Outdoor Comfort Indoors

This is so interesting. I LOVE chaise lounges and have always wanted one inside. Of course, I didn't want my indoor chaise to look like patio furniture. These unique designs on the indoor chaises are perfect! The same comfortable style with couch-like padding and beauty. It's perfect for my portable computer stand too. The bottom is high enough off the floor to allow the base of the stand to go under it, so I can do my writing from the comfort of my chaise. Gotta have it!

New Website

Don't forget to check out my new website tamiparrington.com. I had that name once (okay, I've had the name itself all my life, lol, but I lost the domain name a few years ago). I let it drop and couldn't get it back until a few months ago. It's good to have my name back.

Sometimes a Cigar is Just a Cigar

I'm always teasing my husband about his big cigars. He loves them though. He doesn't smoke cigarettes, just those. He buys cigars sampler packs so he can try out different tastes. Then he picks the ones he likes and buys those. It's interesting to see the differences between cigar and cigarette smokers. I'm a cigarette smoker, and I don't think about trying different brands. There aren't a lot of differences to choose from in cigarettes, but cigars have amazingly different varieties, flavors and styles. There doesn't seem to be an end to the choices he has, and it isn't unusual for him to switch back and forth between them.

Hell's Own -- FREE tomorrow

As the beginning of book two's pitch begins, Hell's Own (book one in the demon series) will be free tomorrow -- May 27th, 2012. Please remember to leave a review after you have read it. That helps authors, and also helps you.

Making Music

I recently listened to a Twitter friend's music clip. It was just awesome, but it really made me think about how much there is to creating music. As a writer, I know how much goes into the creation of a book that goes far beyond just putting the words on paper. Musicians too have to do a lot more than just come up with the right notes, sing and/or play them well. They have to put it all together and then produce it in a format that you can use when listening. That's where programs such as Universal Audio. There are many different kinds of sound production software programs out there, but true professionals need a really professional and powerful program. There is a distinct learning curve required to operate such complex software, but once you get it down, you can create amazing things.

Tami Parrington - The Independent Author Network

Tami Parrington - The Independent Author Network

Death and Taxes

As a writer, I'm an independent contractor. That's true whether I'm writing fiction or non-fiction. Whether I'm writing books for my own publication or writing web-content for other people's marketing campaigns. No matter what I'm writing, I am my own boss, and when I work for someone else, it's a business-to-business relationship, not employer-employee relationship. There's a lot of good points to that, but one of the big problems with it is that no one is withholding taxes for me, so at the end of the year I better have enough saved up to pay Uncle Sam. There's also no one conducting a group insurance plan for me for medical or life insurance. For some writers, that's okay. They have a spouse that works in the "real world" who has those things. But for others, it is a real hardship. It's not impossible to get insurance though. You have to find a contractor liability insurance company that can help you get the coverage you need. Of course, that won't help much with taxes.

My author's blog has moved to my new website. Check it out here for more information on my newest works and past and future books to come.

Silver and Other Established Rules

Can vampires wear silver jewelry? Probably not, but I love the look, and prefer silver to gold. I think my new characters would look good in silver, but... well they're vampires and that kind of kills the idea. Unless I bend the rules. I mean if Twilight vampires can shimmer instead of burn, maybe my vamps can wear silver as long as it is just jewelry. It makes me wonder how far we can bend the established "rules" for certain types of characters. If you do it, of course you have to explain it so readers aren't thrown off by it. But is there a limit to how far you can go before even an explanation won't work?

I have a short story up on Amazon Kindle now and am remembering all of the excitement, fun and frustration of being an author with a book for sale.

It would be great if authors didn't have to be salesmen and marketing gurus along with writers, but it's not a perfect world.

Saving Grace

There's nothing worse than losing all of your writing in a crash. It's happened to me more than I'd like to mention. All of that is in the past since I use backup systems now. Actually I am rather anal about backing up, saving multiple copies of work in various formats. I am always looking at new systems and methods for backup and saving files. In this backblaze review I'd like to point out a very easy to use system that works on both Windows and Mac and is totally web-based. I like that because when I have backed up to hard disc type storage such as my external hard drives I'm always worried something will happen to them. When it's all online, it is available no matter what computer you are using, where you are, and it is never outdated and incompatible with new computers or devices.

GoodReads Great Site

Found "Goodreads" online yesterday. What a fantastic resource! I am waiting for my "author" approval, but in the meantime, having fun reviewing books I've read in the past and am currently reading as well as meeting lots of great readers and writers from that community. If anyone knows of other websites like Goodreads please let me know about them.

A Better Mattress

I have a great bed. It is a king-size mattress with pillow top, but after three years of use it is beginning to have worn spots. One of the biggest problems with pillow tops is you can't flip them to keep them rotated. You can only turn them around and exchange sides every so often. That isn't really a great way to go if someone uses the other side and creates dips and dents too. Then you're both sleeping in those divots trying to make your own. All in all it's a great recipe for a backache. My back has been acting up badly lately, and I'm pretty sure it's due to the bed. I've looked into several options and I think getting a latex mattress to put on top of my pillow top will solve the problem nicely. It will recreate a comfortable and supportive mattress, and get rid of the divots while allowing for flipping as well as turning to keep it in good shape.