It's Not That Far Away

Can you believe it's the end of the January, 2009 already? ***blink Wow. It's kind of scary how fast the time is flying!

Already the Romantic Times Convention is coming up in a few months. I'm glad that this year I can drive to the hotel instead of fly (saves $$$) and I can pile lots of BBW in the trunk for the signing ;-).

Check out the workshop- and fun-filled event schedule:

RT CONVENTION 2009 SCHEDULE

I've mentioned that I have workshop captaining duties on Wednesday, talking romantic suspense with some great authors and friends, including Barry Eisler, Karen Rose, and Roxanne St. Clair. There are some other excellent panels and mini-mixers that I want to go to too, especially the one held by my good buddies Lauren Dane and Anne Aguirre.

If you scroll down to the end of each day's schedule, you'll see the costume balls being held each night. There is food, entertainment, and dancing, and a good time is had by all. You know I'll be taking pictures ;-).

Last year's was fun because I met many new fantasy and suspense authors who attended the convention after hearing how many romance readers read across genres, especially if their stories have romantic elements. It's important to cross-promote, learning new things from networking, and making new acquaintances.

Please do let me know if you're attending RT Con this year. I'd be delighted to meet with you over some drinks or books! Looking through the workshops, which ones caught your interest?

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Post #2: The Real McDreamy

I just found out that my future husband, George Clooney, has been confirmed to play the first Dr. McDreamy Doug Ross again for ER's finale.

ER used to be my Thursday night staple in the mid-nineties and wicked Dr. Ross and his sexy smile was the epitome of all those Mills and Boons hospital romances that I grew up reading. I'm so looking forward to catch him in scrubs again! He'll look a bit grayer, but heck, I think he's even prettier now. Check these out:

Hmm...John Stamos, who is on the show now, kinda look like the young Clooney, doesn't he?

Thursday nights on NBC in the 80s and early 90s. Cosby, Seinfeld. L.A. Law, ER. Do you remember the great Thursday night shows during NBC's heyday? Good times.

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Wet Rainy Day News

Some good news! A small publisher wants to read a copy of Virtually His and then take a look at Virtually Hers. It's a good publisher and hopefully, the editor will like my writing.

The other piece of good news is that Big Bad Wolf's sales was really good this week so far! As of this morning, with orders from Australia, the number of BBW sold in one month and four days is...190 books. Yay! Thank you, readers and friends, for spreading the word. I think getting BBW out while many readers are looking for Virtually Hers online helped.

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Let me add another little factoid for my five-storey ladder experience. It started raining today. Climbing down while it's sprinkling harder every step, with the wind getting from pleasant to suddenly gusty, as Florida winds tend to do, is a slippery experience. I had difficulty getting my grip and I also had to be careful with the narrow wet steel rungs. Dirty rubber shoes caked with asphalt dust suddenly turn into this hardened black slicky grime that get stuck on the railings. Can you imagine being the last one down and encountering everyone else's leftover shoe-grime? Ugh.

Then we weren't allowed to walk through the covered verandah of the building because that would mark up the pretty floors, so we had to track on this wet path through the back and around the bushes that grew near the pool. With our dripping melty tar grimed faces, hunched over with our load of tools, and our helmets all lobsided, we looked like a sorry bunch of sand zombies. I think we frightened one or two timesharers/owners coming back from the beach. ;-P

This was my last day for this particular job since we were done taking off all the metal panels that face outwards on the mansett of the building. Remember one of my last roofs where I was explaining about taking off shingles while hanging upside down the side of a barn? Well, this is a similar thing, except that it's MUCH higher and these are metal panels that can turn into deadly frisbees if you let the wind catch them.

There, all this info for you writers ;-).

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I came home earlier and took a much needed shower. This evening I'll be taking one of my old lady mutant poms to the vet because she has breast cancer. Prayers and good thoughts would be much appreciated. I've known this for a while, am prepared for one of those sad times one must go through as a furbaby owner, but right now, I'm hoping she can still undergo surgery. I can safely say that I'll climb tall buildings for my furbaby's health bills!

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How To Swing Your Ass Fifty Feet In The Air

I'm getting pretty good at climbing that five-storey straight-up ladder. Not even a pause today! I find that, if you just concentrate on the act of climbing, and not think about how high you really are, the anxiety of not being able to make it to the top doesn't show up.

I know what you're thinking--Jenn, it's not the reaching the top part I'm afraid of; it's the FALLING off the ladder part. See, the height doesn't scare me. I just get a bit nervous when my arms get tired and I start to doubt my ability to hold on to my weight as I pull myself up each rung. Then my mind starts playing tricks on me, telling me that I have twenty more feet and boy, what if those arms don't have the strength to go that far. It's similar to holding one's breath underwater and thinking "thirty more seconds." Those seconds suddenly seem to take forever to count out.

Coming down is another exercise altogether. First, I have to climb over the railing to reach the first rung which is about two feet below. Basically, that means I'm in mid-air for a fraction of a second as I hold on to the railing, one foot balanced on the board and the other trustingly reaching down. Trustingly, because really, I can't look downward too long because that would unbalance me.

Then there is the problem with the hardhat. Because it makes my head a couple of inches taller, I'm always bumping into steel joints as I duck down. My brain can't tell that my head is "taller" so I'm just bending down low like normal to avoid a head injury, then WHACK! my hardhat hits the darn rod and I go OW! So, anyway, when I step over the railing to take that first rung, I have to also remember to lower my head enough as I slip between the railings. If I forget and whack my hardhat, I might panic and lose my concentration.

Am I scaring you? ;-) Don't be. It's not as complicated as I make it, but it IS definitely something one has to learn.

Anyway, the best method of climbing down 50+ feet is to swing your ass left and right the opposite direction of the arm holding the rung above you. Pretend you're a pendulum. Got that? In my opinion, going down a long way by holding the sides of a ladder is not conducive to speed or agility. The hands get tired from gripping and then I start to wrap my forearms around the sides, protectively pulling myself in. Nothing wrong with that, but it slows the climb down a lot when your arm is wrapped around a rung.

My ass-swinging method, on the other hand, creates a momentum that takes me less than a minute and a half tops to get back on solid ground. Don't look down for any reason, for heaven's sake. I'm not talking about being panicked by the height, but the sight of all the avid male faces gazing up with their mouths open might set you off into a giggly fit, and that's really no way to fall splat on your ass.

Hmm. I think I'll make an exercise video.

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My Day At The Beach

If you ever watched The Amazing Race, you'd know about the usual tasks and roadblocks. Contestants sometimes are asked to climb incredible heights and then cross planks to get to another location.

Well, guess what I did today. Yup. Five stories in the air. You know those ladders you see in the circus, the ones that the trapeze artistes use to get to their swings? They go straight up, up, up and it takes them forever to reach their seats way, way up there?

Uh huh. That's how I felt today. Trapeze artiste extraordinaire. Except that I had a hard hat and a tool belt on. Then I walked across these planks in mid-air (with no balancing umbrella). I also leaned over a lot. I discovered that climbing down was a lot more difficult than climbing up because I had to look DOWN. You know, bungee jumping doesn't look so scary after all.

You know this adventure is going to be in a commando scene in a future book. And the heroine would look a lot cooler than my dusty, paint-speckled (there were painters spraying the floors as I climbed up), grimy and windblown state today, for sure.

Lisa, didn't you try to bribe me with a foot massage for a read of Virtually Hers? Your offer sounds more and more tempting everyday.

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Winner of Caption Contest

The winner of the Contest of the Week is:

Anonymous, who captioned the vampire cover with the odd teeth marks:

"Sorry, exactly where do I bite again?"

Congratulations! Please email me with your name and email address so I can send you the Amazon $25 certificate.

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Post #3: Things Not To Do When You're Bored

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Post #2: Kong Hee Fatt Choy!

Ha, trust me to forget.

Tomorrow is Chinese New Year. So, Kong Hee Fatt Choy to my Chinese readers all over the world!

It's the Year of the Earth Ox. Interestingly enough, I think our new President is also an Ox, so his starting his presidency during his "12 year return" is an interesting astrological occurrence.

Don't even ask what year it is in the Chinese calendar. Talk about a math headache. It seems that some years are 12 months and some years are 13 months, according to whether there is a leap month or not. You can check out the fascinating explanation HERE, then YOU tell me what the heck year it is, LOL. All I could figure out is that it's in the 4600s which is a mighty long time since some Chinese dude looked up in the sky and thought up this brilliant and complicated system.

Here's a fun astrological chart: find out whether your five elements (Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal) is balanced and what the luckiest times of your life is:

Chinese Astrological Chart

Just input your birth data, then click on the links.

For me, it says I need more "Fire" element, and then it shows the chart of the best years of my life--between 53-62, then 62-73. Ha. The end of the world better not come at 2012. That would really pissed me off, missing the best years of my life. Just sayin'.

What are your best years? Are you living them now?

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Slow And Easy

I'm taking it easy this weekend, trying to recuperate and do some needed writing. It frustrates me so much when I can't get my pages done...when did it become so hard? ;-P

I started reading the third book of the Rogue Mage series by Faith Hunter, HOST. It has really turned out into a compelling series of books, but I'm starting to be worried because Thorn, the heroine, is showing the symptoms of hidden superpowers. She is an Omega Mage, tada, you know--the One. Let's hope she doesn't end up with a magic vajayjay that beckons all magic and mortal beings into sexual longing for her and only her. Nevertheless, the world building that includes seraphs and apocalyptic biblical verses is fascinating.

I can't get over how bored I was of the first third of that first book (Bloodring) that I'd put it away! Have you ever done that--thinking a book isn't really your type and putting it down, and then later, on a retry, you can't stop reading? Why do you think that is so? If the time element had been several years, I would chalk it up to me being a different person so my reaction to the book would be different, but this was only a week in between.

Anyway, I hope there's a fourth book coming. I am such a series-addict.

Any new books this month that you've read or are looking forward to?

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How Do You Do It?

How do those of you with daily long commute do it? Gimme your secret. Because four hours plua a day spent on the road is surely sucking all the lively brain cells away. By the end of the day, it's just the couch, the TV, the furbabies, the couch, the food, the couch, the attempt to write, which is pitiful, and finally, bedtime.

I know many of you do it, riding subways or driving through snarling DC-like traffic, to get to work. I just want to know--how do you do it and keep your mental sanity? ;-P It doesn't matter if I nap all the way to my destination, I still feel like I'm running on empty by the end of the day and trying to create words and form ideas into stories is a constant challenge. I know I have to work through this and probably, like when I was younger, my body will adjust, but right now, friends, the body hates me ;-).

One more complaint. Ever since joining Facebook, I'm getting spammed like whoa. I was wondering whether you Facebook members have the same problem. If this is so, I'm going to have to create a fake email address for that particular site to fight against email harvesters. That's the bad thing about these huge popular sites; there be scum trolls.

As you can tell, I'm in that bitchin' state of mind. So TGIF, eh? Except that it's going to be in the lower 20s again...argh...hate dawn....Did you know that I actually had to de-ice my windshield this morning? Whaddup with that? This is Florida. No one owns a windshield scraper!

This thread is now open to your rant. What in the world is bothering you, my friends? Bitch away. You have my permission.

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100 And It's Not The Temperature

Good news! On the third week since BBW has been on sale, I finally sold copy #100, with 80 percent sales from Amazon. I do have a 20 book order from overseas, so next week's numbers should be good too! I think that's not bad at all, considering I gave away the story in e-book form for a few months, so quite a number of people who would've bought the book probably haven't. What do you think?

It's not a lot of money but there is enough profit to maybe buy me that Esus mini notebook AND even groceries! And the month isn't over yet ;-).

Thank you, everyone. I really appreciate your buying my POD book. If you have any suggestions on how to make the book better (whether the font is too small or the paper quality not to your liking, etc.), please let me know, so I can make it a better product for you and others. And yes, glad you enjoyed Killian's story too. ;-)
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CONTEST FROM A FEW DAYS AGO (prize: Amazon gift cert) STILL OPEN TILL FRIDAY

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It is still too freaking cold for Florida. We are under a hard freeze warning tonight and tomorrow. I'm not looking forward to waking up at 5am and going outside. Yes, how I hate the miserable, cold and yucky dawn. I'll be standing outside for 45 minutes and trying to be chirpy.

Not that chirpy works.

Today, after watching me work and not saying anything for a while, the contractor asked me, "So how low are you on the totem pole that you are left to do all the nailing grunt work by yourself?"

I replied, "I'm so low on the totem pole even my last name is Low."

Didn't even. Crack. A. Smile.

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It's A Historic Day

People will talk about where they were on this day, when the first black man is officially inaugurated as the President of the United States. They will most likely also comment about his speech and watching history being made either right there in D.C. or live on television.

Unfortunately, I was freezing my ears, my nose, and toes off on a rooftop with dudes who hadn't voted in decades. The wind was whipping so furiously, I think one of ears flew off. It was so cold, my eyeballs started wheezing. It was so cold, my jacket was shivering and ran away looking around for cover. It was SO COLD I thought I was actually there in DC for the inauguration. So, I guess, in a way, I'd remember this day.

So, what where were you and what were you doing?

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Ah, I Love My Readers

Check out what Maria did for me:



Isn't that cute? ;-)

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EPIC Fail

Gasp! Your thoughts?

"Mommy, is that a bedtime story?"

"Look Mommy! Comics!"

Children between what ages, I wonder? ;-P

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Friday Means Happy, Happy Thoughts

It's Friday and I'm tired and basically brainless after a week with stinky, yakky, tobaccy, cussy, mind-numbingly one-topicy, slightly amusing creatures. Not to mention the ice-cold dawn from hell at 30 degrees wind chill by the river. I'm so happy that I have TWO WHOLE DAYS of back in my cave, with my own fantasies ;-).

First, I know you can do better with the contest I posted for yesterday's cover. Come on, a $10 Amazon certificate!

Also, moment of self-pimpery: please post in your other favorite forums and blogs about Big Bad Wolf at Amazon. Or, if you are at your local UBS, tell your friendly bookstore owner about my book and that I can sell to them at a discounted price. It would really help me and my one-woman crew. Thank you!

Finally, you don't mind if I kick back and post a few eye- and mind-refresheners, do you? It's important to start the weekend right!

So purty....Hugh Jackman is mine, by the way, nom nom. And how was your week, my dears?

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Writerspace Tonight

Come join me at Writerspace for a discussion of INTO DANGER at 9pm EST tonight.

Yup, all about Stash and Marlena and any of the SEALs. Bring your own favorite drink ;-).

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Contest Of The Week

Bwahaha! I found this cover too darn funny not to share. Mrs. Giggles called it "stupid vampire wench who doesn't know where to bite." LOL.

What is the confession of the vampire? And the vampire's lover?

Best comment gets a $10 Amazon gift certificate that you can use to buy the above or any book you desire ;-).

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The Best Job In The World

Here you go:

MY DREAM JOB.

Hawk's island, where I can write some great romances ;-). Will they take me?

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He Was The First Roarke

Ricardo Montalban, Mr. Roarke of Fantasy Island, passed away today. FI was one of my favorite shows when I still lived in Malaysia; in fact, I think it was my first paranormal TV program that didn't include genies or witches. Instead of just Blink! Blink! or Twitch! Twitch! magic, the stories on this show, especially the first two seasons, always made me think about possibilities and philosophy, and how people were always looking for a happy ending.

Also, I just loved that name ;-). Ricardo Montalban. I would roll his name off my tongue and dream of Harlequin romance tycoons seducing their women in that accent.

RIP, Mr. Roarke.

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The Bromance Is Back

My friend has Tivo-ed last night's 24 but wanted me to give her a quick summary. My email this morning:

Jack: You...you're alive!

Tony: Yes! But I hate you now! You left me!

Jack: But you were dead!

Tony: But only for ten minutes!

Jack: No, I can't love you! You're now a traitor! You done baddddd things!

Tony: Pft. I hate you and I never loved you anyway!

Jack: You love me! Say you love me or I cut you! (slamming Tony against wall, nibbles his earlobe) Hurt you! Say it!

Tony: I...(whisper) really love you.

Jack: Ahhhhhhhhhhh. I'll come for you later.

;-)

And that's what 24 is all about.

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Wow, Two Weeks Of 2009 Gone By Already!

Today, my oddball stories made a guy laugh so hard that he told the others that I gave him a six-pack. There you go, that's how Joe Six-Packs come about, listening to Gennita's crazy adventures ;-).

The Facebook Project has given me a surprise! I sold 20 books in the last two days. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I'm glad more readers looking for me have found out about Big Bad Wolf.

What do you guys think about the new proposed law to ban ALL cell phones while driving, even hands-free ones? Will On-Star go out of business? Do you think this will pass? I don't like people driving with one hand myself (especially while eating or smoking at the same time!) but to ban hands free ones too seems a bit overdoing it. I mean, what next? They're going to ban my checking email while cruising down the highway? Heehee.

Four hours of 24 (Jack Bauer + Tony Almaeda = TWU BROMANCE LUV) these past two nights (with out-of-town traveling) have really exhausted me, so please excuse the disjointed post. My body isn't happy with the hours. My brain is not happy that I insist on writing while my back aches. We no like waking up at an insane early hour. Hate dawn. Hate the cold.

Oh well, the Joes of the world need me to work on their six-packs.

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Oh, Lady Z emailed and gave me a great novella suggestion too! She wanted the Stooges to give Reed (Joker) a hard time about his money. Now, that could be funny, huh?

Keep those ideas coming, girls. Tease and stimulate my writing muscles.

So, is it me, or is 2009 starting like a speeding stallion?! When life is this fast, can you afford not to lose your cell phone yakking while driving? I mean, we need to squeeze as much as we can, in the time we have!

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Lounging Around

No, didn't do any hot air ballooning today. Dawn was so freaking crazy cold! I couldn't believe how nasty it was. Can you imagine how much colder it would be floating up there? Brrr. So we snuggled deeper inside our blankets and fell right back to sleep, LOL.

"Not for a giant bag of hot air," he whispered in my ear. "Dawn sucks. Ignore and go back to bed."

Totally agreed. A giant bag of hot air and cold, blustery dawn just weren't appealing when one is warm and toasty, so I obediently went back to lalaland. My mom used to call me Sleeping Beauty because I could sleep the morning away. I'm more a sunset sort of girl, I guess.

What is your internal clock like? In sync with normal time or not?

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My assistant surprised me by setting up a Facebook page for me! So now that she's given me the reins, come play? Friend me? It has a neat "what I'm up to now" Twitter feature. Everyone is updating all day. Wow. Do you guys like Facebook better than MySpace?

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BBW sales update. I sold 50 books this week. Thank you, everyone, for spreading the word around that BBW is available at Amazon or buying an extra to give to your local UBS. I've received some emails from surprised booksellers because of your generosity, telling me they didn't know I have a new book. I've set up a Paypal account for to handle bulk and overseas orders. Don't I sound like I have a business going on now? :::grin:::

Lastly, lots of emails asking about that novella idea, asking whether it would be $11, etc. No, I base the price of the book with how much it'd cost me with the printing and cover pic costs, etc. A shorter book, like a novella, would probably run closer to $8. Can't say since I haven't checked that yet. Boy, you guys have been great with the suggestions ;-). Steve and Marlena's honeymoon, someone emailed. Nikki's pregnancy and Rick's possessiveness, another chimed in. Hawk giving Jazz a hard time when he found out how mad Jazz was when Vivi finally revealed her trickery. These are great ideas! Keep them coming, here on the blog or through email.

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Uber Tired

Here I am. Exhausted. Not quite home yet, though.

I finished the first book in the Rogue Mage series, Bloodring, while traveling. The second half was absolu-fabulous. It's different. It has the feel of neo-biblical-apocalyptic that is truly different from the other apocalyptic fantasy/urban fantasy stories out there. And I have two more books in the series to glom, yay. I'm so glad I didn't give up when I found the beginning slow-going. I'm now fascinated by the whole concept of mage and seraph in a mix of biblical representations. Isn't it strange how that happens?

Adding to my exhaustion, I'd forgotten I was supposed to help build additions to a massive shelving system, so I'd to rush off without dinner or change of clothing. Two hours later, I'm also covered in sawdust and glue.

So, add rumbling tummy and icky-poo to the list.

I've been invited to take a swim in the pool and try the hot tub. It's damn tempting but I'm icky and sawdusty. Besides, I'd also probably fall asleep in the tub. But it sure does sound like a wonderful reward, don't you think?

I also heard there's a hot-air balloon festival in town. It starts at the break of day, though, and I'm so not a dawn person, even though the sight of balloons floating towards the ocean would probably be awesome. But why at stupid dawn? Why can't they do it at sunset instead? Dawn is so not fun.

Yawn. It was a gorgeous sunshiney 70s degrees day, though. How was yours?

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Talk Like I'm Here

As I'll be gone mostly today, why don't you guys tell what books you're reading right now?

I decided to restart Faith Hunter's Bloodring, forced my way through the slow beginning, and where the relationship started, the story began to take off. You see? I'm just a relationship type of reader, I guess.

Anyway, I'm beginning to enjoy the Rogue Mage heroine a lot more, now that she has met the "hero" (I'm assuming he's the hero since this is fantasy) and she has a certain reaction to him because he has mage blood in him.

Hmm. Maybe I'll take the book with me to the "compound," along with my notepad with Viking Dude notes.

So share deets on what you're reading now, fiction or non-fiction. I'm sure it's a better story than me stuck in the wilds without a bathroom. ;-)

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Not Exactly My Fantasy Job

Found a labor job that might take me out of town for the day--I have no idea what, where, if I'm going to be stuck in one faraway location with ten guys and no bathroom ;-), so if you don't hear from me for the next couple of days...

HELP!

Sigh. It starts at 6am because we have to meet at a compound (yes, that's what it's called) and we gather around and get sent out to our jobs. Since it's going to be in someone's truck, I won't have the luxury of running home if I feel like it, LOL. I'm not even sure I dare to bring my laptop in case it gets stolen. Yeah, I'm that concerned. Also, wahhh...I'm going to feel so...so...naked without my IV!

Anyway, I won't be able to send out the international orders for Big Bad Wolf till this Saturday or Monday, okay?

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Post #3: My R-Rated Book Trailer

Here comes trouble. That was the first thought that crossed Jaymee's mind when she saw him walking around.

"I'm looking for work," he said. "Do you have any job openings?"

Jaymee's eyes traveled down the length of him.... If he could roof, she thought, then she could build a rocket ship.

She arched a brow at him. "You need tools," she said.


"I'm good with guns," he told her.

Nick's eyes narrowed a fraction. She was going to be trouble. Her ass, for one thing, roused his interest. Very much.

Jaymee blinked. Oh no, she had seen that look before. It was the Big Bad Wolf! He was neither nice nor safe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX-RATED

Oh-oh, mutant pombabies might be on the way in 60 days.... Sigh.

Big Bad Puppy sez: "Hee hee hee."

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Post #2: Wherein Hilarity Ensues

So, uh, do you think he practices what he preaches? ;-)

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Blogger Still Sucks

Because Blogger is still working on the Recent Post Widget Mystery Stuck-in-Time-Warp problem, many blogs are still affected with frozen "older comments." So some of your most interesting comments aren't being noticed by as many people.

Anyway, those of you who aren't subscribed to the comment thread for the VHers poll (look at the link under poll) might want to check out the new visitors' words there. Thank you to everyone who posted their opinions. THEY ARE VERY IMPORTANT TO ME. You took the time to look for my books and to spread the word about them, so I should equally take the time to answer your concerns and think of ways to shorten the delay.

I'm learning as I go along too. The poll is pretty consistent, don't you think? 5 percent of readers can wait for a year or more. Patient, patient people. One who voted is a student who says the price as I suggested was too high, and that is also a consideration. That's why an ebook alternative, with a cheaper tag, might be attractive.

So I continue my little project research. But hey, it isn't as if I don't have time while I waiiiiiittt.... Even Blogger is busy ignoring my problem. Must I fix that myself too? ;-P

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Wait, Wait, There's More (Waiting)

Because readers are still looking for Virtually Hers and writing me emails inquiring about it, I have to explained the current situation over and over again. I'm very blessed by the fact that I have very persistent readers, who keep coming back and asking, but this also has made me sent out a mini-newsletter several times this week. I apologize if you see double emails from me, explaining about Virtually Hers and Big Bad Wolf.

The second round of questions from readers are coming too, mainly, WHEN THEN is Virtually Hers coming out? When will you decide? Because I really, really, really WANT IT NOW.

I wish I could give you all a definitive date when I would decide/what is going to happen/how it's going to happen, but you see, in the publishing world, especially if you're an author, there is a lot of waiting. And waiting.

Let me give you a sense of what I've been through for most of last year:

1) I waited up to October of last year for an answer from my publisher whether Virtually Hers would be published/pushed back/moved to another line/anything. It was the longest wait of my life because, unlike when I was unpubbed, I wasn't free to submit any other romantic suspense while under contract, so my career was suddenly floating in limbo.

2) I waited for one year for an answer from my publisher about a FREE E-BOOK to give away to my readers. It would be FREE from me. Surely that would be do-able. I was even willing to format it into PDF for them. No answer. Not even a maybe. Just silence, despite several calls.

3) Finally, in August, after one year, a definite No. But by then, of course, I also have gotten the bad news about Virtually Hers' Walmart (retail number) problem.

4) When I came home from conference, I gave away Big Bad Wolf as an e-book while waiting for a final decree from on high as to just what would happen to Virtually Hers and Virtually One. Waited. WAaiiiiiiiited. October came around. Feeling the career thing flatlining without any work being sent out, I finally asked to be released from my contract.

5) Once that was done, it was back to waiting, WAITING time for an official contract release letter. Waiiited. Waiiiittttttteddddddd. I signed three copies and sent off in Nov. sometime.

6) Meanwhile, agent and everyone in the business knew that Nov and Dec are too close to the end of the year to submit. Editors usually "clear" their desks and then take a Christmas vacation, so it was best to WAIT till beginning of the year to get back into submitting.

7) An editor privately talked to and assured me she would be interested in any NEW submissions from me but not the dropped Virtual series. This was expected because as I've explained, most publishers don't pick up another house's dropped series. So while I was WAITING for 2008 to be over, I was also thinking. If I were to go the self-pub route with the Virtually series, I should at least do some research, maybe get busy with a project that I wasn't submitting.

8) So, I decided to try Big Bad Wolf as my fun Christmas project while I work on my other writing--the proposals for the manuscripts to be sent out after New Year. Meanwhile, because of holidays, NY publishers usually shut down, so no sign of my copy of contract release yet.

9) Spent over a week for Big Bad Wolf to appear on Amazon. Finally, there it was on the 24 of Dec.

10) NEW YEAR. Flood of unhappy readers emailing me regarding the whereabouts of Virtually Hers. Waaaiiitttttttting for release contract.

11) Most people are off till Jan. 5 and it takes one week to "settle" back into the job, so as of right now, agent and I are waiiiiiitttttinnnnng for this week to be over so she could get on the phone and start calling.

12) When this happens, guess what's next? Yes, more waiting. Because editors, bless them, will need time to read and consider the proposal(s) as well as do a hundred other things for which they're responsible. I'm thinking, optimistically, that I'll hear answers by the end of January, especially on the Virtual series, since that's probably a straight yes/no answer. HOWEVER, based on my last experience, who knows? Maybe there will be long silences while I try not to slit my throat (yes, I'm being melodramatic).

That's why writers keep writing. If we just sit and wait for answers, we'd all go even nuttier than we are already. To keep myself occupied, I'm going on with the "Viking Dude" writing and learning more about the POD self-publishing business. For instance, the last couple of days, I've been looking into making it available through Kindle. Once that's done, I'm looking at I-Tunes because I heard you can download books from there.

Also, if I'm still Waaaaiiiiiting by the end of the month, I'm going to have to consider selling a double-novella of two SEALs through GLOW WORLD CREATIONS, you know, my very own e-store. Why? Because while I wait, I'm one very, very poor writer since there aren't any roofing work to supplement my dream life (I had to let my personal trainer and masseuse go, wah!) I have stories ready and I know many of you will like a good short story of either Cumber baby and yet another Steve McMillan //big evil grinning forming//. Heck, if I'm kept waiting, there's always a short story about exactly what happened to Cam and Patty off-stage ;-). Aha! I knew I could get your little ears all perky.

But what I'm trying to say is, there is a lot of waiting going on when you're a published writer. It's not a one-phone-call-settles-everything business. Editors have to wait for approval from higher-ups too. And I haven't even gotten to the part about those Invisible Bean Counters, the Secret Mages of Conglomerate Profits.

So, please be patient with me. I know most of you are (and you know I love you for being there with me), so this post is directed to the many new visitors googling Virtually Hers and also to those who can't understand why I can have BBW out so quickly but not Virtually Hers.

Next month--Sexy Vegetables POD! ;-) Wouldn't that be a bestseller.

(***whistling. Because I know the posts about Cucumber and new Steve are coming)

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A Little Bit Heartbroken

I just found out in the last few minutes that my cheeky little monkey, Craig Ferguson, got married over New Year. //shock //clutching heart //looking that flustered-ferguson way at you and saying, "I...know!"

Craig, how could you do this to me? You're my late night flirtation, my secret smirk, my midnight snack. Now you have a ring on your finger. Wahhhh.

Sniff.

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Do You Own An Amazon KINDLE?

If you do, how much are you paying for an e-book through Kindle? I'm researching on giving them the rights to sell Big Bad Wolf through Kindle but since I don't own one, have no idea how much a Kindle e-book costs.

Yes, the author does give a SRP (suggested retail price) but in the contract agreement, Amazon states that it may or may not follow the author's suggestion, so that's also why I wanted to hear from the readers themselves.

1) How much do you pay for your Kindle Koolaidbooks? Is it cheaper than the Dead Tree Version?

2) What do you think would be a fair price to download Big Bad Wolf onto your Kindle? Kindle is taking 65 percent of the pie, by the way, which means, if I suggest selling BBW for $1, I get 35 cents, out of which I have to pay Mr. IRS their cut of 20 percent for income taxes. I know, everyone just wants a piece of my little itsy-bitty pie ;-).

So...let me hear your thoughts, my project partners.

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Mutton Go Yay When Nipply Man Ate His Motorboat

This. I have no words for this. Actually, this is worth a THOUSAND words. Nay, several thousands.



I laughed so hard I think I swallowed my tonsils. I challenge you to not be humming "Girly Man!" all day.

Did you ever do this when you were a kid? My friends and I would rock on out in our school bus, merrily screaming out the lines that we thought we heard:

"EXCUSE ME WHILE I KISS THIS GUY!!!!"

And then dissolving into typical teen giggles. This video brings back fond memories indeed.

Come on, people, yell out: GIRLY MAN!

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Post #2: Help Out A Fellow Author

Sharon Cullars is the author of Again and The Object of Love. Unfortunately, Sharon lost her job a while back and has been unable to find work. As a consequence her home has been put in foreclosure, which would leave her and her mother homeless. To help her, many of us are trying to raise $10,000 as soon as possible. I realize that money is tight for everyone these days, but Sharon and her mother really need our help. If you can give donate a few dollars, it'd be much appreciated.

In case the embedded link below doesn't work, go straight to this site:

Help Sharon Cullars

Here's her own personal blog post:

Sharon Cullar's blog

THANK YOU!

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First Official Review of Big Bad Wolf!

And perhaps the only one ;-)!

Mrs. Giggles wrote a review of Big Bad Wolf, noting that "this is not a first draft vomited out for public consumption." LOL. I'm also going to use this as my cover quote:

"Nicholas Langley" would have made the world a happier place by swinging around a stripper pole than swinging a hammer....

Bwahaha!

Mrs. Giggles reads and reviews a lot of self-pubbed books, so she knows what she's talking about. I'm just giddy with excitement to actually get some publicity. Hopefully, the many visitors there will give Big Bad Wolf a try. Thank you, Mrs. Giggles for generating interest in my project.

***************************************

Another big thank you, everyone, for making the first week of 2009 end on a high note--including overseas orders, I'm TWO short of selling 100 copies of BBW since it went on sale a week ago! Yay.

Has any of you received your copy yet? Let me know your opinion about the paper/color/print quality. Since I chose the picture on the cover and the font type and size, I'm curious about your thoughts. Making the font bigger would add pages, which would make the book more expensive, so I stuck with the standard paperback font size. Is it too small?

I have had several emails/posts remarking how they didn't like the cover. As I said before, I couldn't afford the mocked-up Nathan Kamp one, LOL. Sexy beast that he is, I just couldn't justify the hundreds of dollars he'd have charged me for use of his...body ;-). But seriously, would you have preferred a mantitty cover? One fun thing about POD through Amazon is that I can make changes to any typos or covers with minimum cost, so if you catch any while you read, let me know.

To be honest, I didn't know what the response would be to the Big Bad Wolf project. However it does will definitely help me decide whether to go this route with Virtually Hers, so help me out by spreading the word on your blogs and through word-of-mouth to your local UBS, okay? Tell your UBS I give a discount to booksellers so they can make a profit too ;-).

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Your Very First 2009 Weekend

It was a toss-up --Sexy Vege or Sexy Eye Candy?

I think I should use his body for my next cover, what do you think? ;-)

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Post #2: For Those NOT In The Know

And not caring...

What was the last book you read in 2008? Recommend or not?

Mine: BLOODRING by Faith Hunter

Not sure yet because I just couldn't get into it. I loved the premise, though, but maybe apocalyptic/magical world wasn't a good choice for enjoying the end of the year //grin//. I put it away to try again later.

What about you?

Also--why is eating black-eyed peas lucky?

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New Year: Old World

For those in the know, Mrs. Giggles' new map of the Interwebz ;-):

Be brave, ye newsie travelers. Just google about a new short m/m novella titled The Beautiful Cckskr. There be a massive flame war going on in the Intertubes of Romancelandia because of the use of that very bad non-pc word. Beware of the longest threads evah, longer than the novella even. Bring lots of headache powder for eye strain. And if you can't figure out what that word in the title is, you shouldn't be curious in the first place ;-).

As for us oldtimers, we chomp on popcorn, yes? Here, have some leftover wine from last night. Goes down good with the fireworks.

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