La La Fun Facts

As part of the promotion of the Bikers-Babes & Books signing next month, I wrote up a few fun facts for the Damaged series. Since I'm vegging at the end of the year, I figured I'd write up a few fun facts for the La La blog.

Fun Fact #1: Pen Names

Bijou is the name of a character in my Angelic Redemption series written by Dakota Shepherd. Dakota is the name of a character in the Vivi Rios series written by Angela Horn. Angie is the name of the whore who cheated with Tony and suffered Belladonna's ghostly wrath in Blood Tide. Circle of life.

Fun Fact #2: Character Names

In my first series (Angelic Redemption), I just used my favorite names for characters - Lila, Sophie, Ivy, etc. As I wrote more books and needed more names, I relied on the Baby Name Wizard book.

I also like to theme family names. Lola, Jules, Rocco, Bruno, and Maisy from the Shadowburbia series were "Guys and Dolls." Cooper, Tucker, Bailey, and Sawyer were "Last Names First." Lark and Raven were "Charms and Graces." A crazy method to my madness.

Fun Fact #3: Angelic Redemption stuck in a loop.

I worked on the first book for several years. I could let it go. Finally, I started on the second then third. Eventually, I found the urban fantasy genre and began writing Vivi, Gigi, and Shadow Sisters. Now, I average seven books a year. I guess that means I'm less obsessive.

Fun Fact #4: Shadow Sisters are my answer to a depressing Supernatural episode.

I was driving to Denny's one dark morning and thinking about an episode of the show Supernatural. I imagined if the show was about two sisters and funnier and less angsty and involved considerably less crying. The Shadow Sisters were born.

Fun Fact #5: Gigi Monroe is my cliché girl.

With Gigi, I threw in every UF stereotype I was reading. The special chick who gains the attention of every hot guy (for no apparent reason) and is the only one who can save the town even with more powerful creatures around. To make her different, I imagined Gigi with Asperger's like awkwardness. I figured readers would love or hate her. I was right.

Fun Fact #6: Destroy my enemies

I often use the names of people I don't like as the bad guys or losers in my books. In Damaged and the Beast, Farah's nasty mother was originally named after someone I ended up liking. I had to change her name to Amy after someone else who pissed me off.

Fun Fact #7: I take on the some of the characteristics of my characters while I write them.

The most obvious of this is cussing. When I am working on my Christian books, my cussing dries up to nothing (unless I'm watching The Walking Dead. Man, I hate Rick.).

When writing the Damaged series, I say fuck like I'm Judd and using the word as salt to give flavor to everything I say. Let's just say after writing four Damaged books in 2013, I cuss like a sailor most days.

Fun Fact #8: Christina Perri is my go-to mood music.

No matter what I'm writing, I can listen to Perri and concentrate when I write at Denny's. At home, I don't listen to mood music since I write downstairs where the TV is playing and kids are talking.

Fun Fact #9: Changing the font in Word can break my writer's block.

I was stuck recently with what to write. I changed to the Papyrus font and wrote 2500 words. Sometimes changing a little detail can make all the difference in my head.

Fun Fact #10: I hate coffee and it shows.

Until Blue Sacrifice, none of my characters drank coffee even though most people love coffee. Since I hate it, I couldn't stand having my characters drink it. After awhile, I realized having them all drink Diet Coke wasn't going to work either.

I don't know how fun those facts were, but they needed to be said, dammit!!!

Merry Christmas!!!

We had a very La La morning with ups and downs, laughter and tears, and lots of fart jokes. Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday!!!

Happy Birthday, Tigger!

This week, my oldest darling stink machine turned nineteen. To celebrate, he chose The Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We were fortunate enough to be seated in the cove section and had a wonderful waitress. I learned I hate arugula and there is something even Tigger won't eat. Here's a hint: arugula.

It was just last month I learned I actually love Brussels spouts. At least, I love them in Longhorn's au gratin. Little cabbages, so different from the horror show my grandmother created when I was a kid. Just yummy. I'm hoping Longhorn still has them for my birthday even though the Brussels sprouts au gratin is a fall special.

It's still Tigger's birthday week. He's excited to get our tree and about the now falling snow. While Tigger is the same age as most of the characters I write about (including Nick for the next Damaged book), he is so much sweeter than an average nineteen-year-old dude. He's a gentle kid who loves music, animals, and caring for others.

Even though this week has been great in many ways, I finally visited the doctor about my nearly constant headaches. I hadn't gotten much editing done all week, but hopefully the antibiotics for the sinus infection will get my ass back into gear.

I'm still chugging along (oh so slowly) on editing Scattered. I'm also writing up a new romance idea (another one) and trying to get into Blue Awakening. As a result of my sickie, post-publication funk, and a good dose of laziness, I won't be able to publish Blue by the end of December. Just another book on my overbooked schedule for 2014. I'll have to be satisfied with publishing only eight this year.

In blog news, most remained on vacation mode through the holidays. However, on Just That Good, Sheena wrote a glowing review for Bad Games by Jeff Menapace. 

It's been a wild week with lots of fun because of Tigger. Next week will be another busy one, but that's how it is for everyone around the holidays.

Thankful in La La Land

I meant to write this sooner, but it's difficult to put into words how blessed I've been this year. Finding enough success as an author to consider writing as my career was a giant turning point in my life. 2013 will go down as one of my best years.

All of the blessings from this year were thanks to the Lord. Even the hardships He provided were meant to test me and my faith. There have been times this year when I wished to take the easy route. Instead, I relied on the Lord to lead me and I was never disappointed.

Preparing for our ninth Christmas in Indiana, my family is healthy and happy. The boys are home for schooling, so I get to spend more time with them. Sally loves her new den and reads like crazy. This has been a great year for her too and she's rarely been happier.

One of the decisions I made a year ago was to take up the cause of reader rights. It hasn't always been easy. On several occasions, people I liked on a personal level lacked the professional behavior I could support. Losing people I considered friends was the most difficult part of the last year. In the end, they showed their true colors and I realized I had lost nothing. God tested and I passed.

Another blessing from this choice was learning to love blogging. I started Indie Angie with no clue how to blog. What would I write about? Who would care? I was just writing to myself, so I started interviewing authors. Writing about others is always easier than writing about myself. I eventually created the zombie and review blogs. Had I not decided to reach out to other authors, I'd still find blogging an awkward pursuit.

I've met many amazing people through my reader rights efforts. The most important is Candy Girl who became my friend, co-blogger, sounding board, beta reader, and voice of reason. She was a sweet thing from the Netherlands who showed up on my blog to share how she was attacked after writing a negative review. Both new to the cause, we became fast friends. Oh, but do we go meow with each other on occasion! It's our personalities. Where I'm impulsive, she's wise. Where I'm hard, she's soft. We make the best team.

The weirdest turn of events from the last year is my friendship with Lauryl. Man, did she piss me off at the beginning of the year. I really hated how someone who wrote cool books would turn out to be such a dumbass. I thought Lauryl was a whiny brat. She thought I was a jealous bitch. We joined forces when someone messed with our friends (don't mess with our friends EVER). Months later, we're like sisters from a different mister.

We each have three boys and  enjoy writing more than one genre. We have the same phobias and pet peeves. If we're sisters, I'm the bossy older one and she's the patient younger one. Meanwhile, Candy Girl is the youngest sister enduring us both.

So this year, I've made wonderful friends and grown as an author. I learned a lot from my amazing readers on how to improve my writing. I was one among many indie authors who found varying degrees of success this year. From the huge hits to the smaller ones, I've heard more and more about indies building fan bases.

This year has been amazing in so many ways and I'm thankful for every blessing and trial the Lord has given me.

Next post: I return to my snarky self.

High Five for Book Seven!

What a nice way to start this holiday week!!! I have uploaded Damaged and the Outlaw to Ammy, B&N, and Smashwords. It feels good to have made my deadline (the 2nd one anyway) thanks to help from Mustang Sally, Candy Girl, Hardcore Patty, and Saucy Sarah.

With Outlaw, I have hit the same number of books I published in 2012. Plus, Candy Girl pointed out another milestone. I have officially published over one million words!!! Hot damn!

As happy as I am to publish Outlaw, I'm already focused on Scattered. I still hope to get two more books out this year. Scattered is for sure. It just needs to be edited along with lengthening the finale. My goal is to have it to Sally by Thanksgiving and Candy Girl by next weekend. Depending on the problems they find, I might be able to publish Scattered next week.

The minute Scattered is in the hands of my beta readers, I need to start Blue Awakening. While I hope to finish the book this year, it'll be tight. The upside is that December will include the holidays, so I'll be on vacation from homeschooling Roo and Pooh. This should give me the time to hustle with Blue.

Back to this holiday week, I'm planning on enjoying my family. There will be no new posts on Where Zombies Come to Read, Just That Good, and BBA Whisperer. I will post a Bijou Babbles when Outlaw is live on Ammy. Later in the week, I want to write a La La post about everything I'm thankful for this year. Finally, I posted an interview on Indie Angie with a new romance author named Emilia Winters. Her first novella Complications was reviewed positively by Candy Girl on our blog.

For now, it's turkey time. Family, food, and fun!!! I wish everyone a safe and happy week.

Outlaw, Thugs, Full Time Author, and Charity

Happy dance! Damaged and the Outlaw is in its final stages. Sally has read the book and says it's her favorite Damaged book so far. Trust me that the chick doesn't bullshit when it comes to books.

Candy Girl is reading it now. I'm still tweaking things. Adding and deleting, editing and proofing, but it'll be in the hands of my other beta readers by the end of the week. The publishing date is set for November 26.

An awesome romance blog called Read This ~ Hear That did the cover reveal on Saturday. Thanks to Natalee who put it together last minute. Not only is she aces, her blog is sexy fun with lots of great book giveaways.

For Thanksgiving week, I'm set to edit Scattered. As some of you know, I homeschool Roo and Pooh. Normally, kids attend school Mon-Wed during the week of Thanksgiving, but they honestly never do much. I've decided to have my boys take the week off and add those missing days later in the year. So next week will be relaxing for everyone.

I'm also psyched to start Blue Awakening. Last weekend, Candy Girl helped me decide on a cover for the book. Now, I just need to write it. While I've completed the first chapter and a few other scenes, the gist of the novel waits for me to get cracking. I'm even listening to Susan Boyle to set the mood.

This last week wasn't all happy happy joy joy. A particularly stupid BBA decided to turn full-on thug and use an offensive slur against the disabled. She giggled about it later. Blew off anyone who might be offended then made herself the victim. Same old crap from her type of loser.

Months ago, I wrote about how hurtful and evil the R word is to anyone who truly cares about the disabled. As a mother with two sons on the autism spectrum, I have no patience for excuses by people who attack the disabled. I never wrote about my sons' disabilities before because I know the asshats would mock them. That's what the sick bastards do.

In the end, those bottom feeders can write whatever they want about my family. They are beyond help, particularly when they make excuses to use hate speech. Some words are just ugly and should never be used.

Possibly, this selfish chick is from a part of the country or belongs to an age group that believes the disabled should be shuttered away and pitied from afar. It doesn't matter why she believes hate speech like the R word is acceptable. She's filth like all people who attack the most vulnerable in society. Yeah, I'm pissed. Use that vile word and I go Mama Grizzly. No sympathy for bigots.

In good news, my girl Lauryl quit her "day job" and is a full-time author now. Congratulations! It's a big deal when an author can claim writing as their occupation, rather than a hobby. She's worked hard the last year, publishing three books and building a fan base. Here's hoping 2014 is even more successful for Lauryl as she expands to new genres and gains more fans.

Lots of great blogging this last week. On Indie Angie, I interviewed a really cool UF author named Rebecca Espinoza. Candy Girl previously reviewed Rebecca's first book, Binds. This week, she reviewed Café Insomniac. I added a review for Lady Sings the Blues. On Where Zombies Come to Read, Deadly Dee gave a stellar review for Corpse Days which is by a new hot author named Jonathon Kane. We're all looking forward to his upcoming UF novel.

With Outlaw's approaching release, I wrote up a Bijou Babbles. Later in the week, I'll post an excerpt from the book. Finally on BBA Whisperer, we giggled through our weekly update, pointed out a raging duh from one of my fandorks, and revealed the nastiness from the asshat I mentioned earlier.

I want to end this post by mentioning the recent natural disasters that have taken the lives of so many. I have several friends with family who have been devastated by the typhoon in the Philippines. If you're interested in donating to help those who've suffered greatly, you can do so here. There are many other groups providing relief like Doctors without Borders, UNICEF, OXFAM America, and Save the Children.

Closer to home, a tornado tore apart towns in Illinois. If you'd like to help those hurt worst, you can donate here.

I hope everyone who believes in the power of God will pray for those suffering. If you're not a believer, please send positive thoughts to the survivors.

Snowing in November

The first snowfall of autumn arrived last night in Yamalamadingdong. Less than an inch, but everything is coated in a lovely white. For now anyway. The sun is bright and the snow is already melting. The snow lasted long enough to be a morning surprise and add an extra ten minutes to getting my truck ready.

I am psyched to say I finshed writing the first draft of Damaged and the Outlaw over the weekend. I'm in the process of editing it. Adding layers and details along with cleaning up typos and repetition. Plan to have the book ready for Sally by Wednesday. Next, Candy Girl will get her hands on it this weekend. After they give me their notes and I've fixed the problems, I'll have it ready for my two Bijou beta readers. Looks as if I'll make my deadline without a problem.

Once Outlaw is getting the once over by the girls, I'll finally edit Scattered. It should be a two to three day job. The book will then follow the same editing process with Sally and Candy Girl.

The final project of the year is Blue Awakening. All of my pen names will get one last book for 2013. It'll bring my year end total to nine books. Not the twelve I hoped for months ago, but still better than 2012.

I have no idea where to start in 2014. I'll have at least two more Damaged novels (possibly a third if I do the Dylan book). I never did get the second Shadow Sisters book written. I had planned to finish all of my Angela series along with Dakota's next year. Instead, I've had to trim back those deadlines.

Too much to choose from and not enough time to write everything I want to get completed. Shadow Sisters#2 and Damaged and the Dragon will likely come first. Grrr...just don't know. I really want to write the first books from Carys and Etta. I have another sweeter romance idea too. Backlog!!!

I finally got caught up with blogging this last week. On Where Zombies Come to Read, I posted an interview with author Devan Sagliani who has three series available. On Bijou's blog, I added a quote from Raven. Candy Girl provided a review of Complications for our blog Just That Good. The novella is the first by novice romance author Emilia Winters. The book was showcased on Indie Angie and I look forward to my interview with this hot new author.

Finally, we were busy on the Whisperer blog with updates and a kooky newbie author. Fun stuff. Well, it's chilly willy here and I have editing to do. I hope everyone is enjoying their November and staying warm.

Halloweenie

Halloween is my fifteenth favorite holiday. It's a time of year when we piss away money on costumes we'll wear once and eat candy from tiny bags instead of normal sized bags. I'll admit I haven't been interested in decorating since the wind blew away our plastic jack-o-lantern four years ago. Living at the end of a cul-de-sac makes front yard decorations short-lived.

This is the first time in seventeen years I haven't gone trick or treating with a kiddo. Roo decided he wasn't interested in going out. Instead, we ordered pizza, played Jenga, Uno, and charades before watching hours of those ghost hunters shows. In Yamalamadingdong, trick or treating was rescheduled for the weekend because of a storm, so we'll have a second Halloween tomorrow. However, I doubt the pizza will last that long with teenagers in the house.

Earlier in the week, I caught a cold. It didn't slow me down writing and I'm hoping to finish the first draft of Outlaw by early next week. I'm hitting all the action scenes now with only a few doinking scenes left. This novel is much more action oriented than my other Damaged books.

My writing plans for the year keep shrinking. At this rate, I'll be lucky to get Blue Awakening and Scattered finished. Don't know if I'll have much time in December to goof around with Shadow World books. All that means is that 2014 will be even busier.

This week, I started the new book review blog. Only two reviews are up so far because I got sickie as did one of my reviewers. "Just That Good" is an in-joke from my Blood Tide book. Candy Girl gets it and that's all that matters. I figured I'll kick the blog into gear next year. So far, I have reviewers Sheena, Candy Girl, and Mustang Sally. I love working with such diverse badass babes and their varied tastes. The first reviews are for The Gate by KT Grant and Binds by Rebecca Espinoza.

On Where Zombies Come to Read, I posted an interview with GB Banks along with a review from Deadly Dee for The Most Uncommon Cold. I also added a little chewy brain treat for Halloween with Our Favorite Cinematic Zombies.

For the Whisperer blog, we profiled several whiny nobodies on our update. Plus, we asked F&G to retire or improve her game because she was boring us. The BBA have been quieter this week which is good news for readers. Maybe the whiners took the week off for Halloween.

While I didn't have a chance to add anything to Indie Angie, I did write an update for my Bijou blog.

Lastly, I want to send happy thoughts to Lauryl who bought a house in Oct. It's been a wild year for her, but her family will enjoy their first holidays in the new abode. With things settling down for her, I look forward to her next books. She's working on three! Way to multitask, badass babe!

I hope everyone enjoys their weekend and happy November!!!

Happiness makes me happy!

Autumn is here and it's frigging cold in Yamalamadingdong!!! Duh, I know, but I'm too old to shake the chill apparently. As pretty as autumn can be, it's also a time for tedious yard work. Tigger and I have nearly finished winterizing our yard. The end can't come too soon.

I'm getting ready for the holidays too. Cleared out a spot for the tree, wrote my Christmas letter, and nearly have all the pics ready for the card. Oh, and I'm even a few gifts away from finishing Christmas shopping. Yeah, I'm that good.

I love autumn because most of my favorite shows return (waves sadly at Community). The Walking Dead is wonderfully gross and Rick isn't pissing me off as much this season. Supernatural is sexy awesome. How I Met Your Mother is apparently spending the whole addictive season at Barney and Robin's wedding. Finally, I'm hearting the hilarious Brooklyn Nine Nine. Of course since I love the show, it'll be cancelled. All the great sitcoms are. Weeps for Happy Endings.

The fall weather has caused a lot of sinus headaches and I slept most of last weekend. This means I'm behind on writing Damaged and the Outlaw, so it won't be ready by Halloween. Denial was my best friend until Candy Girl gave me an intercontinental pep talk and I had to accept I couldn't finish by my self-inflicted deadline. Why rush the book and shortchange the characters and by extension my readers? As soon as I admitted on FB I wouldn't finish Outlaw until closer to Thanksgiving, I felt a sense of peace. The pressure was off and I could breathe.

I don't normally write one book at a time. Having pushed back my Outlaw deadline, I will be able to bounce to Blue#2, Scattered, and Shadow City. I'm also thinking about goofing around with Memphis Death Wish. Occasionally writing silly stuff relaxes my writer's block. I don't currently have writer's block, but Outlaw is dark and a little fluffy fun might keep me focused. That's the plan anyway.

Blogging-wise, I suck more than usual when it comes to interviews and showcases. I did post reviews from Deadly Dee and Miranda Macabre on Where Zombies Come to Read. Soon, Dee will provide reviews for my new currently unnamed and unformatted blog. I should also write an update for Bijou's blog and probably some other stuff too. Yeah, I'm totally on top of it.

I did write a few posts for the Whisperer blog. Rick and Melissa are having a really funny battle which gave me lots to mock. In her attempt to dox me, Melissa managed to out one of her socks. D'oh! I did take time out of pointing and laughing at asshats to reformat the Whisperer blog to a holiday theme. Plus, on BL, I started a thread about what BBA we would dress up as for Halloween.

This week, I'll post an interview with GB Banks on Where Zombies Come to Read and those reviews from Dee. Might get that blog up and running. Will totally move Outlaw closer to the finish line. I'm nearing the abduction scene with the quote I posted on the Bijou blog. Most of all, I suspect I'll be lazy and goof off. That seems to be my go-to move lately.

Monchichi Goes Military

With Halloween around the corner and zombies back on TV, I had to change my Monchichi avatar. He's a precious little guy prepared for the mayhem of the zombie virus breakout. Ah, I love freckles!!!

I want to start off by wishing Mustang Sally a happy birthday. A few months ago, I mentioned buying her a laptop. Instead, she wanted a new recliner for her reading den. I also bought her all of the books in the Hollows and Fever series. Sally has been hogging the library's editions for over a year. Now, she has both series in her personal library and is super stoked. I have no idea how I'll wow her for Christmas.

With all of the shopping I did for Roo and now Sally, I'm psyched about the holidays. In fact, I'm already putting together our Christmas card and letter. Yesterday, I bought new tree ornaments to replace the ones destroyed by our then kitten Tinker. Even a year old, she'll likely view a tree in the house as an invitation to attack. Plus, those colorful balls dangling are just begging for a beating. Yep, I bought the shatter-proof ornaments.

I've been pretty lazy the last week. Writing Outlaw with the hopes of publishing around Halloween, I didn't focus on editing Scattered. I did take a break from goofing off to post an interview with Jeffrey Littorno on Indie Angie. Plus, I added book showcases on Indie Angie and Where Zombies Come to Read. KT Grant's new romance, The Gate, was published last weekend. The sequel to the zombie novel Red Dust is also available. Finally, check out Zombie George Washington by new authors by GB Banks and Blaine Hislop. This week, I plan to post Deadly Dee's review of an erotic zombie compilation. Yeah, it's as gross as you're imagining.

Speaking of Dee, I'm creating a book review blog soon and she'll be my main reviewer. She reads everything from horror to romance/erotica and even young adult on occasion. Candy Girl might share her eclectic tastes on the blog too. Eventually, I'll add a few more reviewers, but I don't want to take on too many projects for the rest of 2013.

The main reason I decided to start a review blog was because authors I'd interview would often ask if I wanted to read their books. I know how difficult it can be for new authors to get reviews. Especially since the bigger bloggers are avoiding indies now. Thanks, BBA.

This week, we wrote a few posts on the Whisperer blog. One was the update and the other focused on F&G's lie about doxxing. With the hate site retiring soon, we'll likely blog less. Candy Girl and I could really use a break for the holidays. No doubt in the future, the asshats will congregate around a new whiner cooler to moan about conspiracies. Until then, we hope to reduce our blogging to the weekly updates. Our work will continue behind the scenes though.

In fact, this week F&G pissed themselves in glee over how a jackass created a fake book on GR to mock a reader. Their happiness led Candy Girl to discover the sock who created the book. GR deleted the book as well as the sock. We have no doubt the person behind the sock will return. She's had plenty of fake accounts deleted. No doubt she thinks she's sly, but we know what she's up to when not hawking her books. We'll let the pathetic whiner have her fun. It might be the only amusement she has in life.

As for me, I love October. Two big birthdays and Halloween begin the holidays in the best fashion. If I manage to hit my deadlines with Outlaw, Scattered, and Blue Awakening, I'll take December off to write Shadow World books. After all, I really haven't written enough poop humor lately.

High Five for Book Six

What can I say? Organization is my new thing. While I planned to get Damaged and the Cobra published by October 1, I had it on sale by September 30. Look at me, ahead of the curve!!!! Ammy decided to make me squirm a little though.

When I asked to have the Kindle and paperback editions linked, a goof up occurred. The Kindle version was hidden and a few readers received errors when attempting to buy it. Plus, the paperback was attached to my Angela author page. I know Ammy gets a lot of grief for being a cold empire, but I sent another email asking for the issues to be fixed and they were quickly dealt with. Now, all of the links are where they belong. Having worked in IT, I know how easy it is to pick the wrong option and mess up something simple. As bothersome as the issues were, I believed everything would work out. Hooray for positive thinking!

Since Damaged and the Beast found an audience, I've made a habit of going into a bunker mentality after a new book is released. It's too easy to get obsessed with sales, rankings, and reviews. Since the link was dorked up, I was checking the book page a few times a day to see if it was fixed. Yes, I checked my rankings and noticed I am technically a best-selling author in subcategories of contemporary and new adult romance. The proper etiquette is not to call yourself simply a best-selling author unless you've had a book under a hundred in paid Kindle sales. I don't know where I'd announce I'm hot shit besides on my blog, so I just did it. Bragging complete.

The problem with even checking comments on my Bijou Facebook page (I have awesome readers) is I get into an "author" mindset, instead of the lowly writer mentality.

I have no time to pat myself on the back since I announced I would release Damaged and the Outlaw around Halloween. Why so soon? Well, Cobra was a novella (technically a novel, but barely) and I feel like readers need another full-length book to enjoy. Especially since I'm thinking this might be my last Damaged book for the year. I still plan to write Dragon and Saint in early 2014. There are a few readers who seem interested in Dylan getting a book, but I'm unsure about that idea.

So I'm already writing Outlaw, but it's in the early phases. Meaning, I'm jumping around to scenes I have written in my head. Later, I'll piece things together as the story takes on a life of its own. I am really enjoying Vaughn and Raven. As much as I love sweet romances, Aaron and Lark were tougher to write. They were such well adjusted characters and knew what they wanted. There was less drama in their pairing, but I didn't want to force conflict into the book. Readers are savvy and they can feel when an author is feeding them bullshit. Better to keep the book true to the characters and take the chance that it's not wild enough.

Roo had a great birthday last week. Very mellow like we wanted it. We're a mellow family chilling in our tightknit clique. His birthday week basically started on Thursday and is still going. We have a few plans for the next few days.

It's finally starting to feel like autumn here. Cooler weather and the leaves are changing. Speaking of where I live, F&G tried to dox (reveal personal info) me last week. They commented about the city they claim I live in, even though I'd never mentioned the location before. Hmm...if they knew anything about me, they'd understand I don't spook easily. Whisperers aren't wussies.

Last week was busy with Roo's birthday, Cobra's publication, and starting Outlaw, so I didn't get much blogging done. I did post an interview with author Jonathon Kane on Where Zombies Come to Read. He's currently working on a paranormal novel, so I look forward to interviewing him on Indie Angie when the book is done. On my Bijou blog, I added a Bijou Babbles post today along with a poll.

Really digging BookLikes. I changed my profile picture and blog background to something more October festive. My Monchichi is in a costume!!! How f'ing cute!!! I found a pic for Christmas too.

I also set up Mustang Sally on BookLikes. Adding books she wants to read, but doesn't have time to get to yet. Set up her cool looking background. She really liked the profile picture of us back in the 1970's.

I have a lot of interviews to get done for the zombie blog plus a few for Indie Angie. The weekly whiner update for BBA Whisperer is due soon too. Eek! Better get to work.

Happy second week of October and keep a lookout for zombies. This is their time of year!!!

So long, September

As Philip J. Fry would sing, "I'm walking on sunshine!"

Man, I was super stressing that I wouldn't have Damaged and the Cobra done in time. I also worried about what my beta readers would think at the lighter, sweeter tone of the novella. Fortunately, they all enjoyed the story and found only minor issues to fix. The book will be definitely ready for its Oct. 1st publishing date. Hot damn!!!

I've already started Damaged and the Outlaw. Sweet and light, it ain't. Vaughn and Raven are wild, rough, rude, funny, and damaged characters. I hope to have the book ready by Halloween. My third book in the Angelic Redemption series is also due next month. I should be able to meet both deadlines, yet...

Talking with Mustang Sally the other night, I realized I just can't finish all the books I had planned for 2013. Candy Girl is likely rolling her eyes and thinking, "Duh!" I know I aimed too high and I didn't get enough done early in the year. Even knowing all that, I hoped anyway. Now, my only other must finish book for 2013 will be Blue Awakening. It'll be the ninth book for the year. Not as many as I hoped for, but better than 2012.

Even unable to write projected books for series like Gigi Monroe and the Shadow Sisters, I made the decision this week to finish writing a book called Shadow City. I originally started it in Spring 2012 until work distracted me. Twice in the last few months, I've pulled up the book file and read it. Each time, I laughed my ass off. Even if starting a new series makes no logical sense, I worked hard this year and my reward is to finish Shadow City this holiday season.

Another awesome part of my week was that I figured out how to personalize my page on Booklikes. My Monchichi and planets are on my blog plus I've figured out how to post. Candy Girl even dumbed down how to review. I want to use the site as a reader, instead of an author. The best part of BL is how every user gets their own blog. Plus, there are half stars and private shelves. The customer service is awesome apparently. Candy Girl has only positive things to say about it and she couldn't claim the same about GR. If any of you are on BL or heading that way, feel free to look me up here.

Earlier in the week, I mentioned upcoming interviews on my blogs. There was Jeffrey Littorno on Where Zombies Come to Read. I'm also planning to interview him about his paranormal novel on Indie Angie. I was super excited to interview Stephanie Nicole Garza who I met through my Bijou books. Love Came Back is her first novel and I'm thrilled to do anything to help the newbie author.

On BBA Whisperer, we wrote a farewell to Bad Santa. Rick's nicknames have been retired even if his delusions haven't.

By Monday, the first chapter of Cobra will be up on the Bijou blog. Sheesh, a blogging girl's work is never done.

It's been a good week, but the next one should be even better. Not only will I publish Cobra, but Roo will turn ten. In our family, we celebrate birthdays over the entire week. This year, Tigger and I have plenty of cool things planned for Roo's special week. Here's hoping everyone else has a great week too.

Mustaches are Hot and Not Just on Zombies!

Let's start off with this week's super important news. My mustache fetish was ahead of the curve, baby! Look at all of the hot guys who want to be the next Burt, Tom, or Earl. Growl, purr, yums, and not at all 1970's porn.

It was one of those wild writing weeks. I finished Cobra. Yah! Edited. Snore. Mustang Sally read it. Fixed her issues with the book. Candy Girl read it and will send me her notes. Next, I'll fix it for Bijou's beta readers. If there are no big issues, Cobra will be released on Oct. 1st. Hot damn!

The book feels weird though. Like not as dark as the others or the ones to come. Aaron is a nice guy and Lark is a sweet girl. Drama kept to a minimum. I don't know how readers will react, but I enjoyed the romance. It was also a nice break because Outlaw looks to be one giant drama-llama clusterf*ck between Raven and Vaughn. It's going to be fun to write since they're both messed up yet funny characters.

I gave myself the weekend to relax. There was a lot of drama on GR and plenty of BBA were freaking out. First, the asshats were happy then they were mad. Now, they're fighting with each other. It's a little funny actually.

Since I was nursing a headache, I needed the break. I do love autumn and it's cooled down here nicely. Yet, my head reacted angrily. It's better now which is good because I have work to do.

This week, I will start writing Outlaw and editing Scattered. My goal is to have them both done by the end of Oct. Likely, I'm hoping for too much, but I think a month should be enough time to get Outlaw finished. I am still in an Ellsberg state of mind. I am also really into the idea of Vaughn and Raven. Better start writing before my brain focuses on something else.

This week, I had a cover reveal for Damaged and the Cobra on Bijou's blog. On Indie Angie, I had the pleasure of promoting the first book by Stephanie Nicole Garza. She enjoyed my Bijou books and we chatted first on FB then by email. I learned she was working on a book. A few months later, she's published Love Came Back. What an amazing experience to help a newbie. I'll have her interview posted this week on Indie Angie too.

Last week on Where Zombies Come to Read, I interviewed Steven Roy. His Black Redneck vs. Space Zombies is a wild ride. Also, Deadly Dee reviewed The Harvesting by the cool indie author Melanie Karsak. Today, I'll post an interview with Jeffrey Littorno who wrote The Most Uncommon Cold. Some of his answers cracked me up. The guy definitely has a solid sense of humor.

As happy as I am to finish another book, I feel like the process never ends. In fact, the assembly line isn't slowing down, but speeding up. Last night, I wrote up a few ideas for new books by different pen names. Eek! While it can be stressful, the fact is I'm making a living doing what I love. Next month is Roo's tenth birthday and I don't have to stress money when buying his gifts. He's not a greedy kid, but video games don't come cheap, you know? Also, through writing and blogging, I have met so many awesome people. I've also met plenty of jerks who make the awesome people more awesome in comparison. 

I'll leave you with something that made my jaw drop when I read it. Toni Basil of "Mickey" fame turned 70 over the weekend! Wow, time flies.