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Tuesday, August 30, 2005
what r u reading?
Got a big stack of cover flats for WHEN THE LIGHTS GO DOWN yesterday. It really is a nice cover; I think it will be eye-catching on bookstore shelves. But they sent me more this time around than usual & I don't know what the heck to do with them all. I'm thinking of giving a bunch away as a sort of contest on my website...heck, I can give away cover flats from all my books, not just this one. If you like to collect autographed cover flats, keep checking back to see when I actually get around to posting that offer. Probably around November.
Now on to the topic of reading. I've got four books going at the moment...
HARRY POTTER AND THE ORDER OF THE PHOENIX by J.K. Rowling -- I'm behind, I know, but I have to read this one before I can start HALF-BLOOD PRINCE. (No one tell me who dies in that one, okay?!?) But I have to admit, I'm having a hard time getting caught up in this one because I don't remember what the heck happened in the last book. PRISONER OF AZKABAN, yes...I remember that one, both from reading the book & watching the movie not too long ago. But I am completely clueless on what happened in GOBLET OF FIRE. I remember the cover & not much more. :-( I keep hoping something will happen in ORDER to refresh my memory, but so far, nada.
A STROKE OF MIDNIGHT by Laurell K. Hamilton -- "Meredith Gentry" installment #4...I'm starting to get annoyed at all the sexy guards she gets to share her bed with. I mean, how am I supposed to pick who I want to be King to her Queen when they're all so darn hot?!?
LOVER BEWARE anthology -- Just finished the Katherine Sutcliffe story, which I really liked. It's linked to her single title, BAD MOON RISING. Already read that one, but I can't remember exactly where the novella characters fell into it or what happened with them. That's okay, it was still a good short story & I thought it was interesting to visit New Orleans with her again.
Then on the treadmill, I just finished THE SHEIKH TAKES A BRIDE by Caroline Cross...this is a Desire from the "Dynasties: The Connellys" series that I started on the plane home from RWA & only recently got back to...& started THE TEMPTING MRS. REILLY by Maureen Child. I'm loving TEMPTING already, but then, Maureen has never written a book I haven't liked. She's one of my favorites.
How about you? What are you reading at the moment, & how are you enjoying it?
Monday, August 29, 2005
weekend veg report
So much for getting a lot done this weekend. I meant to, planned to, intended to. Instead, I mostly vegged.
See, this is what happened... On Friday, there was a MONK marathon on USA Network. I love that show, & regardless of the fact that I've seen them all before--likely multiple times--I had to watch. Then Saturday, I ended up watching a bunch of episodes from the Season One DVDs of THE PRETENDER. Another favorite; I have a complete crush on Jarod. And Sunday...how could they do this to me?!?...another MONK marathon. Different episodes than on Friday. What could I do but sit & watch?
But even with all the boob-tubing, it's not like I did nothing all weekend. I did actually work on a new synopsis & start my workshop speech for the upcoming STAR (Southern Tier Authors of Romance) conference in Ithaca, NY. That would be the one at which I'm giving--for the first time--my workshop on "Writing Category: Breaking In & Staying In." To say I'm nervous would be a phenomenal understatement. Luckily, my notes look good so far, & the speech part came together pretty well. I just hope this is information people are actually going to find interesting & useful. Either way, I've only got two more weeks to fret about it!
Saturday, August 27, 2005
Thought for the Day
I wish I was a bear... Then everyone would expect me to have hairy legs, excess body fat, & wake up growling!
Friday, August 26, 2005
Thursday, August 25, 2005
butterfly update
For the past week, Dudley & The Other One have been tucked safely into their bright green cocoons. Every day, they look pretty much the same.
Until today. Today, Dudley's crysallis began to turn dark. First dark green, then almost black. And little by little, I could begin to make out the shape of the butterfly inside. The curve of the wings, and each individual spot where the colors would be. Now, I can actually see the oranges & blacks forming. It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. There are even specks of gold on the outside of the crysallis.
I'm guessing Dudley will break out & be a butterfly by morning. I'd love to see the transformation, but these things always seem to happen while I'm asleep. I did stick a little cap of sugar water inside the critter carrier, tho, just in case. Even after the butterflies emerge, we're supposed to keep them for a couple hours until their wings harden completely, & they'll need food while that happens.
I can't wait! I'm gonna be a butterfly mama!
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
huge sigh of relief
Well, I spent yesterday & today proofing MR. AND MISTRESS, & I think it's in pretty good shape. Okay, I'm being modest...it's so good! I won't say it's perfect, & it's my editor's opinion that really matters, but I was so pleased with the way the story turned out. I love this hero & heroine--Misty & Cullen may be two of my favorite characters ever. And the story was just so darn moving & emotional--I caught myself sniffing back a tear more than once. Considering I knew what was coming, that has to be a good sign. (I think.)
So now I'm printing, & this baby will be in the mail by the end of the day. Hallelujah! It's always such a relief to have a manuscript finished & turned in. I can never quite believe I've managed to write another book. Whew.
I'm trying to decide how to celebrate... I'm thinking dinner out. Or maybe a big, fat Cosmopolitan. Or both. :-D
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Bundle O' Books Giveaway
What could be more fun than free books?! Revision 14--a wonderful, informative website--is celebrating its one year anniversary with a Bundle O' Books Giveaway. Every day this week, they'll be holding drawings for some great prizes.
Yesterday, I believe, they gave away one of my bookmarks & pencils...Thursday, August 25th, will be an autographed copy of BLAME IT ON THE BLACKOUT...& Saturday, August 27th will be one of my coasters.
Good luck!
Monday, August 22, 2005
done!
Whew, I'm finally finished with MR. AND MISTRESS, epilogue & all. Now the hard part begins. I'll take a day or two off to veg & let my mind go back to the "clean slate" stage. Probably watch some DVDs or read a bit in an attempt to clear my head of the details of M&M. Then I'll sit down with the entire manuscript & read it thru from the beginning, revising & polishing as I go.
This is my least favorite part of the whole writing process, simply because I'm not good at sitting still that long without some sort of background noise to distract me. But I can't have the television or radio on when I'm proofing a story or I might as well not be reading it at all.
It's such a relief to have the book done & know it will be in the mail by the end of the week. This definitely calls for a celebration, as the completion of every novel does. I don't know when or how yet, but believe me, I'll think of something. :-D
Sunday, August 21, 2005
still plugging away
And now I am at that stage of the book when I can see the light at the end of the tunnel, I just can't seem to reach it. I write & write & am making great progress, but the story just doesn't seem to want to end. That's okay; it's going really well & is good, necessary stuff. I was also a little worried about coming in short on my page count, so I'm happy to not have that as a concern anymore.
Did 10 1/2 pages last night & think I'm going to get another good chunk done tonight. My goal, of course, is to finish the book today...but then, I've been saying that for the last three days. LOL
Saturday, August 20, 2005
the end is near
Oh, my God, I'm getting excited. I am so close to the end of MR. AND MISTRESS. I feel this way at the end of every book...Oh, my God, I'm so close. If I just stayed up three or four more hours, I'll bet I could finish it. Of course, it's already 2am, so I think I'll go to bed & start fresh tomorrow. But I really am very, very close to The End of Misty's & Cullen's story.
I love this feeling & this portion of a story. The part where I can't seem to write fast enough, where everything is coming together & I'm crossing all the ts & dotting all the is. One part of the "declaration of love" scene actually made me tear up. And some dialogue that I just wrote between my hero, Cullen, & his brother, Bryan, made me laugh out loud. I hope those are good signs. I hope my editor chuckles and cries in the same spots. And then I hope you'll chuckle & cry, too.
Reaching this point in a story is the reason I love to write. Yes, yes, I know there's a lot of plot to get thru before the end, but the resolution is what makes the journey so worthwhile. It's the same reason we all read romance novels...to get to the end, where you sigh for the hero and heroine, & maybe even let out a cheer.
All right, time for bed. But I may not sleep very well; I'll be too eager to get up again & finish this book!
Friday, August 19, 2005
back to work
I haven't mentioned writing recently because...well, I haven't been doing much. A page here or there, but the RWA conference really threw me off my previously outstanding writing routine. Little by little, I've been dragging myself back to it, but it's been a problem, to say the least.
Finally, tho, I think I may be getting back on track. I've been staying up late & actually producing a handful of pages at a time. And I'm nearing the end of the book, which I always love. Not just for the obvious reasons, but because the wrap-up and final confession of love between the hero & heroine is my favorite part of any story.
My goal is to finish the book this weekend. (Which would be so cool!) I don't know if that will actually happen, but I'm sure going to give it a shot!
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Dudley & The Other One
 Here they are, the newest editions to my menagerie... Dudley on the left in his green, crysallis form; The Other One on the right, still a cute little striped caterpillar.
Also, some recommended reading, if you're interested in Monarch butterflies or their transformation process: AN EXTRAORDINARY LIFE: The Story of a Monarch Butterfly by Laurence Pringle.
Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Queen of the pod people
Well, my poor Dudley-uddums is no more. When I went to bed last night, he was still in his caterpillar form, tho he had crawled up to the top of the critter carrier & attached himself in the J-shape that signals the start of the transformation. Then, when I woke up this morning, Dudley was gone & a small green cocoon was all that remained. (Sniff, sniff.) He'll be this way for a while, I guess, before he begins to emerge in his full royal butterfly form.
The Other One is still a caterpillar, but I have a feeling his transformation is right around the corner. He's been climbing around the top of the case, looking for a place to turn into a crysallis instead of munching on tasty milkweed leaves.
Monday, August 15, 2005
eHarlequin chat
Well, yippee! I was just invited to participate in my first individual chat at eHarlequin.com. I've done group chats before, but this is the first time one will be all about me (:-p you know what I mean) & one of my books--WHEN THE LIGHTS GO DOWN.
It's scheduled for Monday, October 17th at 8pm (EST). I have absolutely no idea what I'll say. I may even have to read through LIGHTS again to refresh my memory; it's been a while since I worked on the story & I'm at least two books ahead now. I also have no idea whether people will have had a chance to read the book before the chat or not. I hope so. That way, we could actually discuss the story instead of my simply providing details of what the book is about .
Either way, I think it will be great fun. :-) And maybe by then I'll even have a few books or cover flats to give away.
Sunday, August 14, 2005
iTunes, uTunes, everybody Tunes-Tunes
Hmm. So this is what the 20th century looks like. Interesting. I might just stick around to experience more. :-) Long story short, I was shopping for a couple of CDs recently, only to realize that I'd be paying $15 for what basically amounted to two or three songs I actually liked & would listen to. Plus, I have so many CDs already that I'm running out of space to store them. Not good. So into my head popped this thought: Don't people--more technologically savvy people than I, I'm sure--download music by the song, thereby avoiding the need to own six millions CDs with only about a dozen songs that they actually listen to? And wasn't my brother, who would be able to explain the process to me, one of them?
Well, boy, howdy. I wasn't sure I could pull it off, but I definitely wanted to learn more about this interesting phenomenon. So I called my brother & he was kind enough to fill me in on the entire concept. It didn't end up being nearly as simple as it sounded, of course, but suffice to say that I am a proud new user of iTunes & have already downloaded my first song. :-D
What song is it, you might ask? "Don't Phunk with my Heart" by the Black-Eyed Peas. (I told you I couldn't get it out of my head. And now it will never leave!)
I really think I'm going to like this. And I have a feeling I'll be downloading a lot more songs in the future. I may even...gasp...think about buying an iPod so I can carry all my favorite songs with me to write to when I travel. I'm not sure I'm there yet, but it's a possibility.
And as for my opening comment about the 2oth century... Yes, I'm aware that we're actually in the 21st century now, but my brother informs me that even once I master the art of downloading music files, I will still be behind the times. So what else is new? :-p
Saturday, August 13, 2005
I've got worms
No, not that kind of worms. (What kind of person do you think I am?!? :-p) And, no, I'm not going into the pet shop business with the guys from Dumb & Dumber. LOL But I do have a container of worms...or rather, caterpillars...in my kitchen as we speak.
I am "raising" two Monarch butterfly caterpillars. A neighbor brought some over last week & explained how her son's first grade class had collected some the year before, fed them, & watched them develop into butterflies, so I thought I'd give it a try. At first, I admit, I thought they were a little icky. I don't like things that creep & crawl, & these two were so small, they really looked more like black-striped maggots. (Sorry, I calls 'em like I sees 'em.) But then they started to grow. They seem to be nearly doubling in size on a daily basis. All they do is eat, & I have to keep replenishing the milkweed leaves they live on.
But now...I think I love them. I check on them all the time...usually find them substantially larger than the last time I looked...& love to watch them eat. They eat their leaves just like we eat corn on the cob. Bite, bite, bite, bite, bite. Back to the beginning. Bite, bite, bite, bite, bite. So cute! I've even named them: Dudley & The Other One. "Dudley" because I'm reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix right now, & the larger of the two reminds me of Harry's cousin, Dudley. Pudgy & always eating. "The Other One" because I can't think of anything else to call him. My mother suggested "Moore" or "Do-Right," but I think I should stick with the Harry Potter theme & name him Hermione or Voldemort. Or how about He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named? That's kind of a big name for such a tiny creature, tho.
This whole process is supposed to take only a couple of weeks, but I feel like I've already been doing this for quite some time. I think perhaps I'm feeding them too well. I think they've decided, "Hey, the food's good here. Screw turning into a butterfly & flying to Mexico, I'm going to stay a caterpillar forever." :-D
I'll let you know how they progress & if they ever do turn into butterflies. Then--sniff--I'll have to kiss my babies goodbye & send them out into the big, bad world all by themselves. :-(
Friday, August 12, 2005
Anita Blake vs. Meredith Gentry
Busy couple of days, running around & trying to get everything done. I'm still behind, but what else is new? Tomorrow is CARA, too, which means I'll be running around even more. :-) Maybe I'll rest on Sunday...according to my weekly planner (a.k.a. The TV Guide), television should be pretty decent. There's a BRAT CAMP marathon on Family Channel (what can I say? I get a kick seeing the brats put thru their paces), & I think THE MUMMY, THE HOT CHICK, & THE MATRIX may be on. Maybe even DEEP BLUE SEA. All excellent to write to, since I've seen them before & can listen with only half an ear.
But I digress... My last several posts have been heavy with conference stuff, so I thought I'd do something fun for a change.
I'm wondering--if there's anyone actually out there reading this :-)--which is your favorite Laurell K. Hamilton series/heroine. I'm reading book #3 of the "Meredith Gentry" series right now & enjoying it...but I still think I might like the "Anita Blake" series better. I'm a sucker for her vampires, werewolves, & all the action of that series. Of course, I'm a little behind with Anita; I slacked off somewhere around book #8 & haven't had a chance to catch up yet, so I'm probably not the best judge.
What do you think? Anita Blake or Meredith Gentry? Which is your favorite character/series--& why?
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
Day 6
Just got back from the vet...had to take a urine sample in from Angel. Fun, fun. Ever try to collect a urine sample from a cat? LOL I felt like a soldier of fortune, hiding in the bushes until I caught him using the litter pan, then dashing over with my little Dixie cup to catch what I could. And because there's still some crystallization, he needs to stay on the special food for a while longer & I get to do my skulking routine all over again in a month. :-P
But anyway, on to DAY 6:
All right, so Sunday wasn't an official conference day. Mostly, everyone was checking out of the hotel & heading home. Which is exactly what I did. I was up early to finish packing & get ready to leave. At the Reno airport, I ran into Karen Alarie again, so we sat & talked a while until she had to catch her flight. And I also ran into Maureen Child again...lucky duck; her flight was less than an hour long while I had about 14hrs of traveling ahead of me. But I'll get her back next year when Atlanta is much closer for me & much farther for her. :-)
I didn't write on the way home. I was too tired & slept much of the time. The most I did was start reading another Desire, THE SHIEKH TAKES A BRIDE by Caroline Cross.
I was scheduled to get in around midnight, but my final flight was delayed by almost 2hrs, which meant I didn't get home until 2am. Ugh. The first thing I did when I walked in the door was hug & kiss the kitties. They must not have been too furious with me for disappearing for a week because all four of them came out to see me & were catnip-happy to be getting some attention. (That's what a good pet sitter can do; the kiddos don't feel so abandoned when there's someone checking on them a couple time a day.) Then I pretty much fell into bed & slept until 2pm the next day. I'm still feeling sleepy & having a hard time getting back to my old, productive schedule, but hopefully I'll be able to shake off the jet lag soon & get back on track.
Monday, August 08, 2005
Day 5
I was up bright & early Saturday morning for breakfast with my agent. We had a nice, long talk & covered just about everything we could think of. He even gave me a small gift--a "magic" pen. It's green with yellowish-orange flowers on it & is shaped like a small fish (a minnow, maybe). He told me it's a very special pen & that I am to use it only to sign new contracts & endorse checks from his office. Ha! If only he knew how seriously I take this sort of thing. I love the idea of having a magic pen & will never use it for anything else. Believe me; I'd be way too afraid of having some sort of bad luck befall me. I'm supersticious that way. :-p
After breakfast, while I was waiting to meet a friend for lunch, I attended my one & only workshop of the week. It was Susan Elizabeth Phillips's & Jayne Ann Krentz's "Secrets of the Bestselling Sisterhood." Susan & Jayne can both be so funny, & I took notes. They also opened the floor to questions fairly early on, so I'm guessing the attendees found the workshop very helpful.
I met up with my friend, Karen Alarie (who writes for Harlequin Blaze as Karen Anders, btw), & we made our way to Susan's keynote luncheon. We were sitting at the back because we'd gotten there a little late, & just a few minutes into the meal, Richard showed up again. I swear, I spent more time with my agent at this conference than ever before...& I hadn't even meant to. But we made room for him at the table & had another really nice meal. We also got a couple of great books on the chairs at this luncheon: Susan's AIN'T SHE SWEET? & Christina Dodd's SOME ENCHANTED EVENING.
And then, of course, Saturday night was the Golden Heart/RITA Awards Ceremony. Now, ever since arriving home, I've heard the hubbub about the ceremony's content and Nora Roberts refusing to emcee. I have to tell you, I wasn't the least offended. Yes, it ran on a bit long--but then, doesn't it always? And, yes, I suppose some of the images displayed during the video clips could have been deemed offensive...but I guess I'm just not easily offended because they didn't phase me in the least. Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention. LOL Either way, I had a blast, & I was super-excited to be rooting for friends who had been nominated. Best of all, many of those I was rooting for WON! Yay!
Sunday, August 07, 2005
Day 4
The big to-do on Friday was the Harlequin Party that night. It was only my second year to attend this, but I'd been looking forward to it all week. I wore my new black & neon green dress...the one with the ragged, shredded hem. Man, I just love that dress! :-D Harlequin didn't provide transportation to the party location this year, which was kind of a bummer, but we had no trouble catching a cab. They had a dessert buffet & open bar, but there were also servers walking around with trays of Cosmopolitans & Hypnotiq martinis. Oh, my goodness, were these delicious! I'd actually had a Hypnotiq (hope I'm getting the spelling right) recently, so I knew exactly what they were & how good they'd be.
Ran into my agent right off the bat & we ended up sitting together all night. He introduced me to several of his other clients & kept us amused with stories about his family. There's no getting around it; my agent is a funny guy!
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Day 3
Thursday night was dinner with my editor & several other authors...Maureen Child, Kelsey Roberts, Cherry Adair, Leanne Banks, & Amy Fetzer. It was also my first time eating Mexican. (Yes, I know, I lead a very sheltered life.) But the food was good & the company was better. I had a blast! It was also kind of exciting to hear my editor bragging up one of my upcoming Desires. This would be the proposal I just sold, THE SECOND MRS. RAMSEY. She called it "scandalous." Ooh, I'm so glad she thinks so. And I absolutely loved the watermelon margarita I ordered with dinner. Mmm.
After dinner, we all attended the National Readers' Choice Awards. None of my immediate friends or acquaintances won, which was kind of disappointing, but the ceremony itself was still fun. The actual awards were great, too...I'm starting to think I'd really like one of those for my mantel. (I don't actually have a mantle, but I'd be sorely tempted to build one just to have somewhere to display my NRCA. :-))
And after that, a friend & I dropped in on the eHarlequin Pajama Party that took place in the Harlequin Suite. It was crowded, cramped, & loud, so we didn't stay long, but it was fun to run into some friends & pick up a few goodies from the movie theatre-style snack bar Harlequin had set up.
By that time, it was late, so I was off to bed again. :-)
Friday, August 05, 2005
Day 2
Slept well Tuesday night & decided not to set my alarm. Even so, I didn't sleep in very late. I also had a fabulous dream about George Clooney, which I don't remember much of anymore. Still--ooh la la. Went downstairs to register for the conference, then wandered around to check out the hotel & chat with friends.
The Literacy Autographing started at 5:30pm, & I once again got to sit next to the sweet & adorable Liz Beverly. As fun as the signing was, it felt a little dead this year. I signed a good number of books & got to meet a good number of readers, but for some reason, things just seemed...slow. I talked with several authors who felt the same way. Altho, we were at the very back of the room, so maybe it was simply that by the time readers got to us, they were exhausted. :-) I sneaked away at one point to circle the room myself & am so glad I did...I got to chat with a lot of good friends & pick up some great books. But most of all, I'm excited that I got to talk with Maggie Osborne & wish her the very best for her retirement. Oh, my gosh, as happy as I am for her, I'm so bummed she's going to stop writing. I love, love, love this woman & her books. By the time I finished wishing her well & begging her to change her mind, I was in tears.
Of course, it wasn't until about two hours after the Literacy Autographing ended that I realized I'd misplaced my credit card. I was almost certain I'd left it at the check-out table...that was the last time I'd used it, I remembered signing the credit card slip but not returning the card to my wallet...so even tho I was moderately panicked, I had a pretty strong feeling one of the women working the line would have rescued the card for me. And sure enough, when I checked the conference registration booth the next day, there it was. Whew!
One last note about Wednesday: Chloraseptic strips rock! I get sore throats at just about every conference I attend from all the talking; & especially from all the high talking we have to do to be heard over the din of luncheons, signings, parties, etc. Normally, I take Chloraseptic spray &/or lozenges for the room. But this year, I decided to try the new sore throat strips. Oh, my gosh, these things are great! They're less messy & last longer than either the spray or the cough drops...seriously, they numbed my throat so much better & I found myself having sore throat problems much less than usual. Plus, that tiny little case is so much easier to carry around, & no one needs to know you're using sore throat strips rather than maybe fresh breath strips. From now on, I'm using the strips exclusively, even when I really am sick!
Thursday, August 04, 2005
RWA conference--Day 1
All right, I've dug out my notes & am at least moderately prepared to begin reporting on the RWA National Conference in Reno, Nevada. Chances are, other attendees have way more to report than I do. I barely attended any workshops & spent a lot of time just sitting around talking with friends. :-)
DAY 1:
Headed for Reno on Tuesday, a day earlier than I usually fly in. At that point, I was full of energy & looking forward to getting a lot done during the flights.
Started reading MARCHING ORDERS, a Harlequin Intrigue by Delores Fossen, & got completely hooked. This is a wonderful book. If you've never read anything by Delores before, put it at the top of your To Do list and do so immediately. (She has a new book, PEEKABOO BABY, out in September.) She's a marvelous writer. In fact, if I were giving her a cover quote, this is what I'd say: "Delores Fossen writes the kind of stories I like to read--romantic, suspenseful, fabulous! She'll keep you turning pages well into the night...and loving every minute of it!" Such a good book; I didn't get nearly as much writing done on my three flights as I'd planned because I simply could not put this story down. I loved, loved, loved it!
But I did get my Alphie out during the longest leg of the trip. Of course, I had no idea how much I'd gotten done until I was home. The Alphie page counter said I had 8.8 pages, which ended up being 14 manuscript pages. Yippee! I completed an entire chapter on one short-to-middling flight...way more than I'd anticipated.
Arrived at the hotel fairly late--around 7 or 8pm Pacific Time, which would have been 10 or 11pm my time (Eastern). That's okay; I was jet-lagged, anyway, & just wanted to go to bed.
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
sad news
Had a doctor's appointment today, so I spent the afternoon running around, but when I got home & checked voicemail, there was a message saying that my cousin (once removed) passed away today. I knew she'd been sick, but not that sick.
I'm really going to miss her. She was such a sweet lady, & one of the few relatives who loved my books & supported my career wholeheartedly. She came out to one of my very first booksignings & always dropped me notes after she'd read each subsequent story. She is also leaving behind a daughter who must be positively heartbroken.
Monday, August 01, 2005
I'm back!
Thank God. I won't lie to you. As much as I enjoyed the conference, this was not the greatest year ever...at least not for me. It was pretty much Murphy's Law from start to finish.
For starters, I shipped four boxes of books to the conference hotel for both the Librarians' Day Luncheon Wednesday morning & the Literacy Autographing Wednesday night. They arrived Thursday afternoon--just in time to be of absolutely no use to me. I ended up leaving them there until the end of the week, then shipping them right back home. :-P Then I left my credit card at one of the check-out tables after the Literacy Autographing & didn't realize it was missing for about two hours. By then, the room had cleared out & was being cleaned. Thankfully, the card was waiting for me at the registration desk the next morning. I didn't sleep well all night worrying, but it was there & I didn't have to spend all Thursday on my cell phone--paying roaming charges, no less--reporting the card lost &/or stolen.
From that point on, I was convinced I'd been cursed by a voodoo priestess or some such & barely wanted to leave the hotel room. And maybe I shouldn't have, since I ended up sick on-&-off the rest of the week. I wasn't the only one, tho...I ran into several friends & a few strangers who said they didn't feel well or were having equally bad luck. We don't know if it was the water, the altitude, or what, but we all spent the week feeling very "iffy." Personally, I think it was a cosmic thing, with the stars out of alignment or some such. To top it all off, our last flight was delayed by two hours, so we didn't get home until 2am. I dragged my bags inside, said hello to the kitties, & fell into bed until 2pm. I didn't expect to sleep that long, but I'm not the least surprised.
Even with all that, I had a nice time. The conference itself was great fun. I didn't do many workshops or luncheons, but I got to do dinner with my editor, breakfast with my agent, and hang out with friends. I actually attended the the GH/RITAs this year, which were fabulous. The theatre where the ceremony was held was really comfortable, with a little more room to stretch out than when it's just a bunch of chairs lined up next to each other. :-) And I am thrilled to report that several of the authors I was rooting for WON!!!
Congratulations to Pam Poulsen, fellow WRW member & friend, who won the Golden Heart for Paranormal Romance with her manuscript, SAPPHIRE DREAMS. This girl is a shining talent just waiting to be discovered...I mean, she's been a Golden Heart finalist something like four times & I predict she will sell a book very soon.
Congratulations to Sophia Nash, another WRW member, who won the RITA for Best Regency Romance with her book, A PASSIONATE ENDEAVOR. I don't know Sophia well, tho we sat next to each other at the Turn the Page pre-Retreat booksigning in May & she seems like a very nice lady. I'll have to be sure to chat longer with her at the next Retreat & see if I can get some of her great talent & luck rub off. :-D
Congratulations to Lori Handeland, who won the RITA for Best Paranormal Romance with her book, BLUE MOON. Man, can this girl write! I love her books. She was also kind enough to help me out with some football research for my February 2006 Desire, SEVEN-YEAR SEDUCTION.
Congratulations to Laura Kinsale, who won the RITA for Best Long Historical Romance with her book, SHADOWHEART. I don't know Laura, tho I think it would be the thrill of a lifetime to meet her in person. However, we have a brilliant agent in common...yes, that was my agent, Richard Curtis, up on stage accepting the RITA on Laura's behalf. Such a funny guy, & in case you were thinking he was only that supportive & complimentary of his star authors...it ain't so. He's that enthusiastic about all of us. :-)
And last but not least...in fact, I saved the best & most exciting for last...a HUGE CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! to BARBARA MCCAULEY, fellow Desireable & sweet, wonderful woman, who won the RITA for Best Short Contemporary Romance with her Silhouette Desire, MISS PRUITT'S PRIVATE LIFE. I read this one & it was greeeaaaat. I told her Wednesday night at the Literacy Autographing how wonderful it was & that she was going to win. I don't think she believed me, but for once my predictions came true. :-D She really does deserve it. And just so you know, that was also my editor, Melissa Jeglinski, up on stage with Barbara. She deserves it, too; she's amazing.
Okay, that's part one of the conference report. I have lots more to say, but I haven't unpacked enough yet to find my notes & don't want to forget anything. When I do find my notes & get the chance to put the happenings & my thoughts in order, I will definitely post them.
In the meantime, I have a ton of work to do. While I was gone, the contracts for my most recent deal with Silhouette and the copy edits for SEVEN-YEAR SEDUCTION arrived in the mail. Wouldn't you know it! So I need to read over both as soon as possible & get them sent back. Not to mention unpacking, catching up on e-mail, & getting back to my writing!
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