Artist: Jessica Galbreth

One day I'm going to write a mermaid story. Well, that's not true. I already started writing a mermaid story, but it's not done yet. It would have been perfect for Ellora's Cave Pearl Quickie Theme, but alas, I wrote a Topaz instead.

Anyway, when I saw this rendering, I fell in love with it. The figure seems to me to be remembering, or dreaming, or hoping. The mermaid story I began doesn't feature a hopeful mermaid, though. When my story opens, she's in deep trouble, almost dead from having been held captive by a ruthless human. However, perhaps this painting depicts my mermaid at the end of the story.

The artist is the extremely talented Jessica Galbreth. I wish I could magnify this so I could see all the details. I used to pretend to be a mermaid when I was a little girl. I would swim with my legs together. I would marvel at how beautiful hair was when swirling in water. And I always HATED how the Little Mermaid became sea foam. (Bad, Hans, bad!)

Anyway, have a wonderful weekend. I hope you enjoyed this week's mini art exhibit.

Thursday 3: Groceries

I'm late doing my Thursday 3! All this week, I've been off a day. Tuesday, I thought it was Wednesday. Wednesday I thought it was Thursday. Then, today, I thought it was STILL Wednesday. Can calcium supplements mess with your brain???

Anyway, I find myself at a loss for a topic, so since, I just went to Trader Joes, here are three things I bought there.

1. Mandarin Orange Chicken - This stuff is great. It's frozen and all you do is toss it on a baking tray and bake it. When it's done, you toss it in the sauce you warmed in the microwave. I add white rice and a veggie. Dinner is done!

2. Marinated Wild White King Salmon Fillets - My kids love salmon, but we've never had white salmon before. And I'm not sure they're going to like the marinade, but too bad. Variety is the spice of life.

3. Raw Silvered Almonds - I like to add these to my yogurt to fool myself into believing I'm having a Substantial Filling Breakfast That I Have To Chew. I toast them in the oven to give them extra flavor.

And how cool is this? Because I brought my own reusuable shopping bag, I was entered to win a $25 shopping spree! Neato!

Tea Lattes

As you may know, I work at Starbucks. They recently rolled out a new batch of drinks: the tea lattes. I have always been a coffee person, but once in a while I'll take tea: always with Chinese food, sometimes when I have a sore throat or stuffed up sinuses, but never with milk. Yuck. So, these new drinks--the London Fog Tea Latte, the Vanilla Rooibos Tea Latte, and the Black Tea Latte--are not my favorite beverages on the Starbucks menu. (Although if we're going to talk SMELLS, the Vanilla Rooibos tea bags smell AMAZING! I want someone to bottle that as bubble bath. I'd buy a gazillion gallons of it.)

They also have two other new drinks--the Berry Chai Infusion and the Apple Chai Infusion. I like both of them, and they both come iced or hot. I like the BCI cold. The ACI tastes a lot like mulled apple cider, which I like. (I just realized I've never had that with whipped cream, and I bet that's pretty tasty.)

So, out of the five new drinks, I would highly recommend the Berry Chai, iced.

Economizing

Times are tough. I'm always looking for ways to cut back and recently we eliminated our monthly Arrowhead water delivery and replaced it with a PUR water dispenser. By doing so we're saving $190 over the course of a year. :)

Do you have any tips for me on how to save in other areas?

An Example of My Strangeness

I was in the Romance Diva chatroom recently and we were discussing various birds. We discovered this definition: "kestrel," 1674, from wind (n.) + hover; so called from the bird's habit of hovering in the wind. An earlier name for it was windfucker (1599).

We thought that was hilarious. I thought it sounded like a perfect name for a Dances With Wolves type erotic romance. So, here is a blurb I worked up for this fictitious fiction.

Windfucker’s Destiny

Windfucker is a spirit breed, born to blend with the night, sleep with the shadows. Throughout eternity he’d been content with his lot. Until Mariah swoops into his life. All of a sudden, his desire for night’s shadows disappear and all he wants is to claim Mariah as his own, drive himself into her body until she sings with pleasure.

Unfortunately, she's a bird.

Beautiful, fragile. And not of his species.

And with that pointy beak, she would never be able to give him the head he so desperately wanted.

But the moment he hears her warble the spirit breed mating call he can't help himself. Ancient instinct takes over and he finds himself driven to dig up worms and scatter seed for her. He spends hours, naked, flapping his arms about in a dance designed for her pleasure. All this he does in the name of love, a force much greater than evolutionary taboos. But is it enough? Can Windfucker truly forgo fellatio for the rest of his life?

As for Mariah, she can’t understand the strange pull this creature has on her. What she does understand is he provides her with food on a regular basis and if she could just get him to stand still, she could feast on the very fat worm that dangled from his body so enticingly.

Will these star-crossed lovers overcome their differences and find happiness, or are they trapped by cruel Fate, doomed players in a cross-species, Bobbitt-like tragedy?

This book is not available for purchase and never will be. LOL

Artist: Peter Callesen

Happy Art Friday! This week I'm featuring an outstanding paper artist named Peter Callesen. We've all enjoyed pop-up books. This is like that, but insanely better!











This first piece is called Down the River (2005). In the first shot, you see how the piece appears from a distance. In the second photograph, you get the close up of the water. Isn't it beautiful? I can imagine how difficult it must have been to design that river so that the part that hung didn't fall apart. Lastly, you see the tiny boat, which hit me like a surprise ending in a book.


Next is a piece called Eismeer (2006). The only materials used are paper and glue.




Finally, here is On the Other Side (2006). This amazing piece of work is cut and folded from one giant piece of paper. Amazing, huh? I think I like the up-the-creek-without-a-paddle one the best. Here's where you can find more of his work. Have a great weekend!

Thursday 3: Juvenile Fiction

Someday I plan to write for kids. That's how I started writing seriously. I wrote a story intended to be a picture book. I was so green, I think I submitted it to a publisher without a cover letter. But it occurs to me that to make my mark in history, I should write something for kids. If a children's book becomes really popular, it never goes out of print. When kids grow up, they end up buying it for their kids.

Anyway, I went off on a tangent. I mean to give a list of three series that I have enjoyed.


1. The Vampire Plagues by Sebastian Rook. These were fantastic, historical fiction that was somewhat gruesome. But that's to be expected when you're dealing with vampires. My boys loved these books.



2. Molly Moon's Incredible Book of Hypnotism, by Georgia Byng. How can you not buy this book when there's this wacky pug dog on the cover? While the book starts out with a cliche--an orphan in an orphange where she is unhappy--it veers away from that soon enough in unexpected twists and turns.

3. Lastly, there are the Artemis Fowl Books by Eoin Colfer. If you have boys, they must read these books. They've got Bond-like gadgets, magic, fart jokes, and a young anti-hero who is very flawed, but for who you can't help but root for.

Do you ever read children's fiction on your own? Got any recommendations for me?

Words Per Minute

As a writer, I've become a pretty fast typist. I was curious to see just how fast I was, so I took a test. 89 WPM. Not bad. I kind of remember it being about 40 or 50 when I was in high school. I still can't type the numbers without looking, though.

If you're curious, here's the test I took. What's your speed? :)

Recipe: Apple Pear Galette

From one of my favorite magazines, Real Simple, comes this recipe that I made last Friday for my group of scrapbooking friends. It really appealed to me because it uses store-bought pie crusts. I would reduce the amount of ginger by at least half, but then, I'm not a ginger girl. A little goes a long way with me.

Apple Pear Galette

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, plus more for the surface
2 9-inch refrigerated piecrusts
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons apricot preserves
3 Empire, Gala, or Cortland apples, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
3 Bartlett pears, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
1 large egg, beaten

Heat oven to 350° F. On a lightly floured surface, place one piecrust on top of the other and roll the stack into one 16-inch circle. Transfer to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread 1/4 cup of the preserves on the crust, leaving a 2-inch border.

In a large bowl, toss the apples, pears, flour, lemon juice, ginger, cinnamon, and 3 tablespoons of the sugar. Transfer to the crust, leaving the border clear. Fold the edges of the crust over the fruit mixture.

Brush the egg on the crust and sprinkle with the remaining teaspoon of sugar. Bake until the crust is golden brown and the fruit is tender, 50 to 60 minutes.In a small saucepan, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of preserves and 1 tablespoon water over medium heat until liquid, 2 to 3 minutes. Brush on the fruit. Serve warm or at room temperature.

To Bring It: The galette can be made one day ahead; just cover it tightly with plastic wrap. To prevent it from sliding around on the serving plate, dab some preserves in the center of the plate before placing the galette on top.Yield: Makes 8 servings


NUTRITION PER SERVING: CALORIES 378; FAT 15g (sat 6g); CHOLESTEROL 36mg; CARBOHYDRATE 59g; CALORIES FROM FAT 35%; SODIUM 210mg; PROTEIN 3g; FIBER 3g; SUGAR 27g

Question: Which Flicks Have You Seen?

This is a list of the top 100 movies ever made according to the American Film Institute. I've marked the thirty-three I've seen. How many have you seen? Do you feel like you SHOULD see more of them?

And I can't believe Raiders of the Lost Ark is not on the list. WTF?

1. CITIZEN KANE (1941)
2. CASABLANCA (1942)
3. THE GODFATHER (1972)
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
7. THE GRADUATE (1967)
8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
9. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
10. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)

11. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
13. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
14. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
15. STAR WARS (1977)
16. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
17. THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)
18. PSYCHO (1960)
19. CHINATOWN (1974)
20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
21. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)
22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
23. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
24. RAGING BULL (1980)
25. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
26. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
27. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
28. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
29. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
30. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
31. ANNIE HALL (1977)
32. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
33. HIGH NOON (1952)
34. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
35. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
39. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
40. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
42. REAR WINDOW (1954)
43. KING KONG (1933)
44. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)
45. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)
46. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
47. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
48. JAWS (1975)
49. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
50. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
51. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
52. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
53. AMADEUS (1984)
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
55. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
56. M*A*S*H (1970)
57. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
58. FANTASIA (1940)
59. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
60. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
61. VERTIGO (1958)
62. TOOTSIE (1982)
63. STAGECOACH (1939)
64. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
65. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
66. NETWORK (1976)
67. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962)
68. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)
69. SHANE (1953)
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
71. FORREST GUMP (1994)
72. BEN-HUR (1959)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
74. THE GOLD RUSH (1925)
75. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
77. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
78. ROCKY (1976)
79. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
80. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
81. MODERN TIMES (1936)
82. GIANT (1956)
83. PLATOON (1986)
84. FARGO (1996)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)
86. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
87. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
88. EASY RIDER (1969)
89. PATTON (1970)
90. THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)
91. MY FAIR LADY (1964)
92. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)
93. THE APARTMENT (1960)
94. GOODFELLAS (1990)
95. PULP FICTION (1994)
96. THE SEARCHERS (1956)
97. BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
98. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
99. GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967)
100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)

Artist: Dave Levinston

I think these photographs are simply beautiful. The artist is Dave Levinston. Check out more of his work at his website.

The contrast between the woman's nude figure and the natural background (a bayou in Louisiana) is striking. I can't help but wonder how uncomfortable she must have been, wedged up against that bark. But one must suffer for art, I suppose!

About his female nudes, Levinston has this to say, "I photograph the female figure for many reasons. I believe the female body is the original aesthetic object, the source of all our ideas of what is beautiful. Therefore, the female figure provides the perfect subject matter to explore all the concerns of contemporary art, just as it has been an important subject since the beginning of art."

Here is another photograph of his. In this one the woman goes almost unseen. But in both, I just love how the setting and the figure complement each other so well.

Which do you like better?

Thursday 3: Favorite Fruits

Like everyone, I should eat more fruits and veggies. Here are my three favorite fruits.

1. Papaya - I love this with lemon. I remember eating this for the first time in Hawaii at my dad's suggestion. Too bad it smells like smelly feet.

2. Kiwi - I even like the crunchy seeds.

3. White peaches - Yum. Regular peaches--okay. WHITE peaches--OMG. Delish!

Manly Thoughts #1

"Okay, who switched Krazy Glue for my hair gel?

Name that Actor #2

Here are several roles played by one actor. Who is it?

Rob Ackerman (2008)

Richard Hoover (2006)

Captain Amazing (1999)

Simon Bishop (1997)

If you need a hint, in chronological order, the movies are: As Good As It Gets, Mystery Men, Little Miss Sunshine, and Baby Mama.

5 Letters Game #1

I saw this game on the Liquid Silver Books forum and it's fun, so I thought I'd give it a try on my blog. I post five random letters and you try to construct a sentence with words that begin with each letter.

Example: URFPL

Understanding roles fuels personal lubrication.

You then offer five different letters for someone else.

This week's letters: YJMSN

Artist: Bruno Torfs

How quickly Friday arrives! If you are a regular visitor, you know I feature some art every Friday. I think it may hearken back to when I was in grade school and Friday was always art day. Anyway, this week I'm displaying some sculpture that is part of one of the most amazing gardens in the world.

According to Bruno Torf's website:
"Bruno Torfs created a sculpture garden that he would run as a permanent attraction, open to the public in Marysville, Australia.... The garden began with just fifteen life sizes terracotta sculptures, but today there are over one hundred and fifteen pieces on display and Bruno is still making regular additions. The unique experience of the garden and its wondrous inhabitants attracts thousands of visitors a year. Bruno and the family still live there and always take great pleasure in being able to share their magnificent art treasure with all that come."

I would love to visit this garden, but I doubt I'll ever visit Australia. At least there's the Internet. If you'd like a virtual tour, go to brunosart.com. Have a terrific weekend.

Thursday 3: 2009 Books To Write

Every Thursday, as part of a popular meme, many people blog a list of thirteen items. I only do three. Sue me.

For this year's first Thursday 3, I'm listing three books that I have yet to write.

1 and 2. The third and fourth books in my Be-Wished series for Ellora's Cave. Three friends made wishes on woven bracelets, and in each book their wish is granted by Davina, a wacky wish fairy. The third book is about half done. It centers around Livvy, the third friend. Her wish goes awry in many, hopefully funny, ways.

The fourth book belongs to Davina, the wish fairy. I've been dying to write this book. Davina is probably the most eccentric character I've ever created. It's going to be so exciting to see where she'll take me. If you've read the first two Be-Wished books, you can probably tell who the love of her life will be.

3. Finally, I'd like to write another tale set in the world I created for Secrets of the Jin-Hakku. The Shinwa culture was so much fun to romp around in, that I feel compelled to revisit it. I have a rough idea about someone involved in horses, someone with long, straight, coal black hair. Remember that Indian character in Dances With Wolves, Wind in His Hair? I loved that guy. I loved his hair.

Or, I also want to write something for the 2010 Ellora's Cavemen Anthology. Those need to be 15K and simple. If I can think of an idea between now and summer, I may tackle this, too.

So I guess this was a Thursday 4, after all.

Scared of Software

I recently bought Dreamweaver CS4 so that I could update my own website. I have yet to open the package because I'm a-skeered. I am so ignorant of html-ish stuff, but I feel silly about that fear. What's the worst that could happen? It's hard? Pfft. Trial and error. That's how I learned how to use Microsoft Publisher.

Okay. I just opened the package. There are just disks. No manual. I'm hoping there are tutorials. I'm actually praying there are tutorials. If there is a God, He'll have made them include tutorials.

I just inserted the disk, but it wants me to close all my programs before installing. So, I won't be doing that now. I have some more blogging to do. But at least I opened the package! LOL

Top Eight of 2008

I am squeeing today because over at Liquid Silver Books, they compiled a list of the Top Eight Bestsellers of 2008 and my Hostile Takeover made the list! I'm still sort of in shock over how well that's been selling.

Because many publishers don't offer stories of forced consent, I suspect that there is a large contingent of readers who, when they find these types of stories, snap them up because they're so rare.

As I say in the blog sidebar, this story is not for the faint of heart. Rockwell, the "hero," is a selfish bastard. He takes what he wants, when he wants it. If you like your fictional heroes demanding, arrogant, but redeemable, try Hostile Takeover. If you get squicky about a heroine being taken forcefully after giving dubious consent, skip this tale.

So, I think that one of my goals for 2009 will be to write another forced consent story.

Blog Love Meme

My good friend, Robin Bielman, gave me this award, and I'm so excited about it. Not only is it a cute award (and it totally suits Robin herself), it means I'm not blogging every day to no one. My trusty Robin can be depended upon to come visit so my efforts are not a total waste of time. Every blogger should have a Trusty Robin.

Trying to pay it forward, I'm going to award this to other people, whose blogs I love.

1. Evie Byrne is a friend and fellow erotic romance author. Her recent release Dante's Inferno, I absolutely LOVED. The humor in that book was so wry, it had me, literally (ha! what a pun) laughing out loud. The historical Venetian setting, the artistic aspect, the wonderful description...I would highly recommend the book to anyone.

Anyway, she has an equally fantastic blog, but it's not for virgin eyes. It's dedicated to erotic art. Everytime I go there I'm entertained or educated, or both!

2. Another blog I really like is Risky Regencies. It's a group blog that is so packed with all sorts of Regency stuff. Going there can feel like time-travelling straight to England. Pip pip!

3. Lastly, I'll admit it--I'm a fantasy/sci-fi nerd. One of my very favorite books of recent years is NAME OF THE WIND by Patrick Rothfuss. So immersed was I in his world that even after I finished this book, I remained mesmerized for several days. It is THAT GOOD. This book will be a classic for, like, forever. Anyway, to my delight, he's a regular blogger and is so so so so funny. I can usually count on him to bring a smile to my face. And he's also very real. Like a normal person. He eats junk food. He uses the f-word on his blog. He squees over fan mail, of which he gets a ton. I just love the guy. I can't wait for the next book in the series. So, read the book and visit the blog.

Artist: John Cerney

Welcome to the first Art Friday in my new blog location!

Dig this guy's work. He paints BIG. Really big.

The work to the right is Farmer & Irrigator, 1995, commissioned by a man who wanted to pay tribute to his agricultural labor force. There were ten figures altogether. The farm is in Salinas, oddly, the place my own dad was born and raised.

I like how down to earth Cerney seems on his website. He calls his work "Giant Cut Out Art." I think it's cool and unique. I'm sure I even saw some of it in Monterey along Cannery Row. Next time I'm there, I'll be sure to seek it out on purpose.

Have a fantastic 2009 weekend!

The Renaissance!

Happy New Year! And welcome, welcome, welcome! I finally got my blog to match my website, thanks to Lexy at Amberwing Design! I think it's the bees knees.

I look forward to my third year of blogging. I started on January 18, 2007, and since then I've been pretty consistent posting Monday through Friday. :) Trends in my blogging have come and gone. I used to interview authors and review Woman's World magazine stories, but both of those features took too much time. Blogging probably still takes up too much of my time, but not enough that I want to stop. Someday I'll make it big and my rabid fans will want to go back and read what I posted way back when.

You're probably not a rabid fan of mine, but I'm sure you're a rabid fan of something! What is it?