While We're Gone... Contest

Hey kids,

The Six Degree of Sexy gals are holding a contest beginning this Monday, July 28th.
For six days, while we're studiously honing our craft *ahem cough-cough* at the Romance Writers of America National Conference in San Francisco (thanks for the correct spelling, N), there will be one question posted per day. All you need to do is drop by, answer the dead-easy questions and cross your fingers that you're name is pulled from the magic hat.

That's SIX days, SIX questions, SIX prizes!!
Oops, I really didn't mean to do the 666 thing.
Okay, TECHNICALLY, there are EIGHT prizes because both Christine and Red have Ellora's Cave cards to give away. 668? Yeah, that's better.

So visit Six Degrees of Sexy from Monday, July 28th through Saturday August 2nd for a chance to win books by
Red Garnier
Robin Rotham
Renee Field
Amy Ruttan
Christine d'Abo
and yours truly :)

T -2 Days and counting, The Dark Knight

Two days until I get on a plane for the RWA conference in San Francisco. Panic has officially morphed into resignation. No, I didn't finish the book, still have the synopsis to complete and my pitch to practice.
So let's ignore all I didn't do and talk about other things...

Like The Dark Knight. Wow - what a movie. Hubby and I enjoyed it thoroughly. All that stuff they're saying about Heath Ledger, how great he was, how he should win an Oscar? Well... they're not just saying that because he's dead (bless is soul)... He really was THAT amazing. I wish I was eloquent enough to draw an accurate picture of his interpretation of the Joker, but I wouldn't do Heath any justice. With a character like the Joker, there's a fine line between greatness and OTT (over the top). Heath managed to pull it off with psycho-scary brilliance. Every jitter, facial expression, flick of the tongue, dart of the eyes was dead-on perfection. And his one-liners were delivered with accurate sarcasm without camp.
The entire cast was very good, but he shone.

The story was good, too. In the past, it seems to me that comic book/super hero focused more on the hero's angst/lovelife/personal-journey and let the plot serve as mere background. Not so with this latest Batman. In fact, I felt a bit cheated that we didn't get MORE Batman (can't please me, can they - LOL). The story was central and more along the lines of a proper police/crime drama (someone else compared it to The Departed and I have to agree).
I've very glad I saw it. And it should be experienced on a big screen!

Have you seen it? Thoughts??

Who ya gonna call? STRESS BUSTERS!

Did you read my post about Busting Stress last week?
If you did, and left a comment, you might be interested to know that I compiled the answers and turned them into a Thursday Thirteen.
It's appearing over at Six Degrees of Sexy, so go check it out.
Hey, even if you didn't contribute, you might find something useful on the list ;)

Button reviews for Red, Christine and me!

I'm up on top of the world, looking down on creation, la la la la la-la la la la la laaaaaa....

Now that I've got you singing along with The Carpenters (probably for the rest of the day -- just try and get that song out of your head!!) I'm going to torture you further with some self-agrandizing...
Law of Averages got an A+ from Simply Romance Reviews. And SQUEEE.... I collected another one of these cool little buttons



to add to my sidebar. And everybody knows... it's all about the buttons!! LOL


And congrats to sistah-friend Red Garnier, who also got a 'button' review for her sexy Exotika book, Seven Sinners.
And more congrats to s-f Christine d'Abo who got 'button' reviews from Joyfully Reviewed AND Simply Romance this past week.
Woot woot gals! Now sing with me: We're up on top of the wo-orld, looking down on creation...

Contest Info -- it's a biggie!!

Psst... go over to Six Degrees of Sexy cause I've just announced an amazing book-giveaway contest put on by the Toronto Romance Writers. Amazing authors, a stellar line up of books(signed!!) in a multitude of sub-genres. Go! NOW!!

Menage: Wylie Kinson, Cora Zane and Ron Jeremy?!?

So a few months back, I got an email from an editor at The L Magazine (New York) asking me to comment on life in the 'sex industry' (whatever). I'm sure quite a few of you erotic-romance/erotica authors were hit with the same request.
I had a few minutes on my hands so I complied and it looks like they lifted a few choice paragraphs for their article.

What really makes me giggle is that fellow author-blogger Cora Zane and I can now say we're on the same page as Ron Jeremy -- and WE'RE ON TOP!! *hee*

btw -- thanks for outting me, Leah ;)

Enquiring Minds Want to Know: How do you bust stress??

Isn't summer supposed to be a lazy time to kick back, relax and enjoy the sunbeams?
Yeah, well... I'm doing something seriously wrong because I've been in frantic mode since mid-June.

I had a nice long chat with my TRW (Toronto Romance Writers) buddy Christine d'Abo over dinner the other night and she's in a very stressful place as well, for different reasons. I've got ten years on Christine so tried to share some of my own experiences in handling stress in the workplace, which is ironic since she's already much better equiped to handle it than I was ten years ago!! Also, I've gotten myself into my own personal stress-rut so who'm I to dole out advice?

So give it to me people... WHAT DO YOU DO when feeling overwhelmed, can't see the light at the end of the tunnel, or find yourself in circumstances that you don't have the power to change? Other than self-medicate, I mean ;)

I used to loose myself in a good book, but I just can't find the time to crack a novel, let alone Christine's latest release (The Bond that Heals Us, second in the Bond series... so freaking good!!) and even THAT'S stressing me out!! What the heck kind of supportive sistah-friend am I that I can't find three or four hours to jump into the Davin/Sara story that I had been chomping at the bit for?! *bows head in shame*

On a sort of related topic, Leah Braemel brought up the subject of writing and hobbies on her blog today, so go visit and share your thoughts.

Recommended Read?!?!?!

Just when I'm second guessing everything I write, telling myself I'm absolute CRAP and have no right to show my face at Nationals, I stumble across another review of Law of Averages...

Jambrea at Joyfully Reviewed gave it a RECOMMENDED READ!!! Woot -- thanks Jambrea!! :)

Here's a little bit of what she said:

There are a few touching scenes between [Gabriel and Megan] as well as the hot
sex and that is why I am Joyfully Recommending Law of Averages. It has
everything I love in a story; sex, tenderness and laughter with a hint of
the mystical thrown in for good measure.

You can read the whole thing HERE.
And me? I'm going to write!!

Writing goals and not reaching them.

The RWA National Conference is only 21 days away and do I have my novel finished? NO.
Have I done my synopsis? NO.
Practiced my pitch? NO.
Shopped for appropriate 'professional' clothes? NO.

So much for that list of goals I made up in January!
The novel is progressing, but not nearly as quickly as I'd hoped. The paranormal, Elements of Attraction, that I began in January ended up getting shelved after 40,000 words. It wasn't working, the flow was off, I dunno... I just know that I struggled to get every word on the page and writing began to feel like a horrible nightmare of a chore. I will go back to it, someday, because I love the idea, and the characters. I just don't think my talent was equal to my ambition.

So I began my current wip (currently untitled) in mid-May, weeks before the kidlets were due to be set free from school. Not great timing on my part, but at least I'm enjoying writing again, when I manage to grab a few quiet moments. My hero is a professional soccer (football!!) player who gets roped into running his sister's bridal salon while she's busy having a baby. Sound like fun? I hope so :)

Also on the plate, I'm judging two writing contests (I know, I know... what was I thinking?) but it's been an interesting and educational experience. There's some amazing raw talent out there and some entries have me thinking - why aren't these people published?! Others are... well... meh. These are the most valuable to me because I can analyze their mistakes and (hopefully) learn how to avoid/correct them in my own work.

That said, I'm retreating back into the cave. Not the Writing Cave, but the Kid Cave -- where glue, Webkinz and minigolf rule!!

Oh - almost forgot... Law of Averages got a pretty decent review from The Good, the Bad and the Unread. *squee*

Happy Canada Day!

Happy Canada Day!

May the spectacular explosions of

tonight's fireworks take your mind off your gas bill... ;)

More Movies! The Bucket List, The Bee Movie, The new Bond trailer for Quantum of Solace

Hubby's still away and I just need to take this opportunity to shout out to all single parents out there. How the heck do you do it?? *bowing*
Yes, the kids are mostly my responsibility all day long anyway, but it's always nice when the DH emerges from his work cave to hang out with the boys while I cook dinner, or dash to the grocery store. And DH always puts one of the kids to bed as they go at different times. With just me, the little one is getting to stay up extra late and I'm putting them down at the same time.
Four more days until co-parenting resumes!
And of course, I miss him for other things...

like cleaning the cat litter ;)

More movies!!
I love watching movies and my watching habits tend to come in clusters. I can go two or three months without seeing anything longer than a sitcom, then I need my fix. Here's what I saw this weekend:

Kids and I had our camping night (waaaay too many s'mores were consumed) and we hunkered in the basement in a mound of blankets and watched The Bee Movie.
I wasn't expecting much as I remember the reviews being sort of meh. I was pleasantly surprised -- it didn't suck. In fact, it was highly enjoyable. Don't know what all the 'meh' was about, except that I guess people expected something shiny and brilliant because Jerry Seinfeld is some sort of comedy god. Ha - remember how the world frowned upon the final episode of Seinfeld (I liked it just fine, btw).
So yeah, The Bee Movie was a hit for us. Funny, nice to look at, touched on a few social issues but nothing too far above the understanding of the kids, so it worked for us. :)

The Bucket List -- after a very long day of mini-golf and Chuck E Cheese, I sat down the other night and watched Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson in this dramedy.
Very enjoyable -- a couple of laughs and a few tears.
Though it deals with death, it isn't morose and I didn't find I was being hit over the head with "do it before you die" message.
It was actually more of a relationship movie... a bromance without the naughty...
Two people that need each other in order to find the missing pieces of their lives.
They begin as friends, go travelling together, have deep conversations in which they eventually open up and share personal details of their lives, and discover a deep connection.
See? A bromance! And a good one. You should see it.

Today I'm taking the munchkins to see WALL-E, so you'll doubtless hear more about that on Thursday. In the meantime, I leave you with the new trailer for the highly anticipated (by me) new Bond movie, Quantum Leap.
Wait, no. I'm having a 90's flashback.
Quantum of Solace or some such. Whatever. Just watch the trailer. And lament with me that Daniel Craig isn't wearing a speedo. Damn.

Summertime, S'mores and Blockbusters

ACK!
School is OUT!
Hot summer days filled with playparks, mini-golf, and backyard shenanigans begin. I may as well say good-bye to the blogworld now, at least for the next 2 months, because between kids and travel, computer time will be severly limited.
What little time personal time I can squeeze will be filled with judging entries in two contests (why oh why do I volunteer for these things?! It's not that I'm unenthusiastic, it's just that the timing always seems to SUCK!), the next assignment in the children's lit course I'm STILL doing, research/submit a completed story to children's mags, and alas... trying to get a few words into my current contemporary-romance wip.
Not to mention preparing/packing/manicuring/shopping for my mid-summer trip to the RWA National Conference in San Fransisco.
Sing with me now "Oh where, oh where has my sanity gone, Oh where, oh where can it be?"

I'm a single parent this week as the DH has gone off to Mexico on business. Tough life, eh?
The kids and I have BIG plans this weekend. We're going camping!!
In our basement.
Yup -- sleeping bags, s'mores, and scary movies!!
And indoor plumbing is only a flight of stairs away :)

I'm always looking for whacky ideas to amuse the kids, so if you've got any, please share in comments...

Summertime also means a crop of new movies. Two that I'm looking forward to are Hancock (looks hilarious and I love Will Smith) and Wanted (James McAvoy - yum, and Angelina kickin' ass -- it's got to be good). I'm unsure about the new Batman movie. Can't decide if I can sit through a couple of hours of Heath Ledger at his creepiest, for obvious reasons.
What summer movies are you looking forward to?

Happy summer everyone. Blogs will be spotty at best until September, but don't give up on me!

More in movies: Stardust, Fool's Gold and sex appeal in general

EEKS! How did it get to be Monday so quickly??

First - go ye to Red Garnier's website. She's having a contest and there's a $50 gift certificate up for grabs.

Last week I blogged about movies and someone (was it you Grammar Geek?) recommended Stardust. Well I rented it for me and the 8 year old to watch and we LOVED it.
It's a lot like The Princess Bride, in terms of uniquely wonderful characters (Robert DeNiro as a 'poofy' pirate was hilarious) and fairytaleish qualities. The comic relief was as plentiful and satisfying as the fights and romance. And low and behold, who did I spy playing a very minor (2 scenes only) character but my new obsession, Henry Cavill. Even playing a pompous wigged ass he was adorable ;)
Pictured left is Charlie Cox who plays Tristan, the romantic lead. Claire Danes is the female lead, but who want to see her, right?

Also caught Fool's Gold with Kate Hudson and Matthew Mc... McConau.. whatever. You know who I mean.
It was enjoyable, but I'm glad I didn't blow $12 (+popcorn) at the movie theater. Then again, if seeing a shirtless Mattie on my large HD was satisfying, maybe it would have been worth the theater cost.
That man is eye-can-dy! Woo ha.
I really didn't buy the whole romance angle of the story and I think I'll blame Kate. Though I think she's cute as button and seems like a fun-loving gal, she just doesn't seem to have the sexual chemistry vibe with any of her co-stars.
Some actors have it, some don't.
Take Halle Berry, for instance. Gorgeous, great actress. But I've never found her to exude sex-appeal on-screen. Why is that?
Then you take someone like... (thinking)... Angelina Jolie (I know, I know, she's a love-her/hate-her example) but you can't deny that woman is walking sex.
Or for a less controversial actress, how about Catherine Zeta Jones? Remember her in Zorro with Antonio... hot. Or with Clooney in that one about the divorce (the name escapes). Even as a bitchy, anal, ocd chef in No Reservations, she still managed to cook up some chemistry with Aaron Eckhart.
Opinions please? The floor is open...

Late to the party, but I'm here... with Hedley and Simple Plan

Since kids became the predominant time-suckers in my life, I feel like I'm late to the party where music is concerned. Blame it on years of sacrificing the radio for kid-friendly cd's in the car.
Oh,... and the fact that the radio stations in Bermuda suck and are stuck playing "Hits of the 70's 80's & 90's!"

So here I am, back in Canada, trying to play catch up. One of my new faves is homegrown Hedley, led by Jacob Hoggard, the 3rd place runner up from a long ago season of Canadian Idol (long before I got here, anyway...

Here's the song that's being played ad nauseum in my iPod lately:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38w_dSdMhOE
(damn it! They've taken the embed feature off the YouTube clip. WHY?!)

Hedley's newest release, It's Never Too Late, is uber-catchy and has my 4 year old singing along. If you spent any part of your formative years in the early 80's, you'll love the video and will recognize it immediately. Watch the clip here, then come back... I'll wait: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9l_h8_mbZsc


Did you recognize it???? The clothes, the hair, the body paint, the overall CHEESE??
If not... here's the original:


Ah... Flash from the past. Feels like yesterday ;)

Here's another band I'm loving -- Simple Plan. And this is just a coincidence, I promise... but I just found out that they're Canadian too!!
Have a listen...



Have you had any recent musical discoveries? Tell me about them...

5 Stars from JERR

Just Erotic Romance Reviews gave Law of Averages 5 stars!! Here's what my new BFF Mahaira, has to say:

Title: Law of Averages
Author: Wylie Kinson
Publisher: Ellora's Cave PublishingPublisher URL: www.ellorascave.com
Reviewer: Mahaira Fatima
Rating: 5 Stars
Heat level: H

After her grueling stint at work, up-and-coming restaurateur Megan Frost is all set for a dreamy vacation in Bermuda. Gabriel Law, a famous British rock musician, is up there for the same reason and is quite bewildered to see a very naked, sunburned Megan catching some sleep in his holiday cottage. Will this chance encounter turn out to be just a vacation fling or is Megan's very normal life going to get the spice it requires?

Megan is a wholesome, normal, average woman who loves her work and is happy to have some free time out. She is the loyal friend anybody would love to have. Gabriel is that pierced, tattooed man, mothers tell their daughters to avoid like the plague. His wild streak makes him appear dangerous and delicious at the same time. I just loved the way Megan describes herself to Gabriel and he tells her his opinions. I would have never paired up these two for romance but given the unique surroundings, they just come out feeling very true to life. The sex is drool-worthy and had me longing for a romp of my own. The underwater kiss was an idea I would love to try out sometime soon! Ms. Kinson has an ability to dream up interesting characters that stay with you long after you finish their stories. Gabriel's British accent and Megan's aversion to plants had me laughing in no time. Gabriel's character is very well portrayed and the changes he undergoes are understandable. The local flavor of Bermuda can be tasted as the author describes the island's ambiance and surroundings in vivid details. A long-lost legend gives the reader a little twist to savor and gels well with the story. The plot is pretty simple yet Ms. Kinson has weaved her tale with a refreshing blend of humor and imaginative creativity. Not many secondary characters appear here to make a significant mark, letting you sail through the tale at a rapid pace. Law of Averages effectively showcases its author's unique writing style and gives the reader a truly special treat! Buy this book today, you won't regret it!
______________

Thanks, Red, for passing this along :)

Kung Fu Panda ROCKS!

It's Monday! This would normally mean back to routine, back to some writing time, but Sweetness (aka youngest son) is finished with preschool for the summer so I'm kissing my 2 hour free-afternoons goodbye *sniff sniff*.

It's been a week since my surgery and I'm pretty much back to normal except for an occassion ache beneath my ribcage on my right side. I think I'm experiencing phantom-gallbladder pain...
And I was, until yesterday, still enjoying the afternoon naps (hey, recovery is hard work!), but now that Sweetness is home, I can kiss those goodbye.

Saw a few movies during my convalescence. I'm usually easy to please with movies and watch a wide variety of genres from chick flicks to horrors. Alas, I was more disappointed than not. Here's a quick summary:

The Other Boleyn Girl - Why, why, why, would Hollywood pay for the rights to a GREAT book just to have their screenwriters tinker with it to an inch of it's former wonderful life with the result of making a barely watchable movie?
If you haven't seen it, I can't recommend. Read the book instead. And watch The Tudors. They do a much better job of capturing everything about the life and times of young Henry VIII, from politics to women.

Knocked Up - desperate for a light comedy and a good laugh, I sent hubby out for this one. I remember the reviews being good, even compared to The 40 Year Old Virgin or The Wedding Crashers (both of which I loved).
I didn't laugh out loud once. Don't think I even smiled. The two females were completely unlikeable, shrewish and the epitome of everything a man detests about women, especially pregnant ones. As every pregnancy and hormone cliche revealed itself, I couldn't help thinking 'this was so written by a man' *hee hee - I'm laughing at the irony*. As for the 'hero', played by Canadian Seth Rogen, I found his loser-ishness very uncharming and sad. The guy had $117 dollars to his name, no job, no smarts, and just didn't get it. He seemed quite content to live in loserville with his group of misfit friends. In real life, the girl (who was an on-air television personality, for chrissakes!) would have run screaming in another direction. Unbelievable and unfunny. I've lost my love for Judd Apatow.

Kung Fu Panda. Hilarious! Good for both adults and the kids. Side splittingly funny, lots of good lessons (though not preachy) and excellent casting. Jack Black was genious. He nailed the character, Panda Po, with his self-depricating 'every-Joe-with-a-dream' demeanor and you root for him every step of the way. And an interesting note -- Seth Rogen (see above) played Mantis, one of the kung fu heroes. That distinctive chuckle-laugh he has gave him away.
Highly recommend this one, even if you don't have kids.

I have a bonus post tomorrow, so stop back in and see the latest review of Law of Averages.
And if you've seen a good movie lately, please share!

Good News, Bad News, First Review of Law of Averages

Good news: The surgery went well. It's over (at last!), the disfunctional gallbladder removed and life (albiet without pizza) can continue...

Bad news: Post-op Day 3 I'm still feely pretty crappy. Very tired, woozy, nauseous, etc... They say that it takes 1-3 weeks for the system to resume normal function, but I'm impatient. I really thought I'd be writing my days away while I recup, but I have NO attention span. None. Zero. Can't even read (ack!) and I'm only on-line for about 10 minutes a day (which is why no blog visits... sorry!)

Good news: First review of Law of Averages is in. Here's what Angel from Romance Junkies has to say...

Title: Law Of Averages
Category: Contemporary
Reviewer: Angel
Reviewer e-mail: angelbrewer@romancejunkies.com
Author: Wylie Kinson
Publisher: Ellora’s Cave
Release Date: May 2008
Blue Ribbon Rating: 4.5
ISBN: 1419916250
Format: EBOOK

(deleted the summary of the book 'cause it's long...)

LAW OF AVERAGES is a story that rocks. Gabriel is not your average rock star and that makes him an interesting character. Megan has no clue as to the identity of the man who is sharing her vacation home and it adds an air of deception to the mix. The love scenes are totally volcanic and have more than enough heat to keep you simmering. Wylie Kinson has a creative flair that I truly enjoyed. After reading this book I will definitely be on the lookout for more of Wylie Kinson’s work in the future.

Sexy Professions

Good Monday Morning, BLOGLAND. I'm having surgery this morning (that gallbladder incident, remember?) so I leave you with this to think about:

Can your profession up your sexiness rating? I found an interesting article on the sexiest jobs. See if you agree with their top ten:

Firefighter
Personal Trainer
CEO
Bartender
Nurse
Photographer
Pilot
Surgeon
Cowboy
Soldier/Military

To see the hows, whys and wherefores of this data, read the rest of the article HERE.

Couldn't help but notice that rockstars and writers didn't make the list :(
I'll let you know if my surgeon ranks!

Question for writers and readers: Do you agree with this list? What would you have in the top three?

Thursday Thirteen revisited... Why I WILL Write Another Book!

If my sulky-sounding Thursday Thirteen didn't completely turn you off of everything Wylie, then please go to Julia's blog and see what this amazing book-loving, peace-propigating, vampire-writing blogger had to say about Law of Averages. *squee*

Thursday Thirteen: When the book is done

Thursday 13: When the book is done...

Sometimes the hardest part of producing a book is what happens AFTER it's published.

1. You have to market the book, which for most of us solitary writers who live mostly in our heads, is a daunting road to navigate, with frightening intersections like...
2. ...live chats (EEK! No editing your posts!!) and guest blogging (what if I don't come up with something to impress my host, or worse, what if nobody comments??!!!)
3. Release day comes and you suddenly feel exposed. Naked! You wish, for one panicky moment, that you could take it back.
4. And release day is a bit of a non-event. You find yourself waiting.... but you're not sure what you're waiting for. It's not like you can watch a counter spinning around, telling you how many books are being sold.
5. You're now expected to write another one...
6. ...but you can't get the characters from the last book out of your head...
7. ...and you're not sure you even want to (because you love your babies)...
8. ...but you didn't leave any loose threads to justify a sequel...
9. ...and you're too scared to try in case it doesn't live up to the first one.
10. You wait on pins and needles to find out what your family and friends thought of it...
11. ...but some don't even bother (ouch!)...
12. ...or have any idea how much their opinions mean to you...
13. You have a hope-love-hate relationship with review sites. You hope to get a good rating, you love the praise, you hate the waiting.

And those, dear readers, are the sad-truths and self-doubts that plague this neurotic writer (I'm sure I'm not alone!) to counterbalance the whoop-ass elation of getting published.

By the way... Law of Averages is now available from Ellora's Cave ;)