Dollhouse: Uber Icky?

So any of you watching Joss Whedon's newest baby, Dollhouse, on Fox? I worship at the Whedon altar. The pilot last week left me a bit uncomfortable, using imprintment (hey, familiar concept!) on blank minds to create whatever the customer wants. The first situation suggests that the "active" from the Dollhouse, Echo (Eliza Dushku), has been paid to be a pleasure fun- and fast-loving weekend companion. Umm...yeah, I was thinking high class prostitute.

Tonight's episode was action-packed but it still reminded me of the same thing--girl bought by a client to be imprinted to please him, even though it isn't about pleasure, more of a hunt-or-be-hunted game. Wonder what the Great Josh has in mind to make the characters more sympathetic to me.

I'm sticking to this show for a few more episodes. The premise, like I said, isn't very appealing and might be a hot button issue for many women, but this is Joss Whedon, the creator of kick-ass females who are ultimately special as they find their place in the world. So I'm going to trust him a bit longer.

If you caught the pilot and this week's episode, your thoughts?

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Trying To Amuse Myself

You know when you have one of those days when everything goes wrong and you just can't win no matter what?

My day was like that. And it ended with me on my back, an inch deep in stucco-slippery mud from head to foot. I stared up at the bright blue sky, feeling the wet mud slowly seeping through the back of my clothes.

The sky darkened. It was the contractor. Unlike the snickerers around me, he was as solemn as a grandfather clock.

"You know," he opined, "very few roofers can get away with pink sweatpants."

I shook my head and it felt strange. Actually, it was quite a difficult thing to do when my hair is embedded with quickly hardening cement/mud. When in a bad position being snarked at, snark back.

"Very few roofers can get away with pink underwear too," I said, looking up at him.

Did. Not. Crack a smile. He walked away, leaving me to my misery. One day, I'll get a grin out of that man. It's a bet with myself.

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Awesome BBW Review

I'm happy to have a second review for Big Bad Wolf. Riley blogs about books she reads and I'm happy to see that she gave me four stars out of five.

Thank you, Riley, for taking the time to write a review for Big Bad Wolf. It means a lot because unlike previous books, no ARCs were sent out to review sites and I hadn't expected too many people knowing about this particular book.

Here's the LINK to the review. Check out all of Riley's recommendations too!

Yay! Now I can put review links under the Big Bad Wolf cover! Mrs. Giggles wrote the first one.

P/S To be honest, I didn't rewrite BBW too much. I mostly updated the technology. For example, there were very few people with cell phones or laptops when I wrote the story. Some of the lingo was also too 90s, so I edited and revised that.

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Post #2: I'm Dusted

So I'm watching American Idol to air my tired brain out. Does the new format SUCK or what? Geez, talk about stretching the time to meaninglessness. Why would they put the parents there and then yak yak about nothing after their performances, especially when some of them were clearly out of depth? Or maybe I'm just in a tired bad mood. I'm also growling because Bad Puppy stole my ice-cream cone and wolfed it down. No one gets between me and my ice-cream. Grrr.

Book Updates

1) No news about Virtually Hers or any of my proposals yet. Told you this is a slow, slow process. I'm really hoping Diamond and T's story get sold this time because I love them so much.

2) Big Bad Wolf's sales numbers, including this past week, is now at 263. Yeeha! I have a feeling many readers who went to Amazon looking for Virtually Hers picked it up when they saw BBW there instead of VHers. The sale has been very steady since its debut on Dec. 24, 2009 seven weeks ago. Thank you for helping me by posing on other forums, everyone. Deeply appreciated.

Of course, 263 is not quite anywhere near these authors' sales numbers. LOL. Check out this list of top guns and see whether you can spot your favorite romance authors. I...uh...have a long way to go. Heh.

3) Still haven't made up my mind about what stories to pick for the anthology. For sure, there will be a novella about Rick and Nikki. Methinks there are some important fears to face still for both of them.

*********************
I'm still at that labor job with the long, long commute. Today was interesting. I learned how to tile. And yes, my lungs are now caked with the dust. I think I'm trying to die young.

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Reading Thread

Running late this morning. Will post more later, my dears.

Finished Briggs' MOON CROSSED. Loved it. Wants to have Briggs' babies.

What are you reading right now?

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Post #2: Absolutely Too Uber Romantic

50 Years: LOVE EVER AFTER

The recollections brought smiles to my face. Gave me a good, gushy feeling in the tummy too.

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What Did You Get?

...for Valentine's Day?

Soooo happy with my mate ;-).

I've been looking at the book longingly at Amazon's but have resigned myself to the fact that I probably wouldn't be reading it till it comes out in paperback, which is the only way I can afford my reading expenses right now.

Then, at my signing, guess what arrived in a nice pretty heart-shaped box with a bow? ;-) I thought, chocolate, but it's Patricia Briggs' BONE CROSSED! You should have heard my squeee of delight. Ah, the perfect gift to capture a romance reader!

My signing went quite well too. There was a steady stream of customers looking for weekend reading and romantic gifts. The UBS owner put me next to her erotica section, which was sweet, because there were many ladies wandering there and they stopped to browse my books and talked to me. Some of them bought my older books to try out and I sold a number of Big Bad Wolfs too.

So, all in all, it was mostly a fantastic day (with only one worrisome news about my furbaby from my vet).

I'll update y'all on the BBW weekly sales count in another post tonight.

Hope your Valentine's Weekend was fun too. Did you get a good present?

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GLow For Romance

I'm doing my BBW signing today so maybe there'll be lots of shoppers picking it up as a Valentine's Day gift. It's supposed to be lovely and sunny out today but right now it's overcast. Wish me luck!

Are you doing anything special for/with your loved one today?

I have a friend who's hoping a pair of sexy furry handcuffs will respark the romance and fun in her and her man's sex life. She joked, sort of embarrased, that he'd probably have a heart attack when he sees the present because he knows that she reads lots of romances and would be expecting hours of pleasure. LOL. I tried to ease her mind by telling her to first hint to him that HE would be the one getting hours of pleasure ;-).

It's kind of sad how sometimes we put our sex lives on the shelf while we try to pay the bills. Even a day like Valentine's Day becomes part of a series of chores, you know? Romance doesn't have to be about expensive chocolate and hearts. Sometimes a nice breakfast in bed, or a morning massage, even going out on a date, can make a day special.

For myself, I'll be sitting at a table with romance books all around me, trying to munch cookies professionally. I'm just happy to be away from strapping lumber and screwing in tile for the day, although my Alpha Male tells me that my writing does involve lots of wood and screwing, so what's the difference. Hmmmph. Smart asses should be banned on Valentine's Day. Just for that I think I'll give him a sexy vege tonight.

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The Real Thing Is Better

It's Valentine's Day coming up. This calendar would make a nice gift but you know, I wouldn't mind the Real Thing comin' over and taking care of some housework ;-).

Chocolate, anyone?

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The End Is Near

Starbucks is selling instant coffee.

Discuss.

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Talking Of A Slow Load...

Gah, don't know why my blog is loading so slow, like a turtle with four broken legs today. The left column appears and the whole thing just hangs there for five to ten seconds, and then the rest of the blog appears. Huh. Strange, too, that it doesn't do that when I'm using Mozilla Firefox browser. No idea why. I hope visitors using IE haven't been having this problem all day.

Maybe the manty-hose pictures scared the blogger gods and they're punishing me for spreading this fashion trend? ;-) Hopefully, this is just a one-day glitch and things will be back to normal by tomorrow.

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Midweek Question

This came up at a private forum and I found the replies/discussion very interesting. So I'm bringing it over here as my blog topic to see what my readers have to say.

The poster wrote that she loved to read scenes that show the hero pleasuring himself. Actually, she asked the question better than me: "does anyone else like a little up close and personal man-loving?" She cited her love of Victoria Dahl's "A Rake's Guide to Pleasure" and how she wished there were more romances out there featuring this type of erotic scene over the now saturated trend of vanilla butt secks.

What say you? Do you enjoy scenes of the hero showing some self-loving, whether alone or in front of the heroine?

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Remember Manorexia? Close Your Eyes, Ladies...

Because MANTYHOSE is here.

They are E-MANCIPATED. They love their garters. And they're trying to show you their mandles.

Please, someone, bleach my eyes out.

And no, you won't be seeing any of my SEALs or commandos trying any mantyhose out. Not even Heath.

Wanna buy something interesting for your significant other? Heh heh heh.

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And The Woman Won...For Now

Just so you know.

The woman was asked by some dudes to be back because the Other Guy Who Didn't Own Tools were slowing everyone down too much.

Let's just say that I've a feeling that this is round one. ;-)

Want to strap some stringers, anyone? You know I'd much MUCH prefer to string some strapplings, if you know what I mean....

But GLow Moonlight Mojo works! You see? Now you better report in your Mojo Hopes while the moon is still big and round up there.

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General Writing Ketchup

YAY I FINISHED VIKING DUDE'S PROPOSAL. //doing Calvin and Hobbes Happy Dance. You guys don't know how hard I've been wrestling this particular project. Now that it is done, I can concentrate on writing while waiting for word from editors:

1) continuing Viking Dude
2) starting the novellas for Rick/Nikki, or the SEAL team haranguing their buddy Reed's wealth, or one of the many excellent suggestions in past posts for another print project (poll coming)

Update on the sales of Big Bad Wolf Project:

30 orders the first week of Feb., so in six weeks, 220 books have been sold. Race fans are in town this week and I'm going to be doing a signing, so hopefully, I'll have good sales numbers next weekend!

I'm still keeping the poll up because reader emails are still coming asking about Virtually Hers, so I just direct them to this blog. It says that 500 people have voted (plus/minus 5 percent of repeat voters) and I'm still amaze that the percentage is staying the same--93 percent voting "yes" over 6 percent voting "no." I'm thinking, generally, readers who want to read the story don't care who publishes it, only that it gets published. The only issue for most readers is that they get a good quality book, both inside and outside (meaning, comparable to the books they buy at Amazon or any bookstore). Am I right?

I think I did a pretty good job with Big Bad Wolf. I haven't heard any complaints from readers yet (fingers crossed) about the story or the print quality. Anyway, it was a good test and I enjoyed the experiment. It gave me confidence that I can keep my promise of getting Virtually Hers and Virtually One out, one way or another ;-).

So, starting the coming week in good spirits. What about you--any positive news/plans to share? Maybe we can make a good vibes bubble around us and be such teh bouncy shiny happy peeps all week that others would grab us by the shoulders and ask, "What's got into you? You're just grinning all damn week. Are you pregnant or something?!"

That's the plan, anyway. So...tell me your positive plans, no matter how small--writing plans, silly ideas, crazy work load--and we'll put the GLow Mojo on them tonight!

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What Kind Of Reader Are You?

Alison Morris from Publishers Weekly had this interesting question on her blog, asking her readers whether they are:

1. The Whimsical Polygamist: you dip in and out of multiple books at once -- whichever strikes your fancy or fits your whim anytime, anyplace.

2. The Placebound Polygamist: you read multiple books simultaneously but each in its own locale -- say, you've always got one book you're reading at home, one you reserve for your workplace lunch break, and another that's the sole domain of your subway ride.

3. The Noncompetitive Polygamist: at any one time you are reading one fiction book and one non-fiction book, or some similar combination of multiple books that does not involve reading two books of the same type at the same time.

I'm mostly #2. I have a few books in the bathroom (which makes me a bi-polygamist?!), one near the computer, one in the truck, one in my bag, and Lord knows where else.

If the book is unputdownable, I do carry it with me to bed and finish it.

What about you? Maybe you're a true Monogamist and can only read one book at a time. Or perhaps you're a variation not mentioned above?

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Uber T-Shirt!

Got a present! It's so cool and I'm going to wear it to my girlfriend's teenage daughter's party, heh heh heh.

If you want one, order it HERE.

Think I'll make it out of that party alive? *Big Evil Grin*

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What A Woman Is Up Against

Task: Prepare aluminum straps by cutting strips from prepared length. 25 pieces of lumber, 12 foot long each. Mark at 18 inch intervals and "strap" each one on these marks by using nail gun. Two nails on top. Bend each side of metal, three nails on each side. The gauge of the strap is thick enough that you need some strength to bend it. The next step is time consuming: you bend each of the sides 90 degrees and use a flat bar to chip at its angles to make sure the bend is "tight." The end result of each strap over the lumber looks something like this:
****_
__[* ]__

So, each piece of lumber has about nine to ten straps. Got it?

Last task--when above task is completed, carry each length, weighing about 30-40 lbs, to the side of the roof and heave it up to the waiting roofer.

Got that?

WOMAN
Qualifications: certified state license, very experienced
Pay scale: a few dollars higher but the company doesn't need to pay for her liability insurance and workman's compensation.
Own all the required tools: nail gun, hose, tape measure, hammer, marking pen, flat bar, utility blade
Finished strapping 25 pieces of lumber in approximately 7 hours

MAN
Qualifications: roofing labor
Pay scale: labor rate, company has to pay for liability and WC
Doesn't own any tools: no nail gun, not even a tool belt. Has to borrow hammer and tape measure.
Finished strapping 6 pieces of lumber in approximately 6 hours

The roof needs 2000 pieces of lumber strapped this way.

Question: Who would you hire for this specific task after Day One?

The person hired: the man

This happens more than you think. That's why we are stronger. Faster. Better. (cue in Bionic Woman music)

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Absolutely Fun

Someone sent me this really cool link. You type your favortie author's name into the box and a map shows up with names of other authors who are similar in style. I typed Linda Howard. You can type Shakespeare!

But, so sad, that Gennita Low chick is nowhere to be found.

//hanging head, feeling lost and unloved

Who's Who Literature Map

Anyway, what author name did you try out?

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Another Orlando Gig

Okay, Canada! I'm warning you! STOP sending cold air down here!!! This is beyond ridiculous; we're freezing our butts off here in Florida. I usually turn my heater on once during our "winter," but tonight and this week will mark the THIRD time I'm doing this. Knock it off!

Grrr. This prolonged frigid weather is really making my mornings miserable. You can always tell the "snowbirds" from the natives. They're the chirpy people walking around in shorts saying, "I'm loving this!" to everyone nearby. The answering growls are from the bundled-up natives who know better. Warning: the next person who comes up to me all bright-eye and bushy-tail to merrily point out that "at least there's no humidity" is going to get seriously hurt.

It gets really cold at the labor compound while I wait for a job for the day. Basically, a bunch of us stand around and stamp our feet a lot to try to keep warm (why would stamping feet create body heat, I have no idea). Me, I try to read a book sometimes but my chattering teeth and shaking hands make it tough. It was kind of funny this morning, trying to get into a vampire story while my body was as cold as the undead. It made the idea of gnawing on a poor sod's neck and sucking up some hot blood quite tempting, quite actually....

Talking about doing normal things in different places, remember the SF Convention, Oasis 22, that I attended last year so I could meet favorite authors John Scalzi and C.L. Wilson? Well, I received an email inviting me to be guest panelist for this year's affair. I was quite shocked. Didn't think anyone knew me there. But I had a lot of fun meeting with readers and fans of the SF genre and certainly enjoyed a number of the panels. It's a good way to promote cross-genre books such as Virtually His to new readers, right? And my Viking Dude is urban/alternative fantasy, so I can talk about that too. So...any of you going to be in Orlando around May 22? I promise the weather here should be much warmer by then.

Here's the website to check out the details of CON:

http://oasfis.org/oasis/index.php

One more incentive to go: JOHN RINGO will be there. I need to put on my OH JOHN RINGO NO! teeshirt for him to sign.

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Writer's Blues

I'm struggling. I've never written a proposal for an urban fantasy/fantasy before. Talk about info-dumping from hell. It's like the never-ending back-to-the-past stuck-in-the-future story, but I don't think that description is going to be "the hook." Argh.

Why can't I just say, "Here is Viking Dude and he's stuck in the future, hiding from bad guys from the past"? No, I have to explain the past, the world-building part, and that's where everything gets convoluted. Usually, in a proposal for a romantic suspense, I don't need to explain the world of spies too much, since everyone understands what black ops. mean and the time-line is usually in the present. But with fantasy, I have to explain the world I built, and with a time-traveling element that goes back to way, way in the past, to Greek mythology even, I get tied up in details that have nothing to do with the plot. Argh.

I hate writing proposals. I actually prefer to talk about it one-on-one with the editor. For some reason I don't feel lost when I'm explaining my vision in person.

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

Been trying to set up Big Bad Wolf for Amazon's Kindle. It doesn't take PDF files! It wants the files to be set up in HTML. I suck at HTML. So...another week without BBW for Kindle people, so sorry.

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My book count this month is pathetic. Here's what I read:

The Host by Faith Hunter (Engrossing; I loved it. Read it twice. Just cannot believe there's no fourth book!)

Dark Matter by Cameron Cruise (evil twin story with a psychic twist that turns into full-blown mind-sucking out-of-body visit to Atlantis for the ultimate power. Lost me a bit in the middle. Not enough romance for me.)

Dark of Night by Suzanne Brockmann (Totally heartbroken. Just imagine if Alex Diamond and T end up with other people in one book. Yes, I'm bitter, heartbrokenly bitter.)

Eternal Seduction by Jennifer Turner (Interesting beginning; strong first three chapters. A bit of an odd vampire book that can't decide whether it's dark or funny (a ten thousand year-old vampire calling a thirty thousand year-old vampire "dad" cracked me up) with very little happening in the middle chapters while the heroine goes through her "change," but the characters kept my interest.)

So, what's your book count?

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