Speaking of frogs...

Have you ever run across a picture that you thought was just perfect? Yep, this is the one. Goodness, it feels like I have that entire frog down my throat.

Day three of the creeping crud. However, that didn't prevent me from adding another 1400 words to my work in process count yesterday. Considering everything, that wasn't bad. It rained all day as Hurricane Ida came to visit. I know a lot of other parts of the south have a lot more rain, but with the rain we also had much cooler temps and I was sure enjoying the warm weather earlier in the week!

Last night I took part in a chat at Talking Two Lips! We had a great time posting excerpts from the Carnal Reunion books and just talking. If you want to check out some of the excerpts just hope on over to TwoLips and scroll down!

Next week we'll all be at Coffeetime. I'll post a link on that day so you can join us if you like! Chatting with the readers and authors is a lot of fun.

Which reminds me... today I'm the featured author interview over at Tina Holland's blog. Just click on the link and then click on the blog when you get there. Hey! Leave me a comment so I know you stopped by! I'll put all the commenters names in a pot for a drawing. Prize--your choice from my current books--including the new one, Prisoner of the Heart!

Today, I hope to finish chapter Eight on my Vampire story. How do you write a book? One word at a time. So I'm practicing BICHOK (butt in chair, hands on keyboard). Hopefully, I'll have this book finished before Christmas. Wouldn't that be cool?

Until tomorrow... blessings on your day!

anny

PS!! This new blog skin doesn't show the links! So scroll over the words in the blog that seem logical links. If the underline shows up--you know you hit the right one!

Allergy Woes

Yep. That's pretty much what I look like today. Have no idea what I have. I think it's mostly allergies, but an allergy flare up can make you pretty miserable.

For some reason, it's always worse at night. Haven't quite figured out why that would be. Now what do most people do at night? That's right! They SLEEP! Not, however, if they are coughing up a lung or two. Sigh. By the time the body settles down so I can sleep, it's time to get up.

So the best thing would be to go to the doctor, right? Except for the second time in a year, my doctor has moved on. In her new practice she's no longer on our insurance. The doctors left in the old practice are not on our insurance. So... we have to pick a new doctor who is on our insurance. We've been informed that this will take anywhere from two to four weeks. Good thing I'm not deathly ill at this point.

It used to be that you could go to an emergency room/clinic if you had a dire need for a doctor in between shifting to a new primary care physician. I don't know. Maybe you can. But our insurance doesn't pay for that kind of visit at the emergency room. And frankly, after seeing the ER when my granddaughter was there...I'd have to be pretty darn sick to go that route. Not to mention--if I don't already have the Swine Flu, that would be a great place to contract it.

I share my general miserableness with you, because that's what friends are for, after all. Then if I get snippy or something out of character, y'all will know it's just because my eyes are watering, my nose is running and I can't breathe. Anyone would understand, right? Right?

In case you would like to spend more time with me, I'll be at a chat tonight at TwoLips. (9:00-11:00 EST!) Drop by and visit with us. We'll be sharing excerpts from our new anthology, Carnal Reunions.

Until then... blessings on your day.

Anny

Prisoner of the Heart!

Today my first book from Resplendence Publishing will be released! It's part of a seven story anthology title Carnal Reunions.

Prisoner of the Heart

When Rebecca Iversen graduated from college, she headed home with nothing on her mind but wedding plans. Less than a month later her plans were in ruins when she discovered she was pregnant the same week her fiance was arrested for selling drugs. Anxious to provide legitimacy for her child, she married Tom while he was still in jail. Years later, Becky finally divorced him, resolved to make a peaceful life for her children and herself.
When the reunion invitation from Karen arrived in her e-mail, her Aunt Mary urged her to take the time to enjoy a little adult time at the reunion.
Young Joe Harris lived across the street from the old Victorian where Becky lived during college. He spent those years secretly yearning for the “older woman”. Now that Becky is back and single, Joe plans to do everything in his power to convince her that he’s exactly the man she needs.

I haz a bug...

Be back tomorrow!

Don't forget to check out my new release, Prisoner of the Heart, at Resplendence Publishing!

anny

Waffling on

I suppose you might wonder what the picture has to do with my blog post. Absolutely nothing. I sat in front of the computer mulling over the possibilities for a blog topic and couldn't think of a single thing to say. I suppose you could say I felt just like that cat--all bundled up.

On January 6, 2007 I wrote my first blog. Truthfully, I never imagined I would still be blogging nearly three years later. It was a new venture with all sorts of possibilities waiting in the wings. I sat last night reading through some of those old blogs.

There are posts about things that happened in my childhood. And posts about everyday things that happened over the last three years. There are pictures, quotes, and excerpts from my books. Looking back, I'm amazed that I found so much to say.

This month I turn sixty. For those younger than me, sixty is just a word. They have years to live and things to do before they reach sixty. For those who are older than me, sixty is a milestone they've already reached. They look back on sixty and marvel at their younger selves as they reflect on the things that have changed since then.

Recently I watched Castaway, the movie with Tom Hanks. In the movie he spends four years as a castaway and when he returns to his life, things have changed. There are so many things for him to adjust to, both the big and the small.

When I look back on my life, I have a hard time comprehending the way the world has changed in that time. I find it difficult to talk to some friends that are just twenty years younger because the events that happened during the twenty year span that separates us are not real to them. That's ancient history.

I'll never forget the puzzled expression on my daughter's face when she was about five. She looked at me with wrinkled brow and asked, "Mommy, how many covered wagons did it take when you moved?"

For her, I was so old I could very well have assured her that dinosaurs pulled those many covered wagons. She wouldn't have known the difference. I suspect that time perception is something we get better at as we age, though I have a sneaking suspicion that few of the younger generation in school now will really have a frame of reference for the past.

Someone in my family is descended from Charlemagne and Alfred the Great. When I revealed this exciting information, they looked at me with a blank stare and asked, "Are they famous?" Somewhat stymied, I replied, "Well, yes." "Like Madonna?" "Um, no. Not like Madonna."

As I sit here, I wonder who our children will find to compare our current politicians and rulers with for their children. Will they know who George Washington and Abraham Lincoln are? Will they care?

Or like so much else in life will the past be a jumbled puzzle of names and faces that meant something at one time but no longer hold our respect or attention. Maybe in the future sports figures and actors will truly be our new gods.

It will be interesting to see what the next few years bring.

anny

Happy Weekend

There are days that I feel like Rip Van Winkle. Certain things have passed me by and I wonder exactly where I was when they took place. Was I sleeping? Or am I that oblivious to the world around me?

Of course, there is a limit to how much information we can input from the world we live in. The constant barrage of facts and figures tosses us into inevitable overload once in a while.

But more and more, I feel like that overload is drowning me. Maybe I turn off the world in self-defense. Maybe I've developed selective hearing because it's simply impossible to devote the same amount of attention to everything.

The weekend is generally my downtime. I don't plan to write unless I end up with a quiet time fortuitously. Usually, I read. Maybe I play a computer game. Maybe I go shopping. Writing is the last item on the list.

I lost a couple writing days this week so I might not follow my usual schedule. We'll have to see.

What do you do when you realize you're missing out on the world around you? How do you catch up?

anny

PS: Have a great weekend!

Friday

Friday--the end of a long week.

It was a particularly sad week for many soldiers and their families at Ft. Hood. It's impossible to ignore such a tragedy. Information trickles in and yet knowing what happened doesn't lessen the shock or the grief.

How could this happen? No person walks into a public arena and starts shooting until they have reached the end of their rope. Apparently, they are skilled at hiding their despair. So skilled those around them don't see their despair.

Of course, it adds insult to the injury when such carnage is carried out in a place one believes to be safe. Increasingly, shootings are carried out in churches, schools, hospitals and colleges. So the question is do those places have more people with problems? Or do people with problems seek out those specific places to make a final statement?

Whatever the truth, let us keep all of them in our prayers. That's always an appropriate way to end the week.

anny

Abraham Maslow - "If you only have a hammer, you tend to see every problem as a nail."

Sometimes I sits...

Yesterday was one of those days when you would be better off if you just stayed in bed. I didn't do that so I spent a considerable time sitting. On rising at my customary eight..mumble, mumble... and then tossing my morning meds down, I went into my office to peruse my e-mail, etc. while drinking my coffee.

Right then my morning went downhill. Sometime in the wee hours my monitor died. It was beyond resuscitating. So I hauled out my elderly laptop and set it up.

The problem is A) my current works of progress are not on my laptop. The currents files are NOW on a flash drive. B) I'm nearly blind. The transfer from a twenty inch monitor to a twelve inch laptop was not very successful. C) My chubby fingers do not fit well on a laptop keyboard--especially when they're used to a roomy ergonomic keyboard.

So after I answered some e-mails, peered at a few blogs, and played a couple games... I decided to check out a few monitors on the internet. That was fun. I pretended I had money and shopped accordingly. After that, I settled down to the serious job of locating a reasonably priced monitor. I finally settled on a twenty-three inch beauty from BestBuy.

The house hunk called to make sure they had it in stock in the store and when he came home from work, we ALL went to the store--my son-in-law, the grandkids, and us. I looked at a few of the other monitors, the kids played Guitar Hero, I picked up a game I'd been searching for, and we made our way to the checkout counters.

There the house hunk paid up so I now have my birthday--and my Christmas present. On the other hand, I definitely received something I wanted.

I'm still getting used to the monitor. It's somewhat similar to the feeling you get when you put on a brand new pair of glasses. Stuff keeps leaping out at me from the screen. It's also much, much brighter so I feel like I need my sunglasses.

I didn't accomplish much yesterday except some thinking. Mostly, I just sat.

anny

They will find you...

Promotion. I'm convinced the key to promotion is simply to not care whether anyone buys your books or not. In the weird way that these things work, I suspect the harder you are to find, the more people will seek you out.

It works that way in everyday life.

If I go sit in the living room, available for all and sundry to talk to me, no one will be around. The kids will find something to keep them busy. My daughter will take a bath. The son-in-law will play a game with the house hunk.

However, if I pick up a book and retire to my office, it's an iron clad guarantee that every single one of them will need to speak to me. That is the way life works.

Why should it not work in the world of selling books? So based on the basic premise, I should retire to my office and write books. Write, write, write and let the readers find me based on my writing instead of my promo. If I'm reclusive enough, people will seek me out.

My new motto? "Run and hide."

anny

Prisoner of the Heart

Only one more week until Prisoner of the Heart is released as part of the Carnal Reunions anthology from Resplendence Publishing!

When Rebecca Iversen graduated from college, she headed home with nothing on her mind but wedding plans. Less than a month later her plans were in ruins when she discovered she was pregnant the same week her fiance was arrested for selling drugs. Anxious to provide legitimacy for her child, she married Tom while he was still in jail. Years later, Becky finally divorced him, resolved to make a peaceful life for her children and herself.

When the reunion invitation from Karen arrived in her e-mail, her Aunt Mary urged her to take the time to enjoy a little adult time at the reunion.

Young Joe Harris lived across the street from the old Victorian where Becky lived during college. He spent those years secretly yearning for the “older woman”. Now that Becky is back and single, Joe plans to do everything in his power to convince her that he’s exactly the man she needs.

If you would like to win a free copy of one of the anthology stories, check out the details at Resplendence Blogspot! Hop right over there for your chance to win!

anny

Wild Weekend...

What do we do on a weekend when all of the rest of the family has left town? Why, we go to a party, of course!

The house hunk and I traveled down to Afton Locke's home for a Halloween get together with some of her friends. Her hunk and mine repaired to the man dungeon and talked electronic stuff while the ladies hung out upstairs and visited.

Afton lives on top of a mountain! Wow, way, way up there! She has an absolutely beautiful doggie. Speaking of doggies, we had to leave early so we could get home in time to walk ours. But we had a lovely time and the food was delicious!

What did you do this weekend?

anny

Trick or Treat?

Back when I was a kid--and when my children were trick or treating, there were a few conscientious souls who tried to provide "healthy" treats. On the whole, they were not appreciated by the kids. In reality, Halloween, Easter and Christmas were the three times of year candy and sweets were allowed. Generally, the rest of the year was all about good nutrition.

I suspect that's one of the reasons childhood obesity was much rarer back then. The other reason was...exercise. The kids went outside in the morning and played until dark. Again, TV was a limited treat. And of course, who knew about video games? Games? A game was baseball, kickball, tetherball, and occasionally football or soccer. In the deep of winter we might play Monopoly or Sorry.

When my children were teenagers, little trick or treaters started using pillowcases as their treat bags. I don't fool myself that it was the kid's idea. That had greedy parents written all over it.

Now--in my area at least--trick or treating is pretty much a thing of the past. If two or three kids show up at our door, that's a lot. This year? Zip. Not one kid. Parents are finding other things to do with their kids.

The dress-up costume is still popular, but now the kids wear them to the mall where the stores pitch small promo items in the kids bag. It addresses all possible needs. The stores get inexpensive promotion. The kids find small gimmicky toys in their bags instead of candy. And everyone is safe because they're not out walking up to strangers' doors begging for a treat.

As a matter of fact, most parents I know toss the entire bag of candy in the trash, rather than risk a weirdo poisoning their kids. And once that's taken care of, they provide their own "treats".

I guess we've come full circle. And the day's not far off when the kids will indeed get something like a toothbrush for trick or treat.

anny

BTW...been thinking about buying my book? get it today and receive 10 chances to win a book a month for 2010 from Romance in the Backseat. Go to my webpage, scroll to the bottom of the first page and click on the icon. Increase the odds by emailing proof of purchase to RITBSDoni@gmail.com Last day to Enter!