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Good News Monday

Prayers to everyone in Japan after the devastating quakes and tsunamis.

On a personal note, it’s been a full and exciting week!

  • I’ve now lost 21 pounds!
  • Those of you anxiously awaiting Return to Shanhasson:  I not only received editor notes, but was also able to get them turned back in this weekend!  We’re one step closer to getting the Shanhasson series wrapped up!
  • I also received Golden edits last week and I’ve been thinking about ways to add some sensual details to the beginning of the novella.  I’ll be deep in revisions the rest of this week to get them turned back in by 3/23.
  • I’m still looking for pictures of Sig for my Romance Trading Cards.  Eventually I’d like to get cards made for all my books/series, but that will take some doing.  Especially when finding Sig (and Gregar) was so hard.

How about you – what are you looking forward to this week?

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Sig Finalists

Thank you to everyone who’s been helping me look for Lord Sigmund Regret.  Here are ones that seem to almost work.  They’re still not right (but I don’t think I’ll ever find the perfect picture).  Which one do you like the best?

Vintage Man in Top Hat (vintage clothing but not much in the face)

Fausto (no vintage clothes but right color hair and interesting face)

A Pleasure (vintage but more renaissance or pirate clothing, interesting face; not sure how easily I’ll be able to get permission to use)

Young Vintage Man (nice clothes, interesting face, but he’s awfully young!)

Any other recommendations?  Do any of these scream SIG to you?

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Help! Romance Trading Cards

For years, I’ve been wanting to create trading cards for the Shanhasson series, but I couldn’t find Gregar.  Now I’ve got that sneaky Death Rider nailed down, I’m having a hard time finding Sig.  What is it about these assassins that make them so hard to find?  (For Gregar, it was his hair and I finally gave up.  For Sig, it’s his period Regency clothing!)

I’m going to try again, though, because of Romance Trading Cards.  What a cool idea!  I don’t plan to go to the big RT/RWA conferences this year, but I’d still like to have them.  Maybe I could get some kind soul to take them for me.  But I have to find the stock photos first.

That’s where you guys come in.  Please help me find Lord Sigmund Regret.  He’s a renowned assassin throughout the galaxy for as much as his clothing and manners as his killing ability.  He’s not a very young man — late twenties or early thirties.  The kicker:  he has blond hair.  Try and find a romance hero with blond hair.  Sigh.  It’s hard!  Now add period clothing.  Or even steampunk clothing.  Anything with a cravat or a vintage look will be acceptable.  I don’t want a generic man titty photo.  I’d prefer vertical, with as much of his gorgeous clothing as possible, but I’m flexible.

The catch:  it has to be from a stock photo site where I can buy the picture and download it for my promo use.  I have a membership at iStockPhoto and I’ll probably join ShutterStock since I found Lady Wyre from the cover there.  I can’t do general internet shots of models, movies, etc.  It has to be royalty free or I can’t use it.  I’m willing to join any of the major stock sites to get the RIGHT picture.

If you find Sig for me, I’ll give you a $20 gift certificate to the online bookstore of your choice.

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Reviews: The Bloodgate Guardian

First up, Sherri Meyer reviews The Bloodgate Guardian on her blog:

Once again, Burkhart blew me away with her attention to detail, research, and amazing characters. She built a fully realized world seeped with Mayan mythos. She doesn’t burden the story with her research but weaves it within the plot seamlessly. A great twist on the “end date” stories out there.

Over on Amazon, Barbara Longley gave it 4 stars!

Joely Sue Burkhart’s Bloodgate Guardian is a must read. Ancient Mayan ruins, portals leading to other worlds, one hot Mayan priest cursed with immortality, and an intelligent, sexy archaeologist determined to rescue her father from Mayan hell. What’s not to love? Bloodgate Guardian is a fast paced, high tension romance set amidst the mythology and legend of the ancient Mayan civilization. Once you start it, you won’t be able to put it down.

Thank you so much, Barbara and Sherri!

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Good News Monday

I have three main things to share that are super good!

My back is better.  Whew!!!  I still have some muscle soreness around my waist and lower back but nothing like it was.  I even got my pants and shoes on today without wanting to cry!  Hot whirlpool tub helped along with the heating pad, but probably the best thing were cushions to help me sleep.  We took the cushions off the loveseat and I rested my calves on them at night, taking the pressure off my lower back so I could sleep.  The very next day I could get up without wincing and hunching over, and after two nights, I didn’t even need the cushions any longer.

I got a ton of plotting done on Phantom this weekend!  That Man had to work Saturday, so I moved our laundry day up and stayed downstairs for a couple of hours to manage the loads.  It was rainy and chilly, so the kids stayed inside watching movies and playing on my computer, while helping me get the loads up the stairs.  Princess even folded a mountain of laundry for me!  Meanwhile, in between each load, I worked on paper using my spreadsheets to take three characters through the Emotional Toolbox and then sketched out Acts 1 and 2.  I have notes for Act 3 too but I need to flesh them out a bit more.  Then I’ll make a neater version of the plot with more detail, and I’ll be ready to DRAFT!  Yay!  It feels like months since I’ve had any decent production!

Golden’s release date is scheduled for August 29th!

What’s your good news today?

P.S. Don’t forget to vote for The Romance Reviews’ Best of 2010!  HURT ME SO GOOD has been nominated in the Erotic Non-Traditional Lifestyle category!

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Informal Survey and March Plans

Ouch, ouch, ouch.  While taking care of the dog, I’ve pulled or strained my lower back.  I was hoping it would be better by now but it’s still sore enough that I wish my heating pad was permanently attached to my chair.  Pulling on pants and shoes has been especially challenging.  Hopefully the tightness will settle down and I can get back to normal!

Informal survey:  I’m trying to decide how much more of the free-read prequel to write.  I had originally planned to cover all the details of Lady Wyre’s escape plan and possibly Lord Regret’s recovery, but I’m so happy with how the last section ended on Friday that I’m tempted to stop there.  If I continue, I’m not sure WHERE to stop.  I mean, there’s a reason I started Lady Doctor Wyre where I did — because the other things are just events.  Backstory.  I’m not sure how interesting people would find it and the characters aren’t changing so much as surviving. 

If you’re interested in reading more details, please holler.  Otherwise I might just end the free read with last Friday’s section and move on.

Speaking of moving on, my March plans revolve primarily around Phantom.  I pulled out all my notes from Dec/Jan and found them sadly lacking.  I don’t know why I kept so much of the idea in my head instead of on paper.  Argh!  So I have a lot of catching up to do – specifically detailed plotting.  I don’t know that I’ll be in a position to draft this month or not.  We’ll see.  I do at least have a plan in mind for what I want to do with this series.  My goal is to write up a detailed 3-novella (30-40K each) proposal that can be submitted with the first novella (Phantom).  We all know how much I looooove to write synopses.  *dies*

I may have revisions to Return to Shanhasson and Golden later this month to work around (editor revisions always get first priority). 

I’d also like to get Lord Regret’s Price plotted (again, it’s all in my head, which is a dangerous place to be – my memory isn’t what it used to be!).

So another full month!

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Good News Monday

Sorry I was delayed today!  It was definitely Monday, with a hefty to-do list for the Evil Day Job that consumed all my attention all day.  Monday might be almost over but we can always use good news!

  • I did my first formal presentation for the Evil Day Job even though I telecommute from Missouri!  No one could see me, but they could hear me and I ran the slide show from my little home office, which required me to use PowerPoint for the first time.
  • I’ve lost 18 pounds now!
  • Our dog, Pepper, got hurt Thursday night when Princess took him to bed.  He landed wrong and dislocated his rear left hip!  Ouch!  It was a horrible night at the Emergency Vet Clinic, but the GOOD NEWS  is that he’s doing better and his hip has stayed in place.  (If it doesn’t, he’ll require very expensive surgery.)
  • A great review for Lady Doctor Wyre!
  • A giveaway to help Ex Libris celebrate its blogversary!
  • Celebrated MIL and FIL’s wedding anniversary this weekend – 53 years!  The whole family had a great lunch at Red Lobster and then everyone congregated here for coffee.
  • Daddy Bob B (Papa, my Dad) came down Sunday and brought Princess her POOP.  She’s doing a science project to compare various farm animal poop to Miracle Grow fertilizer.  Should be a fun spring! 

What’s your good news?

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Review: Lady Doctor Wyre

Caroline at Book Lovers Inc gave Lady Doctor Wyre  4.5 bookies!

Lady Doctor Wyre isn’t like anything I’ve read before.

I don’t do justice to Joely’s writting, it’s hard to describe the world she created. This book is a mix of Science-Fiction and Historical Romance. I loved that it feels like a Regency Romance, with the pretty dresses, the corsets, the silk, the rules of British society but with nanotechnology and spaceships. It felt right. It never felt ‘weird’, which is often my main problem with ‘Sci-Fi’. Joely found a way to make it work. Well it also doesn’t hurt that the smex is pretty hot. *fan self* Sig and Gilead are very different on so many levels, but in the end they are both perfect for Charlotte. She’s a strong woman and she’s not afraid of taking matters in her own hands *waggles eyebrows*.

Read the whole review here.  Thank you so much, Caroline!