Snorkling in Kansas
For those of you who haven't noticed weather reports for the Midwest, here's a joke or two from Janet. The first is how a Texan measures snow. (Okay, so Texas is in the Southwest, but...close enough. Work with me here.)
The second is a pretty accurate picture of what life has been like lately in my neck-o-the-woods. Yeah, it's pretty. It's also FREAKING COLD, and it's treacherous to drive in, and I'm staring at another two months of this crap! - lol
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Oh, well, winter is my time to write. For some strange reason, this is when I do the majority of my meat-to-seat work. Usually, I love it. Sometimes it loves me more than I love it.
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My wolf-hound has the most horrendous case of gas in the world, and love him as I do, being locked up with him drives me bats at times. It's pretty bad when I open the French doors out back to let him out and the damn squirrels run like he's Pepé Le Pew instead of Taz. Poor thing is so darned sweet...and soooo smelly.* * *
Anyway, back to my groveling for not being available. I've been writing, making lesson plans for an online course I'm teaching next month on How To Write Confessions, dealing with ailing friends and relatives, and shoveling snow and ice from the front porch with what works no better than a wisk broom and a spatula. I'm also still battling the nicotine nonsense. Haven't completely quit - close, but no...dare I say it? Cigar. Sometimes I'm like Chris Tucker's character in Friday at the mere thought of smoking. * * *
Walking has helped tremendously, but the ice and snow have prevented me from doing much of that the past few days. Either I walk and suck in air that is 8 degrees F' before wind chill is factored in, or I stay home and geek for nicotine. There's not much middle ground except for the occasional straw I mutilate (it's that hand to mouth thang, ya know?).
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Before I sign off on this one, THANK YOU to those of you who purchased my 1st m/m book - seems that little gem has paid off handsomely, considering I'm new at writing the genre. I may just have to write another one.
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Now - I'm off to post that recipe for Snow Ice-Cream (a week late). Have a good rest of the week...talk to you soon.
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Ice Palaces
Can't tell you how THRILLED I am to have this book debut. La Bella Luna is dedicated to THE BATS in the 'cave' and the bats in THE BELFRY - wonderful friends and critique partners who have been with me from the first stages of some pretty godawful stories to the completion of what I think is my best mainstream yet.*
Blurb:
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Mudpacks, murder, deceit, betrayal and tattoos—how much can a friendship sustain without cracking?
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Try telling your best friends that your husband is leaving you for another man, or that you’ve slept with one of their husbands and have borne his child. Better yet, let them know you’ve just committed murder or that you’re dying.
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Ann, Eazy, Merry and Leta Lou—all four of the Oklahoma City socialites, having spent years merely scratching the surface of their friendship, are thrust into an emotional tornado and left with the devastating ruins of aftermath as the secrets they’ve kept surface. Ann wants to help them rediscover their dreams, but before she can do that, she must first destroy their illusions.
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Money can’t buy happiness, forgiveness, or peace, but it can sure make life…and death…a lot more interesting.
*
I've been so busy lately that I completely forgot that LBL debuted YESTERDAY!!!!!!!! - lol
addendum - sorry - guess it'd help if I posted the link where someone could view/buy/scoff at this, huh?...http://samhainpublishing.com/books/la-bella-luna
We don't have ice this pretty, but the ground is still so white that no lights are needed to view the entire yard at midnight or later. *
Daughter-in-law-to-be had never had snow ice-cream, so as a treat, I made some for her (I'll post the recipe on the Lyn's Licks & Laughs recipe blog later today, for those who'd like to sample this dish on their own).*
The third story in the Shrink Wrap anthology finally, FINALLY has a pub date...April 6th. Next (hopefully) on the EC pub list for me will be Spies, Lies, & Duct Tape (thanks again to those of you who contributed to the naming of this sucker - lol - the follow up book will be Spies, Lies, & Bungee Cord, by the way). Writer pals Summer Devon and Kris Starr already have their stories out - mine will tie everything up.
*
How is it I wind up last in the anthologies? - LOL - I'm last in another one, this one with Samhain, entitled Who's Your Daddy? - and this anthology is about the 'results' of Sperm Donor #69's college proclivities with a NY sperm bank. Again, Summer is one of the authors (and let me tell you, I'd work with this woman ANY day - she's terrific!). One more friend whose book is on the editor's desk is Alexis Fleming, another fun author.
All for now. Have a safe, cozy, delightful week, everyone.
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Scary Sex
Got your attention? It's not that sex itself scares me - it's that everything surrounding it in my world drives me nutty. Ever tried to stop smoking? Any addiction carries with it a personal hell. Mine comes with trying to write the raunchiest scenes imaginable without my crutch. I've managed to get these characters into bed, tangle the sheets as well as their lives, do the proper insertions - humor, not just A goes into B. But where's my cigarette after the best sex imaginable?
I've tried walking. It was 8 degrees without the windchill factor this week. So much for that form of release. I've chewed the hell out of a few straws, and there are some pretty well mangled stress balls that look like that dogs tore into them. Squeezed them? I annihilated them. I've eaten everything that wasn't nailed down, bitched at anything that moved, and swore I'd rather have the hack than the lack. I'm lying, of course, but it helped at the time to tell myself the fib.
Friends have helped. Got this from Kris, along with the drawing up top:
THIS IS A TOAST.... 2 US...
FOR THE MEN WHO HAVE US,
THE LOSERS WHO LOST US,
AND THE LUCKY PEOPLE WHO WILL MEET US!!
#1 Son sent me
this link to a video clip by Stephen Colbert regarding Cingular’s sell to AT&T. For those of you who keep up on The Colbert Report, it's pretty funny.
In other news, I just completed a novella for a novella for Samhain - more on that later. I am awaiting a pub date on one for Ellora's Cave that was completed last spring - lol. (And we bust our asses for deadlines because...?) The cherry on the cake of my week is that
La Bella Luna debuts on the 23rd of January. This is one of my personal favorites - a mainstream with about 43 names of friends as characters and a totally fictional plot that hit me like a ton of bricks one day. I'm proud of this one.
Special shout-outs to my friends in Oklahoma who have been without electricity for over a week due to ice storms. Hugs to all of you who are about to get slammed again with ice and snow this weekend.
Now...where's that friggin' stress ball? An impending scary sex scene is about to explode once I get back into this darned story.
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2007 Thus Far
First, welcome to 2007, sorry I've been remiss on updating the blog (I'll try to do better), and I hope your new year is going well.
My first male/male romance debuted end of December. If I can load it, I'll post a cover of the book here. It's a generic cover, meaning others in the series look just like it, but what's between the covers is 100% my raunch. Here’s the link to the publisher’s website with information about the novella. 
A friend who worked for AOL sent me a link to the latest employee tee-shirts that I thought I'd share. For those who aren’t familiar with the goings-on at America Online, the company used to be a great internet service provider and a fun place to work (I put in some time there myself about 8 years ago). Then they merged with Time Warner (another good company – it’s just that the cohesion wasn’t great for business, customers, or employees). Around 2001, they started laying off their employees. By 2003 it became an annual expectation. First, they flew a group of technicians from the Oklahoma call center to India and had them train their replacements, without tell them at the time that they’d be let go once they touched ground back in the States. That’s the background for the images on the tee-shirts you’re about to see. (There are several, if you care to view 'em.)
My first booksigning is coming up January 20th - it was supposed to be in November then December 2006, but scheduling problems forced us to move the date. I'm a tad nervous.
La Bella Luna's debut was moved from January 16th to January 23rd, but the edits are almost completed, and the book (which I thought was pretty darned good anyway) is tons better for having had editor Angela James's hands on it. The woman is amazing. My cover, again, was done by the fabulous Scott Carpenter—I’m really pleased with it.
Until next time...
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2006 Promises
to quit smoking - I didn't
to lose weight - I did
to face a fear and "do it" anyway - I kept this promise, too
to keep mytemper in check when angry - I've done this, but I've had a lot of nausea, belching, and flatulence as a result, so i'm considering revising this one for fear my body will explode - must search for reliable safety valve
to refrain from swearing - I fucking tried
to enjoy every day, every moment - my crowning achievement
HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!
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2006 Births
Just Desserts
The Promise: Stream of Time
Leaving Mama
Red Hot Lover
Smooth Ride
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2006 Deaths
Kathryn Blanke
1963-2006
Linda Lee Schonwald
1940-2006
Julia Ann Durant
1953-2006
Jeanna Renee Turner
1967-2006
C.H. "Slim" Clopton
1908-2006
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For those of you who haven't noticed weather reports for the Midwest, here's a joke or two from Janet. The first is how a Texan measures snow. (Okay, so Texas is in the Southwest, but...close enough. Work with me here.)
My wolf-hound has the most horrendous case of gas in the world, and love him as I do, being locked up with him drives me bats at times. It's pretty bad when I open the French doors out back to let him out and the damn squirrels run like he's Pepé Le Pew instead of Taz. Poor thing is so darned sweet...and soooo smelly.
5 Comments:
Hey, I can finally post a comment! (Blogger hasn't been letting me.)
Love the measuring the snow picture. (Yeah, right says this gal from Canada.)
Re: your on-line course (How To Write Confessions). Could you please post further details for those of us who are interested? I've had some success - would love more.
I couldn't even pull up the site, could only read it from Bloglines and I can't comment there. Hey, could you email me? I can't find the right address. Sorry, something happened to my address book. :)
Lyn,
Where in hades do you FIND these pictures? ROFLMAO!
Wow, I never thought of measuring snow like that... That is SO SMART! ;-)
Good luck with the gassy doggie. Our nine-pounder gets the WORST gas. He can stink both of us out of a room. Who knew something so monsterous could come out of those little bodies!
Beth, Blogger was a pill for a while, wasn't it? - grr - Right now it won'd let ME log in to sign under my own name. Thanks for sticking with it. I always enjoy hearing from you - and hope you can join the confessions class.
Rinda, it was so great reconnecting with you. I can't believe we've been friends so long and don't remember this shit - lol. (me, worse than you)
Tanya - rofl here - my friend Janet in Topeka is the warped pal who keeps me supplied with most of the photos I use. I haven't had the nerve to ask her where she gets 'em. I may not want to know. *ggg*
April, if you have a gas 'cure' let me know - this poor dog - always smells like something crawled up inside him.
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