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Showing posts from June, 2011

Dibs

My hubby and I had an argument of sorts the other day. One which I won because he finally called me a dork and walked away. If you quit the battlefield, you might as well wave a white flag and hand me a handwritten note acknowledging the brilliance of my logic.

Besides, I had the unalienable right of DIBS on my side. HIS dibs. Which he can not take back, no matter how much he might wish he could.

What did we argue about? Well ... we started this disagreement years ago over the salient issue of french fries and ended up two days ago agreeing that I get the next new car we buy.

Mind you, he didn't verbally agree to this new car arrangement, but he did quit the battlefield because in the face of my unassailable logic, he could find nothing to say but "dork." Which isn't very insulting, considering the fact that in the future I will be driving this:

How did we get from french fries to a sexy new Audi? How did my hubby relinquish his right to choose the next new vehicle…
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What You're Worth

This is a post that's been fermenting in my brain for a while, now. And it's partially inspired by a handful of teen book bloggers whom I follow on Twitter and Tumblr, and partially because I wish I'd been able to really hear and internalize this truth when I was younger.

I keep seeing posts that say things like "I wish I was someone's idea of perfect" and "I don't think I matter" and "I've never once felt beautiful." And those things hurt my heart. Because I remember what it felt like to ache for that. I remember how terrible it is to be convinced you could disappear, and no one would ever know the difference. I know what it is to carry a secret weight of failure and shame because you're convinced you don't measure up.

I really don't know if I can put the right string of words together to convince you that you're clinging to lies as if they're your lodestone of truth. You might let it slide in one ear and out …
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Winner of the HOURGLASS necklace!

Thank you to all who entered the drawing for the exclusive HOURGLASS necklace designed by the incredible Tashina Falene. As always, I used random.org to choose the winner. And the lucky winner is

 Nikki
Congratulations!! Please email me your shipping info, and I'll have Tashina send the necklace your way. Didn't win this time? Don't worry. Next week on the blog, YA author Dawn Metcalf takes on the ever dapper Captain Jack Sparrow, and you could win a signed copy of her book LUMINOUS!

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In Which I Nearly Meet My Demise

1. Really? Why would anyone do that to a cat? Poor thing can't show it's ... well, ANY of itself in public without shame for weeks.

2. This week, I don't have any guest posts or interviews, so it's all C.J. all the time.

3. I'll give you a moment to brace yourself.

4. I put on my Twitter bio that I'm a complete klutz.

5. People who only see me on Twitter and never make it over to my blog think I'm joking.

6. Or trying to be modest.

7. YOU know otherwise.

8. And because apparently my epic battle with the printer (and that nefarious instrument of Satan, the office chair), and the time I face-planted into a pile of cardboard boxes just AREN'T ENOUGH for my employees, they've devised a new plan.

9. The super seekrit name of this plan?

10. Kill The Traitor Who Thinks She's Going To Leave Us In One Week.

11. KTTWTSGTLUIOW for short.

12. (As a side note, I just read through some of my old blog posts searching for the links I posted above and I have to…
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Top Five Methods For Deafeating A Horde Of Undead Ducks

Guest post by the hilarious Myra McEntire.


1. Play this. I double dog dare you to watch the whole thing and not have your brain melt from the awesome. But make sure the Undead Ducks watch it, too, or they'll slurp your brain up off the floor.





2. A turkey fryer. They aren't just for Thanksgiving anymore. (Although I don't recommend you eat the duck. Well, unless you shove a chicken inside the duck and then shove the duck inside a turkey. That Paula Deen, she taught me all I need to know about Turducken. And butter. Also cream cheese.)





3. Run them over with a golf cart. Ducks seem to naturally gather around the water hazards on golf courses. I expect if they were looking for BRAAAAIIIIINZZZZZ a golfer would be a good choice ... no wait. Never mind.





4. Flaming arrows. Distance, as well as fire. It's enough to make a Cullen sweat.





5. Show them this. I don't really need to explain, do I? And you can blame C.J. when you need to bleach your brain. She's the one who…
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Contest Winners!

Thank you to all who entered the contests on the blog last week! If you didn't win this time, be sure to check back in this Wednesday when Myra McEntire will post her Top Five list (have you voted for the topic yet? Check the sidebar.) and I will give away a unique necklace made just for HOURGLASS.

Here are the winners for last week's contests:

WINNER OF THE JILL KISMET NECKLACE



The winner of the one of a kind necklace designed for Lilith Saintcrow's Jill Kismet series is:

Jodi Ruschin Congratulations, Jodi! Please respond to the email I sent you with your shipping information, and I'll have the necklace sent to you. Thanks for entering!

WINNER OF THE SIGNED COPY OF HOURGLASS



The winner of the signed hardcover copy of Myra McEntire's HOURGLASS is:

Camille
Congratulations, Camille! Please respond to the email I sent with your shipping information, and Myra will send this out to you. Thanks for entering, and happy reading!

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Harry Potter Trailer & More!

The final trailer for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 has been released, and I'm not going to lie. I get choked up every time I watch this. Maybe because it's the culmination of years of living with these characters like family, eagerly anticipating the next time I could plunge headfirst into their magical world. Maybe because this is the moment where everyone I've grown to love steps up and discovers what they're truly made of. Maybe it's when Tonks and Lupin reach for each other but can't quite connect. Maybe it's all of it, but I'm bringing tissue with me when I see this movie because I am going to be wrecked.



Also? J.K. Rowling just launched a site called Pottermore which links to a youtube page counting down to a huge announcement. Rumor has it, she'll be writing more stories from the Harry Potter world. I know I'll be anxiously waiting to hear!
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Interview With Myra McEntire

I first met Myra when she chased me down the hall at church and said "Hey! I heard you're a writer! I'm a writer too!" Those fateful words began what is now one of my most treasured friendships. BUT, before we became close friends, we met one night at the local bookstore for coffee and writer talk, and I took a look at the first few chapters of HOURGLASS. You know that delicious little tingle you get up your spine when you start reading a book you realize is going to totally rock your socks off?

I got that tingle and in the years since then, through every revision and edit, I haven't lost it. HOURGLASS is funny, heart-wrenching, compelling, sizzling, and unexpected. The plot twists alone will break your brain in all the best ways. And the romance? Um ... YES. And I love that the time-travel is based in quantum physics and that the southern setting actually feels like the South I know. Here's a peek at HOURGLASS:

For seventeen-year-old Emerson Cole, life is ab…
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Pizazzed!

1. It's been FAR too long since I did one of my lists.

2. So much has happened between when I posted my "YAY I SOLD MY BOOK" post and now, so there's a pretty good chance I won't remember most of it.

3. Naturally, the stuff I don't want to remember is indelibly seared into my brain.

4. And, sadly, the brain of one very embarrassed TSA agent at the airport in Sacramento where I left my dignity and a good portion of any residual "Hm, perhaps THIS should be the last straw that sends me over the edge and into a loony bin" thoughts.

5. What was I doing in an airport in Sacramento that cost me my dignity and nearly made a hapless TSA agent walk into a wall?

6. I was traveling home from a mini-vacation to California. With my fifteen-month-old daughter. Just the two of us, a stuffed-to-the-limit diaper bag carry on, and a long security line that failed to keep her adequately interested.

7. Know what a toddler does when she's bored and has decided to …
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Top Five Methods To Determine If You Are A Zombie

Guest post by the always entertaining Lilith Saintcrow.

The zombie apocalypse has struck, but you're prepared. You've done your cardio, you know about the double-tap, and you're cautious in bathrooms. You know not to be a hero until the last quarter of the movie, especially if your partner is Woody Harrelson. But something doesn't seem quite right. You can't quite put your finger on it.


You want to know if you're at risk. Fear not, doughty warrior facing the hordes of undead. Here are five simple methods of determining whether you're a zombie, or at risk of becoming one.

5. Check your appetite! Do spongy, soft, wrinkled, warm human brains sound really good, instead of as disgusting as a politician's sex life? Extra points if you don't even want ketchup/mustard/salt with your hot, steaming, messy brain breakfast. If that didn't make you want to blow chunks, you might be a zombie.



4. Try to run, hop, skip, or dance. If you can only shuffle-shamble (Da…
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Winner of the set of Jill Kismet Books!

Thank you to all who entered the drawing for the set of Lilith Saintcrow's Jill Kismet books. (Along with a HUGE thanks to Lilith for offering a prize worthy of the Were-llama himself!) As always, I used random.org to choose the winner. And the winner is:

Tialessa

Congratulations! You will receive an email from me shortly. Please send me your shipping info so I can pass that along to Lilith. Thanks for entering and happy reading!

Didn't win this time? Don't worry! The majority of you voted for Lilith to post her Top Five Methods To Determine If You Are A Zombie *snicker* and that post goes up tomorrow, along with an awesome giveaway! You could win a one-of-a-kind necklace designed just for Jill Kismet.

Also this week, debut author Myra McEntire takes on Captain Jack Sparrow and gives away a signed copy of her sizzling time travel HOURGLASS!

You don't want to miss either giveaway (and both writers are entertaining like WHOA), so check back in tomorrow to get the party…
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Interview & EPIC Giveaway with Lilith Saintcrow

It's no secret that I adore both the YA and adult books of the talented Lilith Saintcrow. And I'm not alone in this ... her earlier interview consistently ranks among my top ten viewed blog posts. Lilith's books are full of spine-tingling action, edge-of-your-seat suspense, and raw emotion. Her newest book in the Jill Kismet series continues the thrill ride as Jill keeps her enemies closer than her friends in an attempt to defeat the latest awful creature crawling out of the pits of hell to torment the inhabitants of Earth. Here's a peek at the story:
When a new hellbreed comes calling, playing nice isn’t an option. Jill Kismet has no choice but to seek treacherous allies – Perry, the devil she knows, and Melisande Belisa, the cunning Sorrows temptress whose true loyalties are unknown.


Kismet knows Perry and Belisa are likely playing for the same thing–her soul. It’s just too bad, because she expects to beat them at their own game. Except their game is vengeance.


Nobody p…
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