Up in the Air, Baby Time & Page 99

After so many flights in less than a week, I find that my brain has jumped into air-space–that limbo where your body knows no time zone, you’re sleeping in different locations all the time, and eating out a lot. To add to the blurring of time zones, I’m visiting Sis and her bawling bundle of joy.

He’s cute, no? Looks exactly like Brother-in-law. I held Baby Perry (Short for Peregrine) through Top Chef last night so Sis could get a little sleep. He’s five weeks old which means the house pretty much runs on baby time.

Traveling does have some other little perks too. For instance, lots of editing done during some forced non-internet time while I was in the air. You know some airlines will sell you wireless up there for an arm and a leg, but I kind of like the no-internet zone.

I also found a cool site in the Southwest airlines in-flight magazine: The Page 99 test. A bunch of authors, published and unpublished, post their 99th page while readers click on whether they’d turn the page. The idea being that you should be able to open up any page of your book and get a feel for the energy and voice of the piece. I dunno–wish I had a fight scene on page 99. Really fun site to waste some time on though!

Page 99 test: Butterfly Swords

Christmas Countdown

Please excuse the glitter as I finish the last bit of gift wrapping and card writing. I can’t resist showing off my favorite buy from this year: a gift for my nephew-to-be.We’re counting down the days until Little Sis becomes a mommy!

I subjected this bunny to rigorous evaluation. First, he has big, sensitive eyes so you can tell all your troubles to him. He’s got floppy ears that a baby can grab onto. And he passed the hug test. I was a little sad to ship him off since he was so cuddly, but I have to remind myself that he’s going to a good home.

Along with the bunny, I sent my copy of The Velveteen Rabbit. I read it one more time before wrapping it up and, of course, had myself a good cry when the bunny becomes real. *sniff*

Speaking of countdowns, there’s only four more days until the Harlequin Historical Advent Calendar drawing. I’ll be drawing for my special giveaway and the group will be drawing for the Kindle 3G.

Check out the last several days on the calendar. A list of the daily winners can be found here. Many of the days are still open so if you want additional chances at the Kindle, feel free to catch up on any missed days. I’m pleased that there are still entries coming in for my giveaway. Find out more about Christmas in the Tang Dynasty if you haven’t found the ornament yet.

The December newsletter has also gone out with some preview information about upcoming releases for 2011. Also popular was the link to the online clothing store where I get my hanfu. Check it out here or click on the newsletter link if you’d like to sign up for future updates. I send out the newsletter once a month and always have a great time putting it together.

Happy Holidays! I’ll be back on December 23rd to announce winners.