Now in Print: Back to Normal (squee)

OMG

Look!  I've already bent the corner!  It's a real book!

So in the midst of selecting faucets and bathtubs, deciding on hardwood vs. carpet, agonizing over the colors of the exterior of the new house (oh, the tears that have been shed over this alone!) I get an email from Loose Id, telling me that Back to Normal will be GOING TO PRINT.

I can now hold in my grubby little hands an actual dead-tree version of this book.  It's mind-boggling.  Even more boggling, there are quotes from reviews.

The print version of Back to Normal can be found at Amazon and at Barnes and Noble.

My new house. Not.

This mega-mansion is scheduled for completion two years from now.  It's currently being built in Missouri.

Here's what it will probably look like when it's done:

When I saw this, I immediately thought of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, and the lair they occupy in Connecticut or Massachusetts or where ever they are.  So, is it possible a new band of good bad boys is moving in in the Ozarks?

If you want to know more, visit Pensmore.

Love is beautiful in so many ways!

A little Sunday breather. Just relax for a few minutes, with a cool or hot beverage or whatnot, and enjoy.

2nd Annual Author Fan Letter Blog Crawl

  Kassa has organized the second annual crawl of thank you's to favorite authors.  

The entire list of participating bloggers is here.

You may or may not have jumped to my blog from Alpha Heroes.

Tomorrow be sure to visit my new friend, Cecile, at All I Want and More

(she has some looooovely pics up for 4th of July celebrating!).

On to my letter:

Dear J.L. Langley,

Thanks so much for your excellent books!  I have enjoyed all of them, and appreciate the fine quality of the writing.  I think my first Langley book was My Fair Captain, and it's no secret that Nate is one of the finest alpha males ever, or the Steamy McSteamiest of Heroes.  You did a great job combining the culture of the Regency period with science fiction.  I can't think of another author who does that.  Historical mores, dress and politics run side by side with a planet where men are born to love other men and build families with them.  An interstellar navy, an action-adventure mystery and some BDSM elements make this a win all around for me.  Not to mention the compromised virgin and a long-lost heir.  You weave these bits together so fluidly, and build the action masterfully.  You followed this up successfully with The Englor Affair, and I'm patiently waiting for The Regelence Rake.

Can you tell this is a favorite book of mine?

Your With or Without Series is also excellent despite being very different from the Sci-Regency books in that it takes place in a current day setting with werewolves as the main characters.  I particularly like With Caution.  Particularly the relationship between Remi and Jake.  Particularly that scene by the couch.  You know the one I mean.

Let's not forget the Ranch series as well as the Innamorati, proving you are just as good with cowboys as you are with werewolves and sci-fi Dukes and Princes.

All in all, you've given me hours of entertainment, pleasure (and a few stray tears).  Keep writing!

Best Regards,

Wren

You can find all of J.L. Langley's books listed here, 

where she has links to excerpts, short stories, and booksellers.

Major Distraction

I have a good excuse for not blogging very much lately.  I've been distracted.
  

What?  No.  He's just here to entertain you. 

I'm not distracted by him.

Not at all.  

What was I writing about?

My DH and I have decided to build a new house.  This was no easy decision for us, as we've waffled for years (literally!) about moving, buying, building, upsizing, downsizing, having ourselves committed, etc.

A lot in a revitalized neighborhood we've been admiring opened up and we took that as a sign to get off our undecided asses and go for it.  Now we are working with the builder and architect to design the house of our dreams. 

Guess what?  The house of my dreams is more like a mansion. A sprawling, eclectic, funky, expensive mansion. So it's back to the drawing board.

I've become just a teensy bit obsessive about the planning, as I've discovered I really enjoy playing around with room design and such.  Unfortunately, I know nothing about architecture or its rules. 

Long story short, I'll likely become even scarcer in the internet world as we plow through this process and proceed into the actual construction and design and all the decision-making therein.

Wish me luck.

I Like That!

Every now and then while I'm reading I'll come across a sentence or a few lines that make me stop and re-read and just savor the taste of the words in my head. It might be the beauty the words draw, or the humor in them, or a poetry of sorts.

Here are some I've enjoyed.

"Spring had come to London in a flurry of flowers and rain and the air smelled faintly of something other than exhaust fumes and the exhaled breath of too many people." - Bound Together, Jane Davitt

"His head pounded, he’d been dog bit, and he’d lost a fight with the gayest man he’d ever seen in his life." - Edward Unconditionally, Lynn Lorenz

"Jonty’s little nose rose above the newspaper, making him look even more like a small inquisitive mammal than usual."  - Lessons in Power, Charlie Cochrane

Any you'd like to share?

PSA: Tying your shoes

I think it's everyone's responsibility to help others become enlightened, even in small ways.  Thus, today's public service announcement:



You're welcome.

Vocabulary

I ran across a post that has improved my vocabulary, assuming I'll remember the ones I didn't already know.  Take the little quiz below the butt to see if your vocab needs improvement.   For instance, callipygian is a lovely word:

Having well-shaped buttocks 

Here are words for everyday things.  See how many you know (without research!).

1. Tittle
2. Lunule
3. Crepuscular Rays
4. Ferrule
5. Gynecomastia
6. Muntin
7. Morton's Toe
8. Arms Akimbo
9. Desire Path
10. Semantic Satiation
11. Skeuomorph
12. Brannock Device
13. Paresthesia
14. Phosphenes
15. Armscye
16. Wamble
17. Feat
18. Peen
19. Rectal Tenesmus
20. Dysania
21. Mondegreen
22. Petrichor
23. Philtrum
24. Perlicue
25. Aglet

Now, go check -  how much of a word nerd are you?

A Slice of Hawaii

I haven't been round about lately, and it appears that I haven't been missed, so all's well that ends well!

Had a great trip to Hawaii.  It was a trip mostly for relaxing and that was very successful, so yay us!

 This is the beach we walked on every day.  I love the little boy dancing in the water!

 Pololu Valley Lookout, at the Kohala Forest Preserve.  This looks like paradise to me.  Or that place the dinosaurs went to live in The Land Before Time.

My life feels a bit like this these days.  Lots going on in the RL, more later!

Aloha!

Oh, I know I've been MIA recently.  I've just been so ambivalent about the interwebz lately.  I am visiting blogs and such, just not commenting much. 

I just didn't want anyone to think I died or anything.

This could be my section of beach.  We'll see.

Now - well, in a few hours - I'm off to Hawaii.  The husband and I are celebrating 25 years of marriage next week (why yes, I was a child bride!).  We honeymooned there and this will be our first time back.  I've got my kindle, my ipad, and a few magazines and books (including the new Sookie Stackhouse that came out today!) - 'cause I plan to spend a lot of quality time in a beach chair.

Catch you on the flipside. 

This is me, waving aloha!

Sex Ed in a Modern Age

When I watched this, I laughed - out loud, scare-the-dog, tear-inducing guffaws.   Take the 10 minutes needed and enjoy this video.

Guess What Things You're Doin' Wrong

Sometimes I come across things that I think are important to share with the general populace.  Or whoever stumbles into my blog.  Things that might make a difference in your physical or mental health, your standard of living, or satisfaction with self and/or others.  Or that might be at least mildly interesting.  

Cracked.com has a list of seven things that people (mostly adult American people) seem to do incorrectly.  As a public service, I'm sharing that list with you.  Before you click on the link below, see if you can guess the seven activities --

1.

2.

 

3.

4.                                        

5.

 

6.

7.

Go to the post to read all about it!

More advertising. Not truth, but drool-worthy

I guess this one's been around a while, but I saw it for the first time today, and thought it worth sharing!



It's an ad for a cell-phone thingie that blocks out noise. 

Underwear!

You've all seen this video, right? Well, just in case you haven't...

Truth in Advertising

I just found this interesting.  Thoughts?

Quick! Somebody write a story!

Excerpt from the Weekly Irregular, article by Ima Gadfly:

Residents of Peachtree Lane were dealt a surprise last week when the reclusive inhabitants of the old Willowfield Estate stepped out to enjoy a rare day of sun.  Mrs. Lovie McGoggle said, "I was walking the dog when I saw something moving in that back field behind the main house.  Little Precious stopped to make a deposit, and when I got done bagging it, the men were gone and those, um, those, big kitties were just sitting there.  I don't think they saw me, and I snapped that picture real quick. I just love my iPhone!"

It is widely thought that the residents of Willowfield Estate are members of the Long Claw League, a fellowship of intellectuals and academicians who study a broad spectrum of biology, metaphysics and metamorphosis.  It is quite unusual to see their test subjects - as we can only assume that's what they are - out in the light of day.

I got to see a fabulous concert a few weeks ago!  Lady Gaga!  With opening act Scissor Sisters!  Yay!  Davis Mallory at AfterElton.com did a spot-on review, which you can read here.  I wish the Sisters had played a little longer.  Jake Shears was awesome. And yes, he did have a cute butt. I was disappointed they didn't play "Fire With Fire", which is my favorite of theirs, but c'est la vie.



Disappointing Gay Best Friend - LADY GAGA from mikalabierma on Vimeo.

Lady Gaga was extraordinary.  Her emotion and energy leap off the stage, and she just pulls you in.  I have to admit I felt underdressed when she pointed out that people in the audience who were wearing jeans and t-shirts had missed that point that this was a Ball - The Monsters' Ball - and we should've been wearing our fanciest dress up clothes!  And even though I was sitting up in the stratosphere, I felt like she was looking right at me.  But there were enough people in outrageous clothes to make up for those of us in everyday attire.  A good time was had by all.

So what's new with you?

My birthday was yesterday.  Please hold your applause.

Every year when my birthday rolls around I feel like crawling under a rock until it blows over.  I get out of sorts in the days prior and breathe a sigh of relief the day after.   It's been like this for a long time, since college at least.

I've been giving some thought to why this is, but haven't come to any conclusions. 

I suppose it could have something to do with being slapped in the head with mortality.  Every year is a reminder that I'm not going to live forever.  And that is not the sort of mentality that inspires joy and celebratory feelings, is it? (Hey!  You're another year closer to dead!  Woo-Hoo!)

Or maybe I suffered psychological trauma in those years when my parents went on their yearly vacation over my birthday, leaving me with my babysitter.  But she made the best cake, so it worked out okay.

I think, though, that it has to do with my Subconscious Response to Things.  I was talking to my husband about this last night over dinner and I couldn't get him to understand what I was trying to say.  He looks at his birthday as a day that he's special, it's "his" day; there's a party in his head.

 

Him

I keep waiting for my birthday to make me feel special, like there's going to be a switch that flicks on, internally.  Almost like it isn't in my control, but it should just happen.  Does that make any sense? 

 

Me

He makes himself feel celebrated; I keep waiting for it to happen to me (I still feel this way even when I am being celebrated by other people, by the way).

It's hard to explain, but in my head it makes sense.

Free Read, Group Discussion, Free Read, Contest

I don't know about you, but the local forecast for tonight is "blizzard." So it only seems fair to apprise you of a free read and some other neat-o stuff.

For Clare's birthday blog, in addition to getting people to post daily, she asked for short stories.  I sadly didn't follow her request to make the theme "New Year's Resolutions" but instead took it as an opportunity to do some blatant self-promo.  I wrote two vignettes from the Back To Normal universe, taking place some months after the events of the book.  It's called Rubbing - The Wrong Way and the Right Way and can be found here at Clare's or at my own live-journal blog (which you may or may not know existed.  I hardly know it exists).


In December, I wrote a short story as a stocking stuffer at the Goodreads M/M Romance Group. One of the perks of doing this was to have one of my books listed as a "Book of the Month" there, so that all the various and sundry people who've read it can discuss the wonderousness of it.  Or, you know, whatever else. So if you want, go over there and say something.  While you're there, pop in and say hi to K. Z. Snow because she's in the Author's Spotlight this month.



Referring back to that live-journal thingie I don't do much with, I've copied my pwp story "Handcuffed Hottie in the Hood" in its entirety here.  Yes, it is here on the blog, but in separate posts.  So if you want a little pwp and want it in one, smooth-flowing presentation, you've got it.

Again with the Goodreads group.  On Friday, February 4, there's going to be an all-day chat and tons of give-aways. Of course, you have to be a member of the group, but that's easy.  If you comment on the chat, your name will go in the hat for prizes.  I've donated a copy of Back To Normal.  The details are here!

That's it for now.  If you're in the path of this storm, get inside and stay warm!  If you're not, well, bully for you!

Free read - anthology "Stuff My Stocking"

The stories written for Christmas stockings over at the Goodreads m/m group are now available in a ***FREE*** collection at 1 Place for Romance.

Yours truly has a story in there called "In the Wind".  It's a little bit werewolfy.  Grrawr!

Many thanks to Mod Lori, JenB, Jason, Diane, Kathy and Rachel for making this book a reality!

I'm at Clare's!

Happy birthday month to Clare London.  She's having guests blog all month long at her lj.
Today I'm blathering about things, please visit: http://clarelondon.livejournal.com/272739.html?view=1489763#t1489763

Review of Back To Normal from Dark Diva Reviews!

Just really quick - I'm pretty psyched (especially after whining at Val's) to get a nice review from Dark Diva Reviews (4 and 1/2 Divas)!

I have just a bitty problem, in that when I try to go there, my beautiful Macbook freezes up, and I experience the spinning rainbow pinwheel of death and have to force quit Firefox!

Here's a link, I think: Dark Divas Reviews


And a wintery cookie: