Anna Adams--Writing about Writing

Time to Move

2009-08-05T15:37:00.001-07:00

I thought I'd slowly phase this blog out as I built the new website, but why not share the construction dust? :-)

Join me at http://www.annaadams.net.

See you there!

November Cover

2009-08-04T13:30:00.000-07:00

I have a new cover, and it's gorgeous! The next book in my Welcome to Honesty series is called A Conflict of Interest. I'm more excited than ever to look at fall coming! :-)

Also in the middle of redoing my website. It's in the middle of transferring, and when it completes, I'll probably move the blog over to the new website. For now, I'm still having horrible Internet access problems. Some day, high speed will come to our neighborhood!

Try me at Twitter. If I can't load Blogger, I can sometimes load Twitter.

Totally forgot...

2009-07-08T07:09:00.001-07:00

to blog yesterday. I'm so unaccustomed to being able to! :-)

Busy days. Husband w/arm in sling getting better.
Hair getting cut.
Proposals getting polished.
Clothes getting tried on.
Clothes getting packed.
Mirror getting sworn at. (Why won't it lie?)
Lots of stuff left to do!

Nightmares and Packing

2009-07-06T02:16:00.000-07:00

Maybe they're the same thing. :-)

Tis the season for nightmares for me. I have pretty steady insomnia anyway, but when summer comes, so come the bad dreams. I don't know why, but waking with them gives me plenty of time to think and to plan--about packing.

I'm joining the annual trek to RWA's national conference. These days, it's weird to travel without the family, and I still have to decide on clothing, make sure I've jotted down all my appointments, and remind myself not to say or do too many silly things at once. Pace yourself, is my motto.

I'm way behind on things like business cards, hair-taming, nails, an outfit for each day. And oh yeah--getting used to wearing shoes.

I'm not doing the literacy signing this year, but if you're in the D.C. area at about 7 on Wednesday the 15th, check out the Wardman Marriott for all your favorite romance authors. Like all other wise readers, I'll be seeking out books by my favorite writers--and catching up with friends I haven't seen in a while. And some friends I've never actually met in person. Isn't the Internet amazing?

Almost the 4th of July

2009-07-03T11:19:00.000-07:00

Seems like a good day to blog. We seem to have access again, though I wish the storms would come back. :-)

Happy 4th to all, especially to those who are celebrating while their loved ones are on boats or in planes or in barracks in another part of the world. I pray that soon you'll all be together again.

Big times around here. Beloved tore a tendon in his bicep so he's all splinted, recovering from surgery. Girlo has a job. Music to any graduate's ear. Son has working email. Music to his mom's eyes! :-)

I'm revising proposals and working on new stuff. Writing, writing, writing. Gotta make up time after post-surgery care for beloved.

I keep telling myself to break away and swim. Good grief, I was about to whine about not dragging myself out there because of the heat, but we're about ten degrees cooler than usual for this time of day! I'd better go haul any adventurous snakes out of the pool and take their place!

Wishing everyone a wonderful holiday! And, no, girlo, you may not have the hamburgers with swiss cheese and mushrooms a day early. Tonight is fish and pasta!

Falling Behind--Satellite Anyone?

2009-06-03T11:41:00.000-07:00

We've been having the usual satellite issues. I can't even bring up blogger at home. However, for a quick chat, come visit at Twitter.

I'm also taking Candace Havens' Fast Draft class. I'm writing like crazy on a brand new proposal even though I have two proposals to finish, but I wanted this challenge, and it's refreshing to just go with the flow instead of over-analyzing myself half to death. If you're a writer, you should try this. Especially if you've had any confidence issues. You have to produce so quickly you have no time to worry about confidence.

Normally, I wonder if I could possibly be writing well if I'm writing this fast, but this class is chasing the critical voice right out of my head! I need to post a mental "No Vacancy" sign to fool the critic into thinking it's full in there!

It's Thursday!

2009-05-21T05:44:00.000-07:00

And I have a few writing moments today. Shhhhh--don't tell anyone. Actually, I have a critique I need to do first with some work time, but I might do an hour of each.

Then I need to buy soil conditioner, some more plants for the flowerbed, a dimmer switch for the dining room--and something or a set of somethings with which to produce dinner. Then I have to set out six beautiful tomato plants our extremely kind neighbor gave us. (I'm guessing he's noticed what bad gardeners we are?)

Throw in a toilet cleaning and you've got the glam life of a writer! :-) I'd love to be a little glam. I'll bet you have to wear shoes to be glam. (So, clearly not for me!)

Stuff on Wednesday

2009-05-20T03:33:00.000-07:00

Time for a "randomness" post.

The shoe trend: how I love shoes, and I'm feeling absolutely deprived because I will literally never be able to wear four-inch heels. But if you had to describe me by my feet, I'd come out looking like Fred Flintstone. I had to wear shoes to my daughter's graduation. Just shoes--nothing fancy. I still haven't recovered. Must practice before National this summer.

Next: I've mentioned my weakness for Another World, a "classic" soap? Suddenly, all those actors are doing commercials. All right, it's Cass, Frankie, and one of the Jamie's looking mighty delicious! :-)

When did morning news "presenters" become celebrities? In their own minds, I mean?

Why am I suddenly willing to be sarcastic on my blog? Need to stop that. Not nice.

No-need-to-talk Tuesday

2009-05-19T04:56:00.000-07:00

You know when you're out of sorts and you can't find something pleasant to say, it might be time to do as Grandma suggested: If you have nothing nice to say, say nothing at all. I kind of thought that was going to be my plan.

But I can talk about the weather. It's nice and cool. Unexpectedly, unbelievably cool. Only 45 degrees, and the house is even a little chilly. We'd already reached the stage of tropical despair some folks celebrate as summer. I really need to move to the tundra because last night as I walked, even the sun seemed slanted in that end-of-summer light. I had to caution myself to remember fall was not arriving. But I was a little excited anyway! :-)

Bittersweet Monday

2009-05-18T06:26:00.000-07:00

Wow. Almost a month has passed since I last blogged. What a month it's been.

Our daughter graduated from college with a B.S. in Nursing. That doesn't tell you everything. She's escaped the roommates from hell. She won another clinical award for her compassion and nurturing care of patients and their families. She finished a mountain of tests and papers, and shared a research project award. She walked on Saturday, with a big grin on her lovely face, despite enduring the heinous roommates, the exhausting work, the fact that she was torn between visiting family and the fun of the last week of undergraduate college, and the need to finish moving out of the dorm.

I'm so proud of her I could bust, and yet, I'm also a little sad. She's moving on now, and it's what she's supposed to do. She's independent and intelligent and she's eager to make her own way.

I'm a little sad because she won't always be down the hall in her room, and she won't always ask me if I want to go read in the comfy chairs at B&N, and simply--she won't live under our roof any more.

Our roof is going to feel pretty empty.

Tuesday--Doin' my homework!

2009-04-21T04:32:00.000-07:00

When I was a girl, my aunts and cousin could all knit, but I could only crochet. Knitting looked so confusing that I never ventured to do it. I love crocheting, and I made up patterns to make clothes for my Barbie (when she wasn't shooting the rapids--storm-swollen streams in our share of the Tennessee woods)with GI Joe. I also made up a pattern for a cool (read dramatic) sweater with a pointy hood and bell sleeves. Very monk-like, perfect for the teenage girl I was at the time! :-)

I still love crocheting, but I'm not afraid of knitting now. A few weeks ago, I was wandering the square in town with a friend, and we stumbled across a new shop devoted to all things knitting. They had a note in the front window advertising classes so I darted inside before I could change my mind and decide I didn't have time to finally learn to knit.

Might have been a mistake. After two Monday nights of making new friends and laughing through a two-hour class and dreaming of all the lovely new things I can make out of beautiful yarns (fiber, the truly adept seem to call it), I only have time to knit!

Toto?

2009-04-16T04:43:00.000-07:00

Finally, the rowboats and puppies have stopped flying past our windows. Which means the satellite's working again. Yay!

Critiquing for my buddy today. I feel so lucky that I get to read her books before they go out into the world. Karen Whiddon's a great writer, and I'm delighting in the latest Pack story. Karen's comments always improve my work--and I think reading for her also improves me because I hope I write as well as she does. So many people in this business say we're in the field of storytelling, and I'm afraid I often wonder, what does that mean? But, as I'm admiring the new twists Karen's taking, I find myself thinking, she's a storyteller.

The cool thing about paranormal is the excellent freedom to create your own world. My stories are more family and realism-oriented so when I read a paranormal, I get the joy of wondering--how did she come up with that? And the more casual an author's tone is, the better I like it. It was what I loved best about Harry Potter. I was reading from Harry's point of view--learning about the magical world, but my favorite moments were Harry's excitement at facets of magical life that the other characters took for granted. And then--Arthur Weasley's fascination with all things muggle.

I guess a different life is always seductive.

Do you write in...

2009-04-10T05:22:00.000-07:00

Silence?

To music?

To some other form of background noise?

At first I had to have silence--or at least only the background noise of my family playing and chatting and sometimes arguing--often laughing. Then, I moved on to music. I wrote to movie soundtracks. Anything by James Horner. That man stirs my soul. Seriously. A writer should be embarrassed to write such possibly trite words, but those words are absolutely true. I put on the soundtrack to Glory whenever I want to believe I can be better than I am.

I also loved the Out of Africa and Green Card soundtracks. In fact, I just added the Green Card tracks to my writing playlist. (Back to that in a moment.)

From soundtracks, I moved on to the news channels on TV. I needed voices, but I am a multitasker. If I hear conversation I haven't heard before I have to pay attention while I write. So, I went for movies I've seen a billion times. The comfort of both voices and the familiar.

Inevitably, that kind of wore out, too. :-) Lately, I'm running on a mixture of all my favorite sounds. Depending upon mood, I put in a well-watched DVD or I turn on a rerun on the History Channel (who can live without the History Channel?) Or I glom on to the iPod.

I noticed my iTunes writing playlist is growing lately. I went through a Phil Collins period. His voice just really works for me, and I love the 80s music of my youth! :-)

Anyway, I don't seem to be looking for a mood or a tone these days. The playlist includes Billie Holiday, Simon and Garfunkle, Kanye West, Ne-Yo, the Eagles, Don Henley (by himself), Sting, the Police, Duffy, Rascal Flatts, Keith Urban, Toto, John Mayer--and I recently had to move Chris Brown off. Marvin Gaye is always on there, as are Louis Prima and ohhhhh, Nat King Cole! But I've added the most beautiful piece of music, ever. Meditation on Thais by Massenet. I can't listen to it very often, because I cannot pay attention to anything else when I'm hearing it.

Isn't it amazing how some pieces of music feel as if they were written just to make you feel?

For fun and a good book...

2009-04-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

stuffed with six paranormal shorts, visit Karen Whiddon's blog, and enter the Midnight Cravings contest.

These are great stories under a gorgeous cover!

Tuesday

2009-04-07T04:24:00.000-07:00

Meeting friends for lunch today. Writing friends, so we'll catch up on everyone's work and goals. We also like to share any new writing "learnings," (as we used to say in my more corporate job).

In this case it works. I've definitely learned that thing about getting to the point. I was trying to figure out how many words I cut from my revision. Part of the cutting was due to a plot thread that didn't work. (Note to Self: If you can cut without any other editing, it never worked, because a thread is also a braid, and I didn't have to unbraid much on this thread.)

Part of the cutting was just--does anyone ever need to see some configuration of these words again? Repetition and I were close friends, pre-revision.

And part was just--what the heck?

So, I cut about 20,000 words in all. And the good news is, it didn't come up short. It's about the same length as before, because that tricky plot point that I talked over with my editor gave me meat for the conflict, and the story grew when the conflict was right. I had a hard time writing this book first time around. It was the start of my crisis of confidence, but when the conflict was right, the story just felt right. It's that "feel" that I haven't been able to get for the past year or so.

But that's a learning I can't pass on to my friends because first, I don't want to see them in the same spot I've been, worrying over every word, every turn of plot, every piece of characterization. Second, it's almost like wishing my bad Karma on someone else to bring it up. And last, if I could intimate what that feeling is, I probably wound have found my way back to it before now.

I will say, though I've been groping in the dark on these proposals I'm polishing, they feel pretty right, too. So, despite the crisis and no confidence, I kept writing and the stories are there.

Oh--a learning--don't give up! Sounds trite, but even when you're fighting yourself, don't stop. This year, for the first time in my life, I looked giving up on writing in the eye. It wasn't working--I was plying word after word that didn't work--and I had to keep starting over because I just couldn't wrestle even these proposals into a workable story. There are 24 files in one proposal folder, and 23 in the other. That means I've tried that many times to get a chapter and a synopsis on each idea.

So, this is what I've learned. Don't give up.

That works in any job. But isn't it easier advised than done?

Things You Learn in Class

2009-04-06T03:49:00.000-07:00

Like getting to the point.

I'm giving the neverending proposals a final polish, but at the same time, I'm distilling them through the excellent information I'm garnering from the Discovering Story Magic class. There are grids to fill out that help when you're putting the story together. (I love filling out grids. I get why writers are attracted to new pens, fresh paper, stationery in general, but why do we all love a nice, unmarked form?)

Anyway, there I was rambling away in my attempt to fill out this grid. (There it is, over on the right!) I went back to the lecture post to see what came next, and the instructor offered her grid info. One line. One line? This is why I'm forced to cull. I never feel I've covered a subject until I've anviled the reader over the head.

Fortunately, it's a flaw I know well, so I'm trying to rein it in. My previous editor would just write "clarity" in the margin and I knew that meant to stop whirling all around the point and get to it. Which is, frankly, easier said than done!

But, it's Monday in a whole new week, and I'm almost finished with polishing the first proposal. I hope the next one is as much fun to work with as this one has turned out to be.

And I hope your work is as joyful as mine feels right now.

Stormy!

2009-04-02T02:43:00.000-07:00

Storms in the area today so I'd better post early. Actually, I'm writing this by lightning, and I woke because of thunder (and a nervous Kitty who felt his fear of storms might be relieved by the application of kibble). So, I'd better post fast!

Post-deadline, I'm catching up on life. I've cleaned the house--a bit. It needs more.

My friend called to ask if I was celebrating on Tuesday because she knew I was sending the book; I celebrated big time. Stopped at the grocery store because we literally had nothing to eat in the house.

Yesterday, I had to buy a dress for a dinner with the beloved. I hate to shop, but Belk is having an amazing sale. I enjoyed shopping--an out-of-body experience, which I'm still not sure was my own!

I've tidied the book files, updated backups, started a Dear Reader letter and a dedication.

Today, I have to pick up this month's Kitty meds. Not necessarily a moment in the writing life, but I need to keep reminding myself! Still suffering deadline dementia-induced thought-scatter. And who hasn't suffered from that? :-) No matter what the job, we all have deadlines that sap the brain strength!

I'm also culling email. What a mess. Writers live so much in their own worlds that many of us belong to email loops, which can be like stopping to chat with our work-buddies in the surrounding cubicles. At deadline times, all that email stacks up. Plus, I have an email address that I don't really use any more due to our Internet access troubles/options. When I'm expecting something that doesn't show up, eventually I realize it's time to visit that address. And--even though I don't use it, there were 254 emails to sort (that included the info I missed).

Finally, I like to catch up on education as I'm finishing deadlines/starting new projects. I mentioned Discovering Story Magic. That class starts today, and I'm also reading Blake Snyder's Save the Cat. I'm loving STC. Can't wait for the first Story Magic lecture. (Oh, no. That'll come by email.)

Yikes--big thunder--better post.

Hello, Internet? Bye-bye, Deadline!

2009-04-01T05:40:00.000-07:00

With rain, we lose access, but that's okay. We need rain.

However, I had a post all posted when the satellite ducked and covered. (Or whatever process it follows when it doesn't work.)

Anyway, enough bellyaching re: technology vs. nature. I finished my revision and met my deadline. Yay!

Now it's time to set some goals and meet them. I must finish the proposals I've been tweaking for months. Literally. Months. What working writer does that? Those babies are going out of here. I'll allow one week to polish each, but that's it. Which does not mean they're going out unready to be seen by my editor's eye. It means I'm going to make them eye-ready. (Have you noticed how meeting a deadline makes a struggling-for-a-year writer arrogant?)

Then, while I wait for line edits on A Conflict of Interest and answers on the proposals, I'm starting two new projects, both in areas I haven't attempted before. I'm excited. I used to have this skill for multitasking which I took for granted. I have a feeling I'll have to coax it back into being with a timer and a friend to crack the whip, but maybe I can be my own friend. I met my deadline!

Monday and Tuesday

2009-03-30T02:58:00.000-07:00

These are the last days of my revision, and I'm heads down, hunkered over the pages. Probably won't be back until Wednesday.

Every time I have to shut up and submit, I reach this moment of how-do-I-know-if-it's-right? The pieces seem to fit and I have a sense of peace with them--unless I begin to over-think. I have one last element to shape and reshape before I can send the revision, but the ending seems to fit the rest of the story as if it has grown organically to be this way. (Thanks to my editor, who was willing to chat with me as I brainstormed at her on this very important plot point.)

So--enough chitchat here--gotta embrace the homestretch! :-)

Normal Service Suspended

2009-03-27T02:50:00.000-07:00

That should be tattooed on my forehead. I can't think about what we need in the fridge. I can't remember if we have potting soil in the garage. I can't remember to buy laundry detergent when I run into the store to buy grapes because that ice cream sandwich fixation needed to stop....

I can remember that Jake's conversation with Tom needs to bring him insight about Maria's method of treating... You get the picture. Right now that conversation is hanging out there, sort of alluding to what the story needs, but not bringing home the plot bacon.

Mmmmmm. I love bacon.

The thing I like about this story is that the hero and heroine are together a lot, and their reasons for being together are as honest as their reasons for being apart. Writing a romance is writing the dance of internal conflict. Why they should... why they shouldn't... why wanting is enough... why it can't ever be enough.

Oh, an example--today, Still of the Night is going to be on TMC. (It's frustratingly unavailable on DVD.) Roy Scheider and Meryl Streep. A thriller with an undercurrent of romance. When they meet, the attraction is instant and intense. But there's a murder and suspicion, and they still keep coming together. Even as he wants to prove she's not guilty, he's stacking up evidence against her. Even as she turns to him, she sees he's turning her into a murderess, and is she trying to kill him? All of that is just an external echo of their real conflict--how to trust each other enough to let love happen.

The sense of need between these characters. Need, walled-up behind emotional barriers. Did I mention a movie-holic can't get it on DVD?

Big Day for Romance

2009-03-26T01:37:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a huge day for writers who belong to the Romance Writers of America (RWA). Visit the website to see a list of nominees for the Golden Heart (unpublished) and Rita (published) awards. Even if you don't know some of the writers, you'll find an amazing reading list!

Deepest congratulations to all the nominees! I hope all the Golden Heart nominees sell those well-written mss. And I wish all the Rita noms could win. You all need golden ladies!

Gotta be brief today. That deadline is screaming down the tunnel like a train!

More Random Ramblings

2009-03-25T03:57:00.000-07:00

Why do we make sure there's more light at night when children have to go to school at deep-dark-o'thirty in the a.m.? I don't really care if the guy down the street has the opportunity to mow his lawn (or in our neighborhood, whip up a dust storm) at seven at night, but I'm uncomfortable thinking of children standing in the dark, waiting for a bus.

Why isn't Willie Geist (wish I could open another window with my Internet access to make sure of the spelling) hosting Morning Joe full-time? He's the best part of that program.

When you're on deadline, why doesn't the house clean itself and produce healthy meals? (Subsisting on ice cream sandwiches here.)

Why do I sound so cranky? (Hope it's not to do with those ice cream sandwiches!)

Work, Work, Work

2009-03-24T03:49:00.000-07:00

I fell asleep over the laptop last night. That's a strange feeling. I'm just glad I didn't add all the crazy letters that can happen on such unfortunate occasions. All the crazy letters that are there--I meant to add! (Grammar is suffering. Sad.)

However, I'm looking forward to some other work. In April I'm taking a class from RWA's Kiss of Death Chapter. They offer a couple of workshops every month, one on craft and one more focused on writing mystery and suspense. The workshops are seriously affordable. I'm doing Discovering Story Magic, and excited about it. I've heard only great things from others who've taken it--and I'm planning to discover as much magic as I possibly can!

Happy Tuesday! Back to them revisions!

The Lost Weekend

2009-03-23T04:20:00.000-07:00

Not the movie. I'm talking work again. Though I did get some done this weekend, we just had other stuff going on around here. I always tell my girl that she has to focus on the important stuff, not let distressing things get the better of her. Well, I should have managed to take my own advice. My problem was sheer distraction.

Must keep eye firmly on the ball this week. The girl has some study today so she and I are eventually heading to the coffee shop where the noise level is perfect background.

Normally, after struggling, I whine to myself about oh, my problems. Well, the truth is, I don't have any. After seeing the girl come home from precepting, with the weekend on her face, I don't know what she's encountered in her hospital hours, but I realize I just need to buckle down in my rather rosy life and be grateful that whatever has happened to people she's been helping to treat, is not happening around our safe and cozy abode.

So, I'm hunkering down, and I am going to be grateful, rather than whinging. How lucky am I to have a job I love and to live with people who love me as much as I love them? We're all safe and perky, and distraction is nothing compared to actual troubles.

Wishing you a contented Monday.

Friday--Revising my own blah, blah, blah

2009-03-20T03:40:00.000-07:00

I was having such a good time with this revision. Then I came to my own wordiness. Culling the "what the ?*&% was I thinking" moments is never the best part of revising. Sometimes it's a moment I wanted so badly to get perfect that I wrote all around it instead. You know--that horrible crisis of confidence thing where you know you can't get it out the way it sounds and feels in your head? Uh-huh. I've been working since about six this morning and I've cut about two pages of that.

Forty-seven minutes after starting this expedition through numbing blah, blah, blah, I'm wondering what the ?*&% was I thinking? And also, I'm so grateful we get to revise.

No one will ever see that stuff. What a relief! Don't you wish you could revise certain moments in real life, too?

Flyby

2009-03-19T06:16:00.000-07:00

Revising. I'm trying to make every word count, trying to choose the details that emphasize emotion. It's difficult to choose the words that find the fine balance between wrenching and mawkish. Sometimes, I'm not sure which side of the line I'm falling on, but I've decided that maybe my editor will know when she's doing the line edit. :-) I want to make the ms. as perfect as possible so that mistakes are less prevalent in the line edit--when someone else types changes into the pages. But truthfully, that's another stage of shaping the story. So, instead of doubting myself, I'm leaving in moments I might have edited out before because this book is about letting the reader share in the hero and heroine's delight.

(I heard Richard Harris saying "Delight" in Camelot in my head as I wrote that. He understood emphasis!)

Gotta go!

Wednesday--Almost Spring

2009-03-18T05:01:00.000-07:00

How the days and the months fly past. We're in serious spring mode around here. Allergy migraines and crocuses. The pool cover falling to tatters.

But this year, we've had rain. We can plant stuff. When I was younger, spring popped into our neighborhood with my aunt's purple and yellow and orange crocuses. I could plant some of those--although I think they're bulbs and they're supposed to be planted in the fall. Wonder why gardens fare badly under my thumb o'death?

We have another problem in our flowerbeds. The kids in our neighborhood apparently consider them second base in the kickball games they've been playing since the weather began to warm. We've had neighbor issues before. One neighbor posted our land so that apparently only he can hunt on it. Kids breaking into the pool, making ATV paths through our woods, starting a bonfire in our yard during a burn ban and the worst drought in our state's history. The smallest lot in the neighborhood is two acres. It's not as if we actually do have the only grass available for burning or churning into dust.

We had a new survey done and put locks on the pool gates and had serious words with the parents, but I still kind of dread the summer building plan. And I'd love it if the teens stopped running out of the cul-de-sac into our flowerbeds.

It's tempting fate, but I'm going to plant as soon as I finish this revision. I may have to sit out there like my own garden gnome and protect the beds, but oh, for some color! For lovely flowers painting the summer outside my office windows. And I love planting some edibles amongst the pretty stuff. Nothing on earth is as tasty as a tomato fresh out of the sun, nestling in lettuce just cut from the bed.

And, should they all be ground beneath teenage boy's feet, I guess I could learn how to pick up the pieces and make pot pourri!

Tuesday at the Blog

2009-03-17T06:21:00.000-07:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day! I come from a place where it's a big old celebration, but I tend to forget it's happening now until suddenly everything's green, and shamrock-laden. We have two pubs on the square, but one of them is just a bit out of commission right now because an 86-year-old woman drove through the windows. I won't be mocking, though, cause one day that could be me. And the dh and the children already drive that badly. It's a bad driving gene. I stopped letting my beloved mother-in-law drive with our baby son in the car when her performance terrified me--and I blamed it on her age. Many years later, I realize she was only 59. It was the Adams driving gene, hard at work!

After several days of rain, the sun has returned, meaning a good walk could be had. A couple of weeks ago, I strained my back, and I actually loathe feeling bad so I think I pushed myself to feel better too soon. My back is now busy wreaking vengeance. I intend to treat it with more respect for a week or so. I'm already dreading my return to walking. No stamina left. No willpower to grind out those exciting miles. :-)

Because I'm still buried in the end of revision--knitting everything back together--I'm a bit distracted, so I fear my posts are going to be somewhat scattershot in content for the next little while.

St. Patrick's Day, bad driving, rain, sun, walking, hate to walk.

I guess you get the picture.

Anticipation

2009-03-13T04:16:00.000-07:00

One of my offspring has a birthday soon, and we've found the perfect gift. I cannot wait. The hardest thing about giving a gift is waiting!

What are you doing this Friday? I'm longing for a visit home to see my aunts and uncle and cousins. And the old homeplace. :-)

However, my revisions have been fighting back. We're in a grip now where they're pulling and I'm tugging, and the balance is fragile. One of us gains a little strength, and the whole works could collapse. So I guess I'd better hang on here and get this stuff done.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Friday, especially my baby who never reads this blog, but is taking a vital exam today. She'll be brilliant, but I'm still gnawing the nails on her behalf.

Oh--in case any of you look forward to Suzanne McMinn's blog every day the way I do, visit Chickens in the Road to see info on her newest release. I'd do a link, but our Internet access is so slow today that I can't bring up two pages at a time to get the address. There's a link to the blog in my favorite blog list, and you can page back to see her gorgeous new cover with a link to buy. If you pause to read today's post on her goat, Clover's return to the farm, you'll have a happy weep, too.

Which starts anyone off with a great Friday! :-)

Random Ramblings

2009-03-12T08:01:00.000-07:00

Only someone rather full of herself would publish her ramblings.

Our Internet access is so bad, the blog page took three minutes to load. I gave up three times before I let it go.

Happiness=Soft Scrub Scrubby pads. My sinks have rarely been so shiny and pretty. (How do you spell procrastinate?)

A woman on television just said she asked the Ghost Hunters in to prove her beau was not possessed. I don't mean to mock, but that seems like a question that wouldn't come up too often in a relationship. That said, I wonder if the beloved...

The Kitty and I are in love with a new concealer. I love it because it's actually concealing without creating wrinkles in the Grand Canyon motif. Kitty professes his love for any object that comes into the house covered in hard plastic wrapping. That's a twofer!

Time to go. Meeting buddies for lunch at the pizza place I mentioned in the almost-movie post below. I'm going to possess a monster slice of pepperoni and a salad. Wish you could all partake, too! Much more enjoyable than random ramblings! :-)

Flyby Wednesday

2009-03-11T05:00:00.000-07:00

Errands yesterday took longer than I expected so I didn't have the wallowing time I love best at this stage of writing. Everything else in the world has to go hang, and I paddle around in the words. (You'd be surprised how little my non-writing family understands this part of the process.)

This time I'm trying to keep one other thing in control. I've been walking for nearly five months. I'm at three miles a day, and even in the recent heat, I don't want to break the habit. Last night, in an attempt to beat the effect of those climbing temps, my friend and I started out at 7, which was fine, but I usually do a couple of laps around the neighborhood after my buddy stops. Last night we stood chatting at her mailbox (did I mention I have an unfortunate gift for gab?), too long. Midway through my second lap, a bat started circling my head. Now I don't live in Transylvania, and I didn't look for Dracula to suddenly flutter to the ground in front of me, but you know--rabies.

So, as the bat seemed to be cutting his circles with every lap around my head, I covered my neck. I know, I know, but it was some crazy instinct I couldn't control. And I hustled home to put a house between me and the rat with wings.

Apologies to all who love bats.

Our Walking Buddy

2009-03-10T03:57:00.001-07:00

Sometime today I have to pack up the girlo's suit and my laptop and head out into the world. The girl needs said suit for practice interviews and I need to get out of this house. I love the abode, but if I don't depart once in a while, I turn into a homebody who's perfectly happy never to venture anywhere else.

I also tend to hide out when I'm sad. When we moved here, we managed to find friends whom clearly we have been waiting to find all our lives. In fact, it feels as if we have known each other forever. Let's be honest. My beloved husband has found the clone from whom he was somehow separated, and I have too much fun talking waaaayyyyyy too much to the wife in the couple as we walk our neighborhood, seeking health. (She may actually be trying to outrun me as I yammer and yammer and yes, gab--just a bit more!)

But we had another walking buddy. Her name was Missy, and Missy was the sweetest little doggie in the world. She left her family on Saturday. So, her person and I are walking alone in a neighborhood that feels pretty empty. I miss you, Missy.

New Title for November

2009-03-09T04:47:00.000-07:00

I mentioned it below, but I have a new title for the book that's coming in November. A Conflict of Interest really suits the story--a judge and a psychologist who've been fighting their attraction suddenly find themselves at true odds over her testimony in a case he's hearing.

(Why was that so easy? You wouldn't believe how I wrestled the one-page synopsis for the Art Facts Sheet.)

I'm still enjoying the revisions on this book, and I'd better update the sidebar with the new title and get back to making this story right.

But first--I finished my Rita books; found some excellent new authors--that's the best thing about Rita judging. Gotta report the scores.

And--thank goodness for DVRs. I have a deep and abiding love for "vintage," or is that retrospective, movies? Today is Dr. Kildare day on TCM. I also have white-jacket syndrome. I panic when I hear the word, doctor. My daughter can't tell me much about her workdays, but I love Dr. Kildare. For one thing, sometimes the medicine is bewildering. (I can never spell medicine correctly first try--is there a syndrome for that, too?) But I think I'm mesmerized by the stories. Either way, the DVR will be busy till about 7 tonight so I'd better get some good page count.

Happy Monday!

Saturday!

2009-03-07T05:16:00.000-08:00

Just a random photo of my shadow on the beach.

My head is so full of revisions, anything extra feels sort of haphazard. Like--wow, when did the house get so mussed? Oh, look at the pretty clouds. It isn't sunny today? And--did anyone know we were going from snow to summer in the space of seven days? Have I been buried in back spasms and A Conflict of Interest for longer than I think?

Enough stream of semi-consciousness.

But I do have advice for any aspiring romance author today. Hie thee to Kate Walker's blog, where you'll find an excellent post on writing emotion into your story. One day I'd love to attend one of Kate's courses in person!

Brush with Movie Stardom

2009-03-06T04:45:00.000-08:00

All right, not really anything as close as a brush! :-) The girl and I went to dinner on the square last night only to find a movie company setting up inside the best pizza spot in our little town. (The girl immediately called a person she knows who's looking for work as a camera operator. Ya gotta feel for a person looking for creative work in this economy!)

Then, off to queso and chips and other yummy dinner goodies for us. When we came out, a guy was wandering the square in a headset. As we were trying to decide whether it's rude to buttonhole a movie guy doing his work and interrogate him re: what's goin' on, he came up and asked us if we wanted to be extras. I must admit I wanted to see how a movie scene is filmed. The girl is in the middle of tests and precepting, and she didn't care to spend those hours in service of her mother's curiosity, so we moseyed home.

I hope we're suddenly becoming a movie mecca! ;-)

Broke the Habit

2009-03-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

Of blogging.

I have a plethora of excuses: the usual Internet going down in weather--rain, thunder, lightening, hail, tornadoes--and eventually four inches of snow! The above is the view from my office window just after the snow started sticking. I love snow. Did I mention that? Love snow.

I've also been working on Art Fact Sheets, the suggestions authors make for cover art. The nightmare of the one-page synopsis.

And, finally, my dorky reason for not being at the blog, I managed to pull every muscle in my back--by sitting in a recliner we've had for six years. I'm so proud.

So, today, I'm propped on every pillow we own on my bed, working revisions! Back to those cranky pages! Resistance is, as they say, futile. :-)

Leverage is over?/Makin' Titles!

2009-02-25T05:43:00.000-08:00

I can't believe it's over till summer. Not much makes me look forward to summer ;-) but maybe this does. Also, did everyone except me know that Monk is coming to an end? My heart breaks!

So--change of subject--I had to give my editor title suggestions for my November book. People in this world have talents, and I guess I can write, but let me just confess here and now, my name is Anna Adams and I stink at titles. Here are the suggestions I sent--at about 12:45 a.m.:

Bad Judgement, Perfect Lover
Her Secret Love
The Man She Wants
The Man She Wanted
The Man She Always Wanted
Hiding Her Love
The Man She Couldn't Have
Forbidden
Keeping Secrets
Secret Love
Only One Man
Only One Woman
The Only Man for Maria
The Wrong Man for Maria
Maria's Mixed Up
Maria, Starting Over
Starting Over with Jake
Starting Over with Maria

It's a modified list. I thought of more as I copied these from Stickies into email. I thought of another as I was falling asleep. No doubt it was the most brilliant title ever imagined, because I cannot remember it now--not even a hint of it.

Don't you feel bad for my editor? :-)

Better get back to the story. I've gotta make sure it's good enough to persuade her to forgive me for not being stellar at titles.

Choices

2009-02-24T02:22:00.000-08:00

I have two weather "deliverers" on my laptop. They never forecast the same temps for our town. I always assume one is right and one is wrong, but I'm not a walking thermometer--I assume the temps I like better are correct.

Writing is sort of like that. I see choices. My characters can make choices that mean different outcomes, and I choose the one I like best. Sometimes what I like best is wrong. I never mind being wrong in real life, but a fictional bad choice really annoys me. And the thing is, when I choose wrong, I'm just as certain as when I choose right. (Pardon the grammar.)

Knowing that certainty is uncertain is unsettling. You know? :-)

I love the lemonade!

2009-02-23T06:57:00.000-08:00

Julie Cohen passed along the Lemonade award. One of the greatest life skills you can cultivate is the ability to make lemonade! So, I'm passing it along to my favorite lemony refreshment makers!

Karen Whiddon
Debby Giusti
Suzanne McMinn
JoAnn Ross
Kate Walker
Elaine Williams
Kimberly Dean
Stephanie Bond
The Soapbox Queens, Vicki, Rhonda, and Jennifer
Melinda Curtis

While I run back to work, I hope you'll take a little lemonade cruise around the Internet.

Happy Monday to all!

Friday, Revising

2009-02-20T04:27:00.000-08:00

It's Friday; it's cold; I'm revising. I like all of that. It should always be Friday, always be cold, and revisions should always be fun (albeit difficult) work. I love to write new stuff as well, but revising an existing story, suddenly seeing opportunities to deepen the emotion, trying to read my work as if I'm a reader who doesn't know what I know about it--I love this process.

Last night, I saw the movie, Push. I've had some disappointing movie experiences lately that have brought home the importance of story. One, in particular, would have been a great movie with just a hint here and there of the "why." Can it be a good thing when you're editing a movie in your head to open up opportunities for background and characterization?

Anyway, I really enjoyed Push. Loved the characters; loved the uncertainty; loved the ending.

And today, I clearly love the magical semicolon! ;;;;;

Must get back to digging ever deeper in my own book for some more story!

Bringing Sustenance in Words

2009-02-19T03:31:00.000-08:00

I don't love cooking, but I do love pretty much any program about it. I'd leave hearth and home if Jacques Pepin beckoned. I truly believe that anything he cooks is probably a little hint of heaven. Somehow, the way he talks about his food translates to an actual, sensual experience for me. And though I love JP best, there are others who convince me. The judges on Top Chef, The Barefoot Contessa, the Take Home Chef, Tyler, Giada, Nigella... (See, they're my first-name heroes!) I believe what they say about their cooking, and I feel pretty sure I've tasted the food they bring me in words, because of their passion for what they're doing.

Since I'm such a lousy cook, I really never thought about the nuances they get. I mean, if the firemen don't join us at the remains of our table, I consider that a successful jaunt in the kitchen. But their passion is a lesson to me. I've actually been trying to cook in the past few years--not just keep the fires down, and though I'm totally not first-name friends with my spice cabinet, their passion has convinced me.

I want to approach every word in my work with that same passion. I'm really writing this post because I'm so wound up in last night's Top Chef. Close your eyes if you haven't watched it yet--Fabio? Really? I'm not going to recover my equanimity soon! Fabio?

But one of the things I love about that show is the way the chefs are always cooking for each other. They may be thinking who's-on-first in the TC kitchen, but back in their abode, they're making meals for each other. Around here, a meal is a special gift. Even the person in our family who loves to cook, doesn't any more, so actual thought and shopping for ingredients and putting them together is something more precious than Valentine's chocolates (I'm not bitter--he made fried potatoes--if you haven't had them, you cannot know).

Anyway, I'm aiming for the same kind of care and reflection on my work. Each addition of spice and ingredient needs to be fresh. I want to add every element with awareness of how it will affect the reader's palate. And I want to be thinking about that, not just at the well-set table when I'm on the verge of presenting a finished product for my editor, but each day, when I'm whipping up a scene that's the smallest morsel.

Every visit to the kitchen matters.

Where would you be today?

2009-02-18T07:21:00.000-08:00

If you could be anywhere?

I'd need to travel some in time as well as distance. I'd be on the beach in front of my childhood home. I'd have to travel because that beach no longer looks like it did on one of my favorite days. You'll have to edit this image above--just a little.

It's December, late, late in the day. A storm is coming in off swirling, black and blue clouds. I'm walking on a wooden jetty that smells like a tarred telephone pole. Balancing--toppling a little to the east, a little to the west--with the unrelenting, freshening breeze. My hair is stinging my face, the salt and the sea are a mist around my head and my hands. I'm warm in that faded, hand-me-down pink zip-up sweatshirt I wore until my wrists stuck out of it by about three inches.

That was one of the first days I can remember thinking--this is my place in life--my place on earth. It still is, but only when I go back in memory. Luxuriant memory.

How?

2009-02-17T10:22:00.000-08:00

Are people scintillating every day in a blog?

I am not. I should beg my writing buddies to join me and take part of the load, but seriously--how reliable am I? And I wouldn't want to let anyone else down.

Anyway, I'm not feeling brilliant so I'm not going to hang around and ramble. Maybe this is a good sign. Usually, I'm pretty boring in conversation when the writing is going well.

So--if you see me coming today--veer off and cover your face in the hope I won't buttonhole you for a chat!

A Writer's Panic

2009-02-16T05:30:00.000-08:00

How do you handle technology at your house? Around here, we each have a laptop, and we have one desktop--a slow-as-an-ice-floe, seven-year-old desktop--whose only real function is to run the router that delivers wireless to the laptops.

My laptop suffered a wound on Saturday. The surface, where the heels of my hands rest when I'm typing, lost a sliver of itself. It was right at the edge, but it left a little opening to the innards, and you know--dust. Then the beloved noticed that the same surface was curling away from the case at the top of the laptop at the hinge where the screen opens away from the keyboard.

So--I was off to the Apple store yesterday--where apparently, you must have a tech support reservation to receive the news that yes, the case breaking is a problem. And the next open reservation came three hours after my arrival at the store. Thank goodness for tables in a mall where I risked dust while I worked on said poor injured laptop.

And now, it's all healed. The nice tech support man replaced the broken piece. I wonder if he also had to replace the keyboard as the touch of the keys feels slightly different, and the button on the new touchpad is all stiff again. And it's clean. I'm apparently free with the ink stains, but the nice tech support man also told me all about Magic Erasers! (From Mr. Clean) I worship the Magic Eraser anyway, and am not surprised to find it has one more magical use!

That's my possibly boring--but vitally interesting to me--tale of technology woe. I'm thinking we need to maybe update our desktop because working on it is a jaunt through the land o'frustration. Unless you blindfold yourself, it's distracting to have sentences appear on screen at least thirty seconds after you type them.

Wishing all writers (and computer junkies) everywhere the best of the technology they love best!

Try a romance!

2009-02-13T07:00:00.001-08:00

Harlequin is celebrating sixty years of romance in 2009, and they're sharing a free book from each of their lines with readers. You can download one or all at the Harlequin Celebrates site.

I read my first Harlequin, a Romance, set in a coastal town in Canada. I can't remember everything about it, but a scene where the heroine ran down a wooden staircase to the beach and ended up in the hero's arms--well, clearly I haven't forgotten that. My grandma gave me that book. Before that I'd only read the classics or history or mystery, until Grandma also introduced me to Mary Stewart, Phyllis Whitney and Victoria Holt. As I read that first romance, I kept waiting for a body to fall. But how cool--this book was all about the relationship between this man and woman who were as real to me as if I were seeing them, instead of just reading them on pages.

I've never stopped reading everything else, but I love a romance! The hero and heroine come alive, and I can't believe they're going to end up together. I can't wait for their every scene together, for the pinch of increased tension and the relief when they find common ground. From that first book, I moved on to Presents--I waited for those to come out each month. In college, after analyzing lit all semester, I'd rush to the book store for a break filled with romance. I remember when American started, and SuperRomance. Then the lovely little red books, Desire, and eventually Blaze showed up.

I'm still amazed that I get to write for Harlequin. The day my book appeared on the Mills and Boon site on the same page as a Betty Neels release--amazing, surreal day! I took a screen shot that follows me from laptop to new laptop.

You should definitely try one!

Kitty makes his will known

2009-02-12T05:29:00.000-08:00

Here's our kitty suggesting it's too early for my brother-in-law to leave. It's not that Kitty and the bil love each other desperately--unless Kitty shows his love by sounding like a tire with a leak. He just doesn't love to see anyone go. I don't know if he considers another pair of hands might mean a delightfully unexpected portion of food, or he just doesn't want to hang about his abode on his own.

Or maybe my bil fulfills another of Kitty's requirements--well, I don't like to suggest his luggage might offer a saucy aroma. So I'm going to assume Kitty loves bil, and does not want him to leave.

A simple click...

2009-02-11T05:09:00.000-08:00

And you can give a lifesaving test to a woman who needs it. I'm sure you've probably all heard of this site, but I actually like to be reminded, so... I've set up an email to remind myself every day. Click the pink button at The Breast Cancer site to give a free test to a woman in need. And the cool thing is that there are other sites on tabs around it. You can help with childhood hunger, health, and literacy, as well as animal rescue if you don't wear out your clicking finger.

I was going to whine about my lousy Internet access taking time to process clicks, but you know I don't do that any more! :-)

And, in other news, you know when you have a song in your head and it won't go away? "All the single ladies..." Not exactly romance writin' inspiration! :-)

Better go replace it with something else!

Morning Shows

2009-02-10T04:33:00.000-08:00

When did these folks start considering themselves celebrities? I used to be a news junkie. Now I get so annoyed at the talking heads, who are a lot more interested in their own views than in disseminating information that I've begun reading news off the Internet.

I miss Tim Russert. He never seemed to put scoring points over extracting information. He might even lead a guest toward a big old hole, but I never got the sense he then danced around it, going "gotcha, gotcha!"

It feels like a sign of our times. I love sarcasm and wit, but not when it's at someone else's expense. It takes a lot more wit to be funny without being harsh and hard, but blogging and filling up 24 hours of so-called news service appears to have made the latter a popular sport.

So, I'm gonna go check in on my favorite blog, Chickens in the Road, where you can always find something delicious to cook or a farming adventure from a romance writer's point of view. Suzanne makes me want to move to West Virginia. At the very least, I need a giant puppy! (Don't tell my giant cat. I can't stay awake all the time, and he can be a touch spiteful!) You should check out the farm goings-on, too!

And then, I'm off to write, because I have ideas. Ideas! And a longing to work. This is a lovely, lovely day. (Who does not love to love to work?)

Thursday--It's a Grind

2009-02-05T11:14:00.000-08:00

Not really. That's just the name of today's coffee shop. I tried to take a photo of my cup of white chocolate hot chocolate (yummo) and my iPod named Hector (courtesy of girl) because they and the fireplace are my writing friends today.

However, the hot beverage and the fireplace must be popular today because someone came up and wanted one of the other chairs in front of the fireplace. He probably doesn't want me taking photos of his shoes so I'm not going to try to capture a more "artly" photo.

I'm listening to Simon and Garfunkel, and the song that's playing right now is "7 O'Clock News/Silent Night." I've never heard it before and it's a bit astounding.

Gotta work.

Confession...

2009-02-04T05:37:00.000-08:00

Is it good for the soul, or is it whining?

I'm not going to go on about this, but for the past year, I've been working, working, working, and not getting much that's keepable. I show up at the laptop, and I put down words, but they don't really make sense in the way writing used to make sense to me. I don't know how this has happened. I'm assuming it's a writing mid-life crisis of some sort. And I'm not giving up.

To keep from losing my mind because my job is so frustrating, I have started walking every day. As I was walking last night in a t-shirt, two sweatshirts, a scarf, mittens, and 30-something degree weather with wind whipping at gusts of 25-35 (neither writing nor walking is sublime fun right now), I realized I'm finally keeping more than I'm putting in "keep-in-case" files. The page counts are terribly unequal (much more in the keep-in-case than the keepable), but the scale is finally tipping the good way.

The thing about a writer's job is that you don't publish if you don't submit, and I haven't been. I can't tell you how the hot, fetid breath of you-must-submit has licked at the back of my neck, but there's not much sense in plying my editor with stuff that doesn't work.

Also, I haven't been able to keep up here because I've felt as if I'm writing about writing, but not succeeding at it. You know--I've felt like a fraud.

But here's a new day, and the other thing about writing is that the only way to fail utterly is stop.

Sunday with Sven

2009-01-18T15:48:00.000-08:00

I've been doing Sven's sweating challenge for--I'm not sure how long, but I haven't been checking in. I actually thought today might be the last check-in, so I counted up my words, and I've written 60,132 during the challenge. If it weren't on several different projects, it would be almost a brand new book.

I'm actually a little disappointed because I'm not where I hoped to be, but I'm pleased that I've had mostly steady progress.

Now, to: Focus.

P.S. One more thing to love about an iPod: The headphones are so good that I literally can't hear what my beloved and the girl are heckling each other about. (She's making a scrapbook of her trip as a class assignment, and I'm pretty certain he's offering a heaping helping of invaluable advice!)

I'm such a freaking peacemaker, I feel as if I ought to do something when I spy a tiff.

However, put on a pair of headphones and they start tuning up--and my feeling becomes--I guess they can sort it out. Besides, if I asked what was going on, they'd both look mystified and ask what's wrong. "It's just a conversation!"

Sometimes it's hard to be the quiet introvert in the house! :-)

I had to find my coat

2009-01-16T07:50:00.000-08:00

It was 5 degrees yesterday. Probably too cold to type--but I love it! Right now it's 16. And Sunday we're due for snow showers. It's almost too exciting.

My poor child has been out of the country for the past week or so, freezing half to death. I suspect she's been looking forward to the balmy, unseasonable temps she left, when she's actually coming back to a 20 or so degrees colder country than she left behind. Poor girlo. We didn't tell her.

Anyway, I'm hard at work at a coffee shop--again--because the cold apparently slows down the passing of bytes at my house. Better get to work because I have to pick up my baby! Yay!

Hope you also have wonderful goings-on to anticipate!

Monday

2009-01-12T11:31:00.000-08:00

Had lunch with a good friend today. Now I'm working and listening to inappropriate music. (Ne-yo's Closer. Not that it's inappropriate in general, just not what you'd expect on my generation's iPod.) My daughter despairs. I don't quite get it either, but I cannot help myself! In fact, I need to set up a repeat instead of starting it over and over. :-)

My house is such a wreck I had to leave or haul out the cleaning products. (It's not just the slow Internet that makes posting a blog a forced march.) I need to work, and cleaning is a great time waster, so I've spent this chilly, sun-riddled afternoon writing like a woman who knows how. Please let me be on track--yet again.

Gotta stop stopping progress!

Not sleeping/Crazy Dreams

2009-01-05T09:01:00.000-08:00

I've never been what one might call a natural sleeper. I'm often more familiar with the colors of the night sky than the daylight one because I'm often waiting for daylight to show up. But last night was particularly long. If I'm awake, the cat feels free to start yowling for breakfast at midnight, and even though I know he's not starving to death, when he pretends he is, I feel compelled to do something. Which, I fear, he has discovered. (I lasted till 5:03 a.m.) And then, about 8, I went to bed. I'm awake again at noon, having dreamed about running and strange colors and falling.

Stress? The knowledge that my body clock is incapable of telling time? I don't know, but I wander my house like Hamlet's stinking ghost, eyeing the darkened windows in the houses around us, envying all those sleeping people.

Oh, well, gotta get to work. Hopefully, those scary dreams have built up some adrenaline-fueled creativity.

Happy Monday--halfway through the day!

Oh, the weather outside is foggy!

2009-01-03T07:35:00.000-08:00

We had some snoring in the house last night. I couldn't manage to sleep over it or get the ocean waves on my iPod loud enough to drown it out, so I moved to the guest room, and this is the view I woke to.

And then I did an accounting. These are things I've already done in 2009:

Crocheted scarf for daughter
Mailed Rita books on time (Though this was actually begun in 2008. Thank you, Mr. Overnight Courier)
Edited chapter (now must shower and leave the abode for Internet access capable of emailing to CP)
Bought Eagle Eye, which I love (to my hip child's despair)
Watched Eagle Eye too many times (I'd alternate with Dark Knight, but said child has absconded with said DVD.)
Noticed that: Je suis une slacker!
Posted on the blog two days in a row (like a woman who can meet a commitment)

I hope everyone's already having an equally productive 2009! I like this year!

Back to Work

2009-01-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

I've been playing around with my girl and reading and loving my new iPod. (Dragged, kicking and screaming into the iPod age, I guess, but how on earth did I ever live without it?)

Reading (cozy mysteries, some romance, a lot of history). Writing (not enough). Enjoying friends. Enjoying life. Everyone needs to do that. Tell me it's called filling the well.

But now it's time to ply nose to grindstone.

Focus.

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T07:04:00.000-08:00

Wishing the best to all at the holidays. May we all have peace and joy, and may we find delight in each new day.

How the year's flying...

2008-12-19T20:08:00.000-08:00

and I kind of hate it because these are my favorite months (cold weather--and the promise of more). I'm trying to live "in the day," and for the most part I am, but I've discovered a drawback. When you work outside an office and your beloved has retired and your daughter is home from school, living in the day means that no one knows tomorrow's date. Somehow, it's almost the holidays, and I'm way behind.

I've finished crocheting a scarf for a friend. (I made up the pattern. Pardon a prideful moment, but it's so pretty my girl wants one like it.) I still need to mail it. I've sent out a few cards. I've bought a few more gifts, and we have company coming and we sort of have a menu.

But I'm one of the few people I know who thrives on carols. I don't care how many times they're repeated--I love them. I love the calls of "Happy Holidays" and "Merry Christmas." I love walking my 2-miles per day at night by the shiny lights of the neighbors' decorations. We've finally plunged our rather tipsy-looking snowmen into the unseasonably warm sod along the sidewalk, and we put up our snowman firescreen in front of the fireplace. I'm really excited because I found the block o'glass light shaped to look like a gift our older girl gave us last year.

I'm just sad all the lights will go away so soon. I started my live-in-the-day philosophy because I tended to feel as if I were always waiting for something, instead of appreciating the here and now. All of a sudden, in a most uncharacteristic turn, I'm pushing tomorrow away. I don't want anyone to put my shiny lights back in the attic!

Late to the Post

2008-12-17T13:05:00.000-08:00

I could not talk my sweet child into getting me off the hook, luncheon-wise, and I'm glad. It was good to see old friends and catch up. I won a candy dish at the giveaway, and now that I'm back in town, the girl and I are in the coffee shop. She's catching up on The Office, and I'm catching up on work. (And looking kind of crazy!)

I still have so much to do, but I'm happy!

Tuesday in a Rush

2008-12-16T08:23:00.000-08:00

This is a terrible thing, but I'm wondering if I can persuade my daughter to take my place at a holiday lunch with her pop tomorrow. I love seeing the folks who'll be there, but they'd also love seeing her. College girls don't visit around the way they used to, and I feel as if I can't break away from my work.

People tell you--enjoy yourself--take some time off. But I've become too good at that. I need to stay in this story while it's talking to me.

So--I'm off to beg for a reprieve. :-)

Ooops--Waylaid!

2008-12-15T13:48:00.000-08:00

With the Internet moving verrrrryyyy slowllllyyy again, I started to update all my electronic stuff, and opened a book to read in the wait times. Big mistake!

A few hours later, I find myself in love with The Secret Life of CeeCee Wilkes by Diane Chamberlain, and I'm oh so sorry to have reached the end. I had definite misgivings about this heroine. I don't want to cover any of the plot because talking about anything would give big parts of everything away, but oh--what engaging writing! And I ended up loving the heroine. I just spent several minutes gazing longingly at her next on eharlequin.com.

Sadly, I have my own work to do. But I bookmarked that page!

Writing with a Pen Again

2008-12-12T07:36:00.000-08:00

I saw something at Target yesterday--a notepad in which you write with a pen, but the words can be transferred into a file. I love writing longhand, but I'm far too lazy to type the story in. I'd love to try this amazing, miraculous, whimsical piece of technology, but I also have a pen and paper fetish. What if the rather pricey configuration included a pen that wrote so smoothly I did not possess the moral fiber to resist?

It only works with Windows, but we have plenty of Windows systems around this house, and transferring a file from a Windows system to a Mac is a piece o'cake.

It's a quandary.

I love to write longhand.

Thursday--Holiday's are a-Startin'

2008-12-11T07:14:00.000-08:00

The holidays are starting because my girl's coming home. In an ideal world her brother would be here too. And her sister would be coming for at least a visit. But one of the offspring will be home for several weeks, starting today! Yay!

One member of our household will not be thrilled. When she's not here, her room belongs to Kitty. I'm not sure why, but the second she goes back to school, he hotfoots it up there and spreads his voluminous girth upon her bed. (That picture's obviously not Kitty spreading out, but one of the girl's friends made it for her, and it looks so funny, so I put it in.) But the second the girl comes home, the Kitty flees "his" room and becomes a couch ornament in the family room.

Rambling again, post-wise.

Today is also two of my brothers' birthdays. They're not twins. They were born a year and an hour apart in my family's tradition of hardly ever producing a child with his or her own birthday. (Another brother and I are two days--and four years--apart, and around our birthdays are two cousins, so that four of us celebrate four days in a row. Anyway, I must call the brothers.

Tonight, the girl and I are going for pizza and then walking the square because the lights and the deco are so beautiful. Hope you'll be enjoying some holiday cheer, too.

For now, I need to write so I'm not walking the square, thinking "I should have..."

Inspiration

2008-12-10T10:45:00.000-08:00

Where do you get it?

Today, I passed a driveway, fronted by two wooden gates, painted white. The drive curved under dripping trees, but disappeared. I didn't see the end of the drive or the house it led to, but I have a story forming in my mind, complete with a house I've made up--or maybe it made itself up--and a quirky family I'm already beginning to love. You know things will change, but I'm excited about the start--new ideas bubbling away.

I've read that P.D. James always knows her setting before she knows the rest of the story. It doesn't usually work that way for me, but today, I want to wander back into the notes I'm taking as often as I can.

I've just realized the holidays are closing in. I have three gifts, ideas for three others, and I've bought cards which I haven't begun to address.

Better get back to work so I'll have some time to work at fun!

Fir

2008-12-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

Yesterday afternoon I had to visit the grocery store, and I managed to walk between two rows of fir trees. Oh, the memories of that scent. Blinking Christmas lights and warmth against the snowy, blowing cold. Playing pool with my little brother on his Christmas present of a table-sized pool table. Another brother making popcorn with his favorite gift that year--a real popcorn popper.

I love the scent of fir trees. I could not breathe in enough. No matter how hard I tried. Until I scared the lady actually shopping for a tree. She looked at me as if I were pervy, but nope. Just trying to imprint some more fir tree on my memory.

Musing on Monday

2008-12-08T06:28:00.000-08:00

This is weird. Our Internet access is up. I'm going to concentrate on not talking about our service as much. Anyway, I normally have to leave the house to work because the beloved is here, wandering around, expecting responses to his "observations."

Today, he's taken my car to do some stuff for his Harley Owner's Group. I should be hard at work, head down, not making (ugly) low cal/low fat banana pudding and a fresh pot of coffee while I page through my favorite crochet patterns and Teach Yourself to Knit.

I could take the beloved's car and wander over to a non-wifi spot where people will be annoyed if I want to chat them up. I could go look up a lovely game we learned with friends this weekend. Okay, I did look up Crud. It originated with military pilots, but neither my husband nor I had ever heard of it. Odd, since he did ten years active duty and ten more in reserves, and I did four years of active duty. And both of us were in Naval Aviation. We even spent time on a NATO base so we hung out with the Air Forces of several different nations, and still never heard of Crud. (A kind of modified pool game played by teams, using a cue ball and another ball--at a really fast pace. And can I mention, naturally less-than-graceful people need not apply unless prepared to be mocked?)

Hmmm. This post tells you how disciplined I am today. I'm going to shut down everything and get back to work. Or I'm taking the beloved's car (we call it the "sacred car" around here because we must treat it as if it's made of--something really fragile and precious. When you're being that careful, you know you're seconds away from a major crash!) and I'm going somewhere quiet. Maybe I need a librarian to force me to hush!

Note: Added Romance Writing from the Edge to my favorite blogs. JoAnn Ross is an amazing writer! Her blogs are as entertaining as her edge-of-the-seat novels!

Saturday on the Square

2008-12-06T08:49:00.000-08:00

Today's the market! Folks buying and selling in temps that I'm not sure I could have faced when they were setting up this a.m. 21 degrees F? I don't even have a coat that works for that. Well, technically, I do, but you can guess where it is when I tell you I have a daughter.

I love our square, love our town, love the twinkly lights and the ribbon and the wreaths. And I love the coffee in this shop.

My wish for everyone is a quaint square that inspires you to write a series of romance novels based in a small town where love really matters.

A Few Changes

2008-12-05T12:37:00.000-08:00

I'm doing some blog-keeping and look at the header! My cousin took that photo--of the house that belonged to my many-many-greats-back-grandfather. He built it in 1825, and I visited in the fall. The family ghost, his wife, whom the current owners swear has visited, kept her distance. Not sure whether I'm glad or sad about that!

Anyway, I'm having Internet access problems, as always, so I'm blogging sporadically, but we're told a company of good reputation will be coming as far as our street around February. Wouldn't that be lovely? You can't imagine how you take good access for granted until you think "I'll google that," but you'd be better off driving to whatever it is you're googling and looking it over yourself. That includes, search terms like "tundra" or "Galapagos." Funny, how geography sprang to mind though I'm geographically challenged!

Anyway, I do have a few things to google, so must get at it!

First Day of December

2008-12-01T10:27:00.000-08:00

We've had snow flurries today! Yay!

And I'm enduring Internet trials again. I hate being cut off from the Internet. As a writer, a lot of my friends are online, and we don't get out much, but we do a lot of chatting via email, Twitter, blogs, etc. I'm at a coffee shop. Again. I feel guilty for spending so much time on their wifi so I haven't actually been out to connect lately. Aaargghh! Hate to complain, of course.

So--it's December. I'm still working on proposals, though not dawdling any more. Actual hard, is-this-emotional-enough work. And that's good. I'm excited about writing. And I can say that without fear that it just means for today. Here's hoping the funk is beaten back!

Good lord--the Internet access just went down here as well. I'm a jinx. I'm going to try posting this and then shutting off the Internet entirely.

Snow and a working proposal--good things--things to rejoice about!

Bad Internet access--who needs to chitchat with friends anyway? ;-)

Friday--Busy!

2008-11-21T09:55:00.000-08:00

I've been working so hard I forgot to blog. What a nice feeling! ;-)

What are you doing for the weekend?--

Oh--wow--a man in the coffee shop's phone rang with my cousin, Bill's ring. I looked around for Bill, but he wasn't there. Wish he had been!

Anyway--back to the weekend. Can you believe next week is Thanksgiving? I just found myself trying to slow down these flying fall days. I love this time of year, can't wait for it, and every year it seems to go faster. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday because it means family to me. Just family. Lovely.

We're getting ready for our celebration, planning the meal. We're having dinner with friends, but then because we truly love Thanksgiving at our house, we're going to have our own meal on the Friday as well. How else would we have the yummy leftovers? ;-) That is kind of crazy though, huh? But I can't wait!

Back to work so I can take a few hours off next week without feeling guilty!

Tagged!

2008-11-19T08:45:00.000-08:00

Yay! Debby Giusti tagged me at the Craftie Ladies of Suspense. I never get tagged so I'm pretty excited. I hope I can be interesting! I'm supposed to offer 7 random facts about myself.

1. I was once questioned by the Icelandic Police because the beloved and I ended up locked in a church after everyone else left. This church was started, but not completed, because a volcano erupted and the money for the church was used to repair people's homes. I like that about the wise Icelandic people. Anyway, instead of completing the church, they did build an observation deck in the spire. It was lovely, but noisy in the wind, so when everyone else left and the church was locked up, we did not know we'd begun to trespass.

2. I was once almost dragged out to sea in an effort to save my little brother as he was swept away during high tide. (Fortunately, my father saved us both!)

3. In another act of pure heroism, when a guy put out his cigarette on my best friend's coat at a high school football game, I laughed hysterically (panic reaction) instead of mentioning the flames rolling up her sleeve. (I did however pound the flames out while I laughed. And no--just in case you're worried--I never sit in the exit row on an airplane.)

4. I put that same best friend's cat in my second book, The Marriage Contract. He was a battling, black tom, one ear torn off in a past fray, no one's pet--who adopted my heroine and showed her love. (Thanks, best friend, for the inspiration!)

5. My husband and I never agree on anything--politics, which furniture to buy, what to name our son. We had a name chosen the night before he was born. While I was in labor, my beloved said "I don't really like the name Jared." I won't tell you what I said because I've already confessed enough bad stuff about myself. We finally agreed on a name just before we left the hospital, three days after our boy was born. And we both love his name--he was born to be a supreme court justice. Seriously, trust me! Justice ? ? ? Adams sounds perfect. Only the boy hates his middle name and he's a musician.

6. My daughter is a nursing student, and she cleans stuff that literally makes me faint when I think about all she faces. But when she walks into a grocery store where they have chickens on the rotisserie, she gags at the aroma! (If you're not nauseous enough yet, she's the girl who sounds as if she's calling football "Huts" as she passes the chicken roasting section.)

7. When I have free time, I go to a coffee shop and watch 27-year-old episodes of my long-canceled favorite soap opera. (I'm way behind, and I have this horrible fear they'll take it off the net, too.)

I'm supposed to tag people, too, but I'm not sure I know enough people who blog. I'm gonna try to browbeat friends, but please, consider yourself tagged and leave a link in the comment section so that people can follow you to your blog!

Oh--and don't forget it's report day at Sven's.

Happy Wednesday!

Tuesday

2008-11-18T09:39:00.000-08:00

Lots of things to love about Tuesday. For one thing, it's only 41 degrees outside, and the wind is really blowing. With a few gray clouds, it'd be a near perfect day. Also, The Mentalist is on tonight. Yay!

Here's my bad Tuesday problem. I'm lacking in writing inspiration. I've been so excited for several weeks about writing, but today I'm just tired. I want to be in the middle of a story I love, instead of wrestling conflict into proposals that are hammering me as hard as I'm banging at them. For how long?

Sometimes I feel as if I should just send them, but why put my editor through a pointless exercise? No conflict=no satisfying resolution=no story. I don't want that. I want a story I can be proud of, and this is just one of those bumps in the road every writer faces. Can't wait till the bump smooths out.

But just in case it doesn't, I'm going to take my own best writing advice. And keep writing.

MySpace, At Last

2008-11-17T08:22:00.000-08:00

Well, sort of. I've finally started a MySpace page. Some awfully nice people helped me because I'm apparently MySpace-challenged. One friend said she finds it so much easier than Facebook. I find I'm flummoxed! But there's a page, and I've updated it a bit. And I plan to update some more when I go out to a place that has decent wifi. (Same old, same old whinging! Sorry!)

For now, it's back to proposal land where the watchword is: Conflict, and oh yeah, some more conflict, please! That's a bunch of watchwords, but I'm digging for as much as I can get right now! ;-)

Happy Monday to all!

It's Thursday!

2008-11-13T10:22:00.000-08:00

I've got a blinding headache, but I will not be denied! (Writing-wise.) I've dosed up on the caffeine and the aceta--okay--can't spell that. But I'm expecting to be able to think without pain at any moment. ;-)

No reading last night. Started to watch a new passion--Ghost Hunters. Must thank my friend, Kim for yet another television addiction! ;-) Between that and WWII movies on Veteran's Day, the DVR is nearly full.

So--I can't start clearing off DVR'd programs until I get a good word count. So--heeding the siren call of one and one-half unwatched episodes of Ghost Hunters, I must away to the appropriate files!

Check in Day at Sven's

2008-11-12T10:11:00.000-08:00

I have been sweating, though not yet today. I had some errands to run that included buying a new red phone. Okay. It didn't have to be red, but I sort of coveted a red phone. A red, sturdy phone. Yay--not only is it lovely, but I can finish a whole conversation without dropping the call, and I can hear the person I'm talking to. Isn't it wonderful when things work the way they're supposed to?

Gotta go crank up Gosford Park (although nerdsnark, I'll be asking the girl to bring her copy of Back to the Future home so I can see how that works) and get to sweating!

Check out everyone's reports at Sven's place. You'll be inspired if you're having a hard time getting into your own work.

Listening to a movie while I write

2008-11-11T10:42:00.000-08:00

Don't you do that? It has to be one I've seen a billion times so that I don't pay attention other than taking comfort in the sounds. Conversation, rain, footsteps on wooden floors, spoons and glasses clinking. Singing.

That's what I'm hearing today because I'm listening to Gosford Park. I love cozy, period mysteries from the so-called Golden Age. So-called--it was the golden age for me--Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie (whom I didn't always love), Leslie Ford. Anyway, as I love them so much, I was disappointed in Gosford Park when I first saw it. The plot was not a puzzle. But I watched it again because it looked so beautiful. And then I watched it again because it looked--and sounded--so beautiful. And then--again--because I looked forward to certain moments when certain characters offered glimpses of who they were. Before I knew it, I loved it.

The moment when "Ivor Novello" sings to another character whom everyone else dismisses touches me every time.

And it's excellent writing background. I managed 1,491 words yesterday in my first Sven day.

Time to Sweat

2008-11-10T17:16:00.000-08:00

With Sven again, which is why I'm blogging so late! For some reason, I thought Sven began his regimen tomorrow. I've set myself a goal of 1 k a day, but for today, I have about 1.6 so far, and I'm still moving.

Happy sweating! Even if you aren't joining in, it's fun to do a blog tour and see how others are doing. You might find some of your favorite writers.

Blogging in Other Places

2008-11-08T03:13:00.000-08:00

If you're a writer or a reader of romance, you probably already know and cherish the Pink Heart Society blog. I'm hanging out there today.

Drop by, particularly if you have some tips about finding words when you feel as if they've deserted you!

Time Management

2008-11-07T05:34:00.000-08:00

I'm cackling even as I write those two words because I clearly don't use them together! Before I quit the day job, I managed to raise two children, still in school, deal with a husband who traveled most of the time, work a demanding day job as a tech writer for a software company (read demanding deadlines/long hours) and produce books. I never understood writers who said they couldn't find time when they had the lovely comfort of all day to write with no one demanding anything of them.

Guess who I am now. Part of it is the inability to say no to folks who think my time is so much my own I can rearrange my schedule. The thing is, I want to rearrange because I like to spend time with the people who need me to do that. But I also have to manage my own work time when I'm using it to have fun or do errands that need to get done.

I saw an ad yesterday for a class on time management for writers, and I thought--oohhhh! But hard on "oohhhh's" heels, "I don't have time for that!"

Where did Tuesday's post go?

2008-11-05T04:05:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd saved it in a draft, but apparently not. It must have been vital. I don't even remember what I was saying.

I didn't write as much as I'd planned yesterday because I went to a girly lunch (you know, much more ladylike than I'm accustomed to) and an IMAX movie with a friend. Ya gotta fill the well. That's all I can say. I know I filled the well for a week--last week--but this friend rarely gets a day off work. We had to strike while the free day was available!

I thought I'd post another photo of last week's well-filling site. Again, you gotta fill the well, and you can't get too much beach. That's a philosophy to live by.

I love this photo. I forgot to take a camera with me, but one day, while toiling at the words, I glimpsed the camera built in to my laptop. Now, if you're looking to procrastinate, you can hardly beat setting up your laptop all over a house to take pictures!

Week before last, I mentioned I was suddenly enamored of cozy mysteries? Not so much right now. I think I want everything to measure up to The Diva Runs Out of Thyme. Since they don't, I'm reading Some Like It Wicked by Teresa Medeiros. It starts at a roaring pace and continues at same. I'm really enjoying it.

But I need to put down excellent books and blog posts and write some words of my own!

Monday, Monday

2008-11-03T09:37:00.000-08:00

This is where I was last week, writing and writing and writing. I needed that week away. I've been fighting my own doubts for too long, and finally, hanging out with two of my writing friends, working till whenever, I began to remember how to write. I mean, the instincts that have carried me this far somehow deserted me in the past year, but I feel as if they're easing back in. Maybe I just needed to be head down in writing mode for seven days. Couple that with restarting my critique relationship with the world's best critique partner, and I feel as if I'm starting over. I'm excited!

So--to share my excitement :-) I'm doing eHarlequin.com's version of NaNoWriMo (I think that's the way they shorten it). Come, look in on everyone's progress!

And then, November 10, Sven starts sweating again. It's not too late to submit to Sven!

Since I have some word count to make today, I'd better doctor up my far too vibrant coffee (I like a little coffee with my milk and cream) and get back to work!

Ohhhhh, a Rainy Friday

2008-10-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

I love any rainy days, but Fridays... And the girl coming home, and the kitty having done well at his recheck--and graciously allowing me to keep all my digits. (That's him with the beloved--K is no doubt contemplating how best to take out the ceiling.)

Ahhhhhh. A good day.

What a sad thing to be a vet, though, if you love your patients. Our amazing doctor literally saved Kitty's life, and how does Kitty thank him? A multi-syllabic growl the second his hero pushed a hand his way. And then, in case anyone was in any doubt as to his feelings re medical care--he hissed at me (administerer of antibiotics).

Good thing Kitty is such a charmer when he's not destroying all about him with those eye-beams!

About writing--ignore the smooth transition--this has been an excellent month for education. I've been taking an online class with Allison Brennan and Patti Berg that has me second guessing, but in a good way. I'm going to treat myself to re-reading all the lectures tonight. And I belong to a loop called AskanAuthor (I think--can't get into that address when I'm working in this one), and CJ Lyons did the answering this past week. She explained The Hero's Journey and pinch points in a way that finally made me understand them. Even better, I can see how to use them. Amazing. In gratitude, I went to buy her book, Lifelines, but our B&N doesn't have it. I'll have the opportunity to check other stores this weekend, but I may have to order--which means I'll have to order enough to get free shipping. It's a vicious circle!

I love these times when I feel as if I'm actually absorbing, not just listening (reading the lectures, I should say). You can never learn enough!

Must go! Have a great weekend!

Mental about The Mentalist!

2008-10-23T11:30:00.000-07:00

Okay, that was pretty cheesy.

I DVRd the Tuesday episode and watched it again last night. I have to say, I've known the "bad guy" each episode within seconds, but I don't even care. Patrick Jane was heartbreaking in the first episode, and I've loved him more with each showing. I love that he doesn't admit why he doesn't have children, and he didn't explain how his wife died, though the confidence might have made the villain more open to him. I love that he can't help making sandcastles. I love that he'll risk everything to catch a bad guy, and that he knows he can't stay home and be alone sometimes. In the first episode when he went home to the bare house and the mattress on the floor, I knew I was hooked for as long as the show runs.

Doesn't hurt that Simon Baker is gor-ge-ous, either!

Anyone else watching? (Just a year or so ago, I hardly ever watched network TV. Suddenly, I'm running that DVR half to death. It started with Top Chef and then So You Think You Can Dance. I'm spiraling!)

Dosing the Cat

2008-10-22T12:26:00.000-07:00

This is Kitty. He doesn't like antibiotics.

I'm scared.

Sick Kitty, Not Feeling Too Well Myself

2008-10-21T07:12:00.000-07:00

There's a reason I'm not a nurse. The reason is: I'm nuts. And I feel bad for cats or people stuck in my care.

Writing, writing, writing--and getting a few steps ahead! Yay, Karen! Thank you! :-)

Spending too much time on Twitter.

Reading Cozy mysteries in the middle of the night instead of sleeping. Check out The Diva Runs Out of Thyme by Krista Davis! As I'm about to say I truly enjoyed this book and I cannot wait for the next one in the series, I'm also mulling over some recent brushes with book snobbery. I don't really get why people find one sort of book more valuable than another. I have an English degree--I was taught by book-snob professors in classes filled with book-snob student, but I don't love snobbery of any sort. I do love a good read. Back to the diva. The book starts with a bang. It's set in Old Town Alexandria, one of my favorite places on earth, and it's filled with quirky, lovable characters. You can't go wrong!

Back to work!

Monday at Panera

2008-10-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

I'm lurking under my headphones trying not to hear the college kids behind me talking about their love lives. I think they want to date each other, but they're both insulting each other's SOs. It's interesting--and also none of my business!

I've been traveling. Had a conference, not far from home, but far enough to stay at the hotel and talk writing to my heart's content. And visit with my excellent editor. And eat too much good stuff. And miss my little family. (How weird is that, only an hour or so away?)

Then my family had a reunion. I love seeing my aunts and uncles and my cousins. And this time, I got to meet the newest baby in the family--totally adorable--despite the handful of hair he grasped. Seriously, how cute can cute really be? That's him!

Then my girl and I got to hang out with our only girl cousin. We chit-chatted and solved most of the world's problems. Turns out we have no expertise with the economy.

And, finally, my nephew, who works on the Dublin, GA newspaper, had an article picked up by the AP. I must link because I'm so proud I could bust! Man--the article's already gone. So--if you're looking, Winston, I tried, and I wish I could have shown you off! ;-)

Back to my own work--unless Winston will maybe take over for me! ;-)

*Update! Found a paper that still had the article. Read and enjoy!

Back, at last!

2008-10-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

Our satellite dish had simply tilted out of tolerance. Huh. Naturally, I blamed it on the neighbors who've appropriated our yard to: build a bonfire, periodically store their trampoline, build a fort, build jumps for their ATVs, run a trail for their ATVs.

Most of that has stopped because we don't really take it well, though they still use the trail behind our tree line. The oddest day was when they got upset (families on both sides of us) that we didn't want their fort in our yard. (Picture dragging of boards and metal into our yard via ATV's/sawing/hammering, etc. that is often more acceptably done on land a person owns.) Imagine our arrogance.

So--I was arrogant. I assumed they came over and moved our dish to protest our refusal to house their fort. But they didn't unless they brought tools and hung around a while. I feel a bit mean and ugly about suspecting the worst, but honestly, this will be the second time in our married life that we've had to build a fence to keep neighbors from appropriating our yard. (Okay, it's a three-acre yard, but that just means more fencing to pay for.) Come on, winter! Because these rather annoying kids seem to stay indoors if there's a chill. Wouldn't it be nice if their parents suggested they stay out?

Now this has turned into a whiny post, but I'm actually glad to have access to my blog again. I've missed rambling, and I should delete the whining. However, I'm busy, and I'm not starting over.

Has anyone seen "The Mentalist"? It's my latest TV-fave. I keep the old one (there have only been two episodes, but I'm in luuuuuuuvvv!) until the new one comes on cause I have to watch it again. I see a DVD set in my future! (Shhh! Don't tell the husband. You know the economy's not that good lately, and he doesn't think we should demonstrate confidence that spending money makes money!)

Anyway, I'm taking a class online, and today's lecture is about characterization. I've recognized the bad guy immediately in both episodes, but I cannot look away because they're doing very clever things with characterization for Patrick Jane. He breaks my heart, and yet, I find myself laughing out loud more than once a show. Witness: Hero and sheriff playing intense rock/paper/scissors on this week's epi.

Gotta go. Gotta write. Gotta vacum, cause company's coming! But it's nice to be back!

Note: I have long owed several people books, but I couldn't get into that email address to get snail mail addresses. I'll get the books out next week. Sorry! ;-( (Shamed smiley-non-smiley)

Not gone; just disconnected

2008-09-29T09:04:00.000-07:00

The satellite finally gave up. Hopefully, repairs will make all better.

Until then, I wish everyone well!

I hope the coffee shop doesn't start charging rent.

Spoke Too Soon

2008-09-11T10:58:00.000-07:00

The Internet's down at home again. Fortunately, the car's working, and the coffee's flowing. (I can't wait until hot-chocolate weather. They draw the cutest little designs on the steamed milk here!)

Last night, after dinner my friend and I drove around town so I could show her the courthouse square I "borrowed" for my Welcome to Honesty series. She'd read Her Reason to Stay, and I didn't even have to force her to look at our hometown, including the coffee shop where I wrote a good many of those pages.

That's friendship! Seriously, we talked about family, both the ones we grew up with and the ones we've made since. We've both traveled the world since marriage and babies, but every time we meet, I look at her face, and I'm taken back to those days when no event was complete or anywhere near as much fun until I'd shared all the shocking details with her.

I just wish Denver was a little closer! I'm actually a bit startled when I meet people who haven't lived everywhere on earth, and I envy them--the connections that time and distance never strain, the time they get to spend with the loved ones they love best. On the other hand, I'm wise enough to just relish the hours I got to spend with my friend and look forward to the next time! (Even if I'm pretty sure next time can't come fast enough!)

Back in again!

2008-09-10T05:59:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it. Yay!

Clouds are hovering overhead, even, but shhhhhh--don't tell the satellite dish. I'm a little bemused, in the middle of about four projects, at a stage where I need to finish two right away and get them out. Sigh. (Car troubles and girls who live far enough away to need car swappings!)

And tonight I'm meeting one of my dearest friends for dinner. I rarely ever get to see her, and I can barely type for dancing.

However, I'd better get back to those pages so I don't have stories running through my mind during dinner.

Tuesday in September

2008-09-02T05:43:00.000-07:00

The trees are really changing now. Yellow and a few red. The weather's not cooling, really, but the sun is angling in that Autumn tilt. Didn't the summer days fly by?

But the girl's back at school, and Labor Day went by. Fall's starting soon, and I expect to be excited, but right now, I feel a little melancholy because the girl's room is empty, and I miss all my offspring.

Better take this to the wip, huh?

Tuesday, and the Weather is Changing

2008-08-19T05:32:00.000-07:00

Slowly, but surely. Last night, as I swam, cool air kind of made me chilly as it hit my shoulders. The first sure sign of fall. Actually, the leaves on a couple of our trees in the front yard are changing, but I fear that's bad news as no other leaves anywhere have begun to turn yet. :-(

Today, I'm meeting writer friends for lunch. Writers work so much alone that meeting friends and talking about the whys and hows we work is always a treat. Talking to someone who shares your passion and that strange hunger to put words together... Well, you know how they say that people who think like you always feel like your best friends!

Monday at the Library

2008-08-18T08:56:00.000-07:00

First, it's much quieter than usual. I guess the schoolkids are all occupied again. I always dreaded this time of year when our offspring were younger--hated that I couldn't spend all day hanging out with them. (I cannot swear they felt the same.)

Second, one of the nicest people I know has a book out this month. Leanne Harris, who has been writing for Silhouette Romantic Suspense, has a Love Inspired Suspense out this month. I already grabbed mine at WalMart this morning. Check out the book on Leanne's website and see if you don't need to read all about it! ;-)

Saturday Catching Up

2008-08-16T09:26:00.000-07:00

I'm at yet another coffee shop. When, oh when will our Internet access be usable? And I don't really love to hear myself whining, but what ever happened to the concept of customer service?

Enough of that.

Summer's coming to an end. I can tell because I have an urge to bake. And a soup sounds good until I realize it's still in the 80s, but some of the leaves are starting to turn, and the schoolbus arrives on our street every morning. I'm going to miss my girl, but she's promised I can come down to take her to lunch at regular intervals. (Ain't she thoughtful?)

I'd love to hang out and gab, but I managed to pack for the coffee shop without a power cord so time is limited today. Wishing everyone a happy weekend!

Gotta Type Fast!

2008-08-09T07:54:00.000-07:00

Who knows how long this will last? We're still suffering Internet connection issues, but I've gotten this far....

Yay, the Olympics have started! I actually enjoy the Winter Olympics more--because of snow and cold weather. But I love the swimming and diving. Not wild about the other events until they start, and then I get all wrapped up in the competition. Yay--the games have begun!

Speaking of competition, was anyone else mesmerized by So You Think You Can Dance? I thought I was fine with whoever won, I liked all the dancers so much, but when they called Josh's name, I was startled because I expected to hear Twitch. What a great show. I need to thank the friend who suggested I watch it. But how long till the next season? And can it possibly measure up? :-)

Gotta hit post quickly. For one thing, how long will I stay connected? And we have friends coming to stay the night after the hot water pipe burst at their house. Do you ever notice the abode looks okay enough until you have folks coming to stay?

Also, I'm in the middle of a revision, but Harlequin Historical is doing a new ebook series called Undone. The stories are only 10-15k words, and I've always wanted to try a historical. I'm using my "spare" time to work up a shot at that. So--better get back to all kinds of work!

Internet Problems

2008-07-30T08:05:00.000-07:00

I'm not even sure if this will post. Our service is so unreliable, I hit post and the wheels just turn. Anyway, service will be restored as and when available.

I've recently signed on to Twitter.com and I can't post at all there, but it's a fun site--like updating your Facebook status whenever you like, instead of going to the trouble of posting. ;-)

Reminds me of the six-word story.

Hope everyone else is having a lovely time!

Random Friday

2008-07-25T03:48:00.000-07:00

I had a family photo as the background on my laptop, but it was from our trip and the girlo felt bad she wasn't able to go. So, I altered reality a little. Sometimes, I amuse myself. (The girlo, while laughing, suggests it's good that I'm amused because perhaps she is not.) She also said I did a lousy adding-of-her job. I tried to point out that was the point.... It still makes me laugh. Isn't she handsome floating over her pop's shoulder?

Busy finishing excellent contest entries. I love when I get the good ones! Most lucky!

No swimming yesterday because a snake was using the pool. The beloved was out so I begged the neighbor to come down and de-snake us. This would be yet another thank you to the most heroic man on our block. I'm not sure why the girl and her father have to mock me because so far our pool snakes have been small. I recognized the scorn by the laughter when he did get home... It wasn't a 14-foot python, and I did feel wimpish. I'm usually no wilting lily, but all I could manage was a yip like a scared rat and a dash for the door, lest the snake uncurl itself from the bucket handle in the skimmer and attack.

Then I had to put my head between my knees.

I can sell a house, buy a house, pack a house, move a family, drive thousands of miles in the middle of the night alone, make decisions and never look back, move a stinking washing machine--all right. None of this sounds very strong. I'm trying to say I don't beg for help easy. When my editors have to suggest my heroines are taking that same quality to a too-stupid-to-live extreme, I'm never surprised. (Sadly. At least that's an easy fix. In the fictional people.)

Back to my rambling tale o' terror. Bring me face to reptilian eyes with an 18-inch snake, as thick as a fat pen, and I throw my all into a bad Jerry Lewis imitation.

Oh, it was a proud moment.

Thursday? Already?

2008-07-24T04:04:00.000-07:00

I've been so busy I'm falling behind on blogging. So, today, I'm borrowing a thing that's going around the Internet. I love stuff like this anyway, and it made me think. When I was a kid, I learned to read, literally from my father's bookshelves, so I didn't know I was reading "classics." I think everyone should learn to read this way. I never understand folks who put down any kind of book. The books on my dad's shelves were just good stories. I'm just glad there are still so many to read!

The Big Read, an initiative by the National Endowment for the Arts, has estimated that the average adult has only read 6 of the top 100 books they've printed. How do you do?

The idea is:
1) Look at the list and bold those you have read.
2) Italicize those you intend to read.
3) Underline the books you LOVE.

1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien (Only the first 1 and 1/2--not sure why I stopped.)
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee (Reading this list, I realize that I think this is one of the greatest stories. It does so many things on so many levels. I almost think the fact that it goes on school reading lists does it a disservice because children who should be devouring it see it as a "job.")
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles - Thomas Hardy
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare (This one hurts. I’m just not sure I’ve read the complete works.) Yet, I revere him.
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger (Again, I've started--why haven't I finished?)
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy (I get past--past, mind you--that first battle scene, and it's as if I need a long vacation.)
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams (My nephew insists I'm a barbarian because I haven't read this.)
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh (Am reading right now)
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll (I read this one the summer I was 5. The Cheshire Cat scared me so much I never touched it again until I was forced to in college, and now I re-read it so often I'm on my third copy.)
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy (Another start/stop)
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens (This book opened my eyes to Charles Dickens. I loathed Great Expectations and thought I didn't like Dickens because of it. This was assigned in a class, and afterward, I ran through Dickens with delight!)
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen (This book continues to amaze me. I dislike Emma for so long, and then, all of a sudden, I love her. That Jane Austen! She's amazing!)
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne (Whattsa matter with me?)
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd - Thomas Hardy
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon (An astounding book. I'm in the middle of it; I keep reading bits. This is one I literally don't want to finish. Talk about reading pleasure.)
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck (If I had to read two Steinbecks in a row, I'd also have to avoid bridges.)
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold (I never would have chosen this, but a friend whose taste I trust implicitly recommended it, and it was wonderful.)
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac (My son loves, loves, loves this book. I get a touch impatient with the Beat Generation.)
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville (I'm not sure I've finished, but I get closer to the end with each attempt--and I distinctly remember holding a section of end pages so small, the book kept shutting.)
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro (Another recommendation from my boy)
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Only recently started dipping into the stories.)
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Hmm--I didn't underline, because I kind of forgot I was supposed to. I'll let the constant commenting suffice.

Do you notice no Hemingway? (I don't see his viewpoint except in the Nick Adams stories, but I've read every word of his I could get my paws on. The way he puts words together--a sensual pleasure.) Plenty of others are also missing.

Gotta go get some words of my own!

Need an Alarm Clock and Some Page Count

2008-07-21T04:31:00.000-07:00

My daughter just isn't herself unless she has her regulation 12 hours of sleep. (Okay, the regulation is 9, but I'm not sure I've ever--I mean ever--slept for 9 consecutive hours. I can't even imagine. It would be like losing a day.) Well, apparently, even when she sets an alarm to wake herself up for work, her body still demands those hours. For two work days in a row, she's sleep-walked across her room and turned off her alarm.

So, my job, and I've chosen to accept it, is to buy another alarm clock which she will have to set in another direction across her room in the hope that she'll wake up at some point in the process of turning it off.

And--gotta get that page count. I don't want to say this too loudly, but I'm enjoying my revisions. There are times when revisions are an exercise in trust for me, believing the editor knows the right direction and just following it. But this time I'm enjoying the characters and loving the writing. (In a blogging flash of the Freudian slip, I just typed "righting" for writing. Normally, whenever I think "right," I type "write." But yes, that must mean these revisions are right.)

I'm going to put this brilliance (how do you indicate a flinch in writing?) to work on the book!

Hope Monday is treating you well!

Saturday

2008-07-19T03:47:00.000-07:00

And I'm heading to Starbucks while I still can! I read an article not too long ago that rather sneered at "MacBook Novelists" having to find somewhere else to go now that so many Starbucks are closing. I was taken aback because I do have a MacBook, and I am a novelist, and I have spent many working hours at Starbucks where the coffee may be pricey, but it's tasty, you can stay all day and no one bugs you about taking up space, and the soothing music is conducive to work no matter what conversations go on about you.

I had no idea I was going to rant about that.

Now that I have ranted, I'll suggest that sneering isn't vital to an entertaining article.

And maybe I'm wrong about what I do. Last night, a friend I truly love asked me what I was working on. I said I was doing revisions as well as proposals for new SuperRomances. She asked me if I was also working on a novel. This question always throws me, and you'd be surprised how often friends and loved ones ask it of the romance novelists in their midsts. What are the books I've been writing, if they are not novels? And why do people I love ask this question without blinking an eye?

I should delete this. I sound cranky. Better curl up with the kitty before I head out to Starbucks. I may have to use his catnip addiction against him. He doesn't really love curling up with the humans unless he initiates the cuddle. He loves catnip, though.

When we were in Maine recently, we met a guy walking two massive dogs that work as therapy dogs. I wish I could remember what type they were because I'd love to add a photo. They had kind of golden lab coloring, longish, wirier fur than labs, and the fur kind of curled a little on their spines. They had heads bigger than bowling balls, and they were so tall they could go into a hospital or nursing home and just drop their heads on the bed so that patients can visit with them without a lot of physical strain.

We asked if we could pat the doggies, and the man told us he brought them out for walks so that they would get more interaction with strangers and he was happy for us to make friends. Talk about sweet-natured. (Truly wish I could remember the breed.)

Anyway, I didn't realize it, but maybe I need a nice doggie to make me kinder today. Kitty has just nodded off across the room. If I bug him now, his idea of therapy will result in sore fingers. :-)

Sorry for the "tetchiness." Happy weekend to all!