Drumroll please ...

I'm thrilled to announce that the winner of my Mention Remains contest is: SPYSCRIBBLER! Spy, drop me an email at wendy at wendyroberts dot com to give me your mailing address.

Here's what you've won: 2 signed copies of The Remains of the Dead And the TWO mystery gifts!

A copy of Snowfall at Willow Lake by friend and author Susan Wiggs

And a copy of The Bleeding Dusk by another good friend and author Colleen Gleason

I hope you enjoy these great reads!!

Tomorrow is the draw date for my contest. Thanks to everyone who has already participated! Mention The Remains of the Dead on your blog or site and link the mention back here to me (or to the Amazon page selling Remains) then tell me in the comments that you've done it and you’ll be entered in my draw for a couple signed copies of Remains (one for you and one for a friend!) plus a MYSTERY gift.

Hints about the mystery gift? Think blood and snow he he he. Feel free to make your guesses in the comments :)

An unlikely weapon?

Living in the Pacific Northwest pretty much guarantees I own an umbrella. Many actually. Apparently, someone has discovered what my kids have always known...umbrellas can hurt people.

A martial arts academy in Vancouver is teaching a four-hour umbrella self-defence workshop. After spending your $45 it's claimed that "any woman or man will be able to confidently fend off any ruffian or knave who bothers them."

They claim an umbrella is handier than mace or a taser because you don't have to search through your purse to find it. Okay, this guy has obviously looked inside my purse. Small children and animals have been known to fall into my purse abyss never to be seen again.



I think it's obvious you could do damage to someone using either end of this one.



However, this is the type I usually carry and it certainly doesn't look very dangerous.




Now drink umbrellas really are dangerous! I've actually known quite a few people hurt by these. Whenever there is alcohol and pointy things there's bound to be injuries. If you've ever been somewhere with drink umbrellas (or worse those little swords!) you know there's a real possibility someone could lose an eye with these things.

I think a self-defence class is generally a good thing for everyone. Be prepared, like the Boy Scouts say. However, I think there's also a real danger if you're using an umbrella to fend off a mugging by some crack-head armed with a knife. Have you ever had to protect yourself using an unlikely weapon?

Reminder Post: Mention The Remains of the Dead on your blog or site and link the mention back here to me (or to the Amazon page selling Remains) then tell me in the comments that you've done it and you’ll be entered in my Jan. 31st draw for a couple signed copies of Remains plus a mystery gift :)

I'm just going to whisper...

My vocal cords have resigned in protest this morning. My voice has been reduced to a hoarse whisper. I've been fighting a virus for a few days but that's only part of the problem. Last night I gave a speech on literacy to a crowded hall filled with children and parents. It wasn't a long speech but the sound system was poor and I was forced to use my outside, motherly, authoritative voice. You know, the one that's used to shouting, "Stop that right now!" or "Go to your room!"

So today, I'm going to whisper. And perhaps think loud thoughts :)

Thanks for all the private emails from people who lurk and say they would promo my book on their blogs if they had blogs. I promise to have another mailing list contest soon too. In the mean time, another reminder:

I've been blessed with a number of great reviews so to celebrate I'm having a contest. To be entered to win, simply mention The Remains of the Dead on your blog or site and link the mention back here to me (or to the Amazon page selling Remains) then come back here and tell me in the comments that you've done it. I'll be making the draw Jan. 31st and the winner will walk away with a couple signed copies of Remains plus a mystery gift :)

I feel sorry for Afghans

I'm not talking about the kind of afghan that you knit or crochet.
Although this one is a little bright for my tastes.



And I'm not talking about the Afghan people.




I feel sorry for the Afghan Hound. You see the Afghan Hound is considered to have the lowest degree of working intelligence of any other breed. I was talking to a lady the other day who owns an Afghan and she found this information really upsetting. As if somehow the rating scale found here was a measure of her own IQ for owning a less than smart dog.

Personally, I wouldn't want a dog that was smarter than me. I feel uncomfortable around Border Collies. They watch you with those intelligent eyes and you just know that given the opportunity they'd take over.

I don't own a dog because having four kids means I've done enough poop detail in my life thank you very much. But I do love dogs. Very much. One day I plan on owning a mutt. A dumb mutt who loves me for me and is too dumb to know that another owner might walk him more or feed him better quality kibble.

This part is a contest reminder: I've been blessed with a number of great reviews so to celebrate I'm having a contest. To be entered to win, simply mention The Remains of the Dead on your blog or site and link the title back here to me (or to the Amazon page selling Remains) then come back here and tell me in the comments that you've done it. I'll be making the draw Jan. 31st and the winner will walk away with a couple signed copies of Remains plus a mystery gift :)

A great review & a contest!

I'm pleased as punch to discover a review of Remains of the Dead over at myshelf.com. Here are the highlights:

The Remains of the Dead is a clever, fast-paced mystery with a paranormal twist. Ms. Roberts delivers tight, crisp dialogue, an exciting plot, and true to life characters. I especially liked the bickering between Sadie and Maeva, and the potential of romance between Sadie and Zack. This story was so enjoyable that I didn’t want it to end. Fortunately, the next book in the series is due out in December 2008, and it’s one I will eagerly await. If you like CSI, Medium or Ghost Whisperer, you’ll absolutely love The Remains of the Dead.

To read the full review click HERE.

I've been blessed with a number of great reviews so to celebrate I'm having a contest. To be entered to win, simply mention The Remains of the Dead on your blog or site and link the title back here to me (or to the Amazon page selling Remains) then come back here and tell me in the comments that you've done it. I'll be making the draw Jan. 31st and the winner will walk away with a couple signed copies of Remains plus a mystery gift :)

What's in a name?

I've been racking my brain to try and come up with the name for the bad guy in a new book. He's evil and does terrible, terrible things. I'm looking for suggestions.

He's a middle-aged white male but I'm not going to give you anymore info than that. So who has ticked you off lately? Is there anybody you HATE or dislike enough to suggest? Um. First names only please!

Filling up the well

This morning I'm meeting good friend, Mary J. Forbes for a cup of brainstorming. Actually, there will be coffee, brainstorming, coffee and collaging. Did I mention the coffee?

I've got some questions about my current work in progress and discussing solutions with my friend Mary always seems to uncover some real gems. Sometimes she's able to see the solution right off the bat. Other times, my bucket dips deeper and deeper into the water of my muse until she helps me draw the solutions for myself.

Is there someone special in your life who helps you dig deep?

Collaging for Ideas

This picture is a collage I did to help brainstorm The Remains of the Dead.

I've never been a particularly crafty person. I sort of had a craftectomy when I was about five. Hand me paint or glue and I can usually make a monumental mess of just about any project. However, over the years I attended collaging sessions put on by Jenny Crusie and Susan Wiggs and I couldn't help but be intrigued by the process. I'm now a believer. Flipping through magazine pages, ripping them out and gluing them to a thicker piece of paper somehow helps the creative process. I don't even pretend to know how this works.

When I was creating this collage for The Remains of the Dead, I was just beginning my work on the story. I came upon pictures that reflected many of the darker and paranormal elements in the book and then something surprising. A picture of a rabbit. I had no idea why a rabbit needed to be on the collage and I fought it at first. But my muse seemed to insist on the white and black bunny. Later, as I reflected on the completed collage and was preparing to work hard and heavy on the manuscript I realized the purpose of the bunny. My protagonist, Sadie Novak, needed something to soften her. Before I could stop myself she had a pet rabbit named Hairy.

I think sometimes we don't give our subconscious enough credit. Maybe all our lives would be a little softer if we allowed that small inner voice to have more of a say. Do you listen to that little voice?

so NOT loving my new computer

I bought a new computer a few weeks ago. It was a book release present to myself because my old computer was old, slow and I was running out of patience with all its idiocincracies. Well the new computer has been a nightmare. It woos and flirts with me with its massive flat screen beauty but it fails me time and time again. It's like dating a brainless cabana boy; fun for a few minutes but eventually you may need it for more than looking good.

At least once a day my Vista tells me that I have an update and need to restart my computer. I ignore these updates for as long as possible but eventually it shuts down and does them anyway. Every single time it adds these updates it reverts to being just new out of the box. Everything is lost including MICROSOFT WORD! When I say lost I mean not even an icon for Word and when you go to the start menu Word is not even listed as an available program anywhere. Obviously the computer hates me. I've had Mr. Computer Geek at my house twice. The last time he was here for five hours and pronounced it fixed. He'd been gone less than five minutes before the exact same problem happened. I haven't called him yet. I hate to see a grown man cry.

The good news is that Mr. Computer Geek also updated, cleaned up and pimped up my old computer so now it runs like clockwork. As soon as I find a spare minute I'll call Mr. Computer Geek and force him to show up again. If it fails once more, the machine is going back in the box and returned to Dell Hell.

Has anyone else suffered the pain of a new computer?

An Edible Clean

I've noticed a trend in body care. Most of my soaps and lotions are becoming food products.

Just today I:

- showered using body wash with Powdered Sugar
- shampooed with apricot shampoo
- used cucumber lotion on my hands
- applied mint lotion on my feet
- used green apple spray in my hair
- brushed my teeth with lemon toothpaste (that tastes like Lemon Pledge *yuk*)

I don't know whether to go about my day or put a price tag on my head and go and stand in the produce section of my market.

You may have guess that I'm not a scent person. I enjoy fragrances on occasion but mostly I find them overwhelming. Since giving birth I've become somewhat of a bloodhound. Smells seem to be magnified. My kids are long out of diapers but if I'm out in public I can still smell out a kid needing changing at over a hundred yards.

It seems that the body care industry has cut back on the flowery scents and replaced them with these food product smells. I don't think it's better. Yesterday I eyed the cucumbers in my sandwich with suspicion. I didn't know whether to eat them or rub them on my elbows.

Are you into food smells in your body care stuff?

A Clean Slate

This was my view on New Year's Day. Since I live in the Pacific Northwest, I'm used to winters that are often wet but seldom white. Most of the time I prefer it that way. This year though we went on a short ski holiday. There's something about looking out onto a pristine mountainside dipped in fluffy snow that made me think the year ahead was just like my Word page. White. Clean. Just waiting for me to fill it up with my ideas. Maybe a little blood'n gore ;-)

I didn't officially make resolutions but I did set short-term and year-long writing goals. How about you?