Blog Contest at A Slice of Orange

Hey everyone,

Thought some of you might be interested in this blog contest over at A Slice of Orange.
The contest starts today, so get your stories about your "Last First Date" in quickly. Below is all the information for you...

Happy Writing and Good Luck!

Michele

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Announcing a new blog contest on A Slice of Orange!!!

Tell us about your "Last First Date"!

OCC member and USA Today Bestselling author Susan Mallery wants to
hear the stories of your last first date for the latest contest on our
blog, A Slice of Orange.

She's looking for stories of the first time you went on a date with
your spouse or main squeeze. We want it all! The good, the bad, the
funny, the romantic!

Contest runs from June 4 until June 15. Blogs will be posted every
day, including weekends. Susan will judge all entries and announce
the top three on June 22.

The first place winner will receive a signed copy of Susan's June
release, "Her Last First Date," and a Starbucks gift card.

Send your submissions to Louise Knott Ahern at louise@theworkingwriter.com. Please include your full name, address and phone number so we may contact you if you win. (Address and contact info will not be posted on the blog.)

*A Slice of Orange editors reserve the right to edit or reject submissions.

Butterflies 5/26/07

On Saturday, my family visited the L.A. County Museum of Natural History and one of the exhibits is the Pavilion of Wings, which is the Butterfly exhibit (live ones, that is).

My husband took some video of the beautiful and unique experience and set it to music (Luigi Boccherini - String Quintet in C Major, Op. 30, No. 6). Here is the result...

Please enjoy!

Michele

Online Class: Crime 101 with Jan Burke

Hi guys,

Here's the information for an online that sounds really cool for writers. From what I understand, New York Times bestselling author Jan Burke teaches a terrific and informative class. So many writers I know rave about her programs.

The info is posted below...

Happy writing,

Michele

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Crime 101 with Jan Burke
June 11 to July 8

Enrollment Information: http://occrwa.com/classes_June.htm

COST: $20 for OCC members $30 for non-member
Enrollment deadline: June 9, 2007
Moderator Kitty Bucholtz at kittyrosebucholtz@yahoo.com

About the class:
Whether you're just toying with the idea of writing a work of crime
fiction, considering including elements of crime fiction in your next
work, or seriously at work on a mystery or thriller, this course is
for you.

The goals of this course are to make you feel more confident about
writing a novel of crime fiction, to help you create a better
manuscript and avoid common mistakes of new writers in the genre, and
to guide you to additional resources.

You'll get an overview of the genre, so that you'll become familiar
with the many types of works that are included in the wide embrace of
crime fiction, learn how they differ from one another, and how those
differences may affect choices made by the writer.

We'll talk about character, plot, and setting and how they work
together within the structure of these novels; how to build suspense;
how to devise clues and red herrings; common pitfalls to
avoid; "playing fair" and other "rules,"; researching, including
some essentials of police procedure and forensic science; how to
network and connect with the world of crime fiction writing and where
to learn more.

A New York Times and USA Today bestseller, Jan Burke is the author of
twelve novels and a collection of short stories published by Simon &
Schuster and Pocket Books.

Crime 101 with Jan Burke
June 11 to July 8

Enrollment Information: http://occrwa.com/classes_June.htm

COST: $20 for OCC members $30 for non-member
Enrollment deadline: June 9, 2007

For more information please see the website
http://occrwa.com/classes_June.htm or email moderator Kitty Bucholtz
at kittyrosebucholtz@yahoo.com

Because I'm just not fast enough...I've been tagged

Erica Orloff tagged me on her blog, so now I need to write down 8 random things/habits about me here. Thanks, Erica!

Also, I need to post the following:

1. Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.
2. People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.
3. At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.
4. Don't forget to leave them a comment telling them they're tagged, and to read your blog.

1) I firmly believe the person who decided to sandwich bacon, lettuce, and tomato between two slices of toasted bread is a frickin’ genius.


2) I think this SNL skit is “SOFA KING” funny. I also want to “go on the dam tour” and “take all the dam pictures” I want (National Lampoon’s Vegas Vacation, 1997). Oh yeah, I’m easily amused.


3) My taste in music is so eclectic, I can’t name a favorite group or genre because I have too many favorites—anything from Mozart to Queen to Oingo Boingo to Muse to Bee Gees to Depeche Mode to Ennio Morricone to Barenaked Ladies to Keane to Green Day. But the only music I can write to is classical music or Audio Visions (New Age) on XM. And my eclectic taste surfaces when it comes to movies as well—Silent, musicals, noir, blockbusters, foreign, BBC, and 80s mini-series.


4) I love roadside attractions. We happened by The Clam Box in Ipswich, MA a few weeks ago, during our trip to New England. The restaurant looks like an open container of take-out! So cool.

5) Folks look at me askance when I tell them that I love to vacation with my family, my husband’s family, and my brother-in-law’s in-laws—all at the same time. That’s a lot of people (at least 17), but we all get along great and travel well together. It truly is a blast. So far, we’ve vacationed in a houseboat on Lake Powell, in a Victorian house in Maine, and in a Villa in Italy.

6) I love strawberry-flavored things, but not strawberries.

7) Love the smell of coffee, but can’t drink it. (Yes, Erica, I’m an alien. LOL)

8) Necco Wafers are the best candies ever! (If my dentist happens to be reading this…I don’t bite them. I let them dissolve slowly. Promise.)


It was difficult coming up with different facts than the last time I’d been tagged. Click here to read those facts, if you wish.

Now, I tag…Jen A., Gillian, Spy Scribbler, JKMahal, Maureen, and Kate

(If you want to play, that is...no pressure. You'll notice I didn't follow the rules and tell you that you've been tagged! LOL)

Take Care,

Michele

The most watched nature video on YouTube

Sometimes you just need to know you're not floating along alone in life.

If you haven't seen it yet, check out these otters holding paws, or "rafting." It's sweet to watch. The video of Nyac and Milo was taken at the Vancouver Aquarium by Cynthia Holmes in 2002, was posted on YouTube in March 2007, and has had millions of hits.

Enjoy!

Michele

Nice diamond. Is it your great-grandmother?

Yep, you read that title right. Not "is it your great-grandmother's diamond" as in "oh, how nice that you have a heirloom to cherish and remember her by...but "is it your great-grandmother" as in "okay, thaaaaat's kinda creepy." (At least to me it is. What do you guys think?)

Have any of you heard about this process of pressing the ashes of a loved one into a synthetic diamond? A company in Switzerland will do this for you and you can read about it this article: "Woman loses battle to turn dead dad into diamond" (Reuters, April 3, 2007). Apparently she couldn't prove that her father wished to be turned into a diamond.

What would you do with it? Would you wear it? Display it? What if you lost it? Hmm. This is just an option I'd never even considered...

Michele

"I don't know. What do you want to eat?"

Tired of having the same conversation over and over with your friend or loved one when it comes to deciding what to eat? Now you can just use this fun website for those WHAT-DO-YOU-WANT-FOR-DINNER-I-DON'T-KNOW-WHAT-DO-YOU-WANT dialogs! It's easy and it takes up less energy (energy you can devote to your own writing).

All you have to do is enter your name, the name of your friend, your favorite food, your least favorite food, and your favorite number and an entire dialog is generated for you in mere seconds. Then just print it out, hand it to your friend and your decision of where to eat has been made for you (kinda, sorta)! So easy.

But if anyone can tell me why the favorite number thing is thrown in there at the end, then you'll get a cyber pat on the back. LOL

Have fun!

Michele

Internet Tennis

For those of you who get bored easily at work, or for those writers who do not like to stare at a blank screen while plotting or writing your stories, I have a website that will keep your clicking finger occupied while you either pretend to work or decide what happens next in your story.

Click here to play Internet Tennis and a whole new world will open up to you. LOL

Michele

P.S. I know, even PONG had more action!

Proof it pays to read

If you're like me, then you also have someone in your life whom if you should ever come home and find this person quietly reading a book, then you'd swear you'd just entered the wrong house.

Well, now you can point to this news story and prove to that loved one that it pays to read. Did you hear about the toddler who had her babysitter buy her a book in a thrift store for $.25, and after the babysitter bought it, she opened the book and discovered $1300 had been hidden inside?

That's one intuitive toddler! (And a lucky babysitter).

You can read the full story here.

Creativity comes in all forms

Have you seen this on You Tube? This guy from Norway films himself playing one note at a time on a drum set and a piano, and then edits together a decent song. His name is Lasse Gjertsen and he claims he can't play either instrument.

I love it when people don't let anything stand in their way because they feel compelled to create, and I don't just mean not knowing how to play musical instruments, but also learning to deal with severe dyslexia in order to write stories or overcoming health or social issues (or anything else that may be blocking their path).

Anyway, I thought you might enjoy this short video. :-)

Michele