Shopping

How I hate shopping for clothes. Let me count the ways.....and yes I know in this respect I am the dream woman for a guy - sadly in few others since I don't like cooking or cleaning either. So -where was I? Oh yes, counting the ways....
Too many people
Nowhere to park
Lines to pay
Never got my size
Too much choice
Actually I think the last is the biggest issue for me. There is nothing more guaranteed to make me turn and walk out than mile after mile of clothes. Because the moment that happens, I'm too overwhelmed to look. I have an similar issue in book stores. Shelf after shelf of books I'd probably like - so how do I choose a new author to try? I tire of reading blurbs. I know better than to rely on covers. I avoid those writers who have their own little - or not so little section all to themselves. I like word of mouth suggestions, though not all have been successful and then sometimes I just find a gem where I wouldn't have expected it. I found a Jo Goodman book in a mainly clothes store and now I have a whole list of books to shop for instead of boring clothes. Yippee.

Tricky Middles

So I got past the hump of the start and now I'm moving at slightly faster than a snail's pace. I think what has happened, is that this book is different. The characters have much deeper problems than I'd anticipated so the story is a little more intense. But since I've now read 21 books - I guess I'm still reading more than writing. My husband is still reading the book he brought on vacation but as he always says - he reads ALL the words.

Difficult beginnings

I don't know why but I am having all sorts of issues with the start of my new story. For once, I have more of a handle on what drives the characters but I just can't seem to push the story forward. I do write better in the cold and I am in the sun at the moment which may well have something to do with it. Since I arrived here on vacation a week ago, I've read twelve books and written 6,000 words which is pathetic. Well not the books though some of them were pathetic. I'm getting choosier and choosier about what I buy now but I still make mistakes. One is by a big name and I've loved the other stories she's written but I couldn't get to grips with this one. It was so aggressive - the plot, the language, the characters - it was just too much for me. On the other hand - simpy, wimpy, sweet romances do nothing for me either. I like something in between - hard heroes but ones with a soft side. Plucky heroines but ones with need for a guy - or two. Not tried three yet!!!
Well, if the sun doesn't shine tomorrow, maybe I'll actually make some headway.

Chosen accepted for publication!!

Yippee. My psychological suspense novel - Chosen - has been accepted for publication by Decadent Publishing. I'm thrilled to bits. It's a dark story of revenge and how far people will go in pursuit of that. This will be my first venture into this genre - though I do have two similar novels sitting in the bottom of my closet that I doubt will ever see the light of day and one on my laptop about the Russian Mafiya - that might!

DJ Jackson's new book out today!

My friend Dawn has a great book out today!! Two stories from Passion in Print.

I was lucky enough to read the early drafts of these stories and they're great. Dawn is a really talented writer!!

http://www.passioninprint.com/ShowBook.php?CR=DLJBLOWNAWAY

Four soldiers face alien threats in these two erotic tales of explosive romance.

Detonate

Alice MacKay can't keep up with all the bomb threats in Trios Port. When Boomer, a former Terran Marine with more than a healthy dose of arrogance, strolls into her office for an interview, she can't get rid of him fast enough. But disarming bombs is easier than disarming amorous Marines. When Boomer decides to stick around, MacKay wonders if she's met her match.

Happy Trails

Jenna's been infatuated with Tyson Rivers since she boarded the mining ship, but the scoop's explosive ordnance officer doesn't seem to know she's there. Too shy to introduce herself, she decides to snoop in his personnel file instead. When Tyson catches her digging, he realizes he's not the only one feeling the attraction, but could his tactics to get her alone end with a bigger bang than he expected?

A Sookie-fest

I've just finished reading nine books in the Sookie Stackhouse series - up to Dead and Gone - one after the other. In my mixed up way - I'd already read three of them before - out of sequence - well I think it was three, my memory is terrible. But anyway - I've now read them properly in order and I really enjoyed the experience. I'd liked the ones I'd read before but nowhere near as much as I did as when they became part of the longer story. This time I was IN that world, with Sookie and Eric and Bill and the rest. Maybe it helped that having seen Trueblood series one and two on the TV, I put faces to the names and was able more easily to picture the sultry Louisiana environment. Not that Ms Harris doesn't do a great job of painting that picture, she does, but combine the two together and I'm now a big fan.