Friday Funny

I know this has been floating around Facebook, but it's too funny for words. I'm so looking forward to Halloween, even more now. I just need to find some pumpkins as fun as these guys. :) [They should be the new "Just say no" spokesmen.] Have a great weekend!

Goodbye September, Hello Newsletter

Well, I almost missed it. But I managed to slip the September newsletter onto my website before the month ended. Check it out, especially since I included a link to a brand new, never before seen excerpt of my upcoming contemporary story, (a follow up to Enjoying the Show) Closing the Deal. It's sexy, fun, and funny. Hope you like it.

Fascinating and Disturbing, all at the same time

So last night, a friend of mine sent me a link to possibly the most messed up person I've ever read about. Seriously. The person blogging about the woes of her life has experienced homelessness, drug abuse, lies, deception, and a non-supportive family who has stolen from her and kicked her out of their homes and their lives. According to her, everyone has screwed her over, and it's not her fault that her life sucks. She continues to try to believe other people will save her, and when they don't measure up, she gives them the proverbial finger, shrieks at them through her blog, and rants about any and everything.

You'd think one post of that and I'd leave her site as fast as you can blink. But I didn't. I read another post, then another, and another. A half hour later I felt like a needed a shower to get her negativity off me. Yet I'd been glued to her ranting. Why? What is it about her train wreck of a life (her words, not mine) that I found so captivating?

I had to think about this for a while after trying to decompress from so much complaining. I think mostly I kept wanting to learn something good had happened to her. Then too, every time she had something bad happen, she linked to something else bad that had happened, so I was engrossed in her backstory.

And now I understand why so many people love tortured heroes. You keep wanting that hero to win, to defeat his adversity and come out on top. We love an underdog, and so we watch the bad stuff hoping for the good stuff.

OR maybe it was that I didn't think any human being could be so oblivious to their own responsibility for the things that happen in life. Waiting for someone to save you instead of saving yourself is a recipe for disaster. Like using another person to make you happy, or having kids to save a marriage. If it isn't working, kids and boyfriends/girlfriends or spouses won't fix the problem. Because that one problem that's consistent is YOU, not someone or something else.

Good God. I'd share the link, but I honestly don't want anyone to read her narcissistic comments about herself or her hateful venom toward her family, her friends, and her enemies. Now I wish I could scrub my brain clean. Ugh, Cat. You owe me for sharing that friggin' link! I'm trying like hell to think of something nice now. Kittens and puppies, kittens and puppies. Make it stop!!!

SUPERNATURAL Season 7 is Back!

What kind of fan would I be if I didn't tout the very first episode of Supernatural, Season 7? I admit, I was kind of hoping they'd go out with a great bang after Season 5. I mean, how do you top the apocalypse? But they did! And now there's an angel gone rogue and Sam remembers hell. Take a gander at a teaser for tonight's episode on the CW. I can't wait!!

Time is a Funny Thing

When deadlines loom, the clock can't go slow enough to suit me. Yet trying to get feedback from others, whether it be house hunting, submissions, or call backs for appointments seems to take forever.

I'm not a patient person, and sometimes I wonder if this career is good for me. Then again, I wouldn't want to do anything else but write. A more type-A person would have a stroke waiting to hear back, sometimes months or even years later, on submissions. But I have a lazy string of DNA that allows me to mellow out. I read a book, watch a movie, or take a nap to take the edge off. Usually.

Lately I'm on pins and needles. I have a project sitting with a few people that might come to a happy conclusion. I also have a bid in on a house with people who don't seem to understand the meaning of the words For Sale. (You want to sell the house, answer my friggin' realtor!)

So there you have it. My day is already half over, and I have yet to do more than feed the dogs, get the kids to school, and hit an aerobics class that kicked my *ss. I haven't gotten started yet today on my current WIP, and I only have another month before it's due.

And there goes that clock ticking again.

Beginnings: Fortune's Favor

Beginnings are exciting, fun, scary, bright. They introduce new worlds and thoughts and dreams. And they can bring new disasters as well. (Hey, it's early and I haven't had my coffee yet. I'm entitled to a small bit of negativity.)

Yesterday I finished the draft that's taken me a lot longer to complete than I'd thought. But I did it, and now it's done. Which leads me to my next project. I have the idea, the flesh of the plot, and the characters. And now I get to do what I love about writing. I mull.

I sit around and think about what these characters are really like. How do they react to certain situations, or to each other? What kinds of conflicts will push them closer or farther away from one another? I ponder, I dwell, and I add all kinds of ingredients to my story stew. Then I let them simmer while I write.

In Fortune's Favor, psychics Avery Holton and Nathan Kraft are heading down a dark road filled with secrets, lies and murder. Along the way, they'll find answers and a truth in each other. That's if they can survive the murderer bent on ending Nathan, once and for all.

Ooh. I love clear evil, and this baddie is pretty psycho. Even better, the heroes are intriguing. Sexy, frustrated, and fighting the attraction. I like a romance where the protagonists at first irritate each other, then gradually fall in love. And of course the irritation masks attraction.

Nathan and Avery were briefly mentioned in Whispered Words. But here they are, ready to get their own story. Good luck, guys!

From Whispered Words:

Nathan stopped and turned with Avery to watch Chloe, their hard-assed boss, giggling as her new boyfriends, lovers, hell, fiancés, dragged her out of the gym.

“They’re going home. To have sex.” Avery said it like it was an unknown phenomenon.

“Yes, Avery,” Nathan said slowly, as if to a dimwitted child. “That’s when a man puts tab A into a woman’s slot B. Get it?”

Avery turned and punched him in the gut, hard. His blue eyes gleamed with amusement. Not ice-cold like Jack’s, Avery’s eyes reminded Nathan of sapphires, priceless and shining with a wealth of feeling.

“You keep pushing me, dimples, and one day I’m gonna give you what you’ve been asking for.”

If only. Avery was so straight he could barely color outside the lines. “Whatever, Romeo. And quit calling me dimples,” Nathan snapped. The guy annoyed him like nobody’s business.

But he couldn’t make himself turn away from that fine ass as Avery strutted from the room like a proud peacock.

Annoyed? You Should Be

I'm over at Here Be Magic today. I listed 10 annoying things I sometimes find in futuristic, fantasy and paranormal romances. Feel free to join me. :)

Could You Be Any Louder????

So okay. I'm temporarily staying with my mother while I find a house to move into. Yes, I've moved from the Southeast to the Northwest, and I'm loving the change. What I don't love is the woman next door who talks so friggin' loudly on her cell phone that people in China can hear her. And lucky me, I'm trying to work inside, my window open to let in the nice air...and her VOICE. She has one volume. Loud. Talking, laughing, gabbing on her cell phone for two--yes two--hours. I'm not sure how to ask her to tone it down. I'm not afraid to, but this isn't my house, and she just moved in next door, so I'd rather be nice than nasty. I'm going to give it a few days and see if her habit of telling everyone about the state of her marriage, via the phone, is a trend. Man, do I really want to move into my own place! But you know, it's quiet right now, I'd better hurry with work...

In Memory, God Bless

A Book Recommendation: BROKEN

A book recommendation: BROKEN

I'm all about good bargains, and I love Changeling stories. By Changeling stories, I mean the actual publisher, Changeling Press (with whom I'm not affiliated in any way--hmm,maybe I should write a few short stories...) Anyway, their stories don't go over 28,000 words. And their prices are under $5. Most books are around $2 or $3, and the stories are fun. Short and sexy, they offer scifi, fantasy, and hot tales sure to curl your toes.

I've been following Malathix Souls. One, because my friend Ayla Ruse wrote the series, and two, because I like the books. It's scifi romance involving shapeshifters, so I'm totally in.

I just read Broken. Great story, and it was a complete standalone from the first one. Check it out...

Storming His Heart: A Review

I don't often do this, but I figured, hey, why not share some nice news as I toil away on edits for my editor at Samhain. Ugh, toiling, toiling...

Here's a view for Storming His Heart from Fresh Fiction. See? I'm not the only one who liked the book.
Investigator Storm Buchanan did not expect her latest assignment to coincide with Rafe Savage's case. Rafe works for her family's rival agency, the Wakefields. The Buchanan's agency is family owned but both agencies have people with special gifts. Storm's gift of manipulating minds is hard on the love life until Rafe, whose mind she can't control, doesn't mind at all which is a good thing since she would love nothing better than to get him in her bed. Wishing won't make it come true; her family would have a fit if she took up with the enemy.

When Rafe's vision shows Storm in danger they begin a game of cat and mouse with someone who is determined to get their hands on both of them for reasons unknown to either. The escalating danger to Storm and Rafe has the agency's founders declaring a timeout. Now is the time to join forces if they want to keep everyone safe while they discover who and what is after their people.

Combustible tension and wonderful adventure provide for a steamy sexy romantic suspense with enough twists and turns to keep readers impatiently flipping the pages. From page one I knew STORMING HIS HEART would give me a few hours of entertainment and I was right. The Wakefield and Buchanan agencies are like the Hatfield and McCoy feud except Ms Harte's feud has passion, humor, suspense, and lovable people. I loved this story and look forward to reading more of this series from an author who never fails to deliver exceptional stories.

Reviewed by Darlene Kendall
Posted September 8, 2011

CELEBRATION

School is finally back in session! My kids are being educated and I'm back on track to make deadlines. Writing during the day. YIPPEE!!!!!!

One More Day...

One more day until the little darlings are back to school and I quit my self-imposed night shift. Up at the crack of dawn, then working during DAYLIGHT. The shock of normalcy might just kill me. But let's hope not. I have deadlines to meet.

Tick tock tick tock. The countdown is on...

Labor Day Blow-Out

Is there anything worse than blowing up your first chapter and starting over? Hell. I'd written a great first chapter the other day, then got stuck. Why? Because I'd set up the scene all wrong. Too muddled and wanting to get words down, I lost myself in the muck of a deadline instead of staying true to where my muse (and I) want the story to go.

Long story short, I scrapped the first 2400 words and rewrote it. Which leaves me with a great 3400 words and places to go. As in, back to the story. So I leave you to write once more. Back to my novella, in which a bear shifter falls in with a demon hunter to rout an evil scourge killing demons and Shifters alike. Add in a smarmy feline, and there's one chaotic, confusing, aggressive threesome blossoming under my fingers...on the keyboard, you understand.

Now go blow up your own Labor Day. And have a good one.

Will I or Won't I?

Get up tomorrow, that is. Working at night rocks...until you need to get up the following morning. It's now 0105. Tomorrow is Sunday. Good person that I am, I have every intention of waking my sorry butt up and going to church. The question is, will my feeble brain function early enough to get me there? Or will I give in to the demon that is slumber? And why the hell do I even think any of this post will look good when I'm typing at 0106 in the morning?
Ack. See? Never work at night and share with the rest of the world. But alas, I'm too tired to know better.
Good news, I wrote 3400 words tonight. Hurray.

Good Vibes

I sent back my cover input for Closing the Deal. Finally finished and submitted a Cougar Falls story for Grady, and reread my newest submission to Loose Id, Grayson's Gamble, a follow-on Dawn Endeavor (Circ) story. The great news is that Grayson's Gamble is even better, reading it now, than when I'd first written it. I can't WAIT until November when the story comes out. I really, really like it. :) Big smiles.