Karin Tabke 1st Line Contest Update

Well, it's Monday again. You know what that means? You got it! That means your's truly has been franticly hitting the refresh button at Karin Tabke's blog. I take comfort in knowing there were at least 40 other crazed women hitting the refresh button as well. *BG*

I am very happy to report that Sharon Cullen and I are still in the running! (Insert wacky little jigg here.)

I'm posting my first 8 lines here for your enjoyment:

Elizabeth squeezed her eyes tight and turned her face away from the wicked-looking blade. She’d seen what it could do. Knew first hand the destruction it could bring.

The death.

“Please,” she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. “I...I can’t do this.”

Cold steel grazed the skin exposed by her low bodice and she flinched.

Well, there you have it. Wish us luck, people. And, if you want to see some fantastic writing, pop on over to Karin's Blog and check out the competition. It is fierce!

Sandy :-)

*March 31, 2007 at Sandra's Goings On - Guest Blogger, Anna Campbell - Claiming the Courtesan

Autographed copy of Hell's Belles goes to....

Neurotic Mom! Congratulations! When you get a moment, please email your contact information so I can get it shipped out.

Now, back to our previously scheduled program!

Specters and Spirits and Ghosts... Oh, My!

Sandy :-)

Specters and Spirits and Ghosts... Oh, My!

First of all, let me thank Sandy for inviting me to be her “guest blogger” today. (Thanks, Sandy!) My name is Terri Garey, and I once lived in a haunted house.

Too dramatic? Okay, let me try again. (Even though it’s true.)

*ahem*

Hi, my name is Terri Garey. Why yes, my name does rhyme, doesn’t it? (Go ahead and giggle. Everyone does. :) I write paranormal romance for Avon HarperCollins. My first book, DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY will be released September 2007, followed by the sequel, WHERE THE GHOULS ARE, in March of 2008. Both novels are about ghosts, voodoo and an extremely unlikely psychic—a former Goth girl named Nicki Styx, who runs a vintage clothing store in Little Five Points, Georgia. Poor Nicki has a brush with death—as in she dies, in case you didn’t get that—and comes back to life as an unwilling ‘ghoulfriend’ to the dead. Nicki finds out that the sweet hereafter ain’t always so sweet, and the here-and-now can be just as tricky. Throw in the hunky doctor who saved her life, some great sex, and a healthy dose of chills and giggles—well, that pretty much sums it up.

There. Was that introduction better? Now you more about me than most of my neighbors do. :)

So why do I write ghost stories for a living? In large part, because I once lived in a haunted house (see introduction #1). Because I live in the South, where ghost stories and a belief in things that go bump in the night is common (the cockroaches alone will give you nightmares). :) Because my mother had a near-death experience, and claimed to see angels at her bedside the week before she died. Because my very first crush was on an actor who played a vampire on the classic Gothic soap opera, Dark Shadows. Because I never missed Creature Feature on Saturday afternoons. The Addams Family and Munsters reruns were the staples of my childhood, as were the campy old black and white movies like “Abbot and Costello Meet The Mummy”, but X-Files, Medium and Bones are the staples of my adulthood.

In short, because I’ve always been fascinated by the dark side, while clinging to the light with both hands. Which is kind of what happens to Nicki Styx in DEAD GIRLS ARE EASY. I mean, I love to hear about ghosts, but I wouldn’t wanna see one.

Which brings me back to the time I lived in a haunted house (c’mon… you didn’t think I’d drop a juicy tidbit like that and then leave ya hanging, did ya? What kind of “teller of ghost stories” would I be?). So here it is: When my husband and I were first married, we moved into a rental house in an older part of town. My teenage stepdaughter came to me one morning with a bizarre tale of how the bathroom door had opened all by itself, and the ghostly figure of a man had stuck his head around the door and “peeked” at her. Oddly enough, even though she was frightened, she hadn’t felt the need to shriek the house down (which is what I would’ve done), because she said the whole experience was more “eerie” than frightening. The man faded away while she stared, and then she went back to bed, trying to tell herself it was a bad dream.

I, on the other hand, was pretty freaked. So, I went next door to the neighbors, and asked what they knew about the history of our house. They were more than happy to share. It turns out that ten years earlier, the house had been the scene of a murder/suicide. The man who owned it had been quite a “player”, and one of his girlfriends had finally decided that if she couldn’t have him, no one would. So she came over one night, shot and killed him, then shot and killed herself. Creepy, huh? Even creepier was the fact that his body was found in the hallway, outside the bathroom door. I’ve got the actual newspaper article to prove it.

We moved out less than a month later. I just couldn’t take knowing two people had died there under such tragic circumstances, and I kept expecting somebody to pop up and shout, “Boo!” (or worse) any second. The house is still a rental property, which doesn’t surprise me one bit.

How about you? The French surrealist poet Paul Eluard once said, “There is another world, and it is in this one.” Anybody else out there with a ghostly experience you’d care to share?

We've Made It To Round 7!

Sharon Cullen and I have made it to round 7 of Karin Tabke's 1st Line contest. The competition is fierce and there are so many wonderful beginnings. I certainly have some favorites. Ok, a lot of favorites. Just for fun, here are the first 7 lines of my entry:

Elizabeth squeezed her eyes tight and turned her face away from the wicked-looking blade. She’d seen what it could do. Knew first hand the destruction it could bring.
The death.
“Please,” she whispered, a tear slipping down her cheek. “I...I can’t do this.”

What do you think? I'm keeping my fingers crossed. ;-)

I can't wait to see what direction the 7th line takes some of the other entries. I just love this contest!

Sandy :-)


*Don't forget to post a comment to SNOW DAY!!!!! for your chance to win an autographed copy of Hell's Belles by Jackie Kessler. Even if you might not read dark paranormal fantasy, it can make a nice gift to someone who does.

More on that Snow Day...

Ummm, Keith went out to snow blow the driveway so he can get to work. (Somebody's got to make the city's drinking water.)


Then, he promptly put our SUV in the ditch...


Poor, poor, Keith. I'm thinking his snow day is not going as well as mine. I'm gonna go make him some hot chocolate and give him a kiss.

Happy Valentine's Day, Everyone.
Sandy :-)

PS
Don't forget to post a comment to SNOW DAY!!!!! for your chance to win an autographed copy of Jackie Kessler's Hell's Belles.

SNOW DAY!!!!!

The kids are bundled up and outside playing in the abundant white stuff. Me? I’ll stay inside where it’s nice and toasty. The cool thing about this snow day is that my job also closed! Wooooo Hoooooo! I get a snow day too!

What will I do with this gift, you may ask? Why, WRITE, of course. I’ve got some hot, hot, hot scenes to get typed in my current project. So, after this post is up, I’ll be getting into the zone. (Minds out of the gutter, people. Sheesh!)

First, I’ve got some updates for everyone. Although I haven’t yet heard back on Andromeda’s Tear, I’m grateful for the fact that it seems to still be in the running. My fingers are definitely crossed for this one. Any good vibes you can send are more than welcome.

Next, as you know, my first guest blogger was Jackie Kessler and it was a total success. Thank you to everyone who sent in questions. I am proud to announce that the guest spot idea has really taken off. I’ve only got a few spots open for the year. Here’s the current schedule. (I’m looking for a good event calendar widget, so if anyone knows of one, please send it my way.)

January - Jackie Kessler - Hell's Belles
February - Terri Garey - Dead Girls are Easy
March - Anna Campbell - Claiming the Courtesan
April - Leslie Dicken - Secret Intentions
May - Tawny Weber - Double Dare
June - Elisa Adams - Secrets Volume 19: Timeless Passions
July - Roberta DeCaprio - Coma Coast
August - Betty Hanawa - More Than She Wished For
September - tbd
October - tbd
November - tbd
December - Barbara Pierce - A Gentleman at Heart

Lastly, I’d like to thank all of my faithful blog readers. According to my web host logs, more than 4,300 unique visitors came to www.sandra.barkevich.com in the month of January. And, as of yesterday, February has already seen 2,751 unique visitors. I am amazed and humbled that so many readers have found entertainment here. So, thank you for your continued visits and support. It doesn’t go unnoticed. In honor of that, I am entering the name of anyone who comments to this post, in a random drawing for your chance to win an autographed copy of Jackie Kessler’s debut novel, Hell’s Belles. Get your comments in before Saturday February 24, 2007. (I’ll put up reminders in subsequent posts, cause I know I’m gonna have something to say before the 24th! LOL.)

Good luck, Everyone!
Sandy :-)

Scientists find 5,000-year-old fossil of couple hugging

I know this is kind of old news. Archaeologists in Italy have discovered a couple buried 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, hugging each other. I saw it on Yahoo a few days ago. But, as an author of romance, I found my thoughts going back to the story often. I wondered what could have lead to the couple's death and if they were lovers or family members? Had they died suddenly? Or was this a Romeo & Juliet kind of thing? Could this couple, hugging for all eternity, have ended their lives just so they could be together for all eternity? The thoughts just kept coming. And, of course, so did the story ideas.

For all you writers out there, how often do you find your story ideas coming from real-life events and news stories? And, for you non-writers, have you ever read a book and thought: hey, that sounds like something I've heard in the news?

Sandy :-)



read more digg story

Gah!

Ok, so I’m out of town for my job. Last night, I had to stay at a different hotel because the one I normally stay at was booked. First, you need to know it is FREEZING cold where I am. I think it might have been 20 below yesterday and that isn’t even exaggerating. Brrrrrrr! Anyway, I get to my room and the first thing I notice is it is sweltering in there. An odd thing to notice, since just seconds before, I didn’t think I’d ever feel warm again. But, I was soooo wrong! It felt like freaking Hades. And, if I wasn’t careful, my skin just might melt off.

But, wait! That isn’t even the worst part. Oh, no, my friends. Not by a long shot. You see, the hell unit producing this inferno kept cycling on and off EVERY FREAKING 8 MINUTES OR SO!!!!!!! And it was loud, people. Very, very loud. I tried adjusting the temperature and changing it from the auto setting. Nothing worked. So, in desperation, I turned the thing off. An hour later, it was chilly. An other hour and it was down right nippy. I contemplated grabbing the blankets from the other bed, but I had this vision of me, all blue, buried under a huge pile of bedding. So, I did the only thing I could do. I turned the hell unit back on.

Ten minutes later, I was in a sauna again. And, of course, the thing started to cycle on and off. Again. I blocked it out of my head and went to bed. But, it never got better, only hotter. Sigh
Then, today, I checked out and was able to book at my regular hotel. Again, it is FREEZING out. Painfully cold. I wanted to cry just getting from my car to the lobby with all my bags, but I was afraid my tears would freeze to my face. So, I check in and they give me my warm complimentary cookie (I did say I like this hotel, right?).

So, off I go, luggage, both laptops, keys, hotel paperwork, and my warm, chocolate chip cookie in hand. My paperwork says room 508 so I trudge to the elevator, maneuver my way in then out and locate room 508. But, my key doesn’t work. I try many times. Nothing. I reread the paperwork. Clearly written on the top, it says room 508. I try the key again. Nothing. I look at the paperwork again. I so don’t want to have to take all my shtuff back down to the lobby so I open the paperwork again and notice the inside says room 520. Ok, I can handle this. I take my luggage, two laptops, keys, hotel paperwork, and my cool chocolate chip cookie and trudge to the other end of the fifth floor.

Ah ha! Room 520. I stick my key in, it turns green, I turn the handle. Nothing. Nada. Zip. I do this about 5 more times while balancing my luggage, two laptops, keys, hotel paperwork, and cold chocolate chip cookie. Finally, I set everything down and try one last time, because, people, at this point I was starting to get a little frustrated. You know? So, I put the key in, it turns green and voi la! The door opens. So I wedge it open with my luggage and bend over to pick up my two laptops, keys, hotel paperwork, and—the freaking cookie slides right out of its little bag and onto the FLOOR!!!!! I might have sworn here. I can’t remember past the loud rushing in my ears. I might have gone cross eyed too, because things got a bit blurry for a second there. But, hey, I got kids. They pick stuff up off the floor all the time and eat it. Five second rule and all. They haven’t keeled over yet. So, I grab my cold, dusty chocolate chip cookie and, damn it, I eat it! And it was GOOD!

So, that was my two days out of town. I’m glad I’m coming home tomorrow.

Anybody got any stories to share? You know I love it when you comment. *BG*

Sandy :-)

PS
Ummm, I forgot to mention I also ran out of gas on the thruway yesterday. But, that's a whole other story.

~ That's My Husband ~

Some of you may have already noticed, www.sandra.barkevich.com no longer points to my blog. As I’ve planned from the very beginning, it now points to my author website, which has a link to my blog (www.sandra.barkevich.com/blog). Of course, convincing my husband to create my site was another story all together. So, in the mean time, I used my author URL for my blog.

Now, after much begging and cajoling, my husband has out done himself once again. From highly emotional photo slide shows, to incredible photography (He took my author shot right in our front yard) to the website of my dreams. This husband of mine never ceases to amaze and delight. Thank you, Keith. Words cannot express the love and admiration I hold for you.

Pssst…to all my blog readers, Keith loves to have his ego stroked (uhhh, get your minds out of the gutter, people. I tend to save the erotic comments for my writing. You’re gonna have to wait until I’m published to get a taste of that. *BG*) if you peek around the new site, please leave a comment for him here. Thanks!

In other news…

I don’t know if you are familiar with Karin Tabke’s 1st Line Contest. She ran one last year, which turned out to be THE most addictive and exciting writing contest I have ever had the pleasure of participating in. I made it all the way to round 7 of 10 total rounds. And, let me tell you, the competition was fierce.

Well, January 15, 2007 marked the entry deadline for this year’s contest and I made the first cut. Actually, I’ve made it to round 4, which was just announced today. If I thought last year’s competition was fierce, I didn’t know what was coming. There are soooo many great lines. I consider myself honored to have made it this far. I’ll be posting my 4th line tomorrow night. If you get a chance, hop on over to Karin’s Blog and check out the competition, but don’t blame me when you get addicted and start franticly refreshing the screen to see who’s added their next line…er, not that I do that or anything. *glances at ceiling, whistling tunelessly*

Sandy :-)

The Bed What?!

Last night, our 5 year-old daughter (she’ll be 6 in April) had her first sleep-over. Ummm, that would be at a friend’s house. I don’t count nights with Abuelita (My mom) and Grandma (Keith’s mom). This was a full-blown official sleep-over, and something I was not prepared for. Emotionally, that is. However, I like this family and Amelia has been friends with their daughter since they were three. Now they’re in kindergarten together and are almost inseparable. So, when she asked, and Kristina’s dad said he was going to set up Kristina’s pup tent for them to sleep in, I just couldn’t bring myself to say no. And so, Amelia Grace had her very first sleep-over while Mama (That’s me) had to suck it up and admit her little girl is growing up.

Now, this is what transpired last evening, while Amelia was happily sleeping at her friend’s house. I put our 4 year-old son to bed. He sleeps on the bottom bunk and Amelia has the top. Inevitably, sometime through the night, Jonas always ends up in the top bunk with his sister. Last night, however, Jonas knew his sister wouldn’t be there. So, instead of climbing to her bed, he came into our room. For the life of me, I will NEVER understand how that tiny little 4 year-old boney body can take up SO MUCH SPACE!

Keith and I are not small people. We have a queen-size bed that fits us comfortably. Enter Jonas or Amelia, or--God-forbid--both, and space becomes a premium.

So, last night, Jonas climbs into bed with us. Then, my husband says “Why don’t you go sleep in Jonas’ bed.” I jumped at this opportunity. I like my sleep. And, that bottom bunk is actually comfortable. So, off I go. I’m totally ready for a good night’s sleep (Uhh, at this point it was already 3:00am). I snuggle under Jonas’ trucks-n-cars comforter and drift off into nighttime bliss.

Then, an hour or two later, (I don’t exercise at 4:30am on Saturdays) Jonas climbs over my head, shoves his boney feet into the back of it, tells me he loves me, and promptly falls asleep. I lay there. Fully awake. After all, I get up at this time all week long. But I want to SLEEP! I need to sleep after getting up at that time all week long. It ain’t easy, let me tell you. So, I force myself to drift off again. Only this time, I’m soooo not comfortable. I mean, this is a twin-size bed for crying out loud. A few hours later, I roll out of the bunk with a kink in my back. This did not work out the way I planned. *Sigh*

Anyway, I go back into my room, Keith is sprawled across the bed, snoring the rafters down, and all I can do is shake my head. Looks like computer time is in order. A little while later, Keith wakes up and Jonas comes back to our room and climbs into my lap. Then, Keith asks me, “How’d you sleep?”

“Terrible, since Jonas decided to sleep with me.”

Keith’s reply? “Looks like I won the bed wars.”

The bed what?!

I had no answer but this, “Don’t think that’s ever gonna happen again, buddy.” Sheesh!

Sandy :-)