tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28860309855702843292024-03-13T14:38:01.342-05:00Erin Irvin's BlogI'm Erin and I am a singer-songwriter and novelist living in Texas.Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.comBlogger94125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-49321401445067138012016-07-04T23:15:00.001-05:002016-08-04T22:31:31.911-05:00I Used to Wish I was a Vampire, but Now I'd Rather Just Have ClonesAs I sit on the edge of my couch, not enjoying its cushioned comfort due to an obscene excess of fireworks booming just outside my door, I contemplate my otherwise lovely holiday weekend. My husband had the day off and we spent the day playing with our 1-year-old daughter, strolling her around the mall and such, and discussing our various projects. We are both very creatively involved. We each have multiple creative pursuits to pull our attention at any given moment.<br />
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For my part, I'm working on my new novel, a YA dystopia, of which I will say very little at this time, while also doing some light editing of Lone March, for a quiet second edition release at some point in the future. This clean-up is mostly for formatting issues, however, after careful consideration, I have decided to revise bits and pieces, mostly in Book One and mostly in the first chapter. I have toned down March's menstruation ignorance and made less of a show of her whole experience there. Most of that was written before I really knew who the character was. At the time, I was in the midst of writing my first novel, a funny confessional, and was still very much in the humor mindset, so naturally it leaked over into Moon-Linked. Even after I did learn who March was, I kept all that because I staunchly believed in the importance of the earliest possible opportunity to fit some humor into my otherwise bleak tale. But after some time, I've come to realize how much some of that stands apart from the rest of the series and the rest of March's characterization. So I have eliminated a few things. They are small and you probably wouldn't notice, if you were to re-buy Moon-Linked, which is something I don't know why you would need to do. But the book will be better, in my opinion, for future readers and strengthen the series as a whole. So there, I'm glad I got that off my chest!<br />
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I'm also finishing up some post issues with the paperback version of Book Seven and hoping to be done with it once and for all very soon. That will feel good.<br />
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My big news is that I have begun the recording for the Moon-Linked audio book! WooHoo! I have wanted to do the audio books since I first started writing the series and have thought often about it and I'm so excited it's finally happening! My husband helped me set up my own private little recording booth in my closet and got me set up with all the gear and told me how to work it and I've already gotten nearly 1/3 of the way through the first book. I can't wait to read the really fun bits! My plan is to release them chapter-by-chapter on Youtube, with a new chapter coming out every week, but for those unwilling to wait, I will also release them through audible and iTunes. I don't know how long the recording and editing process might take for each book but I would imagine it will be a while. Book One is the shortest in the series so hopefully the turnaround there won't be too bad, but I will keep you all updated on our progress.<br />
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I feel a bit bad for taking up so much of my husband's free time on his day off to help me with this, since he has so much on his plate already, but he is very supportive and always happy to help. Besides working full time to support us and our baby, he has occasional side projects that demand his attention and a web series with his friends that he produces, directs, and edits himself. If you are familiar with D&D, and especially if you're NOT familiar with it but would like to know more about it or perhaps start playing, you should <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7XFmdssWgaPzGyGbKk8GaQ" target="_blank">check it out.</a> We are also concocting a couple of ideas for some other web series we want to do so that's demanding a bit of our time as well. So I really just wish we could have clones, like that movie, Multiplicity, with Michael Keaton. And I could send one off to work on the new book, and Travis could send one off to his day job, and we could send a couple more off to work on all these web shows, and the audio books and so on, and we could just hang out with our daughter all day. Actually, wait, I really want to read the audio books. I don't want a clone doing that--I didn't think this through! Hmm...Maybe we just need to get better at time management. But no matter how you slice it, our plates are Thanksgiving-Feast-Full.<br />
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So some exciting things on the horizon over here! I hope you guys are as excited as I am! If you have thoughts one way or the other about audio books, read by the author, not read by the author, reading books/series more than once, reading books/series in multiple formats, like digital, audio, paperback, let me know in the comments. I'm very curious to see where other people stand on this and I'm really interested in finding out how people feel about author-read audio books. In fact, I've even <a href="https://twitter.com/ErinIrvin/status/750179554002546688" target="_blank">put up a poll on my Twitter page</a>, so participate if you are so inclined!<br />
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Happy 4th!<br />
xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-82207448116164115282016-05-08T17:19:00.000-05:002016-05-10T16:14:33.343-05:00<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: center;">
<b><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">Why You
Shouldn’t Stop Spending Money on Your Kids<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif"; font-size: 16.0pt;">(Even if they
Get an Allowance)<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">By
Erin Irvin<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">Can you name two topics
where unsolicited advice is flat out infuriating? My picks are <b>Parenting and
Money!</b> Put your hands together and you’ve got an internet bomb just waiting to
go off. However, after reading some articles recently about things you should <b>make your kids pay for</b> from their
allowance, I have a rebuttal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">Yes, we should teach our
kids the value of money, how to save and spend responsibly, but I don't agree
with <b>this increasingly popular notion of
making your kids pay for every extraneous expense from their own allowance.</b>
I grew up in a family with four kids and parents with blue collar jobs, who did
the best they could for us. But we also didn't get to set foot in toy stores
and never got any new toys unless it was our birthday or Christmas. And as an
adult now, I feel <b>there was a level of
deprivation there that kids shouldn't have to deal with.</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">I’m not saying I resent my
parents for this. I understand where this decision came from. My practical
mother, who was juggling four kids alongside a 9-5 job (and making home-cooked
meals and cleaning the whole house from top to bottom every weekend by the way!) didn’t
want to deal with taking us places where there would be things we wanted, like
the toy store, when she couldn’t afford to get those things for us. <b>So rather than seeing the disappointment on
our faces</b> (or hearing it in our voices) <b>she circumvented the whole thing by just plain not taking us</b> to those
places. I get it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">But
you only get to be a carefree kid for a few short years.</span></b><span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";"> Let them have an ice cream
treat on a summer Saturday without stressing over spending their allowance. Let
them have that action figure they've been wanting, even if it's not a holiday
and, again, <b>without pulling in the
anxiety of wondering if they can afford it</b>. My first instinct is always,
"I can't spend money on that, that's too expensive, it's not necessary so
why get it?" because this is what I learned growing up. I often heard, “No,
you don’t need that.” <b>It was true, I
didn’t need another Barbie doll,</b> or the stuffed monkey, or the travel size
Guess Who game. <b>But childhood shouldn’t always
be about Need and never about Want.</b> I can tell you that it taught me to be
so strict with myself that I feel I’m never allowed to do anything fun <b>because I feel like I don’t deserve it.<o:p></o:p></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">I understand this may make
me sound shallow for valuing material goods, or ungrateful for all the
wonderful things I <i>did</i> get growing
up. I also know there are plenty of children out there who don’t get anything,
who are abused or ill or wards of the state, and that toys and treats are low
priorities for children who have little. But this is all the more reason to <b>do what you can to make your own children’s
lives magical and, yes, a little frivolous. </b>Sadly, we can’t save every
needy child from poverty, no matter how much we give to charity, but we can strive to do more to brighten our own kids' days.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "arial unicode ms" , "sans-serif";">So can we just be a little
stricter with ourselves as parents, and adults, to <b>save up our own allowances?</b> We can still teach our kids the value
of money with small allowances and take them places to spend it, but we should
also <b>set aside fun money, reserved for spending on our kids</b>, in situations where they should just be kids and have carefree
fun. <b>These years are precious and finite</b>,
and they will spend the rest of their lives worrying about making rent and
paying bills and saving for big expenses. Give them the break while they can
get away with taking it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-66204895752087834642015-12-15T10:59:00.000-06:002016-05-08T17:16:12.290-05:00Moon-Call is here!!<div style="border: none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: roboto, arial, heletica, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-stretch: inherit; line-height: 27px; outline: none; padding: 15px 0px 12px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">It's here, it's here, it's here!</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">For those who have been checking for updates recently, you will know that I previously stated on <a href="http://thelonemarchseries.com/" target="_blank">the Lone March website</a> that Moon-Call wouldn't be available until next year, due to the cover being delayed. To my surprise, the SAINT who moonlights as my cover artist found the time to finish my cover before the end of the year! Let's all give a round of applause to Ryan Wieber, the Emmy award-winning FX artist superhero, who is eligible for sainthood!! I thought about going ahead with the plan and showing you guys the cover and releasing some tidbits from the book and then putting it out next year. And then I thought, "Yeah, but, I could also just put out the book." So I did. We've all waited long enough, right?</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">There are so many things I want to say--and believe me, I could drag this out for a mile and keep you scrolling down all day--but all I really want to say is thank you. Thank you to all the readers who have come with me on this journey and shown support and enthusiasm and shared Lone March with friends and family. Thank you for your patience and your kind words in comments and messages. Just, thank you! I'm so happy I finally get to share the last chapter of March's story with all of you! It turned out better than I could have hoped for and I'm very proud of it! I hope you guys like it too! So without further ado, here are the links to buy:</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: yellow; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Call-Lone-March-Book-7-ebook/dp/B019D0GS8U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1450195586&sr=8-3&keywords=moon-call" href="http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Call-Lone-March-Book-7-ebook/dp/B019D0GS8U/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1450195586&sr=8-3&keywords=moon-call" style="background-color: #cccccc; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Amazon Kindle</a></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; color: yellow;"><a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moon-call-erin-irvin/1123131257?ean=2940157959203" target="_blank">B&N Nook</a></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; color: yellow; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;"><a data-mce-href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/600613" href="http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/600613" style="background-color: #cccccc; border: none; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: inherit; font-size: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: none; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; transition: all 0.3s ease-in-out; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Smashwords</a></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">Also, there is no print version yet. As with Moon-Wake, it may take a bit longer for a paperback of Moon-Call but I will post updates on that.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">I hope you enjoy the conclusion of March's story! Please let me know what you think in comments, or if you have the time, write a review. I would love to hear about your reading experiences with the final Lone March book. And take a second to sign up for the mailing list at the top of the page on <a href="http://thelonemarchseries.com/" target="_blank">the Lone March website</a> and get updates on Lone March news, plus new projects I'm working on.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="background-color: #cccccc; font-family: "courier new" , "courier" , monospace;">What a crazy ride it's been these past 6 1/2 years with March! I'm sad it's over but happy her story is told!!</span></span></div>
Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-26873013096205540442015-06-17T12:30:00.000-05:002015-06-23T10:38:57.164-05:0025 Albums I Listen to All the Way Through Without SkippingIt's been a long time since I've done a post on music so this was my idea: Which albums do I listen to and never skip a song? Maybe they don't make the 'top albums of the decade' list (though many of them do, in my opinion), maybe they are from little-known or up-and-coming indie bands who only have one record to date, maybe they have been around for ages and it's so obvious that everyone is like, 'Well, duh, I don't skip on that album either; who would?', but regardless I wanted to put together a list that is my own personal picks. In the past I have talked about music that I listen to while writing, but there aren't many of those albums on this list because a lot of the following is stuff I like to sing along to, which I've stated before I can't listen to when writing because I just end up singing and not getting work done. So a lot of this music may be stuff I've never talked about on my blog, meaning there's a whole world of my musical loves that you guys know nothing about. Being the obsessive music-phile I am, this thought made me sad. So, music-lovers, let's talk shop.<br />
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These are in order of the year they were released. Trying to put them in order according to preference was giving me a headache.<br />
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1. <i>Blonde on Blonde</i> - Bob Dylan (1966)</div>
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I got heavy into Dylan during my first year at University, back in '06. <i>Blonde on Blonde</i> was in constant rotation during my '07 Spring semester and I have fond memories of cramming in reading assignments right before my Short Story class, with this album piping through my 'phones. It went well for the first month or two...until I inevitably learned the songs too well and started singing instead of studying. But it was fun while it lasted.</div>
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2. <i>Revolver</i> - The Beatles (1966)</div>
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This is the one. Not <i>Rubber Soul</i>, not <i>Abbey Road</i>, not even the <i>White Album</i>. For me, it's <i>Revolver</i>. Don't get me wrong, I love all the albums I just listed but <i>Revolver</i> is the one I never skip a song on. It's just so lovely and sprinkled with some of their early instrumental and recording experimentation. I have a weird, dissonant memory connection to this album because the first time I listened to it, I was a teenager and got SO LOST on a 2.5 hour drive home from the airport that it took me more than twice that to get home. Keep in mind this was before iPhones and GPS systems. I had no maps in the car so I had to alternate between calling my dad and trying to explain to him where I was, and stopping at gas stations to ask for directions. It was a nightmare. But at least I had good music for the drive. I know this story has nothing to do with the music but it's one of those weird things that won't leave your head, you know? So every time I listen to <i>Revolver</i>, I remember that awful drive home. Despite the bad memory, I still love listening to this album, which I think is a testament to how good it is.</div>
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3. <i>Physical Graffiti</i> - Led Zeppelin (1975)</div>
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Some of you may be asking, "Not their first album, or Led Zeppelin IV?" Nope, this one is where it's at for me. This is another album that brings back memories of driving for me. It's excellent driving music and my husband Travis and I once listened to it while driving back home to Texas from Kansas City. We listened to it twice during that long drive. It's that good. We also listened to Bowie's <i>Diamond Dogs</i>, among many other things, but this was the best for driving and the only thing we listened to that day that makes this list because, seriously, what song would you skip?</div>
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4. <i>Wish You Were Here</i> - Pink Floyd (1975)</div>
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Me and Pink Floyd go way back. They are probably the first band from my parents' era that I really got into. Before Zeppelin or even the Beatles. They came at just the right time, when I was sixteen and ready for something a little more experimental. I credit them with pulling me away from bubblegum pop and ushering in my period of musical discovery. For some that's The Who or The Doors, but for me it was Pink Floyd. I almost put <i>Dark Side</i> on this list, instead of this one, but if I'm being really honest, I have been known to skip "Time" because the ticking clocks and alarm sounds can be off-putting for me sometimes and I can't be bothered to just fast-forward a bit so I'll skip it. <i>Wish You Were Here</i> though is golden. It only has 5 tracks but altogether it's a standard 45 minutes. "Shine on You Crazy Diamond" (all 9 parts) is one of my all-time favorite songs ever. Side note: I discovered recently that several of my favorite Pink Floyd songs were penned by Syd Barrett. "See Emily Play"; "Arnold Layne"; "Bike"; "The Gnome"; "The Scarecrow". Further proof that I am attracted to the eclectic and eccentric. Syd's story is sad to me but hey, maybe he really enjoyed his life out of the spotlight. Of course, as with John Hughes, we may never <i>really</i> know.</div>
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5. <i>Doolittle</i> - The Pixies (1989)</div>
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I wore this album out in my early twenties. Genius. So many good ones--I mean they're all great, otherwise this album wouldn't be on this list, but some of my very favorite Pixies songs are on it. "Wave of Mutilation"; "Monkey Gone to Heaven"; "Hey"; and then it finishes strong on the ultra cool "Gouge Away". So good.</div>
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6. <i>Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers)</i> - Wu-Tang Clan (1993)</div>
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I have enjoyed listening to rap and hip-hop since my early teens but this album is when I started to really respect it as a true art form. It shows off the creative genius and mad skill of RZA in ways that even his solo 'Bobby Digital' stuff doesn't do. Side Note: During the year I studied abroad at Leeds University, I listened to "Bring da Ruckus" whenever I had to do any walking at night on my own. It made me feel tough and totally helped me project my 'bad ass attitude' so I wouldn't get messed with. You may laugh at the thought of this; I certainly do.</div>
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7. <i>Third Eye Blind</i> - Third Eye Blind (1997)</div>
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This one came to me through my older sister (much like Green Day, No Doubt and Tonic--ah, the nineties). After hearing it all the way through (and instantly falling in love) I pretty much commandeered it from her collection and proceeded to play the shit out of it for the next four years. More than anything I loved the lyrics--they are so poetic and flow so easily. This album had a hand in inspiring some of my own early songs, just in the way I wrote and kind of how I viewed the world. In fact, this may be the first album I ever 'studied' closely and read the lyrics and really thought about the stories the songs were trying to tell and how the lyrics told those stories.</div>
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8. <i>In the Aeroplane Over the Sea</i> - Neutral Milk Hotel (1998)</div>
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As with many things, I came to this party rather late. I had never heard of Neutral Milk Hotel until my very favorite band, Eisley, credited them as an influence. Even then I didn't seek them out until Eisley did an acoustic cover of the title track and I loved it so much I went in search of the original. Turns out lots of musicians cover this and other Neutral Milk songs, many from this very record. Like Beach House and Sufjan Stevens, Neutral Milk Hotel seems to be one of those bands that other bands/musicians love. It always interests me to check out a musician's/band's influences because those influences had to have done something cool to garner respect and admiration from fellow artists. Anyway, this album is wonderful and experimental and challenges your expectations as a listener. It can be a bit of a downer if you're paying attention to the lyrics but then sometimes a downer song is just what you want to hear.</div>
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9. <i>Aquemini</i> - Outkast (1998)</div>
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Before I found Wu-Tang Clan, I listened to a lot of Eminem, Tu Pac, and Outkast. Outkast survived continual rotation after Wu-Tang (Eminem and Tu Pac less so), which says a lot about the duo and their artistry. Lyrics slick and tongues quick, this album showcases the wit and whimsy of Andre 3000 and Big Boi. Also, they are southern boys, which I relate to, being a southern gal. They sounded like guys I went to high school with.</div>
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10. <i>Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea</i> - PJ Harvey (2000)</div>
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This album has a distinct 90's feel to it that I just love. I can't put my finger on it, whether it's the instrumentation or the lyrics or more just the way she sings but it has a 90's quality--in a good way. A really, really good way. Plus there are no less than 3 tracks from this album featuring Thom Yorke. Enough said.</div>
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11. <i>Vespertine</i> - Bjork (2001)</div>
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This album is so beautiful. It has a very romantic feel with heavy string work and experimental sampling of non-instrumental sounds that are made musical in these songs. There is also a sort of palatial vastness to it that makes it very easy to listen and sing along to. She's a goddess.</div>
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12. <i>Turn on the Bright Lights</i> - Interpol (2002)</div>
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This is another one that got a lot of play during my '07 Spring semester. It was often Dylan on Tuesdays and Interpol on Thursdays. I love all their stuff but this is the one that I always played all the way through without skipping. So many good ones--"Untitled"; "NYC"; "Stella was a Diver". Some people don't like Interpol because they say all their songs sound the same. I say, hey, if you made one really cool song, no reason not to keep building on that original idea. If it's not broke...</div>
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13. <i>Hail to the Thief</i> - Radiohead (2003)</div>
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I know a lot of Radiohead fans who would look at me like I'm crazy for this being my choice. Let's remember that this is a list of albums where I never skip a song, not necessarily my overall favorite. Although in this case it is. But still, it's hard. Their whole body of work is...there are no words. I mean, <i>The Bends, OK Computer, Kid A</i>??! How are you supposed to choose??! Well for this list, I had to be really honest. It's the same situation as with Pink Floyd and <i>Dark Side of the Moon</i>. As good as they are, I usually end up skipping one ("Planet Telex"; "Fitter, Happier"; "Kid A") but not on <i>Hail to the Thief</i>. This album was on <u>all the time</u> for the entire year of 2004. Well, this one and the next one on this list...</div>
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14. <i>Hopes and Fears</i> - Keane (2004)</div>
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If you like to sing, this album is so fun to sing along with. Beautiful melodies, easy but still poetic lyrics and chill music behind it all. Also I love Tom Chaplin's soft English accent. I remember my brother-in-law brought this album to my parents' house over a holiday not long after it came out and I clicked play on the CD player (yes, that's right, an actual CD player) out of curiosity and then I could not stop listening. I just sat there till I'd heard the whole thing. So, so wonderful. I went out and got it the next day. Yes, that's right, I <i>went out and got it</i>, as in drove to Best Buy. Old school.</div>
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15. <i>Soviet Kitsch</i> - Regina Spektor (2004)</div>
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Sadly, I didn't hear Reg or even know who she was till fall of 2007. I didn't listen to a lot of radio, guys. I had a giant CD collection and eventually got an iPod and when I wanted music, I stuck strictly to my own stuff because I condemned the radio as the home of crap pop music, which is generally what it is. But I'm willing to bet that occasionally they threw in a little "Fidelity" or "On the Radio" during the time before I'd heard of her, in which case I just missed out. But hey, it's not like I missed the party entirely, I just, as usual, came late. And immediately proceeded to catch up double-time--I couldn't get enough. Regina's music was what I'd been waiting to hear for so long. She was the answer to my unconscious prayers. I relate to her quirky thought patterns and ironic humor and her childlike experimentation with sounds and words. She is a genius. She is a goddess. And this album showcases all of that very well. It starts off unassuming with "Ode to Divorce" then you get hit with "Poor Little Rich Boy" and "Carbon Monoxide" and it just takes off. With off-beat stories and witty lyrics that coincide so well with her voice and sound, <i>Soviet Kitsch</i> is arguably her best album to date.</div>
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16. <i>Wincing the Night Away</i> - The Shins (2007)</div>
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This. God, this album. I have maintained for the last eight years that this is, in my opinion, the best album ever. Ever. By anyone of any genre. It's incredible. Like Regina Spektor, James Mercer is a god. I often refer to him as the modern-day lyrical Shakespeare. He is an amazing, genius writer. I have made a study of the lyrics of this whole album. They are all beautiful and deeply layered and have a lovely poetic flow. There is literally not a single weak song on this whole album; they are all equally strong and perfect. Even since <i>Port of Morrow</i> came out in 2012, I still find myself listening more to <i>Wincing the Night Away</i>. I have to hear it all the way through every few months or I swear I will go through withdrawals. It will always be my favorite album ever. I'd like to point out that there may be individual songs from other artists (Regina, for example) that I like better than an individual song on this album but as a whole piece of work, all 11 tracks together, this album makes up the best complete piece of music of all time, in my opinion. Although, admittedly, several of the songs on this album do, in fact, make my list of favorite songs. I'd say at least a couple make the top 10.</div>
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17. <i>For Emma, Forever Ago</i> - Bon Iver (2007)</div>
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Beautiful. The lush harmonies and quiet lyrics combined with Justin Vernon's soft R&B vocal vibe just moves me every time. It's a really lovely record and often brings me to tears when I listen. It's very evident too that he was recovering from a break-up and illness at the time he recorded it--I think it really comes across that he's in pain. I love music with honest emotion, like The Antlers' album <i>Hospice</i> and pretty much the entire catalog of Cloud Cult.</div>
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18. <i>Combinations</i> - Eisley (2007)</div>
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This is my favorite band. Regina is my favorite solo musician, James Mercer is my favorite lyrical writer, but Eisley is my favorite band. Much like I felt about Regina, the first time I heard Eisley was like coming home--it was exactly what I'd been waiting for and I didn't even know it. We actually grew up in the same town so I met them before I ever heard their music. Sherri DuPree wrote the website address on my hand and I went home and checked it out before it faded from my skin. There were only 4 songs on the site to listen to. I listened to them over and over again. I would come home from school and it was sort of a routine to sit down at the family computer, pull up the site, and listen to those 4 songs every afternoon. I was overjoyed when their first album, <i>Room Noises</i>, came out in 2005. I have seen them live more times than I can count, especially in those first few years, and I followed them online. Needless to say, I was on pins and needles waiting for the second album but there were rumors it would be very different from the first one, less whimsical fantasy, more grown-up, and that worried me because the whimsy and the fantasy were exactly what I loved about them. But the rumors were incorrect. <i>Combinations</i> was definitely a more grown-up record but it was really just a graduation of the first and, in my opinion, still contained all the fantastical beauty of <i>Room Noises</i>. Lovely descriptive language, reminiscent of classic fantasy and sci-fi novels, unique song-stories, and intricate harmonies. It's just really something special. I love all their albums but this is the one that never gets a skip.</div>
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19. <i>The Courage of Others</i> - Midlake (2010)</div>
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I like to think of Midlake as the male-vocals counterpart to Eisley. Also, they are from Denton, Texas and went to UNT, where I myself studied, so that makes them extra cool. I actually heard about them through Eisley too. As much as I love <i>Bamnan and Slivercork</i> and <i>The Trials of Van Occcupanther</i>, <i>The Courage of Others</i> is on a whole other level. It may employ less whimsy than on previous albums but it has all the same descriptive storytelling and staggering harmonies. They have a very cool 70's vibe, using things like flute and recorder, hammered dulcimer and harpsichord, to create a vibrant, throwback sound that is still very chill and easy to listen to. And on top of all that are these gorgeous melodies and harmonies coupled with deep, pseudo-spiritual lyrics that bring the whole album together as a substantial entity, sitting up and taking part in the life around you while you listen. The genius behind the sound and lyrics (and main vocals) of Midlake left the band after this record. From here on out, Tim Smith will be solo and known only as Harp. No record from him yet but I will definitely be checking up regularly. When Harp puts something out, I hold out hope that it will be something else that makes this list.</div>
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20. <i>Ring</i> - Glasser (2010)</div>
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There is a great harmony to this album, just in terms of the different sounds of each song and how well they work together as a whole. "Apply" is one of the most listened-to songs in my iTunes library. I have played it over and over again when working on certain scenes in different <i>Lone March</i> books. It's hard not to sing along and will probably be retired for writing purposes, now that I've finished <i>Lone March</i>. I will have to find something else that evokes the same feeling for future writing, if I need to write a similar scene to those from <i>Lone March</i>. This may prove impossible because if there is one thing Glasser is, it is different from everything else. It's got heavy undertones and great beats with light, breezy lyrics on top. You can tell Cameron Mesirow had fun creating this record and I love when that comes through in the music.</div>
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21. <i>The King is Dead</i> - The Decemberists (2011)</div>
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This album is comprised of 10 little pieces of rock gold. It's got a very American folk vibe--more so than their previous work--and it's very plain to hear that it's sort of an homage to R.E.M. (I mean they even got Peter Buck to play on a few songs, for cryin' out loud.) That made this album doubly special for me and Travis because R.E.M. is his favorite band and we consider our "song" to be "Be Mine" from <i>New Adventures in Hi-Fi</i>. This album just <u>kicks it</u> all the way through, like some kind of American Southern-Pastoral Folk Art Fever Dream. Also, it's another one that got a lot of play while I was working on <i>Moon-Wake</i> because I mean, "January Hymn" and "Dear Avery"? It's like they were written specifically to accompany what was happening in my book!</div>
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22. <i>Threads</i> - Now, Now (2012)</div>
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This one is sneaky. No one talks about it being a concept album but I think it kind of is. There is a theme running throughout it that you may miss if you're not paying attention to the lyrics. The majority of the songs refer to threads, ties, knots, and patterns. Even the ones that don't use those terms are still thematically in tune with the rest of the album. If you like Eisley you will like Now, Now. They have a very indie pop sound musically with super pop-punk vibes coming through the vocals. Also, like the DuPrees (in Eisley) the 3 people that comprise Now, Now are just sweet, delightful little pixies (and yes, that includes Bradley Hale because guys can be pixies too).</div>
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23. <i>A Minor Bird</i> - Sucre (2012)</div>
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This is Stacy King (nee DuPree) of Eisley. She embarked on a new musical journey with her husband and a mutual friend of theirs and together the 3 make up Sucre. Holy Cow. God bless the existence of this band. Let's put aside her amazing voice and her serious songwriting strengths and just talk about the music itself. It's got everything--deep, romantic string arrangements underlying bright, fresh percussion and airy melodies. It's opulent and ethereal and commands the aural senses. It is evident that she has been highly influenced by Bjork; it has a very Bjork-like energy, musically speaking, but with what I believe to be even more beautiful vocals.</div>
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24. <i>Sway</i> - Merriment (2014)</div>
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This is Christie and Collin DuPree, the two youngest siblings of the DuPree family, and their cousin, Remington. I've been listening to Christie's stuff for years but this is the first official record since she formed an official band with her brother and cousin and they got signed to the same indie label on which Eisley now resides. Much like their siblings, these guys are incredibly talented and have a knack for creating angelic melodies with exquisite harmonies, with a hint of fantastical, descriptive stories woven into the lyrics, much like so many Eisley songs. Christie's voice is lovely and her writing is delicate and honest and I can't wait to see where they go next. I have tried to skip around when listening to this album, in favor of playing one that was in my head first, but I always end up going back to the ones I skipped before I'm done listening, thus I've never listened to this record without hearing the whole thing.</div>
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25. <i>PHOX</i> - PHOX (2014)</div>
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I fell in love with the song "Laura" and then I couldn't rest till I'd heard the whole album. It's so different from what's out there and yet very reminiscent of so many things in so many ways. Monica Martin's voice is so perfect and fresh and beautiful. The songs are catchy with witty lyrics and a super fun sound. Even the slow songs are fun to sing along to and have great hooks. Since it came out a year ago, I have <u>worn</u> <u>it</u> <u>out</u>. I can't wait to see what they do next.</div>
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So there you have it! What do you guys think of the albums on my list? What albums make <i>your</i> lists? Leave a comment and let me know. Let's talk music!</div>
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xxErin</div>
Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-7529056926999578252015-06-09T12:40:00.001-05:002015-06-09T12:40:47.231-05:00Spring Fever in the SummerIn the two weeks since my last post, I have completed both the second and third drafts of Book 7 and deemed it done. I honestly thought it would take me months to slog through my storm of notes but I guess this book has just been marinating for so long at this point that I just know what it's supposed to be and not be so the revisions were pretty manageable. This is great news because I was certainly worried about having time to revise with a newborn in the house--I thought it would end up being put off for a couple months and then I'd have to reacquaint myself with the whole text again when I started working on subsequent drafts. But no worries now--smooth sailin'. I have made my mock-up with notes for our awesome graphics guy so all that's left is the cover. I even have a summary blurb prepared but I'm going to let it sit and soak in on me a little longer before I share it with you guys--as with the book itself, I just want everything to be perfect for all of you; you deserve it after the long wait to get here. I'm like, "If it's not perfect, then their waiting has been for nothing." The thing to remember though is that we are dangerously close now. <i>Dangerously</i> <i>close</i>.<br />
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So now I'm down to the last few weeks of this whole gestation thing and the nesting mode is in full swing. I spent the whole morning yesterday trying to work on my new *ahem* project...but I was so distracted with my to-do list for the nursery that I finally had to put it away, close the computer and just go do baby stuff. We have been very fortunate to receive lots of hand-me-down clothes and a few new things as well. So one of the big projects yesterday was laundry. It sounds easier than it is because they are all different sizes and since I'm such a freak about keeping things organized I had to separate each size into its own bag. So washing was kind of a mess because I had to mix the sizes up again and reorganize after they were clean and folded. Long day but I finished it all. My writer's brain is whispering to me, "Does anyone care about this? Edit it out--edit it out!" But this is a blog, not a book--if someone doesn't care to read every paragraph, they can skip around!<br />
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So the nursery is coming together and we're still putting the apartment back together after the big weekend of shooting we just had. My husband and some of our friends are doing a web series for Youtube, called <i>WebDM</i>. It's all about Dungeons & Dragons role playing stuff, mostly from the perspective of the person who DM's the game, meaning the person who runs the campaign. They are pretty short episodes (4-8 min) and it's just two guys talking about the game, very laid back. If you know anything about D&D, you would probably enjoy the show; if you know nothing about the game but want to learn more about it you would probably also enjoy the show. I've only played the game once myself but had a lot of fun and I can see why it's such a popular pastime. If you are a fantasy nerd, like we are over here, you should <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7XFmdssWgaPzGyGbKk8GaQ/featured" target="_blank">check it out</a>. Anyway, so they just shot a bunch of stuff for the show in our little apartment and had to move everything around to create a set. I'm working on putting things back together, reorganizing our bookshelves etc., but the set looked great and I can't wait to see how the new episodes turn out!<br />
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So, in light of the fact that I'm down to less than five weeks before baby, and in an effort to decrease the increasing pain and swelling from being on my feet too long in a day, I am going to attempt to spend some downtime blogging more. It doesn't take the mental toll that working on a new book does so it's easier to accomplish despite distractions and it allows me to have a little rest time in the day. I'm not an internetor--I rarely get on Facebook and I hate pouring hours of my time into watching/reading crap on the internet. I have certain blogs and certain web series I check regularly but other than those I just can't abide the world wide web. So working on my blog is a good in-between because it let's me be productive and keeps me away from stressful work stuff (both writing-related and nesting-related) when I'm trying to relax. Seriously, I did so much yesterday that last night and this morning I have been so sore! Anybody out there that has been pregnant, I know you understand what I'm talking about when I say the round ligament pain can get excruciating--especially if you overdo it!! Anyway, all that to say I'm going to try and post some stuff, totally unrelated to anything, just thoughts and music/book talk, stuff like that. So stay tuned!<br />
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xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-62096590534807266352015-05-24T14:03:00.000-05:002015-05-24T14:03:00.816-05:00News!!!There is some news on the Lone March Front! Check out the new post on the LM website:<br />
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<a href="http://thelonemarchseries.com/2015/05/wheres-moon-call/" target="_blank">Where's Moon-Call?</a><br />
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Happy Memorial Day Weekend, Everyone!<br />
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xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-51124338937225757682015-01-05T15:30:00.003-06:002015-01-05T15:30:53.778-06:00New Sneak Peek!Hey, guys! There is a new sneak peek for Book 7 up on the Lone March site. So check it out!<br />
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<a href="http://thelonemarchseries.com/2015/01/sneak-peek-2/" target="_blank">>Sneak Peek #2<</a></div>
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Let me know what you think in a comment on here or the Lone March site!<br />
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Have a great Monday:)<br />
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xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-12244582406373168442015-01-03T13:02:00.003-06:002015-01-03T13:03:40.290-06:00Just a Quick Update!I'm now on Instagram. I only have a few pics up so far and they are all photos from the collages I posted in my last post but many of them have captions, which the collages obviously do not. Plus you can see them more up close than you can on Blogger.<br />
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<a href="http://instagram.com/erin.m.irvin/" target="_blank">Click here to go to my Instagram Profile.</a><br />
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So check it out and follow me! You know, if you want to...<br />
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xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-17604378459466546042015-01-01T11:53:00.001-06:002015-01-01T11:53:10.241-06:00The Big Ol' Fat StoryPerhaps some of you may have been wondering where I've been. We got home and I immediately posted and promised to do another soon and then I didn't follow through. In fact, so much has happened since that post that I forgot I <i>did </i>that post till I got on my blog to do <i>this</i> one and saw it. Nevertheless I made some collages of our pictures and I'm going to put them up, even though the last post contains a few errant photos.<br />
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Wedding Collage:<br />
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Also this one of the whole wedding party. It would have been too small to really see if I'd put it in the collage and it's worth seeing up close because we had a lot of fun taking our 'teen drama for the WB' photo:<br />
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Honeymoon Collage:<br />
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(I was extremely ill with a stomach bug the day before we left for our honeymoon and the day of, which is why I look like that at the airport, in the top left pic.)<br />
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Harry Potter Studio Tour Collage:<br />
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So, now that we've gotten that out of the way (posting pix has been hanging over my head since the trip) we can get down to business. I'm going to tell you guys a big, fat story - not a story as in a lie but a real, true story. I'm going to tell you this story by way of revealing parts of myself I've never, evereverever revealed on my blogs or social media before.<br />
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**Fair warning: this is a long tale and may bore you if you're not interested in my personal life; consider that before continuing because I really don't want to field complaints in the comments.<br />
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Since first publishing Moon-Linked I have lived by a simple motto: <i>Fake it till you make it.</i> It's good advice and makes sense for anyone in artistic trades. What it meant for me was to act in every way as if I were a "real" traditionally published author - a professional in every sense of the word, even though I was publishing myself and not seeing any money for a while and otherwise busy living a normal life. It meant that I was not to share the secret of how I survived financially because I was trying to give the impression of being a professional writer, who supported herself through her writing alone. That's silly. And probably everyone saw through it. The closest I came to disclosing the truth was when I wrote on my humor blog about my wallet being stolen from work and in one other post when I mentioned something about being at work all day. Otherwise, it never came up. I kept it separate from the blog and social media.<br />
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The funny thing was for that first year, when I published Moon-Linked, I really had no other job besides writing my books. I had just finished the last semester of college where I would actually, physically live on site, and I moved back home to live with my fiance, intending to complete the last few credits of my degree online while he supported us from his production company, where he made commercials, documentaries, industrial videos and so on. For one year we lived comfortably in a small house, where he shot and edited videos around town while I worked on my books and my music.<br />
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After a year we moved to Austin, Texas, where we both ultimately wanted to settle. Well we certainly couldn't live the way we had before, with Travis supporting me one-hundred percent. It proved very difficult to transplant his entire business to a brand new market and he and his partner ended up looking for other work here. I, meanwhile, was looking for anything to get me on my feet in a new city and ended up managing a two-location Salon/Boutique to pay my bills. I met a lot of great people and had a lot of free mani/pedi's and waxings over the year I was there. But the hours were long (11+/day) and I found myself too burnt out to work on my own projects. This was one of the reasons it took me so long to write Book Six. So I started looking for something new, something different. And found it pretty quickly. In child care. I became a nanny and found a family that was a perfect fit for me. The days were much shorter but the money stayed the same - the ideal situation - and within mere weeks of starting my new job, the rest of Book Six poured out of me and I finished the first and subsequent drafts in no time.<br />
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The best part was I got to watch this wonderful little boy grow up from a 2-month old to almost 2 years. I see him as just another one of my nephews, along with his older brother, who is almost seven. I love children and Travis loves children and we've both wanted to have a family for a long time so I viewed nanny work as gaining valuable life experience for myself. How funny life is...<br />
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So we spent a year planning a wedding and then spent 2 1/2 weeks abroad on our honeymoon, then came home and intended to do what I said in my last post, which was hunker down and get back to business as usual. That did not in any way happen.<br />
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Let's go back to the honeymoon. We literally spent all our money on our trip. We were prudent with souvenirs, only buying a few cheap Christmas ornaments for ourselves to remember our adventures (oh, and Trav bought a Ravenclaw scarf and Hogwarts gloves for me from the HP Studio Tour) but Europe is expensive, just to eat and take the guided tours and buy tickets to get into places. So we were eager to get back to work when we got home. But I found out pretty quickly that I was sort of screwed. The family I worked for told me they didn't need me the first week we got back. I think they viewed it as a gift to me, giving me more time to recover from our trip and spend some more time with my new husband. Little did they know how strapped we were after our honeymoon. So I was staring down our rent being due in a week's time and having no money to bring in, meaning Travis would have to cover all of it plus the bills till I got back on track, meaning things would be tight for quite a while. It wasn't ideal but I was trying to see the best in the situation, which was that I would get to spend a week working on the book without interruptions.<br />
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Then, only four days after our return to the states, I found out I was pregnant. It was surreal and exciting and about a million other things. But it came in the face of being broke. So it definitely hampered our ability to be as freely excited about it as we wished to be. But after that first week, I got back to work and things were approaching the old normal, financially, and it was wonderful to be back with the little guy. I told them right away about the pregnancy because I had already scheduled a prenatal appointment and didn't want to lie to them about why I needed off early one day. So then about a week after working again, the family I worked for informed me that the husband/father was quitting his job to get back to the field he wanted to be in and thus things would be tight for them and thus they wouldn't be able to afford child care anymore. It was sad and scary and I felt every feeling in the book about it. And again our finances would suffer and again our excitement over the wee one growing inside was colored by a very stressful situation.<br />
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So I started looking for a new job. I wasn't prepared to be looking for a new job in November, while also pregnant but that's what I was saddled with. The other problem was that because I was pregnant my choices were limited. I needed to stick with child care because I didn't want to get myself into a situation where I was forced to be on my feet all day while pregnant or dealing with unnecessary stress on the job, especially as I progressed through my pregnancy and got bigger. So I applied for new nanny positions. The problem with <i>that</i> was that I would have to lie about being pregnant. If I told potential employers I was pregnant, they wouldn't want to hire me. No one wants a pregnant nanny or someone who would want to bring their own child to take care of someone else's child. Parents want a young, single female with no baggage to take care of their kids. I get it; I'd probably feel the same way. So if I told anyone I was pregnant, they would know that in a few months' time I would, at the very least, need time off to have a baby, or I would want to quit and they'd have to start looking for a new nanny all over again. Who would hire me under those circumstances? Unless they only wanted someone for a few months, which would still pose a problem for me because I would still need work for after the baby came.<br />
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So, forced to live a double life as it were, I secured a new position with a nice family and immediately began to worry about when and how to tell them. They hired me about two weeks before I would actually start work for them. Those two weeks were brutal as I went over and over the whole thing in my head. I wrote a speech; I lost sleep over the thought of the potential outcomes to telling them my secret; I invented conversations and defended myself and made many clear points to the imaginary couple. Most of my family and friends advised me not to tell them until the second trimester, which is the normal time that most people announce a pregnancy. But this was a different situation and I felt like waiting that long would be really shitty on my part, because essentially this nice family was hiring me under false pretenses. So I resolved to tell them upon my first day of work and hope for the best. I showed up and got it out within the first two minutes. To my relief and disbelief they were very sweet about it and congratulated me and didn't seem to be much affected by it at all. So I threw myself into the new job, with the new schedule and the new routine and the new little person I would be getting to know, all in the face of some major first trimester fatigue - seriously, I have been a zombie. But I hid it well and did my job well and things seemed okay. I didn't know what we were going to do when the baby came but at least for the time being I had money coming in to pay my bills. We scraped by during the holidays and managed to get presents for everyone, toys for all the nephews and our sweet baby niece, and even those two surrogate nephews I nannied for over the past year and a half.<br />
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On Christmas day, Travis got a really bad cold and then gave it to me the next day. It was much worse for me because I couldn't take the meds he took to fight it off. Being pregnant limits the ability to heal as one normally would. On top of this it was Christmas weekend, so we couldn't go to the doctor and talk to them about what I could take. So I had to endure it. Like so many things - like this situation overall - it got worse before it got better. I was so ill I had to call the lady I nanny for and tell her I couldn't be around her baby so I would have to miss work. The next day was no better, unfortunately, and, indeed, I am only just now getting better. (I'm currently operating at about eighty percent.)<br />
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Then, on the evening of that second day out sick, while I sat upright, trying to let my head drain, feeling the effects of a 60+ hour migraine (that's nearly three days) plus muscle aches I'd never experienced before because I'd always taken meds that warded them off whenever I've been this sick in the past, and still putting up with a horrible, burning cough, I got a call from my new employer, who very kindly informed me that she and her husband had discussed the situation over the holidays and it really wasn't ideal for them to have a nanny who would be pregnant and then need time off for having a baby in just a few months. They wanted someone more long term, without the problems that pregnancy can bring, like heavy lifting (of the baby and the carrier and so on) and the fatigue and needing time off. I understood completely but it did take me by surprise. So I was back to square one.<br />
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I'd just like to point out an irony here. In all my jobs over the years, since I first started working when I was fifteen, I have never been fired or let go from a job. I have always been well liked and respected for my work ethic, my intelligence, my punctuality, and my positive attitude. I have been honored for it - rewarded with raises without asking for them. And yet, now, in my last few weeks before turning thirty, while also being openly pregnant, I have been let go from two jobs. It's funny in a not-so-funny kind of way.<br />
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In the typical fashion of any honest pregnant woman, I run the gamut of emotions about this situation and have done since losing the first job. On the one hand, I was sad to leave the family I'd gotten used to and grown to love over the nearly two years I'd been with them, but I was relieved also because I was worried about how I would handle it once the baby came and I was concerned about not making enough money. With the new job, I was looking forward to a new schedule, wherein I would have more time to myself with two days off per week, but also troubled about making less money. And when I lost this new job, I was upset, of course, about what it meant financially, but also, again, relieved, that I wouldn't have to deal with the stress of being pregnant while trying to do a job that is done best while not pregnant (as are most jobs, truthfully). So I am in a weird limbo area where I feel both sad and happy, angry and elated, worried and relieved, and it all just mixes together, leaving me completely wayward, taciturn, and irresolute.<br />
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So my husband and I have decided I'm going to try my hand at editing some video for him. I have experience with this as I spent two years editing video at a news station when I was younger and before I went to college. I will have to learn a new program but I think I can handle it. The upside is if we can make this work then I can essentially be a stay-at-home mom and spend my time editing video and working on my books while the baby is sleeping or otherwise occupied. The downside is that money will not be guaranteed or stable by any means because I will more or less be freelancing. But the other upside is that Travis has the experience and the reputation and the resume to apply for all the work and he should have just about any job in the bag once people see his resume and his demo reel, so he can get a lot of work <i>for</i> me, as I will be a sort of junior editor, working under him, meaning he will give me marching orders for a project and I will follow those instructions.<br />
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It's an exciting and scary prospect. And one I will need to start right away, given that I now have no other source of income, beyond the paltry sum I earn from selling my self-published books. I've said it before and I'll say it again - I don't write books for the money. I do it because I love it. But meanwhile I still have bills to pay. So this is life for us currently. It's been crazy and up and down and all around. And it has heavily limited my time to work on the book. Keep in mind, my writing time has been limited for a year since we started planning our wedding. The only difference is that now, instead of that whole 'getting back to business as usual' thing, I've just continued to be limited in my time. It's sad but true. I'm getting closer and I don't mind telling you I'm up to the last few chapters. But it will still be a while before I get Book Seven out there. I hope you will all understand now, after reading my long-winded tale, why it's not already out and why it will take a while longer. But rest assured that when I have the time I am working on it and I want to get it out there as much as I hope you want to read it.<br />
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And that's the truth and the whole truth. No more hiding parts of myself. It's all on the table. I will keep you updated about the book when I can and hopefully it will stay on track for a Spring release. But don't take that as fact. As I've learned in the last few weeks, nothing is guaranteed. I will do my best to keep this on track because I would like to get the book out before I have my baby, which is due mid July.<br />
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I hope you all had wonderful holidays, less stressful than mine and I wish you all a happy New Year!<br />
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xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-87187716920720382502014-10-26T21:10:00.001-05:002015-01-08T21:02:52.033-06:00Finally, there is a Print Edition for Book 6, Moon-Wake! Also, I got married...<div data-mce-style="text-align: center;" style="text-align: center;">
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Our wedding ceremony at "Wycherley House". (Photo courtesy Jon Kelly.)</div>
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On our honeymoon, just before leaving our Florentine hotel to dine in the Tuscan hillsides.</div>
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The view from our hotel room in Edinburgh, last two days of our trip.</div>
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So,
we've had a BUSY few weeks! The wedding went perfectly--seriously, so
perfectly that we were both kind of questioning it...Is it possible that
it really went as well as we think?...But it's true--it went
swimmingly!<br />
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Then we had our GIANT honeymoon. We started in
London, then traveled to the Netherlands, Germany, Austria, Italy,
Switzerland, France, then back to England for a day (during which we
spent over 7 hours at the Harry Potter studio tour, in Leavesden!) and
onto Scotland for the big finale! It was amazing and magical and a
million other things!!<br />
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But we are glad to be home and get back to
business as usual, especially given that we haven't truly had "business
as usual" for the last year, due to planning for the big day. So now we
can really settle in and hunker down and get some stuff done. (And
neveryoumind about just what stuff we're getting done...But, yes, it
does include working on Book 7.)<br />
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Anyway, I wanted to let you know that Book 6, Moon-Wake, is now available in limited Print copy. It will soon be available on Amazon but for now you can only get it through the publisher, Createspace. The link to purchase is <a href="https://www.createspace.com/4514050" target="_blank">here.</a><br />
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The price is set at $14.99. It's more than I'd like it to be but unfortunately, the sheer size of Book 6 made it mandatory to charge such. Seriously, the publishers wouldn't allow me to charge less because it costs quite a bit to print a 650 page novel. Anyway, it's a handsome edition, if I do say so myself, so if you already have the other 5 print copies in the series, it's worth it to add this one to your collection.<br />
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If you do buy a print copy, there is a post that may interest you on my other blog, regarding formatting. Check it out <a href="http://thelonemarchseries.com/2014/10/a-note-on-the-print-edition-of-moon-wake-lone-march-6/" target="_blank">here.</a><br />
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That's all for now but I promise to do a sneak-peek post soon so stay tuned!<br />
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xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-39394712420687831922014-09-21T17:31:00.003-05:002014-09-21T17:32:36.908-05:00Sneak Peek # 1!<a href="http://thelonemarchseries.com/2014/09/sneak-peek-1/" target="_blank"><u>Click these words</u></a> and check out the new post on the Official Lone March website and find a little sneak peek waiting....<br />
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xxErin<br />
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PS. Leave a comment and tell me what you think!Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-41458127969981057722014-09-02T12:16:00.000-05:002014-09-02T12:16:47.974-05:00New Sucre Music!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The new EP, Loner, is incredible. Five new songs from Sucre, filled to the brim with Stacy King's voice. It's--I--Gah...No words. Just buy. As with their debut album, A Minor Bird, it is seriously under-priced. The EP is only $3.99. Get it on iTunes, or Amazon, doesn't matter--just get it!!<br />
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xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-23076851963529649212014-08-22T23:49:00.000-05:002015-01-08T21:08:09.648-06:00There's a New Place Where all the Cool Kids are Hangin' Out...Or they <i>will</i> be hangin' out there, once I make the announcement and all you guys go check it out!<br />
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Didja catch that subtle ego-coaxing I did there? Didja notice how I just called all you guys the "cool kids"? Well, it's true!<br />
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The Lone March Series now has its own domain!<br />
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<a href="http://thelonemarchseries.com/" target="_blank">Official Lone March Website</a></div>
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I will be posting news about Book 7 and various other Lone March stuff on the official site from here on out.<br />
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That does NOT mean I am abandoning this blog by any means. I will still post on here--probably most, if not all, of the stuff that gets posted on the site will also be found here. But this was a way to separate myself from Lone March a bit. Why? you may ask. Because Erin Irvin encompasses a lot more than just Lone March. I'm also a musician and artist, and I write other books besides Lone March. I wanted the series to have its own space because I think it deserves it and there's plenty of info to fill a site dedicated to Lone March. But now "erinirvin.com" can be about all kinds of stuff, whereas "thelonemarchseries.com" will be a streamlined way for you guys to search for and find the latest updates on Lone March. I am excited to enter this new age as I approach the promotional phase of Book 7. In honor of the new site debut, I will be posting some very teeny, weeny tidbits about Book 7 or maybe even <i>from</i> Book 7, as in snippets and sneak peeks. So, without further ado, skip on over to the new site and read the latest post:<br />
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<a href="http://thelonemarchseries.com/2014/08/the-tie-that-binds-can-also-bite/">The Tie That Binds Can Also Bite</a></div>
Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-59677182232291469672014-06-16T13:34:00.003-05:002014-06-16T13:34:23.247-05:00I'm Back, I'm Back, I'm Back!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AdohnBwvRUY/U58kL-ymSGI/AAAAAAAABAc/hsgtKHVpYrI/s1600/GoodmanLegrand(1).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AdohnBwvRUY/U58kL-ymSGI/AAAAAAAABAc/hsgtKHVpYrI/s1600/GoodmanLegrand(1).jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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<em>“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a place so happily situated.”</em> </div>
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- Elizabeth Bennet, <i>Pride & Prejudice</i>.</div>
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Greetings from far and wide! It has been so very long since I've posted I may have forgotten how. We'll see...</div>
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I think I might have explained this in a previous post or comment somewhere but I have not been able to get on the internet on my laptop since last Fall. In the interim, I have been using the iPad I commandeered from my fiance for all my correspondence needs. However, it is a Gen-1 so, needless to say, it doesn't function so well. It would crash every time I got on Blogger or Facebook--I was lucky to slip a quick reply message to someone before it crashed, and even those quick 10-word replies would take the better part of a half hour to send. Occasionally, I would be granted a 15-minute allotment on my fiance's computer, but mostly he needed to be working on it. It didn't really get to me because I'm not much of an "internetor" anyway, so it was easy to forget about and neglect. But I still felt guilty about not keeping up with the blog and stuff. BUT, miraculously, it decided to start working again last night so I decided to write a celebratory post, in honor of its return (and let's hope it stays returned)!</div>
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So that thar picher right up top? That is the <span class="st">1859 <em>Goodman</em>-<em>LeGrand</em> House & Museum, in Tyler, Texas. And that is where I'm getting married. Why bother telling you all about this? Because it also happens to be the inspiration for <i>Wycherley House</i>. Many years ago--before Lone March was even conceived of--my fiance's production company did a documentary on the Goodman House. I was script supervisor and schedule-keeper and anything else they needed me to be, so I was there through the 4-day production and got to see every little bit of the place in lengthy, painstaking detail. I had toured the house as a kid a few times but the documentary was the first time I was there as an adult. I had quite forgotten just how lovely it is. Well, you all probably know I'm obsessed with the Victorian era and this place was built right on the cusp, so of course I love it! Anyway, when I started creating the world of the ravens back in 2010, the Goodman house popped into my head right away so I pulled the documentary off the shelf, watched it, took notes, and started plotting. The rest is history.</span></div>
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<span class="st">Remember that scene in Book 4, where March turns up on the Wycherley doorstep, soaking wet, after that whole incident with Jasper, in the woods? Well this lovely, snowy pic gives you an idea of what that was like.</span></div>
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<span class="st">Obviously, it's smaller than Wycherley. There are 3 times as many people living in the ravens' nest as there were living in the Goodman so I had to add an extra level and expand the width too. But you get the general idea.</span></div>
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<span class="st">And this would have been the view March saw when she first walked in the door. It's funny because it's decorated for Christmas, just like it was when she showed up in Book 4. Purely coincidental.</span></div>
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<span class="st">I love snowy pictures, especially with pretty winter trees around! This is a view of the grounds on the front part of the property.</span></div>
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<span class="st">Love that winding staircase.</span></div>
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The dining room is described nearly exactly as it is in real life. I think the walls might be a different color or have paper or something but otherwise it's the same--down to the hand-painted dishes.</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cD9ogLN3fc0/U58kXmT2dvI/AAAAAAAABBU/iZnNcaRUKNo/s1600/the-1859-goodman-legrand.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-cD9ogLN3fc0/U58kXmT2dvI/AAAAAAAABBU/iZnNcaRUKNo/s1600/the-1859-goodman-legrand.jpg" height="478" width="640" /></a></div>
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This is very close to the bedroom I describe March staying in. It's even in the right location and positioned correctly, but the furnishings are different and obviously there's no manikin in the Wycherley room.</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DwtZgzeholA/U58kXvC2vMI/AAAAAAAABBc/Nf6WjHfzjGY/s1600/mack+072.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DwtZgzeholA/U58kXvC2vMI/AAAAAAAABBc/Nf6WjHfzjGY/s1600/mack+072.JPG" height="480" width="640" /></a></div>
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This I just wanted to show because I am so jealous of it. Since I was a kid--a kid!--I have dreamed of having a roll-top desk, on which to do my writing. One day, my friends, one day...</div>
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We probably won't have a horse-drawn carriage to whisk us away after our wedding but I liked this picture anyway. Obviously, we aren't the only ones who had the idea to get married here. And who knows? Maybe we will have a horse-drawn carriage!</div>
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So anyway, maybe it's no Pemberley but I think Elizabeth would have expressed a similar sentiment upon seeing the Goodman House for the first time.</div>
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Now, down to business! I would be a poor blogger indeed if I didn't update you on what's going on with Book 7. Let me start by saying there isn't much to tell so don't get too disappointed. I am working very, very hard on it, in between wedding planning and honeymoon saving and addressing invitations. So, of course, I have far less time to work on it than I did with previous books, but, no lie, it is remarkable just how much I've gotten done, considering my lack of time. Perhaps I have neglected my wedding plans a little...but I think you all know where my heart is when it comes to free time. Anyway, I would say--not totally sure but I would guess--I am about 85% done with the book. I can't wait to share the final chapter of March's story with you all--so, so excited! My goal is to finish the first draft before the wedding because our lives will be upside down after that and there won't be any going back. That's not to say it would stop me from working on the book but it will definitely be a hindrance because...</div>
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First, our honeymoon will be a 3-week extravaganza across Europe, so getting home from that and getting back to normal life, just in time for the holidays by the way, will take some adjusting. And second, we are planning to start a family right away! We're both so excited to be parents and can hardly wait for babies--seriously, my fiance as much as me (his baby fever is baaaaaad)!! And third, we will have to start looking for a house and planning our move right when we get back because our lease will be up mid-spring of next year. So, if all goes according to plan, we will have crazy-busy lives soon.</div>
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However, never fear, because nothing could ever take me away from my writing for very long. I get weird and depressed and my anxiety starts going haywire if I don't exercise my creative outlets regularly. So I can safely say I will be writing books till the day I die. God knows I have enough ideas running through my head to last me till then!</div>
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Oh, and one more thing. Because the production time on this book is longer than the others and since it's the last book of the series, I may do things a little differently, when it comes to sneak previews. I may release a blurb here or a scene there a little earlier than usual. Normally, I don't reveal anything till I know at least the ballpark estimate for when the release will be. But I think I might reveal a couple things before we reach that point. What's the harm in that? So yeah, in a nutshell, stay tuned!</div>
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Have a glorious week, friends!</div>
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xxErin</div>
Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-15997219307835253172013-11-06T13:18:00.001-06:002013-11-06T13:18:23.705-06:00Update!The Barnes & Noble version of Moon-Wake is finally available!<br />
<br />
Get Book 6 for your Nook <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/moon-wake-erin-irvin/1117334686?ean=2940149049646" target="_blank">here!</a><br />
<br />
I will post another update when the paperback is ready:)<br />
<br />
xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com22tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-58851516287507174522013-11-03T22:33:00.001-06:002013-11-03T22:43:37.658-06:00It's as much a surprise to me as to you.So............Moon-Wake is available for purchase. I started processing it hours ago but thought it would at least take the night to go live. Apparently not. It's here! So that's good news!<br />
<br />
Get it on Kindle <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Wake-Lone-March-Erin-Irvin-ebook/dp/B00GFAC1C4/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1383534597&sr=8-1&keywords=moon-wake+lone+march" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Get it through Smashwords <a href="https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/374333" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
<br />
Couple things:<br />
<br />
1. Still working on the print version and that may take quite a bit longer, perhaps even several weeks, on account of having to receive and then review proof copies, but I will keep you posted.<br />
<br />
2. For my Nook readers, I'm sorry to say it is not available through Barnes & Noble yet and I don't know how long it will take to fix the issues. I've never had a problem with B&N before but that's because in the past I have uploaded the files through the old "PubIt!" interface. Early this year, however, they rolled out their new interface - "Nook Press". One would think by the very definition of "new" that it would be better, improved upon. Unfortunately--and I'm not quite sure how they managed this--it's actually considerably worse than the old platform. There seem to be endless errors with the uploading process, each of which take nearly half an hour to reveal themselves. I've tried all the typical file types and none of them give me the green light on Nook Press. I did some googling and discovered I am only one in a long line of authors/publishers who have had/are having difficulties with the platform. And no one has any answers. There have been people discussing the problems and writing articles detailing their experiences since March. It is November and evidently nothing has changed. I will continue to plug away and hopefully get it straightened out one way or another. But I honestly don't know how long it will take. Sorry:( However, there is a bit of good news for Nook owners! Nooks read ePub files and you can purchase the very thing through Smashwords. It might not be convenient and it's not the website you're accustomed to making your book purchases on, but it's just as safe, if not as widely known. I know a lot of people aren't comfortable buying outside their usual site but it's safe and legit, it just won't have any sort of B&N stamp on it. So yeah, just click the Smashwords link above, choose your file extension, and begin reading!<br />
<br />
Hope you guys enjoy Book Six! Drop me a line and let me know what you think!<br />
<br />
xxErin<br />
<br />
PS. I'm sorry this has all sort of been lacking in ceremony. I didn't get a chance to reveal the cover early or let you know how close I was to publishing or anything. It's been far less fun getting here than usual but I hope you have fun reading it now that it <i>is</i> here!<br />
<br />
PPS. I also forgot to mention something else. One of the reasons I have been so unceremonious with releasing this book is because my fiance and I finally set a date for our wedding and we've been working on the planning for the last month and a half! Yay! It's just under a year away. So we're super excited but, needless to say, super stressed and busier than ever. Anyway, it doesn't matter much now because Moon-Wake is here! Now, I'll stop distracting you so you can start reading:)Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-27664686986093695162013-11-03T18:48:00.002-06:002013-11-03T18:49:21.569-06:00Funniest Pic EverSo this is old but I'm always late to the party. Found this on the internet and it absolutely cracks me up.<br />
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The title of the photo is "Noooooooo!"<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bfxKQPd7IMc/Unbuk47GFZI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/3Po03KtV66A/s1600/funny-scissors-label-fail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bfxKQPd7IMc/Unbuk47GFZI/AAAAAAAAA_Q/3Po03KtV66A/s640/funny-scissors-label-fail.jpg" width="561" /></a></div>
<br />
HAHAHAHA! Terrifically awful epic fail!<br />
<br />
xxErin Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-77991826768992189352013-10-13T22:45:00.001-05:002013-10-13T23:58:10.539-05:00Once Again, Much Passes In Very Little Time.Hello, all. Hope you've been well. Sorry for my unexpected absence. If you'll recall from my last post, I was preparing for my younger sister's wedding. Well, the affair went off without a hitch, but the following evening, my grandmother got sick. She ended up in the hospital, and a week later she passed away. I spent a week back in my hometown, helping my mom and grandpa and uncles, as we prepared for the funeral. I was there the day she left us and got back to my own home in the late evening, after the funeral. It was a long week and probably the hardest of my life. I've been to several funerals--I've been around death, but my grandma was the first to go as far as close loved ones are concerned. I'm still dealing, still in the cycle, so it hits me about every hour or so that--oh, yeah, she's gone...etc. and so on. Tough times. Anyway, that's why I haven't had a chance to continue with my sneak previews for Moon-Wake. But I said the next item would be the release of the official summary. So, as promised, albeit a little late, here it is:<br />
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<span style="color: #bf9000;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><b>I </b><b>dropped to the
ground right there, sitting at the foot of his grave. There was nothing to be said. He was buried six feet beneath me. And I felt like my thoughts were buried there
with him.</b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">A dark cloud has settled over
March Howe’s world. Avery’s death was horrific
on its own but it’s also drudged up memories of her adoptive parents’ deaths,
none of which she seems to have dealt with.
And the emotional pain is as bad, if not worse, than the physical kind
she suffered in that silver prison at the cat lair. What’s more—this darkness represents more
than just her grief. There are some
shady things happening in Wycherley House and March has to pull herself
together and discover the secrets before it’s too late.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Virtually all her
relationships are strained to say the least.
She feels as distant as ever from Gaia and her school friends. And that trio of guys? All but obliterated. Nightmares as repetitive as they are
confusing have claimed her sleep, and her waking hours are spent in
self-inflicted solitude. And what draw
her out are the curious mysteries now creeping into her new life with the
ravens. Fortunately, March makes some
new friends, who each have her back and unwittingly help her uncover the truth. Meanwhile, Jasper Kellum is having a major
life crisis that seems to have only one outcome. And his sister just won’t stand for it.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">In Book Six of the Lone March
Series, March Howe has to force herself out of the gloom of recent events all
on her own and move on, if she is to have any hope of saving herself or her
family. <i>Forgive and Forget</i> is a hard rule to live by when past enemies come
suddenly back into her life. But they
just might save her skin in the nick of time.
The question is: Will these rescues be enough to propel March into the
unknown, on a new quest to save her kind, or will the last of the were-wolves eliminate
this prospect with an all-out <i>were</i> war?</span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span><br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
Needless to say, it's rather appropriate for the times--for me, personally, anyway.<br />
<br />
Hope you liked it--next up: the cover. No promises on when, but shouldn't be too long of a wait now.<br />
<br />
Have a happy week, friends,<br />
<br />
<br />
xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-2429847372722306602013-09-12T22:30:00.000-05:002013-09-12T22:30:40.759-05:00Sneak Peek at Moon-Wake!Hello all!<br />
<br />
As promised, the following is a tiny snippet from Book #6. It's one of the very first things I wrote, when I first started writing this book, two years ago. I will not tell you where in the book this section falls; you'll just have to wonder. The timeline is stated very plainly but there's no knowing at what point I start this book so...heh heh heh...<br />
<br />
Look, it's not often I get to tease people in good fun--you gotta gimme somethin'!<br />
<br />
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Anyway, enjoy!</div>
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<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Can
you sleep?”<span> </span>He repeated the doctor’s
question, prompting me, as he stabbed the dying end of his cigarette into the
ashtray on the little table next to him and immediately started patting around
for his case and matches to light another one.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“How
are you sleeping, Miss Howe?” the kind old owl doctor with the salient eyes
asked me for the third time.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“She’s
not sleeping,” he answered for me, his impatience with my lack of response
showing fully on his face now.<span> </span>He tapped
the soon-to-be-lit end of his cigarette against his little silver case with
deliberate but gentle effort and slipped it into his mouth.<span> </span>Soon the match was struck and setting the tip
alight as he pulled the smoke directly into his lungs.<span> </span>This was the only outward sign of his
stress—his chain smoking.<span> </span>Saxon Pierce
was a poised, together man.<span> </span>He didn’t
turn colors at upsetting news, vomit at seeing a friend die; he didn’t ball
inconsolably or mutter to himself in a thin whisper.<span> </span>His hands didn’t even shake.<span> </span>They were perfectly in control of themselves,
perfectly capable of moving about his person, performing idle tasks such as
lifting his small glass of golden-brown liquid to his lips, lighting and
holding his cigarette, and stabbing it out when he’d sucked it down two minutes
later.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">“Miss
Howe?” Dr. Beasley started.<span> </span>“Would you
like something to help you sleep?”</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
saw from the corner of my eye that he held a vial of pills in one hand, but it
was only from the corner.<span> </span>I kept my eyes
on Saxon, still refusing to speak.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
hadn’t spoken aloud in three weeks.<span>
</span>Today marked a month since Avery’s funeral.<span> </span>It was a month of deprivation, both
involuntary and self-inflicted.<span> </span>I felt
sick whenever I ate, so I ate very little and didn’t enjoy the chore at
all.<span> </span>What little I was able to sleep was
nothing but bad dreams.<span> </span>I would have
welcomed more peaceful sleep; it was a good way to make time go by faster, but
I had no control over my dreams.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
saw recovery as an unlikely possibility—it certainly felt impossible—but I
couldn’t help thinking that my situation was going to change eventually,
whether for the better or the worse, and I so desperately wanted something to
change that I wished time would go by faster.<span>
</span>But it was out of my control.<span> </span>I
was a victim of the storm, a prisoner of my grief.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">I
spent most of my time sitting in the window.<span>
</span>I didn’t know who or what I was waiting for, but it was the only place I
was comfortable.<span> </span>It also gave me warning
when people arrived to visit me, so I had time to get in bed and pretend to be
asleep before they came in.<span> </span>They never
wanted to wake me, so eventually they would leave.<span> </span>Sometimes they would wait a while, hoping I
would wake up; I’d have to pretend to be sleeping for over an hour at a time on
some days.<span> </span>But it was worth it not to
have to visit with anyone.<span> </span></span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">My
friends came every weekend (Ethyn was never among them) and Quinn and Graham
came once a week with Brigham, who made it back the day after the funeral.<span> </span>They’d told me they would keep me informed
about what was going on with them by calling me on Graham’s cell phone, but
apparently they couldn’t resist seeing me in person, even if they had to come
into a ravens’ nest to do so.<span> </span>In the
beginning, they talked to me while I faked sleep, updating me on what was
happening at the den and beyond, but they stopped doing that before long since
I never showed signs of rousing or hearing a word.</span></span></span></div>
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">
</span></span></span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-indent: 0.25in;">
<span style="color: yellow;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;">Most
of the time, the ravens knew I was pretending, but I still tried to fake sleep
when they came in, like I did with the others. <span> </span>I just didn’t feel like talking about what was
going on in my head—or the rest of my body.<span>
</span>And I didn’t have the energy to pretend things were okay.<span> </span>They weren’t.<span>
</span>And my melancholy was mine and no one else’s.</span></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .25in;">
It's not much, but then I never give too much away in these sneak-a-peeks. It's more than what I gave away from the last one though. So, what do you guys think? Leave a comment below--or leave one on Facebook, Twitter, etc--and let me know:)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .25in;">
xxErin</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .25in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; text-indent: .25in;">
PS. Next Up: The Official Moon-Wake Summary!!</div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Book Antiqua","serif";"><span style="font-family: Times,"Times New Roman",serif;"></span></span></span>Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-59467923733126652612013-09-05T21:51:00.001-05:002013-09-05T21:51:44.663-05:00Long Time No Blog!Hey, guys!<br />
<br />
Sorry it's been so long since I've posted! A lot has been happening! Two weddings to prepare for (one of me and my fiance's best friends got married last weekend and my younger sister is getting married in a couple of weeks), plus I hurt my foot and have been slowly recovering for 6(!) weeks now, the first two of which I was more or less confined to the couch. It was my driving foot, so I had to be driven everywhere (I have to admit, that part was kind of awesome). Anyway, I'm hobbling now so things are getting back on track. Lots of writing has been happening too. I mean lots. Just completed the 5th draft of Book Six and have been working on...various other projects. Anyway, I am feeling a lot more comfortable about where the book is and I will go ahead and tell you that little things will be trickling out in the coming weeks. In fact, I'm kicking things off right here, right now, in this post...<br />
<br />
The tagline for Moon-Wake is:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia,"Times New Roman",serif;"><i><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>"Will the secrets come to light before she loses herself?"</b></span></span></i></span></div>
<br />
That's just an <i>amuse-bouche</i>, if you will. I have a little sneak preview coming very, very soon and I hope you all like it. It was one of the very first things I wrote for Book Six, over two years ago now. SO excited to share it with you guys!!<br />
<br />
Anyway, that's all for now so stay tuned!<br />
<br />
xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-57685588905482757072013-08-02T01:21:00.000-05:002013-08-02T01:21:22.376-05:00This Is the Most Awesome Thing Ever!If any of you are comic/graphic novel fans, specifically DC (I'm a total DC girl), especially the JLA, you will adore this. It's a fan-made comic strip featuring the members of the JLA, with appearances by various villains, only...they're 8 years old! It's called 'JL8' and it's the cutest thing in the world! This guy absolutely nails these characters in every way. I'm doing my part and reaching out to all my awesome readers to help get the word out about this incredible indie artist/writer because he wants to break into the industry and do what he's already doing, only professionally, and also because he deserves it. Anyway, if enough people read it and it gets out there, through word of mouth, it could give him some real clout if he ever gets the opportunity to pitch it to DC.<br />
<br />
So, here is the link to his actual website, a tumblr blog, which he uses as his platform for releasing the strips:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://jl8comic.tumblr.com/" target="_blank"><u>JL8 Web Comic</u></a></div>
<br />
And here is a site run by a fan of the strip, which is a little more user-friendly, if you just want to sit down and crack through these things:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://limbero.org/jl8/1" target="_blank"><u>JL8 Archive</u></a></div>
<br />
That link will take you directly to the first comic strip. If you get lost, break for a pee, or have to take an executive conference call, and then forget what number you're on, you can find the 'Archive' button at the bottom of the page.<br />
<br />
There are 137 strips so far and I seriously just blew through them all with my fiance; it probably took us an hour or so from start to finish. Evidently, Yale Stewart (that's the author's name) puts out 2 strips every week, which is just insane and awesome and insanely awesome!<br />
<br />
Also, if you're interested in checking out his other work, here is his deviantArt account:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="http://yalestewart.deviantart.com/?rnrd=32116" target="_blank"><u>Yale devArt</u></a></div>
<br />
Anyway, I just think it's genius and so so lovely. (Yeah, that's right--I just described a comic strip, featuring well-known superheroes, as 'lovely'. So what.) As an indie author myself, I think it's important that we all support each other in this community and help promote fellow writers/artists any way we can.<br />
<br />
Fingers crossed this guy gets a meeting with DC sometime soon!<br />
<br />
xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-21112095353530582152013-06-02T20:51:00.001-05:002013-07-14T02:47:34.804-05:00Well OverdueAs a sort of followup to my last post, which was a reblog of a post on <a href="http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Amanda Hocking's blog</a>, I've decided to do a little reblogging of my own. It's only a "followup" in the sense that the stuff she says about reading reviews is topical, and really hit home with me and gave me the nudge I needed to finally reblog this post. But everything she says--all those feelings that lead to writer's block--they all revolve around giving attention and responding to the negative energy that circulates in our world. It's all cyclical. And what I'm about to say all revolves around this concept.<br />
<br />
The following is a post I did as a contributor for another blog I used to work on. Understand that these feelings have been with me since I was very young, long before I started putting my stories and music out into the world for general consumption, therefore they are not merely a reaction to personal criticisms. If you don't believe me, spend a semester in art school--you'll start to see what I'm talking about here.<br />
<br />
I encourage everyone to spend less time perpetuating negativity and more time letting yourselves feel inspired by anything and everything you encounter. I've said this before and I'll say it again--in the world of art, you can either be the type of person who is inspired by nothing, or one who is inspired by everything. I choose to be the latter.<br />
<br />
I'm literally just copying and pasting this from my original post, so here ya go:<br />
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<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><u>This Business of Criticism</u></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: large;">By: Erin Irvin</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><u><br /></u></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Okay,
this is something that’s been on my mind for a while. Years actually. I’ve imagined myself getting on a soap box
and ranting about this several times over the years, and now I’m finally
following through. This might be a
little thick, but just bear with me.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Okay,
so I’m just gonna dive right in here. </span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;"><u>The
Purpose of Art</u>:</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The
purpose of art is simply to be. Anyone
can experience any form of it, whether literary, visual, musical, or whatever, and
apply it to their worlds and <u>feel</u>.
As an artist of many trades, I can tell you that the purpose, in large
part, of <i>creating</i>, is to figure out
who you are, and to reach out and make connections with other people. The purpose of the <i>product</i> is to be, in some form or another, emotionally resonant. Period, end of story. Whether something is good or great is an
impossible question to answer—and the question itself is irrelevant and misses
the point. The beauty of all art is its
subjectivity, its versatile nature, its ability to make two different people
feel the same thing, or, dually, to make two similar people feel different
things, but most of all, its ability to just make people <i>feel</i>.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">I’m
really inspired by the postmodern, Dada, minimalistic and expressionistic
movements. I believe anything can be art
if you think of it in an artistic way.
One word can be a poem and it can be beautiful or ugly or both at the
same time. A urinal on display in a
museum (see Marcel Duchamp) can evoke so many emotions—what art does <i>not</i> do so? Four white
canvases forming a large square hung on the wall of an art gallery is more than
justified to be there (see <span class="arial7">Robert Rauschenberg)</span>. Is any one of David Hockney’s several
paintings of various swimming pools, presented in complete realistic glory,
less than art? Is John Cage’s <i>4’37”,</i> where the sheet music is filled
with rests, instructing the musician to sit in silence for the duration, any
less than music? That’s my true
aesthetic. Art is art. Art is anything and everything. Art is what you want it to be and most
assuredly what you do not want it to be.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">The
problem is we live in a world where criticism is not only accepted, but
expected—in fact, on the rare occasion that something is not attached to any
criticism, it’s often invalidated, rendered unworthy of being a part of “the
group”. As an Arts and Sciences major, where my focus was in music, creative
writing, and theatre/performing arts (arguably three out of the Big Four art
industries), I was required to take several workshop style classes, heavily
creatively saturated, but also equally loaded with critiquing our peers. While I would do my best to give adequate
critiques and honest opinions, I felt they were moot overall. I am no more qualified than anyone else to
give my opinion and I don’t feel my opinion matters anyway. The point to all these things we do is the <u>process</u>. Getting there. We artists don’t easily forget the delightfully
painstaking hours we spent on one idea, one image, one word, one sound. The art is in the process, not the product.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Everyone
has their own journey through the world of creation and they should commence
happily without spending precious minutes dwelling on outside criticism—either
giving it or receiving it. A dialogue is
one thing, critiquing is another.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">My
point: It’s not about saying things are “good” or “bad”; it’s about measuring
their integrity, their merit. And we
should measure that merit not by the aesthetics of the product itself, but by
the soul behind it, the spirited effort put in, and the honesty with which it
was made.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">*Sigh*
I feel much better now that I’ve gotten that off my chest.</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">Thoughts?</span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: "Courier New",Courier,monospace;">xxErin</span></span>Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-43078827704249132722013-05-29T19:28:00.000-05:002013-05-29T19:28:07.222-05:00Amanda Hocking's Blog: How to Give Yourself Writer's BlockJust had to reblog this. It's so true, in every respect; anyone who is any kind of artist will find this resonating. Totally spoke to me. PS. If you haven't yet, read Amanda's books--they're all wonderful:) <br />
<br />
<a href="http://amandahocking.blogspot.com/2013/05/how-to-give-yourself-writers-block.html?spref=bl">Amanda Hocking's Blog: How to Give Yourself Writer's Block</a>: I get this question a lot: "How do you get over writer's block?" But I decided to do the opposite and write a blog called &q...Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-31138175521183163042013-05-18T14:22:00.001-05:002013-05-18T14:22:49.852-05:00Fun, huh?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jHGAggffFH4/UZfUxwVvx4I/AAAAAAAAAlo/TnTiO1atiQI/s1600/Summer+Braids.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jHGAggffFH4/UZfUxwVvx4I/AAAAAAAAAlo/TnTiO1atiQI/s1600/Summer+Braids.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<br />
xxErinErin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2886030985570284329.post-67137456305834411212013-05-14T22:31:00.001-05:002013-05-15T08:56:05.303-05:00Bits and SundriesMoon-Tide is finally in Print! It will take a while for Amazon to set up their page for it, but here is the link to buy it directly from the Createspace E-Store:<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<a href="https://www.createspace.com/4217630" target="_blank">Moon-Tide Paperback</a></div>
<br />
FYI #1: The paperback is the same price, whether you buy it from Createspace or Amazon, which is $9.99<br />
FYI #2: Createspace is owned by Amazon, so it is a trusted site, trust me;)<br />
FYI #3: I will update this post with a link to buy the book from Amazon, if some of you don't want to use Createspace, though they tell me it could be at least another week before it's available on there, if not longer. <br />
<br />
Golly gee willikers! It just feels so good to have finished all the publishing matters for this book!!<br />
<br />
FYI #4: Hard at work on subsequent drafts of Book Six.<br />
<br />
FYI #5: In case you've ever wondered...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KNrF_ow74Js/UZLRDyrycfI/AAAAAAAAAgI/ipY-07r2-Ts/s1600/001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="202" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KNrF_ow74Js/UZLRDyrycfI/AAAAAAAAAgI/ipY-07r2-Ts/s320/001.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
...this is what a book looks like when printed out on regular copy paper and divided by chapters. Wait, that one's kinda fuzzy.<br />
<br />
Here: <br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6w6CJl1BhYU/UZLUg5oKITI/AAAAAAAAAgU/6dS8gIqcusQ/s1600/003.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="245" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-6w6CJl1BhYU/UZLUg5oKITI/AAAAAAAAAgU/6dS8gIqcusQ/s320/003.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<br />
Wait, that one's kinda crookedy. But oh well, that's all I took and then I put my camera away so the moment has passed and I'm too lazy to do all that again so that's what you get.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: left;">
But pretty crazy, huh? Let me tell you how it's possible that I was able to lay my book out in the middle of the living room like that ('this' actually, cuz it's still there). Both of the people I live with aren't home right now. One is out of town and the other is working the late shift at his job so woo hoo! let's (me by myself) crack open that bottle of Coppola's finest red and get crackin' on this next re-write! YEAH!!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Although...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Maybe drinking and writing don't mix...?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Although...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Hemingway would probably disagree with me.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
No, let's take a step back. Cuz I'm like in super-love with Hemingway. I'll say Tennessee Williams would probably disagree with me. Don't get me wrong, I love Tennessee Williams too--as a theatre kid, it's hard not to. But yeah, he would definitely disagree with me about the drinking thing.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Although...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Maybe I shouldn't say 'drinking' and writing but 'getting drunk' and writing don't mix...?</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
At least not for me. ...So far...</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Maybe I'll try it...? </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
You know... </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Thinking about Hemingway and my super-love for him, it's brought something to mind. I never thought I had a <i>type</i>, you know? But it turns out I do! Here is a short list* of people I love, have the hots for, or just maybe have a tiny crush on or something. And as you go down the list, please note how strikingly similar in one way or another these men are. Even if one of them doesn't have the square jaw or the facial hair, observe his intensely dark eyes. Except in the case of # 11, who has blue eyes. But he still has that quality, like # 9 does. Oh yeah, and # 7 has blue eyes too I guess. And # 12 and # 13. And I guess # 5 has sort of greenish(?) eyes, but--you know what? just read the list and ignore all this!</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
1. Because we've already established it, let's just go ahead and start with Ernest.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOb2jygUUZs/UZLpwsX2BSI/AAAAAAAAAgk/KcAqqi6bh6w/s1600/Ernest-Hemingway-in-Paris-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-tOb2jygUUZs/UZLpwsX2BSI/AAAAAAAAAgk/KcAqqi6bh6w/s320/Ernest-Hemingway-in-Paris-001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="goog_1747383878"></span><span id="goog_1747383879"></span>(Handsome devil, right?)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="goog_1747383878"></span><span id="goog_1747383879"></span><br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span id="goog_1747383878">2. Jonathan Frakes</span><span id="goog_1747383879"></span> as Captain William Riker from Star Trek</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TysFqSa39MM/UZLqAcLMrWI/AAAAAAAAAho/32pD_0eZmtk/s1600/William_Riker%252C_2366.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TysFqSa39MM/UZLqAcLMrWI/AAAAAAAAAho/32pD_0eZmtk/s320/William_Riker%252C_2366.jpg" width="244" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Hubba, Hubba)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
3. Michael Gladis as Paul Kinsey in Mad Men</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eikJ01V-mZo/UZLqA33pwtI/AAAAAAAAAh0/_3sHOC3-j8s/s1600/kinsey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-eikJ01V-mZo/UZLqA33pwtI/AAAAAAAAAh0/_3sHOC3-j8s/s320/kinsey.jpg" width="238" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Love that pipe (but mostly the beard).)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
4. Tom Selleck as Tom Selleck in everything Tom Selleck is in</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pYCZ6uXSK08/UZLqFZ87IOI/AAAAAAAAAiU/t9-ivab2ZK4/s1600/tom-selleck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pYCZ6uXSK08/UZLqFZ87IOI/AAAAAAAAAiU/t9-ivab2ZK4/s320/tom-selleck.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Very few men can pull off the mustache without some sort of beard attached. Tom Selleck is one of them.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
5. Jack Nicholson in Chinatown<br />
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sTbPgc-odPw/UZLs8pC3NKI/AAAAAAAAAjg/7MheSpTUHS4/s1600/jack+in+chinatown.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-sTbPgc-odPw/UZLs8pC3NKI/AAAAAAAAAjg/7MheSpTUHS4/s320/jack+in+chinatown.jpg" width="255" /></a></div>
<span id="goog_313150850"></span><span id="goog_313150851"></span>(I'll never forget the first time I saw Chinatown. That was the day I fell in love with this man. My introduction to him was as the Joker in Batman, so previously, as you can imagine, I found nothing sexy about him and he only frightened me. Although, he manages to pull off sexy and frightening at the same time in The Shining, so...what does that say? My brain cannot reconcile these two things so let's just move on.)<br />
<br />
6. Marlon Brando<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vtr8yAVGPAU/UZLs1q80U9I/AAAAAAAAAi4/J2nZfDvLSRo/s1600/Marlon-Brando-9224306-2-402.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vtr8yAVGPAU/UZLs1q80U9I/AAAAAAAAAi4/J2nZfDvLSRo/s320/Marlon-Brando-9224306-2-402.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Because, duh.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
7. Harrison Ford</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MxZJehwmugY/UZLs_gHx6fI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/cJDbxUkrPZM/s1600/blade-runner-harrison-ford-2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-MxZJehwmugY/UZLs_gHx6fI/AAAAAAAAAkQ/cJDbxUkrPZM/s320/blade-runner-harrison-ford-2.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Yes, Han Solo, yes, Indiana Jones, but let's not forget his unforgettable turn in Blade Runner, as Rick Deckard. As stated in Moon-Linked, the character of Deckard is named after Harrison Ford's character in Blade Runner. Because, well, just look at him!)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
8. Kyle MacLachlan as Special Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lAj3wLd0uaA/UZLs0OPdzPI/AAAAAAAAAiw/7WkuRNh0ClI/s1600/Cooper_005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-lAj3wLd0uaA/UZLs0OPdzPI/AAAAAAAAAiw/7WkuRNh0ClI/s320/Cooper_005.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(And guys, guys--remember him in Dune??!)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
No? Well, here then:</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vrt0xYjf5fU/UZLxwYUwaWI/AAAAAAAAAkw/7XnJiw_yiWI/s1600/241262551081159725796.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vrt0xYjf5fU/UZLxwYUwaWI/AAAAAAAAAkw/7XnJiw_yiWI/s320/241262551081159725796.jpg" width="233" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
("We Fremen have a saying: 'God created me to look pretty.' One cannot go against the word of God." Right you are, Paul. Right. You. Are.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
9. Kevin Spacey</div>
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3ol266ou3Bw/UZLs9tS-NbI/AAAAAAAAAjw/DDv-fCvUoOs/s1600/kevin_spacey.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-3ol266ou3Bw/UZLs9tS-NbI/AAAAAAAAAjw/DDv-fCvUoOs/s1600/kevin_spacey.jpg" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Two words: Bedroom Eyes. I've probably said this like 500 million times and most of those times people don't get it. I don't get why they don't get it.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
10. David Tennant (esp. as the 10th Doctor on Doctor Who</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tt9gumWul4A/UZLtDT9h2tI/AAAAAAAAAkg/Qak5t527uxk/s1600/tumblr_m0uuqxrIZR1r3iuzgo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tt9gumWul4A/UZLtDT9h2tI/AAAAAAAAAkg/Qak5t527uxk/s320/tumblr_m0uuqxrIZR1r3iuzgo1_500.jpg" width="289" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Coincidence that the 10th Doctor is # 10 on this list? Coincidence that he himself is a '10'? Coincidence that I'm drooling right now?)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
11. Matt Smith (esp. as the 11th Doctor on Doctor Who. Yeah, I put him as # 11 on purpose. Nerd like that.)</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0wILJyXZuLY/UZLs631tvkI/AAAAAAAAAjI/weNomXQDP4s/s1600/Matt-3-matt-smith-32561615-1600-1066.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0wILJyXZuLY/UZLs631tvkI/AAAAAAAAAjI/weNomXQDP4s/s320/Matt-3-matt-smith-32561615-1600-1066.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(He's so cool. Like bow ties.)</div>
</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
12. Joel Hodgson (esp. as Joel Robinson on MST3K)<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h7hN8SBi23c/UZLs-0kOEaI/AAAAAAAAAkE/2hZQzOMF3VA/s1600/tumblr_llq4kqruCH1qfvkx1o1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-h7hN8SBi23c/UZLs-0kOEaI/AAAAAAAAAkE/2hZQzOMF3VA/s320/tumblr_llq4kqruCH1qfvkx1o1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(In case you haven't noticed yet, I really love science fiction movies/shows and books. Geek like that.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Also, in case you didn't notice, I'm not the only one who has the hots for Joel. Someone else made this picture; I just found it on the internets. Thank you, nameless internet captioned-picture-making person.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
13. Jason Schwartzman</div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TrvcTbPz4FE/UZLxy9mUxuI/AAAAAAAAAk4/ZVMw0bJJvF0/s1600/jason+schwartzman.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-TrvcTbPz4FE/UZLxy9mUxuI/AAAAAAAAAk4/ZVMw0bJJvF0/s320/jason+schwartzman.jpg" width="232" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Need I say more?)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Seriously, do you need me to say more, because I can and totally will.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
14. Robert Downey Jr.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wsk0Rsgh22Q/UZLx1XUgBWI/AAAAAAAAAlA/MGTyYOVu19k/s1600/downeyjr.220290121377.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-wsk0Rsgh22Q/UZLx1XUgBWI/AAAAAAAAAlA/MGTyYOVu19k/s320/downeyjr.220290121377.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(We've all seen him with the facial hair in recent years, so take a gander at this gem. I first fell in love with RDJ when I saw Soapdish. Geez Louise, he's just all charisma, charm, and prettiness in that movie. No, no, wait--that's how he is in every movie.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
And also, because I just couldn't resist, I had to include this one:</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PQ4MGWcLQUs/UZLx3M2GyFI/AAAAAAAAAlI/Dda9QYLrfuM/s1600/robert_downey_jr_92.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-PQ4MGWcLQUs/UZLx3M2GyFI/AAAAAAAAAlI/Dda9QYLrfuM/s320/robert_downey_jr_92.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Ohhh, that smile.)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
15. James Mercer of The Shins<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c0cuDyjW7SI/UZLs854x6sI/AAAAAAAAAjo/WdVFDx8N7BM/s1600/james+mercer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-c0cuDyjW7SI/UZLs854x6sI/AAAAAAAAAjo/WdVFDx8N7BM/s320/james+mercer.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(Cute+Genius Lyricist = My Brain is exploding right now.)</div>
<br />
16. Damien Rice<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oP1quMhFWyE/UZLs1r3ArEI/AAAAAAAAAi8/axiPxMsNEDI/s1600/Damien%252BRice%252B3370426.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oP1quMhFWyE/UZLs1r3ArEI/AAAAAAAAAi8/axiPxMsNEDI/s320/Damien%252BRice%252B3370426.png" width="269" /></a></div>
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(Le Sigh...)</div>
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17. Sean Connery</div>
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<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SIEMHeMM6iw/UZLs7hrDvTI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/jEoGUyuZ5cU/s1600/fb744d14e262c965f03b31f01335bbec.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SIEMHeMM6iw/UZLs7hrDvTI/AAAAAAAAAjQ/jEoGUyuZ5cU/s1600/fb744d14e262c965f03b31f01335bbec.jpg" /></a></div>
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(Mm-hmm.)</div>
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18. And last but never least, Burt Reynolds in Gator</div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MeZhWS_4R2s/UZLs8Axs3NI/AAAAAAAAAjY/UlNoMRCs_M8/s1600/gator-burt.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MeZhWS_4R2s/UZLs8Axs3NI/AAAAAAAAAjY/UlNoMRCs_M8/s1600/gator-burt.gif" /></a></div>
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(Look at him rockin' that 'stache like nobody's business. Again, one of the few who can.)</div>
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(Also, this photo made me laugh when I found it because its file name is "Gator_Burt" Ha! I dunno why, that just makes me laugh. Dork like that.)</div>
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So there you have it. See the trend I was talking about? That's my type. And that's why...</div>
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19. Travis Boles </div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KLrP7cwdjP4/UZL6YEHEqLI/AAAAAAAAAlY/OCcS7F9b3GQ/s1600/254611_10150275514299723_7387897_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="154" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KLrP7cwdjP4/UZL6YEHEqLI/AAAAAAAAAlY/OCcS7F9b3GQ/s320/254611_10150275514299723_7387897_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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...I'm engaged to this guy. (For the record, he has hazel eyes.) Yep. Definitely have a type. Who knew? Not me, until my betrothed pointed it out a mere few months ago.</div>
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*Depends on one's definition of "short" and one's definition of "list" and one's definition of "short list"<br />
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Wow. Once again I managed to take what should have been a simple, small post and turn it into a long thing about some random thing other than the thing the post was originally supposed to be about. Welp. That's me I guess--Random, making mountains out of molehills, and fawning over a bunch of similar-looking men. Weird like that.<br />
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xxErin<br />
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PS. Wasn't I supposed to be spending this time writing or re-writing or something?<br />
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PPS. Or was it mostly just the drinking and then I got sidetracked and then I wanted to look at a bunch of pictures of hot dudes?<br />
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PPPS. Yeah, probably that last one.<br />
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**Amazon totally lied to me because the paperback is available now, less than twenty-four hours after giving the green light. Whatevs. Here's the link: <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Tide-Lone-March-Volume-5/dp/1483935205/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1368625930&sr=8-2&keywords=erin+irvin+moon-tide" target="_blank">Amazon Paperback</a></div>
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Erin Irvinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00028826897763621773noreply@blogger.com0