Hey Authors*,

How would you like to be a:

Chica for a day?

Do you have a book about to release? A great review you want to share? A crappy review you want to laugh at? Wanna give people the scoop on a great agent or editor? Or just have something you’d like to share and don’t have a group blog to post too?

You can be a Chica for a day!

We have our Wednesday Chica slot open and waiting for YOU! 

E-mail us, tell us why you want to be a Chica for a day and maybe you can be Chica-licious fantabulous and have your own day!

(and hey, you never know, we could make it a regular gig!)

* please, published authors only

Dear Lousiana,

I really enjoyed visiting you this weekend. Your roads aren’t near as bad as I was led to believe but you sure do have a lot of trees. I must say it was really scary driving at night and having all those trees looming over me. But not near as scary as that bridge we came up on when Dennie turned on her bright lights. Very spooky stuff. We meant to go back and take a picture but it was 2 in the morning. I hope you understand.

The Restaurant-Gas Station-Casino Combo is INGENIOUS! I love being able to get my dinner, gas up and spend a few minutes relaxing at the casino before I get back on the road. Texas–take note!

I do, however, have one minor complaint. Please build more stuff closer to the highway–specifically Starbucks. Or even those CC Coffee houses you like so much. Those would be fine too. I understand that I-49 was probably an afterthought so there’s not much built around it but it would be nice to be able to get some drive-through coffee. And what’s with the six miles between exits? Or was it thirteen? I do have to say though driving your highways and byways was a treat compared to hitting the Texas state line.

I hope to visit again soon….

Amie

Dear Texas,

Why is it everytime I drive somewhere and then come home and get within even two hours of the metroplex I hit sucky-ass traffic every damn time? And rude drivers. And rude semi drivers (I was in the SLOW LANE DOING 75 and I had some semi driver trying to perform anal sex on my poor Saturn! ). And what’s with the highway patrol driving nicer cars than me? That’s just WRONG!

Please take note, in Louisiana the speed limit is 70 day or night. There’s none of that 65 at night bullshit we have here in Texas and during the day you can cruise along at a comfortable 75 mph without other cars crowding you in or cops busting your groove.

Stop your bellyaching. I know you have more Starbucks, but only when I hit populated areas. And how come we don’t have any CC Coffee Houses? A little variety would be nice.

Signed,

Anonymous

So how was your weekend?

 My grandfather made shoes.

A little-known fact of little interest to anyone other than my relatives, but true nonetheless.

He also acted as a postmaster, barber, violinist, builder of houses, and an infantry soldier in World War I.  He did whatever he had to do to feed his family, and did it to the best of his ability, and always with his own special touch.  I have his violin.  It’s unique.  It bears the scars of his collar buttons and suspenders, and has the most beautiful tone imaginable.  And the house he built by hand still stands in the backwoods of Virginia.

I always find that this is what strikes me about the truly impressive work of other people—the idea that they not only do their best, but they put a little something “extra” of THEMSELVES in that work or craft or project.  That is what makes it special after all, uniquely theirs, whether it’s a story, recipe, scrapbook, telling a dirty joke…whatever.

If you’re looking to impress, that’ll do it.  Wanna sell?  Give that story your voice, your flair.  See the possibilities, and claim them as your own.  There’s nothing new under the sun—only you to make it so.

Sooo…in the spirit of the season, I thought I’d offer these examples to prove my point.  I love the creativity of these people!  Silly pumpkin carvings?  Uh-huh.
I hope they make you smile.

It’s Thursday isn’t it?

I’m so behind on anything and everything that’s writing related. I hate that. There are other things I have large hate about. So here’s my quick Thursday Thirteen. I think I might have some issues.

Thirteen Things I Hate1. Having no time to do the stuff I really need to do 2. Pantyhose. I think a man invented them. 3. Underwire bras. Again - another evil invention by a Man 4. Squash - the veggie not the game 5. Spiders 6. Having a broken garage door 7. Men who think they own me 8. Paying bills 9. Being so tired all you want to do is sleep but you can’t. Man that sucks 10. Spiders 11. Summer when it 5000 degrees outside 12. Rude people 13. People who leave the manual feed tray open on the printer

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! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Don’t forget to leave a comment!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

and this pic just cracks me up

Do you MIND?

Check out the new Wordless Wednesday HQ!!
View More Wordless Wednesday Participants

So booktrailers are all the rage right now. Okay–they are an extremely useful promotional tool. (and they’re uber-fun too!)

Just about any genre you can think of caters the trailer to reflect the mood, ambiance of the book. You can get an idea for the theme of the book and maybe have a giggle while you’re at it.

I balked and whined and haven’t had one up to this point, but . . . I finally decided it was about time I caught up. For the first time ever, I present:

Enjoy . . . and let me know what you think!

I am a lucky bitch!

My BGF Lynn offered to drive me to Stephenville next weekend for the Hastings Book Signing (so I can write). BTW I’m doing a book signing next weekend with Cathy Clamp and CT Adams, Rachel Caine, Lyn LaFleur, Carole Nelson Douglas & PN Elrod).

By the Way I got this from Cathy’s blog:

The signing will be at Hastings Bookstore, 2900 W. Washington St., in Stephenville, TX. This is a nice sized city about an hour south of Dallas on Highway 67/377 (toward Brownwood) and will be held Saturday, October 20, 2007, from 11-2. The store is right on the highway and has a great big parking lot (all the better for LOTS of our fans to come!) Remember, if you can’t attend, but want a signed book from any of the authors, call the store and talk to either Cale or Donna at (254)965-5473. They can arrange to make the sale by phone, get the books signed and ship them to you.

/end info-mercial

I said on Friday at my blog that I was going to do a health blog but I was too lazy, so I’ll do it now :)

You, he you! Not taking care of yourself is no laughing matter. It’s nothing to brag about or joke about, so shut the fuck up already. There’s nothing funny about skipping that yearly pap, year after year after year. I should know….I skipped mine for more than I’ll admit too. Lucky for me, my last pap came back normal. It’s not fun to swing your legs in the stirrups and it’s not fun to get your boobs mashed. It’s even less fun to be sick and not know why. Trust me, I know.

Here’s a newsflash for you. You PAY for health insurance for a REASON. USE IT!

The bottom line is, if you can’t take care of YOU, then sure as hell can’t take care of anyone else. If you’re young, here’s another news flash…you’re not bulletproof. It’ll all catch up with you–just take my word for it. If I’d known ten or even five years ago what I know now, I would have taken better care of myself, I would have exercised more, I would have started changing my eating habits that much sooner. And I would have gone to the doctor sooner. I encourage all of you, if you feel bad, or you feel run down or you feel depressed or achey or you haven’t had that pap or that mamogram to go to the doctor. And more importantly be proactive about your health.

So here’s my health tip of the week: (oooooo MIK is gonna get me) how much caffeine have you had today? Excess caffeine can cause dehydration, and if you suffer from IBS, PMS, chronic fatigue, ulcers, kidney stones or have an iron deficiency you should think twice. Believe it nor not, if you gave it up, you probably wouldn’t notice after a while. Having that morning cup o joe is as much psychological as anything else, so don’t tell me you can’t live without it–you’d be surprised at what you could live without if the doctor said your life depended on it.

Do you have a health tip you’d like to share?

When I first started participating in online writers’ support groups, one of the first things I ever heard was
YOU MUST HAVE A THICK SKIN FOR THIS BUSINESS.

And once I started submitting, I quickly learned this was true.

Have I developed an invulnerable hide?  No.  But I don’t take the slings and arrows of the business QUITE as much to heart as I used to.  And I’m afraid that for me, at least, having my defensive force-field constantly at the ready sometimes take a little away from the joy of anticipation.
But that’s another blog…

On the following scale, how tough are you as far as rejections, criticism of your work, or life in general?

1) SOAP Bubble
2) Eggshell
3) Acrylic fingernails
4) Child-proof medicine cap
5) Titanium motorcycle helmet and steel-toed shitkickers
6) Biohazard suit
7) Bulletproof vest
8) Rhinoceros
9) Armored Hummer with ballistic glass and run flat tires
10) M1 Abrams tank with missle countermeasure device and anti-personnel rounds

So. A few weeks ago, I had decided to switch from DSL to the new fiber optic internet, UVerse. After much rig-a-ma-roll, I discovered I couldn’t just get the internet service, I had to get their TV service installed too. I figured what the hell because my satellite was expriring on Octobet 1. That’s what I thought anyway.

Anyhoo. UVerse came and installed the new TV and internet. And from that day forward, I was on the phone with technical support. Yes, folks. Every.Single.Mutha-Fucking.Day. Isn’t that fun?

As it turns out, the broad at the satellite company told me I had until October 1. But what she DIDN’T tell me was that it was 2008. Not 2007. Bitch. I was pissed about that when I discovered it. So since I was thoroughly pissed off at the other folks for their subpar television service, I decided to pull the plug. I quit them.

However, the internet side…ROCKS. I mean it totally ROCKS my pants. It’s smoking fast and I haven’t had a lick of trouble out of it since I ditched the TV side. Isn’t that funny?

I’m pretty happy I still have DirecTV though. When I called to try and cancel, they told me they’d knock off another $10 a month. So I said okay.

ANYWAY. I love my DVR and I absolutely cannot live without it. And yeah, it’s jam packed with stuff. I’m posting Thirteen Things On My DVR. So what’s yours? Come on. Fess up. You know you want to.

Thirteen Things on my DVR1. Moonlight. Because DAMN he’s hot 2. Private Practice 3. Grey’s Anatomy 4. The entire last season of Lost 5. A Wheel of Fortune where the dumb broad called it as “Gulf of Alabama” instead of “Gulf of Alaska” (I still can’t get over that one) 6. Mike Modano’s 500th goal. GO STARS! 7. Loreena McKennitt Nights at the Alhambra 8. Celtic Women in concert 9. Kid Nation (yeah, cuz my kid likes it) 10. Ben 10 Secret of the Omnitrix 11. A Seinfeld episode (”Who’s your favorite explorer?”) 12. Pokemon (WTF?) 13. Masters of Science Fiction

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! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Don’t forget to leave a comment!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

 . . . .ew get your mind outta the gutter. I just meant the mental working juices. SJ  and I were supposed to go to a concert Saturday night, but it got canceled so we vacillated for EVER trying to decide what to do. We could have still gone to the venue–a HUGE Honky Tonk bar, but without the concert it seemed awkward and tawdry when you’re not looking for a man (might be those issues I have. . . .)–and you’d have to go there to understand.

So anyhoo, I digress . . .

SJ and I ended up going shopping–UBER exciting I know. And we hit our usual haunt . . . Chili’s. Many a book has been plotted, preened and pined over in Chili’s. We teased, tormented and taunted our very cute Waiter-slash-bull rider (no joke). We forced, and I do mean forced, ourselves to plot a book for which the author was ever so reluctant to work on–and NO it weren’t me.

Afterwards we headed back to her house. Being that I wasn’t ready to head back to kinder-world I decided to amuse myself by going through her mammoth bookcase of writing craft books. I found one book that looked intriguing: Fondling Your Muse. It had a section on writers block so I decided to read it–aloud. This book cracked me up. A tongue and cheek look at writing. I didn’t read all the way through the book, but it got me laughhing so hard–granted it could have been the Strawberry Mango Margarita or being midnight.

Whatever it was, the next day I wrote two pages. It may not sound big to you but considering I can’t even remember the last time I wrote ANYthing, two pages is HUGE. AND the day after that I wrote TWO more! WAHOO!

This book might not open the great barrier of why to or how to write, but if you like humor that bites but is uber-funny–this is a great book!

What have you found inspiring lately?