Trout Nation Posts

We don’t actually care if you steal it. We were just riled.

Hey, are you in the southern United States? Are you not in the southern United States and want to travel there for a rad conference? This is going to interest your pants off.

Authors After Dark is a romance novel convention where the focus is the reader. The ratio of authors to readers is incredible. The parties are a riot. And the size of the conference is reasonable, so you’re not getting into an overwhelming, huge-scale con.

You can find more details here. This convention sells out every year, and people wait-list to get in, but this year, the organizers had some extra space and are throwing a five day sale! And, for the first time ever, they’re offering partial conference passes (there are no day passes available).

If you attend during*:                   Then your conference fee will be:

August 6 – 10                                           $175.00

August 7 – 10                                           $150.00

August 8 – 10                                           $100.00

August 9 – 10                                           $75.00

Now let’s talk about that *. Some terms and conditions apply. This offer is only available to attendees who reserve a single occupancy room for the nights they’re attending. Conference fee must be paid in cash when you register. To get the special conference rate (and for more information), you’ll need to contact blueflamesabove @ yahoo dot com. Offer expires August 1st, 2014.

This conference is truly special, and a great way for authors to connect with readers and readers to connect with authors. The parties are fun, and the atmosphere is like a slumber party. Once you go, you’ll want to go back every year.

I would love to see some Trout Nation friends there! If you’re attending, drop me a line and we’ll meet up!

 

Merlin club is a weekly feature in which Jessica Jarman, Bronwyn Green, and myself gather at 8pm EST to watch an episode of the amazing BBC series Merlin, starring Colin Morgan and literally nobody else I care about except Colin Morgan.

Okay, I lie. A lot of other really cool people are in it, too.

Anyway, we watch the show, we tweet to the hashtag #MerlinClub, and on Fridays we share our thoughts about the episode we watched earlier in the week.

Just when I thought I was free from the horror show of Chedward and Anabella, here we are. Like some recurring nightmare in which we’re forced to watch a bad movie based on bad fanfic from a bad franchise that had equally bad movies… wait. No, sorry. Not “like.” That is exactly what’s happening here. It should go without saying that since this is Fifty Shades of Grey, TW: rape, domestic abuse, emotional abuse.

I know I’ve posted my playlists before–and recently–but this week’s Wednesday Blogging is about what playlists are getting us through our current work in progress. So, rather than just throw the playlist up here, I’ll throw it up here and talk about some of the songs and how they relate, so it’s not a repeat of every other time I’ve done this topic.

I’ll throw some tidbits about The Ex in here, too, so spoiler alert, if you don’t like that sort of thing, fair warning.

In every generation there is a chosen one. She alone will spend way too much money ona  sexy lady Giles cosplay costume. She will also recap every episode of Buffy The Vampire Slayer with an eye to the following themes:

1. Sex is the real villain of the Buffy The Vampire Slayer universe.
2. Giles is totally in love with Buffy.
3. Joyce is a fucking terrible parent.
4. Willow’s magic is utterly useless (this one won’t be an issue until season 2, when she gets a chance to become a witch)
5. Xander is a textbook Nice Guy.
6. The show isn’t as feminist as people claim.
7. All the monsters look like wieners.
8. If ambivalence to possible danger were an Olympic sport, Team Sunnydale would take the gold.
9. Angel is a dick.
10. Harmony is the strongest female character on the show.
11. Team sports are portrayed in an extremely negative light.
12. Some of this shit is racist as fuck.
13. Science and technology are not to be trusted.
14. Mental illness is stigmatized.
15. Only Willow can use a computer.
16. Buffy’s strength is flexible at the plot’s convenience.
17. Cheap laughs and desperate grabs at plot plausibility are made through Xenophobia.
18. Oz is the Anti-Xander
19. Spike is capable of love despite his lack of soul
20. Don’t freaking tell me the vampires don’t need to breathe because they’re constantly out of frickin’ breath.

Have I missed any that were added in past recaps? Let me know in the comments.  Even though I might forget that you mentioned it.

WARNING: Some people have mentioned they’re watching along with me, and that’s awesome, but I’ve seen the entire series already and I’ll probably mention things that happen in later seasons. So… you know, take that under consideration, if you’re a person who can’t enjoy something if you know future details about it. 

The Girlfriend and The Bride are on sale for $0.99! From now until the end of Authors After Dark in Charlotte, NC, the entire Bossverse series is available for under two dollars. As always The Boss and The Hook-Up are free.

On the stress relief front, I have hit a stress wall! If you’re new to the blog, welcome to an ongoing account of my struggle with mental illness! It’s always more difficult to manage my mental state when I’m under stress. Right now, the stress is all good stress, caused by good things, but stress is stress, and I need a constructive coping strategy.

Or.

I could build a bog-out tent out of Rugrats sheets…

and I could hide in it and get high with Samantha…

and spend some quality time on Tumblr…

I’m doing awesome, though, and expecting good things. Also, due to my super rad tent, expecting to wake up in a bed full of thumbtacks, bleeding slightly.

 

 

Merlin club is a weekly feature in which Jessica Jarman, Bronwyn Green, and myself gather at 8pm EST to watch an episode of the amazing BBC series Merlin, starring Colin Morgan and literally nobody else I care about except Colin Morgan.

Okay, I lie. A lot of other really cool people are in it, too.

Anyway, we watch the show, we tweet to the hashtag #MerlinClub, and on Fridays we share our thoughts about the episode we watched earlier in the week.

Hey everybody! Just a quick update to let you know what’s happening. Thank you all for your kind words and your support with the bikini thing. I know it’s a trite and corny thing to say, but I actually have a little more hope for humanity.

So, in case you missed it: I was on Good Morning America and If Ever I Would Leave You came out.

Stuff coming up: I’m in talks with a syndicated daytime show to come on and do a make-over type thing where fat women step out of their comfort zones and do a reveal on TV. Stuff like being afraid to wear a swimsuit or show your arms, that kind of thing. If you’re interested, email me and I’ll forward your name along to the producers.

News on The Ex, The Afflicted, and the sequel to Such Sweet Sorrow: I’m about 40k words into The Ex, and 11k into the sequel to Such Sweet Sorrow. I am hopeful that The Ex will release ahead of the projected spring 2015 date. I’ll reveal the cover at the end of August, and it’s another hot one.

News on the Buffy recap: I swear to you, it’s on the way. I just have a lot to say about this episode, and I’ve been wicked busy. Things are going to calm down, though. I swear this. Don’t give up on me. I won’t give up on you. I’ll never let go, Jack. *Lets you drift gently to your watery grave.*

I’ve been asked to recap an episode of The OC, even though I’ve never watched the show and have no idea what it’s about: SnarkSquad asked me, “Would you recap season one, episode twenty-four of The OC?” and I was like, “I’ve never seen that show ever in my life,” and they were all, “That’s even better!” If you haven’t checked out the recaps, they’re going on right now. I think mine comes out in August or something. I’ll post the link when it goes live. I’m just bringing it up now because I’ve got to do the second half today and turn it in because my deadline is tomorrow and I live on the edge.

Since I didn’t roll it into the #MerlinClub post today (which was stupid because it was written completely by the #MerlinClub three), and since it’s now available in all formats on Smashwords, below the jump are the final buy links for If Ever I Would Leave You, and an excerpt from my story, A Choice Fit For A Queen.