They wonder why

Welcome to my rant for the day.

One of my jobs for today was to set up a bunch of doctor's appointments - all the yearly checkups are due, pediatrician, dentists, eye doctors, orthodondist etc. So I dutifully made a list of six doctors and their phone numbers, got out my calendar and sat down with the phone to try and arrange dates that don't conflict with school, work, other appointments, vacations, etc.

Out of six phone calls, I was able to reach one office and actually make an appointment for my daughter and myself at the eye doctor. Everyone else had an excuse:

computers are down

office is closed today

office is closed this morning

too swamped to make appointments at this time

constant busy signal

It's ridiculous. You'd think since doctors are so deeply entrenched in the idea of having patients show up constantly and pay them money that they'd actually make sure someone was available to answer the phone and make appointments on a Monday morning.

If was just for me, I wouldn't even bother calling back, but as a Mom, I've got to keep my kids medical records current and make sure they're up to date with checkups. Sigh. You'd think they'd be a little more anxious to get people into the offices.

/rant, now back to our regularly scheduled blog

What's your weakness?

I'm over at Killer Chicks again, collecting data for national security purposes. Come spill your secrets to me.

Have you met Mary Sue?

I'm over at Killer Chicks today talking about Mary Sue. Come gossip with me.

The Big 1000

I just stopped by to write a post apologizing if I'd scared anyone with that Skynet report. I didn't want anyone to run screaming into the wilderness - just to be aware that killer robots from the future could very well be on their way here RIGHT NOW!

Anyway, I dropped in and realized that my next blog post would be my 1000th!

I can't believe I've written a thousand blog posts already. Do I really have that much to say? I must, I talk all the time, just usually to myself.

How many blog posts have you written? Did you celebrate any of them?

Just so you know...

On Tuesday, April 19, 2011 - Skynet became self aware.

It's all over but the crying now.

The slippery staircase

I'm talking about a weird dream I had over at Killer Chicks today. Come analyze my writer's brain.

The missing park

DS and I took a walk today to the local park and found it mssing. Apparently the torrential rains yesterday flooded the place. The turtles and the ducks were having a wonderful time, but the joggers, bikers and walkers were more than a little dismayed.

Flooded playground

Flooded walkway

Hopefully the water will recede soon. It's amazing what one day of rain can do. 

Poll: What's in your glass?

Come over to Killer Chicks and tell me if your glass is half full or half empty.

They say it's my birthday!

Mario and his mushroom friends stopped by last night for some cake. Today I'm going to listen to an audiobook on my iPod and work on a final round of pre-submission edits for my new novella.

I know I'm old - now that I have to check my birth certificate to make sure of my age. (And when I have to edit this post twice to fix the mistakes.)

Sneak Peek at Killer Chicks!

I'm over at Killer Chicks today, posting an excerpt from my upcoming Samhain release, INTERVIEW WITH A GARGOYLE. Come take a peek!

Naked Numbers - Self publishing experiment

I'm over at Killer Chicks today, with a totally naked body scan of my self-publishing numbers for the months of February and March. Come take a peek.

Size doesn't matter

Really, it doesn't. I got my birthday present early this year [git yer mind out of the gutter!] - It's an iPod Nano and it's an itty-bitty little thing, but it can hold like a gazillion songs. I've loaded up about 9 CDs worth of music and only dented the memory.

It looks big here, but it's really only a little bigger than a square inch. It has a clock, a pedometer, a radio and it can hold photos too. I never fail to be amazed by technology. If they make these things just a little bit smaller, we won't have to carry them at all, we can just swallow them. Talk about marching to your own inner drummer.

Now Playing: Kiss Me by New Found Glory [one of my favorites because there's an excellent Jack and Gwen fan video set to this song]

How big is yours? [Your MP3 player, that is?]

Naming Names

Today I'm over at Killer Chicks, naming dropping...come over and drop some names with me.

This hardly ever happens

Today is an unsusual day for me. Why?

Yesterday I finisihed a rough draft of a story I've been working on for...ever.

It's been a long time since I finished something. In fact quite a while since I wrote on a regular basis due to RL stress and constant other things needing to be done. The incessant hammer has finally let up and I've been able to sit down and concentrate. It's a great feeling and I've missed it.

So today is a 'cooling off' day. I'm leaving the draft alone for a bit so I can look at it with fresh eyes. Today I get to figure out what project I'm going to tackle next.

What do you do when you finish a draft? Do you celebrate? Do you let it cool? Do you dive right into edits or into a new project?

The curse of the fluffy subplot

I'm over at Killer Chicks today talking about fluff. Come visit!

Is it just me?

Or does the clock change knock you for a loop too?

I'm a long time arch enemy of Daylight Savings Time. I believe all it does is screw up everyone's circadian rhythm.

Now I look like this guy all day long. Though my fangs aren't quite as sharp.

Are you lucky enough to live somewhere they DON'T insist on messing with time twice a year?

Obsess with me

I've got my crystal ball out and I'm making predictions over at Killer Chicks today. Come look into the future with me.

One for the 'To Be Read' List

Fellow Romance Diva Paige Tyler has a new book out that I'm dying to read...

GHOST HUNTER
New from Ellora's Cave!
It's got a hunky hero, a kick-A** heroine and a serial killing ghost that's scary as hell! Not to mention a smokin' hot cover!


BLURB:

Almost getting murdered by a serial killer gives Cassidy Kincaide a new lease on life and convinces her to go ahead and tackle that ghost-hunter novel she's always wanted to write. So, she hooks up with a gorgeous paranormal investigator named Trace McCord to do some research.

Cassidy and Trace rub each other the wrong way right from the beginning, but they have to put aside their differences when the serial killer who attacked her comes back from the grave to continue his string of grisly murders, with her at the top of his list.

Trace has to keep Cassidy close to keep her safe, and as they try to stay one step ahead of the ghost while figuring out how to stop it, he and Cassidy end up in each other’s arms. While Trace has a whole list of reasons why he shouldn’t get involved with her, he finds himself falling in love with the beautiful blonde anyway. And even though Cassidy started out thinking he was a jerk, she learns that underneath the rough ghost hunter exterior, he’s just the man she’s always been looking for. Now, all they have to do, is live long enough to be together.


Read an Excerpt!
http://www.paigetylertheauthor.com/ExcerptGhostHunterforHire.html

Watch the Trailer!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7c6DgZ-fHs

Get your copy of GHOST HUNTER at Ellora's Cave!
http://www.jasminejade.com/p-9148-ghost-hunter.aspx


I'm off to hunt me up some ghosts!

The bugaboo

I'm back at Killer Chicks today, talking about the bugaboo and how it's worse than a zombie. Gear up and join me for some monster tackling.

What Gwen said

Come visit with me at Killer Chicks today as I interview debut YA author Gwen Hayes!