Amy Ruttan

Be sure to wear some flowers in your hair. LOL.

Well, I won’t be wearing flowers, but I am excited none the less. This is my final post for a week or so, next week I’ll be sharing some delicious picks of SF and the RWA with you.

And don’t forget the contest at Six Degrees of Sexy starting TOMORROW!!

I did a Thursday Thirteen a long time ago, probably when I first started blogging before I sold about 13 of the places I wanted to see before I die. Make it 12 as of Tuesday baby.

Hugs I’ll see you when I get back!

I’ve posted over at Six Degrees of Sexy about underwear and business cards. Just kidding. I’m talking about packing for Nationals and an upcoming contest that’ll knock your sock off!

You can find out about it here.

Oh man, 4 days. FOUR DAYS. I’m flying to San Francisco. I can’t tell you how insanely stressed I am.

Okay, I will. “ACKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK”

Well, that was mild.

I have been making numerous lists, and I plan to clean tomorrow. If I don’t clean, in a week my house will only get worser with my DH home alone with the kiddies. So I have to clean, and I think I’m going to be nice and make up a couple of casseroles so the poor bugger won’t starve.

I don’t have my pitch really prepared, I’ll probably do that on the 5 hour plane ride there. Oh did I tell you I’m leaving at 2 a.m., yep. Where I live I am exactly two hours from Toronto and two hours from Detroit. Detroit was by far the cheaper alternative. So I’m flying from there.

This is my first time this far west. Seriously, up until my booksigning last year in Taylor MI, my furthest West was London, where I live. Then I went to Taylor, then I traversed further into Michigan to Birch Run. NOW I’m bypassing the baby steps and flying over the Rockies.

I’ll be standing on the shores of the Pacific Ocean, or a Bay connected to said Pacific Ocean, but still. I have only been out of my time zone once, and that was only by an hour. I’ll be out by like 5 hours or something. It’s crazy, but it will be so fun.

I’ll post Monday before I go, then things will be spotty as I won’t have my lap top with me. So I won’t get a chance to post, but I’ll take lots of pictures!! You can count on that!

Finished my Quickie I intend to sub to my fabu editor. Just finished it tonight, took me about twenty days to work on. I’m glad it’s done, now on to the next one, a novella due by September 1 and then finish off my Caveman sub by September 30th, then and ONLY then can I work on what the divine plot monkeys granted me.

I was hoping that they would grant me another one, but alas, they did not. My dream was about tornados and peanut butter sandwhiches. Can’t make that into a romance can I?

Plot monkeys bother me a lot, in their pesky way. The divine monkey’s are hard to catch. I’ve only had 3 divine plot monkey visits. Journey, Laird’s Return and this one that does not yet have a name.

This is why note pads next to night stand is essential.

I’ve also got to pack for Nationals. I am so unprepared. *sigh*

Well, at least one thing is done and out of the way. As soon as it goes through it’s read through I’m firing it off to my editor, and we’ll see what happens.

I know it’s Tuesday, not my regular day for blogging, but I saw this meme and couldn’t resist. Oh and if you want a good “writerly post” about the summer blahs and commiserating about writer’s block visit Christine at SDoS here.

Anyways, I got this meme from J.K. Coi and it looked like fun, people I would like to meet:

AUTHOR: I think it’s a three way tie between Katie MacAlister, Johanna Lindsey or Connie Mason. None of them are coming to Nationals. DRAT!! These women really have influenced me and I would love to shake their hand and show them how their influence has brought me this far. Connie Mason also made my Nanny’s last months on Earth enjoyable, and I wanted to let her know that. Okay … got to stop crying. Lately all I do is cry, yeesh. If I had to pick a childhood author either Roald Dahl or L.M. Montgomery (which is impossible since they’re both dead).

   MOVIE ACTOR: It would have to be Dame Judi Dench, OMG I adore her.

  TV ACTOR: John Barrowman, hands down. I have to meet Captain Jack Harkness. This guy rocks the house. Anyone from Torchwood would do, actually, I just want to meet him the most.

MUSCIAN / SINGER: Hands down Gwen Stefani. I think she is the best. I’ve seen her live and I think she is faboo.

HISTORICAL FIGURE: Oooh now this is hard for me, seriously. There are so many great inspiring people I would want to meet. I would love to meet Caratacus or Queen Boudiccia two influential leaders of the Celts during the Roman Invasion. This is totally cliche but I would like to meet Jesus and many of those great prophets. I would like to meet Queen Victoria … but I’m sure she wouldn’t be amused with me.

FICTIONAL BOOK CHARACTERS: Anyone from L.M. Montgomery’s Avonlea, especially Anne of Green Gables. I’m such a sap.

FICTIONAL MOVIE or TV CHARACTER: A tie between Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice.

And Doctor Who.

There’s many TV characters I would want to meet, but I had to narrow it down. *sigh*

Yes, I’m back from my mini break as a bridesmaid to my very dear friend, or I should say friends. I was so thrilled to be part of their special day. I cried like a baby during many moments with her, one of my dearest friends. I did not get to drink the ouzo, the temperature was insanely high 40 or 90 (for you yanks), in blazing sun, a sweltering incense filled church, and then two hours of pictures and then the air conditioning was broken at the reception, that equals to heat stroke.

I was drinking gallons of water. GALLONS.

However, rest and relaxation is good for The Muse. The plot monkeys granted me a excellent plot in the form of a dream, and my last manuscript was granted to me this way, and Journey was granted to me this way as well. I call these type of plot monkeys, divine monkeys.

Believe me they are welcome since I’m now a full time writer, starting tomorrow.

YIKES!!

OH and there’s a MASSIVE, and I mean HUGE contest going on now. You can get the deets here. Loads o’ free books to be had by many an author … including me!

So check it out.

Because the divine monkeys fling more divine idea poops at me than regular plot monkeys I’ve decided to write some of the stuff because after a while divine idea poops hurt. The pelts from the divine plot monkeys hurt like a biatch.

Anyways, that’s what I’ve been up to on my hiatus. Look forward to catching up with all of you.

Yes, I’m off for the next few days at my friends wedding out of town. I am a bridesmaid (God help her), and I’m really looking forward to celebrating this with her.

I did a TT over at SDoS so check it out. It’s about 13 whacky things a few us plan on doing at Nationals!!

So I leave you with this image, because …. yes it’s a Greek wedding, and I have no idea what I’m doing. ;)  So on Saturday July 19th, picture me out cold after a couple shots of ouzo, trampled by the Greek circle dance. Yep, that’ll be me.

As you all know I’ve been have “issues” with my EDJ. And now it’s ending today.

I was planning a great finale, since things were handled in a bad way, but I’m not going to now.

No, things have ended good. I don’t feel so… I don’t know…. worthless now. I don’t feel so dumb for working so hard and not having it appreciated. I feel good, and I’m glad that I am finally “retired” and that I’ll be working for myself as a writer.

Holy schmokes, I am officially a writer. I know that I was always before, but still after Masque was published in 2007, people would ask me what I do, and I would say Law Clerk.

Now, it’s writer.

It was a good six years, and good people to work with. I’ll miss them a lot. Some more than others.

It’s time now to chase my dreams and be there for my kids and my mother, who unfortunately just keeps getting sicker.

I was going to leave with a Kiss This Song playing. I won’t leave here with that in my head.

I will however, put on my blog, cause darn it .. I love that song, but it’s no reflection on my leaving the EDJ. Oh, and sorry if the typing is crazy, I gots fake tips on my nails for the upcoming Greekapalooza wedding, and I’m not totally used to them yet. For me (a nail biter) it’s freaking weird, and I’m trying not to bite them. I’m gnawing on cucumber when I get antsy.

I leave you with my favorite Aaron Tippin song, and I’ll be doing a TT tomorrow at SDoS!!

Yep, going up the 400 past Canada’s Wonderland on my way to my cousin’s wedding we got a chip in our windshield. By the time we came out of the wedding the little chip turned into huge butt of a crack.

*sigh*

Still, it was such a fun wedding. My other cousin was a maid of honor, and since Me, her, my brother and the groom all grew up together and spent every summer together I gots a little emotional. I still can’t believe he’s married. It’s the same with my brother too.

Then came the dancing. Warning, do not dance to Michael Jackson in heels. I gots a blister. Of course I was quite “happy” at that time. When I woke up the next morning I had a sore throat. I asked my hubby why I had a sore throat.

“Oh, well I suspect that was from the entertainment you provided to me on our way home.”

“Okaaaay,” I’m thinking what the heck did I do.

“NO! Not that!!” he says quickly, given that I am an Erotic romance writer and my said mind was in the gutter. “You started singing a repetoire of music when we left the wedding. You sang for over an hour down the highway, before you passed out.”

“What did I sing?” I’m horrified by this point, I don’t have a singing voice. Not at all.

“Well, you started with Tina Turner’s Private Dancer and ended with Memories, before you passed out.”

*sigh*

Thankfully it was only him that heard it.

Earlier in the day I got to meet Raelene Gorlinsky. She gave a talk at the TRW and I have to say was fantastic. She’s such an interesting lady. I would have loved to have stayed and had dinner with her, but see above. I also got to hang with all my buddies at the TRW, which is always a treat. I hadn’t seen them in a couple of months.

All and all it was a productive weekend. I’ll be blogging Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Thursdays and Saturdays at Six Degrees of Sexy.

How was your weekend?

One of my favorite sayings. Running like a chicken with its head cut off means running around crazy not really knowing where your going.

That was my day today, and my day tomorrow.

My mom was sick, so I couldn’t go to the EDJ. *shucks darn*

I didn’t have milk in the house, and since I’m potty training Sumo I need more underwear for him. So I go to Walmart. Two hours later, I had the milk and other assorted gear, but not the underwear. *sigh*

The kids are going crazy, cause it’s bloody hot. I decide to take unto myself to declutter and organize their rooms. Today I decided to be Supermom.

Supermom’s kyrptonite, Nanimo bars.

I baked, and that baked me. I did however get Boo’s room decluttered and organized. Sumo’s room … not so much. Oh well, one day I’ll get to it.

Tonight, I’m trying to fend off the plot monkeys. I died my hair, trying to write, foolishly signed up for Twitter, gave myself a pedicure and I am starting to lay out the items I need so that Supermom can change in the bathroom after her RWA chapter meeting tomorrow.

I gots to go to a wedding straight after it.

I wouldn’t go to the meeting this month but, Raelene Gorlinsky the publisher for Ellora’s Cave, Cerridwen Press and The Lotus Circle is coming to Toronto to talk to our group. I figured I should go, she’s kind of like my boss. I am excited.

But it’s the running around I am not so crazy about. LOL.

Hope you all have a good weekend. See you for a Manic Monday post.