Latest News and...Wanna Win an eReader??

I was surprised to learn today that PAY UP is up for Book of the Month over at Happily Ever After Reviews. Woot! It's got some pretty stiff competition, but head on over and check out the awesome line up of books. You might see one you'd like to vote for ;).

I sent off my RWA Golden Heart entries this week. Yep, that's plural. Although I'm published, I'm still able to enter this year based on the eligibility criteria. It will be my last opportunity though, so I figured I'd go all out. I won't know anything until March, so I'll forget about it until then. Or try to :).

We're also having a fabulous contest over at Passionate Reads, the group blog I contribute to. There are daily opportunities to enter to win an ereader (winner's choice of either a Nook or Kindle) and we're giving away an ebook each day of the contest. Make sure you check out all the ways you can enter to maximize your number of entries and chances to win!!

Note to self - Murphy's Law!

Well, my entry in the Golden Heart 2010 is in and I am so done with it! Well, that's not exactly true. I find it hard to let go of a story once I've completed it and I like to think about what happens after that last scene. Anyway, I left it to the last minute to send it. I tried telling myself (and I told hubby) I was going to take the maximum possible time I could to ensure it was perfect. Was it perfect? NO! Of course not. It never would be because I have two BIG weaknesses - I tend to procrastinate and I'm a perfectionist. Put them together and it's a pretty big challenge because I'm never done! Plus, I usually plan for contingencies, but this time I figured, what could go wrong? Try a urinary tract infection for my daughter, a throat infection for me, a school trip for my son we had to get ready for, a busted coffee maker, holiday decorations the kids DEMANDED we do over the weekend, a hard drive that crashed, and a broken Wii remote (the biggest disaster of all!). It meant down to the wire stress, late nights and lots of hair pulling - but you know what? I love, love, love that! I love feeling the pressure of a pending deadline and am fascinated by the 'do what it takes' stuff I produce then. Yeah, I know, it's been said before. I'm sick that way.

So, it's in the mail. I'll still be a little nervous till the tracking number tells me it was delivered, but I plan to just push it to the back of my mind and forget all about it. Now, I have numerous characters in my head demanding that they be next. How to choose??

Still freaking out and oh yeah - Happy Thanksgiving!

I tried to think of something funny or witty, something thought provoking, something inspiring, but I'm completely tapped out! I've got nuthin! I'm crazily trying to get my Golden Heart entry done and all the water from this well has gone towards that!! I'm still freaking out because of course the unthinkable happened yesterday. An unexpected catastrophe with one of the kids which meant my whole day was wiped out! This day had been reserved for me to do a complete read through to make sure the big story hung together, for me to spend on the synopsis and really tighten it up, and for me to get a level of comfort that I'm really, really going to make it! So, as I sit here I can't help but think - what do I have to be thankful for? I'm thankful for an understanding husband who won't mind (much) that I'll be up late (very late) the next few nights. I'm thankful for great kids who'll just roll their eyes when they see me hunched over the computer because Mom has to 'work' again. I'm thankful, and oh so grateful, that I'm at a place were I'm able to pursue a dream I hadn't realized until recently I'd completely sacrificed when the practicalities of life had to be put first. So ... Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Totally freaked out here!!

As I looked at my blog today that darn counter is blaring at me, warning me, mocking me. Yes, it's almost Golden Heart time. I'm still doing some final edits on the manuscript I intend to enter and still need to clean up my synopsis. Yeah, the dreaded synopsis which I know is not a strength of mine. I've put it off until the end, until I have no choice but to tackle it. Yikes!! (do people really use that word in real life?). Anyway, I keep telling myself I work best under pressure, I still have time (baring any major disasters) and of course I'll make it, but it doesn't help with the mild (OK, maybe not so mild) panic that is starting to set in and the surety that my stuff really sucks. I haven't heard much around the forums about the Golden Heart lately and probably not likely to now with the controversy around Harlequin Horizons and RWA. Will be interesting to see how it plays out!

Sick kids, leaky roof and snakes! Oh my!

What a week! A week of frustration because my brain was bursting with things to get on the page but everything conspired against me. I guess sick kids and a leaky roof is pretty self explanatory but we have a yard that is about an acre in size and, well, ocassionally we have a snake problem. They're not venemous my hubby says, but they're SNAKES all the same!

Anyway, this week I realized something. My most productive writing time is between 12 and 3 in the afternoon. Why? I have no idea. Maybe it's the looming threat of kids home from school to disturb the peace and the realization that I better get something done or the day will be wasted. I write every evening but early afternoon seems to be the time when I come up with the best ideas. I'm sure every writer has their own most productive times. Now, I just need to use this knowledge wisely!!

Oh, and I entered my current manuscript into the Golden Heart 2010. Now I have to deliver the thing!

To epub or not to epub?

This question has been revolving in my mind for a long time. I have a clear idea of what I want to publish and with which publishers. No surprise they're the big guys. It's tough; competition is fierce and the wait times are brutal. I have often weighed the pros and cons of going the route of an e-publisher. After all, a number of todays successful authors started out that way and some continue to publish in this fashion right along with their best selling novels via more 'traditional' means. Then there's this whole topic with RWA and publishers they consider to be 'valid' and this area gets sticky very quickly, particularly when it comes to the Golden Heart and PAN eligibility. SO, what thoughts do others have about this? Is it one or the other and what factors needs to be weighed? Can they coexist and is it a step that should be added to a complete publishing strategy? Can it hurt or hinder other opportunities?

Waiting is SO hard!

Although intellectually I knew I would not have received a response as yet to my partial submission, I had fantasized of course that my envelope would be so compelling, my story and writing thereafter so gripping she would send a response requesting to read the full manuscript immediately. The waiting is so hard. I want the request to send the rest of the manuscript so bad! What if I get a letter and (for whatever reason) they don't want to see it? Should I then shelve that novel completely and start another one? I have been combing through the story polishing it as much as I can in anticipation of the request. I think I'll enter it in the Golden Heart this year regardless if I get a negative response before the entry deadline. Can't hurt, right? It may just give me the incentive I need to go on and craft another one.

With school back in full swing I had visions of all this amazing time to write, however, I found it difficult this week to get back into the routine of doing that; almost as if I was anticipating countless interruptions that never really materialized. I think I found my groove by Friday so hopefully this coming week will prove to be more productive!