A Michael Crichton Christmas 2009

Marla Warren sent me this poem, which she published on her Michael Crichton blog, and has given me permission to repost it here. I hope you enjoy it.

A Michael Crichton Christmas 2009

(Sung to the tune of the 12 Days of Christmas)
By Marla Warren

On the first day of Christmas Michael Crichton gave to me
A T-Rex who tried to eat me

On the second day of Christmas Michael Crichton gave to me
Two Lost Worlds
And a T-Rex who tried to eat me

On the third day of Christmas Michael Crichton gave to me
Three Rising Suns
Two Lost Worlds
And a T-Rex who tried to eat me

On the fourth day of Christmas Michael Crichton gave to me
Four Timelines
Three Rising Suns
Two Lost Worlds
And a T-Rex who tried to eat me

On the fifth day of Christmas Michael Crichton gave to me
Five Pirate Latitudes
Four Timelines
Three Rising Suns
Two Lost Worlds
And a T-Rex who tried to eat me

On the sixth day of Christmas Michael Crichton gave to me
Six Prey a-fleeing
Five Pirate Latitudes
Four Timelines
Three Rising Suns
Two Lost Worlds
And a T-Rex who tried to eat me

On the seventh day of Christmas Michael Crichton gave to me
Seven States a-Fearing
Six Prey a-fleeing
Five Pirate Latitudes
Four Timelines
Three Rising Suns
Two Lost Worlds
And a T-Rex who tried to eat me

On the eighth day of Christmas Michael Crichton gave to me
Eight Airframes crashing
Seven States a-Fearing
Six Prey a-fleeing
Five Pirate Latitudes
Four Timelines
Three Rising Suns
Two Lost Worlds
And a T-Rex who tried to eat me

On the ninth day of Christmas Michael Crichton gave to me
Nine E.R.s in peril
Eight Airframes crashing
Seven States a-Fearing
Six Prey a-fleeing
Five Pirate Latitudes
Four Timelines
Three Rising Suns
Two Lost Worlds
And a T-Rex who tried to eat me

On the tenth day of Christmas Michael Crichton gave to me
Ten Great Trains Robbing
Nine E.R.s in peril
Eight Airframes crashing
Seven States a-Fearing
Six Prey a-fleeing
Five Pirate Latitudes
Four Timelines
Three Rising Suns
Two Lost Worlds
And a T-Rex who tried to eat me

On the eleventh day of Christmas Michael Crichton gave to me
Eleven Congos drumming
Ten Great Trains Robbing
Nine E.R.s in peril
Eight Airframes crashing
Seven States a-Fearing
Six Prey a-fleeing
Five Pirate Latitudes
Four Timelines
Three Rising Suns
Two Lost Worlds
And a T-Rex who tried to eat me

On the Next day of Christmas Michael Crichton gave to me
Twelve Spheres a-humming
Eleven Congos drumming
Ten Great Trains Robbing
Nine E.R.s in peril
Eight Airframes crashing
Seven States a-Fearing
Six Prey a-fleeing
Five Pirate Latitudes
Four Timelines
Three Rising Suns
Two Lost Worlds
And a T-Rex who tried to eat me

Author's Note
I wrote the original version of this on December 22, 2007 for my message board. I intended it to be a fun treat for the holidays. Now with Michael Crichton's untimely death, it's poignant to think about what he gave us.

12 Days of Free Romance - Day 8

It's the eighth day of All Romance's 12 Days of Christmas giveaways:

Just Between Friends, by Dakota Trace. The price shows as $4.99, but when you click on Buy Now, you should see the discount for the 12 Days of Christmas sale. Available as several formats:Adobe Acrobat, Palm DOC/iSolo, Microsoft Reader, Hiebook, HTML, Mobipocket, Rocket, Epub.

This one has a "heat index" of 4 and the genre is erotica.

Book Description
Seth Anderson and Isabella Carnetti have been best friends since grade school. They live and work next to each other and are content with the status quo until the day that Seth realizes that Isabella is a desirable woman. She is leery of a relationship with him especially when she finds out he’s into tying up his lovers. He won’t rest until he has her in his bed. Then his ex shows up wanting to win him back. Can Seth and Bella have a relationship or will Seth’s ex be enough to tear them apart?

12 Days of Free Romance - Day 7

It's the seventh day of All Romance's 12 Days of Christmas giveaways:

Bastards And Pretty Boys, by K.Z. Snow. The price shows as $5.50, but when you click on Buy Now, you should see the discount for the 12 Days of Christmas sale. Available as several formats: Adobe Acrobat, Microsoft Reader, Mobipocket, Rocket, Epub.

This one has a "heat index" of 4 and the genre is gay erotica.

Book Description
Charles Larkin is finally happy with his life…for the most part. He’s happy with his new summer getaway—a rustic cottage he just bought on a small Wisconsin lake. He’s happy that his ex-wife, whom he divorced because he couldn’t play straight anymore, has become one of his best friends. He’s happy he can breathe again.

It’s only Kenneth, Charlie’s boyfriend of five months, who makes this new life less than completely satisfying. Charlie feels they’ve never been quite right for each other, and Kenneth cements that conviction when he makes a disturbing confession. Charlie knows their time together is quickly coming to an end. Problem is, Kenneth doesn’t know it. And he tends to be rather possessive.

Planning to spend a quiet, relaxing two or three weeks at Cloud Lake—fixing up his place, reading, even attempting to overcome his fear of water—Charlie is less than thrilled to discover his next-door neighbor is one hell of a looker. He doesn’t need that kind of distraction, especially since his issues with Kenneth haven’t yet been resolved. But there’s a ninety percent chance the neighbor is straight, has a wife or girlfriend, and could be leaving the next day. Charlie clings to those probabilities.

Only, Booker isn’t going anywhere, and he isn’t that easily ignored. And neither is his unexpected, none-too-savory baggage. And neither, for that matter, is Charlie's. But when two people care enough about each other, they figure out how to help carry each other's baggage…or cast it aside.

Game Download - Ricochet Lost Worlds

Amazon's Video Game of the Day is a $1.49 download of Ricochet Lost Worlds. This one has no reviews yet, but there are for related games in the series. Ricochet Lost Worlds: Recharged ($6.99) was on special in May and Richochet Extreme ($6.99), was on special last month; I've played both quite a bit and enjoyed them. Lost Worlds: Recharged has only 5 and 4 star reviews, while another in the series, Ricochet Infinity ($4.99), has all five star reviews.

Game Description

• 160 Incredible Levels.
• 4 Stunning Environments.
• Innovative Ring Puzzle Gameplay.
• Pulse Pounding Soundtrack.

With its stunning visuals and sound effects, gripping soundtrack and compelling level design, Ricochet Lost Worlds could quite possibly be the most addictive game ever made. This remarkable breakout action game will entertain your whole family for hours on end! Throw into the mix a slew of innovative power-ups, a new "Ring Game" and a level editor where you can make your own levels and you have an unbeatable combination. You just have to download this brick-busting game... it's a blast!

12 Days of Free Romance - Day 6

It's the sixth day of All Romance's 12 Days of Christmas giveaways:

The Object of my Obsession, by Cara North. The price shows as $4.99, but when you click on Buy Now, you should see the discount for the 12 Days of Christmas sale (even if you don't get it the first day it is featured in the sale; I've tested a couple of them a day or two later and the discount was still active). Available as two formats and will have to be converted for the Kindle: Adobe Acrobat, Epub.

This one has a "heat index" of 5 and the genre is erotica (the book description and the cover serves as it's own content warning).

Book Description
To the public they are All-American actors; one in film, the other on a popular cable television series. To Sonja Love, sex columnist extraordinaire, they are her lovers. Together they do things in private that no one can ever know about. Ever.

Sonja Love PhD. Writes an advice column for the Cali Chronicle, a popular print and online magazine. Her main goal; to get an interview with the object of her obsession, one Mr. Jacob Brandon, hot new Hollywood hunk dejour. Thanks to a highly controversial film, in which he stars, she is able to get to the press junket and finally meet the man she masturbates to regularly. The first time they meet is on an elevator during a thunderstorm and the power goes out. Taking advantage of the situation she treats him to what she learned in a research class about oral sex. When the power returns she leaves him breathless and wanting. Once they meet again he fears she was just trying to cause a scandal. She fears he may try to get her fired. Standing her ground she assures him that she did it for herself, not for the world and stomps out without and interview.

Jacob finds her at the hotel and convinces her to let him in. Once inside it takes moments for her to forgive him, and minutes for her to get him naked again. Jacob does things to her she had only researched and wrote about. Leaving with a kiss and a smile, taking her business card, and her anal virginity with him she thinks it is over.

Jacob calls her; he comes to visit her in her secluded home in Kentucky. Wanting respite from the world, a sanctuary where he can hide out, he finds more than sex appealing about Sonja.

When Jacob invites his best friend and fellow actor, Henry Dare, to hide out a week or so with them, things heat up in a new direction. Sonja can feel the heat between the two actors as much as she can feel their attraction to her. A triangle forms, toys are tested, boundaries broken and three people find freedom at last.

However, things are not always as good as they seem.