General musings

  • · ·

    The Avengers movie and Free Comic Book Day …

    6 Comments

    Well, it’s finally here. It’s May 4, which means that The Avengers movie is finally in theaters. Huzzah! I’ve really been looking forward to this one. I’m not sure if I’ll get to see it this weekend or not, but I’ll definitely be going to the movies sometime in the next few days to watch it.

    Also, tomorrow, May 5, is Free Comic Book Day. This is an annual event where comic books shops all across the U.S. and around the world give away free comic books.

    I’ll be signing books from 1-3 p.m. at Mountain Empire Comics in Bristol, Tenn. I believe other writers and graphic/comic artists will also be at the store as part of its annual Free Comic Book Day events.

    Wherever you are, I encourage you to get out and visit your local comic book store on Free Comic Book Day. It’s just a really cool, fun event.

  • Blogging break …

    I’m taking a break from blogging for the next week or so.

    I figure many folks (including me) will be busy with Easter events the rest of this week. I’m going to color Easter eggs with my mom. We heard somewhere that it’s good luck to color eggs, so it’s something we do every year as our own holiday tradition.

    Also, next week, I’ll be attending the RT Booklovers Convention in Chicago, Ill. The convention runs from April 11-15.

    In addition to taking a break from blogging, I probably won’t be online much for the next week or so. I’ll catch up on comments on my Facebook fan page, my Twitter page, and e-mails when I’m back in the office.

    I’ll be back here blogging starting Wednesday, April 18.

    Until then, hope everyone has a good Easter.

  • ·

    Reading e-books on your computer …

    2 Comments

    I’ve gotten several e-mails recently asking if there will ever be any print versions of any of my e-books or stories.

    The answer? Not at this time. Right now, there are no plans to produce print versions of any of my e-books or e-stories. This includes Thread of Death, First Frost, and the Bigtime e-books (although you can still find used copies of the mass market versions of those books on various bookseller websites).

    Another comment I’ve gotten a lot recently is that folks can’t read my e-books since they don’t have an e-reader. So today, I thought I would mention that you don’t have to have an e-reader to read e-books. I believe that Amazon and Barnes & Noble both offer free apps that you can download onto your computer so you can read Kindle and Nook books on your computer. I believe there are also apps that you can download so you can read e-books on your phone too.

    So if you want to read e-books but don’t want to buy an e-reader, I would search and see what apps are available. You should be able to find some free ones that might help. Happy reading!

  • RT Booklovers Convention …

    2 Comments

    I wanted to let everyone know that it looks like I will be going to the RT Booklovers Convention, April 11-14, in Chicago.

    If you’ve never been, the RT convention is a really fun event with tons of panels, parties, and a big, Saturday book signing that features hundreds of authors. I’ll be participating in a couple of panels and some other events, including the following:

    Murder, Mayhem and Madness: YA Action & Suspense — Wednesday, April 11, 1-2 p.m.

    Trends — What’s Hot, What’s Not & What’s Next in UF — Thursday, April 12, 10-11 a.m.

    Club RT — Thursday, April 12, 11:15 a.m. I believe these are 30-minute segments.

    Kensington Books & All That Jazz  — Thursday, April 12, 12:20-1:20 p.m. I actually have another event at this time as well, so I’ll probably only be at the Kensington event for the first fifteen minutes or so.

    Giant Book Fair — Saturday, April 14, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Note that during the book fair, I will be signing in the YA Alley with about 55 other YA authors.

    ROOM B: Author Speed-Reading — Saturday, April 14, 3:45-4:45 p.m.

    Teen Day Party — Saturday, 6:15-7:30 p.m.

    I believe it’s $5 if you just want to come to the Saturday book fair or $25 if you want to participate in the Teen Day events, which are also on Saturday. You can check the convention website for more information.

    There is a possibility that I might not make it to the convention after all, especially if something unexpected comes up at the last minute. But I hope that I will be able to make it. We’ll see what happens.

  • · ·

    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?