Jane Austen Like You've Never Seen Her

When I first saw this book I thought it looked kick ass. I love Jane Austen and thought this was a brilliant spin on an old classic. Then my friend Mari sent me the link to a trailer for the book and I thought it was incredibly cool. If you love Jane you have to check this out. And you know what? Even if you don't you still have to see this! Awesome! Click to watch.

#1 Grammar Pet Peeve

Contractions
Use an apostrophe to indicate the omission of one or more letters, numbers, or words in a standard contraction.

it is= it's
they are= they're
you are= you're
who is= who's
cannot= can't
does not= doesn't
were not= weren't
class of 1987= class of '87
of the clock= o'clock

Contractions of verb phrases (don't, weren't, isn't) and of pronoun-verb pairs (I'll, we're, she's) are common in speech and in informal writing.

Seriously, unless you happen to be Dr. Seuss, when you write, please use contractions. Ex:

I could not, would not, on a boat.
I will not, will not, with a goat.
I will not eat them in the rain.
I will not eat them on a train.

When you don't use contractions you sound uneducated. Nuff said.

Sorry!!

It appears that I seem to have given a bad news tip to a certain someone who went ahead and put it on his blog. In my defense, the place I saw said story has always been reliable in their news. When he told me the story might in fact be a hoax, I felt bad... for a few seconds... but I couldn't help it. His messages made me laugh. (Especially the "You're fired." Last I checked, you had to be PAID to be fired?!) But I did offer to make it up to him (hehe) if he could think of something he wanted me to do for him. So again, I'm sorry Det SLC for the bad info.

And this is totally unrelated, but while I was looking for an "I'm sorry" picture I found this, and I know he will like it:

New Promotional Card

Mari's got mad skills and put this postcard together for us. It's a draft right now, but I think it looks pretty good. We still have to figure out the back. We're thinking a picture of each of us and more information. We need new cards made since we both have so many events planned for the spring.

Friday Night's Video Says...

You're never too old for a little spank!! Click to watch.



Dedicated to Spanky, who always appreciates a red bottom!! ;)

Tail of the Tiger Golf Balls

There is a company selling golf balls imprinted with the faces of the different women Tiger Woods slept with. (Ok, I'm sure there wasn't a whole lotta sleeping going on, but you know what I mean!!) They are called "Tail of the Tiger Golf Balls, The Mistress Collection" and are available in two versions. One is for playing golf and one for display only. Both collections cost a little over $50.00 and the display balls come in a fancier box than the ones that can be used for play. The website is http://tailofthetiger.com/index.html

Hump Day!!

Today's Hump Day video goes out to those who want to be with a special someone but haven't been able to because of life's little things getting in the way. (Like a bad transmission, for instance... LOL)

This song was originally sung on Saturday Night Live by Bernadette Peters. Gotta love the lyrics!!

Scott Brown Action Figures, Even One That's Naked!

Move over, He-Man. Take a seat, She-Ra. Sen.-elect Scott Brown is the new superhero in town.

Seizing on Brown's hero status within the GOP following his upset victory in Massachusetts, a custom dolls company has created a new action figure modeled after the truck-driving Republican lawmaker.

The Boston Herald's Inside Track column reported that Herobuilders.com will release the Brown action figure on Tuesday.

"He's a man of action who stepped into the ring, 30 points down, and in just one month does the impossible," Emil Vicale, head of the Connecticut-based company, told the Herald.

The Beltway buff will come in three different versions.

The "Scott Brown Everyman Action Figure" dresses Brown in jeans, a T-shirt and sneakers. The "2012 Executive" Brown dresses him in a professional, presidential head-to-toe suit.

And, for "adults only," the "Cosmo Man Anatomically Correct" Brown dresses the incoming senator in ... well, nothing except for a tastefully placed fig leaf. That one is a send-up to Brown's infamous 1982 Cosmopolitan photo shoot.

The company specializes in action figures of celebrities and has a full line of politically themed ones -- including President Obama, former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin.

From Fox News.

Of course the Scott Brown Doll has nothing on the Det. SLC doll, which is also anatomically correct. LOL

New Fundraising Ideas

Besides writing, I am also the President of my kids PTA. One of the activities the PTA does throughout the year is raise money for the school and students.

Our PTA has always done a candy sale where parents get a catalog and can order merchandise, magazines, and wrapping paper. A lot of parents like this because it's almost a tradition at the beginning of the school year. This year we used Market Day, and we were quite pleased with their merchandise.

We also have a Holiday Gift Shop around Christmas time where students can purchase gifts for family members. Each student has a parent help them choose items and keep a tally of what they are spending to stay within each individual budget.

Finally, our other "big" fundraiser is our Scholastic Book Fair in the Spring. We do this specifically for our library. Each year we are given a theme for the sale. Last year it was "Lights! Camera! Read!" and we decorated like Hollywood, complete with a red carpet leading kids and parents to our sale. This year is "All You Can Read!" with a 1950's theme. We are already planning on 1950's music and volunteer moms in poodle skirts!

Two new fundraisers we have discovered to be extremely successful are "Smencils" and "Mixed Bag Designs."

Smencils are scented pencils made from recycled newspapers. They come in different scents such as Bubble Gum, Watermelon, and Orange. We buy them for 50 cents each and sell them for a dollar. So far this year we have sold over 1,500 pencils. The company had a 5 pack for Christmas with holiday scents including Sugar Cookie and Candy Cane. If you are in a PTA and looking for an easy fundraiser these are definitely the way to go. At our last report card pick up we sold over 550. This week we are going to be getting the Valentine pencils that come with a necklace. These cost us 1.00 each and will be sold for 2.00. If you are interested in Smencils check out their website at www.smencils.com.

Mixed Bag Designs is a vendor that sells reusable shopping bags in designer prints and colors. There are a few different sizes to choose from and they keep adding sizes to their collection. We sell them at a very reasonable price. Our first sale we sold 900.00 worth of bags and this winter we doubled sales to 1,800.00. Again, this is an easy fundraiser where you take orders and payment then get the bags shipped to you. Their website is www.mixedbagdesigns.com if you are interested.

One of the great things about both of these fundraisers is that you are tapping into another group of parents who maybe don't like the candy sale or don't like buying things they really don't need to help support the school. Both of these are "green" fundraisers that help both the school and the environment. If you want anymore information or have questions about how our PTA ran a sale feel free to leave a comment here or email me at annmarieauthor@yahoo.com. Happy Fundraising!

Thank You!!

Thanks so much to everyone who reads my blog. January I had the most readers EVER!! It's so cool that thousands of people read my blog now. Please keep up on posting comments and sending me emails. I love hearing from you and appreciate the feedback and tips for posts! Thanks again!!

Feb 2010 Romance Writers of America Magazine

Look for an interview with Marianne in the February 2010 issue of the RWR, the Romance Writers of America magazine. For those not familiar with the organization and magazine, this is a big deal. I don't think I've ever seen an epublished author featured in the column where they interviewed Mari. They approached her to do the interview back in September or August. I know she was thrilled to do it. Awesome job Mari!! They couldn't have picked a better writer. And I'm not just saying that cause we are such good friends!! U rock!!!

Medieval Menage Coming Soon

Here is the final cover art for the three story anthology titled "Medieval Menage." It should be available in print very soon from Resplendence Publishing. As soon as I get a release date I'll post it here. The book includes the following stories:

A Liar's Truth by Kimberly Garland

Ellsworth Castle is the only home Christina Edmund has ever known, and it has just been conquered by the evil Lord Renault Brandon. Now she is at the mercy of a man whose legendary cruelty has earned him such names as the Blood of Berlin, the Sorrow of Sicily, and the Agony of Athens. When Christina finds herself face to face with the notorious Lord Brandon, she is stunned. Such a man should be no better than a slathering, red-eyed dog, but instead she finds him intelligent, loyal, and irresistibly handsome. He even has a sense of humor. How can this be the same unrepentant fiend who tortured, raped, and murdered his way across the known world?

The Dark Knight by Marianne LaCroix

Lord Marco Cordoba, the Moorish Prince of Castilla de la Cordoba, is a man tormented by the past. Unable to save his bride Isobel from an evil vampire, Marco vows to stop at nothing to destroy the creature even if it meant becoming the very thing he hated--a vampire. Now, more than seven hundred years later, Marco stalks the dark shadows of his castle in Spain. Haunted by his memories and failure, Marco is ready to end his lonely existence. But then a light of hope enters the deserted halls of his castle--Christine, a woman that he believes is the reincarnation of his beloved bride. With her arrival at the castle, the demon that long escaped Marco's revenge returns to take her soul along with her life. Can Marco destroy the creature before he kills again? Will Christine recognize Marco as her knight in shining armor?

Wishes Through Time by Annmarie Ortega

When Caitlyn wishes to meet the man of her dreams, she has no idea her wish will take her to medieval England. She is in the armor hall at the Art Institute of Chicago when Morgan, a real live knight, appears and pulls her through time. He believes she is his one true love, and Caitlyn is quickly persuaded to believe he may be right. But Caitlyn discovers that finding true love and adjusting to life in 1400 is much more difficult than she could have ever imagined. Will true love prevail, or will Caitlin and her knight merely be two people passing each other in time?

More Tales From the Gym

So it's been a month that I've been going to the gym. At this point I've lost 21 pounds, which is awesome I think. Going to the gym does become addictive, but I suppose it's much better to be addicted to getting healthy versus something else like drugs or alcohol.

With my first month complete, here are some observations I've discovered with all my hours logged in so far. (2 to 3 hours a day!)

Women LOVE to walk around naked in the locker room. I find this quite disturbing, especially when I turn a corner and have some withered up old European lady stark ass naked in my way.

When I go in the sauna my hands turn beet red like a lobster. My friend who goes with me says she can literally see me cooking... LOL

Speaking of my friend, yesterday she fell off the treadmill and landed right on her ass. Thank God there was someone to help her up because I couldn't stop laughing. In my defense because I realize this makes me sound like a bitch... we had a running discussion going on which of us was going to fall off first. She won. But now I'm nervous because my turn is next.

And speaking of treadmill, there are a lot of men (who we refer to as "sweaters") who run til they are dripping down sweat to the point of disgusting. These same dudes NEVER wipe down their machine when they are done. Ugh. Makes me nauseous just thinking about it.

I've said whoever invented the elliptical machine is a sadistic mother f*cker. Then I tried the "Arctrainer". That thing is freaking crazy and literally makes my thighs burn.

I'm hoping that my success continues throughout February. It's so nice to be able to see the results of all my hard work. So far, so great!!

Multiple Orgasms

The following article is from my email. Check it out and maybe even learn something... LOL WARNING: There are some graphic descriptions used.

A major plus of the female sexual response cycle is that it gives us our capacity for multiple orgasms. We move fluidly between the different levels of arousal, including climax. Unlike men, we can remain in a state of arousal after orgasm, letting us climb the mountain, reach the peak, back up a bit, and then climb it again. Lucky us!

If you've never had a multiorgasmic experience, here's a good way to try it. Start by trying for a first orgasm using masturbation or a vibrator, or having him perform oral sex. (This is a good habit to get into anyway, especially if he usually comes first or you find an orgasm hard to achieve during intercourse.) Then move on to intercourse. You may need a minute to get over feelings of hypersensitivity around the clitoris, but stimulating the labia and vagina usually feels okay. In fact, it may feel great if you're on your way to another orgasm.

The key is to maintain a certain degree of arousal — you don't want to let yourself fall into an unaroused state. That's why it's good to have your first orgasm alone. He'll be inspired to keep things moving afterward! Remember, women's bodies are designed to be multiorgasmic — and practice almost always makes perfect.

There you have it... I have always loved being a woman, and here is one of the (multiple) reasons!!

It's Hump Day, So Come On Baby, Light My Fire....

Click to watch. I found this video yesterday and it reminded me of someone I know. Since I love the Doors (even though they were before my time) I thought this was a perfect hump day video. Enjoy!!

Martha Stewart Pole Dances

There are some things that are just not a good idea from the beginning, and I think this would be one of them. Here's the video if you missed it last week. And if you thought the picture along with this story is of Martha... that would be a big no. (It's Elizabeth Berkley from the under appreciated movie Showgirls.)

So You Want to Get A Netbook?

I bought myself a net book last October because I wanted to be able to go online while away from home without spending a ton of money on a full laptop. I already have two desktop computers though one is older and s-l-o-w as molasses.

I ended up getting a Gateway net book from Best Buy. It has 1 GB of memory and a 250 GB HDD. (There are some that only have 160, but I chose the bigger one. After all, bigger is better!! LOL) I had the Geek Squad install my antivirus for me, but other than that have no other programs on it.

One thing that I have discovered is that while net books are great, there are a few drawbacks with having one. The biggest is doing a full scan with the antivirus program. The problem is the antivirus programs out there are made for "full sized" computers, not net books. So when you scan the thing, almost all of the memory goes to using the memory to scan it. So, when scanning an entire desk top might take from an hour to a few hours... scanning a net book can take 2 days. Yep, that's no typo. 2DAYS!! I had to talk to the Geek Squad and Gateway to come up with an easy fix. When you scan your net book, do it while running the "safe mode." This only starts up the most necessary programs and uses less memory, making the scan much faster. (An hour vs 2 days.) I'm pleased to say this works wonderfully. To go to "safe mode" turn on your pc and continually press the F8 key until the "safe mode" screen appears. Run the scan then reboot the net book. It will automatically restart the regular way.

I hope this tip helps you if you have a net book or are thinking about getting one.

Lollipop Sweet Shots

What is Lollipop Sweet Shots?
The digital division of Lollipop Portraits – a new service for our on-the-go moms! Lollipop Sweet Shots offers bright happy portraits you can share with friends and family, and print the images when you’re ready. You can be in and out of our studio in under and hour with awesome portraits on a CD.

Prices start at just $79.00. Call 630-418-7427 for more information or go to www.lollipopsweetshots.com.

This company is owned by my friend Kate. If you call her please let her know Annmarie sent you! This is a perfect gift for grandparents since Valentine's Day is just around the corner!

Missing Kelly McQuaid

Saturday is the anniversary of the death of my great friend Kelly McQuaid. We went to high school together but actually became a lot closer after we'd graduated. We took a few road trips together... New Orleans, Graceland, Niagra Fslls. We both loved going to Michael McDermott shows and we are even in one of his videos. (Just West of Eden)

Kelly was big into tanning. She was tan all year round either from tanning beds or flying places to lay out. (She worked for an airline and flew free. It wasn't unusual for her to fly to Hawaii for a weekend to lay out.) Some of our friends would goof around telling her she was the perfect canidate for skin cancer because she was so tan all the time. It turns out they were right.

She was diagnosed with melanoma and fought the disease for seven years. It spread to her lymph nodes and then her brain. Even when things looked terrible she never lost her desire to fight and live. I don't think I would ever be able to live with what she did for such a long amount of time.

Kelly passed away six days after my youngest son was born. He was very sick and in the hospital at Children's. Because of my son being in the hospital I wasn't able to go to the wake or funeral. I felt so incredibly terrible that I couldn't go. It bothered me so much I didn't get to tell her good bye the way I wanted to.

Years later I saw her brother Sean at a Michael McDermott show. We got to sit and talk about Kelly and that made me feel a little better. Even Michael talked to me about Kelly that night because we always went to his shows together and he thought it was strange seeing me there without her. I thought it was sweet he did that...

I still think about Kelly every day and I still miss her. Even now as I am sitting here writing this I'm crying. So today, like every other January 23rd since 2003 I will put on a Michael McDermott cd and remember my dear friend. And I'll remember how lucky I was to have known such an extraordinary person.

I miss u Kelly-Kel.

PHOTOS: TOP PHOTO KELLY IN NEW ORLEANS EARLY 1990.
BOTTOM PHOTO KELLY AND I EARLY 1990.

From My Email

This picture was emailed to me today. I have a huge collection of tshirts and this one is pretty good. Would I wear it? I'm not so sure, but I think it's pretty damned funny.

Woman Sits on Boyfriend and Kills Him!!

Yikes!! Click to watch video below.

A woman in Cleveland pleaded guilty to sitting on her 120-pound boyfriend, Mikal Middleston-Bey, and killing him.

It happened back in August, during an altercation between the couple, who share three children together.

Mia Landingham, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, during her sentencing, her boyfriend's family spoke out letting Landingham know the pain she has caused..

"I just want to let you know how much you have hurt us by taking Mikal away from us. You have devastated our family."

Landingham's public defender told the judge there was a long history of domestic abuse between his client and her late boyfriend.

He also pointed out she has no prior criminal record.

Landingham then told the judge she was sorry for squashing the father of her children.

"I just want to say that I am sincerely sorry about this situation. I wish I could take it back

Judge Carolyn Friedland sentenced Landingham to three years probation and 100 hours community service.

She was immediately released from jail.

While Middleton-Bey's family hoped Landingham would eventually be able to take part in her children's lives, they were surprised that she got no additional jail time.

"So basically you can say that I can go sit on somebody and get probation? I feel there wasn't no justice. My brother's gone and all she get is three years probation."

Scott Brown- Tonight's Sexy Winner!!

Check out Scott Brown before he got into politics. Woo hoo!!

From Cosmo magazine online:

Long before he was a politician, the Republican candidate vying for Ted Kennedy’s U.S. Senate seat posed nude for the centerfold of Cosmo. Scott Brown won our “America’s Sexiest Man” contest and appeared in the June 1982 issue. In those days he was a 22-year-old law student at Boston College who was cramming for finals just days before stripping down for our photographer.

“Here at Cosmo we’ve had bachelors go on to be actors, models, and reality show stars, so we’re thrilled that one has gone on to become a politician,” says Kate White, Cosmo’s editor in chief. Obviously we know how to pick ’em. This particular bachelor has always had political ambitions and even admitted to being “a bit of a patriot” when we interviewed him.

Compared to some men in the GOP, this politician looks pretty damn good for his age. We bet he still has an amazing body underneath his suit and tie. There have been plenty of pics of our president running around without his shirt, so now that a precedent has been set, we’re hoping to see Scott shirtless again.

Michael McDermott on WGN Yesterday

Yesterday my friend Micheal McDermott was on the WGN news. Here he is performing his song "The Great American Novel." Click to watch.

 

Support Breast Cancer Awareness

I'm a firm believer in supporting great causes, like breast cancer research. I ordered this kick ass t-shirt today and part of the proceeds go directly towards breast cancer research. I know everyone is donating to the Haiti relief effort, but I chose to keep my donation a little closer to home. I don't personally know anyone from Haiti, but I know a whole lot of people who have been effected by breast cancer.

When Alex Was Bad

I'm currently reading "When Alex Was Bad." I chose this book because I wanted to read an erotic suspense novel since I am starting to write one myself. This is a new genre for me and I wanted to get a feel of what's already out there.

I'll admit the sex scenes are pretty hot and get into BDSM. (Specifically bondage and toys) They also dabble in cuckholding which I've never seen too much in a "mainstream" erotic novel. (If you aren't familiar with the term "cuckholding" then Google it... LOL).

You can find this book at Amazon.com. Their description of the book is:

After fifteen years together, Alexander and Olivia Quinn have become strangers, both in and out of the bedroom-until Olivia suggests a provocative plan to save their marriage. When their handsome neighbor joins the game, all three players will become embroiled in a dangerous and unexpected world of secrets, betrayal, and murder.

When I'm done reading the book I'll post a full review.