A Life in the Day

If you've ever owned a Mac you've been part of the Cult of Mac. This group of Mac-savvy owners are always ready to help others learn about everything Mac and while there can be a few fanatics in the group (stop staring at me, I know, I'm a Mac geek) many are just quiet supporters of the system touted for ease-of-use and virus-free software. But it appears that whenever two or three Mac fanatics are gathered in Apple solidarity, new converts are created. While helping my sister choose and purchase her iPad this weekend, I was reminded several times that I should be working at the store I consider my personal Mecca both by my family and the staff working at the store! More than once, I heard things like "You should work here!" and "Why aren't you working for Apple again?" while showing things to my sister at the Apple store. But the truth is when you love doing something, it doesn't feel like work and it is reflected in your attitude and everything...

Be mindful of what you say but careful of what you write. My parents used to tell me this as a child all of the time. It was likely due to the rather disturbing stories I'd write as a child of inanimate objects flying around the house and as I got older the "forbidden" love stories I'd scribble about on the dozens of notebooks in my bedroom. As a teen, I didn't understand why my parents were so controlling of my words and often rebelled against them in my writing. As I grew older, I realized why the pen is truly mightier than the sword and it's something I'm often surprised to find many people online forget. You can scream at the wind and howl at the rain but the moment those words are on paper (or screen) they are immortalized and the world's perception of you is forever changed by them. People believe what they hear but they SWEAR by what they read! Celebrities live with this fact of life as their words are often twisted in tabloid TV, e-zines and ...

We went to visit my aunt last week in Tampa and found that she's not been able to swallow anything for several months. Doctor ordered endoscopy and found a mass in her esophagus. They did a biopsy and found the mass to be cancerous but also found that the tumor had spread down her esophagus into her stomach. The prognosis is not good without surgery and aggressive radiation and chemotherapy. She's 70 and while she was strong in her earlier years, she's grown frail in the past few months. She's my Mom's eldest sister (Mom's the second youngest of seven) and the one she's closest to since they were born on the same day, ten years apart. Her lease is up next week and her daughter is moving them out of their apartment and needs help. So we're heading back down to Tampa this Saturday to help pack up their things. This comes at the heels of my uncle being diagnosed with Alzheimer's last summer and learning a few weeks ago that he no longer recognizes a...

2010 flew by in a gust of work, work and more work. 2011 proves to be just as busy... always a good thing! :D My clients have been doing fantastic this year and in the next few days we'll start working on goals for the next 18 months. I'm really looking forward to 2011! Many of my clients were debut authors in 2010 and have had great success with their debut novels including Kele Moon and Diana Copland . This week is going to be fun to get back into the swing of things after the holiday break. Have several contracts to finalize and queries to open up to... not to mention a slew of status calls and emails to my clients. Things at home have been going well too. We ended the year on a high note with the entire family at home for Christmas. Though, my brother-in-law ended up in the hospital with a bout of pancreatitis. He will remain there for a week but is in good spirits and should be released back to active duty once his enzymes return to normal. His base was hit by a to...

Since I've switched to reading eBooks, I've found myself reading more and faster. I'm rather impressed by the amount of reading I was able to get in this year considering how busy 2010 has been. I've read 70 books in 2010. Of course, this number doesn't include the full manuscripts I read this year or the books I've forgotten to add to my goodreads.com bookshelves. :D Tigers and Devils by Sean Kennedy An Improper Holiday by K.A. Mitchell Falling by M.L. Rhodes Fur and Fang by Sean Michael Lord of the Shadows (Cirque Du Freak, #11) by Darren Shan Replacement Guitarist by Lori Toland Sons of Destiny (The Saga of Darren Shan, #12) by Darren Shan Joy Ride by J.M. Snyder Caffeine for a Marine by Kiernan Kelly Sons of Destiny (Cirque Du Freak, #12) by Darren Shan Aidan and Ethan (Seeking Redemption, #1) by Cameron Dane Lift Me Up by Rayne Auster Saying I Do (Quinn Security, #3) by Cameron Dane No Fear in Love by Jamie Craig The One That Got Away - Second Edition by R...

Christmas Music Traditions When I think back on my childhood, the memories are coupled with music. In fact, most of the time, I can remember "eras" in my life when a song plays on the radio or someone sends me a song to hear. I was born and raised in Ponce, Puerto Rico where music is as much a part of your life as coffee with buttered bread. Music is such an integral part of life on the island that it's odd to drive through any neighborhood and not hear music. Women sing while sweeping the sidewalks. Men whistle and sing as they push their carts to the market. Children sing songs as they play games on the playground. Grandparents sing while rocking on the porch or just pull out their guitars and start playing. Music is part of every festive event and a HUGE part of the Christmas celebration. In Puerto Rico, the holidays start the day after Accion de Gracias , Thanksgiving Day and end on Dia de Reyes , Three Kings' Day (or Epiphany). We celebrate with food, family ...

I know this video has gone viral and you've probably all seen it but I just had to post it for those who perchance have missed it. It's amazing how many people call me (yes, I've had folks call me) and pitch me their novel saying almost everything stated in this video word-for-word.