My sci-fi story, "Beautiful Girl", will appear in Dark Quest publications, anthology, Dark Future: Tales of SF Dystopia, edited by Jason Sizemore. It has a spring release date.

In our adoption news: We are SO close to bringing our little guy home. His visa appointment date has yet to show up in the immigration computer system, but they can see his photo. Usually they can only see the photo of a person who has had their visa issued.....so the clock is running down. With a lot of prayers and a little luck, we'll have him home by Christmas!

In other news: When you head out to do your Black Friday Shopping for all those Holiday Goodies, pop over to Amazon and plunk one of these bad boys into your cart! Shades of Blood and Shadow would make a scrumptiously delicious holiday surprise for that historical or horror reader on your list! In doubt, read a great review at Hellnotes. And, if you need some more persuasion, there's a sample story at Dark Regions Press for your perusal.

The palette of history and horror mingle in the hues of crimson blood and blackest death. The ghosts of the past mourn for lives unfinished, vengeance unfulfilled, and loves lost. The heart beats in a cacophony of anticipation and fear, echoing with the memory of those that once were, once danced, once believed.

Hues of fear, of woe and dying. Shades of death, of blood and shadow. Fallen women, queens, and angels. Angry men, ghosts, and devils. Life is woven in a tapestry of joy and sorrow; painted in the colors of pain, and triumph, and love. What artistry is found within the soul of every man -- some perfection, some wretched -- painted words and pictures of things glorious and of things unspeakable.

Angeline Hawkes writes with the fatalistic poetry of unstoppable history gone disturbingly wrong. -- John Everson, Bram Stoker Award winning author

Shades of Blood and Shadow represents only a taste of the hundreds of short stories penned by Bram Stoker Award nominated writer Angeline Hawkes. From ancient Mayans to the horrors at Chernobyl, she pulls you into the hearts and minds of fiendish creatures and tortured man. History offers up the wayward and the monstrous in this collection of ghoulish hues.

“Angeline Hawkes's … imagination seems to tend toward a Lovecraftian-meets-George Romero-in-a-dark-alley sensibility.” -- Robert Butterfield, Necropsy: The Review of Horror Fiction

“…Angeline Hawkes conducts an orchestra of creatures that are both bloody and sexy. You won’t forget this tour through historical horror; it’s a sumptuous smorgasbord for beasts craving variety.” --Gregory Lamberson, author of Johnny Gruesome and Personal Demons

“…every story is unique, and every story works. Angeline Hawke's writing is sharp, elegant and satisfying in the most deliciously dark way.” -- Jonathan Maberry, Bram Stoker Award winning author of Zombie CSU and Patient Zero

“Angeline Hawkes…conjures dark and dangerous experiences, satisfyingly horrorific stories seasoned with sly humor, historical epics slipstreaming into alternate realities… hellishly inspiring, fantastically inventive, a collection of dark fiction impossible to forget!” -- C. Dean Andersson, Bram Stoker Award nominated author of I Am Dracula, Raw Pain Max, and the Bloodsong Saga

------

Okay, kiddies...I'm off to make dinner (Easy Peasy Tacos) for my starving brood. I'll keep you posted on our adoption journey! Y'all have a wonderful Turkey Day!!

Good news! Daniel's paperwork is making its way through the Korean immigration system now. Barring any unexpected complications, we're looking at a probable arrival date of anywhere from 4 weeks to the end of December. The way things have been moving, we're hoping for somewhere around Thanksgiving!

Many people have asked so, since his impending arrival now seems like it's ACTUALLY GOING TO HAPPEN instead of the waiting waiting waiting, I broke down and did a gift registry at TARGET.com. I'm assuming it shows up at the actual brick and mortar stores too. I haven't registered at Amazon yet, though I will soon. Target and Amazon were the 2 places people suggested. It's been nearly 10 years since I had to scrounge up things for a baby, lol, back then baby registries were new and I never used one. At least I don't remember doing it, lol. Another thing that goes after 10 years...all the former baby gear one once possessed and whatever was left of your mind. The online registry ships automatically to our address.


Target Registry ID Registry ID: 014399700798550

It's almost Halloween....everyone needs a bit of fright on Halloween night! Shades of Blood and Shadow is just waiting to fill that void! Paperback's on Amazon. Hardback from the publisher.

And, while I'm talking with you...in our adoption news, the next stage of the game we were waiting on, is now past. We received our I-600 application approval this week and are also logged into the National Visa Center! I'm hoping for more good news this week! Now we're waiting on the Korean Emigration Permit and to be logged out of the National Visa Center.

Send those prayers and good thoughts and vibes...we're still hoping to bring Kiddo#3 home in December [earlier would be fabulous!]

In the meantime I got a gig writing non-fiction copy which is doing great things for our Legal savings account for all the things we have to write checks for once we get our little man here! Busy as can be, but very grateful for the opportunity to earn some extra money.

Okay...so we're going to get some coffee and find a birthday gift for Chris's dad...it's a chilly Fall day outside!

PS. Christopher Fulbright announced his latest acceptance on his journal : Bad Moon Books will publish Chris' novella, The Bone Tree, in 2010. Yay!

Okay all of my crazed and fabulous readers! The paperback version of Shades of Blood and Shadow is now available on Amazon! It begins shipping very soon! Fabulous illustrations by the talented Tom Moran and 13 delicious tales of terror to tickle your fancy! JUST IN TIME FOR HALLOWEEN and Samhain!  Here's the backcover copy:

The palette of history and horror mingle in the hues of crimson blood and blackest death. The ghosts of the past mourn for lives unfinished, vengeance unfulfilled, and loves lost. The heart beats in a cacophony of anticipation and fear, echoing with the memory of those that once were, once danced, once believed.

Hues of fear, of woe and dying. Shades of death, of blood and shadow. Fallen women, queens, and angels. Angry men, ghosts, and devils. Life is woven in a tapestry of joy and sorrow; painted in the colors of pain, and triumph, and love. What artistry is found within the soul of every man -- some perfection, some wretched -- painted words and pictures of things glorious and of things unspeakable.   Angeline Hawkes writes with the fatalistic poetry of unstoppable history gone disturbingly wrong. -- John Everson, Bram Stoker Award winning author

Shades of Blood and Shadow represents only a taste of the hundreds of short stories penned by Bram Stoker Award nominated writer Angeline Hawkes. From ancient Mayans to the horrors at Chernobyl, she pulls you into the hearts and minds of fiendish creatures and tortured man. History offers up the wayward and the monstrous in this collection of ghoulish hues.

And some general blurbage:

Angeline Hawkes's … imagination seems to tend toward a Lovecraftian-meets-George Romero-in-a-dark-alley sensibility. -- Robert Butterfield, Necropsy: The Review of Horror Fiction

…Angeline Hawkes conducts an orchestra of creatures that are both bloody and sexy. You won’t forget this tour through historical horror; it’s a sumptuous smorgasbord for beasts craving variety. --Gregory Lamberson, author of Johnny Gruesome and Personal Demons

…every story is unique, and every story works. Angeline Hawke's writing is sharp, elegant and satisfying in the most deliciously dark way. -- Jonathan Maberry, Bram Stoker Award winning author of Zombie CSU and Patient Zero

Angeline Hawkes…conjures dark and dangerous experiences, satisfyingly horrorific stories seasoned with sly humor, historical epics slipstreaming into alternate realities… hellishly inspiring, fantastically inventive, a collection of dark fiction impossible to forget! -- C. Dean Andersson, Bram Stoker Award nominated author of I Am Dracula, Raw Pain Max, and the Bloodsong Saga

Here's a sample story and the table of contents and list of illustration.

Other News:

We received our I-600A approval from immigration. We're now waiting on the next necessary approval, our I-600. Also waiting on Emigration Permit aka EP from the Korean end of things. The wheels are moving, slowly, but moving! This week we were surprised with 2 new photos and a medical report. We really hadn't expected any additional photos as we received 3 new ones from his first birthday well child exam...so we were THRILLED to have new photos. Getting new photos is a mixed bag. On one hand, we're elated to have a new look at his little face...heart aching to have him home...on the other hand, we're struck with the poignant reminder of how fast he's growing up without us around! It makes us want the wheels to turn even faster so we can bring him home and start the bonding process.

I got a mold for Sugar Skulls for this Halloween. I also got a mold for the Easter Sugar Eggs...but the skulls are going to be cool. The mold company left out the back of the skull, so I'm waiting for the other half to arrive. Should be fun. Making the skulls and eggs is something I've always wanted to try!

Well, that's my scoop for now.

BIG Congratulations to Christopher aka Christopher Fulbright for his honorable mention in Ellen Datlow's Best Horror of the year 2008, for his story "Mechanix" which appeared in Bound for Evil, from Dead Letter Press.

This weekend is once again time for that most fabulous of all conventions, FENCON!! Here's my panel schedule: Friday  6:00 pm  Addison Lecture Hall Love me, love my neck! Description: What is behind the Renaissance of the Vampire? From Novels, to TV & the Movies. Some said it was a fad, but it's still going...

___________________________ Saturday  12:00 noon  Trinity 1/2 Meat And Blood Description: From Zombies and Vampires, people's fascination with the taboo diet in film and print. You might think twice before bringing your lunch with you to this one...

___________________________ Saturday  2:00 pm  Gallery 2:00 pm - Description: Autographs

___________________________ Saturday  6:00 pm  Trinity 3 Zombies. Vs. Werewolves Vs. Vampires:The Cycle of Fads Description: Interest in these paranormal characters seems to wax and wane - not unlike the cycles that seem to rule the habits of these paranormal creatures. What's hot now? What's cooling off, and what's the next hot trend?

___________________________ Sunday  2:00 pm  Pecan Discussion: Adopting an International or Special Needs Child Description: Angeline Hawkes and Christopher Fulbright host a Q&A on the process, the challenges, and rewards of adoption.

I should have copies of Symphony for the Forgotten. [Waiting for them to arrive via the mail] If not, I still have some Advanced Readers Copies that will be $5. We'll also have a few copies of the out of print, Blood Coven, by myself [Angeline Hawkes] and Christopher Fulbright. Our author table will also have copies of Spicy Slipstream Stories, Frontier Cthulhu and a few other books.

I won't have trade paperback copies of Shades of Blood and Shadow yet, but hope to have those next year for ConDFW in Feb.

In writing news: I've been busy querying agents and publishers for 2 novels. I have a 3rd ready to go out too, but I may wait awhile before sending that out as the other 2 are tying up all of the available parties that would also be interested in the 3rd. I'm also soon to be back at writing another novel that's about 1/4 of the way finished.

In adoption news: We're currently waiting on a September update on our kiddo. We're still hoping he'll be home in December. The cogs of the machine move very slowly and the wait is excruciating. Chris and I will have dvds, vhs, books, bunnies and lambs for sale at our author table as part of our fundraising this weekend too!

Some days all it seems like I do is wait...writing and adoption wise. lol.

In sewing news: I listed 2 holiday ensembles on ebay for Bleuette. And don't forget the adoption fundraisers of hearts, bunnies and lambs! I've got a Bambino gown set to list and am nearly finished with a dress from a 1930s McCalls pattern also for Bambino or 10 inch baby doll equivalent.

Yesterday I broke out the Halloween decor and decorated the inside of the house. Last year I was sick and we only really had decorations up for a couple of weeks, so since we got ripped in 08, I decided to start early in 09! lol. That and the end of this month is crazy busy with school and other commitments, so now was the best time!

Kiddo#3's bedroom is now mostly done. We have to do the closet rod/shelf, but for the most part the drawers are full, the toy box is getting filled up, the bookcase is getting stocked, and we can't wait to actually have the kiddo that the room is for!

So, that's my scoop. Come out and see us in Addison this weekend!

 



Bunnies, and Hearts, and Lambs...OH MY!

They say to do what you know to raise money for your adoption expenses. I know 2 things: writing and sewing. I'm writing up a storm. AND I sewed one too...Check out my fundraising auctions!

Created from vintage/antique quilt squares, quilts, and embroidered doilies, runners and such. This is a fun way to reclaim/recycle lovely pieces that some woman spent countless hours working on in ages past! 

All proceeds go into our adoption fund to help bring our baby boy, Daniel Harding Gyeong-bin, home from South Korea!

Wow! The last week and a half has been a blur of activity what with school getting ready to start back up in one more week, writing/editing, and the news of our impending arrival! We were matched with a 14 month old boy [will be 15 mos on Monday]. Daniel Harding Gyeong-bin Fulbright will be home in 3-6 mos. It really all depends on how fast all of the paperwork gets processed by all of the various agencies involved.

My good friend since the dark ages back in high school, Pam, is coming by tomorrow to notarize all of our documents for our agency so we can get all of our ducks in a row on this end. Then it's sit back and wait until this form or that can be sent into the pipeline. Tonight we begin construction on the nursery wall. As soon as it's built, then I can paint the last mural and move all of the furniture into place, hang the valance, put together the dresser, and start putting clothes and toys away as they arrive in the mail. All of the grandmas and grandpas are on alert and a shopping blitz has begun!

We can't wait to have Daniel home!

In the meantime, I'm staying busy with all of the forms, etc that have to be filled out for the big kiddos for school. All supplies and clothes are ready and waiting. New lunchboxes await on the fridge. They are ready to go back. Kiddo#2 has already planned her "arrival" ensemble in detail. She will be The Cuteness as is expected. We're also getting ready for her upcoming 9th birthday here in a couple of weeks. All of the gifts are bought, I just need to wrap them and come up with the clues for the Birthday Treasure Hunt.

In writing, I've been editing a completed novel to send out. Sent another one out to a publisher and to an agent. After I brush up the one I'm just about done brushing up, I'll run the other completed novel through the "look over" machine, and then send it out. Then it's back to the grindstone on the new novel, as well as edits that should be coming in for a novella Christopher and I sold. More on that to come.

Sooooo, I've been keeping busy. Am hoping my tomato plants and cucumbers are going to start delivering here soon too. The jalopenos have been a bust this year. Last year they were constant producers.

Chris and I got back from the Dallas Comicon a couple of hours ago. Was packed to the gills this year! I scored a couple of Cryptkeepr figures and a Wilton spiderman head cookie/cupcake pan. Chris got some comics from his list to fill some run holes. Also a few paperbacks. No Buck Rogers figures or toys that we were looking for, however. Seemed to be less dealers, and more people this year.

Well, I'm off to work on Daniel's baby book and life book until it's time to start on the wall frame. Be sure to get your order in for SHADES OF BLOOD AND SHADOW   It's selling fast. Also will keep you posted on Inferno: Tales of Hell and Horror, also coming from Dark Regions Press. I don't know who the artist is yet, but Robert Weinberg  has written an awesome introduction for my all new horror collection.

Just heard...we have a baby boy! 14 mos old! More details to follow. We're so excited...and stunned....kids are dancing around the living room!

Just a got a copy of Shades of Blood and Shadow in today's mail. The artwork is really exquisite. The Deluxe and Limited editions ship this month. There are only 13 Deluxe versions...one of my favorite stories appears in the deluxe...wish it was in all of the versions! "Darling Clementine" is a twist on the old folk song with quite a different interpretation of the events that unfolded in those rocky mines. All of the versions have "The Woeful Tale of Fiona MacLean" -- a haunting tale of a rather sexy ghost. And, another favorite, "Incident Beside the Striped Tent: What the Fruit Seller Saw" -- a delicious little tale about a not so very nice demon. I'm absolutely thrilled by Tom Moran's spectacular illustrations. The cover art is from the story, "The Highwayman of Epping Forest"...creepy little ghoul, ain't he?

In other news, sent off my novel, Blood Alone, and am fine-tuning another, The Pestilence, to go out this week. After that, I'm getting Comes the Dark Horse into ship-shape condition and sending it out too. Then I start back at work on my latest horror novel which is a collaboration with a well-known author (not Christopher this time :) ) I've been very neglectful at sending the novels out to publishers...I like the writing part. lol. It's the submission part that I find exhausting! Christopher has our fantasy novel, The Priestesses of Banitu, it's about 10-15k words shy of being ready to be sent out as well. Got 5 other novels in various stages of completion waiting for me....busy worker bee.

In adoption news: we have a toddler we're interested in, but it's another committee deal, and there are other families interested in him.....so we have to go to the committee [or rather our file does...we wait for the phone call] and they decide which family is the correct one for the kiddo. It's a nail-biting, emotionally draining process. Naturally, we have our heart set on the little guy...but if we're not chosen we go back to waiting for a girl referral. This little one was very appealing to us, so we deviated away from our girl plan. We'll see how it goes. Keep us in our prayers. We should know something within a few weeks.

In the meantime, the summer is winding down. The kids are ready to go back to school. Clothes and supplies have been bought. New lunchboxes are waiting on top of the fridge. Christopher heads back too. And with the start of school, the new writing will begin for me. Christopher and I also have a new major publishing announcement that we're waiting to share with everyone too!

Well, that's my scoop! Off to edit.

Just listed 51 lots on ebay.

Tons of nonfiction books. History. Excellent resources for writers. Ghosts. Paranormal. Antique/collectible books. Celtic. Druid. Gypsy. Tudors. Various historical periods. I'm still listing books. I ran out of boxes, so today we may go on a box hunt so I can list the rest of the pile. Most of the books are in lots of 3 or more, grouped according to time period, topic, etc.

Also listed are tons of children's clothing. Girls sizes 6-8. TONS of girls shoes sizes 2 - 2.5 youth. Boy's clothing sizes 10-16. And my Bleuette and Bambino ensembles.

Chris is listing DVDS, CDs, VHS, and more collectible/rare horror, sci fi, fantasy, etc books. Check his auctions out here. He has huge lots of thrash, metal, rare metal, christian metal, death metal....keep him bookmarked if you're looking for these types of items because he has a HUGE pile of items he's listing as we get the boxes to pack them in. Seriously, folks....like a whole room full of good stuff.

We're serious about raising funds to bring our baby home from South Korea. If you know anyone who is interested in books and the other...please feel free to share the links!

Eerie Books & Collectibles is hosting a book signing today at noon in Wylie, Texas, for Steven E Wedel and Gabrielle Faust in the first of their signings in their new Vampires vs Werewolves campaign. There will be a charity fundraiser for bats and wolves among the events. Come on out and see the writers!

Christopher aka Teh Hotness and I went to Bagwell, TX yesterday to do some research on the area for our Robert E Howard United Press Association zine. We canvased the town taking photos of this and that. We spoke to several local residents and gleaned as much information as we could. We also came away with quite a few resources and contacts, so that was excellent. I had a bad run in with a pickled hot sausage...who pickles sausage? Let's just say, I don't say, "Stop the car, I need to spit!" very often!  OMG...I didn't see the pickled part on the package. Just thought it read Hot Link Sausage...it was bad. Very bad. lol. Anyway, more on that later after the info comes out in our REHupa zine. It was a perfect day for it and a lot of fun!

Updates:

I've been busy working on this and that. My hiatus officially comes to a close on the first day of August. I have to make myself do these things or I'll work myself into an early grave. lol. We still haven't built the nursery wall. That is a priority before my writing starts up again. I need to have it finished so it's there waiting and I can worry about writing while we wait for the baby to come home. We still don't have a referral. Naturally, you and everyone's dog will know about it just as soon as we receive the referral for our baby girl. lol. I'm not exactly shy.

It's been a hot summer but with an unusual amount of rain. The garden is doing great, though the cucumbers have flipped out this year and have taken over...now if they'll just start producing cucumbers! So far we've had tomatoes and jalepenos. The strawberry plants are doing well too. We also planted 2 pear trees. They're holding their own back there in the yard.

Been doing a lot of sewing. I saw these nifty stuffed hearts and assorted stuffed animals created from vintage embroidered fabrics and quilt blocks and quil portions at an antique store and have expanded on that idea. I've been busy sewing hearts, bunnies and lambs, and also newborn baby shoes and plan to unleash them all on ebay when finished in a fundraiser called Sewing for Seona Belle Adoption Fundraiser. I have to finish all the things first. So far, I love the bunnies best....and the little baby shoes too, though they're the most complicated.

So that's my scoop really. Just been doing mom things and poking around at a few submissions. I'm lining up assignments and projects to start in on in August.

Shades of Blood and Shadow  from Dark Regions Press starts shipping in August too! 

Updates of a sort...I'm on a writing hiatus...that's not to say the inner workings of the publishing industry aren't still turning in my brief absence, lol...turned in the manuscript for Inferno, so edits will be back on that sometime this summer. Decision is still out on whether or not there will be new stories in the reprinting of The Commandments. I will, of course, write whatever Dark Regions wants. I'm easy like that. You ask, I write. It's an easy job description, lol. Shades of Blood and Shadow is posted on the Dark Regions site, but not order-able yet from the looks of the page.



I imagine that will be posted sooner than later. I have a Fourth of July book signing at Eerie Books and Collectibles in Wylie, Texas set for noon to close [ 6 pm]. Randy [the owner] has stocked copies of Symphony for the Forgotten, and anthologies - Beneath the Surface and Frontier Cthulhu. Should be a busy signing as all sorts of activities will be going on down on the Wylie square. Come in and see me!

So, new projects. As soon as the scrapbooks are finished [photo albums] and the nursery is painted, and sewn for, I'll be back to the grindstone. I really needed a hiatus. I've been writing non-stop since August of 2008. Almost every night. My brain needs a break. When the nursery is finished, I'll rest easier. I'm an avid nester. The nursery MUST be completed. For Kiddo #1 his nursery was finished 4 yrs before he was born...the cat was confused, she thought it was her room. lol.

So....Bad Moon Books has my entire Kabar series coming out in an awesome collection: Out of the Garden and Other Tales of the Barbarian Kabar of El Hazzar in 2011... Inferno: Tales of Hell and Horror will more than likely come out in 2010...so I'm covered. I have handful of anthology stories coming out as well in the meantime, and as soon as the hiatus is over, I'm sure I'll have a plethora of other story announcements. It's all silently churning....

In sewing: except for a few Bambino/Bleuette ensembles that I'm sewing while I wait in the soccer mom line at the school, the only other thing I've worked on is the first baby quilt for the nursery. Photos when finished of course.

Photo albums: .I'm up to mid-May in the photo albums now...I predict another week until finished. Then it's on to the nursery painting/mural...then the sewing...

AND I already have 3 tomatoes in the garden and 1 almost ripe jalopeno! Go garden go! The pear trees are doing fabulous as well! We had a minor front tree incident involving Teh Hotness and weed killer, but I think it will hang in there. He's been very diligent about rescuing it. He's rather the green thumb...this was a freak accident!

Adoption news:  We're waiting on copies of our home study from our social worker so we can send in our immigration form and start processing the petition to adopt a foreign orphan. Lots of waiting. I get sad from time to time. I check the baby webpage every morning when I log onto the net...always hoping to find "our baby girl"...we're on the direct call list now...so really, any time we could get a call. This is a lot more difficult than waiting while pregnant. At least then you have a focal point...this is nerve-racking. The not knowing. Once we get a referral it will be easier. We'll have something to focus on and then will just have to wait to bring her home. For now, we just have to wait and hope and pray. We know there's a baby girl out there waiting or perhaps waiting to be born...but she's ours and we pray every night for her birth parents and for her.

That's the scoop for now...school's out tomorrow!! School's out for the summer...air guitar! Woot! Mom Taxi is on vacation!!!

Auctions closing.  Dolls, doll clothes [Bleuette/Bambino], girls shoes, action figures, sewing.




My story, "The Ananias Syndrome", has been published in Sam's Dot Publishing's Cover of Darkness, May 09. It's a sci-fi/medical/end of the world kind of yarn.

I've been busy doing my annual scrapbook/photo album marathon of photos from May 08 to May 09. I'm on January now. Woot! After the albums are finished, it'll be on to painting the nursery and sewing all the nursery items. Busy! We're waiting to hear back from Korea now to verify approval of our home study. Keep praying that the right baby girl comes our way!

School is winding down and the kids have been busy with programs, etc. 5 more days!



That's the scoop for right now. The manuscript for Inferno: Tales of Hell and Horror has been turned in, and I expect to receive signature sheets for Shades of Blood and Shadow shortly.

New Ebay auctions listed here.

New interview of me by Gabrielle Faust for the Austin Literary Examiner here.

Thank you to Gabrielle for the interview opportunity. :)

In writing news: Inferno: Tales of Hell and Horror is finished and sent to Joe at Dark Regions Press.  Robert Weinberg will be writing the foreword for the collection. I'm happy with the manuscript...here's hoping Joe is too!

In adoption news: We received word that our homestudy is finished and being sent on to our agency. We hope to be declared "Official" by the end of next week. We're now gearing up for the next big payment [hence the ebay auctions and more to come...Chris will be listing books, dvds and vhs soon] to the Immigrations services for our petition to adopt a foreign orphan.

In sewing news: finished several Bleuette or Bambino ensembles. Will get them up on ebay soonish.

In other news: Teh Hotness is finished with school for the semester. Yay! I get him for the whole summer! The kids are itching to be out of school too...they still have a few weeks however.

We purchased the boxed set of Full Moon Picture's SUBSPECIES series at Texas Frightmare Weekend a couple weekends past...and we had a full week of Subspecies! I LOVE this series. However, we're at odds with the director for his offing of Radu. The poor guy got the short end of the stick in every way imaginable. I mean...he was simply a product of his parents and environment...all he wanted was LOVE! I really think the director should bring him back in Subspecies V and get Michelle to fall in love with him.  Maybe his puddle of goo around his flaming body can grow him a new head...maybe a little younger looking...who knows what the shallow broad might need to make her see that Radu truly loves and adores her! Anyway....Radu would have had me at the awesome castle and the poufy black dresses and the jewels...but women these days! There's no pleasing them! Anyway, Ted! Contact me...I've got some great ideas for a spin-off Radu novel series!

I'm gearing up for my beginning of the summer, annual, scrapbooking/photo album marathon. I save all our photos from June to June and spend a couple of weeks doing the photo albums. I found it easier to do a marathon scrapbooking feat every year then hauling all the supplies out every so often throughout the year. And, it's fun to spend time with the year's photos!

This summer the plans are: photo albums, paint baby's room, sew baby's bedding/curtains, etc, sew a few dresses for the girl child, sew fundraising sachets and misc, sew quilts, and horror dresses projects...much sewing!

That's about it. Our anniversary is on Tuesday, May 19th, so we're going out to eat tonight to celebrate. Easier than doing it on Tuesday when we'd need a baby sitter. I feel like I've been in love with Teh Hotness all of my life...I fall in love with him all over again every day. God has blessed me so much with Christopher and his love. I can't imagine my life without him. I love you, bebe!

 

So, I was at Texas Frightmare Weekend this past weekend and saw 2 girls walking around in very simple sundresses made from this awesome out of print Robert Kaufman fabric called  Horror Movie Monsters....and  Gabrielle and I got talking about a few other places that sell such dresses. So, when I got home, I did some research and about choked when I saw the prices these places are charging for just simple sundresses that you can wear under a corset or by themselves.

Soooo I promptly bought 2 patterns off ebay. The one dress is going to be the one in the lower right hand corner of the fancier dress pattern, only shorter, above the knee. I'm adapting it so it can be worn with a layer of tulle under it. The sundresses will be less expensive as they use less fabric. I think the one style with the capped sleeves would look the best under a fancy corset.

I checked on ebay and one seller is selling a similar dress to the fancy short tulle style aforementioned for $145...holy crap! Anyway...depending on the fabric I think I can keep all of them under $50.

I have some fabric coming and this summer the dresses will be my summer fundraising project. Will see how it goes. I loved doing the monster babies last summer, but they were very time consuming since they had so many steps, and the audience/market was narrower. And they had to be priced higher to recoop expenses.

I'm thinking of doing most of the ready to sell dresses in 10-12, with a few 8s and a couple 14s. The others will be special order. Looking around, I think that maybe the size 12 would be more the "average" size? What do you all think?

We received our phone call...we were not matched with the baby girl. So it's back to square 1.

The agency can't give us any details as to how or why the decision was made as there are 3 other families involved, and revealing details about the decision would reveal details about the other families.

Leaves you with a hundred questions and self-doubts, but also hopeful that god has the right baby waiting for us and that there is a reason for everything that happens even if we don't understand at the time.

We're happy the sweet angel has a family and hope she gets to come home soon.

Well, Ebay had a 15 cent list day yesterday so all the stuff [w/exception of 10 lots of 10x10 quilt blocks] got listed. This was the clean out of the sewing shelves which had to be moved from the baby room area. So, Quilt Blocks, Fat Quarters, pre-wound bobbins and the usual Bleuette ensembles listed on ebay now.

Yesterday we had our conference call which is part of the committee review that is happening on Thursday. Not sure how it went as we're not sure what they were looking for. Our home study social worker called a little while after the conference call to make sure we wanted this baby so she could give her okay on the baby to the adoption agency. She said she was calling them back when she finished with me. There are 4 families total trying for the baby. Which is better than the 11 we started out with, but still just as nail-biting as we don't know what kind of "competition" we're up against. In the end, we just want the best family for the baby. Of course, we hope it's OURS, but we know that if this little one isn't ours, there IS a baby waiting for us out there. We just have to have patience and in the meantime get everything ready for her coming.

I sold 2 Bleuette ensembles last week and with the money I bought a battery-operated, music and jungle sound playing baby swing off ebay. So far we have a crib [sans mattress], stroller, pack and play, toddler car seat [we have to wait to see how much she weighs upon arrival to determine if we need a smaller seat], and the swing on the way. My mother-in-law hit a great consignment sale and I've won 3 big lots of clothes off ebay, so I think we have clothes covered too. Waiting on shoes.

I laid out 2 crib quilts and plan to start quilting those this weekend. So, everything is coming together slowly, but surely!

In the meantime, I'm writing my little fingers off. Actually editing and rewriting still on Inferno: Tales of Hell and Horror.

Which, actually, is what I should be doing right now, so I better get back to work!

We spent the day putting in the garden, planting wildflowers and zinnias, and planting two 7-8 feet Barlett Pear trees. In the garden I put in strawberries, Jalopenos, Roma tomatoes, green onions, cilantro, and am going to start cucumbers inside before transferring them. Both Chris and I are afraid our bodies are going to freeze up at any moment! lol...

Been busy editing/rewriting on Inferno:Tales of Hell and  Horror. Coming along nicely. I should make my June deadline with no troubles. Knock on wood. Then it's on to new stories to add to the deluxe edition of my 2006 Bram Stoker nominated collection, The Commandments. So glad, TC is getting another run.

Been busy washing and folding baby clothes to put away upstairs. On the adoption front we got WONDERFUL news. We have a committee date set for Thursday, April 23. That means the committee that decides on the baby/family matches will be meeting and deciding if the baby girl we've fallen in love with becomes "ours" or one of the other 2 families [that we know about, there might be more in the hat]. If we're matched, our baby girl would most likely be home in December or January. If we aren't matched, then she goes to another family and we return to square one waiting for the right baby girl. It's going to be a very very long week. Please send prayers and good thoughts our way that this is our baby girl. We've tried very hard to stay distant and not get attached, but we've fallen in love with her little face and it will be so hard to hear we didn't get the match.

Okay...so I'm off to eat some chocolate cake and watch a movie. Here's a great old recipe orginally given to my grandmother by a very elderly Seventh Day Adventist woman in Loma Linda, Ca. This has been a family favorite for 4 generations and is simple and hearty.

Heart Throb

1 pkg frozen or 1 can [14-16 oz] corn
1-2 lbs hamburger [or whatever you have, I've used as little as 1/2 lb before]
1 14-16 oz can tomato sauce
1 large chopped onion
1- 1 lb [16 oz] pkg egg noodes [can be used with elbow macaroni, but I prefer the egg noodles]
1 3/4 cup ketchup [Heinz is our preferred]

Boil water for noodles. In a large skillet, brown onion and hamburger. While hamburger/onion browns, boil noodles.Drain excess grease. Add corn, tomato sauce and ketchup. Stir well. Allow to simmer while finishing up noodles. Drain noodles and return to large pot. Add hamburger mixture to finished noodles and mix well.

I usually serve with 2 cans of french style green beans [mixed with dried minced onions and 1 tsp bacon grease, salt & pepper] and bread [home made is best!] and butter.

This is great because there's usually enough leftovers for another meal or lunches to go...it never lasts long though...everyone loves it!

Edits/Rewrites have begun on Inferno: Tales of Hell and Horror. I wrote the table of contents, rewrote the beginning, majorly chopped the intro, and tonight will start editing the short stories. Progress is movin' along.

No baby updates right now. We're waiting to hear the final tally on how many other families will pursue the same baby girl we're interested in. Hopefully, we get that information this week.

Had a rough weekend/couple of days due to the rainy/cold...but we're in for a high 70s spell for looks like the next 4 or so days...so lookin' up!

Teh Hotness is nearly finished with his classes for the semester. He and the kids are looking forward to their summer break. Me too. Summer break = no driving. Woot!

That's my news for now...just working on the collection and various sewing/ebay projects. Busy worker bee.