I'm so lazy

Well, not really. But I've been lazy about updating here.

I've been working, though. Slowly but surely. Entered the vamps in Passionate Ink's Stroke of Midnight contest. Fingers crossed.

Still working on the elf story, too. It's coming along. I actually started doing a little editing on it last night, so that's good.

Last night the Hubster watched "Collateral". I wasn't interested in watching, myself, but then got really sucked in. I'm so not a Tom Cruise fan but he was awfully good in it. And of course Jamie Foxx is always good.

What else? Been watching Season 3 of The Shield. I love The Shield. I have a huge crush on Vic Mackey. The minute he beat that guy with the phone book in the first episode of Season 1, I fell madly in love. Which is no surprise to anyone who knows me, I think-our friend George is the one who bought the show on DVD for us (we'd never seen it) and he had a pretty good idea what my reaction would be. Excellent taste, George.

So that's basically it. Princess is finally feeling better-turns out there's a bug going around her school and it really is putting the little ones out of commission for a week or so, so our worries that it was something worse were put to rest.

And I talked to my Mommy on Sat.-her birthday-and she's taken the first week of May off to come out here for a visit!! YAY!!

Blogging at TT Today

I' blogging at the Whiskey Creek Press-Torrid's Torrid Temptations blog today, so pop on over and check it out!

http://torridtemptations.blogspot.com/


And can I just say something that's a little (OK, I guess a lot) mean?

It makes me really uncomfortable to see self-published authors talking about how they spoke to groups of high schoolers or jr. high schoolers about "How to get published."
Because they're not, not really. If your "How to get published" speech can reasonably consist of "Pay someone x amount of dollars for x number of copies to sell on your own, because that's what I did," you're not actually giving these kids anything useful and are actually hurting them.

Don't put the idea in their heads that you need to pay to get published. That mindset is why scam artists like PA do so well. Because there are so many people out there who don't know that your publisher is supposed to get your book in stores, not you.
Like the quote a while back on Miss Snark, where a Snarkling wrote in to say they told someone about their book, and the response they got was, "My cousin is saving up so he can be published too."

Don't teach kids that kind of thing. If you're going to give a talk as an expert on being published...you should be traditionally published. Full stop.

Stolen from Charity

Your Life Path Number is 3

Your purpose in life is to express your unique self. You are a creative and artistic person with an interesting view on life.Witty and outgoing, you enjoy sharing your crazy ideas with anyone who will listen.A total social butterfly, you're the life of any party. In love, you inspire and enchant your partner. You are often an object of fantasy and desire. While you are very talented, you sometimes lack the ambition to put your talents in play.And while your wit carries you a long way, you occasionally use it to mask your true feelings.Your natural abilities can bring you all the success in the world ... if you let them

What Is Your Life Path Number?

Who, me, make jokes to hide my true feelings? Naaaah. Only, OK, yeah, all the time.


And I leanred something interesting today, when trying on a top I haven't worn for a few months. Turns out, getting some exercise instead of sitting on the couch all day watching The Shield on DVD does actually make you lose weight. Who knew?

Website!

And the wesbite is officially up and running!

It's December Quinn or click on the link to the right.

I'm so excited!

Much Ado

So, seriously. Thanks so much to Charity, Livia, Carmen, Mac, and Anonymous. You made me feel a lot better.

And as I said in comments, if you follow the link to my deadjournal, the pic is still up there.

And once my website is up and running (which should be tonight!) I can post even more lovely pictures and stuff too.

4/5 from JERR!!!

"A Fine Line Rating: 4/5 Stars Heat level: H
I finished this story long before I was ready for it to end. I fell in love with both characters and the D/s scene that they shared had me squirming in my chair. This is hot steamy sex at its best. This is a definite keeper.

Ice House Rating: 4/5 Stars Heat level: H
Ice House had me wishing that there had been some ice handy in my area. Goodness gracious this is one scorching hot story. I don’t think I have ever imagined having sex outside in freezing cold temperatures, but Ms. Quinn makes it seems like the hottest thing since erotic romance hit the market. This is a truly unique setup and very, very arousing. You are going to love this story. "

What a great thing to see first thing in the morning! I'm so excited!

Maybe I'm just tired

But my feelings are hurt.

Which is stupid. But I can't help it.

What happened is, I posted a comment in another blog a while back. With my "passion for reading" photo. And a few people commented on it, very nicely.

Now I commented again and got an anonymous user asking if we couldn't keep "masturbation" photos, which "lower the tone" (or whatever) away from the blog I commented on. But oh, not singling me out or anything.

Just publicly mentioning that I am apparently some kind of pervert who likes to watch men masturbate. Instead of commenting here, or emailing me privately. And now it seems nobody can show their userpics there anymore, which makes me feel really horrible.

I don't know why this makes me feel bad. But I do. I feel stupid, and embarrassed, and I just want to crawl into a hole somewhere.

Just not a good day. Princess is sick, I'm tired, Sundays are bad anyway because hubby has to go back to work tomorrow-

Am I overreacting to be upset by this?

Double Darn.

Just got an email from the Merritt coordinator that they don't have enough entries in the Erotica category to run that category's contest.

I don't know what to do. Honestly, I entered mostly because I was hoping to up the entries enough for them to run it. (And, yeah, because final judging was done by an EC editor). I could enter the ms as Paranormal, but I don't know if it's worth it or even a good idea-Chapter Two has like a ten-page sex scene, which the people judging may not appreciate. And the final judge for Para is an Avon editor, which, while I would absolutely LOVE to have an Avon editor see my work, they really haven't branched into Erorom the way, say, Kensington has.

I have to decide if I want to put it in another category or withdraw.Don't know what to do.

Will me big dirty book get a fair read from non-ero judges?

SHIT.

Giving In

I was not going to get an iPod.

I was not going to get an iPod because I'm not an iPod person. I mean, those ads with the hipsters listening to whatever generic rock they're listening to, cool braids flying, green-lensed sunglasses reflecting neon...just not me.

But hubby wanted one. Because, you know, boys love technology. So I got him one for Christmas, a black Nano.

And it's so cool. It's all little and slim and sexy. And I started thinking about the music I listen to in my head when I write, and that I could actually listen to it through my ears-the way people actually listen to things, I mean-when working if I had one of those nifty buggers.

So now I'm just trying to get up the courage to spend that money for no reason other than that I think it would be fun to organize songs by book.

And apparently there are lots of writers who do this, despite my thinking, based on an old RWR article, that they all made collages. Because the article talked about how great it was to do so, and how it really got those creative juices flowing. Personally, I'm a failure at collages. I'm collage-impaired. Mine are always lame. I'd hate to do one for a book-I'd lose enthusiasm for the book before I even started, after seeing my dumb mishmash of eyes cut out of magazines. "Geez....that looks like a lousy book," I'd think.

Maybe I should try it, anyway.

Maybe this is all just another way to procrastinate when I should be actually working.

Why Not be A Writer?

I'm depressed.
I'm depressed because I've been following the Publish America sagas on so many writer's boards.Pages and pages and pages and pages. And more pages. Of people who thought they were going to be Real Published Authors, only to discover that their book wasn't worth the paper it was printed on, and that they were professional writers only in their own minds.
This is a good one:http://absolutewrite.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=347fb177cad7204a030dc53b7fbf8e15&f=22
There are over 29,000 posts in one thread alone. All about Publish America.
The sadness, the utter hopelessnes sof some of these people is just so upsetting. The fact that somebody took their dreams and made porridge out of them is even more upsetting.Sure, chances are most of the PA writers would never have been published by a real publishing company. I won't post examples of the deathless prose that even a cursory glimpse at their website can provide. It's too painful.
No, wait. I will post one, but it's not at PA, it's at Lulu.com, an honest self-publishing company (they admit up front what they are and do.)
http://www.lulu.com/browse/search.php

The book is called "Atlanta Nights." Here's a little excerpt:

Isadore knocked once at the door, and then it at once swung open. The stunning vision inside, an echo of pulchritude in a bright red dress, seemed to take their breath away, it was Penelope Urbain, Bruce Lucent's longtime and very beautiful girlfriends. Penelope, who had walked in the door of Lucent Software, asking for a job, and a good thing is being that she did, because he had one for her, a position, so to speak, that only a beautiful woman could fulfill, and she filled the role perfectly, as the beautiful girlfriend for those social occasions when he needed to appear on the front page of the newspaper with a beautiful woman on his arm. Everyone looked and thought he was lucky, but it wasn't just luck it was planning that he fell in love with this beautiful woman and her with him. He gave her his glance and she gave him hers.

Bruce looked at her and whistled, thanking whatever god was listening that the auto accident that he had apparently been in had spared his family jewels for he wasn't one to put to pasture his rampant desire for his stunning young woman, at least not yet. He snapped his fingers and snarled, “Take me inside, Isadore, or you're fired from my software company.”

Now, why am I posting this here? Isn't it terrible to laugh at this stuff?

No. Not this one. "Atlanta Nights" was written to be bad. It's the best Terrible Book ever. Not only is it pretty damn funny, it was written to expose a hoax. And proceeds from its sale beneift charity.
See, it was written by a group of professional sci-fi authors in an effort to prove that Publish America will accept anything. Atlanta Nights was indeed offered a contract.
You can buy it if you want, but even if you don't, spread the word about it. It's wrong to lie to people and cash in on their dreams. It's a con, and it's wrong.

Why did I get into all of this?I was reading a magazine called "She". It's a new women's magazine over here. In the back is an ad that says, in big bold letters, "Why not...Be A Writer?!" Because it's so easy, anyone can do it.
The ad is for a company called the Writers' Bureau. I did some searching and found that they do seem legitimate-they do offer a course in creative writing, and the testimonials in the ad do come from actual writers who have actually sold work to real markets.
But the ad still bothers me. Perhaps I've been spending too much time reading Miss Snark, but I keep hearing the mantra in my head that no legitimate publishing or writing venture puts ads like this in magazines. (Meaning, ads that claim that if you give them money they will give you the "key" to writing success. Which is what this ad does say.) An ad that claims they have some "secret formula" that nobody else has, and if you follow it, you will become a Best-Selling Author! and buy a Ferrari.
I'm sure they teach Creative Writing. But the ad made me uncomfortable, and it still does, and if anybody reading this is thinking of becoming a writer, just remember-there's no shortcut. If only those PA authors realized that

Yes indeedy...

(x-posted everywhere)

So the Princess's bedframe and our two bedside tables were finally delivered today (and it only took 10 weeks).

The woman who delivered them was very nice, but a bit...butch. Susan Powter haircut, lots of piercings in her face. Not that I care, just an observation.

She asked Princess her name and Princess told her. Then she says, "Bet you can't guess my name!" And Princess just stared at her, because Princess is 4. Hell, I would just stare too, because I hate that "guess" shit. Guess your name? I don't know. Sappho?

Anyway. She pulls up one sleeve of her sweatshirt and shows Princess her tattoos. One of which is a large Scooby-Doo. Then she pulls up the other sleeve. More tats, two Scooby-Doos. Then she says:

"And that's my name! Scooby Doo! I had it legally changed!"

Thankfully, the other delivery person in the truck chose this moment to come in with a box, sparing me the necessity of a reply.

She told me before leaving that she "just really likes dogs."

So Scooby Doo works for Argos, and delivered furniture to me today. But not, as you would righfully assume, in the Mystery Machine.

Back to work

I had a great time this Sunday doing my Author Day at the Loves Romances ebook Yahoo group-everyone there was very friendly and made me feel welcome.

It also massaged my little writer's ego that, when I mentioned in passing The Black Dragon (my unsubbed novel that I still adore but need to get off my lazy butt and show someone!), people actually asked questions about it!I'm sure they were just being polite, but honestly, it was less an ego massage than a "duh".

Why the hell haven't I submitted that? What's wrong with me? I only had an excuse for the first few months after I finished it-it was an entry in the Goldren Heart so I really couldn't submit it until I'd heard back on that (didn't final, but did come close-one more tenth of a point was all I needed. Damn.) But after that, there was, and is, no excuse. (Pregnancy was an excuse not to write-well, not an excuse, because it totally blocked me, but still. It was not an excuse not to send out a query letter for a book that was already done and that I knew people enjoyed reading.)

Yes, part of me is convinced the book will never find a home. It's not an Erorom, so I'm afraid the big unwritten rule I break (my hero kills the bad guy, instead of waiting for him to drown, or letting random highwaymen do it, or trying to rescue him from a cliff but the bad guy falls and dies anyway, or whatever other deaux ex machina are brought in to keep the hero from actually taking real revenge) will be a problem. Erorom breaks more rules all around, so I'm not worried about such a plot point there. Which is good, since I'm a bloodthirsty kind of girl. But TBD isn't Ero, and I don't want to make it so-it would mess with the characters too much. Frankly, my hero would be a total hypocrite and nowhere near the man he really is if I let him play willy-nilly in the heroine's pants. Or chemise.

But I've woken up this morning filled with a terrible resolve. I will re-edit it (it's been a year or so since I even read it) and I will start subbing it.

Dammit.

(And the first review for my Teaser came in-Maysreviews rated it "Excellent-4 stars"! Happy me.)

Good and Bad

The couches were delivered yesterday! Yay! We finally have something to sit on. And it only took 6 weeks since the day we moved in here. So that's good.

I burned dinner last night though. That was bad. But then Stephen went out for fish and chips, which was good. So I'm not entirely sure where my karma is with yesterday.

Got some more work done today! Yes! The Faery fell asleep on the way home from dropping Princess off at school, and stayed asleep until we picked her up. So that was several lovely hours of free time. Unfortunately, the batteries on my Alphasmart were too low for me to work for longer than 40 minutes. See the good/bad pattern at work here?

Tomorrow we go to buy a car, which is good. But the money my Mom transferred to us hasn't cleared, so that's bad.

I'm now watching Buffy. Buffy is definitely good.

What's good and bad in your life today?

The big Head?

My Mom is insisting on reading my book, despite my pleas to her not to. She says she wants to brag to her workmates and show it to them. I keep trying to explain to her that, much as I appreciate it, maybe she doesn't want to share her daughter's repeated use of the word "cock" with her fellow nurses.

And speaking of cock, how do we all feel about blow jobs? More specifically, how do we enjoy reading about them? Do you? Or do you think that if you wanted to hear about blow jobs you would go to bed with your man?

In other words, is it sexy, or is it dull? We might do it, and enjoy it, but do we enjoy reading about it in what is, after all, our fantasy?

A good cunnilingus scene is hot, but is a blow job scene just something that makes us think of the guy who used to shove our heads into his lap, a la the guy Charlotte dates on Sex and the City?

Inquiring minds...

My book is out today!

My first piece of published fiction is released in ebook format today by Whiskey Creek Press-Torrid! (Of course, those of you who found me through the Torrid Temptations blog already know this!)

I'm very, very excited about this and hoping that it does well! So go check it out (http://whiskeycreekpress.com/torrid/) and let me know if you like it!