Monday This & That

Well, the weekend went by rather quickly and uneventfully. Our anniversary dinner was take out Chinese. Nothing all that special there, though we did rent The Orphan, which I really enjoyed. For once, I couldn’t guess what was going on, a fact my husband even commented on out loud. Between the two of us, we can usually work out how a show or film is going and how it will end before we’re even half done. Not so with the Orphan, which was a surprising change of pace. We also rented The Proposal, which was another great film in a less spooky, suspenseful way. So if you haven’t seen either, they both get a thumbs up from me.

I spent the weekend eyeballing video games. Don’t get me wrong. I love and am totally addicted to World of WarCraft, however, after two and half years of playing, it’s beginning to get repetitive. I need a change, at least until the next expansion pack comes out. I’m looking at Lord of the Rings online, Spore (played the Nintendo DS version and enjoyed it), Demigod, Sacred 2 (played the first and really liked it) and some others I can’t recall offhand, but I did take pictures of them in the store so I wouldn’t forget. Why pictures? For once, I didn’t have pen and paper handy. I know, the horror of it all. Where I would prefer something non-subscription based to play, I am playing the 10 day trial of Lord of the Rings online and so far, it’s not that bad. I’m also waiting for Diablo III. The second Diablo totally rocked.

I ended up sick again over the weekend, which has lingered on until this morning. Just another reason to hate this time of the year. I get sick even more frequently than any other time of the year, which totally sucks for me. So needless to say, no writing over the weekend, not that I really expected to get anything done since it was my anniversary. I do hope to get the WIP finished up before my birthday, though, and the Thanksgiving holiday because that’s when the hectic holiday season really kicks in around here and I’ll be super busy with all that. Of course, I’ll have edits to do somewhere in there, but I’m not too worried about those. The super hard part will be over—rewrites, and that’s all that worries me at this point.

And with that, I think I’m going to go kick back for a while. If I’m lucky, I’ll feel better later and can get some more words cranked out onto the pages of my WIP. Wish me luck on that. Each word is another step closer to being done.

Oh and a quick note before I go. When I post here on my own blog or on others, I tend to type up posts the way I speak not the way I write out my books. Just thought I’d point that out. The way one is written isn’t necessarily an indicator of how the other is done. I’m just funny that way. :^P WHy mention it now? The thought hit me this morning was I went about my morning blog rounds, so I thought I’d share.

TGIF

The weekend is upon us, and I’m looking forward to it. Granted, this week wasn’t very productive over all, but it did have its moments.

The new “V” series started this week, and to be honest, it’s too early to make a judgment on it just yet. Give it a few episodes then I’ll have an opinion formed for better or worst. SyFy (that name just icks me out now) played a marathon on the original over the weekend and early part of the week, which I enjoyed. The “new” is missing two things the original had: Marc Singer and Michael Ironside. ‘Nuff said.

Anyone catch last night’s Supernatural? The parodies were so funny and a few were spot on. It was kind of fun trying to figure out who and what they were making fun of in each skit. Then again, I’m the type who likes to watch those parody films (you know, the Not Another Teen Movie and its ilk) just to figure out what they are making fun of, not for the film itself. Is it sad that I knew the majority of them?

Tonight is Ghost Whisperer and Medium. I’m so not digging the whole jump five years into the future thing they’ve got going on with GW. In fact, I’ve just about decided to stop watching it altogether. As it is, I end up watching it several days later thanks to TiVo, because it’s just not worth watching on time anymore. I mean, from a creative stand point, I understand why they made the jump, but as a fan, it aggravates the hell out of me. Medium on the other hand is a fave. Never know what’s going to happen next in that crazy household.

Well, tomorrow is A day. Six years and counting. Hubby is still trying to figure out what else to get me, though I keep telling him, “I NEED a mouse for Red.” This one mouse shared between two computers is so not working for me. Add in a ricky ticky touch pad on Red, and I’m ready to scream, especially if it randomly deletes anymore of my WIP on me.

Something unusual happened last night. I curled up with Sir Sony and read a bit. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that I’ve not wanted to read lately, because I have. There’s just been a lot going on so reading takes a back seat. Add in the sheer exhaustion I’ve felt lately, and reading has been pretty much doomed since I tend to nod off while attempting to read. I only managed about three chapters (reading slow has its sucky moments) but that’s three chapters more than I have been reading, so that’s a plus at least.

I did manage to write on DB some yesterday. Not nearly enough, but another word on the page is one word closer to the end. The new segment is fitting into what’s already done quite nicely. A few sex scenes and a couple odd scenes and I’m done. The end is so close (and yes, I realize I’ve been saying that for months) that it’s frustrating not to be able to just sit down and knock it right out. I’m doing the best I can, all things considered. I will be so glad when this project is finished and no longer hanging over my head. Let’s hope that day arrives soon.

And now it’s time to take my rambling self and find something else to do rather than rattle your eyeballs off (reading not hearing lol). Off to work I go, I hope. My concentration hasn’t been what it should be lately.

A Little Equals A Lot

Unfortunately, in the world in which I live, a little does equal a lot. Why unfortunately? Because just a little bit of cleaning ends up taking days to recover from. Sad, I know, but it HAD to be done. I couldn’t even see my desk, and now I have a clean and organized work space. If I had waited on hubby to do it, I still would have had to reorganize everything, which would have led me to the exact same boat I’m in now… Excruciating pain in the left shoulder blade, though I suppose it could be worse. Both shoulder blades could be hurting this badly. We’re currently on day three of this with no signs of it letting up any time soon. Pain meds aren’t making a dent in it, but at least the heating pad seems to help a little.

In other news, I did manage to write a tad bit yesterday despite the pain. When hubby found out, his immediate reply was, “Was it on the story you’re supposed to be working on?” Insert big eye roll. “Yes, dear, it’s on the right book.” He tends to ask me this a lot. I suppose it’s his way of keeping me on track, though it can get annoying at times.

Speaking of dear hubby, when I told him what I blogged about yesterday, he had to jump on his computer and check it out. Hmm, I wonder why? lol He’s such a nut, and then he confessed that he didn’t even read the whole thing. He really makes no sense sometimes.

Anyhow, I have a scene swirling in my head that’s been there since yesterday. I decided a particular occurrence in the WIP needed a bit more explaining from one character’s POV, and boy is it ever being explained. When hubby found out, he sighed and asked, “What part are you rewriting now?” No, no rewriting. It happens to fit perfectly into what’s already written, so :^P to him. Pure expanded word count on this one.

Speaking of which, I’d better get to it while the muse is busily playing.

Twenty Days

Yep, I just realized I’m now twenty days from my birthday. I try not to get too excited about getting older, but it’s really hard to break a long standing habit of getting excited to know my birthday is almost here. I know, it’s not the getting older I anticipate but the getting presents! lol

Normally, when asked what I want for my birthday, I draw a total blank, but not this year. KISS just released a new album and with it all kinds of new collectables. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE KISS? The KISS potato head set is absolutely adorable and I so want them all. Good thing Christmas is only a month after my birthday.

See, each October I’m asked three things all at once. What do you want for our Anniversary? What do you want for your Birthday? And What do you want for Christmas? Finding answers for all three are usually a bit tricky.

For my anniversary, which isn’t technically until this coming Saturday, I wanted a carry case for Red, my mini-10, with plenty of pockets for pens and my supplies. I’m glad to report that I got just what I wanted and I LOVE the thing. Makes carrying Red around so much easier. I only wish it had a shoulder strap to go with it, because then it would be totally perfect.

Birthday and Christmas weren’t so easy to come up with. I know I want a new mouse to go with Red, because I’m tired of switching back and forth between Red and Madame Mac all the time. I HATE touch pads. They’re too damned sensitive and on Red, if I’ve not got a mouse hooked up, the touch pad ends up being my arch nemesis and deletes things out of the WIP at random, which fortunately I’ve always caught thus far. I swear bad enough to put a sailor to shame when that happens, too.

Books! I gave my mother a whole list of books I’d like to have. A few are romance, but mostly they are forensics and criminology books. I swear, one of these days, I’m going to combine my love of writing with my love of forensics and criminology and write something in the romantic suspense genre. I’ve just got a lot on my plate at the moment, but one day, I’m going to do just that.

There’s also the ole standbys. One can never go wrong with pens and pencils and notebooks, nor can the family go wrong with bags of any size, shape, or color. I LOVE bags. Backpacks, messenger bags, purses of all types and we can’t forget totes. B&N has a Wizard of Oz theme going on right now and the Wicked Witch Tote is beautiful, black with a gorgeous emerald lining. If it wasn’t for that $25 price tag, that baby would be mine, but I just can’t justify the cost right now. *sigh*

I also adore bookmarks, though as I’m slowly getting away from print and moving into digital the bookmark becomes obsolete. Doesn’t mean I can’t still collect them. I still have one I bought back in the 90’s at a book fair at school. How do I know? It has the date stamped on the back. It has adorable little kittens on it, and for being so old, it’s in remarkable shape. I think I recently retired it and put it away with my print copies of Drigon so I don’t lose it. I’m very good at losing things, which makes still having it even more awesome. I still have my engraved pen/pencil set I got for being an honor student when I graduated as well. They’re also put away with Drigon.

And now I’m beginning to ramble. I’m having major pain in my left shoulder blade today. I guess cleaning off my work station wasn’t such a good idea yesterday after all. I’m ashamed to say it took me over two hours to complete the project and my workstation is nothing more than a small kitchen table. Sad, I know. But at least now I can see the table top and I’m sitting here with my necessary supplies within easy reach and with Red and Madame Mac sitting side by side.

Time to either medicate and lay down for a while, hoping the shoulder will quit hurting, or just dive into the WIP…

Time Goes By

This weekend mark’s the sixth anniversary of my marriage. There are days when it hardly seems it’s been six years and other days it feels like it’s been a whole lot longer. I’ll also be turning 34 later this month, and to be honest, there were days when I feared I’d never make it to see that day. Thanks to an awesome doctor and amazing medications, I no longer have that fear hanging over my head.

The husband and I have had a long discussion in regards to my writing. With how badly the cold weather hurts my joints, I’ll be taking winters off from writing from here on out. That’s not saying I won’t be writing at all during that time, but I won’t be writing much. It’s just too painful, and it depresses me when I want to write and can’t or need to and can’t. I will work on finishing up the WIP, but other than that, I’ll be waiting for the Spring Thaw before I seriously put fingers to keyboard again. I wish I could adequately describe the amount of pain I’m in during a cold snap, but I fear this is one instance where words fail me. I have to do what I have to do in order to survive, and sadly, this is what it’s come down to. But at least it’s not a permanent give up writing, just a seasonal give it up.

And now I suppose I should get back to the morning bus watch. As soon as the kiddo leaves, I’ve got things to do.

Pirates Ahoy!

Well, the kiddo’s pirate play was last night. I’ll have to post some pictures later, as I think the hubby left the camera in the car (since I can’t find it), which he drove to work this morning. As with anything involving second graders, there were plenty of laughs, however, I laughed the hardest when the kiddo grew bored about halfway through and begin to entertain himself. He also kept dropping his dagger and had to stop singing (when he was singing that is) to pick it back up.

We had to be there early, so I took my handy dandy Sony reader with me, and the lady behind me (who turned out to be a teacher in the high school, I believe) started asking all sorts of questions and said she’s going to put it on her Christmas list for herself. LOL A few minutes later, I could hear her and the lady next to her discussing it. Kind of tickled me, because it brought to mind a discussion on ebooks and readers I’d read a while back where there was a complaint of though they are nice and easy for travel, reading is often interrupted by people asking about the device. :O)

It’s very cold and wet here today, which means the street out front is a virtual river running wild. Kiddo had to have help getting over to the bus because of all the water. The cold/wet combination is also wreaking havoc on my joints today and I’m out of pain pills! The horror. My only hope is the rain stops before tomorrow night so hubby can take the kiddo out Trick or Treating. I guess it goes without saying he’s going to be a pirate tomorrow night, right?

Oh well, SyFy (such a stupid name) is showing horror flicks today, so I guess I know what I’ll be doing since I think heavy typing is out with the way my joints are aching today.

Sickness in the House

Forgot to blog today. I’ll blame the kiddo, who was home from school yet again. Hope he’s better soon. His Halloween play is tomorrow night, and he’s so excited. They’ve practiced for two months, and I’d hate for him to miss out due to catching some mystery bug a few days before the curtain goes up.

Needless to say, mommy’s gettin’ nothin’ done this week. Sick kid takes priority. With luck, I can hole up in the bedroom over the weekend and get some work done, provided he hasn’t given me his bug. *crosses fingers*

The Stupid Factor

This blog posting is aimed at my husband, and my husband only. So please don’t read anything into it. I know we all have our stupid moments, but he seems to have a lot of them lately in a very short amount of time.

So, what’s the stupid factor have to do with my husband? Apparently, his brain atrophied or something last night after I went to bed early. Why? Strike one. He failed to lock the dogs out of the main part of the house. His excuse, he was “experimenting.” Why was this an offense? Because one of said dogs likes to mark things, which is never a good thing.

Strike two. MY computer was in the FLOOR. I did not leave my computer in the floor, but up off the floor where kid and dogs cannot walk, sit, climb all over it. Said dog marked very close to my computer which was sitting in the floor. We cannot afford to replace Madame Mac, so yeah, I am very unhappy right now.

Strike three. He left his own computer in the floor, and right next to it, said dog marked yet again. Do we see a pattern developing here?

Hubby is already in hot water over something he did a couple of week’s ago, which I refuse to go into here on a public blog. So, I keep telling him he’s still on probation (yes, it was really, really bad). This didn’t help his case any.

Don’t get me wrong. I love my husband very dearly. I adore him really, but he certainly has some moments where I want to strangle him in the worst of ways. This morning being one of those moments.

Of course, if the dog had hit the computer and ruined it, we wouldn’t be writing up or reading this post this morning since I am using Madame Mac to compose it. I would also be sobbing so uncontrollably typing would be a non-issue and said dog would be looking for a new home post-haste. At least Red was still safely put away where marker couldn’t reach it. THAT would have been extra bad since it’s my writing computer and with everything that’s gone on lately, I’ve not yet had a chance to update my backup file. Talk about uncontrollable sobs then. There’d be no pulling me out of that particular downward spiral.

Ah, I feel so much better after getting that all out and off my chest. After I calm down, it won’t look and feel as bad as it did just minutes ago when all this was first discovered. I’m in super protective mode over my baby (Madame Mac) at the moment, and all senses are on full alert. I’m a techie, through and through, and the destruction of tech makes me cringe in horror at just the thought. I know, accidents happen. I know, we all have moments where we forget things. However, if hubby ever pulls this stunt again, he may not escape unscathed as he did this time around. Let’s hope, there’s never a repeat of this or a scenario where things end up much worse than they did. I’m not sure my heart could take it.

Ranch Chicken Strips Recipe

I have a kiddo home with a fever today, so instead of focusing on writing and typing up a huge long post that I don’t really have time for, I thought I’d share a recipe we tried around here last night. Ranch Chicken Strips. We didn’t use a recipe when we made these, but it’s really simple and really good.

Needed:

Chicken breast filets

Ranch Salad Dressing

Small amount Milk (just enough to thin the dressing a bit)

Corn Flakes

Preheat oven 375.

Lightly coat each chicken strip first in the slightly thinned ranch dressing, then roll until completely covered in the corn flakes. Lay out on cookie sheet or other baking sheet and place into preheated over for approximately 30 minutes or until cooked all the way through (time will vary by oven and chicken thickness).

Serve with whatever side dish you prefer.

Edited to Add: You can make these without the ranch dressing, and just roll them in the corn flakes, then bake. Either way, they’re still very good.

Enjoy.

Reading

I have noticed some rather strongly voiced opinions lately, and thought I’d take the time today to voice my own, though not nearly as strongly. Before I ever picked up a pen, I was a reader. Now granted, growing up I leaned more toward “real” ghost stories, shark attack files, and at a later time, RL Stine’s Fear Street series and Christopher Pike’s books. Romance didn’t come into the picture until I was in my twenties and a mother, and I’ve been hooked ever since.

The current economic climate has hit everyone hard. As a household with a single “steady” income, with a special needs child in residence and a chronically ill adult, things tend to be tight around here more often than not, meaning I have to be extra picky in what books I do get to buy. Yes, I have a reader, because I have a major tech addition and my husband does his damnedest to feed said addiction, when finances allow. Fortunately, earlier this year was a better time money-wise and I was able to get my new Sony ebook reader. What’s on my reader? Mostly free reads–legally free reads. Note, I said mostly. I do buy ebooks, just not as many as I’d like. I have bookmark after bookmark after bookmark to legal free ebooks. Legal being the key term there. Granted, a lot of those are classics or freebies given out by authors, or the first in a series, but when desperate for something to read, a book is a book is a book.

I buy hard cover books from the bargain tables at the bookstores and from fleamarkets, yard sales, and thrift stores. I get paperback books from my mother, though her tastes and mine vary greatly—meaning she enjoys mostly contemporaries and most of the books I buy are paranormal since she refuses to read them and I have no other way to get my fix. I also get paperbacks from some of the same places I find hardbacks. Yes, there’s a local library, but I do not partake of it. Why? I have nothing against libraries, in fact, I love them, however, I do horribly at reading a book within a certain time frame at times due to a wide variety of issues, super slow reader being one of them. So, in case anyone missed it, I have nothing against sharing books, because as you can see, I swap paperbacks with my mother all the time.

I do try to buy books from my favorite “keeper” authors new, when I can. I’ve put books on my Christmas list that I gave my mother this year, and I’ve asked for B&N gift cards from relatives for the holidays in the past. Granted, most of those books on the list I gave mom are research books, because sadly forensics and criminology books ain’t cheap, even used. There are a couple romances on there, that I’m really hoping she gets me because it’s the first and newest in a series (I won the middle book in a contest and loved it), if she doesn’t then I’ll just have to whine my way into having the hubby buy them for me. He does so love it when I whine.  With my birthday coming up, I always get cash and so I’m plotting away at which books I plan to buy with said cash.

Being an author, I do feel a bit guilty not buying books new. I understand how badly authors depend on the new sales, but I also understand how it feels to be broke with an addiction that can become quite costly in a hurry. I have no problem with the sharing of ebooks, as I said yesterday, though there really does need to be a way found to keep the sharing of a handful of files limited to just a handful instead of growing exponentially as can happen when a file can be copied an infinite number of times. I know readers want more freedoms with ebooks. Hell, as I said, I’m a reader, too, so I feel those restrictions just as strongly as the next person, but I think we do have to remember that digital files are completely different entities from print books, and therefore new rules need to apply simply  because of the ease with which casual sharing amongst friends can turn into something much, much greater and far more damaging. And for the record, I hate DRM as well, which is why I still buy Silhouettes in paperback rather than in electronic format, even though it hurts to read them.

Sadly, ebook piracy is a hot button for many, many authors. Many equate the download numbers to actual lost sales. I know it doesn’t work that way. You can’t count a free, illegal download as a lost sale because you have no guarantee that person would have bought a legal copy if given the chance. You have no idea if the person who downloaded it even read the thing. Hoarders abound in this world, and many take things simply because they can, because they collect and hoard things away whether they have a use for the item or not. It’s a sad fact of life.

I know many authors rally against piracy and lecture and write long posts about it, but I’m not one of those authors. I do my part where I can, but I do not make it my life’s mission. Why? Because it will suck the life out of you. It will eat up precious writing time and take over before you even realize the power you’ve given it. A leopard can’t change its spots, and I think in asking pirates to suddenly grow a moral code and stop what they are doing is much like asking the leopard to change its spots—it’s just not going to happen. So it’s wasted breath, wasted effort. Now, I’m by no means saying let them have free reign and do as they please. Not at all. I am, however, saying it’s going to take more effort than I can give it. It’s going to take a greater force than I have the power to generate to even get this monster under control.

I write because I love it. Granted, that’s not good business sense, but it’s the truth of the matter. The money is nice, but it’s not the driving force behind why I do what I do. Why else would I have so many free reads available and be working on more? I write stories and I want them to be read. If I’m lucky enough to get a contract and get paid for doing what I love, all the better, but it’s not the be all end all to what I do. Maybe it was at first, but chronic illness does tend to change one’s views on things. Perhaps my views on things make me an oddball, but I’m happy with that. I always have liked to walk my own path. However, keep in mind that I’m just an author. Pricing and marketing and all that are at the sole transgression of the publisher. I’m like most other readers and wish prices, especially on ebooks, were cheaper, especially since it’s my preferred reading format since it’s much easier on my poor wrists to read on my reader.

Which brings me to yet another point, with my health being what it is, my joints are deteriorating. Other than the extra high price of hardbacks which I HATE, I really prefer books in hard cover because it’s easier on my wrists than a paperback. The higher price is why I wait until they hit the bargain tables, because then I can get them for basically the same price as a paperback. I’m currently waiting for two to hit the bargain tables. However, the easiest on my wrists is my Sony ebook reader. I LOVE this thing. No more pain while reading. And doing something you enjoy shouldn’t equate to so much pain. I went months without reading prior to getting my Sony, simply because I didn’t want to hurt. It’s depressing to want to read and not be able to over something like health reasons.

I have noticed that some new Blu-Ray movies are coming out with a “regular” DVD and a digital copy packaged all in one. I would LOVE it if paperback and hardcover books came with a free digital copy. I admit, a part of me still loves a paper book. It’s what I was raised on. I like having them on the bookshelves, but I prefer digital for reasons I’ve already stated. In the case of a paperback with a digital copy, I’d have the copy for the bookshelf with a pretty, unmarred spine to display and a digital copy to read on my reader and save myself unnecessary pain. It would also promote ebook acceptance, if a reader could “try” out ebooks without any extra fees and fears of the unknown attached to them. Meaning, they’ve bought a book by their favorite author at the store for $4 and it’s got a code for this free digital download of the same book. They think, hmm, I wonder what it’d be like to read a book on the computer (provided this is a new to ebooks person) and they download it and try and decide, “Hey, I like this.” New ebook customer. Not only would ebooks for the print published books have easier access, but they would reach a much larger audience. Just a thought. Maybe I’m asking for too much, but if the movie guys can do it, why can’t the publishers?

And I suppose I’ve rambled on about this for long enough. I really need to get back to writing, even though my TBR stack is growing quite large. I want to get Dagger done so I can spend the hectic holidays reading, rather than pulling my hair out trying to get things together for the holidays and family AND trying to write. The colder it gets, the harder it hits my joints, too, which means an increase in breakthrough pain, which is never fun. So, I’m running out of time here.

I’m going to leave you with a question today. What’s in YOUR reader? Or on your TBR pile?

Things Happen

First off, let me begin by bragging about the 2500 words I managed to bang out on Dagger’s Blade yesterday. That made me VERY happy. I finished off the last half of one chapter and moved on to the next, so I’m now that much closer to the end. It’ll be party time when this baby is finally finished. I did have to cut roughly 1300, because with changes they no longer fit, which kind of rained on my parade, but the 2500 added sure made me feel pretty darned good. Sadly, that’s just how rewrites work. You add some, you take some, you tweak some. It’s still going to be a much better book for it in the end.

‘Tis a cold wet day here in Arkansas this morning. The street in front of the house had just dried out, too. Maybe it won’t rain much and the street will stay a street this time rather than turning into a river, like it normally does in heavy rains. The kiddo is getting too big for mom to carry over the raging waters. I’ve had to take a pain pill this morning (haven’t taken many since upping the fibro meds) because the cold and rainy weather aren’t helping me much today. My poor left arm is so sore it makes typing a bit tricky.

Is Halloween over yet? I swear, every day when the kiddo comes home, the first words out of his mouth are “is it Halloween yet?” Every. Day. I’m so tired of hearing those words and trying to explain to him that Halloween isn’t until the 31st. All I can do is hope that one of these days it finally sinks in. Until then, pity me for the broken record I’m having to deal with. His Halloween play is next Thursday, the 29th, and he’s playing the part of a pirate. Naturally, I think he’ll be the cutest damned pirate up there. He also brought his school pictures home yesterday and I must say, he is absolutely gorgeous in them, not that I expect any different. He seems to take very good pictures.

Yesterday, a big misunderstanding took place on twitter. Yes, unfortunately I was involved. In my defense, I did read the article in question and with the way it was worded, it did appear that something was not on the up and up. I RT’ed a friend’s post on Twitter regarding this  and the shit storm ensued. Telling me to read the facts before RT’ing something doesn’t help, because as I just stated, I did read the article in question. Apparently, with the wording of the article, I took away something from it that others didn’t see. Perception is what it is.

I do not own a Kindle, so I have no idea how it works or what Amazon’s take on things are, but I am equipped with more knowledge where that is concerned today than I was yesterday. I will apologize to the reader for making an assumption, but based on the information I had at the time, I went with how it looked to me. I’m human and as such, mistakes are made. The true villain in this story is the article writer, not the authors or the reader from the article. If the journalist’s goal was to create problems, then she/he did so in spades and should be ashamed for creating so much undo stress.

For the record, as I stated yesterday on Twitter to a fellow author, I am not anti-sharing of ebooks, though I do believe it has to be done in moderation, with limitations on them. The world of books is changing. We’ve gone from print only and being able to do whatever we wanted with the printed copy, to digital copies and being told you cannot share or resale under ANY circumstances, to new technology allowing for limited numbers of sharing. It’s hard to keep up with, and as soon as you get used to one way of thinking, the whole pot is stirred and you’re left floundering as you try to adjust to the new rules and regulations. This only further adds to the number of mistakes people will be making where all of this is concerned. A learning curve should be allowed for and mistakes shouldn’t mean life or death. Yes, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but the consequences do seem rather dire at times.

Anyhow, with that all out of the way, today’s goals are simple. Stay warm and dry. Work on Dagger’s Blade. Try to control pain levels. And avoid anymore twitter upheavals. I can definitely manage that last one as well as the first one, but not so sure about the others. I plan to give it my best, though. The colder is gets, the worse the overall pain, but I will do my best to move forward and not let it get me down. I have stories to write, and though I may be slower, any words on the page are better than none.

Chop, Chop

I think the blog post title rather fitting today, because chopping is exactly what I’ve been doing lately. How’s that, one might ask. Well, I’ll tell you. I’ve taken the Hunters for Hire series bible and chopped it up into bite sized pieces. I can just imagine my cohorts cringing in pain at the mere thought, and to be honest, I can totally understand the reaction. However, I’m working on how to carry important notes around with me in the smallest amount of space possible with the easiest way of locating and/or accessing the information I need at any given point in time. Did that make sense? If not, let me try again. I’m breaking it up into much smaller segments, with the files labeled according to what they contain, so I can open up the section required without having to jump around in a 222 page document. For now, I think I’ll load them onto my Sony, but once I manage to talk my way into an iPod Touch, I’ll be using it to store writing notes on.

Why not just put the original file on Red? Well, Red has a small screen and I hate switching between files. My memory isn’t what it used to be since the fibro fogs set in so frequently, so I really need the notes to be on a separate device, which is why I’ve not put them on Red. I managed to get all details and two systems done. Only about 20 systems left to go. :^P It’s a long, tedious process, but it will be worth it in the end. I’ve been needing to do it for quite some time, but I don’t say procrastination is my middle name for nothing. My plan is to have everything handy, lightweight and very organized for the next time I go to B&N and Starbucks to write. That’s the plan anyhow.

The Hunters for Hire bible isn’t the only thing I’m chopping up. I have to type up and organize all my handwritten notes on Project X as well as several other projects I have going and my comprehensive name list. I collect names from everything—books, TV, movies, phonebooks, just hearing someone say a name out in public. I tend to use the same handful and am working hard on expanding my naming horizons.

Another reason to compile, organize and condense the writing notes. The new portable office will only hold so much. I hope to get all of my notes digitized by the time I manage to finaggle my way into an iPod Touch. I want an iPhone, too, and after a long discussion with hubby, I think he finally understands why I want both, not just one or the other. Maybe one day. A girl’s gotta dream about something, right?

Anyhow, I need to get to work on Dagger. I’m determined to write something on it today—anything, really. Once that’s out of the way, I’ll pour more of myself into organizing everything before I start my next project, which will hopefully help the next project go much more smoothly than this last one has. Thems the hopes I have anyhow.

Clueless

It’s Tuesday morning. I’m awake. My head is mostly clear, and I am drawing a complete blank on what to write here on the blog this morning. The blinking cursor is teasing me. I swear it is.

Oh well, I tried. If something comes to me later, I may attempt a take two. If not, I’ll attempt something in the morning. Maybe Wednesday will prove a more insightful kind of day than today has dawned.

Monday, Monday

How sad is it that I’m HAPPY it’s Monday? My weekend thoroughly sucked, so after that, anything is better, even a Monday morning. I won’t go into why my weekend was so bad, but I will say it involved a great deal of stress. A great deal of stress equals a flare up from hell for my fibro and even a few of my other issues, so yeah, it wasn’t a fun time to be had at all. I think the winter allergies are kicking in as well since I’m sneezing almost all the time lately. Better than the sinus infection from hell, at least. Oh and we lost my inhaler, so big fun there.

So, it’ll be Christmas before we know it, which puts me in the “What do I want?” frame of mind. The best way to this gal’s heart is through tech. I can’t get enough tech. So, what am I eyeing now? Why, a bigger, better Mac, of course. I’m all about improved processor speed, bigger hard drive, more RAM, and better graphics. lol The rumored Microsoft Courier is at the top of my list, too. I have two words where it’s concerned: Dream Notebook. ‘Nuff said there. iPhone – I want one of these so bad, and the iPod Touch. I know, the Touch is basically the iPhone minus the phone and camera, but still. I’m already making up my what I’d use it for list in order to sell it to hubby, since he’s the one that orders these things for me. So far, my argument is good—the funds are bad.

I’m did manage to get some writing done on Dagger’s Blade this weekend, though not as much as I’d like thanks to that unforeseen event that took place Friday night which skyrocketed my stress level and put me into a flare up so bad, I could barely hold my head up. In fact, by yesterday, I ended up sleeping all day because I was so weak. We’ll blame the hubby and leave it at that. This morning, I’m working on transferring key Hunters for Hire notes into a military, water-proof paper notebook to carry around with me when I don’t have access to my bigger, more detailed notes. I finally got my “book cover” case for Red (My Mini-10 notebook) and I LOVE it. Red fits perfectly into it, I can carry a small notebook, a couple pens/pencils, paper clips and my H4H journal in it without worry. It also has room for the power cord and my mouse with its Build-A-Bear mousepad. There’s no long strap, but I had one here at home that I can engineer to work with it. I couldn’t be happier. A new portable office has been born.

Anyhow, as soon as I manage to get these notes into my journal, I plan to crack open Red and try to get some more done on Dagger. Working on the journal will hopefully give me time to warm up from the morning bus watch. It is COLD out there, very cold. Kiddo had to bring out the coat today for the first time.

Oh well, time to curl up on the sofa with a warm blanket, my notes, and Criminal Minds reruns on the TiVo. Happy reading and/or writing. ;^)

Ho-Hum

Sadly, Ho-Hum is the best post title I can come up with this morning as I lay here feeling mighty dreadful. I had a horrible night and this morning really isn’t looking to go much better. I’d say, that once again, I’m sick, but it happens so often, I think I’m just going to stop mentioning it. I get so tired of living this way, but what’s a gal to do? Too many chronic illnesses and not enough medical knowledge to fix said illnesses. ‘Tis a vicious cycle.

I have nothing witty to write about today, as most of my energy is being spent on keeping it together rather than on deep thought. I have so much to do, and all I feel like doing is curling into a ball and attempting to ignore this day exists. Sounds fun, huh? Not really, but oh well.

There’s an interesting post over at SBTB today about an elusive hero type. The “purse holders” as it was put instead of the oversized, mostly unrealistic hero types we have an abundance of in romance novels. I try to keep the heroes in my stories more down to earth and less huge, but sometimes, that’s just how things roll. It seems to be what’s popular, and sometimes, it’s rather difficult to go your own way with things.

In real life, my hero is a purse holder. Each time I go to the doctor and we’re called back, I had my purse and portable office off to him, which he holds until we’re finished without complaint. He brings me my medications and makes sure I take them. He encourages me to keep going, even when I feel like it’s pointless to even try. He also does his best to keep me from overdoing it, because overdoing it is so easy to accomplish.

He’s my strength, my motivation, my support and encouragement. He’s the other half of me. We talk about everything. I’ve told him secrets I’ve kept for more than twenty years and never told another soul. He knows what types of strange thoughts run through my head, the ones that are too weird and confusing to use in my stories and yet still keep me up at night. He understands the voices in my head and ignores it when I start talking back to them. When I panic or things get too much for me to bear, he talks me through it, brings me back down, and makes me feel like things really will be okay. In fact, I’m not so sure I’d have survived the last two years without this man.

Nov. 7th marks our sixth wedding anniversary. We met through an online personal ad the end of Aug. 2003. By mid-September 2003, we had moved in together, and by November we were married, in a funeral home of all places. Most people do not believe me when I tell them the place we got married, but I swear it’s the truth. The only justice of the peace we could find to perform the ceremony on that day, just happened to be a funeral home director. We stood in his quaint little office with my husband holding our son between us when we married. It’s a day I’ll never forget, and despite the location, it was a very good day.

Maybe I should work on a book where I can make the hero more like my husband. There’s not really anything alpha about him, but that doesn’t matter to me. I love him just the way he is, faults and all. I do put a piece of him into every hero I create, but perhaps I should try putting a bit more in. It’s something to think about at least.

Wednesday’s Thoughts & Plans

Apparently, being offline for a while had some unexpected results. I’ve been a little more opinionated lately than normal. I know, who’d have thunk it? I’m not yet sure if this is a good thing or not, but I do hope that what opinionated posts I’ve made at various places made sense and didn’t come off offensive, because they certainly weren’t intended that way. However, when dealing with tender subjects, it’s easy to create an end result one did not intend.

Some topics I’ve read on other blogs lately have really made me think and hard. They’ve spawned deep conversations with my husband regarding the subjects. They’ve made me examine my life and realize some of the struggles I’ve dealt with while growing up where and how I did. Pretty powerful stuff, if you ask me. I don’t think I’ve given that much thought to how I was raised since, well, I was being raised that way. I’m very proud of the fact that I am living proof that change is possible, because I am nothing like how I was raised when it comes to certain subjects. Also there’s the whole erotic romance author angle that friends from school still have trouble believing. I guess you had to be there and know me to understand that one.

I know, I’m not being very specific here, but I’ve said my piece on those subjects and thought it best to let it go. I guess I’m just in a bit of a reflective mood this morning, so it was bound to show up at least in passing here.

Last night, I managed to proof a bit more on Dagger’s Blade, though not as much as I’d have liked due to being so tired. Unfortunately, right after I posted to the blog yesterday, I ended up going to sleep because no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t keep my eyes open. In fact, even after sleeping all day, I fell asleep after hubby got home. He wasn’t out of the room for more than a few minutes and he said I was out like a light. I guess I was more tired than I had realized. I’m still tired today, but not the total exhaustion of yesterday, so that’s a plus at least.

Guest Bloggers. I’m going to have some posts put up at a later date (we’re still hashing out details) by my Hunters for Hire cohorts, TJ Michaels and Samantha Kane, so that will be something to watch out for. I cannot tell you how helpful and supportive these two ladies have been in regards to this project. They’re my sounding board, my shoulders when I need them, and allow me to vent my frustrations whenever things become too much for me. Can a gal really ask for any better friends than that? There’s just no way to adequately express my thanks for all the things they’ve done for me over the last two years.

Besides my health going so wonky, I was put into a position of leadership with the Hunters, and trust me, I am so not leadership material. I was working against the grain and I’m sure I made more than my fair share of mistakes along the way, but at least I kept at it, no matter how hard it was for me to function as leader. I’m not really a follower either. I tend to go my own way. Being leader goes totally against my nature, though, because I hate confrontation and conflict and speaking to people I don’t know. Shyness has it’s advantages, but to the degree with which I have it, it’s a major pain in the ass and hindrance. Unfortunately, I can’t seem to break that particular cycle.

Just a quick reminder. I know some writing projects have expiration dates, but the Hunters for Hire series doesn’t work that way. We’re open ended with no cut off date for submissions at this time, meaning if the series inspires you, go for it. You never know if you’ll have the next H4H to hit the stands, so to speak. We’re always happy to welcome new authors into our little, but growing, group. The primary thing to remember when looking at the series details is to not let the sheer volume of information overwhelm you. If you take it in small bites and primarily focus on one or two key locations, it’s not so bad. And don’t worry if you can’t recall what planet D in the X system is if it doesn’t pertain to your book, because honestly, I probably couldn’t even tell you the name without going back to look it up. Just a quick FYI here, there is no planet D or system X. I’m just too lazy to use real locations from the series. :p I realize the series bible is large. Even my husband comments on how much information is there, and he’s never really looked at the end result of the work we put into it. There’s nothing scary about it, really, it’s all in how you look at it. So that’s just something to keep in mind.

Another thing about the Hunters series. Never worry about asking me a question (or questions) or bothering me. It’s part of my job to help you clearly understand the information provided. It makes for better books, and better books help us all. It might take me a bit to get back to you, depending on a wide variety of issues, but I will get back to you with as detailed an answer as I can manage. The only things I can’t help with are editorial or actual publishing side of things kinds of questions, because I have no knowledge of such things nor am I privy to that side of the business. I also have no idea how many H4H books have been contracted. I only know if the author tells me or when I see it on the coming soon/new release page of the publisher.

The 7y/o boy got his first taste of mommy in edit mode last night and he was not happy about it. I told him to suck it up and get used to it, because it’s what I do. He has to read a book (which he’s slowly learning to do) and then write a story. Basically, he tells it and I write it out, with a few tweaks, then he sits down to copy what I wrote. And yes, his teacher knows this is how he does it otherwise it wouldn’t get done. Anyhow, he messed it all up so mommy editor had to fix it. Much whining and moaning and groaning ensued, but it was eventually fixed. Remembering to keep his letters on the line, consistency in upper and lower case letters, and spaces between words are his main issues. We’ve almost got the spaces thing worked out, the on the lines is improving, but I’m not very hopeful on the mixed cases at this point. I’m just glad he can spell and write.

And now that said kiddo is off to school, I think it’s time mommy editor either takes a quick nap or gets busy editing her own work. I’m almost to the first sex scene I need to plug in. Oh joy. Those are always fun. And yes, that was a bit sarcastic. In truth, the sex is the part I like writing the least, and yet, I always write long sex scenes. Go figure, huh? Oh well, it’ll work itself out in the end, because it always does.

Exhausted

But I guess that tends to happen when one comes off a 24hr+ no sleep trip followed up by only about 6 hrs of sleep. Insomnia sucks, and sadly, I’m stuck with it. Thankfully, that’s the first full dayer I’ve pulled in a while. I just could not sleep, no matter how tired I got. In fact, when I finally did lay down, I didn’t think I’d sleep then either, but I’m glad I was wrong. At least I feel better this morning, even though those horse pills await. Ick! I hate those nasty things and won’t miss them at all once I’ve finished them up.

I planned to spend yesterday proofing and getting back into Dagger after being so sick the last couple of weeks, but apparently the allure of the internet and nearly a full week of barely seeing it was too much temptation. I spent the whole day looking at nothing really important, then I cleaned up my Mac and got 6gigs of hard drive space back just by zipping a bunch of old crochet patterns and old write files that will most likely never see the light of day. Some of them, I just deleted because they were nothing more than a file with a title or one line. I saw no point in having them taking up space and making my ideas folder any bigger than it needs to be.

With luck, I hope to get some more done on Dagger today. When I worked on it early yesterday morning, it went very smoothly. I’m still super proud of those 20 pages I managed to make it through. Maybe today I can knock out just as many if not more. Unless I zone completely out again today, though I’m hoping that doesn’t happen. Digging through my old write files yesterday reminded me of some things I started very early on when I first started writing to become published. I just may have to bring some of those projects out, dust the virtual dust off them, and see where they lead.

As soon as I’m done with this posting and my usual morning blog hop, I think I’m going to turn on some music, set the Mac out of reach and get to work on Dagger, which is on the Mini-10 (I do so love that thing). Why Mac out of reach? Because she has all my bookmarks, twitter, blogs, and your basic internet surfing on it, not to mention all my games. The Mini-10 only goes to a few select sites online (by my choice), no games other than the standard card games it came with, and with the exception of the top three blogs I visit, all the bookmarks on it are publishing/writing/research related. Helps keep me focused better that way. Not to mention, I can handle “Red” (it’s a red Mini-10) being on my lap a whole lot longer than I can Mac (she’s a hefty gal). We do what we’ve gotta do in order to do the things we love, which in my case is writing.Finally got around to seeing Watchmen last night. I’m glad it was the kiddo’s bedtime, because we were going to let him watch it, however, we quickly learned it’s not really appropriate for a 7y/o to see. I’m not one of those super protective moms when it comes to TV and movies, but in this case, I really didn’t see it having anything to offer him. He wouldn’t have understood the story line at all, and there wasn’t enough action to keep a severe ADHD kid happy. We also rented 17 Again, which I loved. Fantastic movie. I may have to watch it again today after the kiddo leaves for school. And we’re all eagerly awaiting the DVD release of Transformers 2. It’ll be here before we know it. The kiddo and hubby are bursting at the seams over it already.

My dogs are not liking this cooler weather. Well, okay, three of them aren’t liking it. The rat terrier doesn’t seem to care all that much. One of the min-pins is a problem, though. He eats the legs off his sweater, so we had to take that off him. We put a sweat shirt type one on him, and he managed to come out of it by morning. I guess we’ll be looking into the fleece ones later. Maybe he won’t eat that one or be able to escape it, and yes, he must have a sweater or something because he won’t go out at night with it being so cold out, which means he does his deeds in the house, which is so not cool. The other min-pin and chihuahua are very happy in their sweaters. They don’t try to take them off or chew on them, so that’s good. Especially since they only wear “clothes” when it gets cold. I’m just not into dressing up dogs to look like kids. Yes, they are cute, but it’s not really practical now is it? However, if you have a pet and you like to dress it up, I’m not saying that’s a bad thing. I’m just saying it’s not for me. Once all these winter things for the dogs go on sale at the end of the season, we’ll probably stock up since they are usually just $1-$2 each. Much better than $10+ a pop.

Well, the kiddo was just handed off to the school bus and is now on his way to learn whatever it is his teachers have planned for the day. I have the house all to myself, well, myself and the dogs and fish. :p Not that they’re all that much company, since when I’m working I have to keep them out of the room or I end up with three dogs sitting between me and the laptop. Needless to say, that way leads to nothing getting done, and they are very, very stubborn and don’t move easily.

I think I’m beginning to notice a pattern here. If I type up a blog post this early in the morning, I tend to just go with the flow of my thoughts and type out whatever comes to mind first. If I post later in the day, it tends to be more geared toward one or two subjects. Hmm, maybe I should start posting a morning “thoughtful” post, and then a more focused writing one later in the day, though it is twice as much work that way. Oh well, at least it’s something to think about.

Ramble over.

Reality Begins Its Return

Slowly, but I am making my comeback. Apparently the handful of horse pills I’m being forced to take are doing their jobs. Sinus pressure is gone, which is a huge plus. I can finally think without my eyes wanting to cross from the pain.

With clarity comes the need to get back to the monster H4H WIP. I’m happy to say that I’m nearly 45 pages in with my reread to get back into the story/proofing. Twenty of those pages I did this morning, so I’m quite proud of myself. However, I’ve also suffered a slight injury this morning, which is slowing me down a bit. Got a bottle of soda out of the fridge and when I went to put it on the stove, my damned wrist separated. It’s sore, but nothing life threatening or permanent. My joints always go back together again as soon as they pull apart. It’s just another one of my many problems. Lovely, huh? The wrist is now wrapped up nice and snug, and as you can see, I can at least still type, though maybe not as well as I’d like. Provided the meds continue to work and there are no major catastrophes that crop up, I hope to put this project to bed, very soon. I’d set an actual date as my goal, but over the past couple of years, I’ve learned the hard way not to do that because something always comes up to throw a wrench into the best laid plans. I’ll try to get that guide to the names I use in Dagger up on the blog sometime this week, if I can remember where I put the danged list I made.

We spent part of the weekend making up Christmas lists. Yes, I realize it’s only October, but December will be here before we know it with how fast time is flying. So what’s on the list for the boy this year? Hot Wheels, Matchbox and track sets. I’m so glad he’s such an easy kid to shop for. He loves Bakugan toys, but they are small and he has a habit of leaving them in the floor where they get stepped on and broken, so needless to say, those aren’t on the list. He also loves Transformers, but those are off the list, too, due to the toy box full of Transformer parts. In his defense, some where only partials when they were bought super cheap at yard sales, so it’s not a huge loss, and most of the pieces to the ones that were whole are still there. They just aren’t together anymore. As for the other three, well, they’re old enough to read, and I have no idea if they know how to get to my blog, so I’m not taking the chance. Better safe than sorry and I’ve been sitting on this secret for the oldest (14) for months. I’m terrible at waiting to surprise people, but I’m hanging in there.

My sixth wedding anniversary is just around the corner (Nov. 7th) followed a couple of weeks later by my birthday (Nov. 24th), so all I’ve heard lately from the hubby is how he doesn’t know what to get me for either one. He bought me a gray messenger bag with a dragon on it three weeks ago and had it hid in the trunk of the car. I went to pull something out and he panicked, and there went three week’s of hiding it from me. He’s terrible at keeping things secret where I’m concerned, yet he’s also determined to surprise me. We’ll see how it works out this year. What I’m really wanting the most is a mouse for my mini-10 and a carry case for it. I found the perfect one in Booksamillion that has a separate pocket for holding a small notepad and pens and the mini-10 fits perfectly into it. It’s technically a bible case, but we don’t have to let anyone know that. :~P As for what the hubby will get, well, I have no clue and I’m never out alone to get him anything, so he’ll probably just have to pick something out for himself. However, now that I think about it, I think he’s getting Transformers on Blu-Ray as soon as it hits the stores, so that can count as his.

Oh, I almost forgot. Great yard sale find this weekend for me. Two writer’s guides to crime and police procedures for fifty cents each. I was one VERY happy writer. The woman we bought them from talked a little about writing, but I didn’t go into much detail with her. It was early, cold, and well, I don’t do so well joint wise in cold weather. Not to mention I was still sick and not technically supposed to be out this weekend going to yard sales. I didn’t even tell her about my writing. It all happened so fast, I really didn’t have much time to react, especially with a foggy head.

And I’m rambling. See what happens when I spend a while away from the blog? I get chat happy. I really need to get something to eat to take the morning’s horse pills and as soon as the bus shows up, I plan to dive back into Dagger’s Blade. I’m determined, especially now that I’m feeling better and the new dosage on the fibro pills are doing their job. I still have no idea what I’ll write on next. I guess I’ll figure that out when the time comes.

Heather

Going Stir Crazy

After a week of being down and out for the count, I’m going stir crazy. I am bored out of my mind and still feel like complete crap, but at least I can breathe better today thanks to the handful of horse pills I took this morning.

I was asked something funny yesterday at the doc’s office. They were trying to decide if it was the flu or not and asked, “Are you having any body aches?” I suffer from severe fibromyalgia, of course I have body aches—all the freaking time. My answer, I honestly can’t tell if they are any different than normal or not, I hurt so much. I also stated that I get sick so frequently, I rarely ever think anything of it anymore, though this time was far worse than the norm. I was also told that this season’s flu is particularly bad. Don’t they say that EVERY flu season? Oh well, at least my arm isn’t quite so sore today, even if my hands do feel really funky at the moment. I hope it goes away soon, because it makes typing very difficult.

No. I’m not supposed to be online for at least another week (7-10 days if the meds work, could be longer, though), but I’m dying of boredom here. I can’t focus enough to read anything not to mention I can’t stay awake long enough. There’s nothing interesting on TV. I’ve read and reread all the blogs I visit. I’ve typed up a list of H4H names and how to pronounce them, though I’m saving that for a more coherent day, and I toyed with a scene from my book, though it’s probably total crap with how I feel right now. I’d upload my Night Ranger pics, but I fear the process would prove too complicated in my present state. I could play WoW, but even that doesn’t appeal to me atm. Is there no hope for me?

Oh well. I guess it’s time to go stare at the wall some more, and it’s not even 10am yet. I may cry before this day is through just from the boredom. Maybe I’ll try to sleep, though I’m not really all that tired, mostly just achy. *sigh*

Still kicking – sort of

Well, it seems I have the flu slash bad sinus infection. I’ve been given an injection of a medication cocktail and a whole handful of prescriptions to go with the ones I was already taking. And my fibro meds have been doubled. I’m under doctor’s orders to take it easy until the meds do their thing and whatever this nightmare I have has run its course, so I won’t be online much for at least another week or two.

I had a fantastic time at the Night Ranger concert Saturday night, though I almost didn’t make it thanks to not feeling well. I pretty much forced myself to go and I’m very glad I did. I forgot my camera, but still managed to snap some not too bad pics with my crappy cellphone. Later, when I’m feeling better, I’ll get those posted and give more details on the concert. My head is just too fuzzy at the moment to try and deal with it. Last night I attempted to set up one email address on my mini and I’m sad to say, that it took me nearly an hour and lots of swearing to get it set up. See how screwed up my head is at the moment?

Anyhow, my head is spinning and my arm hurts terribly bad from the shot. I’ll be back as soon as I’m up to it. Needless to say, no writing is getting done at this point in time, nor is any reading. I zone or I sleep. Big fun, huh?

Heather