Because...

Because I have nothing really interesting to say I'll start with I'm in the middle of an epic pantry cleaning. Note, I don't have a pantry, but what I do have is two large utility shelves that take up a wall in my kitchen. They got out of hand, well, lets say I'm embarrassed to admit how long ago it has been. But now I'm rectifying the situation.

And because I'm being a good girl I'll treat my self to some of Hawaii's nicest scenery out there...

My boys are back on Monday night! How excited am I? Okay, I took Tuesday off. No, really. I did. :)

Arrrrg!

September 19th is International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Hee! My favorite day indeed, mateys!

Cooler temps mean...

The cooler temps and the shorter days are a catch 22 for me. I love Fall- it's my favorite season but I HATE winter so you can imagine my dismay.

Still- the cooler and shorter days means I get back to doing what I love- baking, canning, knitting and writing. It means my favorite TV shows are back soon too!

Now is when I pull all my research together and my outlines and character bios and get my head back in the game. My focus will be Higher Ground (Sequel to VN2) and my WWII novel- Melody Blue.

I'm also getting back in the mood to knit. To that end I just purchased a lovely new wrap pattern:

Flames of Fall and I'm doing it in Sausalito's Firebird colorway

JD Robb

The new JD Robb book came out this week- I've been reading the "In Death Series" for years. Came across this article on Facebook today about Roarke...

Top Ten Reasons "In Death's" Roake Tops the Competition

Seriously, these books have been around since 1995 and I freely admit that I'm completely invested in all the characters.

Latest book now on my Nook and I can't wait to get into it!

Ta da!

I love to can my own jams and fruit butters. This year I wanted to try some new recipes and this is the first one- Pumpkin Butter. If you don't know what it is- well, you spread it on bread, toast, english muffins or bagels. My son loves peanut butter with apple butter sandwiches. This s a slow cooker recipe and my house smelled delightfully of pumpkin pie for the better part of the day. :)

New review for VN2

From Dark Divas' Reviews- VN2 get 5 Divas and added to reviewer's all time favorite read list. :)
Review by Dark Divas

Writing and knitting

Higher Ground is now officially under way. I'll be juggling this along with studying for my medical coding specialty credential in cardiology. (For those of you who didn't know, I'm a certified professional medical coder and biller. It pays the bills.) It's part of my two year plan to get out of my current situation in order for me to get more time to write. I've done this before, I can do it again. Although I would pick the hardest specialty credential out there. Oy.

When I'm not writing, researching or studying, I knit. I'm not very good. Not like my friend HCat who can knit ANYTHING. God, she's amazing. I do love knitting lace projects though and this piece will be a very pretty scarf. I got the yarn in Alexandria, VA last fall at a store called Fiber Space.

Eye Candy Friday, posted on Saturday

Okay, I'm trying to make Fridays eye candy day for me. But I ended up staying way way later than I planned on at a friend's little wine and snark party on her deck last night. Which I needed, the snarking anyway. (I settled for diet coke instead of wine) Anyway, it was almost midnight before I got home.

I also had to take the late shift at work. The last hour our phones are still on at my regular job (Yes, sadly, I have a regular job I hate, but I digress...) is the longest hour. We all rotate this, so I don't have to do it again until July. But there is only 4 of us in the office, which is cavernous when it's that empty. So I worked on the sequel to VN2- which I've tentatively titled Higher Ground. Thank god I always keep a flash drive in my purse. I've got two new characters and a couple of complicated plot lines I'm intertwining. Thankfully, it made the last hour go by much faster.

I've had to focus on one of the many writing projects I've got going on. I was too scattered and really not gettting anywhere. Right now Higher Ground seems to be the one yelling the loudest at me for attention, so it's the one I'll run with for the time being.
Anyway, my choice of eye candy for this week- Sergeant Zeke Anderson (as played by Terence Knox).

Scripts

Way back, around the time my son was born, I not only used to write novels and short stories but television scripts as well. My son turns 26 next month soooo, you get an idea of just how long ago that was. It was a different world then and well, television script writing isn't a wide open market like it used to be. Most series these days have a writing staff that pens their episodes- freelancing isn't nearly as easy.


Don't get me wrong- it wasn't easy 25 years ago either. I did manage to sell one script and from that, got some decent part time work over the next few years until the television series landscape changed.

Because of this, I love to collect scripts. I have boxes of them from favorite shows as well as from series I worked on. Pilot scripts and the even rarer series "bibles" were a favorite of mine. I love going through these and seeing what scenes were cut or what was rearranged. In pilot scripts, if you're lucky enough to get one of the earlier drafts, you get to see the character progression from the original concept to what we see on televsion. And you often get a sense of those actors who put their own personality into that character, making him/her that much more real and deminsional.

Oh, the series I got lucky enough to sell to once upon a time? The Equalizer. In all honesty, what I sold was heavily over written and really what ended up on television was the basic overall storyline I had come up with. And a few pieces of dialog.
Bumper Sticker Wisdom: Drive like you stole something.

My choice for eye candy tonight:
Stephen Caffrey as Lieutenant Myron Goldman- this is my Ian Davidson.

Reality television, reality in characters

To me, there are two types of reality television- the kind that has a prize at the end (Survivor, Amazing Race) and what I consider to be reality TV- that being The Deadliest Catch for instance.

I admit it- I love The Deadliest Catch. It catches these guys in the rawest of moments and well, if you ever wanted to see some characters, tune in sometime when one of the captains has a total meltdown. Or it's high seas and a guy gets swept overboard. This stuff isn't staged, it's not contrived, it's real people in what has to be one of the most insane jobs out there- crab fishing in the middle of winter off the coast of Alaska. Seriously.

I like real characters, and I like to write characters that are real and not apologize for them. I like my guys to be guys- to really walk the walk and talk the talk. And since I write about men in the military, trust me, they don't get much more real than that. Not everybody likes that, or agrees with it and striking a balance between keeping it real and too real can be a challenge sometimes.

I've learned that I write what I like and I like gritty characters that aren't necessarily popular or score high on the warm and fuzzy meter. But they are three dimensional and realistic and someone I can see and hear and feel because it's a more honest character, if that makes any sense at all. And an honest character, a believable character, well I'm all over that.

Side note:
In today's news- NC passes its law stating that a marriage is between a man and a woman. *sigh* I keep hoping that someday everyone will come to understand that the definition of love doesn't begin and end with gender.

Today's bumper sticker: The moment that little voice in your head says "Yep- you're going to hell."

When you got nothing to say...

Okay, so I'm not very good at keeping up with this- the author side of my life. And I know this and I think, geesh, what is so hard about this?

Part of it is, the silence on the other end. I call it the crickets. I have a lot of those going for me. And the truth is, it's hard to write anything, want to write anything when you think no one is listening.

But the other part is, I feel like I've got nothing to say. That there isn't alot here to get excited about- you know? And I mulled this over today when I did my usual two miles, the fact that I'm an author but a lurker and quiet. Which isn't doing me a whole helluva lot of good, now is it?

I can have things to say, when I want to. I'm passionate about character, it's what drives me when I write. And as I thought about that, I thought about some other things so I sat down this evening and made up an outline for myself. Because I'm all about outlines, mind you. And came up with several things that I can work with and talk about and simply get out there.

Because the truth of the matter is, if you've got nothing to say, who is going to listen?

So, one more time, I'm gonna give this a try and see if I can at least get something out there, three to four times a week. No less than two times though, I'm try to make that at least.
So um, hello, once again. I'll start out with some of my favorite eye candy and we'll see what happens from here.
Seriously, they just don't get much cuter than this pair .

Alex O'Loughlin

So I'm an author but I'm a fangirl at heart and I admit it. Those that know me know I'm in love with Hawaii Five-O and the two leads, Alex O'Loughlin and Scott Caan. It's not high drama and I don't watch it for that- instead I enjoy the eye candy, the bromance, the carguments and the chemistry of the cast, especially between Alex and Scott. Oh yeah, the scenery that is Hawaii is pretty spectacular too.

It's fun, even when some of the episodes are more serious than others. It makes Monday nights eye candy night for me. A bowl of popcorn and some grins as Steve McGarrett and Danno Williams snark and make the occasional air heart at each other. It makes Mondays something to look forward to.

And although I've become a huge Scott Caan fan because of this (sexy things do come in small packages, ladies…) I came originally to this remake because of the very handsome aussie- Alex O'Loughlin. He brings a lot of sweet, sexy and goofiness to the table and well, Steve McGarrett never looked so good. This ain't your mamma's Five-O!

So I'm a bit heartbroken to see the news break last night that Alex just checked himself into rehab for a developing addiction to pain killers. He had suffered a shoulder injury last season doing one of his own stunts.

Alex O'Loughlin checks into rehab.

One of the things I loved about the show was the openess of it when on location—offering amazing access to fans/tourists who could see the on location filming, up close and not behind barriers a few miles away. It wasn't only that, but how, often between takes, Alex and Scott would come over and greet the fans, sign autographs and pose for pictures. It's nice of them. Sure, we as fans are the ones who make the ratings, but not all actors appreciate that. The entire cast is appreciative and well, that's refreshing.

Hawaii Five-O with it's iconic theme song and stunning high definition shots of some of Hawaii's most stunning views is also good business. It's provided jobs and a huge boost to tourism that Hawaii is extremely thankful for. It's been a win/win for everyone involved. Series like Lost may have been filmed in Hawaii, but Five-O is Hawaii in all her picture post card, surfing, hula hip shaking glory. And when you live in upstate New York like I do, you can appreciate drop dead gorgeous guys on the warm sunny beaches of Waikiki that much more in the dead of winter.

I'm sincerely hoping this is a bump in Alex's road that he'll overcome and come back stronger for. I give him a lot of credit for deciding to do something about it now rather than gut his way through the rest of the filming schedule that would go well into next month. I very much want to see Steve McGarrett back in all his tattooed glory, whipping off that shirt and trading snarky remarks with his Danno about tossing suspects into shark cages or hanging them off roofs.

Because, really, the alternative is a Monday night without Hawaii Five-0 and I can't bear to think about that.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- March 3, 1967- USAF jets pound various Red River Valley targets, 40 miles from Chinese border.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- March 2, 1967- Village of Languei, 15 miles south of DMZ is accidentally bombed by two US F-4C jets. 83 civilians killed, 176 wounded.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- March 1, 1967- The 173rd Airborne Brigade is ambushed near the Cambodian border, suffering heavy casualties.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 29 1968 L Mendel Rivers- Chairman House Armed Srvs Comm states US should either use nuclear weapons or withdraw from Khesanh.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 28, 1969- Communist offensive continues as gunners shell aprx 30 targets. US troops fight a day-long battle near Saigon.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 27, 1967- The VC shell the US airbase at Danang, killing 12 Americans.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 26, 1967- US cruisers & destroyers of the 7th Fleet shell N Vietnamese supply routes along a 250-mile stretch near the DMZ

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 25, 1969- Following an attack by NV suicide squad on a US position near the DMZ, 36 US Marines are killed.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 24, 1968- the US mission to Saigon admits for the 1st time pacification efforts suffered setbacks as a result of the Tet offensive.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 23, 1969- Communist forces, striking Saigon & 115 other targets begin what allies long predicted as general offensive- 'post-Tet'

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 22, 1969- Tet ceasefire ends. Communist forces fire rocket & mortar shells into Saigon and approximately 70 other cities.

Guest blogging at Naughty Passions

I'm guest blogging at the wonderfully delicious Naughty Passions blog today. If you love naked men, come on over and see why I find a man in or out of uniform so sexy!

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 21,1967- Writer Bernard B Fall is killed by a VC mine 14 miles NE of Hue, A US Marine photographer was also killed.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 20, 1968- Senate Foreign Relations Committee begins hearings on events leading to the passage of the Tonkin Gulf Resolution.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 19, 1970- All 7 defendants in the Chicago conspiracy trial are acquitted of plotting to incite riots during 68 Democratic National Convention.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 18, 1965- US jet planes attack guerrilla forces in Binhdinh Province to support ARVN troops.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 17, 1968- Operation Tran Hung Dao II begun in Saigon area.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 16, 1967- Communist ground-fire downs 13 US helicopters, a record number for a single day.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 15, 1969 There are now 539,000 American soldier in South Vietnam as allied troops strength reaches all-time high 1,610,500.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 14, 1968 In the heaviest assault against North Vietnam in 6 weeks, US planes bomb targets near Hanoi.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 13 1968- Secretary of Defense McNamara deploys 10,500 troops- Brigade 82nd Airbourn & Marine regimental landing team to deal with 2nd offensive.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 12 1967- Operation Thayer II ends: 1757 known enemy casualties.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 11 1967- Operation Pershing begun- US First Cav Division (Airmobile) in Binh Dinh Province against NVA and VC Units.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 10-17 1968- All-time high weekly rate of US casualties—543 killed in action, 2547 wounded in action.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 9 1967- The US halts the bombing of North Vietnam during Tet.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 8 1967- National Committee of Clergy & Layman in protest of the war stage three day “Fast for Peace” by Christians & Jews.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 7 1968- After an 18 hour siege, North Vietnamese troops overrun US Special Forces at Camp Langvei, south west of Khesanh.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 6 1967 Sen R Kennedy returns from Vietnam after talks w/ allies, states US participation in war undermines US prestige abroad.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 5, 1967- South Vietnam and allied forces begin defoliation of jungle near the DMZ.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 4, 1968- Hue- US Marines begin fighting house to house in their effort to retake the imperial city.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 3, 1968- The battle to re-take the imperial city of Hue by US Marines continues after being captured by NVA & VC during Tet.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 2, 1967- US troops launch major offensive near Cambodian border to discourage enemy troop movements.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Feb 1, 1968- Richard Nixon announces his candidacy for President of the United States.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 31, 1968- Gen Leonard Chapman replaces Gen Wallace Greene as Commandant of the Marine Corps.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 30, 1968- Tet- VC and NVA, in a coordinated offensive attack several cities including Hue and the US Embassy in Saigon.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 29, 1968- In his annual budget message, President Johnson asks for $26.3 billion to continue the war.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 28, 1969- Paris peace talks, the NLF delegation rejects the US proposal for a POW exchange as well as other proposals.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 27, 1971- Both sides declare separate truces in observance of Tet. There are 53 reported violations during the truce.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 26, 1968- S Vietnam: In honor of Tet, President Thieu grants amnesty to nearly 500 prisoners and lifts Saigon's nighttime curfew.

This Day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 25, 1968- The NVA strengthen their position in South Vietnam by capturing an outpost inside Laos, 9 miles west of Khe Sanh.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 24 1969 S Vietnam government bans firecrackers during Lunar New Year after VC used their noise to conceal attack during Tet 68.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 23 1968- US intelligence vessel, The Pueblo with crew of 83 seized by North Korean patrol boats in the sea of Japan.

Good Reads vs Amazon/Kindle

If you have titles on Good Reads and Amazon/Kindle, you want to check this out- it could effect you. Spread the word to other authors as well.

http://www.angelakorrati.com/2012/01/21/heads-up-to-all-authors-with-kindle-editions-and-to-goodreads-users/

This Day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 22 1969- US troops find 56 Vietcong and 100 women and children in a tunnel complex on Cape Batangan.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 21 1968- Khe Sanh besieged by the North Vietnamese Army.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 20 1969- Richard Nixon is inaugurated as President of the United States.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 19 1967- China joins North Vietnam issuing a 2nd warning to Thailand against any military intervention in the Vietnam War.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 18 1968- The Cambodian government charges that allied forces entered 200 yards into her territory, killing three Cambodians.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam- Jan 17 1968- President Johnson declares in his State of the Union message the bombing would stop immediately if talks resumed.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 16 1969- An agreement is reached in Paris for the opening of expanded peace talks to include the US, NV, SV and the National Liberation Front.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 15 1967- US planes resume air strikes against Hanoi area for first time since December 1966.

This Day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 14 1969 US forces kill 122 enemy troops while pushing back an attack on a supply convoy north west of Saigon. 7 US killed, 10 wounded.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 13 1969- US & South Vietnamese troops place in custody 470 suspected VC in effort to clear guerrilla forces from Cape Batangan.

This Day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 12 1968 The US and Cambodia announce agreement on measures designed to isolate Cambodia from the war.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 11 1969- Cambodia- A US helicopter is shot down by Cambodian anti-aircraft gunners. 1 crew member killed, 3 are rescued.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 10 1969- North Vietnam reports downing an unmanned US reconnaissance plane over Thaibinh province.

This Day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 9 1968- Vietcong forces overrun a US airfield in Kontum, killing 7 Americans and wounding 25.

This Day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 8 1968- South Vietnamese police arrest 100 peasants in Danang for protesting against the US presence in Vietnam.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 7-11 1971 Defense Secretary Melvin Laird visits Thailand & South Vietnam, announcing the end of US 'combat responsibility' by mid-summer.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 6 1967- Operation Palm Beach begun by US Ninth Infantry Division in Dinh Tuong Province, IV Corps

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 5 1967- The 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry, Marines lands in the Mekong Delta, 62 miles south of Saigon.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 4 1969- President-elect Richard Nixon announces he will ask Ellsworth Bunker to remain as Ambassador to South Vietnam.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 3 1968- Minnesota Senator Eugene McCarthy announces his candidacy for the Democratic presidential nomination.

This day in Vietnam

Vietnam-Jan 2 1968- Saigon expels Newsweek reporter Everett Morton for writing articles critical of the South Vietnamese army.

This day in Vietnam

As posted on Twitter:

Vietnam-Jan 1 1967- 5000 US soldiers of 9th Infantry Division arrive in Vungtau. The Vietcong propose Tet truce be extended to Feb 15th.