Hi All – Just a quick note to those of you who participated in the giveaway: I will be drawing the winner tonight and emailing them. Announcement will be on tomorrow’s blog! Also you still have a chance to win a copy! Click here!

I’m not sure I”m back into the groove of things what with the way life has been lately. Which is to say it’s been rather stressful. I’m still not feeling exactly like myself but maybe soon. However, I have been writing. Working on a new short story.

The tally so far:

Sunday: 2082
Monday: 700 +/-
Tuesday: 2000+/-

Not bad, eh? If I can keep up the daily pace, I should have the draft done by next week. That’s excellent progress for me.

I have a list of things I want to work on/finish by the end of the year. It’s going to take some doing but I’m feeling rather determined.

While at conference, my chaptermates and I heard Journey’s Don’t Stop Believin’ everywhere we went it seemed like. I sort of think of it as our theme song now. Seems appropriate.

Happy hump day!

Okay gang – today is the last day to enter to win a copy of Sex, Lust & Martinis! If you want to enter, don’t comment on this post, comment on THIS post. If you post your favority maritni recipe, you’ll get an extra entry. Deadline midnight CST! Winners will be drawn Wednesday evening as soon as I get home. Good luck!

So. I’m writing. Okay don’t get excited but I’m trying to write a heart-warming/fun Christmas story in two weeks. Crazy, I know. Sunday night I wrote 2082 words. I figure if I can write about 2k a night, I’ll have it knocked out in no time. Here’s hoping anyway. I could use another release this year. That would be for an excellent year.

And then I really need to get on the revision of the gladiator book so I can resubmit it. And THEN I want to finish the historical/time travel and THEN I want to finish the futuristic (that came in third in the contest). So many stories – so little time!

And now it’s off to work. I owe! I owe!

Hi, all! It’s Monday – and I’m still collecting entries for the book giveaway. If you’re interested in participating, just click HERE to leave your comment and enter. Commenting on this post won’t enter you into the drawing. In fact, so you don’t mess up, I’m turning comments off for this post.

Deadline to enter for the drawing is Tuesday, midnight CST. I’ll draw the winner Wednesday evening when I have my 8-year-old to help.

Hey gang!! My book released on Friday, August 6. I didn’t know until Friday. LOL The publisher had to do some rearranging and I ended up right at the front of the month. YIPPEE!!

So, in honor of the release, I’m having a Martini-Fest. You’re all invited! Martinis for everyone!

*MMMM* Aren’t they good? Now then… it’s time to give away a book to one lucky commenter. Leave a comment stating you want to be in the drawing. That’s all! BUT if you leave a comment with a drink recipe for your favorite martini, you’ll get TWO entries into the drawing. That’s double your chances! AND I’ll give you until midnight CST on Tuesday, August 10 to post your favorite recipe. You have LOTS of time to enter. And it’s SO easy. How could you NOT enter?? C’mon – you know you want to!

Here’s my favorite recipe:

1 part Grey Goose Vodka
1 part Rosa’s blue raspberry mix
Mix and enjoy!

And yeah – that’s it! Doesn’t that look good?

Okay – so what’s yours?

(P.S. If your comment doesn’t show up right away – don’t worry! It’s probably held up in the moderation que and I’ll get to it as soon as I can.)

I finally had a moment to upload all my conference photos from Orlando. You can see them here on my Facebook page.

This week was completely stressful and I’m very glad it’s over with! Thank goodness. I got a nice surprise yesterday. My publisher had to rearrange the August schedule and – TADA – my book released! You can see it here. I really love the cover. It’s fantastic. You can also read an excerpt here.

Come back to the blog starting on Monday because I’m going to have a giveaway! It’s going to be a big party!

It’s been a horrid week and that’s all I can say. I’m very glad it’s Friday, though.

Hopefully I can get back to normal in the next few days.

Yesterday was a crap day. Can’t go into it but hopefully today will be better.

To cheer myself up, I thought I’d post some observations from Nationals.

1. No matter how big the conference is, you will constantly run into the same people. Over and over. It’s an odd thing really.

2. Agents and editors are people, too. They just want folks to talk to them and ask about THEM. Funny how that works, eh?

3. Late nights and early mornings are a conference must.

4. Conference overload usually happens somewhere around day 2.

5. Some conference goers have zero social etiquette. Sad, but true.

6. Drinks, drinks and more drinks!

7. The literacy signing can cause you to spend more money than you intended.

8. Always ship books home!

9. You have a triumphant moment of “I can do this!”

10. You have a horrific moment of “I can’t do this!”

And now… the great Linda Howard (on the left) and Linda Jones.

I’m back home today after a whirlwind conference. It was GREAT.

I’ll have more later on the conference and there is so much to tell. In the meantime, I’ll just post this little picture of me and the great Nora Roberts.

This has been a really fast conference. I can’t believe it’s Friday!

First: Contest results! In the Stroke of Midnight contest on the futuristic/sci fi/fantasy category I placed THIRD. I’m very pleased with the overal outcome especially since I really never expected it.

Second: The internet connection actualy kind of sucks. I guess everyone is trying to get on here at the same time.

Now then. Yesterday at the keynote luncheon, my chaptermates and I saw the fabulous Deb Werksman of Sourcebooks. Today, we hit the Spotlight and stopped by to say hi again. If you are thinking of submitting to Sourcebooks, do it. The staff is awesome. And Deb is delightful.

Today I saw in on a great career planning working with Cherry Adair, which was funny, entertaining and informative. I also sat in on the Harlequin Spotlight and learned all about their series lines. I also asked two of the editors to be final judges for my annual contest.

The problem I have with sitting in on all these awesome spotlights is it makes me wonder what I can write for them and how fast can I get it done. Not really a bad problem to have.

One of the things I”ve heard several times was PICK A GENRE AND STICK WITH IT. Apparently, I have an identity crisis. So I’ve been really thinking of how to invent myself. Or reinvent myself as it is. As soon as I get home, I really want to start working on that career plan.

And write. Write. Write. I want to WRITE!

I love conference. It’s so inspiriting and motivational and just awesome.

And now I’m about to dash off to The Gathering.

Total book count: 17! haha

Last night was a hoot. One of my chaptermates volunteered to pack up after the literacy signing, so as we waited for her we scavenged the tables for author copies. However, before that we tried to eat at Todd English’s restaurant which was a 40 minute wait. We had drinks at the bar which were not very good. The mojito tasted like it had cilantro and the cosmopolitan tasted very sourish. Ick.

We once we were done scavenging – hehe – we decided to find some dinner. Originally we were going to the Broadwalk but ended up at the Swan Hotel at a sushi/karaoke bar.

TOTALLY FUN. We ate sushi (my FIRST experience – loved it!), we drank these sangria/sake/plum wine thingie of which I had three. It was tastalicious. Three of us got up and sang a couple of times. Yes, I admit it. I karaoked. But we had a blast. And didn’t leave the bar until the wee hours of the morning.

Got back to the room and, of course, everything was hysterical (and hence the word Shushi was made up). My roommate (who is a hoot) and I chatted and finally decided to get up early to get going for today.

Let me tell you – 6:30 comes fast on the East Coast. I was still a little woozy from the night before. But I managed to drag myself up, shower and get dressed. One of my chaptermates and I headed off to the Samhain breakfast where were me a really nice lady who just sold to Samhain, Ellora’s Cave and Harlequin Blaze. Oh and did I mention she’s a Golden Heart finalists? She’s was a pleasure to talk to.

Today was the Annual General Meeting, and then later the keynote with Nora Roberts. Really looking forward to that. Then workshops all afternoon and then tonight the Passionate Ink where I’ll find out where I placed in the Stroke of Midnight. WHEE!

Now for the book count: I”m at 15 so far and it’s only Day 2. Thank goodness I can ship home.

Tuesday was about traveling. It was a long travel day, too. But the flight was smooth and we landed in Orlando without any problems. It was a hike to the baggage claim but the bags made it just fine. Then it was on a bus and headed to the hotel. Finally got checked in, went to the room, then hung out at the Cabana for dinner and drinks. The back inside to hang out for more drinks.

Finally back to the room for crashing time. Saw a few folks I met last year at the conference and said hi. Made plans for the leadership conference and for the Literacy signing which is tonight.

All in all, a good day.

Oh, and over dinner we talked shop. The girls helped me figure out a topic for that Christmas story I want to write. It’s brilliant, actually so I’m looking forward to getting to work on it. Long day today but it’s going to be FUN and I’m really looking forward to it.

More later!

I know I won’t have time to blog so I’m actually scheduling this to post. It’s the magical thing about WordPress!

As I write this, I have five pairs of shoes in my suitcase. Plus I’ll be wearing another. Some people think that’s too many shoes for five days but I’m not sure it’s enough. Plus I need a pair for the outfits I’ll be wearing for the three different parties I’m attending. AND…I will find out on Thursday where I placed in the Stroke of Midnight contest. I’ll try to post an update on that while I’m there. The final judge for that category was with Ellora’s Cave, just in case you were wondering.

I know I won’t have space for all the books I”ll get coming back, so I’ve already put it in the budget to ship those home. I’ve promised my mom I would bring her an autographed Nora Roberts. Plus, Nora Roberts it the keynote speaker this year. I’m really looking forward to it.

I’m taking the Mini, the Nook, the camera, the iPhone, all the charges related to all electronic devices. I should be well-wired for the duration of the trip.

I’ll check in as I can throughout the week. I know you’ll all be on pins and needles awaiting my posts, won’t you? You know you will. Stop playing.

If you get a chance, stop by Pop Culture Divas today for my regular post!

Meaning – my trip to Nationals!

This weekend I packed, unpacked, repacked and packed some more. I think I must have changed my mind a dozen times on what to take. I also did some light shopping. I got the cutest dress for $22. I got some capri pants, a peasant shirt and some other things on sale. And yes, we’ve started shopping for school clothes too. Hard to believe it starts in less than a month!

I also packed four pairs of shoes and I’m not sure if that’s enough.

I cleaned house and got everything ready for me to be gone for the next five days. Man has instructions to please feed the cat and water the plants. Hopefully the cat won’t be too disgruntled with me by the time I get back. I’ve been brushing him daily to cut down on all the hair all over the place. It’s working.

And I bent back my fingernail…like all the way past the quick. It bled. Why I did this I have no idea but it hurts to type so I’m going to sign off here. I’ll check in tomorrow. Plane leaves at noon. WHEE!

I know I haven’t posted much this week but it’s been a hard one for me. I finally got a response back and turns out it’s a rejection. However, the editor gave me lots of good feedback in her rejection so I think there’s some things I can use. Of course, I didn’t agree with everything she said but I did agree with some things. So now it’s back to the drawing board. I haven’t quite decided what I’m going to do with that book yet but I’ve been mulling it over for the last few days.

I took two writing days off which I really couldn’t afford but I was so…I don’t know…bummed about the rejection I needed to re-evaluation time. Plus I’ve been feeling very lethargic lately. No energy. Exhausted. Headaches. I’m going to blame it all on the heat. Wednesday night I got myself into bed at a decent hour but still couldn’t fall asleep until nearly 11. Still, it’s better than midnight and waking up every two hours.

Yesterday I finally broke through the writing barrier and ended up with about 1200 words for the day. A lot of writing and rewriting and brainstorming with my critique partner about a new short story I want to do. She gave me some really good ideas. I had to get by the library lasty night, so I checked out three research books (and bribed my kid to read the book he checked out).

I only have two more work days before I pack up and head to Orlando for the conference and I’m really looking forward to recharging my creative batteries with 2000 of my closest writer friends. I already have a packed schedule and am looking forward to seeing some people I connected with last year at Nationals. Plus, I will find out where I placed in the contest I finaled in (the Stroke of Midnight contest for anyone who wants to know). The party for that is Thursday night. I have a party every night and a breakfast every morning. And in between I’ll be at the workshops, soaking it all in.

So this weekend is going to be about getting ready to go on Tuesday. I need to get laundry done and clean the house, run the dishwasher, make sure the Man is all set for the week. It’s already pitiful that I’ll be gone for five days. And the kiddo has requested a Harry Potter wand as his souvenier. I sure hope I can find one.

Okay that’s it for me. Hopefully I can get some writing done today and this weekend before I leave. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Progress Update: Wrote 2272 on the Christmas story and am nearly 1/4 of the way to my goal. Would love to have at least half of it drafted this week and the rest finished the week of August 1.

I’ve found I write much better when I have a goal in mind. For instance, this Christmas story which is rather non-traditional but action packed. Knowing I have to turn it in on September 1 has been motivation to get it written. The only hitch is, I’ll be out of town most of next week for RWA’s National Conference and won’t be able to even think about writing. So I’m trying to cram two weeks worth of writing into one. Yeah. Right.

The biggest problem with that I see is my lunch hours are going to be committed to meetings all day Tuesday and Wednesday. Which is usually my prime writing time. I’ve conditioned myself to write for an hour during this time, so what am I going to do with my creative, active brain when I can’t get that done? I will have to resort to staying up late and writing.

Anyway… in regards to the title of this post… a good writing friend of mine sold to Carina Press recently. We submitted about the same time. I’m still waiting on my rejection or acceptance (I’m hoping for the latter!). I’m trying really hard not to be OCD about checking my email every two seconds but that’s all I want to do. And, of course, I’m in meetings at work for the next two days which means I can’t be OCD about checking my email every two seconds. I’m hoping that means I will be receving an email from Carina in that time.

Of course I have another plan should I receive a rejection. We’ll call it Contingency Plan #19 because that will be the amount of times it’s been submitted. Hopefully, it stops at 18 with Carina. Cross your fingers!