Feeling rather low

Thanks guys. Yesterday was a day I don't ever want to have to repeat. I made Spike promise he'd live with me until he's absolutely ancient. Pepper, too. There's been some talk of getting another cat, but I don't know how serious the rest of the family was. At any rate, we couldn't get a kitten, not with Pepper as she is. She needs to grow up a bit first. And I know it's selfish, but I don't want an adult cat. I want a cat, to put it bluntly, who is going to stay with me for as long as possible. I've buried five cats in my garden in the last four years (four of them within the last two years) and I just can't face that coming around any sooner than it has to. I'm not getting another cat unless it can promise me I won't have to deal with it dying for another good fifteen years at least.

I can't even go and cry to my best friend about this. See above re: her dad dying. I haven't even told her yet. It's like someone sat down and tried to think of a way I could make her day even worse. Can't do it.

Feeling rather low. Could really use some good news. I think I'm due.

One more thing: if you were driving past the Jet garage in Stansted on Bank Holiday Monday at 9pm and a white cat ran in front of you and you didn't stop, then the next time you get in your car you'd better have the good sense to drive it off a cliff. Because if I ever find out who you are, I will hunt you down and eviscerate you.

Funerals

I have two to attend today. One is the funeral of my best friend's dad, who was hit by a car last week. My friend is understandably in pieces, and there are going to be some tough times ahead.

The other is for my baby girl, Sugar. Anyone who's read this blog at all knows how devoted I am to my little cats and how much they mean to me. Last night, Sugar was hit by a car. A passer-by phoned us (thank God she had a tag on her collar, or we might never have known). We're going to bury her today in the front garden, near to Meu and Willow.

I miss my baby girl. I miss her horribly. We were supposed to have another fifteen years together. Now it's just me and Spike, and he'd better live forever.

Oh my God, Sophie!

I, Spy? (Sophie Green Mysteries) is available for preorder on Amazon! I'm jumping all over here in excitement. Squeeee!

Too hot for Photobucket

That's right, folks. Over at the Changeling Press blog, there was for a brief period a blank spot on the New Releases section. In its place was a message saying: This image or video violated
our terms of service.

Because of the hot naked man on it.

That's Adam, baby! He's too hot for Photobucket! Well, read it: he's too hot for a lot of places!

New website!

That's right, my new-look website is now online! Isn't it beeyooodiful? Check it out in all its glory...


Thankings for all the help with the photos. I'll try and get some more taken with a plainer background--er, if I can find one. I sure as hell don't have any plain walls in here, they're all covered with books. Maybe, since it's finally stopped raining, I can try outside. I do remember being told that sunshine isn't great for photos, because it makes people squint, and if they turn their backs to it, it flares off the camera. But, since sunshine is currently a foreign concept, I don't see that being a problem.

Pictoral help, if you please

So, I need an author photo. I took a few, but I'm terribly critical of myself in photos and usually aware of looking too posed/fat/young/blonde/braindead. I'm especially aware of looking too young if a picture shows my teeth because they have a gap in them, and according to all sources I am The Youngest Author In The World, Ever, so I don't want to compound it.

Anyway. Here are the four I narrowed it down to:

1. But do I really want an author photo where I'm wearing a t-shirt that says 'Show Me Your Ball Skills'? Plus, see above re: gappy teeth.


2. For some reason here I have a huge jaw. Still, at least it's not a double chin, which I usually have in pictures taken from below. Which, since I'm freakishly tall, so many of them are.


3. And is it too cute with the cat?


4. Or too self-promoting with the I, Spy? mug?


5. This is actually probably my favourite, but I really can't go around with a Doctor Who quote on my shirt. Plus, you can totally tell I'm holding the camera and it looks like one of those emo self-shots 16yr olds have on MySpace. Except I'm smiling. Well, you would, too, if you'd seen Blink.


So...any takers? If you saw one of these accompanying a press release, or on a website, or the back of a book...would you buy what it was stuck to?

Dammit, Amelia was right

She kept getting Sherrilyn Kenyon to sign books for me that said, "Ash belongs to Amy." Waah! I wanted Ash! But you know? I wouldn't kick Nick out either...

Which Dark Hunter Character Do You Belong With?

You belong with Nick Gautier! From cocky squire to bitter dark hunter, Nick was quite the ladies man in his squire days. You like em filled with boyish charm and suave humor! You're looking for the man who can make you laugh but who can still take you on an adventure!
Take this quiz!








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Simpsonise me!

Thought I'd show you all my new haircut. It's very manageable, what with being made from pixels and all.

Thirteen...pictures of my furbabies. Lazy? Hah, you have no idea how many pictures I had to search through for these. Yeah, I have millions of them. Deal with it. 1 "First contact." This was the first day we brought Sugar and Spike home, and they met Tinker, our old man. Shortly after this, Sugar retreated back inside the box, where she and Spike stayed for the next day and a half. Probably they took one look at poor old Tinker, bony and matted (he was nearly eighteen, and in fact died about three months later), and figured that if that's how they treated cats here, they'd be better off staying in their nice safe box. Eventually, food and devilment got them out. 2 Pepper, about a month old. Yes, her head really was half the size of my hand. you can see how we fell for her! 3 Candy, who died a year ago on Valentine's Day. Yeah, because I always loved that day before and this just made it so much better (dives into the Sarchasm). Anyway, here she is being young and sweet--and yes, that is a velvet pillow. You can't say we don't spoil them. Candy, incidentally, stars in the Sophie books as Tammy, Sophie's mad little tabby who tries to kill everything. Candy, despite being no bigger than a squirrel, was much the same. 4 Pepper--yesterday. Her "Aren't I pretty? Tell me I'm pretty" pose. Or maybe she was just trying to eat the camera. She tries to eat everything else. 5 Spike, being a supermodel. I don't think I need to say anything else. He's just so beautiful here! 6Pepper, on the Chesterfield with my mum. Apparently, you should establish boundaries with puppies early on: where they can and can't go, for instance. Pepper gave us one look with those big brown eyes, and now we can't get her off the damn furniture. She even climbs on the windowsill. 7 Sugar and Spike, doing their Babes in the Wood act. Goddamn, those kittens were cute. 8 Pepper, aged six weeks. Goddamn, that puppy was cute. 9 Tinker, before he was such an old man. It's such a shame he turned into such a shabby old thing, because as TS Eliot said, "he was, in his youth, quite the smartest of cats," very handsome and so glossy you could see your face in his coat. He was my Gorgeous Boy, a title he passed onto Spike before he died. 10My office accessories. 11 Baby Pepper, being wretchedly adorable. Again. 12 Sugar, with the card she and Spike sent me on Mother's Day. So my cats send me cards. So I'm Crazy Cat Lady. You know, that was my ambition long before I ever wanted to write. 13 Spike, begging for no more pictures!

The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It's easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

August news

The August issue of my newsletter is now online! I've also done a teensy bit of redesigning on the website (call it a work in progress): let me know what you think! Some pages might need to be refreshed before they load correctly--don't ask me why, it's just the way they go. A quick check on the News or Contest pages should tell you if it's loaded right: News will be headed August, and Contest will have the Drive Me Daisy details.

While you're on the Contest page, don't forget to enter to win a download of Drive Me Daisy.

It Had To Be You

...which is the name I eventually settled on for my romantic comedy, is finished! Well, the first draft is. Tomorrow I'll print it out, and three days later when that's done (it's only 70k, but my printer is reeeaaallly slow) I'll read it through, decide it's all rubbish, trash 70% of it, rewrite a lot, call my chosen career into question, and eventually send it off.

It's set in North Cornwall at a surf resort, during the summer (which I admit is unfeasibly warm and sunny), and features VW Camper vans, surfer boys, a cat called Henry, an amateur band, and lots of sun lotion. and I'm rather happy with it!

Spike the LOLcat

Couldn't resist.

Book-o-rama

Look what came through my door today!