Making Room in My Life

Right now my work in progress is occupying a large part of my free time. I'm going to find one of those meter things and stick it on my blog here so people can see I'm really doing something. It will also be a great motivator for me to get to the end.

I do have some great guests coming up here and at Acme Authors Link. You'll be learning about them soon.

Also, I plan on making some changes to free up more of my time to do things I really enjoy, like blogging, but that will have to wait a few more months until I can set my plan in motion.

Until then, I'll do what I can. You can usually find me on Facebook, by the way, since there's a pretty fast app for it on my Iphone and I can zing in and out of there quite often.

Here's my spot over there - http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel

I've also got a fan page, but that's for just in case my followers multiply twice as much as they are now and turn into 5,000. That one's at http://facebook.com/morganmandelauthor

Morgan

Another pic

Here's another from the holidays

Was 4th of July Weekend Busy For You?

Do you sometimes find that Holidays can be more busy than workdays? That turned out to be the case for my 4th of July Holiday weekend which extended through Monday. The time flew by.

One reason is I'm on the committee at our local festival, Frontier Days, in Arlington Heights, so I volunteered to wrap hot dogs for Disability Day, plus be a marshal in our parade keeping kids diving for candy away from moving vehicles.

Two of the days I also signed books at the Frontier Days Marketplace with fellow author friends, Debra St. John, June Sproat and Margot Justes.

Any other free time was spent cooling off at home, until evening came along and I went back to the Festival to enjoy the entertainment. We were very lucky the rain passed us by for the most part. Only one incident where it poured for about half an hour at an off time when I wasn't there. Then it went away the rest of the Fest.

Now I'm back at work, which is not as much fun. The only good thing about returning to work is the air conditioning. It is very hot in this part of the USA lately.

What about you? Were you busy this past Holiday weekend? Or did you use the time to relax or get more accomplished on your WIP?

Mount Prospect Lions Club Festival

More Productive Week?

Here's to a more productive week this time around. One not filled with coughing fits, getting tech stuff figured out and other not so fun stuff.

With the help of at&t tech support, I got a tethering problem solved with my new iphone. After I  had set it up to tether, when I got home my laptop computer wouldn't work independently off of my dsl network. It insisted on being hooked to the iphone.

After a not enlightening very long session with Apple, I called at&t and the guy had the problem fixed pretty fast. Now, maybe I can enjoy the phone and get down to doing more work on the WIP.

Unless more coughing fits interrupt, but so far today it's been better. Summer colds are the pits.

Morgan

Distractions - Bad and Good

Not much time to blog or do much on my WIP this week. Too many distractions.

One is a major irration - another cold! I already paid my dues with my May cold, but lucky me, I picked up another one.

One is major fun - Speaking of picking up, I picked up my new Iphone 4 today! So far, I love it. Also, got a new cute pink case for it. My picture here doesn't do it justice.

Morgan Mandel

Free Public WiFi Mystery

Read about the Free Public WiFi mystery at
http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/2010/06/free-public-wifi-by-morgan-mandel.html

Thanks,
Morgan

Updates - Yikes!

Trying to get things done, but updates keep getting in the way. The Itunes - Quicktime one popped up on my desktop, so I had to do that one.

On my laptop, the ATT Communication Manager wanted to do an update.  I finished it and then the laptop wouldn't connect to the Internet. Fortunately, a restart solved that problem.

Now I've got to put Itunes and Quicktime updates on the laptop. Sometimes having more than one computer is not a good thing!

Morgan

Now I've Done It!

It was time for a change, so I tried out some of the new Blogger Designs. Lots of them were way too jazzy for me, so I settled for something kind of plain, and I hope businesslike. Afterwards I realized the colors look a lot like my webpage at http://www.morganmandel.com/, which I should update one of these days.

I could always says I was trying to match them up and be consistent, but the truth is my mind runs in circles. (G)

Morgan

Now Blogger Has Really Done It!

That's what I get for not paying attention to my blogs. Now Blogger has really done it!

Everything's wide open with them, kind of like what's happening in the publishing industry. Blogger has added a new Design feature, with so many tons of choices it's too hard for me to comprehend, especially at this late hour. You can access it on the top right where you sign in.

I just got through redesigning Acme Authors Link at http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com/, using basic choices that were just the tip of the iceberg. Now, I know I'll want to redesign this one. If you stop over there, check out my Wednesday blog about Inadvertent Publicity.

Getting back to Blogger. I'm so happy they're back in the ballgame. Their choices before were utterly limited. Now, it's fun time!

Lee Wins and I Have Souvenirs!

The DH and I were over at Mt Prospect Village Green for the American Idol finale. We were hoping and it happened - the local guy, Lee DeWyze won!

When I get involved with anything, I like to get little souvenirs and stuff to stoke my enthusiasm and also as keepsakes, like when I bought the keychain saying I Brake For Garage Sales, or when I bought all the Bingo paraphernalia - the carrying case, the dabbers, at one time electronic chips and a special magnet wand to scoop them up, not to mention the little trinkets to arrange near the cards for good luck.

 

So, it was no exception at the celebration. Beforehand, I had my friend, Deb, pick up a Vote 4 Lee tee shirt, which I wore to the occasion. I came home with another tee shirt saying Mt Prospect's own American Idol, Lee DeWyze, plus a wristband that says I voted for Lee, plus a balloon that says BE LEE VE. I took lots of photos also. It was a really fun night.

What about you? Are you into getting all the little extras to remember an occasion or to reinforce your enjoyment of a hobby?

At Acme Wednesday - Are you in a Routine or Rut

Come on over to http://acmeauthorslink.blogspot.com/ where the discusssion is about routines and ruts.

Thanks,
Morgan

Build Your Brand by Blythe Gifford

Come on over to http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/ for excellent advice from my guest, Blythe Gifford, about the First Steps to Build Your Author Brand.

Thanks,
Morgan

Trying to get it all together

Still trying to get it all together. After I decided to spend more time on my WIP, wouldn't you know it, I caught the cold from hell. It appears to be getting better, fingers and toes crossed. Anyway, I'll be here when I can, on Facebook also, doing my group blog days, and generally playing catchup while trying to whip out my WIP.

We'll see how it all goes.
Morgan
PS - Here's my Facebook address -
http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel

Tour Turn - Make Up a Story About - Pop Goes Your Powerline

On the way in to work on the train, being the nosy person I am, I happened to notice a headline in the paper of someone seated in front of me. It was called Pop Goes the Powerline.  It made me think of a fun writing exercise. If you accept the challenge, do a blurb or paragraph using this story as a spinoff. For added incentive to participate, if you wish you may include your website and/or blogspot and a buy link for one of your books. If you don't have a book out, you can still have fun with this one.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/ct-talk-mylar-balloon-power-outage-0520100517,0,4109178.story

Plug your book

Plug your book at http://makeminemystery.blogspot.com/ today

Lee DeWyze - American Idol Finalist Celebrates the American Dream

Not often do I hear a feel good story in the news. That's why it was so heartwarming when a Mt Prospect guy who worked in a paint store by the name of Lee DeWyze got into the final three of American Idol. Because of that,  he got to throw out the first pitch at a Cubs game, was in a parade, was on radio stations, spoke at schools and topped it all off with a concert attended by 41,000 fans at Arlington Park.

Anyone following American Idol knows about him already, but just in case, here's the link to the story in the Daily Herald. So, I was happy that Friday was a day of celebration for a change. It beats hearing all the crummy news lately.

http://dailyherald.com/story/?id=380716

Please Welcome My Guest, Blythe Gifford, Historical Romance Author

I'm so happy to host my good friend and twice-a-month dinner companion, the multi-published, talented historical romance author, Blythe Gifford.



BLYTHE GIFFORD is the author of five medieval romances from Harlequin Historical. She specializes in characters born on the wrong side of the royal blanket. With HIS BORDER BRIDE, she crosses the border and sets a story in Scotland for the first time, where the rules of chivalry don’t always apply.


Here’s a brief description:

Royal Rogue: He is the bastard son of an English prince and a Scotswoman. A rebel without a country, he has darkness in his soul.

Innocent Lady: Daughter of a Scottish border lord, she can recite the laws of chivalry, and knows this man has broken every one. But she’s gripped by desire for him—could he be the one to unleash the dangerous urges she’s hidden until now?

Her 2009 release, IN THE MASTER’S BED, has just finaled in the Readers Crown contest. Blythe loves to have visitors at http://www.blythegifford.com/ or www.facebook.com/BlytheGifford.

Cover Art used by arrangement with Harlequin Enterprises Limited. All rights reserved. ®and T are trademarks of Harlequin Enterprises Limited and/or its affiliated companies, used under license. Copyright 2010 ■ Author photo by Jennifer Girard

And Now For Blythe's Post -

Will the real Gavin Fitzjohn please stand up?

Nearly every author will say their characters “come alive” to them. So when I saw an email in my inbox from “Gavin Fitzjohn,” hero of my May release, HIS BORDER BRIDE, my first thought was: “When did he learn to use a computer?”

A logical question, since the internet didn’t exist in the 14th century, when my story is set and where he “lives” within the pages of my book.

I took another sip of coffee. The subject line was “Your Book.”

My second thought was: “What’s wrong with the way I wrote his story?”

(We shall not psychoanalyze why I didn’t expect a fan letter from him. It’s a writer thing.)

My third thought was: “What the ---?!”

With trepidation, I double clicked.

Alas, not an email from my hero, but from someone with the same name, who obviously makes good use of Google Alerts. He wrote: “Uncannily, this is my name and I have never met or even heard of anyone with the same name. I’m actually from Wales in the UK. How did you come up with this name?”

Thoroughly awake now, I did what, perhaps, I should have done months before: I Googled “Gavin Fitzjohn.” Turns out he is a modest fellow, because he’s not just “from Wales.” He plays trumpet and other “blowy things” with Paolo Nutini, a Scottish singer-songwriter, best known to me for “New Shoes,” a song I really like.

I had a squee moment and emailed my dear writing friend, Pat White, who is a HUGE Paolo Nutini fan. We exchanged visions of being invited backstage at his next U.S. concert.

So I wrote Gavin and explained that his name, or the character’s name, was a combination of “Fitzjohn,” which was medieval for the bastard son of a man named John, and “Gavin,” my tribute to Gawain, the perfect knight. The name is ironic in context since the character’s armor is more tarnished than shiny as the story opens.

The really strange part was that my original name for the character wasn’t Gavin at all. It was Kenneth, which apparently doesn’t sound nearly as dashing in the British Isles as it does in my imagination. The name “Kenneth” was the one thing in the proposal that my editor wanted me to change.

Gavin, I mean, well, Gavin, responded graciously with the history of his name and background. It was not a family name, but his parents wanted something Celtic. He was writing from the airport where he was waiting to board a plane to visit, alas again, his girlfriend.

I trust her name is NOT Clare Carr.

So Gavin, if your Google alert is on, please know I have joined The Gavin Fitzjohn Appreciation Society on Facebook. And if you read the book, I hope it makes you happy.

And if you ever need a romance writer groupie backstage, send me an email.



If you feel the urge, here's a handy link to order Blythe's book.

Remember, Blythe loves to have visitors at http://www.blythegifford.com/ or www.facebook.com/BlytheGifford.




I'm sure Blythe would appreciate your comments, so please be sure to leave one.

Word Play is Going On Today at Blood Red Pencil

Just thought I'd mention the Word Play game is going on today at http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com/
Today's word is Spring!
Thanks,
Morgan

Vacation in May?

You may wonder if I uploaded the correct photos from my computer here, but I assure you, these photos were taken today on the last day of our vacation in Wisconsin! For a few more, come on over to http://facebook.com/morgan.mandel