Because if I think too hard my head might exploze (I’m grateful for the rain but not the headaches it’s delivering along the way).

1. Have you ever read a self-help book and if so was it useful to you? yes at least one and yes it was helpful. funny i never finished it though
2. If you could have one thing made out of pure gold,what would you choose? an artistic rendering of Mt. Rushmore — It’d be HUGE, so I could have all that gold melted down and sell it.
3. What one word do you overuse the most? F*ck and like though I’ve fallen out of the habit of saying like a lot after watching The Baby Borrowers. There was one girl on there who said “like” every other word and I wanted to abuse her.

4. Who is the least charming person you have ever met? Hahahaaaaaaaaa this year … or when?

5. What article of clothing that you either gave or threw away do you wish you could have back?  I once had these panties….  :lmao: 

Ur turn!

see Obama pictures

I was going to blog. Really. But I left my jump drive at home. Don’t ask. Trust me.

*waves white flag*

Pleeze send martinis

Hopefully back this evening with a post…unless I have to go home and clean.

I am chatting this week on my blog on characterization, flaws and motivation.

Below the cut is something really weird I wrote. I thought it might be fun to share and it definitely spawned a story idea. Copyright yada-yada moi you know the routine.

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I know I know I have a lot of favorite authors who are kind enough to come and play with us at SFC…including Wednesday’s guest blogger, Caridad Pineiro! I first met Cari in a chat for fellow author Shelli Stevens and we both had the best time getting to know her AND picking her brains about writing for Silhouette Nocturne. heeeeh! Not only does she write for Silhouette, she’ll be doing some romantic suspense for Grand Central in 2010 AND she writes in one of my fave sub-genres–Latina lit!

You can check out her blog here. And check out her books here and here and um here *ggg* (If nothing else, just go enjoy drooling over her website).

See ya Wednesday!

Because sometimes we all need one (sorry to those of you for whom this is a repeat).

The Six Biggest Mistakes Even  Bestselling Writers Make

So, how was your weekend?

I know I know I”m not supposed to be here but….since it pertains to my WIPs, I’m here. Mary over at The Bandwagon asks the question: So lately, especially in contest entries, I’ve read a lot of tough heroines. Tough to the point of being unsympathetic. Maybe they’ve been hurt before and have built a huge, thick wall around themselves. Some are just butt-kickers, not needing a man, not bending, often rude to the hero for no apparent reason.

I have trouble relating to a heroine like that. I’ve written some women who have been through the mill, but I think I’ve made them sympathetic and relateable. What do you think makes them this way?

And I started writing a response over there then thought I’d bring it here….I think you have to give them an Achilles heel. And I think this goes for tough guys or gals..it helps negate the a$$hole factor. My current heroes are hired killers. Hitmen. It’s what they do. No excuses. There’s no getting around that.

There is NO getting around the fact that my heroes kill people for a living. So what do I do to make a character with such a huge mark against them likeable? I try to give them equally big flaws. Will has HUGE relationship issues–in that he fails miserably at them. And John can’t lie. Yes, I realize a man who can’t lie is a bit of an oxymoron, and in order to pull it off I had to give him a DAMN good reason to not lie. I think I did. Only time will tell.

So how do you soften up your tough characters OR who are some writers that do this especially well?

Or how what could have been a great movie went terribly wrong.

One thing you have to know when you sit down to watch a Shyamalan movie is that it’s as much about the human condition as it is about the external conflict that drives. And as a writer, I respect that. Sometimes, like with Unbreakable and Lady in the Water, it works in ways that blow your mind. Sometimes, like with The Village it misses it’s mark and makes you got . And Signs is actually one of the few movies that ever pissed me off–probably because I bought it instead of rented it. Anyway with The Happening you have the entire Eastern Seaboard running scared because, “There’s an event happening.” Mark Whalberg plays a school teacher who’s having marital troubles (enter the human condition), when he finds out school in Philadelphia is being dismissed because of the event in New York that is quickly driving folks to kill themselves. He, his wife, a fellow teacher and the teacher’s daughter all jump on a train but the train stops because they’ve “lost contact” No one knows what’s causing the event but everyone initially thinks it’s terrorits/biological warfare. Now while all of this is going on, Whalberg’s wife is getting phone calls from a guy named Joey. (Spoilers below the cut)

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Please join us on Wednesday when the lovely and talented Lori Devoti joins us to talk about her new book WILD HUNT!

Alongside his hellhound brethren, Venge Leidolf was summoned to start the Wild Hunt anew. But in this dreaded pursuit of souls, Venge sought to free himself from his infernal bondage—by claiming the heart of a fierce Valkyrie.…

Geysa never questioned the alluring gifts that set her apart from the other Valkyries, or her hatred of hellhounds—until Venge fell under her spell. Drawing the alpha hellhound so close made Geysa doubt her every instinct. To stop the Hunt, the two blood-born enemies would need to cast aside old vows and allegiances. Only then could no one question the strength of their union….

Lori Devoti grew up in southern Missouri and attended college at the University of Missouri-Columbia where she earned a Bachelor of Journalism. She, however, made it clear to anyone who asked, she was not a writer; she worked for the dark side—advertising. Now twenty years later, she’s proud to declare herself a writer and visit her dark side occasionally by writing dark paranormal romances and urban fantasy novels with a little death and a lot of adventure.Lori lives in Wisconsin with her husband, daughter, son, an extremely patient shepherd mix, and the world’s pushiest Siberian husky.

You can read an excerpt here!

Today is officially Pimp a Book Day! It was supposed to be Pimp a Friends Book Day butttttttttt the book I ordered didn’t come in in time to read. Matter of fact, due to the deadline, I haven’t been reading anything. Which means, of course, that I remembered at 2 PM yesterday that I had to pimp a book and hadn’t read one. I IMMEDIATELY pulled LIFELINES from my TBR Pile and started reading….and reading…and reading.

For the record, I don’t know CJ Lyons (the author) personally, but I do know her by name and I know she had a long, interesting road to publication, which IMO makes this book that much sweeter. Because you see, LIFELINES ROCKS!!!!!!!

The quote from Lisa Gardner on the front comparing LIFELINES to Old ER is dead on (though I actually watch more new ER than I ever did the old–it’s on my list).  Have you heard me whining lately about a lack of single title romance? If not, you must be deaf because I’ve done a lot of it LOL. I mostly read YA fiction, urban fantasy, paranormal and romantic suspense (which I’ve kind of been burnt out on). While this can definitely qualify as (really good) romantic suspense, it’s also got a good old-fashioned juicy romance.

Anyway the good: If you look up Pageturner in the dictionary, you’ll see that cover there, because this is a true page-turner and an absolute joy to read. If you like ER, if you like old Robin Cook, you totally need to pick this up. The pacing is spot on, the writing is great (and my test is if I can’t SEE the writing for the storytelling, I’m good), the story is fabulous, the characterization is stellar with a cast of deliciously flawed characters I can’t wait to spend more time with, the medical aspects aren’t so overdone you’re not left scratching your head and going WTF,  :yes:   and most importantly of all I didn’t figure out “who dun it” until about 2/3 - 3/4 the way through and even then, that didn’t spoil how it all played out. Oh, and even though this is the first in a series, and the set-up is there for the next book (I just went and look and it is Amanda’s book! WOOT!) it doesn’t scream SEQUEL BAIT!  :diebastard:

The bad: I have no idea when the next book is coming out.  :no:

The quibble: This book has a BIG cast and it did get a little confusing at times but even so, hats off to CJ because I don’t think there’s a one-dimensional character in the bunch!

The bottom line: GO BUY IT!

Now it’s your turn. Pimp me some books people!!!