Awww. Sowwy I Hit You.

It's Amazing What Can Be Done With Old Cars

A Video That Will Tear Your Heart Out

For some reason I can't embed this video on my blog, so I'm giving you the link here.

It's entitled "Man Left Dog On Leash Outside Of An Elevator". DON'T GIVE UP ON THE VIDEO! Halfway through you'll see something astonishing.

Opera duo Charlotte & Jonathan - Britain's Got Talent audition

http://youtu.be/ZsNlcr4frs4
GO. WATCH. NOW!
The pair - consisting of 17-year-old opera singer Jonathan Antoine and 16-year-old pop singer Charlotte Jaconelli - sailed through to the next round after their performance of Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli's The Prayer.
Read more: http://www.metro.co.uk/home/894130-britains-got-talent-charlotte-and-jonathan-wow-crowds-and-judges#ixzz1q8ymx15q

It's My Birthday! Come Help Me Celebrate, and WIN!

Donna Steele is my Guest Author Tonight on "Other Worlds of Romance" on Blog Talk Radio!

Donna Steele is my Guest Author Tonight on "Other Worlds of Romance" on Blog Talk Radio! She'll be reading from her sci-fi romance, Rth Rising, from Rebel Ink Press.

Don't miss it! Showtime is 11 pm et/ 10 pm ct/ 8 pm pt
* * *

Kat Stans always knew she wanted to be a doctor.

Davd Palfy always knew he wasn't about to get truly involved with anyone.

The computer that runs the colony has other ideas for both of them.

When Kat is assigned by the head of the Enforcers to hunt down and return a 'shirker'-any colonist who tries to escape the computer's authority-she sets out to complete her assignment.

This shirker, Davd, a handsome and mysterious fellow enforcer, is more than she bargained for, and sparks fly when he turns the tables on her, capturing and kidnapping her away from all she knows.

Six Tips on Writing from John Steinbeck

On the value of unconscious association, or why the best advice is no advice.

Abandon the idea that you are ever going to finish. Lose track of the 400 pages and write just one page for each day, it helps. Then when it gets finished, you are always surprised.

Write freely and as rapidly as possible and throw the whole thing on paper. Never correct or rewrite until the whole thing is down. Rewrite in process is usually found to be an excuse for not going on. It also interferes with flow and rhythm which can only come from a kind of unconscious association with the material.

Forget your generalized audience. In the first place, the nameless, faceless audience will scare you to death and in the second place, unlike the theater, it doesn’t exist. In writing, your audience is one single reader. I have found that sometimes it helps to pick out one person — a real person you know, or an imagined person and write to that one.

If a scene or a section gets the better of you and you still think you want it — bypass it and go on. When you have finished the whole you can come back to it and then you may find that the reason it gave trouble is because it didn’t belong there.

Beware of a scene that becomes too dear to you, dearer than the rest. It will usually be found that it is out of drawing.

If you are using dialogue — say it aloud as you write it. Only then will it have the sound of speech.

You can read the whole blog about it here.

Fairy Tale Fantasies

Click here to see well-known fairy tale characters like Snow White, Rapunzel, and Red Riding Hood in ways you never expected! (These are not your children's fairy tales.)

Sounds of a Frozen Sea

Sounds of a frozen sea off the coast of the city of Odessa, in the Ukraine, in February, 2012.

This is so eerie!

A Candy Confection Made by a Street Vendor in China with Just a Ladle and Sugar Syrup

Alcohol Magnified to a Microscopic Level

How to Be a Successful Writer in 10 Minutes a Day (Humor)

Thanks to Kayelle Allen for this little gem.

A little humor to start your workday. Here's how you can be a successful writer without really trying. I can sum it up for you in one honest hashtag: #aintgonnahappen

But if you want a formula for what most writers do in a ten-minute period, this is accurate (for the most part).

Minute 1: Do warm up exercises for your hands to prevent carpal tunnel syndrome. Every writer should do these. The exercises are pleasant, and simple. They consist of lifting a coffee cup, sipping from it, and putting it back down. Repeat with the other hand.

Minute 2: Open a blank word processing document and save it as Chapter One. Be sure the proper formatting is in place. One inch margins all around, Arial, Calibri, Times, or Times New Roman in 12 point font.

Minute 3: Take a break. Play Spider Solitaire, Mahjongg, or a word search puzzle.

Minute 4: Repeat the warm up exercises before going back to work, to ensure your hands are limber.

Minute 5: Open a blank word processing document and save it as Chapter Two. Double check the formatting. Set a new format to indent automatically five spaces when starting a new paragraph, and name it Editing.

Minute 6: Take a break. Check email. (Note, if time runs over one minute, this is okay because checking email falls under marketing, another vital activity for writers.)

Minute 7: You have been sitting for some time by now, so stand up, and stretch your legs. If possible, take a walk, such as to the kitchen to fetch fresh coffee for your hand exercises.

Minute 8: Open a previously edited document and see if anything needs to be tweaked. Look for oft-used words. If you don't yet have a list of these, begin compiling these now. This should include phrases such as "shook his head" and "folded his arms."

Minute 9: Repeat the warm up exercises. Fetch more coffee if needed. Check the coffee, creamer, and sugar supply while up, and add to the grocery list if needed. While doing so, consider the meal plan for the week, and make additions to the shopping list.

Minute 10: Check email for notes from your editor and/or beta readers. Since this email visit is for writing-related purposes, check the blogs to which you've subscribed.

And there you have it. A ten minute process that has the potential to carry you throughout the day. Will it make you successful? That depends solely on your agent, whose job it is to land you a contract. Right? Right?

Come Listen to a Spicy Excerpt From My Lastest Release (and Maybe Win It!) Tonight on "Other Worlds of Romance" on Blog Talk Radio!

Tonight I'm going to be reading a spicy excerpt from my latest release, SECRET IDENTITY, on "Other Worlds of Romance" on Blog Talk Radio. And one lucky listener is going to win a copy!

Show time is 11 pm et/10 pm ct/8 pm pt

Don't miss it!
***

Brenda McKay has no man in her life, and she really doesn’t have time for one. That’s not a problem, since Brenda’s new job responsibilities keep her too busy for any sort of social life. But the day she is saved by a strange man who calls himself The Defender is the day her heart will never be the same.

Lorne Palmer has loved Brenda since they were in grade school. Shy, introverted, and the middle brother of two over-achievers, he has never really approached her for anything other than to help her with her homework. And to be there for her when her other boyfriends deserted her.

It wasn’t until he finally acquired his super powers and became The Defender did Lorne finally decide enough was enough. If he couldn’t work up the courage to claim her as himself, perhaps The Defender could.

Warning! Contains sabotage, weird chemical names, smiley boxes, floating root beer, corporation hanky-panky, isolated safe houses, chocolate-covered strawberries, and things that go BOOM! in the night!

Everyday Items Made of Wood

In this photo below, everything you see on the chopping block is made of wood.

Don't believe me? Scroll down.

New York based artist Randall Rosenthal creates unique wooden sculptures that represent ordinary household objects. Each sculpture was hand carved from a single block of wood and then carefully painted with ink and acrylic to look just like the real thing.

Check out this link on Toxel to see more of this man's incredible wood art.

Happy St. Paddy's Day!

Learn From My Mistakes: Day 4 - The Little Things

Most of the time my editor will spot a "minor correction" in my story. ("Didn't you spell her last name with two Ls?") Sometimes she misses the minor stuff. But when I go back later to re-read it, I'll catch the gaffs (Sheesh, she has blue eyes! Why did I put green here?) And worry that my readers will catch those gaffs, as well.

So I keep a journal now. (Yes, that's a real picture of it, complete with my notes on the story I'm currently writing.) In it I keep pertinent information such as my hero and heroine's full names, eye color, hair color, build, special names, words, and phrases. I also mark dates (Did they first meet three years ago or five?), chapter headings (so I don't repeat myself), and whatever else I feel I may need to refer back to. (Once the book is finished, I mark the first page with the book's title on a post-it note, in case I do a sequel and need to review.)

In short, I'm going to do my darn-dest not to make any of those small, non-grammatical mistakes.

(And, yes, those are real coffee stains. LOL!)

Learn From My Mistakes: Day 3 - Numbers

I'm very bad about spelling out numbers, especially time.

It's six o'clock, six a.m., and after six that evening.
Years are spelled out (eg: nineteen sixteen, not 1916, unless...see picture at left.)
She was eleven years old, not 11.
It's our fifteen wedding anniversary, not 15th.

I think what screws me up is that there is so much inconsistancy regarding spelling out numbers in the books I read. I've seen it both ways, and that makes me wonder about the editors.

Learn From My Mistakes: Day 2 - Show, Don't Tell

I don't do this as often as I used to. But I'm very conscious of it, and try to avoid it when necessary. Plus, by going ahead with the showing, it adds word count to my story.

Learn From My Mistakes: a Week of Tips (Day 1, The Ellipsis)

This week I'm going to post a series of boo-boos and mistakes I make when I'm writing, bad habits I need to quit, and other tips my editors are constantly getting after me about. Hopefully, if you see yourself doing the same thing, you might save yourself an editing gaff in the process.

Day 1 - The Ellipsis
Yeah, I abuse it. When I think an ellipsis is necessary, my editor says no, it's hanging. When I go back and finish the sentence, I realize she was right. In the majority of cases, I didn't need the . . .

Suzzana Ryan is my Guest Author Tonight on "Other Worlds of Romance" on Blog Talk Radio

Join us tonight on "Other Worlds of Romance" on Blog Talk Radio. Suzzana Ryan will be my guest author, and she'll be reading from her paranormal romance "A Vampire for Her Birthday", from Rebel Ink Press.

Show time is 11 pm et/ 10 pm ct/ 8 pm pt

Don't miss it!

* * *

Beautiful fairy Tawny Mac Namara is turning thirty. Her werewolf boyfriend has walked out on her leaving her alone and despondent and ready to swallow enough pain killers to put down an elephant. It seems to be the story of the beautiful fairy’s life--one ill fainted romance after another.

Elliot is a gorgeous and quite promiscuous vampire who belongs to an elite species that battle evil. And Elliot has a special talent as well, he's a master at giving his prey multiple orgasms. Somehow Tawny’s despondent email shows up in Elliot‘s inbox and Elliot knows he must go to her and stop her from her foolishness. He's pleased when he sees the beautiful young woman and finds out Tawny is a fairy. No vampire can resist the love of such a woman. And Tawny finds that even though Elliot sees her flaw, he's still willing to fall in love with her.

Six on Sunday - SECRET IDENTITY

Six paragraphs from SECRET IDENTITY
Book 1 of the Identity Series

An erotic fantasy romance novel

Word Count: 53K
Available from Whiskey Creek Press Torrid

(Also available at Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Barnes and Noble, and BookStrand)

1. She didn’t want to cry. She had just gotten off the phone with the hospital when he rang to let her know her father had died, which explained how the doctor had gotten her number. After hanging up, she’d cried herself into total exhaustion and into a state of calm where she thought she could face this return with a more somber spirit. But looking at the warm, sympathetic expression on Lorne’s face, and at his comforting arms, she felt her emotions give way. Burying her face in the curve of his neck, she inhaled his warm, manly scent. It was a natural smell, as Lorne never wore cologne. Not even after he shaved.

2. He pointed a finger a Lorne. “The fact that The Defender is now open knowledge is a plus in our column. You won’t have to hide him any more, but you’re still vulnerable. And since you’re the one who’s now public knowledge, you’re going to be watched closer than rash on a baby’s bottom. You’re our weakest link right now, Lorne. From this moment, every move you make, every word you say, will be filtered and sifted through, and examined for any clue as to who you are and where you’re from.” Sighing, Luke added, “The world has changed mightily since the days Dad defended this corner of the galaxy.”

3. In the next instant, The Defender loomed into her mind’s eye. She slowly shook her head. He was the one who made her inner thighs wet. He was the man who jolted her bloodstream as if a hundred caffeine drinks had been dumped into it simultaneously. A man whose touch even now burned her skin at the memory.

4. Yet, Lorne was more comfortable and trustworthy than a pair of old bunny slippers. If her heart had to make a choice, she wouldn’t hesitate to choose Mr. Palmer. He was more than a friend. Always had been. Except Lorne never looked at her that way. He never touched her, or eyed her, or gave her any non-verbal signal that said he wanted to become more than friends, no matter how much she wished he would. Too bad she was too chicken shit to make the first move, damn her.

5. But it was his lips and his tongue that kept her desire peaked. His knee between her legs pressed into the juncture of her jeans, until she could feel a second heartbeat pounding in her lower abdomen. Pounding relentlessly and insistently as her body readied itself for him. She squirmed slightly, and the knee wedged itself harder. The jeans’ inner seam rubbed along her clit, and fresh fire plumed through her blood. Brenda moaned softly and gasped for air.

6. The last thing she could recall was lying in Lorne’s arms back at the beach house. She could remember how exhausted they were, and how he had kissed her after murmuring, “Sweet dreams.” At the memory of their lovemaking, she blushed. She now understood what an incredible feeling it was to have sex with someone she truly loved, as opposed to infatuation, or to scratch an itch. There was all the difference in the world.

******

(Blurb:)
Brenda McKay has no man in her life, and she really doesn’t have time for one. That’s not a problem, since Brenda’s new job responsibilities keep her too busy for any sort of social life. But the day she is saved by a strange man who calls himself The Defender is the day her heart will never be the same.

Lorne Palmer has loved Brenda since they were in grade school. Shy, introverted, and the middle brother of two over-achievers, he has never really approached her for anything other than to help her with her homework. And to be there for her when her other boyfriends deserted her. It wasn’t until he finally acquired his super powers and became The Defender did Lorne finally decide enough was enough. If he couldn’t work up the courage to claim her as himself, perhaps The Defender could.

Warning! Contains sabotage, weird chemical names, smiley boxes, floating root beer, corporation hanky-panky, isolated safe houses, chocolate-covered strawberries, and things that go BOOM! in the night!

Cute Street Art

I love unexpected whimsy, especially when someone's taken a common object and turned it into art. Check here for more of these unusual examples.

Stunning Macro Photographs of Dew Drops

Sometimes a "It's a Small World" photograph is more beautiful than the most grand work of art.  Go here to see more of these incredible snapshots.

Coffee Stain Art

Found at Lost at EMinor, the caption reads: Some people paint with acryllic paint, others use oil, and then there are people that simply take what’s left of their day to day beverage and create beautiful art with it. At least, that’s what Red Hong did. She claims that her project took about twelve hours to finish. I wonder how many cups of coffee she had in the process?

Click the link to see more of that process.

I wonder if she takes clients, and are you allowed to choose between regular and decaf?

A Kid-Friendly Bookstore

Why couldn't there have been bookstores like this when I was growing up?

According to the site, Toxel.com, "Amazing playground inspired children’s bookstore, designed by SAKO architects, is located in Beijing, China. The walls of are covered with bookshelves and round windows double as relaxing reading areas."

Click on the Toxel link to see more views.

A Word of Warning - Please Pass Along

In this day and age of technology, many vehicles either come with an in-dash GPS system. Or, if you're like me, you've bought a portable model you can take from car to car.

Recently I heard a news announcement specifically for everyone with a GPS device. If you've set your unit to HOME, change it immediately.  Should your vehicle get stolen, don't make it easy for the crooks to find your house. BTW, bet you have a garage door opener in your car, too, don't you? And the back door leading into the garage? Is it usually unlocked?

Police suggest you set the "Home" coordinates to a gas station or nearby restaurant.

In addition, if you have a portable, don't leave the connection hook visible on your dashboard. Stash it somewhere. And for goodness sake, DON'T leave your unit in the car. Keep it in the house. If you leave your hook out where people can see it, even if you've removed the unit, police say that crooks know that 90% of owners leave their units in their vehicles.

So, final word is this: DON'T set your GPS for home using your home address. DON'T leave your portable GPS hook attached to your dashboard or front windshield. And DON'T leave your portable GPS unit in your car, even if you're using it.

As my grandmother aways said, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Lanie Barnes is my Guest Author Tonight on "Other Worlds of Romance" on Blog Talk Radio

Lanie Barnes is my Guest Author Tonight on "Other Worlds of Romance" on Blog Talk Radio. She'll be reading from her paranormal romance FADE INTO YOU, from Rebel Ink Press.

Show time is 11 pm et/ 10 pm ct/ 8 pm pt

Don't miss it!

* * *

Stacia Raines knows all about the price of falling in love.  After a tragic accident leaves her with a bleeding heart, Stacia flees to the other end of the country in hopes of finding a life far away from the cornfields of the Midwest.  While out for a night of fun, she meets the dark and mysterious Kael Loren, and in no time she is swept off of her feet by an intense passion that leaves her breathless.  They say that true love never dies, but what if it does?  Can a broken heart be so easily mended? 

Kael knows the moment that he meets Stacia that she’s the only one for him.  No other woman has ever brought him to his knees before simply by the look in her eyes.  Yet he’s unsure how to explain his feelings for her without revealing his darkest secrets.  When trouble arises on the wings of the ghost of lovers past, Kael is forced to compete for the heart of his mate.  Luckily for him, when it comes to fighting dirty he’s not all talk…he’s all bite.

Mark Twain’s 9 Tips For Living An Awesome Life

1. Approve of yourself.
“A man cannot be comfortable without his own approval.”

2. Your limitations may just be in your mind.
“Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.”

3. Lighten up and have some fun.
“Humor is mankind’s greatest blessing.”
“Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.”

4. Let go of anger.
“Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.”

5. Release yourself from entitlement.
“Don’t go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first.”

6. If you’re taking a different path, prepare for reactions.
“A person with a new idea is a crank until the idea succeeds.”

7. Keep your focus steadily on what you want.
“Drag your thoughts away from your troubles… by the ears, by the heels, or any other way you can manage it.”

8. Don’t focus so much on making yourself feel good.
“The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.”

9. Do what you want to do.
“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did so. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Small Space Living...in a Garbage Truck

I am constantly amazed by how creative and inventive people can be, especially when it comes to alternative lifestyles and living in small spaces.

For instance, check out this site for photos on how a garbage truck became luxury living.

Now On Sale!

All through March, you can get FROM OUT OF THE SHADOWS for just 99 cents at Whiskey Creek Press Torrid!

***

Erotic Paranormal/Fantasy Romance
Whiskey Creek Press Torrid
(ebook) ISBN# 978-1-60313-829-1
(print) ISBN# 978-1-60313-863-5
Word Count: 75.5K

Croat was a Lupan, one of the half-man, half-beast creatures long thought to be extinct or fabricated from fairy tales. Lupan were folklore, nothing more than a myth.

Tora was a Sensitive. Her kind really existed, and normal people feared Sensitives because it was common knowledge that all Sensitives were evil and practiced the dark magicks.

Captured and thrown together inside Baron Agrino’s dungeon, they discovered a connection between them that defied all reason, and a love that transcended all boundaries.

But is their love strong enough to stop the baron from what he’ll do with every Lupan he plans to capture? Or, worse, what he’ll do with Tora once he learns what she is?

Warning! Contains torture, imprisonment, severe beatings, nasty bad guys, public nudity, molten wax, old wives' tales, forest folk, bad horsemanship, and lots of pissed off townspeople.

New Release! SECRET IDENTITY

New!

SECRET IDENTITY
(Book 1 of the Identity Series)
An Erotic Fantasy Romance Novel
From Whiskey Creek Press Torrid
(Also available at Amazon, All Romance eBooks, Barnes and Noble, and BookStrand)
Word Count: 51.7K

Brenda McKay has no man in her life, and she really doesn’t have time for one. That’s not a problem, since Brenda’s new job responsibilities keep her too busy for any sort of social life. But the day she is saved by a strange man who calls himself The Defender is the day her heart will never be the same.

Lorne Palmer has loved Brenda since they were in grade school. Shy, introverted, and the middle brother of two over-achievers, he has never really approached her for anything other than to help her with her homework. And to be there for her when her other boyfriends deserted her.

It wasn’t until he finally acquired his super powers and became The Defender did Lorne finally decide enough was enough. If he couldn’t work up the courage to claim her as himself, perhaps The Defender could. 

Warning! Contains sabotage, weird chemical names, smiley boxes, floating root beer, corporation hanky-panky, isolated safe houses, chocolate-covered strawberries, and things that go BOOM! in the night!