She's Back!

It's been awhile since I posted. Can't believe it's been so long. I feel guilty, which is silly. The blog doesn't care, and I've been busy working on other stuff.

So what's been going on these past months? Well, for one thing, I had two books published by Highland Press. I co-wrote Saucy Girl with my cousin Annmarie Ortega. We launched it at RWA's Spring Fling conference last spring. Saucy Girl is a cute, funny, exciting book about a woman who falls for the handsome widower next door who might or might not be a serial murderer who killed his former wife. Or maybe he's just a nice, lonely guy.

Read the book to find out. And please write a review for it if you read it. It's impossible to get people to write book reviews, but people read those things at Amazon, etc. before deciding whether to buy a book. It's a challenge.

The other book that Highland Press released recently is called Dead Girls Don't Get Fat. It's hilarious and sexy and exciting. This one is about a school teacher who has to move back in with her parents when her ex-boyfriend steals her identity and all her money. It adds insult to injury when she's bitten by a demon and is transformed into a flesh-hungry monster. Her new status makes teaching a little more challenging than it used to be, too. Again, you should read this book and buy copies for all your friends. And write (hopefully good) reviews. Lots of reviews.

I'm trying to do some book promotion for these titles which is hard because it's challenging to compete with all the books that are out there. But for every great book, there's a great reader who would love it, right? So I'm working on getting Saucy Girl and Dead Girls out there on Twitter and Goodreads and of course this blog. And it would be great if the books got some good reviews. Lots and lots of book reviews. Hint, hint.

Happy reading!

Pop culture confusion

Today I was standing in line at Wal-Mart reading the cover of US Weekly when it dawned on me that I had no idea who any of those people are. None of them. Apparently someone knows them, because the US Weekly editors were just referring to them by first names, but I didn't have a clue. So does this mean that I'm officially old and permanently out of the pop culture loop? Maybe, but perhaps more evidence is needed before I move to a retirement home and start wearing black socks with my sandals.

Fortunately, there's a source for that additional evidence. I watched the Grammy Awards last night and was startled to find that I knew who most of the nominees and presenters were. Not all of them, but most. I even had some of the Grammy-nominated songs on my phone. OK, I'm feeling less clueless already.

Here's the final test: I spent the weekend at the Capricon science fiction/fantasy convention and it was a blast. It's so much fun to be surrounded by people who like the same movies, books, and TV shows that I do. I understood the slogans on the T-shirts, the jokes, and had lots to talk about with the other conference attendees.

What does all this mean? Probably that I'm a little out of it (Who's Kourtney and why does US Magazine think she's important?), but when it comes to cool stuff (like Grimm and hobbits) I'm not quite ready for a senior citizens discount on the Early Bird Special. Not that an Early Bird Special is so bad. What's not to love about spending less on dinner, then getting home before it gets dark?