It’s Up!

Okay, call me a geek, but this is cool. Click on the “read an excerpt” link and read the first scene.  Also, I have to say, the warning cracks me up. But that could be just me.

Looking to ’09

In her Christmas cards this year, my mother accidentally wished everyone a happy 2010. I can understand this, mostly because in my good old day job, I am always looking a week ahead. Why not look a year ahead? Especially since the economy sucks and 2009 is most likely going to be an uphill struggle. But it will be uphill, and I have a lot of good things going on in 2009.

I am not making resolutions this year, because I generally don’t follow through. I did lose weight in 2008, but not as much as I wanted. I also managed to get two book deals in 2008 – one right before my birthday and one right before Christmas. Lovely presents, if you ask me. So in 2009 I have two e-books coming out. YAY! This is cool. Admittedly not quite as cool as having a print release, but still cool.

So what do I want to see out of 2009? Well, firstly I am going to re-write an old book, now titled Courting Kismet. I hope to take this to an agent and maybe even break into New York this year. That would be terrific. I’d like to write a completely new book this year, too,  though I have three ideas currently brewing in my head and need to pick one.

On a personal level, I am looking forward to watching my oldest son compete in his second season of Special Olympics. He starts basketball practice right after the holidays. My second son will start middle school in the fall of 2009, and that opens up more opportunities for him, including Odyssey of the Mind and Academic Olympics. The youngest will finally be able to come into his own without the spectre of his brothers at the same school, not to mention starting Little League this summer. Yes, lots to look forward to in 2009.

So what are you all hoping to accomplish in 2009? If you make resolutions, what are they? Whatever you do, let’s hope 2009 is stellar for us all!

The Holidays – Bond Style

Hope everyone’s hollidays have been great so far. We’re not done. Oh, no, there’s lots more to come in the next week. This is party week, with Christmas and New Years and all the other holidays crammed into this short period each year. And at Chez Cate, the holidays this year have meant hours and hours spent with our favorite super spy James Bond.

Thanks to Spike TV, the husband and I have been able to indulge to our hearts’ content on James, Moneypenny, M, Q and various Bond bimbos.  I’ve loved the Ian Flemming books since I read Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. I wanted more, so at 13, my parents set me on Doctor No. Yep. The blood, the violence, the sex. They let me read it all, and I begged for more. So here are a couple Bond observations I’ve had over the years, starting with a few things I noticed just yesterday.

-Thunderball and Never Say Never Again are basically the same movie. You have Domino and Largo, and Domino’s brother is being used to get to some government bomb/equipment and she is really being held prisoner, though she thinks she is a guest of Largo. Both even have Connery as Bond, though one was made in the early 60s and the other in the 80s. I love Thunderball, by the way, and never could understand why I couldn’t get into Never Say Never Again. Now I get it. It’s a cheap knock off.

– If you have a thing for Bond girl names, don’t think Flemming stopped with Pussy Galore and Dr. Goodhead. Oh no, read or watch Chitty Chitty Bang Bang sometime. Truly Scrumptious. The man could not help himself. He was apparently a horn dog.

– Ian Flemming once said the Bond charachter was not another side of himself. He states he was much more like Moneypenny.

– I think Daniel Craig sucks as Bond. Even worse than George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton. Yes, I am going to get arguments on that, and I know it. But my favorite Bond has always been Sean Connery, though Peirce Brosnan is starting to get my vote. He plays Bond as competent but flawed with a wicked sense of humor. Roger Moore was okay, too, but for me, I think it’s Peirce.

– They finally gave Bond a decent partner in Die Another Day. Jinx is a fabulous, kick-ass character and is basically a female Bond. And Halle Barry did a hell of a job playing her.

– There have been 23 Bond films, six actors playing Bond, and we accept it all. Bond has aged, gotten younger, and changed hair color, and no one has batted an eye. Even Jack Ryan couldn’t pull that off. Nobody bought poor Ben Affleck in the role. Hell, even Q couln’t pull that off, and now we have “New M” with Dame Judi Dench (one of my favorite actresses). But as I said before, folks will gladly hail Daniel Craig as the best Bond yet. We shall see. Casino Royale put me to sleep, and I have yet to see Quantum of Solace. Maybe I’ll change my mind after I see it.

– But lastly, I think there is one thing we can all agree on. For the most part, Bond movie themes kick ass. Seriously some of the best movit theme songs out there.

Any other Bond-ophiles out there? Come on out of hiding and sell me on Daniel Criag.

Merry Christmas from Dante’s Fifth Circle

Sorry for the absence, folks. Been bogged down with the tummy bug from hell with all three kids. And blizzards. And 20 below zero weather.  Add to that the oldest who mysteriously comes out of his room this morning with a stitch-worthy gash over his right eye (no, he won’t say how he did it -or can’t) and you’ve got all the makings for Christmas at Ground Zero.

But I made a promise to you all not long ago, and I haven’t forgotten.  I’ve been working on Kevin’s story, and it will soon be ready for public viewing as a New Year’s present. An excerpt of Let’s Dish should also be available soon, too, so lots of action here at Chez Catie come the new year. Stay tuned. Once the plague has passed, there’ll be lots of moving and shaking going on over here.

I’m Official

I have no cover, yet, but I do have a bio on the Samhain site.

I was going to wait until I have a cover and a little closer to my release date, but since the bio went live, I figure I’d better open up the yahoo group. Just push the button if you want to join:

Click to join catherinewade

Ya know, I don’t have much faith in that button. If it doesn’t work, please send an email to:

catherinewade-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Interesting Article

Go here to read about the future of publishing. Sounds good to me – except the whole “writer’s (still) won’t make money” thing.  But I should know by now that I am doomed to be a starving artist.

Not Just a One-Trick Pony!

This is a quick, down-and-dirty post, because today is crazy. However, I wanted to share with you all.

Another Time Around – a story about a rock-n-roll widow, her husband’s ghost, and the new guy in her life who just may be a psychotic stalker – has just sold to Samhain Publishing for release in late summer/early fall 2009.

YAY ME!  Now I just have to edit it.

UGH.

Check It Out!

Blogging over at the Samhellion today. Come on over for a visit!

Letting Go

I am really bad about letting things go. I like to torture myself with past mistakes. I worry already about how I will ever live without my kids at home.  I’m still ticked at my husband for something he did years ago. Kidding.

But yesterday I had to let go not once but twice. Firstly, Let’s Dish is now out of my hands forever. I turned in the final line edits last night. I spent seven hours at the library locked up with my laptop going over that sucker line-by-line. Now it goes back to my publisher and…that’s it. I’m done until I get my gallies. And even then, I can’t really make changes. Just looking for errors. So if there are mistakes in the manuscript still, it’s too late. It’s a done deal.

During my library marathon, I also finished up Another Time Around. As I may have hinted (or hammered my point into the ground), ATA has been a toughie for me. It’s been killer to make the changes my editor wanted, mostly because I saw so many things I wanted to change beyond that. But I did it, think I addressed everything she wants, and let it go. I sent it to my editor. So now it’s in her hands – she can reject it or offer contract. Then again, she may ask for more revision, in which case I think I’ll just go jump off a roof. Kidding! Again.

So I am sitting here today wondering what I want to do next. Oh yeah – still have to write that bonus scene. Okay, so maybe I’m not totally done with Let’s Dish. Yet.

Samhain Here to Stay

Before I submitted to Samhain Publishing, I researched them a good bit. After all, they are a small publisher and I wanted to be sure they would be around for awhile. They seemed to have stood the test of time, so I went ahead and submited. I haven’t regretted it.

Last night we recieved an email from our publisher that samhain had just acquired Linden Bay Romance. Guess we’re doing pretty well, and now have added to our reader base.

Good day indeed.