Sunday, September 29, 2013

Sunday Bloody Sunday

Actually, there's no blood. But I was lazy when I was title thinking and went with the rather obvious U2 reference. Lame. Yes. I admit it. I embrace it.  The lame. Some days we are all made of lame.

So here I am, sitting around on a coolish Sunday morning. The hubster is out of town, the almost teen is upstairs playing Minecraft (the person who invented Minecraft must be living in a mansion right)  and the chubby Chihuahua is napping on the couch beside. me. He snores by the way. Chronically.

Any who, I'm doing my usual cruise through my social networking places and suddenly had an urge to babble-blog. I thought about working on the novel I'm working on, but didn't feel the vibe. And since it's Sunday, I don't have to if I don't want to. Ha. I l like that.  And I passed by my blog as I surfed the net (is that totally an old phrase now or what) and realize I never just babble anymore like I used to. Um. A few YEARS ago. So here I am. Babbling about nothing. No book shouting, promo yelling stuff. Just me and randomness.

So. September is closing down.

Fact. I am almost DONE my Christmas shopping. It's kind of easy for me because I only have one child and he's almost a teenager and a swimmer so most of his gifts now kind of have a theme. Swim stuff to be exact. That's what happens when you become a teenager. Your gifts get PRACTICAL.

I online shopped for my away presents so pretty much only have the hubster left. And since we're building a house that we'll be moving into in the Spring. Um. He's getting a tree.  A tree CERTIFICATE to be exact. That he can cash in at Spring time. I can share this because he has, to my knowledge, never set his eyes on this blog, and I feel pretty safe.  See how I did that. Bought him something we NEED but made it personal. It will always be HIS tree. The one he got for Christmas.

Summer went by way fast this year. It was a good summer. I hung out with my son at the cabin for almost a month and it was nice. We had friends out on and off, and we boated on hub's boat, and life felt pretty good. I've never made much of a secret of how much I HATE the cabin, but this year it was actually kind of nice.

I am a spoiled brat for hating the cabin, I know that, but please understand I never had any desire to build a cabin. My husband wanted to. And suddenly we were. Building a friggin cabin. And we have to drive 8 hours to get there and 8 hours to get home and it is a MONEY PIT. Also, please remember I don't even like cleaning and cooking at one house never mind a house AND A CABIN.  And then there was the painting and cleaning and building and driving and blah blah blah. Well. That is what marriage is sometimes. Compromise.

And now we have this lovely cabin, which is much nicer now that it's DONE. Well. Almost done. Which will probably be a permanent state. Still. Just for the record. Not my favorite. Every holiday is, yes, you guessed it. The cabin.  I wish I loved it more. I wish I did. But I don't.

Anyhow, never meant to go off on that tangent. Christmas shopping to cabin hating. HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?

Anyhow. Babbling has been fun. Now I have to get ready for the day. A fun day. Swim banquet for Superson. Hubby home tonight. Maybe a run. Sunday. Le sigh.

Until the next babble session urge strikes....have a great Sunday. And a great life all 'round.
Over. Out.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

HOW I LOST YOU Now On WATTPAD!

Want to read excerpts of HOW I LOST YOU for FREE? As in FREE!!!


Join me on Wattpad and read the first three chapters and continue on in the story over the next few weeks. What a cool idea brought to you by the fine folks at Sourcebooks.

Click HERE to read for FREE!!!

**
ALSO....Cover REVEAL for 16 Things I Thought Were True will be next Coming soon!! Jean the Book Nerd's Site will host it. Check for it early October! What?? October already??

Jean Book Nerd


Can't wait.

I've seen the cover and I have to admit.

 I. LOVE. IT!!

Friday, September 13, 2013

Janet Gurtler Website

Okay. True Story. I am not that terribly savvy when it comes to web hosting and web "Stuff".

And when I bought the domain for Janet Gurtler.com I had no idea what I was doing. I bought the domain with one place and then switched to another because, oh,  did I mention I didn't know what I was doing? Paid both places for the same service. You know. No clue.

So a while back, I think I got some notices about the domain expiring. I didn't pay much attention because I wasn't sure if it was from the one I was still really with. I suspected it was spam, and someone was trying to milk money from me. Also...I had it in my head that I had bought the domain for 10 years. Um. Nope. Turns out it was 5.

So. Bottom line. My domain expired. And someone else bought it. And I can only imagine that if I try to get it back it will cost me more money than I'm willing or able to pay. Le Sigh. Someone owns a website with my name on it. That's kind of weird if you think about it too long.

Also, the moment I found out about the website take-over, I also found out my wonderful Web Host over at Glass Slipper Web Designs had a family emergency.  Which is totally understandable and all, but my point is, I don't even know yet if I can get the info that was on my website, back on a new domain site. Ugh. Second heavy sigh.

In the meantime, I'm feeling kind of naked on the Internet. In a manner of speaking. No website at least. That's sort of naked? No??

I'm still pretty easy to find... please don't hesitate to contact me if you need anything while I get this web thing worked out.

write4me@shaw.ca is the best place to find me. Or I'm on Twitter @janetgurtler. Or on Facebook.

So actually, it's not like I'm really gone at all. Right? I'm just not parking at www.janetgurtler.com anymore. Someone from Japan is. I hope he likes it there. Maybe he'll write some really great books and post them for free. Or give out free jelly beans to everyone who visits?

Hopefully I learned a lesson here. Right? ALWAYS PAY ATTENTION TO EXPIRY NOTICES. Even if you suspect they are fake. Or maybe next time, I'll ask my teen son to help me figure out if they're legit.

Yeah. That.

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

#16 Things I Thought Were True

Still waiting waiting waiting for the new cover for 16 Things! I saw a mock-up with an idea of the new direction they're going and it's FABULOUS!!! I really really love it, and hope you will to!!!

Meanwhile, here's the new cover copy for the book. Check it out...


Heart attacks happen to other people #thingsIthoughtweretrue

When Morgan's mom gets sick, it's hard not to panic. Without her mother, she would have no one—until she finds out the dad who walked out on her as a baby isn't as far away as she thought...
Adam is a stuck-up, uptight jerk #thingsIthoughtweretrue
Now that they have a summer job together, Morgan's getting to know the real Adam, and he's actually pretty sweet...in a nerdy-hot kind of way. He even offers to go with her to find her dad. Road trip, anyone?
5000 Twitter followers are all the friends I need #thingsIthoughtweretrue
With Adam in the back seat, a hyper chatterbox named Amy behind the wheel, and plenty of Cheetos to fuel their trip, Morgan feels ready for anything. She's not expecting a flat tire, a missed ferry, a fake girlfriend...and that these two people she barely knew before the summer started will become the people she can't imagine living without

Wednesday, September 4, 2013

Things I Thought Were True- The Beatles


    I thought that the Beatles were a band of little bugs who sang inside of the clock-radio on my mother's nightstand. #thingsIthoughtweretrue  
 
-Bethany Hegedus





Bethany Hegedus has spent time above and below the Mason-Dixon Line. She cares deeply about kids, having once been a high school teacher and also a youth advocate. She serves as a mentor in the PEN Prison Writing Program and holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. Bethany is Co-Editor of the Young Adult’s and Children’s section of the literary magazine, Hunger Mountain and is Austin Host of the popular website readergirlz.com. She is the author of Truth, With a Capital T. (Delacorte/Random House)m Between Us Baxters (WestSide Books, 2009) and the upcoming picture book Grandfather Gandhi, co-written with Arun Gandhi (Atheneum/Simon & Schuster, TBA).

Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Things I Thought Were True- Chip On Your Shoulder Style


I thought when my mother said, “He has a chip on his shoulder,” that the guy actually had a potato chip on his shoulder.
 
#thingsIthoughtweretrue -Lorna Schultz Nicolson
 


Lorna Schultz Nicholson is a full‐time writer who divides her time between Calgary, Alberta and Penticton, British Columbia. She has published over 20 books and they include children’s picture books, middle grade fiction, YA fiction and many non‐fiction sports books.