Jordan Summers

Man I so wish I could attend the Book Expo in L.A. this weekend. Talk about sensory overload. It would be fantastic to be amongst peers and the movers and shakers in the industry. To be a fly on the wall for day. Can you imagine the deals going down at that place? It boggles the mind. Oh well, perhaps next year.

Isn’t it amazing that sometimes you meet someone and although you don’t get to see them often they remain one of your closest friends. I have a few friends like that. I rarely see these special women, but my life would be far less richer without them. We keep in touch by e-mail and occasionally the phone. It never seems to matter how long it’s been since we last spoke. The second we say hello it’s as if we’ve never been apart. I think it’s good to remember these out of sight blessings.

Have you ever noticed that everyone and their brother hits the road on a long weekend? It’s as if they do nothing on all the other weekends in the year, then let loose when a three-day comes around. Because of this strange phenomena the traffic doubles, peoples’ tempers triple, and what could be a wonderful experience turns to misery loves company. Is there a chance this situation will change? Not a snowballs chance in hell. Welcome to summer.

Whoever came up with the idea that getting up early was a good thing truly needs to be shot. LOL! Have a safe Memorial Day Weekend.

Today there was a major copyright scandal on the lists. It seems that someone in the UK decided to get a bunch of downloads from various publishers and give them away. Like many download music sites it may not seem like much, but to an e-book author you’re taking away a chunk of livelihood. I’m sure that if the tables were turned and people demanded free items from this particular person they wouldn’t be too happy, not to mention it would bankrupt them. I think it’s easy to forget that when you take things like this from someone you really are cheating the person who spent weeks and perhaps months working their asses off to write these tales for public enjoyment. I’m not talking about simply sharing a book with a friend. I’m talking about blatantly putting up product to give away when those same items are for sale elsewhere. I’m going to give this person the benefit of the doubt and assume they’re simply stupid, that can be the only explanation for them ripping off authors like Anne Rice. Can you say vicious lawyers? I think you can.

Have you ever wondered what started society’s fascination with vampires? I know a few hundred years ago people viewed vampires and vampirism as satanic and evil. They blamed just about any illness to come along on vamps. But did you notice it never dampened the vampires sexual appeal? There is just something about a vampire that is overtly sexual, with his Freudian fangs and heated stare. Or perhaps it’s the element of danger a vamp represents. They are the ultimate bad boy/girl, with their unlimited strength and stamina. The notion challenges the imagination and twists the knickers. Hmm-yummy.

In the publishing world competition is a natural thing. I think for the most part it is a good thing. It raises the bar, making everyone work that much harder to produce quality writing. The only danger with competition is getting caught up in the competition itself and losing focus on your product. I think that’s really easy to do and sometimes happens without our knowledge. We’re cruising along thinking everything is going well and then bam, we realize we’re no longer writing for ourselves, we’re writing for others. I’ve recently experienced this strange phenomena. It’s taken me a few weeks, but I’ve regained my focus and remembered what I originally wanted to do with my writing. It feels good to be back on track.

There are so many birthdays coming up within the next month. It seems like everyone I know was born in June. Every June I spend money like it was Christmas. You’d think by now I’d do a little advanced planning, but I don’t. Every year I get caught with my knickers down. I guess I’m just a slow learner. And this month a dear friend of mine is having surgery. I know in my heart she’ll be okay, but it doesn’t make me worry any less. I ask everyone to keep her in your thoughts.

Well mom is still here. The visit is going splendidly. We’ve been to Mexico and today a Greek festival. So a lot has been crammed into the weekend. Tomorrow we’re off to see Down on Love. Looks like a fun movie. Unfortunately the week has flown by and mom will be off to the Midwest on Tuesday. It seems as if I blinked and the time was gone. I guess that’s how good visits go.

Well we saw a sneak peek last night of this wild movie. It’s not the same as the first one, but still very exciting with a lot going on. I kind of look at Matrix Reloaded like I do LOTR: Two Towers. It was necessary to have all the information in there so you’d be ready for movie three. The effects were awesome in MR, some of the best I’ve ever seen. I highly recommend this movie, but you don’t want to see it if you haven’t watched the first one. You’ll have no idea what’s happening. They definitely set it up NOT to be a stand alone.