THE ROSIE HUGHES PROJECT

Ladies and Gentlemen -- Welcome to "The Rosie Hughes Project."

It is a blog chain running Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. I get to start, then we're going round to various other participants for the following installments. If it doesn't wrap on the 21st, it will be back to me:

Wednesday, 3-11, Cathy Clamp: http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendID=141026485
Saturday, 3-14, Brad Sinor: http://sinor-sb13.livejournal.com .
Monday, 3-16, Sue Sinor: http://sinor-sb13.livejournal.com . They share a blog, but Sue will post separately.
Wednesday, 3-18, Rachel Caine: http://rachelcaine.livejournal.com
Saturday, 3-21, Jackie Kessler: http://www.jackiekessler.com/blog

Rules are fairly loose, but not loose enough to get us in trouble on public blogs. We can go humorous, or dark, or both. You just have to read and play along. Our villaness is the terrifying vampire Rosie Hughes.

AND WE'RE OFF: (Way off, but that's another story) ;)

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Dear Morgana:

I do hope you are well and that your shoulder isn’t still giving you trouble. Damned crossbows anyway.

As you’ve probably guessed, I’m having to start anew. You were right to warn me about that investor. I suppose there is no fool like a (very, very) old fool. He’s in the limelight too much at the moment, but soon, very soon, I will do to him things that would make your dear little Marquis (how is he doing by the way?) blanch.

But enough of that. Exciting news! I’ve started a new venture and it’s going amazingly well. Cosmetics. That’s right darling. I stumbled onto the idea when I was out for a bite. Not only did the little tidbit show me a perfectly lovely fang whitener, she had sun block. For the first time in centuries I can actually go out before dusk. Well, of course I had to hear more! Lo and behold, by siring a mere ten, and enthralling a few dozen, I now have a sales force that works twenty-four hours a day. Who knew it could be so profitable? In next to no time I’ve earned the coveted "pink limo," (with driver) and have bought myself a perfectly lovely stucco home. You simply must fly by sometime. (You can’t miss it. Just look for the tasteful arrangement of flamingos around the pond.)

I know you worry, but you shouldn’t. One of those annoying teenage girls did pop by with her stakes, but I showed her a truly effective acne cream, and now she’s referring all of her friends. And there’s been no sign of any of the descendants of that hideous troll of a man. (What was his name dear? Van or Von something . . . Trapp? Beetho. . . no, that was the musician. Drat my memory. Well, you know who I mean.)

Please tell me you’ll come by return bat. It’s the perfect set-up. What could possibly go wrong?

Rosetta "Rosie" (Stone-Red-. . .) Hughes.

P.S. I’m enclosing a sample of the new night cream. My Renfe. . . Assistant, says it’s "to die for."

FUNNY

Okay guys, sometimes I like to think I'm funny, or clever, or whatever. But then I read something hysterical and think "Oh, I am SOOOOOO dull." But you have to read this, okay. Maybe you won't think it's as funny as I do, and that's okay, but I love it.

http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2009/03/publishing-911.html

Now this does not mean that you get to skip out on the whole Rosie thing come Monday. Unh unh. Nope. I've invested too much time in prepping you. I mean, I even nibbled your EAR for crying out loud. Nope, I expect you to show up.

Anyway, have a great weekend.

More Teasing

Hmnnn, I'm supposed to keep teasing you.

Boy, this is really hard. I mean, you're there, I'm here. I suppose it's sort of like phone sex. Only there's no phone. And no sex. JEEZ. Okay, maybe it isn't.

Okay, so come by Monday. Read the blog. PLEEEEEEEEEEEASE?

Oh, and I've contacted a couple of tech types to see if they can work with me to get the website finished. Cathy and I are really on deadline, so we can't do it, and having it half-done is driving me nuts.

Oh, and I LUCKED OUT and got an autographed ARC (advanced review copy) of the new Jim Butcher book, Turn Coat. OHMIGOD IT SO ROCKS!!! I wanna write like him when I grow up. Really. Really really. You NEED to buy this guys.

OK, gotta go.

Herding Cats

OKAY! The cats have all reported in. But nearly everybody's on deadline, so Rosie is in suspense for another week. It will start next Monday.

I am supposed to tease you, tempt you, and get you all hot and bothered about the story. Sort of the heavy petting of blogging.

Consider me to be whispering in your ear, maybe while nibbling on your earlobe:

"Come and see me next Monday. You know you want to." I purr. "We'll have so much fun." Nibble nibble. "Nobody needs to know. You can trust me . . . "

(So, is it working?)

Cie

Saturday Morning Breakfast Serial (Yeah, I spelled that right).

Okay folks, the Saturday morning serial has been postponed for a week. Why? Because HOPEFULLY (assuming we can round up our other authors -- and rounding up authors is like herding cats) we're doing our blog ring next week. If we CAN'T raise everybody then it may have to wait two weeks.

HMNNNNN, let's see, am still recruiting. Come on guys. I've got prizes, I've got cards, there are openings in my organization for: Lackeys, Minions, Toadies, Super Spies, Not-Completely-Trustworthy Allies, and Fawning Sycophants. If you are clever enough to amuse me, you can even come up with your own title. Special thanks to those who have already enrolled. The swag is now packed and should go to the post office tomorrow. Assuming I can get there when it opens. (That's more of a challenge than you think guys. They open AFTER I have to be at the day job and CLOSE before I get off at the day job and they're always packed at noon (go figure!). But the Minions/Lackeys/Toadies and Sychophants who form my Posse are WORTH IT!

Working on some limited edition bookmarks reminding people about the new name. If I like how they look I may wind up printing a gazillion or so of them and sending them to cons and such.

Speaking of cons. ConDFW was a blast! It was great to see everybody. I had a great time.OH, and GOOD NEWS --- a book that has been sitting gathering dust on the shelves for a decade may have found a publisher. They've at least requested a copy to review. Keep your toes crossed (fingers are for typing).

The draft of the next Sazi book is progressing. Cathy has currently chained her muse to the computer and is bribing her with chocolate for a full-out rush to the finish.

Congrats to my sister and brother-in-law. They're having their 38th wedding anniversary. WHOA . . . . and they're still crazy about each other. Really cool. Best wishes.

I'm trying to come up with contests. I'm not sure what to do. What do y'all want? I'm kind of crafty, used to do art (but am WOEFULLY out of practice). Occasionally knit neckscarves in various colors. Have author swag. We can do trivia stuff, whatever. Comment below with wish list. (And be real folks, I may be a Not-So-Evil Overlord, but all this recruiting has strained the budget, no "ten million dollars, a trip to the Bahamas and a good-looking companion to go with me." If I had that, I'D be in the Bahamas, letting said good-looking man feed me peeled grapes.)

Best always, comment here or at MySpace -- I want to hear from you.

C.T. Adams

Cross-Posting

All right. Some people do go to Blogger. A lot don't. So I'm going to double post with this also on my Myspace site. Because da** it, I want viewers.



That said, I should probably do a "catch up" post so that everyone is on the same page. No. I'm not in Denver yet. Yes, I'm frustrated about that! But I haven't given up. Life has been . . . complicated. But soon, soon. . . .



I took a quiz on Quizilla and have discovered that I am, indeed a (not really so very) Evil Overlord. Well, this prompted my co-author to take a quiz. She is NOT an EO, no, she is a Criminal Mastermind. She seems to think that this is, in fact SUPERIOR. Which is, of course, pigswill. So, while I have been carefully approaching potential (not completely trustworthy) Allies, Superspies, and recruiting, lackeys, minions and sycophants, she has been trying to outdo me. People this is SIMPLY NOT ACCEPTABLE. Please submit your applications to be part of my posse/horde by putting Cie/Recruiting in the subject line of your e-mail and sending it to cat_cie@msn.com. Note, there will be a identification card, and certain swag associated with participation.



Next, we have decided to do a blog chain. Next week (or the week after) we, and a few other of our writer friends, will be participating in a blog chain. The rules will be something like this: First poster (me) posts the beginning of a story with a cliffhanger, and a link to Second poster (Cathy) who posts her entry the next day with a link back to me and forward to the next poster. We've got a really cool line up, and it looks to be a lot of fun. Hope you'll participate and comment.



Also, I'm going to be doing a "serial" story with installments every Saturday morning. Stay tuned.



In case you haven't looked -- Magic's Design is on the shelves. Green, with a tree on the cover. It's under the new pen name of Cat Adams. FIND IT AND BUY IT -- You know you want to. ;)



Con DFW was a blast. Was great to meet such cool people.



Oh, and Cie's word find problem of the day -- (For those of you who didn't know, I've been hit by lightning and whacked on the head a few times. Sometimes this leads to the traditional 'word find' problems where you can't remember the right word. Usually it winds up odd. Occasionally I find it hysterical.) Instead of the "Scarlet Pimpernel" he was the "Scarlet Pumpernickle." Oops.



Now the Myspace folks have caught up with the Blogger guys. And I'm out of time. Have a great day guys.



Cie

It's FRIDAY

WOOT!

Okay, I need this work week to end. Just do. The day job has been stressful as hell lately and it makes me too tired to be very creative. Since the writing is my major income and my joy, life's work, calling, whatever, this is so not a good thing. But the week is ALLLLLLLLLMOST over. I can hang in there. And then this weekend is Con DFW and I get to see Jim and Shannon Butcher and a bunch of my other friends, which is SOOOOOO cool. One of the very best things about the writing gig is that you get to meet and be friends with some of the BEST people.

When I was young (and still now a lot of the time) I NEVER fit in. Always the odd one out (emphasis on the odd). On the one hand, this gave me time to live inside my head, create worlds, people them, and generally indulge my creativity, which is why I CAN write. On the other hand, it can be a very hurtful situation.

I believe everybody in this world wants to be accepted for who they are, and having to pretend to be someone else just to get by is damned painful. At some point in my teens and early twenties, I stopped trying (and became known as a wild woman, raging bitch and several other things until I moved to Denver). One of the reasons I liked Denver was that it was big enough that there's enough variety of people that I really wasn't all that odd comparatively. (I mean, when you can drive down Wadsworth and see someone very calmly walking along the side of the road in a straitjacket [the utilitarian heavy canvas kind, not the kinky kind] trying to work their way out of it and see that nobody else is reacting [and, yes, I did call the authorities---I'm such a poop that way.] you know that a little day-to-day oddity is nothing.) On the other hand, for the past five years I've been struggling to "be good" and keep most of the more outre parts of my personality hidden so that I don't wind up getting tarred and feathered. And it hurts. And I'm beginning to fail at it. Parts of the "real" me are starting to pop out at odd moments. Which is weirding some people out. A LOT. Time to go home to Denver. Hell, PAST time to go home to Denver. And I will go. Just as soon as we get the contract money.

ON TO MORE FUN THINGS!

I got some good news yesterday, but I can't post it yet. ARGH! But it made me VERY happy.

In answer to the most recent question in my comments. A serial is a very old-fashioned idea. Goes back to like Dickensian times and Arthur Conan Doyle. They used to have magazines (I believe Conan Doyle was in the Strand, but I may be misremembering). And periodically (like monthly, although mine would be weekly) you'd get a new installment on the story. So, if y'all are interested, I'm thinking that every Saturday I'll post a few new paragraphs on a "Blog Only" story that I will make up as I go along. Now, I have to warn you, there will be no editor, and no two or three passes to make sure it's perfect before it posts, so it won't be "book" quality. And also, because my mood is what it is, we could occasionally take a turn to the weird. But if anyone is interested in this, and feels game, I'm willing to give it a go. As I said previously, I'm thinking of starting with the "Queen of the Courts" story, which is a humorous and non-paranormal story that I have a wild desire to write, but don't think the publishers would bite on because it's kind of "out there."

So let me know what you think. I want to make sure I don't drive off the folks that are kind enough to stop by here.

Bestest.

Cie

Let's SEE here. . . HMNNN

Hello all! Hope you're well. I'm hanging in there.

My esteemed co-author has decided to attempt (attempt mind you) to one-up my overlord status by becoming a "Criminal Mastermind" with underlings. HMPFH! WE SHALL SEE.

On another note -- I am wanting to do fun things with the blog. SO I need the reader(s) input. Do you want to:

1) Have a trivia contest? If so, on one series, or all-encompassing. There would be prizes.
2) Have a Monday Serial installment posted to the blog with an ongoing story that will only be published here. I'm thinking of using the "Queen of the Courts" post-chick-lit idea I spoke of oh so many, many posts ago.

Oh, and Cathy and I are looking at doing a one-week blog chain story with some of our friends as well.

Input would be appreciated -- note, votes from registered lackeys, minions, trusted henchmen and general members of my posse will get immediate attention. ;) So feel free to help me thwart Cathy's plans.


Cie

Thanks/Help Wanted/Con DFW

Hi Guys! I only have a sec, so please forgive me if this is a little short/brusque.

First, thanks for the condolences. I appreciate the kindness.

Second, a favor, if any of you have read and like the new book (Magic's Design) could you please go over to Amazon and write a review for us? Normally reviewers cross-post, but they haven't this time, and we've got one good and one bad review at this point.

Finally, Cathy and I will be going to Con DFW this coming weekend. We'd love to see you.

Thanks!


Cie.

Sad Day Today

I'm very sad today. I keep crying. Can't seem to help it.

You see, I had to have Algonquin my elegant elder kitty put down this morning.

There's some debate how old my beautiful girl was. Around twenty-something anyway. James remembers when we got her differently than I do. But she'd gotten very frail, and I could tell she was in pain, so it was time to say goodbye. But that isn't easy when you've spent so much of your life with her.

Sometimes knowing that something is the right thing to do doesn't make doing it any easier.

It may be a couple days before I stop by here again. Take care of yourselves until then.

Cie

Hi! Waves vigorously.

Okay, in answer to Dolly's questions:



1) Random genetics rule. The Sazi traits tend to be recessive genes, but occasionally you have double recessives pop up and get a new Sazi in families that haven't had one in generations. No one species is more likely than any other. So Bobby and Asri could get either, neither, or both. Cat and Raphael are more likely to get wolves because it's in his genetics on both sides and she was an attack victim, but you also have to figure in the magic factor too.


2) Three day dogs can, in fact have Sazi children -- Jake from Howling Moon had Jasmine and Iris with his human wife. Holly is an attack victim (turned by Corrine). In fact, it is more likely that a three day dog will have a Sazi child with a human. Weirdly enough. It is a "let's get some new genetic material in the mix and prevent inbreeding" thing.

3) We haven't discussed having Fiona as the lead in a book. So many characters, so little time. . .

That's it for now.

Later.

Cie

THANK YOU EVERYBODY

Thank you all for looking for the book for me. And special thanks to those of you who are reading it! Hope you love it. Right now it is expected to be a stand-alone, unless there is an outcry for more to our editor at Tor.

Feel free to cry out.

Also many thanks to those who are in line to become lackeys, minions, my possee, or trusted henchmen. Your spoils shall be distributed soon.

I am in a very good mood today. In fact, I am in the mood to answer questions. Does anyone have a question they'd like to ask about any of the characters in any of the books? Some esoteric fact that nobody but the author would know?

Or, if you have a writing question that I might be able to answer (but no guarantees, despite rumors to the contrary I am not actually a "know it all.") feel free to ask.

Now is your chance.

Best always.

Cie

I HAVE A LACKEY!

Greetings friends and neighbors. After yesterday's post I have my very first lackey. In honor of being the first, she gets prizes. (AHA, had you known that, you might have voted sooner. But those of you who did not, do not despair. I may be feeling magnanimous later too. You never know. The whole Overlord thing has gone to my head, making me fickle.)

Let's see, what else.

Cathy and I are both going to the RT convention in Orlando where there will be much merriment. Is anyone else going?

I'm busy writing away. So is Cathy. Books will be produced. Deadlines will (hopefully) be met. RAWR.

Lucky the Wonder Dog has a new "No Pull" harness. AND IT WORKS!!!! For those of you who do not know about Lucky the Wonder Dog, this is an issue. She is a Catahoula Leopard Hound cross with something a little bit bulkier, so that she is large, strong, and a handful. (She is also very protective of me, which is a good thing. (And if you want to see a photo of my baby girl, you can go to my myspace page here myspace.com/ctadams and look in the pictures.) Anyway, I got it AND IT WORKS!!! WOOT! (Have I mentioned how much I like this?)

Okay, I've got to go. Otherwise no writing tonight. And I am, after all, supposed to produce books. So bye for now. And keep checking in. And cast your vote. I need MINIONS/LACKEYS/HENCHMEN/TOADIES. Come on people!

OH LEAGUE OF POTENTIAL MINIONS

Okay, I went to one of those sites that have all the quizzes (Quizilla I think, but I could be wrong). And it told me that I was the perfect Evil Overlord. The thing is, to be an overlord requires REQUIRES minions. I have no minions. This is unacceptable folks.

SO, for a limited time only, we are having a e-mail Cie thing going on. (I'd call it a contest, but it isn't really, because there are no losers.)

First -- the e-mail address: cat_cie@msn.com
(THERE'S AN UNDERSCORE BETWEEN CAT AND CIE)

Second -- you e-mail with the subject line FOR CIE/MINIONS OR LACKEYS

Then in the body of the e-mail you submit your vote -- should my volunteers be minions, lackeys, or "other" (get creative folks).

Then, if you want to receive the SERIOUSLY OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL CARD that I'm going to create just for this purpose you include your full name and mailing address.

The card will include a (possibly somewhat demeaning [or not] because that's just how those evil overlord types refer to people) nickname to which you shall henceforth be referred to by no one other than me, and likely not even that since I have no memory whatsoever.

For example:

ENTRY:
Vote - Lackey
John Doe
1234 56th Dr.
Lake Worth, WI 78910

CARD:

Doe, John Induction Date 1/15/09
a/k/a "Dude" or "HEY YOU!"


With my official signature.

If you have any trouble entering, comment below.

Thanks Guys!

Thanks guys!

Cathy got her copies from Amazon, and I really like the foiled cover. :)

So seriously, (well, not really, but SORT of seriously) would you like "minion" cards or some such? I want to reward people who actually do stop by the bog . . . um, I mean BLOG.

Let's see, what else. HMNNNNN, oh yeah. My son is healthy and happy. I'm working on getting back into the rhythm of writing. (I've been a bad, BAD girl). I changed my hair color drastically.

(For those of you who don't know me, this is one of the things that I do when I'm absolutely frustrated with my life. I think it's because it's something I can actually have control over when the rest of my life isn't. (Say, for example, when I want to move, but CAN'T yet. UGH!). But there you go. First I color it. Then I cut it. Then I do something weird like get fake nails in riveting red or some such, which is counterproductive because I can't type worth a damn with them, THEN I get a bunch of clothes in a totally different style. Right now I'm leaning toward going a bit goth, with fluffy stuff in black with plunging necklines for dress clothes and getting a bunch of smart assed tee-shirts, saying things like:

Good Morning is an oxymoron.
Don't get even -- get ODD.

Of course that is TOTALLY impractical for where I am living right now. I am in the buckle of the bible belt. And folks here take things like what you wear REALLY seriously. I've actually had more than one person say that they wouldn't hire a particular person because he has TATTOOS. (I have a tattoo. A small, tasteful little water lily. I stopped hiding it shortly thereafter. It raised a ruckus. I'm not sorry. I consider it a small protest.)

Interesting note. (At least interesting to me). People over 40 have been acting shocked by the hair color. People under thirty have been complimenting me. Why do you suppose that is? I mean, it's a color found in nature. It's not periwinkle blue or anything. (Although that might be fun, I think I'm a bit too old for it.) I didn't even go for black. Nope just a vivid auburn/red. Heck, it's even a very popular color right now. So, should I see if I can manage technology to the point where I post a picture sometime next week? (Which, at the rate I'm going will include a new haircut and my ravishing red nails. I'm SOOOOOOOOO frustrated right now.) Or should I wait until I get one of the daring goth blouses I'm thinking of ordering? HMMNN???

Yes, I know. Over 40. Bad ideas. All of them. Ah well . . .

CELEBRATION!

WOOT -- The copy edits for Cold Moon Rising are back to the publisher -- ON TIME.

YIPPEEE!!!

So, tell me folks, I really need to know -- HAVE YOU SEEN Magic's Design on the shelves and WHERE? Pretty pretty please comment. I need to know who is carrying it and whether it has special attention (face out, display, special placement, that sort of thing). And it matters whether it's a bookstore or the grocery too.

Hmnnnn. How can I award the minions for this service? Hmnnnnnn. Do we give them a special "Minion" ID card? Perhaps have a contest putting the names of the folks who answer in a hat and drawing for an autographed ARC (advance review copy) of the book and a nifty author pen?

What sayest thou oh (I hope) legions of minions?

Moving Right Along . . .

Hi Guys!

Time is moving FAST. I must be over the hill because I am definitely gaining momentum!

Anyway, edits to do, but I thought I'd stop by and thank everybody who has complimented us on the change in website. Still ironing out the glitches, but we're proud of it. And MEGACUDOS to Cathy who beat me to the punch making the edits.

:)

Bestest.

Cie

What do I call this?

Okay, what do I call this? I'm going to talk about a little bit of everything, and nothing. So I'm supposed to come up with a heading? Really. Jeez, and here I SUCK at titles.

First, it's Sunday. I'm mostly feeling OK. Yesterday I ran to the city so that I could pick up stuff for my esteemed co-author and give her time to write. I also started working on the galleys for Cold Moon Rising. I put together an e-mail to the esteemed agent with a proposal for a book that has been kicking around my head for a while as an individual project. It may wind up being a co-authored book, but it is wall-to-wall angst, which is not Cathy's favorite thing. I refer to it as my "Oprah" book. Now don't get me wrong, I think Ms. Winfrey is one of the most impressive people I've had the privilege to read about. She encourages people to do their best, supports charities, is up front, supports literacy. . . . and on and on. I mean, if nothing else, her ENERGY is phenomenal. But her taste in books runs to the angsty. Just does. So this particular fantasy novel is wall-to-wall angst and is thus, my Oprah book. Not that she'll ever want to read it. Hell, it may never get written or published. But that's what I call it. Because, if it ever does get written and published, it is the kind of thing she'd like.

And I'm very nervous about it too. Because while I am quite confident in my ability to write a pretty-damned-good paranormal, and I've learned (with difficulty I may add) to write a pretty-damned good paranormal ROMANCE (which is a whole 'nother creature), this is straight fantastic *literature* and that's a different animal entirely. But you can't win if you don't play. So I'm going to play -- AFTER I get finished with the back-to-back trilogy I'm writing this year.

BUT since the publishing schedule runs a couple years after the writing schedule, I'm trying to get it scheduled. (If that made sense, you're doing well.)

Worse yet, I'm not good at proposals. I'm much better at cranking out a book and THEN worrying about finding somebody to love it. But I want to try to improve that too.

So I did it. And it may or may not work.

Still, today is Sunday, so no worky for Cie. This is my day of rest -- sort of. Tomorrow I will finish the galleys and (hopefully) get to work on the website edits. But for this moment in time I will blog, pet the pussycat on hand (currently the Bacchus cat) do enough laundry that I won't have to go to work naked and enough housework that I can stand the place. Oh, and cook ahead for the week. Yeah, yeah, all of that sounds REAL restful. But what can I do? I mean, I've tried to talk the dog and the cats into picking up some of the slack, but they just don't seem inclined.

On another note (B# I think), I'm having a bit of a problem with self-destructive tendencies. No, not the suicidal kind, the screw up your life because you just can't DEAL with it any more kind. So you say and do stupid stupid stupid shit so that you will wind up being forced to change. Which is STUPID since I'm already trying to change things and I can't afford to screw up what's already in progress. I think part of what brought this on is anger and frustration over issues I can't discuss here.

Another part (that I can talk about) is that I'm frustrated. I found somebody I'd like to work with as my assistant BUT because he's there (as in Denver, my home-to-be if I can ever get my ass up there) and I'm HERE it's not working. Which means I'm probably going to lose a very good possible employee, [which sucketh scum covered pond rocks. YES there are other potential employees (in this economy DROVES of them) but I LIKE him. And I TRUST him. And I'm so not good at trust. I don't just have issues. I have a subscription --- with automatic renewal.]

Good news, Magic's Design is almost out. Buy it. Buy it now. The more people who get it the first week, the better our chances of hitting a list again. Which would be lovely. So please guys, BUY THE BOOK.

Also, the drive to the city gave me lots and lots of time to work on the three-books-back-to-back series in my head. Solved problems that had been bugging me. Got to hear the music that I connect to the characters, so that it's clear in my head again. YIPPEE! I'm so anxious to get writing. But edits first! Get them galleys out the door!

My brother-in-law is closing his business and moving on to the next stage of his life. I don't think he knows what it will be. Exciting and scary that. But he and Diane are two of the smartest, most hard-working and ambitious people I know. They are quite simply built for success on the grand scale (which was no doubt why his business WAS such a success). So while I will pray for them I'm not really worried.

Anyway, parents are fine. Haven't heard from my brother in a bit, but due to technological challenges that are all my fault it's hard for him to reach me. Fortunately, he knows I love him, and that I'm a dufus.

Well, I'm going to run. Keep me in your thoughts. Keep your fingers crossed. Oh, and in case you didn't get the message earlier -- BUY THE BOOK (LOL).

Cie

Sigh

Hi Guys!

Back from a Monday at the day job.

I need to write. I need to work on the website. So many, many, things I need to do for writing and in real life. Unfortunately, I haven't got it in me at the moment. My head is just too full of . . . stuff. I can't seem to focus. Part of it is the remnants of allergy/asthma medication. Not good for clear headedness. Good for breathing (which is a habit I refuse to give up), but not good for clear-headedness.

Spent the weekend watching a marathon of the US version of Life on Mars. LOVED it. Oh, some of it was awkward enough that I cringed in embarassment -- but that meant that the actors did a good enough job to MAKE me cringe. Truly, though, my absolute favorite bit of acting was done by the guy who played his father in the episode where Sam finally has his birthday party. Seeing that transition from supposedly two-bit to seriously dangerous was impressive. Because he didn't overplay it. Small, tiny little changes in expression, tone of voice, gesture. Oh yeah. I bought it. And I felt bad because Sam had been fooled for all the right reasons. Brilliant acting on the part of the guy who played his dad. Also great work by the guy who played Sam, but his part was written more broadly, with less subtlety. And I, of course, am a sucker about good writing. Not that any of it was bad. That would be nit-picking. It was all great. Just that part hit me the most.

I also watched a bit of House. I have to admit, I got hooked on it while I was in Denver and they were having a "House" marathon. Oh to be so brilliant that you can get away with being an ass. I think I'm only saying that because I feel like I've had to compromise too much this past little bit. I would like to think I wouldn't/won't turn into a monumental ass. Or maybe I AM one and I just don't know. I do know that I'm not very good at dealing with people whose minds and attitudes appear to be set in concrete. And I can only slow down so far when dealing with people who don't understand. So maybe I am.

I dunno. I do know that I need to eat something that isn't all sugar. Between the meds I took and the chocolate I've indulged in my mind is buzzing, and not in a good way.

Toodles.


Cie

Morning!

Good Morning.

Ah, no one appears to have been in a bent frame of mind the other night besides me. Oh well.

Let's see. Edits are necessary to the website. Hope to make them today. The first page is up, but the rest of the whole thing is still under construction. Ugh.

Getting ready to try to build a MySpace ad today too. Nothing like lumping all of my tech challenges in one spot! LOL.

I've been puny all week, which means I'm behind on everything, and I have a bad case of the don' wanna's this morning.

I am, however, in a good mood. :)

On a much sadder note, one of my son's best friends killed himself last week - on his 27th birthday. I am so sad, and so sorry for those he left behind. I understand debilitating depression, but it is a great sorrow when someone decides that they can't go on. I pray for his soul, and hope that he has found the peace he didn't manage to find here.

I know there are those who feel that suicides are damned. I hope not. Such hopelessness and pain doesn't deserve more pain to follow, and so much of depression is linked to biological problems. I believe that God (or Goddess depending on your religion) is kinder, gentler, and more understanding than that.

I don't know what to say, not to my son, or anyone else. Life is hard. Losing someone you care about is incredibly difficult, particularly when it is abrupt, unexpected, and unfathomable.

Unfortunately, on that particularly sad note I'm going to have to sign off.

Be well, be happy, be kind.


Cie