This has nothing to do with positive thinking or publishing even. It's more like I completely forgot it was my night to blog until right before bedtime and then I went, well, I don't think I can post that. :) The only thing I could think of was moving. Moving is a pain. The end result is great, but while it's happening, not so good. The DH is stressed out and I have no clue about finances, which means I'm no good at helping him with most stuff.
Did you guys know books attract dust? I've been wondering why there is so little dust downstairs, it's b/c it floated upstairs to the bookcase and attacked the poor books. Excuse me while I go get a Kleenex. ha!
So we're trying to keep the house neat and the dogs go outside and one comes back (it would be the one we just bathed) sopping wet with his feet covered in mud. Since it hasn't been raining I stick my head outside and realize that the dog decided to take on a mission to kill the neighbor's sprinkler head. This sprinkler head comes up right underneath the fence. Go figure. For years the neighbors have been saying that they will move the sprinkler. Uh-huh. Now it's spraying in our yard, creating mud that no good dog can resist, which in turn makes muddy floors. So much for a clean house.
That's what's going on in my life. What's up with you?
Friday, February 29, 2008
Thursday, February 28, 2008
The Universe is Your Magnet
Do you believe in the power of positive thinking? I'm reading this book and that's the main premise: Thoughts have a magnetic power so whatever you think about and send into the universe is what you draw to you. Good and positive thoughts draw good and positive things to you, and bad, negative stuff - well, you get the picture...
It's an interesting concept and the book is written in a very positive way. It instructs the reader to think about what they want in life. What would make them really happy. Then send those thoughts into the universe - for example someone might say: I want to be wealthy and successful. So at some point the universe would deliver whatever you need to be wealthy and successful. But don't ask for a bacon cheese burger because it doesn't work that fast. And don't ask for The Rock to have a flat tire in front of your house and need to use the telephone and then decide to stay. That would be a misuse of the universes magnet and besides that's what I'm asking for. Get your own wish.
What will you ask the universe to deliver to you?
It's an interesting concept and the book is written in a very positive way. It instructs the reader to think about what they want in life. What would make them really happy. Then send those thoughts into the universe - for example someone might say: I want to be wealthy and successful. So at some point the universe would deliver whatever you need to be wealthy and successful. But don't ask for a bacon cheese burger because it doesn't work that fast. And don't ask for The Rock to have a flat tire in front of your house and need to use the telephone and then decide to stay. That would be a misuse of the universes magnet and besides that's what I'm asking for. Get your own wish.
What will you ask the universe to deliver to you?
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Tree Huggin' Trinity
Okay, I freely admit to being a tree hugger. I recycle everything I can, drive a small, fuel efficient car (I'll get a hybrid when I can afford one) and every single light bulb in my house
has been changed to those super long-life fluorescent bulbs that last for years. At one time I even owned a small recycling business.
Personally, I strive to be one of those people who lives in a tree for a month just to keep big bad corporate America from chopping it down to make another parking lot. (But I wouldn't last fifteen minutes without Internet access.)
So what does this have to do with writing? Recently, I decided to enter a contest, and I had my choices narrowed down to two. Both contests had good reputations, offered feedback and had terrific editors as final judges. So which one did I enter? One contest was traditional in that you made three copies and sent them in the mail along with a check and a SASE. The other was completely done through email and PayPal.
Let's see. Print copies, write a check, find an envelope large enough, schlep off to the post office, wait in line, pay ten bucks or more for postage or use PayPal and email your entry.
Hmmm...didn't have to think too much on that one. It amazes me that the publishing industry hasn't caught on to this. With the exception of epublishers, most publishing houses still require paper copies of submissions. I can't imagine why an editor would prefer to wade through mountains of paper versus using email.
In my opinion, it's time for publishers to leave the dark ages behind and join the modern world.
And for goodness sakes, save a tree while you're at it.
has been changed to those super long-life fluorescent bulbs that last for years. At one time I even owned a small recycling business.
Personally, I strive to be one of those people who lives in a tree for a month just to keep big bad corporate America from chopping it down to make another parking lot. (But I wouldn't last fifteen minutes without Internet access.)
So what does this have to do with writing? Recently, I decided to enter a contest, and I had my choices narrowed down to two. Both contests had good reputations, offered feedback and had terrific editors as final judges. So which one did I enter? One contest was traditional in that you made three copies and sent them in the mail along with a check and a SASE. The other was completely done through email and PayPal.
Let's see. Print copies, write a check, find an envelope large enough, schlep off to the post office, wait in line, pay ten bucks or more for postage or use PayPal and email your entry.
Hmmm...didn't have to think too much on that one. It amazes me that the publishing industry hasn't caught on to this. With the exception of epublishers, most publishing houses still require paper copies of submissions. I can't imagine why an editor would prefer to wade through mountains of paper versus using email.
In my opinion, it's time for publishers to leave the dark ages behind and join the modern world.
And for goodness sakes, save a tree while you're at it.
Monday, February 25, 2008
my name is christie and i'm a writerholic.
coolest things about the oscars last night: the clip of barb rockin' a choker; the clip of barb with mr. robert redford; the clip of barb winning an oscar in 1968.
so, i plan on going to see the other boleyn girl, which opens this friday. i bet robin bana already has a ticket. anyway, i read philippa gregory's book and really enjoyed it. i have a trade arc of tobg that is 661 pages, so considering a two-hour film is is a 120-page screenplay, i will be interested to see what makes it into the film, and what doesn't.
i'm as much a film critic as i am a book critic. that's because i'm a screenwriter too. in college i took every film class offered, including screenwriting. for class we were only required to write the first act, but my professor fancied my idea, so he encouraged me to complete it and enter it in this little contest. my professor (Dr. Hillwig, hi ... if you're reading the Spanksters blog:) had 9 screenplays under his belt, an agent, and he'd optioned a few (option means you get paid a lot of money just to have your idea considered), so heck yes i was excited and finished - Amelia - in 10 months (that's while going to school and working a full-time summer job). i placed as a quarterfinalist in the american screenwriters association international screenplay competition, and my name is actually still listed on the asa website. barb, if you're reading the Spanksters blog too, i would be honored if you'd direct and produce my film. we can even share a trailer. that would be fun, right? your agent, marty, can call me anytime to get this ball rolling.
so, i noticed philippa gregory was not the screenwriter for the movie. hmm. dan brown was not the screenwriter for davinci code (i did not like the movie at all - yuck). jack engelhard also was not the screenwriter for indecent proposal. ok, that was a good thing. indecent proposal, IMO, was a better movie than book. could you have seen robert redford as an arab? or woody harrelson as a speech writer? or demi moore named joan - joan for gosh sakes?
anyway, i can only dream of being a fraction of barb, who directs, produces, acts, sings, writes, and lands hot older man ... so in dreaming out loud, i would love to write a book (done that) AND write the screenplay for a movie of a book written by me. however, right now, my baby's just lookin' for a cradle, so i'll take that first and worry about the day bed later.
what about you? what books did you like better than the movie? movie better than the book? what big dreams do you have ... in addition to writing and finding a home for your book?
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Dry Spells, Pigeons and A Bottle of Wine…
So, yeah, February has been a slow, sloooow month for me. Up until last night, I could have counted on one hand the number of words that I’d added to anything related to fulfilling my dreams of being the greatest writer in the world. I know, I aim high but a girl’s gotta dream, right? ;-)
This current Dry Spell? It was killing me. Every night I looked at my files, then I would open my internet browser and that would be the end of my ‘work’ for the night. Even my Special Forces class was boring me to tears. And that’s saying something.
Last night, I’d had enough. Work has been entirely too stressful lately and being in the mist of this ‘dry spell’ wasn’t helping matters at all. So I pulled out the big guns. I bought some lottery tickets and a bottle of wine. I wrapped it in a brown paper bag and drank that shit right there in the parking lot while sitting next to a homeless man with a pigeon on his head.
Just kidding.
I waited until I got home and I drank it from a mason jar.
And then I wrote the opening scene for a story I’ve been rolling around in my head for a while now. Just like that – out of the mind and onto the page - the Dry Spell was over. Thank you very much.
I’d like to think it was the wine, just so I can keep a bottle of Boones Farm on hand, but more than likely it was the simple fact that my subconscious (SC) knew it was time to relax. Decompress. Refocus. SC is just really smart and knows that for me to listen, it needs to liquor me up a bit first…
So, tell us what your Dry Spells are like. Do you know the triggers? How do you pull out of the funk? Or are you that rare breed that can crank out a story no matter what else is going on in your life? How is that even possible?
P.S. I might already be Texas’ newest millionaire…If I could just find that damn tickets….
Friday, February 22, 2008
Eureka
Do you remember the moment you first had a thought that you could write? I'm talking as an adult. :) For me it was this moment at work several years ago where I looked around my little cube and thought, what am I doing here? I'd rather be home. Bringing this up to the DH was not a good idea b/c he reminded me that I was all for equality among men and women and that meant me in the workplace b/c he wanted to stay home too. But he decided to be generous and said that I was more than welcome to stay home if I met one of two conditions:
1) if I pop one out
2) become independently wealthy
Ha. At the time I didn't care to pop one out and it's not in my destiny to win with a lottery or gambling. Seeing the chance of Robert Redford offering DH a million for a night with me was very slim I had to think of another way to become independently wealthy.
Well, sitting in my cube that day I realized that I had all these stories in my head and my 6th grade English teacher had said that she would be surprised if I didn't become an author so I had no choice. Authorland it was. I figured I could write a story, send it to an agent and seeing how it was obviously the greatest thing she'd ever read I'd be offered a half a million to publish and someone might even want the rights to a movie.
Stop laughing.
That book is hiding in the closet, fearful of seeing the light of day. It was so bad that I actually fell asleep reading it. I've since learned that I can't become rich in this field, at least not monetarily. However, I feel rich for all the things I've learned about the writing world and all the friends I've made. (Aww, do you have warm fuzzies now???)
What's your eureka moment?
1) if I pop one out
2) become independently wealthy
Ha. At the time I didn't care to pop one out and it's not in my destiny to win with a lottery or gambling. Seeing the chance of Robert Redford offering DH a million for a night with me was very slim I had to think of another way to become independently wealthy.
Well, sitting in my cube that day I realized that I had all these stories in my head and my 6th grade English teacher had said that she would be surprised if I didn't become an author so I had no choice. Authorland it was. I figured I could write a story, send it to an agent and seeing how it was obviously the greatest thing she'd ever read I'd be offered a half a million to publish and someone might even want the rights to a movie.
Stop laughing.
That book is hiding in the closet, fearful of seeing the light of day. It was so bad that I actually fell asleep reading it. I've since learned that I can't become rich in this field, at least not monetarily. However, I feel rich for all the things I've learned about the writing world and all the friends I've made. (Aww, do you have warm fuzzies now???)
What's your eureka moment?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Voices and Ginsu knives...sorry, no sex
Writers have different ways of approaching a new story. Ideas come from everywhere if we take the time to see them. Some writers talk about ‘the voices talking to them’ and stuff like that. Nothing wrong with that I guess as long as they don’t instruct the writer to pick up a stapler or extra-sharp No. 2 and go all Ginsu on somebody.
I don’t hear voices and I’m pretty sure it would freak me out if I did. But ideas and phrases come to me when I take the time to recognize them. It’s usually in the quieter moments, like folding laundry or when I’m driving. Most of the time I leave the radio off in the car because the constant chatter keeps me from thinking about anything other than the daily radio topic.
And I love those moments when an interesting way to say something just pops in from….somewhere. Maybe the subconscious.
Because I think for writers, even when we’re not concentrating on our story the subconscious is still mulling it over and thrashing it about, trying to work out the plot, the many subplots, and all the other aspects that tend to drive us slightly nuts.
Hmmmm….probably explains some of the voices.
So how do you approach a story? Do you start with a small idea and expand it until it grows into a full fledged story? Do voices tell you what to write? What’s your method for getting the words down on paper?
I don’t hear voices and I’m pretty sure it would freak me out if I did. But ideas and phrases come to me when I take the time to recognize them. It’s usually in the quieter moments, like folding laundry or when I’m driving. Most of the time I leave the radio off in the car because the constant chatter keeps me from thinking about anything other than the daily radio topic.
And I love those moments when an interesting way to say something just pops in from….somewhere. Maybe the subconscious.
Because I think for writers, even when we’re not concentrating on our story the subconscious is still mulling it over and thrashing it about, trying to work out the plot, the many subplots, and all the other aspects that tend to drive us slightly nuts.
Hmmmm….probably explains some of the voices.
So how do you approach a story? Do you start with a small idea and expand it until it grows into a full fledged story? Do voices tell you what to write? What’s your method for getting the words down on paper?
Sex Scenes
I hate writing sex scenes! Reading them...no problem. Writing them...downright painful. After all, what would your mother think if she knew what you were up to? My sex scenes are about as romantic as a How To Manual.
In an effort to improve my writing in this area, I've been reading Angela Knight's Passionate Ink, a Guide to Writing Erotic Romance. (Special thanks to fellow spankster, Angie, for loaning me her signed copy---I promise I'll return it soon.) I highly recommend this book. Ms. Knight not only gives excellent advise on crafting erotic scenes, but on many other aspects of writing and publishing a novel.
One of the best tips is to avoid using silly euphanisms for body parts. This will pull the reader right out of the story...and who wants to be pulled out in the middle of a love scene? Current trends are to just tell it like it is, but some authors still go to extreme lengths to avoid using certain words.
The result: Purple Prose. Purple prose by definition according to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary is writing that calls attention to itself because of its obvious use of certain effects, as exaggerated sentiment or pathos, esp. in an attempt to enlist or manipulate the reader's sympathies.
For some really great examples of this go to http://www.debstover.com/purple.html
Hillarious!
Okay. I'll admit to using one of the phrases on the list. Guess which one and I'll give you chocolate. In the meantime, it's back to writing my smokin' hot scene. Insert tab Y into slot X...
In an effort to improve my writing in this area, I've been reading Angela Knight's Passionate Ink, a Guide to Writing Erotic Romance. (Special thanks to fellow spankster, Angie, for loaning me her signed copy---I promise I'll return it soon.) I highly recommend this book. Ms. Knight not only gives excellent advise on crafting erotic scenes, but on many other aspects of writing and publishing a novel.
One of the best tips is to avoid using silly euphanisms for body parts. This will pull the reader right out of the story...and who wants to be pulled out in the middle of a love scene? Current trends are to just tell it like it is, but some authors still go to extreme lengths to avoid using certain words.
The result: Purple Prose. Purple prose by definition according to the Random House Unabridged Dictionary is writing that calls attention to itself because of its obvious use of certain effects, as exaggerated sentiment or pathos, esp. in an attempt to enlist or manipulate the reader's sympathies.
For some really great examples of this go to http://www.debstover.com/purple.html
Hillarious!
Okay. I'll admit to using one of the phrases on the list. Guess which one and I'll give you chocolate. In the meantime, it's back to writing my smokin' hot scene. Insert tab Y into slot X...
Monday, February 18, 2008
leave barbie alone
the hottest thing about election 2008 - john mccain is 18 years OLDER than his BLONDE wife, cindy. and, speaking of blondes ...
i've heard that back in the day romance novels used to be real heavy on the blondes - kind of to the point of barbieism. but now, my gosh, IMO, it's rare to find a romance with a blonde heroine - at least the books i've been reading. now, there are plenty of books where blondes are bashed and ridiculed simply for their hair color, but what's that bitterness about? really?
i'm not a blonde, at least i don't consider my hair to be blonde, so why do some authors have such harsh feelings toward blonde heroines? i loved barbie when i was growing up. her perfect measurements didn't give me a complex. she didn't make me become anorexic. no, i was like, "wendy (i didn't call my barbies barbie), you're so pretty, and the beach boys totally sang a song about you! that's so cool. oh, BTW, i totally think tony is going to ask you to prom."
i see nothing wrong with blonde heroines, esp. ones who are wonderfully proportioned - naturally - and are tone because they have the discipline to get their fitness on in the gym! and speaking of proportions, that's a sore subject with me too. some women have curves ... as a gift from God!! not every endowed woman you see has had plastic surgery, and as most of you know, you can totally tell the ones who bought 'em versus the ones who didn't.
my point is, there shouldn't be any haters. writers should feel free to write about any type of heroine - blonde, brunette, mohawk - chesty, flat, plastic - whatever. if you're inspired to write about a big and beautiful woman, go for it. if you want to write about a size-two blonde goddess who has 500 bachelors chasing her, go for it. it's all about the story inside the writer. everybody's a critic, yes - but you can't let criticism stop you from writing the story you want to tell.
dang, i didn't even touch on the age subject. yet.
i've heard that back in the day romance novels used to be real heavy on the blondes - kind of to the point of barbieism. but now, my gosh, IMO, it's rare to find a romance with a blonde heroine - at least the books i've been reading. now, there are plenty of books where blondes are bashed and ridiculed simply for their hair color, but what's that bitterness about? really?
i'm not a blonde, at least i don't consider my hair to be blonde, so why do some authors have such harsh feelings toward blonde heroines? i loved barbie when i was growing up. her perfect measurements didn't give me a complex. she didn't make me become anorexic. no, i was like, "wendy (i didn't call my barbies barbie), you're so pretty, and the beach boys totally sang a song about you! that's so cool. oh, BTW, i totally think tony is going to ask you to prom."
i see nothing wrong with blonde heroines, esp. ones who are wonderfully proportioned - naturally - and are tone because they have the discipline to get their fitness on in the gym! and speaking of proportions, that's a sore subject with me too. some women have curves ... as a gift from God!! not every endowed woman you see has had plastic surgery, and as most of you know, you can totally tell the ones who bought 'em versus the ones who didn't.
my point is, there shouldn't be any haters. writers should feel free to write about any type of heroine - blonde, brunette, mohawk - chesty, flat, plastic - whatever. if you're inspired to write about a big and beautiful woman, go for it. if you want to write about a size-two blonde goddess who has 500 bachelors chasing her, go for it. it's all about the story inside the writer. everybody's a critic, yes - but you can't let criticism stop you from writing the story you want to tell.
dang, i didn't even touch on the age subject. yet.
Robin's Blogging!
Okay, I'm just gonna throw a blog out there because I am so proud that I actually got back onto the website (yes, I've been off of it and forgot my newly made gmail account name AND password - 'brilliant'...that's me!!!) And since we're supposed to take turns (I'm sure I'm stealing someone's day, but they can claim this piece' de merde as their own, if they'd like....)...
I am going to list my top ten memories of inspiration when writing romantic scenes:
I am going to list my top ten memories of inspiration when writing romantic scenes:
10. Overcast days in Redondo Beach, California
9. A kiss from a guy I really, really wanted to kiss
8. A kiss from a guy I really, really DIDN'T want to kiss
7. Any dance scene with Patrick Swayze in DIRTY DANCING
6. Red wine
5. The secret thrill of running into an old love
4. Masculine laughter
3. My first crush that lasted a year before it was requited
2. Scotland - any time of the year
1. And finally, because I cannot leave him out, Eric Bana
Friday, February 15, 2008
anesthesia
The other night at our meeting I had this idea for a blog after listening to anesthesia stories. But when I fired up my laptop, IE crashed or something and I had to reboot. Luckily the DH keeps his Alien (it's a computer, FYI) up and running at all times, so here I am. On Mozilla which works way better than IE. Duh. I really need to figure out how to put Mozilla on the laptop.
Any whoo, my original post thought. How to make a serious surgery become humorous. Woke up one morning and decided contacts sucked, especially mine since they went blurry quite a bit. What's the use of $600 contacts if you can't even see out of them? So I picked up the handy yellow pages and actually found a LASIX surgeon right down the street who could see me that week. Off I go to wait, and wait and wait and finally see said surgeon who has an available spot for me. Yippee! I get to cheat God. Not many people have that opportunity. And live. DH drops me off and leaves to rewire the entire house since there is a short somewhere and once again I wait. Laser eye surgery teaches you that. Then it's MY turn. I'm given a couple of pills (valium maybe??) and sent to a blue room with a bunch of other druggies, I mean people waiting to have their eyes cut. This whole time I'm thinking, valium isn't working. Then I stand up.
Whoa, Nellie! They do the surgery, slap on some eye protectors and send me home. Now the DH is unaware that valium shoots me to the moon in a semi-conscious state and has parked his car outside. I'm mostly blind and totally doped and walk out the door looking for DH. It's dark and there is a man standing by the door. Is he DH? I ask, get a grin and a no. He asks what DH looks like/drives so I mutter something and manage to get the nice man to point to a car. I open the door, stick my head in and ask if he's my hubby. Score! DH was like, OMG.
Anyone else have something similar happen?
And in case you're wondering, I HIGHLY recommend Lasix. It's great. Went from legally blind to 20/20. Yeah technology!!! It wasn't powered by microsoft. :)
Any whoo, my original post thought. How to make a serious surgery become humorous. Woke up one morning and decided contacts sucked, especially mine since they went blurry quite a bit. What's the use of $600 contacts if you can't even see out of them? So I picked up the handy yellow pages and actually found a LASIX surgeon right down the street who could see me that week. Off I go to wait, and wait and wait and finally see said surgeon who has an available spot for me. Yippee! I get to cheat God. Not many people have that opportunity. And live. DH drops me off and leaves to rewire the entire house since there is a short somewhere and once again I wait. Laser eye surgery teaches you that. Then it's MY turn. I'm given a couple of pills (valium maybe??) and sent to a blue room with a bunch of other druggies, I mean people waiting to have their eyes cut. This whole time I'm thinking, valium isn't working. Then I stand up.
Whoa, Nellie! They do the surgery, slap on some eye protectors and send me home. Now the DH is unaware that valium shoots me to the moon in a semi-conscious state and has parked his car outside. I'm mostly blind and totally doped and walk out the door looking for DH. It's dark and there is a man standing by the door. Is he DH? I ask, get a grin and a no. He asks what DH looks like/drives so I mutter something and manage to get the nice man to point to a car. I open the door, stick my head in and ask if he's my hubby. Score! DH was like, OMG.
Anyone else have something similar happen?
And in case you're wondering, I HIGHLY recommend Lasix. It's great. Went from legally blind to 20/20. Yeah technology!!! It wasn't powered by microsoft. :)
Thursday, February 14, 2008
Tax Tips
Kinda old:
http://www.scribesworld.com/windycityrwa/misc/Taxes.pdf
Can someone read this and send me the notes?
http://www.forwriters.com/taxes.html
Some Write Off Tips:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/23958/tax_tips_for_writers.html
Feel free to edit this post and add additional helpful sites!
-Chellie
http://www.scribesworld.com/windycityrwa/misc/Taxes.pdf
Can someone read this and send me the notes?
http://www.forwriters.com/taxes.html
Some Write Off Tips:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/23958/tax_tips_for_writers.html
Feel free to edit this post and add additional helpful sites!
-Chellie
Monday, February 11, 2008
crickets...chirp...chirp...chirp...
Hello? Yoo-hoo? Anybody home?
lol...
So, I'm realizing that maybe y'all are like me...you just like to look at the blog? I love to look at it. Love looking around the different blog customizing websites and wishing I knew how to make us a pretty pink background. I tried it. It broke it. Scambled to get it back to normal before anyone noticed.
Random thoughts:
-Leonardo DiCaprio is hot. I'm not sure when that happened.
-Ricky Bobby is such a funny movie. YOU ARE NOT ON FIRE, RICKY BOBBY!
-I really should be re-writing something.
-I always wonder if fanny packs contain guns. If I had a license, I would carry in one of those cool shoulder holsters. It's probably good I don't have one. I might go all Lara Croft on accident.
-The Special Forces class I'm taking is really interesting. Too bad the only guys available for interviews are 50+. I'm just saying.
-somewhere out there some man has gotten this t-shirt:
lol...
So, I'm realizing that maybe y'all are like me...you just like to look at the blog? I love to look at it. Love looking around the different blog customizing websites and wishing I knew how to make us a pretty pink background. I tried it. It broke it. Scambled to get it back to normal before anyone noticed.
Random thoughts:
-Leonardo DiCaprio is hot. I'm not sure when that happened.
-Ricky Bobby is such a funny movie. YOU ARE NOT ON FIRE, RICKY BOBBY!
-I really should be re-writing something.
-I always wonder if fanny packs contain guns. If I had a license, I would carry in one of those cool shoulder holsters. It's probably good I don't have one. I might go all Lara Croft on accident.
-The Special Forces class I'm taking is really interesting. Too bad the only guys available for interviews are 50+. I'm just saying.
-somewhere out there some man has gotten this t-shirt:
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
furry flirty man and fanny packs
sasquatch sighting at the gym yesterday. sometime i would like to accompany the gideons and pass out mirrors to people who do not have one. is that mean? seriously, if i want to see a man covered in an obscene amount of hair i will go home and pet my labrador.
back to writing.
ok, so my voice is kind of chick-litty, but i'm a happy ending type of girl, so contemporary romance is how i roll. and, my heroines are not exclusively fashionistas - you know, the ones who wear jimmy choo's, prada, etc. no. my girls are a little city, a little country.
but, fanny packs?
fanny packs have NO place in a contemporary romance novel published in the present period ... UNLESS the author has made the fanny pack offender a quirky character on purpose, or a bicyclist. according to everyone's favorite source, wikipedia, "fanny packs were more popular during the early 90s." wikipedia also goes on to say that "fanny packs are considered unfashionable by most people ... Weird Al Yankovic wore one in his song 'White and Nerdy'."
i rest my case.
let's review the definition of contemporary again: marked by characteristics of the present period.
later sk8er.
back to writing.
ok, so my voice is kind of chick-litty, but i'm a happy ending type of girl, so contemporary romance is how i roll. and, my heroines are not exclusively fashionistas - you know, the ones who wear jimmy choo's, prada, etc. no. my girls are a little city, a little country.
but, fanny packs?
fanny packs have NO place in a contemporary romance novel published in the present period ... UNLESS the author has made the fanny pack offender a quirky character on purpose, or a bicyclist. according to everyone's favorite source, wikipedia, "fanny packs were more popular during the early 90s." wikipedia also goes on to say that "fanny packs are considered unfashionable by most people ... Weird Al Yankovic wore one in his song 'White and Nerdy'."
i rest my case.
let's review the definition of contemporary again: marked by characteristics of the present period.
later sk8er.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008
Check me out
Hey! I'm blogging!! Like wow. Never thought I would write on a blog. Mainly b/c I never thought I'd be able to figure it out. Thanks to the spanksters here I am! Yippee! And with even more help I have a pix. Was looking for a dragon, but I guess a sting ray will have to do. Hopefully I posted this correctly and it didn't wind up on some other bloggers page. :)
Fight the Power!
Or not - it would seem. Just out of curiosity, I typed Cassie Edwards into my trusty Google search engine. Her web page in officially 'Under Construction'. Did she make that decision? Her agent? Her publishing house? Her lawyer? Does it speak more to an admission of guilt or is it simply an act of self preservation?
Smartbitchies(www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com)really hit this one out of the ballpark. Giving a friend some books to read turned into a life altering event for one unsuspecting author. Or did she suspect? Did she live in fear that in this great age of the super information highway exposure was just around the corner?
Honestly, I can't believe she was ballsy enough to continue to do it. Twenty, heck even 10 years ago, sure. But today? Where typing someone's name in a search engine can reveal a wealth of information about their transgender journey that makes you wish you never typed their name to begin with because you were going to have to sit across from them at the conference table the next day at noon. Ladies, that's personal experience I am speaking from right there. Talk about digression! That was years ago and I am STILL nursing those wounds.
ANYWAY....
It's really been interesting to watch this story unravel. Like Angie said, "Can you imagine waking up one morning and..." That's paraphrasing and hopefully she hasn't yet copyrighted those words... ;-)
Thoughts? Leave comments after the jump. Okay, I don't know what 'the jump' is...but other bloggers use it.
Smartbitchies(www.smartbitchestrashybooks.com)really hit this one out of the ballpark. Giving a friend some books to read turned into a life altering event for one unsuspecting author. Or did she suspect? Did she live in fear that in this great age of the super information highway exposure was just around the corner?
Honestly, I can't believe she was ballsy enough to continue to do it. Twenty, heck even 10 years ago, sure. But today? Where typing someone's name in a search engine can reveal a wealth of information about their transgender journey that makes you wish you never typed their name to begin with because you were going to have to sit across from them at the conference table the next day at noon. Ladies, that's personal experience I am speaking from right there. Talk about digression! That was years ago and I am STILL nursing those wounds.
ANYWAY....
It's really been interesting to watch this story unravel. Like Angie said, "Can you imagine waking up one morning and..." That's paraphrasing and hopefully she hasn't yet copyrighted those words... ;-)
Thoughts? Leave comments after the jump. Okay, I don't know what 'the jump' is...but other bloggers use it.
Saturday, February 2, 2008
my first time
a girl never forgets her first time.
blogging, that is. it's my first time to blog.
when I told biscuit the spanksters started a blog, this is what transpired:
me: so, we have blog now.
biscuit: is that kind of like a chat room?
me: no, kip. a blog is not a "chat" room. no one is "chatting" for three hours with lafawnduh.
biscuit: oh.
and that was that.
so, we're writers. cool, huh. yeah, very cool. but what do we write? there're lots of different kinds of writers.
we're - *GASP* - romance writers!!! yes. romance. where smart, sexy, and strong women stand proud by their men and by their genre.
me, i write contemporary romance. contemporary according to Merriam-Webster means: marked by characteristics of the present period. i anticipate probing deeper into my view on this subgenre. oh yes. good times.
so, i'm sure our vast reading audience is curious as to the origination of our name: the spanksters. well, if you read or write romance, you know - no, you're shown - that the writer never reveals secrets too early. so, you'll just have to keep reading our blog to find out. see, we're building tension and suspense already. it will be interesting to see how many people find our blog by Googling "spankster." according to the Urban Dictionary, spankster means: spanish gangster. um, i assure you, we are not spanish gangsters, although that does sound like a great story idea.
we write romance. that simple.
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can we wear one of these at conference? 'Cause that would be AWESOME!
For Christie!
hahahahahaha
