No, really–isn’t there an off switch or something?
First, I must offer deepest apologies to those of you who have been looking for my Tuesday Ten. I even had a swell post in mind, listing the reasons I’m hyperventilating about the Southern Cross Writer’s Challenge(a.k.a. SocNoc) I’ve signed up for in June. Then I see my writing bud Carynhas blogged about it and I’d hate to copy her cat, so I may end up doing that next Tuesday. In fact, this may move up to a moral imperative as Montana asked me where my Tuesday Ten was last night. Ye-owch.
I think another reason I didn’t set fingers to keyboard is my writer’s brain is still going. In fact, it feels like it’s racing so fast that it’s making Sunday’s Indy 500 look like a bunch of old ladies in their 1979 Oldsmobiles going to church. The rope I’m holding onto in the middle of this storm is I’m picking up my pace with my writing. (No wonder–I’ve got 50,000 words to do in June. Hang on–I’ve gotta go breath into a paper bag.) I’ve written 15 pages across Sunday, Monday and Tuesday and have plans to add to that tonight. All good, right? Of course right–that wasn’t a trick question.
But, I say, but! In the midst of this writing pace lap to the 500 miles of my book, I’ve had some great conversations with Montana and my CP about Book #4–the parnomal lite romantic comedy (para lite rom com). I’m giving the heroine sucha better goal (and conflict), giving my overly beta male a little shot of personality Viagra, and bringing the original trilogy I had in mind to a tight, cohesive place. This is no longer your grandmother’s edit. We’re talking big changes–not enormous, but big. All with the thought of pitching this at Nationals at the end of July. With the SocNoc challenge for June. (Damn. Where’s that paper bag?) But I really can’t complain about this–these are fabulous changes and are going to make this book (and the succeeding two) so much stronger and tighter and better. How can I kvetch that the girls are sending all of these changes up? It’s money, baby. Money.
So I am a bit scattered. All of my focus is on those two books so everything else is racing in circles around them. (See, tied in the Indy 500 reference again. Guess my focus likes obvious metaphors.) If I were Luke I’d be dropping Yoda on his little green butt.
Luke: I can’t believe it.
Yoda: That is why you fail.
Hmm. Maybe the little green guy was onto something after all.
Where’s the Off Switch on This Thing?
So Wednesday night I’m all tucked in, drifting off to a much-needed night of sleep when it happened. (I’d be amazed if this had never happened to any of you.)
My book woke me up.
I’m writing along on Book #5, happy as a clam, but I’m also doing some smoothing on Book #4, contemplating a light rewrite of the first scene. I’ve never been the type to go to sleep the instant my head hits the pillow, so I’m used to letting my mind wind down after the lights go out. Sometimes I can guide my mind in a certain direction, sometimes I can’t. Wednesday night we seemed to agree–I’d think about the first scene of Book #4.
After two minutes or twenty, I’ve managed to come up with what I thought was a pretty good first paragraph–it made my heroine sympathetic, established her goal, and set the tone of the book, all in three lovely sentences. What a wonderful way to drift off to sleep, right? Because I knew I’d remember this in the morning, right? And you know where this is going, right?
Wrong.
Been there, done that. I’ve told myself I’d remember it in the morning more than Nora’s written ‘The End’ and have had disastrous results each time, so I’ve finally learned my lesson. I got up, turned on my laptop and wrote those three lovely sentences down. Then, I got back into bed and went to sleep the instant my head hit the pillow.
Damn writer’s brain.
I’ve discovered another thing you can’t turn off once you cross the threshold into WriterLand is the dreaded movie eye. This is where you watch a movie, even a movie you’ve watched countless times before with a childlike innocence, and dissect it like Buffy fighting a vengeance demon. You see the arcs, the continuity errors, the theme, the infodump and backstory, the turning points, and depending on how good or bad some of those craft techniques are, you say something. After all, you have to. When I watched August Rush with my mother a few weeks ago, I couldn’t hold my tongue after what was essentially the second beginning, and there was no way I could be silent after the third. And a month ago when I watched Twister for the umpteenth time because it’s a fun way to pass two hours, I saw Jo and Bill’s arcs and how they tied into the theme and forced Montana to watch it (again) with me, liberally using the pause button to show him what I discovered.
It’s true. Once you’ve looked behind the curtain and discovered the great and wonderful Oz, there’s no going back.
Tuesday Ten: Jess Riley
It’s a very special day here at Pam Writes Romance–I’m doing my first author interview and it’s also the release day for this author’s debut novel. Ten questions on a Tuesday Ten, that Tuesday being release day? That’s some major karma there, but I can’t take all of the credit. I think you’re going to be wonderfully enchanted by Jess. She’s got the off-center sense of humor and underlying determination that I really enjoy. In fact, when reading Jess’s replies to my interview questions, I kept feeling more and more at home with her, like she was somebody I could have sat down in a coffeeshop with and not left for hours because she was so much fun to talk to. So that you can love her as much as I do, let me introduce her properly and then get on to the interview.
Jess Riley is the author of Driving Sideways, a story about Leigh Fielding and how Leigh wants a life. Seriously. Having spent the past five years on dialysis, she has one simple wish: to make it to her thirtieth birthday. Now, thanks to the generosity of the late Larry Resnick and his transplanted kidney, it looks like her wish may come true.
With her newfound vitality (and Larry’s kidney) in tow, Leigh hits the road for an excursion that will carry her from Wisconsin to California, with a few stops in between: Mount Rushmore, the Badlands, the Rockies, Las Vegas–and a memorable visit to thank Larry’s family for the second chance.
Yet Leigh’s itinerary takes a sudden detour when she picks up a seventeen-year-old hitchhiker, Denise, a runaway with a bunch of stories and a couple of secrets. Add a long-lost mother, a loaded gun, an RV full of swingers, and Hall and Oates’s Greatest Hits to the mix, and Driving Sideways becomes a hilarious and original journey of friendship, hope, and discovery.
3. Knowing what you know now, what would you have done differently? Did you break any rules along the way?
Other than nearly being orphaned and switching publishing houses (which delayed the book release for a year but kept me paired with an awesome editor who ‘gets’ the book), I am very lucky that things have mostly gone smoothly for me, and I don’t know if I’d have done anything differently. I think I’ll have some thoughts on things I’d do differently on the promotion-side of things, after the book’s been out for some time.
After the resounding rejections for novel number one, I became methodical about improving my writing and approaching agents with a polished, professional project. So, after a rebellious start, I became a real rule-follower. But I skipped the ‘write and publish short stories first’ rule. Instead I wrote grant proposals and entered a few contests, doing well enough to ultimately attract the attention of several agents.
4. What is your day-to-day writing process?
During the school year, when I’m writing grant proposals, I am too mentally exhausted to write much fiction. But I’m very fortunate to have summers off to write, and then I write daily until the muse closes up shop. Or the ice cream truck drives me crazy.
5. Panster or plotter?
Kind of a plotter, in a very broad way…before I start a novel I figure out the conflict & climax, but how the characters get to the end (which is still a mystery to me at that point) is very much done by the seat of my pants.
6. If an evil gremlin (gotta love a question that starts with an evil gremlin) came and took away the one thing that would cause you to give up writing, what would it be?
Hmmm…the one thing that would cause me to stop writing…death? J Actually, self-doubt … that would be really nice to live without, as far as its effect on writing.
7. What’s been your craziest writer moment so far?
This is a fun question. Probably getting a personal email from Marian Keyes with a fantastic endorsement for Driving Sideways. That was crazy in the ‘wildly fantastic and unexpected’ sense. Also, moving the book contract from HarperCollins to Random House. I had no idea that was even possible.
I may have some really fun answers to this question after I’ve done some readings this summer.
8. What would you be doing in an alternate universe? Or maybe I should ask, in any of the alternate universes out there, what is Jess Riley doing in them?
Let’s hope she’s not procrastinating! I think the alternate me is an urban garden or native plant consultant. She’s a nerdy, walking encyclopedia about plant care and the fauna certain flora can attract, and she drives friends and family a little wonky sometimes.
Oh wait. I kind of do that now.
9. What’s next? What are you looking forward to? What are you not?
I’m working on a novel that takes place in a medium-security men’s prison, actually. (Sounds like a barrel of laughs, right?) I taught in such a facility in college, and discovered the setting was actually FULLof opportunities for warped humor and darkly funny storylines. The next novel focuses on the relationships between several staff members and examines how we heal after a particularly gruesome romantic betrayal. I’m having a blast with it.
So, I’m looking forward to finishing the next book. And I’m looking forward to connecting with readers…I’m not a natural salesperson, so I’m not really looking forward to some of the things on the promotion-end of the spectrum. But I’ll try to have fun with them anyway.
10. Wild card–what do we need to know about you?
Well, I don’t know if you need to know it, but it is something people get a kick out of: in the summer, I grow milkweed and raise Monarch caterpillars. Last year I released 48 butterflies in my backyard.
Oh, and you won’t solve the ‘nature vs. nurture’ dilemma with me: my biological and adoptive fathers both were/are English majors and writers.
Now do you see why I’m going to be referring to her far and wide as my BFF? I’ve placed my order with Amazon today and have already started looking in my email for the tracking confirmation. This book sounds so funny and so sweet that I’m stocking up on Kleenex to both wipe away the tears and the diet Coke that spews out of my nose. And I was tickled to notice that she’s going to be presenting at RWA Nationals this year, so I get a chance to stalk, er, meet her in person.
And you can be darn sure I’ll be bringing my dog-eared, tear-stained, diet Coke-sprayed copy of Driving Sideways to have her sign.
Tags, Kids and Words
It’s Friday, so time for another Five. This week doesn’t have a theme other than catching up, and I figure that’s something every writer could relate to. So without further ado, The Five on Friday Catch Up Edition.
1. My first, is actually a true first. My friend Marilyn tagged me on Monday and it’s taken me until now to respond. I offer large sums of apologies to her and offer here my very first tag. It’s called the 1-2-3 tag and it goes like this:
Here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to the person who tagged you once you’ve posted your three sentences.
Of course, I have to be difficult when doing this. When they say to find the fifth sentence, I want to know if that’s the fifth sentence regardless or the fifth complete sentence. Because that makes a difference on what the next three sentences are, right? For the sake of the post, I’ll pass that little bump and go (finally) to the sentences. My nearest book was Life of Pi by Yann Martel, given to me by a dear friend when I was visiting my parents. (It was on the coffee table because it hadn’t gone very far after I’d unpacked.) Page 123 is at the beginning of Chapter 37 and my three sentences are:
“HUMPF! I’ll try again. HUMPF!”
I’m not kidding. These are my three sentences. If you want me to err on the side of three sentences after five complete sentences, you could add this line: “He was too far.”
So, for the sake of a little more interesting post, I’ll do the 1-2-3 tag again with the book I’m currently reading, A Lick of Frost by Laurell K. Hamilton. Knowing Laurell, this could be a very spicy post, so brace yourselves.
“He’d jokingly said, “You promised me sex, but I know you, you’ll get distracted unless I stay by your side.” It was a joke with some bite in it for Rhys and me. But Doyle said yes to his staying with us too quickly.”
Much better, yes? And now I get to tag others to play. Oh goody–duck, duck, goose for blogs. (Insert evil laughter here.) I’ll tag Caryn, Robin, Melissa, Ilana, and Jenifer.
2. Speaking of evil laughter and Caryn, I think she’s probably chortling mightily over her NKOTB influence. This morning I saw a news clip of them opening the stock exchange yesterday and they were the Friday musical performance on the Today show on NBC, so they plugged them to boy band death. And yes, with every clip was the catchy refrain of “The Right Stuff.” (Not to be confused with the book and movie of the same name dealing with the birth of the space program.) So guess what song I can’t get out of my head this morning?
But I’ve learned that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Pop culture plays a huge part in my writing, from inspiration to instruction to replenishing the creative well. I’m approaching the midpoint of the current WIP and I’ve had thoughts of scenes bounce in my head, so I decided to write them down so a) I wouldn’t lose them and b) so I could see where I was headed. The funny thing was, in looking forward to the next 30,000 words, I have a scene I call “The Princess Bride Scene” and one I call “The Dodgeball Scene.” (And no, I’m not telling you about either.) These aren’t rewrites of scenes from these movies, (frex: “Hello, my name is Jane Doe. You killed my father and now I’m going to kill you.”) but more scenes of my book that were inspired by other scenes (and music and books all jumbled together) I’d taken in. So, for all I know, somewhere down the line, a boy band or a really irritating earworm is going to be in one of my books, and the evil laughter will return. At Caryn.
3. For my goal of 20 pages this week, I’m at 17 and that includes 2 this morning because I got up early and felt amazingly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. In writing a new scene last night, I discovered one of my secondary characters wanted his own POV and I’m glad I listened, because his scene is just going fabulously! And he’s whispered in my ear before, so I know there are going to be some other scenes I can write for earlier in the book as well as going forward. Woot!
4. I’m also really happy because my romantic comedies are still alive and well in my head. I’m starting to hear the beginning strains of the next one, so I think I’ve hit that wonderful balance that’s going to keep me interested and fresh. I’m estatic because that’s my ultimate goal: write one romantic comedy and one tortured historical a year. Another woot!
5. Stay tuned for my Tuesday Ten. I’m going to be interviewing a debut author (who is fabulous!) so I’ll be branching into new territory here. I’m really looking forward to it and I love celebrating newly published/signed authors. Please come back and celebrate her with me. (And no, I’m not telling. From pop culture I’ve also learned how to do the tease and make you want to come back to see who it is. Tricky, no?)
Thanks for coming to play. I hope everybody has a great weekend and makes their writing goals. Me? Yeah, I’ll hit 20 pages, but Montana has promised me my picnic regardless. Now you know why I write romance.
15 Minutes
The Girls were looking out for me this week. As I was wondering what my ten of the Tuesday Ten would be, my friend Robin had this post. I had an a-ha moment, and here we are: Ten Authors I’d Like to Spend 15 Minutes With. And since I am so very crafty, I’m going to further define this as Ten Living Authors I’d Like to Spend 15 Minutes With. (I’ll give you 3 guesses what next Tuesday’s post is, and the first two guesses don’t count.)
To pay homage to the plotter, anal-retentive, coulda-been-an-accountant side of me, here are the rules. First is these are authors I really have no chance of spending 15 minutes with, so no Jenny Crusie, no Lani Diane Rich, no Samantha Graves. Second is this list is in no particular order, so no favorites should be inferred.
Drumroll, please.
- Joss Whedon. Surprisingly, this would not be Buffy focused as I feel fine with my handle on the Buffy-verse. I would love to ask Joss (I can call him by his first name since we’re such close and personal friends) about Firefly. There’s something about alternative westerns that really capture my attention. Combine that with the amazing world-building Joss can do and I’ve got 15 minutes easy.
- Stephen King. Yes, the man is a master of horror (The Stand, Cujo, The Shining, Carrie and so on) but he’s also a wicked twisted storyteller. Get Night Shift, his book of short stories, and you’ll see what I mean. Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption? Bee.You.Ti.Ful. I think the final feather in his cap for me is On Writing. The man’s a quadruple threat.
- Ray Bradbury.I think I’d just stare at him for my 15 mintues, offering to bring him tea or cookies or anything else he wanted. He transcends literary and has become a legend.
- Christopher Moore. I’ve heard him speak twice and don’t know that I’ve ever laughed so hard in my life. I think he’d be fascinating to talk to in a more intimate setting.
- Laurell K. Hamilton.I’d love to hear about her a-ha moment with the Anita Blake series and some of the background of her Merry Gentry series. And now she’s doing graphic novels? Somebody’s doing something right.
- Donald E. Westlake. (Also writes under Richard Stark.) I adore his writing, particularly the Dortmunder series, but some of his other stuff is wonderful. I think every writer should read Sacred Monsters.
- Gregory McDonald. I do love the Fletch series, but I think I like his Flynn series better. I don’t know that I’d necessarily talk writing with him, but anybody with such a twisted sense of humor is easily worth 15 minutes.
- Janet Evanovich. I’d love to hear about her crossover from category to the Stephanie Plum series and how that popped into her head. Plus, I’d like the chance to fawn a bit.
- J.K. Rowling. Who wouldn’t want to talk to the creator of Harry Potter? Plus, it would be so wonderful to get a contact buzz on success–from unemployed and on state benefits to the 13th richest woman in Britain. Yowza.
- Jeph Loeb. Allow me to list what he’s worked on/written: Heroes, Lost, Smallville, Batman, Buffy, Spiderman, Superman, X-Men and the list goes on and on. This man is so amazing I could probably learn from his grocery lists.
So there it is. My ten. I’m seeing a series of Ten Authors, so brace yourselves.
Writing is like Riding a Bike
Many years ago, a traveling science fair came through the town we were living in. I’ve always loved those types of science demonstrations and experiments (see also: Beakman’s World) so of course we went. One demonstration that recently bubbled up through the primordial ooze of my memories was that of the muscles and coordination it took to ride a bicycle.
This demonstration had a console connected to a 3′ high cutout of a person riding a bike. As you pushed the buttons corresponding to the person’s muscles, the cutout’s muscles moved. The idea was to do this in such a way that was smooth and controlled, allowing your cutout person to ride their cutout bike over hills and dale, the wind in their cutout hair and bugs in their cutout teeth. Now the beauty of this was there were instructions on the console, telling you which buttons to push in which order–all you had to do was push them.
But it wasn’t that easy. Riding a bike must be more difficult than I knew, especially for the cutout people. I would push the buttons but my cutout friend would jerk through the motions, at times so violently that I knew the only thing saving my cutout friend from whiplash was that it was made of metal. I stood there for a long time, ignoring the classes of grade-school science kids wanting to push my buttons, and was able to get my cutout friend into somewhat of a motion. There would be no Tour de France for my cutout bicyclist, but perhaps a trip to a nearby cafe could have been arranged.
Now, years later, my cutout friend is laughing at me. I think the reason this memory surfaced is because how clearly it illustrates writing for me. I herk and jerk getting started, but once I get into a rhythm, I can maintain it and travel pages and pages. After two weeks of other things, I’m now back at the console, getting ready to push the buttons and get back into that motion of writing. I’m hoping I can ride into July and finish this trip before RWA Nationals, but if not, it’ll sure be nice to feel the wind in my hair again.
Even the bugs in my teeth.
Five on Friday: Summer Movies
Hello, all. First, thanks for checking on me and coming back. Silly me thought I’d have time for writing and blogging and other such stuff when I was at the airport, on the airplane and at my parents.
WRONG!!!
So, I’m back and my brain is totally fried, scrambled and poached, but there was no way I was going to leave another blog hanging out there in the breeze. So, stepping outside of my writing-centric blog, I’m going to go with a puff piece and list my top 5 summer movies I’m looking forward to.
- Indiana Jones. Even as exhausted as I am, this is a no-brainer. It’s Indy.
- Iron Man. I’ve enjoyed the comic book (I am a geek, after all), though it’s not one of my favorites. However, this looks like an interesting adaptation and I’m hoping it does for Robert Downey Jr. what Matrix did for Keanu or Pirates did for Johnny–make him a one-namer.
- Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian. I think if you loved Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, this is a gimme.
- Hellboy II. I really enjoyed Hellboy–it wasn’t like the comic book, but I loved the concept. The last scene starting with Liz saying, “You should be running,” and ending with them burning in a kiss is just something I could watch over and over and over again.
- When I was asking Montana about this last night, he said Batman so fast I think it created a breeze. To be fair, I loved Batman Begins and thought Christian Bale was excellent. Great plot, well shot–just a great movie. I find myself now a bit squeamish with the Heath Ledger as the Joker. Even before he died, the portrayal looked really disturbing, which I guess means he really nailed the part. The whole Jack Nickelson (probably spelled it wrong, but that’s okay–I’m not a Jack fan) character was just so bad. So, for my #5, I have absolutely, positively got to pick The Mummy. Brendan Frasier reprises his role and it has Jet Li? Yup, #5 with a bullet.
So that’s my cop-out list. But c’mon, admit it–you like the puff pieces, too. And I do promise to have the scintillating prose back soon.
But not today.
I’m still here, er, there…where am I?
I just wanted to let those of you looking for my Tuesday Ten that I am still here. Well, actually, I’m visiting my parents, so I’m here, not there. But I am still here. You know, here here. (As opposed to there here.)
Please check back. I’ll be back (here, not there) soon. Happy writing vibes to all.
Five on Friday: Goals
I’d been thinking about doing a goals post for a little while now, but it’s not that simple. My anal-compulsive side comes out and I need specifics, details, minutiea. So, for my Five on Friday post today, I’m doing my Top Five Goals to Accomplish Before Nationals. (3 months.)
Goal Number One: (And this is the biggest) Finish the current work-in-progress. I’m at page 150, which means 250 to go. Now, to get this done by July 1st, which was the original plan, I need to write 30 pages a week. Given how much I’ve been struggling recently with 24, I have some reservations. On the other hand, I also have belief it can happen–I’ve been struggling with the middle. Once I hit the third turning point (a.k.a. Big Black Moment), I have the rest practically written in my head, so it’s just going to be a major brain drain from there. (Visually, I’m at the bottom of the roller coaster. The BBM is the top, right before you go blasting down at high speeds, arms thrown high and screaming for all you’re worth.)
Goal Number Two: Give book #4 a last lookover and sign up for editor/agent appointments at Nationals. Why waste an opportunity, right?
Goal Number Three: Get a basic website up. Doesn’t have to be uber-fancy, just a classic, simple theme and gives some information about me and my writing.
Goal Number Four: I guess that means I’ll need new business cards. My old ones have my home address and phone number, so I knew I needed new ones. The website will drive this, and vice versa.
Goal Number Five: Get some networking lined up. I want to meet a lot of you and pick your brains. I think two things you need in this business are friends and the ability to keep learning. (Does this count as two goals then?)
So that’s it. Nothing fancy, but at least to me, nothing that easy either. I guess that’s why they’re goals. It reminds me of a favorite quotation by Robert Browning: “A man’s reach should exceed his grasp, or what’s a heaven for?”
What are you reaching for?
I really shouldn’t write when I’m tired
Okay, more random thoughts. Since this is the second Thursday in a row I’m doing this, I don’t know if Thursdays are the day my brain starts to play its own version of Pong, or this is just a happy coincidence. We’ll go with it for now–might be the Girls saying they want a day off.
- Bunny Bunny (I know–it probably should be White Rabbit, White Rabbit, but I learned it as Bunny Bunny. I believe the philosophy is the same.)
- I’m tired. I mean, even more than usual. How do I know this, you ask? Last night, instead of writing (insert ashamed face here), I watched the equivelent of a Friday night Ponderosa buffet and was in bed by 8:30. (Lights off by 9:00)
- The RWA national convention is in exactly three months. I’ve already started planning my packing list if that tells you how excited I am.
- On the commute in this morning, the iPod played the Huey Lewis and the News version of Little Bitty Pretty One. May I list the lyrics for you? (I’ll save you all of the ah-ah-ah’s and skip straight to the creepy parts.)
“Little bitty pretty one, come on and talk to me,
A-lovey, lovey, love one, come on and sit on my knee.
I’ll tell you a story, happened long time ago,
Little bitty pretty one, I’ve been watching you grow.”
See what I mean? Creepy. I know–when it was popularized in 1957 it was a different era and the words were sweet and protective more than indicating stalking and pedophelia. As I was listening this morning, I have to admit to a bit of an ick factor. Sad, isn’t it?
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By the way, if anybody knows how to format (fonts, tabs, returns, line spacing) in WordPress, could you please email me? It’s driving me just a little bit crazy.
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I love chai tea. It would probably be on of my three things on a desert island. Today, it’s a chai powered mix dissolved in hot tap water and augmented with soy milk and sugar-free Torani syrup. In a little bit, I’ll pour it half and half with my black cinnamon tea, all over ice. (What? I said I was tired.)
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Last night I finished Melissa Marr’s Wicked Lovely. This was my first YA book other than Harry Potter and I have to say I really enjoyed it. Not only was it great writing, she managed to take the book in a different direction than many others would have–it literally kept me guessing how she was going to wrap things up until the very last page, and I give her extreme props for doing that. And yes, based on her and her excellent writing, I’ll pick up Ink Exchange–it sounds even better (if there is such a thing.)
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Remember on this post when I told you about Sherry Thomas? I found out this week that even before her second book is out July 29th (in time for RWA–squee!!!), she signed a contract for books three and four for an amount I could possibly quit the day job for and just write. First, a huge honking congratulations to her, but second, this is a big flashing red light to pick up Private Arrangements. (I think she has an excerpt of it somewhere on her blog if you want to check that out first.) It is fabulous.
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And lest I forget–a great big Pam Writes Romance Woot and Congratulations to Kyle (who graduates Friday), Carat (for finishing her classes), Melissa (for finishing her revisions) and Marilyn, 2007 Golden Heart winner who sold her first book this week. I’m Snoopy Dancing for all of you!!! (And please let me know if I forgot anybody–celebrations are the best part!)
I think that’s it for now. I’ve got to prepare for my Five on Friday, which means the chai-cinnamon-tea infusion needs to begin soon. If I may quote on of my favorite movies, It’s a moral imperative.
See you tomorrow.
