MAN HOURS
There's just no accounting for how my brain works. Groupon sent me a advert for 3 man hours of cleaning for a particlaur price. Immediately my brain starts wondering are they really going to send a man to clean my house? Oh wow, that would be cool and has all sorts of plot bunny possibilities. He could move furniture and vaccuum behind it and stuff. Would he wear a maid's outfit? Okay, brain lock on that one. How 'bout jeans and really tight white t-shirt...
Then I got to the second part of that the ad. -----A 49-point cleaning checklist helps the team to stay focused throughout the service, guiding them from room to room as they tick the boxes next to "disinfect sinks," "vacuum carpets," and "polish glassware in Frankensteinian underground laboratory."---
Really? You'd polish my glassware? There are days when there is a lab in my kitchen, which unfortunately is not underground. Drat, maybe that how they get out of actually having to do the aforementioned task.
The last part of the ad claims they guarantee 24 hrs worth of cleanliness after the visit. Say what? I have 2 kids, 2 cats and a husband who has rocket parts all over the library. Do these people cast a magic spell? Or is there duct tape involved? Hmmm, maybe I need to look into this.

NO "I"'S FOR ME

The latest senseless stupidity of the Apple/Mac empire is impication that if you use their software or app thing to create an ebook, they get a have some form of ownership on that creation. It doesn't appear that it's sufficient that the customer had to purchase the app. Noooo, big daddy corporate giant wants a slice of your profits too.

I am blissfully happy to say I don't own an "I" anything. No pads, no phones, no desktops, no ipods, no apps. Nada. And I probably never will. Any corporation that exerts that psycho level of control over everything they produce will ever get a dime of my money.

WIN A FREE COPY OF DROWNING IN YOU

Over on my website, I'm giving away a free copy of my new Cobblestone Press release called Drowning in You

Matt Pulaski and Declan Foster are DEA agents in San Diego. When Declan nearly dies during a raid, Matt volunteers to keep an eye on his adrenalin junkie partner. Declan’s near death experience causes him to reevaluate his life. In his bucket list are some urges that he’s been suppressing. Fortunately, Matt is willing to help. Declan’s newly recognized feelings come as a surprise, and he’s pretty confused. Being a DEA agent is no walk in the park. Danger is always around the corner and bigotry doesn’t tend to be too far away even if things are changing.

http://cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/drowning.htm

THE PERILS OF KINDLE... OR IS THAT KINDL-ING?

I got a Kindle for Christmas. Yeah, I've been oh so slow to jump on the bandwagon of using an e-reader. Kind of funny I suppose for an author that uses the e-publishing world extensively. It's not like I don't read other people e-books ;) I do. I've just been doing it on my laptop for the past few years.

Now I have a gadget, a gadget that allows me to surf Amazon and download a book with the touch of one button and the book is delivered to the Kindle in about 60 seconds. O...M....G... Talk about the advent of instant gratification. I confess I don't read as much as I used to, (too busy writing) but I still have a tendency to binge read at times. Gee, that sounded like a weight watchers confession. It's just a little scary that I could blow a whole lot of money in a really short time if the notion struck me.

2011 - The year of the knee...among other things

How did I spend my year? There were countless hours of PT and a 4th injury to the already trashed knee. I fought my way through the monumental stupidity of the medical establishment: a crazed dentist, a blind and crazy radiologist and ten other clueless people.

On better and more succesful fronts I had 7 different pieces published, re-released 2 older pieces on Kindle and re-pitched a story originally contracted by a publisher that went out of business. I have 2 pieces already under contract for 2012 and a whole bunch of WIP pieces that will probably get pitched over the coming months.

My kids are deep into another year of being homeschooled and my "day" job at the college cranks steadily onward.

I guess that brings around the topic of resolutions .... I hope to write more, ride more, read more and avoid wrecking my knee any further.

TWAS THE DAY BEFORE xMAS AND CURRY IS PLANNED
New Christmas eve tradition here. Curry on Xmas eve. The idea got spawned last year when we were in Bath, England - land of gorgeous architecture and curry delivery. We were utterly exhausted after a hard day of shopping and holiday prep so Indian food seemed like a plan. It was awesome. Nobody delivers good Indian food around here (even though there is a place we could go pick it up) so I'm making curry and may try my hand at making naan from scratch.

Naughty: Mandatory Fun, a Torquere Menage story
Starting at: $1.99
by AR Moler

The head of Special Investigative Services, John Benchley, dreads the holiday season. During the autumn of the last two years, he’s lost two friends and fellow agents: one to a senseless robbery and one to the predations of a supernatural being that SIS was created to combat. The last thing he wants to do right now is participate in the mandatory Yuletide interagency bash. In particular, he’d really, really like to avoid an old hook-up, the man-eating Madison Carthage. Gabrielle Dichenz and Evan Garrett, his current lovers, promise him a reward for being a good boy and hanging in there. Sexy grown-up presents are good; love and support are better. John’s Christmas season just might take a turn for the better this year.

http://www.torquerebooks.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=79_108&products_id=3437

You can also swing by my website and leave me some email at the addy there. I'll be giving away a free copy on the 21st of December.