Friday, April 28, 2006

In an instant

I've always been amazed at how quickly life can change.

Like the poor people affected by the jet fuel spill I blogged about. The cleanup will take months. Close to 30,000 gallons of fuel spilled. They are having to dig up contaminated soil. It still reeks of fuel when you drive through.

My life has changed several times on a dime, sometimes for the good sometimes for the bad.

So the next time you are looking for a change, give it a minute. You may get more than you bargained for.

May the muses have change
Mechele


Dinah's Dark Desire

Zokutou word meterZokutou word meter
16,243 / 25,000
(65.0%)

Tuesday, April 25, 2006

Permanence

A few weeks ago in my youngest's preschool class, a little girl moved away, out of state. The youngest and I talked about it, where she was moving to, etc.

Today, she asked me, "So when is XXX coming back?"

I said, "She's not. She moved to YYY."

"She's not coming back? Ever? She's never coming back to school?" And I got a pouty lip.

I said, "No sweetheart."

Now she wants to write XXX or move to YYY. It never occurred to me to say this was permanent. I knew it was, but I guess the youngest wasn't aware that moving usually is. Sometimes I forget the things we've learned that kids still have to. Sad sometimes to learn those lessons.

May the muses have life lessons
Mechele

Saturday, April 22, 2006

The April issue of Crayon Chronicles is out!

My newsletter released yesterday. Had a great interview with Kai Anderson, shared some humor, poetry and news. Anyone who joins the group receives the current copy of the newsletter and the older ones are in the files section.

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/mechele_armstrong

Next month I will have been doing the newsletter a whole year! Expect me to wax nostalgic. I'm also thinking of some formatting changes to spice it up. Stay tuned....

May the muse have nostalgia
Mechele

Wednesday, April 19, 2006

Something I never think about

How do they get all that handy dandy jet fuel to airports?

I now know the answer for at least around here. A pipeline. And apparently it runs right through the county I live in. How do I know this? Because it somehow busted on Monday.

I happened to look at the local TV station yesterday and read the story. I looked at the pictures and said, "I know that place!" I go through there three days a week on my way to and from preschool.

The pipe carries about 116,000 gallons a day of various "stuff." It's a major throughfare of the Southeast, coming out of Greensboro, North Carolina and running to DC. Apparently, jet fuel shot out thirty feet into the air before it was contained. They are now working to clean it up, getting it out of the soil and small creek that it ran into.

The subdivision where it broke, is a high end one. Now that the shock is wearing off, the people are very concerned as to what this will do to their neighborhood.

I drove through there today to the bustling scene of people working. And the very strong smell of gasoline. It was overpowering.

It made me think of the things I do take for granted. Like how they get jet fuel to airplanes.

May the muses have hugs
Mechele

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Did you have your earplugs in?


Cause if you didn't...LOL you heard the squeal. Blood Lines: Crimson's Rose released overnight! Happy happy joy joy!

http://www.loose-id.com/detail.aspx?ID=28

Roses are red…blood red

Lang hungers for power. He wants a Conduit and thinks he’s found one in Crimson Daly. He hires mercenary vampire Rojo Rose to quietly bring her in. But when Rojo meets her, and she kisses him, bites his lip and shoves him away, Rojo realizes bringing her to Lang might be his most difficult assignment ever. She intrigues him more than anyone else…until he finds out Lang wants to use her in the way Rojo fears the most.

Crimson dreams of roses, blood and killing, not a good thing when the vampire you’re in lust with’s last name is Rose. They can’t stay away from each other. Their passion explodes everyplace they go. Then Crimson is betrayed, and Rojo must face his darkest fear to become her Rose and save her life.

big snoopy dancing hugs
Mechele

Monday, April 17, 2006

Interviews and reviews

Melissa Schroeder did a fun interview with me for her newsletter. There's also an interview with author, Laura Baumbach. Check it out: http://www.melissasboudoir.com/

And *cues happy music* Blood Lines: Conduit received five coffee cups from Wateena at Coffeetime. She writes, "This story rocked! It exploded with action and to die for romance. With plenty of action, you are taken from the beginning and on the run to find Copper's sister, then you are thrown for a loop as things unfold and betrayals happen. Just when you think you have a chance to catch your breath, you are then in the fight of your life with the enemy. Heart pounding adventure, along with spicy romance, keeps you ensnared to the end. Vampire lovers do not want to miss this one." http://www.coffeetimeromance.com/BookReviews/BloodlinesConduit.html


Color me very happy
Mechele

Sunday, April 16, 2006

I wish I were still there


Yes, the picture I posted about where I wanted to be, was where I went. This picture is an actual view from our backdoor...

The family and I traveled to South Nagshead on the Outer Banks.

We had the best time! The ocean water was cold but the weather was gorgeous. The dolphins played in the ocean in our backyard. They would jump, ride the waves, blow water from their blowhole. We saw them a number of times, more than any other trip to the beach.

The beach is in my blood. I was born to be a beach bum. My father loved the ocean so I come by it naturally. I've been going to the Outer Banks regularly since 1986. So lots of good memories. This trip created quite a few more. Ahhh rejuvenation....

May the muses have good ocean views
Mechele

Sunday, April 09, 2006

Where I want to be


The Outer Banks of North Carolina. Booooooooo yah!

May the muses have beaches
Mechele

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

*snoopy dances* and other things

My new free short read is live at the website. It's the next part in the The Knight in a Cowboy Hat series, entitled Awakenings. I'm having a lot of fun writing about Keith and Tessa. Enloy. http://www.mechelearmstrong.com

Guess what?

JERR gave Blood Lines: Conduit five stars! And an O rating.

I'm doing the happy happy joy joy dance.

Here's some of what Stacey had to say: Ms. Armstrong did a wonderful job of weaving the lives of the characters into the storyline, and the interaction amongst them was wonderful. It had elements of jealousy, madness, the paranormal, and lust. In spite of the fact that it took forever for them to actually have sex, there was plenty of fantasy of what Copper and Bastian would do to each other, but it took a bit of reading to get there. When they did, explosive doesn’t even cover the fireworks that happened. Luckily, the story is so good that I didn’t mind the wait.

Heeeeeee heeee! Stacey also asks about Crimson and I am happy to report, she does get her own book. It's going to be out soon *nods*.

The response to Conduit has been pretty good so far. I'm so happy people are enjoying it.

May the muses be kind
Mechele