'

Tuesday 29 April 2008

Ah, another day

Today was my daughter's first day back to school. Yep. It's the start of term two, and she seemed to have a good day. Though she didn't seem very excited to be going this morning... I guess it's hard to get out of that holiday mood sometimes. Lol.

Anyway. I was a bad girl and ordered some more stuff from Vista. Man, that place is so addictive. The prices for most of their stuff can be pretty steep, but if you take advantage of their offers, you can get a whole bunch of stuff and only pay for postage. That's what I like to do. :D But this isn't a great place to visit for someone who loves stationery. ;)

I wasn't planning to, but after I got all my internet stuff done last night, I grabbed another book from my TBR pile. Wow. I'm really loving it. So far I'm up to page 90, I think. The story's fascinating, the lead character intriguing, and the pace... I love the pace! So much has happened so far. I gotta say, I'm really enjoying it. Can't wait to see what else Jax gets up to. Man, even her name is cool! If you want to read more about this tale and author, check out her website here. Awesome!

As for my own writing, I got started on another revision. I didn't get much done, but 11/63 pages isn't too bad. :) I'll get stuck into some more later tonight. And hopefully squeeze in some more reading too. Have a nice day!

Monday 28 April 2008

Doesn't feel like a Monday today


And that's probably because of the long weekend we just had. :/

Anyway. Today also happened to be the last day of my daughter's school holidays. Tomorrow, we get back into the routine that seems to work better for everyone. Lol.

The cool thing about school holidays is that routine pretty much gets thrown out the window. It's not so bad for a few weeks. But it's also cool to get back into it.

I didn't want to get stuck into any new writing or revisions today. Instead, I wanted to concentrate on updating my website, MySpace, and things like that. Every time I have a new release, I like to do that.

We went for two long walks too. I feel like I have to somehow compensate the fact that I can't lift weights for a while. Man, I still can't get over that. My shoulder/arm still hurt. But I have to admit that it's mostly bearable now. The worst is the pain on my elbow. That doesn't seem to fade at all. :( Need that extra recovery time, I guess.

Over the weekend we watched a documentary called The King of Kong. It's basically the story of a man called Steve Wiebe, and how he beat a Donkey Kong record that had been standing for like 25 years. I know, I know... I started watching this show thinking: oh man, this is about nerds! But honestly, it was about so much more. It was about a decent family man who should have rightfully been given the record placing, instead of having to travel here and there to prove himself. While the obnoxious guy holding the world record snubbed and belittled him every chance he got! He didn't even introduce himself to the guy.

Man, this other guy's name is Billy Mitchell. And for some reason, he seemed convinced that he was some hot celeb who everyone needed to bow down to. I got really caught up in this story, hating what this Billy jerk said, claimed and did. He kept going on and on about how important it was to set world records live and in front of people. Then he goes and sends a very dodgy tape. My gosh. You really have to see this to believe it. Some people are evil, no matter what they do. Honestly...

Okay. I'm blogging a little later than usual. The day really went by very quickly, but I do feel like I've accomplished stuff. And tomorrow, I'm headin' back into Revision City. ;)

Sunday 27 April 2008

GHOST OF A CHANCE


For all those transmortis anomalies that need to be exterminated, there’s Karma Marx—a woman who exorcises haunted houses, sending troublesome spirits and entities to the ever after. What she’d really like is to banish Spider, her cheating, sleazy realtor husband, from her life. So, she makes him a deal: she’ll clean one last home for him if he grants her a divorce.

The only problem is that Adam, the house's former owner, isn't happy with Karma's plan. Using his poltergeist powers, he seals the place, forcing Karma, Spider, and a motley assortment of characters (living and not-so-living) together for a hair-raising twelve hours. But when Spider turns up dead in the basement, it’s a locked house mystery, and Karma's determined to reveal the truth, even if it means tackling all of the mansion’s inhabitants—mortal and otherwise…

You know, I picked this book up last night. The hubby wasn't home and my daughter was watching one of the Harry Potter movies, so I looked at my (huge) TBR pile and randomly picked this one because I was curious about this little mystery book.

I'm a Katie MacAlister fan. She's a cool writer, and her characters are awesome. So, as soon as I started reading, I got wrapped up in the story. By the time I went to bed, I'd already read over 100 pages, and today kept reading and reading. I didn't think I'd finish it in a day because there's so much to do, but I did. And that's really cool... because this novel was a lot of fun.

I really like Karma. She's a heroine of mixed heritage, who has unintentionally performed some not-so-nice acts and is living with the consequences. I really enjoyed the mystery of finding out who killed her jerk of a husband. And I didn't expect the outcome either. It was a lot of fun, and in usual Katie fashion, the secondary characters are a total blast.

This was a mystery of the otherworldly kind. I, for one, can't wait to see where this series goes from here...

Friday 25 April 2008

LADY & THE VAMP

She fights.
Janie Parker’s a supernatural assassin—not by choice, but what’s a girl gonna do? The only thing standing between her and decapitation at the hands of her hellish boss is a magical artifact called The Eye. To get it, all Janie has to do is find a dark, broody vampire named Michael Quinn and take it. Easy, right? Except if Quinn keeps kissing her that way, she just might lose her head...in more ways than one.

He bites.
Former vampire hunter Michael Quinn is determined to become human again. If he grabs hold of The Eye and makes a wish—then boom, everything’s good with the world. But now Quinn has a sassy tagalong with a long, delectable neck and orders to stake him on sight. He just hopes his first bite won’t be Janie’s last moment on earth...

I stayed up late last night because I wanted to read the last 100 pages of this book. And boy, I didn't regret it. I love the way it all wrapped up. I also enjoyed the constant stubborn nature of both Quinn and Janie. They were a match made in heaven... it just took them ages to work it out. Lol.

Anyway, I loved the pace of this book. How everything unfolded and how nothing was what it seemed in the end. Lots of cool surprises and many twists and turns. The characters were so real too - flawed in so many ways, but oh so awesome! I would love to read a spin-off with Barkley. The werewolf rocks!

I really enjoyed it! Michelle's an awesome storyteller. If you haven't read any of her books yet, visit her website and take a look around. You won't be disappointed.

Monday 21 April 2008

ALL TOGETHER DEAD

Louisiana cocktail waitress Sookie Stackhouse has her hands full dealing with every sort of undead and paranormal creature imaginable. And after being betrayed by her longtime vampire love, Sookie must not only deal with a new man in her life-the shapeshifter Quinn-but also contend with the long-planned vampire summit.

The summit is a tense situation. The vampire queen of Louisiana is in a precarious position, her power base weakened by hurricane damage to New Orleans. And there are some vamps who would like to finish what nature started. Soon, Sookie must decide what side she'll stand with. And her choice may mean the difference between survival and all-out catastrophe.

I'm not going to talk about the plot. I'm not going to talk about what happened in this tale. But I will mention that, for some reason, every single hero I've read with the name Quinn, just happens to be awesome!

Ah, Sookie. I love this series with a passion. I love Sookie's nature and the way the story unfolds. I love all the old characters, and the new ones. I love how she always gets caught up in the middle of vampire BS.

This series is a winner. And that's also what this book was. Charlaine Harris rocks!

Crappy, rainy weather week...

Well, I'm not feeling the best today. A little on the meh side, and mostly because I slept wonky on Saturday night and woke up with a really sore neck and right shoulder yesterday. Instead of getting better today, the pain has extended all the way to my elbow. It's really annoying because no standing, sitting, or lying down position eases the pain. :/

It hurts and it's annoying the crap out of me. My daughter wanted to do some beading but I couldn't join her. It hurts too much to be hunched over. It's bad enough being on the computer. Lol.

Anyway, the weekend was a busy one. Loki got upset when we took him out of the house. He didn't like it at all. And he liked what the vet did even less. As it turns out, he's a little overweight, and he has an ear infection. We got some drops for the ear and have cut down the amount of food I give him. To be honest, I didn't think I was giving him all that much to start with. (?)

We did a whole bunch of rearranging in the bedroom (again) on Saturday, and then sat down to watch Beowulf. I gotta say, I wasn't really impressed with it. Sure, it's beautiful visually but I didn't get as involved with the story as I thought I would. Don't know why. It dealt with mythology, it's something I really should have liked. *shrugs* But the latest Doctor Who episode was great. Man, I love this show.

After writing two first draft stories in two weeks, I'm going to embark on some overdue revisions. Can you believe that I wrote a Christmas tale during Dec/Jan but still haven't revised and subbed it? Yep, that's right. So, that's my goal for this week. I've already started the second draft and have gotten halfway through. It would be cool to finish it later on, but I've had to do bits at a time. If my daughter was at school, that wouldn't have happened. Two sittings would've been enough for a 21k novella. But... still got one week of holidays to go. Though this weekend is a long weekend, and I've got another novella coming out with CP! Yay.

I'd also like to get the book I'm currently reading finished. I've only got about 40 pages to go. I'm really enjoying it, but I always enjoy Sookie's adventures. ;) I'd also like to start another one because I've got some awesome books waiting for me, and I also ordered some more today. Yikes! Will I ever catch up???

Have a good one!

Wednesday 16 April 2008

It's raining around 'ere

Luckily, we went for our walk early this morning. I just looked out the window and it's raining again. Man, it's been like this for a while now.

As you already know (because I've said it like a thousand times) I don't like the rain much. I can take it for one day, or even late at night, but I enjoy it ending by morning so that the sun can shine during the day. I know, I'm a little weird, but hey... that's me. :)

Okay, let's get a progress bar posted:


Moving along quite well. The connection between the characters went in a direction I didn't expect. I mean, I thought there would be a little action of the physical kind when they meet for the first time... I guess I was wrong. But I think this works out a whole lot better. It's important that they realise what's between them from the beginning.

Although I got past 5k, like I wanted to, I can't help but notice how much slower I'm moving compared to the story I wrote last week. :/ It sure makes it harder to get stuck into something deep and involved with my daughter interrupting every two minutes. Still, I'm hoping to be able to push the word count up by (maybe) squeezing in more than one sitting.

Okay, now that I've said that, I'm going to give it a try. ;)

Monday 14 April 2008

Hey!

Well, there goes another weekend. :/ I'm looking forward to the next one. Lol.

So, how did everyone go? I started out Friday night by getting the first draft of the story I was writing finished, yay! This is where it ended:

Not too bad. There's less room to move than I would have preferred, but it's okay. I'm looking forward to doing revision on this one. It ended up being a much better, stronger and more involved story than I first thought. And that is great! ;)

Okay, so we watched a few things over the weekend, and I finished reading a book. Now I've gotta decide what's next. I've got so many cool books on my TBR pile. Can't wait to read all of them. Anyway, here's a bit about what we watched:

Underworld - Evolution: You know, I really enjoyed this one. I thought it was better than the first one, actually. The story expanded, and I really liked what they did with it. The connection between the two main characters was also cool. I wonder if they'll make more? Cool flick!

Night at the Museum: This was a lot of fun. I laughed quite a bit in it, and the story really wasn't so bad, either. I loved the magic, and every character had a little something to make the movie better. The weakest link for me was his son. The kid couldn't act, but asides from that, everyone else was really funny. :)

The Invincible Iron Man: This wasn't that good. The animation was really nice, but the story was a little weak. I don't think the elementals were used to their full potential. Even the little twist at the end wasn't so great. Still, it's a nice warm up for the movie in May!

Hitman: I've never played this game, so I can't really compare the two but this wasn't so bad. Pretty violent and brutal, but hey, the guy's a hitman. I enjoyed it.

Of course, we also watched the latest episode of Doctor Who. This one was set in Pompeii, and man, I thought it was awesome! I loved, loved it! Is it just me, or does this show just get better and better? I can't get enough of the Doctor. Bring it on! ;)

Well, I've got my daughter home today and I haven't done anything writing wise, yet. But we did do yoga and went for a nice long walk this morning. Oh, and we also got the lappy fixed over the weekend. The other hinge decided to crack on me last week, so I couldn't shut it completely and freaked every time I opened it. Now, it's fixed. I get angry when my lappy's not in a 'healthy' condition. Lol.

I will start a new story later on. This week, I'm taking part in this BIAW challenge. Although, my story's not set during Christmas. See ya!

Sunday 13 April 2008

MIDNIGHT REIGN

Stuntwoman Dawn Madison reluctantly returned to Hollywood to find her missing father, Frank. Instead, she found something else beneath the streets of Los Angeles—a thriving society of the undead, one she could never have imagined existed. It’s an erotic and bloody night world that Dawn came to believe cost both her father and her long-dead mother—the glamorous movie star, Eva Claremont—their lives. Still, she and Frank’s friends risked everything, pressing on with the investigation.

Now a new slaying, bearing all the marks of a vampire attack, is luring Dawn farther into the underground and deeper into the twisted lives of those who inhabit it, just as her tenuous alliances in the sunlit world begin shifting ominously. It seems she has only herself to trust and her newfound skills as a hunter to rely on.

But Dawn will find that she is not alone—although some who stand with her, stand only in the shadows…

Wow. I just finished reading this book about ten minutes ago, and once again I need to say Wow! This is the second Vampire Babylon book, which follows right after what happened in the first one, Night Rising.

In this one we find out a whole lot more about the mysterious Voice, as well as Frank. Also, there's another person that we get to find out more about. I was certainly surprised because I didn't expect it. It's such a cool twist.

Now I can't wait to see what else Dawn uncovers, and if the Underground will survive now that she knows as much as she does. Heck, I know I'm being really vague with details but if I go into it, it'll ruin everything if you haven't read it.

I also enjoyed the new mystery, of the vampire serial killer. Again, this was totally unexpected, but all so worth it in the end.

Okay, I don't want to say anymore because I'm itching to share nitty-gritty details. But if you love a good urban fantasy with a noir-mystery angle, you've gotta get into this series. Dawn is a really interesting, real and flawed character with more confusion in her life than anything else. She wants answers, but in life they're not always the easiest things to get. But boy, I wanna be in on everything she uncovers. ;)

Wednesday 9 April 2008

So, I started a new story last night...

... and here, we have a progress meter:


Yes, that's not a bad start. I think I wrote the first 600 words late last night, and picked it up again after my chat this morning, which was a lot of fun. :) I'd been toying with this idea for a few weeks. Of course, I've been working like crazy on one thing after another, so I decided to just start it and see where it led.

The funny thing is that after I got to the end of the first page, pretty much everything else tumbled into my head. I will never understand how that happens, but I'm so excited that it does. It's quite a blessing, very magical and it always amazes me. So, I wrote down some stuff so I wouldn't forget and am now itching to just get it all out onto the lappy.

As you can see, it's just a shortie but I'm getting a nice feel for this world and won't be surprised if I decide to write a novel set here, in the future. I like the hero and heroine. Of course, she's got a few probs that stand in the way, but hey, he's no angel. Nope, definitely not an angel. Lol.

Oh, and I also dug out six songs to have playing continously in the background. I kinda want this tale to be fast-paced, but not like the novel I wrote in Feb. That was just insane, crazy. Anyway, here are the songs I chose:

This Heart Attack: FAKER
Untouched: THE VERONICAS
I Don't Do Surprises: AXLE WHITEHEAD
Battle of One: 30 SECONDS TO MARS
Here is Gone: THE GOO GOO DOLLS
Dead!: MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE

Not a bad, little playlist. It sits nicely in the background as my fingers move quickly over the keyboard. If I didn't have so many interruptions, I could easily write this tale in a few days. But of course, real life is full of them. :/

Hope you're all having a nice week so far!

Monday 7 April 2008

Shows & Movies over the weekend...

Well, Torchwood Season 2 is now done. Did anyone watch the final ep? After what happened, I really have to wonder if there'll be more seasons. What do you think? I thought it was sad. Damn them for making me sad. :(

Anyway. We had another great weekend. Of course. We squeezed in two super long walks, which were a lot of fun. But man, I'm still feeling the effects today. Plus, we got up early to do some yoga today. So, you know, tired. *yawn*

We also watched The Princess Bride with our daughter. I wondered if it would be lame after all these years but I really enjoyed it. Laughed a lot. I remembered it being funny, but couldn't recall details. It was really cool to watch again. Oh, and yesterday afternoon, we all sat down to watch Bridge to Terabithia. You know, I didn't expect to like this movie so much at the beginning. But I loved the two main characters. So, when something tragic happened, I was totally thrown off. All of a sudden, the movie just didn't seem so good anymore. I was disappointed, which of course means that the writer did an excellent job at getting those characters to feel so real. I really didn't want to be sad again, not so soon after what happened in Torchwood. Booooohooooo.
Guess what's back? That's right... Doctor Who! Yay. We watched the first ep last night. It was so good. Who would've thought human fat could look so cute. I know that sounds a little strange, but if you watched it, you know what I mean. Lol. Can't wait to see what the Doctor and Donna get up to. Can she be the only companion not to fall in love with him? ;)

Well, on Friday night I got through the second draft of my (still untitled) novel. Wooohooo. The word count is now up to 86,032. Pretty cool. I'm going to put it away for a few weeks and then complete the final draft. Looking forward to it. Everything's tighter and sounds a hell of a lot better, but I want to tighten it that little bit more. I know that'll make all the difference.

Okay... I think it's time I got my April newsletter done and emailed.

Friday 4 April 2008

What's going on?

Yesterday, while my daughter and I were walking back from school, we noticed a fire across the road. We crossed and saw a newspaper was on fire. We tried knocking on a few doors but no one answered. In the end, a lady in a unit saw us and came over with a bucket of water. She put it out, thank god. I thought that was it, right? I mean, how many times can you stumble on a random fire?

Well, we got home today. Everything was normal near the mailboxes. We get upstairs, I head out to the balcony to get the washing off the line and notice there's a fire right next to the mailboxes. Our mailboxes! Anyway, I fill a bucket up with water and run down. The crate that holds all the discarded junk mail has been melted to nothing by then. I splashed the water, slowly and carefully because I didn't want it to spread. Phew. I managed to put it out completely.

If I hadn't noticed when I did, I'm positive it would have engulfed all of the mailboxes before spreading even more. How scary is that? I don't like fire. It scares the hell out of me because it's so volatile, fast and unpredictable. Once it starts, it spreads too fast. Ahhhh. *taking a deep breath*

I don't want to see any more of these small fires around here. I have no idea how they're starting, either. I didn't see anyone light it. It's a damn mystery. Sometimes weird stuff just happens, I guess.

Okay. Now onto the progress. Yay. Today I officially got through the entire 392 pages of the novel I'm revising. It's still untitled. I've marked it all over the place, and am relieved to have made it. I didn't think I would at one stage. :/ Anyway, the only thing I have left to do by the end of today is to type in all the changes. Fingers crossed. Then I need a little distance from it before embarking on the final draft.

It's been a productive week. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend.
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