30DoB-Day 4

Well, I'm four days in and already behind. In fact, I only read 15 pages of the new book. I have a good excuse though...

I'm totally getting into this new story I have. Actually, I've written quite a bit in the past two days. For me anyhow. And I just don't want to stop for anything. I know I should probably slow down and take my time, make things easier on myself in the long run as far as editting goes, but, damn, this story is pulling me in. I haven't had one fall into place so well in...maybe ever?

So, forgive me, if I get behind on my promised reading. A girl--or rather, a writer--has to prioritize, doesn't she? :)

30DoB-Day 3

I'm running a bit behind today. I could lie and say it was because the kids had me tied up and pulling my hair out (well, they did have me doing that), but really I just hadn't finished yesterday's book until a bit ago. :( I actually wrote last night instead, if you can believe it. Not a lot. Only four pages worth. But it's not half bad and I'm really liking this new story. I think it has a lot of potential and I can't seem to stop thinking about it. Of course, bad me...I didn't write down any of the ideas I had today. Hopefully they'll come back to me when I sit down to write later on.

But, anyway...on with the show. MY WILDEST RIDE by Isabel Sharpe. Pretty good book. I absolutely loved the heroine, who was probably one of the most flawed heroines (if you really consider mistakes we've all made, in some form, genuine flaws) I've ever read in a Blaze. She had some serious issues and her conflict with them was legit. I would have reacted the same way she did, which I can't say is typical--I tend to get irritated by characters more than I sympathize. I loved the hero, as well, but I felt he lacked in the personal conflict department (heroine aside). His only issue, again, non-heroine related, was easily resolved and really posed no major conflict for him. But, I suppose, Blazes are--or rather can be--more character than conflict oriented. Again...the sex was fabulous, but in a very down-to-earth, normal people kind of way. I loved that, just like I did the last book. It gets tiresome reading about multiorgasmic sex, when, in reality, that's not the norm. Or, at least, if it is...don't tell me. ;)

So, tonight's pick is...(let me go to the pile and grab)...FIRE IN THE BLOOD by KELLEY ST. JOHN.

Ooh, a paranormal. Haven't read a para Blaze in a while and, come to think of it, I don't know that I've ever read Kelley before, so...this should be interesting. Oh, it's about a firefighter, too. What the heck? I really have to get on the stick with my firefighter stories. Or at least the one I've rough drafted already. Sigh.

Anyhow...you know the drill. I'll be back tomorrow...

30DoB-Day 2

So far, so good...I'm on schedule still. Granted, I'm only one day in, but, hey, every day counts, right? :P

I finished FLASHPOINT last night, which was really no big feat because it was a very easy read. And pretty good, too. I felt it lacked a bit in the action department--something I took for granted, the book being about a firefighter and an EMT--but the tension, chemistry, and ultimate coming together (pun fully intended) struck me as uber realistic and completely endearing. It was the little things about Zach and Brooke's relationship, like the teasing and the hugs, that sold me. Oh, and the while the sex scenes were hot, Jill never used a single "c" word to describe anatomy, which is a first for me with a Blaze. The sex scenes focused so much on the emotion of those moments that sexual description wasn't even needed, which is the way it's supposed to be. (Making a note to refer to this book when writing my own sex scenes.)

The next book I've pulled, by closing my eyes and simply grabbing is...MY WILDEST RIDE by ISABEL SHARPE.

Oh, yay. I've been meaning to read this one, because, if rumors are true, Isabel and I both live in WI. Okay, I just looked her up and she lives in Milwaukee, which is on the opposite end of the state from me, but I still feel as though we're kindred spirits of some sort. ;) As with today, I'll let you know what I think about the story tomorrow (or maybe this afternoon, if I finish early) and I'll pick my next read.

30 Days of Blaze

I got my new shipment of Harlequin Blazes today. It's the 11th in the my year's subscription, which was the prize I received for being one of three winners in Harlequin's Ultimate Secret contest last September. You can read the entry here if you'd like, but note it's under my real name and somewhere along the way, my opening sentence went missing. :( (FYI...the sentence was--should anyone want to actually read it--"Life as Carmela Winfield knew it--for the last eight months anyhow--was about to end.")

Anyhow, upon stuffing my new books onto my bookshelf, I realized I had A TON of unread Blazes staring back at me. Well, a ton might be an exaggeration...it's actually 32 books and I'm pretty sure I have about 5 tucked in inconspicous places around the house, only partially read, as well. Of course, I have a bunch of other books on my TBR shelf, too, but not nearly as many belonging to the same category or the same genre.

So, taking into consideration that I want to write Blaze (I know I've battled this repeatedly, but I truly think in my heart of hearts this is what I want. If you're someone I've whined and cried about this to--about what my voice is, etc.--I'm sorry. You can slap me if you'd like. *grin*), the fact that I can easily read a Blaze in a day, and that I want to start writing again once I ditch this babysitting gig, it seems like I really ought to get cracking on all of those books, doesn't it? :)

Now, I know I'm notorious for flaking on my goals, but I'm going to set yet another. I'm going to read a Blaze a day for the next 30 days, reviewing them at my whim and/or picking them apart to help sharpen my understanding of the category, which will hopefully make my next, impending attempt at writing more successful.

So--deep breath--tonight I'm going to begin...and hopefully finish...(picking randomly from the pile here)....FLASHPOINT by JILL SHALVIS.


Damn, that's ironic. I was so pissed when I got this book and realized someone was already onto the firefighter series idea I'd had last November with my NaNo story, which would have been the first of three firefighter books. But I've since gotten over my jealousy--I love Jill and couldn't hate her for too long ;) . I know this will be a fabulous book and I can't wait to dig in and let you know all about it tomorrow.

Hugs...

Getting Down To Business. Again.

So, I begin another semester of community college in two weeks. TWO WEEKS!! Holy crap, this summer went by fast. As did all of my goals...that is, they went quickly by the wayside. :( I seriously got nothing done this summer. Nothing. Oh, wait... I did write 11K of a new novel over a weeks time, but I lost interest in that just as quickly as I'd gained it. But, I digress...

I have my stack of new books sitting right beside me and, strangely enough, I'm anxious to dig in already. One might think that I'm so excited because the end is nearing for me. But... I changed my major AGAIN and I have no idea how long it's going to take me to finish now. I'm waiting to hear about my 'graduation audit', which will tell me what I still need. Fingers crossed that I won't lose a whole semester's worth of electives because they don't meet my new major requirements. My husband will have a shitfit if that's the case, because he's more than ready for me to get a job. Which I'm still looking for, BTW, but without much luck.

So, because I have this sneaky suspicious that I'm going to be an unemployed student (and mother and wife) for awhile, I'm guessing I might have some time to write. Hahahahaha. I know. I'm forever saying that, but I never get anything done. But seriously. If all I'm doing is school work and my normal houseslave stuff, I should be able to get something done writing-wise. If I don't, well, then something is just wrong.

Since I don't really want to start reading my new textbooks yet (because that'd be really lame and also because I'll probably forget what I've read in two weeks time), I'm going to pull out my craft books and CDs again to 'refresh' my memory. And that's probably what I'm going to be blogging about for the next couple of weeks, so bear with me. :)

Anyhoo, I must be off. My Monday morning cleaning awaits...

That Damn Indecision Again

So I've changed my layout yet again. That makes about twelve times in the past two days. :( I can never be happy with anything for more than two minutes. Frankly, my husband is lucky to have held my interest as long as he has. ;)

Back to the layout, though... I know it's not all pretty and girlie like one might expect from me, but something about it...calls...to me. The outdoor images remind me of scenes I've seen around here in the fall. And the chair seems very "readerly" to me. And I am a reader as well as a writer (wannabe anyhow). So...we'll give this one a whirl for a bit. See if it wears out its welcome before the day is through...

BTW, I'm trying to come up with a more interesting way of blogging. It may or may not include a schedule of some sort (I know...haha. Me on a schedule. What a joke.). Change is making its way into my life, slowly but surely and I hope that it allows me some more time to play around with things here. I'll keep ya posted...

Tell Me I'm Beautiful...

:) I stole that directly from Moira McTark's Samhain release Nothing Stays in Vegas, which was great, BTW. I mean, you know you've read a good story when you recall bits and pieces of it and think, "What movie was that from? Man, I've gotta see that again." Er...and it wasn't even a movie. ;)

Anyhow...I have a new blog layout as I'm sure you can see. Way down at the bottom of the page is a link to the fabulous Lena's blog (or you can just click here). She does some great work, but the trick to downloading is having Firefox and doing all of your copying, pasting, etc. in it, as well. As with any free template, there are some glitches. I can change fonts and colors and whatnot as I wish, but I have to log in repeatedly in order to see my 'New Post/Customize/Log Out" bar at the top of the screen. Otherwise...I love it.

And now I'm off to cut the lawn. I'll be back to fix my sidebar later tonight. :)