I'm Just Not That Into You

Good Morning.

Last year, before all my falderal, I had a schedule for this blog -- Monday's were about love, Wednesday's were about writing, and Friday's were at the Piedmont Grille. I liked that schedule and I think I'm going to try and go back to it since I'm not crazy busy anymore.

So here we are on Monday, and I'm going to write about love. Or should I say my lack thereof. For long -time readers of my blog, you know I'm a single parent, and some of you may also know my ex- finally got his act together and moved back to NC to be near our daughter. What most of you don't know, however, is that my ex- has moved back into our home.

NOT to be with me. To be near our daughter. Let me repeat that -- NOT to be with me.

Right from the get-go, I made it quite clear in no uncertain terms that WE were not a couple anymore. I had no desire for us to try and work things out and we would maintain separate bedrooms. (Which, luckily I had an extra one.) So far this has worked out well.

HOWEVER, I am approaching my 50th birthday in April and I keep wondering if I'll ever fall in love again.

One of the big internet dating sites had a "free" weekend this past weekend and I toyed with the idea of online dating. No, I didn't join. I mean, seriously, what would my ad say?

SWF, 50, w/7 yr. old daughter, seeks companionship one or two days per week to meet for coffee/chat. Cannot travel, cannot date at night, cannot bring you home because my ex- lives with me. Hobbies include -- BBC adaptations of Jane Austen, writing, reading, and trying to get a grip on housework. Must be between the ages of 45-60, single/divorced, like old rock and roll, be sober, have a job, and vehicle. Looking for long term commitment with no foreseeable future.

How many men do you know would answer an ad like that? Besides the crazies.

And truth be told, I don't even know if I'm actually serious about getting into another relationship these days. I've got my career going on, The Monster is my top priority, and I've gained so much weight, well, I'm not exactly comfortable in my own skin.

But with spring right around the corner, and the (almost) promise of returning to the beach in RI again this summer, my thoughts have turned to the men I met on vacation last year. The guy on the beach, the guy in the fish department at Stop & Shop, and the chef at the restaurant where we ate like 6 times. (There are no men in NC that attract me. NONE.)

I've been in this "love limbo" for about 6 years now. It's not fun. And as the clock ticks closer to my big birthday I have to wonder if I'll ever fall in love again. I mean, I'm not looking to get married. I've remained free from the nuptial noose for this long, why bother. One in two marriages end in divorce anyway. Why be a statistic.

But the thought of remaining for the rest of my life without another someone to kiss good-night really has me bothered. The thought of never having sex again is kind of disturbing. (Then again, it has been 5 years, what's a few decades more. Sorry, that might have been a little too much information. But you know, this is my reality.)

The things I miss about men are subtle -- a shared joke, a mid-day call just to check in, bringing home a gallon of milk without me asking, help with the dishes. But that kind of stuff takes years to achieve. And I'm feeling like I don't have too many years left, before the looks completely fade, and the arthritis really sets in.

Don't get me wrong, I'm happy being single. I'm too independent and too set in my ways, I think, to really have what I might have wanted back in my 20's. But a nice lunch every now and again would be great. A walk through a museum or a night out at the theatre would be swell.

(And for those of you who say or think I should give my ex- another chance -- hush your mouth. THAT will NEVER EVER happen. I may have forgiven him, but I will never forget what he did to me and our daughter. There is no trust or respect left in that relationship.)

So tell me -- Do you think love after 50 is possible? Or am I more likely to get hit by lightning at 12,000 feet in an airplane?

I'm Having Trouble

Good morning. I'm having trouble these last few weeks getting back into blogging. I was on hiatus from before Thanksgiving until last week. I missed a lot in the blog world by doing that, but it did get me back into what I needed to do -- spend time with The Monster and my books before the holidays.

But now the holidays are over, and I'm looking at the the next 5 months until I can take my next hiatus. (Part of my publishing goal was to only "work" while The Monster was in school, and when she was out for the summer and on vacations, so was I.) I need to get back to the blogs and come up with something snappy, some witty repartee, some fantastic mind blowing chatter.

Problem is, I've got nothing to say.

I mean, sure, I could talk about my books, but that's boring. You don't want to hear about that.

I could probably go crazy and read a couple of craft books and discuss those, but hey, you can do that on your own. You don't need me.

There's also the idea that I could just talk about The Monster but this isn't a Mommy blog, it's supposed to be a writing blog.

I don't know when the shift in my world occured. I would have to say, probably last summer when I decided to officially self-publish. But in doing that, I became someone new. I lost who I was. I'm not Piedmont Writer anymore, I'm Anne Gallagher -- Author of Regency Romances.

And don't get me wrong, I like Anne Gallagher, I'm just not sure what to do about Piedmont Writer. I liked being a writer. There was fun in that. I got to create new characters, test my wings in writing styles, and POV's, use my brain to figure out how to make good dialogue. Now that I'm an author, it's all about the next book. Traditional published authors will tell you that too. To find and keep an audience.

I hate that. I really do. There's so much damn pressure.

My aunt used to tell me, If I can't say anything nice to or about someone, don't say anything at all. I'm going to modify that concept.

If I can't find anything relevant to say, I won't say anything at all.

I hate the idea of giving up this blog. I really do. I've met so many wonderful people, made so many great friends, formed such solid bonds with other writers. I did miss you all when I was on hiatus, very much, but I've seemed to have lost my voice somewhere. And I really don't know how to get it back.

I'm going to try and only post on Monday for awhile, and see how that works out. I don't really know what else to do.

Tell me -- What do you talk about when you have nothing to say?

Friday's at the Piedmont Grille

On Today's menu -- Champagne! Let's celebrate!






First up, I just want to say how really blown away I was by the response I recieved last Friday on Tara's blog. I was really touched by all the warm feelings toward me and my books. You know it's hard sometimes to really grasp the scope of what I'm doing, trying to achieve, by self-publishing. It's hard also to accept the good wishes and pats on the back, even from total strangers. So to all of you, I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I also want to thank all my new blogging friends. I've met so many wonderful and fascinating people on this writing journey, it's mind blowing. I've reached the elusive 300+ followers and I just don't know what to do with you all. Big group hug comes to mind. It's such a humbling experience to know 304 people stop by here and read what I have to say. You guys keep me so real and I thank you for that.

Also, just for fun, (and some really mad prompting from Tara) I am now on Twitter. I know, can you believe it. Never thought I'd see the day. But I Tweet. Albeit slowly, and not everyday, but I am there. See, it's right there on my sidebar so it must be true. As for FaceBook...that's a whole other ugly monster.

On the writing front, I'm deep into the middle of THE DUKE'S DIVORCE, book three in The Reluctant Grooms series. I so wanted to finish this by Thanksgiving, but I'll have to do some wicked mad writing to achieve that.

I also recently finished reformatting REMEMBERING YOU, (for those of you who remember Genna and Tony and Pete) and I'm hoping to get that bad boy out to Kindle shortly. One more quick line edit, just to make sure I've got all the nasties out, and I'll be good to go. A couple more days I think.

And, I'm also getting my act together to get THE LADY'S FATE out in paperback. I've got to do a little more research, and reformat, but I'm hoping to have paper soon.

And although I'm not doing an "official" blog tour, I will be stepping out from the Grille on a few occasions, next Monday as a matter of fact. I'll be sitting on the Veranda at Christine's where she will be conducting an interview with yours truly. She has some pretty snazzy Barabara Walter's type questions, I might add. So if you're not busy, mark it on your calenders and take a spin over. Also on the 16th, I'll be hanging at Nicki's for some more fun back in the 80's, so hope you'll stop by for that too.

Thanks again, so much for all your support. It really does mean the world to me.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The New Blog

Well, as I'm sure you've all seen, I've added a couple of new things to this blog. Being sick last week made my eyes crazy and as I couldn't read on the computer, I decided to fool around. Pretty cool, huh?

I made all the changes I wanted to, getting up a header of pages instead of keeping them buried on my sidebar. Some of you may have noticed that THE LADY'S FATE is gone and in it's place REMEMBERING YOU. Yeah, I've been wanting to do that for a long time. I love that story and want it told. It makes me homesick when I read it though. I'm hoping to get it out within the next couple of weeks. It's done and ready, the only thing I'm balking at is the formatting. It's still in a messy word.doc and formatting to Kindle is going to be a nightmare. Not only do I have headings, I have sub-headings, in different font sizes. lol. Can I just say Extra-Strength Tylenol.

The plans for the unveiling of my new author/website blog cocktail party are all set for next Monday, October 17th. It's going to be held in an English garden so please dress appropriately. Sweaters and shawls would be just the thing to keep handy. I do hope you'll all stop by. And as it is an all day affair, the alcohol level will be low, champagne, I think, for the most part. No hard liquor. I am trying to be civilized after all. Here's a little sneak peek of the venue, just to entice you to come.




AND, not only is it the unveiling of the new blog, there is also a secret (well, several secrets actually) I'm keeping until then. So if that doesn't entice you to come, well, I don't know what else to do.

I'm not sure at this point if I have anything ready to post for this Friday. I've been working so hard on everything else, I'm kind of out of ideas, so maybe I'll take a break and relax. Try on my little black dress, see if it fits.

Hope to see you next Monday.

At The Grille

On Today's Menu -- Baby Grilled Pork Tenderloin sandwiches on Baguettes, New Red Potato Salad, Spinach Salad, and Sweet Iced Tea. Assorted Melon Slices for Dessert.

Don't I wish I could have that for lunch.

Thanks so much for all your enthusiasm for the last two little flash pieces I put up on the blog the last two weeks. Jim and Callie have been roaming around in my brain for the last couple of months, and I do have every intention of setting more of their story down, but I'm just not that into them yet. I made an outline, so I know where I'm going, and it's a pretty good plot about what happens when you find the 'right one' out of the clear blue. However, the twist is -- circumstances keep them apart. I'm not even sure if there will be a Happily Ever After with this. Women's fiction at its finest.

Question -- Has anyone else been having trouble logging onto Blogger? I can get into gmail, and I used to be able to jump from mail to blogger but now I can't. And so I sign out of mail, and go to Blogger to sign in and it says Page Not Found. So I have to jump to a post I have on my favorites bar (lucky it's there) and sign in from my post. I know a couple of you have had trouble with comments and you have to unsign in from stay signed in, but I never stay signed in. Is it just me?

The kitchen reno is complete. The painting is finished. YAY! However, my mother decided she wants to get the garden straightened out before the weather really gets nasty, and then I get to tile the buffet, and THEN, I get to paint the whole downstairs cave. Don't get me wrong, I love my mother, and would do anything for her, but I am just too old for this. Besides, I can't get any writing done. UGH!

School is out in 9 more days. I'd love to have Monster Child go to camp, even day camp, but I don't think it's fair for her to have to have a regimen during the summer. Last summer she stayed up until 10, and slept until 10, and I got some writing done. Having her at camp would free up my schedule so much, but I'm starting to feel soooo guilty. I do want to spend time with her, but it's just so hard not living at the beach anymore. There was always stuff to do. Clamming, swimming, searching for shells and crabs, exploring. Now the beach is 4 hours away. I'm starting to hate vacation.

And so ends another week here. Hope you all have a fantastic Memorial Day weekend. I'll be working in the garden.

To Post or not To Post...Excerpts?

Good Morning gentle readers, this topic has been on my mind since last Sunday when I was cruising the blogosphere. I was bouncing around reading a bunch of posts when I spotted this one by a newbie blogger. (Funny, after I commented on her blog, she took the post down. Go figure.) Anyway, I also ran across this same topic, whether or not to post excerpts of your work online, on several other blogs last week. I believe, the whole conversation was started by Chuck.

Chuck Sambuchino, from the Guide to Literary Agents blog. If you don't know who he is, go NOW to check him out. He's one of the smartest dudes I know, has fab blog posts about everything, and is a guitar player for a band in Jersey! I so wish he was an agent. I would be sooo stalking him. (Just kidding Chuck.)

Anyway, Chuck stated on his blog post from Sunday that he didn't think it was a good idea to post excerpts from your current novel on your web-site/blog and he gave a list of reasons why.
I agreed with all of them. I don't think it's a wise idea to post excerpts. He's right. Someone can steal them, or the idea for a story. He said he's seen it done. I believe him. Some secrets you have to guard. Please go read his article. It's totally spot on!

However, he posed the question -- What Are You Trying To Get Out of It?

So I will answer. The reason I post excerpts, (never the whole chapter), is not so much to get feedback/critiques, but to share what I've written with my friends. I believe that in showing some of my work, I'm dangling a little nugget for my friends, and with the way I'm doing it, a short excerpt from my WIP a little at a time, I'm creating a time line of sorts. Something like a soap opera in progress.

You know you can turn on any soap this afternoon, and even if the last time you watched it, you were in high school, you can follow along with the new events, people, old plot lines. (I mean Gawd, look at Sammy Brady. Now she's in love with EJ. Cripes I just wish they'd let that poor girl find someone who will love her back so she'll stop being such a weirdo. I digress but you know what I mean.)

This is what I'm trying to do with posting my work online. I began with Genna arriving home from being gone for 10 years. Little by little over the last few months, I've shown what has happened to Genna, her thoughts, feelings, issues with her family. I think no matter where you came into the story, it makes you say, "Gee, I wonder what will happen next." (Well, at least that's what I'd like you to say.)

I'm trying to build a sort of following for this book, so that whenever it gets published (not IF it gets published but WHEN -- I have high hopes for Genna) People will remember reading portions of it on my blog and say, "Hey, I remember that, I wonder whatever happened to Genna? I'll have to buy the book and find out." (Because as much as I love you all, I'm not posting the end. Sorry.) And when they read the book, they'll say, "Oh, this was so great, I'm going to buy a copy and send it to my sister-in-law in Dayton, and my best friend in Wisconsin."

I'm trying to create something word of mouth, that may or may not last. I'm hoping it does and doesn't backfire in my face. Sure, I'm afraid, (scared to death, totally freaking paranoid) that someone will take my baby from me and I'll find it two years from now in B&N with another author's name on it, but I think I've taken some fairly good precautions.

1) I don't post whole scenes, or chapters, just little blurby bits of dialogue with some setting thrown in so we know where we are.

2) I don't leave my post up longer than two days. I know it only takes about 10 seconds to cut and paste but, it's what I do.

3) I try and make sure there is enough time lapsed between scenes so that you can still follow along, but there's way too much stuff I haven't posted so if the plagirist wanted to write it, it couldn't be the same story.

I know Chuck is probably shaking his head and muttering, "Newbie, when are you going to learn?" But I like posting my work. I like sharing with my friends. I like knowing that I can get 17 people to my blog on Thursdays to read what I've written and comment. Besides, how would you know if I was a real writer if I didn't?

Sure I could write my blog and spew all kinds of information at you about rules of grammar and paragraph structure but that would just make me boring. And I am anything but boring. Don't cha' think?

How Do I Say This?

I'm having a hard time lately with the blog. Don't get me wrong, I love my blog. I love my "friends". I love reading other people's blogs. I love thinking about writing my blog, I love writing my blog. But...

It's not the same as it used to be. I know change is inevitable, and I'm sort of not complaining, I'm sort of kind of...sad. For the way it used to be.

I remember the first time someone commented on one of my very first blogs and I thought I was going to pee my pants I was so happy, someone thought what I said was worthy of a response. And those first comments turned into conversations and I had friends. Not 'follower friends' but real friends I could discuss my writing with. And somewhere along the way we got know each other better and shared some of our personal life. Not the bad stuff or the junk that we all go through but just enough to make us more 'real' to each other instead of "internet" friends.

And I know this blog is supposed to be "my platform" so I can get readers and fans and all kinds of followers to be famous enough so that when I sell my first book everyone will say, "Oh I know her from the blog, she's fabulous, go buy her book."

Now, as I'm nearing 100 followers/friends, I'm finding it increasingly harder to comment. Not only on my own blog but yours as well, because for each of those little tiny faces, I read each and every thing you post. I try and comment, I really do, but sometimes there's so many other responses to your blog I don't feel like you'll miss me if I don't respond. And now that I'm getting so many comments to my own posts, I feel so badly if I just say, "Thanks so much for reading this today. I appreciate it."

I want it to go back to the way it used to be. When we could share conversation over coffee. I want to be able to discuss the finer points of writing instead of a hastily scribbled, "I so hear you on that." I want to have the TIME to read and respond instead of just tearing through each blog without focus.

I know we all have real lives, and real goals, and kids, dogs, husbands, wives, dirt that needs to be shoveled. Maybe I'm just saying, don't think because I don't comment, I don't read you or hear you, the highs and lows, the excitement the disappointment. I do. And if I write a hastily scribbled, "hey thanks," it doesn't mean that I didn't read each and every comment you wrote and appreciate and love each and every one of you for caring enough to say something to me that day.

I don't want to be one of the bloggers that writes a post and doesn't respond. I could, but I don't want to. I need that connection between us. I like that connection. It's what puts us all in this same writing boat together.

And so I'll end this post with a plea to all those people who didn't check Sunday's blog from me, there are many many awards that haven't been picked up yet. I know, I've been around. I also know it was Easter Sunday and yesterday Monday, so scroll down now and see if your name is there. It might be, I gave out almost 30 awards.

So have a happy week.

I Did It!

RE: my post from yesterday that I was kvetching I didn't want to write the scene I needed to write because I didn't want to get all upset. Well, I didn't cry but boy howdy did I find a twist that NOBODY saw coming! Not even me!

I am very proud of myself because I think it's the perfect PERFECT climactic ending for the first act. Of course this also leaves me in the lurch as to how to start the second act but I think I know how. I think. I'll have to ruminate on it some more. But the first act is done. 17,383 words. TA DA!

I'll be building the fence for the rest of the week, it's supposed to be in the high 80's here, yeah can you believe it, and I'm opening the pool tomorrow so come on by, bathing suits are required, unfortunately I live in a neighborhood rampant with rednecks. I don't need any of my friends getting carried off into the woods.

So don't forget, stop by tomorrow to read the last scene from Act 1 from REMEMBERING YOU. It'll only be up for two days.

Oh, and Roni, from Fiction Groupie is going to post the first 750 words of REMEMBERING YOU and do a critique on it Thursday as well. So swing by there for those of you who missed the opening.

Oh, and Christine Danek from Christine's Journey has reached 100 followers, Yay, so she's having a contest! Go check it out.

Happy Hump Day!!!

Awards Abound

Good morning gentle readers. I received another award over the weekend from the lovely Susan Fields. If you haven't met her yet, do so now. The Silver Lining Award, pretty isn't it?. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for these very special honors. I feel I don't deserve them but I'll take them because, well, I want them. I mean, who doesn't want an award besides Lois?


I will pass this award on to (and thank God I don't have to do anything or list anything, I'm running out of things to tell about myself):

Donna Hole at Donna Hole.
Wendy at Musings Down Under.
Christi Goddard at Torch in the Tempest because she got one from me and she already had it.
Karen at Coming Down the Mountain.
Isobael at Magick and Moonlight.
Kelly at Just Write.
and Christine H. at The Writer's Hole.

I also wanted to say that I think I finally caught up with all my "friends" blogs over the weekend so if you're a friend of mine and you don't see my shiny happy face on yours, let me know so I can stick it there.

As to other news, there really isn't much.

The query tally stats haven't changed. I'm not sure if that's good or bad. Both my horoscopes keep saying that the 'business venture' I'm involved in is going to have good news coming my way in a few more weeks. (They also say I'm going to meet a man. Can you hear me laughing from your house? I'll take an agent, thank you very much.)

The progress on the fence is at a stand still as I've hit a wet spot and I have to make a decision on whether to go with wooden posts or metal. I really want wood so it will match all the others. My father has yet to come by and give his opinion.

I haven't been working on REMEMBERING YOU because over the weekend it was 70 degrees and I was out in the yard with the Monster Baby. That's not true, I have been working on it, I've just been using pen and pad. I don't know how many words it is but I've written 5 1/2 pages, both sides, for the lead-in to Saturday night and I've got another 7 pages in a different pad, single side, for the first confrontation between Genna & Tony ON Saturday night. So as soon as I get it typed into Word, you'll be the first to see at least some of it on Thursday when I post my "Something-Something."

That's all I've got for this Monday morning. I don't know if I'll be posting until Thursday, I've got a lot of busy crappy-crap going on this week, and now that I'm so close to the end of Act 1, I really want to finish it. I hope you have an excellent week and I will leave you with this gem, another in my box of goodies from years' past. (I pull them out at random. I love this line and that's why it's in the box.)


"But Cash had been thinking how sad it was there was not even a plant on the windowsill in here. Not one green thing that can sit in the sun and be quiet."

~Barbara Kingsolver PIGS IN HEAVEN

Which is why, I suppose, I have 86 houseplants. Not to mention the gardens outside.

Fridays at the Piedmont Grille

Today, gentle readers, is full of fun, frivolity and awards.

First off I'd like to say Welcome and Thank You to all my new "friends". Julie, Lola (who was here but not), Hilary and Kelly. Grab something to drink and eat off the buffet, it's in the dining room, as soon as the pool is up I'm having a party. Don't be shy about commenting, we're all friends.

Second, I'd like to share with you this crazy post I found the other day. It's by a new blogger, Tahereh Mafi and I think it's totally hysterical. Go check out her blog. Really, it's really funny. Go look and come right back.

Third, I've gotten a new award which I will pass on. I received the Prolific
Blogger Award from not only E.Elle at The Writer's Funhouse but Laurel at Laurel's Leaves. I'm honored that two people would think I'm prolific on my blog. Mostly I think I'm just nonsensical, I mean I haven't really shared any of the rules or guidelines on how to write proper english because I usually fly by the seat of my pants. I haven't handed out any secrets to getting an agent that anyone else doesn't know. I don't think of myself as prolific in any way. I'm just me. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate the award. I freakin' LOVE it.

There are rules to this award.
1) I have to pass this on to seven others. (I am.)

2) I must link to the blog from which I received it. (I did.)

3) I must link back to this postfrom where it originated. (I did.)

4) And who ever receives this award must visit the above post and sign their name to the Mr. Linky. (I did.) Which is pretty impressive.

Okay, and the awards go to:

Sarah at Falen Formulates Fiction because she shows pictures of the cool stuff she knows how to do and lets me copy her.

Nicole at One Significant Moment in Timebecause her writing is totally awesome and if you haven't read it yet, go now.

Elana at Elana Johnson Authorbecause she's smart and funny, and did I mention she also runs the Query Tracker blog, so she's really smart.

Shelley Sly at Stories in the Ordinary because her stories are far from ordinary.

DL Hammond at Cruising Altitude because #1) he's a boy and I'd like to think I'm an EO Award giver, and #2) he writes some really amazing stuff, and #3) he remembers that toes are important. Go check him out.

Carolina at Caroline's Prints because she is awesome and brilliant, brilliant, brilliant.

And last but not least Roxy at A Woman's Write because not only is she funny, articulate, and smart, she has Daniel Craig as her muse.

If you haven't checked out any of these prolific writers do so now. They are fantastic and well worth checking out.


Ryan at The Life of an Aspiring Writer also gave me the Honest Scrap Award because I gave it to him.

I now have to list ten things about me but because I've done this before, I'll list them about my Monster Baby instead.

1) She won the award for Politest Child at school 3 years in a row.

2) She can climb a tree faster than I can say, "Get down from there before you break your neck."

3) She won't sleep in her own bed because she says she'll be lonely without me. (Yeah, and whose fault was that it started in the first place?)

4) She is absolutely the most beautiful child you ever did see.

5) She's smart, sometimes too smart for her own good.

6) She can tell you all the animals in the world, what they eat, where they live, and how they talk, including narwhals. (True, I had to look them up.)

7) She's just turned 5 (December 2) and thinks the whole month is her birthday not just the day. Her birthday is at the beginning and Santa comes at the end and the aunts and uncles send presents in between. Next year, I'm changing it to July.

8) She loves mac and cheese, hot dogs, and chocolate milk and if she could, she'd eat that for every meal including breakfast.

9) She talks nonstop from the time she gets up in the morning until she goes to bed at night. I kid you not. If she's not talking she makes up songs. Some days I want to put in ear plugs.

10) She doesn't whine. Not ever. Oh sure, she may throw a tantrum, but she doesn't whine. (Thank the Good Lord.)

Okay, I'm passing this on to:

Tara at Feel of Something New.
Lola at Sharp Pen Dull Sword.
Steena at Chocolate Reality.
and Christi at A Torch in the Tempest.

And if you have received this award in the past, I apologize for not checking your blog to make sure. But please pass it on, everyone deserves an award.

So, that's my post for today, I hope you all have a fantastic weekend. I'll either be digging post holes or working on my story. I already cleaned the house.

A Long Weekend

Good Monday morning. The sun is shining and it's supposed to be warm. Finally, spring has arrived in the Piedmont. At least I hope so, there shouldn't be any more snow. I hope it is nice where you are.

Well, I'm not going to lie, I haven't written a word since last week. After I had my little fit of depression, I wrote last Friday's blog post and that was pretty much it. I've been thinking. I do that a lot. Some people would call it procrastination. I do that too. I'm also in a physical sort of blue funky haze. I have had to make doctor appointments (I have several physical boo-boo's that seem to have been exacerbated by the cold weather, the stress of my real life as opposed to my writing life, and my own stupidity -- I have to remember I cannot pick up a 40# bag of dog food or shovel snow anymore.) So being in a less than perfect physical state has screwed with my perfect mental state. lol. You know how it is when you don't feel good, you don't want to do anything. so.

Okay, Query Tally Stats -- 16 out -- 3 partials requested, 2 rejected. Also received another form rejection on a query so that makes 7 total rejections. I have 8 still out and one partial still out. Now that I have more than half of them back it's time to send out the next batch. UGH!! I don't even think I have 8 agents left to e-query on my list. I have about 20 for snail mail, but man that gets expensive. But if that's what I have to do...

I also wanted to say Welcome and Thank You to Amy, Donna, Talli and Laurel. Thanks for hanging out. You've made it just in time, not only do you get to hang at the buffet, I'll be putting the pool in soon so you can swim with the rest of us this summer.

I don't think I'll be back until Friday, a lot going on this week. But I'm keeping my eye on you all.

Have a great week everyone!

March Madness

Good Monday Morning to everyone. Happy March.

Some quick business first. Query Tally Stats have remained the same: 16 out, 3 partials requested, 1 rejected, plus four other rejections = 5 total rejections. 11 Queries still out. There is hope.

As I was blogging around this weekend trying to catch up on all the wonderful writing I marked for reviewing, I found several interesting things.

Chuck Sambuchino at Guide to Literary Agents is having another of those agent contests on his blog for Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. It's a fabulous opportunity to get your work before an agent. Prizes are amazing. Go Go Go check it out!!!!

Sarah Jayne at Writing in the Wilderness is having a contest for reaching 50 followers. Go check it out. Prize is a $20- gift card.

J.Koyanagi had a splendid post for name recognition, (as well as blogs or web-sites). She has given herself a crescent moon over her name as a logo, which is beautiful. I wish I'd thought of it first, but alas, I didn't. I don't know what, if anything I could put over my name for recognition as I write romance. I don't think a heart would do at all. Perhaps my family crest. Seems a bit silly. I'll have to think on it. For those of you who write fantasy or sci-fi, this might be a little easier, no? Question #1) If you wanted a logo, what would it be?

Elle Strauss at Elle Strauss Books is going to do a March Madness writing accountability fest. Kind of like a NANO but not. It's all about the accountability that you say you have for your writing -- finish a WIP, start a new one, 1000 words a day, whatever you want to be held accountable for. I think it's great and would love to do it, however I know I wouldn't be able to. My life is already madness and I don't write the way normal people do. But did I mention prizes, yes, yes there are, so go check it out.

Carolina Valdez-Miller at Carol-in-Printhas also mentioned she will be going on hiatus to finish up some edits before she sets out to query. I think gentle readers, that I will be doing the same soon. Masquerade has been sitting for quite some time. The first three chapters have been polished until they shine, and although the book is good enough to be accepted as a full, I have been worrying that it's not good enough to be published. Maybe it's my imagination or the fact I've been reading so many other great writers out there but I want it to be the best. Question #2) After you get to the end of the revisions, do you think your book is done? Is it good enough? Or do you go crazy trying to make it great?

Thanks again for all the great movie suggestions. I've forgotten about many of them (we don't have tv) so when I go to the cheap movie store, I'll stock up.

I'm also on the hunt for a book for Caroline at Carolinebyline. The Black Whippet by S. Sutton-Vane c1957. Right now it's going for between $30- and $125- on book sights. Which I can't believe, but it is an oldie but goodie. When you are cruising your used bookstores if you wouldn't mind taking a look for it. I got mine for $2- at a book fair. Let me know if you find it for really cheap and we can work out the details to get it to her. Thanks.

I also wanted to say that the little Something-Something I posted last week about the funeral has gotten into my head and won't leave. I've written another 3,000 words for it over the weekend with still more to come. I don't know what it means, it wasn't even anything I planned, but Kate won't leave me alone. Question #3) Do you find when you write a piece of, (I suppose for this post we could call it flash fiction) flash fiction that there is more to it than what it really is? Do you ever want to persue it as far as it will go? Does it drive you to the brink of frustration because you know you should be working on the "something else" that you're supposd to be working on?

I've also written another 3,000 words for Richard and Amanda's story. I think I've over written here and it will probably come out in the final revision but I won't be able to see it fully until the book is finished. I'm following my story arc but, well, I don't know. I think I might have to play around with chapter placements or something for the final draft -- you know, chap. 1 = Richard & Amanda, chaps. 2-7 Richard's story, chaps. 7-12 Amanda's story, chaps. 12-19 Ricahrd & Amanda, then the epilogue. I don't know though. We'll see. It wasn't how I envisioned the book but it might serve the purpose. Question #4) Do you ever do something to your book that was never in the way you originally saw it?

I also did another 2,000 words on the contemporary romance Genna & Tony which some of you may remember. (I really need to find titles for these.) I've also begun playing around with the query for this, well, because I can. I waited too long to write the query for Masquerade. Now I know how to write one, I think it might be easier to do it while the work is still in progress. Question #5) Do you ever do this? Write the query or synopsis before the book is even finished?

Okay gentle readers, I think I've said enough. Have a lovely day.

On to Something

As most of you know, I've decided to sort of formalize my blog. It's been a challenging experience to say the least but I think I'm a little more organized. I find I have a better thought process as to what I'm wanting to say on my blog so I'm not droning on & on about "stuff" that has nothing to do with writing. I now find I get up before sunrise, read and comment on blogs before the Small One gets up for school, and then when she's IN school I can work unimpeded on my WIP. When she gets home at noon, we have lunch, I comment some more, work another 2 hours on my WIP, and then spend time with her again. When she goes to bed, I finish up with blogging, write my post for the next day, or tweak it because now I found the post options tab I can write them all on Sunday. It's delightful having a schedule.

To get on with Monday business -- Query Tally Stats.
16 out -- 5 rejected, including one of the partials, 1 partial still out, 2 we'll get around to reading it when we do thanks. Yeah, one of the partials got rejected. I'm glad I didn't fall apart (that's a lie, I did fall apart and had a messy 3 days crying, eating leftover Valentine chocolate and raging against the machine, It also didn't help I had PMS.) but I'm glad I didn't post about it. We all have to go through with the process and I went through it and I put it behind me. I still have 11 floating around out there and hopefully, someone or maybe 3 or 4someone's will like what I've written and request something. Or maybe the partial that's still out will request a full. It's all I can do to just wait at this point.

On to the next...I've been astonished lately how so many people have found me and decided to become my friend. I don't know if it's because of what I've written, how I comment or it's just because of the awesome buffet I've got in the dining room. LOL. But I do want to thank you all for finding me and commenting, it's been a really great experience to have so much feedback. So thank you. I also want to apologize to those of you who became my friend and then I didn't friend you back until recently. It was thoughtless of me to do so but over this weekend I have tried to rectify that, (with the exceptions of those who don't have blogger addresses -- Donna, this means you). If I've missed anyone else, let me know. I HATE being rude.

Elana Johnson over at the QueryTracker blog had a really good visual aid for doing up an outline. I'm going to try it with MisMatched because I had to scrap that whole storyline, and now I have no idea how they're going to meet. I've got something along the lines of a puppet show, but I'm not sure yet what's going to happen. I'll keep you posted.

I also found Casey McCormick's Blog and you have just got to follow her. Holy Beans Batman, she's got some stuff going on right now that'll blow your mind. Adverbs, adjectives, and it's only part 1. I can't wait for the rest because even though I had a creative writing minor in college, I still don't know my dangling participles from subjective modifiers. (And does that even make any sense. It's a wonder I got a partial request.)

There's also a new agent blog out there, Mark McVeigh. He had some kind of contest going on over the weekend and the deadline is tonight at midnight. Scype or phone call with an agent, if you get 10 other people to join up. I'm not a big joiner-upper and am also not really interested in talking to an agent unless he's repping my genre -- which he isn't.

And so gentle readers that is my Monday post. I have tomorrow's all written but I might just scrap that (in honor of my shiny new award) and write something different. We'll see. I had an idea two days ago that I thought might be fun...so if you're in the neighborhood swing by. It might be interesting to see your comments.

And what did you do this weekend?

*** I tried to fix the link for Casey McCorminck's blog but I can't seem to do it. Here is the address for her blog sight. http://caseylmccormick.blogspot.com/

Out of It

My dearest friends, I can't thank you enough for all the help, support, love and chocolate you threw my way yesterday. You can't even begin to know how much it means to me. You guys are the best. I wish I could have a giant sleep-over and we could stay up all night talking. And eating. And talking. And eating some more.

I wanted to give you a weather report, we are in the midst of high wind warnings. After last week's snow/ice storm, severe tree damage cut power and internet capabilities, mine included. So in case I don't blog for a few days, you'll know my internet/power is out.

However, I would like you all to know I wrote something that I think will be funny as well as enlightening. It's really kind of cool, if I do say so myself, and I think it will explain a lot of the emotional upheaval I've been feeling in recent weeks. I may even have a shot at it being posted somewhere other than here, which is kind of exciting, but he's not really sure if he can do it because it's kind of too long right now, but we'll see. (Do I sound like a 16 year old surfer dude or what?)

Falen Formulates Fiction is having a contest over at her blog, prize is a $25 gift certificate. Go check it out.

I hope you are all safe and dry, most of you are probably still digging out from the Snowmargeddon. I'm sorry for that. But no one can say we will be in a drought this summer, eh?

I'll talk to you all when I do. And thank you all so much for putting up with my madness.

Welcome & Thank You

Welcome and Thank you to Falen (Sarah A.) for becoming my friend last night. It's nice to have you here. Feel free to look around, comment, have a good time. I checked out your blog and I have to say, you look just like my cousin Liz. She is a 'wench' as well. Just like me.

I worked a little bit on my blog this morning, put up my Works in Progress and some Labels. I hope this helps you, gentle readers, to figure out what the hell I'm talking about some days. Tomorrow I will work on my Labels and past posts to try and get everything nice and tight. I'm sort of anal that way. Once my organization becomes chaos I freak.

What to do when not writing

I found a very interesting thread on Romance University yesterday from a Kensington editor named Leah who said you must develop a web presence. Which is why I have this blog. She also said it might be a good idea to comment on other people's blogs to show you're an informed and intellectual person. Which I have done, but I also know I have annoyed more people than showed my intellectual side. Not because I'm stupid but because I'm always there.

Unfortunately where I live has a lot to do with my web presence. I have no critique group. I have no friends. I have no beta-reader. I live a very spartan existence with my munchkin in a very, I mean very small town. When we first moved here I asked the local librarian if she could recommend a reading group to join, she said, "What is that honey?" Obviously I am in the wrong place. But I can't leave, I'm here for my parents. It's very frustrating.

I'm not saying I'm an intellectual snob but you know what, I am. I'll freely admit it. I've read tons of books and own tons of books and borrow tons of books from the library. I put myself through college, and most of the people in this town didn't even get through 7th grade. They worked in the tobacco fields. The women my age and younger are GRANDMOTHERS. They had their children when they were 14, 15, 16. Scary. Some of them have been married 3 & 4 times. And these are the women my age. Mommies at my daughter's preschool are spitting out kids left and right. Women not even 30 have 4 kids already.

Now please, I'm not saying this is wrong, believe me if I were just a few years younger I'd have another child in a New York minute...I'm just saying, good God, get an education, do something with your life, get out of this one horse, and I literally mean one horse town, go somewhere else even if it's just for a weekend. Even if it's just to Raleigh. Get some outside experience and know that babies and tobacco aren't all there is.

To me, there is nothing worse than a woman who is not self-actualized. Even if you try it and find you don't like it, at least you tried it. I read Kiirkegard and didn't understand a damn thing he said, but at least I tried.

So I hope dear reader, now you know why I have this blog and make my pain in the ass presence known on other blogs. I have no one to talk to. I have no one who understands me or even can 'get' what a query is, never mind a logline or a pitch. Forget about Kiirkegard.