Wednesday, December 18, 2013

HOLIDAZE GIVEAWAZE!

Look what's under the mini-tree!



Santa wants me to give away a signed copy of IN A FIX and a signed copy of QUICK FIX. And a $25 gift card to Amazon OR Barnes & Noble. 

That's right. The winner will get all three! And if the winner happens to already have signed copies of IAF and QF, then the winner is free to re-gift them. It's like having me Santa do your Christmas shopping for you! 

How do I know Santa wants me to do this? He told me. Hey, Santa and I are close. Really, really close.*



Isn't Santa-Baby a cutie-patootie? Plus, he has *ahem* big boots:




Anyway, I'm going to try out "Rafflecopter" to organize this giveaway. Have at it! And please (if you feel like it -- no pressure) spread the word. 

Oh, and remember -- Santa doesn't care if you celebrate Christmas or not. He just likes giving away presents. :)

a Rafflecopter giveaway


*Okay, so TG plays Santa at the Wolf Trap Holiday Singalong every year. So, by "close," I mean very close. *waggles eyebrows*

Edited To Add: YES, the contest is open internationally! And, yeah, people who "like" my author page on Facebook (see link on sidebar) get special consideration. ;)

Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Meet Eeyore (Grumpy, not Humpy)


First of all, a small announcement:

I've reached "THE END"!

Of the first draft of The Big Fix, that is, the book I've been using NaNoWriMo to push myself through. 

I've never participated in NaNo before, so this was a new experience for me. And I wasn't officially participating this year, either, since I'd already started writing the book before it started. But even unofficially, the daily excruciating pressure ... er, I mean encouragement ... to churn out words was highly motivating. 

I'm normally kind of a slow writer. I tweak and polish and fiddle all the time, generally rewriting as I go. That's probably still my preferred way to go about producing a novel, but I have to say, it is liberating to know I can put on the speed when I have to. 

The best part? I like the book that came out of it. Sure, it still has a few sharp edges, and I may have to pull out the heavy grit sandpaper to polish it, but the basic story? It leaves me feeling satisfied. 

In honor of this momentous (for me) achievement, I'm going to introduce you to one of my favorite characters from The Big Fix.

Meet "Eeyore," Ciel's Shetland pony:

Not the real Eeyore. Only a reasonable facsimile. I'm sure this pony isn't an asshole, like the Eeyore from my book.

Eeyore is a grumpy (by which I mean nasty) little so-and-so (by which I mean asshole), fond of biting pretty much everybody except Ciel. Frankly, I love him as much as Ciel does. 

That's right. No camel today. But try to have a Happy Hump Day anyway. Or else Eeyore might come after you.

Also, Happy Thanksgiving (to those of you who celebrate it)! May you gobble as much as the turkey who got away. 

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

A Hump Day Post that Briefly Mentions ALIENS

*Knocks on screen*

Hello? Anyone still out there?

By Irene2005 [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons. Text added by moi.

Yup. That day. And I'm still busting my hump on Book 3. 

Which means--you guessed it--another sorry excuse for a blog post. But that's better than a sorry excuse for a third book. 

This is a dilemma a lot writers run up against eventually. Some of us have a finite number of good words in us per day, and if we leave them on our blogs, the WIP* suffers. (Of course, there are those who have a never-ending fountain of truly excellent words they can strew here, there, and everywhere, and still have plenty of genius left for their WIPs, but let's not talk about them. I suspect they're a weird alien life form that doesn't require sleep.)

Anyhoo, for those of you participating in NaNoWriMo (even unofficially, like I am), hang in there! We can DO this!

For those of you who aren't, I salute your sanity. ;)

*Work In Progress. In my case, THE BIG FIX.



Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Hi! I'm not really here.

I'm unofficially NaNo-ing my way through THE BIG FIX.

You know the old saying: "Easy reading is damn hard writing."

Kind of like this:





Hope you're all doing well. Sorry I don't have a camel for you, but try to have a Happy Hump Day anyway. :) 

 See ya after I get the bloodstains out of my keyboard!

Wednesday, October 16, 2013

Don't pay the ransom--I escaped!

Ba-dum-bum.

Ha-ha! Okay, no, I wasn't really kidnapped. (Unless you mean kidnapped by LIFE. Ba-dum-...oh, never mind. It wasn't that funny the first time.)

Yeah, it's been kind of hectic for me here at Chez Grimes since I got back from vacay, catching up on everything I so blatantly ignored while TG, our son, and I were relaxing with our (mine and TG's, that is, not our son's) daughter and son-in-law down in Pensacola.

I mean, seriously, could you concentrate on work with this so close at hand? Yeah, me neither.



We had a great time eating (like this monster piece of a triple-decker Key Lime pie; no, I didn't eat it all myself--it was a group effort, and even then it took two days to finish)...



...drinking (this fruity concoction was yummy, and fortunately not quite as strong as the name implies)...



...and making merry (fun with DD at a kitschy gift shop; she takes after her father mustache-wise).



All that merry-making made reentry into reality feel like a three-ring circus, and left me with a certain empathy this guy:

Jože Gal [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

What with one thing and another (books to finish writing, deadlines approaching, THE VERY FABRIC OF TIME SPEEDING UP AT AN EXPONENTIAL RATE!!!...you know, the usual), my humps were starting to droop!

Something had to give. Alas, it was the blogosphere. I probably could have thrown up some quick posts, but then I would have felt guilty about not having the time to read and leave comments at all the other blogs I follow. And I hate feeling guilty.*

Anyway, sorry if you've missed my bright and shining presence (ha!) in the comments section of your blog. I'm hoping things will settle down soon, but I might be scarcer than usual for a while longer. You know, until after I bend my characters to my will and beat this latest plot into submission. Bwah-ha-hah! *arms self with big writing stick*



*I'm posting today because I've had a few people ask (A.) whether I'm still alive, and (B.) if I'd finally run out of camels. 

Answers: (A.) Last I checked, and (B.) Apparently not.


Happy Hump Day! Hope you're staying perky. :)

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

[Insert clever Hump Day Title here.]

In case you didn't notice, I forgot to post last week. Well, not so much forgot as just didn't do it. Um, sorry.

And this week I'm only popping in to say toodles, because this coming weekend we're heading for the sunny beaches down Florida way to visit our kiddos. (Yay!)

Think I'll find something like this waiting for me there?



Alas, probably not. But a girl can dream. 

If I've been scarce, it's because I'm woefully behind where I'd hoped to be by now with The Big Fix, and I'm nose to the proverbial grindstone trying to bank enough wordage that I'll be able to kick back and relax while I'm on vacay. Nothing spoils a good umbrella drink like visions of deadlines performing the Danse Macabre in your head.

But don't worry about me leaving town--you'll never even know I'm gone. I finally succumbed the lure of the smartphone, and am actually learning how to navigate cyberspace via this extraordinary time waster device. 

You realize what this means, don't you?  

Linda + Umbrella Drink + Smartphone = Internet Disaster Waiting to Happen

So, what's been going on in your world while I've hanging out in Ciel's?

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Over One Hump! (More on the horizon.)

Whew! What a week. Busy, busy, busy. 

Saturday was fun. The reading/signing at B & N went really well. Sold some books (and not just to family!). The manager was nice enough to set me up at the front of the store, so as to catch the attention of the passers-by in the mall as well as those who were in the store to browse for books. 


Had a few of my buddies from QUICK FIX along with me, providing moral support:


That's Molly-O (the "O" for "orangutan," obviously), Ciel's little honorary cousin, whose aura-adapting talent emerges at an awkward time in the book. And on top of the candy basket is Herbert, Ciel's bother James's pet chameleon. (You might have to squint to see him.) 

All right, they're not real. They're props. As an ex-(or maybe not-so-ex-)-actress, I know the importance of a good prop to help you through a performance. 

Oh, and "JENFACE" (the paper doll version of @JentheAmazing) was there, too. She came to my very first signing of IN A FIX last year, so I brought her along for good luck this time, too. 

(Aside to Jen: Good news! There was no tornado this time!)


Anyway, now that the hooplah has died down a bit, I'm plowing ahead with the next book...

By Lucien Mahin (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3
Because, damn. Deadline. Can't relax until I'm over the next hump.

Hope all your upcoming humps are happy ones! :)

Wednesday, August 28, 2013

Whut Up, Camel Butt?

A different point of view...by a photographer over in Belgium. 

By Michal Osmenda from Brussels, Belgium (Different point of view  Uploaded by russavia)
And, yes, it made me giggle. In case you haven't noticed yet, I have a somewhat *cough* juvenile sense of humor. I mean, butts are inherently funny, right? Especially when you've had an extremely busy month and you're low on sleep. Just about anything is funny at giggle o'clock. 

Now, don't judge. You should see the "Hump Day" pics I'm not showing you. (You're welcome.) 

If you'd like something slightly more decorous (but only slightly--it's still me, after all), I'm visiting a different reality today--over in France!

Between Dreams and Reality

Melliane posted the interview in both English and French. Yes, it was tough learning French just to answer the same questions for her French readers, but anything to snare entice possible new readers. ;)

In other news, do you realize AUGUST IS ALMOST OVER? Is anyone else as taken aback by this as I am? How in the heck did that happen?

Tell me, what speed is your personal timeline set at these days? 

A. "Molasses in Winter"
B. "Dentist's Waiting Room"
C. "Sand Through an Hourglass"
D. "Kid Chasing the Ice Cream Truck"
E. "Sh!t Through a Goose"
F. Choose Your Own Metaphor

Whatever the present speed of your life, I hope you're having a Happy Hump Day! 


Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Well, shut my mouth!

I know what you're thinking. When is Linda going to keep her big mouth shut about Quick Fix?

Photo courtesy of morguefile.com.
No, that's not actually me. 

This is me:


TG captured my joy on his smart phone last night at B&N. 


Guess I better show up there on the 31st, too. 

So, in answer to the question at the top of the post: Um, obviously not today. ;)

But at least I squeezed in a camel...

Happy Hump Day! 

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

It's a Bouncing Baby...Book!

It's here! It's here! It's really here!



It's official. #2 is out there in the world. 

I don't know whether to SQUEEEE!!! or to EEEEK!!!

But this nice little book birthday present is making me lean toward SQUEE-ing:

USA Today Happy Ever After Blog

Later today I will do the typical self-indulgent author thing, and go to a few local bookstores to see if I'm on the shelves. In disguise, of course, so if I'm not on the shelves I can pretend I'm a real customer when I ask for it. (What? It would be embarrassing to ask for my own book.) 

Oh, and if you happen to find yourself in a bookstore today, and you happen to see either of my books, and you feel inclined to turn them so that they're facing out...well, that would be cool. Just don't get caught, because I'm not sure how bookstores feel about random customers rearranging their shelves. Personally, I do this for all my author buddies. But then, I get off on the intrigue of "stealth marketing"-- I'm a badass that way. ;)  

This evening I'll celebrate at a nice restaurant with TG, my son, and some good friends. 

Then, tomorrow, I'll sit my butt back in my chair and work on book 3, because that sucker ain't gonna finish writing itself.


Friday, August 16, 2013

Apparently It Ain't All Fairy Dusted Cupcakes, aka A Guest Post by Susan Spann on the Realities of Being Published

Today I'd like to welcome to the blog one of this year's debs from The Debutante Ball. (That's a group blog for debut authors--you may remember my tenure there last year. It was a blast!)




Susan Spann is a transactional attorney and the author of CLAWS OF THE CAT: A SHINOBI MYSTERY (Minotaur Books, July 2013), the first in a series featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori (http://us.macmillan.com/clawsofthecat/SusanSpann). Her hobbies include traditional archery, martial arts, rock climbing, and raising seahorses and rare corals in her marine aquarium. You can find Susan online at http://www.susanspann.com or on Twitter @SusanSpann.




I asked Susan about the reality of being published vs. how she thought it would be. I also asked her to include pictures of her saltwater aquarium. Here's what I got:


For Better, For Worse, and For Love of Fairy Dusted Cupcakes

Some things in life, we do because we love them. Writing is one of those things.
In the early days, we write because the words won’t let us do otherwise. We write for ourselves, for our friends, and for the dream that someday strangers may read our words.

In the midgame, after we find an agent and publisher willing to take the chance, we write with fevered excitement. We try to rein in our expectations, and, for the most part, we fail.

And then our debut book releases.

We find ourselves in a whirlwind of signings, interviews, and guest blogs. Our Twitter and Facebook feeds explode with congratulatory messages and—if we’re lucky—compliments from strangers who read and enjoyed our books.

“Curiouser and curiouser,” Alice said of the world on the other side of the looking glass.

Curiouser and curiouser, indeed.

Because even here, in the midst of wonder, joy, and excited frenzy, fear and doubt can live. Most unpublished writers—me among them until recently—believe that life after publication is made of unicorns and rainbows. Golden fairy-dusted cupcakes must be a published author’s only meals. A chorus of angels sings her to sleep, and the tinkling laughter of worshipping fans becomes her wake-up call.

Not so fast there, Tinkerbell.


Life after publication is wonderful in many ways. I know how rare a joy it is, and believe me, I don’t complain. But I am frightened also, and because I think it might help others, I’m willing to shine a light on those shadowed places.

Many parts of publication are delightful without exception. You see your book for sale in a bookstore, or on the Internet. That part is dream come true. It doesn’t matter if the book is hardback or paperback, ebook or physical copies. It exists. You love it, and you hope that it will thrive.

But a few days later, a week or so after release, the excitement starts to die down and the fear creeps in. You realize you’re only one voice amid a cacophony of titles—one author among thousands, or tens of thousands, competing for that reader’s eye. Your fear and insecurity ... the ones that dogged you daily before you signed the publisher’s contract ... creep back in.

“You didn’t think you could shake us?” they ask. “You really thought we had nothing more to say?”

And then they open up on you, just like they did before. Only now, they’ve got more leverage. Not only will they put down your sales (no matter how many books you might have sold), they’ll help you obsess over everything from Amazon rankings to bad reviews. They don’t care that no book pleases everyone, or that Amazon rankings have all the lifelong importance of a gnat’s cough in a hurricane.

If you’re not careful, you’ll forget that you fought and defeated these enemies before. You had to. You’re published. You couldn’t have gotten there without a victory over fear.

The bad news is, the fears are stronger after publication, mostly because we now have more to lose. Our private dream is a public achievement. Our secret hopes are on bookstore and library shelves.


And yet, it isn’t just the fears that are stronger. We, the authors, are stronger too. We do have the book, and it’s published, and we have the letters from strangers who actually read it and found it good to prove the publisher wasn’t mistaken in trusting our vision. The fears are with us, but we can fight them, and once again we can prevail.

Struggling with it? Here’s what works for me:

- More writing. The best way to get over your last book is your next book. (Curiously, this is also the best marketing plan for your previous story, too.)

- Family and friends. The people who know and love you will also push your shadows back. They believe in you, and their belief will help you believe in yourself.

 - Seahorses. OK, this one might not work for you exactly, but the variation is something simple, which you love for itself and itself alone. For me, that means my seahorse reef and its many quirky inhabitants. I love them. I watch them. They make me smile. That’s all I require from them, and I take true joy from time I spend in their company.

For you, it might be cupcakes, or reading, or mowing the lawn. (If so, feel free to come over and mow mine too.) But at the end of the day, it’s always joy that conquers fear, and in the post-release world, that joy is easy to find if you let yourself see it.


It’s in the book with your name on the cover that you can now hold in your fortunate hands. It’s in the smiles of friends and family—and readers—who love your work and love you too. It’s in the simple things, like lemon cupcakes, that make you smile even if they aren’t now coated in fairy dust.

Love is where the story started, and love is where it ends. Love of the book, love of the words, love of the things around you, and also love of this crazy publishing journey which, though scary, is also magical in its way.


(Back to Linda.)

Thank you, Susan! You're absolutely spot on. (Too bad, because I was kind of hoping to eat a golden fairy-dusted cupcake while riding my unicorn under a rainbow. Alas.) 

If you'd like to buy yourself a copy of Susan's wonderful book, here are a few places you can find it: 



And here's where you have a chance to get it for free (!!!): 

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

I am NOT titling this post "Hand Job," no matter how much TG wants me to...

A blast from Sesame Street's past for your viewing pleasure today:

[Edited to add: You don't have to fear watching this video. It's not as scandalous as the title of this post might imply. Actually, it's totally tame. In case you were worried.]



Isn't it amazing what some people can do with their hands? 

Have you ever made hand shadows? Which animals are your favorite? I can do a sheep. 

Okay, TG is reading over my shoulder. He said if I can type "I can do a sheep" with a straight face, I shouldn't have any trouble working a "hand job" into the title. (Only for you, honey.)

P.S. Maybe next time I should write the post before I have the martini...

P.P.S. This post is going up Wednesday morning. I am not writing it, martini in hand, on Wednesday morning. Or any morning. Just so you know. 

May all the shadows following you today be Happy Hump Day ones! (Um, I'm hoping that doesn't sound creepy...) 


Addendum: On Friday I'll be hosting Susan Spann, author of the newly published Claws of the Cat. She's 
one of this year's Debs over at The Debutante Ball, where I was a Deb last year, and she's written a truly wonderful guest post about how the reality of being published can be a little different than you expect. Hope you'll stop by and say hi to her. :)

Monday, August 12, 2013

The WINNER of the Camel-Vacuuming Contest!

As you recall, last Wednesday I posted a picture and asked for caption suggestions. You came through like the troopers you are, with captions clever and funny and--dare I say it? I do!--lame. 

They all made me giggle, which, as you know, was the primary purpose of the contest. Alas, I could choose but one. Since I can be an indecisive so-and-so in matters like this, I passed the responsibility over to TG, who decided for me. 

And here's the caption he chose:

"Join the foreign legion," they said. "See the world." Yeah, right.

Congratulations, S.P. Bowers! Your mixture of resignation and sarcasm really filled the bill. 

You've won the signed ARC of Quick Fix. If you'll email me your address to linda(dot)grimes(at)gmail(dot)com, I'll put it in the mail. Hope you'll enjoy it. :)

Thanks to everyone who participated! You all have my undying gratitude. 

What? That's not enough? Oh, all right. Anyone who would like a signed Quick Fix bookmark along with my undying gratitude, email me your address and I'll send you one. :)


Wednesday, August 7, 2013

The Intergalactic Camel Vacuuming Win an ARC Contest!

I think this picture is calling out for a caption. 


By Nilfisk-Advance (Nilfisk) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
My brain is fried, and I can't think of one. Can you help me? 

Funny, goofy, clever, lame...anything goes! 

I will even pick a winner, based on the level of funniness, goofiness, cleverness, or lameness of said caption. Or perhaps on whimsy. Possibly even randomly. 

And, since my wonderful publicist sent me a few extra ARCs (advance reading copies) of Quick Fix, a signed one of those will be the prize. 

(I know! Not as good as the cheesy plastic toys or cheap candy I usually give out as prizes, but hey, I'm trying to do my promo duty here. Sue me.*)

Let's run the contest until, say, Sunday (Aug. 11, 2013) at midnight East Coast time. It's open intergalactically. 

Happy Hump Day!

P.S. If you honestly can't think of a caption--even a lame one--but still want to be considered for the ARC, just tell me in the comments. I'm very understanding about caption performance anxiety. Or if you're too lazy to come up with one, you can tell me that, too. I happen find brazen admissions amusing. 

*No, don't sue me. I really couldn't take the added stress right now.  



Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Breaking News...

Wow, two posts in one day from me? Geez, that has to be some sort of record.

But I had to tell you that I'm also over at All Things Urban Fantasy today! 

I mean, Ciel is. Or rather, her diary. You know the green suede diary that went missing in In a Fix

The breaking news? The diary has been found! And now you can have a small peek into it just by clicking here

While you're there, you can enter to win a set of my books. That's right, both In a Fix and Quick Fix. Tor is offering up a two-fer! (Don't worry if you already have In a Fix. You can always give it away.)

That's it. That's all my news. Oh, except I went to the doc for my physical today, and found out I'm still alive. Low cholesterol, solid bones, good blood sugar, my boobs are fine, and no thyroid problems or vitamin D deficiency. My joints still ache from time to time, but apparently that's normal. Thank God I have my rheumatiz medicine when I need it. ;)

Cheers! 


Mind Melds, Free Stuff, and Fraud, Oh My!

Today I'm over at SF Signal (the 2012 Hugo Award winner for best fanzine), along with a bunch of really cool authors. 

We're answering the "Mind Meld" question "What authors are on your Auto-Read List?" Click here and scroll down a bit to see my choices. 

Also, I'm giving away a free signed copy of QUICK FIX over on Facebook! The deadline to throw your name in the hat is Thursday, Aug. 1, at noon East Coast time. 

Just click on the following link, scroll down to the pertinent post, and leave a comment:

https://www.facebook.com/LindaGrimesAuthor

Ta-Da! You're in. Of course, if you wanted to "like" the page while you're there, far be it from me to deter you. But it's not a requirement. 


In other exciting news, I am about to become rich! 

You are probably wondering how this happy fact came to be. Well, I'll tell you. It is via the following message I received on GoodReads:

FROM THE BRANCH MANAGER
ECO BANK PLC.
ACCRA BRANCH GHANA

Hello Dear.
My name is Mr. Samuel Adjei I am the manager of the Eco bank Accra Branch Ghana. I am a Ghanaian, married with two kids. I am writing to solicit for your assistance in the transfer of funds valued at $4,500,000.00 (four million five hundred thousand United States Dollars.) This fund is the excess of what my branch in which I am the Manager made as profit during the last annual audition. I have already submitted an approved end of the year report for the year to my head office and they will never know of this excess.

As an official of the bank i cannot be directly connected to this fund, so this informed me of contacting you for us to work for mutual benefits. I want you to assist in receiving this fund into your bank account for us Meanwhile you will have 40% of the total funds. Note there are practically no risks involved as it is going to be bank to bank transfer. All i need from you is to stand as the original depositor of this fund who made the deposit with our branch so that my Head office can order the transfer to your designated bank account.

If you accept to work with me, i will appreciate it so much. As soon as i receive your response, i will give you details on how we can achieve it successfully. You can contact me immediately via my email for the details, (redacted) thank you.

Regards,
Mr.Samuel Adjei.

I KNOW! I could hardly believe my good fortune, either. What a truly amazing world we live in, where such amazing opportunities exist. And from such a polite man, too, if a little familiar ("Hello Dear"? Really?) for someone I've never even met. 

I have no words. Fortunately, I did find a camel that expresses my real opinion of the above:







Happy Hump Day, everyone! 

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

EEK! (AKA, Fears, Phobias, and Things that Freak You the Eff Out)

I like to think of myself as a strong person. If there's something I have to do, I do it. Generally without dilly-dallying, because dilly-dallying never makes anything easier. 

But there are some things that Freak. Me. The. F***. Out. 

For instance (in no particular order):

1. Spiders. *shudders* I was going to post a picture of one, but I (you guessed it) freaked the f*** out looking at them. Yeesh. You want to see spiders? Go Google them yourself. And then do me a favor--don't link to them. 

2. Cockroaches. (See above. Cockroaches are almost as bad as spiders. But somehow grosser, so there's the ick factor to consider. I'm fine with ladybugs, ants, silverfish, etc., so it's not creepy-crawly phobia in general.)

3. Long bridges, especially over water. I tend to hold my breath as I go over them, which is why I don't like the long ones. Holding my breath for long periods makes me light-headed. This is especially troublesome if I happen to be driving.

4. Extreme heights, especially when viewed from an edge of any sort, even one with a rail. (I'm okay with moderate heights. It's when the people below start looking like ants that I tend to hyperventilate.)

5. Small, enclosed places. (Yeah, I'm claustrophobic. So now you know where Ciel gets that from.)

6. Cranes. (Not the birds. The machinery.) Part of me is just sure one of those things is going to drop an I-beam or something on my car as I drive by one day.)



Apparently I'm in good company with my irrational fears:



Who knew a plastic bin could be so terrifying? 

Special thanks to Jen Stayrook (aka @JentheAmazing) for the gif. I can always count on her for a good camel connection. 


So, what are you afraid of? 


Wednesday, July 17, 2013

Happy CHOMP Day!

I don't know about you, but I like to include food and drinks in my books. "Eat, drink, and be merry"--an excellent motto for real life, in my humble opinion--apparently spills over into my fiction. 

A few years ago, I showed you some of the things Ciel eats and drinks in In a Fix (click here if you're curious). 

Well, she's still eating and drinking (and *ahem* "merry-ing") her way through Quick Fix

For instance, she enjoys some yummy Thai food, including Drunken Noodles, with friends and family at her D.C. condo...

By Elliot from Castro Valley, California, USA (Drunken Noodles) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons


Has a few too many Manhattans at the Come as You Aren't Party...

By Hayford Peirce at en.wikipedia [GFDL (www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html), CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/) or Public domain], from Wikimedia Commons

And finds out stale popcorn is not the hangover remedy she hoped it would be...

Photo courtesy of MorgueFile.com
She has a moment with a frosted strawberry Pop-Tart...

By Scott Ehardt (Own work) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Pickles...

By Renee Comet (Photographer) [Public domain or Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

...and raspberries

By www.bluewaikiki.com (originally posted to Flickr as Summer Raspberries) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
...also come into *cough* play. 

Obviously, I think food is a great prop in a book. Food is fun. It engages the readers' senses, which is always a good thing. 

This guy obviously agrees with me:

By Syed Abdul Khaliq from Shah Alam, Malaysia (Unta@Camel  Uploaded by russavia) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
So, how about you? Do you like to use food and/or drinks in your writing? If so, what kind?

If not, what's your favorite food and/or drink in real life? 


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Things Aren't Always What They Seem

So, George Takei shared this photo from National Geographic on his Facebook feed:

https://www.facebook.com/natgeo?directed_target_id=0

Looks like a bunch of camels, huh? And it is, though maybe not exactly the way your eyes were telling you at first glance.

In case you can't read the small print in the picture (and if you can, I'm seriously impressed with you eyesight), here's what it says: 

"This is a picture taken directly above these camels in the desert at sunset. It is considered one the best pictures of the year. Look closely, the camels are the little white lines in the picture. The black you see are just the shadows!"

Cool, huh? And it also makes you (and by "you" I mean "me") think. How much of what we "see" in other people is real? 

Especially the people we see on the internet all the time. Do you ever wonder how much of their real selves your cyber buddies reveal online? Do they--intentionally or not--display some innate inner truth, or are they just pixel-ated cyber shadows? 

My guess is, those of us who participate a lot in social media--whether it be through blogs, Twitter, Facebook, GoodReads, Google+, Tumblr, Pinterest, etc.--show a lot more of ourselves than we might think, to people who read between the lines. But not everything. 

People who know me online probably think of me as a wisecracking, camel-loving smartass who enjoys a good cocktail and has an aversion to cooking. Which isn't necessarily untrue, but trust me, there's a bit more to whole picture. I do have a serious side. 

(Maybe even a dark side. Bwah-ha-hah! Wouldn't you like to know?) 

It just doesn't happen to be what I choose to put on display for the world. Frankly, I'd rather make people laugh. (Which is probably revealing in its own way.)

How about you? Is your online persona the real you? The whole you? Nothing but the you? 

Or are you a pixel-ated cyber shadow?

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

HUZZAH! Ciel lives on. (With Gratuitous Drinking Camel)

Okay, so you know that good news I've been hinting at for the past few weeks? Well, I can finally announce it officially! 

*Ahem*

By Glenn Brunette (IMG_8878) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
(That's a picture of a trumpet fanfare. Goofy, I know. Just be glad I didn't put in a GIF with a sound mashup. I mean, that would have been annoying.)

Anyway, Publisher's Marketplace should soon, if not already, be carrying something akin to this nice little announcement my super-fantabulous agent, Michelle Wolfson, put together:

IN A FIX and QUICK FIX author Linda Grimes's THE BIG FIX, which continues the adventures of Ciel Halligan, aura adaptor extraordinaire, who takes on a job for an action superstar whose snake phobia prevents him from completing his latest Hollywood blockbuster, only to find that when the superstar's wife turns up dead, Ciel may have unwittingly provided the perfect alibi, to Melissa Frain at Tor in a two book deal by Michelle Wolfson at Wolfson Literary Agency (World).


Yep, Tor bought the next two books in my series!!!

I'm thrilled to get to keep playing in Ciel's world for a while longer. She still has stories to tell me, and I can't wait to share them with you. 

I'll drink to that! And so will my friend here:

By Iflwlou at zh.wikipedia [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)], from Wikimedia Commons
Cheers! :D


Wednesday, June 26, 2013

A Happy Hump(less) Day Post

I fell down on the job today. *bites knuckle* Mea culpa. I got busy. 

But, anyway, Jen Stayrook, aka @JentheAmazing on Twitter, noticed the lack of camelly goodness here, and kindly provided me with this flower camel:

By Prabhat nhpc (Own work) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Sure, it's humpless. But, hey, flowers. It's not always about humping, you know. Sometimes you have to mix it up a little. 

Thanks, Jen! You're AMAZING. :)