Wanna read me?

So this has been a week. I didn't get a chance to pimp The Art of Getting By as much as I'd wanted to. (Go click the link in my sidebar. Go. Now. Just don't forget to come back *grin*)

My day job went all wonky and I found out just how evil Human Resources and budgets can be. Fortunately it's all been settled, and I'm now the proud owner of a GST number and a contract that'll let me stay at home for another year. Then I found out how good HR can be when I got told to seriously consider applying for a promotion in the next six months so that I can turn my contract into a full-time job.

And in the life is really wierd category, I spent most of my week working on the edits for my second book. My first edits resulted in a lot of controversy, which if you've been reading, you can probably guess what that was. This time around, I was harsh. I laid it all out there and found flaw with absolutely every aspect of the book. And I got a thank you letter mere minutes later. I'm so relieved. I didn't make changes or suggestions to be a bitch, I did it to make a better book. And the author saw that and was grateful for the help. And now, I'm really excited about working with this author and her book. We'll see how things go.

And, I decided I'm being a big fat chicken. I sent out Caught to one publisher. It was rejected and I tucked it back into a little folder and pretended it didn't exist. What I should have done is looked at it again, made the changes it needed and send it right back out. And I didn't.

So. I'm looking at it again. And... I just don't know. I just don't. I had several beta readers the first time 'round and the comments were too much on the "my mom likes it" vein. So I need someone, or a couple of someones, to give it a real read. Tell me if it's crap. Tell me what's crap about it. Then, I'm gonna fix it and send it out again. Because it's one thing to set a goal that this is the year I get published, it's a whole other to do something about it.

So, do you wanna be a beta reader? I'm not looking for grammar help. That's what I do for a living. I'm looking for plot flow, for whether my love scenes turn you on, for whether you fall in love with my hero and cheer on my heroine. Just remember, it's erotic romance. There's sex and swear words in there. Lots of both. If you're still interested, send me an email at pinkpenpapers[at]gmail.com. Thanks! :0)

Half-Nekkid Hot Elf

I almost forgot today was Thursday!

So a few weeks ago, we did Brendan Fraser from Encino Man. Also in that movie, and long before he became an elf that most of you know and love (I don't, never saw any LOTR movies, and don't have any desire to. Sorry.), was Sean Astin.

Now that's a ripply tummy. :)




PS. Have you gone to visit The Art of Getting By yet? Janet's not gonna be here much longer!

Things that make you go....

First, don't forget to stop by and say hi to my new tenant at The Art of Getting By. She's witty and funny and a great read.

Now, on to some thoughts...

I can't really go into a whole lotta details about this situation to protect the other parties involved, but this has been really bothering me, and I'm curious.

Let's say you write a book. You're proud of this book. You sell the book, your second or third in this particular genre.

Then, things don't go as quickly as you'd like them to in the editing process, though they still move quicker than many other books. And you go online and hang out in some chat rooms and you hear some people gripe about your publisher.

And your editor suggests that you make some drastic changes in your book. And to meet printer deadlines, you have very little time to make them.

What do you do?

Do you:
A)Write an angry letter to the publishers telling them how crappy their company is and how they suck and you deserve more time because they fucked you over?
B)Refuse to make any changes to the book and stop answering any emails from anyone involved with the publisher?
C)Decide you don't want to write in that genre any more and close down your blog and your website and erase all evidence that this pseudonym existed?
D)Stop making any efforts to publicize your book?
E) Completely disassociate yourself with the book and your pseudonym and move into a whole new genre under a new name?
F) All of the above.

Because I recently heard of the situation where the author picked F. And I just don't get it... issues with the publisher or not (and whether they're true or just online rumours), would you be able to write a book and then pretend you have nothing to do with it?

No matter what, I don't think I could.

Could you?

I have a tenant!

Fifteen bidders, and only one winner...

I confess, it was a very hard decision, and a couple of the blogs were really interesting, but it came down to a shared crush on an '80s nerd boy, Chris Young, who is totally cute and totally got Alyssa Milano in Dance 'til Dawn, a guilty pleasure I can watch again and again.

So, meet Janet and The Art of Getting By. See that little thumbnail over on the right hand side of the screen? That's a link to her blog. So go visit her.

She'll be here all week. Tell her I sent you :)

Election Day!

In more ways than one. Here in Canada, we are voting for our prime minister. I've voted, I've filled out my ipsos-reid survey and now it's just a matter of waiting for the results.

I don't want to get political here, but I really think that we're fucked six ways from Sunday no matter who gets in.. Bottom line, Ontario hasn't gotten over Bob Rae to vote NDP. I don't care how good or bad a candidate Jack Layton is (and don't forget, this is the man who, while being leader of his party, didn't even win in his own riding until the winning candidate gave up his spot for him), he's tainted by Bob Rae and his crappy leading of our province. (Yeah, I know, us Ontarians, thinking the world revolves around us... *grin*)
Paul Martin. Sponsorship scandal. Need I say more?
Stephen Harper. I'm sorry, he creeps me out. And he's a little too dependant on the Americans. I don't want to offend my American readers, but really, we are a separate country. We need to have our own opinion, choices, identity. And I don't think we'll have that with Harper.

Green Party? Independant? Yeah, none of them have a chance.

See what I mean?

On another election.... There's about three or four hours left to post a bid to rent space on my blog. I'm actually quite excited that 11 people have bid so far! There's a couple I really like, one that I'm leaning toward, but I don't want to be hasty, this being my first time at all this. Here's a tip though, if you are thinking about renting space... Most people have a statcounter. This usually tells how long you've spent on a blog. If you can't even take 30 seconds to read my blog, why would you want to rent space here?

Stay tuned for tomorrow to see who our winning renter is :)

That's just wrong

To the guy who left a used condom at the bottom of my outside stairs.

1. EW. that's really gross.
2. Um. I'm pretty sure they're not biodegradeable. That used condom's gonna be sitting there for a looooooooonnnnng time. And I'm not toucing it to pick it up. No, no way, uh-uh.
3. Despite my earlier post today, it *is* still winter. I feel really sorry for your girlfriend, cuz there's no way you were able to keep l'il willie up long enough for there to have been any good stuff. (or your boyfriend, as the case may be. Not that there's anything wrong with that.)
4. Two flights of cement stairs are HARD. I really hope you didn't lean up against them to do the good stuff. that's gotta hurt. And I really don't want to walk out of my house and see that.
5. Didn't your mama teach you to pick up after yourself?

Now stop leaving gross stuff outside my house.

Pink.


Edited to add this:
OH MY GOD this is too funny. Thanks to Killired for this link. I just Gizoogled this post up. This is how it would read in tha hood.

That's jizzle wrong
Friday, January 20, 2006

To tha homey who left a used condom at tha bottom of mah outside stairs.

1. EW. that's really gross.
2. Um . Death row 187 4 life. I'm pretty sure they're not biodegradeable thats off tha hook yo. Thizzay used condom's gonna be hatin' there fo` a looooooooonnnnng tizzle mah nizzle. And I'm not straight trippin' it ta pizzy it up. No, no wizzle uh-uh . It dont stop till the wheels fall off.
3. Despite mah shot calla post today, it *izzis* still pusha. I feel really sorry fo` yo girlfriend, cuz there's no way you wizzy able ta keep l'il willie up long enough fo` there ta have been any good shiznit. (or yo boyfriend, as tha case may be. Not that there's anyth'n wrong wit that.)
4. Two flights of cement stairs is HARD. I really hope you didn't lean up against tizzle ta do tha good shiznit. that's gots`ta hiznurt bitch ass nigga. And I really D-to-tha-izzon't wizzy ta wizzay out of mah hizouse n see tizzle . Fo'-fo' desert eagle to your motherfuckin' dome.
5. Didn't yo mama teach you ta pizzy up brotha yoself?

Now stop pimpin' gross shiznit outside mah house.

Piznink.

I'm sorry. That shiznit's too funny. And so much more effective than what I wrote. :)

Dude, What is up with the Weather?

Seriously.

I live in Canada. The Great White North. It's January and I just went outside in a t-shirt and capri pants. (Hey, I work from home. You're lucky I was wearing enough clothes to go outside in *grin*

Don't get me wrong. I hate the cold. I hate snow and slush and freezing your frickin' ass off.

But this is just wierd.

It's even starting to smell like spring. I love the smell of spring. But we're gonna have some fucked up animals, trees and flowers if the weather doesn't straighten itself up.

Can you spoiler a show that isn't on any more?

So, as I'm sure you've realized by now, I'm addicted to tv. I particularly love the new tv season, and my PVR gets a serious workout when I try on most of the new shows for size.

This year, I got hooked on the show Reunion. The premise: each show would capture one year in the lives of six friends over a twenty-year span until the culmination episode, where viewers would find out a) which of the six was killed and b) whodunnit.

Only Fox cancelled the show somewhere around the mid-nineties. Seconds after finding out who was killed, but not by who. Red herrings were dropped, but not enough information for anyone to formulate a proper theory. (I had my suspicions.)

Then... I came across this article. Right there, smack in the middle of the page, the author reveals whodunnit. I can't say I'm surprised. But I don't know why the who dunnit. And that's gonna bug me. As much as I'm still bugged about the cliff hanger season ending of Models Inc. that got cancelled before the resolution. And that was in the early nineties.

I hate when shows do that. I understand ratings and all that, but I like things to be resolved. Would it have killed Fox to at least show one last episode that explains things? Just a little?

Grrrr.

It's Thursday. You know what that means...

I love me the Irish boys. Mr. Pink? Irish on both sides, by way of Newfoundland. And no, he's never driven to Toronto, seen a sign that said Toronto Left and turned around and gone home. *grin*

Another pretty Irish? Colin Farrell. I love his accent. I could listen to him read me the dictionary all day.

Holy Crap!

What a surprise this morning to wake up and find I'm Michele's Site of the Day! I'm particularly flattered by the "diverse, fun, bright, and delightful" thought *grin*

So welcome! Have a little look around, feel free to check out the teeny tiny excerpt from You Can't Always Get What You Want, which is the erotic short story I just submitted to Amber Quill's Heat Wave Contest. And be sure to come back tomorrow, because Thursdays are Hot Half-Nekkid Guy Thursdays. *wink*.

And I promise not to go on any of my grammar rants. Today. :)

How do ya like that?

So, a few weeks ago, I got a letter from Harlequin Reader Services letting me know that I won a mysterious something in one of their contests. All I had to do was answer a skill-testing question and send it back to them. Now, I've gotten all the win a gabillion dollars in our sweepstakes letters and pretty much passed it off to Ed McMahon likeliness. But with this letter, my mind started to wander. Did I win a million dollars? A car? A trip for two to an exotic destination?

Nahh, my rational side said. You know all you won was a year's supply of books to a line you don't even read.

But I sent back the letter and crossed my fingers. Free books are free books, right?

Well. I got the package while I was away and finally sat down and opened it today. I won two autographed books by Carly Phillips and makeup by Bobbe Joy Cosmetics - Eye shadow, totally in my colours, a blush, also my colour and a lip gloss (well, not so much, and I hate the feel of lip gloss).

But still. Free books AND free makeup. Very cool.

The Underlying Message

I've been in all sorts of workshops where the author pushed the word "theme" and I've always just sort of thought, well, it's a romance. love is the underlying theme. What more do you need? Right? yeah. Boy was I wrong.

When I started out writing YCAGWYW (formerly About last night) I was inspired by the Rolling Stones' song of the same name. But once I'd formed my plotline, I let the song go. When I rewrote the story with a new focus, I kept the song humming in the back of my head... You can't always get what you want. but if you try sometimes, you might find, you get what you need...
And I found that, as I was better developing my characters, I kept coming back to the song... or, my theme.

And by coming back to the theme again and again, I think it made the story stronger. It also helped me get rid of all that annoying backstory that I needed to know, but the reader didn't, because it didn't really relate to said theme.

So I get it now.

Why couldn't they have just said so in those darn workshops? *grin*

We have a winner!

Yup, the verdict is in. Thirty-five people voted in my poll. First, thanks for voting, and second, woohoo! I had no idea so many people visited :)

Oh... the name that won? Marlena Laurie. It jumped into the lead pretty much from the very beginning and stayed there. And, really, it was my favourite, so I'm really glad that y'all thought so too.

Although, Marlene McCann and Larissa Alexander (and "these all suck". you guys are mean!) tied for second. *grin*. MM and LA both have a little sentimental meaning and may get used for writing that I don't necessarily want confused with my erotica, so don't think you've seen the last of them.

For anyone who's wondering where the names came from:
Marlene Laurie - My first and middle names reversed. No, my last name isn't coming into play here... it's the Internet. and it's a sucky last name :)
Marlena Laurie - Marlene was a little harsh for the flow of the two names together, so I thought I'd change it up a bit. (apparently, you guys thought so too :) )
Elle Emme - My initials (sorta).
Emme Elle - My initials reversed.
Larissa Alexander - Larissa is Russian for Laurie and Alexander was my grandfather's name. Also the name I used when I was internet dating. Yeah, I lied. Sue me. :)
Arielle Amuren - An anagram for Laurie Marlene
Marlene McCann - my middle name and a last name I like.
Arielle Alexander - A suggestion from my readers.

And, in just a little bit of self-bragging. I finished About Last Night... and renamed it You Can't Always Get What You Want. It seemed a little fitting since it was inspired by the Rolling Stones' song. I'm pleased with how it turned out, very different from its first incarnation. And I'm trying to ignore the huge attack of "I can't write. This sucks. What am I thinking" that I had this morning, and sent it off to Amber Quill before I could change my mind. It helped that gmail doesn't let you recall emails and I accidentally hit send while I was obsessing *grin*

If you're interested, click here for a teeny-tiny excerpt.

Sixty-Nine Dude!

Totally stole this from Kat

1. What time did you get up this morning?
7:45. Waaaayyyy too early for a Saturday.

2. Diamonds or pearls?
Diamonds are pretty. I don't have any diamonds. Not even on the third finger of my left hand. hint hint Mr. Pink.

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. Tho, I totally don't remember the naked harry scene that everyone's talking about. And why are thirty-year-old women talking about it? :)

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Veronica Mars.

5. What did you have for breakfast?
Two chocolate chip cookies and one chocolate-chocolate-chip cookie. And a bottle of spring water. Healthy.

6. What is your middle name?
Marlene. Haven't you been paying attention? :)

7. What is your favorite food?
Chocolate. :)

8. What foods do you dislike?
I'm not sure I actively dislike anything, except maybe brussel sprouts and lima beans. But I can't eat any tomato-based sauce with Italian spices. Salsa, ketchup, tomatoes, totally ok... My body's wierd.

9. Your favorite Potato chip?
Pringles' Sour cream and onion. yummy.

10. What is your favorite CD at the moment?
James Blunt's Back to Bedlam and, I'm embarassed to admit, Hedley. Jacob Hoggard is a cutie-patootie.

11. What kind of car do you drive?
The Toyota Echo Hatchback. It's called a Yaris now. I dunno why. Love it tho.

14 Favorite drink?
I drink a lot of water and milk. But I love anything that involves Pineapple juice and Malibu Rum.

15. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation, where would it be?
Ireland. Heh. This is one of many that I had the same answer as Kat.

16.What color is your bathroom?
My upstairs bathroom is a blue underwater scene with fishies all over the walls. My downstairs bathroom is a jungle theme... with sponge-painted animals. I inherited this one. I am glad, however, that I didn't inherit the hand-painted zebra-print toilet seat. It was in the sales contract when I bought my house. I didn't want it anyway :)

17. Favorite brand of clothing?
Don't have one. Pretty much anything that will fit my fat ass. When I get rid of said fat ass, I'll pick one then :)

18.Where would you retire?
Dunno. Hawaii. Newfoundland. right here? I'm too young to think about stuff like that.

19. Favorite time of day?
Dusk.

20. There was no question 20.

21. Favorite sport to watch?
I don't watch sports if I can avoid it. Mr. Pink watches a lot of hockey. Apparently, so do I.

22. Who do you least expect to send this back?
Dunno. I don't really expect anyone to send it back. I don't even know if anyone is reading this.

23. Person you expect to send it back first?
See above.

24. What laundry detergent do you use?
Tide. I like the Cold Water one and the one with Bleach.

25. Coke or Pepsi?
Neither. I don't drink colas. I don't like the taste.

26. Are you a morning person or night owl?
Definitely a night owl. So glad I work from home so I can make my own schedule :)

27. What size shoe do you wear?
8.5

28. Do you have pets?
Nope. We're still discussing the doggie issue. I'd rather wait til I don't have wall to wall carpets. ewww. :)

29. Any new and exciting news you'd like to share with your friends?
Yes. One isn't really true yet, and the other isn't official yet. Will share when it is.

30. What (who) did you want to be when you were little?
An actress. One of the big, famous, A-list, on every magazine cover ones.

31. Favorite candy car?
Big Turk. Mmmmm. chocolate.

33. What are the different jobs you have had in your life?
Would you believe I was a cast member at the Disney Store? :) I've done cashier, estate administrator's assistant, receptionist, and since I graduated, editor, writer or combination of both.

34. Favorite season?
Late Spring, early Summer. I like mild temperatures, not too hot, not too cold. Course, we don't get much of that here.

35. Nicknames you've had?
Pink. :)
I've never been a nickname girl. I once wanted Bubbles, after the character in JabberJaw, who was the only curly-haired girl I'd ever seen on tv, but that didn't stick. :)
Mr. Pink once shortened my first name, but thought it was kinda odd. That didn't stick either. :)

36. Piercings:
Four in my left ear, three in my right. No idea why. ;0

37. Eye color:
Green. My best feature.

38. Ever been to Africa?
Nope. would like to one day.

39. Ever been toilet papering?
Yes. The car of my resident assistant in univ. It was the entire college council who did it. He was PISSED :)

40. Love someone so much it made you cry?
Love Mr. Pink. Cried because of Mr. Pink. not sure that counts.

41. Been in a car accident?
Yes. My first car was an accident magnet. I'm glad to be rid of it.

42. What's a question no one has ever asked you?
I was going to say "Will you marry me?" as another dig at Mr. Pink. But that's not true. He did. We were 18 and kinda drunk at the time. :)

43. Favorite day of the week?
Saturday. It's my veg day.

44. Favorite restaurant?
Hmmm. don't really have one. Used to love the pickle barrel. but it's changed. and it sucks now.

45. Favorite flower?
Gerbera daisies.

46. Favorite ice cream?
MMm.... A chocolate ice cream made out of Baci candy. ohhh. so craving that now.

47. Disney or Warner Brothers?
Disney. can't help it. worked for them.

48. Favorite fast food restaurant?
Lick's. Best. Burgers. Ever.

49. What color is your bedroom carpet?
Grey. I have the worst carpet in my house. It's the industrial crap you get in office buildings.

50. How many times did you fail your driver's test?
None. Passed first time. Yeah!

51. Before this one, from whom did you get your last e-mail?
Umm... from one of the many e-loops I'm on.

52. Which store would you choose to Max out your Credit Card?
Best Buy. Love me electronic toys.

53. What do you do most often when you are bored?
TV. Surf the 'net. Read. All three at the same time :)

54. Bedtime:
Usually around midnight.

56. Last person you went to dinner with?
My editing team, my boss, my boss' boss, and some random bigwig in the company.

57. Ford or Chevy?
Chevy. I hate Fords.

58. What are you listening to right now?
The hockey game. The Leafs are playing Gretzky's team. Yeah. like I have a choice.

59. What is your favorite color?
I know I should say Pink... but it's actually purple. Somehow the Purple Pen Papers just doesn't have the same ring to it :)

60. Lake, Ocean or River?
Lake.

61. How many tattoos do you have?
None. May one day. :)

62. Which came first, the chicken or the egg?
Uh. egg. no chicken. No, egg. I dunno.

63. How many people are you sending this email to?
Whoever reads this. feel free to poach.

64. Favorite Cocktail?
Pina Colada. Yeah, some 40-year-old waiter made fun of me for that last night. Jerk.

65. Red or White wine?
Neither. I don't like the taste of wine. I know. I'm a freak.

66. Where would you go for a girls or boys weekend get-away?
Spa resort would be cool. Or Shopping trip.

67. What do you want to be?
A published romance novelist. For some reason, corporate newsletters and retail flyers just don't have the same cache :)

68. Republican or Democrat?
Neither. I'm Canadian. We don't have those. And I still haven't decided of the three parties who is Lesser, Three or Evils.

69. Favorite Family Vacation?
Uh. one without my family? :)

Home Again

I'm back from the east coast! Have to say I wasn't exactly thrilled to be flying on Friday the 13th, but I'm home safe and sound. It was a really interesting week. First, I got to meet all of the people in my department, including my boss. I think it made it all real for me. I mean, I've been doing the work, and cashing my pay cheques, but without actually seeing real people, it's felt a little surreal.

We stayed in a cute little b&b (and I do mean a little on the cutesy side) and, while it would have been nice to have a little warning about the cat I was more than a little allergic to, I think it was better to be in this little house with everyone than in a giant impersonal hotel. Also, the team clicked really well, really quickly, which I'm very glad about. The people you work with are so important and I think I'll feel a little better about asking questions of people now that I have a face to put to the name :)

AND, I finally got the IT department to realize that my laptop wasn't working properly. My internet connection was hit and miss, which, when you only connect to work via the internet, it's kinda an important thing to have. So now I have a new one. I've been connected wirelessly all day. Woohoo!

AND... It seems I missed National DeLurking Week. Dammit... I want to know who my Barrie reader is. And my other Torontonians... And if there's anyone else out there reading this thing.... So, if you've been lurking around, leave me a comment. I'm glad to have had you here :)

Not really what I was thinking...

I'm not sure about the pet snake, but I'm so there with the chocolate syrup. :)

Your New Year's Resolutions

1) Get a pet snake 2) Eat more chocolate syrup 3) Travel to Australia 4) Study finger painting 5) Get in shape with disco dancing

Thoughts from the East side

I'm in Saint John, NB this week, and my internet connection is sporadic at best. Since I'm at my company's head office, the plan is for me to get a new laptop that actually has non-sporadic internet connection and doesn't do odd things with the programs I use for work (I've stumped everyone.. :) ) It's quite beautiful here, though I'm amazed at how... empty... it is. Walk down the street at dusk, and No.One. is around. Not in their living rooms watching tv, not on the street, not in the completely closed down stores. It's very odd, coming from the big city as I do.

I have not yet finished About Last Night... yet, as I pretty much suspected. Fortunately, I still have a few days left before the deadline. I've got the rest of today to myself and a good chunk of time on Thursday, so my plan is that it will be finished in time.

We also have a winner in the I need a pseudonym poll. More on that later when I have more than five minutes of internet connection. :)

Putting the horse before the cart.

I know. I need to actually finish a book and sell it before I need to worry about pseudonyms and websites and all that stuff. But, I'm thinking about it, and I want to be prepared when the time comes. So please vote in my poll... I'm open to suggestions, although I'd like the name to have some relevance to my real names (Laurie Marlene), or to my family.. (Alexander was my grandfather's name)... or, hell, I just want something that's gonna look cool on the NYT bestseller list. *GRIN*

Leave alternate suggestions in my comments please.

EDITED TO ADD: I'm gonna stickie this up to keep it at the top of my blog until I'm ready to take down the poll. I've decided to leave it up til Jan. 6th, which is right before my self-imposed deadline for getting About Last Night... out and off to the Amber Quill contest.
Can I tell you guys how much I'm loving reading your comments about my pseudonym decision? Please keep them coming... this is awesome. And I find it veddy intereshting as to where my favourite is in the standings so far. No, I'm not gonna tell you what it is yet. I will at the end tho. Promise.

Almost completely nekkid, really hot guy

Yup. I got suckered into watching Encino Man on TBS the other day. Especially when Mr. Pink confessed he'd never seen the movie.

Pauly Shore notwithstanding, it's a total cheese romp, but completely worth if for the one scene of Brendan Fraser standing on a mound of dirt wearing nothing but a loin cloth.

See what I mean?

Seeing inside my soul

A little bit of not me, a whole lot of truth.

You Are a Hunter Soul

You are driven and ambitious - totally self motiviated to succeed Actively working to acheive what you want, you are skillful in many areas. You are a natural predator with strong instincts ... and more than a little demanding. You are creative, energetic, and an extremely powerful force. An outdoors person, you like animals and relate to them better than people. You tend to have an explosive personality, but also a good sense of humor. People sometimes see you as arrogant or a know it all. You tend to be a bit of a loner, though you hate to be alone. Souls you are most compatible with: Seeker Soul and Peacemaker Soul

Up to my eyeballs in crap

Oy. I slacked off a little too badly over the holidays and now I'm playing serious catch up. That's the big problem with working at home... Sit and work on a project that's not due til Jan. 6th or tackle the decorating, cleaning, cooking, sleeping that needs to be done. Guess what I chose.

I did actually get quite a bit finished:

1. Flyer copy for store I used to work for
2. Re-do of line edits for In His Brother's Place, which will be available from WCPT in February. It's an erotic contemporary romance by Stephanie Saint. Be sure to check it out.
3. Worked on edits for erotic twisted tale. Fleshed out areas that need to be addressed in revision letter.
4. Completed rewrite on first half of About Last Night... I'm really liking where it's going. I've really been concentrating on my character development and I'm finding it makes such a difference with the story. I can't believe I didn't know that Seth screwed GothGirl against Abby's ottoman as a passive aggressive way of ending the relationship. Seth really is taking this whole passive thing a little too seriously. I'm the writer. I need to know this stuff!! I haven't gotten to the sex scenes yet, which I know is going to take the most amount of work (as in, right now it's 'sweet' (they head to the bedroom and close the door) and I'm planning on making it hootttt (we follow them into the bedroom :) ) I'm looking forward to it. :)

I did not have a chance to work on the contemp. romance I'm editing, which I really need to get on. I have a feeling that's going to be my project for the plane ride on Sunday. I really hope Air Canada has more leg room than CanJet. We flew them in the summer and I didn't even have room to open a book on my lap, let alone a laptop.

And the 512-page User Manual I'm still working on is taking a looooonnngg time. The thing is, it's really well written. The author has obeyed all the rules in our style guide, except one, and her grammar is quite decent. I'm very impressed. I just feel like I'm missing stuff, because I have hardly any comments. It's like I'm not doing my job right...

That being said, I really do have plans for my New Year's Goals and such, but I just have too much to do to think about them this week, and being gone next week and at the mercy of other people's timelines and restaurant choices :), I've decided to make January 16th my New Year's Day. That's when I'm going to really get started...

For now, I'd better get back to the user manual :)

Books read in 2006

I've always gotten a kick out of people whose goal is to read like 50 books a year. I'm sure I read tons. Tons and tons. So now, I'm putting my money where my mouth is. This year, I'm actually gonna track and see just how many books I'm really going to read this year...

1. Bait & Switch, Larry Brooks. Really good. He's a new favourite for keeping you guessing right up to the very last page. I like that.
2. Kiss of the Shadow Man, Maggie Shayne. I was at her workshop on writing a fast-paced book. She's really good at that... I couldn't put it down.
3. Out-of-this-World Marriage, Maggie Shayne. It was a three books in one. :)
4. Meridian Link Services Interface Specification. It was for work. It probably shouldn't count, but it was 512 pages and it took me forever!! :)
5. Undead & Unappreciated, MaryJanice Davidson. Good. but was way too quick a read. I hate that. I like to live in a book's world for a while.
6. Brazen, Carly Phillips. Cute, but a little on the standard category format (and considering it was marketed as a single title, that's not good...)
7. Room Service, Jill Shalvis. I liked it. Hot and sexy, good supporting characters.
8. Can You Keep A Secret?, Sophie Kinsella. I hate her heroines. They're stupid. But Sophie's voice keeps me coming back for more. I started this book just before 11 one night, and finished it just after 1 a.m. I hate that.
9. Truth or Dare, Lori Foster. I've always liked Lori's books. Of course, I wrote back cover copy for one of her books, so she's got a little spot in my portfolio (er, I mean heart :) ) The thing is, this is the trilogy that my book Caught was supposed to be, only so much better. *le sigh*
10. Repo Chick Blues, Tracy Sharp. I couldn't put it down. Not usually what I read, seriously intense, but wow. very good.
11. Polar Opposites, Paige Burns. I'm trying to read up as many stories I can from the publisher I'm working for now. So far so good.
12. Hot Target, Suzanne Brockmann. Loved it. LOVED. IT. I love her shit. And that she wrote this kind of story and dedicated it to her son. So cool.

You Can't Always Get What You Want Excerpt

I pulled into my driveway with a huge sigh of relief and trudged into the house, feeling the weight of my day pressing on my shoulders. It had been a helluva day, and all I wanted was a long, hot bath, some snuggle-time with Seth, the love of my life, my schleppies and the TV.

"Lucy! I'm ho-ome!" I called out in my best Ricky Ricardo. Seth got pissy when I snuck in without announcing my arrival. I wasn't entirely sure how walking into my own home was sneaking in, but whatever, it was a little thing, so I humoured him on it. He spent all day and pretty much all night hunched over his computer, and he got so caught up in his work that I could walk right up to him, strip naked and dance a hula and he wouldn't even notice. Yeah, ask me how I know.

Back in high school, Seth had sold a game he'd developed, Vamp Camp, and it had been an instant success. He was still getting royalties from it. Rather nice royalties, I might add. Only now he was so obsessed with the program he was writing that he was sure would change the computer world as we know it, that he hardly had time for anything else. Including me. We'd been living together for over a year, and I was still without a ring.

"Seth?" I called out. "You are not gonna believe the day I had. Remember Jack? That sleazy guy from the Christmas party that got so drunk? Yeah, he ran off to the Caymans with 30 million dol..."

I walked into the room hoping to snuggle up and get a little much needed action and almost tripped over my feet at what I saw.

What the fuck?

Seth's scrawny, naked ass was pumping furiously against my just steam-cleaned linen ottoman.

Ew.

No, really.

Ew.

My words trailed off into a little squeak, and it wasn't until I tried to compose myself that I saw the other pair of feet. The Doc Marten-covered feet that had to have belonged to the little Goth Girl who lived next door. The feet that were attached to the legs of the girl who was sandwiched between my very expensive, cost me almost a full paycheque, brand-spanking new ottoman and my live-in, about to propose to me boyfriend.

Holy Shit.