The Enrique Awards--vote for the worst pickup lyrics

For some reason the wording in this blog is being very odd. (Mischa my smart friend says this is because I copied and pasted lyrics from different places.)

 

So to see the contenders go to: http://janette-rallison.blogspot.com/

But it would be a good keynote address

I'm giving two keynote addresses in upcoming writing conferences. The problem is, I keep thinking of the really motivational keynote address James Owen gave at the ANWA conference. I won't ever be able to give such a moving talk unless I get stranded in Ireland and/or get in a crippling car crash. I'm unwilling to do either of those things.  But this . . . this might work.

If you want to attend either of the writing conferences where I may or may not be telling James Owen's life story. They are: LDStormakers in Kansas, Sept 25th, and Western Legends Roundup in Kanab, UT, October 25-26 )

The Winner is Becky @BecksterMay

Actually, Random first picked my daughter--which goes to show you that Random.org has a sense of humor. I sent her the manuscript months ago and she still hasn't read it.

 So Becky, send me your address and I'll pop your ARC in the mail. You can reach me at jrallisonfans at yahoo dot com

Slayers: Friends and Traitors ARC giveaway

I just got an ARC for Slayers: Friends and Traitors. I am very excited about this fact, even if it does mean that I have to learn how to spell traitors. (I keep trying to spell it with an er instead of the or. What is up with that anyway? We've got dancer, fighter, officer, and three thousand other job descriptions that end in er, but traitor is spelled with an o. Whoever created English spelling should be smacked.)

Anyway, because I know so many of you are anxious to read the next Slayers installment, I'm doing a give-away.  I need to add a disclaimer though. An ARC (advance reading copy) isn't the finished book. It's made of the galleys which is the copy before the last changes. Usually there are a few mistakes and typos in the ARCs. In this ARC there are a lot. I have a character crimple to the ground. Instead of going somewhere, at one point someone is soing somewhere. And it looks like I pretty much sprinkled commas randomly through the manuscript. Stuff like that. So keep in mind that the final copy (knock on wood) will be much cleaner.

I'm doing things a bit different for this give-away. Usually I choose someone from the comments. I just started tweeting as CJ Hill though, and I need followers so my publisher doesn't think I'm friendless. So at the end of the week, I'm going to choose one of my CJ Hill followers and I'll send them the ARC.

To find me on twitter, look for authorCJHill

Good luck!

The graduation blues

It's my least favorite time of year. That time when  retailers feel the need to herald the end of another school year with Congratulations Graduates of 2013! plates, cups, napkins, and balloons.

I've been a parent for the last 25 years. I don't remember what life was like before toys, piles of laundry, and homework were spread out over my house. My children are the best and most important thing to me.  Next September my oldest son will leave home. In another year, my twins will graduate. The last thing I want is to be reminded of this fact every time I step into a store.

This is what stores think I see when I walk down the bakery aisle:

This is what I actually see when I walk down the bakery aisle:

A special thanks to my son for drawing this cake. (And that's another thing--who is going to help me with computer stuff when they go? I soo need some chocolate . . . and maybe a therapist.)