Some Markets...

Hey fellow writers...we're half way through the summer - are your files filled with story ideas yet? Mine is overflowing, but I'm left wondering - where has the summer gone already! I can't believe it is July 2 already and I'm still trying to find time to work on my tan! Whoever said the life of a freelancer was a life of luxury...well, they need to come to my house!

As I was surfing this morning, I found a few new markets of interest over at Writers Weekly...Check 'em out - and let's find some assignments, shall we?

INTERNATIONAL LIVING
CURRENT NEEDS: "Issue-length articles of 1,000 words on
living, investing, and traveling outside the US. Also need
much shorter 'postcards' of 250-700 words on destinations
outside of the US." Briefs pay $25-$65.

Mississippi Magazine
CURRENT NEEDS: "Currently in need of more articles pertaining
to Mississippi events, people who are natives of MS that have
left the state and had successes that are widely known, and
features on unique artists for our culture center
department." Pays $150-$300 per article.

Mysteries Magazine
CURRENT NEEDS: "We need scientific mysteries articles the
most." Pays $0.05/word for features of 3000-5000 words and
columns of 1200-1500 words.

Native Peoples
CURRENT NEEDS: Queries. Pays $0.25-$0.40 cents per word for
800-3000 words.

North Carolina Literary Review
CURRENT NEEDS: "A portion of each issue is open to other
NORTH CAROLINA-related ideas we find of particular interest.
Interviews, solid historical explorations, current
cultural/literary analyses (without academic jargon), and
literary essays are of special interest to us. NCLR writers
receive two copies of the issue in which their work appears
and either a modest honorarium or some combination of
subscription/extra copies of the issue/back issues."

Lucky Girl...

I'm really a lucky girl. Although I have my fair share of accidents, most are twisted ankles or a banged up elbow from my ... let's say not-so-balanced act. Yeah, I'm clumsy. But I do find that researching things that are bothering me, from a spring allergy attack to alternative treatments for sprained ankles is very empowering. There is nothing like learning about an illness on your own, even the bad ones like mesothelioma. Whatever you need to know, there is information online, but at least by doing research you can think of new questions to ask your doctor on the next visit, because when you're in that tiny room the last thing on your mind is question. At that point it's all about digesting the information being presented to you.

Need A Thumb Transplant...

So the nephew is in town for a few days, which is all fun and games. Literally. Since he's been in town we've hit the lake, gone shopping for a new Nintendo DSi (don't ask) and played about five hours on the XBox. Yeah, all fun and games until the arthritis sets in! Ha! No, I don't have arthritis, but after playing video games for many, many days in the row I feel like it. I need knew thumbs! Right now he's busy with Rock Band and I'm taking a little no-kid time for a minutes...and then we're gonna go head to head.

Is Anything Better Than A Vegas Conference?

Seriously? I like Vegas most times, but during a conference Vegas just seems to shine, doesn't it? I think it's all of the away-from-home conference goers who get a little wild. The hubster and I just returned from Vegas (vacation, not a conference) but the hotel was hosting a conference and Wow. Just Wow. I got more people watching done over the past four days than I've done in probably a year! There was the man arguing with his...wife??...in the middle of the casino floor, the older woman who had an entire block of $1 slots blocked off, a rabble of kids (why were they there?)with no parental supervision. The list goes on. Anyway, we tried out a new discounter as we were planning for the trip and got some great deals. I found this ad for Sahara hotel a little too late, though, and the hubster had our reservations already in. Bummer! We are definitely staying there on the next people-watching-conference trip!

Good News For Authors?

2008 numbers are in from Bowker, which reports that although production of news and revised titles fell 3%, on-demand and shorter run books grew by 132%, which is good news for writers in the e-realm. Along with the news from Bowker are earnings reports for the first quarter of 2009 from Barnes & Noble (4% decrease is sales), Books-A-Million (2% sales increase) and Borders (12% decrease in sales). Although this isn't great news, it's interesting to note that Barnes & Noble had originally predicted that sales would be down as much as 10%.

And that got me thinking - are things really looking up? Or are books one non-necessity that consumers aren't willing to live without? What are you thoughts?

Hungry, Hungry, Hungry!

It's been a week now and I think I can share with all of you - that I love my new exercise program. Seriously. Now that the winter doldrums are gone, I'm able to get out and walk or jog nearly every day and I've started interval training 4-5 days each week, too, thanks to the new EA Sports Active program. Forget that 'it's a video game' stuff, this is a real workout. Seriously! I get done and my legs feel like rubber, my arms are tired and I'm sweating. Seriously sweating. I love it! The problem? I'm hungry all the time because of the calories I'm expending and I have to eat or my body will shut down. So, I'm eating a lot of low and no calorie food like pickles, yogurts, drinking tons of water..you know the drill. If you're not on an exercise program, though, and you need to cut down on calories, try an appetite suppressant to feel full longer. After, of course, you talk to your doctor about it!

Perhaps Try Age-Appropriate Casting?

So, the hubster and I were enjoying a little kid-free time by watching movies a few nights ago. Anyway, as we were flipping between VH1 and HBO (waiting for one movie to start) we saw a commerical and just couldn't tear ourselves away from it. Why?

Because the man who was supposedly losing his hair was 1) not more than 24 or so and 2) quite obviously wearing a wig made to look like he was losing his hair. How could we tell so easily? Because his eyebrows were a natural blond color and the hair..uh, wig...was jet-black. Seriously! I'm not sure what that commercial casting director was on when he hired the actor, but it was a really bad idea.

I just felt bad, for the product and for the actor. Why? Because the casting was obviously blown from the moment of conception. Hair loss is a legitimate, horrible thing that many men and women deal with every day of their lives and this commercial, in my opinion, made fun of that by hiring a 20-something (most people don't start losing hair until their 30s) and by using a wig rather than real hair. It was just wrong. On the plus side, there are plenty of legitimate, caring companies out there who deal in hair loss products and if you're in need they will help you out - without pandering to you or making you feel stupid.

New Stuff for the New Room!

I think I've waxed on about the new house several times now, but had to let everyone know - we've finally figured out a function for the new room (you know, the one nearly destroyed by mold and a bad construction job prior to us buying the home). The mold issue is fixed, the construction snafus fixed and now the empty room is ready to be filled up. And we've decided it's going to be our home theater. I've been researching different ideas, like including rear projection systems and such, but I think we'll stick with a Blu-Ray players and a larger Hi-Def Television. We have a 35 inch now, but that is going into the hubster's office... we're looking at a 47 inch screen, but I think 50-something incher would be even better! The hubster already found the perfect surround sound system (he bought that when we moved in and Wow! does it make a difference in movie quality), and our leather sofa and chairs will be perfect. The best part is we can get everything we need - including the research for the products! - at ShopWiki and get the best prices because they include everything on the Internet. Cool, huh?

Ahhh, Smooooth...

I never liked my skin as a kid. Too many freckles. Too much oil (yeah, i'm an oily complexion). A few zits from time to time. I have to say, though, that my skin has aged well. I get compliments on my skin a lot. Most people don't believe I'm over 30 because I've taken care of my skin with great skin care products. I love being outside in the sun, always have, but I've always used a high SPF tanning lotion. And now I'm so glad I did!

More Paperwork!

but thankfully it isn't mine! The hubster and I just got back from visiting his aunt, who is not paperwork savvy. So we helped with her Medicare supplement paperwork, determining which was the best plan for her and how getting prescriptions would work from now on. Man, it makes me not want to get old! We went through the same thing with his grandfather a year or so ago, only his grandfather was paperwork savvy ... so that took about an hour. This was a full day. Seriously. One. Whole. Day. Yech!

Homeownership=More Projects!

So a few weeks ago I told you guys we were finally out of the dreaded condo with the purchase of our new home. We bought something of a fixer-upper, mostly fixer because we didn't like the existing decor, siding and decks but did like the bones of the house. As we were designing the deck this weekend, I came up with the (somewhat) brilliant plan of adding a raised, enclosed gazebos at one end, giving is a little more living space and creating an outdoor work area for me. We priced it and the gazebo will only add a little bit to our deck costs so I think we're going to go ahead and do it. Sweet!

Hotel Booked...Commence Packing..

You know summer is here when vacations start popping up. Our summer is going to be busier that normal. We have a graduation in a couple weeks, a trip to Chicago (writing-related) in June, actual vacation in July and then a couple more conferences in August. Most of these we've already pre-booked with our usual chain hotel, but in May and June we need quickie stop-over places for a few hours sleep before continuing the trek so we checked out economy hotels promotions and such and wound up getting great rates for a couple of quick 'overnights'. Not bad!