Sunday, August 30, 2009

There's no place like home...There's no place like home...




Come on, now, that sign is funny as hell. The town of Gettysburg might be small in populace, but it seems to be big in humor, and I might just be calling it home in the very near future.



The hubby and I are going on a little trip next week to visit this town. I Googled it, and was surprised to see just how small it was.


The town I'm living in at the moment has a lot of similarities to Gettysburg. Our town has signs near the lake that states, "Best town by a dam site." Yeah, that's because the lake is dammed. LOL


The schools are small in Gettysburg, and there isn't a mall as far as the eye can see. The nearest book store is over 100 miles away (SOB!!). Guess that will increase my writing time, if nothing else. Lots of corn fields, cows and...wait...wonder if there are lots of cowboys? *Pondering* Sorry, got off track there. The only thing that really freaks me out is the fact that SD gets tornadoes. Not too thrilled about that. And apparently they get more snow than we get here, which boggles my mind. I'm not into being a snow bunny, and for those who know me, that's a serious understatement.

Anyway, I'll be gone most of the upcoming week, but I'll be sure to take a lot of pictures of...the corn fields?

Chin up! I'm sure they have lots and lots of fun stuff to do there.



See...they have a beach. And their website says that the fishing is great!

They have the Gettysburg Country Club...sounds fab. On June 6th they had bingo at the Country Club, and served ribs, cheesy hash browns and salad. Yum!!






I know what you're thinking - I'll never survive. I must have a bookstore. A mall. Starbucks.

Starbucks. *SOB*

S'all good. I'll find out more on Tuesday, when the hubby and I snoop around. In all seriousness, I'm excited about going. I'm conditioned to love moving. I spent 12 years as a military wife, and I'm feeling restless...I've been in Michigan for quite some time now.

It's time to move on.

If only they had a Barnes & Noble, though. :)

Friday, August 28, 2009

Summer is coming to an end...


With the passing of any season, I always look back and contemplate on what I've accomplished during that time. The past few months I worked on, and finished, a full-length novel. It didn't go quite as smoothly as I had planned, so I'm looking at another hard edit before I send it to my editor. I also finished a 11k word novella, that I submitted to Silhouette Bites a few days ago. (Cross your fingers for that one.) On the flip side of the industry, I became the newsletter editor for the FF&P Special-Interest Chapter of RWA (Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal). That particular venture is a little daunting to me, since I've never created a newsletter before. The friendships I've made, thanks to the FF&P chapter, have been invaluable to me. Writing can be a lonely process, but it doesn't have to be that way. In fact, I have more 'online' friends than I do in my own town. :)

I also co-founded a blog, Embrace the Shadows, with fellow authors Suzanne Rock and Barbara Hancock. Not only are they fantastic writers, they're great peeps. We always seem to be on the same page when it comes to our writing. Sharing the joys and setbacks of the publishing industry makes me feel as though I'm not alone, and I thank them for all their input. Exciting things are happening at EtS. In the month of September I'll be interviewing authors Paige Tyler, Kristen Painter, Katie MacAlister, and Karen Harbaugh. In October I'll be interviewing Terry Spear and Joey W. Hill.

A few months ago I received a contract for my novella Samael, from Liquid Silver Books. This novella is one of my favorite stories. The heroine, Jade, is a hard-ass assassin who is faced with her own death through a psychic vision from one of her closest friends. You may remember the feisty little psychic - Alexia from my novella, Azazel. Jade must come to terms with the possibility of her demise while battling the desire she feels for Samael, a demon from the First Angelic Revolt. The two couldn't be more alike, but they'd never see it that way - at least in the beginning. I had a great time with those two.

I also landed a new critique partner, Liz Pelletier (who's a web GOD, BTW). If you have a question about a website, or HTML...she's the girl you want on your speed dial. She joined Jennifer North to kick my manuscripts into something resembling a book. LOL I couldn't have asked for better critique partners.

So now, as we head into Fall, I'm setting goals and contemplating what else I can tackle. Most likely this will be in the midst of a move. It's looking as though I'll be calling South Dakota home in the very near future. The hubby was offered a job that he can't pass up.
I hope everyone had a great summer. :)

Also, today at Embrace the Shadows, I talk about Moon Kissed, the newest release from author Michele Hauf. Come over and check it out.

~ Happy reading. :)

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Free Harlequin Reads







The books above are free books that can be found on the Harlequin website.
Just thought I'd pass that along. :)
Happy reading.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Dawn Chartier - Paranormal Romance Writer

http://www.romance-ffp.com/AuthorPage.cfm?pennameid=63

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Quartet Press - New E-pub House




Angela James, former Senior Editor at Samhain Publishing, has found a new home. Quartet Press is getting major buzz right now on all the author loops. They are accepting submissions, and you can click HERE to view their submission guidelines. They are scheduled to open up in the Fall of 2009.


Here are a few links to articles pertaining to Quartet Press.



And of course, you can find them on Twitter and Facebook.


C.J. Ellisson

http://www.romance-ffp.com/AuthorPage.cfm?pennameid=765

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This is a new service at the FF&P chapter...a little promo never hurt anyone. :)