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.

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.

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.

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…

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.

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.

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*

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.

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.

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?