My movie dilemma . . .

They're the gifts you give when you don't know what to give:  Money and/or gift cards.

Right now, I've got a couple of Amazon gift cards sitting there and I haven't decided what to do with them.  Or rather, I've decided that I should buy some movies, but I'm not sure what.

I got to see about half an hour of Pay It Forward over the weekend, and I was intrigued enough that I'd like to see it again, so that's a given. (I like uplifting movies.)

When the movie was new, I thought about going to see Up, but never got around to it.  It stars the voice of Edward Asner. I met Mr. Asner's sister in January, and since then I've thought ... I should buy that DVD. (Although what one has to do wit the other ... is anyone's guess.)

I'm fascinated with time-travel stories
(hmmm...it's a wonder I haven't read any time travel romances--there seem to be a lot of them around), and it's been years since I've seen The Final Countdown, so that's on the list, too.

I've thought about buying Ladyhawke, since I seem to be collecting DVDs of the work of director Richard Donner, but I'm not sure.  (If you've seen it, what did you think?)

I figure I've got enough Amazon $$$ left for two more movies.  I usually prefer comedies, but as you can see, I've got two (almost three) dramas on my wish list.

What older movies have you seen that you love ... that you think I'd love, too?
.

Well, I'll be Skyped!

A couple of months ago, a librarian asked me to talk to her library group about the Booktown Mysteries.  The only thing was, they were out of state.  What's a person to do?

Skype!

For several years, I've offered to talk to reader groups via Skype, and no one has taken me up on it.  I kind of forgot about it, so it was a bit of a shock when I got approached to talk to the group in February.  The day they were meeting, I was scheduled to be out of town.  I didn't want to take a chance on iffy Internet connections, so we rescheduled for this week.

This week is here.

I didn't have Skype, either.

I do now.  And thanks to my pals, Ellery Adams and Julie Hyzy, I tested it and had two very nice long-distance discussions, and I got to see my friends, who I haven't seen since last April.  Weeee!  This is fun!
Now the real test comes on Friday when I fire up my laptop and talk to that library group.  Gulp!  I'm off to go get beautiful!

Do you use Skype or a service like it?

My book on the Silver Screen? Could it ever really happen?

Okay, I did NOT see any of the films in this year's Oscar race.  Not one.  I heard about all of them.  I saw clips on all of them (even three of the short features), but time to go to the movies?  Fuggetaboutit! I didn't even get to see the last Harry Potter on the big screen.  I was busy writing. (The last movie I went to see was The King's Speech.  It was good!)

But last night I had a bit of a fun time on Facebook.  I posted that I thought it would be cool if one of my books made it to the movies, and I picked Murder on The Mind, the first Jeff Resnick book.  One of my readers suggested one of the Booktowns would make a good movie, but while my readers might be happy, the coveted 18-49 male demographic would never tear themselves away from their video games and Youtube to make it to the theater.  (But they'd probably do really well on TV. How about the Hallmark Channel?)

Someone suggested that Bradley Cooper play Jeff Resnick, the hero of Murder On The Mind (and the rest of the series).  I must confess, I never even heard of Bradley Cooper. (Writers don't get out that much.  I mean, I make it to the grocery store once a week, and that's about it.)  I looked him up on Google images and -- hot damn, he's good looking.  He's got mesmerizing blue eyes.  Jeff has muddy brown eyes.  I think I could overlook that tiny imperfection in the actor.

I've always thought that Phillip Seymour Hoffman would be terrific as Richard.  (He'd have to dye his hair brown -- but actors do that a lot.  Maybe he could lose a few pounds, too.  (Couldn't we all--or at least a bunch of us--do with that, too?) The fact that Mr. Hoffman is a Rochester, NY Native (okay, Pittsford--let's not quibble) would make it even better!

From the first time I saw Jennifer Hudson (and I don't even remember where that was), I thought she'd make a terrific Brenda.  (She doesn't have to sing for the role!)  Can't you just picture her bossing Richard and Jeff around?

I haven't given much thought as to who could play Maggie.  When I picture her as I'm writing the character, it's Gates McFadden I see, but she's too old for the part now.  Still, 15 years ago, she would have made a fabulous Maggie.

Is there a chance in hell this book would be made into a movie?  Well, a production company did request a copy -- but they never optioned it.  (I have a friend who's had a book optioned.  So far ... no movie.  But they keep renewing the option, so there is hope.)  Of course if you know someone at a production company, hey--mention Jeff's name, willya?

So, what do you think about my casting?  Disagree?  Who do you see playing the major roles?
 .

The first signs of spring . . .

The other day it snowed overnight.  (Is that an oxymoron?  Anyway, it did.)  The snow was the wet, heavy spring type snow.  And it melted by lunchtime.

The daffodils are up by several inches.  Now we're waiting for the snowdrops.

It's been a mild winter, but it's still winter.  I'm ready for warm weather.  Zephyr breezes.  Planting my snow peas (and I'll do it on time, this year).

I'm ready for spring.  How about you?

And since we're on the subject of covers ....

One of the great things about being an indie author is that if something isn't working, you can fix it--or at least play with it.  That goes for your title, your book/story description, and covers, too.

One of my favorite short stories hasn't done all that well.  Okay, so it's kind of a romance, but it's got a lot of heart and for a long time I was disappointed that it didn't sell.  Not for lack of trying.  I submitted the story four times and they asked for three rewrites.  But we just couldn't come to an agreement on certain aspects of the story.  In the long run, I'm rather pleased that I have full control over it.  And although it's not a huge seller like say ... oh, I don't know -- A Crafty Killing and The Walled Flower , in the 18 months it's been available, it has earned me more than I would have gotten at 6 cents a word way  back when.

I changed the cover for the 3rd time last year about this time. I also changed the title for the third time.  So you see, this little story has been around the block a few times, trying to find its way and its audience.




The story has done best as "An Unconditional Love."  I liked the image, but it wasn't working.  That cover was kind of done by committee.  I asked for ideas on Facebook and a bunch of readers weighed in. But it was my Cozy Chick sister Heather Webber (also known as Heather Blake) who found the image that was perfect for the story.

DESCRIPTION:  A one-night stand changes Leslie Turner's life forever when she discovers she's pregnant. Keeping the child means losing her business. Even more devastating, the baby is born with a disfiguring birth defect. Her carefully planned life falls apart . . . until years later when she once again meets her baby's father. Can they ever be a family?


Here's a short review by  Dru Ann Love of Dru's Book Musings:  "What happens when your friend's widowed husband comes into your bar and drowns out his sorrow? You drive him home and that one night of unexpected passion changes the course of your life. This was a heartwarming and tender story of one woman's journey of love and forgiveness."

Will this variation of the old cover work?  Who knows.  But it's kind of fun to try.  I might be doing more of it in the near future, too.

So, which cover do you like best?
.

Happy Birthday to my Dad!

"Nothing on earth can make
up for the loss of one who
has loved you."
--Selma Lagert

I lost my Dad in October of 2009, just as Lorna was starting to see some success.  He never knew most of the Lorna triumphs.  Hitting the New York Times bestsellers list--not just the extended list, but the REAL list (so far three times).  He never saw the third book in the series.  He never knew it was nominated for an Agatha for best novel of 2009. He never knew I sold another series under my own name -- the one he gave me.

Yesterday I learned I hit the New York Times bestsellers (extended) list for the first time under my own name for The Walled Flower.  And guess what, I hit higher than Lorna did on her first time. #25.

Yesterday would have been my Dad's birthday.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

You can have a copy of my book ... just not this one

By guest blogger E.J. Copperman

I don't often deny my daughter, now a sophomore in college, much of anything I can afford to give her. For one thing, she doesn't want all that much, and for another, she's my daughter. So she was surprised when I told her she couldn't have the copy of my new book I had just handed her for inspection.

"But I haven't read this one yet," she protested. "Why won't you let me read it?"

I told her I was perfectly happy for her to read OLD HAUNTS, the third in the Haunted Guesthouse mystery series. In fact, i'd have been disappointed if she didn't want to read it, as I truly value her opinion (especially since she loved the first two books in the series--the girl has good taste). But I remained adamant; she couldn't have that book.

I have a few rules I apply to myself. I always skip the second step when climbing stairs (don't ask me why--I'm pretty sure even I don't understand that one). I always put on my socks before anything else in the morning. (TMI?) I always cross off the "Down" clues on the New York Times crossword puzzle as I decipher the answers, but not the "Across" ones.

And I always--always--keep the first copy of one of my books for myself, and nobody else.

There's something about that first copy, the one the publisher sends an author before the number of copies for "promotional purposes" they send because it's stipulated in the contract we sign. It's a reminder that this was a dream job, something I aspired to for years and years before gathering the nerve to even try it. It brings me back to the first copy of the first book I wrote, the way I felt when I was holding it in my hands for the first time. That's a sensation that doesn't get old. It represents effort and luck and joy and hope and a thousand other things I can't necessarily articulate.

And it's a feeling that doesn't ever go away.

So on a shelf in my office is the first copy I received of each of my books, in any edition and all configurations (large print, etc.). As the shelf becomes more crowded, it becomes a source of pride and memory. It's the kind of thing that strokes an author's ego for the right reason; it's not about money (because the money actually would take up less room on the shelf, even in singles), it's not about "fame," however incongruous a term that is for what we do. It's not about being lucky that an editor liked your writing and took the time to read your book when she could have read someone else's. It's not about beating out another writer for a space on that shelf; competition in this business is a ridiculous concept; we're all in it together.

Seeing those books, those first books, is a reminder that it took hard work to get there, and that other people helped along the way. It's a feeling of real gratitude and pride, and I look at that shelf every once in a while when things are going other than great, to remind myself that maybe I don't have it so bad after all.

So I'm sorry, honey, but you can't have that book. Instead, I'll pre-order one from a bookseller and have it sent to your college P.O. box.

You don't ever turn away an interested reader. I'm not crazy.
========================================
 E.J. Copperman is the author of the Haunted Guesthouse mystery series, which continues Feb. 7 (Hey, that's tomorrow!) with OLD HAUNTS.

The ghosts haunting Alison Kerby's Jersey Shore guesthouse are sad. Maxie wants to know who murdered her ex-husband, and Paul pines for his still-living almost-fiancee. The only one who isn't missing her ex is Alison-because The Swine just arrived on her doorstep...

Available Tuesday from:

Amazon ~ Kindle ~ Barnes & Noble ~ Nook ~ Books A Million ~ Indigo ~ The Book Depository ~ iTunes ~ Independent (US) Bookstores

You can find out more about E.J. at www.ejcopperman.com
.

Can I PLEASE just speak to a human being?

by guest blogger Nancy J. Cohen

How often have you tried to reach customer service on the telephone only to be transported through multiple levels of automated replies? Not only does this take up your time, but it raises your aggravation factor tenfold. 

“Just give me a person,” you shout into the phone to no avail.

When that doesn’t work, you punch the “O” on your keypad. Instead of bringing up the operator, you get a message that says, “I’m sorry, I don’t recognize that response.” And the litany of automated choices begins again.

A while ago, I came across a post online that mentioned a website called http://gethuman.com. This useful site lists companies with instructions on how to bypass their telephone tree.

A miracle!

Of course, every time I want to call someone, I’m not going to look up this website, scroll down to the company, and read the instructions. Too much rigmarole. But the site does give some general tips that may be useful. For example, repeatedly say “Customer Service” or “Representative”, and you might get connected to a live person. Or push the zero key. As mentioned above, though, this may not get you the operator, in which case the automated choices are read to you again.

It’s just so annoying when we have to talk to a machine these days instead of a person. Trying to get hold of someone in your doctor’s office is probably the worst. You end up leaving a message, and if you’re lucky, you might get a call back by dinner time. The cable company? Forget it. We’d finally reached tech service and scheduled an appointment. The night before, we received an automated phone call that said the problem in the area had been fixed and our appointment was canceled. What problem in the area? I had to call up all over again and reschedule, then wait for two more automated confirmation phone calls.

Give me back the old days when real people answered the telephone.
====================================
Nancy J. Cohen is an award-winning author who writes romance and mysteries. Her popular Bad Hair Day series features hairdresser Marla Shore, who solves crimes with wit and style under the sultry Florida sun. Here latest entry in the series is Shear Murder:  Who knew weddings could be murder?  Hairstylist Marla Shore is weeks away from becoming a bride herself when she walks down the aisle as a bridesmaid at her friend Jill’s ceremony. Things take a turn for the worse when the matron of honor ends up dead, the cake knife in her chest. Now what will they use to cut the cake? BUY NOW!

Follow Nancy on her Social Networks: Website   ~ Blog ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Goodreads

Leave a comment during Nancy’s blog tour and enter to win a free signed book.
 .

I won't strut the catwalk in these boots . . .

Winter's here, and I've got boots.

For many years (more than a decade), I couldn't say that.  Why?  Because I couldn't find any boots I liked.  Okay, I'll admit it. My last pair of boots leaked like sieves and I figured I may as well just wear my sneakers and have wet feet anyway.  But this year ... I decided to bite the bullet.

I'm no clothes horse.  I've had fashionable boots in the past.  Not only did they leak, but they hurt my feet.  This year, my mother saw a pair of Totes boots she liked at JCPenney, but they didn't have her size, so I ordered them for her online.  As it happens, we wear the same size shoe, so when her boots came, I tried them on, and--Whoa--they fit perfectly. Even better, they weren't super expensive.  I went straight home and ordered a pair for myself.
What a difference.  Unlike my sneakers, they're WARM.  So far my feet have stayed dry.  I can shovel and not have Popsicle toes.  I am a happy camper!

It's true, they are NOT glamorous, but so what?  I want warm, dry feet and they deliver.  Now to hope they last more than one season without leaking.

Are you a fashion hound when it comes to boots, or do you just want dry feet?
.

Surely that's WORTH a giant cookie!

by guest blogger Janet Bolin

My mystery-writing career began when someone lost a shoe.

I found it.

To the consternation of the woman walking with me, I shoved the shoe into my briefcase and took it home.

The next morning, I took the shoe to work and called my doctor.

Are you still with me? Oh, sorry, that was rather a large . . . um . . . step.

Okay, here’s how the conversation went, sort of.

Me: “Have any of your patients reported losing an orthotic?”
Receptionist: “No.”

Me: “Because I found one. It matches my orthotic.”

Receptionist: “Is it yours?”

Me: “No. The sticker on the bottom of mine says Bolin. The sticker on the bottom of hers is torn, but these are the letters I can read. T-E-N-A.”

Receptionist: “First or last name?”

Me: “I don’t know.”

Silence.

Me: (getting desperate—as anyone who has ever purchased orthotics knows, they are hideously expensive.) “It’s in a blue suede woman’s shoe, size 8M.”

More silence. Then, with a great deal of doubt, “I’ll see if we have any patients matching that.” Click. Dial tone.

My sense of triumph lasted at least an hour. But day after day passed, and I didn’t hear from the doctor’s office. Some poor woman had lost an expensive item, and could be hobbling around on very sore feet. On one very sore foot.

What could have possibly happened to her? Maybe something terrible.  
  
I started to write about a woman setting out to find the owner of a lost shoe.  I scribbled and scribbled (actually, I keyed the words, but scribbling sounds much more dramatic) and couldn’t stop.

Finally, I received a call. “I hear you found my shoe.”

Tena showed up at my office to collect her shoe and her expensive orthotic. She brought me a HUGE chocolate chip cookie in the shape of a high-heeled shoe. “The people in my office are calling you the Shoe Goddess,” she said.

Breaking off and gobbling chunks of cookie, the people in my office probably started thinking of me as the Chocolate Chip Cookie Goddess.

We all lived happily ever after.

All of us, that is, except for the woman in my story who lost a shoe . . .

That was my first manuscript, the one that lives in the proverbial drawer. But I was hooked on writing mysteries.

What about you? Did you ever do something strange that propelled you into accomplishing something you’d always wanted to try?
======================================================

The first book in Janet Bolin’s Threadville Mystery series is Dire Threads. Visit her website or talk to her on Facebook and/or Twitter.  The second book in the series is Threaded for Trouble, arriving in stores June 5, 2012, and is now available for pre-order.

Dire Threads:  Amazon ~ Kindle   ~ Barnes & Noble / Nook   ~  Indigo   ~  Books A Million   ~  The Book Depository    ~  Independent (US) Bookstores

Threaded For Trouble:  Amazon   ~  Barnes & Noble   ~  The Book Depository   ~   Books A Million  ~ Independent (US) Bookstores

I can now be taken out in public!

Well, it's about time I spiffed up.  I mean, I do have a book signing to go to in a couple off week.  (I'll be signing The Walled Flower.  If you're in the Rochester, NY area -- maybe you can come and say "HI!")

Now, I hate to dress up, but in the past couple of months, I've invested in several scarves. I have a really pretty purple and gold one (it shimmers), silver, a black-and-white floral.  I even have a few knitted ones. (The one I made myself convinced me that my knitting days are over, thank you very little Mr. Carpal Tunnel syndrome.)

But what do I know about wearing them?  Well, isn't Google just the best thing around.  I found a video to help me out.  (Although, come on -- NOT choice No. 3.  The woman looks like she's trying out to be the bow on a Valentine's Day gift.)

So far I've successfully worn one of my scarves once. I mean, I went to a party and nobody laughed. In fact, a couple of other women were wearing very nice scarves. I felt like I belonged (and believe me, that doesn't happen very often).

Do you wear scares to spiff up?

Movies I've seen at least 20 times . . .

Okay, over the years I've had a LOT of favorite movies.  And now I have a new one.

Okay, I still have LOTS of favorite movies that I watch depending on my mood.  Sometimes I watch Star Trek: The Search For Spock, because if there was ever a story that explores the depths of friendship, that's it.  I love Star Trek First Contact because we see Captain Picard pushed to the brink, and yet . . . he's still every bit a hero.

I watch Pollyanna when I have a long and boring task (because it's incredibly LONG) and because Hayley Mills is charming.  I also love The Secret Garden. (And I read the book a couple of times every years, too.)

I love White Christmas and hate Betty Haines every time I watch it.  But I still watch it.  Wayyyyy too many times when Christmas rolls around.  (Why didn't she just ask Bob what he was up to?  Nooooo, that would have shortened the story by about twenty minutes.  But she wouldn't have looked like such a jerk.)

But lately I've been watching Love Actually (when I can tear myself away from my latest manuscript.  I admit, I did watch it at least four times in December ... not all that much, really.)  It's such a cool movie, with so many different looks at what makes love.  People in love.  People out of love.  People wanting love.  Peopel denying themselves of love.  And though it's set at Christmastime, it doesn't have to be Christmas to enjoy it. And for most of the people involved, it has a happy ending.  (Come on, sometimes you really just want to see  happy ending.)

What's your current favorite movie?

Last week I went to the Lands End Inlet (as opposed to outlet) store.  Way cool!  I was on a mission:  to buy one of their wonderful tote bags.  I thought it would be a great way to carry stuff to and fro this summer when we go to the cottage.  (Can you tell I'm already counting the days until we can start going down there again?)
So we drove across town and go into the store.  I asked one of the clerks where to find them. She said against the wall, but if we didn't mind monogrammed ones, they were on sale.

She wasn't kidding.  The monogrammed ones -- I assume ones that were ordered but for some reason never purchased, or perhaps they were monogrammed incorrectly -- were drastically cheaper.  As a former vendor in an antiques co-op, it pains me to pay retail for anything, so getting a bargain was a good deal for me.

I picked through the bags (and boy, were there a lot of them) and found the perfect one.  It was white with pink accents with a monogram of HCO.  Not only that, but there are cool pockets inside, and it zippered shut.  Can you say "almost perfect in every way?"

When I went to pay for it, the clerk said I would get an extra 20% off.  Even better!  As she cashed out my purchase, she asked if I was interested in removing the monogram.  I was.  So she put in a sheet of instructions on what to do.  Ya know what, I actually read the thing for helpful hints!
I got home, borrowed a seam ripper from my mother, took out a pair of fine tweezers and went to work.  First, I went after the BIG C in the middle.

Whoa--this was a lot harder than it looked.  I had to get out Mr. L's head loupe because the stitches were very tiny and my close-range eyesight has never been all that good.  After quite a long time, I managed to pick out all of the letter C.  As far as I was concerned, that was enough.  Until I realized what the remaining letters spelled.

Can you say "HO!"

NO, I did NOT want to be known as a HO -- but oy!  The "O" was pretty easy, but it took forever to pick out that H, which had a lot of curlicues. Afterwards, I followed the instructions, which said to use a little liquid Ivory Snow and gently wash the area with a toothbrush and it would help hide the offending letters. (Lucky I had some on hand.)  I did, and it did! Now I have a lovely tote and without someone else's monogram or an offensive term written on it.

What was your last great bargain?

Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous this aint!

Recently one of my ex-co-workers responded to a Facebook post where I talked about the upcoming release of The Walled Flower.  (okay, can you blame me?  It's one of my favorite topics right about now.)  In it she said, "I know somebody famous."

Wait a minute.  Me, famous?

No, no, no.

I'm not even a celebrity (and when you consider that people like Paris Hilton and Kim Kardashian get to be celebrities by appearing in sex videos -- no thanks, that's not the life I'm looking for).

Let's face it, even in my Lorna Barrett persona (my best known name), I couldn't walk into a Starbucks in Rochester, NY and get a free cup of Joe by pulling the fame card.  "Who?" they say, squinting at me and taking in my faded jeans (they got that way by years of wear, not by paying an exorbitant price.  And besides, I don't drink coffee.)

I've always heard it's better to be rich than famous.  I think that must be true, but about now, I'm wondering how to get to the rich part.

And if I was rich, what would I do with all that money?

Well, first off, I'd get a brand spanking new kitchen.  I have a TINY kitchen (and worry that future prospective buyers will bolt when they find out it's so tiny there's no room for even a bistro table and chairs), but I don't even want granite counters, and stainless steel appliances.  Nope, just some new counters (Formica is fine with me) and reface the cabinets.  Oh, and replace the slippery-when-wet ceramic tile with one that has a little texture.

A new car.  Not a Caddy or even a BMW ... nope.  A Town and County minivan with stow-and-go seats.  Don't even need extra BRDs (beverage restraint devices) because I use both hands to drive (and, as mentioned above, I don't drink coffee).

I could give more money to charity if I had more to spare.  My favorite charities are:  Crackerbox Palace farm animal rescue (a lot of people see farm animals as expendible.  Well, I don't. They deserve a long and happy life just like cats and dogs), The Wayne County Humane Society (I'd give to the one in my own county, only they are well funded--Wayne County has a lot of poverty, and not enough $$$ to spay and neuter, etc.) and St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital (although I'd feel a lot more comfortable giving them more money if they laid off sending stuff out like stickers and calendars and stuff and just used the money I send to CURE KIDS OF CANCER!!!!!).  I'd also give more to my local Food Pantry.

Okay, I MIGHT buy a few bracelets and earrings, and a couple of 1950s Christmas figurines that cost more than a buck each (my garage sale limit).  But other than that . . . .

What would you buy if you had unlimited funds?

Has the golden age of personal web sites passed?

I have counters on the index (home) pages of my web sites (and even on this blog).  That way I can see how many people come to visit on a daily/weekly basis.

It's no surprise that my Lorna web site gets the most hits, and it's pretty steady.  (That's unique visitors.)  I sure wish it was more, but I'll take what I can get.

Unfortunately, my other two personas don't get those kinds of hits.  It's discouraging to me, because I've been shouting from any rooftop I can find that I'm writing under three names.  Lorraine's site is doing eh-okay.  L.L.'s site ... you don't want to know.  This pie chart isn't accurate, but it's not too far off, either.

This is rather discouraging.  Especially since Lorraine has a new book coming out Februray 7th.

I put my web site address on all my promotional material.  I list them in the acknowledgments in all my books.  I would expect that more people would seek the sites out.

Do you think the golden age of web sites is over?  What do you like to see in an author's website?

(Just in case you want to visit my websites to compare them, you can find them by clicking my various names:  Lorna ~ Lorraine ~ L.L. )
.

Oh, how I hate winter ... how about you?

Here in Western NY, we've been enjoying November for the past three months.  I'm sure other parts of the Northeast have, too.   It's been great.  I mean, I can't remember such a wonderful winter.  A winter with virtually no snow.

Last year was the pits.  It seemed like it snowed every day. I was out there with my roof rake just about every day, and snowblowing the top of the driveway, too.  (We have an "L" shaped driveway.) Over the summer, we had our landscaping redone.  Weeeee!  Suddenly without all that overgrown stuff lining the drive, the plowman can get in and plow the L-shaped top of the drive.  But oddly enough ... he's only had to do it once this season.

Until today.

Winter has suddenly reappeared.  BAH!  Humbug.

I was quite prepared to go straight through until May with November weather and now ... it's all been ruined.
I'm sure that a few weeks from now Punxsutawney Phil pops out of his hole on February 2nd, you just KNOW he's going to way SIX MORE WEEKS OF WINTER.  I'm just afraid he'll say TWELVE more weeks of winter because we've skirted the issue for so long.

How's winter been where you live?

The PO just loves me ... NOT!

Guess what?  I can't get 32 cent stamps.

Why is that such a big deal?

Because I want to mail my postcards for The Walled Flower out AFTER the postage goes up next week.  But guess what?  They won't sell the new stamps UNTIL the postage goes up.  That wouldn't give me much time to stick the stamps on over 2500 postcards.

And why am I waiting to send the postcards until AFTER the postage goes up?  Wouldn't it be cheapter to do it now?

Yup.  By $75 . . . except . . . it's expecting a LOT to ask people to remember HERE'S MY NEW BOOK, BUT YOU CAN'T GET IT FOR THREE WEEKS.  Nope, it's better to send the cards out about a week before publication.  (Although some stores do jump the gun and offer the book for sale ahead of the publication date -- which screws up my changes of hitting the New York Times bestseller list ... but in the long run it's sales, not the timing of them, that really count.)

So, the bad news is I have had to buy my stamps at the current rate (and my local PO ran out of the 29 cent herb stamps and I had to resort to some polar bear stamps), PLUS either 3 cent or 4 cent stamps to bring the postage up to the new rate.  Can you say "TAKES TWICE AS LONG?"

*Sigh*

I'm not liking the P.O. much these days.  (They could at least consult ME before they change rates, and the timing of such, right?)

Anyway, keep a watch out -- a postcard just might be making its way to you in the next week or so.
.

And the alternative to taxes is ...?

Ugh ... if you work for yourself (and most authors without day jobs do), you have to pay your quarterly taxes in time for January 15th.

Today's the day!

Um ... it's very painful.  Mind you, I anticipated the coming of this day and put some money aside in a special account just for that reason.  It has a WHOPPING 0.25% interest.  Let's see, how many millions of years would it take me to become a millionaire on the interest?  100?  200?  Oh, no -- that can't happen ... because I'm writing that quarter check that takes the money away from me and gives it to the government.  The one that doesn't have enough money to fix the roads or bridges, but can give Congressmen exorbitant raises and free health care for life.  (The pain of writing my quarterly health care check came two weeks ago.)  And mind you, self-employed people are screwed royally.  We don't have an employer paying half our FICA taxes -- the whole shebang is on our shoulders.

They say there's nothing as certain as death and taxes.  I guess I'd rather pay than face the alternative.

And guess what -- the next check must be paid in April.  Yikes.  I'm looking forward to spring, but not April 15th.  How about you?
.

The most precious gift

Well, the tree and ornaments are packed away for another year.  The stockings likewise. The holiday music is back in the drawer (taking up most of it, I might add), and Mr. L has breathed a sigh of relief for another 11 months.

Santa was very good to me this year.  Mr. L gave me a Kindle Fire (which I will blog more about later) and a bunch of other swell stuff, but the gift that meant the most to me was this one ... in a frame.



This picture of our sister act was taken only a few months before we lost our dear sweet Bonnie (left).  Unwrapping this made me cry, but only because I miss her so.  Bonnie wasn't smiling, but maybe that's because she already didn't feel well.  (We'll never know.)

What was your favorite Christmas or Hanukkah gift?
.

They call my name . . . and I am weak . . .

Can you believe it?  Here we are in the second week of January and there is STILL holiday food hanging around and taunting me?

Okay, so it isn't really holiday food.

No candy canes.

No cut-out cookies (they're long gone).

No fruitcake.  (Okay, we didn't have any of that -- and I wouldn't have eaten it anyway ... just sayin'.)

But we got several gift baskets of yummy things that have delicious things.  Like cheese.  Crackers.  CHOCOLATE COVERED COOKIES!!!

The easiest way to resist them is NOT to open them.  Okay, got that.  But do these goodies have to come with a voice?

"Come here.  I'm delicous.  Eat me!"

I feel like Alice in Wonderland, only I won't get smaller if I eat them, and that's been the goal.

Do you still have holiday treats hanging around?
.

Not quite up to Elizabeth Taylor's standards, but . . .

Why is it all of a sudden I'm going ga-ga for jewelry?  I find myself looking at it wherever I go ... and in those catalogs I mentioned yesterday.

I want necklaces.

Bracelets.

Earrings.

Anklets.

Rings.

Eyebrow studs. (No, wait.  Erase that.)

And I never go anywhere to wear the stuff.  Yup, most nights it's me in front of the stereo reading or in front of the DVD player watching Star Trek: Voyager. (Gotta love Captain Janeway! And notice ... she doesn't wear jewelry.)

I considered buying this "sisters in heart" pin for myself and two of my best buds for Christmas.  But then the shipping was astronomical and I found out that though the pin looks BIG in the catalogs (and online) it was teeny weeny if you read the fine print (only 1.25 inches high).

Guess who didn't get the pins for Christmas.  (Besides, one of my pals told me that "only old ladies wear pins."  Should I be afraid to wear a pin now for fear of being branded OLDE? (and yes, I put that added "e" on there deliberately. <g>) 

The best way NOT to buy something like jewelry is to NOT look at it in stores and online.

Can you say "new New Year's resolution?"
.

I did a lot of my holiday shopping online.  I also bought a bunch of clothes this fall ... again, online.  Only now I'm being flooded with catalogs!

At first it was fun getting all these wonderful catalogs and perusing the pages to see if there was anything I wanted, or anything I wanted to give as a gift.

But then I finished my holiday shopping.

I figured once the holidays were over I'd stop getting so many.  Uh-uh.  I'm still geting one or two a WEEK from every one of these outfits.

STOP ALREADY!!!!

Here's a place to do it:  Catalog Choice.
.

A daily dose of cupcakes

Okay, my New year's Resolution (besides exercise) is to lose some weight.

Uh-oh!

What did I choose for a calendar for 2012?

Not such a wise choice.  Twelve months of luscious, GORGEOUS cupcakes.

What's the theme of your new calendar(s)?

(P.S.  I have a cat calendar for the kitchen.)

January's cold -- read some hot new mysteries!

Hey, it's the first Tuesday of the month -- ya know what that means?




It Takes a Witch
by Heather Blake (aka Heather Webber)
Darcy Merriweather has just discovered she hails from a long line of Wishcrafters-witches with the power to cast spells by making a wish. She's come to Enchanted Village to learn her trade but finds herself in the middle of a murder investigation...

Amazon ~ Kindle
Barnes & Noble ~ Nook
Independent Booksellers






An Appetite for Murder
by Lucy Burdette
Hayley Snow's life always revolved around food. But when she applies to be a food critic for a Key West style magazine, she discovers that her new boss would be Kristen Faulkner-the woman Hayley caught in bed with her boyfriend! Hayley thinks things are as bad as they can get-until the police pull her in as a suspect in Kristen's murder. Kristen was killed by a poisoned key lime pie. Now Hayley must find out who used meringue to murder before she takes all the blame.

Amazon ~ Kindle
Barnes & Noble ~ Nook
Independent Booksellers

Give them a try -- you won't be sorry!
.

Doesn't everybody love having a backed-up sink?

We have been without a disposal in our sink since mid-December.  Mind you, we weren't using it before then because it wouldn't turn off.  It would run and run and you'd have to hit the thing with the big orange flashlight that lives under the sink.

The thing is ... when you're used to a disposal you tend to let stuff go down the sink.  Mind you, I hardly ever use the thing.  I chop up kitchen waste for my (not very efficient) composter.  (We're on year two and still have no appreciable compost.  Don't ask me where the stuff goes.)  Anyway, Mr. L uses it and mostly uneaten cat food goes down it.

Well, one day the water wouldn't go down and the cleaning ladies were on their way. Nothing to do but start the thing up.  And boy did that water go down fast.  I got out the flashlight and whacked the disposal to make it stop.

AND NOTHING HAPPENED!

It ran and ran and no matter how many times (or how hard) I hit it, it ran and ran.  The reset button was useless.  Nothing to do but let it burn itself out -- which it did after about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, Mr. Orange Tupperware Strainer has been living in our sink.  We strain off everythig so it doesn't go down the big hole that is Mr. Kitchenaid Disposal.

Mr. L had to order a new Mr. Kitchenaid Disposal. And darnitall--wouldn't you know the warranty had run out a few months before it died?  (It was 7 years old ... or was it 8?)

Anyway, today new Mr. Kitchenaid Disposal will be installed.  YAY!  Let the food waste go bye-bye!

What kitchen appliance have you waited far too long to be installed?
.