My new computer

I'm blogging about a new computer?  Well, I have to admit, I'm a bit of a techno-junkie and have been hanging out for one for a while.  For ages I have been limping along my hated compaq laptop, which really was the worst computer purchase I ever made :(.  This week I told hubs I needed a new one.  So I jumped on Ebay and started scouting.

I knew what I wanted - enough memory to keep me out of trouble, a reasonable amount of RAM and a stand alone graphics chip.  Not much to ask?  And I didn't want to pay alot.  Yeah.  My list isn't really that long.

So 3 days and not a terribly huge amount later, my new computer has arrived.  So for most of the day, I have been loading up software.  The most interesting thing I have found, is that it came preloaded with Vista.  Not a bad thing.  Seems very stable, so I'm quite pleased.  But I have had to install updates.  Lots of updates.  Actually 133 updates.  Sigh.  The things you do :) so you can run certain programs.

I have it down to around 60+ to go...I may have to leave it to run all night so it gets them all.

What kind of computer?  A Samsung R610... faster, more hassle free than anything I have had for a long long time.  I like the look, the feel, the numeric keypad, the light weight and yes the slimline styling.

Doesn't it look spiffy?  So the next thing is to order a skin for it.  Something out of spacey...I'm still tossing up what and where, but I do have ideas.

So far I have installed:

• Skype
• Scrivener (still having an issue there, though I think it is to do with something from the loading)
• Edit Pad Lite
• Photofiltre
• Google Chrome (gotta have a good alternative browser)
• Dropbox (makes moving files between computers super easy)
• ITunes (well, I could hardly be expected to survive without it, now could I?)
• Java...

The list is almost endless.  I am bringing over files as fast as I can, and getting really excited.  Tonight I was able to play my fave facebook games without interruption or timing out.  Ohhh, I almost go gooey at the knees!

Yes, I think I'm happy.  Now to find out my Sims discs I think :)

Imogene

10 Questions to Delight and Despair with Natalie Nicole Bates

Continuing our 10 questions series, today we are visited by Natalie Nicole Bates, author of Antique Charming, Change of Address and many more titles.

Welcome Natalie Nicole Bates!

Could you give me a brief rundown of your currently available items with Secret Cravings?

Change of Address
Josselyn Adler’s dreams of home ownership are dashed when Dr Ben Parnell claims to be the rightful owner of the house—and Ben has a will to prove it! Although he is attracted to the dark haired beauty, he is still suspicious of her true motives and her past involvement with his father.Bio
Natalie-NicoleBates is a book reviewer and author.
Her passions in life include books and hockey along with Victorian and Edwardian era photography. Natalie contributes her uncharacteristic love of hockey to being born in Russia.
She currently resides in the UK where she is working on her next book and adding to her collection of 19th century post-mortem photos.

Wow, post mortem photos can be really interesting! They give you an excellent insight into the way people used to view death! Onto the 10 questions...

1. What is your main genre, and how did you get started in it?
My main genre is contemporary romance, but I do write paranormal romance as well. I originally started as an avid reader, then a reviewer. I only started to write seriously about a year ago.

2. Okay, what is the most exotic location you have written in?
And how did that come about? I would say the most exotic location I've written in would probably be the few weeks I spent in Spain. I rented a villa near the beach.

3. Have you got a current WIP and can you give us any hints as to what we will find within the book?
I have a few things in the works right now. I am continuing with the idyllic setting of Unity that I used in Change of Address, In COA we briefly meet Ryan Maine and Amii Sloane. They are the duo featured in my current WIP. I'm also working on a paranormal novella that I'm hoping to sell as a series.

4. Coffee, Tea, Hot Chocolate or something stronger? And why?
I favour the flavoured teas. I'm currently drinking a lot of blackberry. I enjoy the occasional coffee as well. I have one of those Krups Dolce Gusto machines that make the fancy coffees. Ohh man, envious look happening here.

5. What was the hardest scene you have ever written, and why do you think it was difficult? (emotionally for you and/or your character)
I think the most difficult scene to write was in Change of Address when Josselyn finally tells Ben about her traumatic past. It was a deeply emotional experience that I drew from my own past to write. Very difficult, but liberating as well.

6. If you had the opportunity to try something in your books, what would it be?
Being a contemporary writer, I was always interested in paranormal as well. I knew I would only do it if I could come up with something new and fresh. I wrote Antique Charming this past summer and was fortunate enough to sell it as a stand alone short story. I had never written a short story, so I accomplished a paranormal and a short story in one go--and sold it as well.

7. If you could invite 3 of your characters to a dinner party, who would you choose and what do you want to learn from them?
Adam Nichols from Antique Charming. I would love to learn his secrets of where he has been for the last 100 years. Josselyn Adler from Change of Address. I would like to know her secrets for perseverance and character strength. Lynsey Lincoln from my upcoming contemporary Back To You. I'd love to hear all about her world travels, her romance with a rock superstar, and her fabulous career as a true-crime novelist.

8. What would you do differently on your road to becoming published? I would have been more trusting in myself and my gut feelings. Early on, I took too much critique that messed with my mind. When I stopped taking critique, I sold Change of Address, Antique Charming, and Back To You all in a span of four months.

9. You are going on a holiday and can only take 5 things with you. What would you pick and why?
My husband, because he is my best friend and my rock. Teeble and Ryan, my stuffed bear and rhino, because they've always been in my life and got me through the rough times. My Blackberry, because I have the world at my fingertips. Blackberry tea, because I can't face the morning without it. Sunscreen, because I am literally the most pale girl you'll ever see.

10. If you could give a piece of advice to a reader who wants to write a book, what would it be?
Take a very good course in how to construct a novel. Too many writers with wonderful potential fall down because of poor story structure.

You can catch me at: www.natalienicolebates.com, BatesNatalie at Twitter and http://www.facebook.com/natalienicole.bates at Facebook.

To check out current releases, try any of the following:
Change of Address at Secret Cravings Publishing available December 16 2011

Antique Charming at Books To Go Now Publishing available now

Back To You at Bradley Publishing available January 30 2012

Competition Time:
Natalie-Nicole Bates has kindly offered a PDF copy of Change of Address + a limited-edition Change of Address solid perfume, so, in order to win, name their most recent release with Secret Cravings.
Prizes will be drawn randomly on the 20th January, 2012

Websites and Writing

So I was reading a dead interesting blog by Dear Author about the importance of remembering that the website is for the benefit of your readers, not the author and I sat and mulled it over for some time. Made notes of the elements that were suggested as essential and you know what? Each item made sense.

I went back to my new website (which I crafted - how I love saying that!) and checked that I had most of the elements in place... Then I turned back to my blog and to my horror, realised I was missing a heap of information ... always the way isn't it? You don't realise what you are missing until someone points it out. Things like links to my Facebook page etc., So now, when you look on the right hand side of the page, all the links are there. >>>>>

So how is a website like writing, you ask? Writing is like building websites, in that we can check and work and polish but at the end of the day, it is only as good as what the reader (or in the case of a website), visitor sees and is hoping to get out of it. I can read and read and read my manuscript until my eyes are just about bleeding but miss things that should be easy to spot. Maybe that is because I am too close to it. Maybe it is because my brain knows what should be there, rather than the actual items I am searching for. But at the end of the day, if it is missing information, you miss the point.

So with that in mind, I am off to work on edits for Book 2 - Starfire .... I have a sneaking suspicion that I may need to find someone not to close to it, to read it through ....

Till next time

Be good and have fun!

Imogene

Here and Back Again`

Okay so my first manuscript is in the hands of another writer at the moment, and I have to say I am so nervous. I remember reading Dee Davis describe it a bit like sending your kid off to college, you know you have to let it spread its wings, but nevertheless you find it difficult to just say "Go!"

So instead of working on the second book, or even working on more rewrites - I am kinda waiting on her feedback anyway.....not that I am rushing anyone, but I guess it is a little bit of avoidance at the moment so I am on a reading binge... So far in the last week it has been Darkscape followed by My Immortal Assassin. (love that Carolyn Jewel). Anyway, so by my desk as I am typing this is 2 Susan Grant books - Your Planet or Mine? and Sureblood.... and of course I have a copy of the latest Carolyn Jewel book - My Dangerous Pleasure.

I keep looking at the manuscript though and thinking should I start on it? But you know what? I am going away for a week on Friday so I think I will throw it and my mulitcoloured gel pens into my laptop bag and take it with me. Apart from that there are 2 eroticas waiting to be read....life in a bookstore is great :)

Meanwhile, I will leave you with this thought:-

'No matter how good I might think it is, it is only as good as the next person who reads it'

Happy reading and writing
Imogene Nix