The kids are home this week, which clearly changes the writing dynamic. One of them sleeps until noon and the other is up earlier, but he's good about entertaining himself when I'm working. So I'm trying to get some writing done in the AM and then hang with them (as much as teenagers wish to "hang" with their mother) in the afternoons. Tomorrow, we're heading to NYC for a few days for college tours at NYU and Fordham for my daughter, the artsy-theater-musical type. While we're there, we also plan to tour the 911 memorial, which both my kids wanted to do, and go skating at Rockefeller Center, which my hockey-playing boy wants to do. He also asked if we could score some tickets to a Knicks game so he could see their new sensation Jeremy Lin play. I laughed. Hard. As if! I'd like to see Wicked while we're there if we can fit that in. We'll see! My husband HATES NYC, so it's a great time to go with just the kids since he is working this week.
Some of you have asked how our new dog Louie (also known as Screwy Louie when he is being crazy and just LOUIS when he's misbehaving) is fitting in. Well, it's like he's always been here. He fits in perfectly with all of us. He and Brandy get along great. They love to wrestle and play and then they collapse for a nap before starting the whole process over again. We have an invisible fence in our yard, which is the only kind of fence we could possibly have since our yard is really weird. The invisible fence gives them the full run of the place, and Louie is now fully trained on the fence and knows his limits. It makes life a lot easier when we can send them out to play in the yard when they are getting too wild inside. Brandy really seems to like him, but even she has her limits. On the first night we let him sleep outside the crate, it was like she told him, "I don't mind having you around here, but don't get any ideas about sleeping with us." That first night, he got in bed with Jake and has slept there every night since. Jake loves having Louie snuggled up to him. He says, "Let's go to bed, Louie," and off they go. The only bad part is when Louie uses Jake's belly as a springboard when he bounds out of bed in the morning. Ooof! He's a cute little dude, and already love him.
Next on my mind is the season finale of Downton Abbey. WHOA! Did you see it? That last five minutes made my foolish heart go pitter patter. My friend and fellow Downton addict, Julie, sent me this link to a blog that deconstructs each episode. It's pretty comical reading and the author is, like me, a HUGE fan of Maggie Smith's dowager countess, who in my humble opinion, steals every scene she is in. I agree with the blog's critique of some of the second season's bigger failings, but even with the glitches (Robert's "thing" with the maid? UGH!), it's still riveting TV. I've even got Dan watching it, and he agrees that Maggie Smith is hysterical.
On the writing front, I made great progress on Duchess by Deception this weekend. It's coming right along. I'll be spending more time on that today along with Fatal Attack, which is also continuing along. There won't be much writing getting done while we're in NYC, so I'll hit it hard again next weekend.
I'll be back on Saturday to report in on our trip. Wish me well! Three days in NYC with two teenagers! Pray for my sanity! :-)
Showing posts with label Louie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Louie. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Dear Diary: The Beautiful Thing About Ebooks
There are so many beautiful things about e-books. They are easily accessible, user friendly and never go out of print. They are available on a moment's notice and fit neatly on groovy devices we take with us everywhere we go. From the author's point of view, they are also easily updated, which is what I spent this morning doing. I updated the entire McCarthy series and created new files for the various retailers. I redid the Author's Note in each book to account for the fact that there will soon be five books in the series, and I updated the About the Author pages, as well as the reviews and list of available books to include new ones. It was a good "housekeeping" job that needed to be done. I'll also be refreshing the book descriptions on the various retail sites to include reviews, testimonials and a listing of the other books in the series. While all of this takes time and effort, I'm thrilled to be able to do it myself.
Speaking of housekeeping, I've just done a slight overhaul to my website. I've added a "Connect" button that lists all the ways readers can connect with me, from this blog to the reader groups on Facebook to Twitter and beyond. I've added a "Reviews" link to keep all my reviews in one central place, and we added a tab for the Treading Water Trilogy. The website is always a work in progress, so if there's anything you'd like to see there that I've missed, just let me know. On the back end, my lovely web guy Dan helped me to set up a sidebar feature that will allow me to make a single update to the sidebar that will then show up on every page. That might seem like a small thing, but as the site grows, it's a huge time saver to be able to hit every page with one update. It's the little things that make my life easier!
On the writing front, I hit 12,000 words on Fatal Attack yesterday. It was one of those perfect days when everything is firing on all cylinders. That book is off to a great start and the hardest part—the set up—is done now. I got to write a really fun Sam and Nick at home scene last night that I loved. I so enjoying hanging out with them. At this point they feel like old friends, and I know them so well that writing them gets easier all the time. The hardest part of the Fatal books is always the police investigation portion. I like where that part of Fatal Attack is heading. While at the gym yesterday (let there be no wasted time), I figured out the nuts and bolts of what will be the book after Attack, Fatal Mistake. That one is going to have a sports theme to it, and I'm looking forward to writing that. I'm also plugging away on my historical, Duchess by Deception, and thinking about the opening chapter of Season for Love, book 6 in the McCarthys of Gansett Island Series. I'll need to do that opening chapter soon so I can include it in the back of book 5, Hoping for Love, when that's released in March. So, there's a lot going on inside my poor tired brain, but it's all good and I'm having so much fun!
The new dog Louie seems to be settling in well. It's amazing how fast he and Brandy have worked out things like whose bowl is whose, who is allowed on what portion of the sofa, who I belong to (BRANDY, if you ask her, and LOUIE, if you ask him) and various other pack details. I posted a video of them playing tug of war with one of their toys last night. They sound like cute little one-horsepower motors! Since we're still training Louie on the invisible fence, we're not letting him run free in the yard yet, so we have to walk him out to his rope on the tree (hopefully, for just another day or two). One thing I have noticed about him is for a skinny little 39-pound dude, he is FREAKISHLY strong. Yesterday, I was bringing him in, lost my balance and ended up face down on the cement porch with skinned knees and a bruised elbow. I imagine it was quite a sight for any passing motorists! I managed to hang on to him as I recovered my senses, but it was a lesson to make sure I'm being careful where he's concerned. He's small but scrappy! I also discovered today, much to Dan's dismay, that Louie is a digger. Brandy went through a fierce digging phase that has only recently ended. Poor Dan...he fights a losing battle with the grass and the digging dogs are not good for growing grass. I see a lecture from Dad in poor Louie's future... I wonder if he will listen?
Song I can't get out of my head: still Set Fire to the Rain by Adele. Day five.... My family is going to shoot me any minute.
Who I love on American Idol: Phillip Phillips. My daughter predicts he will win. What do you say?
Looking forward to: More Idol as well as Grey's and Private Practice tonight
Hope you're having a great day!
xoxo
Marie
Speaking of housekeeping, I've just done a slight overhaul to my website. I've added a "Connect" button that lists all the ways readers can connect with me, from this blog to the reader groups on Facebook to Twitter and beyond. I've added a "Reviews" link to keep all my reviews in one central place, and we added a tab for the Treading Water Trilogy. The website is always a work in progress, so if there's anything you'd like to see there that I've missed, just let me know. On the back end, my lovely web guy Dan helped me to set up a sidebar feature that will allow me to make a single update to the sidebar that will then show up on every page. That might seem like a small thing, but as the site grows, it's a huge time saver to be able to hit every page with one update. It's the little things that make my life easier!
On the writing front, I hit 12,000 words on Fatal Attack yesterday. It was one of those perfect days when everything is firing on all cylinders. That book is off to a great start and the hardest part—the set up—is done now. I got to write a really fun Sam and Nick at home scene last night that I loved. I so enjoying hanging out with them. At this point they feel like old friends, and I know them so well that writing them gets easier all the time. The hardest part of the Fatal books is always the police investigation portion. I like where that part of Fatal Attack is heading. While at the gym yesterday (let there be no wasted time), I figured out the nuts and bolts of what will be the book after Attack, Fatal Mistake. That one is going to have a sports theme to it, and I'm looking forward to writing that. I'm also plugging away on my historical, Duchess by Deception, and thinking about the opening chapter of Season for Love, book 6 in the McCarthys of Gansett Island Series. I'll need to do that opening chapter soon so I can include it in the back of book 5, Hoping for Love, when that's released in March. So, there's a lot going on inside my poor tired brain, but it's all good and I'm having so much fun!
The new dog Louie seems to be settling in well. It's amazing how fast he and Brandy have worked out things like whose bowl is whose, who is allowed on what portion of the sofa, who I belong to (BRANDY, if you ask her, and LOUIE, if you ask him) and various other pack details. I posted a video of them playing tug of war with one of their toys last night. They sound like cute little one-horsepower motors! Since we're still training Louie on the invisible fence, we're not letting him run free in the yard yet, so we have to walk him out to his rope on the tree (hopefully, for just another day or two). One thing I have noticed about him is for a skinny little 39-pound dude, he is FREAKISHLY strong. Yesterday, I was bringing him in, lost my balance and ended up face down on the cement porch with skinned knees and a bruised elbow. I imagine it was quite a sight for any passing motorists! I managed to hang on to him as I recovered my senses, but it was a lesson to make sure I'm being careful where he's concerned. He's small but scrappy! I also discovered today, much to Dan's dismay, that Louie is a digger. Brandy went through a fierce digging phase that has only recently ended. Poor Dan...he fights a losing battle with the grass and the digging dogs are not good for growing grass. I see a lecture from Dad in poor Louie's future... I wonder if he will listen?
Song I can't get out of my head: still Set Fire to the Rain by Adele. Day five.... My family is going to shoot me any minute.
Who I love on American Idol: Phillip Phillips. My daughter predicts he will win. What do you say?
Looking forward to: More Idol as well as Grey's and Private Practice tonight
Hope you're having a great day!
xoxo
Marie
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Dear Diary: Much to Report
Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day! Ours was very nice with flowers and candy and a nice dinner with the kids. We talked about going out but the idea of dealing with crowds and slow service wasn't appealing. Maybe we'll go out tonight instead. I'm all for any plan that involves me NOT cooking!
One of the members of my Fatal Series Readers Group wondered what Sam and Nick were doing for Valentine's Day. So I penned a little story that features Sam taking the lead on romance's biggest day. Yes, you read that right! SAM is taking the lead for once. If you'd like to find out whether or not she pulled it off, join the group and click on the "Docs" tab at the top. I also just revealed the name of the book that will follow Fatal Attack to the group! I spent my gym time today pondering the murder mystery for the next book, and wondering if there's something wrong with me because I get a charge out of thinking up new ways to kill people. Hmmm.... Lots of fun stuff coming up for Sam and Nick! I'd like to know if the 2500-word Valentine's Day story counts toward my word count for yesterday. The husband says no. I say yes. LOL! I made some good progress on FATAL ATTACK yesterday, and I like the direction this one is taking.
On the McCarthy front, the copy editor reported in last night that book 5, HOPING FOR LOVE, is her favorite one yet. Yay! She said, "Well, I think I said the last book was the best one yet, but I was wrong, because THIS ONE is the best one yet! OMG, love, love, loved it." Thank you Linda Ingmanson! Linda does a great job editing my self-published books, and I love working with her.
I'm pleased and excited that TRUE NORTH is now available in print. I'm working on getting all of my self-published books available in print, so watch for the McCarthys in print, coming soon! Will post the links here and on my website when I have them.
A couple of updates from yesterday: Thanks to my Facebook friends, I figured out why the iPhone wasn't ringing. I'm now intimate with my mute switch. Who knew? Thanks to everyone who helped! I'm getting the hang of it, and I know I will like it. Eventually. On the home front, Louie is settling in nicely and Brandy seems to be getting used to her new "brother." They love to wrestle and chase each other around the house. He's fit right in like he's always been here, which is great. Dan had a feeling about him, and I have to say he was right! (Don't tell him I said that though.... LOL)
I want to talk a little bit today about pre-orders and why some of my books aren't available for pre-order and others are. The simple truth is that Amazon and other retailers don't yet offer pre-order capability to self-published authors. I really hope that will change before too much longer. This means the new McCarthy book won't be available for pre-order, but will go on sale on the designated release day in March (still to be determined) and not before. I wish this wasn't how it worked, and I've talked to Amazon about changing the policy, but no movement yet. The Fatal Series books are published by a division of Harlequin. Since traditional publishers are the only ones who can do pre-orders, that is why the Fatal books have been available for pre-order when the others are not. I hope that sheds some light on the behind the scenes situation. I know this is frustrating for a lot of readers. Believe me, it's frustrating for me too because I answer a LOT of questions about this issue! Here's hoping there will be a change in this policy before too much longer!
Have a great day!
One of the members of my Fatal Series Readers Group wondered what Sam and Nick were doing for Valentine's Day. So I penned a little story that features Sam taking the lead on romance's biggest day. Yes, you read that right! SAM is taking the lead for once. If you'd like to find out whether or not she pulled it off, join the group and click on the "Docs" tab at the top. I also just revealed the name of the book that will follow Fatal Attack to the group! I spent my gym time today pondering the murder mystery for the next book, and wondering if there's something wrong with me because I get a charge out of thinking up new ways to kill people. Hmmm.... Lots of fun stuff coming up for Sam and Nick! I'd like to know if the 2500-word Valentine's Day story counts toward my word count for yesterday. The husband says no. I say yes. LOL! I made some good progress on FATAL ATTACK yesterday, and I like the direction this one is taking.
On the McCarthy front, the copy editor reported in last night that book 5, HOPING FOR LOVE, is her favorite one yet. Yay! She said, "Well, I think I said the last book was the best one yet, but I was wrong, because THIS ONE is the best one yet! OMG, love, love, loved it." Thank you Linda Ingmanson! Linda does a great job editing my self-published books, and I love working with her.
A couple of updates from yesterday: Thanks to my Facebook friends, I figured out why the iPhone wasn't ringing. I'm now intimate with my mute switch. Who knew? Thanks to everyone who helped! I'm getting the hang of it, and I know I will like it. Eventually. On the home front, Louie is settling in nicely and Brandy seems to be getting used to her new "brother." They love to wrestle and chase each other around the house. He's fit right in like he's always been here, which is great. Dan had a feeling about him, and I have to say he was right! (Don't tell him I said that though.... LOL)
I want to talk a little bit today about pre-orders and why some of my books aren't available for pre-order and others are. The simple truth is that Amazon and other retailers don't yet offer pre-order capability to self-published authors. I really hope that will change before too much longer. This means the new McCarthy book won't be available for pre-order, but will go on sale on the designated release day in March (still to be determined) and not before. I wish this wasn't how it worked, and I've talked to Amazon about changing the policy, but no movement yet. The Fatal Series books are published by a division of Harlequin. Since traditional publishers are the only ones who can do pre-orders, that is why the Fatal books have been available for pre-order when the others are not. I hope that sheds some light on the behind the scenes situation. I know this is frustrating for a lot of readers. Believe me, it's frustrating for me too because I answer a LOT of questions about this issue! Here's hoping there will be a change in this policy before too much longer!
Have a great day!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Dear Diary: Dogs and Phones and Chaos, Oh My!
Wrangled the blog back from Brandy's clutches....
Chaos seems to be the word of the year around here. First it was the home renovations. Now it's the new dog. We've decided to call him Louie, which is close to his shelter name of Luigi, but a little more to our liking. He's a very good boy, but he and Brandy love to wrestle. Right next to me. While I'm trying to write. That doesn't make for the most conducive environment for concentrating. I'm getting used to them, but it's going to take a few weeks to get into a routine that includes the new boy in the house. Brandy is exhausted without all her usual nap time during the day. They usually crash and burn right around the time that Dad gets home from work. Last night he commented on what good dogs they were. I said it was because the holy terrors wore themselves out playing all day. Here's a photo that shows Louie's face a little better:
He's a cute boy. He's SUPER skinny (we are going to fatten him up) but strong as an OX. I tried to take the two of them for a walk today, and when they nearly pulled me over the second time, I had to give up. They make me feel like a 90-pound weakling!
Speaking of weaklings, I haven't made it to the gym yet this week, but I'll be there tomorrow to meet the trainer. Good thing I have two standing dates with her each week.
I finally broke down and bought an iPhone this weekend. Yesterday, I spent 10 minutes figuring out how to make a phone call on it. I like the phone, for the most part, but it's like anything new. It takes some getting used to. I'd like to figure out why it doesn't ring when I get a phone call. That is even baffling my daughter, the iPhone queen.
Yesterday was my big TV appearance on a local morning show, The Rhode Show, which features goings on in and around Rhode Island. The big news of the day, other than Whitney Houston's passing, was the PowerBall winner being a Rhode Islander. We're still waiting to hear who the lucky winner is. We know the ticket was bought in Newport, which is two towns over from me. Anyway, my spot was about romance novels and how they make for a good gift for your Valentine. You can watch it here. The show was really fun to do, but of course I look at myself on TV and all I see is 100 pounds of FACE. I hate my fat face. I always have. My brother said I only looked a little bit like Chris Farley. Thanks, bro. That made me laugh!
I've been working all day today on Fatal Attack, the next book in the Fatal Series. I'm enjoying being back with Sam and Nick again and immersing them in another mystery. I'm closing in on 10,000 words, and will keep you posted on my progress.
Miscellaneous items:
Song I can't get out of my head: Set Fire to the Rain by (who else?) Adele. Did you see her interview on 60 Minutes? If not, well worth viewing online. She's someone I'd love to hang out with. She seems very "real" and down to earth despite her fame. And she swears! I already love her!
Downton Abbey: Did you watch the two-hour show on Sunday? I'm not at all pleased with Lord Grantham after that episode. I'm not digging the second season quite as much as the first. A lot of it seems rushed for some reason. I dunno...
What are you doing for Valentine's Day? We're making dinner with the kids and staying in. I think of VD in restaurants the same way I do NY Eve: amateur hour. Too crazy for me! I am so romantic, huh? Dan got me a dozen red roses and some chocolate, and I have silly little gifts for him and the kids. Hard to believe that this time last year we were wrapping up the voting for Sam & Nick's wedding. Time flies! Whatever you're doing today, I hope it's fun!
xoxo
Marie
Chaos seems to be the word of the year around here. First it was the home renovations. Now it's the new dog. We've decided to call him Louie, which is close to his shelter name of Luigi, but a little more to our liking. He's a very good boy, but he and Brandy love to wrestle. Right next to me. While I'm trying to write. That doesn't make for the most conducive environment for concentrating. I'm getting used to them, but it's going to take a few weeks to get into a routine that includes the new boy in the house. Brandy is exhausted without all her usual nap time during the day. They usually crash and burn right around the time that Dad gets home from work. Last night he commented on what good dogs they were. I said it was because the holy terrors wore themselves out playing all day. Here's a photo that shows Louie's face a little better:
Speaking of weaklings, I haven't made it to the gym yet this week, but I'll be there tomorrow to meet the trainer. Good thing I have two standing dates with her each week.
I finally broke down and bought an iPhone this weekend. Yesterday, I spent 10 minutes figuring out how to make a phone call on it. I like the phone, for the most part, but it's like anything new. It takes some getting used to. I'd like to figure out why it doesn't ring when I get a phone call. That is even baffling my daughter, the iPhone queen.
Yesterday was my big TV appearance on a local morning show, The Rhode Show, which features goings on in and around Rhode Island. The big news of the day, other than Whitney Houston's passing, was the PowerBall winner being a Rhode Islander. We're still waiting to hear who the lucky winner is. We know the ticket was bought in Newport, which is two towns over from me. Anyway, my spot was about romance novels and how they make for a good gift for your Valentine. You can watch it here. The show was really fun to do, but of course I look at myself on TV and all I see is 100 pounds of FACE. I hate my fat face. I always have. My brother said I only looked a little bit like Chris Farley. Thanks, bro. That made me laugh!
I've been working all day today on Fatal Attack, the next book in the Fatal Series. I'm enjoying being back with Sam and Nick again and immersing them in another mystery. I'm closing in on 10,000 words, and will keep you posted on my progress.
Miscellaneous items:
Song I can't get out of my head: Set Fire to the Rain by (who else?) Adele. Did you see her interview on 60 Minutes? If not, well worth viewing online. She's someone I'd love to hang out with. She seems very "real" and down to earth despite her fame. And she swears! I already love her!
Downton Abbey: Did you watch the two-hour show on Sunday? I'm not at all pleased with Lord Grantham after that episode. I'm not digging the second season quite as much as the first. A lot of it seems rushed for some reason. I dunno...
What are you doing for Valentine's Day? We're making dinner with the kids and staying in. I think of VD in restaurants the same way I do NY Eve: amateur hour. Too crazy for me! I am so romantic, huh? Dan got me a dozen red roses and some chocolate, and I have silly little gifts for him and the kids. Hard to believe that this time last year we were wrapping up the voting for Sam & Nick's wedding. Time flies! Whatever you're doing today, I hope it's fun!
xoxo
Marie
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