I have a fairly busy life and have struggled for some time with fitting everything I want to into my life with the attention I feel it deserves.

My biggest problem is my focus. I get really focused on one area and work really hard at it until something else grabs my focus (Oh is that a shiny organizer for my closet!) and then I am off with my focus on that area for a while.
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She can melt steel – and men’s hearts …

By day, Fiona Fine is a successful couture designer, catering to the high society players of Bigtime, New York. By night, she’s Fiera, a superstrong superhero who can create and manipulate fire with her bare hands. Fiera, along with the other members of the heroic Fearless Five, make life miserable for the ubervillains who want to take over the city.

But Fiona’s personal life isn’t so fine. She still misses her fiancé, who was killed by ubervillains a year ago. But men admire Fiona’s smoking assets, and she decides to get back in the dating game – especially after she meets Johnny Bulluci. But this notorious playboy has plenty of secrets to go along with his sexy smile. And, with two new ubervillains in town who are intent on raising hell, Fiona’s love life might just crash and burn …

Hot Mama Details

Release date: Nov. 6, 2007

Pages: 356

Price: $14

Format: Trade paperback

Publisher: Berkley Books

ISBN-10: 0425217345

ISBN-13: 978-0425217344

I have been reading a ton.
A lot of what I have been reading is Patricia Cornwell. I have a nice dose of paranoia working itself out of my system right now.

I actually put down the wonderful writer to pick up another fabulous writer last night.
I got my happy little package from B&N last night and immediately tore it open to dig through and find...



I devoured this book last night. I inhaled it, it was great. I actually put off watching Criminal Minds and CSI-NY to read this book.

I was hooked with the first one, but the characters just get better.

The third in this series was just released in hard back. I am going to break down and buy it. I have to know what happens next!

Highly recommend anything Charlaine Harris writes, she is amazing.

I am currently immersed in research and will continue until I recieve the final edits of Cadence WIP. I need to come up with a name for that baby.

I picked up some great books at the Library last night on Las Vegas. I live in Nevada and have visited Vegas often, but from a work stand point mostly.

I have seen the glitter the glitz and what goes into making that work. I have not seen the seedier side, the water ways under Vegas intrigue me the most right now. I think I will have to go for a visit here soon to get a feel for it all.

More research to ensue, but I also desperately need to sit down and outline what I am doing. I started that but it sort of fell apart. I am a very practical organized being, I need an outline and I need to flesh out the characters better.

I have an idea of who and what they are but... what drives them? where is the conflict? what specifics do I want to get across? etc.
I found some great character creation sheets that I think will fit the bill on this. I know what they look like, what they are, but I really need to know WHO they are! I am going to dig on them a lot and figure out what they are all about.

So the writer moves on into unknown territory, but with tools to help her along the way.

Reading - I finished the book by Lara Adrian Kiss of Midnight. I had a lot of fun reading it, but it was a romance. The story line was solid, war, vampires that are truly aliens, blah blah blag. The imagery was good, but I am fed up with romances. I need a break from them. No more sappy happiness for this reader.

Sadly, all romances end with a happy ending. I don't know why that disapoints me, but it does. I need to get away from the romance and delve into something grittier, less cliche', and filled with surprise ridden darkness. Maybe that will help with my want of tortured love.

So I am off to purchase books, dark books, gritty books, full of torture, malevolence and surprise.
Any good recommendations out there?

I had an amazing weekend. Full of little things that were just perfect. I wish it could be longer.

I cleaned my house to a shine and basked in the glory of sparkly countertops and completed laundry.
I watched a wonderful football game, that sadly we lost.
I watched The Incredibles with the three year old six times, and she took seven baths in three days. She likes her fingerpaint bath bubbles.
I read a crazy amount of books.
I bought Oreos and Keebler Chocolate chip cookies, this is an amazing thing because we haven't had cookies in the house for two years. I love cookies, I needed cookies. The Oreos are all that is left of the cookies.
I put my daughter's day bed up. Cussed a lot, got really mad, but the damn thing is up.
I weed wacked the horticultural weed wonder in the back yard.
I napped with my daughter, not once, but twice.
I talked to Superman and he let me know edits are going well and will be on their way back to me tomorrow. I can finish those up and get my short story submitted.

The books I read this weekend were a lot of fun. I flew through James Patterson's 4th of July and 5th Horseman. Great reads, fast paced and enticing.
I am finally caught up with the wide world of Harry Dresden. I finished Jim Butcher's Proven Guilty and White Night. Love that series. I am excited I am caught up and the same time sad that I have to wait for the next one in the series. Superman bought the Dreden Files only season dvd, but alas I will not be able to see it until he returns. - 51 more days.
I also started reading Kiss of Midnight by Lara Adrian. This was an impulse buy and I like the premise and difference in these vampires. I am also lonely so am sucking up the love story. I will be picking up Kiss of Crimson here shortly.
My TBR pile is sadly lacking now and I will have to get some books this week. I have one more story in the On the Prowl anthology. The one by Sunny. We'll see how that goes, I have heard mixed reviews on this author, but I will reserve judgement and see if it interests me.

Up for purchase (and subject to change at my whim)...
*Kiss of Crimson by Lara Adrian
*Nightlife by Rob Thurman
*Pretties by Scott Westerfield
*Nymphos of Rocky Flats by Mario Acevedo
*The Devil's Right Hand by Lilith Saintcrow
*Exit Strategy by Kelley Armstrong
*Wild Thing Anthology
*No Experience Necessary by Ron Baker
*Skill with People by Les Giblin

I have a list of research books at the library to pick up today as well. Hopefully the research and the books will keep me happy for a couple weeks. Then I can delve back into my Danika WIP.

I have guard drill for four days this week which I am actually looking forward to, because me and my fellow guard members are heading out to watch another guard member and his band perform Friday night. Woohoo, it should be interesting. Watch out Haf Dead we were issued two livers upon completion of tech school. It should be a blast. Good company, good times, and hopefully good music.

Writing - Short story is off to Superman for edits. Woohoo! I am excited I finished the edits last night and got it to him by 9 o`clock.

Reading - Immersed in Undercover in Highheels. Great read. I have about sixty pages left this evening.

Killer in High Heels - Great book, nice twists and turns and I laughed a lot. Gemma is absolutely my favorite chick lit author.

This weekend - I have household stuff to do. Stuff to get in the mail, beds to create, rooms to organize, garages to clean.
There will be fun though - Library visit and house visit I think is necessary.
I want to sit down and watch a couple of movies that are sitting on top of the DVD player to be watched.
I am gonna weed wack the weeds in the back yard too. After I take photos of the scariest tumble weed I have ever seen. Apparently it likes pool water because it is thriving and it has flowers budding on it. Who knew tumble weeds had flower?
Not me, but after I take a photo it is a dead weed. It is simply out of control.

Research Research Research is on my late night agenda this weekend. Aren't you jealous?

I lost track of the 70 days of sweat. I will have to sign up for the next go around. I have no intention of stopping writing though. I just need to allow myself to do it. Instead of reading everyone else's work I need to settle into mine.

I finished The Taste of Night: The Second Sign of the Zodiac. It was good, but the main character bothers me a bit. She is not a very good team player and makes some pretty arrogant mistakes.

The love story breaks my heart and I want to take up a damn bow myself on Rosa.

There were some descriptive areas that lost my interest and made me skip forward.

All around though she does a great job using all five and sometimes six senses in the book and I could really learn from it. I like the idea of the book, most of the characters, and the location is fab. It's the getting from here to there that irritates me a few times.
Great book all around, will be picking up the next one.




The Touch of Twilight: Third Sign of the Zodiac is up next. I have some expectations for this book and they better live up to it. I have no idea when it comes out but I am sure I will find out at some point.

Holidays are Hell will have a short story from Vicki too. I will be picking that up due to some of the other authors as well. I want to see what she can do with a short story.

I spent the last two weeks with my Air National Guard unit and worked my tush off.

During this we worked crazy ten hour days in over 100 degree weather on our flight line. I think I lost ten pounds by sweating alone. It was nice to be on the birds that much and feel accomplished at the end. Down time was in there, but a lot more up time on the aircraft than anything.

You would think that my writing and reading suffered during these extremely busy, exhausting, extensive two weeks of training, but nothing suffered. Not even the lawn, which is always last on the list of things to do.

I was awake more in the last two weeks than normal. Which had to do with waking an hour and a half earlier than usual.

My Guard unit is local and we pulled some long shifts but I got to go home at the end of the day and be with the kiddos.

( Two weeks of catching up. )