Another delay

I just can't catch a break. As soon as the most hectic month in the last half year is behind me, there's another one just around the corner.

Yeah, December, the most jolly month of the year is also the most tiring, if you ask me. Not only you have to think of original ideas for what to write in the Christmas cards and buy for your family and friends, everyone who's ever worked in accounting knows December will take no prisoners as far as work load goes.

And when I was getting pretty excited to be able to release Shadow of Revenge somewhere in the middle of the month - just in time for someone to slip a copy or two in a stocking, I'll be lucky to get it out before the year is through.
Yeah, the publishing business is even worse than accounting. ;) Let's keep our fingers crossed, though. Christmas time is time for miracles, after all.

I'm almost back

Exactly a month from my last post, here I am once more - tired as hell, but quite happy that the past three grueling weeks are behind me and there's only one more to go.

I'm so busy lately I haven't written a word, except for the new Shadow of Revenge blurb and even that was tiring. But don't worry, the books is coming soon - first week of December at the latest, so it'll be quite a lovely Christmas gift [hint, hint].

Jokes aside, it really is scheduled for release in the first days of the next month and I can finally take a deep breath of relief that's behind me - at last.
The paperback will be a little expensive - I'm warning you in advance - but there's always the eBook to look forward to.

This is it, I just wanted you to know I was alive and quite well, if you discard the acute lack of sleep (I look like someone punched me in both eyes!). I'll make sure to post another HOTM later in the week.
Until then, take care.

A x

Another short update

Well, I had a goal that I didn't reach. No surprise there.

The goal was to finish The Phoenix by October 1. Now it's way past the deadline and I'm not even in the middle yet. So I set a new goal - November 15, and let's keep our fingers crossed, shall we?

It figures that I wouldn't be able to write with a deadline looming. This just shows how much success I'd have as a full-time writer. Zero.

It's like in school when they make you read (and write reports on) books you don't like or profoundly hate. You know you have to do it or risk flunking, yet you so don't want to and drag your feet about it, hoping there will be an earthquake or a similar disaster and you wouldn't have to set foot into school.

Well, this is me when faced with a goal to reach while writing. I love to write, I'd want nothing better than to finish the story, yet just the word deadline or goal pulls my break and I just can't keep going.

But I am quite pleased with myself. I got another wisdom tooth pulled and half of my face looked like a bizarrely shaped balloon, so I have to stay home for a week, eat ice-cream, and do the darnedest to entertain myself.
So, tired of watching soaps all day, I finally picked up my laptop (thank the Providence for inspiring me to buy one) and started typing. Bang, 10k in one afternoon. I'm not sure it's any good - we'll see in editing, but I'm so proud of myself right now, I cannot describe it.

Although, I have discovered a certain sadistic streak inside me. Okay, so we'd all stepped on an ant or two when we were kids, and I have killed many a spider in my day, but the stuff I put in this book of mine - whew!
It will have to have a special warning for those with weak stomach not to read. And maybe a shrink out there will say that my subconscious is trying to tell me something. Hmmm.

Amazing, that after a little more than a quarter of a century I still manage to surprise myself.

My resolution was effective

Yes, I'm back. And I have very, very, very good news. The borrowed laptop worked like a charm and I wrote more in four days than I did in the last two months. I'm so excited you cannot even imagine.

So, since the laptop thing worked, I went and bought one. Not only am I super excited about this coming weekend (I do hope to put in more writing hours), but I also nailed it with the color. It came to my attention because it was the only silver one in the line of black laptops, and the woman that I am I fixated on that color difference like a hound. Then the store owner, a really nice guy that also helped me chose the "tabletop" I'm currently using to write this post, closed the little machine and the cover was light violet with small darker flowers. Apparently the color is called "Blossom".

I'm not really a pink/violet person, but it was just so utterly cute I had to have it (and apparently no one wanted to buy it just because of that particular "girly" color - and I'm a sucker for the outcasts).

Now, I'm faced with yet another problem and this one's much bigger than mere writer's block or whatever the hell I'm experiencing lately.

I just realized my apartment has huge voltage problems. So huge in fact not even a stabilizer can solve - it is a nifty little thing, but it just cannot work miracles. My apartment building is apparently at the end of the line (one of many in my town's power grid) and there are just a little too many consumers hanging onto the same line, resulting in my having extremely low voltage.
The "tabletop" simply shuts down - on good days. On the bad ones (many of those) it just refuses to boot up.

I'm all battle ready for tomorrow and my visit to the electric company. Since the voltage stabilizer doesn't help, it means the difference is more than legally-permitted 5%.
Oh yeah, I'm ready to kick some serious electrical butt if they don't fix it!

Updated on 09/26/2008:
It is NOT a voltage problem. I checked! The voltage is utterly normal.

It's my computer that's dying a slow and extremely agonizing death. I guess it was providence that made me buy my blossom-colored laptop.

Zealous resolution

This is the final weekend I'll be able to entirely dedicate to writing, since Monday I start "school" again and there won't be much free moments from then on. So I decided to square my shoulders and (at least attempt to) finish The Phoenix.

Working toward that goal, I borrowed a laptop (yes, I still use the old-fashioned "tabletop", but I have all intention of purchasing a laptop soon), forsake Internet for a weekend (it's a distraction), and stay cooped up inside my apartment (if I face away from the window maybe I won't notice what a nice day it is outside).

No matter what it takes, I will write more than a couple of lines. I solemnly swear!

I'll tell you how it went on Monday. Cross my heart.

Blockage ranting

I had an epiphany this week. On Thursday, I think. ... I'm stuck. Yet again.

Yup, I have the writer's block. Although not the real thing, mind you. I'm not experiencing the temporary loss of ability to begin or continue writing, usually due to lack of inspiration or creativity. I'm just lazy. I know exactly how the story should evolve, have everything planned in my head, but just don't find the "oomph" to put it all on screen.

And I finally figured out why that is.

Usually I write the whole story and then bang my head against the wall in search of an appropriate title. Then I use the first that comes to mind, because all others are even lamer than the first, and then I bang my head against my desk trying to create a decent cover.

In The Phoenix's case the title came easily, the cover even easier, and apparently my fuddled brain registered this as the finishing process and now I'm stuck in the middle of the story without an incentive to keep going.

I even downloaded the writing report card from Zokutou hoping it might "spur" me into action. Alas, it didn't work.

I'm sick of ice-cream

As it happens occasionally, it's once again time for a feel-sorry-for-myself post. It has nothing to do with writing, editing, publisher-hunting... In short, it's not book related. I just need an outlet for my inner turmoil.

My current turmoil is mildly inner and mostly outer, since I'm moaning my butt off. My mandibular third molars a.k.a. wisdom teeth have chosen this year to take a look at the world, and apparently they don't have much space to take that look, hence it's an all clear sale in my mouth, just to be safe. Two months ago, I had one pulled and everything was just hunky-dory.

Yeah, right. One down, three to go.

And those three are not as accommodating as the first was.

Today, for example, I had one of those pesky three left surgically removed. The stitches are coming out next week. At first I didn't feel a thing - duh! - but after the local anesthesia wore off... Ooh, boy.

Half of my face is swollen, it hurts to open my mouth, and I'm considering getting a bib, my jaw hurts, and I keep brushing against the stitches with the edge of my tongue. And I have a nasty suspicion my eye is going to hurt like hell in the evening.

So basically, I have to keep my mouth shut, my family and friends love that one, and ice-packs on my cheek to keep the swelling down - good luck with that one, I already look like a balloon.

So why the strange post title? Well, the only thing that numbs the pain - besides painkillers, which are scheduled just before bed time, I don't want to get too high - is ice-cream. Gallons of it. I've probably gulped down more ice-cream today than in my whole lifetime, and I'm pretty sure the ice-cream industry will owe its annual profits solely to me. My hips and bum are already protesting and the ice-cream has long ago lost its taste, but I'm stubbornly hanging on.

So yeah, I'm having one heck of a day.

Mid-August update

It's been more than two weeks since I last posted anything, so I figured I should at least let you know I was alive.

I'm alive.

And since I've been promising it for a while now, here's the Shadow of Revenge teaser.

Despite its length it's a teaser, since it shows only a little part of the story. There is more to it, trust me.


So what I've been doing lately? Beside catching up on my reading, I've been writing again. I'm in the middle of a medieval novella. I know medieval isn't exactly my favorite era, with all the hard work going into taking off the armor and the chain mall (*wink*), but still I'm quite excited with how the story is progressing.

Yes, knowing me, I'll develop a block the size of Mt. Everest and the whole deal will extend beyond the novella word-count, but I'm trying to stay optimistic.

I already have two possible covers planned. You can tell me which one you prefer.

I'm partial to the first one.

A reader's "rant"

The reading challenge is over. It ended sooner that I thought it would, since it’s been quite a long time since I’ve read anything longer than a chapter or two. I realized when it comes to books I’m terrible at multitasking. I cannot read multiple books simultaneously and I cannot read and write at the same time, which IMO is good, since it would be a real feat not to incorporate what I’m reading into what I’m writing.

Funny, since I’ve decided to dedicate this summer to writing and not reading, a certain book released in three days notwithstanding. But since I wanted to be up to date when it hits the shelves I had to catch up.

Then I discovered a great site http://www.goodreads.com where readers exchange book recommendations and reviews, and now I’m slowly but steadily “filling up” my virtual bookshelves (I have a long way to go before I succeed) and reading everything I’ve had on standby since last year. I’m lazy, I know!

Also, I’m working on my book reviewing skills which I’ve been lacking my first years on Amazon when all I could write was “cool book” or “so not worth the money”. Well, I still do that, but at least I’m trying to argument my choices. *wink*

Anyway, I have no idea why I’m even writing this. Maybe because this blog looks a little sad and desolate with my damn sporadic updates.

I just wanted to brag about my reading achievements, since I pulled the reading challenge from the sidebar.

And I wanted to tell you I’m squealing with glee because there are only three more days until the release of Acheron. *drool* I’m all set to go, with extra boxes of tissues just in case. I’m also squeezing in some extra hours of sleep every night so I’ll be able to read it all in one sitting. I’ve even warned by friends and family not to call me or, heaven forbid, come to visit.

Musical musing

I finally figured out why I disliked (read: hated) the teaser I’ve made for Shadow of Revenge. The music!

I’m a sucker for music. I listen to any genre, even metal if the mood strikes. (Metal is especially good for those times when I just have to scream my lungs out.) Anyway, I’m a big music fan, and when it comes to classics even a little bit of a nerd. Music is my constant companion, if I don’t have my iPod with me, a normal (web)radio station will do. A couple of days ago a co-worker suggested I visit this site http://musicovery.com/index.php?ct=us. There’s a widget that lets you chose genre, mood and decade, and based on your choice, you get a selection of tracks (with optional buy links, iTunes included).

Anyway, I spent last week hitting my head against the wall trying to pinpoint the perfect background music that would let my teaser video shine. I visited various royalty-free music websites, downloaded a s***-load of tunes, yet nothing.

Saturday I met a friend of mine for ice-coffee (don’t you just love summer?) and we were talking of men and the trouble they bring, our usual rant, when his cell starts ringing. And it was the most beautiful ringtone I’ve ever heard. It was a little sad, really, highly strange for a ringtone, but that’s how eccentrics are. I immediately demanded to know what the title was, but he had no idea. Apparently it’s been passed from cell to cell, and I certainly didn’t want to stand out. He sent it to me, and as soon as I came home, I saved it on my PC, and proceeded with embellishing my video with it.

The rest is history.

And I love it. ;)

New look and (new) content

Yay! The website has a new look (again). It's still in the dark lavender hues that I love, and aside from a few new JS gizmos it's pretty much the same.

I have added an exclusive sneak peek for Shadow of Revenge, that you can read on the book page. There's also a short list of songs I most listened to while writing it. And as you know it'll be released somewhere in the fall of this year. I'll hopefully soon upload the teaser video I've been promising you, though re-watching it a couple of time, I must say I'm pretty disappointed by how it turned up. I guess I have a lot of tweaking ahead of me, before it's ready to be released.

I've been thinking of submitting Christmas Love for a seasonal romance line with an e-publisher. I'm not sure about it, because it is quite short (less than 7k), and though I adore such short nibblets, I'm not sure a publisher would go for such a short word count. Well, the deadline is September 1, so I have a little more than a month to think about it. What do you think?

An update

I know the postings on this blog – or lack of them – might suggest that either the owner has fallen off the face of the Earth, died, or is not a very serious person. Well, I’m sorry to have to contradict you, but I’m still on this planet – at least my body is, I’m not dead (yet), and I’m quite a dedicated person when I set my mind to it. My main problem is an acute and serious lack of time.

Now I’ve finally gotten over the exam period, for this year at least, and tidied up some ends in a fandom community, which enables me to focus more on my career in writing original work. And with the free time and fandom obligations behind me, the muse finally peeked up from underneath of layers of paperwork and study books, and my mind is once more brimming with ideas that are clamoring to be put down on paper – figuratively speaking.
There are so many, in fact, I’m struggling to keep up.

In this last month I suffered of a over my pseudo-obsession with anything Gone With the Wind and Scarlett related. The whole shebang started in the qualifiers of the European World Cup, when instead of suffering through the Dutch and Italian debacle against Russia and Spain, I opted for watching the Hollywood classic (it’s been cut in half due to the length, so it was a two-nighter). I was hooked.
I remember watching it when I was much younger, and the only scene that had stuck – and also my favorite - was the “pre-ravishing”, when Rhett carries a kicking and squirming Scarlett up the stairs into darkness…
I couldn’t resist, so I bought the 4-disc special DVD collection, the book (1.482 pages!), and the sequel, Scarlett, both the book and DVD, which I fear will soon start to skip due to excess watching.
Now, after having been inspired to use the main characters’ names in a story I’m currently in the middle of planning, and having watched a movie (instead of Scarlett) last night on TV, I can safely say the obsession is over.

Now, hopefully, I’ll finally manage to finish preparing Shadow of Revenge for publication – I already have a teaser trailer ready, I’m just trying to figure out whether include a narration or not. Sometime this weekend I’ll put up the teaser trailer and an excerpt (which will also be featured on the website), so you’ll know what to expect. I’ve given it a lot of thought of late and am considering changing the title, but I have absolutely no clue what to use instead. It’s easier just writing the damn stuff than coming up with a decent title.

I also have an idea for a four-book paranormal series in my head that just won’t let me be. I know I swore never to write paranormals, because of the fear I could never rise to the challenge, and the fact that everything’s already been written, but I just can’t help myself. I have to try, and if I crash and burn, then it was never meant to be. I sure have read enough books in the genre to at least know where to begin.

I'm not dead yet

Don't worry, I haven't traveled into space or another dimension. I'm still comfortably on the face of the Earth, and I am alive and quite well.
The reason I haven't been around lately is the fact that I've been away for three weeks and since my return I've been just trying to catch up with everything, from work to classes (yes, I've gone back to school, sort of), and life in general.

Where was I?
Well, I spent three weeks in Mexico, simply enjoying the hell out of myself. It's not Egypt, I'll tell you that, but it beats the hell out of China everyday. The people are uber-nice (especially since I speak the language), there are ancient ruins everywhere you turn, they have a special telenovela channel (not that I watched), the males of the species are hotties... and the Caribbean is so cerulean blue it hurts your eyes.

And of course, after a three month writing drought, a breakthrough happened on the bus in the middle of the Mexican rain forest, while our guide was talking about the Zapatist movement, and I had absolutely nothing to write the words in my head down... Except my cell phone, and trust me, it's a pain writing a novel in SMS form.

And of course, since my return, I'm back in the stalemate that is my writing life. Hopefully after this year's last exam, the floodgates will open once again and I'll be able to write more than just a blog post.
[And she hangs her head in shame.]

I'm sure (some of) you must be wondering, what is going on with the three books that are in the "Upcoming" section of my website. Those eagle-eyed among you have probably noticed the strange occurrence that's changed the scheduled release dates into "TBA". Well, my authorial life is in a great crisis, so I decided to put everything on hold for a while, because only one book is really finished (and finally self-edited).
When I have more time, I'll submit it to a flesh-and-blood proof-reader for those last tweaks, so at least I won't have to be embarrassed by my lack of grammatical excellence.

So Shadow of Revenge will probably hit the scene in late summer, because to tell you the truth I also have no promotional material ready as of this moment.
[Once again, she hangs her head in shame, since it was due for release two months ago.]

Now I really have to go back to studying macroeconomics. :(

So...

It's almost impossible to believe Shadow of Revenge should've been released this month. And I'm so far behind the final edits the certainty of its release in April is slowly turning into mere hope.

But I'm extremely glad it's taking so long. I've deleted quite a few paragraphs that had nothing at all to do with the story and I sure have no idea why I wrote them in the first place. Some say it's tough editing you own work… It's not. Well, not too much, anyway.

My advice (actually I read it somewhere and I must say it works): once you write the book – personally I don't do drafts, it is what it is – put it in the lower drawer for a few months, even better, for a year. Once you forget the little details (I know you think that could never happen, but give it a try – you'll be able to look at your writing with fresh eyes, so to speak.

Anyway, I'm on chapter 17 (out of 27) and I do hope I'll be able to read it through by the end of the month, so I'll be able to post an excerpt or two. And let's not forget the trailer.

Why do we even bother with mature content warnings?

Don't be alarmed by the strange title - I'm absolutely pro mature content warnings. But I am strictly against those who don't adhere to them. If you're not old enough to read such content don't read it, that's what the whole thing is all about.

I decided to write this down, because I've recently posted a story on a site that doesn't have a very good mature content policy. When someone attempts to read a chapter (story) rated R or NC-17 a nice warning box pops up and all you have to do to access the mature content is click on the OK button claiming you're over 18 years old.

But what if you're not?

Apparently they don't care.

Nice.

So why am I worrying? It's not my site, not my rules. I wrote the darn thing, posted it with a clear mature content warning... From now on it's the site administrator's job to look out for youngsters who think are old enough to read… or even better, understand the plot and all its subtle nuances.

Okay, so go ahead and read it. But please, please, don't leave feedback for Pete's sake (commenting is for subscribers only). Because if you haven't figured it out, when you leave a comment, it's pretty clear who wrote it and everyone can access your profile and see exactly how old you are and that you have absolutely no business reading chapters or stories with mature content.

And now I finally get to the point. The story I wrote is edgy and filled to the top with angst, pretty explicit sex and extremely crude language, and the rating is an adequate NC-17. A recent chapter was a lengthy (2k words) bedroom scene. Two people letting go, forgetting the everyday worries, stress, and disillusionment for one steamy night.

What bothered me was a 16-year-old (at least two years below the age limit) leaving a comment as to how evident the difference between having sex and making love was, that sex without love was disgusting, that the two seemed wild animals...

Hmm. And here I thought nowadays teenagers were a lot more open-minded and educated in the sex department.

Call me nuts, call me easy if you want, but I never thought I had to be in love with a guy to have a one-night stand or summer fling.

Isn't sex mostly about scratching an itch, blow out some steam? Love sure doesn't hurt in the matter, but since when is it an essential factor?

If teenagers think they're old enough to read such things, I'd expect them to be mature enough to also understand what they're reading about. Not everything is black and white, there's a great, and extremely interesting, area of different hues of gray in between.

And the post end where it began: why do we even bother with mature content warnings if they don't pay attention?

Dream sequence - part deux

This dream is starting to slowly freak me out. It's not only a dream any more, it's a dream serial. Every night it starts from where it ended the last and I still remember every single detail. If I continue like this it's going to turn into the next Santa Barbara.

And I'm still trying to figure out where it all came from. The setting, the characters... The plot. I still don't remember any books or movies with this kind of plot and the few people I talked about it, don't seem to recall anything similar, either.

Maybe it's a sign...

Dream sequence

I had quite an interesting dream last night. My dreams usually involve me in the setting of a movie I've recently seen or book I've recently read... Or it involves me and some hunky actor or fictional male character from a book. Acheron Parthenopaeus, anyone? (I can't wait for the book to be released!)

Moving on...

This dream was completely different from them all. For starters I wasn't in it, there was no one I could possibly know (co-worker, friend, ex etc.), the setting wasn't from any book or movie, at least I don't recall it. And the story was something I've never heard of, again, at least I don't recall.

And what made it different from the rest was the fact I still remember it clearly. Usually I wake up and in a few minutes the dream is just a foggy memory that vanishes in an hour or so. Yet, I remember every single detail of last night's dream, every word, every name, everything.

Which is good, because I started writing it down. Yeah, I know, big surprise there, huh? Of course, I'm bound to change something, to write something a little differently than it happened, but that's what we do. It's who we are.

We create, we imagine, we write... We dream.

"Funny" word meter

Okay, so you're probably wondering what does that strange number sequence mean in the word meter for Shadow of Revenge.

Well, I'm currently in the middle of the last edit, that's why the release date has been pushed into April, and I'm competing against myself to bring the word count down from the 111k and more. I don't think I'm particularly efficient at the moment (at the beginning of chapter 8 out of 27), since the moment I delete (or cut) a paragraph, I add the double to the next.

And just thinking of the next month, the preparations for the release, makes my head ache. The layout, deciding whether to stick with the current cover, trailer (right pictures, right words, right music)...

Somewhere in the middle of March I'll have the blurb ready and polished, and maybe an excerpt or two to whet your appetite. ;)

I need time

Cause I just need time,
My heart is numb has no feeling,
So while I'm still healing,
Just try, and have a little patience

Why I started with this verse? If I only knew.

I've been listening to this song the other night, while driving home. I didn't take the highway, I prefer secondary roads, the winding the better. I enjoy driving, especially at night, when there's no one honking the horn behind me because I drive slower than the speed limit.

So I was driving at night on a plateau road, there was the full moon making everything look like it was made of molten silver… There was no one but me, my car, and an easy-music radio.

And then Patience comes on and I listened to the lyrics. I mean, really listened to the lyrics, which I don't have time to do during the day, at work or later at home, because I just have a million different things to do. So I listened to the words to this song and something clicked.

Don't ask me what it was, I'm not sure of it myself, but it felt like Gary was singing about me, about my life, about this moment I'm in. I am still healing. My heart is numb. I am numb.

The song ended and another one started, but I just couldn't get the lyrics out of my head. That verse. That damned verse. And I started thinking and wondering just how the hell I got to this point. How did I get here? Why did I get here? How in the world did my life turn this way? At which point did I turn the wrong way in one of the many crossovers in my life?

How can a person not know that they're numb, that their emotions just sort of shut off, took a vacation?

How come I didn't see it before, know it before? Why did it take a pop song to kick my eyes wide open, so to speak?

It's been like this for more than two years now. God, I haven't realized it's been so long ago. It seems yesterday. Sure, I might have deluded myself that everything was fine, that I was fine, that I was over it. But the truth is, I'm far from fine, I'm far from over it. Back then I kept screaming at myself to cry, just get it out of my system, get back on my feet, react. And I did. I swallowed that lump of grief and joined the living again.

Or so I thought.

In fact, I've been living in a limbo. A limbo of coldness. A limbo of numbness, of no feeling, no emotion.

And I need to react again, for real this time. I have to start feeling again. I need to start feeling again.

It's been two years since I last cried. Not even my favorite book can make me do it, not a movie, not a letter. Nothing. I though it was a sign of strength. I thought this was a clear sign that I was back, that I was strong.

But it isn't. This inability to cry is a sign of weakness. I'm weak. I'm afraid. I'm afraid to face facts. I'm afraid to look the truth in the eye. I'm afraid of what I feel, so I block it all inside, building a wall between myself and the rest of the world.

I know that what keeps me from opening up, from crying, from showing my true emotions, what I truly feel, is fear of what might happen. Not might, what will happen. I know I'd break down and I never showed this kind of weakness to anyone.

I guess I just need time. Time to cope, time to heal, time to think.

Cause I just need time,
My heart is numb has no feeling,
So while I'm still healing,
Just try, and have a little patience

I wash my hands off IE

THAT'S IT!
I'm sick and tired of IE and its burps and farts. Lately I cannot seem to open a page without getting a warning about a security risk to my computer. Even Amazon seems to plot against my PC's safety.

And don't get me started on how I sweated blood for IE (version lower than 7 to be precise) to properly render the alpha transparency of the PNGs on my website. And when I finally did it, the css doesn't validate. Of course it doesn't validate if I have to use some hacky coding to have a decent looking website in IE.

From now on, I'll be using IE only when strictly necessary (like some online language courses - I speak from recent experience) and at work obviously, since apparently our ITs haven't heard of Firefox before.
I bet they all use it at home, though. Sneaky bastards. ;)

I just noticed - Firefox seems to spot little typos as I write, I don't even have to use the spell checker. Cool.
Oh, and the add-on themes are awesome, too. I'm using the 300-based one and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

Why haven't I thought of this rant before? Gee, I don't know. I grew up using the Netscape navigator, which always crashed whenever I visited my mom at work to use it, then I finally got a decent computer that's been able to sustain the Internet connection and stuck with IE, because the only time I tried Firefox it seemed a little slow and lazy... And I hated the look - so dull and gray. Who knew about the add-on themes

Yes, go ahead and sue me for being stupid. It certainly won't be the first time. ;P

Short update

Don't worry, I'm still among the living and I haven't met a handsome hunk that would sweep me off my feet and carry me into the sunset... yet.
I've just been out of town for a few days. Spending New Year's in Vienna, attending the famous Wiener Philharmoniker Neujahrskonzert. I had the amazing luck to get the tickets. I've been trying to for years - ever since I was old enough to be able to go to Vienna all by my lonesome. And the wait finally paid off.
Especially when the two ballet dancers came strolling (dancing) in at the end of the On the Beautiful Blue Danube. I've been watching them dance to the tune for years and right this year they come dancing into the hall. Woohoo!

In other news... there are no other news at the present.
I started on the umpteenth edit of Shadow of Revenge and I'll hopefully have it finished by the release date, which is approximately in March of this year. Keep your fingers crossed.
I have so many books in writing at the moment, I cannot seem to concentrate on one in particular and finish it. Shoot!
I once again picked up the first book in the first series I'm planning. A mix of romance, thriller, action, and drama. The best kind of mix, don't you think.
I don't know whether I'll concentrate on a specific character (as I've been planning since the idea popped up in my mind), o choose something else. It's all still in plotting diapers so far. But the story is all done and finished - in my head. Now the tricky part is to put it all together on paper and make it look "normal" and readable.

It'll also be a week straight out of my worst nightmare at work. You know how it is. You return from a short vacation, your desk is filled with papers, you have loads of phone calls to return, the boss wants to see you ASAP, one of your co-workers gets the PMS... And all this in the first half hour and you still have seven and a half hours to go.
Needless to say I felt like I've been hit by a double decker as I returned home. The bed looks so inviting and yet I have so much to do before I can crash.

I can't wait for the weekend.