I mean that literally and figuratively.

So here I am on Sunday, updating the blog to a fall theme when I should be writing. Or doing laundry. Or buying groceries. But I’m out of gas.

I can’t go get groceries because I don’t have a bike to get to the store and if I drive I’d use up what precious little gasoline I’ve got left since most gas stations in the Metro Atlanta area are still out of gas.

Waits for the stations that do have fuel are more than half an hour. A Quiktrip in Smyrna got a tanker at 6 AM and another at 7 AM. By 10 AM, the station was out of gas.

We are using Twitter to find gas and the police to manage the lines.

The issue could last for several weeks, they say. (Don’t you ever wonder who “they” are and why “they” control so much?) I have enough fuel to get to work for three days or so. I live 13 miles from work, but if I wanted to take public transportation, it would take approximately 2.5 hours to get there: catch a bus to a rail station–if it goes there directly–take the train to another station to catch the bus service for the county that didn’t want to get in on the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority and then transfer to another bus that would take me to my office.

Carpool, you say? My company actually offers several vanpools around the city. When I lived further away, this was a terrific option and I used it constantly. But the closest vanpool is 8 miles away in the other direction and I’d have to traverse traffic from 3 major highways to get there. It would actually take me longer to get to the vanpool than if I drive to work myself. Plus, I’m salaried, which means I stay until my tasks are done. One night last week I stayed at work until 7:30 because I had a deadline. If I’d been on the vanpool I would have missed the deadline or my ride home. Neither is a palatable option.

Life is good, though. My bank is solvent. I still have a job. Even though I’ve gotten two more rejections, I have other projects to work on and put out there, if the market is interested. And I still have projects under contract. I just need the fuel motivation to finish.

No talking head has yet to explain the bailout (my Senators tell me not to call it that–I think he termed it an “investment loan”) in a way that makes sense to me. These people and companies drive the economy, they say. Yeah, they drove it right into the ground. I say the economy is driven by people who eat at McDonald’s, not sit on its board. People who shop at Wal-Mart, not own it. People who go to the movies, not star in them. People who wait in line for half an hour to buy gas, not the folks making multi-million dollar profits from it. But go on, keep giving them tax breaks and rescues if you like. And when consumers stop consuming what they’re selling, don’t get mad at us. We won’t have any money left to buy it.

I belong to a Published Author chapter of RWA. In November, it will host a workshop open to anyone given by NYT bestseller Allison Brennan. Click here to register. I think this is a good $30 investment in your writing career.

***Permission to Forward Granted***

November 3-28, 2008

An EXCLUSIVE, one-time only, PASIC Event from New York Times Bestseller Allison Brennan

FROM THE CALL TO THE CAREER AUTHOR: A WRITER’S BUSINESS JOURNEY

Part One: The Call to Publication

Learn what happens after you sell, who the players are from your agent to editor to publicist and more; what does everyone do in a publishing house and how do they impact your book and you career?

* What should an author expect from their agent and their editor?
* How do you query an agent after you receive The Call?
* What are common contract clauses and what do they mean?
* What are foreign rights? Subsidiary rights?
* What happens in production?
* What is expected from the author?

And much more . . . The nuts and bolts of what is required for every author after a sale.

Part Two: The Three Ps: Publication, Placement and Promotion

What do you HAVE to do before your book is released, what MIGHT you do,and what should you NOT do?

* Pre-book buzz–what is it and how do you get it?
* What is co-op and other publication terms? How are books distributed? What are wholesalers and what do they do?
* How are bestseller lists determined?
* What do sales numbers mean?
* How do you read a royalty statement?
* Velocity, word-of-mouth, reviews, interviews, fans, blogs, MySpace, and your space.
* What will your publisher do, what MIGHT they do, what can YOU do?
* Is promotion worth it?
* promotion?

Pros and cons of promotion–from authors, agents, editors, and publicists. That’s just the beginning . . .

Part Three: The Career Author

What it means to be a career author and how to get there; roadblocks; and success. Blunt and to the point, you’ll never again say to an author, “I wish I were you.” Stories from authors who are successful, and those who are struggling.

* What they’ve learned and why it’s never the same path for any author.
* How to be a career author from the viewpoint of agents and editors.
* How to rebuild your career.
* Professional jealousy; career management; changing agents; changing houses; and everything in between.
* the “day” job, and practical issues like managing deadlines, speaking engagements, and family.
* Dos and don’ts of being active online–i.e. you’re now a public figure, what does it mean?
* The rudest questions authors get and how to answer them without telling the person to go jump in a piranha infested river.
* Questions and answers.

About the Presenter:

Allison Brennan is a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of romantic thrillers. A three-time RITA(r) finalist, two-time Romantic Times “Reviewers Award” finalist (including a win for Best Suspense of 2006 for THE KILL), Allison is published in a dozen languages and in the UK. She’s a member of Romance Writers of America, where she serves as President of PASIC (for published authors), as well as International Thriller Writers and Mystery Writers of America. She lives in Northern California with her husband and five children and when she’s not writing, she’s playing video games or a myriad of kid sports and activities.

NOTE: Allison has developed this workshop exclusively for PASIC and this will be the only time it is offered, anywhere!!
Deadline to Register: October 31, 2008

Parker Publishing has made Dream of Shadows available for Amazon’s Kindle! If you have a Kindle and would like to get this electronic edition for $6, please click here!

Did I really hear Larry King ask Chris Rock if the menu would change if Barack Obama won the White House?

Chris Rock was very classy with his response. “Are you just trying to get a rise out of me because I’m black?” (paraphrasing)

Chris actually had some veyr good comments and every time Larry tried to get a rise out of him, Chris batted it back. I think I may need to go buy a Chris Rock DVD or something.

Ad now Washington Mutual (my sister’s bank) had failed. Good lord. Luckily deposits are good, but it sucks to be a stockholder. I’ll be changing the 401K tomorrow morning. No sense making contributions that will be negative as soon as they’re invested.

You Should.

I especially like these sections (emphasis mine):

Sec. 6. Maximum Amount of Authorized Purchases.

The Secretary’s authority to purchase mortgage-related assets under this Act shall be limited to $700,000,000,000 outstanding at any one time

ME: so does that mean he can spend another 700 BILLION at another time, like the next day?

Sec. 7. Funding.

For the purpose of the authorities granted in this Act, and for the costs of administering those authorities, the Secretary may use the proceeds of the sale of any securities issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, and the purposes for which securities may be issued under chapter 31 of title 31, United States Code, are extended to include actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses. Any funds expended for actions authorized by this Act, including the payment of administrative expenses, shall be deemed appropriated at the time of such expenditure.

ME: Because of course, current Treasury employees won’t be able to handle this workload. He’ll have to hire new folks to handle it. As long as none of them are Wall St. bankers, that is…

Sec. 8. Review.

Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency.

ME: So we should let the Treasury dude do what he wants, because he’s already proven how trustworthy he is, right? Maybe not. If your blood’s not boiling yet, check out this tidbit from Forbes.com:

The more Congress examines the Bush administration’s bailout plan, the hazier its outcome gets. At a Senate Banking Committee hearing Tuesday, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle complained of being rushed to pass legislation or else risk financial meltdown.

“The secretary and the administration need to know that what they have sent to us is not acceptable,” says Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, D-Conn. The committee’s top Republican, Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, says he’s concerned about its cost and whether it will even work.

In fact, some of the most basic details, including the $700 billion figure Treasury would use to buy up bad debt, are fuzzy.

“It’s not based on any particular data point,” a Treasury spokeswoman told Forbes.com Tuesday. “We just wanted to choose a really large number.”

I don’t want to get all political on my blog, but as a consumer and an American worker who had to chase down gas this week and saw her 401k depreciate by 15%, I can’t help but look at this crap and go “What the Hell?”

I don’t know if you know this, but I live in Atlanta.

Yep, while everybody else has gas and the national average dropped to $3.75, I had to drive around to 8 gas stations Saturday night before I found regular unleaded…for $4.19/gallon. Better than my boss, who had to go to 20 stations.

There are still shortages. People park at stations because there are rumors that a tanker is incoming, like parents waiting for Tickle-Me Elmos at Christmas. Part of this is because of the switch off of summer blend, and part is from hysteria. We Atlantans have done this before, when the threat of snow flurries has us running to the store for bread and milk. No I don’t know what people can make from bread and milk–bread pudding?

Anyway, I filled my tank (I always fill up when I get to 1/4 tank) and I’m glad that I live 13 highway miles from the day job and I have a boss that would understand if I called in because my car’s on E. Luckily I also have a job in which I can telework in a pinch, though I do actually like going in to the office.

I’m not even going to talk about Wall St and stuff, except to say this: my brother and I are diametrically opposed politically. He works for Charles Schwab and thinks the media over-hyped the issues.

Okay, that’s really I all I can sya about that conversation without going cross-eyed.

To change the subject, I’m glad fall TV is here. I loved the “Samson and Delilah” opening song to this seasons Terminator: SCC (sung by Shirley Manson of Garbage) and I’m eagerly waiting for it to be available on iTunes. I’m a little tired of emo John Connor. I know you want a life, dude, but damn–if you’re being chased by nearly indestructible robots from the future who want to kill your ass and you’re just a frail, fragile, human, SHUT THE HELL UP your whining about wanting to go to the mall without a disguise.

Heroes last night. Loved it, of course, but still tired of Suresh and chica from Mexico. And I don’t recall a super condom being in there anywhere, so maybe there’s a super emo Hero baby on the way. Some interesting twists though will keep me watching. Chuck starts next week, and
My Own Worst Enemy starts soon, so Monday will belong to NBC. (Saw the trailer this weekend while watching The Family That Preys–loved it–and thought it was a movie. Sis and I were overjoyed to discover it was a series for TV.)

Tuesdays of course, belong to Fox. Still attached to House, especially now that Doctor Idol is over. What the hell with getting rid of every strong female character on the show? But with Eureka having its mid-season finale, I can watch Fringe live with no guilt. So far so good, and Fox is putting serious advertising dollars into the show, so maybe it will survive. Wednesdays is Bones, because it’s just a smart show. And David Boreanaz, yum.

But after that, I head to my upper channels. BBC America has Primeval and other cool shows. And of course I can’t do without History, Science Channel and NatGeo. My reality TV is Dirty Jobs, Animal Cops, and Design on a Dime. I don’t even bother with ABC or CBS. Lucky for me, my DVR is my friend or I’d never get any writing done!

Speaking of which…

Have You Seen This Book? Me Neither!

I called Genesis Press to see when/if I’d get author copies of Three Wishes in time to do some promo for the October 7th release. I also wondered if there were plans to reissue it’s sequel Through the Fire since it wasn’t available anywhere.

“Who said it wasn’t available?”

“Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Books a Million, Borders, and Waldenbooks,” I answer. “None of them show it in stock.”

“We have plenty of it.”

This is news to me. I mean, if you’ve got it, you should sell it, right? So I ask how we can get it back in these outlets since, you know, that’s where readers actually go to buy books.

“Just have them call me, and I can get them an order.”

So if anyone knows the romance buyers for Borders, Waldenbooks, Books-a-Million and/or Amazon.com, please have them contact me so that I can get them in touch with Genesis Press. Clearly, I’m the reason that this Romantic Times Reviewer’s Choice Award winning book is not in any of these retailers, even though all my other books are, and I must rectify this immediately.

To be fair, the nice lady I talked to did promise to check into it, for which I’m grateful. Because she knew exactly which book I was talking about and how much was in stock off the top of her head, without putting me on hold to verify or anything, so she must have superpowers and can fix it if anyone can. I wish I had the kind of memory to know the status of every book my company published over the years, especially a title that was released nearly three years ago. Maybe she’s got one of those photographic memories. If so, I think the federal government could use her skills.

Anyhoo, if you’d like to own a copy of the we-don’t-know-why-NONE-of-the-major-retailers-don’t-have-it Through the Fire, please order it directly from Genesis Press by clicking here. Even though the nice lady didn’t say so, I’m sure they could use the warehouse space for their other, newer titles.

Sometimes I think “supply and demand” is another phrase for “legalized price gouging” when it comes to fuel prices. The possibility that fuel may not be pumped out of Houston has people across the country scrambling to fill tanks, resulting in prices jumping 30 cents or more for hte gas that’s already there, not the gas that hasn’t been refined and distributed yet. We’d scream and holler if Home Depot suddenly decided those plywood sheets should now cost $20 more.

Course I’m a consumer, not an economist. WHat do I know?

Lucky me, I filled my tank yesterday morning, because it was on E, and needed fuel. Ike didn’t enter my mind. Lucky me again, I won’t have to fill my tank for two weeks because I have a 13-mile highway commute between work and home. If I could convince the PTB’s of the joys of telecommuting, I’ be thrilled.

Just found out that the ebook for Vegas Bites: Three of a Kind is NOW AVILABLE for purchase on the Parker Publishing site. Get it before anyone else does for $6.

After you complete you purchase the Ebook will be emailed to the email address that is on file. Please allow up to 24 hours for your book to be sent to you.

Take one more trip to Las Vegas’ werewolf owned casino the French Quarter. A place where the flip of the card will change your destiny. A place where every fantasy can be had as long as you are willing to pay the price. The Temple pack has just installed a new leader under the watchful eyes of the mortal world and they think the danger has passed them by. But trouble is always one roll of the dice away. Join Natalie Dunbar, Seressia Glass, Monique Lamont, and J.M. Jeffries in this sensual world of a handsome mage, a runaway princess, a sexy double agent, and captivating were jaguar who has come to place their bets with the Temples pack.

And Baby, this can only happen in Vegas.

Parking this cause I can never find the %$#@! chip clip when I need it.