Ever Have One Of Those Days?

Seriously...ever have one of those days?

The brain that came up with "Gin Bombay" (besides being between my ears) is having some difficulty coming up with character names. It may not sound like much, but it's driving me crazy. I need your help.

I'm looking for a name for a female character, mid-40's, smart but tired, for an upcoming book. If you can give me that name, I'll use it in the book and you will have my undying gratitude in the acknowledgements. Okay, I'll throw in a knitted sea creature, just for fun.

Let me have it, the full force of your creativity, my minions. My reputation is on the line.

The Assassin

Do you do it?

WINNER!

Okay, I pulled one out of the hat. And the winner is: Catslady. Email me your mailing address and I'll get you Lori's Wilde's book. You will love it.



Some of us are good at it. Some of us suck. Some of us were born with it in our DNA, and take pills to control it. Some of us teach ourselves to do it, others just refuse to go there. What am I talking about? Multi-tasking.

Now my hubby, he’s a multi-tasker to the max. He normally pays bills, watches a movie, and cleans out the litter box while he does our taxes. Of course it could be worse. He could throw love making in the mix and I’d be upset. Hey, taxes and sex just do not go together. Well, neither does sex and the litter box. Or as my hubby would remind me, neither does sex and talking to your parents on the phone. In my defense, that’s not a multi-tasking problem, I just have an issue about not answering the phone. Oh please, don’t pretend as if it hasn’t ever happened to you guys!

Our lives have become so busy that multi-tasking is often considered the norm. We almost have to do it to keep up, but there are some lines that shouldn’t be crossed, right? How about putting on make-up while doing 65 down the freeway and talking on the phone. I have a friend who does Pilates while buckled up and not speeding.

And then there comes in what is considered the favored pastime for me and most of you: reading. While I would like to think my books encourage you to abandon all chores and forget about sleep, the truth is that life has to go one. Lately I’m seeing people reading and doing a list of other things, some of them I don’t even recommend.

Reading and driving. (Do not try this at home.)


Reading and eating. (Uh Oh! I think she just got to the good part! Don’t choke!


Reading and Cooking. (Boy, I hope she doesn't blame me when she burns dinner.)


Reading and doing housework. (A good book can soften the sting of chores!)


Reading and sleeping. (So it’s a little late!)


Hey, as a busy writer, I can appreciate multi-tasking.


Now, you tell me, what do you do while reading? Come on, share a little. Today, I’m giving away a special prize. One lucky person who leaves a comment will win a hardback copy of Lori Wilde’s book, The Sweethearts’ Knitting Club. By the way, I’ve read the book and highly recommend it.

Jana DeLeon was Kidnapped By Aliens

Jana asked me to post that the reason she didn't blog today was because she was kidnapped by aliens, who took her up to the mothership where they didn't have an Internet connection/day. no, wait. That isn't what she told me to post. What she really told me to post was that Blogger was down and she couldn't get her post uploaded, so y'all just have to wait to read hers next Monday.

CC, who still thinks the alien story was better.

Vote for my baby!

Sprinkler update:  I finally got hold of my landlord who got hold of the landlord of the building next door who changed the horrible sprinkler!  Yay!  Now, instead of pelting the house at 3 and 4:30, it pelts it at 6 and 9.  Okay, 6 is still a little early for my taste, but I’m usually up feeding the baby at that time anyway, so I consider this improvement.   I slept for four straight hours last night.  Amazing.



Speaking of my baby…

He’s in a photo contest this week!  If he wins, he goes on to the semi-final round where he could win $25,000 for college, plus a trip to New York for a photo shoot and a chance to be on the cover of a magazine.  I may be biased, but I totally think he’s cover model material.  Unfortunately, he’s in 133rd place right now (which is way up from the 2859th place he started the week in  - geeze there are a lot of cute kids out there!).  If you have a few minutes to vote, we’d really appreciate it!


http://photos.parents.com/category/vote/photo/307720


Lastly, my power editing class starts on Monday (I’m so excited - I love this workshop!).  If anyone is interested, or knows someone who might be, here’s the description and sign up info.  (I’m giving a 20% discount to anyone who reads this blog, so email me to take advantage! gemmahalliday at gmail dot com.)


What Not to Write: practical tips for power editing


In this one week online workshop we’ll be going over some easy ways to take your manuscript from good to polished and published.  I’ll be focusing on practical, easy to implement ways to amp up an already finished manuscript and what not to do as you’re starting a new one as well.  We’ll be going over:


-         Quick Fix Common Mistakes

-         Show vs. Tell

-         Backstory

-         Sensory Details to make your story pop

-         Common Grammar Gaffes

-         Guy Speak

-         Dialogue

-         and more!


June 7 - 11   Cost $20

For more information or to register for class, please go to:

http://www.gemmahalliday.com/classes/




~Trigger Happy Halliday

Holding Pattern

I'm working on a new series. And I'm at critical mass. No, I'm not talking about my weight. I'm talking about plotting. You see, I can take the series I'm working on in two different directions. Option One blends certain elements of a stand-alone, single title that is in the queue--an action that would nuke the single title stand alone. Option Two keeps the stories totally separate. I'm conflicted. You see, I really, really like the stand-alone story idea and protagonist, but there are certain features of that book that don't lend themselves to a series format while other elements fit seamlessly within the series concept. So, I'm at a bit of a creative impasse here.

Yesterday in between laundry, errands and political phone calls regarding next week's primaries, I sat down and drafted informal plot lines for both stories. And I still can't make a final decision on whether to merge certain threads of the stand-alone into the series or not. As a result, yesterday was one of those 'two steps forward/three steps back' writing days. It happens.

But now I must make a decision one way or the other and move forward. Any brilliant suggestions on how to make that determination without second-guessing or regret?

On a much more positive note, I did get another request for materials from a third literary agency. Stay tuned.

~Bullet Hole~

Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeere's Tommy!

After 14 loooooooong months, Mr. Assassin has finally come home! It's FANTASTIC to have him back. I did things I didn't know I could do and I've actually learned a few things from this whole mess. I'd like to share my wisdom with you;

1) There are nights when Lucky Charms for dinner with ice cream and waffles for desert is a perfectly acceptable option. (And if you haven't gotten groceries in a week - it's sometimes the only option.)

2) A drink now and then won't kill anyone. On the bright side, it might keep you from killing lots of people!

3) If you pay a bill late, no one comes to take one of your kids away as collateral. For some, that might be a good thing...for others, no.

4) Kids are incredibly dramatic when your first guinea pig dies, insisting on a funeral worthy of a Pharoah. However, when the second one dies, the first thing out of their mouths is, "So, we can get a capybara now?"

5) A broken Hot water knob in the tub does not require you to run all over town to replace it with one that matches the Cold water knob. In fact, after a while it looks a bit charming...right?

6) You know all those times your friends tell you they don't care if your house is messy, they still want to see you? They really don't care if your house is messy and will politely ignore the dog hair tumbleweeds that roll over their feet. (A big thanks to Michele and Lisa.)

5) It's easy to ignore the dogs' habit of destroying the garbage under the sink because they make EXCELLENT (albeit tiny) shoulders to cry on.

And the biggest lesson was that Mom was right and yes, he eventually did actually and truly, come home at last.

The Assassin

What's In My Purse?

WINNER!!!!!!!!!!!! WINNERS!!!

Okay...hubby went to get the winner and he said I needed to give away two prizes. So he pulled two: First Place Winner-- is Jane. You win the pocket pooper, a $10 gift card to B&N, the pen, pad, and lip palm.

Second Place Winner is krisgils33 and you win a copy of any one of my books, a pocket pooper, lip balm and pen.

Please send me your snail mail address at christie (at) christie-craig (dot) com.

Contests! Contests!

Today, I’m holding one contest here at KF, and a couple more at two other places:

1. Write By Bethany – She’s interviewing me. One commenter will receive an autographed copy of Shut Up and Kiss Me
2. Romance Novel Sluts - I’m blogging about two books I loved, but my Kitties didn’t. One commenter will receive a $10 B&N gift card.

This is how the contest here at Killer Fiction works. It’s simple. Below is the beginning of a special feature I wrote for Dorchester’s website. It’s about my secret . . . uhh . . . fantasy. I’m only sharing the beginning with you and there’s a reason. During this secret fantasy, I pull something out of my slinky black purse. All you have to do to get your name in the hat to win some great prizes is to guess what it is that I pull out of my little back purse. You don’t have to be right to get your name in the hat, I’m just interested to know what you THINK I would fantasize about having in my little black purse. Come on, you guys have read my books, you should know how my mind works by now, right?

Yeah, this one is gonna be fun! And the winner . . . and this is where it gets even better . . . the winner will receive something you could all use in your own little black purse. Are you ready for this? It’s a genuine Oops a-Daisy Super Pocket Pooper. (Yes, you read that right. The picture is below.)

But that’s not all you could win, the winner will also receive a $10 gift card to Barnes and Noble, some Shut Up & Kiss Me lip balm, and a Christie Craig pen and notepad. These are all objects that will fit in your little black purse. Okay…now that you know the rules and prizes, are you ready to play? Here’s the beginning of my feature. If you’re curious, after you post, you can go read my feature at Dorchester’s website and learn what it really was that I fantasized about being in my little black purse.

It’s Not All Fiction!

I have a secret fantasy—a deep, dark flight of my imagination that plays out over and over in my head late at night. I know, I know, this might not be the politically-correct place to share such fantasies, but I beg you to humor me for just a bit. Because I promise . . . I’ll humor you in return.

Now back to my fantasy. . . It goes something like this. I walk into a crowded room. It’s hot. Texas hot. A drip of sweat trickles down my neck and slips between my breasts. I’m thinner and taller than I am in person—hey, it’s my fantasy, I can be anything I desire—I’m wearing some slinky backless black dress, high heeled shoes that would kill me if this were real life, and I have a matching tiny black bag hanging off my shoulder. A man sees me across the room and saunters toward me. He’s tall, dark . . . are you visualizing him yet. . .

Okay…so a couple of paragraphs later, I pull something out of that little black purse. What do you think it is? Come on, let’s have some fun. Show me by your answers exactly how crazy you think I am. LOL. Seriously, don’t you want a super pocket pooper? And if not for yourself, isn’t there someone in your life who you just know would love one? Oh, and just for grins, imagine me buying them and explaining to the cashier why I wanted to buy several of them.

Oh, and don’t forget to enter my contest at my website, where you can win a bucket of summer beach fun. Contest.

To read more of my special feature at Dorchester, pop on over.