A font by any other name

So yesterday I re-read something I'd written and couldn't believe how horrific it was until I realized I had changed the font from Courier (that I like) to TNR (that my editor likes). Thankfully, it read a lot better once I swapped it back though now I'm going to worry that my editor is reading it in the wrong font. So many things I can't control. Sigh.

In other news, I managed to kill another laptop today. This one wasn't even mine, it was a borrowed one because I had killed mine off a few months earlier and was trying to avoid buying a new one. Looks like I can avoid it no longer, plus even though my friend assured me that her laptop was ancient I'm probably going to have to find her a lovely (Atkins friendly) treat to say sorry.

I'm also over at Teen Fiction Cafe where I'm talking about my favorite gossip blog sites so please head over and give me a few more suggestions. I'm always ready for more!!!!

Television wise, my husband and I are completely addicted to Deadwood. I've been meaning to watch this series for ages and I finally brought it home from the library on the weekend. Talk about hooked. I've always loved Ian McShane from his Lovejoy days and now my love has deepened. In fact everyone in it is amazing and the dialogue is out of this world. I'm so hooked.

In the reading department I've just finished Angels' Blood by Nalini Singh which I loved and now I'm dying for them to turn it into a movie since out of all her books, this one was the most visual (well for me anyway). Plus she's just got the new cover for book two in the series and it's so pretty. You can check it out here. And now I'm racing my way through Michelle Rowen's debut young adult book Demon Princess which is awesomely awesome and I'm just happy that I already know this is book one in a series because I already want more and I'm not even finished yet (oh yeah, I'm greedy like that).

I still have to do some proper reviews and tours here and I promise I'll get around to them soon. What's everyone else been watching and reading? Retweet this button on every post blogger

Round up

So apparently life didn't come to a blazing halt just because I went away on holiday. In fact, as far as I can see, life was pretty crazy while I was away.

First up my agent sistah, Tera Lynn Childs won a rita for her debut book - woot!!!!!!!

Second the awesome Kay Cassidy went and launched her amazing new You 2.0 blog which is full of loads of good stuff so don't forget to check it out.

Thirdly Stephanie Kuenhert decided to go and have a major blog party - okay, I knew about that one and I actually have a genius post going up at some stage (and by genius I mean it was written about two hours before I left for the airport but I'm sure that my subconscious won't let me down. Er, right)

Fourthly my wonderful friend Amanda Grange has a fabulous competition going to help promote her new book Mr Darcy, Vampyre so head over to her blog and check it out (and stay tuned because not only do I have the book, but I've read it as well and I'll be doing a full post on it Very Soon!!!!!!)

Fifthly, but not leastly (ah, I really do have a way with words, no wonder I'm a writer) Nalini Singh has hit the New York Times bestseller list with her new book Branded by Fire, which I grabbed when I was over in Brisbane and will read it as soon as I finish Angels' Blood (which at the rate I'm tearing through it, won't be long now).

Anyway, that's it from me. I still have a To Do list the size of my arm, which is in fact the very reason that I don't often write To Do lists since they are pretty depressing when it gets to the end of the day and nothing has been ticked off. Whoops. Retweet this button on every post blogger

I'm back

So I got home late last night and I've got to admit that I'm over it already. For a start it's a lot colder here than in Noosa and by cold I mean that my fingers and toes have turned blue. Boo to that. Anyway, apart from the mountain of washing that I now have to tackle, I had a fabulous time. But of course you probably figured that by my startling lack of blog posts. What can I say? When I relax, I really relax.

Oh and I would love to show you some photos of all the relaxing that I was busy doing, but unfortunately that would involve me finding the camera, figuring out how to download the camera and probably in the process turning into the hideous monster that I tend to become when faced with a task that I don't want to do. Do you see where I'm going with this?

However, I can show you some lovely snaps of the lunch I had with some of the gorgeously awesome Queensland writers (and I guess I should call it lunch though the woman who owned the restaurant where we sat and gossiped for six hours probably had another name for a little get together!!!)



This is Rachel Bailey, whose debut book is out with Desire next year. Next to her is Amy Andrews, who has not only just finished her twentieth HM&B Medical but she is also a double A girl (I'm talking alliteration not bra size by the way) and of course me, who obviously decided to move just as the photo was being taken. I'm so ninja.



And here I am with Robyn Grady who writes for both Desire and HM&B Modern Heat and if she wasn't so lovely then I probably wouldn't have liked her on account of her being so clever. Unfortunately, Anna Campbell couldn't join us because she was off swanning around at the RWA conference but if she thinks she's got out of it, then she needs to think again, because like Arnie once said, I'll be back...


And I also thought I would share this photo. My friend Jeanne sent it over from Canada where she was very excited to see Zombie getting to hang out with some other zombie friends. Yay!!!!!
















Anyway, that's it from me, since apparently mountains of washing don't hang themselves (what's that about?) but hopefully I will remember to tell you more about my trip. I might even post some photographs since my husband went a tad crazy when we took the kids to Australia Zoo and we now have about sixty billions snaps of crocodiles and tigers, and perhaps even one of me looking at a koala. But in the meantime what's everyone else been up to? Juicy details please! Retweet this button on every post blogger

GCC presents Jennifer Banash

Today I'm touring Jennifer Banash and the third book in her The Elite series, Simply Irresistable which in stores now (woot!!!!!!!!)

I’ve so been meaning to read this book since I’m currently going through a major Gossip Girl phase and if there is even the smallest chance that I will find another Chuck Bass then I’m hooked! Plus, it has reality television and if there is one thing I love more than my darling Chuck, it's my darling television (I like to think I’m a woman of simple tastes!!!!)

So anyway, here is a bit about the book!

Simply Irresistible (Penguin) brings us a whole new set of adventures now that Casey has had a big city-haute makeover, courtesy of her classmate and neighbor Madison Macallister – part teen icon and part queen diva-bitch. Wearing the right clothes, saying the right things, and meeting the right people, has given Casey the look and the attitude – she’s “in” and loving it! Much to Madison’s dismay, her rival is climbing up the social ladder in a big way and could end up just as popular as Madison now that the two are set to star in their own TV reality show, “De-Luxe.” Yes, showbiz came knocking on two of The Bramford’s most illustrious doors and, as much as Madison thrives on the attention the show brings, she’s not thrilled about having every bit of her life of privilege caught on tape. However, fame comes at a price and Madison is one chick who is willing to pay anything…especially if it means becoming the next reality “it girl.” Casey, on the other hand, is realizing that Reality TV can sometimes be unreal, causing her to wonder if she even knows who she is anymore. With her relationship with Drew, Madison’s ex, currently more off than on, she can’t help wondering if everything i n her life is really just an illusion – and how much longer the illusion can last….

See why I’m dying to read this whole series? It sounds fabulous, plus I have some major cover love going on! Anyway, Jennifer kindly answered a few questions for me so let’s see how she faired!

1 How did you first get the idea for your current book?

Reality TV! I'm absolutely hooked on it (I know, I know), and I knew from the very beginning of the series that I wanted the girls to get their own TV show. In the last novel in the series, IN TOO DEEP, the girls get a call from a MTV-esque music television network, and are offered their own series, a look inside the lives of Manhattan's REAL Gossip Girls. In SIMPLY IRRESISTIBLE, we get to watch the process as the show is filmed and aired!

2 I often say that everything I know about writing has come from Buffy. Is there any movie/tv show/book/author that you think has helped your writing career?

Everything I know about writing has come from old 90210 episodes and John Hughes movies. I consider both absolute masters of teen drama, and nighttime soap opera. And who didn't love the whole Kelly, Brenda, Dylan love triangle? Sigh . . .

3 What's a normal writing day for you?

If I'm actively writing a book, I write 5 pages a day, no exceptions, and it usually takes me around four hours to get it done. Then I quit and go to the beach for the rest of the day!

4 The best blooper I've ever done as a writer was when I had my heroine hand the hero something. Problem was they were sharing the same body at the time! So to help lessen my embarrassment, I'd love to know what your best writing blooper is and did someone catch it before your book went into print?

The name of the school got garbled in the first book somehow during the editing process, and was printed incorrectly throughout the first book. I was mortified. Thank God it's bee fixed in subsequent printings.

5 And now for the big question. Zombies - love them, hate them, couldn't eat a whole one? Enquiring minds want to know

Hate them. Vampires are so much sexier. Don't you watch True Blood???? :) Retweet this button on every post blogger

And the winner is...

Lori T!!!

Lori, if you could email me at amanda (at) amandaashby (dot) com with your postal details then I'll send them on to Serena and she can send you out a copy of Giving Up The V.

And while I'm here I should give you an update. The revisions got done. Just. And are now with my editor while I'm over in Australia sunning myself at Noosa beach. I know, my life sucks a big one sometimes!!!! One small blip was that my son had an asthma like attack and we had to take him to the hospital at 2 in the morning (of course, because these things never happen during the day!). Anyway, he's a lot better and hopefully it was just caused by a virus and it won't happen again.

I'm doing a lot of reading - currently Mr Darcy, Vampyre by Amanda Grange and it is beyond awesome! I will be giving a full report soon but just wanted to warn you there will be gushing! Next on the list is Nalini's Angels' Blood and Michelle Rowen's Reign or Shine. Man, I have the best tbr pile ever!!!!!

Tomorrow I will be doing a GCC tour and then I will try my hardest to be a better blogger. Honest I will!!!! Retweet this button on every post blogger