Rarely do I know who my Hottie is going to be days in advance. I usually pick someone I’ve seen or heard about within the week in my own life. What you may or may not already know, I’ve submitted a proposal to Cobblestone Press for their new Vampire Oracle series. I’ve chosen the TOMB theme according to a story idea I’ve had for awhile now. I announced this submission on my author loop and my good friend Phylis asked me if I had a picture of what my hero looked like. (waves at Phylis) Anyhow, I thought and thought until I finally came up with someone. Who did I choose? Mr. Ioan Gruffudd.

Ioan’s name is one of “those” names you stare at for ten minutes but have no idea how to pronounce. It’s pronounced “Yeoh-an Griffith”. He played the sweet, yet sexy, Horatio Hornblower, one of the best historical high seas shows I’ve ever seen. If you’ve never taken the time to watch this show, please make the time. It is excellent watching Horatio transform from a naive, green officer to a kick-ass captain throughout the course of the show.

Not to mention Ioan’s curls are just too dang adorable! Mr. Gruffudd also stars in two other movies you may have seen. King Arthur as Sir Lancelot:

And Mr. Fantastic in the Fantastic Four:

Loved King Arthur, not so much the Fantastic Four. Too campy for my tastes, but watching Ioan on screen is never boring. He seems like one of those men who are impossibly nice and too dang polite for their own good. But that’s the reason he’s so charming–because he really *is* that charming!

Congratulations, Ioan Gruffudd. You’re Becka’s Hottie of the Week!

~~Becka

This week, I’m going to be telling you about my favorite scents. I’m not sure where this idea came from, but I’m running with it.

1.) Coffee. I love the scent of ground coffee still in the bag. My favorite so far is Starbucks Colombian blend coffee grounds. I love the scent in the bag better than brewed. Gives me a coffee-gasm every time.

2.) Rain. Sounds cliche, but I love the scent of rain. I remember from my childhood, when my family lived in the sticks (Dayton, NV), and a thunderstorm would roll through… I’d sneak outside and lay on the driveway underneath my mom’s broken down Chevy (don’t ask me why I’d hide UNDER the car… Talk about an accident waiting to happen – I was an odd child). But I would just lay there and breathe deep.

3.) Givenchy perfume – Very Irresistable. DH gave me this perfume for my birthday a few years ago and I’ve gone through three large bottles since then. For a woman who doesn’t wear much perfume, I sure did give this stuff a good run. It’s expensive, but it smells SO GOOD… It’s in a tall, pink, rectangular bottle if you ever see it at your local department store.

4.) Roses. Just like any other woman on Planet Earth, I love the scent of roses.

5.) Rose-scented perfumes. Which leads me to this scent. I love rose-scented perfumes (of which the above-listed Givenchy perfume is based.)

6.) Sauteed onions & garlic. OMG, this scent makes my stomach dance and sing. I love the scent of onions and garlic sauteed together. Mmm…

7.) Puppy breath. No, not DOG breath, puppy breath. Like newborn puppy breath. It has it’s own unique scent, probably because they’re not yet eating the nasty storebought dog food just yet.

8.) New Car Smell. Yup, this is probably cliche, but there really is nothing like getting into a brand new car and taking a deep breath. Ahhh.

9.) Newborn Baby. While you might think eeww, baby smell? Let me first say that a newborn baby, while breastfeeding, does NOT have stinky poos. I’ve had four kids. I’m an expert on this. It isn’t until you give them formula and solids that they stink. But I’m not talking about their poos. I’m just talking about the heavenly smell that seems to waft off of newborn baby skin. It goes far beyond Johnson & Johnson’s or baby powder. I’m not sure what it is, but they smell so good.

10.) Old Spice – Whitewater Aftershave. This is the aftershave that is blue. It is not the traditional Old Spice smell, but something more wonderful than that. I love this scent, probably because my DH wears this (I buy it for him-that’s why he wears it), but I could literally smell his pillow all day long because I love the scent of this aftershave so much. It’s not a cologne, however. But it reminds me of my sexy, hunka hubby.

11.) Fresh-Cut Grass. While my son is highly allergic to grass, I find the scent of fresh-cut grass highly appealing. I love being out there when DH is mowing the lawn, smelling the odor that reminds me of spring freshness.

12.) Gasoline. I told you I was odd. For years, my sister and I have each loved the smell of gasoline. I don’t smell it too much any more (good thing because I hear it can kill braincells lol), because here in Oregon, you don’t pump your own gas. In an effort to create more jobs, we have people who pump your gas for you, therefore, I rarely smell the vapors rising from my gas tank anymore. But I remember… And dear Gawd, at the gas prices nowadays, SMELLING the stuff is pretty much all I *can* do, as my van is constantly running on fumes. lol

13.) A charcoal BBQ. Maybe it’s the lighter fluid, I’m not sure, but a gas grill just doesn’t have the *smell* a charcoal BBQ has. So many possibilities, so many yummy foods. I smell a charcoal grill and my tummy is a’growlin’, even if it’s the neighbors who are cooking out. I usually then have to grill something myself for dinner. But DH and I have a gas grill. Dammit.

And there you have it, 13 of my favorite scents!

~~Becka

If you’ve read this blog for any amount of time, you’ll know I’m a Stargate geek through and through. DH and I never watched SG-1 when it first began. We liked the movie well enough, but thought the show always looked cheesy. (Didn’t it start out on Showtime, then move to the Sci-Fi Channel?)

Anyhow, in about season 7 of Stargate, we were somehow convinced to watch the show, and with 7 seasons available for purchase, we quickly bought them all, watching many episodes a day on the weekends. Yes, we’re couch potatoes.

But we came to love the show, because unlike the movie, it delved into a rich, deep mythology behind the gates, the goa’uld, the jafa… And having endless possibilities of stepping through the gate and going to a different world every week was just too compelling.

True, every world looked like Canada (lol) and you couldn’t suspend your disbelief that when the team stepped through the wormhole, that one Medieval village (why was it always Medieval? ) spoke for the ENTIRE planet. And the fact everyone spoke English in the galaxy was a bonus.

But despite all that corny campiness, the show never took itself seriously and ALWAYS had fun making jokes about itself. The “Wormhole Extreme” episodes were a testament to that, as well as the classic 200th episode, which had my DH and I literally rolling on the floor.

Even though we haven’t been around for the entire ten year run of the show, DH and I have watched every single Stargate episode (even Atlantis), and we love it dearly. The addition of Claudia Black and Ben Browder were genius, in my opinion, and only seeing them hang around for a season or two is disappointing to say the least.

It would seem Amanda Tapping (Samantha Carter) will be joining Atlantis next season, but truth be told, DH and I want to see Vala or Col. Mitchell over there instead. Atlantis already has a brainiac in Dr. McCay, and personally, I’m not too looking forward to McCay and Carter’s battle of brains, unless McCay is leaving the show (which would SUCK because despite his annoying character, I love the guy).

There are so many things I could say about this show, about how Michael Shanks did a better James Spader doing Daniel Jackson than James Spader himself… About how I always thought they’d give Bra’tac some heroic death scene, but they kept him around season after season (good for them)… About how Teal’c’s grasp of human pop culture never ceased to make me crack up…

So many good memories. What a great show. I’m sad to see it end, but happy Atlantis is still going strong. Ronin is a sweet-ass character, and you all know how I feel about Col. Sheppard. Here’s to many more seasons of Atlantis, and may we see some of our old friends from time to time. Many thanks to all involved with Stargate SG-1, the networks, the actors, the writers, who made the show come alive, and thanks for entertaining us for so long (10 years) and so unfailingly week after week with compelling episodes that made you laugh and cry.

Goodbye, Stargate SG-1. I’ll miss you. **sniffle**

~~Becka

NASA in Houston plays “Indescribable” by Chris Tomlin as the astronauts’ wake up call.

Awesome.

~~Becka

Many “thanks” to Ciar Cullen for tagging me with this. Bah.

Here are the rules:
A. Each player lists 8 facts/habits about themselves.
B. The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those facts/habits are listed.
C. At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.

1. I used to own a crocheted teddy bear business called “BeccaBears”. I had a store on eBay, the whole nine. Folded the business to write books, not to mention it took me about 3 days to make 1 bear. I couldn’t sell them for what I might charge for labor. Who’s going to pay more than $20 for a handmade teddy bear? But who wants to make $20 for three days’ work??

2. I homeschool my kids. Third grade, second grade, first grade, and soon-to-be preschool. It’s the early grades. Right now, it’s easy.

3. I don’t listen to much secular music. I have a few select bands I listen to, but I mostly listen Christian music – Chris Tomlin, Jeremy Camp, Third Day, Newsboys.

4. I don’t watch American Idol, but I adore Kelly Clarkson and Daughtry (two of the select secular artists I listen to. )

5. I have a little black kitty named “Ninja”, so named after we brought her home from the shelter and she proceeded to kick our dog’s ass. LOL They’ve since called a truce, but she still manages to remind him she’s queen of the house. Nothing funnier than a tiny kitty beating up a 90 lb. chocolate lab to the point of him running away yelping…

6. All of my real-life girlfriends don’t read – much less romance, irony of ironies. Heck, I’m lucky if my family buys my books.

7. My favorite color is a lavender shade of purple. Used to be a sage green ever since I was a teenager, but since I’ve had children who are in LOVE with Disney princesses, not to mention a daughter that adores purple herself, the color has grown on me.

8. My favorite food is Mexican. The entire menu. I’m convinced Heaven is an endless Mexican buffet, with perhaps, Italian and Chinese/Thai weekends.

~*~*~

I’m tagging: Beth Williamson, Kate Davies, Melissa Schroeder, Donica Covey, Diane Craver, Cindy K. Green, Diana Bold, Karyna DaRosa

~~Becka

If y’all wanna see the grand ol’ time my family had at Disney World, you can go to my hubby’s website and watch all the videos he’s been uploading for the past few days. There are more to come (since we were in Orlando for 10 days – at the parks for 7 days), and there’s already a few up there. You’ll have to scroll down a bit to watch them in order 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc.

Each video is in the 10 – 20 minute range, so just be fore-warned. Hope you enjoy ‘em!

http://www.jimgoings.com/

~~Becka

So I held a garage sale this weekend. My neighbors, seeing what a grand idea it was, decided to haul their sh*t out of their garage and try to sell it as well. Yup, we had a garage sale 2-fer.

Now, lemme tell ya, DH and I had some awesome stuff for sale. You know when you go to one of these shindigs and they’re all clothing that smells like moth balls, costume jewelry and half-used bottles of nail polish? Well, DH and I sold a window air conditioner, window fans, a sweet stereo with USB ports, a double stroller, a single stroller, loads of children’s clothing, books, computer games, DVD’s that people would actually want to watch (Titanic, Lady and the Tramp, Young Guns, etc **our duplicate DVD’s**)…

Anyhow, I really wish I could have had the *ultimate* garage saler. You know the type, the diamond in the rough customer, who browses these sales for treasures. Because lemme tell ya, I had a few that I thought would sell like hotcakes.

I used to frequent eBay back in the day, and I hung out with all the crocheters and knitters (because I had a crocheted teddy bear business) and I’ve procured a LOT of yarn. Sad thing is, I never crochet anymore and every member of my family has an afghan. So I decided to sell my yarn stash. **SOBS** The ladies on eBay always said they wished more garage sales had good yarn. My yarn rules, I must say. Non-smoking home, kept in storage, no odors, no stains, awesome colors (because I collected rare and out-of-print variegated yarns), etc. I only had three people of the many many people who stopped to peruse buy any skeins. As hard as it is to say goodbye to my beloved yarn, THREE PEOPLE?!?

I also had pretty cloth swatches out for potential quilters, and a plethora of rubber stamping supplies. Even two Australian cross-stitch kits. But alas, no crafters came by and I’m still stuck with my crafty goods.

I did manage to sell our strollers. But hardly anyone bought any of the kids’ clothing. I had a garage sale a few years back and the clothes then were DEVOURED. This time, not so much. Weird, I know. I did sell a few of my kids’ old shoes, however. I had some pretty cool appliances as well, such as a coffeemaker and crock pot that didn’t get sold, along with pretty much ALL of my romances.

I had such high hopes for my romance novels. It’s mostly women who garage sale anyway. But they’d all flock to my hubby’s fantasy/sci-fi table. Keep in mind, I’m selling LOADS of Johanna Lindsey, backlists of Desires and Intrigues, romantic suspenses by Maggie Shayne… And I only sold ONE romance the entire day. ONE, folks. Where the HECK are all the romance readers? Stores say it’s their number one selling genre, and used bookstores won’t buy them off of you because they have so many. SO WHY AREN’T PEOPLE BUYING THEM AT GARAGE SALES?! LOL

Please excuse the frustration.

We even had two (count them, TWO) computer monitors that were FREE that nobody took. Couldn’t even give the damned things away. *sigh*

All in all, however, we had a great sale. My kids even had their first lemonade stand. They made about $5.50, for 22 cups of lemonade. But they were so excited. I’m not sure how the neighbors did on their garage sale, but they went back out there today. I said F that! lol It was sprinking on and off today, and it was funny watching them cover their junk with tarps, then uncover it after the sprinkles. LOL Despite the overcast weather, there was still a lot of traffic on the street, but I didn’t set up again. Figured we’d sold the “good” stuff yesterday.

Still, I couldn’t help but wish I’d had a crafter or a romance lover stop by. Now, I’m stuck with all this stuff. LOL Any of y’all missing some Lindsey from your bookcase?

~~Becka

This week’s Hottie is a man I actually had never seen before this very morning. Shocking, I know. I was chatting with my publisher at Champagne Books via Yahoo IM, and asked her to suggest a Hottie for me this week, as I just wasn’t “feelin” anyone. She came back with this man, who, in all honesty, is pretty smokin’, I must say. What’s his name? Mr. Eduardo Verastegui.

Don’t ask me how to pronounce his last name, because I’ve got absolutely no idea. All I know about this guy is he was born in Mexico, was in some kind of Mexican boy band, and starred in a few Mexican soaps. (I bet that was wildly entertaining. I love watching those over-the-top soaps. You don’t even have to know Spanish to be entertained. LOL)

But this Eduardo guy… He’s got “it”, whatever “it” is. He’s a handsome guy, what can I say? He’s a little older than me, which is a bonus, because it seems anyone who’s anyone cool nowadays is younger than me. Yup, I’m gettin’ old. But he was born in 1974, same year I was, but in May, as opposed to October.

I love his thick, dark hair and expressive eyes. Perfect for the portrait of a romance hero, don’t you think? Many thanks to Ellen at Champagne Books for pointing him out to me. Imagine. I could have gone my entire life without ever seeing this man’s face. Heh. Congratulations, Eduardo Verastegui. You’re Becka’s Hottie of the Week!

~~Becka

This week’s T-13 will be posted over on the Fantasy & Enchantment blog. I wrote this week’s T-13, so in the effort of saving time by not writing another one for this blog, hop on over there and take a gander.

http://fantasyandenchantment.blogspot.com/2007/06/thirteen-fantasy-cliches.html

~~Becka

Okay, for those who are in the same circles I…circulate, you’ll know I’ve been asking a lot of questions about reviews lately. Whether the snarky reviewers are laying on the snark a bit too thick for the sole purpose of entertainment and ripping a book apart rather than actually reviewing said book, or whether reviewers toss around the word “cliche” when the book is merely predictable, etc.

Anyhow, I got another one to talk about. Novels vs. novellas.

Novellas, by their nature, are short stories. We all know this, we all get this. Novels are, by their nature, longer stories. Now that we’ve got that out of the way, let’s get to the meat and potatoes of the point.

I think most every review I read on novellas says something along the lines of, “This book would have been better had it been a longer story” or “This novella was a fast, quick read, but I wish it could have been longer” etc.

This baffles me, though, because is there any novella on Planet Earth that *wouldn’t* be improved upon if it had been a full novel? The point of a novella is to jump into the story, not for drawn out character development. True, you should have some development so your readers can connect with the characters, and sometimes, that’s why reviewers want the book to go on for another 100 pages, because they loved the characters so much. Other times, they want the book to go on for another 100 pages, because the plot wasn’t fully fleshed out, or what have you.

But a novella, as we established above, is a short story. That is its essence, so changing it into a full novel would defeat the purpose of the light, quick read. But there are so many reviewers out there who wish these novellas were longer.

I gotta say, I’ve written a few novellas myself. They are fun to write and they are fun to read, especially for me because I rarely have time to read any more. Something that’s quick, punchy, to the point is what I’m looking for in a book. But I’m tired of the reviewers who lament about the length of novellas. I’m beginning to believe reviewers don’t *like* novellas much, since I’ve seen the “I wish it was longer” comment on a LOT of reviews.

So what’s the deal here, folks? Are THAT many authors writing unbelievable novellas that cannot get off the ground in a short amount of time? Or are there THAT many authors writing compelling novellas that readers “want more of” because it was so darned good? **OR** are reviewers merely jaded, wanting an “all nighter” rather than a “quickie?” LOL

What do you think?

~~Becka