"Purrfect Voyage" Review

http://www.romancing-the-book.com/2011/04/review-purrfect-voyage-by-ruth-j.html

Sweet Romance - Guest Post

http://kayspringsteen.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/spring-clean-reading-part-3/

Guest Blog on the Book Boost

If you love cats as much as I do, you'll like this post. Meow!


http://tinyurl.com/4ub25yn

Sale at Smashwords for "Purrfect Voyage"!

http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/44137

Use Code RAE25 for discount! This week only:

"Flossophy of Grace" Available in Print!

http://www.lulu.com/product/paperback/flossophy-of-grace/14734664?productTrackingContext=search_results/search_shelf/center/2

Free Read - "Why Does My Cat Lick My Eyebrow?" - Short Story

“Why Does My Cat Lick My Eyebrow?”

By

Ruth J. Hartman

 

I’m guessing most people don’t carry on conversations with their cats. I’m not most people. I wanted to know more about Maxwell. I felt, as his owner, I deserved at least that. I clean his litter box every day, after all. So I requested a mock interview with him. He didn’t like it much, but he doesn’t possess opposable thumbs, and must rely on me to get his kitty treats out of the cabinet.

“Sure,” said Maxwell. “But keep it short. I’ve got to do my toes in twenty minutes.”

I assured him I had just a few pertinent questions in mind. “First of all, “what does that mean, ‘do my toes’?”

“If you have to ask, you haven’t been paying enough attention to me. But why am I not surprised?” Maxwell glared at me.

I stared back.

“Oh, all right,” he said. “It’s like this.”

He demonstrated by curling back his lips and gnawing the tangled fur between his toes until every hair was parallel to his claws.

I was fascinated. “Wow. Okay, next question. Why do you lick my eyebrow?”

“Marking.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m marking you as belonging to me. You are my person. I own you.”

“I see,” I said. “But it tickles.”

“Not my problem.”

“Okay, then, moving on. Why does it seem like a good time to, um, lick your private parts in front of a room full of people?”

“Is this a problem for you? From my point of view, your people are invading my kitty space. I live here. They don’t. Case closed.”

“Gotcha.”

“Next?”

“When you purr,” I said, “why do you sound like an outboard motor?”

“Ambience.”

I nodded. “Of course. Makes sense, I guess. Who doesn’t like ambience? And why does it seem as if you decide to jump on my lap at the exact moment I’m planning to get up?”

Maxwell stared at me. “Because you’re wearing a catnip sweater and I can’t get enough of you. I literally cannot pull myself away.”

“But I’m not wearing—”

“Oh, don’t be silly! I know you’re not actually covered in ‘nip’, but in my very fertile imagination. You’re reeking of it.”

“I had no idea.”

“Of course not. That’s the beauty of the way I stare at you. You’re never really sure what I’m thinking.”

I shivered. “But I’m always frightened.”

“As well you should be. Anything else? I’m kind of down to the wire for my toe thing.”

“Oh, sorry. Just one more.”

Maxwell sighed. “Make it snappy.”

“Sometimes when I rub your back, you flip your tail up and down. Is that a good thing or bad?”

“Gas.”

My mouth fell open. “What?”

“Gas. Flatulence. The aroma that keeps on giving.”

“I see.”

“Now,” he said, “if there’s nothing else, I feel an eighteen-hour nap coming on.”

“Oh, yeah, about that….”

The glare he gave me needed no explanation.

Who Knew Dentists Were Such Good Kissers?

Trixie here, hope all my readers are doing okay! When you read "Pillow Talk", you'll see what I mean about dentists and kissing. Dr. Graham Keebler is...amazing, stupendous, perfect. And I'm really not exaggerating. Really! I've never been in love before, and people always say you'll just know. They were right. When you know, you know. There's no doubt Graham's the one for me. Now just to figure out how all the tooth fairy stuff fits in. I know, I said it would never work, and I still don't see how it will. But, it's Mr. Amazing we're talking about here. It has to work. It just has to!!! If any of you have any ideas for me, leave a comment and Ruth will get them to me.

Thanks!

Trixie

Cats!!!

Read this interview and leave a comment or question for a chance to win a copy of  "Pillow Talk". Also, read about my love for all things CAT!


http://www.shelleymunro.com/blog/2010/09/28/here-kitty-kitty%e2%80%a6-with-ruth-hartman/

Pillow Talk Blog Tour Day Two

Leave a comment at Write for a Reader for a chance to win "Pillow Talk"

http://writeforareader.blogspot.com/2010/09/because-of-book-with-ruth-hartman.html

Fun Prizes!!

http://turquoisemorningpressblog.blogspot.com/2010/08/giveaway-prizes.html


Turquoise Morning Press is giving away some great prizes. Click on the link above to see.

Turquoise Morning Press

Yesterday, I signed a contract with Turquoise Morning Press for my newest romance novel, "Cat-Fish." This is the same novel that I was previously 11,000 words into when my computer crashed. It's a fun story, and yes, there's a cat in it. And fish. Hence the name.

My book won't be ready for a few months, but you can check out this wonderful new publisher here:

http://www.turquoisemorningpress.com/

I'm very much looking forward to working with them!

An Unexpected Yay!

After receiving some of my short stories back from various kind publishers to whom I had submitted after the horrendous computer crash, I turned around and sent one of them out again. I did it mostly to prod myself back into the wide, wonderful world of publishers. Lately, I've been writing romance novels, which, of course, take longer to write. This means I'm still submitting to publishers, only not nearly as often. I didn't want to forget how! Of course, I hoped they'd like my story, (I mean, as a writer, why wouldn't you want that?) but wasn't sure if they'd accept it for publication.

I sent my story, "(I'd like) to Kill a Mockingbird" to a wonderful new publisher, Deep South Magazine. I'd learned of them through a fantastic newsletter I subscribe to called, Funds For Writers. Within a couple of days, I heard back. In the affirmative! Yay!  (You knew that yay would show itself eventually, didn't you?) So I'm pleased to say my short story should be out sometime this month. I'll post the link when it's official. Yay! Sorry...that one sort of slipped out :)

11,000 and Counting...

To recap, my former computer died a slow, violent death. In its demise, it took with it most of my written work to date. It took me quite a while to get over that. I'd see a publisher's guidelines and I'd think "Great! I've got just the short story to submit to them!" Then the ugly truth would knock me in the head. Nope. Not gonna happen. Your stories are no more.

Thankfully, with the help of wonderful, caring publishers, I was able to recoup some of my work. Two novels were e-mailed back to me so I could have them for my records. And a few short stories have also trickled back. To all of you who took the time to do that for me, I'm very grateful.

But the one that really got to me, stuck in my craw, shall we say, was my current work in progress. I was 11,000 words into the novel when my computer came down with an incurable virus. I'd kept written notes for my work, but most of that was just in idea form, jotted down in a hurry. If I was lucky, sometimes I could even read my own chicken-scratch.

But, as of last evening, I am once again over 11,000 words! The story has many of the same elements, but has changed somewhat. Some parts I remembered word for word, while others were just a cloudy concept stuck somewhere in my brain. I'm very happy to say, I like the story that's emerging even better than the previous one. A blessing in disguise? Yes, I believe it is.

Searching for Hummy

Our resident hummingbird, or "Hummy" as we've named him, hasn't made an appearance yet. I've had two feeders out for over a month. I've changed the water mixture at least four times. Where is he? We keep watch. Staring out our windows. At times, we thought we'd had a Hummy sighting.

"Was that him? Something just zipped by the window," said my husband.

 I watched for a minute and saw the impostor. "Nope, just an angry dragon fly."

Two days ago, I went out and bought a red geranium to replace to purple one, hoping to further entice our no-show friend. I also invested in a brand new hummingbird feeder. What does this bird want, food served on a tiny silver platter the size of a nickel?

That's what happens with my writing sometimes. I do everything right. I work on my story when I have a couple of hours. I work on it when I only have a few minutes. I change my scenery, like maybe taking a walk, hoping that will stir up something in my imagination. But sometimes, that's not enough. Oh, I can still write, but it may not be the heart-stirring, funny-bone tickling, sigh-provoking words I'm looking for.

Maybe it's just like looking for Hummy. We can do all the work, all the right things, and yet, nothing happens when we want it to. As far as hummingbirds and writing inspiration go, sometimes, all we can do is...wait.

Author Interview at Whispers of the Muse

http://www.whispersofthemuse.org/AuthorSpotlight/SpotlightFrame.html

Have You Seen My Dunce-Cap?

Ah, here it is. I'm placing it on my pointed head where it belongs. You see, I am a dunce. Why, you ask? Because I seem to have lost all of my written work from my last, may-it-rest-in-peace computer. All my own fault. Not the computer dying, just the losing of my stuff. Of course, if I'd been a non-dunce, like the rest of the PC-literate world, I would have saved my stories on a memory stick. Oh, I had saved one of them. I'd started out with good intentions and all, but got lazy. And well, duncey. I hadn't bothered to save the rest. So when my PC took a dive, I was not prepared. I learned an expensive, irritating lesson: If you don't save your stories, you may end up one day rewriting them. And on top of that, you have to wear the ugly dunce cap! And believe me, it's not very fashionable.

Icy Guest Post

Click below to read my guest post at Icy Snow Blackstone:

http://icysnowblackstone.com/

Mini Interview

http://donutsdesires.blogspot.com/2010/04/quick-six-interview-with-ruth-j-hartman.html

Switching Writing Gears

I finished my latest romance novel about a tooth fairy falling in love with her dentist. Sent it to a publisher. The waiting part is hard, but to use my time wisely, I've started writing a new romance novel. I'm over 4,000 words in. This one is about a chance meeting on a small yacht. The man and the woman's cat have the same name. So far, writing about the confusion that ensues has been fun. But I find myself sliding back into my last story. Sometimes my characters' names, situations and personality quirks run together in my mind. But that just makes me work all the harder on the present story, and it doesn't make it any less enjoyable to write, that's for sure!

Writers, have any of you ever had similar problems? I'd enjoy hearing your comments.

Must Love Cats

The new anthology, Must Love Cats is now published at Midnight Showcase Fiction. My story, "Purr" is one of four in the book. It can be found here:

http://www.lulu.com/content/7763897

More info to come...