It’s like some evil witch is making Monday appear faster and faster each week!

The wizard and I went to the Aquarium of the Pacific on Friday. The Wizard thought it would be a little like Sea World, but it was more like a really small town in Sea World.  Not a whole lot to see. We did have fun though.

Then we went on a harbor cruise, and really enjoyed that.  The best part are these sea lions! They pile on the buoys and sleep the day away. I remember a while back when they piled on a boat in Newport Beach (I think) and sank the boat.  That would not be funny!

Over the weekend I finished reading BRANDED BY FIRE by Nalini Singh. I guess I liked the first half of the book better than the second. I barely started RED-HEADED STEPCHILD by Jaye Wells. She’s a new-to-me author. Anyone else read her or this book?

In other news, the Wizard just found out I turned him into a dog on my blog last week. He is plotting revenge. This could be interesting. (I’m just hoping I don’t end up on that buoy with the sea lions.)

So tell me about your weekend! It’ll brighten up my Monday!

I finished my book yesterday (unless I decide to add, change, delete, tweak or rewrite something else) and here’s what I’m wondering…

When is it THE END?

I debated on the ending for this book. I haven’t put in an epilogue type of scene, I just ended when the story was over. It might seem abrupt. I really debated over this for a couple weeks.

Then I figured I’ll see what my editor says.

Sure, I could put in a feel good ending, but the story is pretty much over.  My gut tells me to leave them wanting more

What do you guys think?

And on a semi-related subject–there were a few times while writing this book that I didn’t think I’d ever get to the end.  Writing a book to the end–it takes a special kind of stubbornness (my family says I have stubbornness to spare!). It takes a willingness to stay with the characters when:

1) You’ve seen them so much of them they no longer seem all that interesting.

2) When their faults seem to outweigh their strengths.

3) When the conflict seems stale and the plot sucks.

4) When it feels like no amount of magic can save the book.

But of course, there’s a lot more work to be done–editorial revisions, line edits, copy edits…but I’m not going to think about that right now!

So back to endings…when/where is the best place to end the book? Do you like the ending right where the actions stops and you know things are going to be Happily Ever After, or do you like a glimpse of the Happily Ever After?

So my middle  son sent me a picture text over the weekend:

With the picture, my middle  son said, “Bailey wants to play!”

I text back, “I want to play! Can Bailey come over and play with me?”

Son, “No!”

Me, “Meanie!”

Son, ” ”

So is this pay back for all the times I said no to him?

And then I sent this picture to my youngest son who was upstairs. “Can you send this picture to my email account so I can put it on my blog?” (Youngest son has a Blackberry that can do everything except make coffee.)

Youngest son, “Maybe.” Then he came down stairs and LAUGHED at me.

I asked with incredible patience, “Can you send it for me?”

Youngest son, “How much will you pay me?”

Me, “How much will you pay me to live here? And eat my food? And breathe my air?”

He sent it.

Kids…what was I thinking?

It was a good weekend! Well except for the part where I was cleaning the outside of the dishwasher, hit my thumb and split the nail WAY back onto the nail bed. It hurt too much to even swear.  Which led me to the obvious conclusion:  Cleaning is dangerous and should be avoided. You all with me????

I started reading Nalini Singh’s BRANDED BY FIRE and love it so far!

On the Dog Wars, the wizard is still winning. He likes to tease me about it.  All I’m going to say in my defense is that Wizard knew he was teasing a Witch…

Don’t worry, I’ll turn him back…eventually.

So how was your weekend?

What do you guys think of Twitter? Are you all sending out Tweets?

What do you say? Who do you follow? Why?

I’m really curious. And yeah, I’m pretty sure I’ll sign up eventually. But most of you know how bad I am at Facebook!

I sure as heck don’t want to be the author that has a Twitter Temper Tantrum. Although authors can always find a place for public ATTs (Author temper tantrums) over reviews on Amazon and various blogs over reviews several times a year.

So tell me, do you Twitter?

What do you think?

Should we give these two dogs monkeys a new witch to play with?

Great weekend, I got lots of work done and my oldest son and his girlfriend came out for dinner. They brought my middle son’s dog, Bailey, with them and I spent most of the time on the floor playing with the dog.

I love dogs!

The Wizard does not love dogs. He likes Bailey, pets him a little bit then he’s done. He does not get down on the floor and play tug of war so long that he wakes up with a cramp in his hand at 3am. So for a few years now, we’ve been having a dog discussion.

Me: I want a dog. (Here’s a pic of a dog from my local pound)

Wizard: We can’t. The back yard is mostly pool and cement.

Me: There’s enough dirt in the planters and stuff. I want a dog.

Wizard: It gets too hot for a dog out here.

Me:  It’ll be a house dog!

Wizard groans: He’ll tear up the furniture!

Me: I’ll get an older dog from the pound.

Wizard: There’s no one to take care of the dog when we leave.

Are you seeing a pattern here? I will not get a dog until Wizard agrees 100%. Dogs and kids should be wanted and loved. So I wait and bug him. I am patient…

Well okay, maybe I was a tad annoyed and deleted the Wizard’s picture from my cell phone and replaced it with Bailey’s picture. And now I’m calling Bailey my Grand Dog and annoying the bejeebers out of the Wizard.

But let me tell you, Wizard is stubborn. And maybe, possibly, I want a dog in my head more than I do in reality. Dogs require a lot of attention, then there’s vet trips and barking and problems…but shhhh…don’t tell the Wizard. Bugging him is fun!

So how was your weekend?