Who’s got the button? Not me. I completely forgot what I was going to blog about, though it had something to do with buttons. And pushing them. *headdesk* I should have written the idea down when it occurred to me but I got distracted…*ooh, shiny!*…and by the time I sat down to write today’s blog, I got as far as the title. *sigh* Writer’s block? Me? Oh, yeah! My brain is scattered to the four winds as I try to get everything wrapped up for my trip Thursday. Am I leaving at the butt crack of dawn? Uhm…yeah. LSU is playing in the Superdome Thursday night. Which means TRAFFIC! I wish there was another way into the Quarter but without going surface streets, which might take just as long, I’m stuck on the interstate and football traffic.

Oh, look! If you happen to be into digital books, you can go to Digibooks Cafe. Enter the code to get 20% off. This coupon will be good for any digital downloads of FAERIE FIRE or FAIRY TALES CAN COME TRUE. (And even FAERIE FATE if you don’t have it yet!)

Iffy is all excited about tomorrow. She has a bit of news to share, plus Prof. Shannahan to visit with. She keeps asking me what the difference is between Irish Whiskey and Scotch. I told her to Google it.

As for today, I give up. I’ve wrung my brains out dry and I can’t for my life remember what I was going to say about the topic. Instead, I leave you with this question. What pushes your buttons?

Ever wondered about the appeal of TRUE BLOOD? The comedic talent at bablegum strikes again with this positively splendid send up of the show. (PS -- The video they did about the terrorist attack cancelled due to a Stephanie Meyer’s appearance is just….WTFery at it’s best!)

And now that I have your attention, I give you reason to snuggle up…and dance. *ducks and runs*

Don’t forget to come visit me this afternoon between 4:00 and 5:00 EST. I’m hosting the LASR chat at their Yahoo Group (you can join and then unjoin--LOL). Marianne, Judy and Wendi are giving away lots of goodies like gift cards, books, LASR swag, and two Nooks. PLUS, I’ll be giving away a .pdf ARC of FAIRY TALES CAN COME TRUE and a special prize--the chance to help create and name a secondary character in FAERIE FOOL!

FYI, they are looking for reviewers--free books. Just sayin’…

Our saga continues. I’m busy like damn and whoah getting last minute things done for the NRCA reception at Nationals, as well as getting myself put together for the trip. Y’all know the drill. Title, author, and line.

Let’s make this morning easy. Open your current read, and give us the first complete sentence from the page you’re reading. Here’s mine from Leslie Parrish’s COLD SIGHT:

She could never focus on it, though; never place the memory.

In other news, we still don’t have a winner from last week’s Mr. Summer contest. Those of you who haven’t voted, please go HERE and look! Then vote because, uhm…three-way tie! Who knew it would be so tough to pick from three guys in jeans?!?

Aaaannnnddd….for those of you going to RWA Nationals, so you know what I look like, here’s a quick pic The Only took this afternoon after my haircut.

Lookit what I did!?!?!?! All by my little lonesome. Well…me and iMovie on my Macbook. It only took….a couple of hours. LOL I had to read the tutorial, do it. Move to the next section. Do it. I’ve had a YouTube account forever it seems like, but only used it to leave comments or vote on videos. We’ll see if it’s worth the effort.

So, what do y’all think? Thumb’s up or down? *pssst* Pass the link around!

FYI, in tomorrow’s interview, you’ll get to meet one of the villains, though only in a secondary role.

…OR… Let’s procrastinate!?! I discovered this fun little time waster from a tweet by literary agent, Janet Reid. I think this is hysterical. First, I plugged in the first chapter of AGGIE AND THE ZOMBIES. After analysis, I was given this badge to post. (Oh, how I wish! Asimov has always been a writing hero of mine!!!)

I write like
Isaac Asimov

I Write Like by Mémoires, Mac journal software. Analyze your writing!

Then, out of curiosity, I had to plug in the first chapter of SEASON OF THE WITCH. It came up that I write like Dan Brown. Wow. Do you suppose I could use this in a query to an agent or editor? Yeah…probably not. LOLOL

So, folks, plug in examples of your own writing and share with us who you write like!

Here are some WTF links I’ve come across lately.

Werewolf cakes. Yes. Really.

Nip-Tuck (or why high-waisted jeans should be in vogue. I just don’t know what to say. Except, are her legs so skinny because everything was pushed upwards?

State of the Awful. And this is why there should be jeans, period!

Oh, Poop. If there’s a nurse in your life….run!

What about y’all? Any F-ery to share?

Yesterday was the first day of bidding. With over 2,000 items to bid on, there’s something for everyone, in every price range. Go bid if you’re already signed in. Go register and bid if you aren’t!

Click on the button to go straight to the auction! (Of course, that takes you straight to my donation, lol! Which is still cheap, btw!) Bid now and bid often! If you’d like to donate, there’s still time. Click on the donate link to get more info! Let’s help put Brenda’s auction over the 1 MILLION mark this year!!!!

Click HERE to donate!

Starting May 1st, the Brenda Novak Auction for Juvenile Diabetes Research goes live. I’m donating a gift basket this year. You can click on the above link to see some of the goodies already listed. My donation will be added sometime after April 1st. There are some amazing bargains to be found so sign up, keep watching, and bid if you can! In the meantime, what do you think? Is my contribution auction worthy?

From debut author, Silver James, an Irish-themed basket of goodies:
$50.00 gift certificate from the on-line book seller of winner’s choice: Amazon.com, Borders.com, or B&N.com
$30.00 gift certificate from The Wild Rose Press
Faerie Fate goodies: coffee mug, notebook, bookmarks, and tote bag, plus a paperback copy of the book
12 oz. bag of gourmet Irish Coffee (ground or whole bean)
Luck of the Irish ornament
Shamrock candle holder
Claddaugh coin
Magnet to-do list
Hand-made dove ornament from the artisan, Ban Sidhe. Her designs can be found HERE.

Approximate value: $120.00

See larger image Fantasy in Death (Hardcover) By (author) J.D. Robb List Price: $26.95 USD New From: $2.04 In Stock Used from: $0.94 In Stock

As everyone knows, I am a huge JD Robb/Eve Dallas fangirl. I preorder every book in hardback and hope to eventually replace all the paperbacks with hardbacks in my library. I also download the new ones to Kin for ease of reading. It took a week or so for the publisher to release the Kindle version after the hardback release. Grrrr. And then I got crazy busy and my reading time bottomed out. However, I did finish FANTASY IN DEATH yesterday morning.

I’m not a gamer. I don’t *get* World of Warcraft. You could beat me over the head with an MMORPG and I’d simply stare at you. (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game, btw.) Even so, I loved this book. (Oh, like that’s a surprise, right?) Like others, I had things figured out but that’s okay. With Eve, the payoff is always how she sews up the criminal in interview. And, this book gives the reader an amazing peek into Eve’s brain and her thoughts on relationships and Roarke. A most satisfying read, and well-worth the double expense of two reading platforms. I’m not going to copy the book teaser here. Most of you are already familiar with it, or have read the book. Instead, I’m going to put a question to the Dallas/Roarke fans out there. I know we all want a Dallas movie (or TV series!) but finding actors to play the parts creates raging debates among fans. I did a blog about PROMISES IN DEATH just over a year ago, picking out some possibilities of people to fill the main roles. Since then, I’ve changed my mind on Eve and have another possibility for Roarke, though he’s a singer not an actor, and Greek, not Irish. Even so, for your discussion, I offer Stana Katic (Beckett on CASTLE) as Eve:

See? She even has her murder board and I picture her office as that small and cramped. Now, for Roarke, the blue of Greek singer Kostas Martakas blew me away on Saturday’s brunch. I went looking for some more photos an while most of his shots show him with a shadow beard (and I always picture Roarke as clean-shaven), I really think the eyes might just overcome any deficiencies. What do you think?

Go back and check that link to my previous post about actors to play the roles. Agree? Disagree? The one I can’t pinpoint is Summerset. I just haven’t come across anyone. Ideas? And what about Mavis, Morris, or Nadine? Mira and Feeney? Jump right in here! Give me ideas. Photo links. Whatever! Maybe I’ll do an “All Access In Death” post with all the players! We’ll cast our own movie.

Last week, I did a couple of posts for Shiloh’s new release, partly because I follow her on Twitter and her tweets are fun to read, partly because I like her work, and mainly because I’d read her snippets and this book really grabbed me. After a few fumbles on Amazon’s part, I finally got the Kindle edition I bought downloaded and settled in to read. And read. And read. Wow! Quinn broke my heart. And Sara won my admiration and respect. Shiloh writes with a red, hot poker that sears the emotions. Yet even as she tugs the heart strings, she ramps up the heat with heart-stopping sex and suspense.

From Amazon’s product description:

Quinn Rafferty is working as a bounty hunter for a private detective agency in St. Louis when a new neighbor catches his eye. He’s drawn to her-but he has his own soul to mend before he can worry about anyone else.

Sara Davis is on the run, but not for the usual reasons a woman goes on the lam. She has a plan for her future. And as much as she finds herself attracted to her gruff, tough neighbor, she can’t risk telling him the secrets she’s hiding.

But Quinn must get closer to Sara when she turns out to be the target of his new missing persons case, and both Quinn and Sara will have to expose their true feelings-as well as their fragile hearts-if their love is to survive.

BROKEN is the follow-on book to Shiloh’s best-selling novel, FRAGILE. I haven’t read it. Yet. I plan to, ASAP. I have three books in the queue on Kin before I can get back to it. I suspect it will take me those books to get over Quinn and Sara’s story anyway. Haunting and heart-stopping.

Happy Monday and happy reading!

See larger image Broken (Berkley Sensation) (Paperback) By (author) Shiloh Walker List Price: $15.00 USD New From: $2.43 In Stock Used from: $2.25 In Stock