Friday, May 27, 2011

Wine, Skype and WICKED LIES

It's Memorial Day weekend and I've been asked, are you doing anything special?  Let's see. . .no.  Between the hail, rain and unseasonable cold, and taking care of my father-in-law -- it's now Day 24 of Our Captivity (see previous blog for more information on our captivity) -- we've decided to stay at home. . .or maybe it was decided for us by the above-mentioned issues.

My sister and I are deep into the promotion for WICKED LIES, the sequel to WICKED GAME, our co-written, somewhat paranomal, suspense series.  WICKED LIES will be in the stores, and available in e-book form on Tuesday, May 31st.  And yes, it's the book our "film noir" video was based on.  We're getting a lot of feedback on that video. . .mostly in the "You guys are clearly out of your minds," range. (see previous blog for more information on, and to view, the film noir video)

Earlier this month we learned from our publisher that a new shipment of WICKED GAME, the first book in the series, was sent out to certain retail stores, in case people missed the book the first time around.  And now we've learned that WICKED GAME hit the USA TODAY bestseller list the last two weeks in a row.  This is like. . . .unheard of.  I mean, really?  Really?  We kinda thought WICKED GAME, originally published in 2009, had had its day in the sun, so to speak.  I may have to drink some wine and ruminate on this.  I would join my sister but she's at the beach wearing her beach makeup, I'm sure. (see previous blog for more information on beach makeup)  As an alternative I may have to Skype my daughter, Kelly, so that I can see her while I toast this unexpected success as she's in California and I'm in Oregon with its. . .weather.

So, I'll leave you with this existential question: Is it really drinking alone, if you're both having wine and Skype-ing and can see each other in real time even though you're thousands of miles apart? 

Happy Memorial Day.  Check out WICKED LIES on Tuesday!

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Okay, you've got to see this. . .

So, you're going to want to know: what's the story behind this?  The answer is, a complete lack of discretion on our part.  Were we high when we made this?  Sadly, no.  We were completely sober and we still did it.  The last time we were in New York our photographer friend, Kimberly Butler, took some new headshots for me.  (Please note the photo for About Me on my blog.)  And then, Kim got the great idea to interview us as if we were under interrogation. Everytime we see this video we roll on the floor with laughter.  And then there's my husband, Ken. . .well, you'll see. 
Go ahead.  Get your popcorn out, settle in and enjoy the show!
                                                                                                                                                                        

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Day Eight Of Our Captivity. . .

My father-in-law had hip replacement surgery a little over a week ago.  He lives right next door so it's easy access for my husband and his sister to take care of him, basing out of our house.  We were all kinda jazzed about the fact that he was FINALLY having the operation as it's been over five years of suggestions on our part and emphatic "NO"s on his.  My husband, Ken, kept having people ask him when he was going to take his dad to the doctor and see about that hip, like he was just holding back, waiting for the mood to strike.  Anyway, it appears that this whole thing for my father-in-law has been a longterm race between fear and pain with fear winning out for a long, long time before pain leapt forward and tore away in a sprint.  So, the surgery was a success -- yay! -- and is now in the rearview mirror. . .sort of. . .

The intial belief that next-door accessibility was a good thing has taken a beating.  Our being so close has also created a kind of party atmosphere at my father-in-law's house whereby he asks where we've been, where we're going and when we'll be back whenever there's movement from his house to ours.  I am a step out of this as I've been through this with my parents and can lay down the "paid my dues" card.  This is not to say that I don't drop everything to suddenly make a sandwich, or move a chair from our house to his, or dig out the cable bill to call for rewiring so that cable is available in more rooms than the kitchen.  (I generally use my kitchen for cooking and eating, so it never occurred to me that it could be the family den as well.  Learn something new every day if you're not careful.)

That aside, my husband Ken's good-neighbor attitude extended to the people two doors down from us in the opposite direction from my father-in-law.  These people are doing a huge remodel.  Huge.  They've even moved out of their house while it goes on.  And so Ken offered up my father-in-law's driveway as a place the construction vehicles could park.  This was. . .oh. . .awhile ago, before the surgery was even on the docket, so just as soon as my father-in-law was out of the hospital and set up with 24 hour caretakers, and their respective vehicles, here comes a cavalcade of trucks and other vehicles I don't even recognize sporting coils of wires, ladders, tool boxes, you name it.  This is okay, except that the subcontractors don't always get the memo and I often find myself opening my garage door to encounter a variety of huge front grills glaring at me. 

The good news: it has forced me to sit down and write.  Or, take a walk to clear my head.  Or, look in the refrigerator and wonder if I'm going to expire if I can't get to the grocery store.  So, I've been writing and working my way down my Icky Task List, which is the ongoing list of duties I don't want to do but must everyday.  I feel good if I can get one item off the list each day.  At the top of the Icky Task List today was to find, yet again, an excerpt for WICKED LIES, the book my sister and I wrote together that's coming out next month.  Honestly, I love this book.  It was a blast to write and I can't wait for it to come out.  Normally coming up with an excerpt for it would not qualify for the Icky Task List, but I've already dug up a number of these excerpts and each publicity venue the publisher connects with wants a new version, not the same old thing.  Really?  There's no escaping the fact that it's the same story, people.  I have definitely been struggling to find some new scene that says what WICKED LIES is about in 500 words or less that I haven't already done. 

But onward....time to get to it....I need to cross Icky Task #1, WICKED LIES excerpt, off the list.  And I won't even look at what the next Icky Task item is until tomorrow. . .on Day Nine Of Our Captivity....

Mega Trucks

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Happy Birthday, Binks!

All of you who've read any of my Jane Kelly mysteries -- CANDY APPLE RED, ELECTRIC BLUE and ULTRA VIOLET -- know the story of The Binkster, the pug that is thrust upon Jane in Book I. In CAR -- the acronym for CANDY APPLE RED, for all you texters -- Jane spends a great deal of time trying to fob the dog off on anyone who'll take her. Her attempts fail miserably and she finds herself eventually, reluctantly, falling for the little beast who's joined her world.

I'd always liked pugs. They're just so humanoid-looking and funny. I first put The Binkster into CAR many moons ago, during the book's first incarnation, and I really liked having the dog in the story. So much so, in fact, that I decided to go out and get one of my own. I'd never had a dog before. So, after I wrote The Binkster into the plot, I told my husband my plan to get a pug. He was very succinct about what he thought of that plan. I ignored him and started my pug search. When I found the perfect Binks, I asked my husband to come and see for himself. He said no. So, I asked if divorce were imminent, should I bring the pug home. He said no, again, though it took a while for the word to actually pass his lips.

It's been NINE YEARS since that day. Binkster was born on May 10th, 2002 and when we brought her home it took about three seconds for her to win over my husband. They've been the best of pals ever since, and I've even occasionally succumbed to pangs of jealousy over their bonding. But I wouldn't change anything really. Happy Birthday to you, Binks. We love you!

Baby Binkster
Too Much Birthday Fun
What'd you put in the milk?