Bleh

After moving twice in less than six months, I've hit a bit of a rough spot in my reading habits. I love to read; do it as much as I can, but I seem to have hit a brick wall lately.

I've read some good books. Thea Harrison comes to mind. But I'm not reading anywhere near as much as I did before the move to Michigan. Not only that, but I haven't found the "spot" yet. You know, the place I go to buy books. There aren't anywhere near as many used bookstores here. In fact, I haven't found a single one. This is sad to me, because I love used bookstores. *sigh*

So, I'm looking for recommendations to bring me out of this reading funk I find myself in. Romance is key...but at this point I'll read almost anything but self-help. I'm not much of a self-help kinda girl.

Random Thoughts & Such

I finally got cable in my apartment over the weekend. One of the perks is FINALLY having HBO. Now I'm able to watch shows like True Blood & Game of Thrones, instead of seeing what my friends Twitter about.

As I'm watching GoT (which is fascinating, btw), I noticed a couple of things. 1. Jason Momoa as Khal Drogo is super delish! 2. Why do bad things always happen to Sean Bean's characters? I love Sean Bean. I'm not usually partial to blonds, but he does it for me. I think it's the fact that he's got such a lived in face and has such a yummy accent. 3. Peter Dinklage has one of the sexiest voices out there. Don't know why, but it is delish! And I love his character. Such a smartass. 4. Communication doesn't seem to be a priority in this series. Eesh! There have been many a time I just wanted to smack people upside the head. Ah well, it's still interesting. I'm such a geek for epic fantasy anyway.

True Blood-Alcide! *thuds* Okay, I'm going to admit something that will probably ostracize me from the social sphere, but I don't get the appeal of Mr. Skarsgard. *ducks and hides* I'm serious! The dude freaks me out something fierce and not in a good way. Again, it's probably because I'm not partial to blonds, but he gives me the heebie-jeebies anytime.

And I like Alcide from the neck down. Ack! My friend Bells will totally disagree with me on that, but it's true. His face does nothing for me.

Here's another observation...boobs rule on HBO! I've never seen so much T&A!!! I know, it's because they can, but still. I don't need to see that many boobs. *hides eyes*

Keeping Motivated

I'm trying really hard to keep myself motivated when it comes to my writing. Moving twice in less than six months, working at least 8 hours Monday-Friday and just life overall keeps me on my toes. I have been writing, just not as much as I would like.

I need to figure out some sort of schedule; something that would allow me to write for a certain amount of time per day and maybe, just maybe, I would actually finish something. *gasp* What a concept!

Sadly, I am not a very regimented person. I hate planning out my life. I want to live each day as it comes and try to enjoy it. However, if I want to be a published writer at some point in my life (yes, please!!!!), I have to make some sort of adjustment to my thinking.

What are my options? Hmm...well, I could write for a bit in the morning. Or after work. Maybe before I go to bed every night. I admit, I'm stumped.

So...those of you out there who DO schedule yourselves writing time, what do you suggest? What works best for you? Help a would-be writer out. :)

Getting to Know You... Getting to Know All About You

Hello everyone!  It’s D.L. from The Romance Girl’s Guide to Fiction back on the Island for the next few days.  I was scheduled to pop by last May, but my pesky final exams got in the way.  Quick thanks to everyone at the Island for picking up the slack and covering for me.

Looking back over my first stay on the Island, I posted about people’s reactions to romance readers, my love of John Matthew, and dislike of Scorpios, but I never did an official introductory post.  So without further ado…

Ten Facts About D.L.

-So some of the basics: I’m a 21 year old English major.  I’m not sure what I’m going to be doing after I graduate, but I’m not going to be a teacher or a journalist.  For some reasons those are the two things people always assume English majors are going to be…

-I have a cat named Abyssinia.  How did she get that name?  There’s that scene in Sense and Sensibility where Margaret crawls out from under the table declaring “the source of the Nile is in Abyssinia!”  Haven’t seen the movie?  Well, you better get on that.

-I have four false teeth.  Two are implants and two are veneers.  They’re not cosmetic; I was born without two teeth, thus the implants.  My before and after pictures are on my dentist’s website!  And it’s always fun to tell a guy I have “implants” on a first date.  The reactions are priceless.

-I love bad paranormal movies.  And I mean real bad ones.  Not the campy ones, but the ones that take themselves seriously.  Daybreakers, Constantine, Priest… Bring ‘em on.  I can’t get enough.

-I hate wearing shoes, both indoors and out.  But when I walk barefoot indoors, my heels don’t touch the ground.  I walk on my tip-toes.  It looks a bit odd, but it does make me look a bit taller though!

-Just like Bet Me’s Min was waiting for her reincarnation of Elvis, I’m waiting for my reincarnation of Cary Grant.  Or Humphrey Bogart.  I’d be happy with either.  I love classic films.  I would have loved to have lived in the 40’s, except for the sexism… and racism… and war…

-I have no fear of snakes or large spiders, but bunnies used to frighten me.  I’ve gotten over that fear, but I’ve always wondered myself where the fear of rabbits came from.  Watching Monty Python one too many times?

-I love love love spicy food.  I can eat a jalapeño straight.  Buffalo wings are my weakness.  My friend and I used to go to Buffalo Wild Wings so often that we had a regular waitress who knew are usual order.

-My mom helped me make my junior year prom dress… out of camouflage fabric.  My high school sweetheart had a matching vest.  All the photographers told us we were the cutest couple they had seen that year.

-I’m a huge Iditarod fan (ya know, that dog sled race up in Alaska… think Balto!).  My mom and I follow it obsessively.  We have our favorite mushers and Iditarod families and we make bets.  I won this year.  Oh yea.

Want to know me better?  Come back tomorrow for my next post, or visit my blog, The Romance Girl’s Guide to Romance, where I occasionally remember to post.

Winners!!

Thank you to all that entered to win one of the 5 books I had on offer (as no one entered for a Game of Thrones there are only 4 winners)

Without further ado, the winners are as follows -

The Seductive Imposter - Deborah R

The Search - Aurian

Kiss of the Highlander - Sullivan McPig

and.........

Dreamfever - Musk

Congratulations Ladies!

Ladies if you could all email me your addresses i will get your books out as soon as possible

mail me at amanda DOT murphy44 AT gmail DOT com