Nina Mamone

Personality Quiz

2008-04-14T21:47:00.001-07:00

Just returned from NEC, which was lovely. But am fried. The proof - am mainlining the song "Montego Bay." So. Here's are some fun quizes dealing with your favorite TV shows. I took the Supernatural one (of course), but pick your flavor.

Which Supernatural Character Are You?

More on Supernatural. Created by BuddyTV

Beauty and the Geek

2008-04-04T18:21:00.001-07:00

Beauty and the Geek is the only reality show I watch, and it is so worth it. At first I was horrified at how...um...brainless those poor girls seemed, but after a while I came to the conclusion (perhaps false) that they simply have no confidence in their intelligence. Therefore, when they are put on the spot and asked questions that make them feel self conscious about that lack they totally blank out on the answer. They take refuge in a giggle and an answer pulled out of thin air.

Last week I was scarred for life when it came time for two couples to go to elimation and it became clear that either Jim or Matt was going go. Matt is just plain adorable, but what makes me want to cry big tears is that Jim didn't make it to the makeover show. Srsly. I would love to see what he looks like under all that hair. He's already nice, but I think he's probably handsome as well. Sigh. Now I'll never know.

The Hotness Is Not Lost!

2008-03-26T17:07:00.000-07:00

I'm baaaaack. And to ease us all into the routine of things, here's the uber-hotness from Lost. The only way it could have been better was if Sawyer was on that ship as well.

For Your Amusement

2008-03-09T18:48:00.001-07:00

Anybody who's browsed through a bookstore knows how important the first page - heck, the first paragrah - of a book can be. It can be the difference between a wrinkled nose of disgust, or an Oh-I-must-buy-this-now face of delight. I believe a beginning must give the tone of the book, engage the reader with your character, and give some idea of plot; however, knowing this and getting it done are two different things. All I've determined up to this point in my career is when I haven't done it.

If you don't know why a beginning is a big deal, hie on over to the BookEnds Literary Agency Blog where the brave Jessica Faust and Kim Lionetti are taking 100 word starts, divided by genre, and picking their favorites. Go into one of the categories - go on, I dare you - and sift through the hundred or so of the offered beginnings. Current is Contemperary Romance. I've been following for a couple of weeks now and I never realized how quickly something can go from Oh, look at this...to, ew, stinky. I'm amazed at what some of these writers are able to accomplish in 100 words, and I'm so glad BookEnds did this exercise, because it reminds me of what a good beginning is. Miles vary, of course, but I don't think it's description, or something that is just there for shock value.

Just because I can, and because I'll be out for a week or two with family stuff, I'm submitting two of my beginnings for your perusal. One is...uh...slow, and one is from "Hard to Guard." Feel free to discuss amongst yourselves.

Number 1

A wyrm is missing. Check your charges. For those AWOL, meeting at seventeen hundred hours.

Connor McKenna read the message displayed on the pager cupped in his callused palm, his fingers clenching momentarily around the plastic. The pavement under his feet reflected the heat of the May sun up his jean clad legs.
The mingling of car exhaust, pollen and blacktop almost eclipsed the aroma of roasted meat and yeast wafting from the hot dog cart parked beside him.

Suppressing a sigh, Connor shoved the beeper deep into his pocket. "Looks like we’re up."

Beside him, his best friend Cisco Martin scowled into his own little black box. "That’s just super."
Number 2
A discordant noise resonated through the air over the practice field. Startled, Eclestes jerked his head around in the direction of the library and its ancient clock tower. Was it ten o’clock already? Damnation!

With a muffled curse, he handed off the arrows to one of his men and strode quickly towards the castle. He was supposed to be standing in the throne room tucked safely away behind his father’s many advisors, not sweating in the archery field. He was late and there would be hell to pay.
“Eclestes!”

The hail came from the stables. He turned to see his older brother, Samiel, cutting through the yard, his hair lank with sweat and stable grime.

Is That Viggo?

2008-02-25T05:49:00.000-08:00

Last night I was watching the Oscars, and lo, what should I see on the red carpet but this -

How adorable is he? Eastern Promises, indeed. And if you could see the frock coat he's wearing you would know he's given new meaning to term distinguished. What I've learned is that I think he's hot no matter how much or how little facial hair he's sporting, and that's good to know.

To cast your own vote on the sexiness, go here.

Wait...grammar can be sexy?

2008-02-20T18:00:00.000-08:00

Had a birthday. Hurray. (maybe you can't read sarcasm in that sentence so I'll spell it out for you.) Hurray *sarcasm*.

As a reverse birthday present, here is a link to Thamiris' Sexed Up Grammar Guide. I love this site. I didn't know grammar could be so darned entertaining. If you like erotica, you will enjoy this site. If you like grammar, you will enjoy this site. If you liked the tv show Xena or Hercules, and grammar, and erotica, you will think you have died and gone to heaven.

Disclaimer* I think you can tell by the title that adult language is used at Thamiris' Sexed Up Grammar Guide. Just so you know.

You know what? After reading that again, I'm smiling. Odysseys and Ecstasy: Grammar totally made my week, y'all.

Revelations

2008-02-13T12:05:00.000-08:00

Snow day. Ugh.

I'd post a picture but it's too depressing. Two feet of snow on the back deck.

But, hey, this is funny. This past weekend I found out I am ten times less cool than I thought I was. I was called on my pronunciation of the word "blog." Twice. Because I've been saying bee-log, not blog (that rhymes with slog.) And I've heard it pronounced correctly, I know I have. My brain, however, is dyslexic when it comes to this term and to me, blog and b-log, are interchangable. Ugh. At this point, I don't think it's correctable.

We had playdoh out today - every single can we own. As we cleaned up pink squishy blobs from the floor, my daughter says - "What do you do when you have to put a trash can in a trash can?"

Are you an Evil Overlord?

2008-02-06T19:11:00.000-08:00

Ugh. Let's get a new post so my wrongness can be hidden. Not that I'm not pleased. I've even been accused of jinxing the poor Patriots. Hmmm, if that's true, I wonder if this talent translates to other sports/awards venues. Like, can I say Viggo Mortensen absolutely has no chance of winning an Oscar? I would love to be wrong about that.

Now, as a writer, I understand the urge to have a villain monologuing on their cleverness. It's called exposition, people. And yet, at times, when such a thing occurs it defies logic and turns your villain from a mastermind genius into Charlie from "Flowers for Algernon."

To avoid that, here's the top ten items from Peter's Evil Overlord list.

The Top 100 Things I'd Do If I Ever Became An Evil Overlord

1. My Legions of Terror will have helmets with clear plexiglass visors, not face-concealing ones.

2. My ventilation ducts will be too small to crawl through.

3. My noble half-brother whose throne I usurped will be killed, not kept anonymously imprisoned in a forgotten cell of my dungeon.

4. Shooting is not too good for my enemies.

5. The artifact which is the source of my power will not be kept on the Mountain of Despair beyond the River of Fire guarded by the Dragons of Eternity. It will be in my safe-deposit box. The same applies to the object which is my one weakness.

6. I will not gloat over my enemies' predicament before killing them.

7. When I've captured my adversary and he says, "Look, before you kill me, will you at least tell me what this is all about?" I'll say, "No." and shoot him. No, on second thought I'll shoot him then say "No."

8. After I kidnap the beautiful princess, we will be married immediately in a quiet civil ceremony, not a lavish spectacle in three weeks' time during which the final phase of my plan will be carried out.

9. I will not include a self-destruct mechanism unless absolutely necessary. If it is necessary, it will not be a large red button labelled "Danger: Do Not Push". The big red button marked "Do Not Push" will instead trigger a spray of bullets on anyone stupid enough to disregard it. Similarly, the ON/OFF switch will not clearly be labelled as such.

10. I will not interrogate my enemies in the inner sanctum -- a small hotel well outside my borders will work just as well.

(To see all 100 click here)

This Evil Overlord List is Copyright 1996-1997 by Peter Anspach. If you enjoy it, feel free to pass it along or post it anywhere, provided that (1) it is not altered in any way, and (2) this copyright notice is attached.

Superbowl - Or How The Patriots Cut a Swathe Through History

2008-02-03T15:22:00.000-08:00

Yeah, it's early, and I may have to change the title, but I have a bad feeling about this. I say a bad feeling, because despite having a husband who is right now colored head to toe in Patriot red, blue and silver, I, on the other hand, am not all about them. Mainly because I'm sick of them winning. I always love underdogs. Nobody likes an unbeatable juggernaut, yo.

And that's just what the Superbowl was missing, by the way, a red carpet decorated by Ryan Seacrest. Thank goodness they've rectified that oversight. Maybe next year they can give away goody bags.

Oh! Kickoff. Nirvana.

All Kinds Of Awesome

2008-01-29T20:01:00.000-08:00

I just finished Extreme Danger by Shannon Mckenna, and that book was all kinds of awesome. Shannon Mckenna is one of my favorite authors, so much so that I went the day the book was released and plunked down $14.00 for it. The author has an MO which includes damaged alpha heroes, extreme danger (see what I did there?), hot sex, angry sex, and a knack for description that can be poetic at times. Ms. Mckenna describes an orgasm as "a glittering sugar rush" which is not only creative, as writing should be and not always is, but rings true. Her books are not for the faint of heart, as she doesn't shy away from emotionally and physically tortorous situations. This one dealt with organ harvesting, and none of the sections dealing with that were pretty. Not easy, but at the end I was wrung out as only a good book can do.

For those wanting to see the video, which I strongly advise against, email me and I'll send you the link. The most important thing I learned from the whole fan/music video exercise? Make sure you really, really, really love the song you use, and the show, because you are about to hear the song a thousand times, and comb through hours of episodes to find just the right moment. Darn it, was it episode 2.14 where actor/actress gasped in horror and turned their face to the left while the camera panned in for a really emotional shot? But I really loved it and am currently working on a second one. Another unforeseen bonus is that I come out of Windows Movie Maker in excellent writing frame of mind. I mean, just in a focused, take no prisoners, cut pages and pages if I have to frame of mind.

Torchwood Captain Jack&Captain John

2008-01-21T18:59:00.000-08:00

Think you might like M/M? Well, this is a chance for you to find out. This is a fan video of the BBC series Torchwood. It contains James Marsters, for you Buffy fans out there, and is totally what everyone saw on TV, so it's not that graphic. Warning: contains male kissing and fighting to some kickass music.

Hot Ticket

2008-01-18T18:55:00.000-08:00

K A Mitchell's newest is out this week - Hot Ticket. Ms. Mitchell is able to take ordinary young men and make you care for them without them being werewolves or cowboys. Nice trappings - I gravitate towards them myself - but I admire Ms. Mitchell's ability to tell a contemporary romance that's simply about two people connecting. That's all Cade and Elliott are - regular guys. I mean, one is a waiter and the other a travel agent - you can't get more regular than that. I really enjoyed this story, and my only comment would be - write faster, write longer. Please.

Elliot Graham doesn’t make mistakes. So when he ends up serving community service at a recycling plant for inadvertently buying stolen property, he’s certain it’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to him. That is, until he finds tickets to a sold-out concert in the trash, tickets that immediately disappear into the pocket of the hottest—and most exasperating—guy he’s ever met.

Cade McKuen has never been one to follow society’s expectations. That’s why he’s serving time sorting trash for destroying his cheating ex-lover’s car rather than apologize. Finding those tickets is an unexpected bonus to an otherwise smelly sentence. But when cute, sputtering Elliot claims a share, Cade decides community service might be the best thing that’s happened to him all year.

Cade is determined to keep Elliot off balance and tap into the passion he senses is hidden under that buttoned-down exterior. Elliot is fascinated by Cade’s outrageous way of thumbing his nose at the world.

Opposites attract, but can passion be the ticket to something lasting?

Dragon Partee!

2008-01-12T09:18:00.000-08:00

Paranormal Romance is spotlighting Dragons this month. Hop on over for a long list of Dragon themed romances, interviews, and other special features.

The entire household is gearing up for the New England Patriot's game tonight. I have to root for whoever they're playing against just to be contrary. Srsly, how many games can they win? Though Tom Brady and Randy Moss are cute together.

DH's attention will be focused solely on the game from start to finish. We've had an invite to watch with friends, but he's refused on the grounds that he doesn't want to be distracted. Heh.

Video Madness

2008-01-04T09:38:00.000-08:00

The video is done. Mostly. The question is, do I keep the craziness to myself or post it for everyone to see? Hmmm. The part of me that's able to write love scenes and send it out for general consumption says, "Post the darn thing. You know you want to."

I also think I should attend film school so I can direct and write my own book trailers. Hire actors. Steady cams. Wardrobe. Lighting. I am out of control.

Favorite Friday

2008-01-04T09:36:00.000-08:00

Look At You - Screaming Trees

This song makes my stomach hurt in the best way possible. How come I've never heard of this band before?

Distraction

2007-12-30T20:07:00.000-08:00

The writing has taken a back seat this week while I give into the craziness of my muse and make a youtube music video. Why, you ask? Because in my weaker moments I'm a crazy fangirl. The learning curve was steep, but I am three minutes into a four minute song, and it ROCKS!

I've decided that film editing is a lot like writing. You cut and splice the scenes so they fit into the space provided and don't put people to sleep. You make sure you have transitions, and that everything flows together to make, well, a story. I believe I might be good at this (she says humbly.) And that it is good training for book trailers, which will be my next hurdle. I'm slowing down at it though. Books don't get written in Windows Movie Maker.

Tomorrow is poker night, and I luuurve poker. We'll be just down the street, spending the evening with good friends, people who make me laugh a lot. Can't ask for more than that. Have a safe and Happy New Year.

Detroit...My Kind Of Town

2007-12-28T12:27:00.000-08:00

Hi, everyone. Okay, so have you survived the Holiday Season? I didn't think I would make it. Honestly. We flew to West Virginia to spend Xmas, and it takes two airplane rides to get there. I hate, hate, hate flying. There are not enough hates to put in front of the word to convey how I feel. When I was younger I thought flying was a hoot, but as I've gotten older it's hit me how keeping a plane in the air is literally fighting the laws of physics. It doesn't help when my husband, who used to build airplane engines, says as we board, "Man, this plane is old."

However, there was one part of the trip that surprised me pleasantly. I love, love, love the Detroit Airport. How can I love an airport? I don't know. But we spent a good half hour in front of the dancing water fountain, where by some marvel of engineering they have the water streams jump like fish (or tadpoles, as the kid said) and seem to retract on themselves. Okay, on second thought, I've seen people squirt water through their cupped hands in much the same fashion, but still. I was impressed. And the Light Tunnel in between the concourses? That tunnel...man was it cool. Music that's a cross between easy listening and whales crying, light panels on the walls and ceilings morphing from crimson red, to indigo blue, to aqua green with the mood of the music. Very Logan's Run.

Aaaaand, I won't post a link here, but once again proving you can find anything at youtube, if you go there and type in Detroit Airport you can find videos of both the fountain (not so great) and the tunnel (good).

Buy The World A Coke

2007-12-18T21:06:00.000-08:00

There's enough stress running rampant right now to beat the Xmas spirit right out of me, but this is an antidote. It fills me with happy ;)

A word on pacing

2007-12-12T18:55:00.000-08:00

I don't have much to say about pacing, except either I'm really good at it, or really terrible. But Hilary Sares has something to say at the Brava Authors website. Don't skip the comments, yo!

Popular Wednesdays

2007-12-12T16:35:00.000-08:00

Um...is it okay for me to whip out a Christmas theme? I did wait until almost the middle of December.

Merry Christmas From The Family - Robert Earl Keene. This song...I cannot listen to it enough.

Love, Actually - This may not be a Christmas movie, but I feel like it is. So many good things: Bill Nighy, Emma Thompson...Colin - the guy who goes to America absolutely certain his English accent will get him laid. Spoiler - it does.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas - Classic

Gift Cards - Only for good places - like bookstores, and Starbucks. Sometimes I wonder if gift cards are like paying someone to write a term paper for you - you get a gift without all the gruntwork. Conceivably, you could stop at one store and do all your shopping for the entire season. I'm not that bad, but I would certainly rather by watching Supernatural than hazarding the soulless aisles of a superstore wondering if my father-in-law needs a new knife sharpener, no! a digital frame, no! maybe these DVDs? Are gift cards the easy way out of Christmas shopping?Maybe...but it's still a win/win for the giver and the givee.

Scarves - Ooooh, pretty.

It's My Xmas Party, And I'll Cry If I Want To

2007-12-09T17:25:00.000-08:00

We had a huge weekend planned - a birthday party, my RWA chapter's party, my husband's company Xmas party, and a family Xmas party that should count as a reunion because there's usually at least 50 people there. Honestly, I didn't know if I could stand that much partying. Even so, I did not want to be sidelined by a cold, one that had reached the coughing, hacking, laryngitis stage. Still, perfect reason to sit on the sofa with my laptop and football going on the TV. ;)

It seems that I can write through colds and flus, all kinds of stuff. But put an energetic child in the room and it's all over. I know my husband doesn't get it, but when I'm writing, my mind goes to a different place and I'm able to ignore a sniffly nose, or even a headache. If I can write, how come I can't vacuum? Well, probably because I like writing.

So everyone out there, just a reminder--it's cold season. Please be careful when you're doing this.

Popular Wednesdays

2007-12-05T15:23:00.000-08:00

Ha! I made it. But this week shall be down and dirty. My favorite things this week are:

Supernatural - Season 1 and 2 DVDs.

Couponz - so I can purchase Supernatural 1 & 2 DVDs without so much guilt.

Xmas - So I can justify purchase as gift to myself. Because I deserve it. Really.

Spirit, Stallion of the Cimarron - we've watched about every animated movie ever made when I checked this out at the library. My daughter loves it. Spirit is about horses, and unlike other animated movies about animals, they don't talk to each other using words. They act like real horses, and express themselves with their body language, ears, tail--and, yeah, big emo eyes. But there's not much dialogue in it, hardly thirty lines, and she had to do a lot of work to follow what was going on. It wasn't just spoon fed to her--she had to pay attention, to interpret. I couldn't believe she was watching it. But then I check on her and she's sniffling. Because watching the horses emote their sadness made her sad for them. Aw. Sniff.

When in doubt, go deep

2007-12-02T10:51:00.000-08:00

1 Starbucks - My hubby enabled my habit today. He took the kid to run errands and very considerately brought my favorite - and when I say considerate I mean it. He thinks Starbucks is a complete waste of money, akin to throwing it into the trash (I never said it wasn't.) I'm so glad I had my 4 year old memorize my order. You think I'm kidding.

Big shout out to my genius CP Celeste. She pointed out something that rolls like an eighteen wheeler across all my wips. What did she say? Get into some Deep POV, sistah! So simple I should have been able to see it, but I didn't. All I could do was wring my hands and say, "Something's not right!" Suddenly I know what to do in every single place I was having trouble. Thanks, Celeste. Now we're even for the tag line excision ;)

It Ain't Christmas...

2007-11-29T18:19:00.000-08:00

Began the annual gorging on Christmas season specials with a brand new offering--Shrek the Halls. In it, Donkey says something very profound, as Donkey often does. "Christmas is all about big fights. My mama used to always say, Christmas ain't Christmas till somebody cries."

Ain't it the truth.

For some reason, this time of year can bring out big emotions. I can think of only a few Christmases where there hasn't been one crisis or another, especially in the extended family--aunts, uncles, children, dogs, cat people who hate dogs, dog people who wish the cat people would just shut up and ignore the dogs, etc. Oh, come on. It can't just be my family.

Popular Wednes...okay, Thursday

2007-11-29T16:20:00.000-08:00

Yesterday - 1 Starbucks
Today - 1 Starbucks

Let's go through this in the most meaningful way possible, shall we?

My favorite things this week are--

Supernatural - Newly converted and loving it. Lame special effects? Who cares? This is about the Sam and Dean relationship, their backstory and angst. One brother who has devoted his life to killing monsters and who never wants to do anything else. Another brother who just wants to be normal, but is continually sucked back into the lifestyle as he cannot abandon his brother. Oh, it hurts so good. Those boys are too young for me, but I so don't care. I love them so much I am reading episode recaps on...

Television Without Pity - better known as Snarks R Us. Their Lost recaps make me pee my pants. As I read the SPN recaps, and find out things I might want to see live, I go to...

youtube - where wonderful people have posted from all the episodes. So I watch SPN, and favorite clips, and wish there was someone around who understood my love for the boys, and the joy I feel when I watch the Supernatural Drinking Game, and the clip montage running to the "I Killed Kenny" Southpark song. Alas, there is only one...and she is to blame for my current obsession.

Is it any wonder I don't get anything done?

Special shout-out to snowcap brownies at Starbucks, and to Bones, who this week gave all the Booth/Brennan fans a gift when they kissed under the mistletoe. The kiss? Very tame, lips pressed together like they were kissing their brother/sister. The result--Booth ends up with Brennan's gum. Very hilarious.

Perfectionist Nina vs. Practical Nina

2007-11-26T10:04:00.000-08:00

This Past Weekend - 2 trips to Starbucks (on the same day)
Christmas Tree? - Check
Christmas panic setting in? - Check
Golden Heart panic waltzing with Christmas panic? - Check

Since I know I have a few other writers that read this, I had some writerly questions for you that all now seem stoopid. Maybe we can expound on the theme of working on a book after the thrill is gone. I have a book like that--my baby, my opus, the best idea evah!--and yet now I want to toss it out the window and watch the pages flutter away in the breeze. My brilliant CP, Celeste, says finish it! Get on with your life! Oh, how I want to.

Or perhaps I just need to read an article on buckling down and finishing the icky, revising part of the whole book writing process.

Which way to go -- Perfectionist or Practical?

It's raining 300 men

2007-11-22T15:08:00.001-08:00

All my favorite parts without the ick.

Popular Wednesdays

2007-11-21T09:09:00.000-08:00

This week I'm thankful for....

James Blunt - It started with Goodbye My Lover, and it's still going strong with Same Mistake.

Ravel's Bolero - Maybe it will get me in the mood...to write love scenes. What did you think I meant?

Private Practice - This show wants you to swallow a lot to believe the set up--Really? Doctors working together in a commune-like setting? Addison's really not rotting away in private practice when she could be saving a bazillion lives in a huge hospital every week?--but they made up for it last week with two love scenes and a switch at the end that totally had me thinking they had it going on. Anybody else for Taye Diggs at the end? It's still on my TIVO.

300 - I watched it for the rippling abs and got so much more. The reviews I read made it sound like a flashy, but in the end, empty piece, something you wouldn't remember the next day. When I wasn't covering my eyes from spurting arteries, I thought there was a great story in there. None of the emotion was overdone (emotion, I said, I'm not getting into the other parts). As a romantic at heart, it would take a lot for me to send Leonidas and the rest of the 300 to their death without feeling there had to be another way. But I bought the whole thing, and even cheered them on. Even his queen making a deal in exchange for her body seemed noble, when it could easily have gone the other way. Interspersed as it was with scenes of hardship from the front lines, it showed her doing her part for the battle, sacrificing as her husband sacrificed, and carrying wounds to show for it. I believed, and I want to thank the movie makers for that.

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In my family, as everyone's gotten older and spread out across the country, it's not easy to get together for all the big holidays. Thanksgiving has fallen by the wayside, and we focus on Christmas. That's fine with me. On Thursday morning, my daughter and I will be watching the parade cuddled up on the sofa while my husband starts the turkey. Later, we'll watch football, in our cozy home filled with the smells of turkey, cranberries and pumpkin, and later go over to some friends to have dessert.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone.

The good times, the bad times

2007-11-19T13:26:00.000-08:00

The past week has been one of the best in a while for ideas and getting past blockages in my writing. I'd like to think I was due, but I know it doesn't work that way. A great idea comes, and I get a day of thinking, "I'm brilliant!' Sigh. I love those days--they're the whole reason I write.

Tomorrow J L Langley's With Caution comes out at Samhain Publishing. I'd link it, but they move it after it comes out. I'm debating whether I can wait until tomorrow night to read it, or whether I'm going to stay up and read it tonight. I am so excited for this book. Hmmmm. Decided. If it's out by midnight, I'm buying it. Self discipline is for sissies!

Virgin Slave, Barbarian King

2007-11-15T16:04:00.000-08:00

Saw this when I was flipping through this month's Romantic Times. If you don't know what you're getting when you buy this one, you are beyond help.

Popular Wednesday

2007-11-14T13:34:00.000-08:00

Some of my favorite things this week:

Band of Gold by Freda Payne - I'd forgotten I like this song until I heard it on the radio - suh-weet!

Don't Look Back In Anger by Oasis - Thanks to the folks at the TV show Chuck for playing this an episode ago. I believe it's circa the 90s, but I'd never heard it before. Now it lives on my ipod.

Has anyone been to see Fred Claus? I'd love to take my daughter, but it's rated PG and I don't know if it's appropriate for a 4 year old. If you like, leave a comment, or email me at ninamamone [at] yahoo.com.

And to wrap it up, my favorite quote from last week's 30 Rock. NBC intern Kenneth is handing out cupcake shaped invites to his yearly party, which normally everyone avoids like the plague. Tracy starts a rumour that rapper T. I. will be there, and the rumour rapidly snowballs with everyone excited to attend. Liz is not happy.~

Lemon: "People are going to show up expecting all this great stuff and they're going to be disappointed and angry."

Tracy: "Just like Colonial Williamsburg."

Cranberries Anyone?

2007-11-12T16:14:00.000-08:00

Every year around Thanksgiving the stores fill up with bags of fresh cranberries. Ever wonder what to do with them, especially since a lot of people would rather have the stuff that comes out of the can? My grandmother puts out both to keep everyone happy, but there's just something about the sliced cylinder that feels all homey.

I found this recipe for fresh cranberries, and my daughter loves them. Sour and sweet, and with a satisfying crunch when you pop one with your teeth. I'd like to think they're healthy (but I doubt it). Still, they have to be better than a chocolate bar, right? Hmmm. That says a lot, doesn't it, that I'm measuring the healthfulness of food by holding it up against a chocolate bar?

Sugared Cranberries

1 bag of fresh cranberries
2 cups of sugar
2 cups of water
Superfine sugar

Pick over the cranberries and rinse them well. In a saucepan, dissolve the 2 cups of sugar in the water. When the sugar water starts to boil, remove from the heat and add the cranberries. Transfer entire contests of saucepan to a container and leave in the refrigerator overnight. The next day, drain the cranberries, then coat them with superfine sugar (if you'd rather be practical and less fancy, regular sugar works, too.) Spread them on a cookie sheet and let dry. If you do this in the morning, they are usually done by the afternoon.

And, hey, if you don't like the taste, they are sparkly and decorative. You can sprinkle them on your turkey platter or dessert tray for presentation purposes.

When writing to the market is a good thing

2007-11-09T18:20:00.000-08:00

Check out my reading list. It's not very long because I'm on a mission this month to get my Golden Heart entry ready and to finish Cisco's story, which has been too long coming. So not a lot of reading on my own unless it's irresistible (and thankfully, I've resisted most.) Don't worry, Cisco's done, he's just in revision land and had to go on hiatus while I dealt with a contest final and The Book That Wouldn't Die. (A quick plug since it's my blog. Cisco is the sequel to Hard To Guard from Samhain Publishing.)

But what savvy readers will notice is that most of the entries are regarding M/M erotica. Shocking, isn't it? I know there's some of you are out there right now perplexed and wondering what on earth I see in the M/M erotica. My husband agrees with you. Well, I've been thinking about it and I've figured it out. Right now, I'm keeping that information to myself. But I love, love, love M/M, and I love the thread I've found that keeps me up to date on all the good M/M authors. Feel free to send me recommended reads--I'm voracious when I'm on a roll.

So when I get my plate cleared, I'm starting one. I've been told I write men better than women anyway. I may try to plot this one, since I've realized that revisions can be bugger-all if you have to replace half of the original draft because you weren't smart enough to envision the entire character arc. Wish me luck!