guess what

I got an xbox for Christmas! woo! It was courtesy of the husband and actually intended for all of us, but I got.to install the present, therefore it is mine.

The boy (8 yrs old) was quite impressed with my tennis skills. I have spent a fair amount of time playing tennis on the Wii. The experience was similar. Even though it was a kinect game, I held a controller in my hand because, well, it’s tennis. Youre supposed to hold a racket.

Aforementioned boy is freakishly good at darts, I mean like bullseyes pretty much whenever he feels like getting them. Is there a Tiger Woods of professional darts? I mean like young, promising Tiger, not old, skeezy Tiger. I'm thinking of putting my boy to work. It’s high time he started pulling his weight.

The girl (14) keeps beating me at fitness games, except for a wallbreaker activity. We both like Dance Central 2, which sometimes makes me feel uncoordinated and sort of lame, but at least the music is totally awesome.

Do not love the camera all the time. It insists on taking many pictures, all of which are unflattering. I look slightly large and not very sexy with my hands over my head and my pale belly hanging out from beneath my shirt. The girl agrees the camera is unflattering. The husband has indicated the camera is accurate. He will not be missed when the zombies come and I use him as bait.

Husband has not played the xbox much at all. I'm not sure why that is. Maybe he's afraid I'm right about the camera.

progress.

I wrote some words. I know I said I wouldn't write anything until I got at least one book out, but my notes were just sitting there looking at me all pitiful-like with puppy eyes. It's not a start of the next book though, not really, so all will be fine. I won't start and stop in the middle again. I promise I learned my lesson.

The piece I worked on is going to be a fiction freebie and companion to the next book I plan to write. The title right now is Llewyn's Faith. It's sort of a prologue to the story but not actually part of the book. Llewyn is the protagonist in prologue and an antagonist in the book. That's right, chew on that bit for a minute. Flavorful, yes?

The big project this week is the wyrm cover. I decided not to use the graphic I created initially or the second graphic, both of which I do actually like. I just decided to go with a more minimalist approach. It's going to be awesome. I won't give up all the details yet because surprises are fun, but I will say there is a skull involved.

I hope to finish by this weekend but the going is slow. I'll explain why once the thing is finished.

Still waiting to get the Wyrm book back from the editor. patiently. waiting.


Grouchy Moo does not wish to be bothered.

movie: Captain America: The First Avenger

This weekend movie selection was Captain America.

Here’s the description from IMDB: “After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending the USA's ideals.”

The thing I loved most about this movie was the fact that it was set during World War II. That really made it unique in a sea of superhero movies. The hair and the costumes were awesome.

There was a lot of action, of course, fighting and shooting and such. One scene in particular that had us cracking up was a motorcycle chase in a forest. There were several moments that were blatantly lifted from the Star Wars movie with the Ewoks . Was it homage or a lack of imagination? You can decide if you watch the movie.

Chris Evans was super hot as Captain America. He made for nice scenery. However, I thought his character lacked personality. The most interesting thing about him was extreme selflessness. I missed the antics and ego of Tony Stark in Iron Man.
Oh, that reminds me. One of the characters, a technology guy, named Howard Stark is actually supposed to be Tony Stark’s (Iron Man) father. See how it all links up? Yes.

Also worth noting is the guy who was Mr. Smith in the Matrix movies (Hugo Weaving) plays the bad guy. Love him.

Anyway, the bottom line: fun to watch despite incredibly boring protagonist. Captain America gets a B.

reading and a sunny day

Refraining from starting another book is really, really hard for me. I’m on break from AnnaBeth 2 and waiting for Wyrm to come back from the editor. I don't want another book in the mix. Three is too many for me to focus on anything properly. Not writing is like having an itch I can’t scratch.

But I’ll persevere. I’m reading The Hunger Games on kindle loan from the boss lady. I like it so far. It’s different from what I usually read, which is a good thing. I might read The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo next if I have time. The movie is out, and for some reason I feel compelled to read the book before I watch it. Though, I probably won’t catch it until it’s out on DVD.

If I hit the movies any time soon, it will be to see the new Sherlock Holmes.

Now as my early Christmas gift to you all, I am giving you a sunny day…desktop wallpaper, that is.

I took this picture at the Indianapolis Museum of Art garden. Click on the little picture to reach the big picture. By the way, this is the wallpaper that I am currently using on my laptop. We can match! Matchies!!!

a couple of things

First, the title voting results were unanimously in favor of the second title option for the wyrm book. Therefore, the title will be Lair of the White Wyrm.

Second up, I finally finished a project I've been planning for a while. The Fate Binds trilogy now has its very own online home. You can find pretty much everything AnnaBeth there. I've been calling it a media page. There's probably a better word for it.

I will probably do one for every book or series from here on out unless my schedule doesn't allow or a publisher picks me up and decides they want someone else to handle it.

Implementation took a lot of hours Saturday and Sunday. I got to use my new to me version of Dreamweaver, which went pretty smoothly. It works a lot like the old Dreamweaver from Macromedia I used before.

Anyway, the link is below. As always, feedback is welcome. I probably didn’t edit some of the content as well as I should have, so if you alert me to any typos, I shall bestow upon you 20 extra bonus points for awesomeness.

http://learyan.com/Documents/fatebindsHome.html

movie: Conan

This weekend movie selection was Conan.

I really wanted to like this movie.

But I didn’t.

The story is thus: Conan is from a tribe of Barbarian-type people. A bad guy is scouring the land for pieces of a magical mask and murders Conan’s father (played by Ron Perlman!!!!) for his piece. Conan sets out to avenge his father’s murder.

There was a lot of fighting and special effects. They were cool. Rose McGowan was all but unrecognizable in her role as the freaky, evil witch. Jason Momoa was super-hot. However, the story fell pretty flat. The character of Conan wasn't very interesting. Maybe that was part of the problem.

Conan gets a C-

Want to help me pick a book title?

ok, here's the deal. I'm having trouble deciding between two titles for the book I have coming out early next year, so I thought I toss out the options and see which people think is better.

The book is a modern story based on Bram Stoker's Lair of the White Worm.

I've been calling mine The White Wyrm. Note alternate worm spelling and lack of lair reference. But I've also considered Lair of the White Wyrm, which retains my spelling but adds back in the lair reference.

I like the simplicity of The White Wyrm title, but I'm not sure it carries the same drama Lair of the White Wyrm does. Hopefully this poll thingy works.

Which do you think is better?

book working

Sometimes I wish I was one of those self-published authors that can just slap any old thing up for sale without a lick of editing. I will say that most do not do that. Most independent authors understand the importance of editing.

But what freedom it would be to just keep plugging away with complete abandon. And then when you hit "the end" just start on the next one. How awesome would that be? Probably not very awesome for whoever tried to read the finished work.

I'm still editing. Can you tell? I'm daydreaming about the freedom of poor quality, so I'm guessing you probably can.

I keep assuring myself that the next readthru will be 100% better. That keeps me going on the long evening hours of transferring paper changes into the computer.

I’ve started making notes for the next book already and it’s increasingly difficult for me to not write it. I'm infatuated with a story that doesn't exist yet.

Seriously, I have a good ten pages of notes and illustrations are planned. I'm itching to start it. However, I will not write one word of the actual book until my current two projects are done, or at least one has been released. I’ll just continue making notes. Lots of notes.

movie: Hanna

Hanna is an AMAZING movie, seriously. It stars Saorise Ronan, who you may remember as playing Susie Salmon in The Lovely Bones.

The beginning of the story finds Hanna living in some freakishly remote and snowy location, in the uber crappiest cabin I think I’ve ever seen. The thing barely has walls. She and her father live alone and he teaches her important skills like how to kill people and how to speak various languages. They read books and she learns facts about animals, etc.

Hanna tells her dad that she’s ready to leave. He warns her that if they leave the crappy cabin, a woman named Marissa will hunt them and won’t stop until they’re both dead. She insists that she’s ready, then embarks on a mission to kill Marissa.

Hanna is a combination of super powerful fighter girl and vulnerable child. She knows a lot of facts, but really nothing about socializing, especially with kids her age. Her situation is heartbreaking at times. She doesn’t understand who she is really. However, she also has this hopeful, joyous quality that makes her endearing. Ronan did as great a job playing this part as she did in The Lovely Bones.

Hanna is awesome. It gets an A.

editing aargh

I’m hard at work editing the Devil manuscript. That thing is a mess. I know I said this before but I’m bouts to say it again. I will never again take time off in the middle of a rough draft to write something else. Ever.

I’ll fix it up pretty before anyone else sees it, but right now I have people having conversations twice, inconsistent details like who drove where and objects not where they’re supposed to be. Just…argh. Sometimes I really annoy myself.

You know what makes me feel better? Pictures of birds. Here are some cardinals from our back yard.

trailer time

Ello, lovelies! Trailer time.

The trailer is not yet listed. I have to wait until the book pops up on Barnes and Noble because the trailer indicates that the book is available there. I also have to wait to launch the series webpage because I don’t really want to have to go back and update the page right after I put it up. That would be annoying.

I did change the thumbnail image to one closer to the beginning of the trailer, but that change might not have taken effect when/if you view it.

Also, I realize the picture ratio is a little off from the standard youtube size. I’ll do a better job of fitting the next one.

movie: Bridesmaids

Bridesmaids is a comedy that proves women can do humor just as raunchy as men can. That’s what makes it awesome.

Kristen Wiig is Annie, a failed baker who works as a rather ineffective jewelry saleswoman. She’s broke and dating a jerk. Her best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), gets engaged and makes Annie her maid of honor. At the engagement party, Annie and another bridesmaid initiate this weird competition for Lillian’s attention that interferes with wedding plans.

Wiig and Rudolph (SNL alums) were quite awesome, but Melissa McCarthy (of Mike and Molly) as Megan all but stole their show. I don’t think her character could have been any stranger or farther from the one she plays on television. That girl can act.

Bridesmaids is very funny and a little chick-flicky but not annoyingly so. It gets an A-.

I’m going to go see if I can hunt down some pretzels. Tune in tomorrow for a blog only (temporarily) sneak peak at the Fate Binds Trilogy Trailer. That’s right. I finished it.

covers and additional thursday things

I have various items for this fine Thursday. First up, MacDowell Sisters and AnnaBeth has received its official makeover. The title is now Destined for Darkness. The trilogy is called Fate Binds, which is pretty appropriate for the story. Here is the new cover.



This has all been changed on amazon and smashwords. changes to other outlets are pending. they'll probably take a few weeks to update. Please note that Destined for Darkness is exactly the same book as MacDowell Sisters and AnnaBeth with minor changes to formatting.

Here is the cover for book 2, Devil in the Branch.



That should be out maybe next summer-ish, possibly spring but probably not.

Ok, next up is website talk. I'm working on a web page for the Fate Binds Trilogy. It will contain the series trailer, info about the books, buy links and bonus materials like author commentary pieces I've written and maybe the illustrations I did for MacDowell Sisters and AnnaBeth hardcover edition, which is no longer available.

I plan to launch that page when I have some more links to the book, or at least the one for Barnes and Noble. I'll announce it here when everything is up and running.

Thats it for now. I'm going to go attempt to finish the book series trailer.