Friday Five, late as usual!

Good things happening all around :)

# 1- I sold my first novel.

Such an amazing achievement, the second of the two things on my bucket list. Downpour, the story of Markus and how he deals with his new boyfriend being beaten up for being gay and how they cope together and heal with a lot of laughter and some tears. I wrote this entire novel in less than a month after seeing a barista at Starbuck's giving a homeless man a cup of coffee. From there, I was possessed by these characters and a book was born. It should be out in November if I can get my edits done!

# 2- I saw this awesome "literary" tattoo today!

WANT!

# 3- I'm trying my hand at knitting again... start praying now :D

# 4- I started reading "Vicious Deep" over a month and a half ago.

 It's a wonderful book, I just haven't had the time to read. I promise I will be finishing it soon! Can't wait to review it because it has been fun! Thank you again to Melissa Landers, the author of Alienated, for loaning it to me!

# 5- And the best of all:

The first thing on my bucket list was to have a baby :D I need a new bucket list now!
(This also explains where I've been. Morning (see ALL EFFING DAY sickness is rough!)
We've been trying for three years, but I've wanted to be a mom since I knew that was an option when I was about 10 and started babysitting neighborhood kids. My husband and I were told that we couldn't have our own without a lot of interventions. We went to a few specialists and doctors. We decided to stop trying this spring and I started focusing on my health. I went gluten free in January and was working with  my doctor to get healthier. Apparently, it worked!

We're so excited and cannot wait to meet our little pirate-ninja baby in January!

The Raven Boys Trailer!!! @mstiefvater

Maggie has shared her amazing book trailer for her book The Raven Boys.

Direct link- http://youtu.be/nWzaJrJUP-w

Check it out then go to  http://maggiestiefvater.blogspot.com/2012/06/animated-book-trailer-for-raven-boys.html?m=1  and give her some love!

Its Wednesday! What Are You Reading?

I'm just gonna leave this here and wait for the pouncing:

Today is the International Day Against Homophobia

Hate is a Choice.

#SixSentenceSunday WIP

This is from my current WIP, tentatively titled THORNS.

In this scene we have Henrik:

I don't know who this is, if anyone has a name, I'd love to find more pictures!

And his father, Asa:

***

“Congratulations.” He looks over my head and I’m tempted to look to see whom he is speaking. “Your father has just ensured your future in Germany's royalty.”

Once again, I am getting talked at rather than spoken to. Once again, I am being told what I will do, how I will do it, and when and where I will do it. Once again, I am angry, but doing nothing about it.

"Henrik, you will be meeting very important people today. You are to smile and act like the gentleman I raised you to be. If at anytime anyone asks something of you, you will smile and you will do it. Understood?"

"Of course, Father, what else would I do?"

Friday Five

1- It has been a hard week and I am glad it is over. I feel like someone has beaten me inside and out. I guess, technically, its kind of been that way.

2- Still awaiting word on my novel and my short story and the writing contest I entered. I need a sedative.

3- I wish I could bring my cat with me to work, she would keep me calm.

4- New obsession: 

Amish: Out of Order - Amish teens who leave The Order to stay with a family in Missouri and find their way away from the Amish community. SO INTRIGUING!

5- This makes me SO proud. God Bless Our President:

Book Review: Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Not my favorite, sadly. I wish there would've been more and the ending, although fitting and brave, made me sad.
I appreciated Rachel going out on a limb and not giving everyone a happily ever after. That's important. I wished there had been more, though. It felt incomplete and rushed.
Of course I loved Archer and Cal, and even Elodie grew on me. I just felt like there was something missing.
I hope they'll make this trilogy into a movie, not movies, but one movie. It would be wonderful to see this on the big screen.
Overall, it was a good ending for Sophie and her gang.

@Hoycie, @EliStar, @Sunshinegal3, and @ SuperstarNanna Wednesday: What Are You Reading?

Well, I've been trying. I'm in chapter 5. I keep getting distracted though. There is a lot of information within the first few chapters, so I find myself skimming, which is bad, because when I pick back up on something intriguing, then I have no idea what's just happened. I have reread chapter 4 a few times.

It is such an interesting premise though, I plan on staying with it... it just may take me a while.

I swear Hoycie, Eli, Sunshinegal, and Nanna... I will finish!

Friday Five!

Who's ready for the weekend?

This week seems like it is in slo-mo! Here's what's happening:

1- I started Divergent, but only got through four chapters before I took a book vacation. I'm gonna try again this weekend while Mr. Nerd is working.

2- Submitted a short story to a publisher. *bites nailes*

3- Our car died, but my amazing husband and his friend got it working again AND fixed our air conditioning. I've gone without A/C for nearly three years. *Liz Lemon Self-Five*

4- Super excited that Bel Ami will be available today on iTunes and Amazon! Here's the trailer if you don't know about this movie. It's based on the Guy de Mausspant novel of the same name.

5- Random cuteness: How adorable is this?

Dog guards owners bike, then hitches a ride :D

Happy Friday!

It's Wednesday: DiverWhat are YOU reading?

So I started Divergent this weekend. 

Divergent by Veronica Roth

I'm only on chapter four because of too many things going at once and it is very slow... lots to digest as you read, lots of questions as you go. I'm looking forward to having some time to dive in and really get into the meat of it or I'm afraid my friends will start pelting me with tomatoes or something.

Friday Five

Yes, late.
I should just make it Saturday Six or something... Fridays are usually my crazy days at work and I suck at planning ahead.
Here goes!

1- Still no word on my manuscript full request. I know the agent has it, but now I just have to wait. Driving me crazy.

2- All our adoption stuff is currently on indefinite hold. It's just too expensive which makes me heartbroken. I want a baby but we just can't afford IVF or adoption at this point.

3- My amazing friends, Eli and Hoycie, sent me Get Well presents. Big Bang Theory and Divergent. I felt so incredibly loved. Sometimes I feel like I'm invisible and when I got these gifts from girls who've never even breathed the same air as me, it was just... wow.

4- We started house shopping again which wears me out. I kind of want to just give up, rent, and just deal with it for the duration until Mr.'s job stuff gets situated, but that wouldn't be responsible, huh?

5- I've started to beta read for three authors and loving their novels. All contemporary romances which is cool. I have some ridiculously talented friends!

What are you reading, Wednesday?

So I caved to peer pressure... and I mean some serious peer pressure.

I kept saying I'd read. And I promised I would... eventually. Well I'm nearly done with Spellbound by Rachel Hawkins and got this in the mail today.

Divergent by Veronica Roth was sent to me by my dear friends Eli and Hoycie. <3

So I shall be finishing Spellbound tonight and then getting my Divergent on!

Please repost: Missing Arizona Girl.

Have you seen this girl?

Investigators are keeping the family of a 6-year-old girl who disappeared away from their Tucson home.

Please keep your eyes open for this little one. Isabel was last seen in a blue tank top and black shorts. She was not in her home when her parents went to wake her up on Saturday morning. Her bedroom window was open and she was gone. Please repost.

Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/12news/news/articles/2012/04/23/20120423tucson-girl-missing-police-keeping-family-from-home.html#ixzz1su83f0no

Sevens today. Not Sixes. @Melissa_Landers, @NJ_Bookworm, @RheanaWrites, @MSmithBooks, @ameliajune, @_JessicaCline

I'm writing this early, hopefully planning ahead pays off and works. We'll see.


Two friends, Kat and Crystal tagged me in this WIP writing thingy. I figured I'd cave to peer pressure.

It's not like Fight Club... There are no rules. But we could still have a Tyler Durden!

There actually are some lines to stay within and they are:

1. Go to page 7 or 77 in your current manuscript
2. Go to line 7
3. Copy down the next seven lines/sentences as they are–no cheating
4. Tag 7 other authors

Here's mine from my new novel Downpour:

His black and blue marks are deep and dark across his ribs, marring the black words of his tattoo. Lacerations criss-cross along the flesh and I have to bite back my anger. 
It doesn’t look like I’ve injured him more, so I pull his shirt back into place and step away quickly so I don’t say anything as my temper flares. Grabbing some ice and placing it inside a bag and towel, I come back to the couch where he is leaning forward, his elbows on his knees.

--

I shall challenge Katie, Amelia, Chelle, Melissa, Rheana, JessC, and RevJen.

Friday Five

For once, on time!

1- Mr. Nerd has a job. Not the job he wanted, not quite as dangerous, but still it's a job. Now we need to wait for it to start in five months. Oy.

2- Things with my new novel are going swimmingly and thank you beyond thank you to the girls who helped me with edits!

3- Trader Joe's Tamales are gluten-free and SO yummy. FYI.

4- I have today off and I've managed to watch hours of E! and do laundry and the dishes. Well rounded day off, no?

5- Look how cute my dog is!

Anyhow, have a happy Easter and/or Pasach!

Friday Five - Firsts

1. First Clear Memory- I can distinctly remember being lost when I was about five. I wandered off at a bazaar in western Germany where my family was shopping. I ended up crying myself to sleep in a bundle of blankets and someone found me and took me back to my parents but I was so freaked out I wouldn't let go of a pink and grey elephant wool blanket. I still have that blanket. It's my dog, Bella's, blanky now.

2. First Time Meeting Your Spouse- We went to high school together. He hated me. I was perky and a cheerleader, the seminary president, and in three different choirs. He was in the band, a punk, angry at the world, and it didn't help that his little sister was my "little sister" at school. I was definitely every thing unholy in his world. We re-met our sophomore year of college when my friend wanted to date his friend but needed a wingman for his wingman. I promised if she kept making me daiquiris I would talk to his friend. His friend and I talked for seven hours that night, made out a little too, and we've been together eleven years now.

3. First Job- My very first job was as a pie girl at Marie Callendar's for a month and a half, then my mom made me quit because I dropped out of honor roll and she thought the hours were too long while I was in school. The next job was at a day care center with less hours but I was a lot more work. It was a lot of fun though and now I'm a teacher, so I guess it molded me :) I stayed at that job from 15 to 19, the longest I've ever had a job.

4. First Time in an Airplane- My parents moved us from Texas to Germany when I was three. So my first flight was 16 hours to Frankfurt. My parents were saints.

5. First Lie- I remember at six or seven, not exactly sure, but my brother was being awful to me and he kept punching me to get me away from him and his Gameboy, we'd been in the car on the Autobahn for hours on end and my parents were so done with us, but they wouldn't yell at him for being a jerk, just kept saying "Don't make me come back there!" kind of stuff. So when we stopped at a gas station he throttled me and I went to the bathroom and punched myself in the arm over and over until it purpled up really dark and angry and then ran to my dad and cried about my brother beating me up. Needless to say, he was taught to pick on people his own size and I felt ridiculously guitly, but I did get to play with the Gameboy for a few hours.

In Which I Squee Like a Little Girl on a Monday.

So you guys probably know by now that I'm really excited about Snow White and the Huntsman... today we got a new trailer and I am EVEN MORE EXCITED NOW!!!!!!

Take a look at this movie!

How awesome does this movie look?! I want it to be June now :D

What do you think? And what movies are you looking forward to this year?

In Which I Respond to Senator McCain of Arizona

I sent my senator, John McCain, a letter asking him to help vote against the House Bill 2625 that would allow employers to deny their employees health care if they do not, for religious reasons, believe in birth control. He responded with a very long email, sent by some secretary, stating he wanted to aid the Catholic population who were being denied their religious freedom by the Obama administration and protecting the right of employers to have their own beliefs. I was SHOCKED.

Here's how I replied to my dear senator:

In response to your email regarding birth control regulations and employers. I am appalled at your reasons for voting against the needs and wants of those who voted for you. You are not representing your constituents. You are representing your own self-serving beliefs and your own desires. That is not what a public servant does. Health care is not a choice, it's a right and access to birth control should not be dictated by employers or senators. Your job is to represent Arizona, all of Arizona, not just the Catholic conservatives as you stated in your email. With all due respect, you are not representing me or the women of your state. Ask your constituents what they want rather than just doing what you want. Shame on you, Mr. McCain.

Please contact your senators and protect your right to health care ladies, it seems to be open season on our vaginas.

Friday Five

I decided since I was in such a bad mood I'd vent via five, then do a positive five to end on a good note.

The cons:
1- I'm not feeling well, inside and out.
2- Someone ate my lunch on Thursday and it made me feel like Red Ross. (If you get that, you get me.)
3- My husband has volunteered for a very scary job and has to do a lot of tests and it's been challenging.
4- I'm tired of hearing all the name-calling and angry words from people, especially women, or political leaders. It's ridiculous we're trying to stamp out bullying yet the grown ups around the world are incessantly doing it!
5- My puppy, Bella, has to have surgery on Thursday of this week. I'm pretty terrified. If you have extra good thoughts and heathen juju for her, we would appreciate it immensely.

And the Pros:
5- I've been reading like mad- lots of fun, brain candy. And I finished Larissa Ione's Demonica series and found out she has a new series that I can start on. Reviews soon.
4- I am lucky because I have a roof over my head and a job that pays the bills. No matter how hard it gets in my head, I know I can at least feed my family and take care of my pets.
3- My iPhone has me completely smitten and addicted. It's sad really.
2- I'm incredibly proud of my husband even if I'm scared for him. He's my hero.
1- My novel is officially finished at 43,000 words written in three weeks. Time for editing by my betas then submitting to publishers.

How was your week?

Book Reviews: Demonica Books 1 through 4

I have very much enjoyed these stories. I just started the fifth story, but I thought I would write quick reviews for the first four and the mini-book. Thank you to Rheana, Jen, and Eli for helping me read all of these and your recommendations. I needed brain candy to distract me and these are fantastic for that.

Pleasure Unbound by Larissa Ione
A wonderful story which I read second. I made a mistake when I borrowed it from a friend. She lent me a book so I read it. I had no idea I had asked for the wrong book. So although I read it second, it was a great book. In Pleasure Unbound, you meet Eidolon, said Eye-duh-lawn, a demon doctor running an underground hospital for paranormal creatures such as himself. We also meet Tayla, a slayer, who's job is to put paranormals like Eidolon into the grave. It's a very fun Romeo and Juliet or Buffy and Spike kind of story. You meet Eidolon's brothers who are just as crazy, grumpy, volatile, and adorable as he is. I just love a big, burly, macho guy who turns into a puddle of goo because of his woman or a cute animal. Eidolon has all of that and more. Tayla is a wonderful sparring partner and I really enjoyed how tough she was and how she handled the brothers.

Desire Unchained by Larissa Ione
Desire Unchained was the book I accidentally read first because I got the names mixed up when I asked to borrow the books. So while I was reading it, my comments are all similar to "What the hell is going on?" But, think about it this way... there were a lot of plot points and world building pieces that have a lot of structure built around Eidolon and so when you read the second book staring his brother Shade, you can see why I was so confused. Shade is a wonderful character. He's gruff and angry, he's been tortured his entire life and when his sister is killed, he just can't cope with the emotional turmoil. He wants to kill or be killed and in walks Runa, a lethal werewolf and ex-girlfriend. Shade wakes up in a dungeon chained up next to his ex, whom the last time she was around, she was a sweet human he had just torn up emotionally. Now he sits beside her, a werewolf, not only is she pissed at him, but they're both very concerned because they're inprisoned by the person who wants them dead and who killed Shade's sister. This was an emotional story, but also very hot. Runa was a great leading lady. She's fierce and gives as good as she gets. I love that in a heroine.

Passion Unleashed by Larissa Ione
Oh, Wraith. Have I mentioned how much I love big ol' bad boys with hearts of gold? Wraith is that guy. He's big and mean and lethal. His life has been horrid, tortured from the moment he was conceived and kept in horrible conditions in such a miserable way. My heart broke hearing him explain his life before his brothers found him. Throughout the story, while Wraith is trying to help/hinder an apocalypse, we learn a little more about Wraith while he is with Serena a blessed human who is charmed with protection because she was chosen by God to protect part of Heaven. Unfortunately for Serena, Wraith needs her dead. I'm sure you can see where we're going. Serena needs to be safe, Wraith needs her dead, angels want to protect her, angels want to kill her,  demons want her dead, demons want her alive, all the while Wraith wants to hate her, but she's practically perfect and gives him a ration of shit that he doesn't want, but loves it. It's a really fun story and the ending is traumatic and shocking, but also awesome. I really liked this one a lot.

Eternity Embraced by Larissa Ione
This is a mini-story surrounding two Guardians or slayers. Andrea and Kaden. Kaden wakes up after a raid on a vampire nest and finds himself in a cell turned into a vampire. Bummer for him since his job is to kill demonspawn like himself now. He tries to figure out a way to help himself when his lover and fellow slayer comes to kill him. They promised each other they'd put the other out of their misery if this situation ever came about... unfortunately, he doesn't want to die, he kind of likes vampy-ness and Andrea doesn't want to kill him because she really loves him even though she promised him that it was just sex between them. Insert awesome, naughty, dirty story here. :)

Ecstasy Unveiled by Larissa Ione
Mmm... Lore. So Wraith is my number one demon, the others all have their greatness. Lore is in the top five :) He's grumpy and grouchy, he acts like everyone owes him a favor and most of all, he wants to keep his sister safe. Yeah, twin sister Sin. Fun name. So Lore feels like he needs a favor and owes favors left and right. This makes him a very complex character. Someone's paid him to kill the Demon brothers' human bestie, Kynan, but Kynan seems to have a guardian angel named Idess following him around and making Lore's hit much more complicated than it should. See where this is going? These are fun stories, but they are kind of predictable. Idess is badass and hot, fiesty and lethal, and pretty funny even though she has quite a chip on her shoulder and a very sturdy chastity belt in place. Lore is a sex demon who desperately needs to save his sister by killing a human who just doesn't seem to want to die. Lots of fun inside!

All of these books are in the vein of Black Dagger Brotherhood and the like. Paranormal elements, romance, erotica, mystery, and thriller elements weave in and out of fun, dark, fast paced stories.  I really enjoyed these stories and they kept my mind busy. I think the best part, beyond the hot lemons and fun action scenes, is that there is a great deal of world building involved and an incredible amount of research and planning that Larissa put into these stories. She's built a demon world, but she's also laced in so many religious tidbits and historical facts that it's almost believable that there are humans running around that are actually demons. If they look and love like the Demon brothers, bring it on :)

I'll review number six, Sin's book, Sin Undone, as soon as I finish. I'm looking forward to learning about the sister no one ever though could exist. She's full of piss and vinegar and that's always nice to see!