Running With Quills: HAPPY NEW YEAR

Welcome to Running With Quills, your online newsletter designed to keep you up to date with what your favorite authors (that would be us) are doing throughout the year. Here you will find the release dates of our new books and get information about our backlists. We'll preview our cover art here long before the books hit the stores and we'll keep you informed about works-in-progress and special projects. You'll also receive advance notice of signings and appearances. From time to time we'll give you a peek at our worlds, tell you what we're reading, and introduce you to some new authors.

Monday, December 31, 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Wishing all of you a safe, happy, warm and friendly celebration to welcome in the New Year.
May 2008 be all you want it to be, and all you need it to be.

My New Year's Resolution is to stop all cursing. I'm working really, really hard at it. Sad, huh? But so far, so good. Unless I get really mad... then, uh oh. But I WILL give it up. I will. I will.
I'm determined that, as a writer, I can find better words to use. But ya know, sometimes the familiar ones just slip out. It's going to be an ongoing process!

Big hugs,

WWW.LORIFOSTER.COM

28 Comments:

Jessica said...: Happy New Year!! Giving up cursing sounds like a good goal -- I've been trying to cut down, but giving it up completely? That may be next year's resolution :).

My goal this year is to effect a lifestyle change in my diet. I'm not going on a diet, per se, but more trying to eat healthy. Lots of veggies, lean meats, cut back on the unhealthy carbs and the sugar. My mom's followed a modified version of this, and she's lost 18 pounds. So maybe I can succeed -- I just need the stick-to-it-itiveness (is that a word?).

Good luck and have a terrific New Year's!

Jessica; 10:24 AM
Anonymous said...: Hope everyone has a fabulous New Year's Eve.

In Hawaii that means lots of parties with lots of fire works including all those pesky illegal aerials that we all love so much. But this year is bigger than normal. The University of Hawaii is playing in their first EVER BCS bowl game, The Sugar Bowl. One couple even transformed their back yard to look like the Super Dome in New Orleans including all the logos that they paint on the field, the goal posts, bleachers, etc. Everyone has got big, big Sugar Bowl parties planned for tomorrow. For those of you who aren's Georgia fans, cheer for Hawaii, PLEASE!

Haven't gotten to the resolutions yet, will worry about that after the game.

Have a safe and happy New Year.

Aloha,
Kathy H.; 10:35 AM
karende said...: Ah, resolutions! I figure every morning I wake up is a gift, why mess around with it trying to change things? But I remember very well the thing about cursing - I used to have what I can only describe as ‘colorful’ language. Until, that is, I heard my toddler trying to repeat something either I or her father had said. It was a most powerful inducement to clean it up ASAP! Then there was the time my oldest came home from her first day at kindergarten and industriously counted her fingers, first from one side, then from the other. Finally, she stuck up her middle finger and said “Is this really a bad word?”

Nothing like children for inspiration.

karibear; 1:09 PM
aussie dee said...: sounds like a bloody good idea :); 2:30 PM
talpianna said...: I'm giving up Cuban cigars and mustache wax myself.; 3:08 PM
Elizabeth Guest said...: LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

Thank you for the hilarious comments! I love to end and begin any year with a wonderful dose of humor.

Here's to 2008!
~EG; 3:16 PM
Anonymous said...: The end of the best

And the start of the best

Another year is near.

May it bring all that you wish.

Louis; 5:24 PM
Ranurgis said...: I wish all of you here health, happiness and all of life's best in 2008.; 7:18 PM
Anonymous said...: Aloha from AuthorIsland! I am afraid that I won't be able to stop cursing but I occasionally try to use something else (my favorite is "felgercarb" from the original Battlestar Galactica series)...there are some situations that just require a stronger word!

Happy New Year!

E.L. Felder; 10:15 PM
Lori of Canada said...: Happy New Year!! Love the signature, Lori!

LOL - I am pretty good at controlling my cursing when needs be, which is needed being a teacher. A student cursed in my classroom a few months ago while i still had the cast on my foot. I corrected his language - and he came back with "I am mad. You can't tell me when you broke your foot, you didn't swear up a storm." Now, I couldn't LIE because I would have no credibility, so I came directly back with, "OK. When you break your foot in my classroom, you can swear all you want. Until then, change your language."

I haven't made any resolutions yet... I want to make working out more a part of my daily living(breaking my foot stopped that in its tracks). I am refinancing my mortgage this year so I want to keep a stronger hold on my finances as well (and I did up a great budget over the holidays).

I'll have to think about this one a little longer. :)

Lori M.; 4:10 AM
Lori Foster said...: Thank you all for dropping by. Of course, today, it's snowing and cold. Bah! I detest winter after Christmas. LOL
(But notice I said "bah" and not a real curse word. ;-)

Enjoy your 1st day of the New Year everyone!
Thank you all for visiting us here.

Lori; 5:48 AM
Jennifer said...: This post has been removed by the author.; 3:17 PM
Jennifer said...: Hi Lori!

Happy New Year! I love the fancy snow letters. That's a good resolution to have - I consciously try to swear less from time to time... but actually this year, I decided not to make any specific "New Years Resolutions" - or maybe, just sticking to old ones.
:-D Good luck with your resolution and I hope you have the best year yet.
p.s. - Aloha from AuthorIsland! ;-); 3:25 PM
Anonymous said...: Uh, well cursing was something that I never really learned. We were very straitlaced at home and besides, English was my second language.

My younger sister lately heard me use "bitch" in a specific context and she said to me, "You shouldn't say that word." Well, the combination fit the context of what I wanted to say.

But yes, around young kids we've always been very careful not to use any "bad" words, because "out of the mouth of babes..." can be a two-edged sword. It was really all in our upbringing. One of my sisters-in-law is pretty bad? good? at cursing but she and her boys are really the only ones so far in the family that do.

I once asked a couple of young guys who were cursing as I was waiting for a bus, "Would you mind if I asked you a question?" They agreed and when I asked them about swearing, they said they learned it from their parents who curse all the time, and not from their peers as I had supposed.; 8:24 PM
Shelli Stevens said...: Happy New Year, Lori (and to the rest of the Quill ladies!)

Give up cursing...like in the books? I've always loved your books! Sigh. I think my characters curse quite a bit, but really, I'm sure it's just because I have three brothers and am naturally a bit potty-mouth inclined. It transfers to my books. Maybe I should cut back a little, too... hmm, we'll see. My current WIP heroine has a bad mouth, but curbs it by the end. She redeems herself so to speak. *grin*; 11:24 PM
Lori Foster said...: Well poo. This blogger ate my post!
Grrr....

So here it is again -
No, Shelli, my characters don't have any resolutions. LOL. They can curse all they need or want to.

I've always been good about NOT cursing in front of children or anyone who might be offended. But when watching sports with my kids or railing at the fates with a friend... yeah, we get pretty bad. LOL.
So I'm giving it ALL up, and so far, so good. I haven't slipped at all!
Yay me.

Hugs to all!

Lori - who is freezing in 9 degree temps and watching the snow fall!; 6:36 AM
elizabeth said...: Codswallop.; 12:46 PM
aussie dee said...: another curiousity question
with swearing in a story, what is considered overkill?
with some stories sometimes you need a word that describes a situation.; 1:47 PM
talpianna said...: I think cursing by a character depends on the character: it's appropriate enough for a pimp, a tad inappropriate coming from an archbishop. What I can't stand is four-letter words used by the omniscient narrator (which is why I never finished the one Clive Barker book I tried to read).

Eve Dallas curses way too much for my liking, but it's reasonable for her character. And she does it in private or with other cops, not in public in front of the press or civilians.

My grandfather had some interesting curses, such as "Consarn the ding-ding" and "May the skin of a gooseberry be an umbrella to cover the heads of your enemies." Being of Scottish ancestry, he knew some REAL ones too.

Word Verification: cfpac
c*** f*** p**** a****** c***; 4:03 PM
DFender said...: Happy New Year, Lori!

Erm... I like cursing...LOL. I know, it's a sign of a non-creative mind... oh so true.

I'm (yet friggin again) trying to quit smoking. No willpower. Horrifying. Maybe if I curse more I'll smoke less? Ha!

Happy, healthy and prosperous wishes to all...

Deb; 4:07 PM
Judy F said...: Happy New Year everyone.

Lori I didn't think you cursed at all. Must be that Angel look you have.

Me I would like to be able to let things go, worry less and get my health in better shape.; 6:35 PM
Shelli Stevens said...: Oh good! I'm glad your characters can still swear :) Not that I see it as a must, but sometimes...ya just need to! :); 10:58 PM
Lori Foster said...: AussieD, I only have my characters say what they say. I don't really speak for them -they speak to me, and I put it on paper. So... I'm not sure what would be overkill. Some characters just have more colorful language than others!

Tal, I'm guessing you haven't read my L.L.Foster book, because the female paladin in that book cusses a LOT. She's a true gutter mouth. LOL

Deb, I can't imagine how hard it is to stop smoking. I always wished smokers could have seen my mother in her last days. I think that would have had a major impact on helping other smokers to stop. It was not a pretty sight. :-( Very scary. Good luck!

Lori; 4:48 AM
Lori Foster said...: Judy - that's so nice to hear! I would have bet that I'd let slip plenty of times in front of you! LOL. And angel look? Moi? LOL
Good luck on your resolutions. They're never, ever easy, I know.

Shelli, I can't imagine my guy characters not cursing at least a little! Especially with the stuff I put them through. ;-)
LOL

Happy Thursday everyone!

Lori; 4:50 AM
cldivine@yahoo.com said...: Aloha from Author Island!

Lori,
Just wanted to tell you how much I loved your novella in I'm your Santa, revisting the brother's of "too much", just wish it would have been a full length story too. Have a great new year, and looking forward to your new books for 2008!; 11:05 AM
byrdloves2read said...: I'm not really a fan of new year resolutions. I had a hard enough time giving up all desserts one Lent a few years ago. Never again.

I suspect giving up cursing is going to be doubly difficult for you, Lori, because your characters talk to you using colorful language. The more you hear it and read it, the easier it is to incorporate it into your vocabulary. I never used to ever hear f*** but I've read it so much in the last couple of years it slips out in my comments sometimes. And I find that rather embarrassing because I'm a bit old fashioned. But good luck with it.; 1:50 PM
Phyllis said...: Aloha from AuthorIsland.
I don't usually make New Year's resolutions. Too hard to keep them all year. Good luck with your attempt to give up cursing. I have set a goal to spend more quality time with my family.; 6:58 PM
Lori Foster said...: Hey CLDivine, you know, I hear that about EVERY short story I write. :-) But... in my brain, some stories are just short. I can't stretch them out if they're not there already, you know?
But I'm thrilled that you enjoyed it!

Byrdloves2read, hi! One of my favorite tv personalities, Dana White (who is Drew Black in my SBC series) uses the "F" word a dozen times in every sentence. Whenver he's on tv, it's -bleep-bleep-bleep- through all his conversations. LOL.
But he's a BRILLIANT businessman, and he's the one who brought the UFC into the forefront of sports. I often wonder if he curbs his language at all, for anyone - and that's sort of triggered a story idea for a character like him. Ought to be fun!

Phyllis, quality time with family is GOOD! I always enjoy the holidays when my kids are all around and I can see them interracting as young adults now. Makes me mega proud. :-D It's good for the soul!

Happy Friday all!

Lori; 5:13 AM

Previous Posts

Monday, December 31, 2007

HAPPY NEW YEAR

28 Comments: