Sample Sunday

Yikes! What happened? Is it possible that all that Christmas shopping, cooking, trips to the kids' school 4 times a day, etc. made me neglect this poor little blog?

Nah, that couldn't be it.

Now laziness . . . yep, that would be it.

To make up for this total lack in commitment to this little site, I'm going to share a little bit of my newest WIP, The Sidekick. There's not much, and this will probably change considerably (as in, be totally rewritten several times, cut from the manuscript completely or some other such hideous fate), so read at your own risk and laugh if you feel the need!

Here it goes:

Donal. The name means “World Leader.” Figures. Know what my name, Cairne, means? “Pile of rocks.” Yeah, you read it right. Guess our parents had us pegged at birth.

No one believes we're twins, either. Hell, I don't even believe it. Distant cousins, twice removed, maybe. Brothers – doubtful. Twins? Nope. Just not plausible. My writing teacher, Ms. Beechwood, would tell me to stop right there. Suspending belief is one thing, but you have to make it sound good. Or at least almost believable.

Now get this. You're going to think I'm totally stoned with this one. You're going to roll your eyes and give me that sure-you're-just-another-emo-liar look, but I swear it's true.

Donal has super powers.

For one thing, he's super strong. I'm not talking bench-350-in-the-gym strong, either. He's more like pick-up-that-full-sized-Ford 350-and-toss-it strong. Only he's not supposed to let anyone know that part. Not unless he's wearing his mask.

That's right. Mask. He's got a spandex suit, too.

It's okay. I completely understand. Why should you believe me?

Hear that? Sounds like you're going to get a rare, front-row seat. Better hang on. This is totally going to blow your mind.

And the Winner is . . .

Dawn Judd!

Dawn suggested the name Gemini Falls, and I just love it. It works with the idea of the twins, and it sounds just right to my ear . . .

Thank you, Dawn!

But, I'm so thankful for everyone who participated, that I decided to expand the contest rules just a bit. In addition to the $15 Amazon Gift Certificate (and the honor of having her city-name-suggestion used in my book) that Dawn will receive, I also wrote the names of everyone who suggested a name on a piece of paper and drew two out of a bowl (sorry, no hats available).

These lucky people will each receive a $10 Gift Certificate: Elizabeth Penney and Daniel Pyle.

So, Dawn, Elizabeth and Daniel, please send me an email at debilf at hotmail dot com, and I'll get those GC's out to you!

Thank you, everyone, for playing along with me.

Wacky Weekend -- Confession

For this week's Wacky Weekend, I thought I'd make a wacky confession -- a guilty pleasure.

I love nice pens.

Okay, so this isn't Earth-shattering or anything, but it's true. I adore handmade pens, and my absolute favorites come from here:

D'Court-Designs

I found my first one on ebay way back before I wrote Summoning, and fell in love. In fact, I wrote the entire first draft (literally) with that pen. The weight, the balance, the way the ink flowed . . . all perfect. So, over the years, I've acquired a couple more.

Never disappointed, either!

In fact, just today, I spent a bit of time on my latest WIP using one of my D'Court pens.

Okay, enough of my wacky confessions -- what guilty pleasure do you have?

Oh, and don't forget to add your suggestions for the name of the city in my new WIP! You only have until midnight Monday to win you chance at a $15 Amazon Gift Certificate! Name My City contest.

Three on Thursday -- The Dutch Language

For today's post, I thought it would be fun to share a few necessary phrases for Americans visiting the Netherlands.

Okay, I admit that my Dutch-speaking skills are limited at best (though I understand -- usually -- what people are trying to say to me), but I'll do my best here not to misspell every other word.

1. Spreekt u Engels? (This, of course, means "Do you speak English?" This will be your most-used phrase of all. Remember it.)

2. Ik wil frietjes zonder mayo. (This means "I'd like fries without mayonnaise." This is very important, because if you don't happen to like your french fries smothered in mayo, you have to specify that right up front!)

3. Waar is de WC? (This means "Where is your bathroom?" Be careful not to ask for an actual "badkamer" (bathroom), because that would mean the room where the bathtub/shower is located. There may not be a toilet in that room at all. And keep in mind that WC is pronounced Vay-Say.)

If you happen to have children with you while you're traveling in the Netherlands, you will need a few more phrases, of course.

1. Op de stoep! (This means "Stay on the sidewalk!" This is useful as there are not only the sidewalks where people can walk, but bike paths (usually barely distinguishable from the sidewalk) and the streets. In the cities and dorpjes -- villages -- these are all brick. Sometimes the bricks are slightly different colors. Sometimes not.)

2. Niet springen op de bank! (This means "No jumping on the couch!" Self explanatory.)

3. Wil je een snoepje? (This means "Would you like a piece of candy?" For some reason, complete strangers have no qualms about offering (often unwrapped) candy to your children. The good part is, you can accept the offer without worry.)

So, there is your Nederlands 101 lesson in necessary phrases. Now you're ready to visit!

Announcement!

It's that time of year again -- time to start Christmas shopping (or other various holidays of your choice, of course). This year, my gift-giving list is longer than it's ever been, because I've decided to include all of you, too!

I've just lowered the price for Summoning to 99 cents on Amazon.com -- yes, that's right. Ninety-nine cents.

Now you can afford to buy copies for all of your friends and relatives and still be able to afford one for yourself (I know, I know . . . how generous of me . . .).

Really, though, treat yourself. And let me know if you like the book.

Summoning at Amazon

And don't forget, you still have until November 15th to suggest a name for the city in my newest work. There's a possible prize involved!

Name my City

Pre-Thanksgiving Contest

First of all, let's get the apology for not blogging for way too long out of the way . . . Sorry. Now that life is returning to normal (read: the kids are back in school), the blog should return to a normal schedule.

Now, on to the exciting news! I'm writing a new book. (Yes, I know you're excited.) It's different from anything I've written before, and there are parts of it that are causing me headaches. (This just keeps getting more exciting, doesn't it?) The biggest headache at the moment is that I need a city where my twin superheroes can fight crime and attend high school.

Ideally, I'd like this to be a large metropolitan area, but have a small-town feel to it. And it has to be fictitious. Think of Gotham City or Metropolis.

This is where the contest comes in. I want you to help me name this city. The winner will receive a $15 gift certificate to Amazon.com! (I know, I know . . . finally the excitement begins!)

Here are the rules:

1. Come up with a cool name for my fictitious city.

2. Post it in the comments below on or before November 15th.

3. Post as many times as you like.

4. On November 16th, I'll announce the winner who will receive a $15 gift certificate to Amazon.com just in time for the Holidays!

5. The most exciting part of all? I use the winning entry as the name of my city in my newest Work In Progress (wip)!

So what are you waiting for? Give me some ideas!

YIKES! It's vacation week for the girls, and there's a party involved

Sorry to be absent for so long -- my girls are on vacation, and the youngest turns 6 on Thursday! These are both good things, but they involve lots of hands-on mommy time and a birthday party in the making.

Tomorrow (Wednesday), 15 little girls between the ages of 6 and 11 will descend upon my house to play games, knustel (that would be "arts & crafts") crowns and bracelets and eat  . . . something (yes, I'm still working on that detail) in celebration of said birthday. I'm going just a little bit crazy. Tomorrow, the brain should be on total shutdown mode.

It's all good, though, and I'll be back!