Category: Uncategorized

  • Commenting Is Fixified, I Think…

    Commenting Is Fixified, I Think…

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    Thank you to Morgan Blackthorne and Dayna Hart for helping me to fix the comment problem I was having.  Morgan suggested uploading Akismet to the site and Dayna, my designer, did that and made some other back-of-the-house changes and, I think, everything is set.  I also updated the setting that allows folks to set up an account to comment (I left the \”must be logged in\” feature on), but if you have a Gravatar or WordPress account, you\’ll be set (and both are free, you can use what you like).

    If you\’re still having problems, let me know and I\’ll see if I can fix it.  Obviously, if you can\’t comment, you can\’t let me know in comments – duh, so either PM me on FB or em me at a.catherine.noon AT gmail.

    ~hugs~

  • Sunday Box Talk – Scheduling Fun

    Sunday Box Talk – Scheduling Fun

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    Unless you plan ahead, you will fail to catch what you\’re hunting. This is one of the two baby snow leopards at the Brookfield Zoo, as she tries to catch one of the hanging toys in her habitat.

    I know there\’s a lot of ink spent on talking about new year\’s resolutions about now.  I don\’t actually go in for that all that much, other than to set an intention for the Roman New Year, since, being Wiccan, my new year is actually at the end of October.  But I do think that taking advantage of the collective energy around goal-setting is useful.  Here, then, are some suggestions.

    Five Tips For Fun

    1. Put it in your calendar.  Each month, set aside at least one weekend day for an outing.  It doesn\’t have to cost – hiking is free, and many public events are too.  Here in Chicago, for example, the Lincoln Park Zoo and the Chicago Cultural Center are both free, as are libraries.
    2. Don\’t scoff at libraries; they\’ve had to make it into the twenty-first-century and have embraced it with ebooks, new media, and the old favorite, books.  You can get DVDs and music for free, and some offer laptops and even e-readers to patrons.
    3. Talk about it!  Go on Facebook or Twitter and make your intentions public – there\’s nothing like knowing others are watching to make us follow through on commitments – even commitments to fun!
    4. Check out meetup.com.  There are thousands of free events, all over the globe, for every type of interest.  If you don\’t find what you\’re looking for, consider starting one.  (Hosting a meetup isn\’t free, but it\’s not exorbitant either; many enterprising hosts, like me, say, ask for donations and receive enough to cover the fees that Meetup charges.  Attending is free; hosting is what costs.)
    5. Take pictures!  Use your smartphone, cell phone camera, or even kick it old-school and use a standalone camera to record your daily round.  Social media like Facebook and Instagram, not to mention photography forums like Imgur and Picasa, let you share with others around the globe.  Make new friends and share ideas!

    What about you, Dear Reader?  What fun is in YOUR calendar?

  • Sealed by Magic

    Sealed by Magic

    \"ACN-RW_SealedByMagic_coverlg\"Seattle has been at peace since before it was founded on the banks of the Puget Sound. The war between the witches and the snake shifters ended and they now live separate lives. Generations of distrust have kept them separated, until Ari Fitzgerald meets sexy Zachary Bennett, a young witch from the Queen City Coven.

    Ari is the son of the lamia king. He needs to find the source of the black market trading in lamia venom before any other snake shifters are hurt, or worse. The young ones are most at risk, because their venom is more potent. Ari discovers the source is a witch and suspicion falls on Zac and his coven. Ari doesn\’t want to believe it.

    Zac works for his brother-in-law, a powerful bear shifter who doesn’t care about shifter politics. When three coyote shifters come to town, looking for black-market lamia venom and a witch to kidnap, Zac gets caught in the middle between the bears, the lamiae, and the power-hungry coyotes. He\’s going to need all the help from Ari that he can get.

    Ari and Zac must find the source of the venom before the city erupts into a dangerous war, with the two of them on opposite sides.

    Shop on Amazon.

  • Cook Like a Writer

    Cook Like a Writer

    \"COVER-CALIBRI_Web\"A free cookbook, published by the Book Posse, including A. Catherine Noon.

    A cookbook like no other, written by a group of six authors who are helping to change the world one word–and one recipe–at a time. Features many of the recipes from their Tasty Tuesday Blogs. Whether you’re a gastronomic genius or a cooking clod, you’ll find these recipes easy, unique and loaded with anecdotal tidbits that you can enjoy while you’re slaving over that stove.

  • Six Geese Laid – A Holiday Fable

    Six Geese Laid – A Holiday Fable

    \"2015-12-22A. Catherine Noon and Rachel Wilder serve up Day Six with “Six Geese Laid” narrated by Vance Bastian, a free podcast.

    Our story is set in the world of the Chicagoland Shifters, a magical place filled with Siberian tiger shifters, jaguar shifters, an animal empath, and our Hero, TJ Butler. TJ is a former Marine with a problem: he is in love with a young dancer who is also a werefox by the name of Dillon Kendall. But will TJ get his holiday wish? Or will all their gooses be cooked because they couldn’t leave well enough alone?

  • Cat\’s Cradle

    Cat\’s Cradle

    \"Cat\'s-Cradle---XWhen you’re a former Marine tiger shifter, love comes with a high cost – is it too much to pay?

    Mitchell Brayden is a former Marine tiger shifter looking for love in all the wrong places. When he decides to rescue a young ocelot shifter from a rich, spoiled playboy, he embroils himself in a conflict that goes back generations.

    Guadalupe Salazar grew up as a pampered pet of a benevolent patron. After his patron’s untimely death, he stays on with the patron’s son – a self-centered, weak man who got ensnared by the drugs and fast living in the States. One night, it goes too far and Lupe is beaten nearly to death. He is taken to a secret shifter clinic where he meets an unlikely knight in tarnished armor.

    Together, Mitch and Lupe confront the playboy and his friends – but will their actions draw the rest of the jaguar familias, not to mention the ocelot clans, into a battle over Lupe’s future? Will the delicate balance of power destroy everything that Mitch’s small band of tiger shifters has built in Chicago?

    Shop on Amazon.

  • The Gooses Are Here!  The Gooses Are Here!

    The Gooses Are Here! The Gooses Are Here!

    \"2015-12-22

    I\’m so excited!  The Noon and Wilder short story, Six Geese Laid – A Holiday Fable, is now available on the WROTE podcast, featuring the voice talents of none other than Vance Bastian.  It takes place after the end of Cat\’s Cradle, and before the next book, Ambush, which is forthcoming in 2016.  Ambush is TJ\’s story, a tale of loss, identity, and love.  Six Geese is a holiday fable that sets the stage for TJ, Dillon, and Craig.

    Join me tonight, Tuesday December 22nd, for a live Facebook event from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. Central Standard Time (GMT -6). I\’ll have stories, anecdotes, and even an interview with Vance himself at 7:30.  Join me!

    \"Cat\'s-Cradle---XWhen you’re a former Marine, now tiger shifter, love comes with a high cost – is it too much to pay?

    Mitchell Brayden is a former Marine looking for love in all the wrong places. When he decides to rescue a young ocelot shifter from a rich, spoiled playboy, he embroils himself in a conflict that goes back generations.

    Guadalupe Salazar grew up as a pampered pet of a benevolent patron. After his patron’s untimely death, he stays on with the patron’s son – a self-centered, weak man who got ensnared by the drugs and fast living in the States. One night, it goes too far and Lupe is beaten nearly to death. He is taken to a secret shifter clinic where he meets an unlikely knight in tarnished armor.

    Together, Mitch and Lupe confront the playboy and his friends – but will their actions draw the rest of the jaguar familias, not to mention the ocelot clans, into a battle over Lupe’s future? Will the delicate balance of power destroy everything that Mitch’s small band of tiger shifters has built in Chicago?

  • Six Geese Laid – A Holiday Fable:  Tuesday, December 22nd, on WROTE Podcast; performed by Vance Bastian

    Six Geese Laid – A Holiday Fable: Tuesday, December 22nd, on WROTE Podcast; performed by Vance Bastian

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    The Geese Are Coming!

    It all started with an innocent question by J. Scott Coatsworth on Queer Sci Fi:  would anyone like to help out with a podcast series inspired by the Twelve Days of Christmas.

    It was November 22nd.

    I figured, I didn\’t have much to do since I was only working full time, Chicago Regional Municipal Liaisons for the ChiWriMo region of National Novel Writing Month, we were leaving for Philadelphia for our family celebration of Thanksgiving (at which 33 people were in attendance), AND it was Black Friday that week and Rachel works retail.

    Sure, I\’d love to write a new story.  From scratch.

    When do you need it?

    The 27th.

    OF NOVEMBER???

    Rachel\’s gonna kill me.

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    So I wrote.  And Rachel and I plotted.  I wrote some more.  We plotted more.  We ate turkey.  Rachel battled the consumer hell that is Black Friday.  I turned in the story by the skin of my teeth on the 27th.

    And now you, Dear Reader, get to hear it on WROTE podcast, performed by none other than Vance Bastian!

    Join me on Facebook for a release day party this Tuesday, December 22nd, from 7:00 to 9:00 P.M. Central Standard Time (GMT -6).  We\’ll have links, pictures, and lots and lots of fun.

    About the Story

    Six Geese Laid – a Holiday Fable takes place after the end of Cat\’s Cradle, and before the forthcoming Ambush.  Our hero is the tortured TJ Butler, a former Marine suffering from PTSD from the use of electroshock therapy to \”cure\” him of being gay when he was a young man.  He ran away to join the Corps and that\’s where he met Neal Harrison and his squad of Marines.  TJ is unaware of the fact that he is pure catnip to Dillon Kendall and Craig Moretti, but Dillon decides that the time is right to make his move.  Only, there\’s a snag:

    The Geese.

    Join me on Tuesday and find out what happens!

     

  • Bloody Mary Mix – And Surviving Holiday Shopping!

    Bloody Mary Mix – And Surviving Holiday Shopping!

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    I know, I\’m a little behind, but I forgot to post this here.  I put it on my Facebook, but didn\’t put it on the blog.  Sigh.

    Chalk it up to the holiday nutsiness and my gym challenge.  It\’s eating my brain.

    What do vegetarian zombies say?

    GRRRAAAAAIIINS!

    ANYway, I\’m over at Chez Delilah again for a guest post.  If you haven\’t checked her out, Delilah Devlin is an awesome writer and does lovely jewelry; she even has an Etsy shop for the latter.  When you visit my post, check out her other offerings.

    Happy holidays!

  • TRS Christmas Party with $100 USD Amazon Giveaway and Other Prizes!

    TRS Christmas Party with $100 USD Amazon Giveaway and Other Prizes!

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    The TRS Christmas Party is in full swing.  Stop by for the grand prize of a $100 USD Amazon gift card, and enter to win a slew of prizes from participating authors – including yours truly!

    For the party, I\’ll be posting five posts each day that highlight our bestselling M/M Romance books:

    TRS Christmas Party

    Chicagoland Shifters:

    Day One – 12/17 – Burning Bright

    1. Date Ideas
    2. Bird Brain
    3. Safe Words
    4. Poly
    5. Wicca

    Day Two – 12/18 – Tiger Tiger

    1. Tiger Play – Zooscapades
    2. Jogging
    3. Intercultural Relationships
    4. Veterinary Adventures
    5. Smart-Assed Friends

    Day Three – 12/19 – Cat\’s Cradle

    1. Movie Night
    2. Horchata
    3. When You Don\’t Share
    4. Dinner In
    5. Novice Kink

    Persis Chronicles:

    Day Four – 12/20 – Emerald Fire

    1. Socks of Doom
    2. Tropes
    3. Music To My Ears
    4. The Animals of Persis
    5. Deserts

    Day Five – 12/21 – Emerald Keep

    1. Sandsails
    2. Cave Cities
    3. Truffles
    4. Group Marriages
    5. Tai Chi

    Emerald City Shifters:

    Day Six – 12/22 – Sealed by Fire

    1. Six Geese Laid (not really Emerald City Shifters, but it went live so I\’m sharing)
    2. The Charm of Novices
    3. Seattle
    4. Inventing Legends
    5. Domovoi

    Day Seven – 12/23 – Sealed by Magic

    1. Ancestral Wicca
    2. Row Your Boat
    3. Brewing – the Ancient Hobby
    4. Pets That Live Forever
    5. Thank You, Happy Holidays, and Gym Challenges

    I\’ll be sharing date ideas, talking about the animals that inspired our shifters, pictures, and lots of fun stuff.  I hope you\’ll join me!

  • Werk It! – Five Tips For Working Out

    Werk It! – Five Tips For Working Out

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    Join me over at The Romance Studio for five thoughts on working out.  Hoo-rah, baby!

  • Post Comments and Spam

    Post Comments and Spam

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    A few folks have let me know they\’ve had trouble leaving comments on the blog here, and I wanted to have a short chat as to why and what\’s going on.

    Unfortunately, when I went to the new platform on my website, as opposed to a free site (like Blogger or WordPress), it meant that I got a ton of spam comments – like 40 a day.  I turned commenting off for a while, then allowed it with a sign-in on WordPress or Open ID (and a few others); then turned it off after a while, thinking maybe I was done with spam, but no such luck.

    Sadly, I\’ve had to keep the sign-in requirement.  I STILL get spam, 10 to 20 a week, but it\’s more manageable.

    And if you\’re a spammer reading this, I\’m not very happy with you.  Jus\’ sayin\’.

    And so, Dear Reader, that\’s why I have comments set up the way I do.  I hope it doesn\’t prevent you from leaving comments; but if it does, know that I\’m stoked that you\’ve visited and taken the time to read.  I appreciate you.