Flash Fiction Monday...

Sitting above the city, looking down at the milling crowds, oblivious of the girl high above them. Blood drips from her blade as she contemplates the life she removed from this realm


~ Art by Kim Seung-jin

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

Well today you get two posts from me. This one and the one telling you of my sister in law's book launch blog tour for The Tyrant King. While there are four in one day, that can't be helped with the holidays looming. If you can make all four stops, share the links. If not, do what you can.

Okay so on to the favorites!

Favorite Books/Authors:

I remember reading lots of books when I was a kid and I recently came across one of my favorites. 'The Island of the Blue Dolphins' by Scott O'Dell. I read that book a couple of times as a kid and I'm half tempted to read it again. Those are the kinds of books I liked reading as a kid. I would pick up just about anything that looked interesting, regardless of the genre, even back then.

Favorite Movies:

I just saw Brave the other night and have to add this to my list of favorites. And it has nothing to do with me being half Scottish. Okay, sort of. Heh! No, it was a really good movie. I enjoyed it and am glad I got to see it.

Favorite Music:

This may shock some of you, considering my favorite list in the past and all the bands I listed at one time for the A-Z Blog Challenge, but I'm going to list The Statler Brothers today. I was raised on Country music and while I don't care much for it these days, there are some artists I still enjoy. And look, I'm mentioning it for the whole world to see! I saw the Statler Brothers in concert once when I was a kid. It was at a fairgrounds and it was rainy. My mom and I had on our el cheapo rain slickers that they handed to everyone before the concert. It was fun.

Fantasy Art:

And the funny:

Okay, that's it for this chick. Have a great weekend and see you all on Monday!

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

Ruh roh, it's Black Friday. Don't know how many of you are camping out at home and avoiding leaving the house. If you are, cool! You can read this post.

Favorite Books/Authors:

Okay, as usual I am late to the party, but I have finally ... FINALLY ... picked up the first of George R. R. Martin's books, 'Game of Thrones'. I'm halfway through and it is already a favorite!!!  I can't seem to put the damn thing down but I have to. I need to sleep and be able to function the next day. I'm really, truly loving this book, but I am sad I can't pick up the rest in the series just yet. Maybe if someone buys a book trailer from me...

Ha!

Favorite Movie:

Last Holiday with Queen Latifah is such a cute movie. I figured since the holidays are on the horizon, why not pick something like this. It's a good, clean movie without a lot of gratuitous crap. And I like Queen Latifah. I've liked just about every movie I've seen with her in it. She's one talented lady.

Favorite Music:

Black Eyed Peas. I have to state I like this group. I like all sorts of music, especially music that moves me. There are some groups I don't like, trust me, but you'll be hard pressed to find one.

Fantasy Art:

This is by John Howe just because Michael Offutt got me looking at artwork from LotR, lol!

And the funny, obviously due to it being Black Friday:

Hope you all had a good Thanksgiving! Have a great rest of your four day weekend!

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

It's Friday! These days, I've never been so happy to see a Friday in my life. And sorry for the past couple of goofs. While trying to post and schedule some of these blogs, my fingers got ahead of my brain yet again and jumped the gun. Sorry 'bout that.

On with it!

Favorite Books/Authors:

I have to say, ever since reading 'Build A Man' by Talli Roland, I've been hooked on her books. I have now read 'Construct A Couple' and have the rest of her books sitting in my Kindle, waiting for me to turn the virtual pages. Sometimes, my personal reading list takes a hit when I do reviews, but I don't mind! So Talli, you are now on my favorites list! Woohoo!

Favorite Movies:

One movie I saw with my daughter right about when it came out on DVD is quickly becoming one of our 'chick flick' faves. 'Whip It'. Roller Derby at its finest. I've always thought that I could do roller derby, it'd be fun, but now I'm worried about how it would affect my hands should I fall. I know, I'm a wuss. But I love this movie and really enjoy watching it with my daughter. During one of my mom's summer visits, all three of us watched it together and we all liked it. So there, three generations give it a thumb's up.

Favorite Music:

I'm going with the B-52's today. Rock Lobster! And don't forget about that Chrysler that's as big as a whale. It's about to set sail. (WoooOOOooo!) I have my juke box money. I just need the damn juke box!

Fantasy Art:

I will never tire of watching Lord of the Rings. I watched it again recently because my son had never seen the extended versions. Gah! But I have had this wallpaper on my computer before and thought, what the hell, so here it is!

And the Funny:

Can't recall if I have showed this before, but it is worth repeating anyway!

May the Walnut Force be with you! Have a great weekend! What are your plans?

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

It's Friday! Once again. Funny how the closer we get to the end of the year, the faster it seems to go. Elections are out of the way and hopefully most people can get back to being civilized human beings again instead of the rage monkeys they were portraying during campaign.

BUT that's neither here nor there, let's get on with it, shall we?

Favorite Books:

This is a graphic novel, but I still say it counts as a book. Elf Quest. I read all the books in high school and even found a few of them on Amazon.com. I got one for Christmas from my husband, I was thrilled! I love the artwork in the books, yes, but I also love the story. I love how one little band of elves, who think they are alone in the world, suddenly find other tribes and grow. Finding the place they all came from. Skywise is my favorite.

Favorite Music:

Enya. Yup, Enya. When I need to relax and get my mind off of things, I sit and listen to Enya. My kids used to fall asleep to it when they were little. They loved the music. They still sort of do. Now, soon, I'll be able to play it for my grand baby. Wow, that sounds weird. lol!

Favorite Movie:

'O Brother Where Art Thou?'  I've watched this recently. I never saw it before this and I'm sad I missed out, but I corrected my error. I love this movie, it's very cute and funny. Well done. Then again, I've always sort of been a Clooney fan. He seems to be a pretty down to earth kind of guy.

Fantasy Art:

And the funny:

That's it folks! Have a super weekend. What are your plans for the weekend?

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

It's Friday! I'll wait 'til the cheering dies down...

I am not participating in NaNo this year, but that does not mean I'm not supporting participants. I try to do a Shout Out on Twitter every so often as well as on Facebook.

Alrighty! With that said, let's get on with the Friday fun! And again, sometimes I repeat myself in these posts. I have a list, but it is hard to remember what I've added before.

Favorite Books/Authors:

Today, I'm going to list one of my favorite authors I discovered some time back. K. C. May and her 'Kinshield Legacy'. It had been a long time since I read any good fantasy. So when I came across these books, I gobbled them up like freakin' candy! Sort of like some other books I have come across. So that's this favorite. The link is to her blog, feel free to drop by if you like fantasy.

Favorite Music:

Sir Elton John. Yep. The Rocket Man himself. I used to like his music when I was younger, then sort of fell off the groupie wagon. Of course I had a moment where I thought he was lame and groaned whenever one of his songs came on the radio. Now, of course, I appreciate it more.

Favorite Movie:

Even though it has been done and DONE, I have to go with the latest King Arthur. The one with Kiera Knightly. Even though I don't care much for her and her whiny-ness. That's just me. But the movie was very good, very inspiring and I loved the different take on it.

Fantasy Art:

This is one of my favorite computer wallpapers. I have lots of these.

And now for the Funny:

I love this show, just gotta say! Have a great weekend, everyone. What are your plans?

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

It's Friday!! But wait, what makes this Friday more special than the last?

I'm done with my paper route!

Woohoo!

Okay, I did my happy dance the day after I was done, so I will spare you all from that. So let's get on with the usual post, shall we?

Favorite Books/Authors:

Jennifer Roberson. I devoured her 'Sword Dancer' books with Tiger and Del the moment I read the first book. The woman can write! I don't think there was ever a dull moment in those books, at least for me. I have read other books where the story tends to drag on and I have to stop, put the book down and then continue on the next day. You know, break up the monotony of it all. But I don't remember doing that with Roberson's books. I pretty much sped right through them beginning to end and boy did I hate when they had to end.

Favorite Movie:

Dragon Heart was one of my favorite movies and I remember my kids liked to watch it when they were little. Sean Connery's voice is sexy enough, of course add the man and get a double dose of Scottish hotness. Lol! But I'm a huge fan of dragons to begin with. I didn't even see the entire second movie before I decided it was crap so in order to preserve my love for the original movie, I never attempted to watch it again.

Favorite Music:

Loreena McKennit has been in my music library since I first discovered her. I don't exactly remember when that was, but I do know it was quite some time ago. I love her music. It reminds me of Estrella Wars in the SCA with the drums ringing throughout the campgrounds, the fires burning in everyone's encampments. The laughter, the shouting, the drinking. Oh yes, the drinking... people wandering around with 'War Juice' and offering you a sample of it. I swear, my first war I got drunk on my way to the privies... heh. Her music also triggers images in my head and that is why I play her albums while writing.

Fantasy Art:

I have to say, this is one of my all time favorite pieces of artwork. I remember playing Cosrin, the online RPG and using this pic as reference to Kayta because in the game, she was a half elf, half demon ranger. Now in my books, she's human and all spiffy.

And the Funny... I figured I would share this one. I found it again, cleaning out my folders on my computer:

Hehe!

Okay, have a great weekend everyone! What are your plans?

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

It's Friday... again! Wow. I'm counting down on my paper route. 5 DAYS LEFT!! I can't freakin' wait. I've had nothing but car trouble the past month or so and I've spent more than I have made, I swear. Things are already tight...

But enough about that, let's get on with things, shall we?

Favorite Books/Authors:

Rita Mae Brown and Sneaky Pie Brown. I love these books. I love how Rita Mae makes the animals talk. What is my fascination with talking animals? I have no clue. But I talk to my own animals like they can understand me and I swear they are more intelligent for it. I have to have someone to talk to, sheesh!
These books feature a character named Harry or Mary Minor Haristeen. Harry's pets, Mrs. Murphy, Pewter and Tucker all help her solve the mysteries, even if Harry can't understand them completely. All her pets keep a sharp eye on their mom. And there is usually a little note from Sneaky Pie at the end of each book. I'd have to say that Rita Mae is right up there for me along with J. A. Jance and the author of the 'Cat Who' books, Lillian Jackson Braun.

Favorite Movies:

For movies this week, I'm choosing 'The Boondock Saints'. Both movies! I love those movies and I can't get enough of them. I even have a t-shirt, which is unusual for me. I like wearing t-shirts, but I am not a big fan of concert t's or one promoting movies. I don't know why, I really don't. But I do have one from the Boondock Saints. My fave scene... well. Let me just quote it, "Is it dead?!" If you know the movie, you know what I'm talking about.

Favorite Music:

Violent Femmes. That's another favorite I have to find music for all over again. I used to have so many CD's and with my iPod, well, I just have to find more music. I'm already looking for a larger capacity iPod because the one I have is only 8 gigs. I don't have enough ROOM!!! Gah. As soon as I get a new one, Violent Femmes will be all over it!

Fantasy Art:

 

And the funny! Seriously, this is how I feel over on Facebook these days:

 That's it, folks! So what are your plans for the weekend?

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

Well, things are getting back on track. While I still have a TON of things to do and prep for my book release, it doesn't mean I'm any closer to getting those things done. Seems like I finish one thing and several more pop up that I forgot about. But that doesn't mean we can't get back to our regularly scheduled Friday Fun, right?

Right! So here we go!

Favorite Books/Authors:

You know me. I LOVE pirates. Adore them, emulate them on occasion and have to get my pirate speak on every 'Talk Like a Pirate Day'. I had fun this last time around posting pirates tips on my Facebook feed. So this next series of books won't come as much of a surprise. It's the Young Adult series, 'Bloody Jack' by L. A. Meyer. This series follows Jacky, a young girl orphaned on the streets of England and avoiding the corpse seller, Muck. Muck doesn't just look for the newly dead, he'll kill to get his coin. Jacky soon finds herself dressing as a boy and hopping aboard HMS Dolphin and getting into lots of trouble. She soon earns her name, Bloody Jack, and the adventures just keep coming from there! Excellent book and series. I think I have one more left to read and I'll be done.

Favorite Movies:

And keeping in line with the book, of course, my favorite movies will be all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies. Gotta love Jack Sparrow! ::Swoons::





Favorite Music:

Flogging Molly, of course. Who wouldn't love that band if they love pirates!

Fantasy Art:

And the funny:

And before I am accused of talking too much, I'll just say have a great weekend! See you all next week.

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

Wow. It's September already! And I totally spaced the IWSG post. Doh! But I did post about my interview over at the Hellfire Herald.

Can I just say you guys rock! All the support I have, it's overwhelming at times and just makes me feel good. I had over 200 views in one day! That was freakin' awesome!! Thanks to all of you who dropped by.

Okay so on with the Friday fun.

Favorite Books/Authors:

I have to say, even though it has been awhile since I've read the book, I am going with Spellsinger by Alan Dean Foster. That was a good book! The whole series was good, but that first book was my favorite.

Favorite Movies:

I'm going with the Lethal Weapon series this time around. I used to like Mel Gibson. Especially in Braveheart and The Patriot. Lately it seems things are getting to him and he's not the same person he used to be. Mind you, we all change and grow, but sometimes we go in the opposite direction. Doesn't matter, I still love these movies!

Favorite Music:

Here's one for you. Squirrel Nut Zippers. If you like the Brian Setzer Orchestra or Cherry Poppin' Daddies, you'll like the Squirrel Nut Zippers. Hey, don't knock it 'til you try it!

Fantasy Art:

This was something shared on Facebook. Don't know about the whole copyright infringement on that end, but hey, we'll see.

And now for the funny!

Bahaha! Leave it to Snape to state the obvious. Lol! Have a good weekend everyone!

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

It's Friday, it's Friday! Well, doesn't mean much for me since I work 7 days a week with the paper route. Okay, 5 since Larry gives me two days off.

Still, Friday!

All right, I'll get on with it, oh, impatient ones...

Favorite Books/Authors:

Well, I only read one of her books in her series. The one in the middle, no doubt, but I absolutely fell in love with her book and characters. Seriously, book love at first sight, who'da thunk it? (Ha! Nails on a chalkboard to editors, that last sentence.)

Of course I am talking about Julie Kagawa and her Iron Fey series. The book I read was 'Iron Queen'. Totally. Epic. Book. 'Nuff said. I am fascinated with the Fey as it is. I love all the folklore, the stories behind the Veil. There are several books I have absolutely cherished and devoured several times over. One of them being 'War For The Oaks' by Emma Bull and the other being 'Faerie Tale' by Raymond E. Feist.

Favorite Movie:

Any of the Indiana Jones movies will do. I first saw Indy in the movie theater with my brother when 'Temple of Doom' came out. My brother thought I'd have nightmares and didn't want me to tag along because our cousin Paul had come to town and was taking him to the movies, but I begged and Paul agreed to let me go. I fell in love with Indiana Jones and wanted to be an archeologist. *Sighs* Good memories tied to that movie. It also impressed my brother who then made it his life's mission to make me into as big a horror movie buff as he is. Horror extended into all genres throughout the years and when I am looking for good music or movies, he's the one I go to.

Favorite Music:

All right. Here is a shocker for you. Ready? 80's flashback warning ensuing in 3... 2... 1...

Prince. Yep. Purple Rain. There are still quite a few songs of his I like, but Purple Rain is by far my favorite album of his. Again, a brotherly influence.

Fantasy Art:

This is called 'Edge of the World' and it is a wallpaper. Freakin' cool!

And the funny!

Yes, sweet kitty, yes it is...

 

You all have a great weekend! We'll see you on Monday.

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

Hey all! It's Friday! This is one of those weeks that I wish I could go hang out at the bar for Happy Hour, but Homer, Alaska doesn't have just an hour of happiness...

Oh well. On to my favorites!

Favorite Books/Authors:

I absolutely love and adore the 'Cat Who...' books by Lillian Jackson Braun. 'The Cat Who Tailed a Thief', 'The Cat Who Smelled a Rat', "The Cat Who Ate Danish Modern'. Yeah, those books. Quilleran is one of my most favorite characters. He's calm, he's cool and he's a journalist living in a small town on his trust fund. He's friendly to everyone and he has two kitties who help him solve murders. Koko and Yumyum are the best feline dynamic duo. And it helps that Koko is a bibliocat. I have one of those. She knows what my Kindle is, she rubs on it when I pick it up to read but ignores it any other time. She loves to nose around my bookshelf as well. I think, if I were to ever have a murder mystery on my hands, Gir would be my furry little sidekick.



Favorite Movies:

I was sitting here thinking about movies the other day. I have a whole long list of movies I like. The one I have on the list for this week is one I recently watched again with my kids. 'Grown Ups'. Yep, another Adam Sandler movie. One that made us all laugh our butts off while watching it. Dunno what it is, it just tickles our funny bones.




Favorite Music:

The Bangles is what I am going to list this time around. Not that I am a huge fan of this all girl rock band from the 80's but they had some good tunes. Seemed like the three girl bands of the 80's that were dukin' it out were The Bangles, The Go Go's and Bananarama. I wasn't  much of a fan of the Go Go's and the Banana girls seemed to only have a couple of hits. Then again, I really didn't keep up with that kind of music. I was a heavy metal girl who had to hide my love of other music in order to keep from getting my ass kicked. Tell that crowd I listened to Classical music in high school? H E L L no.

Fantasy Art:

This is a very sweet picture. I love fairies!

And now for the Funny!

Have a great weekend!

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

It is Friday again! Woot!

And!

It is August! Can you believe it? Wow. Summer is moving right along and so shall I!

Favorite Books/Authors:


When I was a kid, I read the entire series of 'Little House on the Prairie' books by Laura Ingalls Wilder over and over and over. I loved those books. I learned a lot. I think I posted here recently something about these books. Probably that they were the only books I read a million times. Okay, maybe a hundred. But no less than that, I'm sure! I think these books are the ones that got me so hooked on history. Even if you couldn't tell by my high school grades. Heh.





Favorite Movies:

Just Go With It has become a favorite of mine. I love Adam Sandler and I found Jennifer Aniston to be quite funny. I used to love watching Friends. I have all the DVDs from all seasons except one. I loved her in 'Horrible Bosses', she was bad ass, lol! But this movie was very cute. And now I own it as well.

Favorite Music:


Well, today I will go with Weezer. I love this group. I haven't put a lot of their stuff on my iPod, but I certainly intend to get more. Just something about 'em. They have a good  beat and I can dance to it...








Fantasy Art:
Link to this page .

What with all the copyright infringement stuff going on, I have to be careful what I add here. So on the off chance I don't hear back from the artist by the time this post is up, there will be no artwork until I get permission.

Aaaand the funny!

Have a great weekend! What are your plans?

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

Well. Your views have spoken! I seriously didn't realize until I took some advice from Jamie over at Mithril Wisdom about your old blog posts, just how many people like my Friday Favorites posts. I mean, 4 out of 5 of the most popular posts were linked to these when I added that little popularity gadget to my blog. Who woulda thought?

So with that in mind, I'm going to give my best effort to maintain these posts.

Favorite Books/Authors:

I have to say, I love the Harry Potter books. I love the series as a whole, but loved The Deathly Hollows more. Not just because it was the last! But because of the answers it gave to all of those questions I gathered from reading all the previous books. J. K. Rowling hit the ball out of the park with these books. As in any series, though, there has to be at least one I didn't like and for me that was The Order of the Phoenix. Don't get me wrong, it was a very good book, but really kinda slow.



Favorite Movies:

On the subject of Harry Potter, my favorite movie of the series was The Prisoner of Azkaban. I'm a huge Gary Oldman fan. Although, I swoon over Alan Rickman more. I don't know exactly why I liked this movie so much. Maybe because Harry finally had 'family'?

Favorite Music:

The Rumjacks! No, this is not a drinking game. It is a band. My son introduced me to them recently. He loves this style of music and loved when I introduced him to the likes of Flogging Molly and the Pogues.

Fantasy Art:

Aaaand the Funny...

Hehe! Have a great weekend everyone and don't get too bored!

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

Friday... ooooh Friday. I'm supposed to have these revisions done and sent out to my Betas again. I can do it. Won't take too awful long, I'll just let them find my errors.

Kidding! Okay, maybe not so much.

Anyway, it is Friday, so here you go!
Favorite author/books:

Don't know why I forgot all about Dan Brown. It wasn't until I was posting something somewhere about him that I thought... duh, how could I forget him? I love The Da Vinci Code and Angels and Demons. Those two books rocked. I have yet to read anything else from him at the moment. My TBR pile is about to topple over and bury the cats.
I watched both of the movies and loved them as well, but as usual, the books were better.

Favorite movies:

Gran Turino. One of THE best Clint Eastwood movies I have ever seen. I love that movie and if you haven't seen it yet... WHAT is wrong with you?? I could watch it over and over again. I haven't seen much of the early Clint Eastwood stuff like Outlaw Josey Wales or Every Which Way. I have seen most of his movies and my other favorite is Unforgiven. That was a decent movie, but Gran Turino surpasses it by far.

Favorite music:

I'm torn on which of the two I should mention today. Faun or Nightwish. I absolutely love them both equally and when asked to choose on Twitter, I failed epically. Back when I had published with Publish America (don't take my word, look here and here and here) I wanted to do an audio book. Still do. I sent a message to Faun and asked if I could use their music in the background and they sent me a letter with permission. I'll have to ask again. Nightwish is just as good, in my opinion, even if different styles of music. I have a friend over in Germany who got me into Nightwish. Thanks Natalie!

Fantasy art:

This is quickly becoming my favorite. I use just the face for most of my avatars around the web now, but give her black curly hair and green eyes and she'd be my Kayta. :D

Now the Funny:

Ha ha! Have a great weekend!

Friday Favorites, Fantasy Art & A Funny...

Okay, so getting back to my regularly scheduled Friday post... I hope you enjoy this one.

Favorite books/authors:

I think this week I will list J. A. Jance. I absolutely adore her books and her style of writing. The fact that she's based one of her characters in Arizona had nothing to do with me liking her books. Yeah, I'm lying. I don't miss living in Arizona, but I did live there for 20 some odd years, it's hard not to miss some aspects of it. The heat, I don't miss at all.
Back to miss Jance. I've read all of her Joanna Brady mysteries. Not so much the J.P. Beaumont ones, I don't know why. I think I like the female MC over the male. Even though strong female characters are more prominent these days, they weren't around so much before and I still find it refreshing. I know, weird. That describes me to a tee.

Favorite movies:

I think you knew this one would be showing up eventually. All of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies! Yes, even this latest installment of the movies was actually pretty good. I liked the mermaids, but my husband loved the last movie simply because Kiera Knightley wasn't in it and yelling, "Fierah!" (As opposed to "Fire!" every time they shot a cannon... okay so she did get the word right ONCE out of all three movies...) I liked the story of Will and Elizabeth, don't get me wrong. But somewhere out there in the buzz of things, she sort of bit the hand that fed her by stating she refused to do another "stupid" pirate movie. Hello? Girlie, those movies MADE you.
Okay I'll get off my soapbox.

Favorite music:

ZZ Top. Yep... love those long bearded, crazy car boys. It's been a while since I have heard much of their music, but when I do I keep snapping my fingers and saying, "Dammit I have to add them to my iTunes!" Meh. I still forget and just snapped my fingers again... I'm old school, what can I say. I love all sorts of music, but I'm still a sucker for stuff I listened to when I was a kid.

Okay now for the fantasy art:

I absolutely adore the fantasy artwork of Ruth Thompson. This is one of my favorites:


Okay and now for the funny... in the spirit of Monty Python... :



Have an awesome weekend everyone!