The Dynamic Trio - Blog

I tell you, some days just trying to find clothes can he a pain in the butt. First of all, since when did “Sandals” become a synonym for “matronly and ugly”? I have been looking for a simple pair of white sandals that aren’t flip flops, don’t have gold on them and aren’t something from my mom’s closet. You’d think I was asking for cold fusion or something. Good lord. How hard is it to find a pair of cute white sandals? Nearly impossible. Also? Who the hell pays a hundred bucks for flip flops?

And then there’s the “One Size” phenomenon. One size for say, ponchos? Sure. One size for a dress? Not so much. Don’t tell me my size ten booty will fit into the same dress a size two will without looking like a sausage or ripping a seam. It’s not gonna happen. Panties that are one size! Seriously, the person who decided on that sizing should be whacked upside the head with a rolled up newspaper and forced to wear underwear so small it cuts into his gut and his junk all day long. And you know it’s a dude who decided on that classification. Because any woman who’s lived long enough to have the back of the drawer panties for those “plump” days, knows those cute little thong underwear she has on her thinnest days will cut off her circulation other times.

I did however, grab myself the cutest vintage dress! I can’t wait to wear it in vegas. Now I just need to find the right shoes. *hear Lauren sigh* I love shoes, I am an unashamed shoe whore. But finding the right pair of shoes for a certain outfit can be painful. First because I find all sorts of things I don’t need but want nonetheless (and my husband looks at the floor of the closet and says, “how many pairs of black shoes do you need?” and I say, “I don’t know, I’ll let you know when I get there”)

Okay, I need to feed my kids. Have a great Tuesday. Excerpts up at my messageboard for Titilating Tuesday!

Our wee dog hates getting wet. Today she was outside eating her bone and it started raining. There was thunder and lightning along with the driving rain. The next minute I hear a loud thunk. I looked at the door and the bone is inside on the mat with the dog still standing outside but peering in at me with a hopeful expression on her little furry face. She wanted me to change my rule about bones inside. I didn’t. I’m such a meanie!

(I’m posting this for TJ because she couldn’t get into the control panel last night!)

As many of you know, my day job is driving me nuts. Between Tuesday and Wednesday, I worked TWENTY FOUR HOURS! Yes, boys and girls, two twelve hour days, back to back. Still waiting on that elusive day off, too. Haven’t had one since, oh, January or February while everyone else in the office has taken days and weeks off at a time. And since I’m salaried, I don’t get any extra pay for any of the extra work.

BUT, on the other hand, a few cool things happened this week.

First off, I finished HARRY POTTER! It was an excellent book, just as awesome as the previous six books. I’m still tripping off the fact that J.K. Rowling wrote seven books and is a blasted billionaire. There are plenty of us with seven books (including yours truly) and I’m still looking for my billion dollar idea. Come on, baby!

Another cool thing is my daughter, who has only been ice skating for a year, popped the salchow (pronounced sow-cow) jump with all kinds of style and grace. She’s so good. And she made some really good spaghetti with bratwurst in it. It was SO good! Yes, I know, it’s off topic, but oh well

This cool thing this week is I got a call from a really cool recruiter in Washington State for the perfect job. And if I don’t win the lottery before I move to Washington State, I hope I really get this position. She submitted my resume to the VP of the organization…so ya’ll send all kinds of good vibes, prayers and whatever else positive my way!

Love, Pease and Hair Grease, ya’ll!

TJ

The weekend is finally here, thank goodness! The last few weeks have been insanely busy so it’s nice to finally see a bit of time to relax. I finished two books in July and got one off to my editor and I’ll get the next off soon too. I started a new book but while i’m plotting, I’m working on a novella about Minx and Connor (you met them in Vengeance Due). I’m already about halfway finished so that’s nice. This story has been in my head for some time now so it’s great to finally be able to finish it.

Got a few books read - Harry Potter and Ice Blue (love me some Anne Stuart!). I’m about halfway finished with Joey Hill’s Vampire Queen’s Servant and I’ve got some really tasty ebooks to read as well as a stack of paper books to work through.

I’m planning a vacation with my husband, our second annual no kids in Vegas vacation and I can’t wait! Every time I go to Las Vegas I come back with a new book idea plus it’s so nice to go and have couple time, go to dinner in restaurants without paper and crayons at the table and cloth napkins. Ahhh. Dawdling over a cocktail, walks after midnight, sleeping until noon if we want.

I can’t believe it’s August already. The summer is flying by and the kids will be back in school in a month. Two of my brood have birthdays coming up in August as well as my nephew and sister in law too. It’s a busy time around here!

Oh and YIPPEEEEE! Tuesday is 300 day. There’s a DVD I’ll be watching a few times, heh. LOTS of inspiration there. it’s abtastic, that movie.

Whew, oh how I love Gerard Butler….

How is everyone’s summer so far? What are people up to? Anything exciting? What vacations have you all taken or have planned?

I’ve just realized it’s only a month until Mr. Munro and I head off on holiday again. It’s our wedding anniversary at the beginning of September and we’re flying to Hawaii for two weeks - a cruise around the different islands. Should be lots of fun and it will be nice to see some sunshine for a change. I mentioned a few posts ago about buying a bikini. Well, mission accomplished. I ended up buying one from my favorite mail order company, and Mr. Munro whistled when I modeled my new purchase. He’s such a sweetie!

Writing wise, I’ve just finished the first draft of my next Middlemarch story. I’m going to let Assassin sit for a week or so before I go back to it. Meantime, my agent suggested I try to write for one of the Harlequin lines. That’s my next task after I complete edits on Fancy Free. Fancy Free was known as “Snap” in a previous life and will be coming out with Ellora’s Cave, probably early next year.

This weekend we’re doing lots of family stuff. Last night it was dinner at a local pub for my nephew’s birthday and tomorrow our family is getting together for a mid-year Christmas dinner. Remember it’s winter down here so a hot dinner makes sense for those who live downunder.

And finally, we’ll be at the Romance Galleria for a chat on 1 August at 9.00 pm EST. If you haven’t visited the Romance Galleria before go and check it out. I downloaded the software this afternoon and had lots of fun trying to hustle my body around the rooms. I think we’re in the cafe for the chat. TJ will be able to confirm that for us.

What are you doing this weekend? How’s your job going? Are you heading off on holiday soon? Have you purchased a new binkini recently? Come on - speak to me

This is a spin off of my Witches Knot series and a standalone. You’ll see some familiar faces but meet a new cast of characters! It’s now available from Ellora’s Cave.

Blurb: Mei NiaAine spent a three thousand years in a demon prison in the outer circle of hell. Escaping with her life, it’s taken another two thousand years to get her life back together with the help and love of her husband and mate, Card.

Mei is a Warrior For the Balance. She stands between good and evil. So when her boss tells her she’s got to head to Tir na nOg to help the Fae, she is most displeased. Mei’s mother, Aine, the queen of the Fae betrayed and exiled her those millennia ago. Or so she’s been led to believe.

But it was a lie. Aine was mislead by her own sister, Mei’s aunt and suddenly, everything Mei has thought was true for thousands of years falls down around her ears as she looks up to see the face of her husband. Her first husband, a man she’d thought was dead.

Jayce MacTavish is surprised to find that not only is his wife, thought millennia dead, is alive, but his joy is tempered by the
realization that she’s got another mate.

Mei, Card and Jayce must find a way to be together as three while the threat from the Dark Fae and a new enemy darkens the horizon.

THREAT OF DARKNESS BY LAUREN DANE
Copyright 2007, Lauren Dane
All Rights Reserved, Ellora’s Cave
Now Available!
Excerpt for those 18 and older behind the cut…

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The winner of a download of Threat of Darkness is…

Julia!

Julia, commenter #10 - please email me your format preference and I’ll get your copy when I get mine (hopefully soon)

Thanks!

I finished editing and revising Reading Between The Lines and sent it to my editor, wheee! I’m also up 1305 words yesterday when I began to input all my edits, etc. Tonight I’ll start on Wolf Unbound but I’ve got a book releasing tomorrow and my sister-in-law is coming over to hang out a while with my nephew so the middle part of the day I’ll be making sure no kids kill each other in the back yard.

All told, in the first 15 days of the 70 Days of Sweat Challenge, I’ve written 40,081 words! WHHEEEEE!

Threat of Darkness releases tomorrow from Ellora’s Cave! This is Jayce’s story. Many of you have written to me over the last two years since we met Jayce in a Touch of Fae, asking for his book and so you get it. He’s got to share his story, and his life with Mei nia Aine and Cardinian Leviathan but they’ve both got a lot to say and add to Jayce’s life too. This is related to the Witches Knot series, you’ll see some familiar faces, but it’s standalone and a different group of people for the most part. I hope everyone enjoys this book as much as I enjoyed writing it. This was one of those tricksy books that wants to be something and then you try to fight it because you have other ideas but it won’t fit into the box! I re-started this book from scratch twice because it kept trying to be a menage and I wanted it to be about Jayce and Mei. Once I gave in and let it be a menage, the story just flowed and was really easy to write. I have a very bossy imagination apparently.

A brief excerpt is behind the “more” cut… 18 and over only please.
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An excerpt from life at Maison Munro…

Mr. Munro was talking in his sleep the other night. I have a lot on my mind at the moment and was wide awake. Like a good wife I tried to get him into a conversation because you never know what you might learn that way.

“You’ve got dust all over,” he muttered.

“What?” I frowned because I had no idea what he was talking about.

“Dust. All over,” he repeated quite emphatically.

“What sort of dust?”

“Explosive dust. You’re gonna blow up.” He promptly went back to normal sleep, leaving me dangling in suspense. Was I safe? Was I not? And why was I covered in this dangerous dust?

He couldn’t remember a thing when I quizzed him the next morning. Just my luck. A curious writer left thinking all sorts of what ifs.

Are you a dreamer? Do you or members of your family talk in their sleep? Do you have clever conversations in the middle of the night that make more sense than mine?

I know everyone is talking about Harry Potter, Harry Potter that, and I’m no different. I got my hands on the book Saturday afternoon and then got my word count on V.C.O.E. Book 3 out of the way so, as tired as I am, I could read it.

Between running errands, writing, and letting my daughter pound the knots out of my neck and shoulders, I’m only on page 100. But boy am I enjoying it!

I’ve read every Harry Potter book so far, and this one will be no exception. It all started when I read the first book. There was so much hoopla about the darned books I thought, as a good mom, I’d better see what my kids were reading so I could make an informed decision on whether I’d have to nip ‘em in the Harry bud or not.

I was hooked! Immediately hooked!

What really wigs me out is the simplicity of the stories. Anyone can read a Harry Potter book. And while the world building is awesome and the characters, surroundings, etc. are original and unique, it’s not written in a way that’s overly descriptive or makes me ’see and feel’ the surroundings. That’s not a slam, just an observation, ’cause I happen to love the Harry Potter books. Yes, I’ve seen all the movies, too, except for the latest one. I’m waiting for the lines to die down just a bit so I can take my kids to go see it on the 3D Imax screen.

But my point about the simplicity of the writing in the books is this: Anyone can read a Harry Potter book (which expands JK Rowling’s reader base right off the bat). The stories are engrossing and pull you right in, regardless of the lack of complicated descriptions, etc (again, which is a plus). AND THE AUTHOR IS THE FIRST BILLIONAIRE WRITER AFTER WRITING ONLY SIX BOOKS!

Hell, I’ve written seven book in the past year and ain’t nowhere close to JK Rowling’s income. So what was it that made people flock to Harry Potter? Was it timing? Was it marketing? Was it JK Rowling’s book coming along to fill a niche at the right place at the right time? Or was it sheer luck?

Whatcha think? And if you’re reading the latest book, where are you? No spoilers though! ;D