The Annual Guilt Post

Currently I'm in my publisher's chat room where they're discussing blogging. Regularity is one of the desirable qualities of a blog.

Guilt monkey lizard.

I'm so guilty of dropping the ball on that one. I used to be a 3x/week kind of gal, with semi-topics (like Tuesday's Tale and Interview Friday), then I wasn't (and I know why; see below).

When I post regularly (like, for A to Z Challenge or something), I get lots of readers. When I slack off, or ramble about myself, the readership drops.

Second desirable quality: be interesting. I aim for this, but sometimes I'm dull, especially when talking about myself. Rambling on about a topic, like Astronomy, tends to be more interesting to readers. I love doing a limited series on a topic. (I should do more of those. I'm open to topic suggestions.)

Now, while this blog is mostly about a Romance author (me), there is more to me than just Romance books. Besides, others are doing a very good job of single-topic blogging better than I do. I don't know if I could maintain a single topic (like, Romance, or Astronomy), and keep up a frequency without becoming bored, or having it infringe on my production time.

Frequency.  I read blogs that vary from several times a day, to once a week, to a little less often. I have an RSS aggregate that I've subscribed to so I can catch the sporadic posts.  Me, I'd love to be predictably frequent, but my life patterns don't run like that.

I used to be a regular poster, staying somewhat on-topic, then I decided to do a Blog Challenge that required I blog every day.

That burned me out. Sorry, I simply can't do that. Even when I was bingeing and scheduling, every day was too frequent. I had better things to do like write novels and study stars and make a quilt.

(That said, I've started collecting post ideas for my next A to Z Challenge. If I take my time putting something together, I can auto-load it all and avoid burnout.)

What is the purpose of your blog?  When I trawl through the A to Z Challenge roll call, I find lots of really dull blogs. Why are they dull? Sometimes it's the subject, other times it's that the blogger can't make it interesting. The dullest ones are those where people are talking about themselves in a self-focused kind of way. The me-ME-me-ness would turn off even their mother.

The best blogs are those that post about something that interests them, especially in a way where they lose themselves in the moment of why the topic fascinates them so. (Yes, I'm posting more Astronomy. Yes, I'm going hard-core, but in a friendly sort of way.)

Meanwhile, does this whole post mean I'm going to be blogging more regularly?

Honestly?  I don't know. I can't say for sure until February, when the Australian Holiday Month of January is over, and we all get back to our regular lives.

Things I'm doing that I could blog about:

• Astronomy (especially during the semester when I'm studying)
• Writing (but only in a way that's interesting to you)
• Upcoming projects
• Writer's life
• Tuesday's Tales
• Cat Fostering
• Gardening/Recipes/etc
• Audiobooks (from the production side of things)
• TASE Day (this is always my favourite)

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Her Grace is busiest in RL when she's quiet online.

A to Z Challenge: Randomosity

Here is a list of Randomosity:

1. You can tell how hot a star is based on its colour. The hotter a star is, the bluer it appears. Thus, the red ones are cooler.
2. Once Feminism reaches its true beneficent goals, it will cease to exist. Feminism is okay with this.
3. Most flat buttons are either two holes, or four holes. The even numbered holes are easier to sew on by machine. Four-holed buttons provide a stronger connection. However, three hole buttons do exist, even though they tend to be rarer. For some reason, certain snobs think that three hole buttons  means that the buttons must be sewn on by hand. (Like that is any guarantee of quality!)
4. Popular and wildly successful children's band The Wiggles is descended from an Aussie pub rock band called The Cockroaches.
5. Everybody's name has a meaning. Mine means "Noble Champion". What does yours mean?
6. Clinical depression may be a medical condition requiring medication, but the random Blues can be solved by indulging in something uplifting and funny. Don't wallow in the Blues. The Blues, if left untreated, can turn into clinical depression and really, that's not fun.
7. Read a random article in Wikipedia. Report here what it was.

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Her Grace would love to hear a random fact from you. That's what comments are for.

A to Z Challenge: C is for Cookie!

...is for Cookie.

I love Sesame Street and I especially love Cookie Monster.

I therefore present a plethora of C is for Cookie videos for your entertainment.

I can't be bothered with the usual history and background today. So sit back and have some fun watching YouTube.

Enjoy!

The original:

A clever remake:

Featuring Pentatonix:

(more Pentatonix on Sesame Street)

Featuring Marilyn Horne in an operatic version:

In reverse (subliminal messages optional):

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Her Grace just wants to chill out sometimes.

A to Z Challenge: Theme? What Theme?

For the A to Z Blogging Challenge, I have chosen not to go with a particular theme, but indulge in my usual TASE Day randomness.

TASE stands for Talk About Something Else. Back when this blog had more of a structured theme, TASE Day was a day when we posted off-theme.

TASE Day is the anti-theme.

So for the Month of April, I shall be rambling on about whatever tickles my fancy, including some posts that fit in to the usual theme of this blog: Romance and the readers & writers who love it. After all, if I stuck purely with TASE Day, that would make it a theme, wouldn't it?

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Her Grace is Random like that.

Time for a change

Yeah. The hot pink was starting to get to me. Could also be I am in need of a nap.

Blue is so much nicer. You like? I hope so, because I'm not going back to pink.

Meanwhile, here is some Randomosity for you:

• Comet Lovejoy is visible by the naked eye, of only just. Make the most of it before it fades from view.
• This Cherry Port Sauce goes well with kangaroo.
• Risky Regency presents King's College and the Coventry Carol. I really ought to learn the words. I've been playing this music in various orchestras my whole life.
• Geocaching: worldwide treasure hunt.
• How to install a zipper:

...because why should we throw out our favourite clothes when the zipper breaks?

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Her Grace has done all these things in the past two weeks.

Randomosity at Disneyland

Today we are all about the entertainment (or at least, things that entertain me).


First up, this video of Gaston being challenged to a push-up contest.

Yeah. he's got egg on his face.

And now, to judge some book covers by their, um, covers, check out these Lousy Book Covers. (Don't do what Donnie Don't does.)  As I browsed through this site, I checked out some of the books behind these awful covers, and some of them were sitting at a respectable 4 & 5 stars on Amazon. Huh. Who knew?  Either that, or those authors have some really dedicated mates.

Alas, most of them are suffering from poor sales. Covers have a rather strong influence in marketing, more than these authors realised.

A note to many indie authors: "indie" doesn't have to mean "amateurish".  You can design your own cover if you want. At the very least, have some random stranger give their honest opinion before you post your cover. There must be some site somewhere that will critique covers before you make the marketing mistake of putting up a bad cover. Oh look, there is.

If you have any vision left in your right eye, soothe it with these winners from the Cover Design Awards.  I'm taking notes from these.

Now, back to Gaston. After his triumphant win over push-up guy, here's a girl who's challenged him to arm wrestling. Go redhead! You're my hero today.

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Her Grace hasn't been to Disneyland in about thirty years. Maybe it's time to go back.

Some favourite jokes

(Yeah, For Richer, For Poorer is out in five days. Go buy it.)

I thought I'd share some of my favourite jokes. Caution: some of them may not be entirely suitable for children. Even the fart joke, but only because they simply won't get it.

My favourite fart joke:

It was Great-Grandma's 100th birthday, so all her descendants threw her a big party. They wheeled Great-Grandma into the room so everyone could wish her well and have a great time.

One of her grandsons noticed she was leaning over a bit in her wheelchair. "Here, Grandma. Let me help you." So he propped her up with a pillow.

A few minutes later a granddaughter noticed she was leaning the other way. "Let me help you," she said as she propped her up with another pillow.

Several minutes later a great-grandchild comes up to her and says, "So, how are you enjoying the party, Grandma?"

"It's terrible!" she replied. "Nobody will let me break wind."

My favourite gay joke:

A son comes home from university for the holidays with a big announcement. He finds his mother in the kitchen, working on Christmas dinner. "I have something to tell you." He hesitates. "I'm gay."

His mother, stirring a big pot of potatoes, doesn't say anything. 

"Um, Mom, did you hear me?"

She draw a deep breath. "I heard you, son." But says nothing more.

"So...?"

But his mom keeps stirring those potatoes. Eventually, she says, "So this means you like men?"

"Yeah."

"So, you sleep with them, right?"

The son squirms. "Uh, yeah."

She keeps stirring those potatoes. "So you suck on their dicks then?"

"MOM!"

"Just answer the question."

The son hangs his head. "Yes," he mutters.

His mother takes her stirring spoon out of her pot and whacks him upside the head. "I know what that tastes like. Don't you ever complain about my cooking again!"

My favourite postman joke:

It was Barry the Postman's last day on the job before he retired. As he did his final rounds, grateful folk gave him cards and gifts to celebrate his retirement.

At one home the lovely young housewife invited him inside, took him upstairs and gave him the best sex of his life. Then she brought him downstairs and fed him the most amazing breakfast--waffles with strawberries and whipped cream. 

As Barry the Postman was finishing up, he noticed a dollar under the coffee cup. "What's this for?"

"Well," replied the housewife, "when I told my husband you were retiring and I wanted to do something nice for you, he said, 'Screw him. Give him a buck.' Breakfast was my idea."

My favourite lightbulb joke:

How many humans does it take to screw in a lightbulb? 
Two, but they have to be really, really small.

My favourite chicken-crossing-road series:

Why did the chicken cross the road?
To get to the other side.

Why did the whale cross the road? 
To get to the other tide.

Why did the frog cross the road?
He was stapled to the chicken.


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Her Grace loves a good joke.  What are some of your favourites?

Randomosity for Friday Fun

In school I studied a lot about orbital resonance, also other things that make sound (not noise) in space. As I'm still a bit groggy from staying up to see Philae's successful landing, I now offer you Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko singing "Flight of the Bumblebee".

As I wended my way along the local roads the other day, I saw this sign:

True dat.  However, one must weigh up the horrors of being eaten by the undead, or being eaten alive by a Crossfit Assassin Trainer.

Meanwhile, what are you reading this weekend? Only 40 more days until For Richer, For Poorer comes out.

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Her Grace is suddenly motivated to go for a jog.

Randomosity for Little Spacecraft

Right now I'm seated in front of my computer eagerly awaiting Rosetta's release of Philae to Comet Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. I've got the live feed running from the European Space Agency's command center, and they've just turned on some lovely jazz music. In about two hours, Philae will detach from Rosetta and begin its seven-hour ballistic trajectory to Comet Chury-Whatsit. I've so got my Astro-geek on for the next 24 hours.

In unrelated science: Today's word is nucleosynthesis. I ain't linking; you go look it up with your black-belt Google-Fu skills.

In case science ain't your bag, consider this: there are worse things to be called other than "Grammar Nazi," unless you're Finnish.

And now, for something fun "Five Things Mario Can't Do that You Can":

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Now that she thinks about it, Her Grace is wondering if the reason they turned on the groovy music is to hide what they're saying in the command centre. At least nobody's picked his nose... yet.

Happy November

November the 0 (aka 31 October) was Editor Appreciation Day, so I just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate Claudia Fallon, my editor at at The Wild Rose Press. She edited For Richer, For Poorer (out 22 Dec 2014).

Of course, it's NaNoWriMo. I, along with a whole lotta other authors, are cranking out 50K words for the month. That's 1665 words a day--a doddle! Unless of course you've never done that sort of thing before. Then it'll spin your head out. Good luck with your novelling. Keep up with me on NaNoWriMo.org.

In other  news, Her Endearing Young Charms, has been selected as an OWW's Editor's Choice for the month.  Read what editor CC Finlay had to say about this in the OWW-SFF Newsletter.

I'm looking forward to Thanksgiving later on. Australians don't celebrate Thanksgiving. Don't even have a similar holiday just for gratitude. Alas. But as I was raised in the American Tradition, I love Thanksgiving. So I will be gathering my extended Australian family and showing them this completely humble tradition. As none of us get Thursday off, we will celebrate on Saturday.

And now for some randomosity:

Here is a funny video of penguins falling over.

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Her Grace has finished her term paper on Orbital Resonance and is now looking forward to writing something completely different.

Randomosity whilst sick with a cold

I apologise for my recent silence. I have been entertaining the Cold From Hell for nearly Two.

Fricking. Weeks.

The CFH slows me down. What would normally take my brain five minutes to accomplish, now take me a good half-hour or more. The Nagging Cough isn't helping my mood much either.

I should be working on a line edit. But when one is too sick to even read, not much gets done.

Meanwhile, enjoy the following:

After he wrote The Hobbit and before he wrote Lord of the Rings, JRR Tolkein wrote Leaf: by Niggle. Lovely little allegory.

Love cinnamon rolls?  I do.  Came across this recipe for Vegan Cinnamon Rolls from the Minimalist Baker. (I do wonder, is yeast suitable for vegans?) If you aren't a vegan (i'm not), and don't mind substituting cow milk and butter (I do), remember to scald (and cool) the milk, as unscalded milk will affect yeast growth.  Also, I recommend using dental floss for cutting your rolls. Slide the dental floss under the log, Cross the ends over the log, and pull like tightening a shoelace. So much neater than a knife.

Are you on Facebook? Then you'll be able to watch this mesmerising and NSFW bellydance video. (Note: if you are on FB, you may need to log in to see this. And you do want to see this if you enjoy:
*Bellydancing
*Stereotypical Shirtless Romance Heroes
*Gladiators
*Hummina!  (Didn't know a man could move like that.)

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Her Grace is going to take two Panadol and go back to bed now.

Me vs Sucky Reality

In the first corner, at a hundred and fifty pounds and seventy-five pence, we have Me (aka Mighty Heidi, aka Hey You).  Dressed in dreams and other grandiose ideas, she is destined for great things... if only she had the time (and a really lovely smooch from Richard Armitage).

In the other corner we have Sucky Reality, as heavy as a wet blanket, as dour as an old maid schoolmarm from 1887, and armed with a big, thick Reality Clue Stick.

Long-story-short, my blows lead with:

• Having a novella out in the end of 2014.
• Plans to go to grad school in 2015.
• Win over one of the twenty Dream Agents I've been researching.
• Convince the "You're publishable, Heidi" editors to move from from Tell to Show.
• Pass Grade 6 Piano.
• Get a good night's sleep.

Sucky Reality counters with:

• Stomach flu.  An entire weekend gone down the loo.
• Temporary full-time promotion. Talk about a time-suck. I have time for nothing that truly matters, like writing, and piano, and keeping the loinfruit clean and fed. This complex move came with a most excellent feint called "increased income", but don't be fooled, because the one-two punch includes...
• Medical bills. Whilst Australian Medicare is vastly superior to anything the US currently has on offer, it doesn't cover all possible medical bills. Sometimes one has to fork out. Bye-bye extra income. Thanks to...
• Injuries. Curse you, body, for getting too old to go for a jog. How will I keep up my cardiovascular fitness?  After all...
• Diet and exercise is a Lie (just like the cake)!  Especially when plagued with PCOS.
• Grad school entrance quals change. Forget the fact that I've budgeted my time to include Grad School for 2015. If I don't apply by Semester 2 of 2014, I don't get in at all. (Really, a musician can study astronomy. Really. They're quite closely related.) One cannot work full-time, study part-time and still have any time for writing. Sorry.

Lest you think Sucky Reality has completely knocked Me for ten, thanks to the double-blow of Full-time and Medical bills, a fall to the mat has put me in an excellent position to lash out with my (uninjured) leg and deliver a crushing blow to Sucky reality's knee.

And she's back in the game, with a Good Night's Sleep!  That move alone means that at this point, it could be anyone's game.

Who will win: Me, or Sucky Reality?

Stay tuned...


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Her Grace has learned many valuable things over the course of the past few months:
1. She does not want to work full-time. Unless it's to be a full-time author. That would be okay.
2. She definitely wants to be an author and dedicate her life to that pursuit.
3. Grad school is really hard when one doesn't have enough study time.
4. Playing the piano is like riding a bike--not as bad for your joints as you would think.
5. How's your math:  T>$ when $>X when X=financial needs.

Randomosity on the Weekend

Words make books, now books make words. Check out this Folded Book Art By Luciana Frigiero--->

I may get an old throwaway and give this a try.

I must confess, this is something a print book can do that an ebook cannot.

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Her Grace has added Folded Book Art to her neverending wish list.

Randomosity with Cookies

(Yes, I still love Richard, but an awful lot of Tom Hiddleston has been crossing my feeds lately.)

This is Tom and Cookie Monster enjoying cookies.

I like Cookie Monster. I like cookies. I'm starting to like Tom. He seems like a fun guy.

Me and Cookie Monster:

 

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Her Grace believes one is never too old for Sesame Street. Or cookies.

Quilted Randomosity

I love to quilt. I've finally stuck my One Block Wonder onto quilting frames. They take up my whole office. I've made about a dozen quilts in my life, and I've still much to learn.

The other day I came across this Pixel Portrait Quilt by novice quilter LauraLynn:

Yes, that's our favourite Loki, Tom Hiddleston, portrayed in 40,000 carefully selected and pieced together squares of fabric.

Things that absolutely amaze me:

• What a Pixel Portrait Quilt! It's absolutely stunning! I do not have enough exclamation marks to portray just how amazing this quilt is!  (Here's a few more for emphasis:  !!!!!!!)
• The detail is amazing. The background is full of Shakespeare quotes.
• This was LauraLynn's first quilt.  Her. First. Quilt.  Forget about the usual Nine-Patch. This is a Nine-Patch times 4445 times. Did I mention I am in awe?
• She used more than 150 different types of fabric. I don't know if I've ever owned that many, much less all at once.
• There's a program out there that'll pixellate and plot out a quilt like this for you. (Not sure if this is covered by Rule 34j: if it exists, there's an app for it, or Rule 43: if you look hard enough, you can find anything on the Internet.)

Oh, how I'd love to give a go at a Richard Armitage Pixel Portrait Quilt.  But 1) I don't have the time and 2) I don't know how the Real Life Husband would take me snuggling up with the Celebrity Boyfriend on the bed.

Meanwhile, I'll go back to quilting my One Block Wonder Hexagonal Kalideoscope. Between the two jobs and the three degrees and the full family, it's gonna take me a while.

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Her Grace presents the following quilting facts to you: all quilt patterns have names like "Log Cabin" and "Sea Ways" and "Crazy Quilt" and "Wedding Ring". Not all quilts are beautiful.  Some are downright fugly. There's a quilting technique called "Stitch in the Ditch" or "Ditch Stitching". I can't recall ever having used it. Want to make a quilt super fast? Tie one. Take two flat sheets, whack some batting in between, then at six inch intervals, take a stitch with yarn.  Tie the loose ends.  You could whack one of these out in an hour or two.

Randomosity: Cool Line Trick for Multiplication

Math never was my strong suit.  So tricks like these are really awesome.

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Her Grace wishes she was better at maths. It would make all her science easier.

The Alot is Skillful

This is an Alot:

He's pretty good at lots of stuff, as Hyperbole and a Half explains: Alot is better than you at everything.

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Her Grace enjoys a dry sense of humour.  She also has a loinfruit bugging her alot this morning. She's got to go rescue the alot.

English was once a more rhotic language

Want to hear Shakespeare performed in the original Klingon English accent, as QE1 might have heard it?

Shakespeare in Original Pronunciation (OP): A very fascinating explanation of how Shakespeare's plays and sonnets may have been pronounced.  Suddenly, I understand why he considered "prove" and "love" rhymes. Includes an explanation as to why they believe this is the more correct pronunciation.

I found the comparison of lines fascinating. The accent of OP sounds more grounded to me, possibly because of its rhotic R pronunciation.  Certainly less plummy than RP (Received Pronunciation, which many upper-class English and NPR dj's prefer).


Okay, here's Khamlet in the original Klingon.  You knew it existed:

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Her Grace has Khamlet somewhere on her bookshelves. She hasn't, however, read the whole thing. 

Verbose Randomosity (in memoriam)

Adjectives get a bad rap. That may be fulsome at best, defamatory at worst. I believe they should not be banned entirely, as some Grammar Nazis would have one believe.  Here's a list of 100 Exquisite Adjectives for your propitious benefit.
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My MFA doesn't need funding, but my MS does.  Did you know you could use crowdfunding to support your education habit?  Well, you can.  But then, if one is clever enough to go to school, one is clever enough to figure out how this works. See you on Graduation Day.
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And finally, for American Memorial Day, here's a list of sites to help you find a grave (of someone who's already dead. Not like your own, or someone you wish was dead, or something like that).

• BillionGraves.com Lets you search for existing graves by name, with some further identification. Will even pull up a photograph of the gravestone (if on file) and show you its location on a map.  Quite nice to view my great-grandmother's resting place. Worldwide.
• Gravestone Photographic Resource  For when you want to look up more gravestones. Harriet Hull, does anyone remember you?  Worldwide.
• Find A Grave Not only will it allow you to find grave info, but will pull up all sorts of fascinating genealogy info. My great-grandmother's photo is of her as a young married woman.  Quite handsome. (Mostly, the photos are of the gravestones themselves.) Also included other genealogy info. Then again, my family is into that sort of thing.  Worldwide.
• Gossip time, if Google can be believed: Rumoured to be one of the biggest databases. Then it got bought up by Ancestry.com and apparently there's a bit of interesting rumours going about the Internet. So if you like a bit of drama with your gravehunting, go for it.

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Her Grace always finds the most interesting things during her research.  Ever wonder what goes through an author's head?  That's what Randomosity is for.

Randomosity as the sky clouds up

I regularly haunt the corridors of the Writers Corners of the Internet. As I polish up my own updated website, I look to the example of others.  Sometimes some writers do some really cool stuff.  Some of the more memorable sites are when authors have done some subtle or clever extras:

Jonathan Auxier is hilarious.

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Ever wonder about Phobos and Deimos, the misshapen Moons of Mars?  This video explains somewhat.

And what if our Moon was as close to the Earth as the International Space Station (ISS)?  It would look awesome, if only we weren't so dead.

Like stories of the moon?  Get thee to thy library and check out Robert A Heinlein's "The Moon is a Harsh Mistress".  I once sold a story several years ago about the moons of Mars called "Woman and the Moon."  It's a shame it's not readily available for consumption at this time. I had some good reviews.  If you can get your hands on a Borderlands #8, enjoy.

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Her Grace has spent some time staring up at the sky this week, mostly cursing the clouds that obstruct her view.