Year: 2012

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    You say potato, I say potato …

    18 Comments

    A while back, I wrote a post about some regional words that I use in my books. Today, I thought I would talk a little about pronunciation.

    Just like words, pronunciation varies widely from region to region (not to mention accents). Simple words always seem to trip me up the most. For caramel, do you say car-mel or car-a-mel? I usually say car-mel.

    I like The Weather Channel, but my ears perk up every time one of the forecasters talks about the Appalachian Mountains. The forecasters almost always pronounce it as App-uh-lay-chan. But I’ve always heard and said it as App-uh-latch-in.

    Another word that I’ve heard pronounced two ways is pecan. I’ve heard it as peh-cahn and pea-can. I usually say peh-cahn. And as long as we’re talking about food, there is bruschetta, which is bru-sket-a to some and bru-sche-tah to others (including me).

    One thing that always surprises me is when people mispronounce Estep, my last name. Many folks say it as Es-tep, but I’ve always heard and said it as E-step. That’s how I would say it, no matter how it’s spelled — Estep, Eastep, Estepp, Eastepp, etc.

    In the end, I guess it’s just like regional words — you say them the way you hear them growing up.

    What about you guys? What words have you heard pronounced different ways?

  • Giving in to the buzz …

    22 Comments

    I have to admit that I’m a sucker for buzz. Hype. Buildup. If there’s something that it seems like everyone is talking about, I usually want to know what all the fuss is about, whether it’s books, movies, television shows, or music.

    Like The Walking Dead television show. Now, I don’t particularly like zombies. It’s just not something I normally enjoy reading or watching (brains!). But it seems like everyone loves the show, and a couple of my friends recommended it to me as well. So I bought Wheezley (who is a zombie fan) the first season DVD set of The Walking Dead for Christmas, with the idea that if he liked and recommended it, well then I could watch it too.

    Yes, there are lots of zombies (brains!) in the show, and it is visceral at times (that poor horse!), but I enjoyed the first season. I can see what all the fuss is about. (And I’ve also realized that I am woefully unprepared for a zombie apocalypse.)

    I’m glad I gave in to the buzz and gave The Walking Dead a chance. I think the next buzzy thing that I will try will be Game of Thrones. Not sure if I’ll start with the book or the first season DVDs.

    What about you guys? Have you given in to the buzz and watched The Walking Dead or something else? What television shows are you enjoying right now?

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    Dark Frost on NetGalley …

    6 Comments

    I wanted to let all the book reviewers, bloggers, etc. know that Dark Frost, the third book in my Mythos Academy young adult urban fantasy series, is available through NetGalley. You can see and request the book here.

    I believe this is the first time that a book of mine has been available through the site. Also, please note that I do not approve requests on NetGalley — that is something my publisher does.

    Here’s a little more information about the site, according to the NetGalley home page:

    NetGalley delivers secure, digital galleys to professional readers. If you are a reviewer, blogger, journalist, librarian, bookseller, educator, or in the media, you can use NetGalley for FREE to read and request titles before they are published.

    So if you fit into one of those categories, you might want to check out the site.