In more ways than one!

In the US, it’s Labor Day weekend and most of us have Monday off – it’s a Federal holiday. It’s the last holiday of the summer, which celebrates the American worker. Although honestly sometimes it feels like an excuse for stores to have good sales. LOL.

Anyway, here in NC, it’s a huge beach weekend. Many, many people will be climbing in their cars and heading to the beautiful Carolina shores to have a last summer trip to the beach.

It’s also a traditional barbecue weekend – I think hot dog sales will be brisk tomorrow. :)

What will I be doing? Writing, writing, writing.

And after that? Editing, editing, editing.

Yep, I’ve got to finish Micah’s story, then complete my first round of edits to Zeke’s story. Remember him? It’s the next Devils story, due to be released at the very end of December.

At some point, I will relax and enjoy the time off, but I have to finish my WIP and get a really good bunch of editing done.

So, happy weekend y’all! I’ll be deep in the writing cave, trying not to burn my brain to ashes.

Sasha tagged me. *groan* So here goes…

Top ten favorite romance books and top ten movies.

Books (all read multiple times):

Only His by Elizabeth Lowell
Taming the Wolf by Deborah Simmons
Texas Destiny by Lorraine Heath
Prairie Moon by Maggie Osborne
Romancing Mister Bridgerton by Julia Quinn
Untamed by Elizabeth Lowell
Angel by Johanna Lindsey
The Very Thought of You by Lynn Kurland
Dreaming of You by Lisa Kleypas
The Devil in Winter by Lisa Kleypas

Movies (watched these many, many times):

Steel Magnolias
Princess Bride
Pretty Woman
O Brother Where Art Thou (really, any Coen brothers movie :)
Chocolat
Pirates of the Caribbean 1
Hidalgo
Planes, Trains and Automobiles
Chicago
Groundhog Day

I won’t tag anyone in particular, so who volunteers to be tagged?

Enjoy today’s eye candy for your viewing pleasure.

Poking my head out of the writing cave. I’m still here, I promise. I am going like gangbusters (except for a nasty allergy attack last night (I think I used an entire box of tissues).

I’ve been restraining myself from watching the Olympics or I’ll never get any writing done. BUT I am reading the stories on the news and I love hearing about first-time medal winners. It’s so awesome. :)

Hope y’all are good. Anything exciting going on in your neck of the woods?

(Blanche, I hope you’re recovered!)

Did you ever have one of those days where everything turned into a pile of scrambled eggs before you knew what was happening?

Yep, that’d be me and today. I totally missed my blog day yesterday on the Brava author’s blog and forgot to blog here today.

Ack!

I’ve got 13 days y’all and I’m in the writing cave, so forgive me if I’m ignoring you (I’m not) because of the manuscript. I’m like a train on the tracks going downhill and picking up speed, tooting my horn.

Wish me luck!

They’re back! Enjoy today’s eye candy for your viewing pleasure.

I thought it would be fun, seeing as how I’m a geeky writer, to end the week with the results from the Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest. This is an international parody contest, sponsored by San Jose State University, to celebrate the work of Edward George Earl Bulwer-Lytton (“It was a dark and stormy night.”), who could always be counted on to write something memorable.

Basically, entrants have to write the worst possible opening sentence to a novel. The winner this year was a guy from Washington D.C. and here is the winning opening line:

“Theirs was a New York love, a checkered taxi ride burning rubber, and like the city their passion was open 24/7, steam rising from their bodies like slick streets exhaling warm, moist, white breath through manhole covers stamped “Forged by DeLaney Bros., Piscataway, N.J.”
~ Garrison Spik- Washington, D.C.

LMAO! I love that one. Another one of my favorites was winner in the Historical category:

“As she watched the small form swing backwards and forth from the crystal chandelier – hands on hips, sniffing the air and squeaking inaudibly – it suddenly became clear to Madame de Pompomme that she had done the wrong thing asking Jacques to find and bring back her long-lost sister: for, whilst her coterie would doubtless be enchanted for a short while, the novelty of Janine having been raised by bats since the age of two in caves of the North-west Congo would soon wear off in seventeenth-century France.”
~ Simon Terry – Broadfield, Crawley, West Sussex, U.K.

Priceless, absolutely priceless! If you’d like to read more, and are a word geek like me, go check the rest of the winners (losers?), dishonorable mentions and runners-up here.

I know I’m a little late posting today but I’m here now! I’ve been watching the Olympics the last week and it reminded me of some moments I’ll never forget.

Thirteen Olympic Moments

1. Has to be the 1980 U.S. Men’s Hockey team beating the Soviets. I get goosebumps remembering that game.

2. Nadia Comanici getting a perfect 10 in gymnastics in 1976. I was only about 9, but I remember her well.

3. Mary Lou Retton and her perfect 10 vault. That girl had the muscles I can only dream of.

4. Michael Johnson in those gold shoes in Atlanta 1996. Who can forget those winged feet?

5. Rulon Gardner’s gold medal win in wrestling 1990. That big bear of a guy captured my heart.

6. Derrick Redmond in 1992 finishing the race after tearing his hamstring with his dad beside him. Still brings tears to my eyes.

7. Tai Babalonia and Randy Gardner in ice skating medal round – Randy pulled a groin muscle and they had to forfeit the competition. Heartbreaking.

8. Mary Decker getting knocked to the ground in the 3000 meter final in 1984 Los Angeles. I can still see the expression on her face, the agony and disappointment.

9. Kerri Strug in 1996 Atlanta with her injured ankle doing the vault to win the gold medal for the women’s gymnastics team. That little girl had more courage than most men I know.

10. Eric Moussambani from Equatorial Guinea set the slowest time ever for the 100m freestyle in Sydney 2000. Guts, man, pure guts.

11. Eric Heiden with his five gold medals in speedskating in 1980 Olympics. My 12 YO heart beat for that man.

12. Greg Louganis hitting his head on the diving platform. I can still hear the crack! Yet he came back to win gold two days later I believe.

13. The Jamaican bobsled team. ‘Nuff said.

How about you? Any favorites you want to share?

LOL – well, I have to be positive, don’t I? Yep, thank God it’s Wednesday. It could be Tuesday, or (dare I speak its name?) Monday. It’s the 13th and it’s a cloudy, rainy day here in NC.

I think I can finally say I’m back on East Coast time and over the jet lag. Unfortunately, now I have pain in my neck/collarbone area. I think I strained it somehow and it’s really throbbing. I guess if it’s not one thing it’s another.

My 12 YO comes back on Saturday – yay! I miss him terribly – he’d been gone for 2 1/2 weeks up with my in-laws. I know he’s having fun, but *sigh*, Mom misses him and his smiles and hugs.

What else is going on? Hm, I’m heading toward the final 3 weeks before my Kensington deadline. *cue scary music* It’s been an interesting journey in the book (The Redemption of Micah) and I really hope my editor likes what I’ve done. The book is different from anything else I’ve written, where the hero isn’t an alpha, but rather just a human being caught in circumstances that would test anyone’s mettle.

It’s also been a challenge to write a heroine whose lost her memory. I’ll say no more or I’ll give too much away!

I know, I’m a tease. ;)

Anyhoo, I’m sipping coffee and keeping my eyes open, so it’s a good morning so far. Hope y’all have a wonderful day!

Just really, really, really busy at work. It’s review time and raise time so it’s been a crazy week. I’m not ignoring y’all, I promise, just knee-deep in real life.

That brings me to today’s brief blog post. *raises hand*

Hi, my name is Beth, and I’m a wordaholic.

*Hi Beth*

I admit it wholeheartedly. I’m sitting here using the dictionary as I edit someone’s white paper, and I keep flipping through slowly. Why? Because there are words I don’t know and (here it comes) this dictionary has small pictures in a column on both the right and left pages.

*sigh*

Yep, I get distracted by all of it. For example, there are pictures of Chester A. Arthur, an artichoke and an artesian well. None of these are fascinating but damned if I didn’t stop to read the definitions.

Geez louise.

Anyhoo, there’s my confession for the day. Let me know if you want an explanation of what an artesian well is.