Things You Don't Know About Women

I am married to a man who has a very strange passion -- collecting airline miles. Everything we do revolves around it in some way, shape or form (yes, I know those of you who've met him find this hard to believe, but sometime when I'm NOT around, ask him about it. Make sure you have an hour or two to listen to the answer - you're going to need it). We have two credit cards and I'm told when to use each and where, since it turns out that the cards give you double miles at various points, such as when you buy things during the month of May in grocery stores. I find this annoying and silly, since somewhere deep inside I do not find fulfillment and joy from airline mile accruement, but it keeps him off the streets and makes him happy. We all sacrifice for love!!

This means, though, that I have small amounts of airline miles on carriers we never use. It was very important that I get these miles. We had more moments than I can count where at 6am, some poor overworked, grumpy airline counter-person had to look up my number and sit there while I filled out the form to change my maiden to my married name.

But recently, I've had miles expire -- gasp! It's heart breaking for him.

One of the things American will let you do with expiring miles is exchange them for magazines. Now I need more magazines like I need a hole in the head, but I found myself taking my pool of miles and getting as many as I possibly could. Seven of them to be exact. And my choices were limited to guy kind of subjects. I got Field and Stream, for example. I just received my first issue and laughed for a solid hour reading through it - just the picture alone of men in orange and camouflage drinking beer while ice fishing while the sun comes up was priceless. But the magazine which has amused me most to my great surprise is Esquire. They sent me two issues at once, December and January, and I read them both cover to cover. You have no idea how absolutely fascinating this guy periodical is!! Check out an issue.

They have an article each month with the title of this blog entry. This month I'm about to quote is from Desperate Housewives Felicity Huffman. Anyway, here is a couple of my favorites from the 13 bits of advice she gives men:

1. Women also fantasize during sex.
2. If you want to see us naked more often, turn up the damn thermostat.
3. We can't hear a word you're saying if there are hairs coming out of your nose.
4. If you would just listen to us, we'd shut up.
5. Want sex? Fix something.
6. Women want empathy, not advice.
7. You would be crazy, too, if your insides fell out every twenty-eight days.
8. Some handy translations for men:

"You're working too hard." = "You're not spending enough time with me."

"What are you thinking about?" = "Do you still love me."

"Do you want to talk about it?" = "I want to talk about it."

"Fuck you. I can't stand you." = "Fuck you. I can't stand you."

*Heehee - hope you enjoyed those as much as I did.

SORCERESS OF FAITH

Oh wow! Look what Robin Owens has coming out this month!!
SORCERESS OF FAITH by Robin D. Owens
(Luna, February 1, 2006)

With the world of Llandrana threatened by encroaching evil, the Sorcerers must do the unthinkable—Summon an outsider to stop the insidious Darkness slowly taking control of their land and poisoning the Sorcerers themselves.
Arriving in Lladrana, grad student Marian Harasta is stunned to find herself the center of a dispute among Sorcerers who want to augment their Power with her own. She must quickly learn her new magical Powers – and decide who she can trust in this strange land. She has prayed for a miracle to save her brother – could Lladrana offer that knowledge, and can she somehow return to Earth with it?
She knows she must offer the Sorcerers something in exchange, and ridding them of the Evil Sorcerer is what they want, but how will she fare in her first magical duel?
With unexpected help – and unexpected betrayal – Marian must determine where her true fate lies.

Read an excerpt here!

Blog Re-Start

Okay guys, I'm restarting my blog after a lengthy hiatus. Sorry about that!

I'm happy to report I just as of today got a clean bill of health from my Physical Therapist. Yippee! I had been going four days a week and ended up letting some things slide. But my back is on the mend and I've got things to rant about!!

Hope everyone is enjoying 2006 and getting ready for Valentines!

New Release

Howdy all! I just had a new story release from Liquid Silver Books - a novella in the Zodiac Series, called THE HANGING MAN.

The Hanging Man – Leigh Wyndfield
In another world, the Sagittarius and Taurus people are at war. The Taurean King spurns all things magical, including his own daughter’s hidden powers. An outcast, Gabriella Etall ghosts through the castle, forever alone, banned from going forth into the outside world so her magic will not be discovered by the kingdom’s magic-hating subjects. When she stumbles upon a captured Sagittarius hanging in the castle dungeon, she feels the hum of another’s magic on her skin for the first time. Now, she will have to decide if she will betray her family for one night of bliss or let her chance for fulfillment pass her by forever.



BUY IT HERE!

Or

Read an excerpt!

Men: Let this be a warning to you!

So I just read the following newspaper article:

Jury Rules Against Woman in Genital Gluing

GREENSBURG , Pa. (Nov. 5) - A Westmoreland County jury on Friday ordered a woman to pay $46,200 to her ex-boyfriend for gluing his genitals to his abdomen.

Jurors found in favor of Kenneth Slaby of Pittsburgh in his civil case against Gail O'Toole of Murrysville after three days of testimony and ordered the payment for pain, suffering and emotional distress, according to television station KDKA.

"For all the pain and suffering I've been through, and the embarrassment, I don't think it's enough,'' Slaby told reporters after the verdict.

Slaby's lawsuit said the two broke up in 1999 after dating for 10 months, and he began dating someone else. After he broke up with his other girlfriend, Slaby said, O'Toole invited him over to her home on May 7, 2000, where he fell asleep.

He said he woke up to find that O'Toole had used Super Glue to stick his genitals to his abdomen, glued his buttocks together and spelled out a profanity on his back in nail polish.

Slaby said O'Toole told him that her actions were payback for their breakup, and he had to walk a mile to a gas station to call for help. He pressed charges and O'Toole pleaded guilty to misdemeanor assault and spent six months on probation.

Ummmm.... So. What to say? A friend commented that there is a book in this, and part of me agrees - not a romance for sure. Heh. I can't help but think this guy did something to his ex-girlfriend that isn't in the article and my writer's mind has come up with all kinds of scenarios that might inspire this behavior. Depending on what he did, six months probation and $46,200 might be worth it....

Bewitched Again

Once again - another promo for this book - this time for “Night Mares” by MaryJanice Davidson

Triskelion Press

At a birthday party for the Disdaine Triplets, the little darlings decide they aren’t pleased with the party or the guests and use magic to create their own fun. That night the town and all its residents are visited by the infamous Night Mares who wreak mayhem as only giant ponies prancing through your house can. (First episode with story & characters created by Lynn Warren.)

All proceeds from the sales of this book will go to the International Red Cross.

Spam-bloggers - a New Breed

I wanted to apologize for spammers who are hitting my blog. Today alone, Arianna Hart put a comment on the post I wrote last week and BAM! I had six spammers hit and not just last week's post, either. Two months ago, I spent over an hour combing through my blog, looking for what turned out to be an ad for enhanced orgasms and finally found it months back in posts. Very annoying.

What has puzzled me is when they post - it seems to come right after I post and then after any of you post. Post comments so I can run an experiment.

Realize I try to go after these guys as fast as possible, but I've given up policing past a month back. It's just too much of a pain in the buttocks to comb through. (I figure I can tell all of you my strategy - God knows these people don't actually read my blog before they post.) Hopefully, you'll understand and ignore them. It might be possible that some of you really do want to learn about insurance in Illinois or Elvis sightings - I don't want to take away every opportunity for you! Ha!

Leigh

His Dark Desires

Looks like Jennifer St. Giles, award winning author of The Mistress of Trevelyan (a fantastic book!), has come out with another one from Pocket Books.

Read excerpt here!

The Back of the Book Blurb:
You are in danger. Trust no one. The terrifying words from a mysterious letter echo in Juliet Bucheron's mind. Destitute ever since her husband disappeared in the Civil War, Juliet has turned her New Orleans ancestral home into a boarding house -- despite the rumors of ghosts, the whispers of scandal, and the stain of murder. But even more unsettling is Juliet's new tenant, a handsome stranger named Stephen Trevelyan. Wealthy, educated, and seductively compelling, Stephen fills Juliet's heart with uncontrollable longing -- and her head with suspicion. Something, she senses, is lurking beneath the surface. And someone is stalking the hallways after midnight. As the danger draws nearer, Juliet wonders if she can really trust Stephen. But as he pulls her closer, she knows she cannot resist him...no matter what the price.

Getting Out of Bed in the Morning

Today is the first day in five weeks I've written anything new. Yes, we're talking huge SOMETHING going on in my life. I've given this a lot of thought and that SOMETHING is not writer's block, since the very definition of writer's block is the inability to write, no matter how hard one tries at it.

I have not been trying.

I have, in fact, been studiously avoiding my PC at all costs. I haven't been answering emails, for example, to the tune of a thousand emails in my box unread. I haven't gone to chats, updated my website, or sent out my newsletter. In fact, I've done just about everything in my power to avoid my computer, since getting close to it might lead to actually attempting to write and that was something I just could not do.

Why? I don't know. It's true that I've had pretty significant issues in my personal life. My grandfather died, for example, and I told you I hurt my back. I've received a large amount of rejections recently. But my usual MO is to work through all this stuff by working. Not this time, it appears.

A while back, I'd pulled down Lawrence Block's writing book TELLING LIES FOR FUN AND PROFIT from my bookshelf and made it all the way to the living room before abandoning it unread. It's old, from back in the 80's, and my mother-in-law gave it to me for Christmas two years ago. Since it was away from my PC, I picked it up last week.

When I opened it, Lawrence himself had written "Leigh - Go For It! - Lawrence Block" on the front page --- I had no idea that my MIL had it signed by the author. None at all. "Yeah," I thought bitterly. "I've really been going for it, all right." I flipped to the article on rejection and read it, looking for inspiration - looking for anything at all, actually, since I've been feeling lately like a cocaine addict right before she hits bottom. It was the usual blather about hanging in there and blah blah. But he's pretty funny, so I kept reading along. At the end of last week, I got to his article called TIME OUT.

"Consider if you will the pattern I have established for myself over the past several weeks. Each morning, as is my custom, I awaken around seven. I get out of bed, see my shadow, and dive back into bed, where I contrive to spend the ensuing four hours with the covers pulled over my head..." He goes on to basically describe my life for the last month.

Holy shit! I thought, reading on. I'm not the only one suffering from this non-writer's block SOMETHING or other. He suggests accepting this as part of the process some writers experience. He suggests not "letting everything else go to hell along with the writing." Which is exactly what I've been doing.

But what spoke to me the most and helped stop the skipping record I've been living lately is this quote -- "One thing I've found to be true for most of us is that, whether we enjoy writing or not, one thing we enjoy a good deal less is Not Writing. Unfortunately, it seems to be true that Not Writing is occasionally a part of the writing process. And it's a lot more tolerable, and probably better all around, if I can learn to trust the process."

Today I wrote new pages for the first time in a month. On one hand, that's pretty sad that I missed those days and will never have them back. But I feel better for writing, since Not Writing pretty much sucks. And I found I'd forgotten the thrill of a written page, the pure high I get when I build a scene from my mind, the glow of a man's wet skin in the candlelight, the burn of magic swirling inside my heroine, the tension between two people who will one day learn to love each other. I'd forgotten and the mere act of writing brought all that tumbling back to me. Thank God.

Another story from Gena!

“The Witches of Brokenoggin and the Dead Who Love Them” featured in BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEVAMPYRED by Gena Showalter from Triskelion Press

Welcome to Brokenoggin Falls, where the housewives are not only desperate, they’re Witches! (And one of them might be a Harpy) The spells cast by moonlight frequently go awry. And there are times when toads and Chihuahuas seem abundant as black flies in the summer, the dragons are a little touchy, the Forest Trolls are in danger of extinction from teeny-boppers, the Gryphons need help conceiving and...the scientist are crunchy and good with ketchup...

All proceeds from the sales of this book will go to the International Red Cross.

In which the well-endowed Tawdry triplets accidentally raise the dead while dealing with an overzealous peeping John.