Long time coming

Sorry I've been away, loves. RL has been...well, RL. We all know how that goes.

I've been working diligently on my new fic, Power Ten, and I'm really enjoying the ride and the feedback from readers. It's been a real blast.

Honestly, my readers are why I love updating my story: I love waiting for their reactions to each chapter, and the comments from the brave few who venture toward the Review button and click it. You've seen the banners one of them made (below in a much older post) and now I have yet another to feature.

It was made by the lovely Readergoof, and I thank her sincerely for her amazing work! Check it out. And don't scold me too much for going almost three months without a post.

The biggest thanks...

One of my readers, GGSophie, told me she loved my fic Power Ten so much that she'd decided to make a couple of banners for it. And of course, I must showcase them! These will most likely be on permanent display here on my bloggy blog, once I find a good spot for them.

In the meantime, enjoy! And many, many thanks for Ms. Sophie for her creativity and support!

Now, a teaser - #1

Ok, ladies - Here's a teaser for my fic Here's to Stategy. It's part of the epilogue and I think most of you have already read this, but just in case I happen to get new followers who aren't on my list of pre-readers (I say it like it's going to happen - just indulge me), here's a summary:

Isabella Swan is the president and CEO of a major marketing firm in Washington. She’s worked long and hard to get there, and as a result, she’s a bit of a bitch. When her VP hires a fresh new manager, lured away from a competing firm, Bella expects perfection and more money. But this guy seems to think he’s the best thing since sliced bread, and Bella will not tolerate insubordination. It doesn’t matter how good he is. Two people used to being in charge and getting their way are bound to clash, and it’s a battle of wits. Who’s going to win?


So, the epi takes place six years in the future. Here's a decent tease -

Wet, half-gummed Cheerios hitting my face snapped me out of my daydream. Nathan peered at me with an impish grin as if he knew he’d caught his mommy red-handed. I removed a Cheerio from my coat lapel and handed it back to my son. He shoved it back in his mouth and showed me his only two teeth.



“Evie, you’re doing a great job of arranging the groceries for me,” I remarked. Evie’s face lit up as she explained that all of the green foods were together, all of the red foods were together, and so on. “That’s very clever, sweetie.”


“Bella?”


At the sound of his voice and the mention of my name, my head whipped around to find none other than Sam Uley – again. You’ve got to be shitting me. I chuckled to myself at the ridiculously slim odds that seemed to be in favor of us meeting. Okay, okay. Point taken.

 
So, this epi has to be epic, so I'm going to plug away at it until it's perfect.

:)

Let's catch up!

Shit - Sorry to ALL of my loyal followers for the lack of posts the last week or so. Life has been, shall we say, busy. So the posts are going to come in quick succession, ribbed just for your pleasure.

The first item I must proudly showcase is, of course, my new ink. Now, you can see what I had imagined for myself last week. Well, what I walked out the door with -- more like limped, but anyways -- was bigger and much more feminine and beautiful than my own idea. So glad the guys at Black Lotus Tatoo intervened. The result, I think, is worlds better.

What do you think? Again, this is the glyph for Libra, with a heart added to it.

Who's got a sexy ankle? Me, that's who!

The guys at the tatt place were great. They drew this for me - it was an existing design I found but with a special touch - and were nice enough to work with me on the size and location. So...apparently this is considered a foot tattoo, and so it cost more and was PAINFUL as all hell.

For a slim guy, Collin was really strong.

So, here's Collin inking my ankle. He was really nice. Great guy. And a gifted artist. What you can't tell is how much he had to restrain me from jumping out of that chair with an unfinished tattoo. And when my foot and big toe started twitching...well, that was an odyssey. It was the longest 20 minutes of my life. And I think the photo below sums it up well.

It was either grin and grimace or cry, so...

And, yeah, I thought I was a pretty big baby about the pain and everything, but when I was done, Collin said I did great because I just swore a lot but didn't hit or punch him (apparently that happens), and the guy who drew my design said I did well, too, so I guess I passed. Never again, though, will I get another tatt on my foot. OUCH! Mother!

FAILs - because it's Friday!

TGIF to my lovely followers!

In honor of the long-awaited end of this shitty week, here are a couple of things that absolutely tickled my funnybone.

The first is pretty self-explanatory and was labeled "tough guy FAIL" by my hubs - we call him Mr. Loo - who sent this to me. This makes me love him even more because he made a note at the end that said he thought I'd appreciate this one. *Hint: look at the upper left corner of the pic*

Awesome, right? Not only is he posing like a complete ass (thank goodness someone blocked out his face) but in what I hope is his little sister's bedroom. Yeah, dude, you look fabu...the ladies love shit like this.

Then, I have this lovely little ditty from a dear friend of mine. And they say customer service is a thing of the past! Haha!

Incoming email:

From: Customer Joe Blow
Sent: Friday, August 20, 2010 11:10 AM
To: CustomerService

Subject: Customer Comments: Products Received
A customer has left feedback for your web store.

Name: Joe Blow-Widgets, Inc.
Order Number:2185137 Placed: 2010-08-13-12.07.48.775053

Scores:Quality: 3 / Selection: 4 / Delivery: 4 / Service: 4 / Website: 4 / Packaging: 2

Comments:The polo shirt is a little baggy in the sleeves, but ok to keep. The cap with back flap for sun protection - why is there a 2" diameter openning by the adjustment strap, there won't be any sun protection there. For packaging, there should have been

(Yes, it cut him off mid-rant.)

And here's the response:

From: Heather


Sent: Friday, August 20, 2010 11:27 AM

Subject: FW: Customer Comments: Widgets, Inc.

Importance: High

Dear Joe:

Thank you so much for your e-mail. I’m so sorry that you had issues with some of the items you received. Unfortunately, most of the stuff we sell is crap, which is, of course, why you don’t pay much for it in the first place. If we were to provide higher-end items for you, I’m sure you would complain about the prices, so really, either way, we’re wrong. I do apologize.
I would also like to apologize for the fact that the sleeves on your polo shirt are baggy. Although every shirt we sell is sized differently, I wonder if perhaps the flaw is with the user, and not the shirt? After all, you do live in Wisconsin, and as a fellow Wisconsinite, I can safely say that we are not well known for our slim and fit physiques! I would suggest a gym membership, or perhaps the purchase of a Total Gym from Chuck Norris. I have it on good authority that when Chuck Norris plays Oregon Trail, his family does not die from dysentery or cholera, but from roundhouse kicks to the face; clearly, he developed these muscles using his total gym, and he is not a force to be reckoned with! This would bulk up your arms, and solve the problem of the loosely fitted sleeves.
In terms of the hat, there is a 2” opening by the adjustment strap because this is the standard for any hat design. I did try to contact the sweatshops in China to see if they could possibly ask one of their 6 or 7 year old employees to make a special hat fitted to the specific size of your head, but unfortunately, none of them spoke English. However, if you send me the measurements required for this project, I’d be happy to continue trying. Or, perhaps, after you contact Chuck Norris and purchase his total gym, he could make one for you out of his chest hair. I’ve heard that it’s not only bulletproof, but can totally and completely withstand the rays of the sun, even while standing on its surface. If Mr. Norris is not able to take care of you, please let me know, and I would be happy to fly to China myself and scour the country until I find someone who can make a hat that meets your standards. After all, Joe, you are the customer, and the customer is always right.

As for the packaging, I’m not sure what your complaint was, because you were too long-winded before, and the system only handles complaints of so many characters. I’d tell you to contact me and let me know what your issue was with the packaging, but quite frankly, I don’t care. Perhaps if you spent more time working and less time complaining, you’d make enough money to be able to afford higher-end items that are custom tailored to your exact measurements, and we would have never received this e-mail in the first place.
Thank you so much for your order, Joe. We truly appreciate your business and comments. Have a wonderful day!

Regards,
Heather
Sales Support and Customer Service

And last, but certainly not least, is this lovely video my husband refuses to stop watching. It makes my skin crawl, personally, but this DEFINITELY falls into the FAIL category. Enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Cr5RpSgn-M&feature=channel

Yikes. Enjoy the rest of your TFIG, everyone. I'm going to get myself inked!!

I'm having a love day...

Today, it being Hump Day, I have decided to show some love for the people in my life that play a vital role in my creativity - even though we've never actually met.

Yes, that's right. I'm talking about my Twi girlfriends. While I'm still fairly new to the "fandom," these girls have made me feel right at home. More than that, though, they have accepted me without judgement or prejudice and we always have fun when we're "together." And by that I mean on Skype, talking on the phone, tweeting, texting or gchatting. Wow. That's a lot of cyber conversation!

Besides their wonderful personalities, what I love about these ladies is that whether we're discussing the merits of Rob's wardrobe choices or his fine, British tush, or just shooting the shit about RL and how we're trying to keep our sick and twisted minds under wraps (maybe that's just me, though), it's always a blast and always really nice chatting with them.

We share our stories, spectacular and shitty ideas, pictures and lots of other things that we most likely wouldn't share with anyone we know in our "normal" lives. And this tickles me pink, frankly.

Now that I'm wrapping up Here's to Strategy, I feel I'd be remiss if I didn't thank these girls for their contribution to my writing process as well. So many times I've been stuck in my head or bogged down in a silly little fic that I wrote which will never be published. Sometimes I just want to throw it all out and walk away. But they never let me. And in turn, I hope I've helped them as well.

Each one of these wonderful women is special to me in her own way, so today, I'm spreading the love. Barbi (Barburella), Meg (Megsly), Susan (SusanAshlea), Fizzy (Forever_Liz), and Hez (HezPixie) - I love you all. Thank you.

And for those of you I've met through this fun, whacky world of Twi, fanfic and Twitter - you know I love you all, too. There's plenty of love to go around...

My tattoo

So, after about six months of deliberation, I've decided to get a second tatoo. Yes, I have considered that I might be a bit too "mature" for another tatt, but I don't care. It's a personal decision and the design has a special meaning to me.

My good friend Meg so lovingly designed a beautiful one for me a while back, and I'm going to save that one for a time when I have more money and maybe a better place to put it that won't get me fired from my job. But I'll show it here because I love it - and her.

So the first one is the one I'm getting - this one's going on the inside of my ankle. The second is Meg's design.

I know the first one is nothing like the creation on the right, but hey, I'm on a budget. I'm hoping the tattoo guys can make something a bit more polished out of my idea.
So please say your prayers for me. I might cry a little for this one. It's been almost 14 years since I got my first tattoo and I got it on my ass because I thought it would be the least painful spot. My ankle, on the other hand...it might hurt a bit. Friday night it is!!