This One Goes Out to All You Mothers...

WARNING: This blog post contains a picture of a real-life, disturbing-looking wound. The squeamish should exercise caution and/or go read another blog, maybe one about unicorns and/or fluffy kittehs and bunnehs, or similar.

Have I mentioned that my Senior-in-college son, Balthazar, plays guitar in a friend's band? He met the fellow up at school, but M (the friend) lives in the tri-state area. Anyway, M's a mover and shaker, and hustles to get them gigs, no matter how humble the venue (think unfinished basement of someone's house). Whatevs, folks gotta start somewhere, and I admire that will-play-for-beer/pot spirit.

They regularly gig during the academic year and on breaks. During the January break, Balthy advised me that the band was heading back up to school on a Thursday afternoon for a show, and then going on to New Haven for another performance that coming Saturday. I noted that a blizzard was expected over the weekend and urged caution, a notion promptly scoffed at by the spawn of my womb.

So I went to work on Wednesday and by the time I got home Balthy was already out with some friends. I knew he'd get back in the wee hours and, as it was a school-night for me, I wouldn't be able to see him till he returned from New Haven the following week. Such is life.

Well, the blizzard did hit, hard, and I nervously checked in with Balthy on Saturday. I was relieved to learn the Connecticut gig had been canceled. The Kid and his friends would be driving back from school on Sunday night. My anxiety level spiked again, as the parkway they'd take is hella curvy, poorly lit, and bound to be a snowy mess.

I spent Sunday in a state of useless hypervigilance, frequently sending up prayers that the kids all made it to their respective homes safely. When Balthazar's key turned in the lock around 7:30pm, I let out a whoosh of relief and thanked God for being so utterly groovy.

Balthazar joined me in my room, plopped on my bed and started chatting. He commented on how good my dinner, which was being kept in the oven so as to stay warm, smelled. In a fit of motherly relief and benevolence, I said he could have it. He thanked me, then gave me his weird, "Boy, are you gonna hate what I'm about to dish up" smile.

Me, on alert: What?

Balthy: I'm gonna show you something that's gonna freak you out. (He stood and his hands went to the waistline of his jeans.)

Me, enthusiastically: Didja get a tattoo?

Balthy, still with the shit-eating grin: Nah... (He pushed down the jeans and showed me the stuff of mothers' nightmares.)

Me, feeling the blood drain from my face: What's that?

Balthy: A dog bite.

Me, through numb lips: From what kind of dog?

Balthy: A big one.

Me: ...when?

Balthy: Wednesday night.

(My eyes shot to his face.) Me: Did you seek medical attention for this?

Balthy, grin widening impossibly: Nah, had to travel with the band the next day, remember? Been puttin' Neosporin on it, covering it with gauze and whatnot. The worst part is that the dog ruined the pair of skinny jeans that I'd just bought that day.

Me, miraculously refraining from throttling him: You're a fucking idiot.

Lest you think I exaggerate the horror that was the semi-healed dog-bite, here's a pic.

Balthy's dog-bite, four days after the event.
Yep, those are puncture wounds. From fangs.
PUNCTURE WOUNDS FROM FANGS.

The ruined skinny-jeans.

I made the little blighter eat (my dinner!) while I got dressed and after he finished we slogged our way through the snow-packed streets to the emergency room of the hospital right around the block (thank God for small mercies).

I have to say, that was our quickest emergency room visit to date, as we were in and out in under an hour and I missed only about the first ten minutes of Downton Abbey (What? It was the final season!). At that point, there wasn't much to be done: the medical staff gave the wound a cursory inspection but, as it showed no sign of infection, asked if he was up to date with his tetanus booster, prescribed a course of antibiotics, and took down the dog-owner's contact info so the state health department could follow up and obtain proof that the dog (either a Rottweiler or a Pit Bull) was up to date on its shots.

(OK, there was one gratifying moment when the triage nurse asked when the bite happened and, upon learning it'd taken place FOUR DAYS PRIOR, looked up from her paperwork to sharply admonish Balthy, "It's Sunday!")

Anyway, Balthy has survived the bite (so far!) and, I hope, has learned NOT to let something like that go untreated for FOUR FUCKING DAYS. Also, I've learned that I need to go for my tetanus booster. Maybe y'all should consider it too, if it's been over ten years since you've had one.

The reason I dedicated this post to mothers is two-fold:

1. You all have been through this kind of terror-striking-incident with your own kids and, I'm sure, can so totally relate, and;

2. In honor of all us mothers, I'm making the e-Book version of my Greek-myth-based romance novel, THAT FATAL KISS, FREE for Mother's Day weekend 2016! Be sure to Facebook, Tweet, and otherwise share the hell out of this post to all and sundry and, if you'd like to pick up your own FREE copy, click here from Saturday, May 7 through Monday, May 9, 2016***!

***I think the times for Amazon's promotional events are Pacific times, so don't take any chances and snatch up your free copy on Mother's Day itself!***

Winners & Booty Rap!

And the three qualifying participants in my Resurrection Blogfest III, who were selected (via www.random.org) to win one of two prize options are:

Heather Gardner from The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Colleen Chen from Colleen's Write Brain

Hannah from Adventurous Tiger

Mazel tov! E-mail me at aoorooo at gmail dot com to let me know whether you prefer to receive a $20 Amazon Gift Card OR a copy of my book, That Fatal Kiss, + book swag, as pictured here (it's OK to go for the gift card, honest). ;-)

And thanks to all for participating, as well as the readers who supported, and continue to support, writers (and, indeed, artists of every stripe). Now, onto the Booty Rap...





I was an avid fan of Saturday Night Live through the 80s and a good portion of the 90s, then sort of dropped off watching regularly, at some point. This year, I happened to catch this season's premiere as I chillaxed in my hotel room (from some business trip or other) and just LURVED the "Couple's Booty Rap" sketch. If you need a laugh, check it out (but be careful if you're at work!). Note: it may take more than a few seconds to load, but it's totes worth it.

And the winners are...

The winners of TFK's 1st Anniversary Giveaway, as selected by Random.org, are:

1. Jackie
2. JoJo
3. Melissa

Congratulations! Winners, please e-mail me at aoorooo at gmail dot com with the name and address to which swag should be sent.

And thanks to all who joined in, for their comments and good wishes. I hope to have more smut available for reading in the not-so-distant future! :-)

Meanwhile, this also happened:

1st Anniversary Giveaway!

Book swag!

This Wednesday, September 24, 2014, marks one year since I self-published my debut novel, That Fatal Kiss, so I thought I'd celebrate with a giveaway! Three lucky winners, selected at random, will receive:

1. 1 trade-paperback sized print copy of That Fatal Kiss
2. 1 bookmark (in the picture, I show each side of the bookmark)
3. 1 TFK pen, and
4. 1 pair of what I'm calling "pomegranate seed beaded" earrings, because the seeds of this fruit play a pivotal role in the narrative (who knew fruit could be so influential?)

To enter this drawing, simply leave a comment for this post by 11:59p.m. on Sunday, September 28. All lovers of romance from around the world are welcome to enter. The three winners will be chosen using Random.org and will be announced next Monday, September 29.

And if you've a friend who digs some o' that Greek-mythological sexy, feel free to pass along the news by using one of the "Share" buttons below.

Good luck!

Edited to add: Readers can now comment "anonymously" but I ask that you give at least a first name here in your post so I can list you as a winner, if you are among the three randomly chosen. If you do post anynomously and win, please e-mail me at aoorooo at gmail dot com, with mailing information for the swag-s-swag.

Duran on Film!

On September 2 (the 50th birthday of Keanu Reeves, which, due to the smashing text I received, became my birthday too, yeah), I had the following text exchange with My Dear Friend Nikki:

NIKKI: Are you around say about 7:30 on September 10th?
ME: Lord willing and the police permitting!*
NIKKI: We are going!
ME: Where???
NIKKI: Chelsea cinemas on 23rd
ME: To see what?
NIKKI:

DURAN DURAN!!!!!

ME: WHOA!!!!!**
ME: SWEET!!!!!
ME: We should probs get tix in advance, if we can.
NIKKI: Yeah babe.
NIKKI: The music's between us!***
ME: Reach up, gurl!!!***
ME: Did u buy or shall I?
NIKKI: I already bought em
ME: Yay! what do I owe you?
NIKKI: Your presence. That is all I require. :-)
ME: Aw! I went all swoony just then. ;-)
NIKKI: Aw shucks...Go on...
ME: <3

*I can't take any credit for that, as it's one of the bizarre sayings of my people.
**That was absolutely unrelated to the aforementioned birthday boy.

So she and I, like, TOTALLY went to see this last week. I admit to feeling a bit of trepidation, wondering just what the fuck David Lynch would do to my Wild Boys. What he did was simply superimpose sometimes freaky images over concert footage from their performance at the Mayan Theatre in L.A., back in 2011. On the bright side, 4/5 Duranies were in concert together (ANDY! WHERE ARE YOU, ANDY?! THEY NEEEEEEEEEED YOU ANDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!). On the weird side, David Lynch.

Now, don't all you Lynchers get your crimson crotch-less knickers in a twist; I like Twin Peaks, and its damn good coffee, as much as the next gal. But there's no denying the man's vision is...hmmm...more surreal than Dali on angel dust (and how's THAT for a yardstick?). (Mind you, I've no idea whether Dali did the stuff or not. I'm just sayin'.)

Case in point: the shit Lynch put up over the lads as they performed the 2004 single off the Astronaut album, (Reach Up For the) Sunrise. It was the year I'd gone from a difficult job to the one I'm still at now. For me, that the boys released this fucking rocking and inspirational tune the summer in which I started the new gig revved me up in ways I can't coherently express. My Dear Friend Nikki has this song wake her up every morning, it's so friggin awesome to move one's booty to. (The bits in our text exchange with the three asterisks are lyrics from the song, except for the "gurl" part.) I can even get over the fact that, in chord structure, it follows the format of verse in minor/chorus in major that The Reflect and Electric Barbarella, and probs plenty of other Duran tunes use, I heart it so much. And here's Lynch, throwing up, of all things, a motherfucking Barbie-doll type thing, in the "nude," black circles with the letter "D" covering her tits.

WTF?

I'll admit, I LOLed the first time I saw that, which was when the chorus first played. A bunch of us in the (disappointingly small) audience did. Then it repeated and I decided I had to break out my phone so I could capture this shit. And guess what? The first image I caught was:

Count 'em, y'all—that's TWO dollies dancing over John Taylor's face. But two dolls weren't enough for Lynch—oh, no:

Nick Rhodes got THREE o' them bitches all up in his grill! But that didn't quite satisfy Lynch, because they rapidly multiplied until:

Simon LeBon was overrun by a horde of the ungodly things, all reaching up for the motherfucking sunrise. Or his soul. Couldn't be certain, because soon after it was like a Barbie apocalypse and I may have fainted.

Now, if this shit had happened during, say, Girls on Film or, even more fittingly, Girl Panic, there'd have been some logic to it. But what the fuck am I thinking, expecting logic from the director in question?

ANYWAY, the music was pretty fucking fabulous (their dramatically slow intro into A View To A Kill, from which lyrics I derived the title of my book, THAT FATAL KISS, had My Dear Friend Nikki and me in raptures). In fact, it irked me to see only a few folks so much as bobbing their heads to the tunes, much less dance in their seats, as I did. It's like they were just Lynch fans, there to see his work, which is possibly the most surreal concept of the entire night.

I've been trying to find a video of this bit online and the best I could turn up was but a mere snippet. Instead, I decided to embed live concert footage which successfully conveys why My Dear Friend Nikki and I heart the tune so very much.

Indie Author SOS ~ Weirdness!

So I was checking out the listing for my book, That Fatal Kiss, on Amazon.com (yeah, I was eyeballing the Amazon Best Sellers Rank, which I've been doing daily since I released it in September) (OK, I look at TFK's ABSR several times a day; gimme a break, this is all new to me and I've got compulsive tendencies) when I noticed something weird. It struck me as so utterly bizarre that I squinted, really hard, at my laptop screen (and I do my damnedest not to squint, 'cause I can't afford the wrinkles). I even asked someone at my day job to take a look at it, as I just really couldn't believe what I was seeing. Here's a piccie of The Weirdness (hint: look closely at the pricing in the rectangular box):

Do you see that Used Paperback price, through Amazon.com Marketplace? Someone's listed for sale a used paperback copy of TFK for almost a thousand dollars.

Someone has listed for sale a used paperback copy of TFK for almost a thousand dollars.

Uh...what?

Say what???

Seriously, what the actual fuck? For realz? C'mon, that's gotta be a typo, right? The seller meant, like, 99 cents, probably, right? Right?!

So I e-mailed the good people over at Amazon.com, just asking if that was a legit listing, and was given some canned response about sellers being able to ask any price they want for the items they put up for sale.

Yeah, that's fine, but what the hell did the seller do to that copy to warrant a ticket price of $999.11? Gild the page edges with actual gold, melted down in a vat in his basement? Embed in it some new stripe of artificial intelligence, so that it can do your homework (and/or taxes) for you, on demand? 
Imbue it with such mighty mystical powers that, if carried around as a charm, it'd keep mosquitoes and zits at bay for, like, forever? ('Cause that would be rather impressive, wouldn't it?)

I'm tempted to write the seller and ask her/him to let me know if it sells at that price, just to see if s/he discovers (and owns up to) an error in pricing. 'Cause that's totally a mistake. It's just gotta be. Or a cruel, cruel joke.

Indie (and/or traditionally published) authors of teh Blogosphere: any o' y'all seen some shit like that? If so, did it weird you out? If so, did you do anything about it? Should I be doing something about it??? (Probably not, but this thing's just do weirdly weird that I had to toss in a few more question marks somewhere...)

Pimp My Page!™

"Like" me, dang it!

For this first week of the month in which I celebrate my birth*, I present for your joy and edification my Pimp My Page!™ campaign! Or maybe that should read, "...for my joy and your edification..." Or, if I'm being straightforward, "...my Facebook author page needs some lovin', y'all!" I mean, I guess I shoulda just said that to begin with, but that makes me come off less altruistic and more "needy author," so...

Yeah, anyway.

Back in October, I teased y'all with the photo over on the left and a hint of a blog post to come. The place in the pic is the Art Institute of Chicago, which was just a few blocks away from the hotel I stayed at while in The Windy City on business last month. I'd no idea it was so close, and as I strolled about town the evening I arrived, I noticed this gloriously lit up facade, whose 3rd banner to the right proclaimed an exhibit titled, "Of Gods and Glamour." Well, as the gods in question were of the ancient Greek variety, I was damned if I was going to leave Chicago without checking it out. (I'm probably damned regardless, but that's a story for another time.)

The following day I did manage to get over to the museum, but didn't really allow myself as much time as I ought to've done, so I didn't snap as many pics as I'd have liked. (I have a bad habit of not giving myself enough time to do stuff; regular readers might've noticed this disturbing trend o' mine.) But I did get a few good'uns, which, rather than stick in a blog post, I've decided to employ as fan bait. (If such a thing is possible.)

Thus, my Pimp My Page!™ campaign was born! Every day this work-week, I'll post a pic from the exhibit on my Facebook author page at 3pm (EST). I hope you, Dear Readers, will go "Like" my page, if you've not already done so. AND, if you're so inclined, do Pimp My Page!™ to any peeps of your acquaintance who you think would enjoy said pics by "Sharing" them on the Facebook. Heck, you can even Tweet about 'em, or Google-Plus 'em, go crazy! If you're not sure how to get to my author page, just click on the badge below:

Thanks for reading and hope to catch you on Facebook, 3pm, from Monday through Friday of this week!

*In case you're wondering, my birthday's on December 21 and I like Lindt and Guylian Belgian chocolates, Brighton jewelry, and Gerbera daisies. ;-)

Winners & Tuneage

My fantasy romance novel is
available for purchase at:

Amazon | B & N | Smashwords

Print version: Coming soon!

Winners
And the three winners of the random* drawing for free e-book copies of my debut fantasy romance novel, That Fatal Kiss, are:

T. Drecker
Gill Fraser Lee
Jackie

Congratulations! Please e-mail me to let me know the preferred format for your free e-copy. (If you're not in possession of an e-reader, I can provide a PDF instead; just let me know.)

Tuneage
As I worked on That Fatal Kiss, I noticed that the styles of music to which I seat-boogied depended upon whose point of view concerned me at the moment. When I wrote from Persephone's point of view, I felt like a laughter-loving gal who tears up a dance floor whenever the opportunity presents itself. So for the goddess, it was all about the New Wave and Post-Punk. But when I wrote from Hades' point of view, I found myself feeling dark and broody, like I imagine the Lord of the Underworld felt until he'd secured Persephone for his bride. Invariably, this meant I tuned into Goth-type Rock. In both cases, there were tunes which came to mind that fit certain bits of the story. And in Persephone's playlist, particularly, there were some songs I listened to repeatedly as I wrote, so now I always think of the book (and the actor I envisioned in the role of Hades in the as-yet-not-optioned-for-film movie) when I think of those tunes. Anyway, I hied myself over to Grooveshark and made up a playlist for each Immortal, which I share with you here:

Persephone's Dance & Laughter-Lovin' Playlist

Hades' Dark & Broody Goth Rock Playlist

*The drawing was conducted via random.org.

That Fatal Kiss is HERE!

OK, well, not right here, but, you know,
available for sale on the following sites:

E-Books

Amazon.com (for Kindle)

Barnes and Noble (for Nook)

Smashwords
(for most other e-readers,
including those by Apple, Sony, and Kobo)

Print Version Coming Soon!

For a chance to win a free e-copy, simply enter a comment, below*.
Three winners will be chosen at random.

*Edited to add: comments left up to/including Sunday, September 29, will be entered in the drawing. Winners will be announced the following week.

And just in case you need a reminder of what the story's all about:

Feared by mortals for his inexorable power, and loathed by his fellow Greek gods for the same, Hades rules the Underworld alone.  A stark eternity looms before him until he discovers Persephone. Struck by the youthful goddess’ beauty, kindness, and spirit, he must have her. But Hades believes Persephone could never love him, and so he conspires with his powerful brother, Zeus, to take her by force.

Persephone too seeks a mate but her possessive mother, the goddess Demeter, frustrates her husband hunting. Then Hades abducts Persephone, tearing her away from the Upperworld she loves to reign with him in the dank depths below. Though outraged, Persephone cannot deny the desire ignited within her by the dark lord’s touch. And even as she hopes that Demeter will unearth her, Persephone aches to surrender to the heat in Hades’ immortal soul.

And don't forget to visit all the stops along my blog tour this week!

Monday, September 23, 2013

Defending the Pen (Yolanda Renée)

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Daily (w)rite (Damyanti)

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Melissa's Imaginarium (Melissa Bradley)

Friday, September 27, 2013

Mina Burrows

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Word + Stuff (Trisha F)

24 Hours Till Release Day!

Don't...don't you want me?

And so the countdown begins. Tomorrow, I unleash my debut novel upon the world.

Can you say butterflies in the stomach? 'Cause I sure can.

To lend me their support, these ginchy blogging gals are hosting my That Fatal Kiss blog tour, as follows:

Monday, September 23, 2013
Defending the Pen (Yolanda Renée)

Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Word + Stuff (Trisha F)

Wednesday, September 25, 2013
Daily (w)rite (Damyanti)

Thursday, September 26, 2013
Melissa's Imaginarium (Melissa Bradley)

Friday, September 27, 2013
Mina Burrows

Please visit these groovy gurls on their respective hosting days, and be sure to come back to my blog TOMORROW for my release day giveaway!

Streaming Consciousness: Odds & Ends

But mostly odds, because I am. Odd, that is.

C'mon, now, you knew that about me already.

...so, like, I haven't had a cigarette since about 4:35pm, Monday, August 19, 2013. Prior to that, I'd smoked for about 26 years. On the bright side, the antidepressant I'm on is also prescribed, in lower doses, for help with smoking cessation. On the dark side (my favorite), there have been moments when I feel I shoulda been strapped up like my good friend Monty Burns, over to the right. And not just for the kink factor, either. Anyway, I've already seen some good results (food tastes better, Yay!) and some bad (I've been carb-craving like a MoFo, Booo!). I didn't say anything about this sooner 'cause whenever I try to do something like this and blab about it, I always crap out. But so far, so good...

...took The Kid back up to skewl for his second year of college. Dang. Second year of college. Wow. I mentioned a few months ago that I'm mostly over Empty Nest Syndrome. It should be noted, though, that the remnants of ENS manifest as a desperate need to feed people, along with me tossing out stuff like, "You're not going out in this weather without a coat?!" Which everybody loves...

...I've set my release date my debut fantasy romance novel, That Fatal Kiss, for

TUESDAY,

SEPTEMBER 24, 2013

W00T, W00T, W0000000000T! 

The e-book, anyway. I want to have a paperback available for folks who don't cotton to books in digital, but that may be somewhat delayed. (The best laid plans of mice and men...)

Meanwhile, if you'd like to read a sexy excerpt from That Fatal Kiss, click here. Or check out this interview of my heroine, Persephone, and hero, Hades, the Lady and Lord of the ancient Greek Underworld.

Stop by on release day and enter a comment for your chance to win a free copy of the e-book! And don't forget to spread the word!

Cover Reveal ~ That Fatal Kiss by ME!!!

I've long held a passion for Greek mythology, y'all. The story of the goddess Persephone's marriage-by-kidnap to Hades, Lord of the Underworld, has particularly fascinated me, and thus came about my debut novel, That Fatal Kiss. Coming September 2013, the revisionist tale features a fiery and noble heroine, a handsome and broody hero, and some heated, earth-shakin' lovin'!

Given my neurotic nature, it took cover artist Steven Novak and me a few go-arounds before settling on the cover design for That Fatal Kiss. It had to be curiously compelling, slightly spooky, and yet super sexy—and so it is!

The Book:

Feared by mortals for his inexorable power, and loathed by his fellow Greek gods for the same, Hades rules the Underworld alone. A stark eternity looms before him until he discovers Persephone. Struck by the youthful goddess’ beauty, kindness, and spirit, he must have her. But Hades believes Persephone could never love him, and so he conspires with his powerful brother, Zeus, to take her by force.

Persephone too seeks a mate but her possessive mother, the goddess Demeter, frustrates her husband hunting. Then Hades abducts Persephone, tearing her away from the Upperworld she loves to reign with him in the dank depths below. Though outraged, Persephone cannot deny the desire ignited within her by the dark lord’s touch. And even as she hopes that Demeter will unearth her, Persephone aches to surrender to the heat in Hades’ immortal soul.

The Teaser:

“Enough,” Hades said, closing the distance between them. “I have taken you with your father’s consent, as custom allows. You are in my kingdom, under my rule, and if you have any care for your continued well-being, you will get into my bed. Now.” And with the removal of the pins that held together the black cloth about his waist, he stood naked before her.

The anger warming Persephone clashed with another fire that roared to life within her. She choked on a breath and turned her face from him. “Be warned; I will resist you with the full force of my being, through violent means, if necessary.”

His large, unyielding hands encircled the soft flesh of her upper arms as he said, “If you must. Though your surrender to me would prove more satisfying to us both.”

If any of this intrigues, please keep abreast of updates regarding That Fatal Kiss, as well as the development of any new neuroses, by stalking me at my usual haunts:

Blog: Some Dark Romantic
On Facebook: GothMomLite
On the Twitter: @GothMomLite
And GothMomLite Will Tumblr For Ya as well

And, if the spirit moves you, please do spread the word by clicking on the icons of your social media of choice, below.

*       *       *

With hearty THANKS to all the bloggers who've joined me in this cover reveal!

Allyson Lindt
Ari Michaels
Christine Rains
Damyanti Biswas
Danielle Bertrand
Elise Fallson
Heather Gardner
Jackie Felger
Covergirls
Jessica Topper
Juliette Smith
Melissa Bradley
Mina Burrows
Penelope Crowe
Rocky Hatley
Samantha Redstreake Geary
Shannon Lawrence
Sofia Grey
Tina Downey and A to Z
Tonja Reynolds
Trisha Farnan
Yolanda Renee

Writerly Things ~ Revediting

*Expletives were not deleted from this post.*

A marked-up-for-editing snippet from my book, That Fatal Kiss, coming this September!
Lord willing and the police permitting, as my Portuguese forebears would say.

I've been on "stay-cation" since Tuesday, June 18. I had a bunch of revisions/editing to do (hence, "revediting"), based on the notes of the super gal* I employed to copy-edit That Fatal Kiss (TFK). Spent the first couple weeks mostly catching up with Facebook and the Twitter, futzing with my blog's font and text color (as you may already know), and watching lotsa Bones re-runs on the tee-vee. So, you know, I was super productive.

Knowing full well that I needed to get my ass in gear if I wanted to release my book on time, I pushed myself as hard as I could to get through my revediting during my last week off. Nearly every waking hour, for the past 7 days, were spent working on my manuscript.

Please understand that I'm in love with my main characters, Hades and Persephone. I adore them. I lust after them in a quasi-incestuous way. (OK, I lust after Hades, but I think Persephone's a super cool chick.) I've enjoyed tagging along on their courtship journey, immensely.

But I swear, if I have to:

• do one more damned "Find and Replace" because, somehow, I missed getting rid of a word the first hundred times I edited this book;
• pore through this manuscript, looking for quotation marks that are in a font different from the text (how the fuck did that happen???);
• "...delete one more goddamn adverb!" she typed vexedly;

just one more motherfucking time, I may have to cut my own throat.

I am so heartily tired of working on this bitch. SO. TIRED. I'm more than ready to hire someone to do a final post-revediting proofread, format this shit for e-readers, and make this fucker available for purchase online. TFK, I am DONE with you! DONE, DONE, DONE!!!!!

::sighs::

OK, I know I'm not done with you. I know we still have some matters to sort out before I can unleash you upon an unsuspecting world. And you know I heart you, baby, right? Right??? I just need a little breakie-woo. And then I'm-a polish you off, dress you up real purty-like, and put you up on them virtual bookshelves so others can fall in love with you too. XOXOX

*The super gal I hired to edit TFK is Jena O'Connor. Jena has a B.S. and M.A. in English, teaches English at the high school level and has taught writing at the college level, and has released her own romance novel, Mixing Up a Memory. She's friendly, prompt, highly skilled, and has extensive knowledge of the romance genre. Also, her rates are amazingly affordable and she does great work. If you need an editor, I highly recommend you check out her Web site, Practical Proofing.

Liebe me, liebe me...

...say that you liebe me like Penelope Crowe, author of 100 Unfortunate Days does. Thanks, Ms. Crowe, for passing this Liebster on to me. Readers, if you're in the mood for something dark and quirky, check out a free sample of 100 Unfortunate Days; if this doesn't wig you out, I don't know what will, fo' shizzle.

There are numerous steps involved in the acceptance of a Liebster: stating 11 things about yourself, answering 11 questions asked by the person granting you the award, nominating 11 other bloggers for a Liebster and concocting 11 questions for them to answer. Well, if you've been following along this week, you know I worked crazy hours at my day job and am pretty dang beat. Also, I've received this bad boy a few times, now, and the third one (I think) very recently indeed. So I'll tackle the 11 questions asked of me but won't be tagging peeps or making up questions for them, this time around. Anyone interested in claiming this Liebster/answering these questions (even if only in the comments), please feel free to do so.

And now, to Ms. Crowe's questions:

1. What projects have you just finished--and what are you working on now?

I've been editing my Greek mythological romance, That Fatal Kiss, with an eye to self-publishing it later this year, possibly September. After that, I plan to work on a "sampler" of three short supernatural romances, two of which sort of introduce the location of, and a couple of characters from, my next novel, a contemporary supernatural romance called Bedeviled (this will be the first book in a trilogy).

2. Do you have any hidden talents?

Nah, but I got a couple of shekels in my piggy bank. (See what I did there? Talents/shekels were/are units of monetary currency. Didja geddit? Didja, didja, huh, huh???)

3. If you had NO limitations and were a guaranteed success--what project would you undertake?

I'd produce/direct a mini-series of my fave Jane Austen novel, Northanger Abbey. And I wouldn't just hire the eye candy du jour to play the leads, but folks I truly felt bring the roles to life (as Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth did for Pride and Prejudice).

4. Please tell us three things on your bucket list.

Uh...well, I'd love to visit Jerusalem and walk where Jesus walked. Hmmm...This is tough. All my crazy dreams are goals I intend to see through to fruition...maybe I don't get the point of bucket lists...

5. What is the best and worst part of writing?

The best: like sex, it engrosses and revs me up. (Woof!) The worst: like sex, I never want to stop doing it but reality will intrude, damn it...

6. What character in a book or movie do you relate to the most?

Little Red Riding Hood. I've lived a very sheltered life and fell prey to wolves before learning some very difficult and painful lessons.

7. Are you more athletic or aesthetic?

Aesthetic.

8. Do you believe in anything supernatural? If so, what.

I believe that everything's possible (ghosts, werewolves, vampires, sea creatures, legit wicked witches, etc.). The only supernatural beings I feel in my heart and soul to be real are God, His Holy Posse, plus the Devil and his cursed crew.

9. What makes you happy?

Singing my songs with like-music-minded band members backing me up, sex, writing, sex, reading, sex, chocolate, sex, live open-air concerts by my fave bands, sex, realio-trulio good coffee (light, with half and half), sex, losing myself in a theater to portrayals of humorous horror, sex...I did mention sex, right? I'd hate to leave it out, inadvertently.

10. If you could be smarter or better looking--which would you choose and why?

Hmmm! Actually, I'd choose to be brasher, less self-restrictive/censoring.

11.  Whom do you admire the most and how does this person inspire you?

Just generally, I admire people who feel particular passions burning inside their hearts and actively seek to release that fire into the world, despite the doubting voices (both internal and external).

So, yeah, if any of you are inclined to answer these questions, either on your own blog or here in the comments, I'd love to read whatcha gots to say. Meanwhile...

Indie-Publishing Timeframe? (IASOS)

So, here's my first Indie Author SOS post, which I address to other writers who've gone boldly where they hadn't ventured before—the thrilling/terrifying world of independent publishing!

I plan to publish my Greek-myth inspired romance novel, That Fatal Kiss, later this year. I'm shooting for the first day of fall which, from today, is about 9 months away.

Those of you who've been down this road already, what do y'all think: is 9 months enough time to get this shit together? (You know, assuming I've got my shit together?)

I'm in the final (hah!) revision stages and anticipate having my final (hah!) draft complete by the end of January. Yeah, this January. (I'm emphasizing this for my own benefit, so I'm sure to kick my own ass into getting it done by the time I've publicly said I would. Feel free to bust my chops if I've not kept my word.) (But gently; I'm a delicate flower.) (Yes, I am. Stop laughing.)

In an upcoming IASOS post, I'll list the things I believe need doing to make this indie-pubbing lark a reality, but until then, should I budget for more time, less, or does 9 months seem about right? Please leave your thoughts in the comments and feel free to Tweet/Facebook this to encourage other indie authors to chime in!

The easiest way to share this post on the social media of your choice is to click one of the little icons above this post's tag: "Posted by Mina Lobo at 12:00 AM." THANKS!

U Got The Look! Meme

L.G. Keltner of Writing Off the Edge tagged me with the "U Got The Look!" meme. It doesn't have a pic associated with it, but I found this one and it just felt "right," you know? ;-)

Anyway—here's whatcha gots to do: go to your current WIP, find the word "look," and post the section which includes it, as well as the surrounding paragraphs. Then tag 5 other poor bastards with the meme.

So I give you an excerpt from my as-yet-unpublished Greek mythological romance, That Fatal Kiss. It's from a section at the very beginning, in which Hades, Lord of the Underworld coerces asks Zeus, King of the Gods, to help him snatch up the lovely immortal goddess, Persephone.

*       *       *

Hades sat back in his throne.  "Will you aid me in this endeavor?" 

Cagily playing for time, Zeus asked, "Why her?  Why the daughter of Demeter?" 

"Why not?” Hades snapped back.  “Look about you, Zeus; do you not see the darkness that pervades my kingdom?  Do you think it a pleasure to rule these fluttering shades, which have barely more substance than the air the mortals breathe above?"  Hades turned his face from the Olympian’s suddenly penetrating stare as he added, "Try mating with them." 

At that, Zeus' laugh shook through the glistening walls of the throne room once again. "Forgive me, Hades, I was not thinking of that."

Hades' face darkened with contempt.  "For an unprecedented change."

The Thunderer bristled at the continued insolence.  “Is that all you want her for, then? For the purpose of assuaging your lust?  Is a daughter of mine to serve merely as your receptacle, is she to be nothing more than your concubine?” he cried indignantly.

“I do not want her for my concubine, but for my lawful wife!”

“Your wife!”

“Yes, confound you, my wife!”

"But why her?"

“Are you blind, too, that you have to ask?"

Under different circumstances, and with another god, Zeus might have chuckled with appreciation.  But he could not afford to laugh now, the situation as volatile as it was. 

“Of course you want Persephone.”  He thought for a moment before asking, “But what if she does not want you?”

Hades’ lips twisted and he turned away from Zeus.  “Since when did a female’s wishes ever matter?  You know the customs.  If you, as her father, give her to me, then she is lawfully mine.”

“But why do you not court her properly, ask her if she would be your queen?”

The sullen god’s eyes flickered back to the Cloud Gatherer.  “Court her?  The way you courted your bride?  Did you prostrate yourself before Hera, begging her to have you?  No; you wanted her, Cronus was in no position to challenge you, and so you took her.”

“I had Rhea’s consent.”

“And I would have yours.  What is your point?”

"My point is that Demeter will not be pleased to lose her only child to the Lord of the Dead," said Zeus, getting to the true crux of the matter, as he saw it.  That ought to put a stop to things before they progressed any further.

Hades shrugged.  "She is herself a goddess of the Earth, a prolific creator.  Surely she can have another."

*       *       *

And I hereby tag:

Georgina Morales at the newly revamped Epitaphs and Headstones

Chris Fries at A Writer's Expanding and Slightly-Warped Universe

Damon Peter Rallis at The Six-Fingered Monkey

Elizabeth Twist, Writer, Plague Enthusiast

Steampunk Princess

Rock and roll it, kids.

Be Inspired (Redux) & The Next Big Thing Award!

Though I have been tagged with the "Be Inspired" meme before, there weren't any questions attached to it in that particular version. Now that the groovy Michael Offutt, author of sci-fi/fantasy novel Slipstream, has tasked me with bragging about one of my own books, I feel compelled to comply. Thanks for thinking of me, Michael!

I was also tagged by author Kate Larkindale of Fiction and Film for the "Next Big Thing" award - thanks so much, Kate!

I've merged these two memes into one post because the questions in each are nearly identical. (And because I don't like to work too hard, as many of you already know.) For each, writers are asked to discuss one of their books. There's really only one question that varies from one meme to the other, which I'll note below.

1. What is the name of your book?
That Fatal Kiss.

2. Where did the idea come from?
My interest in Greek mythology and my weakness for a passionate love story. (More about this in #8.)

3. In what genre would you classify your book?
Romance (mythical).

4. Which actors would you choose to play your characters in a movie?
As I wrote That Fatal Kiss, I couldn't help but envision British actor Jeremy Northam as the male "lead," Hades—there's a sensual mastery he brings to pretty much every role that I always saw as perfect for the Lord of the Underworld (picture the scene in the movie Possession in which he's unlacing Jennifer Ehle's corset and you'll know just what I mean) (if you've not yet seen the film, I really think you need to). For the female lead, Persephone, I never had a particular actor in mind...I envision her as being in her early 20s (so to speak; time is relative for the Greek gods) (I imagine), with long, rich auburn curls, and amber brown eyes. She's intelligent, witty, and compassionate. I'd maybe say Kate Winslet (who I think would be a great leading lady for Northam, regardless of the project) except she's matured a bit for the part (the way she played Marianne in Sense and Sensibility is sort of, though not quite, how I'd see her play Persephone). The only other person who comes to mind is Emmy Rossum (as she played Christine in the 2005 Phantom of the Opera adaptation) (only, you know, a bit saucier).

5. Give us a one sentence synopsis of your book.
Gah, I suck at summarizing my stories, but I'll try:

Hades, fearsome Lord of the Underworld, wrests youthful goddess Persephone away from her life aboveground to be his bride—but the powerful goddess may yet escape him...if she really wants to.

6. How long did it take you to write the first draft?
Hmmm...a year (ish)? I was unemployed for about three months and began writing TFK fast and furious then, but slowed down when I got a jobby-job.

7. Is your book already published (Be Inspired)/will it be self or traditionally published (Next Big Thing)?
Not yet/it will probably be self-published, unless some publishing miracle comes to pass in the immediate future...

8. Who or what inspired you to write this book?
I'd become interested in Greek mythology as a kid and the bug for Hades and Persephone's story bit me in my adolescence. With my imperfect understanding, I found it sooooo romantical that the powerful god wanted the goddess sooooo much that he just couldn't help but ransom her away to his underground kingdom, though part of me didn't think it was fair to the poor gal to just take off with her without first asking if she wanted to go. Later, in college, I took a lit course that examined the Greek myths and, as part of my research, read some folks' opinions that Persephone and Hades' marriage was one of the few faithful and happy ones among the gods; that when together, they ruled harmoniously; and that at least once Persephone displayed some jealousy for/possessiveness of Hades when a sneaky nymph put the moves on the goddess' man. Er, the goddess' mate. Anyway, the dark romantic in me perked up at the idea that Persephone grew to want Hades just as much as he wanted her. Then it was just a hop, skip, and jump to imagining their rocky road to love and I just had to put my revisionist interpretation of the myth in writing.

9. What else about your book would pique the reader's interests?
Um...maybe the following snippet?

“Enough,” Hades said, closing the distance between them.  “I have taken you with your father’s consent, as custom allows.  You are in my kingdom, under my rule, and if you have any care for your continued well-being, you will get into my bed.  Now.”  And with the removal of the pins which held together his black cloak, he stood naked before her.

The anger warming Persephone clashed with another fire that roared to life within her.  She choked on a breath and turned her face from him.  “Be warned; I will resist you with the full force of my being, through violent means, if necessary.”

His large, unyielding hands encircled the soft flesh of her upper arms as he said, “If you must.  Though your surrender to me would prove more satisfying to us both.”

You're supposed to tag five other writers, and so I tag:

L.G. Keltner, Writing off the Edge

Mina Burrows, books for paranormal and mystic minds

Elise Fallson

Siv Maria, Been there, done that

Melissa Bradley, Melissa's Imaginarium

I hope y'all check these gals out!