Also

In my continuing quest to take over the Internet one blog site at a time, I've been interviewed by Jabba the Cat over on Wanton Acts of Writing. It's possible duct tape, rum, and ninjas were mentioned.

It's also possible I got a tad snarky in the comment trail.

Against Wordpress.

Who thinks it's funny to mess with a stiletto-wearing ninja.

It's ON.

Interview With Helen Scott Taylor

I'm thrilled to have my fellow Pixie Helen Scott Taylor on the blog today. Helen writes paranormal books steeped in Celtic lore, suspense, and magic. You'll fall in love with both her characters and the rich world they inhabit. If you love fairies, action, and sizzling romance, you'll love her books! When Helen agreed to be interviewed on the blog with her latest release, THE PHOENIX CHARM, I was thrilled! Here's a peek at THE PHOENIX CHARM:

Respectable wise woman Cordelia restrains her secret water nymph sensuality with the Celtic symbols painted on her skin. But Michael’s powerful fairy glamour leaves her breathless, off balance, struggling for control. When Gwyn ap Nudd, the Welsh King of the Underworld, steals away Michael’s infant nephew, Cordelia must work with him to save the child. But how can she trust her instincts with Michael tempting her to explore the hidden elemental depths of her nature and insisting that she believe in the power of…The Phoenix Charm.

Helen chose to be interviewed by that rum-swilling gentleman, Captain Jack Sparrow.

Captain Jack Sparrow



Helen Scott Taylor



Now that you know who's who, let's dive into the interview and reveal the beautiful cupcake my hubby made for Helen. Since a Phoenix charm is central to her story, my hubby recreated that charm on a cupcake. Without further ado, I give you the cupcake and Helen's interview with Captain Jack.



1. Would you classify yourself as a pirate or a member of Her Majesty’s Royal navy? Why?

I am definitely a member of HM Royal Navy. I’ve always been scared of breaking the law and getting into trouble so I wouldn’t have the guts to be a pirate.

2. Breaking the law can be exhilarating, my dear. Especially when the law is particularly stupid. I may have to broaden your horizons. We'll start with a short trip to one of my favorite places. What’s your favorite thing to do in Tortuga?

The place must have a rich and interesting history and there’s nothing I enjoy more than exploring historical buildings.

3. *squints at you* Exploring historical buildings? Of course, darling. We can do that. Let's just be sure the Rum Depository is on the list of buildings we explore. I’m offering you free passage aboard my ship to anywhere in the world. Where shall we go, love?

My mother was born in Ceylon, which we now know as Sri Lanka, so I’d love to visit there. I’m sure there will be rich pickings for you as Ceylon is known as the Jewel box of the Indian Ocean

4. Now you're speaking my language! Who is the hero of your story most like: me (savvy, debonair, and unquestionably smooth with the ladies), the insufferably honorable Will Turner, or that deceptive little minx Elizabeth?

Savvy, debonair and smooth with the ladies exactly sums up Michael, my hero in The Phoenix Charm. Like you, he loves to enjoy life and leave someone else to sort out the problems if he can.

5. Sounds like a man of excellent character. Rum? Or more rum?

Diet coke for me, I’m afraid. Or I might be persuaded to drink a little wine if I’m celebrating a special occasion.

6. Every day with me is a special occasion, love. Which leads me to the age old question: Why is the rum always gone?

The problem is that if you drink too much of it, you forget where it went.

7. Oh, I know where it went. I just don't understand why we don't have MORE. What’s the most piratish thing you’ve ever done?

I’m a dedicated member of HM Royal Navy so I uphold the law at all times. (That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.)

8. You know, my darling, that sounds like a challenge to me. Perhaps I should take on the task of breaking you of your deplorable law-abiding ways. Here's a test: Are they rules? Or more like guidelines?

Some rules are bendy. You have to give them a push to find out.

9. You see? You aren't so law-abiding after all. *winks* I can always sense a woman's inner pirate. I understand you’re a story-teller. Any undead monkeys in your stories?

Funny you should ask that…I don’t have an undead monkey, but I do have a fire-breathing monkey in my next story.

10. Lovely. As if an undead monkey wasn't bad enough. *shudders* Any curses in your story? Heartless monsters? Irritating women who insist on taking matters into their own hands?

All of the above and lots more dastardly creatures and honorable heroes.

11. Sounds like my kind of story! Perhaps one of your dastardly creatures could be called Jack? One of my favorite words is “egregious.” Care to share one of yours, love?

Indubitably—one of my characters said that just the other day.

12. I admire your character's perspicacity. Parlay? Or draw your sword?

Parlay, without a doubt. I run a mile from conflict.

13. Run away to fight again another day, I always say. Speaking of running, you’ve got a crowd of cursed sailors and a nasty sea monster on your trail. How do you escape?

Have a mythic god throw down a lightning bolt. What’s a little divine intervention between friends?

14. *glances around uneasily* You're on speaking terms with a mythic god, are you my dear? Perhaps you should put in a good word for me. Just in case. Romantic night in? Or adventure on the high seas?

I like blending genres so I think romance on the high seas might be fun.

15. I like the way you think. My personal motto is: Take what you want, give nothing back. What’s yours?

Make your own destiny.

Thank you, Helen, for the fun interview! To learn more about Helen and to read excerpts of her books, head to her website. Of course, the fun isn't over yet. Helen is giving away a signed copy of THE PHOENIX CHARM to one of my lucky commenters. Here's how to enter:

How to Enter:

1. Earn entries:

*Comment on this post with a question or comment for Helen = 1 entry

*Be a follower of this blog = 3 entries

*Tweet the link to this interview = 3 entries (Use @cjredwine or leave url to tweet in your comment so I can see it.)

*Post the contest on your blog = 3 entries (Include link in your comment.)

*Post a link on your Facebook status = 3 entries (Include link in comment.)


2. Tally it up: Please tally up your entries and leave the total in your comment.


3. Check back: The contest is open until 8 p.m. Saturday, July 17th. Please check back to see if you've won and to claim your prize!

I'm All Over The Web

Today, I've taken over Myra McEntire's blog while she's held hostage by the Revision Duck Mafia. Go forth, my minions, and comment freely!

Also, I posted the writing workshop schedule for August and September which includes a plotting workshop (NOT synonymous with brainwashing writers into One Right Way To Plot, but definitely synonymous with teaching writers basic story structure, equipping them with various tools, and spending an hour one on one brainstorming their plot.) and a query workshop.

I've also answered interview questions for two other bloggers and will let you know when those interviews go live. You should know I threaten cannibalism in one of them.

Death Is On Its Way

1. So last week I was a terrible blogger.

2. I have good reason, though. Being kidnapped and held for ransom by rogue were-platypi isn't exactly the easiest experience to endure.

3. All those webbed feet! All those chattering beaks!

4. I got tired of waiting for ransom to arrive and fought my way to freedom with the clever use of tongs, a Bette Midler cd, and duct tape.

5. Worked like a charm.

6. I forgot to keep my personalities in their separate cages last week at work. (I tone it down A LOT at work. They don't think so. They think I'm hilariously funny but relatively normal. They don't realize I've rejected the first three responses that came to mind because, yanno, I'm at work and most people there wouldn't know what to do in a conversation about Zombie Goats or Were-llamas.)

7. Also, they don't realize I'm a ninja.

8. But, whatever.

9. Anyway, I forgot and made an off-hand comment to a group of new employees wherein I threatened them all with Belly-button Plague if they broke one of our important policies.

10. No one laughed.

11. One of them stared at me like she'd never seen a creature quite like me before and couldn't decide whether to pat me on the head or run.

12. One of them gave clear indications that he was seconds away from calling in the men in little white coats to take me to a nice padded cell.

13. The other took notes.

14. Took. Notes.

15. Thankfully, I remembered my separate personality cages before I gave a pithy, possibly snarky observation on the note taking.

16. Spastic Kitten got a cold last week. This entailed a visit to the vet.

17. The vet and the technician fell all over themselves to exclaim over SK. Calling her sweetheart and such a beautiful girl.

18. I mean, yeah, she's beautiful. But so is a full-grown jaguar. Doesn't mean we should be fooled into cuddling something programmed to rip out our jugulars.

19. The vet, however, had zero problem scruffing SK and delivering a dose of oral medicine. She then sent me home with instructions to do the same twice a day.

20. The first time was easy because SK wasn't expecting it. The problem with sociopathic beasts, however, is that they learn.

21. It now takes three of us to pin her down and even then, we all come close to losing limbs we'd much rather keep.

22. I've re-written the beginning of Asylum four times now and think I'm happy enough with it to move on for now. This is a nice improvement over the six times I rewrote the beginning of Casting Stones and the 7 times for Shadowing Fate and the I-refuse-to-put-this-number-in-print times for my first novel.

23. I really like the voice for Abbie, the story-teller for Asylum. She's VERY different from Lilli (story-teller for Casting Stones) and that's a good thing. I like my characters to be fully-formed people, not teaspoon-deep caricatures of each other.

24. We saw Despicable Me last week and LOVED it. It's both hilarious and has heart.

25. This week, we're going to see The Sorcerer's Apprentice. I've been looking forward to this movie so much, I'm giddy.

26. I have an author interview up for this Wednesday and just realized I'd better bake some cupcakes today.

27. I know some boys who will be thrilled about that.

28. And now (just NOW), Spastic Kitten ran up to one of the boys who helped hold her down this morning and scratched him across the thigh.

29. I fear I'm next.

30. Tell the world I fought bravely.

Happy Weekend!

Help! The Were-platypi have me!

I've been abducted by a rogue band of chopstick wielding wereplatypi! They've held me hostage for days, hence the reason I haven't been able to blog.

Please send a pan of lemon bars as ransom so I can resume blogging soon!

Winner: Sarah Rees Brennan Giveaway!

Before I announce the winner of the signed copy of DEMON'S LEXICON by Sarah Rees Brennan (that undergarment-wearing, nun-crushing instigator of the highly secretive Butter Incident!), I have to say the commenters did NOT make it easy on me. Why?

Because the first number to pop up belonged to the Adult Diaper spammer (I guess you mention undergarments enough in a post and you're really just bringing it on yourself.). The next one belonged to someone who opted out of the giveaway because she already owned the book. The next one belonged to someone who ALSO opted out of the giveaway for the same reason.

It was at this point that I realized I'd neglected to make my customary spreadsheet. We'll chalk that one up to a long day in the sun after a week of too little sleep, shall we?

Once I had my spreadsheet with all the qualifying entries tallied, it was simple! With no further ado, the winner of the signed copy of DL is red_reaper! Since you left me your email in the comments, I'll send you notification soon. :)