Konrath gives me the creeps...

That's why I like him! Please take a look at my review of his latest book, Fuzzy Navel:










Five Star Creepy!!!

My favorite thriller author of all time, J.A. Konrath has given us yet another reason to lock our doors at night. Prepare to be creeped out, because you can’t sit alone and read Konrath without feeling the need to check under the bed and in the closet for unwanted visitors. This book had me looking over my shoulder for days.

Not to give away details about the story, the villain, Kork is holding Lt. Jack Daniels’ loved ones hostage and she’s hell-bent on revenge. You won’t be able to stop reading this until you’re sure everyone is safe. But can you be sure?

Daniels is a wonderful character, hilariously funny and human. Fuzzy Navel is the best in the series so far and I can’t wait to see what the next installment brings.

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It's all about the numbers...

The older I get, the more I begin to notice that my life revolves around numbers. How much money is in my bank account, how many days of daycare I'll pay for this week, how many words I need to type in order to get my book finished, how much weight I need to lose, how high my cholesterol is, etc. Take today for instance.

I got up at 8 a.m. and spent a total of 20 minutes checking e-mails. I then hurried to get my daughter to daycare by 9, but ended up getting there at around 9:30. I went to the gym and walked a total of 17 laps which took a whopping 20 minutes before riding the stationary bike for 11.5 minutes and getting 2 miles in. This means I'll be able to eat those extra 50 calories I've been wanting to get my hands on. Woo-hoo!

After the gym, I went to the store. Geez, I hate to even think about the numbers involved there. After spending about $20 at the store, I stopped to put $42 worth of gas in my car. That will get me about 350 miles. Maybe. All the while, I was thinking that last night I had just hit 43,000 words on Keeping the Faith and that I really need about 20,000 more to ensure that I hit novel length with this one. We'll see. I've been working on this book for approximately seven months, four days, three hours and twenty-six minutes. During that time, I've thrown out about 97 pages worth of plot that I hated.

When I got home from doing all of this, I checked the tv listings to see what was on and decided not to watch Seven, The Three Amigos, or 1408. I had to get to work by 1 anyway. So, after answering 32 e-mails, a couple of instant messages and commenting on three or four blog posts I remembered that I needed to get the ISBN numbers for a few books I wanted to find. By the time I looked these up, I was sure that my brain might explode.

You see, I hate numbers. That's why I try very hard not to do any tricky math and I can't really commit to playing the lottery. There's just too many damned numbers.

Until next time...

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The Morning After...

Yesterday, I turned 36. Without much fanfare, but nonetheless, it happened. I had been wondering how this birthday would hit me since last year I nearly had a meltdown over turning 35. Thankfully, I maintained my composure and was actually ok with the whole thing. After all, 36 is one of those non-events we all go through. It isn't a milestone birthday. There really wasn't anything attached to this particular age for me. Last year, I had set myself up to be disappointed because I hadn't had more kids or done more with my life. This year, I'm thinking, "Hey, what the hell else should you have done? You've been pretty busy, so quit your bitching."

I usually look at my birthday as a time to make resolutions. It's a time to decide once and for all what the priorities for the next year will be. So, this year I have just two things that I want to accomplish. The first is to finish losing the weight I've been trying to lose for the past five years. The second is to finish writing this book, Keeping the Faith and find a wonderful publisher who will help me take my work to the next level. Actually, I should probably try to figure out what the next level might be before I start looking for publishers. I'm not even sure what level I'm currently on.

The long and short of it is that I'm finally giving myself a break. I'm no longer going to beat myself up for not having met someone else's personal idea of who I should be. I'm grown and I have my own goals to meet and my own crosses to bear. If my goals don't meet with someone else's expectations of who they want me to be, who gives a shit? Not me. Not anymore...hell, I'm on my way to 40. I don't have time for self-depricating bullshit like that. I'm happy and so far, I have been fairly healthy. For that I am thankful and I'll keep on working towards the things that I think will keep me that way. Shouldn't we all?

Until next time...

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