I’M A BOMBSHELL?

At least I am in Blogland =P

You Are Most Like Liv Tyler

“I don’t want to spend so much time obsessing about myself.”

What Modern Bombshell Are You Most Like?

You, too, can be a bombshell today! Take the quiz and come back to report…

LAST STOP ON THE TFO EXPRESS!

Many thanks to those of you who have made the Table for One tour a success. Today is the last stop on the tour. Make sure to click over and wave to Sally Bradley! In case you missed any of the posts, here’s a recap of the tour:

7/11 Betsy Ann St. Amant

7/14 Erica Vetsch

7/14 Sister Circle Radio Interview

7/16 Kaye Dacus

7/18 Gina Conroy Review

7/21 Gina Conroy Interview

7/21 Michelle Sutton

7/23 Leslie Sowell

7/25 Eileen Astels Watson

7/30 Sally Bradley

THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO MADE THIS TOUR A SUCCESS!!!

COME AGAIN?

A few weeks ago at baby gymnastics, one of the other mothers and I were talking about how terrible we are at remembering simple things like names during an introduction. Let’s not even ask how many times I had to learn her name, and the names of all the kids in my daughter’s class. True confession: I’m also terrible with faces.

On my quest to learn new and interesting things, I’ve decided to check out how to improve my memory, both short-term and long-term. While I had a few minutes, I took an online quiz (and we all know how much I love those) to see how my short-term memory stacks up without any tricks.

NUMBERS: 12–I was able to remember a 12 digit number. The quiz starts with a 3 digit number and works up from there. When I got to 13 I bombed.

LETTERS: 6–evidently I’m more skilled with numbers. Getting to 6 was pure luck.

WORDS: 13–This one was the most fun for me, but I think I’d have done better had I known how it would work. They show you a list of words and give you 90 seconds to memorize as many as possible. I thought they’d show me random words and I’d pick out the ones I remembered from a list. Not so, I had to type in as many as I could remember.

I’m going to share what I learn about memory every now and then, just because I like you ((wink, wink.)) For now, CLICK OVER and take the 3 short quizzes and come back and give us a report. Let the fun begin!

HITS AND MISSES

When summer began, I had a specific list of things I wanted to accomplish. With only two weeks left before school starts, it’s time to evaluate and see what’s what.

• Finish the book. While I’d love to say I typed THE END, I’m not there yet. With some hard work and 2000 words a day pounded out, I can finish the 2nd major draft by the time conference rolls around.
• Launch Table for One. Woo hoo! Yes, it’s off the ground. In fact, today TFO is #3 on the inspirational bestseller list on The Wild Rose Press site. Plus, my blogging friends have helped spread the word!!!
• Lose 15 pounds. I was so ambitious when I came up with that number. I’ve officially lost 5 pounds. Only 5. Of course it’s better than gaining, but still….
• Help oldest daughter get in shape for cross country. She’s in much better shape than me, and I’m confident she’ll do great when she starts hitting the trail in 2 weeks.

While it’s not all that I’d hoped for, I’m sure it’s more than I would have accomplished had I not made these goals. No excuses. I’m here to say that I can always do better, but I’m happy to have some parts of my list checked.

How about you? How are you coming on your summer goals/pre-conference goals?

I’M STEALING AN IDEA…

…from Erica for today’s post. On Friday’s she does a FRIDAY 5, and makes a list. So today I’m making my own list that stems from an experience earlier this week.

THE TOP 5 REASONS I LOATHE SHOPPING FOR CLOTHES:

1. Too many items are designed to show cleavage, either top or bottom (eww!)
2. Loooong lines at the checkout counter.
3. People who cut in loooong lines at the checkout counter.
4. No matter how many miles I run, I stay the same size year-to-year.
5. Using public restrooms that are so…well, public (eww!)

This ties in with a question that Eileen asked me in an interview she’s featuring today! Also, she’s giving away a copy of Table for One!!!

My question to you today is: clothes shopping, love it or hate it?

I’M HAM!

You Are a Ham Sandwich

You are quiet, understated, and a great comfort to all of your friends. Over time, you have proven yourself as loyal and steadfast. And you are by no means boring. You do well in any situation – from fancy to laid back. Your best friend: The Turkey Sandwich Your mortal enemy: The Grilled Cheese Sandwich

What Kind of Sandwich Are You?

It’s seriously great to know I’m not boring, LOL. COME BACK AND TELL US WHAT KIND YOU ARE!

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW….

…which Trixie Beldon character I used to fancy myself as, visit LESLIE’S BLOG today and read the interview. Also, she’s giving away a copy of Table for One!!!

I’M NOT A NUMBERS PERSON, BUT…

…I’m addicted to numbers. I find myself checking numbers way more often than I should, and now that I’ve noticed, it’s slightly embarrassing! Consider these:

• Word Count Button: whenever I’m writing, I click on this button every time I write a big ol’ honking paragraph. Why? Because I need to get to at least 1000 words before I can think about stopping. I’d probably get there faster if I could stop clicking this button.
• Post counts on the ACFW forum: Now this is ridiculous, but I so wanted to pass 1000, and my next goal is to beat Kaye!
• Statcounter: this goes without saying. I’m SURE you all understand this one!
• Technorati: blog rank and authority. I don’t check this daily–only when I’m procrastinating.

And here’s the new one, and it’s highly addicting:

• Amazon sales rank. Yep, this changes literally hour to hour, so you know I must check this because the world hangs in the balance on where Table for One stands in the rank. I was silly excited the other day when it hit approximately 50,500. Yes, I know that’s still high, but it was closer to #1 than I’ve ever been!

Okay folks, tell me I’m not nuts. What numbers do you check daily? Fess up!

TAKE-AWAY VALUE

The only time I’d seen those words before last week was on the list of items to include on a book proposal. The few times I’ve written proposals, this question stumped me because when I sit down to write it’s only with the story in mind, not a reader response. Take-away value, for those who might not know, is what you want the reader to come away with after reading your book.

Here’s an example: one of my favorite authors is Jodi Picoult, and I walk away from her stories thinking about how some situations are so multi-faceted that there’s no black and white, only multiple shades of gray. I have no clue if that’s what she intends for her readers to “get,” but that’s what I take from her books every time.

Over the last week or so I’ve done a few interviews. The take-away question is one that has recurred in different forms. I love that this thought gives me pause and makes me really contemplate the meat in my writing. Even in comedy, there has to be some kind of substance in order for the story to resonate with readers.

I’ll let you browse the interviews to see how I answered the question for my own book, but for now I’ll put the question to you:

*What do you hope readers take away after reading your stories?

IF YOU THOUGHT YOU KNEW ALL ABOUT ME…

…then check out this interview at Gina’s blog!!!