this little life of mine

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 Last month during the Central Coast Writer's Conference I picked up a couple books by Anne Perry (our keynote speaker): The Cater Street Hangman - the first Charlotte and Thomas Pitt novel - and The Face of a Stranger - the first William Monk novel. I've never really been a fan of mysteries, but I've really enjoyed these two books, and might consider trying another mystery book or series in the future.

I finished The Cater Street Hangman some time ago, but never got around to teasing it, so I'm sharing it now along with teasers from The Face of a Stranger. Here are my teasers from page 156 of The Cater Street Hangman:

The wretched policeman returned the following day, questioning Maddock first, then Caroline, then finally asking if he could see Charlotte again.

"Why?" Charlotte was tired and this morning the deep unhappiness of hear and the reality of death had settled upon her. The blindness of the first shock had passed. She had gone to sleep on tragedy, and wakened to find it still with her.

 

I'm currently about halfway through The Face of a Stranger, and am enjoying it just as much as the previous Anne Perry book I read. She has really engaging characters, interesting stories and compelling mysteries that are fun to try to solve on my own! Here's my teaser from pages 86 and 87:

Monk accepted and questioned her gently, not because he expected to learn a great deal from her directly, but because indirectly he watched her, listening to the intonations of her voice, and the fingers turning in her lap. 

Slowly he discovered a picture of Joscelin Grey. 

Have a great Tuesday! Cheers!

Oh, hello, October, where did YOU come from?!?

There's not much to post this time, as September just flew by and I'm sure I lost a week somewhere, but here are a few of my favourite things from the ninth month of the year:

Inspiration: The Central Coast Writers' Conference! Awesome as always, I'm SO glad I talked myself into attending (I almost didn't go this year!)! Our Keynote speaker, Anne Perry, couldn't make it in person, but through the power of modern technology, she was able to be with us over Skype! I took her Backstory class, and got some great tips I'm looking forward to including in my novel. I also took a class on world building and poetry writing, both of which I believe will come in handy as well!

Vacation: My mom and I used the Writers' Conference as an excuse to spend a long weekend in Morro Bay. Although we'd just been there in May, it was still fun and relaxing, and we basically spent a lot of time just sitting on the balcony drinking coffee and tea and enjoying the view of Morro Rock. As usual we stayed at the La Serena Inn, because they give me a great deal for attending the conference, and it was really nice despite the cable being wonky (I think the remote was broke!), and the pilot light having to be on in the gas fireplace all the time, which I believe would cause seizures in sensitive folks with the little flickering light bouncing off the ceiling all night. Gah! Anyway, instead of browsing the shops on the Embarcadero (as we'd just done that in May), we wandered around the antique malls, thrift shops, and used book stores in the downtown area. It was great fun because I didn't even know these stores existed! This one little bead shop? Had a delightful secret garden in the back! There are things I may be going back for!

Cosmetics: So, I started using the Josie Maran Black Oil Argan Oil mascara I bought at Sephora a while ago, and quite like it. I have to top it with Bare Minerals' Locked and Coated waterproof top coat, because it's not waterproof on its own, but so far that hasn't affected the performance. I tried to take some pictures, but can't really get close enough to show how the mascara looks on my lashes without showing off my horrible dark circles and wrinkes around my eyes, so, sorry 'bout that! I also started using Origins Gin-Zing eye cream and face cream, and while I'm not sure they're doing exactly what they advertised (brightening and de-puffing), I do like the smell, they feel good on my skin, and they're certainly not doing any damage!

Fragrance:  Despite purchasing a new fragrance not too long ago, I ended up using Geurlian's Le Petite Robe Noir (Little Black Dress) most of September. Something about it being dark when I get up in the morning, and the black-to-dusty-purple-to-pink on the bottle just kinda felt right together, I guess. Also, it smells nice, and tends to last a long time.

Also: Ulta Beauty opened in the Target Shopping Center in Paso!!! Yay!!

Books: I read the most delightful middle grade book in September: The Riverman by Aaron Starmer . I really loved  The Other Ones, his previous book, and am looking forward to reading  The Whisper (The Riverman book 2) when it's released next March 17th. Also, I started my first ever Anne Perry book, The Cantor Street Hangman, and I'm loving it! She's truly an amazing writer!

TV:  With the start of the new TV season, I've found a few new shows that I'm loving so far including Forever, Gotham, Z Nation, and Selfie. Also, I'm enjoying the return of Marvel Agents of Sheild and Sleepy Hollow, and might actually watch Survivor and The Amazing Race this season since it appears neither of those shows are including any hideous Big Brother contestants or returning players.

Food: My favourite thing foodie-wise this month was the delicious creme brulee I had at Dorn's restraunt in Morro Bay. SO amazing and decedent!

Well, that's really about it. I'm going to try to keep better track of my faves in October, so stay tuned for what I hope will be an awesome post about some of my favourite things!

Cheers!

Good morning, everyone, and TGIF! Since I'm going to be busy busy like a little bee on Friday, erm, today, I'm actually writing/scheduling this a day early. So. Hello, from the future!!

Ha! Anyway, Here's hoping nothing really crappy happens overnight before it's posted, and all is well on Friday!

So, I'm attending the Central Coast Writer's Conference this weekend, as well as spending a couple days in Morro Bay, so here's a list of things I'm most looking forward to this long weekend:

1. Meeting Anne Perry at the Conference.  Well, pooper scoopers, it turns out Anne Perry can't make it - SO bummed! Apparently they're planning a future Event with a book signing at a time when she can make it, and we Conference attendees will all be notified and, as they say, can attend "at no additional charge". So. That's something to look forward to, I guess. Still. So. Bummed.

2.  Getting inspired.  Anyway, even without Anne Perry being there, I'm really hoping to soak up a bunch of creativity and inspiration - by osmosis, if nothing else! - this weekend. My writing has been sucking royally for some time now, and even when I spend tons of time at it, really working on it ... well, it's ... I'm just  ... floundering, I guess. I don't know what's wrong (maybe I do), but I'm hoping being around some creative types will help jump start my writing!

3.  Enjoying the ocean air. I LOVE the smell of the ocean - yes, even the pungent, fishy, briney smell! There's just something about it that's so refreshing and relaxing! I don't think we've been to the ocean since we were last in Morro Bay, which was in May for the Bands on the Run 5K. (Oh, and BTW, stay tuned for info on future 5Ks I've signed up for, and whether or not I'll be able to do them. Or even walk without a cane. In a couple weeks.) Anyway. Moving on.

4. Maybe spending a day in Cambria. I took Monday off work, too, so I'm hoping when we check out in Morro Bay, we will have time to head down the road to Cambria - another one of my favourite towns! - for lunch and a walk on  the boardwalk, if nothing else.

5.   Oh, I don't know, here's a pretty picture! (A picture of flowers I took in Butchard Gardens in BC. Enjoy!)

It should go without saying, but, sadly, it needs to be said, the above image is © me and only me (lisa-marie jordan & lapis blue photography, to be exact.) . So, pleaseplease, don't steal my photo. it'll be bad for you, i promise.) Thanks!

 As always, thanks so much for stopping by, and for reading! Have a great Friday and a fantastic weekend! Cheers!

TGIF!! For a short week, it was incredibly busy and all of a sudden, it's Friday again! I haven't had time to come up with anything mind-blowing this week, so here are simply five things I'm looking forward todoing in September in no particular order:

1. Attending the Central Coast Writers' Conference. I really really REALLY hope this weekend will fill me with inspiration and jump start my writing, which has been suffereing for several months.

2.  Stamping!  I will stamp my Christmas cards this year. I will. I will. I will! I do enjoy stamping, but since I've gotten into digital photography and time-sucking social media sites, my stamping has taken a very, very back seat. I fully intend to get back to stamping on a regular basis, and am starting this month by getting my Christmas cards at least started, if not completely finished.

3.  Enjoying the backyard. Now that we're done with the major project for the year (we still have the basic fall mainenance of trimming back the grasses and other plants, and cleaning the gutters and the dry creek bed, but those are not so bad), we can sit back, relax, and enjoy our lovely backyard. For now, at least. Our over-the-fence neighbours have recently put their house up for sale, so we might end up with screaming children, or barking dogs, or late-night parties, or just generally obnoxious people. le sigh.

4.  Using the oven.  I am SO looking forward to making casseroles and pizzas, baking my fish instead of pan frying it, baking breads, muffins, scones and coffee cakes, and roasting veggies in the oven again! I can't use my oven during the summer months because it heats up the whole house, and when it's already over 100 degress, it's just really, really uncomfortable. Not to mention all the power and money that would be wasted using the AC to cool it off. So, we wait until the weather cools off, then we bake!

5.  Atascadero Downtown Art and Wine Stroll. This is always a super fun event, and I'm hoping this time there will be more artists on display (there weren't many last time). We're planning to walk the event differently this time, and start with wineries we're unfamiliar with, rather than just going to old favourites. We'll save those for the end, if we can still walk!

Have a great weekend, everyone! Cheers!

The 28th annual Central Coast Writers' Conference was held at Cuesta College recently and I was lucky enough to attend. We had beautiful weather, wonderful faculty and interesting sessions.

This year's keynote speaker was poet Jack Grapes. It's the first time a poet has been the keynote speaker in the conference's 28 year history. He was really good - very inspirational, gave really good advice, and read some of his wonderful poetry as well.

We also got a brief poetry reading from the San Luis Obispo 2012 Poet Laureate Bonnie Young. 

For my first session I chose to learn about creating suspense in mystery or thriller novels with faculty member  Jeff Carlson. This guy was a great speaker - lots of great information about plotting and pace, and lots of energy as well, which is important at the end of a long day! Last year I took a session about writing suspense, but didn't walk away with half the information and inspiration as I did with this guy.

Saturday morning I enjoyed a lovely breakfast out in the courtyard (the conference was wonderfully catered, btw), and prepared for the day's sessions.

The first session was about the various sub-genres within the fantasy genre. Our faculty member for this session was  Barbara Hodges. It was nice because it was a really small group - only about 7 or 8 people total! - and we had a lovely discussion about different types of fantasy stories, what we're writing, marketing with regards to fantasy and much more. 

My next session was with Jeff Carlson again; this time talking about worldbuilding in fantasy and sci-fi stories. He repeated some of the same information as the night before, but it was still interesting.

My last session of the day was developing the character arc in your novel with Rachel Herron. She was a great speaker - I think my favourite of the weekend - and I was lucky enough to win one of her novels in the raffle!

At the end of the afternoon we had a final session with a panel moderated by Catherine Ryan Hyde that included book bloggers Amy Riley and Danielle Smith and literary agent Pam van Hylckama. Together they discussed the importance of marketing yourself to book bloggers for reviews and exposure. While I am not familiar with any of these ladies, I do read a lot of other  book blogs, and have been introduced to several really great books and authors by reading their reviews. 

Overall this was one of the best conferences I've been to. The faculty were great. They provided interesting and usable information, and controlled their rooms effectively (unlike some past conferences where the instructors totally lost control of the folks in their sessions and it became a total free-for-all). It was also nice to have some different session topics to choose from, too, as the past few years, I've been taking a lot of the same stuff, mostly because I'm not ready for the marketing/query stuff and also because I'm not interested in writing children's/picture books. Anyway, it was a great weekend, and I really do recommend this writers' conference to any and all my writing friends. Cheers!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

•Grab your current read
•Open to a random page
•Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
•BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
•Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

It appears I have some catching up to do! I've read three books (and finished one I started a long time ago and profiled in an earlier Teaser Tuesday entry) in the past few weeks, but haven't had time to do a Teaser Tuesday since the beginning of the month. Since they've all been pretty good books, I wanted to share them, so I decided to combine them into one entry. They are: Stiltsville by Susanna Daniel, Purple Daze by Sherry Shahan, and Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry. Here are my teasers:

From Stiltsville, page 122:

After I handed over a check for $200, which committed me to the team for one twelve-week season, I left the tennis center and stood on the sidewalk outside the fence that enclosed the courts. The air smelled of gardenias and was filled with the hollow popping sound of balls hitting rackets, and I was suddenly, overwhelmingly satisfied with myself.

From Purple Daze, page 26: 

Cheryl

4:40 a.m.

I climb in, smelling like cigarettes                                                                                                                                  and beer. Hickey on my neck,                                                                                                                                          no doubt.

My knee bumps the dinner bell                                                                                                                                            tied to the shade. The hall light                                                                                                                                           flicks on.

Busted!

From Patient Zero, page 109:

"If a person receives a fatal bite then shortly after clinical death the desease reactivates the central nervous system, and, to a limited degree, some organ functions, and the victim rises as a new carrier. If a person receives even a mild bite the infection will kill them in about seventy hours, which at best gives us three days to locate any victims and contain them."

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

The linens were stained with an ugly, deep red. No. Not red. Red-brown. The blood had dried.

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser today comes from page 6 of Darling Jim by Christian Moerk. Christian was the keynote speaker at the recent Central Coast Writer's Conference I attended, and at the end of the conference, I was able to get my newly purchased copy of his book signed to add to my ever-growing collection. I'm only 67 pages into this book, but already I'm totally caught up in the mystery, and can't wait to read what happens next!

Desmond finally ignored his imprecise feeling of foreboding, bent down, and pushed open the slot. He jammed one of the Tesco adverts inside. He noticed a pile of unopened mail on the floor.

And then he stopped.

Yes, I cheated yet again by including more than two sentences, but I hope it leaves you intrigued enough to hunt down a copy of this book for yourself! Cheers!

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

1. Grab your current read

2. Open to a random page

3. Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

4. BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)

5. Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

My teaser today comes from page 136 of K.O.'d in the Rift by Victoria Heckman. It was a giveaway book I picked up at the recent Central Coast Writer's Conference. Apparently the author is looking into making this mystery series into a TV series, and was asking people to read the book and leave comments on her Amazon.com page. So far, I'm really enjoying the book (and am looking into getting the other books in the series), and I think it would make a really fun TV series! Here's my teaser:

"Some sick guy want us to t'ink it's a haole t'ing. It's not. Somebody knew exactly what he's doing to cause a war."