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To celebrate, here is a short unedited excerpt of Glory and Shadow meeting for the first time. After their plane crashed Glory and Jane were paired up to walk to find help for the injured. After a day of walking over empty prairie they find a group of men on horseback with a pack of dogs and flag them down for help.
Glory turned her attention back to the Indians, searching them for phones. She didn’t see any and none of them wore enough clothing to hide a cell phone in, so she supposed they didn’t have any with them.
“Um.” Glory had to clear her throat to cut through the dust coating her throat. “Hi. Sorry to interrupt your … whatever you’re doing. But can you help us? Our airplane went down back that ways and – and … Wow.”
Another Indian walked through the horses, tightening the string around his waist that held his breechcloth up, and Glory completely forgot what she’d been saying. It was a movie set! Who else would dress like this except actors making a Dances With Wolves movie? That was her favorite wrestling star in makeup and a really long black wig. And very little clothing. Yowza. He was living proof that guys like the ones on romance covers really did exist. Damn, he was hot. She swallowed, wiping a hand over her chin in case she was drooling, and started over.
“Hi. Look, sorry to bother you, but our plane crashed and we need help. Like an ambulance. And …” her voice trailed off again because all these men were looking at her very strangely and sniffing the air. The extra-gorgeous one leaned down to sniff at her neck. She and Jane weren’t freshly bathed, but talk about rude. “Hey!” She snapped her fingers. “Listen up! This is important.”
It’s looking less and less likely that Fargo Moorhead will avoid a major flood this year. The city is asking all the larger employers to send 10% of their workforce to Sandbag Central to make sandbags on company time. My employer signed up for today, Feb 21, and next Monday Feb 28. I took the morning shift. We were all smiles as we took our places at Shute #1.
I was going to try for a light hearted tone, and talk about my announcement to the entire building that I wrote smutty romance and the drop dead gorgeous guy I clunked in the head with my shovel handle, but really I hurt too much right now for that. I am almost 50 years old, and extremely out of shape, but some of the younger gals from work were hurting pretty badly too by the end of our four hours.
Just let me say that I am proud of the hard work I put in today and I hope that it will help in the flood fight.
The weather service is saying that this flood has a higher than 25% chance of topping the flood of 2009. Here is a short feel-good slide show about 2009. I’ve watched it a couple times and it almost gets me to the point where I can stand straight and raise my hands above my waist.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/weather/03/30/fargo.slideshow/index.html
I know I’m almost fifty years old, but I still enjoy reading Young Adult novels. In fact, I just read an ARC for Dark Mirror by MJ Putney (MaryJo Putney is one of my fave historical romance writers, and she’s writing YA as MJ Putney) and I loved it. My Thursday 13 is a list of some of my favorite YA novels, some old and some new.
1.Beauty by Robin McKinley. IMO the best Beauty and the Beast retelling written.
2. The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley.
3. Lark by Sally Watson.
4. The Hornet’s Nest by Sally Watson
5. The Silver Kiss by Annette Curtis Klause
6. Cat in the Mirror by Mary Stolz
7. Trickster’s Choice by Tamora Pierce
8. Moccassin Trail by Eloise Jarvis McGraw
9. The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis
10. The Egypt Game by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
11. Terrier by Tamora Pierce
13. Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
Do you still read Young Adult books? Which are your favorites?
The Spread the Love Valentine’s Day Blog Hop was a lot of fun. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the snippets, excerpts and short stories along the way. Many thanks to Alanna and Michael for setting it up, and thanks to Mr. Catherine A Noone for supplying the romantic photo that inspired so many of us. Thank you to each of you who hopped on the tour bus and visited our blogs and left so many lovely comments. I hope we can do this again soon!
The winner of the download of Sleeping With the Wolf was Falyn D. Congrats, Falyn!
Hey, everyone, come visit the http://justromance.me/ romance blog hop starting tomorrow. Win books! Read excerpts and short short stories by great romance writers. If you’ve read Sleeping with the Wolf, you might like a little sneak peek at what going on with Carla and Taye a month after their book ended. If you haven’t read and you think you might like to, you can be entered to win a free download just for going on the blog hop.
Looking forward to lots of fun visitors tomorrow!
1. Fargo is the largest city in North Dakota, with a population of about 100,000. I think Bismarck is a little smaller than that.
2. Fargo sits on the Red River of the North, one of the few rivers in the world that flows directly north (with lots of little twisty turns along the way).
3. The average high temperature in January is 14 F, the average low is -3 F. The average high in July is 83 F, the average low is 60 F. The lowest temperature ever recorded was -48 F with a windchill of -103 F. (per old style wind chill formula) The highest temp ever recorded was 114 F. We have a very wide range of temps. Fargo holds the distinction of being voted the toughest weather city in America by the Weather Channel. We’re strangely proud of that.
4. Last night, Feb 7, 2011 the windchill was -32 F, although the actual temp was -11 F. This is very normal for us because we have continuous wind. In fact, the news actually makes mention of when the wind is calm because it is so unusual.
5. Fargo was founded in 1871, only six years after the Civil War ended, but for decades before that it was a (very small) stop on the Red River Cart trail that went from St Cloud MN to Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Most carts went further north of Fargo, where the river was wider and deeper and steamboats could go. Fargo was first called Centralia, but the name was changed to Fargo, after the director of the Wells Fargo Express company.
6. In the 1880s Fargo’s laws allowed for quick and easy divorces, and it became known as the Divorce Capital of the US. Famous people came to Fargo to get their divorces.
7. The Red River Valley is actually the bed of an ancient glacier lake called Lake Aggasiz. As the glacier pushed and retreated hundreds of times over many years, it left behind some of the richest soil in the world. Little children in our region use black crayons to color dirt because that is the color the dirt in the fields is. I always do a double take when I’m driving in other areas and see tan or reddish dirt in the fields.
8. In 1920, 75.4% of the residents in Fargo were of German and/or Scandinavian descent, and 12% did not speak fluent English. Even 20 years ago the residents of old folks’ homes chatted easily with one other in Norwegian or German. Today, if you go to Fargo restaurant 70% of the heads will be blond. 20% will have light to mid brown hair. The Royalty of Norway have historically visited Minnesota and North Dakota as often as they do Washington DC. Way back in the beginning of the 20th century, the Crown Prince of Norway gave the commencement speech at a local college. As an Italian-American, I stand out like a sore thumb here. When I went back to Milwaukee for a family funeral I couldn’t believe how many dark haired people there were.
9. Famous Fargoans include Johnny Lang, Bobby Vee, Roger Maris, Charlie Korsmo. Kevin Sorbo, who played Hercules, went to school in the area. (I had two college classes with Kevin Sorbo at MSU) And of course, there was that movie with Frances McDormand and Steve Buscemi called Fargo–which had to be filmed elsewhere because we didn’t have enough snow that year.
Flooding – When you live on a river, spring time revolves around protecting oneself and one’s property from the flooded river. Flood stage in Fargo is 18 feet. We always have some degree of flooding, but one expects it to be mild enough for the permanent dike to hold the water off. Perhaps a few of the streets right on the river will be closed, but it’s nothing major.
10. We’ve had many major floods in Fargo, the recordable ones starting in 1897. The first “big one” I remember was in 1997. The river crested at a record 39.5 feet. That is the year that pretty much the entire city of Grand Forks, 65 miles downstream from us, was lost. It was called the 500 year flood, and was predicted to not happen again in our lifetime.
11. In 2009, only 12 years later, we had a our second 500 year flood. We take protecting our city very seriously. Everyone pitches in. Schools were cancelled. Businesses closed. All students and workers joined the flood fight. Water and toilet flushing was rationed. Limited laundry was allowed. There is nothing like having sand stuck to your sweaty body and not be able to take a long hot shower. The likelihood of losing the lift stations was high, so we couldn’t use water. The crest was first predicted to be 41 feet. Then 42 feet. We filled millions of sandbags and we won the fight against the river. We were lucky that it didn’t go over 41 feet. Our sandbag dikes were only 42 feet high. We lost a few neighborhoods. But we saved our city. http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4896558n
12. The third 500 year flood was in 2010. The crest, which would have terrified us a few years earlier but now seemed old hat, was 36.99. Again, we fought for our city by filling a couple million sandbags and building our miles of dikes. It was hard work, and some of our best workers were not there since the collegees were on spring break at the time and due to overland flooding they could not get back to the city, but we persevered and won.
13. The flood of 2011 is predicted to be higher than that of 2009. Already businesses are making arrangements to have employees bussed to Sandbag Central for 4-hour shifts to fill sandbags on company time. My company is manning the spiders (sandbag machines) on Feb 21st and 28th. I’ve signed up for the 8-12 shift on the 21st. We’ve always won the flood fights before.
I am in a medieval/renaissance recreation organization called the SCA. This weekend is Twelth Night in the Barony of Nordskogen (Minneapolis, MN) I am not able to go to that event due to work and possibly weather. That means I will miss seeing some of my favorite people. So I will feature them here. These are not the ONLY people I will miss seeing, but I am planning on going to the Twelth Night in Castel Rouge in Winnepeg Canada on the last weekend in January so I will see many friends there.. You will note that the majority of my friends wear Viking or Byzantine garb. Which type of garb do you like best?
1. Tarrach and Fina, wearing court Byzantine garb. One of the premiere power couples in the Kingdom of Northshield. They have ruled the midrealm and Nothshield, earning them the rank of Duke and Duchess. A few of their other titles include Mistress and Master of both the Laurel and the Pelican, Knight of the Society, Lady of the Rose, etc, etc, etc. When I was a brand new beginner in the SCA they were extremely welcoming and helpful.
2. Sigurd and Helena in Viking garb. My very generous next door neighbors, whom I call in an emergency. A fun young couple newly married. He does marvelous woodworking; she does card weaving and fights rapier.
3. The Honorable Lady Devon Ffrenche and Lord Roibaird in Elizabethan garb. My adopted niece and her husband. Both accomplished rapier fighters.
4. This lady is my friend Lusche, currently HRH Princess of Northshield. She’s in Viking and I’m in early Tudor. I think we might have had a little much to drink?
5. Baron Berwyn, newly made Master of the pelican, me and Baroness Ceridwen, part of the purple Byzantine Brigade.
6. The Honorable LadyEabblean of Castel Rouge in a Rus coat. A lovely lady of such generosity and grace that she is widely beloved in her Barony and Kingdom.
7. Two knights of my acquaintance, Sir Jurgen von Baden (kneeling) in German garb and Sir Yngvar inn Heppni in Vendel garb. Two of the finest men in my kingdom. Great fighters, honorable and generous with their time
8. The Honorable Lady Asny and Lord Ansila the Goth in Viking garb. Residing at the very Western edge of our Kingdom, they travel tirelessly. They are talented and generous. It’s always a joy to see them.
9. Lady Una in Viking garb. This lady would not have been at the event, as her first baby is due any day. I’ve known her husband for many years and he’s a wonderful man. But he’ll be the first to say how lucky he is to have won her.
10. My very good friend Hrodir Vigageir Toreson, currentlyKing of Northshield, in Elizabethan garb. he usually does Viking or Rus, but his queen had wanted a late period reign, and with his generous spirit he put on the garb she chose.
11. Baroness Ainsleah, Mistress of the Laurel, wearing her signature beaded and embroidered Byzantine/Rus garb. It’s hard to see in the pic but the white motifs are solid tiny pearls, which she hand-sewed on. That gown can practically stand on its own. Gorgeous!
12. The Honorable Lady Gwen, her daughter the Honorable Lady Katherine and the Honorable Lady Devon. My kinswomen who adopted me into the de Bohun household a few years ago. Gwen and Devon are wearing early Norman garb, and Katherine is wearing the parti-colored cote hardie from the late 14th century.
13. Baroness Greta, Mistress of the Pelican in Viking. A tireless worker for the Kingdom of Northshield. She has served as Exchequer, and done a fantastic job, even through knee replacement surgery and reading through the first manuscript I’ve ever submitted. It was accepted right away, and I’m pretty sure she’s one of the big reasons why. I love Greta!
Someday I’ll write a historical romance where I can get the clothing right. Which style of garb catches your fancy?
Earlier this week my email was hacked and hijacked. My contact list was sent an email saying that I had been mugged at gunpoint in London and needed money right now to get back home. This hacker then got into my Facebook account and tried to chat with my friends asking for money. I’m incredibly angry about this, especially since my contact list was deleted, and all my saved emails were deleted too, including one I received from my little sister the morning of the day she was killed in a car accident. I’ve been saving that for a while, pulling it up now and then to re-read our plans for the following weekend. Now it’s gone, and it’s almost like having her be taken away all over again.
Here is the email sent from my account:
Hi,
How you doing? I made a trip to London (United Kingdom) unannounced some days back,Unfortunately i got mugged at gun point last night! All cash,Credit card and phone were stolen,i got messed up in another country, stranded in London, fortunately passport was back in our hotel room. It was a bitter experience and i was hurt on my right hand, but would be fine. I am sending you this message because i don’t want anyone to panic,i want you to keep it that way for now.
My return flight leaves in a few hours but I’m having troubles sorting out the hotel bills, wondering if you could loan me some money to sort out the hotel bills and also take a cab to the airport about ($1,800). I have been to the police and embassy here,but they aren’t helping issues,I have limited means of getting out of here,i have canceled my credit cards already and made a police report, I won’t get a new credit card number till I get back home! So I really need your help.You can contact the hotel management through this telephone number +44 702 404 6640 or +44 702 408 6898,you could wire whatever you can spare to my name and location via Western union:
Name: BLACKED OUT FOR SECURITY
Location:57 Liberty Avenue,London
United Kingdom
SW19 2QS .
Get back to me with the details,would def refund your money once i get back you can count on that,below are the details needed for me to pick up the money with my passport.
MTCN:
Amount Sent:
I await your prompt response.
* * * * * * *
So here are 13 Things I’d Like To Say to the Person who hacked my accounts:
1. Learn to write proper English. If you’re pretending to be me, you should know I’m a native born writer of English, and I know how to punctuate.
2. Did you enjoy the chatty emails I sent to the account you switched to be my primary email? I assume you did, since you replied with a taunt about how 4 of my friends had already sent you 7000 usd.
3. You are a liar. None of my friends have that kind of money, and the ones who care enough about me to be willing to send money know I’m not in London.
4. I have a pair of shoes and I’m not afraid to use them. If you are ever caught I will spend every cent I have for the opportunity to kick you in the balls. The spikes on the toes will create a very satisfying experience. For me.
5. You are pitiful and not as smart as you think you are. Americans don’t use “7000 usd”. I’m laughing myself silly at your stupidity.
6. How much money are you actually making doing this? You’ve been in business with this same scam since at least 2009, and probably earlier. I assume it’s been at least somewhat successful or you would have stopped by now. That means you have committed international theft. The punishment is higher for that.
7. You are a thief. I’ve tracked you to Africa. I’ve heard in some places in Africa theives have their hands chopped off. I approve.
8. My surviving sister is a witch. She has cursed you and asked our deceased sister to haunt you. She could be a real bitch in life and I bet you’re going to have a lovely time with her now that she’s dead and has a grudge against you.
9. You told someone your name is Tunde and you want the money to go to college. What a load of crap. You probably think you’re too smart for college. Again, what a load of crap.
10. I believe in justice. Revenge is good too. I’ll settle for laughing at you while you burn in hell.
11. You are building up a ton of bad karma for yourself. Do you get a kick out of imagining people like me scrambling to get their online lives back together? Do you chuckle at the frustration and heart ache you cause? Watch out. You know what they say about payback. And karma always has the last word.
12. You are a coward without the balls to face your victims. Robbing people through the anonymity of the internet takes no courage.
13. I hate you and I hope someday to be able to dance on your grave. Rot, you scamming hijacking hacker scum.