An Update

Hi!!

I hope that everyone is getting ready to go back to school, or send the kids back to school, or go back to work at a school...

I can't wait to get kiddo and hubby back to school. I need to have our lives come back to some kind of normal. My schedule has been shot all through the summer, and I don't like it (especially since I didn't get a lot of vacation out of it).

But, this past week I've begun the process of forcing myself back into the writer's schedule. I get up in the morning, go online for a quick check and hello :) and then it's off to work at the EDJ--which allows me some more time for checking the email and chatting online in between reporting letters, legal research, rushing documents out to the courthouse, etc. I usually use my lunch break to get in some writing time (I average about 500 words in that hour). And then once the work day is done, and after the dinner dishes have been washed and kiddo is off to bed, I check back in online before the internet gets shut down--unplugged and everything--for the night, so I can work without feeling the lure of Twitter and other social opportunities -- although I love it so :)

This has been good for me so far. I can be very weak and take advantage of any distraction unless I don't leave myself any other choice. And this week buckling down and finding my focus has helped me to formulate a new idea for a book. I'm almost finished mapping it out and I'm VERY EXCITED about it!

I'll be giving more details as the story begins to take shape, but for now--I'm offline to keep working.

Take care!

What have you been up to? What are you working on now, whether you're a writer or you've got some other great hobby that you enjoy.

Enter the Writer's Cave...If you Dare!

 

(By Helmut Schütz (Alfie66) (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons) 

That's it. I'm going in.

If I'm not back in a week, avenge my death.


(Sorry, I need to get some serious work done!)

GUEST AUTHOR: Vivian Arend

Vivian Arend is hosting a Cowboy Countdown Contest. She’s popped in today to ask us to join her in getting ready for her latest release, Rocky Mountain Heat coming August 31st to Liquid Silver Books. And she’s got a question for us:

Have you ever slept out under the stars?

JK Coi: A while ago, my husband (then boyfriend) and I used to go out driving (read: parking) when we were young--and had no convenient apartment of our own to go to. There was this one park we used to go, and would take a blanket and spread it out on the grass so we could lie down and gaze up at the sky on really bright nights. I wouldn't say we would "sleep", but it was one of our favourite things to do.

Nowadays, we still love to hang outside and look at the stars. When we go camping in the summer, after our son is tucked into his sleeping bag, we'll stay up late and spread out the same blanket and cuddle up together to look at the stars.

Answer the question in the comments to be entered to win the prize in the Cowboy Countdown. For more info you can also come visit Viv's blog Where Dreams Become Reality.

Welcome to the Six Pack Ranch, where one sweet young thing plus the Coleman boys equals trouble with a capital T.

Six Pack Ranch, Book 1

Blake Coleman is old enough to know that acting on impulse causes nothing but a heap of trouble. But when trouble’s a blonde wearing a cowboy hat with slim legs that go on forever, what’s a man to do? Wanting the sweet girl next door is just wrong. Hell, he was the one that taught her to ride a horse and now all he can think about is riding her. The responsible thing to do is keep his hands off.

Jaxi has other plans for his hands, and his heart. She may have considered Blake a big brother once but that was a long time ago. She’s all grown up now and ready to convince him that she’s just what he’s been waiting for.

Add the complication of two sexy younger brothers who have suddenly noticed Jaxi and things heat up fast. Blake’s gonna have to decide if a little trouble is worth fighting for.

Retro Blog

Hi all! I'm bringing back one of my favourite posts because...well because it's one of my favourite posts, and because I really don't want to have to write something. I got out late from work and fought traffic to go to the in-laws' for dinner, then didn't get home until even later and I really really wanted to get some time in on my WIP, but I also had to write a blog for the Vixens about my recent vacation (which you can find here). So enjoy, and come back August 23 for a special guest-the talented Vivian Arend! (I say talented because only Viv could be a guest on MY blog and still get me to do all the work for it)

EVERYTHING I KNOW I LEARNED FROM BUFFY

I was a child of the...well, I was young enough to get totally hooked on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Not when the 1992 Kristy Swanson movie came out (possibly the worst movie ever), but with the first television episode starring Sarah Michelle Gellar in 1997. At that moment I, and millions of other fans worldwide, very happily became slaves to the vast brilliance of the Whedonverse.

What was it exactly that made this show so special? Was it inspirational to young teens? Did it try and impart some cosmic wisdom? Did it leave the watcher with a message of hope and love? Yes, it did all of that and more...

Take away the empowered superstrong girl who totally kicks ass and takes names, even without the vampires and the drool-worthy heroes, cool lesbian wiccas, the snarky, brilliant writing, the great shoes and boots (her wardrobe people rocked), and you were still left with a fabulous show that spoke to young people about the trials of growing up, in a way that was fresh, exciting and that broke ground for female heroes in television.

What's even more amazing is the sheer volume of academic study and writing which has been done on and around the Buffy phenomenon, and which continues even today, long after the show itself has been relegated to our dusty DVD shelves. (For example: Why Buffy Matters, Sex And The Slayer: A Gender Studies Primer For The Buffy Fan; Blood Relations: Chosen Families In Buffy The Vampire Slayer; Philosophy and BtVS: Fear and Trembling in Sunnydale...and my favourite; The Comic Anti-hero in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, or Silly Villain: Spike is for Kicks.)

So what did I learn from Buffy?

1. That it is possible to run in heels.

2. That it's important to have a solid group of scoobies to watch your back.

3. Teen sex is a bad idea. Even if you don't get pregnant, your boyfriend might turn evil and try to bite you. Then try and shoot you. Then blow you up...

4. David Boreanaz is hot.

5. If you think your roommate's a demon, it could just mean she's really annoying...but she could actually be a demon.

6. Every difficult situation can be made better with a healthy dose of sarcasm and a witty comeback.

7. High school students have no clue about what goes on in their library, and in fact have probably never been there.

8. David Boreanaz is hot...wait I said that already...James Marsters is hot.

9. There can only ever be one Slayer in the world at a time. Unless there's two.

10. If you're going to save the world, someone should go for donuts.

Oh, and some of my favourite quotes, just for fun!

Buffy: Spike, I just saw you taste your own nose blood. You know what? I'm too grossed out to hear anything you have to say. Go home.
Spike: It's blood. It's what I do!

Buffy: [pulls a glowing orb out of her bag] What the hell is it?
Giles: It appears to be paranormal in origin.
Willow: How can you tell?
Giles: Well, it's so shiny.

Oz: Well, I sorta test well. Y'know, which is cool. Except that it leads to jobs.

Willow: Oh, I don't know, though. He is a senior.
Buffy: You think he's too old 'cause he's a senior? Please. My boyfriend had a bicentennial.

Xander: Yep. Vampires are real, a lot of 'em live in Sunnydale, Willow will fill you in.
Willow: I know it's hard to accept at first.
Oz: Actually, it explains a lot.

Spike: No more of this 'I've got a soul' crap?
Angelus: What can I say, hmm? I was going through a phase.

Spike: You've really got a yen to hurt this girl, haven't you?
Angelus: She made me feel like a human being. That's not the kind of thing you just forgive.

Angelus: Dear Buffy. I'm still trying to decide the best way to send my regards.
Spike: Why don't you rip her lungs out? It might make an impression.
Angelus: Lacks... poetry.
Spike: It doesn't have to. What rhymes with lungs?

Buffy: You know, it’s not even that he’s acting that suspicious. It’s just - there he is. On the hell mouth. All day, every day. That’s got to be like being showered with evil. Only from underneath.
Willow: Not really a shower.
Buffy: A bidet. Like a bidet of evil.

So, what did you like about Buffy? What did you hate? What other shows made an impact on your youth?

New Moon

You know, I've never been a big fan of the Twilight series. I tried Twilight, but it didn't really work for me for whatever reason. HOWEVER I did really enjoy the Twilight movie (mostly because the movie cut out a lot of Bella's depressing woe-is-me crap), and I think I'm really really going to like New Moon:



What do you think?

GUEST AUTHOR: Diane Craver

My Next Projects

I need your help!

J.K. gave me great topic choices for today's blog post, and I decided to use her suggestion to write about my next projects. The problem is I haven't started my new writing project because I have several stories I want to write next. I'd like to focus on one. I have worked on more than one story at a time before, but want to get busy on my next big single project, and want it to be longer than my last completed manuscript. It's a short romance that's being considered by an editor. Now I'm at loose ends.

I'll give you the stories I want to write. I have jotted down character descriptions for each one, big scenes I can see happening, and have an ending in mind for each possible novel. Of course, my endings might change because my characters seem to like to take over while I'm writing. You tell me which story idea you like the best.

Okay, you ready…here's the first one:

No Title yet Genre: Contemporary Romance
The main character, Dr. Lindsay Anderson is a heart surgeon. Her best friend Allie since kindergarten needs emergency heart surgery and Lindsay has to operate on her. When her friend dies, Lindsay feels so much guilt. She's always been in love with Allie's husband. Lindsay keeps going over in her mind if she did everything possible to save Allie. And Lindsay never married because she couldn't settle for anyone else. Allie's husband Troy falls in love with Lindsay.

Second possible story to work on next:

Title: Journey Home Genre: Contemporary Inspirational Romance with a mainstream appeal.

It's what I call my movie star book. Emma Woods is an actress with a young son. She left home when her minister father caught her in the barn with boyfriend Nick. Her father is a farmer and a minister of a small church. He calls her a whore and says she is just like her mother. Emma's mother had left them when she was 4 years old but planned on returning. She left to become an actress but was killed in an automobile accident. Emma's mother had always been faithful to her husband, but he thought she was having an affair. A church member planted the lie in his head. Emma becomes ill and decides to return to the farm. She wants to repair her damaged relationship with her father. Emma also tells Nick, the only man she's ever loved that her child is really his son. There is a lot more to this story with many twists so it will be a longer book.

Third one:

No title yet Genre: Women's Fiction
Family of 4 – Son is deaf and his disability causes the father to be very bitter. He hates that his son is deaf and he adores his daughter. The father can't overlook his son's disability long enough to see the wonderful child he has. The mother loves both her children equally. The daughter loves her dad but hates that he's having an affair with another woman. She doesn't tell her mother. When a tragic accident occurs, the mother doesn't have enough time to save both children. She can only save one. Can you imagine how heart breaking this would be?

There is a mystery I'd like to write about a missing couple, but I haven't thought about it enough yet. But here is what I have so far. The couple is older and enjoys driving the countryside looking for a place to build their retirement home. One day they never return from their road trip, and their daughter becomes alarmed when they don't answer their cell phones.

Which story do you think I should write first?

Whitney in Charge:

Whitney Benson is tired of her older sisters’ attempts to fix her up with every single male they meet. Shannon and Regan cross the line when they arrange for her to go skydiving with the simple excuse that more guys like to float in the air than women. Whitney needs to find something else to keep them busy.

When she suggests that the three of them start a family business, the fun begins in their small town. And she thought being a TV producer in New York had been exciting.

Without going skydiving, Whitney meets two eligible bachelors, Jack and Ben, who constantly battle for her affection. Which one will she choose? Both men make Whitney realize, even a heart shattered by her husband’s death, can once again be made whole.

But did she have to fall off a cliff to learn that?

JK Coi: Thanks for visiting Diane. And to all of YOU, as an added bonus today, Diane will be putting the names of all the commenters from each blog she's visited this week into a draw. Good luck!

Winner!

This is short and sweet because I'm up at the cottage playing in the lake and wanted to rub it in! (just kidding)

The winner of my birthday blog contest is:

RK Charron

Email me at jkcoi(AT)rogers(DOT)com with your contact info and mailing address.

Thanks for all the great birthday wishes everyone!
I hope you'll join me this year as I bring you exciting new reads!

New Reading Recommendations

A couple of great new reads for your TBB list--and mine.

In print:

The Time Traveler's Wife

The Time Traveler's Wife, is the story of Clare, a beautiful art student, and Henry, an adventuresome librarian, who have known each other since Clare was six and Henry was thirty-six, and were married when Clare was twenty-three and Henry thirty-one. Impossible but true, because Henry finds himself periodically displaced in time, pulled to moments of emotional gravity from his life, past and future. His disappearances are spontaneous, his experiences unpredictable, alternately harrowing and amusing.

The Time Traveler's Wife depicts the effects of time travel on Henry and Clare''s marriage and their passionate love for each other, as the story unfolds from both points of view. Clare and Henry attempt to live normal lives, pursuing familiar goals -- steady jobs, good friends, children of their own. All of this is threatened by something they can neither prevent nor control, making their story intensely moving and entirely unforgettable.

by Audrey Niffenegger

In e-book:

The Bond That Saves Us–Book 4 in the Eternal Bond series

For years, Sean Donaldson blamed himself for the Ecada attack on the Eurus colony, pushing everyone away. When he’s injured after a security breach, he realizes that he has nothing and no one important left in his life.

Captain Amy Bryson is trying to draw as little attention to herself and her ship as possible. All she wants is to participate in the Catallian race and bring home the prize money. In order to protect her ship and crew from attacks, Amy enlists the help of Sean as both bodyguard and co-pilot.

With a drug lord intent on fixing the race for his own purposes, Amy and Sean fight against outside forces as they try to resist the pull of Amy’s sexual pheromones. They must learn to keep their passion in check, or run the risk of ending up dead.

By Christine D'Abo

Death, The Vamp and His Brother

When it comes down to love or duty, pick a side—and pray your heart survives.

Death exists for one purpose and one purpose only: to sever the life-threads of the living. She does her job with pride and an unwavering commitment. Nothing ruffles her. Until she encounters Patrick Watkins. The Australian lifeguard pushes all her buttons—and makes her tailbone itch like crazy. And when her tailbone itches, it means trouble is brewing. Big trouble.

Ven’s gut tells him that Death is taking aim at his kid brother. He should know—he died and was turned vampire while trying to prevent another failed murder-attempt eighteen years ago. Patrick is meant to do something important in the world, and Ven will do anything to keep him safe. Even take on Death herself. In more ways than one.

As far as Patrick’s concerned, the whole thing is a load of bull. But what if everything Death tells him turns out to be true? How is he expected to save mankind from the worst fate of all—the Apocalypse? Especially when all he can think about is how quickly he’s falling in love with the most feared Horseman of them all…

by Lexxie Couper

Pictures!

I've got pictures from our camping trip. It was a lot of fun--even though hubby and son didn't catch any fish :)


I told you that we'd had a bear wander through our campsite didn't I? It happened last year too, but the camera was locked in the car--Well this year we got pictures! For a black bear, it wasn't huge, probably only a year old. But apparently while we were out hiking later on that afternoon, another one came by. One of the other campers across from us said that it was much much bigger. I'm glad we weren't around for that visit!


It was too bad I couldn't grab my camera fast enough to get a shot of this plane landing in the water with all the spray shooting out from beneath the skis. It was awesome to watch!


Hubby and kiddo love to go fishing--and I usually park a camp chair at lake's edge and read my book, or just watch them together. My two guys.


My son is going to be one of those guys who heads out into the wilderness with nothing but a compass and a ball of twine, then comes waltzing back weeks later looking just as crisp as the day he left. He LOVES hiking, camping, fishing. He loves animals and being out doors. Sometimes, I envy him his simple outlook on how life should be--and I hope he never changes.

Happy Birthday...To ME!

Today is my birthday! What am I doing?

Urgh.

I'm going to work.

LOL, it's okay. But I still don't get why I am the one having to bring treats to the office. Shouldn't other people be bringing them for me?

Leave me a comment today to tell me what you did on your last birthday, and be entered to win a nice basket with lots of goodies...including a print copy of Dark Immortal!

The Trouble With Destiny

YAY! I've gotten a new review! Dianna from Manic Readers gave Forever Immortal 5 stars and said:

JK Coi has done it again. Forever Immortal is the fourth book in her Immortal Warriors series. Wonderfully written, it keeps your mind locked into the story from the moment you first pick it up. I do not know where she comes up with this stuff, but I seriously hope her muse keeps working this well for her in the years to come.

Please check out the complete review here

Thank you so much Dianna!

But that's not all...

WOO HOO! I'm finally able to share! Now that the blurb and cover are up on the Samhain website here, I can show it off! Look for this re-release on September 18, 2009!



There’s got to be more to life than studying…

The starving student routine is starting to wear a little thin for Sarah McInnes. If only she could be left alone long enough, she could finish grad school, get a normal nine-to-five and finally afford to move out of her one-room apartment. Maybe even afford a decent wardrobe.

Destiny has other ideas. Not the least of which is the mysterious, overbearing, insufferable Dorian…who also happens to be the hottest thing this side of hell. Three months ago he saved her from certain dismemberment at the hands of a daemon. He also discovered she possesses the ability to send these beasts back to hell where they belong.

Now he not only won’t leave her alone, he’s forcing her to face certain facts: Her social life isn’t going to improve anytime soon. And she may never make it to calculus on time again.

It’s enough to piss a girl off.

Warning: This title contains a beautiful, capable college student whose mystical tats have gotten her in almost as much trouble as her smart ass mouth. It also includes a devastatingly hot, mysterious warrior whose sense of humor is as non-existent as his humanity.

Excerpt:

I braced myself when I exited the bathroom, wary of the neon light I expected to find streaming in through my one large window. But surprisingly, the curtains had been pulled tightly closed. Dorian must have done that. He’d know my headache would be coming on hard and fast, making my eyes sensitive to the lights from Mrs. Patel’s grocery sign. She had thoughtfully hung it just outside my window, and it made the whole apartment glow with bright green and yellow light all night long.

I threw a quick glance in Dorian’s general direction as I came out of the bathroom. Holy hell. There should be some kind of law against a guy looking that good.

Honestly though, as much as I could appreciate the view, I was tired, and my head was already pounding too hard for it to have a substantial effect on me. Sad but true.

Like a coward, I avoided looking directly at him. My circa 1980s, thirteen-inch television set with the manual dials along the side panel was turned on with the volume down low, and if I didn’t know better I’d say that Dorian was engrossed in the final minutes of the hockey game. He was quiet as I walked past the sofa where he sat. Too quiet.

I kept my gaze averted as I passed him on the way to my bedroom. There was a thick tension suddenly swirling in the air, so I knew he wasn’t asleep.

Despite my best intentions, the draw was too strong and I finally looked. He was staring back at me. I met his gaze. I drowned in the depths.

“Stop it!”

He blinked, surprised. “Stop what?”

“Stop that…that thing you’re doing with your eyes. Stop looking at me like you want to devour me.” I hesitated. Maybe that was a poor choice of words, because it sounded more like an invitation than a rebuff even to my ears. Heat crept up my throat and into my cheeks.

His breath caught and I could see golden flames starting to leap and dance in the deep brown of his eyes. All of a sudden I wasn’t worrying so much about my headache anymore. What headache? And I didn’t really care that my body ached.

Now I ached in a whole new set of places.

He sighed and dropped his head. “I can’t,” he said. “Believe me, Sarah. I would if I could.”

“What do you mean you can’t?” Whoa. That sounded a lot like an admission. Was Dorian actually acknowledging that he was attracted to me? Was he saying it right out loud for the public record? Was this the Twilight Zone?

Wait a minute. “What do you mean you would if you could?”

It wasn’t that I doubted Dorian might feel something for me. I’m not exactly hideous, even if I haven’t had a date in an eon and a half. I just never expected him to admit it, or ever do anything about it.

But that didn’t mean it wouldn’t have come up sooner or later. I know I couldn’t have continued to ignore the snaps of electricity crackling between us forever. In the last several weeks it had built to what could only be termed explosive levels. In fact, I felt like I had been walking through a brambly field strewn with fifty-year-old land mines. Each step was measured, careful, because they couldn’t all be duds and it was just a matter of time before I put my foot down on a live one and it blew me to smithereens.

After a slight pause and a deep breath, Dorian stood and walked to me. I wasn’t sure of the wisdom of that idea. The part of me that worried over my self-preservation knew that Dorian and me, together, was a nuclear disaster waiting to happen and wanted to take a corresponding step backward. But the wilder, more daring part of me wondered if the crash and burn might be worth it. That part knew that Dorian and me, together, would be the hottest, sexiest, most explosive disaster that ever rocked the Casbah.

Lovely Vacation

Well, I'm back from my camping trip. I have to say, I was very impressed. Everything went off without a hitch. No traffic, no rain, not too hot, not too cold. We went hiking, we went to the lake, we played card games together and read books and had marshmallows on the campfire. The stars were so beautiful and the loon calls haunting. We had the privilege of meeting a bear as it moseyed through our campsite and saw a mother moose and her little one far off in the distance from the road. A little chipmunk also came by to say hello as we sat down to every meal. (I have a feeling he was interested in more than just our friendship, but in that he remains disappointed lol)

I admit, I didn't even think of opening up my notebook. I thought very little about writing anything except for a review for a book I finished reading. But now that I'm home I look forward to starting something fresh. The short story I wrote just before leaving for vacation made me feel great! It was quick and easy and the characters felt rich and right and strong. I can still feel the momentum, and I want to see where it takes me next.

First...today is going to be all about the cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping--ugh.

Take care and have a great weekend!

(PS pictures to come soon--I'm an old fashioned girl and have to get the film developed first)