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My Tattoo and other things.

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

If you follow me on Twitter, you’ve likely seen my tattoo or heard me squealing. The picture I posted originally was from immediately after, so here’s a newer shot. (Warning, my skin has not been happy about things like constant lotion and no good hard scrubbings.) It’s been almost a month, and while it seems mostly healed, I feel like it’s not 100% healed yet. It’s supposed to be healed, but I may be a slow tattoo healer. I dunno. But it’s lovely either way.

I’ve also been knitting. This is just the beginning.

I’m going to be working on that one for a while. But thankfully I have all of Free! Eternal Summer to watch with dubs so I can multitask. Though, I must say, knitting is not nearly as much fun in the warmer temperatures than it is when it’s cool out!

I could be writing…

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I’ve been in a bit of a funk lately, and, despite what media would have you believe, depression doesn’t actually cause you to be creative in artist outlets. So I haven’t really been doing too much writing (although I have gotten a few thousand words here and there). When I’m in this mood, I don’t usually do much reading either, and I rely on my safe movies and shows. 

And my safest show of all? M*A*S*H. Yep, it came out before I was born, but I love it. And yes, I realize it has flaws (what doesn’t?), but for a long while it was the longest-running show, and while others may disagree, it ended just as strongly as it started. But the trick is, it ended DIFFERENTLY than it started. It began as a goofy comedy just in for the laughs, but the humor matured as the series did, and it became more than humor, often taking on serious, heavy topics. 
Of course, some people might not like the changes it went through. They wanted comedy, not deep questioning of morality that strove to build character. But I think the series ended stronger than it started, although I agree it couldn’t have continued in such a  manner forever. I think it worked best that it started light and corny and grew into it’s own shoes.
Plus it offers a variety of entertainment based on your mood. Want eye-rolling jokes? Go for season one. Want heart-jerking depth? Season eleven. Want tender warmth (and often tears)? Hit up any of the Christmas episodes. The trick is that they changed, over time, from episode to episode sometimes, and used a variety of tricks and tools to keep things fresh (for the most part). Yes, there are times where the hospital chatter gets boring, but the stories that are woven throughout are worth it. 
Just to give you an idea of how much M*A*S*H sits in my heart: I rewatched the entire series over the past few months. It’s a fantastic way to turn off my brain, especially when I’m stressed.
And yes, I could have been writing. But relaxing then will hopefully help me be rejuvenated for the future!
Also: Go watch M*A*S*H (I prefer the series after season 3, when they introduce Colonel Potter.)

A Much-Deserved Weekend

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

So after an amazing book release, a whirlwind blog tour, and a long trip to Vegas (which I was totally going to do a write-up of and then…didn’t and now it’s too late;), I had a very nice, relaxing weekend.

First off, I spent Saturday morning writing. It’s a short story that may not amount to anything, but I’m playing around. I’m having fun. It’s been a little while, so yehaw 🙂

Then I got on my little goober of a pony and went on a trail ride. The weather was perfect, the ground was perfect, the company was perfect (a 15-year-old boy, D, was riding his horse with me), and it was just relaxing. D is still recovering from a concussion, and his horse P is a beauty and a sweetheart. Despite the fact my pony is roughly 14 inches shorter, they are a good pair for an easy ride.

The dogs didn’t come with us, but it gives you an idea of how short my pony is.

After that I went home, went shopping, and then relaxed in front of the TV to watch Hotel Transylvania, which had cute moments, but didn’t really blow me away. And I was a little disgruntled about the fact that they raise the point that humans likely still wouldn’t be able to accept monsters, then they had humans TOTALLY accepting monsters. I wish humans would “accept monsters” but because it was a point that was raised earlier and specifically said the opposite, I felt like the movie lied to the audience something fierce. Still, Jonathan, who I sort of hated at first, really grew on me, which I appreciated. And I may have felt a terrible kinship with Dracula.

Sunday started with more writing, then I went to my brother’s house to hang out. His one son broke his foot (involving a pin and a cast), and when you’re not even 5, that’s a huge deal. (It’s a pretty big deal anyway, but the little man isn’t even 5!) It was a blast playing Old Maid, building Marble Run, and then playing “Guess what marble I have in my hand.” (For…hours. I swear. HOURS.* He was having so much fun.) They also glopped a ton of icing on top of cupcakes….because decorating skills are unique among 4-year-olds. Still, the double chocolate fudge cupcakes with chocolate frosting and sprinkles were delicious.

Then I headed into town to go to the Welcome to Night Vale: Ghost Stories tour that was stopping by. Visited with friends, grabbed a bite to eat (mei fun, always a winner), then headed to the show. Bought two shirts. BECAUSE NIGHT VALE.

Also, if you’ve been following me long, you realize that I AM A HUGE SCAREDY CAT. So I was a little…tentative going into something called “ghost stories.” But I survived. I love their live shows, which have so much more personality than even their podcast episodes do. Plus the cast can sort of interact with the audience, and there’s lots of body language that gets to be seen. Fantastic.

A long drive home and a late night out means Monday came too soon, but I had a much needed relaxing weekend.

And next weekend is my tattoo! I’m nerv-cited.

*May not have actually been hours.

Friday’s Blog Posts

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Today I stopped by Delighted Reader and talked about what I learned by being an author going through the Riptide publishing process. Finally, I also visited Scattered Thoughts and Rogue Words and Sinfully Gay Romance. I hope you’ve had fun following me along on this blog tour (and if you’re sick of these posts, you can be happy to know they’re done now!

Fun fact: I ate at an In-N-Out for the first time in my life, tonight in Las Vegas.

Monday’s Blog Tour

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For your ease of use, I’ll be posting each day with a list of my blog tour’s posts, all of which are included in a chance to win a $25 Riptide gift card. I’ll also be posting little facts about myself–just to keep things interesting!

To learn about some TV/movies that I recommend, as well as some that I wish I could blast off the face of the planet, check out My Fiction Nook.

To read the excerpt from Second Skin, check out TTC Books and More.

To read the excerpt from Second Skin, check out MM Good Book Reviews


Fact: The campus and area from Second Skin is heavily influenced by the campus of the university I attended, although the story doesn’t take place in a specific location.

Breaking news: I’m excited

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

Spring is here (that’s why it’s snowing, right?), and that means it’s Horse Season for me. Right now my main task is grooming ponies to help them shed out their winter coats (and considering how fuzzy some of the ponies get, this can be intense!). I wish I’d taken pictures of the barn floor after I groomed my old retired pony. I could have built a dog out of the amount of hair left. (And I mean a german shepherd, not a miniature poodle.)

But my favorite pony is ready to go! One of the kids who uses him for her 4-H project has been riding him on and off all winter, and since we both started riding again in March, he’s in good shape and not nearly as fuzzy as the others.

I can’t quite tell if he’s happy to be back to work or not.

This summer I also have the opportunity to exercise a friend’s mare. I’m not wild about mares, or quarter horses, so this will be an adventure, but it will be nice to have a consistent mount (who is sane and not a pony!). The nice thing is that I still won’t have to feel guilty if I don’t get a chance to get out as often as I should, since I’m a secondary rider 🙂

There’s also an 18-hh Warmblood (that’s 6 feet tall at the whithers) that might need ridden, and if the owner works the kinks out, I may ride him too. Of course, at 5’3, I’m going to look like a pimple. I’ll share pictures if that happens.

If you missed it, Second Skin is now available to order/download at Riptide’s website! It’ll be available at all other vendors on Monday 🙂 So if you just can’t wait, you know where to go.

Also, if you want to follow my blog tour, here’s a list of the stops I’ll be making.

Finally:

I’m going to be at RT Booklovers Convention from Tuesday through Sunday this coming week, If you you’re going to be in Vegas and you want to say hi, just drop me a line! I’ll mostly be gofering for Riptide, but I have a fair amount of flexible time too. Let me know, and I hope to see you there.

7 Points of Interest

/ Alex Whitehall / Leave a comment

1. I’m not dead.

2. I’m adorable as a Powerpuff character.

3. March was crazy with editing all week and writing on weekends and then Easter snuck up on me. This is the first weekend I’ve had where I didn’t feel like a headless chicken.

4. JUST OVER A WEEK UNTIL SECOND SKIN RELEASES

5. The week of April 11 will see a lot of blog posts from me in the Second Skin tour, and I’ll try to forward them along so you don’t miss any.
6. If you’re going to be at RT this month, be sure to stop by and say hi! I’ll be there, wearing a Riptide tee! I’m the short one with the short brown hair.
7. Horseback riding season is starting up again and I really need to organize my life better in order to get anything/everything done. Could someone please loan me their Time Turner? Thank you.
Happy April!