I just put a story into Submission Hell. Let's hope it is kind to me this round. It's just a short for an anthology, but it's with a publisher I've been eyeing for a while and it's a print credit. Keep your fingers crossed for me! They're keeping the submissions open until February so I may not know anything until then.

I'm thinking about setting up a FB page, but I'm not sure who else is on there. I don't want to be all lonely with no FB friends. >.< I actually manage to say active on my personal Facebook. I'm pretty sure I could stay active on a writing FB. Who is also on Facebook?

So far 2011 has been wonderfully normal.

I've taken a position as a subcontractor with a search engine. I telecommute and it allows me to pay the bills while still having time to write. Win+win=winwin.

The second edition of Full Circle is still in editing. My crazy life over the past two years has caused delays in that title. The editor and I have made some changes that will solidify some of the confusing aspects of the first edition. POV is tighter and it's nicely polished. I was proud of the title before, but there were a few rough sections that bothered me. I still need a lot of growth as a writer, but I've been given a chance to smooth out those rough patches. I can only hope and pray that the reviews for the second edition will be as good as the reviews for the first edition.

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Minekura is safe and so are many others.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/people.php?id=3143

Minekura has been fighting some major illnesses. She has a long fight ahead of her.

http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/2010-12-31/saiyuki-creator-kazuya-minekura-returns-from-surgery

Holy crap! I was quoted on filmsinfocus.com! Proof that you should always google your penname from time to time.

http://www.filminfocus.com/article/sexy_priests_from__em_i_confess__em__to__em_thirst__em_

Scroll over until you see the cover for Personal Demon and then click on it. I can't do a direct link. What a nice surprise!

Well, I now have another title in submission hell. Let’s keep our fingers crossed as this particular publisher is high on my “do want” list. I have some work with Freya’s Bower (published and in editing), so I’ve decided to go for another publisher on my target list. I’m not sure if this is a good fit or not. I figure a short for an anthology is a good way to test the waters.

It has been a while since I’ve done a public post. gracie_musica posted a long lost story of hers from the third grade. It’s adorable.

Her post got me thinking. I’ve often told people that my mother has always encouraged me to become an author. I never shared why.

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In September, I had a friend pass away. I would mention his name, but his family has requested it to be kept private. It is someone I’ve mentioned on the blog a few times. Not Puff or any of the regular gang.

I went out of town for a wedding the same week as the funeral. I have a list of random shit overheard and I’ll be getting that posted shortly.

Then in mid-October, I went camping and the bottom dropped out of my personal life and I’m done crying for the day so I’m not going to talk about that. I’m dealing with it. How well is yet to be determined. I do have a list and once the rawness of the situation heals a bit, I’ll post it.

Now, let’s get to the past week. My mother went into the hospital for an elective surgery, got home and by midnight was in ICU. She spent six days in ICU then a little bit of time in a monitored room. She’s home now and doing all right. I won’t say she’s doing well. She’ll live, but life has changed.

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All writers have crutches. Editors help us see those crutches and provide us with tools to stand on our own 100k words. “As” is a common crutch and one that I have. Although I’m not as bad as some, I want to get rid of it. If you’re a writer or an aspiring writer (or a hobbyist or whatever word you use to describe yourself), I recommend you play along at home. To help you find common crutch words, use the find and replace option in your word processor. Find the word “as” (or any other word) and replace it with a highlighted version of the word.
Today, I’m going to take sample sentences and rework them to eliminate the “as”. After the first sample, I’ll be using sentences from Full Circle. I’ll be focusing on pages with more than one “as”.

Special thanks to Marci Baun Marci Baunfor being a wonderful editor.

Sample: Stephanie’s mouth fell open as she stared at the size of his hands.

Changed: Stephanie’s mouth fell open. They’re huge. Her hands. Huge. The word huge repeated itself in her head over and over again. Before her eyes, they ballooned. Morphed into a roll of baloney with five fat sausages. What the hell was in her soda?

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Here's a fetish I never saw coming. O.o

http://www.urlesque.com/2008/06/11/were-stuck-on-sticky-sweetie-latest-net-fetish-sensation/

I'll never view a grown man chewing bubble gum with the same eyes again.

(Safe for work unless a woman in a short skirt standing in a gum filled bathtub will get ya fired. If so...whoa...that's one seriously strict workplace.)