Something New

I know I haven’t been around much lately. I had some family obligations come up and needed to take some time to recharge. Not sure when I’ll be back to a regular blog post schedule, but don’t give up on me.

I did want to share some exciting news. I’m joining 14 other authors in a new venture. We’ll be blogging Monday through Friday, bringing original fiction, book reviews and other fun stuff. We’ll have the blog on Amazon so if you have a Kindle and want to pay Amazon’s convenience fee, you can have it automatically uploaded to your device. Or you can go to the blog directly and read for free.

I’ll be posting twice a month. I’ve decided to release my werewolf novella as a serial, available at The Digital Digest (our blog). I’ll have more information as we get closer to the launch date of June 1.

I hope you check me out on The Digital Digest.

Slow Down and Meditate

Over the next couple of weeks, my blog posts will be centered on an area of interest that I’ve been studying for a while – how the brain works.

I’m not going to get all neurological on you. I don’t have the expertise for that. In fact, what I share with you will be what I’ve learned as a layman. I have no expertise in any of this. I just find it interesting.

Today I’ll talk about meditation and in succeeding posts, I’ll talk about the different brain waves we produce and how we can access them.

I started meditating about 10 years ago. I’d like to say I’ve done it steady that whole time, but that would be a lie. I’ve lapsed the last couple of years and I’m working on building my meditation practice up to a daily occurrence again.

There are many benefits to meditation. Regular meditation can lower blood pressure, help relieve insomnia and help you relax and handle everyday stresses easier. On a personal note, my husband can tell when I meditate because I apparently don’t anger as easily as when I don’t meditate.

I started with guided meditation. I found it easier for me. There are lots of CDs and books that can help you get started. Believe it or not, I started with John Edward’s set of CDs (although they were cassette tapes at that time) called Developing Your Own Psychic Powers. The first guided meditation is that one that I used exclusively for a long time. It creates such a beautiful scene in my mind and I love to visit that place.

What I look for in a guided meditation is 1) music that is relaxing and pleasant for me to listen to, although drums are nice too, and 2) a voice that is pleasant to listen to. It does no good if you are irritated by either and can’t relax.

A few that I like are First Step by Gary Guthrie, The Soul of Healing Meditations by Deepak Chopra, The Enchanted Wood by Adam James Wakeling and Silence of Being by Mary & Richard Maddux.

Amazon has samples of most that they offer. Just type “guided meditation” into the search box and several pages will pop up. Listen to those that interest you to see if you find them soothing and relaxing.

You’ll find, if you give it a chance, that the more you meditate, the easier it is to slip into that meditative state. There are also things you can do to facilitate it.

1. Meditate the same time every day. This can be difficult when you have a busy schedule, but if you can find a time you have open on a consistent basis, this will help.
2. Meditate in the same place every day. Try to find a place where you won’t be interrupted and where you feel comfortable.
3. Ritual before you start. I like to light nag champa incense before I start. At this point, just smelling that scent starts the relaxation process.
4. Deep breathing. A lot of guided meditations will start you with breathing techniques. Again, after you’ve done it for a while, just practicing these techniques will relax your body.

These are just a few things that have helped me over the years. I hope you decide to give it a try if you haven’t before. It really does benefit your body.

Have you ever tried meditating? Do you meditate on a regular basis? What, if anything, would hold you back?

I’d love to hear about your own experiences and next time I’ll be discussing Beta brain waves.

Shake Your Booty

If you haven’t exercised all your life, it can be a hard habit to pick up. Let’s face it, if you actually liked it, you’d already have been doing it, right? Maybe.

Sometimes it just takes finding the right activity to get you started. Sometimes it’s just making yourself do it.

For myself, I find that once I’m actually exercising, I’m fine. I love the way I feel afterwards. But I can really psych myself out, if I’m not careful. You’ve heard the excuses: I don’t have time, I’m tired, it’s boring, etc. I think I may have mentioned before that I’m really great at rationalizing anything I want to do.

How do I get past this? The easiest way is to get up and exercise first thing in the morning. If I don’t have time to think about it, I’m already halfway done before I realize it. Another thing that helps me is music.

Research shows that listening to upbeat music while you exercise helps you work out longer and harder, leading to faster calorie burn. Sounds great, right?

I recently came across a website that groups songs that might be good workout music by genre, decade and beats per minute (BPM). Genre and decade are self-explanatory, but BPM? Yes, you can use music that have a lower BPM to warm-up or cool-down and faster BPM music for your workout. The website is called RunHundred.

In addition to this website, there is an app for your iPod/iPhone called Cadence that will go through the music in your library and find the BPM for those songs.

Have you heard of either of these? How do you find your workout music? What do you like to listen to?

Paige Stewart and the Ghost Cat of Columbia Square

Today we have a special treat. Paige Stewart (aka Rachel Lynne) is sharing a story with us. I know you’ll enjoy this little interlude, as well as her Jewel of the Night series contribution, Ring of Lies.

“The Davenport House was built in 1820 by master builder, Isaiah Davenport. The house is designed in the Federal style commonly seen in the New England area where Mr. Davenport was born and learned his craft. The focus of this museum is to provide an accurate portrayal of a middle class life in 1820’s Savannah. If you’ll follow me, we’ll explore the drawing room, foyer, and office.”

Paige Stewart obediently trouped behind the group of tourists and wondered what had possessed her to take the tour. Historical restoration and ‘living history’ museums were her sister Anne’s, idea of fun. Paige smirked. Her preferences leaned toward the living and the night life.

“You’ll notice the rooms on the first floor feature more elaborate moldings, fireplace mantels, and furnishings than those of the second and third floors. This is because Mr. Davenport used the home as a showcase for his business and he entertained prospective clients in these rooms.”

Paige tuned out the docent’s spiel and surveyed the room. The house was beautifully restored, right down to the foyer’s floor cloth painted to resemble black and white tiles. She scratched her head. If memory served, there was something similar in the upstairs hallway at Oak Point. Paige rolled her eyes. It used to be there anyway. No doubt her father’s trophy wife had pitched it into a dumpster as part of her ‘modernizing’ of the family’s two hundred year old plantation.


Paige grimaced at what she might find when she returned to her childhood home on St. Stewart’s Island. If Tiffany the Yankee bimbo’s,(Paige refused to think of her as a Stewart), redecorating of the Stewart townhouse on Pulaski Square was any indication of her plans for Oak Point, the Stewart ancestors would be lined up at the Pearly Gates with sharp knives in eager anticipation of her father’s arrival.

“In 1955, seven civic minded ladies founded the Historic Savannah Foundation after learning of plans to demolish the Davenport House to construct a parking lot. Saving the Davenport House was the catalyst for the organized preservation movement that has turned Savannah into an international tourist destination. The foundation has helped to save over three hundred and fifty buildings. We’ll now move upstairs to the family rooms. Note the cantilevered staircase …” The docent spun around and glared at Paige as the theme from the Twilight Zone rang out from her purse. “Ma’am, cell phone use is not permitted during the tour. We specifically ask our guests to turn them off.”

Paige flashed a tight smile and rummaged through her bag. She groaned as she read the caller id. Mouthing an apology to the docent, Paige pressed the green button and retraced her steps down to the gift shop. “Hello Clayton.”

“Paige? Where are you?”

She grinned. “I’m in Savannah, how about you?”

A snort from Clay sent static through the speaker. “Don’t be flippant, Paige, you know what I mean. You are supposed to be at the Seventeen Hundred Ninety Inn, yet I get a call from my secretary saying the reservation was cancelled. Mind explaining that?”

Paige drew a deep breath and counted to ten so she didn’t bless him out. She was still uneasy over what occurred in room 204. “Certainly. If you’ll explain to me how I came to be booked in the so-called haunted room.”

Clayton chuckled. “So that’s it. Were you scared to sleep alone Paige?” His tone softened. “Want me to come down and keep you company through the night?”

A shiver ran down her spine and it had nothing to do with ghosts. A vision of Clay’s toned body entwined with hers rose before her eyes. She gulped and blinked the image away. Clayton Moore was her boss and she had no intention of mixing business with pleasure, at least until she finished the Spectral Savannah series anyway; after that … all bets were off, and clothes too, if she were lucky.

“Paige? Cat got your tongue?”

Paige dragged her thoughts away from their carnal fantasies and tried to recall the gist of the conversation. “Yes …, er, no! No, Clay, I don’t need you to protect me from things that go bump in the night.”

“Sure? It would be fun …”

“Umm hmm, I’m sure it will—I mean would! It would be –“

“Freudian slip, Paige?”

Paige flushed at the knowing tone in his voice. Please God, open a hole in the floor so I can crawl in!
She cleared her throat and attempted to get the conversation back on a professional footing. “Did you just call to tease me or was there something you needed?”

“Oh, I need you all right …” His sexy laugh filtered down the phone line sending a wave of desire coursing through her. She’d wanted him from the moment they met two months ago but she’d denied herself; knowing business and pleasure didn’t mix. She’d even tried convincing herself he was a naïve, ghost hunting fool. Good looking and charming, but a little shy of a full deck. Paige sighed and faced the fact that the effort had been futile. Her body was intent on overriding her brain.

“Paige, you there?”

Paige drew a deep breath and told her rebellious body to chill; she had a job to do. “Yeah, Clay, I’m here. Look, I’m missing this tour so ….”

“What tour? Are you digging up some good ghost stories to replace the Seventeen Hundred story you chickened out on?”

Paige gritted her teeth. “I did not chicken out; those people were nothing but two bit con – never mind. I’m touring the Davenport House Museum. It has an interesting history and the restoration had a tremendous impact on the city –“

“Uh, that’s great Paige but … is it haunted?”

Paige huffed. “I don’t know Clayton and to be honest that isn’t my first priority at the moment –“
“Well it’s mine! I hired you to write ghost stories. My readers don’t give a damn about the –“He laughed. “Geez, you know how to push my buttons.”

Paige laughed. “Well I don’t mean to.”

“Good, bodes well for our future! Look Paige, you’re a damn fine reporter and everything you’ve turned in so far has been excellent so I have no reason to doubt you this time. Besides, I don’t want to fight with you …,” He chuckled. “I actually called to see if you were free for dinner Friday.”

Paige gulped and tried to ignore her quickening pulse, and his use of the word ‘our’. “Umm, this Friday? I thought you were in New York.”

“I was but I flew into Charleston yesterday. We’re looking at doing a series on their ghosts after your Savannah articles run. So, how about it? I’ll drive down Friday afternoon. We’ll have dinner and, since I don’t have to be back in New York until Monday, I thought you might give me a tour of your island.”

Paige laughed. “St. Stewart’s isn’t my island.”

“It’s named after your family …”

“Yes, but we don’t own it, well not all of it anyway.” Paige glanced at her watch and jumped. “Oh! Clay, I’ve got to run. We’ve been talking for thirty minutes, and the tour only lasts an hour. I’d love to have dinner with you Friday night but we’ll have to wait and see on the island tour, okay? I’ll talk to you later –“Paige started to click the phone off but stopped as Clayton yelled her name. “Yeah Clay, whatcha need?”

“Sorry to keep you from your scintillating tour but … I don’t know where you’re staying.”

Paige laughed. “Oh, sorry! I’m at the Kehoe House on Columbia Square, catty corner to the Davenport House.”

“I know it. I’ll pick you up around 8:00. Enjoy your tour!”

Paige turned her phone off and muttered, “I will, if it hasn’t ended!”

Paige ran up to the second floor and paused to catch her breath. The tour was nowhere in sight and the house was silent. She wandered down the hall, peeking into the rooms in hopes of slipping back into the group. The last thing she wanted was another scold from the guide.

She glanced into what she assumed was the morning room and found it empty. The master bedroom also yielded no results. She frowned. One room left, and the door was closed. She hesitated, wondering if the room was off limits to guests but, hearing someone singing, she opened the door. A young girl, dressed in a period costume, similar to the docent’s, sat on the floor playing with a grey tiger striped cat.

Paige smiled and bent to stroke the cat. “Do you know where your mother took the tour group?”

The little girl pointed to the floor above.

“Thanks!” Paige scratched the cat’s chin one last time and headed for the stairs. Half-way up, she paused. The Davenport House was a museum filled with priceless antiques. While a child dressed in period attire certainly added to the atmosphere, she doubted the foundation intended the child to be left unsupervised. The docent would likely be reprimanded for letting her daughter wander and it might even cost the woman her job if they found out her child let a cat inside.

Considering it her good deed for the day, Paige made her way back to the bedroom but found it empty. I tried. She shrugged and returned to the staircase, just in time to receive another glare from the docent.

“Ma’am. At the start of the tour, I clearly stated that visitors were not to wander off alone. I’m afraid I’ll have to ask you to leave.”

That’s the thanks I get for trying to save your ass?

Paige bit back the retort. “I’m sorry. I had to take a phone call. I was trying to find you when I stumbled upon your daughter playing in a bedroom. She told me you were upstairs so I started to join you but then I came back down. It occurred to me that she isn’t supposed to be up here alone either, and I’m sure her cat isn’t allowed inside at all.” Paige smiled. “I was going to bring her to you so you wouldn’t get into trouble, but I’m afraid she’s run off.”

The docent frowned. “Ma’am, I don’t know what you’re talking about. I don’t have a daughter and there had better not be a cat running loose in here!”

“But I …”

The docent pointed toward the basement steps. “Please, I think it best you leave.”

Confused, Paige followed the woman down to the gift shop. It made no sense. She’d clearly seen and spoken to the little girl. Hell, she’d pet the cat! The woman was obviously lying … but why? Annoyed, Paige walked over to the cashier’s desk and leaned across the counter.

The docent sighed and halted her conversation with the clerk. “May I help you?”

Paige’s eyes widened at the woman’s hostile tone. What on earth had she done? “Look, I’m sorry to bother you but … I know I saw a little girl and her cat upstairs. She’s dressed in costume. Now, if she isn’t your daughter, don’t you think –“

“Oh for goodness sake!” The docent rolled her eyes. “Please stop. You’re not funny and that gag is getting old.”

“What gag? I’m not trying to be fun-“

“Ma’am, you’re not the first to come in here and try to pull this stunt. The story of the little girl and her ghost cat is hardly new. The Davenport House is not haunted by the daughter of Isaiah Davenport or a cat. We are a serious history museum. If you wish to hear, or tell, ghost stories I suggest you take the haunted hearse tour. Now, for the last time, please leave the premises!”

Paige stumbled outside and walked over to Columbia Square. She sat by the fountain and stared at the Davenport House, trying to make sense of what she’d just heard. She wanted to believe the docent was lying but, after years as a journalist Paige knew the truth when she heard it. Which left her with no acceptable explanation; she’d been hallucinating or …

She jumped up and gave herself a shake. The only reasonable explanation was the power of suggestion. Clay had put the idea of ghosts into her head right before she hung up and imagination took it from there. That was the only reasonable thing to assume. I either accept that or get fitted for a straight jacket.

Determined to take a nap, Paige walked toward the Kehoe House. Half-way across the street she stopped and stared. Her mouth dropped open as she watched the tip of grey tail disappear through the brick wall surrounding the Davenport House’s garden; a child’s delighted laughter drifted on the wind.
Paige rubbed her eyes with a trembling hand and wondered what size jacket to request.


Riley, thank you so much for allowing me, er Paige, to visit your blog! Intrepid reporter Paige Stewart may be fictitious but the history and lore of the Davenport House are all true … to one degree or another. I wonder if Paige will get her nap. Children apparently like her … and the Kehoe family had 10!
Rachel Lynne

You can find me, and my books, at my website and I often hold contests on my FaceBook Fan Page, so why not join?

If you want to see what happens to Paige at the Kehoe House, visit my Blog; the link and date of the next adventure will be posted in the News column. And, if you can’t wait for another suspenseful tale set amidst the beautiful and historic city of Savannah, may I suggest my romantic suspense novel Ring of Lies?

Secrets, Lies, and Murder surround Ivy Michaels amidst the backdrop of Savannah’s annual St. Patrick’s Day festivities!

Book Trailer for Ring of Lies: A café owner and an ex-cop must solve the mystery of a hot blue diamond in order to catch a stone cold killer! Excerpt

Things seem to be heating up between Paige and Clay. It’s just a matter of time before I convince her to give my newsletter readers the inside scoop so be sure to subscribe!

Different Kind of Cover Love

I mentioned last week (or maybe the week before) that I was agonizing over the premise of a free read I wanted to put up on my site for Valentine’s Day. The good news is I’ve finally figured things out, I’ve got the scenes up on my storyboard and I’ve started writing it.

I’ve also been working on a cover for it. Me! I’ve never really done anything like it before so it was a bit daunting and exciting at the same time. I was pleased with how it turned out for the most part, but after some good feedback, I’ll be going back in and playing with the text a bit.

I don’t think I’ll be switching my focus to graphic design anytime soon, but it was a fun project.

What about you? Have you ever tried your hand at graphic design? How did it go? Is it something you’d like to pursue?

Happy New Year

Here we are, folks. The last day of the year.

I have to admit, I had a pretty good year. My first two novellas came out this year with The Wild Rose Press. I’ve made some great new friends between this blog, Facebook and Twitter. I got to go RWA National Convention, I made PRO, I finished up my associate degree I’ve been working on forever, and I’m back to writing full-time. Those are just the highlights. I can’t complain.

I’m expecting next year to be even better. I’ve got a full load planned for writing, I’ve got great friends and critique partners to help keep me on track, I’ll be starting my bachelor degree, and I’ll be pursuing an agent this year. I’m excited to get started.

I'll be spending the evening with wonderful friends, playing games and having fun. Tomorrow is family day and Sunday I'll be winging my way back to Germany to brave the snow.

How has 2010 treated you? What are your highlights? What have you got planned for 2011?

Have fun celebrating, but stay safe.

Happy New Year!

Holidays: The End of your Healthy Lifestyle?

I’m winging my way across the ocean today (plane and weather gods willing) while you read this. Hopefully on Friday, I will be writing from sunny Texas.

Weightloss Wednesday, right before Christmas. What shall we talk about?

Should we discuss all the cakes, cookies and pies everywhere we turn? How about fat-laden mashed potatoes, all the bread you can eat, and the alcohol that flows freely at holiday parties?

What’s a poor girl trying to make healthy choices to do?

Give it all up until after the first of the year? We could do that. But that’s 2 weeks and if you’re anything like me, you’ll take license to eat whatever you want and to damn the rest. When it’s time to start back up again, you’ve gained back that 20 pounds you lost before Christmas.

Deprive yourself? You watch everyone around you shoving all those calories down their throats without abandon. You start feeling left out. Then is desperation, or possibly even spite, you indulge. And indulge and indulge and indulge.

Neither of these options sound all that appealing, do they? With a plan in place, you can weather the holidays, indulging in the traditions that make up your family holiday and keeping on a healthy track. After all, balance is what it’s all about, right?

If you have a holiday gathering, eat a little less during the day beforehand and get in your exercise. You’ll feel more in control and by conserving some calories and burning more with the exercise, the food you eat at the party won’t make a dent in your plan.

If you’re hanging with the family, incorporate some healthy snacks along with the baked goodies. If you eat a bunch of low-cal veggies, you don’t have as much room to hold the high-cal foods. You may even find that you don’t crave them as much as you thought you would.

There’s always lots of alcohol at holiday parties, right? You can still indulge. In moderation. Alternate glasses of wine with sparkling water. Or do like the Germans do and mix half wine and half sparkling wine. That’s a popular drink over here and it cuts your alcohol intake in half.

One important thing to remember is that the holidays are separate events. If you stick to your healthy lifestyle most days and indulge at those special parties or family gatherings only, you’ll still be on track in January.

What are some of the ways you balance your healthy lifestyle with the holidays?

Delivering Christmas Cheer in Germany

Thank you to Lillian Grant for stopping by on Friday and sharing such an interesting story with us. Thank you, dear readers, for stopping by and saying hi.

The winner of a copy of Lillian’s new release, Happy Birthday Nancy Tobin, is:

FiremanPat

Congrats, FiremanPat. I couldn’t find your email address so could you please email me at riley@riley-quinn.com. I’ll get your copy out to ASAP.

So what did your weekend hold for you? This time of year seems to find people so busy.

We started delivering Christmas gifts to the neighbors. I say start because we learned another difference between Americans and Germans last year.

When we lived in Texas, we were in a fairly new neighborhood and as a result, we met our neighbors as each family moved in. Being near a military base, most of them were friendly and we did cookouts and parties together.

At Christmas, I always baked goodies and put together a gift bag for the neighbors. We’d go to each door, ring the bell, wish them a Merry Christmas and give them a gift. They’d say thank you, Merry Christmas back and we’d go on our way to the next house.

So last year, I put together gift bags and one night after hubby got home from work, we thought we’d run gift bags around and then eat dinner. We only had 4 houses to visit. No problem, right?

At House 1, the neighbors were gone. So we left their bag inside the doorway for them.

House 2 is where our master plan began to unravel. Instead of a quick stop, we were invited in. Wine was brought out. Then another bottle of wine. 2 bottles of wine, several schnapps, and 2 hours later, we left.

At House 3, again we were invited in. This time it was beer. 2 beers each, 2 schnapps each and 1 hour later, we left.

Keep in mind, this is 2 bottles of wine, 2 beers, lots of schnapps (which is powerful stuff here in Germany. Think tequila) all on empty stomachs. I was drunk and we still had one more house to go.

We popped into our own place and ate a quick snack of sausage, cheese and crackers in which I proceeded to slice my finger open while cutting the sausage. Then on to House 4, which happens to be our upstairs neighbors and we KNEW that would be a long visit. It was.

Moral of the story: We needed more than a quick visit to deliver our goodies. Friday night, we were invited upstairs. We took their gift. Today, we visited House 1 & 2 and tomorrow we’ll hit House 3.

In addition to all this impromptu neighbor visiting, we had hubby’s work Christmas party and then a co-worker’s Advent party this weekend. Lots of fun, lots of socializing.

We’ll also get a lot of the same over the next 2 weeks. We’re heading to Texas to visit hubby’s family and see all our friends for the holidays. We fly out of Frankfurt on Wednesday (good travel thoughts please as there have been a lot of cancellations lately) and straight into Dallas. We’ll be there until after the first of the year.

So what about your weekend? What kept you busy?

And the Winner is...

Last week’s winner of a copy of Paige Tyler’s new release, Dead Sexy, is:

Lynne Roberts. 

Congrats, Lynne. I sent you an email, but please let me know if you don’t get it.

It’s Wednesday, which usually means Weightloss Wednesday here. Not this week, folks.

I woke up Sunday with the crud and have been mostly sleeping. I’m hoping to knock this in time for our trip to the States next week, so today is short and sweet.

Check back here Friday for guest blogger, Lillian Grant.

Saturday's Disappointment

First things first, Autumn Shelley won the copy of Blood Diamond.

Second, I had wanted to post pictures of the Nuremburg Christmas market today, but that’s where my disappointment comes in.

When we go to Nuremburg, we take the train. The station in our town is only 2 blocks away and it’s an hour train ride. Same amount of time to get there as by car and the 2 of us can ride on a Day Plus pass for less than 15 euros. Totally worth it when you consider gas prices (which are higher than in the States, even for those of us on base), wear & tear on the car, parking prices, and general driving nuisances.

Anyway, hubby had to work this weekend, but he got off work around 3. We decided to go when he got in. We got up to the station, bought our ticket, no problem. We’re on the platform waiting for the train and minutes before it’s supposed to arrive, it cancels.

My German isn’t good enough yet to catch everything said, I just know that train isn’t coming. So I go up to a man about my age or so and asked if spoke English. Generally, my age and younger usually speak it pretty well. He said yes and I asked about the train. He said it wasn’t coming and we’d have to go through Bayreuth to get there.

Okay, not the best option as it doubles the ride, but do-able. So we’re on our way. When we get to Nuremburg, it’s almost 7. There is drama in the train station there. Not sure what was going on, but the polizei had the middle section of the station cordoned off, they stood there with automatic rifles and police dogs to make sure no one crossed. As the Queen of Nosy, I’m dying to know what happened, but don’t know where to look so I’ll be asking my neighbor where I can find out.

Anyway, we exit the train station the back way and head over to the Irish pub near the station where our friends, who arrived around the time we were supposed to, were waiting for us. Or so we thought. We got our wires crossed and ended up meeting at the big church in town.

We meet up with them, get some sausage sandwiches, some gluhwein for hubby, hot chocolate with amaretto for me. Pick up a few things we like to get. Walk towards one end of the market until we see it peter out and then head back toward the center.

That’s when we got our surprise. The vendors were closing. It was 8 o’clock on a Saturday night and they were closing early. It was a disappointment. We didn’t have enough time to purchase everything we wanted to and see everything.

And, lovely readers, that is why I have no photos for you today. Everything folded up before I could snap them.

How did you spend your weekend?

Pictures from the Regensburg Christmas Market

Today, pictures of a Christkindl Markt, as promised.

On Saturday, I went to Regensburg for the day. They actually have 3 different markets. There is one that is arts & crafts. These booths feature things like stained glass items, pottery and other handmade items. Beautiful stuff.

There is the regular market located in the middle of town. And then they have the market that is on the castle grounds.

There are several carousels at the Christmas markets.

The red and white striped tops are common. Those are mostly what you see, regardless of the city. The only place (so far) that I haven’t seen them is the market on the castle grounds.

Gluhwein, anyone?

Speaking of warm drinks, I have a new favorite. I had a hot chocolate with a shot of amaretto in it at the market. It is OMG good.

This is one line of vendors. Instead of all individual booths, they set up one long one with dividers and each vendor gets a section. In the middle of town, there are about 4 of these long stretches.

These last two pictures are taken at the market on the castle grounds. It’s a bit more spread out and easier to navigate. There aren’t quite as many people either, as it costs to get in.

Since this is one of the Christmas markets I went to last year, I noticed that all the vendors get the same spot every year. That makes it easy to go back and find one you’re interested in. Lucky for me.

What did I haul off with for the day? We got a wood and wheat star to hang on the door, I got a Tibetan singing bowl and of course, the goodies. Lebkuchen, spiced almonds, bratwurst and the hot chocolate I mentioned.

It was so cold and very windy, but a good day.

German Christmas Markets

Yesterday was Thanksgiving in America and as we are currently living in Germany, we weren’t able to spend it with family as we would have liked to. So what did we do?

Well, I wanted to see the new Harry Potter movie and it was playing in Nuremburg. We had friends that asked us over to celebrate with them. So, we went to the first showing of the movie (and had a private showing) and then went to our friends’ house.

While we were in Nuremburg, we noticed that they were setting up for the Christmas market there. It started this afternoon.

If you’ve ever been to Germany in late November into December, you’ve probably been to one. If you haven’t, these are a tradition and most large cities have one and most smaller cities have a variation. Some people even plan vacations to Germany to coincide with the Christmas markets.

Christkindl markt as they are called here, are booths set up all over the pedestrian zone of the city. The booth vendors are a combination of food and goods.

Gluhwein (pronounced glue-vine) is a mulled red wine that vendors throughout the market sell. It’s common for people to sip this warm drink while exploring the offerings. There are other variations, such as a cherry gluhwein or a spiked apple punch.

Then there is the food. There isn’t much that isn’t offered. Sausages of all kinds, toasted nuts, pastries and other baked goods, schneeballens (from Rothenburg, if you remember that post), chocolate covered fruit, fruit bread, and lebkuchen (laib-kookin), which is a Christmastime specialty consisting of a gingerbread-like tasting cookie that is soft and chewy. It’s really good and hubby loves them.

As for the goods, they run the gamut. Handmade Christmas ornaments, advent candles, other Christmas decorations, pottery, jewelry, slippers, handbags, leather goods, things carved from wood, just about anything.

It feels a lot like walking the fairgrounds at a county fair in the States. They are a lot of fun and last year, we went to several. In doing so, we learned that not all Christmas markets are created equal. So this year, we have a plan.

We’re limited because we’re heading to Texas for the holidays and because hubby has to work one weekend. So, tomorrow I’m heading to Regensburg. They actually have two going on. There’s one in the pedestrian zone and one on the castle grounds. It was really nice last year, so we’re hitting that one again.

On the second weekend of December, we’re heading back to Nuremburg. We only did a quick pass-through last year and only saw a small bit. It seemed really nice and since then, I’ve been told they have one of the nicer markets. The following weekend, if possible, we’re going to try to hop over to Rothenburg. They are kind of the Christmas capital of Germany. We may have to wait until next year for that one.

So I’ll be taking some pictures tomorrow and at the other markets and sharing later in December. Have you been to the Christmas markets in Germany? What did you think? Would you plan a vacation around them?

Hope you all had a great turkey day yesterday and a fun weekend coming up!

Reading Ease

A couple of weeks ago, I learned about something cool – Reading Ease.

Apparently, the top best-selling writers average better in several statistics than other writers. They use shorter sentences, shorter words, and a higher percentage of active voice. The analysis of this factors is what Jim Smith (Writer’s Little Helper) calls the Reading Ease Ideal.

This check can be done in Microsoft Word and according to Mr. Smith, the following numbers are the benchmark.

Words per sentence (avg): 15 max
Characters per word (avg): 4.5 max
Passive voice: 5% max
Flesch Reading Ease: 80% max
Flesch-Kincaid Level: 6 max

He suggests editing a scene at a time to achieve or surpass the above goals. He goes into more detail about how to use these numbers effectively, but this provides a good start.

How do you find these numbers? I have Word 2007. I can tell you where to go in this program. If you have a different version, go to help and type in “Flesch reading ease” and the directions should pop up.

Click on the Microsoft symbol button in the top left corner. At the very bottom of the menu that pops up is a Word Options button. Click that. On the left-hand menu, choose Proofing. In the menu that comes up in the right pane, the third group of options has a box for Show Readability Statistics. Check that and hit OK. Now the next time you run your spell check, these statistics will be displayed. Cool, right?

For fun, I ran the first chapter of Into the Pride through it. This is what it came up with:

Words per sentence (avg): 9.7
Characters per word (avg): 4.3
Passive voice: 0%
Flesch Reading Ease: 84.3%
Flesch-Kincaid Level: 3.9

Not too shabby, eh? That’s the rough first draft. So, if I edit it until the reading ease score hits 80% or below and keep the other numbers about the same, I’ve got a possible best-seller. Woohoo!

Seriously, though, it’s an interesting tool to use to help during your editing process.

For the record, the stats for this post are:

Words per sentence (avg): 10.8
Characters per word (avg): 4.3
Passive voice: 3%
Flesch Reading Ease: 77.1%
Flesch-Kincaid Level: 5.1

Have you used this tool? Are you going to? Hit me with some numbers.

A German Kirwa

A Kirwa (pronounced keer-va) is a local festival, usually in the fall. Each region has their own customs and traditions. Speichersdorf had their Kirwa last weekend. On Sunday, we walked down to the Landgasthof Imhof, a local restaurant. All the fun started there. On the previous Wednesday, the ‘grave’ of the Kirwa was put out.

This will stay out all week and was just taken down yesterday.

We started off with a parade. Two young girls (twins) pulled the cart, followed by a band playing traditional Bavarian music.

Then came the young couples. Each couple followed behind, the men carrying a krug of…you guessed it, beer.

The parade went around a loop in town and stopped in a clearing. Once there, the young couples formed a circle and the men put their krugs in the center of the circle.

Then they danced.

After a few dances, the men would take a drink and head back to their ladies for more dancing. Then they headed out and continued their parade.

They made a total of 3 stops, the last one ending where it all began, in the parking lot of the restaurant. They danced some more and then they formed a half circle. Here, the men took turns saying little poems of the happenings in the town over the past year. After each man spoke, the band would play.

After every man had said what they wanted to say, the entire procession posed for pictures.

Afterwards, it was time to move inside for…you guessed it, a beer.

Upcoming

A big thank you to everyone who stopped by my blog during Blogmania and entered my giveaway. I will be drawing the name over the weekend and the winner will be posted on Monday’s post. Please stop back then.

I realized this week that I haven’t really mentioned much about Germany for a while. For those of you that enjoy those posts, good news. My husband has the next 2 weeks off and we plan to take several day trips. Plus, my father-in-law comes for a visit soon and we’ll be heading to new places that I haven’t made it to yet.

I’ll also try to be better at sharing yummy German recipes. I know several of you enjoy those.

I’ve also got a trip to Austria planned for mid-October. Just a weekend, but it will be another new country for me so I’ll try to come back with lots of stories and pictures.

Everyone have a great weekend and I’ll see you all Monday!

What do you have planned for the weekend?

Welcome to Blogmania Sept. 15 - 16!

You've arrived at exactly the right time to explore lots of new blogs, all of which, ARE GIVING AWAY A VERY SPECIAL BLOGMANIA GIVEAWAY  (For Two Days Only – September 15th and 16th) .

We've done all the work for you. No hunting or surfing. At the end of this blog post is a list of all the participating blogs. You may want to print that list out so you can mark each one off as you visit it.

I know you'll want to visit as many blogs today as you can. So, if you see something that interests you on any of our participating blogs, why not bookmark that site. Later, when you have more time, you can discover all its fabulous treasures.

CLICK! CLICK! CLICK! MY GIVEAWAY and RULES: I'm calling my giveaway Love with a Bite Paranormal Romance Prize Pack. 2 yummy candles from Colonial Candle, 3 great books (Taming of the Wolf, an anthology featuring Autumn Shelley, When Blood Calls by J.K. Beck and And Falling, Fly by Skylar White), a plush stuffed wolf and a pair of handmade moonstone earrings. Great prize, right? And easy to qualify. All you have to do is become a follower here on my blog and my Facebook fan page. Once done, just leave me a comment telling me your Facebook name or if you’d rather, email it privately to me at riley@riley-quinn.com. I'll be announcing the winner of the prize on Monday's blog entry, so make sure you come back!

My close-up of the earrings didn't turn out. This is the pic from the seller's website. Copper crystals at the bottom are the only difference. They're beautiful.

Below is the list I told you about. At each site, you'll find even more. Gifts and prizes totaling over $38,000 are up for grabs during this event. Each blog has their own criteria for their giveaway, so read carefully. Have fun checking out all these great sites.

Goodies Galore!

First things first. Thank you J.K Beck for stopping by and thank you to all who stopped by and left a comment on Friday. As promised, 3 lucky commenters will be receiving a copy of her new book, When Blood Calls. It is awesome!

The random number generator at www.random.org has chosen PL Parker, Cheryl Rae and Gale Stanley. If you would email your mailing address to me at riley@riley-quinn.com, I will get these lovelies out in the mail for you.

How about more goodies to give away? Remember last week that I mentioned Blogmania was coming up? It happens this week on Wednesday and Thursday, September 15 & 16. Saturday, I hopped over to Bayreuth to pick up the last piece of my giveaway for this awesome event.

I know I’ve mentioned that I’m basing the prize pack on my novel, Out of the Shadows. I’ve hinted here and there, but today you get to see what you’re trying to win.

I’m calling it my Love with a Bite Paranormal Romance Prize Pack.

First, a plush, so so soft stuffed wolf. Gabe, my hero, is a wolf shifter.

Wolves are equated with the moon, right? So how about some moonstone earrings. These beauties are handmade by Regina McGearty at Walk on the Moon. She even added a copper colored crystal for each one to signify my heroine, Belle the Fire Witch.

Next, I’ve got two candles from Colonial Candles. I searched for the scents that match Gabe and Belle and while I didn’t get it exactly, I came pretty close. There is one Tibetan Sandalwood and one French lavender. Mmm, they smell yummy.

Last but not least, I’ve got to add books! As I did with my last Blogmania giveaway, I chose books written by my chapter mates in the Austin chapter and of course, they are paranormals.

Taming of the Wolf – this is an anthology from The Wild Rose Press and features the story, Blood Moon, written by my good friend and critique partner, Autumn Shelley.

When Blood Calls – You know this one. I’ve reviewed it here and we just had J.K. Beck here. Here’s another chance to get your hands on it.

And Falling, Fly – This is the debut novel of Skylar White.

My close-up of the earrings didn't turn out. This is the pic from the seller's website. Copper crystals at the bottom are the only difference. They're beautiful.

Great prize, right? All this adds up to over $100. All you have to do to be in the running is follow my blog and join my Facebook fan page. To follow my blog, go to the Follow button in the right-hand column and it will walk you through. To join my fan page, go here and click that you Like it.

You can do both of these steps early, if you want and then on those two days, either post a comment stating your Facebook name or if you’d rather, email me at riley@riley-quinn.com and tell me both your Facebook name and your blogger ID.

On Friday, I’ll use the random number generator again and post the winner on Monday, September 20.

What do you think? A prize worth winning?

Welcome J.K. Beck

Today J.K. Beck, aka bestselling author Julie Kenner, is joining us. If you remember, a couple weeks ago I was fortunate enough to get my hands on an ARC (Advanced Reader Copy) of When Blood Calls, the first of her new series. I wrote a review here.

Julie’s answering questions for us today. If you have any that I haven’t asked, please leave a comment. She’ll be by later to answer them. I've got 3 copies of When Blood Calls up for grabs for 3 lucky commenters. I'll do a random drawing and announce the winners on Monday.

I strongly urge you to check this series out. I’ve been an urban fantasy reader for years and this is definitely a series that I’ll be impatiently waiting for each successive book to come out.

So, without an further ado, here’s Julie!

Tell us about When Blood Calls and the Shadow Keeper series.
I’m having such a great time with this series!  It’s dark and edgy and the world is as much a character as the people (human or not) who fill the pages.

Essentially, the series is set in and around a paranormal judicial system that’s hidden within and mirrors our own.  Only this system has been around for millennia, and it’s charged with investigating, apprehending, prosecuting and punishing those creatures who break the Covenant, a set of laws originating in ancient times and first codified in ancient Sumaria.

When Blood Calls is the first in the series, and the heroine is a human assistant district attorney who’s thrust into this world when she’s handpicked to be a prosecutor for “Division 6” (the arm of the PEC—Preternatural Enforcement Coalition—in Los Angeles).  Her name is Sara, and through her eyes the reader learns about the world as well.

As you can imagine, it’s quite a shock for Sara, but what’s even more earth-shaking is the revelation that the first defendant she’ll come up again is the man she had a one night stand with.  And not only has he confessed to murder—he also happens to be a vampire.

You also write under the name Julie Kenner and have quite the following. What made you decide to put the Shadow Keeper series under the name J.K. Beck?
Several reasons, all of which mush together.  For one thing, most of my Julie Kenner stuff has a much lighter, quirkier tone to it (the exception is the Blood Lily Chronicles, but those are first person and while I wouldn’t say they’re quirky, there’s definite snark).  Also, most of my recent Julie Kenner stuff has been urban fantasy, not romance (with the exception of category romances).  So we wanted readers to know that these books are romances (though I think they would definitely appeal to UF fans) and they have a distinctly different tone than my Julie Kenner stuff.  I think fans of my earlier books will still dig the series—I know of many who do!—but it’s a distinction we wanted to make.  And, hey, it’s still me!  The J.K. stands for Julie Kenner, and Beck is my maiden name.

What are you working on next?
The next three Shadow Keeper books!  When Passion Lies, When Danger Hungers and When Temptation Burns.  YAY!

What’s a typical writing day for you?
It’s bliss.  I wake up to breakfast in bed.  My children are angels and straighten the house, do the dishes, and do their schoolwork quietly and without being told so that I can get in a solid 5 hour stint of writing in the morning.  I break to have tea and chocolate with the kids, take a leisurely stroll through my perfectly upkept yard, and then sit down to answer emails quickly and efficiently.

That’s the fantasy version, just in case you didn’t see the sarcasm and irony dripping off the words.

Seriously, I wish I had a typical writing day.  But, alas, every day is an adventure.  Right now, in addition to everything else, we’re moving.  So I have house buying stuff and house selling stuff thrown into the mix!

But I can give you a glimpse.  I tend to work late (it’s 2:03 right now, and I’m about to grab another cup of coffee).  I homeschool my kids, so that’s the morning and early afternoon activity.  Much like when I was practicing law, I have a day job to go along with my writing job.  Fortunately, I don’t have to report billable hours for the kids, so while they’re doing independent stuff, I can either write (if the chunk of time is large enough) or more likely do the non-writing work—emailing, blogging, putting together mailings, etc.

After school, I settle in to write for a bit, and while I’d like to say I do it distraction free, I’d be lying.  I did discover a great program called Freedom (Mac only) that shuts off the Internet for X amount of time.  Love it.

Then it’s family time.

Then it’s back to work until I crash. I’m a night person, so it’s not a bad schedule, though I do wish I was a morning person. It just seems so…perky.  But, hey, I write paranormal.  The night makes sense!

Depending on where I am on deadline, that entire schedule can be erased and replaced with “superglue butt to chair and fingers to keyboard.”

When you begin a new book, do you plot first?
No.  I have a basic story concept, either a plot, a character or a concept. I start to write, just to get voice, tone, possibly the character if I haven’t found him/her yet.  And then, when I can see that I like it, I go back in and start playing with the plot. 

I’ve done it other ways, but that’s my most common approach.  The dive in and figure it out then plan of action!

How do you approach editing?
Other than with a large stick, you mean?
Ahem.

Okay, seriously, I just dive in at page one.  But when I dive, I tend to know what I’m doing, because for the most part by the time I get back to page 1, the book is pretty much done.

So I guess that means the answer to your question is that I edit as I go along.

To a certain extent I’m getting away from that, or trying to train myself to.  What that means, though, is that the first 2/3 are pretty solid, and the last 3rd (where I didn’t edit as I went) ends up being in desperate need of a red pen.

I toss stuff happily and with no regrets.  I cut characters.  I delete scenes.  I change motivations.  I never (well, hardly ever) fall in love with the page.  It’s all about serving the story, and that’s all about entertaining the reader by being true to the plot and the characters.

Which author had the most effect on you as a reader?
I’m not sure I can answer that!  I read so much and across so many genres.  If I have to pick one and only one, probably Madeline L’Engle, simply because A Wrinkle in Time sparked my imagination in so many ways.

What is the best piece of writing advice you’ve ever received?
Cut out the chaff. Keep your writing tight and your story moving.

What is your advice to aspiring writers?
Read, read, read!  And write.  A lot.  Seriously, reading is by and away the best, most efficient way to grok the concept of story—of pacing and plotting and characterization.  Workshops and books are awesome, but the absorption of knowledge through actually reading is so, so important. 

Equally important is to write.  Put pen to paper and write.  And keep writing.

Thanks for having me!  I hope folks explore the series at www.theshadowkeepers.com (be sure to check out my booktrailer!)  And you can find me on facebook (www.facebook.com/authorjkbeck) and twitter (www.twitter.com/jkbeck)

It's almost time

Blogmania is coming again! If you don’t remember, it’s a blog event where over 100 different blogs give away great prizes. Last time, it was a one day event. This time it will span 2 days.

Each blog that’s registered with Blogmania will carry the same message those two days and will have a short of list of other blogs to try. The idea is to go from one blog to another and participate to go in the drawing for prizes.

Each blog has their own prize offering AND their own rules as to how to qualify, so make sure you read the guidelines on each blog carefully.

This event is taking place on September 15 and 16. Last time, I gave away a pretty good prize, if I do say so myself. This time, I’m trying something a little different.

As I’ve mentioned here before, I’ve finished my first full-length novel and I’m getting ready to query agents. So, to celebrate, I’m basing my prize on my book, Out of the Shadows. I’ve been ordering goodies and I need only 2 more items to have it all together. Once I do, I’ll have pics to show you what you’ll be playing for. One item is in the mail, winging its way here. The other I need to head to Bayreuth and pick up.

I’m also changing the rules a little as well. Last time, you needed to sign up as a blog follower to be eligible to win. That part still applies. So if you are already a blog follower (thank you!), you’re good with that part. To become a blog follower, scroll down until you see the Follow button on the right. Click it and follow the instructions. It’s quick and easy.

The second thing you need to do is sign up on my Facebook fan page. Once you’ve done that, just comment on one of those days and let me know what your Facebook name is so I can match them up.
This Blogmania is going to be better than the last so gear up and get ready. If you want to follow me early, please do. Also, if you want to email me with your blog ID and Facebook ID rather than posting a comment, feel free.

We’re going to have a lot of fun and there’s a ton of great prizes waiting to be won. Join in on the fun!

Name in Lights

Ever dream of seeing your name in lights when you were a kid? You’d be a famous actor/actress in the movies and people would come for miles around to see your flicks. For most of us, that dream never happens. For a few lucky authors, they may still see their name on the big screen.

My publisher, The Wild Rose Press, was contacted by someone in Hollywood. Yes, it’s true. The movie, Red, that comes out this October with Bruce Willis and Mary-Louise Parker and a slew of other great actors and actresses, will feature some Wild Rose titles.

Apparently, Mary-Louise’s character is a huge romance novel reader. Bruce Willis is trying to seduce her so he reads the books so they have something to talk about. Of course, there’s more to the story, but that’s the important part, right? No one knows how many books will show up or whose. The Wild Rose Press sent out around 150 books.

The movie itself looks pretty good. I probably would have gone to see it regardless, but trying to pick out the Wild Rose titles? Fun stuff.




What do you think of the trailer? Looks like a good movie, right? If you go see it, remember to look for The Wild Rose Press.