Author: Elizabeth

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Elizabeth: Friday Story Time and Sprints

After Kay’s fun book cover post yesterday I spent more time than I’m willing to admit searching the internet for images for my own potential covers this afternoon.  Finding just the right image that will act as the perfect “invitation” for readers to pick up a book is even more challenging than I expected.

I’m feeling very creatively challenged right now.

Adding extra complexity to the process is figuring out a consistent style / theme to use for a multi-book series.   It’s almost enough to make me glad I don’t have a bunch of completed books ready and waiting for their covers.

Oh who am I kidding?  That sounds like a great position to be in.

Since that’s definitely not the case, and since I’ve finished the last of the ARCs pending in my reading queue, it seems like a good time to step away from the internet and get to work.  Before I go back to throwing obstacles in the way of Cassie & Nicolai’s happily-ever-after I think I’ll warm up my creativity with today’s story prompt.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

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Elizabeth: There’ s a Word For That

The latest random subject to have caught my attention

I am a big fan of books, a fact that comes as no surprise to readers of this blog nor anyone who has ever been inside my house and seen my library – a floor-to-ceiling shelved room that technically is supposed to be an extra bedroom.  Periodically, like someone determined to lose those last annoying ten pounds, I’ve gone on a book diet, steadfastly staying away from anywhere that I might be tempted to acquire another book to add to my overflowing stash.

Just like other crash diets, my book diets are easily derailed by a pretty cover, a clever title, an innocent recommendation from a friend, or an entertaining back-cover blurb.

I’m okay with that.

When I was a kid, lack of money and opportunity meant that I’d read every book that resided on my bedroom bookshelves.  These days . . . not so much.

My library is filled with a variety of books. Continue reading →

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Elizabeth: Friday Story Time and Sprints

I have lots of books to be read, stories to be written, and tasks to complete from my ever-expanding ToDo list.  Naturally, I decided to stop by the local craft store the other day, just to look around.  I didn’t need anything, of course, but they had yarn on sale and I found some that was pretty and super-soft (and did I mention on sale!), so naturally I had to get it.

That is why instead of reading or writing or doing, I’ve spent the last few evenings after work turning six skeins of pretty, super-soft yarn into a pretty, super-soft blanket, courtesy of my trusty “J” crochet hook.  Can a person really have too many blankets?  I’m hoping the answer is no, otherwise I might have to go into the blanket-fort-building business, just to justify their existence.

Anyway, the weather has taken a turn toward the chilly in recent days – perfect time to curl up on the couch with a my new fluffy blanket, a pot of tea, and get some words on the page.  I have a number of stories in progress, not to mention several shiny new ideas floating around, but I think I’ll start out giving today’s random words and writing prompt a try.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

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Elizabeth: Author Squee – Judith Flanders

When my son was little we had a rule when trying new foods:  you can’t say you don’t like it until you’ve tried it three times.  That meant a number of foods that were disliked right off the bat because they were “different”, actually wound up getting a, “hey, not bad, I like it”, by the third try (mushrooms, I’m looking at you!).

While I don’t have a 3-time rule for reading, I have found that sometimes it pays to give a new book or author a second (or third) try before writing them off.

A case in point would be Dogs and Goddesses by Jennifer Crusie Lani Diane Rich, and Anne Stuart.  The first time I read it, I didn’t like it at all and may have envisioned dropping it in the wood-chipper.  In hindsight, it wasn’t that the book was bad rather that it differed from what I had been expecting.  When I read it again (for school) sometime later, I really enjoyed it, because I knew what to expect.  If I hadn’t given the book a second chance, I would have missed a good story (thank goodness it didn’t wind up in the wood-chipper). Continue reading →

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Elizabeth: Friday Story Time and Sprints

Happy 1st Friday in October.

In my post earlier this week I mentioned that social media can sometimes bring out the worst in people, but yesterday I saw the opposite and it made me think that Luke Bryan may have been right with his song, I Believe Most People Are Good.

I have a group of friends and acquaintances that I only know through the internet.  We met as commenters on various websites and blogs and formed a community that has lasted for years, supporting each other through good times and bad.  Most of us have never met face-to-face, but we’re friends nonetheless.

Yesterday, I saw the positive power of that community surround one of our own who has been tirelessly battling against advanced cancer; a cancer that seems finally to have seized the upper hand.  There were messages of love and strength and support, and I hope they were of comfort as she saw them or her husband read them to her. Over the past years, it has been wonderful seeing this group rally around each other, whatever the circumstances, and it’s nice to know they are there, no matter what.

It looks to be a beautiful day out at the moment, a good time to take a little break from the internet and focus on something different.  I think I’ll take my coffee out onto the patio and see what I can do with today’s random words and writing prompt.

Care to join me? Continue reading →

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Elizabeth: Stock Characters

Image designed by Freepik.com

I’ll admit it, I’m an anglophile.

I like books and shows set in England/Britain; I like to travel there; I enjoy the accents when I watch the BBC; and don’t get me started on scones and clotted cream.

Naturally, one of the pages I follow on Facebook is The Royal Family.  They post lots and lots of pictures that enable me to enjoy a curated fairy-tale like royal experience from a distance, without being bothered by those pesky less-than-delightful details of real-life.

Periodically I am foolish enough to read the comments people make on the pictures, usually when it is a photo of someone I don’t recognize, like the Earl and Countess of Wessex in today’s photos.  They are apparently well-liked, because the comments were polite and positive, but other photos seem to bring out the worst in the commenters. Continue reading →

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Elizabeth: Friday Story Time and Sprints

It’s time to wrap up another week as well as another month.  I thought that whizzing sound I heard was a train rushing by but apparently it was actually just the passage of time.

This has been a (welcome) relatively quiet work at week which meant there was time to take care of all the little tasks that tend to get pushed aside in the rush toward deadlines.  My email box has been reduced to a minimum, unnecessary outdated files purged from my computer, and my teacup can no longer be considered a toxic hazard.  Progress!

On the home-front, this week has included taking care of a cat with a mysterious malady that laid him quite low.  With the inborn skill of all animals, he managed to disappear just before his appointment with the veterinarian, but he was finally located and locked in the house.  We still have no idea what happened to leave him looking like he was at death’s door, but after 5 days of sleeping almost continuously in his nest of blankets, he finally woke up this morning eating, drinking, and no longer staggering around like a decrepit drunken old man.  Now he’s just cranky that I won’t let him go roaming about outside. Continue reading →