I'm Free

It's been a busy week on many counts.

First, I got laid off from my job on Monday. It was not a surprise. Ever since my show ended in December I've been waiting for the other shoe to drop. I'm relieved--actually--that it finally did. I believe they were waiting to see how the replacement show was going to be produced, and it appears, now, that it will be produced without the need for someone in my capacity. I'm relieved to not have to go to work anymore when there is nothing to do. I am sad to have lost my job--I did love it, and sad too, not to be in daily contact with my friends, some of whom I've known so long (thirty-two years) it's really like they are family. I'll just have to be back from time to time, and hopefully there will be some daily hire opportunities because for sure I will also miss the paycheck!

It has taken me much longer than it should have but I finally finished the damn synopsis to the current WIP. I had actually put off writing it almost as long as a person could, but then I went and won one of the Barbara Samuel critiques, and she said 50 pages including a synopsis . . . which meant I had to come up with one because I definitely want someone with her writing goddessness to vet it for me.

So, the synopsis is in the mail along with the first five chapters (they are short). Next, I finish the book. Not much more to write, so hopefully all will be done by the end of next week and then I shall start submitting. Although . . . I'm not sure how I feel about submitting before I get Barbara's feedback. Then again, if I send a query and five pages it could take agents a while to get back to me. Judging by the agent blogs I frequent, just about everybody is behind in their query reading right now.

Still, I'd like to get some submissions out before National, especially now that I have become a full time writer. I'd like to stay this way for as long as possible.

In other news, the WT is home! Twenty-three countries and at least 10,000 photographs later, twelve pounds lighter, and about an inch taller he is a beautiful sight, and I'm happy to not be working the day job so that I can spend time with him before he goes off to college in September. Here for less than twenty-four hours, he's already got a job, and World Traveler morphs back into Coffee Man, just like that! What a super hero. :)

ETA: Apparently he won't be Coffee Man after all, but Book Shelving Man instead.

Blogging Elsewhere Again

I was the blogger at the HEA Cafe today. Go forth and read what I have to say about my inability to finish things and how that affects my writing.

Monday, Monday

Maybe I should say thank god it's Monday after this tough weekend. Felled by food poisoning (or something equally noxious) on Saturday morning, I was actually feeling worse on Sunday. So no Getty, no beach, not much writing, a bit of blogging, a spot of knitting, and lots of feeling pathetic.

Fortunately my DVD of Jane Eyre arrived on Friday so I watched most of it. I had seen it when it first aired last January and loved it. Maybe because I wasn't feeling well, I found myself overly distracted by Ruth Wilson's lips. And Rochester seems altogether too flirtatious in this viewing. But I have to say it was a lovely diversion.

In slightly good news, I finally have a Barnes and Noble ranking, which means they've sold at least one copy of The Raven's Revenge, and I see at Amazon that someone who bought my book also bought What Happened: Inside the Bush White House and Washington's Culture of Deception. Not an obvious pairing--and it makes me laugh--which is one sign that I'm feeling better.

Oh--I blogged at Titlewave today. We are changing things. Now we're blogging on Mondays only--and participating in Travis Erwin's My Town Mondays--which I think is a brilliant idea, because it's less of a grind and more creative. I had planned on writing about the Getty or the beach, but since I ended up in bed instead, I recycled (and slightly updated) an old blog I did a couple of years ago. Check it out.

Goodbye George

I remember when he did this bit on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour. Not the same edge that he developed as he got older. Not as much anger. But very funny and part of my formative years.

Rest in peace baby.

Mr. Pooh

has a new toy

Hotlinkers of the World . . .

. . . you are in so much trouble . . .

Not that I think any of my regular readers would do such a thing, but there are many who would, and who do, and there are cyberfolk out there who don't know it's wrong. So please induge me on my rant.

First off let me explain what hotlinking is. In a nutshell, it's stealing someone else's bandwidth by linking directly to images (or other media files) on their site. It really pissed me off when I discovered someone in Russia and another in Japan not only using my images but linking to them directly. This is totally rude. Instead of stealing my bandwidth, they could be using one of the many places that will host images for free.

So, when I woke up at 4 am (I have been doing so much of this recently that it behooves me to learn how to take naps) I went into a tear about this and learned how to prevent it. Now if someone tries to link to an image they'll get my fierce watch-kitty.¹


And that should just nip it in the bud . . .

Time to go back to sleep.

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1. There is also the possibility that I will find my watch kitty on sites I've used to share images, so I suspect I'll have a bit of cleaning up to do. When one has been on a tear, this is often the case.

Website Update

Today was clean-up-the-website day. So, I got out the broom, duster, and paper towels and really went at it. I did a slight amount of rearranging and added a whole new extras section, that includes (among other things) the original epilogue to The Raven's Revenge (because my editor had me replace it). But . . . (do I have to say this?) . . . don't read it if you haven't read the book.

If you find any broken links or strange piles of stuff that didn't get put away, let me know. Okay?

Meanwhile, I was up at four a.m. (ack!) for a chat with my American Title sisters. We're revamping our blog, making it more of a writer's blog and something that is more fun for us and easier to keep up. Win-win. I'm first out of the gate on Monday and I'll post a link once my blog is up.

This weekend I'm writing, going for a stroll on the beach, and seeing an exhibit at the Getty Villa before it closes. How about you?

Not Quite End of the Week Roundup

I was ready to do a Friday End of the Week Roundup when I realized it was Thursday. Unfortunately, since it's actually Thursday, that means I have to go back to the doctor and let him take a little bit more of my leg.

On the plus side of the day, it seems that The Raven's Revenge is finally showing as In Stock at several online retailers (notably Barnes and Noble), although Amazon is slow to catch on. I'm sure they'll figure it out today or tomorrow.


Have you been to Wordle yet? It's good for several minutes worth of distraction. This is the scene I'm working on. In an odd way, seeing it like this is helping. Now I'm getting back to it before Dr. Wickwire gets hold of me.

Gina vs. the Spammer Scammers

I tell you, they really need to employ copy editors on these. And I need to get away from these distractions and back to work.

After all, what else can you do when Bevon thinks you have a stupid face¹?

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1. And a Mac with Photo Booth

An Offer You Can't Refuse

This post is for the writers who stop by here . . .

One of my most favorite-in-the-whole-world writers, Barbara Samuel, will be participating in the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer. To raise the last bit of funds she needs, she's offering three critiques for auction via eBay. Here's a link to her announcement (with the eBay links).

I have to tell you that I attribute my finding my writing voice to Barbara's amazing Voice Class. If you are looking for the critique opportunity of a lifetime, this is it: a rare and wonderful opportunity. Don't let it pass you by. Go forth and bid.

Or, if you'd like to donate directly to help this worthy cause, you can do so here.