Friday, June 09, 2006

Do you ever have times when you really, really feel like reading, but you can't decide what exactly you're in the mood for?

I read in a lot of genres. In order of preference, they are: science fiction, romance, fantasy, mystery and nonfiction (which, I know, isn't really a genre, but I occasionally get the craving for the odd book about nano-technology or the history of grave robbing). Anyway, I just finished a book I really enjoyed, Karin Lowachee's BURNDIVE (science fiction) and I'm looking through my enormous "to-be read" pile and not finding anything that's tripping my trigger. Part of it, is that I can't decide what kind of book I'm in the mood for. I think maybe something light and airy, like a romance. Shawn gave me a couple that I’m considering, but when I settle in to read, I pick them up and put them right back down. I end up reading nothing instead, or worse yet, I reread the "in depth" articles in InTouch Magazine (trust me, nothing good comes of re-reading anything in InTouch.)

I suspect this weird inability to read has a lot to do with the stresses of my life right now. If I have any free time (including that which I use to blog) I think, my God(dess!) I should be finishing up Dead Sexy! What am I doing sitting still for five minutes??!! Plus, I've taken on child care duties for a friend of mine to fill the gap between his paternal leave and when school is out for the summer when he's off again. So, during the day, I suddenly have TWO bundles of joy to take care of. (Mason, BTW, is adapting marvelously. He loves to help out with the bottle warmer, and only occasionally begs to ride in the snugglie along with the three month old.) But, what this means is, my free time is suddenly shrunk (unless, like today, they are miraculously napping at the same time). I'd agreed to take on this extra charge when I thought I'd be done with the new book by the end of May. Well, it looks now like it will be in by the mid- or end of June (still two months ahead of schedule! Go me!).

The point is, I totally de-stress by reading. So, I'm extremely bummed that I can't seem to get into it right now. But, hey, ask me anything about the Paris Hilton/Nichole Richie feud and I'm on it.

Is Paris Hilton a freak or what? And you know, even her name sounds fake. She sounds like a romance hero from a bad 1983 romance. Who names their girl-child Paris, anyway? I mean, Paris is an awesome name, but not for a girl. Don't the Hiltons know their Greek mythology?

Thursday, June 08, 2006

More about MOI...

John Scalzi did a Wednesday interview with me on his By The Way site, which you can read here: http://journals.aol.com/johnmscalzi/bytheway.

I continue to be a best seller. My editor informed me this morning, "For the week ending 6/4/06, TALL, DARK & DEAD is #6 on Bookscan's Fantasy trade paperback bestseller list and #10 on B&N's romance trade paperback list."

Which is why I haven't posted much about life, the universe, and everything. For the first time in my writing life, my editor is asking *me* when the next book will be done.