Where Are You From?

For the next week or so, my blogging is going to be sporadic, (TTG and I have bought a new house, so we're packing and moving) if I blog at all, so in the event that I'm not back for a while, I thought I'd ask my readers to de-lurk (there are many of you out there) and tell me where y'all hail from.



I think the last time I asked this question was a couple of years ago, when TTG and I went to Florida for our hols, and I'm aware that my readership has shifted somewhat since then.

So, don't be shy, come out and tell me where you call home.

Oh, and don't worry if your city or town has been mentioned already, I still want to know!

Do You Want To Read A Book That Gives The POV Of The Villain?

Someone's book got rejected by Samhain and she wasn't pleased about it. And I mean, REALLY not pleased about it. *g*

Apparently an editor at Samhain rejected Edita A Petrick's suspense story because it began with the villain's point of view.

Petrick writes:

"I've submitted to them one of my suspense thrillers with romantic/paranormal elements and it does open up in killer's pov since it's essential to the story and for the reader to understand where the paranormal thread/element comes from.


The premise is quite simple. The killer assassinates his 'mark' but because of paranormal elements (an ancient heirloom locket the victim wears) the victim survives what for all intents and purposes is a sure-kill.


Samhain, however, feels that it is very bad to start in killer's pov or to show glimpses of what drives the killer throughout the story. This was number one 'flaw' of the story's presentation according to the editor.


Number two was that there were more than one point-of-view presentation. Basically, the editor said it's not possible for the reader to follow 'threads' of the story as these are far apart by definition of what the story is but they come together as the events impact on them and force them to come together (as they must) for the story to have a resolution."

As a reader, I really don't have a problem with starting a book from the villain's point of view. It's all in the execution, as far as I'm concerned. Does the author give away key clues as to the identity of the villain? Does she give away who the next victim will be? Does she actually give away the whys and wherefores of the villains actions? If not, what's the problem? And even if she did, there are ways to keep the reader still glued to the book. Yes, to me, execution is definitely key.

Now it could be that the book actually sucked donkeys, and the POVs were just one aspect of the story that didn't work for the editor, but as far as rejecting the book just because she doesn't think multiple POVs work, well.... you gotta question the editor, seeing as many best selling authors use multiple POVs, including that of the villain.

So, waddaya think? Do you prefer POVs to be restricted to the good guys, or do you want to know what the bad guys are thinking too?

If you do want to know what the bad guys are thinking, do you think it's appropriate to start a book with the villain's point of view?

Also, what do you think of multiple POVs and authors who head-hop, in general? For? Against? Couldn't give a flying fuck?

Via The Great Scott's blog.

By the way, did Charlotte Boyett Compo of the 'Wind' books, and Samhain have a falling out of sorts?

"Antiquated thinking? You betcha. I completely agree that it is insulting to the reader. Samhain needs to take another look at what's going on in the real world of publishing."

I almost got whiplash when I read that comment from CBC. Just call me Curious George...

Anthologies... Waddaya Think Of Them?

I used to buy anthologies quite often, always with the hope of discovering a super-duper new author. So what if I had to pay more money for them? I wasn't just getting one author, I was getting three or four authors, so the price leap was totally justifiable...right?

Well... it depends. It depends on the authors, and it depends on the stories. I started resenting the fact that I only ever got one half-decent story out of the three, or four. What's that about?

Now, I rarely ever buy them, unless one of the authors is an auto-buy, and even then, I'm still a bit reluctant to shell out the money.

The only anths I buy these days with any kind of regularity (also known as, once a year) are the Kensington Brava anths. I still resent the £9.99 ($20) that I have to pay for them though.

So, what do you think of anths? Do you buy, or like me, do you generally avoid them like the plague?

Also, what do you think of the prices? Value for money, or not?

Also, does anybody out there know how well they sell, in comparison to single-authored books?

Wanna Win An ARC? Then Enter Sarah McCarty's ARC Contest...

As found here.

Hell's Eight

Bloggers are you ready?
(readers who don't blog can win an arc by entering my .net site contest that will start later- 10/1/07)

My first NY Western Historical series is releasing from SPICE in just over one month. It's a super-hot, fast-paced romance with a strong heroine, a hero to die for, and a happily ever after that will touch your heart. Like my Promise series, Hell's Eight probably is not what a reader thinks of when they think Western Historical, but each of these stories is a slice of life rich with emotion, spiced with passion, and filled with moments I hope will make your heart twist. The men of Hell's Eight are unpredictable and fascinating. They're definitely a law unto themselves, as wild as the West in which they live. Determined, and single-minded, they've planned for every contingency that could complicate their goals except for the one they never saw coming: the extraordinary women that will capture their hearts.

Read an excerpt.

Think you're ready?

Okay, here it is, your chance to win one of the six ARCs of Caine's Reckoning, first in the Hell's Eight series.

The goal of this contest is to spread the word far and wide of the upcoming release of Caine's Reckoning.

To enter:

1. Copy and paste this post on your website, blog, MySpace, or wherever you wish, including a link to the excerpt.

2. Once you've completed #1, email SarahMcCartyContests @ Gmail.com (no spaces) with the link to your site and you are entered. It's as simple as that.

3. If you are the lucky winner of an ARC, simply be ready to read the book and review it during late October. You can review it on your blog, MySpace, online websites like Amazon, etc.

That's it.

Blog. Email. Read. Wait till the last couple of weeks of October. Review.


To enter, EMAIL me at SarahMcCartyContests @ gmail.com (without the spaces), with:

1. Caine's Reckoning ARC in the subject line.

2. The link to your post about the ARC contest.

3. Your name and address.

4. Where you intend to review the book.


Contest (open to US and Canadian residents) closes September 30th, 12 midnight, EST US.

Good luck!


Found via Let's Gab.

And Another One Bites The Dust...

I've no idea who Stardust Press. were, but they'll be going kaput on 30th September. This is what the CEO or whoever 'Raine' is, had to say:

"After much discussion and negotiation and evaluation, it is with regret that we announce StarDust Press is closing effective September 30, 2007. We are saddened that despite all our efforts, SDP is bleeding, and the investors have decided to cut their losses."

At least we can be grateful that this time, the owners don't seem to be totally losing the plot. They've obviously learned from the antics of the last lot.

Via ERECSITE.

By the way, does anybody know what it means when you dream that everytime you picked up a newborn baby, you either broke its bones, or dropped it on its head?

I had the same dream on Friday and Sunday. I woke up crying each time.

I really think I need a break.

R.I.P Colin McRae Et Al...

The former World Rally champion and his five year old son, were amongst four people who died when his helicopter crashed near his home in Lanarkshire, on Sunday.

I'm still in shock. TTG and I used to go and watch the GB car rallies, before the new rules turned it into a joke. I remember one winter, years ago, we went to Clumber Park near Nottingham to watch the rally. It was cold as a witch's tit, but we stood there for about two hours and watched the cars splash mud all over the place. At about 4pm, it started snowing, and didn't let up. Luckily TTG had snow chains with him (he was a boy scout), so we were able to drive home safely, although the journey was extremely slow.

I can't quite believe he's gone. Richard Burns died two years ago, now Colin.

Life really is short isn't it?

They Go Together Like A Horse And Carriage...

I totally stole this idea from the gals over at The Goddess Blogs.

Basically, I have six pics of beautiful Hollywood women, and six pics of beautiful Hollywood men, all you have to do is to match them up, and explain your reasons.

Here are the women:



So, we have Salma Hayek, Marcia Cross, and Drew Barrymore



Halle Berry, Aishwarya Rai, and Beyonce Knowles

And here are the men:



David Beckham, Will Smith, and Terence Howard



Blokey from Heroes (Sendhil Ramamurthy), Pierce Brosnan, and Brad Pitt.


So, who do you think matches best with whom?

My pick?

Becks - with me (now you never really believed I'd give him to any of these hussies did you?)

Salma Hayek and Brad Pitt - She's got good child bearing hips, and he's into the whole fatherhood thing isn't he?

Pierce Brosnan with Ashwarya Rai - Think of the goregousness of their off-springs

Beyonce with Terence Howard - They'd look so great together

Will Smith and Drew Barrymore - two funny people together, although I can't imagine what their kids would look like, lol

Halle Berry and Sendhil Ramamurthy - I think he'd treat her really well, and be the perfect gent

Oh look, Marcia Cross is left on the shelf, sorry Marcia, Becks is mine, and I don't share!

OK, now it's your turn, if you can be arsed!

"For years, she's claimed to have movie deals and Hollywood screenwriters knocking on her door."

I got a really interesting e-mail about our friend Patsy Rebmann, AKA AP Miller. The e-mail was from an author, who's met her several times.

I'm not going to post the e-mail on here, but apparently (to paraphrase) most of her peers are horribly embarrassed by her and her actions, and put it down to some sort of mental breakdown. Also apparently, she's been lying for years about Hollywood knocking on her door, and whatnot, so it's quite likely that the Harlequin contract is also a lie. If she's not lying about that, then hopefully, someone other than 'Tarra' will bob over and confirm her claim.

As for claiming Eloisa James as a reference? Apparently she's in the same chapter, but the nearest she's probably ever gotten to her, is if she sat next to her at any of the meetings, otherwise, no kinship there whatsoever, Ms James, if you want to confirm or deny, feel free to post *g*

Also, apparently she "lied" about speaking out against e-pubs. Apparently she posted an "incoherent rambling post" on a private author forum, but was once again, mostly ignored cuz she sounded like she'd been sniffing the glue again. (blatant paraphrasing)

It seems to me that far from being a laughing matter, our Patsy may actually need professional help. Which probably explains why she (or at least somebody pretending to be her), went to the trouble of dedicating two whole blogs to yours truly. (I wont bother linking, but I'm sure you guys will find the them eventually, if you haven't already. The links are in the comments of one of my previous blog posts. *g*)

The woman sure seems to be crazy as a coyote on steroids.

Those Girls Are Out Of Their Write Minds...

The girls over at Writeminded have been holding a zillion contests for the last week or so, and they’ve been fun to read. I generally only lurk, but the prizes are well worth looking over.

Taking part in contests really isn’t my thing (far too lazy), but if it was, I certainly would have entered every one of theirs. As it is, I just participated in the one to win Maya Banks’ forthcoming books. Menage books are mostly dead to me, but Maya’s are a kind of guilty pleasure that I like to indulge in every now again.

Their latest post is called A Round Table Chat with Heroes. ‘Tis very interesting, so go read!

Madeleine McCann's Parents May Have Killed Her...

I remember feeling sick at the thought of this little girl being kidnapped by some dirty nasty pedophile, and TTG and I, along with the rest of the world, have been hoping and praying, that the authorities would find her soon.

I was pretty mad at the parents for leaving her alone in the apartment in the first place, but I figured they were suffering enough, and probably felt enough remorse at leaving their children unattended.

Anyway, it seems that the Portuguese police have found DNA samples that are a perfect match for Maddie, in the boot of a car that her parents hired 5 weeks after she went missing.



WTF?

Now this could be complete coincidence, but it doesn't look good does it? It makes me sick to think that maybe somehow, they killed Maddie themselves, and this whole time they've been covering it up.

They went to see The Pope for God's sake, and never mind the millions raised from people who wanted to help them find Maddie. (Please note, there's music on the findmaddie.com site)

There are rumours abound that they accidently killed Maddie, and instead of just owning up, tried to cover it up by claiming that she'd been abducted.

I can't even imagine getting caught up in such a huge frickin lie. If they killed her, I sure hope they confess soon, so that they can stop wasting valuable police time. Time that could be spent trying to find other missing children.

And if they didn't kill her? Man, I can't even begin to imagine the anguish that this is causing them.

Karen Spends Her Welfare Money On DVDs...

TTG and I had a very lazy weekend, for the first time in a while. We went for our usual walk round the local park on Sunday evening, and when we got back, we proceeded to watch The Prince And Me, and The Notebook, straight after. (Yes it was a very late night.)

I wanted to watch The Prince and Me, mainly because of Julia Styles. I really like her as an actress, and loved her in Save The Last Dance, with Sean Patrick Thomas. Luke Mably (Edvard) was ok too, if a little too pretty, and a little too English.

I liked the story. It was totally girly, and completely fluffy. A quintessential fairy-tale romance. Loved it.

Paige is a brainy farm girl from Wisconsin who wants to go to med school. Eddie, on the other hand is the playboy crown prince of Denmark who's never done a day's work in his life.

Fed up with the expectations of his parents and country, Edvard decides to go to Wisconsin (I can't be arsed explaining why he chooses Wisconsin) and enrolls in the same college as Paige. They first meet, when Eddie sees Paige whilst she's working in a restaurant, and unfortunately for Eddie, he doesn't quite make the first impression that he would have liked.

Coincidentally, they become lab partners in school, which horrifies Paige, as she's desperate to do well, and she looks at the partnership with Eddie as the quickest route to an F grade.

Anyway, Paige discovers that Eddie isn't just a pretty face, and they end up falling in love, but as we know, the course of true love never did run smooth. (Especially in Hollywood films.)

I liked the chemistry between Paige and Eddie, and I liked the contrasts between their two worlds. I thought the cinematography was excellent, and I was really pleased that they actually filmed on location in Europe (Prague), rather than filming in some purpose-built set in America.

The secondary characters all played their parts well, Ben Miller as Soren, Eddie's butler, was quite funny, and I found myself eagerly waiting for him to speak, because he had this dry wit thing going for him. Miranda Richardson, as Eddie's mother had the icy haughtiness of a queen, down to a fine art. Can I just say, I thought she looked amazing, much better than her sister Joely (101 Dalmatians), who looks as if she's been nip-tucked (ha-ha, get it?) to within an inch of her life.

Overall good film, definitely one for the girls though. TTG fell asleep in the middle of it, which I pretty much expected. *g*

The Notebook



I also enjoyed The Notebook, once again though, it was a film for romance lovers of the female persuasion. I read the original book by Nicholas Sparks a couple of years ago, and I have to say, it was pretty hard not to compare the book with the film. I still enjoyed Rachel McAdam's performance, as well as Ryan Gosling's slightly overstated and much practiced wry smile.

I thought Gena Rowlands was excellent in her role, as was James Garner. I always remember him in The Rockford Files (re-runs of course), and I sometimes forget that actually, he's an old man now.

Once again, nice film, and I actually shed a tear or two at some of the bittersweet scenes between Garner and Rowlands. Well worth watching if you're not looking for War and Peace.

So, any of you watched any really good films lately?

By the way, Heroes is being aired over here at the moment, and I have to say, I'm just lovin' it!

R.I.P Anita Roddick... Founder of The Bodyshop

I just heard this news about five minutes ago, and I'm quite shocked, although I knew she was ill. Apparently she suffered a major brain haemorrhage. She was 64 years of age.

TTG and I were just commenting the other day, that the older we get, the more often we'll hear this kind of news. 'Tis very sad.

Rest in peace Anita.

Patti Rebmann AKA AP Miller Loves Karen Like A Fat Kid Loves Cake...

Oh how she wounds me. Apparently Patsy sent the long e-mail below, to all and sundry.

It's so unfair, why can't I be insulted by somebody who understands the difference between 'advice' and 'advise'. Also, by somebody who knows that 'Nobody' isn't actually supposed to be two words? *g*

In case you have not been following the blog of this "NO BODY" who seems to believe her shit doesn't stink, (k: Oooh, the wench stole that line from me!) allow me to give you a bit of insight.

Karen Scott has a big mouth when it comes to slandering authors. Seems I am not the only one being attacked here either. She knows NOTHING about writing or publishing yet finds it necessary to post advise to authors regarding their career! And how much of a college education have she had?? NONE. What are her writing credits?? BOOK REVIEWS...Author Groupie wannabe.

Continued after the cut...

What does she mean no writing credits? Hey, I'll have you know that I came first in a school writing competition when I was ten, dammit! I even beat Samuel Coombes, and he was a total brain box! I was also the only person who could use the words 'submerged' and 'phoenix' together in a sentence, and make it work! Sheesh!

Anyway, sorry to interrupt, Patsy continues:

She is a moron who knows nothing about about nothing. A simpleton who reads books all day long instead of working for a living. No wonder she strikes me as a person without an education.


She is someone who has no life and wishes so desperately to live through others to make herself look important. You really have to pity her for the stupidity that comes out of her mouth.

Oooh that Patsy's good. By the way I'll have you know that I'm educated. My diploma that I bought from a guy on the internet says so, so stick that in your pipe and smoke it beeyotch!

Teresa Jacobs, the FORMER LOOSER CEO of Mardi Gras Publishing will most likely have a lot more time on her hands when she is behind bars for fraud. She writes in this post under "anonymous" and has been the biggest instigator in this group merely because she has no more career and wouldn't listen to people who knew the business when it came down to running the company the RIGHT way.


She wants so badly to destroy my career...(K: *smirk*) Oh pathetic as she is...use your real name you dope...stop hiding...you know you're done. Her nose is so full of brown right now it isn't funny. And it's straight up Karen's ass. "Oh please accept me Karen please???" Let's trash patti's reputation becuase I am soooo jealous of her success....

Teresa Jacobs said that to lil' 'ole me? Ya see, now here's somebody who recognises true greatness when she sees it. I heart that Teresa Jacobs person, I really do, so what if she's defrauded loads of authors? She loves me, that means so much, it really does...

She (K: Teresa I presume?) has lied, and committed theft, outside state lines which is punishble by the federal law not local. She has committed fraud in her home state of Alabama, and has hidden often by moving from apartment to apartment in leiu of escaping her creditors.


She has filed bankruptcy once or twice before which I was told by someone close to her, so what does that tell you about her honesty and integrity? The authors of MGP were treated very poorly. Teresa went MIA, screwed up her own life and company not to mention the lives of her authors and is now throwing stones at an author who will always have more then she does along with her honesty and integrity intact..thank you very much...ME!


I am asking you to ignore anything you read on Karens Scotts blog from here on in regarding me, and place Teresa's name in front of "ANONYMOUS"..well all of you get the picture.


If you ever come across Karen Scott run the other way. She is nothing but trouble. And SHAME on You Nora for joining the ban wagon...don't you have a commercial or a book to write for television? I am very disappointed in your actions...flaming another author you don't know? Or is it that you fear the competition? In any event it doesn't make you look like the professional you claim to be. Associating with morons..."

Oh Patsy, why oh why didn't you read my blog about the importance of authors using spelling and grammar checker?

Oh yeah, and you insulted LaNora, that's so fucked up dude. That has to be a crime surely?

And to think, I was going to blog about TTG and I discovering the Nintendo Wii! Heheh!! If this e-mail was truly from you Patsy, thanks for the laughs, you truly are deliciously bananas!

Also, if it makes you feel better, I do believe you're good enough to write for Mrs Giggles' Trixy Lion Publishing house! You go girl!

Oooohh It's Here At Last...

I've got you at last my pretty...

Blurb on back of cover:

WHEN THE DEVIL MEETS AN ANGEL
Country bred Lucy Craddock-Hayes is content with her quiet life. Until the day she trips over an unconscious man—a naked unconscious an—and loses her innocence forever.


HE CAN TAKE HER TO HEAVEN
Viscount Simon Iddesleigh was nearly beaten to death by his enemies. Now he’s hell-bent on vengeance. But as Lucy nurses him back to health, her honesty startles his jaded sensibilities—even as it ignites a desire that threatens to consume them both.


OR TO HELL
Charmed by Simon’s sly wit, urbane manners, and even his red-heeled shoes, Lucy falls hard and fast for him. Yet as his honor keeps him from ravishing her, his revenge sends his attackers to her door. As Simon wages war on his foes, Lucy wages her own war for his soul using the only weapon she has—her love…

You can read an excerpt here, and buy from here. (Don't forget to check out the Amazon 'Search Inside' feature.)

Now, I'm going to curl up, and read this, and hope that TTG doesn't disturb me for the next two hours!

Mrs Giggles Has Opened Up Her Own E-Publishing Site...

Trixy Lion Publishing Is Now Open!

Damn I laughed so hard I nearly wet myself.

"MARKETINGING PLANS

we plan to use copyrighted pictures 4 our covers in the future bcos copyrighted pictures are signs of quality. amatoors are using free clip art which we dont want bcos we want to stand out. already we have used brad pitts face for our upcoming book "staining bedsheets wit my love" by clara s andersin and we have just discovere dplenty opf sexy photos in father abner's pc so with god's blessing we r going to make high quality covers

we r one big family and our royalty are ours. 4 example my daughter need money for her hysterectomy next month so the royalty will go 2 her and authos wont get paid sry but thats life what can u do. if u want ur royalty pls write 2 us and we will evaluate ur situation. we write 4 love, not money, and money will be used only 4 those who need it in our big family. thx,.."


Bloody hilarious!

Thanks velly much to SB Sarah for sending the link!

Quickie Survey - Are You An EPIC ( Electronically Published Internet Connection) Member?

If so, can you answer some questions?

Why did you join?
Which of the services that they provide, have you utilised?
What do you think of the services they provide?
What could they do to improve things?
What have they done for you lately?

You can either e-mail me on hairylemony @ gmail .com or just post your answers on here, although I expect the positives will post on here, and any 'other' comments will come via the e-mail. 'Tis the nature of the beast I'm afraid.

If I get a significant number of responses, I'll post them, if not, I'll bin 'em.

By the way, this isn't about taking the piss out of EPIC or showing them up, (seriously, it's not) this is just because I'm nosy as hell.

What Authors Need To Look For In An E-Publisher...

Over at Dear Author, Jane has a marvellous post up, about what authors should look for in an e-publisher.

If you're an author considering submitting to an e-publishing house, you really need to read her post. It just may save you lots of grief in the long run.

If you're an author who's e-publisher isn't quite playing cricket, get your arse over to either Emily Veinglory's Erecsite, or Piers Anthony's website, and tell them your story. You never know, there may be others out there with the same issues, who are also afraid to speak out.

Sometimes it only takes one.

Just one bit of advice from me, if you're a writer who wants to be published, or is already published, and you're posting in a public forum, (e.g., a blog) remember to, A, make use of the spell checker option on Word, B, try to avoid writing in caps if possible, and C, ask yourself if what you've just written makes you sound crazy. If the answer is yes, utilise the delete button for fuck's sake.

Just In Case You Didn't Know Who Patti Rebmann AKA AP Miller Is...

Here are ten million people you can ask. According to Patsy anyway.

"I really wish I knew where you were getting your information from Karen. I have never been fired for any editing position I had nor have I been rejected for my work, Let's see...How about you query Tamara McHatton, Rochelle Webber, Dawn Seewer, Karen Simpson...I can go on hunny...you can contact Tina Haversham at Extasy, Kathryn Struck, Dick Claussen, Rene Walden...Need I saw more?

No matter what you do you cannot touch my credibility...My agent is Belinda WIlliams at Literary Lifestyles and my Director is Michael Maxx Kelly...Go ahead open your big mouth some more, and contact all these people...Caridad Scordato, Irene Petersen...they know who I am...Oh let's not for get Deb Mullins, Cris Janssen, Jan Jansen, Eloisa James...shall I go on or is this enough for you? Now I strongly advise you to shut your mouth before you wind up with a leagl suit on your hands for slander."

Well, it was all going so swimmingly, until she threatened to sue me. Big sigh.

You can follow the entire conversation via the comments link.