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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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My Samhain editor told me she wouldn't get to STTA, the book that I love, my small town story, until my edits for Surface were done. Well, she got to it. And she passed.


:::whimper:::

She didn't connect with the characters. So now I'm feeling a little off-kilter about my books. Hot Shot, Surface and Smoke were all written years ago, and had all been through a number of revisions before they were even submitted. So I'm feeling like I can't judge my own writing, which makes me wary to write today, which bums me out because I thought today would be a good writing day.

I know I'll be over this soon. I just haven't been hit this hard by an R in a while.

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Not a particularly funny LOLcat, but it looks JUST like my Skippyjon.

Got an R yesterday on my straight contemp, Something to Talk About. I love that book, too.

I think I may be getting sick. I have a sinus headache and my ears are throbbing. Can't take off until after the test, though!

It's going to be 94 today. 94!!!! It's February!!!!! And we're having a pep rally in the gym for TAKS. Yay.

God, I hope something good happens today.

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So yesterday I posted that I wanted to hear from one of my editors.

I did.

Rejection. Kinda bummed my morning. By the time I got home, though, I'd decided to submit Surface to her, and she requested it within an hour. My hopes are not up. And it's rough to write when you're feeling this way, ya know?

I made a Facebook page yesterday and I already have more friends there than on MySpace. I still like Good Reads best, because there's stuff to do. Like I need stuff to do. And just FYI, if you ever need to find friends, go to Trish's page. That woman knows EVERYBODY. I did find a HS friend. I recognized a couple of names, but didn't think they'd remember me. I knew Yvonne would...we survived Catholic School together.

Oh, and if the R wasn't enough, I have a terrible sore throat, the kind that makes it hard to swallow. Joy.

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I thought that picture was appropriate since SPN is on tonight (though a rerun.)

Report cards went out this week and yesterday I had a phone call, 2 emails and a handwritten note. Nothing negative, just concern, which is good, but parent conferences are my least favorite part of the job. I feel helpless, ya know, and walking a fine line between being honest and not hurting their feelings. And we had a meeting during planning (for which everyone but me and the woman conducting the meeting was 20 minutes late...grrrr) about a new task we have to do that is redundant and overwhelming. I went to talk to the union rep because there's a law about not too much paperwork which takes us from our teaching.

And after dropping $40 at B&N this weekend, I got a 25% off coupon for this Saturday. It wouldn't bug me except that I haven't even read the books yet!

And I got rejected from Sourcebooks. Form letter.

And then I read about Black Wednesday, which makes it feel like I'll never get picked up by NY.

At least the boy got his driver's ed completion certificate.

I also found this, which is pretty cool: Rose's Colored Glasses Calendar

And a cold front came in. I love cold fronts.

And this came up in my Google Alerts this AM: Where There's Smoke review

What are you feeling positive about today?

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What a business. I was still floating from holding my book, and less than 24 hours later, I got an R from Superromance. Sigh.


1) finish BD
2) finish my short story
3) go through Surface with the notes Trish gives me, then submit
4) get ready for critique (NO idea what I’m sending, unless I rewrite the end of BD before Wednesday)
5) critique ;)
6) stop obsessing over this, which really is good:



and this, which I haven't seen but I've watched the trailer over and over:



8) keep up house, which I haven’t done well since the company left

I am never leaving the house without my iPod again. Yesterday I drove my son to band practice and back, then to pick him up and back, and I heard 3 Chili Peppers songs, 3 Rolling Stones songs, 2 Journey songs (on 2 different channels at the same time), 3 Eagles songs and 2 Pink Floyd songs. All this in 2 hours, max. All because I was uploading the soundtrack to Love in the Time of Cholera onto my iPod from my pokey little laptop. Never again….

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That looks just like my brother's basset.

I came home from lunch with my mom yesterday and had THREE rejections, two on BD and one on STTA. At least 2 were personalized, but 3 in one day???

I got my glasses yesterday, too. I'm still getting used to them. I think I should have bifocals but the doctor didn't think so. But while I was at WalMart, I found the COOLEST fabric - it's a firefighter print. I bought three yards as a table runner for Trish and my booksigning in October.

Things I've learned from bloghopping this week:

The Stella Cameron Scarlet Boa contest is going on again.

Linda Howard has a new book with an assassin hero and drug lord's mistress heroine. I MUST READ.

Stephanie Bond has a new book in the Body Movers series.

Season 2 of Robin Hood on BBC will be out on DVD next month. YAY, Guy of Gilborn!

What have you learned from bloghopping lately?

Today I'm going swimming, watching another disc of Winds of War, finishing reading Roped and Tied and working on Surface. Oh, and it's clean the living room day.

Think good thoughts for Cindi today. She's going in for a biopsy on her lymph nodes. This isn't the same health scare as before - this actually started before the scary hand and feet discoloration. She's going to a rheumatologist for that. She's been getting bumps around her neck that appear and disappear - it's weird. So, anyway, thoughts that it's not bad news. She was mostly happy to get off two days ;)

I got my advance from Samhain yesterday...and a rejection on the second book I sent them. The bad - even with 20 mss (or so), I don't have something else ready to send. I'm looking at my completed ms folder and here's what we have:

Breaking Daylight - needs the last 60 pages to go through my critique group (I don't usually do that with a whole book, but this one kicked my butt) and to be honest, I want to try NY with it first.

Don't Look Back - still with Susan

Beneath the Surface - needs at LEAST backstory revisions and I'd LIKE to make it paranormal and send to NY

Ghost Hunters - needs revisions to make it less of a Supernatural clone

Vamp Hunters - my 2007 Nano book - needs MAJOR revisions

Second Chances - The first 4 chapters are okay, but I want to rewrite the rest of the book.

Spy Girl - my 2006 Nano book - needs MAJOR revisions

Eden's Promise - my futuristic - needs big revisions on the back half

Wow - out of all the books I've written, only HALF even have a revision's chance at getting published. That's kinda sad. What learning curve is THAT?

Cherry Adair did tell me, though, not to expect to sell my previous books, and I can see why. You learn SO MUCH going through the editing process and you can see the holes in books that you didn't see before.

I didn't get home till 7:00 on Tuesday and 7:30 on Wednesday. I've woken up around 3 the last three mornings and can't go back to sleep. Argh -I'm ready for summer!

Wow, what a week this has been!!!! Okay, I accepted the offer on Thursday, I announced here on Saturday. I’ve gotten TONS of supportive, celebratory emails! Monday I wore a first sale shirt, like the one I bought Trish, and the teachers, many of whom I’ve worked with for YEARS, were very excited. Candy sent me an awesome e-card.

I couldn’t get over the feeling, though, that this is just a tear in the fabric, so I spent the weekend submitting Hot Shot everywhere it hasn’t been, as well as the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award.

I got my contract yesterday, AND a request for Don’t Look Back from Susan Litman. (I’d also sent her Breaking Daylight, and she rejected that in the same letter. Hmm.) Sooooo…printed out DLB and will mail today. Printed out the contract, and I need your help!!!!

I need a name!!!! I would LOVE to use my own name, but being a teacher and all…

I would like my last name to be Evans, since that was my grandmother’s name and she supported my writing so much. But my maiden name is Barclay, and I wouldn’t mind using that.

I don’t want to be Mary. My middle name is Helen, but I’m not wild about that.

As of bedtime last night, I was leaning toward MJ Fredricks, my name, my son’s and my dh’s. But this morning Chris suggested naming myself after my boys.

Dare I be Mary WINCHESTER???

Any thoughts????

I got a doozy of a rejection on Beneath the Surface yesterday. I'd finalled in Contest Junkies with BtS in 2005 and had a request from Berkley. It took me more than a year to convince my agent to send it, and in February she said we had interest, but she sent me the R yesterday. My suspense plot wasn't strong enough. Sigh. I guess that's not totally unexpected, but since I'd had interest from them....

It doesn't help that we've had like five minutes of sunshine since before my birthday, and today is the Gilmore Girls episode where it all goes bad for Luke and Lorelei (yes, I identify WAY too much with this show) but now I have, I think, one submission out.

At least at school things are good, and I've gotten 2 of the 4 gifts I need for the month!

And, Supernatural's on tonight.