Lori Devoti, paranormal romance and urban fantasy author

Okay, this is no joke. Apparently a book version of American Idol is a very real (no pun intended there) possibility. Read this…

Yeah, I’m always on the look out for yet another way to waste time on the web–so far My Space has to be the big winner, but here’s one you may not have discovered yet. Tired of checking your Amazon ranking? Have the Ingram’s number memorized? Well, hey, I bet you don’t know how your web site ranks against your friends. Fun for all ages…check your URL popularity then compare it to all your friends. What’s not to love?

Go here to begin….

So, I have a new look, both here and over at the main site. I am loving it! Thanks go to Frauke of Croco Design. There’s link to her somewhere at the bottom of the page if you want to look her up.

Now to explain my blog title–anyone get it without me explaining? Life on the Bubble. I give credit to Ann Voss Peterson who used the term one day referring to a published author’s life. You are always on the bubble–lines close, life gets in the way, and the market changes. You can never settle in and feel secure–so there you are sitting on that darn bubble and hoping it doesn’t burst right under your…you know.

It’s still a blast–just don’t forget there’s precious little separating you from thin air.

Lori

Cheryl S has won a copy of What a Woman Needs by Caroline Linden for her idea of what a romance super hero would look like.

“Well, my name would be Speed-Reading Romance Girl. My costume would consist of flannel jammies and bunny slippers. As my name suggests, my primary power would be the ability to speed-read my romance novels in order to successfully tackle my towering TBR and make new acquisitions.”

Congrats, Cheryl! And thanks to everyone who entered–that means you, Jennifer. ;-)

Lori

My site and blog will (hopefully) be down for a while tomorrow while my web designer puts up the new one. Yay!

Lori

Tanya Huff’s Blood series has been picked up for Lifetime. Here’s a trailer…

I like the books and it looks like a great series, but I have to admit it is causing me a bit of concern. Just last week I heard a guy on the radio talking about how you know a wave has passed. You guessed it–it starts being discovered by television. So, with the Dresden Files and now Blood Ties, I have to wonder if the paranormal thing is about to take a nose dive.

I hope not, and not just because I write it. I also LOVE it. I’m not ready to move on just yet…

As I mentioned earlier, I and my friend Kathy Steffen, went to the Love is Murder convention in Chicago this past weekend. It was a great time–aside from the car trouble.

One thing I liked about LIM is the size. I’m not sure how many people were there, but it was small enough you could actually meet and talk with people–like say have breakfast with Anne Perry. But it was also big enough that they pulled in some big names–Anne, Ken Bruen, Charlaine Harris, etc.

I also like that it wasn’t RWAized. Now don’t get me wrong; I love RWA. And, quite honestly, I think RWA is the most professional writing organization out there AND runs the best writing conferences AND offers the best/most professional/most educational sessions. But sometimes, this actually gets in the way of writing.

What I mean by that is, we tend to get used to someone telling us how to do things. We get out our little pads of paper and expect a roadmap of how to write a bestseller–or even just a readable book, and quite honestly, while you can certainly improve your craft this way, and streamline your writing–there will always be a certain piece of any really good book that just can’t be taught.

So, at LIM, I really enjoyed just listening to authors talk about their process, and the magic, and the pain of writing. I would have liked a few of the panels to be more structured or lead by people a bit more “in the know”, but I’m willing to take the trade off. I’ll certainly keep going to RWA cons and recommending the group to every writer I know–because they just can not be beat, but a different outlook is always a good thing.

Later I’ll pop in with some pics and a few things I learned while at LIM that I think might help other writers too. :)

Yeah, I’ve set up a Cafe Press store with Hellhound merchandise.

My favorite is the dog T shirt…

That’s right–I spent three or so hours at an Oasis between Chicago and Rockford IL yesterday because my friend’s car broke down. It was however a bit more dramatic than my imagination had planned.

Driving 70 or so miles an hour, the motor begins to sound like a lawn mower. I comment on this new development (previously it was letting off a nice reassuring ticking noise). My friend being a perfectly intelligent woman responds with, “Let’s turn up the radio so we can’t hear it.”

I’m pretty sure that is what Click and Clack would have suggested too.

Anyhoo, she then decides to call her husband. So there we are catapulting along in a crazed lawn mower and she starts toying with the ear bud and kind of fumbling with her phone. Same time, she decides to pull over–so edges toward the shoulder. We are still going 60 or so I would guess. Add the reassuring sound of those combed lines in the asphalt. Yeah. So I’m thinking DON’T PULL OVER WE WILL NEVER START AGAIN! (I do have prior experience with this I have to say.) But before I can voice my slight concern, the car jerks, then clunks, then pieces (and smoke) start flying out the back behind us.

So there were are–my friend white knuckling the steering wheel, the phone still gripped in her hand–flying along the shoulder. Luckily we were RIGHT by the Oasis exit, and we continue our shot up the exit ramp, through the lane by the gas station and toward the Oasis building. I being, completely demented, am cracking up the whole way–because really it was just too funny for words–except for the fact that we had no ability to acclerate, brake or steer. Thank heaven the car waiting at the stop sign by the gas station actually stopped.

My friend was a tad wild eyed as we approached the Oasis, still going at least 40. I was a bit concerned she was going to shoot right through the glass doors of the building, but again, luck was on our side and there was a parking spot open right in front. We fly into it, my friend shoves it into park and the combination of that and hitting the curb jerked us to a stop.

It was lovely–as were the oil and transmission fluid flowing from under the car.

For your own personal reference–it was a Ford, it was five years old, and there was a hole in the engine block. Use the information wisely.

Lori