Summer Days

I've been ignoring everything except the kidlets. The first two days of their summer vacation I was sick in bed. So I've been making it up to them. This weekend we went to our church's annual summer camp. We slept in bunks in cabins. It was the first time since high school I ate pizza made in cookie sheets. Since I'd never attended camp as a kid, I have no idea what camp is supposed to be all about, but it was really fun. Though the mattresses were really thin and hard.

Last night we had dinner with friends at McCormick and Schmidt's Harborside. I had the Dungeness crab cocktail and the sweet Thai shrimp salad. Very yummy! Our friends invited us to see the American Idol concert with them. They got a suite and I'm so excited. Of course, the kidlets are going to be very bummed they aren't going, but I'll get some cool souvenirs for them!

Quick writing update:

I sent a new book idea to my editor on Friday. Fingers crossed that she likes it.

My November release, PLAIN JANE'S PRINCE CHARMING, is on amazon.com. No cover yet.

My April '05 release, BLUEPRINT FOR A WEDDING, will be released in the UK as a Mills & Boon Tender in August.

The temperature is going to be above 100 degrees again today and we never got around to installing a/c. After leaving in Arizona for three years, I hate the heat. Today is not going to be fun.

Hope you are staying cool!

Melissa

Schools out for the summer!

My kidlets are thrilled. Today was the last day of school. Of course it would feel more like summer if the rain would stop. Oh, the joy of living in the Pacific NW! Once Fourth of July rolls around the weather will improve. Fingers crossed!

I spent today researching ideas for new books. I have a list of characters, subjects and settings. I'm trying to figure out if I can turn any of them into books. My editor emailed me this morning saying she's looking forward to seeing my ideas. After a book with a child who has leukemia and the last one with an orphaned four-month old, I want something more fun to write about. I had an idea for a sequel to IF THE RING FITS... but I was told royalty is out for now. Harlequin has a royalty continuity coming out. So we'll see what I come up with.

On the home front, I've found a new show to watch now that my beloved INVASION has been cancelled. It's called THE OFFICE and is on Thursday nights. If you've ever worked in an office environment, you'll find it hilarious. No yummy eye-candy like Eddie Cibrian, but the actor who plays Jim is pretty cute. Check it out.

Free at last!

I finished my revisions last night! The manuscript is ready to be emailed, but I keep hesitating, wondering if I should read it one last time just in case. I'm sooooo much happier with the book now. My editor had some great suggestions that didn't take a lot of work but made such a difference to the story. Having time to do an extra pass through the book and then read it aloud really helped, too.

After I finished this final pass, I read the kidlets a chapter from Prince Caspian, put them to bed, then settled on the couch with hubby. I was hoping to find FLIGHTPLAN on PPV, but it wasn't there. My good friend and former co-worker at UAL, Alan, told me that Jodie Foster's character had the job as we did and that I should watch it. I guess I'll check Hollywood Video and see if I can find it. We ended up watching U-571 instead. Definite guy flick, but some nice candy. Could have used a better script with a lot more character development, but there sure was a lot of action. Hubby enjoyed it.

Now the fun begins. Reaching THE END is the best part of writing, but coming up with new book ideas to submit is pretty neat, too. I get to spend the week reading and watching movies. Napping and daydreaming. Brainstorming and scribbling. All in the name of writing. Wish me luck!

And I'll need luck this weekend, too. Forty plus people for a Texas Hold-em Party and BBQ at our house. We (and two other very fun couples) are hosting an auction buy-in party to support the kidlet's school. I guess I should start working on it!

What I'm Reading

I used to always have a book going and about ten waiting in the wings. I would read when I nursed (aloud so the baby could hear, too), before bedtime and whenever I got a free moment and I wasn't writing. Reading kept me sane during those early baby and writing years. I could escape into a book and forget everything else until one of the kidlets woke up. And then I had baby number three.

Suddenly reading was a luxury. The TBR (to be read) pile got boxed up. I quit my bookclub. And I finished less and less books on my own. There just wasn't time. But I'm trying to carve time into my schedule each day for reading.

Here's what I'm reading now:
Chronicles of Narnia (a chapter a night to the kids)
The Little Princess (a chapter a day with my oldest, we alternate reading pages)

On my nightstand waiting to be read as soon as revisions are done:
Bet Me by Jennifer Crusie
The Traveling Death and Resurrection Show by Ariel Gore

What are you reading? I'd love to find some good books to add to my nightstand!