Wanna Superhero Makeover??

LKap is off today...okay, sometimes she and I are always off, thus the scary place to be in our minds. So...thought you might enjoy this.

I saw this over on The Plotmonkeys, who found it on Diana Peterfreund’s blog, and decided to make myself a hero.

You’ve noticed I’m sure that the body is perfect and trust me; this superwoman doesn’t clean or cook. Nope, with that wip, she says what she wants and it’s done.

Heehee, okay, so only in L’s house does that sort of happen (not the whip part). Her HHB is wonderful at bringing her just what she wants. Come to think of it, Science Guy isn’t too bad at that either. Except he’s pretty limited on anything to do with cooking.

Anyway, now that I’ve rambled around, here’s me the superhero. And you can click here to make your own.



Not sure what my name is, so have some fun and leave my superhero name in the comments.

Hugs,
Vicki

Summer Time In the City...

…and the weather is hot. Sunny Florida is just that. Sunny, hot, and humid. But I love it. I lived here all of my life, so I guess you could say I’m mostly used to it. I say mostly because high 90’s is pretty hard to be outside in for a long time.

Some of my best memories as a child were the times my parents would wake us up early in the morning and we’d grabbed our swimsuits and head to the beach. My dad would cook breakfast on the grill and mom would have sandwiches made for lunch. We’d spend the entire day playing in the water, building sandcastles, and trying to catch starfish.

Of course I would be covered in sunscreen because I burnt very easy. One year we stayed at the beach for a month and when everyone else was outside in the middle of the day, I would sit on the porch and read. Nancy Drew was my friend.

The coolest thing I remember doing during that trip was sleeping on the beach several nights. My brothers and sister and cousins (it was a really big house), spread out blankets and stared at the night sky. Back then the stars were easy to see and it was amazing. I can’t imagine doing that today or allowing my kids (even though they’re grown and I guess I couldn’t actually stop them), to do that. Back then we didn’t worry about crime like today.

We didn’t have a pool, but we had sprinklers and I can’t remember what it was called, but it was this swirling thing that when you connected the hose to it, it would stand up straight and swirl water around. And of course, who can forget the slip-n-slide.

We ran the neighborhood all day long and after dinner it would be time to sit outside with the family and play cards. My house always had family and friends over so it was full and there was lots to do.

Okay, one last memory. Homemade ice cream. Not the electric kind either. Hand turned, for seemed like hours. Your arm and shoulder would be so tired you weren’t sure you could make another turn. Then mom would say it ready, you can stop. Falling back on your bottom you sat and waited for the best ice cream in the world.

What about you? What summer memories are the best for you? Do you still do any of them?

WW’s and PD’s,
Vicki

Happy Memorial Day

It's another holiday. Most of us are off from work enjoying the three day weekend.


Most of you guys know I don't do political blog post and this isn't one either. But I do feel the need to say thank you to the many that I don't know and will never meet and to the few I do know and admire.

Before the day begins I have to take a moment and thank all of our military past, present, and future, who give of themselves daily. And although our country isn't perfect, it's a land I love and am thankful to live in. Thank you men and women who strive to protect us and give us freedom.




I hope everyone has a fun filled day. Me? We're having a little backyard family picnic.



Hugs to all my friends out there, known in person or through the blog world.

Vicki

A New Winner for

It time to choose a new winner for Angie Fox's The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers.

Since the first winner didn't contact me at several attempts, the number randomizer's little engine began to purr. She likes eating the numbers and tossing out one to become the winner. :)

So...the winner of the book and a tee-shirt from Angie (and another surprise from me), is...


Liza!!! WhooHoo!! Confetti flows, the cyber cork is popped, and celebrations abounds.

Liza, you have until next Friday to contact me at vickilanewrites@yahoo.com with your snail mail addy. Please put in the subject Winner Angie Fox

Hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend and check back next week to see what's happening. You never know what it could be.

Smiles,
Vicki

Rain, Rain Go Away…..

Yes we live in Florida and yes we need the rain desperately, but when you’re a human barometer this is not fun at all.

And yes, that would be me.

The other day we had bands of storms, starting at 7pm and lasting throughout the next day. I felt every one of the shifts in pressure (including the ones at 3am), via a headache. And not just any headache, but a migraine, that rocked my world. A half an hour before a band came through my head felt like it would split in two. And trust me, there were times I wish it would have, just so I could have relief. And let's not mention how this affects my mood....argggg. I would need a good excuse like, oh...Edward or rather Jacob - to live in the rainiest state in the country. :-)

Problem here is…I’ll get over this in a day or so and then the sunshine will be a different kind of pressure. Yep, you guessed it... another headache.

Okay enough of my ranting ramble ;-)

On the bright side, maybe my next career I’m supposed to be a weather person. ;-)

Hope all are doing well – How is the weather where you are?

Hugs

LKap

Could You Be A Vampire?

Since I just finish the Twilight Series (major great series I might add), I thought we'd take a quiz to see if we could be vampires. :)

Here's mine and the link for you to take it as well.

You Could Be a Vampire... If You Had To

Like most people, the thought of being a vampire has crossed your mind. But you're not sure if you'd do it, even if you could. Living forever doesn't sound half bad, if you could live forever with the people you love the most. But do vampires even love? And would the vampire version of you even be you? It's all too much to contemplate. Luckily, the chances of you ever becoming a vampire are astronomically low. What you would like best about being a vampire: Living forever What you would like least about being a vampire: Blood stained teeth

Could You Be a Vampire?

So, could you be a vampire? Would you want to be one? If you've read the books, what which one was your favorite? And last, but certainly not least, are you team Jacob or team Edward?

WW's and PD's,
Vicki

We Have a House...Maybe

We interrupt this blog post for a very important announcement. BonnieH, we haven’t heard from you on winning Angie Fox’s book.

If we don’t hear from you by Friday another winner will be chosen. Please email me at vickilanewrites@yahoo.com with your snail mail addy and please put Winner Angie Fox in the subject line.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled post, or ramble as it the case today.



Hey everyone,

I know I've been MIA for the past week and not around too much the week before that as well. And yes, life has been draining to say the least. Work, house hunting, (which equals some disappointment), and becoming the president of my local chapter.

Oh yeah, better add in the family here too. They like to have their time on occasion. :)
I can't say that work is better yet. It's not. Hopefully in the next few weeks decisions will be made so that I'm not running around trying to do way too many jobs at the same time in what I used to think was plenty of time to be at work. Yeah, I know, run on sentence. But that's how my work life is right now...run on and on.

Back to the house. We found one. We love it. We want it. The bank owns it. No really they do. Not in a bank owns it until you pay it off way. So...they countered our offer, we accepted their counter and everything should be just grand. Really, is it ever just grand.

We were approved back in January when we started this process for way more than this house cost. But it's now May and although we're more than approved, I found out yesterday (while at work), that they needed all the paperwork again. And they wanted it yesterday (while I was at work).

Scrambling? Oh yeah. Science Guy went to the Realtors while I scanned everything in from me at the office and emailed it. Which meant I had to pull bank records, taxes, and pay info.
Now we wait until Wednesday for the final final acceptance of our offer. In the meantime they can still show the house if they want too. I so don't want strangers walking around in what I've now come to believe as my house.

So fingers crossed, okay maybe toes, we need our fingers to write. :) And hopefully next week, I'll it will be an absolute.

What about you? Have you been through the house hunting mill? Get your hopes up and then realize it might not happen? How do you handle it while you're waiting?

Writing Wishes and Plotting Dreams,
Vicki

AND THE WINNER IS........

flchen1

You are the winner of S.J. Day's Eve of Darkness

Please contact Vicki (blueeyes4u1112@yahoo.com) or I (lauriekap@yahoo.com) within before next Sunday the 24th - if we don't hear from you by this date a new winner will be choosen - to get your prize
Send one of us your snail mail info via emai

Congrats
LKap

S.J. Day Book Giveaway….

CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED


We had the pleasure of meeting Sylvia Day/S.J. Day/Livia Dare at RT in Orlando this year. No not three different people, just one amazing writer, with three different pseudonyms.

I have a hard time keeping it straight, I have no idea how she does it. But let me tell you, as I helped set up her books at the Allure Party, she didn’t have one bit of trouble talking about or signing all those books, under all those names. What a lady, I’m just sayin’.

Her new book written under S.J. Day is Eve of Darkness, which just released on April 28th. To show our support for such an amazing person and writer we want to give you get a chance to win book 1 in this compelling new Marked series.

Click on the names above to find more from Sylvia, and to read an Exerpt of this book, or the others within the series, click on the book title. ENJOY!!!!!





EVE OF DARKNESS

Cursed by God, hunted by demons, desired by Cain and Abel... All in a day's work.
For Evangeline Hollis, a long-ago fling with a bad boy from the wrong side of the tracks just became a disaster of biblical proportions. One night with a leather-clad man of mystery has led to a divine punishment: the Mark of Cain.
Thrust into a world where sinners are drafted to kill demons, Eve knows her learning curve must be short. A longtime agnostic, she begrudgingly maneuvers through a celestial bureaucracy where she is a valuable but ill-treated pawn. She's also become the latest point of contention in the oldest case of sibling rivalry in history...
But she'll worry about all that later. Right now she's more concerned with learning to kill while staying alive. And saving the soul she'd never quite believed she had.


Leave a comment all week for your chance to win.

Hugs
Xoxo
LKap

Happy Mother's Day and We Have a Winner

Happy Mother's Day to everyone and if you're also a mom to your furry friends, here's a pic for you too. Totally saw this on the Wicked Writers loop (greeneyes sent it) and for those of us with our furry babies it's so fitting. My daughter actually sent me a card from my two little girls. :) So cute. I loved it.

Now for the winner of Angie Fox's latest release The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers is...

Drum role please...


BonnieH!! WhooHoo! Send me your email and your snail mail addy to vickilanewrites@yahoo.com. Please put in the subject Winner - The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers.

We'd love to have you give us your review once you've read the book.

Hope everyone has a great Sunday and Mother's Day.

WW's and PD's,

Vicki

Angie's in the House and We've Got A Surprise

We’ve got Angie Fox in the house today. Oh Yeah!!! I’m really excited to have her with us. And there’s a surprise. Don’t you love surprises? I do. :) I’m giving away her book, but Angie is giving away one of her extremely sought after T-shirts. I love this shirt. Angie had it on at RT and trust me the demons knew she’d kick their butts.

Here's the front:



And here's the back:



So, instead of choosing the winner today, I’m going to extend it through Sunday. That’s right. Sunday a winner will be randomly chosen to win a copy of the book (OMG, you’re going to love it), and a T-shirt. Yay!!!

Now for the interview.

Needless to say I was having serious demon slayer withdrawals waiting for The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers (again, you can read the excerpt by clicking the link).

Okay, if you’re ready, here goes:

Me: How did you get started writing?

Angie: I got started writing because I love reading. I think if you read a lot of books, somewhere along the line you get this feeling like, “I could do that.” I acted on it and voila – eight years and three unpublished manuscripts later – my first book sold.

Me: Are you a plotter or a pantser?

Angie: Just call me a plantser. I like to know where the story is going, but not too much because when I’m having fun, that’s when the story itself takes on a lot more energy.

With The Accidental Demon Slayer, I started with a kernel of an idea that amused me. What if a straight laced preschool teacher suddenly learns she’s a demon slayer? And what if she has to learn about her powers on the run from a fifth level demon? Ohhh and wouldn’t it be fun if she’s running with her long-lost Grandma’s gang of geriatric biker witches?

With The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers, I started with an offhand joke I made at the end of The Accidental Demon Slayer. Lizzie is just about to kiss her man when she’s interrupted and told she and the gang have to head to Las Vegas to save her long lost uncle from marrying a succubus. When I went to write the next book, I thought – why not?

I find if I start with an interesting conflict and let the story evolve based on the characters, things will start to roll in the right direction. And I know the story was working when I can’t wait to get back to the keyboard every day.


Me: You’re an amazing writer, but I do have a couple of burning must know questions. Do you have pets? And do they talk to you?

Angie: Pirate the dog is based on my experiences with a poodle named Beau. He’s gone now, and I haven’t been able to bring myself to get another dog yet, but Beau had this way of talking without saying a word. I knew what he was thinking. And he was quite a smart aleck.


Me: Okay, I know in the first book Lizzie is a pre-school teacher who has no idea she’s a demon slayer until her grandmother rides up on a Harley. Did you have to do a lot of research for the biker witches?

Angie: Loads, actually. First off, the biker witches ride Harleys, and I’d never been on a motorcycle before. Second, I had to figure out how to get Pirate the dog onto a bike.

I went online and learned about the Biker Dogs Motorcycle Club, made up exclusively of Harley riders and their dogs. I ended up meeting some of them, along with a few other bikers along the way. These bikers were so great to me. They hoisted me onto the back of their Harleys (with dogs in tow). They took me to biker rallies (note to self: don’t wear pink). And they laughed at me when I tried to put my helmet on backwards (I still say I was distracted by the Pomeranian wearing a tiny pair of motorcycle glasses). After a few outings with my new biker friends, I was able to make my geriatric biker witch characters a lot more realistic. And I took home some great pictures, too.


Me: What’s your favorite part of the job?

Angie: Meeting the authors who have been on my keeper shelves for years. I’ve always been an avid reader and it’s just such a kick to sit on panels with authors I admire. I do tend to turn into a fan girl – Laurell K Hamilton probably thinks I’m a bit off – but I’m just thrilled to meet her and others like her.


Me: With the release of your second book have you found it easier or harder when you sit in front of the computer? What has changed for you now that you are under actual deadlines from an editor?

Angie: It was harder to write The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers because I had to get over the idea that people were actually going to read it. When I wrote The Accidental Demon Slayer, I wanted to have it published, but I didn’t know if anyone would buy it. Then suddenly, less than a year later, that book was a New York Times bestseller.

It was a complete shift for me to think that not only would some people read that next book, a lot of people might. I had to force myself to get over it by telling myself that I could toss any draft at the end of the day. No guilt. Just toss. Knowing that, I was able to relax, have fun and tell the story.


Me: Are you planning on more books for this series? Please say yes (picture Vicki begging here).

Angie: Yes, there will be five books total in this series. Right now, I’m writing book 3, which is tentatively titled A Tale of Two Demon Slayers. In it, Lizzie and the gang travel to Greece where they learn more about Dimitri’s past and a threat that could destroy them all. I’m having a ball with it because it’s so much fun to explore Dimitri’s home, his family - and who knew he had such a juicy past? I’m also working on a voodoo novella for an anthology with Katie MacAlister.

Me: 5 Books. I am so happy. Can you tell us a little about your latest release?

Angie: In this latest book, Lizzie is determined, once and for all, to master her powers. In fact, she’s going to write the book on demon slaying. So she begins a journal, The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers, where she records what she’s learning, starting with newfound discoveries about demons, gargoyles and a particularly mischievous live spell named Beanie who likes to fill Lizzie’s boots with pumpkin spice latte.

Things get dicey when the demons get their hooks in Dimitri. He’s much darker and sexier in this book. And we introduce a new character, Max, who is half demon and 100% yummy.


Me: If you weren’t an author and could be anything you wanted to be, what would it be and why?

Angie: I’d love to own a bookstore. I have this fantasy of being paid to read all day. Real bookstore owners assure me that they actually have to do inventory, clean the store, etc., but in my fantasy I have shirtless men handling all of that.

Me: Any advice for those of us who are aspiring writers and parting words for our readers?

Angie: I think you need to give yourself the permission and the freedom to make the story as big as you can. I had a lot of trouble with this one initially, because I didn’t know what it meant. I had to push my writing to a level I had never gone to before. My characters had to take bigger chances, have more to risk and lose. It’s easy to say, but a hard thing for a writer to do. It’s a vulnerable, risky place to be. I knew my story was big enough to sell when instead of ending my writing sessions thinking, “I hope that’s good enough to impress an editor.” I ended them thinking, “No. I didn’t not just write that. I did not just make my character defend herself with a toilet brush and a can of Purple Prairie Clover air freshener.”

Me: It has been fabulous having you here, but then you know I’m a huge fan. Thank you so much for stopping by and visiting with us.

Okay everyone, it’s your turn. Any questions for Angie? Leave your comments and/or questions to be included in the drawing for this week’s theme.


WW's and PD's,
Vicki

Talking Dogs.........

So in the theme of Angie's new release I decided to ramble on dogs.

I honestly don't think talking dogs is so far fetched. Remember I have 5 of them and each one is unique an different.

I have one "Skeeter", who is a Yorkie, that talks to me all the time. Usually it's to tell on his brothers, but trust me I swear I understand him. Of course he does make it easy by pacing to where the action is taking place and running back to me, barking the entire time.

Then there's crazy dog or "Spanky", who is my American Bulldog - who I believe is a demon hunter, because I haven't the slightest idea what he barks at in the yard. He can obviously see it, I haven't a clue, hense Demon Slayer Crazy dog.

My island dog "Calypso", whom I rescued while vacationing in St. Maartin is a yodeler and will only do that when he wants your attention. Other than that he's the quietest dog I own.

And as I sit here I realize that my boys, all of the above, are my talkative ones. My girls, Trixie and Penny, are chihuahua's and don't get me wrong, they bark. But usually only when someone new is in the house, the cat is walking by them, there's someone walking by the house. Like typical women they talk just to talk.

Any great dog stories from you?

Angie Fox's The Dangerous Book For Demon Slayers - Are you One?

It’s Here!!! Finally. The wait is well worth it, but OMG, it was so hard to wait for Angie Fox’s newest release to hit the shelves.

The Accidental Demon Slayer was amazing and The Dangerous book for Demon Slayers is even better.

Here’s the backcover blurb:

Seriously. Why does a new hair dryer have a twelve-page how-to manual, but when it comes to ancient demon-fighting hocus-pocus, my biker witch granny gives me just half a dozen switch stars and a rah-rah speech? Oh, and a talking terrier, but that’s another story. It’s not like my job as a preschool teacher prepared me for this kind of thing.

So I’ve decided to write my own manual, The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers, because no one tells me anything. Dimitri, my “protector,” may be one stud of a shape-shifting griffin, but he always thinks he can handle everything by himself. Only he’s no match for the soul-stealing succubi taking over Las Vegas. If I can’t figure out how to save him—and Sin City—there’ll be hell to pay.

You can go here to read an excerpt. And then (oh yes, there is more), go here to take the quiz and find out what part demon slayer you are. :)

Leave your comments here and in any other post this week to be entered into the drawing. On Friday, I’ll have the randomizer choose a winner for the book.

And who knows, Angie may just pop in during the week, so if you have a question leave it for her. Okay, and one more thing. Tell us what part demon slayer you are.

Here’s mine.

78%

Writing Wishes and Plotting Dreams,
Vicki