... was the payoff worth the effort?

At the moment, I have no plans to stop blogging, though I don't have a schedule and post sporadically. What about you? Do you see yourself continuing with your blog? Or will you decide your efforts should go more toward your newsletter?

The Wizards behind the curtain

I’ve been a bad blogger. I normally try to update much more often than twice a week. You’d think after the exciting news I had on Saturday I’d have tons of fodder for blogs. Nope. As I said in my last post, life really hasn’t changed much for me. Nothing's been going on in my real life so I've not had much to say. I’ve been plugging away editing Sam’s story. I even finally felt ready to send the first seven chapters off to my Critique Partners earlier this week.

For those of you who don't write, critique partners are an unusual and very special relationship that writers prize. An author will spend days/weeks/years carefully crafting their manuscript - a story they've agonized over, argued with themselves, maybe even cried about as they chose precisely the right word and put it in precisely the right formation in relation to the words around it. And then the CP will give up their own time, grab their proverbial red pen and tear that author's "baby" to shreds. With the author's blessing. Because the author knows those comments, those questions the CP left will make his baby stronger. Better. Faster. (Oops, I'm channeling the Six Million Dollar Man here again, aren't I?)

Does an author really WANT to see red ink when it comes back? No, not really. We want to THINK we’re perfect. But to be truthful I don’t feel confident unless I see a critique come back with red ink. Because I KNOW I’m not perfect.

Until I’d met BlueSue, I’d never shown my work to anyone – well, let’s clarify, I’d never shown my original fiction to anyone. I’d written plenty of technical manuals and newsletters that went out to the world. But my fiction was … private, personal. So when Sue offered to critique my work four or five years ago, I wasn’t sure what to expect.

I once read someone else’s description of how they opened critiques. They said they’d push their chair back as far as it could go and still reach the keyboard or mouse. They’d turn their face away as if they were about to get slapped, close one eye, and only look through the other with a slit, and then very gingerly click “Open.” Yeah, that pretty much describes me back then.

The first few critiques I got back from Sue … well, there was so much “red ink” I thought the danged thing was about to expire from exsanguination. (All right, one of the things I’ve learned is “don’t use big fancy ten dollar words when simpler ones will work just as well.” IOW The danged thing looked like it was about to bleed to death. Although I still like the alliteration in the first version.)

Instead of frightening me or discouraging me, all that red ink became a challenge. Thanks to BlueSue’s nudges, I ventured deeper into the writing world and learned about passive vs active writing. I found myself involved in Point of View discussions. I’ve discussed how many times a word should or could be used before it’s considered an Echo word. I learned how to create characters and build worlds that had depth, and wrestled with the always important and occasionally frustrating “Show, don’t tell” mantra. All thanks to various critique partners I’ve had over the years.

My current critiquers - Sue, Dani and Marley – are invaluable to me. Every time I open a document they’ve critted, I’m struck by how each looks for different things as they read. To use an analogy, the story is a path winding through a forest, twisting and turning, dark in some spots perhaps, while at others it opens up into a beautiful flower-filled meadow. Two of my CPs fly over the tree tops and make sure that the path is clear ahead, that it’s not winding off course. Maybe they’ll tell me to trim a couple branches here and there, or chop a few trees so the story will move quicker. Sometimes they'll point out a spot where I've taken a shortcut through the dark forest and missed the meadow where the hero is waiting for the heroine and gently nudge me back in the right direction. Or maybe they’ll tell me that beautiful flower-filled meadow is actually a swamp and a bridge needs to be built or another path taken. And one is a genius at spotting inconsistencies. “Did I realize that on page 39 the character had blond hair, and on page 103 his hair was dark?” or that “They were on the porch at the start of the scene and they’re in the living room in the middle – when did they go there?”

Another will walk the path at ground level. When she reaches the meadow, perhaps she'll tell me that while they’re really beautiful flowers, a garden isn’t needed at that particular spot and maybe I should spread the flowers along the path in smaller clumps. She’ll spot weeds that pop up through the pavement and tug them out and tell me to keep an eye out for them in the future. (repetitions and unneeded words) She’ll look at the bricks that line the path and say “You know, you’ve got seven blocks here all facing the same way, you need to switch that up.” (IOW, Did you realize you’ve got a ton of sentences with the Noun Verb Object structure and it’s getting boring?)

Thanks to their nudges and prods and judicious use of red ink, I’ve learned to look for specific things in my writing so they won’t have to put so much effort into their next critique. But those “fresh eyes” of my critique partners are still able to catch things I’ve missed.

And the most amazing thing about my critique partners is how willingly they put aside their own work and take the time to read mine. You really are appreciated, ladies. Thank you!

Feet firmly planted back on the ground

Wow, what a ride the past month has been. Things are settling down now and I'm back working hard on editing Sam's story, which will be a full-length sequel to Private Property. *fingers crossed that it will sell too*

The offer caused a flurry of activity for me - more than just signing a couple sheets of paper. Aside from hiring Elaine English, I had some government paperwork to do as well. Remember a while back I blogged about having a secret mission into Toronto that involved men with guns? Well, that was a trip into the US Consulate. I needed to get a notarized copy of my passport in order to apply for an Individual Taxation Identification Number from the US government. (That's something US publishers need so they don't have to withhold tax on any royalties they pay foreign authors.) If there are any Canadian authors here who need to get one, drop me an email and I'll give you a run down of what you'll need - such as a W8BEN (that's what you have to give your publisher), a W7 (that's the form you need to send to Austin Texas to get your ITIN), and the Treaty number you have to quote on the paperwork. (If you're a member of the Toronto Romance Writers, do a search of our Yahoo loop - Brooke London posted info on it last year.)

While I was at the consulate, the ladies at the counter processing my request got very excited to know I was an author of 'Bodice Rippers' ... okay, so I don't like that term very much, but it was cool pretending I was somebody even though my story hasn't even been published yet.

I've also had my webmistress extraordinaire, Rae Monet, update my website, and I've asked her to work on my Myspace page (I cannot figure out the coding there, but every one tells me I need a Myspace for networking purposes). And I've gotten a bit more active on Facebook as some of you have noticed. Feel free to friend me at either site.

It's strange because when I actually signed the contract, I felt as if fireworks should have been set off, and trumpets should have been blown. I mean, it's a first contract - it's a validation that all the work I've poured into my writing has been worth it. Something should have happened, right? But as my pubbed friends have mentioned before (at least I remember Wylie blogging about it when one of her books released earlier this year), life isn't really any different. Laundry still needs to be done, as do the dishes, the rugs still need vacuuming. The boys still make their demands - although now I can put my foot down with a bit more confidence. "This is my JOB. I'm writing/editing. Unless spurting blood or fire is involved, do NOT interrupt me!"

About the only thing I have noticed is now my internal editor is pressuring me even harder. She's now screaming "OMG, this has got to be better than the last one. What if your editor doesn't like it? What the heck are you doing?"

Which is when I stare up at that silver frame containing the "I loved it and would be happy to offer a contract" email. And remind myself of Nora Robert's now famous quote, "You can't edit a blank page" combined with something Candy Havens says in her FastDraft class: "Everything can be fixed in editing."

Squeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!

The short story:

My erotic romance, Private Property, is going to be published by Samhain!

The long version:

Just over a month ago, Guitar Hero tapped me on the shoulder as I was sitting at my computer and said “I’m figuring that with your headphones on you couldn’t hear the thunder.” (It's rather ironic because it's thundering even as I type this post.) You see, on that day, I turned off my desktop computer and spent the next 90 minutes reading before I decided it was safe to boot up my computer again. One of the first programs to load is the gmail notifier program. And while the icons are still slowly forming on my screen, this tiny blue box pops up that lists the emails that have arrived since I last checked. A message from the Toronto Romance Writers, something from Marley, and … a message from Angela James of Samhain.

Oh. My. God.

You see, I'd subbed Private Property to her back in April, and on June 1st, she'd asked for a full. And now here was her decision. Either yes, or as I'd convinced myself - that dreaded 'thank you for submitting, but we've decided...' Well, you know - that polite way of saying "No" that we (okay, I) automatically interpret as meaning "You suck!" (Yeah, yeah, I know it doesn't mean that, but I'm working on my self confidence.) As I cursed Windows for loading so slowly, that little tiny part of me kept my fingers crossed, hoping against hope ... as well as cursing the thunderstorm - why oh why did it have to choose RIGHT THEN to come through? Didn't it know I was anxiously awaiting that email? The next few minutes were sheer AGONY! Finally both Windows and Firefox loaded, and I logged into gmail and clicked on Angela's message. And there I read "I loved it and would be happy to offer a contract."

Squeeeee!

(I'm not sure I made that sound out loud, but I sure felt like making it.) I immediately started doing what Gizmo Guy calls "The Price is Right Bounce." You ever watched the contestants as they jump up and down and all around the stage like lunatics? That was me. I ran downstairs and told the boys who gave me high fives all around. I then phoned BlueSue - the lady who told me years back to take my writing seriously and get myself to a writing group. *hangs head in shame that I didn't phone Gizmo Guy first* By the time I got off the phone with Sue and phoned Gizmo Guy, I was hyperventilating. It was so bad that it took me three tries to get out the words "I sold" before GG could understand me.

It's been H-E-double hockey-sticks trying not to shout it from the rooftops but after reading a series of posts over at Dear Author, and seeing that Angela James herself recommend authors who don't have agents hire lawyers to look over their contracts, I decided to hire a literary attorney to check out mine. Thanks to recommendations from Rae Monet and Angelle Trieste, I contacted Elaine English and she agreed to go over the contract for me. Stupid me sent the contract, along with the agreement to hire Elaine, via registered mail thinking it would be faster than regular mail. Um, nope. I'll never send things like that by the Postal Service again. (Sorry Marley, hope I don't put you out of a job.) But next time I'm using Fed Ex, UPS, Purolator - anything that will take a shorter time than 2 1/2 weeks. By the time Elaine received the contracts, everyone was away at Nationals and I had to wait until this week to iron out the final details of the contract. But now the contract and all those pesky tax forms are winging their way to the States. And I can finally shout from the rooftops, and whisper quietly to myself: "I'm going to be published!"

I've printed off Angela's email and for my birthday, Guitar Hero bought me a silver frame for it and had it engraved with my name at the top, and "To the Start of Something Fantastic!" It sits up on my desk as a gentle reminder for all those times I doubt myself.

Anyway, here's a peek into what soon will be part of the Samhain library:

Mark Rodriguez and Jodi Tyler are more than employer and employee for Texas' largest protection agency, they're lovers who have agreed to a no-strings-attached affair. But when Mark surprises Jodi by arranging a ménage with his best friend Sam Watson, they must decide on the boundaries of their relationship. Is it open to the public? Or is it private property?

Sam Watson sees what Mark cannot — he's in love with Jodi. So Sam decides to make some changes to the evening's entertainment. Mark finds himself a frustrated captive while Sam brings Jodi to the height of ecstasy, forcing him to acknowledge his jealousy – and his love. Now Mark just has to convince Jodi to marry him. Once he convinces Sam to let him go so he can participate in the evening's fun, that is.

Prezzies from a Paperback Writer

It's been a busy day - but a really satisfying type of busy as I finally completed a couple of things on my To Do list. Which was good because I'd had a restless night. Gizmo Guy said I woke him up screaming at about 5 a.m. (I'd tell you what I was dreaming about, but my mother always said never to tell "a Friday night's dream on a Saturday morn or your dream will come true." Although it's not Saturday morning, I did dream it on a Friday and I'm too superstitious about my mother's old sayings.) Anyway, at noon Gizmo Guy called up and asked me if I wanted to meet him for lunch and then head to the local Farmers' Market. (Who'd turn THAT down? The peaches and plums are spectacularly juicy this year. And I love supporting the local farmers.)

When I arrived home UPS was knocking on my door with a HUGE box of books thanks to Lynn Viehl. Last week, Lynn ran a series of columns called "Left Behind and Loving It" on her Paperback Writer blog. Anyone who left a comment was entered to win a daily draw, and then at the end of the week, one lucky commenter won an Alphasmart. I was lucky enough to win a daily draw - a selection of craft books.

Here's a sampling:

• "The Tao of Writing" by Ralph L. Wahlstrom
  
• Todd Stone's "Novelist's Boot Camp"
  
• "The New Writer's Handbook 2007" edited by Philip Martin
  
• "You Know You're a Writer When..." by Adair Lara (a book I can definitely relate to. Like the line "Your heartbeat quickens whenever you enter a bookstore."
  
• "A Writer's Space" by Eric Maisel who "guides you deep into your own creative process, helping you to (amongst a list here) ... Create a workspace that complements the writing process, design a writing schedule that's easy to follow, no matter what, and devise personalized rituals to start you writing and keep you writing.
• What has to be the longest title I've ever seen: "Author 101: Bestselling Secrets from Top Agents, The Insider's Guide to What Agents and Publishers Really Want" by Rick Frishman and Robyn Freedman Spizman
• several writers' magazines
• "Oriental Mythology" by Joseph Campbell
• the very interestingly titled "Wabi Sabi for Writers" by Richard Powell which according to the backcover says that if you embrace imperfection, you will embrace your creativity. Cool!
  
• one I had put on my wishlist for whoever was kind enough to actually look at my wishlist - Lee Lofland's "Police Procedure and Investigation: A Guide for Writers"
• and finally Lynn's own course, "Way of the Cheetah: How to Boost your Productivity" which I'm going to be reading first.
  

So you can imagine what I'll be curling up with in the coming evenings.

And it looks like I'll be curling up in front of the fireplace soon if the six - yes, SIX - maple trees that I saw already changing colors today are any indication. *sob* But we haven't had summer yet!

Life with Guitar Hero

Guitar Hero came home today after a short visit over at his girlfriend's house. I'm rather interested to see what happens when her mother arrives home today and opens her fridge. You see, Guitar Hero has a rather unusual sense of humor. Actually I think it's similar to Gizmo Guy's though Guitar Hero has taken it to a whole new level.

Those of us in the Braemel household have grown used to opening the cutlery drawer and discovering he's changed around all the baskets of knifes, forks and spoons so they're in a totally different place than where they were the last time. We're used to him wrapping up a tiny present in 20 gradually-bigger boxes until it's in one the size of half my living room (All right, I confess, he learned that from me.) Or discovering a card containing a clue as he sends us on a scavenger hunt in order to find our presents. But now he's starting to spread the joy so to speak.

He studied computer animation in college, so he has an artist's eye. Apparently he decided the eggs in the fridge over at their house were just too ... boring. So he took it upon himself to give them a little personality by drawing faces on them. I immediately started laughing when he told me that he had some eggs facing each other as if they were having a conversation. Others are staring up so when Mrs. B. opens the door they'll be looking right at her. And according to GH, "None of them seem too pleased because they all know that they're crackin'."

Review: Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

I seldom review books - I'm just too darned picky. But I love Patricia Briggs' Mercedes Thompson series. Last night I read the third in the series - Iron Kissed. For those not familiar with Ms. Briggs' world, VW mechanic Mercedes Thompson is a walker - she has the ability to shift into the shape of a coyote. She's not got special healing powers, she's not the leader of her pack, she doesn't have any magic about her - that you know of, though things are gradually being revealed through the series that Mercy has some special abilities that even she doesn't realize - mainly by being unaffected by the other creatures in our world. Such as vampires. And werewolves. And Fae. Which gives her a power over them that leaves her in a very unique position. Here's a description from Amazon, but it's wrong - the two werewolves aren't her lovers - yet. Nor does she work for her mentor anymore - she bought his garage for him years before when he revealed what he was. Plus he isn't arrested for killing a citizen of the fae - he's arrested for killing a human who was a guard at the gates to the reservation.

Shape-shifter Mercy Thompson has a complex life, juggling two werewolf lovers and a job working for a fae mechanic; things get even more hectic when her boss and mentor is arrested for killing a citizen of the fae reservation. As the fae seem content to let him rot, Thompson takes it on herself to clear her friend's name, beginning a lone-wolf investigation that may cost her life. Briggs's third novel featuring Thompson (after Blood Bound) is another top-notch paranormal mystery; her well-balanced contemporary world, where humans live uneasily among werewolves and fae, is still a believably lived-in world; the ever-present threat of government legislation against nonhumans (though familiar to X-Men fans) adds weight to her paranormal elements, and thoughtfully researched mythology adds rich detail. Thompson is a sharp, strong heroine and her lycanthropic love triangle is honest and steamy. Briggs never shies from difficult material, and she moves effortlessly from werewolf pack psychology to human legal proceedings, making this a tense, nimble, crowd-pleasing page-turner.

Patricia Briggs has created a wonderfully in-depth world mingling the paranormal with the day to day mundane chores. Because of the advances in technology, twenty years before, the Fae - fairies and other creatures were forced to reveal themselves to the humans and found themselves placed in reserves while the humans try to decide how they should deal with these strange folk. In the last book, Blood Bound the Werewolves were slowly revealing themselves - not everyone, but a few. Including the Alpha of the area, Adam Hauptman who has declared Mercy his mate - though Mercy thinks it's only a political gambit to keep her alive. Coyotes and wolves - well, they don't get along in the same territory usually.

In Iron Kissed Mercy's friend and former teacher, Siebold Adelbertsmiter - a fae metalworker who calls himself a Gremlin - is accused of the murder of a human guard. Mercedes knows he's innocent and sets out to help prove it, even when he doesn't want her help. During her quest, she finds herself at odds with the Grey Lords who are quite happy to have a fall guy to take the blame for them.

Add to that, she's divided between two love interests - Samuel Cornick, the son of the Alpha of all the Werewolves, and an old flame of hers, and Adam. But if she doesn't choose soon, someone's going to get killed as the two Dominant wolves vie for her heart. Throw in a Selkie, a Findeal (there's no way I could explain what he is), a Carrion Crow and a whole bunch of other Fae folk, add to the mix an anti-Fae group of humans, and Mercy's in for a rough time.

There's one scene between Adam and Ben that is so moving that I had tears running down my face. Ben - one of Adam's pack whom Mercy has been wary of in the last two books - shows an incredible insight into why Mercy is the way she is, and why she's feeling the way she's feeling after a particular event. And as part of it, you get a glimpse into Ben's character that just made me fall in love with him.

I loved the book, but I found one thing to nit pick at -- shortly after that wonderful scene, Patricia felt the need - and I can't figure out why - to add another scene between Mercy, the Findeal and Zee that just didn't work for me. I don't want to give away spoilers, but to me the entire scene could have been cut. The only reason it's there, that I can think of, is she wanted to reveal Zee without his 'glamour' (the magic the Fae use to disguise their real looks). It just seemed gratuitous and unnecessary. But the rest of the book rocked, so it's really a small point.

A lot of times I find that series often grow stale after a while - either the author grows weary of their characters, or they're being pressured to 'get that next book out.' But I'm thrilled to say that each book in this series seem stronger, better. And now I'm really looking forward to book 4 - Bone Crossed. Which means I have to wait until February 2009. But that's okay, because Patricia's released another book following Charles and Anna - another couple from a story she wrote called Alpha and Omega from the anthology On the Prowl. Guess what I'm heading down to Chapters to buy with a gift card I got for my birthday?

2 Strange things that happened to me today

Actually the title should be "2 strange things and another rant"

Strange incident #1: I went to a friend's blog today but instead of her usual page, I got a strange notice warning me that her site was "a Reported Attack site". So I took a screen shot of the warning, along with a copy of the text and explanation, and sent it off to her. It wasn't until she replied that I took a better look at the screen shot I'd sent her. Ho boy, was my face red. I'd forgotten to clear the entry in my Google Search box on my toolbar. Um, yeah, Mr. Webmaster? I hope you won't think badly that I was googling for "bondage devices".

Strange incident #2: My phone rings and though I don't recognize the name or phone number I pick it up. (Which in itself is unusual - I generally screen my calls because I'm so fed up with telemarketers - which prompted the rant below.) The conversation goes like this

Lady on the other end: "Leah?" (she says it with the two syllable pronunciation as I say it)

Me (thinking it must be someone from the TRW because only my writer friends know me by this name): "Yes."

LOTOE: "I've got your cheque ready for you."

Me (thinking cheque = money? Great! It's about time it flowed that way. But unfortunately no one I know owes me money.) "Um, I hate to say this but who are you?"

LOTOE: "It's Rose." A long pause. "This is Leah, isn't it?"

Me after another long pause while I'm wondering how I explain that it is and yet it isn't Leah: "Um, yes, my name is Leah, but I think you've got the wrong Leah."

After a couple more exchanges by which time we're both laughing, I hung up and had to think - what are the chances that a wrong number would be someone looking for someone else with my pen name. It's not as if Leah is particularly common in this area. Strange, huh?

***

And here comes the rant sparked by why I seldom answer the phone, Canada is FINALLY getting a Do-Not-Call list. You folks in the States have had it for 5 years. Up here in Canada, we've not been so lucky. Unfortunately, the thing I don't get is we'll still be subjected to calls from:

Charities, political parties, pollsters, newspapers seeking subscriptions and companies with which customers have existing business relationships.

Do you know how many times I get calls from the Toronto Star or the Toronto Sun in a month? No, I don't want your paper. I don't want it today, I won't want it next week. It'll end up in my blue box for recycling. Same with the professional fundraisers for MADD, the Canadian Liver Society, the Cerebral Palsy (Ottawa Chapter - why that chapter when I live 4 hours away, I have no idea), the CNIB and Diabetes Association. (Most of whom phone me from outside of my local area code so my money wouldn't even be benefitting my local chapter.)

Look, I am not against charities doing fundraising. Heaven knows I support the anti-drunk driving stance - I lost a friend to a drunk driver, as has Gizmo Guy. I support the Canadian Liver Society because an acquaintance of mine's daughter required a liver transplant (which unfortunately was unsuccessful). I support the Canadian Cancer Society because I know just too many people with cancer, the Alzheimers' Society because they helped me with my Mom and Dad, the Heart and Stroke Association because ... well, you get the idea.

I'll gladly give to charity but because I give to your charity this month, does not mean I can afford to give you another $20 (or as some have asked $100) next month and every month after this for your latest and great fundraiser, especially when you see the number of charities that call not just in a month, but in a week or even in a day. Give me a frickin' break, people! All you do when you keep pestering me is have me answering the phone and hanging up without listening which leads to a long distance charge on your bill.

In my not so humble opinion, I think "Do not Call" should apply to any number I want to put on that list - especially when you realize that many calls that are from 'charitable organizations' are actually hired professionals who take a huge cut from the charity. In fact, there are warnings about things you should ask any caller soliciting funds for a charity.

1. Ask for written information - have them send you a package of written information so you can judge for yourself how legitimate they are before you agree to a donation.
2. Ask for identification - it's common in my neighbourhood for kids to come around selling chocolate bars, but did you know that there are professional organizations hiring those kids to sell them and hardly anything ever actually makes it to the charity, if a charity even exists?
3. Ask how much of your donation will actually be sent on to the organization? Is it percent based? You may be surprised to learn that less than 60 to as low as 20 cents of your hard-earned dollar may end up in your charity's coffers, the rest may be kept by the fundraiser to cover administrative costs. It might just be better for you (and the charity) to write a cheque directly to the charity itself.
   
4. Call the charity to verify - there was a scam in this area recently where the solicitor was using a name very similar to the Canadian National Institute for the Blind. Turned out the guy was taking the money people were donating in good faith and pocketing it.
5. Refuse high pressure tactics - unfortunately some of the bigger name charities (including a police organization) tried this on me a couple times. I will never donate to them again.
   
6. Don't send cash or give your credit card information over the phone.
7. Get a tax receipt - that'll also help prove they're at least a registered charity.
8. If you're donating online, make sure it's on a secure site - that the URL is an HTTPS site with an unbroken key or padlock in the task bar. And don't forget to google to make sure that they are a legitimate charity - especially after a major disaster such as Katrina or the earthquake in China. Too many shysters set up websites to bilk people who want to help. Here's a link to an FBI posting on tips if you wish to donate online.
   
9. And finally (there are more points on the link above but I've ranted enough), Don't be afraid to say no. Trust that little voice inside you that thinks it might not be legit. (Plus if you waffle and say 'maybe', they'll just keep phoning back knowing at some point they'll just wear you down.)
   

Best laid plans

Today went a little differently than I had planned. I had planned to take Curly to the Purolator store to send his beloved Xbox360 back to Microsoft since it had the Red Rings of Doom for the second time in a year. I had planned on going to the post office and mail a very important document to the US government. I had planned on writing more on Sam's story. (I'm SO close to being done that first draft it's killing me!)

However at 7:30 this morning, my carefully thought out plans went askew. Gizmo Guy phoned from his Berry - yes, I admit, even after that rant from a few days ago, there are times that cell phones come in useful. He was sitting on the side of the road about 10 miles away. He'd gone through a small town and stopped at the last set of lights. Well, not exactly. Make that he tried to stop at the last set of lights. He put his foot on the brake pedal and it went right down to the floor and he just coasted through the intersection. Ooops. Good thing it wasn't a busy intersection and he didn't hit or get hit by anyone.

(We'd recently had his brakes done, but apparently their repairs didn't include checking the brake lines themselves. Or something massive went wrong since. Anyway, when he depressed the pedal all the brake fluid squirted out of a hose onto the ground instead of toward the brake cylinders and activating the brakes. Not good! Guess it's time to look for a new car. Or go down to one - mine. *sigh*)

Since he absolutely had to go up to the second (and of course, further-away) data center he manages, I grabbed my laptop (I even remembered to grab the power adapter this time) and headed out to find him. Twenty minutes later, I arrived to find him sitting on the step of a mechanics'. Wasn't it handy that his car broke down less than 200 metres from a mechanic we trust? I think someone was looking down on him this morning - if his brakes had to go, what better place than at an empty intersection where he couldn't get hurt or hurt someone else, and so close to a trusty mechanic that we didn't have to hire a tow truck. *says quiet prayer of thanks*

So I drove him up to Peterborough and spent the day hunkered down over my laptop working on Sam's story. Much to my surprise after all the stress of the early morning, I got a LOT done on it. In fact, when Gizmo Guy tapped me on the shoulder and announced he was done, I thought we'd only been back from lunch for about 15 minutes. In reality more than three hours had passed. I think it was because I was sitting at what my brain perceived as a real desk in a real office and thought "Right, it's time to work" instead of its usual "Hey, there's a new box of cookies in the kitchen with your name on it. Why don't you brew another pot of tea and get a fresh cuppa to dunk them in?" or "I wonder if the bunny's in the back yard or if the goldfinches have completely stripped that sunflower by the back door yet. You should go check ." I didn't have Guitar Hero interrupting me to drive him to his girlfriend's or wherever he wanted to go. I didn't have a phone ringing off the hook thanks to telemarketers. In other words, I had no excuses NOT to write. So while I'm not pleased with the Honda's last mechanical failure, the rest of the day turned out really well. So well that I'm starting to think that whenever he heads up that way the rest of the summer, I may be going up with him.

As it stands now, I've only got one more scene to write, so I'll probably be typing those famous six letters before Monday (fingers crossed). And then I can get down to the dirty job of editing that sucker.