Friday Quizzage

I thought the Snow Quiz would be a good choice, seeing as we're apparently having out 100-year winter storm right now. Yes, we are a solid two weeks into snow here in the temperate Pacific Northwest. The good news is, it's supposed to get up to--and stay at or around--40F this weekend. So hopefully it'll all melt away by New Year's Eve. Cross your fingers for us.

Your Snow Test Says You're Independent

You feel like something good will happen to you in the next few weeks. You love to work, especially when work is creative. You have the makings of a successful artist. You are an independent, individualistic person. You thrive when you're doing your own thing. Your biggest worry in life is your family. You stay up at night thinking about them. When it comes time to relax, you have no problem letting go. You are already pretty relaxed as is!

The Snow Test

Umm...relaxed? Maybe at the moment, but not usually. Ah well. They can't all be right. ;o)

What's she reading this Wednesday?

What else? Suzanne Brockmann's All Through the Night. I love Jules and Robin and now I finally get to read their HEA. And it's even seasonal. :D I've read three others of her books, and I've thoroughly enjoyed them all. Of course, they all had a lot of Jules in them, so how could I not, right? If you've not had the pleasure of reading any of her books, I highly recommend diving into Hot Target. It's number eight in her Troublshooters series, but it's where Jules and Robin's story begins and that's what it's all about for me. So Hot Target, then Breaking Point, and Force of Nature. Then and only then may you read All Through the Night. But don't worry. It won't take long to get throught the first three; they're all very tough to put down once you start reading. And it's so worth it! Hie thee to the bookstore and pick up all four titles. If the weather around you is anything like the weather around me, you'll need some good books to keep you warm.

Happy Solstice!

I hope everyone has a cozy place to spend this longest night of the year. Happy Solstice!

Global Climate Change

No, I'm not going to go all envrionmentalist and political on you today. I am environmentalist and political at times, but not just now. I just want to do a bit of compare and contrast with these two photos of the antique rose bush outside my house. The first was taken on 31 Dec 06. The second was taken this morning, 21 Dec 07.



Weirdest part is, it has snowed three times here in the last week, and each time there's been some snow left when the next snow fell. That just doesn't happen here. Normally, if we get any snow at all, it stays for 24 hours or less, and then melts away. This year we've had record low temperatures. The other morning it was 12.1 F in our back yard. The city just doesn't get that cold! It's crazy! We're basically shut down until this passes. They've good about sanding the hills and whatnot, but being the short-sighted city that we are, we're just not prepared for this sort of thing. I'm so glad that we got all our shopping and errands done yesterday! My hubby tried skiing a bit this morning, but apparently there's a layer of freezing rain over the nice, fluffy snow. So now he's walking over to the donut shop to see if they're open. I hope so. I'd love a donut for breakfast today. Much easier than the pancakes I was going to make. ;)

Happy Solstice!

Happy Holidays!

12 Days of Christmas Music

Hope everyone is having a festive December!

Friday Quizzage

You are Dark Chocolate

You live your life with intensity, always going full force. You push yourself (and others) to the limit... you want more than you can handle. An extreme person, you challenge and inspire the world!

What Kind of Chocolate Are You?

Friday Quizzage

I do loves me some flannel jammies!

You Are Flannel Pajamas

You seek comfort above everything else. You rather feel good than look good. You are a very relaxed person, especially when you're surrounded by your favorite things and people. You are a homebody. Home is the place where you can truly be yourself. You are likely to wear pajamas a lot. In fact, you often change into your pj's the minute you get home!

What Kind of Pajamas Are You?

Free Solstice Story

Hey there! My holiday freebie is up and ready for downloading. You can find it on the Samhellion Blog (It says the theme is Xmas, really it's Solstice--they don't have Christmas, per se, in that universe). You can also get it from my website, which I updated just today with a few other things, too. If you read the story, let me know what you think!

Free Holiday Stories

I'm having fun this afternoon reading the holiday freebies from Samhain. So far I've read: The Gift of Giving; Baby, It's Cold Outside; and A Midnight Clear. All have had their various charms. What's not to love about m/m romance set in London, right? And I love stories set in and around Seattle, esp. when they involve spice and snow. ::wicked grin:: I'd been particularly looking forward to Ciar Cullen's Baltimore historical and I wasn't disappointed. If you haven't popped over to DL these fun freebies, what the hell are you waiting for? Off you go now.

Holiday Freebie Reads and I'm a dork!

I didn't realize they'd begun posting stories last week. D'oh! So rush on over to the Samhellion Blog Free Reads page and start downloading now! I'm jazzed to read Ciar Cullen's story that was posted today. And of course I'll be all over Ann Sommerville's, too. I've downloaded them all and will be reading as many of them as I can this afternoon. (Stuck at a desk where hopefully the phone won't ring much.)

And most importantly: my story will be posted tomorrow! :D If you liked Jimothy and Ricky, you'll get another taste of them tomorrow when they celebrate Solstice together.

Holiday Freebies!

Hey, gang! Next week Samhain will be offering a free holiday story a day on the Samhain Cafe and the Samhellion Blog. (I'll get you those links later when I'm on my own computer where everything is conveniently bookmarked.) Mine will be up on Tuesday 9 December, but I encourage you to download all of them. They're all short, about 3K each, and there are some great authors representing for Samhain. So check in each day next week and I'll post links for them all.

Happy Holidays!

Friday Quizzage

Okay, so I'm a week late with the Thanksgiving quizzage. I blame the food hangover I had last Friday. I take issue with this result. Proper mashed potatoes are are neither predictable nor ordinary.

You Are Mashed Potatoes

Ordinary, comforting, and more than a little predictable You're the glue that holds everyone together.

What Part of Thanksgiving Are You?

What's she reading this week?

I finally finished Kushiel's Dart, which was brilliant. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys: fantasy; action/adventure; political drama; erotic romance.

So, what am I reading this week? I'm reading the print galley for The Ballad of Jimothy Redwing. It comes out in print on 28 April and of course that means a chance to fix typos before that happens. I'm nearly done--just one chapter to go--which is good since it's due next Monday.

Also, I won NaNoWriMo again this year. Yay! I'm a three-peat winner! (We'll ignore for now the fact that the novel isn't acutally done.)

Finally, I have a free read holiday story that will be available soon through the Samhain Cafe yahoo group and I think on the Samhellion Blog. When it's up, I'll let you know!