Vacation, Books, Summer, & More!

Happy Wednesday All,

Oh my! I'm so behind. Last week, I was up in Gatlinburg, Tennessee at a resort for a family reunion. We flew out to Charlotte, North Carolina on July 14th, rented a car, and drove up to the resort.

Offspring and Husband went swimming at one of the resort pools and hiking in a National Park. I hung out with my family, answered posts on Christie Craig's blog (on July 16th--congratulations to Kathleen O. for winning a copy of All's Fair In Love & Lion. Hope you enjoy it).

Thursday we had a baby shower for my brother and his wife. That was fun.

Friday we went out to Dollywood for the day. Offspring and Husband are far more adventurous about rides than I am, but that was okay. I walked through the water that they had misting around for park-goers to cool off. Of course, I probably shouldn't have bothered since later we got totally drenched by a rain shower. However, before that happened, we saw birds of prey (including a bald eagle and golden eagle--too cool!) heard some great singing, saw a fantastic bubble show (the woman and her family had been in the Guinness Book of World Records for a 50 foot bubble wall) and fun with family.

I have pictures, but I haven't loaded them up, yet, so you'll have to wait on those.

On Saturday we went to evening Church, then out to dinner at one of the best restaurants I've ever been to. It's called The Cabin Cafe. They make everything fresh (from things they get locally) and the best cup of coffee I've had in years was to be had there from the Vienna Coffee Co. The restaurant was kind enough to let me and my rather large family invade their premises after normal closing hours. They were friendly and very hospitable. All of us were greatly impressed with the food and people.

I honestly thought I'd be much cooler in the Smoky Mountains. I was in for a rude awakening. The sun was very hot, and I actually opted to run the air conditioning very cold at night.

Despite the weather--both rain and heat--we had a blast.

I finished reading Kerrelyn Sparks' Less Than A Gentleman, set during the American Revolutionary War. Totally awesome novel. Definitely recommend.

I also have read Shona Husk's Summons, which is a very short prequel to The Goblin King, which I plan to get. I'm interested to see what happens next.

I'm currently reading Marie Hall's Her Mad Hatter.

Do you notice a theme with the last stories I mentioned? Yep, fairy-tale/fantasy type stuff. With the release of All's Fair In Love & Lion, and me working on the revisions to Immortal Dreams Book 1: Dream Weaver, and book 2 in the AFIL&L universe, I've apparently decided to immerse myself in all things mythology, fantasy, and fairy-tale--and of course, romance.

How has your Summer been going? Any vacation trips?

Have A Whimsically Wonderful Wednesday

It's Worth A Fortune

Happy Tuesday Everyone, Does anyone remember the song If I Had A Million Dollars by Barenaked Ladies ? I can't remember when or how I was first introduced to this song, but it's a fun song. So, how about if you had a million dollars? What would you do with it? Of course there's the responsible things to do with a million dollars--pay off debts, and such like that. Then there's the question of whether or not you give to charities, and how much. But, suppose you answered all those questions and you still had quite a lot left; what would you do with it? Maybe I'd go to Disney World. I've wanted to go, and I've never been able to. Or, perhaps I'd go to Germany and England, and Belgium (three of the countries my ancestors are from). Travel around seeing family and friends I don't see often. There's all kinds of possibilities. So, what about you? What would you do with a million dollars? Have A Tremendous Tuesday!

Spotlight On Author: Loretta Wheeler

Happy Tuesday Everyone, There's a gem of an author I've had the privilege of coming across...I'm talking about my friend, Loretta Wheeler. She's a sweetheart and very talented author. I enjoyed her YA Paranormal novella, The Pan Man immensely. And, she also writes Romance. So without further ado, come into my parlor and meet Loretta Wheeler: Me: In your YA novelette, The Pan Man , you mention Pan's looking for his long lost soul mate. What made you choose Pan out of all the Greek/Roman gods and goddesses? Loretta: I chose the Greek god Pan, because of the connection with the music. I found later on in the story, (my stories take over and write themselves usually) it applied even more than I realized because of the band's name. I won't mention the name of the band in here, because it's part of the surprise ending. Me: You're mostly known for your Romance stories. How would you describe your writing style? Hot, suspenseful, sensual, sw...

Myths About Writers

Afternoon Folks, I thought we'd do a post to dispel some of the myths people seem to have about writers. I'll put the ones that first come to mind then y'all can chime in. Myth: Writing is a great way to make a lot of money. I'm not sure exactly how this one matriculated. Probably in the wake of some of the big best sellers (i.e. Stephen King, Anne Rice, Stephenie Meyer, JK Rowling, and the like) but most of the time writers put in more money for their writing than they do get out of it. Generally a writer doesn't make a ton of money unless somehow his/her book is a blockbuster hit and blasts through what the author owes in the advance (which is paid back to publishers through royalties). Most writers I've met and talked to are not millionaires. I'm not saying it can't happen, I'm saying it's not one of those things that's automatic. Myth: Writing Is Easy Anybody Can Do It. Okay, granted this isn't entirely a myth, but it's not ent...

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