Teeter-tottering

This is a crazy, up-and-down business.

Let's take today, for instance.

Today, I discovered that Mrs. Giggles reviewed Stacking the Deck. Mrs. G is notoriously blunt when it comes to what she does and does not like. Offering a book is a risky affair. And she liked it enough to give me an 88 out of 100. Believe me when I say it's high praise.

I finally got a new contact for my project at Fox. There's been a shuffle down there and I've been in a kind of limbo, but I have a new person to work with, and can hopefully move forward.

And I got the sort of response from an editor that makes you want to hang it all up and stop writing. It wasn't even, technically speaking, a rejection and yet, I spent the better part of the afternoon trying to wrangle myself out of the serious blues.

Writing is not for wimps.

Life, the Universe and Everything

Thank you, Douglas Adams.

Missed a day yesterday. I shall now attempt to catch up. (Don't worry, there's not that much to fill you in on.)

I'm running an impromptu contest over on The Novelty Girls blog. Participate in the guessing game and be entered for a chance to win Shelli Stevens' Silk Hauntings.

There is a new review site called Cocktail Reviews in the blogosphere. They've reviewed my short, Eye of the Beholder, and liked it quite a lot. I'm very pleased.

Hollywood is just as slow as New York can be when it comes to responses. Still positive feedback, still waiting. :)

And I continue to plug along on my manuscript. I have so many things I want to be writing and all the impetus to finish this book off, but some days, it's like molasses.

Nominated!

Woohoo! I discovered last night that The Dragon Undone has been nominated for a potential Reviewer's Choice award from ecataromance. How cool is that?

Happy Monday!

Welcome to Monday and another week. Welcome to Presidents' Day. Welcome to, er, February 19th. What else? :)

We did get out and do a couple of things as I hoped. We went to a belated Valentine's/Anniversary dinner and out to see a movie, for starters. We watched Ghost Rider, which I can only recommend for the old rider's horse. Really, that's it.

And then we looked at new houses, because ours is old and quirky and well, hey, why not. Oddly, I used to think looking at houses was a pain in the rear. Now I sort of like it. More signs of growing up, I suppose.

Plugging away on a submission. I'm writing lots of action for this book, which as C.E. Murphy says is fun to read, but I find it difficult to write. All those bodies and fists flying and whatnot. I've written it before, and I'm usually pleased with how it turns out, but in the middle of a scene, it feels like a struggle. We all have our weak points, right?

Right. Mine is plotting and, as mentioned, action. What about you?

Friday at last.

It's finally Friday, and I've got to say, it's about time. It's been one of Those Weeks. Not the sort that are hideously bad or anything, but the sort that drag on, where things don't seem to go quite the way you intended and you wish you were doing something other than you are, no matter what the "are" is.

Wow. That sentence confused me and I wrote it. It's been one of Those Mornings already. :)

I've been reading the RWA Pro workshop this week (shh, I haven't turned in my PAN paperwork, yet, I'm still allowed to be there) and Jennifer Greene made a comment about how silly (my words, not hers) this writer-based need for validation is. I have to agree, but I'm not sure that there's much we can do about it. Writing is, as dozens of people have said, a very solitary business. We don't go out and interact with other people and as much fun as a mailing list can be, they're not usually full of people stroking our egos.

So we want and reach for praise from wherever we can get it. We hope people like our writing and I, at least, try to assume that people do even if they don't tell me so right out, but there's nothing quite like hearing a real, honest to goodness statement of, "It was good!"

I'm hoping to get out and do things this long weekend. Here's hoping you and yours find something fun to do as well.

Romance Divas E-Book Challenge

It's Valentine's Day! It's my anniversary!

It's also the grand unveiling of the Romance Divas E-Book Challenge. For more exciting FREE READS go to http://romancedivas.com/ebookchallenge.html for a complete listing.

I'm participating and you can find mine here.



It's a contemporary short story, sort of chick-lit, sort of superhero-themed. Not particularly Valentine's Day themed, but I think it's fun and fun is the key. Let me know if you enjoy it!

And have a great day. :)

Barding again!

First things first, Ciar Cullen posted a great review of Fortune's Fool today. She's giving away a copy of the book, so swing by for a chance to win it if you haven't read it yet. :)

My mother, just this weekend, told me that it was "just as good as a real published book". Thanks, Mom. Gotta love her. Hee.

In other news, I'm going to start writing Shakespeare articles for Suite 101 again. I mentioned that I wanted a place and I got an invite to come back to pick up my old gig, so back I go. Can't use the old articles anymore, but I can come up with something new, I'm sure.

No exciting developments in tv land yet, but I continue to plug away. How's everyone else doing this Monday?

Nobody wants to see this...

But since I stepped in it again, I'll share anyway.

Yep, me and Monica, trading virtual blows again. Only this time, all I can do is laugh.

My most recent comment on the Dear Author debacle expresses my thoughts on Monica's constant commentary that blacks are extremely discriminated against in the publishing industry. Yes, I know better than to get involved in this argument because, as I said in the comment, there is no viewpoint other than hers. Arguing is futile. And yet, I persist. It's a button.

Her response makes it pretty clear that she didn't read what I wrote. And when called on it, she proves yet again that she didn't read, but now she thinks she knows something about me.

Like I said, I have to laugh.

Sorry. I'm a romance author, plain and simple. Okay, no, I'm an author because I don't only write romance. I'm still not going to slap a race label on myself as an author. It doesn't change what, or how, I write. Besides, the only label that would fit is way too long to put in a cover letter or an author bio and people probably don't really care.

NaNoReaMo

I mentioned this a while ago, as sort of a passing notion, but I've recently discovered that it might actually be possible to do something like this, so I'll bring it up again.

A lot of us do/have done NaNoWriMo. A lot of us like to read but I've also heard a lot of grumbling about TBR (to be read) piles building, not having the time to read, etc.What about something like a NaNoReaMo? One month out of the year where we do nothing but read. Fantasy, romance, non-fiction, wouldn't matter, but the point would be to put down the pencils, step away from the keyboard, and clear out some of the book backlog.

One of the things said often about writing is that you can't stay on top of trends and learn and grow if you're not reading. In the genre, out of the genre, whatever. So. Why don't we have something like this in place?Of course, it wouldn't be limited to writers. Anyone who wants and likes to read could join in. And in fantasy land, Borders and/or Barnes and Noble or publishers would sign on to donate, oh. Gift cards. Discount club subscriptions. Book bundles, etc. For the top finishers or people who made a specific goal within the month or ... something.

I did a poll about this on my livejournal and realized that I should really open the poll up, as I don't have *that* many readers. So, a few questions:

1. If you are interested in NaNoReaMo, what month of the year would be best for you? (The current poll has July and August as favorites, but choose the month that works best for you.)

2. What sort of rewards would you want for signing on?

• Gift cards/certificates?
• Books?
• Discount memberships or subscriptions?

3. How would you suggest reading totals are tallied?

• By number of words read?
• By number of pages read?
• By number of books read?

4. Who would you like to get prizes from?

• Bookstores?
• Publishers?
• Authors?

If you have other suggestions or comments, feel free to post them here.

Please also feel free to spread this around and have people chime in. The more information I can gather, the more I can take to publishing houses, etc.

Thanks for your help and opinions!

Skate to Write, Write to Skate

I'm feeling philosophical today. I wrote, once, about how horseback riding was like writing, in that you had to keep getting up and getting back "on" your career, no matter how many times you got thrown, how sometimes you just had to outstubborn the "horse" of your book, etc.

Since we (yes, the Engineer is taking lessons with me) had our second ice skating lesson last night, I think I can safely say that learning how to skate is like writing, too.

First and foremost, you fall down a lot. And you have to learn how to get up without falling down again in the process. And without showing off any underwear or anything while you're getting back up (or burning bridges or insulting the wrong people, etc).

You have to overcome wobbly ankles and let go of the wall. You will never learn to skate if you don't try. (And never figure out that you *can* write if you don't put your butt in the chair, your hands on the keyboard and give it a shot. Or strengthen your writing if you don't keep practicing.)

You've got to have at least a little confidence in yourself or you will watch others skate rings around you (literally) and never dare to make rings of your own.

When you're watching someone else leap and twirl and dance gracefully across the ice, remember that they were once where you are, and that with enough time and dedication, you may get where they are now. It won't be the same dance, but that's what makes you fun to watch. (Do I need to translate that one?)

Woo, too much work.

Why will Blogger not let me stayed in even when I click the box that says remember me? Frustrating.

Thanks for the answers about RTB. I guess they just don't love me anymore. :)

I've been working for the last couple days. Not on my own stuff, which makes me twitchy in whole new ways, but reading other people's work. It was fun but exhausting.

There's a discussion on reading outside your usual comfort zone, specifically as regards African-American romance and authors, over on Dear Author today. As anyone who reads my blog knows, I can't keep out of a discussion like that. I'm being well-behaved today.

Also, my local chapter launched the new website today. It's gorgeous, I think. Stop by and check it out.

Not a very personal update, I know, but I am a busy, busy bee.

Twitchy fingers

I have the worst case of twitchy fingers. I'm working on a requested manuscript, and all I can think is how I want to send another to a different publisher. This could be an effect of normally having more than one project going at once, which I don't right now. It's also possibly a sign that I'm in trouble with the current work.

I, like most writers, I think, have a tendency to write myself into the occasional corner. I'm always well-intentioned about it, but I don't always remember where I've been or where I'm going (I do only the vaguest of plotting) and that occasionally leads to trouble. Believe me, it was even worse when I was a pure pantser.

But I've noticed that I get very antsy when there's something wrong that I haven't yet put my finger on. I don't want to go back to those pages. I distract myself with anything and everything possible. I start new projects, I think about what I should do with the books I haven't sold yet, etc. So, it's probably time to take a look back at what I've got written already and figure out how I got off track so it can be fixed.

One of these days, I'll get to the point where I can write straight through a draft and not even think about edits until after the fact.

Also: Is anyone else unable to get the Romancing the Blog page to load? I don't know exactly when it started, but suddenly I can't read it. This makes me sad.