Karma? Magic? Mother's Day and an Update

The universe is being good to me! After posting Need to Read, two wonderful things happened. The first, I got a comment from Erica saying she'd send me a book as a RAK (Random Act of Kindness). Isn't she an angel? I look forward to receiving the mystery (referring to the unknown, not the genre) fantasy book

The second thing to happen was a package magically appearing on my doorstep (well, it said FedEx, but no one could be seen when I answered the door, and it was completely unexpected). The label gave no clue as to its origins. I brought it inside and painstakingly peeled open the flap. The only thing in the envelope was ... an AC* of The Specialists: Model Spy, by Shannon Greenland. I should crave books more often! I had to think long and hard to figure out why I might have been sent the book. The only conclusion I came to (with the help that the book is YA) was the monthly contest I entered at TeensReadToo. They must have drawn my name. =) Very rare for me to win something. I started reading the book, and I love it. Great voice, very teenage angst like. I'm five chapters into it already. Seeing as there are only fourteen chapters, I figure it will be a quick, enjoyable read. Adults can read Young Adult books too. ;-)

You can read my most recent fantasy newsletter on the difference between Inns and Taverns at Associated Content. I do a monthly fantasy newsletter on Writing.com, and usually post it somewhere on the web afterward for more public viewing.

I'm not going to post the numbers for the Tuesday Tally, as they are exactly the same as last week... I've done some reading through it, a little bit of editing, notes where I want to do major editing, but haven't written anything new on Emergence. I did work on Mirror some more. My goal for this week is to finish writing Mirror. Once that's done and polished, I'll delve back into seriously working on my novel.

Friday we bought a Wii; they are finally staying on shelves long enough for us to see one! It is now my husband's favorite console. We already have the XBox 360 and the PS3. We only have one Wii game (in addition to Wii Sports which came with the console) - Zelda. The next one we'll be getting is Mario Party 8, which comes out in two weeks.

Mother's Day was wonderful. My sister-in-law had her baby, my husband gave me a new CD - Celtic Lounge II, and I didn't have to worry about meals. After putting our son to bed, we watched a couple movies on Netflix (love their Play Now feature). Not as comfortable sitting in our computer chairs as cuddling on the LoveSac, but very convenient when we don't have any movies.

*AC = Advance Copy. Proofs version of the book, sent to authors for last minute review and to reviewers for, well, advanced reviewing. Though my copy was printed before the first edition, the book is already on the shelves (as of May 10), so you can go buy it!