Guest Blogging & Contest

Today I'm a guest blogger at Closetreader. Lea's been cool enough to host me and in honor of her awesomeness, I'm giving away a book from my alter ego's back list. Want to check it out? Click here!

Gearing up for the Weekend

I know it's early but I'm getting ready for the weekend already! I'll be going to my first writing conference so I'm trying to get my pitch ready (thank you to the friends who've already helped me out!) and figure out what clothes I'm bringing. Currently my bed is covered with clothes. I pulled out skirts and cardigans I haven't worn in forever so they're going to be getting some good use. The man is at work so he has a surprise when he gets home, lol. Hopefully I'll narrow it down and clean up by then.


Just wanted to drop a note that the blog will probably be quiet until next week :)

Cover Love

Want to see my alter ego's new cover? Check out the Naughty Author Chicks blog then.


The weekend plans include writing, editing, and lots of cleaning. My house is pretty bad right now! I'm actually surprised the man hasn't gone into revolt. I'll also be working on a pitch for when I attend my first conference! The Moonlight and Magnolias conference is next weekend and I'm very excited. Two friends I haven't seen in a while will be there and we're sharing a room so I know it'll be fun. My agent's partner will also be there so I hope I get to meet her. And I love the keynote speaker, Allison Brennan. The whole pitch thing has me a little freaked out. I have no problem writing queries. In fact, I sort of love writing query blurbs. But condensing my whole plot into a really short synopsis then repeating it out loud to an editor? I'm shuddering at the thought. Any tips from you pitching pros?


Have a great weekend!

Audible!

Last month I discovered how awesome Audible.com is. There are a few other similar sites but Audible seems to be the best option for me. I have an iPod shuffle (iPod's mini version) so it's perfect. See the pink one on top of that stack? Same kind and color of the one I have! I was a little worried there wouldn't be enough space, but shuffle has no problem holding all my songs and 5+ extra hours of an audio book. Thankfully Audible breaks books down into parts. Now my early morning walks are no longer as painful.


I walked almost 7 miles on Tuesday and barely noticed it. Ha, I'm kidding. I did walk that much but I definitely noticed it. Normally I get in between 3.5-6 miles depending on the day so I didn't think adding an extra mile would make a difference. Oh my Lord, did it ever. I must have been dehydrated or something b/c I was struggling that last stretch. There's this park on the way home so I thought I'd be able to grab some water. Um, no water fountains! I was wandering around this park with a no doubt crazy expression in my eyes. I could barely talk as I stumbled looking for sustenance. I think the mothers were worried I was some crazy kidnapper or something. Seriously, what kind of park doesn't have water fountains??


Okay, back to the point of my post. Audible rocks! I feel like this whole new world has been opened up to me. Sometimes it's hard to find time to read so this is perfect. I get my daily fix no matter what even if I can't scrounge up time in the evenings. Right now I'm listening to one of J.D. Robb's 'Death' books. She is definitely one of my go-to authors. Anyone else use Audible and love it? I only wish I'd discovered this site a long time ago!

A New Week

Yay! I'm officially done with edits for my Carina book. Well, at least the first round, lol. I've sent them to my editor and now I can breathe again. These were probably the most intense edits I've ever done so I'm excited to see what my editor thinks. Since that's all I've lived and breathed the last week, the man is definitely getting a home cooked meal with dessert and maybe some romantic candles tonight :)


I did take a break on Saturday and saw Resident Evil: Afterlife. It was just as good as I'd hoped! Usually movie series get worse as time goes on but these just keep getting better. Bring on more zombie killing heroines! There were a few things I wish had been expanded upon (like the crazy giant monster with nails sticking out of his skin who appeared out of nowhere and tried to kill them...who was he?) but it was quite entertaining. Anyone else see this movie? What did you think? After that ending they better make another one. Can't leave me hanging like that. :)


Today I'm playing catch up around the house and running errands so I'm off for now. Tell me how you spent your weekend!

Ah, Edits

<----- We have a date this weekend as soon as I finish my edits. Just wanted to pop in and let everyone know I'm still around, just working on edits and limiting my internet time.


Have a great weekend everyone!

Puppy Love

Over the weekend the cutest puppy followed me home. It was like something out of a movie. I was out for my morning walk and on the last stretch I saw the cutest little bulldog (huge paws!) across the street. Oblivious to cars and trucks, he darted across the street and fell in line with me. He licked my legs a few times and would not leave my side. He didn't have a collar but I could tell he was well-cared for so I was worried about him. I thought maybe he'd wandered away from his yard but the spot he'd started following me was by a huge park so it was impossible to tell which direction he'd come from.


I gave him food and water and he ate and drank the contents of both bowls before passing out on his little belly. Luckily the first vet I called knew who he belonged to and put me in contact with the owner. The girl who picked him up was practically in tears. She'd been watching him for her brother and he'd gotten out. She said she'd just been about to call her brother and admit what had happened.


That was my good deed for the weekend :)


In writing news, I'm working on edits for Dangerous Secrets, my first, upcoming release with Carina. The actual edits aren't bad but I'm changing a plot point and it's proving time-consuming. So, I'll be in my writing cave until these are finished.

Man Crush

Any Supernatural fans out there? Last weekend I realized that the premiere is soon....like two weeks from now soon! Sept. 24. The countdown is officially on. I love everything about this show, especially the man candy. My man doesn't even care that I sometimes drool over the Winchester brothers. That's because he has a man crush on Dean. Btw, the words 'man crush' are not to be used in the Deep South. Something I learned recently. I innocently uttered them (referring to my hubby's love of Supernatural) in front of some of his family members and they all stared at me as if I was insane. And he actually turned red! Later he explained to me that uh, yeah, they don't know what man crush or metrosexual mean down here. It's cool, I'll slowly bring them to the dark side, one by one.


Today my alter ego is blogging at Naughty Author Chicks about alpha males vs. beta males. If you read my stuff you know I like the alphas, but I also have a special place in my heart for betas. So, head on over to the NAC blog and share your opinion!


Sorry no ghost hunting post today. It's going up next week though, I promise!! Have a great weekend everyone :)

Guest Author Angi Morgan

Over the next three days I'm hosting Harlequin Intrigue debut author, Angi Morgan at Desert Island Keepers! She's chatting about her upcoming release, Hill Country Holdup, and other fun stuff. And, she's giving away a copy of her new book so be sure to stop by today through Wednesday for a chance to learn more about her and a chance to win!

(Later this week I promise I'll have a post about our ghost tour of the local lighthouse!)

Go Ghostfacers

This week has flown by so fast. I still can’t believe it’s September already. Earlier in the week the man and I finally got new license plates for our vehicles and new licenses. It was weird and a little sad turning in my Florida license. My whole life I’ve been a Floridian (3^rd generation) so giving that tiny plastic card up felt somehow monumental. I thought maybe I could keep it as a memento but no way, the lady at the DMV wasn’t having it. I’m still not really sure what she thought I could do with my old license but rules are rules. *shrugs*


Oh well, bring on the three day weekend! Tomorrow there’s an art walk downtown so I’ll probably check that out in the morning, but tomorrow night I’m going on a ghost tour of a lighthouse with some ladies from my local RWA chapter. I’m bringing my camera and I’m pretty sure one of the ladies is bringing a video camera so I promise if we see something of the supernatural sort, I’ll be posting pictures. In honor of that, I’ve posted a goofy video of the ‘Ghostfacers’. If you’re a Supernatural fan then no explanation is necessary. And if you’re not (seriously, why aren’t you??) this is from a Supernatural episode where they make fun of a real ghost hunting show (which I actually like). Enjoy!