Since I’m really gonna try to finish the first round of edits, I probably won’t be blogging for the next day or so. My fault—if I weren’t such a total computer nerd, I’d probably be finished by now.

Instead, I’m posting a small excerpt from Incubus that I haven’t before. Just a casual read until I get back, when I’ll be a good little blogger.

Serafina Fisher has been virtually stranded in a small fishing cabin in the mountains of Virginia. As if that wasn’t enough, she’s having dreams. Dreams that keep her from sound sleep. Erotic dreams. Dreams so intense, she’s beginning to believe they’re real…

(more…)

Snatched from Daisy’s blog…(EVIL Daisy, EVIL!)
She also mentioned something about Random Acts of Kindness—but I figure I do that every day by sparing the life of one or more of my co-workers…

I ain’t terribly complicated, but what the hey—the questions were interesting.

7 Things To Do Before I Die:

* Visit Hawaii & Alaska
* Talk to a dolphin
* Help make a Tibetan Sand Mandala, then surrender it to the water and wind.
* Wear an all-black outfit without a single cat hair
* Hear an unsuspecting person in a bookstore tell somebody how good my book is & how much they enjoyed it
* See my paintings in another gallery
* Lose enough weight to be comfortable in my body

7 Things I cannot do

* Sit through boring lectures, sermons, or speeches
* Witness thoughtlessness or cruelty without getting angry
* Write long passages of INNER CONFLICT (just kill me now)
* Eat anything that still has red blood or eyes looking back at me
* Completely abstain from sweets (even a breath mint will do)
* Pretend to like somebody I don’t
* Wear serious fuck-me boots/high heels. Got the legs, just don’t have the balance.

7 Things I love to eat

* Godiva Belgian Dark Chocolate Ice Cream (which I can’t seem to find in my local stores anymore—sob!)
* Warm cashews, liberally and freshly salted
* Salad with a sharp, tangy dressing
* Pizza, crisp crust, lots of cheese
* Real Virginia ham, cooked to perfection & served with hot, homemade rolls, butter, and either fluffy scrambled eggs or fried apples (drool…)
* Really GOOD corned beef & cabbage
* Good snacking crackers with port salut or brie cheese

7 Things that attract me to people

* Beautiful, honest eyes
* Creative minds and hands
* Interesting, intelligent conversation
* Dry wit
* The ability to laugh at themselves
* People who encourage thought in ME
* People who seem comfortable with who they are

7 things I say most often

* “I have a question.” (I’ve already asked that this be placed on my tombstone)
* “Why?”
* “Oh, what the hell is it NOW?!!” (to Cody, Mischa, Boo, Pye, or fill in cat’s name)
* “Oh, God. Already?” (at the sound of the morning alarm)
* “I’ve GOT to get the hell out of here.” (spoken every day at work)
* “Oh, shit.” (I’m detecting a pattern here…)
* “A perfect stranger just told me all their problems…”

7 books or series I love

* Jane Eyre
* Books on metaphysics and enlightenment
* Old-fashioned detective mysteries—Sherlock Holmes, Agatha Christie, etc.
* Single subject short-story anthologies
* Old-fashioned horror stories (Poe, Machen, etc.)
* Books about fine paintings and art techniques
* Biographies about people who overcome the odds

7 types of movies I can watch multiple times

* Tongue-in-cheek adventure movies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Mummy, etc.)
* Classic love stories (Jane Eyre, Random Harvest, Pride and Prejudice, etc.)
* Anything by Hitchcock
* Heroic movies (Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Gandhi, Babe—yes, Babe)
* Mysteries with great twists (Witness for the Prosecution, Body Heat, etc.)
* Hot movies with great bitches (Basic Instinct, The Last Seduction, Dream Lover, etc.)
* They were TV movies, so I’m claiming them—COLUMBO, COLUMBO, COLUMBO

I’ve discovered a perfect method for coming up with blogging material.
DON’T PLAN TO BLOG!!

I’m editing. Really and truly I am.
But I HAD to comment on this.

Unfortunately, I work TSDJ (the sucky day job) in the evening, so I didn’t get to see the whole thing. But I saw enough on follow-up news stories to get the gist of what happened…

As described by several TV journalists–Oprah took James Frey out to the woodshed, and gave him a good old-fashioned whuppin’.
On national television. Live.

I confess the Frey thing made me nauseous. Not only that he lied and called it ‘truth’–but that even after he was busted he tried to justify it. And even WORSE–so did his PUBLISHER.
I wasn’t very happy with Oprah’s behavior at first either. Her defense of the book in her phone call to Larry King’s show after the Smoking Gun spilled the beans smelled of the same justification.

Well, the shit hit the fan today. Oprah not only apologized for implying that ‘the truth’ was unimportant, and for misleading her audience—she iced, sliced, and diced that man to bits. And while she was swinging the blade, she got in a few good thrusts at his very powerful publisher, sitting very pale and stammering away beside him.
Can you say “OUCH”??!!

It was so bad, I actually began to feel sorry for him. At least, as much as you can for a man who lied about his own lover’s suicide.

The impact of this may or may not be profound in the publishing world. So let me put this out there, before the publishers decide whether they’re going to start checking on facts or not:

I’m a very hot, very shapely, tawny-skinned 25-year old strawberry blonde with a Master’s degree in English Literature. I’ve been on the best-seller list countless times under various pseudonyms, and I collect Barbie dolls in my spare time. A former dominatrix, I wielded my whip in the heart of Washington politics. I’ve got names, dates, and somewhat fuzzy photos, and I’m willing to sell my book to the highest bidder.

Trust me.

Fayard Nicholas, half of the amazing Nicholas Brothers dance team, has died at the age of 91.

Beside the racial barriers they hurdled, this pair of elegant, athletic dancers was the best in the business. EVER. Don’t take my word for it. Fred Astaire thought so too.

And for those who may be too young or unfamiliar with them, I’d strongly suggest checking out one of their movies. I’m talking defying gravity, folks. I do not exaggerate. They were absolutely INCREDIBLE.

Another short post. I just received line edits, so I really should be working on them.
Really.
I haven’t gone over this ms in a while, so it’s good to remember how much I like this story. And I’ll even admit that, in its first draft, this story was (gasp!) rejected by another publisher.

Why?
EDITOR AT MYSTERY PUB: “This is NOT a (insert name of pub) hero. A (insert name of pub) hero has the following attributes…”
ME: Uh…well, wouldn’t that sorta make them pretty much all the SAME, and thereby pretty cookie-cutter stuff, and if you’ve read one you’ve read them all??
EDITOR AT MYSTERY PUB: “Your hero tends to speak and act inappropriately at times.”
ME: Well, yes. I could see how the average female reader would have trouble believing that could happen.

NEW SAMHAIN EDITOR: “And I am soooo in love with Brant.”

I get the feeling I may like it here.

As mentioned previously, my great webmistress Cece has gotten FABULOUS reviews on her most recent release, ONCE IN A BLUE MOON.

Hey! What d’ya know! Here’s one now!

Other news, since I have absolutely none of my own?
Os is hung better than a tic-tac, paying for good reviews in bed, and playing Yahtzee.
I leave it to you to decide whether it is biographical, or memoir.

Stay warm! Spring is coming!

I remember hearing an account of Lady Churchill, Winston’s mother, and her arrival with her new husband at Blenheim Palace. An American by birth, Jenny wasn’t fond of Victorian England’s stodginess and traditions.
If memory serves, she wrote her mother that there was a terrible snowstorm that day, and as they pulled up to the steps, all of the servants stood outside in the storm, dressed only in their uniforms, to welcome them.
She then went on to complain about how much she’d suffered that day, since she was expected to greet each one of them, and ‘her fur coat was oh, so terribly heavy…’

It’s true that everything is relative. To Jenny, the burden of wearing that heavy coat was REAL. Never mind the poor servants who had none at all. She shook hands with each of them, and never really saw a single one.
We experience this in everyday life, all the time.

But in the writing world, it’s especially interesting.

Maybe because I’m a trace beyond newbie but well shy of ‘recognized’, I have a certain perspective.

I know people in various chat groups who are beginning to see a little publishing success and seem impatient with their old friends who are so afraid of rejection they won’t submit.

I’ve heard people who’ve found fast or sudden enormous success lecture those who’ve been struggling for a very long time about ‘whining’ and persevering, no matter how long it takes.

And I’ve read monologues by very successful authors about unsympathetic editors, the burden of having fans and a publishing schedule, and how they were expected to deliver another novel at the same half-million dollar price tag they previously got. Never mind that part of their listening audience are wanna-be authors who’d give their eye teeth to have a CHANCE at such a dream. (And some, btw, who may be every bit the writer that the pro is, but haven’t been given the same opportunities).

This post isn’t about pointing fingers. Lord knows I do my share of whining!
It’s just that when I do whine, I try to remember all those starving children in China. You know–the ones your Mom always told you about when you didn’t clean your plate?

And I’m not even CLOSE to the champagne wishes and caviar dreams. But even when I’m dissatisfied with how full my plate is–which I frequently am–I hope I remember every sweat-filled, anxiety-ridden, bloody step on the road.

And every pair of moccasins I wore along the way.

The release date looks pretty well set, so I guess I can say that LET’S PRETEND will be released by SAMHAIN PUBLISHING on February 21.

It’s not erotica, but it is a steamy little romance. And yes, I fell for this hero too. (If these guys were real, I guess I’d be quite a slut…)

It should be an interesting experience. This is only the second publisher I’ve worked with, and they’re brand new.
And although I have every intention of continuing to write erotica, I’d really like to try some non-romance stuff there sometime. I may suck at it, but the idea of erotic mysteries, for example, really appeals to me. Or horror with romantic elements, or romantic comedy, or a detective mystery series. All I need is the confidence, motivation, and 24 more hours in the day!

Other than that…
It’s the middle of the week.
It’s the middle of January.
It’s the middle of winter.
Sigh…