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Posted by Bethanne Strasser on Feb 4, 2011 in
Life I think I would like to name a character February. She would be a vicious bitch, coldhearted and icy. Oh wait, no. That's the weather. Nevermind.
While my crit partners are just getting into writing a book in three months. I would love to have joined them. I've done it before…only in less time. Seriously, with a plan, it can be done, yes?! YES! Perhaps while they write, I will plot so that in another month or so, when I'm into this new groove of mine, I can do this as well.
All it takes is determination and persistence and… some quiet time. 
Mother of FIVE smarty-pants and married to her Love for twelve years, Bethanne spends her time writing stories that always--without a doubt--end happy.
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Posted by Bethanne Strasser on Jan 13, 2011 in
Life I’m the oddball in this country filled with wifi users. I don’t have it at my home. So this morning when I wanted to update my Nook, I headed to McDs, got a soft drink and sat with my baby for about half an hour. Also bought a book, which btw is a really good reason NOT to have wifi! LOL How easy it is to click ‘buy’ when you’re sitting there with nothing better to do and the book world at your fingertips!
I did try to buy The Bourne Identity for my Nook. It was not available! And that got me to thinking. How do books ‘get’ available for epublishing? Through the B&N website I was able to click a link that somehow [or another] told the publisher that I wanted this book in eprint. So the question would be, how many clicks does it take to get a book digitalized? Do they have to go back to the original ms and put it through the magical formatting hat? Vwalah! E Ink.
No answers yet, but I will keep my eyes open and see what I can find out.
Mother of FIVE smarty-pants and married to her Love for twelve years, Bethanne spends her time writing stories that always--without a doubt--end happy.
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Tags: Books, epublished, Nook
Posted by Bethanne Strasser on Dec 26, 2010 in
Life I'm here to open the discussion on the New Year. Let's be cliche, shall we? We can talk about goals. We can moan about weight loss [or gain]. With a raised glass, we'll kiss our loved one or even a perfect stranger.
But what I really want to know is…
What is going to be different this year? Will you stretch your creative genius? Will you start something new? Come on in and comment about the one project this year that will make you grow and force you beyond what you know.
*cough* I'm going to write a middle grade novel on the side. *blush* Think fantasy plus inspiration plus old-school Trixie Belden. I have only bones of an idea, but it's been nagging me for some time.
Wish me luck!
Mother of FIVE smarty-pants and married to her Love for twelve years, Bethanne spends her time writing stories that always--without a doubt--end happy.
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Posted by Bethanne Strasser on Dec 19, 2010 in
Books,
ebooks,
ereaders,
Holidays 
They asked me to name my Nook. So, in honor of the gal who brought the Nook upon me–indirectly–I combined Darla and Nook….
DaNook.
As soon as I typed it in, I thought "That's not going to work unless I change to a professional rapper." LOL
That's the short story, here's the long.
I had a baby recently, and my awesome, wonderful group of critters bought me a Nook. Despite the [hindsight] obvious chitchat on ereaders and the 'what would you get, Penny' discussions, I was cluelessly surprised.
I downloaded all the books on my PC. I bought a couple books online…. then BAM! *cough* I dropped my Nook and it cracked right down the screen [okay it was off the the left corner], making my Nook unreadable in the bottom half. 
I freaked out. Seriously, I felt shame, guilt, sadness, disappointment. I hid my dirty little secret for a few days. [seriously, what would the girls think??]
When my hubby went up to the airport in November, I told him to take DaNook with him so he could stop at B&N and ask them about a replacement. Though it took a couple of weeks [because I hadn't registered DaNook yet], I finally got my replacement Nook. I was so worried they wouldn't take it back… but the customer service people at 1-800-The-Book were so nice, so helpful.
I don't know how this compares to Amazon's customer service… but I, for one, am glad to have the Nook.
Lessons learned…
1. buy a protective cover
2. register your Nook ASAP
New Name: Amalthea…..? Which means to sooth
Now tell me your suggestions!
Mother of FIVE smarty-pants and married to her Love for twelve years, Bethanne spends her time writing stories that always--without a doubt--end happy.
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Posted by Bethanne Strasser on Dec 16, 2010 in
Books,
Holidays,
Life 
On the EIGHTH day 'TIL Christmas my true love gave to me….
BOOKS! Wonderful, awesome eBooks. With my new Nook, my world has opened up. When I found out we were going to do a 12 Days to Christmas feature on the blog, I KNEW I'd found the perfect excuse to find a book. I visited Carina Press. Though I know we're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, I was immediately drawn to Jaci Burton's book because of it. The cover reminds me of all those snowy walks my husband and I used to take [when we were childless. 
...and lived where it snows alot!]. haha.
Jaci accepted my invitation to come here and share with us her favorite Christmas memory. Thanks Jaci! Doing so, she has also agreed to host a giveaway. For one lucky commenter, a copy of her new release, All She Wants for Christmas.
JB: My favorite Christmas memory has to be the pink aluminum Christmas tree we had when I was a child. At the time, all my friends and the rest of my family either had real trees with that fresh pine smell, or they had the "normal" type of fake trees–you know, the green kind. But no, ours was hideous pink and I'd never seen anything like it. It stood out like a giant bottle of Pepto Bismol in front of our window, and I dreamed of the day when we could afford a real pine tree, which never happened because hey, we lived in an apartment on the second floor, and no way was my dad going to drag a giant tree up all those stairs. So I had to live with the horror and embarrassment of the Pink Pepto Bismol Christmas Tree.
But over the years I grew to love that tree, because every year my mom and I would put it together, hang the lights and the ornaments, and as I got older I realized that my mom loved that hideous pink tree. Now it's a fond memory of my mother who isn't with me anymore. And wouldn't you know it–you can actually find pink aluminum Christmas trees out there–they're suddenly a popular thing. I'd like to think my mother would like that.
I'll email the lucky winner at the end of today so be sure to leave a link or your email with the comment. For all you who don't get that email, All She Wants for Christmas can be found
HERE. Thanks for stopping by Passionate Critters and HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS!
Mother of FIVE smarty-pants and married to her Love for twelve years, Bethanne spends her time writing stories that always--without a doubt--end happy.
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Tags: Christmas, Holiday eBooks, Jaci Burton, Memories, Romance
Posted by Bethanne Strasser on Dec 6, 2010 in
Holidays We have snow!
Deep in the flattened cornfields of central Illinois, there is a light dusting of the stuff that makes Christmas so special. Just days ago, the kids sat at the window and watched a northern wind bring with it SNOW. They don't recognize that the snow is entirely too dry to make snowballs, that there isn't a bloomin' hill in sight therefore sleds won't be under the tree, either.
All it takes in ten short minutes of snowfall and they are out in it, running around, smiling and jumping with excitement. The new season is officially here and with it comes SANTA CLAUS.
I too, remember growing up and the excitement of the first snow. Please come in and share with me your memories of winter. Do they include long, cool walks on a beach? Or snow-filled days of ice skating and hot cocoa?
Wishing everyone a Merry Winter Season and a Blessed Holiday.
with Love,
Penny Dune
Mother of FIVE smarty-pants and married to her Love for twelve years, Bethanne spends her time writing stories that always--without a doubt--end happy.
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Tags: Childhood, Memories, Winter
Posted by Bethanne Strasser on Nov 22, 2010 in
Challenges,
Goals,
Writing It's that time of year again…
New Year's coming and changes are inevitable. My husband is leaving for a long time. [
Oh crap. I just got a little teary-eyed.] I want to get ready for something NEW–new experiences, new emotions to deal with, new schedules… more time to myself, more time for my work. But I need to clear my desk of any current projects.
So I've come up with Pre-Goal Goals… New Year's Resolution Resolutions.
With two novellas, both rejected by two different publishers, I'm going to finish some revisions and edits first, then attend that Swingers party with them and send them both off to the other publisher… ha!
GOAL: January 31st, complete revisions and edits and submit
If I can get those submissions out the window, my new year looks good for the next big project. I've been putting off starting another single title. Gun shy, if you will. The last one I did went through agent submissions and failed, not miserably, just in the normal, this-is-life kind of way. But I do need to get off my hesitation and have another go of it.
No matter how many novellas I sell, I'll never find myself on display at B&N if I don't write a full-length, Single Title novel and submit it.
Would love to hear how you're getting ready for the New Year. Or do you sit back and wait for the new year, using the new year as a chance to clean house? Tell me everything!
Mother of FIVE smarty-pants and married to her Love for twelve years, Bethanne spends her time writing stories that always--without a doubt--end happy.
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Tags: Resolutions, revisions and edits, Romance, Writing
