Happy Haul-idays!

Say the words "books" and "free," and after months of being the absent writer, I am THERE. I'm starting to think that the only thing I really need for inspiration is a carrot in the form of a free book dangling ever so close to my nose. I would sniff that shit a mile away. The most important reason why this is awesome is because I could win free books. No explanation needed, except to say that these books are also pretty coolirific AND they'd give me plenty of excuses to continue not writing, which I desperately need. The second reason is that I get to give another friend the same list of $500 books if I win. I don't have many friends, so if you are my friend, your chances are probably better than anyone else's, so you should feel lucky (at least just this once.) Also, I hope you like books about farts. And the third, and possibly only commendable reason, is that another $500 will go to the charity of my choice, which in this case is Reading Tree. They believe in literacy for all, which I wholeheartedly support. Why, if I'd never become a book nerd, I would have just been...."a nerd".   And that is unacceptable.

Grand Total $498.78
	Let's Make Some Great Art			$19.95
	Indie Publishing			$24.95
	Little Book of Letterpress			$24.95
	Creative, Inc.			$16.95
	Doodles			$19.99
	Scribbles			$19.99
	I Was Here			$16.95
	Memento			$19.95
	Bedside Dream Journal			$16.95
	Living Out Loud			$17.95
	Ready, Set, Novel!			$16.95
	The Autobiography Box			$19.95
	The Observation Deck			$19.95
	The Cloud Collector's Handbook			$14.95
	Farts Around the World			$15.95
	A Year in Japan			$19.95
	At a Crossroads			$19.95
	America's Doll House			$24.95
	Writer's Workshop in a Book			$14.95
	The Writer's Toolbox			$24.95
	You Know You're a Writer When . . .			$9.95
	TCM Classic Movie Trivia			$22.95
	F in Exams			$9.95

Sleeping Around

...in a good way.
And another good excuse for me being a little......ehhhhhhhhhhh-let's say "busy."

Check out my fresh & direct commerical acting debut, right here.

The Road to Zortopia Continues....

I've mentioned before that sometimes, when I'm all alone and feeling the desperate need to reach out to the fuzzying images of my fleeting childhood, I google "Zorts."

Or "Zortian."
Or just "Zort."

It's my hope that somewhere in this world, there's another 10 year-old stuck in a 20-something body, still drawing those 3-legged aliens with uninhibited glee.

Recently, I've been quite lucky.

And I'm still on the hunt! So, what a surprise to find that not only has my 1st discovery (I like giving myself credit for this as a self-proclaimed "Zortianographer"), Joe Kuth, had given me a little shout-out on his Red Panda Comics blog.

AND, out of the countless Google images that are still, sadly, my own, there was another glimmer of hope: a delightful Zort tribute by DeviantArt-ist Mike Dugan.

I need to start googling more often.

And, now that the men have fully represented in the Zortian department, I ask: where my girls at???

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"Miss Rumphius" Audio/Visual Book!

I apologize for the sudden influx of video-related media (the written word has been put on the back burner for now, because why have words when you can have PICTURES!)

A few weeks ago, I recorded an audio book with Roman Chimienti for his company, The End Audio Productions. The accompanying video has finally been completed thanks to the swift editing skills of Jessica Rondash from Verbatim Studios. 

The book, Miss Rumphius, by Barbara Cooney, is a favorite of Roman's. If you're a frequent visitor, it's no mystery that books (especially those from my kinder days of yore) are my greatest obsession. I can still remember curling up to Cooney's Hattie and the Waves as a little girl. Obviously, I jumped at this opportunity, and I'm so glad I did.

But enough chatter - just sink into your best PJs and security blankie and cuddle your beloved stuffed counterpart as you have a look (or a listen, depending on your mood) to a childhood favorite.

And don't forget to visit The End Audio Productions for more audio books narrated by other great voice over artists. (Like how this sentence assumes I am one of them?)

Country Bandit Rides Again: Part 1 of 3

Let's skip all the "it's been awhile crap" and cut right to the chase.

Here is the 1st part of many excuses.

Created by me as an homage to the two weeks of absolute country bandit splendor that I experienced in May....you will hear much about it, to be sure.

And for kicks, check out the Country Bandit legacy (otherwise known as my travel blog) for reasons why I'm calling myself a country bandit.

Well, This Is Awkward

You know that embarrassing feeling you get when you bump into someone that you've been purposely avoiding for a long time? There is that shocking "oh-crap" moment that passes across your face like a shadow, which you struggle to conceal before the other realizes your horror. But they don't need to see your face to know that this is not easy for either of you. You choke back a nervous laugh and paste a smile on....a really big, painful smile. Your body wants to run, but you can't. You're stuck. So your feet do a sort of twiddle dance impatiently as your mind tries to keep up with your mouth, which seems to be spewing utter nonsense. You expound upon the weather...who the eff cares about the weather? God I sound so stupid.

What do you do with your hands? I don't what you do with your hands. Most likely they hang, as dumbfounded as you. Every move betrays you, communicates the discomfort, the shame, the need to be elsewhere. You think of far away places, dark places, underneath covers and behind closed doors. Any place else than where you are at right now. To be rid of the shame.

This is pretty much what writing in this blog feels like right now.
I've tried to avoid you, but I can't. It was bound to happen that I would step right into the universe's trap of facing this fear, of facing you.

You're a clever one, blog. Always the clever one.

Let's hope this is enough to break the ice, so we won't have to speak of this moment ever again.
At least until the next time I avoid you.

Sooo how about them clouds?

Dammit.

Oscar, I'm Grouchy

I've explained it once, and I'll explain it again:

My bittersweet relationship with Oscar.

 

 

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