A LOW PROFILE

Another Dangerously Hot Excerpt

2012-01-27T13:11:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the silence. I've been very, very busy working on roofs AND trying to finish this story. Maybe you'll forgive me if I let you have another little scene-peek?

DANGEROUSLY HOT (antho. by Gennita Low and Sylvia Day)
Copyright @2012

Luke had caught the car keys Konstantin had thrown in his direction as he’d hurried out of the flat, only stopping to get his jacket. He’d ignored the grin of triumph thrown at him. There hadn’t been time to stop to cuss his friend out for the deliberate delay. As it was, Konstantin had timed the whole incident, cutting it very close. Barring any accident, he might—damn it, Kostya, this wasn’t an online game.

Luke was very aware that he’d just shown his hand on how important the information was by practically running off without a word.
Never mind that he’d arrived with just enough time to wait for La Niina to conduct her business. He’d drunk enough to know he was acting more on emotion than reason. There hadn’t been much time to plan and here she was, strutting about in the back alleys of Talinn like she owned the place.

A woman of experience would know she was being followed. He didn’t bother being too covert. She had something he wanted.

“Twice in a night, Cowboy?” The mockery in her voice was obvious.

He didn’t want to flirt. He had questions that needed immediate answers. But the vodka had relaxed his mood, addled his usual caution. Right now, he felt more himself than he’d been for months.

“Or more,” he said, “if needed.”

Her laughter echoed softly in the darkened alley. “Tempting. But the night’s almost gone. Why are you here, tailing me?”

He suddenly realized she was speaking with an American accent. He shouldn’t be surprised. He’d heard her with different ones—thick French, slurred Russian, broken English. The woman had a gift with languages, which pretty much covered most of the citizens in this part of the world.

“I have business that can’t wait.”

“You knew where to find me. I’m curious. How?”

“Lady, this is our job, remember? Besides, maybe I have business inside the same place.”

She approached. Here, in the dark, with that bottle of vodka swirling in his brain, his other senses seemed to have taken over. Her every moment stroked him like soft velvet. He needed to implement a plan quickly or he was going to lose it.

“Our business seems to be crossing paths a lot,” she murmured. “Ever since that night in Nice, in fact.”

He took a step closer. Another and he would have her against the wall. He breathed in, instinctively seeking her scent. She always smelled good to him, a subtle combination that reminded him of home.

“Exactly,” he said. “I think it’s time we get further acquainted.”

Again, she laughed, sending a delicious shiver down his back. He was feeling amazingly reckless.

“Cowboy—”

Hell. Caution be damned. As Kostya liked to say during his gaming, release the Kraken. “Luke,” he interrupted. “Let’s start with calling me Luke. I’d like to call you…Naya.”

Her sharply drawn breath gave him that one moment of advantage. Although not at 100 percent, he’d anticipated her attack. He dodged the fist. She grabbed his jacket and pulled. Turning, he sidestepped the knee to the groin. The jab to the back of his thigh brought his focus back.

Finesse was fine. But brute strength was far superior. His years in the rodeo circuit had been useful in this business in unexpected ways.
Twist. A snap of her arm—he was careful not to break it—and he had her front against the stone wall. She wasn’t giving up easily, though, moving her leg between his to try to break his hold.

He pressed harder, burying his face against her ear. Her scent invaded and he breathed in deeply. “Tell me, what perfume is that?”

The unexpected question paused her struggling to give him another extra second to secure her even more tightly under him. He wrapped his legs around hers, gripping her with his thighs like he would a bucking steer. Her ass felt good where it was.

She sniffed. “You’re drunk!”

“A bit. See, I’m no danger to you. Just wanted to get better acquainted. Want to answer a few questions?”

“Go to hell.”

Somehow he knew she wouldn’t be that cooperative. Her ass wiggled, rubbing in a way that just wasn’t conducive to calm questioning. He had things he needed to ask and all he could think of was turning her around and tasting those fine lips again.

“This isn’t quite the venue I have in mind, though,” he said.

Some things he could do blindfolded. Like securing a trapped calf. He reached for his back pocket. Timing was everything. He made quick work of making her his prisoner. Her strangled sound of outrage was choked off by a gag. Her hands reached up to undo it and he cuffed her easily. When she swung around, he squatted, jerking the chain on the cuff to unbalance her. She toppled over his waiting shoulder and he secured her ankles with ties. Not bad. Almost like old times.

“Sorry about this, but I can’t have you screaming murder while I take you back to my car.” He put her back on her feet and reached inside his jacket. He had a hood in one of the pockets. He slid it over her head, with the eye holes on the wrong side so she couldn’t see. “Can’t have you recognized either.”

Luke swung her over his shoulder again and strode out of the alley. At this hour, walking in public with an abducted female would hardly lift an eyebrow.

“Don’t wiggle like that, sweetheart. I don’t want to spank you.”

He had a pretty good idea the names she was calling him behind the gag. He was drunk and reckless and he didn’t care. He laid one hand on her cute ass and gave it a warning squeeze. She froze.

When The Internet Goes Dark

2012-01-18T09:21:00.000-05:00

If you're wondering why Wikipedia isn't working today or Twitpic, or some parts of Google, here's the reason:

http://sopastrike.com/

Your Congress is trying to enact a law sounds like fluffy bunnies and rainbows, but in reality, will cause Uber Nazis to descend upon the free source community upon which the Internet was founded. Sure, most of us are against piracy and illegal activities on the Net, but would you trust your government not to ban other sites it deems "inappropriate" for you? Like Wiki Leaks, maybe? Think of the government of China and their power over and constant monitoring of their people's usage of Internet services and sites. You might "trust" your administration now. What about in 4 years? Or 4 from then?

Broad laws will only kill your freedom. That's my 2 cents on this important subject.

Dangerously Hot Chapter 1

2012-01-10T09:31:00.000-05:00

This is my work in progress. It's coming out as soon as it's revised, edited, re-edited, re-everything. Meaning. I'm on it while you patiently wait and beg me for more on Facebook :). Enjoy!

DANGEROUSLY HOT
Anthology with Sylvia Day
all rights reserved @2012

The man was delicious to look at. What Americans would call “hot.” Tall. Darkhaired. Rakishlooking with that stubble. And, as always, that heated look in his jewel-green eyes gave her a sudden need for a long cool drink, preferably with vodka.

She was long past the point of wondering why he’d affect her this way. Just that he did. And each meeting, she anticipated that gaze, so direct, so damn intimate, and each time, she couldn’t help herself. She winked at him. And then, depending on the situation, they would pick up or exchange items in the middle or one of them would back away, following the unspoken protocol of a first-come-first-serve basis.

It was part of the game. She could play it a bit hotter but knew she couldn’t afford it. It was just too bad they were on opposite sides because she had a feeling it’d be more than a bit hotter.

Scorching, more like.

Her superiors wouldn’t approve any consorting without their say-so. After all, she was their fixer. She couldn’t afford to be seen being friendly with someone who could use it against her.

But damn, he was hot. She waited for him to step back, do his usual two finger salute to acknowledge that she’d arrived first this time, but instead, he started walking slowly toward her.

She frowned. This wasn’t their pattern. Nowadays, their respective agencies had agreed to do things with the least casualties as possible. Yes, some treaties actually included secret clauses like “first-come-first-serve,” “positional operative compromise” and “negotiable exchange.”

So civilized.

She didn’t back away as he approached. Curiosity stopped her. He had a hand in his jacket, probably a weapon. It occurred to her that she might be a target but she didn’t think so. If he’d wanted to kill her, he’d have done so already from five meters away. Or any number of times she’d bumped into him the last year.

They’d never spoken to each other directly. He’d never touched her. Their long looks at each other had been when there were no witnesses.

She watched, unable to move, as his hands came up and cupped her face. Tilted it up. His thumbs rubbed her cheeks. She didn’t do a thing as his head swooped down and his lips caught hers. His tongue swept into her surprised mouth. Tangled. Tasted. Vodka and lime. Five seconds, tops.

He stepped back and gazed down at her, those eyes cool and unreadable. The corners of his lips lifted slightly, a smile of a man who had just found a secret.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a while now,” he softly said, that husky American Southern twang sending a tingle down her spine.

That voice was distinct, instantly recognized in the European underground. The Cowboy had a reputation of getting things done his way. But she had a reputation too, a lethal one.

She continued watching him as he disappeared into the shadows. Five seconds could get a man killed. Five seconds could change one’s life.

* * *

“So, did you make your move?”

Luke unzipped his leather jacket, shrugged out of it, and hung it on the hook by the entrance. His friend, Konstantin, continued regarding him from the small dining table as he walked to the fridge. Perusing his options, he closed it, and went for hard liquor instead. He went to sit across from his flat mate. He took a swig from the bottle.

Konstantin flapped the newspapers, folding it over, his dark eyes mocking him with a knowing gaze. “Was she that good? Or that bad?”

Ignoring Konstantin was pointless. He’d just continue riding him all night.

“Maybe I didn’t see her,” Luke said.

“And maybe cows don’t fly. You have the lovesick look about you, buddy.”

Luke grinned. Konstantin’s trademark of over-the-top exaggeration was just what he needed to loosen the tension inside him. His frustration must really be showing. Konstantin had that “I got you pegged” look in his eyes. “Pigs. It should be ‘and maybe pigs fly.’ Cows already don’t fly, Kostya.”

“Whatever.” Konstantin copied the popular American slang term with bored perfection. He flicked his hand expressively. “You’re changing the subject. You can’t distract me from my quest.”

His flat mate also loved online role-playing games. His current obsession was some medieval quest for some magical weapons that pitted worldwide players against each other. Luke had watched him at his gaming sessions now and then, although it was beyond him why anyone, let alone someone who was in their business, would play basically a multi-level dungeon and dragons game for months on end without getting bored.

When asked, Konstantin had just shrugged and replied that it kept him on his toes, and besides, he met interesting people, from professors of medieval history to young men bored with their current factory jobs. Luke supposed those types were interesting to his friend only because they were ordinary people living safe, ordinary lives. He was so into it, he’d brought his current gaming character, Sir Constantinus, into his real-life dialogue, both amusing and somewhat disconcerting to some.

Luke took another swig and peered over the bottle. “And your quest is?”

“Come on, we all deal with information. Do you know how much I could get for proof that The Cowboy and La Nina are sitting on a branch?”

“In a tree,” Luke corrected and frowned. “I should’ve known you’d try to sell information like that.”

Konstantin snorted. “You don’t care if I do or I don’t. The ladies think The Cowboy is a handsome challenge anyway.”

Luke hadn’t chosen that nickname. They called him that because he was so obviously American, with his South Georgia drawl and his boots. It was a pretty useful one since it didn’t sound particularly threatening and was easily identifiable. It didn’t take too long for many in the underground network to get to know the name and it was the first one on their minds when they needed something fixed when they needed an American handler.

Exactly what he wanted. Information from the fringe. Non-network news.

As for La Nina, the woman given that handle was neither a child or frigid. In fact, she was all woman and smoldering hot.

“You know, your silence is louder than any rock concert.” Konstantin reached for his own drink. He cocked an eyebrow before tipping his head back. “You didn’t get any.”

Luke laughed. He certainly wasn’t going to divulge any more information than necessary. “You have it all figured out, Kostya.”

“She’s La Nina. She may have a positive effect on masculine parts but that icy attitude wilts everything. And,” Konstantin added, “she beat you to the place first. Again. How many times this year already?”

“Not that many.” Six to be exact. Out of the dozen or so times they’d gone after the same thing, they’d somehow arrived at almost the same time. She’d scowled the first couple of occasions when he’d beaten her by those crucial seconds, but the very first time she’d gotten the best of him, he’d been rewarded with a sexy smile and a kiss blown in his direction. It was the first smile he’d ever seen on her lips and it lit up her usually guarded eyes.

No, he was convinced that icy attitude about which everyone was so turned of was fake. He’d seen amusement in her eyes before and she’d given him enough saucy winks that betrayed that hidden side of her.

Everything about her intrigued him. He had too much going on right now to make any move, but she often invaded his thoughts. Too much.

When they’d first met, he’d been amused by the icy wall of disdain the dark beauty had thrown up at him and everyone around. She’d looked as if she had other better things to do with her time than mixing around with a bunch of politicians. He hadn’t blamed her. It was a boring affair, with lots of standing around and hand clapping after long, pompous speeches.

It was only an hour or two later, when they’d “bumped” into each other while crawling in the ventilation system, that he’d realized she wasn’t just arm candy for some wealthy contributor. They’d paused without any startled movements, as if it was quite normal to meet in cramped spaces in between building floors, and she’d cocked her head and studied him for a few seconds before whispering in accented English, “I’m going that way.”

She’d pointed to a different direction from his. He’d nodded and replied, “Have fun,” before moving on. Different agendas. He hadn’t thought she would report him that night.

That was the night he’d asked Konstantin to get him a file on her. Since then, he and the delectable Nina had “bumped” into each other in Macedonia, France, Switzerland, even Morocco. It was always interesting how different she looked and acted each time, yet the look she always gave him had the same intriguing amusement. She’d also managed to not have any direct contact with him. Most fixers knew and contacted each other for favors and exchanges of information. From Konstantin’s file, “La Nina” didn’t do that much.

Until now, he hadn’t really acted on his attraction. But it’d been a week of frustration. He’d thought he’d found the most promising lead and it’d led to nowhere. His disappointment, after months of continual failure, was bitter medicine. Tonight he’d gone out to make some money to pay for the recent expenses and there she was, beating at the job. So he’d decided he needed a consolation prize.

Luke frowned. With as much travel as he did, they shouldn’t have met that often. Unless—Konstantin’s exaggerated sigh interrupted his reverie.

“You should really ask more questions about her,” his friend said, flapping his papers again.

Luke raised his eyebrows. “Are you offering it for free? That file you sold me cost a fortune.”

“Hey, I need to pay bills too, you know. And the landlady raised the rent.”

“I gave you extra rent money,” Luke pointed out.

“Only for the time you’re staying here. What about when I’m all alone to fence for myself?”

He laughed and took another drink. Konstantin made enough money but spent too much on high-tech games and gadgets.

“Tell you what,” he said. “I’ll cover next month’s rent if, and only if, you have good information, something that tells me what her handlers are after. She’s been around the same places too much lately. I can’t see how my project ties in with her people’s interests. Find me something that gives me a clue.”

Konstantin smiled wickedly. “Done.” He pulled a disk from between the pages of his newspaper. “Your wish is my command. Those who seek will find.”

Luke scratched his stubble with the bottle’s mouth. He should’ve known Konstantin had something up his sleeve. He reached for the disk.

His friend shook his head and laid a hand over it. “Uh-uh. First, we agree on the month’s rent?”

“Only if the information is useful.”

“You know, if you weren’t a friend, I’d just take the disk back and let you find yourself another sifter. Most people just pay and take what is there.”

“That’s flea market information. You’re a specialist.”

“Why, thank you.”

“Not that your sifting skills have helped me in my quest the last ten months,” Luke said. Every piece of information Konstantin had provided had led to dead ends or more questions. It was time to push his friend a bit harder. “Maybe it’s beyond your skill level?”

“Ouch. You wound me. And I suddenly feel insulted. You’re lucky you have a bottle in front of you or I might not fight this urge to punch you.”

Luke grinned back mockingly. “Now you’re trying to distract me. I don’t dispute your amazing ability to get news about lost objects, but maybe missing people isn’t your forte.”

Konstantin was a first-rate sifter and in spite of recent setbacks, Luke was confident his friend would eventually get to a key piece of information that would help. But, he’d also kept from Konstantin the real reason why he’d kept on going, in spite of depleted funds and numerous dead ends. Ten months missing was a long time, but he refused to give up.

“Yet you’re curious enough about La Nina you asked me to assemble a file for you. Technically, she isn’t a missing object or person, so how do you know my info is correct?” Konstantin mocked back. He pushed the disk across the table. “Do you want this or not?”

“You’re a pain in the ass when you’re argumentative.”

“And you’re cute when you’re mad. Now come on, let’s do some good drinking. That woman’s obviously gotten under your skin. Either you get laid or she’s going to make you a bad-tempered poor man.”

Luke couldn’t agree more. He’d barely tasted her. He wanted to do more.

Later, after another hour of shared alcoholic small talk, he sat at his desk in his room. Konstantin had tried to play down the lack of new avenues, advising him that something unexpected always appeared. Trying to avoid thinking about his disappointment and about a hot kiss, he’d drunk quite a bit more than he’d wanted, until Konstantin had checked his watch and abruptly sent him to bed, joking that he should go dream about La Nina.

Oblivion would be welcome. Curiosity got the better of him, though. He inserted the disk into his laptop and started clicking on the objects in the open folder. A personal email. Familiar items they’d both gone after. One was an envelope she’d gotten hold of before him. Photos. Probably blackmail ones. Fixers generally were asked to retrieve those. He clicked on one of the thumbnails. The image made him sit up in his chair, the warmth from alcoholic consumption receding like a bucket of ice water.

“Damn you, Kostya,” Luke muttered, his chair scraping the floor as he fumbled with the keyboard. His friend had played him well.

* * *

Tonight’s job was relatively simple. Pick up an envelope at the old hotel’s desk. Deliver it. No dressing up. No taking off to another country. Nothing strenuous, unlike the last assignment, that had included scaling a building in the dead of night. The meeting was going to take place at a much later hour, giving her time for a quick meal.

Looking out the bus window, Nina rubbed the back of her neck. Easy night but then, it wasn’t over yet, and she was still tired. She needed some downtime soon. Traveling all over the place meant little time to adjust to different time zones. She’d been making do with naps but her energy wasn’t at peak level. Not good. She needed to be on her toes at all times.

Tonight, she’d slipped, allowed her curiosity to get the better of her. She’d already let him get to her, and now she’d gone one step further. Why had he kissed her? That was the last thing she’d expected—him acting out her fantasy.

She must be tired. Or she would have given him a reason or two not to touch her again. She felt her lips curve into a smile thinking about him. He did look good in that leather jacket, though. She’d wanted to put her hands inside it to find out whether he was as hot as he looked. Her smile turned into a grin which she hastily hid with a hand, pretending to suppress a yawn.

She stood up as the bus neared her destination. Good-looking or not, she couldn’t afford any distractions right now, and especially with someone in this business. Things were murkier than ever and adding another emotional complication into her life would be exactly like the little missteps that led to a fatal one. Of course, her father was referring to chess pieces she lost to him one by one during their games, but she’d always known he was teaching her something else entirely.

A cold blast of air hit her as she exited. Exactly what she needed.

She walked briskly down the winding streets, the old crumbling cobblestones under her shoes sticky with wet dirt and trash from the day. There weren’t too many people out at this hour but in no one was ever alone in this part of town. Most tourists had gone back to their hotels, warned by their guides to stay away at night; most of the locals avoided the area, knowing well that it could erupt in sudden violence in the darkness of night; and the law, paid off, mostly looked away. The result was an area on the seedy side of the town that was mostly self-governed by crime groups.

Some, like her, had a pass to walk through without too much fear of being accosted by gangs. Nina kept one hand in her jacket, though. It didn’t pay to be complacent.

In the daylight the old city had the charm of history mixed with modern high rises, but late at night, parts of it became gothic, shrouded with its secrets. The underground world came alive. Cobbled alleys and ancient arches led to sweaty clubs playing techno music and forbidden back ways that opened to other forbidden dens of iniquity. This was where things got exchanged without getting traced, where deals were made between parties preferring to stay anonymous, and those playing international espionage games sometimes chose to meet. Talinn was a city churning with foreigners and Nina knew she was thought of as just another seeking her fortune between the borders of Russia and Finland, as so many had done through the centuries.

She rapped three times at the door of a massive structure which had been the house of a nobleman a century ago. Now it was run by people not quite as noble. Nina suppressed another smile. Something was wrong with her tonight. She couldn’t seem to stop joking about every little thing.

A little hole slid ope and a face peered out. “What’s the problem?” he asked in Russian.

The code word was “found.” “I found something you lost,” Nina replied, “and would like to return it to the owner.”

The slider shut and the door unlocked with a loud clack. She pushed it open with a foot. A big burly man sat at a high round table, playing solitaire, a gun by a stack of cards. He didn’t look up.

“Left passage, second door. Don’t go in anywhere else or you deal with the consequences.”

Nina strode into the dingy foyer. She placed cash on the table, right beside the weapon.

“Relax, Mikhail,” she drawled. “I’ve never caused any trouble here.”

The burly man turned over a card. “Keep it that way. I like you, La Nina, but there’ve been reports you used your weapon in the market place. I don’t want any attention drawn here.”

Nina shrugged. “The market place’s different. Everyone’s trigger happy and thinks with his dick.” Her persona, La Nina, was a cold and unapproachable character and she played that part well. Fuck with La Nina and she used her weapon. It was good way to keep the hooligans at bay. She looked in the direction of the left passage. “Is the owner here or do I wait?”

“Not here yet.” Mikhail finally looked up. His eyes, mismatched in size, made him sinister- and dangerous-looking even without the gun. “I wouldn’t dawdle with this one. Whatever you’re up to, finish with him quickly.”

“Didn’t think you cared,” she murmured. Behind those doors were clandestine meetings going on. The man sitting there didn’t look it, but he had good information.

Mikhail picked up her cash and pocketed it. His gaze met hers, dark and emotionless. “Nah,” he said. He pointed a beefy finger to his bald head. “Just wanted you to think about who you’re dealing with. Money is everything but some money takes everything.”

Nina held his gaze for a moment. Warning?

“That’s a roundabout way of saying money isn’t everything,” she retorted lightly. “I absolutely agree. I’ll talk to you later.”

She went to the designated room, a simple small 5x5 place with a table, chairs and a jug of water. It was actually one of the more “luxurious” rooms in the building. She’d been inside a couple that were cubby holes, not unlike confessional booths in churches, except those using them were probably planning to commit more sins rather than to repent.

She picked the chair facing the door. Five minutes passed. Usually, they were on time or her handler would call her on her cell. Ten minutes. Her rule book said, if there were no communication, an item not picked up went back to the open market at her discretion. Patting her jacket, she thought of the large envelope hidden inside. She didn’t know what was in it and should first call to ascertain everything was in order. Missed meetings were not a usual thing. She stood up.

Nina nodded at Mikhail, giving him a shrug as information. He checked the monitor on the wall, pulled a lever and the heavy wooden door unlocked. Outside, she zipped her jacket up again as she slipped into the semi-darkness.

Across the street, a group of youths were dancing as their thug friends jeered on. Down the road, she could see prostitutes sitting on their stools under some brightly lit corridors. Parked cars. No one hurrying toward the building. A furtive glance to her right. She took a side alley. Down another. She finally turned around.

“You’re a lousy tail,” she remarked conversationally. “I usually shoot first when I’m tired. You’d better come out, Cowboy.”

He emerged from behind, much closer than he should be.

His voice floated toward her, dark with promise. “I’m much better on top.”

Mini Reviews: Sherlock Holmes & Mission Impossible

2011-12-31T09:30:00.000-05:00

It's the end of 2011. I have done 5 of the 8 things I needed to get done by the end of it. It's a good thing I'm not Sherlock Holmes or Ethan Hunt or I'll never be able to save the world in time!

Without further ado, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU and two more holiday movies in short form:

SHERLOCK HOLMES II:
1) Six-packed Sherlock!!!
2) Ninja Sherlock!!!
3) Space age missiles!!!
4) Biological warfare!!!
5) Watson the party animal!!!
6) CGI Swiss Alps!!!
7) Sherlock and Watson dancing together!!!
8) The look of pure lurv between Sher and Watson before Sher jumped!
9) Again, SIX-PACKED SHERLOCK!!!
10) Dude next to: "Where are da chipmunks?"

It was pure fun and every crazy clue counted and connected. Expect to be entertained. Don't expect any tours of any countries, even though the action took place in at least three. And oh, the bromance was wonderful. Poor Mrs. Watson, she doesn't know Watson at all.

***
Mini review of Mission Impossible 4:
1) Tom Cruise in a hood
2) Budapest! Moscow! Dubai! Mumbai!
3) There was a lot of running. After trains, after men, after woman, in
the traffic, around a building, in a dust storm, but no f&%king Matt Damon!
4) Tom Cruise after a Cruise missile! Cruise on Cruise! Geddit?
5) The villains made better masks than MIF. WTH?
6) The missile clanked like an aluminum pot against a building.
7) JJ Abrams stole his own technology from Person of Interest. Why didn't he get Caviezel in there too, dammit? Caviezel would kill Cruise with da look. And he wouldn't need no stinkin' hood.
8) You can drive 100 mph in the streets of Mumbai without hitting a cow. Rrrrrigggght.
9) Tom Cruise can't kiss like a jealous fool.
10) Tom Cruise's face ate heavy metal posts, cars, building windows, you name it, he flew into them...and not a scratch. Not a broken tooth. Or bruise. His opponents? Black eyes, broken lips, bruises, broken bones. Mission impossible!
11) The dude beside me: "Where are the freaking chipmunks, dammit?!!" There were camels. No chipmunks.
12) OH! JOSH HOLLOWAY's DIMPLEZZZs!

See you next year! Thank you for visiting my blog and you know 2012 is going to be exciting :).

Giving Away Two Ebooks At Book Monster Reviews

2011-12-27T09:24:00.000-05:00

I'm being interviewed at Book Monster Reviews today and will give away two ebooks to two commenters :). Do share this link at your social sites so your friends with their new Kindles and Nooks can get a chance too.

Hope your Christmas was as fantastic as mine.

Thank you for chatting with me all year. I'm excited that I have new stuff coming out soon. To read the blurbs for Dangerously Hot and TROUBLE Spells Danger (Grace's story), you'll have to visit Book Monster Reviews!

My Mutant Gang Killed My Sweater

2011-12-23T20:58:00.000-05:00

So this is their "punishment." Demon Dog and Jiggle Low hate hats, so I know they're the guilty party because they're looking downright forlorn. Lilah just wants to preen. And MikiSquirrel is too busy chasing the camera around.

Merry Christmas to all my readers! My mutants wish you Happy Holidays and lots of presents, hopefully intact fluffy sweaters :P.

Books I Loved Loved Loved This Year

2011-12-22T10:27:00.000-05:00

I don't read enough. I have sooooo many books and not enough time to enjoy all the great stories. So, if you think I'm missing some wonderful books, they're probably on my TBR pile, waiting patiently. Or, they're in hard cover and I can't afford those till they come out in paperback (Briggs. Sob. How I'm missing my Briggs).

Making that annual list and in no particular order:

1) Magic Slays by Ilona Andrews (2011)
Urban fantasy series, full of action and gore, with great romance. Although the sexual tension between the main couple is gone, now that they're mated, the dialogue still sparkles. Not sure whether I love the twist about Ilona's mother and her adopted father, though. But, the Andrews team has magical storytelling powers.

2) Silk Is For Seduction by Loretta Chase (2011)
Historical. I miss my Carsingtons. Not as great as Last Night's Scandal (2010) but Chase is a must-read for me. Her heroines always make the heroes laugh and behave like lovesick men and I love her for it. She makes me go on a glom, every year, re-reading the Carsington books.

3) Inside Out by Barry Eisler (2010)
Thriller. My kind of thing--spec ops, CIA, warrior, espionage, international intrigue. I love Eisler's voice.

4) Archangel's Blade by Nalini Singh (2011)
Urban fantasy. The focus has changed to Dmitri, Raphael's righthand vampire. This is a violent tale, not for the squeamish who likes her paranormal violence off-stage. The heroine, Honor, has been violated and this topic is front and center. I liked the change in focus from Raphael and Elena, but I do miss them because I like the angelic mythological elements more than vampire stuff (which is, you know, kind of all the same right now). Dmitri's tortured past was beyond horrific and sad and so he is redeemed from all those mean deeds he did against our main heroine, Elena.

5) With No Remorse by Cindy Gerard (2011)
Romantic suspense just the way I like it--quick paced action and sexy times. Her protective alpha males are fun to read.

6) Girl With The Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (2009, English mmpb)
Didn't see the original movie with Noomi Rapace but the US one starring Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara is coming out this Christmas. Daniel Craig is my must-see guy, so off I went to buy the book.

Not a romance. Thriller with romantic elements. Very layered. A page turner, with a female protagonist that just jumps off the pages. She's much more interesting than the hero (male protagonist) but that's to be expected since the trilogy has 'The Girl...' in the titles. I usually don't like murder mysteries and gory serial killer plots so if a book with those element held my attention, you know the story was a good one :). Made me want to go out and get a nipple ring.

7) Shameless by Anne Stuart (2011).
Historical. Stuart's heroes are my Achilles' heel. I don't care bad they are. I lub them. The hero in Shameless is the usual bored rake that needed reforming. The heroine is Stuart's classic matyr who kind of hates or, at least, is indifferent to sex. Hero seduces heroine but is ultimately reformed. Stuart makes this trope so darn pleasurable to read.

MUST READ SOON ON THE TBR PILE. I'm recommending these without having read any pages because I know I'll love them:

The Black Hawk by Joanna Bourne (2011, historical, Hawke's story)

New York to Dallas by J.D. Robb (2011, hardcover, which means I wait for mmpb)

Within The Flames by Marjorie M. Liu (2011, paranormal)

Please tell me what books are your favorite this year. I read more than 7 but the above really resonated with me.

IMMORTALS Mini Review

2011-12-18T00:37:00.001-05:00

1) Cavill has a body of a, hmmm, superman.
2) Mt Olympus is a boring place.
3) The gods spend all eternity sitting on the steps on said Mt., looking bored.
4) The good soldiers use painted metal garbage can covers for shields.
5) Mt. Tartarus is Mt Doom with no fire pit, only a tiny box with wild-eyed prisoners-(bad)gods chewing on Christmas poles.
6) Other than Cavill body shots, zzzZZZzzzZZZ.
7) Lastly, do not go see movie with dude who keeps asking me, "Where are the chipmunks?"

How not to tell a story, especially in the movies:

1) Show, don't tell. The voice-over drones on and on with info-dump about immortals and humans and bygone eras, zzzZZZzzz.
2) What about that damn eagle? Why did Theseus throw that head at the eagle? Why is that eagle flying all over? I thought it was Zeus in disguise, then it flies onto its perch in the enemy tent. And never did a damn thing.
3) What about the Immortals? They made up about 10 minutes in the movie, looking awfully bored. And they aren't even immortal because they can die.
4) The Bow. It's the most important weapon ever and obviously just some plot-monkey to move the story forward. Even in bad kung-fu movies, the hero finds some kind of weapon or secret kung-fu moves and actually masters it to fight the enemy. Here, the hero, Theseus, blunders around, finds the bow, and PROMPTLY LOSES IT to the enemy. So he is only good to find the damn bow. If he were just killed, Hyperion would have never found it. If I were Zeus, I'd have the Oracle sleep with Theseus so she loses her ability to "see," then have her poison him and TADA! no bow and Hyperion has no Oracle.
5) I'm still cackling at the bad "gods" imprisoned in that box, chewing on the Christmas poles. I suppose the poles are supposed to go through their cheeks or something, but really, they are just there biting on them.
6) You want to see the best million-soldier war scene ever? Go rent Kagemusha on Netflix. Now THAT's how you tell a story about an epic war. And the characters have layers.

The Most Boring Sexual Experience Ever

2011-12-10T19:17:00.000-05:00

Here's the "winner" of Literary Review's Bad Sex Award. Those sex scenes--so easy to write, right?

Ed King by David Guterson:
"In the shower, Ed stood with his hands at the back of his head, like someone just arrested, while she abused him with a bar of soap. After a while he shut his eyes, and Diane, wielding her fingernails now and staring at his face, helped him out with two practiced hands, one squeezing the family jewels, the other vigorous with the soap-and-warm-water treatment. It didn't take long for the beautiful and perfect Ed King to ejaculate for the fifth time in twelve hours, while looking like Roman public-bath statuary. Then they rinsed, dried, dressed, and went to an expensive restaurant for lunch."

That's it? This sex god is supposed to be so darn sexay the woman did him FIVE times. I'd rather sleep, I think. Or write some GLow sex scenes :).

You can read some of the other entries HERE.

Scary stuff.

Thanksgiving Books Winner

2011-12-07T09:12:00.002-05:00

Demon Dog picked...

VINCE!

Congratulations! Please email me. I think you're my first ever male winner :).

SLEEPER Available On Kindle & Excerpt

2011-12-02T21:32:00.000-05:00

Yay, Amazon approved of my formatting work :). You don't know how happy that makes me because me = clueless computer techie.

Anyway, SLEEPER is now available on Kindle. Here is the link:

SLEEPER (KINDLE)

Also, to read a funny sexy excerpt of Reed and Lily, SLEEPER is featured as Book of the Day at:

SLEEPER EXCERPT

Please help me share the excerpt link! Thank you.

Working on Nook format tonight. Smashwords next.

December??! But I'm Not Done With November Yet!

2011-12-01T10:03:00.002-05:00

Last night, I loaded up a formatted file of SLEEPER onto my Kindle Author Bookshelf and promptly fell asleep to dream about...hard returns, tabs, and backspace, backspace, backspace. Ugh. Formatting kills creativity :P. And then I woke up and found that it's December already! WTH?!

I'm nowhere near done with the writing goals I told you about a month or two ago. I have this month to finish writing DANGEROUSLY HOT, edit and format PROTECTOR and edit and format Grace's story, which I've re-titled Danger spells T.R.O.U.B.L.E (still might change that). So far, I've accomplished only three of my writing projects--the short story in SEAL of my Dreams, editing Hunter and Sleeper and getting the latter ready for different e-formats. Actually, I'm not even completed the Sleeper formatting yet because there are still Nook, Smashwords and Print formats waiting. Oh yeah, every one of these have different stuff needed done to the manuscript and it all takes time. Which I don't have. Gah.

I'm doing Kindle first because it beats my Nook sales 4-1. Smashwords represents a miniscule of my sales, so that's last. Anyway, did that last night, and I'm going to take a break and go back to writing because it's eating up my whole month. The other formats will have to wait a bit. It's all a learning process for me because I'm computer challenged. At first I had someone doing that for me but she's very busy with her clients and so I thought I'd learn as I go, hoping not to make too many mistakes.

It's a good thing to learn these days because formatting service packages cost about $500 or more, depending on how much work they have to do. My friend charges me a lot less but even that, with the cost of covers, can be expensive for a project. Getting a book ready for different e-formats (different format, cover art, edits) could cost $800. And that's why I can't sell it for 99cts like some people ask me to. It'll take me forever to make back the money I sank into the production, even though I paid less. When the production costs have been taken care of, I'll lower the price, like I did with Big Bad Wolf ebook and print.

So anyway, I was complaining about time. I might not get Grace's book done by the end of the year. It's written but needs a bit of revision and of course, the above formatting pain. I've also been entertaining the thought of creating my own cover, like I did with Big Bad Wolf, to save money. AHAHAHAHA. Maybe not. Looking at thousands of stock photos is fun but damn time-consuming. So's playing with Photoshop!

Dangerously Hot is coming along slowly but I need to speed up. 30 days or less, man! Sylvia Day is a fantastically fast writer and I don't want to disappoint her. We wanted this project done and out around Christmas/New Year to get the new Kindle owners' attention :). At least, for that one, the cover is ready. Did you guys see it?

And here's my new cover for Sleeper:

For those who asked: "why is the book renamed Sleeper? Why didn't I use the original Sleeping With The Agent?" Well, Sleeper was the original title, to go with the one-word "hunter" and "protector" theme, but the Avon marketing department wanted to change the style to use the now prevalent "active title theme." You can see it on the covers of a slew of romantic suspense the last few years (Take Me Tonight, Standing In The Shadows, Show No Mercy, etc.) but back then, it was just* starting to get hot. So I gave the marketing people at least fifty titles like that and they rejected every. single. one. and came up with...Sleeping With The Agent. My readers and friends, at the time, were astounded at how horrifying it was, LOL. I hated it when someone casually asks me about my writing and to give her the title of my newest book. Umm...Sleeping...withtheagent (yes, I said it just like that, heh).

So, now that I'm back in control of my SEAL series, I get to decide whether to abandon the original titles or not. I chose to drop the article in the title, thus "PROTECTOR," "HUNTER," and "SLEEPER." This is so that I can use "WARRIOR" for Cucumber's book (ahhhh...perked your attention, eh?).

Enough about boring production stuff. I'm sure you're all snoring away. I'll post the winner of the Thanksgiving giveaway soon (have to collect all the names from here and Facebook). And will give you another sneak peek excerpt from Dangerously Hot.

Plans, I got plans. Just slow down a bit, December!

Aww...Romance Authors Get No Respect Even For Charity Wrok

2011-11-29T10:50:00.000-05:00

The post title is mostly tongue-in-cheek. SEAL of my Dreams, our charity anthology, has had great support from everyone, including military communities. We even had a write up on the SEALs blog supporting our book :-):

SEAL BLOG

Anyway, I thought I would include this link, which is a not-so-great article poking fun at SEAL of my Dreams, making fun of cover as a "shirtless SEAL cavorting."

SHIRTLESS SEALS CAVORTING IN NEW ROMANCE NOVEL!

I do have to point out the author(s)'s lack of research, though:

1) The shirtless SEAL on the cover is a real SEAL, taken from this photo:

The photo is titled "FALLUJAH, IRAQ – JULY 27: A U.S. Navy SEAL prepares for a night mission to capture Iraqi insurgent leaders July 27, 2007 near Fallujah, Iraq. American Special Forces operate throughout Iraq, targeting “high-value targets” in commando raids, often at night to take advantage of their night vision superiority. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)" Mr. Moore had kindly donated the use of this photograph for the cover for the charity.

2) There have been many, many SEALs in romances way before this anthology :). If the writer of the article had even read the Foreword, she'd have been aware of this, along with the fact that many of the authors are/have been involved with the military in one way or another.

3) All the proceeds from the anthology go to the Veteran's Research Fund. I know it's a knee jerk reaction from the usual crowd ("I don't read romance!") but it'd have been nice to at least have that acknowledgment. Romance authors honor our heroes in our way, like, you know, take the time to write a short story and donate that time and money to a fund that helps veterans.

The romance genre is the biggest seller of all the genres. We don't get the respect we deserve, but our readers make everything worth it, including supporting our troops in various ways, be it buying this anthology or getting involved in Operation Shoebox.

Okay, class dismissed.

Thanksgiving Books Giveaway!

2011-11-23T18:27:00.000-05:00

I'm thankful for all my readers and friends here and all over the Net. For Thanksgiving, all commenters on this thread will get a chance to win one of the popular GLow bag of books. International readers, besides Canada, will get e-coupons either from Amazon or Book Depository.

Thank you again! This giveaway is open for a week.

International Readers, Non-Kindle, Non-Nook formats

2011-11-22T09:05:00.000-05:00

I apologize my past few posts have lately been all links all about buying my books, but my ebook publishing friends and readers keep giving me such great advice and asking for different formats etc.

Do you know about Smashwords? It's a site used by indie authors to upload their books to make them available in other formats, such as IPad, Iphone, Sony Reader, regular HTML for those who read on their computer, etc. Very good for international readers and non-Kindle/Nook owners! I have made my two indie books available there:

Big Bad Wolf (Smashwords)

Hunter (Smashwords)

My sales numbers through this site is very small but it's a good way to reach out to many readers who read in other e-formats. Hopefully, it'll catch on and expand my readership!

Do let me know in the comments whether you use Smashwords or that this is your first time hearing about it! It'd help my promo efforts.

KINDLE sales report: Week Two of HUNTER

2011-11-21T09:48:00.000-05:00

I didn't quite make it. I sold 99 books; 100 was my goal. It's been a good week, so I'm not complaining. Been trying to promote it a bit but still am not good at it.

HUNTER (KINDLE)

Anyway, I thought my writer friends would be interested in this information. And hey, if you have any ideas to help me promote or want me chat on your blog about SEALs, spies and writing series, etc., please do contact me!

Thank you, everyone, for buying Hunter (Kindle). Edits for Sleeper is slow but steady (3/4 done) and yeah, trying to write Dangerously Hot by deadline. Argghhhh.

HUNTER now in Print!

2011-11-16T09:51:00.000-05:00

HUNTER, the reissued Crossfire series book, is now available in print form at Amazon. Here's the link:

HUNTER (print)

It's for sale for $9.99 at this time. I have, for now, not opted for Amazon's distribution program, which would have upped the book to a minimum $11.50 (they set a minimum price and I add whatever I want on top. At $11.50, I'd make 25cents a book. Most trades, as you know, is around $14). Anyway, the added distribution channels are inde-bookstores and libraries, which I don't think will be ordering my books for now, anyway.

So, I'm experimenting with a more competitive price of $9.99. I hope readers will find it an attractive bargain! If not, HUNTER is also available for $3.99 in e-format for

HUNTER (Kindle)
HUNTER (Nook)
and
Hunter (Smashwords)

I'm working on the Dangerously Hot novella right now as well as doing edits for SLEEPER (old title: Sleeping With The Agent). Busy, busy, busy!

I hope you're having a great week!

Navy SEALs here, there, everywhere :D

2011-11-10T19:33:00.000-05:00

Promoting SEAL of my Dreams, I wrote a post titled "The Appeal of the Military Hero" for Novelthoughts. Please do drop by and comment for a chance to win the Kindle version of the anthology!

We're all so excited and happy about the buzz. Even the SEALs are promoting it because all the proceeds go to Veteran's Research Corporation. Here's the link to their blog:

Navy SEALs Blog

Woot!

Lastly, I'm planning to attend the National Navy UDT-SEAL Museum Muster XXVI which is held during Veteran's Day weekend. Going to watch some SEALs and Navy servicemen do their thing :). I'll even bring a couple of copies of the anthology, just in case I get a chance to give them away to some vets.

2011-11-09T11:29:00.000-05:00

Just Romantic Suspense has chosen a nice long excerpt of HUNTER to post for their Book of the Day recommendation. This is one of my favorite scenes from the book too. I hope you'll enjoy it!

Please do feel free to share the link on your Facebook and Twitter. And thank you so much for helping me promote! It's been fun watching Hunter's #s going up on Amazon.

I'm working on Sleeper edits this week. Have you seen my new cover?

I love the abs!

Hunter (Kindle Version) is Up!

2011-11-03T20:30:00.000-05:00

I'm so excited! Finally, HUNTER is ready for Kindle owners! It's priced at $3.99.

PRINT version won't be out for another week. I'm still waiting for a physical copy to review first.

NOOK readers, don't worry. Hopefully, HUNTER will be available in a few days too :).

I hope to get SLEEPER and PROTECTOR out within the month but what with working on the two new books (DANGEROUSLY HOT antho and Grace McNeil's story) for Christmas, it's going to be interesting to see whether I can keep those goals I told you about a few months ago!

Here's the new cover. And the link to Amazon Kindle is right below it.

Buy HUNTER (Kindle)

I love this cover, btw :).

Teaser from DANGEROUSLY HOT

2011-10-30T22:51:00.000-05:00

Sylvia Day and I are writing two novellas for an anthology titled DANGEROUSLY HOT, a romantic suspense coming out as an ebook around Christmas.

I wanted to share a teaser scene with y'all. It's not edited or revised, so be warned that it might read a little differently in its final draft. But I know you've been going without new stuff from me for a while, so I wanted to share.

Besides DANGEROUSLY HOT, I have a short story in the much anticipated SEAL anthology, SEAL Of My Dreams, coming out 11/11/11 (and already doing well on Amazon!). So, I'm slowly getting myself back into writing shape.

Here's the excerpt. Hope you like!
*********************************************************

Gennita Low @2011

The man was delicious to look at. What Americans would call “hot.” Tall. Dark-haired. Rakish-looking with that stubble. And, as always, that look in his jewel-green eyes gave her a sudden need for a long cool drink, preferably with vodka.

She’d long passed the point of wondering why he’d affect her this way. Just that he did. And each meeting, she anticipated that gaze, so direct, so damn intimate, and each time, she couldn’t help herself. She winked at him. And then, depending on the situation, they would pick up or exchanged items in the middle or one of them back away, following the unspoken protocol of a first-come-first-serve basis.

It was part of the game. She could play it a bit hotter but knew she couldn’t afford it. It was just too bad they were on opposite sides because she had a feeling it’d be more than a bit hotter.

Scorching, more like.

Her superiors wouldn’t approve any consorting without their say-so. After all, she was their fixer. She couldn’t afford to be seen being friendly with someone who could use it against her.

But damn he was hot. She waited for him to step back did his usual two finger salute to acknowledge that she arrived first this time, but instead, he started walking slowly toward her.

She frowned. This wasn’t their pattern. Nowadays, their respective agencies had agreed to do things with the least casualties as possible. Yes, some peace treaties actually included secret clauses like “first come first serve,” “positional operative compromise” and “negotiable exchange.”

So civilized.

They’d never spoken to each other directly. He’d never touched her. Their long looks at each other had been when there were no witnesses.

He stepped back and gazed down at her, those eyes cool and unreadable. The corners of his lips lifted slightly, a smile of a man who had just found a secret.

“I’ve wanted to do that for a while now,” he softly said, that husky Southern twang sending a tingle down her spine.

That voice was distinct to the European underground. The Cowboy had a reputation of getting things done his way. But she had a reputation too, a lethal one.

She continued watching him as he disappeared into the shadows. Five seconds could get a man killed. Five seconds could change one’s life.

2011-10-28T09:02:00.000-05:00

I was wondering, if I ever write The Confessions of a Rooferette, would my editors come on the roof and help tear off 30 squares of shingles? And let me check on their nailing abilities and humiliate their toolbelts? And pay me a million bucks for that? No? Sigh. So not fair.

Pre-Ordering SEAL OF MY DREAMS

2011-10-19T09:47:00.000-05:00

Here is the link to pre-order SEAL of My Dreams (Kindle), the anthology coming out 11/11/11 (Veteran's Day) with me and 18 super authors. It's all SEALS SEALS SEALS. And all monies go to the Veteran Research Corporation, so you're doing a good thing.

Even Ranger Buddy is ordering a copy. And he's an Airborne Ranger, not at all partial to SEALs like us. :) AND he hates computers, so you know he's doing it for the Vets. Hoo-Ah!

SEAL OF MY DREAMS (Kindle)

How Many Live Squirrels Do You Know On Kindle & Nook?

2011-10-13T08:57:00.000-05:00

MikiSquirrel is now downloadable!

Okay, maybe just her book, but the pictures are still as adorable as she is :). There is an app available for Kindle for you to view Miki's book in color. It's for iPhone, iPad, Droid, your desktop version.

And Nook as the Nook Color, of course.

http://search.barnesandnoble.com/A-Squirrel-Came-To-Stay/Gennita-Low/e/2940013275287

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005UUFFSM

Pretty exciting, huh?

P/S Jiggle Low, Lilah and Demon Dog want you to know they're in the book too. They're getting tired of being left out....

Social Media & The Author Question 1

2011-10-11T08:55:00.000-05:00

Just a quick question to start:

What do you think of the opinion of "authors would write better if they stop spending time Twitting and Facebooking"? I'm curious whether that's what readers are thinking. But if one doesn't follow any authors anywhere, one wouldn't actually know how much time an author spend on social media, right?

Eeewwwwllll

2011-10-09T12:31:00.000-05:00

Via http:Eel Enters Man's Penis In Spa

A man goes to a spa to try an ancient Chinese sekrit of staying young. Instead, he gets something else wiggling into his bladder.

I kid you not. Here is the size of the eel pulled out with a surgical tool:

'The diameter of the urethra in a man's penis is just a little narrower, but because eels are quite slippery, its body worked as a lubricant and so it got into the penis smoothly,' the surgeon said.

Eewwwwwwlllll!!!

So, what have you learn today, boys and girls?

HAHAHAHAHA Idiot of the Week

2011-10-07T11:20:00.001-05:00

I laughed so hard at this I broke my spleen.

Photoshop Lesson

The kid needed help to clean up some spots in a pic. LOOK AT THE SPOTS. Then scroll down and check out a helpful poster who replied to his request :D. Think the kid understood the problem? Heeheehee.

RIP Steve Jobs

2011-10-06T01:19:00.000-05:00

I was in college and not very smart about anything cutting edge. I saw my first APPLE IIe and actually knew how to use it! That amazed me so much that I bought one, so I was one of the first students in my small university who owned an APPLE IIe.

I'm not saying that without Steve Jobs, I might not ever have owned a computer, but his part in introducing home computers, the APPLE and the MAC, to non-nerds gave people like me a whole new universe to explore. And made my world a richer one.

For that, I thank you, Steve Jobs. Where you went, that new place gained a new dreamer. RIP.

This Book Is Doing Better Than MikiSquirrel's!

2011-10-03T09:39:00.000-05:00

I knew it! I should have included sex.

WET GODDESS

It's an autobiographical (?) account of a taboo relationship (yes, he went there) with a live pet dolphin. Review it, someone? Also, from Mrs. Giggle's blog:

Having worked at a Large Aquarium I have witnessed Dolphins getting frisky with trainers.

I asked if what I saw was what I think I saw was happening and the trainer said “Yes, just like a dog trying to hump your leg but they are a bit smarter and know were to go”…..I said “are you putting me on” ?
No, she explained it was quite common and that is why they wear a very strong protective wetsuit to prevent such indecent (sic). Also it could be extremely dangerous if someone was swimming with one alone in a flimsy bikini because male dolphins penises are about 12″ in length and have a cartilage like bone that could damage the insides of a person. I ask what about female dolphins and she explained it would be equally dangerous because the female dolphin can control her muscles and squeeze with such pressure that could be life threatening to a human male if one was to attempt such an act. So as outrageous as this book is it is certainly plausibly this book is true, however the author was risking his life and I would not recommend anyone to try to duplicate the actions of the author. But don’t we all risky life and limb when it comes to love ?

Oh yes, they did say it's a brave new world in publishing these days. The comments are hilarious, my favorite being #2 with the link to Chicken of the Sea.

To Get Signed MikiSquirrel Book

2011-10-01T10:42:00.001-05:00

Some of you have asked for signed A Squirrel Came To Stay! Instead of ordering from Amazon.com or Createspace and sending the book(s) to me, you can just get it straight from me :). My copies have arrived, so just email me at Jenn at Gennita hyphen Low dot com and tell me the number of books you want and the snail mail address to which to send. I have a Paypal acct for payments, which would make everything easier.

Thank you for buying MikiSquirrel's book!

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

I also found out that there is an app to read A Squirrel Came To Stay in color with Kindle, but it's only readable on your computer (Windows or Mac), Iphone, Ipac, and Droid, not on the Kindle itself. So I'm working on converting the book onto Kindle format for those who are interested in getting an electronic version. Again, if you have a Kindle, it would be in black (or shades of black) and white, unless you get the app for your computer and other devices. The Nook has the Nook Color, of course. This will take a bit of time since I'm dumb when it comes to file conversion.

********

OTHER NEWS: I've sent in my short story for the SEAL Of My Dreams anthology. It's an action-packed adventure featuring Zone from the Crossfire SEALs series. Here is the blurb:

Her Secret Pirate

It's my first short story, so I hope you'll enjoy it. Here's Zone, the way I envisioned him :).

Zone isn't typical handsome. I see him harder-edged and focused. But he's also a friend of the three Stooges (Cucumber, Mink, and Dirk) so he has that wicked sense of humor lurking in there somewhere. What do you think? Pirat-ish or not? :)

Anyway, check out the link above for all the other authors in the anthology. My faves Cindy Gerard, Kylie Brant, Marliss Melton, Tara Janzen, Roxanne St. Claire...whew! You know you want this anthology! It's available 11.11.11 as ebook first through Belle Books and in print format after that. AND, it's for a good cause, since all proceeds go to the Veteran's Research Corporation. I'd really appreciate it if you help me get the word out about this book (as well as MikiSquirrel's!). We want to donate as much as we can to our wounded warriors.

Thank you so much for everything.

MikiSquirrel Admires Her Book

2011-09-24T09:07:00.000-05:00

MikiSquirrel: Is that ME in the book? It can't be! She's soooo small!

Order MikiSquirrels Bk @ Amazon.com!

MikiSquirrel Bk 1 is now on Amazon!

2011-09-23T22:57:00.000-05:00

The page is up! :D

MikiSquirrel: Order from Amazon.com

Yay!

Again, if you're ordering a bunch, let me know because I can give you a discount coupon to get them from Createspace (sorry, Amazon doesn't let me create coupons). I've also ordered books for myself so if you need a signed copy, you can get them through me, instead of buying and paying for postage twice.

Thank you for buying MikiSquirrel's first book! I'll be posting updates on how the book is doing.

MikiSquirrel Book Is Out!

2011-09-21T16:08:00.000-05:00

The proof copy for A SQUIRREL CAME TO STAY arrived today and everything looks good! So I've given the OK to Amazon to come live. So far, it's still "pending," but it's already available on the Createspace site:

https://www.createspace.com/3650571

I priced it at $11.00, making $2.00 a book after taxes. Amazon takes the rest, grrr. Oh, if you're ordering more than one, please contact me for a discount code that you can use with the Createspace link above.

Also, this is a PRINT book, not an ebook. I hope to upload a version onto BN Pubit! because they have the Nook Color, but I don't know what the quality of the pics would be in black and white (Kindle or Smashwords). If I do make it into a b/w ebook, it'll be much cheaper, of course, with no guarantee on picture quality.

I'll update the blog as soon as it's available on Amazon. I'm so excited! My first kiddie book! Miki gets me to read it as her bedtime story tonight :D.

Familiar Names Doing It Themselves

2011-09-13T10:52:00.000-05:00

Lately I've been asked by many writing friends about my self-publishing experience. I don't have enough to really give advice but I try my best to answer any concerns. The most important, I think, is to already have an established reader base. I have wonderful supportive readers who enjoyed my previous books enough to trust me with giving them another good read with my next books, even though they're self-published. I keep in touch as much as I can, through this blog, Facebook, Twitter, and emails.

It isn't that one can't self-publish without a reader base, but having been established through a New York publisher gives one and an advantage. For one, one's back list is still out there for new readers to discover and that's worth more than a dozen blog interviews.

I'm not the only "familiar" name out there who's going into self-publishing. Below is a list of many of my favorite writers who have gone, or are going, this route:

1) EMMA HOLLY
2) JORDAN DANE
3) MARLISS MELTON
4) JULIANNE MACLEAN (doing women's fiction)
5) COURNEY MILAN
6) BARRY EISLER (he of the "no to a $500,000 contract)***
7) JANELLE DENISON
8) LESLIE PARRISH
9) DEBRA WEBB
10) MAYA BANKS

***Yes, Eisler later signed with Amazon's new thriller line, but I still put him in the category since he did decide to self-publish after crunching his sales numbers.

Some of the authors above are still published with New York publishers and are branching out into different genres through self-publishing. A few are A-list, meaning wow-they-don't-need-to-self-published but have chosen to do some of their books this way. More power to them. I know they're going to be successful because of their reader base.

It's not a rejection of New York publishers. That's silly. They still pay too! But published authors can now consider other options and THAT is wonderful.

For myself, it's just the way it is at the moment. I'm still sending out proposals to New York and "traditional" publishers but meanwhile, I can still get my writing out there to my readers.

Who would have thunk that I'd be self-publishing a kiddie book about a squirrel in 2002 when Into Danger first came out, eh? :D And now, even though they've said no to T and Alex's book, I can still finish writing it and get it published!

Do you know of any familiar names to add to my list? I know there's more. This is just off the top of my head.

Typo of the Year

2011-09-12T11:00:00.001-05:00

Error of the month, maybe the year: On, p 293 of Susan Andersen's Baby I'm Yours (digital), it reads "He stiffened for a moment but then she felt his muscles loosen as he shitted on the ground."

HAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA. Okay, I feel bad for the author because typos and errors are overlooked all the time no matter how many pairs of eyes checked the file, but this one made me...umm...pee in my pants.

A Marathon In Which UberAuthor Is Speeding Up

2011-09-07T11:27:00.001-05:00

Time is flying by, isn't it? I can't believe it's September.

I know I've been a bit absent for this blog, but it'll pick up again as soon as I finish all the stuff I've promised myself, so please bear with me. I've been traveling a lot, looking for and doing roofing jobs out of town, so much of my energy is expended in moving around and yeah, sweating my butt off. By the time I get home, it's sometimes 9pm and I'm too exhausted to write more than a sentence or two.

Strangely, I've grown very fond of Facebook because of this. One sentence or two? Perfect! I can update a thought or some news quickly and reaching many readers without them going to multiple blogs. Also, it's fun to have a quick thought about reading, writing and roofing while eating one's lunch. Or a picture of MikiSquirrel posted just before I run off for work.

But I wanted to update you guys on what I'm doing, that I haven't been ignoring the "author" part of my life :P. It's been frustrating because the last two years have been a lot about trying to survive the economy's downturn. My writing checks weren't enough to pay my bills, so I roof more and when I roof more, I can't write. Vicious cycle.

But those earlier plans I outlined at the beginning of the year are coming to fruition. First, MikiSquirrel's book is done and is just waiting for final Amazon approval and my getting an advanced copy to review before going live. It's my first children's book and wow, was it a learning experience writing and publishing it. I had fun writing it, but man, incorporating the photos of MikiSquirrel and getting each to look good was a lot more work than you'd think. I made a few major mistakes (which gave my formatter, the multi-talented Jax Cassidy, a huge headache and thank heavens she likes me enough to help me get things done right) and hopefully, if this book sells well, I won't commit them again!

As you know, I finally received my rights back to The Hunter and Sleeping With The Agent, and so, TADA! I have all three SEAL books back from my Crossfire series. So, I've commissioned new covers for them (also from Jax...did I tell you she's multi-talented? She's also a writer too!) while trying to edit in between roofing, taxes and writing MikiSquirrel's book. The first one out will be The Hunter, maybe within the month, and it'll be available through Kindle, Nook, Smashwords and as PRINT too, through Amazon.

Why not The Protector first, you ask? Well, there are so many missing lines and a few scenes missing from the book due to a major edit from the previous publisher that some of the plot is missing. For example, a crucial conversation that reveals Stefan's identity to the reader at the end of the book? MISSING. Taken off due to length or whatnot. There are other little things like this in that book and I have to go through it with a fine-toothed comb, using my old manuscript (which has so many editor and copy-editor marks and cross-outs, it looks like a very wordy treasure map with arrows and ominous words like "MOVED," "MISSING," and "NO NO NO.") to compare. This project is going to take time, lots of it, and I want the books out ASAP. Hence, The Hunter comes out first and then The Sleeper (YES I'M CHANGING THAT TITLE, DAMMIT).

Actually, the "THE" is going to be really tiny on the cover, so the title will emphasize PROTECTOR, HUNTER, SLEEPER, etc. And when I do add Cucumber's and the rest's books, they will look like (the) WARRIOR, (the) BIG BAD SEAL (guess which one of the gang this title refers to, heh heh), etc. What do you think of this idea?

Next thing to expect after that and, yes, this is BEFORE the year ends (!), is Grace's book, which is done but needs editing. It's going to be titled Trouble In Danger. Yes, it's before Virtually One. Why? Because Virtually One also needs a lot of attention and I can't seem to write that story in short little spurts like I did with Grace's story. Basically, ONE needs me to not work so I can concentrate on it, and right now, I can't because I need my roofing job to feed myself and my animals. Sniff. Hunger and poverty aren't conducive to artistic endeavors, no matter what romantics tell you.

I realize it's not what most of you want to hear, but I do intend to finish ONE and get that plot hole in it resolved. It's just not happening with the "half hour here, fifteen minutes there" schedule I currently have. I do want it out soon, and hopefully, my editor at Samhain will give me a slot next year :P.

Then there is the SEAL short story coming out in the anthology, SEAL OF MY DREAMS, with 17 of the best romantic suspense authors today. It comes out on 11/11/11, Veteran's Day, and all the proceeds go to the Veteran's Research Corporation. Belle Books is our publisher and they'll make it available in print and electronic formats. Ck out www.sealofmydreams.com for information.

See? I have plans. And three and a half more months. I will conquer this economy, my wallet, my lack of time, and make all of you and myself happy :D. Told you I wanted to be Wonder Woman when I grow up.

MikiSquirrel Book Cover!

2011-08-26T20:45:00.000-05:00

What do you think? :D I'm so excited. Will get the ARC this week to check for final mistakes/typos, etc., and then we go live!

Any suggestions to make the cover more eye-catching?

Putting A Spoilt Squirrel To Bed

2011-08-23T19:19:00.003-05:00

MikiSquirrel still can't climb a tree and something is wrong with her teeth. Other than that, she seems fine. We go out for walks and she runs me ragged. After I let her eat her favorite nuts, she hops back on my shoulder and follows me back indoors to bed.

RIP L.A. Banks

2011-08-03T21:40:00.002-05:00

A writer-friend and colleague, L. A. Banks, passed away. She was a wonderful writer and the reading world will miss her.

Here is her obituary:

OBITUARY Philly News

Rest in peace, Leslie.

Old Spice Duel: First Round To FABIO!

2011-07-27T03:06:00.004-05:00

This whole Old Spice Ad-vent (new word!) amused, entertained, and captivated a bunch of Interneters this past week:

Old Old Spice Guy vs New Old Spice Guy

The link leads to the article and the Youtube channel lets you go through all the Old Spice "challenge" ads to the current first manly challenge--writing the perfect love letter.

Of course, Fabio wins the first round. He's the first Mr. Romance! Are you kidding me? *grin

I love the humor by both gentlemen, especially Fabio, who doesn't mind being made fun of. Because he's the Underdog, even among romance readers today, I'm going for Fabio Power all the way (Isaiah, you can come home with me instead)!

Team Fabio!!!

Coupon Giveaway

2011-07-18T08:16:00.000-05:00

Sorry for the weeklong silence but I've incredibly busy with roofing and writing. Roof advice for those looking to buy one of those old Spanish "castle" roof-lines in FL. Beautiful and romantic to look at, for sure, but hold on to your money! The flat roofs are going to be a money pit, especially if the turret (parapet) walls that you fell in love with had been done wrong and everything underneath your beautiful stucco on top of the roof, where you can't see, is rotten.

As for writing, I've been immersed in:
1) trying to plot out a short, short, short story for the Seal of my Dreams anthology (www.sealofmydreams.com) which has been a challenging process, to say the least, because it's going to be a tight story of thirty or under pages. Not many words to work out a believable romance! There are a bunch of excellent authors in this anthology (over 12!) so I need to get my creative mojo to find something unique. With so many contributors and one theme and length, I'm sure the universal consciousness is going to spit out several "same scenario, different twist" stories, and I'm trying not to do that. So...I put the thinking cap on Muse and she...well, gah, she just thinks calories are needed, if you know what I mean.

2) I've been busy formatting The Protector, The Hunter, and The Sleeper my three SEAL books from the Crossfire trilogy to which the rights have been reverted back to me. It's taking longer than I thought because it's all a learning process for me as well as an expensive one. More on this in another post this week.

3) MikiSquirrel's book! It's ready but I need to figure things out for Amazon's do-it-yourself arm, Createspace, like how to get illustrations to come out right and fix dpis on photos. It's quite a little project for such a small book (30 pages)! It's very different from formatting a regular manuscript with type words and yes, frustrating too, if you're not a techy person. I'm not a techy person, so I'm going to need help on this first try with children's books.

And now, for having patiently read through the whole post ;-), I'm announcing a coupon giveaway. I have a eHarlequin coupon for 30% off any books on their site. One commenter will get the code.

Please comment whether you'd be interested in a children's book about a squirrel when it comes out in a few weeks :-) and what price range would a 30 page 7X9 book should, in your opinion, cost. See, such an easy contest!

GIVEAWAY CLOSES END OF THIS WEEK.

Writers: Quick Advice From A Long-Time Self-Employer

2011-07-06T09:11:00.000-05:00

At RWA this year, the new religion was "self-publishing." Whether it was one's back list of books, one's book under the bed, or one's plan to release some book not popular with buying editors right now, it's "I'm going to get it out on Kindle and the Nook." There was a palpable air of excitement among the authors, that they now have some kind of new power, the ability to get their books over some magical hurdle.

I'm one of the authors who have already started this journey--have done so the last few years since the 2007 Walmart debacle, actually--and there are many things I've learned that these authors, especially those not savvy with online stuff other than hit the "buy" button, are going to stumble upon before they get their books out into the market. First, it's not just a magic button. Nothing ever is. It's really working for oneself, like owning one's roofing company, for instance, and the latter isn't a walk in the ballpark.

Yes, being a published author is essentially being self-employed, anyway, but being one's own publisher is actually a second job on top of that. Unless, of course, you have a lot of capital and can hire editors, copy-editors, book packagers and formatters, etc. etc. But would it be called self-publishing then?

And even if you do have the cash to do that, you must still understand how it all works, that you aren't just paying somebody to take care of the work and hope that the end product will come out looking professional; this is a NEW BUSINESS and there are scammers out there, wanting to make a fast buck. There are also people out there who will give you a book that looks like you hired a 5 year-old to do all the editing and cover art. So be careful, authors.

This is the time to research like you did before you were publishing, reading up on everything you needed to know about approaching publishing houses and editors and formatting manuscripts. Your savvy ebook readers expect professional looking ebooks. Your readers paying the extra money for Print-On-Demand expect a professional looking cover--front and back, with a well-edited story between them. Anything less will just defeat the purpose of your goal.

Why am I talking about it? It's none of my business what you do with your writing, right? Not exactly true.

First, it pains me to listen to many author-friends, many of whom have decades of experience over me regarding contracts and the book business, sound so clueless about the self-publishing. E-book publishing and self-publishing are different things, for example. Kindle is NOT a format. Hiring your nephew who is computer-smart for $30 is NOT a good idea, I'm sorry; it doesn't matter how good he is at repairing your computer or how smart he is at his techy computer job. Unless he has read your book, many other ebooks, actually has some experience with romance covers and getting all the formats done correctly for different e-readers, a $30 job is what you're going to get. I could go on and on about the so many more wrong assumptions.

Second, I want this new venture to succeed, for me and my friends. I don't want it to get a bad rap that readers get wary about buying self-publishing books. As more and more writers and "writers" jump on the bandwagon, there's sure to be more and more dissatisfied rumblings and complaints from readers. Remember, more than ever before, if you self-published, your book is YOU and YOU are your book. You can't blame the publisher any more ;-). Unless, of course, you sign, hopefully not in blood, with Amazon, hahaha.

More on this coming--the other self-employment job is calling.

RWA 2011 Is All About Making U Jellus

2011-07-01T15:35:00.000-05:00

Jealous yet? :D And there's some more in some bags somewhere, believe it or not!

RWA 2011: New York Is All About...

2011-06-28T21:24:00.000-05:00

1) FOOD

I've been eating myself out of next month's food money. EatEATeatEATeat. I'm like that squirrel that can't stop eating. And the food is fabulous, especially at the Malaysian Restaurant I found in Chinatown!

Took Cindy Gerard, Kylie Brant, Roxanne Rustand and her daughter, Emily, to eat Dim Sum, which they never had before. Dim Sum is a special Chinese brunch, that has waitresses pushing trolleys of steamed delicacies, buns, pastries, and meat in bamboo bowls, calling out the dishes to the patrons. You stop them and then pick any dish you want. My guests were confused by all the little dishes and thought that was a LOT of appetizers before the main meal :-). Dim Sum, directly translated, is piece of heart, and I wanted to share a piece of my heart with my good friends!

2) PAIN

Walking in New York. Ow Ow OW! I'm already in pain from plantar fasciitis so my adventures in mapping out Chinatown only elevated that problem. I was feeling so miserable I actually went to try out acupuncture, which I've never done before.

CAN I SPELL ARRGHHHHhhHHhHhh? Holy Cow, did a few of those needles hurt when they went in! And then, electric current is pushed through, and you have to stop them if you feel uncomfortable. Umm. Yeah. When that was all set at the right current, the practitioner said the procedure needed 45 minutes to get the blood flowing and told me to relax, maybe take a nap.

I'll tell you a secret. YOU CAN'T NAP WHEN THERE ARE NEEDLES PULSING ELECTRICITY UP YOUR LEG!!! It stung when he pulled the needles out and there was sensitivity in the areas where the pinpricks were. Made me feel like a sissy because usually I could stand quite a bit of pain (remember when I fell off the roof on my head? Onto concrete? Okay, then).

I was supposed to take a rest my feet after that, but of course I had to walk around and get back to the subway. My feet felt slightly swollen although the usual arch and heel pain had subsided somewhat. Today, I could walk a bit better, so I guess the acupuncture did work some kind of magic. There's still some discomfort, and the practitioner had said that one session wouldn't cure my problem, that it would take at least 3 or 4 times. Would I go back to get the bottom of my feet poked again? ARRrrrGGGGHHhhhHhhhH.

3) Shows and show-offs

I went to catch Billy Elliot the first night I was in town. The musical was simply crazy amazing. The kids were mesmerizing to watch as they danced and sang without missing a beat. The story had everything--tragedy, comedy, ballet (!), drama, satire. I really recommend it.

The day I arrived was also the day after NY signed the new gay marriage bill and there was a gay parade. That night, some of the paraders were still in costume, eager to pose for tourists.

4) Gossip

We're at a big turning point in the publishing world. Every author at the conference is listening to and talking about self-publishing. You'll be surprised at some big names joining the self-pub ranks--Maya Banks, Emma Holly, Nina Bruhns, Leslie Parrish, to name a few--and all are excited. And agents are becoming publishers. And publishers are becoming marketers (for new e-book only ventures). And marketers are becoming lawyers. And lawyers are becoming editors (see Dear Jane announcement). And...and...I'm one confused author. Someone asked me what my newest book was and I confused her even more when I whipped out a book about a cute little squirrel. Yes, it's going to be an interesting conference!

That's all for now--hope you enjoyed the pictures!

SEAL Anthology

2011-06-24T16:29:00.001-05:00

I know many of you love SEALs. I'm in a SEAL anthology with some very wonderful authors (Cindy Gerard, Leslie Kelly, Marliss Melton, Kylie Brant, Roxanne St. Claire just to name a few) coming out in Nov. The stories will be short but will feature one sexy SEAL in each ;-). All the proceeds go to the Veteran's Research Corporation, so if you would like to help our returning soldiers who are injured, here's one way!

Check out the cover. Isn't it fabulous? It features a real live SEAL undressing after a mission who was in a newspaper article and we bought the rights to use the photo for the cover. If you collect Romance Trading Cards, all the authors in the anthology will have this one to give you. I'm very excited to be doing this!

RWA is here again

2011-06-22T22:17:00.000-05:00

It's RWA (Romance Writers of America) Conference time and I'll be on my way to New York for a week of business mixed with pleasure with fellow authors and writing pals. It's one of my favorite times of the year and it being held in NYC this time round is the cream on top.

I'll definitely be squeezing in some Broadway shows, LOTS of Chinese food, PLENTY of NY shopping in between workshops, book signings, and book collecting! Also, the gossip...yes, that's very important this year because of the tumult the publishing industry is in right now. What does my organization have to say to people like me, who are venturing into self-publishing and doing well?

If you're in the NYC area, please do consider coming for the big Literacy Signing because there will 400 authors there, including the gorgeous Linda Howard (I'll be first in line!), the popular Marjorie Liu (wheeee! my favorite girl!), Sylvia Day, Cindy Gerard, Kylie Brant, and so many more of your favorite authors. All proceeds go to literacy, so you'll be doing a good deed too :).

I'm going to pack light this year because I want to be able to carry home my freebie books instead of sending them. Let's hope I'm successful!

As usual, I ask that you send me some good traveling Karma because I'll be flying Delta again. Sigh. It was the cheapest available and after avoiding Atlanta hub for 3 years in favor of Charlotte, I'm baaaaack. So I need all the good luck I can get!

Stop by and say hi at my table! I'd love to chat with you!

Your Latest MikiSquirrel Video Fix

2011-06-16T19:35:00.000-05:00

She's really fun and has steadfastly refuses to leave the cage I put in the yard. She likes to come in and sleep in her teeshirt instead. Oh, well. Another mutant for Jenn :).

Lesbian Sock Puppets For The Win!

2011-06-15T10:50:00.000-05:00

There is a lesson somewhere in this story:

Two Popular Online Lesbians Outed As Straight Men

It isn't a funny thing when fraud happens, but I laughed and snorted coffee out of my nose when I read this paragraph:

In the guise of Paula Brooks, Graber corresponded online with Tom MacMaster, thinking he was writing to Amina Arraf. Amina often flirted with Brooks, neither of the men realizing the other was pretending to be a lesbian.

If that isn't a premise for a sitcom about two straight men with secret online lives gone wrong, I don't know what is. And oh, I wonder what their wives are telling them right now, especially the one who USED her name and driver's license.

Online sock puppetry is nothing new. Many do it, mostly to have anonymous conversations, but when one uses it for gain, it becomes a hurtful thing for those victimized.

L A Banks Is Ill

2011-06-14T08:52:00.001-05:00

My friend, Leslie Banks, better known as L.A. Banks, author of the great Vampire Huntress Legend series is very, very ill. She and her family need your good thoughts and prayers to help her through this.

Here's the official news page set up by her friends:

http://www.leslieesdailefund.info/

You may send good wishes and cards to*:
Leslie Esdaile
c/o Tina Ryan Wise
P.O. Box 37189
Philadelphia, PA 19148-9998

Leslie's friends are also setting up a fund to assist her in paying mounting medical bills. If you'd like to help, please click on the link above and follow the donation links.

The Weinerlogues

2011-06-12T17:16:00.001-05:00

Epic reading by Bill Maher and Jane Lynch (Glee's Sue Sylvester) of Representative Weiner's Facebook chat with his girlpal.

Stupid is as stupid does.

Rooferauthor Is Wielding Nailgun & Pen At Same Time

2011-06-04T02:33:00.002-05:00

This is the first time I am asked to bring my own table and chair to a book signing. That's because it's hosted by a small and newly-opened book store and there's no way the owner can find 15 tables and chairs to accommodate all the authors.

Anyway, I don't own a small/card table, so I started asking around to see if I could borrow one. The first people I approached were, of course, people I work with--construction workers. My partner didn't have one. The contractor neither. The electrician said he did but he lived too far away to make it an easy drive to his house to pick up a table (I mean, I'm not driving 120 miles round trip to borrow and return a card table, okay?). The stucco man's idea of a small table was an office desk the size of dining room table, LOL.

Finally, during break and kidding around, I told them that this was starting to be an emergency, so they all suggested for me to build myself one, since we were at a construction site, with available thrown-away materials scattered around us. Hey, they were right. I could pick up the used electrical spools and fasten two with a nail gun, one on top of the other. Hmm, 2 is too short for a chair, so maybe 3, but then I'd need a bar stool.

For the table top, I could use one of the odd-shaped plywood leftovers in the trash pile. I could make sure the books won't topple it from the connected-spools by drilling a big bolt right in the middle, through the spools. There you go, a GLow Original! A nice table cloth to pretty it up, of course.

The trouble was, I pointed out, the whole contraption was going to be quite awkward to lift up by myself. Besides, it wouldn't fit into the car, so I'd have to use the work truck. I was going to need help to carry it out of the truck bed, across the parking lot, to the book store front.

So the men came up with the brilliant idea of just loading the parts into the truck and going to book store and unloading them all in front of the place. Then I could just nail everything together and build the table right there and then, so I won't have to awkwardly drag this thing all by myself across the parking lot. Brilliant!

But, but, wait! I'm going to need the tools now! The compressor! The nail guns! The 100 foot hose! So I'm going to have to load these items up before balancing the spools and plywood in the truck bed, the bar stool, my tool belt, along with...yes, let's not forget, my books and gift basket. Heck, why not throw in the ladder? Just in case, you know?

So if you see this woman, with a tool belt and hat on, busy hammering and putting together what look like empty electrical spools and plywood in front of 14 bemused looking women sitting at their very Pretty Normal Looking Tables, it's just me, rooferauthor, Gennita Low, doing her part to make the book signing more interesting.

:-)

What, that's not a good enough incentive to get you to drive to the signing?!!

Florida Author Signing

2011-06-02T08:24:00.000-05:00

I'll be at signing extravaganza this Saturday in Edgewater, FL.

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 4
at The Book Rack,
108 W. Indian River Blvd.,
Edgewater.

At last count, I heard fifteen authors will be there, including Roxanne St. Claire, Marianne LaCroix, Cheryl Norman, and Daniel Norton. Local businesses are sponsoring cookies and drinks and there will be gift baskets for raffles, so do drop by and say hello to so many fabulous authors :-). I look forward to seeing some of you there.

We're All Getting Shorter

2011-05-31T11:49:00.001-05:00

I know it's been quiet around here. I've been trying hard to put all my time into writing, even with the crappy economy taking all my time looking for roofing jobs. One of my friends asked me why don't I just "not look for jobs, but instead sit down and write and write instead? Because self-publishing is exploding and she's just read about an author who sold 50,000 copies of her ebook to Kindle and Nook buyers."

It's a very convincing argument, and tempting indeed, to someone like me, who really loves to sit at home and write. But alas, my own RL situation doesn't make it feasible for me to give up the roofing job yet. To be able to do that, I'll have to pay off a big chunk of loans first, and it's not that easy to ignore monthly bills. The thing is, the more in debt you are, the harder it is to take time off to do the thing one loves, and in my case, it's writing consistently.

Writing consistently doesn't actually mean having a lot of free time available. For myself, I need a slot every day that is about the same time, with no outside things requiring my attention, be it calling roofing inspectors, talking to homeowners, or driving county to county looking at and bidding on jobs. The last part is mind-numbing and all that talking and answering the same roofing questions steals more creative energy than I care to admit. It even sucks the fun out of blogging, as you can see here, so much so that I end up having lots of quick thoughts for Facebook but no real in-depth thoughts for here.

I know my readers would prefer to read stories from me rather than my silly chitchat, anyway ;-). So I'm really trying to get myself in gear again. It's all about taking those first few steps in self-publishing to get the income going; the more that income grows, the more it sustains me, and the less I need to go looking for roofing jobs because, hey, look, loans and expenses are being paid off. But it needs work and time, with lots of emphasis on writing work, to get to that point and I'm hoping that two short stories coming out soon will be a start. One will be, FINALLY, the novella that was in the Mammoth Book of Spec Ops Romance, which I've re-edited and re-formatted from PDF for publication through Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords, and the other is a secret short project that I've been nursing during my dry runs wrestling with the big projects I've been trying to finish, sort of a writing-something-not-of-my-genre-to-get-out-of-my-rut exercise. They'll both be priced $1.99, I think, since they're both short stories.

Okay, off I go to write a bit! :) Do catch me on Facebook if you have an account because I seem to be all one-liners lately.

How about you, in your personal life? Have you noticed that you are only good for one or two one-liners, that you're short on words?

MikiSquirrel Videos

2011-05-27T20:09:00.000-05:00

Here are two new short videos of MikiSquirrel eating and playing by herself. Most of the time she'd rather sit on my head, though.

She likes to go for walks with me but still doesn't like trees too much.

Winners of SEAL Books Giveaway

2011-05-23T08:43:00.000-05:00

The Fur Spies and I picked out four names:

tinlizzy
Heather
krisgils33
Crystal

Congratulations! Please email me with your snail mail addresses!