Bruised Butt

In an attempt to be more environmentally friendly, save money, and be more healthy overall, I decided to get a bike and ride it at least part way from work.

worst. idea. ever.

In theory, it's a great idea because I'd really get great exercise, it'd keep us from needing a second car, and I'd cause next to no pollution. In reality - or at least in my reality today - it's doesn't work out so well.

After some pondering, I realized there were several key mistakes I made today:

• I missed my bus, which would have cut out half of the riding time. I decided that I would probably make better time by just biking instead of waiting for the next one...WRONG!
• There was a point where I could have stopped and taken a shuttle (with the bike attached), which would have cut out about another quarter of the riding time. I decided that since I had already gone that first distance, I might as well just ride the rest of the way home...WRONG!
• I'm nervous about riding my bike on the main streets, so I tried to cut through the neighborhoods, though I did this without verifying my route. It might have been safer, but it added another 20 minutes to my travel time...WRONG!

Why is all this such a big deal, you ask? Because I live 8.5 miles away from work! Taking the bus and the shuttle would have cut out 7 of those miles on bike, requiring me to only ride about 1.5 miles or so. Even just taking the bus and biking the rest of the way would have saved me about four miles from that blasted trip! Needless to say, I left work at 16:20 and didn't arrive home until exactly 18:01. An hour and forty minutes!

And to top it all off, my jelly legs - which are terribly out of shape - gave out on me as I was trying to walk with my dog down the stairs for his walkies... I totally fell down the stairs. How does trying to protect nature give me this much bad karma?

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In other news, I pre-ordered my Nook today! All I requested for my birthday was a coffee maker and/or a Nook. I got the coffee maker from my mum and dad and the rest of the family gave me enough money so that I could get Nook! I'm so excited! Happy Birthday to me!

And though it seems a bit random, I'm excited to say that the Brown Pelican has been removed from the Endangered Species list - not because they're extinct, but because the population has recovered that much! I realize that it's just one bird specie, but imagine what else could be saved if we just kept doing what we tree-huggers do best? I'd like to think that by bruising my butt today on the bike ride home, I did my part to help other species recover from the Endangered list. Hmm... I'd really like to go to the zoo now!

And lastly, I'm falling a bit behind with NaNo, but I'm dedicated to getting my butt back in gear. Just maybe not tonight. I think I hear a hot bath calling my name - with some salts or something. Is there a massage fairy somewhere in the house? No? Poop.

Do Eet!

Win money, yo!

Win $10,000

or some other cool swag from Harlequin Teen! This is the last week to enter to win the Intertwined Sweepstakes, so make sure and check it out here. In case you guys didn't know, Intertwined is a new Young Adult paranormal by the ever-talented Gena Showalter. She's amazing. If I were a guy, I'd beg her to have my babies. For realsies peeps.

You can enter your email address once a day until the contest is over - and if you're interesting in winning stuff instantly, there's a silly match game too. I think the money's worth it, even if you're not sure you'd like her stuff. But I promise you, it's good stuff. Like brain candy. :)

Just do it!

I won again!

I won yet another contest! This time, it was for a copy of Shannon K. Butcher's Love You to Death! As I said when I entered into the contest, I've been stalking the book since it came out on the shelves last month. Working in a bookstore can be dangerous when my favorite authors have new releases - but it's so worth it, I tell you!

Ooh, I can't wait till I get this one in the mail. I'll have to make time between working on reviews, working (for real), writing for NaNo or whatever else I've got going so that I can read this one. I know! I'll save both this and the Kresley Cole/Gena Showalter anthology Deep Kiss of Winter as reward reads once I've completed NaNo. What a great idea, Elisa! (Thanks, Elisa!)

Jennifer Lyon Blog, Chat, and Contest!

BittenByBooks is having yet another contest, this time in honor of Jennifer Lyon! Find information on the contest here. Once there, you'll see that she's discussing her latest book in the Wing Slayer Hunters series - Soul Magic. There's a witch who's soul is trapped in a dagger, and a handsome and conflicted man who may or may not be a soulmate to that poor trapped woman. He might also be soulmates with the witch's sister (who's also a witch). What a conundrum!

The chat is very interesting and Jennifer is giving away a $50 Amazon Gift Certificate to a winner, so definitely stop on by. Who knows, you might discover a new favorite author.

Interview, Chat, and Contest with Diana Pharaoh Francis!

BittenByBooks is having yet another contest today! Come check it out here. This time it's a discussion with Diana Pharaoh Francis about her books, including Bitter Night. I personally haven't had a chance to check her work out yet, but it of course sounds amazing!

She also discusses some points of contention in her writing process and some great resource ideas. As an amateur author, this info is always super helpful. Plus, she's really nice. So go forth and explore!

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In other news, Shannon K. Butcher's next book in the Sentinel Wars series is out! Woo! I so wish I'd had the chance to review this one... me likey the ARCs. :) I'll keep you guys posted on any reviews coming out of BittenByBooks.

Contest with Lori Handeland!

BittenByBooks is having yet another great author contest! This time, it's with Lori Handeland, author of Nightcreature and Phoenix Chronicles series! Check it out here. Prizes include a turquoise necklace and the entire Nightcreature series (eight books!)! How cool is that?!

What did YOU do this Halloween?

I didn't dress up because I didn't work that day (though I had originally planned on going to work as Anita Blake), I didn't go to any parties because I had to work the next morning, and I certainly didn't overload myself on candy because I didn't trick-or-treat. What did I do, you ask? I got my nose pierced! I think it might make for a fun yearly tradition on Halloween, don't you? Well, not just piercing my nose but getting piercings done in general... hmm... :)

I really like the end results and can't wait until the piercing site is completely healed so I can explore other jewelry options. It's funny: I didn't think I'd ever want something other than a simple stud/jewel but after seeing all kinds of options out there, I just can't decide! If it works, I might even try out a hoop every now and again.

NaNo started yesterday and I'm totally behind! I have to finish reading this book so I can write a review and then write two days' worth of stuff today so that I'm not behind. I should be able to swing about 4k words today, but it'll be tough! So...um...I should probably stop procrastinating...

I Winned!

About a month ago I made a post about a contest with C. June Wolf and Bitten By Books. And guess what? I won! I don't know what my prize will be because there were a few options, but I'm super excited. Even if it's just a signed bookmark or the author posting on her blog that "Elisa Rocks!" I'm just thrilled to win!

And I must say her stories had me quite intrigued, especially since they covered a wide-spectrum of "what if" questions and current social scenarios. Both entertaining, and deep. How cool is that?

You can find the author's blog here. And color me surprised, because she and I have the same blog background for our layout. How funny is that?

It's 11:30 p.m., who's talking in your head this time?

I'm usually in bed, failing to fall asleep when I really get to experience the development and "motivation" for most of my characters. Of course, they're stories that I haven't yet had the chance to work through on paper (rather, on the computer) but they hassle me like you wouldn't believe. And it's not like I have a one-sided conversation with them either: I see actual scenes in my head, usually conversations - okay, heated arguments and shouting matches - between key characters. And it's not the same story each night, either. I'd say I have something like five or more stories running through my head at any given time and some nights the scenes are just from one story, while others it's like changing the channels on TV. I wonder how much influence television has had on my storytelling. Hopefully, it's not a bad thing.

The thing is, I find that my characters are usually mad about something. I don't know if the fights will show up in the finished product, but I find it kind of alarming that my subconscious always goes to these types of scenes with the characters. I personally HATE arguments, especially heated ones. Civilized disagreements of opinion are okay, but the shouting matches are so kindergarten to me. I grew up around a lot of fighting at home, though, so I wonder if that experience colors my perception of my characters. I mean sure, arguments and highly emotional situations always give us a good feel for how a person works inside and what their measure is, but isn't it kind of ridiculous that it's always arguments? Only a handful of times do I recall a scene involving relieved capitulation, passionate embraces, or laughter. The most is shouting. It's a rather unhealthy development I just discovered about myself five minutes ago.

Does this happen to any of you guys when you write? The tendency toward a specific type of situation for characters to be in, or even the tendency to be bombarded with character scenes in the middle of the night? I've been told several times that it's terribly unhealthy to jump up and write every time a scene or character development comes to you, so I don't (because really, when would we sleep?) but is this really fodder for me to understand a character better? Or am I losing out on some juicy scenes where my male lead gets his derriere handed to him by the female lead? Because let's be honest, it's always that way. ::grins::

Come to think of it, the women do tend toward violence as well. Oh, dear...

Too Much?

I've never done reviewing as part of a group (just me blathering on about books I love) and I'm terrified that I'm turning out a bunch of junk. I kind of feel like crying. Is that normal/weird/immature? I haven't heard anything negative on my submissions, so maybe no news is good news... Everyone I work with is super nice and helpful, but I'm afraid to take advantage of their willingness to help by bombarding them with endless questions that really amount to, "what's my level of suckiness?"

It occurs to me that perhaps my future editor and/or agent should probably be forewarned that I apparently get worked up over silly little things. I mean, I knew I did this with real-live, tangible stuff like putting together product displays, but I had no idea that I kinda need someone to hold my hand every now and again or pat me on the back. Feedback. I apparently need lots of it (or I think I do). Is any of this making sense?

::frustrated sigh:: I'm gonna' have some grape pop. That ought'a help. Or make me hyper. hmm...

Been a While...

It's been a long few weeks for me. I've been working my butt off, fighting off getting sick again, trying (and failing) to maintain the house, and reading tons of books so that I can write reviews for them! Who'd'a thought reviewing was so exhausting? I can't say that it takes all the fun out of reading, but it certainly changes my viewpoint as a reader - it's no longer good enough to say, "I loved that book!" Instead, I have to say, "I loved that book because ___, and ___, and ___ happened." If it's a good review, that is.

I really, really, really dislike doing the bad reviews - or the not-so-nice reviews. As a writer, I'm sensitive and worry about whether or not what I create is interesting to others. I really don't want to say to someone, "look, you kinda stink." Mostly, because I really don't mean the reviews that way. I just have to remember that the reviews are subjective and that's just how it goes.

In other news, Barnes and Noble revealed their Nook this week online and in the stores. It comes out in late November (just in time for my birthday and Christmas, what a great idea!) and I'm understandably stoked to finally see it. They'd talked about having an actual e-reader device to accompany the e-reader software, and now here it is! Take a look at it if you're curious at www.bn.com. Sew kewl.

Also, NaNo is coming up! November 1 is the official kick-off day. ::sighs:: I'm not sure I'm ready for this craziness, but that's why I'm trying to crank out the reviews now so that I can focus primarily on writing during November. Yikes.