Tips to base your life upon

I am going to leave you with random Do’s and Don'ts to consider over the weekend, since I myself was in desperate need of these tips:

Don’t turn your straightening iron on then walk away from it for several hours while you cuss out your current WIP (work in progress) hero for not revealing pertinent information about himself earlier, the rat fink bastard, then return to said iron to fix your hair and find you’ve just singed off a nice-sized hunk of it

Don’t eat spicy chicken enchiladas then leave your house without checking your teeth

Do make sure your skirt is not tucked into your panties when you leave the bathroom

Do make sure your friend’s child is a girl before you rave about her lovely hair, only to discover “she” is a “he”

Don’t push “send” on an email until you’ve double checked that you aren’t sending your entire reader newsletter group an attachment of all three of your newest proposals

If these tips save anyone from making a huge fool of themselves, well, it still wasn’t worth it for me.

To change or not to change

I’m trying something new with my writing. Did I already tell you guys this? I’ve seriously reached the red alert stages of Fried Brain Syndrome. What’s more, I’m too lazy to check my archives to see. So you may get this twice, you may not. Now, where was I? I’m trying something new with my writing. Usually, I write the rough draft (long hand), type it in, then edit it.

With this new three book contract with HQN, I have due dates spaced 5 months apart. That means the first book in the contract (A Woman’s Pleasure, which I’m thinking of re-titling The Nymph King (any thoughts on that?)) is due in September of this year. Five months after that, the next one is due and so on. Last week, I finished the rough draft for AWP/TNK (seriously, which title do you like best?). This week, I started the rough draft for Wonder Girl and plan to finish it sometime in May – hopefully middle, could be end.

My thoughts are this: If I can get all three of the rough drafts done by end of June, I will then have two months to type in that first book, edit it, and ship it to my publisher. That will put me waaaay ahead of the game.

Maybe I’m rushing myself. Maybe doing this will produce total crap. If I do it this way, I won’t have a lot of time to get that first book to my critique partners and get their feedback. And I love their feedback. Hmm....

I am going to finish the Wonder Girl rough draft, then maybe I’ll take stock and regroup to decide to go back to the first book or sail on to the third. I’ll keep you updated.

Come and smell the. . . crap? Roses? Who knows

So my RITA scores arrived. For those that don’t know, the RITA is an award given by RWA (Romance Writers of America) for the most outstanding romances of the year. The judges are other authors. You can score anywhere from 1 (being the lowest) to 9 (being the highest). I did not final with The Stone Prince, not in best paranormal and not in best new author. Incase anyone needs that repeated, I will say again, different phrasing: A double rejection. A slam dunk of defeat. A roller coaster ride of mediocrity. A marathon of refusal. A dance of denunciation.

Why would I admit such a horrible, atrocious, embarrassing thing, you ask, and risk lowering myself in everyone’s opinion? Because I’ve always had a soft spot for self-depreciation.

Here’s how my scores broke down:

9/ 9/ 7/ 6/ 6

Two judges loved me. One thought I was okay. And two thought I sucked the big one. Hard core. Am I okay with that? you ask. Let me answer with a question of my own. Why don’t they like me? my inner crybaby whines. And so goes the hour long inner sobbing of ‘everyone hates me, no one likes me, they’d be so happy if I never wrote another word so I couldn’t soil the fabric of their lives ever again’.

Don’t worry. I’ve already picked myself up. I’m of the mind frame now that I’m a step above total crap. Ask me tomorrow and I might tell you I’m a totally okay, average writer. The day after that, I just might think there’s a chance I’m good.

The point is, I can't please everyone so why try? I just have to write the best book I can at that moment in time. I have to write a book *I* love. In the past, I have found myself writing a scene and stopping because a fear that no one will like it washes over me. I can't worry about everyone else, though. Like my scores suggest, for everyone who hates it there's someone else who loves it. Right? Right!

Awaken Me

Some actual copies of Awaken Me Darkly arrived! Not ARCs, but the actual book. I shouted with glee and danced around a bit, I was so excited. I don't think that feeling ever goes away. The excitement and joy of holding your book in your hot little hands. I doubt I'll be able to contain myself when I see it in bookstores. . .

Buying Spree

Went to the bookstore yesterday and picked up:

Fire Me Up by Katie MacAlister
The Assassin by Rachel Butler
If You Dare by Kresley Cole
Lady Midnight by Amanda McCabe (which I've already read and LOVE)

I wished they'd had the other books I wanted, which I will be buying as soon as they are stocked.

Dangerous Protector by Janet Chapman
Dead as a Doornail by Charlaine Harris
Beyond the Pale by Savannah Russe
Fashionista in King Arthur's Court by Marianne Mancusi (I've been itching to get my greedy hands on this one! I'm so excited about it)

Book Tour

In June, I'll be doing a book tour in Texas for Awaken Me Darkly. Fellow authors Julie Kenner, Julie Leto and Shari Shattuck will also be there, signing copies of their most recent releases. For dates, times, locations and book info, visit this site:

http://www.readnaughtygirls.com

Lady Midnight by Amanda McCabe

Lady Midnight by Amanda McCabe is utterly fantastic! It’s a historical romance with a paranormal twist, and you know how I love paranormal twists! This author does emotion and description with such talent and skill I’m left in awe -- it's one of those 'I want to write like that moments'. Lady Midnight truly is an awesome book.

Some of you may not know this, but Amanda is one of my critique partners, so I’ve read all of her books. I’m not exaggerating when I say that this is the BEST book she’s ever written.

When bad things happen

Someone broke into our house last night. They tried to steal one of our cars (and ruined it), and when they couldn't they decided to take the wheels and tires. Then they opened our garage door and stole a lot of things from there. It’s such a horrible feeling, knowing they were here and we had no idea. We’re definitely more aware now, no longer so innocent, and that’s sad and terrible and scary. It’s a feeling of total violation. Does this feeling ever go away? The police came out and dusted for fingerprints and all that, but I wish there were something more that could be done.

The silver lining (I’m trying to find SOME bright side) is that I used my emotions and wrote a kick-ass fight scene today. The bad guy was only supposed to be injured but my hero ended up killing him. Twice.

A New Sale!!

I just sold 3 more books to HQN!!! Here are the blurbs:

THE MISADVENTURES OF WONDER GIRL
I’m Elle Jamison, an everyday average girl trying to hold down a job -- until a scientist absconds with an experimental formula bad guys hope to use to create superagents and hides it in my morning latte. Now I can control the elements: earth, wind, fire and water. Being a superhero would be cool and all, except sexy government agent Rome Matthews has been ordered to hunt me down and kill me. He’s having a bit of trouble with his conscience, though, and struggles to do his job. I didn’t make this bed of trouble, but he sure wants me to lie in it. With him.

A WOMAN’S PLEASURE
Legends claim nymphs are female. Well, some legends are wrong. In Atlantis, home to the gods’ most dangerous creations, the Nymphs are male and they are the most darkly seductive creatures ever formed. And none are more seductive than Valerian, King of the Nymphs, a warrior who revels in his potent allure. Yet when he encounters Shaye Holling of modern day, a woman who continues to resist him, he finds himself willing to give up everything, his home, his honor, his life, for a single taste of her.

CATCH A MATE
Jillian Greene works for Catch A Mate. Sounds romantic right? Wrong. Women hire her as bait to flirt with their husbands and see whether they’ll flirt back or send her on her way. She’s never been sent on her way, and now views men, love and marriage as an institute for the insane – until cynical Marcus Brody strides into the CAM offices to act as wife-bait. . . and catches her instead.

I am so, so excited.

Deidre Knight -- Agent/Wonder Woman

My literary agent (and fellow writer!) Deidre Knight, has started a blog of her own. In it, she'll be discussing agency news: sales, her authors, and all kinds of fabulous stuff -- she even posted a section of a query letter, telling what drew her to it and why she eventually signed the author as a client. How cool is that? I think this is such a wonderful thing! As an author, I've always wondered what goes on behind the scenes at literary agencies. Now we get to see.

Deidre even allowed the magnificent PC Cast and I to post on her blog, as well. In our post, we describe how our recent anthology deal with Berkley came about. Go check it out!! It's a behind the scenes look you can't get anywhere else.

http://www.knightagency.net
http://www.deidreknight.com

Goddess of Light and Me!

Has anyone picked up their copy of Goddess of Light by PC Cast yet? First, you know I love anything by PC. She just has such a compelling voice, and the characters in this book are awesome. I mean, the hero is Apollo, god of light. Does it get any better than that? But guess what? The heroine, Pamela, is reading The Stone Prince (by me!) in the first chapter of the book! And she likes it :) She really likes it.

I almost fainted when PC told me, then almost fainted again when I saw it in the actual book. I swear, it's almost as cool as the first time I saw my name on the cover of a book. I'm giggling like a school girl as I type this next line: My name is inside PC Cast's book. PC is one of my best friends (I adore her), but I'm also a HUGE fan of her work. Did I ever tell you how I nearly fell all over her the first time I met her? I'd just read Goddess by Mistake and PC walked into a local writer's meeting and I jumped out of my seat and raced to her, doing the "Ohmygod, ohmygod, you're PC Cast" thing.

Life is so good!!!

AKA Goddess

I just read AKA Goddess by Evelyn Vaughn. What a fabulous book! I fell in love with sexy, in total love with the heroine and Lex Stuart. Ah, Lex. Every time he came into a scene, my heart constricted wonderfully. You know that feeling you sometimes get in the pit of your stomach when you see two people in love? Well, he did it for me! I see Evelyn has another book coming out November of this year. I'll have to keep a watch for it.

So, what has everyone else been reading? Got any recommendations?

My weekend

I just got back from a romance writers conference in Dallas. I had so, so much fun. Believe it or not, I did not get lost on the way down there. Perhaps that's because my husband played the role of driver while I played the role of sleepy romance author. It's a role I nailed, I must say, and think I deserve an award.

Oh, oh. Guess what? I actually met a woman who has met Brad Pitt. She's spoken to him! The two of them exchanged words. I'm so jealous! Her name is Candace Havens and she is the amazing author of Charmed and Dangergous, a delicious book coming from Berkley in Sept. '05. If you're looking for something fabulous and magical, get this book!

I did a booksigning while in Dallas and sold many copies of The Pleasure Slave, which felt nice. I know how it feels to sit for hours and sell nothing, which is totally NOT fun.