Skip to main content

Lady Wynwood #7 early release Kickstarter

I worked on my first Kickstarter and it got approved! It’s for the Special Edition Hardcover of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 1: Archer and the release of Lady Wynwood’s Spies, volume 7: Spinster. I contacted my graphic designer about the Special Edition Hardcover of vol. 1: Archer—it’s going to be SO beautiful! The Kickstarter focuses on the Special Edition Hardcover, but it’ll also include vol. 7: Spinster so that it’ll sort of be like a launch day for vol. 7, too. A third special thing that’ll be in the Kickstarter is Special Edition Paperbacks of all the books in the series. They won’t be available in stores, just in the Kickstarter (and later, from my website, and also in my Patreon book box tiers if I decide to do them). The Kickstarter is not live yet, but you can follow it to be alerted when it has launched. (You may need to create a free Kickstarter account.) Follow Camy’s Kickstarter

I mowed my first lawn

Captain's Log, Supplemental

Captain Caffeine has been on crutches—he tore his Achilles tendon, it’s not bad, but he’s unable to put weight on his foot just yet.

The backyard had become the Amazon jungle. The Captain hates it when the grass—or, more accurately, the weeds become too long.

I admit, I was not a good wife. I did not want to have to clear away the chairs and buckets from the yard. I didn’t want to unlock that nasty garden tools shed that’s infested with spiders. I didn’t want to maneuver the lawn mower out.

The Captain tried valiantly to mow, since the lawn mower is electric and rather sturdy and he can lean on it. However, I finally decided he wasn’t going to give up or come to his senses, so I took over for him.

It’s a lot like vacuuming the carpet, except that instead of my seek-and-destroy mission to suck up every stray piece of dog hair, I had to flatten and raze the foxtails that had taken over the yard.

It wasn’t hard, but that mower is noisy. And it kicks up all kinds of little weed particles that got into my eyelashes and nose and mouth.

But I could understand the Captain’s feeling of satisfaction at seeing a nicely mown backyard. The dog enjoyed herself, running back and forth rather than weaving in and out of clumps of weeds.

Of course, now I’ve got a bit of hay fever and I’m a bit paranoid I won’t get all the grass out of my hair. But the backyard is mowed! That was my testosterone-induced good deed for the day.

Comments

izitjo said…
Hey, well done! Good feeling, huh!? I had to post a comment cause I've just come inside all sweaty, looking for a tissue to deal with the hey fever induced by MY first lawn mowing experience.

After 37 years of watching my Dad and numerous male friends mow my lawns I decided it was time I took on full independence and bought my first lawn mower. It's a lovely sense of achievement... worth a blog post for the both of us I think!!! Here's to girl power! :)
Camy Tang said…
That is AWESOME! What a coincidence!
Camy
Cheryl said…
Enjoyed reading your story about moving your first lawn. I have yet to do so but this could be due to the fact that my husband does it and two my allergies get the best of me!
Lara said…
Okay, I am sooo envious. I was mowing the lawn for my dad by the time I was twelve. Of course once I got married I swore off mowing ever again. But occasionally I'll get out there as a surprise for my husband.

I'm still in awe that you avoided it for so many years.
Tanja said…
I LOVE to mow. Probably because I never got to growing up. My brothers did it. And then I started when our kids were toddlers and I got jealous that hubby went out right after he got home from work. He got the drone of the mower, and I got the same noisy critters I'd been with all day long. I was ready for some white noise!
Camy Tang said…
My dad always mowed our lawn--always. I think he enjoys it rather than thinking of it as a chore. I never had a lawn to mow until I married, and Captain Caffeine did all that (if it were up to me, I'd have hired a gardener).

I don't really like it. Mostly because of all the grass that got stuck in my hair!

Camy
Anonymous said…
Don't tell my husband, but I've never, ever mowed a lawn. My goal is to not end that streak.

Popular Posts

Toilet seat cover

Captain’s Log, Supplemental Update August 2008: I wrote up the pattern for this with "improvements"! Here's the link to my No Cold Bums toilet seat cover ! Okay, remember a few days ago I was complaining about the cold toilet seat in my bathroom? Well, I decided to knit a seat cover. Not a lid cover, but a seat cover. I went online and couldn’t find anything for the seat, just one pattern for the lid by Feminitz.com . However, I took her pattern for the inside edge of the lid cover and modified it to make a seat cover. Here it is! It’s really ugly stitch-wise because originally I made it too small and had to extend it a couple inches on each side. I figured I’d be the one staring at it, so who cared if the extension wasn’t perfectly invisible? I used acrylic yarn since, well, that’s what I had, and also because it’s easy to wash. I’ll probably have to wash this cover every week or so, but it’s easy to take off—I made ties which you can see near the back of the seat. And...

Brainstorm - character occupation

Captain's Log, Stardate 03.23.2009 Hey guys, I could use some help. In my current manuscript, The Year of the Dog , which is a humorous contemporary romance, I have a minor character, Eddie. He’s my heroine’s ex-boyfriend, and they’re on good terms with each other. He’s a bit irresponsible, but not so much so that he’s a complete loser. He’s got a very easy going attitude, he forgets to pay his bills sometimes, he’s friendly and charming. He’s adventurous and fun to be around, but he’s a little forgetful sometimes, and he tends to spend a little outside his income. I need an occupation for him. What would a charming, easy going, slightly irresponsible guy do for a living? He’s not too irresponsible, because otherwise readers will wonder what in the world my heroine saw in him to date him in the first place. She was attracted to his charm, his easy going attitude (her family’s uptight, and he was a nice contrast), and his adventurousness. But his forgetfulness and irresponsibility ...

I’m a Book of the Year winner!

Captain's Log, Stardate 09.22.2008 I won first place in the Debut Author category of the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year awards! Here are all the winners! Debut Author Sushi for One? (Camy Tang) Zondervan, editor Sue Brower Bayou Justice (Robin Miller writing as Robin Caroll) In Between (Jenny B. Jones) Contemporary Novella Finally Home in Missouri Memories anthology (Deborah Raney) Barbour Publishing, editor Susan Downs Moonlight & Mistletoe in A Big Apple Christmas anthology (Carrie Turansky) Remaking of Moe McKenna in Race to the Altar anthology (Gloria Clover) Historical Novella Love Notes in Love Letters Anthology (Mary Davis) Barbour Publishing, editor Rebecca Germany Beyond the Memories in Missouri Memories anthology (DiAnn Mills) The Spinster & The Tycoon in The Spinster Brides of Cactus Corner anthology (Vickie McDonough) Lits Splitting Harriet (Tamara Leigh) Multnomah Books, editor Julee Schwarzb...

I sold to Steeple Hill!

Captain's Log, Supplemental Remember that romantic suspense proposal I blogged about earlier? Well, it just sold to Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired Suspense line! I am so jazzed! I am beyond jazzed! The story’s working title is Sinister Spa The story's title is Deadly Intent and here’s a blurb (but it’s probably not what will appear on the back of the book): Massage therapist Naomi Grant could use a massage herself. With her father at home recovering from a stroke, Naomi is put in charge of the family’s elite day spa in Sonoma county. The new responsibilities sit awkwardly on her shoulders, and things only get worse when handsome Dr. Devon Knightley breezes into the spa, demanding to see one of the female clients. And the woman is found dead in Naomi’s massage room. Suddenly, Naomi is a suspect and her family’s spa is shut down. How could God let this awful thing happen? Devon only needed to see his ex-wife about a family necklace she still hadn’t returned, but when she dies and...

Chinese Take-Out and Sushi for One

Captain’s Log, Supplemental My agent sent me an article from Publisher’s Weekly that discussed this incident: Chinese Take-Out Spawns Christian Controversy And here’s also a blog post that talks about it in more detail: The Fighting 44s This is Soong-Chan Rah’s blog: The PCS blog In sum: Apparently Zondervan (yes, my publisher), who has partnered with Youth Specialties, had put out a youth leaders skit that had stereotypical Asian dialogue, which offended many Christian Asian Americans. In response to the outcry, Zondervan/Youth Specialities put out a sincere apology and is not only freezing the remaining stock of the book, but also reprinting it and replacing the copies people have already bought. I am very proud of my publisher for how they have handled this situation. The skit writers have also issued a public apology . (I feel sorry for them, because they were only trying to write a funny skit, not stir up this maelstrom of internet controversy. I’ve been in youth work long enou...

Deadly Intent finaled in the National Readers’ Choice Awards!

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.20.2010 I was thrilled to get a phone call from the Oklahoma RWA chapter that Deadly Intent finaled in their National Readers’ Choice Awards contest! YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY YAY !!! It finaled in the Inspirational romance category. I’m also deeply honored by the other finalists! Look what illustrious company I’m in! Inspirational LAURA SCOTT - THE THANKSGIVING TARGET ROBIN LEE HATCHER - A VOTE OF CONFIDENCE ROBIN LEE HATCHER - FIT TO BE TIED CAMY TANG - DEADLY INTENT COLLEEN COBLE - THE LIGHTKEEPER'S DAUGHTER Click here to see the rest of the finalists in the other categories!

I GOT A CONTRACT!

Captain’s Log, Stardate 03.29.2006 I had a wonderfully funny blog post planned for today, but I got sidetracked by some news yesterday! Zondervan has offered me a three-book contract on my Asian chick-lit series ! I’m still stunned by everything that’s happened. The series is actually a 4-book projected Asian chick-lit series about four cousins who fall under the infamous family title "Oldest Single Female Cousin," and their ruthless, wealthy grandma applies pressure on each of them to improve their lack of love interests. I think the first book is tentatively scheduled to be released in August 2007. The blurb on the series is on my website here . Brandilyn Collins posted to the ACFW loop about my writing journey, and Tamara Cooper asked that I share it. And since you all know how much I like to talk , here it is. My writing journey: Like most writers, I have wanted to write since I was very young. (In high school, I wrote a fantasy novel that will never see the light of day ...

I GOT A 3-BOOK CONTRACT WITH ZONDERVAN!

Captain's Log, Supplemental My agent called me today with the great news! Zondervan has contracted me for another three books! Right now, they’re all stand alone books—not a series. The first book is slated to release May 2010 and is tentatively titled The Year of the Dog (they’ll probably change it). It’s a women’s contemporary novel. Here’s the back cover blurb from my proposal: Tessa Ota, a professional dog trainer, is having a bad year. While moving ahead with renovation plans for her new dog kenneling and training facility, Tessa needs to move in with her disapproving mother and her antagonist sister. She convinces her ex-boyfriend to take her dog for a few months … but discovers that his brother is the irate engineer whose car she rammed a few weeks earlier. Charles Bretton has enough problems. His mama has just shown up on his doorstep all the way from Louisiana, and his brother has to move in with him after being kicked out of his apartment—with a dog in tow. And guess who...

No Cold Bums toilet seat cover

Captain's Log, Stardate 08.22.2008 I actually wrote out my pattern! I was getting a lot of hits on my infamous toilet seat cover , and I wanted to make a new one with “improvements,” so I paid attention and wrote things down as I made the new one. This was originally based off the Potty Mouth toilet cover , but I altered it to fit over the seat instead of the lid. Yarn: any worsted weight yarn, about 120 yards (this is a really tight number, I used exactly 118 yards. My suggestion is to make sure you have about 130 yards.) I suggest using acrylic yarn because you’re going to be washing this often. Needle: I used US 8, but you can use whatever needle size is recommended by the yarn you’re using. Gauge: Not that important. Mine was 4 sts/1 inch in garter stitch. 6 buttons (I used some leftover shell buttons I had in my stash) tapestry needle Crochet hook (optional) Cover: Using a provisional cast on, cast on 12 stitches. Work in garter st until liner measures...

Top 3 Comfort Movies

Captain's Log, Supplemental I stole this from My Friend Amy . However, I cheated and listed miniseries. My top 3 comfort movies/miniseries 1) Pride and Prejudice , the BBC version. I just love love love this miniseries. The acting is superb and I love Jane Austen (if you haven’t already noticed). I have the DVD and watch this at least once every few months. I love how this miniseries follows the book so well. It captures the essence of each of the characters, and the extra dialogue is just what Jane Austen would have written. 2) Cranford , by BBC. I saw this miniseries just this year and it’s FABULOUS! The cast is marvelous! The writing is terrific! I have it saved on my Tivo and I’ve already watched it twice. I intend to get the DVDs when I have a bit more cash. I think I like it because the characters are flawed, and yet they’re so worthy. There’s humor and drama and romance. The ensemble cast ensures for a script that’s always moving forward, always telling a new story. And the ...