My Crazy Corner

I'm new to the craft. I have been writing since late last year. You and Emily Gossett are two authors that really inspired me. You've shown me that it's possible to go the independent author route and achieve great success.

The story I've been writing is titled Destined. It follows seventeen year old Katherine Scott. She's just relocated to Philadelphia the summer before her senior year, all to care for a women she barely knows. She feels all alone and out of place, until she befriended Charlotte. Then around her eighteenth birthday strange things being to happen. She discovers who she truly is. Will she run away from her destiny or take on the challenges that face her.

Blog: http://kristyncarter.blogspot.com/

It's all in the attitude.

Hi Apryl! Thanks so much for hosting me today. 

I was watching Restaurant: Impossible last week showcasing a brazen woman with a snarky tongue whose restaurant was tanking because of her attitude.

When a customer complained, she's let 'em know why they were wrong. "The customer's not always right," she quipped.

She alienated her customers to the point of nearly losing her business.

It got me thinking about writers. (Just like everything does, LOL!)

Lots (the majority I'd say) of writers are positive, supportive, glass-is-half-full kind of people. Thank goodness!

Considering the hurdles to get published, along with all the negative stuff out there, it's refreshing and encouraging to see writers helping each other with a smile.

Confession: Without the help of my positive, never-give-up-no-matter-what, so-you-lost-this-time-but-could-win-next-time, cheerleading writer pals, I would've quit a long time ago.

I wonder: What would things be like if the writing community were chock full of mean, nit-picky, grind-you-under-their-heel types? Just like that woman alienated her customers, a negative community would snuff out potential superstars in minutes.

How horrible would that be??? Countless friends (who now have agents and pubbing deals, yay!!), may have given up. And their writing is FAB! What a loss it would be for the world to never see their work!

That's why I can't express my thanks enough for the awesome, talented, intelligent, caring, and pull-you-back-from-the-ledge-as-many-times-as-you-need writers I've met along the way.

Without them, I would not be getting pubbed. My short story CITY OF LIGHTS AND STONE is a month from release in the DAY OF DEMONS Anthology by Anachron Press and my YA Dystopian ENDURE will be published by Kae Wilson Press (to be released in 2013).

In the meantime, you can check out my blog, Diamond—Lucid Dreamer, where I tackle writerly mental health questions on Mental Health Monday, share writer tips on Wednesdays, and bring in the fun on Flake-out Fridays!

THANK YOU!!

You can find Laura here:

Here's my Blog: http://lbdiamond.wordpress.com/

Kae Wilson Publishing: http://www.kaewilsonpublishing.com/

Anachron Press: http://www.colinfbarnes.com/anachron-press

Issues of Writing a Series

The series: Possibly the most successful business model in publishing, especially these days. It’s not enough to write a bunch of books. Now days, publishers and the reading public want trilogies at the very least, an on-going series at best. Publishers want this because it leads (almost all of the time) to greater sales than writers who do one-shot, stand-alone books. Readers want them because they fall in love with characters and aren’t ready to give them up after one book. I’ve heard mixed reviews from my fellow writers. I think we’re in the middle. We want the extra money that a series can deliver, but was also fall in love with our characters, likely more deeply than our readers (unless you happen to be Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) ever could. In my case, my creative brain thinks in EPIC terms, so epic that I couldn’t fit some of my stories into a single book.


Right now, I’m finalizing work on the third book of my Tears of Rage sequence (which is my fancy way of saying “series”.) The first two books have gotten mixed reactions from my reviews on Amazon, though, thankfully it’s mostly positive. Also, my readers and critics believe that book two, Once We Were Like Wolves, is superior to book one, First Chosen. While working on book two, I remember having this little voice going off in the back of my head, “You better up your game, ‘cause the sharks are out there waiting for you to drop the ball.” Now, while working on book three, I’ve got that same little voice saying, “You’re on a roll, don’t #*$@ this up.” AND sometimes, that voice isn’t so little any more. It’s gotten to me a couple of time to the point where I’m paralyzed by fear to the point I can’t really work.

I know exactly where that little voice is coming from. Not only do I write fantasy, I’m an avid fantasy reader. I’ve been following some fantasy series for years and years, and several have let me down while others continue to amaze and just get better and better. Since I like to try and think on the positive, I’ll mention the three series that I love that just keep getting better and better: The Black Company by Glen Cook, The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher (Changes being one of the greatest fantasy novels of all time, but only because it has the rest of the series building up to it), and The Malazan Book of the Fallen by Steven Erikson.

What does this have to do with the voice in the back of my head that keeps poking me while I’m writing?

Well, on the other side of the coin, I’ve read several series, which I’ll not name, but they are pretty popular around the world, that have really lagged in the middle and disappointed the majority of their fan base. The last thing I want, and I’m pretty sure any writer wants, is to let their readers down as they’re rounding third and heading for home… or worse… they’ve realized that they are rounding third, and discover that they’ve got to get to fourth, fifth, and sixth, before they can even think about home plate… Oh, but wait… isn’t that seventh and eighth out there in the outfield? Maybe we can go check those out before we finish? Oh, and stopping by the concessions stand could be a good idea, our characters gotta eat after all.

So, here I am, fantasy writer and reader, with the daunting task of keeping every single book in my series at least as equal in all ways to the one that came before it, and I have these stellar and not-so-stellar examples of writers I admire who have come before me. I’m sure I’m not the only one to have these feeling of excitement, dread, apprehension, and worry. Well, I finally managed to overcome all that stuff going on in my head, and not only have I gained incredible momentum on book three, I’m really excited about book four. I’m also looking forward to attacking the second book in my fantasy/steampunk adventure series, Halloween Jack and the Curse of Frost, the follow up to last fall’s bestselling Halloween Jack and the Devil’s Gate. Will I succeed as I hope in making these books better than those that came before? Maybe, maybe not. Really, it’s not for me to decide, it’s up to my readers. I just gotta do the best I can, put out the best story I know how, and hope that as I write more books, I learn more about the craft of writing engaging and entertaining fiction.

If you decide to dive into my books and take the journey with me, I’d love to hear some feedback from you. Jump onto my Facebook page, or follow me on Twitter and let me know what you think, and of course, leave a review on Amazon!

http://facebook.com/bardscloak
http://twitter.com/MGallowglas
http://mgallowglas.blogspot.com
http://www.goodreads.com/mgallowglas
http://gplus.to/mtoddgallowglas

First Chosen: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0055I14BG
Once We Were Like Wolves: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006OSSF7C
Halloween Jack and the Devil’s Gate: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B005XJ0V7A

Official extended Blurb of The Broken Destiny:
Ava is the great granddaughter of the founder of their kind. The Broken are Genetically enhanced to survive evolution during the last years on earth, but the "experiments" are abandoned and moved to another planet - Poseidon. Ava carries a secret journal of her mother's, this journal leads her to believe that they are not all what they seem. Monitored and ruled by the council, Ava has figure out their true identities and origins by deciphering her mother’s crazy ranting’s within this journal. As it is there are a few of The Broken that will experience a "change" , each generation’s change differs from the previous , all she knows for certain is her generation has been labeled the make it or break it generation. Weeks before Ava's seventeenth birthday an attempted kidnapping by Zulu warriors changes her destiny forever.

Saved by a Minoan boy she is taken back to his village where all the lies about her kind's existence and how they came to be exiled to planet Poseidon are brought to light. The Minoans are an ancient race who carry a secret that ties in with Ava's prophesied destiny. Within her unique bloodline she carries the prophesy of a rare soul, and within her soul she carries a secret weapon. To bring about the "change" that will release her abilities she has to get to know her soul first. To know one's soul you have to hate it and then come back from that. Poisoned, beaten, possessed and betrayal is the start of her journey towards her destiny.

She will stand up against the evil witch-doctor, who needs her soul to release the ancient ancestor's spirit of king Shaka Zulu's spirit. She falls in love with a boy who has been watching her from afar but now has to guide her thought her "change" , to intervene to protect her from herself , because her "change" has come a year too early.It might break her, and it could alter their existence forever, for her destiny is to rise above the fall and save them all, and though it all she will find herself. In the end she finds her ability, a rare ability that is of the most difficult to control, she is a mind-shifter.



Meet the characters: http://www.carlylelabuschagne.com/characters.html

Carlyle on why she wrote the book and what the message is to THE BROKEN DESTINY

I always had a need to express myself through various things, first sports and drama. But always found my heart and mind in bliss when writing. Been writing since the age of twelve. The Broken Destiny is my first completed book that came at a time in my life when I needed release. That is what writing is for me. Understanding the world , making sense of it all. Leaning about me and growing. This is a journey into my psyche I had always wanted to reveal to myself and others.

Message:

Everything that is broken can be fixed. This book is about a girl who goes through the worst mental and physical challenges to fulfill her destiny. I want my readers to identify with and take something from the book. That our differences make us phenomenal. That you are the creator of your journey and for your dreams to come true you need to believe in your dream but most importantly believe in yourself "dont allow fear to cripple your abilities, let love give you wings"

Author fun facts:

Carlyle was born and still lives in the largest made made urban forest : Johannesburg South Africa
Married her bad boy teenage sweetheart Dirk.
Two sons Ethan and Jordan
Obsessed with trees, in fact its all she can paint and draw are trees.
Loves to paint on walls and cupboards
Has had her fair share of activities : Figure skater, gymnast , swimmer, hip hop dancer, pole dancing, rock climbing, athlete, TV Presenting.
Needless to say Carlyle loves to have fun and keep busy.
Works as a Marketing and PR consultant by day, after reading and putting her kids to bed at night she will write and work on all things the author world has brought her.
Her best friend : Her imagination.
Loves to swim.

Where can we find Carlyle?

Twitter : http://twitter.com/#!/CarlyleL
Website : http://www.carlylelabuschagne.com/
Goodreads http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12537426-the-broken-destiny-1-in-the-broken-series
Facebook : http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Carlyle-Labuschagne/189835811074342

Dream Inspired?

I’ve been asked many times if I had a dream which inspired the writing of my debut novel, In My Dreams, and the answer is …Yes. I did. But it wasn’t a frilly, happy, romantic dream about a boy and a girl, although I’d really wished it was. My dream was far from that. The dream I had was completely creepy and scary.

If you read the 1st part of Chapter 1 of, In My Dreams… well, that’s the dream. Yes, I did add Lizzy, Michael and some colorful words, but the rest was pretty much how it happened happened.

I was lost in the middle of a dark, eerie forest. I couldn’t see too much around me, but I could feel that something was watching, lurking in the darkness. I started to desperately search for a way out, but the trees were dense and I kept slipping and falling.

Then, I heard branches cracking behind me, and turned to witness a dark, hooded figure emerge from the trees. It was hovering just above the misty ground and it was coming for me.

I managed to find a small clearing and in the center was a cabin. When I got to the cabin, I realized that it had four doors - one on each wall. There were no lights, no windows, and no locks. I kept trying to slam the doors shut, but each time I moved, they would fly open again! It was completely frustrating! Then… I had that creepy feeling, the feeling that something was coming. I looked out one of the doors and noticed the creature exiting the woods. Crap! It was coming! As it hovered through the door, I noticed the smell. It was the smell of death. It then shot towards me… and I woke myself up.

I immediately shook my husband from his sleep and told him about my dream. He didn’t know what to make of it, but thought it was pretty cool and said it would make a great story. I remembered lying in bed, thinking about it. What did it mean? I’m not sure if the dream was triggered because we had watched some paranormal shows that evening, but I’m sort of glad that it did happen. Not while I was dreaming, of course, but after.

My husband was right. It did make a pretty cool story, and I’m glad he nudged me in the right direction. The very next day I sat at my computer, pulled up Microsoft Word and started to write. This was my very first novel, so I didn’t know what to expect. From that dream, I came up with the two main characters: Lizzy and Michael. Then I had to figure out how to work them into the dream, and weave it somehow into the rest of the story.

I must say that the process of writing this novel has taught me a lot. It was a lot like a puzzle; trying to fit all the pieces together so that the end product was clear. The characters in this book sort of popped up - like “Hey! I’m here! You better use me!” They each had a specific part and role in the story, and I was actually surprised at how it all came together in the end. It was amazing.

I had fun writing In My Dreams, and fell in love with the characters. I laughed, and even cried throughout the journey. Thank god my family was asleep while I did, or they’d think I’d finally lost my mind! (…and I’m pretty dang close!)

My hope is that the readers will get a chance to connect with and love these characters as much as I did. If you like the movie Ghost (which I do)… you’ll probably like this story. Maybe in the future I just might pick up and write a sequel. I did leave it open… just in case. 

In the meantime, I’m writing a new YA Paranormal Trilogy. This one has a lot more characters, a lot more action, and dare I say… there will be HEADS that roll!!! It’s gonna be good! ;)

You can find Cameo at:Website: http://cameorenae.com
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/CameoRenaeFanPage
Blog: http://cameorenae.blogspot.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/#!/CameoRenae

April, thanks so much for allowing me to visit your blog! You’re completely awesome! ;)

To read an excerpt of In My Dreams – go to my website at http://cameorenae.com.

The Grateful Undead: They're So Vein (volume 1)
Author, Susan Stec

Tell us about yourself and how you became a writer

When I got older and started seeing those crow's feet forming at the corner of my eyes, I started to have this very pleasant dream every night: Sexy vamp waltzes through the French doors of my bedroom balcony, and after an erotically charged interlude, he fangs me, which just happened to clock me back about 30 years. The next night the dream expanded into a nightmare when every damn non-estrogen producing women in my family burst through the French doors asking for a piece of the action. I woke laughing, and got out a pad and a pen.

After I cut the girls loose in my imaginary world there was no dragging them back out again! My dreams became filled with fanged fiascos and they mentally pushed me toward the computer every morning.

Tell us about your novel

Well I should probably say right out that They're So Vein is NOT your teenaged daughter's vampire story. It starts out when a cheeky, potty-mouthed tyke takes a bite out of the protagonist, Susan, in a public bathroom. Vanity being the mainstay in this zany family of senior citizens, they all want a piece of the action. Susan looked twenty-five…they looked…well…old.

A domino effect quickly ensues, leaving only Jeni, Susan's oldest daughter, the sole voice of reason. The amateur vampires, with only dime store literature to guide them, swiftly find out feedin' ain't easy…not with five new immortals on the loose.

Susan's Bible-toting sister, JoAnn, inadvertently turns a raccoon into a ‘vampoon’—talk about screwing up the whole eco-system. PETA would be so pissed. Fanged critters start parading around the neighborhood like a conga line in front of a buffet at the Golden Coral. The day the Jehovah witnesses show up at the door…well that wasn't pretty, everyone felt so bad…

Then Susan's vamped-out eighty-three-year old mother, mixing blood with pleasure, begins to seize, with gusto, the moments she'd missed in her sexually-deficient life. Problem is she loses a few warm bodies along the way.

That's when the Morizzio Cartel pulled out the big fangs, mailed out rules and demanded a meeting. And although the girls were ready to stomp their new stilettos all over their 1,500-year-old rules, they end up paying for their infractions, big time.

Being assigned to Critter Control for an eternity wasn't what any of them had signed up for. Especially with the protagonist's six-year-old nemesis, Christopher, as a partner.

When will the next in the series be released?

I hope to have book two, The Grateful Undead: Gator Baitin', out by May, and the third, Blood Sweat and Demon Tears out quickly after. I'll be starting on book four in March.

Where do you get your ideas for your books?
I dream them. I wake up with an idea, and then start typing. The characters fill in the pages one night at a time. I've tried to do outlines, but after tossing so many attempts I just sit back and let my characters do the work for me. Not like they aren't gonna do that anyway. Not like I have any real control in the situation. They've even changed the plot mid book, like when the legendary blood countess shows up in the second book! That was not the story I had in mind at all. I woke up and there she was, wreaking all kinds of havoc from inside her freakin' mirror!

What are you working on right now?

The last chapter of a YA,The Other F Word. It's about Faeries who are being humanized with teen-toys. Cell phones, computers, video games, bug vehicles, etc. My poor main character drives a darner dragonfly— it's a predator— and he eats the other vehicles (which are also insects), as if she doesn't have it bad enough being the only half-breed in Terra Fae Nova.

However, things aren't what they seem. The story brings up issues with drugs, bullying, friendship, trust, interracial families, sexual tension, and of course being the underdog.

How much of the marketing do you do?

I use FaceBook, Twitter, Goodreads, Amazon, and a few others. I network with other authors blog, blog, blog. I've hit bookstores, libraries, and do mail outs. I haven't bought indelible markers and hit the restroom walls at Wal-mart. Well, I haven't done a sandwich-board downtown either. Too much?

Anything you’ve found to be particularly helpful in marketing your book?

Persistence.

Is your book available as an eBook?

Yes, every major online eBook retailer for numerous devices such as Barnes and Nobel's Nook, Amazon's Kindle, Apple's iPad, pdfs, Android phones and many others.

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers?

Write for you, not for the market you think will be available when your work is completed. Have patience, try new ideas. Join a writing group. I highly recommend, The Next Big Writer http://www.thenextbigwriter.com, and be open minded about critiques because those readers help you not only understand your market, but help get your book ready to query. If you think two heads are better than one, try 20 or 30.

As a writer we all face rejection, any advice on how to deal with it?

All I can say is that I grew a really hard layer of skin that first year. It's a tough market out there, and although I really wanted to see my books in print, I think holding on to the fact that I write for me and the women in my family is what got me through it. However, there is nothing like seeing your name on Amazon! Makes you feel special.

What’s your writing schedule like?

I try to write at least a chapter a week now that I'm published. Used to be able to crank out two, three a week, but marketing is taking up more than half of my time now. I'd say I write about 12 to 24 hours a week and market or build relationships the remainder of my work week which is usually around 40 hours during the summer and lots more in the winter.

What’s your favorite thing and least favorite thing about writing?

My favorite would be typing away and laughing out loud as my characters go all wonky on me. They crack me up with their outbursts and constant surprises. Like who would have thought my Bible-toting sister would have a child with a demon????… Ooops… spoiler for the third book! Dang, maybe you want to edit that out?

My least favorite—I'm a wordy bitch—writing a damn query! One or two paragraphs?—come on!

Where do you hope to be in 5 years?

On the cover of Rolling Stone. Ha!

What was one of the most surprising things you learned while writing your books?

That I have five women, a bunch of faeries, a troll, werewolf, demon, and several sexy immortals living in my brain! And they won't go home!


Where can readers find you?
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/Susan-Stec?keyword=Susan+Stec&store=allproducts

http://www.amazon.com/Grateful-Undead-Theyre-Vein-ebook/dp/B004X1UJ4O/ref=sr_1_1?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1330280652&sr=1-1

http://thegratefulundead.weebly.com/

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4556170.Susan_Stec

http://www.facebook.com/GratefulUndead

http://productsearch.barnesandnoble.com … amp;ugrp=2

http://thegratefulundead.blogspot.com/

http://www.facebook.com/

http://twitter.com/

J.A. Redmerski’s debut novel, THE MAYFAIR MOON, is a YA Paranormal Romance that has been praised many times over as being a great adult crossover tale. Today, she talks about what compelled her to write a YA novel like this one and how it is so different from other werewolf novels on the market today.

ABOUT ‘THE MAYFAIR MOON’ –
After a nightmarish encounter with a werewolf, seventeen-year-old Adria Dawson loses her sister, but gains the love of a mysterious young man and his legendary family.

Strange and tragic things begin to happen in the small town of Hallowell, Maine: residents come down with an unexplainable ‘illness’ and some disappear. In the midst of everything, Isaac Mayfair is adamant about keeping Adria safe, even from her sister whom he has warned her to stay away from.

As unspeakable secrets unfold all around Adria, impossible choices become hers to bear. Ultimately, no matter what path she takes, her life and the lives of those she loves will be in peril. As she learns about the werewolf world she also learns why her place in it will change the destinies of many.

IN JESSICA’S WORDS –

Thanks for having me as a guest on your blog – I’m excited to be here! I’ve always been a huge ‘traditional’ werewolf fan (The Howling, Ginger Snaps, Dog Soldiers, Underworld) for as long as I can remember. When I started getting into reading YA novels, I quickly realized that there were a ton of ‘werewolf’ novels on the market, so I thought it shouldn’t be difficult to find one about traditional werewolves. I was wrong. I searched for about a year while still working on my adult novel, DIRTY EDEN, but my search came up empty. All of the YA werewolf novels that I found were about shape-shifters, people who turned into actual wolves on four legs. Now don’t get the wrong idea – I find absolutely nothing wrong with ‘werewolves’ like that, but I longed for a story about the beastly, monstrous kind because to me, they are the epitome of dangerous and powerful. Mix danger and power with struggle and love into a YA crossover novel and you get…OK, truthfully the market has no shortage of novels like that, but now we can finally add beastly werewolves among them, too! 

THE MAYFAIR MOON is the first in a trilogy and Book Two, KINDRED is currently in the works.

Thanks again for having me, Apryl, and I hope you and your readers will enjoy THE MAYFAIR MOON.

You can find Jessica here:
Website - http://jessicaredmerski.com/
Goodreads - http://www.goodreads.com/jredmersk
Twitter - https://twitter.com/JRedmerski

As you all know if you've been following my Twitter posts, March is a month that will be filled with guest posts by authors who want to promote their work.

Today, we are introducing YA author Angela Fristoe. Thanks so much for blogging with us!

Zombies. I'm obsessed. I could read about them and watch them every waking moment. I just wish I wrote about them. Maybe starting my guest post after watching two hours of The Walking Dead wasn't such a good idea :)
What I do write about is actually what rarely finds its way into zombie stories - love and hope. When I started writing Songbird I wasn't sure where it was going, but I knew that Dani's story would have both, whatever the ending may have been. So many of the events that unfold in her life are snippets from things I've seen. I look at it and wonder how it's possible someone could have actually experienced these things, and then I am reminded that I've seen and heard much worse.

I loved writing Songbird. It was almost like writing two stories, where the first determined the second, even when the connections seemed nearly impossible to pinpoint. Dani's memories play such a dominant role in how she reacts to the current events in her life, so much that she's completely unaware of how she is not letting herself live. Dani is a survivor and she is determined to keep it that way. I'd like to think that she would survive a zombie apocalypse.

Blurb:


There are defining moments in life when everything changes. For Dani Mays, it was the day she witnessed her father kill her brother. Now seventeen, she still hasn't put it behind her.

After Jace's death, she bounced between her alcoholic mother and foster homes until she found a permanent place. And a reason to want to stay: Reece Tyler. He's her best friend, yet Dani wants more from him.

Faced with losing Reece, Dani struggles to define his place in her life and escape the influence the memories of her brother's death have over her choices. Even as she weaves the pieces of her heart back together, the past becomes more than a memory when a former foster brother reappears and Dani begins receiving threatening calls.

Links:
www.angelafristoe.com
www.angelafristoe.blogspot.com
www.facebook.com/SongbirdNovel
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4810596.Angela_Fristoe
Twitter: @afristoe

HOW could I have not read these books? I guess I was the lonely old hermit hiding under his rock! I am going to be reading these books and doing a review on the site. Anyone who has read them feel free to leave your comments on the books.

I'm starting with City of Bones.

Snap...crackle...pop. The sounds of bones breaking and shifting and of muscles tearing haunt Alexandria Reed.

For the last five years, Alex has been locked up at Compton Academy, a "school" for the emotionally challenged. She calls it the politically correct way of saying they’re all nuts and Alex has no doubts she’s insane. She comes home to Jacob's Fork to face the demons she left behind her after deceiving the doctors into believing she’s well. Soon after her arrival home though, news of her estranged mother's death brings her uncle back into her life and she and her brother, Jason, learn a terrifying secret about their family.

After questioning her sanity for the last ten years, she discovers the night terrors she's suffered for so long has become a reality. She and her brother are now being hunted because of the secret her family has killed to protect. Her world has been turned upside down, every belief she held true destroyed. Aided by her new friends, who have some dark secrets themselves, can she and Jason survive long enough to figure out the secret behind the secret?

Awakening is the first book in the series Bloodlines. I wrote it out by hand over several months while listening to Fall Out Boy and Lady Antebellum. Alex went through many changes and her story was something I just couldn't get out of my head. It had to be written. I sincerely hope you give it a chance. I classify the work as dark, paranormal YA and is marketable to both teens and an older audience. Readers of Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick and The Secret Circle by L. J. Smith will flock to Awakening.

This is a tentative cover for the first book, Awakening. Shout out to Tirz for her awesome work.

The book is complete and now being shopped around.

~Apryl