Coming out of lurk and book news!!

We’ve been in inspection hell for a good bit now, and it’s OVER!  I think everyone breathed a huge sigh of relief when the inspectors left at about 1100 on Friday.  We got a “satisfactory” rating, which is actually what we needed as an organization, because it says we’re doing our jobs, but we also face challenges, most notably manning.

 Anyway, this weekend I caught up on my huge e-mail backlog, fulfilled some online obligations and am now ready to rock and roll…well, except for the fact work is sending me to Orlando for the week *g*.  It’s kinda funny…we go to these conferences to figure out how to pass an inspection!!!  At least I can impart some info to the folks getting ready to suffer the same fate…LOL!

 On the writing front, while I was eight feet under in paperwork, Breath of Heaven was released by Liquid Silver Books!!  Also, The Saints of Midland came out in paperback!  If you’re looking to buy that one, I’d suggest Amazon, just because it’s a bit less expensive there.

 In other news, my monthly contest info is up on the contest page of this blog, and I’ll post it on Friday as well.

 I figure I’ll get a bit of writing done on my trip, I always do, so I’ll see what book I get into the groove on…Live and Let Die, Duck and Run or Omega Five.

 That’s all for now…and there’ll be a book review tomorrow…yeah!

Gonna be sporadic for a bit…

Right now we’re in the midst of prepping for our once-every-three-years major inspection (picture 15 inspectors for 130-person unit…sigh), so by the time I get home, my brain is even mushier than usual *g*.  To the point where I’m not even really reading, much less writing.  Hope to remedy that this weekend, but we’ll see…it might be a recharge time for me.

I’ve got to answer Kate’s blog-tag (see, Kate, I actually DO read your blog *g*) and will try to get to that today or tomorrow, but that’s about as much as I can manage.  Promise to pop in when I can!!

Biggest Loser Update

So the brou ha ha at the base is over, but I’m still gonna be tracking how I’m doing on the gradual weight loss front.  Here’s how it looks:

 

2007

Beginning Weight        235

 

2008

7 January 2008           223.7 lbs

4 February 2008         213.4 lbs

3 March 2008              217.4 lbs

7 April 2008                 217.7 lbs

 

Net loss                       6 lbs

 

Goal for 2008              208

 

Since my goal is to lose 15 pounds for the entire year, I’m right on track.  Now that the weather is getting slowly nicer, I’m hoping to get outside and enjoy it, and maybe jumpstart a bit of weight loss that way.

 

My end goal is to get down to 185 pounds, but that’s an ideal I’m not sure I’ll ever achieve.  Not because it’s not possible, but because, at 6’ tall, that’s on the seriously lean side.  By that I mean that I’m wearing a size 16 now, and that would put me in the range of a 12, or even a 10, which might be too small for someone with my height and bone structure.

 

When I got married at 23, I was at 165, which was only one pound over the military minimum for joining!  Keep in mind that at that time I was a waitress, on my feet eight hours a day, and was a firefighter in my off time, so turn-and-burn activity was my norm.  For a 23-year-old, that was an awesome weight, but now I’m on the other side of 40, I’m looking more for reality *g*.

Thirteen books on my TBR shelf (April update)

Thirteen books on my TBR shelf (April update)

Well, it’s that time again, time to revisit my TBR shelf. 

 

1. The Outlaw Demon Wails, Kim Harrison
2. Daughter of the Blood, Anne Bishop
3. No Safe Place, JoAnn Ross
4. Wild, Wicked and Wanton, Jaci Burton
5. Marked, PC and Kristin Cast
6. Sugar Daddy, Lisa Kleypas
7. Beg for Mercy, Toni Andrews
8. Kitty Takes a Holiday, Carrie Vaughn
9. Once Bitten, Twice Shy, Jennifer Rardin
10. Witch Fire, Anya Bast
11. Angel Falls, Nora Roberts (I’ve been saving this one)
12. The Killing Hour, Lisa Gardner (ditto above)
13. Blood Brothers, Nora Roberts (saving this one until the trilogy is complete)

Word Count Update and such…

Woohoo!  I’m up to 8K on Live & Let Die!  I’ve even figured out who my bad guy is, which has happened with the last two books, so either I’m growing as a writer (which is kinda what I’m hoping), or I’ve just got these books so much in my head that I’m figuring it out early and instinctually.

 

I’m hoping to jam out a bunch over the rest of the week and the weekend, tho I’ve got a gig on Sunday for a few hours with the historic district we live in.  Hey, if nothing else, maybe it’ll give me some other ideas *g*.

 

So I was perusing Amazon and Fictionwise this week after I hit my word count, and I’m seeing a ton of witch and demon stories out there.  Since I’ve been writing about witches for eight years, and had a demon book fully plotted out before I got sidetracked by View to a Kill…I have to wonder if what that editor at Berkley wasn’t right about me writing ahead of the curve.  Damn, that would be pretty freakin’ cool!!

 

Lastly, for anyone who buys at Fictionwise (like I do, for the “forever” library), Sea of Dreams was released there on Monday, so boogie over and grab a copy!!

TABT: The Darkest Night, by Gena Showalter

 

All her life, Ashlyn Darrow has been tormented by voices from the past.  To end the nightmare, she has come to Budapest seeking help from men rumored to have supernatural abilities, not knowing she’ll be swept into the arms of Maddox, their most dangerous member—a man trapped in a hell of his own.  Neither can resist the instant hunger than calms their torments…and ignites an irresistible passion.  But every heated touch and burning kiss will edge them closer to destruction—and a soul-shattering test of love…  Though they carry an eternal curse, the Lords of the Underworld are irresistibly seductive—and unimaginably powerful . . .

 

Um, wow.  Just wow.  I was lucky enough to get an ARC of this book (thanks, Gena!!) and zowie, I’m glad I got the sneak peek.  Darkest Night is comparable to Showalter’s Berkley books…it’s dark, moody and over-the-top sensual.  The worldbuilding and set-up for future books is simply awesome.  Not to say that it takes away from the main story of this book…not at all.  The secondary characters are absolutely necessary to the plot, and all darkly sensual in their own right.  Ashlyn and Maddox are supremely hot together…and I’ve gotta say, the cover shot of Maddox’s back…oh la la.  I kept picturing it every time I go to one of his scenes, or in Ashlyn’s head when she was thinking of him.  I can’t recommend this one enough folks…I’ll bet you’ll be just like me…preordering the rest of the series as soon as you finish this one!

Checking back in…

Sorry for the absence last week.  As I noted on Friday, my modem went tango uniform, and pretty much put me out of biz for the week, since the DoD won’t let us look at blogs at work.  I got a ton of writing done this last week, pumping out 7300 words on Live and Let Die, which is well over my personal goal of 6000 words per week, so I’m pretty pleased with that.

 

I’m trying something new this time around…I’m just writing, balls to the wall, without going back to read anything.  Sure, here and there I’m going back and adding something in as it strikes me, but I suspect I’ll be going more into the notes function mode as the story progresses, so I don’t slow myself down.  In a pie-in-the-sky ideal, I’d love to have the draft done by the time I head to RWA in July, but we’ll see.  If I continue on the 6K a week, then it’s certainly feasible.

 

One thing that I thought was going to be a real challenge on this book was making Arin’s voice very distinct and different from Sara’s in View, since both stories are told in first person.  I think I’ve succeeded, but we’ll see what my critique partners say *g*.

 

And, I decided that I’m going to work on Omega Five simultaneously, as long as I get my word count done for the day.  We’ll see how that plays out, but since I’m already 5K deep on that one, it seems like the thing to do, especially since the characters are talking to me…and in no uncertain words *g*.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming Monday…

Sorry for disappearing this week…my modem crapped out and we just got it fixed!

My friend Rachel Vincent has oh-my-gosh-let’s-hyperventilate news here

As for me, we’re ramping up for our inspection next month (ack!), so folks at the dreaded day job have officially begun to ping…sigh…

Here’s hoping y’all have a fabulous weekend and I’ll talk atcha next week!

Movie/Music Monday…American History X

 American History X (1998)  This is one of my favorite movies of all time, partly because the acting is superb, but mostly because it’s all-too-easy to see the events unfolding in this movie happening.  The subject of race is front and center in this movie, and nothing about it is easy or even palatable to watch.  But it’s real.  We watch Derek’s (played to perfection by Ed Norton) slow, insidious march toward the concept of “white is right” from the time he’s a teen.  It’s nothing overt, just offhand comments made by a father he respects and adores, but those small comments have the power to change an entire community’s fate.  We watch as Derek becomes the poster boy for the local white supremacist movement after a singular tragedy.  When he’s sent to prison after committing a particularly brutal murder, we see his slow and gradual journey from being a “white” man to simply being a good man.  The end is truly heartrending…not something that’ll make you feel good when the credits roll, but will make you think long and hard about your beliefs and your perception of the world around you.

Excellent secondary characters flesh this movie out…Avery Brooks as the teacher who really tries to help his students and his community; Edward Furlong as Derek’s younger brother Danny, who is following too closely in his footsteps; Guy Torry as Derek’s prison mate Lamont, and the man who begins to make him see that the color of one’s skin really means nothing, it’s what’s in your heart; and Stacy Keach as Cameron, the passive aggressive leader of Derek’s secondary “family”.

Interspersed with chilling flashbacks that give the characters their motivation, I firmly believe this film has the power to change perception when it comes to race…on both sides of the color barrier.  Much as I believe Jodi Foster’s role in The Accused did when dealing with what rape really means.

Neither of these movies is pretty, and neither looks at the world through rose-colored glasses, and for that I’ll be forever grateful.  If you want to watch a movie that’s timely, even though it’s a decade old, then watch this one, if for no other reason than to make yourself reconsider the people you walk beside each and every day.

On a personal note, perhaps one of the reasons this movie struck home for me so much is that I grew up in a community that was very “white”, and with teenagers not so different from Derek’s character, at least in viewpoint (not in violence).  Naysayers will state that the white supremacist ideals and personalities portrayed in this movie are few and far between.  I really, really wish I could agree with them.

Rogue by Rachel Vincent

Well Damn!!!  I was totally remiss in not outing another friend of mine, Rachel Vincent, yesterday.  I SWEAR, I thought her book was coming out NEXT Tuesday (grrr).  Soooo, with no further ado *g*…here’s the freakin’ awesome cover of ROGUE!!  I was saving my pennies to pick this and Jordan’s up next week in one fell swoop, but methinks I’ll be hitting Hastings this weekend as a birthday present to me!!

I know that better than most. Since rejoining the Pride, I’ve made big decisions and even bigger mistakes: the kind paid for with innocent lives. As the first and only female enforcer, I have plenty to prove to my father, the Pride and myself. And with murdered toms turning up in our territory, I’m working harder than ever, though I always find the energy for a little after-hours recreation with Marc, my partner both on and off duty.

But not all my mistakes are behind me. We’re beginning to suspect that the dead are connected to a rash of missing human women and that they can all be laid at my feet—two or four, take your pick. And one horrible indiscretion may yet cost me more than I can bear.…