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What the...

The funniest thing happened to me today. I had to pop out and pick up some cover flats I had printed at Office Max. When the guy saw the covers he started asking me questions and I told him I was the author.

Slowly a number of the Office Max employees wandered over to see the cover so I gave them my card which has my name, URL etc and the line "Vampires, Witches and Werecats...oh my!" Another customer asked for a card so I gave her one too and she tells me how much respect she has for writers.

Not two seconds later, she gives it back and says,

"I'm not into that kind of thing."

The first thought that popped into my head was, "So you don't want to hear about the bondage books then?"

Instead I said something about writing all different types of genres but she wasn't interested in listening to me. She'd already presented me with her back by then. So I guess what she meant to say was that she has respect for writers who create what she deems acceptable. Needless to say I was snickering all the way out the door.

Now, I could care less that she handed the card back. I don't embarass easily so do what you will. What got me was that she ASKED for the card and then snubbed me because she didn't like what it had to say. I don't know about anyone else but my Mama taught me to accept what people give you then throw it away later if you don't want it.

It's called manners.

So what is the moral to the story? If you can't laugh at yourself then others will spend time laughing at you.

So the You SUCK award goes to...the lady in the Office Max. :)

My new cover!!

Paul Newman

Paul Newman, dead at 83. He was one of my favorite actors and he eschewed the Hollywood scene as being 'rubbish'. Married twice, he was married to Joanne Woodward for fifty years before his death - how un-Hollywood is that?

Blowing in the wind...

I'm back...

Ohio was hit hard by the remnants of Hurricane Ike. About 700k lost power including the Wilder Castle. We were out for 48 hours and it took another day to get my internet working. Talk about roughing it!

We received a lot of wind damage. Two of our trees literally shredded and took out the power lines. We have gutter damage and my patio was wiped out. Other than the minor inconveniences we're good to go. I still need to call some contractors but now that I have electricity - its all good. :)

I spent a lot of time looking around at the items in the house realizing just how useless 90% of it is without power. Thank goodness for my Kindle or I would've gone out of my mind. By turning off the wireless I can use my reader for about 9 - 10 hours before it needs a charge.

Mills and Boon...Erotica?

According to this source, Mills and Boon will be publishing 'its first pornographic book.' Wow - and who said publishers didn't listen to their readers?

I have to admit it's been many years since I've read a M&B title. I stopped reading them in 1979 when I discovered Ginny and Steve from the old time bodice ripper books. Somehow reading about virginal, blonde, English, Nurse heroines and Greek, Shipping Magnet, Sardonic heros didn't have the same appeal as Ginny and Steve as they loved and raped their way all over the world.

Let's face it - M&B is pretty well known for their characters being numb from the waist down.

When I read about this upcoming change in the M&B lineup, I had to admit my immediate thought was of an oil sheik asking his woman to suck his well dry as she screams for him to drill deeper into her dewy sands...

Thanks to the Smart Bitch site for the heads up.

Sleepy Sunday

Maddie is ready to snooze. She has the remote and a mountain of pillows to get comfy on. See Bella in the corner? She burrows into the pillows all the time. :)

Gustav

I've been watching the Weather Channel off and on today. I have to admit that just watching the hurricane coverage makes me more than a little sick. When Katrina hit I packed up my dog and supplies for infants and raced off to Louisiana. I can't do that this time as I have a medical condition that is preventing me from going anywhere. I'm praying for a decent outcome.

Let's Talk...reselling ebooks is ILLEGAL

How many times does this have to be pointed out? I ran into a seller on an auction site (not ebay) who was selling a slew of ebooks. None of them were mine but I knew a lot of the authors this person was ripping off. I emailed said seller and she did remove the books but book pirates are like roaches - you stomp one out and three more pop up.

Used bookstores - I personally like used book stores. The reason being that as reader, I'm more likely to pick up a new author at a used store than paying full price. If they catch my attention, then I will buy the rest of their books new.

But ebook pirates? Nope! They pay for one book (the file) and then can sell it limitless times. That's outright stealing and its wrong.

Can't we all get along?

Over the edge...

The question of the evening is...just how many tech support reps does it take to answer an email question?

I'm currently on hold with Time Warner cable and my mission is simple - to get the email addy assigned to my road runner account. Sounds simple doesn't it.

Not to Time Warner.

I'm on my third person now and so far all of them have been unable to help me...okay, the rep came back to tell me I'm being transferred to lucky number four. Let's see how well this works out...

(listening to very bad muzak)

Hmm...I really need to do my nails. I have a signing on Saturday and I don't want to look like a castaway...

No idea what to do with my hair. I'm growing it out but I almost always wear it up. What is the point of having long hair when I always wear it...

THE BITCH HUNG UP ON ME.

The reason we have random acts of violence in this country is because we have to DEAL WITH UTILITY COMPANIES. I'M NOT A VIOLENT PERSON BUT IF THE TIME WARNER REP WERE TO KNOCK ON MY DOOR...THEY'D ONLY HAVE A FEW SECONDS TO LIVE.

My mother is very fond of saying, 'why can't people just do what they are paid to do?' I have to agree with her. I'm not asking for serious tech support - I need the email addy I received when I signed up TEN YEARS AGO. Is this rocket science?

No.

Am I trying to solve world hunger?

No.

I JUST WANT THE EMAIL ADDY I'VE BEEN PAYING FOR...

I'm now talking to the fifth person...who probably can't help me. He sounds like he's nine.

(whistling as he pulls up my account)

Not sure what I might wear this Saturday either. Its going to be hot and humid...

What does my operating system HAVE TO DO WITH MY EMAIL???

Fuck, I'm on hold again.

(nose picking)

Sweet Mary and Joseph....I have my email addy. Please dear Goddess - let me remember my password or they may ask for my blood type and a genetic sample before they'd give me a new one...

Maddie Update!

Thanks to everyone who sent me well wishes about my dog, Maddie. She's doing well and getting stronger every day. Yesterday her staples were removed with nary a whimper and she's now happily scratching her back across the living room floor.

Her hind legs are still weak and she jacknifes herself from time to time. But her balance is improving and she's getting around much better. I still don't let her near the steps which annoys her but I don't want to take a chance on her reinjuring herself either.

More later!

Drama in the Wilder Household

Ugh - where do I begin? Last Thursday Maddie, my dog, was limping a bit and generally acting slow. I put it down to possible arthritis and gave her some aspirin. (baby aspirin, no more than 1 per 12 hours!)

At 1:30 on Friday morning she woke me up in obvious pain. I grabbed the dog and ran across town to the 24 hour vet hospital. Within minutes they diagnosed her as having a possible ruptured or herniated disk.

OW!

They wanted to run some tests to make sure what was going on and see if she needed surgery. So I had to leave her there...sniff. I stopped by the desk on the way out and they wanted a deposit...of $2200.00!!! YIKES.

Now you tell me, who has that kind of money just lying around, especially in the middle of the night. I couldn't just give them a check the next day, they wanted it immediately or they wouldn't touch her.

I guess a person's word isn't worth much these days.

So I had to break out a credit card and make the downpayment. The next morning they called and yes...she needed surgery. And the pricetag? $3500.00.

I know...some of you are going to say I'm nuts - maybe I am, but I couldn't give up on my girl. She's only nine years old and that girl and I have been through hell together. She's travelled with me all over the U.S. and we did Katrina work for many months on end. She's more than just a dog to me.

Hey! Isn't that a commercial?

Anyway - my baby is home and she's recuperating well. Her back legs are weak - they had to move her spinal column during the surgery so it was bruised. She's been home almost 2 days now and i can see a big difference in her.

Recovery will be slow and long - about a month of being confined - so I've moved my office onto the first floor with my girl.

More later

Sapphire Blue Publishing

Sapphire Blue Publishing
http://www.sapphirebluepublishing.com/


Press Release

Contact Info:
Name: Maria Clayton or Tina Gerow
customerservice@sapphirebluepublishing.com

For Immediate Release
August 2008

Phoenix entrepreneurs take on electronic publishing

Phoenix, AZ – Local entrepreneurs Maria Clayton, and Tina Gerow are pleased to announce the grand opening of their publishing house, Sapphire Blue Publishing, on August 15, 2008. With their diverse business backgrounds they seek to form a win/win partnership in an industry they love.

“Our goal is to bring Corporate America know how and innovation into perfect balance for the best experience for readers and authors,” says Maria Clayton, former Director of Technologies for a fortune 500 company. “We believe in a work environment that is fun and provides challenges that encourage play, innovation, and nimble out-of-the-pack thinking without boundaries.”

Sapphire Blue’s focus will be electronic books, or ebooks. These titles will take the form of a download that can be read on any number of electronic devices from the iPhone to dedicated electronic readers.

“Electronic book sales have doubled each year since 2001 and the projections are the market share will continue to climb,” says Tina Gerow. “Think about all the trees we’ll save. There’s no better time to embrace our ecological concerns and pair that with what we love, reading good books.”

Free KINDLE book

Samhain Publishing is giving away another Kindle title. It is Giving Chase by Lauren Dane. Dontcha just love these freebies...and I love my Kindle like a fat kid loves cookies. :)

Sounding Off

This morning the popular publishing newsletter Galley Cat featured a story posing the question, 'Should Authors Take Their Publishing Complaints Public'?


In their article they spotlighted an author who leveled a charge against their publisher for not paying royalties correctly. That said, it appears to be a case of sour grapes as GC hinted that the author greatly inflated their sales numbers. While Nielson's BookScan doesn't lie, it also doesn't portray total sales numbers as every store doesn't report to BookScan.


So should authors take their complaints public?


I believe so...with a caveat - they'd better be sure what they are saying is correct or they are shooting themselves in the foot...or career.


If authors (including myself) hadn't spoken out about Triskellion then who knows how long that company would have limped along scamming authors? Trust me, I tried everything to settle with them amicably and the owners weren't having it. Sometimes public humiliation is the only weapon we have left and in the case of Trisk - it worked.



There are any number of examples such as the Trisk debacle - and who knows how many authors avoided the train wreck because those involved spoke out? Sometimes you have to stand up and risk taking a hit in order to do the right thing.

So you want to win a book?

Greetings, my friend Judy Mays gave me permission to give away a copy of her ebook, Celestial Passions: Meri. To enter simply post a comment on this entry and say...Hey JC, I'd like to win a book....or curse me out - whichever seems more appropriate. :)

Winner will be drawn on Tuesday. :)

Cover Blurb: Generations after the dols and orcs disappeared from Mediria, Lillalistross don al' Ademis from Drakan arrives with a tattoo of his clan totem, a dol leaping from the waves of a rolling blue sea, on his shoulder. Is he the prophesied "Path to the Dols and Orcs"? Can he lead the Medirians to them?Princess Merilinlalissa, eldest daughter of Mediria's monarch, has no doubts. This Drakian, somehow, someway, is connected with finding the dols and the orcs, and she's going to find out how. The fact that he's very tall, very handsome and very sexy only makes her determination to discover all she can about him, both in and out of bed, that much stronger.

Politics as usual...

Is anyone else annoyed with the smear campaigns that our Presidental candidiates are indulging in?

"He sucks..."

"No, he sucks more!"

These two fools are running for the highest position in the US government and their behavior has degenerated into grade school rumbles on the playground! If I had kids that behaved like this I'd blister their little butts.

Every week 8000 home loans are defaulted on - 1 in 171 homeowners will lose their houses this year - HIV is on the rise - Education levels are dropping - gas prices are rising - food prices are rising - our environment is degrading every year - drug prices are on the rise and older people can't afford to buy the medication they need to LIVE....and these two fools think its more important to poke at each other rather than tackle the issues that are important.

I'm SO over the presidential nonsense...

Ready to try a new author?

Then we have a deal for you! We have three ebooks available and you can read the first half of the book for FREE! If you like it, there are links in the document which lead you to purchase the book. If you don't enjoy the book then you're off the hook!

But we know you'll love these titles! ;)

http://www.thesamhellion.com/free.htm

Enjoy!!

Randy Pausch

How many times can you say you saw someone on tv and your life will never be the same?

I can say that about Randy Pausch.

Randy was a Carnagie Mellon (Whoa...big brains) professor whose greatest gift wasn't in teaching others, it was his love for his children.

In academia, it's common to ask tenured professors to give a lecture called The Last Lecture. This lecture is all about what they would want to say if they learned they were going to die tomorrow. The difference in Randy's lecture was the he was really going to die.

Diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, Paudch delivered the lecture of a lifetime in September 2007. It wasn't so much about what he wanted to say, it was more about what he wanted to say to his children in the future - the future without him. It was funny, poignant, uplifting and brilliant - an amazing statement from an everyday guy.

Thankfully someone uploaded it to YouTube - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo - be warned, it is long but SO worth the time. Once you see it, your life will never be the same.

I first saw this in December and I immediate sent links to all my close friends. The Last Lecture was made into a book and has been on the best seller list since April.

Randy Pausch passed away today at the age of 47.

Did you say...FREE???

Want some free ebooks? Go here:

http://tor.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=blog&id=577

Happy Reading!