Having Writer's Drip

Here's a new review of Virtually Hers by the Joyfully Reviewed site and the reviewer is happy. Yay!

Writing has been coming incredibly slow and frustrating. Drip. Drip Drip. And with the deadline noose tightening, it's not a fun feeling at all.

It makes me understand the writers depicted in those old movies in some yucky motel room with lots of booze and cigarettes while they pound away at their story, totally living outside of reality and away from distraction of news. I would love that kind of tunnel vision focus, minus the cigarettes and yucky conditions. You noticed I didn't take away the booze ;-).

But alas, I'm not brave enough to be that into my art. Those movie writers don't care about bills (because they have none, ha) and they, being fictitious, probably don't have mutant poms to feed too (and huuuuuge vet bills!).

They always say that the artist must sacrifice for his art. There are biographical accounts of madness, angst and existential loneliness, and you know, I look at my own little world and go, "uh-huh madness, angst and existential loneliness alrightee then, go over there and wait your turn while I deal with fear, impatience, and daily aches and pain." Yeah, the drama in my life is overwhelming ;-).

Not saying here that there aren't great writers (and artistes) today that aren't normal. I'm sure many of them are well-adjusted human beings. And they probably go through the same empty feeling I get when they're stuck--where is the dRAMa, the rush of creativity, that sort of feeling.

It's good to look hard at one's life and question about one's choices, especially when you're a writer. Because writers are observers by nature and who better to observe than one's own life? And in the end, I have to acknowledge that I don't want THAT MUCH drama. I'm such a coward, I know. //hangs head

That's the hardest part of being a writer, I think. When the creativity goes drip, drip, drip, there is nowhere to turn to because it's all inside the head, and all that despair is meaningless to everyone else but the writer.

Geez, now that I've spread some cheer to your Friday, I'll endeavor to brighten my roofing crew's day with some messy leaks.

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AVATAR: Does The Story Sound Familiar?

This was circulated around the Twitter Chatters. Funny.



Wish Virtually One is coming along this easily ;-).

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It Snowed & It's Freezing Out

It's ridiculously cold. The windchill yesterday made it 20 degrees on the roof in the morning! Argh. We're joking about changing our moniker to the Ice Cube State. It's been ten days of freezing temperatures since New Year, so 2010 hasn't exactly been normal.

I'm on ur roof, freezing my ass.

I did have something that kept me chuckling through the day. I was invited to a potluck party. Apparently, my roofing help have no idea what potluck parties are. Or at least, their idea is definitely not of the legal variety.

The whole day, they were trying to finagle an invitation to this "potluck" party. And of course, I had to keep a straight face through it all, telling them that "it's an invitation-only event, for people who bring special blends" and "No, my crowd isn't your kind of crowd." Bwahaha. Evil, no?

I also realized that I haven't read a book since last year! And there are so many that just came out that I've been looking forward to. What is wrong with me? It's as if my brain has become a lump of ice.

Anyway, what's the first book of the year for you? Did you like it?

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Having A Bad Labia Day?

I had a WTF moment while looking at this ad at The Frisky and then I laughed and laughed till something in my sides hurt a lot. So, ahem, are you feeling a bit dull in certain private quarters? Are you Other Lips looking a little lacklustre with age? Need to restore some pinkness?

I kid you not.

You can now buy a color restorant (four shades!!!) for $29.95 at MyNewPinkButton.com and have pretty labia lips again.

Oh, what a great stocking stuffer for Christmas! If your man had gotten you this along with that Pap Smear present as suggested by the CBS ad, would that make him a douchebag? :D

EDITED TO ADD:

While you're visiting down south, why not do some tightening with the Like A Virgin cream that will shrink your womanly walls up? You know those who bought into these ads definitely needed a shrink.

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Bad Puppy Says BRRRRRR!

Florida is officially the Icecube State. Even Bad Puppy is feeling the nip. He never ever liked being under blankets before. Ha. Not tonight. Went hiding when I was calling him to go outside to do his bithnez.

"Nope, nopenopeNOPE! You can't make me go outside, mommy! You can't seeee meeee!"

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A Gennita Low Excerpt: Alex and T Meet (Redux)

As promised yesterday, and because of many, many reader requests, I'm re-posting the excerpt in which T and Alex, two popular characters in the GLow World, met for the first time. The proposal to this book is still being shopped around, so no, you won't be reading the story soon and yes, I do have the first version of the manuscript done.

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

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FIRST CHAPTER OF ALEX AND T's STORY, Copyright 2009@Gennita Low, all rights reserved. No part of the following excerpt can be reproduced without the author's permission.

VIRTUALLY YOURS (you guys know this title is tongue-in-cheek, right)

CHAPTER ONE

She knew she had to think fast when they brought him into the room, prodding him roughly with their weapons. She recognized him immediately, even under all that dirty snow and unkempt hair. She had thought him very attractive from the computer files but up close, he was magnificent.

They had pulled off his fur coat and cut away his sweater, and he shivered slightly in the cold room, although his expression remained watchful and calm. The thermal shirt he wore clung to his broad chest, outlining the body she had imagined touching when she’d studied his file. It took her a moment to realize that he was looking directly at her. She took a deep breath and calmly returned his gaze. He didn’t know her, after all.

He hadn’t changed much from the file photos, although they were a few years old. His blond hair was longer and blonder than she’d thought, as if he had been staying out in the sun a lot. His blue eyes still captured hers, and she felt a tingle of awareness as he studied her. A hint of a smile ghosted his full, sensual lips, as if he knew exactly how he affected her. Impossible, she thought. She was not that easy to read.

“Talia, love, he’s eyeing you,” the man beside her said mockingly. “Do you know him?”

She couldn’t take her eyes away from the prisoner. There were so many questions she wanted to ask, like what the hell was he doing here? “No, I don’t think so,” she lied, pretending to study the man closely. “You said he’s American, Sasha?”

“That’s what his ID says,” Sasha answered. He flipped open the wallet in his hand. “Robert Alexander Diamond,” he read aloud in thick, accented English. “D. O. B.?”

TO CONTINUE, CLICK ON LINK BELOW.





“Date of birth,” she told him, also in English, with a softer, gentler accent. She didn’t need him to tell her that the prisoner was thirty-seven years old.

“Ah, da. Date of birth.” Sasha paused again, frowning. He was a good-looking man, with a deep scar marring one side of his face, from the corner of one eye down to almost his throat. The puckered skin added menace to a face too pretty to have been in such a vicious knife fight. His lips pursed as he tried to read the information.

She immediately guessed the problem. “Americans, Sasha,” she gently explained, “reverse the month and the date.”

“Bah,” Sasha succinctly gave his opinion about American ways.

She laughed, as was expected of her, then stepped closer to the Russian man. “Let me see this ID, darling.” Nice fake, she noted, and again wondered what he was doing here, in Siberia. He would be another problem tonight, to add to her current one. She couldn’t decide which was the more difficult task—avoiding the amorous advances of Sasha Barinsky without raising his suspicions or saving the ass of Alexander Diamond, COS Commando currently on the lam.

“Well, anything to tell us whether he is really as he said, a lost photographer?” Sasha growled. “Here, look at these papers on him. His formal Russian is quite good, for a dumb American journalist.”

“Ah, da.” She gave the silent prisoner a hard glance. Why did he use that job description? He was just asking for trouble. “Now he does remind me of someone, Sasha. There is an American photo-journalist named Robert Diamond. That middle name threw me off.”

“What do you think he’s doing here in Siberia?”

“There’s a Robert Diamond who writes adventure articles. He’s famous, in a way. Likes to do what they call ‘extreme wilderness photography.’ You know, camp in dangerous places, take photos. Very American.”

Sasha Barinsky took a step toward the American standing there quietly between his two guards. The prisoner was too calm for his liking. “You are in a dangerous place now, Robert Diamond,” he addressed him, in his halting English, “Why are you here?”

*

These weren’t Russian militia, like he’d first assumed. Alex looked at the man and woman as they discussed him. The man was obviously the leader, standing stiffly in his shiny boots and wearing expensive jewelry and a Rolex watch. But it was the woman who drew his attention; ever since they’d shoved him into this barely furnished room, with its dim lights and dank air, he had felt drawn to her. It was a strange feeling; he had not been drawn to anything for a long time.

Exotic and glamorous, she didn’t fit these surroundings. She was tall, maybe three or four inches under his own six feet two—it was hard to tell with her in heels—and dressed elegantly in cashmere and fur. She wore fur-lined boots that emphasized the shapely length of her endless legs, and like her companion, her fingers were decked with rings. Her black hair gleamed against the white fur of her scarf and her eyes were equally dark as she studied him. She had the exquisite bone structure of an Astrakhan princess, with high cheekbones and a perfect oval face. She could have been a model in a fashion magazine. He’d have liked to photograph her. He frowned. There was something familiar about her face, but he couldn’t discern what it was.

He understood their fast Russian dialect but didn’t show his comprehension, waiting till they spoke to him in English. When they had first stopped him at the road, he had used stilted formal Russian, like a traveler who knew enough to get by. He was lucky he did. Something told him that these men didn’t want him to understand too much. His life was in danger, what with the twenty-odd guards he had counted outside, plus these two beside him. Wherever he was, it was a heavily armed place.

“Why are you here?” the man called Sasha asked him.

“I tried to explain to your men,” Alex replied in a slow drawl. “I have permission, as you can see from my papers, to cross-country ski to get photographs for my next magazine article about this beautiful remote area in Siberia. I must have made a wrong turn because this sure isn’t Slabinja, is it?”

“Slabinja is south of here. You’re fifteen kilometers off,” the woman—Talia, wasn’t it?—told him. He liked her voice, low and lilting, the accent making her English softly attractive.

“Then, if you’ll kindly release me and give me back my equipment, I’ll be on my way,” Alex said. And he would be. He had no interest in finding out what these people were up to. He had an inkling, but he didn’t want to know. Those days were over.

Sasha laughed, a short unpleasant sound. “Robert, it is unfortunate for you but you will have to stay. I cannot trust you not to report to the authorities. I don’t even know that you are not a spy.”

“A spy, darling?” Talia questioned lightly, a mocking smile forming. “You’ve been watching American movies again.”

Her grasp of the English language was very good, Alex noted, as he listened to them.

Sasha nodded. “That’s the only good thing out of that place.” He turned to the guards and reverted back to the native dialect. “Search him for hidden weapons, then lock him up. I will make him talk later.” Then, in that heavy English, he said to Alex, “You will be detained, Robert Diamond, till my business is done, then I’ll free you tomorrow.”

Alex didn’t let them know that he had understood every threatening words Sasha had said to his guards. He only slanted a long look at Talia, whose dark eyes seemed to hold a thousand secrets. He wondered whether she was as cold-hearted as she appeared, accepting the death of an unfortunate stranger without any emotion.

“Let me search him,” she suddenly said, still in that Russian dialect, and the smile she gave him was maddeningly mocking. “It’s his last few hours. He should have a woman’s touch.”

“Ah, Talia, always after...”

“Tsk, Sasha, don’t insult me, please. After all, I got you your firepower very cheaply, no?”

Alex blinked, but didn’t move a muscle. Firepower. That could mean only one thing in this part of the world. These people were dealing with illegal weapons, and right now, the hottest illegal Russian firepower was dismantled nuclear-capable weaponry. Damn. He was knee-deep in trouble. They didn’t intend to have any witnesses. And he wondered whether this Talia knew that he would understand their dialect, if she was deliberately giving him a warning.

Sasha curled an arm across Talia’s shoulders, drawing her close to him. His hand caressed her dark tresses possessively. “Later, my sweet,” he promised her, the leer in his voice obvious, “I shall pay you well.”

Talia made a moue. “Later. Now, I want to search this American.”

Sasha sighed indulgently. “All right, but I’m not going to stay here and watch. I’ll be in my quarters waiting after my meeting with my men. You will come up soon?”

“Of course, darling.”

Sasha nodded at his men. “The cell,” he reminded them, “after Talia Fyodorevna is through with the American.”

“Da,” the two guards said in unison, their faces impassive. Sasha Barinsky left the room.

*

Alex watched as Talia slowly circled him once. Twice. Her boots clicked on the bare cement floor. He was getting colder by the minute, and knew that the woman had stopped the search by the guards as a favor to him. They would have stripped him and he would probably freeze to death in the hellhole they were planning to throw him. Not that he wouldn’t be dead at the hands of the unpleasant Sasha when he deigned to extricate himself from the delectable Talia’s charms. Again, he wondered what this exotic creature was up to, subtly coming to his rescue twice already.

She was an impressive-looking woman, exuding elegance and enough confidence that told him that she wasn’t what she appeared to be. Her eyes were unrevealingly dark, only the small smile on her shapely lips betrayed her amusement. Her steps around him had insolent pauses, as if she were admiring something about him. She liked to play games, this one.

She finally stopped in front of him again, standing so close her perfume tantalized the air. Her head tilted to one side slightly, as if she was considering how to amuse herself.

“You’ll have to bear my hands on you, darling,” she drawled in that marvelous accent again, and fluttered elegant fingers suggestively a few inches from his chest, “or these guards will report that I didn’t touch you.”

“Rather you, dushka, than their paws,” Alex assured her mildly, still unsure of her motives.

Talia smiled at the endearment, then came forward and ran her hands over the taut, masculine body, pretending to search for hidden weapons. She knew where he would hide them, if he had any. She knew what his specialty was, exactly how he could escape, given the right chance, but she didn’t think he would be able to tonight without her intervention.

Her eyes held Alex’s as her hands moved over him with deliberate insolence. Wide shoulders. Impressive pectorals. He had kept his physical prowess while he’d been gone. That told her a lot. And she went lower still, touching his chest and stomach, then smoothed her hands around his waist to explore his lower back. Her hands moved back to the front, lightly resting above his snow-dampened pants.

“Part your legs, darling,” she murmured, keeping her voice amused. “You know the procedure.”

Alex obliged, standing with his feet apart. Her hands were impersonal, but not exactly leaving him unaffected. She explored him more like someone memorizing his body than a person doing a body search, but she concealed it well. Only he could feel the curious tenderness of her hands as she glided them intimately over his chest, under his arms, down his stomach.

There was something very erotic in the way she went down on her knees in front of him as she continued her sensual search. He refused to let go of her mocking gaze, looking down into the dark depths of those beautiful eyes—searching for that familiar thing that had caught him by surprise—even as her wicked hands traveled up his thighs, her thumbs teasing the inseam of his underpants with delicate pressure, bringing his senses to a keening awareness that had nothing to do with the frigid air. He may only be wearing his thermal clothes, but Alex was suddenly no longer cold. He concentrated on not revealing the effect of her hands on him.

Talia dared not linger, but made sure that the guards saw her thorough search before she left a micro device on his inner thigh. Now she would know exactly where they put him.

“There, painless.” She straightened, still smiling. “And my compliments on such a beautiful body.”

She had been tempted to explore a little more, but some fantasies were best left unfulfilled. And her fantasies of Number One had always been...interesting.

“I’ll return the favor sometime.”

Amused, she tilted her head to acknowledge the unspoken challenge. Even in danger, a COS Commando was cocky as ever. Training was deeply ingrained in all of them, even the reluctant ones. “If you’re freed tomorrow,” she said softly, leaving the rest of the sentence unfinished.

“I’ll certainly work on it,” Alex promised.

“You’re going to need friends,” Talia came back. There, she had given him enough hints. “As they say in the States, darling. Later, alligator.” She stepped back and nodded to the two guards. They started to lead Alex out of the room, shoving him towards the door. He gave her a backward glance. She winked at him, looking absurdly majestic in that danky, badly lit room.

*

There was a time in his life when he would have been prepared for moments like this, but that was almost two years ago. Twenty two months nineteen days, to be exact. And certainly not in this lifetime.

Alex stared at the ceiling above him, ignoring the growing numbness around his wrists. He was tied spread eagle on some sort of wooden bed and the cold was slowly robbing him of his strength. Soon he would be too weak to even attempt an escape.

Not that he would be successful. He was unprepared for this and his skills were rusty from lack of practice. So if he died, it would be his own fault.

But he didn’t mind dying. He had felt dead inside for a long time now, since....He tried to let his own past sorrow drown out his will to live, but it wasn’t easy when he had been a man driven to enjoy life at the edge. Old habits died hard, and his own mental strength, the very core of him that was indomitable, refused to obey his own demands to let go. To give up.

Robert Alexander Diamond, damn his soul, was still COS Command’s Number One of the VIRUS Unit, no matter how far he ran away from reality. The man with the many accents, who could move like a shadow in and out of any predicament. The one who divert attention from the others—that was his specialty. No matter what, he was still one of the members of the elite team from which he had walked away.

So he lay there, torn between letting fate take its course or to take charge of his own destiny, as he had always done before he had disappeared, before fate took Emma from him.

He exhaled slowly, cursing that he was willing his body to fight the cold.

It was difficult to give up. He could at least have the decency to stop wanting to try, but his punishment was to face the guilt of wanting to live. Even when he really felt dead inside, his will wanted to live. Damn his will. Damn his love of life.

A sound from the only window in his cell broke through his reverie. The cracked and dirty opening was high on the wall across the bed and leaked in the cold, wintry blast like a sieve. Right now, someone was doing something against it, a gentle humming sound that merged with the Siberian wind outside. Imperceptible except to his trained ears, because he’d heard that particular hum before.

His sight had always been excellent in the dark, and he could see the distinctive shape of a hand against one of the square panes. He counted the seconds, knowing exactly how long it would take before a slight push of that hand would loosen the glass. He had done the same thing many times before, in another lifetime. Whoever it was must be freezing because the hand was ungloved. He continued watching calmly, intrigued at the sight of the lone pale hand that slipped in and expertly unlatched the window. It opened without protest, and the room became decidedly chillier by the second. He supposed his captors didn’t care if he would attempt to escape through that opening, considering that he was unlikely to survive long outside in his thermal underclothes.

A duffle bag dropped on the floor with a soft thud. A lean, lithe figure followed, dropping down on all fours like a cat. Turning around with the grace of a dancer, the newcomer closed the window and stuffed something into the hole that had been created a few minutes ago.

The invader was noiseless, efficient, picking up the duffle bag on the floor before advancing towards the bed. The rich midnight hair had disappeared into the inky color of the furry hood, and the pearly paleness of the face emphasized those glittering black eyes.

So what if he was spread-eagled? He had always been polite to visitors. Alex gave the approaching figure a small smile, willing his teeth to stop chattering.

“Welcome to my parlor, dushka,” he murmured.

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Numbers & Intentions

It never fails to amuse me. All I have to do is post sexy vege pictures and a Gerard Butler video and my site numbers spike up by hundreds. Many people from all over the world (Indonesia, I'm looking at you) are in love with Gerard Butler. I'm not sure what people have in mind when they google for sexy veges, LOL.

I know writers don't share sales numbers because of...I don't know...because of some unspoken professional rule, but since Big Bad Wolf was a self-pubbed experiment, I'll do so on my blog for those who are interested in whether this option is viable for you.

At the end of 2009, one year after BIG BAD WOLF came out, I've sold 700 copies, mostly through Amazon. Those that I sold from Createspace are mainly orders from overseas, especially from wonderful Australian booksellers who keep my Aussie readers Glow-happy and to whom I'm eternally grateful.

Overseas sales are about 100 copies, ordered by readers from Australia, Malaysia (yo, homies!), Singapore, Thailand, England, and France. I'm sure I missed a few international readers, especially Canadians, who ordered through Amazon, which I must seriously thank because I know the shipping charges got to be painful to the wallet.

When I started this project, my research said I could expect about 250 sales at most because, other than family and friends, self-published books aren't going to catch much attention. So that was my target. I figure I could possibly get 250 sales at 12 or 13 books a month.

My main worry was the price. Amazon takes a big chunk of the $11.55 price I put on the book, almost 80 percent. I needed to make back some money to:

1) prove that it's a business venture that can bring in profit
2) pay a bit of taxes (I didn't have a contract with Samhain when I started so I needed to show income for my GLow entity)
3) pay for the odds and ends, like the cover art and shipping charges

Most trade paperbacks are $14 and above. Most self-published books are set at incredibly self-delusional prices (some at US$40). I really tried to get it as close to $10 as I could, but couldn't do it at that time. I think, at this point, after a year, I can lower the price to $10.55.

My only problem was that I didn't know how to set my .pdf file into Amazon's .css requirement. Someone mentioned that Word would automatically do this but maybe it's a newer Word since my version (2003) doesn't seem to have this function. I just didn't have the time to sit down to learn. I'd love to be able to get on Kindle and sell it for $4 or whatever it was the wise and funny J.A. Konrath was teaching at his blog. Maybe that would be my 2010 goal...learn Kindle-ese.

Okay, that's my self-pub numbers in a few paragraphs. I'm not an expert. I mostly muddled through the process and did very little publicity except blog about it. The numbers stand on their own, with no big stores selling the book, no big push from anyone, a couple of wonderful reviews from Mrs. Giggles and Riley Merrick (sadly, I'm heartbroken, I couldn't get Harriet Klausner to give me five stars, heh), and no advertisement. All I had were my readers and I'm eternally grateful to everyone who ordered the book because you trusted my writing enough to know that I'd try my best to give you a worthy book. Thank you.

I think I'd try another self-pub book this year, so that I can LOWER Big Bad Wolf's price. Just to see whether Amazon would do a 2-for-1 sale or something like that. I'm curious at how they recommend their Createspace books. Besides, the income from those 700 books was enough to pay for most of my health insurance. So, yay. That was much, much more than my original 2 bks a month expectations, yes?

***********

Last year I also went epubbed for the first time. My New Year's resolution was to sell Virtually Hers by-hook-or-by-crook and I accomplished that in May, when the wonderful Angela James, then Samhain editor, bought my book.

Virtually Hers has been out three months and has done okay. Again, with a two-year lapse between Book 1 and Book 2, I wasn't expecting much, so was pleasantly surprised at the first month's sales number (in the hundreds). I'm looking forward to the print version of Virtually Hers coming out this August because I know many of my readers are waiting for the print format to read Jed's and Hell's continuing story.

Many readers are still not familiar with the e-book world. Or they don't hear much news about it. I get a number of emails a month asking where they could find Virtually Hers, after they googled the item and found that it was out in 2007. That's OLD news, of course, and I have to explain that THAT book never came out, and that it is now available through Samhain. Two out of three would then re-email me, confused about how to order the print book from Samhain, even though I've earlier explained that VHers was an electronic book first.

So, as an e-author, I've to learn how to communicate clearer about book formats and how the e-book world works (first e-format, then months later, print format). Most of my readers are looking for the print format and although some are willing to download the e-book, many opted to wait. I adore their patience. I adore their wonderful steadfastness. I adore that they keep looking for Gennita Low's books.

Many of my emails often ask about Alex's and T's story. I cannot tell you how popular these two are to readers and how many times I've to explain to them that although my agent is shopping their story around (with my proposal), she hasn't been able to sell it. And you know I love Alex and T as much as you do. I wrote their story in series-contemporary format years ago and even then they were special. I posted their original meeting a while back as a Christmas gift and I still get readers asking for a repeat after I've taken it off. I'll probably have to do it again.

So, anyway, I guess I should be bold and announce that my 2010 resolution is to get Alex's and T's story published by-hook-and-by-crook, eh? But I do have two projects that I need to get to:

1) For my agent, a new proposal about treasure hunters, with a spec. ops. flavor

2) For the self-pub, the Viking Dude urban-fantasy/alternative first POV story. It's not doing too well as a proposal, so I'm going to get it done (because I love my story) and put the first five chapters out for you to read free to see whether you'd like to continue. If there are enough thumbs-up, I'll self-publish it on Amazon.

Enough about boring numbers and intentions. Thought I'd share with you my 2010 writing plans after Virtually One (Samhain, hopefully late Spring 2010). I should be doing my first e-book signing at Romantic Times Booklovers Convention! Another first, and not sure what that entails. And yes, I'll be giving away free copies of Big Bad Wolf ;-).

For those who have requested, I'll put up the first chapter of T's and Alex's story again this afternoontomorrow (sorry, had to take off to measure a roof. In the cold, argh! And after that, I was so frozen, I was tempted into putting liqueur in my hot chocolate....) some time and put the link here. Stay tune.

Now, if only I could put a Gerard Butler original video in my ebook, you know I'm going to get some fantastic sales numbers :-).

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My Gerard Butler To Start The Year

It looks like a good "light" romantic suspense romp ;-).



I hope it does better than the last romantic comedy he did, the one with the Grey's Anatomy actress.

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Which Camp Do You Belong To?

It's the topic of contention at water coolers. Even the old folks at Shit and Grits are having philosophical snarling over it.

So, tell me, which camp do you belong to?

Do you belong to the side that is celebrating a new decade starting with 2010?

Or, are you the firm believer that 2010 is the END of the decade and that the first day of the next decade doesn't come till 2011?

Now, try arguing this with friends and loved ones after a few glasses of your favorite alcoholic beverage. Hilarity ensues when you see everyone holding up their fingers and counting, "One...twooooo...two to threeeeeee.......ten!"

and

"zero to one, and...."

and

"There's no zero year!"

and

"Oh yeah, well, then the double zeroes don't exist then, you *&%$head!"

and

"Eleven...twelve...must I count to 2010?"

:D

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Year End Sexy Veges: ARE YOUR EYES READY?

Here you go, my sexy Vege friends. If this picture doesn't bother you, do click on the link below to show ALL. You've been warned.

Yes, those are nipply sexy veges.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! (CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW FOR MORE FUN)

Aren't they the sexiest Veges of 2009? :D Happy now? Now go eat some veges.

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Renewal Coming Up?

I took a few days off the blog to recharge. I have had a pretty stressful two weeks before Christmas, what with three jobs to finish up before the big day. Besides, I figure y'all are happily snuggled with your loved ones, eating cookies and drinking eggnog anyway ;).

It's the last week of 2009. Does the last week of any given year make you reminiscent and contemplative? This one, in particular, because it is the last of year of the decade and we start a whole new one soon.

Remember 1999 and it was headlined by Party Like It's 1999 and everyone was buzzing about Y2K and some people were stocking cans of tuna and water in anticipation of massive power outage, at the very least? Then, before, 1989 was dominated by Massive Crowd Disasters/Gatherings, starting with the Hillsborough Stadium stampede during a football game, followed by the Tian Ah Men protests, and, finally, topped at the end of the year with the fall of the Berlin Wall.

So I was enjoying my wine and trying to think about the big events that would give 2009 its flavor. All I could think about was the horrible economy and because of it, how slow everything seemed to have gotten. For most of us, personal and business lives suffered from stagnation. So, rather depressing.

Took another sip of wine. Change the direction of my thoughts. Let's move onwards, then. What was the beginning of a decade like?

I do measure my own life in decades. Why? Because I'm old enough, that's why, ha. I can actually get to see some kind of pattern in the way my own life progresses.

For example, 1970 marked the beginning of going to school and learning the wondrous new world of communicating in other languages. I excelled in it. And I found a secret world, one in which I was very comfortable and in which I found my own comfort--books.

1980 was the beginning of my adventure as an adult. I was by myself, in a brand new world, and had the whole future ahead of me.

1990 marked the start of my roofing business. Another different planet to explore.

2000 was the year I made the decision to go after the goal of being published. Big Bad Wolf's finaling in the RWA in 1999 had given me confidence and hope that I might be good enough. 2000 was the year I decided I should try writing Big Books, called single titles, so that I could submit to more publishers. 2000 was the year my agent took me on.

Interesting pattern, eh? Following this trend, I wonder what 2010 would start for me? Maybe a different path? Hopefully, a successful one!

Can you trace your own footprints? It doesn't have to be in decades because I know some of you aren't as ancient as moi :-P. How was your year and are you looking forward to 2010? Perhaps you can share a few of your hopes and dreams with me here.

P/S For those wanting a SEXY VEGE entry, I'm looking for some good material to end decade with! :D

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In Case You Think I Don't Want Anything 4 Christmas

Hmm. Bring dessert.



MERRY CHRISTMAS GLOW ONES! I hope your holiday is a warm and wonderful one, with lots of presents and happy times!

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Meljean Brook Does Book PRoN!

Meljean Brook, who has built a fascinating urban fantasy world in her novels, finally came clean and admitted some very dirty things. She even took pictures to prove that she WENT THERE.

NAUGHTY NAUGHTY MELJEAN

It sure makes me jealous my books can't do some of the things her books can, dammit. That clip looks painful. Ouch ouchOUCH!

:D

You should print these pictures for those times when someone hounds you about your reading prOn. Seriously, it would shut them down. And up. Or maybe push them a step or two off their high and mighty ladder.

P/S Should I end the year with some Sexy Vege Pics?

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Pride & Prejudice as Yahoo!ticons

Remember the awesome version of Pride & Prejudice as Twitterama? Thanks to Vanessa Jaye's link, now we have P&P in Yahoo Emoticons :). And...it's just as awesome :-).

Click HERE: Pride and Prejudice in Yahoo!ticons

Makes me want to do Hell and Jed like that, ha!

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What Christmas Shopping?

So sorry I've been so quiet this past fortnight, but I've had to finish three houses before Christmas with very little help. I'm going nuts trying running around in between Christmassy stuff!

I hope you are all doing well at your little corner, busy preparing for the holidays ahead and spending time with visiting family. For me, it's always nice to think about family gatherings and shared laughter at this time of the year.

Are you done with your Christmas list yet? And what do you really, really, really, really want for Christmas? Come on, you can tell Auntie Glow.

For myself, I'd like a whole week at the spa. Just me and those people who'd take care of me, me, and only me. Skin, massage, the works. No running home to feed furbabies either. A whole week at the spa with time to write Jed and Hell's story because I'm so, so, so behind. Don't want anyone to bother me either, except maybe my dogsitter. (Sigh. I don't see this dream-present becoming real)

Your turn to 'fess up.

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Doggies Decorating Christmas Tree!

This is the bestest Christmas video ever :D. My doggies would have eaten all the toys!

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Marjorie Liu Has New Romance Game!

This woman never ceases to amaze me with her ability to cross genres and create new paths for romance.

She has partnered with Passion Fruit Games to give you a romance video game called Tiger Eye: Curse of the Riddle Box, which is based on her wonderful debut novel of the same title. It sounds so neat and just in time for Christmas pre-orders too!

Tell your man you want this instead of the pap smear suggestions from CBS!

Congrats, Marjorie! This looks awesome.

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Free Ebooks For Xmas!

Received and email from http://www.allromance.com/:

A D V A N C E D P R E S S R E L E A S E F O R R E P O S T I N G

ARe Gives Readers the Gift of eBooks to Celebr ate the Holidays

I t's the season of giving and All Romance eBooks™ (ARe) and some very special publishers are giving away eBooks.

Palm Harbor, FL, December 15, 2009 – During the busiest of shopping seasons, ARe and their partner publishers are making things easy and free. Shoppers can get select eBook titles from Harlequin, Liquid Silver Books, Tease Publishing, Pink Petal Books, Excessica Publishing, Eternal Press, The GA Hauser Collection, and eXstasy Books free of charge for a limited time thanks to ARe's 12 Days of Christmas campaign.

One free title will be announced each day for the twelve days preceding the Christmas Holiday in a special mailing to all subscribers of ARe's Wildfire eZine. In addition to the rotating eBooks offered for free, Harlequin is giving Wrapped and Ready, a holiday short story by Julie Kenner, away to readers all month long. The link can be found on any book detail page on the site. Readers put the free selection in their shopping cart, check out and the title will appear in their library instantly.

"Retailers like to run shoppers ragged to get a bargain this time of year, making them buy between certain hours, clip coupons, enter special codes. The holidays are hectic enough. ARe is about making things as easy as possible for the customer," says Media and Public Relations Manager, Cat Johnson. "With all the things we do for others at this time of year, it's really nice to get a little something for ourselves. And with our new gift giving feature, readers on a budget can take this opportunity to pass on the gift of an eBook to a friend—free."

TO SIGN UP FOR THE WILDFIRE NEWSLETTER:
Go to allromanceebooks.com or omnilit.com and register as a customer. Newsletter sign-up options can be found on-line in the account profile.

ABOUT ALL ROMANCE eBOOKS
All Romance eBooks, LLC was founded in 2006, is privately held in partnership, and headquartered in Palm Harbor, Florida. The company owns All Romance, which specializes in the sale of romance eBooks and OmniLit, which sells both fiction and non-fiction eBooks.

Thought I'd share it with you. Maybe there are some authors you've been wanting to try out. Or you can get some e-books for Christmas/New Year!

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A Quick Reflection on 2009

It wasn't great but it also wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.

Writing-wise, I did manage to have three books out, although one is a self-pub. The self-pub, btw, has made more money than the ebook to Samhain so far, but that's probably because it's been out almost a year whereas Virtually Hers has just been out 2 months. Still, I'm very pleased with the self-publishing experiment. It does prove that, with some knowledge and a good story, an author with readers can sell her books beyond her usual 100 copies spread out among friends and family. Now, if I can write one book a month....that would be enough to pay the mortgage ;-)...maybe.

It's definitely an improvement from last year's frozen status. Talking about frozen, yeah, roofing has picked up some too, so I'm actually making an income instead of living off my savings, whew. I'm very, very relieved about that.

Like I said, the year hasn't given me everything I'd hoped for, but I had many blessings:

1) Virtually Hers finally out, Virtually One contracted and on the way
2) My health (yes, the roof incident!)
3) Print version of my books.
4) Good friends who are supportive and generous
5) More roofing jobs
6) My Two Grand Old Furbabies' health--this is actually my most fervent wish, as everyday with them happy, healthy and eating (and no emergency vet bills!) is a gift to me.

What are your reflections on your year?

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What If Your Darling Man Gave You This For Christmas?

This is the bestest gift idea ever. Not.

Imagine your guy saying this to you on Christmas morning. And you found out that he wasn't joking. Let's say you just bought him a new HDTV? Or an I-Phone? How violent would you get? ;-)

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