I know, I know, boo-the-frick-hoo, Becka.  Most folk don’t even have ONE of those much less BOTH.  Well, in my own defense, both of my gadgets were gifts. I probably would never have shelled out THAT much money for either device for myself.  However, since there are some articles out there and questions swirling about the Kindle vs. the iPad as an eReader, I thought I would throw my thoughts into the ring.

Plain and simple, the iPad can do more.  And with the ability to do more, it is therefore more convenient.

Being the online eBook author that I am, I am married to my email/twitter/facebook/blog.  I’m on umpteen lists and groups, I scour events for promo ops, I send my thoughts out in 140 characters.  I’m an Internet addict, I freely admit.  When the Internet goes down, I feel like Helen Keller.  I begin to devolve.

Now that you understand I’m always “in the know” as much as I can be, then you can understand why I’ve forsaken my Kindle.  I do most of my reading in bed.  And just before I open that eBook, I’m doing my final email checks, Twitter checks, maybe posting an update on Facebook, perhaps surfing the web.  Once I’m done, I open my Kindle App and away I go.  Who wants to put down the iPad, fumble for the Kindle, and try to find your Mighty Bright (or just turn on your light)?  It’s just more…convenient.  I’ve already got it on my lap.

Is Kindle’s eInk more readable?  Yes.  Is Kindle more comfortable to hold?  Yes.  Is Kindle lighter?  Yes.  Is Kindle less expensive?  Yes.  If all you want to do is read eBooks, Kindle is for you.  Or the Nook.  Or the Sony eReader.  Whatever.  But the iPad is for Internet junkies like me.  Those of us who must have their brain jacked into the Matrix 24/7.  It’s too…inconvenient to reach for another device to read an eBook when the iPad can do it too.

Is it a Kindle killer?  For me… yes.  But only because I appreciate all the other things I can do on it.  And I LUVED my Kindle before I had my iPad.  So there are some of you out there who will LUV your Kindle as well.  And maybe there are some hardcore readers out there, who, like me, have both, but still prefer to read eBooks on their Kindle.  I can respect that.  Backlit books can be an eyestrain.

However, I rarely go read on the deck during the day or on the couch (unless I’m sick and forsaking the housework).  Most of my reading is in bed.  And I like to read with the light off.  Which means, I either need the eBook to be backlit, or I’ve got to whip out the Mighty Bright that clips onto my Kindle.  And let me tell you – the name of that thing ain’t lyin’.  It has two lightbulbs.  Even on the lower setting of one bulb, it’s mighty bright, and it might just disturb your bedmate (if you’ve got one).

IPad’s backlit screen, however, isn’t that bright.  You can set the brightness, actually.  It’s not like you’re reading a book in bed with a Maglite.  LOL

I’m not sure what to do with my Kindle at this point.  Thinking of giving it to my daughter, since she loves to read.  It makes me sad, that I have forsaken it.  While it lasted, we had a short, passionate love affair.  But now that I’m in bed with my iPad, I’m in it for the long haul.

~~Becka

Saw my hand surgeon yesterday.  Long story short, I’m going to have a wrist arthroscopy.  Yup, I was right all along and I’m getting my surgery.  Told the doc my pain wasn’t any better and if anything it was different, leaning toward the worse side of things.  I can now feel exactly where my pain is, it’s in three places.

In the center of my wrist, on the ulnar side, and on the top, right above my hamate bone.  The doc is confident he’ll go in there and just do a simple debridement.  He thinks my pain is a flair up from when I broke my wrist as a kid because I didn’t have a significant trauma that would make new tears in there.

I think he’s wrong.  I literally felt the twanging of my ligaments in there when I pushed myself up off the couch back in December.  I asked him how often he goes in there and doesn’t find what he thought he’d find.  He told me perhaps one surgery every few years.  I think I will be his once every few years surgery.  Why?  Well, because  it doesn’t feel like inflamed tissue to me.  When I rotate my hand palm up, I can feel my ligaments pulling in there.  And the skin on the outside of my wrist doesn’t look the same as the other side, as if things underneath are fubared.

If it turns out I need more than a quick debridement, then I’ll be waking up from surgery with pins in my wrist to stabilize the ligaments as they heal.  I’d have to have them in for 4-6 weeks as opposed to a splint or brace for 3-4 days with the debridement.

Pfft.  Whatever!  Three to four days are you kidding me?!  I believe my recovery will be longer than that, even if the doc is right!  But we shall see.  I’m not a doctor, but I’ve been right about everything else so far!

I don’t have a surgery date sceduled as they’re moving their office and they aren’t sure which facility to do the procedure in yet, but I should be getting a call in a few days.  I got the impression they’ll need to get approval from my health insurance before they can schedule, and depending on when they get the approval and when they move is when I can get this done (and where). SIGH

Anywho, that’s what’s going on with my wrist these days.  Hope this helps with the pain.  Doc said at this point he can’t heal me, he can only help with pain management.  As long as I’m better, I don’t care.

~~Becka

I just want to say for the record, that the movie (and the game) Prince of Persia did nothing to inspire me to write my books about hot princes and shifting sands in the scorching desert.  Since the movie is releasing this Friday, May 28th, I wanted to make that clear, should a new batch of hot desert princes make their way into romance novels due to this flick.

I need to sell the Desert Princes of Jikkar!  I want to be a pioneer, not seem like I’m just hopping on the bandwagon! 

However, I also feel the need to post the following pic.

Now, I must say, that IS inspiring.  Jake Gyllenhaal is quite the be-muscled hottie.

>>stares<<

>>drools<<

Heh, for obvious reasons, I want to see this movie!  But let it be known I’ve had this desert idea rattling around in my head for a few years, so I’m not copying anything…at least…not consciously.    And hey, who knows, perhaps hype for this movie will make my books look that much more attractive to the average romance reader.

Let’s hope Prince of Persia does WELL.  Woohoo!

~~Becka

Those of you who’ve been waiting for this book, wait no more.  It has been released!

http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/ride.htm

Can she save his life in the past to give him a future with her?

Rumors of a ghost cowboy didn’t stop Jillian Brady from buying a rundown ranch in Cold Creek, Texas. When a mysterious horseman appears during a storm, she thinks it’s the locals playing a prank.

Mitchell Crenshaw is a ghost. Murdered during a thunderstorm in eighteen seventy-seven, he’s been riding the lightning ever since. Yet every time the storm moves on, he’s pulled back in time, forced to relive the day of his death.

Unless Jillian can intercede and save Mitch’s life, he’ll be doomed to ride the lightning forever…

~*~*~

YEEHAW!  I love release day! 

~~Becka

I love my DH.  Why?  Because he’s got contacts.  His people know people.  And those people know people.  Long story short, he said the other day (after buying himself an iPad) – you should get an iPad.  I scoffed.  Do you know how expensive those things are?  I’ll just wait for you to buy the second gen and take the one you have now.

“ORLY?” he said.

Next thing I know, BAM, like magic, there’s an iPad in my hands.  And it’s for me.  And it’s a gift.  And it’s the best gift EVAR.

Check it:

There are many reasons why one would want an iPad.  For starters, it’s an eBook reader.  AWSUM!!  I can download a Kindle app and I’m already ready already.  Not to mention iBooks, if I’m so inclined.  The color option is pretty sweet, as Kindle’s eInk hasn’t yet reached the color incarnation.  I’m not a fan of the backlight, however, in the Kindle app, you can set the book to be black text on white paper, white text on black paper, or brown text on sepia paper.  The brightness can also be adjusted, which is great for tired eyes.

Another bonus about this thing:  Streaming NetFlix.  I don’t know what genius said, “Hey, let’s stream our S%#@!”  That guy deserves a raise.  Let’s watch MythBusters!  It is glorious.  Also, ABC has an app.  Missed a LOST episode?  No prob.  Oh, what about the BBC?  FABULOUS!

Way way WAAAAYY better than the teeny tiny iPod touch screen.

Does it bring anything new to the table?  Nah, nothing really, other than to say look what our iPod Touches can do with an EPIC-SIZED SCREEN!

Seriously, it’s all about the display, folks.  Websites are beautiful.  And comics.  WOW.  I don’t read comics much, but I just might with how they look on the iPad!  You can have a full page screen, OR you can have individual panels shown. A swipe of the fingers changes the panels.

In summation, this device is a great “all purpose” media bonanza.  It’s only limited to it’s apps.  Okay, THAT’S not true.  There’s no camera OR USB port.  No camera is lame.  Not because I want to take pics of things with the bulky iPad, but because it would be nice to be able to see people’s faces via Skype.  And what if I want to put some files on the thing?  Nope, only through syncing!

So yeah, there are some drawbacks.  **cough**like price!**cough**  But in my book, the it’s awesome.  Great for people who don’t want their bulky laptop in bed, great for those who love to just sit on the couch and read.  Great for (let’s face it folks) bathroom reading.  Or gaming, as the case may be.

The longer I have it, I’m sure the more uses I’ll have for it.  I love the fact I can watch movies, or play a game, or read a book or go shopping or check email or tweet or listen to music or have my events calendar all in one device.

THE FUTURE IS HERE!

And I predict future incarnations of the iPad and other competitors will pave the way to a whole new line of gadgets that MY kids can’t live without.  Got all your text books?  Yeah, Mom, I downloaded them last night!

SWEET.

As an aside, I’d just like to mention the desert wallpaper you see on both my lock screen and my home page are completely intentional.  While writing my Desert Princes of Jikkar series, it’s always nice for some visual inspiration!

As another aside, the iPad makes me proud to be an eBook author.  Well, so does the Kindle, in all honesty.  The Nook too, but I dont’ have one of those!  ….yet! 

~~Becka

Just popping on to give a bit of news.  I’ve started on THE SCARAB PRINCE, book II of my new Desert Princes of Jikkar series.  Broke ground on Thursday, May 6th.  Here it is, Sunday, May 9th, and I’m already on page 51 with close to 10K words.  This book is practically writing itself.  I believe it’s because it’s mostly fleshed out, and the world is so much fun to write in!  I remember writing the Viper’s book (THE VIPER PRINCE, Book I) and thinking, “Hurry up and finish this one.  I wanna write about the Scarab!” 

I’m very excited about this new series.  It’s been at least six months since I’ve been this jazzed to write a book.  The last book I was so stoked to write was MARK OF THE B*E*A*S*T* (coming Sept. ’10).

Pray the mojo keeps on a’comin’.  I want Scarab out the door so I can write the Spider and the Falcon!  \:D/

~~Becka

The Crystal of Mynos

I’ve figured it out, I’ve put my prequel to the Legends of Mynos series on Kindle on my own!! This book has been out forever and I’ve been offering it as a free read on my website in PDF for ages.  That won’t change.

BUT, if you have a Kindle, and you want it on your virtual bookshelf, you can buy it for $.99.  I know, I couldn’t offer it for free.  I wanted to, but $.99 was the cheapest Amazon would let me go.  So I’m not “out for your money”, I just thought it might reel in more readers and offer another format if you’re interested.

Buy THE CRYSTAL OF MYNOS on Kindle!