A little ghost in my house

was caught by Mac photo booth picking its nose. This startling revelation might answer that other question, which has haunted many a ghost hunter alike: Do ghosts fart? Surely in light of this most recent discovery one must agree it's definitely a possibility.

Shout out

To author Alan DeNiro and agent extraordinaire, Colleen Lindsay, on the sale of Alan's novel!! For more details, check out their blogs.

More randomness

Two books I finished in the last week -- Ysabel by Guy Gavriel Kay and Uglies by Scott Westerfeld. Uglies rocked. So good. Can't wait to read the next one! I'd also highly recommend Ysabel. What a beautiful, absorbing novel. Makes me want to book a flight to the south of France and immerse myself in Celtic history.

The dog cracked his tooth and has to have surgery on Thursday. Gah. Between today's visit and Thur. I'm out about a grand. Damn dog. Good thing I love 'im.

Next up in reads -- The Host by Stephenie Meyer.

And what's up with the writing you may be asking. Hmmm? Well, we're out on submission right now. Just waiting. Trying to be patient and work on other things. I should be used to it by now, but this is by far the hardest kind of waiting yet.

Random links

In two of her latest blog posts, Agent Kristen Nelson talks about Popular Books and the readers who make them so.

Scott Carter's blog, The First Book, is devoted to what else? First books and their proud owners. The interviews are great and fun to read, especially the 'how did you get published stories'.

From the archives of Miss Snark answering the question: Do you have to pay back your advance if your book doesn't earn out? Read the comments, too. Lots of good information if you're wondering about advances and royalties in general and what happens when you don't earn out.

Sabrina Jeffries has compiled a dictionary of publishing terms with such things as "sell-through", "basket accounting", "reserve against returns" and more . . . Great info to know. Make sure to check out her "Big Misunderstanding of Money" article as well as her "Publishing Timeline".

The Name of the Wind author, Patrick Rothfuss, has a cool blog I've started reading/lurking about . . . The screaming baby with his book pic is hilarious.

GPS my way

The Hub has a GPS navigator in his truck. The voice is female; a very even, calm voice. He put it in my car this weekend when we were going to "family day" for his work. So, I'm riding along and listening to this voice thinking, they should have voices you can download just like ringtones. And just as quickly as that thought occurred, so did my perfect GPS voice. Oh yeah. Kelly wants a GPS with an outspoken male Scottish accent. "Turn right ye bonny lassie." "Och, yer going the wrong way!" "Just a wee bit farther now."

OMG. I was laughing so hard. Then, I told the Hub that on his many travels (which is why he has the GPS in the first place) that he should have my voice, so he wouldn't miss me. Yeah. That went over real well. "You were supposed to turn right there." "Turn right. No left. Yeah left." He loves me. But listening to my voice on a ten hour trip might just change things. Man, if I could do it just once, I would. Payback for all the times he's played jokes on me.

Circe Invidiosa

J.W. Waterhouse is among my favorite Pre-Raphaelite painters. His work is so compelling and beautiful. This one is titled "Circe Invidiosa" and another one that inspires me when I write.

Inspiration

This is my inspiration for the YA that's been swimming around in my head . . . Whenever I find myself going off in some new direction or losing the 'feel' of the story, I return to this pic and it sets me right. It conveys the tone, the beauty and the mystery so perfectly. This pic, The Priestess of Delphi, has been one of my favorites for a long time. It's by John Collier. Notice her eyes . . .

I listen to music, too, but just to get me in the mood -- I cannot write and listen to music at the same time. Weird, huh? I find myself listening to the words and focusing on the song, and not writing.