I've Been off the Continent

But I'm back in the land of sunshine now (and heat waves...ugh).

The 65 degree, somewhat cloudy and drizzly, climate in England suited me perfectly! Fantastic walking weather, especially when we're talking about 5-6 miles a day around London. We stayed in the old hotel turned Ministry of Defense (MoD) building turned hotel: The Grand at Trafalgar Square. And the location truly couldn't be beat--steps from the happening Trafalgar Square in one direction and steps from the scenic Victoria Embankment in the other. Wonderful.

Anyway, I'm just checking in, as I'd planned to post a few blogs from the hotel, but we spent every waking moment out in the city or on a tour; so, now will have to do. :-)

I do need to catch-up on a few things around here, so this is a short post...But, I've posted a few pictures of Picadilly Circus. There's a function on my point-and-shoot camera that allows me to choose a color to isolate when I take photos (e.g. I can focus on just the reds, blues, greens, yellows, ect.) and everything else will be black and white. So, I've experimented throughout the trip with this function and will post some of the photos here. Below are two of my favorites from Picadilly Circus, and obviously, I chose red as my focus (red was my favorite in London: buses, guards, telephone booths). I love the moodiness it lends the scene. This was taken around 9:30 at night.

Hope you all are well and the writing is going smoothly for you! I hope to visit your blogs soon.

Michele

P.S. The camera I use is a Canon PowerShot SD 750 Digital Elph

Online Class: Innovative Publicity Basics for Authors (New and Hopeful)

Hi All,

Just passing on more information for a 2-week online class. This one looks like a fantastic PR program! For more info, be sure to check out Heart of Dixie's website.

Good luck with your writing!

Michele

***Permission to Forward***

Innovative Publicity Basics for Authors (New and Hopeful)

Sponsor: Heart of Dixie (http://www.heartofdixie.org)
Instructor: Lauren Cerand
Cost: $20
Dates: July 1-14, 2008
Deadline to register: June 25

CLASS DESCRIPTION:

New York-based independent publicist Lauren Cerand walks you through the fundamentals of literary publicity right up to the cutting-edge. This course consists of six instructor-led lectures, three open "Q & A" sessions dedicated to your topics, and three small but significant homework assignments. Content will be useful to authors in any genre and at any level of expertise.

INSTRUCTOR BIO:

Lauren Cerand (www.laurencerand.com) is an independent public relations representative and consultant in New York. Her clients are a purposefully eclectic mix of creative professionals, and she specializes in generating initial buzz and building sustained attention for individuals and projects such as Barnes & Noble's "Upstairs at the Square" series ( www.bn.com/upstairs). She is often asked to share her innovative perspective on publicity and has spoken to audiences at the at the 20th Annual Independent and Small Press Book Fair, Book Promotion 101, Mystery Writers of America, NYU's Center for Publishing, The (Downtown) Omaha Lit Fest, Penguin UK (video clip), Virginia Festival of the Book, Word of Mouth, Women's National Book Association, and next at the Nebraska Summer Writers' Conference (June 14-15, 2008). The Village Voice included her in its "Best of New York" (2004) issue. She is the vice chair of the board of directors of Girls Write Now, "a nonprofit volunteer mentoring organization that has been matching bright, creative teenage girls from New York City's public high schools with professional women writers in the community since 1998." A Cornell University graduate, Lauren compiles "The Smart Set," a weekly round-up of cultural happenings for www.MaudNewton.com,, and writes about art, politics and style at www.LuxLotus.com.

Register at _www.heartofdixie.org_ (http://www.heartofdixie.org/)
Questions? Email _online@heartofdixie.org_ (mailto:online@heartofdixie.org)

• Cost: $20 -
• All payments for a workshop must be received by the registration deadline - June 25th.
• Please email the Online Class Coordinator with questions.

A Little Place Called "Happy"

Over on A Slice of Orange today, I'm talking about what I do to stay in a positive state of mind, especially during tough and scary times--like what my family and I are going through with my 23-year old brother-in-law's health right now. It's not easy, and I'm certainly not alone because every family has their share of emotional upheaval.

On the other blog, I've listed a couple of things I like to do that helps put me in my "happy" place...And in turn, they've put me in a positive state of mind pretty much on a daily basis.

Basically, laughing helps me throw back my shoulders a bit and feel lighter. And these boys, Bret and Jemaine, definitely know their way around a punch line (subtly, I might add).


Also, listening to music has helped send me to Happyville for a few minutes a day. You already know that I'm obsessed with MUSE, right? Well, on the other blog, I posted a live version of their cover of "Feeling Good" from their concert at Wembley Stadium in 2007, which MUSE posted on YouTube (they also post a lot of their videos on their MySpace page for fans to embed to their own sites).

Here's another song of theirs that's a favorite of mine called "Starlight" (you may have heard this on the radio).



So, what about you guys? What do you do to stay positive? Listen to music? Read? Watch movies? Hang out with friends? Write?

I'd love to know and you can answer here or join in the discussion over at A Slice of Orange, if you prefer.

Take Care,

Michele

UPDATED AT 8:45: I had forgotten to add the link to MUSE's site and now it's good to go.

Because I need to laugh

This is purely for fun.

Laughing always helps to put things back in a positive light, right? Right. (Don't you love it when I answer my own questions? Sure, you do.) Who doesn't love to smile or laugh? C'mon, I dare you to tell me you don't partake of the occasional chuckle.

Anyway, I found this a few years ago and it cracks me up. By the way, it's for men and women alike...

Wanna know if you're pregnant? Here's a website that offers an ONLINE PREGNANCY TEST. Yes, that's right, folks. It'll tell you through your computer whether to expect a bundle of joy. ;-)

And guess what? It'll tell you the sex of the baby and who the father is as well! But what if you don't like which father it picks? Well, just tell it to pick another one! It's as easy as clicking the button.

I'd like to announce that I'm expecting a baby boy and the father is Dick Cheney. And even better...My husband is expecting a baby girl and the father is the Mailman. Isn't that sweet?

Don't forget the birth certificate...

Click the link to get your Free Online Pregnancy Test

So, try it and let me know if you're expecting a little bundle of joy of your own.
Watch out, though, you never know who the father might be...

Have fun!

Michele

Online Class: FROM AUSTEN TO ALIENS: HOW TO CREATE CLASSIC TOUGH CHICKS

Here's the information for a June online class. The workshop details and links to sign up for this four-week class are pasted below, and feel free to pass the info along to interested parties.

Hope this is of some help to your writing! :-)

Take care,

Michele


********** permission to forward **********

FROM AUSTEN TO ALIENS: HOW TO CREATE CLASSIC TOUGH CHICKS
with Jacqui Jacoby
June 16, 2008 - July 13, 2008

Enrollment Information: _http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassJune08.html_

COST: $20 for OCC members, $30 for non-members
Enrollment deadline: June 14, 2008
If you have specific questions, email _occrwaonlineclass@yahoo.com_
(mailto:occrwaonlineclass@yahoo.com)

ABOUT THE CLASS:

As a martial artist, Jacqui Jacoby is interested in self-defense and
how women are portrayed in the media. At first, it seemed as if it
was only Hollywood showing women in a tough light. With heroines such
as Sarah Conner of the Terminator movies, and Ellen Ripley in the
Alien films, women were the ones saving the day when men were being
blown up or eaten. This workshop covers such topics as how to portray
tough chick heroines. We will discuss different types of self-defense
techniques and how to build a tough chick heroine from the inside
out. What kind of women make up the tough chicks and what are they
like in their everyday lives? What drives them to become tough? What
kind of hero must stand beside her and what kind of villains will she
face?

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR:

Award winning author, Jacqui Wilson lives and writes in the mountains
of Northern Arizona. A self proclaimed self-defense hobbyist, she is
currently studying for her black belt in tae kwon do along with her
husband and three kids. She can be reached via her website at http://
_www.jacquijacoby.com/_ (http://www.jacquijacoby.com/)

Enrollment Information: _http://www.occrwa.org/onlineclassJune08.html_

COST: $20 for OCC members, $30 for non-members
Enrollment deadline: June 14, 2008

********** permission to forward **********

The Land That Loves "Arnold"

ITALY: THE LAND THAT LOVES "ARNOLD"

(First posted August 3, 2006)

When we were up late one night (Or was it early one morning? I don't know...All I can remember is that it was dark outside), a few members of our party, who were still adjusting to the time change, discovered that Italian television is a bit different than American TV. Several channels were titled Sex TV and tucked in between those channels was a channel with a catholic priest broadcasting mass. Yes, you read that right.

So, we found ourselves flipping through the channels quickly, trying to find something we could comfortably watch with family members of all ages. We all breathed a sigh of relief when a young Gary Coleman popped up on the screen. Different Strokes! Yay! None of us had seen that show since the 80s.

It was an episode I hadn't seen before, but the character "Arnold" was the entire show. I jokingly asked my husband if they had cut out the rest of the characters because Arnold really was the best part. Then the credits rolled and we started to crack up because it was now title "Arnold" and had a montage of that character and ONLY that character.

Later that day, my family and I were walking back to the train station in Florence and spotted the picture shown above in an alley. Guess the Italians really do love Arnold! I think it's sweet. And as warm, friendly, and incredibly giving as the Italians are to everyone, it doesn't surprise me too much that they love Arnold. (If you know something different about their connection to this character, then maybe you should just let me believe my little delusion. Oh, what the heck, tell me about it.)

Have you ever been in a place where you're surprised about who is famous there? And if you write a story that is set in that place, does it change the way you write about the people who live there?

Inquiring minds want to know...

Michele

The Sneaky Flying Snail Head Bug

In keeping with the theme of Italy, I'm posting another blog from my series after a family trip to Tuscany. :-)

Take care,

Michele

P.S. Let me know what you think about the flying snail head bug thing... Or creepy bugs in general. You need the killer-diller bug details in Tuscany for your story? Here you go. See the lengths I go to in order to help you out? LOL

MC

****************

WHAT THE HECK IS THAT?!

(First posted August 1, 2006)


During our first full day at the villa in Tuscany, several members of our party rested in the shade of an umbrella while soaking in the amazing view of the valley and the Chianti vineyards below. We were all in this serene state of mind, sipping iced tea that tasted remarkably like a peach Jolly Rancher, when we spotted what appeared to be a baby hummingbird darting about the flowers. Zip, zip, zip. How cute! A baby hummingbird. I've never seen one before. Have you? It finally flew away to where we all imagined its mother to be, waiting for it to return home. Sigh. Sweet.

A few hours later, another member of our party, who had stayed at the villa the week before we had arrived as well, asked us if we'd seen the flying bug that sports a snail's head.

Waaaait. Whaaaat? Come again? Uh...No, thank God.

I immediately imagined something out of the Jurassic Era, something with a snail's shell attached to the head as it flew around, bombarding unsuspecting viewers of the Chianti vineyards. Gross. I don't WANT to see that. At this point, I was ready to sprint inside and shut the doors and windows, as well as zip up our luggage so the freaky insect couldn't hitch a ride home with us--or worse, lay snail head eggs in my clothing. ::shudder::

A few days later, the baby hummingbird appeared to us again. My husband grabbed his camera and captured an image of it as it hovered near a flower bed. When he looked at the photo on the screen. His eyebrows furrowed and he zoomed in on the image. "What the heck is that?!"

Yep, all of our little fantasies about the baby hummingbird vanished. It was the freaky snail head insect, but fortunately, no snail shell to be found. Later, we were thumbing through a guide book and found a picture of our friend, the Tuscan Hummingbird Moth. If only we had actually looked at the guide books we'd spent a fortune on before our trip. Sheesh.

And if that wasn't enough, just before we turned in for the night, my husband and I discovered a millipede climbing the wall in our room and another one making its WAY to our room. They were huge...At least four inches in length and the width measured a good inch and a quarter, if you included the legs (soooo many legs!). Boy, oh boy, that did cause me to keep our luggage zipped up tight. I even entertained the thought about putting the locks back on...just in case the insects were savvy enough to figure out how to unzip baggage. I didn't want to take any chances.

Online Class: "Hooks, Lines, and Stinkers"

Here's an upcoming online class entitled "Hooks, Lines, and Stinkers" with bestselling author Rhonda Pollero. It's only a two-week class, which means it's less expensive, and it focuses on the beginning of your story.

Hope this is of interest to some of you... Below is the link to the enrollment information.

Good luck with your writing!

Michele


~~~~~~~PERMISSION TO FORWARD~~~~~~~

June 2nd, 2008 – June 13th, 2008

"Hooks, Lines, and Stinkers"

With Rhonda Pollero

Workshop Description

Never give your reader an excuse to stop reading. There are many
ways to hook the reader from the opening line – action, humor,
dialogue – but that isn't the end of it. Every subsequent line,
scene and chapter has to keep that hook firmly embedded. That can be
accomplished by employing certain techniques – like dropping the
reader into a dangerous situation – or you can sabotage yourself by
relying on information dumps and clichés, (do you really want the
phone ringing to break the sexual tension or is there something else
you can do?). We'll define types of hooks and those stinkers that
are almost guaranteed to get your manuscript rejected or your book
tossed across the room. Food for thought – 84% of people who stop
reading a book do so at the end of a chapter (Barnes & Noble). More
food for thought – people make their buying decision in less than one
minute based on reading the opening three paragraphs while still in
the store (Barnes & Noble).

About the Instructor

Rhonda Pollero sold her first romantic suspense, LEGAL TENDER, in
1993. With more than 4 million copies in print, her books are
distributed worldwide. Pollero has penned more than 30 novels; won
numerous awards and nominations; landed on best-seller lists
including USA Today, Waldenbooks and the Ingrams' Top 50 List. She
has received numerous Romantic Times Magazine Reviewer's Choice
Awards, an Affair de Coeur Contemporary Series Award; and two Career
Achievement Awards for Romantic Suspense.

In June, 1995, Pollero developed the wildly popular Rose Tattoo
series for Harlequin Intrigue ™. These novels ". . . offer the best
of her unique ability to seamlessly blend romance and mystery."
Romantic Times goes on to say that she "is a master of the romantic
suspense genre." Affair de Coeur says that her "humor and dialogue
sparkle."

In 2000, Pollero developed a second series for Harlequin Intrigue™,
The Landry Brothers. This 7 book series has received both critical
acclaim and established her as one of Intrigue's top-selling
authors. In addition to writing for Harlequin, 2005 saw the release
of her first title from Ballantine, KILLER CHRISTMAS, excerpted in
the December, 2005 issue of Cosmopolitan Magazine.

2007 saw the launch of the Finley Anderson Tanner mystery series with
the debut hardcover title KNOCK OFF. Garnering both popular and
critical acclaim, including a starred review from Kirkus, Kensington
Books will release the second in the series, KNOCK 'EM DEAD, in March
2008.

Pollero is a sought-after lecturer and workshop presenter as well as
a much-requested media guest. She has been featured in The New York
Times and The Washington Post, among others and makes frequent
appearances on both radio and television. She founded The Writers
Workshop at Anne Arundel College in Maryland and was the lead
instructor in their craft and genre writing courses for three years.
She is considered an expert in why women read and write crime fiction
as well as an excellent authority on plotting and structuring the
novel.

Pollero is a member of The Author's Guild, Mystery Writers of
America, International Thriller Writers, Sisters in Crime, Romance
Writers of America, and Florida Romance Writers, Inc. She resides in
south Florida with her family. You may contact the author directly
at Rhonda@..., or visit her on the web at www.rhondapollero.com or
www.KelseyRoberts.net.

Enrollment Information

Cost: $20 non-members / $10 IRWA members

For more information, please visit: http://www.indianarwa.com/workshop_062008.htm

What Doesn't Kill You, Makes You Stronger

So, right now I've nearly recovered from mental and physical exhaustion, as my family and I have been haunting the outside hall and a room in the ICU for the past two weeks (and in the past two days, a regular hospital room). Fortunately, things are on the upswing for one of our young family members and we can breathe easier. Thank God for Brilliant Doctors, as well as the power of prayer and good thoughts.

As I focus on family and catch up on my own writing, I'll probably re-post a few blogs here, especially since I have so many new blogging friends now. And I'll continue to post writing information, like online classes and contests and whatnot. Pretty much anything I find that's writing, author, or book related. Oh, heck... Who am I kidding? I'll post pretty much anything. :-)

I hope you all are doing well!

Michele

..........
HOLY SCOOTER GANGS, BATMAN!
(First posted August 26, 2006)

Scooter gangs rule the streets in Italy. They seemed to travel in packs and appeared fearless when nearing any car. It was like a game: cars vs. scooters. And they’d get bonus points when a pedestrian screamed and jumped back onto the sidewalk.

Yes, I added to the bonus points total over and over again. Every time I stepped out onto the street I had to keep my eyes peeled for scooter gangs. I swear, they’d materialize out of nowhere. I’d start to cross when there wasn’t any traffic, but then PRESTO, there they were…aiming for me. Does that sound paranoid? I tend to think that way. A lot.

But what struck me most was that we never knew if it was going to be a student with tattoos, a scooter chick dressed in Italian chic, or a business man in what my family and I liked to call a “scooter suit” (seen in photo above). But we learned to look out for one another, so when someone shouted, “Watch out--Scooter suit!” or “Careful--Scooter chick!” we knew exactly who was aiming for us. And that, my friends, is how we survived the mean streets of Firenze and Roma.

We also turned the noun “scooter” into a verb while driving the roads. We had walkie-talkies in each car as we caravanned (is that a word?) from town to town and more than once someone in one of the cars would declare into their handset, “We’ve been SCOOTERED!” This meant that a scooter gang had darted out in front of the car and separated it from the other two cars in our party. I’m not sure why they felt the need to do this…Perhaps to weaken us. But it never worked, as we managed to reunite and become more seasoned, aggressive drivers, like the Italians.

What doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger, right? Hmm. That can also be applied to the life of a writer…

Take care,

Michele

Some Writing Contest Info...

This just arrived in my inbox via the rwacontest loop and I thought some of you might be interested in the information. The finalists are sent to an editor and an agent for placement, which is a little different than other contests, and it's open to published and unpublished alike.

For more info, please see the Northwest Houston RWA website.

Below, I've pasted what has been sent to me.

Good luck!

Michele


****Permission to forward granted****

NORTHWEST HOUSTON RWA
Presents The Sixteenth Annual

LONE STAR WRITING COMPETITION

ENTRY FEE: $20 NWH members; New lower fee! $25 non-NWH members
ELIGIBILITY: Competition is open to published and unpublished authors.
ENTER: First 25 pages, including prologue, if any. BOTH POSTAL AND E-MAIL ENTRIES ACCEPTED.

All entries will be sent to three first round judges: two published authors
and one unpublished author. The lowest score will be tossed and final round contestants will be chosen by the combined total of the final two scores. FINALISTS WILL BE SENT TO BOTH AN AGENT AND AN EDITOR FOR PLACEMENT.

Final judges:
Inspirational Category:
* Editor - Charlene Patterson, Bethany House Publishers
* Agent - Mary Sue Seymour, The Seymour Agency

Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Category:
* Editor - Ami Russell, The Wild Rose Press
* Agent - Taryn Fagerness, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency

New this year! Young Adult Category:
* Editor - Karen Chaplin, Puffin Books
* Agent - Rachel Orr, Prospect Agency

Single Title Category:
* Editor - Lindsay Nouis, Penguin Group
* Agent - Carolyn Grayson, Grayson Literary Agency

Romantic Suspense Category:
* Editor - Patience Smith, Harlequin Silhouette
* Agent - Laura Bradford, Bradford Literary Agency

Contemporary Series Category:
* Editor - Faith Black, Avalon Publishing
* Agent - Pam Strickler

Historical Category:
* Editor: Hilary Sares, Kensington Publishing
* Agent: Michelle Grajkowski, 3 Seas Literary Agency

Important Dates:
Deadline: Sent via postal service: Post marked by JUNE 6, 2008 for mailed
entries; sent via e-mail: by midnight CST JUNE 6, 2008.

Finalists: Announced August 8, 2008.
Winners: Announced October 25, 2008 at the Lone Star Conference, Houston, Texas.

FMI: _http://www.northwesthoustonrwa.com/_
(http://www.northwesthoustonrwa.com/) or Melinda Porter at _bdogs80@aol.com_ (mailto:bdogs80@aol.com) .

****Permission to forward granted****