by Christine | Life
Hey folks, don’t worry, I’m not stranded in England (who in their right mind goes there in the summertime?). I’m here in the States with family – no emergency, no funds needed, but not very near internet connectivity, either. I’ve been hacked to the extent that I can’t access Facebook AT ALL, nor do I have ANY email contact list at all, and no messages after August 2nd.
I apologize, and hope whole-heartedly that the folks that hacked me will have Karma biting their butt very soon.
I don’t know when I’ll be able to straighten out Facebook and Yahoo, but so it goes. When I get everything right again, I’ll post here and on Twitter.
Peace out, people, and thanks for your concern! I’d email you individually but – you’re no longer in my email address. SO sorry!
And how’s your Wednesday morning going?
by Christine | Life, Observations, Writing
Sometimes, a girl just needs a place to put some random and stray thoughts down, you know? So here goes.
~ No one should bomb Norway. No way, no how. Too, too sad. I wish I could hug everyone there.
~ No one should go past the barriers at Niagra Falls. No way, no how. Too, too sad that they died.
~ Amy Winehouse. Too, too sad. Finally bought her Back to Black cd…but that’s me, all over it – but only when it’s all over.
~ Google + Well, from everything I’m hearing – I’m glad I didn’t jump on that bandwagon. I still may, but they’ve got a lot of ‘splaining to do.
~ Hey Mambo Red – Just bought another 3 bottles of it. 2 for camping. Truly. No joke. Stop it! (sipping on the 3rd bottle as we speak…)
~ Speaking of wine – hubby picked up two more bottles of the Ironstone Symphony. One’s in the fridge. We don’t go camping for two more weeks. May just have to pick up another bottle.
~ even though she spelled my hero’s name wrong, Eva’s Sanctuary gave DEMON SOUL a 4.5 stars out of 5. Can’t complain!
~ Didn’t see Deathly Hallows part 1. But LOVED part 2. Alan Rickman is the man. THE MAN! Best of luck to the three main kids. Whatever they do, they’re set for life – monetarily. I hope.
~ Don’t understand folks putting their first – or subsequent – chapters of their works in progress up online. If it’s bad, um, oops? And if it’s good – same go. As someone else’s gramma used to say about premarital sex – why should I buy the cow when I get the milk for free? (Even if the milk (book) is bad.)
~ Love the supportive writer community. I don’t know – is it just the folks I’m connected with on Twitter/Facebook/email? Or is it all writers? Don’t care. Love it!
~ Why is it you replenish a drink, but you never plenish it?
~ Borders closing. My heart breaking. School kids everywhere losing a place to be tutored. Writers everywhere losing a place to write. Readers everywhere losing a place to get lost in a book. Lose/lose proposition. Damn you, Amazon.
~ Yay for young people willing to join the Peace Corps after college. Shannon D, I’m so proud of you.
~ Hate politics. Doesn’t matter which party at this point. It seems it’s “party above country” – and that’s just WRONG. #governmentfail
~ Still love Joss Whedon. How can I not? Buffy 4-Ever.
~ Having a broken leg sucks. Going on vacation with a broken leg is better than not going on vacation – even if it’s camping.
MASHUP OF AWESOMENESS:
Below are some of the wonderful places I’ve been in the last week or so. Hope you enjoy.
Visit a different side of Paris with John Sealander. I’ve been there in the snow. It’s another world, totally.
If you haven’t discovered Eden Bradley/Eve Berlin yet, you should. She writes fantastic, sexy, intelligent books.
Susan McMartin suffers for beauty, after an enforced absence. Truly funny.
Les Floyd discusses the weekend’s news in this heartfelt and inspiring post. He’s my new hero.
If you haven’t heard of Savvy Authors yet, and you’re a writer, then you need to go there. Now. Tons of helpful information no matter how long you’ve been writing.
Don’t forget to pick up your copy of DEMON SOUL. Just got a 4 star review in September’s Romantic Times Book Reviews, and a 4.5 star review at Eva’s Sanctuary. Try it – you’ll like it!
That’s all for now, folks. Remember, summer is about half over. Have fun, love much, and drink responsibly!
by Christine | Life, Writing
<Begin Rant>
This has not been the easiest year for me. Back in December, a major life-changer happened to me, which slowed me waaaay down in many, many ways.
But it’s seven months on now. I should be back up to speed. I should be dancing in the streets, getting fitter than ever, and having parties. Right? Well…
The dizziness is still there, but the latest MRI shows no reason for it, and I’m in limbo until the docs at Neurology decide where I really belong. In the meantime, I’m not sure if my surgeon’s office managed to get the paperwork back to disability on time – if it’s not there by tomorrow, I’m off disability which really sucks. Why? A job I went for, that I really wanted, was given to another person – and truly, it should have been given to that person, so there you go, but the steady income would have been nice. And then, on Friday, I broke my fibula, way down by my ankle.
This is about where I broke mine, on my left leg.
Say what? How? Um…would you believe, walking? I didn’t trip over anything. I didn’t stumble. My ankle just refused, went POP! – and down I went, in absolutely the most pain I can ever remember being in. Of course, I was alone in the house. Isn’t that always the way? Hopping everywhere HURT like hell. Crawling was good, but slow – and hard to carry anything when you crawl. Seriously. So I suffered, with an icepack on my ankle, propped up, and watching the news until one of my sons came home.
An early trip to the doc on Saturday proved it to be broken, when I had been sure it was just a terrible sprain. No such luck (but then, terrible sprains are known to be harder to heal than broken bones…so…?). They gave me an airsoft cast, crutches, and a referral to an orthopedic surgeon. Everything I’m seeing on the internet tells me it’s a 6 to 8 week recovery time, with NO WEIGHT on the foot. That’s totally rubbish and I refuse to follow this advice what I expected; but now that I have crutches, I hate them. HATE them.
Seriously? You give a girl, who’s already dizzy 85% of the time, a pair of crutches? Someone who’s not totally sure where the ground is at any given time, and you want me to take BOTH FEET off the ground and rely on TWO STICKS shoved into my now-aching armpits? SERIOUSLY?!!! Are you DELUSIONAL, or is it just me?
Yeah, there’ve been some falling issues. As in, using the damned crutches, I’ve totally lost my balance and fallen flat on my face. More than once. Luckily inside and on carpet, but still. Oh, and I’ve fallen into the bathroom sink, and sideways into a doorway…you know, now that I think about it, that’s a lot of falling for less than 24 hours. So I use the damned things but it’s crutch, step-step. Crutch, step-step. Not ideal and I recognize that.
I’m hoping against hell that the docs next week give me a walking cast of some sort. I am DESPERATE to keep both feet on the ground, and a wheelchair WILL NOT WORK in my house. It was built in the 1960’s – narrow hallways, 30″ doorways, and all. Not to mention the 16 years’ worth of clutter we’ve piled around the house. It’s all a trap for the unwary. (Why, suddenly, do I feel a need to get rid of 50% of our furniture?)
So while I’m in full pout mode, I’m trying to be a good girl. Getting up infrequently. Using my crutches properly most of the time. Keeping the leg elevated, and blah blah blah.
And I’m writing. It’s the only reason I can think of that I broke my ankle – the Universe wants me to sit on my ass and write instead of, oh, get a steady-paying job. And if disability is out the window? I keep telling the Universe that threats don’t make a writer more productive. At least, they don’t make THIS writer more productive.
I’m trying hard not to snarl and bite at my family, especially my poor hubby who did NOT need me crippled at this point in time. He’s feeling quite put-upon, even while he realizes I feel the same thing a thousand times more than he does.
So I’m saving snarling and biting for my work. Since I don’t get fancy cable (at almost $70/month, oh come on – it’s a time-wasting luxury), I only watch a couple soap operas during the day. The rest of my time (since I won’t be cleaning house any time soon) will be spent writing. I’m a captive to my work.
All in all, I’m okay with that. I just wish I didn’t have to go through the pain process. I’ve had more than enough of that this year.
I guess there’s only one thing left to do today…oh, hubby….could you please pour me a glass of wine? </end rant>
~ ~ ~
Have you read DEMON SOUL yet? You can find it at Crescent Moon Press or Amazon.com. Happy Reading!
by Christine | Life
Today would have been my brother’s – um, let me count – 55th birthday, had he lived. The middle boy of Chet and Rosie Cunningham’s three children, Scott was an amazing brother.
Oh, who am I kidding! He was four years older than me, and as such terrorized me regularly – once I was old enough to bug him incessantly, that is! We bickered over stupid stuff like siblings often do. Yet he also was patient when he showed me how to drip candles into water to make medallions, and answered my seemingly unending questions about his tarot cards.
But he was truly an amazing adult.
We shared an apartment for a few months – he was 22, I was 18 – but I was rarely there. Within six or seven months I was gone, off to dance for the Arizona Ballet Theatre.
I don’t have a lot more to say about Scott, except that I miss him. I miss his biting wit, his terrible puns, and his out-of-the-blue phone calls. I’d love his take on the political situation in the world today. And I miss his presence.
So that’s why, today, I’m calling it out. Happy Birthday, Scott Cunningham. Love you. Miss you.
~ ~ ~
His books continue to sell, 18 years after his death. You can find them at Llewellyn Worldwide’s site.
Blessed be!
by Christine | Life, Observations
The solstices have always been magical for me, even before I knew what they were. “The longest day of the year.” “The longest night of the year.” Both were magical times in my young mind, spurred on with many, many viewings of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. (Plus actually dancing in the full length ballet, years ago, with California Ballet Company down in San Diego, way before acting in two different productions of it. But that’s another story.)
Not only are the days themselves somewhat magical, but I also believe its a good time to enact change. Whether in your self, your routine, your environment, it’s the perfect time to shake things up, make things better. Some people use the calendar New Year to do so; others use back-to-school time to make changes. I’ve used those dates, too, but this year the Solstice seems right.
The biggest change for me? I’m going to really, truly believe in myself and go for what I want, which means there’s a story here for you. I’m on Twitter – not a lot, but often enough – and whenever Angela James (Carina Press) finds something awesome, I tend to check it out. Today, she found Tara and Tara’s Story. This so moved me that I sent the link to my closest writing group, the Los Angeles Romance Authors.
But Tara’s story basically built on stuff I’d been processing internally, via a video shared with LARA by Lynne Marshall, a lovely writer and neighbor of mine. And while this video took time to watch, it is definitely stirring and I sent it to my husband and sons, the most important people in my life.
It’s a TED video (I don’t know anything about them, but you might?) and the woman who speaks is funny, passionate, and wonderful.
So, here’s to change, scary as it may be. Here’s to being the most authentic you that you can be. And here’s to living a wonderful, helpful, serving life.
Happy Summer Solstice, everyone!
by Christine | Life, Writing
Branding myself is a tiring business, but I have to remember it is a business. Writing a great book doesn’t mean squat if no one reads it, right? So, despite the fact that I don’t have an actual release date for my book, I’m forging ahead with my author brand by blogging at other sites, updating Twitter and Facebook, and if I’m lucky, adding words to book 2 in the Caine Brothers series.
It’s tiring. At times I have to remember to step away from the computer and just breathe. Whether I do yoga, or walk around the block, or meet a friend for coffee, I need the headspace away from my desk. Not to mention, my body needs to get moving in order to stay healthy. (Speaking of moving, I tried to do a couple of walk/runs. My third one, I tweaked my left knee. Sigh…and so it goes…)
Blogging gets kind of obsessive, especially when you get a lot of comments. I always feel I need to answer each one, even though I KNOW most of those commenting aren’t going back to read in case I comment! Still, seeing my words connect with other people is really cool.
Next week, on Monday I’ll be at Eva Coppersmith’s blog – you can find me there on and off all day PLUS I’ll be doing a giveaway of a copy of DEMON SOUL.
Now, I need to write. Tomorrow I have friends coming over for dinner, so will need to clean plus go to 10:30am yoga class. Oh, and cook, of course, I’ll need to do that too…oh, and the rest of the weekend?
I’ll be breathing.
