I'm such a pushover

My brother from Florida comes up every Christmas and stays for a couple of weeks. So we all got up yesterday and decided to go out to breakfast. Which was very enjoyable. Then on the way home, my brother spots a Sprint store.

"You know, we have enough credits to upgrades our phones again."

"I don't really have the money for it right now," was Mom's reply.

"Yeah, so? I'll pay for the upgrade. C'mon mom, I really want to go see what they got."

I'm sitting in the back seat, shaking my head and laughing at the two of them. No way I'm upgrading right now, but I know damn well they will end up going back and looking and then upgrading.

So around the block we go. Luckily it is very early, and we are the only ones in the store. We examine phones, and prices, discuss getting Mom something with a full QWERTY keyboard so she can text easier, Michael wants something real basic – BTW, Mike pays for a second line on his account for Mom – has since he moved to Florida. They finally pick out what they want and then all the paperwork starts and transferring of data, and blah, blah, blah.

During which time, I get totally bored and start playing with some of the phones and reading every pamphlet in sight. If I had known we were going to stop, I would have taken a book and the rest would not have happened…..

As Mom and Mike are finishing up, the salesman asks if he can get anything for me today – I swear that NO was supposed to come out of my mouth – Honest! Instead:

“Yes, I’d like to upgrade to the Samsung Instinct, get a Bluetooth earpiece, a car charger for the phone, and upgrade my account to include internet access for it.”

Needless to say, I’m still trying to figure out half of the damn phone. It has a touchscreen, so no keyboard except the one on screen. I can read my email, check out webpages, text message, take photos, Gawd only knows what else – and oh yeah – make phone calls.

I really need to keep a book handy.
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Just Checking In

Christmas was very enjoyable, and I hope that it was for all of you as well! New Years should also be enjoyable, but then it's back to work - yes, I am on vacation, which is why I'm not around much.

I don't make "resolutions" - I just try to do better than I did last year. That's enough for me. What about you?

A Fun Interactive Story

Jess Granger, whose Beyond the Rain releases in August and looks like a great SFR is hosting Interactive Adventure! Ethel the Space Pirate. Go to her blog and vote on what Ethel should do next.
Just click on the title to get there.

Send a soldier a Card

Go to this web site, www.LetsSayThanks.com, pick out a thank you card and Xerox will print it and it will be sent to a soldier that is currently serving overseas.

Although you can’t select who receives the card, it goes to a member of the armed services.
How wonderful would it be if we could get everyone we know to send one? It is FREE and it only takes a second.

Happy ???????

Beware - politically incorrect rant ahead.

I went to the hairdresser's last night. I brought a small gift, since I won't see her again until after the holidays. She proceeds to tell me how her boss got everyone together and told them they could not say Merry Christmas. Only Happy Holidays was acceptable.

I'm all for treating everyone fairly, and being aware of others traditions and beliefs. So where did MY right disappear?

I don't expect my Jewish friends to say Happy Holidays instead of Happy Hannukah. I don't expect my African-America friends to say Happy Holidays instead of Happy Kwanza. So how come I can't say Merry Christmas without being politically incorrect?

Christmas is part of MY heritage. And I don't care how incorrect it seems -

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!

Win a Kindle - or books, or GC or books or a Vera Bradley Purse or books...

Angela James and 38 authors are having a contest - a large contest!

Two Kindles - with a bunch of books!
books
A Vera Bradley Purse
books
Gift Certificates
books
a Laptop bag
books
more books
and more books.

Go forth and have fun - just click on the title to get to her page - and yes, she will ship internationally, just not guaranteed for Christmas!

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope everyone has a wonderful holiday!

Which books did you purchase today?

Go to the link above and add to the list - it looks like a really fun concept!

Free Novel

http://katerothwell.blogspot.com/2008/11/thanks-meljean.html

Kate Rothwell (aka Summer Devon) is making her historical romance novel, THE RATCATCHER, available for free download (it’s a PDF)*. She only asks that if you download it, please e-mail her and let her know.

Buy a Book - Save the World

I picked this up from Alison Kent, who got it from moonrat an editor in the publishing world:





For anyone who cares about the book publishing industry and wants to do their part, there’s one simple action step:

Buy a book this weekend.

Just buy one.

Buy your sister a book instead of a sweater for her birthday; buy your friend who can’t even make toast or boil water a beginner’s cookbook; buy your company’s receptionist a novel you liked because most people probably ignore him/her (it’s always a her, though, isn’t it?) and you’ll make his/her day.

Buy your holiday gifts now. Instead of a CD for your brother, buy him a book on his favorite recording artist.

Instead of going to the library this one week buy the book you were going to read–it might only be a difference of a couple of bucks in the end. One day this week, make a peanut butter sandwich, skip going out for lunch, and buy a paperback.

(…)

It doesn’t matter what. It doesn’t have to be a literary fiction hardcover. If could be a $5.99 mass market nutrition guide, a $4.99 young reader chapter book, a Harlequin romance. Your money will still prevent returns of other books (…) Even if it’s not by your favorite author or your favorite publishing house, your favorites will be indirectly affected.

It doesn’t matter where. Sure, buying at the chains will help against the returns, but you can help out the publisher with your purchase no matter how you get it, even on the internet.

Review Call of the Wild by Sierra Dafoe

Welcome to Wolf Creek Cove... In an isolated area of northern Manitoba lives an unusual breed of wolf. They are the Shumani, the wolves who walk as men. But the longer they go without contact with humans, the more they regress into wild wolves. Larak and his den-brother Kam watched helplessly as the Shumani dwelling in the hills above Wolf Creek were taken over by Hunt, a vicious black wolf who will do anything to retain control of the pack. Now, with the arrival of the only human they've seen since cubhood, Larak and Kam vow to end Hunt's domination. Sarah Hartwell, domestic disaster and wolf aficonado, has left her fiance to spend eight months studying the wolves. Little does she know she will become a pawn in the battle for control of the Shumani -- a pawn Hunt is determined to remove from the game. Can Larak and Kam convince her to give up a safe, secure life among her own kind for one of danger, passion, and the call of the wild?
Available at Changeling Press


A nice, if short, menage story with shapeshifting, danger, and love all mixed together. Sierra has written an entertaining short that I recommend for all lovers of shapeshifters.

Sarah gets quite the surprise when her friend calls to tell her the wolves they had watched a few years ago were back. With things not going so well with her boyfriend, Sarah decides to go back to the isolated area and study the pack.

She did not expect to rescue a wolf and find a naked man on her doorstep. But the secret that man holds is nothing she could possibly imagine. And yet, when danger threatens, Sarah can't turn her back on the man who doesn't care that she can't boil water.

Have the two brothers, last of their family, finally found the woman who will complete their lives? Or will she turn away in disgust at their dual nature, and their dual desires?