Ava Stone's Blog, page 5

Wish Me Luck, I'm Gonna Need It...

Ok. It looks like it's headed east... Use your imagination.In a few hours, I will board a plane headed for the Rocky Mountains for a 9 day visit with my family. But I’m not going alone. Oh, no. I’m taking my teenage son and my wonderful boyfriend (better known to my Twitter followers as “the scientist”), who is either insane or the bravest man I know for agreeing to go on this sojourn out west.  Other than my son, he has never met any of my family until now.
I mean, my whole family will be there: my mother, grandmother, brothers, sister, nephews, etc. (The etc. would be my brother-in-law and my soon to be sister-in-law, my long-time BFF and her family, not that I was trying to be dismissive. And now the etc. doesn’t matter as I’ve spelled it all out.)

But in short – YES – everyone.  Warts and all. (I don’t think anyone actually has any warts, but you know what I mean.)
Of course, my hair is longer and redder.
AND I'm a girl, but you get the idea.
Not attractive. Not at all. Now that it’s time to leave, I’m not sure if I’m quite ready for this trip. I mean, I’m all packed. I’ve got our boarding passes, my car reservation, our hotel reservation. Technically, I’m ready. But it’s a little nerve wracking to think about the sheer number of people who will suddenly be thrust in front of the scientist in just a few hours.  I am terrified someone will do something to scare him off.  And then I’ll have to kill that particular family member.  And I’ll end up in jail. And as Andris Bear is fond of saying, “Prison orange is not my color.”
So in preparation, and to head off any stints in the joint, I have threatened both of my brothers with slow, torturous murder should they misbehave in front of the scientist. Yes, they’re both grown men, but the threats are necessary, let me just assure you. (Even if the threat *is* empty.)
There’s not much I can do with my grandmother. I don’t think threats would work with her. And though she loves me, she’s a bit of a wildcard with virtually no filter as she approaches her 90th birthday, and I’m never quite sure what will come out of her mouth. Note to self: KEEP A CLOSE EYE ON GRANDMA.
I’m fairly confident I can trust my mother, sister, and brother-in-law to all seem like reasonable people. Thank God for them. My nephews are as precocious and precious as they can be and I’m not worried about them at all, except for maybe upstaging me with their cuteness. I mean I am visiting… I should get all the attention, right? Well, my teenager, my scientist, and me.
Anyway, I have a visit scheduled to see my BFF, her husband and daughter one of the days we’re there. And I can hardly wait to see them. It feels like a lifetime since I’ve laid eyes on them, and I’m fairly certain the scientist will fit right in with this particular group.
It’s the group I’m related to that has my stomach all tied in knots. Don’t get me wrong. I adore my family. I love each and every one of them, despite their quirks or blaring flaws (they know the flaws of which I speak). But maybe I have nothing to worry about. He’s met my son after all. My teenage son. Can anyone be scarier than teenage boys?  Yeah, I’m not sure either…
So, I’ve got a rental car scheduled. (Usually I make my family chauffer me around town to wherever I want to go.) And I’ve got a hotel room reserved for just the scientist and me as my son is looking forward to staying with his cousins during this trip. So, I feel like if we need to escape the group I’m related to, we can do so with relative ease. Hopefully if we do need to make an escape, my family will be understanding. Crossing my fingers on that one.
So tell me, how did you introduce your significant other to your family? Did it go well? Or not so well?  I’m very willing to learn from others’ experiences. Any and all tips, helpful hints, or even well-wishes will be appreciated. Seriously… Wish me luck. I think I’m going to need it.

As a side note... I've had some friends who would like instant play-by-play of any and all newsworthy activities during this trip. So for them - and anyone else who is interested - I'll be live tweeting under #AvaVaca for your enjoyment over the next 9 days.

Originally posted at LadyScribes.blogspot.com August 10, 2012

Fortunes! Get Your Fortunes Here...

A while back I noticed that fortune cookies had changed. More often they should be called “suggestion” cookies or even “lecture” cookies (who knew my father had started moonlighting), because there weren’t any fortunes to be found. Some of you may have heard me moan about this in the past. It’s a real problem that no one seems to be paying much attention to. No one, but me, anyway.

It’s gotten to the point where I get an attitude before I even crack open my fortune cookie. (I’m sure this surprises no one.) Usually I say something pithy like, “Let’s see what advice they’re dolling out today, ‘cause you know there won’t be a fortune in there.” And 95% of the time, I’m right. But that 5%... that wonderful 5% when I get an actual FORTUNE in a fortune cookie– I get so excited. You’d think it was Christmas or my birthday. That I’d caught a leprechaun or an actual snipe on a snipe hunt.

The other night I had Chinese take out with my good friend Susan as we watched Game of Thrones on my couch. And I got a real, honest to goodness fortune. I got a little giddy because not only was it an honest to goodness fortune – it was the best fortune you could ever hope to get!

“Your fondest wish will come true.” 
Now THAT is a fortune to write a blog about, and it’s had me thinking for days about what my fondest wish is. If I could have one wish granted, what would it be…? I mean there are so many things I’ve wished for, but what is my fondest wish? I’m still not sure.

On a lark, I made Susan go back with me to the same Chinese bistro and beg (read: grab handfuls without asking) for more fortune cookies for this blog. We absconded with 25 cookies, and of our very non-scientific sampling, we ended up with 7 “fortune” cookies and18 “suggestion or lecture” cookies (3 of which were duplicates.)

Here are the fortunes:

“A secret admirer will soon send you a sign of affection” 
“Be on the alert for a new opportunity” 
“You will soon be surrounded by good friends and laughter” 
“Your kindness is surely to be repaid” 
“Soon you will be sitting on top of the world” 
“A passionate new romance will appear in your life when you least expect it” 
& 
“Your skills will accomplish what the force of many cannot”


Now not all of those are awesome fortunes, but they’re better than these:

“Some like it hot. Eat more Kung Pao.” 
Really?!? This is a sales pitch – it’s not even a lecture cookie.
“Luck happens when hard work meets opportunity.” 
Um – thanks, Dad. 
“Face any problem with dignity.” 
How is that a fortune? A fortune would be “You will face a problem with dignity.” See the difference? I mean it’s not that hard. 
“Set the right example. It will inspire others.” 
My dad must be really busy with this side job of his. 
“The simplest answer is to act.” 
What does that even mean? 
& 
“Success is a journey not a destination.” 
A total lecture cookie that must have been penned from my high school guidance counselor. (Not that I needed a guidance counselor, mind you.) 
Come on, fortune cookie fortune writers! You can do better than that! Right? I mean, I'm sure you can if you try.

Since I think it doesn’t take much to write these, I’m going to try my hand at one now...

“One lucky commenter on this blog will win a free e-copy of THE BETTING SEASON.”

See, that's really not that hard. I don't know why fortune cookie fortune writers have such a difficult time with this. 
Now it’s your turn. Write a real, honest to goodness fortune to be entered into the drawing. (Suggestion and lectures will be tossed aside.) 


Or you can tell me what your fondest wish is, because maybe it'll help me decide what mine is. 
* Originally posted at LadyScribes May 15, 2012

A Summons From the Courthouse...

Last month I received my very first jury summons ever. Yes, that loud groan you heard at the beginning of March, coming from the direction of North Carolina was me. It’s not that I don’t want to do my civic duty. In fact, when I was younger I always thought I would make the best juror. I’m honest. I’m fair. I’m open-minded. I'd be Henry Fonda from 12 Angry Men if the situation called for it, back during my idealistic youth. (Who am I kidding...? I'd still be Henry Fonda if the situation called for it. I'm just too moral to behave differently.)

But April was a bad month for me. I had the RT Convention in Chicago 10-15 April, and I had the Spring Fling Conference in Chicago 26-28 April. And my jury duty date was scheduled for April 19th. Right between the two conferences dates. What if I got selected for some big criminal trial and had to miss Spring Fling? I would be pretty far from happy, I can tell you that! But I would do my duty, just like Henry Fonda in that classic film.

After I groaned, I re-read the letter from my county, which stated that I needed to keep up with my summons and bring it to jury duty on the 19th. Great! Now I have to keep up with one measly piece of paper for more than 6 weeks? Really?!?! Me? That is a definite problem for someone who forgets their iPhone in post offices.

But what other choice did I have? I had to keep up with the summons, right? So I thought and thought about the best place to put it so I wouldn’t lose it and…. Yeah, that’s right, I completely forgot where I put the summons. I tore my house apart. Looked in every drawer. Lifted every couch and chair cushion in the house. And crawled under every bed, 'til I was covered in dust bunnies.

The blasted thing was nowhere!

So I called the county courthouse, fell on my sword, and apologized profusely for my ineptitude. Long story short - they sent me a new summons. When it arrived in the mail, I sat my teenage son down and said, “All right, I need you to help me. Where is the best place we can put this, and then when I can’t find it again, you’ll remember where it is?” He said, “Mom, I’d put it on the refrigerator, if I were you.”
The refrigerator!!
My mouth dropped open in surprise…
Yep, I’m pretty sure that’s where I put the first summons. I went straight to the kitchen, and sure enough… right there hanging on the door to the freezer was my original jury summons. I definitely had a Homer Simpson "D'oh!" moment. But at least I ended up with two summonses, which is always better than one - at least if you're me.

Anyway, I still had a couple of weeks to prepare for my date with the jury box. I made arrangements with my office to be gone for the day. I made arrangements with my ex-husband to drop my son off late. I put the courthouse address in my GPS so I wouldn't get lost. And then the night before I was to report for my civic duty, I called the phone number on the summons (yes, both of them) to double check that they actually needed me. And you know what...? After all that - they didn’t. I was free to go about my day on the 19th as though I'd never received that little piece of paper in the mail.

Despite all the preparing and organizing, despite all my thoughts of big criminal cases, and despite all of the insanity surrounding my lost summons, my job, my son - I didn’t get to play Henry Fonda after all. It was kind of a let down, honestly (after all the hoopla.) But at least my trip to Spring Fling will be unaffected. Thank heavens!

So tell me all your jury duty stories. Have you ever served on a jury? If so, were there any Henry Fonda moments in the jury room? Have you ever gotten out of jury duty? If so, do you have any advice for being dismissed? Just for fun... what is the craziest thing you could do, or thing you could say, to get dismissed without a backwards glance? (My co-worker suggested I tell them my opinion about local law enforcement... I - um - have issues with authority figures. But that's a blog post for another day.)
* Originally posted at LadyScribes April 20, 2012

A Night at the Salon...

September 29, 2011, Deb Marlowe, Claudia Dain, and both halves of Lydia Dare opened the preverbal doors to Lady Jane's Salon Raleigh-Durham (a satellite of the original in NYC) in the quaint patio room of a local Irish Pub. From that debut salon until now, Lady Jane's Salon RDU has advertised itself with the slogan - "Good Company, Great Books, and a Worthy Cause." (The worthy cause in our case is Heather McCollum's Shout Against the Whisper campaign, which supports Ovarian Cancer research.)

Sometimes there is truth in advertising. *I* have not missed a salon, nor do I ever plan to do so. I have heard amazing authors read from their work, and I have enjoyed the camaraderie of the other attendees month after month. (And I'm really very partial to the pub's Chicken Cordon Bleu. Yes, it's an Irish pub with French chicken. But it tastes so good, I'm not complaining.)

I've heard talented authors such as Sabrina Jeffries, Virginia Kantra, Jenna Black, Claudia Dain, and our own Lady Scribes lady – Catherine Gayle (all the way from Texas) just to name a few read at our satellite salon.

But last month…

Last month it was my turn. Well… mine, Mari Freeman's and Kianna Alexander's turn. And I was a little nervous.

Ok, more than a little nervous.

Despite my reputation, I'm fairly introverted and never did all that well in public speaking back in school all those many, many (ok, more many's than I'd like to admit) years ago. PLUS everyone who's ever heard me read always says, "Ava, you need to slow down a little."

Slow down?

But I've got a rhythm going. If I slow down, I'll stumble over my own words. And the last thing I want to do is fumble something I wrote and come off looking like an idiot in front of a group of people. Yikes! Besides, my characters talk and think fast. That's the cadence they have. It just is.

Slow down!

Back in January, Catherine Gayle, Erin Knightley and Olivia Kelly came back to my house after that month's salon and let me practice my selection for February on them. You know what they said…? Each one of them…? That's right. You guessed it… "Ava, you need to slow down a little."

My two new least favorite words… Slow dow—Wait that's not true. My two least favorite words are and always will be my ex-husband's name. But "slow down" is now a close second. Perhaps if I could just find a way to make everyone else hear faster...

But I digress.
Over the next month, I timed myself. I recorded myself (Erin Knightley's suggestion). And I read it over and over and over to myself, to a couple of friends who were willing guinea pigs and even to my teenage son when he was feeling particularly charitable one evening. I had it down perfectly. 14:48 minutes. I didn't go too fast. I didn't go too slow. My practice had all been worth it! I was going to be amazing!!

But then the night was upon us. Dinner was over. The first reader had finished and it was my turn. Yes, I gulped. Then I took my spot on a tall chair, and silently chanted in my head, "Slow down, Ava. Slow down, Ava."

And then proceeded to read a little too fast.

I'm not auctioneer-fast or anything, but it was a little quick. Still, I think people could hear me well enough. At least they all told me they could.
I did promise a friend who couldn't be there that night that I'd have my reading recorded, and I did. The recording is a little blurry, but if you want a glimpse of what Lady Jane's Salon Raleigh Durham is like (with an author who should maybe slow down just a little)...
...you can click here to see me read from my latest novella By Any Other Name, which is part of THE BETTING SEASON anthology with fellow Lady Scribes ladies – Catherine Gayle, Jerrica Knight-Catania, and Jane Charles. (I tried to imbed the YouTube video but after 7 straight hours of "uploading," I wasn't confident it would ever work and thought the link was a better option.)
All in all, I had a wonderful time, even in that tall chair in front of everyone. And I did enjoy reading from my novella. BUT, I think I'll have even more fun listening to Lady Scribes lady Deb Marlowe read from her latest release - TALL, DARK & DISREPUTABLE; Aimee Laine read from HIDE AND SEEK; and Maya Rodale (one the original Lady Jane's Salon founding members) read from her new release - THE TATTOOED DUKE next week at the March Salon. If you're in the RDU area, you should come hear them too. I'm sure they'll all be amazing!

Have you ever had to speak or read in front of a big crowd? Do you get nervous? Or are you cool as cucumber? Tell me all of your public speaking stories (the good and the bad) and I promise I won't tell you to slow down. But most importantly, do you have any suggestions of how I can make others hear faster...?
*Originally posted at LadyScribes March 23, 2012

Shamelessly Biding My Time...

Everyone knows that I am a huge HUGE fan of HBO's Game of Thrones. Love it! Probably my most favorite television series ever! Thankfully it is returning to HBO April 1st… And if that is an April Fool's joke, someone will be pulling a broadsword out of their back (I'm looking at you HBO execs.)


But I'm not going to talk about GoT or mention certain co-workers who have read ahead in the series and are put out with me that I don't want to talk about what happens next with them. I want it to be a surprise, people! NO spoilers!! Sheesh!!!

No, I'm not going to talk about any of that. I'm going to talk about what I've watched while I've waited for Winter to finally freakin' come .

I've become mildly obsessed with PBS's Downton Abbey and Showtime's Shameless. Sooo much has been said about Downton Abbey with all of their awards and accolades. And I truly do love the series, everything about it.



















But today I'm going to focus all of my attention on Shameless, I think mainly because it's not a series I would think that I would like. Everyone from the alcoholic father (played by the supremely skilled William H. Macy) to the smallest Gallagher (OK, not the baby) is someone I'm fairly certain I would run screaming from in real life. (The exact opposite of the noble Starks I love so much in GoT, and the honorable characters I love in Downton Abbey *don't get me started on the not-so-honorable ones however.)

The Gallaghers are dishonest, promiscuous, and downright shameless in every way. Yet, there is a vulnerability and general likability in each and every main character, and I can't help but care about them. They resonate with me for some reason, and I find myself thinking about their plights from one episode to the next.

Shameless is masterful television.

From the oldest daughter Fiona (Emmy Rossum) who does everything she can to provide for her five siblings, be it honest or otherwise, all while sorting through her romantic woes (who knew there were soooo many frogs to kiss without a single prince in the bunch?)

To Lip (Jeremy Allen White) the brainiac oldest son who spends more time getting high and pining for the not-so-girl-next-door girl to keep his mind off the unlucky stars that and made him a Gallagher in the first place.

To Ian (Cameron Monaghan) the gay ROTC second son who struggles with his own identity nearly constantly, often in a very self-absorbed sort of way.

To Debbie (Emma Kenney) the good-hearted youngest sister who is still a little naïve about the world, but who is a fast learner and isn't above blackmailing anyone to keep her family safe.
To Carl (Ethan Cutkosky) the juvenile-delinquent-in-the-making third son who is everyone's go-to man for all firearms needs.

And finally to Liam (played by twins Blake Alexander Johnson and Brennan Kane Johnson) who is more of a pawn than anything else at his tender age.

The cast is rounded out with the family's friends, neighbors, Fiona's suitors, Lip's love interest and her bizarre family, and many others that find their way into the Gallaghers' world or the other way around.



I still scratch my head a bit at the show's ability to make me care for and about each member of this shameless family (and make me hope that this time everything will turn out all right for them.) As far as the writer in me goes – Shameless is an excellent example at characterization. It makes you care about these people on many different levels. And as far as viewer in me goes – Shameless is an excellent series that transports you to a place you would otherwise avoid like the plague, yet you yearn for it until the next new episode anyway.

The cast is amazing. The scripts are phenomenal. Shameless is masterful television. I know I said that before, but it is worth repeating.

I don't personally know anyone who is watching this show, but I can't recommend it highly enough. If you are watching it... Yay! I can't wait to talk with you about it. Which Gallagher is your favorite and why?

If you're not watching it and have Showtime – start watching it immediately and report back to me later! I promise you'll be hooked!

If you don't have Showtime, what sort of shows do you like? What else should I be watching until April 1st when I will finally get my GoT fix again? Because - as of this moment - I'm all caught up on Shameless too.
Originally posted at Lady Scribes 2/24/2012

Ava, this is Houston. Are you there?

Sometimes I am a space cadet, and not in a good way. I mean, I don't work for NASA, nor have they ever asked me to travel to outer space for my country. No, no. I am a space cadet in the Where-am-I-going?…What-was-I-doing-again?…or…Who-am-I-today?…kind of way. Not the best thing to say about one's self, but in addition to being a space cadet, I'm truthful to a fault, and I'm also a pragmatist. So there you are.

I don't know about you, but I lose everything. I mean EVERYTHING. My keys. My bank card. My phone.

That's right…



MY PHONE!
I did *that* this week. Monday, to be exact. And losing my iPhone really means losing all of my contacts, my email, Twitter, and Facebook accounts… Needless to say I get the shakes when I can't put my hand on my phone. (Which you would think would make me keep up with it better. But… Well, you saw the first paragraph about me being a space cadet, right…?) Everything I have is in my phone. I don't remember anyone's numbers, and it's a good thing I don't usually have to because… see paragraph one again.

Strangely enough, I can tell you every last detail about every character I've ever written. Not sure what that means, but I didn't want everyone to get the impression that I'm a complete dingbat. Just about things happening in the real world in real time.

Anyway, I retraced my steps, figured out where I'd had my cell phone last and that was… the post office. Really?! The post office?! Where a million people come and go every day? That's where I left my phone? Uh, yeah, it was. And, of course, by the time I realized I didn't have my phone, the post office was closed for the day.

Yeah, the shakes set in. But not as bad as I had expected. Whether or not my phone was still at the post office, there was absolutely nothing I could do about it until Tuesday morning at 9am when I found out for sure. I was rather calm, actually. I went back over conversations I've had with various friends recently about people being inherently good or evil. I have friends in both camps, and I'm… Well, I *am* a pragmatist. I don't think people are either inherently good or evil. I think some people are good and some people are evil. I give everyone the benefit of the doubt, until I'm proven wrong – but that's the subject for a whole other blog.

I figured my phone would either be at the post office or it wouldn't. It would all depend on who found it and what sort of person that person was. And no amount of worrying on my part was going to change the situation one way or the other. Whatever had happened had already happened, and I just had to wait until the next morning to find out which way it went.

I am happy to report that some honest soul turned my phone in and I had it back in my hot little hands at 9am the next morning. And so I would like to send out a big "Thank you" to the nameless person who discovered my phone. I would also like to say that I will no longer be a space cadet and I'll keep up with my possessions better, but I *am* honest and I know myself too well to make that kind of statement, even though I would love for it to be true.

Are you like me? Do you lose things constantly? And what do you lose most? (Mine are my keys. I have to have several copies at various places so I can always get to where I need to be.) Or do you always know where everything is all the time? If so – do you have any tips for the rest of us? ... Nice tips that is. Don't tell me to get my head out of the clouds, because that's probably not going to happen.

*Originially posted January 27, 2012 at LadyScribes

"I'm dreaming of a..."

Anyone who knows me will be shocked SHOCKED that *I* of all people am writing about music. Usually I couldn't care less about music in anyway, shape or form. Chalk that up to having been married to a composer for 13 less than stellar years, and I dare anyone else to feel differently. And just that fast I've gotten off topic.

Let's get back on track, shall we?

I do happen to love Christmas music. Well, some of it. And that shouldn't surprise anyone. After all, I am rather high maintenance from time to time. (Or always.)

So let's get specific about Christmas music, shall we? I usually start to listen to holiday music the 1st or 2nd week of November. And no matter how many times I hear certain songs, I could always listen to them again:

White Christmas * Bing Crosby

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer * Gene Autry

Holly Jolly Christmas * Burl Ives

Blue Christmas * Elvis Presley

Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree * Brenda Lee

Hanukkah Song * Adam Sandler

I could go on and on. Did you notice I didn't just list the song, but included the performer and the performance as well? There's a reason for that.

Those songs are taken.

I don't want to hear anyone other than Bing Crosby sing White Christmas. I just don't. That song is spoken for. Gene Autry sings Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and he's the only one who should.

I don't want to hear Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, or Kid Rock sing any of those songs. I just don't. Not now. Not ever.

These songs are classics. We all know them. We all sing along with… Bing and Gene and Burl. But these songs weren't classics until these greats sang them (being loose with the term 'great' in regards to Adam Sandler – but no one else should sing his Hanukkah Song ever. It's his! And it's hilarious.)

I'd love to hear new classic holiday songs come to fruition by contemporary artists, something future generations will look back on with nostalgia. But there's no reason to reinvent the wheel, no reason to cover these classic songs. They're perfectly fine the way they are.

What is your favorite holiday song? Do you like to hear covers of the old classics or do you like them the way they are?

An interview with the Whitton twins...

Today Emma and Isabel are being interviewed over at Lilia Birney's blog.

Stop by and comment or ask questions as the Whitton twins will be there all day. Comments or questions with email addresses will enter you into the drawing for the Regency Christmas Summons Prize Extravaganza. Winners will be drawn December 15th at LadyScribes.blogspot.com during the live chat.

An Interview With Lydia Dare... or is it?

In honor of Halloween, I thought I'd take this opportunity to interview our very own Lydia Dare. Now everyone knows that Lydia is the pseudonym of the writing team of Tammy Falkner and Jodie Pearson. And today we are lucky to have the Jodie ½ talking with us.

Lydia/Jodie - Thank you so much for having me here today.

Jerrica – Anytime. Anytime. So I've lost count, how many books do you have on the shelves these days, Lydia?

Lydia/Jodie – Our seventh book, NEVER BEEN BIT, was released this September. It finished up our Gentlemen Vampyre trilogy and was the last book featuring a Còig witch.

Jerrica – Seven? Just seven?

Lydia/Jodie – Umm. Yes. Just seven. Of course, we have three more books contracted. These will feature Dash's three half-brothers. The first THE WOLF WHO LOVED ME will be released April 2012.

Jerrica – Uh, huh. THAT's all you have going on, Ms. Dare? Or should I call you, Ms. Stone?

Lydia/Jodie – (spews tea across the room) Uh, I'm sorr—I beg your—What did you call me?

Jerrica – Stone – Ava Stone, isn't it?

Lydia/Jodie – Uh…

Jerrica – Speechless? A little birdie told me you've been moonlighting under a different name. Is there any truth to that?

Lydia/Jodie – How in the world do you know that?

Jerrica – A good reporter never reveals her sources.

Lydia/Jodie – You're not a reporter. You're a Regency Romance author.

Jerrica – Maybe you're not the only one moonlighting. So, anywhoo, Ms. Stone – anything you want to say? Perhaps you could take the opportunity to come clean… publicly.

Jodie/Ava – Well, I guess, under the circumstance I'd better. Yes, over the last year I've also had four books and one novella (Scandalous Series) released under the name Ava Stone. And tomorrow an anthology collection I have a short story in will be released.

Jerrica – Really? Anything I've heard of?

Ava – (rolls her eyes) Uh, yeah, since you're in one of the books, AND since my heroine and your heroine are twins I'm pretty sure you've heard of the collection.

Check out the release of Ava and Jerrica's short stories as well as those of ten other wonderful authors in the REGENCY CHRISTMAS SUMMONS ANTHOLOGY COLLECTION, featuring:
A SUMMONS FROM YORKSHIRE
A SUMMONS FROM THE DUKE
A SUMMONS FROM THE CASTLE&A SUMMONS FROM HIS GRACE
All four books will be available tomorrow at Amazon and B&N. Over the next 6 weeks, there will be opportunities to win all sorts of prizes. Visit Ava Stone's website for all the details - www.avastoneauthor.com
Since the Jodie 1/2 of Lydia has clearly been moonlighting as Ava Stone - have you ever worked more than one job?
Originally posted at LadyScribes October 31, 2011

Contact WIth the Other Side...?

Thanks to Jerrica Knight-Catania's earlier blog this month about ghost stories and the mention of a Ouija board session she and a friend had years ago, one of my friends (who will remain nameless to protect the innocent) decided it was something we should do. However, neither of us really wanted to do so in our own homes. Yes, we're chickens (or I've watched one too many "haunted" themed shows on A&E, Discovery and the Travel Channel over the years). Luckily, we were both headed to Washington DC last weekend and agreed that having a "session" at the hotel was preferable to having one where either of us live.

So we rounded up a couple friends who were also going to be in DC at the same time and planned our secret rendezvous. None of us owned a Ouija board. So the first thing we had to do was purchase one, which is easier said than done living in the Bible belt; but we persevered (even if the friend who made the purchase did get a lecture from the woman behind her in line and a dismissive once-over from the employee at the check-out register.)

I'm still a little bit of a chicken and even though I had a fairly good sized suite with a sitting room adjacent to my bedroom at the hotel, I wasn't all that keen at having the "session" where I was going to sleep. Luckily, I had access to one of the meeting rooms at the hotel, so the six of us planned to meet there around midnight last Friday.

Yes, six women – all in our thirties. But things soon went awry. Two of our friends went to Georgetown for drinks and sent a text saying they "hoped" to make it back in time. And two of the others got in spat with each other and weren't speaking. So we were down to only two of us who met at the appointed time and place. The meeting room we borrowed was dimly light with dark walls. Ambiance was certainly not a problem.

No. The problem was us. We're completely silly with no idea what we're doing. All of this was a lark more than anything else. So we unwrapped the "glow in the dark" Parker Bros. Ouija board and put the black rubber feet on the little plastic thingy. (Yes, thingy – we're not terribly technical and I have no idea what to call the little device you put your fingers on. So "thingy" will have to suffice.)

And while we're doing all of this… a hotel employee jiggled the handle to our borrowed space, nearly making us jump out of our skin. My friend managed to toss the box, board and thingy under the long tablecloth before the door was thrown open and exterior light poured inside the room. I made up some lame excuse for why we were sitting in the dark (I actually don't remember what I said, but I remember my adrenaline racing). And the hotel staff shut the door to the room, leaving us alone.

Of course my friend and I then broke out in a peel of laughter and she said, "You know he thinks we're in here making out." And that only made us laugh harder. Finally, after bringing our levity back under control (somewhat), we actually started trying to use the board.

We were not terribly successful. It was either user error, it's all bunk, or some other weirdness. We made contact with some entity. Maybe. Who knows? I mean what kind of name is Zazos?

Just as we were wrapping up and had decided we'd given it our best shot, our two friends who'd gone to Georgetown showed up. And we tried one more time. One of those girls made "contact" with her deceased aunt and had a very moving moment.

I don't think anyone there moved the thingy on purpose, I truly don't. If I was laying odds, I think it was a combination of a collective subconscious and tired arms that weren't allowed to rest on the table that was responsible for making the thingy move across the board.

Still, my friend who had the "moment" with her aunt seemed very moved by the whole event; and if that brought her some peace, I'm glad she was able to experience it – even if she only has her own subconscious to thank/blame.

What do you think? Do you think making contact with "the other side" is bunk or reality? Have you ever experienced something other worldly that couldn't be explained?
Originally posted at LadyScribes October 28, 2011