Good Times

Jim took last night off. We got chinese from our favorite restaurant (its an hour round trip ride, but so worth it), rented King Kong and had a very pleasant evening. Good movie!! Roller coaster ride! I adore Peter Jackson. He's just incredible. I can't wait to see what he comes up with next.

It was a good night. Even though I'd planned to get lots and lots of editing done AND clean the living room and dining room AND hang up clothes in my DD's room AND get them outside to ride their bikes. Watching King Kong and eating Pu Pu platter and

And today is absolutely glorious. Well, the weather is anyway. From what I can see from the window in my cube. But I'm outa here in 1.5 hours. Then its more shopping for me. Birthday presents, books, groceries, buffalo chicken wings.

Life is good.

Bummer...

I was at the EHarlequin site checking out writing guidelines for all their different series and I don't think Where One Road Leads will fit into any of them as it is right now. Lesseee, I can add another 30k to it (piece o'cake) or lots of hot and heavy nookie, but do I really want to? Or I could just sub it to on of the e publishers.

And don't it figure.... I thought I was going to be eyeball deep in data entry today so I left my memory stick with all my editing at home and now I have 3.5 hours of not much to do. Such a waste of time!

I guess I'll find something to do.

If my head wasn't attached..

I don't know where my brain is. Two different people contacted me about documents that I sent to them that I didn't sign. Can we say duh????

But I heard back from WCP so things are starting to move.

Have to get into the editing groove. I had a busy day, but no writing. Today.... yes, today will be an editing day.

surrreeeee.....

I've Created A Monster

But I guess its not a bad thing.

My DH started helping me make some graphics for my website and for most of the day I couldn't get him off my laptop, he was busy trying to tweak the html code and figure out just why we couldn't have free html rein on my verizon page.

But the page looks really good, have some nice new graphics on it, so how can I complain?

It's Monday. Just the thought of a long week at work makes my head hurt.

Editing...

I love lobster. Its my absolute favorite food in the world, but if I had to eat it every day for a month I'd be soooooo sick of it.

Thats how I feel about editing a story I love.

I really really like my story, Sweet Forever, but if I never have to look at it again I'll be the happiest writer alive. But unfortunately it needs another go round of editing before I can resub it to Samhain. So, here I sit, in a quiet office, in between phone calls, my elbows on the desk, chin resting on the palm of my hand, staring at the manuscript. My eyes grow heavy with sleep. Just going to close them for a second. Then I get that falling sensation that wakes me up.

Anyway, I really want to move on and get another wip finished, but thats not how it works. Nope, got to get a cup of coffee to keep me awake. Maybe duct tape my eyelids open and get on with the editing. The sooner I finish it the sooner I can get on to other things. And the sooner I can send it back to Samhain so they can get another look at it with the changes.

Waiting...

It sucks.

I emailed back the signed contract to WCP nearly 2 weeks ago and I haven't heard back. Maybe it was a cruel trick of my imagination and I never got a contract. nah, I did. I'll just have to be patient again and use this time to work on the other wips I have going.

But I'm slipping back into that Charlie Brown mode.

Dear Frankie

Ever see one of those movies that just make you feel good inside? Dear Frankie is one of those movies. Okay, so maybe I wouldn't have watched it if Gerard Butler wasn't in it, but even if he wasn't in it it would still be one of my favorites. After commenting on the romance in it, someone pointed out to me, quite adamantly, that it has nothing to do with romance. Period. Well, I just had to watch it again, and while I agree the main storyline has nothing to do with romance between the mom, Lizzie and the Stranger (we never learn his name), and its more about Lizzie's son, Frankie, there is definitely romance budding between the two. I write romance, I know romance and I tell ya, if I could capture the scene where they say goodbye in words I'd have no problem selling my stories.

So, if anyone is looking forward to a good, sweet movie (sorry, no violence, a bit of bad language, but not much and no nudity) I highly recommend this movie.

over..... for now

Just finished my last parent teacher conference.... for now. But come April I'll have not only 1, but 2 IEP (individual education plans) meetings for both daughters. Those are long, drawn out meetings that cover all the goodies that the kids should be doing and will be doing over the next year. Both girls are going into different schools, so it'll be extra fun.

And then my kids coerced me into taking them to the library. The heathens. Oh well, how can I say no to their desire to read. Of course once they got there, got their new library cards all they wanted to do was play with the toys.

Now its nearly 6pm, the house is fairly quiet, I have a strong desire to watch a good movie though I really have oodles of edits to do.

But then again, Gerard Butler is such good inspiration!

Let The Editing Begin

Well, I've finished Where One Road Leads. I have about 7 chapters of crit notes ready so I can't put it away quite yet. And of course Sweet Forever needs my attention, and soon Finally Home will need work to whip it into shape before it gets published (happy dance).

I'm so tempted to pick up on one of my unfinished wips, but I..... must...... resist..... Unless of course I can't do any editing and I have nothing better to do with my time. :)

Its going to be "one of those weeks". Meetings galore. I hate this time of the year. Meeting with Justin's teacher is pretty cut and dry, shouldn't last long, but the meetings with Paige's team is more of a roll up my sleeves and get my hands dirty kind of thing. Megan's is similar but not as bad. And sometime I have to get Paige in for her bloodwork, and the kids want to go to the bookfair at school... and I have to hand out the rest of the Girl Scout cookies and get the money turned in. Oy... I should've stuck to birds. My house would be cleaner, I'd have more time for writing and I'd be richer. Yes, I'm kidding. I wouldn't trade them in for anything.

Okay, time to get the above mentioned kids ready for school.

Winter Part 2

It's back to being cold here in NH. Had some nice flurries and squalls yesterday so there's a dusting back on the ground and its back to winter jackets hats and gloves. Why can't the weather just make up its mind?? After all, spring is next week and my daffodils or crocususes are poking through the ground.

The kids and I had a nice dinner with the folks last night where they toasted my book with champagne. My father is expecting me to be the next Danielle Steele. Well, maybe thats reaching a little high, but never say never. I haven't got any word back from WCP yet, but maybe they're getting everything prepared, setting me up with an editor to work with etc. I'm so excited!

I'm so close to the end of Where One Road Leads (yeah, I've officially renamed it). I hate having to stop the creative process for mundane things like going to work or feeding the kids. Today is going to be huge laundry day so I doubt I'll get much done until late.

Well, there are dishes to do (talk about mundane) and kids to get ready for school. So its time to power down the ol' laptop.

Ugh

The whole family has gone through the stomach flu. Not fun at all. I think that its gone now, at least the worst of it.

Work is still hellish, its like the Christmas rush all over again without the extra help. I hope it dies down soon, after all, its cutting into my writing time! *outrage* I've been working hard on Road to Grace aka Where One Road Leads... or something like that. I'm soooooo close to the end of it, but tonite is dinner with the parents. My mom has a bottle of champagne to celebrate my contract. Hehehehe. Now I'm all verklempt.

Time to get ready for work. At least I think the sicky thing has passed so I can deal with the long day at work. I hope.

I signed it

Well, I signed the contract with Whiskey Creek Press and emailed it off. I'm so excited and really nervous.

What stuns me is that I've just accomplished one of the biggest, most important goals in my life (besides marrying Tim Daly ha ha). Okay, so I'm not going to be rolling the dough, but I think I came to the conclusion that this probably wouldn't be a full time thing for me, at least not right off. But its the fact that I'm going to have a book published that completely knocks me on my butt.

Another thing that has me stunned and pleased is that as much as I love Tori and Alex from this story (after all they've been hangin around in my head since I was 16) I think I love Ben and Hayden, Matt and Krista, and even Isobel and Eli and Iona and Mac even more. That really is encouraging! I just have to get them finished.

Okay, that being said, I'm off to keep hacking away at Road to Grace, aka Where the Road Leads... Or Where One Road Begins... or something like that.

My Mailbox Runneth Over

Let it be known that today, March 10th, 2006, I have been offered a contract!!!!!! On the story I started when I was 16 years old and finished over 20 years later.

I am so psyched!!!!!

Whiskey Creek wants to publish Finally Home and I am just stunned beyond belief.

But I have to stuff it away and get my son ready for his school thang tonite.

An Empty Mailbox

Did someone say no news is good news? Well in my case no news is going to drive me to the looney bin. I was supposed to hear back from an editor about one of my manuscripts on Monday. Its now Wednesday and I'm feeling like the Maytag repairman. I'm trying to stay positive... like maybe she's enjoying the story so much that she keeps rereading it. But possibly she's just trying to think of a way to let me down gently. Or she could be laughing so hard that she can't possibly type a rejection.

No, won't think that way. I'll wait it out another day, when I get home I'll dig out another wip to work on and be content.

But at the moment I'm feeling very much like Charlie Brown waiting for a Valentine Day card from the little red haired girl.

Two Steps Forward

Its a chilly March morning. Winter may have been late in arriving this year, but it sure is here now. Not in the form of snow, just really cold weather. Oh well. Can't complain.. too much. I'm still waiting for that really big storm. The few storms we've had this year have been duds. Nothing over 9". I'm waiting for a 2 foot snow storm.

Well, Sweet Forever is being given the once over by a friend before being sent back to Samhain. I really like the changes I've made in it and I'm hoping and praying that the editor will feel the same.

Step Two... I finally heard back from the Whiskey Creek editor. She promised me an answer on Finally Home by this Monday. My jangling nerves are kicking in. But if she doesn't like it there are plenty other publishers who I can send it off to.

Time to get ready for work. Thrills. But it should be a quiet day (fingers crossed) and the boss will be on vacation until March 14th, so thats gotta be good.