Jordan Summers

Have you ever noticed that ninety percent of the time when a television series teases about losing a main character they end up killing a secondary character who isn’t a regular instead? It’s a MAJOR cheat and makes me have less respect for the shows each time they use the device. **cough**I’m looking at you CSI NY and CSI Miami.**cough** The only shows that have had the balls to pull that sort of thing and follow through are NCIS and HOUSE.

Does it bother you when a television series hints at the loss of a character and then backs off?

We just got back from seeing Star Trek again. Yep, it’s just as good as the first time. Sigh. Tomorrow we’re going to go see Angels and Demons. All I’m hoping for is to be entertained. Not in a Star Trek way, but entertained nonetheless. Has anyone seen it?

I have 109 pages to go, then I’m DONE…DONE I say with the DEAD WORLD series. Please send wine.

S. J. Day was kind enough to let me know that RED has finally been released on the Kindle. I’m really hoping that this is just the beginning of the ebook versions, since like a lot of folks I don’t have the Kindle. I have a Rocketbook reader. Baby steps.

Edits are done. The reading has begun. I’m on target to get the manuscript mailed off and back to Tor on time. Then it’s back to my YA’s and my new UF partial.

My readings habits have changed over the years just like my favorite authors. I used to be the type of reader who HAD to finish a book once I started it. It made for many painful reading hours. Now, I don’t force it. If I’m not enjoying a book, I skip to the middle to read a little, then skip to the end and read the last pages. That seems to satisfy the anal ‘must read every book I start’ person trapped inside me. *g* Lately, I’ve heard people talking about hating the books that they were reading, but deciding to finish them so they can review them. All I can think of to ask is WHY? I mean seriously. Why would you finish a book you hate, when there are so many wonderful books out there to read? And why would you bother reviewing a book you hate? Surely there are better ways to spend your time.

I may be weird, but I don’t tend to talk about books I dislike. I simply make a mental note to be more cautious the next time I’m book shopping and I come across a particular author that I haven’t clicked with in the past. I’m a bit more liberal sharing my opinion of movies. I am sure some of you are thinking that’s because I’m an author, but the truth is I never trashed books even when I was ‘just’ a reader. *g* I always figured that the story didn’t resonate with me. Didn’t mean it wouldn’t resonate with everyone else.

I’m finishing up the first part of my edits today and starting the read through process. I’m hoping to finish by Friday, so I can mail off the corrected pages by Monday. In the meantime, I’m reading ‘Shoot Him If He Moves’ by Stuart Woods and Bastion Club 6 by Stephanie Laurens. What are your reading habits these days? What do you do when you come across a book you dislike? Do you blog about it? Review it? Or just set it aside and pick up something else to read? What are you reading? Have your favorites changed? (Mine seemed to have changed without my knowledge or permission. Sigh.)

Happy Mother’s Day to the fabulous woman who raised me and the one who welcomed me into her family. I love you moms’.

And to all those women out there who make parenting look so easy…Happy Mother’s Day.

Took Charli’s advice and went to see Star Trek last night. Now I understand why someone (possibly Wil Wheaton) said that it’s this generations’ Star Wars. So good. It was what I’d hoped Wolverine would be. I’m trying to figure out what I can say that won’t give away any spoilers. First off, they did such a wonderful job of setting each of the characters up, while paying homage to the old movies and show. You really see their true colors right from the start. It takes a lot of skill to do that in a short period of time. The movie truly is a reinvention of the series. The pacing is fantastic. The casting superb. Lots of action without sacrificing the characterization and story. I cannot say enough good things about this movie. We’ve already made plans to see it again and purchase it on BluRay when it’s released. It’s THAT good. GO SEE IT! You will NOT be disappointed.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! I can’t wait to see it again. Thank you, JJ Abrams for exceeding my expectations.

Went to see Wolverine last night. It’s definitely a popcorn movie that never met a cliche it didn’t like. *g* It was entertaining enough. Worth seeing. But could’ve been so much better on the writing front. The story basically sets up Wolverine’s backstory. It lets the viewer see how he became the man we meet in X-men. Lots of action, which was cool. Several story threads that didn’t make a lot of sense. Maybe they weren’t supposed to. Scratches head. Next up—STAR TREK.

I received my final pass pages for Crimson yesterday afternoon. So you know what that means. I’ll be back to blogging when I finish.

A few reviews of RED have reached me as of late. Some of the reviewers liked the book. Others, not so much. I actually don’t mind if someone doesn’t like the book. I wish everyone did, but that would be impossible. What I do find frustrating is when things are mentioned that didn’t ‘happen’ in the book. (It’s always fun when people hate an aspect of your book that doesn’t exist. *ggg*) So I thought I’d clear a few things up:

1. There is NO rape in the opening scene of RED. In fact, there is no rape in RED at all. I should know, I wrote it. If you don’t believe me, go back and re-read the opening scene again…carefully.*g*

2. RED is the ‘first’ book in a trilogy. Yep, you read that right. The story of Red and Morgan doesn’t conclude until CRIMSON (Nov. 09). All loose story threads will be addressed in SCARLET and CRIMSON. (Sends a prayer to the universe that she caught everything.)

3. RED is NOT an urban fantasy. (I love UF, but that’s not what I wrote.) RED is a gritty dark fantasy romance. It ends with a gritty dark happily-ever-after. I do appreciate the folks who think I can and did write an urban fantasy. It gives me hope for the future.

Hope that clears a few things up. Now I’m off to make sure that Crimson sparkles.

Bernard was kind of enough to point out a new review for SCARLET by Fallen Angels Reviews. I’m particularly pleased with it because it’s the second review I’ve received where the reviewer hadn’t read RED yet. I was worried that readers might not be able to follow the story without reading the first book in the trilogy, but my concerns seem to be unwarranted. YAY! (I did try to fill in what happened in book one throughout SCARLET, but you never know how successful you are until the reviews start coming in.)

Also, I saw that CRIMSON is up for pre-order at Amazon now, too. I LOVE how I ended that book. *g* Go forth and order.

Dh and I got back from Disneyland last night. We had a good time (although he had to actually attend a course for work during the week). The fireworks last Sunday at the park were wonderful. While watching them a lot of things fell into place for me mentally. (That sometimes happens.) I feel like the cobwebs were blown out, which is very nice. They’ve had residency for far too long. I’m finally back in production mode. I also had afternoon tea with S.J. Day, whose new book Eve of Darkness just released. (Go buy it now. It’s a great read.) We giggled a lot and drank way TOO MUCH tea. I also made it to Newport Beach for an evening. A friend’s family has a beach house, so we spent a few hours relaxing with the roar of the ocean in our ears. Always fab. Cannot wait to go back.

We spent the weekend with my brother-in-law, who is a movie and commercial director. (How cool is that?!) He and his lovely wife took great care of us. Much fun (an embarressment) was had with the game Rock Band. We got to see our niece, who grows more beautiful by the day. She rolled her eyes through all the songs we performed. *g* All that was missing was the head-banging and devil horns. LOL!

All in all it was a wonderful week. The change of scenery was just what we needed. Today I’m catching up on a MOUNTAIN of laundry and I am off to have brunch with a dear friend. Tomorrow, it’ll be back to work–out of the house and away from the computer. I plan to catch Wolverine sometime this week before Star Trek releases.