Happy Fourth of July!

Yes, I know it's actually the fifth of July, but today is the holiday from my day job, so it's fourth of July observed. Any reason to be off work is a good reason to celebrate. I used part of my weekend to catch up on tv and part to reduce my taxes and the rest to work. The reducing taxes was the fun part. See, since I have a day job, when I make money writing, it's taxed at a fairly high amount, plus I pay self-employment tax, so what it boils down to is that about 40% of everything I make writing goes straight to the IRS. Sucks, right? Especially when you all know how hard it is to write. So ever once and a while, I get all sideways about it and decide to make a business purchase. I figure if I'm going to work 80-100 hours a week then I ought to have the very best equipment to do it.

So this weekend, I bought a Nook. Now, I have an ereader, but it's the first generation Sony and of course, does not compare to current technology. And it's old and VERY well used, so it fritzes every now and then. The price on the ereaders has seriously dropped. My Sony was $350 new but I just bought a touch-screen Nook with 3G for $199. The discounts on ereader books will actually pay for the ereader in a matter of months at the rate I order books. Not saying I actually get around to reading them all, but isn't it cool that if you want a book, you never have to leave you couch to get it?

So I figure that my "real" cost for the reader was $120 given that I saved $80 in taxes by buying it. And hey, I'm a woman, so it's not about how much you spend but how much you save. :)

For the television crew, I'm caught up on all my reality shows and have to say that I don't like anyone on Hell's Kitchen this year (at least not yet) and think the dancing quality on So You Think You Can Dance is through the roof amazing. I'm going to leave you with this video of a special performance by a guy who auditioned for SYTYCD a couple of years ago, but due to his disability (scoliosis) is unable to perform the partner dancing, but does a robot dance that is incredible. After his audition, he found two other guys and started a dance crew. They got a guest performance on the show and it's really incredible. FYI - Bryan is the little guy in the middle.

Click here to view.

Sorry, the embed link is disabled.

Have a great week!

Deadly DeLeon

S/he Facebook, S/he Facebook not.

Happy 4th!! (a couple days early!)  I hope everyone has a great weekend!  I'm plugging away at a deadline... appropriately enough for the next book in my Hollywood Headlines series titled DEADLINE, so I'm going to turn things over ot my fabulous guest blogger Maria Grazia Swan.  Take it away, Maria...

I just came back from five days in California. The trip was a combination of things I had to do and things I wanted to do.

  One of these things was to meet a Facebook friend in person. It wasn’t a random choice, I asked her to be friends because her son and my grandson went to school together. When I went for the graduation, meeting her was a natural step. 

      I’m not going to bore you with the details of our visit, but it was wonderful. On the long drive back, I started to think about all the hundreds, if not thousands, of friends we accumulate on our Facebook page. Sort of like Boy Scout Merit Badges. Except, the Boy Scouts have to do something to earn the badges. On Facebook, we garner friends with a simple push of the finger. Tired of being a friend? Click delete and voila! Gone. 

      Perhaps I’m simplifying the process, but the reality is that we will never be able to meet all of our Facebook friends in person. In fact, the only contact we have with most of these ‘friends’ is that original click of the button. Maybe we will post a happy birthday message when Facebook reminds us it is some ‘friend’s’ birthday. 

      So, I ask myself—and all of you like me—why do we do it? Why are we gathering friends like Tiger Woods gathered mistresses? 

      To make matter worse, some friendships turn into romantic connections, or at least try to. I know of at least three of my Facebook friends who have courted, dated, and broken up without having actually met the object of their desire. 

      Do I have a solution? Do we have a problem? I don’t know. I did set up a page, open to anyone-Get Off The Couch Tuesdays. Like it says, I try to encourage Facebook people to unplug the computer, get off the couch and do something interesting. I even offer monthly prizes to the most creative activity. I don’t get many participants, but I’m not giving up. I know there is life outside the world of Facebook. I just need to convince my ‘friends’.

~Maria Grazia Swan

Maria Grazia Swan is an author and motivational speaker who shares relationship advice and guidance for women re-entering the social/dating scene. Maria empowers and encourages single women to be bold, fearless, and sexy in their pursuit of life and love after age 45. An award recipient from the Women’s National Book Association, Swan is the author of Boomer Babes: True Tales of Love and Lust in the Later Years (Leisure Books). Visit
http://www.mariagrazia.tv

When it rains...

As this Independence Day nears, Central Iowans are keeping an eye on the river levels as heavy rains this past weekend filled the river basins and several dams are scheduled to top their spillways within thenext day or so. The possibility of impending floods will sure put a damper on 4th of July festivities. Hoping and praying my fellow citizens are spared another bout of water woes.

Meanwhile, I really don't have any big plans for the 4th. A couple kids have to work and I really, really need to write. I goofed off on my day off this week. Yesterday I got up early and took a walk, then rode my bike, worked in the garden for a bit, played tennis, and rode my bike again in the evening. This morning I'm stiff and sore.

Too much of a good thing, I guess.

In the agent search department, I'm saying no news is good news. At least no rejections to report. Meanwhile, I'm working on a new project targeting Harlequin Intrigue. I must say making the switch from 90k word books to 60k is a bit of a challenge but I'm really enjoying the process.

What's up with you? Any big plans for our nation's big day?

Wishing you a safe and spectacular Independence Day!

~Bullet Hole~

Photo Caption Contest

WINNERS! Terri O, Susan M, Jane, & Janel. Please contact me via email at Christie (at) christie-craig (.) com. Tell me which book you want of mine. If you have them all including, WWW, I will offer you up a few other books. Thanks everyone for playing, I had a blast reading your comments.

Another photo contest. You've done it before, you know how it goes. It's easy. Just write a caption for the photos, 1,2,3,4, and the best caption wins. I'll be offering four prizes. One for each image. The winners can either pick one of my novels or a copy of Wild, Wicked & Wanton. If you have all of those, I'm offering some books of my writing buddies. So, even if you have all of my books, you can still play and win. So make sure you post.

Oh, and I must explain the first image. Laurie is a bookseller, And I told her she had to go out and pimp my books. Well, she takes her job seriously. She bought the floppy hat and everything. I love the picture, and it's deserving of a really funny caption. It sort of makes me wonder what scene in Shut Up and Kiss Me she was reading to get that expression. LOL. (Thanks Laurie for pimping my books!)

Okay make sure you leave those captions. Let's have some fun.

CC

Photo #1

Photo #2

Photo #3

Photo #4

Release Day Tomorrow!

Tomorrow is the official release day of SHOWDOWN IN MUDBUG. For all of you who have been wondering who killed Helena, all your questions can be answered by a quick trip to your local bookstore or online. And no, I'm not giving you any hints. LOL

SHOWDOWN is the last of my Ghost-in-Law books, and I'm sorta sad to see it end, but I hate when people drag a series on too long. Helena was a fun character to write, but eventually, all good things must come to an end.

The wonderful, Allison, with Dorchester created this fun quiz that you can take to try and win a gift certificate. Give it your best shot!

Deadly DeLeon

Ready for a Showdown? Take the Mudbug Madness Quiz! » Make A Quiz

Avoid Eye Contact

I need to find a new place to write.


Before Baby Boy came along, I was perfectly happy writing in my bedroom. It was relatively quiet (when Big Boy went to school at least), nicely decorated (even if I do say so myself) and had all the internet access a girl could ask for. Of course ,the quiet factor changed dramatically once Baby Boy came along. In fact, I’m pretty sure people two towns over can hear the noise from my house now.

So, I had to find a new writing venue. Since I as stopping at Starbucks for mass amounts of caffeine to combat The Baby That Will not Sleep anyway, I figured I’d settle in and write there. It only took me three weeks to figure out how to get free WiFi with my Stabucks card, and having caffeine readily available has been a godsend. Not to mention the yummy food they now serve. (I recommend the spinach feta wrap.) It’s not exactly quiet here, but at least no one is saying, “Mom, Mom, Mom, MOM!” In fact, I kinda dig the music selection they play here,

So why, you may ask, do I need to find a new place to write?

Here's the thing – I can’t just write with my nose to the computer screen. I have to stop and think now and then. I type like crazy, pause, look up, contemplate my characters’ next move, then go right back to typing furiously. And it’s in the look up and contemplate moments that I’m getting in trouble,

For example…

The ohter day I’m typing way. I get to pivotal point in my scnee. I look up, start the contemplation thing. My eyes wander over the room, not really seeing anything, but kinda just looking around. They rest on this guy across the room. He looks up, sees me, makes eye contact. I smile (cause it’s only polite once you’ve made accidental eye contact, right?) Big mistake. He walks over and asks what I’m working on. I say I’m writing a book. VERY big mistake! He sits down at my table, wants to know all about the book, then proceeds to tell me his life story and why I should write a book about him.

Half an hour of my precious writing time this guy wastes! I know, I could have just told him to take a hike. I should have pointed out that I write murder mysteries, so if I write about him, I’ll have to kill him. But he sounded lonely and I just couldn’t be that mean. Instead, I finally faked a phone call (“What’s that you say? The house is on fire? I’m on my way home!”), packed up my stuff and left.

I could chalk this up to an isolated incident, but it’s the third time this week it’s happened. Bottom line, I need to find a less friendly place to write. Somewhere where no one knows your name, where people mind their own business, they dislike and fear each other. Any suggestions?




~Trigger Happy Halliday

Some days are diamonds. Some days are big ol' boulders.

I've had a heckuva week. Record June rains have saturated the soil. With no place for additional water to go, subsequent gully washers often find their way into basements. MY basement in particular. With almost daily torrential rains, I purchased two sump pumps, two shop vacs, and a ginormous squeegie fit for Paul Bunyon. And still the waters came. Already worn out from my bucket brigade, I was really hoping to have an opportunity to relax on my day off yesterday.

Sadly. That was not meant to be.

My day started off as so many this month. Pre-dawn. Another freak cloudburst sent water into my basement. My son and I, shop-vacs at the ready, began to suck up water. And the lights go out. We're totally in the dark. (I can read your mind here. Like 'she should be right at home in the dark.' Nice.) Anyway, we grope our way to the stairs, feel our way upstairs, and try to find a flashlight to check the breaker box. Can't find the flashlight anywhere. I jump in the car and race to Walmart (remember there is water seeping into my basement) and buy a flashlight. I come home, get the power back on, suck more water. Call it good and then remember I have an appointment to get my vehicle worked on.

I shower and take my car over and walk back home. I'd broken my cell phone two days earlier so I had my daughter run me to the cellular store. After the appointment, we head to the Post Office. Enroute, my daughter's car begins to stink. Bad. Smoke begins to rise out from beneath the hood and the vents. We drive to the same repair shop working on my car, leave her car, and wait for my car. My car is completed and we drive off. I have a retirement event to attend so I get ready and jump in the Jimmy and head off to the capitol city. Fifteen miles down the road and I finally notice the Check Gages light is on. I check my temp gauge. In the red.

I turn around and head back, pulling off at a tiny repair shop. I end up sitting there 45 minutes before the engine cooled off enough to start back home. I get home and drive directly to the repair shop, leave the car, and walk home.

My wonderful day off continued with a meeting with a roofing contractor to provide an estimate for the hail damage to my roof, find out the insurance adjuster missed a bunch of damage, and 15 minutes before the repair shop closed, I picked my vehicle up. I'm taking bets on whether it will overheat on me tomorrow when I drive to work. You in?

Oh. I also got an agent rejection this week--albeit a very complimentary one.

On a positive note, I did squeeze some writing time in this week on my new project and I'm happy with the direction this story/series is taking.

Hope your week's been a better one.

~Bullet Hole pulling up her bootstraps~