EXTRAS

Where I belong:

• BombshellAuthors.com
• The Cherry Forums
• Dallas Area Romance Authors
• Jenny Crusie's Cherries
• Romance Writers of America

Links I love:

• The Bark Tree - My sister's gardening blog, perfect for those who love discussing compost
• Go Fug Yourself - Horrid celebrity fashion put in its place
• IMDB.com - They know EVERYTHING about movies
• Jane Espenson's blog - The wit and wisdom of a former Buffy writer
• Miss Snark - Funny commentary on the publishing biz
• The Onion - Quality fake news
• Pete Scafidi - A most excellent singer/songwriter/guitarist, and a great friend
• PopCap.com - Completely addictive and time-wasting games
• The Romance Reader - Entertaining and helpful romance novel reviews
• StuffOnMyCat.com - Just silly... the name says it all
• Television Without Pity - Hilarious and informative recaps of TV shows
• Tomato Nation - Funny stuff from Sarah D. Bunting; I especially love The Vine advice column
• Universal Crossword - I'm a total word nerd

Some of my favorite movies:

• Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
• The Fifth Element
• Groundhog Day
• The Jerk
• The Matrix (only the first one, though)
• Notting Hill
• Pride & Prejudice (BBC version)
• The Princess Bride
• Pulp Fiction
• Raising Arizona
• A Room With a View
• Serenity
• Singin' in the Rain
• This is Spinal Tap
• When Harry Met Sally...
• You Can Count On Me

My cats:


Yes, I said "cats," as in two, not one with two heads. They just look alike and enjoy a good cuddle now and then. This is Louie helping Petey keep his head clean. Petey's enjoying it, as he usually does, although he hardly ever returns the favor.

Books I've read recently:

• Con Ed, by Matthew Klein
This is a fun read about an aging ex-con who's also a lifelong con man, now trying to reform. He sets up one last elaborate con to save his reckless son. The story's good, and the history lessons about various cons — whether accurate or not — are vastly entertaining.

• Cabin Pressure, by Josh Wolk
This non-fiction book by a writer at one of my favorite magazines — Entertainment Weekly — is about the author's return to the summer camp of his youth as a thirty-four-year-old. It's a funny and interesting look at the things we cling to as we inch our way to maturity.

• Then We Came to the End, by Joshua Ferris
I'd heard a lot of critical buzz about this one, which made me approach with caution, frankly. But I did enjoy it, despite the definite distance in the narration — caused by the very unusual fourth-person narration (hence the "we" in the title). It's about an ad agency that's slowly dying, laying people off one by one, and the communal office paranoia and individual freak-outs that result.

• Theodosia and the Serpents of Chaos, by R. L. LaFevers
I grinned through this entire book. It's technically for young readers, but 11-year-old Theodosia's suspenseful adventures and funny narrative asides had me thoroughly hooked. It's about a girl with archaeologist parents who has to break ancient Egyptian curses. What's not to love?

— Click here for more of my recent reads —

Books on my TBR pile:

• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle by Barbara Kingsolver
I loved Kingsolver's Poisonwood Bible, so I'm hoping I'll like her nonfiction, too. I heard an interview with her and her husband on NPR where they discussed this book and the year-long "living off the land" food experiment that sparked it. It sounds fascinating, especially to this aficionado of fast-food and take-out.

• The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Anne Stuart, Jennifer Crusie, and Eileen Dreyer
I've been waiting for this book for ages, since I heard about it way back when it was first conceived. Everything I've heard since then has only made me more impatient, and it's STILL not out until June 26. This is not an anthology — it's a collaborative novel written by three great authors — and it's about three sisters with magical powers ... powers that may be more curse than blessing. (!) I am tapping my foot for this one.

• Mad Dash by Patricia Gaffney
Another one I have to impatiently wait for. It's been too long since Pat's last book, The Goodbye Summer, and I'm dying for something of hers to read. This one's apparently about a married couple's midlife crises. Only Pat can write about the most depressing-sounding subjects and make them delightful and rich and satisfying. This is due out August 7.