Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow,

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00OA25GJY/ref=cm_sw_r_fa_dp_EfDnub1NCJAM9

Please enjoy a free sample of my latest release!

Just in time for Halloween and my Spooktacular contests!

Connie’s Adventures with (yet another set of) Contact Lenses

During the past week, friends, family and co-workers, seem to continually pose the question, “Why don’t you just wear contact lenses?”  The tone of the question ranges from sympathy, pity, non-comprehension, and blatant exasperation as each person watches me maneuver my heavy tri-focal eyeglass lenses to match-up with the computer screen, Excel print-out, or focus on a person face.

Why?  Ah, the question seems simple; the answer obvious-to innocent bystanders, and those blessed with 20/20 vision.  Little do they know my past history: the unexpected tumble down steps because I couldn’t distinguish the steps from the solid brick surface, a toddler playfully patting my face and sending a contact to the floor of supermarket, allergic reaction to the lenses (leaving a suction cup ring on the scalar, and then there was the time a dear friend said, “just try the blue contacts.”  That little episode with the blue contact lenses creeped me out for six months.  Why?  Since I have med-brown eyes with a lovely touch of hazel, I am used to seeing expression in my eyes.  Blue eyes are great—my husband has light blue eyes, so this isn’t an anti-blue eyes thing.  However, when I looked in the mirror to see blue eyes staring back at me. . ..but then I’d forget and jump when I walked past a mirror or spent time wondering if I looked like a little like a seal-point Siamese cat.

Okay, it’s almost a decade later, everyone says with the disposable type of lenses, I will be just fine.

Since I’ve been extremely myopic since birth, my biggest challenge seems to be dealing with using ‘readers’.  For those either nearing or over the age of forty, the terminology is familiar and an expected change.  While I, who has always removed my glasses and held the document, menu, etc. the distance of six-inches from my nose to read, this is decidedly odd and challenging.
Last week I carried a purse, inside were the usual items plus one set of prescription sunglasses and my eye glass case.  Tomorrow I will carry said purse with the above items, plus a tote with contact lens solution, eye drops, a small case, and two sets of ‘readers’ because Foster Grant, apparently doesn't manufacture, or Rite Aide doesn't stock -2.25 ‘readers’.

Whereas before when I took my glasses off, I would braille the furniture or squint until I located the needed item.  Now I wander around the house searching for my ‘readers’.  Oh, and my husband says I look younger, and I should have headaches from eyestrain.  He also says, “Do you know you that bite of pasta fell off your fork, again. Better check your lap.”  Apparently, I am required to wear ‘readers’ while dining too.

September Round Robin Topic: Abandoned Buildings

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Ah, the perfect soon-to-be Halloween topic: abandoned buildings.

www.novelsbyconnievines.com 

Since I reside in SoCal, Hollywood--past and present, provide ample inspiration for the creative mind (my mind, anyway).

Hollywood Roosevelt, 7000 Hollywood, Blvd., 

Legend has it that the ghost of Marilyn Monroe still haunts the hotel. “There was a famous mirror in the lobby where people would take pictures and claim they could see Marilyn’s reflection above them." This full-length mirror once hung in Monroe’s poolside suite, and then in the lobby where it has since been removed. On the 9th floor, you can hear the late actor Montgomery Clift—who lived in suite 928 for three months while filming From Here to Eternity—practicing on his trumpet. “Guests have asked the hotel staff to tell the person in the next room to stop playing in the middle of the night. But the room was actually vacant.” 

 Lights and faucets are known to turn on and off on their own and the switchboard gets calls from vacant rooms.

Culver Studio, 9336 West Washington Blvd., Culver City, Los Angeles.

The studio complex where such legendary Tinseltown films as Gone with the Wind and Raging Bull were filmed was built in 1918 by silent movie pioneer Thomas Ince. Ince died in 1924, after falling ill on newspaper mogul William Randolph Hearst’s yacht during a star-studded cruise and dinner, celebrating Ince’s 42nd birthday. While the official cause of death was listed as heart failure, legend has it that Ince was actually shot and killed by a jealous Hearst, who was supposedly aiming at (and missed) Charlie Chaplin, who had eyes for Hearst’s mistress Marion Davies. Some say Ince’s ghost still shows up for work at his beloved former studio, and can be seen and heard walking through walls and criticizing management.

And, my personal favorite, The Comedy Club.

Before this popular Sunset Strip comedy club appeared on the scene in 1972, it was Ciro's restaurant, one of Hollywood's hippest clubs during the 1940s and 1950s. Its owners had a close affiliation with the mob and the building still has peepholes in the upper walls of the main room that once allowed mobsters to see who was coming and going. Mickey “The King of the Sunset Strip” Cohen used the club as his base of operations. “West Hollywood was a gangster-run place with gun fights in the streets. The basement of the club was where they would take care of problem people. There is still a hole in the stairway that fits a gun, to shoot anyone going up or downstairs.” 

employees have claimed to hear voices, cries and even snarls coming from the basement. “After years of denying the ghost stories, the Comedy Store is now embracing its past and even started tours of the haunted basement."

How about you?  Do have an abandoned building story of your own to tell?

Watch for my Sassy and Fun Fantasy series.  "Here Today, Zombie Tomorrow" will be available on October 1st!  My book trailer will be on my web site, YouTube and Vimeo next week!

Visit Rachael Kosnski  to read her Round Robin blog. http://the-doodling-booktease.tumblr.com/

My Novel, Lynx, Rodeo Romance is only 99 cents!

http://bwlpp.blogspot.com/2014/09/99-cent-sale-lynx-by-connie-vines-with.html

Sign up for the BWL contest and more!

Lynx, Rodeo Romance Book 1 is available in paperback!

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lynx-connie-vines/1114972573?ean=9781771452861

This is a great SALE at Barnes and Noble.  FREE shipping with a $25.00 order!

Looking for a sexy cowboy and a sassy heroine?  Then "Lynx" is the book you've been craving.

HOLT Medallion and Orange Rose Finalist and Award os Excellence Winner.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/lynx-connie-vines/1114972573?ean=9781771452861

Characters Take Over #Round Robin, August

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This month's Round-Robin topic is about secondary characters taking over a story. I must admit that I have read stories where I found the secondary character more interesting than the main character or really wanted to read the story of the secondary character.  I believe that several of my secondary characters have tried to take over the story. However, to date, I have been successful in stalling the secondary character.  How? (More on this later).

My main characters aren't women who are easily elbowed from center stage.  Still, my secondary characters don't take kindly to keeping his/ her light beneath a basket, so to speak.  In Lynx, Rodeo Romance Book 1, Charlene Davis (Rachel's best friend) is a no-nonsense, extremely funny, redneck sorta woman.  Charlene is a loyal friend to Rachel.   In Brede, Rodeo Romance Book 2, Caldwell, the old cook, makes a valiant effort to take over story (Caldwell is mentioned on nearly every review), but my main characters do keep control of the story.

In my YA novel, Whisper upon the Water, the secondary take over was quite different.  When I plotted my novel I had planned on making Anna Thunder my main character.  However, as my plot line and characterization became more concrete, I discovered that Tayiana  was truly the heroine of the novel.  While Anna's story was also important-- Tay's story was more compelling, more haunting.

How have I stalled my secondary characters?  I bribed them, of course!  

Anna Thunder will appear in my Spirit in the Sky while Lynx"s sister was the heroine in Brede.  

As for Charlene and Caldwell, time will tell.

Sometimes a writer can introduce an unexpected characters whose personalities are stronger than those of the main characters. What matters is the story. Hopefully their presence will make the story more believable, add excitement and humor,  while  increasing the reader's enjoyment.

I hope you have enjoyed this month"s blog topic.  Please check in for updates on my releases:  Lymx, Rodeo Romance, book 1--in print!  And my sassy and fun novella, Here Today Zombie Tomorrow.  Followed by my anthology, Gumbo Ya Ya: for Woman who like Romance Cajun & Men HOT & Spicy

I thank you for stopping by.  Please follow the link to Geeta Kakade's blog.

Connie 

Geeta Kakade http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/

Those participating:
Marci Baun  http://www.marcibaun.com/
Anne Stenhousehttp://annestenhousenovelist.wordpress.com
Fiona McGier http://www.fionamcgier.com
A.J. Maguire http://ajmaguire.wordpress.com/
Beverley Bateman http://beverleybateman.blogspot.ca/ 
Diane Bator http://dbator.blogspot.ca/
Margaret Fieland http://margaretfieland.com/my_blog

Victoria Chatham http://www.victoriachatham.webs.com

Connie Vines http://connievines.blogspot.com/
Geeta Kakade http://geetakakade.blogspot.com/
Rhobin Courtright http://rhobinleecourtright.com

Outlander Series aka Men Wearing Kilts

For those who turned "Outlander" into an international bestseller, seeing the characters brought to life, with Scotland as the backdrop,  will be a 'must, watch. For me, the resulting series a snooze -- beautiful Scottish country side, but and too flaccid to make hearts go pitter-pat. 

"People disappear all the time," says Claire (Caitriona Balfe), a British army nurse introduced at the end of World War II delivering a novel-esque voiceover that runs throughout. Weary of bloodshed, she seeks to reconnect with her husband, Frank (Tobias Menzies), as the two embark on a scholarly search (think Ancestory.com) through the countryside.

Developed by "Battlestar Galactica's" Ronald D. Moore from Diana Gabaldon's book, the premiere certainly takes its time before getting to the main event -- namely, Claire being inexplicably whisked back in time, where she finds herself under the protection of the brutish MacKenzie clan. (It's not till the second episode that we learn the date is 1743.)

Claire's keepers include the imperious war chief Dougal (Graham McTavish), who's only one of the bearded ruffians who think about raping her; and Jamie (Sam Heughan), a clean-cut Adonis who endeavors to protect Claire's honor when he isn't exchanging meaningful glances with her. Menzies also lingers in a dual role as Frank's ancestor, a sadistic British officer who has a yen for the ladies.

Still, "Outlander" meanders along so slowly that it needs to immerse viewers in its atmosphere and rhythms -- something that might appeal to ardent fans of the book, but my the attention span and patience was sorely tested.

The principals are perfectly fine, and the period touches have been assembled with care (and filmed in Scotland), the long speeches in un-translated Gaelic have a way of yielding diminishing returns.  I may sit through an episode or two, but I won't be a fan of the series.  Sorry Starz.  I'll be viewing reruns of Longmire, with the beautiful backdrop of Wyoming. The scrips are rather uneven, and a bit sketchy at times, but the story moves along and the heroes are a Bonny match for the men of the Scottish Highlands.