Find My Website

I’ve had a few emails asking me why I haven’t been posting. Well, actually, I have been posting, but on my current blog attached to my website. To visit my current blog please go to http://maddybarone.com

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Halloween Blog Hop

Happy Halloween! Welcome to Maddy Barone’s blog. I write paranormal werewolf romance with a twist. My current series, After the Crash, takes place in the future, but this future is after World War III has destroyed technology and reduced the female population to a precious few. So when a plane from our time crashes the female passengers are both coveted commodities and precious mates to the werewolves in that world. The first book, Sleeping With the Wolf, will be released by Liquid Silver Books in the near future.

The Halloween Blog Hop runs Friday at 7am EST thru Sunday at 7pm EST. Don’t forget to join us for chat at Gem Savad’s Chat Room at these times:

 Friday 10/29 at 7pm EST
Saturday 10/30 at 3pm EST and
Sunday 10/31 at 5pm EST

Since Halloween is the time for playing dress up and handing out candy, I’ve put the two together for you here. Which of these yummy pieces of eye candy guys would you like to go to a Halloween party with?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

  

 

The Hero From my book, Taye Wolfe

 

Fireman

 

 

 

The Tracker

 

 

Teh Hawaiian Fire Dancer

 

The Barbarian Warrior

 

The Scotman

 

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Adventures In Bathing

I’m not up to doing the Thursday 13 this week. Instead here is a post about my night. Sigh.

So I haven’t washed my hair since Sunday and I decided I couldn’t bear it any more. I thought I’d have better chance of controlling the water on my finger in the tub rather than the shower. So I filled the bathtub with warm (not hot) water and set the shampoo and conditioner on the ledge and the towel close to hand. I took the metal splint thingie off, made sure the bandage completely covered the stitches and the rubber finger thingie they gave me at the clinic was over all of it, and sat in the water. Then I stuck my right hand in the air, laid back in the water, submerged my head and came back up, streaming water and hair like a mermaid, only less gracefully.

I awkwardly squirted shampoo into my palm. Well, I tried to squirt shampoo into my palm. Most of it hit the bathwater. Blast, and assorted other mild cusswords. Tried again. Lathered part of my head. Couldn’t reach the other side. Well, good enough. Went back down to rinse. My hair is down past my waist and the water was just up past my waist, so about 8 inches of hair was floating in the now slightly scummy water. ick. Quick, use conditioner. W/out conditioner there’s no way I’m getting a comb through this mess. Now the water is even more scummy, and I can tell I didn’t get the conditioner rinsed out very well.

By this time my finger is hurting a bit. Did you know that when you curl some fingers they all want to curl? Yeah. More cursing, less mild now. Well, conditioner left in the hair wouldn’t hurt anything. And that bottom eight inches floating in the scum? Well, I’m doing my best, so hush.

I looked around for the soap so I could try to wash my body (at least the parts of it I could reach). The soap was way up there, where I can reach it when showering. $h*t! Fudge! Well, my body got wet. That’s something, right? I scrambled out of the tub, spraying scummy water everywhere. The cats looked at me like I was a monster emerging from Tokyo Bay, and scuttled out of the bathroom as fast as they could go. I tried to wrap my hair up in a towel using only one hand. Boy, is that a trick. Once I had it precariously wrapped in a towel/turban I pulled my nightgown over my head. Unfortunately, that dragged the towel down, and it was trapped under my nightie at the top of my back. While trying to wrestle the sodden (not sodding, although, that word is … Never mind) thing loose, I caught sight of myself in the mirror. I was appalled at my likeness to Quasimodo.I hurried to yank the towel free. Washing my hair was supposed to make me feel better about my appearance. With my arms up I also noticed that my armpits are growing a rain forest. Oy!

I tried to comb my hair. Really. Then I tried to braid it. Can you say Ouch? And other less polite four letter words. Repeatedly. At top volume. I put the finger brace back on and tried again to braid it. The velcro on the finger brace now has a nice collection of three foot long strands of hair. I have a loose, uneven braid of snarls, a sopping wet bathroom, three terrfied cats and a finger that hurts like a b*tch.

Tomorrow I’ll try the shower. It’s GOTTA be easier.

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Three Stitches Later…

Monday was the first official day of my long-awaited vacation! Friday was just an extra day off for my birthday. So yesterday I woke up late, made coffee, knitted while listening to Il Divo. It was lovely. The cats were well behaved, taking turns sitting in my lap while I maneuvered the cardigan in progress around them. Then I got dressed and cleaned the bathroom thoroughly and did laundry. About 1:30 I began reading all my correspondence and replied to those i needed to. It was good to get that taken care of. After all that, I opened my long neglected WiP (book 2 of the After the Crash series) and re-read and began doing some editing as i went along. After  I finished reading I got up to make supper and while I did that I plotted the next chapter. Home made chili is a favorite for cold evenings. Too bad we’re having a warm spell right now. 🙂 But it was tasty. After eating I began to bag up the garbage to take out. I still needed to clean up spills on the stove, unload the dishwasher and load up the supper dishes. I hoped to have an hour to write before Dancing With the Stars came on. I forgot or maybe just didn’t notice that the empty kidney bean can in the garbage had a sharp lid.

O. M. G.

At first I didn’t feel anything. I noticed a dark stream of some liquid running down my arm. I was surprised to see the blood splatter on the white garbage bag and the kitchen floor. I followed the red path to my right forefinger, which was belching out an amazing amount of blood. And then the pain hit. All thought of my characters and their soon-to-occur separation fled from my mind. I grabbed paper towel to try to stop the bleeding. No go. Maybe  I should go to the clinic?  I called several friends, but none was available to drive me to the clinic. I grabbed the whole roll of paper towels, threw on a sweater and hustled out the door.

In retrospect, the choice of the white cardigan may not have been the best…

The flu season hasn’t really started yet so the walk in clinic was nearly empty.  I got three stitches, a honking big tube of antibiotic cream, a finger brace and I would have gotten a tetnus shot if I hadn’t had one just a year and half ago. I got home to an apartment of dried blood, scattered trash, and a kitchen full of the debris of chili making. The cats got one whiff of the hospital stench that clung to me and hissed. Boy, did I feel loved.

What were my plans for my vacation? Knitting, sewing and writing. How many of those activities require the use of the right forefinger? Hm. Let me think. Happy vacation to me. Actually, I can knit, very slowly, but my tension is flooey. And I can type, but it too is slow, and I have tons of typos. And it hurts. The handsewing? Well, not so much.  I guess that means I have to read for my own entertainment. I can do that with my injured hand raised like a kid in school who has a question.

I had no idea how much I use my forefinger.  Try brushing your teeth with your non-dominant hand. Comb your hair? Trim your finger nails? Open a can. Brush your cat. Shift gears in your car. Write a rent check. Use your phone. Stir pancake batter and make pancakes. Sweep the floor?

Sigh. I will still try to write, but I’m adjusting my goals to take rest breaks into account. It could have been worse. The slice is across the top of the finger, and the was no tendon damage. I just have a perfect excuse to not sweep my floor or do any more housework. Right?

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Vacation!!

I work for Medicare. I don’t hate my job, but a vacation is a wonderful thing. I have been looking forward to this for months! I don’t go back until Tuesday October 5. What am I going to do on my vacation? Well…

I’m going to clean. A little each day for at  least 5 days of the vacation. And start climbing the mountain of dirty clothes.

I’m taking my mom on a drive so we can admire the fall leaves.

Spend most of Saturday with SCA friends who are in town for Knight’s School.

I’m going to knit: finish my my brother’s hat, finish my handspun cardigan, cast on my mom’s faroese shawl, cast on a pair of socks for me.

I want to cut out and sew a nice Italian Ren gown, nice but not  court-gown-fancy

I’m going to read. Sleep late. Drink coffee. Hang out online with the Romance Divas and catch up on all the posts.

I need to write approx 12,000 words to finish my wip, so: Write an average of 1500 words a day so I can FINISH writing The Wolf’s Glory.

Go to Minneapolis to visit my brother where we’ll go to the Farmer’s Market and catch a Twins game, and visit friends. And sleep late, drink coffee and play online.

Is it too much? I kinda think I’m trying to squeeze too much into my days.  Mybe  ishould settle for a little cleaning, a little knitting and a lot of writing. I’ll report back in a few days and say how it’s going.

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The Spurned Viscountess by Shelley Munro

Geez, Carina Press is becoming a fave of mine. Here’s the second book out from them today that I can’t wait to read!

Cursed with the sight and rumors of witchcraft, Rosalind’s only chance at an ordinary life is marriage to Lucien, Viscount Hastings. She doesn’t expect love, only security and children of her own. Determined to go through with the wedding, she allows nothing she encounters at the gloomy Castle St. Clare to dissuade her.

Recently returned from the Continent, Lucien has no time for the English mouse his family has arranged for him to marry—not when he’s plotting to avenge the murder of his beloved Francesca. He has no intention of bedding Rosalind, not even to sire an heir.

Though spurned by her bridegroom, Rosalind turns to him for protection when she is plagued by a series of mysterious accidents and haunted by terrifying visions. Forced to keep Rosalind close—and tempted into passionate kisses—Lucien soon finds himself in grave danger of falling in love with his own wife…

Purchase The Spurned Viscountess

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What I’ve Made This Year

I’m a person who likes to make things. Maybe it’s part of being a writer, but I like to create. I knit. I make costumes. I sew. I spin. I weave. So for this week’s Thursday 13, I wanted to share with you the things I’ve made this year.

1. Some yarn my knitting group hand dyed.

2. A 1920s style cloche hat that I knitted and then felted. 

3. A 16th Century silk taffeta kirtle. An over gown of navy blue trimmed with black velvet will be worn over this. See the example on the right.

4. A knitted shawl, working woman’s faroese style

5. A case for my laptop – still need to clip the strap on.

6. A hank of lace weight silk and wool that I hand spun. Might be a scarf for mom.

7. Another knitted cloche-style hat. Can you tell I like vintage?

8.  ANOTHER cloche-style hat that I designed myself. Pattern is free at Ravelry.

9. A crocheted hair net for the gown I sewed below. Pattern also on Ravelry.

10.  Shot silk gown from 1540 Florence. I based it on this gown.

11.  A small shawl to keep me cozy at work.

12. A workingwoman’s linen jacket from late 16th century Netherlands.

13.  Plain garter rib socks for my adopted niece

You realize a good bit of this was made before I began to be serious about my writing. Only a few things were made after I decided to try to be published.  And my 14th thing I made is my story Sleeping With the Wolf.

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Hacker Scammer Scum

Earlier this week my email was hacked and hijacked. My contact list was sent an email saying that I had been mugged at gunpoint in London and needed money right now to get back home. This hacker then got into my Facebook account and tried to chat with my friends asking for money. I’m incredibly angry about this, especially since my contact list was deleted, and all my saved emails were deleted too, including one I received from my little sister the morning of the day she was killed in a car accident. I’ve been saving that for a while, pulling it up now and then to re-read our plans for the following weekend. Now it’s gone, and it’s almost like having her be taken away all over again.

Here is the email sent from my account:
Hi,

How you doing? I made a trip to London (United Kingdom) unannounced some days back,Unfortunately i got mugged at gun point last night! All cash,Credit card and phone were stolen,i got messed up in another country, stranded in London, fortunately passport was back in our hotel room. It was a bitter experience and i was hurt on my right hand, but would be fine. I am sending you this message because i don’t want anyone to panic,i want you to keep it that way for now.

My return flight leaves in a few hours but I’m having troubles sorting out the hotel bills, wondering if you could loan me some money to sort out the hotel bills and also take a cab to the airport about ($1,800). I have been to the police and embassy here,but they aren’t helping issues,I have limited means of getting out of here,i have canceled my credit cards already and made a police report, I won’t get a new credit card number till I get back home! So I really need your help.You can contact the hotel management through this telephone number +44 702 404 6640 or +44 702 408 6898,you could wire whatever you can spare to my name and location via Western union:

Name: BLACKED OUT FOR SECURITY
Location:57 Liberty Avenue,London
United Kingdom
SW19 2QS .

Get back to me with the details,would def refund your money once i get back you can count on that,below are the details needed for me to pick up the money with my passport.

MTCN:
Amount Sent:

I await your prompt response.
* * * * * * *
So here are 13 Things I’d Like To Say to the Person who hacked my accounts:

1. Learn to write proper English. If you’re pretending to be me, you should know I’m a native born writer of English, and I know how to punctuate.

2. Did you enjoy the chatty emails I sent to the account you switched to be my primary email? I assume you did, since you replied with a taunt about how 4 of my friends had already sent you 7000 usd.

3. You are a liar. None of my friends have that kind of money, and the ones who care enough about me to be willing to send money know I’m not in London.

4. I have a pair of shoes and I’m not afraid to use them. If you are ever caught I will spend every cent I have for the opportunity to kick you in the balls. The spikes on the toes will create a very satisfying experience. For me.

5. You are pitiful and not as smart as you think you are. Americans don’t use “7000 usd”. I’m laughing myself silly at your stupidity.

6. How much money are you actually making doing this? You’ve been in business with this same scam since at least 2009, and probably earlier. I assume it’s been at least somewhat successful or you would have stopped by now. That means you have committed international theft. The punishment is higher for that.

7. You are a thief. I’ve tracked you to Africa. I’ve heard in some places in Africa theives have their hands chopped off. I approve.

8. My surviving sister is a witch. She has cursed you and asked our deceased sister to haunt you. She could be a real bitch in life and I bet you’re going to have a lovely time with her now that she’s dead and has a grudge against you.

9. You told someone your name is Tunde and you want the money to go to college. What a load of crap. You probably think you’re too smart for college. Again, what a load of crap.

10. I believe in justice. Revenge is good too. I’ll settle for laughing at you while you burn in hell.

11. You are building up a ton of bad karma for yourself. Do you get a kick out of imagining people like me scrambling to get their online lives back together? Do you chuckle at the frustration and heart ache you cause? Watch out. You know what they say about payback. And karma always has the last word.

12. You are a coward without the balls to face your victims. Robbing people through the anonymity of the internet takes no courage.

13. I hate you and I hope someday to be able to dance on your grave. Rot, you scamming hijacking hacker scum.

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Manicure?

I am going to be 49 next month and I’ve never had a manicure. I guess I’m not what you’d call a girlie-girl. And I’m pretty rough on my hands. I spend hours a day typing both at my job and at home writing stories. I knit. I wash raw fleece, I felt wool using hot water. I spin wool and silk. I (attempt to) hit people with a sword. I play with my cats. I always mean to put lotion on, but I don’t. So my hands are a wreck. My nails are never quite the same length, and at least one is always broken off.

But one of the gals in my knitting group owns a few nail salons and other gals are coming to the meetings with beautiful nails. So I screwed up my courage (isn’t it ridiculous to be afraid of letting someone see how awful your hands are?) and made an appointment.

Well… what can I say about my manicure?

I loved it! $20.00 well spent. Loved the hand massage and the lotion and the feel of being pampered. Definitely going again.

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Kiss of the Rose by Kate Pearce

Today is a double shot of promos for great paranormal romance novels that came out today. I read Kate’s book a bit early (since I found it at Walmart way before the official release date) and I can testify that it great, especially if you love history like I do.

First in a sexy new series that takes a bite out of the court of King Henry VIII

Desperate to defeat King Richard III and gain the English crown, Henry Tudor made a pact with the Druids that bound him and his heirs to the Druid’s deadly struggle against the Vampires. Ever since, the Llewellyns, an ancient Vampire slaying family, have been in the permanent employ of the monarchy.

Now Henry VIII is on the throne, and his father’s bargain has almost been forgotten. Until corpses drained of blood start turning up in the most inappropriate of places, including the king’s bedchamber. But are these people the victims of the Vampires-or of the Druids?

To save the king from a nameless assassin, Rosalind Llewellyn, Vampire hunter extraordinaire, must form an uneasy alliance with a known Druid slayer. Sir Christopher Ellis hails from a family that has protected the Vampires for centuries, yet Rosalind has no choice but to rely on his help. And with her life threatened and her loyalty tested, Rosalind may even have to acknowledge the unthinkable. This sworn enemy may be her soul mate.

Click here to purchase. For more information on the author, visit her website or blog.

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