Grand Adventures and Dog Dialing My Stepmom

Okay– some things that are not quite happening this week–

It is not quite Easter break, but Chicken is here for her school break anyway!

It is not quite Squish’s birthday– but Thursday, we are all over that!

It is not quite Squish’s party– but Saturday we are all over that!

It is not quite *kermit flail Monday*– but Monday, April 7th, we are all over that!

It is not quite the release date of the charity anthology to benefit T.J. Klune and Erik Arvin–but tomorrow, we are all over that.

It is not quite our Easter break trip to San Diego– but the first Saturday of break, we’re all over that.

It’s not quite the Dreamspinner Press Writer’s Conference–but April 23-28th I am all over that.

It’s not quite time when I have to have this blanket done for someone who will be at the DSP conference– but OMG IT’S APRIL 23RD AND I’M NOT QUITE ALL OVER THAT!

And it’s not quite Romantic Times Convention, but May 13-20th I’m all over that.

*whew*

And that’s plenty for now.

And in the meantime– Chicken is home, and we’re spending quality family time together.  We’ve watched movies, eaten out, and couched.  Isn’t that quality family time?  (They’re watching Saturday Night Live now!)

Oh–

And about the dog–

See, we were in the car, and talking about Squish’s birthday.  “Squish, did you give your invitations to your friends?”

“Yes– but what are we going to do for my actual birthday, mom?”

“Uhm…”

“Aren’t we going to have dinner at Wong’s?”

“Okay, sure!”

“Are grandma and grandpa coming?”

“Uhm, okay.  Here, we’re at a stoplight– I’ll look them up, you call them.  Oh crap.”

Because the light changed, and I put the phone down next to the dog, on the passenger seat.

And at the next light, I heard the sound of someone calling “Hello!  Hello!” from the other line.

Yup.

The unspoken dangers of cell phones in cars– nobody ever mentions dog-dialing!

My mom thought it was HILARIOUS!  So did my husband.  The dog was really frickin’ puzzled.

Also– Look what Asnee did!  Asnee is a peep on FB who got such a kick out of the “turtle stories” about Dex and Kane (you can find them on GoodReads HERE) that she made her own line of “Lane-iac” merchandise– with a turtle on it! All proceeds benefit PAWS animal shelters 🙂

OH– and a few words about the anthology–

See, by the time Christmas was over, I was done.  Cooked and done.  I was exhausted, I’d gained 15 pounds (still trying to work that off, and no, it wasn’t like I was skinny in the first place–in fact, it was a fairly dangerous amount of weight) my foot was flaring up, and I was sick.  Seriously.  New Year’s Eve was painful because I had to stay up past midnight.

And in the middle of this, I was getting texted by two of my bestests.  Mary-my-Mary and Rhys were both saying, “Hey– are you writing something for T.J. and Eric’s anthology?”

And I was like *sob* “Nooooooooooo?”

And they were like, “Get off your ass and do it!”

And I was like, “Guys– I wish them both the best, but they don’t know me!  Why would they want me to write them a story?  I would mean it with all my heart, but it wouldn’t mean anything to them, would it?”

And it was Mary who said, “GET OFF YOUR ASS AND WRITE THIS STORY FOR YOUR FRICKIN’ COMMUNITY YOU SLACKER!”

“Okay.  Okay, okay.  Fine.  Give me a couple of days.”

And that made me think about how sometimes we have to be pushed to be our best selves.  And how we may mean well, but unless we get off our asses to actually do something, intentions count for shit.  And how, really, it takes very little effort to give something of yourselves to people who need it.

And that is the feeling behind “A Gentle Shove of Human Kindness.”  It doesn’t take much.  Even if you’re in a shit mood and being an irritable bitchy fucker, you can still help people out.

And on that note, I need to post THIS.  As painful as my time at my old job was, Maria Hennessy is one of the most sincere bright spots.  Every so often, she shaves her head for St. Baldricks– and you’re invited to make your donation as well.  You know– that gentle shove of human kindness I was talking about?  Yup.  It’s here.

Anyway–

So, in my last post I promised two gifts.  One was a full e-book collection of the Triane’s Son stories, and the other was a signed copy of either books 2, 3, or 4.

I asked my kids for two numbers between 1 and 23, and they came up with 3 and 19.  So Lee Todd and Devony, hit me up!  The first person to contact me at amylane AT greenshill DOT com gets to choose which of the two prizes you want.  If you’re opting for the e-books, please be signed up at the www.dreamspinnerpress.com website.  It’s free, and it will make getting your 4 e-books in any format MUCH easier!  Congratulations guys– and thanks so much everybody for commenting 🙂

And guys– don’t forget to send me your April releases for the *kermit flail* post.  I’ve got two so far (Anyta, Adam, haven’t forgotten you!) so this week is my push!

*smishes*

Happy week– if I miss a post it’s because I”m in the middle of birthday hilarity!