Something Old, Something New

A few weeks ago, I posted a picture of the interior of the church in Wales where my Grandparents got married on my facebook account. The lovely Kim Dare was sweet enough to track down the name of the church, location and a current picture! As you can see, not much has changed in the last 67 years.

My Grandparents met at a dance hall in Cardiff, Wales. My Gram was working as a domestic and my Grandpa was stationed in South Wales with the United States Army. They married in June of 1942 and in 1945, my Gram moved from her home in Pengam to a tiny little town in Michigan to be with my Grandpa.

I just think it's wonderful that the church is still standing (and in fabulous condition) and I thought I'd share those pictures as well as some other period pictures of my Grandparents. (Many thanks to D. Wayne Hankins for the current photo of St. David's)

St. David's in Fleur-de-lys, Wales - 1942

St. David's, Fleur-de-lys, Wales, present day.

Harold and Ruby's wedding portrait. I almost wore that wedding dress when I got married. It fit perfectly, except for the unfortunate fact that I was a few inches taller than my Gram. When I tried it on, I remember being surprised that there was no train. She laughed and told me that everything was rationed - especially luxury items. Being in my early twenties and caught up with wedding drama, I told her that I could imagine that a train on a wedding gown was a luxury. But she said that most young women didn't even get a wedding dress - if they were lucky, they got a nice suit. It definitely put some perspective on my wedding planning.

The wedding party. The couple to the left also got married that day. The young girl next to my Gram is her younger sister Dilys.
My Gram, Ruby Green.
My Grandpa, Harold Bartz.

A Day in the Life...

Hey, I'm over at Writer's Evolution today, where we're talking about the writer's life. Come visit and see the madness in action. It's really fascinating seeing how everyone's schedule/process differs.

Things that are NOT made of awesome

So...I apparently have a retraction to make.

Despite what I announced this morning about Brits in Time winning Best Anthology of 2008 at Loves Romances Cafe, it seems we've been disqualified, as have all of TEB's entries.

Evidently, the results of the polls were supposed to be kept secret. This plan might have worked better if the poll results hadn't remained open to the public the entire time. They might have, in fact, remained a secret.

Our lovely publisher (who was never informed that the results were supposed to be kept secret) sent the winners an announcement and we, in our excitement, shared it with the world. Because of that, we've been completely disqualified.

However, I would like to thank all of the people who have supported us and who took the time to go to Loves Romances Cafe to vote for our book and all of the TEB authors and books. We truly appreciate it. Thank you. You guys rock!

Things That Are Made of Aweosme...

1.) BRITS IN TIME TOOK FIRST PLACE FOR BEST ANTHOLOGY AT LOVES ROMANCE CAFE!!!!! Sorry to yell, but I'm pretty damn excited!

2.) I just signed a contract with Resplendence Publishing for a novella called Body of Art. It will be in the anthology, Hot for Teacher, with Brynn Paulin, Mia Watts and Cara Hart - Yay us! No release date as of yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I know.

3.) My website is in the process of getting a much needed face lift thanks to a lovely woman named Kelly. I'll let you know when the new prettiness is up.

4.) My crappy chest cold finally seems to be easing up a little - thank God, cause I really kinda enjoy being able to breathe.

5.) I'm apparently popular with 14 & 15 year old boys. My son's friends informed him that he has the "coolest mom ever, dude - she's totally made of win." I told Killian to remember that next time I yell at him to turn down the death metal music he's so freaking fond of.

Catching Fireflies and the Creative Spirit

I'm blogging at Hitting the Hot Spot today. I'd love it if you dropped by and said hi. :)

Introducing...

The Writer's Evolution Blog!

I hope you'll join Brynn Paulin, Dakota Rebel, Kim Dare, Andrea Dickinson, Editors Michele and Christine and me as we look at the issues writers face from the perspective of the different levels of the publishing world. We've got editors, veterans, mid-range, rookie and slush pile surfer all weighing in on different topics, so we hope you'll stop by and say hi. Today, our slush pile surfer, Andrea is up!

Some Spiffy News

So here's some cool news...

Brits in Time is up for the best anthology of 2008 over at Loves Romance Cafe!!! So if you're so inclined, we'd all certainly appreciate your vote. ;)

Celtic Fire: Solstice Seduction took third place in Night Owl Romance's Best Paranormal Erotic Romance for Fall 2008! It was up against a lot of books so I'm pretty freaking pleased that it did so well! Here's the link if you'd like to see - I'm all the way down at bottom. :)

And...Moonlit Magic, part of the Legend Anthology got a lovely review (actually the whole antho did!!!) from Joyfully Reviewed!!!

The reviewer, Willow, said: Moonlit Magic is a faerie story for adults and what a story it is. Such a spicy and wonderful to read. I had fun with this one and I think everyone should read it. So come on and feel like a kid again…..okay, not really. But it is fun.

Here's the link to the entire awesome review.

And finally, the last awesome bit of news, the lovely and supremely talented Dakota Rebel had this to say about Mist and Stone (part of the Brits in Time anthology.)

I tried to read this story at work. DO NOT do this. You will not be able to put it down long enough to get any actual work done and you will just end up getting in trouble with your boss cause she can tell by the heartfelt sighs escaping you lips that you are not doing anything work related. I loved this story. Not only was it well written with beautiful imagery and phenomenal characterization...it was hot as hell. I have always said Bronwyn Green is better than sex on a stick, and this story does not disappoint. Plus, there are swords. What more could you ask for? Not a damn thing in my opinion.

Calling All Dream Interpreters...yes...again.

Okay, so in my dream, I was pulling my car into my driveway. Of course, being all dreamy, it really wasn't my driveway. Alongside this driveway was a pond where my friend's two year old daughter, Amelia, was playing with her grandmother sort of keeping an eye on her. Not a close enough eye, in my opinion because Amelia was laying on her belly and pulling rocks out of the water using her mouth.

Most of the rocks were those icky stones that had been dyed unnatural colors. But, I have to admit they looked quite pretty in the water with the sunlight shining on them through the trees. Amelia waded into the water which was deeper than I expected, so I pulled her out and brought her to my car where I knew I had more rocks for her to play with.

I opened my car door and reached for a rock that looked like it had wavy lines of sedimentary deposits only when I touched it, those lines turned into squirming worms embedded into the stone. Then the rest of the rocks that were in my car turned into a giant mass of writhing nightcrawlers and worms. They filled the entire interior of my car. And they stunk something awful.

This is where I jolted awake with my heart pounding and my body shaking. I'm not afraid of worms or nightcrawlers so I'm not sure where the fear response came from and I've got no clue what this dream means. WTF? Thoughts? Comments? Apocalyptic prophecies?

(No, I didn't eat anything weird (or at all) before I went to bed)