Updates, TV, Movies, Writing, & Give Me A Recommendation...

Happy Wednesday Everybody,

Tomorrow the post I mentioned yesterday I'd be guest posting on Erin Bevan's blog will go "live".  I'm looking forward to sharing about my Grandfather's storytelling.

There's a lot going on in my life. As some of my readers know, I'm pregnant with the newest character which will be joining the Averie  Household sometime in 2015. So, there's been a bunch of pregnancy stuff. Luckily so far (please God, let it stay this way) I haven't vomited. I've been extremely grateful for that, especially how bad I felt in the beginning, and how I've had indigestion/acid reflux issues (yes, I do take something for it, no, it hasn't gone all the way away). Sleeping has been up and down--some nights okay, some nights not okay. (And people wonder why I stay up so dang late, well...now I have a good reason, other than the fact I write, and do blogging, and watch TV movies LOL).

I'm still trying to finish Book Three. There's about 20-30 or so pages left. So I'm closing in on the end, but there's still a ways to go. I'm hoping to finish soon. I also hope to do a Book Three cover reveal (with an official title reveal on the same day) in the early part of December--that's my nifty-gifty to you, my darling readers!

Several other authors will be joining me for a special blog post the first week in December. I can't tell you the topic, but I can tell you I'm excited and it's been a lot of fun!

Currently I'm reading an ARC for an official blog book review to also be posted probably in December. Pretty good so far.

I haven't been to the movie theater in so long but there are some movies I want to see. I plan to watch X-Men: Days Of Future Past. I'm thinking about Maleficent. I haven't completely decided on that one. I haven't seen or read The Fault In Our Stars. That's another one I debate about seeing--I hear it's sad, and I'm not sure if I want to watch something sad (especially while pregnant--I cry more easily! I mean, I saw a picture of one of my cousin's babies and totally teared up...do I really want to watch something that's said to be sad?) I'm not into erotica, so I'm not following all the news about Fifty Shades Of Grey; however, I am curious about the new/upcoming Star Wars Episode VII movie. I'm not sure whether or not Big Hero 6 strikes my fancy, but I might see it at some point.

What movies are you looking forward to seeing and have you seen any of the ones I haven't seen and have any recommendations for me? I love movies, but I don't get to the theater much, but I do watch them on DVD/Blu-Ray.

As for TV, I'm faithfully following Season 4 of Once Upon A Time. I'm looking forward to Melissa & Joey being back and I want to watch Young & Hungry when it returns. I've been enjoying some of the Christmas movies on the Hallmark Channel (yes, I know, it's early, but I love Christmas stuff, so I'm cool with it).

Anyway, be sure to let me know what shows you're enjoying and give me some good movie recommendations! I love fairy-tales, romance, and comedy.

And yes, I've seen Nine Months, and What To Expect When You're Expecting and Father of The Bride II (to cover pregnancy movies). I've enjoyed all of them. I happen to own Nine Months; a friend had me watch it on DVD when I was pregnant with my eldest offspring.

So, darling readers, weigh in! Don't be shy. I'm watching a lot of TV movies and movies on TV that I've seen before, but I'm open to some new ones. Based on what I've told you I like, what do you recommend?

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Have A Wondrously Whimsical Wednesday!

Me? Obsessed With A Book Series? Naaahhh! LOL

Happy Thursday All,

Well, I'm settling back into my usual daily routines since being away all weekend for my grandfather's memorial. Of course, no routine would be complete without some sort of twist, right? Mine happens to be allergies! At least they seem to be getting better, for which I do thank God.

My current WIP, (no, I can't talk about it, sorry. It's easier for me to write when not too many people know very much about what I'm writing. I don't know why), is coming along. A little slowly, but I'm starting to get a tiny piece of the passion I've been missing back. I really like this story, and the way it's being told. I have a few details to tweak and stuff, but I'll do that when I start editing. Right now, I'm focused on getting the story out of my head and onto written format.

Anyway...today I wanted to talk about obsessions...particularly book obsessions, which, for me, there are many, but I'm going to talk about my newest one.

What I've noticed about myself is that when I get excited about a series (especially one I've never read, whether a new series or not-so-new series) I tend to read all I can about it, and get my hands on as many books as possible. Currently this obsession is the Lux series by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

In my last post, I talked about Obsidian, which is one of the first books in the series (the novella, Shadows, is a prequel to the series). I'm not usually into reading books with aliens in them. In fact, I mostly only see those in Sci-Fi series, or things like Star Wars (which is more fantasy than Sci-Fi--yes, I've heard the debate over whether Star Wars is Sci-Fi or if it's Fantasy, and after contemplating both sides, I'm leaning toward Fantasy for Star Wars...but it does have aliens in it, so that's why I mentioned it). Or Star Trek, or X-Files.

However, I really like the way Ms. Armentrout handles aliens and all that. It's not the whole "Aliens-coming-to-Earth-to-take-over-the-world" so much as Aliens who want to fit in, have a life, and be a part of the community--and oh yeah, kick the butts of the bad aliens who want to steal their powers and kill humans. I can handle that. It's got aspects of paranormal, fantasy, and yes, there's romance in her work, too. All of which I really enjoy.

So, I guess you could say it's not too surprising I'm all into the Lux series after all.

By the way...here's a piece of trivia...did you know the word "lux" means "light" in Latin? Yeah, I learned that from reading Obsidian I also double checked it on Google Translate.

What are some of your book obsessions? Why are you gung-ho crazy over them?

P.S. Speaking of obsessions (okay this isn't books, but TV show)ABC's Once Upon A Time Season 2 starts this Sunday (September 30, 2012)!

Have A Thrilling Thursday!

Flight Of Fancy: Weddings

Happy Monday All,

How many of you are fans of weddings?

I'm a huge fan. Some I like more than others. But I love wedding stuff. I always tell folks I'm a hopeless romantic. Not because I didn't find my "other half", but because it doesn't look like I'll ever quit being a romantic--not that I mind.

If I wasn't sure I couldn't take the stress (let's face it, some brides get very emotional) I'd consider being a wedding consultant in some capacity. However, due to other responsibilities (personal and writing related) I don't see that avenue being explored anytime soon. Luckily for me, there's been times I've been able to lend my thoughts, experience, and joy of wedding-planning to people.



Caption Reads: May 8, 2004 marked the
 beginning of my happily-ever-after with my
wonderful husband.  I love him more NOW
than I did then :-)

 When I got married, I was so nervous about going over-budget I asked my mom about every, "Is this okay? If I'm going over-budget let me know." It got to the point that my mother said, "I'll TELL you if you go over-budget. You're FINE." Of course, she said it nicely, but also firmly (I'm very grateful to her, she was absolutely wonderful through everything). I loved my wedding, I had a blast at my reception, and with a few slight hitches (no wedding ever goes off without something going wrong--hopefully in most cases it's something small), it was as close to perfect as any wedding can get.



Picture taken at my wedding reception of
one of the bridesmaids' bouquet.
Red and lavender roses.
Red roses mean passion/love
Lavender/purple roses mean fantasy
(I didn't know about the meanings at the time
but how perfect!)



Since marriage isn't perfect (even the really good ones have their difficult moments) it's nice to have something that can be almost-perfect...something romantic, light, fun, and beautiful to cherish.

Some of my favorite TV shows are wedding-related. I love Say Yes To The Dress and Say Yes To The Dress: Atlanta. I've watched several episodes of My Fair Wedding With David Tutera.

What is it about weddings that spark the imagination? Many girls dream about them from the moment they know what a wedding is (I know I thought about mine). Girls often have weddings with their Barbie Dolls (I did!) And you find them in books. Even some Shakespeare plays end with a wedding (all of the Shakespeare plays that end in a wedding are considered "comedies" even if they're not really comedic).

There's just something about the romance, the idea of forever, and all the little details that make some people sigh with happiness.

So, what about you? What do you like about weddings? And do you even like weddings? Why or why not?

Have A Memorable (in a good way) Monday!

Kick-Your-Butt Allergies, Or, How To Imitate Sneezy

Happy Thursday All,

Is it really Thursday already? Gosh, time flies when you're sick. Or slows down, depending on who you are. That's right. I've been sick. Allergies laid me up in bed with my computer and Christmas gifts in the form of DVDs of Seasons 5, 6, and 7 (final) of Sabrina The Teenage Witch. Good news--I got through all the episodes (I just have to watch the TV movie special feature on the last disc of the final season). The bad news? Didn't get a lot done in the way of writing, reading, or pretty much anything else.

For the most part I've finally quit imitating Sneezy the Dwarf (from Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs) and I found that turning off the heat during the day has kept some of the problems from flaring. Namely, my eye finally stopped tearing and my nose quit running and I started feeling a little better. I've got some medicine and a nasal spray and I'm doing better than I was, but I'll tell you what...I hate allergies. Fortunately I've got ways of getting steam if I need to open up my sinuses, and a Vaporizer that runs at night (complete with a little green light on top--how nifty is that? Oh jeez, you can tell I've been sick, I'm thinking lights on vaporizers are cool. I really do need to get back to writing and reading and getting out of the house!)

Good news, however, (and yes there is definitely some) is that being MIA (or rather, sick with kick-your-butt allergies) gave me a chance to contemplate ideas for blog posts. I have an idea for one week, probably starting some time in January. I've also been thinking about authors to ask for interviews, and eyeing my stack of books I got for Christmas. Apparently I started a YA theme with my wish list.

I received:

Once Every Never by Lesley Livingston (if you haven't checked out her Wondrous Strange series, get yourself over to it. It's YA Fantasy/action/romance that is so fantastically written, it's just plain gorgeous).

Sweet Venom by Tera Lynn Childs (I LOVE this woman's "Oh. my. gods." series dealing with Greek gods/goddesses and her mermaid series that starts with Forgive My Fins).

Vanish by Sophie Jordan (book 2 of her Firelight series--awesome book dealing with people who can turn into dragons--how dang cool is that?)

Plus I started reading a book (before Christmas) on my e-reader called Jessica's Guide To Dating On The Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey (I love that last name...sounds almost like "fantastic" --great last name for an author!) Anyway, it's pretty good so far, I haven't gotten real far into it, but vampire lovers, you might enjoy it--Romanian Vampires of royal blood.

We're so close to 100 official followers (those who are listed as followers in the right hand margin of this blog) I can almost "taste" it. When I hit 25 followers I did a big giveaway. Get me to 100 official followers listed and I'll look at doing another big giveaway in 2012. So tell your friends, fellow readers, blog followers, Tweeps, and anyone you know who reads/likes books (no, your dog/cat/fish/ferret/bird/lizard/monkey/lion/jackal/tiger/bear/hyena/ whatever pet unfortunately doesn't count...in my experience, they aren't exactly readers and they don't usually know how to post comments...of course, they probably could be trained...but still, I think we'll stick to the human species at this point for blog followers--makes it a little simpler).

What fun thing has been happening to you this week? (And am I alone in the allergy/cold department?)

Have A Terrific Thursday!

Christmas, Lions, Singing, OH MY!

Happy Monday Everyone,

I hope you all had a great holiday. I certainly did. Right now I'm sitting in my living room, enjoying the tree and lights and one of my Christmas gifts on DVD.

In my family, me and my siblings and spouses get one name (either a sibling or a spouse of a sibling and the spouses get a name too) and we buy for that person. 

One of my sisters got my name this year, and as part of the Christmas presents she got me a lion ornament to represent the hero of my novel, whose name is Monroe. I opened it up, laughed and delightedly exclaimed, "It's Monroe!"  The lion ornament is now hanging near the top of my tree by a white ribbon (don't know where my hooks are). He's awesome--sparkly and very regal.  I could just picture Monroe saying, "Your sister has most excellent taste." He also would say, "She has superior taste." Since he can turn into a lion, Monroe is of the opinion no other animal can hold a candle to lions.

Anyway, I'm very excited over it. I'll have to get a picture taken and put up on here, soon.

Christmas Mass (Catholic Church service) was lovely. The choir sounded beautiful, the decorations were simple but exquisite, and the priest gave a fun and great homily. All in all, my Christmas weekend was fabulous!

How was your Christmas?

**Don't forget to put your vote on the Poll at the top of the margin of this blog of how you found the Write By Bethany Blog--there's 36 days left!**

Have A Meritorious Monday!