Mina Carter

Test

2009-10-15T19:13:00.001+01:00

testing blog it!!

I'm over at Author Offerings!!

2009-06-24T07:29:00.001+01:00

I'm not sure if I posted this link when it went up what with the mad whirl last week was so here it is :D Rie over at Author Offerings was kind enough to let me waffle on about my latest release Sunlight & Slavery...

http://authorofferings.blogspot.com/2009/06/author-offerings-from-mina-carter.html

Finally back and getting myself sorted

2009-06-22T20:41:00.001+01:00

You know, I'm having one of *those* months. You know the kind, the ones where you tread water like mad but never actually get anywhere.

At least, it seems that way. But anyway, let me catch you up on the news. Sunlight & Slavery is out and I've had some fantastic reviews on that one which brings the biggest smile to my face imaginable. On the submissions side, I wrote a story, Faery Dust, for the Last Call series which was just accepted by Changeling Press *VBG* and I also have Hawk's Warden out which I've got my fingers crossed for.

On the writing side, I'm just in the middle of the third in the Moonlight & Magic series, Deception & Desire, but took time out to go away this weekend with the family. I did mean to get some writing done but, for some reason, whenever it looked like I might get the laptop out, brat wanted to snuggle or read a story, or have a nap with Mummy. Naps with toddlers rule big time, even if you do get dribbled on and they snore in your ear. She's normally past the nap stage now but with all we were doing she was worn out and... you know? I really missed nap times with her. When she was tiny we used to snuggle down on the bed at one o'clock and have a sleep. It was nice. Probably why I always get sleepy at one now though...

giggle

2009-05-30T07:12:00.001+01:00

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Sunlight & slavery: out now!!

2009-05-28T20:03:00.002+01:00

Sunlight & Slavery

Genre: Paranormal Erotic Romance

Series: Moonlight & Magic

Gargoyles guard things. Fact of life. Knuckles, head doorman of Moonlight & Magic, leads a simple life. People cause trouble, he talks to them.
People continue to cause trouble and he proves how squishable most races are compared to a creature hewn out of stone. Knuckles doesn't do gentle.

Until he rescues Neri, a fragile human woman, quite literally from a fate worse than death. Can a Gargoyle
fall in love? Can a human woman make the leap of faith required to accept him for what he is?

Messages across the years

2009-05-22T15:05:00.001+01:00

I don't often tell people but I am fascinated by where I came from. Not geographically, although that's just as interesting in some respects, but from a people point of view. Who my ancestors were and that sort of thing. Not necessarily hundreds and hundreds of years ago but relatively recently. One of my recurrent 'what if's' is the thought of meeting say my grandmother at my age and having a chat and a cup of tea with her, my great grandmother (the original Mina Carter) and so forth.

The whole idea fascinates me, I mean, I know names and dates... I know where these people fit into the family tree but I don't KNOW them. I have my memories of my grandmother, but they're a child's memories and likewise my mother's memories of my great-grandmother (who died before I was born). But I think it would be wonderful to know them as people, find out what made them tick, try and see things in them that were passed down to me.

They passed on a lot. From someone I got the ability to make ice-cream. Real, thick, creamy homemade ice-cream. It's something I didn't think anything of until someone else told me there was a knack to it, so someone gave me that. I can shoot - used to be a markswoman (which has lapsed because guns in britian after Dunblane, not so easy now) - which I get from someone else. Hard to tell that one actually since both sides of my family have immense military connections. One of my grandfathers was an explosives expert but I've never tried blowing anything up. You never know, I might be good at that too! So lots of little things that I can do, or find easy to learn and I'd love to know where that ability came from. I can pretty much make anything with my hands, so perhaps that's the skill rather than the individual abilities themselves, perhaps it's just an umbrella thing.

Anyway, messages through time.

I keep a book for my daughter. It has photos, the tags from when she was born, little momento's through her life. And I add letters everynow and then, catching her up with where we are and whatnot as though I am talking to her across the years when she is at the age I am now. Telling her all the little things she does that make me smile, recounting stories and how I feel. It sometimes something I feel silly doing, I don't know why but it's something I feel I need to do. So *touch wood* if anything ever goes wrong and she's without us then she can look back and see how much she is loved.

Well, I felt silly about it until today.

I went down to my fathers office to collect some paperwork from there and whilst I was there I picked up an old book. It's a book of fairytales that's been on the shelf in there for years. It was mine from my childhood and I wanted to get it to start reading them to my daughter. Out of habit I opened it up to look in the fly-leaf and there's a message written there I had forgotten all about. It's from my grandmother, to me. It says...

"To Heidi-Sue
From Granny
Happy Birthday
Sweetheart
I love you
xxxxxx"

It's written in capitals, each letter in a different coloured pen and it has three crossed out spelling mistakes. My grandmother wasn't the most literate of people so I know just that simple note must have taken her an age. It brought a tear to my eye because it's my birthday again soon and even though this note must be nigh on thirty years old, it means as much now - possibly more - than it did when the book was originally given.

New Cover Art for Sunlight & Slavery

2009-05-21T19:53:00.001+01:00

Oh my, I got the cover art for Sunlight & Slavery and... YUM!!

I'm absolutely amazed, love it to bits and will bore you to tears telling you about over the next couple of days!!

hehehehe....

2009-05-19T12:38:00.001+01:00

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Blogging on LPI today!

2009-05-12T21:03:00.000+01:00

http://lyricalpress.blogspot.com/2009/05/to-do-lists.html

Free Books! Get hooked on a series contest!!

2009-05-10T08:30:00.001+01:00

That's right, Moira Rogers is at it again with the fantastic contests!! Get hooked on a series is the latest over at http://moirarogers.com/?q=node/347.

There's 50 books up for grabs, each the first book in a series. There's some seriously interesting looking books on there, so go take a look, see what strikes your fancy... *wanders off to put her own entry in*

I feel the need...

2009-05-08T16:38:00.001+01:00

... the need for a bracelet. Wait, that doesn't work does it?

Lol, never mind. I've gotten into chain maille jewelry in a big way thanks to a friend (yes, Mr Price, you know who you are!) and this is one of my latest creations.

Pretty isn't it? I'm well impressed with myself. The links were brought for this one but I'm starting to make my own jump rings - mainly in copper because I have shed loads of it in the garage. :D And there's a great sense of satisfaction in turning a coil of wire into something so pretty!

Oh my!!

2009-05-07T07:04:00.000+01:00

I just got an email in my inbox today to say the release date for Sunlight & Slavery has been brought forwards to May 29th.

Eeeeep! I only just finished adding an extra scene LOL But it's all good, I'm grinning like a cheshire cat here. Between that and my tendancy to bounce like tigger I'm sure I present a right sight at times.

I'm afraid I don't have cover art just yet to show you but as soon as it arrives I'll plaster it all over the place!

*Giggle for the morning*

Why does this sound sooooo familiar?

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Dark Embrace release day!!

2009-05-01T22:06:00.002+01:00

Woohoo! It's here, Dark Embrace releases today from Cobblestone Press.

And here's the wonderful cover Bree (one half of Moira Rogers) did for me, juuuuust in case you missed it the hundreds of times I posted it before!

I'll save you the blurb and just point you towards the recently released (clicky linky link) page on Cobblestone where it should be appearing shortly. *bounces in delight* I'm still waiting news on a release chat because I can't for the life of me find the chatroom link anymore :S

In other news... Chainmaille is seriously addictive. I have like hundreds of little rings now to be made into new and wonderful things and I saw this last night... which I think is seriously gorgeous and I need.

*LOLCATS WANT MODE*

Thing is, the kit is aliminium and I don't want aliminium. I'm a bunny with expensive tastes so I want it in silver and that's an AWFUL lot of silver jump rings. An awful lot... :S

Dark Embrace is nearly here!!

2009-04-30T09:47:00.001+01:00

*Does the happy tigger dance* That's right, Dark Embrace release date is tomorrow so I've been bouncing about like a cat on a hot tin roof here! I think there should be a release chat tomorrow night, or early sat morning if you're a brit, but I need to check on those details! I'll post them up as soon as I know but for now, I'll leave you with some details on DE!

She wanted vengeance. He didn’t want a wife. One bite changed everything…

Maria Ravensford is a woman on a mission.
A mission of vengeance. Determined to avenge the death of her young
sister at the hands of Rogue vampires, the petite Dhampir takes to the
streets to hunt them. Unfortunately things don’t go precisely to plan
and it’s only the arrival of Marak, a darkly handsome Vampire Warrior,
that saves her life. Trouble is, the bite that saves her life also
takes her fully into the world of the Kyn… where Marak is waiting to
claim her.

Hehehe

2009-04-30T09:38:00.001+01:00

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Pretties... just because!! And a guest blog!!

2009-04-29T20:23:00.001+01:00

Sorry... couldn't resist. When things like this appear on the net, they really need sharing.

So, what does it for me about this picture? Well, apart from the fact I think Jensen Ackles is the one of the prettiest, sexiest men out there? In this one it's the laughter. Somethings obviously tickled him pink there and I dunno, a smile from anyone is attractive isn't it?

Anyway, pretties aside, I'm guest blogging over at You gotta read Reviews today, check it out!
http://yougottareadguest.blogspot.com/2009/04/so.html

Chain Mail!!

2009-04-29T10:20:00.002+01:00

Okay, odd title I know. Chain mail, that's for knights in armour and whatnot right?

Not always!!

I've been looking at chainmail jewellry for a while but it was all getting the right size rings and whatnot and very confusing. So when I saw this (click for link) late one night whilst mooching about the net I ordered it on a whim.

And now I'm hooked!! They're great fun to do and it turned out pretty much exactly as you see it there. This is my version (excuse crap photo here...)

So I'm very impressed atm. It looks lovely and Mr C didn't realise at first it was something I'd made. He even got that 'OMG, HOW much did you spend today?' look in his eye. Then I told him.

Now he wants one in copper :D He wears a copper bracelet because of his hands (too many years using powertools at work) but he doesn't like the designs as they can be too fuddy-duddy for him. But he really likes some of the weaves for these so I'm doing him a byzantine like this silver one here with an eye to another weave, Jens Pinds Linkage, when I have more practise.

What a weekend!

2009-04-28T16:47:00.001+01:00

It was one of those 'I'll settle in and get everything done I need to get done' weekends. Or it was meant to be.

Did it happen?

Did it buggary!!

I can't even remember what happened on the different days other than I it was chaos and I now have far more grey than I did before. Here's the round up...

I screwed up my laptop. Pure and simple. I was installing a program and it went 'Urrrk! Not having that' and died on me. Did the 'boot up, windows did not shut down properly, start windows normally?' milarky. Only it didn't start windows, normally, abnormally or any other bloody way. Twenty four hours and three failed recovery attempts later and I called it quits and it's now in the repair shop getting stripped and vista *hiss* reinstalled.

So now I'm back on my old XP machine, which has had all the rubbish programs stripped off it and pretty much just contains word, photoshop, firefox and IM. My base necessities so to speak, although at a pinch I can get by without photoshop for a while. But not at the moment, since I have a cover to complete in the next couple of days.

On the plus side, this particular little rainstorm came with a silver (or at least pewter) lining. In an attempt to do something else I dragged out an OLD OLD laptop. It's a compaq presario 2100, about six years old. It looks like a brick and it's got under 200mb ram. I've only kept it because it was my first laptop and I was kinda sentimental. It's battery is useless so it only runs on mains power and because the power got cut it screwed windows as well. Now, I'm not going to pay to have something that old stripped and rebuilt buuuuuuuut...

In the midst of my 'oh hell, what do I do to get this back?' nightmare with the big Vista laptop (which could eat this one for breakfast seriously) I came across a mention of something called 'Puppy Linux' which is a whole operating system which boots from a CD or USB. So, I thought what the hell. It's useless as it is and this thing says it won't alter anything on the pc anyway. I didn't have anything to loose so I downloaded it and burnt it to disc (fairly simple, burn the iso to a disc, make sure it's bootable).

It works!!

It's so simple it's unreal. Booted first time from the disc and there's a little bit of setup - basically asking you what mouse you have and what keyboard layout you want - and it was there. The interface is a little clunky compared to windows but hell, it's running at lightening speeds on something out the ark!! Amazing.

I've not played a lot with it yet but the basic install has enough toys to get you up and running on basic officey type tasks. It has a word processor and a spreadsheet program. It EVEN connected to my wireless set up here using a real dodgy old BT voyager card - all with the minimum of fuss.

To say I am impressed is an understatement. It removes the - if my pc screws up how am I going to get to the interwebz or work? - issue. I'm still a windows person because there are no alternatives to word and photoshop for what I need them for (that I'm aware of) but hell, this has definately made me think about these things and look more into alternatives. And the fact that they can run on old kit impresses me (part scot so I don't like throwing ANYTHING away).

Even better Mr C - who is the biggest technophobe out there - LIKES the interface. He cannot work windows but this one? He was off and playing happily within a few minutes. Sure all he wants to do is look at youtube but he has his own mail now AND he can get to it. You never know he might actually do more than look at porn one day.

So, Puppy Linux is over here if you're looking.. http://www.puppylinux.org/

Okay, moving on now we have the PC dealy out the way....

Dark Diva Reviews gave Rockstar 4 delightful divas :D

"...the heroine, Zette Mathews, was the Rock star. She’s not an arrogant character but one that I could identify with, sexy, talented and unspoiled. In addition, I was thrilled that Zette wasn’t a perfect model thin type but had curves like most women... A little blackmail added some nice tension and a jumping off point for the story. The sex scenes were enticing and had the right mix of physical and emotion... J.J succeeded in being a better man to get his woman and I was glad to see a happy ending.

Overall, I would recommend Rockstar for a fun read about a strong heroine."

Read the full review

Four divas :D I'm off doing the tigger dance again to day and after the weekend, that review was wonderful. Em Epe also mentions Logan, who is one of the secondary characters in Rockstar. She mentions that she'd like to see a story about Logan *grins happily* I'm really impressed with that, that Logan caught the imagination as he is the hero of 'Playing with Fyre'. I know it's not done to request reviewers based on comments they've made in reviews but when Fyre comes out I'm kinda hoping Em Epe reviews it as well. Would be cool to see what she thought of it and whether it lived up to expectations. :D

Dark Embrace has a release date! It's on the Cobblestone Press release schedule for 1st May which is this friday!! My heads all in a whirl at the moment but it's all good :D So friday night will be party night. I'm fairly sure there's a release day chat on friday night. I'll gather more details and post them up before then!

Black Ice

2009-04-24T18:46:00.001+01:00

We went to see AC/DC on the Black Ice tour last night.

One word. Awesome.

Now, if you know me, you'll know I very, very rarely use that word. But there is no other way to describe it. It was quite literally amazing. It was a rock concert yes, so it was loud. But this was beyond loud, it was music experienced on a physical level. There were banks of amps like you wouldn't believe and the sound reverberated through your body with each beat.

The atmosphere was fantastic and the sheer diversity of people? Again, amazing. There were the guys like Mr C. with the old tour tshirts on. The guy sat next to us was proudly proclaiming that the tshirt he was wearing was older than the brother in law who was accompanying him. Mr C's tshirt was from the Razor's edge tour so was approximately eighteen years old. Me, I wore a boring black tee, and switched to a tour shirt after a quick visit to the merchandise stand.

That being said... I have a gripe. Large is NOT a bloody size 12-14. Unless you're a twig. Com'on! That's gotta be medium surely? I'd love to know what model they size these bloody things on! I brought the large and well, I couldn't have brought a smaller one because it wouldn't have fit in a-hem, certain areas. I'm not that busty either, but hey, it was a new experience having my bust addressed instead of my face. At first it was a novel experience but the novelty soon wore off. By the end of the night, I could cheerfully have swung for people over it.

So, back to the show. The supporting act were 'The Answer'. Good band, sounded good. Will check them out on itunes later. Cute guitar player.

But AC/DC... words fail me. At first I hadn't realised they'd come on stage. This kid ran on, and as there were a lot of kids dressed up in the Angus schoolboy uniform, I actually thought one of them had gotten on stage. It was only when the rest of the band followed him I realised it actually WAS Angus. He's tiny!!

The stage show was out of this world. There was a HUGE train to start with. With different effects for different songs, like for TNT, there were flame jets. Whole lotta Rosie was of course accompanied by a massive blow up doll doing something entirely inappropriate with her hand.

Not that Brian got to sing for the start of that song, or for some of the others. It must be extremely flattering for any band to have the audience know every song, practically from the first chord or two, which was what was happening. And with Rosie, Johnson didn't actually sing into well into the song. At first he was waving the crowd on and the noise level was immense with us all singing. Then we all just carried on and he was laughing (could see him on the big screen) and had this look on his face like 'well, I can't actually get a word in edgeways here so carry on'.

Overall, there was much singing, Mr C and I are both absolutely hoarse this morning, my legs hurt from jumping up and down like mad for two hours and my ears only stopped ringing about an hour ago. I will no doubt go on and on about this for DAYS now. It was literally that good.

Joyful morning

2009-04-23T07:35:00.000+01:00

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This is how I feel at the moment. We are initial coffee-hit this morning. I have a cold. I slept in and I have waaaaaaaaay too much to do to sleep in.

WE HAVE AC/DC TONIGHT!!

*HUGE Grin* We're going to the NEC, Birmingham to see what I think is the last show of the UK leg in the Black Ice tour. I'm so excited (or I will be after the caffeine hits)

Oh noes!!!!

2009-04-21T17:20:00.000+01:00

I am turning into my mother in law!!

Bizarre statement to make but it's true. You see, everyone associates my mother in law with food. The kids (brat and my niece and nephew) seem to view 'nanny' in terms of the stuff. They arrive, they browse the kitchen, have a little graze in the fridge and head in to sit down. Mr C does it too. Many times I've caught him making sandwiches whilst half buried in the fridge and I have to remind him to ask his mum.

Brat, when asked if she wanted to go to Nanny's for the day said, 'Nannys? Dinner? wif Custard?' which kinda says it all. To Minkle nanny is the provider of custard. But anyway, i digress...

Recently I have found myself doing that. When people come around, I automatically make food! Sandwiches, whatever is on for dinner in larger portions, cakes. Why I do not know! It's a new thing for sure and I don't know why I've picked the habit up.

Someone stop me before I start wearing an apron or something!!

Testing, testing, testing...

2009-04-20T20:50:00.000+01:00

I'm lazy. And because I'm lazy, I like things that make my life easier. Which brings me back to blogging. I have a lot of blogs across the different networks for writing. And buggared if I can remember the passwords half the time to the damn things, which tends to make blogging difficult at times.

But I found this addin for firefox, Scribefire, which I'm testing out now to see if it works!!

2009-04-14T12:52:00.000+01:00

This last couple of weeks has very much been 'blink and you'll miss it'. There I was, toddling along... The writing was going, if not quickly, at least consistently. Edits were rolling in slowly. It was manageable.

Then it went seriously nuts :S

Mr Carter got a spot on his bum which turned out to be an abscess, and the silly sod ignored it. So we ended up in hospital over the weekend, getting his 'spot' sorted it. I'll not lie, I have never seen him so ill and it scared the living daylights out of me. Especially since we'd had a blazing row the night before (I am told his bad mood was due to blood posioning but... I suspect he could be using that as a excuse for being a tit) and then they were telling me he could be in surgery and as he has a heart condition and situation he has to go under general anesthetic is dangerous.

But... I had a lovely (if late, it was 2-3am for me) chat last night over at Romance Junkies which was fun, I managed to lie in this morning and the sun is shining :)

I got some wonderful news this week as well, which I haven't been able to share because of the general madness. Changeling Press have offered a contract for Sunlight & Slavery, which is the second in the series after Moonlight & Magic. It's about the Gargoyle head bouncer Knuckles and a waif he rescues from an attack by her ex-boyfreinds thug bodyguard. (You can read an unedited excerpt here - http://mina-carter.com/smf/index.php?topic=13.0 - if you fancy ;) and they also asked about one of the secondary characters in the story, Tiny, and whether his story would be next *BG* It's already partially plotted.

I also got a wonderful review for Grace through Noble Romance from Coffeetime Romance...

“I fell in love with Tuesday’s Child: Grace. Mina Carter tells a phenomenal tale that allows this reader to share in the couple’s passion, their hopes and dreams. This refreshing and delightful read captured this reader’s heart.“ Cherokee, Reviewer for Coffee Time Romance & More

It was a really really nice review and I was so pleased about this one. I'm pleased over all my reviews (approval seeking little thing that I am) but this one in particular struck a chord because I liked Grace and Jaron's story so much.

So what am I up to now? Apart from talking to myself as I sit at the pc, I've just wrestled with publisher and put together a new newsletter which you can find at http://mina-carter.com/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=18 and the rest of this week I'll be working on mainly promotions (my bugbear with writing, I'm really not good at this promotion stuffs) and adding an extra requested scene into Sunlight before sending off to my editor.

:D and polishing off the remains of the easter eggs brat didn't want (not much but hey, you gotta take what you can get with chocolate in this house!)

sigh

2009-04-01T08:42:00.000+01:00

Today, I can tell, is going to be one of *those* days.

Got up late, my first conversation with Brat was an arguement and ARGGHHH my inbox still remains stubbornly clear of ANY word on recent submissions. I'm a very impatient person, as well as an approval seeking sorta one. So writing is great, it feeds my 'I need approval' gene, but I start to panic when I don't hear on stuff :S

*panic panic panic panic*

Oh, we haz forums! I put them up yesterday and played with the code to make them all nice and purdy and match the site. It now occurs to me though, if I change the site design, that's.... four? five? things I need to recode?

I'm gonna go play in word I think, reality is just too weird today! *says the woman who writes paranormal*

Catch you on the flipside!

Ugh

2009-03-23T20:58:00.000Z

I've noticed I start off a lot of posts with 'ugh'. It very much describes my feelings today. Why is it that when you have a busy day, THAT's the night you lie there in bed with your eyes shut kidding yourself you're asleep? My mind was racing like mad so I eventually gave up at half five and got up (which is my usual writing time) and buggared if I could keep my damn eyes open then!! Com'on life, that's just so not fair!!

LOL. So I've spent today pootling and writing something for a game with a friend. As I've said before I love writing with people and this friend is a favourite to write with. One day I swear he's going to get sick of me but, until that happens, I'm just gonna bug him to write with me.

So, brat is finally potty trained I think. It's been a fairly easy ride I think, especially when compared to some horror stories I hear. But I made the decision to wait until she was ready, arguing with various relatives with the 'soandso was potty trained by six months' (gotta love your families well meaning attempts to undermine you haven't you?) and it seems to have paid off. Brat does things when she's ready, not before, and any attempt to push her usually results in frustration and much pulling out of hair (mine).

So mainly waffle and some boring paperwork today. I'm playing around with the next scene in my epic rewrite of EarthWarden (epic only for my procrasination) and I found a new cartoon to read!! You gotta read the adventures of Ebenezer and Snooch, it's hilarious!!

http://www.twolumps.net/

Sunlight & Slavery

2009-03-18T08:46:00.000Z

I finally finished Sunlight & Slavery. Which I'm really pleased about. Like most stories I had a little bit of a block in the middle and I always hate a story when I've just finished writing it. But looking back when editing it I'm rather pleased with the story overall.

I was mooching around on the stock sites looking for a possible cover image. It's only just been submitted but, hey, a girl can think ahead can't she? ... and I found this one...

clipped from stockxpert.com

I kinda like this one. It's nothing like the initial image I had when writing the story which was this...

But obviously I can't use this one so the search was on for a different one. And it's giving me the right 'feel' to match the story although I'm not overly sure about the pink. I'm not a pink person, although Brat has decided without any prompting that pink is of course mummy's favourite colour because she's a girl. (It's not, it's purple but you try and explain that to a three year old!!)

Ugh...

2009-03-11T08:17:00.000Z

I’m trying to make more of an effort to blog. Since I tend to go through spates of it where I blog everyday (sometimes more than once a day) and then spates where I don’t blog much at all. Actually it usually happens when I’m in the middle to the end of writing a story, once I get past a certain point I seem to loose track of everything else and I’m ‘must get words on page, must get this scene finished’ etc.

Not so good when brat wanders up and goes ‘Mummy no work anymore’ :S and I realise that, although I’m around, she’s pretty much been left to her own devices. Which is when I start getting up at stupid oclock and writing so I spend time with her in the day. Which leads to a lack of sleep as I don’t go to bed earlier and… yeah, if anyone noticed the ends of my books are a little… odd? That’s why.

So, we haz the sick at the moment. Mr C has been laid low with a sinus and chest infection and I’m pretty sure I have one two. My lungs feel like they did the other month when I had a bad infection. It was one of those ones where everyone had it and the doc’s were saying fluid and rest, it’ll go away. Guess what? It didn’t. Then I got a bollocking from my doctor because I was a day or two off hospital with it. So… tell us it’ll go away and to get on with things and it doesn’t? Go figure. I couldn’t work it out either.

Which means I have to get brat up early and get her ready (NOT fun if she’s not ready to go out) then go hurry up and wait in the doc’s reception. Which should be fun, Brat’s potty training atm so every couple of minutes we have to go sit her on the toilet (not to wee, she’s just fascinated with the whole flushing the loo and washing her hands bit but… you know… you gotta go do it in case she DOES need to go).

Ugh, should shower now. See you later with more tales from the seriously sleep deprived side.

Busy Bee!

2009-03-10T16:05:00.000Z

So, after much swearing and threats of dire retribution I’ve beaten publisher into submission and created this month’s newsletter!! *looks at it and shakes head* I hate publisher.

Enjoy! http://mina-carter.com/wp-content/plugins/download-monitor/download.php?id=17

Forum Fiesta!!

2009-02-20T16:51:00.000Z

I don't know what it is about time recently but it seems to be disappearing on me. I'm giving serious consideration to the theory we have something akin to the 'sock monster' in this house. Except, instead of stealing all the left socks, it's stealing time!

Anyway, before I start to ramble too much about sock monsters and Garden Dragons (that's a WHOLE other story) let me just give you a link to the February Forum Fiesta going on over at the Moira Rogers Forums today. There's a whole bunch of authors in there giving away free stuff and basically around to chat to, so feel free to come join us!!

http://www.moirarogers.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=39

So, I'm in and out of forums today and generally having a tidy up around the site. It's unreal how cluttered up this place gets (kinda like my house really!) so I need a good sort out and to make sure all the links work right and all the right images are in place *iz a complete control freak about stuff like that*

Other than that, I'm just settling down for the weekend. Hoping to get time to relax this weekend and perhaps watch the first series of the Tudors (which I've been meaning to do since christmas)

2009-02-17T22:33:00.001Z

Hehehe, well I'm off again!! Grace, a paranormal (vampire) romance is now available from Noble Romance!!

Tuesday's Child - Grace

Grace Solomon was a ballerina. Not just any ballerina, but the Prima Ballerina. Extraordinarily talented and as graceful as her name, she found herself catapulted to the highest levels of her art. Until the day a horrific car accident leaves her crippled, barely able to walk. Heartbroken, she accepts she'll never dance again.

When enigmatic stranger Jaron Conrad turns up talking of a cure, Grace accuses him of being a crackpot and a quack. But could there be a possibility that he's telling the truth, and if he is, does Grace have the courage to take a chance on him? The courage to pay the price, even if it costs her heart?

Read an excerpt

Click to buy!!

Look for the rest of the books in this collection.

Available now:

Monday's Child - Kiss and Spell by Kris Eton

Coming soon:

February 18 - Wednesday's Child - Marked by Tears by L. Shannon

February 19 - Thursday's Child - Far to Go by Dee Carney

February 20 - Friday's Child - Sexual Healing by Moira Rogers

February 21 - Saturday's Child - Storm Saturday Night by Summer Alan

February 22 - Sunday's Child - The Wise Guy by Lex Valentine

Rockstar released today!!

2009-02-16T22:20:00.001Z

A sexy Rock Star. A man bent on revenge. One explosive love affair.

Zette Matthews, darling of the music industry, has it all: haunting voice, dramatic looks and curvaceous figure. Every woman wants to be her, and every man wants to be with her.

Unlike the rest of her fans, Jarrett Jansen isn't content to adore Zette from afar. He intends to have her. Especially now as he finds himself in need of a wife before his birthday, or he'll lose control of the business he's run for years.

Revenge may be best served cold, but JJ prefers his hot, with a side order of pleasure, secured with a wedding band.

Want to read more? Head on over to Lyrical Press!

Cheeky Changeling and Release day for Rockstar...

2009-02-16T08:19:00.001Z

Woohoo! This week is going to be a hell of a busy week!

First off I'm in the Cheeky Changeling over at http://changelingpress.com/ezine/meetmc0209.php talking about my Changeling Release, Moonlight & Magic. If inquisitive fae and hot n sexy demons are your thing, be sure to check it out!!

Then today is release day for Rockstar with Lyrical Press!!

"A sexy Rock Star. A man bent on revenge. One explosive love affair.

Zette Matthews, darling of the music industry, has it all: haunting voice, dramatic looks and curvaceous figure. Every woman wants to be her, and every man wants to be with her.

Unlike the rest of her fans, Jarrett Jensen isn’t content to adore Zette from afar. He intends to have her. Especially now as he finds himself in need of a wife before his birthday, or he’ll loose control of the business he’s run for years.

Revenge may be best served cold, but JJ prefers his hot, with a side order of pleasure, secured with a wedding band…"

Want to read more? Wander on over to Lyrical and buy the ebook!!

So... what else am I on with this week? Well, thanks to a girl at my kickboing class I've found a pole dancing class! I've been trying to find one for absolutely ages without sucess... well, other than one place who wanted me to book months in advance and wanted all the money up front. Sorry bud, I don't do that sort of thing. Not when you're only giving me a mobile and no fixed address.

This one though someone I know goes to, and it's a turn up and pay on the night jobby. MUCH better. I'm rather looking forward to it, even though i have been warned that bruises in the first few weeks are inevitable. I'll probably spend most of the classes on my backside laughing but heyho, it's bound to be fun. Much better than step aerobics or something. Anything's better than step *shudders* bores me out of my skull that stuff does!!

So... writing wise, Knights' woman with Doug and my solo project Sunlight & Slavery are going well. Both are heading into the home straight now so we'll be looking at self edits soon which is always fun :D Once we get to that stage I'll start posting some snippets!

Okay, the boss is calling (My boss is three foot tall and stroppy in a mornings) so I'll catch you all later!

25 things you may not know about Mina...

2009-02-11T09:20:00.001Z

So, a freind of mine did this over on facebook and I'm sufficiently bored and amped up on coffee thanks to a late night chat to catch the US timezones (I'm in the UK) and about an hour and a halfs sleep to actually *think* of 25 things. (Really I'm avoiding starting work)

1 - Is addicted to caffiene. Coffee or anything containing it.
2 - Eats bread and butter with rice pudding.
3 - can write html and css code.
4 - prefers coke over pepsi.
5 - has (currently) seven tattoos. Plans more.
6 - can actually draw
7 - Is chronically untidy
8 - has a 'tidy up freak' husband.
9 - Can weld
10 - Is a qualified massuese and aromatherapist.
11 - has seven corsets. This figure will no doubt increase.
12 - Is a star trek geek (no, doesn't have a uniform)
13 - Favourite film is Guy Ritchie's 'Snatch'
14 - prefers cheese over chocolate.
15 - has been banned from Xbox due to beating the rest of the family at fighting games.
16 - Is prone to quoting from Monty Python, particuarly the african swallow's sketch.
17 - will read anything if it stays still long enough
18 - has an ambitions list, things 'to do' each year. Aims to complete one per year. (This has lead to learning to weld, learning to massage etc.)
19 - Intends to complete a half marathon at least once in her lifetime (and then never run one again)
20 - Is a kick-boxer.
21 - Is a cover artist.
22 - hates piercings. Only has ear piercings and wouldn't have those if her mother hadn't had them done when she was 18 months old.
23 - Is a qualified markswoman.
24 - can read and write grid references to 64 figures.
25 - Knows the UK postcode system by heart.

Buried in a story...

2009-02-08T09:17:00.001Z

I have to apologise, I haven't blogged in a while. I've been literally buried in a new story, but in a good way. I'm writing with a freind and we're just having such fun writing it I'm going to be sad when we've actually written it! We're writing a sci-fi romance (think battlestar galatica here) and we're happy torturing our characters. Torturing big time I tell you!!

So, let me introduce you to the characters...

First up we have Davin McAvoy. Davin is the boss, the wing commander on the base. He's literally Mr Nice Guy, Mr Squeaky clean. He runs by the book, dots the I's and crosses the T's and he absolutely does not want an ex-con or a woman on his wing. But the instant he see's Radha sparks, oh they fly!!

Then we have Radha Kaden. Ex-con, ex pilot who got chucked out of the academy a week before graduation for fighting. Radha's always had it tough and it's made her a tough woman. But beneath the hard shell is a woman with a soft heart. Mr Squeaky Clean really isn't her type... or he's too much her type. His gentle touch, the tenderness he treats her with are something she has no experience with. Which she finds dangerous and oh so addictive.

New Look Website and New Review

2009-02-06T09:16:00.000Z

Oh my I have been a busy little bee this morning. I decided some point late last night that the site needed a new look (don't ask me why I decided this, things that seem like GREAT ideas at 2am don't normally work out so well!) and, after spending most of the morning coding and tweaking images, I'm really pleased with the results :D I think it's easier on the eyes and a little easier to navigate!!

And Moon Madness got a new review!! Melissa at Dark Diva Reviews gave it five delightful Divas with the following comment...

"Moon Madness is a short and very hot werewolf story. Mina Carter did an excellent job of balancing this short story with just the right amount of character and plot development, and filled the rest with scorching passion." (To read the full review click here)

It's a great review so I'm doin' the tigger dance again over here. I really should stop sometime soon and actually write something!!

giggle

2009-02-03T09:22:00.001Z

more animals

Moonlight & Magic now available!!

2009-01-30T16:16:00.002Z

SQUEEEE!!! :D it's finally here! Changeling Press released Moonlight and Magic, the first in the M&M series, today!!

Title: Moonlight & Magic

Genre/Line: Paranormal Erotica

Publisher: Changeling Press

Publisher URL: http://www.changelingpress.com

BUY LINK: http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1080

Blurb:

Moonlight and Magic isn’t your average club. Proudly marketed as a paranormal club, it boasts demon waiters and shifters as dancers, but none of these are as exotic as twins Daelas and Jaren, the club’s incubi owners.Part fae, Sage is looking for a demon. Not just any demon though, she wants a sex demon. But she’s in for a disappointment, easily seeing through the glamour cast over the mainly mortal waiters. Then Daelas makes an appearance and decides, as soon as he lays eyes on her, that she is his.However the twins share everything, even their women. If one demon lover blows her mind, how is Sage going to cope with both?

BUY LINK: http://www.changelingpress.com/product.php?&upt=book&ubid=1080

Can we say 'headless chicken'?

2009-01-17T11:08:00.000Z

Ok, someone's stealing the days and weeks away!! I blinked and missed most of this week! Eeeek!!

I have cover art!!!

Moonlight & Magic is one of my favourite stories (Well they all are, but I particularly like the idea of sex demon twin brothers!) and it's almost here!! Sahara over at Changeling Press did a wonderful cover for me. Now usually I'm not fond of poser covers but I really like this. It doesn't have the usual girl sandwich on the front and I really like the magical swirly thing in her hand :D

So I'm busily plastering the cover everywhere in preparation for M&M's release at the end of the month :D (shameless promo)

Also!! Along with a great review from the Long and Short of it, they've put Moon Madness in for Best Book Honour this week :D *faints* So, if you fancy helping Moon Madness out with a vote, here's where to go...

http://www.longandshortreviews.com/LASR/recentrev.htm

Ok, promo stuff over with now, I promise!! I realised that with fewer blog posts they've been getting longer. Sorry about that, I seem to blink and miss a couple of days then I have SO much saved up to say it's unreal.

So... I've been thinking about friends recently, and how much mine mean to me, particularly my online friends. Now the fact that, for the most part, I've never met and (unless I win the lottery or some such) am never likely to meet these people doesn't bother me a jot. Friends are friends where-ever you find them. But the ones who I'm particularly close to are the ones that share my passions, like writing and simming. My writer friends are great, they don't mind if I disappear for days on end, pop up with random and obscure comments or talk constantly about characters and plots. They get it, they're in the same mindset. :D It's great.

My simming friends are the same. We talk plots, we talk characters. But in that case it's slightly different, and concerned with a game we're playing. Same sort of thing, slightly different focus.

But then there's the ones that are BOTH writers AND simmers. To be these are rare treasures. They understand me in all my true geekiness because they share it!! They'll happily chat or write for hours, HOURS I say, with me about anything we're working on or playing in. Did I tell you I love to write with people? I do. I like writing alone as well but I love working plots with other people and writing together on stuff.

Which leads me to my next point. I have two collaborations in progress at the moment. Dirty Dream with Evey Meyer, which is a contemporary romance with two of our favourite characters Dayton and Caroline (aka Day and Rollie) :D we're about halfway through that now so soon, pretty soon, we should have some snippets to share.

And secondly an un-named scifi romance (the battlestar one I was waffling on about). I've managed to persuade (arm up back) another writer/simmer friend to join me on that one *big grin* We have a plot, we have characters. The characters have chemistry! It promises to be a LOT of fun.

Anyway, less waffling, more writing!!

New Cover Art, New review, New Corset!

2009-01-14T10:52:00.001Z

Oh wow! This last couple of days has been great! I haven't known whether I'm coming or going but it's been fantastic anyway!! Last night I got the cover art for Dark Embrace, my upcoming Cobblestone release and it's FANTASTIC!! I really wasn't sure what I wanted on the cover for this one. Some I have a very good idea and some, well, blank screen comes to mind. But the very talented Bree (one half of Moira Rogers) pulled a miracle out of the bag with this one! I keep having to go admire it some more, I think it's great! (and will no doubt harp on LOTS about it! You have been warned!)

"The action of the story kept me enthralled as I wondered what would happen next and I enjoyed watching things play out in what felt like a battle of good versus evil. Moon Madness was a good read that I happily recommend."

The next great surprise was a wonderful review for Moon Madness by Lilac over at 'The Long and Short of It'. I wasn't expecting any more reviews for this one and it was a really great review :D

Read the review

And last but not least, I FINALLY finished up a corset I've been making. It's a pretty floral coutil, single layer victorian corset with black satin bias binding top and bottom. It's for my sister in law to be and because she intends to dance in it, I've boned it with spiral steels and left two of the side bones out for ease of movement. We're going at in a couple of weeks so I'll get a shot of her wearing it (because I can't be bothered to go root through the chaos that is the back room - aka the junk room - for my dressmakers dummy to display it one)

I've actually started to document each step in the corset making process, which I'll stick together in a pdf at some point. So if you're interested in how to make a corset from start to finish, watch this space!

Busy, busy, busy...

2009-01-12T11:26:00.000Z

Whoa, what a whirlwind things are turning into recently. I’m sorry I’ve not been posting as much as usual but, honestly, I think I need to give up sleep or something it’s that manic over here!

I finally finished Grace off and the first read from my beta’s is good They like Jaron and Grace. This is good because I really was at the ‘woods for the tree’s’ phase when everything seems wooden and those rocks are laughing at me. (As in ‘rocks write better than I do!’) But they like it Yay!!

Edits for Moonlight & Magic and Feral were sent back in short order. I’m one of those writers that actually likes editing. It’s always good to get some feedback on your writing and editors, whilst not evil as they’re often portrayed, can be ruthless. If you can accept the fact that they’re not being personal and trying to make your writing since, it’s a great learning experience! I luuuurves my editors!!

The Rockstar editing party is about wound up now, I just have one pass over the source file to go today and we’re all done I think. My bit is anyway. Then the wonderful people at Lyrical will go away and create ebooks from it I still think it’s amazing what the publishers do, there’s SO much more in the process than i thought!

So, where to go from here? I have a new contract!! Cobblestone Press offered a contract for Dark Embrace, which is one of my Kyn stories This one is Marak and Maria’s story and it gets a wee bit hot at the end. Might need to break out those fans!!

And, I started a new story!! This one is a scifi romance, about fighter pilots. Think the new Battlstar Galatica with sexy aliens! My hero is a wing commander, the heroine is a fighter pilot under his command. He’s got issues, she’s got issues and attitude. And they absolutely cannot live with or without the other! It’s already shaping up to be great fun as I write it!! I’ll post a snippet and some inspiration pics over the next few days!

Ok, need to stop waffling, feed brat something (or too something) and get some work done. Catch you on the flipside!!

Yay, back to normal!

2009-01-08T08:54:00.000Z

Christmas I love, new year I love, spending time with my family all together I love. For a few days. Unfortunately (or fortunately in other cases) Brat and I are very much creatures of habit. Even though she’s only three Brat has inherieted an extremely strong and forceful personality from both her parents. *grin*

This means that on a day to day basis we have ‘rooms’. I inhabit the dining room, her territory is the living room (our downstairs area is pretty much open plan so I can see her at all times despite being in a different ‘room’) - she stays in her area and has what she likes on the TV (or TB as she calls it, she’s short tongued bless her) and my domain is the dining room where I can work and put whatever music I like on (as long as it doesn’t drown out the TV, usually I use an Ipod with just one earphone. Having worked for years in a noisy environment using music to drown out the sound of machinery the earphone never hurts my ear).

And we have our routine. Like breakfast is between eight and nine, we have a bath or shower at around eleven. Lunch is at twelve to one if Brat’s hungry (somedays she just snacks all day and somedays she wants set meals, she’s a grazer like her father) and one to two is nap time if mommy’s lucky. (Or argument time if she’s not)

But christmas, any holiday that has daddy around all day just throws us all out. He’s no respecter of routine and Brat just gets all excited and wants to play all day. This leads to no naps and a very very ratty brat.

However *VERY evil grin* I often get from the other half ‘how hard can it be looking after her? she’s an angel’ (Anyone with a small child will know this is a ruse, they are in reality small demons that just look like adorable children. That amount of cute in anything is just a defensive mechanism to stop you throttling it. Face it, cats can be mean SOB’s but they’re cute so we let them get away with it. If they looked like frogs it might not work so well. Well, it might. If you found frogs cute.)

So…. OH got Brat for the day as I hid in the kitchen writing. Door closed, music on full blast, coffee pot right behind me. Fridge with the chocolate a step away. I was in HEAVEN!

OH did well, for about three hours. By one o’clock he was looking frazzled. By two o’clock he had more grey in his hari than he had when he woke up. Three o’clock he burst through the door and shut it behind him, six foot frame braced against it as though all the hordes of hell were behind him. Wildeyed he just looks at me, “That’s it, I can’t TAKE it.”

“What?” I ask, I’ve fairly seen Mr Carter so put out you see. Ex military he’s the kind that takes charge, don’t sweat it alpha male sort. Trembling in fear of a three year old ALPHA toddler (seriously they exist. If there’s ever a toddler that’s destined to take over the world, it’s Brat).

“Talking animals,” Mr Carter wails. “I can’t take any more talking animals. Or fairies. Or or or…”

What could I do? He was in a state of imminent mental collapse at the overdose of kiddies TV (there is a reason I use music to drown the background out you see. And like with vampires eyes, you must never look a TV showing kids programs in the face so to speak, it warps your mind).

I packed him off to bed, went and dealt with Brat’s imperious demand of ‘DADDY!!’ and normal service was resumed.

Mostly. Mr Carter still twitches if he happens to see a talking animal on TV.

Quilting a corset anyone?

2008-12-23T10:27:00.000Z

I found this kicking around my documents files earlier today and I thought I'd post it up in case anyone's interested. As one of my other 'hats' I'm a corsetiere and having done many a search on corset making I know there's not a lot online about it. So I thought I'd document what steps I use when I make mine.

This corset is for my niece and the slightly straighter line of this corset will suit her better as the standard corset I made for her had to be pinned up rather a LOT. It's an adaption of this corset..

(Clickie for larger)

I'm making it in pink silk over coutil and lined with baby pink cotton. The side panels are going to be quilted because I think that's going to give a lovely effect with the colour of the silk and I am intending to do some cording on the front (just cause I like doing it!!) but I may have to adapt it slightly as I'm making the corset closed front (ie - without a busk in it).

So.... starting with the quilting. I've cut all my materials out in a large enough rectangle that I can later on pin my pattern piece on the top and cut it out. (for this corset that's about 8" width by 17" height). Now I have a few layers to consider.....

(Clickie for larger)

We have a top fabric layer of the pink silk, which has been backed with WOVEN iron on interfacing stuff / fabric. This is to stop the top fabric ripping away under the casings. These things come under lots of pressure when they're worn so it's a step I don't skip on.

Next layer is the coutil layer. Coutil is the traditional corsetry fabric that provides the strength in a corset. It's very densely woven and usually has a sort of herringbone weave in it. It's expensive yes (anything from around £8 a metre upwards.) but it's not worth skimping on. Coutil is THE fabric to do this with, even if you're using a fashion fabric over the top!! It's the only thing that has the strength to hold up through multiple wearings and personally I wouldn't want to put the time and effort into a corset only to have the seams giving out on me after a couple of wearings!

Under the coutil we have a layer of volume fleece. Don't worry, this is only for the quilted panel, not all of the corset, so it's not going to end up bulky.

Under the volume fleece we have a layer of corset lining fabric. This only comes in the off-white / cream colour and although I'm lining the rest of the corset in pink cotton, I decided to use up a scrap of this I have left because it's so nice to work with.

Ok moving on, I've stacked all my fabrics on top of one another with Lining fabric at the bottom, then volume fleece above it, then coutil, then finally top fabric and then pinned them all together ready for quilting.

(clickie for larger)

At this point any real quilters reading this are probably wincing in pain. Sorry, I'm not a quilter and this way works for me! ;)

So, now I need to start quilting. I'm going to use a fairly traditional quilting design in corsetry with vertical lines crossed by diagonals. So first I need to work out my diagonal line. I do this by folding down a corner of my top and coutil fabrics like so....

(clickie for larger)

... and making a crease. It's easier if you fold BOTH top fabric and coutil down together as coutil takes the crease well. Then, I just run a line of stitching down the crease in the fabric as so...

(clickie for larger)

Now.... here comes the snazzy bit! Move your fabric along a bit until the line of stitching you just made sits at the right side of the presser foot like so...

(clickie for larger)

... And stitch another line!! Basically keep going until you've filled your fabric with lines. Obviously when you're done you're gonna need to turn your fabric around and just do a few lines to fill that top triangle as well. Fun huh?

Now, it should be noted here that I'm actually using a modern machine to do this. Usually I favour older Singer Machines and when I say older I MEAN older, pre 1950's. Most of my corsets are done on an old Singer 201k heavy duty machine.

I did start making corsets on a modern domestic machine but be warned corsetry EATS machines... I had to replace two before I got my 201. So unless you wanna fork out lots of cash (probably about £400 minimum for a machine that's up to standard) I'd have a look on ebay for an older singer or something.

In my experience the 201k's are fantastic (and you can even get those with electric ;) ) or possibly the slightly smaller 185k or even 99k. Dunno, they're cheap enough to pick up and metal geared so heavy enough to cope. You may find you get on with them and if so, you saved yourself 400 quid. But BE warned, these machines are straight stitch machines. No jig-jag, nothing fancy, some don't even do back-stitch (well 201's do, mine does anyway).

Anyway I digress, the REASON I'm using a modern machine here is because I'm using the width of the presser foot to measure my quilting lines. Modern machines seem to have wider presser feet than the old singers and although I DO have a quilting guide for the 201... well, it's of the impression equal distance between each line is an optional extra. Which is cute, gives the machine character but not so good when doing quilting. Since I'm only dealing with one layer of coutil here, I'm ok with using the modern machine as it shouldn't get eaten with just one layer. I hope.

So, one I've filled my rectangle with diagonal lines, I do the straight lines down the fabric....

(clickie for larger)

.. now I would have carried on but my bobbin ran out at this point, the baby was shouting for dinner and my hubby was snoring on the sofa so the chances of HIM getting up and doing it were like a cat in Crufts. (Bless him, he's ill atm so I forgive him) But yeah, that's the reason for only four lines there ... but it's enough to give an indication!

Something about Ink...

2008-12-22T10:43:00.001Z

I have no idea who this is but the whole photo just does it for me. The sexy peek over the pillow, wrist strap watch and the half sleeve tattoo there. Someone said it sort of looks like Gerard Butler which it does in a way, but I'm not sure it is.

Anyway, it's the tattoo that has my attention. I admit it, I'm a fan of ink. After seven tattoos of my own I can't not be really.

I think there's something very beautiful and individual about tattoos. Don't get me wrong, I HATE generic flash tat's (those are the same pictures you find in every tattoo parlour the planet over), if you're going to put needle to skin in my opinion you need to think about it. Decide what you want, whether you can live with the design for the rest of your life. Because these babies don't come off!

Most of my tat's are custom designs, most of them I drew myself. I'm lucky that I'm an artistic sort, I can 'see' what I want and get it down on paper. Yeah, I'm lazy these days, I use a graphics tablet and photoshop then print the designs out to trundle on down to get them done.

All my tattoo's mean something. My first one was a star and moon design on my left shoulderblade. I had skin cancer when I was a teenager and I wanted something prominent to display and take attention away from the scars on my back (when I was younger aka skinnier, I liked wearing halter neck tops so they could be see a lot) that one's since been redone (it faded badly) with a banner across it and my daughter's name in elvish script.

On my foot I have a small filigree design, I had it done the day my little girl cut her first tooth. It hurt, believe me, if you're thinking about a tat, do NOT get one on your foot first!! I have a high pain threshold, especially for tattoo's. My last one I sat so still my tattoo artist thought I'd gone to sleep!! We got finished in half the time he quoted originally. But anyway, feet. Feet HURT! I was calling him names several times (don't worry about this, they're used to it ;) I think it's part of the training to get used to being called names!)

Anyway, I digress. I have tat's, I like tat's but I'm particular. Tattoo's are personal, they're an expression of self for me. If you ever see my tattoo's you're highly honoured as I rarely display them (I actually worked one place for two years before anyone realised I had them).

I like to see tattoo's on a guy but not flash, perhaps a nice custom design. Something that's personal, something that thought has been put into. They're art, an expression of the individual's nature / personality and the artist's skill. I'm one of those people who are in awe of a good tattoo artist, someone that can take a picture and ink it onto skin. Whilst someone's flinching and calling them names, to me that's skill. Sure I can draw (rarely do but I can) but that's on a flat piece of paper that doesn't squeak at me, I can move it around, turn it upside down if I want, tape it to a window to use it as a lightbox (yes, I do look weird doing this. My family are used to it, they know I'm mad) and I can rub things out when I go wrong. A tattoist can't. To me, enough said.

As I said before, I don't like flash. I like custom designs. On a guy, I like to see arm sleeves like this half sleeve on Mr. Come to bed there. Tattoo's like that are another distinct choice to me. They're beautiful and say something about the man.

LOL I've waffled again, so if you're still with me, well done. So, what are your opinions on tattoo's. Love 'em or loathe 'em? Why? What does it, or doesn't do it for you?

New contract and tigger dances!!

2008-12-19T09:30:00.000Z

I’m delighted to announce that Lyrical Press have offered a contract for the second of my contemporary romances, Playing with Fyre!! Here’s a little bit more on the story…

“You could try, but be careful who and what you threaten,” he advised, “Because you try to play games with me Raelyn, you’re going to need a shit-hot lawyer or you’ll get burnt.”

“Haha.Fyre, burnt. Cute,” she replied, picking up the pun and making fun of it. That was her problem, backed into a corner she got sassy. “Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.”

Lawyer Logan Fyre is as ruthless as they come. Raelyn Borne is desperate to save her home. Desperate enough to play dangerous games with Logan.

Trouble is, if you play with Fyre, you get burnt…

*goes away to do the tigger dance again*

Sale at OUAB!!

2008-12-18T09:20:00.000Z

They’re having a holiday sale over at Once Upon a Bookstore. There's a massve 20% off some titles, including my book, Moon Madness!! So wander on by and grab yourself a bargain!!!

Moon Madness $3.50 $2.80 Save: 20% off	Unholy Night $3.50 $2.80 Save: 20% off	Frozen $6.50 $5.20 Save: 20% off
One Ring to Rule $2.50 $2.00 Save: 20% off	Mistress of Tiethla $3.50 $2.80 Save: 20% off	Djinn $3.50 $2.80 Save: 20% off

Running around like a headless chicken!!

2008-12-17T10:23:00.001Z

Woah, have I been a busy little bunny this last couple of weeks! I've been busy with edits for both Rockstar and Feral, written and edited the free read 'Secret Santa', finally finished and sent off 'Playing with Fyre' and started writing a contracted story for Noble Romance Publishing 'Grace'! *wipes brow* when written down it seems manic!!

Rockstar has now gone over for line edits :D so my editor Charlotte and I are in having a digital party (mainly involving non fattening alcoholic desserts of the digital kind!) but I iz a mean author. No sooner than she mailed me to say Rockstar had gone over, I sent her Playing with Fyre, the second of my contemporary erotic(ish) romances. Muahahaha!! I'm sure I had a whip around here someplace...

Secret Santa is now up and available for download (http://mina-carter.com/?page_id=820). It's a really quite sweet christmas story set in an A&E department, well I think it's sweet anyway. Have a read and let me know what you all think!

Grace. Woah... Grace. Let me tell you about this story. Think... vampire, think... Johnathon Rhys Meyers as a vampire! Because this is the guy I see when I think of the hero, Jaron Conrad. The long haired one when he was 'younger' so to speak and the second now, when the story is set.

Jaron is an old vampire, a vampire Lord. Unlike some vampires, he's somewhat of a loner so he stays out of vampire society for the most part. He's powerful so the locals leave him be and hope he pretty much doesn't notice them.

But all powerful men have their weaknesses and Grace, a former ballerina, is Jaron's. He'll stop at nothing to make her his. But there's the catch. He could make her his with just a click of his fingers. But that's not what he wants... he wants Grace to make the decision to belong to him; heart, body and soul.

Damn, just talking about it makes my fingers itch to go write more!

Guess what? Crossposty goodness!!

Who am I again?

2008-12-13T09:43:00.001Z

“Writing is a socially acceptable form of schizophrenia.” — E.L. Doctorow

I found that quote on my normal morning pottering around the interwebz as i waited zombie-eyed in front of the screen for the coffee to kick in. I have loads to do today, well that’s normal for any day, but my mornings always start by sitting Brat down and giving her breakfast and turning her cartoons on then grabbing coffee and checking mail and wandering around various blogs.

That quote was on one of them and it got me thinking. Writing probably is when you think about it. I remember hearing a snippet from the TV one time, I think it was Johnathon Ross interviewing some actor but he said, “Acting is a strange profession, you spent 90% of your time pretending to be someone else.” It made me wonder if actors had psychological problems because of that. Do they lose track of who they are because they have to ‘be’ someone else a lot of the time?

Writing’s similiar. Actors spend 90% of their time pretending to be someone else, writers spend large amounts of time making stuff up! Which is what writing is when you get down to the bare bones of it. When I write I create a world to my rules, with my characters and the situations I want. Then I try and weave the words around the reader and con them into suspending belief for a little while and buying my version of reality. Reading is escapism for most, it is for me and I write (or try to) what I enjoy reading.

Sometimes it takes off on a tangent. Characters don’t play nice. My current WIP, Grace, my dark and dangerous Vamp hero Jaron suddenly developed snark and a sense of humour. I didn’t expect that. Who expects a sexy as hell vamp to liken himself to Marmite? (you either love him or you hate him?)

LOL I’d expected dark and brooding and I got sexy and sarcastic. It’s unexpected but I’m running with it. Jaron, although he’s a construct of my imagination, is shaping himself into something else. It’s not concious on my part and took me by surprise a little. Something must be prompting that, deep down in the old subconcious so yeah… I think writers must have a touch of schizophrenia or something like it buried deep down to to what they do.

Either that or some of them are just plain nuts. Ask anyone they’ll tell you I’m as batty a a fruitcake!

Blogging over at LPI

2008-12-12T19:35:00.001Z

Come check it out!! http://lyricalpress.blogspot.com/2008/12/making-deal-with-devil.html

2008-12-10T10:23:00.000Z

I was pottering around this morning to see what's what. Usually I start the morning off with checking my emails, inhaling coffee and generally trying to get myself fettled and awake for the day (Can't you guess I'm not a morning person here?).

Then I found a new link coming into the site here and it looks like Vixen is now available from All Romance Ebooks!! I'm really impressed, it's still very new for me to see my books out there so I spent a little while drinking (more) coffee and admiring the page. :D

http://allromanceebooks.com/product-vixen-13256-140.html

Today I intend to start actually writing 'Grace' the novella I have contracted for Noble Romance Publishing (they have a contest running at the moment if you want to go check it out at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/NobleRomancePublishing/). I've done my outline, I've dragged out my regency source books (I luves regency romances, they're my secret vice. Along with chocolate.. no wait, that one's no secret!). Although this story ISN'T a regency (don't panic, I don't know nearly enough about the history to do a full regency romance nor would I try) there is one scene that delves into the hero Jaron's history which is set in the Regency period.

So, we're sitting down to start writing today (I say we're because this is always a joint effort with Brat and I. I write, she keeps me company). I love this part where you flex your fingers over the keyboard and start getting that story hammered out.

Talking of Christmas contests, don't forget that the 'Presents Under the eTree' contest is still running at http://mina-carter.com/?page_id=736. Six free ebooks, the drawing is on Christmas eve so hurry and get your entry in for a chance to get a free ebook for Xmas!!

New Blog!!

2008-12-10T10:01:00.000Z

Woohoo! I finally got around to setting this one up! Now to add stuff!

Mina Carter

Test

I'm over at Author Offerings!!

Finally back and getting myself sorted

*giggle*

Sunlight & slavery: out now!!

Sunlight & Slavery

Messages across the years

New Cover Art for Sunlight & Slavery

hehehehe....

Blogging on LPI today!

Free Books! Get hooked on a series contest!!

I feel the need...

Oh my!!

Dark Embrace release day!!

Dark Embrace is nearly here!!

*Hehehe*

Pretties... just because!! And a guest blog!!

Chain Mail!!

What a weekend!

Black Ice

Joyful morning

Oh noes!!!!

Testing, testing, testing...

*sigh*

Ugh

Sunlight & Slavery

Ugh...

Busy Bee!

Forum Fiesta!!

Rockstar released today!!

Cheeky Changeling and Release day for Rockstar...

25 things you may not know about Mina...

Buried in a story...

New Look Website and New Review

*giggle*

Moonlight & Magic now available!!

Can we say 'headless chicken'?

New Cover Art, New review, New Corset!

Busy, busy, busy...

Yay, back to normal!

Quilting a corset anyone?

Something about Ink...

New contract and tigger dances!!

Sale at OUAB!!

Running around like a headless chicken!!

Who am I again?

Blogging over at LPI

New Blog!!

giggle

Hehehe

sigh

giggle