Author Interview: Amylynn Bright

Here are the interview questions for Ashley Ladd’s blog:




Today my guest author is Amylynn Bright. Please welcome her and I won't mind if you deluge her with questions and comments. I don't think she'll mind, either.

Ashley: Why do you write (erotic) romance?

Amylynn: No – not erotic but I definitely enjoy a good sex scene and I think there are a few of those in my work.

Ashley: What romance subgenres do you write in? Why?

Amylynn: I really gravitate to historicals, but Out of Heaven is a contemporary/paranormal. My other novella, The Sea Rose, is a pirate story from 1700s. I think its fun to recreate a world of such romance and style.

Ashley: Are you aware of any themes that run through your stories? If so, what are they?

Amylynn: I don’t know of any themes – at least none that I’ve found. But you know how it is with your own work. You can never see the forest for the trees. I guess the only thing I can think of is romance and redemption.

Ashley: What would you like readers to take away from your stories?

Amylynn: A sense of fun. I really enjoy writing comedy and I hope that my dialogue represents that – The Sea Rose, my pirate story also out with Wicked Ink Press, more than Out of Heaven shows my comedy side.

Ashley: What inspires your stories?

Amylynn: Everything. I can make up an entire plot from a song on the radio.

Ashley: Will you be attending any book or writing conferences this year? If yes, which ones? Where and when?

Amylynn: I don’t see how my schedule will allow for any conferences this year. Disappointing, but hopefully next year my schedule will be more lax.

Ashley: Do you have any book signings or author appearances coming soon? If yes, where and when?

Amylynn: No signings yet – it’s hard to do that when you’re e-published! However, anyone that wants me to autograph their computer monitor or e-reader, let me know. I’d be happy to.

Ashley: What is your writing schedule?

Amylynn: I write best late at night. In fact, I’m answering these questions at 12:05 on a Sunday night.

Ashley: Do you have any other passions besides writing? If yes, what are they? Why?

Amylynn: I’m a marathon reader. It’s a disease. I’m never, ever without a book. God forbid I should have to wait in a line or sit through two stop lights without a book.

Ashley: What is the best memory?

Amylynn: I’m going to have to go with Disneyland. Some of my very best memories come from there. My grandmothers took me when I was 4. I took my husband-to-be there as an audition for the role of my husband (he had no idea but he passed). My kids have been there 4 times already and they are 5 & 7.

Ashley: What is your favorite comfort food?

Amylynn: Dessert! Cupcakes and cookies and oh the list is endless. Oddly I also love breakfast cereal. I ate 6 or 7 bowls of it a day both times when I was pregnant.

Ashley: What relaxes you?

Amylynn: Reading. See above.

Ashley: What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Amylynn: Reading and book shopping. I’m telling you I need a twelve step program.

Ashley: What decade has been your favorite? Why?

Amylynn: To live? I’m gonna say 2000 so far. That’s when I got married and had my kids. They all make my life crazy but I secretly love it. To write, I’d say 1810. Regency is so romantic.

Ashley: What is your favorite way to promote?

Amylynn: I’m so new to all this I don’t know. I’m just gonna roll with the punches.

Ashley: Where is your favorite place to write? Why?

Amylynn: I write at my desk with an action movie on in the back ground. My family is asleep and the dog is snoring. Ahhhhhhhh. Nice.

Ashley: What is your favorite fairy tale? Why?

Amylynn: I’ve always been partial to Sleeping Beauty. Maybe it’s because I never get enough sleep.

Ashley: What was your favorite vacation?

Amylynn:  I’ll bet you’re going to guess Disneyland aren’t you. I’m not sure though. My honeymoon in the Caribbean was gorgeous. I also took my husband to Kauai and that was magical.

Ashley: If you had another career, what was it?

Amylynn: I’m in mortgages. Its soul crushing and miserable. Writing is MUCH better.

Ashley: If you didn’t write, what would you do instead?

Amylynn: Reading. Or playing with my kids. Probably pouting.

Ashley: If you could have one wish, what would it be?

Amylynn: I really should say something like world peace, but I’m not in a pagent, so I’ll be selfish. I guess it would be Salma Hayek’s body but while still being allowed to eat all the desserts I want.

Ashley: If you could describe yourself in only one word, what would it be?

Amylynn: Silly or maybe sarcastic. Depends on my mood I guess.

Ashley: Who is your favorite American Idol contestant this year? Why? (only if you watch the show)

Amylynn: This was the first year I didn’t watch. I’m a bigger fan of Project Runway and The Amazing Race.

Ashley: Are you a cat or dog person? Do you have any pets and if so, please tell us about them.

Amylynn: I love both, but I’m probably a dog person. I’ve never been dogless in my life. We have a cat – Geddy – a giant orange tabby and a coonhound/bloodhound mix names Rosco. I’m certain he’s the stupidest dog on the planet. I write about his antics on my blog all the time.

Ashley: What is the one thing you most want to do that you haven’t yet?

Amylynn: Besides have my novel published? Go to Europe – especially Italy: Rome, Venice, Milan.

Ashley: Please tell us about your most recent release and where we can purchase it.

Amylynn: Both of my novellas, Out of Heaven and The Sea Rose are available at www.wickedinkpress.com. Hop on over and pick them up. You’ll have fun.

Ashley: Please give us your urls and your publisher’s url.

Amylynn: My blog is www.thequillsisters.com and my personal web site is www.amylynnbright.com. My publisher is www.wickedinkpress.com.

I want to thank Amylynn for being with us. Keep reading. The excerpt to her book is below.

Out of Heaven


By Amylynn Bright

Genre: Paranormal Romance

PUBLISHER: Keith Publications

ISBN: 978-1-936372-00-3

AUTHOR’S KP WEB PAGE: http://www.keithpublications.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=56:amy-bright&catid=40:amy-bright&Itemid=60

BUY LINKS: http://www.wickedinkpress.com/product_info.php?products_id=30&osCsid=37bba22722f845de0018e8de0db1a3c0

http://www.dinkwell.com/product_info.php?products_id=32

BLURB: The Archangel Gabriel is going to Earth to win the woman he has loved for eons. He is confident that it won't be that difficult... but, he only has one day to meet her and make her fall in love with him. She's been hurt before and he finds that she's not exactly a pushover. And as if he needed a further challenge, there are mischievous demons trying to keep them apart.


EXCERPT: The instant he left her, a screaming infant under the bright lights in a modern hospital room, he return and demanded an interview with Michael.

"I'm going. You know the love I have with her is different. One life is all I want. I have watched her leave me and return for eons, and this time I'm going whether you approve or not."

Michael studied Gabriel. "Oh Gabriel ….Why do you want to go? Humans are only mortal. They are lesser beings than our kind."

"As you say," Gabriel nodded, "but, humans are also more than you give them credit for. Otherwise, she would not be compelled to return back there, especially not after the last horrid life. Why would a soul willfully return to pain unless the passion is more than you or I can imagine?"

Michael deliberated. Gabriel spoke with such ferocity, making it difficult not to consider his request and, being a warrior himself, Michael could appreciate his friend putting up a fight for what he wanted. Michael sat forward in his chair, steepled his fingers, and gazed at the other Archangel.

“What you ask is too dangerous, Gabriel.” Michael shook his head. “There’s no way to predict what could happen. Once they hear you’re down there . . . we couldn’t protect you.”

“I’m willing to accept the risk.”

“I’m glad to hear you are, but I’m not sure I want to accept the risks with you.”

Gabriel sighed in frustration. “Please allow me the chance. Just one life with her. I want to hold her with my arms and make love to her the way mortal men can."

After a long silence, Michael sat back in his chair, his polished armor gleaming in the ethereal light from the Astral Plane, and nodded. "One life. But, due to the risks, there will be rules and conditions."

"Anything."

"You have one earth cycle to entice the mortal woman to fall in love with you, true love. And you may not reveal your identity to her under any circumstances." Michael paused, probably for effect. He was not only the most powerful Archangel, but also the most dramatic. He stood and sheathed his massive sword. "If you fail, you will immediately return to the Akasha and there will be no other similar opportunity." His tone didn't allow for negotiation.

Only twenty-four hours. That amount of time would have to be enough time. "Thank you, Michael," he told the retreating warrior.

"God speed," Michael called over his shoulder. "And good luck."

Author Interview: Belinda McBride

Please welcome my guest today, romance author Belinda McBride. We love comments and questions.

Ashley: Why do you write erotic romance?

Belinda: A few years back, I started working on a fantasy project that had a strong romantic element. There was a triangle in it, the heroine was confronted with her past lover and her present lover and had to choose. Well, I’d never, ever read an erotic romance before, and when I ended up with all three in bed together, I was somewhat horrified with myself. To me, it was sexy and made sense, but I didn’t think it would ever sell. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that ménage is such a popular theme in erotic romance! LOL! So that pretty much explains it, erotic romance allows me the freedom to explore my fantasies, whatever they might be.

Ashley: What romance subgenres do you write in? Why?

Belinda: Well, I tell people I write speculative fiction, which is an umbrella term for science fiction, fantasy, paranormal, and so forth. Within the romance subgenres, I write whatever the story and characters require, so I will do same sex, bisexual, BDSM, fetish, m/f, ménage, you name it.

Ashley: Are you aware of any themes that run through your stories? If so, what are they?

Belinda: Sexual fluidity is a big one. I don’t care for labels regarding sexuality; to me, everyone has both male and female energy. To me, love is love and I don’t like to obey the “rules” that say I have to write something a certain way. I tend to use nature as a touchstone, even in my most extreme sci fi and cyber punk stories. Since I’m a historian and cultural anthropologist, mythology and folklore shows up in almost everything I write.

Ashley: What would you like readers to take away from your stories?

a. Well, I try to put hope into the stories. Hope and redemption. I want the readers to walk away feeling something, whether it’s positive or negative. Hopefully its positive!

Ashley: What inspires your stories?

a. Wow, just about anything from pictures to songs to flights of fancy. I used to dream very vividly, and a lot of poetry came from that period. Feelings and emotions…I just read a book that was so well done that I really felt the emotions of the characters. It was really transcendent and I’ve carried some of those feelings with me for a couple days. That will undoubtedly influence what I’m working on right now.

Ashley: Will you be attending any book or writing conferences this year? If yes, which ones? Where and when?

I’m going to Yaoi Con in San Francisco this Fall. I generally stick close to home in the summer and early autumn because its fire season here and we occasionally need to evacuate. I hope to attend the EPIC conference in Williamsburg, VA and RT in Los Angeles in early 2011.

Ashley: What is your writing schedule?

Belinda: I generally do errands, email and marketing in the mornings. I care give for my disabled niece fulltime, so my schedule reflects hers. When she’s at school, I can run out and do stuff. When she’s home, I’m home. I do my writing in the afternoons and evenings.

Ashley: Do you have any other passions besides writing? If yes, what are they? Why?

Belinda: I have Siberian Huskies that I show, though I’ve been doing that less lately. I love to travel. Going to conferences and dog shows sort of feeds that addiction! LOL!

Ashley: What is the best memory?

Belinda: I’m old enough that I have hundreds of best memories! One great memory was from a trip to Hong Kong. We were there to meet some Chinese Actors regarding a project, and everything had fallen through for various reasons. Then my companion got food poisoning and we had to stay a few extra days. On our last day, we had lunch with two old school martial arts movie stars named Johnny Wong Lung Wei and Lo Meng. Amazing! We heard the inside scoop on lots of actors, got a lot of great gossip. Then that evening, we were invited to the world premiere of a Michelle Yeoh movie. While we were waiting for the movie to start, we spotted my favorite actor in the world, a man named Philip Kwok Choy. I had my photo taken with him. It was just an amazing day!

Ashley: What is your favorite comfort food?

Belinda: Campbells Bean with Bacon Soup, closely followed by chocolate cake.

Ashley: What relaxes you?

Belinda: Drugs. No…really…I love going to dog shows because I completely escape from my daily life and focus completely on that little world of grooming, showing and hanging with my friends.

Ashley: What is your favorite guilty pleasure?

Belinda: Baking. I love to bake cakes, cookies, bread and other unhealthy things.

Ashley: I'm coming to your house. :)

Ashley: What decade has been your favorite? Why?

Belinda: This decade sometimes seems like it’s been the payoff for so much pain and BS that I’ve survived in my life. So this is my favorite decade. So far.

Ashley: What is your favorite way to promote?

Belinda: I love to promote through conferences and signings. I love meeting people face-to-face.

Ashley: Where is your favorite place to write? Why?

Belinda: I have a recliner chair in a spare bedroom that I use for an office. I like it because it’s pretty spare and clean. I’ve usually got 3 or 4 dogs lounging around beside me, and it’s got a big glass door so I can look outside, yet not get too distracted.

Ashley: What is your favorite fairy tale? Why?

Belinda: I’d have to say Beauty and the Beast. It has that wonderful message of inner beauty and redemption. True love conquers all and so forth.

Ashley: What was your favorite vacation?

Belinda: I took a month and toured around the British Isles by myself once. That was a really special experience. I had a Brit Rail pass and just went wherever the train took me.

Ashley: If you had another career, what was it?

Belinda: I was a paraprofessional for the Public Health Department here. I did a lot of technical writing and graphic arts.

Ashley: If you didn’t write, what would you do instead?

Belinda: I’d probably be in a mental institution! LOL! Seriously, I’d be trying to do more free lance research. My major/minor in college was History and Cultural Anthropology. I’d love to be back in an academic or museum setting.

Ashley: If you could have one wish, what would it be?

Belinda: I’d wish for people to stop hating.

Ashley: If you could describe yourself in only one word, what would it be?

Belinda: Curious

Ashley: Are you a cat or dog person? Do you have any pets and if so, please tell us about them.

Belinda: I’m a dog person. I have 6 Siberian Huskies. The oldest is Ditto the Undead Dog. She keeps dying, and then coming back. She’ll be 15 this August. The youngest is Levi, whose registered name is “Britestar’s Goin’ Commando.” He got that name because he tends to display his manly assets more than a polite dog should. He’s 3 and just finished his AKC championship.

Ashley: Ooh! Huskies. We have a white Husky, not registered. My husband used to raise and sell Huskies before we married. The one we have now is a watchdog and pet and such a sweetie.

Ashley: What is the one thing you most want to do that you haven’t yet?

Belinda: I want to go to Xian, China to see the Terra Cotta Warriors. I also want to visit Herculenium and Pompeii before Vesuvius blows again.

Ashley:  How are you doing that?

Belinda: I’m not sure that I said that, but I do embrace that philosophy. I basically do anything that I dream of doing. If you have a dream or a fantasy, the moment you write it down it becomes a goal and it is achievable. I don’t want to reach the end of my life wishing that I’d done something. I’d rather look back and remember having done it.

Ashley: Please tell us about your most recent release and where we can purchase it.

Belinda: My most recent release is ‘Educating Evangeline’ which is a novella in the Doms of Dark Haven anthology. That’s a 3 author BDSM anthology with Cherise Sinclair and Sierra Cartwright. You can find it at Loose Id, LLC:

http://www.loose-id.com/Our-Authors/Belinda-McBride/


Ashley: Please give us your urls and your publisher’s url.

Belinda:

a. My website: http://www.belindamcbride.com

b. My blog: http://www.belindam.com

c. Loose Id: http://www.loose-id.com

d. Changeling Press: http://www.changelingpress.com


Ashley: Is there anything else you’d like to share with your readers? Please do so here.

Belinda: Watch my blog and website for upcoming releases; I think 2011 is going to be a very busy year!

Thanks again.

Ashley

Blogfest: Logline/Hook Line

Thanks to Bryan of the Time Guardian Blog for hosting the Logline/Hook line Blogfest!.

According to Bryan a "logline" is:


"A logline (also known as a hook line) is a single snappy sentence that conveys the gist of your story. It’s one of those things that sounds so simple and clean when it’s done right, yet can be a royal pain to create.


Think of it this way: if working on your query is a necessary evil, then you can consider fashioning your logline to be a high-pressure condensed form of that hell."

Loglines aren't easy to write. Not even for short stories. It's like micro-writing, just like Twitter is like micro-blogging.

Here are several of my loglines from my published books.

1)  Kes is obsessed with killing Nikolai – to prevent him from destroying Earth nine hundred years into the future. "Carnal Lust" published by Total-E-Bound.

2)  Robin didn't know whether to be relieved or appalled that the sexy man she'd fallen into bed with wasn't her ex-boyfriend, but his adult son. "Scene of the Crime" in the Cougars And Cubs anthology published by Total-E-Bound.


3)  When Char bids on and wins both sexy doctors Hunky and Hottie in her hospital's charity auction, she knows exactly what to do with them and it's not tidily winks. "Charity's Auction" published by Total-E-Bound. Audio just released. Ebook to be released Monday May 31, 2010.

4)  When Captain Ty Gibson comes home from a tour of duty in Iraq to marry Bianca, their sometimes third lover Brendan stirs up a mess of trouble. "Bad Conduct" published by Total-E-Bound.

5)  The ghost of Kacey's crazy great-grandfather threatens her life but just might save her marriage. "Crazy In Love" published by Total-E-Bound.

6)  Determined to live life by her own rules, Jordan's more than ready to devour two yummy men, what her religious father thinks, be damned. "Welcome To Paradise" pubilshed by Total-E-Bound.


* Please let me know what you think.

** Also, please visit back tomorrow and sign up for my blogfest "Charity Auctions Blogfest". Write a scene about a charity auction. This is in celebration of the release of my romance "Charity's Auction".

Recent posts you might like to read:

Author Interview: Wendi Zwaduk 

Author Interview: Frances Pauli


Author Interview: Marcia James

Author Interview: Elaine Hopper

Weathering A Bad Review

What Do You Want in a Romance Hero & What Do You Want in a Real Life Husband?

Rejection: Where Do You Go Next?

Procrastination

Cliche or Coincidence?

Incognito: free short story

Dedicating Books

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Wendi Zwaduk are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Leave Them Wanting More

My younger daughter just whined, "Puss n' Boots" is fat, Mommy!"

I looked up from my laptop. "Huh? Where'd you see Puss N'Boots? What are you talking about?"

Then my older daughter said, "It's in another yucky Shrek movie."

That gave me pause. Whereas, we didn't enjoy the third Shrek movie, we loved the first two.

Can a series go on too long?

Can one bad movie or book, kill a series?

Personally, I'm willing to give Shrek another try. Just like I'll usually give a restaurant a couple tries if one meal wasn't so good.  And I'll give an author a second try if I didn't enjoy their first book.

If I liked previous books (meals or movies), even though I didn't enjoy the most recent, I'll definitely give something another try.

How many people do that?

I just asked my daughters if they want to see the next Shrek movie (to test my theory).

Their response?

My older daughter said, "I'm not so sure."

My younger daughter thought for a few moments then said, "I'll wait for the dollar theater."

When it's a book, the reader may wait to borrow the book from the library or buy it at a used bookstore, but not new.

Maybe it would be better to end a series on a high note, book or movie? Instead of running it into the ground.

The old show business addage still holds true - "Leave them wanting more."

Recent posts you might like to read:

Author Interview: Marcia James

Author Interview: Elaine Hopper

Weathering A Bad Review

What Do You Want in a Romance Hero & What Do You Want in a Real Life Husband?

Rejection: Where Do You Go Next?

Procrastination

Cliche or Coincidence?

Incognito: free short story

Dedicating Books

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Which Book Next?

I know I have ADHD. 5,000 thoughts a minute cram into my mind. I constantly multi-task. All of my children inherited it.

Not surprisingly, I'm torn which story to write next. It's not because I'm suffering from writer's block. It's because there are many stories I want to write.

Just today, I read an email from one publisher stating they need more shorter stories, to hurry and submit them. Also today, a different publisher emailed me that my series there is a go, to make sure I put the series name on future submissions.

Earlier this week, yet another one of my publishers emailed me my cover art request forms and said by the way...when you submit your next story you can submit the cover art request form at the same time.

I haven't submitted anything to yet a fourth publisher in awhile (because I've been so busy writing for other publishers).

I wish I had more hours to write. However, would that fix the problem? Probably not. Publishers always have projects. Stories live in my mind that want to be written.

There's even a non-fiction book roiling around in my mind I'd like to write.

Which one will win?

Usually the one burning brightest in my heart. The one that will practically write itself I'm so hot to write it.

I imagine most writers face this dilemma from time to time. If you're a writer, how do you choose which book to write next?

Recent posts you might like to read:

Rejection: Where Do You Go Next?

Procrastination

Cliche or Coincidence?

What Prompts Me To "Follow" A Blog

Make Sure Pretentious Words Don't Turn Off Your Readers

Dedicating Books

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Dedicating Books

Almost every book published is dedicated to someone. I've done my share of dedicating books as well.

When I make a dedication, I do it in honor of someone I love or admire. A loved one, friend, someone I admire.


Some of my dedications:
From my upcoming February 2010 Valentine's story with Total-E-Bound "Naked Ambition" - "To old boyfriends and current lovers." (Oops! I have only one current lover, my hubby whom I'm celebrating our 30th anniversary with this week. I hope he won't see this so I won't be in BIG trouble.)

From my upcoming May 2010 story with Total-E-Bound "Carnal Lust" - "For everybody who needs a second chance and for all lovers of the planet Earth."

From my upcoming August 2010 time-travel story with Total-E-Bound "Whirlwind Relationship" - "To my friends and paramours during the disco era: 1977-1979."

From "Abracadabra", a story on submission - "To everybody who’s ever been unjustly accused."

From my sweet romance coming out soon with TWRP - "To my cousins whom I don't sometimes see for years, but whom I love very much: Debbie, Charlie, Suzie, Jerry, Jan, Marty, and all their kids, especially Daniel and his new bride Jen. I wish I could see them more often. Like the heroine in this story, I need to visit home and family much more."


Other dedications:
These are the only dedications I can pull up on my new laptop where I happen to be working. Over the years, I've dedicated books to my husband, my parents, my children, my critique group, my coworkers, my pets, friends, my aunts and uncles.

I'm running out of people and animals to dedicate my books to without duplicating dedications.

A dedication is just a line or two, but sometimes, it can take awhile to decide who to dedicate the book to.


What about you?
What are some of your favorite dedications? Who have you dedicated books to?

Recent posts you might like to read:

Don't Be Quick To Quit Your Day Job

When Do You Write?

Why You Should Consider Library Booksignings

Make Sure Pretentious Words Don't Turn Off Your Readers

Are You Writing Me Into Your Book?

Dont Give Up Too Early

Must Write Must Write Must Write!!!

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Dream Big/Work Hard

"A daydream is a meal at which images are eaten. Some of us are gourmets, some gourmands, and a good many take their images precooked out of a can and swallow them down whole, absent-mindedly and with little relish." -W. H. Auden

I know a lot of people who dream. They dream of winning the lottery and being rich. They dream of getting rich quick and join Prime America, Mary Kay, or another multi-level marketing program. They dream of getting thin and healthy. They dream of writing a book. They dream of a lot of different things.

Unfortunately, a lot of them only dream but don't take action to achieve their dreams.

A friend of mine tells me, "I can write a book." She also says, "I could write a book if I had enough time. But I'm too busy right now."

Her version of being too busy? Going home after work and watching recorded soap operas.

I used to watch recorded soap operas years ago. Then I realized I could use that time to write or walk in the park or go to the gym.

It's not that I don't like soap operas. I really really enjoyed watching them. I was hooked. But then I decided I wanted to accomplish things in my life, not just watch other people accomplish things so I stopped watching so much TV and started using my time more wisely.

Of course there are times in our lives we don't have the luxury to work on our dreams. This week for instance, I've been working 13 hour shifts everyday since Wednesday to help Haiti. A co-worker of mine who is also a romance writer, is probably in Haiti right now reporting on it for her day job.

The majority of us can carve some time out of our normal weeks to pursue our dreams. It may not always be as easy as turning off the TV or multi-tasking. It may mean working full-time and going to night school, or working full-time and writing at night and weekends.

I also know a lot of people who pursue their dreams. They get up early or stay up late to write. They take college classes after work. They work extra-hard. They often sacrifice.

But those who stay the course achieve their dreams and know the sense of accomplishment that comes with it. And that in itself is great success and satisfaction.

Dream big. Work hard. Enjoy the fruits of your dreams mixed with your efforts.

Recent posts you might like to read:

Don't Be Quick To Quit Your Day Job

When Do You Write?

Why You Should Consider Library Booksignings

Make Sure Pretentious Words Don't Turn Off Your Readers

Are You Writing Me Into Your Book?

Dont Give Up Too Early

Must Write Must Write Must Write!!!

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Saturday Snippets: Pets

Today's Saturday Snippets theme is "pets". If you know me even a little bit, you'll know my cats and dogs are my babies. If you know me a lot, you'll know I'm a cat person from way back. Sometimes I think I'm part cat. :)

My kids swear our Husky speaks English. When he howls it does sound a lot like "Out". Maybe they're right. And my cat Bobby understands us and follows instructions as well as or better than any dog and he looks at me with such human eyes. I swear I think he understands everything we say.

In my Ellora's Cave romantica "Make-Believe Lover" the heroine Becca and her cat are sucked into another world. In the new world, Gizmo her cat, can talk. And boy does he ever talk! He won't shut up.

I love Gizmo. He tries to steal the show, but Becca and her hero Lobo put him in his place when he gets too far out of line.

Blurb:

Becca is either dreaming—or dead. She's been transported into the medieval world of her favorite adult cartoon. When her cat talks, fire-breathing dragons stalk her, and an evil king pledges his resources to see her dead, her favorite fantasy morphs into a nightmare. Worse, the hero can't wait to send her home.

Lobo is cursed. Everyone who has ever loved him has died, thus he's become a recluse. When the witch Becca and her devil cat insist on his help, he risks everything to save their separate worlds—and keep his bruised heart intact.
 
An Excerpt From: MAKE-BELIEVE LOVER

© Copyright ASHLEY LADD, 2006.
All Rights Reserved, Ellora's Cave, Inc.

They must have trudged five miles over the arduous hills when a thunderous sound startled her. A moment later, wide-winged dragons straddled by primitive warriors roared from behind a mountain.

Her hand trembling, she pointed at the sky even as she squatted down in self-defense. “Oh my God, Giz. Do you see what I see?”

The cat gulped and he covered his eyes with his paws. “If you see big flying dinosaurs, uh huh.”

When one of the gigantic winged creatures nose-dived not far distant, Gizmo threw himself to the ground, covered his head, and hissed, “Hit the deck and don’t make a sound.”

Way ahead of him, she flung herself to the rocky terrain.

A lyrical voice announced out of nowhere, “You have walked six point two miles, seven-thousand three-hundred, twenty-one steps.”

Cripes! Her bigmouth pedometer chose this moment to go off?

Yanking the lousy thing off her elastic waistband, she dashed it to the ground. “Thanks for nothing.” The least it could do was tell her how many calories she’d burned or sing a decent song, instead of that funky aerobic workout music.

One of the flying lizards picked that instant to spin and make eye contact. Baring its filthy, razor-sharp teeth, the beast swooped down from the air, swallowed her pedometer, and then plucked her from the ground.

The no-good gadget kept chirping from inside the monster’s belly, mocking her. At least, it had gotten its just rewards, having given away her location to the fiend.

Kicking and struggling with all her might, she screamed, “Gizmo!”

She clawed at her barbaric captor’s eyes. “Put me down!”

The armor-clad creep astride the dragon guffawed and clamped meaty vice-like hands around her wrists pinning them to her side. His malevolent beady-eyed gaze bore into her. “Keep this up, wench, and I’ll drop you here—from a thousand meters. Your pretty face will get all mangled.”

The dragon turned its reptilian face to leer and dipped its right wing so that she would have tumbled off if not for the brute’s slimy hold. Then it snorted a fireball in her direction that fried the bush a mere foot to her right.

She got the message that she was their guest—or their Bar-B-Q. “What do you want with me? I have no money. This is dollar-store jewelry, but it’s all yours.”

“You will inform the King whose army you are spying for.” He fingered her tousled hair and grunted. “What kingdom has blue-haired nymphs?”

Then he tugged at her psychedelic nurse’s tunic. “And what matter of outlandish garb is this? What form of material?”

Army? Kingdom? Nymph?

She glanced down at her hot pink, cotton-blend tunic that rained cats and dogs. Should she give him her employer’s name? In the war movies the prisoners offered their name, rank, and serial number. “I’m Rebecca Weiss, I’m an office manager for a pediatric clinic, and I’m not giving you my social security number and having you steal my identity.”

“Stay cool, Becca! We’ll get out of this.” Gizmo yelled from the back of another dragon as it pulled around them.

The man’s bushy uni-brow puckered. “You speak in strange riddles. You will be truthful with King Heinrich or you will be locked in the dungeon.”

Dungeons? Dragons? King Heinrich?

Make-Believe Lover is available at Ellora's Cave.

Here are several awesome excerpts from other authors participating in today's Saturday Snippets. Please check them out and have some fun. After this brutal week we need a little diversion.

McKenna Jeffries
Taige Crenshaw
Ashley Ladd
Shelley Munro
Mari Carr
Jody Wallace
Shelli Stevens
Victoria Janssen
TJ Micheals

Don't Be Quick To Quit Your Day Job

On The Dilettante's blog I read the article "For God's Sake, Don't Become A Writer".

I don't agree with everything the blogger says about being a writer, but I certainly agree with "don't quit your day job" to become a writer. Not unless someone else is supporting the household or you have enough money in the bank to live on.

By all means, write if the fire to write boils in your veins.

By all means if you reach Stephen King's, Nora Robert's or the writer of New Moon's level and your income is sufficient on a regular basis, quit the day job and write full time.

However, if you're just starting or even if you've just received your first book contract, don't quit your day job yet. Some books sell well. Others don't. A lot of books may sell decently when they first come out but not forever. Unless you have books published on a regular basis, the income probably won't be sufficient to live on for long.

Of course there's always an exception and hopefully you'll be the one.

I have children at home to support and I crave security. As much as I would love to quit the day job and write full time, I won't be doing it yet. Several people who left comments on The Dilettante's blog agree with me. Several published authors I know keep their day jobs.

Recent posts you might like to read:

When Do You Write?

Nanowrimo Thoughts 

To Nano Or Not To Nano - That Is The Question

Why You Should Consider Library Booksignings

Make Sure Pretentious Words Don't Turn Off Your Readers

Are You Writing Me Into Your Book?

Dont Give Up Too Early

Must Write Must Write Must Write!!!

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

How Do You Protect Your Books?

My brain is still fried since working day and night most of December so I had to surf the web to find ideas for a blog post today. Hopefully I'll recover soon.

On Tess Hilmo's blog I read an interesting post about backing up our important documents, in particular books for us writers. She recommended an online data backup site Mozy.com.

I mozied on over (excuse the pun) to Mozy.com and nosed around. It looks to be quite helpful. And no, I'm not affiliated with the site and I'm not endorsing it as I've not used it. But perhaps I will.

If you're a writer you've probably lost at least part of a book some time during your writing career. Then we learn to back up our work. But how?

There are many ways: thumb drives, CDs, emailing books to a friend or relative, creating a Yahoo loop to save it, keeping print outs, and now Mozy.com

My recommendation? Do all or at least several of the above. No one is foolproof.

In the beginning of my career, I backed up my books to CDs and paper copies. One day the other half of my duplex went up in flames. Our side almost caught fire, too. If the fire department had been five minutes later, my computer and my backed up CDs and paper would have been gone with the wind.

After that I began emailing copies of my books to my father. I thought that was working well. Then when I visited last and looked for my books on his computer they were gone. He'd forgotten about them when he changed computers and threw out my books when he threw out his computer. Luckily I had other copies.

I bought a thumb drive after that. Guess what? It went bad. Another one dropped off my key chain.

I also created a Yahoo group so I could save my work in their files. First, you need to have a group of five. You could get around that by banding together with other authors, family and friends to keep the loop active. However, someone in the group also has to visit at least once every two months or guess what? Yahoo will delete the group and poof! Your files disappear. I forgot...

I also printed out some of my earliest books. Once I lost my computer file and had to retype the whole damn thing. Nightmare! Plus, the almost fire would have wiped that out.

If I sound pessimistic I don't mean to be. I merely mean to point out it's not safe to rely on only one form of backup. We pour our life's blood into our books so we need to safeguard them. What's a few extra minutes to make several backups in different places for books that we spent weeks, months, and maybe even years to produce? It's pretty cheap insurance.

How do you safeguard your books? Do you have another good place to back them up?

Recent posts you might like to read:

When Do You Write?

Nanowrimo Thoughts 

To Nano Or Not To Nano - That Is The Question

Why You Should Consider Library Booksignings

Make Sure Pretentious Words Don't Turn Off Your Readers

Are You Writing Me Into Your Book?

Dont Give Up Too Early

Must Write Must Write Must Write!!!

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Do You Have A Favorite Bookstore?

I just joined a new meme that will happen every Thursday. I was very choosy and picked one that talks about books and reading to keep within my niche.

Today's topic is "Favorite Bookstores".

This topic makes me very sad. You see, I lost my favorite bookstore, our local Borders, last May. It was a victim of the recession. I used to go several days a week and spend several hours at a time. I hunkered down with my laptop, MP3 player and a big soda to write. Lots of times my daughters went with me. It was home away from home. We had a lot of good times there.

Now, alas, the building is being torn down.The site is pathetic. All that remains are a lot of concrete chunks and a sign announcing the coming of another Walgreens. There's already a Walgreens or a CVS on every other block in my city. How many drugstores do we need?

I've tried other bookstores but they're not the same. Not other Borders. Not Barnes and Nobles. Not only are they a lot further away, they don't have the same feel or the same community. Our local Barnes and Nobles covered up their electrical outlets and took out most of the seating so its impossible to work there.

Sometimes I go to the local library. But it closes at 8 pm. I don't get home from the day job until 6 pm or after. That's not much time to work so its not worth the bother of packing up my laptop and trekking over.

I was impressed with Nova University's library when I was there last week for the Nanowrimo kickoff party. It was beautiful and has great hours (i.e. until 11:30 pm on Sundays). Unfortunately, it looks as if public parking is for a fee plus it's more than an hour round trip from my house. I can't afford to go often.

Alas, I'm like a woman without a country - a writer without a bookstore home. Hopefully something new will open close with good hours and electrical outlets. Until then, I am adrift, working from home, getting overly distracted by the internet.

Do you have a favorite bookstore? What is it? Tell us about it.



Recent posts you might like to read:

Nanowrimo Thoughts 

To Nano Or Not To Nano - That Is The Question

Why You Should Consider Library Booksignings

Make Sure Pretentious Words Don't Turn Off Your Readers

Are You Writing Me Into Your Book?

Dont Give Up Too Early

Must Write Must Write Must Write!!!


You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Do You Read All the "Popular" Books?

I know people who go out of their way to never conform. Some are downright ornery. My friends "J" and "S" are often loners and do what they want no matter how weird or unpopular. Sometimes they go overboard to intentionally piss off people just for the fun of it.

I know others who want to be part of the crowd so badly they'd sell their soul. In junior high my friend "C" wanted to be part of the in crowd so badly she schemed and worked to get befriended by the cool kids. She even started smoking pot with them.

Blech!  Both are pretty annoying.

Do you read popular books or watch popular movies just because everyone else is? So you can join the conversation? Or so you can say "I read that, too?" Or just so you have a frame of reference?

I've done it. Not always, but sometimes. There are some very popular authors I have yet to read.

A few years ago it seemed everybody at work was reading the "Left Behind" series. They talked about it a lot. They even read it on breaks at work so had the books sitting on their desks.

Curious, I asked about them. They sounded interesting. Honestly, I wanted to know what everybody was talking about. Ditto with "The Da Vinci Code". I really enjoyed the first several books of the "Left Behind" series and the first movie (not the second or third movie, however.) "The Da Vince Code" was pretty good.

I also picked up "Harry Potter" because of all the buzz. I'm not sure I would have bought it for myself but since my daughter had it in the house, I read it, too. I enjoyed it.

However, I haven't read "Twilight". My daughter-in-law loves the story and has it memorized. I only saw the movie because my daughter-in-law played it at her birthday party. It was...okay. Frankly, I was disappointed. After all the hoopla, I thought it would be at least pretty good. I thought Edward's and Bella's romance would be as classic as Rhett and Scarlett's. My son and daughter-in-law have already purchased tickets to see "New Moon" on the first showing at midnight. They've already booked my daughters to babysit my grandchildren.

I like vampire romances well enough. I've written at least four. But this time, I feel obstinate. I don't feel like being part of the crowd. I'll get around to it in my own sweet time - if I get around to it. There are other books, other movies, other things I'd rather do first. Or maybe I don't care what the rest of the crowd is doing any more. If they go my way, fine. If they don't, fine.

What about you?



Recent posts you might like to read:

Nanowrimo Thoughts 

To Nano Or Not To Nano - That Is The Question

Why You Should Consider Library Booksignings

Make Sure Pretentious Words Don't Turn Off Your Readers

Are You Writing Me Into Your Book?

Dont Give Up Too Early

Must Write Must Write Must Write!!!


You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Help! I Can't Shut Up My Internal Editor!

I’m having trouble turning off my internal editor.

I know that I’m supposed to write without editing during NaNoWriMo. I’m not supposed to worry about being perfect and string one word after another.

It’s not that different than any other first draft except that it’s a first draft on steroids.

And yet, I keep going back, erasing words, moving them around. I keep adding a paragraph here and there.

Yesterday, I wrote twice as much as I needed to be on track. Today, my editor’s getting in the way and I’ve written a whopping 197 words so far. Of course, I’m also at the ball field watching my daughter catch. I’m just a little distracted. But it’s this or wait to write until we get home which will be late. By then I may be too exhausted.

Unfortunately, my day job boss won’t understand my need to write a lot of words any more than my doctor who insists I walk and work out daily. I don’t think my boss would be too happy if I were to fall asleep at my desk tomorrow.

Of course, I didn’t have to stop in the middle of writing my NaNo book to write this blog. But I also don’t want to leave my blog blank for even a day if I can help it.

But my posts will be short and sweet this month so I can concentrate on my project.

How’s your internal editor behaving, all you Nano’ers? Are you able to keep your off switch off?



Recent posts you might like to read:

Nanowrimo Thoughts 

To Nano Or Not To Nano - That Is The Question

Why You Should Consider Library Booksignings

Make Sure Pretentious Words Don't Turn Off Your Readers

Are You Writing Me Into Your Book?

Dont Give Up Too Early

Must Write Must Write Must Write!!!


You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

How to get through life

I just received an email about how to "Get through life".

One of the suggestions was to "read books".

I can't imagine life without books. For as long as I can remember I've loved books: dead tree books and electronic books.

I've also loved to write stories of my own.

Some people have a life long goal of selling make-up. Some build computers. Some farm. Some sew. Some draw. Some umpire.

I write.

And I read.

A lot of people read who never write but I don't know anyone who writes but doesn't read.

Reading was easier before I began to write in earnest. Now, when I see an awkward sentence or a plot hole my editor's hat comes out. I start to pick apart the story.

I love it when I get so lost in the story I don't get caught up in critiquing it. I want to get lost in the magic, to forget my life for a space and become someone else. I especially love to fall in love again with a handsome, dashing hero or to laugh out loud or have a grand adventure. I like to visit other times and places. I like to forget myself.

Nothing can do this for me like a good book.

You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Please don't scare me

I don't have my Paint Shop Pro or Adobe Acrobat available at the moment or I'd lable this pic "Please don't scare me." Cute little guy, isn't he? This was taken after an earthquake in China.

He reminds me of my younger daughter, newly graduated from high school, 18 years-old, but not yet ready to be an adult.

She's excited and happy to be out of school, and yet, she's not. She's scared of the big world and possible earthquakes.

Above are both my daughters, 25 and 18, M and S. The 25 year-old isn't quite sure what she wants to be yet when she grows up, either.

Heck, sometimes I feel that way.

I always wanted to be a writer. Along the way I was also an accountant, cost-pricing analyst, soldier ("Airman" since I was in the Air Force), waitress, hostess, cashier, and finally a customer service rep and manager. I took Accounting in college so I never dreamed my path would wind up in customer service but it's right for me. And writing.

Sometimes I still have doubts if I've chosen the right paths, if working two jobs, meeting book deadlines, and promoting my books is what I still want to do. Stress is wearing on me. I know it is when I feel like I'm the panda pictured above, backing away and a little scared.

Last night I thought about stopping, but I couldn't find anything else I'd rather do to fill my time. I like to learn new things. I thrive on multi-tasking and creating new things. I have characters running around in my head that would drive me crazy if I didn't let them out.

It's time for a vacation and a change of scenery, but not to give up my dreams and goals.

I wish I could renew myself at Lori Foster's readers and writers get together in Cincinnati this weekend, but I can't get away right now. I don't have the financial wherewithal to even splurge on a movie.

But I need to find ways to relax and fill my well.

How do you renew your spirit?

How do you keep going when you can't get away from work much less travel to distant, exciting places?

A trip to the swimming pool at the gym sounds refreshing, but that will have to wait for another night. I have to take the graduate to softball practice at the park this evening.

Wanna Sleep With Me?

Wanna sleep with me? Whoa! That question's more than a little crass. So is "Wanna buy my book?" much better? I'm a lousy salesperson. I HATE to sell things. I am NOT a promo guru. What I am is a storyteller and a writer. I'm a hopeful romantic. I'm a Star Trek geek. I'm an American Idol fanatic. And I'm hopelessly in love with men. I never dreamed that I'd have to become a salesman when I became a published author. That's the publisher's job. Right? Wrong! Unless your name is Stephen King or Nora Roberts, don't hold your breath waiting for your publisher to do a lot of promotion for just you. They may not do much for their publishing house, either. I'm lucky in that some of my publishers do a lot of promotion. However, that's primarily for their publishing house. They send out newsletters. They hold contests. Sometimes they chip in with group ads. All that's great. I'm very grateful. Still, the heavy yoke of an author's promotion still burdens the writer. We have to find ways to promote if we want people to hear about our books even if they're in dead tree stores. If they're only in digital format, we must work harder on our promotion. Still, it doesn't work to shout, "Buy my book!" You might as well shout, "I'm a moron! Save yourself! Run the other way!" I don't know about you, but I don't like braggarts. I hate hard sell salespeople. The only thing I hate more than hard sell salespeople is being one. I want to be schmoozed. I want to be romanced. I want to be courted. Become my friend, at least a friendly acquaintance, and I'll be on your side. I imagine I'm not alone in this feeling. One of my favorite movies is "Romancing The Stone" with Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas. Sexy Michael romanced that emerald right out of Kathleen unlike the bumbling thieves and gun-happy soldiers who tried to force Kathleen to hand over the jewels. Michael was much smarter than those bozos. Of course, he fell in love with Kathleen, too, which is okay. So just as I would never ask a stranger or even a friend, "Wanna sleep with me?", I wouldn't say, "Buy my book". I'm not one who asks for votes, either. Obviously, I'm not a politician any more than I'm a marketer. Of course, I've identified myself as a customer service type person. I like to solve problems, soothe sore people, and make everybody happy. I'd much rather spend my time writing stories that make people happy, chat with my blog and email friends, and have lunch with my friends at work than sell anything. You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)

Title Scorer

I just found this really neat site. I don't know if it's truly a help or just a fun thing, but I'm having fun with it. Like a lot of new things I bring here, I found this through my blog hopping. I've missed having less time for this hobby but this weekend since I had an extra day off from the day job and I'm not on deadline for an edit or to write a book, I get to do more promo and blog hopping. This nifty new thing I found tonight is called: "Titlescorer". Actually, it's called the "Lulu Titlescorer". I just found it but it seems to work this way: You put in your title. Provide some information like how many words, is there a name in the title, what type of words is each word (proper noun, verb, pronoun, etc.) The site says, "Results are between 9% and 83% chance of bestseller success." So here are some of my titles and their chance of success: "Sorry Charlie" - The title Sorry Charlie has a 44.2% chance of being a bestselling title! (this book will be part of Total-E-Bound's "Friction" M/M anthology coming out in August 2009. "Friction" - The title Friction has a 55.4% chance of being a bestselling title! "Charity's Auction" - The title Charity's Auction has a 72.5% chance of being a bestselling title! "Caught in the Middle" - The title Caught in the Middle has a 79.6% chance of being a bestselling title! "American Beauty" - The title American Beauty has a 64.8% chance of being a bestselling title! (my best seller so far - still available at Ellora's Cave) "The Perfect Gift" - The title The Perfect Gift has a 41.4% chance of being a bestselling title! (another of my best selling books - available at Total-E-Bound) "Doggy Style" - The title Doggy Style has a 41.4% chance of being a bestselling title! (To be released by Total-E-Bound June 29th) "Simon Says" - The title Simon Says has a 72.5% chance of being a bestselling title! (Coming soon from Total-E-Bound) "Always A Bridesmaid" - The title Always A Bridesmaid has a 10.2% chance of being a bestselling title! (Yikes!) "Truth, Justice, and the Vampire Way" - The title Truth Justice and the Vampire Way has a 59.3% chance of being a bestselling title! (to be released at Ellora's Cave April 22nd) Sooooooo, do you think this site can truly predict the success of a book? What makes a book successful? Is it only the title? If so, why am I driving myself crazy writing and editing the story? Is it the cover? Abstract. Bodice rippers. Beautiful art? Is it the blurb? Attract readers by the story's premise? Is it an excerpt? Attract readers by the actual writing and a piece of the story? Other advertising and promo? Giving away pens, blogging, banner ads, bookmarks, contests... What I suspect is a good mixture of all of the above. However, a bad title can't help a book much, either. I guess it would be like a recipe for a great gourmet meal - if you add motor oil as one of the ingredients even if everything else is stupendous, the dish is toxic. You'll also want to see what Amarinda Jones, Anika Hamilton, Anny Cook, Barbara Huffert, Brynn Paulin, Bronwyn Green, Dakota Rebel, Kelly Kirch, Molly Daniels, Sandra Cox, Regina Carlysle, and Cindy Spencer Pape are up to, so make sure to visit them also. :)