RT Thurs--Loose Id breakfast

Thursday started with Melissa and I leaving Mari in bed for some more slumber LOL while we went to the Loose Id breakfast. And it was awesome. About 20 Loose Id authors in the same place is a grand thing.

Treva Harte was gracious as always and fun to talk to. I also talked to Lynn Lorenz some more along with Jianne Carlo and Adrianna Dane. Yes, and Lacey Savage! I knew I was leaving off a name but was sleepy. Sorry Lacey!

I dashed to my spot in Club RT and had some fun talking there. Got a bunch of entries for my basket! Whoo hooo. Refilled my post it notes and snagged some neat looking items from promo lane. Got quite a few ideas for promo I can do down the road LOL.

Mechele, next up a basket case emerges

RT Wed--Panels, expos, parties and more

Got up Wed and found some breakfast. I took over my postits for promo lane and my giveaway for Club RT.

Attended a wonderful panel on being 10 places at once (promotion). Got quite a bit of information from that panel.

I also participated in a panel on Putting the Men in Menage with Trista Ann Michaels, Samantha Kane, Liddy Midnight, Lacey Savage. We really had a wonderful time discussing both m/m/f and m/f/m menages, what to do and what not to do. Went well I thought.

The Ebook Expo came and I had a good time sitting and talking to people coming by. Gave away 25+ excerpt CD's and 25+ Book Worm Bags.

Treva Harte popped by with Loose Id tattoos and Anne Douglas came by to say "Hey!"

We had a quickie dinner, I think with Ann (my days are running together, it might have been Thurs I had dinner with Ann) and then onto the Ellora's Cave Jungle Fantasy party. I was announced as Melany Logen and escorted across the stage by a model. I didn't fall so was good LOL.

I didn't stay late because the Faery Ball was the next day and I was very nervous about my day on Thursday.

May the muses have good times
Mechele

PS on Tuesday I met the incomparable Lyn Cash! I was so thrilled to see her face to face.

Blogged at TRS Blue yesterday http://ping.fm/YuW0a

RT Tues--the rest of the day

(Again, I'm doing smaller bits as I get to them rather than a long post.)

After hanging in the bar a little while with Melissa and Sam, we walked (hiked) to the convention center to see if registration was open. It was!

May I just say the bag they gave out this year are wonderful? They will be useful for along time with all the pockets and the zippered close. The name tag was very useful, too with a pocket and pouch. Also included this year was a list of everything you were supposed to participate in like panels, events, signings, etc. That was a nice touch.

Mari had been delayed so wasn't coming in until later that night. We managed to pick up her bag, too.

We crossed the road of traffic (lots!) and went to dinner with Lynn, Trista, and *thinks* another woman whose name escapes me right now (if I figure it out, I'll edit). Had a lot of good writerly conversation.

Mari arrived and she and I and Melissa went to the private Ellora's Cave author party. Was fun.

We stopped at the bar and had a margarita before we called it a night.

Mechele

RT Tues--the arrival and the hotel

Instead of doing one long blog, I'm going to do short ones as I think of stuff.

I rolled out of Virginia about 10 in the morning, heading down to Florida. I sweated my bag being over the 50 pound limit but it was 47, just under the limit. Sweet!

Landed in Atlanta, had lunch, and then back to traveling. Fairly uneventful except for the woman next to me who almost got deplaned due to high blood pressure.

Arrived at the hotel and talked to Trista Ann Michaels who had graciously offered to pick me up from the airport, and Lynn Lorenz, who Trista was also picking up. I really enjoyed chatting on the ride over to the hotel with them.

I had heard the hotel was spread out and it was. Lots of walking for anything. I got checked in, ran into my buddy Ann and Larissa Ione.

Some drama happened at home so as I was headed to pick up my package (my post its) and go to the room, I was talking to the family.

Arrived at the room, dropped off my stuff, found my roomie, Melissa Lopez and my pal, Sam Cheever and sat at the bar beside the pool for a bit.

Next, the rest of the day...

Mechele

Caught up? What's that? A dream I'm aspiring to. Today, the work begins anew.

is figuring out this social networking stuff. Now, onto the rest of my list.

Testing 1...2...3 (ignore)

Monday Blah Blah

Am brain dead but back home from RT. Will post more later in short bits about the wonderful time I had.

Am posting at TRS Blue today: http://ping.fm/mnwKe

I'm also trying something new so consider this a test post LOL.

Mechele Armstrong

Monday Blah Blah

I'm packed (mostly). My newsletter is sent out *whee*. My Yahoo groups are turned off LOL. My pitches are written. My boxes are sent. My blog at Loose Ends is written and ready to post on Thursday. My hubby knows where everyone has to be. I even cleaned the litter box.

I think I'm just about ready for RT. Still have a few odds and ends. And I know I've forgotten something...

Mechele

Friday Five

Hopefully as this posts, I'll be on a bus heading for Yorktown on a field trip. Hopefully.

1. I'm a Passionate Plume finalist!! Settler's Mine 3: The Woman finaled in the futuristic category.

I'm so excited. For a full list of finalists. Congratulations all.

2. I got some other good news today. I will share as soon as I can. Hopefully all will go well. *G*.

3. Is is bad when you tell your kids you're hopefully going to be dancing to your favorite song next week (at RT) and they start singing it? *blinks*

4. I'm almost packed for RT. No, LOL I'm not that much of a planner. I was debating shipping items or carrying a second bag onto the airline. I needed to see how that would go (i.e. shipping versus the second bag charge). The second bag won *sigh*. Not going to be fun at the airport...

5. Why oh why did I take time out to watch Chuck and Deadliest Catch? Because they were both so darn good this week.

And a freebie: I finally read Snow Blind by Lori G. Armstrong. I've been putting it off forever because I knew it was the last Julie Collins novel. I loved it. Her arc through the four novels, has been both realistic and awesome. I'm not happy to see her story end but where it ended up, it's believable and I liked. Very much so. I think I've decided that more people need to know about Lori G. Armstrong. My goal is to bring back one signed book of hers and give it away at my newsletter group when I get back from RT.

May the muses have finals

Mechele

Monday blah blah

Amazon is definitely the talk of the 'net. Yes, at least three of my print books are affected. They are saying, "glitch." I wrote to Amazon and would encourage everyone to do the same thing. If it is policy, let them know how you feel about it.

I posted at Ladies of the Club, Glitch or not, it's troubling.

I'm working on the next Blood Lines. Characters are very loud. A good thing. I'm almost done with the first chapter. I think this one is going to be more thrilleresque, more like Blood Kiss and Conduit.

Has anyone read Ender's Game by Orson Scott Card? I'm going to read it and am contemplating letting the oldest read it. I think in some ways, she's getting bored with "children's" books. I wish I could remember when I started on more adult books...

I'm reading Snow Blind by Lori G. Armstrong. I had been putting it off because I know it's the last Julie Collins novel *sniffle*. I'm loving it. Julie is much the same, yet she's grown through the novels, too. I can't wait for her new mystery series!

Did I mention who I'm sitting by at the Giant Book Fair at RT? Yes, Lori G. Armstrong. *squeee* LOL I'm wondering if I can somehow slide all four books in for her to sign.

May the muses have lunch
Mechele

Friday Five

1. Spring Break hasn't been a break for me but I haven't gotten as much done as I would have liked to. I am however getting ready for RT. I have several boxes to send down before I get there and am getting those ready. It's coming fast. Very very fast!

2. My kids, I love them. I couldn't get them OUT of the Science Museum on Tuesday. They didn't want to leave. They wanted to stay and watch the debate between Edison and Tesla. Why yes that would Thomas Edison and Nikola Tesla. We had so so much fun. They kept saying things like, "But I haven't tried to build that arch yet!"

3. I did submit the new story, Another Night another Dream to the editor. *bites nails*. Now to get very very busy on the next Blood Lines. I have a deadline. Eeek!

4. Went letterboxing on Saturday and ran into a snake! LOL a little one hanging out in the hole on the tree we think had a letterbox.

5. Somehow this reminds me of my dog and cat.


see more Lolcats and funny pictures

May the muses have science museums
Mechele

Why I'm not posting my regularly scheduled programmming this week

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

Friday Five

1. Spring Break is next week. I will probably not be blogging much. My children have all these things they want to do...and I need to write so blogging will probably get left in the dust. Things they want to do: see number 3, go to the science museum, play with friends, have sleepovers, go to Lewis Ginter Botanical Gardens, go to Maymont. Most of all, they want to sleep late. Someone alert the critters on this plan!

2. Cleanup has begun on Another Night, Another Dream. I've also started another Blood Lines, possibly the last one. I've written the first scene. It's going to be a bumpy ride...

3. Have you ever letterboxed? It's sort of like a treasure hunt where you follow clues to boxes. There's a stamp and a journal in the box, and you carry a stamp and a journal and you stamp your journal with their stamp and their journal with your stamp to show you were there.

4. Deadliest Catch returns right before I head out for RT. I find myself really looking forward to watching it again. I've found myself getting into Chuck, too. They only have a few more episodes to wrap up this season.

5. Allergies suck! We all seem to be allergic to something in the air. An allergy med has helped the youngest but made the rest of us drowsy as could be. We are all coughing, eyes running, nose running. Yeah, real attractive. And according to a friend, Virginia's not even on the high side for pollen. *sigh*

May the muses have stamps
Mechele

PS: Note to the robin in my front yard:

My car is not a rival or a mate. Please stop flying at it and pooping on it. I have two cats. That is all. (No, I wouldn't let the cats get him/her and I don't think Diva kitty would know what to do with a bird if she got close, which she wouldn't.)

Just had to say it

Happy birthday, hubby! I hope you have a good one.

I finished the new story. *bounces* I'm very excited about it. Now to clean it up and get it submitted.

Oh! It's official. I'm signing as Mechele at the Saturday book fair at RT!!! I'll have Melany's Secrets of Seduction II and Dinah's Dark Desire and the Rivals to sign, too!!

I blogged at TRS on April Fool's Day and at Georgia's on Downtime.

I forgot to mention a neat coincidence yesterday.

A week or so ago, the youngest and I had a cookie booth outside a store. Next door was a petstore and Henrico Humane Society was outside with dogs. Needless to say my daughter and her other Brownie friend were very distracted. HHS was getting ready to leave and they had loaded up all dogs but one. The youngest and I ended up going over to see him.

He was a sweetie. Definite older dog and very mellow. We talked to the HHS volunteer about him as she loaded him into the car.

Flash forward to finding out that my friend's mother in law adopted a dog. As I found out more about him, I became suspicious. Asked for a picture. Yep, that was the dog! The youngest and I were just thrilled to find out that the dog we met was adopted.

I can't say enough about Henrico Humane Society, which is where we adopted our neurotic pooch from, and The Richmond SPCA, where both kitties and our former dog came from. They both do very good work with animals and do all they can to adopt out pets to forever homes.

May the muses have dogs
Mechele