Thursday, July 09, 2009
Contest
Okay, sports fans, we’re making a change in the contest. Mario’s original idea—the dumbest thing I ever did—was more an excuse for him to share his story than a good contest subject. Either that, or everyone is (A) out of town or (B) unlike Mario, too embarrassed to tell the world what a dumb ass he/she had been. So, to make it less embarrassing, the contest will now be “What was I thinking…” stories. And it can be your own story or that of a “friend” (wink-wink). We’ll give away books and a tee shirt and some swag, all in a handy-dandy Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers tote. We'll also give you more time-- deadline July 23.
So what’s been going on in your world?
Ready for Harry Potter? The Half-Blood Prince starts next week. Watch clips and trailers here and here.
Guillermo del Toro is writing a vampire novel. From USA Today:
Director and screenwriter Guillermo del Toro, who indulged his love for the fantastical in hit movies including Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy I and II, now is letting his imagination loose on vampires — in his first novel.
The Strain (William Morrow, $26.99), written by del Toro and thriller novelist Chuck Hogan (The Prince of Thieves), hits stores today… Del Toro's vision of the reanimated dead is dark, gory and palpably grotesque. His vampires hunt their victims in their comfort zones: on the streets of Manhattan, in the family kitchen and suburban backyards.
Next up for HBO: ‘Middlesex’ as One-Hour Series
HBO has optioned Jeffrey Eugenides’ Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Middlesex and is developing a one-hour drama series based on the 2002 book.
Actor-producer Rita Wilson is executive producing, along with the project’s writer Donald Margulies.
The working logline for the potential drama series being used internally at HBO is that it "follows the life of Calliope Stephanides and the epic family history that may hold the answer to her complicated sexual identity."
How does one adapt a story about a hermaphrodite that spans 80 years? Should be interesting.
For you writers out there:
Open Submissions Call!
All Romance™ Needs You for the 28 Days of Heart Campaign to Benefit the American Heart Association
During the month of love, when everyone's attention is focused on matters of the heart, we at All Romance (www.allromance.com) want to help fight the number one killer of women, heart dis! ease, and we need your help and your submissions.
Beginning February 1, 2010, we will release one new short story per day for the entire month. All proceeds from the sale of these shorts, which will be offered exclusively on AllRomance.com as individual eBooks and also bundled into 4 eBook anthologies, will be donated to the American Heart Association (www.americanheart.org).
The 28 stories will be chosen from submissions received between July 1 and October 31, 2009. Any author who has an eBook available on ARe, or whose publisher lists eBooks with us, is eligible to submit. Submissions must be 10,000 to 20,000 words. Th! e preferred heat rating is 4 or 5 flames, though stories rated a hard 3 flames will also be considered. An explanation of the flame rating system can be found on our site. We are looking for a wide variety of themes and sub-genres, as long as the story is a romance.
The stories selected will be reviewed by an editor and provided with cover art, but please make sure submissions are as polished as you can make them before submitting. Previously published stories will be considered only if all rights have reverted back to the author and the story is no longer available for download elsewhere. Backlist and contact info for the authors whose work is chosen will be listed in the back of their story.
Submission details can be found at the link on the All Romance Home Page that reads Publishers/Authors
Questions should be emailed to cat.johnson@allromanceebooks.com. Final selection of participants will be made and announced in November 2009.
From the no f’n way department: Would you trust a glass floor that’s an inch and a half thick when suspended 103 stories in the air?
Only thing crazier than the Sears Tower platform above is this:
To leave you smiling, here's a product for all you e-readers out there.
The smell of e-books just got better
Does your Kindle leave you feeling like there’s something missing from your reading experience?
Have you been avoiding e-books because they just don’t smell right?
If you’ve been hesitant to jump on the e-book bandwagon, you’re not alone. Book lovers everywhere have resisted digital books because they still don’t compare to the experience of reading a good old fashioned paper book.
But all of that is changing thanks to Smell of Books™, a revolutionary new aerosol e-book enhancer.
Now you can finally enjoy reading e-books without giving up the smell you love so much. With Smell of Books™ you can have the best of both worlds, the convenience of an e-book and the smell of your favorite paper book.
Smell of Books™ is compatible with a wide range of e-reading devices and e-book formats and is 100% DRM-compatible. Whether you read your e-books on a Kindle or an iPhone using Stanza, Smell of Books™ will bring back that real book smell you miss so much.
Copyright © 2009 • DuroSport Electronics
Comes in New Book Smell; Scent of Sensibility; Classic Musty; Crunchy Bacon; Eau, You Have Cats ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 6:50 AM
So what’s been going on in your world?
Ready for Harry Potter? The Half-Blood Prince starts next week. Watch clips and trailers here and here.
Guillermo del Toro is writing a vampire novel. From USA Today:
Director and screenwriter Guillermo del Toro, who indulged his love for the fantastical in hit movies including Pan's Labyrinth and Hellboy I and II, now is letting his imagination loose on vampires — in his first novel.
The Strain (William Morrow, $26.99), written by del Toro and thriller novelist Chuck Hogan (The Prince of Thieves), hits stores today… Del Toro's vision of the reanimated dead is dark, gory and palpably grotesque. His vampires hunt their victims in their comfort zones: on the streets of Manhattan, in the family kitchen and suburban backyards.
Next up for HBO: ‘Middlesex’ as One-Hour Series
HBO has optioned Jeffrey Eugenides’ Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Middlesex and is developing a one-hour drama series based on the 2002 book.
Actor-producer Rita Wilson is executive producing, along with the project’s writer Donald Margulies.
The working logline for the potential drama series being used internally at HBO is that it "follows the life of Calliope Stephanides and the epic family history that may hold the answer to her complicated sexual identity."
How does one adapt a story about a hermaphrodite that spans 80 years? Should be interesting.
For you writers out there:
Open Submissions Call!
All Romance™ Needs You for the 28 Days of Heart Campaign to Benefit the American Heart Association
During the month of love, when everyone's attention is focused on matters of the heart, we at All Romance (www.allromance.com) want to help fight the number one killer of women, heart dis! ease, and we need your help and your submissions.
Beginning February 1, 2010, we will release one new short story per day for the entire month. All proceeds from the sale of these shorts, which will be offered exclusively on AllRomance.com as individual eBooks and also bundled into 4 eBook anthologies, will be donated to the American Heart Association (www.americanheart.org).
The 28 stories will be chosen from submissions received between July 1 and October 31, 2009. Any author who has an eBook available on ARe, or whose publisher lists eBooks with us, is eligible to submit. Submissions must be 10,000 to 20,000 words. Th! e preferred heat rating is 4 or 5 flames, though stories rated a hard 3 flames will also be considered. An explanation of the flame rating system can be found on our site. We are looking for a wide variety of themes and sub-genres, as long as the story is a romance.
The stories selected will be reviewed by an editor and provided with cover art, but please make sure submissions are as polished as you can make them before submitting. Previously published stories will be considered only if all rights have reverted back to the author and the story is no longer available for download elsewhere. Backlist and contact info for the authors whose work is chosen will be listed in the back of their story.
Submission details can be found at the link on the All Romance Home Page that reads Publishers/Authors
Questions should be emailed to cat.johnson@allromanceebooks.com. Final selection of participants will be made and announced in November 2009.
From the no f’n way department: Would you trust a glass floor that’s an inch and a half thick when suspended 103 stories in the air?
Only thing crazier than the Sears Tower platform above is this:
To leave you smiling, here's a product for all you e-readers out there.
The smell of e-books just got better
Does your Kindle leave you feeling like there’s something missing from your reading experience?
Have you been avoiding e-books because they just don’t smell right?
If you’ve been hesitant to jump on the e-book bandwagon, you’re not alone. Book lovers everywhere have resisted digital books because they still don’t compare to the experience of reading a good old fashioned paper book.
But all of that is changing thanks to Smell of Books™, a revolutionary new aerosol e-book enhancer.
Now you can finally enjoy reading e-books without giving up the smell you love so much. With Smell of Books™ you can have the best of both worlds, the convenience of an e-book and the smell of your favorite paper book.
Smell of Books™ is compatible with a wide range of e-reading devices and e-book formats and is 100% DRM-compatible. Whether you read your e-books on a Kindle or an iPhone using Stanza, Smell of Books™ will bring back that real book smell you miss so much.
Copyright © 2009 • DuroSport Electronics
Comes in New Book Smell; Scent of Sensibility; Classic Musty; Crunchy Bacon; Eau, You Have Cats ¶ posted by Jeanne Stein @ 6:50 AM
Comments:
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Smell of book ... what a lovely concept! Still not the same thing as a real book though.
As for that glass flooring? I'm so veyr glad I'm not the only one who looked at it and thought "you're kidding right? There is no freakin way you would find me stepping food on that." you just know people are already planning to take implients (like those used to break out of a car via the windows) with them to see how much danger they can put others in.
Harry Potter - I hadn't realised the release date was so close! That is one movie I WILL be seeing. Thank goodness I'm being paid next week.
Sorry I've been completley MIA the past couple of weeks. I have been out of town a lot. I'm so thankful to finally have my feet back on home turf (to stay) once again.
As for that glass flooring? I'm so veyr glad I'm not the only one who looked at it and thought "you're kidding right? There is no freakin way you would find me stepping food on that." you just know people are already planning to take implients (like those used to break out of a car via the windows) with them to see how much danger they can put others in.
Harry Potter - I hadn't realised the release date was so close! That is one movie I WILL be seeing. Thank goodness I'm being paid next week.
Sorry I've been completley MIA the past couple of weeks. I have been out of town a lot. I'm so thankful to finally have my feet back on home turf (to stay) once again.
What Was I Thinking Moment (a few more than 75 words, but I couldn't really narrow it down too much more and still keep the context.)
My first time in France, I lived with an older couple that didn’t speak English. When asked about why I loved French ice cream so much I tried to say it tasted better b/c there were no preservatives in it. Having elementary French skills, I tried to turn the verb “to preserve” préserver into a noun préservatif. My hosts turned red in the face and doubled over with laughter. Later I learned that I had told them that French ice cream tasted better b/c it did not have condoms in it.
My first time in France, I lived with an older couple that didn’t speak English. When asked about why I loved French ice cream so much I tried to say it tasted better b/c there were no preservatives in it. Having elementary French skills, I tried to turn the verb “to preserve” préserver into a noun préservatif. My hosts turned red in the face and doubled over with laughter. Later I learned that I had told them that French ice cream tasted better b/c it did not have condoms in it.
I live in Chicago, I work not far from the Sears Tower (or whatever it's new name is going to be). You will NEVER catch me out on that balcony. N.E.V.E.R!
What is really nuts is the fee they charge to visit that "Skywalk" over the Grand Canyon.
"if you drive yourself to the site, the minimum cost for the trip will be $74 per person—$49 for the entrance fee and $25 for the Skywalk access. If you choose the most expensive package, the cost can exceed $200 per person."
Yeah right.
"if you drive yourself to the site, the minimum cost for the trip will be $74 per person—$49 for the entrance fee and $25 for the Skywalk access. If you choose the most expensive package, the cost can exceed $200 per person."
Yeah right.
# posted by 
: 8:44 PM
: 8:44 PM
You are a wise person, CLJ--
PS If you know of anyone looking for a rental in the Oak Park area, my daughter's condo in the Santa Maria is up for lease. She's moving to AZ!!!! :-)
Gina-- isn't it nuts about the charges to "experience" the skywalk? I'm with you-- but I think I said it already, didn't I?
No f'n way--
J.
PS If you know of anyone looking for a rental in the Oak Park area, my daughter's condo in the Santa Maria is up for lease. She's moving to AZ!!!! :-)
Gina-- isn't it nuts about the charges to "experience" the skywalk? I'm with you-- but I think I said it already, didn't I?
No f'n way--
J.
~I concur, Ruh-ruh, Raggy, no effin' way! I have a sincere respect for heights and I don't need that tenuous thrill.
~Well, sign my happy ass up for a Kindle now that I can spray that new book smell! phhhhhhttt.....ahhhhhh......
~I have THE STRAIN on my RecordedBooks wishlist. Can't wait!
~I'll wait for HP-HBP until the lines go quiet or I can go honkin' early in the AM for first showing of the day. I look forward to it, but I can wait.
~As for What was a I thinking? update to the contest....I still stand by my entry when Mario started the contest....nothing much in my life can beat the dumbass-ness of sticking the art gum eraser up my nose when I was a kid.....
~Well, sign my happy ass up for a Kindle now that I can spray that new book smell! phhhhhhttt.....ahhhhhh......
~I have THE STRAIN on my RecordedBooks wishlist. Can't wait!
~I'll wait for HP-HBP until the lines go quiet or I can go honkin' early in the AM for first showing of the day. I look forward to it, but I can wait.
~As for What was a I thinking? update to the contest....I still stand by my entry when Mario started the contest....nothing much in my life can beat the dumbass-ness of sticking the art gum eraser up my nose when I was a kid.....
I'm totally disqualified from the contest because I've NEVER EVER done any dumbass thing (I had to look it up in the dictionary as it's a totally foreign concept). And nothing I've ever done has prompted me to ask myself, "Self, what were you thinking?"
Well that's my story anyway and I'm sticking to it!
Well that's my story anyway and I'm sticking to it!
# posted by : 8:30 AM
: 8:30 AM
Gina, I had to think about it too. Most of the bad stuff that happens to me can be qualified as "very very very bad luck." I swear, I was born cursed.
As for the cost to take ths ky walk? Are you kidding me? That is insanely expsive. It might be testament to how many peopel actually take it though. they ahve to recoup their costs somehow and if not as many people want to walk it as they anticipated ....
As for the cost to take ths ky walk? Are you kidding me? That is insanely expsive. It might be testament to how many peopel actually take it though. they ahve to recoup their costs somehow and if not as many people want to walk it as they anticipated ....
Gina said...I'm totally disqualified from the contest because I've NEVER EVER done any dumbass thing (I had to look it up in the dictionary as it's a totally foreign concept). And nothing I've ever done has prompted me to ask myself, "Self, what were you thinking?"
Wow, Gina, you, too?
;-)
J.
Wow, Gina, you, too?
;-)
J.
My "what was I thinking" moment came when I painted my ceiling. We had just moved in and the whole place needed a coat of paint because the previous person was a smoker and the walls looked awful. I decided I would also paint the ceiling myself. I figured how hard can it be, right?
About one fourth of the way through, my arms hurt soooo bad from keeping them raised above my head, moving around the roller. I wanted to quit but couldn't because then the ceiling would look funny. I had no choice but to finish. But the whole time I was thinking that I wished someone had stopped me.
Valorie
morbidromantic@gmail.com
About one fourth of the way through, my arms hurt soooo bad from keeping them raised above my head, moving around the roller. I wanted to quit but couldn't because then the ceiling would look funny. I had no choice but to finish. But the whole time I was thinking that I wished someone had stopped me.
Valorie
morbidromantic@gmail.com
Hi guys!
I know I already entered the Dumbass story, but...Mario's firecrackers reminded on another story from when I was a kid, at least this time, it's inexperience instead of stupidity.
It was the 4th of July, I was about in the 5th grade. We had a new batch of kittens, and I was taking turns holding each of them, they were around my ankles, you know being cats. Well, my brother chose that time to light the firecrackers and by the time he was done, three kittens had crawled up my bare legs and where clinging to my head.
(exceeded the 75 word limit, sorry)
Dottie :)
(I'm not even going to tell about the times I've locked the keys in the car at restaurants and had to have the lock smith open the door, suffice it to say, he gave me a discount card for future use.)
I know I already entered the Dumbass story, but...Mario's firecrackers reminded on another story from when I was a kid, at least this time, it's inexperience instead of stupidity.
It was the 4th of July, I was about in the 5th grade. We had a new batch of kittens, and I was taking turns holding each of them, they were around my ankles, you know being cats. Well, my brother chose that time to light the firecrackers and by the time he was done, three kittens had crawled up my bare legs and where clinging to my head.
(exceeded the 75 word limit, sorry)
Dottie :)
(I'm not even going to tell about the times I've locked the keys in the car at restaurants and had to have the lock smith open the door, suffice it to say, he gave me a discount card for future use.)
Hi Jeanne! Whew, I've been busy. I'm getting ready to leave for the RWA national conference (I'm nervous about those pitch appointments). The tot and the hubby are being left behind so I've been busy, busy being a good mommy, shopping, doing laundry and all that stuff, so they have clean clothes and food while I'm gone. For some reason they like that, LOL. The tot says "hello." We were in the bookstore saturday and she said "mommy, step away from the vampire books." LOL. That's my girl. Have a great week! ~Suzanne and the tot
Valerie and Dottie-- good entries!!
Suzanne-- have fun at RWA. Tell me all about it when you get back.
Anna says "hi" back to the Tot==
XO J.
Suzanne-- have fun at RWA. Tell me all about it when you get back.
Anna says "hi" back to the Tot==
XO J.
I'm totally blanking out on all the stupid things I know I've done. The one thing I remember was accidentally putting both contacts into the same eye the day I took my GREs (one must have been off center) and I couldn't figure out why i was seeing so poorly. (I think I'd had four hours of sleep that night). I still got accepted into grad school, but it's really hard to fill out a scantron when you're half blind.
On a related note, don't check your watch while you're cleaning your contacts---it's a good way to lose them down the drain.
On a related note, don't check your watch while you're cleaning your contacts---it's a good way to lose them down the drain.
I have the big iMac -- got it almost two years ago and I LOVE it. (At first I thought the screen was too big and one of my kids, my Apple-loving one like me, came down, saw it and threw her arms around it and said, "It's NOT going back to the store." You'll love it.)
And I will NEVER go on that Sears Tower ledge. never. Never. Did I mention never?
I'm kind of all over the place, reading-wise, but have kids who love vampire books, so I'm checking some of them out. (Twilight started it, of course.) Latest read: Predatoress by Emma Gabor, about a girl who goes from being a pretty much goody-two-shoes high-schooler to bloodthirsty thing, rampaging across Hungary, Vienna and New York, turning friends into vampires for companionship. It's pretty surreal but fun.
And I will NEVER go on that Sears Tower ledge. never. Never. Did I mention never?
I'm kind of all over the place, reading-wise, but have kids who love vampire books, so I'm checking some of them out. (Twilight started it, of course.) Latest read: Predatoress by Emma Gabor, about a girl who goes from being a pretty much goody-two-shoes high-schooler to bloodthirsty thing, rampaging across Hungary, Vienna and New York, turning friends into vampires for companionship. It's pretty surreal but fun.
Dottie,
Locking yourself out of the house/car reminded me of the last time I locked myself out of my house. the Caretaker was in Atlanta so I couldn't get the duplicate copy of the key from him, I tried breaking into my house with a credit card (it always works in the movies and one of my friends swears he's done it a couple of times ... lets just say it isn't as easy as it looks) but thankfully I had left a window to my living area unlocked. The only ladder around was one of those tall ones leaning against the complex Laundromat and it was covered in spider webs (I'm arachnophobia) so Here I was hauling a ladder crawling with spiders (I dropped the ladder a couple of times b/c I felt one go over my hand) in my work clothes and three inch heels all the way to my cottage. I leaned it onto my house and spent about 15 minutes try8ng to remove the screen from the window and prying the window open with metal bits from a plant hanger I used to have over the rail of my porch. Let me emphasize that I was doing this in 3 inch heels, dressy work clothes, while sitting on the very top of a rickety ladder crawling with spiders. Not to mention that at the time, the majority of the complex where I live (a clearing with about 12 cottages)was almost completely inhabited by people who worked with the sheriff's department. I didn't know any of them so I was praying desperately that I wasn't going to get hauled off for trying to break into my own place in the middle of the day.
Just thought I'd share my little tale. Now when i'm about to leave the house and am on the phone with my mother she always reminds me to leave the house with key ring in hand ... one of these days I'll learn. Until then, I always keep a window unlocked.
Locking yourself out of the house/car reminded me of the last time I locked myself out of my house. the Caretaker was in Atlanta so I couldn't get the duplicate copy of the key from him, I tried breaking into my house with a credit card (it always works in the movies and one of my friends swears he's done it a couple of times ... lets just say it isn't as easy as it looks) but thankfully I had left a window to my living area unlocked. The only ladder around was one of those tall ones leaning against the complex Laundromat and it was covered in spider webs (I'm arachnophobia) so Here I was hauling a ladder crawling with spiders (I dropped the ladder a couple of times b/c I felt one go over my hand) in my work clothes and three inch heels all the way to my cottage. I leaned it onto my house and spent about 15 minutes try8ng to remove the screen from the window and prying the window open with metal bits from a plant hanger I used to have over the rail of my porch. Let me emphasize that I was doing this in 3 inch heels, dressy work clothes, while sitting on the very top of a rickety ladder crawling with spiders. Not to mention that at the time, the majority of the complex where I live (a clearing with about 12 cottages)was almost completely inhabited by people who worked with the sheriff's department. I didn't know any of them so I was praying desperately that I wasn't going to get hauled off for trying to break into my own place in the middle of the day.
Just thought I'd share my little tale. Now when i'm about to leave the house and am on the phone with my mother she always reminds me to leave the house with key ring in hand ... one of these days I'll learn. Until then, I always keep a window unlocked.
Photographer Leia
I've done the same thing, keys and me don't really mix, fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be, I had my young son with me, (I've locked him in the car twice, once I had to call the police to get him out and once I was able to talk him through unlocking the doors for Mommy). I had left one small window open in the kitchen, pried off the screen, and shoved my son through the small window. He just fit! Then I was able to yell at him and talk him through how to unlock the open door for Mommy. These are things I hope my husband never finds out. He already thinks I'm a dits.
Dottie :)
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I've done the same thing, keys and me don't really mix, fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be, I had my young son with me, (I've locked him in the car twice, once I had to call the police to get him out and once I was able to talk him through unlocking the doors for Mommy). I had left one small window open in the kitchen, pried off the screen, and shoved my son through the small window. He just fit! Then I was able to yell at him and talk him through how to unlock the open door for Mommy. These are things I hope my husband never finds out. He already thinks I'm a dits.
Dottie :)
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