Fini!

I think, just possibly, that I'm finished with my Rune, which has been a long time coming, but you know. These things take time. I didn't quite make my projected 30K, but that's all right. 26K is respectable. I'm currently calling it Finding Home. Titles are so not my strong point.

I'll print it and give it a last read and repair, then ship it off to the bosses and move on to the next project on the list. Feels good to have it done and one more thing completed and under my belt.

I like that story quite a bit. I like more of it than I dislike, which sounds like a weird thing to say, but we writers, you know, we're very critical of our work. I'm very good at finding parts that I don't like or that I didn't manage to convey quite the way I wanted, so to say that I like more than I don't at this stage of the book? Is quite something and I'm proud of me.

Spoke with an agent in LA yesterday about my thoughts and hopes for the Fox deal. It was nice to bounce ideas off someone who gets what I'd like to do with a career in Hollywood, should I happen to end up with one. Please allow me to clarify, though: She's not my agent. I don't have an agent of any sort. Just someone who was willing to talk. I've found, actually, that much like published authors (who used to terrify me) that agents and editors are real people too, and that they like to talk--just talk--almost as much as the random person on the street does. About their lives, about the world in general, all without any expectation that they have to do work or provide a service they weren't expecting too. It was a good conversation.

Rumor has it that I will be writing a guest spot at Romance By the Blog in January. Rumor has it that Tessa will too. I'm sure one (or both) of us will let you know more.

And happy birthday, yesterday, to my mother, who is not really online but she might, someday, peek. Happy day, Mom!

Post-holiday updates

I hope that everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and managed not to be too traumatized by Black Friday. Those of you overseas, I hope the weekend's treating you well.

I have been dutifully writing along on my next project. Then I made the mistake of looking at all of the things I want to do for next year. Even without any firm deadline committments, it looks like it's going to be another busy year. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it means I need to re-examine my ability to say no.

In other exciting news, congratulations to Mary Danielson for winning Round Three of the Harper Teen FanLit contest! It's about time! She finaled nearly every week in Avon FanLit, so her big day was just taking its time.

Thinking is dangerous.

At least for me. I get into 'what if X' conversations with myself and they never end well.

I have not heard from Fox again, so apologies for no exciting updates. As The Engineer reminded me last night, it's a 12 month deal. They've got loooots of time left. And, it's the holiday season. Much as I would rather know something soon, I have to face the fact that I may not hear anything new until next year.

I do wonder, though, whether some of the silence stems from the O.J. book controversy. Who was going to publish the book? HarperCollins (well, Regan Books, but same parent). Who was going to air the special? Fox. Both of the FanLit sponsors. I suspect that they're veeery busy.

Add to that that we're sliding into Sweeps Week and I'm not really shocked that my phone isn't ringing off the hook.

In better news, though I'm not really doing NaNoWriMo (and thus haven't shown up over at the boards), I *have* written almost 28K so far this month. That's a lot for me. More importantly, I've finished a couple of projects I was dragging my feet over. Go go determination!

The Waiting Game

Hands down, the worst part of this writing gig is the waiting. We writers operate on a completely different schedule than agents and editors (and producers!) do. It's very easy for us to get caught up in the cool factor and excitement of having completed a book and want details and contracts and shiny things now now now.

When agents and editors (and producers!) have to deal with dozens of writers all wanting the same thing.

I understand this logically.

It doesn't make waiting any easier. :)

Went to the last "real" meeting of our local chapter yesterday, which was an EMS panel, and it was fantastic. I love my chapter. For all the drama and stresses that we go through now and then, I really do love them. Enough that I'm going to be president, again, next year.

Between me and my pal Anna, we've been president for the last four years. Three years ago it was Anna, two years ago it was me, last year was Anna, and next? After that I'm done, and I really hope the chapter doesn't implode for lack of volunteers. I don't think it will. I think someone will step forward who loves us as much as I do.

But I have to wait to see.

Grr. :)

You're in the right place.

Just on the off-chance that people are wandering by to see who I am, I say this.

Hi! Welcome to my blog!

If you read the press release linked in RWA's eNotes yesterday, then yep, I'm that Sara Dennis. You won't find a lot of behind the scenes information about Fox, yet (and possibly ever, as they probably won't let me tell everything) but the parts of the process I can share, I will. When I've got updates. :)

If you'd like to read my FanLit entries, they're all linked here. The weekly round finalists are there, as well as the entries that didn't do as well.

In other news, I'm considering starting a Yahoo!Group or Google!Group or something. Sing out if you think it'd be interesting.

I can hear it now.

Why are you not updating?

Because, my friends, I spend a lot of time running around like a chicken with no head. And not because I'm working on anything particularly exciting. This is just the state of my life.

I did get to have some fun yesterday. The Engineer surprised me with tickets to the Dixie Chicks concert in town. We trucked on over and got to spend the evening in one of the box suites, watching my girls play. My girls, like I had anything to do with their success. Still, I love them and I support their right to make controversial statements about the government. Heck, I do it. Fortunately for me, maybe, I'm not a big name country group, but still.

So the contest was amazing, their video team did spectacular things, and a good time was had by all!

Back to the salt mines.

My kingdom for an extra hour

I'm beginning to understand the need for a personal assistant.

I have no new updates from Fox as yet, but I did find a couple of press releases that mention Tessa and I, so that was pretty cool.

I also talked to a reporter from the Sacramento Bee this morning, so we'll see if that turns into an article in a couple of weeks.

And life goes on. Writing to do, parts of the house to clean, laundry to fold.

Let's Talk About Sex

Okay, first, let me ramble.

For those who are curious about my list of five things, did I snow you all? Ha! I am so sub-tul. Or, you know, y'all just don't know me.

The one that is *not* true is number 4, about dressing up as a curvy Lone Ranger. Though I participated in high school rodeo in Wyoming, I never did it in costume.

The Engineer says I cheated because he did not actually *fling* the rabbit at me. But, yes, proud romantic that I am, I got married because of a dead rabbit.

Well. The *real* proposal was mine. He surprised me with the rabbit, but *I* had already bought *him* a ring. And so, after I made dinner that night (not rabbit, mind you), I put the little black box down beside his plate and said 'Here, I brought you dinner, marry me.'

It's been eight years. :)

In other news: I have had contact with Fox. I had a great conversation with a man named Gabriel (who told me that Fox actually read the finalist entries. Did you guys know they were doing that? I didn't!) Next steps on how to work with them in the development deal are forthcoming.

I turned in a long overdue novella over the weekend. And I played some Final Fantasy XII, which was my reward.

I have not NaNo'd. I should. I have a bunch of projects, though, so I may just add up the sum of my words and call it a technical NaNo, and not worry about the 50K being all on one project.

Now, the sex part:

I am so, so very frustrated by the fact that, in order to make a good showing in the ebook market at the moment, it seems to me that one must write hot, on-the-page sex. Okay, wait, I amend. One must write hot, on-the-page sex with graphic language. No euphemisms and you absolutely can't close the door. Readers right now want hot, hotter and blazing and that, unfortunately, just isn't my speed. So, I've seen my co-writers sell better, get more reviews, and more oohs and ahhs from the mailing list/chat room crowds than I ever will.

I vent not because I think they don't deserve it. I've read the books. I enjoy reading erotic romance sometimes, too. And these are some very talented women I'm talking about. It just chaps a bit when reviews and readers come back saying, 'We love your writing', but the sales numbers don't bear up.

Sex sells, and that's the bottom line. I can change or I can cling to my sensual-but-not-steamy stories and stiffen my bottom lip.

It just gets to be too much to keep quiet about sometimes, you know?

Contest announcements and answers!

Hope everyone had a fantastic Halloween. I'm a little disappointed, since we got *not a single trick or treater*! What's up with that? Last year we had great ghosts and ghoulies. This year? Not a peep. Though I'm hearing that from friends all over the country. I'll be sad if Halloween stops being what it was when I was a kid.

I'll bet you want to know about that contest of mine, don't you? Well, the wait is over. The winner of my Vegas Magic contest is: Mindy! I'll be contacting her to get her address and have a basket in the mail to her soon.

There's another contest going on over at one of our group blogs. Swing by, answer some questions, and get entered in a drawing for five of Cobblestone's Octoberfest ebooks, including my latest release, Stacking the Deck.

I found out I was awarded one of Literary Sass's Tequila Worm awards yesterday, for a favorite read. I love that blog, their reviews and their taste in books. ;) Go check them out.

As for the question about which of my five facts is false from yesterday... should I let that go another day? Maybe I will. Ah, delicious torture.

Off to run errands (that involve getting my glasses fixed, what fun) then back to the computer to dive into NaNoWriMo. Aieee.

Get your ears on

... because I've got a lot to say.

First and foremost, Happy Halloween! Or Happy Samhain! Or Happy Tuesday! Whichever you prefer.

----

Second, Cobblestone Press is having a Halloween party tonight, celebrating the release of the final Octoberfest books. There'll be games and contests and prizes, so swing by if you're interested. 7pm Central in the chat room.

----

Third, thank yous.

There are a *lot* of people to thank surrounding Fan Lit.

Thank you to Laura T for holding my hand from very nearly the beginning of the contest and being a fantastic behind-the-scenes support. Not to mention all the entries she read and commented on. Holy smokes!

Thank you to Chris, without whom it would have taken me a lot longer to notice the good news.

Thank you to the Bon Bons, for being wonderfully welcoming and friendly and supportive.

Thank you *thank you* to the authors (Julia Quinn, Teresa Medeiros, Eloisa James, Victoria Alexander, Cathy Maxwell) who gave their time and left such fantastic feedback.

Thank you to Lynne for keeping me up to date and in the know and for being there to lean on.

And thank you to everyone who's said a kind word, offered a congratulations or a wow. The people I've met because of this contest are some of the most talented and creative and generous people I've met.

----

Fourth! I've been tagged. I will tell you five amazing things about me. One of them is not true. It's up to you to figure out which. ;)

1. My husband flung a dead rabbit at my feet and proposed with the following words: "Look! I brought you dinner! Marry me!"

2. I once danced on the field of as part of the half-time performance at a SuperBowl!

3. I spent many years of my life being very accident prone. Can you imagine fracturing your eyesocket while doing laps in a pool? I did!

4. I won first place in the costume category at a high school rodeo for appearing as a very curvy Lone Ranger!

5. I have a Bacon number of 2 (and a Jackman number of 2) because of Sean Patrick Thomas!

Guess away. :)

It's official!

Like Tessa, I got my confirmation email about the paperwork I need to fill out to claim the prize over at Fan Lit last night. It's no longer a long, very complicated dream. Woohoo!

And now I'm going back to work. I am. Really. After I make my tea. And light my incense. And chase the cat off the desk.

Working.

3.

2.

1...

ETA (can you believe that I just realized that ETA means "edited to add" and not just "estimated time of arrival"? Sometimes, I embarrass myself): My contest is still running through tomorrow! If you haven't entered, drop me a line with the answer to the following question: If you were stuck in a casino full of monsters on Halloween night, which of the Vegas Magic heroes would want to keep you company? Jake, Grant, or Alec?

Sunday, Sunday

Oddly enough, I'm having trouble motivating myself to do mundane things today. :) Had a great meeting yesterday, had a great evening with The Engineer. But today, I must get back to the ordinary and every day routine of life.

Which means writing and moving forward with the projects I have in the works. Time does not stop no matter how much I might want to bask.

Yes, another Fan Lit post

I really didn't intend to post about the FanLit contest again, but I'm going to, and I'm going to do so with my head held high.

Today, Fan Lit has announced that they're awarding me with the Editorial Grand Prize for the contest. You can see all the prizes laid out here, but the simple explanation is this: I get to pitch ideas at Fox TV, and if they like one, possibly have it developed into something bigger.

The question of whether I'm going to accept has come up. The answer is: Yes.

Why?

My complaint with Fan Lit was that the voting system was flawed and should be repaired. I still believe that there were issues with the voting process. I stopped submitting or reading chapters at the end of week four. It wasn't any fun to submit a chapter and not know whether it failed to make the finals because it legitimately didn't belong there, or because there were duplicate accounts and unfair voting going on. That's why I stopped participating in the weekly rounds.

The Editorial Grand Prize was not given as a result of voting by the participants in the contest. This prize was determined by the editorial team at Fan Lit. My complaint was never about the editorial process at either Avon or Fan Lit. Therefore I don't feel there is an ethical conflict involved in accepting the prize. I'm flattered that my writing stood out enough to catch the editors' attention, and I'll keep people up to date with how it goes.

I haven't talked about it for a while, but I write screenplays as well. This is a fantastic opportunity to pursue something I've wanted to do for some time.

Thank you to everyone who's sent their congratulations. If anyone wants to question my decision, I'm willing to answer those who sign their names.

Parallels in Fiction

And now, to do some shameless promotion for a fellow author:

Deidre Knight Cranks up the Heat in Her Latest Installment in the Parallel Series: PARALLEL HEAT

“Intelligent characters, hot romance and breathtaking adventure with epic feel—exactly what I want to read!” - Susan Grant, New York Times bestselling author

“A fantastic and riveting new voice in paranormal fiction.” -Karen Marie Moning, New York Times bestselling author of Spell of the Highlander

“At times humorous, at others heart-wrenching, but always compelling, Deidre Knight offers readers a fresh, wonderfully creative glimpse at the complexity of human decisions. What a page-turner!” - Gena Showalter, Author of Playing with Fire

In the unforgettable, alternate world of Parallel Heat, two enemies are bound by betrayal, vengeance—and forbidden passion.

Warrior and royal guardian Marco McKinley has been assigned a vital mission on Earth, where a war between human fighters and otherworldly soldiers is rising in the far reaches of Wyoming. But he's also been warned about twists of fate yet to come-ones that will transform him into the enemy of his own people and appoint him the personal protector of beautiful soldier Thea Haven.

Little do Marco and Thea know, but they have met before in an alternate universe, and they are bound by betrayal and vengeance. Now, on a world at the brink of destruction, forbidden passion ignites—but will the destiny Marco has glimpsed unfold a second time?

Sign up for Deidre’s newsletter and be eligible to win a $50 Amazon gift certificate, signed copies of her books, and plenty of other goodies! Just click here.

Check out the book that launched the series, PARALLEL ATTRACTION or order your copy of PARALLEL HEAT today! And coming in April, PARALLEL SEDUCTION.

Still going strong

The contest is still going strong, and I'm still taking answers to the question from that post. It's just a couple down so scroll down and take a look. I've gotten a lot of answers, but there's always room for more, so send 'em in!

I killed my printer last night. It's 15 years old and you know, it's time had probably come, but I employed a particular brand of stupid. Word of advice: Do not use nail polish remover on the roller on your toner cartridge. Really. Just don't.

So, the dino will go away and a new, speedy, state-of-the-art model will be along shortly. It will do duplexing, and be wireless, and undoubtedly faster than the old boy we've had so long. But it still makes me a little sad.

Still writing like mad, hoping to finish a project by the (looming!) end of the month and another one or two (they're short!) by the 20th or so of next. Man. The life of a writer. It may not be exciting to anyone else, but it sure is busy.

Stacking the Deck is out today!

It's live, it's live!

Stacking the Deck, the third book in the Vegas Magic series, following This Spells Trouble by Shelli Stevens and Gone With The Wolf by Loribelle Hunt is out today at Cobblestone Press!



Attending the Hell's Ball with her friends was just supposed to be about having a good time. Samantha didn't plan on meeting the man of her dreams or to give him a crash course in magic to keep his power under control.

Alec Zimm is a stage name. Doing card tricks pays the bills. He's caught off-guard by his reaction to Samantha and the sudden revelation that the magic he's been performing is real. When a rogue werewolf threatens the Halloween party atmosphere, Alec must learn to trust his teacher and save the woman of his dreams.

Available for purchase here.

And don't forget to check out the contest that I'm holding. It's the post directly below this one!

Halloween Contest!

It's one day late! Sorry, sorry, for those of you who were eagerly awaiting this announcement.

Welcome to my 100th blog post over here at Love Between The Pages! Can you believe it? I can't. Who knew I had that much to say?

To celebrate both this milestone post and the Vegas Magic series out at Cobblestone Press right now, I'm holding a contest.

But first, the books!

The Vegas Magic series is set in, no surprise, Las Vegas and centers on the Crypt casino on Halloween night. What could go wrong at a party where the creatures of the night are free to strut their stuff? A dangerous question to ask.



She never expected the Hell’s Ball to live up to its name. Buy This Spells Trouble here!

A wolf, a witch, and a casino—magic, love, and mayhem in Vegas. Buy Gone With The Wolf here!

Playing with cards was never this much fun. Stacking the Deck is coming Friday!

Want to know what you could win?

-Three imps (sample vials) of Halloween/Samhain-themed perfume from BPAL in the following scents:
  * Samhain: Truly the scent of autumn itself -- damp woods, fir needle, and black patchouli with the gentlest touches of warm pumpkin, clove, nutmeg, allspice, sweet red apple and mullein.

  * Dia De Los Muertos: A joyous celebration of La Catarina, La Flaca, La Muerte… Glorious, Beautiful Death. In Mexico, death is not something to be feared or hated; She is embraced, loved, and adored. La Muerte is fêted, as the celebrant "…chases after it, mocks it, courts it, hugs it, sleeps with it; it is his favorite plaything and his most lasting love." This is a Mexican paean to La Huesuda: dry, crackling leaves, the incense smoke of altars honoring Death and the Dead, funeral bouquets, the candies, chocolates, foods and tobacco of the ofrenda, amaranth, sweet cactus blossom and desert cereus.

  * Sugar Skull: Vibrant with the joy and sweetness of life in death! A blend of five sugars, lightly dusted with candied fruits.

-Two scented wax melts from Dark Candles in the following scents:
  * Autumn Harvest: Spicy blend of cinnamon bark and clove bud on a dry down of musk.

  * Jack O'Latte: Pumpkin Spice flavored Latte, the perfect coffee-inspired scent to carry you into the fall season.

-A $5 Gift Certificate good for purchase of any book at Cobblestone Press

How do you win? Simple! From October 20th to 5pm PST October 31st, just email me with the answer to this question: If you were stuck in a casino full of monsters on Halloween night, which of the Vegas Magic heroes would want to keep you company? Jake, Grant, or Alec?

I'll choose a winner Halloween eve! Good luck!

I lied.

That wasn't my final word on the matter. Lynne's posted an interesting look at how close the scores were, and how what was done really *could* have had an impact on the contest outcome, regardless of what Fan Lit may have said.

And could *still* be having an impact, just so we're clear.

Yes, I'm still upset.

But in other news, this is post #99. That means that tomorrow, I'll do my post about the basket I'm putting together. There will be wax tarts, perfume, possibly some candy (who can resist Halloween candy) and who knows what else?

Stop by and check it out!

The Last Word on Avon FanLit

As should be obvious from the last few posts of mine, I got involved with the Avon FanLit contest. It was a unique contest set up, looked interesting and I thought hey, why not, I'll give it a shot.

I met some great people. There are some *very* talented writers over there and I sincerely hope that those who have what it takes go on to publishing contracts and good things.

In the process, I also met some not so great people.

One of the rules set up at Avon FanLit was that people were not to create shill accounts, a shill being a duplicate account. Whether that was meant to be for reading the forums, submitting entries or voting on the contest rounds, it really didn't matter. It's right there in black and white, against the contest rules. And the penalty for doing so is disqualification.

And yet, during the course of competition, I was given convincing evidence that some contestants in an earlier round had done just that and were using shill accounts to "stack the deck".

Fan Lit, when provided with this information, chose and chooses not to acknowledge the cheating--because no matter how you spin it, it's cheating--publicly. Thanks to the phrase "sole discretion" in their rules, they don't *have* to acknowledge it. They can pick and choose when to enforce the rules and when to let a contestant slide.

They've made their choice, and so have I.

I cannot, in good conscience, be a part of a contest where the rules set forth are not upheld, where voting on another writer's hard work is not protected and there is no accountability or repercussion for abusing the system in place.

Some people may feel that all's fair and that doing anything to win is acceptable. Personally, I'd rather surround myself with people who succeed honestly.

Edited: I am not the only one posting about this.

Spared!

You are all spared more rambling about FanLit. Well, sort of. I didn't final in this week's round but Jacqueline did! So if you have an account, go vote on the finalists and help her earn her place in the fishbowl head hall of fame.

Congratulations to Mary and Sara and Tessa too, of course, but I don't have links for them.

So I sulked a bit, and then got kicked in the butt and told to work on my proposal already comma dammit, so that's what I'm going to do and -- crud, I forgot to do my group blog post today. Must think of something.

We had our first rain last night, which means it's officially fall in California. I wish I lived a little further north so we actually got snow, but The Engineer says that my childhood love of snow would not hold up as an adult.

He's a California native, what does he know? ;)