CONTEST TIME!!

Oh my gawd, we haven't posted on here in almost a YEAR!!  Geez Louise!!  I wish I had a good excuse, like I actually was being abdcuted by vampires and kicking demons' asses under New Mexico...unfortunately that's just what Kansas Clearwater and her peeps have been doing, freaking workaholics!!

Well, that's what they've been doing in my head, and progressively on paper ;D  The book series is coming along!

Now, to the exciting stuff!

I'm having a CONTEST!!  Woohoo!!  In the Light vs. Darkness book series (also known as the Kansas Clearwater series), each species has it's own symbol that's branded on them.

There's just un problemo: I suck at graphic deisgn, logo/symbol-making type stuff.  I've been stuck trying to make badass symbols for the following groups:
*Humans: plain ol', mortal, everyday us.  We were created by the Light and as a result, we are naturally animated by the energy of the Light...though no one is as easily tempted as a desperate human ::evil, maniacal laugh::  Men, women and children all share the same symbol/brand.
*Demons: demons aren't born, they're made.  Demons are humans, vampires, shifters and Adam that have gone to the darkside and are now truly evil monsters whose depravity and blood lust is only surpassed by their thirst for power.  Demons come in as many shapes and sizes as there are fish in the sea, but the talented demons can wear human skin and walk among humans unnoticed (Hoolywood producers anyone?).
*Adam: Adam are a special race of warriors created by the Light to fight the demon infestation.  They're made of a rock and metal compound that looks like ridged, gray marble with sage green swirls.  They have large chartreuse eyes, but were otherwise allowed to keep the physical appearance they had while they were still human...and alive.  They're killing machines that typically don't live past a few hundred years because they're killed in battle...or they lose touch with humanity and have to be killed before they can turn into demons. 
*Arcangels: the lowest class of angels, created by the Light eons ago, to organize and lead the armies/colonies of the Light.  Since there are so few of them, each arcangel was uniquely created and can change their appearance at will.  They fly, have almost unsurpassed fighting capabilites, and are very hard to kill because each arcangel has only one, secret and unique way to be killed.  They have unsettling, almost pupil-less eyes, are mostly androgenous and since they're codemned to an immortal, solitary existence, they're unbelievably lonely and barely hanging on to their sanity.
*Vampires (and their female counterparts Valkyrie): vampires and valkyrie are humans or shifters who traded their souls to a hive queen or king in return for immortality (well, almost immortality...).  They keep themselves animated (survive) by stealing the energy from living creatures.  By manipulating energy they can heal wounds and read minds (like some arcangels), among other special abilities.  They can turn weak humans and shifters into slaves and are considered the slimiest and least trustworthy creature in existence.  When forced to fight, they side with the Darkness (well, except one very important group led by a certain sexy, deliciously irresistible blonde hottie outta L.A. ...wait, what were we talking about?).
*Shapeshifters: like they're name suggests, these creatures have both human and animal energies trapped in the same body.  Shifters are not made, they're born.  Each shifter is born a human and then begins transitioning sometime during their teen or young adult years (this varies based on what breed they are).  Shifters can only shift into one animal, and while they're aren't immortal, they do live much longer than humans and are much harder to kill.  Shifters have been abused and hunted throughout history, so they tend to keep to themselves and not pick sides in the epic battle.  They tend to live in family-based packs in rural areas to avoid pesky federal agents and dickhead animal control workers.
*Dragon shifters: these are a special class of shapeshifters which are much more powerful than almost every other creature (except for the higher ranking demons and angels).  Since dragons are immortal, and exceptionally hard to kill, they are neither of the Light or the Darkness...they tend to wait out battles to see who wins before choosing sides.  Female dragons are so powerful and unpredictable, they are usually killed at birth so there are only male dragons.  To prevent creating female dragons (and this having to kill them), male dragons only mate with female humans...at least usually.  There have been some disturbing experiments lately... 

So, here's the contest part!!  I need people to create totally wicked symbols for the series, and the winner gets...

::drumroll please::

...to be a CHARACTER in the series!!  You even get to pick your name and what creature you are!!

So, to recap, here's what you do:
1. Create a cool symbol for one (or two, or three, or all!) of the groups listed.
2. Post that symbol on my Facebook page () for everyone to see and comment on.
3. On May 1st I will post a winner for each group, and then you get to pick who/what you want to be!!

Rules:
-You can post/enter as many different symbols as you want until April 30th!
-All symbols have to be your own unique creation.  In other words, you can't steal someone else's symbol or enter symbols you don't have the right to use.
-I don't want to block your creativity, but let's keep everything as clean and respectful as possible!!  If you post anything that's inappropriate, then I'll just delete it.

Ok, so get crackin'!!!

Would You Rather...??

As anyone who has known for more than a day knows, I love to play "Would You Rather...??"  Especially when I'm bored.  Basically this game consists of someone (usually me) asking the question "Would you rather..." followed by some sort of crazy proposition.  The most notorious game we ever played centered around the question: "Would you rather time travel back in time to Medieval England (with no other exposition or caveats), OR wander into one of many underground Viking colonies hidden under Canada, and the be married/claimed under "Hunter's Right" by a prominent Viking Lord (with the additional information that these Vikings got here before the Mayflower did and have been prospering in the Artic Circle since)??

I think from the above description it's easy to see which side I'm on (Vikings), and I'll tell you why.  In the Medieval case you're just plopped down in the middle of some English field.  You're still dressed in modern clothes, you don't speak the language, and in the best scenario you'd be married to a kind villager.  In the worst case (or more realistic) scenario, you'd be burned or drowned as a witch. 

In the Viking scenario, at least you both speak the same language (they've been bridesnatching for years), the know full well about the outside/modern world, you will only be bound to one man as his wife, so he;ll at least protect and look after you, and they have plumbing and some electricity (in it's early stages, but still!).  There are cons to this scenario as well, but to me it's clear which scenario I'd rather be in!!

This leads to another "Would You Rather...??" that I've actually asked people before: would you rather be with a vampire or a werewolf??  More precisely, "Would you rather be with a lumberjack vampire or a bootlegger werewolf?" 

I think it's apparent from the banner that I'd choose werewolf anyday!!  And here's why:

                    Vampire                                                                    
1.The animated dead, so soulless       
2.Cold                                                          
3.Can’t handle sunlight, so no going out during the day; plus he's gotta be pasty white and no tan  
4.Play mindgames/use magic to lure victims                                                          
5.Live on blood, which I could probably deal with if he just drank my blood, but then I’d be dead. So…
6.He’ll life forever, even after I’m gone 
7.Could work his way through who knows how many human brides before he gets staked
8. Plus if he's a lumberjack then I have to deal with chainsaw noise at night, gag me with a spoon 

Werewolf
1.Very much alive, and have souls thank you!
2.Warm and snuggly
3.Can’t handle a full moon, so can’t go out 1 or 2 nights a month…but when I hit that time of the month I don’t feel like going out for a whole week, so who am I to judge?
4.May have magic, but it’s not used for luring innocents into a deathtrap
5.Eat raw meat when he’s wolfy, but otherwise he’ll eat whatever I make!  Oh and I can cook with garlic ::ahem::
6. Some mythology says he’s live a long time, like 200-300 years; but that’s not as forever
7.Mate for life, so if he’s mine, he’s mine. No possibility of cheating either!
8.If he's a bootlegger then at least I'll get free booze!!  And satisfy that whole badboy fantasy...



It turns out that paranormal ebook author Moira Rogers is having a contest to celebrate the release of two new books, Sanctuary Unbound (June 16th) and A Safe Harbor (July 13th).  You could win an Amazon Kindle or a $275 gift certificate to any online bookstore!!  Plus there are several runner up prizes!!

All you have to do is leave a (meaningful) comment about which side your on (vampire or werewolf) and explain why (here on my blog).  And that's it!! 

Head over to Moira Rogers's site to learn more about the contest, the books, or to grab a team-blog graphic!!

~Kayte~  ;D 

Disclaimer Text:

This post is a part of Moira Rogers’ Creature Feature Kindle Throwdown Contest. By leaving a (meaningful) comment, you will be entered to win a Kindle from Amazon.com, or an alternate grand prize of $275 to spend at an online book retailer. For a full list of rules and more ways to win, visit the contest page.

Link back to this post: http://moirarogers.com/blog/archives/2261

Old and... New! My time in Mexico

Finally, the end of a well spent weekend.

Quite a bit happened in just a few days.

I'll start with Wednesday (even though technically that's still mid-week)...

Since, I've been here, I've gone through quite a few groups. Not in a bad way, it's just there's a lot of new people and sometimes I end up passing the time with someone for just a few days, sometimes I get to have a good amount of months. Some of the better friends I've had here I've known since the beginning, some I've only met this march.
So Wednesday rolls around and I have the opportunity to mix 3 of these groups.

George is a friend I've known about since I got here, but only through stories. The day I got to meet him arrived in August (about three months since I'd started), he had just got in from 2 and 1/2 years of traveling. By that time I'd already known Parra and Ramiro, two good friends of some people I got quiet close too during my first six months here by haven't seen a lot of since. Also, attending the event (which I will tell you about in a minute) were two girls I have just met this spring, but, thanks to the fact that they are in my new cohort at school, I see them every day. So I had two old friends, one constant friend, and two new.

When I had met Parra and Ramiro, I couldn't speak Spanish, I had a brand new boyfriend and I was new to the country. By the time I met Izzy and Zeenia (the girls that came in this spring) I was single, I wont say fluent- but pretty dang comfortable switching back and forth to español, and George, well George has been around for so many transitions I don't think he could appreciate the changes.

It was a amazing. We all went to a nice little place I have at the corner of my block. It's called Mo's it only has a few tables inside so most of the action goes on on the deck. By the time we arrived it was probably 10. Stayed till about 2:00 (as of course it was a school night, one of the things I love is that going out like this is common place in Mexico but have got to say I did little of in the US).

We talked about the cabin (happened 9 months ago) class (happened 10 hours ago), George's lady problems (happening from about 9 months ago to present as it were). What an exhausting but wonderful mix of the time I've been here.

Then I went home. Then I went to school. Then I have no idea what I did Thursday. Ah yes, got sick with cold. Friday I went to my internship and worked and worked and worked because I had a cold and didn't want to bring anything home with me on the weekend. Talked to my boss, finally left at 7:00. Yay home. bed.

Spent a late night with the girls, including, drinking, pool party, strangers and then a bit of sleep. woke up bright and early and have been working on a presentation for Law ever since.

"THE" Scene

This week it's my turn to post on the blog, Suzanne having posted last week, and my subject for this blog is "THE scene".  If any of you have ever read a romance novel you know that exact scene I'm talking about.  That scene in the book where the 2 central characters finally ride the hobby horse...they may have flirted with the idea or rounded a few of the "bases" before now, but this is the definitive and stereotypical romance scene!!  It's a very pivotal and crucial aspect of every single romance novel, and talking with a friend this past weekend reminded me just how quickly a bad "THE scene" ruins a novel. 

So, with this conversation still flirting around my head (as well as Kansas and Toferri, who insisted that the scene accurately reflected their sex life rather than some corny, Fabio-clutching-a-swooning-feamle old timey sex scene [velvet-covered steel anyone?]) I just finished editing "THE" scene from book #1. 

Karen Marie Moning is a paranormal writer I've read for years, and she has always said that a writer should write something and then leave it untouched for 3 weeks.  After the 3 weeks are over, you go back and re-read/edit what you've written...distancing yourself in this way is (apparentally) absolutely essential.

So I took her advice, wrote the first draft of "THE scene" about a month ago and then waited to edit it until now.  Wow, was this little piece of advice amazing!!  So, now I feel confident saying that "THE scene" is complete (at least until the whole book is finished and edited).  I'm emailing it to my 2 excellent proofreaders right...about...now.  It's quite a few pages so I can't post it here, but if you would like to see it just "comment" your email address and I will send it to you!!  :D  Have a great week everyone!!

Now it is my time! This is weird, I feel if I had a blog of my own, I would be short of followers, but as I'm just adding to a friends, I already have like, automatic followers. nice. now what do I say to all you lovely people? hmmm

well for now i'm residing in mexico for a masters. it has its ups and downs, lot of both come to think of it.

I will list a few here:

Down: The a.c. in my apartment is absolute crap and despite all the new an exciting cultural differences in Mexico, the weather between here and Phoenix is pretty much the same... in other words, I'm hot. ):

upside: some new people from Britain are in my program and I get to hear the word "mate" all day long (: you'd think it'd get old, or you'd start to not even notice it, but that's just not so. it's like a pick me up tagged on to the start of every other sentence. "mate, could you pass that?" just has the coolest ring. It's like, yes that's right, I'm your mate, your close and devoted friend. sigh.

And don't worry, all the good things about mx aren't british imports, that's just one on my mind. i think of more (local upsides) soon.

And so that's it for now.

I guess I'll just sign off.

be on my way.

see you later
talk to you sooon!




...bye

(:

Hello-hello!!

Hey Everyone!!

So welcome Suzanne to the blog as a co-blogger!!  She's just been granted administrative privileges and she'll be blogging with me, yay!! 

Being an adult sucks

I realize that's it's been a whole month since I've updated this blog. Wow. That's a new irresponsibility record for me, I've never neglected anything that long (probably b/c most things would die in that amount of time [see also: Why is killing plants so easy?]).

Ok, I think it's obvious that I don't have the brainpower to maintain a blog on my own. So, I'm asking anyone out there who has the gumption to help me maintain this blog!! Basically we'd each pick one week of the month (1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th) and then make a post about something during that time...maybe a book/movie/music review, or something new that you've tried, etc.

Lemme know if anyone's interested (pretty, pretty please Suzanne and Laura-bora!!).

In the meantime, I've been undergoing various medical procedures to finally get a diagnosis and treatment for whatever I have so that I can hopefully be a productive member of society again. I started mapping out my world, but that was weeks ago and I haven't touched it since. I think my problem is that I don't want my writing to reflect the mood/situation I'm in right now...I don't know.

*Is there anything you don't like doing when you're in a funk? Or is the reverse true for you: there are some things you only like doing/are only good at doing when you're in a funk??