L.A. Witt's Blog, page 21

REVIEW: Out of Focus

Out of Focus, which will be out on August 2 from Samhain Publishing, has been given 4.75 out of 5 stars by Jessewave Reviews:

L.A. Witt has fast become one of my favourite authors and I have reviewed most of her books. I like her writing style, the fact that she takes risks, and while some work better than others, her characters are always vibrant and three dimensional and her prose and dialogue are better than most.

The entire review is here.

Cover Art: Disengaged

Just got some new cover art by the lovely Amanda Kelsey:

Why are the good ones always taken?

The last thing Amber wants to think about is engagement rings or anything related to engagement rings, but they're kind of hard to avoid when she makes her living in a jewelry store. Between her job and her last relationship, she's getting more than a little bit jaded about love and commitment. In fact, she's ready to change everything in her life, and right now, a man is the last thing she wants.

When gorgeous bartender Jeremy wanders into her store, she's willing to reconsider what she wants right now, but he's off the menu: he's here for an engagement ring.

But as Jeremy comes back again and again to look at the ring, Amber suspects it's not just the price that keeps him from taking it home. She'd never dream of sabotaging someone's relationship, but is Jeremy about to make a huge mistake?

Disengaged will be available from Champagne Books in September.

Guest Blogger - What Makes a Hero? by Misa Buckley

The male character of IRONHAVEN is not a hero. He's a spoilt brat, used to getting whatever he wants and an utter coward when it comes to standing up to his over-bearing parents. He let the one person to accept him for who he is slip through his fingers and he broke her heart. So why should you, the reader, care that he gets left behind to freeze on a dying Earth?

Lucian is human and he makes mistakes. He's lived in a bubble, but when that bubble is burst, quickly comes to see the unfairness of the world he's been abandoned to. And he decides to do something about it.

IRONHAVEN is a story about redemption. Lucian doesn't just have to reconcile his actions to his fellow man – he also has to fight to regain the trust of his ex-fiancée. When he realises that words aren't going to cut it, he uses actions. Through those actions, he becomes a hero, but that's not why he does what he does.

He does those things because he loves Gen. He does them because he realises she is the best thing that ever happened to him. He has a second chance and he makes the most of it.

Does being a hero mean starting out trying to do the right thing? Or is it recognising your mistakes, holding your hands up and then doing everything you can to correct them?

About IRONHAVEN:

The Earth is dying, and Lucian Hoyt is going to die with it thanks to his parents cancelling his pass aboard the last shuttle off the planet. There is hope, though – a brilliant inventor has come up with a plan to build a ship to evacuate those who've been left behind.

That inventor turns out to be Genevieve Scott, Lucian's bitter ex-fiancée. If they're going to work together to get off this planet, they need to put their past aside, but even melting the ice between them can't erase all the scars.

IRONHAVEN is available from Decadent Publishing {link when I get it!}

About Misa:

Misa Buckley is a sci fi geek who escapes the crazy of raising five children by creating imaginary worlds. She loves character-driven stories that have romance, adventure and really hot sex.

When she's not writing, you'll find her watching Stargate SG1 and lusting over Ba'al. She has a thing for bad boys in black leather.

Website: misabuckley.com

Twitter: MisaBuckley

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/misa.buckley

The Dumb American's Guide to Living on Okinawa Part 4: Getting Lost

A lot of Americans stationed on Okinawa are afraid to explore off-base for numerous reasons. Language barrier. Strange food. Being attacked by winged Habu and teleporting cone snails. But by far the most common complaint is the fear of getting lost.

Folks. The island is less than 70 miles long. It's 18 miles across at its very widest point.

I cannot emphasize this enough:

It is impossible to get lost on Okinawa.

Now, can you wind up somewhere and have no clue where you are? Of course. But if you drive long enough, you'll either get to a highway or water. You might have to drive in circles a bit, you might not know where you are, but with a little patience, you'll find your way back to something familiar. Trust me: you can't get lost here.

That said, Okinawa is a great place to get Lost. That's Lost with the capital L. The good kind of Lost that I think more people should try, because the more Lost you get here, the more cool shit you find.

So.

Here's how to get Lost on Okinawa.

You'll need:
A car with a full tank of gas. Gas is significantly more expensive off-base. Fill up before you go out.
Yen. Because Visa is everywhere you want to be...unless you want to be on Okinawa. I recommend a minimum of Y5000 (About $50-70, depending on the ever-fluctuating exchange rate at the time). That's typically enough for admission fees, tolls, the odd souvenir, lunch, and munchies at Family Mart for two people. If you want to do some shopping and maybe get some dinner, then Y10000 to Y15000 is your best bet. Whatever you do...bring yen.One coin. Can be U.S. or Japanese. Doesn't matter.A camera. Never leave base without a camera. You will regret it when you see something cool.A map. Preferably one that's in English and non-laminated.A Japanese-English phrase book. Self-explanatory. Got everything you need? Okay. Let's get Lost.

Step 1:

Got your coin handy? Excellent. Now flip it. FLIP IT GOOD.

Tails: North. Heads: South.

Now flip it again.

Tails: Hwy 58. Heads: Hwy 329.

This is your jumping off point. Based on the results of le toss du coin (I clearly don't speak French), you know which direction you're headed and on which highway.

Step 2:

Get out your map. This is your invaluable guide to making sure you can navigate Okinawa like a freaking pro. With this in your hot little hands, you will know exactly where you're going, how to get there, how to get back, and what else is around your destination or along the way.

Got your map in your hot little hands?

Good.

Now rip it to little tiny pieces. Tear that sucker up. We're making map confetti here, so don't hold back.

What? What? Why the hell am I having you rip up your map?

Because where we're going, we don't need no stinking map.

Step 3:

Grab your yen and your camera, get in your fully-fueled car, and get thee to the road that the Flipping Coin of Fate(tm) selected for you in step 1. Point thy car in the direction dictated by said coin. Accelerate mightily and begin your adventure.

Step 4:

Realize you left your Japanese-English phrase book on the kitchen table beside the pile of map confetti.

Step 5:

Keep driving anyway.

Step 6:

Find a side street and turn. Doesn't matter which direction. Can be out in the country or in the city or in one of the many villages. Paved, unpaved. One-lane, two-lane. Maybe even one of the alleys that is so narrow you have to fold in your side mirrors (there's a reason most Japanese cars have a button that folds/unfolds your mirrors). Word to the wise: Take it easy on these side roads. They are generally pretty narrow, and they're usually two-way. If another car comes around the bend (and there are many bends), it kinda helps if you're not going 60 km/h.

Congratulations...you are now LOST.

This is where the fun begins.

Drive. Just drive. If something looks interesting, stop and check it out.

Because you might find a place like this:
Or this...
Or a hiking trail through a place like this...
Maybe even a little establishment like this...
(FYI: That's a glass bottom boat)

Maybe a place to sink your toes into the sand...
Or the ruins of a castle...
Sometimes it's the little things...
Every single one of those pictures was taken in a place my husband and I stumbled across. Either we'd made a wrong turn while looking for something, or we'd just gone out driving all willy-nilly, but we didn't know those places even existed until we found them.

And when you do stumble across something? Take pictures, because while it's impossible to get truly lost on Okinawa, it can also be really, really hard to find things like this again. So take a photo before you leave, because it may be the last time you find it!

There you have it, folks. You can't really get lost, you have nothing to lose, so...

Go out and get Lost.

Sefa-utaki Sacred Site and the Shikinaen Gardens

With our time on Okinawa winding down at an alarming rate, we're trying to get out and do some more exploring as often as possible. Today, we were all over the place on the southern half of the island, checking out some sacred sites and a garden.

First up was the Sefa-utaki Sacred Site. I...don't know a whole lot about it, since most of the signs were in Japanese, but I understand this was where a lot of the Ryukyu women came to pray, seek guidance, etc., during the 14th century (or thereabouts).

And I'm not even sure I want to know why they felt compelled to point out that we're not allowed to dig up the trees.
Anyway, we headed down the path...
That would be my husband on the right taking a picture. What was he taking a picture of?

A spider, naturally.
What can I say? It's that time of year on Okinawa.

And it's a jungle out there:
We arrived at the first sacred site, which I'm assuming is a shrine people would come to pray. I'm not being irreverent at all, I just don't completely know the history of this place.
A really cool-looking tree:
Annnnnnd another spider.
I think this may be one of the biggest I've seen. Its rear end is the size of my thumb. Like...my whole thumb. It's not the biggest, though...I'll get to that a little later.

Moving right along...if you aren't sure why I felt the need to take this picture, just look at it for a minute. It'll come to you:
Then we found a little swampy area, and behold! Salamanders!
Between the water and the lighting, getting a pic was challenging. These won't be gracing National Geographic any time soon, but at least they're proof that I did, indeed, see salamanders.
The second sacred site:
And the third sacred site.
Apparently the pots caught water dripping from stalactites, which was considered holy water.
Menacing spider is menacing.
With the sacred site thoroughly explored and the spiders photographed ad nauseum, it was time to move on. We piled into the car just in time to get out of the rain, and pootled up north to the Shikinaen Royal Gardens near Shuri Castle.

The roof of the visitor center:
I'm fascinated with that style, what can I say?

There are worse ways to spend an afternoon than strolling through a place like this.
Have I mentioned how much I don't want to leave Okinawa?
I mean...seriously.
This place is just too freaking awesome.
Omaha, I'm sure you're a kickass town, but I'm not terribly optimistic about finding anything like this:
Bridge in the garden:
The garden, viewed from inside the palace (which is the building in the picture above):
Lots and lots and LOTS of bugs.
A bright pink dragonfly:
Another crappy picture of a salamander, this time in the water below a shrine:
A snail, with Elisa's hand to show scale:
Note this is not a cone snail. They won't kill you.

THEY won't, but these will:
The uber poisonous centipede, which probably has some sort of spectacularly menacing name, but hell if I know what it is:
Speaking of menacing...
Remember how I mentioned earlier that the big black spider wasn't the largest spider I'd seen here? That's because I'm fairly certain THIS is the biggest spider I've ever seen on Okinawa:
For scale, she's eating the hell out of a very large cicada.

This one wasn't much smaller:
"Om nom nom nom nom nom..."

OMG GECKO!
(It's the first one I've seen this year. Yes, I got a little excited. Okay...a lot excited.)

Everyone stop and pet the kitty!
Up on top of the hill, looking out at the city. Honestly, sometimes I forget just how big this island really is until I see it like this.
And then I get photo-bombed by a dragonfly.
FIN.

Nakijin Castle

Today, we ventured up to Nago to visit some castle ruins we hadn't yet seen. Turns out Nakijin Castle is crazy awesome, and I am now itching to go up there with a notebook and write. Because it's just that badass.

The archway leading into the ruins.
The original 14th century stairs.
The not-so-original 20th century stairs, built in the 1960s so people wouldn't fall on their asses quite so much.
So. Many. Stairs.
Ooh! Shiny! Shiny CREATURES!
Gotta love June bugs.

Anyone else see a smiley face in this picture? Because I totally do.
An authentic 14th century cinder block.
The one criticism I have of this particular set of ruins would be the amount of cool, interesting, and distracting things. For those of us with ADD, it doesn't take much to--kitty!!
Um. What was I talking about? Anyway.

Turns out it was a good day to visit Nakijin, because today was the day an army of palm trees decided to invade.
"The castle is ours!"
"Surrender, Nakijin!"
"WE SHALL BE VICTORIOUS!"
Oh, look, a flower...
More flowers.
Ooh, pretty...
Overlooking the East China Sea
This place rocks.
Foundation of a building that once sat on the uppermost enclosure.
The lower enclosure as viewed from the upper enclosure.
The upper enclosure as viewed from the lower enclosure.
I'm guessing this sign loosely translates to "lean as far over the edge as you can, and I will give you a high-five!"
Lead me not into temptation...
Eddie...no. No, that's not a good idea. Oh, God, this won't end well...
...it didn't end well.
*sigh* See, Eddie? This is why we can't have nice things.
Anyway, moving right along.
This is a sign explaining the stages of the excavation and also showing examples of artifacts that have been unearthed along the way.
And looking a little closer...OMG. THE HOLY GRAIL!
It's been in Nakijin Castle all along, not Katsuren! No wonder Eddie's previous attempt to obtain it failed.

The boys knew what had to be done, and they bravely stormed the castle.
But then they realized the hill was really steep.
And those palm trees that invaded earlier? They started throwing rocks at the boys, so Eddie and Jeremy did what anyone would do.

They ran like hell.
Someday, we'll get that grail. Someday...

My spidey senses told me this would be a good day.

So we decided to take a friend to Nakagusuku Castle yesterday. I've been there probably half a dozen times, but I'd been meaning to go again anyway to refresh my memory, since there's a scene in Conduct Unbecoming that takes place at the castle. We packed up the cameras, braved the heat, and wandered into the castle.
That's about the point when the first bit of ADD struck. Eddie realized he'd picked up a little passenger on his camera lens.
Moving right along, we marveled at the view from the castle walls, checked out the archways, and-- OOH! DISTRACTION!

Now would be a good time for the extreme arachnophobes to click away.

Why?

Because this is what we saw next:
Admittedly, they really don't seem like much.
I mean, they're just spiders, right?
A creepy, spindly spider...
And not just one, either. They were freaking everywhere.
Wait. Did I say they were little?
Sorry. I misled you.
They weren't:
I know, right? They're freaking huge.
Now, when a girl happens along some gigantic freaking spiders...
...what ever is she to do?
Clearly, there's only one thing she can do.
Break out the macro lens and get all up in its face.
At which point she might inadvertently photograph a, shall we say, intimate moment between the female spider and her tiny, barely visible male partner.
Next up: Pics from Nakijin Castle.

Cover Art: The Closer You Get

Just got some lovely cover art for The Closer You Get, which will be available from Samhain in November:
Blurb:

Self-described manwhore Kieran Frost is loving the single life. Two years after moving to Seattle, he still has his friends with benefits, Rhett and Ethan, plus a never-ending supply of gorgeous, available men wandering through the bar where he works. A relationship? Spare him the drama and heartbreak. He's got no complaints about his unattached lifestyle.

When Rhett's daughter introduces him to newly-out-of-the-closet Alex Corbin, Kieran's interest perks up. After all, the quiet ones are always the freaks in bed. But Alex isn't just shy and reserved. He's a virgin in every sense of the word, having never even kissed anyone else.

Kieran is no one's teacher, and his first instinct is to run like hell in the other direction. But his conscience won't let him throw the naïve kid to the wolves for someone else to take advantage of. The plan is to introduce Alex to his own sexuality, pull him out of his shell, then go their separate ways.

It's the perfect, foolproof plan…assuming no one falls in love.

Warning: This sequel to The Distance Between Us contains a curious virgin, a shameless slut, a trip to a sex shop, and one stubborn heart. Oh, and a dildo.

REVIEW: Damaged Goods

Damaged Goods received 5 out of 5 hearts at The Romance Studio, and is now up for 5-heart Sweetheart of the Week! If you enjoyed Damaged Goods, please vote here!

From Clare's review:

"Once again, Gallagher has hit it out of the park. [...] [She] takes the reader on an emotional journey and also fills the pages with hot erotica that leaves you breathless and panting for more."

The entire review is here.

An open letter to software developers: Take your new experience and shove it.

Dear software developers, web designers, and everyone else involved in designing the interfaces of websites, computer programs, and the like:

Is your desk organized a certain way? Do you keep your coffee cup on a coaster beside your blotter, safely away from your keyboard? Is there a fancy shmancy art deco thingy holding all of your pens? Are the icons on your computer organized on the desktop so you can go in and instantly find any program or document you wish to use?

Now imagine you've gone home from work for the day, and I come along and rearrange all your icons. In fact, I'm going to change a few, just for good measure. Then I'm going to put all your pens in a drawer and move your coffee cup so it's between your mousepad and keyboard. You know, so you can find it.

Twitching yet?

Yeah, I'll bet.

I realize you all want your programs and websites to be sleek, user-friendly, cutting edge, and all of that. And from time to time, that means realizing there is a design flaw that needs to be corrected. When things are counter-intuitive, confusing, and aesthetically migraine-inducing, changes need to be made. As a user, I understand and appreciate this.

However.

Every once in a while, y'all will get a bug up your butt and decide for no apparent reason to go with a FRESH NEW LOOK. Sometimes it'll just be a new color scheme, sometimes it'll be a complete overhaul of everything, right down to new ways of phrasing/labeling commands, buttons, and menu options.

Stop it. Just...stop it.

Fix what is broken, make things more functional, but knock off the FRESH NEW LOOK bullcrap unless there's a reason why the old look needs to go. Facebook, I'm looking at you. Twitter, same deal. Microsoft...just...God, you don't even know.

Gmail, you're on the list now with your "Preview Gmail's New Look" thing that keeps making me break out in an OCD-induced sweat because the layout to which I've grown accustomed is about to change. You were already on my shit-list because of those subtle little changes you keep making to the menu options and commands above my inbox.

Here's the thing: If I want a fresh, new experience, I'll leave my computer and go try that new restaurant that just opened downtown. When I log into my e-mail, or open a program to browse the internet or work on a book or crop a damned photo, I don't want change. I don't want fresh. I want the buttons to be in the same spot with the same words on them so I don't have to lose my concentration because I suddenly can't figure out how to do something that has long since become intuitive. If the button in question or the menu option were problematic somehow -- maybe they were difficult to find, or the button for "print" said "gobbleshmerzen" -- fine. Change it. I'll adapt.

But if it used to say "Print" and is now a printer icon...look, I know that seems like a simple thing, and it is, but it's aggravating to go looking for the familiar "Print" button and not realize the appearance of the button has actually changed. Little things like that are annoying. A bunch of little things like that introduced over a short period of time are like Chinese water torture. A massive overhaul where everything has changed its shape, color, location, verbiage, and font? That's just mean.

If it ain't broke, stop fixing it. Stop fixing it, re-fixing it, and re-fixing it once more for good measure, because all it does is make me say bad words. You think FRESH NEW EXPERIENCE. My FRESH NEW EXPERIENCE is "wait...what the fuck...where did...how the hell am I--oh, there it is. Why the fuck is it over there? OMFG. Okay, now where is the-- are you fucking kidding me???"

Bottom line: Unless there's a bona fide functional reason for it, stop moving shit around on my desk.

Thank you,
Lori W.
User of software, websites, and other such things