Excitement and a CATastrophe

First of all, it took two bookstores today but guess what I have in my hot lil hands?

Robin Schone's Scandalous Lovers!!

Her first new book in like 4 years. I read the first chapter and am liking it so far.
I also picked up Lora Leigh's Megan's Mark. She's the first author I read from Ellora's Cave and one of the first I'd heard of who wrote for there. Did I mention *cough* she liked Dinah's Dark Desire? Talk about a fangirl sqee when I found that. Yes, I sometimes still Google it to make it come up *G*.

Now the CATastrophe. Behind the kitchen table is a table of plants aka the jungle. The cat has taken to getting on the kitchen table to be with me when I write. She's expressed interest in the plants as they are right by the windows and bird and squirrels come on the deck. I thought I had pulled the kitchen table enough away from the plant table that would end. Nope.

She balanced precariously in the big pot to a plant. She lost her balance and fell, taking the pot down with her before I could come rescue her. Luckily the pot didn't fall on her. But dirt and rocks spread around the kitchen. And worst of all, she got a good coating of potting soil. I brushed and rubbed quite a bit of it out but she still felt gritty. I somehow didn't think I'd survive giving the cat a bath. LOL I like to live. I went and got kitty wipes from the pet store. She wasn't thrilled about it, but her fur is no longer gritty.

May the muses have good reads
Mechele

A great cause

The weekend to end Breast Cancer.

A lovely lady I know from the blogosphere and Yahoo loops is going to participate. She's trying to raise donations. If you can, help her out. It's a wonderful cause.

May the muses have great causes
Mechele

Dear Zelda

I'm working as quickly as I can. I will get to your story next. Balt, Orion and Layla are first.

14,300 / 60,000 (23.8%)

Settler's Mine: The Rivals

Sincerely,
The author

To the Author

Write faster so you can get to my *&%%&& story. Settler's Mine: The Rivals isn't going fast enough.

Zelda

11,016 / 60,000 (18.4%)

I have an excuse for my messy house

My vacuum cleaner is broken *blinks*. LOL. Think I can get away with it?

Settler's Mine: The Rivals

9,590 / 60,000 (16.0%)

May the muses have broken vacuum cleaners.
Mechele

And they lived happily ever after

Quite a few bloggers have been talking on the subject lately.

So I thought I'd pose a couple of questions. I'll answer in comments later.

What does a happily ever after mean to you? Marriage? Children? the couple being in a relationship at the end of the book?

When you think of romance stories (not romantic or love stories but romance), do you require a happily ever after?

May the muses have happiness
Mechele

It was a dark and stormy night

A writing book right up my alley. It has comic strips of Snoopy interspersed with articles by writers. I wish I could share some of the strips. Lol, they are great! And there's a great article on rejections and famous authors who received them.

Snoopy never gives up. His rejection pile is huge. The publishers reject him before he ever sends them anything. I need to be more like Snoopy and keep on trucking. LOL but not write myself into corners.

May the muses have Snoopy
Mechele

Preditors & Editors Readers' Poll

Voting continues until the 14th of January


Vote here

May the muses have Readers
Mechele

Impatience

I just finished, Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. Wow.

I have watched the show Dexter on Showtime religiously since the hubby said, "you have to see this show," and I read Darkly Dreaming Dexter not too long ago. The protagonist is a serial killer.

**I don't think I give anything away but just in case...spoiler warning**

It's not for the squeamish, the humor is mucho dark and there is gore. Lindsay's voice is sardonic and arrogant, suiting Dexter rather finely.

I've always had so much respect for authors who introduce you to people, make you interested in them, and hurt them/kill them off in some fashion. It's a really brave thing for an author to do. Stephen King is a whiz at it. And Lindsay does it, too. Very well. For a whole page in the first book, he even had me thinking it was one person who's had something happen to them, when really it was a whole other person.

Now, I have to wait for the show to start a new season with curiousity eating at me as to how closely it will follow the second book. And I have to wait for the third book *sigh*

Did I mention Robin Schone has a book coming out next month? The next Secrets of Droon releases in February, too. The 7 year old and I can't wait!

May the muses have patience
Mechele

Impatience

I just finished, Dearly Devoted Dexter by Jeff Lindsay. Wow.

I have watched the show Dexter on Showtime religiously since the hubby said, "you have to see this show," and I read Darkly Dreaming Dexter not too long ago. The protagonist is a serial killer.

**I don't think I give anything away but just in case...spoiler warning**

It's not for the squeamish, the humor is mucho dark and there is gore. Lindsay's voice is sardonic and arrogant, suiting Dexter rather finely.

I've always had so much respect for authors who introduce you to people, make you interested in them, and hurt them/kill them off in some fashion. It's a really brave thing for an author to do. Stephen King is a whiz at it. And Lindsay does it, too. Very well. For a whole page in the first book, he even had me thinking it was one person who's had something happen to them, when really it was a whole other person.

Now, I have to wait for the show to start a new season with curiousity eating at me as to how closely it will follow the second book. And I have to wait for the third book *sigh*

Did I mention Robin Schone has a book coming out next month? The next Secrets of Droon releases in February, too. The 7 year old and I can't wait!

May the muses have patience
Mechele

The book cop?

I mentioned I was rereading Blubber by Judy Blume? I finished it and decided it's probably a bit much for the 7 year old. The suggested reading age is 9-12. I've already told her I read it, and I think she needs to be older to tackle the topics in it.

I feel sort of bad doing that. My mother never really policed what I read. I don't intend to censor what she reads constantly. But I know she's not ready for say, Stephen King yet either. In a year or two, she'll be ready to tackle the subjects introed in Blubber.

However, I did enjoy my walk down memory lane with Blubber. I remember reading it.

LOL and now I'm reading Dearly Devoted Dexter. Somehow the contrast of reading the two books back to back makes me chuckle. I'm easily amused.

May the muses have chuckles
Mechele

Judy Blume

The oldest kidlet has started reading some books by Judy Blume. I read a LOT of her books when I was younger, so I had already acquired Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing in anticipation of the kidlet reading. The kidlet loved Tales and wound up reading all the other books about Peter Hatcher, his brother, Fudge, and the rest of the family. We read chapters aloud sometimes at night, and we all wind up snickering at the antics.

Yesterday, I picked up Blubber for the kidlet. I started thumbing through it. I remember enjoying it, but I know some of Blume's books, the 7 year old probably should be a little bit older for. I got caught up in rereading it and read the first two chapters.

I'm amazed at Blume's storytelling capibilities. She does humor, she does drama, and she does characters so very well. It's been a nice rediscovery.

Have I mentioned, I LOVE THE KIDLETS READING??!!

May the muses have author heroes
Mechele