Jamie DeBree's Blog, page 23
June 19, 2013
Talkin' Books: Vampires, Wicked Women & a Book Giveaway...
Books Finished:
Inked by an Angel by Shauna Allen
Conceal by Juliana Stone
Awilda by Edward Medina
Books In Progress:
Beta read (historical vampire romance)
A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare
Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes Yardley
Comics Read:
Morbius: The Living Vampire #2 - #5
Apparently, it's Vampire Week here at VP - I'm beta reading a historical romance with vampires (by Brooklyn Ann...check out Bite Me, Your Grace for some serious historical vampire yumminess - I'm a lucky beta reader, and that's a fact!), I caught up on the Morbius
comics, and my buddy Edward Medina's new short story features a
rather...different sort of vampire hunter. Someone pass the blood bags,
please?
Incidentally, I happen to have one copy of Awilda ,
the aforementioned short story to pass along to a lucky winner this
week (in pdf format - you can read that on pretty much anything
nowadays). All you have to do is tell me what your perfect vampire hunting wardrobe would include.
And you don't even have to tell me here - you can comment here, or on
the Facebook, Twitter, or Google + posts that mention this blog! Anyone
who answers the question gets one chance in the hat, so to speak, and
I'll draw a name/announce the winner/send out the PDF on Friday night.
Easy peasy, right? You'll enjoy this story - I guarantee it. Ed is a
fabulous writer and Awilda a fascinating character - she's exactly what
she seems, and yet not at all what you'd expect...
I liked Inked by an Angel well enough to
be curious about the other books in the series, but honestly, I kind of
felt like the whole paranormal subplot was just sort of "filler". It
made a totally believable relationship feel a bit forced in spots,
because it was. The main characters were great though, and I loved the
pairing...definitely worth a read, especially if you're of the sort that
likes paranormals featuring angels.
Conceal is the third book of The Barker
Triplets trilogy, and conveniently came out last Friday. I read it
Friday night, and loved it. I really wasn't convinced it would live up
to my expectations due to the rather smallish roles Betty had in the
other two books, but it was worth every penny. I'd highly recommend this
trilogy - excellent stories, excellent writing, intense relationships.
Fabulous all the way around.
I love Morbius even more after four more
issues (and there's a new one out today - yay!). I still really don't
like the first five covers, but a peek at issue six tells me there's
hope - that cover looks more in line with what's inside the comics. The
writing is just top-notch in this comic...I love the dry, sarcastic
humor that just matches so well with his dark, conflicted persona. The
internal struggle is very evident, but not overly dramatic like so many
conflicted heroes. He's not exactly a hero though - nor is he a villain.
Which seems to be what I'm drawn to in comics at the moment,
considering my Superior Spiderman interest. Incidentally (and
interestingly), it looks like SS and Morbius will be sharing the next
issue. I'm looking forward to that, for sure...
I just started A Week to be Wicked (historical
romance) yesterday (it's all of $0.89 cents on Amazon right now...can't
beat that), so I'm not too far into it, but so far it's off to a good
start with a scandalous midnight encounter and ensuing conflicts the
next day. I'd expect no less from Tessa Dare - I don't think I've read a
book of hers that I didn't like.
Most of the rest of my week will be taken up by that beta reading,
which I'm excited about, and new comics, which I'm also excited about.
Seriously, is there anything more awesome than having too many good
stories to read?
In any case, talk to me about vampire hunting clothes, and get a chance to win a great short story. Ready, set, go!
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
Inked by an Angel by Shauna Allen
Conceal by Juliana Stone
Awilda by Edward Medina
Books In Progress:
Beta read (historical vampire romance)
A Week to be Wicked by Tessa Dare
Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes Yardley
Comics Read:
Morbius: The Living Vampire #2 - #5
Apparently, it's Vampire Week here at VP - I'm beta reading a historical romance with vampires (by Brooklyn Ann...check out Bite Me, Your Grace for some serious historical vampire yumminess - I'm a lucky beta reader, and that's a fact!), I caught up on the Morbius
comics, and my buddy Edward Medina's new short story features a
rather...different sort of vampire hunter. Someone pass the blood bags,
please?
Incidentally, I happen to have one copy of Awilda ,
the aforementioned short story to pass along to a lucky winner this
week (in pdf format - you can read that on pretty much anything
nowadays). All you have to do is tell me what your perfect vampire hunting wardrobe would include.
And you don't even have to tell me here - you can comment here, or on
the Facebook, Twitter, or Google + posts that mention this blog! Anyone
who answers the question gets one chance in the hat, so to speak, and
I'll draw a name/announce the winner/send out the PDF on Friday night.
Easy peasy, right? You'll enjoy this story - I guarantee it. Ed is a
fabulous writer and Awilda a fascinating character - she's exactly what
she seems, and yet not at all what you'd expect...
I liked Inked by an Angel well enough to
be curious about the other books in the series, but honestly, I kind of
felt like the whole paranormal subplot was just sort of "filler". It
made a totally believable relationship feel a bit forced in spots,
because it was. The main characters were great though, and I loved the
pairing...definitely worth a read, especially if you're of the sort that
likes paranormals featuring angels.
Conceal is the third book of The Barker
Triplets trilogy, and conveniently came out last Friday. I read it
Friday night, and loved it. I really wasn't convinced it would live up
to my expectations due to the rather smallish roles Betty had in the
other two books, but it was worth every penny. I'd highly recommend this
trilogy - excellent stories, excellent writing, intense relationships.
Fabulous all the way around.
I love Morbius even more after four more
issues (and there's a new one out today - yay!). I still really don't
like the first five covers, but a peek at issue six tells me there's
hope - that cover looks more in line with what's inside the comics. The
writing is just top-notch in this comic...I love the dry, sarcastic
humor that just matches so well with his dark, conflicted persona. The
internal struggle is very evident, but not overly dramatic like so many
conflicted heroes. He's not exactly a hero though - nor is he a villain.
Which seems to be what I'm drawn to in comics at the moment,
considering my Superior Spiderman interest. Incidentally (and
interestingly), it looks like SS and Morbius will be sharing the next
issue. I'm looking forward to that, for sure...
I just started A Week to be Wicked (historical
romance) yesterday (it's all of $0.89 cents on Amazon right now...can't
beat that), so I'm not too far into it, but so far it's off to a good
start with a scandalous midnight encounter and ensuing conflicts the
next day. I'd expect no less from Tessa Dare - I don't think I've read a
book of hers that I didn't like.
Most of the rest of my week will be taken up by that beta reading,
which I'm excited about, and new comics, which I'm also excited about.
Seriously, is there anything more awesome than having too many good
stories to read?
In any case, talk to me about vampire hunting clothes, and get a chance to win a great short story. Ready, set, go!
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
Romantic Suspense
| Erotic Romance | Contemporary Romance |
Horror | Flash Fiction | Non-Fiction
**Please
note - If this is your first time posting, your comment
will be moderated. Once you have been approved, future comments will post automatically.
June 17, 2013
On Steel Men, Yarn Projects & Keeping the Brain Loose...
Top o' the Week to ya! I distinctly remember starting last week
with a "weekend hangover", and this week will be no different. Writing
this on Sunday, we have plans to head out to the drive-in theater later
tonight for the new Superman movie, Man of Steel. And no, this
has nothing to do with my newfound love of comic books (honestly, I
haven't really gotten into the Superman comics, though I did buy the
first issue of the new Superman Unchained series this week). It has
everything to do with my love of the first movies, and wanting to see
how they changed and updated the story to make it more relevant for
today's viewers. Well, and Henry Cavill is *hot*...and I love the new
colors & design for the costume...
I remember being a little girl and watching the Christopher Reeves
Superman movies with my dad, and falling totally in love with Clark
Kent/Superman...because really, who wouldn't want a "man of steel" who
is a kind, gentle soul, but also can kick the crap out of anyone,
anywhere, anytime without fear of dying (we'll just ignore that little
kryptonite issue, shall we)? Unlike a lot of people, I actually really
liked Christopher Nolan's Batman, so I'm really looking forward to what
he's done with Superman. And nachos too, of course.
It's always a double feature at the drive-in, and 42 (the
Jackie Robinson story) follows MOS tonight. I don't know that we'll stay
for both - they're both 2 hours (MOS is 20 minutes longer even), and
that would put us home at 3am...a bit late for a work night. We'll see
though. Mondays aren't really worth being awake for anyways, right?
***Update shortly after midnight - really enjoyed Man of Steel. I loved the new dark, angst-y flavor they put on it...far more realistic, IMO. And that's all I'll say to avoid spoilers. We didn't stay for 42 (obviously). Just too late for a work night.***
In other, completely different news, I was bored (ie, avoiding
something I should do in favor of doing nothing) last week, and decided
to watch a video on knitting. Now, most people who work with yarn prefer
either knitting or crochet, even if they know how to do both. And we're
generally kind of outspoken on which one we prefer (crocheters like me
being a bit defensive due to people who do neither always assuming we're
"knitting"). I don't know why, that's just the way it is. Humans are
competitive. It's what we do.
So when I found myself thinking, "hey, that doesn't look so hard," I
also had an instinctive guilt reaction that by even considering
knitting, I was being disloyal to my crochet hobby. Which is stupid, of
course, because hobbies don't care if you're loyal or not, but humans
are weird. The thing is, knitting often works better for supple garments
like clothing and socks. Or so I've heard. But it's also slower, and
I'm impatient with my crochet projects already, so slow projects don't
excite me much.
In any case, I may still teach myself how to knit this year, but
for now, I've decided to stick with hookin'. I downloaded a bunch of
free crocheted t-shirt and sweater patterns this weekend, and I'm going
to start either a sweater or a tank top for myself this week. I think it
will be fun!
The brain is a funny thing...or mine is, anyway. Now that I've sort
of settled into a writing "routine", I've found that if I don't work on
other things during the week, my creativity goes south. I need
stimulation outside of what I do all the time in order to keep my brain
loose and ready for anything. I think that's why I prefer writing in
several genres too - it doesn't let me stagnate too long in one set of
tropes or boundaries - it keeps me constantly on my toes and alert as I
jump around.
It strikes me as very important to pay attention to this sort of
thing, and give the brain the stimulation it needs when it needs it. And
honestly, I'm happy to do so. These last few weeks where I've been
crocheting and paying more attention to plants and housework along with
my writing have been some of the most productive and creative I've had
all year. Sure, projects go slower when I'm spread out across several,
but I think it's the "doing" that matters, not the end result so much.
Loose, limber brains are happy, hardworking brains, or something like
that.
You're welcome for that lovely mental image this fine Monday morning. LOL
What's on the list for this week? Well, let's see...
- 4 serial scenes plus 1 holiday story (at least)
- Start a new crochet project
- Beta read a draft for a friend (really looking forward to it)
- Weed, walk or workout 3 nights this week
- Book giveaway starting Wednesday (so come back!)
I think that's all I'll plan, for a change. Anything else I get
done will be icing on the proverbial cake, and we all like icing, right
(buttercream or cream cheese for me, please!)?
Here's to a great week with warm, summery weather...
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
with a "weekend hangover", and this week will be no different. Writing
this on Sunday, we have plans to head out to the drive-in theater later
tonight for the new Superman movie, Man of Steel. And no, this
has nothing to do with my newfound love of comic books (honestly, I
haven't really gotten into the Superman comics, though I did buy the
first issue of the new Superman Unchained series this week). It has
everything to do with my love of the first movies, and wanting to see
how they changed and updated the story to make it more relevant for
today's viewers. Well, and Henry Cavill is *hot*...and I love the new
colors & design for the costume...
I remember being a little girl and watching the Christopher Reeves
Superman movies with my dad, and falling totally in love with Clark
Kent/Superman...because really, who wouldn't want a "man of steel" who
is a kind, gentle soul, but also can kick the crap out of anyone,
anywhere, anytime without fear of dying (we'll just ignore that little
kryptonite issue, shall we)? Unlike a lot of people, I actually really
liked Christopher Nolan's Batman, so I'm really looking forward to what
he's done with Superman. And nachos too, of course.
It's always a double feature at the drive-in, and 42 (the
Jackie Robinson story) follows MOS tonight. I don't know that we'll stay
for both - they're both 2 hours (MOS is 20 minutes longer even), and
that would put us home at 3am...a bit late for a work night. We'll see
though. Mondays aren't really worth being awake for anyways, right?
***Update shortly after midnight - really enjoyed Man of Steel. I loved the new dark, angst-y flavor they put on it...far more realistic, IMO. And that's all I'll say to avoid spoilers. We didn't stay for 42 (obviously). Just too late for a work night.***
In other, completely different news, I was bored (ie, avoiding
something I should do in favor of doing nothing) last week, and decided
to watch a video on knitting. Now, most people who work with yarn prefer
either knitting or crochet, even if they know how to do both. And we're
generally kind of outspoken on which one we prefer (crocheters like me
being a bit defensive due to people who do neither always assuming we're
"knitting"). I don't know why, that's just the way it is. Humans are
competitive. It's what we do.
So when I found myself thinking, "hey, that doesn't look so hard," I
also had an instinctive guilt reaction that by even considering
knitting, I was being disloyal to my crochet hobby. Which is stupid, of
course, because hobbies don't care if you're loyal or not, but humans
are weird. The thing is, knitting often works better for supple garments
like clothing and socks. Or so I've heard. But it's also slower, and
I'm impatient with my crochet projects already, so slow projects don't
excite me much.
In any case, I may still teach myself how to knit this year, but
for now, I've decided to stick with hookin'. I downloaded a bunch of
free crocheted t-shirt and sweater patterns this weekend, and I'm going
to start either a sweater or a tank top for myself this week. I think it
will be fun!
The brain is a funny thing...or mine is, anyway. Now that I've sort
of settled into a writing "routine", I've found that if I don't work on
other things during the week, my creativity goes south. I need
stimulation outside of what I do all the time in order to keep my brain
loose and ready for anything. I think that's why I prefer writing in
several genres too - it doesn't let me stagnate too long in one set of
tropes or boundaries - it keeps me constantly on my toes and alert as I
jump around.
It strikes me as very important to pay attention to this sort of
thing, and give the brain the stimulation it needs when it needs it. And
honestly, I'm happy to do so. These last few weeks where I've been
crocheting and paying more attention to plants and housework along with
my writing have been some of the most productive and creative I've had
all year. Sure, projects go slower when I'm spread out across several,
but I think it's the "doing" that matters, not the end result so much.
Loose, limber brains are happy, hardworking brains, or something like
that.
You're welcome for that lovely mental image this fine Monday morning. LOL
What's on the list for this week? Well, let's see...
- 4 serial scenes plus 1 holiday story (at least)
- Start a new crochet project
- Beta read a draft for a friend (really looking forward to it)
- Weed, walk or workout 3 nights this week
- Book giveaway starting Wednesday (so come back!)
I think that's all I'll plan, for a change. Anything else I get
done will be icing on the proverbial cake, and we all like icing, right
(buttercream or cream cheese for me, please!)?
Here's to a great week with warm, summery weather...
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
Romantic Suspense
| Erotic Romance | Contemporary Romance |
Horror | Flash Fiction | Non-Fiction
**Please
note - If this is your first time posting, your comment
will be moderated. Once you have been approved, future comments will post automatically.
June 14, 2013
Serial Story: English Breakfast, Part 8
This story is presented weekly in draft format.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 |
English Breakfast, Part 8
Karen’s mind reached for something it couldn’t quite grasp. Dark, blurry shadows milled around, voices murmuring at the edges of her dreams, bits and pieces penetrating the fog.
Evidence...distraction...burn...kill...
It was important, but how? What? Her mind refused to cooperate, and a moan of frustration escaped her throat. The shadows stopped. Too much attention. Shhh...
More drugs?
No.
The shadows floated away, leaving her to drift.
****
When the haze finally lifted, all was quiet. Her head hurt, her mouth was dry, and she felt weak all over. Where was everyone? Lifting her head, she squinted, trying to see through the darkened window into the next room, but the overhead light in her own cell made the contrast too high.
She examined her arms and legs for any marks or cuts, expecting to find the torture her captor had promised to extract for the video. But there was no further damage that she could see, and while she wondered what had changed his mind, she was grateful.
Her hands were still shackled to the table, and she examined the clasps and chain carefully. She could pick the locks, but with what? The table was clear, and aside from her chair and one other, it was the only piece of furniture in the room. Leaning back in her chair as far as the chains would allow, she closed her eyes and tried to work up the nerve to dislocate her thumb. It was the only way, and she had to get out of here before that sadist returned to finish her off.
With one last deep breath, she opened her eyes and leaned forward, her muscles tensing just as something glinted at her from the floor under the window. Frowning, she got to her feet, leaning farther over the table to look.
A sharp metal pick of some sort lay against the wall, probably dropped when Chuck or Charles or whatever-his-name-was had collected his tools.
Happy birthday to her.
Pressing her hips into the edge of the table, she pushed, tentatively at first, and then harder as it started to inch forward. It was a heavy table, and long enough that her body acted as a fulcrum and the table started swinging to the side. Grasping the metal chains attached to the top, she pulled back to keep it straight as she walked the whole thing towards the window.
The table finally hit the wall with a thud, and she froze, her eyes glued to the darkness on the other side of the glass, straining to detect any movement at all. After what seemed like an hour, she bent down and stretched her right foot out as far as she could, trying to reach the metal pick.
She was an inch too short.
Grasping the chains where they attached to the handcuffs, she lowered herself carefully until she was hanging from them, the sharp metal bracelets cutting into the back of her wrists even as she tried to hold herself up with the chains. Reaching again, she managed to hit the pick with her toe...and knocked it farther out of reach.
Working her feet back underneath her, she stood up, breathing hard. Remembering how the table pivoted, she yanked on the chains, disregarding the pain and wet rivulets of blood running down her arms as she stepped back and swung the table away from the wall and away from the pick. Backing up, she sat down and toed off one shoe, grabbing the pick with her toes and lying as far back as she could to lift it to her numb fingers.
Her breathing came hot and heavy now as she sat up and worked the cuffs, breaking the lock on one side, and then the other. With a cry of relief, she stumbled to the door and twisted the knob, surprised but happy when it swung open without resistance.
The hallway was short and medicinal, and she immediately turned to the right and opened the door of the dark room where she’d seen the other woman before. Flipping the light switch up, she made sure it was empty and then left, forcing herself to ignore the pools of blood congealing on the floor.
There was only one other door at the end of the hall and she went for it, pressing her ear against it for a moment before pushing it open. It was an office of some sort, empty, and she frowned. This was wrong. These people weren’t careless, and they wouldn’t have left her alone, even locked up as she was. Someone had to be around - it was only a matter of time.
There was a phone on the desk and she grabbed the receiver, checking for a dial tone before punching in Patrick’s cell number.
Pleasepickup pleasepickup pleasepickup...
A metallic click from somewhere just outside sent her to the floor as Patrick’s phone sent her to voice mail.
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 |
English Breakfast, Part 8
Karen’s mind reached for something it couldn’t quite grasp. Dark, blurry shadows milled around, voices murmuring at the edges of her dreams, bits and pieces penetrating the fog.
Evidence...distraction...burn...kill...
It was important, but how? What? Her mind refused to cooperate, and a moan of frustration escaped her throat. The shadows stopped. Too much attention. Shhh...
More drugs?
No.
The shadows floated away, leaving her to drift.
****
When the haze finally lifted, all was quiet. Her head hurt, her mouth was dry, and she felt weak all over. Where was everyone? Lifting her head, she squinted, trying to see through the darkened window into the next room, but the overhead light in her own cell made the contrast too high.
She examined her arms and legs for any marks or cuts, expecting to find the torture her captor had promised to extract for the video. But there was no further damage that she could see, and while she wondered what had changed his mind, she was grateful.
Her hands were still shackled to the table, and she examined the clasps and chain carefully. She could pick the locks, but with what? The table was clear, and aside from her chair and one other, it was the only piece of furniture in the room. Leaning back in her chair as far as the chains would allow, she closed her eyes and tried to work up the nerve to dislocate her thumb. It was the only way, and she had to get out of here before that sadist returned to finish her off.
With one last deep breath, she opened her eyes and leaned forward, her muscles tensing just as something glinted at her from the floor under the window. Frowning, she got to her feet, leaning farther over the table to look.
A sharp metal pick of some sort lay against the wall, probably dropped when Chuck or Charles or whatever-his-name-was had collected his tools.
Happy birthday to her.
Pressing her hips into the edge of the table, she pushed, tentatively at first, and then harder as it started to inch forward. It was a heavy table, and long enough that her body acted as a fulcrum and the table started swinging to the side. Grasping the metal chains attached to the top, she pulled back to keep it straight as she walked the whole thing towards the window.
The table finally hit the wall with a thud, and she froze, her eyes glued to the darkness on the other side of the glass, straining to detect any movement at all. After what seemed like an hour, she bent down and stretched her right foot out as far as she could, trying to reach the metal pick.
She was an inch too short.
Grasping the chains where they attached to the handcuffs, she lowered herself carefully until she was hanging from them, the sharp metal bracelets cutting into the back of her wrists even as she tried to hold herself up with the chains. Reaching again, she managed to hit the pick with her toe...and knocked it farther out of reach.
Working her feet back underneath her, she stood up, breathing hard. Remembering how the table pivoted, she yanked on the chains, disregarding the pain and wet rivulets of blood running down her arms as she stepped back and swung the table away from the wall and away from the pick. Backing up, she sat down and toed off one shoe, grabbing the pick with her toes and lying as far back as she could to lift it to her numb fingers.
Her breathing came hot and heavy now as she sat up and worked the cuffs, breaking the lock on one side, and then the other. With a cry of relief, she stumbled to the door and twisted the knob, surprised but happy when it swung open without resistance.
The hallway was short and medicinal, and she immediately turned to the right and opened the door of the dark room where she’d seen the other woman before. Flipping the light switch up, she made sure it was empty and then left, forcing herself to ignore the pools of blood congealing on the floor.
There was only one other door at the end of the hall and she went for it, pressing her ear against it for a moment before pushing it open. It was an office of some sort, empty, and she frowned. This was wrong. These people weren’t careless, and they wouldn’t have left her alone, even locked up as she was. Someone had to be around - it was only a matter of time.
There was a phone on the desk and she grabbed the receiver, checking for a dial tone before punching in Patrick’s cell number.
Pleasepickup pleasepickup pleasepickup...
A metallic click from somewhere just outside sent her to the floor as Patrick’s phone sent her to voice mail.
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
Romantic Suspense
| Erotic Romance | Contemporary Romance |
Horror | Flash Fiction | Non-Fiction
**Please
note - If this is your first time posting, your comment
will be moderated. Once you have been approved, future comments will post automatically.
June 12, 2013
Talkin' Books: Mucho Romance, Grimm Comics & a Serious Problem...
Books Finished:
Offside (The Barker Triplets) by Juliana Stone
Collide (The Barker Triplets) by Juliana Stone
The Temporary Wife by Jeannie Moon
Books In Progress:
Inked by an Angel by Shauna Allen
Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes Yardley
Comics Read:
Simpsons Comics Free-for-All #1
Grimm #0
Morbius: The Living Vampire #1
Age of Ultron #9
So...as you may have noticed, I've been doing a lot of reading lately. Last week, I finished Offside , and had to immediately hunt down the second book in the trilogy, Collide (which I practically inhaled as well). The third book, Conceal ,
isn't out quite yet, and I was bummed until I discovered that the
release date is, in fact, this coming Friday! Hallelujah! Better get my
writing done in time this week, because I'll be busy Friday night with
the third Barker triplet...
Seriously, if you like hot contemporary romance, you need these books.
After those, I opened up The Temporary Wife
by an author I've known online for awhile now. I'll admit that in the
first part, the constant crying got to me, though I understand the
reasons for it (it's reasonable and logical, I'm just not a fan of weepy
women no matter the circumstances). But the story as a whole is really
quite fabulous and richly layered - it's not *just* a romance, it's much
more than that, and I really enjoyed it. Get a copy, you won't be
sorry.
Now I'm working on Inked by an Angel ...and
the jury's still out, but I haven't put it down yet and it seems like
things might be starting to heat up, so we'll see. I've always liked
good girl/bad boy stories, which is what this is, it's just the
paranormal element I'm not quite sure of yet. I'll let you know...or you
can pick up a copy and let me know. Either way, it's making me think
tattoos again. I need more, the hubby will be out of town for a week
this summer...
On the comic book front, I made a point of picking up a few off my stack, and one I picked up this weekend too. The Simpsons
was entertaining as always, and the paper for that comic book was
really nice, more matte, and easier to read under bright light. Grimm
was every bit as awesome as the TV show, and I'll be grabbing a copy of
issues #1 & #2 as soon as I can find them - if not in town, I'll
order 'em. The perfect fill-in for the summer TV break, where we get to
follow Nick's mom as she tries to destroy those pesky coins.
Morbius is a seriously interesting cat -
he's a lab-created vampire (hence the "living vampire" moniker - he's
not "undead"), and I don't think he even knows if he's a good guy or a
bad guy. I went out and bought the next four issues to catch up as well,
but I have to say, I kind of hate the cover art on these. The inner
artwork isn't too bad, but it isn't anything special either, IMO. I
think I may just go digital with this one since I'm reading for the
story more than the art...we'll see. In any case, I'll keep reading.
Age of Ultron #9 made the whole
time-travel thing a bit less confusing, along with the "fix" for the
problem at hand. So that was good, and there's only one more issue left.
It seems like they're leading into a new continuity after that, but
I'll pass...honestly, I'm kind of getting bored with this storyline.
I'm already having storage issues with comic books, if you can
believe that. Currently, I'm putting them in binder pages with boards,
in big binders on the bookshelf. The problem is, I didn't have much
shelf space left as is, and the binders are filling up quickly. I am
getting to where I only buy specific comics now, which helps, and I'm
*trying* to go digital with at least some continuities (cheaper that way
too, if I wait until they're out for awhile), but there's the issue of
wanting to collect the artwork on some of them, and that's really not a
digital thing (for me, at least). I don't really have anywhere to stack
boxes either, so it's not really an easily solved problem unless I
either clean out a bookcase (or part of one, but some are already
double-stacked), or find a spot for another one (we're seriously running
out of wall space here). Yeah, I could probably part with some of my
paperbacks, but it's funny how difficult it is to do that, even when you
haven't read certain books in years. I mean...they're books!
And yes, I have issues with deleting ebooks too, so it's not even
the format so much as the stories. It takes a lot less space to store
more thumb drives though than it does to buy another bookshelf...
*sigh* I'll have to ponder this issue more extensively, and take a gander through the shelves again...
Enjoy
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Offside (The Barker Triplets) by Juliana Stone
Collide (The Barker Triplets) by Juliana Stone
The Temporary Wife by Jeannie Moon
Books In Progress:
Inked by an Angel by Shauna Allen
Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes Yardley
Comics Read:
Simpsons Comics Free-for-All #1
Grimm #0
Morbius: The Living Vampire #1
Age of Ultron #9
So...as you may have noticed, I've been doing a lot of reading lately. Last week, I finished Offside , and had to immediately hunt down the second book in the trilogy, Collide (which I practically inhaled as well). The third book, Conceal ,
isn't out quite yet, and I was bummed until I discovered that the
release date is, in fact, this coming Friday! Hallelujah! Better get my
writing done in time this week, because I'll be busy Friday night with
the third Barker triplet...
Seriously, if you like hot contemporary romance, you need these books.
After those, I opened up The Temporary Wife
by an author I've known online for awhile now. I'll admit that in the
first part, the constant crying got to me, though I understand the
reasons for it (it's reasonable and logical, I'm just not a fan of weepy
women no matter the circumstances). But the story as a whole is really
quite fabulous and richly layered - it's not *just* a romance, it's much
more than that, and I really enjoyed it. Get a copy, you won't be
sorry.
Now I'm working on Inked by an Angel ...and
the jury's still out, but I haven't put it down yet and it seems like
things might be starting to heat up, so we'll see. I've always liked
good girl/bad boy stories, which is what this is, it's just the
paranormal element I'm not quite sure of yet. I'll let you know...or you
can pick up a copy and let me know. Either way, it's making me think
tattoos again. I need more, the hubby will be out of town for a week
this summer...
On the comic book front, I made a point of picking up a few off my stack, and one I picked up this weekend too. The Simpsons
was entertaining as always, and the paper for that comic book was
really nice, more matte, and easier to read under bright light. Grimm
was every bit as awesome as the TV show, and I'll be grabbing a copy of
issues #1 & #2 as soon as I can find them - if not in town, I'll
order 'em. The perfect fill-in for the summer TV break, where we get to
follow Nick's mom as she tries to destroy those pesky coins.
Morbius is a seriously interesting cat -
he's a lab-created vampire (hence the "living vampire" moniker - he's
not "undead"), and I don't think he even knows if he's a good guy or a
bad guy. I went out and bought the next four issues to catch up as well,
but I have to say, I kind of hate the cover art on these. The inner
artwork isn't too bad, but it isn't anything special either, IMO. I
think I may just go digital with this one since I'm reading for the
story more than the art...we'll see. In any case, I'll keep reading.
Age of Ultron #9 made the whole
time-travel thing a bit less confusing, along with the "fix" for the
problem at hand. So that was good, and there's only one more issue left.
It seems like they're leading into a new continuity after that, but
I'll pass...honestly, I'm kind of getting bored with this storyline.
I'm already having storage issues with comic books, if you can
believe that. Currently, I'm putting them in binder pages with boards,
in big binders on the bookshelf. The problem is, I didn't have much
shelf space left as is, and the binders are filling up quickly. I am
getting to where I only buy specific comics now, which helps, and I'm
*trying* to go digital with at least some continuities (cheaper that way
too, if I wait until they're out for awhile), but there's the issue of
wanting to collect the artwork on some of them, and that's really not a
digital thing (for me, at least). I don't really have anywhere to stack
boxes either, so it's not really an easily solved problem unless I
either clean out a bookcase (or part of one, but some are already
double-stacked), or find a spot for another one (we're seriously running
out of wall space here). Yeah, I could probably part with some of my
paperbacks, but it's funny how difficult it is to do that, even when you
haven't read certain books in years. I mean...they're books!
And yes, I have issues with deleting ebooks too, so it's not even
the format so much as the stories. It takes a lot less space to store
more thumb drives though than it does to buy another bookshelf...
*sigh* I'll have to ponder this issue more extensively, and take a gander through the shelves again...
Enjoy
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Romantic Suspense
| Erotic Romance | Contemporary Romance |
Horror | Flash Fiction | Non-Fiction
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June 10, 2013
On Slider Puzzles, Crafty Gifting & High Maintenance Nails....
How's Monday going so far? Passable, I hope? My weekend was so
discombobulated due to family stuff and related things that needed to be
done that I'll probably be half asleep at my day job desk by the time
you read this, fighting off the equivalent of a weekend hangover - only
without the actual booze to blame.
My daily routines are like those flat little plastic puzzles where
you have to slide the tiles around to create an image, but there's only
one extra space, so you can only slide one tile at a time. If you move
the tiles in a specific sequence, the puzzle comes together faster.
Otherwise, you just sort of have to keep moving them around until you
figure out how to get each one to where it needs to go without
disrupting what you've already set up (kind of like driving through
downtown here - most of the streets are one way only).
In any case, on the weekends my schedule is far more flexible, but
there are certain key tasks that really throw the whole thing off if
they need to be moved for some reason. One is my weekly manicure from
around midnight on Saturday to 2 or 3am Sunday morning, and the other is
my weekly grocery shopping trip on Sunday mornings (anytime before
noon). Those two things are the only weekend tasks that are really set
on the schedule, and both of them had to be moved this weekend to
accommodate my mom's birthday. The grocery shopping thing wasn't too bad
- we just went after brunch instead of me going in the morning. So that
was relatively painless, though I did end up running out again due to
bad planning/forgetfulness on my part.
If you're a crafter, you'll understand this next part all too well.
I've been working on a crocheted scarf for my mom for the last couple
of weeks, whenever I got time. This is how gifting always goes for the
crafter (at least all of them I know). You start out thinking you have
plenty of time, and then things get in the way, and the next thing you
know, you're finishing up at 2 am on the day that the gift is actually
due to be given. Mom's birthday was Sunday, so...bye bye, manicure time.
No, just not doing a manicure isn't an option. My nails grow long
and fast, and when I don't clip, file, and re-polish weekly, they start
breaking, the polish chips and they look and wear like crap. They can
actually get dangerous, depending on how and when they break (yes, I've
cut myself with my own nails before - toenails too). And yes, these are
my real nails we're talking about here - no fakes. I work in an office,
so while I could easily leave them unpolished (though I wear polish
nearly all the time, which means not wearing polish is actually quite
physically painful for a week or so - it's weird, but true - your
fingers get used to the extra weight of polish), I can't just ignore
them without ending up with a mess, something that took me years to come
to terms with, given that I'm normally more of a tomboy.
Considering that a manicure requires my hands be basically out of
commission for a few hours, the only time to reasonably do that is very
late at night when the dogs are sleeping and I have no other
obligations. Finishing up the scarf on Saturday night meant that the
manicure had to move to Monday...never a good thing as far as sleep is
concerned.
I've been watching Alias (tv show) on Amazon prime while
doing my manicures, but I've reached the last season, she's pregnant and
her love interest is "dead", and I tend to lose interest in shows
really quick when pregnancy is added as a plot point. So I picked out a
couple movies to watch instead - Cake (romantic comedy, supposedly), and The Wedding Planner (seen it, love it).
In any case, it all boils down to: busy weekend where not much
actually got done (I did pay bills though - rather proud of that),
lack-of-sleep hangover scheduled for Monday.
So what's on the schedule for my zombie-like self this week? Let's see - kind of a light week for a change, methinks:
- Write 4 serial scenes plus 1 holiday story
- Workout x3
- Figure out a problem that's been driving me nuts at the day job
- Finish weeding the back gardens (see bullet point 2)
- Clean off the back patio & patio furniture
- See what I have/need to get to make the save-the-date swag for Halloween
- Get our guest list together for this year's party
- Update web sites
- Start thinking about some new cover art/looking at images
Easy, random stuff, really. Should be a productive and somewhat
relaxed week, which will be nice. Here's to sunshine & kicking back a
little...Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
discombobulated due to family stuff and related things that needed to be
done that I'll probably be half asleep at my day job desk by the time
you read this, fighting off the equivalent of a weekend hangover - only
without the actual booze to blame.
My daily routines are like those flat little plastic puzzles where
you have to slide the tiles around to create an image, but there's only
one extra space, so you can only slide one tile at a time. If you move
the tiles in a specific sequence, the puzzle comes together faster.
Otherwise, you just sort of have to keep moving them around until you
figure out how to get each one to where it needs to go without
disrupting what you've already set up (kind of like driving through
downtown here - most of the streets are one way only).
In any case, on the weekends my schedule is far more flexible, but
there are certain key tasks that really throw the whole thing off if
they need to be moved for some reason. One is my weekly manicure from
around midnight on Saturday to 2 or 3am Sunday morning, and the other is
my weekly grocery shopping trip on Sunday mornings (anytime before
noon). Those two things are the only weekend tasks that are really set
on the schedule, and both of them had to be moved this weekend to
accommodate my mom's birthday. The grocery shopping thing wasn't too bad
- we just went after brunch instead of me going in the morning. So that
was relatively painless, though I did end up running out again due to
bad planning/forgetfulness on my part.
If you're a crafter, you'll understand this next part all too well.
I've been working on a crocheted scarf for my mom for the last couple
of weeks, whenever I got time. This is how gifting always goes for the
crafter (at least all of them I know). You start out thinking you have
plenty of time, and then things get in the way, and the next thing you
know, you're finishing up at 2 am on the day that the gift is actually
due to be given. Mom's birthday was Sunday, so...bye bye, manicure time.
No, just not doing a manicure isn't an option. My nails grow long
and fast, and when I don't clip, file, and re-polish weekly, they start
breaking, the polish chips and they look and wear like crap. They can
actually get dangerous, depending on how and when they break (yes, I've
cut myself with my own nails before - toenails too). And yes, these are
my real nails we're talking about here - no fakes. I work in an office,
so while I could easily leave them unpolished (though I wear polish
nearly all the time, which means not wearing polish is actually quite
physically painful for a week or so - it's weird, but true - your
fingers get used to the extra weight of polish), I can't just ignore
them without ending up with a mess, something that took me years to come
to terms with, given that I'm normally more of a tomboy.
Considering that a manicure requires my hands be basically out of
commission for a few hours, the only time to reasonably do that is very
late at night when the dogs are sleeping and I have no other
obligations. Finishing up the scarf on Saturday night meant that the
manicure had to move to Monday...never a good thing as far as sleep is
concerned.
I've been watching Alias (tv show) on Amazon prime while
doing my manicures, but I've reached the last season, she's pregnant and
her love interest is "dead", and I tend to lose interest in shows
really quick when pregnancy is added as a plot point. So I picked out a
couple movies to watch instead - Cake (romantic comedy, supposedly), and The Wedding Planner (seen it, love it).
In any case, it all boils down to: busy weekend where not much
actually got done (I did pay bills though - rather proud of that),
lack-of-sleep hangover scheduled for Monday.
So what's on the schedule for my zombie-like self this week? Let's see - kind of a light week for a change, methinks:
- Write 4 serial scenes plus 1 holiday story
- Workout x3
- Figure out a problem that's been driving me nuts at the day job
- Finish weeding the back gardens (see bullet point 2)
- Clean off the back patio & patio furniture
- See what I have/need to get to make the save-the-date swag for Halloween
- Get our guest list together for this year's party
- Update web sites
- Start thinking about some new cover art/looking at images
Easy, random stuff, really. Should be a productive and somewhat
relaxed week, which will be nice. Here's to sunshine & kicking back a
little...Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
Romantic Suspense
| Erotic Romance | Contemporary Romance |
Horror | Flash Fiction | Non-Fiction
**Please
note - If this is your first time posting, your comment
will be moderated. Once you have been approved, future comments will post automatically.
June 7, 2013
Serial Story: English Breakfast, Part 7
This story is presented weekly in draft format.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |
English Breakfast, Part 7
Nausea warred with relief as Patrick watched the video the kidnappers had sent to Kane Security’s main email address. Relief that it wasn’t Karen on the screen, but the woman behind the table was obviously drugged and had sustained an incredible amount of cuts on her arms even in the short time they’d been watching. There was no way she could survive that much blood loss.
The knife stopped, hovering above her skin as if waiting for permission to start again. The sound came on, and Patrick heard Karen’s voice as she told them about Kane Security and gave them Patrick’s name.
He was a little disappointed that she made it so easy, but her speech was slurred and forced, which meant either she was drugged, or something had happened to her mouth. If she was hurt, they needed to find her fast if the treatment of the other captive was any indication.
The camera panned in a slow half-circle, coming to rest as another woman came into view. Patrick squinted, turning his head to the side as he realized it was Karen. One side of her face was black and purple, the eye nearly swollen shut and her lip split and bleeding. She was looking up at someone off camera, and there was a set of shiny instruments laid out on a canvas roll on the table in front of her. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going to happen next.
Meaty male hands - the same that had held the knife earlier - tied a piece of rubber tubing around her upper arm and then picked up a needle. Patrick’s stomach turned as the video cut to black.
White text displayed the single demand from her captors:
Will trade Ms. Winters for Patrick O’Neil. Meet under Crosstown Bridge, 2am.
“What do you think?” Kane turned off the video and leaned back in his chair, regarding Patrick with the unreadable stare he was famous for. Patrick shook his head, letting out the breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding.
“We don’t have a choice - we have to do the trade. I don’t get it though. They still haven’t made any demands about the journalist. Why not just kill her if that was the plan all along? Why keep her captive if there’s no reason for her to be alive?”
“They wouldn’t,” Kane said, staring up at the blank screen. “I think it’s safe to assume that she had something they wanted, but other than that, your guess is as good as mine.”
“Maybe after you trade me, I can get close to her, find out what’s going on.”
Kane raised an eyebrow. “If we trade you, you mean. I’ve got Tony going through the video for any clues, and Andrew’s working up a couple of ambush scenarios. We have a little time left, so let’s see what they come up with. In the meantime, I want you to go through those photos from the laptop again, and see if you can figure out just what this journalist was researching. Obviously she pissed off some very powerful people.”
Patrick stood to leave, and then stopped at the door. “What about the friend - the one who dropped off the flash drive? Think she’s in any danger?”
“Mia’s on her way over there now. Karen didn’t say anything about her, so she’s probably okay, but I thought it was better to check.”
“With these guys, I don’t think we can take anything for granted.”
Patrick went back to his desk and pulled up the photos he’d taken. Some of the files looked like schematics, and he tried to blow them up with little success - the larger copies were too degraded. It was a building of some sort, but he didn’t recognize the layout. There wasn’t time to check them against the major government buildings in the area - the red tape to get blueprint copies would take hours to get through, maybe even days. He started reading through the document images, looking for any mention of businesses or agencies that could be a potential target.
Half an hour later, he sat back in his chair, frustrated. There were vague references to a research project of some sort, but nothing he’d photographed contained anything specific about who was involved or what the project was for.
Kane approached his desk, his expression serious.
“Find anything?”
Patrick shook his head. “I think the only way we’re going to find out what they’re up to is to go in ourselves. We don’t even really have a clue as to where they might be, though this does reference research, so it would have to be a lab-type environment. But with all the empty or partially empty warehouses in town...”
Kane nodded. “Mia is watching our source - so far, she doesn’t seem to be in danger. And Andrew has a couple of scenarios worked out to get Karen back.” He checked his watch. “We have about an hour left before we have to be at the bridge. Let’s go over the plans for Karen’s extraction. If we can capture whoever comes to the site, maybe we can convince them to help us out.”
Enjoy
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 |
English Breakfast, Part 7
Nausea warred with relief as Patrick watched the video the kidnappers had sent to Kane Security’s main email address. Relief that it wasn’t Karen on the screen, but the woman behind the table was obviously drugged and had sustained an incredible amount of cuts on her arms even in the short time they’d been watching. There was no way she could survive that much blood loss.
The knife stopped, hovering above her skin as if waiting for permission to start again. The sound came on, and Patrick heard Karen’s voice as she told them about Kane Security and gave them Patrick’s name.
He was a little disappointed that she made it so easy, but her speech was slurred and forced, which meant either she was drugged, or something had happened to her mouth. If she was hurt, they needed to find her fast if the treatment of the other captive was any indication.
The camera panned in a slow half-circle, coming to rest as another woman came into view. Patrick squinted, turning his head to the side as he realized it was Karen. One side of her face was black and purple, the eye nearly swollen shut and her lip split and bleeding. She was looking up at someone off camera, and there was a set of shiny instruments laid out on a canvas roll on the table in front of her. It didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out what was going to happen next.
Meaty male hands - the same that had held the knife earlier - tied a piece of rubber tubing around her upper arm and then picked up a needle. Patrick’s stomach turned as the video cut to black.
White text displayed the single demand from her captors:
Will trade Ms. Winters for Patrick O’Neil. Meet under Crosstown Bridge, 2am.
“What do you think?” Kane turned off the video and leaned back in his chair, regarding Patrick with the unreadable stare he was famous for. Patrick shook his head, letting out the breath he hadn’t been aware he was holding.
“We don’t have a choice - we have to do the trade. I don’t get it though. They still haven’t made any demands about the journalist. Why not just kill her if that was the plan all along? Why keep her captive if there’s no reason for her to be alive?”
“They wouldn’t,” Kane said, staring up at the blank screen. “I think it’s safe to assume that she had something they wanted, but other than that, your guess is as good as mine.”
“Maybe after you trade me, I can get close to her, find out what’s going on.”
Kane raised an eyebrow. “If we trade you, you mean. I’ve got Tony going through the video for any clues, and Andrew’s working up a couple of ambush scenarios. We have a little time left, so let’s see what they come up with. In the meantime, I want you to go through those photos from the laptop again, and see if you can figure out just what this journalist was researching. Obviously she pissed off some very powerful people.”
Patrick stood to leave, and then stopped at the door. “What about the friend - the one who dropped off the flash drive? Think she’s in any danger?”
“Mia’s on her way over there now. Karen didn’t say anything about her, so she’s probably okay, but I thought it was better to check.”
“With these guys, I don’t think we can take anything for granted.”
Patrick went back to his desk and pulled up the photos he’d taken. Some of the files looked like schematics, and he tried to blow them up with little success - the larger copies were too degraded. It was a building of some sort, but he didn’t recognize the layout. There wasn’t time to check them against the major government buildings in the area - the red tape to get blueprint copies would take hours to get through, maybe even days. He started reading through the document images, looking for any mention of businesses or agencies that could be a potential target.
Half an hour later, he sat back in his chair, frustrated. There were vague references to a research project of some sort, but nothing he’d photographed contained anything specific about who was involved or what the project was for.
Kane approached his desk, his expression serious.
“Find anything?”
Patrick shook his head. “I think the only way we’re going to find out what they’re up to is to go in ourselves. We don’t even really have a clue as to where they might be, though this does reference research, so it would have to be a lab-type environment. But with all the empty or partially empty warehouses in town...”
Kane nodded. “Mia is watching our source - so far, she doesn’t seem to be in danger. And Andrew has a couple of scenarios worked out to get Karen back.” He checked his watch. “We have about an hour left before we have to be at the bridge. Let’s go over the plans for Karen’s extraction. If we can capture whoever comes to the site, maybe we can convince them to help us out.”
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
Romantic Suspense
| Erotic Romance | Contemporary Romance |
Horror | Flash Fiction | Non-Fiction
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note - If this is your first time posting, your comment
will be moderated. Once you have been approved, future comments will post automatically.
June 5, 2013
Talkin' Books: Comic Catch-Up & Hockey Romance
Books Finished:
Bloodline by James Rollins
Books In Progress:
Offside (The Barker Triplets) by Juliana Stone
Beautiful Sorrows by Mercedes Yardley
Comics Read:
Age of Ultron #3 - #8
Superior Spiderman #10
Comics in Progress:
None
I finished Bloodline
last night, and no, I will not be checking out the reference materials
linked at the end. I prefer my fiction stays fiction, thanks - there's
enough scary stuff to think about in life without being confronted with
the actual truth at the end of a novel. I am looking forward to the
short story included at the end of my copy - Tracker ,
I think it's called, about the new character, Tucker and his dog Kane.
Should be good, methinks. Incidentally there's more romance in this book
than Rollins normally has (from what I remember - since I wait for the
paperbacks, it's quite a wait between books). I liked it. The emotional
investment of the characters is really opening them up in ways I don't
remember seeing before. A nice change, in my opinion.
In any case, if I say much more about Bloodline
it will just give things away, so you'll just have to read it. The
ebook was on sale for $1.99 the other day...good way to grab a copy on
the cheap if that's still going on...
I've started and stopped an alarming
amount of romance books lately...just nothing really grabbing my
attention, which is really too bad. But then I stumbled across Offside ,
a hockey-themed romance by Juliana Stone. I'm not a hockey fan - I'm
not all that fond of intentional violence in sports (no, I don't watch
boxing either, though I love watching boxer physiques - nothing like a
double standard, eh? but I digress...). Offside
features a female hockey player at that, who's been benched due to a
violent injury. She has two first names (which always sounds odd to me,
being a northerner - yes, it's stupid of me to feel that way, but it is
what it is), and her hick hometown has a gender bias that is deplorable
and almost (but not quite) unbelievable to me given our current times.
In other words, absolutely nothing about this book should reel me in.
Nothing.
And yet, I started reading (got a free
copy via a link somewhere - I might be on her email list from an earlier
novel I read...can't remember at the moment) and I can't put it down. I
don't *want* to put it down. It's my lunchtime reading, and it's an
extreme force of willpower to set it aside so I can get back to work on
time. So frustrating, but also so refreshing to finally be so caught up
in a romance that I can't put it aside. Needless to say, there are three
books in the series, and I'm now pretty well invested in learning the
story of at least one of the other sisters too, so I'll be grabbing the
other two as well. And I haven't even finished the first yet. It's worth
the money if you're looking for a good solid contemporary romance.
As you can see above, I did a *lot* of catching up with the comic books last week too. Six issues of Age of Ultron ,
and I'm all caught up. The last one was a bit confusing, but that's
kind of to be expected when you're messing around with the space/time
continuum...so I'm interested to see how it all shakes out in the end.
And I'm sort of getting to know a few other superheroes from the Marvel
universe as well, which is a nice bonus for a novice like myself.
Superior Spiderman #10
was...weird. I'm having some serious issues with the new order of
things following issue #9, and having trust issues that the authors will
be able to make things turn out okay in the end. I mean, the good guys
still have to win, right (that's sort of what superheroes do...)? But
what if one of the good guys is actually a bad guy just trying to be the
good guy? Can that ultimately even work?
I'm both nervous and anxious for the next issue...
Working my way down the comic book TBR
(to be read) pile, there's a Simpson's comic up next, followed by a
Jonah Hex western. You can't say my TBR piles are ever boring...
Enjoy
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Suspense/Thriller
| Flash Fiction | Non-Fiction
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June 3, 2013
On Fermenting Food, Super Glue & Lamb's Ears...
Top o' the week to ya! Or something like that, considering it's
Monday and most of us are back to work, whether at home or at the office
(both for me, the latter first). Hopefully you all had a good weekend.
Mine got off to a pretty rocky start with the Friday from hell (I know,
right? Seriously weird.), but Saturday and Sunday turned out to be good
days.
One of the myriad of annoying things that happened on Friday was
that I clogged the kitchen drain up with the perfect storm of tea leaves
& eggshells again. It's the second time I've done that, because I
can't seem to always remember to run the disposal after peeling
hard-boiled eggs, something had to be done. Hubby is not fond of
plumbing in the least, and he's tired of taking the pipes under there
apart so I can clean them out. I can't say I blame him.
So I decided it was time to get serious about the whole composting
thing. I have two compost bins, but they're just trash cans with holes,
and I don't turn them because they're heavy, so they're basically cold
piles that take forever to break down. That really doesn't work well for
kitchen scraps. I needed a compost tumbler, and Friday I ordered one,
along with a collection pail for the counter and compostable liner bags.
Then I started reading about composting to refresh my memory, and came
across the concept of Bokashi composting - specifically for dealing with kitchen scraps.
Bokashi isn't really composting though - it's fermenting/pickling
the scraps and then either burying them in the ground to finish
composting, or adding them to a compost pile/tumbler. But it does speed
the process up, and due to the anaerobic nature of it, it kills all
sorts of pathogens regular compost doesn't, so you can compost things
like bread/meat/dairy that you normally wouldn't/couldn't throw on a
garden compost pile. Sounds good to me!
So I spent about 10 minutes this weekend making bokashi buckets -
drilling holes in a couple of 2 gallon buckets, and then placing them in
buckets without holes to create a draining bucket system. Rocket
science, I know. I'm considering covering the outer buckets in some of
that cool patterned duct tape just to make the whole thing a bit
less...white. White is boring.
Other projects this week included super-gluing my fingers together
fixing a broken cast iron windmill - part of my miniature smurf village
that is still more "random pieces" than village. I even wrote up a
short blog post about it on the not-quite-going-yet Blue Crew blog.
And I also divided this leggy patch of lamb's ear so my mom could take
some of the cute & cuddly weeds over to her house. Spread the fuzzy,
I say!
This sparked a lively conversation on Facebook, of course, when my
editor/friend didn't quite realize I was talking about plants. Sometimes
writing in certain genres makes people wary of your underlying motives.
Weird, eh?
Incidentally, I've unlinked my Facebook author page and my twitter account.
Why? Because starting in a couple of weeks, I plan to start posting
some content that will be available only on specific platforms (that
applies to Google + too). And that way Twitterers don't have to click
through to FB, and then to the blog to read posts - they can just go
straight to the blog. Easier, methinks. The links will still feed
automatically to both.
In any case, my weekend was good, and I even managed to keep up
with my writing projects and work a little ahead on the next holiday
serials. So not bad, all in all.
This week, more of the same, hopefully with far sunnier weather:
- 4 serial scenes
- Finish up one holiday serial story
- Start my bokashi fermenting & yard composting adventures
- Update several web sites
- Pay bills *sigh*
- Workout x3
- Finish up the crochet gift that is due by Sunday (yikes!)
- Get a solid (and simple!) plan done for Halloween party
save-the-date cards. I think this might involve a cookie cutter shaped
like a bat (the animal, not the wood kind)...
That's plenty, methinks. Here's to lots of sunshine and creativity this week!
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
Monday and most of us are back to work, whether at home or at the office
(both for me, the latter first). Hopefully you all had a good weekend.
Mine got off to a pretty rocky start with the Friday from hell (I know,
right? Seriously weird.), but Saturday and Sunday turned out to be good
days.
One of the myriad of annoying things that happened on Friday was
that I clogged the kitchen drain up with the perfect storm of tea leaves
& eggshells again. It's the second time I've done that, because I
can't seem to always remember to run the disposal after peeling
hard-boiled eggs, something had to be done. Hubby is not fond of
plumbing in the least, and he's tired of taking the pipes under there
apart so I can clean them out. I can't say I blame him.
So I decided it was time to get serious about the whole composting
thing. I have two compost bins, but they're just trash cans with holes,
and I don't turn them because they're heavy, so they're basically cold
piles that take forever to break down. That really doesn't work well for
kitchen scraps. I needed a compost tumbler, and Friday I ordered one,
along with a collection pail for the counter and compostable liner bags.
Then I started reading about composting to refresh my memory, and came
across the concept of Bokashi composting - specifically for dealing with kitchen scraps.
Bokashi isn't really composting though - it's fermenting/pickling
the scraps and then either burying them in the ground to finish
composting, or adding them to a compost pile/tumbler. But it does speed
the process up, and due to the anaerobic nature of it, it kills all
sorts of pathogens regular compost doesn't, so you can compost things
like bread/meat/dairy that you normally wouldn't/couldn't throw on a
garden compost pile. Sounds good to me!
So I spent about 10 minutes this weekend making bokashi buckets -
drilling holes in a couple of 2 gallon buckets, and then placing them in
buckets without holes to create a draining bucket system. Rocket
science, I know. I'm considering covering the outer buckets in some of
that cool patterned duct tape just to make the whole thing a bit
less...white. White is boring.
Other projects this week included super-gluing my fingers together
fixing a broken cast iron windmill - part of my miniature smurf village
that is still more "random pieces" than village. I even wrote up a
short blog post about it on the not-quite-going-yet Blue Crew blog.
And I also divided this leggy patch of lamb's ear so my mom could take
some of the cute & cuddly weeds over to her house. Spread the fuzzy,
I say!
This sparked a lively conversation on Facebook, of course, when my
editor/friend didn't quite realize I was talking about plants. Sometimes
writing in certain genres makes people wary of your underlying motives.
Weird, eh?
Incidentally, I've unlinked my Facebook author page and my twitter account.
Why? Because starting in a couple of weeks, I plan to start posting
some content that will be available only on specific platforms (that
applies to Google + too). And that way Twitterers don't have to click
through to FB, and then to the blog to read posts - they can just go
straight to the blog. Easier, methinks. The links will still feed
automatically to both.
In any case, my weekend was good, and I even managed to keep up
with my writing projects and work a little ahead on the next holiday
serials. So not bad, all in all.
This week, more of the same, hopefully with far sunnier weather:
- 4 serial scenes
- Finish up one holiday serial story
- Start my bokashi fermenting & yard composting adventures
- Update several web sites
- Pay bills *sigh*
- Workout x3
- Finish up the crochet gift that is due by Sunday (yikes!)
- Get a solid (and simple!) plan done for Halloween party
save-the-date cards. I think this might involve a cookie cutter shaped
like a bat (the animal, not the wood kind)...
That's plenty, methinks. Here's to lots of sunshine and creativity this week!
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
Romantic Suspense
| Erotic Romance | Contemporary Romance |
Suspense/Thriller
| Flash Fiction | Non-Fiction
**Please
note - If this is your first time posting, your comment
will be moderated. Once you have been approved, future comments will post automatically.
May 31, 2013
Serial Story: English Breakfast, Part 6
This story is presented weekly in draft format.
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |
English Breakfast, Part 6
“Kane Security gave me the disk,” Karen said, knowing that whatever she did, the kidnapped journalist had to come first. That was the case, and while she wasn’t employed with Kane any longer, she was definitely involved with this case. That made the victim her first priority.
Apparently there really was no escaping the past.
Her interrogator held up one hand, and the man on the other side of the glass stepped back - Clark, she remembered - ceased his torture of the victim. Karen wished she knew what they’d done to the woman. She just sat there, head hanging down, seemingly unaware of the cuts oozing blood from her arms. She must be on some sort of drugs to withstand that without even a sound.
“Much better,” the man said, drawing her attention back to him. “And what information did you get from the disk?”
She briefly thought about making something up, knowing he wouldn’t like her answer. Better to tell the truth though, in case he sensed the lie. Whether he would accept it or not would decide the other woman’s safety, which made Karen sick to her stomach.
“I honestly didn’t see anything. The guy who brought it in - Patrick - he took some photos of the screen before the whole thing blew up. I was too worried about the timer to pay attention to the data.”
He stared into her eyes for a long time, and she held his gaze, knowing that it was crucial that she didn’t look away. It was painful considering her injuries, and when he finally tilted his head in acquiescence, she just barely refrained from letting out a huge sigh of relief as the muscles beneath her swollen skin relaxed.
Closing the folder on the table, he leaned forward.
“Just one more question, then. The man who brought you the disk...this...Patrick from Kane Security. What is his last name?”
Karen said a quick, silent apology and hoped Patrick was at the agency where he had backup. “O’Neil. His last name is O’Neil.”
Her captor smiled, rising from his seat. “Very good, Ms. Winters. Now, as much as I regret causing you more pain, I’m afraid we’ll need you to demonstrate what will happen to the other woman should her research get out to the media. No hard feelings, I hope. It’s just business.” He laughed and walked out the door, reappearing moments later behind the other window. He spoke briefly with Clark, and then stayed behind while the larger man walked out of view.
Her eyes refocused on a grotesque reflection of red and purple blotches in the glass, and it took a few seconds for it to register that she was looking at herself, blurry as the image was. She turned her head, reminding herself that it looked worse than it was. Or so she hoped, as the throbbing got worse. She closed her eyes and focused on breathing, in and out, in and out. The pain dulled to a more manageable level after several minutes.
The door to her room opened and Clark entered, a thick canvas roll in one meaty, scarred hand. He set it on the table and unfurled it with a flourish, revealing a neat row of pockets. Each section contained what Karen could only assume were implements of torture.
“I don’t understand,” she managed, her lips still swollen and painfully dry. “I answered all the questions. One look at my face should convince anyone you’re serious.”
Clark shrugged, running his fingers casually over his kit. He removed a scalpel, and laid it on top, followed by a pair of pliers, and a metal syringe.
“Because I’ll enjoy it, and your colleagues will not.” His calm monotone was chilling, the slight grin on his lips more so.
“There’s no need to fear, however. The heroine will keep you from feeling much. It tends to make for better video too. For some reason, quiet acceptance of torture seems more effective to viewers than a bunch of screaming. Who knows why?”
He picked up the syringe and a length of medical tubing and came around the table.
“Don’t worry. In a few minutes, you won’t feel a thing.” Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 |
English Breakfast, Part 6
“Kane Security gave me the disk,” Karen said, knowing that whatever she did, the kidnapped journalist had to come first. That was the case, and while she wasn’t employed with Kane any longer, she was definitely involved with this case. That made the victim her first priority.
Apparently there really was no escaping the past.
Her interrogator held up one hand, and the man on the other side of the glass stepped back - Clark, she remembered - ceased his torture of the victim. Karen wished she knew what they’d done to the woman. She just sat there, head hanging down, seemingly unaware of the cuts oozing blood from her arms. She must be on some sort of drugs to withstand that without even a sound.
“Much better,” the man said, drawing her attention back to him. “And what information did you get from the disk?”
She briefly thought about making something up, knowing he wouldn’t like her answer. Better to tell the truth though, in case he sensed the lie. Whether he would accept it or not would decide the other woman’s safety, which made Karen sick to her stomach.
“I honestly didn’t see anything. The guy who brought it in - Patrick - he took some photos of the screen before the whole thing blew up. I was too worried about the timer to pay attention to the data.”
He stared into her eyes for a long time, and she held his gaze, knowing that it was crucial that she didn’t look away. It was painful considering her injuries, and when he finally tilted his head in acquiescence, she just barely refrained from letting out a huge sigh of relief as the muscles beneath her swollen skin relaxed.
Closing the folder on the table, he leaned forward.
“Just one more question, then. The man who brought you the disk...this...Patrick from Kane Security. What is his last name?”
Karen said a quick, silent apology and hoped Patrick was at the agency where he had backup. “O’Neil. His last name is O’Neil.”
Her captor smiled, rising from his seat. “Very good, Ms. Winters. Now, as much as I regret causing you more pain, I’m afraid we’ll need you to demonstrate what will happen to the other woman should her research get out to the media. No hard feelings, I hope. It’s just business.” He laughed and walked out the door, reappearing moments later behind the other window. He spoke briefly with Clark, and then stayed behind while the larger man walked out of view.
Her eyes refocused on a grotesque reflection of red and purple blotches in the glass, and it took a few seconds for it to register that she was looking at herself, blurry as the image was. She turned her head, reminding herself that it looked worse than it was. Or so she hoped, as the throbbing got worse. She closed her eyes and focused on breathing, in and out, in and out. The pain dulled to a more manageable level after several minutes.
The door to her room opened and Clark entered, a thick canvas roll in one meaty, scarred hand. He set it on the table and unfurled it with a flourish, revealing a neat row of pockets. Each section contained what Karen could only assume were implements of torture.
“I don’t understand,” she managed, her lips still swollen and painfully dry. “I answered all the questions. One look at my face should convince anyone you’re serious.”
Clark shrugged, running his fingers casually over his kit. He removed a scalpel, and laid it on top, followed by a pair of pliers, and a metal syringe.
“Because I’ll enjoy it, and your colleagues will not.” His calm monotone was chilling, the slight grin on his lips more so.
“There’s no need to fear, however. The heroine will keep you from feeling much. It tends to make for better video too. For some reason, quiet acceptance of torture seems more effective to viewers than a bunch of screaming. Who knows why?”
He picked up the syringe and a length of medical tubing and came around the table.
“Don’t worry. In a few minutes, you won’t feel a thing.” Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
Romantic Suspense
| Erotic Romance | Contemporary Romance |
Suspense/Thriller
| Flash Fiction | Non-Fiction
**Please
note - If this is your first time posting, your comment
will be moderated. Once you have been approved, future comments will post automatically.
May 29, 2013
Talkin' Books: Dashed Hopes, Team Dynamics & Genetic Tampering
Books Finished:
None
Books In Progress:
Bloodline
The Huntress
Beautiful Sorrows
Comics Read:
Superior Spiderman #9
Wolverine Vol. 5, #3
Comics in Progress:
Age of Ultron #3
So you know when you *know* something is
supposed to happen that will be a total game-changer in an ongoing
series, and you have an idea of what it might be, and you're hoping for
it to go the way you want it to, but you have this really bad feeling
that it won't?
Yeah, that's kind of how I felt about Superior Spiderman #9 .
I won't spoil it (though it's been out awhile now, and I dare say #10
should be in my mailbox soon), but what I had hoped might happen,
didn't. Quite the opposite actually, thought the power struggle was
pretty incredible. And now I'm left in a somewhat awkward state of mind
about the whole thing...because I'm just not sure how it's going to work
without the...restrictions that were previously in place. I'm certainly
interested to see where it goes from here, albeit quite nervous...
Not being as well-rounded in comicdom as
long-time fans, I still get a little confused when an issue brings in a
character that everyone is expected to know, but I have no idea who it
is. Wolverine #3 brings in Nick Fury, a
S.H.E.I.L.D agent I know nothing about, but apparently he's some dude
that Wolverine has worked with in the past. Then they make reference to
the X-men, and also this new "team" of sorts that Wolverine has put
together...and it feels in places like I'm stepping into a dynamic that I
really should know the history of, but don't. I've heard of
S.H.E.I.L.D, of course, but other than bits and pieces from the Avengers
movie (that was S.H.E.I.L.D, right?), I really don't have much context
for it. It seems like it might be important though, so I think I'll do
some digging in the digital comic archives and find out what I'm
missing.
I like the Wolverine comics...think I'll
definitely add this "volume 5" series to my subscription service to save
some $$ and to make sure I don't miss any...
Bloodline
is...well, it's freaky. And difficult to put down, which is problematic
since I pick it up at night when I crawl into bed. "Just a few chapters"
turns into "just a couple more pages" and then "I really can't put it
down until I know if they escape this" followed by a healthy dose of,
"but what about- no way! That is so not happening. Or will it? Is it
even possible?"
And the team dynamics in this book are just incredible. Everyone is so in tune with everyone else - understandably so. It's quite amazing, really (yet totally believable).
Argh! I keep thinking I need to pay
attention to the story structure, because this is exactly how I want my
books to read (well, I mean page-turning-wise, not actual story...though
I'm loving this). But I can't possibly read critically when so many
things are at stake, so my own dissection will have to wait until after I
find out whether the dissection in the book is actually going to take
place or not (because it can't, really, but they're running out of time,
and...).
Yeah. The genetic tampering in this book
freaks me out mostly because of what it means/requires as far as...well,
dang it. I'm not saying anymore about it, because I don't want to ruin
it for you. Just go read it, K? And don't forget to breathe...
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
None
Books In Progress:
Bloodline
The Huntress
Beautiful Sorrows
Comics Read:
Superior Spiderman #9
Wolverine Vol. 5, #3
Comics in Progress:
Age of Ultron #3
So you know when you *know* something is
supposed to happen that will be a total game-changer in an ongoing
series, and you have an idea of what it might be, and you're hoping for
it to go the way you want it to, but you have this really bad feeling
that it won't?
Yeah, that's kind of how I felt about Superior Spiderman #9 .
I won't spoil it (though it's been out awhile now, and I dare say #10
should be in my mailbox soon), but what I had hoped might happen,
didn't. Quite the opposite actually, thought the power struggle was
pretty incredible. And now I'm left in a somewhat awkward state of mind
about the whole thing...because I'm just not sure how it's going to work
without the...restrictions that were previously in place. I'm certainly
interested to see where it goes from here, albeit quite nervous...
Not being as well-rounded in comicdom as
long-time fans, I still get a little confused when an issue brings in a
character that everyone is expected to know, but I have no idea who it
is. Wolverine #3 brings in Nick Fury, a
S.H.E.I.L.D agent I know nothing about, but apparently he's some dude
that Wolverine has worked with in the past. Then they make reference to
the X-men, and also this new "team" of sorts that Wolverine has put
together...and it feels in places like I'm stepping into a dynamic that I
really should know the history of, but don't. I've heard of
S.H.E.I.L.D, of course, but other than bits and pieces from the Avengers
movie (that was S.H.E.I.L.D, right?), I really don't have much context
for it. It seems like it might be important though, so I think I'll do
some digging in the digital comic archives and find out what I'm
missing.
I like the Wolverine comics...think I'll
definitely add this "volume 5" series to my subscription service to save
some $$ and to make sure I don't miss any...
Bloodline
is...well, it's freaky. And difficult to put down, which is problematic
since I pick it up at night when I crawl into bed. "Just a few chapters"
turns into "just a couple more pages" and then "I really can't put it
down until I know if they escape this" followed by a healthy dose of,
"but what about- no way! That is so not happening. Or will it? Is it
even possible?"
And the team dynamics in this book are just incredible. Everyone is so in tune with everyone else - understandably so. It's quite amazing, really (yet totally believable).
Argh! I keep thinking I need to pay
attention to the story structure, because this is exactly how I want my
books to read (well, I mean page-turning-wise, not actual story...though
I'm loving this). But I can't possibly read critically when so many
things are at stake, so my own dissection will have to wait until after I
find out whether the dissection in the book is actually going to take
place or not (because it can't, really, but they're running out of time,
and...).
Yeah. The genetic tampering in this book
freaks me out mostly because of what it means/requires as far as...well,
dang it. I'm not saying anymore about it, because I don't want to ruin
it for you. Just go read it, K? And don't forget to breathe...
Enjoy
this post? Support your author:
Romantic Suspense
| Erotic Romance | Contemporary Romance |
Suspense/Thriller
| Flash Fiction | Non-Fiction
**Please
note - If this is your first time posting, your comment
will be moderated.
