Computer Woes

I’m on a deadline. I need to finish a book. I also have an old desktop that takes FOREVER to boot and has little to no space left on the hard drive. It’s running at a snail’s pace.

So yesterday, I planned to take an hour out of my writing schedule to clean up the hard drive and defrag it - you know, spruce up the place to hopefully let it limp along a little longer until I have time to buy a new computer and spend the WEEKS I’d need to get it up and running with all my software, peripherals and connectivity just the way I like it.

SEVEN HOURS later I finally went out - after an embarrassing meltdown witnessed by my family - and bought a new computer. I fired it up and tried to decipher that newfangled Vista thing. It’s going to take some getting used to.

I now have to clean my office (ACK!) and find a place to hook it up alongside the old system while I search for and locate my various software disks/downloads and load everything onto the new computer. I also have to hook up peripherals (I have a lot of those) and locate drivers/software (which is ALL over the place - I’m not very organized) for that. So if you hear screams and curses coming from the NY metro area, you know it’s me, trying to sort out this new computer.

And did I mention? I’m on a deadline.

Mr. Romance & Zoolander?

When I came home from RT one of the first things I did to unwind was pull out my copy of Zoolander and watch it again. Now, I came to the craziness that is Zoolander late, not being a big Ben Stiller fan, but I’ve come to appreciate his work in this movie and in the more recent Night at the Museum. The dude is talented.

Anyway, back to Zoolander… If you haven’t seen it, go out and rent it! I caught it for the first time about a year or two ago when I was home sick in bed, flipping through channels. Comedy Central plays it every once in a while and I watch it whenever it’s on. The reason I just HAD to watch it again after RT was because of the Mr. Romance competition and spending all week dodging cover models eager for my vote.

I’m not really into the whole oggle-the-model thing. Don’t get me wrong. They’re very handsome men and are nice to look at. I’m sure they’re nice people. But I read books not for cover model appeal, but rather what’s inside. Sort of the same philosophy applies to men, actually. The packaging is all well and good, but it’s what inside that counts most, right ladies?

Anyway, I attended the SOS Military Mixer. My family has a long line of military heroes in it and I support the troops in whatever small way I can. Fabio was there, looking tall and muscular, as usual, and I’ve got to hand it to him - he looks almost exactly the same now as he did twenty years ago when he was posing for endless Johanna Lindsey covers. LOL. The only minor change I noted is that his hair is noticably darker, which looks very nice on his very Roman face.

Of course, I didn’t get much closer to him than about twenty feet away. I guess I could’ve gotten a picture with him, but like I said, it’s not really my thing. Then there was the Mr. Romance competition…

It was standing room only in the ballroom, so I stood just for the first few scenes of the event. I’d been invited to dinner by my publisher, so I only caught the beginning of the competition. I was pretty sure John Fish (the ultimate Texas cowboy) would win, but to my surprise I found out later that Chris Winters had taken the big prize.

Being brutally honest here - I think it had to do with the fact that Dorchester was sponsoring the contest and Winters had a real anime look. His hairstyle was a spiky thing straight out of the new wave 80’s. It almost reminded me of Paul Young - remember him? Yes, I admit, I was in high school in the 80’s and well remember the look, the clunky jewelry, and the phenomenon that as The Breakfast Club… Molly Ringwald and the like.

But I digress… my feeling, which was echoed by a few I talked to later, who saw the entire competition, was that the whole semi-anime look was what probably clinched it for Winters, because Dorchester is marketing heavily to the “younger” generation. Evidence their Shomi line and the duo of Maverik and Mancusi who seem to wear go-go boots almost exclusively. (Hell, if I were tall and skinny like them, I would too! LOL)

All the competitors were handsome and any one of them could have taken the prize. I liked the look of “Big John” because the dude is a freaking giant! LOL! Plus I’m a native NY’er so real cowboys are just coooool. But really, all of them were prime specimens of manliness. And they deserve a lot of credit for putting up with women oggling them all week. My hat (if I wore one) would definitely be off to the competitors. They did a good job under trying circumstances. I mean that. I tried to imagine what it would be like in reverse, and I bet there would be a ton of complaints of inappropriate conversations and miscellaneous flirting that was probaby way over the top. It’s hard to imagine a woman of today putting up with half the stuff these men did. They’re troupers.

But I just couldn’t get Zoolander out of my head while I was watching the runway show during the Mr. Romance competition. I began to wonder if any of these guys were like Derick Zoolander, who sadly, was not an ambi-turner… Or were they instead as nice - and intelligent - as they seemed on the outside. Sorry for the silly comparison, guys. I couldn’t help it! I swear. And now I’m probably going to take a lot of heat for this blog. *sigh*

Here’s wishing you all a look as good as “magnum”!

Creature Feature: Nessie

The Loch Ness Monster… Nessie… A phantom, long-necked creature rising out of the mists of a dark Scottish lake. Creepy, right?

Many stories have been told over the centuries and many theories exist as to whether or not Nessie really lives deep in the cold waters of Loch Ness.

Some speculate Nessie could be an elasmosaurus, a kind of plesiosaur, or a decendant thereof. They were thought to have become extinct at the same time as most dinosaurs. They were aquatic reptiles with long necks and bodies up to 46 feet long, according to fossil evidence.

Could there be a last lingering few of these creatures living deep in the waters of Loch Ness? It’s a tantalizing mystery to ponder. So tell me, do you believe in Nessie?

Finally Home!

I finally made it all the way home and have been sleeping pretty much non-stop. It’s amazing how little sleep I got at RT and how much I needed to catch up on. Today is a lazy day… I’m sitting here, still in my jammies, doing some odds and ends while I write furiously on Jaci’s Experiment, my August ebook release from Samhain, and the third in my Resonance Mates series.

Jaci was left hanging in the middle of her story while I finished edits on Perfect (my May ebook release from Tease), and FireDrake (my May ebook release from Samhain and the next of my Dragon Knights books) and then went to RT. Now I can devote time to Jaci and the story is really moving along again. I’ll be working on her book for the next two weeks or so, until I finish it. It’s getting to that really interesting part — at least for me! LOL. The part where I have to tie up all the little plot points I’ve been toying with throughout the story.

And there’s a new character in this book who is really blossoming into a larger-than-life personality. I’d planned to write only five books in this series, but I may just have to figure out a way to give him his own story in there somewhere. I can probably do it within the context of the planned books, but I’m toying with the idea of giving him a separate book of his own. We’ll see how it goes. Either way, you’ll be hearing more about “Wild Bill.”

Almost Home

RT is over for this year and a good time was had by all!

I drove through a whole lot of rain to get to my half-way point - a family member’s home, where I am now. It’s nice to be in familiar surroundings and able to decompress a bit. The week was long and adventurous, but very good. I met some incredible people and learned a lot. I also got to sign a lot of books, posters, bags, T-shirts and other things. The two signings - the ebook fair on Wednesday and the book fair on Saturday were great successes!

Getting back on track here will be somewhat difficult, but once I catch up on sleep, things should look a bit easier. For now, I’m planning on going to sleep early!

RT Update #2

It’s been a hectic few days! Yesterday at RT, we had the ebook fair - the first of its kind in RT history. There were hiccups, of course, but I did have a good time chatting with folks who’d brought some of my print books with them for me to sign. I also had about a dozen copies of Sons of Amber (the new print version) with me, which I was allowed to sign at that event because for some reason, the bookseller for the big Saturday signing couldn’t get that book. My wonderful friends from FAR were gracious enough to set up my little section of table (put out bookmarks, set up my poster, and make it look pretty) while I wrangled with the “powers that be” to get my books into their system so they could be sold at the event. THANK YOU FAR GALS!!!

When I finally got my books all checked in and legitimized, I returned to my table and found a gorgeous display - much better than I could have done on my own! I also found two small statuettes waiting for me from All Romance eBooks (ARe), commemorating the two awards I won a few weeks back from them - a Best Book of 2007 for Hara’s Legacy and a Best Author of 2007. I hadn’t known there would be statuettes involved, so it was a very pleasant surprise. They’re really pretty - with a sort of flame-y cut in the acrylic that makes it look very ARe-ish, since their logo always has those eye-catching orangey flames.

Club RT opened today and I had another hour or so chatting with folks and signing things. It was great fun! I also heckled some of my friends from Samhain at our Publisher Spotlight, then manned the publisher table in Club RT, giving away lots of goodie bags and chatting. Then we had the Fairy Ball tonight and the costumes were incredible. Actually, I was really impressed with the way the entire room was set up. The sparkly drapey things hanging from the ceiling were great, as was the lighting and the meal was very good indeed.

Tomorrow I’ll be giving a talk in the morning after starting off the day at Jacki Frank’s Muffin Mixer. Then it’s off to attend panels and do another appearance in Club RT. It’ll be nice to get the workshop out of the way so I can: #1 clear some of the MANY boxes out of my room & #2 relax! LOL.

I’ll try to check in again and let you know how it all goes, but for now, it’s time to get some shut-eye. Happy Friday!

RT Update #1

Just checking in quickly from RT in Pittsburgh… I haven’t been online much with all the organizing and socializing that’s been going on, so I just wanted to write a quick hello tonight before I turn in. I had a lovely day catching up with old friends including Jacki Frank, Serena and the gals from FAR, the Samhain folks and a bunch of others. A good time was had by all! (Especially since I brought a bottle of Captain Morgan with me - LOL!)

Tomorrow the shindig will officially launch and all hell will probably break loose. I have a TON of promo items to get out and give to folks and lots of places I’ll have to be at certain times. Wish me luck! I’ll try to check in again tomorrow night.

Catching Up

I haven’t been around much this week for two reasons: First, I’m on Jury Duty - on an actual jury! Second, I’m trying desperately to finish up all my preparations for RT next week. I’d planned to do it this week, but being on a jury from 9-5 each day has messed up all my best-laid plans.

Still, it’s an interesting experience and who knows - maybe I’ll be inspired to write a legal thriller after this is all said and done. LOL.

I’ll be fininshing up my preparations for RT soon - I hope - then getting ready to see a whole bunch of you in Pittsburgh! Look me up if you’re going. I have tons of stuff to give away and I love chatting with folks, so come see me during my Club RT hours or any ol’ time you see me in the hall. I don’t mind one bit!

Some Dragon Knights Designs

Here’s the bookmark design I did for FireDrake, and a card I did featuring the four Dragon Knights novel covers.

 

A Great Weekend at I-Con!

I just had the most amazing weekend! I was a guest at a giant SF Con I’ve gone to for years as a regular con-goer. I-Con is a really big, multi-track sci fi con held on the campus of SUNY Stony Brook for the past 27 years. I usually go for one day on the weekend to browse through the amazing dealer’s room, which fills the entire sports complex floor, and see some cool media guests - writers, actors, scientists, etc.

This year was my first time seeing the con from the inside out, as it were. Because I was somewhat familiar with the campus and environs, they asked me to act as escort for the Author Guest of Honor, Charlaine Harris. I just have to say, she’s the sweetest lady, and I had the greatest time chatting with her and listening to her talks and readings. It was really inspirational to be around such successful authors. In addition to Miz Harris, I got to do a signing sitting next to sci fi legend, Norman Spinrad. He was gracious and kind to a newbie, even though the line of folks waiting for him wrapped around the corner and mine was… well… considerably shorter.

I also got to be on panels with author John Peel, the editor of Asimov’s SF Magazine, Sheila Williams, and my friend, author Michele Lang, as well as meeting a lot of other interesting folks. This was also the first time I’d attended the banquet and got to see Harlan Ellison in action. LOL. Oh! And I got a chance to talk very briefly with actress Tracy Scoggins. She’s so pretty it’s scary.

All in all, it was a great time. I even managed to not spend TOO much money in the Dealer’s Room, though there was this one artist who had bronze doorbell and door knocker sculptures that really tempted me. There was this dragon… *sigh* But I did collect his card, so maybe I’ll splurge in celebration when I sell my next book. (I like to mark special occasions with that kind of thing. Hey, it’s a good excuse to shop!)

Many thanks to Miz Harris and the folks at I-Con who made this weekend such an enriching and pleasurable experience. I learned a lot and drew invaluable inspiration from interacting with authors I admire and respect.