Awards

Awards

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Go Read My Story at Read-a-Romance.com

One of my short stories is going to be posted at http://www.read-a-romance.com/ starting Sunday, Aug 30. If you've got a few spare minutes, please stop by and have a read. It won't take long. And don't forget to rate it so I can see how many people stopped by.

The title is Home is Where His Heart Is. It's a story that was inspired by a time in my life when my husband was traveling a lot for work. I was at home thinking how much fun he must be having traveling all around North America, eating in restaurants every night, sleeping in hotels. Turns out, excitement is all in the eye of the beholder.

If you'd like to drop me a line, I'd love to hear what you think of it.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

When I grow up...

...I want to be Jodi Picoult!

I know, I'm a little slow on the uptake, but I just finished my first Jodi Picoult novel, My Sister's Keeper. I had not seen the movie, so I had no idea what to expect in this book other than what I'd seen in the movie trailers. I'm so glad I was clueless.

This book was fabulous. Not just a great story, but great writing. She wrote it in 6 different points of view, and each was executed flawlessly. Each story line held its own and yet she managed to tie them all together beautifully.

I don't want to spoil it for anyone who hasn't read the story, but let's just said it's been a LONG time since a book has made me cry...like actually cry. This book had me sobbing. Now that's a good book.

This was the kind of book that makes me want to be a better writer, makes me want to evoke that kind of emotion, to leave people talking about my book long after they're finished it.

If you haven't had a chance yet, definitely put this book in your To Be Read pile.

I'm about to start another of her books, Vanishing Act. I wonder if I'll be raving about this one in a few weeks time?

Friday, August 21, 2009

It's Official...

I didn't final in the Golden Opportunity contest. I did come in 6th out of 17 and got some great feedback, which is worth it's weight in gold. Once I'm finished with the first draft, I'll go back and revise the first chapter keeping those comments in mind. Hopefully it'll make my ms even stronger.

Onward and upward, right? It's all we can do.

Contests and Short Stories

By today, all the finalists of the Toronto Romance Writers' Original Golden Opportunity Contest will be notified. The calls started last night, and my phone did not ring. Not sure if it will today, but either way I'll be getting my scores/comment sheets this week, so that is something to look forward to. I haven't entered this ms into any other contests, so it will be interesting to hear what they have to say.

In other news, one of my short stories will soon be appearing on Read-a-Romance.com. I'll let you know when. Hopefully you'll go by, have a read and give it a rating on the site.

Friday, August 14, 2009

Yup...still here

It's been a while. I knew this would happen. As soon as I went back to work after vacation, writing took a back seat again. *sigh* Other than a half hour here and there, I haven't had any solid writing time for 3 weeks. And frsutration is setting in once again.

It doesn't help that it's summer and here in Southern Ontario we're finally getting some seasonal weather. The last thing I want to do is keep the kids inside on a gorgeous sunny day so that I can write. But summer is fleeting in this part of the country, so we need to embrace it with both hands (restraints may also be required). Fall will be here before we know it, and with Fall comes... SCHOOL!

My youngest will be starting school this year. *deep sigh* My Baby. Hope I don't break into tears when they play the National Anthem on the first day like I did with DD1 (and it had nothing to do with national pride). I just can't believe how quickly she's growing up. Every mother says that, I know. But there's a reason for that...it's true! The only upside is that with DD2 in JK, I will have 1/2 day once a week for writing time. I guess that's what happens. As they grow up, I'll get more time for me. As good as that sounds, not sure I like the trade off of losing those baby years. But I don't have much choice in the matter, do I?