Today, I’m doing a special promo for a very dear friend of mine whose fabulous book just hit the shelves of bookstores everywhere!

Farrah, over the years I’ve watched you pursue your dream with steadfast determination, never wavering, and always holding to the conviction that you’d sell when it was “your time”. Your attitude has been a huge source of encouragement for me, allowing me to approach my own dream with the same deep-in-my-heart conviction that my time will come…with persistence and patience.

I am so thrilled–so incredibly proud–that I can say “your time” is here.

So, without further ado–and for those of you who aren’t Farrah :D–I give you DELIVER ME:

After being dumped by her boyfriend and passed over for yet another promotion, Monica Gardner moves to New Orleans, determined to make a name for herself as the new attending ER physician at Methodist Memorial Hospital. As for men–she’s through with them. But when given the chance to chair the hospital’s annual charity banquet, Monica must elicit the help of gorgeous Ob-gyn Elijah Holmes.

Eli will do anything to thwart his matchmaking Mama’s plan to reunite him with his high school girlfriend. So, when the sexy new ER doc asks for his help in planning this year’s charity banquet, Eli devises the perfect scheme: He’ll help put on the best banquet the hospital has ever seen, if Monica poses as his new girlfriend. But when Eli finds himself falling in love, he realizes convincing Monica of his true feelings may be his greatest delivery yet.

Available from Dorchester. Run to get this book. I promise you, it’s fabulous! (Are you going yet? What are you waiting for?)

Oh, and don’t forget to drop by Farrah’s website to take a peek at her books, or visit her blog to congratulate her on her debut!

You know, somedays it feels like you’re climbing a molehill, other days a mountain. Today, unfortunately, is a “Mountain” day. *sigh* And I’ve been a bad blogger. *double sigh*

I’ve been working on my revisions, trying to flesh out my ending…..and I’m starting to feel the story slip away from me. I’m starting to doubt that I’ve got a credible plot. I’m starting to doubt that I have credible, strong conflict. Yep, just call me doubting Cynthia today.

I’ve received some wonderful feedback on my plot/conflict that has opened my eyes to the fact that I probably haven’t addressed some important issues/details of my plot, and in doing so, have probably stretched credibility in some parts. That’s what I get for taking on a complicated romantic suspense plot! *Smack!* (That’s the sound of me slapping myself.)

So, here’s the deal. I’ve been thinking about this all afternoon, and the way I see it, I have two options.

1: Proceed with revisions as they are. I know the book is good (I was going to say okay, but, really, I feel good about most of what I have). The book would probably be okay as it stands. But, do I want it to be okay, or do I want it to be right? Do I want it to be a decent read, or do I want it to rock the house?

2: Undertake some changes to the plot, which probably means a little re-writing…at this point, I’m not sure how much. Hubby says just add the stuff in. But, it’s not just about adding it in, it needs to be integral to the plot, which means making changes throughout.

In my heart, I know I’ve got to go with #2. I want this story to be the best it can. But, that means pushing back my deadline a little more. Maybe not much if I work my butt off….

Argh….you see why this day has become a mountain?

As part of a special Romance Divas Ebook Challenge we’re offering up great ebook downloads in honor of Valentine’s Day. Click on my bookcover below to download my free read! For more exciting FREE READS, visit the complete listing at the Romance Divas Ebook Challenge .

Blurb: After a trip inside the local grocery store, Ally Waters discovers her car in the process of being towed away. But there’s more than her car on the line when Steve, the towing company’s owner, shows Ally just what lengths he’ll go to in order to win her heart.

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

I’m starting my final revisions for Her Own Best Enemy this week. I’m excited! Writing the first draft is always a frustrating experience for me. I’m one of those writers who wants every turn of phrase to be perfect the first time out, and I find it very difficult to turn off the internal editor and just ‘bleck’ out the first draft. Which is probably why I’ve revised the first half several times, while trying to write the second half.

In my quest to find the best, most efficient process for revisions, I’ve researched several links. Here are some of my favorites. Perhaps they’ll help you make your revisions shine!

Jenna Petersen’s Revision Process

Holly Lisle’s Excellent Revision Strategy as well as her How To Revise A Novel

Stephanie Bond’s Revision Checklist (PDF article)

I’ve started a new progress meter for my revisions (a chapter-by-chapter one this time instead of by wordcount). I’m hoping to knock out at least a chapter a day, although I’m confident I can do more since I know which chapters need the most work and which just need a skim for tightening/consistency.

What is your favorite revision tip?

Take a gander at my little ‘ol progress meter, and you’ll see! I finished Her Own Best Enemy! The ending is a bit sketchy in places, but I’m just thrilled to HAVE an ending! I have one more revisions pass to do, and then, it will be ready to send out into the world.

To celebrate, I redid my website. I wanted something more suspense-y, and something that fit in with the hero of Her Own Best Enemy. I have a few more tweaks to do on the blog to fix some issues, but I couldn’t wait any longer to put it up. I’d love to know what you think!

Also in honor of my finished manuscript, I (finally) put some new tunes in my sidebar that inspired me while writing Keith and Grace’s story:

1. “Suspicion” by Richard Marx - This was a big one because neither of my characters trusted the other.

2. “Falling” by Richard Marx - I just love the melody of this one, and it really got to the heart of Grace & Keith falling in love.

3. “All I Need” by Mat Kearney - This song is haunting, beautiful, and sad. It’s about two people trying to escape a natural disaster. Obviously, my book doesn’t fit that theme, but it does fit the helpless feeling of being swept up into something you can’t control and trying to keep it together.

For now, I’m going to take a day and celebrate the meeting of my goal…and then I’ll start diving into revisions. I can’t wait!