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Cathy's take on books, writing, and life.

How Do You Find New Authors?

July 19, 2008 – 8:52 pm

I get into reading ruts. I’ve re-read Jennifer Crusie’s Bet Me easily about a hundred times. I’ve read Odd Thomas and Velocity by Dean Koontz more like fifty each, but they’re on hand. I have non-fiction phases, too, but they’re easier… you can rifle through the subject at your local bookstore, and even if the author is grating, you can get useful information. (You can also jot down notes while in the bookstore cafe and then leave the book there.) But with fiction, it’s hard to find a new author that I’m wiling to take a chance on.

I’ve got a few boards and websites that I’ve been lucky enough to get valuable recommendations from, like RBL Romantica. (Quick note… if you’re checking it out at work, be careful. They’re wonderful, but sometimes their wallpaper can be, ah, racy. However, if you like checking out some gorgeous men in various states of undress… well, look no further!) Their “Hughies” awards lead me to Sherrilyn Kenyon and J.R. Ward, two authors I’ve really enjoyed. Otherwise, I’ve found a lot of my friends are in the same position, re-reading the same authors over and over, eagerly anticipating future releases from trusted favorites.

So how about you? How do you find new authors? And who can you recommend for, say, chick lit? Romantica? Paranormal that isn’t necessarily vampire? Romantic comedy? (Please God, somebody’s still writing rom com, right?)

By Cathy » Posted in Books, Writing Life » Comments (1)

I Love Dr. Horrible!

July 17, 2008 – 6:51 am

I like Joss Whedon.  I’m not one of his raving fanatics — I don’t own every episode of Firefly, I was more of a Spike girl than an Angel devotee when it came to Buffy, and Serenity could’ve been a lot better.  But the guy has creativity coming out of every pore, and his wicked, delightful, adorable sense of humor is unparalleled.  Which is why I’m glad I found Dr. Horrible.

Dr. Horrible is played by Neil Patrick Harris (former Doogie Howser, M.D., now scene-stealer in How I Met Your Mother and the Harold & Kumar movies.)   He’s doing everything he can to join the “Evil League of Evil”, including working with a voice coach on his evil laugh.  He’s got a crush on a girl he sees at the laundromat every week:  in the next couple of weeks, he plans on actually having an audible conversation with her.  He must pull of a spectacular crime in order to impress Bad Horse, the head of the League, enough to allow his application to pass.  Unfortunately, he discovers too late that his arch-nemesis, Captain Hammer, and the L.A.P.D. are all following his blog.

He’s got some issues.

Yes, the show’s a musical, and surprisingly, everyone’s got a great voice.  Neil Patrick Harris is a revelation: he’s got the vocal range as well as the comedic timing, and he’s absolutely wonderful.   Captain Hammer (played by the captain from Serenity and Firefly) is almost as good, playing his swaggering, over-testosteroned superhero to the hammy hilt.

Dr. Horrible is in 3 parts.  The first two have already been released.  The final part will be out Saturday. Right now, you can watch the episodes free on hulu.com, but after Sunday, you’ll only be able to see them if you download them on iTunes or buy the upcoming DVD.  I’d watch now while you can.  It’s worth seeing.

By Cathy » Posted in Movies » Comments (2)

Best Way to Procrastinate EVER

July 14, 2008 – 8:09 pm

StumbleUponIf you don’t know about StumbleUpon, I feel a bit guilty because trust me, once you’ve tried it, nothing on earth is quite as addicting.

StumbleUpon is an “add-on” application for your web browser.  Go to www.stumbleupon.com, and “join” as a member (it’s free.)  You then pick a bunch of categories of what you’re interested in.  Video games?  Fashion?  Writing?  Politics?  All of the above? Pick whatever you like. Then, you download the application, install it, and suddenly you’ll find a new button on your browser’s toolbar.  It says “Stumble!”

This, my friends, is a magic button.  And a dangerous one.

You click on “Stumble!”, and suddenly, you’re zipped to a random website that’s related to one of the categories you’re interested in.  Like food?  You might get a blog like Bakerella, or the gorgeous food compendium of Tastespotting.  Interested in fashion and design?  Polyvore.com might pop up, letting you create your own collages based on gorgeous clothing and accessories and artwork.  Or maybe you’re trying to get your finances together, and up pops The Simple Dollar… or you’re trying to get your whole life together, so you get Zen Habits and LifeHacker back-to-back.   You can literally stumble for hours.

The danger is it’s always there, hanging out in the corner, whispering to you, taunting you to click just one more time.  You’ll stay up way too late.  You’ll try to ignore it, but you’ll be bored and, suddenly, how did that mouse get there?  And why am I up until 2 a.m., chuckling at a cat who seems to be speaking some primitive patois while looking ridiculous?

If you want to write, get anything finished, or possibly even experience the outdoors at some point, you probably don’t want to have this application.  It’s too late for me.  I should tell you to save yourself.  Unplug, enjoy life, write your butt off.

On the other hand, if you do join, let me know.  I’ve got some great Stumbles to show you.

By Cathy » Posted in Life Hacks & Tips, Writing Life » Comments (0)

Jott it Down

July 12, 2008 – 5:51 am

Life is busy

I don’t know if you’ve heard of it, but there’s a new service called Jott. In a nutshell: you call up a telephone number, say who you want to send a note to, then say the note. The service will then transcribe what you’ve said, and email it to whoever you wanted… including yourself, or a to-do list maker like Remember the Milk or something. You never have to worry about writing something down on the back of an envelope and losing it. You can copy and paste the email into Outlook, or you’ll be able to add stuff directly to a to-do list.

I’m notorious for keeping five different “lists” in various notebooks, which all time management experts say not to do. I hate transcribing stuff from my paper list to an electronic list, but electronic lists are so much more convenient: they can be sorted by context or project, for example, and if you’ve got them on a daily basis, you’re not constantly moving stuff from one day to another. So being able to “jott” down something by picking up my cell phone, hitting the pre-programmed number, saying send note to “self” and then something like “send Michele the email for Pat Rouse’s mailing list” or “send Ann Marie thank-you card” is a time saver and a mind saver.

The only downside I’ve noted so far: the voice recognition software only goes so far, and if you’re in a crowded, noisy restaurant, it freaks out a little. Otherwise, I get the feeling it’s the beginning of a beautiful friendship.

By Cathy » Posted in Life Hacks & Tips » Comments (0)

Remarkable Read: AS GOOD AS IT GOT, by Isabel Sharpe

July 8, 2008 – 1:23 pm

As Good As It GotI’ve known Isabel Sharpe for many years, and her latest book, As Good As It Got, is one of her best.

Three women go to a “retreat” at an idyllic camp in Maine because their lives are in flux, to put it mildly. Ann is trying to get her life back together after her husband’s suicide; bright and smiling Cindy is trying to convince everyone that her serial-cheating husband isn’t really going to divorce her; and the mysterious, quiet Martha is trying to get over a man who might not have been hers to begin with. It’s got Isabel’s trademark humor: sharp (excuse the pun), smart, and snarky. The issues and the way the women handle them have true poignancy and snap. This isn’t a Hallmark movie, it can feel uncomfortably like real life in the very best way possible.

It’s a wonderful book, by a fabulous author. I highly recommend it.

By Cathy » Posted in Books » Comments (0)

Sherrilyn Kenyon holds “A Year of Acheron” contest…

June 17, 2008 – 9:21 pm

AcheronIf you love Sherrilyn Kenyon’s Dark Hunter series (and I do), then you’ll be thrilled to hear she’s having a contest promoting her August release of the book Acheron. Sign up here, and you can win all 12 signed copies of the series. How cool is that?

By Cathy » Posted in Books » Comments (2)

CRAVE gets big love from The Erotic Reader!

June 7, 2008 – 6:59 pm

CRAVE bookcover Much thanks to Terescia from The Erotic Reader, for her review of Crave, who calls it:

A modern day retelling of the Snow White fairytale, with Crave, Yardley melds the erotic with romance in a way that I wish all authors were capable of doing.

And the review itself rocks. I’m thrilled to be mentioned in such a cool review site!

By Cathy » Posted in Books » Comments (0)

Remarkable Book: THE SUGAR QUEEN, by Sarah Addison Allen

June 2, 2008 – 2:49 pm

The Sugar Queen, by Sarah Addison AllenI’ve just finished reading The Sugar Queen, by Sarah Addison Allen. I loved her first book, Garden Spells, and this one is similar: still set in the South, still edged with magical realism and still wonderfully, vividly written. This one’s got secrets and skeletons in closets… and other things in closets, surprisingly enough.

I can’t rave enough about Sarah’s work. I know her from an online group, and she always wrote the most amazing emails. Seriously. They were always funny and imaginative and just a little loopy, and you’d think, damn, this woman’s got skills. Why isn’t she published? Then she was. Then, for a long time, she wasn’t. Then… Garden Spells. From there, the New York Times bestseller list. And rightfully so… couldn’t have happened to a better writer, or a nicer person.

Rush out to buy the book, but read it slowly if you can. Or, if you’re like me, read it through the first time fast, then read it again, savoring every word.

By Cathy » Posted in Writing Life » Comments (0)