Off (But Call Me Tellervo)

I'll be mostly offline today so I can run errands, catch up on housework and take care of all the things that seem to multiply whenever you go out of town. Like laundry. Who knew my empty hampers would fill up by themselves while we were away? So that your stop here was not entirely wasted, check out this neat name generator I spotted over at The Presurfer:

According to VisitFinland.com, "Finland is a country where things are based on nature and old mythology. Even people’s names are inspired by the woods, animals and mythological characters." They've also set up the Finngenerator, a name-changing generator to help you try and find your inner Finn -- which I did:



So now you must address me as the daughter of a forest god, who is or is on a slope (is that a fancy way of saying I'm diagonally parked in a parallel universe?) If you give the generator a whirl post your results in comments.

And You Are . . . ?

Since I'm reading my own book at the moment (yes, I know, but I'm updating my series bible) this would make me Charmian Kittredge. Who are you? Let us know in comments.

Writer by Word Choice

Take this short online quiz at Oxford Dictionaries blog and they'll decide what kind of writer you are based on your word choices.

My results:



Eh. I wouldn't mind winning the Nobel Prize in Literature, but I don't hate women or gay people, and I can metabolize iron. Just not on Tuesdays.

If you take the test, post your results in comments. Added: Test link now works!

I Write Like

I write like
Anne Rice

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

Hmmm. Can't really say I agree, but I'll take it.

Who do you write like?

Memed Again

The author meme: "...post 7 lines from page 77 of our latest book or current manuscript, starting after the 7th sentence."

Blame it on: Shiloh Walker.

Excerpt From Nightbred by Lynn Viehl, to be released in December 2012:

She hugged her waist with her arms and looked away. “Sometimes, when I’m too tired to drive home, I sleep up here.”

“Alone?” he couldn’t help asking.

Her eyes glittered. “No, I usually invite the entire garrison up to cuddle with me. Unless the guys want to play Strip Scrabble or Naked Twister. Then we go to the rec room down the hall.” She stalked out of the kitchen.

My Hero

I couldn't help trying out this interesting quiz to determine which Regency hero I should marry, via author Carolyn Jewel:

Which Regency Hero Should You Marry?

The Knight His great, great, great, great (a few more) was a Knight, and this hero is chivalry personified. The truth is, you little strumpet, you'll have to make the first, second and third move. He'll make the fourth. He is very very talented in bed, as all Knights are.

Facebook quizzes, quiz apps & blog quizzes by

Figures I'd get stuck with a guy on a horse. I bet he'll want me to polish all that blasted armor, too . . .

Wonder who wants your hand in marriage? Take the quiz here.

Jordan's Meme

While I was trying not to float away with Fay, Jordan memed me again. This one is not at all obnoxious, so I'll bite. This time.

In no particular order, my top ten favorite books that are romances or have excellent romances in them:

1. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
2. Chase the Moon by Catherine Nicholson
3. House of Scorpio by Pat Wallace
4. Mistress Devon by Virginia Coffman
5. Talyn by Holly Lisle
6. Exposure by Susan Andersen
7. The First Snowdrop by Mary Balogh
8. An Unbreakable Bond by Robyn Donald
9. Tied to the Tracks by Rosina Lippi
10. Killing Time by Linda Howard

Notable: Wallace's House of Scorpio (circa 1975, I think) had the most original and dazzling worldbuilding I've read in a romance novel, ever, period. She also tells six different romances in just one novel. An amazing book, but unfortunately OOP for many years.

Nicholson's Chase the Moon was an epic, sweeping contemporary romance that was also intelligent and thoughtful, and (in my opinion) was written way ahead of its time. I doubt even now readers would appreciate its style, but man, I loved it. The only writer I've seen come close to Catherine's exceptional storytelling is Marjorie M. Liu.

My top ten favorite movies/mini-series, in no particular order:

1. Speed
2. Pride and Prejudice (the A&E mini-series)
3. The Breakfast Club
4. Mumford
5. Children of Dune (the SciFi channel mini-series)
6. Aliens
7. Desperately Seeking Susan
8. Minority Report
9. Underworld
10. Die Hard

I really liked the last remake of P&P with Keira Knightley (sp?), which I thought was beautifully done, but Colin Firth still remains the ultimate Mr. Darcy.

While I think up ways to get even with Jordan, anyone want to add their lists in comments?

Hmmmmm

I'm not sure about the accuracy of this test, but if it's correct, we're all co-eds:

For those who want to make their blog sound more important:

And for those who know their blog is more important:

When you grab the code from this web site, they tack on a code for an ad for cash advances, so be warned -- I edited it out of mine before I blogged it. What did you score with your blog?

(Link for the test pinched from Jaquandor over at Byzantium's Shores.)

Jordan's Meme

This is the last meme I'm doing this year. SHMG.

Four jobs I've had or currently have in my life:

1. Writer
2. Quilt Conservator
3. Bookseller
4. Minister's Secretary

Four countries I've been to:

1. Canada
2. Mexico
3. The Bahamas
4. Brazil

Four places I'd rather be right now:

1. K-2
2. Joren
3. Ravelin
4. Trellus

Four foods I like to eat:

1. Stir-fry
2. Cassoulet Toulousain
3. Pecan pie
4. Black beans and rice

Four personal heroes, past or present:

1. Dr. Maya Angelou
2. Dr. Edward Jenner
3. Dr. Jonas Salk
4. Oscar Wilde

Four books you've read or are currently reading:

(What happened to I?)

1. Bacterial Metabolism by H.W. Doelle
2. Nefertiti by Nick Drake
3. Smoke and Shadows by Tanya Huff
4. Iron Orchid by Stuart Woods

Four words or phrases you would like to see used more often:

1. I'm happy.
2. I'm healthy.
3. I'm not afraid.
4. I'm tagging Jordan Summers.

Four reasons for ending a friendship:

1. Abuse (emotional or physical)
2. Betrayal.
3. Bigotry.
4. Memes. All right, not memes. Lies.

Four smells that make you feel good about the world:

1. Gardenia
2. Honeysuckle
3. Rain
4. Sun-dried cotton

My question: Four favorite activities you did as a kid:

1. Building sandcastles at the beach
2. Riding my bike
3. Walking through the woods
4. Flying kites

I'm tagging whoever visits and wants to do the meme. If you post it on your blog, leave a link in comments so we can come over and have a look.

Memed

I hate memes, but this one was inflicted on me passed along by friends. So, without further ado:

The Meme Shiloh & Jordan Tagged Me With

Da Rulez:

Each player starts with eight random facts/habits about themselves.

People who are tagged need to write their own blog about their eight things and post these rules.

At the end of your blog, you need to choose eight people to get tagged and list their names.

Don’t forget to leave them a comment telling them they’re tagged, and to read your blog.

1. I can bake, broil, stew and grill chicken just fine, but for some reason I cannot fry it. Every time I try, it comes out raw or burnt. The Southern Women's Cooking Association have ordered me to tell everyone that I come from Boston.

2. I refuse to wear a watch and I don't like having clocks in my work space. When I'm working, I set a kitchen timer or the clock radio downstairs with the loudest alarm to govern my time. Unless someone tells me, I never know what time, day of the week or date it is and I always guess wrong (which is why Mom got her Mother's Day flowers a week early, just like last year.)

3. Cats and dogs usually like me, even the unfriendly ones, which is why I'm the unofficial neighborhood animal catcher. Spiders, birds, squirrels and snakes regard me with some suspicion but don't bite me. Horses don't like me at all.

3a. With horses it's probably my scent, which around them is Eau du Terrified.

4. Whenever I go on walks or hikes, I pick up small stones, drop them into my pocket and then forget about them. I don't know why. I've found as many as a dozen pebbles in my trouser pockets while I'm doing the laundry.

5. I believe in writing letters to my state and federal elected officials and telling them what I think, so I do, frequently. Congressmen and senators generally send me impersonal form letters, newsletters or e-mail in return. One startling exception, though: when I wrote to President Clinton about the wretched state of senior health care in this country, and how my mother virtually went blind while waiting to get cataract surgery, he sent me a personal reply.

6. I purchase multiple copies of books that I enjoy so that I'll have a supply to share, should they ever go out of print. I also love to hunt copies of my favorite OOP books in junk shops, thrift stores and rummage sales.

7. I refused to drink milk when I was a kid and would throw up whenever Mom tried to make me. Ice cream, cheese and other dairy products made me sick, too. Everyone thought I was being picky and I got a lot of grief about it. I found out the reason for my dairy aversion only recently, when we discovered that my daughter is seriously lactose intolerant. Turns out, so am I.

8. I first learned how to drive by practicing in an ambulance in the parking lot behind the hospital where I worked.

I've got to hit the hay, so I'm going to break one of the rules and tag everyone who reads this post and wants to do the meme. If you do, post a link to your list in comments so we can come over and find out eight things about you.

Friday 20

(Jordan did this to me. And she will pay.)

Womens Fiction Book Meme

Contemporary, Historical, or Paranormal? Unless it's Balogh, Valdez, or I can't get to sleep, not historical.

Hardback or Trade Paperback or Mass Market Paperback? You have to ask? Mass market paperback.

Heyer or Austen? Please. Austen.

Amazon or Brick and Mortar? Amazon's business practices drove me back to brick and mortar.

Barnes & Noble or Borders? Barnes & Noble online, mainly because they aren't affiliated with Amazon, and they've always given me great customer service. Borders brick and mortar because their store is less stodgy and their stock more interesting.

Woodiwiss or Lindsay? Hmmm. Who to choose. Lindsay because she's more prolific. And she has better hair.

First romance novel you ever remember reading? True romance? "Bride of the Rif" by Margaret Rome. And yep, I still have the book.

Alphabetize by author Alphabetize by title or random? Author then pub date, genre, and degree of re-readability. What? It's my system.

Keep, Throw Away or Sell? Always donate or pass along to family, friends and readers.

Read with dustjacket or remove it? Dustjacket stays on lately because the pup likes to chew anything made of paper.

Sookie Stackhouse or Anita Blake? I have to admit, I've given up on both.

Stop reading when tired or at chapter breaks? Read straight through or stop at whatever point in the book I am when the current domestic crisis reaches critical mass.

It was a dark and stormy night or Once upon a time? Who wrote this meme? My mother? Neither.

Crusie or SEP? In a cage match? Definitely Susan.

Buy or Borrow? Buy unless out of print, then borrow.

Buying choice: Book Reviews, Recommendation or Browse? Wave the pork butt in front of the starved tiger's nose, why don't you? Recs or browse.

Tidy ending or Cliffhanger? Cliffhanger. Or, if you're my editor and you're reading this, tidy ending.

Morning reading, Afternoon reading or Nighttime reading? Quantum reading. I like to read when I'm relaxing in the particle accelerator.

Series or standalone? Exemplary standalones that don't leave me wanting to punch out the author over the ending; otherwise, bring on the series.

Favorite book of which nobody else has heard?
La nuit des temps par René Barjavel.

To be extra mean, I'm tagging everyone who asks a question in comments today.