Meet Mikey and Pinky...

Mikey is the brown one, with cute pink 'Dumbo' ears. He likes me, for whatever reason. He also has learned how to squeeze between the bars of the cage. Thank god we saw this BEFORE we went to bed last night! Oldest son quickly threw together a wooden box large enough to fit around the cage, and put a loose lid on it. Got up this morning to my son opening the lid and saying, "Good morning, Mikey!"

(No, I am not holding them!)

Pinky is rather shy; he prefers to burrow into the small box we put in the cage. When he's being handled, he tries to crawl up shirt sleeves, pockets, or even in the armpit of the person holding him!

Thank you for cooperating, blogger....

Computer Probs and an Introductrion

Currently Reading: Just finished Brynn's All Chained Up. Whew! I love the interaction between the brothers; I loved everything about Theo and Keera; I had a few reservations about a certain scene, and (trying not to give anything away here!) the outcome sounded realistic...thank god for the understanding medical profession! Is Josh's story written, Brynn? I think Max's is next. I'll have to check...

Sorry AJ...I won't get to Seducing Celestine until Friday or Saturday. And I won Gracen's The Devil's Den, so I'll get to it afterwards.

Still reading The Orphan Train Trilogy. I'm now on the second one, Quest for Lasting Love.


Both blogger and my computer are refusing to cooperate today. Keep checking back; the technology gods will quit snarling at me and eventually do what I want!

Last night, our 'bookmarks' disappeared from the tool bar. This has happened before; all it required was signing out and then signing back in. Not this time.

So, we restarted the computer. Still nothing.

This morning, I ran both a spyware and virus scan. Got rid of one virus, but still nothing.

So hubby played around with it and found the 'sidebar' had all the sites. So he spent two hours rebookmarking the sites to the sidebar.

Then he let me sit down. I checked the 'bookmarks' on the task bar, and lo and behold! They were back!

Only now, blogger keeps telling me certain pages cannot be displayed. Like my comments. I read them once; why not twice? Nooooo...had to exit, come back, and reclick. BINGO!

Now I'm trying to upload a picture and it keeps telling me the page cannot be displayed.

Fine. I'll type the text, telling my readers to keep checking back (after all, it can't throw a fit forever, can it??), and I'll go off and read what everyone else is up to first!

Tomorrow, I'm off to meet Ms Kirch for the first time (happy dance!) before she leaves Indiana and heads for the hills of Tennessee. I may be too tired to post tomorrow night; then again, I may be too wired to sleep! Who knows? It's a Girls' Day Out!

New Pets Arriving

Currently Reading: The OrphanTrainTrilogy, by Jane Peart. The first one is called Homeward the Seeking Heart. Haven't started it yet. I'll read Brynn's this afternoon:)

Word Count: 935. In little over an hour, my writer's block broke with a vengeance.
9 PM: 1280. Chapter two looks a lot better! Tomorrow, I'll tackle Chapter three...


Sorry Kell...I won't be having cats for a while. We're getting two new pets this afternoon.

Two hints:

One is to be named 'Pinky'. I suggested 'Brain' for the other one, but no.

Okay, how about 'Templeton'?

Have you guessed it yet?

My children, my teens specifically, are buying two pet (shudder) RATS!

Why have I not stopped it?

Because, (sigh) I'm the one who had hamsters when I was 16! And since hubby refused to make a decision, and who can argue with the logic of "you had rodents once..." and "I'll take good care of them; you won't have to feed them, change their bedding, or anything!"

And they do take fairly good care of the dog, so I said yes.

And earned their Mother of the Year appreciation.

I still like the name 'Templeton', although my daughter assures me she's naming hers 'Mikey'.

My fondness for hamsters lasted only a year; we'll see how long this lasts!

"The Shelter for Dysfunctional Felines"

Currently Reading: Have about 50 pages left of Carribbean. Should have it finished tonight!


Spring, 1991.

Smokey, my adopted cat, decides to go into labor on my lap.

Ick.

But five hours later, the most adorable kittens were born...and proved yet again, that even though they may come from the same litter, they have very different personalities!

Dysfunctional Feline #1: Identity Crisis
First up was a black and white 'female'. Had I been thinking more clearly at 10 pm, I would have named 'her' Bandit. (To go with Smokey...okay...too cute.) But, this kitten immediately gets up and blindly stumbles around, falling over her mother's paws, bumping into the wall, and when the next one was born, tried to pick a fight with it. Since 'Roseanne' was popular at the time, we called her 'Rosie'. Six months later, we discovered 'she' was a 'he', so changed the spelling to 'Rosey'.

Rosey died of a heart attack at age 13.

Dysfunctional Feline #2: Abuse Victim
As stated, Tag-A-Long, or Tag for short, arrived next. He was a sleek, short-haired black kitten, whose 'sister', older by an hour, attacked him the minute he was cleaned off. His eyes were the last to open; he was a 'Momma's Boy'; and this poor cat provided many comical moments. My hubby accidently stepped on him when he was a month old, and we were afraid we were about to lose him. He crawled into the closet to nurse his bloody nose and swelling eye, and resisted my efforts to help. Two days later, he was fine.

He also:
-fell into a hot tub of water
-jumped across the toilet while it was in use, needing an immediate bath
-refused to play with any cat toys, preferring to chase a wadded up kleenex
-scratched frantically at any closed door; when opened, he did the same on the other side, wanting back in!
-developed a love of the outdoors in his later years and refused to come inside.
-outlived his three siblings by an entire year.

Dysfunctional Feline #3: Incest Victim
Ten minutes after midnight, Gizmo was born. She had the easist birth; D wanted to call her 'Slider'. But she resembled a gremlin, totally black like Tag, only she had long fur. Giz had her mom's personality: She only wanted affection if she asked for it. And when she wanted it, be prepared to carry her around or stay still for a half an hour! When she was five or six months old, she came into an early heat, and Tag just knew he had to have her for a mate! We quickly whisked the boys off to the vet (this is when we discovered why Tag was only going after Giz!) and a month later, had Gizzie fixed. Smokey had already been taken to the vet as soon as the kittens were weaned!

She was terribly unhappy when my kids brought home a stray female kitten, and a year later, both females disappeared into the woods. Gizmo was six; Fluffy one year.

Dysfunctional Feline #4: Eating Disorder
The last kitten, a gray tiger-striped, made his loud appearance at 1 am. Tiger quickly became my favorite, and he was the first to venture away from Momma Cat; he developed a taste for table scraps and soon was not eating his Kitten Chow! We ended up mixing an egg in with the food for two days, until he realized he was no longer being allowed to eat People Food.

Tiger and D had a love/hate relationship; in 2004, shortly after my caboose was born, he 'staged' his own death to make it look as if D ran over him with the car...D put the car in gear; felt the wheel roll over something; got out to look. Discovered Tiger...and when he woke me up to tell me, he discovered the cat was stiff; he'd been dead for several hours.

"That damn cat staged it to look like I killed him!"

I wrote a poem about our new babies, but it is in storage. If I ever unearth it, I'll post it!

"Can I Shower in Peace?"

Currently Reading: Am halfway through Carribbean. Also read Ginger Simpson's Prairie Peace, and I found it interesting! It was not what I'd expected; I kept waiting for the predictable things, but it went off in a different direction. If you like sweet stories, I recommend it! I'll probably read it again when I have more time to fully absorb the details:)

Up next: All Chained Up by Brynn Paulin and Seducing Celestine by Amarinda Jones. And next week, Anny Cook's Winter Hearts. Yeah...I'm catching up on Anny's books:)


Ever have this happen?

You're minding your own business, grooming yourself. Maybe even thinking about the list of chores you have ahead of you.

Suddenly...

"Hey, this storyline's not been approached for a while; how about a neighborhood picnic; Young Veteran realizes the Sweet One he met last night was his childhood advarsary..."

"No, scrap that. She realized who HE is and plots revenge..."

"Why do we always have to do it from YOUR point of view?"

"No, no no! This is what we are! He's a sports figure, retired because of an injury, and I'm either a reporter/DJ/video journalist..."

Okay. Can you two please make up your minds about your backgrounds and let me finish my shower? I don't have anything to write with, and I'm certainly not going to run upstairs with my hair all soapy, just to write you down!

"Well hurry up, because we're already arguing and you know what happened the last time you waited too long to start writing down what we were saying..."

Grumble. Okay. I finish my shower, and as soon as I'm dry, I grab my pen, favorite notebook, and start to write...

Silence. Okay...were did everyone go?

"We talked it over and decided to gell some more. You're too busy to focus on another project right now!"

At least I've got the background on paper...

Update on the car:

Looks like I'm going to need a new trannie... (throwing major tantrum...quietly!)

Exhaustion...

Everything went well. Friends and family found the house with no problem; five out of six pizzas were devoured; the cake is gone.

Pictures were snapped; no one was 'drenched' in Holy Water, although I think the incense made us slightly high. The service was long...90 minutes. Thank God we ate first...

I'm going to have to get up early tomorrow and watch the 2 episodes of 90210 that I missed this morning as we quickly spruced up the house (no one wanted to do it yesterday!). I thoroughly cleaned the bathroom (toddler even 'helped' mop the floor...I guess he thought I missed a spot!) and mopped the kitchen floor.

Oh yeah...and the transmission in my van has a slight problem: It refuses to shift into Reverse, and wants to scream while shifting otherwise. Pray my hubby can fix it before Thursday, and it won't put too much of a dent in the bank account??

Whoa...

Currently Reading: James Michenors' Carribbean. I loved Hawaii and Centennial, but could never take an interest in Texas. I'm on chapter 3 and loving it!

E-Book: I absolutely loved Jan Scarbough's A Man of Her Own! I highly recommend this one...I couldn't take my eyes off the screen and kept scrolling! Good job, Jan...I'll have to check out your other books as well! Next up: Ginger Simpson's Prairie Peace. I forgot to mention this earlier; I was one of the winners in her impromptu contest last week, and she sent it to me. Don't think I'll be able to get to it until Monday, so keep checking back!


Remember the earthquake last week? We've been having aftershocks; mainly in the middle of the night.

We just had another slight tremor. This time I thought the dog was behind my chair until I noticed the lamp swaying back and forth! This is freaky...

Preparations Continue

We know approximately when everyone is arriving tomorrow; we've decided to order pizzas in the afternoon, so there is no mad rush at any restaurant. Rehearsal was last night, and my son has warned me that the Bishop 'uses a mop to fling the Holy Water' at the congregation. If I don't wish to be drenched, I'd better sit as close to the far edge, away from the center aisle, as possible...

Have to take my daughter to the doctor for a sore throat; when we get home it will be 'Operation Clean-Up'...detailed dusting, vacuuming, and shining up the bathroom and kitchen floors. Fun, fun...Maybe next week things will settle down and my urge to write will return? I did a word count last night and realized everything I've written the past two weeks will need to be revised. The story is moving too slowly. Time to speed up the action! I just either need to give up sleeping or move out of the house for a couple of days...but I don't think the kids would go for that option!

I'll figure it out.

Hopefully.

New Kid on the Blog

Ms Jackie changed her blog and her name! Check out the J Lynn Rogers link to the left or click here: http://jlynnrogers.blogspot.com and tell her I sent you:)

Reality TV Thursday

Currently Reading: Finished Taming Marie Antoinette, and I enjoyed it:) This afternoon I'm diving into Jan Scarbrough's A Man of Her Own (see there? I learned to spell her name right!).

Print book: Beauty from Ashes, by Eugenia Price. I'm on the second chapter, and haven't made up my mind yet if I want to keep reading. On the cover is my southern mansion dream house!


Oh, I am so mad at Adam! He lost the HOH competition by one lousy point, and Ryan sent Sheila packing. I was so hoping she'd end up at least in 2nd place! But on the good side, I'm glad Sheila and Adam learned to like each other...that's why I decided to keep watching it this season, to see if two people who hated each other on sight could change their minds about each other. You see it all the time in books, movies, and occasionally even in real life. So why not a reality show?

According to TV Guide, Jason makes one of the biggest Survivor errors of all time. Can't wait to see who gets voted off the island tonight!

Not going to mention any names, but one of the e-books I've bought recently refuses to be saved anywhere except on my hard drive. So I'm going to try to print it out. Otherwise, it will have to go into the recycle bin and I'll have to buy it again at a later date, when I get either a flash drive or an e-reader.

Otherwise, that's all that is going on in my world at this moment. Besides only walking 3 miles today...but then again, I had to pick up my toddler from a field trip to the park. So probably made up the 2 miles following him around with the camera!

I'm So Excited!

Currently Reading: Taming Marie Antoinette, by Tilly Greene. Also went ahead and bought Jan Scarborough's A Man of Her Own.

Print book: The Quiet Little Woman, by Louisa May Alcott.


I received a wonderful email yesterday, from an e-publisher:) Although the premise of Forbidden Love intrigued them, the fact it does not have the HEA (happily ever after) ending made them turn it down.

BUT....there is a silver lining! They wanted me to send them the fourth book, with the working title of Love the Second Time Around! Keri's story plays out in this book too, mostly through Gretchen's eyes, so at least part of her story comes through, even if not the entire circumstances.

Sent it off first thing this morning...was going to do it last night, when I discovered the saved synopsis only had three lines typed! Oops...guess I need to get with the program and finish retyping the others as well! Wish me luck:)

Cincinnatti, Here I Come...

Received word last night that Jackie and I will be attending Lori Foster's Readers and Author's Get Together June 5-6! Whew! My summer is starting to fill up quickly...the Midwest Writer's is in July, and I'm also wanting to attend the craft fairs at Hazelwood, Eminence, Coatsville, Monrovia, and Moorsville, starting in late June. I received a vendor's application for Paragon, but it falls during Labor Day weekend and hubby royally objects to me setting up (or attending conventions) on holiday weekends. Maybe when I finally start to show a profit? Or he retires? Stay tuned...

Weekend Prep

Gifts have been bought. We're expecting at least 7 people on Saturday. Now to order the cake...

Enjoy the weather! We're expected to hit 80 today:)

Sigh...tagged again...

At least it's only 6 things this time.
1) I wanted to change my name to Amy as a child.
2) I'm becoming quite a good cook, much to my amazement...
3) I hate to dust.
4) In my CD case, you'll find Amy Grant, Hinder, and Celine Dion not too far from each other.
5) I still have nearly a year's worth of photos on my memory card.
6) If I receive any email I want to keep, I print it out. I've saved too many to folders, only to lose them when the computer crashed, or we moved. Therefore, my filing cabinet in the house is full of email print-outs.

I'm tagging anyone on my email list: Especially Joe, Jan, Erica, Nick, Enette, and Tammy...

Ladies' Lunch

Currently Reading: Secrets of the Heart, by Al and Joanna Lacy. It starts before the Chicago fire (reminding me of the ditty we used to sing...'One dark night, when we were all in bed. Ole' lady Leary left the lantern in the shed and when the cow kicked it over, she winked her eye and said, "It'll be a hot time in the old town tonight!" Fire!') and following a young girl as she becomes a mail-order bride out of desperation. I hope I'm not infringing on any copywrite laws or offending anyone with that ditty...

E-book: Bought Taming Marie Antoinette by Tilly Green. Will get to it later!


What was in that sweet tea?

Once in a while, the spirit of my grandmother and my mother's influence will make themselves known in my behavior. Today was such a day:)

I remember going on a lunch trip with Grandma, and she informed me "we sit at this end; we're the fun bunch who still smoke and drink." And she let me get a virgin Pina Colada, as I wasn't 21 yet, so I would feel a 'part of her crowd'. And we had a good time! Rowdy jokes, flirting with the wait staff, and whole-heartedly enjoying ourselves. Grandma may have been late 60's/early 70's, but she still knew how to have a good time!

Today, the Head Start moms had a 'Mom's Only' lunch downtown at the ice cream parlor. At my table, shortly after arriving, soon rang with laughter as we recalled yesterday's side trip to the adult store, as Julie and I filled in the other ladies on what we found. Turns out one of the other ladies had also been there, so the talk soon turned raunchy. And I mentioned a couple of books I had read, by a couple of authors mentioned on this blog, should anyone be interested...

And then the Head Person passed out sheets of paper to play a word game. 'See how many words you can make out the phrase, 'Moms, Muffins, and Makeovers'. Well the first word I came up with was, "oh shit...there's no T...so 'studmuffin' is out..."

Next thing you know, 'foam', 'in', 'feminine', and 'suffer' were also tossed around and being giggled at...especially when I asked if we could spell 'come' with a 'K'.

And when we learned the time to start hadn't occurred yet....well, the laughter continued. Especially when the time was up and Julie had 51 words! Someone pointed out that our table had had a head start (pun intended)! But the next closest amount was another woman at our table with 29, so both won the prizes. I only had 14...I know...sad...

But lunch was delicious; I won a beautiful picture frame and a basket of blue pansies. I personalized one of the books I'd donated, and the woman was thrilled! The winner of the other one apparently had to leave early, so I have no idea who she is.

And afterwards, we all got to pick the flavor of ice cream for our cones. I tasted 'Cake batter', 'Brownie Batter' (the two I ended up getting), 'Burnt Sugar and Butter', 'Cake Icing', and 'Milk Chocolate'. I will be taking my children there this summer...

Only 4 More Weeks!

My baby has come a long way. With only a few weeks left in his school year, he has grown an inch, gained 3lbs, and increased not only his vocabulary, but his attentions span, social skills, and can count to 6 (officially; I've heard him count higher!) and knows only 2 letters (although he can sing the ABC song!). I'm not too worried. I wanted this year to be a good learning experience, to play with kids his own age, make friends, and learn that he doesn't have to be joined with me at the hip. I'm very satisfied with his progress, and so is his teacher. Next year, we will focus more on preparing him for kindergarten.

Confirmation Saturday

My oldest is going to officially join the Catholic Church this Saturday. I know what I want to get him; we have family and friends arriving to see the big event. I think as soon as I get off the internet I'm dragging hubby to the Christian Book Store.

Don't forget to stop by Dakota's blog http://www.vampsmut.blogspot.com/ and wish her a happy birthday:) And my fellow Novel Sisterhood author Suzanne joined Blogger the other day, so check out her blog, http://trinityblacio.blogspot.com/ and tell her I sent you. And Jackie's back, posting info on her hubby's health www.jackierogers.blogspot.com; although today, I think she's blogging about pen names...

Monday Stuff

Updated Word Count: 8,021 from the past week. Sorry I've not posted the daily words!


Overslept this morning.

Seriously overslept.

My alarm went off; I hit the snooze as usual. I remember my son's going off. But my third coherent memory was my hubby asking me, "Isn't it Monday?"

"Mmm hmmm." I opened my eyes. 7:53 am! "Oh crap!" We jumped out of bed and woke up the kids! In spite of everything, daughter was only 5 minutes late; oldest son decided to eat breakfast and was 45 minutes late. Toddler was the only one to school on time this morning!

"If your teachers want to call and verify it, tell them to do so," we said as the two older ones went out the door. So far, no one's called...but then again, I have good kids.

That will teach me to go to bed at 11:30!

Exercise

Walked another 5 miles this morning. There were four of us this morning, and we wandered downtown and window-shopped. Found the adult toy store and laughed about some of the 'goodies'.

Oops!

I goofed. Dakota's birthday is tomorrow, not today!

Visit the blogs to the right and read about the ups and downs at RT 2008:)

Soap #3...or is it #4?

Currently Reading: Finished The Perfect Cover last night. WOW! Even though it's M/M, there are some scenes which could apply to ANYONE! I loved this book! It's definitely going on the short (but growing!) TBRA (to be read again) list! Especially one of the last love scenes! Wonderful!

Next up: Taming Marie Antoinette, by Tilly Green.


I don't usually do this, but I'm going to admit to it anyway.

I tried a product endorsed by The Donald.

Last summer, I stated my frustration at the soap industry, because lately it seems my favorite scents have been disappearing from the shelves.

I started with Caress liquid. Loved it! And then they changed to aromatherapy scents; okay, I'm fine with that! I liked the lavendar/jasmine 'Relaxation' one.

After 3 months, I was couldn't find it, but they'd changed the label and the scent to 'Evening Relaxation'. Okay....I tried it and liked it.

Two bottles later, it disappeared from the shelves! But they had a Cream Oil scent. I sniffed all four and settled on the Moroccan. I hated it the first time I tried it! But being the frugal person I am, I stayed with it and it kind of grew on me after a while.

But when I was finished with the bottle, Moroccan was no where to be found. So went to the Oil of Olay shower gel, with the purple bottle. Again, didn't particularly care for the scent the first time I used it, but I got used to it.

When it began to get low, enter the TV show "Celebrity Apprentice" and their endorsement of Dial's new Yoghurt body wash.

My first reaction was, "You've got to be kidding me! Yoghurt? Yeuuuu...."

But when it appeared in the store, my curiosity got the better of me, and I sniffed it. Hey...not bad! So when my Olay bottle was empty, I bought the Vanilla Honey scented Dial.

And I love it! I'm thinking of stocking up....buying a bottle once a month...to ensure I'll have plenty for a while:) Hubby thinks I'm crazy, but hey...I'm a creature of habit who is tired of playing soap roulette!

What about you? Any products you wish would return to the store shelves? I'd also like for Gold Bond to bring back the wonderful swabs that killed athlete's foot.

Woo Hoo!

Kelly's on YouTube! Go to http://www.youtube.com/ and type 'Kelly Kirch' into the search. Go check her out and tell her she doesn't speak out of the side of her mouth!

Other Blogmate's Happenings:

Barb and I are making plans to room together in Orlando next year; Jackie and I are trying to convince my hubby that Cincinnatti is do-able; Stop by Jackie Roth's blog and see her good news; I've also added a new blog to the list. Dakota, you might want to check out Gracen's blog...it's http://www.deadlyvixens.blogspot.com/ (and if I got that wrong, check the link to the right!) Anny, Brynn, and Bron are on their way home; Dakota's special day is tomorrow; did I leave anyone out? Oh yeah...AJ's wading through massive amounts of emails as she's finally got her internet back after a week or so! And I tried to check out Jamie's new book, but the local bookstore was SOLD OUT! Hope my mom remembers to go to her booksigning in Lafayette May 31st...otherwise, I'll have to track her down for her John Hancock...

Plans Tonight

I'll be attending a workshop chat on the topic of Promotions tonight on the Novel Sisterhood Workshop loop from 8-10 pm. So time for me to get offline so I don't piss off the husband! Am fixing Tortellini for dinner...the kids have Youth Group from 5-7...I'll DVR Big Brother tonight and watch it tomorrow. So don't tell me what happends...I'm just thrilled that Natalie is GONE!

Oops!

I accidentally deleted everything on my DVR yesterday morning. Proof I should stay away from the electronics until I've had my coffee. I've lost my entire season of Survivor; the Giants' Super Bowl victory; my hubby's episodes of HorsePower TV, Trucks, and Ghost Whisperer (thank god he HAD watched Friday's!); the One Tree Hill episode from last Saturday morning's SoapNet. That's the 3rd time I've missed that episode! Somebody just shoot me...where's my do-over? Can I go back to yesterday morning, 7:30 am please????

I know....it's only a TV show...and it will be on DVD in a few months...

"Ooooh! You're an Author?"

Currently Reading: The Perfect Cover, by Claire Thompson. I'm on ch 5:)

Print book: The Lightheart, by Elswyth Thane.

Yes I am:) I officially became an author at the tale end of 2002 when my first book, Love is Sober (sucky title...but that's another blog altogether!) was officially available. And I immediately panicked, because I was sure everyone was going to think I had lost my mind, and would disown me.

Seriously.

I wanted to crawl into a cave somewhere.

But the few people who knew it was coming, along with family members I gave a copy to, all said the same thing:

"I'm so proud of you! And I really like it! You did a good job; the story flows, and it is hard to put down!"

But the best reaction came several months later, at the first craft fair.

A woman came by my booth; she picked it up, read the back, and decided to buy it. The next day, I just happened to catch her eye as she was going through the tent.

"I started reading it last night; I can hardly wait to get back to it!"

"Good; let me know what you think of it," I smiled and said.

The next day, I'd only been sitting at my table for maybe an hour when I saw her walking across the parking lot. She strode purposefully to my table, slapped her hands down, and exclaimed, "I loved it! I couldn't put it down! When is the next one coming out?"

I wanted to jump up and hug her! But I managed to thank her and say, "Whenever I find a publisher!" And asked her if I'd given her the 'sneak peek' at #2. It turned out I hadn't, so I gave her the chapter, and she went on her merry way, hopefully spreading the word about the new author she had met!

The next year, no one bought. But I had several queries if it was on CD. So later on, I copied my file onto CD's, but only sold maybe two.

And now I've gotten a second one published under my belt; I've learned a lot about the E-Publishing world, and I've also joined chat loops; started this blog; created a website; and fallen in love with VistaPrint.

Now if I can just get an e-publisher to take a chance on me, things would be wonderful. And I've met several other wonderful authors online who have encouraged me, mentored me, and helped me become a better storyteller.

Thanks, guys...hopefully by the end of this year, one or even two of my books will be featured on an e-pub website somewhere:) And hope to meet you next year at RT!

Rock-N-Roll:)

Had an earthquake this morning...I think the ladies attending RT are having so much fun, they literally 'rocked' the Midwest this morning! Seriously...5.4 on the Richter scale! No damage, thankfully...

Actually, the epicenter was in East Salem, Illinois. But Chicago and Indianapolis felt it!

My first one was in 1987, and in the middle of the day. This one woke me up; I thought the dog was scratching and was shaking the house! Something fell to the floor, but it was 5:40 am and haven't really looked for whatever it was. It didn't break, so I'm not really worried. Just thankful that our fragile beams in the basement didn't snap!

Anyone else feel it?

Marketing 101:)

Currently Reading: Finished Satisfaction Guaranteed (yes, I finally learned to spell it...sorry, Isabelle:) I enjoyed it; however, as Barb can attest, two characters who refuse to TALK to each other and withhold secrets drive me crazy! I want to crawl into the pages and shake both of them until they TELL each other what the hell is going on!

Am on page 22?? of The Perfect Cover. Ryan's just confessed he needs a cover, and Sean has offered to provide it. Can hardly wait to see how this one turns out!

Print book: Am on Ch 6 of Surrender the Pink. So far, my eyebrows raised when the main character revealed her mother bought her a vibrator for her 16th birthday! Ha...when I was 16, I got flowers and my own rollar skates! What's wrong with this mother? (hers, not mine!) Probably why the daughter's screwed up, hmmmm....

Okay...need to get crackin' on the laundry!


I've been asked by several people in the last week about my signings; how did I go about setting them up; what do I say; the easy part; the hardest part, etc.

Step One
I selected the cities I wanted to visit and went online to look for Book Stores or specifically, Barnes and Noble or Borders. I then called the store and asked to speak to the Community Relations Manager.

"Hi, my name is Molly Daniels, and I wanted to let you know my 2nd book was just released last November. Would you be interested in hosting a signing for me?"

Usually the next question they ask is the name of the book; what genre; who the publisher is. And then the manager pulls it up on their computer. After that, their calendar is consulted, and I either get a date thrown out at me, or an inquiry to see if I'm willing to bring my own books. Sometimes I've been asked for my phone number, so they can look more thoroughly through their calendar and will call me back by the end of the day or week.

I usually call a couple of days in advance to make sure everything is still in order, and if there is anything I need to bring. Usually everything is all set, and I just need to show up.

Step Two
When I arrive, I try to be slightly early. There will be people who mistake you for a worker, and will ask where the bathroom, magazine section, sports section, etc. At Folletts last weekend, I had people asking me for directions to apartment complexes; if the store had shot glasses; and where the 'cheap' T-shirts were located! So it's a good idea to 'scope' out the store first!

I carry a small plastic tote which contains my extra books, my business cards, bookmarks, and newsletter sign-up sheet. I also pack a small container of M&Ms to entice the kids over, and maybe their mom's will follow! (Although, I have had kids ask, "Are they real?" "Nah...they're fake..." SNORT! Like I would hand out fake candy!)

Some authors sit behind their table and wait for the customers. I prefer to stand, bookmark in hand, and approach people when they reach me, or come in the door.

"Hi, I'm author Molly Daniels, and I'm signing copies of my latest release, if you like to read romance novels." (Arm extended, smile in place)

Sometimes I get, "No thank you; I don't read romance"; sometimes it's a simple "No thanks". But occassionally, their eyes light up and they want to know more!

Standing Solo
Sometimes, the hardest part is the standing around, waiting for the customers to walk through the door. Sometimes your tongue gets wrapped around and the words get all jumbled up! For instance, when BB Walters and I did the co-signing, I kept forgetting hers was fantasy and kept introducing her as a 'Sci-fi' author. And a couple of times, she'd say she was signing copies of her new romance novel, and catch herself. Then I'd jump in and say my book was the fantasy genre! Everyone got a laugh out of when we'd mix up like that!

Double-Team
It's easy to tag-team customers; it gives you confidence, and sometimes it's easier to pitch someone else's book instead of your own. Last June, another author was upstairs in the Children's section. He was also a local weatherman, and people were coming in specifically to see him. I directed his traffic, and some of them stopped by my table on the way out.

I encouraged another friend of mine to publish 2 years ago, and when she had her first signing, I actually sold 2 of hers before I sold any of my own. Barbara Kacer was wandering around, and she came back to the table as I was talking to a customer.

"I'll be right back, Molly. I'm going over to buy some popcorn."

"No, Barb; I need you over here." (Big grin on my face)

(Puzzled look) "Why?"

"Because this gentlman would like your autograph! You just sold your first copy!)

"OMG!" She hustled over and was thrilled someone was interested in her book, "Back Then".

"Can I have your autograph?"
The easiest part is signing your name. Unless, of course, you forget your pen name! Or, like last time, my pen stopped working in the middle of it! I don't like to sign with Sharpies...my handwriting is barely legible with a pen, let alone a marker! If I've been chatting with them, I'll personalize the message. Usually, I simply put "To__ Enjoy!" Or even, "Welcome to Arbor U! Enjoy the series!" Just depends which muse is with me when I open the book to sign it.

"Molly Daniels...Who the hell is that?"
I had to laugh. When I stopped at my BFF's house and found her gone, I left a note for her on her door. I used one of my brand new sticky notes, and signed it, "Love, M". Her hubby wondered who the hell was leaving notes on their door, and when E said it was me, he asked, "Well what's wrong with using her real last name?"

"It's too long!"

Wait until he sees the other pen name, ha ha!

Hope this helps:)
I hope this helps anyone who's interested in setting up a signing for themselves, or at least wondered what to say. When my 1st book came out, I was terrified and ready to crawl into a hole! But a few people read it and wanted more, and that built up my confidence level. Tomorrow, I'll post some of the reactions I've gotten.

Finally Settling Down...I Hope!

Currently Reading: Still reading Satisfaction Guarranteed, and bought Claire Thompson's The Perfect Cover last night. I'll probably finish SG in the next day or so, and start on TPC.

Print Book: Finished Cosby's book last night. Next up is Carrie Fisher's Surrender the Pink.


My friend John has been released from the hospital! Happy dance:)

All children have clean heads this morning! And even though I didn't get to bed until 1 am, I feel pretty good this morning.

Multi-Tasking at its Finest

I'd throw a load of laundry in; post an excerpt; read other's excerpts and respond. My TBB list has grown to a fourth page now, thanks to yesterday. Cindy Green, Phyllis Campbell, and Samantha Gentry's books sound intriguing, and Gracen Miller's The Devil's Den will be my second author's vampire book (Yours is still in there too, Dakota! Note: I said second author!)

Then I would check email, get up and tear apart my room some more (to find a place for the Pack-N-Play) and go downstairs again to empty the dryer. I also managed to fix dinner on time; watch Big Brother (YES! Natalie is on the block! Woo Hoo!); and not piss anyone off while I was on the computer! Sujrprisingly, hubby did NOT complain about the internet being on all day! Maybe he's finally seeing my writing as 'work'? Hmmm...or maybe a nice alien had taken over his body....

Thank you Regis and Kelly!

As you know, I have horrible spring allergies. I came up from the shower and hubby was watching Regis and Kelly. An allergist has written a book detailing the most effective way to deal with allergies. And one thing he mentioned was, DON'T USE A CLOTHESLINE TO DRY CLOTHES! I battle with hubby all the time over this: He grew up having his clothes dried by Mother Nature, and I grew up with them coming out of the dryer. Consequently, we clash every spring, because it's faster to throw them into the dryer. But he'd rather not heat up the house. And I hate stiff clothes! So I compromise; I hang them out, but do a 10-minute 'fluff' before I fold 'em.

Well now, I've got a legitimate claim for my dryer use! The pollen sticks to wet clothes, so if I want to have pollen-free clothing, I'd better continue to use my dryer!

I'm also living vicariously through Anny, Kelly, Brynn, and Bron as they are partying away in Pittsburgh at the Romantic Times Convention. Anny's promised to post some pics later on; can't wait to see what everyone looks like! And I'm soooo jealous; they have already met and had some drinks. Maybe next year I can go??? I'm hoping to go to Lori Foster's get together in Cincinnatti in June, if it doesn't fall on the same weekend as our Wine and Art Festival that I attended last year! And I'm also hoping to attend the Midwest Writer's Conference in July. Not to mention the craft fair circuit...

Have a great day:) We've got temps in the 70's today! Dinner tonight will be on the grill!

Will it Never End?

Currently Reading: Fatherhood, by Bill Cosby. Not doing much reading today. See below!

Thank God I got 9 hours of sleep last night! I woke up at 6, refreshed and ready to tackle the day. I had planned on writing steadily for two hours, and posting excerpts and chatting on the Novel Sisterhood all afternoon!

Only....got that dreaded call again, this time from Head Start.

"Ms Daniels, Can you come get your child?"

Fortunately, I can multi-task:)

I've picked out my excerpts and have been posting them, one at a time, about every hour on the hour. And have gotten some good feedback. And yes, my TBB list is growing again....

I've gotten one bed completely stripped and two loads of laundry completed. Hubby went to Walmart for me and returned with some Subway sandwiches.

Another project completed!

I successfully cleared a place for the Pack-N-Play which often doubles as my youngest child's bed. We've set it up, and he just fits! He's all excited about his 'new bed'...he's not slept in it for over 18 months. But until he gets his nighttime bladder under control, he'll be sleeping in it, no matter how cramped our bedroom is!

I've also gotten together 1 bag to donate to Goodwill, and various other boxes to haul to our storage unit. And now my allergy eyes are acting up; I took some Benadryl a few moments ago, and already my eyes no longer feel as if they are swelling shut! But, it's made me slightly sleepy. And I need my energy in order to strip and wash two more beds!

Maybe I'll be able to write tomorrow.

And the Madness Continues...

Currently Reading: Am on Ch 2 of Satisfaction Guaranteed! So far, I love the concept! And I'm about halfway through The Celestial Bed. Haven't done a great deal of reading this weekend...

Word Count: 2626:) Good Day...even with the other stuff going on...


Sorry. I'm slightly stressed. Went to bed before midnight and apparently shut off my alarm in my sleep. Fortunately, I have great kids who got with the program and made it to school on time, despite only having fifteen minutes to get dressed and out the door!

Was supposed to walk with the Head Start moms today, but it was cold and trying to spit rain. I opted to take a hot shower and catch up with my blogmates. I also managed to write several more paragraphs before running our usual Monday errands! So now I'm home, and time to start the laundry.

Where did it go?

Something weird happened. I bought Evanessance's Fallen CD two months ago. Decided to open it up and listen to it while in the shower. I ripped open the cellophane, removed the label taped across the seam, and.....no cd! I kid you not...we paid $9 for a CD case and front cover. So I dug out the receipt (thank you D for making me save the receipts!) and took it back. No more Evanessance CDs, so got Bryan Adams' Greatest Hits. I'll be singing in the shower to 'Run to You' tomorrow:) Actually, scrap that. I'll take it downstairs and sort laundry to it!

Update on John: The cardiologist is supposed to stop by today. He may or may not get moved out of Critical Care. His heart rate has finally stabilized, and his BP is back to normal. And his unpaid Family Leave has been switched to PAID Medical leave!

Okay; I'm getting off of here and getting busy. Those of you going to RT? Pick up a hair pick and a chinka box for me?? Please??? Have a safe trip; have FUN; take lots of pictures!

So Tired...

First of all, the good news.

I managed to sell NINE books up at Purdue this past weekend, despite the cold, wet, rainy weather. And my parents even showed up and bought me lunch:) I passed out all but 18 bookmarks, which means Office Max is going to love me again in two weeks. And met some girl scouts who now can't wait to be old enough to read my series....or so they said! They enjoyed the M&Ms and told me all about the creepy crawlies and making snow globes. And one girl even ate a chocolate covered cricket!

2) Son's BSA award gala went well! Saw some people associated with his troop up north, and visited for a while afterwards.

Now for the bad:

1) My lunch gave me 'problems' all the way home. Enough said.

2) Stopped by my bff's house to surprise her....only, she wasn't home! I really need a cell phone....

3) Caught a train 30 minutes from home, and it stopped for 15 minutes.

4) Came home and discovered a good friend of ours was in the hospital with congestive heart failure....the same one who buried his aunt last week! So far, he's stable, and we're going out later tonight to see him. I may go do some final errands with Jackie, as there are still papers to sign from last week's funeral.

5) This wet weather has aggravated my asthma, and I've had to hit the inhaler twice today...most annoying! For those who have no clue...imagine having something tiny stuck in your throat, that you can't cough up and can't swallow. A persistant hack that annoys not only you, but everyone around you! And when I puff too close together, I get the shakes and can't type or write.

And to top it all off, I'm somewhat sleep-deprived. Friday night, my mom and I stayed up until 2 am, watching 'Murder She Wrote' and looking through the old family albums. I was looking for the pics of our 1st trip to Disney; I couldn't remember if it was 1975 or 76. Finally found it; we were there in '75! (Trivia: Space Mountain opened that year; My mom took a picture of it.) I woke up at 8:30 and watched 'The Jazz Singer', starring Neil Diamond!

And I arrived home last night at 11 pm; by the time I unloaded the car and got caught up on John's condition, it was 1 am before I went to bed, and got up at 7 am to try to go to the early service at church. Didn't make it. And since it is after nine; the pizza is due to arrive any moment; we still have a hospital visit to make....I hope I'm in bed by midnight! Also just realized I've missed Big Brother...who won HOH? Who did they nominate for eviction? I want Natalie out of there so badly....

Pittsburgh or Bust!

Several of my fellow authors are headed to RT this weekend. Hey, Kell, do you think I'd fit in your trunk? If you want to see some cool items, visit Anny's page www.annycook.blogspot.com and see the hair picks she's made for the convention! And now I wish I'd entered Sandra's contest...but I only got 3 of them right. I correctly guessed AJ's, Anny's, and Kelly's baby pics. I totally mixed up Brynn and Bron, as well as Sandra and Mona. Sigh...Oh well...

Pizza's Here!

Maybe after some food and a good night's sleep I'll be more chipper tomorrow.

Busy Friday

Currently Reading: Just finished a Nicholas Sparks book, The Rescue?? and surprise, surprise...the next one out of Grandma's box is Irving Wallace's The Celestial Bed! I'm on ch 3; who knew Granny read a spicy novel involving sex surrogates?? Woo hoo...Grannny had some fun in her reading material! But then again, she's also read mine...

E-book: Just bought Satisfaction Guaranteed. Will most likely get to it next week!

Word Count: So far, only 738 today. (sigh) But then again, I've been busy. Read on!


I'm busy getting ready for tomorrow! I still have to go get my bookmarks and gas up the car. I know what I'm wearing to the signing, but haven't packed yet. My kids are staying behind, and oldest son has a BSA camping trip tomorrow, so I'm doing massive amounts of laundry, including bedding, as the toddler forgot to use the potty before he fell asleep. Fun, fun.

I've called the store; I've told everyone the right one:) Always helpful to know that, as my mom informed me BOTH Folletts are on State Street! For clarification, I'll be at the Purdue West shopping center, where I've always known Folletts to be! Who knew they'd expand into the Village???

Hopefully, I'll have a good turnout. The lady I'll be working with said my posters have been all over campus and West Lafayette:)

Strange Email

"Thank you for your recent interest in employment opportunities at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center . We have received your application. Due to the large volume of applications processed it is not possible to contact every individual. We ask your patience while your application is being evaluated. An applicant will recieve an initial phone call only when selected for an interview.We appreciate your interest in working at Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center and wish you success in attaining your employment goals."

Hmmm. I don't recall applying to them, nor have I ever heard of this place! And today I recieved a 'delivery error', saying my reply had developed problems. I'll say there's a problem; I didn't even reply! I deleted the repeat mail and kept this one, intending to post it here. This is bizarre...

Hectic Weekend

When I finish the signing, I'll have to leave by 6pm, so I can come home and get a decent's night sleep. Why? On Sunday, we have to get up, attend the 8 am service because when my scout comes home, we have to leave immediately for Seymore, Indiana, so he can be honored for his White Stag Leadership skills.

So I'm not sure if I'll be posting until Monday morning. It all depends on what time we arrive home on Sunday. Have a great weekend, everyone:)

Rain and Funeral Today

Will be at my honorary aunt's funeral today. Not sure what time I'll be back today.

We're also supposed to get nearly an inch of rain today; fun, fun. The heaviest storms are supposed to hit just as I'm picking up my daughter! Let's hope they hold off and miss the town we're traveling to altogether!

Gotta get the kids ready for school. Everyone have a great day, and stay warm and dry today. AJ, I'm still trying to send the rain your way!

Contrary to what Google Says...

Currently Reading: Finished both Camoflaged Hearts and Vienna Prelude! CH was wonderful, and I will most likely reread it in the near future! VP, I found interesting. I've read many WWII books, and it's amazing at how differently the main characters 'interact' with those in positions of authority during that time period. In this case, as it takes place in Vienna, Berlin, and Prague, I kept waiting for the Von Trapps to appear. They did not, but it was a wonderful tale of how Jewish children were smuggled out of Vienna before Hitler invaded Austria, and how even Austirans clung to the hope of a peaceful end to everything. I do not know if there is another book; I know there is one before it, but don't know if it is in my possession. When I'm done with all of the boxes, I can check the library to see if there is any more by this author.

Print Book: Solomon's Song, by Roberta Kells Dorr. An account of how possibly King Solomon was inspired to write his songs! So far, it is intriguing!


I took a tip from Anny Cook this morning and googled myself. Specifically, I was looking for anything that suggested free copies of my books. Didn't find it (or hers, for that matter...I gave up after 8 pages), but I did find a site offering to RENT copies of my work! And no, Anny, I checked, but your name wasn't on that site.

And I did find out a whole lot of other things, which maybe means I probably should have googled myself when I first thought up this pen name, except I didn't have internet at the time. So contrary to 'popular belief' or in this case, Google items, I want to set the record straight.

I HAVE NOT, NOT EVER:

-Help my husband fake his own death. Mine is alive and kicking and talking about returning to work next week.

-Been sentenced to 20 years in prison for insurance fraud. My fourth grade trip to the jail convinced me to never end up on the wrong side of jail cells!

-Been a cancer genetic counselor. But it seems to be a cool career to have!

-Descended from witches, nor is my daughter's name Daphne. Not everyone knows my daughter's name.

-And I wouldn't dream of digging UP a dead body! I've buried my dogs' bodies, but wouldn't ever want to MOVE them!

If you hit 'search', the real me is listed #2,3, and 4. In fact, my interview with Brynn is #3 on the list!

Just wanted to set everyone's minds at ease...I am not a fugitive from the law in Seattle!

Breaking News

I was finally able to get my author rep on the phone, in order to get his take on the Amazon/POD industry feud. Although the official word hasn't come down yet, he informed me that no, AuthorHouse is NOT caving to demands of doing things the Amazon way, and that things are still being hammered out.

So, this is what I'm doing: I'm going to my website and changing all my book links to Barnes and Noble. Take that, Amazon. Don't mess with my publisher(s).

Oh, forgot to mention: My Turbie-Twist has been found! It was hiding in the closet!

Hot Topics

Currently Reading: I'm up to Bron's story in Camouflaged Hearts! Should finish this book today, and Satisfaction Guaranteed by Isabelle Drake is up next. I'm also close to finishing Vienna Prelude.


First of all, I'm banging my head in frustration over last night's game. Memphis HAD the game won...except they were missing their free throws. ARRRGGGHHH! And the the overtime was all Kansas. Instead of Memphis winning by 3, they lost by 7. Figures...the one time I post my pics on a public forum, I'm dead wrong. Oh well....law of averages caught up with me! Too bad I didn't do this last year...Florida was my team all the way!!!

Anniversary

Twenty-three years ago today, I met the man who would inspire me to begin writing what is now known as my Arbor University series. He needed a date; my roomie was dating his bff; I agreed to meet him. After meeting him, I was informed (warned??) by my roomie that he'd made the comment I looked like a librarian. Undeterred and in a slightly rebellious (reckless?) mood, I still agreed to be the fourth person on the date.

The first place we stopped was the other guy's house, so he could change clothes. The minute my officer and I were alone, I said, "So I hear you said I look like a librarian."

He had the grace to turn red, duck his head, and mutter, "Oh, yeah."

"Well, could you tell me why?"

"You just don't look like the type who parties very much."

I grinned to myself, thinking back to 5 months earlier, when I discovered the joys of the opposite sex. "You'd be surprised at some of the stuff I've done lately."

That perked him up and we started exchanging the usual information. The next morning, he kissed me goodbye as he and his friend dropped us back at our dorm room and made plans for later that evening. Two days later, we had a huge fight because he reverted to what I call Caveman tactics, and he was stunned when I gave him a verbal tongue-lashing and refused to go out with him again. He fumed for a day, and then apologetized and humbly asked me out again, reminding me he only had one more week of his leave. I told him I'd think about it and call him later after my classes were over.

My roommate begged me to give him another chance. So I reluctantly gave in, and that man treated me like a queen for the next several days. When he left, I was pretty positive I wasn't going to see him again, as he was extremely good looking, and I knew the California girls would be lining up to be with him.

And over the summer, I thought about him, and when my family went to Florida for vacation, the airline was overbooked and offered a free ticket to anywhere in the Continental US for anyone willing to take a later flight. If I hadn't been with my Mom, or knew my grandparents were waiting for us, I probably would have volunteered. And then I speculated on that prospect the entire vacation.

When I got back to school, I began writing my 'what if'. And lo and behold, my officer did come back; he did look me up; and it turned into a stormy, 6 year relationship.

My mother read Love Finds a Way, and the first thing she said (after complaining about the 'F' word) was "How much of this is autobiographical? No, wait....don't tell me."

There's a lot I've changed; some of it is 50% accurate. But his general character comes through. That I didn't change. When we were alone, he was My Guy, sweet and loving. But get him in a crowd, or with his friends, and suddenly Mr. Party Animal appeared, who hit on every female.

Showing My Naivete'

Okay; I have a question. I'm reading Camouflaged Hearts (and loving it!), but the third story has brought up two dilemmas: 1) I understand the concept of virginity, I really do, but the heroine used a vibrator. And her hymen was still intact. My question is, how? I mean, I popped my own the first time I used a tampon! So I guess I 'lost' my virginity to Tampax at age 16. I've never used a vibrator myself, but I imagine one would pop it, right? So why wasn't hers?

2) The concept of the menage. I've read several now, and this one is probably the one that mirrors my feelings about the entire issue. But the story left me hanging! What happens next? Do the three of them stay lovers? Does she choose one? What happens next? (Yes, I know I'm repeating myself!)

I know there has to be trust and communication, for a menage to work. But I just can't get my mind to wrap around the concept of one guy being okay with watching his buddy screwing the girl when he's through, or even doing it first. And what happens if she suddenly decides she likes the other guy better? Will this bring up rivalry between the two men? And what about the three who settle into the relationship? The ones I've read, one guy is the 'main' lover, the one who 'penetrates', while the other one gets 'attention'. What if they want to swap places, because the guy getting his cock sucked wants more? What then?

I tried to picture myself with two men several years ago, but one guy always ended fading out of the picture. I guess this means I'm a one-man woman.

Bookmarks Are Ordered

I've ordered another 100 bookmarks for the next stop on my 'tour'. This time, I'll be in my hometown, and I hope to see many familiar faces! I'm especially excited to reconnect with two old friends, one from the 5th grade, and another from high school. I posted the signing on my Classmates.com profile, so I hope anyone who keeps tabs on my comings and goings will show up as well:) Four years ago at the 20th reunion, many of my old classmates were impressed with the fact I had published a book, so I hope they're continuing to follow any latest news that I've posted. I really wish my male bff would show up; he lives in Michigan and his twins are now 3 years old. I'd love to see if Daddyhood has mellowed him out!

Did anyone else see this?

A girl in Florida was tricked into going to a 'friend's' house. Once she arrived, the others pounced on her, beat her up, and captured everything on camera, which they then posted on YouTube. The victim's parents and the sheriff were interviewed on the news, and the sheriff said the perpetrators had shown no remorse. In fact, they were joking about, "I guess we're not going to the beach for Spring Break" and one girl even had the nerve to ask if they could hurry up so she could attend cheerleading practice!

Okay...let me get this straight...you damage your 'friend's' hearing, put her in the hospital, and now you want the police to quit asking you questions so you can go to CHEER PRACTICE?? What world are you living in? The world myself and everyone else lives in, if the police bring you in for questioning and you know you're guilty, you'd better have a damn LAWYER with you! And the crocodile tears should be flowing profusely!

Okay...I'm out of breath. What's on your Hot Topic list today? I know the bookmarks aren't an "HT", but I wanted to balance it out!

Several Things...

Currently Reading: Camouflaged Hearts. I'm already finished with the first story, but I've apparently missed something and I need to go back and re-read a section. I was mildly disappointed; I wanted to jump into the story and grab the heroine by the hair and shake her until she got over her uncertainty! If I'd been in her shoes, it would have been a no-brainer. Unless, of course, there were 2 other people to consider...then I would have raised objections! But they were both single, still attracted to each other, and in the end, it all worked out. But I was still gnashing my teeth at her internal dialogue. And no, Bron, it wasn't yours!

NCAA Final Game Tonight!

I've been going back and forth as to who will win the game tonight, and then I said 'screw it." No, I didn't flip a coin; I looked over my bracket and realized I only picked Kansas to win in the first round! Memphis, I'd picked all the way up until the last round. So, I'm picking Memphis over Kansas tonight.

Goodbye Auntie Rene

I was given a gift yesterday. Hubby and I took the three toddlers (ages 6,5, and 4) to see Grandma yesterday. As all toddlers do, they were soon restless after speaking to her and checking out the birds in the aviary. They settled down when my daughter produced the Etch-O-Sketch, but soon that wasn't even holding their attention. So we left.

I briefly considered popping my head in my aunt's room to say 'hi', but decided at the last minute not to do it, as the 6-year-old always wants to go wherever I go. And we'd only been home a few moments when Jackie called and said she was gone.

As in so many cases, the first thing I blurted was, "But I was just there!" But in all likelyhood, had I gone in her room, I would have found her already gone. I can rest assured, the last time I saw her, she smiled at me, squeezed my hand, told me she loved me and was proud of me, and said she was about to take a nap. And she had read both of my books and was happy I had finally submitted the third.

Funeral arrangements are still pending; she wanted to be buried next to her husband in Kentucky, so I'm not sure where the service will be.

And now for the rant

I won't mention the company my friend works for, but they will not give him any bereavment time to bury his only remaining relative. Parents, siblings, and children are listed, but as his parents are long gone; he's an only child; and only has stepchildren, the fact Auntie Rene is his aunt and 'next of kin' (except for his wife and her children) does not meet the criteria for time off from his work. That is a crime. He lived with her for several years while he was working, to take care of her. After he married, he insisted she continue to live with them, and his wife loves her as much as he does. So why does this company not take into consideration she was all he had?

I met this sweet lady when my hubby and I were dating. She attended our wedding, and made multiple trips to see us, especially after the kids began arriving. She introduced me to Lavryl Spencer books, as well as those by W.E.B. Griffen and John Grisham. We didn't have a computer; we travelled to Cincinnatti and she and John took the rest of the family to the Mall so I could type my manuscript onto a floppy disk. We attended the Tall Stacks festival and enjoyed the day, laughing at the people who chose to eat on the deck of the floating restaurant and shivered, while we were upstairs in the ENCLOSED area, warm as toast, and eating off the buffet.

Ghostlie Antics

My turbie-twist has disappeared. Literally.

I showered Wednesday morning and hung it on the closet doorknob so it could dry. The younglings arrived Thursday afternoon, and Friday morning, I could not find my white towel I use to dry my hair! I looked downstairs; I looked in the chute to see if it was caught somewhere; I looked behind every door! No clue where it has gone. My older kids remember seeing it, but no one has touched it. So I'm back to wrapping my head in smaller towels and trying to balance it on my head once more.

What's a turbie-twist? Basically it's a small turban-like towel with a tiny loop of elastic at one end. You place it over your head, with the elastic at the back of your head. Twist your hair in the rest; flip your head back and place the end through the loop. Voila! Everything stays in place. Especially if you have an odd-shaped head, as I do, or simply want to bend over while your hair is still dripping wet! If I don't find it soon, I'll have to remember where I put the other one...they came as a pair. And I've not seen them anywhere lately.

Record Snowfall

This is for Bron and Brynn. Saw on the news that y'all in Grand Rapids have had...(drum roll please)....107 INCHES of snow, double the normal amount, and here it is, APRIL, and yes, Mother Nature isn't finished with you yet! Whew....that's a lot of snow. And when it melts, it's going to filter down and flood me out, if your water hits the Wabash River. If it flows to the Mississippi, then I'm safe!

And finally...

The results are in, and apparently no one is reading my 'Notes' page on my website anymore. Good; I was getting tired of copying and pasting it. And sometimes the internet would rebell and all my hard work would be lost.

Now the only question I have is, what about the MySpace blog? I've not updated it in a while; does anyone care? I'm sure I have friends who don't read this, but keep up on the MySpace; maybe I ought to be more diligent in updating it. What do you think?

Fooled you...this is the final thought!

Tomorrow is the 200th entry of this site. I was going to give away a free book, but no one entered the last impromptu contest. So if you'd like to win a free copy or download, leave me a comment tomorrow and I'll randomly draw a winner.

With that said, have a great day! It's beautiful outside, and today is our normal errand day. Especially with not having to wear a coat!

Today

3 pm: Just got word that my aunt passed away quietly in her sleep a few moments ago. Thanks to everyone for all their thoughts and prayers.

Final Four

Here's my pic for Monday's final game:

UNC-Lost:(
UCLA-Lost:(

AAAACCCCKKKK! With 3 minutes to go, Kansas is spanking UNC by 12 points!!! There goes my steak dinner...I'm going to have to spring for it this year! Esp since I already said UNC was going to win the entire thing...so far, Memphis is the only team I consistantly picked, save for today's game...Grrrr...check back Monday. Depends on my friend's bracket. Maybe I still have a chance to win this??

Be back later after the signing:)

Had another good signing...sold 4, and the first one was sold within the first ten minutes:) Spoke to several people, including two budding authors.

I also passed out all of my bookmarks; now I've got to get some more made before next Saturday!

I'm exhausted; after I took down my posters and went to the store for some last minute stuff, we grilled hamburgers, brats, and hot dogs; it was in the 60's and beautiful! All the kids have been bathed, and I'm off to put the younglings to bed. And then cheer on my last team, if I don't fall asleep.

PMS or am I Getting Old?

Currently Reading: Bought Camouflaged Hearts last night. Will get to it later.


This goes out to anyone who's lived alone for several years. Do you find yourself upset when your schedule is interrupted?

My college roomie and I lived together peacefully for 5 years. When we graduated, she got married and I moved into my first apartment. Yes, I sort of moved my boyfriend/fiance' in at the same time, but when I kicked him out, another friend stayed with me for 2 weeks while her apartment was being cleaned.

She drove me nuts. Why?

She would play my tapes and put them back in the wrong order.

She left her clothes scattered around.

When she left, some of my clothing disappeared and although she claims she didn't take it, I haven't seen them since. And one shirt was my red Coke shirt.

Now, fast-farward twenty years, and I eagerly welcomed two more toddlers for a couple of days. It's been less than twelve hours, and I'm late getting this post out because of constant interruptions! And I'm irked at their mother...the kids arrived with two sacks of clothing, "all clean".

NOT!

The second bag was soaking wet. And guess which sack the pj's were in? If you guessed the wet one, you're right! So they slept in T-shirts. And their clothes are coming out of the dryer as I type; they also smelled, so I washed everything.

But that's not all; nooooo. Neither child has socks; there is only a pair of pants apiece; and several pairs of summer clothes. Last time I checked the temp, it was in the 40's. So yes, they are bundled in sweatshirts on top of their short-sleeved tops!

So my question again; is this just a case of early PMS, or am I turning into my grandmother, who welcomed us into her home, but made sure we stayed quiet?

Or do I just need to have a chat with my 'oldest child' about how to pack for weekends?

On a good note, I checked my royalty statement for Love is Sober, and I've reached the $19 amount! Yea rah, yippee skippee...five more books and I get another check!

As I've stated, I have another signing lined up for tomorrow. So don't expect a post until later tomorrow night! Hopefully, it will be another successful one.

Have a great weekend!

Thursday Stuff...

Currently Reading: Finished Sweet Dreams, by Dakota Rebel. I was surprised; I don't usually like vampire books, and it was far down on my TBB list, but when I won it the other day, I thought, "what the hell...I'll try it!" And I really liked it! I was a little disappointed in the ending (don't worry, D...not giving it away!), but on a the whole, it was a very good read! A page scroller. And to me, that's the mark of a good e-book. After all, I loved Hello, and now I'm looking forward to the Bound Brits anthology. How far am I behind? This should tell you; my next e-book is Camouflaged Hearts! Which came out...last September??

Print book: Finished Texas as we were driving to meet the kids. Loved the first pair of stories, but halfway through the third, my interest was waning. Read 2 chapters of the last one and closed it. Now I'm reading Vienna Prelude, by Bodie Thoene. It's about WW2, and the Jewish Underground. Hopefully it will be a good read!


I'll admit, this hasn't been a good blog week. I seem to be stuck in finger twiddling mode.

But that's okay. After all, I'm dealing with the aftermath of my 'vacation', the stress of the fact that soon hubby will be returning to work, and the fact that I'm "wasting money" (his words, not mine!) on this self-proclaimed book tour. But get this: When I added up the books I've sold so far, it means that I'll (gasp...drum roll, please...) have a nice check coming to me by summer! And maybe even another small one this month? Depends when my royalty statement comes out. Also, if memory serves, doesn't that mean I'm GETTING PAID? Guess what? That falls under the title of REAL JOB! Get over yourself and quit complaining about the amount of time I spend on the computer.

Invasion of the Rug Rats

My 'grandkids' are arriving today:) They will be staying until Sunday, as they are on Spring Break, and their mom works nights.


Huh???

The morning news carried the story of the pregnant man this morning, that Ashley Ladd had on her blog a few days ago. They stated he plans to 'skip the epidural' and have 'natural childbirth'. Okay....did I miss something? Does he not have all the male parts in place? How the hell is this going to happen? Or....does he NOT have everything? If so, why would a woman marry a man without one? Unless she's a transgender too....No bigotry here...if they're happy, more power to 'em. But it just boggles the mind. And as for natural childbirth, I've done it twice, and it was no picnic. The third time around, I thankfully was able to have the epidural, and the only thing I complained about was it too so long to wear off. But that's me; Speedy Delivery when it comes to babies!

Sorry, AJ...blame Ashley, LOL!

I discovered why all my efforts to send our rain to Brisbane is failing. There is a huge, blocking High Pressure over Florida, keeping our Midwest in rain. Now while I'll take rain over snow, I don't particularly care for it day after day. Why?

1) Hubby's job is weather-dependant. If it rains, he doesn't work. If he doesn't work, then no money coming in. No money comes in, then I can't buy the next book or two on my list. See the problem?

2) The month of May is coming up. Specifically, the BIG RACE in Indianapolis. Indy cars don't race or even qualify when there is water on the track! Therefore, weekends need to have at least one dry day so the cars can qualify and the race can be run. Oh, and I'd prefer to be wearing shorts at the track on race day? The worst race I can remember was when it was only 33 degrees outside. More on this race next month.

3) Do I even have to mention the massive FLOODING that has occured? And since I live in a town very close to the river, I'd really like my levees to be intact. I've already been displaced once, thankyouverymuch, and don't care to to it again.

Okay, I'm off to type up what I wrote in longhand last week. I'm at the point where I have a choice; I can end the chapter or keep going. And until I type it up and see how long it is, I can't decide which way to go. At least, that was what my rebellious creative mind was saying yesterday.

More ranting on http://www.ohgetagrip.blogspot.com/ and on AJ's site; I wondered about the Zelda comment on someone else's blog; AJ's posted the link on her site, http://www.amarindajones.blogspot.com/ if you want to see the latest opinionated person on blogger. I went over and read the posts, and I still don't know what to make of her. Some of the comments were downright rude, but then again, she was rude back at 'em. So go over and judge for yourself. And Anny's making Mystic Valley goodies as promotional items! Way to go for being original! Hopefully she'll post pictures soon! Makes me wonder if I can drive over and sneak in for a day??

Answers:)

Currently Reading: Texas, by Debra White Smith. Just finished the first two stories, Texas Honor and Texas Rose. Read all of the Wyoming ones...fantastic!

E-book: Am on Chapter 4 of Dakota's Sweet Dreams. I read her blog daily, and her personality is definitely shining through this book!


Is there a Fourth of July in England? Yes...and a fifth, a sixth, and so on...

How many months have 28 days? All of them:)

If a blue house is made of blue bricks, a red house is made of red bricks, a brown house is made of brown bricks, what is a green house made of? Glass

You are driving a bus. At the first stop, five people get on and three get off. A mile down the road, three people get on and two get off. A couple of miles later, six people get on, but no one gets off. The final stop, two get on and two get off. What was the driver's name? Your name...You are the driver!

Out in the field there is a green house. Inside the green house there is a white house. Inside the white house there is a red house. Inside the red house is a bunch of black babies. What is it? A Watermelon.

What do you put in a toaster? Bread...it's when it comes out it's considered toast.

Not much going on over here. Sinuses are acting up again, and my motivation is shot. I did refill my tote in preparation of this weekend's signing, and have been talking to everyone I see about last Saturday's, as well as reminding them about this coming weekend. I've written half a page on the new wip, and am getting ready for my 'grandchildren', who will be arriving tomorrow and staying through Sunday.

Have a good day:)

April Fools...

No, I'm not going to fool you:) I will, however, tease your brain a little. Enjoy:)


Is there a Fourth of July in England?

How many months have 28 days?

If a blue house is made of blue bricks, a red house is made of red bricks, a brown house is made of brown bricks, what is a green house made of?

You are driving a bus. At the first stop, five people get on and three get off. A mile down the road, three people get on and two get off. A couple of miles later, six people get on, but no one gets off. The final stop, two get on and two get off. What was the driver's name?

Out in the field there is a green house. Inside the green house there is a white house. Inside the white house there is a red house. Inside the red house is a bunch of black babies. What is it?

What do you put in a toaster?

My all-time favorite April Fool's prank was the one I pulled on my sister when we went to Washington DC. I was 17; she was a very self-conscious 12 year old who worried about her looks.

As we are heading out the door of our motel room, I suddenly sucked in my breath and exclaimed, "Oh my gosh, Wendy!"

"What?" She said, alarmed.

"There's a huge stain on the back of your shirt!"

She panicked, turned around, and ran to the mirror to look.

"April Fools!"

She punched me, and our dad laughed about it all the way to the car.

What's your all-time favorite trick to pull? I'm not a prankster by nature, but sometimes I just can't resist! Especially a gullible sister...and I admit, I've been the target of a few! But I've learned to laugh at myself, thankfully!