Review of Skins for Kindle

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Has anyone else seen these adorable protective covers for the Kindle?
These products by DecalGirl come in the most imaginative and gorgeous designs. This winter I ordered three DecalGirl covers to protect my new phone and absolutely love them. They are cheerfully colored, interchangeable, and made of hard plastic that will truly protect my phone from my klutziness and occasional foul temper. More, those little jewels only cost about $7.

When we acquired our Kindle this spring, I was excited, especially when we got to take it on its first road trip. As I was tossing the Kindle into my computer bag, I thought, "Ooo, that's going to get scratched or squished or otherwise mutilated." I looked up protective covers for it, but it was too late to receive anything I ordered before we left town. Still, I was thrilled to see that DecalGirl had some cutesie covers available and put several on my wish list. "$20?" I thought. "That's pretty steep, especially since the cover won't be much bigger than the cover for my phone. Gee, they're robbing people here. But I'm sure it will be worth it."

So, this last week I decided I better finally order one before I managed to drop this costly device on my new stained concrete floor. I chose the one pictured above b/c it's not too floofy and the Kindle is technically my husband's and I wasn't about to ask him to carry around cherry blossoms or something. I eagerly awaited the item in the mail and stopped by the post office just today to pick it up. In my box, what I found, to my consternation, was a flat envelope. "What is this? There's nothing in it?" I said (yes, I frequently talk to myself, especially when miffed).

I had to open it then and there to see if someone at the Amazon warehouse forgot to put the actual item in the envelope. Imagine my horror when I saw that, indeed, the item was present, and that I had paid $20 for a sticker. Yes! $20 gets you an adhesive vinyl sticker to stick to the back and front of your device.

I have just attached the thing to the back and find that the item does not want to stick at first and must be gently massaged to convince it that it wants to be there. But it does look smashing with the gray version of the device.

On the other hand, this "protective" skin can only possibly protect this expensive device from scratches and general wear. It will stand no chance if I happen to drop it on the stained concrete floor.

So I suppose, in summery, my greatest complaint is not that I failed to read the fine print, nor that this "protector" is in fact nothing more than a sticker, or that it should be advertised as merely decoration, but that this sticker is so abominably, ridiculously priced, especially when compared to the seven-dollar, fully protective covers for the phones. What gives? Demand, no doubt. Frivolous, but cute, and the Kindle is so in vogue; therefore, more people such as myself will no doubt run to snatch up these adorable, useless things and waste more of our money.

Enjoy!
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Progress Report, 7-21-11, and Tough Going

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I should wait to post this tomorrow, but today is one of those days when the words and I aren't getting along. So I've jotted down some dialog in the hopes that the scene will fall together more easily tomorrow. Therefore, I'm posting the week's progress a day early. I failed to post any kind of update last week, because I wrote so little that there was just no point. Not sure what happened there, but that means I am still working on the two chapters that deal heavily with ships, sailors, and battles at sea. I'm getting a bit seasick at this point and will be happy when I can move on. More, I'm not exactly sure where these two chapters will fall. The chronology is clear, but the placement at present seems ... ungraceful, if that makes sense. I dunno. So here goes:

THIS WEEK'S PROGRESS
Project: Falcons Rising
Pages Revised: 8
Pages Cut: 3 2/3
New Scenes: 1 (the whole last half the second chapter will be all new material. The old version was boring. Went off in a completely new direction. Can I finish it tomorrow? Unlikely. So here's to next week on the open sea as well. Progress is going so slowly b/c I'm practically writing a new rough draft for a story that is a decade old. Ugh! I loathe writing rough drafts. It hurts.)
Bad Things that Happened: Two ships colliding never ends well.
Good Things that Happened: Athna is rescued by a pirate. Wait, how is that good?

But enough negativity. Progress is progress and every word is one step closer to completing the project. There's no way I'm gonna make my deadline. But isn't that a common story? Oh, wait, positive thinking ... positive ... positive ...
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I'm An Amazon Author!

I'm excited to announce that "Mists of Blackfen Bog" is finally available at Amazon. It only took a couple of weeks longer than what I anticipated. Figuring out formatting solutions in Word is not the easiest, but reverse engineering skills come in handy.

Digital copies for the Kindle may be found HERE. The print edition is found HERE.

I'm very excited about the print version. It's an adorable little volume that one can cuddle with. Really, it's no bigger than the Kindle itself, but just snugglier.

Progress And An Award!

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Progress is everywhere. Slowly but surely, the wall we've called Jackson has begun looking like stone again. We hope to knock even more paint away today. We shall conquer! In the meantime, the novel project is inching forward as well. A slow mighty galleon with all her sails unfurled flees time who chases her. That's a pathetic metaphor, but can anyone tell I've been researching old ships for this segment?

THIS WEEK'S PROGRESS:
Pages Revised - 11
Pages Cut - 7
New Scenes - 2
Items Researched - Naval battles, 18th Century. Only problem is, my novel takes place before a gun powder age, so adaptations in weapons is lots of fun. Primary resource: Patrick O'Brien's Navy: The Illustrated Companion to Jack Aubrey's World, by Richard O'Neill, editor. Next step: read a Jack Aubrey novel.
Bad Things That Happened - sails on fire is never good
Good Things That Happened - Athna's lure worked

In other news, Monica Mansfield of Storytelling & Me graciously bestowed upon me this blogger award! Cool!
Seven things about myself:
1. I collect prints of Waterhouse and Leighton art.
2. I've never read a Twilight novel or an Eragon novel, nor do I intend to.
3. I love the American Girl dolls.
4. I used to want to be an airplane pilot.
5. I'm terrified to venture into water where I cannot see what's under my feet.
6. I'm prone to acne, despite being 30-something. :(
7. The last name of my penname is a combination of my middle initial and my father's name.

Now to pass it on. I bestow the Irresistably Sweet Blog Award to:

1. (Anyone else having trouble with their followers not appearing on their page? When the follower service is functioning again, I will choose award winners.)
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3.
4.
5.
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"Mists" on Sale at Smashwords

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Smashwords is having their Summer/Winter Promotional Sale this month, and "Mists of Blackfen Bog" is enrolled to participate. So until July 31, the fantasy novella can be purchased for only 99 cents. Just follow this >LINK< to the novella's purchase page and use the following coupon code at checkout: SSW50 (that last digit is a zero, not an "O" by the way. Kinda hard to tell.)

Because I can't stand sounding like a commercial, here's some art to contemplate:

(anyone know the name or artist of this peaceful work?)

Japanese Traditional Art-16
by MoonyKitten

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"Mists" Reviewed at the Examiner!

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I was flattered, but a bit nervous, when I received a note from Larks Fiction editor Daniel Pool, that he had read and reviewed "Mists of Blackfen Bog." I was tickled pink by his reaction and his opinion of my novella. I'm not sure I believe the list of intimidating writers he compared my writing to, but I will take it and run with it. Check out the review here: Mists of Blackfen Won't Bog You Down.
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Beauty and Relaxation - Road Trip Travelogue II

The rest of the road trip was phenomenal. The best my husband and I have ever taken. Once work was wrapped up in Boulder, we took the scenic route west to Breckenridge and stayed in a gorgeous, renovated old lodge at the base of Mount Quandary. We managed to hit the place just before high season, so our room rates were unbeatable.

Our first stop was Mount Evans. My husband has this crazy goal of mountaineering up several (if not all) of the fourteeners in Colorado, and Mount Evans is the only one that is conquered by driving up to the top. So I can say that I, too, in all my physical weenie-ness, have conquered a fourteener. I'm actually prouder that I did not faint on the narrow broken road that winds along the cliffsides to get there. What is it with people who don't put guard rails on the sides of roads? In any case, it's amazing how short the breath is at that altitude, but the view is truly spectacular:

(my husband standing on top of the world)

The best part for me, though, was that we got to see mountain goats. Up close. Like six feet away. Growing up, my father (who should've been a mountain man in the early 19th Century) had taught me to look for animals, and it became a fun game on trips to be the first one to spot the pronghorn, the deer, etc. It was a rare treat when we got to see elk or goats through binoculars. I kept bemoaning the fact that I had forgotten our binoculars and wondered if I would get to see a goat at all. Well, atop Mt. Evans there is a privy, for all the people who survive the drive without pissing their pants. Before we begin the terrifying drive back down, we decide to make a pit-stop, and what do I see resting in the shade of the privy building? A herd of young goats! I gasp, unable to believe my eyes. No binoculars needed. These adorable little guys are not six feet away. I grab my camera (that, of course, keeps shutting down due to low batteries!) and snap as many pics as I can:

Mountain Goat: Mt. Evans

I was surprised by how small these critters are. They're smaller than my dog. Of course, she is a Great Pyrenees, so I shouldn't be surprised.

Anyway, the trip already felt like a success, so on we drove, reaching the lodge that evening. The next day, we decided on the hike we wanted to take. It's called the Blue Lakes trail, which is extremely easy, the "trail" actually being a grated road that winds along the side of Mount Quandary to the glacial lake. And what do you suppose we got to see? Yep, more goats! A herd of them was lounging around on the trail and snuffling up some kind of mineral that must be in the sand or gravel there. These were full grown and wilder than the Evans goats. Our approach made them a bit nervous, but I grabbed my camera and started filming. (Yes, I acted like the star-struck idiots that I always cuss. Seriously, people come to Oklahoma and sneak up on buffaloes with their cameras snapping. So stupid.) I was prepared to dive up on some dude's truck if the goats decided to charge me, b/c their horns are dagger sharp and I had just heard a story about a hiker who was gored in the leg by an aggressive male. He died of blood loss before he could be rescued. So, while I was cautious, I should never have gotten so close. The goats eventually got tired of me gawking and moved on up the slope so James and I could pass. We watched the marmots and pikas hop around on the rocks for a while, then drove into Breckenridge for a beer and gift shopping. Lovely.

(View from Lodge. Fog the morning we left for home)

We spent the rest of the time exploring mountain roads and looking at all the ridiculously expensive houses and wishing we could afford one. Then we packed up and started home. The only disappointment we suffered on that drive was a failed side jaunt. When I was 12 or so, my family had taken a similar trip, and my dad was thrilled to show us the Royal Gorge, that scarily deep river gorge with a scarily high bridge across it. I longed for my husband to see it, so we planned our route just so we could stop by. Well, twenty years later, there is no "stopping by." Money-grubbers have turned the view into a theme park. It costs $25 friggin' bucks to see the view. They expect folks to stay all day and ride the roller coasters and eat the fried food while they're at it. I was extremely disappointed, so we continued on, cursing this greedy person and that greedy person who would capitalize on a view. But what's new?

Anyway, we made it home in one grueling shot. I think I lost my marbles somewhere between Pueblo and Amarillo, but I found them again eventually.

In conclusion, this trip was more joyful and relaxing than I could've hoped for. Once I forget the stiffness that comes with sitting so long in a vehicle, I'm sure I'll be ready for the next one.
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