Thursday Thirteen #47

Thirteen Authors Whose Books I Brought Back From RT (and are currently taking over my dining room) Well, today sucked, but instead of boring both of us with my whining, I'm posting a list of some of the books on MountGotatRT, listed by author, with pictures (where available- at one point my camera batteries died- that point being halfway through the book fair- yup, of course it was). Anyway, if I have a picture (and know it's you), I'll post it. If not sorry, the batteries died. Enjoy (it might take me a while to get all of these read and posted about- just sayin'). 1) Write Minded Authors- Jaci Burton (Wild, Wicked, & Wanton), Maya Banks (Sweet Surrender- I took that with me, Colter’s Woman, and The Perfect Gift), Sharon Long (Her Majesty My Love), Amy Knupp (The Boy Next Door), and Sydney Croft (The Boy Next Door), and last but definitely not least Sydney Croft (Seduced By the Storm- out in July and I will totally brag about it closer to the pub date). 2) MaryJanice Davidson- (Undead and Unwed, Sleeping with the Fishes, Swimming without a Net, Dead and Loving It, and Secrets Vols. 6 & 8)- met her at RT, had a blast running into her (the first time at the bar and she bought me a drink, the second in the goody bag room where I helped her find her own books *g*). M.J. with merpeople. 3) Shiloh Walker- (Hunters: Heart and Soul and Hunting the Hunter)- it was great getting to meet Shiloh (whose picture I won’t post here)- she has posted that she was out of it for most of RT due to breathing problems, but the only thing I noticed was she was losing her voice (we all were), and seemed to be tired (ditto). 4) Lauren Dane- (Taking Chase and Giving Chase)- I met her the first night (also down at the bar) with Angie (who I had met last year at a writer’s conference). 5) Mechele Armstrong (Dinah’s Dark Desire)- very cool person, I only wish I’d had more time so we could have hung around together and talked (next year in Orlando?). 6) Cheyenne McCray- (Forbidden Magic and Seduced by Magic)- another writer whose blog I visit more than I comment, and will be adding to the sidebar as I have time to work on it. 7) Anya Bast- (Witch Fire and Witch Blood)- great book (I’ve only read the first), cool lady, glad I got to meet her. 8) Ann Aguirre- (Grimspace)- I’m running out of ways to say “Yay, I met her.” Got to talk a bit during the book fair, but not enough. She is also one of several blogs I usually visit by means of Rhian's side bar, but I'm adding everyone to my side bar as I find pieces of time to work on it. 9) Rachel Vincent (Stray and Rogue)- I sat in on a panel of hers- very cool (on the panel was Richelle Mead, Rachel Vincent, Jeanne C. Stein, Keri Arthur, Kelley Armstrong, Jeri Smith-Ready, and Paula Guran-editor from Juno Books)- and I got to talk to Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy) about YA books too (Yay!) Keri Arthur (on the left) with Rachel Vincent (on the right). 10) Jade Lee- (Dragonborn)- totally cool woman- I sat with her during the Vampire Ball’s dinner (she left early) and then ran into her a couple times after, friendly, funny- I hope she goes to RT next year. 11) Vivi Anna-(Dark Lies)- Have you ever read or heard a name and know that you know the name but can’t place the context- that was me with Vivi Anna- I knew the name but not where I’d read it. Well, a bit of research assured me I wasn’t totally nuts (we all know I’m slightly nuts), her name is listed on Romancing the Blog’s side bar, so that’s at least one place I’ve run into it. Having met her and heard her speak on panels, I’ll be looking for her name in other places as well (her blog and her books). 12) Jessica Andersen- (Doctor’s Orders)- Okay, I’ll confess- before RT I didn’t know her from Adam. But I went to hear her speak about world building with her crit partner, J.R. Ward (where J.R. let ‘er rip- it was toooo funny for words). She was funny and helpful and held her own against J.R. Ward’s energy and verve. I bought one of her books at the book fair, and she has a new series coming out about 2012 and saving the world, so I’ll be posting more later. (if you look at the pictures-you'll understand why it too almost 45 minutes just to get through the As and the Bs). 13) Coleen Gleason- (The Rest Falls Away)- Again, didn’t know her or her work when I arrived at RT, except that her book had beaten La Nora’s High Noon in the Dear Author/Smart Bitches’ March Madness Book Challenge. So I bought a copy and she signed it. P.S. if any of you are actually in any of these pictures and would like copies, post a comment and I will send them to you (I plan to do this anyway, but life and the dayjob are making it hard for me to get to it- I will, though, it just might take me a while). Get the Thursday Thirteen code here! The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted! View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Monday Poetry Train- Sort of...

I know, not really a poem. But this was my first day off in two weeks (the conference was still work- and though very fun, also very exhausting), so I wasn't really up for poetry writing. Julia, however had tagged me for this meme, so I thought I'd do that.
Here are the rules: Tell seven random and/or interesting things about myself. Get five blog buddies to play, too and link to their blogs. Don't forget to post the rules.

Here they are (not entirely random, but perhaps interesting)

1) I need to update the sidebar on my blog (need to add those blogs I visit by way of Rhian's blog, as well as those I visit via PBW's blog, as well as to add all of those wonderful people I met at RT).
2) I need to come up with an icon- for when I post comments, everyone else has awesome icons, and I want one.
3) I'm thinking of starting a Flickr account- that way I could share my pictures from RT with all of you (as well as my pictures from Ireland). Do any of you use Flickr? Do you like it? Is it easy to use? Free?
4) I'm also thinking of starting a Scribd page- to keep my short stories and poetry in one easily managed place (plus now the ebook is novel length- I'm thinking of taking the ebook down- do you think I should or leave it up).
5) I've got a boatload of emails that I need to start sending out (thank yous to all of the wonderful people I met at RT)- last week was not the week for me to do that (schedules, yes- evals, yes- sleep, I did lots of that- writing coherently didn't happen).
6) I've started distributing the assorted pens, bookmarks, cover art, and plain stuff that I brought back from RT (the books will be handled separately), this is going to take me a while.
7) Seeing the picture of the books I brought back from RT, my friends threatened me with an intervention (I shall point out in my defence that I have no intention of keeping all of them- okay, most of them yes, but not all of them).

Now I'll share pictures with you: the first is the picture of the books that came back from RT (some of them I took with me to get signed- the majority were picked up there- and I only spent $89 at the book fair- the rest were given to me). I have to add, the books under the easter bag were just there 'cause I'd picked up the living room and hadn't put them away (yet).

This is a picture of the top of my monitor. The camoduckie was given to me by Stephanie Tyler, the demon ducky by Larissa, the sheep and the bear are from ireland, but the alien around the sheep's neck, the elephant, and the parrot are from RT. They give me something to look at when the screen starts bothering my eyes. :)

I'm supposed to tag 5 others, but everyone I know is wicked busy so I'll just say that if you're running out of ideas for blog posts, consider yourself tagged, just come back and let me know you've done it and I'll go and check out your post. Okay? Okay. :)

Don't you hate it when that happens?

I appear to have written myself into a corner. I knew where I was going before I left but seem to have lost it during the trip (the direction being the story, the trip being RT). As soon as my wandering thoughts start making it back home, I'm sure I'll be able to write myself out of the corner, but it won't be this weekend. I will however visit everyone else and read your snippets when time allows (most likely Sunday). Have a great weekend.

No TT this week- apologies

I meant to post one, really I did. But last night I was so tired I went to bed early, and I got to sleep in but then realized I could post a TT (which would have taken most of the morning) or I could go back to bed and take a nap before I have to get up and go to work. We all know which won. :)
P.S. The post below this has pictures from RT, more will follow but probably not until Sunday, I work Friday and Saturday I have another conference (this one local). Have a great day everyone.

I Need More Sleep!

Actually, I've been doing a lot of that lately (okay- the last two days), that and working the dayjob. That's it. But I did manage to locate the cable that would allow me to download my pictures. It will probably be a few more days until I can do a more complete report, but I thought I'd leave you all with a few pictures to let you know how it went. (And so you'd feel jealous *g*).

1) Kim Harrison (and me)

2) J.R. Ward (and me)

3) Angie (aka Angela James, Editor of Samhain)

4) MaryJanice Davidson and Cheyenne McCray (with mermaid)

5) Maya (who actually said I took a good picture of her)

6) Rennie (Hi Rennie!!)who helped me schlep my stuff down to the lobby and stood watch over it while I took care of my bill and liberated my car. How much stuff did she help schlepp? Take a peek at the next picture...

7) This is only a portion of the luggage that is yet to be unpacked. It's gonna take me a while.

8) And last but definitely not least, Susan from West of Mars, who was totally awesome and hung out with me and went through the book fair with me (and helped carry the books I bought there- Hey, I actually managed to buy only $86 worth of books that day). It's kind of blurry, but blame the photographer not the subject. She rocks.

So that's just a snippet of my time at RT, I have tons more to tell and more pictures to show, and hopefully tomorrow I'll be able to start emailing them to the many people I promised that I would.

I'm Back!

It's 10:00 and I only got back about 45 minutes ago, so my brain is completely and totally fried. I had a total blast at the conference, everyone at RT was awesome (especially the staff) and I'm dying to go next year. The Hilton however sucked big time. The trip home wasn't too bad considering that it started to rain in Pennsylvania and basically never stopped, with periodic torrential downpours (the radio even mentioned flooding on roadways- it would have been nice if he mentioned which roadways). So anyway I will give a complete report this week (including pictures), but I thought I'd try something radical and go to be early. Toodles. :)
P.S. Besides if I weren't so tired I'd be totally babbling like a complete and utter fangirl (I leave you with that picture- feel free to laugh).

Monday Poetry Train #24

This week's offering, like the poem from last week, was thought up while waiting for my laundry to finish washing so I could move it into the driers. I wasn't really thinking thematically, just following a train of thought and a train of metaphors. It's not quite done, but it's not too bad. Hope you like it.

The rain falls sideways
Blown in by a balmy breeze,
I stand in the doorway
Smelling the spring rain,
Feeling the damp carpet
Under my toes.
The spring breeze,
fanning my hair and
cooling my skin,
brings the rainwater
puddling in my carpet.
I can’t enjoy the cooling breeze
Without risking the dampness.
I can't learn from life
By just observing.
I'm ready to do
And to learn
And, just maybe, to get my feet wet.

Friday Snippet #44

This comes right after last week's post. I most likely will not post next week as I'll be in Pittsburgh, but I'll have lots to share when I get back. So in the mean time, enjoy.


“Oh good, you made it. I was pretty sure you would, but you know how people can show up and change everything.” The young man’s voice came from behind them, in an area Adhara could have sworn was empty. The three travelers jumped, as much as chilled and weary bodies were capable, and spun around to locate the speaker.

The young man was quite young, but a man none-the-less. Tall and slim, he stared at them with amusement in his laughing blue eyes, a pile of towels held loosely in his arms. “Let’s get you out of those wet clothes. There’s a pile of blankets on the settee that you can wrap yourselves in while you warm up.”

The young man walked to where Adhara and Selene had huddled, the heat of the room setting off a fine trembling in their bodies, as they were finally warm enough to shiver.

“We’re good.” Adhara said, carefully polite while sliding her body between Selene and the strange man, her meaning perfectly clear. Ignoring his knowing grin, Adhara turned her back to the man, and knelt down to help Selene out of her boots.

Feeling Selene’s hand on her shoulder, Adhara thought the other woman was bracing herself so Adhara could take off her boots. Until Selene’s hand moved to cup her face, lifting Adhara’s head until she was looking at Selene’s face, into eyes that glimmered with understanding and acceptance, and yes, with humor.

Blushing brightly, Adhara smiled and shrugged before once more bending down to the soaking wet leather boots that Adhara thought she’d have to cut off in order to get remove them without hurting Selene. But giving a good pull, the boot slid off without any problem. The second boot came off just as easily.

Not so the buttons and buckles, by this time Adhara’s pull overworked fingers were having trouble working, but at last Selene was out of her clothes and wrapped in the large, soft, warm towels.

"Don’t rub the skin,” the strange man said, looking over at the two women. “You can rub the towel; just don’t do anything that will chafe the skin. Skin that has been that cold is very fragile while it is recovering.”

“No, really,” Adhara snapped, partly in irritation, and partly out of guilt, for she had been about to do just that.

“And I suppose you have such a great deal of experience with frost bite and snow shock? You must see so many cases of this, during those warm sunny days of life down in Winter Quarters?”

“No. You’re right.” Adhara swallowed her next comment. Painfully. Taking a deep breath, she squared her shoulders and started over. “I’m sorry. It’s been a long, hard day. I’m cold, and tired, and none of that is a valid reason for taking my bad mood out on you.”

"No. It’s okay, I shouldn’t tease when you’re cold and tired and worried like that. Why don’t you get out of your own wet clothes, come over here and have some soup and coffee and then we’ll talk.”

Thursday Thirteen #46

Wherein the blogger plays Catch-Up. I am seriously behind on my reading, and have started to make a dent in the TBR pile taking over my apartment. I'm also trying to get caught up on the reviews for those books given to me by the authors, so this week you get a twofer. Two reviews for two totally awesome books I read this week. Next week I'll be at RT, but will try to post something for you. In the meantime, enjoy. 13 Awesome Things About Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione 1) The Hero- Eidolon- a demon who went to med school, not all demons are evil in this world. 2) The Heroine- a demon hunter who is rescued by demons and taken to their hospital, where the evil, wicked demons…heal her. 3) The Setting- the demon hospital, the gates between worlds, the city itself 4) The Hero’s Brothers- Wraith and Shade- cool names, interesting characters. 5) The secondary characters- Nancy, the vampire nurse, Skulk, Gem, Kynan 6) The Dialogue- some of it is laugh out loud funny, 7) The Writing- awesome writing, the storytelling, the character development, the plotting, the whole nine yards. 8) the world building- The Aegis, the Demon councils, the fact that there are good and evil on both sides, the gates between- very cool. 9) The glossary- very helpful to explain the Demon world 10) My very own signed ARC- yup, I’m bragging. 11) Book 2- Will be out next year- hoping for another ARC (hint, hint). 12) Book 3- There will be one, yes? 13 ) The author- Nuff said (wouldn’t want her to get a swelled head- *g*). 13 Awesome Things About The Fire Within by Joely Sue Burkhart 1) The Hero- Zahak- has no hope about his fate, until me meets… 2) The Heroine- Eleni- at her wits end trying to escape her brother’s clutches. 3) The Setting- the Green Lands, Keldar, the ocean 4) The secondary characters- Amin, Malum, and 5) The Bad Guy- Darius- creepy guy- very creepy guy- very well written creepy guy. 6) Hello, Dragons- love dragons, very cool.  7) The mythology- Somma, Igni, and Yama the Black are the gods of the realms. 8) The Dialogue- great dialogue- believable, appropriate, and at times wicked funny 9) The Writing- again- awesome writing, the story telling, the development of the mythology, the character development, the sense of place. 10) Descriptions- people, places, things, and even the horses- all made real. 11) The world building- where the people drink things called fire tea and dragon piss (it’s not, just tastes like it). 12) The bookmarks and postcards- and again I’m bragging. Totally cool cover art, made into bookmarks and postcards, and sent to me by the author.  13) The author- has been sharing snippets and encouragement with me for almost two years now (that's how long I've been blogging- not her), and I’m thrilled to see her become successful. The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Nothing But Red

From Angela James' Blog:

You know what you’re here to read about. Don’t pretend you’re not here for the good gossip. You know what I’m talking about :P

So here’s the scoop…


Yesterday was the release day for a really special charity project, Nothing But Red. (Giveaway at the bottom of the post)

The purpose of Nothing But Red is to bring attention to the issue of violence against women worldwide, as well as the continuing need for equality, through art—both written and visual—and by raising money for a charity that strives to help women of all faiths, ethnicities, and socioeconomic backgrounds, with the support of dedicated volunteers who share a desire to promote equality.

From the Press Room section of the Nothing But Red website:

Nothing But Red, the anthology of literary and visual arts inspired by the impassioned plea of Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon in response to the “honor killing” of 17-year-old Du’a Khalil Aswad, is now available for purchase. Sales of the anthology, which is currently available in multiple formats at www.lulu.com/nothingbutred, will benefit the international human rights organization Equality Now.

“I’ve met some amazing people who’ve worked incredibly hard to put this book together over the last year, whether as contributors or volunteers,” said Skyla Dawn Cameron, originator and editor-in-chief of Nothing But Red. “We can’t change Du’a’s fate – but we can let the world know that there are people who still care. That’s where this fight really happens: with each of us, challenging ourselves to do something to make the world better.”

The 313-page collection, which can be purchased as a trade paperback for $15.95 or as a pdf-format e-book for $5.95, is being released on the one-year anniversary of the death of Aswad. An Iraqi adherent of the Yazidi religion, Aswad was stoned to death by family members and neighbors; her brutal beating and murder was captured in a graphic video and spread on the Internet.

Shortly after learning of the murder, Joss Whedon, creator of the television shows Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel and Firefly, penned an emotional response on the website Whedonesque.com. His post, which built from the topic of Aswad’s murder to the contemplation of misogyny’s transcendence of culture, religion and era, ended on an appeal to his fans to do something active to change the cycle.

“True enlightened activism is the only thing that can save humanity from itself…” Whedon wrote. “Her face was nothing but red.”

Taking its title from those words, Nothing But Red is a response to Whedon’s call to action, which is included as an essay in the volume. A full list of contributors can be found at nothingbutred.wordpress.com.

Equality Now was chosen as the recipient of the anthology’s proceeds due to Whedon’s public support of the organization and its mission to “[voice] a worldwide call for justice and equality for women,” as stated on Equality Now’s website.

I had a very (very, very) small part in helping with this anthology–in fact, it might make some of my authors happy to know that I actually missed a deadline. Very frustrating (but I do tell you all that it happens, and now I’m proof of that, unfortunately). But I got to read some of the pieces included in this book and they’re a mix of fiction and non-fiction, but all are moving and powerful.

Please buy a copy of Nothing But Red and help raise awareness for violence against women. Visit www.lulu.com/nothingbutred to purchase your copy! The full colour eBook is $5.95, and the black and white trade paperback is $15.95. All profits (about $4 per book) will go to Equality Now.

I will give away up to five (ebook) copies immediately to the first five people who post about this project on their own blog and leave me a link in the comments. Even if it doesn’t mean getting a free copy of the book, please spread the word about Nothing But Red!

Me here again.
I heard about the project last year, when they were in the planning stages, and wrote my weekly poem about her death, so for the release of the book, I'll repost it here. Go forth and buy copies. This has got to stop.

Nothing but Red

You colored my world
With cinnamon dreams
With sky blue hopes
And sea green schemes.

You raised me on tales
That revealed to me
A rosy-fingered dawn
Over a wine-dark sea.

You said life was a rainbow
The future a gem
But you never told me
It was meant only for them.

Your boychild was given
Life’s golden key
That closes the cage
You built just for me.

But when I would protest
And when I had fled
You colored my death
With nothing but red.

Monday Poetry Train #23

I'm only counting those weeks where I posted my own poems, if you're wondering how I came up with that number. So I'm trying to be calm and write my short story and post my poem, despite the fact that I called the Hotel to change my reservation and was told that They Do Not Have a Reservation in MY NAME (I'm okay, I'll stop yelling now), but srsly. And I can't do anything until tomorrow. I am not happy. But be that as it may, it's Sunday so I will post my poem, and maybe go to bed early so I don't get totally spazzed about this. Think it'll work? Me neither. :)
Here is my poem. I wrote this after listening to Jacqueline Winspear discussing where her interest in WWI came from (her grandfather fought in WWI- and was wounded in the war). Somehow thinking about this on a dreary drizzly dismal, I came up with this poem. Not cheery stuff, but it seems to fit. I hope you like it.

War is a wound
Which steals souls
Sapping color from the world
Leaving strangers,
Surviving in a black and white world-
Yearning for color,
Emotion,
Even if only
The color of blood.

Friday Snippet #43

Here's my snippet, it starts right after last week's post ended. I just finished writing it, so this is definitely a first draft. Enjoy.

The rest of the morning was spent racing the storm, as the wind picked up, the sky grew darker, and the air grew sharp and bitingly cold. The horses struggled against the wind, and even Mist was having to push against the wind, her head down as she fought for every step forward. Campion took pity on the tired mare, and took a place on the wagon’s seat, tying her reins to the wagon’s traces so the larger drays could offer her some protection from the wind.

The snow started not long after they reached the clearing they had planned to stop for lunch. Now they had no time for lunch, or naps, or swimming in the creek fed pond that was Adhara’s favorite swimming hole when visiting. The biting wind had them all so cold they had stopped shivering, just sat huddled together; their only thought was to reach safety and warmth.

Adhara was beginning to think their trip would never end and had, in fact, forgotten where they were headed, when Campion, whose hands were protected by his gloves and who had taken the reins when Adhara noticed her fingers going numb, turned the wagon off the road and down the cart path that led to the waystation. Rarely used during the normally mild winters, it was a much used stop during the summer’s frequent thunder storms.

Built into the back of the cabin was a stables, and it took all three of them to unharness the drays from the wagon and lead the three exhausted horses into the stable and free them from their reins, as well as Mist’s saddle.

“We can make then a hot mash, once we get warmed up,” Campion stuttered as he had warmed up enough to start shivering. “Let’s get us warmed up first, though. I don’t think they’re in much better shape than us, and I certainly don’t feel like eating.” Throwing several blankets over each, Campion filled the hay bags and made sure the water wasn’t too cold to drink.

“Let’s go inside and see if there’s any firewood,” Adhara brought the last of the bags in from the wagon, and storing it in the empty stall. “I’d really like to sleep for a few days, but we need to get warm first.”

Selene didn’t reply. Adhara watched as she silently groomed the giant nags, ingoring everything else, and making sure they hadn’t injured their hooves in the struggle to make it to the waystation. At last, she could do no more for either horse, leaning wearily against the horse’s flank as she was battered by waves of exhaustion and the effects of a long day of being chilled and exposure. She barely had the energy to look up when Adhara wrapped an arm around her shoulder and started leading her away from the horse.

“Come on, let’s get you inside before you fall asleep standing up. And we all need to get something warm in us before we fall asleep.” She wrapped the wool blanket around Selene’s shoulders and led her to the connecting door. “Campion are you coming?”

“Right behind you,” the muffled voice replied, he and Adhara had borrowed as many of the stable blankets as they could after covering the horses. “I must be dreaming, I could swear I’m smelling soup.”

“It must be a good dream,” Adhara said, taking a deep breath, and sighing, “I think I smell it too.”

And opening the thick, heavy door she led the way into the darkened cabin, lit only by the light of the fire in the fireplace. The well fed fire, with a tall stack of wood on either side of the hearth, a big cast iron skillet covered with a lid sitting in the ashes, and sitting in the middle of the hearth sat a pot of hot steaming coffee with a jar of milk and four mugs.

Thursday Thirteen #45

Okay, I'm getting excited, and have begun channeling my inner Monk. Totally starting to obsess over going to RT, seeing people, talking to people, meeting people I only know from blogs. So that is the reason for this week's TT. Rhi and Susan aren't on the list for 2 reasons, 1) they're not writers (published anyway), and 2) we're going to do some serious hanging out during this *g*. Anyway, here is my TT...
13 Authors I Want to Meet at RT

1)Ann Aguire
2)Kelley Armstrong
3)Mechele Armstrong
4)Keri Arthur
5)Maya Banks
6)Anya Bast
7)Lauren Dane
8)MaryJanice Davidson
9)Christine Feehan
10) Jeaniene Frost
11) Marjorie Liu
12) Cheyenne McCray
13) Shiloh Walker
Bonus) JR Ward- Jessica Bird
P.S. My books are packed to get signed, is there anything else I need? *g*



The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!