This is the little one this morning for pre-school, she was very excited about being a "RED BAT" at least that's what she's calling it... I gave her the choice between princess, angel or uh, red ummmm.... bat :)

She was very excited because she LET me take her picture... below is what usually happens when I TRY to take her picture:

The oldest plans to be her "Pops" (my FIL) for Halloween, but we won't see her as an old man until tonight - but since little bit let me take her picture I had to share :0

Happy Halloween!

Me, The Male Model (sorry, don't remember his name, Jason maybe? seriously, who would?) My friend Jo, and the ever lovely Cynthia Eden 

This was taken at Muriel's, it was part of Heather Graham's Writers for New Orleans Conference (that Gustav interrupted!). It was the Friday night event hosted by Helen Rosburg. It was a super fun event... and okay a little on the spooky side. I mean there was a table set up when you walk in for their resident ghost and umm... this picture was taken in the séance room (really good thing I didn't know this until after ;P We just got the picture a couple of a days ago and I figured it would make a nice pre-Halloween post and besides I just posted about Cynthia's Spellbound from Everlasting Bad Boys - you've got to love a bad boy!

EVERLASTING BAD BOYS

Spellbound, by Cynthia Eden

This was the first story I read in the Anthology and my favorite. It was about a modern day witch and an immortal soul hunter who helps save her coven, after she summons him. It was well written and the characters were very likable. The dialogue was fun and snappy. The interaction between the hero and heroine hot enough to throw sparks off the page. I love the way Cynthia is able to weave these paranormal characters into such contemporary, everyday settings. It amazes me!

Can’t Get Enough, by Shelly Laurenson

Okay so in a recent post I made flippant comment about a blue-haired dragon shifter. Yes it was my first dragon shifter and it the voice had not pulled me into the story within the first few pages I might not have continued to read it. But I’ve heard several people recommend this author’s work (this was the first time I’ve read her), so I knew I had to give it a try. It as a different, but totally enjoyable and by the end I had really been sucked into the dragon world!

Turn Me On, by Noelle Mack

I have read several of her books, mostly be cause I got her whole backlist via the Novak auction this year. And I’ve enjoyed her work, but not enough to make her an auto by (yet). But this was the best thing I’ve read by her so far. Seriously, most of what I have read has been Aphrodisiac titles and I do enjoy those, but more so her contempt vs. paranormals. This had a totally contemporary setting with a unique hero who was basically made of light. Fun read.

I think the anthology as a whole as diversified and fun read. It offered variety and stretched my reading base a little wider, which is one reason I love and highly recommend anthologies. I have found many favorite authors this way, Cynthia Eden being one - I can’t wait to for Cynthia’s next two releases in December!

We are well into the forth quarter of the year. I tend to break the year down into quarters because when my husband was in business for himself I did his bookwork. I have keep up the habit but now it’s more a way to look back each quarter and see what I accomplished. In January I said 2008 was going to be my year of determination writing wise. It’s been a whole lot harder than I ever thought to remain focused, but I feel like I’m doing pretty okay. Honestly I needed the focus this year, it’s been good for me. And I do feel like I have made some headway. I might not be where I want to be – yet, but at least I know what I have done and what I have not done to help accomplish that goal.

Saturday I drove with my writing friend, Jo, to the SOLA meeting (Southern Louisiana Chapter of RWA, New Orleans group). Jo was scheduled to speak. Like me she works full time, she works for an accounting office, group of CPAs to be exact. So she’s the queen of spreadsheets and she’s devised a spreadsheet plotting system, so that was her topic. She did a good presentation and made it into a hands on workshop – my favorite kind J

I’m not a plotter. I’m write by the seat of my pants for the most part, but the more I write the more I’ve come to realize I plot, it’s just by the seat of my pants too. I gleamed a few things from Jo’s workshop, as did everyone in attendance. It’s was a very nice way to spend my Saturday! I hope everyone had a great weekend. Happy Monday!  

Wide range topics yes, but things that have been on my mind a lot lately as I worked on my current WIP while something older and totally different from what I tend to work on writing regularly stirs in the recesses of my mind. I’m sure I will be posting more on each of these as I continue to ponder, but for now I just wanted to say…

In my opinion voice can pull a reader out of their reading comfort zone and draw them into a genre the might not have considered before – or into a different spectrum of a genre they never have thought they would enjoy. And on that cryptic note I will add I am currently reading about a blue-haired dragon shifter, not anything I would have picked up to read on my own, although I read paranormals.

It happens to be in the same anthology Everlasting Bad Boys - as the lovely Cynthia Eden’s rockin’ “Spellbound” – which I highly recommend and will post a review for the book once I finish the other two stories J I have to say I discovered Cynthia’s unique style/voice while reading a Secret’s Volume. One more reason I always read all the stories within an anthology. You can find wonderful new voices and genres and expand your comfort zone all at the same time.

I love when something unexpected happens in a WIP. That’s not it exactly. What I mean is -  I love when something I really, truly didn’t see coming spurts onto the page AND fits in perfectly, adding depth and plot progression.

One simple flippant question from the hero to his best friend “Who kicked your f*ing dog?” and progress. Lots and lots of progress. Where there was a minor stumbling block is now the perfect fit for the story to move forward! Yay!

You know it’s been too long since you’ve had a date with your spouse sans kids when a quick lunch and a trip to Walmart hits date status. But that was our date this weekend. Considering I had to shop (I HATE to shop) it was nice to have just him along and we flew through the isles, even got a chance to discuss some Christmas stuff J

I’ve had the mother of all headaches (reading hurts, it’s really bad) for a week or so, plus the little one woke up demanding a stay-home day at all cost Saturday and considering how I felt we skipped a friend’s child’s birthday party even though I didn’t want too, but it turned out to be a good idea, since the little one promptly got sick.

Today I am celebrating my dad. I thought these were a few neat pictures. My oldest daughter and I pulled pictures and created a memorial photo arrangement. It started as a way for her to get through the emotional turmoil during the days leading up to the funeral, but it turned out very therapeutic for her and me and for everyone who looked had a chance to see the pictures. As we pulled photos I found it interesting that my dad tended to have the same pose with me as a baby and then again with each of my girls.

With me 1970ish <g>

With my oldest 1997

With the little one 2008

It’s been a year and I miss him dearly. I find myself reaching for the phone to call and tell him something that going on or to just hear his voice. Then it hits me that I can’t do that anymore. But I know he is a good place and I’m the one who’s dealing missing him. I love you, Daddy.

Okay this a book I have been dying to read since Ms. Maya fist started giving little teasers about it, so when I got to read the ARC I was thrilled. In my last post in mentioned her book, Stay With Me and the uniqueness and how I truly enjoyed it. Well that is one of the reasons I wanted to read Be With Me. If she could do with two heroes could she really do it with THREE? Some of it is perverse curiosity on my part. I read a lot of books, over lots of genres including erotic romance and erotica, but I think I’ve said before, what really truly makes or breaks a book for me is the realness. And honestly there are a lot of books in both these genres that just don’t have anything close to realness when it comes to feelings and emotion connection between the characters and sometimes that’s fine and dandy and I even enjoy some of those books. But those books won’t turn those authors into auto-buys for me. And yes I read to escape and for the fantasy and for relaxation. Hell no I wouldn’t want to put up with three freaking men on a daily basis, jeezums, the laundry along makes me shutter. BUT I wanted to see if Maya could make it REAL for Reggie and her guys. And boy oh boy oh boy did she ever. Maya seriously rocks as a writer in my humble opinion, she is an auto-buy and her unique stories fascinate me as a reader and as a writer.

Review of Be With Me, by Maya Banks

When smart mouthed cop Regina “Reggie” Fallon’s life is endangered her three best friends show up and demand she let them take care of her. Cam, Sawyer and Hutch are not only her best friends, they are men she’s been running from for a year. An erotic night with them overwhelmed her and she’s been avoiding them since.

Reggie had a stiff and formal childhood with wealthy disinterested parents. The men who were once lost orphans ended up growing up as brothers with Birdie, a wonderful mother figure to them all. The unique bond of friendship between Reggie, Cam, Sawyer and Hutch is obvious.

Reggie knows she can’t fight them, nor does she want to any more, especially not with a loon on the loose. She moves in with the men for the time being, but as the plot unfolds with more threats and twists and turns she’s determined to stay with the men as a means of protecting them.

All the while the romantic relationship that as a reader you can feel pulsing from the pages starts to unfold. The unique bond between the men and the love they each feel for Reggie is palatable. Each man is totally different and genuine hero material. Cam is strong and steady. He sets the pace and keeps the peace all in an effort to allow them the love each of them craves. Sawyer is the ranging bull - take me or leave me, what you see is what you get man who doesn’t quite know how to say what he needs to until given an ultimatum. Hutch is sweet and loveable, but when ghosts from the past haunt him he snaps.

Maya continues to take the reader on through surprising plot twist and unique elements that give the reader enough to make you want to read faster just to find out what will happen next and how Reggie, Cam, Sawyer and Hutch came overcome it together!

I found the write-minded reader group when Jaci Burton officially closed her reader’s loop. I had been on that loop since the beginning, though I didn’t participate much. But I knew it when it was ending I wanted to keep up with Jaci, so I figured I’d check out write-minded. I’ve known Jaci since way back, pre-published days (gasp) which seems impossible considering all the kick-ass books she’s put out over the years.

I figured any group of writers she was involved with had to be good so I signed up and lurked. I started reading snip-its and excerpts and of course started buying books by new to me authors. I will admit I sometimes buy books I never plan to read, I just buy them to support writers. I did that with one of the WW authors. It started out that way, it really wasn’t something I planned to read in the beginning, but now I can say it opened a whole different reading world for me. I have sung the praises of Larissa Ione before and I’m sure I will again, reading Pleasure Unbound, took me out of my comfort zone reading wise. I knew it would but something about Larissa’s voice pulled me kicking and screaming into the story and the world she’s created. I cannot wait for the next books in this series to come out.

I had read Stephanie Tyler and Amy Knupp’s books prior to joining WW since I tend to read HQ Super’s and Blazes fairly often. They both have unique voices and have both created some great reads I’ve truly enjoyed. Sydney Croft is the writing team of Larissa Ione and Stephanie Tyler; I have a couple of the Croft books in my TBR stash and already know I will love them.

That brings me to Maya Banks, well she writes super sexy contemporary stuff (yes my true love) so buying her books didn’t take any thought it was just picking where to start. Since I have no concerns about reading series in order I just picked one and read it and found that she was able to do something no other author I had read before could do. First and foremost reading is an escape, a fantasy, something to take my mind off of everyday life. Secondly, my absolute favorite reads are ones that feel ‘real’ I cannot explain this further I don’t know how. I know that I have discussed this with other readers and writers and have disagreed with many about this. Some readers don’t want that ‘real’ feeling and some do. For me it makes or breaks a story. I think that is why I favor contemporary or historical romances over any other genre. Back to Maya, she is the first author ever to make a polyamorous relationship seem real and convincible for the characters involved. That was her book, Stay with Me. So when I read the blurbette of Be With Me – Three Men, One Woman, so much closer than just Friends. I knew I had to see if she could do it again. More on that in the next post J

Recently I was reading a book (surprise) I’ll call it Book A. Depending on what is going on around me I’m a pretty fast reader, I had been reading this book on and off for maybe two days. I was about 300 pages into it. Well I got another book (Book B) during the work day that was I very anxious to read so I pretty much decided I would go home, do what needed to be done and settle in to finish Book A so I could jump right into Book B.

Well I’m happily reading a long page 320 and there is a pretty major plot point, joy, happiness, excitement (yeah, feel good stuff). Next page discussing the funeral of joy, happiness, feel good stuff moment. POV had changed, there were 3 in the story so I had no reason to question it until the joy from the previous page was shattered. I look up, start flipping pages and generally freak out. Right page 320, Left page 353. OMG. I was devastated. I’d just invested 320 pages into a book and had no clue what HAPPENED! Maybe it had only been a couple of hours of my life but again, it didn’t matter I was devastated. Completely utterly horrified.

I got the book new from Sam’s Club, it’s a HQN copyright is 2006. My TBR mountainous range is huge, I don’t know when I bought it, only know it had a Sam’s sticker on it. Returning it for exchange was not an option. If you read this blog (and I sometimes wonder if anyone does) you know I have issues with ebooks. I buy the ones I must have (friends, favorite authors – who are sometimes one in the same) otherwise I am a complete ebook dork. So I go look for the ebook so I can finish this book. Well I did, but I personally couldn’t find it – ebook dork again, but a wonderful person on a readers loop I am on (because I freaked out and had to complain vocally and immediately before I imploded when this happened) found it in e-book format online and gave me a direct link – which is the ONLY way I would have been able to get to it, because my efforts only came up with a Kindle version – which Kindle’s are looking better everyday to me.

My question is how far would you go? I bought the book once. I could have ordered it from Amazon or Eharlequin and gotten it in a few days for about the same price I’ve paid for it once. Or I could have ordered the ebook for even more than I paid originally. Or I did find it on paperbackswap.com – which signed up for a long time ago and have used exactly once. Or I could see if the library has it. What would you do???

I went the library route because one I pass daily happened to have it on the shelf and sorry but I’ve vested time and energy into the story and I had to know the rest of the story! Oh and I did email the author because, again if you read this blog, you know I hope to be published one day and well I KNOW it is not her fault, but I was really enjoying the book and wham, bam my joy got squashed. If and when I am published I would really want to know if a reader came across a misprinted book, sure there is nothing she can do or that I expect her to do but I would want to know. Would you???