Saturday, October 24, 2009

Mark this date in your calendar!

This Friday, October 30th I will be at Savannah Chase's 3 Annual Halloween Bash!

It's an all day event but I won't be there until early evening.
(after I get the savages fed. Yes, I do cook occasionally.)

Join the group now, that way when Friday arrives you don't miss out on anything!



I love this video invitation a friend of Savannah's created. I reminds me of the beginning of the scooby-doo cartoons.

See you there!

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

English 102

The time has come again for a grammar lesson... (aka my biggest mistake on my latest book edits)

The Comma Splice

A comma splice is the use of a comma to join (splice) two independent clauses, where the clauses are not connected by a coordinating conjunction such as "and".

She gripped his wrist in an attempt to pull his hand away, the feelings were too raw, too intense

There are a few ways to correct it. Simply removing the comma is the wrong way! ;) There are a couple correct options.

Change the comma to another punctuation mark:
She gripped his wrist in an attempt to pull his hand away; the feelings were too raw, too intense.
She gripped his wrist in an attempt to pull his hand away - the feelings were too raw, too intense.

Write the two clauses as two separate sentences:
She gripped his wrist in an attempt to pull his hand away. The feelings were too raw, too intense.

Insert a coordinating conjunction following the comma:
She gripped his wrist in an attempt to pull his hand away, but the feelings were too raw, too intense.
She gripped his wrist in an attempt to pull his hand away, because the feelings were too raw, too intense.


Make one clause dependent on the other:

Because the feelings were too raw, too intense, she gripped his wrist in an attempt to pull his hand away.

As the feelings were too raw, too intense, she pulled away.

Use a semicolon or dash and a conjunctive adverb:

Apparently, there are times when a comma splice isn't an error. (They couldn't make it easy, could they?) Clock HERE or HERE for the difference.

As for my publisher, they don't like them. So, I'm simply going to get rid of them all and not argue the point. Much easier that way, and I can concentrate on my other mistakes.

(edited to add)

I almost forgot about this one! How do kids learn these days with out School House Rock on Saturday mornings? Since I'm working on comma splices, this is a good time to brush up on my conjunctions....

Friday, October 16, 2009

Hanging out with Raina

I'm hanging out at Raina James' Blog today, talking about my favourtie time of year!

Come on over and say HI

Friday, October 9, 2009

Contest News

I'm involved in a super fun contest for the month of October with some AMAZING authors. Participation is very easy! All you have to do it visit each of the author websites listed below. Somewhere on their website or blog, you'll find this hidden symbol:


(Note: The image on this page doesn't count.)

Keep a list of where you found them, and in one (1) email send your answers to corinnedavies @ rocketmail.com. Be certain to type Halloween Trick or Treat in the subject box.

The contest is open from 12:01 am on October 1st to 11:59 pm on October 31st, 2009. Entries with all the correct answers will be entered into a drawing. One (1) prize will be awarded per winner.

The names of the winners will be listed on the site of all participating authors. Each winner will be contacted by the individual author of the given prize.

Participating authors & prizes:

Marissa Alwin
~A print copy of Sapphire Sizzle
Mechele Armstrong
~A $10 Loose Id Gift Certificate
Phyllis Campbell
~A copy of Spanish Eyes
Savannah Chase
~An author goodie promo bag and a bath set
Kris Cook
~An autographed copy of Strip Search by Shayla Black
Corinne Davies
~Edible Lust Caramel Massage Oil and candle
Raina James
~A download of Sinful and a $5 Amazon gift card
Melissa Lopez
~A print copy of True Blue Love
Mary Martinez
~An electronic version of Chick Magnet
Jane Leopold Quinn
~PDF download of one of her books, winner's choice
Tonya Ramagos
~An ebook copy of Convince Me
Regan Taylor
~A personalized New Year's tarot reading

Good Luck!

Friday, October 2, 2009

It's almost that time of year again!

We are 29 days away from the start of National Novel Writing Month, otherwise known as NaNoWriMo. If you have never attempted this, I throw the gauntlet at your feet.

The challenge is to write 50,000 words in 30 days. Sound easy? Sound impossible? It's both. ;-) What I can tell you is when you get to the 31st and you have accomplished what you set out to do. There is no feeling like it. As soon as the clock ticks into Nov 1st you will start waiting anxiously for next year.

I'll be there.

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