Rainy Days are here Again

/
Still no red tomatoes.
I picked a green one yesterday and made fried green tomatoes. YUM! My fingers are crossed for those big red tomatoes. The rain we're getting should help.

I'm a little stumped on blogging topics right now. I was thinking about networking opportunities this week. I popped back into Romance Divas a couple of weeks back. I'd been spending most of my time either writing or critting...

When I went back in I noticed a few missing faces. I popped around to some blogs to catch up with people. And when I asked a friend what she was up to, she mentioned she had backed off so she could focus on writing and getting stuff done. I laughed [to myself, of course] because she was in the boat I had been in. Now I'm dipping my feet in again, but I'm guessing her path won't come back my way. Oh, we'll still be friends. I don't mean like that... but you see, she has an agent making rounds with editors. She's on a different playing field than I am right now. If I make it to that field, I can imagine needing to buckle down. Does that mean I'm not as serious in my writing? No. But there's no urgency, either.

What about you?
Have you drawn a line for yourself?

Waking to Dreams on Music Monday

/
It's true that some of my ideas pop up in my dreams. And I've had some doozies lately. This morning I woke up stealing someone's yellow mustang. A standard transmission, the car was sorta trashed and didn't run very well either. If I was making a getaway, I was bound for failure. But I was running away from [or to] something. :D Weird...

Yet interesting. We all dream, but it's the people who ask why that come up with the stories.

Have you ask WHY lately?

Stomped

/
Do you ever feel like you're trust is getting stomped on? Like you're being used as the biggest joke of the decade? You keep having Faith, keep trusting that there is a Bigger Plan out there, a purpose for you, for your family. And amidst the uncertainty of life you keep saying Thanks and having this patience [with the occasional impatient outburst].

I don't even think I can explain how betrayed I feel right now.

And yes, there's a good dose of Irish guilt and shame pointing a finger at me and telling I'm on the road to hell [not to mention my hubby who is so high above me and never has a human thought about what's unfair in life being the fault of You-Know-Who, he would be appalled that I could say something against this Higher Plan]. Yet, I can't help be human. I can't help these feelings that are clawing their way out of me. I'm no saint, but I think I've displayed a decent amount of trust over the last year. Yet once again, I feel like my trust and love is being taken advantage of.

One WORD! That's all it would have taken. One little YES or NO.
But no. How about we wait until the end of July, instead?
Yes, what's one more month of this BLOODY-AWFUL LIMBO?

I'm sorry to be such a downer today. I suppose I should go into hiding until this black cloud passes over. Too bad these feelings don't inspire romance...
Don't be surprised if my first book is a boring-ass women's lit novel full of angst and bitterness. :/

Take care out there.
With love,
Bethanne
/
There are two reasons I wanted to show off these books. One, I could win a prize. :D But two, I'm finding a real soft spot for fantasy. My kids have been reading it like crazy for the last year or so, starting with The Spiderwick Books, then into Harry Potter... and we keep finding more and more. There's an appeal in them--excitement, caution, dreams. Don't we all love a good dream?

The links here are for Inez Kelley's print release of Myla by Moonlight, but if you find yourself as taken by her imagination as I do, don't be afraid to find Salome at Sunrise HERE.


Myla by Moonlight is available from Samhain Publishing in PRINT on July 6th.

Buy from amazon



Magic bites... and its name is Myla.

Created at Prince Taric’s birth, Myla is a spell, an enchantment designed to appear and protect him when he needs it most. She has always been content to do her duty…until one night of forbidden passion leaves her longing to experience life—and love—as a mortal woman. Yet the risk is too great. Even if her blood runs as red as his, she can never give him the one thing he needs: a child.

Taric’s blessing—and his curse—is knowing the kingdom’s future depends on his producing an heir to continue the bloodline. His bond with Myla has always been that of protector and protected. When it suddenly becomes something much more, he unwittingly sentences his people to certain death.


An old enemy is plotting to destroy all he holds dear: his lands, his people, his father, and his lover. And this time, even if they fight tooth and blade, their shared magic may not be enough to save them…

Click here to purchase in ebook.


GOOD NEWS!

/
I subbed to Carina Press this Spring. And today, I recieved an email asking me to make some revisions and resubmit my story to them. I'm doing the Happy Dance with a huge smile on my face.

The editor actually said, I love your writing style--you have a rich use of language yet at the same time manage to keep the action clipping along at a brisk pace. (This book never drags!) But most of all, I love the heart of Dark Summer--the mature yet sensual relationship between this married couple undergoing crisis.

Whew! That's the most amazing compliment I've every recieved. I feel humbled by it. Then I start freaking out because if I sell this story, PEOPLE ARE GOING TO READ IT!

I already had a good friend say, tell us when you publish. We'll buy it. I know. This is a good thing. But people might not like it. I can be honest with myself. It's not something alot of my closest friends and family would read.

It's romance. It is sensual. *sigh* And I'm proud of it. I love this story. :D

Music Monday -- Listen to Your Heart

/
Guess whose Birthday it is today? John Cusack.
I like John Cusack, better yet, I like his movies. And his sister is hilarious. So, though I'm not in love with John Cusack... no I don't have posters hanging in my closet! Nor do I make a cake every year and tell everyone that it's just your run-of-the-mill June 28th summer celebration. I don't systematically go through and borrow all his movies from the library, either. No. I just admire his career, from classic movies like Stand by Me to modern popular comedies like America's Sweethearts. I debated between a great Grosse Point Blank movie clip and this more sentimental collaboration made for some chic who actually does LOVE him. And since it's MUSIC monday, I guess we'll go with Roxette's Listen to Your Heart. :D



Have a great week!
Bethanne

Book Post

/
I haven't talked about books in a while. My summer has been so upheavous [yeah, not a word, but I'm using it anyway] that it's been hard for me to start new things. I got one new read last week, Elizabeth Lowell's Death Echo. I can recommend it. It didn't leave me breathless, but it was page-turning. Like an old, comfortable pair of jeans that I know I'm going to love. :D

So I picked up a book given to me by a friend, The Quickie, by James Patterson. Did anyone else realize that he never writes by himself anymore? Is that a thing or is he just getting old? Clive Cussler does that too, and I know he has to be getting old. Anyhoo, that's neither here nor there. Part of my brain is urging me to keep reading it. The other part of me read the first chapter and had a mental shutdown. It's really hard for me to read past the infidelity part. I mean, I can take it when I know someone is the bad guy. I expect it of the villain, right? And of the heroine, I expect there is the hero to counter all the pain a villain might inflict.

So what have I learned about myself? I don't like unanswered questions. One, I think--if I were to keep reading--that the heroine and her hubby would somehow hook up again. By circumstances out of their hands, which involve a murder, the possibility is there. Patterson leaves me with enough insight to consider it. But sthe heroine has already broken her marital vows in revenge... so what if she finds out the hubby still cares or wasn't really cheating [though I'd be hard pressed not to believe it]? Will she be devestated? If he has cheated, but they realize they still love each other, will they be able to forgive each other? [why does this sound like a women's lit novel?]

I know most people love the questions. Questions are what usually keep people turning the pages.

What is wrong with me!?!?!? I must be the boringest reader out there. Maybe this is why I reread so often. As a matter of fact, I went to the library today and got about six books, three of which are rereads.

Wish me luck though, I'm reading my first Psy-Changeling Novel. A story by Nalini Singh. And I like it! :D thumbs up for writing a page-turner that identifies the hero right away so I don't have to wonder who will have the happy ending.

Great week, all!
With Love,
Bethanne

Summer Storms

/
I just love a summer storm, don't you? Where I live, we get wicked storms. Wind that knocks tree branches down and pulls your garden up by the roots. Rain that pounds into the ground and drains into your basement. Thunder and lightning so loud, it's pointless to turn the television on.

I think every good suspense novel needs a thunderstorm. Whether out on the ocean, down in the bayou, or tracking through the Rocky Mountains, the idea of being caught out there with a big strong man... on a boat, in a cabin...a tent, a resort. Take your pick. Add in a bad guy--serial killer, stalker, escaped convict...seriously, what more could a girl ask for???

But please, PLEASE don't pull a Kay Jewelers commercial... Ick. That commercial was wrong, just wrong!!!



This version, you'll like. :D

Right Lane Closed, Merge left

/
Matt and I were driven off the road yesterday by some DA in a semi who thought it was his job to police. It was a ballsy move of him to drive into our lane and even onto the shoulder just so we couldn't pass. But pass him we did.

I get so irritated when we drive up to a construction zone in which one lane is closed. For miles, people will be waiting in line in order to REACH the merge point. We can't possibly be the only people who realize that the lane isn't closed until the project managers have actually SET UP the road blocks, right???? Why? Why do people sit in a miles long line while there is a perfectly usable lane right next to them?

[def-MiriamWebster]MERGE: 1. archaic : to plunge or engulf in something : immerse

2. to cause to combine, unite, or coalesce

3. to blend gradually by stages that blur distinctions

No where does the definition imply making a straight line. NO WHERE does it imply that we are kindergarteners and there will be NO CUTTING. I like the third definition best... to blend gradually. As in taking turns at the merge point. Grrr. As a matter of fact, in Pittsburgh Matt and I have both seen signs that actually say, Use Both Lanes to Merge Point.


So, tell me. Do you sit in that long a$$ line? Do you also believe there is some unwritten rule that the road is first come, first serve? Or are you [smart] like me and feel free to use the unused road in front of you?

...I wish I'd gotten that truck driver's license number. What a jerk.


On a better note, I'M HOME!!!! THANK THE GOOD LORD!

June

/
I'm going to try to be good [about blogging *wink*], but this is going to be a crazy month.

Summer = kids, travel, offline/real life activities...
When I am on the computer, I'm going to be making up for lost time on my manuscripts.

That's the idea anyway.
:D Enjoy the warm months.

With Love,
Bethanne

Music Monday -- Pray for You

/
Believe it or not, I'm not having these feelings about anyone right now. That's not to say I've never had these feelings about someone... haha! :D This is a great song for when you're in a fighting mood, but know that holding back is the way to go. Don't forget, some things just aren't worth the fight.



Jaron and The Long Road to Love