Thirteen Things that made me happy today1 – My first sale! I signed the contract with Samhain Publishing last night for Hunting the Huntress.
2 – The emails and im’s from my friends (and my friends that are family) telling my how happy they were about number 1.
3 – An empty inbox. Little bit slept in late today (it’s 7:30 and she’s still asleep!), and I have totally emptied my email box. Go ahead, send me an email (ember@embercase.com) – I’ll get right back to you!
4 – A clean desk. Not really sure how that happened, but my inbox is empty and the papers (except the contract that needs to be mailed today!) are all filed.
5 – Diet Mountain Dew. Since coffee has been making my system all kinds of funky, I’ve developed a new love for the yellow non-cola. Mmmm, caffine buzz.
6 – Not having to take the kids over to the in-laws this weekend. Hubby and I are out of town working almost every weekend during the spring / summer, so the kids have been over there for one night a week the past month +. But this weekend, my SIL is coming here instead. Yay, no packing the bags and dragging PreTeenBoy away from his computer!
7 – Nickelback’s “I wanna be a rock star”. It’s not really the lyrics as much as that tongue rolling, sing along beat, but the lyrics are pretty catchy too :
“I’m through with standing in line
to clubs we’ll never get in
It’s like the bottom of the ninth
and I’m never gonna win
This life hasn’t turned out
quite the way I want it to be”
8 – Watching the sun come up over the marsh on a foggy morning.
9 – Mimosa’s on a Thursday morning. Leftover bubbly from celebrating #1. I should do this more often. Yes, it does go well after Diet Mountain Dew – kind of a lemony aftertaste to the OJ.
10 – Knowing my friend Robin L. Rotham made her second sale to EC yesterday. Yay, we share a signing day!
11 – Having more stories in my head than I have time to write them. Hey, it’s much better than the alternative!
12 – Triple Scented Autumn Wreath candles from www.maximumscented.com – yummm
13 – Life. Because some days, it’s thrilling just to wake up and know it’s the start of another day.Links to other Thursday Thirteens!
1. Gina 2. Elle Fredrix 3. scooper 4. SciFiChick

5. JAC 6. Emma Wayne Porter 7. Jennah Sharpe 8. Crystal Jordan

9. Diana Castilleja 10. Debora 11. R.G. Alexander 12. Christine d’Abo

13. Emma Sinclair    14. Ingela F. Hyatt    15. Joely    16. Shonna Brannon

17. Angela Giles Klocke    18. Heather    19. Rene Lyons    20. Jennifer Bianco

21.   Kissa Starling    22. Tilly Greene    23. Mark Caldwell    24. Kate Willoughby

25. Leave me a message in the comments and I’ll add you!

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I am beyond thrilled to announce my first sale as a writer.

I signed the contract today with Samhain Publishing, who will be publishing “Hunting the Huntress” sometime in 2008.

The email came on March 17th. I’ve been afraid to tell … well, just about anyone.  Sis was out of the country, so I couldn’t tell her anyway. I discretely emailed two Samhain authors to ask what the usual contract turn-around time was, since if it was going to be 6 months I knew I’d have to spill it! Somehow I was absolutely convinced that every person I told increased the chances I’d get an email saying “We regret to inform you that we’ve changed our minds.”

I’m glad to say, that email didn’t ever come ogle:

Tonight, I drink bubbly :satansmoking:

The time change last week hasn’t done much to help my schedule.  No matter how you number them, there are still only 24 hours in a day.

And lately, only a very small part of them to spend writing.

I’ve been squeezing every minute I can into getting my wip from fingers to screen, so not much blog time – neither reading, or writing.  But I did peek my head up into the blogosphere yesterday to make note that Samhain Publishing has been granted RWA approval.  Since I’ve got a ms with them, this made me giddy-happy.  Gratz to Chrissy, Angie, and all the staff and authors for a phenomenal first year.  Hope you have many, many more to come!

1. Which psychic power would you most like to possess? Stopping time, without a doubt. I don’t know any other way to get 25 hours of living into a 24 hour day.

2. If you could see the future, what would you like to see? My kids, happy, healthy, successful. My husband and I wildly successful :smirk: My office wall turned into a Wall of Fame, with copies of my name on the bestsellers lists. Umm, world peace and the end of hunger? Is that asking for too much?

3. Imagine you woke up one day and could shapeshift – what would you shift into? Angelina Jolie.

4. What kind of a paranormal creature would you invite over for dinner if there were no limits on who you could ask? A non-carnivore, since I wouldn’t want to become dinner myself. Maybe I could just have them over for drinks?

5. Which future innovation do you wish would hurry up and get here already? i.e. flying cars, a transporter, computers with artificial intelligence, an auto chef? Transporters, most definitely! So many places to go, and people to see. So little time to do it all, and too much of that time spent getting there! Sometimes I can make myself believe it’s not about the destination, but about the journey. Usually, I just want to get there faster.

This meme was begun by Nalini Singh to get the word out about her next book, Visions of Heat (releasing March 6).

Want to play, too, and enter to win a $50 Amazon voucher plus an ARC? Click here for details.

There is a fantastic workshop starting today over at Romance Divas.  Given by Linnea Sinclair – wow!  – the topic is Character Torture 101.

Linnea is an amazing writer.  And this is a topic that every writer faces – how to add struggle to your character’s lives.

Workshops at Romance Divas are free – just sign up at the forums, and join in the fun.  Hope to see you there!

This book is heaven for a chocolate lover.  Wonder how much I’ll crave some of the sweet stuff by the time I finish it?

Renee Luke’s Dipped in Chocolate 

Check out the book here

Dipped in Chocolate
NAL / Signet
ISBN: 0451220315 (trade paperback)
February 2007

Romance has never been as temptingly sweet as it is in this trio of erotic treats from an author who knows how to seduce…and deliver.

In Gimme Some Sugar…Jackson never realized how much he loved his best friend Alexis—until her wedding day was on the horizon. Now all he has to do is convince her that their harmless kissing games over the years weren’t so harmless after all. In fact, they may end up breaking his heart.

In 4 U Sweetheart…
Toni never imagined that a night of speed-dating could lead to something serious. But three minutes with the hunk of her dreams changed that. Especially after he slipped her a candy heart that said “Pick Me”…

In Dipped in Chocolate…
Nathan wants a special delicacy for his sister’s bridal shower. He finds it in Jayla, the owner of a decadent chocolate shop. As hot as she is, Jayla’s not looking for a fling. As hot as he’s getting, Nathan may have to abandon his bachelor ways for a piece of chocolate that’s a little more solid.

I can’t even remember the convuluted path of links I went down before I stumbled over this gem, but it’s a good one – make your own seal.  Something like this :

The time I could waste.  Good thing I’ve got work still waiting for me, or I’d be there playing still :shiftyeyes:

Via Lifehacker -

I may have to drink a bottle (well, two I guess) tonight, purely in the interest of keeping my laptop from overheating.

Those corks are really hard to balance on your knees though.

The wonderful Keziah has tagged me – here goes !
1. Grab the book closest to you.
2. Open to page 123, look down to the 5th sentence.
3. Post the text of the next 3 sentences on your blog.
4. Include the title and the author’s name.
5. Tag 3 people

“Pass along some inside data for a fee.  Maybe she sees something, like one client consistently nipping out another, or others in competitive areas.  She questions the percentages of that, pokes around.”

“Born In Death”, by J.D. Robb

I’m tagging you, you, and YOU!

Random playlist from the songs I added to iTunes this weekend -

Please Come to Boston    Dave Loggins
Free Falling        Tom Petty
Eternal Flame        The Bangles-
Just Like Jesse James    Cher
Beth        kiss
Horse With No Name    America
HIGH ENOUGH – Damn Yankees
You’re Beautiful        James Blunt
I’ve never been to me    Charlene
Kiss The Girl        Ashley Tisdale
Could Have Been        Tiffany
Please Mister Please    Olivia Newton-John -
She Went Out For Cigarettes        Chely Wright -
Ooh Child        The Five Stairsteps
How am I supposed to live without you        Laura Brannigan -
Please remember        LeAnne Rimes
Mama I’m Comin’ Home    Ozzy Osbourne
The Reason        Hoobastank
Missing You        Matchbox Twenty
The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia        Reba McEntire
Red Red Wine        Johnny Cash
Time After Time        Matchbox 20
INSIDE OF YOU        Hoobastank
Sweet Melissa        Allman Brothers Band
I Feel For You        Chaka Khan
:thumbup: