My eyes were itchy and watery and just wouldn’t stop. I was out of Claritin, too, so that just made things worse. The kid’s team won by a landslide. So I ran directly from there to the mall, where I had a salon appointment at 4:30.

But I had some time to kill which is dangerous when you wander the store for an hour before hair appointment time. I ended up getting Man’s birthday present and NO I won’t say cuz sometimes he gets a wild hair and reads the blog. Then I wondered around the new Sephora store in the newly renovated JCPenney’s and WOW, is it ever cool. I found new cologne for Man – Kenneth Cole Reaction – and it smells so good. Very clear and vibrant with a hint of something citrusy. I bought it for him and he actually really likes it. Score one for me!

My stylist was running late because the client before me had this massively thick hair and it took her forever to dry it. So I got in the chair about 20 minutes late which really wasn’t a big deal because I had nowhere to be afterward. Got my hair done – YAY!

And then it was back home where Man and I watched some of our DVR shows. I only had about 30% available so we had to do some clearing off.

Got to bed late and woke up late. Finally dragged myself out of bed, made my grocery list, and then we headed to the store. It took just over an hour (beating) and then it was back home where we made lunch and then he wanted to go to the mall, so back in the car we go.

Headed to the mall where we did some light shopping. Then it was off to the Farmers Market for fruits and veggies for the week and FINALLY! We got home. He mowed the front and back while I worked around the house getting some stuff done.

My herbs died, sadly, so I replanted them and put them out on the front porch. I suspect the cat had something to do with that. I think he ate them. The stinker.

And speaking of the stinker – I don’t know what’s up with the cat lately. He’s decided it’s okay to sleep on the dining room table while we’re not there. How do I know this? There are cat hairs on the table AND we busted him coming home Sunday. He was curled up there like it was no big deal. And then yesterday he decided to poop on the floor and I had cleaned his litter box with fresh litter THE NIGHT BEFORE! Anyone have any ideas about this new behavior? Nothing has really changed around the house. I still pat him. He gets fed good food. I don’t get it.

Anyhoo, we grilled steaks and burgers and stuffed ourselves. We watched LIFE and I promptly fainted on the couch at 8:30. I slept hard all night. Got up early Monday and checked my email and…

LO and BEHOLD… my sci-fi story, Angel and the Dead Man, is a FINALIST in the Stroke of Midnight contest in the sci-fi/fantasy/futuristic category hosted by Passionate Ink!! I couldn’t believe it. There are five finalists that go on to the final judge which is an editor at Ellora’s Cave. Winners will be announced in July at Nationals. I have to wait until July!! But you know, that’s okay. I’m just stoked to be a finalist. YAY!

Of course, since I entered at the last minute because she was light on entries, the book is not finished. So guess what I’ll be doing until July? Uh huh. Finishing the book! I figure if I can write new words during lunch on the sci-fi and then work on the contemporary edits at night, I can get them both done. The contemporary HAS to be done by May 1 and submitted. I don’t care what happens.

So I’ll be writing my little fingers off. It’s good for me. I’m a much better writer with deadlines than without.

Whee!

Progress Update: 1435 / 9072; goal is 80,000. Not as much as I’d like but at least it was something
Favorite line: “Thanks for the newsflash, Captain Obvious.”

Hey Colin – In answer to your question about the title of the new WIP: Yes, I do have a working title. It’s Angel and the Deadman and it’s an action/adventure futuristic story about a female smuggler and her former lover, a super secret agent. I say “super” because he has super powers. They do end up in South America at one point, so that’s where the ancient culture comes into play. But that’s all your getting. I don’t want to give away too much because it’s going to be SO fun to write. If you’d like to be a beta reader, let me know!

So, anyway, I got some words in yesterday on the new WIP. Not a bad start. I had to go back and re-read my notes on my characters. I’m SO glad I wrote all that down before because my brain has turned into swiss cheese lately. I can’t remember squat.

It was a slow day yesterday. You know, one of those painfully slow days that never want to end. So I took off about 30 minutes early and went to get my tires rotated. As it turns out, it’d been a year since I last did that. Oops. The guy asked if there were any problems so I told him it vibrated when I hit 60 mph. He said, “Probably the driving.” Har har. Luckily, I have a sense of humor and quipped, “Have you been talking to my boyfriend?” He laughed.

It took them an hour of which I spent playing with the iPhone. I downloaded Twitterrific to see how I like it as opposed to TweetDeck. Not sure how I feel about it yet. I do love the tweety sound it makes when you open the app, though.

Got home and Man and I went for some quick Mexican food at Fuzzy’s Taco Shop. MMM. I love their tacos because they put crumbled feta cheese and lost of fresh cilantro on them. They’re tasty. And they have this awesome Mexican fried potatoes. They’re delish.

Then we went to Staples and I bought some much-needed ring binders for all my online workshops I’ve been taking lately. I just finished one on Druids and one on sexual tension. I understand there’s an upcoming one on the Fae which I’m really looking forward to. And by the time we got back to the house it was 8 pm. Ack! The evening was gone.

Oh – but FINALLY! My cover for my Nook arrived! I love it so. It’s awesome. Now I feel like I can carry it around without the face of it getting scratched up. I’m currently reading a Gena Showalter book on it. I’ve only had it on order since January 3. Sheesh. Think four months is long enough to wait for a flippin’ cover?

That’s it for me. I’m off to work now. Hope everyone has an adequate Tuesday.

Yesterday was hectic, too, but I was actually able to get some work done. We had this photo shoot at work for some professional head shots and some candid photos for our upcoming marketing campaigns. I took some photos and had a lot of fun with it. We’ve worked with the photographer in the past, and he’s super. He knows how to chat people up to make them feel comfortable.

A week or so ago I read a blog where Sourcebook editor, Deb Werksman, talked about branding and career arcs. I’ve been thinking about that a lot lately and trying to figure out my direction, what sort of writer I am and want to be, and where I want to be in 5 years. I’m a true Gemini and as such I tend to be “of two minds” about EVERYTHING. It maddening sometimes, actually. So I’m trying to force myself to focus on the end goal and figure out what the process is to getting there. I want it to be flexible enough that I can roll with it when things to go as planned but rigid enough that it keeps me on my goal course. And I know me, so I know I won’t be able to set monthly goals. I think what works for me is more generic goals. Like, “I want to write three books this year,” as opposed to, “I want to write 4000 words per day.” 

So. That’s where I am on the writing front!

A warrior never quits.

Recently, I read through my CPs comments regarding these last few pages. When I sent it to her, I warned her I thought the ending was a bit weak and asked her to give me suggestions on making it stronger. I really felt like the bare structure of the story was there but I was having trouble pulling it off the way I wanted.

Finally I get to the final five chapters, read through her comments and when I read her suggestions it was like a light bulb went on. Of course! I thought. Why didn’t I see it that way before?

I know why. I was playing it safe. I was too afraid to push my characters to the very limit of their emotional brink. Too afraid to put them in complete and utter hell. Which in turn meant I was too afraid to push myself as a writer, drop my guard, and write the book the way it should have been written all along.

Isn’t that funny? How sometimes you need an outsider to see the storyline that way? To give you that vision of making the story a thousand times stronger?

So I’ve printed off the last 80 pages and I’m getting my hot pink pen out (because red is so obscene). I’ve started the arduous task of rewriting the climax, making it stronger, making the characters take control of their situation (instead of being a victim) and giving the reader that feeling of, “YEAH!” and making them want to stand up and cheer when the hero and heroine finally defeat evil and win the day.

Yeah. That is so totally going to rock.