Xandra Gregory's Blog

Yeah, probably not where you're thinkin' I'm goin'. Sorry, kinksters, not today.

I don't know if I've posted a definitive "personal definition of erotica/erotic romance" blog here, or not. As I recall, it's almost standard inagural-post fare for writers who get a contract to publish an "erotic romance." The first question out of anybody's mouth is "do you have a blog?" shortly thereafter followed by the need to justify yourself as not a smut-peddler, or alternatively, to claim that you are, ...

…the one that can render PDFs with annotation capability without making the eyes bleed.

It seems we've been thinking about ereaders all wrong. Along with thinking about ebooks all wrong. Actually, I shouldn't say "all wrong" since we've had a lot of "right" in there, collectively speaking (and any new ventures are built on the mounds of failed attempts). But let's start with the ebooks, and move on to the ereaders, and why the past, as much if not more than, the future, will drive the...

Yes. My posting has drastically and tragically plummeted. Sadly, it's because I don't really have much to say–I tend to keep my uninteresting bits offline so that I'm not actively boring people as I go along. My goal is to make the world a more interesting place, not fill it up with boring crap nobody cares about. Yes, you may thank me for that.

But I did figure that the six of you who might be looking for an update of what life's been like on Planet X(andra).

It's been hot and muggy, and...

In case you haven't been paying attention, I am a writer who is also a mother to young children. Oftentimes, those children need to be directed towards productive activities (as opposed to activities that involve paint, carpeting, electricity under uncontrolled circumstances and/or cats under uncontrolled circumstances). May is one of those months where that direction is a little more hands-on. School is nearing its end, and the fidgets are here to stay. And if you don't think an 8 year old k...

Sometimes you're the bug, sometimes you're the windshield…

Today, I'm the bug. On the interstate. I can see a deadline approaching (with the word "Peterbilt" emblazoned across the grille) and I'm flapping my little ladybug wings as hard and fast as I can over the keyboard in hopes that, like a quantum butterfly, I can effect change. Mostly the change from "X words" to "(X+5000) words*2^The End" words.

This one is research-intensive. I'm constantly tabbed-over to wikipedia, and Google Books...

We humans are creatures of habit. We favor routines, the familiar, the safe. Before it breeds contempt, familiarity breeds comfort. When we shop in the physical world, we favor a single commercial venue where many things can be found. This is not by accident–it costs more in resources for even the least technologically-advanced society to have to accumulate resources from multiple locations than it does from a single or few locations. Whether it's a fertile watering hole or a bazaar or souk c...

For the past week here at Casa de Xandra, it's been Spring Break. And for once, it actually feels like Spring Break and not, "gee, let's give the kids a week off school when the temperatures plummet, only two inches of snow falls on the ground (not enough for sledding), and the sky is the same color as a navy gunboat so they can be bored inside with their moms for ten whole days!" It's been warm. Balmy, even. We've had the windows open, and the raging season-long sinus infections show signs o...

Over the past several months, there's been fierce debate raging over what, exactly, ebooks mean to the present and future of publishing. Publishers of traditional, paper-based books are finding it no longer optional to address a growing demand for their content in digital form. Arising from that discussion is the need for people to determine just how we want to view an ebook.

For some, an ebook is simply a different means of content delivery. They will enjoy the latest bestseller or their...

Where I live, we're just emerging from what's felt like a long, cold, gray-ass winter.  The air still has a bite to it, and cloudy days are more often than not still cause for thick sweaters and soup for lunch.  But today dawned sunny and while it's still mighty chilly in the shadows, the sunshine is just warm enough to feel like it's got a chance to unlock the ground and the world from the sluggishness of cold.  And today, instead of pulling on the thick socks and wearing the winter shoes...

Anyone who's a parent knows that it's almost impossible for the kids not to show up in the middle of the night and burrow in next to you at least some time in their young lives.  Mine are notorious for midnight flights, and it never ceases to wake me up as soon as I hear the initial *thud.* Followed by the *thumpthumpthumpthumpthump* *bounce* and a pair of cold feet and knobby knees in my internal organs.

Whether from bad dreams, a too-cold bed–even when there's a cat curled up on someone's...