A Word of Warning

I teach Kindergarten. Today I started teaching rhyming words, emphasizing words that sound alike, but may not necessarily be "real" words.  For example, "red" can rhyme with "zed", but "zed" isn't an actual word.  So I gave the class words like "table" and "chair" and "rug" to make rhyming words as I glanced around the room, looking for objects to name. 

A word of warning:  don't give them the word "bucket".

TONIGHT, Caroline Aubrey Will Be My Guest Author on Blog Talk Radio!

Oops!  Sorry!  My bad!  Caroline Aubrey and I got our wires crossed last Monday night, so instead of her appearing on Other Worlds of Romance on Blog Talk Radio to read from her erotic collection of fairy tales SECOND NIGHT: MORE FAIRYTALES RETOLD, she'll read from it tonight!

I had planned on reading from my erotic sci-fi apocalyptic novel THE BATTLE LORD'S LADY tonight, but instead I switched and read from it last week, the 23rd.

The show begins at 11 pm ET!  Come listen!

CODE 30 is Now Available at Omnilit!

CODE 30 is now available at OmniLit!
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http://www.omnilit.com/product-code30-449676-241.html?oid=173

E-Magazines?

I just re-upped my subscription to a magazine I enjoy, when the thought occurred to me...

How long will it be before all mags go to e-version?  Or will they?

Will they be available only online, and I get a notification that the newest issue is there for me to read?  Will I get to download a copy to my e-reader?  Or will my issue be sent to me via email as an attached file?

Worse, what's going to happen to all those perfume samples that made my mailbox smell so good?

You Know It's Hot When...

Heehee!  Hubby sent me this one.  I couldn't resist sharing.

Leeway

Let's say you're reading a new book by one of your favorite authors, but the story sucks. And the one after that sucks also.


How much leeway do you give your favorite authors when their output declines? Do you stick with them regardless of their works, hoping to finally get to a great novel? Or by the third DNF, you give up on them altogether?

Why Do You Keep a Book?

Do you actually go back and re-read a book you've decided to keep?

Why keep it? Is it because by simply looking back at it, or leafing through it, you recall a particular emotion that made you decide to make it a permanent part of your collection?

If Historical Events had Facebook Statuses

This little bit of genius over at Cool Material is absolutely hilarious! Someone took historial figures and events, and pretended they had FB accounts (and friends).  If you have a Facebook account and know how to work it, you'll get the jokes and the jive.

Enjoy!

Guest Author Caroline Aubrey Has Some Hot Fairy Tales Tonight!

Tonight on Other Worlds of Romance on Blog Talk Radio, guest author Caroline Aubrey will be reading from her brand new book of erotic fairy tale retellings, Second Night: More Fairytales Retold.

Show begins at 11 pm et.  Hope to "see" you there!
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Ever wonder what really went on between Beauty and the Beast during those long winter nights? Why did Cinderella’s stepmother hate her so much? Who was Sleeping Beauty seeing the night before she pricked her finger on a spindle? Just what was the mysterious appeal of the Robber Bridegroom that made so many women marry him? Caroline Aubrey imagines what was left out of those familiar tales when they sanitized for children with her Torrid Twisted Tales series...

Caroline's second book of her fairy tale series explores two traditional tales and two contemporary. Stories include a retelling of "Mr. Fox" and "The Goose Girl" and a modern "Beauty and the Beast", as well as a shapeshifting Selkie story.

Back to School

Well, I've spent 6 days in training. School begins for us Monday, and the weather is predicted to top 100 degrees.

True to just about every school district in the nation, we're beginning a "new" curriculum, and also a new discipline method. If you've been in education as long as I have, there is one sure bet in life -- a "new" way of doing something will come and go about every 5-to-7-to-9 years.

My brain is tired. My body aches from all the lifting and stuff I've had to do to get my room ready. I have 5 more years to go before that magical retirement pops up.

I just hope I can hold out. In the meantime, I'm going to add a countdown clock to my site, just to help give me something to look forward to.

Kissez

I found this site by accident.  Stick it in your Favorites, and go back every so often to see what new real-life photos of people kissing that they've uploaded.

NaNoWriMo

I've never actively participated in the NaNoWriMo before. This year I think I will. I've had a very busy and productive summer, but I've hit the ground with nowhere to go. I have story ideas -- just no umph to get going.

I'm hoping that by the time November rolls around, I'll be ready to crank another one out.

Why is it...

...books that I think are going to do well don't, and books that I think are decent (but not spectacular) sell a ka-jillion copies?

Are Series Books More Popular Than Stand-Alones?

I just got a strange comment from a fellow teacher who also reads my work. She prefers my "stand-alones" more than my series books. When I asked her why, she said she hates having to wait for the next installment.

I've often read where people exclaim on blogs that they will sometimes wait until a series is complete before starting on book one. I wonder how they can do this if the author doesn't have any idea how many books will be in the series.

I'm discovering a lot of readers are very adamant about saying "yes" or "no" to series books. Personally, I have no preference either way. But I do know that if I read a stand-alone that I dearly love, I'll wish the author could come up with a sequel.

The E-Reader Wars

A recent publication regarding the "war" between e-book readers has left me scratching my head.

Hey, guys! This isn't Highlander, where "there can be only one". To me, e-readers are like cars. Some people prefer FORD, some want their Toyotas, and others go for the BMWs. If there can be a multitude of car dealers all selling basically the same item, why can't e-book readers be the same?

However, there is one major bump in the road with this analogy. All those cars use regular unleaded gasoline. The same can't be said of e-readers when it comes to formats.

I remember back in the days of BETA tapes vs VHS standard. One wouldn't play on the other. So if you bought into BETA, you soon found yourself out a lot of $$ when the norm became VHS. Same for Blu-Ray DVDs.

Why can't e-readers adopt one basic "standard" for their e-books, and let the public make their own decision as to which vehicle they want to drive? Sometimes the public may want to buy Book One by Author A, but can't find it in the format that their e-reader demands. Result? A lost sale. If enough of that occurs, then the public may ditch that e-reader and/or buy another one that the book they want is available in.

Maybe I'm seeing this all wrong, but to me these so-called wars sound an awful lot like high school football teams bragging and battling it out over who is better. And we the reading public are sitting in the bleachers, awaiting the outcome so we can go home.

Talia Kelley is My Guest Author Tonight on Blog Talk Radio

Come listen tonight at Other Worlds of Romance on Blog Talk Radio when erotic author Talia Kelley will be reading from her best selling paranormal romance JUST DUCKY.

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Shy, unassuming Emma Brooks loves curious and unique items, and thanks to the generous legacy of her great aunt, she lives a life of travel without itinerary, searching for old books and curiosities to fill the manor she calls home. It's a life for which many would give a selected body part, but it's also a lonely one.

Things change for Amy when she accepts the gift of a strange little bath toy from a grateful shopkeeper. Suddenly, she finds herself in a world of strange occurrences and erotic dreams, with a phantom lover who seems uncannily real, and whose passions bring to the surface desires Emma has long denied and would rather not encourage. But the spirit is counting on those passions, and he's not about to let her abandon them -- and him.

Readers, Where Do You Buy Most of Your Ebooks?

Readers, where do you buy most of your ebooks?

From the publisher's website?
From ARe/OmniLit?
From Fictionwise?
From Amazon for Kindle?
From Barnes and Noble or Borders?
From another 3rd Party Distributor?

Authors, by the same token, where do you sell the best?

It's Been a Productive Summer

It's been a very productive summer.  I finished one novel and three short stories (each just under 20K words).  Plus I've managed to completely re-edit The Battle Lord's Lady (taking it from 111K to 113K) for future subbing.

I feel accomplished.

I Went Back to School Today

I had to start back at school today.  This is my 33rd year teaching.  In some ways I'm always happy to go back and see my new batch of Kindergarteners.  But on the other hand, I'm getting burned out of teaching.  Still, I have 5 more years before I can retire and become a full time writer.

I am sooo looking forward to that time!

Please Support Your Mom-and-Pop Bookstores!

I often do book signings at locally-owned book stores, and I do them for many reasons.  For one thing, the owners are very personable, and they go out of their way to make you comfortable.  Plus they do boocoos' worth of advertising.

Secondly, they have a built-in audience.  People come there to browse and buy books.  The overall atmosphere is much more laid back than at a large corporation book store.

So one of the ways I "thank" the owners for having me is that I take half a dozen or so books I've read and no longer wish to keep, and I give them to the shop keepers.  It's free revenue for them, and a great chance to clean out my bookshelves!