cute picture!

Hi,

Like Bella's picture... looks like my fan club of Gracie,Daisy and Hank on my page,

Take Care
Joe

Love that dog - it's a great picture. Welcome to Crimespace incidentally :)

Hi, Viansa

I love the dog. So pretty! :-)

J. K.

Hello Viansa:)...thank you for the invitiation..and like the others on here, I love the dog....:)

L.

Hi Viansa,

thanks for the invite. I'm busy writing at the moment but hope to catch up with everyone here shortly,

Alison

Let's be friends...:)

Hi Vians, I see that you're a dog lover too, as well as a fan of Tess Gerritsen's work. Tess kindly gave me a message to add to the cover of my latest novel 'A Study in Red - The Secret Journal of Jack the Ripper, and it appears at the top of the paperback version.

Best regards

Brian

Sorry, I missed the 'a' off your name in the previous post.

Hey Viansa: Know what you mean re making a late call on a snow storm day. Which is why I moved to North Carolina. Don't have to worry much about that here. Thanks for putting me on your friends list. I see you like Patricia Cornwell. Try Kathy Reichs. You may never go back to Cornwell again. She's one of my favorites. Did you read the short excerpts of my books on my profile page. Maybe you'd like to try one of mine. Would love to see my name on your list.

Smiles,
Douglas Quinn
www.douglasquinn.com

Hi Viansa,

In fact, most serious ripperologists tend to disagree with her conclusions. I'm a member of The Whitechapel Society 1888, a regular contributor to the Jack the Ripper forums, and also Caesbook.org, the largest organisations dedicated to the study of the case. Of course, it's unlikely that we'll ever know the truth. Every 'conclusion' is mere specualtion by the author. I'm delighted that you are going to get a copy of 'A Study in Red'. I'm delighted with the reviews so far. I do hope you enjoy it. Please be sure to let me know what you think. I didn't know Tess Gerritsen's real name was Terry, thanks for that. I have read almost everything she's written but don't have The Bone Garden yet. I'm hoping to get it for my birthday on the 15th of this month.

It's really great to hear from you, and I'll look forward to hearing from you again soon. (Love the doggy pics)

Regards

Brian

Thanks for inviting me to be a friend, Viansa. (What a cool name!) I am a big dog lover, so how could I say "no" to your photo. I have a Silky terrier that I adore. My day job company has its HQ in NJ, so I hear a lot about the weather back there. I tried to arrive to work Friday with a positive attitude, knowing my work load would be overwhelming and it'd be difficult not to stress out, but someone drove down the center turn lane right at me that I needed to be in to turn into the parking lot at work. Put me in a flabbergasted and irritated mood despite my desire to be positive. So, yes, I identify with you!!! The commute makes it hard to start the day in a positive mood. Hang in there and stay safe. (PS> I enjoy the Bronte Sisters, also.)

By the way, I read Patricia Cornwell's novel presenting her theory on who Jack The Ripper was. Seemed convincing, (though a little disorganized in its presentation), but I do not know enough about the topic to have the information to contradict her facts and conclusions. Perhaps Brian Porter can comment as he seems to have some knowledge in this area. Good night.

Hello there. Cute picture - I have a labrador who comes up with all my best plot ideas...
I see you like Dexter - it just opened over here and loads of people are talking about it. I need to check out the show!
Cheers
Chris

Thanks for the invitation!

Hey,

Thanks for the birthday wishes Viansa. That's really nice of you.

Nice page, Viansa. Pleased to meet you. And I definitely encourage you to start sending your work out. I saw on your blog that you have a link to JA Konrath's blog. His motto is "There's a word for a writer who never gives up...published".
It's hard without an agent, though. Check out http://www.agentquery.com for excellent leads on agents. Some small publishers still accept new writers, particularly Avalon Books (my publisher).
Good luck with school & work. My dad is Italian (so, by extension, am I), always wanted to learn the language. I have a phrase book around the house somewhere.

Ciao,

Pat

Thanks Viansa! We've been looking for good restaurant recommends so I'll add that one to the list.
Best wishes
Chris

Hi, Viansa!

There is a great book on how to draw dragons, fairly short, not too expensive that you can buy on Amazon.com called, "DragonArt, How To Draw Fantastic Dragons and Fantasy Creatures" by J. "NeonDragon" Peffer, ISBN 1-58180-657-4, Impact Books. (DragonArt appears to be one word.) Was $20.00 when I purchased it. Lots of step-by-step drawings. Dragons are actually not easy to draw, but it looks learnable. I've got my own cutesy version I've developed. I tried not to draw cutesy, but I finally gave up; appears to be my natural style.

To answer your question: Basically drawn cartoons since I was five. Started with drawing underground mouse cities. I had an uncle who was an art education teacher in another state. He actually slowed my development by saying not to copy other artists, so that I'd develop my own style. I did develop my own style, but like my very talented cartoonist/animator friend has said, "How can you learn if you do not copy?" So I then practiced by copying other GOOD cartoons, like Disney or Warner Bros. You pick up which types of hands, or eyes, or little perks that you like and can use or modify to your liking.

I took some art classes here and there afterwards, but have always been drawn toward cartooning, to my uncle's dismay. Good books on animal drawing and human anatomy are very helpful for reference material.

Best advice received from talented friend: picture the line not as just not creating a circle, but enclosing volume. Will give your drawings more "life". Take care. Gotta go and visit with visiting brother. By the way, photos in your gallery are cute. And I'm extremely allergic to hazelnut. I guess it must taste good, since it's so popular.

Obviously from your most recent avatar, you're a neat chick.

Hamlet might have said, "The word's the thing, to catch the conscience of the kink." Or sentiments to that affect.

Hi Viansa,

I'm delighted that you've bought a copy of 'A Study in Red'. I'm honored as well that you have taken the trouble to go out and order it. I hope you enjoy it, and would love to hear what you thnk of it when you finish it. Look out for 'Glastonbury' coming in the next month or so. There's a contest to win a copy at www.glastonburythenovel.webs.com I still love your dog bythe way.

Brian

Hi, Viansa. I'll look forward to seeing your dragon pictures.

EEKS on the eml you got from a classmate. That's always a tough one. You don't want to make someone angry that you have to deal with, but don't want to encourage the wrong attention. Seems to me he's fishing to see if you'll take the bait. Be interesting to see if he keeps it up or not since you were "aloof" in your response. Was wise that you asked for male advice how to handle the situation, in my opinion. My brother always picks up the "issues" my boyfriends (now ex-es) before I see them; wish he'd tell me right away, however.

I didn't get either Friday or Monday off. It's OK because I took the 31st off to take care of my dog. Looking forward to a nice weekend, raining or not.

Class till 10PM? My brain snaps off about 9PM. You sound really motivated.

Take care.

Hi! thanks so much for the invite and for liking my dogs!
Penny had five puppies, Indiana Jones is the Dad. They're our dogs--the puppies unfortunately we didn't have room for--but they went to great homes. it was so hard parting with them. We have framed photos of all of them up in the kitchen!

by the way, I'm as yet unpublished too. But I'm going for it. here's a website www.hatrack.com/ you might be interested in. I see you like Orson Scott Card, well he has a forum for writers--like us. who want feedback. I just joined up. You might like to investigate. by the way I love your dog! and your photos. Is that your little girl, you look like sisters! all the best!

Hi, new friend! It's good to meet you and I'm a big mystery/horror fan. Thank goodness I can admit this on Crime Space. Strangely enough, out there in the world of book fans, even though Dean Koontz and Stephen King seem to buy their books by the gazillions, no one wants to admit it. Do I really believe that all those gazillions sit around reading Milton? I sort of doubt it. Oh, well, just something to think about.

Margaret

Good heavens, Viansa. Are you trying to scare us with your new picture? I'd say you weren't in the best mood all right! I know what you mean by exhaustion: I slept 12 hours last night as I took today off from work. I finally got my Federal taxes done, however; I have my life back now and can focus on the creative aspect of my business. If you can afford a nice little weekend trip or a special afternoon treat of some sort to get away, it may refresh you. Also, I like to take a news break every so often: amazing how it helps your outlook to forget the rest of the world for a short time. Take care. Dawn

I tell my daughter to be carefull of all the creeps out there...So as a father, and a former police officer please just be carefull.

Hi Viansa,
I noticed your drawing of a dog and thought you might like to check out my dog mystery series, featuring an ex-NYPD cop turned dog trainer.
LCK
www.LeeCharlesKelley.com

Nice dog drawing, Viansa! How are the dragons coming along? Hope that you're doing well.

Duh. I see the dragon pics now. Good job. By the way, I really like the Bronte sisters also. There is a new mystery novel out featuring one of them as the main sleuth, but I didn't pick it up. I plan to in the future.

Great profile picture...check out my page to see mt four legged fan club...

Joe

Sorry to take so long to write back. My grandmother broke her hip a week after my return from vacation, so I've had to spend a lot of nights either at the hospital or at her rehab center. She's made an amazing recovery at 93. I thought she was going to die 3x the past 12 months, but she always revives.

Thanks, Viansa, for the comment about my Buster. It cheers me up to come home from a stinky day at work and have him wagging his tail and dancing about my legs, eager to say "hello". I have to learn how to download photos from my new digital camera to my laptop to share more photos.

The book I referred to is "The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Bronte" by Laura Joh Rowland. I'm looking forward to reading it.

By the way, even though we're signed into a network, I've found that my posts show up on Google Alert under my name. And the search engine is picking up some of my posts. I don't think this network is as private as I thought it was.

Are you back in class this summer or taking it off?

Hi, Viansa. What's new? I don't get on much due to helping Grannie recover from breaking her hip and now helping my mother who just had foot surgery. Looks like I may get laid off at work soon (insourced) but that'll give me some time to destress. Are you taking any classes this fall? Since my future is uncertain at this point, thought I'd put off taking any new Flash Animation classes. (I love that program.) Was so hot at my grannie's place this afternoon, I would've confessed to any crime if I had stayed a half hour longer to get outta there. hahaha Take care. I'll have to load some new pup photos soon. Bought a 4G SD card to see if I can take some short video. Take care. Dawn

Hi, Viansa. Long time no talk. Are you taking any classes this Fall? By the way, I found out why I was so ill all summer: a family member was sprinkling something on my food that I'm really allergic to. Didn't know that paprika was a nightshade. Starting to feel better. After nursemaiding my grannie for months, had to take care of my mother for several weeks while she recovered from foot surgery. I hope the nurse maid duty is now over and I can get back into my writing/art work.

Take care. Have a great month. Dawn

Oh, and I never did take that Flash class then they're planning a major upgrade to the program soon.

Hi, Viansa. Haven't heard from you in a while. Are you doing OK? Just bought the Flash upgrade. Am eager to see if it was worth the cost. Am on vacation this week. Finally! This year flew by. (Needed a vacation: I firstly typed, "This Word flew by." Hope all is well. Dawn

Hi, Viansa. Glad to hear from you! Was wondering where you were. Guess that answers my question about whether you had gone back to school. What classes are you taking this quarter (or is it semester back there)? Weather here has been awful. I hid out at my grandmothers for 6 out of 9 nights as is a lot closer to where I work in Kent valley. (I live in the foothills.) Roads are very treacherous here due to the very hilly terrain. I got stuck on a hill one day on the way to work as someone was spinning out and I couldn't get around them. Another time, had to go downhill backwards as couldn't make it to the top (was about 15 feet away), then third time my car got frozen to the street near my grandmother's (her parking lot was snowfield). Four guys came by in an electrical truck: one drove it out of the parking spot alongside the street while the other three pushed from behind (this, after I spent some time chipping at the ice around my backtires with a snow shovel at 6AM). It it hadn't been for those guys, I never would've moved my car. One guy even took the snowshovel back to my grandmother's resthome for me so that I wouldn't have to stop again. So it's been positive and not so. I've been nearly adopted by an elderly couple whose spare bed I was borrowing while at my grannie's as she has no spare bed (just a chair, which was not comfortable). They even tried to send me to bed one night with milk and freshly baked cookies! I have five days off from work! Yoohoo! Spending NY Eve with my pup and working on getting Cattle Capers #2 finished. (YIPES!!!) How are the dragon drawings coming along? Gonna do some NY animation. Trying to learn the new Flash Program: has 3-D in it. Excited at the possibilities.
Gotta go and start on the animation (after I clean my bathroom. Yoohoo! I know how to live it up.) Snow made for a short holiday season (and couldn't meet with my buddies). Hope snow doesn't come tomorrow as having my annual get together with a friend who got laid off and left my company a few years ago. I am dreaming of moving to sunnier climates. I wake up in the grey gloom and go home in the grey gloom. Somewhere the sun is shining. But, I'm thankful for a warm home, food on the table, a snuggy bed, and hope for a brighter 2009. Take care. Have a fun NY Eve. Hope you're having fun. Too many drunks out in my area so I prefer a nice, quiet night. PS. Did you try reading "The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Bronte" yet? I got it from the library but couldn't listen in time, so am going to buy a copy and support a fellow author.

Hi. Firstly, "The Secret Adventures of Charlotte Bronte," is now in paperback so I picked it up. Haven't had time to read it yet, because I've been crying for nearly two weeks about my little buddy dying. If you'd like to read it, I posted some comments on my page. I hope your year is going better than mine so far. Look foward to hearing from you. Dawn

Hi Viansa, I want to introduce you to my debut novel "A Circle of souls" which is a murder, mystery, psychological thriller and a tale of justice and hope. Do visit www.acircleofsouls.com to read more about the book. Make sure you sign up to win an autographed copy of the book. You can also read more reviews by clicking on the More Reviews button at the website. Thanks for your time in advance.

Best regards

Preetham Grandhi

Early Endorsements for “A Circle of Souls”

Linda Fairstein, NYT Bestselling Author: "A fascinating debut - this novel takes the reader to the darkest places in the human soul, from a writer with the authenticity to lead us there. A stunning thriller and an important read."

Judge Judy Sheindlin, star of the Judge Judy Show: "The seminal work of this fine author kept me glued to my chair until the adventure was over and the mystery solved. A great read!"

Book Synopsis:

The sleepy town of Newbury, Connecticut, is shocked when a little girl is found brutally murdered. The town s top detective, perplexed by a complete lack of leads, calls in FBI agent Leia Bines, an expert in cases involving children.

Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Gram, a psychiatrist at Newbury s hospital, searches desperately for the cause of seven-year-old Naya Hastings devastating nightmares. Afraid that she might hurt herself in the midst of a torturous episode, Naya s parents have turned to the bright young doctor as their only hope.

The situations confronting Leia and Peter converge when Naya begins drawing chilling images of murder after being bombarded by the disturbing images in her dreams. Amazingly, her sketches are the only clues to the crime that has panicked Newbury residents. Against her better judgment, Leia explores the clues in Naya s crude drawings, only to set off an alarming chain of events.
In this stunning psychological thriller, innocence gives way to evil, and trust lies forgotten in a web of deceit, fear, and murder.

Jeepers, Viansa. I'm late myself in responding. I hope that you have a great 2009 and will have a very Happy Moo Year! Thanks for your words about Buster. I miss him quite a lot. He was the best furry friend I ever had. I know two people who had pets die recently: one a lady whose cat lived 26 years (unbelieveable) and a beagle at 16. I feel cheated that Buster died at just a little over 9 years. Hope your Winter is going great and that you have a wonderful 2010.