THURSDAY THIRTEEN: SOME OF MY FAVORITE TIMESUCKING WEBSITES

Sometimes on this blog we do a post called Thursday 13. I like doing Thursday 13 because it's an opportunity to share fun, interesting, quirky stuff with my online pals and because it saves me having to think of something interesting to say.

So this Thursday, I'm presenting 13 websites that might easily suck you in and cause you to burn up time that would be best spent doing something else (like writing). If you are a procrastinator by nature, these sites could be very dangerous for you. Some are educational, one is profitable, some have no redeeming value whatsoever. If you live on the Internet as much as I do, you've probably run across most of these sites. But maybe I can introduce you to something new.

So here they are, in no particular order.

Mapping Stereotypes - Oh my God is this hilarious. The guy who draws these stereotype maps - Europe According to Americans, The World According to Switzerland, USA According to Common Sense -- is Russian. His celebrations of bigotry are now available as posters, maps, T-shirts, mugs, and more.

Snopes.com - Snopes is THE site for separating urban legend from fact. They've tracked and verified or debunked every meme, legend, and weird but true story out there. So the next time you read about something that sounds too gory or scary or stupid or crazy to believe, run it through Snopes.

Slate.com - Slate's one of the original online magazines, a survivor from the beginning of the World Wide Web. It's now owned by the Washington Post. Slate covers politics, culture, entertainment, finance, sports, you name it. Their TV columnist, Troy Patterson, is one of my favorite critics - hilarious, literate, possessed of good taste but able to enjoy trash for trash's sake. Dear Prudence is an advice column I can't miss. A couple of pieces that sucked me in this week: a story about the Mary Celeste; the top five truly bad Christmas movies; a warning about the new strain of super lice that, on second thought, you probably shouldn't read if you have young kids.

Dlisted.com - There are many Hollywood gossip sites out there. This one is my favorite. WARNING: the language is very, very naughty. Michael D, the author of Dlisted, is one of the funniest bloggers I've ever read. Unlike some gossip blogs, Michael is completely unimpressed with the Hollywood galaxy. There is no one he won't mock.

Ebates.com - I only just discovered this site this week - a friend turned me on to it. Every time you shop at an Ebates-affiliated online retail site - and there are a lot of them - you earn cash back. My friend's been a member for about four years and says she's made back about six hundred dollars. As long as I have an Internet-shopping addiction, I might as well get some money back.

Cracked.com - Cracked, a humor site, is a vast quicksand pit of time suck. Once you're there, you're there for hours. They do a lot of funny lists, like Five Insane Doctors from History Who Put House to Shame and cultural pieces like If Twilight 4 Was 1o Times Shorter and 100 Times More Honest. They also do videos. A Trailer for Every Academy-Awarding Film Ever Made is brilliant. You need to watch. Right now.

Arts and Letters Daily - This wonderful site, from the Chronicle of Higher Education, aggregates the best of online articles covering "philosophy, aesthetics, literature, language, trends, ideas, criticism, culture, history, music, gossip." Here you'll find articles on Oprah, Camus, the 5,000 year old iceman discovered in the Swiss Alps, and why math geeks shouldn't procreate with each other.

Fail Blog - Admit it. Laughing at the spectacular screwups of people you'll never meet is fun.

Awkward ___ Photos - It started with Awkward Family Photos, and now they've added Awkward Family Pet Photos. The awkward pregnancy photos are among my favorites.

Oddee - "A blog with over 5 million visits a month, it features the odd, strange and bizarre things of our world. Be amazed!" Trust me - you will be.

Above the Law - This will only be of interest to people who work in the legal field but if you do, it's a great blog. Covers legal gossip, goings on at Big Law firms, and notable cases and scandals. It's snarky and highly informative.

Go Fug Yourself - The best of all the fashion police blogs. These women are smart and funny. They don't just snark about Hollywood fashion faux pas - they actually understand clothes, and they can explain why a dress looks so awful or what an actress should've gone with instead. I don't "get" clothes the same way some women do, and I find this site as educational as it is fun.

Television Without Pity - Television reviews and recaps. A blog, fan forums, and more. The recaps are my favorite part of the site. Very detailed - snarky, of course - if you've missed an episode of your favorite show this is the best site to help you get caught up. And if you follow a TV show that's particularly weird or complex - Supernatural, Once Upon a Time, Dexter - the recaps can help you figure out the stuff you don't understand or pieces you haven't put together.


Ok, off you go. Start clicking. And don't blame me if you don't get anything done for the rest of the day.

I Love You--Maybe

Y’all you’ll have to excuse me today. My sixth Konigsburg, Don’t Forget Me, came out yesterday and I’m still a little spaced. The run up to a release is always hectic, but this one was a little more hectic than usual, what with damaged files and my being more or less incommunicado for a few days at the end of November. Now I can relax (sort of) and talk about the book.

My other books all featured heroes and heroines who’d never met before and who gradually fell for each other after their first, usually favorable, impressions. Even Wedding Bell Blues, where the hero and heroine weren’t terribly impressed with each other at the start, had the two of them falling fairly soon. But Don’t Forget Me is different. The H/H are former lovers who parted bitterly. They’re not favorably disposed toward each other except at the, shall we say, gonadal level. In fact, they’re both sort of angry and definitely wary about getting involved again.

This was different territory for me. I’m not used to having a hero and heroine who don’t like each other. I think it’s fairly easy to develop a normal relationship in a romance, judging just how long it takes for two people to decide, Yeah, he’s/she’s definitely The One. But how long does it take for two estranged lovers to get over it? That’s tougher. You can’t make it too soon or the breakup seems trivial. But you can’t draw it out too long or you risk alienating readers who get tired of waiting for the characters to get back together.

For me, it helped that the two characters both still ached a little. I had a scene where Nando saw Kit from a distance and was blown away. I realized that I needed a similar scene for Kit. There’s never any doubt that they Have Feelings, as they say. It’s just a matter of weighing those feelings against hurt pride and suspicion.

So finally my H/H get back together, but they’re still a little nervous about it. It takes a crisis to make those final barriers drop. Rest assured, there’s HEA. This is Konigsburg, after all, where the men are smart, the women are way smarter, and happy endings are required for everybody.

Here’s the blurb:

Once they said goodbye forever. Now they want to walk it back.

Konigsburg, Texas, Book 6

Eighteen months ago, Kit Maldonado was so over Nando Avrogado, she left Konigsburg without a backward glance. With the family restaurant in San Antonio sold out from under her, though, she’s back to manage The Rose, an exclusive resort eatery outside town.

Dealing with a stingy boss, an amorous head chef, an understaffed dining room and planning her aunt’s wedding should have kept her hands full. But she realizes she might not be as over Nando as she thought.

As the town’s new assistant chief of police, Nando’s got enough trouble without sexy Kit fanning embers he thought had long ago turned to ashes. Every time he turns around, she’s there—and it doesn’t help that everyone in town wants to see them back together.

One incendiary kiss, and there’s no denying the force of their attraction. But there’s a mysterious and oddly familiar burglar who’s been lurking around Konigsburg, someone who isn’t above a little mayhem—maybe even violence—to cover his tracks.

Product Warnings

Contains hot makeup sex, wedding madness, a hot chef, vengeful burglars, and unlawful abuse of a wedding cake.

And a short excerpt where (of course) they share a dance.

Her own arm went around his neck almost automatically, and their bodies were pressed together, shoulder to knee. He took her hand in his, folding their arms against his chest, then started to move forward slowly, his thighs pushing against her legs. She found herself moving with him, staring up into his face. His beautiful face.

“And anyone can tell, you think you know me well.” The voice echoed over the PA system. “But you don't know me.”

Oh god, oh god, oh god. But she did know him well, better than she knew a lot of the people in her own family. That’s why she was here again in his arms, not that there had ever really been any question it would come to this eventually. Not with all there had once been between them. Not when she’d never really gotten over him.

Had he gotten over her? Would he be here if he had?

Part of her wanted to move back, put some space between them again, but somehow she couldn’t manage it. Instead, his arm coaxed her closer still until she felt the hard muscles of his chest against her breasts, the silver belt buckle brushing against her stomach, the swell of his arousal pressing hard against her own aching flesh. She took a deep breath, smelling his familiar scent again, that mixture of soap and sweat and Nando, and she was lost.

And a buy link:

http://store.samhainpublishing.com/dont-forget-p-6561.html

And a contest:

Drop a comment at my blog, http://megbenj1.wordpress.com/, to be entered in a drawing for a copy of Don't Forget Me.

Guest Blogger MJ Fredrick - The TV Addict

I am a serious TV addict. I think TiVo is the greatest invention since pay-at-the-pump. I watch three shows on Sunday, four on Monday, three on Tuesday, five on Wednesday, four on Thursday, and two on Friday. And those are just off the top of my head.

I know a big part of it is that when I was growing up, TV was seen as relaxation time. And my mom made a big deal out of getting the fall preview TV Guide, and we’d get our baths early before the season premieres, she’d make popcorn or caramel apples, or some treat to make the night an “event.”

Part of it is that television is so good! Once Upon a Time and Terra Nova have better special effects than you’d expect, as well as touching stories. Castle has a romantic storyline to go along with its mysteries, as does Fringe. The Middle and Modern Family are hilarious. Revenge and Ringer have terrific intrigue, and I love the scenery in Revenge as well. Grey’s Anatomy is coming back after a few stumbles, and Supernatural is having one of its best seasons ever.

I learn from TV writing, and I’m inspired by it. My latest book, Guarded Hearts from Lyrical Press, was inspired by the show 24. I wondered what Jack Bauer’s daughter would be like all grown up (if she wasn’t such a twit on the show, that is). So I created a woman who wants to do good for people, but can’t stay out of the public eye. I’m not sure exactly why I made her a congresswoman. She is pure of heart ;)

When her father’s enemies (and there are many) figure out who she is and come after her, she can’t just walk away. So her father assigns her a bodyguard, a man just like him, the man she never wanted. It’s a romance, so you can figure out what happens to THAT determination ;)

But I have TV to thank for the inspiration!

What about you? Do you watch as much TV as I do? Do you wonder what if…? What are your favorite shows?

Putting the Steam in Steampunk

So the A Clockwork Christmas steampunk anthology releases today and I'm still in a state of partial disbelief over the fact that my novella was chosen to be part of this fantastic collection in the first place. I guess I shouldn't be, given all the excellent help, encouragement and advice I got from the Naughties while I was writing it, but I still have to pinch myself occasionally to be sure I'm not just dreaming. Lucky for me, the tattoos have been doing a real good job of concealing all the bruises. lol! Okay, just kidding about that. Mostly.


But really, it wasn't all that long ago that I didn't even know what steampunk was and I think that's part of what fuels my continued disbelief....that and the fabulous company I've found myself in. Again. My antho sisters are awesome. Do I have great luck in author groups, or what? I love this anthology. It contains four stories guaranteed to steam up anyone's winter's night--in more ways than one!


And since both the anthology and my own story were such group efforts, I've decided to talk about all the stories here today, instead of just my own.  So bear with me, this might get a little long (oh, like that would surprise anyone!) 


I've written about all the stories on my own blog in the past few days as well. You might want to check that out, if you haven't already, since I've got a bit of a giveaway going on over there too. But since I don't want to repeat myself, what I'm going to do here is simply share a really short excerpt from each one. Oh, and yeah,before I forget, I'll also be lurking around Erin's group today 'cause she was nice enough to include the antho in her holiday giveaway. So, be sure and stop by there as well. Now, on to the stories...


 First up is Stacy Gail's Crime Wave in a Corset. This story pretty much defines steampunk, in my opinion. It may also re-define holiday stories for me too. There are those who might think a holiday steampunk anthology is kind of "out there" as an idea, but that's just because they haven't read Crime Wave yet. I think it fits right in with any of Dickens' Christmas stories, for putting you in a mood of Christmas cheer. 

"Feverish heat swept over her like a strange, invisible fire. Her bones melted with it until she thought she might be glowing. Her world rocked like her steam-powered dumbwaiter did when it blew a gasket, and it took her a moment to realize it was because her knees were on the verge of taking a holiday. Instinct had her wrapping her arms around his shoulders so she wouldn't fall in a heap, but it was another instinct that had her fingers spearing through the cool silk of his golden brown hair. This new instinct was so powerful it demolished her rule of keeping her distance. In that moment, distance was the one thing she didn't want.

What she wanted was Roderick.

"Cornelia." She felt her name more than heard it, the merest disturbance of breath that nevertheless raged with a desire so fierce it would crush anything in its path. For a sweet moment stolen from the stream of time, she wallowed in the possibility he might be as overwhelmed by this seductive retribution as she. How wonderful it would be to explore this sensual fire Roderick ignited in her. He was such a driven, passionate man, and he knew her as well as she knew herself. She would never have to hide what she was from him; he already knew her every dirty little secret.

And he hated her for it."

Next, is my own story, This Winter Heart. I'm not entirely sure where my conscious mind goes when I plot my stories, because I know I didn't set out to write a "secret baby" story, it just happened. I'm glad it did, however, because I fell in love these characters and, as it happens, that "baby" forms a large part of their story.  

"It was not often she chose to tell her only child an outright lie, but in this case, what else could she do? Arthur would be more than a surprise to his father, he’d likely be an absolute shock. And, as Ophelia’s all-too-brief experience of the man had taught her, Dario Leonides did not respond well to shocks.


Influential, aristocratic, overly impulsive and completely impossible to reason with while in a temper, Dario could make it very difficult for her to enter the country if he chose, and if he had the chance to do so. Ophelia would very much rather he not get that chance.


She needed to speak with her husband in person. She needed to appeal to his better nature. She was sure he still had one, even if it had been years since he’d shown it to her. Most of all, she needed to win his cooperation. Even if she could no longer hope to win his love, at least he could give her that."




Jenny Schwartz' story, Wanted: One Scoundrel,  left me wanting to go back to Australia, and not just because apparently those lucky Aussies get to celebrate Christmas in both the summer AND the winter. I love stories that transport me to another time and place--and this one definitely does that!  I also love stories with handsome, intelligent and slightly mysterious heroes. Yum.


"Jed bit back a smile as he realised Miss Smith had pegged him as a con man, and far from disapproving, was offering him a better con, one with assured winnings. She wanted him to take up politics. He played along. "You said Captain Fellowes recommended me?"

She nodded

He adjusted the cuff of one sleeve. "Miss Smith, what exactly did you ask your uncle for?"

A delightful pink carnation colour flushed her cheeks. "A scoundrel."

"A scoundrel." He laughed. "You would trust your political venture to a scoundrel?"

"I intend to supervise you."

"My father would tell you I'm unmanageable."




Finally, we come to JK Coi's, Far From Broken, another story featuring an estranged couple trying to piece their marriage back together and one I'm pretty sure will break the heart of anyone who reads it--but in an awesomely good way. JK and I have been arguing a bit over whose story is the more heart-wrenching, but I think we'll have to let the readers decide...


"She didn't acknowledge him, but he watched a small shiver move through her and stifled a wince at her visible rejection. After a long moment, he realized he remained standing just inside the doorway like a dumbstruck idiot.

This wasn't the reunion he'd expected. He didn't know what he'd expected, but not this painful, absolute silence.

Suddenly, the barrier between them was so much greater than a physical door, as he'd believed only a few minutes ago out in the hall. The barrier between them was built out of anger and pain and guilt. He'd thought he could handle it, but now that he was here he realized how wrong he'd been. He didn't know what to do to bring the wall down."


And there you have it. Both the anthology itself and all the individual stories can be found at Carina Press, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, All Romance eBooks, Books On Board, and probably a bunch more places as well. Enjoy!

Have Laptop, Will Travel

I’m writing this blog post in a random coffee shop in a tiny map-dot in Oregon. We’re here for the funeral of my husband’s mother, who passed away the day after Thanksgiving. (Rest in blessed peace, Wynonia.) When we get back to Alaska, we have one week at home, then we’ll be getting on another plane, this one to Maine for my parents’ 50^th anniversary party. The strangest part of all this traveling? I’ll be working the entire time. I’ve been working here, holing up with my laptop when we’re not visiting with my DH’s family. And I’ll be working in Maine in between visiting my family. 

That’s one weird thing about being a writer. IT NEVER STOPS. If you’re not working on a new project, you’re editing or doing blog posts (ahem) or working on your website or filling out cover art forms or trying to squeeze in a Tweet here and there. I’m doing all of the above at the moment. If I had no other life besides writing, I could still fill up every hour of the day with writing-related tasks.

The night before last I simply couldn’t sleep—didn’t get any rest until after 6am. So how did I spend those long hours tossing and turning? Sure, I could worry about money and my husband’s grief and whether I should get knee surgery and what I should say in my parents’ toast. And I did all that. But there are a lot of hours in a sleepless night, so I did what I always do to fend off the 3am blues.

Brainstorm.

I’m pretty sure I came up with an interesting three-story series. Even if it’s crap, it helped me pass the time. And that’s the other part of being a writer. IT SAVES YOUR SANITY.  Yesterday, even after my sleepless night, I managed to write a good, solid, 3000-word chapter. And it improved my state of mind a thousand percent. For me, writing is an escape, a mood stabilizer, a friend in troubled times, an adventure, a constant blessing. Sometimes, of course, it’s “work” in the sense that you have to do it even when you’d rather be playing. But the rewards are so tremendous, I don’t like calling it work. (Unless it helps people understand why I’m spending several hours at the coffee shop.)

The last couple months have been a real rollercoaster ride, with several unexpected shocks. But one thing hasn’t changed. I’ve still been writing at every possible opportunity--and unbelievably grateful for it.

How to catch the Christmas spirit

So there’s no snow here. Which is a bit unusual—and fantastic in my opinion.

Now, I like the coziness of being inside by the fire during a snowstorm as much as the next person. And I certainly agree that the fields and trees covered by snow can be a beautiful sight. Yes, it seems more Christmas-y with snow. BUT, I have not yet gotten brave enough to quit my “day job” and write full time from home so I do have to deal with slick roads, scraping windows and my toes getting cold walking to and from the car to my work building, grocery store, kids’ school, etc.

Up until right about now, no one here has complained. I live in Iowa. Snow is going to come and long outstay its welcome whenever it shows up. So the longer we put it off, the better. But now there’s grumbling. “It’s almost Christmas.” “How am I going to get everything done, I’m just not in the spirit.” “It won’t feel like Christmas without snow.”

To that, I call bullshit.

Christmas is Christmas no matter what the grass looks like. I’m thinking that my buddies on the west coast manage to have Christmas every year without a flake. Is it really not Christmas in Mexico? Of course it is. Christmas is a feeling, a spirit and time of year that’s about how we feel and how we act and what we look forward to—not how it looks out our window.

So, I’m fine. More than fine. If it never snows again, I’m fine. (and yes, I also wonder why I live in a place where four- five months of cold and snow is common). But for all of those people who need a little boost to get their stockings hung, their candy canes bought and their gingerbread houses made, here are some suggestions:

Play Christmas music. I love it! I could listen from Oct to Feb seriously.

Get Christmas scented candles or Scentsy: the Christmas cottage scent has been in my scentsy pot since Nov 1 and it’s awesome.

Drink Peppermint White Mochas (or hot chocolates) from Starbucks. YUM! (or try Coffeemate’s Peppermint Mocha creamer—not a bad substitute at all!)

Watch Christmas movies. It’s A Wonderful Life is my favorite movie. Not just favorite Christmas movie but favorite movie of all time. ABC Family and Hallmark Channel also have lots of cute (a little cheesy, but come on) Christmas movies running now, esp on the weekends.

Read Christmas romances. There are LOTS! Kate, Kelly, PG, and Skylar all have Christmas stories out and so do tons of other wonderful authors.

SO, let’s help each other out here. Give us some Christmas-spirit-inducing ideas. What makes you feel the season? And give us recommendations for some Christmas romances! I’m starting my Christmas reading list this weekend.

And if you want to get in the mood for free¸I have two short stories on my website that are Christmas themed. They’re very short and sweet—nothing too sexy there (not enough word count ;)) but feel free to take a peek under the Fun Stuff tab at http://www.erinnicholas.com/

These Boots Are Made For Walking

If you ask any writer, one of the things we often struggle with is dedication. We regularly have ups and downs, often depending on whether a book (or life) is working with or against us. One of my tricks for staying motivated (whether it’s my writing or cleaning the house) are my shoes. My sneakers to be specific, or running shoes as some people like to call them.

Once they’re on and laced up (okay, I usually keep them laced all the time and just slip them on) it’s a lot harder to curl up comfortably on the couch with a great book, and I don’t need to tell you guys how tempting that is.

My sneakers give me a purpose and keep me focused on work. Although one of the perks of my job is the freedom to work in my pj’s if I want, I get more done when my feet are ready to go. Just glancing down at them is a constant reminder that I can’t slack off, no matter how much I want to pretend that my three munchkins aren’t often tearing along behind me, sabotaging my efforts when I’m in domestic goddess mode (which isn’t nearly as glamorous as it sounds).

Now if I could just find a way to harness the energy to do my tidying up after my kids were tucked in, I could at least enjoy a clean house for more than twenty minutes at a time and maybe squeeze in a few more pages of writing.

So what tricks do you use to help keep yourself on top of the things you need to get done?