• The good, the bad, and the sweaty …

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    One thing I love about summer: Eating big, thick, greasy barbecue sandwiches with my mom and grandma. I even indulged and drank a Mountain Dew, which I rarely do since it’s like the worst soda for your body. But man, was it ever good. :cool: 

    One thing I hate about summer: The fact my air conditioner decided to crap out on the hottest day of the year — when I had people over. When I left the house, it was working fine. When I came back, it was six degrees hotter than before. And it didn’t get any better no matter what I, Wheezley, and another friend did to it. Restarted it, tripped the breaker, checked the fuses, etc. Nothing worked.

    Yesterday afternoon, the temp inside my house topped out at 91. I sat very, very still underneath a ceiling fan and read. I needed to work on some revisions I’m doing, but my computer got so hot I had to turn it off or risk frying it. Sigh. On the bright side, I finally finished one book and started another.

    Luckily, the AC guy is coming today to try to fix it. I left him a message and he called me back — on a Sunday. Wonderful man. He’s getting a nice tip.

    What about you? How did you beat the heat — or not — this weekend?

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    Hobby or necessity …

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    Wheezley (the significant other) and I had an interesting discussion a few days ago. We were talking about hobbies and how geeky some of ours are. Wheezley builds model tanks, and we both enjoy Dungeons & Dragons-style gaming. I also said reading was a hobby of mine (although it’s really more like a passion, bordering on addiction).

    To which Wheezley responded: Reading’s not a hobby, it’s a necessity.

    Of course in one sense, reading is a necessity. You have to read e-mails and street signs and the label on the soup can at the grocery store. But Wheezley meant that reading books is a necessity.

    He’s right.

    I’ve learned and grown so much as a writer from reading other people’s books. Not to mention the hours and hours of pleasure of being transported into another world. In using my imagination to fill in the details. In squealing with delight when the hero triumphs and the villain gets what’s coming to him. I love reading so much I couldn’t ever imagine not doing it.

    I think reading keeps your brain active, lets you learn about different folks, places, and culture, and helps you put yourself in someone else’s shoes for a few hours. Books broaden your horizons, something that’s always important.

    So yeah, to me, reading is a necessity. I just need to make time to do more of it. And whittle down my ever-increasing TBR pile. :rolleyes:

    What do you think? Hobby or necessity?

  • All stamped out …

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    It’s official. The people at the post office hate me.

    I’ve spent the past two weeks or so mailing out bookmarks and promo packages for Jinx to bookstores across the U.S. and even overseas. We’re talking around 130 envelopes or so, all of which weighed different amounts. All of which had to be scanned.

    The guy at my local post office is terrific. Always jokes that I’m a world-famous author and people should hurry to get my autograph. He’s even taken to calling me “the David Hasselhoff of Australia” after I mailed several package of bookmarks there last weekend. (For those of you who don’t know, for some reason the Hoff is extremely popular overseas, especially in Germany.)

    The folks at the other post office I frequent, well, they’re not so friendly. Which is were the hate comes in. I can see them cringe every time I come in with my envelopes. And I’ve snippily been informed they can only scan 10 envelopes at a time.

    So I get my 10 envelopes, stand in line, get them scanned, pay the postage — and then go out to my car to get 10 more and face the wrath all over again.

    Ah, the life of an author. Glamorous, ain’t it? :joker:

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    One month and counting down …

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    I just realized that the mass market paperback version of Karma Girl goes on sale a month from today on July 1. So pre-order away!

    And is anyone else freaked out that it’s almost July already? Where did the first half of the year go? Bueller? Bueller?

  • The year in television …

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    The 2007-2008 television season is finally over. Yeah, it wasn’t nearly as good as previous years, due to the strike, but there was still plenty to talk about. Here are some of my low- and highlights:

    Best new show: Chuck. I love spy shows, and Chuck was light, frothy, zany fun. It’s great to see a genuine nice and dorky guy on television as the hero. My favorite new show of the year.

    Runner-up: Gossip Girl. A glamorous soap opera with catty, mean girls that manages to be witty, smart, and yes, even deep. Plus, Blair and Chuck are two of the best characters on television. You love them, even when they do horrible things. They are just that appealing.

    Best drama: CSI. I know lots of you will disagree with me, but Lost was uneven. So was Grey’s Anatomy. Overall, I thought CSI had one of its best years ever, especially during the fall episodes. Saving Sara, her departure, Warrick’s downward spiral. Lots of good stuff and interesting cases. I especially liked the episode penned by the Two and a Half Men writers. Who knew murder could be so much fun?

    Runner-up: Lost. There were flashes of brilliances (the episodes with Sayid, Desmond, and Sun and Jin) that reminded me why I loved the show so much in the beginning. But there were also episodes that went nowhere (Locke).

    Best comedy: How I Met Your Mother. As Barney would say, it was legendary. Seriously, this is a gem of a show that’s even smarter and funnier than Friends was. I’m interested to see how the Barney-Robin hookup plays out next year.

    Runner-up: My Name Is Earl. You gotta love any show that’s ballsy enough to have it’s main character in prison, in a coma, married, and divorced — in a single year.

    Shows I’m over: CSI: Miami and Without a Trace. Except for Elizabeth Berkley on Miami, they were both snoozefests this year. Not sure if I’ll keep watching next year.

    Show that was overhyped: Desperate Housewives. Dana Delaney was good, but not that good. For me, Gaby and Bree continue to be the highlights of the show. Susan and Lynette both had pretty stereotypical arcs this year, although I thought Lynette’s cancer was handled with grace and humor.

    Shows I’m looking forward to this summer: The Closer and Burn Notice. Sugar addict Brenda Lee Johnson and sexy spy Michael Weston. Need I say more?

    Shows I’m looking forward to this fall: The spy show with Christian Slater (whose name escapes me at the moment). The Mentalist with Simon Baker looks interesting, even if it’s another crime show on CBS. Fringe and Dollhouse also look cool, although I hope they’re more fantasy than sci-fi (and make more sense than Lost has been making lately).

    So that’s my television wrap-up for the summer. Maybe now I’ll actually get some book work done. 😎

    What about you? Which shows did you love or loathe this year?