Yippee Again!

I just found out that I won first place in the Show Me The Spark contest! And to top it off, Wanda Ottewell requested a partial as a result! To say I'm excited is a BIT of an understatement. I'm thrilled!

I plan to make some tweaks before sending off my partial, so it's going to be a busy writing weekend. And I also want to use NANO to get this manuscript finished in case she wants to see more.

I really hope she wants to see more.

Fingers crossed.

Yippee!

Finally, I have some good writing related news to share!

I've finaled in the Heartland Romance Authors Show Me The Spark contest! *Cue much whooping on my end*.

The finalists were just announced on their website. The finalists for the contemporary category will be sent to Wanda Ottewell at Harlequin to select the winner. Yippee! Keep your fingers crossed for me, will ya? A win, or a request...either will do. I'm not picky, lol.

All kidding aside, even if nothing comes from it, I'm happy to just be recognized. Sometimes that's exactly what you need to give you the motivation to keep trying.

A Glutton for Punishment

Boy, I must really love this manuscript because I am dusting it off, fixing it up and throwing it out there for another test of the waters. Harlequin American Romance is having an editor pitch contest, so I'm diving in. I think I've really improved the ms, honed in on the conflicts and focused on the characters that are most important...H and h, of course. I think it stands a chance, but then again, what do I know? lol

Yup, I'm a glutton for punishment. Then again, aren't all writers?

The deadline for entry into the pitch is July 20th. Wish me luck. Anyone else out there thinking about entering?

An Award...for me?

I've been nominated for the Liebster Award by the lovely Rox Delaney. What a great surprise this was--and it couldn't have come at a better time. So a big thank you to Rox!



The Liebster is a pay-it-forward kind of award. There's no committee that chooses the recipients and is a simple recognition from one blogger to another of how great and appreciated your blog is.

Thumbs Down

As you can probably guess by my delay in posting this update, I got a rejection on my Fast Track Romance submission : (

Yes, I'm sad. Yes, I'm disappointed. Yes, I'll keep writing.

This rejection really got me thinking about what was wrong with my submission, and I think I've figured it out. As usual, I've over complicated things. I feel like I need to add twists and turns instead of focusing on the main conflict. *head slap*. I need to remember to KISS (Keep it simple stupid)!

So back I go to simplify, strengthen the characters, and focus on keeping it centred around the H and h.

And belated apologizes to anyone who has been commenting on my blog and haven't seen their comments published. I had on a filter, and I just found a whole bunch of comments waiting for moderation...some of them a year old! And here I was thinking no one loved me! I am SO SORRY to all of you! Filter has now been removed, so comment away!

Jumping on the Fast Track!

For the past few weeks, I've been feverishly readying my submission for the Harlequin Romance fast-track submission process. All submissions entered by April 23 will hear back by May 18! Wowee wow, wow. That's fast.

My first chapter is all clean, shiny, and ready to go. It's the synopsis that I'm battling with now. Ugh...the dreaded synopsis. But the more I revise it, the clearer the character arcs become. So it's not all bad.

Anyone else jumping on the Romance fast track? Wanna cheer each other on while we take the leap?

Happy Valentines Day!

As a writer of romance, you'd think I'd feel at least a twinge of excitement around this holiday, but really, Valentines Day doesn't do it for me. I'd rather my husband show me that he loves me in little ways every day (which he does VERY well, BTW) rather than in a big way once a year. So I let him off the hook, assured him I didn't want him to spend any money or do anything special (which he verified many times, LOL). So today will be focused on the kids--eating a heart shaped cake decorated by my oldest, spreading all of their Valentines across the living room floor to get a look at them, and gorging our selves on their heart shaped candies. Yum!

What about you? Any big Valentines Day plans?