WOOT!

My editor loves my book, my editor loves my book *sing-song voice*. Heard from my editor today and she loved PLAY ME! I'm in the process of taking care of the administrative side of things on this and will hopefully be able to share details of a release date soon. I poured a lot of emotion into this book and it took awhile to wrestle it to the ground. Gabe is the damaged, tortured hero and I have a soft spot for that type! I hope everyone likes it. It'll be great to get another book out!! More details to follow soon....

OMG! I'm going to be published...

They finally put me out of my misery!  I've been excited, distracted and just about bursting with this news for two weeks, but wanted to make sure everything was finalized and official before I announced it. I'm going to be published! PUBLISHED! Another milestone for 2010! OK, so it's a biggie milestone, but it's one I didn't think would necessarily happen in the first part of this year. At the beginning of 2010, I didn't plan to write a novella and I hadn't planned on submitting to an epublisher. Not yet anyway. I've written about this before, but when I was browsing the publisher sites, I saw a call for submission and was immediately hit with an idea. Even then, I shrugged it off but the characters and the story just wouldn't let go. So, over the course of about a week I sat down and just wrote it. I sent it in and moved on and the voices in my head stopped (well those particuar voices anyway) LOL. I went through a round of revisions and about two weeks ago, they let me know they'd like to contract it! It's under 15,000 words, but my first published work Picture This, will be released from Ellora's Cave (hopefully soon!) and stays true to my 'heat with feeling' approach to writing. My editor, Grace (wow, not sure I'm going to get used to saying that anytime soon) has been very professional, responsive and oh so kind and understanding. So far! I haven't received my final edits yet, though :). I can't wait to get to know her better and learn as much as I can from her. Lots of happy dancing going on here!

So, how did I celebrate? Well, I did what any other woman would do, of course. I went out and bought a new pair of shoes. :)

Got a letter from Harlequn!!!!

My heart was pounding so hard I thought it was going to explode. My stomach felt like someone had reached into my abdominal cavity, grabbed my guts and twisted as hard as they could. OK, graphic I know, but accurate! A letter had arrived. From Harlequin. It looked so harmless; a plain white envelope with 'Harlequin' emblazoned across the top. I felt it. It was very thin and my heart sank. Surely if they wanted to see my full manuscript it would be more than a one pager? I took a deep breath and opened it, thinking it had to be a form rejection, sure it was nothing else. It was folded in such a way I could just open it and peer inside without taking it out. I saw the words 'I would like to see your complete manuscript....' leap off the page and what I felt after that was just indescribable. I had accomplished another milestone on this journey to publication and it felt SO good. For a brief moment all anxiety was completely gone, washed away by the validation I held in my hand that I was on the right track, that I could be an author some day. Then it returned in full force. I had to polish that manuscript and get it back in her hands, putting myself out there again, raising the stakes. In that instant the familiar anxiety returned, but tempered this time with an increased confidence, a renewed enthusiasm and a fiercer determination to be successful.

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!

I sent it off...

Well, since I returned from the 2009 RWA conference I have been reviewing, revising and polishing my 3 chapters and writing the dreaded synopsis. I mailed it today. There's relief, trepidation and a lot of anxiety. It was requested material so I know it won't (or shouldn't) end up on the slush pile, but have no idea how long it will take to hear a response. I flip between thinking it's 'OK' to it's 'crap'. I know within about 2 weeks, I'm going to be wanting to check the mail box every hour and am going to drive myself insane. It's hard to push myself onto the next project while I wait, but that's just what I'll do (after a few days downtime)!!

Keep your fingers (and anything else you think might be helpful) crossed for me!!

I'm no longer a 'pitch virgin'!

A couple of weeks out now from the RWA conference held in D.C. and my thoughts keep drifting to the pitch meeting I had with an editor. It lasted for all of 10 minutes and I had to impress her enough such that she would request my manuscript. In my prior life I had delivered many presentations (sometimes to hundreds of people), I had conducted training sessions and had attended many conferences over a 15 year period, but for the pitch meeting I wasn't just nervous, but TERRIFIED. Perhaps because it meant so much to me; before, it was important of course as I considered my career seriously but it was just business. This was just too close to my heart and soul. I prepared meticulously, writing out and discarding a multitude of index cards to assist with the delivery of my 'pitch'. I believe I did OK in the meeting considering I had never ever ever told a single soul anything about what I have written. Did I say EVER? And I had to say it out loud. It probably helped that it was a stranger, a stranger that had heard a lot of strange stuff before I bet. She did ask for my first three chapters after all, but I still wonder if there was something I could have done better or what she really thought of my delivery and style. As I finish the revision of those chapters and prepare to send them off, I look back on the meeting. It could be an invaluable experience that I can file away and which could benefit me for the future pursuit of publication OR it could be an instrumental turning point in the realization of a dream!