It's The End Of February

Granted, this is our shortest month, but where did it go? I was extremely unproductive this month--managed to write just one short story (8k words) and that was it. Oh, I worked on my wolfie story. I added a couple of scenes to Chapter One and tightened it up, and made some decisions about how to handle the hero's lycanthropy. But I pretty much wrote less than 1,000 new words on it. (Now, I'll cut myself a little slack because I was sick for two of the four weeks of the month. But that only means I have a lot of time to make up for.)

March will be different. It has to be, or I'll never make a go of this. And I want--I need--to make a go of this. It has to be more than a hobby, something I do because I like it.

So, today I have errands and a long-overdue haircut in the morning, and this afternoon, after I've had some lunch, I'll write Chapter Two of the wolf story if I have to stay up through the night.

Like Larry the Cable Guy says, just git 'er done.

My Heart Is Broken...

... for my friend, Jenna. Her dad, who was in Arizona for the winter, contracted Valley Fever 2 weeks ago. The symptoms were misdiagnosed, the fungus spread, and he passed away today.


I don't even have words.

What do you say to a woman who just lost her best friend and the man who helped shaped her into the beautiful person she is today? And living almost two thousand miles away from her, I feel completely helpless. All I can do is pray for Jenna and her family, and that doesn't feel like enough. I need to do something.

I don't know what she's going through; I am lucky enough to still have both of my parents. My father has given us a few scares and, at 79 and in not the best of health, I can't imagine we'll have him around much longer.

Jenna had an expection of being able to be with her dad for many more years to come.

So I have this to say:

Jenna, know that you're in my thoughts and my prayers, and in the tears I shed for your sorrow. Know that I'm here for you, in any way I can be, at any time, today and tomorrow. It will be a hard, long road you have to travel, but I know you'll make it. You have a loving family and loving friends who will carry you when you cannot make it on your own. Have no expectations of yourself, you will deal with this the way you need to, not the way others think you should. Remember your dad with love and affection, miss him, and know that you are a better person because of him.

And know that I love you.


(This will be my only post here for today and Monday. I'll be over at NCP Authors' blog tomorrow.)

I'm SExing By Myself Today

No, I'm not doing that. It's my author day at Silver Expressions, Liquid Silver Books' blog (or SEx, as we affectionately call it). I'm talking about romance novels and why we keep coming back for more. I'd love it if you'd stop by and say hi!

Continuing my blog whoring, I have an author day at New Concepts' blog on Monday. Would love to see you there, too!

Oh, and just so you don't feel too lonely while you're visiting me here, I've got eye candy:

An Ending And A Beginning

Finally I typed "The End" yesterday on the short story (8,000 words) it's taken me almost a month to write. Just so you know, that's not normal for me. Usually I could do that in a week--or less. Of course, two of the last four weeks I was sick. But, still.

But you know what? It's done. Just has to go through the critiquing process, do some final editing/revising, then submit it. Hopefully it will be accepted for the Christmas Candy anthology Whiskey Creek Press Torrid is planning for this December.

For those of you who don't know, I live in Arizona. Our winter is pretty much like the east coast's late spring/early summer (because our summer is pretty much like Hell.) As I worked yesterday, I had the door to my patio open, all the blinds up, and watched life start up around me again. The animals have been gone or in hibernation, but they've started to come back. I've got two resident lizards in my back yard, one pretty small, the other bigger but still about gecko-sized. Haven't seen the larger of the two, but the little one's been sunning himself on my back wall. The little ground squirrels are stirring, too. The cute little buggers have dug a few holes, one of which is right by my patio door. Watched one of them sit and chew on mesquite tree pods for awhile. They're rather shy, but as long as I didn't move around too much, he was quite content to sit next to the patio and eat.

My resident morning doves are also back, sitting on their nest. Last spring/summer they had three sets of babies (for a total of five), so I'm looking forward to little baby birds soon.

Yep, life's beginning all around me. And it's time to start something new.

New Look

I wanted my blog to look more like my website (as far as colors), and finally was able to grab a template from Caz and figure out how to make the changes I wanted. I think it has a "crisper" look to it than the old one, and I like that you can start reading the post without having to scroll down past the picture. Plus, with Jenna and Kate both redesigning their blogs, I was feeling left out. :(

So, now that it's done, what am I going to use to procrastinate? Oh, that's right. Other people's blogs. LOL

I didn't do nearly half of what I wanted to yesterday. I only got through about half of the love scene. So the characters in the short story I'm planning to submit to Whiskey Creek Press Torrid for a Christmas anthology are still hanging on the edge. I will finish it today. Then it's off to critique partner for critiquing.

When I was blogging at Torrid the other day, I asked a bunch of questions for which I'm still waiting on answers to most. But the one I really want to know the answer to is...

What if the Hokey Pokey is really what it's all about?!?

Back To The Salt Mines

Or some such thing. On Monday afternoon, my critique group threatened me with bodily harm if I didn't get back to working on my werewolf story. Specifically because I've had an editor express interest in seeing it rewritten. According to them, I just need to bear down and do it. Whether I really "feel" like it or not.

So, I'm back to working on a rewrite that I've started twice over. This is the third, so that makes four start-ups on this story (the original and three rewrites). I think that's my problem... I've been working on it so much I've just gotten tired of it. But it's a good premise, and there's interest.

In effort to preserve my physical well-being, I'm getting back to it. That's my goal for March: get this rewrite finished and then start on the edits. I hope to have it submitted by some time in May.

First I need to finish a short story I've gotten stalled on, a submission for a Christmas anthology. My hero and heroine are on the cusp--the cusp, I tell you!--and they've been hanging there for three days. I gotta get things moving along.

So, this morning I'm dedicating a full four hours of writing. Then a break for lunch and a trip to the post office to mail out gifts to contest winners, stop by the grocery store for some essentials (including chips and salsa) on the way home, then more writing.

This evening, I and other Whiskey Creek Press Torrid authors will be at Fallen Angel Reviews for an author chat. Stop by (go to FAR and click 'chat', and follow the instructions to enter the main room) and talk with us!


P.S. My birthday yesterday was great. Thanks to everyone who sent me well-wishes. I appreciate it!

I'm SExy And Tempting Today

Today's a busy day. Rae Morgan and I are SExing at The Morning After, with excerpts from both our stories and two fun contests! Go on over for your chance to win a free download of Zodiac: Pisces!

I'm also blogging over at Torrid Temptations. I don't wanna be all alone over there, so make sure you stop by and say hi and wish me a happy birthday!

So Much Goin' On!

First things first. Redemption is here. At some point today, Liquid Silver Books will release Zodiac: Pisces, which has both my story, Redemption, and Rae Morgan's fourth book in her Coven of the Wolf series.

Redemption: Abby McNeil was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now her life is in danger. She's assigned a supernatural Protector--Damon Stratham. Damon's job: protect this innocent from harm while remaining invisible and unknown to her. But Abby's an extraordinary woman and Damon's not one to follow the rules. Add a cranky archangel boss and a vampire Protector, and all sorts of mayhem ensues.

No Secrets: Sheriff Debby Teague has fled to Bear Hollow, Tennessee after saving the lives of Boris Petrov, her destined life-partner, and his sister-in-law Selena Jones-Petrov (from Treading the Labyrinth). All Debby wants is her normal, mundane, non-magical life back, but Fate--and Boris--have other plans for her. Dark magick has come to Bear Hollow, and its followers don't intend to allow Debby to ignore them--or her own dark magick.

Redemption is my first book. I'm so excited it's indescribable. Go now. Buy. This. Book.

And don't forget about the great contest that Liquid Silver is running to celebrate the series. You have a chance to win either a free download of all 12 books (that's 24 stories in all), or the series in print (4 books with 6 stories each, divided by their Elementals -- Water, Fire, Air and Earth); as well as other terrific prizes.

Secondly, the latest installment of All's Fair is up at Indulgence. Go over and check it out -- it's free and you can't get any better than that!

Lastly, tomorrow I'll be blogging at a couple of different places, so make sure to stop in and say hi. I'll be SExing with Rae Morgan--and we're having a contest so it'll be worth your while to stop in and comment. I'll also be over at Torrid Temptations. Whew. A romance writer's work is never done!

Look At This!

I was going to put this up tomorrow, but I couldn't wait to share. Look at this! My cover for Atonement -- Check. It. Out.



That's Simon. My hero. Ain't he yummy?

I'm so thrilled, I can hardly stand myself. I wish this picture could be bigger--he's got the most gorgeous green eyes. And look at all those scrumptious muscles. Ooh-la-la. I think I'm in luuuuuuv.

Even More Good News!

Just signed contract #6 with Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, which gives me a total of 9. I can't even describe how completely psyched I am about this. To think that not quite one year ago I'd started to come to the conclusion that the job I had wasn't what I wanted, the stress was killing me, but I was worried about the impact my leaving would have on employee morale. (I won't go into the details here and I hear everyone who's heard the story over and over heaving a huge, collective sigh of relief, but let's just say that from just before I started at the company and in the five years I was there, we had 9 executive staff leave--some voluntarily and some not. But 9 senior level managers in a little over 5 years--that's incredible. And employees felt it.) But there was finally a turning point (yeah, it was a knife in my back) where I said "Enough!" and handed in my resignation. Having some extra money I decided I would take some time off and write as much as I could, get myself out there, before I went to look for a job that would actually support me.

I quit on September 1st. Signed my first contract with Whiskey Creek on September 9th for my Twisted Fairy Tale novella, Dragon's Bane. And I've been writing my little heart out since then, having signed 9 contracts with 3 different publishers.

It's amazing to me that it's been 6 months already. That only gives me another 6 months before I have to start pounding the pavement for a job. Hopefully a short-term one because I want to make this writing gig work. My goal is not to get rich, just to be able to support myself. I'd cross my fingers for luck, but then I wouldn't be able to type as fast. LOL

Wow. What a ride. And it's just the beginning.

Oh, yeah. The contract I just signed with WCPT is for a Torrid Teaser called Tall, Dark & Naked. The winner of one of my contests, Anna, has the heroine named after her. :)


(BIAW was a bust yesterday. Only did about 200 words. I think I had a moment of self-sabotage when I decided to run errands yesterday morning. I know my best creative time is in the morning, yet I went driving blithely around town for 3 hours. D'oh!)

BIAW Day Five

So. Okay. My eyes were bigger than my stomach, especially coming down from a week and a half long cold. 6,000 words per day just haven't happened.

But I did almost 1,500 yesterday. That's up from the day before and the day before that. So, I'm getting better. :)

In celebration, I'm sharing a bit of eye candy with ya'll. Yeehaw!

More Good News!

The cover is finished for the Spring Flings Anthology, which comes out in April at Whiskey Creek Press Torrid. Our wondrous Art Director, Jinger Heaston, did a beautiful job, as always. Check it out:


It's still so thrilling to see my name on the cover of a book! My story, Chocolate-Covered Werewolves, is in this anthology. Here's an edited excerpt (copyrighted, so don't be getting any ideas about stealing anything!). WARNING: Adult content:

“Hello.” Sydney Langdon held the telephone receiver to her ear and tried to inject a smile into her voice. “Winter, spring, summer or fall, all you have to do is call Friends.” It was hard, sounding like she cared, because she really didn’t want to be inside today. Spring was in full bloom and she wanted to get out and breathe in the cool air, smell the flowers, feel the late morning sun warming her face… She had a serious case of cabin fever.

“Sydney. Thank God. I don’t know what to do.” Ramy Roberts’ voice raised a full octave. “My neighbor is a vampire!”

Syd sighed. Again with the vampires. Although she couldn’t complain about it too much. The last time Ramy thought a vampire had moved next door, Killian Murphy had literally slammed into her life. In the form of his truck backing into her car.

And, of course, Killian had turned out not to be a vampire. She’d expected nothing else, because everyone knew vampires didn’t exist. But she’d learned that werewolves did.

My, Grandma, what big teeth you have… She grinned, remembering the first time she’d used that line on Killian. He looked so sexy when he had on just his blue jeans. The top button unbuttoned, showing more of that tantalizing trail of dark hair that led from his navel, tempting her with what lay further down.

Killian, with stormy gray eyes that turned tawny when his wolf was aroused. Killian, with his long, lean body, broad, skilled hands and wicked, wicked mouth…

“Sydney! Are you listening to me?” Ramy’s voice was shrill, bordering on hysterical.

Syd rubbed her forehead. Oy. What she wouldn’t give for a toffee nut latte right now. “Ramy…”

“Don’t you use that tone with me, young lady. I am not crazy.”

“I didn’t say you were, ma’am.” Syd stifled her next sigh and curled the phone cord around her index finger. Why her? Why now? She’d planned on taking the afternoon off and surprising Killian with a picnic lunch.

Complete with dessert. She just hadn’t figured out yet if she wanted him covered in chocolate or honey.

Mmm. Big, hard male smothered in rich, creamy chocolate syrup. Her body moistened and loosened at the thought of licking the sticky substance off his muscular frame. Sucking it off his thick, stiff cock.

Instead of chocolate bunnies in her Easter basket, she’d get a life-size chocolate werewolf.

Copyright ©2006 Sherrill Quinn. All Rights Reserved.

On the BIAW front, even with a 3-hour nap yesterday I managed to complete another 750 words. It's pretty much a given I'm not going to meet my BIAW, not with the pitiful showing I've had the last three days. But at least I'm writing, in between blowing my nose.

Great News!

I got an email yesterday from my editor at New Concepts Publishing, telling me she loved my recent submission (The Praetorians: Discovery) and would be sending me a contract soon. Yippeeeeee! Man, was quitting my job back in September ever the right decision!

That makes 5 contracts with Whiskey Creek Press Torrid, 2 with New Concepts, and 1 (so far!) with Liquid Silver Books. Hot-diggity-dog!!

Regarding BIAW, I did just over 800 words yesterday. A looooooooong way away from 6,000. So. Okay. I just may have bitten off more than I can chew. But it's still something to shoot for. Yesterday I spent a lot of the day promoting my books over at The Raven. Mandy Roth and Michelle Pillow are my heroes, I kid you not. They opened their doors to other authors to come in and promote their books on their group site. I've been a fan of their writing since I discovered them both about a year ago, and have nearly everything they've written. But now... well, my admiration grows. So, anyway, even though I didn't get much writing done, I was working.

Tomorrow's another day. We'll see how that goes.

Happy Valentines Day, everyone. Since I don't have a significant other to celebrate the day with, I don't pay much attention to it. Some day I will, if I'm lucky. Although I agree with Kate's post yesterday: if you're in love, every day should be a day you show your love, not just one day a year. But for those of you who have someone special to share this day with, give 'em an extra kiss for me. :)

BIAW - Day Two

Well, I fell rather short of my goal yesterday. Got just over 1,300 words. 1,300 good words, but it's 4,700 less than I'd wanted. Of course, the 3-hour nap I took didn't help any.

Well, it helped me, just didn't help toward my goal. Guess this nasty cold isn't ready to let me be just yet.

Today I'll be posting excerpts and holding a contest over at The Raven. It's an incredibly busy group, so I'm not sure how much writing I'll get done. I'll be happy to do what I've done today, which really puts me behind the 8-ball.

But I guess that's okay. Whatever I get done, I get done and it's more than I started with. :)

Now, up and at 'em.

P.S. Kate's got her next installment of Fire and Ice up at Indulgence. Go check it out.

It's BIAW Time Again

BIAW. Book In A Week. Where I and the other insane ladies in my Brazen Vixens group decide we're going to turn off our nefarious internal editors and just git 'er done.

In one week.

I'm shooting for 6,000 words per day. Oy.

Vay.

So, needless to say, my blog is going to be pretty sparse this week. I'll keep you posted on how I'm doing. I'm hoping, since I seem to be on the downside of this cold, that the state of my health won't affect me too badly.

BIAW. Here we go...

Addicted To Love

One of my local TV stations last night ran a news story on love, and what scientists are discovering about it. It seems that the brain has a tiny little portion that is devoted solely as a reward system designed to make people (and other animals) do what they ought to do. Without this, we might forget to do the things we should do, like eat, drink and have sex. (Wait. Forget to have sex!?) That we continue to do these things is that it makes us feels good. And we feel good because of the release of a chemical called dopamine into the brain.

Interestingly enough, while a relatively small portion of the brain is active in love, a larger portion is involved in ordinary friendship. Also, the areas of the brain active in love are different from the areas activated in other emotional states, such as fear or anger. Parts of the brain that are "love-bitten" include the ones responsible for gut feelings, and the same ones that generate the euphoria induced by drugs like cocaine.

So the brains of people who are deeply in love don't look like the ones of those experiencing strong emotions, but instead look like those of people snorting coke. In other words, love uses the neural mechanisms that are activated during the process of addiction.

It seems Robert Palmer had it right. When we're in love, we're addicted to love.


P.S. I'm partying over at Michelle Pillow and Mandy Roth's place today, where many authors (including Jaci Burton, Ann Jacobs, Mackenzie McCade, Marie Harte, Mardi Ballou, Brenda Williamson and others) are sharing excerpts and holding contests. Come on over, join up and play with us!

Back In The Saddle Again

This is the first morning that I've woken up feeling half-way human, versus like something that's been disturbed in the middle of its hibernation. I'm still congested, but the cough is just about gone.

Wooooo! I'm celebrating by doing laundry. (Trust me, it really needs done.)

And I'm gearing up for a BIAW starting Sunday. I've got my GMC done, just need to get a semi-idea of the story arc, then I'll be ready to go. It's a sequel to the story that's coming out on February 20th with Liquid Silver Books. (Yeah, the wolf story's been put on a backburner for now.)

In keeping with my title, I thought a cowboy might cheer me up. Woo-boy! And, being the kind and generous person I am, I'm sharing.

Being Sick Sucks... Oh, I Already Said That

Slept all night, got up at 8:45, it's now 9:15 and I feel like I'm ready to go back to bed. Been up half an hour.

Phffft.

That's all I have today.

Just.

Phffft.

Being Sick Sucks

I hate this. It's just a frickin' cold. But I haven't written a word (except in my blogs) in six days. SIX DAYS.

I've got a hero and heroine hanging on the cusp. The cusp, I tell you. I've gotta get things moving along or they're going to be more than a little irritated.

Now, it's not to say I haven't been working. I'm coordinating the Passionate Plume, the published contest sponsored by the Passionate Ink chapter of RWA. And I've been making my presence known on various reader's groups, getting my name out there.

I also have to tell you, I'd forgotten how well you sleep when you take Nyquil. I haven't slept this well since... well, in a very long time. No wonder one of my uncles used to take a swig of Nyquil every night. Regardless of whether he was sick or not. He just wanted to sleep.

All right. It's off to work. Wish me luck. :)

Why?

Why do we do it?

Sit in a chair behind the computer until our bums go numb.

Type or write words until our fingers and wrists hurt.

Get up at 3 a.m. because the idea just won't go away.

Why?

To paraphrase (i.e., misquote) Descartes, "I write, therefore I am."

I write because it's a driving force within me. I write romance because I'm a hopeful romantic and love the happily ever after because it seems to happen so rarely in real life. I write erotic romance because... well, what's better than wild monkey sex between a sassy heroine and a hunky, Alpha hero?

Although, to be honest, I have written NOTHING in the last three days. Mainly because I've been sick. Just a cold, but it hit me hard. I'm fatigued and have an ever present headache from blowing my nose and sniffing/snorting what won't blow out. (I know, TMI. But you can't tell me you don't do the same thing!)

But I have to get back in the chair, because I've got a short story I'm working on to submit to WCP Torrid for their Christmas anthology, plus a novel--yep, not a novella, but a novel--for Liquid Silver. It's a sequel to the novella that comes out in 13 days. Whether I can get back in the groove depends on how well I sleep tonight. Nyquil, here I come!

Zodiac Contest - Pisces

I'm so excited! My very first novella is being released by Liquid Silver Books on Monday, February 20th. This novella is about Abby McNeil, a woman in the wrong place at the wrong time, and now her life is in danger. She is assigned a supernatural Protector--Damon Stratham. Damon's job: protect this innocent from harm while remaining invisible and unknown to her. But Abby's an extraordinary woman and Damon's not one to follow the rules.

My duet partner in PISCES is Rae Morgan. Her story "No Secrets," is the fourth book in her successful Coven of the Wolf series.

To celebrate the end of a year of Zodiac duets, Liquid Silver Books is having a contest. Go now to find out how to enter and win one of three fabulous prizes. Hurry, contest ends at midnight, February 28th!

Liquid Silver Books will also be putting all 12 Zodiac duets into print for the RTBookclub Convention in May, 2006. The books will be grouped by element: Fire, Water, Air and Earth. Watch for these to go on sale at the LSB site sometime after May 2006. Just think--all twelve duets, that's 24 wonderful stories, in four print books. And, hint, it's one of the fabulous prizes. :)


Oh, and make sure you head over to Indulgence today. Jenna's next installment of My Funny Valentine is up, and it's wonderful!

Taking The Weekend Off

I'm sick. Bah. Don't know when it happened, but I developed a cough that has steadily gotten worse, and now added to that, fatigue. I think I'll be spending a lot of time in bed this weekend. Sleeping.

See you on Monday.

Just For Fun

I ran across some websites where you can be "assigned" different names for yourself.

First, let's try What Crappy Christmas Gift Are You? When I took the quiz, I ended up being a Christmas sweater. I'm over the top, colorful and totally flashy, and I'm not afraid to be a little tacky. (snort)


Next, let's move onto Past Life Generator. According to this, in a past life I was a blind French astrologer who was hanged for treason. Hmph. That's if I put in "author" as my current profession. If I had done this while still an HR professional, I would have been a diseased jester from Tibet who died of typhoid fever. Double hmph.


Okay, how about the quiz to determine if I'm a diva? (Jenna, darling, we all already know you are, so you can skip this one.) Well, I'm happy to report that I am not a diva. :) According to the quiz, I don't like to cause a fuss or draw attention to myself (which is true); I'm easygoing (true) and can even put up with diva behavior from others (how true). This makes me everyone's favorite companion (again, true). LOL


Finally, here's a chance for your very own stripper name. Red, at your service. (Considering I'm a brunette, I'm not sure this isn't false advertising.)


Well, there you have it. Yet another contribution from me for you list of ways to procrastinate. Have fun!


(And can somebody please tell me what's up with taking medication that's supposed to make you drowsy--and does--but doesn't let you sleep? I went to bed at 9 p.m. last night, never really went to sleep, finally gave up and got up at 2 a.m. WTF?!?)

I Am Past Reforming

Talking to my brother G last night, who I thought was okay with me writing spicy romances, and I found out differently without him saying a word. I was telling him about Mom finding out. He says that K, his wife, basically thinks the same thing, which I already knew. Then he said, "You know, if you have an excerpt you could send to her, so she could read it, it might show her it's not as explicit as she thinks." To which I responded, "Um, I think it will show her it's exactly what she thinks it is."

Then there was a huge, uncomfortable silence, after which he said, "Well. Okay. Well, I guess we'll see you for lunch tomorrow, then." (We'd started the conversation by making plans to get together for lunch.)

Hoo-boy. Another one bites the dust. Of the family members who know what I'm writing, I have one supporter. My sister. My brother and sister-in-law apparently think I'm going to hell. My other brother and his wife don't know (at least, as far as I know they don't know), and if they did, they'd be sure I was going to hell. Don't know if my dad knows. I think he'd be okay with it. Hell, he reads porn, so why not?!? (But, then, according to my sister-in-law he's going to hell anyway, so he might not be the best person to point to.) LOL

I have to say, it's rather disheartening to finally find my stride, to be doing something I thoroughly love doing, and have my family be so down on me about it.

But that's okay. I'm doing what I want to do. It's not hurting anyone. And if I can help a few people escape reality with one or more of my books, what's the problem?

Okay, that's enough of my pitiful whining. Come on over to Torrid Temptations and play with me today. It's my author day. So go here.

What To Do

I have a conundrum.

My critique partner and I plotted out a werewolf story that I had submitted to an editor at Ellora's Cave (for a critique I'd won, not as a submission). Initially, the story was... not good. My heroine was TSTL, which is the worst thing that can happen to a book. But the editor said, "Rewrite this. I'd love to see it as a submission."

So I pretty much have an invitation to submit this manuscript.

My problem? Even after Suz and I worked out the GMC--and it's damned near perfect--I can't seem to get excited about writing this story. The characters just aren't holding my interest.

I have a couple of sequels I can write to books that will be published with Liquid Silver and New Concepts. Of course there's no guarantee they'll buy the sequels, but I have a better shot with a publisher that knows my writing and likes it. Sending a story to Ellora's Cave will be a cold submission, even if it was kinda sorta requested.

Therein lies my problem. Do I force myself to write a story that's not holding my interest (because someday, I pray to God, I'll be in a position where an editor has asked me to write a book with a storyline not of my own creation) and develop the discipline now to do so? Or, because I'm not in that situation yet, do I move forward with something else?

I don't know what to do. Somebody help me.