Just Popping In...

I really don't have anything to talk about. I went into my usual blog-coma for the writing of book4, and now I'm doing last revisions on it(I hope) and planning my summer project(A 5/6-part serial that is currently half-written) -- and which I plan on dipping a toe into the world of self publishing with! Exciting, more on that later.

Stealing Rapunzel Cover

Also considering whether to start doing some book cover design on the side... I enjoyed doing the one for my summer project. If anyone is interested, ping me on my contact form or send me a message on Facebook :)

Otherwise, just working working working. Oh, and feeling guilty for neglecting my blog. I'm on Facebook a lot(frequently posting stupid stuff!), if anyone goes looking for me.

Revisions! And an unrelated photo

I have finished revisions to book2, Uncovering Her Secrets. Correction, I have finished a round of revisions for book2. I have no idea if I'm close to the mark or not. I hope, but I do not know.

However, to celebrate, I'm going to run around in circles until I get dizzy and pass out.

Either that, or I'll just pass out. That's always fun too.

Look, a cross!

And then I have several pieces to tat for a sale...

And I have another couple stories battling in my head to escape.

But best of all... I CAN READ BOOKS AGAIN. I don't read while I'm writing or doing big story revisions. Afraid it will corrupt my brain.

Now if I could only figure out how to combine tatting, reading and sleeping at the same time, I'd be all set.

First sale!

My So You Think You Can Write submission sold to Harlequin Mills&Boon Medical Romance line this morning!

I had an uncertain inkling it was coming since Wednesday morning.

I was composing a post for the SubCare thread at the Harlequin forums--just a roll call post announcing what I had out where--and before I hit Submit on the post I got an email from the lovely Suzanne Clarke, who has been working with me through the revisions. The email said basically, I want to call you.

At that point, I had an out-of-sanity experience.

In my mind: Upon reading the email, I gracefully sail into the other room and mention in completely casual tones, "Oh, by the way, this wonderful editor wants to talk to me." La la la

What really happened: I jumped up and ran through the house, but before I got to the other room, I forgot how doors worked. So I slammed into the door a couple times before I realized that I had to, oh, I don't know... TURN THE KNOB. And then I blurted out "SHE WANTS TO TALK TO ME ON THE PHONE!" Message delivered(sort of), I barreled back to my computer like Animal from the Muppets. She who? Who needs coherent details?

Later, I missed the call. You know, like a sane person who can't figure out what phone to answer when she hears ringing. Or doesn't hear ringing, because the phone I took with me through the house(and back yard) was the wrong phone and too far from the phone base to ring.

Rescheduled call for next day, but germs conspired to thwart our plans that day. Germs are devious little monsters. I know these things. I write medical romance. (heee)

Today she called and I giggled through the whole conversation, I think. Fairly certain I sounded like an escaped mental patient. But she said wonderful things, some of which I kind of remember! After I squawked a few monosyllabic words, she told me the new title and scheduled release date.

From here on in, Mountain Man has been new-named: Craving Her Rough-Diamond Doc, and shall be born into paper and ink October 2013 :)

I have a few tweaky revisions to make yet, which I'm fixin to tackle(when my brain resumes functioning). After that, I'll be brainstorming next story so I can whip up a short outline to pitch(Did I mention: Two book contract? YAY!!).

Maggie(my dog) has no idea what's going on, but she's very excited that there's lots of giggling and happiness today. She keeps doing the Maggie-dance: this involves hopping, massive tail wagging, occasional barking for no apparent reason other than she wants to make noise too.

SYTYCW Interviews

My pal Maria Buscher decided to interview entrants into 2012's So You Think You Can Write -- Harlequin's writing competition. So if you're curious how other entrants have been getting on, stop by her blog.

My interview kicks off the series, talking about Mountain Man:MD and what I've learned from revising him(so far). But I'm sure the others will have useful advice :D

New interviews will go up on Thursdays. Stop by!

Next few interviewees:

• Fiona Marsden (Feb 7)
• Janie Couch (Loveylove day! Feb 14)
• Heather Gardner (Feb 21)
• (There will be more, just stopping the list here.)

Betraying Your Voice Is Bad

I also speel gud

With an eye toward revision and submission, I picked up a novella I wrote last summer. It was written about two months before I wrote my SYTYCW entry, and I didn't think that there would be much difference in the writing style.

Wrong.

I remember now that I'd read something... some piece of writing advice(like I do) and I'd decided to Improve My Writing by incorporating this advice into my style.

The result? I completely lost my voice.

I read the first couple chapters and it was like someone else wrote it.

Someone slow.

With a limited vocabulary and stunted imagination!

Maybe someone in a coma, or perhaps this is what it would be like if a zombie tried to write a novella. A novella about zombies.

Bad. So bad.

I'm sure my skill set has changed, improved since last summer. With the revision letters, I'm getting an idea of my problem areas and learning what I need to do to address. All that is good, but I've come to the conclusion that in trying so hard to WRITE RIGHT, I sabotaged myself.

Gearing up to rewrite it now, and actually excited to do so, but so dismayed at this feat of ridiculousness I perpetrated like... six months ago.

Lesson learned. If it ain't broke, stop messing with it! Work on craft, not on voice. I've got my voice, and I'm comfortable with it. I like it. Now I need to concentrate on effective storytelling.

Revisions and Tatting

Sent my revisions off last night. No idea if they are in the ballpark of good, but I am feeling pretty pleased with the amount of work TrackChanges has allowed me to document. I took screenshots to show how much of it got changed from first submission. You know, so far.

The scene of the crime, where the word massacre occurred

Pink Tatted Top Hat Fascinator

And since I need a couple days to decompress and make stuff with my hands, and I'm exceedingly tired of scarves.... I'm making tatted top hat fascinators. Well, I've made two so far. The first version, the pink top hat, was a gift for my niece for Christmas.

Black Top Hat (Pattern)

Then I made another, in black for her mother(my SiL), who liked the pink one so well, I thought I'd surprise her. And I wanted to see if it was as cute. Of course it is. How can a tiny top hat not be adorable. The index card in the picture is shown for scale.

Have had a request for a friend of the family, something for her teenage granddaughter. So! Will whip that up before I dive into the writing again. Burgundy with a cream band and amber glass seed beads. Maybe feathers, we'll see on that count.

Wheee.... Scarves & Other Nonsense

From mid-August until December 25, I made 46 scarves. *crosses eyes*

Grandma Hair: Unchanged since the 80s

I got to witness half of them finding an owner at the family Christmas party. I thought I was gonna get to see an Angry Octogenarian Christmas Throw-down over the sparkly scarves. And they weren't even that sparkly. Imagine if they had more than a single thread of shiny silvery something-or-other woven through the polyester!

I'm sure my great-aunts would've been too polite to do any hair-pulling(or too smart to do any hair-pulling--when you get your hair set in a salon once a week and coated with enough hairspray to survive a nuclear blast, if anyone messes with it they might break a calcium-deficient finger). The little mental-trip I took to picture this granny-scuffle (as I huddled in the corner while they dug through the pile) was a nightmare of shiny shoes, broken hips and Christmas sweaters.

But the scarves went over well.
Even the non-sparkly ones.
And I may never make another scarf. Ever.

Got another round of revisions for Mountain Man: MD, and praying I can follow directions. And since I should be working, I'm taking a break to post about granny-fights and wondering how come pervy people reached my blog with the keywords: kids sleeping in their underwear, and teenagers fighting.

That's it, Google's off the scarf-list for 2013.