My friend Susan at West of Mars does this thing on her blog called only good news, which is pretty smart if you think about it, it makes you think of good things instead of the bad or just bleh. So with that in mind, here it goes. Yesterday was the first day of summer, and I celebrated by going out with two friends after work (who both also had to work) and had a lovely meal at one of my favorite Mexican restaurants. It was nice to sit and chat. I've started dealing with the mountain of books that have taken over my dining room table, and of course found duplicates, as well as books I need to send out to peeps. I've also been working on my ghost story today and am up to 75 hundred words and 32 pages. I'm still enjoying the story, even if I don't know how it ends (I do know, sort of, where it's going). I also saw Race to Witch Mountain Friday (on what was otherwise a supremely lazy day), it was interesting, very different from the original, but in a good way (much better special effects but I would have been surprised if that hadn't been the case). In an effort not to get overwhelmed with things I need to do, I've made myself a mental check list and limited it to five goals for the summer. They are:
1) finish the ghost story
2) buy a bike (and use it)
3) visit Larissa
4) go home and see mom
5) send in my submission (the finished book)
There are others that I will probably also work on as the time permits, I've got plans for a website, maybe a teen oriented blog for the dayjob, a database for all of the people I've met at RT and other conferences, and other evil plans (which involve the quest for world domination or a three week vacation- whichever comes first).
Have a Happy Father's Day, and here's hoping we all have a healthy, happy, and hurricane free summer.
Sunday, June 21, 2009
Monday, June 08, 2009
Weekend Update
I wrote this yesterday, most of it, and decided to post it as is. It gives a better idea of what yesterday was like. And I'm not really up to rewriting the whole thing.
I'm typing this sitting in the Boston/Logan Airport, with a 4 hour layover, and no free wifi. Which is just wrong. And evidently none of the coolers are cold, so no cold soda (or more importantly- no sandwich for dinner). There are three gates that seem to be completely separate from all of the others, and there is no restaurant, no fast food, no coffee shop; just a sandwich stand (with evidently room temperature sandwiches) and a newsstand with not cold drinks. Joy.
I must say though, that the rest of the weekend totally rocked, so I'm not ready to pitch a blue fit (yet) more in the nature of a cranky in need of a nap or maybe a comfy chair with a cop of tea and some quiet. Which I won't get, unless I want to go through the hassle of going out and coming back in through security. Still not decided so I'll tell you about this weekend while I think about it. I left Friday morning and flew to Akron by way of Atlanta, and landed in Akron with no problems (despite the rain that made 64 slow down in several areas), and met Susan (from West of Mars) when she picked me up. The drive to Cinnci took us longer than we thought, but it wasn't too bad. Driving through Ohio is (I must confess) boring. No mountains, no water, not much variation in the scenery (which was nice- just the same for the whole trip).
We stopped for dinner along the way, and got their about 8, and registered for our room, and went back down to register. We ran into some old friends: Lorelei James, Shiloh Walker, and Bianca D'Arc, and also met some new ones: Valerie Tibbs and Jambrea Jo Jones. I even managed to surprise Kensana Darnell, who didn't know I was going to be there (for those of you who don't know- I met her through the Write-Minded Readers Group, and then met her in person when we found out that she lives not far from my mom).
The room was nice and comfy, the two doubles beds were loaded with pillows. Friday was an early night, which was good as we got up early and made it down for breakfast.
(I went out through security but didn't find anything that looked comfortable and schlepped my way back through security and am back in the gate waiting area- it is now 7:11 pm- and I have just under 2 hours to go).
We ate breakfast with Emma Holly and bought more raffle tickets and distributed them around to the various gift bags (there was one bag with a selection of ya books that I was seriously coveting. There was also a great big basket from the Ohio Romance Writer which included a one day pass to their September contest, and I threw one in there, as well as a bag of Suzanne Brockmann's books, a couple of bags from Shiloh, and Bianca, and Lorelei (and also Lori Armstrong), and a few that I can't remember.
After breakfast we went to the talk that Angie gave on e-publishing. I always learn something when I listen to one of Angie's talks. She talked about the various myths concerning epubs, and talked quite a bit about contracts and pointed out clauses you might want to negotiate before you sign (because once you sign you are bound to the contract): clauses such as ownership of your author name, ownership of your characters and world, worldwide rights and length of contract. And of course, hamster shifters. :)
After the talk we went through the booksale to get the books for the book signing, which took a long time (they only had one cashier). Then we went to lunch and got ready for the booksigning. I was relatively good at the bookstore, I bought:
Long Hard Ride by Lorelei James, Firedrake by Bianca D'Arc, “Tween Heaven and Hell by Sam Cheever, Winter's Daughter by J.C. Wilder, Fragile by Shiloh Walker, Chains by Shiloh (for Charli), Hallowed Ground by Lori Armstrong, and Fairyville by Emma Holly. The book in my goody bag at registration was Maverick by Lora Leigh (which she signed for me). It was great to get to sit around and just talk with everybody and make new friends. And of course get new books.
After the booksigning, Susan and I went upstairs to crash before dinner. And I crashed hard. And woke up still feeling groggy. Dinner was good, and after they did the raffle drawing. I won the big read basket from the Ohio Romance Writers. Susan and Angie both generously offered to take it for me since they were convinced it wouldn't fit with my luggage (I'd come prepared).
After dinner, we somehow ended up in the bar with J.C. Wilder and Lorelei and several other awesome people, watching the hockey game and listening to J.C.'s crazy stories.
This morning we were up and out by 8?9?/ We stopped at the first Cracker Barrel we saw and had breakfast, and made it to the airport with more than an hour to spare. We had to sit on the tarmac for a while, but it wasn't that long and then we were in the air and made it here.
This weekend (layover in Boston not withstanding) was very relaxing. I've got plans. Big plans, little plans, long and short range plans. But not right now. It's too noisy to concentrate, so I think I will save this, shut George down,and go find a bottle of water. TTFN.
I'm home now, I some how managed to get up this morning and get to work. The morning was spent on books and book keeping, the afternoon on putting together three flag stands and one display stand. I seem to be the designated assembler of furniture and displays.
And now I'm thinking about going to RWA (at least for the literacy signing).
I'm typing this sitting in the Boston/Logan Airport, with a 4 hour layover, and no free wifi. Which is just wrong. And evidently none of the coolers are cold, so no cold soda (or more importantly- no sandwich for dinner). There are three gates that seem to be completely separate from all of the others, and there is no restaurant, no fast food, no coffee shop; just a sandwich stand (with evidently room temperature sandwiches) and a newsstand with not cold drinks. Joy.
I must say though, that the rest of the weekend totally rocked, so I'm not ready to pitch a blue fit (yet) more in the nature of a cranky in need of a nap or maybe a comfy chair with a cop of tea and some quiet. Which I won't get, unless I want to go through the hassle of going out and coming back in through security. Still not decided so I'll tell you about this weekend while I think about it. I left Friday morning and flew to Akron by way of Atlanta, and landed in Akron with no problems (despite the rain that made 64 slow down in several areas), and met Susan (from West of Mars) when she picked me up. The drive to Cinnci took us longer than we thought, but it wasn't too bad. Driving through Ohio is (I must confess) boring. No mountains, no water, not much variation in the scenery (which was nice- just the same for the whole trip).
We stopped for dinner along the way, and got their about 8, and registered for our room, and went back down to register. We ran into some old friends: Lorelei James, Shiloh Walker, and Bianca D'Arc, and also met some new ones: Valerie Tibbs and Jambrea Jo Jones. I even managed to surprise Kensana Darnell, who didn't know I was going to be there (for those of you who don't know- I met her through the Write-Minded Readers Group, and then met her in person when we found out that she lives not far from my mom).
The room was nice and comfy, the two doubles beds were loaded with pillows. Friday was an early night, which was good as we got up early and made it down for breakfast.
(I went out through security but didn't find anything that looked comfortable and schlepped my way back through security and am back in the gate waiting area- it is now 7:11 pm- and I have just under 2 hours to go).
We ate breakfast with Emma Holly and bought more raffle tickets and distributed them around to the various gift bags (there was one bag with a selection of ya books that I was seriously coveting. There was also a great big basket from the Ohio Romance Writer which included a one day pass to their September contest, and I threw one in there, as well as a bag of Suzanne Brockmann's books, a couple of bags from Shiloh, and Bianca, and Lorelei (and also Lori Armstrong), and a few that I can't remember.
After breakfast we went to the talk that Angie gave on e-publishing. I always learn something when I listen to one of Angie's talks. She talked about the various myths concerning epubs, and talked quite a bit about contracts and pointed out clauses you might want to negotiate before you sign (because once you sign you are bound to the contract): clauses such as ownership of your author name, ownership of your characters and world, worldwide rights and length of contract. And of course, hamster shifters. :)
After the talk we went through the booksale to get the books for the book signing, which took a long time (they only had one cashier). Then we went to lunch and got ready for the booksigning. I was relatively good at the bookstore, I bought:
Long Hard Ride by Lorelei James, Firedrake by Bianca D'Arc, “Tween Heaven and Hell by Sam Cheever, Winter's Daughter by J.C. Wilder, Fragile by Shiloh Walker, Chains by Shiloh (for Charli), Hallowed Ground by Lori Armstrong, and Fairyville by Emma Holly. The book in my goody bag at registration was Maverick by Lora Leigh (which she signed for me). It was great to get to sit around and just talk with everybody and make new friends. And of course get new books.
After the booksigning, Susan and I went upstairs to crash before dinner. And I crashed hard. And woke up still feeling groggy. Dinner was good, and after they did the raffle drawing. I won the big read basket from the Ohio Romance Writers. Susan and Angie both generously offered to take it for me since they were convinced it wouldn't fit with my luggage (I'd come prepared).
After dinner, we somehow ended up in the bar with J.C. Wilder and Lorelei and several other awesome people, watching the hockey game and listening to J.C.'s crazy stories.
This morning we were up and out by 8?9?/ We stopped at the first Cracker Barrel we saw and had breakfast, and made it to the airport with more than an hour to spare. We had to sit on the tarmac for a while, but it wasn't that long and then we were in the air and made it here.
This weekend (layover in Boston not withstanding) was very relaxing. I've got plans. Big plans, little plans, long and short range plans. But not right now. It's too noisy to concentrate, so I think I will save this, shut George down,and go find a bottle of water. TTFN.
I'm home now, I some how managed to get up this morning and get to work. The morning was spent on books and book keeping, the afternoon on putting together three flag stands and one display stand. I seem to be the designated assembler of furniture and displays.
And now I'm thinking about going to RWA (at least for the literacy signing).
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Thursday Thirteen #???
13 Reasons I’ve Been OD’ed on Books
Yes, evidently it is possible to od on books, and for the past two weeks, I have not wanted to have anything to do with books. I’m still reading, and have read a couple of really good books, but when reading you are only dealing with one book at a time, which I can handle. But any collection of books larger than what you can carry in one hand and I want nothing to do with it. Why you ask? Let me tell you.
1) The dayjob- first there was the weeding (the entire library- parts of it more than once), then there was the rearranging (parts of it were moved more than once), and lastly there was the tagging (which involved putting a sticker in every book, cd, and dvd in the collection), which is in preparation for putting in a self checkout system. Which means I have handled, inspected, and stickered a larger percentage of the collection, frequently more than once.
2) Then there are my own books- which are in a constant state of running out of room. So I’m frequently shifting, shuffling, and weeding books from my library, making room for the new books I knew were coming. Such as…
3) Mount RT- the stacks of books that came back from RT with me and are currently camped out on my dining room table while I find homes for them all (make no mistake, I’m very happy to have them all- especially the freebies and the signed ones- I’m just tired of dealing with large collections at the moment, and they definitely qualify as large collections).
4) Then there are the books that were weeded from the dayjob collection that somehow or other made it into the personal collection (all of which were paid for with a donation to the friends of the library- I just went a little overboard and am now looking for homes for them as well- you can stop laughing now).
5) Then there are the friends (not the friends of the library- my friends) the ones who all put out books at the same time, which makes me want to buy, you got it, more books. It’s getting to the point where I can’t afford any new friends. Srsly.
6) And the library books- shelving, weeding, shifting- invariably I find books that I want to read (but thankfully don’t feel the need to own), Library books that I check out still need space, specifically a space where I won’t lose them and find them again months later (don’t laugh- I misplaced a book I’d gotten at a book signing and only found it last week).
7) It got to the point where I didn’t even want to browse the shelves at B&N, not that I didn’t want any new books so much as I didn’t want to have to find a place for them (sad, I know).
8) But. I think I’m getting over my book binge. I can look at the book shelves at work and not feel overwhelmed by all that needs to be done.
9) I haven’t done anything with Mount RT yet, but I’ve got an idea of what I can do. It would even take care of the books I brought home from the library (research sources- honest- okay, stop laughing).
10) It involves cleaning out the closet off the dining room, putting a bookcase (or two) in there, and keeping the research materials in there (as well as my papers and records and stuff). That would free up space in the other book cases.
11) Which would give me enough space to clear off the dining room table, and the computer desk. And once I cleared off the computer desk, I could set up the laptop, and hook it to the printer, and print out stuff (and submit said stuff).
12) And once all of this is done, I would get back to writing more, and getting more done.
13) Which would make me feel better, which I think is part of why I’ve been so wah about all of the books in my life.
14) Did I mention I’m going to Lori Foster’s get together in a week? And no doubt will return from Ohio… with more books.
Yes, evidently it is possible to od on books, and for the past two weeks, I have not wanted to have anything to do with books. I’m still reading, and have read a couple of really good books, but when reading you are only dealing with one book at a time, which I can handle. But any collection of books larger than what you can carry in one hand and I want nothing to do with it. Why you ask? Let me tell you.
1) The dayjob- first there was the weeding (the entire library- parts of it more than once), then there was the rearranging (parts of it were moved more than once), and lastly there was the tagging (which involved putting a sticker in every book, cd, and dvd in the collection), which is in preparation for putting in a self checkout system. Which means I have handled, inspected, and stickered a larger percentage of the collection, frequently more than once.
2) Then there are my own books- which are in a constant state of running out of room. So I’m frequently shifting, shuffling, and weeding books from my library, making room for the new books I knew were coming. Such as…
3) Mount RT- the stacks of books that came back from RT with me and are currently camped out on my dining room table while I find homes for them all (make no mistake, I’m very happy to have them all- especially the freebies and the signed ones- I’m just tired of dealing with large collections at the moment, and they definitely qualify as large collections).
4) Then there are the books that were weeded from the dayjob collection that somehow or other made it into the personal collection (all of which were paid for with a donation to the friends of the library- I just went a little overboard and am now looking for homes for them as well- you can stop laughing now).
5) Then there are the friends (not the friends of the library- my friends) the ones who all put out books at the same time, which makes me want to buy, you got it, more books. It’s getting to the point where I can’t afford any new friends. Srsly.
6) And the library books- shelving, weeding, shifting- invariably I find books that I want to read (but thankfully don’t feel the need to own), Library books that I check out still need space, specifically a space where I won’t lose them and find them again months later (don’t laugh- I misplaced a book I’d gotten at a book signing and only found it last week).
7) It got to the point where I didn’t even want to browse the shelves at B&N, not that I didn’t want any new books so much as I didn’t want to have to find a place for them (sad, I know).
8) But. I think I’m getting over my book binge. I can look at the book shelves at work and not feel overwhelmed by all that needs to be done.
9) I haven’t done anything with Mount RT yet, but I’ve got an idea of what I can do. It would even take care of the books I brought home from the library (research sources- honest- okay, stop laughing).
10) It involves cleaning out the closet off the dining room, putting a bookcase (or two) in there, and keeping the research materials in there (as well as my papers and records and stuff). That would free up space in the other book cases.
11) Which would give me enough space to clear off the dining room table, and the computer desk. And once I cleared off the computer desk, I could set up the laptop, and hook it to the printer, and print out stuff (and submit said stuff).
12) And once all of this is done, I would get back to writing more, and getting more done.
13) Which would make me feel better, which I think is part of why I’ve been so wah about all of the books in my life.
14) Did I mention I’m going to Lori Foster’s get together in a week? And no doubt will return from Ohio… with more books.
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Weekend Update
Not much to say, honestly. The dayjob has been kicking my butt (we've been tagging the entire collection to get ready for them to install a self check-out system and new security gates- and we're almost done), getting ready for summer and not one but three summer reading programs, as well as scheduling as many programs for the kids who are going to live in the library as we can. So today I am tired and stiff and sore and don't want to do anything with the mountain of books currently taking up my dining room table.
On the writing front, again not much to say but this weekend I plan to set up my work space and set up the printer with the laptop and print out the first three chapters of whistle to send out. Not sure if I want to continue working on the urban fantasy or maybe take a step back and work on something else, maybe what I need to do first is take stock of my options.
At the moment I'm reading Ecstasy by Jacquelyn Frank and enjoying it. Not sure what I'll read next, but I have plenty of options (I even checked out a few books from the library), I brought the new Monk book home from the library (by Anne Perry), and might read that one next (Love the Monk mysteries).
And lastly, for a good laugh, this is me as a Lego:
Friday, May 08, 2009
Update (sort of)
I know, I've been a bad blogger. I meant to have posts from RT, but the highspeed wireless was as highspeed as molasses flowing uphill in January (in a raging blizzard). And then after the long-ass drive home, I got thrown back into the hustle and bustle of the dayjob, and still don't feel up to snuff. But I won't whine about that here (although I have been whining about it in person), I will say that due to the evening thunder storms this is the first time in three days that I've been able to post. So I thought I'd tell you all about my trip. This is kind of long, but not as long as it could have been, I think I took about a quarter of the pictures I took last year. Also, if I owe you pictures, I will try to get them out to you as soon as I can.
RT was a blast. The drive was long but not so bad, I got to see my sister, which is always fun, and then I got to see people. Some were people I had met last year: Sasha White, Lauren Dane and Megan Hart, Anya Bast, Beth Williamson, Jeanne Stein, and Richelle Mead. Others I met for the first time this year: Cynthia Eden, Stella Price, Angie Fox, Anna Evans, Jenna Black, and Christine D'Abo (although I've been reading her blog for a while now). And of course I got to see Jo Carol, Kate, and the rest of the awesome RT staff again, without needing them to save my bacon as they did last year. Which is always good.
The panels were good, and informative, and just plain fun. The first day I went to to of the bookseller programs and learned a lot, but except for a couple of events for the booksellers, I mostly went to writer panels. The first one I went to was on writing Demons, with Stella Price, Larissa Ione, Jenna Black, Jacquelyn Frank, and Bianca D'Arc.
Wings!
Jeanne C. Stein
Lorelai James
Michele Bardsley
Sasha White
Christine D'Abo
Lauren Dane
Cynthia Eden
Mario Acevedo
Ash aka A.D. Roland aka Adra Steia
Mechele Armstrong
Shayla Black
Jenna Black
Anya Bast
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Dakota Cassidy
Cash Cole
Cynthia Eden
Annaliese Evans
Angie Fox
Kayleigh Jamison and Myla Jackson
Cat Johnson and Stephanie Julian
Stacia Kane
Isabo Kelly
and her side-kick
Judi McCoy
Stacey Kade
Robin Rotham
Michelle Rowen
Jeri Smith-Ready
RT was a blast. The drive was long but not so bad, I got to see my sister, which is always fun, and then I got to see people. Some were people I had met last year: Sasha White, Lauren Dane and Megan Hart, Anya Bast, Beth Williamson, Jeanne Stein, and Richelle Mead. Others I met for the first time this year: Cynthia Eden, Stella Price, Angie Fox, Anna Evans, Jenna Black, and Christine D'Abo (although I've been reading her blog for a while now). And of course I got to see Jo Carol, Kate, and the rest of the awesome RT staff again, without needing them to save my bacon as they did last year. Which is always good.
The panels were good, and informative, and just plain fun. The first day I went to to of the bookseller programs and learned a lot, but except for a couple of events for the booksellers, I mostly went to writer panels. The first one I went to was on writing Demons, with Stella Price, Larissa Ione, Jenna Black, Jacquelyn Frank, and Bianca D'Arc.
This was Larissa's first RT, and her first panel. It went well, despite her penchant for one word answers, and several people said they thought it was the best panel they'd seen. The cool thing was I got to hang out with pretty much the entire panel at one time or another during RT. I even sat with Bianca during the Vampire Ball.
The next panel was humor in paranormals, but the pictures didn't come out well, so I'm not going to try and post them here. The panel included Dakota Cassidy, Mario Acevedo, Michele Bardsley, Judi McCoy, and Mark Henry.
I then went to a vampire panel, with Patrice Michelle as moderator, and Caridad Piniero, Angela Knight, L.A. Banks, Jeanne C. Stein, Vivi Anna, and Kerrilyn Sparks.
I'm including this one because you can't see Vivi in the other.
L.A. Banks in the vampire panel.
These pictures were taken while in line to go into the Fairy Ball
Wings!
More Wings!
Shoes!
Ann Aguirre and Cynthia Eden at the book signing
Jeanne C. Stein
Lorelai James
Michele Bardsley
Sasha White
Christine D'Abo
Lauren Dane
Cynthia Eden
Mario Acevedo
Ash aka A.D. Roland aka Adra Steia
Mechele Armstrong
Shayla Black
Jenna Black
Anya Bast
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Dakota Cassidy
Cash Cole
Cynthia Eden
Annaliese Evans
Angie Fox
Kayleigh Jamison and Myla Jackson
Cat Johnson and Stephanie Julian
Stacia Kane
Isabo Kelly
and her side-kick
Judi McCoy
Stacey Kade
Robin Rotham
Michelle Rowen
Jeri Smith-Ready 
Jeanne C. Stein
Beth Williamson
The Bags of Swag
The mountain of books that came home with me.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Begin Braggin Here!
Book one was good, book two was great and made the USA Today Bestseller list. Book 3 was freaking awesome... and made the New York Times Bestseller List.Which is totally awesome,
and completely appropriate.
So head on over and tell Larissa congrats.
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