Getting Cold Feet

So, I'm nearing the end. I'm almost done with the revisions on my first 3 chapters, and then I'll be able to send them off to Richmond. I should be excited, relieved, on cloud nine, right? So how come I feel like I'm about to upchuck my last meal whenever I think about it? It might have something to do with the fact that I've heard about several writers on the eHarlequin boards receiving rejections (some of them very positive rejections, but rejections none the less) recently. These are talented writers. What makes me think mine will be any different?

And this is when analysis paralysis takes over. I tend to over think things (go figure--I make my living as an analyst). But I can't help wondering what I'll do if they reject my ms? I've been working on it for 4 years! Will all that work have been for nothing? As long as I hang on to it, it can't be rejected, right? I know that's a stupid attitude, but I can't help that mentality from creeping in once in a while. But don't worry--I don't give in to it. I'm going to submit...and soon.

Get ready stomach. You're in for a bumpy ride.

Short and Sweet - Who Me?

I recently learned that Harlequin Romance line asks that synopses for submission to their line be one single spaced page. One page! How the bleep am I going to boil my whole story with all of its intricacies, down to one page? I mean, I can do it of course, but doing it well is another story. I want to make sure that I still capture the growing emotion without watering it down too much. Does anyone have any tips? Just when I thought I was getting close to having my submission ready, there's another curve ball.

On a lighter note, did any one catch Geoffrey Dean Morgan's (aka Denny Duquette) cameo on Grey's Anatomy last week? Sigh. I just love him to pieces. Every time I see him all I can think about is Owen from my wip since he's who I've cast as my hero.

Which leads me to my question to all you writer's out there...Do you cast actors for your characters? Do you think it helps to write a more believable character?

How much snow???

The forecast was calling for 50 cm. For all the Americans out there...that's about 20 inches! I'm not sure how much snow actually fell, but it was A LOT! So much that we had a snow day today. Yay! I know I'll pay for it later in the week, but it was worth it to stay home with my girls.

The best part of a snow day? Playing in the snow. Here is a photo of my oldest before she started diving into the drifts at the side of our drive way. To give it a little perspective, she's about 40 inches tall. And the other is a photo of the drifts outside our side door. I tried to shovel a little path for the dog (a Shih Tzu -- poor guy has incredibly short legs), but it just kept filling in.

Here's hoping the roads are clear tomorrow since I don't think I'll be able to squeeze another day off out of this storm. But I could try...

The Flu Enigma

How is that that after getting the flu and eating nothing more than 4 slices of toast over 2 days, I didn't lose any weight. I mean not a single pound! I'm not actively attempting to lose weight, but that is usually one of the --I mean the only-- benefit of getting the stomach flu and I got nothin'. So much for the post flu binge.

On the plus side, my work recently transferred me to our office that is about a ten minute drive from our house. How great is that? Since I started my professional career I have never worked and lived in the same city--until now. And I'm loving it! Definitely makes the daycare dash at the end of the day that much easier. If I have to work, this is the way to do it.

Casting Success

Many writers spend hours searching the web for the perfect photo of the perfect hero/heroine to cast for their WIP. I never really thought this was necessary. Surely my time would be better spent writing rather than looking through page after page of photos, I thought. I had a mental picture of my hero/heroine. That was enough, right? I thought so until I had my critique partner read my WIP and comment that my she pictured my hero as headless. That's a bit of a problem. Headless is not sexy.

Needless to say, I have to go back and add more description.

I came to the conclusion that I was lacking description of my hero because I couldn't see him in as much detail as I needed to. So I started looking for a photo of the man that I pictured. I've gone back and forth with who I think best represented Owen as I've pictured him and kept coming up luke warm. That was until I saw an episode of Rachel Ray that had a guest appearance by Jeffrey Dean Morgan -- aka Denny Duquette from Gray's Anatomy...yummm! The minute I saw him I thought, that's Owen! He is so sexy, so sweet, so Owen! Those dimples, that scruff on his chin. He is so hot. And the best part is that I've got an excuse to start printing off photos of him without causing my husband to raise an eyebrow. It's research, dear. Just research.


I love research.

Sign Me Up!

The Pink Heart Society is starting a new club -- the FinDaBoo club, and I'm all over it. Anything that encourages me to write instead of vegging in front of the TV or surfing the internet after I get the kids to bed is a good thing.


Also, I've got myself a fantabulous critique partner who I have really clicked with (yes...that's you Kerrie). Despite the fact that she's in Australia, I really feel as though we have a connection. Our writing styles are very similar, so I hope we can keep each other motivated to submit this year. This is the year!

Back to Work

Today was my second day back at my day job, and I have to say that getting up to go to work everyday sucks. I much prefer my leisurely life of rolling out of bed when the kids wake, watching cartoons as I emerge from my sleepy stupour, and then getting dressed when I'm good and ready. I've never been a quick moving morning person and definitely not a fan of the alarm clock, but unfortunately I've had to become reacquainted with both. And I've also had to get reacquainted with a dear old friend named caffeine. I've been caffeine free since my pregnancy but I've come to discover that it is impossible to get through the work day without it--that is unless I drop my head on my desk and have a cat nap (frowned upon in the workplace). So caffeine it is.

I had plans to spend my lunch hours writing, but in the past two days I've been so busy getting back up to speed that I haven't been able to and have been brain dead by the evening. Hopefully things will calm down by next week so I can finish up the last few scenes in my wip. I'm so close I can taste it. That thought is enough to keep me going. Now if only my work would understand that I have important writing to do even though they're paying me to work *snicker*.

Tuesday is D-Day

I only have four more days before I have to go back to work. Ugh. I am not looking forward to getting back to the daily grind. It's not that I dislike my job. It's actually a great job. It's just that life is going to be so rushed--from dashing out on my lunch to pick up my dd at school and take her to daycare, to rushing out after work to pick up the kids, to making a quick dinner because kids are starving, and finally to giving quick baths and enjoying a bit of playtime before bed. It all moves by in such a blur.

My only hope is that if I keep on writing maybe, just maybe someday I'll get published and will be able to quit my day job in favour of staying home to write. Now that would be a dream come true. So I'll keep plugging away at it. I have to keep remembering...I can do it!

Which leads me to my New Years resolution. In 2007 I vow that I will, without a doubt...

• Finish the first draft of my wip (Jan/Feb)
• Write a new synopsis and polish the first three chapters and send them off to Richmond (March)
• Immediately start a new ms so I don't lose momentum
• Soak up as much knowledge as possible from other authors (which shouldn't be a problem with all of the books I'm getting every month from Harlequin!)

This is not the first time that I've vowed to finish my ms, but this time I mean it! I'm going to do this or go crazy trying. 2007 is my turning point, and hopefully it leads to something wonderful.

What about you? Have you made any resolutions for 2007?

Published!

The day has finally arrived. Harlequin published the winning entries from the Ultimate Reunion contest on their website--including my entry! It was such a rush to see my name on their website. I can only hope that one day it will be followed by " is one of our best selling authors."

I can dream, can't I?

Here is the link to view the contest entries if you're interested. The other winning entries were great! I thoroughly enjoyed them both. Be warned...the last one is a real tear jerker!

Merry Christmas to Me!

I just sent the paper work in to Harlequin to receive my prize from the Ultimate Reunion contest: a year's worth of books from the line of my choice! I can't wait to start receiving them. It will be such a treat to always have a wonderful new story at my fingertips rather than trailing the kids down to the library to get my fix. How wonderful! I couldn't have asked for a nicer Christmas present.

On a separate note, it's officially 3 weeks before I have to return to work from my mat leave. :-( I can't belive how quickly the time has gone. Part of me will be glad to have the adult interaction again, but the larger part of me is sick to death to have to leave my kids. I know they'll adjust and probably thrive in the process, but I can't stop the oh so motherly guilt from gripping my heart at the mere thought. I know...I won't think about it anymore. That will fix it. Done!

I Won! I Won! I Won!

Excuse me while I scream...Ahhh! I got an email this morning saying that I won Harlequin's Ultimate Reunion contest! I'd all but given up hope of winning since it had been a week since the winners were chosen and I hadn't heard anything. I was sure that was because three other lucky and talented writers had won, been notified, and were too humble to come gloat on the website. Imagine my surprise when I received an email from an unknown name today with the subject line of Ultimate Reunion contest. It is such a thrill to be chosen knowing that there were many, many talented writers who entered.

So I'm on a bit of a high today. I know that it's nothing like selling a manuscript, but to me it's the justification that I haven't been wasting my time with all of the writing I've been doing. Maybe I really do know what I'm doing. Now that's a pleasant thought. This is just the kick in the a** that I need to get my wip finished.

You better believe I'll be writing tonight!

The Wedding Singer

Since I've been writing romance, I find myself analysing movies instead of just watching them. I was watching The Wedding Singer with Adam Sandler on TV a few nights ago, and as I watched it I started to realize what a perfect romantic comedy it is. Despite being kind of stupid at times (like all Adam Sandler movies), you can feel the romantic tension building as the hero gets left at the alter only to realize that his fiance isn't the kind of woman he wants, but the heroine is. At the same time the heroine thinks she is in love with her fiance, but it isn't until the end of the movie that she realizes that she is with him for the wrong reasons: security, money--everything the hero can't offer her. It has some great indicators that her fiance is wrong for her--if she were to marry him her name would be Julia Gulia. That's reason enough to give him the heave ho (LOL). Where as the hero's last name flows perfectly with her name (even though his name escapes me right now). Mental note to pay close attention to my character's names from now on. And then when she is on the plane with her fiance and he won't let her have the window seat because he doesn't want to get smashed by the beverage cart even though she's never seen the window view before. I love things like that! Subtle yet very telling. Those are the kind of things that really help to show vs tell in a ms. My favourite part is at the end when he writes the song about her and sings it to her over the intercom on the plane. That made my heart melt, and I don't even really like Adam Sandler! Great writing. If you like the movie or not, I don't think you can deny that it has all the elements of a perfect romantic comedy.

Is there a movie that you think is the perfect romantic comedy, and why?

The Party's Over

My daughter's first birthday party has come and gone, and all in all it was a great day. My kids had so much fun, and the birthday girl got lots of nice presents (her favourite was the bag that some of the pieces came in :-)). Here is a picture of the birthday cake I made (very yummy I might add).

On another topic, today is the day that the winners are chosen for the eHarlequin Ultimate Reunion contest. Can't wait to see if I won. It might take a few days to find out since I believe they are contacting the winners by mail. I felt pretty good about my entry, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. If not, oh well. Nothing ventured nothing gained. I'll keep you posted.

I Did It!

I just sent my entry to the Ultimate Reunion contest. Yay! I'm glad that it's out of my hands. Now I can put it out of my mind, and if I happen to win it will be a pleasant surprise.

With that out of the way I need to focus my energy on organizing my daughter's 1st birthday party that is on Sunday. So many little things to do, but I can't wait. I'm trying not to get too carried away; she'll just be happy to have all of her cousins here to play with her. It doesn't take much to entertain them at this age. And she'll probably get more enjoyment from all of the wrappings than from the presents. It's such a great age.

Almost Done!

My scene for the Ultimate Reunion contest is almost done! Yay! I was surprised at how difficult I found it to write a complete scene in only 1000 words. In a novel you've got at least 10 chapters to tell your story, but to give enough of a plot so that the reader is interested and can follow it all in 1000 words...that's tough. The one good thing is that it teaches you to make every word count. No flowery descriptions here. It's down to business.

I just hope that the judges like it as much as I do. I love the characters so much I could see this scene as the first in my next story. But I've resisted the urge to go any further. I still need to focus on my current wip. It's almost done. Not much more. I can do it.

I've been tagged!

Whether you're interested or not, here are five things you may not know about me (excluding my family...they know everything!)

1) I'm half Scottish (maybe that's why I'm so cheap-LOL). My mother was born in Scotland and lived there until she was 10.

2) I played trumpet for 4 years in high school. It's great for the stomach muscles.

3) I'm addicted to Desperate Housewives and Grey's Anatomy. It used to be Sex and the City, but then they had to go and cancel it : ( Such a dark day.

4) More than a few times I've woken my husband in the night swatting at imaginary spiders in the bed (and yet I'm still sound asleep).

5) Up until 2 years ago, I lived in a hundred year old house that I'm sure was inhabited by more than just my family. I can't tell you how many times my dog, a Shih-tzu that rarely makes a peep, growled at a seemingly empty corner in my bedroom (he had a knack for doing this when my husband was away and I was all alone -- Insert scary music here)

Hope you feel like you know me a little bit better. Now let's learn more about Cariann, Kathleen, and Suzanne B.

Contest Entry Take 2

I've been working away on an entry for Harlequin's Ultimate Reunion Contest. Okay, so my wip doesn't have a reunion scene. So I have to write something brand new. I refuse to think of this as procrastination. Granted I'm not progressing in my wip, but I keep telling myself that if I win it will be a nice little gem to put in my query letter to hopefully move it along in the slush pile. And it doesn't hurt that the prize in one year's worth of books from the Harlequin line of your choice. But that's not why I'm doing it. Honest.

Maybe if I keep telling myself, I'll eventually believe it : )

Birthday Invitation

Okay, so it's not writing related, but I had to show off the invitations that I made for my daughter's first birthday. I can't believe that she'll be 1 at the end of the month. Her upcoming birthday also means that my 1 year maternity leave is almost up. I have to go back to work in the new year. I'm getting so stressed out about leaving them. I've found a nice home daycare, but the thought of leaving them with someone else still makes my stomach turn. At least my work has agreed to let me come back 4 days a week instead of 5. I'll have one extra day a week to spend with them.

I just hope that I'm able to keep up the writing once I'm back to the daily grind (there--I knew I'd find a way to bring the topic back to writing).

Keep your fingers crossed for me.

Time for Writing

This week, in a moment of frustration with not having enough time to write, I was kicking myself for not taking writing seriously earlier in life. I mean what did I do with all of my free time before I had kids? At the time I thought I was soooo busy, but I didn't know what busy was. I could have written a dozen novels with all of that time. So, why didn't I start?

It wasn't that I didn't have the interest. I showed an interest in writing starting in grade school.(My first novel, written in grade 5, was called Thirteen going on Thirty. Isn't that a movie title? I think someone owes me some royalties LOL). And even when I was in University and should have been reading about abnormal psychology I was making up characters and stories in my head. So why didn't I write them down? I think to seriously start a novel, there has to be a need within you. For me, that need was the need to feel smart again. I was on maternity leave with my first child, and after 6 months of being out of the workplace I called my husband at work and complained that I needed to feel smart again. I needed to use my brain for something other than changing diapers and amusing a baby. He suggested that since I always wanted to write a book that I should take a writing course. That suggestion changed my life (bless his heart). Since the first night of my Romance Writing course, I haven't lost the desire to finish my novel. Of course there have been times when life has interfered, but even when I didn't have the time to write, the desire still burned.

And now, as I'm nearing the completion of my first draft (after 4 years *gasp*), I've already got ideas swirling in my head for my next ms, but I resist the urge to start it. Even though the need driving the desire has changed (now not only do I want to become published so that I can write from home and not have to send my kids to daycare, but I also love to write--it's addictive!), the desire is still there burning just as intensely as when I wrote my first character sketch.

What was the need that drove you to start writing? What keeps you going?

Happy Tuesday!

I'm finally starting to make head way on my WIP again! Last night I was writing and was surprised when the dialogue between my H&h took a turn that I wasn't expecting. What started out as a friendly lunch turned into a deep and meaningful discussion about the death of the H's parents. It's so amazing when the characters take over and my fingers on the keyboard are merely the conduit for them to tell their stories. I guess that's a sign that I'm truly understanding my characters, their motivations, their emotions.


Could this mean that the end is near? Is it possible that I am actually going to be able to finish this story? God, I hope so. I'm so envious of the other writers who have actually finished and submitted their mss for consideration for publication. Even though I know that once I'm in their shoes and waiting to hear back from a publisher I'll be hugging the silver bucket with the best of them, but at least I'll be able to say that I did it. That I actually wrote a book.

I can't wait!!!