Maya Banks's Blog, page 6

Internet woes in Ireland (or day 4)

I know I promised you guys pics. I even bought an outrageously expensive flash drive for the occasion. (okay so everything over here is ridiculously expensive. I don't know how people make a living here with paying the huge income tax percentages and the prices of EVERYTHING.) But I digress (what else is new) But the fact of the matter is, my internet sucks ass here. I haven't had this much frustration since the days of dial up and hell, at least it WORKED back then. It was slow as hell but it stayed on. Not so much with this stuff *sob*

It takes me forever to get on and once I do manage to have the stars align just right and get a connection, it then drops randomly and so you have to keep trying to get to where you're going on keep trying to check email until you hit those few seconds where it works with no interruption, type like hell and then wait again while it blips off to God knows where.

So uhm while I have pictures on my laptop now, the chances of me getting them posted? Let's just say I'd probably win the lottery before that happens. So the pics will have to wait until I get back to the land of high speed internet.

As for day 4? I worked all day today. The fog was super thick and it was chilly. Hubby and the kids went to play golf again and I stayed behind to curl up under a blanket and try to finish this book. (I'm almost there and won't go to bed tonight until I finish. Or rather, I'm already IN bed, but I won't go to sleep until this book is done, done, done.

Tomorrow the kids are going horseback riding in the morning and hubby and I are going to do some shopping. I think tomorrow afternoon if the weather prediction was accurate, we'll take a boating trip :)

So there's the update such as it is. I'm hoping this will post in this lifetime and I'm getting back to work on the writing. I left my characters all in turmoil and they're probably pissed at me because I haven't gotten back to them to solve all their woes.

©2011 Maya Banks: Southern Sin. All Rights Reserved.

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Ireland day three!

Today started, well it started late *g* We all slept in as people on vacation do. I've never been up on getting up at the crack of dawn and go, go, go all day only to collapse into bed at night and the end result is going home EXHAUSTED and thinking DAMN I need a vacation… Agree?

So anyway we slept late. Got up cooked breakfast and then hubby took the kids to play what I guess is the Irish equivalent to putt putt or mini golf. It was a pitch and putt course. They played for a couple hours while I perched myself on my chair that overlooks the ocean from our cottage and I worked for a little bit but mostly I sat and soaked up the sun and the breeze and the smell of the ocean. Ahhh it was nice.

When the kidlets returned, we had a light lunch and then decided we were going to hit the road because the weather was just so amazingly gorgeous and we wanted to do some exploring. We took the coastal road from Doolin around to Ballyvaughn and further to a castle (the name escapes me at the moment even though I can hear the eldery Irish caretaker pronouncing it so I had the right of it) But hey I'm tired and my brain's a bit fuzzy and full of gorgeous sunsets.

We stopped along the way and clambered over rock outcroppings to peek over the cliffs and we sat awhile and enjoyed the view. Our entire motto was "we're not in a hurry" Although I did keep telling my daughter "don't break your leg. Please don't break your leg" I swear my youngest two are such daredevils and they scare the bejebus out of me because they're so uninhibited.

We came back through Ennistimon instead of going back around the coastal road because I needed to find a flashdrive so I could transfer pictures from hubby's laptop (where he downloads the camera's pics to) to MY laptop because you guys keep asking for pics and well, I haven't had a way to post them yet!

So I'm working on it. I'm hoping by tomorrow's post to be able to give you guys a glimpse of our trip.

When we got back to the cottage, the kids went outside to play and hubby cooked dinner. Then we all sat outside watching the sun go down, and truly, this was as beautiful a sunset as we saw in the US Virgin Islands. We had plans to go into town to one of the pubs to listen to some more music this evening but we were all comfortable being lazy and so we just laid back and watched the sunset.

So there you have it. Day three. Not so exciting. But rather a lazy day taking our time and getting off the beaten path a bit. But then that's what do most vacations. I jokingly told hubby that the year we went to Scotland that I swear we saw parts of Scotland that I doubt most Scots have never seen! Said jokingly but it was the absolute truth. I do know that there were many times we didn't see a single other car for super long stretches of time when we were traversing the countryside.

I'm heading to bed where I'm going to work for awhile. I'll catch you guys tomorrow!

©2011 Maya Banks: Southern Sin. All Rights Reserved.

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Ireland day two, part two

So the rest of day two went as follows. After our morning jaunt to the grocery store, we decided since it was so foggy that we'd hit the Doolen Cave. As we entered the tour, I knew I was fucked when the guide mentioned that we'd be descending stairs. Not just a few. But uhm like a hundred. For one, I have this unnatural fear of falling down stairs. I've had this fear ever since I can remember. I hated my high school because it was two stories and every other class for me was on a different floor and there was always a hoard of students pushing and shoving down the stairs and I was always terrified I was going to fall down them.

Now the other part of this horror story is that I knew at the end of the tour I was going to have to climb back those 100 steps. Fuck me.

I wasn't smart enough to just tell the family, oh you go ahead. I'll wait for you up here. Oh no. Because I wasn't going to wimp out. So I teeter down all those damn stairs holding on to the rail for dear life. Then when we get to the bottom, we go through this slick as snot cave corridor thing with the ceiling so low that even me and my short ass self hit my head. (We wore hardhats and it's a good damn thing.) My aforementioned six foot four husband had to walk doubled over the entire way.

But then we get to…more steps. Wet, slimy, uneven steps. Some really short. Some with a steep drop off. Again, I clung to the wet, slimy rail for dear life and my knees shook so badly I was REALLY afraid I was just going to face plant.

It was cool. Don't get me wrong. But really? Not my thing. I love the science behind caves. I love visiting them. All those slippery steps I could have done without. By the time we left to return to those 100 stairs I had already had to climb up a bazillion slippery, uneven steps and at that point I was just done. I wanted to know where the damn elevator was.

Hubby's sweet and he lagged behind with me while I climbed the steps holding onto the railing for dear life and thinking OMFG, WHY did I do this again?

We get out to the car and my stupid knees were still shaking so bad that I could barely get control of them. Phobias are a bitch, I tell ya.

We drove back to the cottage and hubby took the kids to some nearby castle ruins while I researched a trip I wanted to take with the kids. (The internet is so frightfully slow here that it honest to God took as long as they were gone to find all the info I wanted)

They returned laughing like hyenas because apparently daddy fell down some step at the castle or on the grounds since apparently this particular castle is privately owned and not open to the public so they were only able to get so close to it. So see? My phobia? Not unfounded. And they were also apparently accosted by some old rude Irish guy who muttered something about reading signs. Never mind the nice woman who informed my husband how far he could venture on public property.

Truly, this is the first rude Irish person we've encountered. Or I should say they since I wasn't with them so really *I* haven't met a single rude person here :) They're all disgustingly cheerful and exceedingly helpful. Even to neurotic Americans with stair phobias…

After they return we decide to go down to the pier. Just because. No other reason. And the fog had finally lifted and there was actually SUNSHINE. And even better patches of BLUE in the sky. And I should mention that my cottage is RIGHT on the ocean and yet until this afternoon I hadn't actually SEEN the water from my front porch because of the fog. I mean I knew it was there but you couldn't have proved it by what I could see.

So we puttered around, enjoyed some fresh air. It's delightfully chilly here and such a welcome change from 100 degrees and 100 percent humidity back home.

On our way back from the pier we stopped at a different pub that was offering live music beginning just twenty minutes from when we arrived, so we took a seat and ordered. The food was terrific. (So far we're two for two on eating out in Ireland and even the kids are eating!) The music was terrific. As odd as it may sound, really you haven't fully appreciated John Denver's Country Roads until you've heard it sung by an Irishman with a guitar in an Irish pub :)

And then we took a drive, sort of a roundabout drive back to the cottage because we weren't yet ready to get back home just yet. We saw a rooster pheasant and a hen on the road and then watched as they flew low over a field only to land a short distance away. We stopped to watch until finally they flushed up again and flew further away.

When we did finally get back home, the sky to the west was clearing over the water and I was excited because I figured we'd actually get to see a sunset that evening so I positioned myself accordingly, propped back on some pillows and lazily watched the sun go down while Hubby and the youngest two played catch in the yard.

Now I'm in bed having just watched the last vestiges of the sun slip down over the horizon and it's finally dark (It's well after ten) and so I'm going to sign off and work for a bit. This is a holiday, yes, but it's a working one for me because there are some things that have to get done no matter what. But I'll get them done when everyone else is asleep so I don't miss any of the fun stuff :)

Good night from Doolin!

©2011 Maya Banks: Southern Sin. All Rights Reserved.

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Ireland day 1 (well and 2 sorta)

As some of you may know, I'm off on our family vacation to Ireland. It's been a super busy summer for us and I've really been looking forward to some "down time" I took my daughter with me to NYC for the RWA conference in June. This was after a super busy spring softball schedule! That week nearly killed us both. We were exhausted when we got back home and we only had a few days to unpack and get ready to head to Panama City Beach Florida to watch my daughter play in the World Series of Softball. Now THAT was an exhausting 9 days away from home. AND? When we got home? We again only had a few days to unpack, wash clothes and get ready to head on our family vacation.

We left the house at 8am Saturday morning. Caught a noon flight from Houston to Newark. Had a two and a half hour layover before boarding a flight to Dublin. I prefer to fly first class domestically. My husband says I'm spoiled but really there are so many reasons that I won't go into for the sake of brevity that I refuse to fly coach. Number one being I hate people and I don't like being that up close and personal with the cattle grid as I lovingly refer to as the coach section of an airplane.

When we flew to Scotland two years ago, husband was convinced that there was no need. We were only taking my oldest son with me and he said we'll have the entire row to ourselves! No other people to deal with blah blah. Ok well, he was miserable the entire 8 hour flight. He's a big guy. Six foot four. Broad shouldered. My son is also a big dude. Yeah, you can see how that worked out in our little coach seats.

So this year I put my foot down, told him he had no say so, I was booking the flights AND I got an awesome deal on first class tickets by being flexible with the week we wanted to fly. (If we'd come next week, the tickets would have cost triple what they cost me to fly this past week) But I digress.

Let's just say that after flying first class the entire way that my husband has vowed to never ever interfere in me making the travel arrangements and is happy to let me book whatever I like hehe. Seriously, the seats were awesome. The service was awesome. They fed us for the first three hours solid. The kids slept and I worked. I rarely ever "enjoy" flying but I have to say the first class on Continental's 757 was freaking awesome.

We arrived in Dublin at 6:30 in the morning. I hear you groaning. So was I. It took us forever to get the rental car but we were finally on our way and it took us another three and a half hours to reach our destination of Doolin on the West coast of Ireland. So if you're counting with me, that was a two hour drive to the airport in Houston. A 3 and a half hour flight to Newark. A two and a half hour layover. A six hour flight to Dublin and a 3 and a half hour drive to Doolin. That's a hell of a lot of traveling. By the time we got to our cottage, I was a walking zombie. I didn't even unpack. I fell into the very comfy bed with wonderful, plush pillows and passed out.

I forced myself out of bed a few hours later and we ventured into Doolin only to find the little grocery shop there (and when I say little, I'm talking closet size) closed but we were directed to Lisdoonvarna just a few kilometers up the road and so we set off just so we could get breakfast stuff for the next morning. We were warned not to try to buy groceries on a Sunday because the shelves would be bare and that Mondays were "stock" days.

After picking up a few items at the small grocery shop, we went across the street to the Irish Arms pub to grab some dinner. This is where my trepidation came in. To back up, two summers ago we went to Scotland and England on vacation. Now I'd warned my husband that English food…well, it's just not good. It's bland. Apparently there's a law against seasoning the food. And he quickly informed me that I was right. And this guy will usually eat anything. He's not picky like me and my daughter. We nearly starved and finally halfway through the vacation we gave up on eating out in establishments. We started going to the grocery store in Inverness and we'd buy yummy breads, sandwich meat, cheeses and drinks and we'd pack a lunch and eat wherever we decided to stop.

But to get back to Ireland, the food was really good at the pub where we ate. Even my daughter (who eats NOTHING) loved her food. Afterward we drove back to our cottage and sort of laid around looking at each other with glazed eyes and finally decided to go to bed at 9. It doesn't get dark until well after nine but we were too tired to care.

This morning we staggered out of bed and hubby cooked breakfast. Or as well as we could given that we only had eggs, bread and the European version of bacon, which is nothing like American bacon. But at least WE cooked it similarly to American bacon. When we were in the UK, the bacon was always kind of half cooked, pale and slimy. I'm still shuddering as I think about it. Then we headed out to Ennistimon where we'd been told there was an actual grocery store (that was bigger than a closet)

Another thing we've discovered, or at least that my kids have told me, is that they hate the milk over here. Now I don't drink milk in the states but they all do and they've said the milk here is "gross" I'm not sure what the difference is. But even my husband turned up his nose.

We're starting to sound like a picky lot aren't we?

The grocery store was fun. We were on the hunt for biscuits. Not cookies. Our cookies are biscuits but I wanted what OUR biscuits are. Finally found some scone mix and we're going to attempt to make those for breakfast tomorrow to go with our funky bacon (that more resembles a thin porkchop) and our very orange yolk eggs. I do love the bread over here though and I hit the bakery and got a nice selection :)

This afternoon we're going to visit the Doolin Cave because the fog is still as thick as soup and there's not much to see. I can only see perhaps fifty yards out my window before I encounter a solid wall of white. On Wednesday the kids are going horseback riding but there's supposed to be NO chance of sun on Wed and a 90 percent chance of raining so that should be fun for them…

We have a whopping forty percent chance of SUN tomorrow *laugh* and only ten percent chance today. I think forty percent is the highest percentage of this entire week so tomorrow we'll likely try to take a boat over to the Aran Islands.

That's my adventure so far! Tonight we'll probably hit a local pub here in Doolin where they play traditional Irish music and just chill. If I find internet again, I'll post more of our week as I'm able.

Hope all is well with all of you!

©2011 Maya Banks: Southern Sin. All Rights Reserved.

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The winners!

Ok gang, since there were so many entries and I still have available ARCs, I drew SIX winners. And here they are

#43 Kay James

#73 Susan

#85 Alyssa Sullivan

#108 Ashley Roberts

#160 Tanya

#197 Sherri Dub

Congrats! Now here's what I need for you to do. I need you to email me your mailing address to maya@mayabanks.com and I need this info SOON. No later than Thursday afternoon. I need to mail these on Friday because I leave for vacation early Saturday morning. So if I don't hear from you by Thursday, I'm sorry, but you won't get the ARC.

©2011 Maya Banks: Southern Sin. All Rights Reserved.

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Facebook contest, here!

Since Facebook won't let anyone run contests on their pages anymore, I'm going to have my promised contests for ARCs of In Bed With A Highlander here on my blog. There are no strings attached! If you want to get an early peek at the book, simply post here and tell me you want it and if you win, the book is yours. Simple as that.

I'll leave entries open until at least tomorrow morning (maybe later if I get sidetracked because you all know that happens all the time!) And when I post the winners, you'll need to check back and then email me your mailing address. I can't stress this enough. I will post the winners no later than Wednesday of this week. If you don't claim your book by Friday, you lose out. Sorry! I leave the country on Saturday and won't be back for 12 days. I'm going to mail all won copies out on Friday of this week so it's your responsibility to A. check back to see if you won and B. provide me with a mailing address before Friday.

Ready, set, go!

©2011 Maya Banks: Southern Sin. All Rights Reserved.

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REVIEW copies of In Bed With A Highlander

I have a select few advance copies of In Bed WIth A Highlander that I am offering to reviewers and bloggers who are willing to read and post their thoughts on the story in return for receiving the book early. If you aren't a reviewer or a blogger, don't be sad! I also have copies that I will be giving away in a few contests I plan to run. But for this particular blog entry, I am asking for only those who have blogs or will post reviews to respond.

Here's what I need for you to do and please read carefully because if you don't follow the procedure it's likely I won't see or be able to consider your request.

Send an email to mayaATmayabanks.com with the subject header REVIEW COPY. If you don't put this, I won't see it. It's that simple.

In the body of the email, I need for you to give me the URL to your blog or your review site or wherever it is you plan to post your review or your thoughts, good or bad.

I'm asking that if you send a request and receive a copy, that you read and post your thoughts/review BEFORE August 30th. If you're planning to post at places like BN or Amazon where you aren't able until the book releases, please state that in your email.

Requests need to be in no later than July 17th because I'll mail them out as SOON as I return from the World Series of Softball with my daughter.

Please do NOT POST YOUR REQUEST IN THE COMMENTS SECTION OF THIS BLOG POST. I won't consider that an entry. I need all the info in the email as stated above. The only "string" or stipulation to getting an early copy is that you review or talk about. You do not have to love it. You do not have to post gushing things about the book. If you hate it, you're free to say so. I will appreciate each and every person who takes the time to post their thoughts. I will not argue with you, stalk you or otherwise act like an author off her meds ;)

This is also open to international bloggers and reviewers as all my contests are.

On the cut off date of the 17th, I will randomly draw from the entries received since I don't have enough copies to accommodate everyone. I will then send you an email requesting your mailing address. You will only have one or two days to get back to me because I have to mail them the week of the 17th before I leave on vacation so be aware of all the fine print involved in this giveaway!

I think that about covers everything :)

©2011 Maya Banks: Southern Sin. All Rights Reserved.

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RWA Literacy signing and my annual reminder

Every year I try to mention this just because it's one of those small issues that's important to me. Next week, the Romance Writers of America organization will meet in NYC for their annual conference and with it they will host a huge book signing event to promote literacy.

There will be hundreds of authors signing. It's a huge event. A readers dream!

The first year that I was eligible to sign at the literacy signing I didn't. Ok, I know, you're thinking what?? I mean after working so very hard to reach the goal of being a published author, I sat out my first opportunity to sign at such an awesome event? Yeah, I did. I was more interested in wandering around and attending as a READER. I wanted a chance to meet some of MY favorite authors and get them to sign books.

I also made it a goal to go by the tables of newer authors who might not have the lines or the followings of some of the more established authors. And each year I remind others to try and do the same.

So if you're going to be attending the literacy signing, do me a favor, okay? Pick out at least one new author or an author who doesn't have a line of people at her table. Go by, talk to her, check out her book or even better yet, buy it and have her sign it.

It's HARD to sit there swallowed up by so many other authors and feel like no one has come to see you or to get you to sign a book.

A little kindness goes a long way and you have the power to make the signing very special for an author who is new, shy or just plain terrified of the crowds.

I hope to see you there! If I remember right, I'll have Colters' Lady and either Hidden Away or Sweet Possession to sign. (I'm so horrible, I don't remember which one!) So come by and say hi. I'd love to chat with you!

©2011 Maya Banks: Southern Sin. All Rights Reserved.

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An update from Maya

Hey gang,

I just wanted to give you guys an update of what's going on lately. I haven't been around much. I owe you guys a Be With Me scene too (I haven't forgotten!)

Things are really insane for me right now. I don't want anyone worrying. It's not horrible but it is very stressful and time is a very precious commodity these days. Summer just started and I'm having to once again adjust to having all my children home with me in what is usually my work time where I have few if any disturbances. As I'm typing, I have FOUR 11 year olds girls squealing in the back ground, a barking dog and two boys who are literally running for their lives (away from the hoard of 11 year old girls)

I'm a solitary, cave dwelling hermit, so it's difficult for me to adjust to having people around all the time :)

I obsessed endlessly over Whispers in the Dark. I wanted it to be perfect and in doing so, I was late turning it in. I don't regret it. Not one bit. I wanted it to be the story that was in my head. I wanted it to be something my readers would love. But the fact is, I'm having to work long nights to catch up on the other projects that suffered because I took the extra time with Whispers. I'm loving Sweet Addiction. I mean LOVING it. This has evolved into a much better story than I could have ever imagined and I refuse to rush it simply because I'm behind. Again, I want it to be a book that I'm proud of and that my readers aren't disappointed in. If it takes me longer, then that's what will happen because I refuse to turn in an inferior book just so I can say I'm "caught up"

Because really, being caught up is kind of a fleeting goal for most writers lololol

My summer is just packed. I do a lot with my family. They come first. My daughter is winding up her spring season of select softball. They made a deep run in the state tournament last weekend and this weekend they won the championship just yesterday evening by going undefeated through the entire tournament. It was their last "regular" tournament of the season and a fantastic way to go out. They are now preparing to travel to Florida for the World Series in less than a month.

My daughter and I will be in NYC next week for RWA. We come back a week and then travel to Florida for her week long tournament. We're back a week again and then off for our family vacation.

So between work, finishing Sweet Addiction and the Colter Christmas plus the promised Be With Me follow up and my family obligations, I'm not going to be around as much as I'd like for the next two months.

But know this. I'm working very hard to give you books that you will love. That's my absolute goal.

This Fall my schedule lightens considerably and I'll look forward to being able to hang out with you guys a lot more!

Love,

Maya

©2011 Maya Banks: Southern Sin. All Rights Reserved.

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Looking for short story recs!

I was having a twitter conversation with Inez Kelly about how little reading time I've had lately. Seriously, this year has been CRAZY and the ironic thing is, that it was supposed to mark a slowdown for me. But uhm yeah, not so much. Since the beginning of the year, I've written a historical romance, two shorter contemporary romances for Harlequin Desire, an erotic longer novella (40k words) the 4th KGI book and now I'm immersed in Sweet Addiction. So yeah, my reading time has been non existent because along with all the work I've been devoting time to, things have been really busy with my family.

We've traveled. My daughter is playing softball and we've devoted a lot of time to her practices and her tournaments. The year has sped by so frighteningly fast that well, reading has just fallen by the wayside. Which makes me sad.

But I've found that even if I can't commit to a full length novel (even as insanely fast as I read) that shorter works really do the trick when I really just need time to let my brain rest and enjoy something. Such was the case when I impulsively picked up Cara McKenna's latest short story, Don't Call Her Angel. It was perfect, see, because I was done in about half an hour. And then I could go back to work, or go take my daughter to practice or even cook supper. OMG you guys seriously don't know how long it's been since I last cooked lololol. My poor husband was in shock last night when I actually went into the kitchen and fixed supper.

I'm getting off topic….

So to get to my point, I'd LOVE some recommendations for SHORT stories. Novellas, short stories. But I want them to be really good. And satisfying. They don't have to be "change the world" earth shattering. I just want something yummy that satisfies my need for a "quick fix"

Got anything for me? Oh and yeah, I should clarify, I want it to be romance. Don't make me sad when I'm trying to work!! :)

©2011 Maya Banks: Southern Sin. All Rights Reserved.

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