Category Archives: Blatherings

A New Adventure Has Begun: Brace Yourself

Posted on February 24, 2012 | 11 comments

Never in a million years would anyone ever have been able to tell me that I would one day want to be a gardener. No kidding. Dirt? Bugs? Sweat. I think not! I had no desire to eat a vegetable, much less grow one. What the hell is that all about?

So here I am a couple decades later, and I am going to publicly proclaim myself a gardener. Okay, a novice gardener. Okay, a gal who is trying very hard not to kill the vegetables in her backyard. No, no, a gardener. I’m sticking with that. For most of my life I’ve lived in apartments. Only a couple of houses and never any with the space to garden, not that I wanted to. But in the last couple of years, a few things have happened to make me take pause and reconsider the whole gardening thing.

I met a lovely gal named Gale Borger who is an extremely talented gardener and the brilliant author of Death of a Garden Hoe.
I connected with another gal on Twitter who has a site called Red, White, and Grew.
And I paid $1.29 for a freaking cucumber that little to no flavor.

http://redwhiteandgrew.com/

So, here I am. Pamela, at Red, White, and Grew (who has an awesome display of boards on Pinterest) had a lot to do with this as she reminded me about something I had long ago forgotten: Victory Gardens. You all know what they are, right? If not, hit Pamela’s site and pay attention. I’ve watched Pamela’s enthusiasm and willingness to answer a series of (what must be mind-numbing) questions from all manner of people, including me. She appears to be tireless. Truly.

Gale, who is also one of my favorite authors, has spent many an hour answering my questions as well. If you want to see what a true gardener can do, visit Gale’s site and look at some of her award-winning plants and flowers. She has a remarkable gift, and she loves to share it with others.

Then there was the whole cucumber incident. Now, it wasn’t just the high cost of that flavorless cuke, but my mouth-watering experience on the other end of the veggie spectrum. I was up in Pennsylvania at the launch party for Kieryn Nicolas’ debut YA spy novel, Rain. It was a grand party, and I was overwhelmed with the family garden gracing their yard. As I was leaving that day, Mara, Kieryn’s way super-awesome-cool mom, gave me some treats. One of them was a small bag of cucumbers. NEVER in my life had I had a cucumber that tasted so good. I mean , seriously people, my husband and I stood in the kitchen all but crying with the joy of this cucumber. I kid you not. It was SPECTACULAR. But I do go on.

Fast forward to a couple months ago when hubby and I gave up apartment life and bought a house in Orlando, FL. We had this lovely backyard and nothing in it. As of today, it has a patch of ground that I cleared, and tried to till, and turned, and babied so I could plant my tomatoes and bell peppers. A week later came one night of frost. Guess what? Yeah. Lucky for us Home Depot, gems that they are, took back all the dead peppers and one of the three mater plants. Two of them actually came back and produced a few more maters (9 cherries maters to date.) Then came another stupid frost. Really? In Florida? Come on.

'Maters and Bell Peppers

So, as I type this post in, I am anxiously waiting for Sunday when we will go out and buy the materials to build a couple raised beds. I have several mater and bell peppers plants that I started from seed and are almost ready to be transplanted. I have a monster cilantro plant that thinks its some kind of giant tree (I can’t use as much cilantro as I keep cutting), and we have a grapefruit tree (with leaf miners), a lemon tree that might actually bear fruit, and a tangerine tree that is doing splendidly. Oh and three concord grape starters.

Onions

I am determined to become a successful and fruitful gardener, even if it kills me. I am trying to learn as much as I can, so if you garden and you have tips, ideas, and other stuff you would like to share, please let me know. Who knows, maybe I can become some famous publishing gardener.

I’d love to hear what you grow.

11 Comments

Posted in Blatherings, Gardening, Just for Fun

The Mad Scientist (Author) returns!

Posted on February 23, 2012 | Leave a comment

Don't want to be bothered with the contest? Click cover to buy a copy, no strings attached.

Okay, I have been trying to read the Blogs of others with the hope of discovering something that will help me increase my exposure as an author. Lots of people know me as a publisher and all around cool gal, but I still get so many surprised looks when I mention that I write. Huh, you woulda thunk it?

So, I’ve been trying up the level of promotion for the books and stories I have written. Not too happy with how that is all working. So, I have devised a fiendish…er…clever plan to let people know that I write. I’m going to give away books. ::gasp:: Can it be? Yeah, I know, it’s been done. But…

Here’s what I am proposing. I’d like to find new readers, perhaps those who do not read my Blog (Life as a Publisher), follow me on Facebook, or revel in my brilliant wit on Twitter. I would like to give a FREE download of my book, DARK SHINES MY LOVE, to the first five people who post a request on this Blog (if you’ve already read it, let’s give someone else a chance.)

In return, I would like each of those five people to pass that book on to ONE reader. Someone they know who has not read or heard of me. Once the book has been passed on, I would like the recipient of that book to hop onto my Blog here, and post who gave them the book. Then when they are finished reading it, I would like THEM to give it to ONE other person, and have them do the same thing. And so on. If it wouldn’t be too much trouble I’d like to know where you are from as well.

My goal is to follow the travels of those books through to March 31, 2012. Clear as mud?

On April 1, 2012 (yes April Fool’s Day-but this is no joke) I will do a random drawing from the names on this post and give away a $10.00 Amazon.com Gift Card. I know, it’s not much, but I’m giving this book away. LOL

And even if you have read the book and aren’t giving away copies, please feel free to share this news with others. Oh yeah, and if you own it, don’t share that copy, the download I am using for this is a Special Edition.

So, who’s with me?

About the book:

Contemporary Romance

Darkness surrounds Patric LeClerc. Blinded in a tragic accident years before, he does nothing but drive everyone away with his anger and resentment over the life he’s been cursed with.

Everyone, that is, except Callie Carpenter. Desperate for a home and a job after the break-up of her dreadful marriage to a wealthy but abusive man, she tries to restore Dark Gardens Plantation to its former glory.

Patric lets his guard down and shows her that deep within, a spark of warmth and humanity still glows. Soon she finds herself more interested in him as a man than a patient. When her ex threatens to take away her son, Callie and Patric join forces to try to save the boy.

But can Patric’s dark past ever allow him to see Callie’s love for him, or will he drive her away as well, for having come too close to the true, if vulnerable, Patric LeClerc?

A few reviews:

“A moving novel…the love scenes are marvelous. This is an enjoyable story that will make you laugh, cry, and be glad you read it.” –Romantic Times Magazine aka RT Booklovers)

“A beautiful, moving story. Alexis Hart has the amazing ability to generate characters that literally step off the page in three-dimensional form. The dialogue is well developed and the entire story is a hauntingly accurate tale concerning a serious issue. I loved Patric from the first moment he appeared and Callie was as real as if I were standing next to her. Well done. Ms. Hart has written another winner.” –Leslie Burbank, author of To Tame a Viking

You Should have known Better

Posted on February 9, 2012 | 3 comments

Hi again. In my last blog post I talked about the cool things that happened when I attended the 2012 Love is Murder conference. I didn’t even come close to telling you about all of them, but I wanted to switch gears and share a few points with you. If you’ve ever been to a conference, you know that there are a lot of people and not all of them understand the etiquette involved.

Editors, agents, publicists, and authors attend these events as special guests and we make ourselves available as much as possible, but you must know, as adults, that there are limits. In my travels around the hotel during the conference, I had the opportunity to speak with several of the other guests. We talked a bit, and here are a few of the things I heard from some of those guests. Keep in mind, these are actual statements (not verbatim). If you attend conferences you should pay close attention to these things. And no, I am not going to tell you who said what. I am going to use the word “guest” to mean editor, agent, publicist, author generically.

When a guest is talking to a group of people, DO NOT interrupt their conversation to offer them a copy of your book, proposal packet, or share the premise of your book.
When a guest is participating in a specific type of event, DO NOT attend that event under false pretenses to get their attention. This actually happened to multiple editors who were doing author appointments and people came up during their times so they could talk to them about other things.
When you attend a panel or workshop as an attendee, DO NOT raise your hand to make a point and then promote your book to the audience. Relevant or not, it is NOT your show.
When you ask a guest for information and then don’t agree with it, DO NOT stand in a public hallway with people milling about and discuss how ill-informed you think that guest is. You never know who is standing 2 feet away and listening. I promise that person will never offer you their time or courtesy again.
When a guest is in the bathroom, DO NOT stand between them and a stall or a sink to discuss your work. There is a time and a place.
When you sit with a guest at a meal (large table), DO NOT monopolize the guest’s attention, they are there for the enjoyment of all the attendees.
When you are in a panel or workshop, DO NOT publicly contradict the guest when they are giving a presentation.
When you are an attendee and not a guest, DO NOT remove the guests promo materials to make room for yours. The guests are offered certain perks, and if you want those perks, get yourself invited as a guest.
DO NOT put your promo materials in someone else’s space. This is me, and I am telling you, when I PAY for a space to promote that is MY space. You are alienating me by leaving stacks of your promo material on MY table. You are free to pay for your own space to promote.
When you don’t like a certain guest, DO NOT talk smack about them where their friends can hear you. Word will get back to the guest.

These may seem like common sense things, but each of these things actually happened at Love is Murder. This is one of the best conferences in the industry, and the guest and other attendees deserve to be respected. This is true of every conference, no matter how big or small. We are professionals and should quite honestly know better.