05/16/12
A Modest Rant… by Grace Burrowes
I’m ambivalent about the holiday we call “Mother’s Day,” and now that everybody has called Mom and gotten flowers, I will air some of that ambivalence. For one day a year, Mom gets breakfast in bed (maybe), or she’ll find the house clean by virtue of Dad and kids pitching in. Maybe she’ll be queen for a day, get some cards, a few flowers. Read the rest of this entry »
05/10/12
The Meanest Mom Ever! by Alix Rickloff
Quiz: who is the meanest mother ever?
A) The evil queen from Snow White (stepmother, but close enough)
B) Joan Crawford of Mommie Dearest fame
C) Ralphie’s mom from Christmas Story (you’ll shoot your eye out!) Read the rest of this entry »
05/9/12
Hiking Training for Idiots – Saga #1
There’s a reason the word “idiots” is in the title of this blog. It isn’t because I’m really an idiot. It’s because . . .
Well, no, it’s because I’m an idiot.
You see, I talked my husband into taking me on a trip to England. To visit Buckingham Palace? The Tower of London? Hyde Park? The red, double-decker buses? Oh no. It’s to hike. 190 miles in 16 days. And nope, I’m not joking. Read the rest of this entry »
05/8/12
by R. R. Smythe
It’s no secret that most writers are voracious readers and I’m no exception. Writing has definitely decreased my number of books per year I devour, but not my yearning for a secluded woodland spot where time halts and I’m surrounded by ten stacks of books. Ah, writerly fantasies.
Anyhoo. Without further ado about nothing:
“Big-hearted Chloe Camden is the queen of her universe until her best friend shreds her reputation and her school counselor axes her junior independent study project. Chloe is forced to take on a meaningful project in order to pass, and so she joins her schools struggling radio station, where the other students dont find her too queenly. Ostracized by her former BFs and struggling with her beloved Grams mental deterioration, lonely Chloe ends up hosting a call-in show that gets the station much-needed publicity and, in the end, trouble. She also befriends radio techie and loner Duncan Moore, a quiet soul with a romantic heart. On and off the air, Chloe faces her loneliness and helps others find the fun and joy in everyday life. Readers will fall in love with Chloe as she falls in love with the radio station and the misfits who call it home.”
As I thought about the post today, I asked myself WHY I loved this book, and found I was sounding like an agent or editor. The voice.
But that wasn’t enough–quantify! Quantify! (have been a therapist tooo long)
I love it because the characters seem so very real, it’s almost as if your reading someone’s journal, with their personal thoughts and self laid bare.
I love the unique setting; the radio station, and the struggle of remaking oneself. This is especially difficult in high school and I felt it was very well done.
Shelley Coriell’s writing is literary, yet extremely real, so it should appeal to all readers imho.
In short, it rocks.
To prove it, I’m giving away a copy to one lucky commenter. If you love ya, or have a girl who loves ya-this book is for you.
05/4/12
by Dale Mayer
Growing up I was fascinated with the English language. Mostly because I constantly came close with my word usage – but not close enough. Words and phrases like affidavit and statute of limitations became (and I swore I was right back then) after David and statues of
limitations. I was never too interested in writing back then, though I loved creating poetry.
In the intervening years that I married and had kids. During that time, I’ve watched the English language adapt to the arrival of the Internet, cell phones – and the combination of teens on both. I’m still in awe of the bastardization that happened so quickly. A whole new language has developed.
I’m not a big phone person to begin with and could cheerfully not carry a cellphone – but for the kids sake I had to learn and adapt myself. But it doesn’t come naturally.
I don’t like texting and don’t like trying to interpret what my kids are saying to me. At least some of it’s transferable to Twitter!
Another blessing is that some of these shortforms are intuitive, such as k and kk for okay.
And some are in everyday use like LOL for laughing out loud and IMO for in my opinion.
But then there are other ones, such as:
05/3/12
by DT Tarkus
Watching a television show recently, the character said something that resonated with me. “God gave us words. It’s our job to put wings on them.” It prompted me on Thoughtful Thursday to consider a follow-up to an earlier BIOTM post, Three Dimensional Senses (2/29/2012).
04/24/12
Earlier this month, I betook myself to my first ever Romantic Times convention, an event that focuses on readers, though authors and romance publishing industry professionals are much in evidence too.
So are romance cover models. In years past, the Cavemen from Ellora’s Cave, and other fellows vied for the title of Mr. Romance. That competition was absent this year, perhaps because the traditional sponsor, Dorchester, is no longer with us. Read the rest of this entry »
04/23/12
If Zoo Animals Wrote Books or, My Muse is on Crack
I’m definitely blaming this one on my muse. I’d been missing her (my certifiable little muse) for a few weeks a while ago and hadn’t really done anything to locate her except whine. One day, in the middle of all this, DH and I headed for the zoo. This had nothing on the surface to do with Her, but once on the zoo grounds I kept having these envious thoughts: You lucky buggers (aka, animals), you don’t have to figure out what comes next in your story.
Bingo, Little Miss Muse-thing shows up and asks, “What kinds of stories do you think the animals would write?” (Sure, of course, she waltzes on back when I don’t need her. Typical.) I can’t explain what happened next, but I think my Muse had been, as the kids say, smoking crack. Check this out—Miss Muse’s suggestions for zoo animal plots.
Read the rest of this entry »
04/17/12
I’m not sure there’s anything new about the topic of comparing books to movies. I’m not sure there’s really any disagreement that, in general, movies rarely do justice to good books. But lately I’ve been obsessed with comparing the books-turned-films that I’ve seen, and I’m not sure my opinion quite fits the norm. Here’s why. Read the rest of this entry »
04/13/12
Chase That Squirrel… an author’s guide to multitasking
It’s my pleasure to introduce a good friend and fellow Golden Heart® finalist, Amy Atwell, as our 
guest today. Amy defines multi-tasking, accomplishing more in a day than most people do in a week – and she’s always ready to share what she’s learned. In addition to her latest historic romance, Ambersley, Amy has spent countless hours on a website designed by an author, for authors. I’ll let her tell you all about it.
I want to start with a huge thank you to the muses here at Blame It On The Muse. What fun to visit!
The Zen of Multitasking
How many of you multitask? If you’re not familiar with the term, it’s the fine art of completing multiple tasks simultaneously. Phone calls, making notes, reviewing documents, commuting, writing, email, watching TV, having conversations—oh, the list goes on and on.
I multitask. In fact, I’m good at it. Damn good at it. I’m a multitask master. And do you know what?
It’s exhausting. Read the rest of this entry »
