Monday, November 30, 2009

NaNo 2009 and CPU Crash


Here I was thinking I might get through an entire year without killing a computer.. who did I think I was kidding?

My desktop computer - the love of my life - has passed and I'm in mourning. Windows 7 has not been my friend and I can't load my Cannon printer or scanner even with the driver downloads (although I'm not sure I have the right ones as they don't give you any detail - thanks for that Cannon). The shiny new monitor that came with the new computer had to be taken back to the shop today because of its tendency to throw tantrums. I don't find the back of my comptuer desk or the plugging and unplugging of equipment partiuclalry thrilling to tell you the truth and I'd like it to stop sometime soon.

All this means that change is bad for your health and I vote for a global ban.

NaNo is coming to an end and there's no way I'm going to reach that 50,000 mark this year. It was always a bit iffy and a sane person would know her limitations. The computer issues certainly didn't help. I'm hovering around the 10,000 mark, which a lot slower than my average pace, darn computer gremlins. That's right, I take no responsibility :P.

Here's to all of you NaNoers who have finished, you disgustingly talented and dedicated people :D.

I know you are eagerly awaiting the results of the IHeartPresents competition and I'm biting my nails with you. I'm hoping for an early December announcement because I have the patience of a two year old.

How are you all going? Are you hanging in there?
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Monday, November 23, 2009

The Infamous Beaver Suit

Heidi Rice’s Hot-Shot Tycoon, Indecent Proposal (a fabulous read by the way – go on, go, go get!) is where you will meet Daisy. Daisy has a penchant for climbing fences to rescue her landlady’s cat. Sadly Daisy’s fence climbing is very familiar to me… TOO familiar :) and I was thrilled to be able to confirm for Heidi that yes, there are women out there crazy enough to scale fences for the good of furry creatures everywhere - her editor doubted it. I honestly didn’t see it as strange until I looked at it from said editor’s point of view… hmm…

In my case I was rescuing a dog, and I feel a little ripped off about the lack of a half naked hero in my story. Clearly, I’m climbing the wrong fences…

I regularly find myself in strange situations and so I enjoy reading about people who are a little more extreme.



Enter the beaver suit.


I’m thrilled to inform you all that you don’t have to wait to read the beaver suit idea. A best selling author has already captured it far better than I ever could which brings me to Susan Elizabeth Phillips. If you like quirky, her work is for you. I get a kick out of just reading the “All About Me” section on her website.

This is one of my favorite first chapters and first lines (I’ll admit I collect them, but only to you :D ). Natural Born Charmer is the title of “the beaver suit” book, the full excerpt is here, but here’s a peek including the infamous suit:


It wasn't every day a guy saw a headless beaver marching down the side of a road, not even in Dean Robillard's larger than life world. "Son of a" Dean slammed on the brakes of his brand new Aston Martin Vanquish and pulled over in front of her.

The beaver marched right past, her big flat tail bouncing in the gravel, and her small, sharp nose stuck up in the air. Way up. The beaver looked highly pissed.

She was definitely a girl beaver because her beaver head was missing, revealing sweaty, dark hair pulled into a scraggly ponytail. He'd been praying for a little distraction from his own depressing company, so he threw open the door and stepped out onto the shoulder of the Colorado road. His newest pair of Dolce & Gabbana boots emerged first, followed by the rest of him, all six feet three inches of steely muscle, razor-sharp reflexes, and unsurpassed gorgeousness or at least that's what his press agent liked to say. Still, it was pretty much true, although Dean didn't have nearly as much personal vanity as he let people believe. Even as a kid, he'd figured out that looks didn't take you far, but emphasizing the superficial was a good way to keep people from getting any closer than he wanted them to be.

"Uh, ma'am" You need some help?"

Her paws didn't break rhythm. "You got a gun?"

"Not with me."

"Then I've got no use for you."

On she marched.

Aren’t you grateful you live in a world where you can stick your heroines in a beaver suit?
 
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Monday, November 16, 2009

Stressed Off My Scone


Don’t you just love quirky sayings?

Stressed off my scone is one of my favorites. It’s completely random and brings to mind a very English woman incapable of taking on an itty bitty scone.

Children tend to pick up on the sayings of their parents without realizing it. I once repeated a phrase so commonly said in our family unit that I didn’t even know I’d said it and was completely put out when my friend started laughing hysterically.

I believe these little sayings make a character more human, more relatable, more real. A cardboard cut out wouldn’t be stressed off its scone.

I love a completely deranged character, the more flawed a hero and heroine the more I want to read. Give me a woman who’s accidentally tazered her boss or who’s marched down a highway in a beaver suit and you’ll have a hard time getting rid of me.


What do you do to make your characters more real to you?
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Friday, November 6, 2009

And We're Off...


NaNo has started.

The apocalypse has begun.

I say this because my writing plan hasn’t been adjusted yet so poor NaNo isn’t receiving the proper attention. Bad Lacey.

How’s everyone else doing in NaNoland?

The lovely Donna Alward posted a link to Nora Robert’s latest interview in The Star. You can read all about it here.

Some facts about Nora Roberts you may not know:

  • In 2001, an average of 34 Nora Roberts books were sold per minute.
  • In the time you take to read this, another 8 Nora Roberts books were sold.
  • Since her first bestseller in 1991, her books have spent a total of 351 weeks on the New York Times list...that's equivalent to nearly 7 consecutive years of weekly bestsellers.
  • Twice in her career she had four books on the New York Times list at the same time.
  • Since 1999, every book published under the Nora Roberts name was a New York Times bestseller.
Click here for more Nora Roberts stats.

Well, if Nora ever gets sick of her sixty million dollar (U.S.) annual income I’m happy to step in…
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© 2013 Lacey Devlin

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