Julia Phillips Smith's Blog, page 47

I'm being interviewed at the Romance Bandits - Scroll down for 5 on Friday - Set 101

Please join me for a rollicking good time over at the Romance Bandits , where I'm being interviewed by Anna Campbell , regency noir romance author extraordinaire.









Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

For my first set of the new year, I'd like to dedicate these tunes to my kick-ass main character, Tanwen, the Dark Ages Welsh chieftain's daughter who not only discovers her betrothed perished on the battlefield, but that her father expects her to marry another.

Let's just say Tanwen isn't the kind of daughter to take this news well...

1 - These Boots Are Made For Walkin' - Nancy Sinatra



2 - One Way or Another - Blondie



3 - Weapons - Carole Pope and Rough Trade



4 - Supervixen - Garbage



5 - God is a DJ - Pink



You can read about Tanwen in my debut novel, SAINT SANGUINUS .

Thursday Thirteen - 240 - 13 Things I'll Be Up To in 2012

1 - I'll start with the more personal items, although even these have writer's-life spillover.

Giving the garden some TLC. I was SO busy last year getting SAINT SANGUINUS ready to release in November, the garden was pretty much left to its own resources. As it filled out through the spring and summer, I could only mow the lawn and do emergency triage gardening. This year I'll be able to pace myself better.

2 - De-cluttering the apartment. For my husband and me, this is going to be a year-long project.

3 - Continuing with my acupuncture. For a migrainer and chronic pain sufferer like me, acupuncture has given me more concrete relief in a two-and-a-half-year time span than my previous treatment which lasted for more than a decade.

4 - Here at A Piece of My Mind:

I'll be taking part in the year-long Movie Madness Challenge .

5 - In April I will once again take part in the month-long A to Z Challenge hosted by multiple bloggers but with a central sign-up site.

6 - In November I will take part in my 5th Blog Blast For Peace .

7 - This year I'm planning to expand my author interviews to include more arts industry folk.

8 - I'll be concentrating on widening my Facebook reach.

9 - And also expanding my Twitterverse .

10 - This spring, my serialized dark fantasy tale following Scorpius , the falconer's apprentice turned lord's manservant, will be collected into novel form and self-published through Amazon and Smashwords.

11 - That will require making a non-live-action book trailer to promote it.

12 - Then I will be sending my little darlings out for reviews.

13 - And most exciting of all, I'm planning to attend Fan Expo in Toronto this August as a vendor, with both of my books.

Aug. 23rd - 26th Hope to see you there!

Scorpius will return in 1 week

Unfortunately, due to this being Day 5 of a migraine, I can't post this week's instalment of Scorpius' tale.

Please join me next week to find out how Scorpius fares in the clutches of the Sibiu.

5 on Friday - Set 100!

The 99-cent December Book Blowout Event continues!

My debut Dark Ages vampire novel SAINT SANGUINUS is proudly taking part in this exciting month-long e-book sale.

Browse through 11 genres by 100 independent authors

For more information,
CLICK HERE to visit the BOOK LOVERS BUFFET

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Travis at Trav's Thoughts invites everyone to lay down a short set of music that takes their fancies for his 5 on Friday meme.

As most of you know by now, 2011 has been one of the most amazing years of my life. I'm a bit verklempt to see it go, if you want to know the truth.

But 2012 beckons.

A very Happy New Year to all A Piece of My Mind readers!

1 - May Each Day - Andy Williams

CLICK HERE to watch the video

















2 - Counting My Blessings - Diana Krall



3 - With a Little Luck - Paul McCartney and Wings



4 - I'm Into Something Good - Herman's Hermits



5 - Theme from Ironiya sudby - Composed by Mikael Tariverdiyev, Conducted by Georgi Garanyan

This is the theme song that runs throughout the Russian New Year's film, Ironiya sudby , which my husband, my mom and I will be watching tomorrow night. We've also ordered a few dishes from a Russian restaurant here in town - Laura's Cafe - including borscht and kinkhali (dumplings.) Plus, my mom has prepared lobster mousse (to substitute for the ruined fish aspic dish featured prominently in the farcical plot) and Russian potato salad, as we're mirroring the New Year's feast shown often in the film.

At midnight tomorrow night, I hope you'll all be raising a glass to toast the year in! Doesn't matter what's in the glass - water will do perfectly.

Of course, at my house we'll be sipping Bottega Il Vino Dei Poeti Prosecco, for which I made a special stop over at Bishop's Cellar on my way home from work. I had my first taste of this when my friends Dawn, Maureen, Shelley and I had a girls' overnight in Wolfville a few years ago. That was the start of my love affair with prosecco.

Happy New Year, everyone! May 2012 be a year where you dare to reach for the dreams you've kept alive in your heart.

Thursday Thirteen - 239 - 13 of My Dad's Favorite Things

In memory of my dad, who passed away almost five years ago, this week's Thursday Thirteen is a special present for him, as today marks his birthday.

A Piece of My Mind owes its existence to my dad, as I launched it the month before he died. I was struck by the urgency of 'it's now or never', and in a very real way this blog is my dad's legacy.

1 - Laughter

Dad laughed - a lot. These are some of the things that could really get him going:

13 Things That Made My Dad Laugh

2 - Music

He was a lifelong music enthusiast, with a special love for the blues, rhythm & blues, classic rock and cool jazz. Here's a set I posted for him awhile back:

5 on Friday

3 - Photography

At school concerts, my dad always roamed the sides of the auditorium taking pictures with his Nikon camera.

4 - Movies

He started life as a big fan of John Ford westerns and the stunts of Yakima Canutt. When I later became someone who would pay multiple times to see a movie at the theatre, he thought that was a little strange - until VCRs came out, and I caught him watching Road Warrior over again. A-ha!

5 - Dancing

Dad not only liked to dance at clubs and house parties, but he ended up teaching jive dancing lessons in his late 50's.
















6 - Christmas

When my sister and I woke up bouncing with excitement in the dark of early Christmas morning, Dad always hopped out of bed ready for Christmas, even if he'd only gotten 2 hours of sleep getting the Santa toys ready the night before.














7 - Military History

He was a Canadian who lived a good part of his life in the States, and served in the US Army, 2nd and 3rd Armored Division. He had an insatiable thirst for all things military history.

He wore his army uniform on his wedding day in 1961, as he was posted to Europe the following week.

8 - Titanic History

He was always interested in the sinking of the Titanic, owning several books about it and visiting the graveyard here in Halifax where the victims are buried. In one of the odd ways life works out, my dad is now buried in that same resting place - Fairview Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in my step-mom's family plot.

















9 - Scuba Diving

My dad owned a scuba gear shop and was a certified instructor in the 1970's.















10 - Hockey

He played hockey from boyhood, and was a lifelong Montreal Canadiens fan. This shot was taken at the Hockey Hall of Fame, during a Toronto visit with my sister and me, when we both lived there.

11 - Cars

He started his working life as a mechanic, and ended it as a car salesman. He had a special fondness for classic cars, but he pretty much loved everything to do with any kind - he loved watching car races, collecting reproduction cars, operating remote-controlled cars, and when he was in the army he taught fellow soldiers to drive the big 'deuce and a half' and five ton trucks.

12 - Beer

Beer was the go-to beverage for Norm. He also had a collection of beer steins, including the one I remember most - an engraved silver stein with a glass bottom that he brought home from Germany.












13 - Being a Dad

He loved this role in his life. And I love being his daughter.