The Bandwagon

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So lately, especially in contest entries, I've read a lot of tough heroines. Tough to the point of being unsympathetic. Maybe they've been hurt before and have built a huge, thick wall around themselves. Some are just butt-kickers, not needing a man, not bending, often rude to the hero for no apparent reason.

I have trouble relating to a heroine like that. I've written some women who have been through the mill, but I think I've made them sympathetic and relateable. What do you think makes them this way?

Okay, the other dealbreaker....infidelity. I've been watching Veronica Mars and there was an infidelity when they were on a break. She can't forgive him because of who the infidelity was with. I was thinking about what one of my friends said when Ross fooled around when he and Rachel were on a break. She said that Rachel was so hurt because Ross was the one person she never thought would hurt her. I don't think you could say the same about Logan...Veronica is just waiting for him to hurt her. But is it a forgiveable sin? Would you be able to forgive a hero or heroine who committed an infidelity?

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I hesitate to say, but this week shouldn't be too busy.

So of course I signed up for BIAW.

1) BIAW with Surface
2) library
3) get son permit (yes, still hasn't done it)
4) day with Mom
5) keep up house

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Here is my project list. I revised my spreadsheet about what I'm working on when so I can give better attention to each.

revise Surface for backstory and paranormal element - target NAL, HQN, Berkley, Dorchester, Kensington, Source, Samhain
revise Ghost Hunters for atmosphere, motivation and to make it not a SPN clone - need to double check to see who has turned this baby down ;)
revise Spy Girl for external conflict and hero and setting (remember, was a Nano book) - target NAL, HQN, Berkley, Dorchester, Kensington, Source, Samhain
revise Vamp story for characterization, plot and setting (also a Nano book) - target NAL, HQN, Berkley, Dorchester, Kensington, Samhain
revise cop story for plot - target SRS and Samhain

write cruise ship story - target SRS and Samhain
write bodyguard story - target SRS and Samhain
write assassin story - target SRS and Samhain
write undercover story - target SRS and Samhain
write high concept story - absolutely need to do a plotting retreat or something with this one

Last night we went to Cindi's to give her son his bday present. We sat out back and ate watermelon and cupcakes and watched the kids and the kitten play. It was really nice. Also watched a TON of Veronica Mars yesterday. I checked the last two seasons out at the library, and, well, you only get them for a week, and that's 10 discs! I still have Season 3 to go. And my Tivo is about to explode, as well. I see another day in front of the boob tube in my future, after I finish judging contest entries.

I also saw Definitely Maybe yesterday, a nice movie from a guy's POV. The concept is that he's getting divorced, and his daughter wants to know why he fell out of love with his mother and he tells her the story of the three women he loved, without telling her which one is her mother. Really sweet, not kid friendly.

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So I'm going back to Beneath the Surface. I'm keeping the relationship stuff, but the backstory and the actual archaeological find are going to be different.

When I go into a new project, I make a collage and a soundtrack. I already had a soundtrack for Surface - ACK! When I went to look for it on my iTunes, it's GONE! GAH!

Okay, must remake soundtrack for Surface.

Also, I want to do a collage. So those are my fun projects today, after taking the boy for his permit (YES! FINALLY!) and dropping off Cindi's son's gift.

What do you do to get ready for a new story?

And since I'm working on Surface, look who's back!

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I've sent out 5 equeries - 3 are rejected already.

I've sent out 5 partials and 3 snail mail queries.

It was probably a mistake to go shopping yesterday after seeing Sex and the City. My motto became "What would Carrie wear?" The answer was a lot smaller size than Mary wears ;) I did find a great skirt at Coldwater Creek that had been $150 and I got it for $25. Still have to get a top to go with....

Excuse JDM, he's back for a short visit while I smooth out the last 100 pages of STTA.

Shopping today at the outlet mall. I'm not a big shopper, unless it's for books or DVDs. (Don't ask how many I've bought this summer. 15, that's how many. 10 books and 5 DVD sets - 3 for the dh.) And I need to go to Office Max before my coupon expires, or I run out of paper, whichever comes first. I don't like to try on clothes (too depressing.) Maybe I'll find some pretty drinking glasses, though. And maybe a gift for Cindi's oldest, whose bday is Friday.

I finished the Toronto contest entries last night. Next, Lone Star entries. Any day now, PYHIAB entries. I know, I know, just say no!

I started moving right along on BD, then realized I have to go back because one scene's in the wrong POV. I've added 10 pages, though, which I didn't think was possible!

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I don't generally read Superromances but this month I picked up two. I know both authors - Beth finalled with me a couple of times in the GH and Cindi used to be in SARA. I read one in two days, started the other last night and am already a third of the way through.

The first was Beth Andrews's debut, NOT WITHOUT HER FAMILY. It's about a woman, Kelsey, trying to make amends with her estranged brother in a small town. Jack, the chief of police is suspicious of her and her brother, and when a crime is committed, Kelsey is committed to helping her brother, all the while falling for Jack, even though he's a cop.

Jack is an Ultimate Good Guy. He makes some mistakes, and has made some, but he's the kind of guy you want to lean on, the kind of guy Kelsey wants to lean on.

Kelsey is alone in the world and your heart breaks for her. She has a tough exterior to hide a tougher past and you absolutely root for Jack to break through.



The second book is A Soldier Comes Home by Cindi Myers. I read an excerpt of this book and immediately ordered it. It's about a war widow, Chrissie, who's ready to find love again, only she will not find it with a soldier, even the handsome one next door. Ray returned home from a tour in Iraq to find his wife wiped him out and left his three year old son with his parents. He's having to rebuild his life with his child while readjusting to civilian life. And after a misunderstanding with Chrissie, he's wondering if she can help him find that balance.



Both of these are SO GOOD.

I have to go back to WalMart today to get my glasses fixed, and I plan to get Stacey Kayne's newest, Beth Cornelison's newest (a firefighter!) and Jill Shalvis's newest (another firefighter!) Also buckling down to finish BD revisions. I don't see how it's going to make 85000 words, though....weird that my straight romance made 85000 easy and my action suspense romance didn't.

I had a dream about Helo from BSG last night but I don't remember it.

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1) finish BD
2) query agents
3) send partial of BD to Superromance
4) promo on Tuesday
5) Pam Morsi’s booksigning Tuesday
6) Get Cindi’s oldest son’s bday gift
7) Judge contest entries
8) Keep up house
9) walk
10) day with Mom
11) dh's gig
12) boy's permit
13) get glasses fixed

I have to share a wicked trick with you guys. I love chocolate croissants, and my mom found an easy way to make them - buy the Pillsbury crescent rolls, sprinkle chocolate chips in, roll them up and bake. Mmmmm.

Today is my dh's bday, and while he's sleeping in (he's rarely off on Saturday), I thought I'd tell you a bit about why I love him.

He loves cats.



He plays guitar ;)



He cooks.

He brings me flowers on special occasions.

He likes my friends.



He likes my family.



He likes kids.



He's won 3 Emmys ;)



He's a great dad.



He loves to go out to breakfast.

He's VERY patient with me, with the writing and the brainstorming, and the messy house, and the pictures of heroes on my computer.



Happy birthday!

The ds got a haircut yesterday. I'd post a picture but I can't find the cord for the camera! I also picked up my glasses, but I can't see, so I have to go BACK to the eye doctor today, in between going to the grocery store for last minute stuff for the bday party and the party! GAH!

Hot Shot got a new review and Where There’s Smoke is up for best book of the month. Please vote!

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I watched Fool's Gold this week, and while the pratfalls had me rolling my eyes, the reason for the two of them getting a divorce was pretty convincing. I think it's always a tough balance when writing a reunion story, finding a good enough reason to split them up and then being able to get them to overcome that reason to get back together. As Tess's lawyer said in Fool's Gold, "You married a guy for the sex, then expected him to be smart." I really didn't think they overcame the conflict - Finn's immaturity drove Tess CRAZY, but he did prove how much he loved her.



Another reunion movie, one I actually got the beginning of Beneath the Surface from, is Twister. The thing splitting them up is him thinking he wants something and by the end of the movie realizing he had what he wanted all along.



Writing reunion stories is tough. I've written two, one about two cops who split up after their child dies (was THAT hard to write! I still want to go back and fix it, though. It became a bit episodic.) and Surface. I've always felt the weakness in Surface was the reason they split up, so I have a new reason now and I plan to get going on it next week, if I can finish fixing BD this weekend.

What are some good reunion stories you've read or seen?

Today: clean up backyard and back room for dh's bday party, read Trish's chapters, work on BD and do a little promo if my email cooperates. Yesterday all I did was read and sit in the pool - it was HOT!

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I went to SARA last night for the first time in six months. We were voting for the new board and to pass the new bylaws, so I braved the horrible traffic (which actually wasn't too bad last night). Anyway, we didn't have a speaker, so we went around the room talking about what we wrote, what inspired us and what we'd learned in our writing.

A huge percent of them said they'd learned so much from critique. We have two groups, a lot, I think for an organization our size. I've participated, usually with just the beginning of my story, though BD has been through my smaller group almost in its entirety (that story is still kicking my butt - I need 20000 more words to make it ST!!!) Several of these ladies send their whole books through.

Then I started thinking - none of my contracted books have been to critique at all. Hot Shot and Smoke were in contests, and while I revised HS a lot because of that, Smoke is very nearly identical to the way I wrote it. Yes, HS went through revisions with editors and agents, but never went to critique. Trish read Wayback, but she's the only one. Even the cp who's also writing a Wayback hasn't seen it. Yet it got contracted.

So what's your take on critique groups?

Today: take ds to get earbuds, hopefully a haircut, clean living room, work on BD and read Trish's chapters

My first cowboy! Now to discover the release date so I can go nuts at VistaPrint.


I'm also blogging at The Wet Noodle Posse about using promo loops, kind of a "do as I say, not as I do..."


I sent 7 queries yesterday. I want to send BD to Superromance but don't remember how to do return postage. I dug out my submissions chart but hadn't updated it in awhile, so I don't know where stuff is....


I judged three and a half contest entries, did my Supernatural revisions and went back and forth on my cover. I also saw Fool's Gold, which would have been better without the physical comedy. I STILL haven't been in my pool.

Today - the grocery store, post office, SARA and BD.

I must has!

To JDM for a while....I finished STTA today!!! The last 100 pages or so need edits, but it came in at almost 400 pages!

Today was wild. I went for my eye exam, then to pick up my MIL because she'd taken her car to have a belt repaired. We went to breakfast, then to WalMart to look at glasses, then to check on the car, then to the library, then home to get my old glasses, because I decided to just put new lenses in them, then back to WalMart, then home, where we called the garage. FOUR HOURS LATER, they called and said the car was ready. My poor MIL is 71 and was exhausted. She fell asleep on the couch about 30 minutes. After I took her to get her car, I fell asleep. Hopefully tomorrow is permit and haircut day for the boy, then no more running!

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UGH, this is a busy one...



1) Father’s Day
2) Send out queries for STTA
3) revisions on SPN essay
4) Eye doctor
5) Get boy permit
6) Get ready for dh’s bday
7) Finish STTA
8) work on BD
9) SARA?
10) Newsletter
11) Judge one contest entry
12) Newsletter
13) critique
14) blog at WNP
15) interview for The Romance Studio
16) take MIL to get car fixed
17) figure out promo schedule
18) Nudge Susan Litman
19) One day out with Mom
20) Keep up house
21) Walk

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I saw The Last Boleyn Girl this week. NOT your feel good movie, lemme tell you. I emailed my brother with my comments as I was watching, since he'd already seen it. He was most disturbed by the beheading, which was not my Ick moment. We talked about it yesterday and he was also upset with the shallow characterization. Henry was purely a man led by...um, lust, at least in this characterization. Anne deserved to be beheaded. Mary, the sister, was naive. I'd say watch it, but maybe only 3 1/2 stars.

Indiana Jones was a disappointment. My brother and I also discussed this. We lamented that the archaeology was skimmed over, that the CGI was intrusive (and my dh added that locations were part of what made the other Indy movies so spectacular) and the stakes weren't high enough.

National Treasure 2 was better the first watching than the second. I was very distracted by Nick Cage's hair. I liked the secret city storyline, but there were too many unnecessary steps, and conclusions were reached too quickly.

Rambo started out promising, but evolved into a bloodbath. He's such an intriguing character, at least as he was conceived.

I couldn't bear Sweeney Todd.

Have you seen ANYTHING good lately?
The Accidental Husband

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I can't help myself - I'm an addict. Over 200 books on my bookshelf and this week I bought 5 more, including these 3:







I have to say viral blogging worked for the first 2.

But then I look at my TBR shelves. I still haven't read











I've only read one of Terry McLaughlin's, only one of Stef Feagan's, only 2 of Colleen Gleason's (and the second was still in manuscript form!) Only one of Stacey Kayne's, only one of Michelle Willingham's, only one of Anne Mallory's, only two of Diane Gaston's. I just can't read quickly enough, even in summer, though I did read over 200 pages yesterday....

What books are you looking forward to? And how do you make time to read? I still have 2 DVDs sitting here, and another on the way....

I had a great JDM dream, that he was a soldier on leave and we were on a bus together and all these women were fawning over him but he picked me (in my POV, but a 20-something body). Sigh.

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My last day of school was a week ago and I still feel like I’m going full speed ahead.

Monday and Tuesday I worked on revisions for Wayback. Yesterday I did promo, then errands. Today, more errands. Tomorrow, hopefully, nothing. I’m still not finished with STTA, but I kind of knew yesterday would be a no-writing day because of the promo loop (which makes my shoulders absolutely tense). Still, I have 10 contest entries to read and critique group this weekend. I have 3 DVDs to watch and return. Everything seems to be on a time table. Plus, since I'm trying to save gas, I combine errands, and that stresses me out, trying to remember everything.

I have gotten a lot of the house clean. I threw out so much trash we could barely move the humongous trashcan to the curb. Today I’m cleaning the kitchen, so there should be more trash or stuff for Goodwill. Of course, I come home from taking the boy to a friend's, then going to the grocery and the kitchen counter is loaded with dishes no one bothered to do.....

Remember Fly Lady? She would tell you to throw out 15 things every time you cleaned a room. She would be so proud of me.

Oh, and yesterday I got our back door open. Why is this a big deal? Because we lost the key 6 years ago. We have another back door, but this one is right off the laundry room and being able to exit it is so convenient. It’s gross and dusty and there’s a mummified lizard stuck between the screen and the slats, but it’s open!

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I got an AWESOME review of Hot Shot yesterday from The Romance Studio. My best one yet! I also saw an advance preview of another from Romance Reviews Today, but it's not live yet. I'm really happy with the reviews I've gotten!

I sent my Wayback story in yesterday, then needed to do two more scene revisions, which I sent back this AM. Now I get to go back to STTA. Yesterday I had a very clear scene in my mind that may be an epilogue, I don't know, but it included a baby. I never write babies. I think it's just that I REALLY love these characters, and I can see myself exploring their lives further along.

The same thing happened with my first book, The Simple Life. Those characters became so real to me because I spent so much time with them. When I drive through the town where I based that story, I half expect to see them. The same with my married cop story, Second Chances. During 9-11, I could practically see Zach pacing, helpless, wanting to go DO something. I think I'll have the same reaction when I finally leave Noah and Ellie behind.

Today I'm doing promo on one of the loops for Wayback, then I'm blogging at Samhain. I also need to clean the laundry room and the mudroom, which shouldn't take me nearly as long as the hour and a half it took me to clean the bathrooms yesterday (I threw out two wastebaskets of stuff, can you believe it???)

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I rewrote the end of Texas Forever yesterday. All these weeks I'd had this one idea, but when I sat down to write it, I had a completely different idea that I think fits more with the character conflict.

Today, I'm back to work on the end of STTA. Then I'm rewriting the end of Breaking Daylight.

I am Not Good at writing endings. Invariably, that's where my book falls apart. I never figure it out ahead of time. I can't bring everything together, I can't make it emotional enough, my conflict is too big and I can't resolve it in a satisfying manner - I always have trouble at the end. And if I'm asked to revise, like with Hot Shot and Texas Forever, the ending I write is COMPLETELY different from my first shot.

I think part of MY problem, at least what I saw yesterday, is that instead of wrapping up the conflict, the characters question, "Well, how AM I going to live with this person forever?" Very frustrating, those pesky characters. Plus, there are paths to take, choices to make. I realize that by the end, those paths need to be eliminated, so there's only one possible ending, but I just can't eliminate them.

Any advice for writing endings?

Today I'm updating my website and rereading my ending before sending it back to my editor. Yesterday I started reading Cotton Queen by Pam Morsi and I'm already to p. 100. Very compelling. The boy also decided he needs a haircut and he wants to get his permit, hopefully today. And I need to get to the library.

Oh, and I figured out how to get RSS feed from blogs, so I've been adding blogs to my reader.

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I read a comment by an author today about how they "enjoyed" writing a couple's story. I thought, "Enjoyed? Really?" And then I thought about it some more. You know, there are stories I loved writing more than others, characters I love more than others. I think when you have a certain level of output, it's bound to happen. I'm sure my cp cannot possibly fall in love with all the characters in all the short romances she writes.

So I started thinking about my own stories. I LOVE Noah and Ellie.





I LOVE Gabe and Peyton, or I wouldn't have fought so hard for that story!





I LOVE Adrian and Mallory, whose story I'll be revising soon.





Spy Girl, which will go into revisions as I'm going back to school - LOVED.





But the others....I think I just enjoyed them. I'm going to be revising the end of my Wayback story this week, and I just enjoyed the characters. I'm not really excited about going back into it. I have a good ending, I think, but I'm meh.

My ghost hunters story - meh.

My vampire story - meh.

Breaking Daylight - the characters are compelling but I don't love them. I just want to see them have a HEA.

Don't Look Back...I enjoyed writing that story, but I don't remember feeling passionate about it.

So I started wondering, does it show? Both BD and DLB have won a number of contests, so I guess not. I wasn't passionate about Where There's Smoke and it has kicked Hot Shot's booty in both reviews and sales.

But I much prefer falling in love with my characters than just enjoying them. It makes writing so much more fun!

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All I want to do is sleep. After my brother left Friday, I went to sleep and slept till 5:30, then was in bed before 10:30. Saturday, I went back to bed after the dh went to work and slept till 9, then napped from 2 till almost 5, then went back to bed before 11. Hopefully this is a beginning of summer thing and not an all summer thing.
Busy week:

1) Finish STTA (only about 7 scenes to go)
2) get boy permit
3) promo on Wednesday
4) judge one Toronto contest entry
5) revise Wayback Rodeo story
6) update website
7) graduation for friend’s son
8) get Father’s Day gifts
9) get ready for critique
10) start walking
11) get house in order


Look who has a cover!!!!

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Go crazy?

That's the one.


I came home from my last day of school yesterday. All I wanted was a nap. I walked in and the house was HOT. I checked the inside unit. Running. Checked the outside unit, running. Called the dh, then my brother. Brother sighed and said he'd be over in a couple of hours. He'd been working since 6:30 and was exhausted - he's not fully healed.

We hoped it was a grounded wire, but the compressor finally died.

The GOOD news was that we had bought a new outdoor unit last year but Brother was too ill to put it in. The bad news is he wasn't able to put it in last night. He was so tired, he didn't even want to get dinner with us.

The boy went to spend the night at a friend's. I took a cold shower and went to bed. The dh slept on the couch with a ceiling fan and a box fan (it's actually not too bad in the living area, but the bedrooms are awful.) Brother is coming back in a couple of hours to install the new unit, with the boy's help.

The other good news is that as soon as Brother leaves, I can crank up the AC and go back to bed. I'm so glad school is out!

The BEST news is that JDM is going to be on The View this AM!!!

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I have a lot of favorite days, my birthday for one, but this is the big one.

The last day of school.

My entire summer is in front of me, no wasted moments or opportunities. No minutes subtracted from my hard earned summer. Anticipation is everything.

I've already done the big summer grocery trip, where I go from buying things for packing lunch to things I can make at home. I've already made my tentative schedule for the days, and the weeks (what I'll be working on). I even already kind of know what my obsession for the summer will be. A hint:



Another hint:



Still, I have a weird feeling about this summer, like it won't be as relaxing as summers past, probably because I know I have a lot of writing to do.

So this AM, I go to school, we sort the permanent records, cover our computers, turn in our keys. We go to a luncheon and I'll come home and nap and tomorrow I'll dive in.

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The kids will be watching this video today - I've already written out the lyrics for them ;)



Yesterday was a good day. The kids played games, I packed, we went outside for recess, where they played well together. The teachers in my unit had their last lunch and a birthday celebration for one of the teachers who's moving to another grade, and we laughed so much people asked what we were drinking. Then we went to the talent show, where my kids played their $1 recorders and impressed everyone.

In 35 more hours, I'll be FREE! Come on, stupid clock, please strike 3!

From the Hollywood Reporter:

Jeffrey Dean Morgan is heading to Asia for his next film project.

The "Supernatural" regular has inked a deal to appear in the Weinstein Co.'s period piece "Shanghai" alongside John Cusack and Ken Watanabe.

Morgan plays Connor, an American killed in Japanese-occupied Shanghai before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Cusack's Paul Soames sets out to investigate his friend's murder and discovers a larger secret that the government is hiding.

Of course JDM is in it - he DIES! YEESH!


Oh, and have you seen this? Blurry, but RWORR!!

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I was reading pages for a cp this weekend, the beginning of a story. She introduced the hero as having a goatee. I'm like, okay, RDJ, I can go along with that. A few pages later she mentioned he had springy curly hair.

SCREECH. He went from RDJ to Zohan.

I heard a workshop that talked about not going into too much detail about your hero, because what one woman finds sexy, another might find a turnoff. I know I've toned back descriptions of my last two heroes because what I find attractive in the two, others might not. And things I've never found attractive before, I do in these two. Does that make sense?

Then there are some things I include in my heroes - almost all - that other women might not agree with. For example, I love stubble. Most of my heroes are stubbly at one time or another.

Anyway, some of my deal breakers - something I have to consciously avoid thinking about when reading a hero if the author mentions it - are these:

1) hair long enough to put in a ponytail (unless it's a historical)
2) moles
3) excessive tattoos - I love Jeffrey Dean and Justin Chambers, but too many tattoos! In fact, in my books, only my heroines have tattoos.
4) excessive body hair

You know, I had more when I was thinking about this, but now I'm blank. What about you?

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Impossible to believe it's June. Just impossible.

1) Survive the end of school without a breakdown.
2) Finish rough draft of STTA.
3) enter the Lone Star contest
4) Do my hostessing duties on WNP
5) get end of year tokens for the 4 teachers in my unit
6) get a nice gift for the SPED aide who kept me sane
7) take boy for permit
8) get bday gift for my brother
9) go see Sex and the City - Tracy said I had to.
10) keep up house.

Not crazy about the blow-dry....