Good luck Friday…

It is bad luck to fall out of a thirteenth story window on Friday --Unknown

I had a massive sinus attack today. I feel much better now other than feeling like I have been punched repeatedly in the face. I know many of you are now nodding your heads and saying uh huh ‘cause you know exactly what I am talking about. I have, what I call sinus biffo attacks, where I get to a point where I am so run down that my body likes to remind me I am not Wonder Woman. Hmmm…how disappointing…mind you I could not fit into that costume anyway. Well I could but things would be – shall we say – busting out all over. Did you know an Aussie – Megan Gale – is going to play Wonder Woman? I look a bit like her but for the weight and height and body and hair thing. Aussie women such as Megan and myself are amazing. No, really, would I lie? My editor and cover artist Lyn Taylor (Aussies) are now nodding their heads as they know this is a fact. Anyway, where was I? Yes – so I slept for part of today – I never nap. Bizarro world. Don’t you hate it when your body sends you a lesson? It’s usually a damn good one. A quick slap to the head would work just as well of course. Anyway, I am good to go now and ready to burn that candle at both ends once more.

I sent out the call today amongst some writers, due to my pukeable state, to see if anyone wanted to write a blog for me or send in some excerpts for people to read. No response. Not a sausage. Writers are terribly timid people. No really, we are. So, being the sort of woman that can talk under water with a mouth full of marbles while tap dancing and eating an apple…so begins my latest ramble…

Friday the 13th…

I'm superstitious... but not like wear the same underwear for two weeks superstitious-- Kate Hudson

Triskaidekaphobia (from Greek tris=three, kai=and, deka=ten) is a fear of the number 13. It is a superstition. A specific fear of Friday the 13th is called paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Triskaidekaphobia

Well – you all needed to know that didn’t you? I use the word 'frig’ or ‘frigging’a lot so now I am going to use frigg - atriskaidekaphobia to really confuse people. I may have the heroine say it in the next book.

“Oh friggatriskaidekaphobia, get out of my way. I don’t need you.”

Or…

“Holy friggatriskaidekaphobia, if you keep doing that with your tongue I will scream my lungs out.”

Yeah, okay…I’ll work on it. I sense a big eye roll from my editor. I am almost positive it will pass FLEs (Final line edits)

Thirteen – why is it unlucky? Stuffed if I know. I was born on the 13th of a month. I naturally consider this a fabulous number. And yes sure, there are a bunch of people who will tell you all the superstitions about 13 but I think if we all just remember I was born on that day and I consider it lucky then everyone will be okay. Problem solved. That’s what we do on the Amarinda blog – make ‘em or solve ‘em…usually the former of course.

Like a quiz? Go and take a squiz at this Superstition trivia quiz. Click here.

Now, I’m not saying I’m not superstitious. I don’t open umbrellas inside, put shoes on the table or walk under ladders…I did actually walk under a ladder once when I was renovating at home and the paint scraper with the razor blade in it…yeah, do you know where I’m going…fell off the top of the ladder platform as I bumped the side and speared into my scalp. There are lessons everywhere in life aren’t there? It would be nice to have a break occasionally though wouldn’t it? Anyway, I remember reading this quote once – can’t remember who by – but I liked the philosophy of it – it went something like this, “I don’t believe in superstitions but what does it hurt to knock on wood?” So let’s all take a moment to knock on wood shall we?

Friday the 13th and why it's good for you…

-if you are reading this you are still breathing - excellent - if not, take a breath and reassess.
- any Friday is a good Friday
- it’s a good day to buy a lotto ticket because it’s reverse psychology and the universe seems to want to work that way
- the Three Wicked Writers Blog launches today - click here to check those shelias out
- some fantastic books are released on Friday the 13th at Ellora’s Cave
- It’s payday for Amarinda – okay, so that one is only good for me
- tomorrow is Saturday the 14th – the weekend - excellent.

So there…your Friday 13 will be lucky because I have faith it will. And please remember if you buy a lotto ticket and win beaucoup bucks – remember whose wise words suggested you do so.

www.freewebs.com/amarindajones/
Go ahead: Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for?

It does not compute…

*Did women take these adverts seriously in the 70’s? I doubt it. There is an advert on TV now where these women rip off their shirts and parade down the street in their whatever brand bras. I would suggest no woman is going to do that...that would be male fantasy

The quote below came from Cover Artist Lyn Taylor from Friday’s comments about the cover model on the Penned Again cover…scroll down and take a squiz to remind yourself…

“And I tell you I'd be damn happy with a set of firm, perky little breasts like that. Would be nice to not need a hydraulic lift to haul them around. Honestly, big boobs are WAAAAYY over rated!”

Okay, I have to agree with Lyn – big boobs are overrated - and I have to ask how they ever got this high rating in the first place. I suppose possibly in caveman times, when Gronk would been looking for a spouse, the concept of a well-endowed woman who could keep him warm at night and feed the ensuing babies that he planned to found the Gronk dynasty on would have been a consideration. But honestly, the majority of women that I know that who are top heavy, wished they weren’t – and of course I am talking about those that are
naturally gifted that way and not artificially so. Don’t get me wrong – if you think implants will make you happy then I say do it. I just personally could not fathom being any bigger. I used to sit beside a woman at Promptel who wanted implants. She hated being flat-chested and could not understand why we bitched about big boobs. She had never had a sore back or dints in her shoulders from the hydraulic requirements of defying gravity and holding them up. I think another employee, that we used to call the narc, summed it up best – It’s like carry watermelons around on your chest all day and when the curse strikes once a month it’s like someone has taken a hammer and smashed it against them. Yes, couldn’t trust the narc of course but she got it in one on the boob issue.

So, is it women that rate large breasts so highly or is it men? Yes, I know, dumb question but in the spirit of equality I thought I should ask. Now that that’s over with – what is it

with men? Why does everything have to be bigger to be better? An acquaintance of mine wants to have a breast reduction due to the pain in her back. Her partner is against this as he likes her breasts the way they are. That’s all very nice but he’s not the one in pain. So she hasn’t done it yet because he won’t be happy…What? He won’t be happy? Is that a partnership or a dictatorship – though there’s a dick in there somewhere that’s for sure. So do you think men believe larger is better? Then if so how does this equate to some men who will not date a larger sized woman? Isn’t bigger better for them? Or is it that just some parts that are deemed acceptable to be super-sized? Or maybe it’s a case of some men are not even as evolved as Gronk the caveman.

Do any men read this blog? I don’t know but if any man does and is game enough to comment on this topic, naturally we would applaud you for your two cents on this subject.


Lyn Taylor’s Artwork
Lyn Taylor’s blog
Lyn Taylor’s Website

It’s starting to get cold in Brisbane. I know it’s not the sort of cold you know but its cold for us sub-tropical types. The thing is it is the end of March and it is Autumn Down Under so you would expect it to get cool. But normally in Brisbane, where we have a fantastic year round climate, I don’t have to swap shorts for trackie dacks (tracksuit pants) til at least the end of April…it just seems wrong to me.

I was reading the Sunday newspaper. A 57 year old woman had a baby.57??? Come on…at 44 I would not consider having one even if I was drunk and offered all the money in the world. Now, it’s not an age thing because I believe physical age is irrelevant. I just don’t know why you would want a baby coming out of your body at 57. What stress and strain would that cause? The couple in the photo looked thrilled and
slightly bewildered. I would like to think when I hit 57 I would not have to be thinking about changing nappies(diapers) and dealing with an ankle biter (crawling baby). Think about it and tell me honestly – would you have a baby at 57 or 47? Or what is your cut off age? I know people who are desperate to have kids but at 57? It would take some balls to do that…well balls and other stuff of course.

To err is human, to forgive is optional—Amarinda Jones…I’m still thinking about the options.

As always Anny is scintillating on her blog and Kelly is quotatious on hers. Yes, H, I made that word up. Expect to see it in a book soon.

www.freewebs.com/amarindajones/
Go ahead: Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for?

The Wednesday Interview

I am always rabbiting on about writing books and showcasing fellow authors but what about someone on the other side of the page, so to speak? Multi-talented Total-E-Bound Cover artist and fellow Aussie Lyn Taylor was kind enough to give me another perceptive on books. Regardless what the old saying is, I do believe we judge a book by its cover. All the covers on this page are Lyn’s own creations – are we Aussies talented or what?

1. How long have you been a Cover Artist and what do you like best about it?

I’ve only been a cover artist for about 8 months but in my heart I’ve been one since I picked up that first Romance novel. I’d always find myself studying the covers. Sometimes I could be half way through a book and would find myself flicking back to the cover just to gaze at the cover LOL! I love the creativity of my job. Yes, some may say that all those sexy bodies aren’t very challenging but it’s the ‘making them fit together’ that is the fun part.

2. Do you ever get a cover request that’s just not realistic? If so, how easy is it to tell the author their vision is just not going to happen? How diplomatic do you have to be?

No, not really. I guess that’s my job. To make the unrealistic, realistic. I think the highest expectation of a cover artist is to get the characters as close to description as possible. That in it self can be quite time consuming. If I can’t do a cover, it is more likely my artistic inexperience or lack of knowledge that gets in the way. But I think there’s only one cover to date that I’ve had to hand back and that was passed over to TEB’s other fantastic cover artist, Ann Cain.

3. After my cover Lust in Time, what is the cover you are most proud of?

That’s a hard one. I learn something new from every cover I do so I love them all, LOL! I’m quite proud of Demon Wind and Prince of the Three Mountains purely for the manipulation and digital painting side of things. I also have a soft spot for Sweet Dreams. I’m quite taken with those eyes LOL!

4. Do the publishers, like Total-E-Bound, have a say in the covers or are you left to your own imagination and discretion?

I’m currently only signed up with TEB so I can’t speak for other Publishers. The crew at TEB have been absolutely fantastic and I’ve relied on them quite a bit due to my inexperience in the industry. Yes, they’ll usually tell me if they don’t like a particular model or title font and will often pick up if the hair is not long enough, or the wrong colour. That sort of thing. Other than that it’s pretty much left up to my own discretion.

5. How many revisions will you make to a cover in order to make an author happy?

Well. I think three revisions would be the most that I would want to do. But the reality is that a cover needs to be created and that’s my job. I know there was one cover that went back & forth between Claire and myself quite a few times. We finally got it to a point where we were happy with it, only then to have the author come back with a definite ‘NO’. So we were back to square one. It was very frustrating and cost me more in stock and time than what the cover was worth. But I guess that’s the nature of the beast.

6. How easy is it to become a Cover Artist? What training is required?

Well for me it was surprisingly easy. I just applied at TEB’s web page. Many thanks to friendly Aussie author Denise Rossetti who pointed me in their direction. As a matter of fact it was Denise’s Gift of the Goddess cover that inspired me to get off my butt and learn more about Digital Art. I’ve had very little artistic training and am basically self taught. I have dabbled in Oil Painting and touched on water-colours so I guess that helped with my perspective and placement. I took up Digital Art in early 2006 and eventually joined the Deviant Art community. This is where I was able to hone my skills in Photo-manipulation and Photoshop, meeting up with other cover artists in the process.

7. The bad guys have you are hanging by one toenail over a vat of boiling oil. You must tell them the location of the diamond mine to save your life. To do this you risk harming your true love. What do you do?

LOL! Well, wouldn’t we all love to say that we’d take that information to our death. Yeah, I don’t know. He’d better be damn well worth it. Honestly, I’d probably tell them the location and then escape in an attempt to rescue my true love.


8. What star sign are you? Name one fabulous characteristic of this sign.

Pisces all the way, baby! :D Most definitely artistic.
Pisces – Keyword: "I believe". Imaginative, sensitive, compassionate, feeling, idealistic, spiritual, accepting, undiscriminating, creative, mystic, self-sacrificing, artistic. Can be impractical, neglectful, escapist, lazy, distracted.

Click on the links below and check out the real Lyn Taylor and her talent.

Lyn Taylor’s Artwork
Lyn Taylor’s blog
Lyn Taylor’s Website

All books are available at http://www.total-e-bound.com/

Next week we start back with the Wednesday Author interviews. The questions are a little different and a tad obscure but I know my guest authors will rise to the challenge. The blog serial makes its triumphant return next Monday. Can you remember what happened to Emmeline before Christmas? Nah, me neither but don’t despair as there is no plot to the blog serial so you are never lost…maybe confused and bewildered but what’s a little bewilderment between friends?

Tomorrow I’ll be back to waffle on about something deep and probably meaningless but that’s what I do. It’s leave meaningful to Anny on www.annycook.blog.com and spontaneous to Kelly on www.kkirch.blogspot.com.

www.freewebs.com/amarindajones/
Go ahead: Live with abandon. Be outrageous at any age. What are you saving your best self for?