New Short Story Site ~ And a new short story by yours truly!

There's a new short story site out there in web-world and everyone can submit stories. It's called Clever Fiction, run by the talented Pat Sipperly, and there's a new prompt every week. 

I participated in this week's story prompt (a key, noon, falling leaves) and my short story Unwilling Protector is up for your reading enjoyment. It's part of Sable's story. (You'll know who that is if you've read my short story Assassin's Keeper in the anthology UNLOCKED. If you haven't, pop by the UNLOCKED website and download the anthology for free.)

There are other stories there as well, in a variety of genres by a variety of authors. You can leave comments on each story, if you are inclined to do so. Go, read, enjoy!

~Photo Friday~ RIP

Yesterday was arguably the worst day of my life. In less than 36 hours I lost 6 cats. My beautiful Stinkerbell ate something toxic and passed it on to five of her kittens. By the time we realized anything was wrong, it was already too late to save them. The poison had made its way through their tiny little systems.

Today's Photo Friday is for them. I miss them. 

Pictured here are (from the top) Big Red, Ticky, Nermal, Buttercream, Sable, and Nibbles. Of these six precious darlings, Nibbles lives on, having gone to his forever home over a week ago. 

This picture was taken September 9, 2011. 

Stinkerbell, back when she wasn't pregnant and just a silly little kitten herself. 

~Giveaway~ Woo-hoo! 100 Posts! (OK, 101.)

I've reached a milestone (in my opinion) on this narcissistic little blog of mine. 100 posts this year. (Honestly, this particular post, this one right here that you're reading right now, is 101. But hey, why quibble over semantics?) 

That said, we need to celebrate. OK, I need to celebrate. Let's do this right. 

Comment on this post (the actual blogger post, not any of the feeds) and you'll get a download code for my fantasy short story when it's released. I'm not selecting one winner. EVERYONE who comments gets to download the story for free. 

What fantasy short story, you ask? Well, once upon a time, I wrote this little story, sort of as a prequel to my fantasy novel series...my UNPUBLISHED fantasy novel series. Weird, right? To be even more honest, it was a short story I wrote specifically for the UNLOCKED anthology way back when. It was one of fours stories I'd submitted to the anthology editors and it was one of the rejects. (Haha! Really makes you want it, huh?)

Want more info before you commit yourself? You can go to my website, where I've posted a sample of the short story. Oh, it's called The Dragon's Birth, just in case you were wondering. 

There are a few caveats. You must be 18+ or have a parent's permission to comment. There's nothing totally awful in the story, I'm just trying to cover my butt here. You must include an email address; how else can I contact you with the download code? You have to be a follower of this blog. Fair's fair, right? And I will enforce these rules (I've been known not to in the past) so DO NOT FORGET: 18+, email address, blog follower. Easy peasy. Oh, and you have to wait patiently for the story's release. It's not out there yet, but it will be soon. After its release, each commenter (Chrome says this is not a word. Weird. Should it be commentator?) who remembers to include their email address will get a little message in their inbox with that precious little Smashwords code. Exciting! :OP

This offer officially ends September 16.

I'll leave you with a question. Did I use SEMANTICS (first paragraph of this post) correctly?

Happy reading, writing, and winning!!

*Image © Aleksandra Belikova and can be downloaded for FREE from Dreamstime.com. (Registration is required, also free.) 

~Photo Friday~ View

What a view!! 
Lake Michigan, USA
August 29, 2011 

~Regency Wednesday~ Random Cant Day (#5)

I haven't posted a Regency Wednesday in quite some time so here's a few random slang terms from my trusty 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. Enjoy!! 

Bucket. To kick the bucket. To die.
Chuckle-headed. Stupid, thick-headed. 

Elbow Grease. Labour. Elbow grease will make an oak table shine. 

Facer. A bumper, a glass filled so full as to leave no room for the lip. Also a violent blow on the face. 

Half Seas over. Almost drunk. 

*Taken verbatim from 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue. 

There's just no understanding...

The Muse Clio Writing History

...the muse. 

Mine started whispering in my ear while I was on vacation this past weekend. I was in the most romantic little motel (with my hubby) across from Lake Michigan and I had this sudden urge to write. Early morning, hubby still sleeping, I pulled out a notebook. The story I worked on was the sequel to my unpublished fantasy novel. Of all the things I'm writing, why in that moment did the muse demand the most unromantic one??

Like I said, there's no understanding the muse.  

Good Morning, Lake Michigan! 

Goodnight, Lake Michigan! 

The Babies Are Named!

Well, two weeks after their birth, we've finally named all six kittens. One name was selected from the entries in my baby naming contest, the rest just sort of happened. Foghorn, the lighter gray kitty, received a name change when my brother decided he's taking BOTH gray kitties. 

Here are (from the back) dark gray baby girl Ticky, feisty orange baby boy Big Red, and sweet yet loud baby boy Nermal. 

(Stupid blogger keeps flipping this picture for some reason.) Here are (from the top) stripey black sweetheart baby girl Sable, and fluffy sweet twin boys Buttercream & Butterscotch. 

The name we selected as the winning name was Big Red. Thank you so much for the suggestion, mrgrayson! (I don't have your email, so please contact me at jaimeygrant {at} yahoo {dot} com to find out how to redeem your prize.) 

The other five winners of an eBook copy of my Regency romance Honor are... 

• Heather Lyons for Princess Poppycock 
• Krisi Keley for Je reve du lait 
• Amanda Stephan for Inigo Montoya 
• Jenna (Novella Reviews) for Smidge 
• Anna L Walls for Cream Puff 

Honorable mention goes to Rachel Rossano for Lord Rupert the fifteenth Earl of Fish because it made me giggle. 

Thank you all so much for all the great suggestions. Those of you who provided your email should hear from me soon. Those of you who didn't provide your email, please contact me at jaimeygrant{at}yahoo{dot}com to find out how to redeem your prize. 

Until next time, happy reading, writing, and blogging!!

~Regency Wednesday~ Recipes: Jugged Hare

For today's Regency Wednesday post, here's a recipe for Jugged Hare from The Servant's Guide and Family Manual, 1831. (I would say ENJOY! but I can't even say that with a straight face.)

"Jugged Hare. 

Cut into pieces and wash the hare, and put it into a stewpan with a few sweet herbs, half a dozen cloves, allspice, and black peppercorns, two large onions, and a roll of lemon peel; cover it with water; when it boils, skim it, and let it simmer till tender. Strain off the gravy, thicken it with three ounces f butter and some flour, and boil it about ten minutes; then strain over the hare, and it is ready. Forcemeat balls are sometimes added.

   Many persons prefer boiling the hare in a stone jar in a saucepan of water; but the preceding is a quicker method, and equally good. Care should be taken not to boil made dishes too fast." 

Until next time, happy reading, writing, and blogging!! 

~Photo Friday~ What is it? (#10) REVEALED

Last week's mystery pic was a little tricky. I had to verify the correct answer with my mom, and she confirms is it indeed.... 

Lemon Balm. 

To all the ones who said mint, good guess. I would have said the same. It occurs to me that up close, it could also be dragon skin. :O) 

Thank you, as always, for playing. Stay tuned for a new mystery pic later today or maybe early tomorrow. Happy reading, writing, and blogging!! 

Baby Naming Contest!

YAY! My precious kitten had her babies very, very early this morning. The first was born just before midnight and the next five came into the world within 2-3 hours after that.

Here they are, numbered in the order they were born. Baby #1, a girl, has already been claimed and named Ticky (inside joke). Baby #6, a boy, was the loudest so I named him Foghorn, to be affectionately known as Foggy. 

The other four, however, remain nameless. That's where you come in. :O)

Comment here (on the blogspot end of this post, not the Goodreads or facebook feed of it) with the name you'd like to bestow upon one of these little darlings. Be creative! With names like Stinkerbell (the momma), Ticky, and Foghorn, the others will need something just as clever (weird?) to retain their dignity amongst their peers. 

If you have any questions about the contest (or the kittens), please ask. You may enter as many times as you want, each entry being a separate {unique} name. The most creative name will be selected and announced August 15 (the judges being my husband, my brother, my two children, and me) and that name will be given to one of the kittens. This contest is open to all! 

As a bonus, we'll select our six favorite names. The commenters who submitted those names will each receive a coupon to download my newest Regency romance (Honor) for free from Smashwords.com. (What? You didn't think I'd pass up an opportunity to pimp my new book, did you?) 

So, to sum up the rules: 

• Make sure you follow this blog, it's only fair. You have options: email list, Google Friend Connect, Networked Blogs, and/or "Subscribe to..." Just please make sure you're doing at least one of these things. 
• Comment here with a name, not on the Goodreads or facebook feed, but here on blogspot. 
• Include your email, so I can easily contact you if you win. 
• Multiple, unique entries are allowed. Please don't submit 20 names that only vary slightly from one another.
• Open to all, regardless of where you live. 
• Deadline: midnight (eastern time), August 14; winners announced August 15. 
• I reserve the right to ignore any entry that is inappropriate (no dirty words or swears), common (please no Fluffy's or Spot's), or redundant (make sure you're not using someone else's entry). Thank you!

I think that covers everything. Any questions? If not, let the baby naming begin!!

Edited at 11:38PM to add:

It was brought to my attention that I failed to mention the genders of the babies. The only females are babies #1 and #5. I hope that helps. (Thank you, Kandy, for asking!)

And here's a video I just recorded, about a half hour before editing this post (please be patient as it loads):

Thank you, Rachel, for the idea. :O)