After having the same tired old couch since my husband and I first moved in together we decided to use some of our economic stimulus money (thanks gov't for actually doing something useful for once!) to buy a new couch... except once we got into the furniture stores I wanted MORE!! I mean we couldn't have a new couch with our rickety old hand-me-down originally from Target coffee table - now could we? So, off to Rooms To Go we went and soon a whole living room set with couch, chair, two side tables, coffee table, and lamps was ours. Only problem we had to wait two weeks for it to be delivered since the tables were back-ordered. Well, the two weeks have passed and the furniture arrived today only to open the boxes the tables were in (they were self-assemble) and discover they had sent the wrong ones! Huge bummer and now a huge headache for us to figure out how to get the right ones. And as it usually is with these types of things I call one number and they tell me to call someone else, and then I call them and they can't help me either - I have to go into the store.
Okay, so sorry for that little rant - but I just needed to get it off my chest. Now for the writerly portion of this blog - while surfing other blogs (one of my favorite methods of procrastination, although since I just downloaded snood onto my computer last night it seems destined to take a backseat) I came across this Writer Unboxed blog that has a great interview with Ann Aguire - whose book Grimspace I just recently happened to read.
It was shelved with sci-fi and I had to literally squeeze past a guy paging through some full-color Star Wars character guide to get to it at my local Barnes and Noble. Since this is not a section that I usually gravitate towards (Star Wars kind of represents most of the things I dislike about the genre).
I never would have picked up this book if I hadn't been specifically looking for it... and how did I come across it. During my agent hunt I saw Ann Aguire listed as one of the clients on her agent's website and I think the cover was pictured as well and it intrigued me and also reminded me a bit of some covers from Anne McCaffrey books - the only other sci-fi books that I have really read a lot of (hmmm maybe I only like sci-fi written by women named Ann?) and so I checked it online and tracked down an excerpt on Ann Aguirre's website and since I had a gift card from my birthday, decided to buy the book.
Clearly I do not take book-buying lightly - this is because usually I am a library girl and if I am going to purchase something I want to make sure it is something that I am going to get fifty pages into and then decide that I can't stand it. Luckily, I loved this book all the way through and devoured it quickly. Without going into the plot too much (if you really want to know you can find it here:http://www.amazon.com/Grimspace-Ann-Aguirre/dp/0441015999/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1213045546&sr=8-1) the book was an excellent mix of action and romance but most importantly had a strong female protagonist - something which I personally can not get enough of (although I did hate that Bionic Woman show from NBC - which made me really sad because I sooo wanted it to be awesome).
At any rate it is interesting to read about the thought processes of authors one admires so here is a link to the interview I found: http://writerunboxed.com/2008/02/22/interview-ann-aguirre-part-1/
The one thing I found especially interesting is when she talks about trying to be the next Susan Elizabeth Phillips - because she is also an author I love and her work totally influenced my first manuscript which was a contemporary romance with humor, but I am now also starting a new WIP that is a little more actiony.
Hmmm... I am realizing that I have promised some funny in my blogs and this one is... not.
Okay, here is an excellent writing joke and one that I know definitely hits home for me!
A writer died and was given the option of going to heaven or hell.
She decided to check out each place first. As the writer descended into the fiery pits, she saw row upon row of writers chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they were repeatedly whipped with thorny lashes.
"Oh my," said the writer. "Let me see heaven now."
A few moments later, as she ascended into heaven, she saw rows of writers, chained to their desks in a steaming sweatshop. As they worked, they, too, were whipped with thorny lashes.
"Wait a minute," said the writer. "This is just as bad as hell!"
"Oh no, it's not," replied an unseen voice. "Here, your work gets published."
