Book Review - not from me!

Here's where I say my bit about not being a book review site: lots of sites in cyberland that do it far better than I, blah blah blah...

But I have to say, after having my socks knocked off with M.A. Everaux 'The Claiming of Moira Shine', I decided to check out the only other story she has in the Ellora's Cave catalogue. 'North Wolf' is about weres, so there is no chance I would have bought it had I just been browsing for a book to read. Creature stories really aren't my thing,... at least I thought they weren't! I must admit, I was hooked on it from page 1, perhaps to a lesser degree than 'Moria Shine', but her story had me intrigued enough to stay up way past my bedtime. Her characters are powerful and frightening, yet vulnerable and sweet. Apparently (according to my secret sources bwahahahah) it was her first story, had major edits/rewrites, but it paid off for her bigtime. And although a 'North Wolf' is an engagingly good story, you can see by comparison the polish and shine she applied to her sophmore effort.
I'm looking forward to a 'North Wolf' spinoff with the alpha wolf's brother as the hero. Are you listening M.A.??

PS - Meh! The cover just doesn't do the story justice, either.

Tagged by T.L.: 5 things about moi!

I've been tagged by my *bff* Thomma Lynn, aka Jenny Acey (I'm still holding my sides over that one, TL!) to post FIVE THINGS PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME. Here goes:

1. Wylie Kinson is not my real name.

2. No matter how much I advance plan, I'm always 10 minutes late... and I hate myself for it. I blame it on having lived in Bermuda for so long -- Bermudians are mostly always late.

3. I have a tattoo. A small Canadian maple leaf on my left hip -- my own little 'made in Canada' tag.

4. I have no patience for ignorance and truly believe that I am the smartest person in my extended family. My husband would disagree.

5. When I read, the voice in my head has a very snobby British accent. (Except when I read T.L.'s blog -- then I've got Dolly Parton up there *hee*)

Hmmm,... whom will I tag? How 'bout new visitor to my site, Christine!

Is you're inner writer MALE or FEMALE?

This is the coolest little thing - do try it. The Gender Genie analizes your blogpost, fiction or non-fiction writing samples and can tell if you're a male or female by the words used. (thanks to Thomma Lyn whose site I stole the link from - hee!)

According to their 'scientific methods', the blog I posted earlier today qualifies me as a male. Clearly, I wrote it with the right side of my brain (wtf?!) while the first chapter of my novella catagorizes me as a female writer. Aha! Got me. Then I got crafty and entered a scene from the novella that's supposed to be from the hero's point of view and the results indicated I'm still a female. Wow, that was a blow. I thought I wrote from a guy's pov pretty well. Guess I'm wrong. I need to get in touch with my maleness. Clearly, I need to see the Bond flick again *grinning*.

Dream E-Pub Shows 99.9% Interest - WooHoo

Dream e-publisher emailed me last week re 'The Color of Passion' and gave me a revise and resubmit. This is very good news. Dream editor said she's almost 99% sure of publishing the story if I make the changes. This is very very very good news. Dream editor also said wonderfully kind words about my writing which came on the heels of the very bad BAM review so my wounded ego has healed nicely.
Here's the challenge re the R&R: It needs more s.e.x. If I can throw in additional two or more sex scenes AND spice up the ones that are already in there, it will be published by their erotica line.
Option two is leave the sexy parts as they are then submit to their romance line, but the romance line doesn't do novella's so I would have to almost double the length of the ms to make the 50K word limit.
Now, you're probably thinking - 'This is a no-brainer... go with option one: more sex scenes!' But that my friends, is not easy. The kinky stuff must enhance the story, move the plot forward; gratutious sex just doesn't cut-it, especially if it compromises the characters.
The third option being, of course, go with another publisher. But I really really want to get in Dream Publisher's door for a few reasons (which I won't get into unless the story is sold and I can reveal who Dream Pub is). AND, they want me to change the title because the word 'Passion' is very overused. I'm very okay with this. I wasn't really married to the title. I've thrown around a few ideas and this is the top three:
Destiny by Design (or Designing Destiny), Wet Paint, Brush Strokes. Any of em grab you?

I rec'd the email last weekend but haven't blogged about the *GREAT NEWS* because I was undecided on my approach. This is what I've decided:
I've been making copious notes on how to add subplots, plot twists and incidental scenes that provide richness to the characters -- but I'm not rewriting the story just yet. I am, in fact, going with option one - throwing in more and longer steamy scenes. It's very difficult, but seemed the surest way to go. In the event that it compromises the integrity of the story, I'll make the decision to rewrite or send to another pub. In any case, I've had sex on the brain for a week and seeing Daniel Craig as James Bond certainly helped the creative process!!

Craig, Daniel Craig

Just saw Casino Royale and though I was sceptical about this new Daniel Craig fella, I must say he' s da bomb! (sorry, Sean)
He had me from the first scene - he's fierce, craggy and completely believable in the role. He makes Pierce and Roger look like spy parodies and imho, he even beats Sean on the role.
He's not a good looking man compared to the ilk of Brad, Matt D, etc... but he's got sex appeal to the nth degree and a body that took my breath away. He plays a convincing fight scene, is stellar to watch in the action bits and oh, did I mention sexy?
The opening credits were meh. The song was fine, but the classic Bond opening with the dancing nude silhouettes wasn't up to par.
As for the movie -- it's wins the 'Wylie Award' for best script, action, evil dudes, and femmes... because it wasn't over-the-top ridiculous and only one scene suffered from gaget-itis, and even that wasn't bad. No hokey names for the females, either. And only a few ridiculous one-liners, but because there were so few, those few worked. (did ya follow that?)
The audience was filled with teenagers, so naturally I expected unnessessary chatter, giggling and cell-phone ringing but I was proven so very wrong. You could have heard a pin drop in the theatre for the entire two and a half hours (except for the requisite 'oohs' and 'aahs'), and the theater exploded into applause at the end of the movie! I haven't seen that since,... since,... well, I can't remember because it's been so long.

Daniel Craig as Bond will surely give me days of inspiration for writing romance/erotica - yee haw!

"Moira Shine" Sizzles!

Oh, mama...
Just read M.A. Everaux's "The Claiming of Moira Shine" (Ellora's Cave) and yikes, it was sizzling.
I've said it many times before - this ain't a book review blog... there are too many out there doing it much better than I ever could, but trust me when I say: Read this book. And be prepared to take a cold shower when you're done. Ms. Everaux only has one other book on EC, which I fully intend to buy once I come down from "Moira Shine", but I'll look out for her in the future - for sure.

Damn it Ellis! Let me sleep!!

"Damn it, Ellis!" Simon shook his head in a mixture of longing and disgust...

It's 6:06 in the am and I barely slept a wink all night.
Last night, before I finally went to bed at midnight, the heroine of The Color of Passion (which I am currently revising for dream editor) told the hero that she didn't want to be involved, and the 'damn it, Ellis' line was the best I could come up with in response.
Lame.
I knew it was time to go to bed, knew that the inkwell of wonderful, witty, sexually-tense dialogue had dried up for the day. I yawned, stretched, fed the cat, and turned on the tv to catch the tail end of Leno (with the purpose of erasing any story thoughts from my mind).
Sadly, sleep didn't come. I tossed, turned, fluffed, got and extra pillow, had a sip of water, rubbed cream on my feet... but I couldn't get these characters out of my head. They remained locked in the room, staring each other down, searching for appropriate words to say to one another. They argued at 1:30, woke me up at 2:30 with their passionate, anger-driven kisses, sniped at each other at 4:00. When I looked at my clock again, it read 5:17 and he was feeling her up (where did that come from?)!!. Finally, at 6:00, my pussy cat woke me up (I mean this literally, of course) to be let out.
Oh, damn it. Who needs sleep, anyway?
The trouble is, I am now sitting at my computer, the house is quiet, kids are fast asleep, cat is outside and hubby's snoring has ceased (making me wonder if he is indeed dead), and I'm too bloody tired to write this scene! ARRGGG!

Come on in, we're OPEN

Ahhh, the wonderful ritual of a Sunday. Get out of bed, make a large batch of fluffy pancakes and smother them in maple syrup (the real stuff, not the Aunt Jemima crap), take a long hot shower and dress in my Sunday finest. Then it's off to meet the rest of the devotees in the congregation.... at Costco.
Yes, some folk go to church on Sundays; I take my kids (in matching outfits) to retail heaven. It's our ritual and we love it.
Costco opens at 10am sharp and if you're not there on time, (with the goal of getting in and out in an hour) it becomes so swamped with the after-church crowd that heaven turns quickly into hell. One time I overslept and didn't make it to Costco until 11:30. I could barely move my cart, the free-sample ladies couldn't keep up with the demand so I had to forego the ethereal pleasure of tasting the feta & spinach sausage AND the freshly baked short breads, then I was faced with the 25 minute pergatory of a check-out line, with my two and six year old boys (which is its own special form of hell).
So yesterday, with my visiting in-laws in tow, (I had been urging them to get dressed since 9am lest we arrive late and miss the sermon, *ahem*, samples), I made the weekly jaunt with mile long shopping list and applicable coupons. Headed straight to the office supply aisle for batteries (48 Kirkland double A's only $16.00!!!) and noticed an item that caught my eye; an 'OPEN' sign. It was beautiful. The letters were in bright red neon, encircled in a vibrant electric blue oval. I wanted it. I wanted it bad.
I couldn't believe that just anybody, ANYBODY, could waltz in a buy an OPEN sign. Would I have to prove I was a business owner to the check-out clerk? Would the manager come and question my intentions? "What will you do with it?" he/she would ask with furrowed brow. "An OPEN sign bears a significant amount of responsibility. You must turn it on only when you're open and remember to turn it off when you're closed. Do you understand? You mustn't mislead the public with such a powerful device. It's not fair to the general population to advertise OPEN when you are indeed CLOSED."
But alas, I'm not a business owner. Would it cause any harm if I just put it in my living room window and turned it on occassionally? Would people stop their cars and knock on my front door? Would I be obliged to keep my door unlocked?
I could offer tea. I could just listen to people's problems. I could present them with a bill. I could let them browse my eclectic collection of paperbacks. Would it offend them if I first made them take off their shoes?
I'm going to mull this over a bit -- before next Sunday when I'll be forced to look at the enticing OPEN sign once more. Maybe I should call Andy Rooney. He's good with stuff like this.

Small print for a small day.

I'm feeling very small today. Bam reviewed 'Bella Fiore' and was not kind. I truthfully did not expect the review to be THAT bad, but it was scathing and it really hurt my feelings. Foolish, I know. It's one person's opinion, blah blah blah... but quite honestly, I held back the tears and bit my lip til it bled while reading it. So I felt a bit bruised for a few days but in the end, had to admit she was quite correct about a few issues - which I hope to correct in future works. But she called my humour cheesy!! It was written very tongue-in-cheek and I guess it didn't come across that way to her, but...
I shall keep writing, and improving (hopefully).
I did get two favorable reviews from TwoLips and CoffeeTime so why am I dwelling?? The comments I got from Bam's readers were very nice and encouraging, so I thank those sensitive souls very much for their kind words (L.E. Bryce, Kate Rothwell, Jackie Kessler, K.D.), and my new critique partner, TL, who will hopefully slap my fingers for using too many outrageous dialogue tags in future!
On to other things:
Still waiting to hear back from e-publisher re 'The Color of Passion'. Though she stated it would take two to four weeks, that has not stopped me from checking my in-box everytime I pass my computer. I'm having an extra difficult time moving on to my pirate story knowing that TCOP is sitting on her desk!
My in-laws are visiting for the weekend and are shopping like mad. I'm sure the Canadian economy will flourish this quarter. They've bought out half of our mall, Toys R Us, Old Navy, Sears, etc...
Now I'm off to pretend to cook a fabulous meal for my house guests. I'm really going to open a few jars of sauce and call it my own ;D
Shhhh, no telling!

Pull the Trigger or Pass the Valium

There's a gun to my head and I wish she'd just pull the trigger already!!
My latest, 'Bella Fiore', has moved from the 'to be read' column to the 'to be reviewed' column on Bam's (it's not chick porn) book review site. I love reading Bam's reviews and cover snark. She's brutally honest and writes with equal parts sarcasm and candor that only a 20-something can get away with. She appeals to the nasty sarcastic side of me that I don't let out often ;D -- at least not in public.
Anyway - Bam's had my book on her shelf for awhile and I've dreaded this review for sometime now. She's a romance novel junkie, so she's seen it all - aliens, three-somes, m/m, f/f, sweet innocence, hardcore, paranormal, vampires, etc...
I'm nervous because the protagonist in 'Bella Fiore' is a bored housewife that I'm not sure Bam can relate to (or would even want to!).
I'm nervous because she reads everything from Mary Jo Putney to Laurell K Hamilton and next to these two professionals, my writing is like that of a third grader (albeit a sexually active one! bwahahahahah).
I'm nervous because if she slams my book, the immature side of me won't want to visit her site ever again and the mature part of me will miss it dearly!

I want my mommy!

I'm a sad girl today. Put my mom on a plane, back to her hometown, 1000 miles away. She's getting frailer (or should that be "more frail"?) everytime I see her, though she still has more spunk at 86 than half the 40 year olds I know. But for the past few years, everytime we part, I can't help wondering if it's the last time I'll see her. We talk almost every night on the phone and I'm scared to death of losing her, though it's inevitable.
Who will I gossip and shop with, or discuss old movies? Despite her age, my mom knows who's who: Christian Bale, Dan Brown, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Tony Blair, Borat, Wolf Blitzer, Belinda Stronach, Rick Mercer, Kelli Pickler and Eminem. She reads national newspapers, magazines, financial/business books. She doesn't have a university degree and is in awe of professionals, but my mother is sharper than anyone (ANYONE!) I've ever met.
She shares my love of books and we often mail each other our faves - even though it costs more to send than to pick up our own copy at the bookstore! It's nice to know that a person you love and esteem held the same pages, smiled or cried at the same passages and derived the same feelings of hope, joy, sadness or longing when the book was finished.

I want my mommy *sniff*

Good News, Bad News and a Case of Pinot

My Mom is still visiting, but I found a few minutes (between shopping, watching old movies and arguing about my weight) to jot a quick entry.
Update in the life of the wannabe-award-winning-novelist:

1. Got a critique partner, fellow blogger & Chippewa author, T.L. (Yeah!!) *happy dancing while putting on thick skin*
2. Send updated ms for The Color of Passion to epublisher. Fingers, toes and eyes crossed. Waiting patiently with a case of Pinot Grigio. (no, not for celebration... to get me through the next six weeks of waiting).
3. Saw The Prestige, starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Scarlett Johanssen. Excellent mind-bender of a movie. If I were Ebert or Roper, my thumbs would be up.
4. Ah, rejection... Nonsuch Beauty was rejected, but in a kind, helpful way. The editor was decent enough to point out my mistakes and tell me what she liked and disliked about the characterization. Comments for which I'm truly grateful. She also said, ahem, "you have an interesting voice". Big happy smile. See, it's not all bad. And as I've stated before, I'm not sure Nonsuch Beauty was ever meant to be published. I think it shall remain in my bottom drawer until such time I can incorporate either the idea or characters into a longer piece.
5. Inspired by T.L.'s latest blog about quotes, am offering one of my favorites ('specially in light of my previous erotic publications!!):

"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
~ PJ O'Rourke

What's on your nightstand?

Zip a dee do da, zip a dee ay, ...

Just heard from the e-pub editor re my novella:

"I'm pleased to ask for the full manuscript of THE COLOR OF PASSION for further review."

W000-Hoooo and a whoop de do! *dance, dance, dance*

However (yes, there was a 'but'), she wasn't happy with the ending and suggested I change it. And you know what - I am. Frankly, I wasn't convinced it was a good ending either, but I didn't want to make it too 'pat', to 'Hollywood'. But Hollywood is what she wants so Hollywood is what she's going to get.

My mother is in town visiting so I'm officially on 'blog vacation'. (I'll leave the blog-every-day event to you, TL.)

'til November...

Poem - In the Wild

In the Wild
by Wylie Kinson

If you can’t find me, it's because I’m not there
I’ve gone to a wild place
where answers are found like plump grapes on a vine
where someone will tell me what it’s all about
explain the dark mazes of my mind

When you look into my eyes, what do you see
my soul, your dream, our destiny
If I could tell you what lurks in the mists
what monsters or flowers or music exists
where we embrace ourselves in luxury and riches
ride white elephants, and tame wild camels
and eat scones and cream like a social group of bitches.

I find myself in a predicament with no easy explanation
Keep looking
but the promises I give are like dandelion feathers in the wind
I know your fundamental being
You won’t give up on me
Striving
Forever striving for the inhuman state of monolithic morality.

Score card,.... good night

Getting my arm up on the desk to type isn't like having a dagger plunged into my shoulder repeatedly, so I guess it's safe to say the worst of the tendonitis is over. Percocet is evil. I say this on good authority, having been stoned for the better part of 5 days. My state of mind also explains the rather snotty rant I posted on the other day on the banality of television.

In other news. I've decided to keep a running score on my blog regarding my failures/success in writing. An affirmation of sorts, to remind myself that writing is a hard business, but at least I'm trying. So here's the first scorecard (and I must do this quickly before tonights Percocet kicks in):

Published works: two short erotic stories - Bella Fiore, The Cavern in the Green
Rejections: ALL of the children's stories I've ever written/sent (the list is very long)
Completed: The Color of Passion, Nonsuch Beauty
To Market: The Color of Passion, Nonsuch Beauty, one children's story My Scary Pet Snake
Agents: Two queries currently out
WIP: pirate story - 10%, novel 1- 15%, novel 2 - 10%

And so,... um,... z z z z z z z z z z z z z z zz z z z zz z zz zzz zzzz zz z zzz zz zzz zzz zz zzzz zzzzzzz

Studio 60 (Warning: this rant may offend...)

I was shocked to hear that ratings for Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip were poor. I've watched this new NBC show since it's premier last month and having nothing but praise. The story moves along very quickly, the acting is suburb and the writing SUPERIOR - at least next to most drivel on the boob-tube. Apparently - the demographics are wrong; they're missing the 18-35 year old coveted market and are instead getting the 'over 40's.
I find it a sad commentary that we as a nation/s (pointing accusing finger at both US & Canada) continue to give credit to brain-wasting shows like 'The Bachelor', 'Survivor', and 'Two and a Half Men', and that God aweful Tyra Banks show which doesn't deserve to be mentioned, while critically acclaimed, well-written, INTERSTING programs like Studio 60 and Friday Night Lights are facing early cancellation. And why don't the studio execs give these programs more than 2 or 3 weeks to find an audience? Why the rush to hit the delete button.
But here's my biggest peeve: studios purposely put a winner against another network's winner in effort to win the night. Can't NBC be satisfied with winning say... Wednesday and Monday, let CBS have Tuesday and Thursday? I hate that Grey's Anatomy is up against CSI. Who cares who wins? The audience doesn't, that's for sure. This isn't welter-weight boxing-- it's television. Entertain us! Let us have good programs on all the networks!! Stop duking it out and just find the BEST SHOWS for all the time slots. I don't give a toss which network is winning, I'm certainly not loyal to any one network, and I'm positive I won't watch a new program just BECAUSE it airs on a specific network.
Attention studio execs - get over yourselves. Let we-the-viewers have our Grey's AND our CSI. Let us 'sophisticated viewers' continue to watch WELL WRITTEN shows like Studio 60, Arrested Development, Friday Night Lights, and all those other Emmy winning shows y'all cancelled because of poor ratings. Just because they're not in the top 10, doesn't mean they're failures. Just because the 18-35's aren't watching, doesn't mean your advertisers aren't getting theirs money's worth. Hell - us over 40's have a hellava lot more discretionary cash to toss around, so perhaps you need to do your jobs and get better quality, more sophisticated sponsors. YEAH! The *trailer-park residencees might LOVE watching 'Hope and Faith', and the viewer numbers might be out of the park, but that crowd is hardly going to run out and buy the BMW being advertised. Or the expensive brand of cat mooch.
Rant complete. Thank you.
*No disrespect to anyone residing in a trailer park ;D

Oh, Woe is Me...

Calcific tendonitis. Ouch! It sounds painful because it is. And I have it. In my right shoulder. Makes typing, mousing, lifting arm on to desk veeeeery uncomfy. Can't write (much). Mousing with left hand - very awkward. Typing mostly with left hand - very slow.
But the blog must go on...
Saw Mary Jo Putney on Saturday at the Toronto Romance Writers meeting. She was absolutely terrific - great speaker, charasmatic, down to earth, interesting person. I won one of her older books in a raffle (The Bargain) and found myself completely tongue tied when she was autographing it for me. Oh - the things I wanted to say! I had a whole mini-speech in my head about her gift for Regency voice, how her long distinguished career serves as a role-model for us newbies and how I appreciated the opportunity to hear her speak at a 'chapter' meeting... Oh, I wanted to gush! But all that came out was "I really liked 'One Perfect Rose'. And 'The Wild Child'. You write really good. Um - thanks."
OMG - what a moron! I'm supposed to be a writer and I say the most inane, grammatically incorrect drivel EVER! Embarrassed!
'kay - it's taken me almost an hour to left-hand type this and my shoulder is screaming with pain for sitting in such an awkward position.
*swallowing percocet*

"Nonsuch Beauty" - to market, to market!

The manuscript for 'Nonsuch Beauty' was submitted to an e-publisher last night. This means obsessively checking my email for the next 4-6 weeks.
IMO, this is the absolute hardest part of being a writer; sending your hard work, heart-and-soul bared on paper (or in this case, an electronic file) to a stranger. Giving such power (they can make or break your spirit with one form letter) to an anonymous name in cyberspace is incredibly nerve-wracking. You promise yourself that a rejection won't hurt, won't get you down or stop you from writing, but it's a really nasty experience that can potentially throw you for a loop. I recently sent a ms to a good friend to critique and in her reply, she used the word 'ok'. I couldn't get past it. OK?! But 'ok' just isn't good enough! It ruined my day, made my stomach churn every time I thought about it. I wanted her to say it made her cry, that she understood my heroine's pain, completely bought into the emotional fragility of the situation, -- but she used the word 'ok'. Here's the irony - When I read her email again the following day, I realized she didn't use 'ok' to describe the story, but in reply to my nagging her about reading the storyLiked it!? NO!! I wanted her to LOVE it!! - as in "The story - ok!" Then she said she 'liked it'.

Score: two manuscripts out, zero replies.

Dude, please!

Compelled to share this little gem:
I was listening to the news on the radio the other day and the newscaster, reporting on North Korea's latest nuclear hijinx, refers to their fearless leader as Kim Jong TWO, instead of Kim Jong Il. I laughed my ass off. DUH!

I've been tagged!

I've been tagged by fellow Chippewa author Jose Bogran (sorry, no accents on the correct letters but I have NO idea how to apply them!)
Anyway - here are the questions I am now obliged to answer before tagging other unsuspecting folk:

1) One book that changed your life: This is REALLY hard because so many books influenced me at different times of my life. Going way back, I have to give props to Carolyn Keene because the Nancy Drew series was the beginning of my love affair with books. The first 'adult' book I ever read was Sydney Sheldon's 'Rage of Angels'. I was about 12 and absolutely fell in love with non-kid lit. There was no going back!
2) One book that you’d read more than once: I read 'Lord of the Rings' (and The Hobbit) when I was a teenager and again as a 30-something adult and I confess they were two profoundly different stories. The symbolism was completely lost on me as a 14 year old! In the romance genre, the only book I ever read twice was Jude Devereaux's 'Knight in Shining Armor'.
3) One book you’d want on a deserted island: Oh, this is easy. I would take the complete unabridged version of Encyclopedia Brittanica. Hmmm... technically, that's more than one book isn't it, but the question is vague so that's my answer and I'm sticking to it.
4) One book that made you laugh: Frank McCourt's 'Angela's Ashes' made me howl with laughter. The part when the boy gets sick after his first communion and is upset because he threw-up God? Hilarious!!
5) One book that made you cry: 'Angela's Ashes' again! Also, 'Knight in Shining Armor', Alex Hailey's 'Roots' and Danielle Steele's 'The Promise' (I read it when I was 16 and it was the first book that ever brought tears to my eyes).
6) One book you wish you’d written: Anything by Margaret Atwood. My God, she is brilliant.
7) One book you wish had never been written: Can't think of one out of any books that I've read. Sure, there are many books out there that stir up controversy, but hey, if you don't like the topic, don't read the book!
8) One book you're currently reading: Just finished Kate Mosse's 'Labyrinth' and Minette Walter's 'The Devil's Feather', so now I'll try *looking at sagging shelf behind me* Reay Tannahill's 'The Seventh Son', or maybe Sarah Dunant's 'In the Company of the Courtesan'. I like to mix up genre's, history vs contemp. etc...
9) One book you’ve been meaning to read: Anne-Marie MacDonald's 'Fall on Your Knees' and Ayn Rand's 'Atlas Shrugged' and 'The Fountainhead'. Someday...
10) Tag five people: Of all the busy busy busy people I know, I'm going to tag fellow author - TL, my fab editor at CP - Jana, incredibly hilarious Peter, and mysterious, generous, uber-popular Kay.

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