More Sound Bites

It continues to be a crazy ride here so we are still on quick, bite-sized bullets. With apologies...

• Lithus and I registered for the wedding. Enough people wrote and said "we are getting you something, a little guidance would be nice, please" that we went ahead and did it. It was fun and now the people who want to get us something know the kind of thing we're looking for.

• The initial printing of the novel is 31,000 copies. This is huge. This is breathtaking. This is rockstar for a debut author. I had to put my head between my knees.

• Reviews are starting to come in. They are good. They are better than good. They are the stuff dreams are made of.
  

• The copies you put in the mail to reviewers are called ARCs (advanced review copies). I have figured out how to print them on my computer so that I don't have to pay Kinkos. The mailing rate is still kicking my butt. (And yes, I'm saving my receipts for my taxes and yes, I'm using the cheapest available *wink*)

• I refuse to bitch about the cost of mailing out ARCs (the above was a statement of fact) because it means this many reviewers want to review my book ~ and who can bitch about that?

• It's available on kindle. Initially, I was told it would probably not be available in any e-form because they saved that for bigger prints. 31,000 makes it available in e-form, I guess.
  

• There are already several signings scheduled ~ between March and September, for God's sake.

• My favorite bookstore in the entire world will carry the book.

• Amazon has already shipped it; Powells already has it on their shelves ~ and it's not even officially released until next week.

• I have figured out my "brand" on my professional blog. It's going to be about living a champagne life on a beer budget. New posts every Monday. Feel free to check it out. Or just hang out here. While I need the traffic over there, Pobble Thoughts and my Pobble readers keep me grounded.
  

• I'm getting married at the end of February. Sometimes the beauty of this man I love and the family we're building takes my breath away, even more than the book stuff does.

• My life does include more than books and weddings ~ but not much more. Ask again in March.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

The Chronicles of Pobble

I've been tagged by Denny over at the Chronicle (over there, in my links, damn live linky-ness) and you know I love me a tag so here we go...

A. People who have been tagged must write their answers on their blog and replace any question that they dislike with a new, original question.

B. Tag eight people. Don't refuse to do that. Don't tag who tagged you.

001. What are your nicknames?

Pobble or Mame. I've been called other things by other individuals (some of them even printable) but those are the closest things to universal nicknames I've got.

002. How do you style your hair?

By drying it with a towel and, if I'm feeling Really adventurous, spritzing it with de-frizzer.

003. What's new in your life right now?
Oh dear Lord...what's not new???? The book, the marketing, the next book, the wedding, the job hunt...On and on we go.

004. How many colours are you wearing now?
three ~ black pants, white shirt and hot pink fuzzy slippers

005. Are you an introvert or extrovert?
Introvert, in spite of common misperception

006. What was the last book you read?

honestly, I don't remember. it was either a re-read or a romance novel, because I've had to start reading those in order to know my business better

007. Do you nap a lot?

oh hell yeah. that's part of the fun of my job.

008. If the person you secretly like is already taken, what would you do?

life is too short to wait around. and there's always someone else to like. >:)

009. Is there anything that has made you unhappy these days?

unfortunately, yes.

010. What's your favourite dessert?

chocolate baked good with ice cream. I'm really not picky about what the baked good is or what flavor the ice cream.

011. How long does it take you to get ready in the morning?

30 minutes, max.

012. What websites do you visit daily?

my site, msn, yahoo, cnn and the blogs I read

013. What classes are you taking right now? And if you're not in school any more, what's your job?

romance novelist, baby!

014. Do you like to clean?

I like to scrub. I loathe handling the clutter.

015. What's the last song that got stuck in your head?
"Put A Banana In Your Ear"

016. What's the last movie you saw?

ummm...hm. don't remember this one, either. life has been a bit of a whirlwind lately.

017. What's better: eternal love or memorable love?

memorable.

018. What colour do you look best in?
black, brown and deep reds

019. Best time of your life?

I've had too many of them to single any out.

020. What are you most looking forward to in the coming month?
getting married; the book release; seeing my friends...again, too many ~ it's going to be a hell of a good month.

And guess who's it?

Oh, it's tag time. I hate this part. Okay, I might not make 8 but here we go anyway...
Krystal ;)
Vanyel (maybe it will get him posting again)
Pharmyard (yes, she's new so WELCOME!)
um...
Cam Pike
Jersey
Graziella (if she has time with the move and all)
That's six. That's as good as it's going to get here. Anybody else decide to play, let me know.

Those are Pobble Thoughts, with a little help. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Perhaps A Bigger Deal Than I'd Thought

People are asking where we are registered.

Um.... where are we registered? We aren't registered. We didn't even think about registering. This isn't a first marriage for either of us. And to be completely honest, in some ways, we have to keep reminding ourselves it's even happening. The wedding part of the weekend is almost secondary to the friends coming to gather and the cake. (Not the marriage. The marriage is a big deal and hardly secondary. But the wedding itself.)

It's a very small event. The people who are coming are spending money getting here. The people who aren't coming either can't afford to come ~ at which point I don't want them to spend their money on a present ~ or they aren't invited ~ and what am I supposed to say to them? Hi, you're not invited but buy us presents anyway..?

And yet my mother is thrilled to be helping with the cake. My florist friend is thrilled to be helping with the flowers. My girlfriends want links and keep asking questions and want to know. And people are asking us where we're registered.

So...maybe this wedding is a bigger deal than I'd thought. But I still don't think we'll be registering. ;)

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Updates, Updates

Here we go, people...

Lithus and I have a wedding date. It's very exciting. And, of course, you are all invited! I promise to post pictures.

FOUR STARS! Falling In Love got FOUR STARS (out of a possible 4.5) from a major review source for the genre. Yep, I'm tickled pink.

And Financial Words You Should Know has a cover. Check it out:


Finally, a plea to my readers who use WordPress. My professional blog is WordPress. Mostly, I think I'm getting it. If, however, there are little tricks you would like to share that aren't immediately apparent, I would love to know them. Thanks.

My apologies for the short, somewhat terse postings recently. Hopefully, we will be back to your more expected Pobble Thoughts relatively soon.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

When Online Advertising Goes Bad

I have several email accounts. Some are for those sites you want to check out but are required to give an email address to register. Some are for work. Some are personal, primary or secondary. I have more than one address on a couple different servers. At least two of those servers use tracking in order to give you ads that are specific to your interests, geographic location, recent searches...whatever.

Two different servers and three different email addresses have given me the same ad today:

TRY CHRISTIAN MINGLE FOR FREE! MEET OTHER LIKE-MINDED CHRISTIANS...AND FIND LOVE!

There are So Many Reasons this is funny.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Images

I'm getting old. Or getting sensitive. Or getting something.

Scary movies, disturbing pictures, provoking images never used to bother. In fact, I was known for my ability to see something or read something and be asleep within moments. Cool as ice. Nothing touched me.

And it was legitimate. It wasn't a front or an act or anything.

Now? Now, apparently, this is me:


What happened? I have no idea. Seriously. Over the last few days, however, I have seen two things (one movie, one still picture) that have gotten under my skin. Gotten into my brain. That I can't quite let go, even during the day. At night? Whooo boy...


So for the first time since I saw my first horror flick and read my first Stephen King, I'm going to have to start really monitoring myself. It's a weird thought. I guess it's a good thing I write romance novels, huh?

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

Ps ~ If you're interested, the movie was called "Audition." Not scary per se. New definition of disturbing though. *shiver*

Pps ~ Those pictures up there? Those aren't really me. Those are probably copyrighted to someone who's not me. I use them with thanks.

Drunk Blogging

Nope. Not gonna do it.

*whew*

Those are Pobble Thoughts (if this particular Pobble could think). That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

It's...It's...It's...

LIVE!

Check it out:

www.paulinetrent.com

Oh.
My.
God.
People.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.

2009 Resolution

Generally speaking, I'm not a New Year's Resolution type o'gal. When I make them, they tend to be things like light more candles or take more baths or remember to look at the sky more often. Because for the most part, I think New Year's Resolutions are simply good ways to set ourselves up to fail. However! Occasionally, I do make them. And I'm going to have to make one this year. So what is my 2009 New Year's Resolution?

Learn to trust that the man really can pull it off.

See, I'm a planner. On a random Tuesday or arbitrary Saturday, I have no problem with the whole getting-in-the-car-and-seeing-where-we-land thing. In fact, I enjoy it, thrive on it, look forward to it. Worst case scenario, we've had a nice evening drive and at least gotten out of the house. When it's just me, I can be as flexible and spontaneous as anyone you've ever met. More so, I'll wager. But when something is at stake ~ someone's good time, something that has been anticipated, whatever ~ I'm a planner. I know where we're going, what time it starts, when we need to leave, where we're going to park, how much it's going to cost and where we will spend the night once it's all done. I have checked and double-checked the directions. I know what's included and what isn't. If at all possible, I already have tickets. I'm a planner.

Lithus is not.

In the past, Lithus has taken Timber to Florida over New Year's with nothing but a clear credit card in his pocket and return plane tickets home a week later. No itinerary. No rental car reserved. No maps. No plan. No hotel rooms waiting for them. The very thought makes me a little queasy.

For the last several days, I've been asking Lithus if we need anything To Do with Timber over New Year's Eve. If we needed to arrange for something or plan something. His response has been "oh no; it's fine." Which said to me we will just hang out at the house and let it be whatever it is. Yesterday morning, he looks at me and says "I'm thinking we should go into town tonight."

What?

What's the plan? He doesn't have one. Where are the fireworks? He doesn't know. Are there fireworks? He's not sure. Is there anything all three of us can attend? He's sure there's something. What is he thinking about? Eh...driving into downtown, finding parking and ending up somewhere. Maybe there's a street party.

You have to be fucking kidding me.

At 10:45 last night, I went on the record as believing this was going to be a fiasco and a royally big mistake. We were going to end up driving around downtown, away from everything, with an unhappy, disappointed teenager in the backseat and two adults sniping at each other in the front. I was game. I was going. I was even laughing. And I was on the record.

By 11:15, we had found parking (at an incredibly good rate) right around the corner (seriously ~ less than a block, right.around.the corner) from a street party. On the waterfront. Coffees and cocoas were only a dollar. The karaoke and costume contests were free entertainment. It was under a huge tent, away from the rain and wind. At midnight, everyone cheered, a race started and the boats on the river sounded their horns. We decided a food run was in order so got back in the Pobble mobile and headed down the street.

Did he know where the donut shop was from where we are? No. Not really. How about the diner? Oh, definitely not. Was there anything else he knew was open? Honestly, not really. But there would be something.

And there was Denney's. Always open. We walked in and were seated in a booth along the wall immediately. By the time our orders had been taken, the line was out the door. On the way home, we all talked about what a really great evening it had been and what a nice way it was to start the new year.

The man pulls it off. Even when there's something at stake. Even when it's not just us being willing to be random and leave it to chance.

Thus, my 2009 New Year's Resolution. Even if I still need to plan when I'm in charge. Even if the thought of not planning still makes me a little queasy. When he says "Why don't we..." I'm going to swallow hard, smile and...trust.

Those are Pobble Thoughts. That and a buck fifty will get you coffee.