Creepy or ADDED VALUE?!

Put a QR barcode on your headstone so your cell phone addicted relatives can visit you virtually after your death!

OKAY THEN.

Someone needs to add this to their next undead/vampire/zombie novel. Embed a GPS chip under the skin and encode the frequency in the QR code. Anyone who wants to know can download the QR code from the headstone and be notified the instant future undead boyfriend is on the move. Get to him while he's freshly undead. :D

Hot...err, Cool Wins This July

No mention of heat please...

I'm getting WAAAAY better at the graphics thing at Picnik. Woo!

Prophecy by S.J. Parris from Bless Their Hearts Mom

The Blind Contessa's New Machine by Carey Wallace from She's Too Fond of Books

Morning For Flamingo by James Lee Burke from Martha's Bookshelf

Beg for Mercy by Jami Alden from Bitten by Paranormal Romance

Ripe for Pleasure by Isobel Carr from So Many Precious Books, So Little Time!

The Guardian by Margaret Mallory from  One Book Shy of a Full Shelf

A Second Helping by Beverly Jenkins from SOS Aloha

(Re)Making Love: A Sex After Sixty Story by Mary L. Tabor from CMash Loves to Read

 

The Cloud Pavilion by Laura Joh Rowland from SOS Aloha

Pompeii: City of Fire by T.L. Higley from Relz Reviewz

Save My Soul by Zoe Winters from The Fiction Enthusiast

You know that story at Time magazine about fan fiction? Oh Em Gee. Free reads for all @ Fanfiction.net. I just wished they could sort by reviews or hits or stars or whatever.

Wee Alternative to Amazon Affiliates?

So I'm using shrtn.co as a URL shortener and for affiliate referrals because it's a PITA to apply to each individual store's affiliate program. In any case, I smell the whiff of doom for the mothership of affiliate programs, a.k.a Amazon. Apparently there are no Amazon affiliates available for these states anymore:

Arkansas
California
Colorado
Connecticut
Hawaii
Illinois
New York
North Carolina
Rhode Island
Texas

Who's next?! Dun Dun Dun!

If you're located in any one of these states, I'm guessing shrtn.co can act as the middle man, for now (until the affiliate hammer comes down on wherever it's located). You potentially get less referral money unless you refer like all of your Facebook/Twitter/G+/TheNextBestThingEver friends and beat it into them (metaphorically!) to use it in their tweets and messages :p   

Eh, they also have iTunes and Drugstore.com as affiliatatatable merchants if you're into that kindaofthing.

Look, I bought a hand blender, don't you want one too?! Go to http://shrtn.co/1gi and get one! (Actually, it is pretty awesome for smoothies, there are BAGS of frozen fruit in my freezer.)

Winning, the non-Charlie Sheen version: May-June

In the short time that I've been away from internet's faux-Photoshop, Picnik, they've added space sparkles. *giggles*

This is the original picture. You see what I tried to do there? :)

It's a little hard to tell, but those specks and streaks are stars and galaxies.

This one's very pretty! Excuse the random purple, I have the worst sense of complementary colors.

Okay, I'm going stop trying to make 'space sparkles' work.:D

Since I haven't had time to read through these yet, I'll offer inappropriate book-by-its-cover judginess.

Two Veggie Tales Books (Bob and Larry's ABCs and Junior's Colors) and extra swag from Martha's Bookshelf

I always eat my veggies...live veggies might give me indigestion. I should probably pass it to the kiddos, the books, not the indigestion.

Hell Yeah by Carolyn Brown from Thoughts in Progress

*Looks back up at the space sparkles picture*  Er...I didn't put the center of the galaxy on that man's abs on purpose, honest.

First-Time Dad by John Fuller from Metro Reader

Keys? I can count with one hand the times I've seen daddy dropping kids off at school on TV/Movies. I don't think dirty diapers make good book covers though.

Recovering the Self from Rebecca's Reads
I WISH leaves were falling around here...it's been so hot.

Heart of My Heart by Kristin Armstrong from Bless Their Hearts Mom

This book cover has a better sense of color than I do, the flowers match the place mats!

I'd Know You Anywhere by Laura Lippman from Peeking Between the Pages

I walked past this book and the lights reflecting off the shiny surface scared the crap out of me. Good job, book that Stephen King calls 'The Best Suspense Novel of the Year'!

The Midwife's Confession by Diane Chamberlain from Knitting and Sundries
Those are the tiniest sleeves, I wish they made women's t-shirts with REGULAR SLEEVES.

Thank you everyone!

Feb - May Contest Wins & Thanks!

I've just been absolutely horrible about updating this blog. Let's give this another try!

Here's a quick shot of what I received from February to May from various contests hosted by bloggers and publishers (again, the fancy border is courtesy of Picnik). Actually, there were a few more not pictured here because my place is like a mini-library for my friends and whenever they see something they might want to read, they borrow it from me. They're really good about returning them in good condition, so I don't mind if I'm not the first to read them. Reading may be a solitary activity, but good stories are always meant to be shared :D

The Flirt Club by Cathleen Daly from I Am a Reader, Not a Writer

The Night Season by Chelsea Cain from Lori's Reading Corner


Sins of a Highland Devil by Sue-Ellen from In the Hammock

Deadly Heat & Deadly Lies by Cynthia Eden from Thoughts in Progress

How to Marry a Duke by Vicky Dreiling from Michelle & Leslie's Book Picks

Ohh, Baby! by Ann Roth from Fresh Fiction

How Sweet It Is by Sophi Gunn from So Many Precious Books, So Little Time!

To Tempt a Rake by Cara Elliott from So Many Precious Books, So Little Time!

One Fine Cowboy by Joanne Kennedy from Thoughts in Progress

The Journey Home by Michael Baron from My Books Views

The Legal Limit by Martin Clark from the Regal Literary Crime Spree Contest

Hell's Corner audiobook by David Baldacci from Martha's Bookshelf

The Attractional Church by Billy Hornsby from Along the Way

Blood Red Road by Moira Young. Eek! I'm not sure where I received this, but I wish I had it here and took its cover picture because it has a very moody look to it.

Hotel in the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford. Not sure about this one either, I promise to keep better track next time!

Sixty Nine by PYNK from Thoughts in Progress

Thank you all!

The Lazy Person's Copy & Paste

Dear Auto Copy,

Where have you been all my life?

When I was young and didn't know better, I had to:

HIGHLIGHT TEXT-> EDIT -> COPY -> EDIT -> PASTE.

Since I've gotten a little older, I've learn the virtues of:

HIGHLIGHT TEXT -> CTRL+C -> CTRL+V.

Now that you've come into my life, all I know is:

HIGHLIGHT TEXT -> CTRL+V

You've spoiled me from all other browsers and applications that can't seem to understand when I highlight a piece of text, 99% of the time, it means I want to copy and paste it somewhere else.

Thanks a lot, Auto Copy.

January Thanks!

I've been super duper lazy about thanking the awesome folks who have held contests in which I've actually...you know...won something. O_O  I sooooo love the texture of a new book in my hands. So far I've only flipped through these, as real life scholastic endeavors keep calling. But here's a quick shot of what I received January on my still relatively new Ikea table. I added the flower borders (criminally easy to do, btw, see Picnik post) as a way of expressing my sympathies for the people in the path of the impending snowpocalypse.

Alice I Have Been by Melanie Benjamin from the Random House Reader's Circle.

Kat, Incorrigible (ARC) by Stephanie Burgis from Simon & Schuster.

The Darling Strumpet by Gillian Bagwell from Lori's Reading Corner.

Rescue (ARC) by Anita Streve from Under My Apple Tree.

Style by Lauren Conrad & a $200 Gift Certificate (not pictured because I gave it to my mom as a present :)) from Harper Teen (their contest page has no feeds, I use AlertBox to notify me of new contests!)

Do you guys notice a pattern in the book covers? It's all female and from different genres. I think it's an awesome sign for 2011. Women telling stories about women because we're awesome. *shakes fists* :D