Weekend Stuff!

Wow! Yesterday, the hubby and I watched the second-last-season-4 Doctor Who episode. My god! Only one more to go and I can't wait to see what happens. I loved it. This ep was crossover heaven. We had the Doctor and Donna, of course. Then there were the three members of Torchwood, Rose Tyler, Martha Jones, Sarah Jane - yikes! It was amazing. As anything that has Captain Jack Harkness is. ;)

Anyway. We have to wait a whole week for the finale. Man, I wanna know now. :) This is honestly one of the best, most excellent shows ever.

Oh, and we took our daughter to watch KUNG FU PANDA on Saturday morning. She loved it. We loved it. It was gorgeous visually, and I enjoyed the story too. It was a LOT of fun. Wasn't Jack Black totally perfect as Po? I think Jack Black rocks... well, except for in The Pick of Destiny. My god. The hubby and I tried to watch it, but had to switch it off. It was total crap. I didn't care about what was going on, and cared even less about their 'quest'. I was actually hoping I would fall asleep... I suppose JB is allowed to have one shitty flick.

So, as you can tell, we had a great weekend, but certainly had a lot planned. Lol. As we usually do. :D

Today, I'm going to work on the final round of edits for Sandy Shore. I've got 15 pages left, so it shouldn't take too long to finish up now. I'm very happy with how it's turned out, and can't wait until Halloween. Oh, and I'd also like to keep reading this book. I got stuck into it last night, and before I realised it, I was almost on page 100! It's great so far.

Have a great week!

FEAST OF FOOLS

The wait is over. dig into the feast...

In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace. Student Claire Danvers has never been convinced, though—especially with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, an ancient, old-school vampire who cares nothing about harmony. What he wants from the town’s living and its dead is unthinkably sinister. It’s only at a formal ball, attended by vampires and their human dates, that Claire realizes the elaborately evil trap he’s set for Morganville.

Man, I just finished reading this about ten minutes ago and just had to type up a post for it. I LOVE this series, have I mentioned that before? I think I may have. ;) This book was as fantastic as the other ones, btw. :)

Anyway, Rachel Caine totally rocks and just gets us more and more involved into the very complicated place that is, Morganville. If you thought Claire, Shane, Michael and Eve had gone through a lot of stuff in the first three books, then you're not going to believe what happens in this one. It's set things up for the next book, and I can't wait. Speaking of which, Rachel Caine posted the cover on her website the other day. You can check it out here. It's lovely.

If you haven't started reading this series yet, you seriously should consider it. You won't be disappointed...

I'm back!

Did you miss me? Lol. :D

The Cobblestone Press Blog Tour is now over, and wow, did I get a bunch of interesting posts over here during that time. I hope you all popped in and got to meet some really cool authors. It was a lot of fun.

Although, I have to admit, it was a little strange not blogging everyday. Still, I continued to say things over at the Divas of the Dark and have now joined RomErotica Writers. I'll be there on the 18th of every month. So I hope you'll come on over and say Hi.

I've been busy with revisions, edits and real life stuff. The last few weeks I've gotten a bunch of edits out of the way, as well as now being in the middle of the next batch. Yep. I've actually got the second round of edits for two different stories waiting for me as I type. I'm going to get them done while working on the final draft of my futuristic novel. I've already gotten up to page 70/394 today. I really, really want to have this completed by the end of this week. It's the last thing I have left on my June to-do list. I'll keep you posted.

Last week we watched a few movies too. The Incredible Hulk was a total blast. I'm so glad we went to see it. Man, I'm looking forward to finding out more about the Avengers. I want me some Thor! ;) We also watched The Mist and V for Vendetta. Both were excellent. The Mist is one of my fave Stephen King novellas. I loved it, and felt that the movie captured the essence of the story quite well. Of course, there were changes, like the ending... but I still enjoyed it. V was really, really great. I was in a total dystopian society/cyberpunk mood on Sautrday night, so this was perfect.

Anyway, I'll be returning to my regular blogging from now on, but right now I need to pick my daughter up from school. Have an awesome week!

WRITING THE BREAKOUT NOVEL

Book Description from Amazon
A breakout novel is one that rises out of its category--such as literary fiction, mystery, romance, or thriller--and hits the bestseller lists. Maass explains the elements that all breakout novels share and shows readers how to use these elements to write a novel that has a good chance of succeeding in a crowded marketplace. They'll learn to:
* create a powerful and sweeping sense of time and place
* develop larger-than-life characters
* sustain a high degree of narrative tension from start to finish
* weave sub-plots into the main action
* explore universal themes that will interest a large audience of readers

Then, using several of his clients' experiences--including best-selling novelist Anne Perry--as case studies, Maass provides real-life, insider examples to show how this type of novel can generate agent and publisher interest, creating or enhancing a novelist's career.

I finished this book on Saturday night. I'd heard great things about it and had my eye on it for ages. I couldn't find it anywhere here, so I finally decided to order it from Amazon. And I'm glad I did.

It's filled with very interesting information and really forces you to be totally, brutally honest with yourself. I love the raise the stakes concept. It's so true. Without conflict, there is no story. So, after wanting to read it for so long, was it worth it? Yep. It definitely was.

Anyway, I picked up quite a few pointers and will certainly go back - especially to the checklist at the end of each chapter. That's very helpful. But like I've already said, this'll be one of those reference books that I will continually return to.

Have any of you guys read this? What did you think?

THE SCENT OF SHADOWS

When she was sixteen, Joanna Archer was brutally assaulted and left to die in the Nevada desert.

By rights, she should be dead.

Now a photographer by day, she prowls a different Las Vegas after sunset – a grim, secret Sin City where Light battles Shadow – seeking answers to whom or what she really is ... and revenge for the horrors she was forced to endure.

But the nightmare is just beginning – for the demons are hunting Joanna, and the powerful Shadows want her for their own...

This is the first in The Signs of the Zodiac Series. Once again, I read this about a week ago and absolutely LOVED it. Wow. I got totally caught up in this story and couldn't wait to see how everything would unfold. Honestly, things got so bad for Joanne so many times, that I just didn't know how the hell she was going to survive this book.

The concept is intriguing. A mix of the superhero mythos with the paranormal, and a good dose of horror. Man, this story is fantastic, and even heartbreaking in many sections. Also, the biggest change that happens to Joanne (sorry, I can't tell you what it is!) is something that I've never, ever seen done to a novel character before. And once it happened, I couldn't wait to see how it would come across.

Well, it came across awesome. I've got the other two books already, so I can't wait to read them. Man, Vicki's on my auto-buy list now. :) Honestly, regardless of what genre you usually read, this book is worth reading. I loved it.

Check it out!

THE HAUNTING

Investigating a noise in the attic of her historic home, Maggie Holliday encounters a handsome man in a Civil War uniform. He calls her "Isabel," seduces her in ways the shy academic had never dreamed of…then literally vanishes.

With every fleeting visit, Maggie's mysterious lover—Ethan—takes her closer to the edge of ecstasy and madness. Is he really a ghost? Far from chilling her, his touch is incendiary—it all feels so real and so very, very good. And so very familiar…

Ethan insists Maggie's the reincarnation of his long-lost love. And after a few incredible nights in his arms, Maggie is inclined to believe him. But does she dare surrender to a passion that transcends time, tragedy…and even death?

What a pretty cover, huh? I actually finished reading this book a few weeks ago, but I just realised that I hadn't put a post up for it yet. So, here I am. I gotta tell ya, I'm REALLY enjoying these Extreme Blaze novels.

This one was a ghost story about a woman who moves into a new house and learns a whole lot about herself and her past. And I'm not talking about her current life, either. I really enjoyed reading about Ethan too, and Maggie's story arc was great. I was cheering for her several times.

Anyway, if you enjoy a lovely love story that spans more than one lifetime, you'll definitely enjoy this one. Oh, but I need to warn you, although there is a HEA, it's not an average one. It was quite different, for a romance novel. Still, it made sense. :)

I really enjoyed it!

Man, we LOVE this show!

Dexter is a forensic expert in blood patterns who works with the Miami Police Department. He is also a serial killer, who kills people that the police can't bring to justice. He has to hide his double life from his sister, his girlfriend and his co-workers. He is intrigued by a killer who has found a way to kill girls without leaving blood behind.
The hubby and I got through the first season of DEXTER this morning. What can I say? It really got under our skin. We just had to know how it would all turn out. And those theories we had at the beginning, nothing. They weren't even close. Still, as it moved along, we guessed who the bad guy was.

Wow! I loved every minute of this season. Love, love, love everything about this show. It feels so insane to like a character who is so detached from emotion and what others consider to be everyday-kinda stuff. But man, some of the stuff he comes up with sounds... right. As much as what he does is insane and wrong. I mean, vigilante behaviour is never encouraged, but still. He doesn't hurt anyone who doesn't deserve it.

Anyway, I could talk about this all day. I think Dexter says a lot about the majority of the population. Although most would shake their head and deny it.

I can't wait to see where the second season takes us. I read the synopsis, and it sounds like another cool one. This show just has that can't-turn-away-from-it quality. Also, I can't stop thinking about it hours later. I guess it says a lot about how well constructed it is. The writing is gritty and original. Oh, and the casting is perfect. All of them are great.

Yep, I'm a fan. :)

Rainy Tuesday

This is what the weather looks like in Sydney today. Actually, it's been this way for several days now. :( And we all know how much I dislike the rain, especially when it strikes for more than a couple of days. It's cold too. I guess we're finally in winter. The season I don't like. I really don't mind the other three, but winter sucks!

Anyway, today is one of those days where I'd rather be doing just about anything but what I have to do. I'm sure we've all had days like these, but I'm just hoping to get the week back on track by tomorrow. There are a bunch of other things on my list of things-to-get-out-of-the-way. ;)

Still, I'd prefer to be sitting with hubby all day today, watching Dexter. We watched two more eps last night, and one this morning. Yikes! I do believe we're addicted to it. What I love about this show is that it's so thought-provoking. I can't stop thinking about the murderer playing games with him. The hubby and I have two theories, but I'm not sure if they're anywhere near the answer. I can't wait to find out, though.

I woke up this morning, with the pleasant dream I was having still very fresh inside my head. I do believe this could be a story idea in the making...