Another social networking site? Pinterest appears different

Nope, I haven't signed up (yet) for Pinterest. Here's the link and some info for those curious:
http://pinterest.com/

Taken from their site:

What is Pinterest?

Pinterest is a virtual pinboard. Pinterest allows you to organize and share all the beautiful things you find on the web. You can browse pinboards created by other people to discover new things and get inspiration from people who share your interests.
People use pinboards to plan their weddings, decorate their homes, and share their favorite recipes.

Pinterest is currently invite-only. You can request an invite from Pinterest or be invited by someone already using it.

Their goal is to connect everyone in the world through the 'things' they find interesting.

So, I guess it is like a social networking site, but different. I gave the site a quick once-over and it appears that photos you find on the internet is what you "pin" to your account. And you can find others with similar interests...and share your findings.

I keep a hard copy of all the bazillion sites I have accounts with...my login info, etc. I'm looking at the list and shaking my head in amazement and frustration. No wonder I get sucked into the Internet Worm Hole of Lost Time and suddenly glance at the clock and gasp! -- wondering where did the last three hours disappear to?! Some accounts with some sites I've let whither away and never or rarely return. Some I try to check in once a week. But Facebook, Twitter and my blog/website are the main social networking sites I keep close tabs on.

What about you?  Have you tried this new Pinterest? And how many still fiddle with MySpace?

Werewolf Movies - Have you seen all of these?

This is a short list of werewolf movies that I nabbed up from someone at Internet Movie Database...since it contains several of my own favorites and I didn't have to torture my brain coming up with a great list, I'm posting this one! I'm ashamed to say there are about two on the list I'm not familiar with...how about you?

1. Underworld 2003

2. Underworld: Evolution 2006

3. Underworld: Rise of the Lycans 2009

4. Teen Wolf Too 1987

5. Van Helsing 2004

6. Blood and Chocolate 2007

7. Cursed 2005

8. Teen Wolf 1985

9. Never Cry Werewolf 2008

10. Skinwalkers 2006

11. Full Moon High 1981

12. New Moon 2009

13. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse 2010

14. An American Werewolf in London 1981

15. The Wolfman 2010

16. Red Riding Hood 2011

Werewolf Mythology

Time for fun! Let's devour some werewolf mythology and legends. We'll take a bite out of the mysteries surrounding these furry creatures and feed the drooling appetite for fans and interested bystanders.

• A werewolf is also known as a lycanthrope. Affectionately called a lycan.
• According to European folklore, they can show physical traits even in their human form, such as: the meeting of both eyebrows, curved fingernails, low-set ears and a swinging stride. A method of identifying a werewolf in its human form: cut the flesh and fur would be seen in the wound. Russian folklore states a werewolf has bristles under the tongue.
• Werewolves normally have superhuman strength, speed, and senses, far beyond that of wolves and men.
• And the French name for a werewolf is loup-garou. (Don't ask me to pronounce it.)
• References to men changing into wolves are found in Ancient Greek literature and mythology.  Herodotus wrote that a tribe near Scythia transformed into wolves once every year for several days.  Ovid tells of King Lycaon who served human flesh to God Zeus - testing if he was really a god. Zeus wasn't amused and turned Lycaon into a werewolf as punishment for the crime. Ovid also relates stories of men in Arcadia who roamed the woods in the form of wolves.
• Other Roman writers mentioned lycanthropy. Virgil wrote of humans transforming into wolves. Pliny the Elder relates two tales of lycanthropy. One is of a man who hung his clothes on an ash tree, swam across an Arcadian lake, and transformed into a wolf. If he didn't attack humans for 9 years, he could swim back and take his human form. Pliny's second tale is of a man who was turned into a wolf after eating the entrails of a child.
• Some less-heard of ways to become a werewolf:  a) removal of clothing and putting on a belt made of wolfskin, b) rub the body with a magic salve, c) drinking rainwater out of the footprint of the wolf or from enchanted streams, d) on a certain Wednesday or Friday, sleep outside on a summer night with the full moon shining directly on the face, e) by/for Satanic allegiance and reasons, f) being cursed by witches or a spell cast by sorcerers, g) being born a werewolf.
• The most common way (that you've read in books or seen on TV and the movies) to become a werewolf is being bitten or scratched by one. It's interesting to note that this kind of transformation or conversion into a werewolf is actually rare in legends/myths. Although being turned into a vampire...being bitten or scratched/scraped by the teeth - now that would be considered the norm!

I hope you found this brief "knowledge" about werewolves interesting. I love researching this stuff and definitely do use some of the information I find to help me with ideas in writing my Werewolf Series.

Which by the way, Unknown Touch-Book 1, in the eBook format, was reduced in price to $4.99. Snatch it up here:
Amazon link for Unknown Touch-Werewolf Series-Book 1
B&N link for Unknown Touch-Werewolf Series-Book 1
Of course those pages will include the optional print version (at prices listed there).

And let's not forget Unknown Scent-Werewolf Series-Book 2 at Amazon.
Unknown Scent-Werewolf Series-Book 2 at B&N.
Both of these links are for eBooks...with print version offered as another option.

I'm thinking my next blog will continue with more Werewolf Mythology, Legends, etc. What do you think?

"Unknown Touch-Werewolf Series-Book 1" eBook SALE!

"Unknown Touch-Werewolf Series-Book 1" eBook SALE!! My publisher just sent an email stating my first book as listed here is on sale! That would be the eBook version, by the way. You can nab it up for $4.99 at Amazon or B&N . (Click the store name - I've got the links on the words.)

Have I mentioned how I love my eReaders -- both the Nook and the newest arrival, the Kindle? Well, I do! Although my sweet 1 1/2 year old Nook has been gathering dust since Kindle made its appearance.

Happy New Year!

Who received an eReader as a present?

So, how many people received a shiny new eReader as a Christmas present? Or perhaps a gift card for Amazon.com or B&N.com with the intent to purchase eBooks? I can imagine A LOT of people did! I already owned a Nook, but my husband bought me a Kindle 3G, which I did request! There's nothing wrong with my Nook, by the way. It's 1 1/2 years old and just fine. But Amazon and its popular Kindle seem to rule...and I didn't want to be left out not having the privilege to own one, too! I also received some nice, cool cash from my sister-in-law and decided to set it aside specifically for buying more eBooks whenever I'm in need of a reading fix - which is often! Yay!

My two published books: Unknown Touch-Werewolf Series-Book 1 and Unknown Scent-Werewolf Series-Book 2 are available in both print and eBook versions. I've noticed the rise of my books purchased as an eBook vs. the number of paperbacks sold. I'm not at all surprised. Personally, I still buy some physical (print) books by specific authors or when I want a technical, detailed, teaching type of book. But most of my fun, entertaining type of books I buy as an eBook now.

Happy reading everyone!

Organize the Outline - Out with Old, In with New

My latest work-in-progress has had my mind paralyzed, stumped, and slushing along at a turtle's pace  trying to complete it. I believe I've discovered my problem (I refuse to use the words "writer's block").

When I created the outline for this particular novel, I typed it in great detail - as in approximately 25 pages - front and back! My other published books did not have anywhere near that lengthy of outlines when I wrote them. Also, I had revised the storyline at an early point while writing the book. Some of those revisions were massive and I needed to rearrange events I'd already mapped out or to add entirely new points/chapters to the book and even forced deletions of specific scenes in other places. Those changes should create tons of additional suspense and thrilling action for the reader's pleasure.

But when I made all those changes, I did so using a pen on the printed pages of the outline. I never went back into the computer to make the changes on the outline there and to print out a brand-spanking new outline for my reference and constant use as I write the novel. I thought, "I can read all the hand-written changes just fine on the original print-out. Why waste time typing up all these changes I just spent a ton of time writing down? That's doing the work twice - No need to..." HA!!! Wrong! And I consider myself an organized person, too!

So, that means I've been attempting to work with the equivalent of a jigsaw puzzle, otherwise known as my outline...having to literally hunt down and piece together the next portion or chapter or even notes scribbled on notebook paper (shoved into the rest of the pages) of the outline among pages scattered on my desk in a zigzag fashion. For example: I moved Chapter 17 -- it became Chapter 6. Or perhaps a paragraph from another chapter moved to somewhere else in the book. Or huge sections were crossed out. Or arrows drawn on the paper indicating to move those sentences "up here" or "down there"!! Eeeek!

And that brings us to what I believe is the reason (or at least it's high on the excuse list) of why I've struggled writing this current book. I CANNOT READ (or easily follow through) MY OUTLINE anymore!!  It's confusing and a big wadded mess! (The new cat was a major distraction, too!!)

I'm excited to announce that last night I started updating the outline (in my computer) in an efficient manner and greatly condensing it, too. Once I find "what happens" next in the novel on the old, printed outline that I've written changes on, I am now making those changes on the computer version for a new, easy-to-read, soon-to-be printed outline. I like to physically have an outline in my hands - not just saved on the computer. I should have it done this afternoon and back in the swing with writing the story. Yay!

I am working on Chapter 7 in this book...the title has changed several times...but it is a paranormal thriller, urban fantasy, young-adult trilogy written in the style of my Werewolf Series. This one highlights the Bigfoot species and has a spunky girl and her brother in it and they run into some serious trouble of the supernatural type...of course!

That's all for now!

Watched "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" on DVD - Thumbs Up (all the way to the ceiling!)



Amazon Link

I absolutely LOVED this movie! I don't care if someone says they hated it to my face or thought it was so-so because to me it doesn't matter - (and that is a rare statement from me as I'm always worried about what other people think) I say again - I LOVED "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"!!!

And, yes, I just posted on my "other" blog/site: Enter Paranormal this exact post about "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" and thought I'd include most of the post here, too. (I know-shame on me using the same post on both of my blogs, but gosh-darn, this movie was super fabulously good and I wanted to tell people connected to me through my author site HERE, too!!) To continue...

I'm also a huge fan of the entire "Planet of the Apes" movie franchise. Over the summer my husband and I watched all the original movies filmed/created way back starting in 1968. I purchased through Amazon the "Planet of the Apes" Legacy Collection. I'll admit, a few of the movies in between the first one and the last one were a tad weak and even bordering on weird...but we watched and absorbed all the good with the bad.

Back to my thoughts: It was exciting to see tie-ins to the older movies; an example: the water hose scene -- in the old movie, the human was blasted with the water vs. in this new one, it was the ape. The facial expressions and emotions of the apes (mainly Caesar) completely ripped open my own heart and played with my feelings. Several times I found myself crying. Throughout the movie, I kept making connections to the original films, so anyone who is a major fan and remembers and loves those old movies, will be thrilled watching this new one. Clues or even full-blown explanations are presented about what humans did...what caused the end of life as we know it now. If you can recall important "Planet of the Apes" plot details and the storylines from the old movies, then this new "Rise..." works out perfectly and makes sense. Even if a viewer didn't watch or doesn't remember any of the old movies (which would be a shame, but) they should still enjoy "Rise of the Planet of the Apes" for the engaging plot, the awesome & realistic special effects, of course what it does to mess with your emotions plus realizing what the consequences are when things go terribly wrong with lab experiments.

Official Synopsis for "Rise of the Planet of the Apes":
During experiments to find a cure for Alzheimer's disease, a genetically-enhanced chimpanzee uses its greater intelligence to lead other apes to freedom.

Here's the official movie trailer link.

Click HERE for an official movie clip.

From Internet Movie Database:
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes" (2011)
Stars: James Franco, Andy Serkis and Freida Pinto

PG13 - 105 min -Action | Drama | Sci-Fi - August 5, 2011 (USA)

Ratings: 7.7 score out of a 10 from 95,903 voters

I'd never write a book if I had to use a typewriter

Death to typewriters! Thank goodness! I would NEVER have written a book if I had to use a typewriter. I'm constantly editing and revising my sentences, making full use out of the backspace and delete buttons/keys on my computer's keyboard. Or I'm jumping back many pages into the story to change something. Typing individual pages on pieces of paper would never, ever work for me. I'd need to buy my own paper factory with all the tons of paper I'd go through and waste. I honestly don't know how any author ever finished a book using such a contraption.

I do own an electric typewriter. Really. And it still functions just fine. At least it did the last time I used it many years ago to type an address on an envelope. It's hidden under a sheet, covered in a nice protective layer of dust by now, on a storage shelf. Somewhere. I remember it had the correction tape feature, of which I made absolutely sure I had extra correction tape on hand. And how sloppy and obvious it was when I used that option. For me that was often. I'm referring to the use of correction tape, NOT how much I actually used the typewriter. That wasn't very often.

With the popularity and excitement of computers, I bought my first one back in about 1995. Wow. Suddenly all those mistakes I made typing, and if I decided to change my mind about anything at all I'd previously typed, wasn't an issue anymore. (Gee, I guess I shouldn't apply for any jobs relying on speed typing with accuracy!!)

Enter the idea of writing a book. Of course it wasn't until years later, as in 2009, that I wrote my first complete novel and had it published. Which reminds me...I AM supposed to be plunking away on my third book...and any errors be gone instantly with my magical powers of deletion (*waving my magic wand to and fro*...ha - tapping at the backspace key :) !

Official Website of Gina Marie Long

It appears all went well with the re-directing of my domain address & this is now officially my author website.  A few things have been altered from the original site...more like refreshed - by streamlining my content better. I hope all enjoy and please contact me with questions or comments!

(All can ignore this next bit...it's for Technorati to verify I am the author of this blog: PSBS7V64PRUD )

This blog site is now my Official Author Website!

My author site address: www.ginamarielong.com may be down for a day or so as I transfer/redirect the domain name to this blog: http://www.ginamarielong.blogspot.com . I've tossed out my original author website hosted by Microsoft in favor of using the Blogger site here as my permanent author website because of massive changes Microsoft will be enforcing come about February. I've spent the last few days spiffing up this new official author site (copy/pasting, uploading, arranging, trying to figure out the redirecting process, etc.). The blogspot address will still be functional, too. Just wanted to update in case you couldn't access www.ginamarielong.com over the next day or so. And when you do, it will direct you right here :) Thanks!