17 seconds of 'Sherlock'

They've released a little commercial for season 2 of Sherlock which I happen to think is quite mean since they were supposed to air season 2 in the fall and now pushed it back to spring of 2012.

Spring of 2012? Really? Ugh!!

It's a promo so there aren't 'spoilers' per se but obviously, after that season 1 cliffhangar, any footage is a spoiler so watch if you want, don't if you don't and Bob's your uncle!!

17 seconds of Sherlock season 2

Oh, and, if you're interested - the second Ella Westin Mystery, Honeymoon Homicide is on sale now!

So is Who Murdered The Ghost - a fun read by Ellie Oberth.

And my sister has been married three months today! Congrats again!!

A busy weekend!!

Books & Things Thursday - Winner of the Honeymoon Mishap Contest

We have a winner!!

Drumroll please.........

Linda of the absolutely wonderful and funny Blog, Crone and Bear It!

Linda has won a free copy of Honeymoon Homicide, the second Ella Westin mystery coming to all eReaders on Saturday, August 27, 2011 and her Honeymoon story will be in the bonus section at the end.

Congratulations, Linda!!!!

Wordless Wednesday - Copper enjoyed the Stargate Convention weekend!

Misc. Monday - Contest & 'Stargate'

The Honeymoon Mishap contest ends today - at midnight C.S.T.

You have a few more hours to keep the entries coming!

The Stargate Convention in Chicago (really Rosemont, IL) this last weekend was GREAT! So much fun! It was wonderful to see the old actors I've seen before, the new actors I'd never seen, to get to see my old friends in the seats and to make new ones.

And having a tiny chat with David DeLuise outside the hotel was so cool.

Stay tuned to the Blog as I collect pictures (mine were all blurry) and write up my notes.

Baker Street Saturday - Sherlock Links

This Post is all about the links, baby!

BBC's Sherlock

This is called Sherlock's Step.

(This video is about 26 seconds long.)

Photo by Morigan1 on Flickr

Acting IS a ridiculous profession. I think of it like baking a cake. If someone watched you actually bake a cake, it might come off as ridiculous. You get dry ingredients and wet ingredients, you mix them together and create this big mess. If you're like me, you might even set something on fire. You have dishes to clean, a counter to scrub, maybe the stovetop because you were too loose with the beater. (A ridiculous-looking contraption all on its own, by the way. Usually I'm too lazy to even bother digging it out, plugging it in and jamming the beaters into the little holes – they never match up for me!)

You may have driven to the store to get the strawberries to top the fudge of this delicious cake. A hundred years ago everyone would have thought the idea of driving for strawberries to be ridiculous. Maybe you had to go to three stores to get all the ingredients. That's pretty ridiculous. Or you dug through to the back of the pantry praying for that teensy bit of vanilla extract you just need real quick.

All that might just be a whole lotta ridiculous – but when you present the gorgeous cake (and let's face it, foodstuffs is all about presentation) to your guests, all they see is chocolate, fudge, strawberries, decadence and their mouths water.
If they saw video of some of the stranger activities surrounding the baking of said cake, they might look at you funny. Especially if they've never baked before. (I'm of a category that really should never bake again.)
So yeah, acting is ridiculous but, dare I say, necessary!

Silly Cumberbatch
He is silly and oh, so cute.
(This video is like 8 seconds long.)

Photo by Morigan1 on Flickr

ugh, breathing, breathing's boring
This is so funny. Really, it is SO funny! I kept watching and the further I got, the more I giggled. I found this via Twitter.
The Tweet: "Pretty sure this is exactly what The Sims was created for."
Yes, yes it was.

BBC America's Blog Post 'Vote in the Anglo Fan Favorites Quarterfinals, Men of 2011'

Vote Cumberbatch!

Books & Things Thursday - Book Cover and Contest

Recap of the Blog Posts this week related to the upcoming Honeymoon Homicide.

This is the cover of Honeymoon Homicide which will be released later this month.

It's the second short story in the Ella Westin Mysteries (8,000+ words) and will be $0.99.

I also want to remind everyone about the contest.

I posted the details on Misc. Monday (8-15-11).

Submit your honeymoon-gone-wrong G-rated story before the Augsut 22nd, deadline!

Wordless Wednesday - 'Honeymoon Homicide' Book Cover Revealed

Misc. Monday - Tell Me Your Honeymoon Mishap

I'm running a contest here at the ol' Blog.

Tell me your (G-rated/General Audiences/All Ages) Honeymoon-gone-wrong story for inclusion at the end of my next eBook, Honeymoon Homicide.

E-mail me or comment here.

Criteria:

1. You can tell me in two sentences or up to 500 words.

2. Must be G-rated - this isn't about that side of the honeymoon. This is about something that went wrong or something that didn't go according to plan. (i.e., the plane was late and you missed your cruise ship or you got lost or the hotel misplaced your reservations or your brand new husband tried out French for the first time and asked someone for a chicken.)

3. Must be your honeymoon story, not one you've heard.

4. By e-mailing me or commenting on the Blog, you're giving me permission to include your story as an extra in my eBook (Honeymoon Homicide). (It still remains your story and you can publish it anywhere else you might like. I'm just using it at the end of the eBook as an added bonus to my readers. It's just for fun.)

5. You must leave an e-mail address or Blog link where I can find your e-mail address on your profile page where I can reach you in case you win. (Otherwise you forfeit and another winner will be selected in your place.)

I will pick one winner whose story will appear in the eBook and I will give credit by name and if you wish, a link to your Blog or website.

The winner will also receive a coupon for a free copy of Honeymoon Homicide.

The deadline is next Monday, August 22nd.

Get those keyboards a-tappin' and let the stories commence!

Feel free to tell your friends and family (especially if they had a great honeymoon mishap tale that just has to have a wider audience)! Link back here, Tweet it, Facebook it and so on!

Baker Street Saturday - Copper Reads 'Sherlock Holmes' Until She Falls Asleep

UPDATE: I didn't realize it was National Left Handers Day!

Something current Watson (BBC) and I have in common...(I can make ANYTHING Sherlock Holmes related.)

Books & Things Thursday - 'Honeymoon Homicide'

I've decided to start a new weekly themed blog post at Live Out Loud that I'm calling 'Books & Things Thursday'. There's so much going on in the world of books, in the industry, the technology, the love, the fear, the excitement, the stories...

Who could resist? It's an exciting time as an author (and as a reader) in this new world we're all making, each day that goes by. Authors and readers - that's what it's all about.

And characters, of course. We'd have nothing without characters.

As my first post in this new theme, I shall talk about one of my characters. Because, let's face it, Ella Westin is cool!


Guess what everyone - Honeymoon Homicide, the second story in the Ella Westin Mysteries, will be for sale soon!!

The target date is August 27th so be sure to check back here for details!

If you haven't read Married To Murder yet, you can buy it here for $0.99. (You can also check out 50% of the story for free...)

The soon-to-be Mrs. Ella Westin doesn't remember adding 'solve a murder' to her bridal to-do list but when she stumbles over the dead body of her matron of honor, it looks like she'll have no choice. Especially as her groom is the one and only suspect. Throw in bad weather, a deaf hairdresser, a ruined wedding cake and a not so retired pirate and it's enough to make Ella want to throttle everyone in sight.

Can she catch the killer before the wedding is called off? Or will she be Married To Murder?

 

Published January 27, 2011

6,559 words

Wordless Wednesday - What'cha Lookin' At?

Misc Monday - Outlaw the Vegan?

Okay so I'm a vegan. (No meat, no dairy.) Pretty simple.

I choose to live with two of the most cuddly carnivores you can imagine.

First, I catch Copper reading this:

And now, I've noticed a strange habit Outlaw has developed.
He's the daintiest thing on two paws. (He often stands on his hind legs as if trying to show he's almost as tall as me.)

Usually when I eat, he comes into the room. He looks at me, maybe sniffs the air - hint, hint. He'll even stand on his hind legs and put a dainty paw on my thigh, as though he's just humbly curious.

Except when I eat salad. If you eat salad near this cat (read: the same house) he will not leave you alone. He paces, he jumps up, he stares at me and he even meows which is a rare thing to hear. His head bobs as he cranes his neck for a better view.

He is relentless!

What is up with that? Mom will eat meat-things and he does his usual little 'I'm here if you feel like dropping a nibble on the floor' but if there's salad involved, you'd better watch out. Once he stuck his paw in my leaves which was perfectly disgusting.

The only thing that gets me peace is to give him a tiny leaf. But once he finishes scarfing that down, he's back for more and with a stronger attitude about it.

Now, a lot of you that read my Blog have cats - is this the normal behavior of a carnivore? I know cats require a small amount of greens but I've never had one that demanded to sit next to me with his own bowl of salad...

He'll be after my tofu next.

Baker Street Saturday - Sign the Petition to Get the Music of 'Sherlock' Released

BBC's Sherlock had some pretty cool music. (I love the theme in particular.)

I came across a petition online to release the music of Sherlock so we can buy it.

(I know, I know - can you believe how many people have to ask the powers that be to make a product so we can spend money on it? Isn't this a gimme for TPTB?!)

Anyway, if you're interested (you only have to type your name and give an e-mail address), click here and sign the petition!

Here's a quote from the website:

"Petition to release the music of BBCs Sherlock

Published June 1, 2011

 If you agree and would like the music of BBCs Sherlock, composed by David Arnold and Michael Price, to be released on CD sign this petition!"

http://www.petitionspot.com/petitions/ReleaseSherlockMusic

I hope you sign!!!!
Let me know in the comments if you did...

Wordless Wednesday - My Little Sister & Me As Kids

We're so little!

(I'm on the left, she's on the right.)

Close up!

 

A few years later - I was 10 & she was 8 (I may have been 9...)

(She's on the left, I'm on the right.)



Misc Monday - Family

It was a family weekend. My sister flew into town on Friday and Dad drove into town Sunday morning (8 AM).

We went through some of Oma's belongings. It was fun and interesting as opposed to sad - I was surprised about that.

I got to see my Dad (and his twin brother's) birth certificate(s) - from Germany. I don't know if it's because it's so old (sorry Dad!) or because it's from another country but it looks all fancy and is on colored paper. The paper is thin and brittle, though.

He brought the chef doll that my Mom made some twenty or thirty years ago that Oma had in her kitchen for all these years. (I'll have to take pictures for Wordless Wednesday so check back then.)

We just sat and went through pictures and paperwork and items and chatted and remembered...

It was such a pleasant way to get a little closure to the emotions running high these last couple weeks. (I hadn't gone to the service.)

It was a nice Sunday.