• Mangulating the English language — one word at a time

    My significant other and I have this thing that we do — we mispronounce words. On purpose. I like to think of it as mangulating the English language. 🙂

    It started innocently enough. My grandmother jokingly referred to this afghan that we brought her for Christmas one year as an “afrighan.” Then, I noticed that a coworker says “sammich” instead of sandwich. A coworker of my mom’s claimed that she had ESPN instead of ESP. And, here in the South, lots of folks say things like “Eye-talian” instead of Italian.

    And it just snowballed from there. Football is now “fooball.” If we’re going to get Mexican food, we’re really going to get “Mesican.” We “mangulate” and “strangulate” lots of other words.

    And we have an eye-rolling, groan-inducing good time doing it.

    What about you? What kind of in-jokes do you have with your significant other? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • Under cover …

    I have seen the promised land! Well, not exactly, but I did get my first glimpse of the cover art for Karma Girl this week.

    And it rocks! 🙂

    The final version isn’t quite done yet, but it features a skyline, a big spotlight, and a character in a little black dress. I’ll be posting it just as soon as I get the final version from my editor at Berkley. 😉

    Cover art is one thing that a lot of authors fret about. If you’ve been to the bookstore recently, you’ve probably seen lots of good covers … and plenty of bad ones too. I personally hate covers that feature a man or woman’s face. I’d much rather picture the characters in my mind than have a real-life representation of them on the cover.

    What about you? What do you like on covers? Bright colors? Sexy guys? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • On the blurb trail … again …

    Well, I’m happy to report that Karma Girl has received another thumbs-up from a second respected author. 🙂 I can’t tell you who it is just yet, but I’ll be posting the blurbs from both authors on the Web site soon.

    And, of course, shouting my good news to everyone that I meet. Stay tuned …

  • Pet peeves and me …

    We all have our pet peeves. I’ve got more than a few. But there is one that I seem to run into more than others these days.

    People who talk on their cell phones while they’re in the bathroom.

    Argh! It drives me nuts.

    I saw not one, not two, but three people do it. And that was just today. In about the space of an hour.

    I don’t know about you, but I don’t like to go to the bathroom when there are other people in there — much less a third party that can hear all the flushing action via cell phone.

    Not to mention that it’s rude to the person on the other end of the line. I’m sure they don’t want to hear you do your business anymore than I want them to hear me doing mine.

    So, I’m going to start a trend. The next time I see someone talking on their cell phone in the bathroom, I’m going to ask them to go outside and finish their call. If that doesn’t work … well, maybe I’ll buy a bullhorn to stuff in my purse. 🙂

    What about you? What pet peeves make you crazy? Inquiring minds want to know …

  • Heroes, Part Deux

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    Watched the second episode of Heroes last night. Not quite as good at the premiere, mainly because they kept recapping the first episode, like they needed filler material or something. The story didn’t move forward that much for some of the characters.

    Liked the telepathic cop, although I didn’t quite understand what suddenly “turned on” his power. The little girl in danger? Maybe he has kids of his own at home?

    I also liked the fact that not everyone who is special is good. Mr. Sylar, whomever he might be, strikes me as a Hannibal Lecter in training. Maybe he’s the creepy guy in the previews who chases the cheerleader?

    Hopefully, more will be revealed next Monday …