Thursday, January 7, 2010

Tere SMART! S-M-R-T! Wait...


Okay, maybe I'm not that smart, but my new phone is!

Yes, I'm getting all worked up about my new phone, but if you'd been living with a "dumb" phone for as long as I have, you'd be excited, too. I can check my EMAIL on the effing thing, y'all! And once I figure out how to synch it with my pc, I'll be able to store a bunch of music on it, too. (no, I don't have an iPod, either. Maybe now you're understanding all the hoopla.)

And I don't have to press the same button three (or like 12 if I go too fast and skip the letter I want, lol) times to write a text. I hated that. Plus the camera on this puppy is much better than my old one, so I'll be experimenting with that, too. It's a Samsung Instinct, in case anyone was wondering.

In other, non-phone related news, I am almost done with the new chapters I'm adding to the middle of Mara's story. Not only do I think I've gone a long way towards adding to the overall mood of the novel, characterization, the plot and the level of intrigue have also improved. So after I do one final sweep of the entire manuscript, I'll be shamelessly soliciting beta readers. My goal is February 1st-- that way, I'll be done before carnival gets insane.

Yes, that's right people, it's CARNIVAL TIME! I just had my first slice of king cake-- and no, I didn't get the baby, thank goodness, or I'd have to buy the next one. That's what the picture above is of, in case you can't tell. Stood outside last night in the freezing cold (literally, this time, it really was only 32 degrees, y'all! Brrr.) to watch the Phunny Phorty Phellows roll on Twelfth Night, a tradition since the 1870s. Or the 1990's, if you want to get technical. ;) I do love carnival-- and I even wrote a carnival scene into EVANGELINE-- but I definitely feel all Mardi Grased out by the time Fat Tuesday rolls around.

Actually, Mardi Gras is so early again this year, February 16th, that it's gonna be as cold as a witch's you-know-what. If I don't have a Mardi Gras cold this year, it'll be the first time in like three years. And lucky me, my husband's 17 year olf nephew is coming down to stay with us, in our half shotgun, for 9 days. NINE days with a teenager. Please don't anyone tell me this will be good research or I may shoot you.

Anyone want to buy me a ticket to Rio instead? ;)

14 comments:

Tamika: said...

Come on Tere, you know you can't miss out on all the fun at home! The chance to oversee a teenage boy! Priceless!

Congratulations on Mara's Story! After the excerpt you shared I was hooked.

Elana Johnson said...

LOL! But it would be good research... *ducks*

I need a new phone. Mine makes calls. And that's it. I don't even answer it most of the time. Oh well.

Eric said...

This will be great research...Elana beat me to it so I had to change things up. I'm not ducking either (sticking tongue out and making a face).

I don't need a phone that cool until I actually get enough emails to read on it. Probably an indicator of my lack of social status. See, you get good researching opportunities AND you're socially acceptable. oh oops....*ducks*

Voidwalker said...

"I can check my EMAIL on the effing thing, y'all!" That made me laugh. Yeah, that's pretty awesome!

As for the beta reader solicitation: Do you have beta readers already? Who do you trust for such an endeavor? I'm amiss to suggest someone, nor do I trust anyone enough to be my own beta reader (I know I probably have trust issues... bring it up with my psych) j/k :O)

Sara {Rhapsody and Chaos} said...

ooooh yeah... Getting e-mail on your phone is awesome... And I can remember how amazed I was not to have to punch numbers three times for letters when texting :-)

I hope you'll do lots of posts about Mardi Gras!!

Anonymous said...

I want a ticket to Rio. And I wouldn't mind a carnival right now either.
Congrats on both the phone and the new scene!

Dawn Simon said...

Your phone sounds great! I get excited over things like that, too. I blogged about my new camera a couple days ago. ;)

Congrats on the chapters! Yay! I hope you have a nice time with your nephew. (See, I said nothing about research!)

Hardygirl said...

I just got my first smart phone about a month ago (HTC Hero) and I wanted to sleep with it and take long walks on the beach and sip chardonnay together.

Love the king cake pic. I'm going to order one for us--any suggestions?? We got a pretty one from Sucre' last year.

sf

lisa and laura said...

Oh boy...teenagers and mardi gras? This is going to get interesting.

And e-mail via phone makes my heart sing. Enjoy!

Sherry said...

Hey Tere you won an award over at my blog! :)

www.flippingpagesforallages.blogspot.com

Unknown said...

Have fun!

Tere Kirkland said...

Don't worry, I'll be posting more about Mardi Gras. ;) It's so all encompassing-- the fun, the frustrations, the traditions, the mystery bruises...

Mmm, Sarah, Sucré's is good-- very good-- but I also like La Boulangerie or Croissant D'Or's French King cakes. They're more of a marzipan tart than your standard fluffy, gooey king cake. (And more expensive, but oh-so-good) Not sure how they'd ship, though.

Sherry, thanks, so much!!

Christina Farley said...

I'm jealous! I want a new phone. Mine barely works and it's all in Korea, which sadly I can't read.

Amy Saia said...

Cool phone+teen boy visit=nothing is free.

Have fun!