C. Margery Kempe's Blog: Lady Smut, page 209

True Blood Fan Crochets Dolls–Sookie, Bill, and More

Eric, Sookie, and Bill

Welcome to Nights of Passion blog.  As some of you might know I am devoted to True Blood.  My daughter Sarah gave me a True Blood is Back premiere present–two crocheted dolls.  One of Sookie Stackhouse and the other of Vampire Bill Compton.  I love them so much that I have invited the artist who made them to Nights of Passion.  Welcome, Angie Battisti!

Angie, what inspired you to become a crochet artist?

Air conditioning. You're probably thinking "what?". I have a full time job which happens to be in an office and some people like to blast the AC. I decided to make myself some wrist warmers. So I went to Borders and a crochet book with the cutest Grim Reaper Amigurumi caught my eye. The idea that someone figured out how to make these dolls with yarn and a crochet needle blew my mind!

Does crocheting dolls run in your family?

Not that I know of but there is an artistic gene. I've always enjoyed drawing and making stuff with my hands. For some reason, I put all my hobbies on hold for a few years and now I'm bursting from the seams with all the new projects I want to do.

How long have you been doing this?

I was determined to teach myself how to make these guys. So after many hours of throwing yarn across my room and yelling at youtube videos, I finally figured it out. It honestly took me a month and I've been doing it since April of this year. That's what sheer determination will get you! The trick to getting better is just doing a little every day. My hands cramped in the beginning but now I have my battle wounds (calluses). Hahahaha!

Tara

What made you think of making True Blood character dolls?

Well, the ami that got my attention was a Grim Reaper. Obviously, me giggling at a little doll of a creature that collects souls when you die is a bit odd. Then again, I've always been attracted to weird stuff. As a kid, I watched movies and shows I probably shouldn't have and that sometimes spells disaster with an overactive imagination. Movies like "Monster Squad". "Silver Bullet" and "Lost Boys" made my top 10. I was obsessed with Lestat in high school, Buffy too. That's where my vampire/werewolf infatuation probably began.

Lafayette

I remember sitting on my couch watching HBO and seeing the promo for True Blood and thinking "Oh great, another vampire show." Then I recognized Anna Pacquin and I liked Anna's work, so I gave it a shot. TB easily shot up to my top 5 shows and I've watched ever since. I've even read all of Charlaine Harris's books.  Sorry for my long answer, I do tend to babble but I want you to see where I'm coming from.

I wanted to make ami's out of characters that I liked, I wanted to make weird stuff. But it was suggested to make what the mass majority liked. So I started making cute owls, bunnies and kitties. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy making them too but there's so many of them out there. I hadn't seen anyone else make any TB dolls. So I made one.

I think it's very important to be a fan of the character. I'm a big fan of Alan Ball and True Blood. TB has some of the best characters on TV. Everyone can relate to at least one, especially if you're a supernatural. Haha, ok sorry about the lame joke. But seriously, what's the point of making something if you don't like it? That's when it becomes actual "work".

Pam

What characters from True Blood have you done?

Sookie was my first. Then came Eric, Bill, Tara, Lafayette, Pam, Sam and Alcide. I knew some people would like them but I never thought this much!

I hope you plan on making more.  I think they're great.  Are you planning on making more?

Yes and thank you! I'm going to make more of the ones I've made before but I'm going to start dressing them differently. After watching season 4′s first episode, I realized that I should have a variety and extra on hand. For example, Sookie will be in her famous lavender dress. Sam may wear a Merlottes shirt, Bill's hair has changed, Lafayette….well, we all know that boy's got one colorful wardrobe and so on. I also plan on making the hair different on some. I also plan on making Jessica, Jason and Russell! Mr. Edgington may be buried in concrete but his mark is still fresh in my mind. I absolutely love Russell!

Alcide

I make all of them with my own two hands and with a full time job, sometimes I can't make as many as I want. Maybe one day, I'll get the opportunity to have more time for them. Don't worry though, I'm not planning to slack on them anytime soon. I enjoy making them too much and my boyfriend enjoys how quiet I am when I'm working on them. Hahaha!

Please, give us your website so folks can visit to see more of your art.

You can visit my Etsy shop to see what's for sale, check my sold orders for an idea of what I've made already or if you have a special custom order you want, send me a convo message and I'll be more than happy to bring your idea to life – ami style!

http://www.etsy.com/shop/chubbyninjacrafts

Or if you just want to see all the previous ami's I've made (on and out of the shop) check out my Facebook page. Sometimes the ami's have some funny stuff to say.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Chubby-Ninja-Crafts-Amigurumi/143419379064978

Sam

Thanks, Angie, for visiting Nights of Passion.

Thank you for liking your ami's so much! I really do appreciate you giving me the opportunity to show everyone my new passion. It may sound cheesy but I'm really enjoying all the smiles I spreading with my yarn and crochet hook. I also want to thank you for recognizing "amigurumi" as an "art". Far too often needlework gets passed up as just a hobby. It may not be a fancy oil painting but it is an idea, a thought that you're able to bring to life to share with people.

For those of you that might like to get a doll, here are Angie's websites again.  If you don't see the True Blood dolls, look under sold to see all her characters, then put in a custom order.  I asked my daughter to get Eric for me.  Eric is on the way!  Yay!

Etsy

http://www.etsy.com/shop/chubbyninjacrafts?ref=pr_shop_more

Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chubby-Ninja-Crafts-Amigurumi/143419379064978?sk=wall

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

P.S. Even romance authors like to play. LOL

Filed under: Crochet Artist Angie Battisti, romance, romance novels, Susan Hanniford Crowley, True Blood, vampire books, vampire television, vampires, Writer's Life

The Writing Train

There's a freight train that I'll sometime come across on the way to work, if I'm unlucky. Usually delays me by about twenty minutes but I'd swear the train was never ending if you asked me in the moment.

As I go through my editor's pre-edit checklist, that's kind of what I feel like when it comes to working on my two latest works. I'll call it the writing train.

Now don't get me wrong, the checklist is completely valid and I'm learning just how wordy I am. With useless words too! It's painful but necessary to admit if I am going to move any further in bettering my craft.  Still, I can't help but wonder if the end is in sight. Not to mention, I'm horrified and thinking what my books would be like without this grueling work. "Poor readers" is all I can say. Either way, I'm sure my critique partner is having a ball considering she told me I was too wordy from the very beginning. And to think, I've improved.

I don't know whether to chalk this up to good 'ol hindsight or to question why most of us must learn things the hard way. I mean think about it. How many manuscripts or versions of one manuscript did you need to write before you developed some sort of presentable work? If you're like the majority of writers, I'm willing to bet quite a few. Question is whether we'd change this process.

The train I see every now and then has a purpose so while it's annoying to my morning commute, I can't and won't change its scheduling or path. And of course, it's a bit fascinating to watch as it goes on and on and on. Same thing with my writing. I love comparing the before and after, seeing how I've grown and what I can do better.

We are not always hopeless creatures of habit. There is a purpose to our writing and the process of our craft. It may just take a bit of stepping back and watching the process to understand this.

Filed under: Toni Kelly, Writer's Life, Writing Topics

Patriotic Paranormal-Scope & Surprise

Happy Fourth of July, USA!

From the Nights of Passion family to yours!

Our appreciation goes out to our men and women in the

Armed Services!

Surprise:  A new item has appeared on the horizontal menu above.  It's our Skyrockets in Flight Giveaway.  To enter, go to that page and follow the directions there.

I have inherited the Paranormal-Scope from Mason.  This week we're celebrating the signing of the Declaration of  Independence on July 4, 1776.

I'm not qualified in any way to read neither stars nor planets. But I am linked into the paranormal in the world.

The week ahead for:

Aries

The ghosts of patriots are with you.  You have choices to make.  Trust your gut.  You know what to do.

Taurus

Okay, so some guy on horseback yelled, "The British are coming!"  That may not be true.  Be true to your own path.

Gemini

The supernatural community is as diverse as the USA.  Each has their talents and so do you.

Cancer

Watch your back, a vampire approaches.  That doesn't mean he wants you.  Fly that flag high.  Soon others will look to you.

Leo

Run with the werewolves to get a better understanding of their view.  Their party is awesome.  The fireworks will be great.

Virgo

The winds of change are blowing.  Don't struggle against the new things coming your way.

Libra

Observe the field of battle and the right strategy will reveal itself.

Scorpio

Mermaids love the way fireworks sparkle on the water.  It's time for you to sit  back and enjoy the view.

Sagittarius

The vampires are having a ball and they've invited you.  Go and have a great time.  I hear some of them even knew George Washington.

Capricorn

Shapeshifters love to play.   You don't have to shift to have a great time.

Aquarius

Like the unseen sea monster Champie enjoy listening to others but being just under the surface.  This is a time to learn and absorb.

Pisces

Like the Continental Congress, wait until you have all the pieces to make a decision.

Have a Happy and Safe Fourth of July.  As the werewolves say, "Have a Howling Good Time."

Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

Filed under: contest, paranormal, romance, Susan Hanniford Crowley, vampires, Weekly Paranormal-Scope, Writer's Life

Getting Racy in the Library

We were reading smut out loud in the library and no one shushed us!

It was rather interesting to read erotica in a library, but Lucy Felthouse and I were eager to have the opportunity offered. We were grateful to the fabulous Adele of Unbound for organising the event. Unfortunately the library didn't really advertise it (second thoughts?), so our audience was small but incredibly supportive and enthusiastic. I read from the forthcoming sequel to Chastity Flame which is tentatively titled Lush Situation and then a bit from Love Me Like a Reptile my retelling of the frog prince story (which provoked an interesting discussion indeed . Lucy read from her entry in Uniform Behaviour

4th of July Patriotic Pie

I love the 4th of July!  It is very close to my birthday, was my father's birthday and we always celebrated together with a huge picnic filled with family and friends.  Growing up I always thought the fireworks were set off to celebrate my birthday.  With the holiday rapidly approaching, I thought it would be a fun idea to share this little recipe in my post.  Hope you enjoy.

Patriotic Pie

1             9" chocolate graham cracker pie crust (in a container with a cover)

1             Container (Quart) of Vanilla Ice Cream (any brand)

1             Squeeze bottle of Hershey's chocolate syrup

1             Pint of fresh strawberries washed and sliced

1             Pint of fresh blueberries washed

1             Tablespoon of sugar

Whipped Cream (optional)

Leave the ice cream out at room temperature only until it is soft enough to spoon into the pie crust.  Bring the ice cream even with the top of the crust and spread it making a

smooth top surface. This may not require use of the entire container.  Drizzle the chocolate syrup over the top of the ice cream in a criss-cross pattern. Then cover using

the top of the pie container, and put back in the freezer. Over night is best, but you can serve after a few hours.

While the ice cream pie is freezing, place the sliced strawberries and blueberries into a container.  Sprinkle with the sugar and gently mix. Cover and place the container in the refrigerator. Over night for best results.

When you are ready to serve the pie, place a slice on the individual dish and spoon the strawberry/blueberry mix over the top.  You may top with whipped cream (optional).  This provides a cool and refreshing – red, white and blue dessert, perfect for the 4th of July.  Hope you enjoy this recipe and have a happy and safe holiday.

If any of you have any great recipies, I would love to see them.

Gerri Brousseau

Filed under: Gerri Brousseau, Patriotic Pie, Patriotic Pie, Recipes

Happy Canada Day! Why I Love Canada!

I'm grateful to Canada for lots of reasons.  

For two of my grandparents.  Patrick emigrated from Ireland to Canada.  Margaret emigrated from Liverpool to Canada.  They met in Detroit.  Go figure.

For its scenic vistas that have inspired my writing during the few family vacations, where we went north instead of south.

For the times they have stood by the side of the United States of America as a trusted friend and ally.



For Mason, my critique partner, the evil mastermind and amazing urban fantasy/paranormal romance author, a.c. Mason.

Why do you love Canada?

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

http://www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Where love burns eternal & whispers in the dark.

Filed under: a.c. Mason, paranormal romance, romance, Susan Hanniford Crowley, urban fantasy, What inspires you?, Writer's Life, Writing Topics

A Rebuilding Season for A Writer

What does that mean?  A rebuilding season for a writer.

Everyone at some point in life or several points may go through this.  You have a year with illness, deaths in the family, being a care provider, loss of job or home or moving, divorce, retirement.  These are all high stress events in anyone's life.  They signal a drastic change.

What do you do when one or more of these events hit in a single year?  As a writer, how do you survive?

Remember this one thing:  You're still alive.  You have that going for you!

When in pain, whether it's physical or emotional, go portable and if necessary go low tech.  Get a notebook and write.  Imagine that you're Robinson Crusoe on a deserted island and you're going to write the most entertaining book to entertain yourself and leave pain or sadness behind.

I won't get into the nitty-gritty but for me this is a rebuilding season.  Much like a team that has suffered injuries and other setbacks and losses, I'm honing my craft and building a stockpile of  my work, getting all the bits and pieces together.  Resting, recovering, restoring and improving.  That's what rebuilding is all about.  Life will always throw challenges in our path.  I look at them as the building blocks for the next book.

So if you too are having a rebuilding season, I'm rooting for you!

–Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

http://www.susanhannifordcrowley.com

Filed under: Helping Other Writers, romance, Susan Hanniford Crowley, Writer's Life, Writing Topics

How Does a Story Develop?

How do you all come up with the ideas for your novellas or novels? Or even your blogs and articles? I can't help but wonder how the writer's mind works. Don't get me wrong. I definitely don't believe there is one certain way that a writer thinks and quite frankly, that's the beauty of it all, each mind works so differently and yet so many brilliant plots and stories pop up all around us.

In my experience and obviously my mind, stories play themselves out in little motion pictures. It's like a rolling film in there with pause, rewind and fast forward buttons. I'll play the scenes out in my head to see if I can picture them before I decide to put them on the page. This works great for me but I've come to realize that my mind can picture a plethora of things, all of which are not necessarily the best moves in my plots.

So how do we work with these natural tendencies of ours to develop better stories? That is where studying the craft comes into play. With more experience and through the reading of writing books by Donald Maas, Stephen King, Ann Hood, etc., I've learned to challenge the pictures I form in my mind. Instead of steering blindly, I ask questions. For example: would this scene have the greatest impact? Is this something characteristic of my characters? Am I pushing the envelope enough to create the largest amount of tension?

Sound strange to you? Well, maybe you create stories a different way.  For me, it's kind of like controlling my dreams (something else I do quite often). It's as if I enter them and decide what would be the most interesting thing to do next.

What about you all? What do you do to create your stories? Music, other movies, novels? Do you create worlds with words before you even start your novel? Or perhaps you draw pictures or record your voice. The most important takeaway is to do what works for you and what gets your creative juices flowing to their fullest capacity. Good luck and Happy Writing!

Filed under: Toni Kelly, Writer's Life, Writing Topics

In a Funk

Do you ever have one of those days, weeks, months? I have been in a weird funk lately. I have ideas, but I cannot get them to cooperate. I am learning patience with the whole process of adoption. It is frustrating to want something and have to wait so long for it. My head is spinning with thoughts and ideas for ways to earn a sustainable income from home. I have signed on to be a Longaberger consultant in the hopes I might be able to earn a few bucks to offset small costs throughout the process of adoption. The education system has put this author through a whirlwind and continues to frustrate me since I went from having a full-time job to a part-time job, and now I am just feeling fortunate and grateful that I have some online classes and 1 class to teach in the fall. So many of my friends have been cut back and K-12 is just scary. Without a schedule I get a bit scatterbrained and feel like I should be doing something towards securing a job or preparing the house.

So what do you do when you get unfocused and life starts throwing lots of decisions big and small your way? How do you get yourself grounded and on track again?

For this blog, I have established that I will be conducting interviews and I sent out invitations to the loops I knew. I have July almost planned. I'll post the schedule as soon as I get it all put together.

 

Filed under: romance

Weekly Paranormal-Scope

I have inherited the Paranormal-Scope from Mason. I'm not qualified in any way to read neither stars nor planets. But I am linked into the paranormal in the world.

The week ahead for:

Aries

Supernatural forces are on your side.  Enjoy the ride.

Taurus

Go with the flow.  Mermaids will help.  Floating is good.

Gemini

A ghoul is putting obstacles in your way.  Lay low for a while.

Cancer

Now is the perfect time to search for the meaning of life.  Drink from the fountain and grow wise.

Leo

Dance in the fairy circle.  Your light shines.

Virgo

Werewolves seek the guidance of the pack and so should you.

Libra

Pirate treasure comes in many ways.

Scorpio

Shapeshifters come in various forms.  Give new friends their time to reveal themselves.

Sagittarius

Generosity and kindness opens your heart to new worlds.  Time travelers have nothing on you.

Capricorn

Grab the horns of the Minotaur, and conquer your future.

Aquarius

Vampires have invited you to their dance.  This is an honor.

Pisces

A new adventure awaits you. Boldly go.

Susan

Susan Hanniford Crowley

Filed under: romance, Susan Hanniford Crowley, Weekly Paranormal-Scope