Amanda Bozeman's Blog

I blogged fairly regularly my first year as a self-pubbed author. Then I decided that blogging wasn't for me. *

But if you'd like a less than novel-sized peek inside my world, this is the place to get it [image error]

*Author maintains right to resume blogging in the future. Most likely infrequently. And at her own discretion. **

** Author advises readers not to hold their breath.

In the riveting conclusion to my earlier saga in Cheapskates and Glitter Don't Mix, I finally broke down and bought a knock-off version of OPI's Rainbow Connection—Milani's Gems.

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I'm quite pleased with the results, even though I still can't believe that I went off the deep end for muppet inspired nail polish.

On the bright side, since I held out until one of my friends pointed out the knock-off brand to me (Thanks, M!), I managed to spend $10 as opposed to the $20 the original version was going for.

So… $10 for a single bottle of nail polish, y'all. It makes my frugal little heart cry. But at least now I can admire my sparkly nails through my tears [image error]

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Once again it's almost Valentine's Day.

Tomorrow a lot of you will get a taste of the sweeping gestures of love: fancy dinners, chocolates, flowers, candlelight…

And don't get me wrong—all of that is nice. But being the unreasonable woman I am, I prefer the daily reminders over the annual show.

The kiss goodbye every morning.

A willing ear. A shoulder to cry on. A hand to hold.

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Someone who is eager to share all of life's ups and downs, day by day.

A partner in crime.

Not that a little chocolate would be frowned upon [image error]

What about you guys? Do you prefer proof of love by way of big romance or small day to day reminders? What are your Valentine's Day plans?

Every now and then something comes along and catches my attention in a way that makes my inner cheapskate wage war with my obsessive compulsive tendencies.

This time my inner battle is over two colors from the OPI Muppet Collection: Rainbow Connection and Excuse Moi!

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I have no idea why I’ve been fixated on these bottles of nail polish since the day I heard about them. But I’ve lusted after them for over a month now and it doesn’t look like I’m danger of stopping anytime soon.

Which is even more ridiculous than it sounds, since I’m the type of girl who paints her nails about once a year. Only to do dishes an hour later and have said polish chip immediately.

So that’s my first problem with procuring these undeniably delectable girly treats. Second problem—I could not find this stuff anywhere in town.

Maybe I’m being silly, but I like to look at things before I purchase them. Probably because I’ve been burned on internet purchases before. And, quite frankly, I’d like to make sure that the $10 bottle of nail polish I’m considering isn’t ugly as shit up close and personal. Plus I want to confirm that it’s in a normal-sized nail polish bottle.

But $10 for NAIL POLISH? Fuhgettabouddit!

I wish I’d just gone ahead and bought the damn stuff when I first spotted it on amazon.com. ‘Cause now it’s about $20 a bottle (which may or may not include shipping and handling, since it’s only available from vendors through amazon rather than from amazon itself).

Needless to say, my inner cheapskate is winning. I cheated and found some polish that would satisfy my longing for Excuse Moi! 3 bottles of sparkly stuff for $7.

Yes, I bought 3. In varying shades of pink and purple. Because a girl needs options [image error]

But that damn Rainbow Connection is slowly turning into my precioussss…

Admit it... you wants it too.

We’ll see who the ultimate victor is eventually, won’t we? In the meantime, have you guys had anything that you’ve been oddly fixated on lately? I’d love to hear about it in the comments.

Every now and then something comes along and catches my attention in a way that makes my inner cheapskate wage war with my obsessive compulsive tendencies.

This time my inner battle is over two colors from the OPI Muppet Collection: Rainbow Connection and Excuse Moi!

[image error]

I have no idea why I've been fixated on these bottles of nail polish since the day I heard about them. But I've lusted after them for over a month now and it doesn't look like I'm danger of stopping anytime soon.

Which is even more ridiculous than it sounds, since I'm the type of girl who paints her nails about once a year. Only to do dishes an hour later and have said polish chip immediately.

So that's my first problem with procuring these undeniably delectable girly treats. Second problem—I could not find this stuff anywhere in town.

Maybe I'm being silly, but I like to look at things before I purchase them. Probably because I've been burned on internet purchases before. And, quite frankly, I'd like to make sure that the $10 bottle of nail polish I'm considering isn't ugly as shit up close and personal. Plus I want to confirm that it's in a normal-sized nail polish bottle.

But $10 for NAIL POLISH? Fuhgettabouddit!

I wish I'd just gone ahead and bought the damn stuff when I first spotted it on amazon.com. 'Cause now it's about $20 a bottle (which may or may not include shipping and handling, since it's only available from vendors through amazon rather than from amazon itself).

Needless to say, my inner cheapskate is winning. I cheated and found some polish that would satisfy my longing for Excuse Moi! 3 bottles of sparkly stuff for $7.

Yes, I bought 3. In varying shades of pink and purple. Because a girl needs options [image error]

But that damn Rainbow Connection is slowly turning into my precioussss…

Admit it... you wants it too.

We'll see who the ultimate victor is eventually, won't we? In the meantime, have you guys had anything that you've been oddly fixated on lately? I'd love to hear about it in the comments.

In honor of Squirrel Appreciation Day, I give you a blast from the past. Formerly known as "Flurffy-Tailed Varmints."

Not all flurffy-tailed varmints are evil. But these are…

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Don't let their innocent little faces fool you—while they are scampering about, finding acorns to store or munch on, they are also plotting your demise. Or that of your car, if that is the best they can do.

This is a behavior that goes way back to the beginning of automotive history, perhaps even before. Unfortunately there is no evidence that can conclusively prove that packs of squirrels have acted as organized ambush units during the days of the horse and buggy, but if you look deep into their little beady eyes, you'll know.

They've totally been the harbingers of death and destruction since man began to walk the earth.

So, yeah… they're adorable when they're running around and chasing each other up telephone poles. But if you see one on a rooftop, know that he's surveying the roads, analyzing traffic patterns so he can wreak massive carnage with minimal effort at some future moment in time.

And for God's sake, stay out of his way.

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Last week PJ Sharon blogged about "Dusting off the old manuscripts?" on Writing Secrets of 7 Scribes.

I guess this post is my answer to her post [image error]

I thought that By the Stars would be an easy fix. It was the book that got the most interest and the most positive comments from agents back when I was querying. So I figured it wouldn't take all that much effort to get it ready for release.

Right after I hit publish on Forbidden Fruit, I jumped into edits for By the Stars. It wasn't too long before I had my first, "Yikes," moment.

The good news? I still loved the story. The not-so-good news? It needed a lot of work.

The quick polish became the heavy slog.

It took twice as long for me to re-write By the Stars than it took for me to write the rough draft.

In fact, it may have taken even more time than that. This is the second re-write I've done on this book since the first draft stage. The first fixed structural problems. This one un-clunked the flow.

And let me tell you, when you go back to something you wrote early in your career and try to resurrect it, there is a lot of un-clunking that needs to happen.

The rewrite was hellish at times. It was also worth every second of effort.

I still love this book. I hope you will too.

By the Stars. Now available at Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble.

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I have plenty of the first and none of the latter.

You see, I have a problem. If I’m in the right frame of mind (AKA: the wrong frame of  mind), everything is flat and gray. I’m hard pressed to find anything at all that I don’t want to improve.

The size/shape of my body. The state of my bank account. My mood.

So I strive. Continually.

But after spending most of this past December dealing with anxiety and panic attacks, I really want to leave all of that behind me.

Don’t get me wrong; I still want to improve. I want to be healthier. Thinner. Richer. I want to write faster. And yes, I’ll admit it; I’m jealous of the people who seem to come by these things naturally.

But do you know what I want even more than all of those things?

Less self-criticism. Less stress. More contentment.

Hence my lack of New Year’s resolutions. My life, while far from perfect, is full enough already.

Have you made any resolutions for 2012?

I have plenty of the first and none of the latter.

You see, I have a problem. If I'm in the right frame of mind (AKA: the wrong frame of  mind), everything is flat and gray. I'm hard pressed to find anything at all that I don't want to improve.

The size/shape of my body. The state of my bank account. My mood.

So I strive. Continually.

But after spending most of this past December dealing with anxiety and panic attacks, I really want to leave all of that behind me.

Don't get me wrong; I still want to improve. I want to be healthier. Thinner. Richer. I want to write faster. And yes, I'll admit it; I'm jealous of the people who seem to come by these things naturally.

But do you know what I want even more than all of those things?

Less self-criticism. Less stress. More contentment.

Hence my lack of New Year's resolutions. My life, while far from perfect, is full enough already.

Have you made any resolutions for 2012?

Why am I posting on Christmas Eve?

Because I want to wish all of you a Merry Christmas, of course!

And while we're all here, I'd like to go ahead and wish you a Happy New Year, too. Because my present to myself this year is a blogging vacation.

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Don't worry—I'll be back to my usual shenanigans in January. Until then, Happy Holidays!!!