Welcome Guest Blogger Jody Wallace and Her Latest Release, Traitor

Natalie: Welcome, please, creative genius writer and amigurumist Jody Wallace to the blog today. This is such an honor!

Jody: Thank you for having me! Would you like me to tell you about the amigurumi I'm working on right now or the book I just published?

Natalie: Oh, Jody, whatever you utter is a pearl of wisdom. Basically, talk about whatever you like and I swear I'll publish it JUST THE WAY YOU SENT IT TO ME.

Jody: Can I get that in writing?

Natalie: Duh, I just wrote it. In my question. That I totally wrote. That's completely in my personal writing voice.

Jody: Ok, that works. I guess I'd like to talk about Traitor first. It's awesome. The science fiction-based during-apocalypse world it's set in is also awesome, like Falling Skies crossed with Dominion crossed with Defiance, except a lot better and I am not going to kill off any of your favorite characters; include babies who grow from infancy to psychic supermodel in a season; or force Anthony Stewart Head to attempt an American accent.

Once upon a time, Earth was invaded by these horrible black blobs that ate people and couldn't be destroyed by conventional science. They were accompanied by flying red bat daemons that could sort of be destroyed by a lot of missiles. Luckily a squad of powerful angels turned up to save Earth, and they trained a native Chosen One to confront the evil in a final battle.

Except the Chosen One turned out to be a loser, the angels turned out to be aliens pretending to be angels so the Terrans would cooperate (they hoped), and the Earth didn't quite get saved.

Yet.

Natalie: I don't think I've ever heard an idea so awesome.

Jody: I know, right? It's pretty awesome.

Natalie: It's awesome that you came to my blog today and wrote this for me. I mean, you wrote the answers. I totally and awesomely wrote these questions.

Jody: You're awesomely welcome.

Natalie: Jody, now that we know about your world, tell me how you came up with the specific idea for Traitor, which I believe is probably the most awesome book in the universe?

Jody: Oh, Natalie, you flatter me so much, but don't be silly. It's probably only the third best book in the universe. I mean, I've written over twenty books now, and at least two of them are longer than Traitor—and longer is always better, if you know what I mean.

Natalie: You're so witty. I'm laughing so hard right now.

Jody: I get that a lot.

Natalie: I wish I could be just like you.

Jody: For starters you'll need to learn to crochet penises. It's an essential component of my personality. And then you need to get very good at lying.

Natalie: Oh, dear, I don't think I can ever live up to that ideal! *sobs* I'm heartbroken now. My soul feels like a dead mouse in a hot car, shriveled, smelly and gross.

Jody: You're simply too honest to be like me, Natalie. And quite frankly—get it? Frankly? Because you're honest?—I don't think you should...

*****

FAKE NATALIE: Jody, what the hell is this? You said you were writing me a guest post, not this crap. I didn't say those things.

Jody: But you promised!

FAKE NATALIE: Send me something else. That's stupid.

Jody: Quit being so damn honest. Do you know how hard I worked on that awesome interview?

FAKE NATALIE: About 10 minutes?

Jody: Shut up.

FAKE NATALIE: I did like your book, though.

Jody: Thanks! Tell everyone to go buy it. Here's the links:

Nook | Amazon | Kobo | iTunes | Goodreads

My website with the whole first chapter.

Traitor

Maelstrom Chronicles

Book Two

Jody Wallace

Release Date: July 28, 2015

Genre: Science Fiction Romance

Publisher: Entangled

Captain Nikolas EstherVorn is a traitor. Or so it was decreed after Niko disobeyed protocol while trying to save Earth from other-dimensional creatures. Stuck in a prison cell, the last thing he needs is to be in close proximity to clever, sexy Dr. Sarah CallenJoseph. Not when he's damn near ready to break out just to get to her.

Niko's desire isn't quite his own…and Sarah can prove it. He—along with the other soldiers on the disastrous mission—were drugged with some kind of toxin. Niko has no clue how the drug got into his body or why, but Sarah suspects there’s a link between the toxin and the fertility crisis of Shipborn humans.

To investigate is forbidden. But as lust becomes something deeper, binding them together in a way neither expected, Niko and Sarah must battle time—and their superiors—to uncover the secret that could save humanity...or destroy it.

About the Author: 

Jody Wallace grew up in the South in a very rural area. She went to school a long time and ended up with a Master's Degree in Creative Writing. Her resume includes college English instructor, technical documents editor, market analyst, web designer, and general all around pain in the butt. She currently lives in Tennessee with her family: one husband, two kids, two cats. One of her many alter egos is “The Grammar Wench,” which should give you an indication of her character. She is a terrible packrat and likes to amass vintage clothing, books, Asian-inspired kitchenware, gnomes, yarn, and other items that threaten to force her family out of the house. She also likes cats. A lot.

Jody publishes the Maelstrom Chronicles with Entangled Publishing, an Earth-based science fiction romance series. You can find other science fiction, paranormal, and contemporary romances by Jody at www.jodywallace.com, including her horrible science fiction romance spoofs, The Adventures of Mari Shu, which make fun of the Maelstrom Chronicles, among other science fiction concepts and stories.

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Our Squirrel Does Wicked

My husband put up a bird feeder outside our dining room window recently. We've had the usual sparrows and finches, and this week we got a pair of tufted titmice and a chickadee. (I love the less common birds, no surprise. :) )

My office window looks out at ground level right below the feeder. So I've a bunch of companions every day. A squirrel, a cardinal (sometimes his mate, too), a chipmunk or two, and three mourning doves. They forage around and under the rose bush. Oh, and I usually have at least one of the cats, too.

So yesterday morning I hear Number Two let out some kind of cry. I called to her, and she didn't respond. She made some other unintelligible exclamation, so I went into the hall. Number One then cried "Oh my God." I asked WTH and got shushed. So I went down to the dining room. And saw this:

This shouldn't be a surprise, right? Squirrels are notorious for getting into bird feeders. But this one was an astonishing feat.

We watched him hang out for a while. We called my husband out of the bedroom. He grumbled, but then also did the whole "Oh my God thing." While Squirrel stared placidly at us through the window and kept chewing.

But here's the thing. Here's where the feeder hangs. The bay window is the dining room window. The feeder (which you can barely see, because of the angle and background) is FIFTEEN FEET OFF THE GROUND.

This is the closest tree:

I'm thinking this little bastard went up the telephone pole in the front of the house, ran along the wires to the side of the roof, and then went over the roof to shimmy down the wire holding the feeder. There really isn't another way to do it. That takes intelligence and determination, right? Especially since there's tons of seed all over the ground all the time.

So after a while my husband said, "okay, tell him to get down." Number Two slapped the window with the flat of her hand. Squirrel JUMPED TO THE GROUND. Fifteen friggin' feet. Defying gravity indeed. 

He was back up there this morning. You almost have to let him take the reward for his effort, you know?

It's No Fun When They Don't Play Along

Ref. last post, about needing something fun to watch? I have Part 1 of Dragon Riders of Berk that my friend Gail sent me! I keep forgetting to ask Number One if she wants to watch it with me. I think I'll just do it, starting tonight. If I'm not working until midnight again.

My husband has a lot of fun with telemarketers and wrong numbers and stuff like that. Our number is only 1 digit different from the local Domino's number, and people used to always call and ask if we were Pizza Hut, or would immediately launch into their order or request for delivery, even though we hadn't answered "properly." He'd say we were out of pizza or that we were Little Cesar's or something like that. They moved across town, out of our area, and now a) they won't deliver to us and b) we don't get calls for them anymore. That's NOT a good trade.

You know those people who call you and say they're from Geek Support and there's something really wrong with your computer and they want to help you? I kept one of those guys on the phone for 20 minutes. At one point he told me his company's address in Connecticut and I went on about how I used to live up there and asking if he'd seen certain sites. I told him I didn't want to go downstairs and boot up my computer. He passed judgment on my being in bed at that time of the morning, even though I hadn't said I was in bed, I said I was in my bedroom. That was a fun conversation. He tried so hard!

Anyway, today I got a friend request on Facebook. I always say yes. This person immediately messaged me privately. Red flag, right? It went like this:

Her:  hello
Me:  Hi. :)
Her: how you doing
Me:  Not too bad. How about you?
Her: i am good
Me:  Good. :)
Her: well i saw your name among the 20 lucky people who won $500,000,00 from the smartphone lottery i am among the lucky winners too
i have gotten my own check and i just cash my own check yesterday why havent you get your check
Me:  Oh, I did! I got my check three days ago.

She hasn't responded. So boring. *sigh*

How have YOU tried to play with someone lately? Did they play along?

Drowning in Darkness

I have never (or at least for a decade or two) gone for darkness in my entertainment. I tend to prefer light paranormal and romantic adventure over dark paranormal romances or urban fantasy or suspense. My husband can't drag me unconscious to a horror movie. And when I tried watching Daredevil on Netflix recently, I couldn't watch past the episode where the bad guy decapitated someone by bashing a car door against his head. For, like, 5 minutes.

Lately, though, I've gotten myself into some pretty dark stuff. Like iZombie. It didn't start out dark. I mean, as far as zombie fiction goes, it was cool. The heroine is focused on hiding her condition and getting along without going full-on zombie. But they couldn't leave it as "she's the only zombie who survived." No, the last episode I watched (we're still behind) ended with her finding out her hunky British rock star boyfriend, who has spiced up that screen by a LOT, has been not only been buying brains from the evil guy (normally yummy David Anders; why does he have to be evil AGAIN?!) who is abducting and murdering kids to feed his zombie customers and make tons of money...the kid they are eating is the one her ex-fiancé Major cared so much about that he got beaten up twice and lost his job. And I know what's coming for Lowell. As if THAT'S not enough, Liv's only real supporter is Ravi, her boss, who's trying to find a cure. And he got BITTEN BY A ZOMBIE RAT. I am so freaking sad for him.

So that wasn't too dark by itself. But it ended ominously. My Outlander, and I love it—except the most recent episode about killed me. We watched it right after iZombie, so I insisted we watch Modern Family to cleanse my brain. I'll watch the finale because of Jamie, but I'm NOT looking forward to it.

friend Gail has talked me into trying

Then there was Supernatural. Always kind of dark, but unique. Until this year's finale, in which Dean gives up, makes a deal to kill his brother and go somewhere unreachable for eternity, and then fails, kills Death (nooooo, Julian Richings!!!!), and has the Mark removed, thereby unleashing The Darkness—the evil that came before us, that God and his archangels battled back and trapped. The Mark was the key. So now they've unleashed this Darkness. Can you GET any bleaker?

I'd be so ready for light summer fare, if there was any. Franklin & Bash is no more, and Covert Affairs has also been canceled. Thank God for Royal Pains starting in a couple of weeks. But the other shows I watch in the summer are The Last Ship—about the only people who have survived a worldwide plague—and Falling Skies—about the only people who have survived an alien invasion. Nothing light and fun there! I have Dark Matter on the "new show" list, but anything whose trailer ends with "Because we're dangerous" is unlikely to be a laugh a minute.

So I might have to find something I can get on DVD from the library and binge-watch. Any suggestions?

Upcoming Books I Can't Wait For

I ended up judging two published contests (the Prism and the Daphne) at the same time, so I have 8 books to read by May 15. And I have... *counts* ...57 titles on my Kindle I haven't read yet. (OMG, I should haven't counted!) AND there are a couple dozen paperbacks on the shelf in my bedroom.

And still, I can't WAIT for a bunch of new books that aren't due to be released for weeks or even months. Here's a sampling:

Go Ahead, Make My Bouquet by Misty Simon
Release Date May 22, 2015

Okay, I confess, I got to read this one already. :) It's a great contemporary romance set in the same small town as Misty's What's Life Without Sprinkles? and Making Room at the Inn. If you've been waiting for Zoe's story with my level of impatience, you'll want to get this one on your wish list. :)

No Woman Left Behind by Julie Moffett

Release Date June 1, 2015

I've loved this adventure/mystery/romance series since the beginning. I have a theory about Lexi that I'm eager to see revealed (or not!) in the next book.

Under the Lights by Shannon Stacey

Release Date May 26, 2015

Football! It's high school rather than pro, but I'm geeking out anyway. :) Shannon has another book coming out in June, with firefighters. I've enjoyed the Kowalskis, but excited to start new stuff by her.

Eighth Grave After Dark by Darynda Jones

Release Date May 19, 2015

If you haven't read the Charley Davidson series, and you're one of those who loves to binge, you're in for a treat. Snarky, brilliant, unique heroine, super-hot hero, ever-growing (but not unmanageable) mythology... The only reason I'm not thrilled that there are apparently 3 more books after this one is that means we might not get more YA or "A Lovely Drop" stories from Darynda. But I guess I'll survive. :)

The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher

Release Date September 29, 2015

Steampunk is something I like the idea of a lot more than I ended up enjoying in reality. I used to read a lot of historicals as well as epic fantasy, but lost my taste for both a while ago. But since I can't devour the next Dresden Files book until some undefined time that might be in 2016, I'm willing to try this to tide me over. :)

 The Bull Rider's Son by Cathy McDavid

Release Date July 1, 2015

Cathy is amazingly consistent, keeping me in family westerns at a steady pace. :) Her mouthwatering heroes keep me away from my chores, that's for sure. :)

Dakota Cowboy by Lisa Mondello

Release Date May 30, 2015

Talk about consistent! Her last Dakota book just came out last week, but I'll barely have time to miss them when the next one releases. And that's a GOOD thing. :) More westerns, but in a totally different kind of world than Cathy's books. Hmm, I'm reading a nice balance across the country, with Shannon's books in New England! :)

What books are you looking forward to?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Blue Silver is Back!

Long-time readers might remember that several years ago, I was part of a collaboration with a few other authors on a series of novellas called Blue Silver. These all take place at the same time, with the comeback of the band Blue Silver at their core. Well, it's time for another comeback! Jody Wallace, Megan Hart, and I have resurrected these stories, updated them to fit with modern technology and stuff, and re-released them. So if you missed them, now's your chance! They're just 99 cents each. You can find out more by visiting the Blue Silver page. Thanks!

Greatness in Customer Service: Hulu and, Believe It or Not, American Airlines

Okay, so I probably just had the best customer service experience ever.

Back in December, I subscribed to Hulu Plus so I could watch the end of Selfie. Once the last episode aired (so sad!), I canceled my subscription. Or so I thought.

I clicked the cancel button, and confirmed I wanted to cancel, and then they have this cute little video telling you that you don't want to cancel. Down to the right, where the eye doesn't naturally fall (trust me, I learned about the Z-pattern thing working at an ad agency), was a check box you had to click to say yeah, I still want to cancel. Until that box is checked, there's ANOTHER cancel button that's white and not real obvious.

Now, I would swear I'd gotten to the point where it told me I'd canceled and I'd get an e-mail confirmation, but I can't find an e-mail confirmation in my files, and it's quite possible that I rolled my eyes at the video and overlooked all that. I honestly don't remember.

So when I was looking carefully at the charges on my credit card today and saw a charge for Hulu Plus, I was very mad. Not least at myself for not noticing it for the last two months. I immediately went through the process I described above and made VERY sure that I completed it. I still haven't gotten an e-mail confirmation, by the way.

However, when I sent an annoyed message through their help center, I got an immediate response. Literally, 4 minutes after I posted my complaint. I acknowledged my own culpability but told them I felt their practice was tricky and misleading and it would unfortunately cause me to speak negatively about them and never go back. They told me in response that they'd forward my comments about their procedures and refund me for three months of charges.

I KNOW, RIGHT?! Who does that? Obviously, someone who wants my service again. They'll get it, as soon as some network cancels a show I love but runs the remaining episodes through Hulu. :)

The other experience was with American Airlines. I bought Number One a ticket from Boston to Ohio last weekend before her grandmother died. The services ended up being scheduled a couple of hours after her flight back on Sunday. I'd booked through Priceline, which had saved us not enough money, but some. And that always makes things trickier. My brother, who flew Delta, was told he couldn't change anything until he got to Ohio, and then after that they couldn't book him a later flight on the same day and said if he flew another day he'd have to buy a whole 'nother ticket, to the tune of somewhere around a thousand dollars.

I spent a lot of time on the phone with American while they tried to help me out. The bummer was that because of very full flights, for her to go home later Sunday, even using G inventory (presumably tech-speak for bereavement fare), we'd have had to pay $652 plus a $200 change fee. For her to fly Monday would cost $117, because the difference in fares reduced that $200 change fee. There was a $25 penalty for using Priceline, too. I had to make two separate calls but everything went incredibly smoothly. So they'll get my business again, especially since all her flights landed early.

So what great customer service have YOU gotten lately?

Unretouched Last Man Monkeys Male Draw New Releases and FREE Books

I couldn't come up with a good title that hinted at the content of this post so I just kind of mashed it together. So here's a preview:

1. Unretouched Photos
2. Last Man on Earth
3. 12 Monkeys
4. Why I Follow More Male Celebrities on Social Media
5. New Releases and Two Free Books

Unretouched Photos
I was just reading a short piece in Entertainment Weekly that analyzed all the unsavory reasons "we" clicked on unretouched celebrity photographs and used that for brief commentary on the (mostly) awful state of our society.

Why can't we just click because we're curious?

I didn't actually click on any, though I kind of heard that they were out there. If I had clicked on them, it wouldn't have been because of resentment of Beyonce (I really couldn't care less about Beyonce—notice how I didn't even add the accents on her name?) or a desire to feel more like Cindy Crawford. If I'd clicked, it would have been pure curiosity about the process. I mean, we talk all the time about how magazine photos are unrealistic, but we haven't had a clue exactly how much of a difference there is. So it would be a "huh, how about that" moment for me and, I suspect, a lot of other people.

Last Man on Earth
I really wanted to like that show. I watched the first two episodes, and for the most part, while I was watching, I enjoyed them. The humor was there, and Will Forte and Kristen Schaal did a great job. But afterward, when it popped into my head, it wasn't the humor or pathos or cinematography or directing or any of the good stuff I thought of. It was how many bugs had to be crawling in that house, and why the hell didn't he just MOVE when it got gross? He's in a big neighborhood of mansions, and it can't be the only one in Tucson, even if he felt compelled to stay there.

Plus, somehow, despite said squalid house being full of enough empty booze containers to have drained the entire city's supply, his local bar remains fully stocked.

And they can't get water because there's no power but he somehow pumps gas?

Okay, those are small logic things and the writers can't be expected to think of ALL of them. I'd give them a pass except for the absolutely ludicrous "we were chosen to save humanity by procreating" storyline. If Phil had pointed out that their kids would have to then procreate with each other, and then those kids with each other, and how horrible that whole idea is, then I'd have been okay. Especially if Carol responded with the very logical hope that there might be other people out there still, they just weren't in the same place at the same time, and they can't just give up. Two simple lines of dialogue and I wouldn't be so squicked out and annoyed.

So when all I can think about after watching a show is the bad stuff, I don't go back. Sorry, LMOE. Good luck to you, because I think you're a fun idea.

12 Monkeys
This show had the opposite effect on me. I wasn't going to watch it at first, because the movie had no appeal. But then Aaron Stanford changed my mind, and I'm soooo glad! He was my favorite on Nikita, and he's even better on this. There's a lot of tension and chemistry on this show. I love Amanda Schull, too, and Emily Hampshire and Kirk Acevedo. And it's the one show every week I have to watch the instant it's on, and I need the next episode immediately.

I have to admit to being unsettled after the last episode, though. During the first half of the season, everything was kind of straightforward (for a time-traveling suspense show with more than one crazy person). Cole had a simple mission: go back, kill a guy, and save the world. But it didn't work, and things got harder. He got to experience the world he was trying to save. The comforts and conveniences and even more importantly, the humanity. People who had more to do, to care about, than killing for their next meal or a bit of warmth. And Cassie made it personal. Jones might have done some awful things to get to this point, but her goals seemed so noble.

And now... Not only are they less noble (albeit understandable), not only are her methods impossible to justify, but it might not even be true, that anything can be changed at all.

I just can't wait to see what happens next.

The Male Draw
I have this vague guilt that I'm drawn to male celebrities and NFL players for my "social" (non-personal) entertainment. I like a lot of actresses and admire tons of other women in a multitude of roles...but I get notifications on Facebook for Tom Brady (New England Patriots quarterback) and Stephen Amell (actor from Arrow), and I follow Misha Collins, Alan Tudyk, and Nathan Fillion on Twitter instead of Gina Torres, Felicia Day, or Mindy Kaling. My favorite shows might have female characters that I love, but it's the men I really watch for.

I'm such a betrayer of my gender.

But I was thinking about it yesterday, and I think I figured out why. IRL, I'm surrounded by women. Day-to-day, there's my husband and one of my bosses, but I have two daughters and work with a dozen women in my day job. My closest friends are women, and when I get together with other writers, all but one are women. On Facebook, probably 90% of my Friends are women, and the ones who aren't are family.

So it kind of makes sense that I'd be drawn to men in my entertainment, be it football, television, or the social media extension of both.

Right?

New Releases
I am SOOOOO happy to finally announce the release of the third book in The Soul Series!

Harte and Soul is about Peter Ranger, who some of you might remember from the first book, Soul of the Dragon. (If you didn't read that one, it's free right now!) Peter's all grown up now, a single father who comes under attack. Brooklyne Harte is assigned to investigate, mostly to see if his extraordinary daughter's abilities are powerful enough to make her a target.

Brook never realized how closed off she was until Kiena and Peter burrow into her heart, and she understands how much she's willing to sacrifice to protect them. But when the threat becomes exponentially greater, her relationship with Peter seems doomed no matter what she does.

You can buy this book here:

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | All Romance eBooks | Kobo | Smashwords | Google Play | iBooks

Right now, you may be all, "Hey! You said free BOOKS, plural!" I'm glad you mentioned it! As I said, Soul of the Dragon is currently free. 

You don't have to read that book or the second book in the series, Soulflight (also at a special price) to enjoy Harte and Soul. But if you want to find out how Alexa and Ryc and Samantha and Rock got together before reading about them in Harte and Soul, those books do come first chronologically.

The other free book is actually a collection of micro-stories. Remember when I participated in Tiny Treats—A Holiday Collection back at the end of 2014? Well, we did it again! Introducing Tiny Treats 2—A St. Patrick's Day Collection! These stories are slightly longer, but still readable in short bites, and they all center around the March holiday. The anthology is totally free at all retailers!

Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Google Play | Kobo | Smashwords

FREE Tiny Treats, Renegade, and Computer Shopping

So what's everyone been up to?

I've been freaking cold, man. It's been in the teens, which broke records for our area. Typically, we play football on Thanksgiving in sweatshirts. Not that it can't be cold now, but usually low 40s, high 30s. Not 17! I'm a little worried about our oil budget this winter.

I've also had a lot more Christmas spirit this year. Not sure why. I usually compartmentalize my holidays. It gets me into trouble when we hit December 15 and I realize I don't have time to ship presents the inexpensive way. So maybe that's why I've been planning sooner. I have a couple of presents bought, which isn't much, but I'm very Christmas-focused, mentally speaking. :)

Part of that might be because I've been laptop shopping. Or rather, pre-shopping. My laptop is ill. Last year it was having lockup problems. The tech guys couldn't find the problem, but talked me into upgrading to a faster hard drive. My battery wouldn't hold a charge, so I bought a new battery, too. Well, that had to be a refurbished battery or even just plain used, because first the lock tab snapped off, then the laptop stopped seeing the battery at all. So I'm tethered to the wall. Which is doable, though not of highest convenience. The lockup still happens, mostly (thought not always) when I'm watching video. And now I've got two growing splotches of what appears to be leaking liquid in the display. I can work around them, but not sure for how long.

SO. I've been shopping laptops. At first I was thinking small and light. I like typing on the Surface, and I like the idea of convertability. Also considered the Lenovo Yoga, and then I saw the Toshiba Radius. The 11 is very affordable and it's gold! But you can't know what will work best until you try them all out, right? So I went over to Best Buy, which had more on display than I expected. Apparently not being able to "ship-to-store" from the website doesn't mean the store doesn't have the computer. I didn't like the keyboard of the Yoga, and the screen of the Radius 11 was just too small. I really liked the Toshiba with the detachable screen, but it was very wobbly, and that concerned me. I found a Radius 15.5", and I really liked that. I can get a portable CD drive for about $30 so I can use my Office 2007 (instead of paying $99 to download the hateful 2013). But then I was looking at the reviews. The 5-star reviews are vague. The 1-star reviews are far fewer in number, but wifi weakness and spacebar issues and flickering screens and very poor customer service from Toshiba are repeated throughout. Of course, someone who gave that 1-star rating says "I bought an Acer instead and love it" and you go over to Acer and they talk about screen and bootup problems and the bottom line is that every make and model can have issues. It's always a roll of the dice.

So I'm kind of back to the drawing board, maybe. But then I look at the temperature, consider the oil bill, and know that I have to ride my old laptop into the ground anyway, so STOP SPENDING SO MUCH TIME LOOKING, NATALIE. LOL

Okay, on to more fun stuff!

I am very excited to announce the release of a new anthology. Trish Milburn pulled together a couple dozen highly talented authors (and I am so humbled and honored to have been invited!) in a collection we decided to call Tiny Treats.

Tiny because these are micro-stories. I tested them out—you can literally read a whole story while waiting in the pickup line for your kid, or the drive-thru at a busy Starbucks, or while you're waiting for you spouse to be ready to leave for dinner, already!

Treats because they're all really good romances. Seriously, I'm not just saying that. If there was a single dud in the bunch I'd be more vague and general. :) I loved every single one.

Most of these are contemporary set and the holiday featured is Christmas, but there are some historical and paranormal gems, and Halloween, Thanksgiving, and New Year's are all included.

But best of all, it's completely FREE! Everywhere! So you can download it now!

Amazon | Barnes and Noble | iBooks | Google Play | Kobo | Smashwords

Oh, and if you've read If You Believe in Me, my story, "On This Christmas Day," features Rina and Danny!

I have another story out, too. This one isn't new. It's a reissue (updated, but with no major changes) of an erotic paranormal novella, and it's only 99 cents at all retailers:

Trex Samuels has lived her life supporting her best friend. Her job as an information broker allows her to stay in one place and keep tabs on Jake, who travels the world using his unique gifts to save abducted children. Trex is the closest thing to a home Jake has, and she waits for his infrequent visits that always bring both joy and pain. Things change, however, when Jake is on the run from the law. This time, he is haunted by his failures, tormented by waking nightmares. This time, he’s brought a partner.

Dan awakens in Trex a new craving, but one that doesn’t eliminate the old. When she realizes the men need her, that she has the power to banish their demons–however temporarily–they embark on a journey of sensuality and desperate pleasure. In the end, she not only has the power to heal them, but to set them free. And only one will come back to her…

Note: Originally published in 2008, reissued 2014

Buy Now:

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"Why the hell would you DO that?"

Today I have a post at Everybody Needs a Little Romance about my writing retreat last weekend. (That photo to the left is the room service cart I held hostage so I could write on the side of the room that had the view of the ocean.)

Because of my trip, I am SO far behind on TV! My husband is a little overwhelmed by our stuffed DVR. LOL So we're only doing a bit at a time, and I'm two episodes behind on a lot of stuff. Behind on a lot of my favorites and dying to catch up!

But some of what I've seen lately has been absolutely delighting me.

Let's talk about Haven first. I caught up last night, and I'm SO FREAKING GLAD they spread the swapping trouble over two episodes. Dwight and Gloria were awesome enough (though there wasn't much difference between Dave and Vince LOL) but OMG, Nathan and Duke. They were PERFECT. Lucas Bryant was amazing with Duke's body language (the hand gesture was spot on!) and Eric Balfour, who really had the easier job, I'm glad they were able to split Audrey and Mara, because Emily Rose is doing a great job as Mara and now we can have The Real Audrey Parker back.

One benefit to being behind? I caught up just in time for a new episode tonight. LOL

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is the other one that has delighted me this week. We finally watched last night, and not only is Adrianne Palicki as Bobbi Morse quite delicious, the reveal that she's Hunter's ex was fantastic. His reaction killed me. I love when I don't see something coming until the last second, and then it hits right before the reveal. I get to be surprised and smart at the same time. LOL All the new characters have just enhanced the show, and I can't wait for next week.

I caught a spoiler on Twitter last night about Supernatural so now I want to catch up on that one. Also, Sleepy Hollow. I don't care where they take it. The relationship between Abbie and Crane is one of the best on TV right now.

SO Excited that Fall TV Is Here!

Before I launch into a rambling and disorganized report on what I'm liking and not liking so far, I have an announcement!



October 11, 2014, 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.
Full Fusion (as NJ Damschroder)

Cupboard Maker Books
157 N. Enola Road
Enola, PA 17025
717-732-7288

I’ll be signing alongside fellow YA author Em Garner, with her book Contaminated. Then we’ll be participating in the YA book club discussion afterwards. Can’t wait to talk about my first YA novel with actual readers! (I hope they like it!)

WARNING. SPOILERS AHEAD.

Okay, let's start with Sunday and work our way through the week.

Brooklyn Nine Nine is fine, even though they backed off Jake/Amy thing. That's okay in the early seasons. I liked the first episode. One week behind.

Once Upon a Time is also fine, and I'm also one episode behind. I don't hate the Frozen addition so far. Okay, yeah, maybe it's crass commercialism, but it's not like they really had to shoehorn it into the existing mythology. The casting is weirdly spot on. I love Emma and Hook and I really hope Regina doesn't go deeper into the evil thing again. Getting tired of it.

Revenge, the jury's out. I didn't hate the first episode. We (my boss and I) talk about the show every week and agree we're very wary of the David-isn't-dead storyline, but our annoyance has been mitigated by the realization that he has no idea Emily is his daughter. He thinks Amanda is dead, and her death might have been what drew him out of hiding. We'll see. I might get to watch the second episode tonight.

Loved the first episode of Sleepy Hollow, though as much as I love John Noble, that character is going to grow old fast. The best part of the show is Abbie and Ichabod's relationship, and I don't care which way it goes. :)

The first episode of Castle was only okay. I thought Rick was too cavalier for everything that had happened, even for a guy who feels like none of it did happen. I blame direction. Haven't watched this week's yet. (Sensing a theme here? LOL)

Only watched one episode of Big Bang Theory. It's a nice diversion, but I don't mind letting them pile up. I haven't loved the show for a few seasons.

The Mindy Project was surprisingly more fun to watch when I binged it. But the quality this season is consistent and I love Mindy and Danny. (Yep, that's another theme. :) )

We enjoyed the first episode of Red Band Society enough to keep it on the list, but haven't watched it since. I think there are two episodes now. I have no compulsion to watch it, which doesn't bode well.

Now, The Flash? Totally different story. Loved the first episode. I have little knowledge of the DC Universe and only cursory knowledge of Flash's story, so easter eggs mean nothing to me (though they're fun to read about afterward :) ). I'm not speculating on whether Eddie will be Reverse Flash or if Wells is or anything like that. Wells wasn't sinister until the end of the episode. One recap I read says he's obviously from the future. I didn't see that. I only saw that he could see the future. But I guess it makes sense, bringing back technology to be the first to use it. Or eff it up, as the case may be. I love Grant Gustin and the rest of the casting. Funny thing: I said "The only poor casting seems to be his father." But then I was reminded that he's the original Flash from the previous TV series, so I guess we can give them a pass. But nostalgia versus wooden acting? I'll pass on both, thanks.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is similar fun. This is a show I'm determined to just enjoy. It's one of my favorites and I'm excited to watch it each week, and to hell with the people who want to whine about how poorly done it is. Expectations are just still way too high.

Supernatural...*sigh* It took five years, but I'm finally not enjoying it the way I used to. It was a slow fade, that enjoyment. I mean, when you have Supernatural Summer (rewatching all the episodes with friends) and go to conventions and rewatch the seasons in full every year, you're going to burn out the passion eventually. So for seasons 7-9 it was still must-watch-live, but not as urgent as it had been. We've only had one episode, but the darkness has taken over completely, and I am just not a person who wants to watch darkness.

So does that mean I'm done? Oh, come on! No way! It's still Sam and Dean! LOL

Arrow may have taken over as my top favorite, though. The action is great, the villains so hateful, the good characters lovable, and the relationships complex (or at least complicated). And the romance is finally the way I want it. I can live with Oliver and Felicity being on-again off-again six times in one episode if I can watch the crackling energy between them. I'm a huge sucker for an intense guy in love, and he's in love with the right woman. Of course, one of his trio was taken out of the picture at the end of last night's episode. We didn't like the actress, so we were glad (though I was shocked that they did it), but I do hate what it will do to Captain Lance. Laurel might become more interesting now. The Hong Kong flashbacks intrigue me. So yeah, I'm all in on this one.

Haven was one of my favorites last year. This year I'm a little on the fence. It feels like it's not really getting anywhere fast. I LOVE Mara, in terms of Emily Rose's portrayal of her. Audrey's emergences are annoyingly breathy and swoony, which isn't really Audrey, but I guess they need something dramatic to sell it. Her transitions back to Mara are awesome, though.

I'm mad at Bones. The conspiracy storyline was fine. Killing Sweets was NOT.

H50 is H50. Fine, nothing special.

Oh, I forgot about Forever. Which goes in the same category as H50. Good while I'm watching it, solid acting and writing for the most part, decent actors, but I don't think about it when it's not happening in front of me.

Modern Family is still funny, though everyone seems more exaggerated than they used to be with all their negative traits. Not digging that.

Selfie is the one new comedy I'm trying, and as horrible as it should be, it's not! I think it's because I love John Cho and Karen Gillan so much. She's SUCH a caricature but still something appealing about her. And I hope Charmonique gets a bigger role. She's great, and so is her kid.

And we end the week with Doctor Who. I don't mind the aged Doctor and I really like him being Scottish, and Peter Capaldi channels all his traits admirably. I love the better role Clara has been given, and I like Danny a lot. But I don't like the coldness they've given the Doctor, and I wish they'd explain the sudden dislike of soldiers all of a sudden. I mean, we can put the pieces together, I guess, with the whole war thing and the past he's faced, but isn't he supposed to be moving on? The self-exploration is great, but sometimes he feels like two different people.

What are you loving so far this year? What new shows have you tried and hated or liked?

When Dreams Go to Work

Usually when I talk about dreams here, they're weird and wacky and have no grounding in reality. I don't tell you about all the dreams I have about work (whether they're about the bar where we serve breakfast and booze—at a chiropractors office—or about how they've changed all the procedures and equipment on me and I can't figure anything out) or the ones that are about the iPod game I've played too obsessively or feature auto dealer websites flying in and out of my head. THOSE support the theory that dreams are our brain discharging and organizing and all that stuff. And they're boring.

But SOMETIMES, they're helpful.

Last week, my e-mail went FUBAR.

(This week my phone did—that reminds me, I need to get a new one, stat! Hold on... Okay, done.)

I've used AOL for like two decades. I have 5 years of e-mails stored in well-broken-down folders. It's safer virus-wise, and it's on my computer. I hate webmail with a passion, and I refuse to use Outlook. But apparently the humongous (like more than a couple hundred a day) rise in stored e-mails with my increase in client work overwhelmed it, because my personal filing cabinet kept getting effed up. I lost 10 days worth of e-mails and had to go through all my old ones to restore what I needed to save. Then it happened again, and I was done.

I did some research and decided to try Mailbird. (After I crashed Thunderbird, which I've used briefly before.) It's working fine. I finally can have all my e-mail addresses loaded into the same place, and I'll get used to the new structure. I'm rebuilding folders as I need them. And it was cool that it synced with my Gmail folders so I didn't even need to make new ones. I especially like how it cheers you when you achieve "Inbox Zero." That's something really important to me. :)

The problem was how AOL categorizes mail. It splits it into "old" and "new." Once you've read an e-mail, it leaves your inbox and goes into the "old" tab. Mine had about 3.5 years' worth. Over 168,000 e-mails. And AOL told Mailbird those are all "new," so it kept pulling them into the application.

Goodbye Inbox Zero.

But did I mention that's important to me? It is. My inbox is supposed to hold only mail I have to address. There's extreme satisfaction in clearing it out after a particularly heavy period of work. Even more in keeping it empty! So the idea of never having Inbox Zero again was not a good one.

I started doing CTRL+A to highlight everything and then archiving it. It took a while for each batch, and after a couple of days, I'd gotten through a month. It was going to take forever to do four years! Plus, it locked up the program a couple of times, and I had to use AOL webmail. *shudder* BUT, I found that the folders I had set up in Mailbird were now available in AOL webmail. It was syncing both ways.

Enter the dream. (I know, I ramble. Sorry.) The other night, mixed with dreams about work and something else kinda weird, I dreamed that I archived all my old mail in AOL webmail, which then synced with Mailbird automatically. I tried it, and...IT WORKED. Archiving in AOL only took a handful of batches, and even though it locked up that mail folder each time, it DID transfer it. So now I have Inbox Zero! AND! Bonus! I can search all my archived mail very easily, which will limit how often I have to go into AOL Desktop for old mail.

Now I have to get paid so I can get Mailbird Pro and get ALL my e-mail addresses in here. (The free version accommodates 3.)

If you've read this far, God love ya. :) I apologize for being boring. Next post will talk about fall TV! :) Stay tuned.

For the Love of Cooking Cookbook

I was honored to be invited to participate in an author cookbook to benefit a lovely organization, and the cookbook is ready for preorder! If you buy now, you will receive a free e-book version as well as your printed copy.

Here's the press release by Snap4kids:

Today’s bestselling authors have shared their tastiest tried-and-true recipes with us and we have compiled them into a single book that will be treasured for generations to come. This mouth-watering cookbook contains over 110 recipes—everything you need from appetizers to desserts. Each recipe includes the contributor’s name, so it’s easy to find the recipes of your favorite authors. And with over 90 authors (many are USA Today and New York Times bestsellers), you’re sure to find several of your favorites.

Special features include:

• Receive a free e-book copy when you order a printed copy. 
• Many recipes include a personal story telling how the recipe came about. 
• Each recipe contains a blurb about the author.

This year’s net proceeds will go toward three programs:

1. The new weekly bowling program 
2. Pizza for the weekly youth meetings 
3. Scholarships for summer camp

Cookbooks are $10 plus shipping and are available at www.snap4kids.org.

Cynthia D'Alba's Texas Twist Book Tour, with Giveaway!

Enter to Win

TONS of TEXAS TWIST Goodies

Gift Card, Mugs, T-Shirts, Etc

Real bad boys can grow up to be real
good men.

Hit hard by the death of her parents, Paige Ryan needs to figure out what to do with her life. She moves to Whispering Springs, Texas, to be near her step-brother. But just as she starts to get her life on track, the last man she ever wanted to see again sends it right back off the rails.

Cash Montgomery was on the cusp of having it all. Three bull riding titles, fame, fortune and respect from his family. Until a bad bull leaves him injured, angry and searching for comfort at the bottom of a bottle. With nowhere to go, he moves into his sister-in-law’s old ranch house in Whispering Springs—which he’s surprised to find already occupied.

As Cash rebuilds the dilapidated home and Paige starts out on her medical career, their old friendship begins to reemerge and sparks are ignited. Paige knows that Cash is nothing but a heartache waiting to happen. But maybe this bad boy has grown up to be a real good man?

Warning: Watch out for falling lumber, falling in holes, and falling for the wrong guy…again. You can leave your hard hat on.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Award-winning author Cynthia D’Alba was born and raised in Arkansas. After being gone for 17 years, she’s thrilled to be back home living on the banks of an 8,000-acre lake. When she’s not reading, writing or plotting, she’s doorman for her two dogs, cook, housekeeper and chief bottle washer for her husband, and slave to a noisy, messy parrot. She loves to chat online with friends and fans.

WEBSITE  |  FACEBOOK  |  TWITTER  |  GOODREADS

Adventures in Car Shopping

I got my first car 22 years ago, a Honda Civic hatchback coupe. Seven years after that, my husband got a company car and we traded in my Civic and I started driving his Corolla.

Fifteen years later, that Corolla is finally worn out enough that it makes more sense to buy a new car. Yay!

I spent many hours doing research online and narrowing down my options based on budget, safety ratings, reliability, and appeal. My top option was a Scion xD, in part because it was different. I hate that every car looks the same, and they're all silver, white, gray, red, or black. My entire life, I have not wanted to be one of the crowd.

So I went over to the Scion dealership and they had no xDs. He had none coming in, and none closer than 45 minutes away. There were no used ones. I reluctantly said I'd test drive the new Corolla while I was there. Instead of talking to me about the car, he used his phone to confirm that Scion is apparently discontinuing the xD. *sad face*

The Corolla didn't excite me at all. It's what I currently have, and I didn't want the same thing. They also made the steering wheel fatter with these big bumps at 10 and 2, and that just didn't fit my hands. So I was off to a discouraging start.

I stopped at dealerships to look at the Chevy Sonic (could NOT see myself in a Chevy), Mazda3 (a bit higher than I wanted to spend because you have to go up a trim to get cruise control!), and Hyundai Elantra. The Elantra might have still been on my "look at" list, but it was lower down for safety and reliability. But the most discouraging thing was that no one came out of any of the dealerships to talk to me. Apparently I wasn't worth braving the heat or something. So to hell with them.

Yesterday we went over to look at the Honda Civic and Insight. I liked the Insight okay, and it felt fine until I got into the Civic. It had firmer seats and a more "economy" feel, and since I keep my cars for over a decade, I want to be comfortable. :)

The Civic felt good, has some great features for a base model, and is top rated in safety and reliability, so I bought one! I even liked the color they put me in. The sales manager said he looked at the gray and the red (crimson pearl, which is a deep red) and decided I was more of the red. He was right! So I'm scheduled to pick it up Thursday.

Last night, I had annoying dreams. I kept rotating cars in my brain, researching and setting up test drives that I didn't go on. Then I had a real dream, with other people and events and stuff. We were going on a writing retreat, and I drove my new car that I had JUST picked up that day. I went to open the hatch (apparently I had a different car in the dream than the one I bought) and someone had backed up RIGHT against my tail. When I came around the car he pulled forward so I had room, but he had crunched my paint job and chipped a fist-sized hole right down to the metal.

The dream is probably because we were talking about whether or not to get the gap insurance, which covers the difference if your car gets totaled shortly after you bought it and the insurance company takes a few thousand off the replacement value. I still can't get the images out of my head.

Off to work, so I can earn my car payment. And then, today is FOOTBALL! *does a happy dance* What's making you happy today?