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Current Newsletter
Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons
for you are crunchy and taste good with ketchup.
There is no right way to do a wrong thing.
Not all who wander are lost.
J.R.R. Tolkien
A fan of mine drew this.
Cute, eh?
SOME OF MY FAVORITE AUTHORS
In no particular order
Patricia Briggs
Charlaine Harris
Jim Butcher
Lori Handeland
Ronda Thompson
Chris Feehan
Lisa G. Brown
Patricia Simpson
Michelle Rowen
The Tea Party
One day my mother was out and my dad was in charge. I was maybe 1 and a half years old. Someone had given me a little 'tea set' as a gift and it was one of my favorite toys. Daddy was in the living room,
engrossed in the evening news, and my brother was playing nearby in the living room, when I brought Daddy a little cup of 'tea', which was just water.
After several cups of tea and lots of praise for such
yummy tea, my Mom came home. My Dad made her wait in the living room to watch me bring him a cup of tea, because it was just the cutest thing!
My Mom waited, and sure enough, here I come down the hall with a cup of tea for Daddy and she watches him drink it up, then says, 'Did it ever occur to you that the only place that baby can reach to get water is the toilet?"
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MOVIE MANIA
HORTON HEARS A WHO ~ very cute
ENCHANTED ~ The best movie of the year
NIM'S ISLAND ~ it was good
MOVIES I'M LOOKING FORWARD TO.........
INKHEART also looks good. I think Brendan Frasier's in that one.
THE MUMMY 3 Check it out here
INDIANA JONES 4
THE WOLVERINE MOVIE
THE NEXT HARRY POTTER
THE NEXT NARNIA MOVIE
JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH
* * *
MY FAVORITE MOVIE LINES....Can you name the movies?
"You're gonna need a bigger boat"
"Snakes! Why did it have to be snakes?"
"I've got a bad feeling about this"
"It's not the years, honey, it's the mileage"
"I never drink...wine"
"Women need a reason. Men just need a place"
* * *
Click here for a list of Mandy's Favorite Movies
Moonlight's Mick St. John
Vampire extraordinaire
Too good to be true! That’s what I thought when, after 31 rejections, I finally sold my manuscript to a book publisher.
I never thought it would happen to me. And then came the day when an editor at Dorchester Publishing said she liked my book, but wanted another 10,000 words.
Ten thousand words! Did she realized what she was asking? With trepidation, I re-read my manuscript, adding chapters, re-writing paragraphs, until, at last, I had come up with the required number of words.
With hopeful heart, I mailed off my revised manuscript, and then the waiting began.
No words have yet been invented to adequately describe the thrill of reading that letter of acceptance. At last, I was on my way to being a published author.
I jumped up and down, danced a little jig, and literally shouted for joy as I read that coveted phrase, “We want to publish your novel…” Those few words more than made up for the numerous rejection letters I had received.
As soon as I could speak coherently, I called all my favorite people and told them the good news. Their excitement added to my own.
Today, years later, just thinking about that first letter of acceptance (and the advance against royalties that followed) has the power to thrill me all over again.
So, if you’re still struggling to get that manuscript published, don’t get discouraged, and don’t ever give up. If it can happen to me, it can happen to you.
ON THE SUBJECT OF USED BOOKS...
Save a Writer, Buy a New Book!
By Susan Gable
The recent demise of yet another Harlequin line, this time the kick-butt heroine line Bombshell, got me to thinking, which, as anyone who knows me will tell you is always a dangerous thing. I heard from a number of readers who were surprised by the closing, because they had friends who just "loved that line!"
I've also heard things like this: "I can't believe they closed that line. I loved that line. I read those books every month at my library."
Before I go any farther with this discussion, I have to offer up a disclaimer. I love libraries. Especially as a child with a voracious appetite for story, I borrowed armloads of books from my local library. I love bargains, too. I shop like men hunt or play sports. It's a victory when I score a bargain. (New black cocktail dress, originally $79, marked down to only $16. SCORE!) Used books are great bargains. Swapping books, another great bargain. The new websites on-line, where you can "rent" a book, in a system similar to NetFlix, are also an interesting bargain. Good grief, even the airports these days have a program where you can buy a book, read it, then sell it back to them. What a bargain!
But did you realize that those bargains could be putting your favorite line or your favorite author out of business?
It's a difficult, touchy subject for authors to discuss. We don't want to appear anti-used books ('cause we're not -- not entirely, anyway), or make readers think we're money-grubbers, always harping on them to buy our books. We all know (believe me, we KNOW - most writers don't make anywhere close to as much money as people think we do) how tight money can be sometimes, especially with the rising costs of gas and heating fuel, and food, and taxes, and... well, you know. Everything.
We've been known ourselves to sometimes borrow and trade books, or buy used. Or go to the library.
But publishing these days is a strictly-by-the-numbers business, which means if the numbers don't live up to the publisher's expectations, a writer can kiss her slot/line/future contracts good-bye.
"Where's SoAndSo's latest book? How come she hasn't published another story in that series that I love so much?" If you find yourself asking that question, it could be that your favorite, SoAndSo, got cut loose because the numbers of that last book in the series didn't do as well as the one before that. How did you get your hands on that last book? Did you buy it new, contributing to the continuation of the series, or did you bargain read it? Bargain reads don't count towards our numbers.
Writers, especially those of us at the "lower echelons" of the publishing world, need our readers more than ever. Without you, there would be no point in what we do. (Well, okay, there's a certain satisfaction in telling yourself a story, but it's the audience that makes it truly special. It's a shared dream.) But now, because of the numbers, we need your support even more.
Our careers, our lines, even our publishers, live and die by the numbers.
So please, where and when you can, save a writer. Buy a new book. We'll all thank you for it. And that way, you'll have more choices of books in the future.
Visit Susan's website Here
My Appy mare, Candy.
Gone, but not forgotten.
Cowboy’s Lament
No horses in heaven?
Why, I’d rather stay outside
Unless my favorite old red roan
Is awaitin’ there to ride
Cause my idea of heaven
Is an endless sea of grass
An azure sky, a crystal stream
A snow-topped mountain pass
A well-broke Texas saddle
My battered old John B
But most of all that big red horse
A ploddin’ under me
Now I’m not knocking angels
Nor choirs of heavenly song
Nor golden streets and pearly gates
Or clouds that roll along
But I’ve no use for silver wings
A tune I cannot carry, and
While golden streets might be grand
I’d rather ride the prairie
I’ve spent my life a’wanderin’
From sea to shining sea
And that’s how we’d like heaven
That old red horse, and me.
Copyright Madeline Baker
If you're a STAR WARS fan, you'll love this!
Why "Star Wars" Is Better Than "Titanic"
1. Titanic's big, but it doesn't have hyperdrive.
2. Star Wars has WAY cooler action figure potential.
3. Yoda could use the Force to lift Titanic out of the water.
4. Leia is a princess, a senator, a freedom fighter, and Jedi material; Rose is just marriage bait.
5. Ewoks throw better parties than either first class or steerage.
6. When flying towards the Titanic, Wedge can't say, "Look at the size of that thing!" and really mean it.
7. It would be much scarier to get chased around the boat by a raving madman with a lightsaber as opposed to a handgun.
8. Titanic is egalitarian by portraying poor people as sympathetic characters. Star Wars is egalitarian by promoting bug-eyed amphibians to Admiral. And of course said bug-eyed amphibious Admiral manages NOT to lose his ship.
9.We know Cal is the bad guy because he sneers at the poor and treats his fiancee like property. We know Darth Vader is the bad guy because he strangles people and blows up planets for fun.
10. Yeah, Leo can dance, but can he fly an X-wing?
11.People have not lost their lives trying to re-create scenes from Star Wars on the bow of a cruise liner.
12. Rose braves icy water to rescue her man. Leia braves Jabba the Hut.
13. Han Solo would've missed the dang iceberg!
14. There are always enough escape pods in Star Wars.
15. Do you know what the Empire does to self-proclaimed "King of the World"?
16. If Luke were handcuffed to a pipe below decks in a sinking ship, he would use the Force to get the key.
17. "I'd rather be his whore than your wife" just doesn't have the same sting as "I'd rather kiss a Wookie."
18. Han is frozen in carbonite and turned into a wall ornament. Leo simply freezes.
19. We knew the boat was gonna sink. But who could've anticipated "Luke.... I am your father."
20. Two words: John Williams.
One more reason added by one of my readers:
Hayden Christiansen vs. Leo DiCaprio. Really, is there any contest?
Mexico Drops Out Of 2008 Summer Olympics
President Felipe Calderon of Mexico has announced that Mexico will not participate in the Beijing Summer Olympics.
He stated:
"Casi cada uno que puede funcionar, saltar, o la nadada ha salido ya del pams."
Translation:
"Pretty much everyone who can run, jump, or swim has already left the country!
Custer Battlefield Preservation Committee
If you'd like to help preserve the Custer Battlefield, please send a donation to the following address:
CBPC
Box 7
Hardin, MT 59034
Questions? Call 406-665-1876
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