Save the date!
Come to the Books-A-Million in North Little Rock, Arkansas on Saturday, October 24 @ 5:00 pm for a blood-curdling event!
Six YA Paranormal Authors
One book signing
Come dressed as your favorite creature of the night! There will be prizes, fun, and costumes galore!
Yesterday was a big day for releases! Kitteh’s (aka Kristen Painter) book ALL FIRED UP officially hit the virtual shelf yesterday. Pop over to Samhain and download a copy. It’s about Vikings for crispy’s sake! Surely if you read this blog, you’re a fan of Vikings. (okay, and if you watch True Blood, how can you NOT be a fan of Vikings?) Don’t do E-books? p-shaw! It’s time for you to join to catch up with the rest of the world and step into your future….If Roxanne St. Claire can do it, you can. Right, Rocki?
Another hot item is my pal Louisa Edwards’ book CAN’T STAND THE HEAT. Now I was lucky enough to get to read this book as it was being written and I can’t wait to reread it now that it’s a done deal! A hot, temperamental Chef; a fiery, temperamental food critic; sexy kitchen scenes…Oh yeah. And let’s not forget Frankie….Who’s Frankie? Read the book to find out!
(blogger won’t allow me to post pics right now, so y’all just need to go buy the books and see the great covers for yourselves)
And for today’s bit of trivia…I was emailing a friend from high school who lives in New Zealand yesterday and he made a comment that he was having a “flat white trim.”
Since I had never heard that before, I decided that meant “Skinny white chick with no boobs.” Apparently not. It’s a double shot latte with less foam in the milk. Hmmm. I think I like my idea better…
Now if you were on a menu, what would you be called?
Get your mind out of the gutter. I swear.
This weekend, fellow Arkansas YA Author Stacey Jay (she writes the best little zombie books around) and I (is that proper grammar? I just doesn’t sound right…I know, I’m the writer, I should know these things, but I’m tired, have had only 1 cup of coffee, and am not firing on all cylinders yet.) Anyway…WE will be in Oxford, Miss. this weekend.
There may be one slight change–it is possible that we’ll be at OFF Square Books instead of Jr. So if we’re not at one, we’re at the other. The good news is, they’re only a block away from each other so really, it’s not biggie.
I’m looking forward to being back in Oxford. I miss my pals and the kids there. I know my boys are happy to be going back for a night. It will be a fun time all around. I hope y’all are ready because I plan to make all of you stay and play. It’s a rule…and since I’m the Queen, you have to obey.
Hope to see you all there!
It’s official. I’m a real author now. I have books. Real books. Sure, they’re uncorrected proofs of my book, but they’re still in book form. With a cover. And my name. And my pic on the back.
I AM AWESOME.
This is the best MONTH OF MEL! ever.
sorry for the mobile phone quality.
Things that may or may not have happened last night after I opened the box:
You decide which of these may or may not be true.
Rader just finished reading Christopher Moore’s YOU SUCK. (this has been on my TBR pile for a while, but I don’t like reading vampire novels while I’m writing one, so it’s still sitting there) Most of you know that Rader is only 10, but he is reading FAR above his reading level. If we made him read ‘age appropriate’ books, he’d never read. He’s also really mature for a 10 year old. Having a brother 4 years older helps.
So he gets to read whatever he wants as long as he:
Easy rules and he is really good at following them.
He’s a big fan of Sci-Fi. He loves Tim Waggoner and he loves anything dragon. I’ve been trying to get him to try something new so I finally gave him YOU SUCK and said, “Read this. It’s supposed to be very funny. It’s an adult book so remember the rules and if you read something that’s confusing or that makes you uncomfortable, you have to tell me.”
The next day, be the end of school, he was finished with the book. (seriously, the boy is a voracious reader)
Me: So, was there anything too adult in there or that you didn’t understand?
Rader: No. But you couldn’t turn a page without seeing the ‘F’ word. And I know the rules Mom! I won’t say them and I won’t tell my friends about them either.
Me: (smiling) I know you won’t. What about other stuff? You know, ADULT situations that might have been confusing. (didn’t wanna say sex because I wanted him to tell me)
Rader: Oh I wasn’t confused, but there was some hot monkey love.
Guess all those chats about Hot Monkey Love have paid off.
He’s reading TWILIGHT now because he’s intrigued by the movie trailer.
I write like I read. I hate overdone passages of detail and superfluous words that slow down the pacing and are only put in the text to show how fancy the writer can be.
It’s not my style. When it comes to writing, I’m a minimalist. My biggest strength is dialogue. Truth be told, if I could write a dialogue only book and get away with it, I would. Because frankly, dialogue is where the story is for me.
That doesn’t mean that I don’t read wordy, big books. That means oftentimes I skim multiple passages in those books because frankly, if you can’t tell me in just a few words the exact shade of blue the sky is, then I don’t want to know. And if you bury something important in the middle of a ten sentence paragraph describing the exact shade of blue of the sky, then shame on you.
It could be undiagnosed ADD. I really don’t know, but I honestly don’t have the patience to wade through all that description especially when the only purpose of the paragraph is to prove what a good writer the author is. I just want to read a good story. I want to be engaged in the characters…not in the description of where the character is standing.
So I thought I’d have a little fun today. I have two extra copies of Roxanne St. Claire’s Now 
You Die (the 3rd book in a trilogy, the 6th book in the Bullet Catcher series). If you want to win a copy, all you have to do is describe yourself, your day, your life, your work…something about you…in 5 words.
Here are some examples:
Two houses, two cities, sucks.
Will be waiting tables soon.
Kids are fun when asleep.
Love/Hate relationship with Pug.
Fishdog makes me laugh alot.
Good friends make it better.
Who’s in? Let’s get our less is more groove on folks!
Actually, I fly back to Little Rock tomorrow, but I’m no longer at the beach. Sadness does not begin to explain how I feel. I love the beach. I was separated at birth from the beach. The beach and I are soul mates.
Now if I could only get the Fishdog on board with my constant, unyielding need for the beach.
Last night, I started reading FIRST YOU RUN by Roxanne St. Claire. How have I missed her books? Can someone please explain this to me? This book hooked me immediately and even though I was so tired from traveling last night, I couldn’t put the damn thing down. Of course, this meant I had to buy her back list. Amazon.com loves me.
Seriously, if you like Romantic Suspense, run out and buy her Bullet Catcher books. NOW YOU DIE was released on Wednesday. Sockmonkey was on the program…where have I been?
There are 6 books in the series, but the last three are a trilogy all on their own. So, click these links and buy those books. Go ahead, I’ll wait..
FIRST YOU RUN
THEN YOU HIDE
NOW YOU DIE
There. Don’t you feel better? I know I do.
Sockmonkey is sleeping hard. Yesterday’s travel was very difficult on her. I don’t think she was quite prepared.
Being the good friend that I am, I’m letting her sleep in. But not for long. Maria and I need to hit the road before that bitch Fay swirls into Tallahassee. We’ll be traveling ahead of her and even though she’s headed west, the extended forecast for our weekend and then the next week’s location seems to be pretty normal for Florida. The highest percentage of rain is for today, which is 40% then it’s 30% and scattered Thunderstorms. I can live with that. Fay will not ruin our getaway! Besides, if it’s raining, we’ll get more work done. In theory.
A BOOK I SHOULD HATE.
I bought this book when I was at BN with ArkansasCyndi the other day. I’ll admit that the backcover blurb totally hooked me. I needed a laugh. Here’s the blurb:
My name is Tucker Max, and I am an asshole.
I get excessively drunk at inappropriate times, disregard social norms, indulge every whim, ignore the consequences of my actions, mock idiots and posers, sleep with more women than is safe or reasonable, and just generally act like a raging dickhead.
But, I do contribute to humanity in one very important way. I share my adventures with the world. They are known as:
The Tucker Max Stories
Tucker is an unrepentant, misogynistic, womanizing alcoholic who has lived a life that even my vivid imagination could not conceive.
And I have laughed until I cried on several occasions
It is a horrible book. Seriously. But it’s one of the funniest things I have ever read. If you are sensitive to fat jokes, meanness, bowel movements, or vomit please do not read this book. But if you are looking for an outlandish retelling of various drunken nights out with friends…then oftentimes end or include the above mentioned items, then buy this book. Seriously, funniest damn thing I’ve read in a long, long time.
Congrats to you Tucker Max for making this hog laugh out loud.
I’m at Fictionistas today talking about exercising my mind….
have you read any books lately that inspire you? Have you read any that just piss you off?
In other news:
I emailed my revisions to my editor on Friday and I spent the weekend ignoring the nastiness of my house and relaxing. I attended a cocktail party after the Arkansas Literary Festival with multi-pubbed author and good friend Ace Atkins. Check out his website and buy his books. He’s a buffet of all you can eat Awesome. And he’s cute, too. Especially when he and my hubby are having an in depth conversation about bourbon. Both consider themselves to be bourbon snobs, but Ace seems to be a little more discerning that the Fishdog. I just sipped my diet coke and smiled.
Did y’all do anything fun this weekend?
Okay, I’m fully recovered. No more headaches. No more snot-filled sneezes. No more sleeping 20 out of 24 hours. I spent 2 hours and Sam’s Club yesterday buying the shit out of some bulk items and thoroughly enjoyed myself. I also took the boys shopping and that lasted about an hour. As Ian said, “Mom, we’re boys. Boys and shopping don’t mix.”
Whatever.
Ian had a $100 gift cert at Hollister and he spent $60. He’s totally right, boys and shopping don’t mix. Sigh. I would’ve spent $150 and assumed Mom would catch my overage. But hey, I’m a girl. That’s what we do.
Ruby has just found her place as Supreme Ruler of the Francis Household. Well, almost. The cats pity her because she believes she is the Supreme Ruler, but they know they are far superior. Poor misguided Pug.
I’m getting to know my MacBook and I like it for the most part. It has a couple of annoying little things to it, like it just stops connecting to the internet whenever it feels like it and I can’t just ‘reconnect’ it, I have to restart it. I’m sure there’s a setting somewhere that we haven’t found yet. But the good news is, the restart time is so much quicker than my PC. I never wanted to turn that damn thing off because it would be a good ten minutes before I could do anything. And that was a huge frustration.
Oh, I bought Fishdog the hardcover (I was 286 out of the 300 sold!) version of Wil Wheaton’s latest book, The Happiest Days of our Lives. I am trying to let Fishdog read it first, but I finally caved and read a story. Now I know my husband is going to totally dig this book. But I’m afraid he’s going to have to conquer Legends of Rock III before he’ll sit down and read it. Sigh. I’m beginning to think getting Rock Band might not be such a great idea…we’re all way too addicted already.
Happy Sunday, y’all. I’m about to grab my 2nd cuppa and pull up Love Sux and write a little. Gotta get the first chapter to editor by 1/15 (along with my acknowledgments, which I’m afraid might be a chapter by itself) Then I think I’m going to start plotting out (I use “plotting” in the loosest way possible)Back to Blue which is going to be a lot of fun.
Bitchin' Fiction: Musings by author Melissa McKenzie / Melissa Francis 