Insert Witty Title Here

Saturday, June 30, 2007

One Blog Or Two?

So I'm seriously considering merging this blog with Jezzie's Cat and Muse blog on my website. I'm asking people to vote on whether I should keep the two blogs separate or if I should merge 'em. Let me know what you think -- leave a comment on the Cat and Muse site with your vote for A, B or C. (And I know there are going to be some D's...)

Eight Dream Things About Me!

I was tagged by Tyhitia Green, a.k.a. Demon Hunter. And no, this has nothing to do with why I write about demons. Really.

Here are the rules: a. Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.

b. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.

c. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

I thought it would be fun if I posted about eight interesting dream tidbits about moi.

1. This morning (between 5:30 and 7:30 am, really), I had a really fucked up dream that involved Loving Husband, Jackie's Mom, Tax Deduction the Elder (or possibly Younger), and William Shatner. And coffee. And my clothes.

Basically, Bill was our overnight guest, after giving a speech or summat before the dream started. It was the next morning. And I couldn't go downstairs to put up coffee or even be social (This! Is! Bill! Shatner!) because I couldn't find my clothes -- you see, Loving Husband moved all the drawer contents around, so now my clothes were missing. And I told him to put it back, and he said it was staying this way. And we got into a big fight over it, and my mom popped by to say that she liked it this way. And then Bill came upstairs, and I dashed into the bathroom to cover myself with a bra -- the only piece of clothing I could find was a bra that must have been one of Dolly Parton's castaways -- and Bill sends in Tax Deduction the Younger (or maybe Older; stupid dream) -- to ask about when I'm putting up coffee. And then Loving Husband and I get into a fight fight -- I mean, it came to blows. (Loving Husband and I don't do that IRL. And now it seems like it would be an appropriate time for an off-color joke about blows and whatnot, but I haven't even had any coffee yet, so that's not going to happen.)

And then I woke up all upset and weepy and went to hug Loving Husband. And the thing that upset me the most is I kept pronouncing it "caw-fee." Stupid dream.

2. I once had a naughty dream about Anthony Wiggle. Sad, sad, sad.

3. When I was a kid, my mom and I had the exact same dream -- and woke up from it at the exact same time. (No, I have no idea what it was. Ideas, anyone?)

4. Most Upsetting Dream: When I was about eight, I dreamed I was a boy who was about to drown in a tidal wave. (Isn't this a fun blog post?)

5. Person I Never Had a Naughty Dream About But Wish I Would: Matt Damon.

6. Person I Wished I Looked Like in a Dream: Me, but about 15 pounds thinner.

7. When I was pregnant with Tax Deduction the Elder, I had a dream that Loving Husband, TDTE and I were in a park or a meadow, with LH and I siting under a tree, and TDTE was maybe 18 months old, running around on chubby toddler legs and having a blast. The weird thing? It wasn't TDTE I dreamed about. It was Tax Deduction the Younger. More than two years before he was born.

8. Freddie Krueger has never appeared in my dreams. If he did, I'd kick his charbroiled ass into another realm. (Pays to write about demons.)

There you go, kids! Eight dream things about me. And now, I bestow the Eight Random Things Honor to...

Heather Brewer
Richelle Mead (I know Demon Hunter tagged you -- I don't care. I'm evil)
Caitlin Kittredge
Jaci Burton
Elaine Cunningham
Michelle Rowen
Michele Bardsley
Lila Dubois

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Read This Book!

Pimping time! This week's Book You Really Must Read Or Else is...

RISES THE NIGHT by Colleen Gleason

I've already commented on Amazon about why I loved this book. But it's worth repeating. Heck, I'll even elaborate -- we're all friends, right?

I usually don't read historicals, but I'm a big fan of the paranormal. And anything remotely Buffy-like will catch my interest. So I'd been interested in reading Colleen's first book in the Gardella series, THE REST FALLS AWAY -- especially after seeing her utterly kick-ass trailer on her website. I bought REST and devoured it. Loved it. The Buffy fan in me ate it up because it was both an enjoyable vampire-slayer story and refreshingly different from the Buffyverse while still being humorous and deliciously dark. The hard part was waiting for the next book.

Which brings me to the point of this post: as fabulous as REST was, RISES is even better. Absolutely, positively the next level book. A superb follow-up. Holy cats, I feel very, very bad for Victoria, the heroine. Colleen may write paranormal romance (according to the spine of the book), but she's a big believer in the urban fantasy adage that the protagonists must have Lots Of Bad Things Happen To Them. And I mean lots. What's more: Victoria's angst and emotional response is very believable, all the while being a heroine in every sense of the word: no sitting back and waiting to be rescued for this Lady.

And now I'm impatiently rolling my thumbs as I wait for the third book in the series.

So Colleen Gleason's RISES THE NIGHT is this week's Book You Really Must Read Or Else.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Holy Guacamole

Jezebel blogged about the series finale to The Sopranos.

Me, I give it a 1. Best. Thing. Ever. (And Jezzie, shut up about Steve Perry. "Oh Sherry" was a thing of genius. Genius, I tell you!)

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

My Dinner With Michelle!

This has NOTHING to do with the lovely Michelle Rowen's comment on my last post. Nothing at all, I tell you. So what that I have the memory of a sieve? So what that I've the attention span of a brain-dead flea? I absolutely meant to post about My Dinner With Michelle! And, yeah, if I had been thinking about it, I would have posted it yesterday with my uber-brief Backspace Conference post. But I didn't because...oh, because I suck. SORRY, MICHELLE!!! Mea culpa.

Hey, everyone, show Michelle how much we all love her by preordering a copy (or two) of her upcoming amazing book Fanged & Fabulous! (Yes, I can say with authority that it's amazing. Michelle sent me the ARC. Hah, perks of being an author! We get...READING material!)

So, on Friday night, Heather Brewer (author of the groundbreaking Eighth Grade Bites -- ditto on the preordering, kids!) and I met with the lovely, talented, sexy and sassy Michelle Rowen for dinner at Rosey O'Grady's in New York City. Heather and I hoofed it from the Algonquin (hotel of much evil) and braved the rain to get to the restaurant. And we were only two minutes late. We so rock, don't we, Heather?

Michelle is absolutely amazing -- she's gorgeous, funny, and rather wicked. Excellent traits all around! The three of us exchanged some promo goodies (Heather has lurvely new pins, and you absolutely want one), and then we kibbutzed. Schmoozed. Talked. Laughed evilly. Discussed plans to take over the world. Agreed that we should divide the world into three. (What, we didn't agree on that? Crap. More on the world division later.)

We had a ton of fun, even with a Scary Lady who served us and a questionable chicken and pasta dish that I sort of didn't eat. Hey, I got Coke-flavored rum to drink, so why complain? Michelle's got some terrific projects in the works, and a new book coming out from Shome (Shomi? Heck, I can't spell; I haven't even had a cup of coffee yet) that sounds terrific. We talked shop (you know, Grownup Authory Stuff) and goals (the fun, take over the world stuff) and absolutely no gossip (because we're all Grownupy).

After we'd gotten a lot of looks from Scary Lady (who actually started to count her tip while standing at the table -- dude, really, there's a fine line between scary and stupid), we opted to bring the fun back to Michelle's hotel (yes, she owns a hotel; cool, no?) and hang out in the bar and drink and eat cheese and crackers, and talk about...LOST. Yes, the television show that makes us wonder, What are the writers smoking and where can we get some? Good times all around.

The only complaint? I can't stay up as late as I used to! We wound up parting ways around 11 -- after hanging out for five hours. MICHELLE, move to New York!!!

I (heart) Michelle Rowen, who's much cuter than bunnies with fangs.

Monday, June 04, 2007

Monday Is, Therefore I Eat Chocolate

I'm back from Backspace, and I'm thrilled to say I had a fabulous time. And that's despite the hotel being haunted. (Really. Ask me about showers with bleeding walls and mysterious bruises on arms and legs. And whatever you do, don't eat the bologna.) The panels I attended were interesting, and David Morrell gave a keynote address and then a spontaneous marketing workshop that alone were worth the price of admission. And, of course, it was terrific seeing Heather, Ty, EJ, Stella, Lynn, Kim, Eileen, Elsa, Mark, Marlys, Robin, Karen, Chris...and the entire Backspace crew. Good times, y'all. Make plans on going next year. Rilly rilly.

And I came home to some lovely reviews of Hell's Belles. (What? You HAVEN'T read it yet? Shame on you! Go buy two copies as penance, right now!)

Here's fellow author December Quinn's review. Me, I can't wait to read her upcoming Blood Will Tell.

And The Romance Studio gave Hell's Belles five hearts! Sweet! (Er, no, make that "explicit" -- hey, when you write about demons, the nookie can get a bit hot.)

Coming up: An interview with Roses & Thorns!

Off to watch Tax Deduction the Elder in his first kindergarten musical!