Blogapalooza This Week!!!

There is some SERIOUS blogging going down this week. You gotta stay tuned.

First-- Fictionistas is throwing down with a complete week of blogging with this year's Young Adult RITA finalists. There will be a new interview posted each day. Beat that with a stick!

Second, as if that weren't enough, I've been pleased as punch to be asked to appear as a guest blogger on The Novelty Girls' blog on Tuesday, July 29th. These are a terrific group of ladies who are simply chock-full-o-talent, so being asked to fill in was really lovely. I'll be chiming in on Finding Mr. Right and Romance. Don't miss it.

And check Dear Author and SBTB for regular updates on all the news out of the San Francisco conference!

WebSong Rebirth (Again)

It keeps getting redone and never seems to be just right... til now! Finally WebSong Designs is looking the way I want it. Still the best place for freebies, tips, tricks, and web design services around, IMHO. Come visit!

You Want A Piece of Me?

I'm not that easy to scare. Really. So if you, reader, are the twerp who has been calling my parents' phone number, and calling the local Starbucks, trying to be cute... well, you aren't. Nor are you terribly bright. For serious. You have GOT to be about as stupid as they come.

Because I have lived in the same small town all my life, with brief educational excursions. I have the same friends. I have the same lifestyle, pretty much. I'm with the same guy I will be with for the rest of my life. I'm a creature of habit. Nobody who knows me, nobody who wants to get in touch with me, would ever have trouble finding me. Seriously, it's kindergarten simple.

And finding me via the internet is pretty simple. I mean, if you can't spell you can always cut and paste.

So the question of the week is this: how sad, pathetic, and busted-rock DUMB do you have to be to be unable to find a fat chick with a neurotic pug in the EXACT SAME PLACE she has been for 43 years? Nobody who has any business contacting me has any trouble finding me.

So who are you and what hit you in the head? Or were you the kid with the runny nose in the special room at the end of the hall? Or did you flunk out of the local junior college, only to find that this life was the best you could do? Inquiring minds want to know, doncha know.

Not Going to the RWA Conference?

The Romance Divas annual Not Going to Conference Conference will make you feel a bit less deprived! Amazing workshops, a star-studded guest list and awesome giveaways, all on the Diva forum! Don't miss it!

Here's a bit of a schedule update for the Q&As and Workshops...

Wednesday, July 30

Paula Guran, Editor, Juno Books
Q&A on Creating Kick a** Heroines

Laurie Rauch, Editor, Samhain Publishing
Workshop on What Happens After the Contract (aka Editors are People Too!)*


Thursday July 31

Joyce Hart, Hartline Literary
Q&A on Inspirational Romance Stories and the Inspy Market

Sandra Schwab, Historical Romance Author
Workshop on Historical Accuracy and Anachronisms

Friday, August 1

Yolanda Sfetsos, Author of Guarded by Stone
Q&A on Paranormal and Urban Fantasy World Building

Katie MacIver, KatieDidDesign
Workshop on Website Design and Color Selection

Saturday, August 2

Joey W. Hill, Erotica Author
Workshop on Plotting Erotica and Erotic Romance

Rhonda Stapleton, Editor and Author
Workshop on Style and Voice

Excited yet?

How about if I list some door prizes?

• What Gwen said" mug donated by Gwen Hayes
• 3-chapter critique of a YA by Simon Pulse author Rhonda Stapleton
• 3-chapter critique of a YA, chick lit, or rom com by Golden Heart Finalist Amanda Brice
• An ebook of your choice from Nell Dixon's backlist
• An ebook of either Second Sight (paranormal romance) or Dragons' Choice (fantasy romance - dragon-shifters) from Debbie Mumford
• Ten dollar Amazon gift certificate from Jodi Henley
• Lush stuff from Seeley deBorne
• e-book copy of Chasing Shadows from Erin Richards
• Paperback copy of Iron Horse Rider OR Smiling Eyes from Adelle Laudan
• Book thongs from Angeleque Ford
• 3 chapter critique from Sela Carsen
• winner's choice of ebook copy of "Not Quite Dead" or "Heart of the Sea" by Sela Carson
• e-book copy of HEATWAVE by Eden Bradley
• e-book copy of BREAKING SKYE by Eden Bradley
• a box of goodies, trade and paperbacks, bath products candles, etc... All for a fun and relaxing home spa day treat. courtesy of The Midnight Moon Cafe
• 1 download each of Natasha Moore's Samhain books, The Ride of Her LIfe and The Passion-Minded Professor
• a copy of "Painted Soul" by Mary Quast
• e-book copy of HER CINDERELLA COMPLEX by Jenna Bayley-Burke - Samhain
• e-book copy of PAR FOR THE COURSE by Jenna Bayley-Burke - Samhain
• e-book copy of FOUND by Jenna Bayley-Burke - Wild Rose Press
• e-book copy of NIGHT OF INSPIRATION by Jenna Allen - Phaze
• e-book copy of ON AGAIN by Jenna Allen - Phaze
• $10 gc to Amazon from Kendal Corbitt
• ebook Vampire Oracle: Harmony by MG Braden

Plus a lovely bar of wonderful Chagrin Valley hand made soap, Caramel Pralines jar candle, handmade jewelry, Tarot readings, a Lush box for European Divas/Dudes, a $10 fictionwise gc and much more!

Gwen Hayes' The Fallen Coming This Fall!

Genre: Paranormal Romance
ISBN: 1-60504-196-3
Length: Short Story
Price: 2.50

Publication Date: September 16, 2008
Cover art by Anne Cain

Love will redeem them…or damn their souls.
As Darkfall gains a foothold in the small coastal town of Serendipity Falls, Bridget, a witch and healer, fights a battle on two fronts. Against the chaos bleeding through the fissures of a cracked portal between realms, and against her attraction to a fallen angel with his own agenda. Talon’s dark ways and mysterious magics go against everything she believes in, but he’s the only man she’s ever loved.

Talon, forever haunted by his fall from grace and his ceaseless desire for the headstrong Bridget, longs for what he can never possess. Though he is no longer her guardian, she tempts him with pleasure he can never touch and emotions he can never reveal.

Caught on opposite sides in a war between good and evil, they struggle against their mutual passion. Then an ancient prophecy points to the one who will break the portal wide open and shift the balance of power: Bridget. She has no choice but to turn to Talon, and the love that will damn their souls—or save the world.

Warning: Contains graphic sex worth falling from grace for. And a dark, fallen angel with voyeuristic tendencies—if you’re into that sort of thing.

Trapped In Puter Hell

I'm not particularly good with being without my stuff. I love my stuff. Materialistic? You know... not really. I am a firm believer in saving, and in being responsible, and in priorities.

But I love my stuff!

SO for a nerd like me, being at my brother's nice little house on the beach for a few days, watching his rotten little dog Winston, is not a peaceful get-away. It's torture. I have to use somebody else's computer to access the internet unless I trot off to a hot spot. I'll certainly survive, but it sucks.

I like MY computers. They have MY bells and whistles and little quick-tricks installed, dammit. It is a nice reminder of how much I rely on these things. Recently having a laptop stripped, having to re-install many of my little darlings, I am more appreciative. I'm also glad I back stuff up regularly.

Pays to be anal sometimes. Shut up, you're not funny.

Anyway, it does suck, but the other night two idiots who thought the dunes (site of more local deflowerings than any limo fleet on earth) were a great and private place to get it on. They noticed how they have nice hollows and rises. They did not, apparently, notice how all the houses on the lip of the dunes are two stories or more, have upstairs decks, and very often feature telescopes.

So the neighbors and I got a free show, anyway. Hasn't been a total loss. Though I will worry about that young man's backside for a while. I doubt he paused to apply sunscreen to it.