Six Days and Counting...

Yes, it's true.  In only six days, my beautiful stepdaughter, Alex, goes into the Navy.  I am just a little freaked out about this.  She signed up in April of last year, and like summer vacation or Christmas to a ten-year-old, the actual reporting date for her Navy boot camp seemed forever away, a day that was mystical and would never actually GET here.

 
Now it's next Tuesday.  I'm happy for her.  I'm sad to see her go but I'm thrilled that she's starting a fantastic new life and possible career.  I want to see her turn 21, but I can't because she'll be at Great Lakes.  I want her to be safe.  I want her go on many great adventures. 

I want, I want, I want...

::sigh::

Viva La Television Interview on NPR!

Check it out -- The Husband, Weston Ochse, and I are interviewed by Mark McLemore on NPR's Arizona Public Media Show.  We are so awesome-- neither of us got tangled in the mic wires or even fell out of our chair!  It's not long (5:30 minutes), but it is pretty cool.  We're talking about Tucson Festival of Books, which takes place this coming weekend in Tucson, Arizona.  If you're in the area, come and look up our panels, say hi, pick up a book.  Seriously: Books Are Love.  And if you're not in the Tucson area?

It's worth the drive.
 

Evil Dogs and Smothering Boxes!

OMG, I have FINALLY escaped.  Because you're wondering (you know you are) where the heck I've been, I can only say that right after the Thanksgiving holiday, which we celebrated at the in-laws' house, I was taken prisoner by several nefarious entities.  These entities-- monsters, if you will-- masqueraded as boxes, packing tape, grumbling Great Danes, and black Magic Markers.  They forced me into a wardrobe-sized U-Haul box, taped it shut (there might have even been duct tape involved), and then parked outside of it and growled at me every time I moved.  To make sure I would behave, they tried to drive me insane by scribbling on the outside of the box with Magic Markers, over and over and over again.

I swear it's all true.

It was only recently that the plastic shipping tape weakened and I was able to shrink myself down to the size of a Chihuahua and slip quietly out a hole in the back left corner.  Months had passed.  Seriously.  Not only that, but Christmas had come and gone, the tree had been put up and taken down, and-- you'll love this-- we moved into a brand new house!  I mean, did anyone ASK me?  I couldn't find ANYTHING.  The box monsters had procreated (ew, don't ask) and their offspring were everywhere-- upstairs, downstairs, in the garage.  And they left the old place a mess, demanding that I go and clean it (a task still not finished).  So while I have finally escaped, the unfairness of it all remains.

Oh woe.
 

A Little Bit O' Me!

Gah. Where is the magic pill that makes me  twenty years young and gives me back the energy I had then?  I can't even begin to tell you how busy things are right now.  It seems like I wake up, blink five or ten times, and the day is so long past over that all I can do is fall into bed so I can do it all over again the next day.  I'd say there's a break coming up with the Thanksgiving holiday because I'm out of the office from noon on the Wednesday before and not going back until the first Monday in December, but alas.  Because of what we have going on then (not telling, not yet), it would be less stressful and less work to be at the office (which is no picnic, I'm just saying).  Not too long ago I advertised on my Facebook page for a clone but didn't get any takers, especially when The Husband got involved and added a whole list of his own demands.  Yes, this is me looking at the ceiling because I rolled my eyes so hard they got freakin' stuck.

 Anyway, I'll shuddup before someone asks if I want cheese with my whine (ha ha).  But to keep you amused right now, here's an interview of Yours Truly (me) -- http://rowena-cory-daniells.com/2011/11/19/meet-yvonne-navarro/ -- done by the talented, best-selling Rowena Cory Daniells, author of the King Rolen's Kin trilogy. 

Comments?   :o)

"Ah, Saturday. And not a single chore in sight!"

Well, maybe that's not exactly the truth, but I actually love that saying anyway. Every time i think of it, I flash to the great Jerry Van Amerongen cartoon plaque hanging on my garage wall:

Most weekends that's kind of our life mantra, but I'm not complaining. It's the same today, with some packing up that needs to be done so we can donate some old furniture, a yard to be mowed, etc. Still we're going to find time to ride the motorcycles to Tombstone and have lunch, enjoy the fantastic Arizona fall weekend. I'm hammering away on a vampire story called "Epiphany" that is currently over 12,000 words long and still has a couple of good scenes to go before I wrap it up. The Husband (Weston Ochse) is working hard on Seal Team 666. BirdZilla is hanging out on the patio, enjoying the sun, and Goblin, Ghost and Ghoulie are doing the after-breakfast snooze. Life is pretty good, and then a Google Alert made it even better, reminding me that there are still folks out there enjoying Highborn. Check it out: Writing With Tequila gave me Four Tequila Shots and called it a "great book." All in all, a pretty darned good Saturday, even if there really are chores in sight!

Wait... What Year Is It, Anyway??!

Hey... wouldja look at that date down there! August 4th... wow! I admit I got pretty disgusted with Blogger for awhile when it wouldn't let me post anything (hence the extra long titles in a couple of posts). In the interest of honesty, however, I also have to admit I have been severely lax about posting anything at all here. Out of sight, out of mind sort of thing.

I have not, however, been sitting here eating King Leo's Lemon Sticks while playing on Facebook. (Not that I wouldn't do just that, if some kind soul out there cares to send me a case. Just saying.) I've manged to crank out a couple of blogs here and there and even finished a couple of short stories. Okay, one short story (called "Faceless") and one novelette (titled "Advanced Directive"). "Advanced Directive" is a departure for me, one of only six novelettes I've written in my entire career. Haven't formally heard back on either yet, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that I'll be able to make a good announcement pretty soon. Right now I'm poking at another novelette. This one is called "Epiphany" and is the bad boy that's taking up all my time right now because it's way overdue, thanks to some miscommunication and funky email issues. I also have a Halloween blog due in four days, so I have to get cracking on that.

Summer seems to be gone here in southeastern Arizona. Lots of folks are breathing a sigh of relief. Me? I want my 100 degree days back. The nights are dropping well into the fifties and the house is cold when we wake up. I feel like a little desert lizard desperate to find a patch of sunlight in which to warm my old bones. But hey-- life is good.

I've never had to shovel a pile of desert to get out of my driveway in the morning.

Winner of the recent free book contest is Thistle Chaser from Sunnyvale, CA! She wins a signed copy of HIGHBORN plus two brand new paperback anthologies. Congratulations! (Still can't publish a blog - sorry!)

HIGHBORN Wins an M-Award! Go here: http://tinyurl.com/3g38obo (Blogger posting not working - sorry!)

Uh-oh, I've been thinking again...

As self-punishment for my failure to keep up with what is actually a very easy to maintain blog, I'm going to have a contest.  Well, it's kind of punishment, because that means I have to actually track stuff and get off my BUTT at a time when for some reason I've been feeling very languid.  Maybe it's the post-Monument Fire energy drain, or the summer heat, or the monsoon humidity, or the way the moon glowed last night.  For those who didn't catch it, we were mandatory evacuated twice, for five out of seven days.  Packing 386 pounds of Great Danes and everything you think is important in your life in first a few hours, and then in 45 minutes, is no small feat.  Imposing three family members and three Great Danes (i.e., mini-horses) on your in-laws a hundred miles away is another energy-drainer.  We survived, obviously, but as life would have it, we've been faced with a lot of Murphy-Havin'-A-Grand-Old-Time-With-Us ever since.  The end might be in sight, but none of that matters.  The Husband, author Weston Ochse, still managed to keep all his stuff up to date; he wrote blogs, wrote pages of stories and books, tweeted, twooted, and probably twoodled. 

I, on the other hand, have felt pretty much like your basic Southern Arizona Lump.  Around here that's generally known as a rock, although I prefer the prettier ones that are white quartz.

Anyhoo, time for a contest, so I'm giving away these three books:

HIGHBORN, signed by yours truly.

LITTLE DEATHS, edited by Ellen Datlow (anthology).  This great antho is out of print, and this copy is unread, with just a little ding or two from storage.  Some of the authors in here include Clive Barker, Dan Simmons, Douglas Clegg, Kathe Koja and Pat Cadigan.  Not for the faint of heart, it's an anthology of erotic horror.

THE MUSEUM OF HORRORS, edited by Dennis Etchison (anthology).  Another great out of print antho, unread, with stories by people like Peter Straub, Joyce Carol Oates, Richard Laymon, Ramsey Campbell, and others.

Going to take entries from now until 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, July 30th.  To enter, send an email to me here:  contest @ yvonnenavarro. com.  (I know everyone would like a simple clickable, but I just can't punish myself so much that I open myself up to endless spam-- sorry.)  One entry per person, per contest.  Duplicates will be deleted.  I promise not to sell your email address on eBay or post it on the bathroom wall at the local bar.  I also promise I won't add it to my mailing list.  If you want to be on that, look to the right and click on the "Newsletter" link, but I warn you, I hardly ever get around to actually sending out a Newsletter.  Seriously, are you actually surprised?  Winner will be picked by a random number generator and will be notified by return email to send me a good mailing address; books will be sent via the cheapest possible mailing method.  Yes, I will even send stuff overseas, but familiarize yourself with the term "Surface Mail" (which is kind of like "Slow boat to [insert your country here]" mail).

And since the secondary purpose of this is to spread the Yvonne Navarro Love, please Please PLEASE spread the word about this on Twitter, Facebook, LJ, an email to your sweetie or your Mom, or by whatever other means you want.  I need some exposure to bump up publishing interest, and wearing a skinny swimsuit at my age just ain't working!

Concrete Savior Booksigning Tomorrow!

Where?  Hastings, Sierra Vista, AZ
When?  12:00 to 2:00 p.m.

I know I've been terribly lax in posting.  Please forgive me.  If you didn't catch it in the national news, we had the Monument Fire down here in Sierra Vista.  We were evacuated twice in three days, for a total of five out of seven days.  Moving three adults and three Great Danes 100 miles each time, to impose upon the patience and hospitality of our in-laws in Tucson, was a mean feat, indeed.  After returning for the second time, we swore the flames would have to be at the back wall of the yard before we'd go again.  Seeing as they came within 1 and 1/2 streets but that was all, we were pretty lucky.  A number of businesses and 65 homes just outside of town were destroyed, so we were fortunate, indeed.

I promise I'll try to be better about posting!  I always have so many good things I indeed to talk about, but darn it, I need more More MORE hours in the day!