Here’s the blurb for the new scifi WIP, ‘Changed‘:

Keelie Bryant can’t ignore the chance to work with her brilliant uncle on a top-secret military project. It’s an irresistible opportunity, and leads to falling in love with the wrong man, changing her forever.

Years later, those involved in the project begin dying.

Banding together with those still alive, she knows their one chance at survival lies in the hands of the project’s results: genetically restructured soldiers.

Yet convincing those who have no memory of life before the project will bring her into contact with the one man she hoped never to see again.

The one who almost killed her.

Many thanks to Jo and Kate for the blurb help!

I’m working on draft #2 of Changed between Near Dark and a few other things. Luckily, I know a guy with mad scientist skillz who has been of immeasurable help with the science bits of Changed. Thanks, Damian!

For those who claim a review copy, honest reviews are what I crave. Even if you hate it so much it makes you froth at the mouth.

On my other blog, I’ve posted the first part of The Companion as a fund raising effort. You can find the information here.

Near Dark was voted as the next title I should complete, and so that is what I’m currently working on. Hoping to have it ready for release in February.

That covers what’s in the works right now!

Not made up pen names; rather, variations of my name. I’m already using my initials and surname, G. L. Drummond.

G. L. Drummond will be the name for my scifi titles. I have more of those out under it currently, so it makes sense to stick with it for them.

Gayla Drummond will be used for my fantasy titles. Urban fantasy, etc.

Louise Drummond will be used for titles like contemporary romances and non-supernatural/paranormal thrillers (yes, I have one of those in the ol’ WIP list).

I’m not looking to create scads of pen names and drill down to the smallest genre niches here. It’s hard enough just being ‘me’ online, so I certainly don’t want to try and be 3 or more people, LOL.

Basically, the different names are just a way to categorize my work and make it easier for readers to concentrate on what they prefer to read.

Information will be added to my About pages on each of my sites, and the About the Author paragraph I stick in each book.

All three names will share my social media accounts and author web site, GLDrummond.com.

Changes will be made to the covers of a few of the titles currently available (Rift, Deadlands Hunt, Moon Children, and the upcoming Arcane Solutions).

In other news, our second family workout was this past Tuesday. OMG, I hurt the next two days (butt and thighs) and couldn’t figure out why. I’m not overdoing anything, just slowly building up how many reps I can do at low weights, and then I’ll increase the weight.

Figured it out Friday night, during workout #3.

I put the weight on the leg press machine at 50 lbs…or so I thought. Turns out that it was 50 KG (110 lbs). D’oh.

That’s almost my full body weight, people. Not recommended by me when someone hasn’t actually ‘worked out’ since 9th grade P.E.!

There’s all ready a parasite that can control its host, and with the huge advances in medical science, it seems to me that it’s only a matter of time before someone with a God complex fucks up and BOOM!

Zombocalyse.

HH (my other half, life partner, partner in crime) has joked that the only reason I keep him around is to slow the zombies down while I make my getaway. “I’m big, slow, and intelligent. They’re going to want the meat and my delicious brain.”

He plans to lose some weight and get fit so that he can outrun my ass when the zombie explosion occurs.

Now I’m one of those naturally skinny chicks. The only time I’ve been ‘overweight’ is during pregnancies. I have a high metabolism, but lead a mostly sedentary lifestyle. I don’t eat unless I’m hungry, because I don’t need much fuel at my current activity level.

I wouldn’t make a good meal for zombies, but I’d be an acceptable snack. My IQ is a little higher than his, so my brain is probably just that much more delicious.

We’ve decided that 2012 is our year to prepare for the Zombocalypse/get into the habit of regular exercise for better health for the rest of our lives.

Whichever comes first.

Face it, a LOT of people are suddenly going to become super interested in going on a diet and exercising their asses off when the Zombocalypse happens.

The alternative is getting eaten. Is there a better incentive than survival?

On the completely serious side of things, the only regular exercise I currently partake of involves feeding horses multiple times a week, riding my own horse when the weather permits and I feel like it, and of course, my paper route.

I’m totally your girl if you want grenades or sticks of explosives thrown out of a moving vehicle with any degree of accuracy. Remember that.

The rest of the time (most of the time), my ass is firmly planted in a super comfy chair in front of my computer.

We figure I’ll put inches on, because a regular increase in physical activity will require more fuel, and should result in building muscle mass.

I’m 41 years old, and have a lingering issue with my back, thanks to a freak injury over a year ago. Basically, I pulled a bone out of place at the back of the pelvic girdle. FYI: That hurt more than giving birth, people.

Currently, I can’t do a lot of bending, lifting, carrying, or standing and walking without living through a few days of physical regret for being so adventurous. Forget running or jumping.

I am NOT going to be HH’s getaway distraction, people.

My goals are to get fit, build upper body, stomach, and back strength. It will only help my back in the long run, though the short run may convince me it’s better to be a zombie snack.

There’s likely to be some off the wall conversations to relate here, because when HH, the girl (our daughter), and I do things together, the weirdness dial can end up turned on to the ‘Full Blast’ mark.

While I have no intention of this blog becoming all about fitness, I will make regular posts about my progress.

Wish me luck. I don’t wanna be a zombie snack.

Her registered name is ‘OH WHAT A BABE’, and her barn name is Sugarbabe, or Shug for short. Her Christmas present was a new winter blanket, which came in yesterday:

 Now she’s a bright, cheerful spot on cloudy days!

The estimated number of words written yesterday (Day 1). Considering the errands and such interrupting constantly, not a bad number.

Today is likely to be no words, because it’s Day Job, and we’re expecting cold, dusty winds that will interfere with said day job, and likely give me a sinus headache.

Whenever I finish, and return home, it’s probably going to be time for a hot shower and then either a nap, or settling in for some Zoo Tycoon 2 fun.

Then again, I might end up writing. We’ll see.

How silly is that, when I use stuff like a cell phone, computer, the Internet, and drive a truck with a freakin’ computer of its own?

Google Maps is about to see a slightly unusual use in Arcane Solutions.

A shiny new idea popped up for another story, and the MC in it will be introduced to computers and the Internet, among other things after twenty-some-odd years of being tech deprived.

That’s going to be fun to write.

This is not a final edit, but it’s getting pretty darn close.

***

I wasn’t too surprised to find Thorandryll in the reception area. Just by lounging on the harvest gold two-seat sofa he turned our mellow reassure-the-clients-we’re-sane atmosphere into a kindergarten art project. Damn gorgeous elves. Then again, arrogance like Thorandryll’s kind of cut through the glamour. Nick’s polite nod was ignored, and with a little helpful direction from my finger poking his ribs, he headed for Kate’s office.

Left alone with the elf, I smiled. “Have you been waiting long?”

“Not at all. Your employer and I finished our conversation only a few minutes ago.” He’d risen from his seat when we walked in, and began to offer his hand, but dropped it.

So, Whitehaven had given him the zoo speech. It was actually a ‘don’t touch the psychic unless she offers first’ speech, but it reminded me of the signs on certain cages at the zoo: ‘Don’t feed the monkeys’ or ‘Don’t touch the tiger’s glass’. “Good. If you’ll follow me, we can talk in my office.”

“Certainly. It’s a pleasure to see you again, Miss Jones.” He followed, taking a seat when I gestured towards the chairs while shutting the door.

Once seated behind my desk, I asked, “What is it that you need me to find?”

“An item has gone missing from my library.”

“So you want me to find a book?” Sitting back as he nodded, I thought he looked fantastic in the black slacks and a soft looking green pullover he was wearing. Cashmere, I bet. Or thistle silk spun at midnight on a unicorn spindle and knitted by moths. He was having a terrible influence on me, if I was thinking things like that. “What kind of book?”

“It’s an ancient tome, over two thousand years old.”

“They had books back then? Wow.”

“Yes, some did.” His tone indicated sudden second thoughts about hiring me. I hid a grin, meeting those wintry blue eyes with what I hoped was an innocent expression.

“How long has it been missing?”

“Three days.”

“Okay. Do you have a photo of it?”

“No.”

Not helpful. “How about the title and author’s name?”

“It’s a journal, Miss Jones, so has neither stamped upon its cover nor written inside.”

That was even less helpful. “Could you describe it, or better yet, visualize it and let me see it?”

“Your employer strictly forbade any attempts to mentally share information.” He frowned, obviously not understanding Whitehaven’s rule.

“Oh.” I’d had some freaky episodes after mental contact with centuries old vampires, hence the rule. The boss did the forbidding when a client was over a century old. The rule had come into play after I’d tried to bite him one evening. Even second-hand, the vampiric hunger for blood is a bitch. “Okay, do you have anything I can attempt to get some information from?”

“It’s a large tome. The cover is lightly tanned leather. There aren’t any symbols stamped upon it.” The elf gestured with long fingered hands. When he finished, a square of crimson silk formed in mid-air, then whispered down to pool on my desk’s top. “The book was wrapped in that for the past three decades. Will it suffice?”

“Yeah, it should.” I looked at the silk. It was older than I was by almost a decade. “No idea who stole it?”

“If I knew that, I wouldn’t be here and the book would already have been returned to its place.” He glared through me, jaw clenching and lips thinning. There was no trouble imagining him with a sword in hand, dressed in elaborate armor, and charging into battle.

“Aside from its age, what’s important about it? Why would someone want to steal it? Is it worth a lot?”

“Only to a few, with myself being one of them.” He smiled, not a confident curve of lips, but something cute and slightly crooked that called to mind little boys up to mischief. My brain stuttered to a halt. I didn’t think he was using glamour to improve his looks, but that wasn’t the only thing elves could do with that particular ability.

A quick knock on the door and Kate poked her head in. Her familiar, a parrot named Percival, stood on her left shoulder and Nick was behind her.

The shifter focused on Thorandryll after a quick glance at me. Kate ignored the elf in favor of informing me, “I’m ready to try another location spell, Jones.”

“Okay, just a minute.” Their appearance broke the haze. I summoned up a professional smile, aiming it at the elf. “I’ll let you know as soon as I come up with anything, and keep you updated on my progress as often as possible.”

Both golden eyebrows rose. “You’re not going to attempt psychometry now?”

I wondered if he’d been researching psychic abilities while answering. “I have a previous case to wrap up.”

“I see.” He nodded, gave another brief, devastatingly gorgeous smile and rose from his seat. I shadowed the move, stepping out from around my desk to offer a hand. Thorandryll didn’t shake it. Too common, I suppose. He raised it with a quarter bow, breath and lips oh-so-briefly warming my knuckles. My skin tingled in reaction. “I look forward to hearing from you, Miss Jones.”

You mean I have a forever home?

Blaze was a Christmas puppy for someone who decided they didn’t want him after all, and he ended up in our local pound. Fortunately, HH and the girl decided to visit the pound the day before he was scheduled to be put down, and he was (I quote HH here) “Taking no crap off the other dogs in his kennel”, so they brought him home.

I love this place!

We already had a pack of three, so the ‘taking no crap’ thing was kinda important. He had no problem settling in.

He was meant to be the girl’s buddy, but she was still in school, and HH likes to work at night, so guess what? Yep, he attached himself to me, because I was the one around most while his little shiny peepers were open.

I haz lasers in my eyes!

So I began to spoil him totally rotten, because he’s small and cute and funny and thinks I’m his mom. The lasers in his eyes was an unexpected development.

So was learning that he had a plan for world domination, which led to his being given the nickname ‘The Chihuahulhu’.  There are a few people who believe him to be top notch Evil. 0_o

In short, he’s 12 lbs of sheer awesome badass, and don’t you forget it!

Perro with a Sombrero