I am crazy-busy right now, trying to whittle down a Blaze novella that is too long (it’s another fairy-tale, a 2-in-1 with one of my favorite authors, JULIE LETO! I’m also actually writing another Blaze (forbidden fantasies) and percolating an idea for my next Black CATs book. No rest for the wicked, so they say.
Despite all that, I always have time to do one thing during the day: sign on to Facebook!
I swore I wouldn’t get hooked. Though I have had a Myspace page for several years, I never really got into it. Rarely signed on, didn’t do much to communicate. I’d approve some friend requests, delete the spammy comments and sign back off.
Not so with Facebook. I get so excited when old high school friends track me down, then I have to visit their pages and catch up on the past 25 years of their lives. I keep track of my writing friends, too, who has books out, who’s doing a signing. And, of course, my family is in there–including Bruce and the kids, plus my Dad, all my siblings, in-laws, nieces, nephews. Crazy!
What’s worse, I’ve become a little “quiz” hound. I’m terrible about it, I can almost never see one on somebody else’s profile without trying it myself. And then laughing and comparing the results with my friends and family. A few weeks ago, I got so annoyed with myself for playing with quizzes all day that I decided I was going to write one myself! I spent far too much time doing a “Which Quentin Tarantino Character Are You?” quiz and got ridiculously excited when over a thousand people took it. (You know, having sold about 2 million books around the world, I probably shouldn’t have gotten so excited…lol!)
While I’m on the subject, let me say…my Leslie Parrish Facebook page is open and available for anybody who wants to friend me. My Leslie Kelly one, though, I’m keeping very small. I only accept friend requests from family and good friends I personally know. Just need to keep a wall there, mainly for the security of my kids, because I don’t write under a pen name. Just wanted you to be aware, and please don’t be offended if you track me down and I decline a friend request!
So, am I the only one? Anybody else totally hooked on Facebook? Has a blast-from-the-past you were really happy to hear from reached out and said hello?
Oh, PS: No, I don’t like the new Facebook either! It’s too busy…too much like Twitter!
Leslie Kelly used to say she wanted to be a doctor when she grew up, but then she discovered Nancy Drew books. Being a flashlight-under-the-covers-nose-in-book reader throughout her childhood, she couldn’t think of anything else she’d rather do as an adult than continue to lose herself in fictional stories. Her real life marriage of 20 years to the man of her dreams is a constant reinforcement that happily-ever-afters really can happen…and that they’re worth writing about. Living in Maryland, Leslie spends her non-writing time laughing a lot with the above-mentioned romance hero and their three daughters. Though an author of more than thirty sexy, contemporary comedies, she has recently branched out to write dark romantic suspense under the pseudonym Leslie Parrish.
ANOTHER WILD WEDDING NIGHT
Hard to Hold
Love Me If You Dare
Wild For Him
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I recently friended you as Leslie Parrish – yay me LOL.
I was more addicted to FB before, with the better (imho) website. I don’t care for the new look at all. It has been wonderful connecting with old friends, people I haven’t seen in 15-20 years. I’m loving that part. But I find myself going days w/o going on it.
You mention an interesting point. I was talking with a friend about this, and how she’s a part of the romance community, but doesn’t want pictures of her kids out there, nor pictures from high school, etc. Another friend told me about a friendship that broke up because one friend posted pictures of her she had specifically asked not to be posted but the friend did it anyway. There really has to be a level of respect and caution when it comes it certain pictures or bits of information. I don’t believe that if someone has a FB profile that they become fair game. Everyone has a right to privacy if they so choose, and FB shouldn’t eliminate that right.
Still, I love FB *g*
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I;m with Stacy- I don’t much care for the “new” facebook. That said, I had no idea how many “friends” I have- mainly because my daughter does all the work for me, but then gets even by “friending” her friends over to me! she is a brat!
I don’t have a seperate page, but she does keep a private one, and I don’t blame her. It allowed her to blow off much needed steam last quarter when there were problems in the dorm and she was ready to quit school and come home. I really think it did help. Then, too, she can post pictures of the twins and not worry about it.
I have been twittering more lately, but will be sure to friend you Leslie!
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I am on Face Book but I honestly NEVER go there. I didn’t even know that Face Book had a new web site. Guess I should check it out.
And I don’t Twitter. I do have a My Space page which I enjoy.
Have a great day,
Cher
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I don’t like the new facebook look either. I like that I’ve found friends from high school and lots for college. I don’t go to facebook each day, and really need to since I have so many things that I haven’t looked at yet.
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Stacy…That happened to me. My SIL ‘friends’ anyone (case in point, she ‘friended’ my brothers who she has met once in her life and she ‘claims’ my evil sil is her relative….obviously, I don’t like her much). She posted a pic of one of my boys, I asked her to remove it and she instead ‘defriended’ me. I think you need to be respectful of people. I have my settings on high and limit my ‘friends’ to actually people I know, not random classmates, etc.
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First of all, Katie…I wonder if we don’t have the same SIL, because mine is the exact same way. She’s befriended all my friends and, from the looks of her wall, is always chatting with them (they’re probably ready to kill me!). She hadn’t put up pics of my kids on FB, but she did her MySpace page awhile ago and I asked her to take them down. She did without any incident, thankfully. I, however, now have a FB page and, uh, did up a few pics of my kids, but I figure that’s my business. LOL
And holy geez, I completely agree about the FB addiction. I love it compared to MySpace for the same reasons you mentioned, Leslie. It’s been great to reconnect with old friends and family I don’t talk to on a regular basis. I feel like now I could see them and not feel like so many years have passed. :)
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I’m on facebook too. And i’m there multiple times a day. It’s funny that everyone hates the new FB look. I liked the old one too. I do quizes, join groups of my favorite things but i’ve yet to play any games on it.
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Sally…I put up pics of my kids (on my page), but then, I don’t ‘random friend’ people (my husband has ‘random friends’, too, but he ‘claims’ he knows them from H.S….I could actually email my friends, do you understand the difference). I also have my settings up high so no one can see the pics unless they are my friend (and I know these people). I just think it is rude that she refuses to remove the pics. It’s my right, I think. All I can say, it’s going to make for an interesting family reuinion. Obviously, I am not going to Christmas. Husband refuses to talk to her.
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Hello Leslie,
I have a MySpace page but I might go there once every couple of months. I have a Facebook page and I get on it about once a week or every other week. Since Facebook has changed I’m not as into it as I once was. I hope they change things back. We’ll just have to wait and see. I haven’t gotten on the Twitter bug yet and probably won’t. Have a great day.
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Oh Facebook…
Facebook is, sadly, a staple in my everyday life…multiple times a day. Whenever I get the urge to put off homework just a little while longer, or the class lecture is running a little too long and boring…I pop onto Facebook. I’ll admit that I have quite a few friends from high school that I don’t talk to anymore, but I got Facebook when I was in high school so I did have a closer relationship with them at the time – I do need to do some “spring cleaning” with my friends though.
I recently got my mom on Facebook, and she’s had so much fun reconnecting with old friends – even though she still doesn’t quite understand the whole concept yet.
There are privacy settings where you can exclude certain people from viewing areas of your page (whether it’s your wall, status updates, pictures, etc) and I’ve had to utilize that option against a few of my family members.
<3 J
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Interesting. I have things I like a lot like pet society..my garden, blue cove.. I love facebook but am with the others. I liked the old one better. I am annoyed by family members who ask to be friends, like my mom and sister-in-law. Of course I have to say yes…but I don’t particularly care for my mom…long story and yes, therapy LOL and now she is my friend I have to monitor what I say.
I didn’t know I could censor it from her. Someone should let me know how to do this. My best friend has the same problem. Sisters and her mom so now she has to watch everything she says.
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MySpace is “professional.” It’s in my pen name and I’m there maybe once or twice a month to update.
I got dragged kicking and screaming to Facebook. I’m there under my real name. I have connected with two cousins I haven’t seen in years and a few old high school and college friends. I have my “author” picture up and I mention in my bio that I’m published now and writing as “Silver James.” That said, I don’t actively go search out friends, only responding to friend requests. Am I bad for that?
I drop by maybe every other day or so to play Mafia Wars, leave a comment or two and skedaddle. I don’t *get* the fascination of the hourly updates (same reason I don’t *get* Twitter). The blogs I keep up with, my blog, Penumbra (which I post to and respond to comments daily), and the emails from the yahoo loops I’m on (my publisher’s and OKRWA) are more than enough of a time suck.
They’re an easy temptation when I’m procrastinating and I’m trying to get away from that!
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I love Facebook!! When it first came out it was only for college students, and you could only get on if your school subscribed to the website, thankfully my school did and I was on the first year it came out. FB has gone through a LOT of changes over the last 4 years, and although I hate the new version, I’m still hooked. Greenpatch is my favorite application, sorry Leslie but i don’t like the quizes. By the way a bunch of my friends took your Quentin Tarantino quiz. Have a great Tuesday everyone!
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@Kirsten:
To censor: From your Home screen hover over Settings and go to Privacy Settings. Select Profile, and from there you can go in and change who sees what. To exclude people…on any given drop-down menu select Customize, and at the bottom of that screen that comes up is an “Except These People” option…you just add their name and magically they cannot see that section of your profile.
I’ve felt the need to block my mother and brother from a few areas of my Facebook.
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Facebook has become a part of my everyday life. I love that I have connected with people I haven’t heard from in years and I can keep up with family that is literally spread all over the world.
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I have a MySpace page, but have never been to Facebook or Twitter.
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One of my friends got me on Facebook because her husband got her on Facebook!! I’ve picked up some friends there that I don’t know but they know friends of mine or know me from eHarlequin. There are a few people from my past I would love to find and that is partly why I joined. I haven’t spent much time on it so far and am still trying to figure it all out!!
:eastereggs: Coming soon! :happyeaster: These Icons are so cute!
Leslie, you are super busy, but as someone that enjoys your books I am happy to hear you are busy writing. I praised you on a review of One Wild Wedding Night at eHarlequin! It is always fun to put in a plug for my favorite authors.
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I have myspace and twitter, but I’ve never cared to create a facebook page. All my friends are on myspace and not facebook so that’s how I landed with myspace. I enjoy myspace though so I’m happy with it.
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Hi Leslie,
I am addicted to FACEBOOK and I don’t like the new FB either
I play 2 games on there also.
I do keep in touch with freinds that way also and yes a couple from the past.
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I don’t like how FB is trying to be like twitter. Blech. But, I do use both regularly. I use twitter more like an im tool – and I’m one of those “bad” people who doesn’t auto follow – I can’t! But I will respond to all messages.
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Hey Les, I always looked for you on facebook, but I am glad that I am able to friend you as your alter ego…I was a little bummed when I couldn’t find you before…I try to find all yous…Fb is very addictive, I have to limit the amount of time I allow myself to stay on there…I have reconnected with some people that I thought I would never hear from again….way, way better than myspace to me…welcome to the “club”…I am so excited about the new novella you have going with Jules, can’t wait for that one and your other new books coming out…
Hey Janelle, how are you doing? I have been thinking about you a lot lately…trying to wait patiently for your next book…I actually dreamed/dreamt about it…I know kinda weird…lol…I hope to see Wild for Her out real soon…
Jules Kiss is winging it on its ay to me from Amazon, hopefully, it gets here in a reasonable amount of time…
I hope that everyone had a wonderful day today…talk to you soon…
Peace and love,
Paula R.
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Thanks Jessica!!! That sounds great!
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I’m just like you. I have a myspace page that I hardly ever use. I recently signed on to FB about a month ago because it seemed like a lot of my friends are there. I wish there was some way to put interesting/expressive wallpaper on the site so it wasn’t so blah!! It’s been interesting and fun. Fun to see who is on it also.