The Bandwagon

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I'm ALMOST finished with the paranormal. Just the big emotional reunion scene, and that's it. Then, revisions. So, last Jensen pic for awhile.

I heard today that Mary Jo Putney has a new book out. I used to LOVE her books. Now, I never have time to read them. Same with Betina Krahn, who has a new Blaze Historical out now. I have a pile of Theresa Medeiros, and Pamela Morsi and JD Robbs. I don't even remember where I left off on the JD Robbs. I would love to read Lisa Kleypas's historicals, but my TBR is already creaking my shelves.

What am I reading? Friends' books, for one. Even those are stacking up. I've only read one Terry McLaughlin, one Anne Mallory, one Diane Perkins, one Stacy Kayne, one Tawny Weber, one Stephanie Feagan, one Colleen Gleason. I haven't even read one of some of the others, but I won't say who ;)

Clearly I need to read faster. After spending 2 weeks on Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (from the library), I read Natalie Damschroder's Renegade on Friday, and read Bella Andre's Wild Heat in three days. Next up, Critical Care by my friend Candace Calvert.

Who do you wish you had time to read?

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I finished a short story Saturday night. I'm very happy with it, except the ending, natch. I need more emotion, I think.

My goal for today is to finish my paranormal. I have maybe 4 more scenes, including the climax. I'm already over 30,000 words, though, and need to snip in revisions.

I'm getting ready to set aside my revisions on Vampire Hunters. I think the plot is okay, but there's something missing. I can't put my finger on it. Also, it's very short, only 52,000 words. Who will buy that? One of my cps told me that her author help group, Rose's Colored Glasses is doing an online workshop with Donald Maass's workbook. Hm. I have that workbook. They're doing a chapter a week. I signed up, will see if it helps. Not sure what to do otherwise.

Have you used Donald Maass? This book has been sitting for almost 2 years (it was my second Nano book.) Have you ever not been able to figure out what's missing in a book? I'm just not as proud of it as I should be.

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This past week, I didn’t leave my house after Tuesday afternoon, except for my walks. This week seems a bit busier.

1) Celebrate Fourth with family
2) Finish and revise paranormal
3) Finish and revise short story
4) write new short story
5) Target with son
6) Get gift for Cindi’s oldest, deliver
7) Go to JoAnn’s, get new pattern because I don’t like the one I used last week
8) Blog at SPN Sisters
9) breakfast with Mom
10) lunch with writer bud
11) sew 1 t-shirt dress and 1 skirt
12) grocery store/library
13) nap/exercise daily
14) keep house up

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I did great yesterday AM. I edited my daily goal before I went for my walk, got 6 pages before my break at 11, completed a skirt:



While I was watching the news after All My Children, I saw where Farrah died. I was sad, because I LOVED Charlie's Angels, and let's face it, I've always been into pop culture. I knew a lot more about her than I thought.



I napped while the boy went to work, got up when he came home. I was working on my pages when he said, "Hey, I think Michael Jackson died." He'd seen the TMZ report. I jumped on Twitter and the rumors were flying, but nothing had been confirmed. Then NBC confirmed. I was never a fan, but he was just so hugely popular when I was growing up. It made me sad. He was only 50.



The dh came home and heard that Jeff Goldblum died, which freaked me out, because I LURVE Jeff Goldblum, but we found out it was a hoax. Terrible, terrible hoax.

So between all that, I met my writing goals, but still haven't finished Pride&Prejudice&Zombies.

Oh, I'm blogging today about kisses at The Samhellion. Come say hey!

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I know that as soon as I say this, I'm going to have typos here. I know, no matter how carefully I read over it, there's going to be a mistake.

Because I'm ranting today about typos in blog posts, emails, book excerpts, and especially in the latest muddle over at ESPAN. I saw editors--editors! Who I know and trust!-- misuse it's and its. Many of the writers misspelled and misused words, which did not help the cause, you know? I understand a lot of the responses were written in the heat of passion, but people. Read what you've written.

Just today, an author tried to "wet" my appetite for a book.

Often, they wish to "peak" my interest.

Oh, and at the bakery the other day, the label on a pack of bread products declared it hamburger bun's. Like I tell my kids--the rules haven't changed since 1st grade. More than one--add an S, not an apostrophe S!

I'm certainly not perfect. I misuse lie and lay, and further and farther. But if you are presenting yourself as a writer, do your best to know the rules!!!

Rant over.

I wrote 4000+ words yesterday. This morning, I planned to sleep in (even took a Tylenol PM to see if I could sleep until dawn), and my big boy kitty crashed open the bedroom door. Now he's stretched out (see, I was going to use lie/lay but wasn't sure so I changed it) beside my chair, all innocent. Yesterday I didn't walk or do any sewing. I think I'll go for my walk now, then come home and write, then sew during All My Children.

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I have a weird sense of urgency to write today. I've fallen behind since I haven't been home much the past 3 days. I'm 3500 words behind my goal on the short story, 1000 words behind on the paranormal and 25 pages behind on the revisions. So....once the dh goes to work, I'm pounding out words until the battery dies. Then I might clean the bathrooms. Maybe.

I'm thinking about doing a book in a month challenge for July. I know some will be at National, but does anyone want to join me?

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Baby Blue 22!! Congratulations! Let me know what book you choose! Thanks so much, everyone, for coming by!

I wrote until midnight and met only 2 of 3 writing goals for the day. No exercise and no cleaning. Today's going to be another day like that. We'll see which goals get met.

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Today is the

Stop and Smell the Roses Blog Bouquet

All Day – Monday – June 22, 2009

A blog tour hosted by the authors of
The Wild Rose Press.

Visit the participating authors' blogs. At every stop, leave a comment by 9 AM Tuesday and be entered to win a prize from that author.

Leave a comment below for a chance to win a print copy of Where There’s Smoke, or a download of Bull by the Horns, one of the Wayback Rodeo titles!



Blurb for Where There’s Smoke:

Lauren Stokes put a lid on her attraction toward her best friend Seth Escamilla years ago. She’d never be his type of woman, so why torture herself? When sexual awareness strikes during a friendly football game, she’s stunned. He’s guilty for injuring her and looks after her, but Lauren resorts to wisecracking to distance herself from him. Seth’s confused by the new emotions swamping him. This is Lauren, his best friend, someone he has fun with, not someone he has fun with! He doesn’t plan to settle down, and he won’t risk their friendship when they have no future. They resist the new attraction, and the efforts of their families to push them together. When a wedding loosens their inhibitions, keeping the new aspect of their relationship a secret is harder than they would have thought.



Blurb for Bull by the Horns:

Lavender Prouty has always lived in the Texas town of Wayback . Everyone in her family fled , leaving her with her ailing grandmother. She’s so accustomed to denying herself , she doesn’t know how to react when a handsome cowboy flirts with her during a field trip to the fairgrounds.
Taylor Craig hasn’t always been a steer wrestler, but he doesn’t talk about his past. He's made enough money to buy a spread near Big Bend, and he loves the cowboy life. Rodeoing answers his need to wander.
When he meets Lavender, those needs shift. He likes how she treats her class, likes her humor, is intrigued by her shyness. Women are always throwing themselves at him , but now he'll do the chasing.
Taylor’s charm lowers Lavender’s defenses before a series of events, including her mother’s return and the revelation of his past, put her back on guard.

Be sure to visit the other participants for more chances to win!


Participating Blogs

Ann Whitaker

Beth Caudill

Skhye Moncrief

Cate Masters

Christine Columbus

Donna Michaels

Happy Endings

KyAnn Waters

Lauri Robinson

Linda Banche

Lynn Reynolds

Melanie Atkins

Miss Mae

Nicole Mccaffrey

P.L. Parker

Roni Adams

Sheri Lewiswohl

Sky Purington

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1) celebrate Father’s Day and dh’s bday, both Sunday



2) go to VP’s dad’s funeral—very sad
3) finish paranormal/start revisions
4) write short story
5) breakfast with Mom
6) blog at Samhellion
7) make 2 t-shirt dresses, a skirt and a pillow
8) grocery store/library
9) finish watching 30 Rock, Rescue Me
10) nap/exercise daily
11) keep house up

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I’ve not met my goal yet today, between going to the grocery store/library/JoAnn Fabric, following the brouhaha on ESPAN (no, I like you too much to give you a link. Seriously, I lost HOURS there today, and it's all repetition at this point anyway), and also cutting a ton of words from the paranormal, again. Once when I was 41 words from my goal. Now I’m 464 words away. Laptop battery is charging, so I think I’ll take a bath, read a bit, and dive back in. YAY, Summer!

Oh, also watched SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE. Enjoyed it more than I thought I would. LOVED the boy who played little Jamal. SUCH a cutie. The dh did not like the credits at the end, but I did. Pooh on him.

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Today I'm blogging at The Romance Studio about filling the well. At least go over and take a look at the fabric I fell in love with at JoAnn's yesterday.

I'm wondering if I've become too goal-oriented lately. I finished the Texas revisions ahead of schedule, because when I finished my other goals for the day, I went back to work on it. Then, did I rest those days? Nope, I started revising Queen of the Night. And since I'm finishing my 2 pages a day on the paranormal (which is completely kicking my butt. I know what my characters have to do to end the haunting, but I don't know how they figure it out. BLARGH!), I'm writing a couple of hundred words on my short story, which I want done by the end of the month. So, yes, working on 3 projects at a time.

Oh, and now itching to sew.

And keeping house.

I should probably build in a couple of days off, but I don't think I'd use them!

The ds was ready to quit yesterday AM when he walked in at 7 AM. We'll see how he feels this AM. He's hoping to be off tonight so he and the gf can go out before she heads out of town.

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I am irritated with Netflix. Out of the top 15 movies in my queue, only 3 are available now. Granted, six haven't released yet, but the rest all have waits, including TAKEN, which released, what, 2 months ago? I'm FINALLY getting SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, which released March 31. Yesterday I drove down to Blockbuster to get FRIDAY THE 13TH because I didn't want to wait "a very long wait." I wanted my Padalecki NOW.

The dh said it's because we haven't been members long, but I had the same problem with Blockbuster, and I'd been with them since the ds played video games (they'd have coupons for a free video game a month, when we started.) I left Blockbuster for this reason. I mean, hello, I'm on summer vacation, I want to see movies!!! My library is better at having them ready than Netflix.

Okay, just had to vent.

DLB is revised and resubmitted.

Texas is revised and with Trish.

The paranormal is a MESS.

I'm going to breakfast with Mom and baby brother in a few minutes, and the boy is not home from work yet. He left last night at 8. They said they might not be done until 8 AM. At least the boy can come home and sleep. My brother has to teach tonight, and his partner only had 3 hours of sleep yesterday.

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Yesterday was an incredibly productive day. I am ALMOST done with my Texas revisions---about 15 more pages. I met my writing goal for the paranormal, cleaned the rooms I was supposed to clean, went for a walk, made dinner and dessert from SCRATCH, and read 60 pages of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. Also watched SLITHER on DVD and one episode of COMANCHE MOON, set 25 years after my historical, but hey.

Today does not look as promising. The ds worked until 3:30 last night (AC on a restaurant with my brother, coolest time of day), so dh and I slept a little later than normal. Also, may have to go get FRIDAY THE 13TH at Blockbuster since Netflix doesn't seem to want to send it to me and I NEED it. And ds's gf is coming over. Still, will get going on that walk as soon as I'm done here.

I have new favorite things this time of year.

1) Gold Canyon candle--pool towel scent. Yum!



2) Bath and Body Works White Citrus scrub

3) Off Mosquito Lantern--if only it would work for flies



4) Flavored lemonade---I had fresh-squeezed on Saturday, but this one's good, too.



5) Pledge Pet Hair Remover--especially now since the dh figured out how to empty it so I don't have to throw it away (!!!!!) when it gets full. You know, like after brushing one couch.



What are some of your favorite things this summer?

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1) revisions on DLB (looks like just the first couple of chapters)
2) finish paranormal
3) finish revisions on Texas
4) breakfast w/Mom
5) Get Father’s Day presents and birthday present for dh—only know what to get my dad.
6) blog at WNP and The Romance Studio
7) keep up house
8) exercise daily
9) nap daily
10) finish watching Samantha Who, 30 Rock and Comanche Moon
11) hit library
12) finish reading Visions in White and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies

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So, the bad thing about having your house cleaned is that you see the things they missed. So I'm attempting to remedy that this week, one room a day. Except I'm already behind.

See, I am making writing the priority. I'm meeting those goals first, new pages on the paranormal and revised pages on the historical (yes, still. It keeps getting pushed aside.) Only then am I working on the house. Yesterday I had errands to run--library, post office, HEB. Then the boy took me to Borders. And the dh needed help finding proof of insurance so he could get his license renewed. The search took about half an hour.

Today, back to HEB (we went to the fancy one yesterday and I wouldn't pay their prices for meat and ice cream.) But I got a great strawberry lemonade which may be my drink this summer.

But now....writing.

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Dad and Sue drove out at 11ish yesterday. I was in nap-mode at noon, and slept until around 3, when the boy came home from work. Then we went to the bank (twice), picked up dinner and the dh and I vegged in front of SEVEN episodes of Rescue Me (the DVD is due at the library today.)

I finished my line edits and one interview, and cleaned my kitchen really well.

Today I need to get stamps, go to the library and the grocery store, and I plan to get back into the paranormal. I haven't written anything new in a week!

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We took the company sightseeing yesterday. We wanted to go to the Institute of Texan Cultures, but it appeared to be closed in preparation for the Texas Folklife Festival that starts this weekend. After paying $6 for parking, though, we didn't want to leave, so went to the Tower of the Americas. It costs $11 a person to go up there! YEOWCH! Then we went to El Mercado and did some shopping before coming back, feeding Caroline and Dan and seeing them off to the airport. Felt bad that they rented a car and only used it to come to the house and go back to the airport. Was not really a sightseeing trip, you know?

Today, after some good rest, it's back to line edits and an interview and a blog for Saturday!

The boy graduated last night. It was a pretty nice ceremony, but we strained to see him in a class of over 600 kids. We thought we knew which one he was, then when he walked to the front of the stage, the announcer said, "Attending University of Texas at Austin." Hm, maybe not the boy. Then they mispronounced his name!!! Grrrr. But he's graduated and he's happy and he's home safe and sound, sleeping.

The boy and his girl.



The boy, his grandpa and Sue.



The gf took our picture with the boy in his cap and gown, so we don't have a picture with him in his gown, but here's us after.



The boy, his grandmother, step-grandfather and uncle.



The boy, his godmother and her SO.




Today we're doing some sightseeing before the godmother and her SO head for the airport. Then catfish for dinner ;)

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Yesterday was the boy's grad party and was a success. Everyone seems to love my boy. Today was more low-key, thank goodness, because guess what? I'm getting a cold or something. After lunch and a quick trip to North Star so my step mother could get Crocs like mine, I got a nap. Now scrambling to get dinner on before the kid leaves. Oh, and Baby Brother took cousin and her bf sightseeing and they HAVEN'T COME BACK. ACK!

Writing today? Ha.

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The family arrived last night, within 5 minutes of each other. I had hugged Caroline, met Dan, and told them they had to move the car because Dad was coming with his RV, just as Dad and Sue turned the corner!

During dinner Sue said something about being glad her shows are over for the year so she can have her life back. I think she listed 4 shows.

Um.

I have 4 shows on Thursday night! What is this life of which she speaks? I admit, the pressure is off since the end of the regular season, but I still want my TV! I'm having True Blood withdrawal, too. Not sure when I'll get a chance to watch disc 5, which won't be here until tomorrow anyway.

Got my final line edits for Surface, so will be working on that when I can. Today's the bbq at 3, so probably won't get much done today.

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1) Go to grocery store
2) Keep company entertained
3) Have fun at party
4) Cry at graduation
5) Blog at Supernatural Sisters (where there will be a prize) and the Samhain blog
6) Do an interview for Jody Wallace
7) Write a script for a book trailer
8) Work on promo schedule for summer
9) Work on Texas revisions.
10) Work on paranormal.
11) Exercise
12) Keep up house

That is not a fun schedule. The promo stuff wears me out! But since I'll be working in small increments while company's here, it's best to get it out of the way now.

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I should finish reading The Forest of Hands and Teeth in the next few minutes. I have Pride and Prejudice and Zombies waiting for me at the library, but I think I'm going to read the new Nora first. Two zombie books in a row may be a bit much.

Need to sweep the front and back patios. I'm waiting until a bit later so I can run the leaf blower. Need to touch up the paint in the hallway.

The dh is on vacation for a week after today, so I need to see if he plans to go get a bed from his mom's for my cousin and her bf, or if we're going to swap out the ds's bed. If the former, I need to go get new sheets and a bedspread.

I haven't written at all the past few days. I'll try later today, but this AM I'm going to focus on blog posts for next week.

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Well, I said good-bye to my babies. I cried. I miss them already. Thought I'd get at least one phone call tonight ;) I've turned in my laptops, so no more email to occupy me at work. Tomorrow I need to cover my computers, finish packing my desk and make the class lists for next year. Then we go to lunch. Cindi is bringing me home so I don't have to drive downtown.

While I was turning in my permanent records, my phone rang. The maid service was late. They were supposed to be here at 2:30, but didn't arrive until 4. They were here until 8!!! We ate dinner outside, which was actually kind of nice. But it was a long day and I am wiped. The house looks great, though it was more of a big picture cleaning and some details I'd hoped they'd get kinda got skipped. I don't blame them....4 bedrooms and 2 baths is a lot. Still, I'd like to know a few secrets, you know?

I've been watching True Blood. I'm on disc 3. I'm really enjoying it! Still, wondering why the new releases are never available!!! I want to see TAKEN, and it has a very long wait.

Tomorrow, Mom is picking me up (she's taking me to school so Cindi can bring me home) and we're going to breakfast at Panera, a summer preview. After the teacher luncheon, I'm taking a big celebratory nap!

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We saw Defiance last night. Sad that I was so looking forward to it and was so disappointed. It was just meh.

Today's my last full day with the kids. We're playing board games in the AM and having a pizza party in the PM. Then tomorrow, movies until noon. My room is mostly packed. I hope to clean while the kids are playing.

The maid service is coming tomorrow. It was a gift from my dad and stepmom (though Baby Brother says I shouldn't say that, that they must think my house is filthy. It's not. Just needs some...detailing.) I feel compelled to say that it was a gift, I don't know why. It's not like I think it's frivolous, but it is a luxury.

I've never done this before, though, and I'll be home part of the time they'll be here. I'm not sure what to do with myself during that time. I mean, I feel guilty sitting on the couch while the dh does the dishes, though it's part of the deal if I cook. I thought of sitting in the backyard and writing, where at least I'll be out of the way, but...okay, here's the thing. I'm worried they'll judge me for not being able or willing to clean house myself. Sad, right?

Have you ever had a maid service come? What do you do while they're there?

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Another R, this one from Silhouette. I thought this one would break through for sure. She thought it was too depressing and overwhelmed the romance. Dude, I toned it down a ton, too. So I have 2 things out.

I am relieved that I don't have to push so hard on the paranormal. I emailed the other authors and they aren't as far along as I am. Whew! So I'm scaling back to 500 words a day on it, and will continue editing Texas and play with a short story.

2 1/2 more days with the kids. We're all kinda sad. I'll miss them a bunch. Today's our last day of doing work, and we should be done in the AM, so we can watch a movie in the PM.

Company arriving in 5 1/2 days. I bought new towels and welcome mats. The Molly Maids are coming day after tomorrow. Boy better have his room straightened by then.

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House
1) Paint bedroom
2) Do Fly Lady style declutter
3) Work on landscaping

Crafting
1) sew up fabric I have
2) find a small cross stitch project

Writing
1) Two short stories
2) Revise ghost hunters, Vampire Hunters and Texas
3) Write rough draft of RS
4) Promote!!!

Me
1) exercise every day
2) read 10 books
3) hang out with Mom/bro once a week
4) play a game once a week with the boy
5) TV only when dark/rainy/super-hot
6) nap as much as possible ;)

I think I know why I'm not so excited about summer! That's a lot of work!