Vixenwriter

Total since the Challenge began: 76,250
Total this week: 9,143 (Slow for me. In truth I didn’t do much writing yesterday in the midst of laundry and kid wrangling and I haven’t done my writing for today, it’s my middle kiddo’s birthday tomorrow so we did the celebration today. I think I may have buttercream high to help later on though)

I’m tired today! We got up early, had breakfast and headed to the Woodland Park Zoo to celebrate my middle kiddo’s birthday (which is actually tomorrow). Then after seeing gorillas, elephants, giraffes and other various animals (and after uttering, “get down” about seven thousand times, we came home, had cake, ate lunch and now birthday boy is playing his new tetris game (dunno why, but he’s been begging for it for months)

I now need to deal with getting ready for our vacation and my shoes came yesterday. Major fabulous squee! They are shoetastic and I will post pictures later with the whole outfit, which is vintage and I heart it very much. Gotta go and figure out what my birthday dude wants for his dinner.

Enjoy what’s left of your weekend all!

Lots of good books read this week!

Last night I finished Anne Stuart’s Into The Fire. ITF is a prime example of why I love Stuart’s writing so much. Why I love her heroes. Morally complicated, wounded, strong men whose love for the heroine is intense and if she pushed it just a tad more you’d be freaked out.

Into the Fire has a nice mystery/suspense element to it. The flashbacks deliver the backstory nicely so you’re not frustrated for not knowing, nor are you overwhelmed because you had too much info dumped on you at once. Skillfully done.

The chemistry here is inferno hot. But really, Dillon and his demons are the heart of this book and I think Stuart draws his character with many layers. He’s not perfect by any means, but there’s something within him that’s pushed him to get past who he was even the day before.

I liked Jamie as well, but there are times with Stuart heroines where I just shake my head at them. Still, I think she is a compelling and interesting character and I think Stuart handles the idea of people never being quite who we think they are really well.

Another dose of strong males - Linda Howard’s Drop Dead Gorgeous. Now I know people either love or hate this book. I loved it. I love Blair. I wouldn’t want to hang out with her in real life (which is often a gauge for me with a character) but I think she’s a far more interesting and complicated romance heroine than we see very often.

Blair is shallow. Yep. She complains. Yep. But she fiercely loves the people in her life and she runs her own business and takes care of what’s hers. I admire that. I admire how she manages Wyatt, a major alpha male if they ever existed! And I also love her ability, if only in her head, to admit her faults.

Wyatt is one of those heroes who works in the hands of only a very few authors. Most would emasculate him or turn him into a complete ass. Howard can walk that line with great skill. Oh there were times when he fall to the asshole side of the line, but his apolgies were genuine and believable.

I think first person works well with this couple. Wyatt is such a big character, you can see him through Blair’s eyes and understand him as she does. And it softens Blair too. We don’t need inside Wyatt’s head to know how he feels about Blair, he’s with her and he loves her. Anyway, loved it.

Janet Evanovich - Lean Mean Thirteen Holy Cow did I love this book. With the exception of 11, which I enjoyed but thought it was too short and didn’t really go anywhere, I’ve loved all the books in this series.

LMT is classic Plum - really funny in a self depricating way. Great, and I mean great moments with Ranger and I even warmed up to Morelli and started thinking Stephanie should just make up her mind, be with him and give Ranger a hot girlfriend named Lauren. (what?)

I was sorry to see the book end, I gotta say. Another thumbs up for Evanovich.

and lastly:

Lisa Renee Jones’ Hard and Fast I’ve been waiting for this one since Lisa announced the sale at her blog and I wasn’t disappointed.

Hard and Fast is hot, funny, sweet and really well told and I loved every word. In short, it’s what I love to see in a category novel.

While yes, Brad is hot - it was Amanda I really loved in this book. Smart and driven, a woman who is career focused but not stereotypically cold at all. She’s compassionate as well as ambitious and I appreciate seeing heroines like this.

First - a note that two wonderful authors I know have books out this week!

Sasha White’s Trouble

This one came via UPS (with several other books, wheee!) and I’m saving it for my vacation later this month. I can’t wait to read it. As I’ve said before, I love Sasha’s writing and I think her erotic writing is marvelous.

And Charlene Teglia’s Wild Wild West

This one also came via UPS on the same day Sasha’s did although I did peek at the first story, I’ll also be reading this one on my vacation. This is Charli’s first NY release and I love her writing so I’m quite sure it’ll be fabulous

THIRTEEN VITAMINS I TAKE EACH DAY

Many people I met in June at the Lori Foster Event saw the baggies of vitamins I had. My husband takes his duties very seriously and one of them is making sure I take vitamins. He joked a while back that he should look up and do a TT for them and I told him to go for it. Keeping in mind of course that this morning alone, my baggie contains THIRTY vitamins (I do not kid) and he makes three such baggies for me to take each day for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The lunch and dinner vitamin baggies contain about half the vitamins the morning bag does. So here it is… Thirteen Vitamins my dude gives me each day and he’s given links that talk about what they do, etc. Just click the name of the vitamin if you’re interested.

1. POMEGRANATE EXTRACT Researchers found that pomegranate juice not only appears to prevent hardening of the arteries by reducing blood vessel damage, but the antioxidant-rich juice may also reverse the progression of this disease.

2. GINKGO Although not definitive, there is promising early evidence favoring use of ginkgo for memory enhancement in healthy subjects.

3. OMEGA-3 FATTY ACIDS There is evidence from multiple large-scale population (epidemiologic) studies and randomized controlled trials that intake of recommended amounts of DHA and EPA in the form of dietary fish or fish oil supplements lowers triglycerides, reduces the risk of death, heart attack, dangerous abnormal heart rhythms, and strokes in people with known cardiovascular disease, slows the buildup of atherosclerotic plaques (”hardening of the arteries”), and lowers blood pressure.

4. VITAMIN D A large daily dose of vitamin D can dramatically lower the risk of developing common cancers, including breast, ovarian and colon cancers, by up to 50 percent, according to American researchers.

5. TURMERIC A report appearing in the October, 2006 issue of the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease described the discovery of researchers at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA and the VA Greater Los Angeles Health Care System that curcumin, a compound occurring in the spice turmeric, assists the immune system in the clearance of amyloid beta in the brain. Amyloid beta is a substance that accumulates in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients to form the plaques that are characteristic of the disease.

6. COENZYME Q10 (CoQ10) CoQ10 is a potent antioxidant which appears to have a particularly strong effect upon cardiac tissue.

7. ALPHA-LIPOIC ACID Lipoic acid is a potent antioxidant which appears to amplify the effects of other antioxidants. There is strong evidence for it being effective in the treatment of diabetic neuropathy and good evidence it prevents the oxidation of LDL cholesterol and may be protective, generally, against oxidative stress and, specifically, against atherosclerosis, ischemia-reperfusion injury and various radiologic and chemical toxins. There is less evidence that it might be helpful in some neurodegenerative conditions. There is preliminary evidence that it might have some immune-modulating effects. It has been suggested that lipoic acid may slow aging of the brain and that it may be an anti-aging substance, in general.

8. GREEN TEA: The September 13, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association published a report by researchers in Japan that a high intake of green tea was associated with a reduction in mortality from all causes as well as from cardiovascular disease during an 11 year follow-up period.

9. ACETYL-L-CARNITINE ALCAR has well documented neuroprotective effects, some evidence of enhanced cognitive function due to its efficiency at transporting fatty acids to the brain where they are burned for energy and in one study was shown to actually promote the growth of new neurites in the brain.

10. L-THEANINE Theanine is an amino acid which crosses the blood-brain barrier and exerts psychoactive effects. There is excellent documentation that it stimulates the production of alpha brain waves which are associated with a relaxed but alert mental state.

11. RESVERATROL: Resveratrol has been shown in animal models to dramatically extend lifespans. A 2006 study showed that mice that were fed a high-calorie, high-fat diet to lived normal, active lives despite becoming obese when supplemented with resveratrol — the first time any compound has been shown to do that. Tests found that the agent activated a host of genes that protect against aging, essentially neutralizing the adverse effects of the bad diet on the animals’ health and longevity.

12. SPIRULINA: Spirulina is a micro-algae that is a good source of protein and vitamins. Concentrated into tablets, it is a convenient way to supplement the diet.

13. LUTEIN Lutein is an antioxidant with strong support for the ability to prevent age-related macular degeneration.

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I’ve started to write five different entries today but deleted them all. Damn filters. Sigh.

In general - a letter from a president of a professional organization that contains the phrase, “Who told you life was fair” will always sound condescending. Why? Because it is condescending. Clue: You’re not my mother and I’m not nine years old. I’m also not paying my mother dues (although she claims she’s paid hers). For the record - I happen to be a career focused romance writer. You can ask most people who know me, I’m very careful about the choices I make, about where and what I write and when. My career is extremely important to me so don’t waste my time with “who told you life was fair.” If you ask for feedback from people and you actually get it, well, that’s sort of the point, isn’t it? Or was the point that you only wanted to hear what supported your particular perspective. If so, perhaps it would be more accurate to call for “feedback on proposed rule changes that conforms with my perspectives” because well, life isn’t always fair, as you so correctly point out and not everyone is going to agree with us. So feh.

Something else and as a matter of FYIage, this is not actually related to the above point but something else I read earlier today - epublishing. I love epublishing. Or at the very least, the epublishers I write for. If there’s interest I’d be happy to talk about my experiences - positive and negative. Got a question - ask it and I’ll do my best to answer it.

Epublishing gave me my start. Ellora’s Cave took a chance on me and helped me build a career. Samhain contracted a book in a totally new genre for me and has been amazingly supportive of me an an author. My editor Ann Leveille has made me a better writer each time I’ve gone through edits. The same goes for Angie James, my editor at Samhain. And yes, I do go through edits and I don’t know any authors who haven’t done edits at an epublisher. As to whether or not they’re the hardest edits I’ll ever do, I can’t say. I’ve got a lot of books left in me so who knows what will come down the road? In any case, every book has its own challenges.

My epublished books are, in fact, real books. I work hard on them and I put as much effort into their writing as I do the books aimed at New York. In turn, what I write for New York is just as good as what I write for epublishing. I’m not “too edgy” for New York. When I get rejected it’s not because “New York isn’t ready for me” or whatever. (clearly it’s because they don’t recognize my brilliance)

I want to resist the us v them mentality (and in a way, that is related to my first point). I’ve seen a lot of defensiveness from epublished authors and I understand why. I do. But it’s not necessary. In the first place, the only person whose opinion matters is the one who looks back at me when I’m brushing my teeth (this morning with this new toothpaste with green tea that sucked big time but I digress). Do I know I’m doing the best job I can? After that, do my editors think so? Do my readers think so? Does it matter to me what someone else who doesn’t know me or what epublishing entails thinks of me? Not a bit. Well unless it affects me professionally, and that’s a reality sometimes, but still, as a human being you can only control so much. You can’t control the fact that “I’ll get to it soon” doesn’t actually mean the same thing in publishing that it means in a restaurant or in your daily life. You can’t control the petty ignorance that allows some people to make themselves feel better at your expense by belitting your publisher, genre, mode of publication, age, dress size, etc. You can’t and you know what? It’s not worth the time anyway.

I want, as a professional seeking to advance my career, to expand my base. To write for more places and reach more readers. Hell yes I want to sell to New York! Yes, I want my books at the Top Foods (by the way, I LOVE it when I see my fellow authors there like Lisa Renee Jones’ fab new Blaze for instance). There’s a kind of distribution I will have when my Spice book comes out that I don’t have now. That’s a fact. The only value judgements about that fact are those I let anyone else imbue upon it. It will reach more people in many countries. It will be an audio book and it will be translated into several other languages. That’s freaking cool and I love it.

Does that mean I reject epublishing? Not at all. I love Samhain and EC and I love the ability to write with more freedom. Because I’ve earned it. By that I mean, they took a chance because in fact, they have the ability to take more chances on unknown authors. I ran with it and I’ve been blessed with a nice bit of success and because I have a track record, I can have the freedom to push the envelope. I treasure that. That isn’t to say New York doesn’t offer the chance to push the envelope - but they have financial and other constraints which make the wheels turn slower and it takes longer to make a track record. Again, a fact and the only value judgements are those we give ourselves.

I’m sick to death of watching this sort of west side story situation. WE ARE ALL ROMANCE AUTHORS. Our strength is in our diversity. That’s also a fact. Give it whatever value judgements you wish.

So I’ve got books - lots of books. More books than I can store in my house so I thought I’d given them away instead! Here’s how it’s going to go:

Until August 30, I’m going to take entries at my email address (click the link and it’ll get you right to me) with SUMMER OF BOOKS in the subject line and I’ll choose at least three winners possibly four, for a package of books! Each winner will also receive one of mine in the package as well.

Good luck!

I love Chaka Khan. Seriously. Her voice is amazing and even now she’s still got it. Right now, I just started on a new book and Ain’t Nobody is the song I’ve been listening to over and over (along with some fabulous jilted woman songs but that’s background)

Check these lyrics (written by David Wolinksy, by the way) and if you want to hear her sing it now, click this link and listen to her at youtube It won’t allow for embedding but I think she’s amazing live, it’s just as good as if she’d been in the studio.

Yadda Yadda - adult material behind the cut, 18 and over only please…

Read the rest of this entry ?

So I’m nearly done with Celebration for the Dead! Yay! I’ll finish up this afternoon or tonight depending on when I get the time and it should be revised and ready to send to my editor by Wednesday. Wheee!

27,253 / 30,000 (90.8%)

Celebration For The Dead

This last seven days of the challenge I’ve written 18,253 words. In the first four weeks of the 70 Days challenge I’ve written a total of 67,134 words! Oh and sweaters - in case you haven’t seen this yet, Sven has his own blog for check ins!
Most likely I’ll get more than 30K - likely to be around 32, possibly 35, we’ll see.

Milestone day here - my husband is off right now to get our daughter a big girl bed. She’s had the toddler bed that converted from the crib - the same one my sons had. Today the crib we so excitedly chose in 1997 for our first baby will be taken apart and put in the garage. My two year old will be three in less than two weeks and my five year old will be six a week from today. Cripes! How did that happen?

This feels like yesterday and now she’s going to be in a big girl bed.

By the way, I’m a featured author this month at The Romance Studio Blue!