Lifting Weights

Ah, you thought this would be a post on exercise, didn't you? :-)

Nope, it's all about the way a person feels a gazillion pounds lighter after something pressing, or heavy, has been hoisted off their shoulders. Or thrown off. Or shrugged off, even. Whatever. I'm just so beyond-words happy my edits for Snowdance are done. I woke at 2:35 this morning, realized I was finished, and smiled in the darkness. Then, I rolled over and went back to sleep, something I haven't been able to do for weeks. No, I've been getting up before dawn and working, but now that I've got this one in the bag, I've got a chance to breathe. And sleep. And do any of the other stuff that other people do. Ahh...

Happy Saturday. My wonderful husband and I are going on an adventure today, and I know we're going to have a blast. Oh, where are we going? Sorry, that's a secret. But I hope you and yours have a great day, and a wonderful weekend!

Ta Da!

Ta Da!!

Turned in my final edits on Snowdance! YAY!!!!

Hello? Mother Nature?

I've just got to say it. I'm going to spit it out and you all can think I'm cracked if you'd like, but I can't hold it in.

I've waited for rain for two days. Count 'em. Two. Days.

Every day the blasted weather forecaster promises "showers by the end of the day." Yeah. Right. Well, I see how seriously she takes her promises. All I know, my grass is turning yellow. And it bugs me. Big time.

So...anyone got any rain dances hiding up their sleeves? Or do you think someone could convince Mother Nature to let loose over my yard, instead of trying to wash Texas into the Gulf? Hmm?

The Home Stretch

I'm in the home stretch on my edits of Snowdance. I don't know if this happens to everyone, but I can tell you that once I've read something I've written over a dozen times, it all starts to look fine to me. My mind sort of fills in the blanks and I "see" the words I want to see, or the punctuation I think it should have, and I think I kind of lose the ability to effectively self-edit. I've put this manuscript aside for a few days, and have worked on other things. Now, I'm ready to hit the home stretch, to give it a close-to-last going over. Wish me luck!

Just Stuff

Last night I was speaking on the phone with my father and he asked what I'm working on now. It's great that he's so interested in my writing career; it makes me feel wonderful and it's fun to talk "shop" with him for a few minutes now and again. But as I answered his question, I realized that for a writer, the answer is never a simple one.

I mean, if I was writing one book, and there was nothing else in the works, the answer might be easy. Short. Simple. But that's not the case.

Bear with me...

Just got the full Snowdance manuscript back from my editor, reassembled and with all changes to date. Now I've got to reread the novel, make any additional changes and send it back to her so she can format and submit it. Then, a galley copy will come and need to be read. Then, the print test copy. So there's still heaps to do with that one. It's not in the bag yet!

And I got my proposed cover for Snowdance the other night. It was beautiful, but not exactly what I had in mind. Some parts just didn't quite fit, so the art director, being wonderfully gracious and accomodating, is reworking the original cover. I've been holding my breath, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the new cover. I know it will be perfect.

Between all of this, I'm contemplating preliminary edits for the next novel scheduled for release, Vineyard Mambo. It doesn't come out until March 1st but the time when I'll be editing will be during the holidays, so I thought I might just get a jump on this one. That's the plan, anyway. We'll see if it happens!

Oh, and I'm writing a new novel, called Hope Mountain. I'm fortunate to have a co-writer on this one, my darling husband. We are having a blast talking about the scenes, characters, plot and dialogue. He's got great ideas and the writing is going really, really well. I'd like to have this finished by the time Snowdance releases, but that depends on how fast our grass grows!

Because really, writers are just ordinary people, who have to cut grass, cook dinner, shop for groceries and do all the other stuff that everyone else does. It's sometimes hard to squash everything in, but it's always rewarding to be able to do what I love, with the people I love all around me. So, if our grass grows really, really fast, Hope Mountain may not be done until September. Or, if we spend lots of time dancing beneath the stars, edits might have to wait--and you know, that's what I'm hoping for. Let the edits wait. The novels will keep. I'm all for dancing with my man. :)

So really, I guess my dad got a bigger, more convoluted answer than he expected to get. The behind-the-scenes aspect of writing, the stuff involved, is sometimes a mouthful.

But then, it's the stuff that life, and dreams, are made of...

It's a date!

I found out this morning that I have a release date for Finally, This Season, the English Tea Rose story being published by The Wild Rose Press. A fun little story, set in Regency England, Finally, This Season will be out on...drum roll, please...July 25th!!

I am thrilled!!

Holidays

How many of you are thinking about Halloween on this bright, sunny almost-summer morning? Thanksgiving? Christmas? All right, how about New Year's? Hmm?

Well, if you're one of my writer friends, you may well be thinking of the holidays. I know I am. For a writer, holiday thought comes early. There are only a few publishers that are still accepting submissions for holiday releases for '07. So, if a writer is to have a holiday-themed release, it needs to be written by now.

Me? I'm still thinking about it. I have an idea, but may not have the time. Oh well, maybe next year. This year I'll just kick back and read the luscious holiday offerings written by others.

And today, I'm going to enjoy the cloudless blue sky and warm breezes. Maybe plant a flower or two. Or three. What about you? How will you spend this gorgeous June day? :)

Edits, yet again

Yep, I'm still blathering on about edits. But really, that's what I'm doing. Down to the last two chapters of Snowdance. Then I'll go through the manuscript a second time, and hopefully that'll be it. It's hard to believe the book releases on August 1st, but it does. Soon, I'll have an excerpt for you. But for now, the update on editing progress will have to do.

Have a great day!

Huh?

Huh?

Oh. Right. Blog post.

Um...inspiration, anyone?

I hate to admit it, but all I can think about at this moment are the Snowdance edits (I've been working on them since 2 am, but you're tired of hearing about that, I'm sure) and the crew of men who will be at our house in the very, very near future -- like, within an hour or so. Eeek!
But you're tired of hearing about them, too, aren't you? Admit it, I won't get offended. Well, maybe not much... so really, what can I say? I've just told you the two topics on my sleep-deprived mind, and both are dull as dirt right now, so...I got nuthin'...sorry.

All I can think to say is Siento, pero mi cerebro debe almorzar.

Pardon?

Quite simply, I said, "I'm sorry, but my brain is out to lunch."

...um, but hasn't anyone told it I haven't even had breakfast yet?

Outside the Box

If you know me, you know I very often begin my day in the early morning hours, say 3 or 4 am. I get up and take care of writing business, then settle down and write for a few hours. That way I have my days and nights free to do other things. It works pretty well for me. I get an awful lot accomplished, and although I "crash" and fall asleep around 9pm once or twice each week, I don't much mind the weird schedule. It suits my needs, and those of the people I love, so I think I'll stick with it.

But last night I tried something new. I went to bed at 11, but after a full day's worth of hammering, my ears were ringing and I couldn't get to sleep. The sound of silence was keeping me awake, too. I realized it was the perfect opportunity to work on my Snowdance edits. So I rose and worked for a few hours, finally turning in around 3 am. Still, I got up at 6, so I could shower and dress before the crew's arrival.

Yep, it's gonna be a long day here in my world. But at least I finished editing Chapter 9. Today, Chapters 10 and 11. Wish me luck! :)

Crew & Edits

Oh, and just so you know...the crew is here, working on the house. They all seem to be a great bunch of guys, and they're doing a fantastic job but they really have some loud power tools!

Snowdance edits are just a little more trying than I'd anticipated, honestly.

Finally, This Season Cover!

Isn't this cover gorgeous? I'm in love with it, completely. It suits the story, it suits me...what more could I want in a cover? This will be my first story with the English Tea Rose line at The Wild Rose Press. My experience with Nicola, my editor, has been wonderful. She's made getting this short story ready for publication a real dream experience.

And I love this cover! Love it!!