So ya’ll remember Tanya’s Post on Book Trailers? Right….well, apparently we had a very special guest stop by to comment, except not only did she end up in moderation (which I get an approve immediately) she ended up on the Akismet Spam folder (which I check like twice a month). I immediately emailed Sheila (that would be Sheila English of COS Productions) and apologized profusely!!!! And told her I’d post her comment because it was so interesting.
(more…)

Thanks so much for the invitation to hang out here today! I’ll begin by telling you a bit about myself. I’m a dark person. When I was born the nurse said, “This baby has a dark soul.” Well, I’m sure she at least thought it. ;)

I find foreboding in everything. Old buildings. New buildings. Bridges. An open field. A weedy pasture. A grove of trees. A quiet street. Anything and everything seems sinister to me. Small towns can be particularly secretive while at the same time seductive. On the surface they can look quaint and welcoming, but underneath they resent newcomers and change. Nature is the same way. Beautiful and inviting, but dangerous and secretive. I decided to tap into those personal anxieties while writing Pale Immortal and Garden of Darkness – books I think of as basically one long story that I call the Tuonela books.
(more…)

The fabulous Anne Frasier will be with us this Wednesday! I’m going to cheat a bit a swipe the intro off her web-site, because it says it all, except that she’s a favourite author of mine with several books on my keeper shelf.  Make sure you drop by on Wednesday, she’s got a kick arse post loaded with lots of goodies for ya!

 Anne Frasier’s novels have spanned the genres of mystery, thriller, paranormal, science fiction, and horror.  Garden of Darkness continues a dark tale started in Pale Immortal of a spooky Wisconsin town.  In Before I Wake, a secret government medical experiment goes wrong.  Play Dead plays out amid the voodoo scene in Savannah, Georgia. Sleep Tight, a traditional police procedural, is set in Minneapolis.    Publishers Weekly says Frasier “has perfected the art of making a reader’s skin crawl.” The Minneapolis Star Tribune calls her a “master.” This award-winning, USA Today bestselling author has been published since 1988, and her books have been printed in over a dozen languages in hardcover, trade, and paperback.
(more…)

Bear with me for a sec. My girlfriend sent me the following ‘inspirational’ message—Eight Lies of My Mother– in an email last week (this isn’t the exact email that she sent to my office, but I found a very, very, very, sappy, long version of it online which I cut it cut down and revised for this post) :

Whenever the time came for eating, mother often gave me her portion of rice. While she was removing her rice into my bowl, she would say “Eat this rice, son. I’m not hungry”.
That was Mother’s First Lie

And While I ate the meat of the fish, she would eat what was left on the bone. When I tried used my chopstick to give her some of my fish, she refused it and said “Eat this fish, son. I don’t really like fish.”
That was Mother’s Second Lie.

To make extra money, mother packed used match- boxes. I woke up from my sleep and looked at my mother who was still awake, working by candlelight, I said, “Mother, go to sleep, it’s late, tomorrow morning you still have to go for work.” Mother smiled and said “Go to sleep, dear. I’m not tired.”
That was Mother’s Third Lie.

While I took my exams mother waited for me under the heat of the sun for several hours. When the test was over, mother welcomed me and poured me a glass of tea. Seeing my mother covering with perspiration, I gave her my glass and asked her to drink too. Mother said “Drink, son. I’m not thirsty!”.
That was Mother’s Fourth Lie.

After I had finished my study and got a job, it was the time for my old mother to retire. I, who worked in America and make an excellent salary, sent her some money to help her in fulfilling her needs, but sent the money back to me. She said “I have enough money.”
That was Mother’s Sixth Lie.

(more…)

They say all good things must come to an end. I guess it happens.

This, dear readers, will be my last post here at SFC. It was a difficult decision, but one I had to make. I have some serious writing goals for 2008 because, frankly, I have to get off my arse and write. I seriously want to do five manuscripts this next year. And the only way I’m going to be able to do that is if I focus 100 percent of my free time on the writing (well okay, some of that free time goes to the kid, too). Plus, I just don’t feel like my topics here are very blog-worthy anyway. 

I hope you’ll come visit me every now and then over at Ye Olde Inkwell, my own blog. Hopefully you’ll POP in to say hello and see what I’m up to. :) And hopefully I’ll have some serious writing news to talk about in the coming months.

Fare thee well, dear readers.

Cos I’m on vacation this week, I’m gonna be totally lazy and just post this. Hope everyone had a great holiday!

If you popped over to Sybil’s then you know we posted our 12 Hunks of Christmas Candy.

Now I have to tell you since there are six of us, that meant we could only pick two each! YIKES! TWO HUNKS. ONLY TWO. NO MORE! That means a few ended up on the cutting room floor. My Christmas present to you is….some of my fave hunks that didn’t make the cut…

(more…)

Merry Christmas to all! I’ve got a Christmas question for you. I ask this every year and I’m always surprised by some of the responses I get. Okay, here goes. Remember the movie A Christmas Carol? Well, which of the three ghosts would you rather meet? Christmas Past, Christmas Present or Christmas future?

While you ponder that, here are my holiday gifts to you:

1. A great Christmas Test!

2. Try your hand at some Christmas Trivia!

3. Visit Santa’s Secret Village.

4. Match the two Christmas trees.

5. Speaking of a Christmas Carol, here’s one of my favorite moments from the movie:

Have you noticed that at this time of year - this being the Season of Giving - everything makes a great gift?

I guess I’m weird. I start Christmas shopping in October. Sometimes August. I find that perfect gift early on an save it for when Christmas actually rolls around. So sometimes I feel left out when I see something that “makes a great gift” and I think, “HEY yeah! That really does make a great gift!”

Too bad I already spent $29.95 on that special someone. And then I think, well, it’s only XX amount of dollars. Why not? This is where I fall into the Excessive Christmas Buying Syndrom. Since everything makes a great gift I figure, what the hell. And then I realize my child is completely spoiled and has a pile of presents under the tree. And I’ve way overspent.

But oh well. Christmas is only once a year, right? That magical time of year when Ginsu knives make a great gift. Because we all need a set of knives that cut through aluminum cans (since we do that so often in the kitchen).

Calphalon pots and pans make a great gift - and if you spend $400 you get a free saucepan. You can’t afford NOT to!

Your man’s favorite cologne comes in a nifty gift package complete with aftershave and lotion for the low, low price of $75. But because it makes a great gift you can’t not buy it. Even though you’d only spend $45 on the regular spray bottle of cologne.

You decide to get your mom a digital photo frame but if you spend another $25, you get a free memory card because it makes a great gift.

You remember your friends addicted to coffee and, even though you’ve already bought them a gift, you decided to get a $15 gift card to Starbucks for them. It’s only another $15, right? And anyway it makes a great gift.

But have you ever bought a Chia Pet because it makes a great gift? I’ve never ever received one of these. I can’t imagine thinking, “Hm. Uncle Bob would really love to have a Chia Pet for Christmas and it really does make a great gift,” as I reach for the package with the picture of the large mass of green growing on top of the head of the whatever-it-is.

Can’t think of anything else to get your buddy? Then just go to any old restaurant or store and get a gift card because, as we all know, gift cards make a great gift. (Personally, I love gift cards… it’s the gift you can pick out for yourself.)

What about the gifts that keep on giving? You think people really think that shit when they go shopping? I’m starting to think the Chia Pet not only makes a great gift, but it’s the gift that keeps on giving, too.

You know what I think makes a great gift and is the gift that keeps on giving? This:

…wrapped up under my tree. Yeah, baby. He may look like nice, but I bet naughty is just waiting to come out. And I’m just the gal for the job.

Yes! The correct answer was 10! You guys are right on.

I had my son draw the name out of his very own hat and KIM is the winner! Yay, Kim! :)

Email me your snail mail address to: michelle at michellemiles dot net. I’ll mail your gift card tomorrow!

Congrats