Slacker

Remember that "assignment" where I was to write a piece about my son (in a million words or less), for his new high school teachers to get to know him?

You do?

I didn't. Until last night, that is. When I found the worksheet and realized it was due last Friday...

Nice huh? Now I'm looking bad at the HS, because there was an option to sign the paper and return it if we were too busy to write. eek.

So I'm off to write it and hand it in late. Deadlines!

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Things That Suck Less Than Mondays...

...Winning a drawing!

This weekend, I won a copy of Jasmine Black's newest release, Say It Again. She's a CP of mine (we go way back, was it 'Nam, Jasmine, or before that?), but I haven't read this story of hers yet. So I was diligent about commenting on her blog last week--each comment was an entry. :)

What else doesn't suck? Moving when you want to--especially into a better place. That's just cool.

That's all I got this morning. Have a great one.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Friday Funnies

In honor of that big beautiful harvest moon, today we have moon jokes:

Did you hear about the new restaurant on the moon? Food is great, but there's no atmosphere!

From Jay Leno's Jay Walking: Which is more useful, the sun or the moon? (Thirteen year old pauses before answering) I think it's the moon, because the moon shines at night when you need the light, but the sun shines during the day when you don't need it."

How does one astronaut tell another he is sorry? He Apollo-gises.

Knock, knock.
Who's there?
Astr'naut.
Astr'naut who?
Astr'naut what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country!

Bah-boomboom, right?
:)

Have a great Friday and an even better weekend.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Treading, not bobbing

I'm down to 2 remaining days in this subbing assignment, and it looks like I'll come out of it in one piece. Running back over my blog posts, it seems I didn't miss any days after all!

I've managed to complete content edits on one book and turned around line edits for another, plus have read about half of a longer submission.

So it looks like I didn't drown (well, so long as you can't see my house!) after all.

2 more days.

And next week I get to start moving--in 2 ways: ready to start those morning walks which got backburnered, and we're relocating to a different house so I'll be moving our goods, too.

Off to meet the kids head-on!

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Interviewed on the Today Show!

Well, some other people were, just not me, but that sure got your attention, didn't it?

Actually, I was interviewed by the fabulous Minxes of Romance. Check it out!

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

In my element

Today is the first real "lesson" for my reading class in this sub assignment. So last night I hauled home all the materials and studied up to prepare. God knows, I've had some days of scratching my head and wondering how the heck to teach some other lessons (math).

So I crack open the teacher guide and start sticking stickies and penciling asterisks and go zinging through the entire lesson, totally envisioning how it'll go and close the section feeling excited about it. And then I wondered... I've only had this group of kids for 1 day so far, and yet I feel much more confident about this session than my others. Isn't that weird.

Well, no. Remember I said "math"? Yep. While I totally "get" the concepts I'm teaching, math frustrates me. You teach it and explain it and then somebody doesn't quite grasp it that way, so you try to explain a different way, and then you think everybody might have it, but then there's a kid with glassy eyes shaking his head in confusion so you start over with a different tack, and then everybody still doesn't have it.... But for me, reading and comprehension is like one long conversation with the kids and I have no problem communicating with them. No need to try different methods for them to grasp. As long as we've got English, we've got communication. This is good!

I guess in the end, I'm a words person. (with only 3 more days of this math job after today. yayy!)

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Things That Suck More Than Mondays

Here's a peeve of mine:

We're at Hollister (yes, that dark, loud store with some really hot dude's chest as their mascot) school shopping. Nice price on these really soft, heavy tee-shirts for guys. Head to the girls' side of the store, same price, only the shirts are, like, way thin and not even as soft. What gives? Do all girl shirts have to be so thin you can read the bra size through them?

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Toy Story Tears

So I have this friend who bawled like a baby while watching Toy Story 3, and was a bit embarrassed (OK, ridicule from the family does matter sometimes)... from the point where Andy's room is all empty and he's ready to head out...basically for the rest of the program. Wow. Who'd've expected a Toy Story movie to be so poignant? (or so my friend says!)

And now I'm on a mission because I've discussed it with a couple of other moms and found out they cried too. Like my friend. And...me. Anyway. Any other moms get all verklempt? Is it a full-on mom thing? A woman thing? Or maybe just for moms of older kids (my oldest is a freshman this year and I was feelin' it pretty hard the weekend we went to see this movie, just a week before school started). Was it a knuckle-away the tears type, or a real gusher? For me, my eyes ran like they did for Steel Magnolias. Quite a mess. (I did hear of one girl/young woman who was going off to college this year, who cried too!)

Let me know if it got to ya.

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

A Million Words?

This made me smile. One of my son's teachers sent home an "assignment" for the parents... to write a piece describing our child, in one million words or less. Now, it's true that when you ask a parent to brag, you're inviting long-windedness. But I doubt a layperson has any idea how many words a million would be. I sat down and thought about all the books I've written--even the unsold ones, and they don't add up to a million words. Quite far from it, actually.

Anyway, I'd better go prepare my outline for the essay...got lots to say, ya know. ;)


Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Book review Wednesday

This is a review for one of my books...

Just got it in, and Dark Divas gave Trouble Under Venus a 5 Diva rating! Very flattering review--made my day.

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Tube Tuesday

I Like It, baby!

This song has a boppin' beat, and some awesome dancing, (although I'm not so sure about Enrique's "Matrix" moves...) as well as a couple cool lines from Lionel Richie's Dancin' on the Ceiling. My favorite move is early on, when Enrique leaps to the bar and slides down it. :)

Best part, by far though...that sweet profile pic of Enrique off to the left of the video. Yowza. That right there is inspiration for a romantic Hero.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Things That Suck More Than Mondays

When you go to the library and it's unexpectedly closed. (I suppose it sucks to show up anyplace and discover it's closed, but... the library would be especially suckish)

Autumn Piper
Got library? Our poor branch has been shutdown for a long time, for roof repairs.

Grind n bump

It's 20 minutes til I've gotta leave for work and I've still gotta blog and I've got... nothin'. Keep trying to think of something for a Friday funny, but mind is stuck on a plethora of other, more stressful stuff.

So a little advance notice, things might get a little bumpy and irregular here at Piper Patter for a few weeks... I'm officially giving myself permission to miss a post or two here and there. Something's gotta give.

Have a great weekend!

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

In a perfect world...

(Another segment I haven't utilized in a while.)

I like champagne. Very much. Problem is, I can't exactly put away an entire bottle, and even the re-corkable ones end up going fairly flat by the next time you want some bubbly. Sooo.

I propose that in a perfect world... we'd be able to purchase Champagne Singles. Or smaller bottles in a 4-or-6-pack. Just enough to enjoy and get a fun buzz, without the waste.

Investors, are you lining up to get in on this yet?

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy! (as is champagne)

Best-laid plans...

So. The big plans I made for all the massive amounts of time I'd have once the kids went back to school...
Yeah. Shouldn'ta done that.

Heading off to work tomorrow, for a short-term job--God willing!-- to start the school year for a teacher who just had an emergency surgery.

Feeling seriously overwhelmed and underqualified.

But hey, all this variety (and adrenaline, LOL) is sure to help stave off Alzheimers. Right?

Autumn Piper
Got anti-anxiety meds?

Tube Tuesday

We recently watched Valentine's Day, and I thought it was awesome. Several different story lines going at once, some really big surprises, romance, and of course, Julia Roberts' signature laugh. What more could you want?

So here's your clip:

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Things That Suck More Than Mondays

Now that summer is dang near over--at least in this neck of the woods--I thought it was probably time to bring back one of my favorite segments. (And no, my kids aren't back in school yet, but I was back at work this morning at 8, being trained and orientated for how to be a sub *insert smirk here*.)

So, without further ado, today's totally sucky suck:

Shopping for jeans--unless you've been working out, so you've grown thinner and firmer (I haven't been and have not. YET.)

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Not swallowing it

As a proponent of ebooks, as an author digitally published, as someone who understood what the heck they are long before much of the population, I often find myself explaining--no, promoting--the reading devices.

My Sony Reader gets attention. Usually someone at the doctor or dentist waiting room, or in line at the post office, will notice it and strike up a conversation (insert wild applause). These people who recognize the device want to hold it, see what the screen looks like. All good, and I love to share. It's always some bystander though... and if I had a buck for every time I've heard this one silly line, I could probably buy another Reader. (or the Kobo, I think I'm in love with it now)
"I don't know..." Naysayer drawls. "I really love the feel and smell of a book in my hand."
Cha-ching! Where's my buck?
I've got one word to say to this line of reasoning: Poppycock.

I think it's a goofy comment somebody made without thinking first, and millions of others have heard it and repeated it. (and it's probably code for "I don't really know about those ebooks, and change scares me, so I'll say something to make it sound like I just prefer paper.")

People, come on! You don't read a book because of how it feels. (They all feel different anyway. Thickness, size, glossy cover or nonglossy...can you possibly be addicted to all those "feel"s? And smell? You've got everything from freshly-printed ink--I'll admit I like that one--to the ashtray-like odor a previous smoker left in a library tome, to the distinctly coconut-and-chlorine odor a poolbag book absorbs, and let's not even go to the smell Frank leaves in a paperback after he totes it around in his coveralls pocket for a couple weeks.) Let me repeat, you don't read a book for how it feels. You read a book to be swept away into someone's imagined story (or for whatever nonfiction need). Do you go to the movies because you like stadium seating? No. You go there for the story. (and I'm betting you don't drag a book along to hold in your hands during the movie either) Did we listen to music in the 70's because we loved the way an 8-track interrupted right in the middle of a song, to change channels? No. We liked the music. Same as we liked the movie--not the rewinding or the squiggly tracking lines onscreen--when we viewed VHS tapes. I didn't hear many people saying, "Oh, I don't know about those DVD's. I really like to see the lines onscreen. It makes it feel more like movie to me. And then rewinding afterward just completes the experience."

If you're not ready to convert to ebooks yet, that's OK. Just say so. Say you don't feel like shelling out the cash. Say you're not tech-forward. Say you don't need one more gadget to master. But please, for the love of all that is written, do NOT say you need the feel of a book in your hand in order to experience a story. Because even if I bite my tongue, you might hear something like, "poppycock."

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Hello!

Posted my intro on the LPI blog today.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

She shoots; she scores! ( a shiny new job)

You're looking at (the blog of) the new Executive Editor at Lyrical Press. Yup. That's me. (Or perhaps I should say, "Yes, I am. Indeed." You know, like Chicago Manual of Style would instruct...)

Hoping to instill a bit more structure and routine into my otherwise harem-scarem existence, and do a good job, too!

Off to view a pile of new Google Docs, become moderator on a gaggle of yahoo groups, and begin memorizing the House Style Guide.

And possibly get those carpets cleaned...

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Tube Tuesday

Today's 'Tube selection is a clip from Final Jeopardy.

Final Jeopardy Topic: Sports

While I won't pretend I'd have known the answer, I do wonder what the heck that dumbass guy was thinking when he wagered $5000 on his "??" answer. Maybe he just figured if he couldn't win, he might as well finish dead last. A Ricky Bobby moment, if you will. "If you ain't first, yer last!"

Have a great Tuesday... I'm off to take lil Miss to the orthodontist today for her consult. Tried to find some funny braces pics/videos to post, but came up emptyhanded.

May the solar flare light up your night but not your satellite!

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Get your party on!

Are you wearing your beach duds and sipping tall cool drinks? You should be, because my calendar tells me today is a summer bank holiday in Scotland, and a civic holiday in Canada. LOL.

Oh, the freedom to simply call a holiday what it is--a bank holiday, or a day off for civic employees. :) No making up names after dead famous people. Just a good, honest day off.

I've spent my "civic holiday" driving, it seems like.
So, I've got very little actual blogfodder, but I'm taking suggestions, from any sources, for what I should put in an author newsletter? What would propel you to actually open a PDF newsletter file from an author?

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!