Top 8 of '08, with Guest Blogger Vicki Pettersson

This post is a special treat, because Vicki doesn't blog any more! But she's breaking with her blog moratorium to join us here and talk about her 8 Top Procrastination techniques, since there is no better way to procrastinate... right?

But before we take a peek at her inner thoughts, let's just take a gander at her outer self, shall we?

Which to choose, which to choose?




The babe cover shot?










How about the hot Las Vegas city author shot?











I can't pick my favourite, so they both go up.

I knew Vicki Pettersson's pixels as a member of the CompuServe Writers' Forum long before I met her in person, but I can tell you she lives up to her billing on the page and in person. A Vegas showgirl for ten years, she traded in her mirror ball and high kicks for a laptop and the New York Times best seller list. She's also a mama to a busy 3 year old....and we all know what THAT does to one's writing time!

Vicki's Zodiac urban fantasy series stars Joanna Archer, and with three books in print and her latest slated for production in 2009, when you pick up her books you will be guaranteed a breath-taking read filled with non-stop action.

But that doesn't mean our girl Vic doesn't have to work at getting all that fabulosity down on the page. Sometimes things just get in the way.

Let's hear it in her own words, shall we?

I don't actually blog anymore. I find it's a great way to feel like I'm working without actually doing so, and anyone who knows me also knows how, well, anal I am about focus, and discipline, and doing the work. So when Karen asked me to be a part of her Top 8 of '08 series, I naturally …

jumped all over it. (A guilt-free avenue of procrastination should never be passed up!)

So, here follows my top 8 ways to procrastinate online in '08:

1. Gmail.

I love All Things Google. But I especially love my gmail account, where I get the Times delivered every morning, I can view threaded messages, easily find past - even ancient - emails via subject or sender, and create and organize folders to make myself feel oh-so-organized. There are other buttons and levers that you can push and pull to varying, but entirely kickass, effect, but I'm not outlining them here. That would be procrastinating … and I don't actually work for google.

2. Playing with my new Mac.

Oh, the iChat. The iPhoto. The fact that I push a button and it actually iWorks. No booting up, no delay (thus, less procrastination!). And the awesome Scrivener software - this year's best tool in my writing toolbox - is only compatible with Mac. I'm more efficient because I'm a Mac user. I love it so much I even bought stock in Apple once the economy went belly up. This company is going to support my work life and put my kid through college!

3. Google Reader

Another google product, and the way I keep up on friends and colleagues in the writing world. It's great because I can take a quick break from writing - usually while stuffing my face with something wholesome and nutritous like shoestring potato chips - and I don't actually have to contribute to the cyberworld. Sometimes it's fun to be a voyeur.

4. Facebook

Man, was this one unexpected! But it's also quick and I've managed to catch up with people I'd never thought to hear from again. I understand that Twitter-ing cannot help but be far behind, but so far I'm resisting. I have resolve of steel, I tell ya.

5. Drudge Report (drudgereport.com)

I get to feel smart and stay up on world events on tabloid-like headlines alone. How great is that?

6. Decorno (decorno.blogspot.com)

This is porno for the home, my friends. A blog, it goes to my reader, but I regularly peruse the archives for ideas and advice I'll never use on and in my own home. It's nice to dream, though — and I love to see how other people live.

7. My message board (http://vickipettersson.proboards51.com/index.cgi)

I'm still getting used to the idea that people allow me into their minds by reading my books, but there are others who've let me into their lives, and this is where they hang out. To be honest, I'm pretty much just a mascot. These people talk, laugh, play and keep it a great place to hang out, something I've missed since my days on the Books and Writer's Forum. I hang out with these readers in lieu of a blog, answering questions as they arise rather than trying to anticipate or plan what people might want to hear. After all, that was the example I was given by Diana Gabaldon on the forum, so that's what I'm comfortable with. Plus, I've made some awesome friends.

8. Scented Glossy Magazines (http://scentedglossymagazines.blogspot.com/)

Also a blog, this is the ultimate, most mentally fattening way that I currently procrastinate. This is my online alternative to reality tv, but it's faster. It's the best of the trashiest, most mindless shows dissected by someone who can think, write, and who makes me laugh. Though it's the mental equivalent of cotton candy, SGM doesn't adhere to my ass, therefore I don't have to work out, which creates even more time for writing. Now that's efficiency at its finest.

Great suggestions all, Vicki. Thanks for sharing them. And now... it's back to work for you!

For those who'd like a little more info, check out Vicki's website HERE. A little spooky, a little desert...see you in Vegas, baby.

~kc

Holy Autumn Leaves, Batman!

Autumn leaves -- me breathless.

This one in particular.

Not the picture -- the season. Between book launches (4 more coming up September 30th and October 1st), Word on the Street, the Surrey International Writers' Conference, a book tour through Ontario, a McKee seminar -- well, let's just say that there is a whole lot to blog about.

Right now I am working with Kathleen at Carlson-Wagonlit to book travel arrangements for the folks coming to SiWC. With more than 60 presenters this year, scheduling the group is quite an interesting challenge!

Letters, schedules and e-tickets are flying through the ether as the last-minute details of the conference take shape.

Jack Whyte has made his selections for his Master Class -- and now he's busy (with Diana Gabaldon) judging entries for the writing contest. His decisions and those of the other judges will become evident on Friday, October 19th, as they are announced on the first evening of the conference.

And speaking of the conference -- for our two featured authors tonight, I've picked The Adventurer and The Showgirl.

The Adventurer is one Anthony Dalton, current president of the Vancouver branch of the Canadian Authors Association and the best man to have behind you in a tiger hunt. (Note: As a vegetarian, I do not regularly hunt tigers, however, since they might consider me a tasty, corn-fed morsel if I was in their neighbourhood, I wouldn't mind having Anthony watching my back...)

I've known Anthony for many years, but only in civilization. Before he settled to his life of bliss in White Rock, he's been around the planet a time or two. Here's just a _smidgen_ of his bio:

A British-born Canadian adventurer and author he is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a Fellow of the Explorers Club. His expeditions have taken him across the Sahara many times, through the deserts of the Middle East, into the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan, on dangerous Arctic waters, and canoeing wilderness rivers in northern Canada. He was the organizer and leader of a CBC-TV filming expedition to the Saharan salt mines of Taoudenit in northern Mali, and participated in a television documentary on great Canadian rivers for the Discovery Channel. Magazine assignments have taken him to the Australian Outback, the Falkland Islands, Namibia, Vanuatu, New Zealand, Bahrain, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, among others.

And I didn't even get to the tigers...

You can come and listen to Anthony Dalton tell his stories and talk about writing at SiWC this year.

Anthony might be a great raconteur, but even if you are into the bearded male look, he is no showgirl. You want a showgirl? I've got one for you.

This showgirl comes with brains, beauty and a best seller or two. Vicki Pettersson has had a whirlwind of a year. Her first two novels launched within mere weeks of each other, only to find their way, almost immediately, onto best seller lists across the US and Canada.

Her books THE SCENT OF SHADOWS and THE TASTE OF NIGHT are rockets in the Urban Fantasy genre, and Vicki will be talking about them and the processes that led to this self-described 'ten-year overnight sensation' at the conference this fall.

Less than a month away -- check out more details at http://www.siwc.ca/

And now -- at a minute to midnight -- adieu.

~kc