Awards

Awards

Thursday, August 31, 2006

It's outta here!

The contest entry is out of my hands and into the hands of the capable (pretty, smart, witty -- is that enough butt kissing?) judges. Hopefully they like it as much as I do.

As I was re-reading the entry for the umpteenth time at 1 a.m. last night, I started to wonder--if I'm this neurotic about sending in 25 pages, what kind of a mess am I going to be when I mail my entire manuscript? After all, I've been working on it since the birth of my first child four years ago and am nearing completion after the birth of my second child. It has been part of my life during those lonely maternity leaves, my characters keeping me company when I was dying for some adult interaction. How hard is it going to be to say goodbye to those two close friends hoping that I'll see them again some day in the pages of a book? And what if it never gets published?

But I can't think like that right now. I need to focus on getting it completed so that Tess and Owen can come visit me again some day.

Chow for now,
Marcy

Wednesday, August 30, 2006

Back to Work!

Well, it's time to get back to work. My husband and I threw a surprise 40th birthday party for my sister last night (a lot of fun, BTW), and now that it's done I have no more excuses to procrastinate. I need to get back to writing.

Tonight, provided that I'm still awake (I'm still recovering from the party), I need to take one more look at my contest entry before sending it in. I have high hopes for this one. I hope I'm not disappointed. But even if it doesn't result in a win, I'm still aiming to have my ms completed (and submitted?) before I go back to work in January. I'm still hoping that I can go back to work part-time, but I won't know if that will happen until after I meet with my boss next week. Keep your fingers crossed. That would mean that I'd have more time to write. Yay! If not, I'll just have to use my lunch hours. I've become quite skilled at eating while typing. I'm eating a turkey dinner right now (just kidding).

Chow for now,
Marcy

Monday, August 28, 2006

Contest Deadline is Closing In

The deadline for the Where the Magic Begins contest is in 2 days and I think my entry is pretty well ready. I made a lot of changes to my first 25 pages for this contest, so I think it's in pretty good shape. Writing a 1 page synopsis was a bit of a challenge. At first I thought one page would be a breeze. After all, I'd written over 140 pages so far -- how hard could it be to write one more? But narrowing my story, my baby down to the bare bones was more difficult than I thought. I just hope that my voice still shines through.

The final judge for the contest is Kimberly Young, Harlequin UK. She's the editor that I'll be targetting once my ms is complete. The finalists will be announced by October and winners by December, so my plan is to have it completed by that time just in case I get a request (trying to keep positive thoughts).

Hope you have a great day.

Chow for now,
Marcy

Sunday, August 27, 2006

My First Blog!!!

Well, I've been inspired. After reading Nicola Marsh's interview with Barbara Hannay I not only created a collage for my WIP but I also started a blog! This is a first for me, but I think I'll really enjoy having a place to exercise my writing wings.

Needless to say, my blog won't be near as exciting as Barbara's (staying in a tree house on a deserted island -- wow!), but I'll do my best to keep you entertained with life in my world. Such as how I find more than five consecutive minutes to write when I'm at home with two small kids.

It's getting a bit better now. I'm able to stay awake past 10 p.m. and have found that 9-11pm is the best time for me to write. It's not much, but it's better than nothing. And my WIP is coming along. I've got about 36,000 words so far. I'd like to add one of those progress counters to my blog, but that's a bit complicated for my first day out. Give me a week. LOL. I just hope I can get most of it complete before I have to return to my "real job" in January. How I wish I was independently wealthy (sigh).

Chow for now.
Marcy