Sandra Cox's Blog, page 308

I'm Back...

Greetings everyone. I'm back. First line edits are done. Had one little glitch, but I think I've worked through it.
Hope you've had a productive week and are having all kinds of fun this weekend.

Hibernating

Doing edits. I'll be hibernating for a few days.

Hope you're doing something fun and exciting.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween. I hope yours is filled with wonderful treats.

Pricing

Any Nora fans out there? Raise your hands. Mine is waving madly. Why do I ask? I got a notice from Amazon that she had a new book out. The prices:
Kindle 9.99
Paperback 9.60
I know we've talked about this before but I just don't get it. Doesn't this seem a little skewed to be selling the paper version cheaper than the e? As I'm sure you remember, when e first came on the scene, the mantra from every e publisher was--let's all say it together--'you can get an e book much cheaper than a paper book'. But that was e publishers, not the large publishing industries moving into the e trade.
I believe after everything settles, the prices will level out. Right now they fluctuate from publisher to publisher like daily gas prices. One of the reasons I believe prices will settle is that Amazon and Smashwords are leveling the playing field. Plus indie publishers are selling their books at a more reasonable price.
Any Eisler fans out there? I met him at RT a few years ago. Okay, I got my book signed. Meeting might be a slight exaggeration. Barry is a former CIA operative who now writes thrillers. He turned down a book deal with St. Martin's and opted to go with Amazon. He'll be out in both e and paper. The article I read said it took St. Martin's four months to send him a draft of the contract, whereas Amazon got him a contract immediately. Smart Amazon. It also quoted him as saying if there was a way to get his books to the readers that cost less and were delivered better and faster that's what he wanted.
'The times they are a changing'. I trust the publishing houses change with them.
~*~
Blogs of interest:
Amarinda Jones
Anny Cook
Julia Barrett

Vegans and Sex Offenders

Have you been following the ex-Ohio teacher convicted in a student sex case?

Here's a quote I saw online from the Associated Press:
"Earlier testimony from a defense psychologist indicated that Schuler's medical and physical ailments combined with her vegan diet and use of alcohol and an antidepressant were a "perfect storm" that impaired her ability to tell right from wrong."

Say what? Okay, I'm a vegetarian is that a--excuse the pun-- 'get out of jail free card'? What does being a vegan have to do with anything? If anyone out there has any ideas, please enlighten me, its sure got me scratching my head.
~*~
Blogs of interest:
Anny Cook
Amarinda Jones
Julia Barrett
Shelley Munro

Rethink Breast Cancer: Your Man Reminder

Pay It Forward

"There is nobody in this country who got rich on his own. Nobody. You built a factory out there—good for you.
"But I want to be clear. You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for. You hired workers that the rest of us paid to educate...Part of the underlying social contract is you take a hunk of that and pay forward for the next kid who comes along." Elizabeth Warren

Night Writers

Showing a vid today on Alex the Parrot at Night Writers. If you've never heard of him, Alex was an amazing creature. He knew over one hundred words. The parrot was part of a thirty year study with animal psychologist Irene Pepperberg. He died in 2007. At the time of his passing, he was credited with having the intelligence level of a five year old human and the emotional level of a two year old.
If you haven't been by Night Writers lately we also have new members: Anny Cook, Beth Trissel, Vonnie Davis, Mary Montague Sikes, Jinny Baxter, Colleen Michaels, Robin Weaver and Nicole Green. They discuss everything from Calligraphy to Geekery. If you have an opportunity stop by and say hey.

Movie Night

We picked up pizza, chocolate kettle popcorn (OMG, delicious) and a couple of movies over the weekend. We saw Green Lantern. I usually enjoy the comic book action movies, but the previews for Green Lantern didn't interest me. I was pleasantly surprised. It turned out to be a fun, action movie. And Ryan Reynolds didn't look half bad in his green lantern costume:)
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We also watched TRON, a good movie for gamers. My favorite two things about TRON. One: Bruce Boxleitner was in it. Anybody remember Scarecrow and Mrs. King? I've been a Boxleitner fan ever since. And two: it twice mentioned rescue. It was subtle, but the point was made.

Has anybody else seen these movies? What did you think?
~*~
Blogs of interest:
Anny Cook
Amarinda Jones
Julia Barrett

Hide N Go Seek

BLURB :

A twisted game of Hide'n Go Seek forces an unlikely alliance between a no-nonsense FBI agent and a search-and-rescue worker.

Celebrated search-and-rescue worker Kali Jordon has hidden her psychic abilities by crediting her canine partner Shiloh with the recoveries. But Kali knows the grim truth—The Sight that she inherited from her grandmother allows her to trace violent energy unerringly to victims of murder. No one knows her secret until a twisted killer challenges her to a deadly game of Hide'n Go Seek that threatens those closest to her.

Now she must rely on FBI Special Agent Grant Summers, a man who has sworn to protect her, even as he suspects there's more to Kali and Shiloh than meets the eye. As the killer draws a tighter and tighter circle around Kali, she and Grant find there's no place to hide.

Are her visions the key to finding the latest victim alive or will this cruel game of Hide'n Go Seek cost her…everything.

EXCERPT :

Twenty minutes later, Kali made her way to the kitchen. She fed Shiloh on the deck in the morning sunlight. Running her fingers through her shoulder-length hair, she remembered last night's painting. She headed to her studio to take a look. She'd almost reached it when apprehension washed over her.

The door was closed.

She never closed the door after painting. It wasn't good for the wet canvases, besides, the room only had a small window so the paint fumes built up fast. A frown wrinkled her forehead. Had she simply forgotten? She had been deadly tired last night.

Bolstering her courage, she pushed the door wide and flinched as the fumes rushed out almost stinging her nose. "Oh gross."

Holding her breath, Kali crossed to the window, shoving it as far open as it would go. Fresh air surged into the small space. She'd love a huge studio, except painting wasn't exactly a full time career for her – no matter how much she'd like it to be. It was a release for when depression and madness overcame her soul. Maybe later, when she no longer did rescue work, she could indulge her art as a creative hobby instead of as an outlet of pain and turmoil.

Walking around the easel, Kali stopped midstride.

The painting stood where she'd left it. With surreal and strangely enticing clarity, blacks and purples and browns popped off the canvas. Heavy paint splotched at places, then thinned and stretched across the top.

She stepped back and frowned. Up close, besides the heavy amount of paint, the picture resembled a distorted nightmare. Not surprising. Still, she caught a glimmer of an intentional design. She tilted her head and looked at it from a different angle. Nothing changed.

Sniffing the air, Shiloh ambled into the doorway.

Kali smiled down at the dog. "Not very sweet smelling, is it?"

She glanced back at the jumble of colors and stilled. There. She studied the abstract mess, letting the colors move and form to reveal the image hidden within.

Shivers slid over her spine.

Oh my God.

No way.

Kali blinked. It was.

There was no mistaking the image of a person buried under small bushes, civilization of some kind crouched on the horizon with a series of rough rock formations soaring behind the bushes.

"What the hell?" she whispered.

Kali was not a great artist, by any means. Blind escapism kept bringing her back to the process because it worked. She painted with wild abandon. The paint slapped on canvas with no thought discharged her emotions. For some reason it always worked.

And it always looked like shit.

This, on the other hand, was ingenious. Sure the subject matter was gruesome; however, given her volunteer work, not unexpected. Especially after finding the letter.

The artistic abandon was still there. The paint was so thick in spots the picture was almost three-dimensional. The terrain had depth and movement. The light was dark and terse, yet still shone with gruesome clarity—and way beyond her artistic abilities.

"It's fucking brilliant."

It was also scary as hell.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR :

Dale Mayer is a prolific multi-published writer. She's best known for Tuesday's Child, her romantic suspense novel that was one of the final four in the Kensington Brava/Romantic Times contest this last year. Besides her romantic suspense/thrillers, Dale also writes paranormal romance and crossover young adult books in several different genres. To go with her fiction, she also writes nonfiction in many different fields with books available on resume writing, comp[image error]anion gardening and the US mortgage system. She has recently published her Career Essentials Series in ebook format.

To find out more about Dale and her books, visit her at http://www.dalemayer.com. Or connect with her online with Twitter at www.twitter.com/dalemayer and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/dalemayer.author

Books by Dale Mayer:

Psychic Vision Series

Tuesday's Child

Hide'n Go Seek

Maddy's Floor- out soon

Young Adult Books

Dangerous Designs – Book I

Vampire in Denial – Book I of Blood Ties

Gem Stone Mystery Series- out soon

In Cassie's Corner- soon

Non-Fiction Books

Career Essentials: The Resume

Career Essentials: The Cover Letter

Career Essentials: The Interview

Career Essentials: 3 in 1

Contest: For a chance to win a download of Hide N Go Seek just leave a comment and your email address.