On Holiday

It has been a wild and crazy time lately.  Along with getting ready for the Christmas holiday, we have also been getting ready to go on vacation.  This will be my last post until the new year (specifically January 4, 2011).  Where are we going?  Well we are driving a little over 1000 miles to end up in Orlando Florida.  Not to Disney World this year (Shocked?  Me too.  This will be the first time in 10 years we have not gone to visit the mouse).  In stead, this year we are going to be staying at Universal Studios which has the Wizarding World of Harry Potter now opened.  Yes, I am quite the Potter fan.  We even have reservations at the Three Broomsticks for Breakfast (butterbeer...pumpkin juice....)  I will share our travels and trials of our trip once we get home.  I am vacationing sans laptop this year.  I want a real vacation without worrying about what I am not getting done.  So no laptop!

Want to know what Santa brought me?  It was a lovely present orgy, that I can tell ya.  I am ecstatic as I did in fact get a Kindle.  Woo Hoo!  What is even more lovely?  I searched for Courtney Rene and up popped Shadow Dancer, first shot!  Love it!  I see there are a load of Free Books you can download.  Anyone know of a good free read?  I give my review of the Kindle after I have had time to play with it.  Like during the two days we are in the car back and forth.

I also was lucky enough to get a new elliptical machine.  Ipod attachment, heart rate monitor and all!  I can't wait to set it up and get to sweating.  No, really, I can't wait.  Esp. since I will be pigging out all during holiday on everything I fancy.

Thank you to all my friends and fans that sent me Harry and David Gummie Bears!  It was such a lovely gift and thoughtful present.  Sadly, I am an addict when it comes to H&D Gummies and I only have one bag left and only because I was saving it for our trip.  I had to pack it away otherwise, I would have oinked those down as well.

Well all, I'm off.  Take care and have a safe and happy new year. I will post ASAP and hopefully will even have a few photos.  Woo Hoo!

Merry Christmas.

ctny

End of the Year - 2010

Wow, here we are at the end of the year already.  I can't believe how fast it went.  It has been a hard and busy year, but also very rewarding.  I reached all of my writing goals for the year, which I am very proud of.  Next year will be harder as I believe I will need to up the stakes a bit just to keep myself fighting.  I am thinking about what my goals for the new year should be and I will post them soon.  

I am getting ready to revamp my website as well so my list of "where to find me" will be gone with the start of 2011.  Therefore, I am compiling here on my blog before I erase. 

So let's take a look at what this year brought with regard to Publishing:

BOOKS

Shadow Dancer - Released September 2010.  Available through http://www.roguephoenixpress.com/, http://www.amazon.com/, and http://www.barnesandnoble.com/.

ANTHOLOGIES 

1.    Living Dead Press – End of Days 4: - Tomorrow (See http://www.amazon.com/ or http://www.livingdeadpress.com/)

2.    Living Dead Press – Dark Dreams: Tales of Terror - Moon Mist (See http://www.amazon.com/ or http://www.livingdeadpress.com/)

3.    Unearthed Press - Anthology - Blood Moon Rising (Available at http://www.amazon.com/ or http://www.unearthedpress.com/)

4.    Living Dead Press - Ghostly Tales of Terror Anthology - Truth (Available at http://www.amazon/ and www.Livingdeadpress.com)

MAGAZINES

TBA:           Crows Toes Quarterly - (Life of the Living)

February:  http://www.storiesforchildrenmagazine.com/  (Pass the Salt)

July:            http://www.goldenvisionsmagazine.biz/ - (Angels in the Night)

August:      http://www.storiesthatlift.com/ - (Scritch)

October:    http://www.storiesthatlift.com/ - (A Squirrels Day)

November:  http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com/ - (Wishes) - http://www.guardian-angel-kids.com/nov010-pg6-st.htm

November:  Nature Friend Magazine - (A Squirrels Day)

TBA:           http://www.bumples.com/ - (Jeremiah the Hedgehog)

Dear Santa

I stole this idea from another blog that I like to visit, but as it was a cute post, I figured why not?  As Christmas is now Eleven (11) days away, what are your wishes from the big red guy?  I sat myself down and decided to write him a letter.  It is as follows:

Dear Santa:

It’s been quite the year for me let me tell ya. I have tried very hard to be a good girl this year and I know that there were times I may have crossed the line from good to….not quite good, but I don’t believe in general that I have been bad. 

There were births, which I cried over, and deaths, which I sobbed over.  Plenty of accomplishments, and way to many disappointments, but all in all, I think I have weathered them as well as I was able.

In case I am deserving, I have put together a short….ish list of things I would like this year for Christmas.

1.                  My children to be safe and healthy throughout the coming year.  I’m sure I will renew this wish again next year as always.

2.                  Harry and David Gummy Bears if you can spare a few.

3.                  A Kindal, as I have decided, last minute I know, that I may actually like one and use it.

4.                  Continual sales of Shadow Dancer.

5.                  The acceptance of my next novel, A Howl in the Night.

6.                  Safe and Happy Holidays for my friends and family

7.                  A pair of black or dark brown Ugg Moccasins (They look so warm and comfy.  Maybe if I have them I wont complain about the cold so much…maybe?). 

8.                  A gift certificate to Barnes and Noble or Borders so that I can go on a book spree.  That would be lovely…..

9.                  A desk with a writing area and printer and space all of my very own.  That I can leave messy and cluttered without anyone getting annoyed. 

10.              A lastly, I wish for a short winter.  Its still autumn and ice and snow have worn me down already.  I miss the sun. 

Hope you are well.  Send the reindeer my love.  I will be setting out a bowl of food just for them on Christmas Eve.  It will be on the porch as always. 

Love,

Courtney Rene

Now here's what you can do to play along.  Write your own letter to santa.  You can write it directly in the comments section or you can write it for your blog or whatnot and just put a link to your letter in them comments so that we can find it.  Better get to it, Santa's running out of time peeps!

 

Shadow Dancer Review

I am happy to announce that there is a new review up for Shadow Dancer. You can find it here: Shadow Dancer Review.  I also completed an interview, which you can find here:  Author Interview  I have to say this is a great site for information in the literary world for fiction.  Go on over and check it out.  Really, go.

Another week has come to a close and we are now 15 days away from Christmas.  I was going to run over to Old Navy on my lunch hour today, as it's only really 10 minutes away usually, but the moment I pulled out of the office drive, I realized there was no way I was going to make it.  There were people and traffic everywhere.  So instead I went over to the dollar store.  Why?  The district in which I reside sent home a list of items to bring in that can be donated to people in need this Christmas. 

I'm not a Grinch in general, but I hate it when people put caveats on what we are allowed to donate.  Now, before anyone gets their knickers in a twist, I am a huge donator to charities in general.  I give often to the ASPCA, Kidney Foundation, Goodwill, Salvation Army, the US Veterans Fund, and so on and so on.  I can't go past one of those little coin kettles without dropping in any change that I have in my pockets.  I'm a sap.  However, seeing the list sent home was a bit annoying.  It was a LONG list of everything that you can possible think of that is not Christmas oriented.  What annoyed me the most though was the term "New" placed in the request. 

If a person is truly needy do you think they give a flying monkey butt whether or not a child's down winter coat I have to donate was worn before?  It's practically new, but it is not in fact "new".  Or the toys that I could donate.  They are all well taken care of but again they are used (including a leapfrog that was purchased with good intentions and yet was only used maybe twice).  Instead for the holiday season they want tampons, and toothbrushes.  Merry Christmas, here's some q-tips.  Yeesh. 

So as I was saying, today I went to the dollar store and purchased about 12 pairs of mittens and gloves of which I will donate.  They were on the list and they are in fact new.  I guess the coat and toys I can give to goodwill.  I am sure they will be happy to pass them along to someone in need. 

E-Reader?

I saw the new Kindle e-reader the other day.  I also went over to Barnes and Noble and played with the Nook.  I have to say....they are really kinda fun to play with.  That still begs the question though, would I use it?  Would I get as much out of it as I do a book.  Will the flipping of the computer page take me out of the fantasy?  Will I miss the smell of the printed pages?

So I thought of a list of reasons to buy it, and there aren't very many:

1.  The cost of an e-book is usually $3.99.  The cost of print book is around $7.99.  So I would save more money on the books I would buy and may in fact be able to buy more books in the long run.

2.  I wouldn't have to store any of the books I buy.  I also wouldn't have to find them new homes after I have read them if I don't wish to keep them.  No heavy bags to drop-off to Goodwill or Half-Prices books. 

3.  Not having to search through bins in the basement for books as all I would have to do is pull up an index.  Save me time, frustration, and energy with just a touch of a screen.

4.  No carrying around 4-5 different books in my purse or car or whatever.  Just one item to carry. 

The list of why not?  Is a bit longer, but the highlights are:

1.  I would miss the ease of a book.  The non-thought page turning.  Not having to wait for it to turn on and find the book and the page I want.  Just grab, open, and go.

2.  I like the smell of a book.  The paper, the ink, the dust.  I don't know why.  It's a thing I have.

3.  The cost of a Kindle is $139...the Nook is even more than that. 

4.  Batteries.  I don't need any batteries for my books.  None.  They never loose power. 

So if you have an e-reader, what are your thoughts of them?  Are they as great as they appear?  What are your own pro's and con's.   I would love to know as I still am contemplating the purchase.  Esp. with Christmas right around the corner...19 days ya'll.

Motivation? Anyone?

Happy Friday!  There are officially 22 days until Christmas.  I’m sure we are all excited for the glut of presents about to come our way.  I am asking Santa for Harry and David Gummy Bears.  Yes, really.  I will be finishing up my Christmas packages that need to be mailed out this weekend.  Once that is out of the way, the season is smooth. 

I love this time of year.  Not the snow and cold and ice so much (yuck) but the idea of it all:  rebirth, giving, family, cookies.  I just wish I had more time.  With all the hustle and bustle and such, I don’t have as much time to write as I would like.  I have the first draft of Book 2 in the Shadow Dancer series almost complete, and I have the last bit of revisions to complete on my novel, A Howl in the Night, yet I can’t seem to find more than an hour at a time to sit down.  I can’t get motivated in that amount of time.  It’s frustrating me. 

Now that it’s cold and icy and yucky, I am wondering what do other people do to get motivated.  Not even just about writing but about anything.  Usually I will go for a walk, or soak up some sunshine, but that’s out.  All there is outside is bitter cold and grayness.  Not much to inspire out there.  Besides, I can’t go out into the woods right now, as Deer season has begun and my luck I would end up shot.  Sometimes I exercise, but I’m just not in the mood for that.  No, Yoga either. 

So how do you get motivated?  What works for you?  A handful of chocolate?  A bit of meditation?  Come on, I need some ideas!  Help a girl out, will ya?