text:
Today's an eventful day for me.
Not only is my romantic suspense novel Conflict of Interest making a comeback as the #1 bestseller in the Amazon category "Gay & Lesbian Mystery," but I also received my author copies of Under a Falling Star today. I have to say, I'm still in love with the great cover, including the back cover.
The paperback is now available for readers too.
Last but not least, I'm guest-blogging over at Women & Words today, talking about Under a Falling Star, my adventures in the US, and about coming full circle as a writer.
We're also doing a giveaway of an e-book copy of Under a Falling Star, so head over to Women & Words to read the blog and enter the giveaway.
Best of luck!
The one-year anniversary of my transition to full-time writing is quickly approaching, and it makes me think about how much my life has changed. So I thought I would blog about a typical day in the life of a full-time writer—if there even is such a thing. Each day is different, which is part of the fun, but I try to keep a certain structure.
So here's what I did yesterday.
I never set an alarm clock, but my inner clock wakes me at the same time every day, usually around 7:15 a.m. I get up, change into my work uniform (which nowadays consists of a pair of comfy sweatpants and a T-shirt or sweater), and then start my daily commute (the five steps from the kitchen to my office).
By eight, I'm at my desk with a cup of Earl Grey or a Chai Latte and a big glass of water. I set my timer to thirty minutes as a reminder to get up regularly since sitting all day can really be hell on a body.
With the timer running, I get started on my editing job. I'm currently editing the German version of L.A. Metro, a lesbian romance novel by RJ Nolan.
Then I continue with my own projects. My beta readers sent back the next few chapters, so I revise the German version of Conflict of Interest, which will be published next spring.
I also got back my editor's comments on The Midnight Couch, a short story about a broadcast technician who has a big crush on the radio psychologist she works with. I make the revisions and then send it off to my publisher. One project down, seven more to go.
Next, I work on Good Enough to Eat, the vampire novella I'm co-writing with Alison Grey. We're working on a new scene that has our main character, a vampire who writes paranormal romances for a living, showing her "writing cave" to her love interest. Here's a snippet of the scene:
Robin opened a door and swept her arm in a gesture that encompassed the entire room. "Like I said, nothing special. Just a room with a desk and a computer."
Alana nudged her gently, setting off the familiar tingling sensation again. "And here I was expecting golden typewriters and a view of the ocean." She stopped in the doorway and blinked a few times.
Robin's L-shaped desk took up two walls, reminding Alana a bit of the control centers of spaceships she'd seen on TV. The large whiteboard above one side of the desk caught her attention. Index cards and sheets of paper were stuck to it. Alana did a double take when she saw what was pinned to the board below the floor plan of a house—a printout of her photo from the law firm's website hung next to her business card.
"Um, Robin?"
Robin, who was rummaging through a drawer, paused. "Yeah?" She half turned and froze.
"Why do you have my photo on your whiteboard?" Should she feel flattered or scared?
"I…it's not what you think. It's… I based a character in one of my short stories on you."
Alana reached up and scratched her neck, not sure how to feel about that.
"I hope you don't mind. Maybe I should have asked, but we barely knew each other when I wrote that story."
Alana finally turned away from the whiteboard. Come on, it's no big deal. "It's okay. I just… I thought I left those unrealistic love stories behind, and now I'm a character in one of them."
"No. I mean… Alissa, my character, isn't you. The editor had me make her a police officer. She said divorce lawyers don't make for sexy main characters."
Alana sent her a challenging grin. "Oh, yeah?"
"Hey, it's not like I agreed with her."
After writing for two or three hours, I take a break to check the Amazon sales rank for Under a Falling Star, my latest novel, which has been published just a few days ago. Not only is it currently #1 in the categories lesbian fiction and lesbian romance, but the overall sales rank is also #782. That calls for a celebration.
So I'm heading out to a Turkish restaurant for my lunch break and get myself a vegetarian Yufka. Yummy!
After lunch, I'm checking my e-mails and also answer reader comments on my blog and my Facebook page. I never even open my e-mails or social media before lunch. The Internet is a great tool for writers, but it's also the biggest distraction you can imagine, so I'm trying to stay away from it until I get some work done first.
Once I'm done with my e-mail, I watch a Scrivener webinar that I signed up for. If you haven't heard of it, Scrivener is an awesome piece of software for writers. I've been using it for a while now, but there are still some features that I haven't explored yet.
After the webinar ends, I go back to my job as an editor and edit three chapters of Turning for Home, Caren Werlinger's upcoming novel that will be published next year. Thankfully, it's well written, so there's not that much for me to do.
When the late-afternoon brain-deadness hits me, I climb on my elliptical trainer and watch an episode of Blacklist while I exercise. I don't watch much TV anymore, but I watched Orange is the New Black and Orphan Black during my afternoon exercise. Hmm, I just realized… What's with all the TV shows having the word black in their titles?
My brain feels more awake now, so I settle down, write a guest blog for Women & Words (which will be posted on November 12), and pick out the pictures to go with it. It's fun going through my photos of the US, reliving my adventures on the West Coast. It makes me start thinking about all the ice cream research I did there, and I realize I'm getting hungry.
I have dinner around seven—and some ice cream for dessert. Hey, at least the dinner consisted of something healthy, mostly salad.
After dinner, I get some proofreading done. We want to re-upload a new e-book for Something in the Wine soon, since the e-book file is much too big, so I thought I might as well take another look and see if I find any missed typos. So far, so good.
Around eleven, I watch an episode of Rookie Blue. What can I say? Crime shows and ice cream are my only vices.
At midnight, the magic is over and I fall into bed.
Tomorrow's another day in the life of a full-time writer.
I've been waiting with bated breath for October, because that meant my newest lesbian romance, Under a Falling Star, would be published. It's been out for just a few days now, and it's already number 1 in the Kindle bestseller list for lesbian fiction and lesbian romance.
So I'd say October was a really good month for me.
I finished the translation of Conflict of Interest. The title of the German version is "Auf schmalem Grat," which roughly translates to "a fine line."
My co-author Alison Grey and I are also making good progress on our vampire novella, Good Enough to Eat, which is now at 34,000 words. If this one turns into a novel, I will blame it on Alison
I'm also excited about a new short story that I just finished, titled "The Midnight Couch." It's about a broadcast technician who has a crush on the radio psychologist working for the same radio station.
Let's take a look at the numbers:
Nonfiction Writing
Marketing & Administration
|829 hours
|431 hours
|218 hours
|258 hours
|293 hours
|2,029 hours
|75 hours
|60 hours
|1 hour
|30 hours
|171 hours
|48 hours
|70 hours
|35 hours
|17 hours
|170 hours
|50 hours
|41 hours
|47 hours
|12 hours
|150 hours
|109 hours
|31 hours
|48 hours
|40 hours
|228 hours
|102 hours
|48 hours
|28 hours
|37 hours
|39 hours
|254 hours
|75 hours
|7 hours
|8 hours
|15 hours
|105 hours
|61 hours
|15 hours
|4 hours
|7 hours
|15 hours
|102 hours
|121 hours
|54 hours
|15 hours
|40 hours
|62 hours
|292 hours
|88 hours
|40 hours
|17 hours
|111 hours
|28 hours
|274 hours
|100 hours
|65 hours
|23 hours
|55 hours
|35 hours
|278 hours
So what's up for November? I have joined NaNoWriMo, the National Novel Writing Month that challenges writers from all over the world to write 50,000 words of a novel in November. Check back next month to see whether I managed to achieve that goal.
Have a nice Sunday, everyone!
Today's interviewee is Ann Aptaker, who just had her debut novel, Criminal Gold, published with Bold Strokes Books. Criminal Gold is a crime/mystery adventure novel set in 1949.
Let's start with some warm-up questions:
Chocolate or cookies?
Well, I love chocolate passionately, but I'll have to go with cookies, since chocolate doesn't love me, which is a serious romantic disappointment, yes? I cheat sometimes, have a little chocolate, but if I have one bite too much, I pay for it the next day. Drat!
E-books or paperbacks?
I don't own a reader or tablet yet, still out of my financial league I'm afraid, but I've recently downloaded the Kindle app on my laptop, so I'm just now getting ready to try e-books. If I had a reader or tablet, I could be seriously addicted; the efficiency is undeniable. But I have to fess up and admit that I'm one of those who'd miss the feel and smell of real books. Plus, I do a lot of my reading-for-pleasure as bedtime reading, and after a day of working at the computer, the last thing in the in the world I want to do is to look at yet another screen. The bedside lamplight illuminating the words on the paper is much more soothing at bedtime.
Star Wars or Star Trek?
No way I'll choose one over the other! Love 'em both! Take us out, Mr. Sulu…Engage…and may The Force be with us.
Beach or mountains?
Seashore, definitely seashore. And all the seafood I can stuff into my mouth. Second to living here in my much loved hometown of New York, a little shanty by the sea would be heaven.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself? What do you do when you're not writing?
A little about myself: well, I'm a native New Yorker who's also lived briefly in Florida and San Francisco. And though each has its wonderful qualities (great weather in both, good food, wonderful seashores, and, in SF, much LGBTQ cultural and political power), they just can't compare to my extraordinary hometown. So I came running home to New York, where life is a financial struggle but the cultural and creative riches are boundless.
So, what does that say about me? I guess it says that I'm a city-slicker to the core; that the presence of so much writing and other top-notch cultural talent in this city helps keep me sharp; that living in walking distance to the Metropolitan Museum of Art matters to me so that I can swoon over their Greek art collections and early 20th Century stuff (can't get enough of John Singer Sargent: is "Madame X" delicious or what?); that I love great theater on or off Broadway and go whenever budget allows, which isn't often enough; I love movies, so I'm addicted to Netflix (and also addicted to Orange is the New Black); also addicted to Downton Abbey (can't wait 'til it starts again here in the States in January!); and last (and probably least) I'm currently single. I guess that's about it.
When I'm not writing, I -
-work on getting my lectures ready for the classes I teach at New York Institute of Technology (Art History, Exhibition Design);
-write art related materials for various clients (galleries, artists, etc.);
-write other freelance stuff (was hired to edit/re-write a treatment for a proposed TV show).
So I guess I'm always writing! Even when I take my deliciously long walks through the city, I'm writing in my head, especially the book I'm currently working on, the second in the Criminal Gold series.
Please tell us about your journey in becoming a published writer. What challenges did you face when you published your first book? How did you come to publish with Bold Strokes Books?
Getting my early short stories published wasn't particularly difficult. In fact, the first story I ever submitted for publication, a hard boiled tale called "The Sweetness at the Crummy End of Town," was accepted right way by Michael Bracken, who was the editor of the "Fedora" crime anthology series (which has since met a much lamented demise…sigh…such are the financial vicissitudes of the publishing game. Michael was/is a true gentleman of literary crime). It wasn't a lesfic story, but the two main characters in next story he accepted for the Fedora series, "Her Game," were lesbians, very much out. The early success of these stories spoiled me for all the rejection that came later, when I submitted my novel. It seems I didn't have a golden aura around my head after all! It took forever, two agents (the first, retired; the second, come and gone, though it wasn't a bitter breakup), glowing rejections from publishers (but no sale is no sale, even when it comes with ultimately useless praise) and an abiding faith in my work (call it arrogance, call it chutzpah) to stay with it. Needless to say, I'm glad I did. Criminal Gold found a home at Bold Strokes Books, where it (and its author) are treated with respect, and benefits from the wisdom of the highly professional staff, especially my extraordinary editor, Ruth Sternglantz. Ruth definitely "gets" what I'm trying to do with this book and its protagonist, the criminal Cantor Gold.
How did you come up with the idea for Criminal Gold?
Y'know, I'm not really sure "how" I came up with this book. The character of Cantor Gold has been running around in my head for a long time. I'd written a previous story about her while I was living in San Francisco and taking a Mystery Writing course taught by Shelley Singer, author of Blackjack, featuring the fabulous Rica Marin (now there's a dyke to be reckoned with!) In addition to being a marvelous writer, Shelley is a wonderful teacher, and she unlocked everything for me on the very first day of class! From that day on, Cantor became alive on the page, and her story evolved. Eventually, I made the move back to New York, where Criminal Gold came to fruition. It really had to be written here. The city is part of Cantor.
How much and what kind of research did you do for Criminal Gold?
Since the story takes place in 1949, I had to do a considerable amount of research. Much of my time was spent in the microfilm room of the New York Public Library (reading 1949 newspapers—New York had 7 daily papers then!), the New York City Archives, whose collection of New York City photographs is unsurpassed, and the New York Historical Society Library for general information. I also read (and still do) lots of books on general New York history, crime history, and even entertainment history, all of them elements of Cantor's world. But I also spoke to a lot of people. The World War Two generation is still around (but leaving us day by day, sadly), and they remember the post-war years in New York rather well. So I got a lot of information, especially the more colorful sort, from personal reminiscences. Listening to them speak, and remembering how my own family spoke, their accents, expressions, slang, etc., gave me a sense of how New York sounded then.
What would you say is the most important theme in Criminal Gold, and what personal meaning does that theme have for you?
As with any good yarn, there's more than one theme woven through it, but for me (and Cantor), the most important theme of the book and her life is the idea of Freedom. In 1949, and really only until very recently, it was quite dangerous to live openly as a gay or lesbian person, especially if you were a butch dyke or a femme male. Cantor insists on living openly, thus taking her Freedom, which is a very different idea than simply winning her "Rights." Rights are things given; Freedom is something lived. To me, Freedom and Rights, though they have much on common, are not the same thing.
How long did it take you to write Criminal Gold?
While I was employed full time, I worked on the book on-and-off for about two years. But when I left my full time curatorial job to work only part time (teaching) and freelance gigs, I wrote more consistently and with deeper focus, and finished it in about a year.
How do you find enough time to write, even though you have a day job? Any tips for how to be productive as a writer who can't write full time?
As an Adjunct faculty member, I'm only in the classroom two days a week, though there's prep-time for each class. Still, other than classroom days, my working schedule is mine to set, and as long as I meet my obligations to school and my freelance clients, I am then free to devote whole chunks of time to writing.
Now, having said all that, there's the issue of financial stability, which I definitely do not have. There are some very scary days/weeks/months in my life. But my full-time career as a curator meant long days, often seven days a week when preparing an exhibition, and generally left me too exhausted to write when I got home, which was often late and after a long commute. So I had to make a decision: do I want to write, or do I want to curate? A management and policy change at the museum where I worked provided the trigger: I didn't go along with the new policy and management, and I decided it was time to get out and follow my own dream, not facilitate someone else's. I've never regretted it. Though my life is financially tough, it is creatively alive, which I value more than anything.
So I'm not sure what tips I can give about being a productive writer; everyone's situation and needs are different. But writing takes commitment, so I guess to be a productive writer, you have to commit to it, each in their own way.
What's your favorite scene in Criminal Gold?
Wow, a favorite scene. Well, I don't think I can pick a single favorite, but I suppose three could qualify. Since the book just launched, I don't want to give the game away before people have a chance to read it, but I'll say that in one of the scenes, Cantor becomes aware of the true feelings of someone important in her life. It's a very subtly revealed moment, but it has deep emotional implications for Cantor, turns everything she thought was true inside out. Another scene, a bit earlier, is a meeting between Cantor and the city's major Crime Lord on the terrace of his penthouse. It's a seesaw act between the two of them. And the third is the very last one of the book, which I won't give away at all! The reason that last scene is among my favorites, is because it actually wrote itself. I had another ending in mind, but as the words came, I felt like I had no control over it, the story had completely taken over. The book had to end the way it did. The story essentially told me to get the hell out of its way.
Which scene in Criminal Gold was hardest for you to write?
That first, subtle one, was the hardest. The relationship between Cantor and this other character is highly complex, and becomes even more complex as a result of that subtle moment when Cantor learns the truth, when her whole history turns upside down.
If there would have been Starbucks in 1949, what sort of coffee would Cantor Gold, the main character in Criminal Gold, order? Black coffee? Soy-sugar-free-non-fat-vanilla latte? Double chocolate chip Frappuccino with whipped cream and chocolate sauce? Something else?
Strong black coffee, no milk, no sugar, no nonsense.
What projects are you working on right now?
Most of my creative time is spent writing the next book in the series, which I'm proud to say Bold Strokes has accepted for publication (yay!) But I'm also partnering with the wonderful composer Jody Gray on what we hope will be a Broadway musical in the not tooooooooo distant future. He's writing the music, I'm writing the script, an adaption of an Oscar Wilde short story.
Yeah, I'm a writer. Finally.
Thank you for that great interview, Ann, and best of luck with Criminal Gold and your future writing endeavors!
Readers, if you have questions or feedback for Ann, please leave a comment. You can also reach Ann via Twitter or Facebook. For now, Criminal Gold is available at Bold Strokes, but starting on November 18, it will also be available at several other online bookstores.
Have a nice weekend, everyone!
Have you ever wished on a falling star?
Austen, the main character in my new romance novel, Under a Falling Star, has just one wish: to prove herself to her new boss. That's why she volunteers to decorate the Christmas tree in the company's lobby on her first day in the new job.
Dee, the company's COO, is a control freak who leaves nothing to chance when it comes to work, not even the positioning of the lights on the Christmas tree. When she tries to rearrange them, the star-shaped tree topper falls off and hits her on the head. Even though she blames Austen for her mishap, she is instantly attracted to her.
The problem is just that she's practically Austen's boss…and Austen doesn't know it.
The novel takes them on a roller coaster ride that includes amusement parks, Secret Santas, paper snowflakes, piña coladas, and a potty-mouthed cockatoo. There'll also be a reunion with Aiden and Dawn from Conflict of Interest.
Under a Falling Star is a contemporary lesbian romance of 91,000 words (369 pages). You can buy it or read an excerpt here.
I hope you enjoy my latest novel!
Way back when I first started reading lesbian fiction, one of the first books I read was one of Gerri Hill's romances. Some of her novels such as Artist's Dream, Gulf Breeze, and Sierra City, are still on my all-time-favorite list. Since she has 25 novels published and more on the way, I was sure that Gerri had been writing full time for a long time, but it turned out that she gave up her day job and became a full-time writer around the same time I did–at the beginning of this year.
Gerri took the time out of her busy schedule to answer my questions about her latest novels and her life as a full-time writer.
How long have you been writing full-time?
Technically, since January. But it took me a little while (months!) to find a routine. I was so used to getting up at 4:00 a.m. and writing until I had to go to work. Actually, I'm not sure I do have a routine yet!
What was the process of moving into full-time writing for you?
The first several weeks, I didn't write at all. I think it was because I was relishing something I hadn't had before—time. We have a large piece of property with two vegetable gardens, flower gardens, some fruit trees. In the past, I was used to spending every weekend tending to all that, sneaking in writing when I could. Suddenly, I had "time" and I just took a few weeks to exhale and relax! That's not to say that I didn't tinker with outlines or jot down notes here and there. But actual sit-down writing….no.
Do you write every day? Do you give yourself weekends or days off or vacation time away from writing?
I write nearly every day. Whether it's for an extended period of time or just a few sentences, I usually write something. I try to limit it on the weekends so that my partner and I can have more time together. As it is, I still write in the mornings (although not at 4:00 a.m.!!) and she has her morning routine too, so even on the weekends, we have a few hours of "work" time each. I generally don't travel without my laptop and certainly never without my digital recorder. I always have notes or bits of conversation between characters, usually from current and future books, on my recorder and/or phone. You never know when inspiration will strike!
What does a typical work day look like for you?
After morning chores (filling bird feeders, hummingbird feeders, feeding the outdoor cats, watering flowers, etc), I spend as much time as needed catching up with email and Facebook. I also take time out to read newspapers and whatever blogs I follow. I'll then transfer any notes I may have made the day before from my recorder/phone to the document where I keep them. Before I start writing, I go back and read what was written the day before (sometimes two days before). Inevitably, I find something to change! Then once I start writing, I have no timetable, unless it's a day where I have an appointment or a need to venture into town. I write as long as the words come easily, whether it's an hour or three or more. I do take breaks. Sometimes just to get up and walk around, other times to get my thoughts together, time for breakfast or lunch, things like that. As soon as I find that I'm struggling to put scenes together, I stop. I stop writing, that is. I never stop thinking about the story, the characters. I never stop having conversations in my head between the characters. So for the rest of the day, whatever else I'm doing around the house or yard, I have my digital recorder in my pocket!
Do you have a daily word-count goal or a set number of hours you spend writing?
No. Never. In fact, I rarely even check my daily word count.
Where do you write?
I have two main places—on the deck of our garden cabin or at my desk. My desk is next to a large window that looks out over the back woods. I have a bird feeder in sight, that, when I'm "thinking", my gaze is usually fixed on the feeder! I have a love-hate relationship with the garden deck, however. While it is relaxing and I love being outside (there are bird feeders and hummingbird feeders scattered about the garden), I find I sometimes get too distracted. Not from the birds, but from seeing things that need to be done! Weeds to pull, vegetables to harvest, mulch to put out, flowers to water….all things that I could/should be doing! So when I'm in a groove writing, I will usually force myself to stay inside at my desk.
How did family and friends react to you giving up your day job to become a full-time writer?
Most all had some reservations, some were more shocked than others. My immediate family was mixed with my mother being the most supportive.
How much time do you spend promoting your books, including blogging, social media, etc.?
Not much at all. I post on Facebook whenever there is a new release. I have a website with information on it, but it's not something that I update unless there's a new release. Bella Books, my publisher, does a great job of promotion.
What's the best thing about being a full-time writer?
For me, it's being able to write when I want to and not when I have to. I am less regimented now and I find I enjoy it a lot more. I also like that I can sleep past 4:00 a.m.!!
What's the most difficult thing about being a full-time writer?
So far, I don't have any reservations or regrets at all. Like I said earlier, I'm not sure I have a routine down yet.
What advice would you give a fellow author who wants to write full time?
Make sure it is indeed your passion. Some authors will say that writing is lonely. I agree to a certain extent and you must enjoy your own company, if that's the case. However, I don't find it lonely, really. I am constantly "talking" to my characters and listening in on their conversations. Make sure you have the drive and willpower and discipline to work at your craft. Some people who leave the structure of a fulltime job—with set hours and a boss who keeps them on track—find it hard to keep to a writing schedule.
Can you tell us a bit about your latest novel?
My upcoming release is Angel Fire, a cross-over book with Tori and Sam from Hunter's Way fame and Cameron and Andrea from Devil's Rock/Hell's Highway.
It was nice to get back with all of those ladies, especially Tori and Sam. I hope readers will enjoy their new adventure! It'll be out in December.
What books can we look forward to from you in the future?
I'm currently working on a romance, Pelican's Landing. It's a little different for me and when you read it you'll know what I mean! After that, I'm not quite sure. I've had a lot of requests for another book with CJ and Paige (Keepers of the Cave/Weeping Walls) so I may go that route. I also have a couple of other romances lined up, so I may do back-to-back romance. We'll see!
Thanks again, Gerri, for taking the time to answer my questions. I'm very excited to hear there will soon be another Tori/Sam book, and I'm also curious about Pelican's Landing.
Readers, if you have any questions or feedback for Gerri, please contact her via her website or leave a comment.
Thanks for reading this interview!
Have a nice weekend,
It's October already; can you believe it? Here in Germany, summer is definitely over, even though we're having a few sunny days here in the Southwest.
As always, I've been keeping busy, and I'm already making writing plans for 2015. When my publisher saw what I intend to get done next year, she asked me, "When will you be sleeping?"
This month, I put the finishing touches on my upcoming novel Under a Falling Star, which will be published in late October, and I've worked on translating my novel Conflict of Interest into German. Have I mentioned that Dawn and Aiden, the main characters from Conflict of Interest make an appearance in Under a Falling Star?
Fellow Ylva author Alison Grey and I also got started on our vampire novella, Good Enough to Eat, and we're having fun with it!
Plus I did a lot of nonfiction writing on my writers' guide series.
Let's take a look at the numbers:
Nonfiction Writing
Marketing & Administration
|729 hours
|366 hours
|195 hours
|203 hours
|258 hours
|1,751 hours
|75 hours
|60 hours
|1 hour
|30 hours
|171 hours
|48 hours
|70 hours
|35 hours
|17 hours
|170 hours
|50 hours
|41 hours
|47 hours
|12 hours
|150 hours
|109 hours
|31 hours
|48 hours
|40 hours
|228 hours
|102 hours
|48 hours
|28 hours
|37 hours
|39 hours
|254 hours
|75 hours
|7 hours
|8 hours
|15 hours
|105 hours
|61 hours
|15 hours
|4 hours
|7 hours
|15 hours
|102 hours
|121 hours
|54 hours
|15 hours
|40 hours
|62 hours
|292 hours
|88 hours
|40 hours
|17 hours
|111 hours
|28 hours
|274 hours
On popular demand, I added a TOTAL column. If I subtract my 5-week vacation in the US, that's a 52-hour workweek. But this job is much, much better than my old one, so I'm a happy gal!
Check back soon for the publication of Under a Falling Star!
August was an incredibly busy and productive month for me, as my colorful calendar can attest to. The green stickers point out days on which I wrote over 2,000 words, while yellow stands for days with 1,000-1,999 words.
Not only were two new short stories of mine published ("Pigeon Post," which is still free today, and "Whining and Dining"), but I also completed two novels–Under a Falling Star and its German translation, Vorsicht, Sternschnuppe.
Under a Falling Star is with the proofreader right now and will be published in October.
I also completed revising my contribution to Ylva Publishing's Christmas anthology, and I edited a couple of stories for that one, too.
Finally, I also found some time to work on my series of writers' guides. That's the nonfiction writing in the table.
Here are the numbers for August:
Nonfiction Writing
|641 hours
|326 hours
|178 hours
|92 hours
|75 hours
|60 hours
|1 hour
|48 hours
|70 hours
|35 hours
|50 hours
|41 hours
|47 hours
|109 hours
|31 hours
|48 hours
|102 hours
|48 hours
|28 hours
|37 hours
|75 hours
|7 hours
|8 hours
|61 hours
|15 hours
|4 hours
|7 hours
|121 hours
|54 hours
|15 hours
|40 hours
If I add 62 hours of marketing, answering e-mail (about 1,000 e-mails this month!), and other administrative stuff, I get about 300 working hours in August. Good thing I don't have to pay myself for overtime
In September, I will mostly focus on my vampire romance novella, Good Enough to Eat, which I will co-write with Alison Grey. We'll start brainstorming and plotting this week, and I'm curious to see how collaborating with another writer will go.
Check back next month, and I'll let you know!
Just in time for Labor Day, my newest short story, Pigeon Post, is available for free on Amazon today (September 1) until the end of Wednesday (September 3).
Pigeon Post is a 13,000-word short story set in a world in which shape-shifters just came out to the human public.
Kelsey, a submissive wolf-shifter, has always done what she has been ordered to do. But when Madsen, the Wrasa's highest alpha, sends her a letter via pigeon post, containing very unusual orders, she's not sure she can obey. Madsen and the newly hired Wrasa PR firm think it's a good idea to celebrate the anniversary of their not-so-voluntary coming out to the human public with a Wrasa Pride Parade–and they want her, a lowly nederi, to lead it.
If you haven't read it already, here's your chance to get it for free:
US: http://www.amazon.com/Pigeon-Post-Jae-ebook/dp/B00MV25RD0/
UK: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pigeon-Post-Jae-ebook/dp/B00MV25RD0/
Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/Pigeon-Post-Jae-ebook/dp/B00MV25RD0/
Australia: http://www.amazon.com.au/Pigeon-Post-Jae-ebook/dp/B00MV25RD0/
Germany: http://www.amazon.de/Pigeon-Post-English-Jae-ebook/dp/B00MV25RD0/
Enjoy and please feel free to share this post.
Happy Labor Day, everyone!
I'm pleased to announce that my latest short story, "Pigeon Post," has been published today, even a little bit ahead of schedule.
"Pigeon Post" is a short story, but at 13,000 words, it's not a very short one, and at $0.99, it's not expensive either.
It's part of my shape-shifter series and stars Kelsey and Rue, the main characters from True Nature.
If you have read other books in that series, you might remember that the Wrasa, my shape-shifters, are much more lesbian/gay-friendly than your average human. So it's no wonder that their PR experts come up with an interesting plan to fight for the acceptance of shape-shifters in society—they want to have a Wrasa Pride Parade…and they want submissive wolf shifter Kelsey to lead it.
To find out what happens, check out the story, which is available here.
Created by Krystel Contreras & Jorge Courbis


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8 Stretches To Keep You Limber (and Sane) During Holiday TravelThere's no two ways about it, holiday travel is about
2014 Holiday Gift Guide: Slick Buys for the Men in Your LifeThe men in our life: So important, yet for some
2014 Holiday Gift Guide: Under-$25 DelightsA great gift should have absolutely nothing to due with
Nina Dobrev's Secrets to Getting Sexy
"Using my imagination, spelling out what I want to achieve and creating a reminder of those things helps me move forward."
"Remembering my roots matters to me. We were on a tight budget growing up, and my parents gave so much to get me where I am. Now, at Christmas, I rent a house in the Rockies and take my family snowboarding."
Shirt; Zara.com for similar styles. Shorts, $168; DylanGeorge.com. American Eagle Outfitters belt, $30; AE.com. Miguel Ases earrings, $300; Fragments.com. Turquoise stone bracelets, $147 and $219; VanessaMooney.com. Chloe + Isabel thin bracelets, $34 each; ChloeAndIsabel.com.


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NOAA is bracing for a flood of data to come from new satellites. (Stock image)
Over the next four years, two next-generation weather satellite programs will come online under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, producing an unprecedented deluge of continuous weather data.
While acquisition delays of the Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS) and Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-R) programs have received the lion's share of public attention because of their $22 billion price tag, a substantial part of the work to ensure the success of both systems is taking place on the ground across the country.
NOAA and component agencies like the National Weather Service are currently in the process of upgrading the vast weather infrastructure and ground services to handle new variations of high-velocity data produced by the satellites and their myriad sensors.
GAO renews satellite warning
Today's weather forecast, brought to you by China?
Lawmakers uncomfortable with China solution for satellite gap
"These satellites are going to produce a firehose of new information to forecasters, but we have to ready our systems to translate all these new capabilities in order to have something that equates to value to the public," said Dr. Mike Johnson, satellite team lead for the NWS' Office of Science and Technology.
"They aren't legacy satellites, we're not replacing existing satellites with similar technology," Johnson said. "This is a big step forward in the science and capabilities we're expecting."
The first GOES-R satellite, scheduled to launch in early 2016, will produce about 40 megabytes of weather data per second, four times more continuous data than existing geostationary satellites.
The satellite's capabilities are magnified by an increased number of channels – from five to 16 – and its ground footprint will increase drastically. In addition, the next-gen GOES-R satellites will be able to scan the continental United States every five minutes as opposed to every 15 minutes like today's models, with the potential to hone in on dangerous weather systems every minute.
When it launches in 2017, JPSS-1's data generation will increase by a similar magnitude, though it will produce less total data – about 6 megabytes per second – than GOES-R.
The sheer volume of data creates delivery problems, Johnson said.
Forecasters at weather terminals require fast-paced data that integrates with radar, and the data flow must be distributed widely to more than 122 weather forecast offices across the country. To cope with the increased data load, NOAA has projects in place to upgrade its Satellite Broadcast Network (SBN), which sorts data streams and directs data to necessary end-users. In particular, SBN's bandwidth requires a substantial upgrade to handle the extra traffic.
In addition, NWS' largest weather facilities, including the National Hurricane Center, are building antennas to receive some satellite information directly. The national weather centers ground networks – they are connected via landlines – will also get revamped. So will data systems maintained by the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Service (NESDIS), which take in additional data produced by the satellites, like volcanic ash data or smoke analysis, for centralized processing.
Finally, Johnson said, developers are working with NWS operations to simulate the pace of data produced by the next-generation weather satellites and how to train forecasters to fully exploit the abundance of data they'll receive. Johnson said his colleagues are working to strategize on these and others issues likely to arise.
"It's quite exciting, these are things that two or three years ago we wouldn't have thought of," Johnson said.
About the Author
Frank Konkel is a former staff writer for FCW.
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Agency leaders must proactively invest time, energy and resources to shape the future rather than reactively wait for change to happen.
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GSA's administrator talks with FCW about short-term hiring, long-term planning and Robert Frost.
Without a future vision and an appetite for risk, reforms lead down a rabbit hole. There is a better way.
VA's top tech official says he is balancing risks while trying to keep the department's online services open for business.
After five years on the job, the founding director of the Office of Government Information Services believes that a deeper understanding and acceptance of FOIA is seeping into the federal government.
The September attack, made public Nov. 10, potentially puts customer and employee personal information at risk, including addresses, Social Security numbers and emails.
The General Services Administration's Matthew Goodrich predicts more agency-driven authorizations and previews a new two-year road map.
Archie Mackie became product director of enterprise computing at the Army PEO EIS in June. In a Nov. 7 interview with FCW, he explained why the Army is cautious but hopeful in its adoption of the cloud.
NOAA and NWS continuously increase the meteorologist's dependency on the Information Technology Infrastructure, while at the same time gutting the field Information Technology Officer ranks. I guess they are confident that all of this will work just fine without any actual support.
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Today a small BTS video from the seminars I did for FujiFilm in Amsterdam and Rotterdam for Kamera Express.
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Viral Video: WestJet Airlines revamps their animal policy
Updated On: Mar 31 2013 11:00:00 PM CDT
There are no rules when it comes to pranking --and lately, even major corporations don't mind pranking the public as well.
West Jet Airlines Vice President of Communications, Richard Bartrem, released a video on YouTube showing off the company's new lenient pet policy.
"All WestJet flights will now allow for any type of animal to travel in the cabin provided it fits safely on board the aircraft. Further, we will no longer require animals to be kept in kennels while on board the aircraft," said Bartrem.
The spoof video is just over 1 minute long and filled with the most uncommon traveling animals--everything from goats to bears.
Since this fake announcement was released, the video has received over 400k views in four days.
If you are a mobile user, clicker here to watch the infamous WestJet Airlines Prank.
Ferguson essay by Saints tight end Ben Watson strikes chord on social media
Thanksgiving power outages hit the Northeast
NOPD: Stolen vehicle with baby inside found in Seventh Ward
Sheriff: Algiers teen admits to distributing underage sex video
New Orleans among locations of scheduled Walmart protests, strikes


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Harry Potter's Diagon Alley in Orlando, and the world's longest and fastest inverted roller-coaster in Ohio are among the many new attractions at U.S. theme parks this season
I love to read travel articles, especially when they describe the thrill of walking on hanging bridges in South America or the delights of the friendly inn with primitive plumbing in a remote village in Asia
Need some inspiration for where to take the family this March Break? Here are seven destinations to suit any mood — warm or cold, fancy or frugal
I used to say that Florida is vulgar and that I'd never rent a condo there. Now all I want to do is escape to Florida even though I seem to scorn and long for it at the same time
Delray on Florida's Atlantic coast was called the "most fun small town" in the U.S.A. in 2012 by Rand McNally, U.S.A. Today and the Travel Channel on a televised special Best of the Road.
There is no such thing as fun for the whole family. So, short of separate holidays, how does a family navigate this quandary?
So with a sun umbrella pitched, a basket of sand toys selected and our chaises cosily covered in terry cloth we set out to relax
Melvin Shipman and Elaine Waddington may be retired but that certainly hasn't slowed them down
With prices starting to climb, now might be the optimal time to buy in Florida
St. George Island is off the beaten path, creating opportunity for Canadian buyers
U.S. President Barack Obama is such a BlackBerry Ltd. fan that he reportedly walked off a helicopter before take-off and ran back into the White House to retrieve his trusty smartphone
The N1, which runs on Google's Android Lollipop operating software, is due to be in stores in China in the first quarter of next year for an estimated price of US$249 before taxes
Spurned by innovations that have made it easier to offer virtual reality to consumers, companies such as Facebook Inc., Google Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. are all clamouring to make their own mark in this space


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Kim Kardashian: Throwback Thursday, When Life Was Simple (VIDEO)
Kim Through the Years
Check out Kim Kardashian over time! 37 Photos »
Kylie Jenner Joins Tumblr
See her new tumblr page and photos she posted Read More »
Kim Kardashian shares a homemade video from her childhood. She writes on her blog:
One of my Twitter dolls, @AddictedToKimK, sent this video to me yesterday.
My dad used to love taking home videos of all us kids. This one is from back in 1984… back when life was a lot more simple!
I'm so glad we have these videos to look back on now that we are all older.


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Determining hardware components and software parameters
At a Glance
The inxi command-line tool provides useful information from the depths of the system.
Almost every major distribution provides a tool with a graphical user interface that gives you an overview of the hardware. The inxi tool lets you retrieve even more detailed information at the command line.
If you are looking to discover meaningful details about hardware components and software parameters, the inxi tool is definitely worth exploring. You'll find inxi in the repositories of almost all major distributions, which means you can install it on your system with a few easy mouse clicks.
If your choice of distribution does not include inxi in its package archives, you will find detailed installation instructions on the web [1]. After installing, you can launch the tool by typing
inxi at the command line. Because inxi operates in user space, you do not need root privileges.
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TOR Network Isn't So Anonymous
A new study says it is possible to unmask 81% of TOR users.
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It's official: The new web arrives
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Kernel king admits his tone has alienated volunteers, but says the demands of the process require directness.
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New flaw in an old encryption scheme leaves the experts scrambling to disable SSL 3
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Mozilla's product think tank sinks silently into history.
Internet Giants Launch Collaboration to Improve Open Source
TODO group will focus on open source tools in large-scale environments.


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Mick Boogie Collides with U-N-I "Before There Was Love" [Free Download]
Los Angeles, CA -- Best of the Booth-nominated underground duo U-N-I are back with their first street release of '09, the Mick Boogie-presented Before There Was Love mixtape. Featuring guest appearances from Talib Kweli, Mickey Factz, Damani, Evidence, and many more over the course of its 27 tracks, the newly-released project is available for free download at the link below.
Mick Boogie Presents: Before There Was Love Tracklist:
1. Mick Boogie Intro
2. Cali Soul f/ Shawn Jackson and Hope (prod. by Dibia$e)
3. See LA f/ Damani (prod. by Faahz)
4. Cast' Em Out (prod. by Dibia$e)
5. The Press Play Show Interlude Part 1
6. On Tour f/ Bambu (prod. by Ro Blvd)
7. Think About It f/6th Sense & Vandalyzm (prod. by 6th Sense)
8. Half Off f/ Evidence
9. Run Son f/ El Prez, 310, C-San, & Casey Veggies (prod. by Ro Blvd)
10. Stakes is High (prod. by 6th Sense)
11. The Press Play Show Interlude Part 2
12. Beautiful Day Remix f/ Big Pooh, Evidence, Aloe Blacc, Kes Kaos, Mickey Factz, Fashawn, & Theo (prod. by Dibia$e)
13. Yesterday (prod. by Ski Team)
14. Hey Neighbor (prod. by Ro Blvd)
15. Wildin' f/ Chen Lo & Tunji (prod. by Ro Blvd)
16. The Press Play Show Interlude Part 3
17. Castle Vee Re-Up f/ Black Milk (prod. by Dibia$e)
18. Arcade Fly Remix f/ Wildabeast, 6th Sense, Buff1, Donny Goines, Fashawn
19. Night Nurse (prod. by Cook Classics)
20. Relax f/ Fashawn (prod. by FredNukes)
21. Return f/Talib Kweli (prod. by Bannon)
22. Mainstream Consumers f/ Free Speech & Bambu (prod. by Ro Blvd)
23. Monster f/ Shawn Jackson (prod. by Jaguar Skills)
24. Vitamin B f/ Curtains (prod. by Bannon)
25. The Press Play Show Interlude Part 4
26. Start My Day f/ H.O.P.E. (prod. by Ro Blvd)
27. Herb f/Co$$ & Bad Lucc (prod. by Ro Blvd)
Written by richard on 01/28/09
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Form, or as the guys on ESPN radio like to say, "the chalk," prevailed on Wednesday night: the Middlebury, Otter Valley, Mount Abraham and Vergennes girls' basketball teams all won their first-round Division II playoff games at home. Details on all, including a full write-up and photos from Mount Abe, will be in the Thursday paper.
OK, first up: Tickets for Saturday's Middlebury College men's hoop quarterfinal may be hard to come by. The Panthers (22-2 and No. 6 in NCAA Division III) will host Trinity at 3 p.m. The college is selling tickets for $5 for adults and $3 for students. They are currently available online. Those who want to go should click and buy now — almost 1,200 fans packed Pepin when the Panthers hosted Williams with the students out of town.
Well, the Vermont Principals' Association released the girls' basketball seeds this morning, and it confirmed the bad news for Middlebury, while Otter Valley, Mount Abraham and Vergennes ended up with the Nos. 6, 7 and 8 seeds, respectively, as expected.
All four teams ultimately did well enough to host first-round games, all at 7 p.m. on either Tuesday or Wednesday.
VERGENNES — The Vergennes Union High School boys' basketball team defeated visiting Middlebury on Friday, 52-36, accomplishing two things in the process.
The 10-8 Commodores completed a four-game sweep of county rivals Mount Abraham and MUHS, never an easy task, and they also ended the 1-17 Tigers' hopes of reaching the Division II playoffs.
Despite the frustrations that are inevitable in a one-win season, Tiger coach Chris Altemose found some bright spots on Friday.
VERGENNES — After almost a year of discussion, on Tuesday the Vergennes city council voted unanimously to accept a total of about 8.6 acres from the Vergennes ID school board, land that consists of two parcels near Vergennes Union Elementary School and is home to the city's recreation facilities, including its swimming pool.
The transfer will become effective on June 30, when the ID board is set to dissolve per a March 2009 vote by Vergennes residents.
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BOSTON — The Addison Independent staff was honored with four New England Newspaper and Press Association awards at the organization's annual banquet on Saturday, including recognition for reporter Kathryn Flagg as the NENPA Weekly Rookie of the Year and first place for Jessie Raymond in the Weekly Class 2 Humor Columnist competition.
The Independent staff as a whole also earned second place for General Excellence in Weekly Class C, while Flagg also earned second place in Weekly Class 2 Business/Economic Reporting.
MONTPELIER — The Vermont Principals' Association's Activities Standards Committee on Friday approved a cooperative agreement between Mount Abraham and Vergennes union high schools, paving the way for students from both schools to suit up for the Eagle football team next fall.
Both the Mount Abe and VUHS school boards had signed off on the agreement last fall on the recommendation of the schools' athletic directors.
VERGENNES — The Vergennes Union High School girls' basketball team on Tuesday earned a key victory in its quest for a home Division II playoff game, 52-39 over visiting D-I Colchester.
The 6-13 Commodores, the No. 8 team in the D-II standings, now have a six-point lead over No. 9 U-32 (5-13). The Raiders will have to defeat Lyndon, No. 3 in D-II, and Northfield, No. 3 in D-III, to catch the Commodores, who end their regular season at South Burlington on Thursday.
The handwritten letter arrived here from Vergennes right around Christmas, and essentially I have treated it like a gift.
And not because it was flattering. Signed "Grandma Bushee," the handwritten document on a small, yellow lined sheet rightly took me to task for misspelling her grandchildren's last name, and possibly for confusing their first names.
"Will you please spell my two grandsons' names right?" wrote Ms. Bushee "I have not seen their names spelled correctly yet. I'm proud of them, as I was (of) their father and uncle in the '70s."
FERRISBURGH — Ferrisburgh selectmen have proposed a 2010-2011 budget that, including charitable donations to be decided by residents on Town Meeting Day, would add about a half-cent to the town's property tax rate. That increase would translate to $5 per $100,000 of assessed value.
Including about $57,700 of charitable requests, selectmen are proposing increasing town spending from about $1.52 million to $1.565 million.
That increase of about $45,500 translates to roughly 3 percent.
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Denon introduces AVR-X4100W and AVR-X5200WJuly 23rd, 2014
Denon introduces AVR-X4100W and AVR-X5200W premium Network AV receivers with ground-breaking Dolby Atmos
Denon introduces AVR-X4100W and AVR-X5200W premium Network AV receivers with ground-breaking Dolby Atmos
NEW slender Millenia LP 2 and Millenia LP XL are the perfect complement for today's flat-panel TVs.
HEOS™ by Denon users can access Pandora via the HEOS by Denon controller app—to stream personalized radio anywhere in the home
Mahwah, NJ (July 17, 2014) – Denon Electronics, a leading manufacturer of premium home and personal audio products, announces its partnership with Pandora (NYSE: P), the leading internet radio service, to offer Pandora on the new HEOS by Denon wireless multi-room sound system . Users connect to an existing Wi-Fi network to bring Denon-quality audio to any—or all—rooms with a state-of-the-art smart device application available for both iOS and Android*. Read the rest of this entry »
The elegantly designed Silhouette from Legacy Audio provides no compromise performance in an artful 4.5" deep, on-wall/in-wall design.
UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NEW JERSEY. Onkyo, the world's foremost specialist in audio-video entertainment, has announced major upgrades to its popular line of home-theater-in-a-box (HTiB) packages, along with a new Dolby Atmos®-enabled speaker system and an updated entry-level A/V receiver. The following packages and components—including select models engineered for captivating Dolby Atmos sound right out of the box—are slated for release during the last quarter of this year:
Taking high performance multi-room music streaming to whole new level
Pickering, Ontario, June 24, 2014 — Bluesound, the first wireless digital multi-room system to fully support High Res Audio, is pleased to introduce Spotify Connect to its expanding collection of digital music services. With the upcoming software release, Bluesound owners all over the world can now enjoy Spotify's new home audio experience with simple hassle-free music control and instant access to Spotify's curated playlists, personalized radio, and vast catalogue of music in any room of the house. Spotify Connect can also be streamed to multiple Bluesound Players simultaneously in the home, making for an even richer multi-room audio experience.
STOW, OH, June 23, 2014 – Audio-Technica announced it is now shipping its SonicFuel AX over-ear headphones, which offer sleek, comfortable design, superior sound quality and three models with smartphone and iPhone® compatibility. Designed to fuel listeners' passion for enjoying their favorite music wherever they go, the new AX headphones include the ATH-AX5iS, ATH-AX3iS and ATH-AX1iS models with microphones, and ATH-AX5 and ATH-AX3 without microphones.
UPPER SADDLE RIVER, NJ. Onkyo has announced that its upcoming TX-NR1030 and TX-NR3030 network A/V receivers, flagship PR-SC5530 Network A/V Controller, HT-S7700 and HT-S9700THX HTiB systems, and SKS-HT693 and SKH-410 speaker packages will launch with Dolby Atmos, a next-generation audio format that delivers captivating multidimensional sound in home theater environments.


text:
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In addition2 plus minus multiplication can have a starlingly similar outcome.
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Welcome To CruiseCritic.com | Stay on CruiseCritic.com Go to Cruise Critic UK Close X
When you journey to the top of Cadillac Mountain (located in the world famous Acadia National Park), not only will you enjoy breathtaking panoramic views of Bar Harbor, but you will be standing in the highest point on the eastern seaboard of the U.S. It's an exhilarating experience!
Southern Cruise
2 reviews
Great views from Cadillac Mountain - Make sure you layer up - windy and cold
Provider: Royal Caribbean International
1 review
The excursion we took to Cadillac Mountain did not include the loop of Acadia. We were limited on time due to taking a morning excursion, so we took a tour mainly to just see the top of the mountain views.
The views from Cadillac Mountain were unforgettably BEAUTIFUL!!!..Oh what a beautiful country our USA is!.. The views are wonderful to see! You will not want to miss this while in the area!
The tour guide related a wonderful presentation of the Bar Harbor area including history, stories of the area and the people who live there. She pointed out many interesting sites as we travelled up to the mountain. (Seating for the best views is on the right-hand side of the bus facing the front!)
The afternoon tour returned us to the dock where the line for the tender was over an hour wait...The excursion was worth it though! We really enjoyed it!
Provider: Holland America Line
3 reviews
In Bar Harbor, ME we loved the ship's tour Bar Harbor Panorama. It is short and sweet giving you and overview of the city and spectacular views from Cadillac Mountain. There was plenty of time left to do the Shoreline Trail and have a delicious $15 lobster roll and chowder combo at the Thirsty Whale. The ships tour your gets you an earlier tender ride as well.
Provider: Holland America Line
4 reviews
Booked the Acadia National Park and Cadillac Mountain tour thru acadiatours at $30 per person; Tour was excellent; details are:
Acadia National Park Tours / National Park Tours and Transport, Inc.
207 288-0300 (Reserve Tickets)
207 266-4662 (Private Charters, Step On Guide Services)
(RCL wanted $112 per person for the same tour; go figure);
Provider: Royal Caribbean International
2 reviews
If you get a warm, clear day like we had, you will be treated to a spectacular view. Glad someone else was doing the driving as it was twisty and turning all the way up and back.
Provider: Regent Seven Seas Cruises
9 reviews
the oceanarium and mansion were disappointing.
Provider: Royal Caribbean International
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Homemade Organic Baby Wipesby Sarah TheHealthyHomeEconomist October 21, 2014
I remember so well holding my firstborn child for the very first time.
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|Sat 26 Jan 2013, 7:15pm–11:00pm
The superstars of T20 will step up the action when the exciting and fast paced KFC T20 International sweeps the nation in January and February 2013.
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Did Campaign For Liberty Give $350,000 to a Neocon?Submitted by angelatc on Fri, 01/29/2010 - 19:05
Sorry if this is in the wrong forum. I don't usually post here, but I am a regular participant at Ron Paul Forums, as well as being relatively active in real life too.
Having said that, I wanted to point out something that has the other forums all a-buzz: It appears that Campaign For Liberty spent $350,000 on a media buy for a Colorado candidate named Ken Buck, who is endorsed by Michelle Malkin and supports the wars in the Middle East.
We're all over there going WTF?
should get you up to date.
We're looking to apply some pressure and we hope some of you will make phone calls to Virginia to make them explain what in the world they were thinking.
- Login to post comments
I have sent this thread link to our Minnesota C4L chair,
Marianne Stebbins, and asked her if she could resolve this by getting us all an answer to this 'rumor' one way or other.
I also asked her how do we contact Mr. Tate if something should come up and we need confirmation on it. What is his contact information?
I trust she will post here or reply to my email.
Do you think a Fed Audit was cheap?
I always thought it was an incredible feat that Ron Paul got the support from so many.
I found it hard to believe it was just a matter of everyone making phone calls to their reps
I'm sure they agreed to sign on if they could tap into the high octaine Ron Paul supporters. They know we are a huge faction and are capable of raising large sums of cash!.
The problem is, they don't know what makes us tick!
I am scheduled to hit a C4L meeting tomorrow and I am going to bring it up....
For Freedom!
The World is my country, all mankind is my brethren, to do good is my religion.
this was done to gain even more influence - indeed, getting candidates to submit a survey, then I can sort of see how this is playing out. It seems to be a blunder. But it's even a bigger blunder to think that an organization is going to do 100% of what we like all of the time. Hell, half of you are studying to become a witch priestess or whatever...
Check out http://iroots.org/
"If you're into political activism, at least for Ron Paul if not for anyone else, I strongly recommend spending some time with iroots.org." - Tom Woods
Good Lord!
What in the hell is going on here...first RP is endorsing warmongers and now the CFL is using donations made by anti war folks to support f@cking war mongers??? WTF! I keep trying to let it slide but there's something funky going on here. I have trouble believing That RP is involved in this stupidity but I've been lied to before.
the speculation from Bucks campaign posted below, that Red State is in collusion with C4L....and since we can't get anything out of C4L, we of course have to speculate ourselves.
But the following isn't speculation:
- has a "war" tab (and even an article that calls for Obama to "declare" war on terrorism);
- advertises Horowitz's book on their homepege;
- claims that Buck needed to raise money;
and how nice of Campaign for Liberty to oblige...
Maybe C4L will start a "war" tab next...
Author of Buy Gold and Silver Safely
Next book: Illusions of Wealth - due out soon
Also writing book We the Serfs!
for answers.
Prepare & Share the Message of Freedom through Positive-Peaceful-Activism.
If Debra had $350,000 for ad buys we could take Texas
CFL should fund and support Debra Medina today.
That raises a damn good question...
..what the hell does CFL exist for if not to contribute to liberty candidates...If they're not contributing to the campaigns of Medina, Towne, Harris, etc. what in the Holy F%ckin' hell are they F%ckin doing with the money???
If they're playing the
"only fund them if you think they can win" game, they're playing it with the wrong people's money.
History lesson (snark intended): C4L was started by the left-over donations from supporters of the RON PAUL PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN! We expect to fund some that won't win. It's what we do.
Defend Liberty!
If they're playing the
"only fund them if you think they can win" game, Ken Buck would be a really odd candidate for them to choose! Jane Norton is currently the presumptive nominee.
I am shocked, saddened, and just puked a little in my mouth...
at this point, CFL will never get a FRN from me ever again.
debra medina
He wont endorse Debra and CFL wont give her money... what are they doing.. whats their plan?
Maybe this is all a test to
Maybe this is all a test to see if we're sheeple
It is indeed a test
It is a test for all of us, as we look inside ourselves and question just what it is we're doing here, and how we're going about it.
At least that is the test for me.
Ultimately, I think the definition of a sheeple is someone who looks into his heart and then ignores what the heart says in order to 'go along and get along.'
Explanation should hit the wires today
It may not satisfy everyone, but hold your fire, please. (And I have a lot of issues with C4L myself, so don't go jumping on me, please.)
Phil. 4:13
Explanation from Buck
From http://coloradoindependent.com/46727/ken-buck-campaign-ad-st...
Ken Buck campaign ad stirs up supporters and speculation
By JOHN TOMASIC 1/28/10 2:40 PM
The U.S. Senate campaign for Weld County D.A. Ken Buck reportedly knew nothing of the ad before it aired and even now isn't sure where the ad is running. "I heard it's playing on the networks. I think I found that out from the [Denver] Post," Spokesperson Owen Loftus told the Colorado Independent. "It was made by that 527, so we had no contact before it ran, and we can't have any contact with them now."
Loftus said the appearance of the ad was a pleasant surprise in that it dovetailed with a tour Buck has taken around the state recently. "I think it has helped getting Ken's name out." The ad might have helped fuel the bump in contributions the campaign has seen in the last couple of weeks, said Loftus.
It has definitely fueled speculation that powerful forces are lining up behind Buck to defeat GOP frontrunner Jane Norton.
The organization behind the ad, Campaign For Liberty, told TPM that the ad is not a strict candidate endorsement, which would violate the law. The ad is intended instead to promote the libertarian/conservative group's candidate issues surveys. "We want every candidate to answer our surveys. So as soon as another candidate answers our survey, we'll probably do another ad stating that," said spokesperson Gary Howard.
At conservative website Rocky Mountain Right, speculation is that the ad may have come out of a national strategizing conference call hosted in November by the Senate Conservatives Fund, founded by RedState's Erick Erickson and Sen. Jim DeMint. The main point was to decide which U.S. Senate primaries were the most important ones to watch. "The Colorado race was near the top of the list," writes the RMR blogger.
Soon the Buck campaign was encouraging supporters to send messages to the fund making the case for Buck. Is the Senate Conservatives Fund behind the new Buck ad?
That's not the only theory. In the comments thread of a Colorado Independent story this week, a Norton supporter offered a preview of the kind of whispering attacks that Buck might come under as his grassroots candidacy builds steam. The commenter suggests the ad was the work of wealthy Colorado gay-rights activist Tim Gill who, the theory goes, is supporting Buck because last year Buck chose to prosecute the murder of transgender Greeley resident Angie Zapata as a hate crime. The prosecution was a victory for the Zapata family and the gay community that rallied around the trial.
Compared to the speculation it's generating, the campaign ad itself is pretty vanilla. It features a montage of photos running behind a low-tone voiceover that hits on predictably vague strongly worded talking points:
"Career politicians are stealing our liberty and bankrupting our country."
"[Buck's] a tough prosecutor who will take on the D.C. insiders."
This is looking weirder all the time
So...Jim DeMint's group thought of this and a gay rights activist paid for this and someone decided C4L should also randomly be attached to the commercial to garner publicity for its all-important surveys (which aren't even mentioned in the TV ad) and the Buck campaign is pleasantly surprised all of this happened.
Just what we all expected to hear, right?
Sounds like GOP infighting
I don't really want to be a part of that.
Politics as usual.
Neither do I
but how does one avoid it?
Thanks for posting this.
I'm so sick of seeing the
I'm so sick of seeing the junk mail from C4L asking for the same predetermined sums. As if I can't figure out how much I can afford to donate on my own? I thought C4L was going to be a tool that we could use to educate and inform about how to take the republican party back from the neocons. It was my opinion that the best way for most of us to begin this process was to run for Precinct Captain of our local precincts. I just found out the other day that I have until Feb 18 to get down to the County BOE, declare my candidacy and get my petition with 5 valid signatures turned in in order to be on the ballot. Why hasn't the C4L been pushing this?
Control the Central Committee and you control the Central Committee Chair. That's what I consider working from the ground up. I hope others of you out there will help me push this agenda while there is still time.
Things are only impossible until they are not.
-- Jean Luc Picard
Because I maxed out my contribution to RP in 2008
They think I'm a high roller.
The first check box on my forms is over $7,000!!!
As if.
Michael. That would be too funny.
If it weren't for the fact that C4L should be paying you for your efforts.
Help me get the word out on Central Committee seats before it's too late.
Things are only impossible until they are not.
-- Jean Luc Picard
It is a dreadful thought.
It is a dreadful thought.
John Tate MUST be fired!
John Tate MUST be fired!
Ventura 2012
Is anyone else a little creeped out by John Tate?
That guy asks for donations in I think every email that he sends. And he sends about 2 emails a week.
I did some reading on Ron Paul forums
a lot of disappointed people.
CFL better come up with a really good explanation -
if RJ Harris and Jake Towne got this money they would be surely winning in their campaigns.
LL on Twitter: http://twitter.com/LibertyPoet
sometimes LL can suck & sometimes LL rocks!
Love won! Deliverance from Tyranny is on the way! Col. 2:13-15
Split that money between RJ & Jake
And we could really do some damage to the Establishment.
And don't forget Medina....
What is the deeelio?