Halfling 2.0 is here!

Please head on over to Hobbit-ish Thoughts and Ramblings and congratulate Mrs. Gamgee and her beloved on the arrival of their baby!

A Story for the Ages

My friends, every once in a while you get the unique pleasure and privilege of being in on something amazing from the minute it starts. Every now and then you see a person start to chase their dream and you get to see it unfold in spectacular ways. once in a while, you get a front row seat to see someone's talent grow and blossom. Recently, I have been lucky enough to see a person I love, respect, and admire start to chase her dreams and have those dreams grow and flower into something amazing.

I'm talking about my dear friend Kir over at The Kir Corner. I have always enjoyed Kir's writing. She always had a gift for telling a story about her boys or her life and having it touch you or make you laugh. But, early last year, Kir started participating in some writing exercises, she started following the prompts offered in writers' groups, and she started writing about Kimmy and David. Who are Kimmy and David you ask? They are two of the central characters in a phenomenal story Kir has created. Each installation of the story of Kimmy and David engages you, entertains you, and leaves you wanting more.

It truly has been a unique privilege watching this story unfold from the very beginning. It's been equally amazing to watch Kir's talent as a writer explode over the last 10 months. She has created a story that is as good or better than many of the books I've read recently and she's done it following such a wide range of writing prompts. It takes some serious talent to create a cohesive story using the wide range of styles demanded by the prompts she's followed. I would love to see Kir spend the time expanding and editing this into book form. I think she'd have a winner on her hands.

Now, do yourself a favor. Head on over to Kir's Corner and spend a little time with Kimmy and David and all their friends. You can find most of the installments of the stories of Kimmy and David on their own page and you can find the final (so far...pleeeeeeeeaaaaasssssse write more) installment here. And y'all, if you read and like the stories of Kimmy and David, can you comment and let Kir know? I don't think my beautiful friend realizes just how good she really is.

Steamy Dreams

I've fallen in love and I've fallen hard. I've found something that inspires lustful feelings and has triggered my acquisitive nature. I love steampunk. I love all aspects of steampunk...the books, the jewelry, the decorative style, even the clothing...and I blame this love affair completely on Jen of Cakewrecks and EPBOT fame. What's steampunk you ask? Courtesy of Google..."Steampunk is a sub-genre of science fiction and speculative fiction, frequently featuring elements of fantasy, that came into prominence in the 1980s and early 1990s. A subgenre of Alternate History; this generally deals with advanced technology in the altered past." One of my friends on Facebook said "Typically, steampunk novels are set in and around Victorian times, but it pretends that electricity never took off and that steam-powered technology took hold. There are all kinds of fantastic gadgets, contraptions, and transport. Sometimes, it crosses over into the paranormal, but not necessarily so. Think "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and you'll have steampunk. Or that Will Smith movie set in the west with the giant spider robot vehicles." Steampunk is also very much a style of both dress and decoration. Take a look at these pictures.

I first stumbled across steampunk on EPBOT about a year ago...when I was still in recovery from BlogHer '10. Jen put up a post called Jen's Procrastination Station and featured the most amazing secret knock detecting garage door opener



You can read more about it here.
and she posted a picture of the most gorgeous steampunk computer desk

photo from the house tour linked to in the blog

which was a teaser for an entire house decorated in steampunk goodness. Click on that link...go take the virtual tour...you won't regret it. Since then, Jen has posted steampunk jewelry and steampunk gadgets and, the more I see of it, the more I like it. Then, less than a month ago, Jen posted a picture that sent me over the edge. She posted pictures of a steampunk laptop...yes, really, a fully functional HP laptop redone in steampunk finery.

photos via EPBOT and Datamancer

If you want to see bigger, better, more lust inducing pictures check out Datamancer's site. His work is simply stunning and he even sells the kits so you can redo your desktop keyboard in steampunk finery.

Sadly, my favorite examples of steampunk goodness, the laptop and the house, are way beyond my financial means. However, Jen's blog EPBOT offers tutorials and how to's that will satisfy my need to bring steampunk decor into my life. She recently posted a tutorial on how to make your own steampunk goggles and she's promising a tutorial for the ray gun in this picture too...

photo courtesy of Jen/EPBOT and her husband, John

So, do you like the steampunk look? Would you ever consider decorating a room (or more) in that style? Do you think I'm crazy for loving it so much? And, what is something you have developed a deep and abiding love for?

Free/Cheap Romance Books (and others)...

I hit the jackpot yesterday. I headed over to Smart Bitches, Trashy Books last night to check out the name of the latest book in their Summer Reading club. I'm not sure if I should consider them a good influence or a bad one because, while I didn't end up buying that, I followed a few links and ended up with a TON of other romance books for very little money. I had a couple of requests to spread the news about how and where I got them so here goes.

TWO PRE-ORDERS

• A Quick Bite with Bonus Material by Lynsay Sands for $2.12*
•  The Duke And I with Bonus Material by Julia Quinn for $2.12*

AND A BUNCH OF DOWNLOAD RIGHT NOW

• Some Kind of Wonderful by Barbara Freethy for $2.99
• Yours To Keep by Shannon Stacey for $3.82
• Unlocked by Courtney Milan for $0.99
• Lord of Scoundrels by Loretta Chase for $1.06*
• A View To A Kiss by Caroline Linden for $1.06*
• The Princess Diaries by Meg Cabot for $2.12*
• Never A Bride by Amelia Grey for FREE
• Mistress' House by Leigh Michaels for FREE
• Kiss At Your Own Risk by Stephanie Rowe for FREE

 So, with the book I added today, Some Kind of Wonderful,I got 11 books for only $16.28. Hurry and check these out because the discounts and freebies are often for a limited time only.

Here are a few links that will help you feed your reading habit...

• Amazon's Bestsellers in Kindle eBooks - lists the top 100 paid and top 100 free ebooks 
• Comprehensive List of free Kindle ebooks
• Project Gutenberg - free ebooks - all books are ones in the public domain
• Free Nook Books - you will have to have a payment method on file with Barnes and Noble even though you won't get charged when downloading free Nook Books.
• Free Ebooks from Borders - many of these are available in pdf as well as ePub format.
• Free-ebooks.net - all books in the public domain

I am sadly still e-Reader deprived so I have the Kindle for the PC app on both my desktop and laptop. Any serious book lover needs this. The access to free books is FABULOUS. I also have Adobe Digital Edition on my laptop and desktop. This is also a free download and allows me to open ePub and secure digital formats.

So, do y'all have any good eBook tips or good sources for books?


Books with a * following the price had a sales tax that kicked in. Don't know if it is because of where I live or some other reason. The sales tax is reflected in the price I have listed.

Geekfest Linkage

Hey y'all...I am feeling compelled to share some awesome links I ran across in the past few days.

Have you ever dreamed of seeing the Sistine Chapel? I would love to go and explore every painted inch of the place but, sadly, a ticket to Rome isn't in my budget. In a move that stunned me, the Catholic Church actually did something progressive and modern and has an extremely hi-res photographic representation of the Sistine Chapel on the Vatican website (yes, Virgina, the Vatican really does have a website). While it isn't as good as seeing it in person, you can go from a perspective like this...
to a close up so clear you can see the cracks in the painting surrounding the God and Adam scene...That is pretty awe inspiring. One small warning, the Vatican website has embedded music that can not be turned off.

And, you know all that unbelievably wonderful amateur photography that National Geographic always features. Well, now you can play with them.  That's right, NatGeo has a Slide Puzzle generator and a Jigsaw Puzzle generator that works with any of the huge number of amateur photos featured on their site. Truly a fabulous time waster.

Finally, did you know digital cameras have been around for $35 years? I had no clue they had been around that long. There is a cool video that shows cameras through the age.

Got any fun links to share? The geekier, the better.