Monday, January 31, 2011

Coffee Write

Guess what I'm doing in February?



Looking for that little something to get your creative juices flowing? What about a fun way to use your imagination? Once a month we have a new way to expand your imagination and use your writing skills or improve your writing skills. We will provide the beginning of a story, the genre to use, and you provide your version of how the story should go. Authors...would you like be our host for a month? Contact us to check on the schedule today! coffeewrite@coffeetimeromance.com

So come join me as I start a tale and you help me finish it! I'll be there from February 4th to the 23rd!

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Music Time!

So I'm finishing up the rough draft of Howl For Me, when my playlist pops up with this:


And I thought to myself, Oh. Julian's song.

Now don't ask me why two singing guys from Scotland make me think of a Native American from Canada, but there you go. I think it's more the sentiment of the song than anything else. I also know Julian is one of those rare characters who will probably wind up with multiple songs, because this one also calls to me for him:


I think it speaks to his mystical side, the part of him that's Spirit Bear. They've got a heck of a connection to Bear.

Oh yeah, and because he's Julian:


Please don't ask. It hurts my brain sometimes to wonder why characters prefer one song over another.

Cyn's music is pretty much one song so far:



Believe it or not, the only other character who liked this song was Belle.

What?

What?

Sheesh. Okay, Belle liked it a lot. Your point?

Anyway, since I'm starting to hear their music it means I'm just about ready to sit down and start writing them. YAY! Jeff and Fen should be out to my beta readers by Monday, edits are almost complete on Blood of the Maple, and other than a big snowfall that has me feeling like I was hit by a Mack truck everything is going well.

Even if that means I'm going to be listening to a lot of Weird Al in the future.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Has It Been THAT Long?

Oh wow! I just realized how long it's been since I posted my blog. Gah. Bad author. No cookie for you.

In case you didn't notice, Noble Blood is out! I added the All Romance eBooks purchase link today. Last week was so rushed, updating purchase links, setting up ads, etc., that some stuff got pushed aside. Like my blog. Ahem.

Along with the new release came edits on Blood of the Maple, my very first Carina Press release. Working on them took a lot longer than planned due to an arthritis flare-up and various other factors, like children and releases and cats thinking it's okay to chew on the cord of my World of Warcraft headset, the little pita.

The good news? I should have a release date soon. When I do I'll post it on my website and add it under the cover art on the sidebar here. The bad news? Dana's off to see a rheumatologist. Sigh. The doctor mentioned talk to text software so I don't strain my hand so much, but I have Google Voice. I've seen how it can mangle speech to text. It's not pretty. I'd rather sit here and type it right the first time than have to go back and retype what I just spoke.

Plus Dusty pointed out there are some educations you shouldn't get from your mother, preferences in anal lube being one of them. Until I have an office with a door (and soundproofing) it ain't happening.

Unfortunately, due to my massively busy (and painful) week last week, Fen and Jeff had to be put on temporary hold. I'm hoping to finish the rough draft this week and send it through the Meat Grinder next week. I've also got scenes in my head for Cynful and Mr. Red Riding Hoode, as well as Stern Negotiations, my very first sci-fi romance.

Someone's gonna have to wait their turn, and it sure as hell won't be Julian. I'm thinking Chela of Mr. Red will have to sit down and have a latte while Mommy plays with the Spirit Bear.

Monday, January 17, 2011

A Winner and a Website



First off, since I know everyone's been waiting to see who the winner is: Congratulations...


TAMSYN!


She's already contacted me to let me know she got her copy of Noble Blood. I'll be giving away a second copy on the Samhain Cafe tonight when I chat there between 6 and 7 p.m., so if you want one last chance to win... BE THERE!



Second, the Samhain website is back up and running. MBaM is no more; now you buy directly from Samhain's storefront. The site is beeoootiful! I've updated all my buy links (including Noble Blood's). If for some reason you're still seeing a "Buy at My Bookstore and More!" link, hit refresh on your web browser. That will reset the "cache" or something, and the correct link should appear. If it doesn't, contact me!

Okay. I'm off to do edits on Blood of the Maple, which will be coming from Carina Press possibly late spring. Once I have a release date I'll post it here and on my website, so keep your eyes peeled!

(And isn't that a disgusting phrase? Who wants peeled eyeballs? Blech.)

Thursday, January 13, 2011

New Cover Pretty: Blood of the Maple


Is she not pretty? That's Amara and her tree, a Schwedler maple, that has red leaves instead of green. I'm hoping we'll be able to do leaves on all the books in the future (if the dryads are on the covers that is). What do you think?

Thursday, January 6, 2011

Registration Open For Lori Foster Reader/Author Get Together!

It's official; I'm going to Lori Foster's Reader-Author Get Together! I registered first thing this morning. Here's the dates and the link to the official site:



June 3rd (Friday) to June 5th, 2011 (Sunday), so it's a lovely little three day weekend. At $52, it's one of the most affordable conventions you'll ever attend. It's the first time I've been, but I've heard that it's a lot more relaxed than Romantic Times, that there's more of a chance to have a simple chat with an author. So come on out to beautiful West Chester, OH to meet some of your favorite authors (myself included). The attending authors (so far) includes:

Lori Foster aka L.L. Foster
Dianne Castell aka Duffy Brown
Liz Andrews
D. Renee Bagby aka Zenobia Renquist
Becky Barker
Dana Marie Bell
Jules Bennett
Toni Blake
Monica Burns
Virginia Cavanaugh
Ann Christopher
Lisa Cooke
Paige Cuccaro aka Alison Paige
Gia Dawn
Sylvia Day
Jamie Denton
Virna DePaul
Kate Douglas
Marie Force
J. Paulette Forshey
Donna Grant
Mia Jae
Maddie James
Jambrea Jo Jones
Kathy Love
Donna MacMeans
Missy Martine
Janie Mason
Janice Maynard
Erin McCarthy
LuAnn McLane
Rosie Murphy aka Gabriella Edwards
Tracy Ranson
Patricia Sargeant aka Regina Hart
Jan Scarbrough
Keri Stevens
S. J. Willing

Hope to see you there!

Favorite Quotes

"I had the right to remain silent, but I didn't have the ability." Ron White

"So let me get this straight. You want me to kill the little guys, kill the big guys, crowd control those I can't, buff the team, debuff the boss, keep myself alive, AND keep you alive, all while waving a stick and dressed in a towel?" - Anonymous Role Playing Gamer

"I think that statue over there is a statement on modern life. The statement is, "Well, shit." - Varric, Dragon Age II

"Why is it all claws and guns? Can't we piss off a fuzzy planet? Still dangerous, but hey. Bunnies." - Joker, Mass Effect

"Last night, I lay in bed looking up at the stars in the sky and thought to myself, "Where the heck is the ceiling?" - Dilbert


"Aim at the high mark and you will hit it. No, not the first time, not the second time and maybe not the third. But keep on aiming and keep on shooting for only practice will make you perfect. Finally you'll hit the bull's-eye of success." - Annie Oakley

"It is only when you fall that you learn whether you can fly." - Flemeth, aka The Witch of the Wilds, Dragon Age 2

"The very existence of flamethrowers proves that sometime, somewhere, someone said to themselves, 'You know, I want to set those people over there on fire, but I’m just not close enough to get the job done.'” - George Carlin

"I hear there's a wild bridge tournament down the street. And you know Bridge. It's a lot like sex. If you don't have a great partner, you'd better have a good hand." Barry Weiss, Storage Wars

"You know, I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, wouldn't it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them? So, now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe." - Marcus Cole, Babylon 5, "A Late Delivery From Avalon"

"I aim to misbehave." - Capt. Malcolm Reynolds

"Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid." - Albert Einstein

“If you think you can or think you cannot, you are correct.” - Henry Ford
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