Twenty-two

Ouch. Anyone watch all six hours and sixteen minutes of the Rockies and Padres game last night? I gave up at 1 am ET, about the middle of the eleventh inning, but did get a kick out of seeing the twenty-first inning stretch on SportsCenter this morning. Both teams are in transit today. Makes me tired just thinking about it.

On the bright side: Not only did the Rockies finally win thanks to Troy Tulowitzki, I had the Padres pitching staff on my ESPN Baseball Challenge roster. (Thankfully, I dumped the Detroit Tigers pitching staff awhile back.) Between the long game in San Diego and my current third baseman, Chipper Jones, doing some serious damage with his bat, my fantasy team earned ninety-one points yesterday. Sadly, I'm still in sixth place out of the (you guessed it) twenty-two players in my Challenge league. But the season is long, and I have the Cubs pitching staff tonight. I'm planning on a slow and steady climb.

BOLO

BOLO being cop-speak for "Be On The Lookout."

The official release date isn't until May 5th, but guess what Terri Clark spotted in a Colorado Barnes & Noble?



Breaking Up (Is Hard To Do) is showing up in stores! I've also had reports of sightings in California and around Seattle, and the book is now listed as shipping from Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble online, Books-A-Million, and dozens of great independent booksellers.

Breaking Up features stories from Terri Clark, Ellen Hopkins, and Lynda Sandoval, along with yours truly. You can get more info and read an excerpt of my contribution, "Last Stand", right here.

We just learned that the April 15 issue of Kirkus gave the book a fabulous review. It's long, but here's a highlight:

"Although the focus is breakups, each (story) leaves protagonists and readers with the hope of a new and better relationship to come...Often frankly sexy and peppered with teen-friendly references (hip slang, IM conversations), this box of candy for the lovelorn satisfies."

Nifty, eh?

In other good news, the paperback edition of Goddess Games is going to be hitting the stores any day. It has a new, bright blue cover I adore, so again, BOLO!




As always, all the details (a quickie blurb, an excerpt, and some fun behind the scenes info) are right here, on the official Niki site.

And if you see either book in a store, snap a pic on your cell phone and send it in. ( Just be sure to use a good subject line in your e-mail so it doesn't end up in the spam folder, and let me know where your shot was taken.) Your photo might show up here on the blog!

The Secret to Productivity

Any writer with a new baby understands that their productivity takes a nosedive as the diaper pail fills. However, what (dumb, dumb) people often don't realize is that the same thing happens when you bring a puppy into your house.

I knew a puppy would be a distraction when I brought Tipper home last summer. I just didn't grasp how much. Not only will she chew shoes, she chews door frames, the stairs, cupboard knobs, and even the WINDOWS. No, not the window frames, but she actually tries to chew the flat glass. Don't ask me why.

The upshot is that I'm constantly distracted. Today, however, I found the secret to increasing my productivity:



Yep. Bribery in the form of a meaty bone. Trust me, it works. (At least for dogs. I don't recommend you try this with an infant.) The new bed and the meaty bone are presents she received for her first birthday last week. Turns out they were gifts for me! She even cast aside her favorite donut toy (on the right side of the picture), which NEVER happens.

However, once you give your pup that treat, don't try to take it away. This is the look you will get:



It says, "Don't. You. Dare."

Foolishness

I have a serious Diet Cherry Coke addiction. (One I've blogged about before.) Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper is a close second as far as writing fuel goes. Since I learned (to my dismay) that both of these are seasonal items, I have been scouring the store shelves, waiting for one or both to reappear. I finally found a twelve-pack of Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper on the store shelf a few days ago. ONE. Of course, I bought it. Then next to it, I noticed two twelve-packs of this:



I stared at it longer than anyone should stare at soda, thinking, This could be hideous...but what if it's not?

Since I might never see it on a shelf again (a lesson learned when the Diet Cherry Coke disappeared), and I have no idea when I might be able to replenish my Diet Cherry Coke/Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper stash, I grabbed both.

Utter foolishness. It is NASTY.

Anyone want 23 cans? This has to be an April Fool's Day joke.

Opening Day

Most MLB teams play their opening day games today. Anyone else in the mood to sing a little Take Me Out To The Ball Game?

After watching the Nationals game (and oohing and ahhing over their new stadium), I celebrated the beginning of the 2008 season by joining ESPN's Baseball Challenge. If you like the idea of playing fantasy baseball, but don't have the time to commit to a draft or following stats/trading players each day, this is a great way to go. Join up and see how you do...it's not too late, and it's very easy. You get $50 million to spend on a team, then you pick and choose from a list of available players. The pitching staff is something you select in its entirety...instead of picking individual pitchers, you would, for instance, nab the Tampa Bay pitching staff for one low (low, low) price. I opted to go for the Tigers pitchers. Let's hope they were a good buy.

(And no, I did not create an all-Rockies and Red Sox roster of position players, though I did snag Matt Holliday for center field.)


Let's hope my Baseball Challenge team fares better than my Geek Pool entry for the NCAA tourney. I'm now in 20th and 24th place with my two entries. Talk about sheer suckage. I don't think even a Kansas-Memphis final could pull me out of the basement now. So if anyone has tips on creating a first place baseball lineup--under that $50 million salary cap, of course--please let me know. I need to redeem myself!