Sunday, November 14, 2010

Bromance isn't a real word, is it? Is it?

Great news!  The Oxford Dictionary has released a new pile of completely legit words you can use in your next manuscript.

Here's a sample, shamelessly lifted from the Time newsfeed:



chill pill a notional pill taken to make someone calm down
chillax calm down and relax
turducken a roast dish consisting of a chicken inside a duck inside a turkey (Emmeline:  We're only just thinking of this?)
bargainous costing less than is usual or than might be expected; cheap or relatively cheap (I'm so using this one.)
staycation holiday spent in one's home country
fussbudget a fussy person (This wasn't a word?  Huh.)
vuvuzela long horn blown by fans at soccer matches
national treasure someone/thing regarded as emblematic of anation's cultural heritage
buzzkill a person or thing that has a depressing or dispiriting effect
social media websites and applications used for social networking
microblogging the posting of very short entries on a blog
netbook small light laptop
dictionary attack an attempt to gain illicit access to a computer system by using a very large set of words to generate potential passwords
paywall an arrangement whereby access is restricted to users who have paid to subscribe to a website
freemium a business model, especially on the Internet, whereby basic services are provided free of charge while more advanced features must be paid for
automagically automatically and in a way that seems ingenious, inexplicable, or magical (Love it!)
carbon capture and storage the process of trapping and storing carbon dioxide produced by burning fossil fuels
geoengineering manipulation of environmental processeses in an attempt to counteract the effects of global warming
toxic debt debt which has a high risk of default
deleveraging the process or practice of reducing the level of one's debt by rapidly selling one's assets
overleveraged having taken on too much debt
quantitative easing the introduction of new money into the money supply by a central bank
exit strategy a pre-planned means of extricating oneself from a situation
overthink think about (something) too much or for too long
catastrophizing view or present a situation as considerably worse than it actually is 
soft skills personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people
matchy-matchy excessively colour-coordinated
LBD little black dress
frenemy a person with whom one is friendly despite a fundamental dislike or rivalry
cheeseball lacking taste, style, or originality
cool hunter a person whose job it is to make observations or predictions about new styles and trends  (Awesome!)
steampunk a genre of science fiction that typically features steam-powered machinery rather than advance technology
tweetup a meeting organized by means of posts on Twitter
bromance a close but non-sexual relationship between two men
wardrobe malfunction an instance of a person accidentally exposing an intimate part of their body as a result of an article of clothing slipping out of position
defriend another term for unfriend (remove someone from a list of friends or contacts on a social networking site)
Interweb the Internet
This particular list doesn't include some of my faves--BFF (do I need to explain this one?), LMAO (see previous comment), trampstamp (apparently, a tattoo on a woman's lower back) or hashtag (see brackets two and three).  
I resolve to weave at least three of these into conversation this week, even though, in my house an LBD refers to a cocktail frank (also known as Little Boys...)
E x

Wednesday, November 3, 2010

The schamozzle that is geographic restrictions.

I get a real kick out of reading the sales blurbs for new books, and knowing that I can hop onto the iPad and find these brand-new-releases at Amazon.com, whence I can download them to the Kindle app and get reading RIGHT AWAY!  Bliss, eh?

It would be blissful, aside from the fact that I live in Australia, not the US.  Which ordinarily isn't something I dwell upon.  Until I want to buy a new ebook.  Lots (read, most) new eBooks aren't available to us here in Oz.  I can order the print book and have it mailed, no worries.  BUT I WANT IT NOW!  :)

This blogpost from Jane at Dear Author went a long way to dousing my grump.  Thank you Jane.  There is hope, hopefully.  I await the day I don't ever, ever require giving over headspace to something such as this.

Take care all, E x

PS 07.11.10 - Jane's next instalment Geographic Restrictions, Take Two.

Sunday, October 31, 2010

The official launch of the Dark Side...DownUnder!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

The best thing about this Halloween is the official launch of our new Aus/NZ spec-fic author blog:


Click on the banner to reach the new Darksiders blog, and comment to be in the running for one of two prizes.

Awesome!  There's also a rundown of how the blog will work, and tips on what you can win, when.  (Thanks Eleni!)

So, come on over to the Darkside!

Saturday, October 30, 2010

The Darksiders cometh!

A group of RWA and RWANZ speculative fiction authors have banded together and their arrival is nigh! These talented writers pen a vast array of stories--paranormal, sci-fi, urban fantasy, fantasy, romantic or with romantic elements.

They are the... DARKSIDE DOWNUNDER!

And we're storming the blogosphere this Halloween!

Prepare for the following to pop into your PC:

Jess Anastasi

Maree Anderson

Keri Arthur

Kitty Bucholtz

Astrid Cooper

Rowena Cory Daniells

Michelle de Rooy

Jessica Dorney

Fiona Gregory

Kylie Griffin

Erica Hayes

Shona Husk

Shannah Jay

Loretta Kelly

Eleni Konstantine

Emmeline Lock

Nicole R Murphy

Janni Nell

Tracey O'Hara

Christina Phillips

Denise Rossetti

Jenny Schwartz

Nicola E. Sheridan

Nicky Strickland

Mel Teshco

Joanne Vogel



As THIS SUNDAY--Halloween, people!-- is our launch date, ready yourselves for the virtual onslaught of fiction gore, ghosts, blood, vamps, aliens, spaceships, corpses and, oh yes...



PRIZES!



Many thanks to Eleni and Keri for readying the DARKSIDERS TO GO!



Until then, mwahahahaha!



Emmeline.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

I'm in! Check my pride badge...

Listening to:  HALLELUJAH - k.d.lang.  Yep, again.  I love it.  
Reading:  STRANGE BEDPERSONS Jennifer Crusie, and a ms from one of my lovely CP's, Rach! 
Working on:  final pass on HIS DEADLY ECHO, a paranormal romantic short before I send it to Rach and Anna, and I'm thinking about a new story...   


Despite my best efforts to confuse everybody by mailing in my application to RWA just prior to the conference, I'm in!

What a fabulous place!  I've caught up on the RWA's official journal, Hearts Talk, editions I've not read (grab a membership, and you too can read them!) and I've jumped on the loop, where everyone was very welcoming.  I'm also toying, in a very small way, with entering a comp or two this year.  We shall see.

Joy of joys, I found RWA has a dedicated paranormal/speculative fiction crew, too.  They've just given themselves a name, and...it's all very exciting!  More to come.

My last post, you know, the one about Christina Phillips' new release from Berkeley, FORBIDDEN, remember that?  I won a signed copy!  Yay for me!  It's on the top of the TBR, and many thanks and best of luck to the lovely Christina!  Mwah!

I've been having a bit of a reading-fest at the moment - the kids are home on school holidays, and really, who gets anything constructive done then - so I've been gobbling a few up on the iPad Kindle app.  (Amazon) Kindle has this sample option which is very cool.  I can elect to send the sample to whichever app I want (or your actual honest-to-God Kindle, too, I imagine), and I'm loving it.  The best of the recents?  All the Kresley Cole IAD series (she's brill.).  The only thing about buying eBooks is the geographic restrictions, which makes me want to pop my head in the toaster and push the lever.

I must, must, must get a hold of Joey W Hill's mermaid series (Daughters of Arianne).  They're restricted in eBook for Australia, but I can get it via Amazon or the like, as they consider the US the purchase point when you buy print books.  Anna Hackett has a thing about scales and slime, but she loved Joey W Hill.  Check out her blog post.  Oh, and DARK SIREN gets a mention!  Thanks Anna, mwah!

Speaking of Anna, she's anticipating the arrival of her fifth Nocturne Bites, called ONE NIGHT WITH THE WOLF.  I gotta tell you, I'm not a big wolf chick, but I loved the hero in this one.  Num.  There's a stunning forest/chase/wolf scene that you have GOT to read.  As soon as she gets a date, we'll pass it on.

I've also got a stack of Jenny Crusies here in paperback I'm working through.  I thought FAKING IT was great.  She's extremely talented (her dialogue makes me drool), but I always feel a little like I connect more with the heroes than the heroines.  Although, MANHUNTING has a heroine I really enjoyed, and Tilda in FAKING IT was a great character.  Davy, however was a con-artist who really made my boat float.  :)

Finally, DARK SIREN has been in NY a little over three months now.  I'm not stressing it, though.  I like to have something ready to send straight back, and the current wip has to go to Rach and Anna before I can fix it up and mail it off, so we're at least a month or more away.

As far as the new story goes, I'm thinking I might have a go at something lighter, more paranormal romantic comedy.  I've been thinking about voice, lately.

But more on that next time.  :)

Take care, all!  E x

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