Hello and welcome back to the Random Wednesday Blog! This week we are talking about crushes on fictional characters. Oh, first, let me share this with you:

And you’re welcome. Anyway . . . I can’t even think what I was going to say. Fictional characters, right. So there’s not many I have a crush on, but I will share with you my main men. And these are in no particular order.

1. Ichabod Crane from Sleepy Hollow. Wow, he is handsome, debonair and a totally snappy dresser. 

2. Aragorn from LOTR . . . what else is there to say, but oh yeah.

3. When I was much younger, maybe around 19 or so, I had a huge crush on Kid Curry as played by Ben Murphy in the show Alias Smith & Jones. Of course, I only saw the show in reruns since it went off when I was 6. 

4. Roarke from the In Death series. That man is utterly amazing, romantic, and just plain hot. I love how he is with Eve and it’s a damn shame he’s not real.

5. Kaleb Krychek from the Psy/Changeling series. *fanning* That man is a billion kinds of dangerous, but he is so loyal and willing to do whatever it takes for the woman he adores. 

And finally, from one of my own books, Caleb Sinclair from Be Mine. The man is utterly hot and I had a lot of people think he was real. Uhhh, I wish. No, he is totally made up, mores the pity, but I can put the official claim on him since I made him up. 

And there you have it. Now check who the other Blogger Girlz have crushes on and share with us who you crush on. 

Jessica
Bronwyn
Jenny
Kris
Kayleigh
Kellie


See you next week! –GC

Hello! And welcome to the first installment of “Southern Etiquette for Difficult Situations.” I want to thank my friend Bronwyn Green for the snazzy title and my fabulous host Max for the purrs and snuggles.

Anyway . . . if you didn’t know I’m from the south. Now my sister, for some unknown reason, swears we’re in the north. Bless her heart, but she’s wrong. And I’ll tell you why, you can get sweet tea here all the time, we are so friendly and say hello to everyone, and we certainly bless hearts, which often leads to a small insult . . . or two. 

In my book, this means we are southern. And because we are, we have a lot of different skills to fall back on when a situation goes wrong. So I’m going to teach you what to say and what to do if you find yourself between that proverbial rock and a hard place.

This first situation was brought to me by my fellow Random Wednesday Blogger Kellie.

Okay, now that we have the situation, let’s discuss what NOT to do.

And finally, let’s talk about what to finally do if you find yourself in a situation such as the one Kellie did. 

Thank you so much and we hope this has helped you if you find yourself in a similar situation.

Thank you, Gwen and Max

Hey! Welcome back to the Random Wednesday blog and today’s topic is all about my collections. Or, as my sister and I lovingly call them, DSA — Damn Sit Arounds. Oh!! Before we get started I need to show you male hotness:

I wish I could tell you that I collect nothing, but that would be a fat lie. I can admit that I don’t collect as much as I used to . . . or as much as my Mom thought I should. For some reason, she thought I should collect things so she would buy me things as gifts. For instance, I have a series of wolf plates, dragon figurines, and Boyds Bears figurines–all of these were gifts from my mom. Now that she’s passed these items are priceless to me and I will never give them up. But at the time, I had no clue what to do with them.

I actually do collect dolls, but not your normal run of the mill Madame Alexander or whatever. Nope, I collect Begoths. I’m sure most of you are thinking, “What the what??” Here are images of some of the dolls I own (they’re from the Internet and not my actual dolls).

Here are some of the other dolls I own. They are part of the Barbie collection.

As you can see, I don’t collect every day dolls.

Another thing I collect is music. I’m sure if you’ve been here before you know how much I looooooove music. So I have pretty big collection.

Books are another thing I collect. I have boxes and boxes and boxes out in my garage, stacks in my closet, and 2 huge stacks on my night stand. I also have a Nook with  . . . a lot of books on it. I will admit I’ve purged. Over the last maybe 15 years I’ve probably gotten rid of 50 or more boxes of books. But I just buy more since I love to read.

Knitting patterns and yarn are another thing I collect. I love to knit. I’m not great at it, but it’s so relaxing so I’m always hunting for my next project.

Jewelry supplies!! I love to make jewelry so I have tons of beads, findings, charms . .  you name it. I haven’t had much time lately, but I plan on getting back to it soon. I have some gifts to make for people. 🙂 And no, I’m not telling.

To go along with jewelry supplies, I collect earrings. I love earrings and I always get myself things I can’t make. My sister is an awesome gift-giver so I’ve gotten some beautiful earrings from her.

I think, that’s about it. Jeez, it’s more than enough really. Check out the other Blogger Girlz and see what they collect. And if you want to tell us what you collect we’d love to know. Maybe you’ll start a trend. 

Jessica
Bronwyn
Kris

See y’all next week! –GC

Ricochet
by Kris Norris
Genre: Erotic Romance
Tour Organizer: N K Author Services

ALBION’S CIRCLE: IN MY VEINS 
by Jessica Jarman
Genre: Paranormal/Fantasy Romance
Tour Organizer: N K Author Services

Hey! Welcome to the randomness that is the Wednesday Blog. So this week is all about our favorite songs. Oh! Before I even talk about that let me toss out gratuitous male hotness:

Aaaaand you’re welcome! So favorite songs. Jeez, this is a hard one because I have so many. I’m sure I’ve mentioned before that I love music. I’ve loved it since I was a kid. In fact, when I was probably 11 I wanted to play the guitar like Jimmy Page. If you don’t know who he is *weeping softly* then please go check him out. He’s only the most amazing guitarist in the known universe. 

So first on my list of favorite songs is anything Led Zeppelin has done. They were the first group that I fell head-over-heels in love with. I had a brief fling with Kiss, but out grew them super fast. Led Zeppelin has remained my main love ever since. After Zep I have a vast list of songs I love to hear, but I’ll give you the short list of the ones that consistently stay on my list. Does that make sense??? Anyway, these are in no particular order.

1. Down With the Sickness – Disturbed  I love this group. They are so loud and wrong and just amazing. And this song is the one that I first fell in love with.  David Draiman has a voice that can just go there. If you’ve never head it shame on you! Go check them out.
2. Break Stuff – Limp Bizkit  You are more than welcome to make fun of me for the group, but this song is kickin. It perfectly matches my mood when I’m feeling . . . awesomely pissed. 🙂 I’ve exercised to this song and kickboxed to this song and just kicked stuff to this song.
3. Dark Horse – Katy Perry  Love it!!
4. If – Janet Jackson I’ve written some hot sex scenes to this song.
5. Call Me Maybe – Carly Rae Jepson This song makes me smile
6. Shake it Off – Taylor Swift  Ditto with this one
7. Secrets and She Keeps Me Warm – Mary Lambert
Love, love, love these songs
8.Bodies – Drowning Pool  This is my sister’s ring tone. LOL
9. E.T. – Katy Perry
10. Sincerely – The McGuire Sisters  This song was part of my mom’s vast record collection and my sister and I loved it! I remember we would pretend to sing and dance to it.
11. Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy — The Andrew Sisters
Another song from my mom’s collection. She was much older when she had kids so her collection was filled with amazing songs that nobody but my sister and I even knew.
12. Big Pimpin – JayZ  I know this song and can sing all of it. LOL
13. Party People – Nelly
14. Wishing Well – Cheyenne Marie Mize  She’s a local artist and is amazing
15. You’ll Never Leave Harland Alive – Ruby Friedman  I love this song and sent it to Bron, Jenny and Jessica when they got lost in the “hollers” on their way to AAD in Charlotte.
   
And there it is! These are, right now, my favorite songs. LOL! Not to say this won’t change by the time you read it, sorry. Now run and check out the other Blogger Girlz favorite songs.

Jessica
Bronwyn
Kris
Jenny
Kayleigh
Kellie

See you next week!!  –GC

Welcome to the randomness that is the Random Wednesday Blog! Today’s topic is all about what makes me happy. Huh, okay, so first of all this below makes me happy:

You know, this is a fairly heavy question. I mean, happiness . . . happiness can mean different things to different people. And it can be intensely personal to talk about things that make me happy. Can you tell I’m stalling? Because, really different things make me happy at different times. Does that make sense? Sometimes something simple like an text from a friend can make me happy, but then other times it might take quite a bit to make me happy. I’m sure when Bronwyn and Jessica came up with this topic they weren’t expecting me to go on a deep existential rant on the philosophy of happiness.  So, let’s see if I can come up with just a few things that make me consistently happy. 

1.  Fall — the season of Fall makes me happy. I love how the air smells and the crispness and the colors. I love how it’s the signal of the coming holidays. I love pumpkin! But I saw pumpkin eggnog the other day and that totally disgusts me, but other than that I love pumpkin.

2. Music makes me happy. Okay, not all music, but there are certain songs that if I hear them I’m like ready to leap up and dance. A few blogs ago we talked about our playlists and the songs on that list are some of my very favorites. I also love holiday music!! Yes, some of you may say Christmas music, but I say holiday because I’m pagan. But I love the music. I love the songs The Most Wonderful Time of the Year and Sleigh Ride by Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme. There are others, but those two can make me smile no matter what. If you haven’t heard Steve and Eydie go check it out and tell me if it makes you smile too. I think the reason the song sticks with me is my sister and I used to listen to it when we were kids and we’d lip sync the song and dance. It was incredible. Really . . . 

3. Traveling with my sister makes me happy. I love packing up and hitting the road with her. We have a ritual we do every time we leave home. As we’re backing out of the drive she always asks, “Are we there yet?” And I always answer, “Almost.” Don’t know why, but we do it and it makes us laugh each time. We also play games while we drive like Marco Polo and Hide-n-Go-Seek . . . . really you’d have to be there to understand. 

4. My friends make me happy. I love getting together with them however we have to (twitter, IM, email, text, in person) because no matter what they can make me laugh.

5. Writing makes me happy. I love creating people, places, situations, dialogue and then seeing what happens. My readers make me happy too since they obviously enjoy what I create. I love sharing my imagination with people. 

6. The holidays make me happy — all of them from Halloween (Samhain) to Thanksgiving to Yule to Christmas. 

7. My kitties make me happy, even when I want to kill them dead, they make me happy. Okay, only Warlock often makes me want to kill him dead since he sometimes acts like a real snothead. Max is my sweet boy so he’s rarely if never in trouble.

I think that might be it for now. Like I said, the things that make me happy change with the day and the situation. If anything does change I’ll let you know. But right now go check out the other Blogger Girlz to see what makes them long to skip through a field singing with glee . . . or whatever.

Bronwyn Green
Jessica Jarman
Kris Norris
Kellie St. James

Hello!!  Welcome to the Randomness that is the Wednesday Blog. Today’s topic, as you can see, if all about my Internet history. Oh first, let’s toss out the Random Wednesday Blog Hotness. Today, you get three for the price of one.

Okay, so my Internet history. As with most author’s it’s probably so suspect. I mean really, if a cop or psychiatrist would look at the history I’d probably be rushed right downtown and booked. Currently, the book I’m working on is an paranormal urban fantasy suspense . . . a total mouthful I know. It’s come out in November and I decided to set it in my hometown of Louisville, KY. I’ve never set a book here before and thought the city would work really well for this story. Louisville is really unique in that it’s a fairly large city, but downtown isn’t enormous but it’s old. I mean the city was founded in the late 1700s and we sit right on the river, which makes it even cooler. Literally and figuratively, during the winter months. So, I needed to have some information as I write. The city/state is are currently constructing a bridge to connect Louisville to Southern Indiana. I wanted to use this in the story so needed to know where and the timeline. I also looked up what types of heavy equipment one would use to dig a hole. Additionally, I needed to know where the coroner’s office is and the medical examiner’s office and if they are the same thing here in the city. FYI, they are two separate entities with different addresses. See what I mean about the cops being suspicious?When

Another series I write — Promises — I’ve looked up different kinds of weapons such as a naginata, katar, and all different kinds of handguns and bullet sizes. I’ve also done research on spiders, most especially their legs and the details in how they grip walls and ceilings. I know, gross, but I needed to understand. I’ve also done research on blood and white and red cells and the jobs they do in the body.

On the flip side, I’ve also searched out different knitting patterns. LOL I love to knit though I’m not great at it, but if it’s a pattern I really want, like perhaps a cloche (hat) then I will search for just the right one and the yarn for it. I’ve also done searches for fall decorations, Halloween decorations and winter decorations. My newest search was all about how to take branches and make them look as if they are ice encrusted. I’ve seen them in stores and they’re expensive, so I wanted to make my own. I got some ideas and I’m heading out to my cousins so I can collect some branches and try it out.

Hmmm, I think that’s it for right now. Of course, more odd stuff will show up since the books I write are never normal. 🙂 But I think that’s a good thing. Oh and go check out the other Blogger Girlz and see what crazy stuff shows up on their Internet histories.

Bronwyn Green
Jessica Jarman
Jenny Trout

See you all next week! –GC

Hello!! And welcome once again to the Randomness that is Wednesday. Today’s incredible topic is all about our best school memories. Huh, yeah, ummmm hmmmm, I didn’t really like school a whole lot. Stunning, since I’m a teacher, but there you have it. Oh!! First, let me share gratuitous male hotness.

Okay, so fav memories . . . yeah I went to a tiny catholic elementary school with the same 20 kids until 8th grade. It pretty much sucked! If you weren’t the perfectly cool kid then you were out. And believe me I wasn’t cool. So scratch those years. High School, yeah high school I went to a catholic all-girls school (sensing a theme?). Now I will admit that sophomore and junior years were pretty cool. I had a friend, Sherry, and somehow she and I ended up in every single class both years. Don’t know, don’t understand, but we did. We really did have a ton of fun. Senior year rolled around and it sucked. Big time!

I started college when I was about 24 or so when I started working for a local university. I loved college!!! The first class I took was a general history class and I was a 4.0 by the time I rolled out of it because I loved it so much. People kept telling me how hard the professor was, but if you studied (duh) you could pass. Because I worked full-time I could only take 2 classes a semester and it took me forever, but I loved it. I loved everything about college. I loved picking my classes, getting the books, going to class, taking notes, writing papers . . . you name it. And I was good at it. My Mom, bless her heart, was stunned, since I wasn’t a stellar student in high school. In fact, I passed by the skin of my teeth, as she used to say.

I got my degree in Liberal Studies since I wanted to study everything. I took Philosophy, Sociology, Psychology, Accounting, Theology, History . . . you name it, I took it and loved it. I even took an upper level history class taught by the head of the History Department. Dr. Mahoney was amazing. The university was built around her, I’m sure since she was quite old, but damn that woman knew stuff. She didn’t use notes or anything. She would just lean back against her desk, hold a cup of vanilla coffee, and talk. After the first test and let me tell you it was hard, but I kicked ass on it, I saw her at a wedding for a mutual friend. She asked me what I thought of the test so I told her it was a bit long since I couldn’t finish in the allotted time. Bam! Next test was shorter. She told me that she knew I had studied and was adult so we could talk about it. Loved her!!!!

Once I finished my undergrad, I immediately went for my Master of Arts in Teaching. I eventually went back AGAIN and I got a bachelor degree in communication. Not as fun since it was all online. I love going to school and being in the classroom. That’s probably why I loved being a teacher so much.

So there it is. My very favorite school memories.Now I’m going to fill you with sage advice. Go to school!! You will love it. Learning should be something we are engaged in all the time. Read and then read more. I love nonfiction books. I just finished The Wave and The Poisoners’ Handbook. Excellent reads!

Go check out the other Blogger Girlz: Bronwyn, Jessica, and Kris  to find out if they have any good memories from school.

See you next week! –GC