A Christmas Video

Okay, so it's not commercial and it's not spiritual, but it did win an Emmy. If any of you are SNL (Saturday Night Live) fans, you've probably already seen it. If you haven't, then please enjoy this absolutely hilarious rendition of an 80's band singing a song about the perfect Christmas gift for a woman (according to the man, of course). It features Justin Timberlake, who apparently has an enormous sense of humor in addition to being a talented singer.

I couldn't get the embedded object to work, so please take a hop over to this url and watch the video. Enjoy!

I've posted my Christmas animal pics over at Killer Fiction, so check it out and everyone please have a

VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!

On the Run

Late post today - I'm running from job to job trying to finish before our departmental Christmas party. Then I have a cp group meeting tonight (our first official), so yea!

My good friend and fabulous author, Ally Carter, put a post on her blog Monday about self-publishing that I think all aspiring writers should read. So please check it out. I promise, it's worth the time.

See ya tomorrow!

Tuesday Movie Review

Today's movie review is for the new release I AM LEGEND. This movie starred Will Smith (who is one of my favorite actors) so I had high hopes for a good flick. Unfortunately, I came away somewhat disappointed.

The plot of this movie was not outstanding, and while Smith is a great actor, not even a great actor can hold up a movie with a weak plot. The plot was one that has been done - over and over. Some virus escapes and kills most everyone, but those it doesn't kill turn into some sort of monster type creatures. The creatures almost always have issues with sunlight so that the movie can do all the scary night scenes. Then there's the one character (Smith) is is immune to the virus and it's their mission to find the cure, save the world, etc. Not exactly breaking new ground here.

So the plot was weak. The ending sorta hacked me off, first for being anti-climatic and also just annoying. Smith's acting was great but not enough to keep me overly interested in a poorly written script.

My final thoughts: Rent it. Don't pay premium

Cold Monday

Well, it's still cold here in Texas - a new miracle that we've actually had cold weather for almost a week. And in December, imagine that?

Today's my post day over at Killer Fiction, so check it out. Tomorrow I'll be back with a movie review of I AM LEGEND.

Fast Friday

This is going to be a fast Friday post, mainly because I'm running late. You see, last night I came home from work and thought I would relax for a moment. Well, I ended up falling asleep in my chair (hubby was on the couch asleep) and we woke up around eleven. Then of course, I'd slept too long so my body thought it was morning and there was no way I was going back to sleep again - neither was my husband. So we did what any couple who can't sleep and has no kids does at midnight - we went to Walmart to buy Bounce because I ran out last time I did laundry.

Got home and finally went back to sleep around 3, so I'm starting a little late this morning.

Had an interesting thing happen at Starbucks - I was in line at the drivethrough and when I pulled up to the window, the guy said the lady in front of me had paid for my coffee - it was part of a "pass the cheer" campaign they were doing and then he asked me if I wanted to pay for the guy behind me. So I did and found out I was the 12th person in a row to "pass the cheer." Kinda a cool idea. And if you've never seen the movie "Pay It Forward," you should.

Oh well, off to work. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Make Me Laugh

Who doesn't love a good laugh - okay, well maybe depressed people or those martyrs that everyone hates to be around - but for the most part, laughing is therapy. So yesterday, I finished up the class I shouldn't have been teaching and headed back to my desk. I needed a break from people and questions (even though my students were very, very nice). It's just that whole introvert thing. Performing just takes it out of me.

So I'm back at my desk and thinking that I could really use a laugh and something from my past came to mind - The Farting Preacher. Now, if any of you missed seeing this debacle when it made the rounds, I think you should see it now. This yahoo preacher is actually from my area, and even without the gassy add-ins, he's hilarious to watch. So take a peak and see if the farting preacher makes you laugh. I found it yesterday, fired up the headphones and giggled for a good couple of minutes. Felt much better the rest of the day.

So without further ado - The Farting Preacher


Farting Preacher 2 - The funniest bloopers are right here

Short Post

It's a short post today with essentially no content. I am teaching another damn class - yes, I said damn and that's how I feel since I really shouldn't be teaching this class at all. SOMEONE didn't stick to our agreement, and if there's any justice in the world awful, bad things will happen to her.

But anyway, you don't even want to get me started in on bitching this morning or I'll never stop. The bad thing about training is that I had no opportunity to write yesterday morning at all. So this morning I crawled out of bed at 5:00 in order to get some writing done before class. The good news is, I managed 7 pages before having to leave for work! That's a banner day when you consider I only had 2 hours to do it.

So the new book is moving right along, which is good. I haven't bought a single Christmas gift yet, probably bad. And I haven't sent a single Christmas card and probably won't, probably bad. I never seem to have the time. But I swear, now that I'm home permenantly and have next year to work on it, I'm logging people in my new address software so that I can spit out Christmas mailing labels next year and send some card.

What about you? Shopping all done? Christmas cards mailed?

Christmas Hero

Today's my post over at Killer Fiction. It's a very important post today, reminding people of something they sometimes forget during the holiday season, so please check it out.

Back tomorrow!

Fantastic Friday

It's a fantastic Friday here in Texas. Of course, the weather is totally buggy. It's supposed to be 80 degrees here tomorrow - hello? It's December? Then it's supposed to drop to something stupid either Sun/Mon, like in the 40's. It's no wonder you can't shed a cold.

In other great news, I've gotten a proposal for my latest new venture past my agent and she actually said it was "near perfect." Keep your fingers crossed that I have good news to announce in the coming months.

Last night I had an absolutely fabulous time. My good friend and New York Times Bestseller Author (isn't it totally cool to say that?), Ally Carter, was in town for a talk/signing, so we got together for dinner. I haven't seen Ally in a little over two years so it was a lot of catching up, talking about writing, talking about life, talking about most everything as we occupied space at Red Lobster for roughly 4.5 hours. Ally is a wonderful person in addition to being a great writer and very smart, so I really enjoy talking with her. A great time was had by all - hey, there's those yummy biscuits and this cookie stuffed with chocolate served with vanilla ice cream - yum.

Busy weekend for me - I have a lot of tinkering with stuff to do and a little laundry and the big job is cleaning my pool. Not that I'm going to swim but sitting in the hot tub might be nice if we get out of the 80's. :)

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Thursday Morning Movie Review

For the record, I have tried and tried to format this post this morning but blogger apparently wants everything run together in one big messy lump (sigh) Thanks, blogger for making it so difficult to read this blog.

Movie seen - Enchanted.

The story of this movie goes that the princess is in her fantasy land and waiting for love's true kiss from her prince. The prince finds the princess but before they can marry and kiss, his evil step-mother throws the princess down a well and sends her to a place where "there are no happily ever afters." ie New York City

This movie could have been stupid, and it probably should have, but I have to tell you I LOVED IT! And not only did I love it, my husband loved it too! There were times we were both laughing out loud, and Amy Adams, the actress who plays the princess, was absolutely priceless in her portrayal of a Disney princess. She was perfect. If any of you grew up watching Disney movies, then you will definitely appreciate the authenticity the directors and actors achieved in this not-quite-Disney sort of production.

The plot was great and entertaining. The actors were superb and the story kept me laughing. Altogether, it was fantastically done and I highly recommend it.

Check out a movie trailer!

My final review: Might just be my favorite movie this year!

Quick Post and Book Winner

Quick post today - I'm running behind and am mucho busy.

Ann M - you have won a copy of Wendy Robert's REMAINS OF THE DEAD. Please email me your mailing info. And if you'd like for me to hold off sending until you're back in the country, please let me know. My email address is jana (at) janadeleon (dot) com

Tomorrow is movie review of Enchanted. Have a great day, everyone!

Friends with Books

Today is official release day for my good friend and fabulous author, Wendy Roberts!!!!!! Congratulations, Wendy, and here's wishing you mucho sales!

Wendy has conceived a terrific mystery series, featuring a forensic cleaner who sees ghosts. Can't imagine a problem with that setup can you????? Especially when the cleanups she works on features people who didn't exactly leave this world by natural causes.

I have the pleasure of reading this book prior to publication and the priviledge of providing a cover quote and have to say - it's fantastic! Great concept and I totally see this series making it a long, long time.

So without further ado, here's the cover for REMAINS OF THE DEAD. And the series is very cleverly called A GHOST DUSTERS MYSTERY. How cool is that?

I absolutely love the cover.

Did I hook you? Is your interest peaked? Well, I can certainly help you there. Why don't you visit Wendy's website for a peek at an excerpt, or maybe her blog for a peek at Wendy in real life. Or if you just want to buy the book, Barnes and Noble is always happy to oblige.

And just to make things more interesting, I'll be giving away a copy of REMAINS to one lucky blogger. Just post here or at Wendy's blog and I'll announce a winner tomorrow morning. Hey, you can't beat that for a Tuesday morning!

Have a great day everyone!

Happy Monday

It's a bright and beautiful Monday morning! Of course, it's hot again here in Texas - hell, it wouldn't be December if it wasn't 80 degrees at least once. (sigh)

I didn't win at Nano again this year - but I am happy to report that I DID write a little over 25k words for the month which I'm really happy about.

Today's my blog over at Killer Fiction, so check it out.