Southern Fried Chicas

The countdown to school starting is single digits now…YEE! I feel a little, I dunno, weird that I’m so terribly happy to be rid of my kids for hours a day, not enough to pull back the emotion however, but enough to comment on. I will say, at the start of the new school-year, I never try to make plans of “I’m gonna so this…” when they go back, because inevitably something ALWAYS comes up to thwart them. I am going to play it all by ear as it happens and have many things I *could* do…

A weird thing happened the other day—now granted I was extremely tired at the time so unless/until it happens again, I’m gonna chalk it up to that. I may have mentioned on here before, and I know I’ve mentioned to writer friends, but when I write I *see* the scenes in my head vividly, like a movie reel of sorts… always have. And I know other folks who do this as well… but I had the opposite happen the other night. I was telling the hubby something—remember, I said I was tired—and I saw the words, even so much as I almost, but didn’t, hold my hands up to make parentheses when I wanted to make an aside comment. It was the weirdest thing. As I write this, though, I have seen several movies of late that had the words pop up on screen for effect—kiddo #4 watched Zombieland  again the other day—so maybe it was the tired mixing with that–still made me giggle when it happened though.

As of Jan. 1, I will be relieved of ALL duties with my local chapter (okay, I do have one thing I have to do in January, but it’s a one-day thing that’s quick and easy–I’m just an impartial observer). I so need a break. I have been on the board in some capacity or another since the Fall of 2002. I gave up all my committee posts and will spend the next few months training my replacements. I am very much looking forward to being *just* a member–I can’t even remember what that’s like. (Did you hear that loud crash ?!?! I’m guessing Ames’ jaw just hit the floor!)

… oh, and do you know what today is?

It’s release day for  WRONG TURN, RIGHT COWBOY

… WOOT!

No matter how far you run, the past is never far behind.

Paintbrush, Book 2 …

 AVAILABLE TODAY

Warning: Sparks that ignite the whole town, dangerous secrets and some much-deserved butt-kicking.

One last thing… my MIL paid me the biggest writing complement, she said when she finished reading my last book, she wanted to know more… what happened after the book ended. Where things ended up with the secondary characters… I didn’t tell her of course, I may need to work up another book… LOL

Please feel free to share any news you have. If you are as happy as me that school is starting soon (only 6 more days YAY!)  send out a cheer! Or did you make any dramatic changes to your writing/regular life … tell-away.

And have a great week!

Quite simply I’ve been feeling overwhelmed (for months).

That feeling put me in a “deer in headlights” state of mind (for months). I’ve known what I wanted to do with my writing career. I’ve known the end goal, the big picture but it’s the details that kept me imobilized(not to mention the gut wrenching fear).So I’ve been reading (a lot) of books, watching (a lot) of t.v./movies and listening to music.And I shouldn’t be surprised that this is the way the Universe sent me a message.

Anyway, feeling like a complete failure because I can’t get my butt in gear and I can’t seem to get past the fear, my insomnia rears it’s head. That means I’m watching Friends reruns from 11:00-12:00 a.m. I finally get to the episode where Chandler and Monica get married. Now I don’t remember this episode for the wedding. I remember it because this is when we know Rachel is pregnant, but everyone thinks it’s Monica. So to my surprise Chandler gets cold feet and disappears. And Ross, I love Ross, with the help of Phoebe goes to find him.

They find Chandler having a nervous breakdown in his office. He can’t get past the idea of getting Married. Hilarity ensues because Chandler is Ross’s best friend, but Monica is his sister. There is no way he is going to allow his best friend to stand up his sister at the atlar. But then Ross says the simplest thing to him. (Paraphrasing) “Ok. Getting married is scary and right now that’s a big thing to tackle. So how about you just come with me, go home and take a shower. Taking a shower isn’t scary.”

I know, right? It’s not a new idea. Take a big task and break it down into little parts.

For me, it’s take my idea of CAREER and break it down. One page a day on the YA. If it’s a really tough day, one paragraph. Flipping through baby name books and writing down a name that I like. ‘Cause here’s the thing, I don’t have to be the author I’ve envisioned yet. Logically, I wouldn’t be anyway. It’s going to take years. It’s going to take me being ready. The right opportunity at the right time.

Not saying I’m cured, because there are still moments where I can’t breathe at the thought of everything I have to do. The thought of everything I want to be. It is scary. It is overwhelming. But today, I sat down and wrote one blog post so there’s progress to be had.

What’s been overwhelming for you? Anything to confess? And no you don’t have to be Catholic.

p.s. Sorry for the lack of pictures every time I post. The library is not my best friend.

I’ll have to join Tanya in confessing I’ve got nothing really prepared this week. It’s been an unbelievably stressful one at work and I haven’t done a bit of writing. All I wanted to do once I got home was collapse and stare at the tv.

And so I found myself watching “MasterChef”, featuring Gordon Ramsay. I’ve never really been one for the game show/competitive television contests. I don’t really watch a lot of tv, and when I do I don’t enjoy seeing the contestants lose or have their dreams dashed. Nor have I ever had much interest in developing advanced cooking skills—although seeing what they came up with made me hungry. If I can put together a decent meal, I’m good with it.

But there was something about this show that grabbed me. The challenge of coming up with a single-egg dish that would impress a gourmet chef had a lot to do with it, yes (and I thought they were all amazing).

But it didn’t take me long to realize what it was. It was the dream gleaming in the contestants’ eyes. You could see the urgency in those hands chopping vegetables, the intensity of concentration in the mixing, the careful way they arranged their offerings on the dishes and presented them to the judges with a small description of what they had put together, what it was meant to be. The nervousness, the shallow breathing, the fervent, silent prayer…

By the end of the show I was cheering for some and clutching at my heart for others. I knew this scenario. If one of them had pulled out a manuscript and handed it to Ramsay, I would not have been a bit surprised.

I must admit, however, that I haven’t had much of that feeling lately, probably for various reasons. A couple of months ago, I told an old writing buddy that, if a big editor/agent call came tomorrow, I had a feeling I’d just take a deep breath and calmly say, “Okay.”
And that would probably be very professional of me.
But I think I hope it’s not true.

Been a busy week for me which means I didn’t have time to prepare anything.  Sooooooooo, I figure I’ll just do an open mic thingie.

Talk about whatever you want. Dorchester’s been on my mind and interestingly enough, I found this interesting snippet in PW today:

Leah Hultenschmidt, editorial director at the publisher, said headlines from last week that emphasized the company’s move away from mass market paperback to a largely e-book program miscontrued the situation. “It’s true Dorchester is going digital, but only for the next six months,” Hultenschmidt explained. Her comment comes after Dorchester said late last week that it would be dropping its mass market publishing program, releasing all its titles in e-book format and publishing select books via  print-on-demand. A number of agents, speaking on the condition of anonymity, expressed concerns about the situation at Dorchester. One called what’s happening “an admission of retreat” on behalf of the publisher and said that the house’s editors are saying one thing while its president is telling the press something very different. But Hultenschmidt said the headlines about Dorchester’s new plans overplayed the digital aspect. Hultenschmidt said that the house will be working with Ingram Publishers Services, as previously announced, and will be releasing all of its titles in e-book format and then releasing a paperback edition roughly six months later. Hultenschmidt said the lag would allow IPS to collect all of Dorchester’s sales information and give it time to sell titles into accounts. Although Dorchester president John Prebich, when he initially explained the move to PW, did not lay out a trade paperback program and said only select titles would be printed POD, Hultenschmidt said that POD would be used largely for re-orders, but that most titles would be printed as traditional trade paperbacks on offset printers. There are several reports that the company is running very late on advances–one source confirmed that their author has been waiting an inordinately long time for payment with no guarantee of when a check might arrive–and there are still questions about how many titles Dorchester really is planning on releasing in print.

Hmmmmmm……

And in other news…..

How’s your writing going? What are you reading? Have you seen Inception? I did, and I loved it.  If you haven’t seen it, do you have any good movies to recommend? Did anything interesting happen to you this week? Reach any milestones? Any funny stories you’d like to share? Anybody piss you off when you were driving? Find a good bargain at the mall? Any and all topics are welcome.  Please share.

Have a wonderful day!!

I’m not saying any of this applies to me (right this very second) and I am not saying it doesn’t, but…

When do you get the I suck ‘ems, assuming you do. Actually with most authors I assume they get them at some point, at the very least once. Maybe with each book, maybe between each book. Me, they come and go and often when they shouldn’t be there (not that there’s ever a good time).

After my glorious six days at conference, now that I am home and completely ensconced back in *real life* of “Mom….” I can admit it came and went several times at the conference. My girlfriends and I talked about it during our forever long wait at the airport—did you know that you could get to an airport *too* early—anyhoo, I digress. As we waited, we all talked about how excited we were, then an hour later we said, “oh why were we fooling ourselves,” then an hour later—remember, too early takes a long time—an hour later, we were back up to the “we can do this.”

Back and forth this went. For me this is a theme that has plague me since book 3 or 4. Book one and two I was really too naive to think everything wouldn’t be perfectly perfect and perfectly easy. But, but, but… It’s hard and it’s frustrating and I want to give up, but really I can’t because I feel compelled to write almost in the same way I feel compelled to breathe–I have to! But, but, but… Then I need Sam Axe (Burn Notice) to say, “A bunch of bitchy little girls”, sure he’s talking about spies, but it applies to me. At the same time I can hear a little voice in the back of my head say, “pull your big girl panties up a keep moving”.

So I do and a I will.

Back to the question, when do you get them? Do you get to that point in the “process” that you know it’s coming and you try to thwart it? Makes me think of my migraines, when I get the signs one’s coming I can lessen it if I act on, but if I don’t … whammo full-blown misery. The suck ‘ems are similar and sometimes as stifling. Or do they randomly pop up like a 24 hour bug?

on a happy happy note… Happy day-early Birthday, Chica Amie … woot!

Few things have made me happier in reading and writing than cross-genre fiction.

In writing, it offers the chance to experiment, to add spice to the usual menu. Maybe even stretch the wings in an entirely new direction, to give your reader who may be expecting one thing a taste of something tantalizingly else.

Since I first started writing, I enjoyed mixing mystery with paranormal, fantasy with humor…even a bit of horror with romance, as in my latest, which was released in print this week.

(yes, I had to slip that plug in, and see? It hardly hurt at all, did it?).

As a reader, I love the way it helps expand the mind. What’s more interesting than a mixture of old and new, or different cultures, races, ideologies…fantasies? Vixen fairies, romantic zombies, cowboy leprechauns, death-dealing mermaids—bring ‘em on!

And the great thing about cross-genre fiction is that the possibilities are virtually limitless.

What are your favorite cross-genres to write?
To read?
Is there anything you’d like to see that hasn’t been done?

Below I’ve got ten topics. As always, respond to what catches your eye and ignore what doesn’t.

================================

1.  BOINK AWAY?

Some chick wrote a book about how women can enhance and even save their relationships. Her solution?

New York (CNN) — Could letting your man sleep with another woman help your relationship?

==========================================

Author and former mistress Holly Hill thinks so. “One of the main things that I have learned is that a woman that negotiates infidelity with her partner is far more powerful than a woman who is sitting home wondering why he’s late from the office Christmas party,” she says. “It’s better to walk the dog on a leash than let it escape through an unseen hole in the back fence.” Hill’s memoir, “Sugarbabe” details her yearlong adventure with a series of so-called “sugar daddies.” The book sold 24,000 copies in her native Australia, according to her publisher, and has just been released in the United States. Holly Hill is a pen name.

Read the rest of this entry »

Ah, I am home from Nationals. The perfect capper to a great week, I got to fly home first class thanks to the dh’s Platinum, Gold, Titanium… I don’t know what it was… extra miles that let me get to sit in first class. Awesomeness in a cup!

So, back to last week… My gals Avery M and Michele M and I left Dallas and landed in Orlando—everything went relatively smooth to the bus to the hotel—the Dolphin—and to the room. I won’t go into how the hotel messed up my portion (TWICE) and I spent more the half an hour standing at the desk getting it corrected. We were all so happy to be there, and the (Tiki) drinks afterwards, made it far less painful.

Wednesday, Michelle had a meeting all morning and afternoon so Avery and I hit the Magic Kingdom. We had a BLAST. It was the very first time I have ever done something like that without my kids and while it was weird, I totally loved it and got into the grove after twenty minutes. I even went to the place that tripped me and made me sprain both my ankles last year when the fam and I went. I booed it with great enthusiasm and hurried away before it could trip me again.

Later that night was the multi (and by multi—I mean 100s of) author book signing. I had my little stack of books, and by then Nikki B had arrived (she came in on Wed) so she, Michele and Avery would talk with me, run check out their fave authors and come back to say who they saw. THEN I had a total brain-fart moment. A young woman came up to me and wanted a book signed. I have to say, this was the FIRST time this has happened. I have signed books at the signings before, sure, but it has always been to chapter-mates/friends. I wasn’t expecting it and totally blanked. Afterwards Avery asked if I had talked to her and whatnot. Alas, I did not—total book-signing foul! So if by chance you read this… Amy (I totally remembered your name), I am so sorry I didn’t chat with you. I was a little shell-shocked at the experience. I really hope you enjoy the book, and thanks more than I can say for coming over to me and getting it!

Read the rest of this entry »

Out of all the romance authors I’ve read, I do have a favorite.
And as strange as it may sound—and although I’ll read practically anything this woman writes—I don’t care much for her heroines.
Her stories are great. The lady is a fabulous writer. It’s just that I don’t think her heroines are her strong point.
Now, her heroes? Absolutely to DIE for! Attractive, strong, sensitive, sexy. Haven’t read a single one I didn’t sigh over.
(Of course, it could be that I resent her heroines, and I don’t like them because I don’t think they’re good enough…but I prefer to think I’m above that sort of thing.)

I don’t think my favorite mystery writer is very good at depicting convincing relationships. More than once I’ve done a double-take when I reached a passage in which the protagonist confessed, “I’ve loved you since…”, only to flip back in total disbelief, thinking I’d missed something. I hadn’t. But her mysteries keep me riveted.

And my favorite erotic author isn’t necessarily at her best when penning ‘romance’. She can do all shades and colors of hot, make my jaw drop occasionally, but the sweeter scenes often feel a little stiff and forced.

These aren’t criticisms, but observations, made in the course of studying their books. These observations are only my humble opinions, and possibly off base. But that doesn’t really matter.

The important thing is that, even if these things are true, I don’t really give a damn. I thoroughly enjoy reading them anyway. Apparently, the strengths of these writers more than compensates for anything I might find a little lacking.

A gentle little exercise that reminded me not to slight some things I may do fairly well while struggling to work on my weaknesses.

Hmm. Maybe the wip doesn’t need so much internal dialogue after all.