Back Story

One of the enlightening things I’ve learned in the past few months is that you don’t want to bog down your story with too much back story. Okay, you want your readers to know what happened, but what’s the point of telling them this right off the bat??? Weave it into the natural flow of the story.

Sometimes that is better said than done. I’m one of the worst offenders in that. I will start penning a story and before I know it, I’m telling too much back story. Argggghhh!!! Bad me. I usually then end up tossing it out and it ends up cutting out part of my first chapter.

But the good thing is that it makes me a better writer in that I learn from my mistakes. Right now I’m working on a story that I keep tossing out back story, but then I have to tell myself…STOP! LOL!

Ah, just another day in the life of writing ;-)

By the way....

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

My goal is to submit for 2007. Big step, but I'm ready.

Merry Christmas!

I promise a post related to writing in the few days! I have a topic I have on the back burner. I'm currently working on a Christmas themed story that I'm aiming for the short story market i.e epublishers.

In the meantime...



Patti

A final!!!!!!!

Late last night, just before I was heading to bed, I got email that I finaled in the Beacon Unpublished contest. My erotic entry is being sent to Raelene Gorlinsky of Ellora's Cave for final judging.

Woohoo!!!

Thank you First Coast Romance Writers!!!!!!!!!

The Twelve Days of Christmas

Okay, I told myself this blog wasn't going to be a quiz place, but I saw this and had to share....


***For the twelve days of Christmas, your true love will send you:***


Twelve babies drumming
Eleven snowmen a-melting
Ten gymnasts a-leaping
Nine ladies yodeling
Eight llamas a-milking
Seven gingerbread men a-crumbling
Six kittens a-meowing
Five golden toe rings
Four calling booty calls
Three French fries
Two stale fruit cakes
And a owl in a pine tree


What Will You Get for the 12 Days of Christmas?
http://www.blogthings.com/whatwillyougetforthe12daysofchristmasquiz/

What American Accent do you have?

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North   You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
North Central
The South
The West
Boston
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Contests.........

I got my contest results back on the revised Don't Go Breaking My Heart. Lousy. I did lousy. In fact, one judge said my writing sucked. Eh......this is the same entry that has finaled in two contests. I know contests are subjective, but I would think the judge could've found something positive to say.

Yeah, it hurts, but I guess like submitting, you'll always have some who will love your work and others who'll hate it and I need to learn to live with the rejections.

But it's still hard to swallow.

On Friday, I did start typing out a Christmas themed short story. I know where it is headed, just not sure the path it will go.
You know how it goes with a panster. :-)So far I've done 2185 words. I am hoping to be done by Christmas. Not sure where'll I go with this. May not go anywhere, but I do want to finish it. It's a big step to finish any story you start. How many writers are there out there that have never finished a story in their life? People would be surprised at the answer.

Anyway, it's me marching onward with my writing. Gotta pick up the pieces and crank out the words.

Happpy Holidays!

A title and Researching

I finally came up with a tentative title for my paranormal yesterday afternoon while working on researching my story.

MORNING STAR

It clicked as I thought about the time of they year I was setting it in and the fact that the heroine comes from the stars. I also decided to name her Niesha. Pretty and otherwoldly name. :)

One thing that has me tied in circles is the amount of research one needs to do to plot a paranmoral. Okay, a lot of it is make believe, but you have to be somewhat realistic, or you'll lose the reader. I spent several hours online yesterday checking out certain things I need to get going on my story. I have a half sort of plot going. (This is the one where I use GMC as my guide) My goal is to start writing around Christmas since I have five days off. Well, four if you disregard Christmas Day and all the festivities. I plan on staying home and writing. No running around and scouring sales.

My other little thing I need to do is decide on length. Oh, and where am I targeting this.

I hope to have all this done by Christmas. That is in...hmm...20 days????

Wish me luck!

Not much happening..

Not really anything going on here writing wise. Since I finished up editing, I've been busy working on reviews. Now that is pretty much caught up and I've been goofing off. LOL

Tomorrow is Sunday and I may work on plotting my upcoming story some. I have the Goal, Motivation, and Conflict, but what are their names? Other things I need to work out before I can write my first word.

Oh, yeah...and I need a title. :-D I used to tease Morgan over her obsessive need to have a title before she could even write a word. Well, I'm feeling the same way.

***I need a title***

Maybe I'll post a blurb and have readers come up with a possible suggestion on titles.

Stay tuned...

Paranormal Romance Anyone?

I've finally decided to make the next step and pen a paranormal romance. Yeah, maybe I'm one step behind the hot wave, but at least with my idea I can say that I don't recall actually seeing it in a book. Or, at least my version. Not giving it away, but shall see how I do at creating the 'new world' that will have to be part of it.

Another thing that I'm doing is using the Goal, Motivation and Conflict model. My hero and heroine each have their set of GMC and it ends up with them at odds with each other. In previous stories I've written, I've softened the conflict between the couple until there is one big, black moment. This time, the tension will stretch out. He has something she wants and he won't let her take it.

I'll probably target ebook publisher with this one and won't have to worry about a certain set word count. Although do need to look at publisher guidelines. Sexy or not? That is the question....

Time for me to dig up some ghosts....

Saturday Downtime

I'm three quarters way through the Thanksgiving weekend. Finished up formattig OBSESSION, but other than that, not working on writing this weekend. Been busy working hard on reviews for Romance Reviews Today.
Well...somewhat busy with that. LOL
Today I cleaned carpets and did this and that. I told Mo tonight I will probably to writing full time by January. The time off is good, considering what I've done the past six months or so.

Started OBSESSION.

Entered DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART into contests.

Went to Atlanta for the RWA conference.

Finished up OBSESSION early October.

Immediately started edits on DGBMH

Finished that end of Oct and immediately started editing OBSESSION, and then formatted it.


My next big goal is :::gulp:: doing queries, including the query letter. I've had some suggestions on where to submit.

I'll probably drive myself insane when I do...

Done!

Wow, I just realized it had been since November 11th since I posted?????????
Time flies!

Good news though. I finished the edits on OBSESSION. I changed the ending and think it works better. It also ties up a couple of things that went on during the story.

I'm happy with the changes. :)

Saturday Night Reflections

So here I sit, winding down for the night. I have a book I should be reading for review...will probably do that in a few minutes, but I thought I'd write a blog post. Where have I gone? Why aren't I posting as much?
Well...the answer can be found here.

I've become a blog mistress. I think I need a whip...
Yes, it's keeping me busy and explains why my own blog has been neglected. But I've settled down into a routine that means I spend less time on it. Which is good...means I can get back to writing. I've been editing OBSESSION the past few days. Or, rather, the second half of the manuscript. It's been going good. Finding less errors (I think) and the plot is moving along nicely. I will soon get into the dramatic black moment and then even more dark moment when my heroine is confronted by a man. That was my first foray into a suspenseful moment. I hope it works.

On a side note related to OBSESSION...the first results from the contest I entered Chapter One of it will coming in sometime in the next week or two. Will be curious to see the feedback, since it was a rather sexy chapter. :)

On closing, I wanted to share my latest find. Found this guy tonight and he just screams "hero" to me.

Sunday Saluations

Good news! Finished editing finally DGBMY! It ends at 350 pages and nearly 82,000 words. Sort of a short single title. Somebody out there has to be interested. Right?

My next project is to start back to editing OBSESSION. I lost track where I left off but I'll probably start with Chapter 9. That is halfway through. I need to get it done fairly quickly, whether I get help from my critique partnter or not. At least I would then have a workable product to send off if I get a request.

This coming Thursday I begin a four day weekend. Yeah! My mini vacation. My only plan is to get my nails done. Other than that, I'm free as a bird. :)
Oh, yeah...I do have reviews to do. The neverending reviews. LOL
But I like reviewing for Romance Reviews Today. Highly entertaining and the boss is a sweetie. But..shh..that's a secret.

Sunny Saturday

I've been sorely neglecting my blog lately. Really, I had good intentions. Just not enough time in the day to do everything. One thing I am keeping up with is the editing. Now down to the last chapter and will probably retool it a little at the end. Nah, won't change the climatic scene. That was too funny. :)
As I go through it, I'm finding less mistakes other than I needed to add dialogue. Note to newbies...thoughts are passive, talking is action.
I now have around 81,000 word...or nearly 350 pages. Not bad. It's a short single title. I also realize that I probably need to read it again to make sure I got the missed words. I have found a scattering of mistakes even though i have gone over it at least two times.
Read and read again and again to make sure the odd words or leftover words are taken out.

It's sunny here today and I'm enjoying it even if I'm indoors. I'm lucky that where my computer sits faces the sun coming in.

If I don't write a post for a few days...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!

Monday Monday

I had intended to write a blog post over the weekend, but totally forgot. I kept busy with this and that. Reviews, writing...actually editing. Oh, and finished up the contest entries I was judging. I spend so much time at the computer, I think I'm chained to it. LOL

On the bright side, I did do 20 pages of edits tonight and counted out that I have approximately 84 pages to go.

Hmm...should I make the end of October my goal to finish the edits? Eight days. Eight nights.

Stay tuned.

I also plan to get the blog up and presented to the public in the next day or two.

Just have to nag Terrie. ;-)

Whoops!

I realized it has been a few days since I posted. I've been busy. That's my excuse and it's the truth. I decided to at least post with an interesing thing. I'm busy at work editing DGBMH, but a new story keeps talking to me in my head.

Sigh.

Those voices won't go away. As I drove home today, I had a first chapter just about plotted out. Alas, I didn't write it down. I will though. But I leave with you the opening line that I have in my head:

Maybe she'd just serve her shoes to him on a silver platter.

Isn't that a bit catchy? LOL

Real Men....need hair on their chest

What do you think of this cover for REAL MEN DO IT BETTER? One of the stories features my good friend, Carrie Alexander, and she mentioned the cover today. Yeah, the guy's chest is hairless. I dunno about him. I like a little roughness under my fingers as I'm running my hand. Just something about springy hair that gets my toes curling. Unfortunately, the trend seems to be the shiny chests that makes you want to get the Windex out. Any cleaner and smoother and one could eat off the chest. I'd rather eat elsewhere.. :)

Thursday....uh...Is it?

Where did the week go? I was off Monday but back to work Tuesday, keeping busy both daytime and nighttime. Haven't really worked a lot on the editing, but my goal is to finish it by the end of October.
On one of my writing loops, there has been a discussion about writing contests. Why do we enter them? Mine from the start has been feedback. I crave feedback because I want to make sure my manuscript is the best that it can be. But the feeling I'm getting as I read some of the posts is wondering how many contests are entered? Hmm...wouldn't it be nice to know how many people I competed with? Ah...I'm just curious.
Right now I have OBSESSION out to two contests and DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART (the revised Chapter One) out to one. No matter what happens, I will read the comments and see how I can improve. I can say that positive comments, even if not the words I want to hear, are better than a "this drivel is crap." Not that someone wrote that on a manuscript... I do feel a bit of annoyance though about one contest I entered...the judge coordinator made a comment on a sticky note that she agreed with the low scoring judge about my entry. Come on! Was that meant for my eyes? It seemed to be tacked on as it was between pages. It was disheartening, to say the least.

But, regardless, until I sell, I'll probably continue to enter contests. They can be interesting.

Monday Mega Closure

Here it's Monday, my final day of my short vacation. Weather was crisp this morning as it was in the 30's, but the sun came out and was nice. Got the car washed after I had lunch. As for writing things...well...I did meet my goal of getting 100 pages edited of DGBMH and have 225 more pages to go. Will probably work on that tomorrow night.
In the meantime, today I read and completed three short story reviews for RRT. Well, actually the erotic side. Still have a few more to read and tomorrow I go back to work. I also worked on the contest entries I'm judging. Really, it isn't that hard to do. At least, I hope I'm doing it right. lol I entered a writing contest for what-the-heck reasons. It's the revised first chapter of DGBMH.

In the meantime, I picked up LOVE, LUST AND PIXIE DUST by LuAnn McLane to read. So far it's good. Love the cover!


I'm thinking about my next writing project. Really, I need to get my butt in gear and start outlining it.

Totally Fantastic News!

If you remember, back in August I got notified that I'd finaled in the SFA-RWA's Heart to Heart contest.
Well....Friday I got the results back. I placed second in the Short Contemporary category. Can you picture me jumping up and down? I also got good comments from the final judge, Wanda Otewell from Harlequin. She said...

Overall, this scene sets up a nice attraction that promises to be fun with a touch of wickednessÂ…of the best kind.

And with this news, I started making changes to DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART. It's such a tough sell, I may end up trying for the ebook market, where they can pretty much take any word count and a variety of stories. In my heart, I know I have a good story and could spend a lifetime trying to sell it, but I need to be realistic and go where it has the better chance of selling.
That way, I can concentrate on more marketable stories, like OBSESSION.

Yes!

I finished OBSESSION, my Blaze targeted story. Yes, I know there's already one by that name, but who said if I sell that'll remain the title? How many authors (unless your name is Nora Roberts) get to keep their original title?
The good news is that I came in right on target pretty much where I wanted it to. I also started this baby of mine mid-June and it took me a little longer than the other two to finish (and is shorter) but with the break I took to head to Nationals (and then some) it's not surprising. I have the synopsis done and halfway done with edits. My critique partner is knee-deep in her own edits so hasn't gotten the latest back to me.

For something fun I'd like to complete a short story. Maybe 25,000 words or so and try to sell it to a ebook publisher. I have something in mind already. I want to write something quirky and flirty. :)

It's October!

Hard to believe it's October. Of course, considering it has been in the 80's here all week, it doesn't feel like fall.
I've been working on reviews all week for Romance Reviews Today. I'm happy to say that I'm done with October reviews! Yay! Free to write and edit. Two books that I considered outstanding reads for October are I'M IN NO MOOD FOR LOVE by Rachel Gibson. My review is posted already.


The other very good read was THE PART-TIME WIFE by Maureen Child. It's part of the Secret Lives of Society Wives series, but still, if you can, pick it up and forget what happened before.



It's Sunday and I have a few things to do before I plan on digging in and starting on writing that final scene for my wip, OBSESSION. Yep, you heard that right. I did not do a single ::bleep:: writing this week.

Between working on reviews and work, I just didn't have time. I also read a book yesterday for a bit of break in between. I'll tell you about it in another post. :)

Wednesday Weedings

Here it is Wednesday and I realized that it had been a few days since I posted to my blog. Uh...can we say busy? :)

I spent the weekend writing. Went over the 60,000 word count on my Blaze targeted story. Got the climatic scene finished up. Now have the final scene where my couple talk and admit they're in love with each other. I love writing those kinds of scenes. Not just because it is The End, but because I get mushy. My first WIP ending had me tearing up.

But that was the weekend. Haven't written a single sentence since there. Been busy with reviews, but should be done by next week and I can concentrate on my ending. In the meantime :::big sigh::: I need to polish up the synopsis and submit it and chapter one to a contest. Won't take much to finish the synopsis since I wrote it up in July when I had OBSESSION only partly going.

Then it's time for revising DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART. I have a fairly good idea what I must do, but it will take some dedicated work on my part.

When is the Right Time to Submit?

I think that's always a question new writers ask themselves. When is your work of art, the pride and joy you've put so much hard work and effort into...when is it ready to be sent off to a publisher or agent to be read and determined if it's "the one" they want?

I'm sort of going through this right now. Nearly a year ago, I finished DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART. Yes, I did set it aside for a few months and then worked on polishing it, but still, I see other writers who will type "The End" and then send it off the next day to a publisher. Keep in mind, I'm referring to the unpubbed writers, not the contracted ones who are so good at what they do, that when it's done, it's ready to be sent off. Am I the only one who has to go through her work and make sure that passive is changed to active and there are no dangling modifiers? The other part of me says that my writing must be lousy and why am I trying to fool myself into thinking I'll ever be published? Especially if my rough draft is just that--rough.

But then the other part of me reminds me that I did final in two contests, something that is rarely done by rookie writers like me. Not that I can compare myself with a brilliant, about to be published rising star, but gosh....maybe do I have some talent? Perhaps enough to get me published? Or, did I just have a good scene that caught the eye of the judges? I don't know.

However, whatever happens, when I do submit my work to a publisher, it will be because it is shined and spiffed up and done to the best of my abilities whatever that may be.

The merits of local RWA chapters...

Are RWA chapters important?

I belong to three different RWA chapters, but really don't feel like I belong to any of them. It's not that I haven't tried, but like a lot of groups, there is a lot of close-knit groups who tend to shut out anyone else from entering their realm. Have they helped me? In each their own way, yes, but not largely.
I've had people tell me to go join such and such landline chapter, but it would be hard to go to meetings. I would love to have the face to face meetings, but the ideal thing I want is a small group of supporters/critiquers that help each other.

As the months go by, I'm questioning whether I should continue RWA chapter membership. Shall I keep one or drop one? I don't know. I love RWA as a whole, but I need to get something from my memberships in other groups. In fact, I've also thought about the past few days of just taking a break from writing. Writing has to be fun and the stress of the past few days makes it hard sometimes to concentrate.

Ah, these melancholic times...

Writing Progress and Distractions

After writing nothing over the weekend, I've managed to write a few pages the past couple of days. Not a lot, but moving forward is better than no pages at all. What happened with the weekend? It just got funky busy. I had my nails done and got a pedicure. But then I got into the cleaning mode and also bought a new shelf (which I had to put together) and before I knew it, it was Sunday evening. Did have a plotting chat with a friend of mine who's stuck in her manuscript after contest feedback. We had a nice chat that was dominated by discussing our craft. I would love to get a weekly writing chat going where anyone who needs to run writing stuff by can do so.

Another thing that distracted me was a book I was reading. I got swept away by SWEPT AWAY by Toni Blake. Omigod! I loved it and could not put it down. I guess I like stories where they not only once knew each other, but they end up stranded together. If you don't have this one, then please go out and pick it up.

Not So Cool to be Crass

Why do people think it’s cool to be crass? I’m talking about the yelling, get in your face and think it is smart type of person. I come across these every so often. Usually they’re annoyed about something and want to right the wrong they imagine someone has done them. Of course, they start talking out loud and soon it becomes “oh, yeah, I’m going to tell them a thing or two!”

Recently at a meeting, someone got annoyed with another person. She told her friends she was going to show him a few things and where to go. She indeed do all this. Her friends whooped it up and cheered her on. I felt sorry for the poor guy to have to put up with the embarrassment and the lady’s umm…crass behavior. She could have asked him to resolve the issue or better yet, thought of her own solution, but nooooooo….her response was to be CRASS. Get in his face and let it all hang out. I’m more of the avoid a confrontation type person and the lady’s behavior angered me. But her friends shouldn’t have cheered her on. One should have calmly told her to resolve it without rancor.

Next time you hear someone bitching about somebody and inform everyone they’re going to get back at that person, step in and remind them how childish it is to act that way. Life is about compromises and goodwill toward others.

What does this have to do with writing? Remember that what goes around, comes around. That person you just dissed could be a potential editor or agent.

Recommended Reading

Growing up, I was weaned on the gothic novels penned by the likes of Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart. This led me to reading mysteries and romantic suspense, but the true gothics eventually went away. In the past couple of years, they have began to make a comeback.

Now Harlequin Blaze has jumped on the bandwagon, and I was pleased to hear that the fantastic Leslie Kelly was signed to pen one. ASKING FOR TROUBLE is the result and once again, Ms. Kelly has a winner. She brings readers Lottie Santori from the Santori family of Chicago and introduces her to Simon Lebeaux, who has spent the past several months tortured by a death he was involved in. The chemistry between the two is hot--and the suspense will keep you on the edge of your seat.

ASKING FOR TROUBLE comes out in October and I recommend picking this one up!

Saturday Happenings

Update on writing. Now have 52,000 words. Actually have written quite a bit today. I guess having a stated goal (finish by end of September) is putting a bit of fire under me. :)

I also worked on Chapter One the other night to get it ready to enter a contest. Dropped it in the mail this morning. Contests can be scary, but since the first one literally had me shaking while I prepared it, now it's more 'get the packet together and mail it off.'
Not that I'm not nervous, but it's like driving a car--it gets easier and better.

I'm hyped on my writing now. I guess I'm getting the energy and drive back. I feel like a klutz, dimwit, or smaltz when it comes to writing, but I can also watch myself get better at it.

Maybe I will get published.

Oh, on a side note, this is Holly's birthday weekend. She's now two.

Happy Birthday Holly!!!!

Of Cats and Writers

When I mention at times that my cats prevented me from writing for a while, I sometimes get those "oh, sure" comments. I happen to have two lively animals, especially one feral born cat. Like tonight. here I am, sitting at the computer and Holly comes along and lays down next to me. Next thing I know, she's pushing the printer with her feet. Argh! Stop it Holly!

Of course, that is actually mild for some of what she does. This morning I tried to read the newspaper and Holly proceeded to tear off pieces of it. While I'm reading it! Winter is almost as bad. She'll start climbing on top of stuff and the next thing I know, she's about to knock something expensive or sentimental down to the floor.

Now, you might ask, what does this have to do with writing? Well, we have so many distractions going on sometimes, you have to figure out ways to work around it. In my case, I write either away from home or pick a time the cats are sleeping.

Hard to believe such lovable, innocent creatures can be a nuisance. :)

Monday Madness

Today was a good day of writing. Wrote 9 pages and am now 80% completed. Two things helped me to write. One was signing off the internet and the second thing was that both cats napped while I wrote. Tomorrow I go back to work and it's doubtful I'll get any writing done. I checked and I am pretty much on target.

Today I hit the "black moment" and it was so so. I need to work on that issue a bit. Thinking of creating a story which has a good, solid black moment and then workring the rest of the story into it. I love romantic suspense, but hate the technicalities of researching guns, knives, or other means to kill. :) If it's dialogue or action, or even love scenes, count me in.

First thing a writer discovers is that they are constanting learning. Never say you know everything, because you don't!

Sunday Sundown

It's Sunday and winding down. I've been working a little on my current WIP. Reached the 77% completion mark. Yeah! Now about to get to the black moment. I had to think why the heroine would be there. (No, not saying where is)


You know, I've heard a few things in the past couple of days about "just write and worry about the editing later." That is true, I suppose, but sometimes I write something and realize that what I had written two chapters earlier doesn't fit now. So.....back I go to rewrite the older scene. But keeping on writing seems to be the best way to write. Last year, I participated in RWA Online's KIA challenge. It was write till you drop marathon that lasted most of October. It was fun and got DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART mostly written. I'm seriously challenged now to join in again this year. The most pages I wrote during a week was 52, but man, if I keep that up during the whole month, I could be close to 200 pages! And I was working full time during most of it.

The closest I ever came to that was this past June when I started out on OBSESSION and as you can tell, I'm still plodding along on it. I stopped mid-July due to RWA and it took until August 4th or so to get back to it.

What was the most pages you've ever cranked out?

Catch-up Thursday

Wow, I just realized that it's been a few days since I posted. Hmm.....did manage to write a few pages this week, but it has been slow. I need to get into a rhythm of writing at night and getting better organized. Tonight I've been watching Ernesto the hurricane on television, even though it has no effect on me. Let's face it, I'm a weather slut. Besides, Jim Cantore is on TWC. Love that guy!

My self stated goal is to finish this WIP by the end of September. Actually, that's a more than reasonable goal since I'm less than 20K words away. Labor Day weekend is upcoming and except for Saturday, I'm free. My plan after I finish it (and get it critiqued by my wonderful CP ) is to immediately start on a shorter story I have in my head. I want to see if I can sell it to one of the epublishers. Definite steaminess is planned. ;-)

Currently reading DARK ROOTS AND COWBOY BOOTS by LuAnn McLane. Wow, this one is a keeper. Love the humor and real life antics of Jamie Lee and her friends.

Saturday Stutter Starts

I think the last few days, I've just been sluggish. I blame part of it of the lack of creativity. A feeling of "where do I go from here" feeling. I see the end in sight on my latest WIP, but a restlessness inside me. To tell you the truth--and don't tell her--but I think I need one of Barb's closets.

Right now I'm watching the neighbors ruin the grass of their yard. Don't they care??? See? I could be not worrying about trivial stuff like that.

I've also made a decision, but I'm not going to reveal it quite yet. :)

Btw, ask me what that percentage bar on the side of my blog means.

Today I wrote ten pages again...like I did last Friday. I actually hadn't planned to write but was going to look at the edits from my cp on chapter seven and then do my editing of chapters 8 through 10. Oh well...I think that will be my priority for the weekend.

Right now I'm in the midst of review books and sometimes I suffer from the "I need to get them done before I start on something else" feeling. As for what I wrote...well, it takes place at a wedding reception. Hero is meeting heroine's family. Ever think about the first time your dh met your family? didn't you want to die at time? :) In this case, it's the heroine who's feeling that way.

I read a good book yesterday. It is a Katherine Garbera Silhouette Deisire coming out in October. The only thing is that it's a part of a series. Although one could read it as a standalone. But, man, it was HOT. At one point, heroine is doing a belly dance and hero is um...stroking himself as he watches her. And of course, she is watching him. Woooooooooo....get out the fans!!!

Smoldering Sunday

Seems like for the past couple of weeks, I've been dragging myself to work on my current WIP. It's been a slow stage. Not that I dislike my story--I do--but it's been hard to get me motivated. I'm not really sure why.

Finally I burned pages on Friday when I cranked out 10 pages. Today I finally cranked out more. Which is a good thing, since it is near 100 degrees out and I hate to write when it's hot. Of course, it has helped that the kittys are quiet. Both have been sleeping away most of the afternoon and it's blissssss....

My current page count is at 194 pages and word count is 40,000 words. I figure I'm two thirds to the end. Not bad. Per Carrie Alexander, the fantastic Blaze Babe, that it should be around 290 pages or so. I'll go for that. :)

More news...

I got back the results from the third and final writing contest I entered. I didn't final, but I guess my numbers weren't too bad. Out of a possible 140 points, from the four judges I got 140, 129, 88, and 80. One really loved it and another really didn't care for it. I guess I can say it's all in one's opinion. Of course, there are comments, etc., that I will take a look at once I finish this current one that I'm writing.

On a good note, I wrote 2,000 words yesterday on my current wip. That is quite a bit. I will probably take out a part of that because it's inconsequential to my story. One of the hazards to being a pantser. :-) I've more or less made the decision that once I polish up DON'T GO BREAKING MY HEART, I may query a ebook publisher unless I get nibbles from HQ. Hey, it's my first completed manuscript and I console myself with the knowledge that most published authors did NOT get published on their first completed manuscript. DGBMH is going to be a hard sell to print publishers, but I think it's a good story.

There are lessons to be learned from that first one. Lessons that could provide the way to writing that first published book.

My Surreal Life

My name is up there!!!! I found the list of posted finalists:

http://www.sfarwa.com/contests/h2h_winners.asp

Now, that makes it seem more real. My life life has been almost surreal the past few weeks. Makes all the hard work worth it and my dream of being a published author appear more closer. What can I say or do?

Well, I guess it's back to working even harder, because getting publishing isn't an easy road.

More news!

I was winding down the evening and chatting in IM with Crazy Mo when my inbox announced I had mail. Looked down at the subject header and froze.

You're a finalist in the Heart to Heart Contest!!

This was the SFRWA contest I entered in early June or so. See, I had mistook the dates and thought they would announce finalists in September and besides, what are the chances that I would final in the first two contests I enter? Nah...I'll get my feedback and go on, which was my intention in the first place.

When I saw that I finaled, I shakily opened my email and learned that I was one of three finalists. They needed me to email them my entry and it would go to Wanda Ottewell at Harlequin Books for judging and final placing. All I could do was start shaking and I IM'd Mo and said Omigod! a couple of times. I finally spit it out. She told me congrats and to polish and submit it then. God, you gotta love her pointblankedness.

I couldn't sleep last night. I was sooooooooooo excited and frankly, in shock. When I began entering contests, I chose contests that would give me feedback. Placing is a nice reward and one would be awesome, but...I'm still speechless, despite the lengthiness of my post.

I guess it means I am meant to write and gives me a reason to continue. Wish me luck!

Sunday Smatterings

As a writer not yet published, one of the things I always ponder is what genre shall I write in? I don't mean contemporary or historical, I mean what line am I targeting? What is my audience? I read something yesterday that made me think. The author said to stick with your targeted publisher and write well. I think that is a handy bit of good advice. It is one thing to say I write contemporaries, but it's another to explain what it is I write. I love the Blaze line and right now that is my target. Smart city girls who know what they want. Yep, I can write that.

On another note, I saw in my RT magazine a letter about how she hated first person books and wished publishers/authors would stop. I have to disagree with her. Of course, I am prejudiced, seeing as my first completed ms was first person, but sometimes the story dictates whether it is first or third person POV. Would the Stephanie Plum series be as good if it wasn't in first person? Before you diss a POV, stop and think how a book grabs you in the writing style.

Slumberous Saturday

I've been playing with the new blog for a couple of days, but I *think* I have it figured out now. Now I can begin...As some know, I'm an aspiring author/writer. I have two completed manuscripts and working on my third. What do I write? Contemporaries. Hot. Sensual. Borders on the funny. Right now I am working on a Blaze targeted one that isn't comedic, but I'll leave you smiling. My good news is that I recently finaled in the first ever contest I entered. I came in third! I'm excited, but at the same time anxious. I don't want to burn out due to high expectations. I suspect there are others out there who feel the same as I do. By the way, it IS good to see my name up on the list of finalists. http://www.cofw.org/contest.html

Welcome to my new Blog

I decided to update myself in blogging and here I go. This is a new experience for me. I plan to post on my life as an aspiring writer.