Writer loses home to fire

I just wanted to tell everyone about a fellow writer who recently lost his home to a fire. His name is Travis Erwin, and here’s his story:  http://www.traviserwin.blogspot.com/

A fundraiser has been established by fellow writers at http://habitatfortravis.blogspot.com/

He is very humble, but his family has been devastated by the loss.  The only thing he has asked for specifically is for his children. He would like, if possible, for his kids to have some new Hot Wheels cars, and some children’s books, and if anyone lives near Disney World, there’s something specific that would mean a lot to the boys.

Please take the time to  stop by these blogs. Thank you.

I’m IT?

I’ve been tagged by Keely, of Keely’s Faery Good Advice!  I’ve never been tagged, that I remember! But I guess this is how it goes….

Directions – POST RULES…

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

4. Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

Eight Random Things About Me 

1. Sometimes people think I’m mean or surly, until they get to know me.
2. I’m a soap opera fan.  I have watched all of the CBS soaps as long as I’ve been watching TV.

Google launches Authors@Google site

“Just this year, we’ve hosted a great variety of authors, including Martin Amis, Strobe Talbott, Bob & Lee Woodruff, Jonathan Lethem, Don Tapscott, Senator Hillary Clinton, and Carly Fiorina. The subjects of their talks range from literary fiction to science fiction, sociology to technology, politics to business.” Goto: google.com/talks/authors

read more | digg story

WHY didn’t I know about this?!

This is FABULOUS! 

I have absolutely nothing to tell….

Color me BORING.

This last weekend, we DID go to our monthly PT Cruiser club meeting. We’re getting ready for a large group to come through. About 39 PTs are cruising Old Route 66 and will be stopping here on their way back home. Sounds like a lot of fun. We’ll go eat at a restaurant on our section of the famous old roadway, then the next morning, go cruise another historic site, Palo Duro Canyon.

We’ve been busy with the pup, Dodger. He’s learning a lot, and I’m sure with a little more encouragement, he’ll eventually be housebroken. I cleaned the carpets today. I’m sure it won’t be the last time this summer! He’s a sweetie, though. I wouldn’t trade him for the world.

My friend, Jennifer Archer, was invited to write a novella for Harlequin’s More Than Words Program,in the 2007 Volume 4 edition of the More Than Words Anthology, which celebrates women and their achievements. She writes more about that in her blog, Gabfest, so hop on over and read all about it.

Gabrielle has spiffed up her blog, Diary of an Adult Runaway. It looks great, and she has wonderful pictures from her recent vacation in Spain.

Bonnie Wren survived her stint as a Snack Bar “volunteer” in charge for her son’s swim meet, only to come home to a mischievous Mojo. I think, with his unconditional welcome home after her big day, the bulldog has won himself a short reprieve. (Methinks he better quit chewing up his dog bed though.)

Went to see The Devil Wears Prada last night. I REALLY liked it. I haven’t read the book, but I can speak for the movie!

Well, I guess that wraps it up. I have to go fold laundry now. PFFFT.

What a Weekend!

Well, we had a fast and furious weekend! We participated in our local Make A Wish Car Show, entering our PT Cruiser we have themed after Phantom of the Opera. Phantom Cruiser. Our local council of car clubs raised nearly $60,000 for the MAW organization this weekend.

We didn’t win any awards, but our family members from Austin did with their entry, SnoopCruiser.

Lots of people watching opportunities, since we had about 10,000 attendees. A wide range of folks!
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There are two new blogs on the ‘Net to enjoy. Britta Coleman and Jennifer Archer are great authors, and I know we’ll enjoy their blogs too.********************
You know, I think if Grey’s Anatomy aired all day, I could plop myself in front of the TV and watch it. How great is the writing on that show anyway? I think they are brilliant. And I love reading their writer’s blog after every episode.

Much better now.

I suffered through the weekend with a monster headache, but I’m feeling much better now! I’ve even gotten a bit of the dreaded housework done. Off to do errands now, but will get back home to the writing in a bit.
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Author Mary Reed McCall is blogging all this week at Romantically Inclined. Sinful Pleasures is Book Two in her Templar Knights series. So far, she has chosen the topics of thew power of rejection and trusting your gut instincts when it comes to your writing and your career. Great Stuff.

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Be on the lookout for this great book by Jennifer Archer!

Endearing Characteristics

Good Afternoon! Quiet day around here. Check out Romantically Inclined for my recent contribution about “Grit, Wit, and “It”, an article written by James Scott Bell in the latest issue of Writers Digest.

Ah, Saturday.

Had a short day at the dayjob today, thank goodness. I’ve gotten into this terrible habit the past few days of staying up into the wee hours of the morning and watching news shows about missing people and other news events. *sigh* I’ve got to cut that out, as Craig Ferguson likes to say.

Anyhoo, instead of that nap I was going to take, I have been catching up on reading my fave websites and blogs. A lot about James Frey and his appearance on Oprah. *shudder* Boy, he took a lickin’. But he’s certainly still making the bucks, don’t you think? Galley Cat has an interesting take on it, as does Gabrielle.

Miss Snark also has a good entry about the exploit.

Nothing on TV tonight, it seems. Guess I could spend the time writing. Or reading. I’ve found an author new to me, LINDA CASTILLO. I’ve started her DEAD RECKONING, and it has me riveted already!

Or I could watch a couple of movies that I got for Christmas. Since the mailman skipped us today, and I didn’t get my Netflix dvds. He claims my husband’s truck blocks the box on Saturdays, we maintain that he has plenty of room. All he has to do is take one itty bitty step, maybe a big lean, out of his mailtruck to slide our mail into the box. So I ordered nearly all my Christmas presents on eBay this year, and he had to get out of the truck COMPLETELY and leave stuff on the porch. Petty of me. I didn’t do it on purpose, and it WAS convenient to get shopping done that way. BONUS, it niggled the mailman. Poor guy, to have a petty resident such as me.

Or, I could finish the photo project I’ve been working on for months. I’m REALLY close to having it done, but –I’m just too lazy. Today. I’ve got to get my sleeping habits back in order. This simply will not do.

I have BBQ ribs simmering in the slow cooker, and the spicy aroma is starting to haunt the house, which tells me they’re nearly ready. What sounds good as a side dish? Buttery biscuits? Mac and cheese? Green beans? (blech.)

Right now, the furry kids want to be fed. Glad I made it to the grocery store yesterday for a fresh supply of pet food, so the adorable, cuddy-wuddly sweethearts will quit staring at us.

See ya!

You mean, your TBR pile has an end to it?

Over at The Sisterhood of the Jaunty Quills, Kimberly Logan mentions the goal of getting to the end of her To Be Read pile of books.

Ack! My TBR is an ever-evolving tower. Kind of like the Winchester House/Mystery House Blog, in California, a never-ending construction project. I build it full of historicals, then I go in a completely different direction with Chick Lit, then I go to women’s fiction, then someone tells me about a great story completely out of my normal interests, and I acquire that book too. Thus, until I die, I will never have an end to my TBR pile!

A Christmas List

Shirley Jump has posted her Christmas list over at Romancing the Blog. I would say her list matches that of a lot of other authors!

And NEXT…

I got my two free NEXT novels in the mail today…RIGGS PARK by Ellyn Bache and LUCKY by Jennifer Greene. They both sound really good.

No rejections in the mail today, a brief respite I’m sure.

Today’s RTB entry was way too political for that forum, if you ask me. It was well-written, even if I don’t agree with the tone or opinion. Personally, I think the focus should remain on writing and books.

Squawk Radio has a neat entry by Christina Dodd today, about annoying commercials. I blogged on my pet peeves last moth, so I won’t go on about them again.

*sigh* Not much going on today. Lazy Girl is DEFINITLY in the house today.