One Question, One Answer

I've been TAGGED. Ciar Cullen tagged me to play the One Question, One Answer game. I've never been tagged before. I feel special. :-D

Okay, so here's the deal. You get to ask me one question, and I have to answer it. That is, of course unless, you ask me something that would get me arrested, divorced or disowned. :-D Yes, I know. That could include a lot of things. LOL

So ask and you shall receive.

I'm figuring on no questions, since I'll bet about one person in the entire world actually reads my blog with any regularity. hehehe

Thursday Thirteen #11

13 Things Lesley Needs

Yes, I'm jumping on the band wagon and playing the "Lesley needs" Google game. :-D I'm not feeling terribly inspired this week.

1. "lesley needs laughs to power her hoverfleet."

Wow! I didn't even know I had a Hoverfleet! That's awesome!

2. "Lesley needs 2 stop fancying herself and then she could actually b nice!"

Actually I don't fancy myself all that much! And I am nice! ...well most of the time...at least I try to be...oh hush!

3. "Lesley needs to learn to choose her words carefully"

Yeah, I sure do!

4. "lesley Needs Our Prayers Desperately"

I'll take all the help I can get!

5. "Lesley needs money ya'll, Jaycat spent all her's on porn..."

Dang it, Jaycat! What did I tell you about using my credit card to buy porn?"

6. "Lesley needs to die a horrible death the fat b****!"

Ummmmmm! POUTS

7. "Lesley needs glasses..."

Sure can't see without them!

8. "Lesley needs more activity and the state is paying to assign a staff member to her on a one to one basis every day for a couple hours."

I didn't know the state was concerned!

9. "Lesley needs a reality check i think Nicky was given a bit of a hard time last night"

I'm a fiction writer... Of course I need a reality check! On a regular basis! *looks at her toddler Nicky* No, no! He's giving me a hard time tonight! Sleep!!!

10. "Lesley needs to remember whom she’s lunching with so she can dress appropriately"

Yes, I know I'm a fashion victim!

11. "Lesley needs the space because of its continuing undergraduate and graduate program growth."

Holy cow, I'm an institution!

12. "Lesley needs to keep her opinions in her head, instead she keeps saying the same things over again."

Yeah, sometimes I have trouble keeping my opinions in my head, but if I did what would I blog about?

13. "Lesley needs to do 5000 more squats before she's ready to wear a miniskirt."

I'm not going to argue this point...

What did I learn from this? There is someone named Lesley on the UK version of Big Brother and EVERYONE hates her!



Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

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Pretty and Fat are NOT Mutally Exclusive

I just have short rant about a phrase that I heard fairly often early in my life, and unfortunately I still hear ringing in my ears every single time I look in the mirror.

That phrase is (and if you've ever had a weight problem, I'm sure someone has said it to you at some point, so feel free to join in):

"You'd be so pretty if you just lost some weight."

*gapes*

WTFH!!! Why would anyone say that to someone!?

You know what that says? That says that no matter how incredibly gorgeous your face is you're still ugly because of the size of your butt.

Now perhaps what these people were trying to get across was that my beauty could have been enhanced if I slimmed down a bit. You know, I would kill to be as "fat" as I was back then. In fact, when I look back at pictures of that time, I was pretty dang hot. Yet every time I looked in the mirror, I saw a big fat sow. Why was that? Because people were saying things to me like, "You'd be so pretty if you just lost some weight."

Well, I'm here to say that the people who said that to me can just bite me! Fat and pretty do not cancel each other out! You can be a curvaceous, chunky, or even all out fat woman and still be beautiful!

7k of Superfluous Fluff Eliminated

I discussed the whole situation with Superfluous Fluff in Dana of the Whispering Wood earlier. Well I finally finished the edits, and it's 7000 words shorter after I removed phrases and paragraphs that add nothing whatsoever to the plot. Go me!

That puts Dana at a whopping 115k.

Now I'm on to do exactly the opposite to Arianna Penndragon. I left things out of that one that need to be there. I don't know why I just assume that you all know all about the vampires in my world. How are you going to know if I don't tell you?

Nature Has Turned on Me!

Okay, so first there was the ant thing. Then there was the cleaning up of the ant thing. Then there was the Tick bite of DOOM.

Well another thing I didn't mention was what happened Friday at the lake.

Lishy and I took the little ones to the lake Friday afternoon to go for a swim. Now neither of us are big on lake swimming. We both like bodies of water that you can see your feet in, i.e. mountain streams, the Caribbean sea, pools, that kind of thing...

Well we sucked it up and got in, after a little screaming and crying and hissy fit throwing. And that was just me. We won't go in to how the toddlers reacted.

So when we finally managed to get everyone in we were just sitting there chilling on the little wall that is next to the water while the little ones splashed relatively happily. Someone said, "Is that a snake," and was looking into the water about twenty feet down from us. I was thinking. Silly city folk! It's probably just a branch floating in the water.

Well Lishy starts scrambling and says something like, "Snake coming this way."

So I look out and see this little brown and red stripped snake swimming directly toward me and Nicholai. Naturally my first reaction is to toss the toddler. I yank him up and toss him out of the water and onto dry land, somehow doing this crazy Kung Fu movie roll so that we're both out of the water and I'm on my feet with him in my arms in about half a second. Which is saying alot for me! I'm not an agile girl!

Naturally I have to try to figure out what this snake that was trying to attack my little boy was so since it can't get over the wall I go look look at it. I have established that it was either a Midland Water Snake which is completely harmless or a juvenile Cottonmouth which is pretty darn poisonous.

For my sanity I've decided to believe that it was a Midland Water Snake. :-D

It was actually pretty amusing after that, because a group of approximately twenty kids followed the progress of the snake all the way down until it was out of the swimming area and into a big growth of water grass. Great thing to have next to the swimming area by the way. Talk about snake heaven!

So from all these instances, yes, I've decided that I've done something to royally piss off mother nature, and I want to publicly apologize and say I love her dearly and will do anything to make it up to her. :-D Just let me know!

Good Grief!!!

So, a little over a month ago, I found an tick on me. I have no idea how long it was on there, because it was in a spot that I can't see unless looking in the mirror. So this morning I noticed a big, red circle around where the bite had been.

Now I've been feeling kinda tired and having alot of headaches lately, but I have headaches often. I always have. And I'm the mother of a toddler. Of course I'm tired!

Well anyway I googled it...

That is one of the first symptoms of Lyme Disease.

So I went to the weekend clinic across town and sure enough! I have Lyme Disease. The doctor didn't seem terribly concerned though. It's actually pretty common around here because we have so many ticks. The doctor had even had it. I'm going to be taking antibiotics for two weeks though. Oh joy of joys!

Okay, I just had to get my whining out! Off to clean the house!!!

Do you prefer them Long or Short?

No, you naughty, naughty person! That is not what I was talking about!

I mean chapters. Do you like it when there are lots of different scenes in a chapter and have it last maybe thirty pages or would you prefer that the chapters only have one or two scenes and are shorter.

I'm torn now. I used to like long chapters, but now I think I like short. I don't have a great deal of time to read so I love to be able to read a quick chapter and move on to all the other things I do in life. They also seem to make the book move faster for me somehow.

I ask because I'm editing Dana and making huge changes, and I'm seriously considering breaking up the chapters. I think it would pick up the pace some and that's really what I'm working on now.

Well anyway. I'm off to slice and dice my novel. ;)

Happy Summer Solstice!!!

Thursday Thirteen #10

Thirteen Things that take My Breath Away

1. This little Guy...



Need I say More?

2. Eden Falls at the Lost Valley





This picture doesn't even remotely do it justice. The first time I saw Eden Falls was in the middle of the summer after a big rain storm so there was water absolutely gushing from it! It made getting into the cave at the top somewhat more difficult than usual, but it was absolutely beautiful. I had never seen anywhere like it in my life. I thought places like that only existed in wall calenders!

3. The Ocean

The vastness of it. The sound of the waves. The smell of it. That humid, cool wind that blows off it. The way it moves. Pretty much everything about it!

*Lesley desperately needs a trip to the beach*

4. The Ozark Mountains

My home! The very first time I came here I just knew this was where I wanted to be. I grew up on the delta with nothing but rice fields and flat land as far as the eye can see. There is a place on the drive up the mountain where you come around a curve and the view just opens up over a huge valley ringed with mountains. In the fall it's like looking down on a patchwork quilt! So gorgeous!

5. Snow

I'm cursed. No matter where I am the snow avoids me. I lived in Denmark for three years, and there was only one good snow the entire time. The month after I moved...there was a snow storm so bad they had to shut down all the trains. Well when it does snow I absolutely love it. There's something about snow that makes the world just seem so much more peaceful.

6. Ice Storms

Yes, I know that they cause a lot of damage and make things really dangerous, but have you ever gone to sleep one night and woken up to see this?



It's like the entire world is coating in glitter! And when the wind blows! It's amazing just like there are a million wind chimes.

7. Thunderstorms

I absolutely love them, and we've been somewhat neglected this year. They keep coming right to the edge of the mountains and evaporating into nothing. Now I don't like tornadoes, and they are a threat here, but a good strong thunderstorm that shakes the house and pelts the windows with rain is just lovely.

8. Castles



I love them. They feel like walking into history. This particular one is Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen. It's home to the Queen's Royal guard. My husband lived here for a while when he was in the guard.

9. Roses

They are so beautiful, and they smell so good. I've threatened to turn our field into a rose maze. I can't seem to stop buying them! When I see them on sale I just have to have another!

10. Riding My Scooter

There is just something about riding down the road with the wind in your face. Ahh... I love it!

11. Sunsets

My favorite color is pink. Now how could I resist it when the entire sky turns that color!!!

12. Lost

Yes, the show. It makes me gasp at least fifteen times an episode!

13. Did I mention this little guy?



He's definitely worth mentioning twice.





Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants



Ants in my Pants Update

Alrightie...

The uprising has been put down, but I think I'm permanently damaged from it. If you don't know about the original incident then by all means go read up. It was truly and absolutely horrific!

So I finally got up the courage to give the scooter a nice detailing. The first thing I did was unscrew the taillight cover. *cringes in horror at the sheer memory of it* And a mass of wiggling squirming ants and larva fell out. It looked something like this...



I have a video too, but I don't want to shock and horrify anyone that throughly. I thought I would die! In fact, I was much too traumatized to continue. So I screwed the cover halfway back on and ran away. Yes, I fled like a scared little girl!

Sometimes you gotta run! Hush! Living to fight another day and all!

This worked to my advantage, however, because the next day when I went back to finish all the ants had abandoned their posts and taken their creepy, little larva with them.

So in the end I conquered! After two retreats, I won the war!

Superfluous Fluff

Ugh! I'm working on Dana of the Whispering Wood. I wrote the rough draft going on five years ago, and I've edited it alot since then. Still I'm having to do some major cutting. It was too long anyway, but for some reason when I wrote it I felt the need to put in all this superfluous fluff! It slows the story down terribly. I've already cut about 1500 words, and I'm sure it'll be alot more before I'm done. And contractions! What the heck was my problem with contractions! I still have trouble putting in contractions to this day, but at least now I can usually catch it in the editing. I think I must have written too many research papers in my life. hehe

Also Dana's personality is so incredibly different than Fiona's. I guess I've got Fiona on the brain since I just finished writing her book. The whole tone of how she deals with things is different. Every time someone bosses her around or is rude to her, I want her to put the smack down on them! That's what Fiona would do! That is just not how Dana works. I'm having to get back inside her head.

Which I should be doing right now instead of blogging! :D So I'm off to do that.

Thursday Thirteen #9

13 Things that Unless You’re One of My Girlfriends or my Husband You Probably Don’t Know About Me

1. I like costumes!

A LOT! I would even go so far as to say I absolutely freakin’ adore costumes. All types of costumes! I have fairy costumes, vampire hunter costumes, vampire costumes, witch costumes (Cute ones! Not the stereotypical witch with green skin and warts. My witch hat has feathers!), a nun costume, a French maid costume (as you can imagine, that one was actually a direct request of my husband LOL), an elf costume, medieval costumes, a fifties costume…I could go on, but I think I’ll stop now.

2. I was a Goth in High School

*insert shocked gasps here* I know! I know! It’s hard to tell nowadays because of the insane amounts of pink I surround myself with. But Pink is the new black! Didn’t you know that? You didn’t? Well now you do. :-D Well to be more honest, I was as Goth as I could be in my very conservative Southern town and still be allowed to go to school, which meant I wore a lot of black and painted my fingernails black. That didn’t mean I didn’t take it a bit further on the weekends, but then I was just all dressed up with no place to go. There wasn’t exactly a Goth scene in my hometown. *rolls on the floor laughing at the mere thought of it*

*whispers* The pink side hasn’t completely stamped out the Goth side. She still comes out to play on occasions. Wow, I think I might have just pegged myself as a split personality. Hey, that’s why the writing thing is so fun for me! All my personalities get to come out and have their say.

3. I’m Insanely Obsessive Compulsive

Yes, that’s right. Another facet of Lesley’s insanity is that she can’t walk out of a house with out checking to make sure she turned off everything that could in any bizarre world conceivably start a fire. Even ones that I haven’t had turned on in days. My girlfriends can attest to this one. I made them turn around twenty minutes into a trip to Texas, because I was just sure I hadn’t remembered to unplug the iron. We got back to my apartment…It was unplugged. They’ll never let me live that one down.

4. I’m very shy!

Painfully so! Online doesn’t count, of course! I met my husband online…I would probably still be single if I hadn’t. I don’t do this whole meeting new people thing well.

5. I hate talking on the phone!

I hate it! I do. It’s awful. Just email me for goodness sake! Or IM me but please don’t call. It’s just too traumatic. Did I mention I once worked at a phone support IT Help Desk? hehe You’d think I would have been awful at it, but I’m an exceptionally good actress so none of them ever knew that talking to them made my palms sweat and my stomach hurt.

6. I’m easily distracted…

I was once having a conversation with my girlfriends while cooking them dinner. I was making Chicken Fettuccini. It’s one of my specialties, and I’ve made it so many times I could do it blindfolded. I was about to dump the fettuccini in the colander and I forgot something… That something being to put the colander in the sink! Queue Lesley’s screams of horror as boiling water spills over my counter and onto the floor. After they know I haven’t scalded myself, queue peals of laughter from my darling friends. ;)

7. I’m very gullible…

I’ll believe anything you tell me. At least until I Google it and find out it’s wrong. I used to believe everything my husband told me until I figured out that he likes to lie to me to see what I’ll believe. Now I don’t believe anything on general principal. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he hadn’t forgotten to tell me when he’d lied so I went around believing it was true and relaying the stories to others.

Oh, you didn’t know that there where tunnels under Copenhagen were gnomes lived? I thought everyone knew that! hehe Okay, I probably wouldn’t have believed that one.

8. If you wake me up in the middle of the night, I’m evil!

Not just a little evil. I make the girl in exorcist look like Little Mary Sunshine! The only one exempt from my anger is my little guy, and really how can you get made at someone that cute.

9. I’m crazy!

Well, I bet y’all already figured that one out, didn’t you? :D

10. I’m extremely obtuse.

If you want me to do something you really just have to say it. I have absolutely no ability to figure out what you’re trying to manipulate me to do!

11. I’m scared of the dark!

I know. I should have grown out of that by now, but do you have the slightest idea what might be hiding in the dark! If I went blind, I’d probably lose my mind from fear just because that would mean I would be in the dark forever.

Even though I'm afraid of the dark and a bit claustrophobic, I really like going caving. I think that might actually be because I'm so scared of those things.

12. I’ve seen things that are supposed to be mythical…

When I was a kid, I don’t remember how old, I saw a shadow person in my closet. If you don’t know what a shadow person is then just type it into Google, and you’ll get some results. I’m not the only one who has seen them!

I also saw a dragon. It had been raining for weeks and there is a place near where I grew up where the rain always floods the creek up to the sides of the road. Well there was a dragon swimming in the water. He had a head like a Chinese dragon and a long skinny body.

We also had a ghost cat. It “lived” in our house. She went running around all the time and you’d seldom catch more than a glimpse of her.

13. I really like the Thursday 13!

It’s so much fun!



Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Marie Gets a Makeover

I was working on my 3d model of Marie and finally got her more like I wanted her. This is about a 10 times better representation of Marie and her personality than the old one I did was.

So, Meet Marie Moonstone! But Call her Marie Smith...she HATES her last name. ;)

More Free Reading!!!

I've added the first chapter and a blurb of Fiona O'Sithein to the homepage. I think the blurb sounds good, but to be honest I've only slept a VERY little bit in the last few days so I reserve the right to change my mind about it at the drop of a hat. :D

Ugh...I just realized that I forgot to remove it from the Works in Progress page. Off to do more webpagery .

I Love You, Bryon!!!

My sweet, darling, wonderful husband just bought me the most absolutely beautiful ring! I adore it!

I don't get to pick it up until Thursday though! *pouts* I want it NOW!

Thursday Thirteen #8

13 First Lines of Chapters from Fiona O'Sithein

Which the rough draft of is FINISHED! *does a happy dance*

1. The princess of Sithein’s golden curls fell in front of her sapphire blue eyes as she sat spinning the jeweled dagger on the table.

2. The little girl shivered in fear and hid under the big bed when she heard the sound of footsteps nearing her door.

3. The night was still and so chilly that Arianna felt as if her nose should be growing a little icicle.

4. The next day Fiona was still weak and dizzy from losing so much blood.

5. “I’ll go and sleep in the great room,” he said turning to go, but when Beltran looked he could see the morning rays of sun already filtering through the shutters.

6. Fiona had no idea how many times they’d made love or what time of the day it was, but every inch of her body ached deliciously.

7. Beltran rolled up the portrait he’d been working on of the little girl and shoved it on the small shelf beneath his bed with all of his other pictures when he heard someone stop outside his door and knock.

8. Beltran needed her then, safe and warm and in his arms where she couldn’t get herself into anymore trouble.

9. Fiona was torn from sleep by a knock at the door of the bedroom.

10. Fiona looked around for something edible, but all that was left was a very stale crust of bread, which seemed to have already fed some mice.

11. Beltran stared at the door to Fiona’s bedroom behind which she had just disappeared.

12. Beltran lay with Fiona tucked close against his side watching the lantern light dance on the ceiling above his head.

13. Fiona sat up straight in the chair they’d offered her doing everything she could to look like a noble dragon princess despite what had happened last night.




Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others comments. It’s easy, and fun! Be sure to update your Thirteen with links that are left for you, as well! I will link to everyone who participates and leaves a link to their 13 things. Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

What have you done today?

Fiona, the world. World, Fiona O'Sithein!

Fiona O'Sithein, the final book in my Women of Sithein series, is done! Wooters!

Okay, she is actually not ready to meet the public yet as she has to go through about fifteen different edits. I just can't leave a book alone. Dana of the Whispering Wood and Arianna Penndragon are getting a run through as soon as I've done my first round of edits on Fiona.

Perhaps if I continue to edit eventually they will get published. hehe

I'm still waiting to hear back from Tor Paranormal Romance. They've had the partial of Dana for twenty weeks. An agent I like has had the same partial for eighteen weeks and still no word. I understand they are busy. Especially this time of year. It's just so darn frustrating! If they don't want it then I wish they would just say so, because I'm dying to submit to Samhain Publishing.

Yes, I admit it, I was originally drawn to them just because of their name, but they are doing some amazing things over there, and I would love to be a part of it. Actually they are closed to submissions at the moment, but I entered their Best First Line Contest with a short story. I'd have entered with Dana if she weren't already subbed.

*shivers*

Okay, now you might think I found this doing research, but in fact I found it because my husband asked what an Ossuary was. Never having heard that word before I naturally abandoned my very, very close to being finished manuscript of Fiona and looked it up.

An Ossuary is a building, chest or vessel meant to hold the skeletal remains of a person.

Okay...Weird enough, but we've gotta have a place for skeletons right? But do we really have to make them into chandeliers???

The Sedlec Ossuary is a Roman Catholic chapel in the Czech Republic where they took the bones of the people and made them into decorations and furnishings...

And I thought the catacombs under Paris with the Heart made out of skulls was creepy...

Okay, Beltan's in trouble I have to go save him! Off to finish Fiona!

The Craziest Kitty on Earth

I have to say that I have probably the strangest cat on Earth. Her name is Aine. Yes, I named her after the fairy queen in Celtic mythology. Yes, I'm completely aware of just how geeky that is. I won't mention my dog named Fippy. Yes, Fippy like Fippy Darkpaw from Everquest.

Now why you might ask is my cat the Craziest Kitty on Earth. For an assortment of reasons actually. She goes through slightly schizophrenic episodes where she can be completely loving with a stranger and then suddenly go berserk. Just ask my best friend's husband... She was snuggling on his shoulder one day, and for no apparent reason...HISS, GROWL, SWAT! I think she even left his cheek bleeding. It was terribly embarrassing. Now she never does this with me. Being part Siamese she is a one Mommy kinda kitty so I'm sure that is why, but good grief!

I'm bringing this up now because she has been spinning around chasing her tail for about the last ten minutes... I have NEVER seen a cat chase its own tail! I thought they were too smart to do that! Apparently, at least in my little Aine's case that is a big negative!

Oh well she may be a little dumb and a little schizo, but I love her!

Yay! The Shareholders on Going Home!!!

Thank goodness!!! The town can now settle into the lazy days of summer! It's such a nice laid back place when all the college students are gone. I love it! Of course I love it when they're here too. :D Heck if they weren't, I wouldn't have a job! A vacation from the traffic is always lovely though!