Category: Blogs & Blogging

Win A Copy of Secrets 26!

exes_and_ahhs_lgMy buddy, my friend, my life-long pal, erotic romance author Kate St. James, is the Godiva of the week ALL WEEK at Candy Ready’s blog. That’s from now until Friday, folks. Visit today and tomorrow to read Candy’s two-part interview with Kate, and drop by again Wednesday and Thursday to read excerpts from Exes & Ahhs, Kate’s latest novella featured in Secrets 26: BOUND BY PASSION.

Every time you leave a comment, you’ll enter to win a free autographed copy of Secrets 26. And, what’s even more wonderful, you can enter up to 5 times. That’s five—count ’em—five, chances to win Secrets 26!

The winner will be announced Friday—not here, but on Candy Ready’s blog. So don’t leave a comment here to win Secrets 26—you have to leave the comments there. Well, you can leave a comment here if you want, telling Kate how wonderful she is, and I will make sure to pass it on to her (not difficult, sometimes I swear she’s living in my head). But comments posted here will not enter you in the contest for the free copy of Secrets 26. Only the comments entered at Candy’s Ready’s blog from Monday to Thursday, January 12th-15th will. Winner chosen Friday, January 16th.

Phew.

Sorry to clarify to the extreme, but after receiving several pitches in the comments section of my recent post about the BookEnds pitch critiques, I figured I’d better.

Diana Cosby Double Sunday Blogging

If you have some time this afternoon, Diana Cosby, who blogged here a few weeks ago, is double-blogging today at Jennifer’s Random Musings and Cookin’ Up Romance. Diana’s taking questions about writing at Jennifer’s Random Musings and giving away a copy of her latest release, HIS WOMAN, at Kit Wilkinson’s Cookin’ Up Romance, where you can also read her great interview and snatch up her recipe for Pina Colada Cake. Yum. So if you didn’t win a copy of Diana’s book on my blog, why not try again at Kit’s? She’s taking entries until December 13th.

P.S. Don’t forget that Kensington Aphrodisia author Susan Lyons is guest-blogging HERE Wednesday, December 10th. Susan has written a fantastic post about the current state of the publishing industry—you don’t want to miss it.

Information about Susan’s latest release, UNWRAP ME, appears Tuesday, a day before her blog.

What’s Your Blogging Personality?

First things first, if you’re looking for my Box ‘O Books Holiday Give-Away, scroll down.

Second things second… Ever taken a Myers-Briggs or other personality quiz? How accurate do you find them? According to every version of Myers-Briggs I’ve taken, I’m an INFJ, which is pretty darn accurate. But now, look, you can ID your blog personality, too!  I found the Typealyzer courtesy of Marilyn Brant’s blog, who found it courtesy of Jenny Crusie’s blog.

According to the Typealyzer, the author of Muse Interrupted(which some might say is me, while others ascertain that it’s Elle Muse) is a “Doer.” Here’s the blippy, complete with a cute illustration:

ESTP – The Doers

The active and playful type. They are especially attuned to people and things around them and often full of energy, talking, joking and engaging in physical outdoor activities.

The Doers are happiest with action-filled work which craves their full attention and focus. They might be very impulsive and more keen on starting something new than following it through. They might have a problem with sitting still or remaining inactive for any period of time.

Hmmm, okay, this is sort of me, if you count sitting at a desk and playing with your pen as “action-filled work,” although I can’t say I’ve engaged in physical outdoor activities on purpose since I was a child. As a child, yes, I was outside all the time, and I considered myself a tomboy until I began to participate in team sports and discovered that I possess no physical coordination whatsoever. Once, after getting hit in the face with a softball, I struck out something like 30 times in a row at softball practice. The coach thought he could outlast my fear! Silly man. Let me state here, though, that I didn’t strike out out of fear, I struck out out of crappy hand-eye coordination. The crappy hand-eye coordination was the same reason I didn’t catch the ground ball that smacked my glasses.

As for that picture of the little girl…she looks like me as a kid, except I didn’t have boobs when I was 7! I barely had boobs when I was 17. Is it just me, or does she possess a rather curvy upper body compared to her face and height?

So, what’s your blogging personality? Plug your blog URL into the Typealyzer website and find out. Then report back to me. Because I just can’t sit still until I know!

By the way, for those interested, Jennifer Crusie is a Doer and Marilyn Brant is an Artist.

Typée Dans Le Français?

Or something like that.

Okay, I got A’s in French all throughout high school, and I also got an A in first year university French. But what can I say? It’s been a few decades.

THANK YOU to Teresa for pointing me to a website that lists the ALT key/Key Pad codes for French accents. Yes, it took the combination of two emails and the website to get the information through my thick skull, but now I have it. My apologies to anyone else over the last few months who has attempted to teach me how to use the computer codes for accents. For some reason, Teresa’s lessons took hold while yours didn’t. I assure you, I’m a lousy student, you’re not a lousy teacher.

Here are some Do’s and Don’ts:

  • You must use the number key pad on your PC, not the numbers across the top of your keyboard.
  • If you have a laptop without a key pad, I can’t help you, because I am laptop-less.
  • You MUST have your Number Lock key pressed before you attempt your bee-oot-iful accents.
  • You DON’T type the letter you want accented before or after the number code. Just type the code.
  • You DO press the ALT key before you type the code.
  • You let go of the ALT key.
  • The correct accent above the correct letter magically appears.

Voici un example. Mais, ou es l’accents dans l’examples?  J’ai oublie moi accents completement!!

Okay, let me try again (I have no idea if completement is a French word, so don’t hassle me if it isn’t, at least I’m trying, damn it). (For those who wish translation of Cindy’s feeble French, the above is meant to read: “Here is an example. But, where are the accents in the examples? I have forgotten my accents completely!”)

I think ou (where) has an accent above the o. I mean the u: Où. Yes!

Tres has an accent above the e: Très. Yes!!

Moi, j’ai mucho brilliance!

Clearly, I’m no better at Spanish.

Go forth and accentuate yourself. 

A Cop’s Life A to Z

That’s Z as in Zed! Zed, I tell ya!

Okay, it’s Z as in Zee. Seeing as the instructor is American, I’ll give her the Zee.

During September, as part of my research for the WIP, I had the pleasure of taking Kathy Bennett’s on-line class, A Cop’s Life A to Z, put on by the RWA Kiss of Death chapter.

What an excellent class! As well as being a writer, Kathy is a cop with the LAPD. As it so happens, the hero of my WIP is an ex-cop with the LAPD, so I had to take this class and I recommend it most heartily. I have enough emails printed out to fill a binder (which I will do, you know, when the moon turns green), and I gained great insight into several aspects of a cop’s life.

If you’re a member of Kiss of Death and you considered taking Kathy’s class and didn’t, next time she offers it, sign up. I can’t see how you could be disappointed.

P.S. Kathy has a blog on her new website, too.

American Title V Finalists Announced

From the Romantic Times website:

American Title V writing competition finalists have been selected!

ANCIENT WHISPERS
Marie-Claude Bourque
(Seattle, WA)

THE SERPENT’S TOOTH
Jessica Darago
(Arlington, VA)

HOW TO TAME A HARPY
Michelle Lauren
(Hampton, VA)

ONCE UPON A MASQUERADE
Tamara Hughes
(Brooklyn Park, MN)

TRUE TO THE HIGHLANDER
Barbara Longley
(Saint Paul, MN)

DEAD PEOPLE
Edie Ramer
(Richfield, WI)

NEVER COMING HOME
Evonne Wareham
(Barry, South Wales, UK)

IN A LOVER’S SILENCE
Qaey Williams
(Raleigh, NC)

Congratulations, ladies! Special congratulations to Edie Ramer, who I had the pleasure of getting to know at the RWA National Conference in Reno in 2005 (I think it was 2005). Edie and others run a great blog called Magical Musings as well as the inspiring Write Attitude. Way to go, Edie!!