Hey, all! I’m a guest over at my friend, Devon’s, blog while she’s off visiting Prague. You can read my post here! Stop on by and give us some love.

So I got two rejections yesterday from two agents. Something like that can seriously deflate a person, you know? And here I thought that book was kick-ass and it would easily be snatched up.

Wrong. Of course, I’m still waiting to hear back from a few others. Of course, I still have hope there will be a bite. But I still sat back and went, “You know, maybe it DOES suck.”

And I’m cool with that.

And then I thought: Maybe it’s not the book it’s the QUERY that sucks. Yes, that has to be it. The query letter is awful.

And then I re-read the query and I’m convinced it DOESN’T suck and the book is really as kick-ass as I thought it was to begin with.

I hate this business sometimes. It makes you want to rip your hair out. Then other times it makes you leap for joy. Other times, still, it makes you weep. For a variety of reasons!

Such is the way of things. Okay sure I know – work on something else while you’re waiting (I am). Don’t get discouraged (I’m not). Write the best book you can (I did). It’s just frustrating that it takes so darn long to get a response back.

Last night I spent a good portion of time doing some brainstorming on the new book and trying to figure out a particular piece of the puzzle. I also did some writing. I got in abou 1500 words and busted 11K. GO ME! That felt good and the story is getting fun. My poor heroine just got the shock of her life. And even as I write this, I’m wondering what sort of hell I can put them through to make it all worthwhile in the end.

And NOTE TO SELF: Never watch any show pertaining to Charles Mason before bedtime. I made the grave error of watching the documentary, Manson, on History Channel the night before and ended up with a restless night. That guy was just evil. And those mindless minions of his were evil and freaky. I’m fairly certain there’s a special place in Hell for them all.

AND! On that note, I’m off to work. But DO stop by Devon’s blog today if you can!

It’d like to lodge a formal complaint: The weekends go too fast!

I spent Friday night alone, which wasn’t all that much fun. I’ve gotten used to having a constant companion of some sort – the Man or the Kid. But the Man was still on vacation and the Kid was at his dad’s. So I researched. For two hours. I took notes. I searched for information and I have a really great foundation for the new book. I’m about 5000 words in.

Got up early Saturday morning for the first soccer game of the season. We won! And the boys played great. Then I ran errands. To the library, to Best Buy, to the store, Bed Bath and Beyond. Lots of things to do. Since I knew Man was coming home that day, I got home and cleaned house. I discovered this great stuff – Comet Spray Gel – for my nasty shower. And WOW! That stuff really works. I ran out of energy and was tired of breathing the fumes, but one wall is glistening. I’ll have to go back and scrub the others. I bought one of those shampoo/conditioner dispensers you hang on the shower wall and put that up. It’s awesome by the way. I love it! And it was well worth the $30. I’m thinking if I can get the nasty shower clean, then I won’t have to replace the whole thing like I originally thought. Which will save me about $3000. It just means lots of elbow grease and sweat. I can do that.

Man made it hom finally about 8:30 that night and we stayed up until nearly midnight. He told me all about his trip and brought me a little stuffed black cat from Salem, Massachusetts. It is, of course, wearing a witch hat. I also got a mini replica of the St. Louis Arch. Too cool. It was nice to see him after 7 days.

Sunday – My sweetie boy’s birthday! I can’t believe he’s 8. That went so fast! Seems like yesterday he was born and small. Now he’s big and he says things like, “MOM, these people just don’t understand what I’m saying sometimes.” Which cracks me up. And he’s in 3rd grade! And a future gamer, much to my dismay. I try to steer him off of that but he’s stubborn. Wonder where he gets that?

Man and I got up early and ran errands. More errands! He needed new shows and I needed toner and a bunch of miscellaneous stuff. Came home, hung out. Kiddo came to the hose around 4 and we had dinner and he opened presents. It was a nice evening. And not nearly long enough for my taste.

And now…Monday. Back to the same ole/same ole. Hopefully I’ll get more work done on the new book. I really need to sit and think about a decent plot and try to get something sketched out before I get too much further. Very pleased with chapter 1, though.

Off to work!

I think all the late nights finally caught up to me yesterday. I was exhausted by 8:30.

We had soccer practice, which always puts a crimp in the evening. However, I was smart. I made dinner in the crock pot! So dinner was done and waiting for us when we got home. Plus, it’s really low maintenance on the dishes. LOVE that. We had a nice thunderstorm roll through, too. My lawn is happy.

Got home, ate dinner, the kiddo studied for his test today and then got him in the shower and into bed. I forced myself to stay up a little longer. I started a new story today. Sort of a revamp of the old MAGIC story. There was something about that one that was never quite right and I think I finally figured it out. It’s urban fantasy. Maybe. Well, okay, probably. I wrote over 3000 words on it so far.

And it’s dark. I actually scared myself when I was writing. Who knew! I mean, I had this heart-pounding moment when I finished writing the first chapter and then sat back and re-read it. It startled me. Ever have that happen? Ever write something so intense and so … dark … that when you go back and read, it just freaks you out? That was me. LOL

I’m going to plug away and see where it goes. I have a general idea. It’s basically revamping the old fantasy story into a new urban fantasy story. Should be grand fun.

Happy Weekend!

I got a lot done yesterday. Since the kiddo was at his dad’s and Man was lost in Syracuse, NY, I had a date with my computer for the evening.

Well, most of the evening. I purged more paperbacks off my bookshelves that I don’t want or need. I’ve decided since I don’t get a lot of cash from them at Half Price to donate them to the local library. That way, everybody wins. I get rid of my books and the library gets books. Works for me. I have a stack of about 20 or so. I think they’ll be excited to get them.

I also talked to my good friend on the phone about a partial request she got from an agent. I am SO excited for her! Crossing all my fingers and toes for her!

Anyway, despite my bleary eyes this morning, I’m up and somewhat conscious. My coffee just finished (YES) so I’ll be sipping on that while I try to string coherent sentences together. That’s what I get for staying up late.

I worked on the revisions until 11:30 last night. But I got chapters 18 and 19 in excellent shape. That’s about 24 pages of revision. Today I’ll print them, read through them, and fix any minor errors I see. I added a new scene or two, cut a bunch of stuff that didn’t make sense, and tightened up the rest. If I can work on it hard and heavy tonight, I should be done by the end of the week. WOO!

Then I climbed into bed and since my brain refused to shut off, I decided to re-read Darkfever, the first book in the Fever series. I want to see how much foreshadowing the author does to the fourth book. So far, the prologue showed me lots of that. And I can’t help but wonder how she managed to keep it all together. I heard she has a giant spreadsheet (I loves spreadsheets). I also heard she has two related series planned after this one is finished. Can’t wait to read those!

I should be good and tired today since I stayed up so late. Don’t know if I’ll be doing that again tonight but I do know I’ll be working on the book one way or another.

Time to shower! Happy Tuesday, ya’ll.

So I wake up yesterday morning and as I’m combing my hair out after my shower, I feel something really painful on my neck.

Turns out it’s a frigging zit the size of Wyoming on the back of my neck just at the hairline. What the frack? I mean, seriously? Aren’t I too old for that?

I’m going to attribute it to the heat (which I’m official SICK of). That and the fact that being nearly 40 really kind of sucks.

So, anyway, I was relating this information to my BFF via email and I told her it was totally like Invation of the Pod People or something. I felt like I had been abducted by aliens sometime between Man blowing his nose at 3 am and me waking up at 6 am. That could really be the only explanation right? She asked me if I thought the Wyoming Zit was the point of entry. I told her I thought it was.

Fast forward to later that night – which was Taco Night, by the way. If you haven’t jumped on the Taco Tuesday bandwagon, well, may I suggest you do that next week? It’s grand fun. So after I get the kiddo settled into bed and collect my thoughts for 2.3 seconds, Man is sitting on the sofa watching History Channel’s The Universe. They’re talking about how in about a couple billion years, the Sun will explode and the Earth will be no more. Because, you see, it’s going to burn itself out.

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Tell us something we don’t know.

But as I sat there listening to the narrator and the scientists, I thought… What would happen if there were still people on the Earth at that time? Would they know the Sun was about to go kaboom? And if so, what would they be doing about it?

I bet you’re wondering what that has to do with the zit on my neck and so I’ll tell you. It’s a twisted way to come up with a new idea for a new futuristic story that involves the Sun exploding, the Earth dying, and aliens. But then, who said I wasn’t twisted? I’m still working on the details.

Worked on more revisions for the gladiator book, too. Stayed up way too late. Need much coffee.

I’m off to Big D today and tomorrow and I’m totally not looking forward to the drive. At least I will be armed with iPod and coffee. And I’m still learning where the END key is on this Mini. And I think I need glasses.

Yeah. It sucks to get old.

So I think I’ve mentioned once or twice I’m still in revision mode, working on the gladiator book. It’s coming along nicely and currently, I only have 80 pages to go. That’s right – 80! The end of the book with the big climactic scene.

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.

It’s Friday already? And the first week of August is already gone? How did this happen? Where was I for the last seven days?

I realized,with some horror, I had contest entries due. Today. And I still had three to judge before I could turn them in. Egads! Guess what I did last night? Yup. Read contest entries. I have one more to read today and then I’m done! I did agree to be a discrepancy judge for another contest but I should have to read any more than one.

Now the contest I’m coordinating is in full swing. And the most awesome WebDiva has figured out a way to automate just about everything making my life a heckuva lot easier. I love her. I do. I’m sending her chocolate.

Tomorrow is my chapter meeting. I think I’m ready. I have all my paperwork printed and ready to go and I’ve got a whole bunch of new stuff I want to present to the group. I’m excited! I’m pumped! I’m ready to rock ‘n roll, baybe!

And – in other cool news – I was contacted by a columnist for an online newspaper in Houston. She’s doing romance author spotlights and asked if I’d like to be interviewed. I said yes, of course! I’ll let you know when the interview is up.

On September 5, I’ll be doing a book-a-day giveaway at The Romance Studio. I’m giving away a signed copy of A BEND IN TIME so if you don’t have a copy, now’s your big change get in on the fun. I’ll remind you the day of, though. Don’t worry.

I’m off to Big D for the day so – TGIF, ya’ll!

Because I’ve been immersed in revisions lately, I haven’t had my head in new stuff for a while. I miss writing raw material and creating.

I once thought I could work on two things at the same time. I thought wrong. I now know have to focus on one thing at a time and finish it from creation to revision before I can refocus my attention on something else. Especially when they’re two vastly different genres – like moving from contemporary to fantasy.

I wish I could be one of those writers who could crank out three books a year but I just don’t see myself doing that. At least not yet. That’s something I need to grow into. Just like writing fantasy is something I need to grow into. I really want to do it – but it’s going to take more practice and more writing to really get there.

And I think what’s most difficult about writing is the waiting. The painfully slow waiting. It’s like watching grass grow or paint dry. And I’m a hurry-up kind of girl. Here-and-now. Just ask Man. Or my mom. They’ll tell you. I want everything done yesterday.

It’s really hard for me to wait for a response from an editor or an agent. Of course, I’ve been making use of the time this go round. I’ve been revising my bum off. And I know it’s best to do that. Had my book been totally finished by then, I would be writing the next one and shipping it off to my critique partners.

So here’s what I’ve learned. This is all strictly my observations from working at this for the last eight years.

Writing is extremely slow.It takes a lot of patience and perseverance to sit down and write an 80,000 word novel and then shove it out the door to your trusted CPs. And then to go through the painfully slow process of revision. And THEN to send it out, once again, to an agent or editor. And then wait. And wait. And wait.

Writing is lonely without finding those supporting players in your own story. Maybe some writers can go it alone and crank out excellent books but I know for me, I need others to commiserate with, to talk craft with, to bounce ideas off of, and to just be a writer with. We don’t have to love the same books or write the same stories. Just having that commonality is enough for me.

Writing is hard work. Wouldn’t it be great to sit down, pound at the keyboard and have a completed, polished ready-to-submit novel the first time? I would love that! What writer wouldn’t? Not only do we have to create and have a plausible plotline, but we need unforgettable characters, too. And if you’re writing otherworldly stories, then there’s the matter of world building. That world the reader steps into has to be a real as the world they wake up to every day. Yeah. Hard work.

Writing is a struggle to get published and stay published. I used to think when I got published, it would be easy from there on out. WRONG. In some respects, I think it’s harder. The deadline pressure I can deal with. In fact, I like it. But things change once you sign that contract and start earning royalties. It’s no longer about being unpublished, entering contests, and trying to get in front of an agent or editor. It’s about marketing and promotion and getting your name out there and hoping your readers don’t forget about you between books. Because for me, there is a lot of time between books (see above!) . And unless you’re lucky and get with a bigger press and have a two- or three-book deal in hand, you’re still trying to get in front of an agent of editor. (Please note, I use “you” and “you’re” collectively here.) And then sometimes, even that doesn’t work out.

Writing is a sense of accomplishment in yourself, knowing you can and will do it, and knowing people love your words as much as you do. Writing is finding that harmony with your inner editor and hitting that point where you finally know it’s good work. Writing is knowing when to take good criticism and use it to your advantage and when to throw out the bad. Writing is taking that rejection for what it is and not letting it get you down, eating some chocolate, and then picking yourself up and going after it again.

Writing is hard, lonely, awesome, fun, fantastic work and I wouldn’t stop for anything in the world.

Now. Go take on the page.

Saturday, Man, Mom and I drove three hours east to visit and pick up my boy. It was a great time, really. Long drive, but a really good day. And good food too. We managed to kill an entire pan of brownies Mom made.

Poor Man was not happy about leaving at 8 am sharp, but we he slowly got into better spirits. Mostly because we stopped at Starbucks on the way. We didn’t make it home until nearly 9:30 that night. Very long day. But of course well worth it.

The kid was filthy, too, and I promptly sent him to the shower. He had a hard time getting back to the norm, though, and I think it was close to midnight before he fell asleep.

Sunday was all about shopping. Got the groceries and then went to the Farmers Market, too, for fresh berries. YUM. Then went to JCP because of the huge sale and I had a VIP pass. I got the kiddo some school clothes – 3 pairs of jeans, a shirt and shoes for around $75. I felt so proud of myself. And I can’t believe it’s time to starting thinking school stuff already. The summer is nearly over!

Then got home, cooked dinner, finished laundry. Cleaned house. Just the normal junk.

Then I took the plunge. Sent off the partial request to the agent last night. Here’s hoping. I hope it’s good enough. But if it’s not and I end up with a rejection, there is always Plan B. I’m okay with Plan B.

Anyway – not much else to report. Other than it’s hot again. However, we did get a nice downpour yesterday which was really nice.

Tonight, Man and I need to take a trip to Bed Bath & Beyond for some things. That’s a dangerous store for sure.

Off to work!

I’m doing Candy Havens’ challenge on her Write Workshop. Yesterday’s goal was 17 revised pages and I made it through 19 pages. YAY me!

I haven’t had a chance to see what today’s goal is, but I’m going to keep plugging away regardless. I have lots of ideas to incorporate into PHOENIX to beef up the big ending of the book. I’d always felt there was something not quite right about it and now I think I’ve figured out how to fix it.

Plus I now have a kick-ass opening line. And for that one brief moment when I wrote it, I felt total brillance.

And now I’m trying not to suck again.

But the workshop is inspiring me to keep going! Just keeping going and don’t stop. Plus I really need to have the majority of the revision done before I submit it to the agent. Yes, I’m dragging me feet. But in my defense, I know she has another conference to go to so I’m trying to be a tad considerate and wait until she gets back. Like it’ll make a difference right? Oh, suck it up, Michelle, and just send the damn thing!

Yes, I talk to myself. Sometimes it’s the only way to get good conversation.

So, what inspires you to get those words down?

Hey I’m at Sole Struck talking about paying it forward with shoes. Come on over and check it out.

So I’ve taken up Candy Haven’s challenge and am participating in her new Write Workshop (this is free to anyone who wants to participate! Check out her website for more information!). Yesterday, the challenge was 11 pages of revision (I’m doing the revision instead of new words since I need to finish revising PHOENIX). I’m proud to say I got 40 pages of revision in yesterday. So I banked some pages in the process! YAY!

My goal was to polish up the first three chapters. After I got all the edits done, I printed them and read through them. Just want to make sure there aren’t any glaring errors. You know, sometimes I read through my pages and I think how sucky it is. And then sometimes I read through them and I think how brilliant I was. But for the most part, I tell myself to try not to suck. And I find it to be very difficult NOT to suck. Because sucking is so much easier than trying to be good. It’s the Lazy Writer Way out, isn’t it? You know it sucks but you’re too lazy to do anything about it.

And I use “you” collectively here. I do it too. I’m so guilty of that sometimes. I know some of my previous work could be a thousand and one times better but I was Lazy Writer at the time instead of Trying Not To Suck Writer.

Is it just me? Or does everyone go through that?

Ah well. I can’t wait to see what Candy’s challenge is today! WOO!

It’s hard to believe I have to go back to reality today. I really enjoyed my time off. I think I was in total need of blowing off some steam. Since I got home, I’ve felt very relaxed and laid back.

So, Nationals was great. I had a wonderful time meeting so many fantastic people. I was so lucky in that I finally – after all these year – got to meet Sara Reinke who was the best editor I ever had at Samhain. Sara is just as delightful in person as she in online. And her books are still awesome.

I think the best way to do this is a day-by-day. So if you know me and have already exchanged emails with me about the conference, then this will be a repeat performance. Sorry about that. Otherwise, sit back and enjoy!

Tuesday Night / Wednesday

I arrived in DC on Tuesday and took the Metro from the airport to the hotel. Super easy. And I met Jeffe, the president of FF&P, there and we rode in together. She was a most excellent roommate! We got all checked into the Omni and then I was off to get my headshots done. Damon of Studio 16 took the photos and they were great! You can see the one I’m using for my author page on my website by clicking here. It took a while since they were running a bit behind but it was well worth it.

Then got back to the room and went to have a late dinner at a local coffeehouse. The picture you see here was taken at breakfast on Wednesday and I had a giant cup of coffee in front of me. It was delish.

On Wednesday, we spent the day at the leadership semrinar. It was great. Very informative and I learned a lot. I think I took away some things I can apply to the chapter and be a better leader and lead the chapter into a better place. I hope. We’ll see. I have so much to decompress over on that and get organized. So much to do and so little time to do it, it seems.

At the end of the seminar, the Board of Directions was introduced and that’s where I finally met Sara. I was so happy to meet her! She was the editor I had for A BEND IN TIME when she worked at Samhain. She’s a Regional board member now. I’ve known her for about three years so meeting her in person was a real treat.

That night, it was the Literacy signing. You’ve seen pictures of that already here. Literally 500 authors signing books in a giant room! GIANT! Nora Roberts was there as was JR Ward and a whole bunch of other folks. I met Nancy Haddock who is a dear sweet lady.

Thursday

Got up and went to the opening session with Janet Evonivich who was hysterical. Her talk was wonderful. After that it was off to the Annual General Meeting and then back to the ballroom for lunch and keynote speaker, Linda Howard. The workshops started up that afternoon after lunch. I got one in, then ran to stuff bags with the Prez of FFP for The Gathering, our awards party that night. An hour and half later of stuffing, I headed back to the Omni to get cleaned up and dressed for the party. Got back to the Marriott and we started getting everything set up for The Gathering. And yes, I wore my fabulous red dress and four-inch heels.

After a great panel discussion with some of the FF&P Prism winners, it was on to the Harlequin party so I could catch up with a few folks I wanted to see. I never did connect with one person in particular and I feel guilty about that, but hopefully we can catch up together at the next conference (because already thinking about Nashville!). After that, I headed down to the bar, found some FF&P folks and we sat in the bar laughing and talking until midnight.

Friday

I got up at 6:30 am and headed to Marriott where I met the Elements gals for breakfast. I needed serious coffee. Met them, though, and they were all lovely. So we sat and talked for over an hour and I finally met some of my favorite people from the Yahoo group and then ended up going on to my pitch session with the agent. It was freaking FREEZING in that room so not only was I shivering but I was a nervous wreck. And still really tired from the night before.

So it was my turn finally and I get up there and finally sat down with my stupid little notecard and I felt like a moron. I introduced myself and start in with my book. I asked if I could read from the card and she says, “You wrote the book, didn’t you?” and of course I felt like a jackass. So I babbled my pitch and she asked a few questions and said to send her the first three chapters and synopsis and I got up and left. I swear I only used 2-3 mins of my pitch appointment. At least she asked for a partial but I think she took pity on me. LOL

That afternoon, there was more workshops but I was beat and finally succumbed and went back to the hotel, stopping at McDonald’s for fattening food and then I went to the room. I talked to the Man on the phone for nearly 2 hours (he was pining away haha) and then worked on the opening of PHOENIX and then crashed.

Saturday

Went to some workshops, ran around like a crazy person, and the finally came home that afternoon to Man. He was very happy to see me. So was the cat. LOL Both my flights were pretty good but there’s something about sitting in an airplane, thirty thousand feet up and thinking, Crap. That’s a long way down. I’m thinking I might need an aisle seat next time.

All in all, it was WONDERFUL. I met so many people. I exchanged a TON of business cards (so very glad I got those printed up!) and learned a lot. I absolutely cannot wait until Nashville in 2010. And I can’t believe I’ve waited so darn long to go to a conference. It was a blast. And I made so many new, wonderful friends.

Sunday I vegged out with the Man, unpacked and got the laundry done. We ran some errands. And then Monday he was back to work and I took the kiddo to meet my sister and drop him off for the week. I am so lonely for him! I haven’t seen him in over a week and now he’s off to have fun with chickens and goats and sheep. I know he’ll have a blast but I can’t wait to see him on Saturday. He finally lost is other front tooth and he’s FINALLY front-tooth-less and it’s cute as hell. His permanent teeth are already coming in, though. On my way home from dropping off the kiddo, I stopped to visit with Mom and drop off her JD Robb book I got for her (signed!) at the Literacy Signing.

As for me, I’m back to revisions. And I’m doing Candace Havens new workshop challenge. I’m so excited about that and getting my book done! I really want to start working on the futuristic now, too.

So lots for me to do. And lots to get done. But you know… I thrive on that stuff.

Happy Tuesday, ya’ll!

Okay, so. I totally did it. I splurged. I bought myself an HP Mini. I totally LOVE it. Of course, I have to get used to the smaller keyboard. That’s about the only thing I don’t like.

I spent a good portion of the evening setting it up - removing software and installing software. Got the wireless up and running too. And now I’m ready to take it to Nationals! Now I don’t have to feel lost without my computer or my internet access. AND I can blog from Nationals and upload my pictures and everything. Totally cool.

I’m even typing this entry on my new netbook now.

And in more National news – got my time for my agent appointment. I’ll be pitching to Nephele Tempest at 10:20 on Friday, July 17. VERY excited about that. I can’t believe how close it is!

Aside from my allergies killing me, yesterday was pretty good. Had a nice productive meeting with the office manager in Dallas and I feel like we can continue to move forward and maybe everything will be a-ok.

I also got home to discover I had an email from Cobblestone with my royalty statement. I sold nearly 40 copies of TAKE ME I’M YOURS last month so a HUGE thank you to all my readers. You’re all fantastic and I really, truly appreciate the support.

And speaking of support (great segue, eh?) I got some help from my CPs on my internal/external conflicts with my hero/heroine. I finally have it all nailed down so now I just have to get the thing written. This is something I want to take my time on. I want it to be a good as possible.

It’s supposed to be 102 next week. That’s not the heat index, that’s the actual temperature. Can you say UGH? I’m so jealous of all you having temps in the 60s.

Off to work. Happy Thursday!

Let’s see if I can sum up yesterday: It was hot and it sucked. Yeah, I think that covers everything.

I don’t know what my problem is lately other than I’m in one of those places where I feel like I need to make some life-changing decisions. I’m fed up, sick, tired and just plain-old ready for something different. I haven’t quite figured out what that is yet. And it’s frustrating.

And I’m sick of being broke. SICK, I tell you. I’ve had it with the scrimping, the coupon clipping, the watching every penny, the being frugal. Had. It. I’m ticked the refills for my razors cost $10 for THREE. THREE! I want to be frivolous. I want to go out and buy that $500 netbook. That Kindle. That new super-cool slider cell phone. Those fancy shoes.

But I can’t. And I don’t. The sensible side of me prevails. Instead I know I need to be pricing a shed for the backyard. New window screens. New bath and tub installs for both bathrooms. A new couch because I’m seconds away from shoving mine out to the curb. Yeah. Real exciting stuff, isn’t it? Being a grown-up sucks.

Okay, I’m just complaining. You’ll have to forgive me. I’m in one of those spots where it’s littered with rocks and hard places. I’ll cheer up now. I promise.

I did finish judging one contest only to end up getting entries for two more. I can’t say no. I’m a glutton. I think one of my resolutions for 2010 will be to not volunteer so much. My personal life and my writing is starting to suffer. It’s time to pare everything down and start worrying more about ME and not everyone else.

And speaking of writing, I’ve been thinking on the new WIP. I sort of have an idea for a plot but part of me really wants to sit down and try and write out a little bit of a synopsis. The other part of me – the Pantser – is demanding that I just start writing. But here’s the thing: I don’t want to rewrite this book forever. I want to do it right the first time. And I think the only way I can do that is if I have a semblance of a synopsis already done. If that makes sense.

So I dabbled on the new WIP some yesterday. And then I played on Twitter and Facebook and called it a night. I’m lame. Oops, sorry. I promised to cheer up.

I think I need to go find my happy place. Which, I’m pretty sure, is in the bottom of a Starbucks Grande Vanilla Latte.

Carry on.

This is going to be a really short, quick entry today. I’m writing this the night before since I won’t have time in the morning and I’m drop-dead exhausted.

First – I’m up to 5000 words on the new WIP. The first 18 pages are jam-packed with action and I love, love, love the characters and the story so far. A few times I even giggled at myself. It’s always nice to have fun writing, isn’t it?

Second – I have a new review for TAKE ME I’M YOURS. Finally! I got 4 stars from CataRomance.

“This is a romance that is passionate and lusty while being sweet and sassy.  The characters can be a contradiction of terms but they never deviate from their goals and desires.  This is a love story that one will happily fall for.”

If you’d like to read the whole thing, check it out here!

And Third – I just ordered the COOLEST book from BN.Com with my birthday gift card. I can’t wait to get it! I think it’s really going to add some zip to my writing. Especially the current WIP. It’s called Ka-Boom! A Dictionary of Comic Book Words, Symbols & Onomatopoeia by Kevin Taylor. Yeah, say that five times fast! You can get the book and more info here.

Yeah, I’m boring today. Sorry about that.