Here a pill, there a pill....

There are few things more exciting than rolling out of bed early in the morning and running out the door without coffee or breakfast because you need to have fasting bloodwork done. I have to do this on a regular basis and I tell you, I just wouldn't know how to live without the excitement.

When combined with an office visit with your doctor, it usually results in no breakfast/lunch until sometime around noon. Hmmm.

The cold I've been battling is actually an allergy attack. Thank you, spring/summer! Combined with the abundant rain and air pollution, this summer will not be fun.

And after reviewing all the stuff going on with the diabetes, I'm now on new meds. I love the paperwork they give you when you start new meds. First there's the very serious exhortation--Read this information sheet carefully before taking medication.

If everyone actually read those info sheets, no one would take any medicine--ever. I started three new meds. Side effects for #1...Dizziness, headache, stomach upset.
#2...burning or irritation inside the nose, coughing, headache, muscle and joint pain, nosebleed or pink color to the mucus, painful menstruation, sinus inflammation, sore throat, upper respiratory tract infection, viral infection vomiting, wheezing. (nasal spray for allergic rhinitis.)
#3...headache, weight gain (this one suggests losing weight to make the medication work better).

Confusing, much? Those were the highlights. The actual sheet are two pages long. I rarely watch television, but when I do, it always amazes me when I listen to pharmaceutical commercials. The cure is frequently far worse than the disease. Faaaaar worse.

I understand the companies are trying to cover their butts so they list every conceivable possibility. I wonder how many people actually listen to the tale end of the commercial when it lists side effects? Do the companies count on people tuning that part out? Or do they count on doctors reassuring their patients? How does that work?

Have you ever taken a medicine that was later taken off the market?

anny

Have a nice weekend!

anny

Kama Sutra Illustrated

Contrary to popular belief, writing erotic romance is not just a case of using some naughty words. Nooooo. The writer is required to include various naughty actions. And. Describe. Them.

Now, if you happen to believe that's easy, I challenge you to sit down and write out a scene. Remember you can't just say the lovers did this or that. You must show them doing those things.

Where are their hands? What is her expression? What scents are in the room? Is it light or dark? Are they on a bed? In a tub? Sitting on a chair? In front of a fireplace? Or up against a wall?

There's a reason men prefer pictures. They're direct, unambiguous, and easy to understand. A naked body is a naked body. Women on the other hand enjoy the luxury of imagination sparked by words. The choice of noun or verb can make or break a sensual scene.

A fellow writer and I were brainstorming an alternative for semen. After searching various databases and the Internet, we decided our favorite was sprogspawn. I haven't quite figured out how I'll fit it in a book, but it's too delicious to pass up. I admit that it won't do in my current scene, though. So for now I'll continue my search.

What's you're favorite--pictures or words?

anny

Weekly Whine

Today I went to the doctor for a follow up appointment for my CT scan. Contrary to any anxiety, it appears I'm not ready to kick the bucket yet. Instead, as the doc said, "We're watching it." And I'll go back for another CT scan in six months. Next stop will be the endocrinologist. What fun.

When I dragged my butt in the door I was greeted with a notice indicating the maintenance department for my apartment complex will be doing their Quarterly Unit Inspections. Sigh. I don't feel like dealing with this right now. I also have company arriving next week. And I really, really planned to write this week.

Oh, yeah. I have a cold. My head hurts, my ear aches, and my nose is running.

Okay. Whine over.

My company is a cousin I haven't seen in...years. I'm four days older than her--a fact she never forgets. She's never visited me here so I'm thrilled to death that she's coming to see me.

The household have all promised to help clean and reorganize. Actually, they'll do a better job than I would, anyway. And it'll look good when the guys show up.

And the health thing? Well, I've been waking up every morning to face beautiful days. Can't really complain, can I? Colds only last ten days. Herbal tea is good. And I sound pathetic enough everyone steers clear. Not bad.

Don't forget to check out the newest wip excerpt. Have a great day.

anny

Spring cold

Working on little sleep, scratchy throat, thumping headache, and post-nasal drip. Goin' back to bed. See y'all tomorrow!

anny

Gray bearded lady

This last weekend was the haircut/hair coloring/chin waxing weekend. I'm now a flaming redhead with no beard. But before my daughter got around to ripping the beard off with hot wax, I took note of the fact that it's mostly gray now. Some is even white. It made me wonder why the hair coloring people don't come up with a flesh colored hair dye for women's beards.

After all, the guys have special products for their beards and mustaches. Of course, I read recently that those products have heavy concentrations of lead...so the hair coloring companies would have to fix that first. I'm not so vain I want to slap lead all over my chin.

But it would be nice not to worry about waxing. My daughter usually takes care of it for me, but one weekend she was away so I thought I would just take care of it myself. There was just one little problem. I don't do well with mirrors.

I can never tell my right from my left in a mirror. Or near from far. So there I was with my applicator stick and hot dripping wax trying to spread it on my... nightgown? ...my ear? ...my nose?

Eventually, the hunk decided to lend a hand. I should just point out his philosophy is the more the better. I did finally end up with a mostly clean chin. But there were patches here and there with springy clots of hair. I gave up and shaved those.

I forget where I was going, but I was more or less presentable when I got there. Maybe. That's the other thing about mirrors. I don't seem to have a pair of specs that allow me to see close up. So for all I know it might have been an illusion.

At least the people I met didn't stare at my chin...

anny

Tonight (Tuesday) from 7-9 PM EST I have the Anny Cook and Friends chat at Love Romances Cafe. I hope you'll join me. If you're an author bring your excerpts. If not, come and plan to enjoy what the others offer! For the link, click HERE.

Also!!! New WIP excerpt up today on Excerpt Page!

Bowling

My daughter purchased a minimal Wii set-up. I had heard of the Wii, but really didn't have a very clear idea of exactly what it was. Anyway, this set-up has a bowling game included. A couple evenings a week, we have bowling tournaments, women against the men.

Back when the hunk and I were dating, bowling was one of the few acceptable activities for dating. The others were movies, rollerskating, going out to eat--especially at the Buffalo (ice cream parlor)--and occasionally a visit to the zoo. All very innocent pasttimes. At that time, bowling was also cheap. Even the ice cream parlor was more expensive.

Anyway, the first time we bowled, they were a little surprised at our skill. The hunk and I are both out of shape so they expected us to rack up low scores. Hah.

Now I admit it's tougher for me to do the real deal in a bowling alley because of the weight of the ball, but the Wii is ideal for us old folks. There's nothing except the remote to hold on to. Yet you can still work up a sweat and warm up the muscles.

So we bowled. *Snicker*

After winning the first three games they decided the old guys weren't so bad. Funny how that worked.

anny

Just want to point out I now have a new page with links to my friends blog posts! If I left you out or you want yours added, please e-mail me at annycook67@yahoo.com

Yay, it's the weekend!

Have a great one! Eat chocolate, sleep late, unwind and get ready for next week. See ya then!

anny

I thee wed???

We're officially in the month of June, the traditional month for weddings. Romance and love seem to bring out the most...interesting desires in the new bride and groom. While scrolling through the offerings from Wedinator, I selected a few that were G rated. But if you want to be amazed and amazed and AMAZED...click HERE.

Or you can just enjoy and dream up your own stories to account for my selections. I do challenge you to make it to the last one without smiling.








anny

A thousand words...

There are some pictures that cry out to have their story told. Serious pictures. Funny pictures. Puzzling pictures. This is one of the pictures I've found over the last couple years. The more I look at it, the more fascinated I am.

So many questions. Why is the cow in the sidecar? Why is the cow wearing a helmet? How did the cow get in the sidecar? Where are they going? Why does the driver have on a suit and tie?

I love this picture. So tell me... what're your best guesses?

anny

Alien Pitfalls

Over the years I've read quite a few alien stories. Heck, I've even written a couple myself. As I see it, the easiest alien story is one where all the characters and the location are alien. In other words, everything is "not us". In that case, you don't have to decide what the characters know--or don't know (or understand). They'll all be familiar with the same references. Kama Sutra Lovers is this type of story. The book's setting is Elyria and all the characters--at least all the major characters--are natives of Elyria.

In the second type alien story, one of the characters is not native to an alien setting. In this story, the author creates the setting and then observes it through the eyes of the outsider. The Mystic Valley books are stories of this type. Everything is not only unfamiliar to the hero/heroine, but the reader. In many ways, this is the most difficult type alien story to write because the author must convey a strange world, customs, culture while maintaining the personality of the hero/heroine. What will they know/understand and how do they find out about the new world? Some authors may even be tempted to dump information rather than let their character discover that world on their own.

In the third scenario, the alien is on Earth. This presents the problem of determining what the alien knows about Earth and how quickly he/she assimilates. The world is familiar to the reader so the author doesn't have to explain the setting for the reader's sake. However, the author must still be careful when viewing the surroundings through the outsider's eyes.

In the second and third scenarios I also include time travel novels. In Linda Howard's Killing Time, she beautifully addresses this issue when her FBI agent from the future (though well prepared) is continually snagged by idiomatic language differences.

On one hand, it's too simplistic to assume the alien character will understand everything immediately. On the other hand, the story will screech to a halt if the author stops to explain every itty bitty little thing as they go along. I like to assume reasonable intelligence in my aliens and stop occasionally to show them figuring out/asking about a particularly puzzling issue.

The picture at the top of the post is a perfect example of the type of pitfall I think would be interesting, even amusing to have in a story. Perhaps the alien in this case has numerous little horns to hide. What to do? A normal hat wouldn't fit over his head... Or perhaps he's a dragon and must hide his crest. Hmmmm.

What's your favorite alien story?

anny

Sounds of Music

Over the past few weeks, I've read several blogs about the role music plays in the writing experience for some authors. A few authors have listed the songs they were listening to when they were writing particular books. I'm struck by the astonishing variety. I confess I've been totally unfamiliar with about ninety percent of the titles listed. And that's not so unusual given my age. Popular music, after all, is very much an age appropriate genre.

There are some outstanding pieces that cross age, gender and even ethnic barriers. Few people can withstand the mournful strains of Amazing Grace or Taps. Most people are stirred by their national anthems and particularly patriotic songs, especially on national holidays. Certain hymns are frequently played at funerals.

For the most part, though, music preference is as individual as our DNA. I used to think children pretty much listened to the music their parents listened to, but obviously that's wrong. Personally, I prefer mostly instrumental music, even if the titles started out as popular songs. Some disparaging souls call this elevator music. But I find the words distracting and irritating. For me, they get in the way of the music.

My all time favorite piece of music was titled Chariots of Fire--not the short bit most people recognize from the Titles, but the long piece--twenty-five minutes long--that encompasses all the other bits and pieces from the soundtrack. At a particularly stressful time in my life I used to put the children to bed, light a couple candles, turn out the lights and just immerse myself in the music. By the time that piece was over, I was smoothed out and ready to sleep.

More recently I've discovered other pieces of music that operate on my psyche in a similar fashion. I suspect that they would not have the same effect on my friends and family. That's okay.

The wonderful thing about music is its infinite variety. There's something for everyone from the thrilling strains of Bach and Chopin to the driving beat of hip-hop. Music speaks across racial and ethnic barriers. It lifts the heart, comforts the mourning, and rouses the souls of the warriors. It's our most enduring gift from God.

anny