Month: December 2012

Happy New Year!

Well. Happy New Year, everyone! I wrote some longer and perhaps more provocative thoughts HERE, if you’re interested.

Here’s what I’m up to, in the coming year:

Book 3 of the Far Seek Chronicles is at the publisher. I expect I’ll be going through proofs of it around the end of January or perhaps February. At that point, I’ll post an excerpt here on my site. I’m hoping for a publication date come March/April, if the stars align correctly.

I am hammering away at NM 4 (book 4 in my mystery series). I’m probably 2/3 through, but some of the scenes at the beginning I’m re-working. I’m hoping to send that off to the publisher this spring, for a possible fall/winter publication date.

I’m also finishing up a romance. What’s that, you say? Andi is writing a novel-length romance? WTF? It’s true. You can catch some excerpts from it here, in this order: ONE, TWO, THREE

I’m also re-tooling a romance novella that I hope to make available on Kindle this spring. Stay tuned for that, friends. 😀

I also have a couple other genres up my sleeve that I’ve been working on. MUAH HA HA. Hope you stick around.

And yes, I know. It’s been a while since I published a novel. Well, life happens, and sometimes you have to put some things aside in order to deal with what’s thrown at you. Since about May of 2011 life has thrown me quite a lot, but that’s just how things go. I think I’m saddled up again.

Having said that, I want to wish all of you a happy, happy new year and may you have a year filled with good works and good times with friends and family.

Cheers! And remember, The Walking Dead starts up again February 10th. . .

by Categories: Announcements, Holidays, WritingTags: ,

Bleak Days

These have been terrible, bleak days for many, many people.

Like all of you, I’ve spent the weekend trying to make sense of senselessness. Our fellow Americans are hurting, once again, in the wake of horrific violence. Last Wednesday, a young man went to a mall in Portland, Oregon, and shot two people to death before he killed himself. On Thursday, a man walked into a federal courthouse in Birmingham, Alabama, and shot himself to death. And on Friday, another young man forced his way into an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut and killed 20 children aged 6-7, and 6 school staffers, including the principal, the psychologist, and 4 teachers. He then shot himself to death in a classroom. Later, it was revealed that he had also shot his mother to death at the home where they both lived.

For these events, I simply do not have the words to express what I know many of us are feeling. I can’t possibly begin to understand the level of grief that friends and families of those who died are experiencing and will continue to experience in the coming days. I have no answers, and can only offer what comfort I can, and try to help the various funds that have been set up.

Here’s HuffPo’s how to help link. And here’s another, through the Newtown Patch.

This is the Newtown Memorial Fund, to help cover the costs of funerals and, long-term, to help cover costs for a memorial. Newtown Youth and Family Services is available for emergency counseling, as well as to offer support services to local families. You can donate to them, as well. And here’s the Sandy Hook School Support Fund, through the United Way of western Connecticut.

But you can help in other ways, too.

Take care of each other. Tell your friends and family you love them. Be vigilant about the people around you, and if you think they’re having some kind of emotional or psychological issue, try to get help for them. Offer support to the families of those who deal with someone who is having those kinds of issues. Talk to each other. Build community and support it. Look out for each other. Participate. Endure. Love.

Peace and comfort to all of those affected by these awful events, and let us honor those who were torn from this life so violently by working together to prevent such from happening again.

We are all we have. Change starts with each of us.

by Categories: In MemoriamTags: 4 Comments

Next Big Thing Blog Hop!

Hey, kids —

So there’s this thing going on where if you’re tagged by another writer, then you do a blog that answers the questions they did on theirs. Then you tag somebody to keep it going. So it’s kind of like a chain letter, only not. Because if you choose not to do a blog, well, you’re not going to cause somebody to lose a million bucks and you won’t break the mysterious ju-ju of the chain letter and cause small animals to cry or whatever the hell. Instead, you might miss out on an opportunity to chit-chat about yourself and your work.

Anyway, I was tagged by author Cheyne Curry (you can see her answers on her blog). So let’s go check out these questions, which I may or may not answer correctly. And I’ve re-worded a few questions for ease of grammatical flow.

So clickie on to see.

Continue reading →

by Categories: Questions AnsweredTags: , , , , 6 Comments

What’s going on: Hootenanny and projects

Hey, peeps —

‘Scuse my absence. I’ve been mondo busy because we are putting on another Hootenanny at Women and Words this year.

For those of you not in the know, we did a Hootenanny in 2010. That is, for 12 days, we did nothing but give books away to spread holiday luuuuuv and cheer. Probably 5-8 books every single day for 12 days.

We’re doing it again this year, and we’re giving away even MORE books. Hit the link above for the list of authors and how it works. So I’ve been working with my colleague Jove Belle on that, and coordinating with authors and getting the stuff ready because we launch that pup next week. December 12th, my friends. Go git yew some.

Also, just so you know, I finished the manuscript for the third Far Seek book. It’ll be off to the publisher this weekend. I’m hard at work on New Mexico 4 (which features Chris Gutierrez), and hope to have that finished in the next 3-4 months. And then I’ve got some romances in the pipeline, including another novella for Kindle. 😀

And, in case you wanted to get in on a discussion about erotica as a genre, I posted “Respect the Sex!” today over at Women and Words.

I know. Things are crazy this time of year. Here. Have a reminder about things I’ve learned to help get through the holidays.

All right, all. Happy reading, happy writing, happy Friday!

by Categories: Announcements, Events, Free BooksTags: , ,

Holly-Daze: some tips to help you deal

Happy December!

Things I’ve learned about surviving the holidays/this time of year:

1. Eggnog has at least 9 million calories per glass, and other holiday goodies have at least 7 million per bite. So I try not to eat or drink very many of them.

2. The office party can be fun and might even provide alcohol. Careful with that. Do you really want these people to watch you pole dance — sans pole — next to the dessert table? Somebody no doubt will post it on Facebook or Pinterest. Or, worse, upload it to YouTube. Save your sexy-time for the homefront, Flashdance.

3. If you work out regularly, keep doing that. Especially if you have an impending visit with holiday regulars that has the potential to end up like Die Hard 2.

4. You don’t need to eat ten pieces of Christmas fudge at a time, no matter how small they are. See number 1, above.

5. Is buying crap really what this holiday is about? How about starting a new tradition, like having get-togethers with your friends and/or family and all of you selecting a charitable organization to donate to? Share the love rather than the shopping. Might be a good tradition to start with kids, too, if you have them.

6. Caroling can seriously be fun, especially if you do it at a place like a nursing home or maybe a veterans’ or children’s hospital (check with the officials at said places first, before you show up with your Lady Gaga-infused rendition of “Silent Night”).

7. Rather than do a gift exchange with work colleagues, why not find a local organization that’s collecting things for families in need and do a drive for it?

8. Get some rest. You can’t be present for anybody during this time if you’re exhausted and cranky. Plus, not taking care of yourself means you might run yourself down, which puts you at greater risk for catching cooties. And it sucks to be sick, whether it’s the holidays or not.

9. You don’t have to decorate to feel like it’s the holidays. If you don’t feel like doing it, don’t, unless you have kids and they really look forward to it. Otherwise, it doesn’t make you a grinch or scrooge-y if you would rather look appreciatively at displays that are not your own. Get together with friends for a festive “other-people’s lights” tour. And be glad you don’t live next door to this guy. Though I’m sure he won’t mind a little horse-step dance in his driveway.

10. This time of year can be really stressful and depressing for some people. If you know people like that, check in with them. A “hey, how are you?” goes a long way.

And one of my other tips: I’m a year-round donor to various organizations, and I try to give extra this time of year. Suggestions: no-kill animal shelters; local organizations that help local families; larger organizations like the Red Cross and Heifer International. So check around. There are lots of people in your local community that could use some help, especially this time of year, imbued with all the symbolism and baggage we’ve loaded onto it.

Share your tips below, if you’ve got ’em. Happy Saturday!

by Categories: HolidaysTags: , 2 Comments