Have you ever smelled something so horrendous, that you just HAD to share it with a friend? Or have you ever had a friend tell you “Smell This!!!” because they can’t wait to share a bad smell with you? You’ve come to the right place because I want to know about YOUR worst smell experience.

Have you ever heard of a Corpse Flower? Yeah, me either. But when my friend Tygriss told me about them, and how Houston Natural Science Museum has its very own Corpse Flower named Lois, I said “Sign me up! I want to smell!”

It just so happens that I was heading to Houston the weekend it was opening up, apparently when it smells the worse. See, an Amorphophallus Titanum, AKA Corpse Flower, has earned its name because the “fragrance” it gives off is not unlike rotting meat. The purpose of this is to attract carrion-eating beetles and Flesh Flies that pollinate it. The flower’s color helps to give the illusion of a piece of meat, and its temperature is said to help its own perfume disperse. The heat is also believed to assist in the illusion of rotting meat that attracts carcass-eating insects.

So when I woke up Friday morning, I learned that Lois had opened and was nice and ripe at a “Stink-O-Meter” level 10 – the highest Stink level possible. Excitement!! After working a full day then driving 3 hours to Houston, me and my friends got to the Houston Museum of Natural Science at 10:15 PM. I have never seen a museum so busy, let alone at 10 PM on a Friday night. Reports that visitors to the museum had increased by 400% with Lois’s arrival was definitely apparent. We stood in line for about 20 minutes to get tickets to see Lois, only to be told that “the next available viewing is at 3:45 AM.” Say what now? 5.5 hours from now? Come back to the museum before the crack of dawn just to smell what is said to be rotting death? There was no hesitation. We got our tickets.

We killed time at a sushi place until 1:30 AM when they kicked us out. We went over to a 24 hour Starbucks and killed some more time there. Then, we went back to the museum and got in line with our tickets for our showing. From there, we waited in another line that led us through the Museum’s bug center where we learned everything possible you could need to know about bugs. We finally worked our way to Lois.

And it was utterly anticlimactic. By 3:45 AM the Stink-O-Meter had dropped back down to a level 5… we missed the funky stink! When we first walked in to the warm area it was displayed in, we all caught a great whiff of what smelled like garbage, and then it was gone like a thief in the night. As my Bestie stated, “We could cook up more stink wearing Sketchers with no socks”… But, I will never forget that evening, the laughter, the experience, and most importantly that I waited 5.5 hours to see a stinky flower at 4 AM in the morning at a museum. How many people can say that?? It was totally worth the sleep-deprivation coma I was in by the time I put myself to bed.

So now I ask YOU… what is the worst smell experience you have ever had?? Were you dying to run and tell someone about it? Did you go so far as to share it with someone. Tell me!

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Publication

When I started pursuing publication, it was for a fantasy romance. Well, I called it a romance until a romance author said it wasn’t. After that confusion, I left the genre behind and started writing young adult urban fantasy, but every once in a while, I threw in a more romancey piece just to break things up.

Imagine my surprise then, when the first things I sold were a pair of romances. When I got the news, I jumped up and down, even screamed a bit. Then I did what any smart girl would do. Since I wanted the YA under my real name and the romance under a pseudonym, I built a new website, ordered new business cards, and even ordered some bookmarks once I received my cover art. Then I planned out how to tell my family about the sales.

During vacation, I made my big announcement and gave my parents and siblings bookmarks for the short story that would be debuting the day we all got home. It went fabulously. Everyone congratulated me, and my mom asked for extra bookmarks to give away. See, when I was a teenager, she ran a day care center and still goes out for dinners with the moms whose kids she used to babysit — including my second grade teacher.

In my giddiness, I said sure and handed them over. A few days later, something hit me. Decadent Publishing had put up their website, and one of the categories they listed my story, “Of Course I Try”, under was erotica. Now, I knew parts of it were steamy, but I’d never thought of it that way.

Normally, I wouldn’t worry about such a thing. I like erotica. In fact, my first thought when I saw the story categorized that way was “Cool, I write erotica.” But I’d just given out the purchasing information to everyone in my family, including my very Catholic mother.

And she, in turn, was giving it to my second grade teacher.

Now, here’s the thing, I’m proud of that story. Hell, I love that story (and from what I’ve been told, it’s selling pretty well). But I’m not entirely sure I’m going to be able to look Mrs. Cook in the eyes ever again.

I can hear the conversation now. “Well, your grammar and sentence structure are great. Your plot was interesting. But the sex. Did you really need to go into such detail with the sex?” *sigh* At least she won’t be able to get on me about my handwriting though, right?

As for my mother? I haven’t been able to look her in the eyes since I was in high school. And I’m pretty sure she likes to think my kids were conceived through immaculate conception.

So, next time you pick up a story, especially a racy one, spare a thought for the author. Like me, they may have made some “mistakes” on their way to publication, like sharing their love of sex (or violence or whatever) with people who might not appreciate it.

I’m hoping you, on the other hand, are all big fans

Seleste deLaney writes speculative romance (and erotica), and she’d love for you to visit her website: www.SelestedeLaney.com. Her paranormal romance short story, “Of Course I Try” is available for purchase at www.decadentpublishing.com

When I first had the idea to speak to Musicians about books, I didn’t figure I would kick it off with Henry Rollins. When I told Synde about my weird idea,  we tossed names around, sent out some emails thinking we wouldn’t get many (if any) replies. Within hours of Synde emailing Henry, he responded and stunned was the apt word for Synde and I. I’m still in a bit of shock and sincerely want to thank Henry for agreeing.    

For those of you who aren’t aware, in 1981 he became the lead singer of Black Flag and went on to form the Rollins Band. On top of that, Henry does spoken word tours, has acted in several movies/ TV shows as well as being a published author of several books. Henry is also an activist, campagining to free the “West Memphis Three” and visiting the troops in Iraq.    

In High School, the first book I read other than school related was See A Grown Man Cry, Now Watch Him Die by Henry Rollins. I think a friend recommended it to me and it’s a book I don’t think I will ever forget. It was the first book I ever bought myself and you all know what happened after that.   

It is my pleasure to have Henry Rollins here & I also want to thank Synde for indulging my little idea & helping me out so much!  As you can see Henry isn’t a man to mince words

-Natasha

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What books influenced you as a child?    

My Side Of The Mountain was the first book I ever read twice.

Do you read a certain genre? Have a favorite author?

Genre wise, I guess I have read a lot of literature. Favorite authors include Henry Miller, Hubert Selby Jr., F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe.    

What are you reading now?   

The Teeth May Smile but the Heart Does Not Forget: Murder and Memory in Uganda  

What five authors would you like to sit down and have dinner with? (living or dead)    

Henry Miller, Mark Twain, Alfred Jarry, Daniil Kharms, Franz Kafka. 

Will you be writing any more? Spoken word tours? What’s next for Henry Rollins?    

Working on three books and finishing a 142 show tour this month.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You can find Henry on his website: 21361

Synde’s Jewellery Line: Cemetery Cat Designs

I don’t enter many contests anymore, I don’t have the time to enter most contests. I refuse to jump through hoops to enter a contest. Unless you are offering me a million dollars, there is no way I am doing a 6 Step Program to win a little something.

A few of the things that irk the hell out of me are as follows:

* Asking for my full name: Why would I give you anything other then my email address & first name? When I win, then I will give you that information.

* Asking for my address: I don’t know you & there is a 99% chance I’m not going to win anyways, so why would I give you my home address before I win?

* Asking: To send you an email, comment on your blog, send another email saying I commented, tweeting, posting about it on MY blog. No NO NOOO. I refuse to do all that for ONE contest. Yes, I have seen it. Then I have seen the blog owner get pissy because people entered their contest wrong. I’m sorry but if you have more then 4040 requirements, thats what you get. Also, check your own rules…I have seen a blogger send an email that says enter one way & then on their blog say enter a different way…AND then get pissed. Pfft. Yeah, I’ll be entering your contests.

You can make a contest complex in just 3 steps, but you are turning people off with 409494 requirements to enter. Maybe it’s just me, but I could have written a blog post in the time it takes to enter some of these contests.

Make it simple people (bloggers & authors included) do a Google Doc, it takes less time & it will make YOUR life easier in the long run.

So..after that mini rant, I want to know…

Do you enter contests that have all sorts of requirements? Would you enter my contests if I made them that way? (Mine have always been answer a question in the comment field, unless it’s a week of contests in which case it’s a Google Doc) What don’t you like about contest entries?

• Paperback: 180 pages
• Jackie Morse Kessler’s Website
• Publisher:Graphia (October 18, 2010)
• List Price: $8.99 US
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0547341245
• ISBN-13: 978-0547341248

Preorder Hunger at:

• Amazon
• Book Depository

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she’s been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?

 

Traveling the world on her steed gives Lisa freedom from her troubles at home—her constant battle with hunger, and her struggle to hide it from the people who care about her. But being Famine forces her to go places where hunger is a painful part of everyday life, and to face the horrifying effects of her phenomenal power. Can Lisa find a way to harness that power—and the courage to fight her own inner demons?

 

A wildly original approach to the issue of eating disorders, Hunger is about the struggle to find balance in a world of extremes, and uses fantastic tropes to explore a difficult topic that touches the lives of many teens.

Got back from the cottage Monday & missed out on posting a few things for you all!

Sunday I guest blogged at Book Chick City showing off my not so clean bookshelves for Caroline’s feature, The Bloggers Bookshelf. So go check out my embarassment.

Monday the lovely Fiction Vixen & I got to post part one of our guest posts at Smokin’ Hot Books. KC was so nice, she let us double team for two days in a row! Monday’s Post  & Tuesday’s Post where we wax poetic on our love for Stacia Kane’s Downside Series.

And I was amazed when I came home to see that I made the Book Bloggers Appreciation Awards Long List in two catagories!! For Best Author Interviews & Best Speculative Fiction Blog. Thank all of you that voted me onto the long list, I appreciate it. Congrats to everyone else that made the long list!

Karen Marie Moning Is Eeevoll (and we love it!)

2010 is half-way over and a whole slew of awesome books have already been released, such as Lover Mine, Magic Bleeds, Twice Bitten, Silver Borne, Pleasure of a Dark Prince, Unholy Ghosts, Mind Games… ack! don’t get me started. But! we still have many to look foward to this Fall and Winter. I am looking forward to so many, but the epic one for me is Shadowfever!

Do I have any fellow Fever fans out there? I know you’re with me on this! If you are unfamiliar with the Fever series, it is an Urban Fantasy series by Karen Marie Moning. The 5th and final book, Shadowfever, is one of the most anticipated releases in Urban Fantasy this year. The 4th book, Dreamfever, ended with one of the most cruel (to us readers) cliffhangers of all time. The series is set in Ireland and features MacKayla Lane in her epic battle against the Fae, and it has been one insanely intense ride so far.

While I normally despise cliffhanger endings, she has us by the proverbial balls with this one and I am surprised to say that I’m loving it. The fan speculation is off the wall on Twitter and other social networking sites, especially with her latest tactic of sending us teaser excerpts from the book each month until the release. The release date was pushed from December 2010 to January 18,  2011 simply because she needed more time for more content. This caused a lot of us to dramatically breathe deeply in to a paper bag. However, more content is definitely acceptable, so we’re trying to suffer in silence. Trying. Oh who am I kidding? We’re chomping at the bit for this book!

So, you can sign up for KMM’s newsletter on her site, and each month she has been sending out one small teaser exerpt from Shadowfever. I always get so excited when a new teaser comes out, us fans freak out together over what the excerpt could possibly mean. KMM has done such a brilliant job at knowing what her readers want to see to stay interested, get excited, and leave us desperately wanting more. This tactic is not easy and not everyone can pull it off. Hats off to you, Karen Marie Moning! To learn more about the Fever series, be sure to visit her website.

Karen Marie Moning’s The Fever Series

I want to be clear that this is an Urban Fantasy series, not Paranormal Romance. PNR is typically a story in which romance is first and foremost. In UF the romance is generally a secondary plot, if it exists at all. There is a romance arc in the Fever series (Barrronnnnssss!) that is definitely going to keep you reading, but it is secondary to the overall plot of the series. I know that most of us are crossing our fingers for a Happily Ever After at the end of Shadowfever, but with UF, there are absolutely no guarantees.

Here is the reading order for the complete Fever series. Click on the links to be redirected to the book site for excerpts of the books:

1) Darkfever (2006)

2) Bloodfever (2007)

3) Faefever (2008)

4) Dreamfever (2009)

5) Shadowfever - estimated January 18, 2011

So now that I’ve gotten this off my chest, I want to know, what 2010 upcoming book release are you obsessing over more than any other??

The icy winters in Dimitri’s native land can be harsh and dangerous, but they’re cloaked in a radiant, awe-inspiring beauty that gives way to summers filled with fierce heat and intensity–not unlike Dimitri himself.

Sterling sliver chain holds beautiful round facted Aqua Quartz Crystal and sterling silver beads from Bali. A pewter toggle clasp holds a sterling silver bead and more quartz
17″

Cemetery Cat Designs
http://www.etsy.com/shop/psynde

banner by Jan @ TwoScoopz 

So we have a ton of us for the VC Andrews Flowers in the Attic Challenge, whoo hoo.

I figure we all start reading anytime from now until September 1st, then we can meet up back here & have a big ol’ discussion about it! Then maybe we can get to the rest of the series, depending on how many of you still talk to me after reading this book

Here is the original post about it, if you still want to sign up comment here or there.

Happy Reading!

I have a few “irrational” fears, I admit some of them (okay all of them) are pretty pathetic. All of them have some sort of story behind them, which makes it even more pathetic.

Fish.

Yes, I freely admit I am afraid of fish. Irony at it’s finest, I love fishing. But I refuse to take the fish off the hook, I will stand there until someone, anyone takes it away. I think it’s gotten to the point that I can’t catch a single fish because I am silently praying I won’t have to touch it.

When I was a kid, my sisters best-friend owned a pet store (he still does) & we’d always be there with him while he opened the store. Needless to say, back in the 80′s they didn’t usually have lids on the fish tanks. (Check out the picture, this really is his store & the gauntlet I walked as a child). The fish would leap out of their tanks in a bid for freedom, not realizing they’d meet sudden death. Imagine being a teeny child & dodging flying fish, yep scared the hell out of me. To this day, I avoid that section of the store. No way!

*Shudder* You see that shit people, that was my nightmare as a child. It’s a lot nicer then it used to be & there are lids on the tanks now, but still.

Turkeys.

I hear you all laughing loudly now, yes I freely admit I am DEATHLY afraid of turkeys. Last summer we had one walk down the driveway at the cottage & make its way to the back porch…where I was. That sucker made a gobble of doom noise & I was gone faster then I’d have moved if someone screamed GUN. I hid in the cottage, peeking out the window until that bitch turkey left. I called one of my sisters to tell her, since my brother in-law is a hunter, what does my sister say to calm my fear? “They fly”. WHAT!!! WHAT!! Since when, why didn’t a single person tell me turkey’s flew? After that shit right there people, I was looking up at trees the whole time I was at the cottage.

Now, why I am afraid of turkey’s is another childhood tale. I have come to the conclusion, I spent way too much time around animals as a child. Between the Pet Store trips, there was the farm. It used to be Toronto’s Zoo but when I was a kid it was & still is Riverdale Farm. Anyways, I digress…they had roosters, chickens & bunnys walking (free range) around the joint. But the turkeys had this rickity wooden fence around them & this vast area of land for them to do whatever the hell turkeys do. No matter how far away the turkeys were (we’re talking 100 feet of space in each direction) whenever I would come up to that rickity fence, these nasty things would gobble & RUN at me. I would cry in terror & run away, but this would happen every single time I went to the farm. You’d figure I was smart enough to stay the hell away, no not until I turned 9. That was it for me, turkeys should be stuffed & golden in my humble opinion. Plus they are ugly as sin, tell me you wouldn’t run if you saw one of those suckers gobbling at you?

I seem to have issues with other birds as well, Pigeons, Seagulls & any small bird freak me right out. Last summer, I accidentally kicked a sparrow whilst in flip flops. I am sure the whole downtown area heard me scream, I felt it’s beak on my toe people!! Ugh. It was too busy in a group eating garbage on the street & I was too busy not looking down! Yeah, not cool. Strangely enough my best-friends are now afraid of Pigeons & Seagulls too. My fault I guess. A few months back one of the best friends was attacked by a red winged black bird. After I cackled hard, I said a private thank you to the gods & goddesses that it didn’t get me, cause explaining heart attack by bird would be hard wouldn’t it.

The strangest of my bird issues is, I absolutly love Crows, Hawks, Falcons, Ravens & Parrots. At the pet store they have a Parrot named Chloe who was born around the time I was, she is still alive (almost 30) & whenever I go into visit she screams my name at the top of her lungs. See isn’t she awesome?

So I am weird, but I know I can’t be the only one with irrational fears.

WLP Wants 2 Know, what are YOUR irrational fears?