Christmas Wishlist Book Talk #2

For the Science lover or plain curious about everything person you need to shop for is not without options this year in the non-fiction side.

The Elements: A Visual Exploration of Every Known Atom in the Universe by Theodore Gray, with Nick Mann, is a great option.

"An eye-opening, original collection of gorgeous, never-before-seen photographic representations of the 118 elements in the periodic table.

The elements are what we, and everything around us, are made of. But how many elements has anyone actually seen in pure, uncombined form? The Elements provides this rare opportunity. Based on five years of research and photography, the pictures in this book make up the most complete, and visually arresting, representation available to the naked eye of every atom in the universe. Organized in order of appearance on the periodic table, each element is represented by a spread that includes a stunning, full-page, full-color photograph that most closely represents it in its purest form. For example, at -183˚C, oxygen turns from a colorless gas to a beautiful pale blue liquid.

Also included are fascinating facts, figures, and stories of the elements as well as data on the properties of each, including atomic weight, density, melting and boiling point, valence, electronegativity, and the year and location in which it was discovered. Several additional photographs show each element in slightly altered forms or as used in various practical ways. The element's position on the periodic table is pinpointed on a mini rendering of the table and an illustrated scale of the element's boiling and/or melting points appears on each page along with a density scale that runs along the bottom.

Packed with interesting information, this combination of solid science and stunning artistic photographs is the perfect gift book for every sentient creature in the universe." [from Black Dog & Levanthal]

A companion piece to the book is a just released deck cards, what a great to learn, study, or discover the periodic table.

The above is a fantastic book and so is Voyage to the Heart of Matter: The ATLAS Experiment at CERN by Emma Sanders and Anton Radevsky.  I know, I can find a pop-up for just about everyone :-)  Anyway, the experiment going on underground between France and Switzerland, the Large Hadron Collider, is very important.  The goal is to discover and understand all they can about the birth of our Universe.  This could be a very overwelming subject, science term heavy and now CERN and Radevsky [paper engineer] have come together to put the experiment on your lap.

If you have a science junky, a person who likes to spend time with the stars, or someone like me - a pop-up fan - this is a great, unique, book to gift them with.  A real gem.

Christmas Wishlist Book Talk #1

From now until Christmas [12 Days but not the real 12 Days of Christmas or the song version either, just the 12 days leading up to Christmas :-)] I thought I'd pass on some book or book related ideas for pressies for others or yourself.  I should take a moment to make a confession:  Some of these suggestions I own, some I'll be doing for someone else, and some are on my personal wish list, but no matter which list they are on, they are all great books.

So, to kick it off, with the first of the last two films coming out, let's go to Harry Potter - a series of books enjoyed by all age levels. 

You can see the various cover art HP went through over the years at Bloomsbury, but here's my opinion and part of why it's here.  I thought the British Children's Covers were good, I was always a bigger fan of the Adult Cover versions, but a Signature Line with covers by Scotland based renowned linocut artist Clare Melinsky were released this November in paperback only - probably to celebrate the end of the line.

They come as a boxed set, CD [read by Stephen Fry], or individually.

Now, if you've visited my blog often, then you'd be in the know - as in know my passion for pop-up books and would therefore not be surprised to see me mention Harry Potter: A Pop-Up Book: Based on the Film Phenomenon by Bruce Foster and Andrew Williams, which was recently released.  While I haven't been a fan of the previous HP pop-ups, this one looks good.

If you don't have a fan of Harry to look for, but maybe a young ballet enthusiast, then think about Swan Lake Ballet Theatre.  Great book, theater setting and characters, and CDs set by Jean Mahoney and Viola Anne Seddon.  Little ones will enjoy playing ballet and fall into the music through the story.

Destiny Blaine's 12 Days of Christmas Blog Tour has landed!

Hi, Tilly,

Thank you for allowing me to be your guest and for joining us on Destiny Blaine's Twelve Days of Christmas Blog Tour.

Today, I’m promoting my latest release, Waking up the Arguably Dead, a new novel from Passion in Print. Waking up the Arguably Dead is a ménage paranormal romance with comic relief. While writing this manuscript, I felt an unexplainable tug to keep Drake and Addison monogamous. However, Martin (Addison’s neighbor) found a way to pursue her and while his unusual tactics aren’t exactly what I would find appealing in a man, he somehow won Addison’s heart.

Drake Valentine owned it from the start.

Drake is an Alpha male but he isn’t the typical Alpha I normally write. He has a softer side and knows from the moment he meets Addison , she belongs to him. Blountville , Tennessee wouldn’t have been his choice location for mate hunting but Drake lands in this rural area and later discovers someone in his family played a very important role in why he was drawn there.

Waking up the Arguably Dead is a Dark Paranormal MFM Romance with comic relief elements. Readers will get a glimpse inside my hometown as they flip the pages of this Passion in Print novel. They’ll see what I see while driving down Blountville's Main Street and they'll discover a country store, while somewhat fabricated, where many of us pop in for an ice cold soda and good conversation.

Waking up the Arguably Dead introduces readers to Granny Myrtle, a spunky little old woman who is several characters all wrapped up in one. I created Granny from a few country grandmothers I’ve had the pleasure of meeting at least once. As for Addison : Well, I don't know anyone quite like our heroine but she sure is one lucky gal. Read the book and find out why a lot of girls in these parts might be a little envious.

In this novel, you’ll meet Melissa, the LPN over at the local physician’s office. I’m happy to say she is true to form. No, there isn’t a Dr. Michaels in Blountville, but Melissa lives here. She’s a saucy little vixen who knows what she wants and doesn’t care to tell everyone how much she’s enjoyed getting it. The first name has been changed to protect the promiscuous and as far as I know the real ‘Melissa’ never worked a day in her life. You'll like her. She's full of surprises.

Since Waking up the Arguably Dead is a ménage romance that almost wasn’t, I wanted to reach out to your readers today and ask a few questions:

Do you read more erotic romance with M/F romance elements or ménage romances? If you read ménage, what limitations do you have? Is there such a thing as one too many?

Leave a comment here today. I have a special snail mail package ready to deliver to one lucky commenter. One random winner will be chosen later this evening.

Thanks so much for allowing me to be your guest, Tilly!

[Entirely my pleasure, darlin' - always looking for a new read and am adding this one to my TBB list for Christmas :-) TG]

Waking up the Arguably Dead by Destiny Blaine
Passion in Print
MFM Paranormal-Vampire
Buy eBook or Paperback here!

Waiting to Die Can be Such a Drag

Martin Cartwright's neighbor receives disheartening news. She's dying. As far as Martin can tell, Addison has never looked better, but when daily sightings of his beautiful neighbor become few and far between, Martin realizes Addison isn't too keen on living. And he decides to help her get on with dying.

Martin plans to scare Addison into living. Unbeknownst to him, someone is watching with similar goals. Only Drake Valentine's interests in the lovely Miss Deveraux vary from Martin's ambitions. Soon, Addison must choose between living in the shadows of sickness and stepping into the darkness where she's always been drawn.


Excerpt
Addison Deveraux stared at her family physician for several minutes, unable to speak and incapable of processing the information he relayed. She focused on the white walls around her. She skimmed over the medical licenses and board certifications, eventually narrowing her gaze on the overstuffed plastic brochure rack housing material about common medical problems. The entire time, she remained faintly aware of her doctor’s monotone voice. An avid movie enthusiast, Addison disconnected from the moment and recalled a recent flick she’d watched.

She remembered one scene in particular where a woman learned of her life-destroying health circumstance. Thanks to modern day technology, the character slipped into a mindboggling funnel surrounded by noise typically found in a seashell. The echo intensified and the room scrambled into spinning pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.

On the big screen, the actress sobbed. The doctor calmly provided information about the disease for which she’d been diagnosed and the woman finally zoomed in on those fated words: “You’re dying.”

Addison blinked. “I am?”

“Addison,” Dr. Michaels began gently, “Haven’t you heard a word I just said?”

She swallowed. “No, I was…” Thinking about dying.

“Addison, this isn’t something you should take lightly,” Dr.Michaels stressed, leaning over his desk. An older man with salt and pepper hair, Dr. Michaels wore tinted large-rimmed glasses and resembled someone who might have been chosen to portray a physician delivering detrimental news.

Addison watched his mouth move. His words hummed all around her, beating into her ears like a hollow drum. “Treatment is something we should discuss together. This isn’t the end and that’s it.”

Boom. Boom. Boom. The maddening tempo gained momentum.

Advice slipped from his lips but the words ran together in a never-ending slur. “Think of diagnosis as a transition. By the time you’ve processed the information I’ve given you, you’ll be ready to face the days ahead. In the end, you’ll be much better off.”

She gulped. There it was. The dreaded statement, You’ll be much better off.
How many times had she attended a funeral for one of her grandmother’s friends and heard the same thing? Mary Lou Cornell went to a better place. Dan Bradley was much better off after both arms and one leg were amputated.

Carla Sue Davis found Jesus after living on the streets and working for some pimp who decided to repay her years of servitude with continual beatings. And Barbara Jo Jones faced death the same way she’d faced living; always waiting for the other shoe to drop.

No indeed, Addison refused to walk down the same road chosen by Granny Myrtle’s best friends, or her cousin Gertrude, who for some reason received her bad news and decided to kick the bucket, before the bucket smacked her upside her head. No way. Addison planned to do a little better for herself. She’d die on her own terms.

The way Addison met death was her decision. Since she had a choice in the matter, she planned to go on out there and greet death—take her fate by the horns and ride the daylights out of it.

Yep, it was time to get on with dying.

Copyright © 2010 Destiny Blaine

Buy eBook or Paperback Link: http://passioninprint.com/ShowBook.php?CR=DBWAKINGADEAD


Destiny Blaine
www.destinyblaine.com/

http://destinyblaine.blogspot.com/

Contest Reminder

13 Days of Bloody Kiss'mas Extravaganza 2010 has started!

Have you entered?

There are many great prizes to be won and daily giveaway, but here's a small hint of what you're playing for from me:

Paperbackdolls.com is playing host along with Wick'd Reads.  It's going to be a frolicking fun ride to the end - so says the "Red Hot Erotic Fiction Mistress" - ME!  Love that title!

A Special Guest is Coming!

This Sunday a very special guest will be here and I hope you enjoy their visit!  They're asking some very interesting questions, comment, and you're up to WIN!

No hints other than: Fabulosity!

Different Christmas Traditions Around the World

Recently Amazing Facts posted a blog, 20 Different Christmas Traditions from Around the World, and I thought I'd share a few of them here - but go read all 20, maybe add a new tradition into your mix this year.

In Swedenfamilies celebrate the Christmas holiday with various family-oriented traditions, beginning with attending church on the first Sunday of Advent. Children anxiously count down the days until Christmas using an Advent calendar. On Dec. 13, also known as St. Lucia's Day, Swedes celebrate the patron saint of light, in which the eldest daughter in a family dresses in a long white gown and serves coffee and treats to her family members. Many Swedish families pick out Christmas trees together one or two days before Christmas. They decorate the tree with an array of candies, glass ornaments, pinecones and figurine gnomes. A midday meal is served on Christmas Eve, in which families participate in the tradition of "dipping in the kettle," where each person dips their bread into a kettle of thin broth in remembrance of hard times when food was scarce. They follow with a smorgasbord of lutefisk and a variety of good eats.

In Russia, whether it's the solemn rituals and family togetherness, or the fact that Christmas celebrations were banned until 1992 after the 1917 Revolution, [they] hold Christmas very close to their hearts. Although Christmas celebrations are beginning to be replaced by the Festival of Winter, there are plenty of people who follow the old Russian traditions that stem from the Orthodox faith. Traditional Russian Christmases are centered on religious observation, in which families say special prayers and fast until Jan. 6 (Christmas Eve). Then, they have a bountiful 12-course meal called the "Holy Supper," which honors the Twelve Apostles. Christmas Day is celebrated on Jan. 7 and is traditionally a day for church services and a dinner that usually consists of goose and suckling pig.

Holland has many well-known Christmas traditions that center around Sinterklaas, who makes his appearance on St. Nicholas Day on Dec. 6. A red robed Sinterklaas atop a wheeled sleigh that's led by a white horse travels by ship from Spain to Amsterdam's harbor. He's greeted by the mayor and the people of Amsterdam when he arrives and he proceeds in a parade through the streets. It's tradition for Dutch families to celebrate St. Nicholas Eve at home with a feast and a letterbanket, which is a cake shaped into the first letter of the family's last name. At nighttime, children set their wooden shoes by the fireplace and fill them with hay and carrots for Sinterklaas' horse. Children tell their parents how good or bad they've behaved that year, and well-behaved kids will awake to nuts, candy and other gifts in their shoes.

Told you they were interesting and this is only a few, go check out the rest here on Amazing Facts.

When is 9" Too Much

When it's a shoe!

Parmar in the UK is getting ready to put out Sky Heel, which has a 9" heel.  I personally wouldn't wear them, then again, I don't wear any heels, but these in particular look stupid.

Can anyone walk in these and look graceful?

Don't Know What To Do Tonight?

The Bloody Kiss'mas gang will be chatting it up on the PSI-FI Radio program tonight at 8:00pm est [7 central and 5 pacific] - stop by and have fun!

Oh, and ENTER here, often!

The Last Judgement is Filled with Sexy Gays

Actually, let me be more specific, in fact, let me quote: 

"Elena Lazzarini, a researcher from Pisa University, believes the enormous fresco is replete with homosexual imagery, including a man being dragged into Damnation by his testicles and kisses and embraces between male figures." [1]

My entirely personal opinion on Michelangelo, the artist, is that the women he created who were strong and capable creatures.  They never appeared to me to be weak-willed, even when depicted in moments of weakness like The Pieta.  His sculpture of David also depicted the man as strong, determined, and confident.  I think Michelangelo was inspired by what he felt was inside a person and placed it on the outside as beauty, but if that element ever went away, they'd still survive.

Who cares if the models were gay and found in bathhouses with or as prostitutes, Michelangelo created a beautiful fresco on the Sistine Chapel ceiling and walls.  Maybe some folks are having problems facing their own last judgement and must therefore try to tarnish another. 

I've never seen the Sistine Chapel, although I hope to next fall.  If you are interested in reading more of what Lazzarini has to say, then pick up a copy of her book:  Nudity, Art and Decorum: Aesthetic Changes in the Art of the 16th Century.  It sounds like an interesting read, although I can't find it for sale anywhere.

On a side and yet related note:  The myth about Leda and the Swan [Michelangelo's depiction to the right is one of my favorites of his] was actually what inspired my 'Mythological Messes Redux' series - the need to give someone [Leda in this case] a new ending.  Oh, and Leda and Zeus are the two characters in the short Together Again?, while two of their twins [who aren't really twins] are the heroes in Double Punch.  I guess you could say the series is where my love for art and Ancient Greek myths join forces.

Let's Chat about AAD!

December 8th at 1:00pm est there will be doing a radio show at Books Beyond Boundaries Blog Talk Radio show and it will be both a live talk to listen to, and a chat room to talk in and ask questions!

Shall be fun!

Meggendorfer Prize 2010 Goes to...

ABC3D by Marion Bataille, A Neal Porter Book, Roaring Book Press!

The prize is awarded every two years at the Movable Book Society Convention to a paper engineer for "outstanding pop-up and movable book published" [1] over the previous two years.

Do you have a youngster learning their ABC's?  Maybe a pop-up lover?  Enjoy unique books?  Then check this out:



Told you it was fun!

Naughty Thought for Monday

As a kid, Lego's were my all time favorite toys.  I remember when my mom made a playmat - a large white canvas rectangle with water for the boat, streets for the bus, and a spot for the houses and schools with a playground of course.  It was the ultimate and, even though I was beyond playing with them, I mourned when we gave it all to a young girl who'd house had burnt down.  Not right then, but like a week or two later, although I wouldn't have taken them back.  [It was a good lesson moment :-)]

Anyway, the other day I saw a pic pass through my Google Reader, and went right on by with just a little bit of What was that? in my head.  For some reason, okay, pause in the writing, I typed in BDSM Lego and there it was, the scene I saw and made me think how much my favorite toy has changed.

Special Christmas Edition Movie Talk

The holiday season is building up and some folks listen to music, decorate, cook, and/or watch movies to feed the fun.

I'm the latter.

My movie choices run from b/w sap to contemporary camp and I love them all.  Here are those on my shelves and will be watched in the next couple of weeks.

Miracle on 34th Street, the original version with Maureen O'Hara and Edmund Gwenn.  Everytime I go into NYC, leave Penn Station, and see Macy's across the way, I think of this flick.  I know, it should be Thanksgiving that makes me think of it, but no, it's seeing that particular store that does it - no matter what time of year.

Now, there's a routine to the next two, most likely because my sister and I used to watch them at our Grandparents house, one after the other.  First is Holiday Inn and after that is White Christmas.  OMG, I can't sing or dance, but both of these are my all time favs - no matter what time of year.  Seeing a theme here?

The last one I'll recommend you watch, I will be, is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation!  To put it bluntly, the Griswold's just do it for me.  My memory genes are dead, but I can quote a few lines from this one.  The cat in the tree?  Aunt Bethany's pressie and Uncle Lewis's hairpiece?  Todd and Margo?  Cousin Eddie?  OMG, Cousin Eddie and the "shitters full" ... hilarious ... no matter what time of year!

Why do I keep saying that?  Because a favorite flick is timeless :-)

Anyway, you know what I'll be watching over the next couple of weeks, and most likely more than once.

Ho Ho Ho - fun time is here!

Okay, those are my favs, what are yours?

A Name Says So Much About a Person

What you're called was up to your parents and some people change them, either by using a nickname or legally, but they often say a great deal about a person.

It's pretty much the same when it comes to a writer giving a character their name.  Maybe that's why some authors will say they gave birth to their characters, although I'm more apt to say I built them from the ground up - flaws and all.

With that in mind, there are two ways for me the naming comes to fruition.  The plot is already fleshed out in my head and the characters need to be worked into that as I'm writing the story.  Then there are those times when I have a character who is looking for a happy ending.  Here's a small portion of how I work it out.

The first story I ever wrote was Come, Sweet Creature.  Whiskey Creek Press Torrid was looking for twisted fairytales and I chose 'The Spider and the Fly' by Mary Howitt.  The plot was there and the challenge I set for myself was to make a hero who sets out to trap the heroine for his pleasure, but to also be someone the reader could like and support.  In short, a gentleman with a devious side.  I played around with a name book, but kept going back to making a play on the "spider" qualities, and ultimately settled on Tilton Spidermach.  To this day, I wouldn't change a thing about this character, and especially not his name.  It suits him and his personality.

In Zandia, I again had the plot, and the hero was built from that base.  The hero, an heir being prepared to rule, was from a backwards thinking planet that is the furtheset in the known galaxy, which also means there isn't a great deal of interaction with others, except for the tournament.  Okay, tricky, but I wanted to show the future ruler was both powerful and loving.  Stuck, I did what one of my tricks to get inspired, and that is to think foreign, think back to school, think back to books I've read.  I went to my bookshelves and there was the answer all wrapped into one tidy package.  Oedipus Rex by Sophocles.  Rex, latin for King.  Loved it, but also thought it was too obvious so started to play around and ended up with using two very obvious words only in reverse.  Rex Heir - Xer Rieh, hero of the future!

Then there are those heroes who come first.  First one of this sort that comes to mind is Hamish Buchanan from Highland Heat.  I saw a picture and had the character built, all in my head, but needed the perfect name to see him through to the end.  I didn't want one that offered nicknames or to be shorted, but I did want something that said he was a proud Scotsman.  Old family, that's what he deserved and so I sought out a strong, historical, surname from the Highlands for my hero.  Buchanan was chosen mainly because of their moto:  Clarior Hinc Honos or Henceforth forward the honour shall grow ever brighter(1).  The Hamish part was easier because it happened to be a character's name in a tv show I used to watch in England.  It was a mystery series [based on books written by MC Beaton which I still mean to read] set in Scotland, specifically the Highlands, with the gorgeous, Scottish, Robert Carlyle as the policeman.

I admit to having changed a characters name mainly because their name didn't suit them.  The one I had the most fun name-wise was actually the heroine in Call Me Lucifer.  Found by a group of firemen, she accepted the name they gave her the day they found in the trash, but later shortened it to Nia, Nia Adams.  She wasn't big in telling people about her past, but she did tell a lover, and he turned out to be Satan.  Did he use it against her?  Ever so slightly by giving her the nickname Pet.

The heroine of the story I'm currently working on is Mary Miller and it was settled alongside the plot.  Both at once.  Interesting.

There you go, a little bit on how much thought can go into naming a character.  Heritage, personality, strengths and weaknesses, physical appearance, vocation, all of it and much much more play a part in who that person is, how they turn out, and their name.  Names are very important.

Contest Time!

13 Days of Bloody Kiss'mas Extravaganza 2010 is on!

There are many great prizes to be won and daily giveaway, but here's a small hint of what you're playing for from me:

It's going to be a frolicking fun ride to the end - so says the "Red Hot Erotic Fiction Mistress" - ME!  Love that title!

Go read the directions, share the contest, and enter, often, at Paperbackdolls.com!

Let's Talk About Art and Things

Expert is defined as "a person who has special skill or knowledge in some particular field; specialist; authority: a language expert." [1]

Simple definition that is easily understood.

Let's take it a step further.  You have something you know nothing about, let's say an old vase, and decide to take it to a person who knows everything about it, or enough to give you an idea of where to go next for more information before giving it away or selling it.  Such people might be a professor, teacher, someone who works with such items - maybe sells them.  So, you take your old vase to an auction house, and they say:

"Lovely piece, looks authentic and old.  If we were to put it up for auction it would most likely go for around $1.3-$1.9 million."

WOW!  That's much more than you ever imagined, but hey, they're the experts.  You do it because we have no attachment to the old vase and up for auction it goes.  The hammer finalizes the sale and it's $85 million dollars.  That's right, 85 million dollars! 

So how did the auctioneers get the appraisal price so wrong?

Well, they were right the piece was authentic and old, very old actually and had been created specifically for royalty, but what the auction house didn't take into consideration was the person and/or people who would want the piece.

The Chinese.

Back in 2000 there was a big uproar from China against two major houses for auctioning traditional Chinese treasures.  They, like the Greeks with the Elgin Marbles, Egyptians with the Rosetta Stone, and others want what was taken, given, and sometimes sold in years past, returned for visitors to enjoy in situ. 

The funny odd part of all this is that I, an art lover but definitely not an expert, knew the Chinese, government and their wealthier people, want their cultural pieces reinstated on their soil and will go to any length to see it done.  Money is no object.  That was the odd part, the funny, it seems as if they were bidding against each other for the honor of returning the vase to China.  Go figure.

ArtInfo gave me the facts and photo of the vase [above].

Are You a Fan of GBS?

Who, what or where is GBS, you ask?

It's George Bernard Shaw and I am a fan of his.  I took a course in college on Irish Literature and fell in love with his plays.  They were witty, intellectual, and thought provoking.  Major Barbara and Caesar and Cleopatra will often pop into my head.  Sadly, when I moved abroad and had to widdle my books down to 1 tonne [very hard], the collection of his plays was passed on to the local Friends of the Library and I've never purchased them again.

That may change because I just found out something new about GBS that has me wanting to rediscover his work.  He loved collecting and taking photographs.  A new side to the man and you can view the first images of his collection that is being put online at London School of Economics and Political Science [or http://lib-1.lse.ac.uk/archivesblog/?tag=bernard-shaw].

My recent edition of the National Trust Magazine had some and they showed a new side to the man.  The picture [George Bernard Shaw in Long Johns] above is from the LSE archives - thank you, for putting these online.  I will be enjoying the revelation of the photographer GBS and what it reveals of him.

Naughty Thought for Monday

Hello Kitty Dominatrix, enough said.

Time to Decorate!

As I mentioned yesterday, the cutie and I get each other an ornament for our Christmas tree as our anniversary pressies.  That is as far as we go when it comes to decorating for the holidays.  However, don't think we aren't all that festive in the Greene household, because we are.  We have the Sideshow Bob of trees and it happens to stay up all year round - the chili lights make it perfect for summer.

Something that was added to our tree in September was a pressie from my sister.  We both hate, seriously hate, birds.  A few years ago I bought her the Extraordinary Chickens calendar - not to be mean, but because we had it and thought it was [and still is] one of the best calendars around!  Well, she got her revenge this year.  She handed me my birthday pressie to open.  I took the lid off and there was a horrific looking black crow bird thing.  Scary!  The cutie found it so funny, he put it on top of our tree! 

I live with a Hitchcock The Birds moment happening above my head every day!

So disturbing.

The Holidays have begun :-)

Another Twist on Black Friday

I think it was last year I rethought Black Friday because it's a day I never think of shopping.  That kind of thinking might have come from how, since I was 16 or 17, I worked it!  Nothing better than having to deal with the chaos behind the counter to make you not want to get out into the mix of it all.

So, another way to think of Black Friday is to think Black Gems.

In Whitby, near where I lived in England, and also where Bram Stocker wrote Dracula, comes a type of black stone called Jet.  The peak of Jet jewelry was the Victorian era, although you can still find some beautiful pieces today.  Each time we go to visit there, I think about coming home with something.  Maybe this is the year.  I'm pretty sure we'll be going there for fish & chips [chip butty for me] at Magpie's Cafe and pick up some Fortunes Smoked Kippers for the cutie and his dad - definitely not for me!

Obsidian is another black gemstone and has unique properties.  Laurell K Hamilton also wrote a book in her Anita Blake series called Obsidian Buterfly and that's the first one I bought - yup, midway through a series.  I mentioned in Comeback Time about how the cover of that book encouraged me to buy it where the one in England turned me off.  It didn't matter that the blurb sounded interesting.

Now for something personal.  Tomorrow is the cutie's and my 17th anniversary and while we can't walk down to share a moment with the sea lions that barked through the ceremony, we will celebrate.  Our pressies for each other have, since the beginning, been Christmas tree ornaments.  When you're young and have none, it's a good place to start, and even better when you have travel 6k miles with them.  Why am I telling you this?  Because the "Onyx is the anniversary gemstone for the 7th year of marriage.  Black Onyx is the anniversary gemstone for the 10th year of marriage."(1)  7 + 10 = 17 and a odd coincidence.  [On a side note, the gift for the 17th anniversary is furniture, and the cutie and I have been talking about getting a new stand for the tv - another weird coincidence or should we do it?]

While a black diamond can refer to a ski slopes range of difficulty and a rare gemstone, which many of the rare diamonds are named.  Many have heard of the Hope and Cullinan [or Great Star of Africa] diamonds, but what about the Amsterdam Diamond?  I hadn't heard of it, but apparently in 2001 it sold for $352,000, which was the highest price paid for a black diamond at auction.  Wow, that's a lot of money for 33.74 carats / 145 facets!

Now, sand is not a gemstone, it is part mineral so I'm putting it on this list because if you ever get a chance to go to a black sand beach, you will think it is just as prescious.  The cutie and I went to one when he had a conference on Maui.  I drove the Hana Highway and at the end was a black sand beach at Wai'anapanapa State Park.  It was stunning and we promised we'd get back there one day and stay a few days.  We haven't, but thankfully there's time.

And on that note, hope you enjoyed my twist on Black Friday - go have fun making your own day of Black!

Although, if you do want to go shopping, then I heard a while back that Best Buy were going to be selling the Nook wi-fi for $99, not $149 on Black Friday.  That's a really good price.

Happy Thanksgiving to All!

Thanksgiving by John Currin, 2003 

I'm off to do a 2 mile Turkey Trot Walk to support a local group that has been around for 40 years providing employment and related services to disabled and disadvantaged members of the community, and helping them achieve financial independence through a paycheck.

A great way to get the day started.  Later it's turkey and football at the neighbors, with a nap or two interspersed throughout.

Enjoy your day, family and friends while giving thanks.

The Day Before the Big Day

What happens in the Greene household on the day before Thanksgiving?

Well, normally we'd be to the left of us, at the beach, relaxing with family and helping [by staying out of the way] my sister prepare for the masses to decend.  Masses?  Yup.  There'd her and BIL, four+two kids, my mom, the cutie and I, as well as BIL's mom and probablly sister, husband and two kids.  16 = masses in my book.

However, this year is different.  For the first time in quite some time we aren't going to the left and the two eldest neices are hostessing the event in their territory - brave souls!  I will miss them all and plan on making phone calls throughout the day to keep tabs on it all.  But not to worry, we're going to our neighbors for turkey, and shall be great fun.  I'm in charge of the devilled eggs [even though I don't eat them, I can make them :-)] and the cutie is preparing a mashed potatoes, onion, cheese mixture in a lovely pie/tart crust - yummy!  We're thinking of also bring sausages wrapped in bacon, only because we love them and want to share some of what we like.  We'll shop and prepare for this today, and also walk into town to get a special card and ornament.

Today, the cutie and I will also be going into the city [NYC] to watch some of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade balloons get blown up.  It's a fun couple of hours checking it all out with a hot chocolate in hand, and then going home.  This is one of the few holidays that feels like a real holiday to me.  When we lived to the right of us and there was no Thanksgiving, so I would take the two days off and treat friends to a Turkey meal.  A few were serious disasters, but I'll leave the sharing of those for another day.

Something else on my list for today is that I'll be opening the door to reveal something rather personal on the Samhain Publishing Blog, so go over and comment - I have a seriously sweet treat to giveaway to a random commenter over there!

Today is going to be great day of pre-holiday festivities - ENJOY!

Thanksgiving Edition of Book Talk

Not to long ago I mentioned in a Book Talk and eBook Talk about not liking to read holiday set romances and I also mentioned not understanding why, when I loved the picture book side of the holidays.

Well, I still don't know, but thought I'd share some of my Thanksgiving related picture and pop-up books that I truly enjoy revisiting every year.

Macy's on Parade by Pamela Pease is a pop-up with all the details of what goes into the parade on the side panels.

Milly and The Macy's Day Parade by Shana Corey and illustrated by Brett Helquist.  You might recognize his work from the Lemony Snicket Series of Unfortunate Events series and Blue Balliett's fantastic YA mysteries, but this is where I first discovered him and bought A Christmas Carol edition he illustrated and The Lump of Coal treat of a book - love his work!

A Story for Bear by Dennis Haseley and illustrated by Jim LaMarche may not be Thanksgiving specific, but with us having to deal with leaves falling, it's a perfect book to read, especially to others.  And on a personal note, it also is one we tend to get for family and friends who have a baby.  That's right new borns are given a couple books to get their libraries started and for the parents to start reading to them.  Very important.

Just love books!

Naughty Thought for Monday

An author's blog I randomly read is Inside the Oversexed Mind of Gloria Brame. She often posts some fun stuff and recently she had me spraying my Coke all over with the David Shorts [warning: they have music, Eh Mambo Mambo Italiano, and more shorts, which obviously are NSFW!]

It is so wrong, but honestly, so funny!

I mean, I'm sure some tourist nick nack supplier has done Michaelangelo's David on boxer shorts, but not like this!

A Contest is Coming, Are You Ready?

I've mentioned a hint here and there about the 13 Days of Bloody Kiss'mas Extravaganza 2010, and thought I'd drop another - in video!



Get ready to play starting December 1st at paperbackdolls.com with daily giveaways and great prizes.  It's going to be a frolicking fun ride to the end - so says the "Red Hot Erotic Fiction Mistress" - ME!  Love that title!

Wick'd Reads and the Paperback Dolls are hosting and I have a big bag of goodies ready to give away.

Ralph Lauren is King

I've been a fan of Ralph Lauren clothes, even though many carry the polo logo - which I can't stand, for many many years.  Here's a little memory nuggest to share with you guys.

Back in the day I was a fan of punk music and I attended a concerts with friends almost every Friday night wearing my hot pink Ralph Lauren shorts, white man's dress shirt, and old men's golfing cardigans [and naughty pins decorating it] with a pair of painted Keds [should pick that up again, it was a fun way to express my fashion tastes]. Rather clean cut sounding for a punk concert, but the earring were what really finished it all off. My favorite at the time was a fishing hook with a rubber frog dangling down to my shoulder or a pair of rubber spiders. Still have all of them, although I'm not sure why.

Where did that all come from?

Ralph Lauren has a pair of cuff links, skulls with great top hats, that I adore and it just so happens the hero of Missing in Paradise might wear them on a special night out. You see, he is a huge fan of skulls and skeleton ink, so why wouldn't he wear them on a shirt for a special night out?

Wait until you read where the heroine wears skulls - it's all fun!

Anyway, Dior and Alexandre McQueen were two other high fashion designers who went macabre recently, and did it very well.

Shake up in the Art World

19th Century European art is a bit, I think, like the mid-list author. In case you don't know, a mid-list author is rarely given the best placement in a bookshop or individual attention from publishing house reps for the new releases, or top dollar contracts. In fact, they are often dumped by a publisher without much thought for a series they be in the midst of, and all despite producing consistently good books.

Well, times they are a changing, or they are at least they are in the art world.

A few weeks ago there were a couple of auctions.  The first contained Modern and Impressionist, the darling of recent auctions, and another which was for 19th Century European art.  The former did well, 71% increase* over the last auction, with Amedeo Modigliani's nude as the star piece.  The painting was thought to go for $40 million, but instead went for just shy of $69 million - making it the 14th most expensive piece of art to sell at auction(1). 

Despite the great news, the latter auction was what interested me.  The second auction's category was considered so undesireable, one auction house abandoned holding them.  Thankfully a competitor held one and that auction earned a 521% increase* over the last one held.  Well, well, well, so no category is ever truly dead.  The star of the second auction was Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema and his piece called 'The Finding of Moses'.

Here's my disclaimer:  I happen to adore his work and, yes, it most likely stems from his use of Ancient Greece as the subject matter.

Anyway, you can read the Telegraph.co.uk's article on the auction, which is what caught my attention but it was the fiscal history of the painting which caused my mouth to drop open, and I'll share a bit of it here.

bought in 1904 for £5,250 [one of the most expensive ever sold in England]
sold in 1960 for £900 [for frame] and painting offered to many British museums for no cost, but not taken
sold in 1995 for $2.8 million [ in New York]
sold in 2010 for $36 million [$31 to $33 million over estimate]

So, does Alma-Tadema represent a shake up in the art world, or a freak event?  In my opinion it's a shake up because of supply and demand, although it also looks like art is a commodity which some people are willing to invest ever more money into.  Those who collect aren't selling and need to search for their treasures in other categories.

Thank you Telegraph.co.uk for consistently feeding my love for art news and for the picture of The Finding of Moses and ArtInfo for the Modigliani news and picture.

*=in both cases, the last auction held was this time last year.

Comeback Time

The other day I saw an article from Amazing Facts listing: '30 Things That Need to Stage a Comeback' and agreed with just about all of them.  By the time I read the 30th, I was already noting what I wish would make a comeback, and one kept coming back:

Cover Art

I hear you guys saying but there's good cover art now, it doesn't need to make a comeback, but I actually think it does.  There are books and ebooks being released with blah covers that do nothing for their stories. 

Just so you know, I'm wearing a readers hat on this one.

Take Jonathan Franzen, he's supposed to be one of the greatest writers of our time, and yet his latest book's cover doesn't make me want to pick it up.  The same can be said for the Stieg Larsson Millennium Trilogy, but I did end up buying it because I was about to board a flight without a book and a friend said I'd like it. 

Considering the Larsson trilogy has been one of my favorites in many many years, I'm glad I picked it up despite the cover's lack of help.

Of course the cover isn't everything, the blurb plays a big part as well.  However, if you aren't inspired to even pick up the book or move the mouse further to read the blurb, then it doesn't matter how good those 250 words are in laying out a fabulous story.

The perfect example of covers calling the shots for me can be found with Bitten by Kelley Armstrong.  In 2001 I saw a cover that intrigued me, picked it up, and read the first line of the inside flap:  "I've got to get out of here - I don't have a lot of time left."  Sold!  When on a trip to Canada, I noticed it in trade paperback format and liked the cover, but still thought the original hardcover spoke louder.  Unfortunately, with the next two releases of the book in mass market, it went downhill.

Where'd the wow factor go?

Now, because I like to throw the occassonal twist into the mix, let me tell you about a rollercoaster ride with one particular author's covers.  When I lived in England I walked through a WH Smith at a Mall and saw Guilty Pleasures by Laurell K Hamilton in the paranormal section.  They were horrible covers and when I mentioned it to a friend a few minutes later, they told me the books were for teen boys, so walked away.  A few years later I was living in the US and saw a book called Obsidian Butterfly with a very intriguing cover, and bought the book [check out the UK version beside the US one below - big difference].  It wasn't until I'd finished it and went looking for the rest of the series that I rediscovered those original covers.  In short, ugly cover + good story = great find, however, the story doesn't end there.  The covers for the Anita Blake series are once again changing and they don't interest me [check out Bullet below], and it isn't helping that the stories have slipped as well.

In short, I say unique and interesting cover art needs to make a comeback!

Naughty Thought for Monday

Okay, as an erotic romance author, all sorts of things cross through my reading material. Generally it's called research and then sometimes I'm inspired to suggest it as a gift idea - maybe a bridal shower gift idea.

I saw this ensemble the other day and while it's a lovely lingerie set, the bra and panties can each be torn away for that quick moment and no damage is done to the pieces so they don't have to be tossed after one use.

Lovely, naughty, and French.

Actually they're made by Lingerie Dement and I say power to them for thinking with multiple hats, including an Erotic Romance Author and Reader, as well as with the budget!

It's Open!

Registration for the Authors After Dark 2011 is open and it's rockin'!

It's August 11-14 in Philadelphia - yes, Philly - and the Master of Ceremonies is Larissa Ione!  As for what's new and/or different this year, well, there's going to be ebook only authors and All Romance [ARe] are going to be there selling ebooks alongside Borders [which also happens to have a shop around the corner].  The GLBT and Bloggers tracks have been extended. 

And then there's the Bookie Awards.  These are, as the AAD website states: the "first industry awards nominated and voted for by readers and bloggers alone! And all the presenters will be bloggers, readers and book clubs!"  I'm excited about this bit because I just so happen to have two nominated [Cyra's Cyclopes and Double Punch] - honestly, when you look at those also nominated alongside me, I am thrilled to be in such company!

Some of the authors who are going to be there are*:  Sylvia Day, Melissa Schroeder, Cat Johnson, Bridget Midway, Samantha Sommersby, Zoe Archer, Meljean Brook, Elizabeth Amber, Kate Douglas, Leanna Renee Hieber, Gail Carriger, Monica Burns, T.J. Michaels, Bianca D'Arc, Jess Haines, Michele Lang, Suzanne Lazear, Stella and Audra Price, Liz Strange, Elizabeth Darvill, Kristen Painter, Ariel Tachna, David Juhren, Kayleigh Jamison, Rosemary Laurey, Judi Fennell, Augusta Li, Eon DeBeaumont, Theresa Meyers, Beth Wylde, Nick Valentino, Diana Castilleja, Yvette Hines, Denise Jeffries, Stephanie Jullian, Sonya Bateman, Bronwyn Green, Brynn Paulin, Adele Dubois, Natalie Gray, Laura Baumbach, Kris Cook, Felicitas Ivey, Susan Hanniford Crowley, and Eliza Gayle


The hotel, a Doubletree, is right in the midst of it all and books up easily because of the location.  Oh, and, I heard rumors that there's going to be a group of partners going to South Street for proper Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches.

Like last year there's going to be auctions from the authors and all proceeds will go to Pet's Alive!  Hopefully they'll be able to bring some of their animals so you can see where your money is all going.

What's staying the same is that this is a rare breed of conference in that no one makes any money, which keeps the price way way down.  How low?  $130.00 for registration and meals!  Love it!

More details to come as they are announced!  Hope to see you there - yes, I've already registered :-)

*= Subject to change until March 2011