Youngest Son: “Mommy, do you like to hug me?”

Me: “Oh, yes, hugging and snuggling with you is one of my favorite things to do.”

Long Pause

Youngest Son: “You know what my favorite thing is?”

Me: “What?”

Youngest Son: “Playing Gamecube.”

Oh, how it hurts to be rated somewhere far below his Nintendo Gamecube! LOL!

I’m at the Chapter 4 block. I tried. I really did. I had this great plan to get the second draft of Chapter 4 knocked out today….and instead, I stared at my computer screen, wondering what the heck I was supposed to be writing. It doesn’t help that Chapter 3 still isn’t where I’d like it to be. I know it could be better….I just don’t know HOW it could be better.

And, you want to know something really scary?

This happens to me with almost every story. I get to Chapter 3 and then *wham*…my muse conspires to rip the story out of my grasp, causing Chapters 3 and 4 to usually be a mess until I beat my head on the keyboard thousands of times.

So, nope, Chapter 4 didn’t get done today, probably because I re-wrote some things in Chapter 3, which turned Chapter 4 obsolete, because the things that were supposed to happen in Chapter 3, didn’t happen.

Okay, deep breath. Tomorrow’s another day.

Well, Thanks, Lynn for making my already overtaxed brain work even harder.

I’ll do my best to answer!

Seven for Seven

7 things to do before I die:

1. Travel somewhere OTHER than North/South America (I’d really love to visit Scotland, Ireland, Spain, Portugal…)
2. Hold my published book in my hands (And hear about someone other than me actually reading it ;))
3. Go up in a hot air balloon (Never done it, but it seems like it’d be really cool)
4. Watch my two boys grow into fine young men, and take pride in their accomplishments. (Or cringe over their really idiotic stunts. LOL.)
5. Go on a second honeymoon. (My husband and I were too sunburned to enjoy it much the first time.)
6. Learn another musical instrument. (I currently play violin, viola, and piano–but I’d love to learn cello and flute)
7. Do something completely out of character for me (I don’t know what….maybe something like bungee jumping or skydiving…just something totally frivolous)

7 things I cannot do:

1. Draw. (Seriously, I have absolutely NO drawing talent whatsoever)
2. Give a speech. (I hate public speaking…heck, most times I break out into a sweat just talking to strangers on the phone)
3. Clean house. (Seriously. Just ask my husband. ;) I keep giving it a good effort, though.)
4. Win an argument. (I tend to back down and give in much too soon)
5. Live without music. (It’s my drug of choice. LOL.)
6. Dance. (I once took a tap-dancing class, but I wasn’t any good. Trust me.)
7. Make Decisions (You’re ‘looking’ at the world’s worst decision maker)

7 things that attract me to men:

(in no particular order)
1. Smile
2. Sense of humor
3. Integrity
4. Great voice
5. Nice eyes
6. Strong hands
7. Intelligence

(And isn’t it great that my husband posesses all of the above?)

7 things I say most often:

1. “It’s time for bed. Now!”
2. “Whatever.”
3. “I love you.”
4. “I’m proud of you.”
5. “I have to feed you again? Didn’t you just eat?”
6. “Yes, you have to go to school.”
7. “Is it bedtime yet?”

7 Books or Series I love:

1. Perfect by Judith McNaught (Well, really, anything by Judith McNaught is an automatic keeper for me)
2. Kendrick/Coulter series by Catherine Anderson
3. Seeing Red by Jill Shalvis
4. A Knight in Shining Armor by Jude Deveraux (This one is one of my all-time favorites)
5. Julie Garwood’s historicals set in Scotland
6. “Stars” series by Susan Elizabeth Phillips
7. Anything by Lynn Kurland, especially her MacLeod/de Piaget books

7 movies I can watch over and over:

1. The Wedding Singer (OMG, I’ve watched this movie thousands of times and I’m still not tired of it)
2. Better Off Dead (I want my two dollars!)
3. Say Anything (Is there anything better than John Cusack holding up that boombox with Peter Gabriel’s “In Your Eyes” blasting through it?)
4. National Treasure (There’s something that I love about this movie. And Nicholas Cage is an awesome actor)
5. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (Call me cheesy, but I love this movie)
6. Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly — need I say more?)
7. Happy Gilmore (Okay, just how cool is it that Adam Sandler punches Bob Barker? LOL.)

7 people I want to join in (tag, you’re it), provided they’ve not yet done it:

It’s taken me way too long to answer the other sections, so I’m taking the easy way out, and inviting anyone who hasn’t already been tagged to consider themselves tagged by yours truly. :)

This was fun. Err….I think….

I’m amazed by the way children can tell the slight differences in the way mommies usually do things as opposed to daddies.

The other day, I was in the shower and my children asked their Dad to make them a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I get out of the shower to hear the gripes: “That’s not how mommy does it!”, “It looks squished, not nice and fluffy like mommy’s!”, “I want a different one!”, “I’m not eating it!”

Needless to say, I had a good laugh at my husband’s expense . . . and then I instructed him on the “proper” way to make peanut butter and jelly.

But, it got me thinking. About voice. How can we pick up two books by different authors that are essentially the same stories, yet one appeals to us more than the other? One’s nice and fluffy . . . and one’s kind of, well. . . squished.

The answer: It’s in the author’s voice. In their ability to take all the components–plot, characters, dialogue, emotion, conflict–put them together, cut the crust (or the flab), shape it, and come out with a story that is nice and thick with depth, complexity and a whole lotta heart.

Okay . . . so maybe I really do have way too much time on my hands. But think about it.

Don’t you want your readers to pick up your book and be spoiled for all other authors? And when they pick up book that has a similar plotline to yours, don’t you want them to scream and say “That’s not the way insert your name here does it!”

Sunday night, we decided to cut our boys’ hair because it was getting way too long and disheveled looking. So, my husband has this hair trimmer and he takes my oldest in the bathroom and starts trimming away. Before I knew it, his hair was completely buzzed! Well, okay, not completely, but very, very short. At first, I thought it looked cute, but the more I look at it, the sadder it makes me. Where’s my sweet boy with the Peter Pan hairdo? ((And I’m serious. His hair used to look exactly like Peter Pan)) He looks SO much older than his 6 years with his hair like that.

My youngest’s hair looks much the same, but it actually looks really cute on him…maybe because he has a different shaped head, LOL. And plus, the last two days he’s actually had a really sweet disposition. Hmm…I wonder if that long hair was causing him to be ornery before. :)

But my oldest … *sniff* I know it will grow back, but I feel like Peter Pan has left Neverland! I’ve already told my husband that we’re not cutting his hair–*wail*– ever again!

One of my main goals (if you want to call it that), is to have my stuff continuously ‘out there’ in the publishing realm.

So . . . here’s what I’ve got going on with my subs:

THIS DARK PLACE: I’m sending out two more partials to agents tomorrow. So, that will make three agent partials on this ms. I also plan to get my full out sometime this week to the agent that requested it.

HER OWN BEST ENEMY: Nothing yet, but I’m toying with the idea of sending the partial as soon as I smooth the kinks out of it. The reason? Well, I’d like to sub it to Harlequin Superromance, but I’m beginning to think that because of the suspense, it may not be what Supers is looking for. So, rather than wait until the ms is polished, submit a partial, wait three months only to find out they don’t want to see it…I’m thinking if I sub it early on, then I won’t feel like I’ve wasted time. The only problem is that I’d have to write a synopsis, and I’ve never done that without having a complete to base it on.

WHEN COWBOYS DREAM: I’ve let this ms sit for a looonngg time, never quite sure what I wanted to do with it. But, I skimmed through some of it today and it’s really not all that bad! It needs work, but I really enjoyed some of the scenes. Part of me hates to take on yet another ‘project’, but I’d really like to see this out somewhere getting some feedback.

There ‘ya have it. Some much to do, so little time….or maybe I’m just too disorganized to realize time when it smacks me in the face. :)

The frenzy of New Year’s resolutions and goals, the fervent promises to do better in 2006…

I’m taking a different outlook on goals this year. 2006 is going to be the year of ‘me’…and before you think that sounds selfish, I mean that in the least un-selfish way possible. I’m dedicating this year to making myself a better, more fulfilled, person.

In order to achieve this, I’m dividing my goals into two categories — ‘life’ and ‘writing’.

Life
1. Exercise. Yep, this one comes up every year, usually with promises to lose those last straggling 15 pounds or so…and yes, it would be nice to lose some of that excess weight, but my main focus for this year is making a healthier me. I’m SO out of shape. Heck, I’m exhausted from a short jog to the mailbox! ;) I know this isn’t good for me. So, I’m planning to make exercise a regular part of my routine.

2. Organization. I’ve lived in chaos for far too long. I tend to procrastinate, leave things until the last minute, and then wonder where all my time went. I need to find the balance between writing and housecleaning, and spending time with my boys. My plan is to find what works and then stick with it!

Writing

1. Last year I had all these lofty goals about how many mss I would complete, and the contract I would sign as a result of all those great novels….

In 2005, I’ve learned something. It’s about time, I hear you all say! But seriously, lofty goals minus reality equals huge disappointment. It’s good to work for things, good to push yourself, but make it realistic, and above all, keep it fun, because if you don’t you’re going to hate what you’re doing.

I’ve learned that first and foremost, I need to enjoy what I’m doing. I need to enjoy the challenge (and even the headbanging) of writing my first romantic suspense. I need to enjoy and congratulate myself for the improvement I’ve seen in my writing over the past year.

Secondly, I have to believe that I will sell when my time comes. It’s so hard to sit back and let rejections pour in and not be discouraged…it’s so hard to want something so bad and then have it not happen.

Originally, my goal was to sell in 2006…but, you know what, I’m not going to bank on that. I’m going to complete HER OWN BEST ENEMY and start subbing it, I’m going to complete another ms and start subbing that, and if I discipline myself enough, I’ll complete yet a third manuscript (even if only in rough draft stages). And I’m going to celebrate these successes, even if they earn “R’s”.

And above all, I’m going to keep the faith that I’ll sell in my own time — when it’s meant to be.

Just a quick flyby post to shout out some news that made my day a little happier….

1) I opened my email today to find out that the agent that had my partial of THIS DARK PLACE said she really enjoyed reading the partial and wants the rest! I’m happy that this story is going to get a full read, but trying to keep a lid on the excitement and just look at this as another step in my journey towards publication.

2) I just found out that the first chapter of HER OWN BEST ENEMY finalled in the Romance Divas “Best Opening Scene” Contest! Final entries will be judged by an editor from Medallion Press. I really didn’t expect to final, my goal was to get some feedback, and I was pleased with the comments I received. I even made revisions based on these comments which, I think, really served to make the opening stronger.

Happy New Year to everyone! Hope 2006 will be your year!