You got that from...

When I attended GMXv3 last October something horrible happened. No, the convention was not horrible - it was amazing. Something that happened there was horrible: when I was in the dealer's room I saw a t-shirt with the slogan "Winter is coming" emblazoned across the front. I was both excited & confused, then quite worried, because it's a big theme/tagline in my War of Seasons novels. I knew my books weren't anywhere close enough to warrant seeing random shirts popping up at vendor's booths yet, so I had a very sinking feeling that this same line was big in another series... Well, come to find out, it's a huge theme/tag line in the George R.R. Martin, Game of Throne books. In fact, I've been seeing t-shirts all over the place with it now. I've never read the Game of Throne series (or watched the show, which came well after I'd written my first WotS novel), so I obviously didn't copy the line. In fact, I thought I was being a bit clever when I wrote it, "Winter is coming," and that it was a good foreboding line in my books (key to the overall plot of the 3 books). Unfortunately for me, several years ago George R. R. Martin thought the same thing (granted Winter is both a different type of "thing" in our books and poses a different "threat"). So my question was this: Do I remove the line from my forthcoming books (it's already in The Human, released June 2011) and instead use something that sounds not nearly as good (like "winter approaches")? Or do I leave it in, and if people want to think I copied Game of Thrones they can? I've found that people already tell me after reading my books "Oh, you got that part from Lord of the rings" or "You got that part from Harry Potter," which if it seems that way, I can say it was never done purposely. I scour my books for "lifts" or anything that sounds too much like something else (i.e., I really wanted a faerie character of mine to sparkle, but due to a certain popular series with another sparkly main characte [...]

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Reviews are love...

Even bad ones, because that means people are reading my book. Though, the worst review I've seen thus far was 3 our of 5 stars for The Human, and their chief complaint was that Story acted like a 25 year old, not a 17 year old. Hey, I'll be the first to admit I wrote Story as more mature than a typical 17 year old, so it's a fair complaint. But that's not the point, the point is, eventually I'm going to encounter someone who hated my book (soon to be books) and that's okay! I know my writing's not for everyone. That said, I am just glowing over this review on BigShinyRobot. My favorite bit: The Human is a very fun read, very much in the vein of the Chronicles of Narnia or The Hunger Games. It has a very strong female lead, an incredibly well-developed world, a fiendish villain you just love to hate, and above all: a love story that doesn't actually make you want to gag. But you can go read the whole thing for yourself on the website. :) p.s. Yes, I'm still writing my little heart out! Though I don't think I'll make my NaNoWriMo Goal... oh well!

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Geek Media Expo V.3 wrap up!

Last weekend I had the great opportunity to attend Geek Media Expo V.3 (GMXv3) as a writer guest. To say it was a LOT of fun would be an understatement! I think most of my weekend was spent with me fangirling over one thing or another. You would have been hard pressed to differentiate me from the attendees for sure - and I'm ok with that! I'm a geek at heart, and when I'm not a writer guest at a convention, I'm quite happily, a paying attendee! I will say that I went to the convention with some trepidation. You see, I didn't really know anyone! I'm not exactly what you would call shy, but I'm so used to my husband, a friend, or a co-worker going with me on my trips that to go completely alone was odd & a bit daunting. I needn't have worried - within about 30 seconds of arriving in the Green Room to pick up my badge & schedule I was immediately befriended by the wonderful & talented Patricia Alice Albrecht (the voice of Pizzazz from Jem, among many things). She basically took me under her wing for the entire convention. She & her wonderful husband Bruce and son Forest, took me out to dinner on Friday night & then spent the rest of the weekend hanging out with me & giving me some great tips & advice on things. I also have some potentially AWESOME news, but more on that later if it comes to fruition. I'd also like to mention that Jennifer Byrd, the guest relations coordinator was AWESOME. I arrived at GMX, was ushered up to the green room & there she was with my badge and a folder detailing my full schedule for the weekend so that there would be no confusion as to where & when I was needed. Plus, she made a point of checking on me, making sure I had everything I needed all weekend. She is a true pro & made my entire experien [...]

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Vintage dresses!

I know I know, NOT a writing post, but hey, let's shake things up a bit (BTW, I DID finish the 1st draft of The Hunter). I was asked by several people on Facebook to post some pics of my vintage dresses (I have a bit of a passion for collecting and wearing them on a regular basis). So I uploaded an album there of them. CLICK HERE TO SEE THEM. This one, from the late 1930s is my very fav of all... click above to see the rest! ~~~~~ Don't forget, physical copies of Songs of the Seasons: Girl are now available.

Goodreads Book Giveaway

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Songs of the Seasons: Girl (a short story)

Milt knew better than to go spelunking alone in his favorite caving system. If anything happened to him, like falling down a deep shaft and breaking his leg, he'd probably die before anyone found him, and that suited him just fine. He expected to be thrilled, and he expected to have a great time. What he didn't expect was to encounter a naked, half-drowned, red-headed woman making her way up to the main cavern entrance. For those of you who need to read something from the War of the Seasons world to hold you over until The Hunter comes out in June, this is just for you. You can download it for $1.99 on your Nook here and on your Kindle here. iBook version will be forthcoming, as will a limited run of signed pamphlet hard copies. Also, the release date couldn't be more perfect (you'll see what I mean when you read it). Happy Columbus Day everyone! Be careful if you decide to go spelunking... especially if you meet up with mythological creatures along the way... ;) ~~~~~ Don't forget War of the Seasons: the Human now has a book trailer:

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