Alison Kent

A fairy creature probably created from the spontaneous combustion of marsh gas, Jack O’Lantern always lives in fenland. He is a figure of temptation, luring unwary travelers off the paths into the bog to drown. He can change sex, and can appear as a beautiful man or woman, or even a crock of gold, though most commonly is seen as a dancing flame. In this picture he is surrounded by lanterns, but there is a skull behind him on his left, vertebrae on his right, and a human hand peeping out from the reeds. He is a very dangerous and mischievous creature, and in front of him is a crock of brand new £1 coins.

My guestmap contest has been extended till November 15th!!

Well, Authors Blogs broke last night, but it shall be repaired shortly! This about Johnny Depp from Emma makes me smile! After this hilarious post from Larissa, this makes me cackle! Check out DreamForge Media’s newest website, designed by the fabulous Vibeke! I’ve started another blog for the writing of my current book, Larger Than Life. For now, that will probably be where I bitch and moan most about writing! I’ve also joined Sylvia’s Write OR Die Challenge, WORD 2004, an informal alternative to the National Novel Writing Month. If you need a kick in the rear followed by big warm fuzzy hugs, check it out!

And I think that’s it for today!! :P

Romance novel model joins with Sam’s Club to design ‘cheap chic’ for women …

Thanks to Mariann for the following:

This from Julie Kenner’s blog: How to fold a shirt the Origami way! (My family had best be not holding any collective breath!)

Every author I know, once they’ve turned in a manuscript, takes a break to clean their office. (Most actually take REAL breaks, too!) This is what I did yesterday. With SARA SMILES going out in the mail and the proof corrections for THE MCKENZIE ARTIFACT faxed away, groceries bought, lunch had with the politically incensed daughters, LOL, I then came home and hoped to collapse. My head stayed on the pillow for all of ten minutes. I couldn’t stand the mess. (My office is my bedroom’s sitting room!)

So, I got up and raked off the top of the filing cabinet, where the stack of receipts and other paper was about a foot high. It’s all now filed, uh, loosely. As in, tax stuff in one folder, medical stuff in one folder, contract stuff in one folder, etc. It’s a temp solution, but I found the few things I really needed to find! That done, I sat down and packed a box of giveaway books for Access Romance, stuffed the SAS-mailers readers had sent me for books, printed labels and stuffed mailers for my giveaways, filled out ALL the customs labels for the books going overseas . . . I think I have every promised book now in the mail (or they will be by tomorrow since I probably won’t hit the post office today!) . . . so everyone waiting on something, please give it at least two weeks or so and THEN you can bug me if you haven’t gotten what you’re waiting for!

Once all of that was done (and we’re talking going into 7:00 p.m. and watching LOST now!!), I sat down at the computer again and built an entire website! The design was already done and approved; I’d just been waiting on content. The author needs it up asap, and it should go up later tonight, minus one page that she hasn’t yet gotten together. I ended up showering around 11:00 p.m. and then, of course, tossing and turning because I’d had no downtime. Not that I’ll have any today, but hopefully things will be a bit calmer and not so flurried as I read through, revise, edit, change the first 27 pages of Mick’s book!

And, now, that’s what I need to go do!! :P :hehe: ;)

Especially since I’m only at 18.9% of pages done!

Yeah, that one. Mentioned here, since it’s now been taken off line at the original poster’s site (though she did apparently have pemission from RWA to post it . . .)

Talk Left says, Bond says Dilyn’s experience with being raided is not an uncommon occurrence for writers . . . Hmmm, I called a friend who is in a large writers group in Hillsboro, NC and asked her if she’d ever heard of such a thing. After she got done laughing she said no, and that she hadn’t heard it talked about at the ABA conference this year either. YMMV, of course, but she’s been a writer, instructor, and writing coach for 30+ years. Hmm, you think this is just more hysteria from the left about the patriot act? Me, personally, I assume that the NYT would be all over this like a duck on a june bug. If it were even partially true.

Here’s more at Daily Kos with a WHOLE host of comments.

And at Kate’s blog, one commenter said, If this story is true, I want to give it to one of my Senators who is very vocal in his opposition to the Patriot Act. But what I have a real problem with is the lack of hard facts. I think it is irresponsible for RWA to publish it if there are no facts. And if they can verify it, it is irresponsible for RWA not to be screaming to high heaven, while another said, I think the concern with the article is that we don’t know if/how the story was validated. Before something goes into a newspaper, sources are checked. For example, a call would have at least been placed to the “powers that be” for their comments. (Then those comments placed in the article, even if they were “no comment.”) Nowhere in the RWA column does it indicate this was done–not saying it wasn’t done, but it would be a good piece of information to include in such a controversial article.

FWIW :)

I hate forgetting something. Or remembering it incorrectly. I knew I had proofs to read for THE MCKENZIE ARTIFACT, so I got up to do them first thing today. Since they were due back today. Except they were due back YESTERDAY! Argh! Anyhow, got that done first thing, faxed back three minor corrections, only one of which will make me look stupid if it doesn’t get made, LOL!

Sigh. I’m too tired today to worry about it. Just back from a rousing lunch with the dh and the daughters, discussing politics, voting, the electoral college, and Denny’s fruit-filled pancakes. The 6-pack novella went out in the mail. The proof’s changes were faxed. My newest website went live. Now to take a nap, LOL! I love finishing a project, but I’m always exhausted the day following!

Now that I’ve finished my 6-Pack novella (except for reading through, proofing, fleshing a bit, mailing), here is my schedule:

October 27th - November 30th: 11.428571 pages per day

December 1st - January 6th: 6.805556 pages per day

January 7th - December 31st: 3.428571 pages per day

So, you see, if I manage to survive the rest of this year, next year I’ll be amazingly sane!!!!! I’ll even be able to double up, take vacations, read books, shop, work-out, be a couch potato and suck down movies, etc.!!