The Christmas season is definitely upon us! The day after Thanksgiving we Decked the Halls (and the rest of the house, too!) with decorations, lights, trees, and candles. It's so cozy and festive to walk into the house after work. It puts a smile on my face even after a long day.
Friday night I participated in our local "Housewalk". A couple girlfriends and I got to tour five houses completely decked out for the holidays. We even heard Silver Bells as we were walking along.
Yesterday was a shoveling and baking day. Let's hope the snow lasts so we can have that White Christmas. My hubby and I baked up dozens of "kiss" cookies, a favorite tradition.
Last night we headed out into a Winter Wonderland and watched the local holiday parade. It was cold! Our noses were as red as Rudolph's.
With all of this going on, It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas.
This month I'll be participating in the Christmas Ride blog. Each day will feature a different blog, with contests, holiday recipes, and other great goodies. Check in with Beth Caudill today. I'll be blogging for the ride on December 20, so be sure to check back.
And if you haven't already, be sure to grab a copy of my FREE read, "Mistletoe and Folly" now available at The Wild Rose Press.
Until next time, Let it Snow, Let it Snow, Let it Snow, and Happy Reading!
Debra
www.debrastjohnromance.com
Sunday, December 7, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Real and Reel Science on CSI MIami by Margot Justes
I missed last week’s blog, another one of those weekends where real life took over, and I wound up with a miserable cold-which leads me to this blog.
I actually spent some time watching TV-one show-CSI Miami-I was asked to watch because my daughter (the scientist) actually participated in the research for one of the instruments they used; brand new, very exciting research with incredible potential, desorption electrospray ionization or DESI for short.
The instrument can identify and find fingerprints buried beneath a multitude of others, it can identify the chemical signature and can also identify what an individual recently handled. I’d say that’s pretty cool.
I normally don’t watch the show because the Technicolor is just so, how shall I put it
-colorful…I’ve been there, reality is far more timid. But I appreciate the fact that they gave real science a boost in a reel world.
One other show I watched this week is Numbers, I like it. The math is complicated, but math makes the world go round, so I listen and try to understand and while it’s being explained I grasp it. Really I do. But my comprehension is very short-lived as soon as he’s done explaining, I’m done understanding-but again the science is real. Numbers also mentioned DESI, this one I wasn’t expecting, and was delighted and proud that my daughter had a hand in the research.
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
I actually spent some time watching TV-one show-CSI Miami-I was asked to watch because my daughter (the scientist) actually participated in the research for one of the instruments they used; brand new, very exciting research with incredible potential, desorption electrospray ionization or DESI for short.
The instrument can identify and find fingerprints buried beneath a multitude of others, it can identify the chemical signature and can also identify what an individual recently handled. I’d say that’s pretty cool.
I normally don’t watch the show because the Technicolor is just so, how shall I put it
-colorful…I’ve been there, reality is far more timid. But I appreciate the fact that they gave real science a boost in a reel world.
One other show I watched this week is Numbers, I like it. The math is complicated, but math makes the world go round, so I listen and try to understand and while it’s being explained I grasp it. Really I do. But my comprehension is very short-lived as soon as he’s done explaining, I’m done understanding-but again the science is real. Numbers also mentioned DESI, this one I wasn’t expecting, and was delighted and proud that my daughter had a hand in the research.
Till next Saturday,
Margot Justes
A Hotel in Paris ISBN 978-1-59080-534-3
Art brought her to Paris, then a stranger’s death changes her life.
Missing ISBN 978-1-59080-611 1
www.mjustes.com
available on amazon.com
Thursday, December 4, 2008
ACME Welcomes Betty Webb, Woman of Mystery
BETTY WEBB - MYSTERY AUTHORAfter 20 years of journalism, where she interviewed everyone from U.S. presidents, astronauts who walked on the moon, Nobel prize-winners, serial killers, and polygamy runaways, Betty Webb left the life to write mysteries full time. She is a member of Mystery Writers of America, the National Federation of Press Women, and the National Association of Zoo Keepers. Her mysteries are published by Poisoned Pen Press.
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From the hard-edged desert of Arizona to the sunny shores of California, Betty Webb’s two mystery series reveal the dark and light sides of life.
And Now, Here's What Betty Has to Say for Us:
The Sunny Side of the Dark Side
After reporting on real life crimes for two decades, I grew tired of the daily “been there, done that, got the bloodstains to prove it” mindset at the newspaper. Besides, I wanted to make things up for a change; facts can be so pesky. So I decided to write a book. It would be a sweet book, too, nothing like my reporting on real humans carving each other up for fun and profit. But two false starts later (a literary coming-of-age novel and a historical romance), I realized that crime was in my blood and gave way to my baser instincts.
Thus began my hard-boiled Lena Jones mystery series, which Publishers Weekly described as “mysteries with a social conscience.” Each Lena Jones novel was based on real crimes I’d covered as a reporter. Desert Noir, the first in the series, took to task Arizona land developers and politicians for their misuse of eminent domain. The second book, Desert Wives -- Polygamy Can Be Murder, revealed the rampant welfare fraud that had turned Arizona’s polygamy “prophets” into multi-millionaires. Desert Shadows showcased the darker side of book publishing (serial killers’ memoirs, anyone?). Desert Run, Lena Jones’s first cold case file, discussed America’s last mass execution (we hanged seven German POWs in Kansas in 1945); and Desert Cut put the spotlight on a grim, quasi-medical procedure performed on millions of little girls throughout the world in order to keep them “pure.”
Although the Lena Jones mysteries received high-profile rave reviews (the New York Times called Desert Wives “eye-popping,” and muttered something about a Pulitzer) eight years of writing novels about the dark side of human nature started giving me the willies. To save what was left of my sanity, I decided to write the kind of mystery usually described as a cozy. No blood, no bad language, no sex -- just a non-neurotic protagonist and several cuddly animals. I could even use some of my experiences volunteering at the Phoenix Zoo!
Halfway through the first chapter of The Anteater of Death I discovered that when you’re dark, you’re dark. My sweet little cozy devolved into a blood-drenched tale of murder and mayhem at a California zoo. Although protagonist Teddy Bentley, a dedicated zookeeper-turned-amateur- sleuth, remained upbeat and non-neurotic, her parents became adult delinquents only one step removed from the laughing academy. Or prison. But at least everyone in the book was funny, right down to Lucy, the giant anteater suspected of murder. And in the best cozy tradition, I even gave Lucy a couple of chapters of her own, taking the reader on a merry trip through the mind of a shaggy beast whose idea of a midnight snack is a snuffle though a blood-drenched ant colony.
One day, perhaps, I’ll seek professional help to find out why I can’t stay away from the dark side, but for now, the dark side seems to be working for me. The haunted Lena Jones peacefully co-exists with cheerful Teddy. In every other book, Lena’s arid Arizona desert gives way to the foggy California harbor where Teddy moors her houseboat. So I guess you could say that I have the best of all possible worlds -- bloody though both worlds may be.
To learn more about the Lena Jones books, visit www.bettywebb-mystery.com
For the Teddy Bentley zoo books, visit www.bettywebb-zoomystery.com
Visit my blog at http://bloggingwebb.blogspot.com
It's About Time! by DL Larson
I know all about time management; I've led classes on rearranging time for this, and allowing time for that. Making time takes effort, a commitment! We all have the same 24 hours in a day, blah, blah, blah. Yet time slips out of my grasp as fast as my hard earned money! I want to throw my hands out wide and shout, "STOP!" For just a moment, can't we all just take a deep breath and do nothing for sixty seconds?
One, two, three .... feel the calm, it's coming ... five, six, seven ... don't rush it for heaven's sake, it's only sixty seconds! Breathe in, deep, think lamaze here, and exhale. Doesn't that feel great? Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen ... I'm nearly ready to cope. I think so much better when I'm calm. The hazy fog is lifted, I feel in control again ... twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven ...
I remember what I used to tell others, set a goal, a short-term goal. I struggle to accept my own advice, yet every time I set a goal and then reach it, the feeling of accomplishment is monumental! Thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine ... It doesn't matter the size of my goal, it's the journey I've traveled to reach the end. Or the mini-end if I have a small goal set for myself.
Two weeks ago I set a few minor goals. I promised myself I would tend to the task of working on proposals for my completed work and I would then go fishing twice a week. By fishing I actually mean I would send queries, proposals out to publishing houses and/or agents. I always think of it as fishing, I'm never sure if I'm really in the right spot or dangling the proper bait, but research and a dash of determination has landed me at that particular publishing door and so I pitch a hook, cast a line. Fishing!
So far I've met my short-term goals. I've sent the desired number of proposals out each week; I continue to search for possible matches, a tedious task, not unlike fishing, but essential if I want to succeed. I'm back in control with a set purpose in mind! The papers may be falling off my desk and the floor around me may be littered with debris, but my goals keep me focused. I'll make clean-up a priority another day! Right now I'm basking in the good feelings of accomplishment ... fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty ...
Oh, that was a short minute! But I've also rememebered I'm more in control than I recalled at first. So what was the real exercise, stopping for sixty seconds or simply taking a moment to assess what has already been accomplished in my hectic life?
Sometimes the simplist action makes a powerful difference.
Til next time ~
DL Larson
One, two, three .... feel the calm, it's coming ... five, six, seven ... don't rush it for heaven's sake, it's only sixty seconds! Breathe in, deep, think lamaze here, and exhale. Doesn't that feel great? Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen ... I'm nearly ready to cope. I think so much better when I'm calm. The hazy fog is lifted, I feel in control again ... twenty-five, twenty-six, twenty-seven ...
I remember what I used to tell others, set a goal, a short-term goal. I struggle to accept my own advice, yet every time I set a goal and then reach it, the feeling of accomplishment is monumental! Thirty-seven, thirty-eight, thirty-nine ... It doesn't matter the size of my goal, it's the journey I've traveled to reach the end. Or the mini-end if I have a small goal set for myself.
Two weeks ago I set a few minor goals. I promised myself I would tend to the task of working on proposals for my completed work and I would then go fishing twice a week. By fishing I actually mean I would send queries, proposals out to publishing houses and/or agents. I always think of it as fishing, I'm never sure if I'm really in the right spot or dangling the proper bait, but research and a dash of determination has landed me at that particular publishing door and so I pitch a hook, cast a line. Fishing!
So far I've met my short-term goals. I've sent the desired number of proposals out each week; I continue to search for possible matches, a tedious task, not unlike fishing, but essential if I want to succeed. I'm back in control with a set purpose in mind! The papers may be falling off my desk and the floor around me may be littered with debris, but my goals keep me focused. I'll make clean-up a priority another day! Right now I'm basking in the good feelings of accomplishment ... fifty-eight, fifty-nine, sixty ...
Oh, that was a short minute! But I've also rememebered I'm more in control than I recalled at first. So what was the real exercise, stopping for sixty seconds or simply taking a moment to assess what has already been accomplished in my hectic life?
Sometimes the simplist action makes a powerful difference.
Til next time ~
DL Larson
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Acme Welcomes Pamela Samuels Young, Mystery Woman of the Week
Find Pamela Samuels Young At:
http://www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com/
http://crimesistahs.blogspot.com/
About the book:
L.A. attorney Vernetta Henderson takes center stage in another fast-paced legal thriller. A contentious wrongful deal lawsuit and the mysterious murders of prominent African-American men collide in a scandalous tale of lust, lies and the law.
Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_ss_gw?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=murder+on+the+down+low
About Pamela:
Pamela earned her Bachelor's Degree in Journalism from the University of Southern California and her master's degree in broadcasting from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. After spending several years as a television news writer and associate producer, including stints at WXYZ-TV in Detroit and KCBS-TV in Los Angeles, Pamela took a break from the news business to serve as a Coro Foundation Fellow in St. Louis, Missouri. Pamela later returned to school and earned her law degree at UC Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law. She practiced law at the Los Angeles office of O'Melveny & Meyers for several years and served as Employment Law Counsel for Raytheon Company.
The Compton native served as legal consultant to the Showtime television series, Soul Food and is a frequent speaker on the topics of self-empowerment, diversity and pursuing your passion. Visit Pamela's website at http://www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com/.
And Now Let's Find Out What Pamela Has to Say.
What Makes a Good Mystery?
Before I became a writer of mysteries, I was a long-time reader of mysteries—in particular, legal thrillers. I like being pulled into a story and having the author introduce me to a character I love (or hate!), then place that character in a predicament that has me biting my nails to find out if they'll escape.
In writing my third legal thriller, Murder on the Down Low, I wanted to write the same kind of suspenseful tale I enjoy when reading books by Walter Mosley, John Grisham, Sandra Brown, Tami Hoag, Valerie Wilson Wesley and Greg Iles, just a few of my favorite mystery writers. In Murder on the Down Low, police in Los Angeles are baffled by the murders of several attractive, successful family men. As it turns out, the victims all share a shocking secret.
I hope readers not only like, but identify with the four female protagonists in Murder on the Down Low. They are sister-friends who share a common goal: avenging the death of a dear friend. When one member of the foursome finds herself in trouble with the law, the women join forces to save her. The book is a suspenseful mystery, full of surprising twists and turns.
After you've read Murder on the Down Low, I would love it if you would drop by my website at http://www.pamelasamuelsyoung.com/ and email me your comments about the book, pro or con!
You're welcome to leave a comment for Pamela here as well.
A Busy Day
Most writers work day jobs because it's difficult to make a living as an independent writer, especially with ficiton. It's not impossible - just difficult. The irony is that the day job that pays the bills tends to infringe on the time available to write.
I love my day job but today was one of those days that just left me exhausted. Still, I managed to crank out a few sentences on the train and update my scene list as I work on my second romantic suspense novel. Now a few sentences doesn't sound like much but I learned awhile ago that writing even just one sentence a day is fundamental to making progress on completing any written work.
It takes discipline to turn on my laptop after a long day at work, but I'm enjoying my writing process so much that even penning one sentence is ample reward for me, although most days I write much more than that. A sentence or paragraph a day eventually leads to a chapter which leads to another chapter which leads to a novel length work of fiction. It's almost intoxicating.
So, what if I never get an offer for a book conract? What if my work is only read by a few people? Well, that might happen, but I'm not giving up. Writing is part of who I am now and expressing myself through my writing is as essential to my life as making a living. I'm fortunate that I enjoy both and find them both rewarding. I'm really fortunate that I can always depend on one of them to pay my bills. Anything else is icing on the cake - but then, I like icing on my cake.
I love my day job but today was one of those days that just left me exhausted. Still, I managed to crank out a few sentences on the train and update my scene list as I work on my second romantic suspense novel. Now a few sentences doesn't sound like much but I learned awhile ago that writing even just one sentence a day is fundamental to making progress on completing any written work.
It takes discipline to turn on my laptop after a long day at work, but I'm enjoying my writing process so much that even penning one sentence is ample reward for me, although most days I write much more than that. A sentence or paragraph a day eventually leads to a chapter which leads to another chapter which leads to a novel length work of fiction. It's almost intoxicating.
So, what if I never get an offer for a book conract? What if my work is only read by a few people? Well, that might happen, but I'm not giving up. Writing is part of who I am now and expressing myself through my writing is as essential to my life as making a living. I'm fortunate that I enjoy both and find them both rewarding. I'm really fortunate that I can always depend on one of them to pay my bills. Anything else is icing on the cake - but then, I like icing on my cake.
Monday, December 1, 2008
Thyme
Finally, I'm home. I worked all day, swam for an hour afterwards, navigated my way through the first storm of the winter, and now it's 9:26 and I just now cracked open my laptop.
Time to write, huh?
Well, maybe, but not my novel-in-progress. I'll write here for a bit, and then it will be bedtime. Which sorta sucks because after some fits and starts, I'm back into my book.
But there are so many other demands on my time. I spent six hours signing books at Borders on Saturday (I don't like to leave until I sell everything ... and there were a lot of browsers ... unusual for Christmas season). After Borders, I did my own shopping until 9:30.
Then Sunday was, well, family and football. I felt I deserved a mind-numbing day of Peyton Manning and my family actually missed me from being gone all day ... weird, huh?
Tomorrow I'm giving a business seminar. I'll bring my books and see if anyone brought any money with them that they'd like to part with.
So when do I write?
Probably not tomorrow night. I'm still trying to get my site set up to accept PayPal, so I can offer autographed books on-line. I finally got an 800 number for them, so maybe tomorrow I'll have the patience to sit on hold for an hour or two before an exasperating, er, exhilarating conversation with some tech.
Then do I get to write?
Well, I really have to make my hotel reservations for LIM in February, and, um we rented a DVD that's due in a couple days. So tomorrow's shot.
How about Wednesday?
Well, you get the point. There's always something. Sometimes carving out writing time is like fighting the rising cost of living.
Anyway, I am excited about my book. I worked my way through some tough parts, and it's fun right now.
... and I can't wait to get back to it.
Norm
www.normcowie.com
The Adventures of Guy ... written by a guy (probably)
The Next Adventures of Guy ... more wackiness
The Heat of the Moment (coming Feb. 09)
Fang Face (YA humor/vampire, coming Aug. 09)
Time to write, huh?
Well, maybe, but not my novel-in-progress. I'll write here for a bit, and then it will be bedtime. Which sorta sucks because after some fits and starts, I'm back into my book.
But there are so many other demands on my time. I spent six hours signing books at Borders on Saturday (I don't like to leave until I sell everything ... and there were a lot of browsers ... unusual for Christmas season). After Borders, I did my own shopping until 9:30.
Then Sunday was, well, family and football. I felt I deserved a mind-numbing day of Peyton Manning and my family actually missed me from being gone all day ... weird, huh?
Tomorrow I'm giving a business seminar. I'll bring my books and see if anyone brought any money with them that they'd like to part with.
So when do I write?
Probably not tomorrow night. I'm still trying to get my site set up to accept PayPal, so I can offer autographed books on-line. I finally got an 800 number for them, so maybe tomorrow I'll have the patience to sit on hold for an hour or two before an exasperating, er, exhilarating conversation with some tech.
Then do I get to write?
Well, I really have to make my hotel reservations for LIM in February, and, um we rented a DVD that's due in a couple days. So tomorrow's shot.
How about Wednesday?
Well, you get the point. There's always something. Sometimes carving out writing time is like fighting the rising cost of living.
Anyway, I am excited about my book. I worked my way through some tough parts, and it's fun right now.
... and I can't wait to get back to it.
Norm
www.normcowie.com
The Adventures of Guy ... written by a guy (probably)
The Next Adventures of Guy ... more wackiness
The Heat of the Moment (coming Feb. 09)
Fang Face (YA humor/vampire, coming Aug. 09)
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