A Book by Any Other Name (or Cover)...or Price

Bride of the Living Dead is that book for me. I keep trying to explain it, like those mothers of troubled kids who plead, "He's a good kid, just misunderstood." I vented about What to do when your book is "complicated"? Peggy Elam, at Pearlsong Press is helping me out by letting me change the cover--See below--the new cover and price are on the Pearlsong page Bride at 99 Cents in June New Cover for Kindle edition

Fast Approaching the speed of Awesome - Proof Positive Interview

Things are heating up as many, many authors gear up for this 24-hour event. As L.E. Fttzpatrick puts it in her Limelight Literature blog “More awesome authors than you can cram into a bus” -- I think we may need a few more buses, as we gladly stop for hitchhikers! Glad to see my Bride of the Living Dead among the giveaway bundles here I'm happy to have a pre-event interview posted at Christie Stratos' Proof Positive blog. Here's the Interview

21st Six Sentence Sunday, celebrating a Larger Than Death new edition

After 20 weeks of sharing snippets Bride of the Living Dead, I'm shifting over to share a few lines from Larger Than Death, the first in the Josephine Fuller mystery series, reissued July 15th by Pearlsong Press and now available in ebook for the first time.

At booksignings when Larger Than Death came out some people gasped when I read the first line. I think that might still happen. I spent more time writing and polishing the first line than on any other line in the book.

That said, I'm starting the snippet below with the SECOND line in the book. You can read all of Chapter 1 on my web page.

Friends sometimes call me Donna Quixote because tilting windmills is what I do for a living. I got started when I answered an ad in The San Francisco Chronicle.

Need person of substance for special assignments: part bloodhound, part bulldog, part lone wolf. Job requires quick study, travel and communication skills. Must genuinely care about the advancement of women.

As a matter of fact, I was feeling quite concerned about the advancement of women in general and myself in particular at the moment I read the ad.


To explore a wealth of other six sentence excepts from 168 writers (at last count) click on over to Six Sunday and enjoy!

20th Six Sentence Sunday - Sky's opinion on Reverend Uncle Walt

Has it really been 20 weeks since I started spending my Sundays in six-sentence slices? Wow, it seems like longer and also like I've just started.

On July 15th the first book in my Josephine Fuller series, Larger Than Death, will be issued for the first time in ebook and trade paperback, so I plan to share some sentences from it. But first, from Bride of the Living Dead, Daria's sister Sky insisted on giving her opinion about their uncle officiating at Daria's wedding:

           "Are you sure you want our dear old deranged Uncle Walt to do this ceremony?  You know that crazy old man could ruin your wedding?"

            "Sky, the only thing that would ruin my wedding would be if Oscar didn't show up."

            Sky gasped and stared at me in horror. "Don’t even joke about such a thing."

            I wasn't worried because I couldn't imagine Oscar disappearing on our wedding day--which goes to show you how limited my imagination can be.

For more six sentence fun check out the talented writets sharing snippets from their work spanning a wide variety of genres at http://www.sixsunday.com/

19th Six Sentence Sunday - Uncle Walt's Church

From Bride of the Living Dead, newly engaged to Oscar, Daria finds herself, with her mother and sister, meeting with Oscar's sisters and conservative mother, Deb, to start to plan the wedding:

            "I can call your Uncle Walt if you’d like him to officiate," Mom turned hopefully to me. It was my decision, hmmm that was a new experience.

            "That would be great, Mom, if you think he can get away, but I’d better ask Oscar first." I didn’t want to disappoint her, and I was starting to get enthusiastic about seeing Deb’s reaction to meeting Uncle Walt and learning that the church he founded was the Intergalactic Church of Star-Seeded Cosmic Consciousness. Although you couldn’t really appreciate his vision without seeing the large, cleared landing strip he maintained next to it for space ships that might feel called upon to attend services.
            Deb didn’t strike me as the psychic type, but I think she may have just begun to realize that, by the sheer power of passion, I could probably entice her son to accept any sort of minister or ceremony I chose, up to and including nude fertility dancing.

Check out the diverse talent in six sentence snippets from 130 writers in various genres at http://www.sixsunday.com/

18th Six Sentence Sunday, the Reverend Uncle Walt Factor

From Bride of the Living Dead, at a wedding planning session with Oscar’s teenaged sisters and very conservative mother, Deb. Daria and Sky’s mother mentions that her brother Walt is a minister who could perform the ceremony.

             "Your brother is a minister?" Deb said smiling at Mom as if that couldn’t be bad, not knowing us well enough to grasp that I was repressing a naughty smile, and Sky’s mouth was flattening down to a distressed line. "What kind of church is it?" she asked, looking from one of us to the other, confused.
            "It’s small, kind of hard to explain," I chimed in, knowing how fond our mother was of her brother and how hard she tried very hard to include him in family gatherings whenever she could, which was difficult because Uncle Walt was very shy and quite possibly insane. I liked my uncle, and I was warming to the idea of having him performing the ceremonies.
            "It’s not a large congregation, even if you count the garter snakes and lizards," Sky said softly, leaning back, crossing her arms and looking up to the ceiling as if pleading for divine intervention.

For more snippets check out the main site Six Sunday where 140 writers this week are joining in the fun, writing in a wide variety of genres.

My 17th week of Six Sentence Sunday appetizers

The wedding planning and the family dysfunction are both revving up in this snippet from Bride of the Living Dead for Six Sentence Sunday. Daria’s mother and sister get together with Oscar’s teenaged sisters and very conservative mother, Deb. to plan the wedding. One of the teenagers makes a sarcastic remark which her mother notes.

            Deb gave her daughter a measured look, which she then turned on me, “Have you and Oscar talked about what church you’ll be married in?"

            I looked at her blankly. The eye-contact-to-erection phenomenon had been discussed thoroughly, but religion was a topic which had never come up. "Um, no, we haven’t decided."

            "What’s your affiliation?"

            Aha, Deb’s real aim was to find out just what kind of godless heathen her son had hooked up with--little did she know.

For six sentence excerpts from over 100 talented writers spanning a wide variety of genres check out http://www.sixsunday.com/

Six sentence Sunday #16 - let the wedding planning games begin! Also a book offer.

Six Sentences from Bride of the Living Dead as the gunslingers, uh, future in-laws, ride into town for a showdown...um, wedding planning session.

Daria’s mother and sister get together with Oscar’s very conservative mother, "call me Deb," and his teenaged sisters to plan the wedding. Oscar escapes to go to work, but Daria is trapped. She walks him out.

            "I had to get out of there before I jumped on you," he whispered as we kissed in the hallway.

            "I know, I know." There wasn’t much to say. We were both impressed with how instantly he got an erection when we held eye contact a little longer than wise, even in situations where there wasn’t much to be done about it.

            “Fortunately there’s a cold shower at work--later,” he said as he slipped out the door.

            I went back into the living room where Mom and Deb faced each other in the wing chairs at opposite ends of the coffee table, like gunslingers in High Noon.

As Six Sunday returns, you can check out more than 140 writers, spanning a wide variety of genres at http://www.sixsunday.com/

My 15th Six Sentence Sunday...Sky has a question

From Bride of the Living Dead, when Daria's fiancé, Oscar, leaves the table for a few minutes, Sky jumps in with an unwelcome question--

            "Daria, I have to ask--are you pregnant?"

            "Sky!  No, I'm not pregnant--do you think that's the only reason Oscar would want to marry me?"
            "Of course not, but if you don't need to get married right away we have some time to plan the wedding."
            "We haven't thought that far ahead," I said, catching sight of Oscar outside the window standing by his car watching us and smiling at him. I totally missed that she had said "we" had time to plan the wedding.

Join the fun with over 130 authors in many genres sharing six sentences at a time at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

--

14th week of six sentences - Sky explains

From Bride of the Living Dead, Oscar and Daria have just got engaged when her perfectionist sister Sky makes a surprise visit. After a stressful tour of Daria's extremely unimpressive apartment, the three end up at a local diner:

            Sky took a sip of coffee, leaned back and said, "Richard cheated on me, I left him and I've taken a leave of absence from Slavedrivers." That was Sky’s nickname for Slavin, Drovers, Nesmith, the law firm she had worked at for the past several years.
            "Oh, Sky, I’m so sorry, though I can’t say I was ever one of Richard’s greatest fans…" For a second all I could think was how it must double the pain for Sky to see me so deliriously in love, so I concluded, "I’ve never known you to take a vacation."
            Sky leaned toward Oscar, "You see the perils of overwork--Daria’s not surprised when my marriage goes down the tubes, but if I take a couple of weeks off work, she’s stunned."
            "I understand," Oscar said solemnly.

Over a hundred other great writers share snippets from many genres at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

13th week of six sentence sunday - the naked apartment

From Bride of the Living Dead. Rebellious indie film critic Daria has just got engaged to Oscar and received a surprise visit from her perfectionist sister, Sky. Oscar has seen her studio apartment before and never seemed shocked, but Daria dreads her sister's reaction to seeing her place for the first time.

One room, cramped and shabby with a tiny stove standing next to a counter and barely enough room for a dorm-sized refrigerator. A microwave oven, small sink and drain board faced a thin dividing counter with a wooden chair pushed up to it, completing the galley kitchenette.

Why hadn't I noticed that the floor sloped down a little from the kitchen to the twin bed and the chest of drawers at the foot of it holding a small television and disk player?

I kept the window that faced the back yard closed but Sky peeked out and said, "Bonsai."

            "My landlords, the Yamazakis, raise them."

            Oscar was watching me without saying a word, but I got the feeling he was seeing my place through Sky’s eyes too, and suddenly I didn’t want to stay here any longer.

 
For lots more action of all kinds check out the excerpts from other writers covering a wide variety of genres at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

12th Six Sentence Sunday - apartment anxiety

From Bride of the Living Dead, Daria and Oscar have just decided to get married when Daria's sister, Sky, shows up unexpectedly at Daria's old apartment. At first Sky reacts with sarcasm when told about the engagement, then she becomes surprisingly clingy in her congratulations.

            "We just came over to get more of my stuff," I told Sky. "I don't think you've seen my place here."

            "I’m sure I would have remembered," Sky said, her attitude surfacing again.

            "Sky can get traumatized by my decorating attempts," I said to Oscar as I unlocked the pine-paneled door, hoping a smoke screen of words would distract my sister from any socks or old T-shirts that might be adorning the furniture.

            Sky walked into the apartment and looked around with an expression of horror last seen on Dante on arriving at the ninth circle of hell. For the first time, I saw it through her eyes.

For more fun in six sentence snippets check out the links to writers exploring a wide variety of genres at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

11th Sunday six, another side of Sky

 From Bride of the Living Dead, Daria and Oscar have just decided to get married when they get an unexpected visit from Daria's sister, Sky, who starts out with some snarky comments when told about the engagement, then:

"Sorry, Daria, this is all so sudden." She hesitated as if she wanted to say something else, or maybe keep giving me a hard time, but she smiled at Oscar instead. "So, when did this happen?"

            "Today and we haven’t told anyone yet, so, um, you’re the first to know." I snuggled up against Oscar and he put his arm around me.

            She cried out, "Congratulations," and threw herself at us, holding both of us so tight and long that I got the feeling she was drowning and we were the only life raft in sight.

Check out the many talented writers offering a literary sampling menu of six sentence snippets at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

My 10th week of six sentence Sunday - Enter the Sister

From Bride of the Living Dead, Daria and Oscar just got engaged, on the doorstep of her old apartment they unexpectedly encounter Daria's sister, Sky.

I put my arms around Sky and hugged her again--twice in a row like that was unusual for us, but she felt so fragile and something seemed to hover around her--heartbreak, death?

            Stepping out of my embrace, she turned to look Oscar over appraisingly and said, "Hi. You’re new."

            "This is, um, uh, my fiancé, Oscar Winslow."

            "What happened to Kent, the love of your life? Wait, I remember, he dumped you, but for the longest time, the obsession lingered--though not as bad as your first boyfriend, Denny--"

"Sky, stop right now!"

More fun six sentences at a time on the links to other writers' six sentence snippets at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

9th Six Sentence Sunday, asked and answered

Here's a turning point from Bride of the Living Dead. Daria halfway expected Oscar to invite her to move in, but he asked her to marry him and she fell silent.

            "I know it’s soon to think about marriage, but--"
            "Are you sure? You aren’t just saying that to get me to move in?"
            "I’m saying that because I want to spend my life with you."
            "Good answer." I stepped into his arms and laid my head on his chest.

All kinds of action in six-sentence doses is happening if you click the links to other writers' six sentence snippets at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

My 8th Sunday six sentences - a modest proposal

Here's the 8th installment in six sentences from Bride of the Living Dead, a romantic comedy about a woman who loves horror movies too much. Last time Oscar and Daria (finally!) got together. Now weeks have become months and things keep getting better:

      "Daria, I do love you." It wasn’t the first time he had said it, but it was the first time he had said it when we were both fully clothed. "You could move in here, we could get married."

For a moment I was speechless. I had just managed to fall into my sister Sky’s "Step 2 - Get him to propose" without even trying. I was so shocked that I wondered if there was something wrong with the idea, even though every fiber in my body was in favor of it.

Daria's sister Sky's 5 Steps to living happily ever after are described in the first few pages of Bride of the Living Dead which you can read by using the handy dandy Book Buzzr widget on the right.

For more action of all kinds, check out the links to other writers' six sentence snippets at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

He confesses, she reacts, 7th Sunday six sentences

Here's my seventh Sunday six from Bride of the Living Dead, a romantic comedy about a woman who loves horror movies too much: Oscar and Daria, in a fever of foreplay at his house, stop when he announces the need to confess:

     He chuckled at my alarm and ran his hands along my back as if he couldn’t help himself. "I saw you walk into the screening decided to buy a ticket, follow you in and sit behind you. When we kept laughing at the same awful parts in the movie, I had to talk to you."

     "Very nice, I approve," I said, almost beyond words." I slipped my hand under his shirt and was lost to coherent thought.

     The rest of our conversation was in eloquent body language and we understood each other totally.

For more action of all kinds, check out the links to other writers' six sentence snippets at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

Finally foreplay! The 6th Week of Six Sunday Sentences - from Bride of the Living Dead

Oscar and Daria's third date ends up in a fever of foreplay at his house.

He drove into the garage and we stumbled into his house and began kissing again the moment he had the door closed. "I’ve wanted to do this ever since I sat behind you in that horrible movie."

            "But you were sitting behind me, you hadn’t even seen my face," I said, stroking his cheek, enjoying the sandpapery feel of it.

            "You had a very appealing neck, but I have a confession to make," he said, kissing my collarbone and working his way up.

I drew back in alarm. "Is this something that’s going to bring everything to a screeching halt?"

More action in great Six Sunday sentences from the storytellers at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

4th Six Sentence Sunday snippet

From Bride of the Living Dead. After meeting and being instantly drawn to each other, Daria and Oscar share coffee and compare T-shirts, then he gives her a ride home.

He leaned over slightly to adjust the heater and put his hand on mine for a moment, then he reached up and lightly stroked my hair and kissed me lightly on the lips.

            "I’ll be good," he said, as if to himself.

            "I know," I said, as all my nerve endings heated up so fast that someone watching on infrared sensor would have been startled. "And even better," I pulled him back for another kiss and we moved back apart with a sigh.

            "I’d better get you home."

            I directed him to Anza Street, expecting him to ask me out on a second date, but never guessing he would break it.

Check out the links to other writers' six sentence snippets at http://sixsunday.blogspot.com/

To my fellow six Sunday commenters, I'm still moving slowly and commenting as I can a little at a time. Write on!

3rd Six Sentence Sunday ...Invasion of the T-shirts

Just after meeting, Daria and Oscar don't want the evening to end, so they leave the screening room to go for coffee. She notices that his T-shirt has a mathematical formula and worries about a test. He promises no no math test if she shows him her T-shirt--

            I opened up my coat and displayed the T-shirt, which reproduced the poster for I Married a Monster from Outer Space.

"Let me see what it says." He leaned forward.

It was just an excuse to check me out, but I didn’t mind that at all.

            He read from the poster on the shirtfront, "They came from beyond the stars in a horrible hunt for human brides. I like it already."

I have to beg patience from fellow Six Sentence posters. My first two Sundays I got carried away and tried to comment on all 70-some and then 80-some posts--something I once could have easily done. This time it earned me a visit from the Carpal Tunnel Fairy. Unlike her kindly cousin the Tooth Fairy, this sprite does not leave cash under the pillow for a lost tooth. Oh, no, she whacks you on the wrists with a sturdy stick and settles down in the corner muttering "Back off on the keyboarding or there's lots more where that came from." She's still there and until she goes away I'm going to have to keep my comments to a bare minimum. I'm still reading your snippets, friends, still like 'em but I've got to heal up before commenting more!