This week’s hottie is a man I’ve known for over half my life. Well, I don’t *know* him personally, I’ve known *of* him. In fact, I’ve even talked about him a few times on this blog. Once, when I told y’all I was going to his concert back on my birthday in October, and another time when I admitted to having his poster hanging above my bed as a teen.

That man is Mr. Michael W. Smith.

I was first introduced to his music in 1988, nineteen years ago. Good Lord, has it been that long?? Of course, back then, Mr. Smith (”Michael W.” or “Smitty” as everyone I know calls him) had permed hair and somewhat of a mullet… But we won’t go there.

One fact has remained, however. This man is extremely good-looking and has taken very good care of himself over the years.

Did you know his birthday is Oct. 7th, just two days before mine? But did you also know that he’s going to be 50 this year? Yup. The big Five-Oh. Wow, you’ve done well, Michael W.

I’d say he’s one of the more famous Christian singers, probably because he’s been around forever, but also because he’s got some great songs. And his voice is very unique, gritty, almost nasally, but that’s his style. You can say with 100% certainty when a song comes on that it’s him singing due to that voice.

I grew up listening to this man’s songs, and I’m still an avid fan. In fact, when I went to see him in concert, it was the first time for me. I was SOOO excited!!

Some of my favorite songs of his are (click on song titles to take you to the Amazon snippets):

Emily

Friends

Place in This World ~ very poignant when I was a kid

You Are Holy (Prince of Peace)

Live the Life

The Stand

And that’s just to name a few. Michael W. was a good “friend” to me growing up, and his music helped me through a lot of troubled times. Even today, I still love his work. And heck, I still love to look at the guy!

Congratulations, Michael W. Smith. You’re Becka’s Hottie of the Week!

~~Becka

Today, I’m posting 13 of my WIP’s or “Works in Progress” for those of you not in the “know”. I am a romance author, and therefore, I have many ideas in the works, but who knows when you’ll actually get to see them published… I’ll start with the books you’ll most likely see first, followed by the books you might not see for a few years.

1. THE WOLVERINE AND THE FLAME ~ The third book in my Legends of Mynos series, this book is about Sir Ethan of Krey, the promise he made to protect the twin sister of his best friend, and the evil Dragon’s Flame, a red gem that twists the mind of any and all who touch it. (Samhain Publishing ~ Fall-ish)

2. NATURE OF THE B*E*A*S*T* ~ This book is the third book in my B*E*A*S*T* series, about Wade McAllister, a shifter (cougar) who wants nothing but revenge on the man who made him, but falls for the man’s beautiful daughter along the way. (Champagne Books ~ late summer/fall-ish)

3. HIGH NOON ~ A western, about a full-blooded Comanche Indian who’s raised as a white man after a massacre killed his entire village. The the father of the woman he loves lost her hand in marriage in a poker bet, and now it’s up to the Indian to fight for her honor in a duel at High Noon. (Samhain Publishing ~ November-ish)

4. ONCE A DREAMER ~ The first in a continuity series from Champagne Books, about girls who rode the Orphan Train. My book is about a young, Russian immigrant who eventually ends up in “lawless” Dodge City. She finds she’s an “heiress”, and seeks refuge from her “money hungry” adoptive “parents”, only to fall into the arms of a notorious swindling gambler. (Champagne Books ~ January 2008-ish)

5. KINDRED ~ A novella about an every day woman who finds out she’s not human–she’s a dragon shifter. Not only that, she’s been betrothed since birth to the Crown Prince of the land of Dragoran, and her grandmother’s old standing mirror is the gateway into this lush, magical world. (Champagne Books ~ late summer 2008-ish)

6. RIDIN’ SHOTGUN ~ A “sequel” of sorts to IN YOUR ARMS, about Shirley Bloom, the shrew-ish sister to Lissa Bloom. She meets her match in a man known as Luke “Shotgun” Austin and suddenly finds herself in the middle of a “shotgun” wedding. But her new husband is accused of a crime he didn’t commit and is set to hang. Shirley is the only one who can save him. Even if he is the most annoying man on the planet. (Champagne Books ~ Someday)

7. HIS LADY’S DELIGHT ~ A high seas historical circa 1780, a man agrees to allow a woman passage across the sea in exchange for some “carnal pleasures”. He agrees to a “sham” wedding in order to get the heroine into his bed, only to find out his “sham” was not a sham at all. Once they reach port, he must decide whether divorce is truly an option. (No home)

8. KINGDOM OF DREAMS ~ A fairy princess looks into the Spring of Dreams in the land of Faeyn to see the face of the man she will marry. She assumes he’s some kind of strange prince, but in fact, the man is a regular joe, a contractor from Arizona, who’s suddenly whisked away into this magical place. All he wants to do is return home, but when his princess “wife” is kidnapped by goblins, he needs to make a choice–will he choose his old, lonely life, or a chance at becoming king of Faeyn? (No home)

9. HER SCOUNDREL’S HEART ~ Futuristic romance involving a wealthy conglomerate’s daughter, who is trying to smuggle her brother much needed supplies to the quarantined moon of Titan. During her business deal with the “space pirate” who’ll smuggle the goods for a price, her ship is destroyed by the UCE (United Colonies of Earth), and now they are on the run. Someone doesn’t want those supplies to reach the plagued moon, and the hero and heroine endeavor to find out why. (No home)

10. DESERT DREAMS ~ A present-day woman falls back in time to the Saudi desert and/or Persia circa 1805, where she meets a handsome sheikh and falls in love. But he has a secret, and his enemies will gladly kill the woman he loves in order to keep that secret intact. However once she is pulled back to her own time, how will she go on living without him? (No home)

11. SURRENDER TO ME ~ A tentative Medieval about an arranged marriage between hero and heroine. The hero is bitter and claims he will never love the heroine, and only wishes to make an heir with her. But she’s loved him most of her life, and this breaks her heart. The hero’s heart had been broken long ago by another woman. Can his new wife heal the wounds that run so very deep? (No home)

12. SUMMER’S WARM EMBRACE ~ A contemporary “feel-good” book about a woman and a man who are fed up with their lives and find themselves–and each other–on a farm, with the very obvious match-making farmer’s wife. (No home)

13. UNTITLED ~ It bugs me not to have a title, but this one doesn’t. A modern day western, about a woman who’s casually dating a man and meets his family, only to fall head-over-heels for his brother. The brother just happens to be the same man she shared a kiss with a few years back, and their attraction is magnetic. But when the man she’s dating pops the question in front of the family, she’s speechless, and of course, her silence is taken as acceptance, and she finds herself engaged to the wrong man. (No home)

There you have it. Thirteen of the ideas I’ll be working on in the months/years to come.

~~Becka

Well it’s official. The cover for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows has been revealed:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17828868/

As an author myself, it’s not unheard of to hear reference to Ms. Rowling in certain circles. Some authors bemoan her success, wishing for such themselves, or at least wishing they had her riches to roll around in. Pretty much the measure of a successful author is compared to that of Ms. Rowling or Nora Roberts. But even Nora, no matter how many books she’s written or how many romances she’s written or how many TV movies they make of her books will never attain the world wide fame or heck, even the bank account of J.K. Rowling. I heard it said once that Ms. Rowling is richer than the Queen of England. Considering all those Crown Jewels and castles, that’s really saying something.

But for a woman who was digging through the couch for loose change over ten years ago, the fame that goes along with the success of her Harry Potter books has got to be daunting. Here I am, with maybe a few hundred fans, feeling “pressure” to make the third book of my BEAST series something they won’t be disappointed in. Ms. Rowling has MILLIONS of fans, and she’s just finished her final, controvertial Potter book.

I mean, can you imagine?

Ultimately, you have to write what your muse tells you to write. And announcing that someone is going to die in the next book is Big Publicity because everyone wants to know “who”. But killing off a well-liked character can have rabid fans tossing their books against the wall, thoroughly pissed they ever started your series in the first place. Heck, at least Rowling is FINISHING her series, unlike a certain Robert Jordan… But don’t get me started on him. lol

Like I said before, many authors “wish” to be in Rowling’s shoes. While it’s nice to dream about being able to buy a villa in the south of France if you desire, I’m not so sure I’d want to be where she is. Money doesn’t buy happiness, it only buys the illusion of happiness. So yeah, you could be sipping pina coladas in your villa, but you’ll be surrounded by superficial people who are drooling for your table scraps, constantly hounded about your book plots, and under the most critical eye of the Almighty Public. If you can’t handle a negative review from a small review site, there’s no way in heck you could handle the kind of fame Rowling has with the critisizm that goes along with it…

So the next time you wish to be like Rowling, put her fame into perspective and ask yourself if you could handle the tremendous, stressful burden of being Uber Famous (echo echo). It’s probably why Ms. Rowling rarely smiles…

~~Becka

Okay, folks. Today’s random pic of the day comes from either Canada or France, I can’t tell which. Probably Canada, since the sign is in English first. This is the “famed” Hide Your Valuables sign, which, upon looking at the background, is probably prominent on a hiking trail, camping site, or any place where you might leave your car to go into the wilderness for a length of time.

First of all, I got a chuckle out of this picture. One, because the robber is clearly ominous. Obviously, people who rip you off are wearing trenchcoats and floppy-brimmed hats. Secondly, is he sitting on the hood?? Even if he’s not, the guy is huge! Good Lord, I wouldn’t want to meet him in a dark alley… And why can’t you see the rest of him through the windows of the car? Very strange.

Another thing that struck me about this sign is the fact that it suggests locking MONEY in your trunk. Of course, we all should know by now to hide anything of value in your car, but when was the last time you hid a fat wad of cash in your vehicle? I mean honestly? I have left my purse in the car on occasion, maybe under the seat, but I rarely carry cash. And if I did have lots of it on me at the time, I’d be damned if I’d leave it in the car, even if I was going on a ten day excursion into the bush.

And last but not least, what’s the most curious thing about this sign? In fact, it’s so obvious, you’ll probably shake your head and giggle at the inanity of it all.

>>THANK YOU, CANADA, FOR TELLING THE ROBBERS EXACTLY WHERE I HID THE CASH!!<<

**snort**

~~Becka

That’s right, today, March 25th, is my 12th anniversary with my DH.

“But Becka,” you might say, “why are you blogging instead of spending time with the old man?”

Well, the “old man” has Walking Pneumonia. Gah. Remember how I thought I had it a couple of months ago?!? My youngest daughter has a touch of it as well. My oldest daughter and my son have bronchitis.

We took a fun family trip to the Urgent Care this morning (joy of joys) and the doc saw my hubby and three of my children. My son wasn’t having a good time of it, as he was puking in their hand sink in the exam room, poor little dude. We all got sick back in January, and it’s just been lingering. In fact, lingering so long, that it’s no longer a viral thing. Bacteria has now descended into the lungs of the Goingses and now we’ve got antibiotics aplenty along with some puffers and Uber Cough Medicine (echo echo).

**sigh**

So much for taking our friend up on her offer to babysit the kids while DH and I go out to celebrate. The hubby has been in bed since we got home from the doctor’s (about 11am) and it’s now almost 5pm. He was in bed yesterday from 12:30pm to 8:30pm.

I feel for him, really I do. I got Walking Pneumonia Christmas of 2005. It was NOT fun.

So, here I sit, blogging away, while the kids watch the Goonies on their TV (gotta love the Goonies) and DH sawing logs upstairs doped out on Codeine and whatever the heck antibiotic he got from the doc.

I’m coughing a tad and so is my second daughter, but nothing “serious”, at least, not right now. Hopefully, nothing will become serious.

So instead of steak and lobster, I’m pondering mac’n'cheese or PB&J for dinner. Yay. Wonderful day for an anniversary. lol

~~Becka

In case you didn’t know, I have Google Analytics on this blog, so I can see where in the world the traffic is coming from to this blog. I can also tell how many of you are regular readers, and how many are newbies. You wouldn’t believe the influx of newbies onto this blog every day, and I can only assume these are the people who are Googling an actor’s name or looking for a picture, or just stumble upon it by random surfing.

If that’s the case, let me introduce myself!

My name is Rebecca Goings, known as “Becka” around the ‘Net, and I’m a romance author. I write across the board, so I’m not tied to one genre. Historicals, contemporaries, paranormal, fantasy, pretty much anything and everything. As long as there’s romance involved.

I have a website located at: http://www.RebeccaGoings.com which has a nifty bookshelf of all my books with excerpts and such for you to enjoy. I also have an author group, where all my fans can yak with each other, and me, kind of an email “meeting place” if you will. You can join at: http://groups.google.com/group/themagicofromance. I have a newsletter group if you want to keep up with what’s happening with me month to month. You can join at: http://groups.google.com/group/rebeccagoingsnewsletter.

I’m published with By Grace Publishing (although my Inspirational romances are going out of print this year), Champagne Books, and Samhain Publishing. I have a few other blogs that you can peruse, with links on the ——————————-> side menu over there. BEAST and Legends and MySpace (befriend me!).

My books are mainly in eBook format, that’s electronic downloads, but this year, all of my upcoming books are going to print. I do have three books available now on Amazon.com. My books aren’t in bookstores (yet), but once THE WOLVERINE AND THE ROSE goes to print (August ‘07), it will be in Borders and Waldenbooks nationwide. Yippee!! But even though you can’t find my book on the shelf (yet), you can always order any of my books directly from the stores. All of my print books can be found on the Ingrams database.

Anyhow, that’s me in a nutshell. I have a few features on this blog, such as the Thursday 13, Hottie of the Week, and Random Pic of the Day, although I’m not sure that will stick around. We shall see… Hope you stick around and peruse my links.

Take care,
~~Becka

This week’s hottie is a man who never fails to get my heart racing, even if he’s in a crappy movie. It’s no secret I love this man, and have used him as the “model” on not one, but TWO of my romance heroes. (Hey, they were twins! Laith Moreland and Jareth Moreland) But he’s got such a beautiful smile, it’s hard not to swoon. It literally lights up his entire face. That man is Mr. Hugh Jackman.

DH and I watched The Prestige this week where Hugh and Christian Bale are competing magicians. The movie itself is dark and twisted. In fact, I almost picked Christian as my hottie. But truth be told, I think Hugh is hotter. LOL

I can’t remember the first time I saw Hugh, but I’m sure I was probably speechless for awhile. LOL I loved him in Kate and Leopold, basically a romance novel come to life. Didn’t like him too much in that movie with the tree of life… I can’t remember the name of it right now… The Fountain. That’s it. I thought it looked really good by the previews, but it wasn’t. However, it was worth a watch for Hugh. LOL Not so sure the bald look is for him. Heheheh…

According to IMDB, Hugh is Australian, born in Sydney. I did not know that. I’d assumed he was British. Shows you what I know. LOL But that doesn’t detract from the fact that he’s a damn fine-looking man. I wonder if he’d put on the thick Aussie accent for me. I’ve got a penchant for men with accents.

Hugh also seems to be a favorite with romance authors. I’ve seen his likeness circulated in the…circles I’m a part of. And why not? He seems like such a down-to-earth nice guy. It would be great to chat with him, if only for a few minutes. Why? Well, because he might actually smile, and then my life would be complete. LOL

Congratulations, Hugh Jackman. You’re Becka’s Hottie of the Week!

~~Becka

This week, 13 things about my childhood.

~*~*~*~

1. I wore big, owl-like glasses. Later in life, I got Lasik surgery. I no longer wear glasses. (Except for the reading glasses I need while on the computer.)

2. I had a crush on just about any boy who was nice to me.

3. My parents divorced when I was 12 and I lived with my dad. He worked the swing shift at a casino,and so he was always gone when I came home from school. So from the age of 12 to the age of 18, I was alone every single night, except for my father’s nights off.

4. My best friend’s mom had pity on me for not having home-cooked meals every night, so every Monday and Thursday, I would ride the bus to her house and have dinner with their family. Thank you, Mrs. Brode! *smooches*

5. I used to draw all the time and even made some lovely pastel drawings various family members have framed and hanging on their walls.

6. I had an obsession with Petra, a Christian rock band, and I used to sing along with their albums, pretending I was singing at a concert. LOL

7. I had a dog who followed me everywhere, even if I was just getting up to get a soda. I was HER human. She was a German Shepherd/Lab mix and the best dog I’ve ever owned. She lived to be a ripe old age of 16, and we finally had to put her down. I think she refused to die because she didn’t want to leave me. Faithful pooch.

8. I used to dance to my casette tape walkman (remember those??) in my backyard under the stars at night.

9. I used to pray to God while looking up at the summer stars, and even “named” a triangle-like constellation “The Trinity”. I still look up at it fondly during the summer months.

10. When I first got my license, I drove a beat-up old 1978 Datsun F-10. It was ugly as sin, but it was FREEDOM!! I loved that damn thing. LOL Once, I even “freaked” other drivers out by pretending I was”on a cell phone” by using the arm rest that had just fallen off the inside door. My friend was laughing so hard, she almost peed her pants. You should have seen the looks on those people’s faces. I think I got a few people craning their necks to get a better look.

11. Me and some friends actually *did* freeze another friend’s bra at one of our sleepovers. Hey, she fell asleep first… She didn’t appreciate it too much in the morning. LOL

12. I used to have a poster of Michael W. Smith on my ceiling–right above my bed. Hey, he’s HAWT!!

13. Writing was my solace as a kid, and I have many teen-angst-y poems left over from that time. I even wrote and finished a few short stories and started but never finished a few others. However, there was one story in particular that is especially important to me even now. I wrote when I was 13 years old. It was a fantasy, about a magical talisman and the elves who protected it. That story was called “The Crystal of Mynos.”

Today, I have three random pictures to show you because this is just too freakin’ cool.

There is a new technique in photography called: HDR, which stands for High Dynamic Range. My hubby just bought an *expensive* Pentax camera last night that can do it.

Basically, the jist is this. The camera will take three to five pictures in succession, one right after another, snap, snap, snap! Five is best to get the best range. The first image is extremely under-exposed. The second image, slightly under-exposed. The third, just right. The fourth, slightly over-exposed, and the fifth, extremely over-exposed.

You then take all of these images and merge them together in Photoshop. The result are pictures that show not only dark shadows, but bright highlights as well. This makes the picture appear to be “painted”.

Notice how you can see the dark shadows in the trees and the hue of the sky. These things would have been “washed” out if you hadn’t merged the image with an underexposed frame. Not to mention the detail on the bark of the closest palm tree. Amazing. The bright highlights come to play in the clouds, as you wouldn’t be able to see the “dotting” effect they have in the sky in a normal picture.

Here is another example:

The dark and light shadows in the clouds would have been lost in a normal shot, due to the “over-exposure” of the sun right behind them. However, due to under and over-exposing this shot, you are able to see the different shades of the clouds, as well as keenly see each and every sunbeam individually, not to mention every single blade of grass. The car itself is more reflective than it would be in a normal picture.

The purpose of this new HDR concept is to take a picture more like what your eye would see rather than what your camera sees. Photographers claim taking photos such as these illiminate the use of lighting equipment when taking your pictures, since the high-highs and the low-lows will not be missed.

Of course, it means you have to be Photoshop saavy, since you are layering all the snapshots together to make one picture. But it still doesn’t detract from the fact that these pictures are fricken’ sweet.

Looking up at Eiffel like that with the sun behind it would have totally washed out those shadows on the clouds. But not with an HDR photo.

DH is hoping to take some GREAT pics while we’re at DisneyWorld. I really hope so!

~~Becka

I hate germs. Seriously. I don’t think there hasn’t been a time in this house all year that everyone has been perfectly healthy. I literally think the same damn bug has been circulating and mutating in the air ducts of our house only to strike again and again.

Both me and DH have been sick, not to mention the kidlets. Two of my kids have gotten pink eye, one of them twice. One of my kids had a high fever and the pukies. Yesterday, my youngest daughter had a fever of 103.1 (which has now come under control) and now, my eldest daughter has a fever and pukies. Again.

BIG DRAMATIC SIGH

Top all of this off with my dang stuffy ears and you have the recipe for one grumpy mom.

I’m going to the ear specialist and audiologist tomorrow, and I’m hoping my kids will be well enough to go. I’ve already rescheduled my appointment because of the danged contractors coming in and out of my house replacing furnaces, water heaters, and decks… The other day, I was wondering if my ears had cleared up, because I seemed to hear just find out of them both with minimal stuffage in the one ear (my left). Then, I took a short nap on my couch, and when I woke up, my ear was back to full stuffage and hasn’t relented since.

It’s literally like I have a finger stuck in that ear. If you take your finger and plug your ear, that’s how I hear out of it. I think my family is tired of repeating things for me. I have to have the TV turned up and let’s not get started on the music I listen to while in the car or cleaning house.

I really hope the ear doctor can do something for me rather than a “thank you, drive thru” answer. Even though my ear is stuffy, I can hear this high-pitched whine. I looked online and that’s called Tinnitus. There is apparently no cure for it, but I’m not sure how serious it is. So keep me in your thoughts. Some websites say recurring stuffy ear can lead to permanent hearing loss. Let’s hope it does NOT come to that.

~~Becka