It's Not That Far Away

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

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

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

RT CONVENTION 2009 SCHEDULE

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

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

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

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

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Post #2: The Real McDreamy

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

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

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

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

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Wet Rainy Day News

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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How To Swing Your Ass Fifty Feet In The Air

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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My Day At The Beach

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

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

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

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

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

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Winner of Caption Contest

The winner of the Contest of the Week is:

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

"Sorry, exactly where do I bite again?"

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

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

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Post #2: Kong Hee Fatt Choy!

Ha, trust me to forget.

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

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

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

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

Chinese Astrological Chart

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

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

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

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Slow And Easy

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

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

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

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

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

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How Do You Do It?

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

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

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

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

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

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100 And It's Not The Temperature

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

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

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

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

Not that chirpy works.

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

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

Didn't even. Crack. A. Smile.

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It's A Historic Day

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

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

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

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Ah, I Love My Readers

Check out what Maria did for me:



Isn't that cute? ;-)

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EPIC Fail

Gasp! Your thoughts?

"Mommy, is that a bedtime story?"

"Look Mommy! Comics!"

Children between what ages, I wonder? ;-P

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Friday Means Happy, Happy Thoughts

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

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

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

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

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

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Writerspace Tonight

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

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

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Contest Of The Week

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

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

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

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The Best Job In The World

Here you go:

MY DREAM JOB.

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

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He Was The First Roarke

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

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

RIP, Mr. Roarke.

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The Bromance Is Back

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

Jack: You...you're alive!

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

Jack: But you were dead!

Tony: But only for ten minutes!

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

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

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

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

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

;-)

And that's what 24 is all about.

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