agh, naughty Jax!

She tagged me, the naughty scamp!

"The rules are: Once you have been tagged you cant be re-tagged, you have to write a blog with 10 weird random things, facts, or habits about yourself. At the end, you chose 10 people to be tagged and list their names. Dont forget to leave a comment that says "you are tagged" on their profile and tell them to read your latest blog."

I'm crap at this, but here goes...

1. I eat chocolate twice a day
2. I haven't seen my natural hair colour for thirty years
3. I do all my writing in bed
4. I have at least seven different pseudonyms, possibly more, I can't remember them all
   
5. I wrote my first ever fiction when I was about twelve, inspired by a scene in James Bond
6. James Marsters owns several of my books*
   
7. David Boreanaz owns one of my books*
8. I am ruled by my cats
9. I used to be a Trekkie
10. I used to have four televisions, three VHS recorders, and two DVD players in the house [v. small bungalow] but am now down to two of each

* but they've probably both binned them by now...

I'm not tagging anybody... Yeah, I know I'm a spoilsport but it's hard coming up with this stuff! If you do feel like participating, please go ahead... :)

grappling with vamp/s

I've been watching two versions of Dracula today, trying to get in a vampy mood to write Buddies... I'm at a tough spot, and having to describe strong emotions, with issues to do with vampirism... and it's hard going. Only managing two or three hundred words per day, if that. There are two issues I'm grappling with:

• trying go describe the rapture of vampire sex and express an ecstacy in the blood that goes far beyond the genital experience. I'm used to getting into the head of characters in the throes of passion, but this is different... there's an extra dimension
• trying to express my hero's emotions being torn two ways at once ie. he wants to be with the heroine, and on a primal level, to change her, so they can be together, but at the same time, he doesn't want to deny her a normal life, and the sun and everything else she'd have to give up to be with him...

It's all very tumultuous stuff, which is why progress is slow.



--
Telly: Dracula/Frank Langella + Dracula/Gary Oldman
Chocolate: Tesco Belgian Milk
Mood: okay
Writing: 500 words Buddies
Reading: Dracula movie novelisation [not Stoker]
RSI: not bad

in the press

Look who's on page 6 of the February Romance Writer's Report!!!

It's a very sexy book is Continuum... might be a bit strong meat for some romance readers. Even those who generally read erotic romance... But if you like the road to 'happily ever after' to be twisted, kinky and challenging... this is the book for you!

getta loada this!!!

Innit gorgeous???

now I know...

why I was in such a godawful mood yesterday. I had a migraine building, didn't I? It's arrived today, and I feel pretty crappy. Have taken my medication, but while that's brill at squelching the headache, it makes me feel generally weird, and I'm currently working my way through that weirdness...

In other news, well, no writing done again today, but at least I feel as if I might like to do some when I normalise again. So that's progress of sorts, at least. I've also been installing a few new bits and bobs of software, and I'm currently trialling a clipboard extender program called Clipmate, which looks as if it might be v. useful. I'm always wanting to save bits here and there, and past them into things, but it does my head in that I can only save one thing at once. Clipmate allows you to save a whole bunch of different things of different types, so that you can choose from amongst them to paste into your document or whatever. If it continues to be as useful as I'm hoping, I'll definitely be buying the full version...

Take a look here at Clipmate

CONTINUUM review

I'm smiling today! The splendid and very discerning Ashley Lister has just posted a wonderful review of Continuum at the Erotica Readers and Writers Association...

Click here to read the splendiferous review!

I am weak....

A short while ago I was searching for something in my office [see post below to get some idea of the horror of that concept!] when the phone rang... and it was a telesalesperson. Now, these unfortunates usually get short shrift, and a v. terse dismissal from yours truly, but this lad said the magic words... Hotel Chocolat!!!!

Things immediately warmed up. I'm a member of HC's glorious Chocolate Tasting Club, and naughty, tempting devil of a telesalesboy was ringing to lure me with the prospect of their latest Excellence collection. Now... I've been looking at finances, and my prospects, and I'd sort of decided that this year I'd be v. good and not overindulge myself... but it was hopeless... and now I have the above yummy scrummy treat to look forward to in a week or two's time...

I'll tell you all about them... in between sighs of delight...

in one of my grrrrr moods...

so what's new?

Yes, I'm feeling particularly curmudgeonly at the moment. In that frame of mind where I'm just feeling so out of sorts and out of step that I'd just love to go on some sort of rampage, telling folk just what I think of them, and beating some sense into them with a large frying pan! I'd love to commit some wild and destructive act, like throwing a lot of stuff around the house and screaming my head off! I know it won't do any good at all, and the causes of my acts of mayhem will not be affected by them... but I'd still like to do it. Just to let off steam...

Maybe I should get on my exercise cycle and pedal like fury? Exert some energy? I've already done my half hour, and I'll probably get saddle sore... but it might be one way to open the safety valve. I hate the way this anger just screws me up all the time... and it ****s up my writing too. It disempowers me... but I'm so prone to it. I always seem to be a bit cross about something... If it's not the stupid government, or the bad, bad people in the world, or imbeciles on the telly, it's the publishing scene and the stuff that I happen across in it...

I think I'm probably more suited to being a boxer or a lumberjack than a writer...

--
Telly: new CSI
Chocolate: cadburys biccies
Mood: see above
Writing: not yet
Reading: nothing yet
RSI: a bit sore

better today... and a meme

I'm feeling a bit better today... have even written a K of words! No particular desire to put my head down and sleep today... :)

Here's a meme that several of my good blogging buddies have been doing...

Contemporary, Historical, or Paranormal? Contemporary, then paranormal, I suppose. But I like to read thrillers too, like Thomas Harris, and also the James Bond books

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback? Mass market PB.

Heyer or Austen? Neither

Amazon or Brick and Mortar? Amazon

Barnes & Noble or Borders? Borders. We don’t have B&N over here.

Woodiwiss or Lindsay? Probably Woodiwiss.

First romance novel you ever remember reading? Can’t remember it’s name, but it was a Mills and Boon about an osteopath, could have been by Denise Robins.

Alphabetize by author Alphabetize by title or random? Total chaos!

Keep, Throw Away or Sell? Keep… although I must give some away to charity or my house will explode.

Read with dustjacket or remove it? With dustjacket.

Sookie Stackhouse or Anita Blake? Neither.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? When tired.

Bridget Jones or Becky Bloomwood? Both, although I’ve only read two of the Shopaholics

It was a dark and stormy night or Once upon a time? *It was a dark and stormy night.*

Crusie or SEP? Neither.

Buy or Borrow? Always buy.

Buying choice: Book review, recommendation or browse? I read reviews, but take them with a pinch of salt when choosing books. Only recommendations from trusted reader friends.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger? Er… happily ever after, actually.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading? Any time.

Series or standalone? I like standalones that are loosely linked.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard? The Domino Trilogy by Cyrian Amberlake. Incredibly well written erotica.

--
Telly: UK History
Chocolate: Cadbury chocolate biscuits
Mood: okay
Writing: 1.1K Buddies
Reading: James Bond
RSI: not bad

this crap...

I feel as if I've got some of this crap in my system... or something. Himself has complained of feeling 'washed out' over the weekend, and now I think I've got the same thing. Exhausted, bunged up sinuses and whatnot, bit of a sore throat developing, I think. Basically, I just feel like getting my head down for some kip and generally 'avoiding' the day. Or maybe it's just an excuse to avoid Buddies which is drag, drag, dragging? Or an excuse to avoid all sorts of other things that are bugging me... all sorts of annoyances and general tittage and people being up themselves on the web for one...

Right, time for a bitta lunch... last night's home made pasta bizarro warmed over... which will probably make me feel worse than ever, because I cooked it myself!!!

--
Telly: nonsense
Chocolate: Tesco Belgian Milk
Mood: generally irritated and under par
Writing: about ten words of buddies
Reading: James Bond a bit
RSI: not bad considering

bollocks, I wanted Grosse Pointe Blank!

Although, thinking about it, this result doesn't surprise me...

Your Life is Like

Being John Malkovich

What John Cusack Movie Are You?

I can't seem to get them to do it...

Hmmm.... my characters seem to be so busy talking and interacting and discovering stuff about each other and whatnot that I can't seem to get them to start shagging! And this is an erotic romance! They should be doing it all over the place!

I think this is one of the basic problems of erotic romance and esp. paranormal erotic romance... there's a lot going on in terms of relationship, and story stuff, and it's just as important as the sensual elements. It's hard to balance the two. In a romance, the relationship is paramount, with the sex as a carefully developed expression of it... In erotica, it's all about the sex and the sensuality, and if there's a love relationship, well that's wonderful because it adds richness. But trying to get an even mix of the two... now there's the true skill. Which some folks have in spades, but which I admit I'm still learning. And like every skill, it doesn't come easily. I have to work hard. I know I'll get there somehow. I mostly do... But I'll have to sweat for it, for every word.

I'm just hoping it'll be worth it in the end...
--
Telly: Twister
Chocolate: Tesco Belgian Milk
Mood: not bad
Writing: 700 words or so of Buddies
Reading: You Only Live Twice - Ian Fleming
RSI: was quite sore, but feeling slightly better now