I’ve decided Saturday is a good day to share a little silly spam. In this week’s inbox was a message with this subject line:

Women acknowledge, that big phalli are more attractive

Overlooking the unnecessary comma issue, I have to say that any man with phalli is not one I will call attractive. In fact, I would defintely run away from from the phalli.

I keep a quote book with random quotes I hear, often at work. This week’s photo is a page from the quote book. In case you can’t see them clearly on the photo:

It won’t take us long to skewer ourselves.
–Rachel

Alisa: You’re in love with a man who doesn’t exist.
Katrina: Who isn’t?

We’ve never been cute before. Do we want to be cute now?
–Kellene

Sweet people can still voodoo.
–Lia

I don’t like New Year’s resolutions because I think any time of year is a good one to make goals. I do have a few goals this year, though.

• Lose enough weight by July to wear my beige dress to this year’s Romance Writers of America conference awards ceremony. That will require dropping one (maybe two) dress sizes, which I think is doable by then.
• Make this the year of decluttering. I’m going to sort through things, create files, and get more organized. Slow and steady is the key.
• Finish my two mostly written stories in the next two months. I’ll reevaluate what to do next then.

What are your goals? And what are your best tips for staying motivated?

I was cleaning out my fridge recently, and bent down to make sure I got everything on the bottom shelves. When I turned, I realized something I’d never noticed before–a narrow shelf at the bottom of the door of the fridge.

Huh.

I’ve lived in my house for more than three years, and I’ve had the same fridge the entire time. And it took this long to discover I now have a convenient place for my water bottles.

Writing is a little like this. I work on a story, have a pretty good idea of where it’s going. Then I discover something about one of the characters or an element of the story that surprises me. I’m learning a lot about Jeffrey as I work on his story this week. With each story, one of the characters comes through more clearly than the other. In this case, I know Shay better, so I’ve been actively working to understand Jeffrey. It’s a slow and steady process, more fun than cleaning out the fridge.

I hope the results will be wonderful.

There’s only one TV program I watch regularly–Medium. With the writer’s strike, I wondered if it would be on the air. Apparently, it was filmed before the strike, so it’s back on! Last night was the second episode of the new season.

Patricia Arquette plays the main character, and she is just fabulous as Allison. She can communicate with the dead, and her cases are always so fascinating. Sometimes creepy, but intriguing.

One thing I love about Medium is that it follows a family. Allison’s husband Joe is terrific, and their daughters are also showing signs of sharing Allison’s abilities. Right now, Joe is out of work, and Allison’s abilities have been reported to the media. There’s family drama in the episodes, but they are together in the end. This really appeals to me because so many shows have characters who go from partner to partner. This one focuses on the family and is still interesting.

I mentioned last week that my coworkers were planning to decorate my cubicle. Well, they did it.

They went with a British theme because it’s where I most want to go. Plus, I am the queen there. LOL! At least, I’m important enough to have someone guarding my desk.

This might be the end of the birthday celebration. We’ll see how it goes.

This year’s photo of the week shows my birthday present, the Shakespeare bobblehead, next to my Nora Roberts bobblehead. Aren’t they a cute couple?

If you’re a writer, consider entering Cobblestone’s Wicked Contest.

Wicked Line

Length: 5 to 10k

Contest : January 2 – 19, 2008

Be wicked for us. We’re looking for short story erotica with a very high level of sexual content within five to ten thousand words. HEA or romantic content not required. First and third person accepted (male or female POV).

First place winner will receive a standard contract, first publication slot for the Wicked Line and $100.

Other entries will be considered for publication.

Contest open to all authors currently unpublished with Cobblestone Press, LLC.

We are interested in the following genres: contemporary, historical, paranormal, BDSM, multicultural, science fiction, and fantasy.

Submissions should be sent to: submissions@cobblestone-press.com.

Formatting

1. Use either Times New Roman or Courier New, 12pt. font

2. All paragraphs should be indented .5 (without tabs-preferred) Double Spaced

3. One inch margins

4. Attach the manuscript as an RTF file (no other format will be opened)Include a cover letter in the body of your email, please put WICKED CONTEST in the subject line

5. On the first page of your manuscript include in the upper left corner the following: Title of Manuscript, Word Count- Calculated by your word processor program, Genre (or Line), Full Name, Pen Name (if applicable), Mailing Address, Phone Number, and Email Address

*** Regular Submissions for this line will open February 14, 2008 ***

I’ve been watching Babylon 5: The Lost Tales, and it’s made me a bit nostalgic. I love the Babylon 5 series, and it’s great to revisit some of the characters. The first story features Lockley (Tracy Scoggins); the second includes Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) and Galen (Peter Woodward). Both stories are good.

I have to say, I adore Galen. The actor is marvelous and technomages are so interesting. I love his moral ambiguity–it makes his character almost unbearably fascinating. Or maybe I just like the British accent.

Watching The Lost Tales reminds me of one of the lessons of good storytelling–making use of subtlety. There’s one scene with Sheridan and Prince Vintari. It could have been bogged down with a bunch of “here’s how this character relates to this one, and where that one fits in” dialogue. Instead, one line conveys the necessary information. To someone who knows the series, the line conveys a good deal. To someone who doesn’t, it’s a small piece that helps reveal the character.

A few of my favorite moments:

• Galen’s smile when Sheridan yells “Up yours” to the driver who nearly hit him
• Sheridan’s expression when Vintari talks about “the reckoning” he will lead in the future
• Lockley’s muttered, “I wonder if Custer had staff like this”

I checked this copy out of the library, but I’m going to have to get my own copy.

I’ve got an update on my 70 Days of Sweat goal.

Yay! The term doesn’t end until January 15, so I’m going to keep going, but it’s great to have achieved it.