2005
December
22, 2005
I got my Golden Heart
entries to judge today. This will be the first time I've judged in the
contest. I'm trying not to touch them until I get my first draft done.
If there are some good ones in the lot (and I know there's at least
one -- I've seen the title listed in contest finals all year) it will
only depress me.
December 10, 2005
I got home from a great chapter meeting/Holiday
party today to find out that my brother has been wounded in action (he's
been serving in Iraq since August). The Hummer he was riding in was
hit by a suicide bomber. The Army is saying his injuries are serious
but not life threatening. He’s being treated in a hospital in Iraq and
they’ll be flying him to the hospital in Germany in a few days. Not
the type of news anyone wants to hear, but the good side to all this
is he's alive and he’ll be coming home. That's the best Christmas gift
we could ever ask for.
November 30, 2005
So, I've been going back and forth with my agent
over possible time-travel devices. He really, really loves the idea of
the tapestry reweaving itself as the heroine passes each test, so we've
decided to go with that. I was hoping to have the book finished by the
end of the year, but with the holidays coming up (who knew Christmas came
the same time each year? *G*) and these revisions to incorporate, it may
be more like the end of January or middle of February.
November 21, 2005
Good news with a "but"
. . .
I heard from my agent and he thinks what he's read so far of DRAGON
is "very delightful." (His words, not mine -- I guess that's good.)
His only comment is that he feels the device of the chest was a bit
familiar and not overly imaginative, as time-travel devices go. He wants
me to come up with something a bit less familiar to transport her back
in time.
Believe it or not,
I'm not stressing over this. Really...I'm not. I'm just glad I didn't
send him the version with the medieval manuscript as the TT trigger.
Talk about over done devices!!! So I shot off some ideas to him with
different objects to send her back in time that would work in the story
that's already half-way done. Hope he likes one of them.
November 2, 2005
Well, I did it. I finally sent off the proposal
for DRAGON to my agent. *fingers crossed* that he likes it. Can't believe
it took 2 1/2 weeks to get it to him but when I went back to polish up
the first few chapters, I ended up combining 2 and rewriting another 3
times. *sigh* I just can't seem to stop tinkering with it. Anyway, since
I made such sweeping changes, I wanted to have my critique group go over
it again. Two of them whipped thru it (and thought it was definitely improved,
BTW) but I'm still waiting on the 3rd -- she's my medieval expert and
very thorough. With the clock ticking (if only in my mind) I decided to
go ahead and send the chapters without her input. And, just in case my
agent thinks I'm writing myself into "hard sell" territory again,
I included mini-blurbs for all my WIPs. Now it's back to the waiting game
-- while I continue to work on DRAGON, of course.
October 15, 2005
Attended an awesome synopsis workshop with Mary
Buckham today. Very informative. The best part was I came up with a whole
new side to my hero in DRAGON that hadn't been there before. It definitely
adds a new dimension to his character. I can't wait to incorporate it
into the story. It's good to have the excitement back again!
October 14, 2005
Ack!! My agent wants to see a proposal for DRAGON.
OK, so I was the one to suggest he review it before I write my way into
unmarketable territory again. Now the pressure is on to polish up the
first 3 chapters and synopsis. Time to get my butt in gear.
October 13, 2005
After much soul searching, my gut tells me to not
revise ASHES. It's one of those magical stories that practically wrote
itself and I just can't seem to dig up the enthusiasm needed to change
it so drastically. I took an informal poll on several loops I'm on to
see what other authors would do in my situation. The overwhelming consensus
(29-6 if you really want to know) was to put ASHES away until the market
is ready for it, not try to revise it to suit today's current market.
That's what I think I'm going to do. I was just so emotional since the
request for revisions was the only solid interest, that I needed some
impartial opinions before I did something I'd regret. Now I feel a bit
more confident that I'm doing the right thing. ASHES will have to wait
until I have the clout of Nora. Now onto DRAGON...
October 12, 2005
Well, it's over. My
agent said Ballantine and Dorchester called to say they are passing
on ASHES. *sob* Guess it goes to show that having a big time agent doesn't
guarantee a sale.
In light of the last
2 rejections, his preference at first was to try to sell to the editor
at NAL, if I could think of a way to revise that would work for me and
also meet her needs. He said if I didn't feel comfortable doing that,
it's fine and to wait until I finish DRAGON.
I emailed him back
and told him something an author friend said to me once: She thought
ASHES was more suited to a 4th or 5th book than a first sale. She thought
that after I sold a few books, established a solid reader base and track
record, then ASHES would make a great breakout book. I asked my agent
if this was something we should consider. He agreed that there was something
to what she said -- that when you're established you can break "the
rules." He says the editors are interested in ME (my writing style and
voice) and not specifically in ASHES. So NOW he's suggesting we shelf
ASHES for the moment and when DRAGON is ready, we'll submit that.
Now I don't know
what to do. I love the story as it is but it does me no good if no one
will buy it set like it is. I suppose it wouldn't hurt to try. After
all, I'd just be rewriting the synopsis and 3 of the 1940s chapters
for the proposal. If the NAL editor doesn't like it, then I haven't
lost much. If she does like it, then she may make an offer on it. Of
course, there is no guarantee. Decisions. Decisions.
Going to go drown
my sorrows in wine and chocolate.
October 7, 2005
Big whine: My fingers
are bloody from stitching 2 vests for the Indian Princess campout my
husband and daughter are going on this weekend. Sewing leather is NOT
easy -- something to remember if I ever do an Indian romance. Then I
spilled hot coffee on my other hand this morning. Needless to say, I'm
not having a good day and am still feeling pretty bummed about the rejection
from Berkley yesterday.
Ego boost: I checked
the email for the website (which is usually just filled with spam) and
found that one of my Golden Heart judges has tracked me down and gushed
about how much she loved reading ASHES. She says the story has stayed
with her all this time. Boy, did I need that! If only I could find an
editor who feels that way.
Weird, September
gave me 2 rejections back to back and now in October I've gotten 2 fan
emails back to back. Wonder what's next -- 2 offers back to back? Hey,
I can dream, can't I?
October 6, 2005
Major milestone: I
finally hit 100 pages on DRAGON!! Woo hoo!! OK, so some of it is just
place holders (paragraph blurbs and/or snippets of scenes) but it's
progress. Feels like eons since I've been productive at all. Unfortunately,
I was hoping to have the rough draft finished by now. Oh well.
On another high note:
A fellow writer visited my website via my signature tag line that appears
whenever I post to loops (nice to know people actually click on those
things once in a while). She raved about my writing and asked me to
let her know when ASHES gets published. Always nice to hear.
Now for the bubble
bursting: Berkley rejected ASHES this morning. *sob* Just got an email
forwarded from my agent. The editor was impressed with my storytelling
ability and loved the ancient part but she didn't like the guardian
angel bit and she didn't find the WWII story quite as compelling as
the Roman story. She did offer to see other stuff from me -- too bad
I don't have anything worth sending right now. That leaves Dorchester
and Ballantine. Getting down to the wire, unless there are some smaller
houses my agent wants to try.
September 11, 2005
So after the let down of the past two days, I just
had to post about today. It has nothing whatsoever to do with writing
but I just have to crow about it. I got carded. Yes, this *cough cough*
40 year old mom of two got carded buying beer today at the grocery store.
The cashier kept looking back and forth between my driver's license and
me like she thought it was a fake I.D. For a minute there I thought she
wasn't going to let me buy it and call the manager. I had to laugh. Like
I would come in with my 3 year old, buy a cart load of groceries and try
to sneak in buying beer. Too funny. Made my day.
September 10, 2005
When it rains it pours. Got two rejections on ASHES
back to back. My agent sent me a copy of one from Warner yesterday and
today I got one from Avon. The editor there thought ASHES was a tricky
sell (which I agree it is) and I get the impression they aren't a risk-taking
type of publisher, so I'm not too surprised about their rejection. The
Warner editor loved my secondary characters of the bumbling guardian angels
but didn't think the hero and heroine's parts gelled (whatever that's
suppose to mean). *sigh* That leaves 3 houses left still looking at the
manuscript. Here's hoping there's a risk-taker among them.
September 3, 2005
Whew! Finally finished judging my set of entries
for the Where the Magic Begins Contest. Took me longer than I thought.
Some were very good. Other's showed me problems in my own writing that
I need to address. That's why I like judging contests -- not only do
I get to read some talented writers, but while I'm teaching them, they're
also teaching me. It goes both ways.
August 28, 2005
Just finished a great on-line workshop by Lori
Devoti on making press releases and media kits. Hopefully I'll need to
be making up my own soon. *G*
August 12, 2005
I became a member of Hearts Through History today.
I figure since I write in historical time periods, it would be a good
idea to join the chapter. I also sent off my membership for for Washington
Romance Writers. They're within driving distance so I can probably make
it to some of their meetings, plus I hope to go to Harpers Ferry next
year. I hear it's an awesome writer's retreat.
August 6, 2005
Got home from a wonderful family vacation at the
beach to find 2 dead fish floating in the aquarium and a rejection letter
from St. Martin's (forwarded from my agent). *sigh* The editor said that
I'm "a talented writer but unfortunately the story just did not catch
fire for her." That was it. Guess agents get short and nondescript rejections
from editors too. Oh well, that makes 5 editors left out there (if you
don't count the one at NAL waiting on that revised proposal). Kind of
a big let down after I finally told my extended family about my potential
writing career this week. Everyone was very excited and impressed, asking
all sorts of questions about the book and the publishing business. Made
me feel proud to be a writer, albeit an unpublished one still.
July 29, 2005
Good news: An editor
at NAL loves ASHES. Yeah!!!
Bad news: She wants me to revise the 1940s section and reset it as a
contemporary. All 300+ pages worth. Argh!!!!
OK, so I'm not surprised
to get this kind of revision request but I was dreading it all the same.
I'm not opposed to revisions. In fact, I expect them. But we aren't
talking about some minor revisions here and there. This would require
a complete rewrite of 3/4 of the book. I just don't see how I could
take out all references of the war and the 1940s and 'modernize' things.
Who the characters are and the things they do are all determined by
being in that time period and how the war affects them. Also, there's
no other time in history since the 79 AD eruption when the ruins have
been threatened like they were during the WWII bombing, so there goes
the awesome black moment I had. Not to mention it would take me months
and months to rewrite 300 pages of the story. *sigh* And quite simply,
after rewriting it, it wouldn't be the same story anymore.
So, after talking
with my critique partners and my agent, I've decided to wait and see
if any of the other editors are interested in taking on ASHES as it
is, 1940s setting and all. Boy, I sure hope so because I love it the
way that it is.
July 11, 2005
Got my score sheets
back on DRAGON from the Orange Rose contest. I was 9 freakin' points
away from finalling! *sigh* So close. I know, what do I need to final
in a contest for since I have an agent? I don't, and I wouldn't have
entered in the first place if I hadn't already paid the entry fee before
signing with him. Honestly, I'm just a teensy bit glad I didn't final
because I'd hate to think I was taking someone's spot with the editors
when they may need the 'in' more than me. Still, the ego boost would
have been nice, especially since my writing seems to be nonproductive
lately.
Anyway, I got comments
just like I thought I would. Got dinged for not having the hero show
up until the end of chapter 3 (although 1 judge did give me the benefit
of the doubt based on the synopsis) and all 3 said I need to shorten
the first chapter to get the H&H together sooner. I had pretty much
come to those conclusions myself, but it helps having it confirmed.
Judge #1 really liked
it, giving me all 4s and 5s:
"Great fun! This is a very funny, well-written, well-paced romance.
The plot is well devised. Readers will enjoy it."
Judge #2 remarked: "Nicely done synopsis! This is a wonderful fantasy
romance! I really enjoyed reading it."
Judge #3 said that DRAGON was: "A promising proposal."
So, there you go.
Would have liked to have done better but oh well. Guess I'm going to
start revisions on the first 3 chapters before continuing on with the
rest of the story. Maybe this is just the kick-in-the-butt I've been
needing.
June 24, 2005
How did I ever think
I was going to be able to write during the summer? I don't think I get
more than few minutes to myself to write a complete sentence without
someone screaming "Mommie!" I timed it the other day and it
took 3 hours and 13 minutes to write one email. One email! Can you believe
that? My only quiet time is the wee hours of the morning and I still
need to factor in the time it takes for the coffee to kick in before
my brain starts working. *sigh*
Of course, I haven't
updated this journal in over a month. Nothing much to update it with.
Haven't heard any news, good or bad, from my agent since May. The kids
think it's funny when Mommie checks the mailbox and is happy there's
no bad news (in the form of a rejection letter) but then I get grumpy
when I check the answering machine and there's no good news (a call
from my agent about a sale). They keep wondering when the good news
will come (Mommie does too). I tell them they'll know when Mommie starts
doing the Happy Dance all around the house screaming at the top of her
lungs. Then we'll go out for crab legs to celebrate. Then Mommie will
have a panic attack because she doesn't know when she'll find the time
to finish this next book. When does school start this year?
May 21, 2005
I asked my agent who else he's sent ASHES to just
for my peace of mind. (We discussed possibilities briefly when he offered
to represent me but my brain was so addled I couldn't remember half of
what was said that day). He told me he's also got it at St. Martin's,
Berkley, Warner, Dorchester, Avon, NAL, and Ballantine. Whew. Sounds like
he's covered all the big dogs in NY who even consider paranormals. With
so many hooks in the water, someone has got to bite on this worm!
May 19, 2005
Well, the first rejection came in today from my
agent. *boo hoo* It was from Pocket. I believe it's quite possibly the
best rejection letter I've ever received (OK, so my agent was the one
who got it). The editor's comments were very flattering and she seemed
to really like the book. Unfortunately, it appears she didn't like it
enough to request revisions. The only problem she had was she didn't think
the love story was "sufficiently steamy and explicitly sexy to satisfy
a wide audience of readers of paranormal novels." OK, so I don't
have any sexy, leather-clad vampires riding Harleys in my book -- just
two geriatric guardian angels and who wants to read about them having
sex? Ew! Frankly, I don't think it would take much to "sex it up" a bit
between the hero & heroine. *G* But since she didn't ask, I guess
it doesn't matter at this point. Oh well.
Apr. 24, 2005
No news yet from my agent about any offers or rejections
on ASHES but it's still early. Of course, telling myself that doesn't
keep me from jumping every time the phone rings. Been busy working on
DRAGON -- or at least trying to. I'm in the middle of judging entries
for VRW's Fool for Love Contest (some are pretty darn good!) and I just
wrote a book review which will be coming out in the May issue of Novel
Ideas. At least I'll be seeing my name in print somewhere.
Apr. 22, 2005
Got my Golden Heart scores back today. 9 - 6.9
- 8 - 7 - 9 (39.90 total) Not bad - 2 perfect scores out of 5 and I made
the top quarter. I can't help but wonder what the cut off for finaling
was. Not sure if I really want to know. Missing by 0.1 point would kill
me.
Apr. 5, 2005
Mailed in my entry of DRAGON to the Orange Rose
contest. I wouldn't be entering if I hadn't already paid the entry fee
prior to signing with my agent. Oh well, it'll be good to get the feedback
on it. I guess that's going to be it for contests for a while . . . until
I can start entering the published ones. *G*
Mar. 29, 2005
Check it out: I'm listed on Publishers
Marketplace!!!! My name appears as one of Evan's leading clients.
It's starting to seem real to me now. Woo hoo!
Mar. 24, 2005
I signed the contract and mailed it back to The
Marshall Agency today. It's an incredible feeling knowing an agent like
Evan believes in my writing. I've got every possible body part crossed
that he can sell ASHES. Now all I can do is sit back and let him work
his magic. Oh, and keep writing of course.
Mar. 16, 2005
OMG! OMG! At 11:20 this morning I got THE CALL
from Evan Marshall! (Actually, it was an email asking me to call him because
I was on the internet and my line was busy, but close enough.) He loves
ASHES and wants to represent me. I can't believe it. Of course, I was
blabbering like an idiot the whole time. He was so nice and I can't remember
half the things he said . . . except something about "get ready,
we're going to make you famous" or something along that line. How
cool is that? Now I'm scared to death, fluctuating between disbelief and
panic attacks.
Mar. 4, 2005
Well, after what seems like a short dry spell,
I got another request for a partial from an agent today. I wish some of
these partial requests would start turning into requests for fulls. Some
of them have been out since October!
Feb. 19, 2005
Got a request from an agent for an exclusive on
a partial of ASHES. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to decline since
it's out with several other agents right now. I just can't justify pulling
the full from one (big time) agent and partials from several others for
an exclusive on just the partial with another. If it ain't one thing,
it's another. *big sigh*
Feb. 14, 2005
Happy Valentines Day! Mailed my requested partial
this morning. For good measure, I sent out 11 more agent queries, too.
Gotta be a good omen to send submissions out on Valentine's Day, don't
ya think?
Feb. 12, 2005
Got another agent request by email for a parital
on ASHES. Sure takes the sting out of the form-R I got earlier in the
mail today!
Feb. 7, 2005
Got an agent request for a partial of ASHES today
(from an October query, if you can believe it.)
Jan. 24 , 2005
Sent out a new batch of queries to agents today.
Hope they all watch the Discovery show "Pompeii: The Last Day"
and it puts them in the mood for reading ASHES.
Jan. 17 , 2005
Recovering
from a weekend writing retreat with my 3 critique partners. It was wonderful!
A cabin in the mountains, no kids, no husbands, a little wine, and chocolate
with every meal. It don't get better than that! The only drawnback was
a fire that refused to burn except when we tossed Liz's trashed ms scenes
in it. We brainstormed some terrific plot ideas for DRAGON and now I'm
just trying to process it all so I can get them down on paper.
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