Five Items of an Everyday Sort 4

Item the First: I have a secret love for couscous. I don't cook it much, because if you don't add stuff to it, it's can be kind of bland. And the instant varieties that are common in my local grocery stores aren't all that...um, good. And buying the good stuff is a little expensive. But last weekend a friend came to hang for the weekend, and she brought supplies to make a very lovely dish involving Israeli couscous. It was also my first time eating leek, fennel, and saffron (the dish also had garlic, white wine, peas and veggie stock). It was amazing. And it made A LOT. I was still eating it several days later.

Item the Second: Publisher's Weekly posted an interesting article called "Authors Say Agents Try to 'Straighten' Gay Characters in YA." It caused a bit of a stir on Twitter, which you can check out on the hashtag #yesgayYA . And the comments section of the article has led to some pretty fascinating discussions about gay characters in YA fiction. No matter your views, I do urge you to check it out.

Edited: In the thirty minutes or so since I posted this, another article has appeared online from the agency addressed in the PW article. It is absolutely worth a read, as well, since it tells another side of the story.

Item the Third: I have a fun new Sekrit Project. It's not a market I've written for before, but the story started banging away at my brain last week while babysitting my niece. In just over a week, I've passed the one-quarter complete mark and I have a new beta all lined up. Yay for a Sekrit Project!

Item the Fourth: Publisher's Weekly reviewed TRANCE. It's not a super-great review, but they didn't seem to like THREE DAYS TO DEAD much, either, and y'all ended up loving it, right? *grin* I did, however, really like this particular quote: "Meding (Three Days to Dead) successfully captures the action-packed pace of superhero team comics—particularly The New Teen Titans, which she cites as an influence—with her group of colorful young adventurers." I'll take it.

Item the Fifth: Speaking of TRANCE, I have galleys! I have four very pretty ARC's, all bound up, to give away. I haven't decided how or where, but it will probably happen this weekend at some point. So keep an eye out for details!

This 'n That

I'll start this one off with a bit of good news. I found out that the release date for WRONG SIDE OF DEAD, Dreg City #4, has been moved up! Instead of being Spring 2012, it's now scheduled for release on January 31, 2012! I hope this makes up for the long wait between books two and three, with book four coming only six months after three.

I also have a contest coming up on June 13th. Stay tuned for deets. The contest itself will be posted on the League of Reluctant Adults blog on Monday, and it has to do with June being Audiobook Month.

Tomorrow I'm heading to Rockville, MD to hang with some of my awesome writer friends. There will be food and fun, and probably crabs. Er, the kind that come from the ocean, folks (gutter brains!).

I also learned a very important lesson today: don't assume all restaurants make fish tacos the same way. Despite the name on the menu, what I had for lunch today was not a fish taco. It was depressing.

See you Monday!

A Challenge Was Met -- At the League

I've posted over at the League of Reluctant Adults today about a book, a challenge, and probably one of the strangest things that most of us have never eaten.

Check it!

Spring Colors, Slow Cookers, and Edit Letters - Oh My!

So I've had a mini-vacation of sorts. The interesting thing about working in retail, even part-time, is that your days off are never the same week-to-week. And sometimes they fall in such a way that you have days off at the end of one week and the beginning of the following week. The end results: five days in a row away from the day job.

It's been awesome.

I spent the weekend doing some really cool things. Namely, shopping. I don't generally like shopping (unless I'm in a bookstore or a thrift store). But I really wanted to put some bright, spring colors into my apartment (which is mostly neutral colors). So I did. And I love the way it looks. I'll post some before-and-after pictures in the near future, but I went with aqua and lime green accent colors, and it looks really nice. Fresh. Ready for spring.

I also spent time with my sister, niece, and parents on Sunday. We went over to belatedly celebrate my dad's birthday with presents and a cake. Yesterday I made a lovely pot roast in my slow cooker (first time I've used it since I got it for Christmas) with a mostly-made-up recipe. Much yumminess.

I've also been fiddling with getting my tax information prepared. Every year, I tell myself I'll be more organized with my receipts, rather than just throwing them into an envelope. Every year, I open up an envelope and spend hours sorting. But Tax Day is drawing ever nearer, and I must get this finished.

Meanwhile, my edit letter for WRONG SIDE OF DEAD (Dreg City 4) is here! I can't wait to jump back into Evy's world for a while and whip this book into proper shape. My lovely editor really likes the direction I've taken the series in this book, so yay! (yes, that was a tease, since this book isn't coming out until next spring)

I've also seen the cover for TRANCE (Pocket, 10/25/11), and I love it! I promise I'll share as soon as I'm able.

The turkey is thawed. The sweet potato biscuits are done. Dessert is in the fridge. The house is (mostly) clean. And my feet hurt...but in a good way.

I did take an hour out of my cooking/cleaning schedule to watch "Bones." Okay, so it wasn't quite an hour, because I was up and down during commercial breaks, vacuuming and measuring ingredients out. Anyway, I mention it because of the small amount of amusement I get from seeing actors guest star on more than one series with one another.

Tonight's ep guest starred Gina Torres ("Firefly"!), who seems to be making the rounds, since I just saw her on an episode of "Eli Stone." It mostly amused me, cuz Gina also guest starred on David Boreanaz's other series (you may have heard of it), "Angel." Kinda like when Adam Baldwin guested and I was giggling because Angel and Hamilton were at it again, I was giggling tonight because Angel and Jasmine were at it.

Well, not *at it*, but you know what I mean. Yes, the small things in life amuse me. Maybe Alexis Denisof with stumble his way into the Jeffersonian sometime soon (since he's back on TV again, a la last week's "Private Practice").

Also, in honor of Turkey Day, I leave you with an amusing email that's been making the rounds.

Recently I received a parrot as a gift.

The parrot had a bad attitude and an even worse vocabulary.
Every word out of the bird's mouth was rude, obno x ious and laced with profanity.

I tried and tried to change the bird's attitude by consistently saying only polite words, playing soft music and anything else I could think of to "clean up" the bird's vocabulary.

Finally, I was fed up and I yelled at the parrot.

The parrot yelled back.

I shook the parrot and the parrot got angrier and even ruder.

So in desperation, I threw up my hands, grabbed the bird and put him in the freezer.

For a few minutes the parrot squawked and kicked and screamed …… then suddenly there was total quiet.

Not a peep was heard for over a minute.

Fearing that I'd hurt the parrot,

I quickly open the door to the freezer.

The parrot calmly stepped out onto my outstretched arms and said "I believe I may have offended you with my rude language and actions. I'm sincerely remorseful for my inappropriate transgressions and I fully intend to do everything I can to correct my rude and unforgivable behavior.."

I was stunned at the change in the bird's attitude.

As I was about to ask the parrot what had made such a dramatic change in his behavior, the bird continued, "May I ask what the turkey did?"

Coffee's Perfect Mate

I love coffee. I need my morning fix, lest nasty things happen to those around me (not to mention the screeching headaches). I blame an old college roommate for this addiction. She introduced me to the wondrous thing that is Amaretto Coffee. It was all downhill from there.

I used to only buy flavored coffee (Hazelnut is still my favorite, as is a specialty blend from The Coffee Beanery called "Sinful Sundae). Now that International Delight and CoffeeMate are creating so many rich, yummy, addictive creamers, I can get away with plain old Folger's.

CoffeeMate has just come out with their "World Cafe" line: Italian Sweet Creme, Tiramisu, and Hazelnut Biscotti. Much drooling has ensued over these flavors. Italian Sweet Creme goes especially well with stronger blended coffees (it's fabulous with Ikea's blend). CM already sells so many drool-worthy flavors (Chocolate Raspberry, Vanilla Nut, Coconut Creme, Toffee Nut,Black Cherry Streusel, and Peppermint Mocha), that now I think they're just showing off.

We've already worked through two bottles of Tiramisu and one of Italian Sweet Creme. I went to the store yesterday for more. And to what my wonder eyes should appear? A bottle of International Delight's Mocha Almond Brownie creamer. And it really tastes like brownie batter!

I think I need to invest in some decaf coffee, so I can drink these decadent flavors more often.

Yum.

Peanut Butter Lover's Delight

Just in case you didn't know, margaritas from a bucket? Yummy!

I have also found my new favorite candy. I've always loved Reese's. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs/Trees/whatever-the-shape-of-the-season. The new Reese's Peanut Butter Cups with White Chocolate (OMG!). Reese's Pieces.

But now...they've gone and made a Whopper.....

Try them, if you love peanut butter.