First of all, I’d like to say I hurt myself in the most stupid, middle-aged way possible on the planet.  That’s right, folks–I cramped my hand while playing on my phone while, uhm, ensconced on the throne, as it were.  And it wasn’t just an, “Oh, ouch–a few stretches, some ibuprofen,” kind of cramp. It… Read More

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYA!!! WHEW! Well, to say it’s been an odd summer would be… an understatement. Some of you may be reading this on my website, because FaceBook did a VERY odd thing, and, well, what can I say– we improvise,  right? (Also, at the last moment as I was typing this up on blogger, blogger decided it… Read More

The kids had–and this was a surprise!– a dentist appointment this week. The dentist office was really good– took our temperatures outside (I was actually around 99.7 which means, I think, I have another ear infection–I get them a lot) and then let me sit in the lobby since I was the only one there… Read More

  I’m proofing a bookthat I wrote overa year and a half ago– Crafting Category Romance: The Art and Science of Fiction Haiku–and one of the things that’s apparent is that a lot has changed in Romancelandia since the book was written.  The book is in proofing, like I said, so it can be announced… Read More

Okay– so FaceBook, being the pile of garbage that it can be–has banned my blog as abusive.  I don’t know the qualifications of that–I mean, I’ve called the president some pretty nasty things here, but mostly, it’s kids and dogs and knitting and books, so maybe it’s something else. A troll, a hater–doesn’t matter. FaceBook,… Read More

Shortbread and Shadows by Amy Lane I love paranormal romance and urban fantasy. (Yes, there’s a difference–it’s important, trust me.) The first series I ever talked about on this blog was the Little Goddess series, and the second one was Bitter Moon–and I miss that touch of magic so much. This book is paranormal romance–it’s… Read More

So it was a lovely vacation. It wasn’t as busy as we usually are–and while the kids were sort of sad about that, I was thrilled. We drove to a couple of state parks– Makerricher (sp), Russian Gulch, Glass Beach–and took the dogs on long walks, and even played in the sand for a little.  We… Read More

So, Mate and I have been watching our share of TV and we’ve developed a taste for British crime drama. Oh yes–Midsummer Murders, DCI Banks, Scott & Bailey, Bletchley Girls, Unforgotten– our addiction runs deep, I can tell you.  And so, after season 3 of Unforgotten, as we’re thinking of reopening Midsummer Murders again at… Read More

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!! Well, I hope you all had a safe holiday–I have to admit, I’ve been somewhat of a crabby pants about all of the personal fireworks in our area. *shakes old woman fist at the sky* YOU DAMNED KIDS ARE SCARING MY DOGS!  I also have to apologize for missing June’s Kermit Flail–in full confession,… Read More

Sorry about the formatting–I actually did this as a thread on Twitter, and then sort of liked it, so I put it here so I could look it up if I needed it. You’re welcome to it. I’m going to make an observation here about world building when you’re writing urban fantasy. Not every detail about… Read More