Website update...

I'm currently working with the web designer for my new site! I'm not positive when the migration of this blog will happen over to Wordpress, but it will likely be soon.

xoxo Sarah

Intermission post! Happy Easter!

While we're taking a day off from the A-Z Challenge, I wanted to wish a very happy Easter to my readers who celebrate.  Enjoy your eggs, family, and chocolate, but please don't eat the eggs and chocolate together.  Ew.  Don't eat your family, either.  That's not good.

I was just thinking about last year, where my "G" on this day was for Gaga.  I'd bought tickets for a concert in Houston, good seats and everything, and unfortunately my husband couldn't be my date.  After some last-minute searching about a month before, my mother passed the word on to my father that I didn't have anyone to go with, and he had a bunch of time off he could take.  So, he flew down to Houston, and we had an awesome time at the concert.  She's one hell of a live performer.  That memory makes me all warm and snuggly inside, and I'll be sappy for a moment and say that I'll treasure it forever.

*grins*

xoxo Sarah

SOPA and PIPA

There are a couple of bills going through congress now, and they're about internet regulation.


The basic gist is "The bills are intended to strengthen protections against copyright infringement and intellectual property theft, but Internet advocates say they would stifle expression the World Wide Web. In essence, the legislation has pitted content providers -- like the music and film industries -- against Silicon Valley." 


That's from this article.  While, as a writer who is completely aware that my work will be posted for free and without permission once I get published, I do agree that there must be some regulations in place, SOPA and PIPA are not what we need.  Free speech will be stifled, and that's not good for anyone.


So, here's a little animation, courtesy of The Oatmeal, about SOPA and PIPA.  Enjoy! 

Image courtesy of The Oatmeal

xoxo Sarah

Three completely unrelated things...

I'm up on Networked Blogs now, so you can follow me through them.  There's a widget in the right side bar.  I'm not sure what took me so damn long to sign up, but there you have it.

Also, a big "Happy Birthday" to my mother!  I wish I was there today to celebrate, but I know she'll have a lovely day regardless.

Finally, my CP, Shelley Greene, has placed in the top 6 of a contest, and I'm so proud of her!  The final round of judging is coming up soon, and I know she'll impress.

Okay, I lied...the title should be FOUR completely unrelated things.  I also want to wish all of my followers a very happy and prosperous new year!

Until next year...literally...

xoxo Sarah

Holiday Traditions...

I was wrapping presents for my husband this past weekend, and as I filled out the gift tags with the "To:" and "From:" sections, I paused to think about what I was writing on them.

In my family, my parents never just made out gifts to me (or to each other) from just them or Santa.  No...there was a whole array of people (characters?) who would give gifts, and specific ones at that.  Each one even had their own handwriting.  If you got a gift to you from the Reindeer, you were likely to open something with clothing in it.  The Elves would send something useful, like a requested tool.  Mrs. Claus was likely to give food (chocolate, specialty tea, etc), or kitchen gadgets.

I smiled as I finished writing out the tags, and found myself wondering what holiday traditions others carried with them when they left the nest, or if they had a favorite one they weren't able to do anymore for whatever reason.

Tell me!

xoxo Sarah

Happy Christmahanakwanza!

I know it's been forever, but since we're getting settled, I wanted to make a short post to wish my lovely readers a very happy holiday season.  No matter what you celebrate, I hope you enjoy spending time with your families and friends, good food and drink, and health and happiness.

CHEERS!

On the note of my absolute fail to keep up this blog, that should be changing very soon.  I will aim to do at least a couple of posts per month, hopefully one a week if I can manage it with my other writing projects, once we get unpacked all the way and settled.  We're about 80% there, so it will be soon.

xoxo Sarah

A question for you! I need some input...

Okay, my lovelies.  I have a question to pose to you, and I'd love some feedback.

I've been thinking about having guest bloggers on my blog.  No, I don't know exactly how I'd go about getting them besides just asking, but this is something I'm considering.  It would just shake things up a bit and make the "voice" you hear a little more varied.  It would also help a great deal so this thing won't sit dead while we're moving or traveling.

I was thinking I'd have bloggers do a post on a topic of their choice, whether it be related to writing, or something else they're passionate about.  Still not sure yet.  Also, I was debating having authors on who are promoting a book they're launching...not just a "buy my book!" post, but talking a bit about the story, etc.

Thoughts?  Have any of you ever done a guest blog post for someone, or had them done for you?  Please leave a comment!  I'd love to get some feedback on this.

xoxo Sarah

Testing, Testing...Blegh.

Hello, folks!  

I've been hard at work on The Curse, which I hope to enter in a contest soon (not saying which one, because I haven't read the rules in a while and I'm honestly can't remember if it's supposed to be an anonymous contest or not), so I haven't been blogging too much.  

That, and the 100+ degree heat and cut-the-air-with-a-knife humidity has nearly killed me.  This is what I feel  like when I go outside.  And a lot of the time when I'm indoors, too.  

Anyway, I wanted to test out a little feature that my technotarded little brain hasn't quite figured out yet, so I wanted to give it a shot.  

The jump break.

This, as I mentioned in my previous post on possible NSFW content, will be used when I want to post something that some people might consider objectionable.  Anywho, I wanted to try one out.  

After the inserted jump break will be two very safe for work Harry Potter pictures.  Please let me know via a lovely comment if the jump break works, because I'm not sure if, as the blog owner, I can see it from my end.

Thanks in advance for your help!  You are both helping me make my blog better and helping to assure that I won't make some of you run screaming.

Here we go! 

New label for my titles...

I figured I'd better get this out of the way sooner rather than later, so consider yourselves informed.  I normally try to keep my blog at or around the PG-13 level, but I foresee that it may stray to higher levels at times, especially given what I write.

In case you haven't figured it out (not sure how that's happened if you've been reading my stuff all along), I write romance, and that also includes erotica.  My current work-in-progress is an erotic LGBT fantasy romance.  That equals sexytimes for my characters.

I would like to be able to post excerpts from my work (teasers, if you will) or whatnot without resorting to slapping this entire blog with a warning saying that there may be mature content.  I'd rather not have to go through that because, obviously, a lot of what I post here is perfectly suitable for most people, and many of the excerpts I will post will be suitable for all as well.  I'm not going to take a chunk out of a sex scene and say, "Here you go!  Surprise!"  I'd just like to have the option to post something a little more, uh, racy if you will, without anyone reacting like this poor lady, played by the incomparable Kristen Wiig from Saturday Night Live.  

Therefore, if a post of mine might have content I believe some might find objectionable, I will put a label of "NSFW" on it or in the entry title, which a lot of you may already know is shorthand for "Not Safe For Work."  It's a pretty standard internet content label, and just warns the reader/viewer that there may be something in this - email, website, blog entry, file, whatever - that you might not feel comfortable opening in front of your boss, or your kids for that matter.

I claim no responsibility if you're reading an excerpt of mine and you suddenly find yourself having to explain to your employer why you're reading about two people having sexytimes.  Or explaining the same sexytimes process to your kids, though I'd kind of like to be a fly on the wall for that terribly awkward conversation.  *snorts*

This will be you if you have to do either of those things.  

I'll also try to use a "jump" technique, where the entry will show the first couple of lines I wrote and then will likely say something like, "This post continued after the jump" or "Read more after the jump."  It will be a little link that you'd click on to enlarge the post, and read the rest of the entry.  I haven't figured out how to work this feature yet, but I'll do my best.

So, use your own judgement and consider yourself informed.  I can promise that things will continue on at the PG-13 level, but I will label a post NSFW if necessary.  I can't see it happening often, but I love my readers enough to let you know.

xoxo Sarah

Thank you, Deirdra!

The lovely Deirdra at A Storybook World saw my blog and gifted me with a "Best of Romance Blog" award.

Thank you so much, Deirdra!

xoxo Sarah

Better late than never....

In my excitement for setting up a new blog and the feverish blogging during the A-Z Challenge, I completely forgot to say "thank you" to Deirdra with A Storybook World for giving me a Powerful Woman Writer award!

 

So, THANK YOU!  I appreciate it, especially as a new blogger.

xoxo Sarah