Love You/Kill You (Redux)

So I picked up Ally Carter's new book, I'd Tell You I Love You but then I'd Have to Kill You, and I have to admit, I read it yesterday in one sitting. First time I've done that in forever.

This book is fantastic. Ally's style, voice and characterization make her an absolute joy to read. She is funny, interesting and so very hip with the way she writes. If any of you are considering a foray into the world of YA, I couldn't recommend a better book to see what's out there and what is selling hot. Not only did Hyperion use her book to launch a line, but Hollywood came calling also and she just learned this week that the screenwriters have been hired.

Check out her blog for information on the movie as it unfolds. It's a great chance for writers to get an inside peek at what exactly happens from book to screen.

Love You/Kill You

My friend, Ally Carter's, new YA release is out in stores!

I can't tell you enough about this woman's writing ability and sense of humor. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy. Check out Ally's blog and her book!

Creativity

So if you follow me around the blogsphere, you already know I believe creativity is inherent in the bones. I think some people have more of it than other and obviously some people's creativity has a more marketable content, but it is what it is - either you have it or you don't. Kelly Parra recently had a blog about this very thing.

As writers we tend to only think of creativity in terms of art, or perhaps science if you watch educational television much. But what about other applications?

I was listening to my favorite radio show yesterday and they read a very interesting news story. They usually cover the big events and some small odd ones that listeners might find entertaining. This one definitely caught my attention.

Apparently, there is a new method for pairs of thieves to distract women from their wallets. They find mothers with babies in stores and the first thief walks up and tells her something like "that's a fat, ugly baby." The mother, of course, whirls around to defend her precious cargo and in the meantime, the second thief lifts her wallet out of the diaper bag and is gone.

Cruel, you say - well, maybe if the baby WAS fat and ugly. But ultimately, I think it's very, very creative. I mean, seriously, what other words could you utter to better distract a new mother than telling her that her offspring is less than perfect?

I know being robbed is not funny. My husband has gone that route and it's a royale pain, but I had to admire the cleverness of the ploy.

If only people with those kind of minds had the focus, discipline and talent to write books. Might be interesting reading.

What are you?

Busy, busy Friday planned. I have to finish up business at the corporate office, meet a guy to measure for carpet at the old house and start a software conversion at a property this afternoon. If that wasn't enough, this is DARA weekend, so tonight is dinner with visiting author, spend the night at meeting hotel with CP and DARA meeting tomorrow complete with PAN luncheon (my first!)

So I got to thinking about the meeting and I wondered - what kind of person are you - auditory or visual. I think I've decided I'm visual when it comes to learning but auditory other times, which really makes no sense. Essentially, I rarely notice anything around me. I'm simply not paying attention. But when I'm at a workshop, I have trouble paying attention to the speaker - I was the same way in school. But if I'm talking to people casually, I remember everything said down to the exact words and inflection.

Basically I learn best by reading - novels, books on writing technique, etc - and I retain the information far longer than if I heard it in a classroom. So is that visual?

So I guess my question is - what the heck am I? Visual? Auditory? Scycophrenic?

And do you know what you are?

Dueling Laptops

So I've been in software training this week because next week I start converting all our property software to a new one - I won't even go into the fun factor of that one.

And we're training at a CompUSA, so I had to take a little time to check out the laptops. My current laptop I purchased around 2000 (I think). Essentially, it is so old I can't even protect it well if I were to run it on the internet, so I don't. I just use it to write and that's it. But I've really, really been yearning for a newer model. One that I could sit in the living room and answer email while watching American Idol (yes, I'm an Idol junkie) or one that I could take out by the pool and actually see the screen. But with all the house-selling and remodeling, I haven't really found a good reason to part with the money.

On Monday, I found two.

CompUSA had these cool Toshiba laptops on clearance for $469!!!! Can you believe it! Now, I'm sure they won't allow me to make my own movies or launch satellites from space, but remember, I just wanted a web surfing, document writing pc with a wireless capability. So I bought TWO! Now, not only can I roam and computerize at the same time, my husband can too and they'll be no arguing over who gets to use the computer.

For 2005, my deal of the year was a camcorder I got when an electronics store was going out of business. It was regular $950 and we paid $350. I'm pretty sure the laptops will be the deal of this year, but I guess there's a lot more year to come.

I suppose I'll just have to keep shopping and see........

Let's Here It for the Typo

I got my galleys for Rumble last week and they're due back next Thursday, so I'm spending my Good Friday holiday working on my "other" career choice. I got about a hundred pages in and was starting to worry because I hadn't found anything wrong. Then the writer's paranoia set in and I started to wonder "will they think I'm an idiot with no talent if I can't find a mistake" or "what is they purposefully make an error just to see if I'm good enough to catch it" - anyway, that's why I write with mystery elements. It goes with the personality.

So I am very happy and excited to announce - I FOUND A TYPO!

My conscience is clear. I can now go forward with galley proofing and feel that I am indeed, worthy of a published book.

You know, I never really knew just how strange I was until I started writing. We must all be nuts.

Change of Scenery

Good morning everyone!

Thought I'd have a change of scenery on the blog and get some pretty blue going. I liked the parchment thing, but I have news that makes the parchment all wrong -

I've commissioned a new website! Yahoo! No more struggling with html and software that makes me go bald!

It was a hard decision since I am technically an IT junkie - it's part of my day job. And I'm a fairly decent programmer when it comes to financial applications. And I probably could have learned the website building if I'd taken the time to take some classes or read more in the books, but I finally threw in the towel over graphics. I am not an artist - not that kind of artist anyway. And all the websites I really love have these cool or ultra cute custom graphics.

So my new website is underway. Not sure how long it will take to launch, but I will definitely announce it here.

In the meantime, the proposal for Romance #2 is well underway and I actually like the work this time. It's amazing how your humor can return if you're not so danged stressed.

Oh well, off for now - must clean litter boxes.

Tagged!

My friend, Diana, tagged me, so here we go:

Four jobs you've had in your life:
1. Accountant
2. Bank Teller
3. Bartender
4. Lifeguard

Four movies you would watch over and over:
1. Steel Magnolias
2. Twister
3. TLotR
4. When Harry Met Sally

Four places you have lived:
1. Carlyss, Louisiana
2. Carrollton, Texas
3. Garland, Texas
4. Plano, Texas

Four TV shows you love to watch: (note - I barely watch tv so this is not four)
1. American Idol

Four websites you visit daily:
1. My blog
2. Diana's Diversions
3. Agent Kristin
4. Yahoo News

Four places you have been on vacation:
1. Las Vegas
2. Destin, Florida
3. New Orlean, Louisiana
4. Myrtle Beach, SC

Four of your favorite foods:
1. Pizza
2. Hamburger
3. Brownies
4. Beer (hey, it's considered a food group in Texas)

Four places I would rather be right now: (this is easy and requires only one answer)
1. anywhere with a beach

Four friends I am tagging that I think will respond:
1. Kelly Parra (Callihan)
2. Elly (where are you Elly?)
3. sorry, none of my other friends blog.........

Too Stupid to Live

Okay, so as writers we all hear of the heroine (or hero) who is too stupid to live. And it's the absolute death of any book. But what about the living-breathing morons in society?

I had to share this moment. I'm in my office at the day job and listening to the news on the radio when this broadcast comes across: "a man just shot a sixteen year old kid who was trying to rob him as he got into his car after leaving a gun club meeting."

Huh?????

Do you have a too stupid to live story to share?

Rant on Stupidity

Lots has happened in the past week or so and I've been meeting myself coming and going. The Dallas Area Romance Authors hosted their annual Dreamin' in Dallas conference this past weekend and it sold out two months prior! It was a great turnout and I got to spend a lot of quality time (and listening to rude people time) with my enormously talented and wonderfully nice agent, Kristin Nelson. I'm not sure what possesses people at conferences, but apparently some lose their mind. Example -

Kristin and another of her clients, Shanna Swendson, are doing a workshop on Chick Lit. I am moderator. A guy (yes, I said guy) starts with this whole line of questioning on the "educational level" of chick lit readers because, in his words, his wife reads romance and he knows that's fluff.

HUH?! Great way to influence people - in the WRONG way! I was sitting directly in front of him and actually broke an acryllic nail that I'd been picking on when that bit of wisdom came out of his mouth.

Fortunately, Kristin was quick to correct him before a good ole' Texas hanging occurred and one woman quickly ripped the RWA statistics out of her bag and informed him of the educational level of romance readers. What a jerk!

Then he has the absolute nerve to start pitching his book to Kristin after the workshop - IMMEDIATELY after he'd just insulted most of her client list and her own choice (sometimes) of reading material. HELLO!? Is there a brain working in there?

I simply don't understand what he thought he could accomplish. And I'm dismayed that this perception of romance readers and writers persists. I don't get it. Of the woman I know who write - exactly one - ONE - is a stay-at-home mom. But she's been to college and is hardly an idiot and certainly not interested in reading "fluff." The remainder are mostly college level graduates, some advanced degrees and (of the ones I know) highly successful at their careers - most hold upper and executive level management positions.

So what the f?

A piece of advice to all who are attending conferences - don't insult the genre of the conference you're attending. In fact, don't insult any genre. It only makes you look very small.