Hi all,
I just published my very first video blog! Yay! It's over at my website -- Click Here
But in addition, me and as many authors as can make it from the Holiday Hottie contest are chatting live at both the Ellora's Cave and the Samhain Cafe reader loops. In addition to closing out the Holiday Hottie contest so we can announce the grand prize winners, we'll also be doing some contests, recipe swaps, jokes and just plain ole fun.
When: December 19, 2009
Time: 6:00pm to 9:00pm EST
Where: Ellora's Cave and Samhain Cafe Yahoo groups
Now...go check out my first vBlog! And no laughing...on second thought do laugh because I'm just plain silly ;D
TJ
www.tjmichaels.com
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
Why do I do it?
I’m a Christmas fanatic. I’ll admit it. I love the lights. Really really love the lights. I love Christmas trees. I love all the family get togethers. I love buying people presents, especially when you find that perfect gift. I love Christmas music. I love Christmas specials. I’m a nut about the holiday.
At Halloween, I was doing some decorating inside. My oldest asked, “How come you do the inside? No one is ever going to see it.”
Well, I deck out the inside at Christmas, too, as much as the outside. And so far, we aren’t having any huge family gatherings here.
So why do I do it? Why do I transform the inside of my house into a “winter wonderland” as my oldest termed it?
For me.
I do it for myself. Because I love seeing things all decorated. I love the traditions that come along with it.
When we decorate our Christmas tree, it’s like a trip down memory lane. There are ornaments from past years that the kids have made. There are ornaments that the hubby and I made together when we were first married and had little money. There are ornaments to honor the critters, kids, and marriage coming into our lives. Ornaments people have given to us through the years. And ones that the hubby and I brought into the marriage.
It’s the same with the rest of the house. There’s the Nativity Set that the hubby gave to me one Christmas. There’s my Christmas town that I set up on top of the entertainment center. There are house that I’ve acquired from various places, including a toy shop that was the hubby’s and a reindeer barn that I place Rudolph near. There’s the little tiny Santa that I place on our sculpture of the Currituck lighthouse. There are all my Christmas Snoopys. Candles.
I’m a sentimental sap and I love getting out the Christmas stuff to walk through memories.
I also just really find everything so beautiful.
I love this time of the year! For me, it is the most wonderful time of the year.
Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com
http://www.melanylogen.com
At Halloween, I was doing some decorating inside. My oldest asked, “How come you do the inside? No one is ever going to see it.”
Well, I deck out the inside at Christmas, too, as much as the outside. And so far, we aren’t having any huge family gatherings here.
So why do I do it? Why do I transform the inside of my house into a “winter wonderland” as my oldest termed it?
For me.
I do it for myself. Because I love seeing things all decorated. I love the traditions that come along with it.
When we decorate our Christmas tree, it’s like a trip down memory lane. There are ornaments from past years that the kids have made. There are ornaments that the hubby and I made together when we were first married and had little money. There are ornaments to honor the critters, kids, and marriage coming into our lives. Ornaments people have given to us through the years. And ones that the hubby and I brought into the marriage.
It’s the same with the rest of the house. There’s the Nativity Set that the hubby gave to me one Christmas. There’s my Christmas town that I set up on top of the entertainment center. There are house that I’ve acquired from various places, including a toy shop that was the hubby’s and a reindeer barn that I place Rudolph near. There’s the little tiny Santa that I place on our sculpture of the Currituck lighthouse. There are all my Christmas Snoopys. Candles.
I’m a sentimental sap and I love getting out the Christmas stuff to walk through memories.
I also just really find everything so beautiful.
I love this time of the year! For me, it is the most wonderful time of the year.
Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com
http://www.melanylogen.com
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Exciting news
Law's Deliverance is a 2009 EPPIE finalist in the science fiction/futuristic category! My coathor and I are thrilled!
Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
Promo time! Reincarnation, time travel and ...
... toss in a wise-cracking telepathic dog and you've got Endurance, Book 2 in my History Patrol series. It released last week in download over at Cerridwen Press.
This book is in first person male POV, which was really fun to write. I also had fun with Cerberus, the dog. He's a major character in the book and helps guide the hero, Nico Haidess, through the potentially deadly traps laid for him and the heroine, Lucinda Delacroix.
You see, Nico has been trapped in time by an immortality virus, stranded without the one creature he loved, his shapeshifting History Patrol companion, Persa. When Cerberus tells Nico that Lucinda is the reincarnation of Persa, the plot really thickens. Nico is a paid assassin and Lucinda is his target.
Oops. Lucky for Nico Cerberus was there ... or was it just luck or intervention by a Higher Power? Hmm.
In the course of the story Cerberus, Lucinda, and Nico all discover their destiny while tracking the bastard who infected Nico. And while doing so, they all discover some other important qualities like love, trust, and compromise. It's a fascinating journey for them all ....
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
I'm thrilled to announce that Beyond Shadows, my paranormal/shapeshifter novel, is now available from from Ellora’s Cave Publishing!
Beyond Shadows
N.J. Walters
This is a stand alone book, but it is a sequel to “Shadows Stir” from Dreams of the Oasis IV anthology.
An immortal warrior of the Shadow Realm, Blade’s self-control has been honed to a razor’s edge by centuries of fighting, but it vanishes the moment he lays eyes on Jacqueline Harris. The mere sight of her stirs his blood and he craves physical pleasures long forgotten.
Jac is an accountant, not a risk taker, preferring to live her life quietly. That all changes when she is sent to see a client by mistake and stumbles onto a crime ring. Now she’s on the run for her life.
The sexy stranger appears at her beach house, swearing to protect her at all costs. Dark and dangerous, he resembles the assassin she first fears he is. The last thing she expects is that he can morph into the deadly panther tattooed on his chest. The undeniable passion between them flares to life, but it is more than attraction. It is a soul-deep knowing that he will change her life forever. Blade becomes both protector and lover, but it’s up to her to save him from the shadows that haunt him.
I'm also thilled to announce the release of BY THE BOOK, which is part of the Jamesville series but can be read as a stand alone novel!
BLURB:
Amanda Barrington has moved to Jamesville to start a new life, but someone in this quiet town is trying to kill her.
Former soldier, Jonah Sutter, has returned home to help his sister pick up the pieces of her life. Sparks fly when he and Amanda meet.
He takes on the job of fixing the wiring in her house and ends up protecting her from her stalker. When Amanda is attacked again, all bets are off. And Jonah is no longer playing By The Book.
By The Book is now available from Samhain Publishing. To find out more about this book, or any other of my books, check out my website.
Former soldier, Jonah Sutter, has returned home to help his sister pick up the pieces of her life. Sparks fly when he and Amanda meet.
He takes on the job of fixing the wiring in her house and ends up protecting her from her stalker. When Amanda is attacked again, all bets are off. And Jonah is no longer playing By The Book.
By The Book is now available from Samhain Publishing. To find out more about this book, or any other of my books, check out my website.
Saturday, November 15, 2008
Life lessons from a car purchase
Hooray! I got a new car. I picked it up last night.
My 'old' car wasn't old -- it was just 2 years old. But I wasn't comfortable driving it. I had all-wheel drive before I bought it, and I really missed it. And here in the snowy North, AWD is very, very useful.
So I bit the bullet and talked the Spousal Unit into a new purchase. I forced him to test drive with me so we can be sure he fits (he had a problem with the old car which he neglected to mention until the purchase was done. Oops).
I agonized over the color choices -- should I get the green/gray with the off-white interior? Or the dark gray/silver with the black interior? I loved the green/gray color but I was worried about the dirt in the off-white interior. I thought about it, I paced, I read reviews, I looked at Scotchgard (c) products, I debated ...
I got the gray one. It was $1000 less and the interior sold me. As I drove it home through blowing snow I was so happy. It handles like a dream, it's quick, it's responsive, it's quiet, it's everything I wanted. I realized that the exterior is largely irrelevant. I don't see the exterior that much. I see the interior. And while I loved the look of the ivory/beige interior, I know in a year I'd be worried about that coffee stain, that scuff mark, or the spill in the rear hatch.
Life lesson? It's what's inside that counts -- the engine and the interior. Both cars were identical except for color (and price). Don't be swayed by fancy looks (or fancy book covers) and take a chance on what's inside. It's almost always the best choice.
My 'old' car wasn't old -- it was just 2 years old. But I wasn't comfortable driving it. I had all-wheel drive before I bought it, and I really missed it. And here in the snowy North, AWD is very, very useful.
So I bit the bullet and talked the Spousal Unit into a new purchase. I forced him to test drive with me so we can be sure he fits (he had a problem with the old car which he neglected to mention until the purchase was done. Oops).
I agonized over the color choices -- should I get the green/gray with the off-white interior? Or the dark gray/silver with the black interior? I loved the green/gray color but I was worried about the dirt in the off-white interior. I thought about it, I paced, I read reviews, I looked at Scotchgard (c) products, I debated ...
I got the gray one. It was $1000 less and the interior sold me. As I drove it home through blowing snow I was so happy. It handles like a dream, it's quick, it's responsive, it's quiet, it's everything I wanted. I realized that the exterior is largely irrelevant. I don't see the exterior that much. I see the interior. And while I loved the look of the ivory/beige interior, I know in a year I'd be worried about that coffee stain, that scuff mark, or the spill in the rear hatch.
Life lesson? It's what's inside that counts -- the engine and the interior. Both cars were identical except for color (and price). Don't be swayed by fancy looks (or fancy book covers) and take a chance on what's inside. It's almost always the best choice.
Monday, November 10, 2008
The Hero's Journey
This weekend I had the privilege of hearing Deb Dixon speak on both Goals Motivation and Conflict (a writer's bible of sorts) and the Hero's Journey. She used a lot of movie examples and we dissected movies. LOL she said we'd never be able to watch a movie purely for enjoyment again.
I tend to think of the hero, and by the way, when talking about the Hero's Journey, we're talking simply the protagonist, not specifically male, as going on a quest with this template. But she showed it applied to books without some quest as well. Like a romance. She said in a romance, you can have one character drive the book and another as its heart.
Which of course made me think about my own books. And how to apply this to what I write. I already do that in a lot of ways. I always think about my story as a journey. My character(s) tend to change throughout the novel. Not just romantically but usually the inner workings in some manner as well. I think I'm going to go back and revise an old story and really put this framework to the test. After I've done it (and don't hold your breath...I'm a deadline LOL for another story), I'll come back and report how it went.
Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com
http://www.melanylogen.com
I tend to think of the hero, and by the way, when talking about the Hero's Journey, we're talking simply the protagonist, not specifically male, as going on a quest with this template. But she showed it applied to books without some quest as well. Like a romance. She said in a romance, you can have one character drive the book and another as its heart.
Which of course made me think about my own books. And how to apply this to what I write. I already do that in a lot of ways. I always think about my story as a journey. My character(s) tend to change throughout the novel. Not just romantically but usually the inner workings in some manner as well. I think I'm going to go back and revise an old story and really put this framework to the test. After I've done it (and don't hold your breath...I'm a deadline LOL for another story), I'll come back and report how it went.
Mechele Armstrong aka Lany of Melany Logen
http://www.mechelearmstrong.com
http://www.melanylogen.com
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