A good trip to the bookstore

But is there such a thing as a bad trip?

Only when I'm broke!

Well, I took the day off, went and played and the cable company decided they would make an effort to ensure that I wasn't able to be here. I got home to discover the internet was down--across the state! Eeeeeks! Well, thankfully, it's back up for the moment, so I'm going to do my shopping success squee while I can.

Yesterday I hit Half Price Books. Wasn't really looking for much, but I had promised a trip to the boy, so we went. Well, they had a lot of recent stock on the floor in boxes, and looking through those, I found one of Jennifer Skully's books, who had just done a workshop this month at the Romance Divas. I totally scored with three of hers! So much for "not looking".

Then today was a trip to Borders. I was looking for a book for the man. Found it! LOL He's happy. And I found a few more that I just had to have... LOL

So I scored Jennifer's latest It Must Be Magic, and several others, including a couple of Divas' books. Y'know, gotta share the love. So all total I got 8 books this week. Please don't tell the man...

Have a great weekend!

I've been tagged!

Thanks to Ready for this.....Elle, Tawny, Dayna and Adelle, I've been tagged, and in
the fairness of war, must pass the torch at the end of this. So read, but proceed with
caution. You could be at the bottom!

 Here are the rules:

A. Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.

B. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.

C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I have two brothers, and I am the middle child.

2. I was in the National Honor Society for two years in High School.

3. I was fluent in Spanish for several years.

4. I wanted to be an international translator.

5. I only took one semester of accredited College.

6. I have a soft spot for real NY cheesecake.

7. I love the snow and cold weather.

8. My dad is a pool man and has been almost all of my life, however we've never owned a pool to call our own. OH! the injustice of it all!

Okay, now...As I rub my hands in evil glee, I tag Crystal, RG, Sonja, Cindy, Hannah, Tempest, Dana, AND Kissa! Don't hate me... much.. LOLOL

Your Travel Profile:

You Are Very Well Traveled in the Southern United States (62%) You Are Well Traveled in the Midwestern United States (50%) You Are Somewhat Well Traveled in the Western United States (21%) You Are Mostly Untraveled in Latin America (7%) You Are Untraveled in Africa (0%) You Are Untraveled in Asia (0%) You Are Untraveled in Australia (0%) You Are Untraveled in Canada (0%) You Are Untraveled in Eastern Europe (0%) You Are Untraveled in New Zealand (0%) You Are Untraveled in Scandinavia (0%) You Are Untraveled in Southern Europe (0%) You Are Untraveled in Western Europe (0%) You Are Untraveled in the Middle East (0%) You Are Untraveled in the Northeastern United States (0%) You Are Untraveled in the United Kingdom (0%)

How Well Traveled Are You?

Murphy's law

Well, if anything could happen to make me more worried about the expense of going to RWA, it was this.

I was going to the grocery store this evening, accelarating on the access, and I blew an oil hose. I'm praying that's all it is. But I had a good while to think while I was waiting for the tow truck (Daddy Rule #1-Never drive a vehicle that has no oil). What if it had happened while I was in San Marcos, 20 minutes away? Or if Big J hadn't been home to call me that tow truck? ( I don't have a cell and haven't needed one in years)

The big problem? How much is this going to cost? And how much of THAT is going to hurt my conference expenses?

Well, I'm a little teary-eyed over the gesture. My man has me covered. He's making sure I AM going to conference and that even if the car is more than either of us think it will be, he will have the money to pay for it. (He also needs some crazy money for the days that I'm not home to cook and cater to him and the boy, so it's not all meant for me. Damn! Would make for some good Galleria money, right girls?)

I'm just upset that this happened. I did see oil in the drive when the truck dropped me off (Nice guy. Always use this shop in town), so it was only a matter of time apparently because the oil was not there this afternoon when I got home from the first leg of my shopping day.

But it never fails, right when you think you're almost safe. BAM!

*sigh*

And the world turns...

Tune in later for another episode of wacky weirdness, courtesy of yours truly.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen Reasons My Characters Drive Me Nuts

Does this really need an explanation?

1. They turn right when I know I told them left.

2. They die when they aren't suppose to, or they don't die when they should.

3. They get all mushy too early on in the story. *sigh*

4. Someone decides he needs a Cafe Latte and disappears for a few days OR weeks. I think they go and party with my muse. She refuses to give details.

5. They refuse my direction. Excuse me, but who is running the show here?

6. When I need them to be a little on the cool side, they are all sensitive.

7. If you haven't caught it yet, this against the men!

8. As for the women, they decide they have to look just right, and we all know how long that can take.

9. No one ever tells me up front what their motivation is. I have to figure it out on my own.

10. They drop little facets along the way, never actually explaining anything. Bread crumb trail anyone?

11. They keep me up to all hours when I should be asleep.

12. Characters are the most confuzzled group of people in my life. How anyone can understand them is beyond me.

13. Lastly, I couldn't write without them. Talk about a dependency issue!




The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Booksigning in July!

I'm going to do my very first book signing at the end of July after conference! Yay me!

*waves* Hi Mom!

I'll post it again in the future, but I just got the final details so I thought I'd put them up.

• Borders Huebner Oaks Center
  San Antonio, Texas
  July 28th, 1-3p CST.
  Click here for information and directions.
  

I hope you'll come and share it with me! There's going to be six of us there, so come and
say hi!

:)

I'm what?

Your Brain is 60% Female, 40% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

Author Diana Castilleja Newsletter - Subscribers Wanted!

Hey all!

I'm relaunching my Newsletter! After almost a year, I'm getting it back up and running. It will be a once a month update on what's going on, my latest news, contests and other weirdness. Lots of weirdness

All you have to is sign onto my Yahoo News Group. Yep that's it! No tricks, and no spam. I have it set up as a newsletter distribution file on one of my email accounts, so after you sign up, that's it. But if you want to catch the occasional info and spontaneous announcments, you won't miss any of it!

So come and hang out with me for the latest!

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DianaCastilleja/

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen First lines Someone did this a while back and I've been meaning to, so let's see what I can come up with. The only drawback that I can see is that we only have 13 to work with. I'm going to use the raw and unedited WIP of my current story, Dark Redemption. If I flub up feel free to point out the oo-boos. 1. Sweat formed on her brow as pain lanced through her body, gripping, tearing, hot and steely. 2. Joaquin stopped jogging, feeling the air that had been coursing in and out of his lungs with ease suddenly lodge inside of him with a swiftness that caught him by surprise. 3. The house felt quieter with only five of them staying there now. 4. Silence in the little cabin seemed to stretch like a band, growing taut, raking her nerves until she was practically standing on her toes with needing to know what was going on out there. 5. Lily watched their faces. 6. Joaquin had awakened the second the sun had ceased to color the horizon. 7. The air crackled in the small cabin. 8. Lily watched the hallway, waiting for the to sun move with an anticipation that bordered on dread. 9. Joaquin raced northward with hundreds of miles already behind him, his thoughts as dark as the night sky surrounding him. 10. She moaned. 11. “Oh God! Don’t drop me!” 12. “Was he for real?” she gasped, stunned and shaken, holding her teeth tight to not chatter. 13. Ron meticulously placed the phone in its base, his calm movements belying the seething rage building inside of him at this latest report from his field ops. Okay, so that's all of them, for this segment of "let's abuse the WIP one more time". The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

Employment Opportunity: Part-time Content Editors

Posted by Angela James, 06/11/2007 10:54 AM

Samhain Publishing is looking to hire several motivated, organized people to fill additional positions of part-time (from 1 to 3 releases a month) content editor. The position includes reading submissions, writing acceptance/rejection letters and completing in-depth content edits. Pay is currently royalty based.

If you are interested in applying for the content editor position please email Angela James at employment@samhainpublishing.com and I will send you out a position description as well as the first round content editor test (there are two rounds of testing).

Serious inquiries only, please.

Permission to forward granted.

Saw this peeking in Crystal's window and thought it was cute...

You Are Strawberry Ice Cream

A bit shy and sensitive, you are sweet to the core. You often find yourself on the outside looking in. Insightful and pensive, you really understand how the world works. You are most compatible with chocolate chip ice cream.

What Flavor Ice Cream Are You?

I'm not sure how they categorize 'shy'.... but okay. :D