Ultimate RETCH of the WEEK

OK, I am OFFICIALLY GROSSED OUT.

Elijah just puked. I thought he swallowed a rubberband.

Then the rubber band grew longer...and longer...and started...

SQUIRMING! 

Eew, eew, eeeewwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!

As a nurse I've seen my share of worms, maggots, etc. But this is BEYOND GROSS!!!! Now I have the little critter doubled-bagged so I can drop it off at the vet's and beg him NOT to reopen in my presence or there'll be more vomit to clean up, thank you very much!

P.S. Beth bagged it for me. Don'tcha just LOVE that kid???

Monday Catch Up

1. I stayed off the computer all weekend which I think is going to be my rule from now on. Usually I stay off only on the weekends I work, but I got much more done by avoiding the internet. Of course that means I had 67 emails waiting...

2. I'm 2/3 of the way through my hundred-page revision. I already performed 2 character abortions and eliminated a whole storyline. Down to 118k (first draft-wise) with a goal of 90k (or less) by the time I finish.

3. HAY FEVER! I'm dying here. Nothing works except Benadryl which is one of the drugs we use at work to knock out-of-control people down a few notches. I'm drugged, drugged, drugged, and I haven't been this miserable in years! I'm leaving a trail of snot rags wherever I go.

4. Elijah caught kennel cough! Yes, he'd been vaccinated but only a month ago so I don't think he built up a full immunity. The vet says it's only a mild case. He's on antibiotics now, and hasn't coughed since Saturday. Or puked up his dinner because he was coughing so hard. BTW, it's amazing what you can find in a puppy's puke. Ever look? ;)

5. Doctor's appointment today that I'm not looking forward to because she's gonna yell at me...for a variety of reasons.

6. Grandma's 85th birthday was Saturday! We took her to Dairy Queen for her favorite hot fudge sundae (while Beth and I snarfed down fat-free ice cream sandwiches) and hubby had a chicken sandwich and a chocolate milkshake. Whoa, are Beth and I made of steel or what?!? BTW, after 3 years Grandma has a new roommate--and it's Miss Ruth! I hope it works out. It's one thing being best buddies with someone, and something else entirely when you're sharing one room. Her last roommate was mute, wheelchair-bound, and mostly out of the room, so Grandma essentially had the room to herself.

Friday 5

1. A few words about My Good and Evil Sides posted on Books By Their Cover.

2. I have the amazing good fortune to have an agent who doesn't mind digging her hands into my earlier drafts (thank you, Tina). With a 3-day weekend coming up I plan to get a lot done, never mind that the weather's gonna be beautiful and the house is a stay and we're out of food and my oil light's on and...

"Shut up, Jen."

"Thank you."

3. I love when you're asked by The Powers That Be what can be done to Make Improvements. And when you tell them what Seriously Needs To Be Done, they say Oh THAT Will Never Happen...and then they ask So What ELSE can be done? Um, I already told you, you said it ain't gonna happen, ain't nothing gonna change, so why continue the conversation?

4. Elijah rarely barks. However, when two Church Related Stalkers showed up this morning I seriously thought he'd go through the door. Good boy, Elijah! Have a cookie! Have three!

5. I'm watching John Carpenter's Village of the Damned. Kirstie Alley is thin. Chris Reeve can walk. Mark Hammil is young. Totally surreal!

Sneakin' a Peek

"Tagging up the walls, hanging with the homies..."




"Getting to know you, getting to know all about you.."

Oh, I wanna be a dog just for one day! Feed me, play with me, rub my belly, throw me treats. Siiigh.

Friday 10

1. Nothing like posting a link to an event and not mentioning the fact that 8:30 p.m. means EST! Sheesh.

2. Another nice blogger review. Thank you, Alea. :)

3. Toe is improving. Thank goodness for Crocs because the surgical shoe they gave me is a PIA (I don't think it fits and I'm too lazy to go back). I am, however, going back to work tomorrow. Seven a.m. I'm depressed just thinking about it.

4. Elijah is sleeping through the night a bit better. But the only way to get him to do that is to wake him up and take him outside later at night--10 or 11 when I am home, or 12:30ish when I get home from work. He's trying to figure out door knobs now. He likes licking worms frozen to the sidewalk in the morning. He peed on the floor for no reason at all the other day after being essentially continent for 3 weeks or so. I know you shouldn't "shriek" at dogs--but he did stop peeing as soon as he heard me and finished up outside. What a good boy!

5. My agent likes the way my paranormal's going and gave me a few good suggestions. Even with my Latvian/Bulgarian/Albanian/whatever keyboard, I've already had a chance to get to work on it. Yay, BEACHMO!

6. I knocked my jaw out of whack in my sleep last night. Yeah, I swear. I have awful TMJ and my bite was off--it felt like biting down on a marble on one side of my mouth. That is so, so, sooo not right. But it popped back into place. I blame this entirely on my own orthodontist who I'm sure received his training in eastern Europe during WWII. I believe he also made keyboards in his spare time.

7. Did I mention my dog eats frozen worms? Oh, yeah, I did--number 4. I think it's significant enough to mention again. Particularly when he scrapes them up with his teeth and tries to bring them into the house.

8. Straaaaange movie, a musical that should NOT have been a musical. But I was riveted: Dancer in the Dark. Lately, though, it doesn't take much to entertain me.

9. Yes, I am reading high fantasy (don't pass out) because I'm currently addicted to the Legend of the Seeker show on Saturday nights:



(Pam? Holly? You still standing?)

10. For those of you I don't see in the chat tonight, have a great weekend! I won't be on again till Monday, though I may drop a Twitter or two. Bye!

Steph Su Interview

Check out STEPH SU READS for an interview with yours truly, and for more great interviews from other authors.

Great blog, Steph. Thank you!

Operation Teen Book Drop

Today, April 16, is Support Teen Literature Day and OPERATION TEEN BOOK DROP! READERGIRLZ: "Inciting all to participate in Operation TBD in its drive to spur reading on a national scale, readergirlz invites teens and YA authors to leave a book in a public place on April 16th. Participants can download bookplates to insert into the books they'll leave behind. The TBD Post-Op Party is open to everyone at the rgz blog (http://readergirlz.blogspot.com) at 6:00 PM Pacific/9:00 PM Eastern. Come rock the drop in 2009!" Thanks to ReaderGirlZ, and GuysLitWire, and YALSA for promoting teen literature. NOW GO DROP A BOOK! ;)

i guess i should have explained what happened to my foot. no, i wasn't stomped on by a psychopath. i grabbed the phone and headed out of the room to talk in private and whacked my foot on a table leg on the way out. i might add that this is about the fourteenth times i've broken that same toe. i might also add that although it is indeed fractured, it's not nearly as bad as the last time this happened--when that same toe stuck out at a NINETY DEGREE ANGLE. in those first few seconds when your endorphins kick in and you are actually pain free--you know, before you starting screaming and swearing and sobbing, etc.--i grasped that toe and snapped it right back into place. hubby nearly barfed.

word to the wise--do NOT relinquish your laptop to anyone unless you know they already have the needed part in hand. after waiting 5 days i finally demanded it back. they said when the keyboard comes in they will bring it to the house and install it here. if they don't so it by friday i'm getting my deposit back and going elsewhere. i understand that they had to order the part but they should have told me this first and given me the option of checking out other places. this is fully my fault because when they said if could have it back the next day of they have the part, all i heard was NEXT DAY. however, they had the model number and everything and should have checked their stock. of course when they brought it back, the guy said, oh i fixed it--you don't need a new keyboard after all. so i check it out when they hand it over, and no, it's still broken. HELLO???

notice i am not naming names.  yet.

i think i'm an idiot for not demanding my deposit back. but they keep swearing to me that the keyboard is on the way.

i wonder if companies realize how much power bloggers have. how, if we're not satisfied with the service, it's so easy to post about it.

and name names when we want to.
 

Starred Review for Say the Word!

I'm happy to be able to share a STARRED REVIEW from Booklist for SAY THE WORD:

Issue: April 1, 2009

"Ten years ago, Shawna’s mom Penny came out, moved out, and never looked back. For 10 years Shawna aspired to be everything her protective, perfectionist father Jack wanted her to be, distancing herself asmuch as possible from the shame that Penny’s abandonment caused her. But at 17, her mom’s death pulls Shawna into contact with Penny’s partner Fran, and their sons, Arye, 17, and Schmule, 10. Jack, who legally remains Penny’s next-of-kin, financially ruins Fran’s family, and then goes after Schmule...  Shawna finds herself questioning her allegiances, but is powerless in the shadow of her domineering father. The more Shawna tries to connect with Schmule and to make amends with Fran and Arye, the more vicious Jack becomes, leaving Shawna alone to deal with the dawning realization that Schmule is a great danger to himself.

"There are many issues at play in this powerful and compelling novel—gay rights, acceptance, shame, first love, domestic violence, harassment,depression—all swirling around Shawna, whose thoughts and emotions are not always politically correct, but are always genuine. This sensitive and heart-wrenching story slowly unfolds into a gripping read featuring realistically flawed characters who undergo genuine growth." — Heather Booth

Thank you, Caroline, for sending this to me!

He's a Big Boy Now!

I dropped Elijah off this morning at doggy day care for a trial visit, so what do I do?

I come home and watch him on the webcam, of all things:







I know, right?

No, seriously...I'm hard at work!

Book Signing at Joseph-Beth

Well, I finally I got the pictures to cooperate (no nose hairs here!) and here are a few of them. You can now put a face to some of the LJers:



Pam (eldheni on LJ) and me on arrival at Joseph-Beth Booksellers



Cool cake, eh?



A better picture!



Calondra, the event coordinator who was an absolute doll!


Reading



Signing books for friends (Jan and Noreen)...



...and relatives (Molly and baby-to-be)



Miss (mela_lyn) and hubby


Leisa (fandoria) and family



Kathy, (a Columbus librarian who made the trip up) Pamela, and her daughter Ashley



Ladyeye and Brian_Ohio on LJ



Flowers for Tante from Corey who shared the day!

Warrior of Worry (LJ)came too (Yay, Karen!) and I don't seem to have a pic, but she was there, i promise! :)