Sandra Cox's Blog, page 262

It's The Weekend

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New Family Member

We have a new grandpuppy. The boy and his wife adopted another Boxer from Blueridge Boxer Rescue. Pretty cute huh? She looks about six months but she's actually about two years old.

VBT: The Danger Game

This sounds like an interesting read. What drew you to computer programming for your premise?

The Danger Game is not so much about computer programming, more about a geeky girl who is a mix of MacGyver and genius programmer!
Flick is one smart heroine, always one step ahead of everyone else. Give her an algorithm to write and she’s on it, a cyber-war to stop, no problems, a hot guy helping her out of trouble… er…Okay, so the hot guy slows her down a bit!  If only there was some kind of formula she could apply.
Crime in the cyber world fascinates me. Reliance on the internet and computers is part of our modern lives, but it makes us vulnerable in many scary ways – and that’s why I like to write about it.
I also have a source of inside information… My husband.  Geek-extraordinaire.
He works every day to keep essential computer systems up and running.  From defense to banking to airlines.  My stories are based on thorough research and occasionally real world situations in which he has been involved.  Of course all embellished by me.  But there is always a kernel of truth (or conspiracy theory) in there somewhere.
I wrote The Danger Game over Christmas 2011.  The idea sparked when I read an article about cyber-war, and it inspired a plot about an unstoppable cyber-weapon. By early February I had the first draft done. It was also the first story I’d based in my home city of Sydney, and it was a real pleasure to write about the city I love.  The Danger Game was one of those sweet stories that just come together nicely.  I wish all my stories were as easy to write!  BLURB:1
 Flick likes computers. She’s good with them, and they do what she tells them, mostly. People, however, are more of a challenge.
But when a terrifyingly dangerous program is stolen, and her mentor killed, Flick finds herself on the run. The police are convinced she’s committed murder, and a sinister weapons developer will stop at nothing to force her to work for him.
In Ben’s line of work being suspicious keeps you alive. So when Flick turns to him, he quickly realises that she’s up to her neck in trouble and hasn’t fully grasped the danger she is in. 
First he has to keep her safe, and then, together, they have to figure out how to save the world from an epic meltdown.“I said I’d be there.” Flick didn’t bother to hide her irritation. “I just won the man a million dollar grant, what more does he want?”
“Your bubbly and fun personality?” There was amusement beneath Andy’s sarcasm.
Flick snorted. “All right. Okay. I’m leaving now.” She growled the words, and hit the off-button on her phone.
They both knew she lied.
She dropped the phone onto the desk. Then, scowling, she clicked on the icon that’d run the Bellona program.  It crashed instantly, and took the computer with it.
“Awesome.”  She threw herself back into her chair and stared at the ceiling panels, running the changes she’d made to the code through her mind.  Realizing it’d be a waste of time to unpick what she’d done, Flick rebooted her computer and went in search of a clean copy of the program on the backup server. 
There were two versions. Usually they only kept one, but she thought nothing of it, and after saving a copy to her hard drive, she opened it up.
She scanned quickly through the code, looking for the section she’d been working on, so preoccupied with figuring out how to manipulate it into doing what she wanted, she nearly missed the strange command, her eye travelled straight past it. But then she hesitated, and went back to the unusual group of letters.  They hadn’t been there before.
A logic bomb? Some little joke Andy was playing?
She ran the command and it brought up a whole section of Bellona that she’d never seen before.
“Bloody hell -” For a moment she simply stared at the screen. 
It was no joke. AUTHOR Bio and Links:I began writing in 2005. Exhausted, pregnant (sure I was going to expire from morning-sickness) and coping with a demanding toddler, I decided the time was right to embark on a writing career. (In hindsight I may have been suffering from a scorching case of sleep-deprivation).
Still, it kinda worked out. My debut novel - and the first manuscript I'd ever written - Running Scared, was published in January 2007.  My next book, Secret Intentions followed.  Then I had a short story published in the Mammoth Book of Special Ops Romance (MBSOR) in 2010 - my story is called The Grey Man.
In 2012 my novel Drive Me To Distraction was published, and my novella The Danger Game came out just before Christmas.  My next book, The Bunker, will be published in July 2013.Author LinksYou can find me online at: http://www.caitlynnicholas.com
My blog: http://www.caitlynnicholas.blogspot.comTwitter:http://twitter.com/CaitlynNicholasFb: https://www.facebook.com/CaitlynNicholasAuthorBuy linksAmazon http://www.amazon.com/The-Danger-Game-ebook/dp/B00AK3GTTI/Amazon UK http://www.amazon.co.uk/The-Danger-Game-ebook/dp/B00AK3GTTI/
Kobo http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/THE-DANGER-GAME/book-4CHaOFNh70yB3UeAWKA7lg/page1.html?s=shBHL7QvTEeR0uGd3fnOsA&r=1Nook http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-danger-game-nicholas-caitlyn/1114588729?ean=9780857990105Ibookstorehttps://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-danger-game/id585508156?mt=11

http://www.rafflecopter.com/rafl/display/538b885/

Caitlyn will be awarding three prizes: a $25 Amazon GC and Caitlyn Nicholas gift bag to one randomly drawn commenter, and a Caitlyn Nicholas gift bag to two randomly drawn commenters during the tour.(International)

Definition of Friendship

"My definition of friendship varies with the friend, but certain traits are mandatory. Friends can occupy the same room without robbing the space of solitude. They appreciate the difference between conversation and pointless noise. They don't snipe and bitch about other friends. They do their share of mundane tasks without prompting. They seldom whine, are secure in their own purpose and don't anchor themselves to an energy-sapping cloud of defeat."
Doc Ford from Randy Wayne White's Dead Silence.

Mr. White is a new author I've discovered.  I just finished Dead Silence and found it gripping. If you like a good thriller give it a go.

Call Me Maybe, Parody

Hilarious!
If you haven't seen this before take a look. It is too funny. If you can't see the guys, tap on the screen to enlarge to screen mode or  go to you tube. 

~*~
The Crystal is on sale today at Elloras Cave for seventy-five cents.
"Only the chosen ones or their mates will ever be able to see the magic contained in the Globe."~*~ Caught in a downpour, Gabriella Bell enters a trendy little shop and discovers a crystal ball. In the globe she sees the face of a hard-eyed stranger. Drawn by a force she doesn't understand she buys the crystal, unaware she is purchasing stolen property that belongs to the aunt of a premiere cat burglar known to polite society as Christopher Saint and to the underworld as The Tiger.She soon discovers that not only does the handsome, hard-eyed stranger want the mysterious globe but so does a beautiful ruthless jewel thief who will stop at nothing, including murder, to possess Christopher and the crystal ball…and Gabriella is standing in her way. Gabriella discovers the road to true love isn't just rocky, it's downright dangerous.

It's The Weekend

SBB: Fate

BLURB: The good things in life are coming together for Kristina Collins. She’s found her ideal home, her career is on track for mega success and the man of her dreams has finally come back into her life.
In Fate, the first installment of the Timeless Trilogy, Kris Collins discovers the benefits and risks of having precognitive visions while being stalked by a serial killer. Her friends can’t help her, the FBI can’t save her; she must save herself.
The Timeless Trilogy heroines, Kristina, Veronica and Cassandra, each deal with paranormal abilities as they discover and rediscover eternal love.Excerpt:The edge of the blade felt like ice against her skin. One breath too deep, one movement—ever so slight—would give the knife a taste of her blood. It’s a part of the nightmare, she thought, even as she felt the breath of her attacker lightly touch her face.      The nightmares that had been plaguing her for weeks warned of this moment. Images, too terrifying to be real, flashed quickly across her mind’s eye in an instant replay of her recent night terrors. Running down a long, empty hallway, filled with doorways on either side, chased by some unknown monster that knew her deepest fears. Running towards a movie, scrolling incessantly with images of those she loved most trapped in a fiery hell. Sepia-toned faces, twisted in pain, were a stark contrast to the blue, red and yellow of the flames engulfing them. The echoes of their screams filled the dark, never-ending hallway. She couldn’t look away and she couldn’t stop running; her only escape was straight ahead, towards the horror show. 
    So far, the nightmares ended with her sitting straight up in bed, breathing hard in a cold sweat. He hadn’t caught her yet.     The all too real feeling of cold steel pressed against her neck gave the nightmare an alternate ending. Kris tried to control her breathing so her attacker would think she slept. Her mind raced as she tried to think of a way to reach the loaded SIG waiting beneath the extra pillow beside her. She didn’t always keep a gun so handy, but recent events, including the dreams, made it a necessity.    “Wake up, Sleeping Beauty.” The familiar voice spoke the words softly in her ear.AUTHOR Bio and Links:Tallulah Grace is an aficionado of anything paranormal, loves to read a good thriller and creates characters that become friends. Tallulah was born and raised in a small southern town located in the foothills of the vibrant Blue Ridge Mountains. When she's not developing characters and weaving stories, Tallulah enjoys antiquing and bead-weaving.Personal Links:Website: http://www.tallulahgrace.comBlog:  http://www.tallulahspeaks.comTwitter: http://www.twitter.com/TallulahSpeaks Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grace.tallul... Author Page: amazon.com/author/tallulahgrace Book Trailer on You Tube: http://bit.ly/mC5UfXBook Links http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0054QZNRAhttp://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/timeless-trilogy-book-one-tallulah-grace/1104729281http://itunes.apple.com/us/book/timeless-trilogy-book-one/id454533167?mt=11http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/66643http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/Timeless-Trilogy-Book-One-Fate/book-AGyrHX17p0yENAS0mnawxg/page1.html 
Tallulah will be awarding winner's choice of a backlist eBook to a randomly drawn commenter at every stop..
The tour dates can be found here:
http://goddessfishpromotions.blogspot.com/2013/03/virtual-super-book-blast-fate-timeless.html

My Husband the Plant Killer

He has a talent. No flower is safe for miles around. He's known for trimming back the flowers and leaving the weeds untouched. Last year in his zest to fertilizer my yellow rose bush, he nearly burned it up.  Yesterday it was my coleus. I'd just bought it. I didn't even have it out of the car before he lopped the top off with his cane. Below is pictures of the knocked off top and the rest of the poor maimed coleus. Oh yeah, and I tossed in a pic of my new gazing ball:) To the gardeners out there: Do you think it will root? I need to ask good bud Rhobin Courtright. Are any of you Courtright fans? She's an excellent author and gardener. I lust for her gardens.

Too Cute Tuesday

Rats don't rate high on my Richter scale, but this trailer really does deserve a 'too cute' mention.

Dog People VS Cat People and Oblivion Trailer

The weekend flew as weekend's tend to do. Had every intention of seeing Oblivion but didn't make it. Did you see it and if so what's your take on it?

~*~   animalclipart.net  In her excitement to see me, the hound stepped on my bare toe. OMG, it felt like an elephant with claws had stepped on it. The encounter, typical for the hound, left me with this hypothesis. 

First of all let me start by making a disclaimer to all the  cat people out there that have all kinds of patience. I'm sure there are some. Unfortunately, I'm just not one of them:)

I believe patience is what separates the dog people from the cat people. Its only a hypothesis of course. But here are my findings:

Dog people are calm. Well maybe not always, but it helps when dealing with canines.
When a dog gets on something he's not supposed to, the dog person says in a calm but firm voice, "Down."

Cat People, not so much. If the dog gets on something he's not supposed, the response is: "Get your ass down."

Dog person tells a dog, "Sit." Repeats in a calm voice,   "Sit."

Cat person tells a dog, "Sit." Dog ignores cat person. "Damn it, sit!"

Dog person tells dog to stay. "Stay." Holds up hand to indicate stay. "Stay,"He/she reiterates dragging out the word.

Cat person tells dog to stay. Dog ignores cat person.  This time cat person responds with a blasphemy in front of the stay. And also makes a hand gesture but its not the one to stay.

Dog person says "Quiet," in voice of authority to stop dog barking.

Cat person says, "Don't make me come out there."

I think dogs are wonderful, faithful creatures. I truly do. Cats are just all kinds of easier.