You're It!

I was tagged by Isabelle Santiago.

Here are the rules:
1. Link back to the person who tagged you.
2. Post the rules on your blog.
3. Share six random things about you.
4. Tag six random people at the end of your blog entry.
5. Let the tagged people know by leaving a comment on their blog.


--I have a photographic memory.

--But I'm terrible at map reading.

--I'm a fan of Tenacious D. This is a tribute...

--I read gossip blogs. It was my intention to give them (and all blogs) up for Lent but that didn't happen. As it is, I only read one -- Popsugar -- daily.

--My full maiden name (first, middle, and last) has nine letters total.

--I have a birthmark on my right wrist.

Wow! These are totally random facts! And boooooring too...

Damn you, Stephanie Tyler!!

But in a good way.

I picked up your newest book over the weekend(Beyond His Control; see Mr. Man over there -->). I took it with me to work to read on my lunch break. And I finished the darn thing! I could not put it down!! Different from Coming Undone and Risking it All (not so much sex maybe? I don't know...), but I still loved it. Thanks for considerably perking up my afternoon!!

(Also, just a suggestion -- what about a character sheet on your website? I went there after I reached The End to try and keep nicknames and given names straight.)

Anxiously awaiting Unleashing the Storm,

Jana

Rhett Butler's People

[This book was the last book I read in 2007 (53 was my total for the year).]

I was prepared to hate it, prepared to toss it against the nearest wall, prepared to hock it at my local used bookstore (though it would have never come to that since I cannot bear to part with any book with Rhett, Scarlett, or Tara in the title); I wasn't prepared by how good it would be once I realized the head-hopping povs and mid-paragraph dialogue changes were just how the whole book was going to go down.

My friends and I discussed my outrage/fear/WTH? when I found out this book would be released. One of them mentioned "cash cow".

First, you should know that I love Scarlett O'Hara. No, it's true. I wanted to name one of my children Scarlett, but my husband (when he was my boyfriend) quashed that notion almost immediately. I'm okay with it now, twelve years after the fact, though I clearly remember the discussion in his dorm room and the "Uh, no" that followed. So, in my eyes, Scarlett can do no wrong.

I read Gone With the Wind in Honors American Literature my junior year of high school. Scarlett became a role model for me. If Scarlett can survive her mother's death, I could too. (My mother died my junior year of high school.) If Scarlett can survive her father's tumble out of reality, I can too. (My father turned to alcohol following my mother's death where he remained for the next seven years.) I clung to "Tomorrow is another day." Literally.

Then Scarlett was released. I inhaled the book. And when I finished, I wondered who I'd read about. Rhett would have never married any woman like Melanie (despite his respect for Melly), and Scarlett wouldn't have been so damn stupid as to invite Ashley to her hotel room in the middle of the day, regardless of the fact that she now knew she didn't love him, and Scarlett would have cared if she'd gained weight, and I don't think she would have hightailed it out of Charleston once she knew she was pregnant with Rhett's child nor would she have gone to Ireland and gotten mixed up with the IRA.

What irritated me more than anything though was Ms. Ripley's use of her own Charleston characters -- and similar plot (minus the drugs) as On Leaving Charleston. Of course, I didn't find that out until I read Ms. Ripley's books.

Rhett Butler's People is a very interesting look into Rhett's life. One that, despite the head-hopping, I loved reading. I was totally immersed. The fact that Scarlett consumed his thoughts from the moment he laid eyes on her at Twelve Oaks only solidified there would be no other for him. (Can we just swoon and die now?) All the characters were wonderful; Rhett's interaction with them priceless. And can I just say that the final third of the book is exactly what the whole of Scarlett should have been. Exactly.

Necuratul 2: Rasputin's Rage by Sheri Lewis Wohl

Grigory Rasputin has waited nearly one hundred years imprisoned beneath the frigid waters of the Pacific Ocean. Now he's returned -- horny, pissed, and determined to reclaim that which had been stolen from him. He indulges every fantasy while he plots his revenge amidst the beauty and glory of Vancouver, British Columbia.

Just when she thinks the world is safe again, psychic Catherine "Cat" Lohr feels the stirrings of danger. Reluctantly leaving her enthusiastic lover, shape-shifter, Adam Bell, to follow the trail of an evil killer, Cat returns home to Canada. Powerful as she is, Cat needs the help of another hunter from the ancient order of Anima Mundi to do battle with a force some had called a saint and many more had called a sinner.

Galena Popov leaves her native Russia to answer Cat's call. Galena is ready, as always, for the battle against evil, but she is unprepared for the love and passion she finds in Cat's lifelong friend Robert "Bobby" Shepard. Neither can she deny it.

Attractive and charismatic Grigory Rasputin leads the duo of psychics on a hunt filled with lust, misdirection, and murder. Will Cat be strong enough to stop this soul who heals with one hand and kills with the other, or will the secret Galena holds in her heart doom them all?

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual content, graphic language, and situations that some readers may find objectionable: Dubious consent, ménage (f/m/f, f/f/m/m), violence (strong).

Available now at Loose Id. Congratulations, Sheri!!!

Monday Meme

You Are a Green Crayon

Your world is colored in harmonious, peaceful, natural colors. While some may associate green with money, you are one of the least materialistic people around. Comfort is important to you. You like to feel as relaxed as possible - and you try to make others feel at ease. You're very happy with who you are, and it certainly shows! Your color wheel opposite is red. Every time you feel grounded, a red person does their best to shake you.

What Color Crayon Are You?

Various and Sundry

-- Happy Valentine's Day! I hope your day is filled with whatever makes your heart happy. (I'm planning to eat an Arby's Cherry Turnover momentarily. Yum!) My husband sent me flowers, a very nice surprise indeed!!

-- Be kind to your editor. I know it's said the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but I swear this editor has your best intentions in mind when I edit your work. It's not personal; I'm looking for the best possible story. This rule can also translate to "Be kind to your rejector." Rejections are tough on all parties, especially if the book is good and you really, really, really like it!

-- Potty training is challenging. My son (who's 3 1/2) is beginning potty training. Man, it's tough. He's autistic so he doesn't announce when he needs to go. He just goes! Needless to say, I'm taking him to the potty every 30 minutes when we're at home. At school, however, he's a camel. He's also very good at our special potty dance. :)

-- She's a what? I'm working on a new short story. (Technically, I should be revising, but I'm procrastinating.) It's a western, and I think my heroine is a woman of ill repute. I kept trying to get her backstory (at least a paragraph's worth). She wouldn't tell me a dang thing until she revealed that one can make a lot of money sharing the bed of a lonely man.

-- The Accidental Werewolf. I just finished The Accidental Werewolf by Dakota Cassidy yesterday. Having been a fan of her blog, I'm so glad I took a chance and bought the book. It's hysterical! I cannot wait for the second in the series to come out (July 2008, I think).

What's going on in your neck of the woods???

Monday Meme

You are a 1970s Diva

Bell bottoms, platform shoes, wide belts, and tons of polyester. You've got a bit of that hippie vibe going on, but you're hip enough to pull it off!

What Decade Diva Are You?

Right now...

...my son is sleeping with a box of cars in his bed.

It's a five quart storage box I bought at Target last month when it became apparent his Cars die-cast cars collection was outgrowing the small backpack we bought him ($5.00 on eBay -- w00t!) last May.

My son loves Cars. Both the movie and the cars. Whomever thought up that marketing gem should get a huge bonus.

As it is now, however, I believe we've exhausted our town's Cars collection. I keep searching for new ones but only find Cactus McQueen or Ghostlight Ramone. (We've reached our McQueen and Ramone limit, I'm afraid. The limit is 4 each, if you're wondering.)

Anyway, he was playing with his Cars cars (as he does almost every night before bed). I told him his time was up, we neatly and gently placed the cars into the box, and he pushed the box into his bed then climbed in behind it.

I just hope he doesn't have his body draped across it when it's time for me to put the box in its rightful place.

Monday Meme

You Are 26% Evil

A bit of evil lurks in your heart, but you hide it well. In some ways, you are the most dangerous kind of evil.

How Evil Are You?