Kate Rivet

Hi! I’m actually writing this in bed on my iPad right now. I’m still sick; I even went to a walk-in clinic for this, because it was getting absolutely ridiculous. I was going to see my doctor, but they were unwilling to work with me, so i went to the clinic and went to work late and ended up leaving halfway through the day because I was so sapped of energy.

So, the verdict is that I have an infection in my left ear (which came as a surprise! I only thought my ears were congested), my allergies are flaring up, and with the way my cough is progressing, I wouldn’t be surprised if this turns into one of my typical 2 yearly bouts of bronchitis before my Z-Pak kicks in. I came away with three prescriptions — the aforementioned Z-Pak, Nasonex, and Tessalon Perles — and was greeted nearly immediately upon return to work by my dad with his own Z-Pak prescription from one of our doctors. My mom came home after HER appointment with another doctor at our practice with a prescription for Bactrim DS and a new Epipen for her peanut allergy. So needless to say, we’re running our own Rivet pharmacy here. I did the whole 8 hours of my shift today, but around hour 6, I had done way too much and ran out of energy.

This leads me to today’s post! In all this time sick, I’ve been catching up on my television shows. Now, I’ve never been too big of a television show regular watcher, but this season has been actually fairly good for many shows. I’m becoming a slave to my TV, and even though I have a DVR, I tend not to use it. There are a maximum of two nights a week that I’m not trying to watch something, and now that hockey’s back, that may leave no days free for me. Of course, since this is my blog, I’m going to tell you that I like all kinds of TV, but I do watch a fair amount of what my mom calls crap. Here’s a typical week for me right now:
Sunday: maybe hockey or soccer/football, or else nothing
Monday: 90210 from 8-9 on The CW, Gossip Girl 9-10 on The CW
Tuesday: Glee from 8-9 on Fox
Wednesday: maybe hockey or else nothing
Thursday: The Vampire Diaries from 8-9 on The CW, Jersey Shore from 10-11 on MTV
Friday: Degrassi from 9-9:30 on TeenNick
Saturday: typically an Arsenal game starting somewhere between 8 and 12 and ending by 2, msybe hockey

Yeah, I know. Super crazy! I was close to dropping 90210, but I have been pleasantly surprised by season 3. Season 2 was pretty disappointing, but it’s getting juicy again. Gossip Girl wasn’t something I set out to watch; I saw most of season 1, but gave it up before the finale. I gave it another shot with the DVD’s but just didn’t have the time. I was taking Italian classes if I’m not mistaken during these first few seasons, so it was difficult to commit the time. I remembered that Clémence Poésy (Fleur Delacour in the Harry Potter movies!) had an arc this season, so I gave it a shot. Needless to say, it reminded me why I got hooked in the first place.

Glee is something I had been interested in when I saw the pilot, but I didn’t have time for it when it first came out. I got hooked before the halfway point of season one, and quickly caught up with the DVD set of season 1 part 1. There is only one episode I haven’t really cared for so far, and I absolutely love the music that’s been coming out every week. There are some that make you remember periods of your life and a few good ones you’ve never heard, too. The Vampire Diaries is my favorite besides Glee (they’re tied) and this is one show that keeps getting hotter and hotter. I have seen every episode and DVR’d them to rewatch during the holiday break, and I own a good portion of the episodes on iTunes (Glee too!). This show literally has gotten better with each episode, and I look forward to new developments every week. I’ve read all but one of LJ Smith’s TVD series (gave up on the newest for now with my own writing going on) and the show is actually slightly better, which is a rarity.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the biggest of my two guilty pleasures — Jersey Shore bitches! My three favorite housemates are Snooki, J-Woww, and Vinny, then Pauly D, The Situation, Sammi, Ronnie, and Angelina the dirty hamster. People either love this show or hate it, and I’m in the former category. You can’t take it seriously or it’ll make you a part of the latter group. Tonight is actually the season 2 finale, and I can’t wait for a few more fist pumps until season 3. Lastly, Degrassi is my other guilty pleasure. I’ve been watching this show for a good couple of years now, and this definitely is the closest to a real high school experience that I’ve ever seen. It’s definitely worth a watch during one of the many marathons TeenNick runs.

Well, that’s all for me tonight, because I only have 2 more minutes until I’m transported to Miami via my TV to join the Jersey Shore cast. I hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it — it’s nice to have a sort of escape from this constant sickness in my house!

Until next time,
Kate

Hello!  Just wanted to write quickly to say that I’m sick!  I’m assuming this is a cold, but nearly every single member of my family has had it lately, so it makes sense that I’ve finally fallen victim to it.  It’s miserable — starts out with a sneeze or two, maybe a cough here or there, then turns into a full-blown sore throat with sneezing, coughing, congestion, and general malaise.  The only bright spot to this is that I have two books that I’m currently reading that I should finish today — My Booky Wook by Russell Brand and Body Check by Deirdre Martin (for probably the hundredth time) — and I’m watching some quality movies and television.  Anything interesting going on for any of you, or any great suggestions for cold remedies, do feel free to share!

Until next time (hopefully, it will be germ-free!)
Kate

I’ve been so busy writing lately that I’ve had a stack of books lying by my bed I’ve neglected to even crack open.  I’m happy to say that over the past week or so, I’ve managed to read three books, and I absolutely loved them all!  I thought I would take a minute and write about each one just a little.

Book #1: Mini-Shopaholic by Sophie Kinsella

This was the first book I managed to start and finish out of the three, and I absolutely loved it.  I’m a big fan of Sophie Kinsella, and own all but one or two of her books, so as soon as this was released, I ran out and picked up my copy.  I loved all of the Shopaholic books (and the movie, which I hear might place me somewhat in the minority), so I was glad to be able to see what Becky and Luke were up to.  To recap shortly: the last Shopaholic book ended with Becky and Luke having their own baby, Minnie Brandon.  They had tried to buy a house, but the deal fell through; instead, they moved in with Becky’s parents until they could get on their feet again.  Mini-Shopaholic picks up two years later.  Becky’s still working for The Look part-time, and Luke’s still running Brandon Communications; he’s still trying to settle everything from the Arcodas disaster.  They’ve had the deals fall through on more than just a few houses now, and are still trying hard to move out of Becky’s parents’ place.  We get to follow Becky in this book as she attempts to throw Luke a huge birthday party, and she tries to tame Minnie’s shopaholic habit that she’s picked up from none other than Becky herself, all while Luke tries to keep everything in check as the banks start to have failure issues.  It’s a great book, and the ending was really nice.  I don’t know if Ms. Kinsella plans to write any more Shopaholic books, but I’d love to read another.

Book #2: Sugar and Spice by Lauren Conrad

Full disclosure: I love reality television.  I watched Lauren Conrad faithfully on Laguna Beach and cheered for her against Kristin Cavallari, then I watched her on The Hills for a season or two before the show started to bore me (and before Spencer and Heidi got as crazy as they became).  I actually met Lauren Conrad a few years ago when she was in town promoting her clothing lines, and she was a total sweetheart.  As soon as I heard about her first book, LA Candy, I had to go get it.  I was utterly surprised at how good it was!  I didn’t think much of it, because I never saw Lauren as an author, but she definitely has a great story she’s been telling.  I thought the same of the second book, Sweet Little Lies.  Everybody seems to say that you should write what you know, and Lauren definitely knows a lot about how reality television works.  So, her third book, Sugar and Spice, picks up where Sweet Little Lies leaves off.  The heroine of our story, Jane Roberts, is recovering from her second break-up with her boyfriend Jesse, and she’s now torn between three guys — Jesse, his former roommate Braden, and a former high school boyfriend, Caleb.  Jane’s got all of this drama in addition to one of her LA Candy costars, Madison, on her tail trying to ruin her and make herself the star of the series.  Jane’s best friend Scarlett is also stuck with some serious thinking to do when she has to decide between staying at USC or transferring to any of the other colleges she’s secretly been applying to, all while trying to keep her first serious relationship afloat despite the LA Candy producers seemingly trying to ruin it all.  It’s a good conclusion to the series, and I was surprised to find out some of the twists relating to Madison, then later, Jane.  It’s definitely worth a read, and I really did like this series in general.

Book #3: Priceless by Nicole Richie

Yes, I loved Nicole on The Simple Life with Paris Hilton.  Yes, I own Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD.  Yes, I was on Team Nicole during her feud with Paris.  And yes, I own her first book, The Truth About Diamonds.  I think Nicole has a great voice that shines through her books.  I really enjoyed hearing the story of Chloe Parker, and all her struggles and triumphs throughout that novel.  I have reread it at least two or three times, and I like it more with each read.  I had actually forgotten that this had come out, and I was lucky enough to stumble upon it at Barnes and Noble the other day while I was picking up Sugar and Spice.  I sat down and read it this morning (I’m a quick reader), and I loved the tale.  This book tells the story of Charlotte Williams, a girl whose father spares no expense on his princess.  Her mother was killed in a car accident when she was just seven, and she was raised by a nanny for a few years named Miss Millie.  The other staff of the house, Davis and Greta, also helped to raise this pampered girl.  She’s just returned from a year in Sorbonne — she’d been studying at Yale before she had a drunken incident which involved her torching the school’s political science building as revenge against an ex-boyfriend.  Things seem to be back to normal, but that changes rapidly — her father is arrested for securities fraud, and her family is now under investigation by the FBI and the SEC, as well as the police.  Charlotte’s apartment that she grew up in is seized, so she chooses to head to New Orleans and find Miss Millie, who has offered for her to come stay.  There are a few problems she encounters on the way — all of the money her late mother left her is frozen by the government although it is entirely separate from her father’s, and she suddenly has a psycopathic stalker threatening to kill her — but it’s her new friends, Kat and Jackson, and her beautiful singing voice that provide her with a bright spot on the horizon.  It’s a great story from start to finish, and I highly recommend it.

Well, there you go!  Three books that I’ve read, and they’re all worth borrowing, if not buying.  I do love reading as well as writing, and it’s been very fun to delve into other authors’ works for a change.  Not that I don’t love my books — because I do! — but it’s always great to have a slight vacation, isn’t it?

Until next time,
Kate

Hello world!  This is my first official blog.  My name is Kate Rivet (well, that’s my pen name…let’s leave my real name out of this, shall we? ;)) and I’m a romance novelist.  I’ve loved romance novels for years now, and have always wanted to write one, so I did.  In fact, I wrote two of them.  The first one took me about a month, and I started the second one days after I’d completed book one.  They’re a set, and there will be more in the series down the line.  I’m taking a little bit of time off of writing them so I can edit book #2 and try to get an agent, and then attempt to become published.

A little bit about me: I’m based out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania — but I do love writing anywhere and everywhere.  I enjoy taking vacations, and especially love visiting Toronto; Toronto happens to be the setting for the first two novels in my series, and one of my favorite cities in the world.  I’m in my twenties, and I write around my day job.  I’m a nationally-certified pharmacy technician here in the US, and although my job can be rather diffcult some days, I do love it.  I hope to make writing my career sometime, but I don’t think I would ever want to give up pharmacy completely.  There is something soothing about the sound the pills make as you slide five of them at a time across the counting tray, and it brings me strange joy.  Other than work and writing (also known as job number two these days), I like watching sports and participating in social media.  I couldn’t have grown up in Pittsburgh and NOT been a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins, and my hero growing up was Mario Lemieux.  I spent about two years of my life attending every single hockey game at Mellon Arena before I was financially unable to any longer, and I am pleased to say I’ll be seeing my first game at the Consol Energy Center when the Penguins take on — who else? — the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 13th (next Wednesday!).  Even better is that I’ll be sitting in the first row right behind the net the Maple Leaf will defend twice.  They’re my second favorite hockey team, so it’s always fun to see them play the Pens.  I’m also a football fan, but not American football.  I love Arsenal FC from the Barclay’s English Premier League, and my favorite player is Theo Walcott.  I’ve just gotten rabidly into Arsenal again recently, so it’s been extremely fun waking up early on the weekends and watching the Gunners go for the league title.  Unfortunately, real work gets in the way of most of the Champions’ League games, so I don’t get to watch those unless I DVR them.

So, that’s just a little bit about me.  If you have any other questions, feel free to ask!  I would love to hear about my readers as well, and as soon as I get this all sorted out, I’ll probably be posting an excerpt, if not the entire first chapter, of my first book.

I’ll also be posting a special page that will be a small sample of some of the music that kept me motivated while writing book two.

Until next time,
Kate