RCRW Mini-Con

Hubby didn't like my short hair so I let it grow out!

This weekend I spoke at the RCRW Mini-Conference. Here's a picture of me right before my workshop Taking Your Writing to the Next Level started.

I don't get to many RCRW events. I haven't been to anything since the all-day intensive with Donald Maas a year ago. But it was fun to catch up with friends and meet new ones like author Carol Ross who's debut novel Mountains Apart  is out this month with Harlequin Heartwarming.

This was my first presentation in a long time. How long? I'd never used Power Point to make one before. Needless to say I was nervous. But the talk went well. I used examples from critiques I'd done over the years. I showed the before, asked the audience to use whatever technique I was discussing to revise the work, and then showed the published version. Big thanks to past and current critique partners Virginia Kantra, Terri Reed and Jennifer Shirk for giving me permission to use their stuff! After the conference, I went out to dinner at Stanfords with four authors who I've known over sixteen years. It was really fun to catch up with them and what's going on with their writing careers.

I hope you had a nice weekend! Today is the anniversary of my beloved Rocket crossing the Rainbow Bridge. It doesn't seem like that long ago, and I miss him so much. I'm going to enjoy the quiet house, cuddle with my fur babies and try to get some writing done. What's on your agenda for today?

Friday Find - Jennifer Faye

Today is my first Friday Find post where I introduce you to an author I think you should check out and read. I'm doing this both here on my blog and on my Facebook page. I thought it would be a fun way to spotlight books and authors I'm reading.

Jennifer Faye

Meet Harlequin Romance debut author Jennifer Faye.

I met Jennifer on-line. Where else do I meet people these days! Jennifer is from Pennsylvania. She's a wife, mother and has two spoiled rotten cats! I knew there was a reason I liked her besides her being a talented writer. Us cat people must stick together.

Her first book RANCHER TO THE RESCUE came out in July and was an RT Top Pick with 4.5 stars! Here's what the review had to say:

 ...Fun, quirky and romantic, Faye's tale moves along without a hitch, with an original storyline and solid characters.

Check out the back cover copy:

Damsel in a wedding dress!

Jilted at the altar, celebrity chef Meghan Finnegan flees the scene--and the baying press--only to run straight into the muscled torso of Cash Sullivan.

The former rodeo champion knows what's it like to have your life crumble in the spotlight, so he offers Meghan a place to lie low at his ranch.

Fresh air, no paparazzi and the brooding rancher's lazy smile are making Meghan not want to leave her sanctuary. But she and her unborn baby can't stay here forever...can they?

A cowboy hero, jilted pregnant heroine, ranch setting...what's not to love about this story?

You can visit Jennifer's website here and her Facebook page here.

Dogs and a Contest

There's a new post up on the Harlequin Romance Authors blog by Barbara Wallace titled Dog Days of Summer? Meet the dogs of Harlequin.  It's a fun article that shows some of our dogs, including my Chaos, and there's a giveaway to boot! One lucky visitor will win a $25 Amazon gift certificate so be sure to leave a comment so we know you stopped by!

If Barbara's article doesn't fill your quota of authors and their pets, check out Jill Krementz's Photo Journal on the New York Social Diary to see some other Top Dogs!  Or this Writers and Kittehs from icanhascheezburger.com.

Enjoy your Wednesday. Only a couple more days and the weekend will be here!

What I Really Do...

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

So these What I Really Do memes have been making the rounds of Facebook. The first one I saw (or maybe it was the first one I noticed!) was this Romance Writer one made by author Karin Kallmaker. It made me smile, and I had to share it on my page!

Then they kept coming and coming. Each time I check my Facebook wall I see another one. Some are definitely better and more clever than others, but my favorite one came across yesterday by the Humane Society of the Pikes Peaks. I don't know if they created it or were sharing themselves, but I'm happy to attribute credit to if someone else made this so just let me know. It's called Shelter Pets:

Isn't this one awesome? I love it so much.

Have you come across any good memes lately?

TGIF

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

I love this kitty. I'm wondering if this is what they call a Russian Blue. That piece of paper would be a big hit here. No thumbs required, only paws to bat it around the hard wood floors and chase after it!

I'm all thumbs today. In a good way. I have two things to work on now. My revisions came back from my editor. She loved the story and was very specific about the changes she wanted. I always like to give myself a little time to let the suggestions sink in before tackling them so am not making changes just yet. This is what I call the percolating stage.

Of course, that's not helping me make progress on the new proposal. Two stories in one head. Pass the Advil, please! But I'm sure I'll be able to keep them separate enough. Hood Hamlet is the new setting. Hollywood is the revision setting. Very different! As are the characters.

Speaking of writing, I came across this blog article from Terribleminds yesterday that talks about writers. If you aren't a fan of certain four-letter words, skip it. But if you want to peek into what's going on inside a writer's head, it's worth a read. I was nodding along as I read. A little scary how close to home it hits. Well, except for the coffee and alcohol. Just change it to tea and chocolate for me! LOL!

Have a great Friday.

The Life of a Writer

I always say being a writer is the best job ever. I get paid to do what I love...write. But sometimes it's not so wonderful (say, deadline time or the beginning of a book) and I wonder why I've chosen this profession.

This picture sums up those times perfectly:


more animals

Yes, characters do talk to you. And sometimes you don't like what they say. Here's my most recent scenario...

Hero: Give me amnesia.

Me: What?

Hero: Don't have me remember meeting the heroine.

Me (off to google amnesia to see if it's actually plausible): There's something called retrograde amnesia, but that means you probably suffered brain damage. It's not going to work.

Hero: Come on. Would I lead you astray? Just try it.

Me (after writing ten pages of a hero with amnesia): I told you it wouldn't work.

Hero: No worries. I'm still a hottie and you love me.

Me: Sigh...

And then there's always the brainstorming an idea part of a writer's life. I found this clip on the Pink Heart Society blog and thought it was hilarious.



Okay, back to the story! I've fallen behind in my reading once again. It always happens when I start a new manuscript. What are you reading right now?

Friday Fun

Here's an entertaining video that I got from a post by Maggie Shayne on one of my loops. It's from a few trash-talking RITA finalist romance writers. Enjoy if you haven't already seen this!



I went to the library with the kidlets. Found a book called Me and Mr. Darcy. The Amazon reviews on it are mixed, but the concept is cute so I'll give it try. But I was too tired to even read today. Scary.

I paid another visit to...urgent care again. Finn fell on his bike to avoid hitting his little sister and really hurt himself, but luckily his wrist isn't broken just sprained. That's two Thursdays in a row he's paid a visit there. Not fun! Seriously though, enough is enough of these injuries and illnesses. It's got to stop.

I've got Crossfit this morning. We're off to family camp later today. It'll be fun to get away for a couple of days. In between I need to check more off my To Do list.

Be back on Sunday and hopefully not be so brain-dead writing/blogging-wise. I still don't feel as if I'm all here. I was on google reader yesterday, thought about commenting for about a nanosecond then the words blurred. I will be visiting my fave blogs and getting into the routine again when I get back from our trip. I think I'm just tapped out creatively right now and don't feel like typing or thinking up one extra word! Sorry to my wonderful friends who blog. But this deadline really did me in! And if you've emailed me, please be patient. I am way, way behind there, too!

Dinner at Elizabeth's

On Saturday night, we loaded the kids into the car and drove north westerly from SEATAC to the lovely abode of talented historical author, Elizabeth Boyle. She's got such an awe-inspiring view of the Puget Sound. Sorry, but I haven't gotten around to downloading the pics yet! I got a tour of her house, saw the various rooms where she's had her office and got to see an original Pino, the actual full-size artwork for one of her covers!

We sat out on her deck drinking wine and chatting while the kids (her two and my three) played and our hubbies got to know each other. The two ended up comparing notes about what it was like to be married to a romance author. The consensus-they hate deadline time!

Elizabeth's hubby grilled hamburgers and hot dogs. The kids piled their plates with veggies, fruit and chips, too. I couldn't convince mine to try the potato salad, but that just left more for me!

It was a great time! We hated to leave, but bedtime was approaching and after such a busy day my three kidlets were so tired. Little Rose was about to fall asleep. She actually slept on the drive back to the hotel!

Nathalie posted this in the comment section last week:

I always wonder... it must great to have writers as friends, do you become friends when you are writers or do you usually know them from before.

It is great to have writers as friends because they understand exactly what I'm going through. Elizabeth and I met at the RWA convention in Denver so we were both already published writers then. I was pregnant with Rose at the time, not feeling that great and wishing I could be anywhere else but there. Elizabeth came up to me and said she knew exactly what I was going through since she'd been pregnant at a previous conference. She was so nice. I liked her right away.

After Rose was born, I went to the Emerald City Conference with baby in tow and saw Elizabeth again. We would bump into each other at events like the RCRW Romance Writers luncheon and RWA conference. Over the years, we realized how much we have in common, things that go beyond the writing. I always look forward to seeing her.

A couple pieces of Elizabeth Boyle info you might not know:

• You know The Plan I use to keep track of my writing and have blogged about? Elizabeth and her husband Terry are the ones who created the spreadsheet and they'll be giving a workshop on it at the RWA conference in San Francisco this summer!

• Her next book, Tempted by the Night, will be released on my birthday, August 26th!

Have you read any of Elizabeth's books? If not, you should!