UPDATES - 9/1
*Thank you all for your overwhelming response to donate items for the upcoming auction to benefit Larissa! As of now, we’ve closed the auction donations, and you can view the lists of authors, editors, agents, web designers, readers and more who are donating critiques, books and other items here. A more […]

Just wanted to let you know that Larissa and I are joining the WriteMinded blogging team, and we’ll each be blogging there at least once a week and whenever else the mood strikes. It was supposed to be unveiled this week, but the design’s not ready, and with what’s happening with Larissa, we figured […]

UPDATE: If you would like to PayPal money for Larissa, you can send to this email: paypaldonations AT alisonkent.com and all funds will be used to purchase cash cards for her.
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Guys - I’m in tears. I just spoke with Larissa again. It looks like they lost everything. Her area in Mississippi […]

I just spoke with her - she’s safe - had to evacuate farther than she’d anticipated, but she and her son avoided the worst of it. Her husband’s okay too, but he’s on the boat and not with them right now.
Her house? Not so much. She’s heard from neighbors that it’s pretty […]

Please send go away hurricane vibes and big prayers for Larissa - she’s in Mississippi and she’s already evacuated. She’s got someplace to stay and she’ll be safe, but I know she’s freaking. This looks like it’s going to do some major damage to her area.
She’ll check in with me as soon […]

Pages written between yesterday and today: 22
The conversation that takes place at least once a day between me and my mother:
Mother: Do you want a smoothie?
Steph: No thanks.
M: I’m making them. You don’t want one?
S: Nope.
M: Blueberry smoothie?
S: No.
M: Banana smoothie?
S: No.
M: Blueberry banana smoothie.
S: No.
M: But it’s a smoothie.
S: Don’t want one.
M: So […]

At my house (that’s half demolished right now) and in my office (which is stripped bare and also in a state of ripped-apart) I have sticky notes with different writing / inspirational quotes above my desk. And I miss them. They’re all packed away somewhere, along with my book of writer’s quotes. […]

Some quick notes first:
1. For AOL users who have problems commenting because of my spam settings - if you register, you should be able to comment with no problem. (the links are right under the calendar on the sidebar)
2. Kacey or anyone who uses an RSS feed for this blog, is it […]

“She’s trying to send us away. Thing is, we’re not leaving Nick behind.”
I hear Jake whispering in the other room. He thinks I’m upstairs still trying to download some damned music, but I had a sense that there was mutiny brewing. Good thing I checked.
They’re camped out in my mother’s living room […]

I’m alone, which is a rare, rare treat since I’ve temporarily moved in with my parents, thanks to the contruction mess that’s currently demolishing my own house.
Well, alone unless you count the four year old, who is napping. And the dog, who is also napping.
The husband went one way and my parents […]

The four year old did really well, and the doctors are all very happy with the way her Titanium Rib Rods are helping her spine and lungs. So thanks so much for all the thoughts and prayers - they’re so appreciated! We got home late last night and my parents have been spoiling […]

PBW writes:
I recently gave an interview during which I was asked “Has writing changed who you are or how you see the world?”, and I answered Writing has allowed me to cope with who I am and the world around me. That’s still true. No matter how drastically your life and the world changes, the […]

Authors Let Bidders Name Characters:
Next month, Stephen King, Amy Tan, Lemony Snicket, Nora Roberts, Michael Chabon and 11 other best-selling writers will auction the right to name characters in their new novels. The profits will go to the First Amendment Project, whose lawyers have repeatedly gone to court to protect the free speech rights of […]

Spent most of the day nursing the migraine and on the phone with Dell, trying to figure out why I can’t download songs from musicmatch jukebox. Something about play rights and corrupt software and wiping out the operating system and will someone please smack me if I ever talk about buying another Dell computer […]

Astrology for Writers, Editors and Filmmakers
Aries: aries writers are prolific: lousy spellers but great plot weavers. they want to stand alone so hate co-authoring as a rule. aries, you may have to bend a little on the solo stuff this month.
Daily Horoscope for Aries:
Feeling a tad arrested regarding certain developments lately? Well, sometimes […]

Jake here.
I’m tired of waiting. Maybe, if you helped her out, she’d start in on MY book for real. So I’ve written my own opening. Feel free to add at will.
(Actually, that last part’s a direct order.)
Once upon a time, there was a Navy SEAL named Jake, and all he […]

Hi all! Missed you guys too!
Vacation was great - the beach town we go to so casual and easy-going. I could’ve stayed another few weeks easily, especially because the weather was awesome. I got through most of my TBR pile and I even wrote about 30 pages. And I ate enough […]

…and semi-unpacked.
Okay - let’s see if I can do a quick catch up here before I forget:
Kacey - thanks for telling me about the RSS feed. I’ll let the web gurus at DreamForge know, since I have no clue about that stuff.
Alyssa - I just got a comment from you that […]

I thought I’d have better service here, or else I would’ve posted before I left. I pretty much forgot about our beach vacation because of all the construction, etc. and because we booked it last year.
I’m on really slow dial-up, so if you’ve emailed me and I haven’t responded, I will. And unless […]

A fellow romance writer, Marianne Mancusi is going through a tough time right now - check out the ways you can help via The Literary Chicks.
Steph T.