A new contract - it's been awhile

Life moves at a pace we have little control over. Oh, we think we do. We make plans and we scurry about, but in the end, it all unfolds much as the universe pleases. I've come too far in life to believe I'm in the driver's seat. There are times you just know everything has come together as it was meant to and your actions were all part of a bigger plan. 

I'm very pleased to announce that I've signed a contract with Whiskey Creek Press Torrid to publish One Summer. I don't know the release date yet, but I'll pass that along as soon as it becomes available. 

It feels pretty good to get moving in this direction again. Being older and wiser, I'm more relaxed and certainly more capable. I think that's a good mix. Heck, I might even have to resurrect my Twitter account! 

Rayne

website: http://www.rayneforrest.com

Website fun, snowblowing, and a little success

It's been a snowy winter at my little house in the woods. My beloved has kept track, and we've had a total of sixty-five (65) inches this season. That is far and above what is normal for us. Our usual total is maybe twenty, if we're lucky. Worse is that we've had the cold temperatures to keep what snow is on the ground from melting.

Is it all bad? No, of course not. The winter weather compelled us to finally break down and get a generator, which we will need, sooner or later. It also brought us a snowblower, albeit a used one. Being previously owned hardly matters because it runs good, and did the job during the last two major snows. Without it, we'd still be snowed in.

Does all this lead you to believe I've been writing? Yes! I have been writing. This is a good thing. I just wish I had more time to practice my craft, but real life intrudes. With my honey able to do less and less, more and more falls to me. Like going out in the cold and wind and using the snowblower. Sitting at my desk in my cozy, warm office would have been a lot more fun. I probably would not have come down with a cold, either. But I digress.

Being otherwise occupied, it's been a little while since I checked on my website. Today was the day I set aside to check on it, the mailing list, the blog, etc. So, here's my question. How can a website suddenly lose content? All it does is sit there on a webhosting server and look pretty.

Seriously. I clicked through the pages and found text missing. I opened my local software and the text was there. This makes me suspicious. I re-published the site, and all looks well, but that doesn't explain how it could happen. I intend to ask around and see if anyone else has had that problem, or if they've all dumped their paid webhosting in favor of free blogs. That is a thought worthy of consideration.

Now for a pat on the back - for me! Late last year I decided I needed to concentrate on my health. I'm not a sprout anymore, but a mature flower. Blessed with good health, I've not had a serious illness in my life - and I want to keep it that way.

To that end, I've made a conscious effort to eat better and exercise more. I'm delighted to report I've shed five percent of my total body weight. The "experts" say that's enough to stave off that metabolic disorder that leads to so many nasty issues. I'll keep going, but my program is geared toward better diet, not less food. Getting to that ten-percent mark won't happen until the weather warms up and I can get out and walk and ride my bike.

That's okay. I can't afford to constantly buy smaller clothes. Anyway, the program is working, and I'm happy with the progress I've made. And yes, I've enjoyed buying a few new (smaller) pieces of clothing.

So that's my update. Now, if I can just come up with a title, I'll get that story I just polished off.. or up...submitted.

Rayne

Rayne's Ramblings - How to cut a deal on a used tv for Christmas

Time marches on. Christmas is almost upon us again. Didn't we just do this last year? There doesn't seem to be an escape from the yearly rut. My tree is up, and my house is decorated. Several presents are wrapped and/or bagged and under the tree. (I love those gift bags!)

With the economy being what it is, my beloved and I agreed to keep our spending in check. That lasted until HE saw a 42" Vizio television with a 120 ghz refresh rate in his price range. We've been together over fifteen years and I never knew the man could grovel with such style and panache. And effectively. Yes, I caved in and agreed we could get the blasted thing, PROVIDED I got the older flat screen for in the bedroom. I even agreed to split the cost with him since it could be his Christmas present. It's amamzing that three-hundred fifty bucks can get me a used tv....

I never saw him so eager to jump in the pickup and head for town. It was almost embarrassing. The man is sixty-one, for heaven's sake. (Yes, he robbed the cradle when he met me.) It took a lot of fast talking to convince him to wait and see if they go on sale just before the big day.

He whimpers well, too.

In other happy Christmas news, the die-T is progressing quite well. The new slacks that were snug a month ago fit fine now. But I have a new worry. My rings are starting to slide around a bit on my finger. No more wearing the good stuff for everyday.

Do my fingers type faster? Oh, he$$ no. I wouldn't be that lucky.

This year, as Christmas approaches, I'll have an edit to do on an upcoming release, "A Hero's Bargain." I'm looking forward to getting this story out. It's another science-fiction piece, and I like it. The story turned out quite nicely, if I do say so myself.

And this is enough rambling for one session. Check out the books to the right. I'll probably be letting my paid website go at the first of the year, so watch for this site to be updated with more frequency.

The new frugal is a bit of a drag, isn't it?

Rayne Forrest

PS. Don't forget to join my mailing list at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/authorrayneforrest so you don't miss the announcement about the release of "A Hero's Bargain."

Rayne's Ramblings: Diet is DIE with a T

To say that 2009 has been a year of rest for me is probably understating the fact. The peaks and valleys of upheaval smoothed out, and gave me some peace. But like any good rolling stone, I haven't stopped long enough to let the moss gather.

Being an introspective sort of person, I constantly take stock of where my life is now, and where it is going. With those around me finally healthy again, this past summer was the right time for me to look at my own health. I've been making a few positive changes. Unfortunately, with free time scarce, it meant moving away from the computer, and, well, moving myself. Okay, it meant moving my ass. And my arms.

One of these days I hope to scale back the amount of hours I spend working outside the home. To do that, I've got to be firmly entrenched in an exercise routine. Yeah, yeah, you read it everywhere you go. I read it, too. But this was the year I took it to heart. And kicking, screaming, and begrudging every moment spent away from my writing, I began. And you know what? It hasn't been too bad.

Honest. I actually look forward to my walks. My upper body workout? Eeyyyyy, not so much, but I do it. Twenty minutes a day? I don't think so. I bust through the movements and I move on, but at least I'm doing them. Maybe some day I'll start to enjoy them..OR NOT..but I'm not giving up.

And diet? Well, diet is simply DIE with a T. You stop eating, you die. So that's definitely a one day at a time change, too. Some days, I do great. Other days, not so good, but it seems like I'm doing better all the time. The easiest thing has been eating at least one piece of fruit a day. As soon as I hop in my car to drive home from the day job, I munch on an apple. So far, they haven't outlawed THAT while driving.

Am I making progress? The last pair of slacks I bought were a size smaller. However, there is one drink I won't give up. Give up my coffee? I'll rip your hand off if you try to take my coffee away, but I can tolerate a fat-free creamer.

So, Rayne's rambling again. Perhaps. I look at the changes made this past year as positive steps for my writing, because they are positive steps for me. Feeling better, sleeping better (I've always been a champ at that), and eating better can only help me write better. That's my theory.

What's up next for Rayne the author? A science-fiction erotic romance entitled, A Hero's Bargain, coming early in 2010.

What's up next for Rayne the woman? Perhaps a wardrobe full of smaller-sized clothes. Wouldn't that be wonderful? It certainly would.