Monday, December 31, 2007

Happy New Year!

I don't make New Years resolutions. Too much pressure and I usually crack within a month. Oh, there are a lot of things I could list--stop smoking, lose weight, exercise, get more sleep...even keep a cleaner house! LOL (I hate housework and it shows.) I could add write more, be more displined with my writing, submit more proposals to NY print pubs...lots of things about my writing career I'd like to do.

I understand the desire to make resolutions...new beginnings, fresh resolve...but why set myself up for a fall. So the only resolution I make is to live life to the fullest, love my family and friends with all my heart and try to be a better person tomorrow than I was today.

I hope you all have a wonderful, safe New Year and may all your dreams come true!

Hugs,
Shayla

Saturday, December 29, 2007

Chat Day, Sunday, December 30th!

Tomorrow, I'll be playing on the Ellora's Cave's reader loop with Delilah Devlin. Stop by and read some hot excerpts, play a few games and maybe win some prizes! You can join the insanity at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ellorascavechat. Hope to see you there!

Sunday, December 23, 2007

A *headdesk* Moment

The past week has been very busy. Lots of stuff going on at the dratted day job, craziness with the family and the upcoming holiday... Just busy in general plus I've not been feeling up to par. I think I'm fighting off the "crud going around". I haven't had more than a few minutes to work on my new story. The ideas are there but the time to sit in front of the computer and actually write hasn't been. So tonight, I was thrilled to be able to spend some time actually writing!

Until Rusty, my orange striped cat, decided the power cord to the laptop was something fun to play with. At first, I thought he'd just pulled it free of the connector. Nah, wasn't that easy. The little pain in the posterior actually bit into the cord! A tiny pin hole but enough for the laptop to go to battery power. There was much cursing and yelling in the Kersten household.

I have a Dell computer so I know I can order a new one. Of course, with it being nearly 11 PM on a Sunday night, I couldn't expect a new cord to ship tonight. Even if it shipped tomorrow, with next day air, it wouldn't arrive until Wednesday because of the Christmas holiday on Tuesday. So I searched Walmart.com and BestBuy.com to see if either showed a compatible power cord. Nope, couldn't be that easy. So I order the cord from Dell with next day air, almost $90, and after I place the order it shows an expected ship date of 12/26. More screaming in the Kersten household.

My next thought is to use duct tape on the cord. Maybe if I seal the puncture, the cord will work, at least until I get the new one. No duct tape, only Scotch tape. So I try it. No such luck. Not a good seal.

Okay... I pull out the old laptop and check the power cord. Not the same. Okay. I start up the old laptop. I figure I can email my WIP to myself and work on the old lappy. While it's booting up, my gaze fell on the clear fingernail polish sitting on my night stand. Hmmmm.....

So the new lappy is charging with a jury rigged patch on the cord. The old lappy is charging in case the new one stops. And I'm going to run my backup on the new lappy just in case fingernail polish isn't compatible with electrical cords.This is a true *headdesk* moment.

If I don't make it back online tomorrow, Merry Christmas to all! I hope you have a wonderful and safe holiday!

Hugs,
Shayla

Sunday, December 16, 2007

With tomorrow comes Forever!

My latest book, Forever, releases tomorrow, December 17th, at Liquid Silver Books! This story continues the relationship of Cavan and Biton from Thirty Days.

Forever took long enough to write. I went through several false starts but it finally jelled and everything fell into place. The date is the anniversary of Thirty Days' release. I can't wait! I hope others are as excited to see the rest of the story.

Hugs!

Sunday, December 9, 2007

Past Lies is done...

Well, I think it's finished. The NaNoWriMo novel, Past Lies, has been through two passes of edits plus a little tweaking in places and I think it's done. It's off to one of my crit partners anyway. I'll see if she thinks it's done.

My other crit partner is AWOL. She went home to the Mothership for regeneration. *cackle* Megan Kerans is a Disney World freak. The girl has to get her Mickey fix on a regular basis.

Next, I'm going to work on the blurb and the synopsis for Past Lies. I hope I can get it submitted to my Ellora's Cave editor by the end of the month.

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

Sunday, December 2, 2007

Flash Fiction Sunday at Liquid Silver!

I'm posting flash fiction--100 word drabbles--at Liquid Silver's Sex Blog! Stop by and post your own flash or a comment for a chance to win an ebook download of any of my backlist!

http://liquidsilver books.com/ blog/

Hope to see you there!

Hugs,
Shayla