Medical Mystery Solved

In case anyone remembers, a few weeks ago I was complaining of some strange symptoms – painful joints in my hands, swollen ankles, chills and fever. The blood tests I had turned up nothing and I was given an anti-inflammatory and sent on my way with a sincere, “We hope you feel better soon,” from the doctor.

Well, it turns out I had Fifth Disease. I would never have known except that my son developed that mysterious case of what we thought was hives, and the very next day my daughter broke out in a very distinctive, lacy red rash. Turns out a kid in her class had Fifth Disease and after a little research I found out that, though it usually occurs in children between the ages of 5 and 15, adults can get it also and the symptoms in adults are pretty much exactly what I had.

On top of that, my mother also developed flu-like symptoms, a rash and a generally ill feeling. She went to her doctor and mentioned Fifth and he confirmed it.

So, mystery solved, once again, by a lay person. At least I know what it is. Can’t wait to go back to my doctor and tell them what it was. Maybe next time they’ll be able to diagnose it – not that it can be cured. Like most viruses it just has to go away on its own and you feel crappy until you feel better.

At least I've stopped feeling crappy. Now if only the NJ heat wave would break and we could all stand to go outside. Yesterday my daughter was complaining because the water in the pool was too warm! The kid has a rough life. What can I say. Sheesh.

Off to try to get some work done.

What do you see?

This weekend we took the kids to The Lost River Caverns and The Crystal Cave in eastern Pennsylvania. These places are educational and they feed my need to spelunk.

I've always had a fasciantion for caves, just the idea that there are all these underground passages where things have lain hidden for centuries, never seen by human eyes. I guess it's the sci-fi geek in me that relishes the idea of new frontiers, even if you travel down rather than up to get there.

I took a bunch of pictures while trying to simulataneously listen to the guides, stare in wonder at the amazing formations and avoid clocking myself on low hanging rocks. When I got home I loaded them into my computer and I found these three shots which are think are quite amazing.



This one is just an outcropping of rock, but to me it looks like the head of some alien beast with a tiny eye and a gaping mouth.



This one, through a trick of artificial lighting, looks to me like blood dripping off the ceiling. Myabe my imagination is a little macabre, but I think it's a cool effect.



This last one defies explanation. I know I didn't take a picture of a plain black wall, but I see what looks like a huge bird, wings spread, talons spread, stuck in the rock. Am I crazy? What do you see?

Sci-Fi Friday is Back!

Where will I be tonight? Cheyenne Mountain Complex of course – with a front row seat for the 10th Season Premiere of Stargate SG-1 on the Sci-Fi Channel.

I’ve been Gater [loyal fan of Stargate] since I stumbled upon a scene from the pilot episode quite by accident. I enjoyed the movie, but the series far surpasses it. I’ll be front row for the third season premiere of Stargate Atlantis, too.

What makes these shows so great? Well, the mythology is spectacular, the special effects are kick ass, and the casts are wonderful but I have to admit, it’s the hunky men I can’t do without.

Here’s Joe Flanigan, Major John Sheppard. He’s the inspiration for my vampire investigator Maxwell Hart.




















And this is Ben Browder, formerly Jon Crighton of Farscape, now Colonel Cameron Mitchell. He’s actually the inspiration for Daniel Garrison from Wolfsbane.















I may not choose the usual suspects to flesh out my main male characters, but I think I do pretty well.

I’m off to distant galaxies surrounded by hunky, heavily armed men. What science fiction romance writer could ask for more?

Ultra-Meatballism

Here's another one - though it wasn't mine. My daughter came up with this one.

I ordered a bunch of books from that new book club the other day and one of them was Ultra-Metabolism by Mark Hyman, MD. I saw him on PBS and thought what he had to say about food made a lot of sense so I bought his book. Hey, for $0.40 you can't go wrong, right?

Anyway, DD is passing through the den this afternoon and looks up at me and says, 'Ultra-Meatballism? What's that?' Well, of course it goes with The Wisdom of Yogurt and the Zen Clam. Do you get a feeling we think about food a lot in this house?

In other news...

I'm a little worried about having too much convuluted plot in Rogue Theta. I introduced the secondary character who I'd like to have carry the second story in the series - but I'm not sure how I want to craft her. I don't want a victim-like heroine, but I don't want someone who's quite as kick-ass as Lilliana. I'm also concerned about her being sympathetic if she's too physically perfect and too overtly sexual - though that is the point of her very existance. SIGH. This second guessing is going to make me nuts. I so want EC to like this longer story, but I don't want to work myself into a big tangle and end up getting rejected because my story stops making sense around page 102. Maybe a short break to do another round of edits for Hunter's Mate, then back to the drawing board.

It's the little things...

...that make me feel like a writer.

Today I prepared and sent out another proposal for The Matchmakers in response to a request for partial from another agent. I really want to find Nick and Callie a good home. I love their story and I want someone else to love it too.

I also added another 4000 words to Rogue Theta. I'm now at 29,000 words! Woohoo! I also believe I can craft a sequel to this story, so I may move right on to the second story after I complete this one. With any luck at all I might be able to finagle a two- or even a three-book deal on it. [I can only hope! Nothing like thinking big.] I know, I have to get the first one done first.

Off to do some more work and then curl up on the couch with my new Vegetarian Slow Cooker Cook Book. DS insists he's a vegetarian, so I plan to teach him how to eat like one. Wish me luck.

RT Reviews Immortal Lovers

Immortal Lovers got a three star review from Romantic Times Magazine! The reviewer, Sarah Wethern, called it "distinctly biteable" [which I think is good?] and had this to say about Fresh Blood:

Surprising twists and an interesting take on vampire lore makes "Fresh Blood" by Colgan the redeeming story in this anthology.

Hopefully that will entice some readers to pick it up. Especially those who enjoy vampire stories.

I have to admit, I don't pay much attention to the three, four and four and a half star reviews [not too many fives in there!]. Honestly, and this may sound odd, but I read the two and one star reviews first. Why? Not because I want to know which books to stay away from, but because I'm more interested in what doesn't work. What makes a book a pass for a reader?

Granted these books have all been published, so an editor and maybe even an agent liked them enough to stand behind them. Then a reviewer comes along and dishes the real dirt on the story. While I know, a review is merely an opinion and what one person pans another will love, I find it informative to see what gets low grades. I know what makes a book a winner: endearing characters, smooth writing, a believable plot [even if it's sci-fi or paranormal], flowing action, steamy sex or heart rending emotional conflict. Easy to list these things, harder to actually make them happen. Call me crazy but I want to know where writers go wrong and I find I learn a lot from reading the Pass On This One and Problematic reviews. They tell me that readers don't want plots that are convoluted and overly complicated. They can't stand whiney heroines and lackluster heroes. They want deep emotional conflict and focus on the main characters.

The complaints I see the most are about plot. Something that's too hard to follow and filled with uneccessary pit stops generally gets a low grade from RT. I keep that in mind when trying to stretch a short story into a full novel. What don't I like about most books I pan? The extraneous scenes, the fluff, the things going on that don't have anything to do with the main story line. Sure I see how an author can garner a multi-book deal by adding in interesting secondary characters whose stories beg to be told, but sometimes there's just too much going on. This seems to be the number one problem for the RT reviewers.

Now, I'm not going to start writing my strories with the idea that they have to please the people at Romantic Times. But I do keep in mind the things I read there and try to avoid the pitfalls I see time and again. Would I buy a book that recieved a two or one-star review from RT? Probably not, but I don't run out and buy the four stars either, unless they truly intrigue me. In fact I never buy a book based on a review though I'm sure a lot of readers do or there wouldn't be a market for the magazine.

Do you buy or avoid books based on reviews? If not, what are your criteria for choosing what you read?

A character study - Jack Sparrow

I'm blogging today at Amber Heat about the unconventional hero. And who could more unconventional than Pirates of the Caribbean's Captain Jack Sparrow?

Check it out and tell me what you think.

What's in your trash bin?

I was cleaning out my e-mail junk filter today, a thankless task, but like taking out the garbage and flossing behind the bathroom faucet, it’s a necessary one.

Most of the junk e-mail I get is naturally from the true smut peddlers of the Internet – promising all sorts of lurid and horribly misspelled perversities. I wonder how many people actually open up these e-mails looking for their jollies. Ewww.

Then there’s the slightly more insidious ones telling me I’ve won the lottery in Budapest, or claiming that my PayPal or eBay account has been compromised. Sadly, I think more people fall for this crap. The first time you see it, it looks official and if you actually have a PayPal or eBay account you start to wonder a little bit.

The rest of them are just fishing lures for idiots. Who would ever think someone is going to open up some of these e-mails? Come on. Here’s a sampling of the subject lines I dumped today:

Marsha Brewer sends: Your cash, office building
What about my cash? Does she think I want to buy an office building with my cash?

Hatty Wilson offers: chateaux folk music
I guess since it’s such a popular thing right now, she assumes everyone would want some?

George Cochran wants to talk about: Clump
I’m afraid to ask what this might mean, but let’s be honest, a clump of what? If it comes in a clump, I really don’t want it.

FeroXx WareZ is offering: revealed selling Inca
That makes a lot of sense. Is the Inca selling something or is revealed selling an Inca? Who knows.

Carol Prater wants me to: forward this to Mark
I’ve got news, Mark doesn’t want it either, whatever it is.

Aurelio Covington offers: your future, night lamp
I’m happy with my present, night lamp, thank you.

I know these aren’t real people, but whoever sends them wants us to think they’re pals of ours who have important things to share with us, like selling Incas and night lamps.

Give me a break. Do these things really garner ‘business’ or are they just gateways to computer viruses so that remote controlled hackers can get their rocks off knowing someone’s computer files have been corrupted by their worms?

Either way, I wish there was a way to really combat them, but I guess like chain letters and campaign fliers, we’re stuck with them forever.

Have you got the Fever?

Looking for excerpts? I’ll be posting a bushel of them over at the Amber Heat Readers Group today for the Gimme Fever Friday chat. [This is a loop chat, not a live chat, so you can participate at your leisure.]

Stop by for a chance to win a free download of one of my Amber Quill titles:

Conjured In Flames [A Fallen Angel Reviews Recommended Read!]
Renna’s Sacrifice [My 2005 Amber Heat Wave Winner]
Ken’Ja [A 1st and 2nd Quarter Best Seller at Amber Quill]
Wolfbane: Aspect of the Wolf [Road to Romance calls it a Smashing Hit]
More Than a Fantasy [Five Stars from Fallen Angel Reviews!]

See you there!

The Wisdom of Yogurt

At least that’s what I thought the title of the book was. I just got one of those book club mailers, the mini-catalogs where they offer you a ton of books for some ridiculously low price that you can’t pass up and usually – I can’t pass it up. While paging through and trying to decide if I could find 5 books I wanted for an incredible $0.40 each [and yes, I can!] I saw what I thought was a book titled, The Wisdom of Yogurt. I was hooked already. I figured that would go great with my Zen Clam [Post from December 26, 2005].

I’ve always wondered about Yogurt, you see. The cultures in yogurt are alive [best not to dwell on that thought] and therefore certainly have the potential to be self-aware. [definitely best not to dwell on that!] But consider for a moment if yogurt does have the ability to impart wisdom, or at least possesses some type of wisdom that we, as mere humans, can unlock or tap into in some way. Wouldn’t that be worth reading about?

Too bad my brain doesn’t process what my eyes see as well as it should. The actual title of the book is The Wisdom of YOGA. Which of course makes more sense, I suppose. I must admit, I’m a little disappointed. I was about to open up a container of Yoplait from the fridge and ask it the meaning of life. Oh well. I guess I’ll stick to the Comfort of Mac and Cheese and the Passion of Chocolate.

Gimme Fever Friday

Is it hot and steamy where you live? If not, drop by the Amber Heat Readers group this Friday, July 7th, for a chat with some of Amber Quill’s hottest authors.

There will be contests, prizes, and sizzling excerpts so don’t be late! You might even get to take home a hunk of your very own.

In other news – I’m braggin’ today:

I’ve got book ends! Ken’ja and Wolfsbane are #1 and #10 respectively on Amber Quill’s best seller list at Fictionwise.

Ken’ja is also #7 on the overall Erotica list. And it’s #9 on the June bestseller list at Amber Heat.

Now that I’m done braggin’ I’d better actually get some work done or I won’t be taking spots on best seller lists for long.

Happy Fourth!

I hope everyone is enjoying the holiday, or just the day in general if you're somewhere where this is just a regular day.

We're not big party goers here, so after a family swim this morning and a light lunch, we've spent the day just bumming around. I added 3000 words to Rogue Theta bringing my total up to 20,000. I'm getting there.

Off to make dinner and then curl up with a good book.

Catch a falling Star...

I’m posting over at Star Crossed today about what inspires me to write science fiction. Drop by and say hello, Nano-Nano, Live Long and Prosper, or whatever serves as a greeting on your world.

Character Excerpt - Jordan Dane

For my second character excerpt I chose Jordan Dane, the hero from Flight of the Valkyrie, my latest science fiction release from New Concepts Publishing.

Jordan started out as a military man, a fighter pilot in a war that was winding down. He gave up fighting, but remained in service to the Galactic Protectorate as a courier in the justice system, where his job became transporting criminals held in stasis to the prison ships where they would await trial for their crimes.

Jordan likes things quite, orderly and efficient. He never expects trouble, but he’s always ready for it. The last thing he could ever imagine is developing feelings for one of the criminals he transports, but from the moment he sees Sienna McCade he begins to wonder about the raven-haired beauty who looks so innocent.

Unlike most of my male leads, Jordan isn’t exactly an Alpha male. He’s more of a Beta with Alpha tendencies. This scene shows him crossing the gap between Alpha and Beta.


FLIGHT OF THE VALKYRIE – JORDAN DANE

Ready for work, Sienna headed for the door where she nearly collided with Jordan. His borrowed shirt hung from one hand, and he held a spear as tall as himself in the other. Greenish mud streaked the bare skin of his chest and upper arms. He looked at her with mild embarrassment.

“What’s this?” she asked, fighting to suppress the laughter that replaced her earlier frustration. Despite the earthy smell of the mud and his wide-eyed stare, he made a virile picture. She would never have imagined him as the fearless warrior type, but he certainly looked the part at the moment.

“I’ve been invited to join the hunting party,” he said, and she detected a faint hint of pride in his voice. She bit her lower lip and gave him a lingering once over.

“Where’s your loincloth?” she asked innocently and found it a monumental effort not to grin at him.

“I’m not the loincloth type,” he responded with great seriousness as he moved past her to drop his shirt on the pallet. “They’re letting me stick to trousers.”

“Ah,” Sienna sighed. She turned and followed his movements with her eyes. She let her gaze travel across the burnished skin of his back and down to the purplish bruise that extended around his wound. “Are you sure it’s a good idea?” she asked. “Aren’t you still in pain?”

He turned back toward her. “Not really.”

She placed her hands on her hips and remained firmly planted between Jordan and the door. “That’s not a definitive no.”

“I’m fine,” he insisted, then added quietly, “Thanks to you.”

Sienna caught his somber glance. Obviously it bothered him that a criminal had saved his life.
“I’ve been in worse shape than this and flown combat,” he said with a shrug. “Besides, we’re hunting sloth. How difficult could that be?”

“You saw the size of the pit they catch them in,” she said. “And that’s for the small ones, remember? What if you come across a big one?”

“I’ll hang back and let the experienced hunters do the heroic stuff.”

“Heroic? Shoving spears in an animal that’s trapped in a pit is heroic in what way, exactly?”

Jordan groaned. “You’re one of them, too.”

“One of what?”

“An animal activist.”

“As a matter of fact, I am.” Sienna thought of the gonars and her fight with the government of Kyrasau to protect them from over hunting and blood sports. It troubled her for a moment that she couldn’t recall if she had won that battle or not.

“These people live off the land,” Jordan said. “They have to hunt to survive.”

“I understand that. I just don’t think there’s anything heroic about it. Nor is there anything heroic about exerting yourself before you’re fully healed. We don’t have enough derma-gel to cover any more major wounds.”

“I appreciate your concern, but I heard this all from Tia already,” he admitted as he tested the balance of his borrowed spear.

“You did?”

“Yes. She lectured me, so you don’t have to.”

Sienna regarded him skeptically. “And you’re going anyway?”

“Yes.”

She rolled her eyes and flung herself out of his path. “Have a good time,” she said. “If any of your internal organs should fall out, don’t come to me.” She resisted the urge to shake her finger at him. “I put you back together once by pure luck, I don’t think I can do it again.”

“You’re overreacting,” he called as he stalked past her, spear in hand. “I’ll be fine.”

* * *

To find out more about Flight of the Valkyrie visit:
http://www.newconceptspublishing.com/flightofthevalkyrie.htm

We Have A Winner!

The Winner of my Soul Jar Celebration Contest is:


Tara Woods

The correct answer to the question: What book is Bree Sennett reading in the excerpt from The Soul Jar is: Conjured in Flames. [A shameless plug, I know.]

Congratulations, Tara! Please e-mail me where you would like your download sent. jcolgan@newoa.com

Thank you to everyone who participated! Stay tuned for more contests to come.

Last Day for My Contest!

If you haven't entered my Soul Jar celebration contest, you still have time! Go to my website for details and e-mail me!

http://www.newoa.com/jcolgan/contest.htm

Excerpt Friday will be postponed until Sunday this week! [Or actually Sunday is technically next week...whatever.]

The best laid plans...

Why is it those trips to the emergency room always seem to interrupt dinner?

I had high hopes last night to knock out a couple more pages of Rogue Theta. I'm over 17,000 words now and still miles to go before I sleep, as it were. But the universe had other plans.

For some still unknown reason, my son broke out in hives yesterday. They started as a slight rash on his cheek and spread all over despite a quick dose of Benadryl. Fortunately they didn't itch, but the temperature of his skin where the rash was spiked up to 102 degrees. Off we went to the pediatric ER where they asked the typical questions about food, allergies, detergents and exposure to strange plants.

None of the above applied - although we're wondering if maybe an infusion of watermelon might be the cause. He's a watermelon-aholic and when there's some in the house, he wants it with every meal.

After two doses of medication he's doing better, though he's a bit cranky and I don't blame him. His reward for being 'sick' is that his video game limit is suspended for the day since he's not supposed to be doing anything strenuous for forty-eight hours. For an eight year old of course that means he gets to crash on the couch and show up in the kitchen for meals. For me, nothing strenuous means I let the checker at the supermarket pack my groceries and we'll eat off paper plates until I have enough energy to load the dishwasher. Ah well. While he dozes between Pokemon matches, maybe I can get some writing done.

Just sitting around in my feather boa eating bon-bons

Over at Romancing the Blog, Jordan Summers’s recent post sparked a discussion about comments people make to writers about writing. Some people think it’s so easy – one day they’ll sit down and write that book they’ve been meaning to write, just like that, as though it’s a weekend project. Others assume once you’ve published that you are automatically rich and famous and therefore don’t need a day job and you can give away copies of your books for free to anyone you’ve ever met.

Among the comments, someone posted that it wasn’t just writers who had to deal with gross misconceptions about their chosen profession, and that’s true. We haven’t cornered the market on annoying questions and strange assumptions, but we certainly get our fair share of doozies.

I’ve mentioned before the penchant for people to assume I write children’s books. There’s also the alarming idea that anyone who writes erotica must have a sordid past and thinks about nothing but sex all day. Sometimes just being a romance writer puts you in that category, as fellow Diva Shelli Stevens found out recently.

While I agree it’s annoying to have people jump to conclusions about EVERYTHING, since it seems to happen to all of us, it may be a function of society or of the human brain to want to feel that we ‘know’ something about everything. We live in a world in love with stereotypes and that’s how we define things. All doctors are rich. All blondes are dumb. All women love shoes. I suppose that makes it hard to blame people for looking for the commonality in everything they see. It doesn’t make it any less irritating, but I think it explains it somewhat.

Here’s some of the jobs I’ve done and the annoying questions I’ve gotten about each.

FotoMat sales associate: “Do you look at everyone’s pictures when you’re bored?”
Well, I didn’t, but let’s just say it wasn’t unheard of.

Secretary at Mercedes-Benz: “Do you get a company car?”
No, they don’t give $40,000 cars to entry-level employees. [I did get to borrow one for a day, though and that was cool.]

Self-employed medical transcriptionist: “I want to make a little money in my spare time, can you help get me started?”
No. This isn’t something you do when you have an hour or two to kill. It’s a time consuming, often difficult job that requires some level of training. Take a class like I did and learn how to grow your own business.

Stay at home mom: “What do you do all day?”
What don’t I do?

“Don’t you get bored?”
I haven’t been bored since 1995. It sounds nice. Can you give me some pointers on how to get started?

What things have you done, besides writing of course, that have gotten you bizarre or stereotypical questions?


In Other NEWS!

Two Voices has been reviewed! Check out this wonderful review at RealBook.com Book Club.

The Life Aquatic

No, this has nothing to do with the Bill Murray movie. I just realized today, when my son and I returned from a jaunt to the pet store to buy goldfish food and returned with yet another water dwelling creature to add to our glass [bowl] menagerie, that with the exception of the dog, all our pets are aquatic.

The new addition, a male Betta aptly named 'Bob' by my son, brings the total up to seven. Three brine shrimp [who were named for characters from Hamtaro - though I can't remember which ones at the moment], two goldfish [Cosmo and Wanda], the frog [Jiminy as in the Cricket] and now Bob.

They all live in the den, which is, incidently, Saber's bedroom and my office. This way I can keep an eye on everybody. LOL-it just occured to me, I could tell people I work in an office of nine, including myself.

Originally I wanted the goldfish as sort of a distraction, and company for those gloomy winter days when I was chained to my computer writing. I figured having some fish on my desk would give me something to focus on besides the computer screen now and then. The fish sit behind me on the book case now - [too many wires under the desk. DH wasn't comfortable with two gallons of water sitting so close to the computer and laser printer and I don't blame him.] The brine shrimp are on the desk, though. They live in a biosphere, completely enclosed. They require no outside maintenance, which makes them wonderful pets. They zip around their dinosaur-egg sized enclosure eating algae and having 'meetings.' [Sometimes all three of them hang out together in the same spot, heads together, looking like they're having a caucus of some sort.] I suspect they're discussing disestablishmentarianism.

The frog got a place of honor next to the goldfish tank. He spends much of his day now hiding under the large seashell my daughter gave him to serve as his bed. Bob has been placed between the frog and the fish in his own nifty little Betta habitat [$9.99 complete with gravel, plastic plant, food and water conditioner.] He seems rather happy for a Betta.

In between writing, I swivel my chair around to give everyone the 'Mom eyeball' - is everyone still alive? Playing nice? Eating their fish flakes or pellets? Good. Then I can get back to work. Fortunately, there's now no more room on the book case for any other 'habitats' so the 'office' is full.

I'm just glad I don't have to provide retirement plans for everyone.

Can't we do something fun?

Here's a picture of one the flowers I actually grew in my windowbox! I'm so happy they're starting to bloom!

This was the question my eight year old asked me today. This is weekday #2 of Summer Vacation.

It's going to be a long, long summer.

I figured after that, the day would turn out to be largely unproductive, but I managed to do a little bit of editing and then, after dinner, I hid in the basement and knocked out 20 pages on Rogue Theta. I'm so glad I got over the hump between the end of the short story I'd already written and the beginning of the 'rest' of the story I still have to write. I don't feel quite as useless as I did this afternoon.

If I have to get the major portion of my work done at night for the summer, then so be it. As long as I can turn this into a full length novel by the end of August, I think I'll be content. It's not going to be easy, but I'm determined to make the most of this opporutnity to get my foot in the door at EC.