Saturday morning I went down early to practice my pitch. Clearly I didn't learn my lesson from Friday ;) I met Sydney for breakfast, then went to the Atrium with Lorelle for Diet Coke. Stacy found us, Lorelle wandered off, then Stacy went to a workshop. I saw my cps, sat and talked awhile, then went upstairs for my pitch, where I saw Sheila Mohs, two of the women who had come to our workshop, RITA Award winning author Stef Feagan and my dear friend Kei Swanson. We talked so much, Stef almost missed her appointment! I met Rose Hilliard of St. Martin's Press. When I told her who my agent was, she gushed, but when I told her about my story, she said she liked character driven stories better than RS. If I'd been smart, I would have expanded on my characters, but I'm not one who thinks fast. She told me to have ESK send it, but essentially told me not to get my hopes up.

This was not turning out to be a good conference for me professionally.

So I went to another booksigning, then saved a spot for lunch. Lunch was lonnnngggg, though Christina Dodd was good, but Trish and I wanted to go to the Nocturne booksigning. We got there and got the books and bags, though. We peeked in on Janice Lynn's workshop, then went to our practice. I knew I'd had enough when I kept telling Trish we "had to go to vacation." I meant practice, but I said vacation. Several times. Scary. Later I did the same thing when I was trying to get her to give me bookmarks and I said "workshops."

I went upstairs to nap before the ceremony and got 2 phone calls. Sigh.

So I sent my dh out for supper and called my mom. The dh returned WAY later with Subway - apparently all around the hotel was closed - and then I took a nice long bath.

At this point, I thought the only thing that would salvage conference for me would be a win. Yes, I'd had a blast with my friends, but this was business, and all the business bits were going to hell. I REALLY wanted to win. I'd envisioned it, wished for it, dreamed of it. I wanted it so badly, I thought I would cry if I didn't get it, and REALLY embarrass myself.

So while I was in the tub, I had a good long talk with myself, preparing myself until the dh gently knocked on the door and reminded me he needed to get ready, too. I dressed, made up, did the hair and waited.

We met Trish and Chris by the door, found Jennifer Smith and Steph Rowe and sat. Colleen Gleason and Sydney slipped through to wish me good luck.

The ceremony was good but nervewracking. The past two times I finalled, I was in the long contemp category, which is announced second. This time I was last.

It was torture when Tawny, Stacy, Trish, Jen, Chris and Esri didn't win. But just before my category was called, I got really calm. I didn't win, but it didn't hurt. I was FINE until my dh leaned over and told me he was sorry. That was a sore spot and I snapped, "DON'T!" I wasn't going to feel sorry for myself, and I didn't want anyone else to.

On to the Ritas. Stephie Davis didn't win her category, though she took up 50% of it, but she was thanked in the winner's speech. Still, the Noodlers weren't doing well. And most of them were in my row! I felt like a black mark.

The tide turned when Dianna Love Snell won for RS!! Even though she's not as active in the WNP as she'd like to be, I felt her victory.

Then Stef Feagan won for best first book. Y'all, I shouted, "YES!!!!" This book spawned the WNP. We were there for this book every step of the way, from Stef's frustration from lack of success writing straight romance, to the inception of the book, to completion and agents vying for it, to its sale and its sequels. Every Noodler feels invested in this book. Heck, we almost made "Pink" our signature color (Pink is the nickname of the heroine.) You can only imagine our joy at its success.

Then the icing on the cake - Diane Gaston won the Rita in her category. The WNP had 3 Ritas, when 3 years ago we were all unpublished!

And THEN, Susan Elizabeth Phillips said she wished she could join the Wet Noodle Posse in her Lifetime Achievement Award speech! THAT was wild!

Afterwards, we went a little crazy. I was consoled by some of the SARAs and I went to get a drink. I couldn't find any Noodlers, so I wandered until Karen Potter found me. We were rounding up people to take pictures. We never did find Diane Perkins/Gaston, but boy, did we jump all over Stef and Dianna! We arranged to go up to Esri's room for champagne, then went off our different ways. I visited with some SARAs, then went up.

Esri made us each really cool Noodler bracelets, we toasted with champagne, took tons of pictures, laughed, teased, and the GH finalists read our speeches. That was great, because one of the main reasons I wanted to win was to acknowledge those who helped me along the way.

We cried, hugged and arranged to meet for breakfast.

I lay awake for a long time that night, smiling.

You know, in Atlanta, I was GOOD. Usually on road trips, every time we stop for gas, I get a diet coke and a snack. This time, no. I didn't eat all my meals until Saturday, and there were KRISPY KREME donuts in the hotel and I never ever bought one! I was SO GOOD.

I've not been that good since I've been home.

Okay, Friday.

I woke at 6:30 and headed downstairs to go over my notes for the workshop, maybe write a bit. I ended up talking to a woman, and we spoke about 10 minutes before I realized I knew her, Holly Jacobs! We used to be on the AOL series board together! She gave me advice about my workshop as I drank my mocha latte. I went down to get a croissant and some strawberries from the free breakfast. I sat with our chapter president. Then I went to the bathroom and found two more chapter members in line (I only stood in line twice the whole conference.) We made dinner arrangements, then I followed one of them, Kei Swanson, to the workshop on writing action scenes. My workshop was the next session, and I didn't think I'd have the nerves to sit through someone else's but it was in the same room, so I stayed. I told the lady next to me if I had to crawl over her it was just that I had to go throw up. She ended up staying for our workshop (and I saw her again the next day when I was pitching). The workshop went well, though I talked too much and too fast, and my charm bracelet jingled in the microphone.



I went to the Avon signing and got a TON of books, then to lunch at the food court with the Noodlers. It was a madhouse - I still can't believe we got three tables together. Pris and I ran back to go to a workshop on emotion, but I went to drop my books off in my room first, got waylaid, and went to the pocket signing, where I got Eileen Rendahl's newest (she signed it "To my favorite stalker" because I kept running into her in the elevator!) I also got The Manolo Matrix by Julie Kenner.

I went to the workshop on Secondary Characters, which was good, then to the GH reception. I'd thought the whole time I'd forget about it. Instead, Trish did! We had champagne (I also had a diet coke and water - it was HOT in there!) and they handed out the certificates. I was surprised to see which Rita finalists showed up. It seems in years past, more have shown up. This time about half didn't.

Trish and I went to the SMP booksigning and Trish introduced me to Rose Hilliard, who I had an appt with the next morning. (Trish knows EVERYBODY!) Then at 5:30, Trish and I met with some SARAs and we walked down to Steak and Ale for dinner, then came back to Stacy's SUITE for wine and conversation. I think I laughed more then than at any other time in the conference. We were winding down, when four other SARAs came in from the HQ party. We watched the fireworks from the Braves game and laughed and talked till 11:30. I had an appt in the morning, so time for me to go.....

Okay, keep in mind I fell asleep at about 5:30 AM. I'd been up since 3 AM the morning before. I like sleep - I take naps every day. So today was not my best day.

I woke at 8:30 and went to the Goody Room after a mocha latte AND a Diet Coke. I tried to get into Deloris and Mary's (chaptermates) workshop on how to write 50 books in a year but it was packed. I dragged a Noodler to the Unlikely Heroines workshop. It was more chick-litty than I liked, but I will read those books (which is I guess sort of the point of doing workshops, huh?)

I went to lunch with the group that used to be the series board on AOL, but I was so tired, when they put the chicken in front of me, I turned to my friend Chris and said, "This is too hard to eat." The cheesecake, however, was not. After Meg Cabot finished her wonderful hilarious speech, I staggered up to nap.

National is NOT a good place for this. I got THREE phone calls.

Staggered back down in my second outfit of the day to meet the WNP. We'd determined we were going to meet for CAKE, and baby, did we! The picture doesn't do it justice.



22 of us met to go to Dailey's, and we looked really cool trailing through doantown Atlanta.



Me and Steph Rowe.



Noodlers



Maureen, Rita Award Winning Author Stef Feagan, Anna De Stefano, Lorelle Marinello, Trish Milburn and Priscilla Kissinger.



Colleen Gleason and Jennifer Smith.



Steph Rowe, Janet Mullany and Jenna Ness



Esri Albritten, Maureen Hardegree and Rita Award Winning Author Diane Perkins



Merrillee Whren, Rita Award Winning Author Dianna Love Snell, Moni and Jenna.



Terry McLaughlin, Karen Potter and Jennifer Smith.



Afterwards, I went up to unwind, and Trish came up. We got dressed up to go to the Golden Network reception. I ran to Midnight Madness first and bought three shirts and some keychains and door hangers and bumper stickers. Got to the reception and sat up front with the WNP - about 15 of us around a table, and we were LOUD, especially when Diane came in with her National Reader's Choice Award!







Lorelle Marinello, looking stunning!



The Golden Network players put on a skit of, "What if Scarlett O'Hara was a Romance Writer?" Instead of suitors, she was surrounded by publishers wanting to buy her book. Colleen Gleason in pink.



She was a rejected writer who, with God as her witness, would never be unpublished again. Terry McLaughlin in gold.



She was a writer rejected by the publisher she wanted most and was told, "Frankly, my dear..."

26 authors from The Golden Network (the chapter for Golden Heart finalists) were booted, which means they sold their first book this year! Incredible!

We hung out a bit more, then went upstairs because our workshop was the next morning. Only later did I learn there had been karaoke in the bar that night...

I wrote out my days longhand, so I'll post one a day so you'll know about conference.

I met Bosey, Elizabeth, Gina, Cindy T and Pandora from eHQ, stalked Eileen Rendahl in the elevator. I know there were more - please forgive my sleep deprived mind!

Wednesday was wild and crazy. Woke up at 3 AM, too excited to sleep. Headed out from Birmingham at 7:30 AM, because dh and ds COULD sleep. Got to Atlanta, checked in VERY quickly, and got a peach! I saw Tiffany Green from SARA right away, and never saw her again. Changed and went down to meet ESK, who met quickly with a prospective client before she came back to meet with us and take us to lunch. We walked to the Sundial or Suntower, which rotated with a great view of Atlanta. I didn't say much as the lowly unpub. Returned to the room around 2, met with Trish to help her with the basket the Noodlers put together to donate to the literacy signing. We had shrink wrap we had no idea what to do with, had nothing to tie it with. Thank goodness Janice Lynn had come in. She rummaged in her purse and pulled out a ribbon she'd cut out of her dress the night before - you know, the ones you use to hang up the dress? It was perfect!

We carried the Noodler basket to the booksigning, bought our own tickets (but didn't win) and shopped. I got as far as Cindy Gerard (To the Brink!) before I had to meet with ESK again for a one on one.

More revisions. I didn't cry.

Then we walked around the booksigning, but the line was tremendous, and I didn't get to see as many people as I wanted.

After ESK and I parted ways for the evening, I found a good friend outside in the lobby and decompressed for awhile before going up to the bar for a meeting with the 2006 finalists. Then Anne Mallory and I met up and joined the Noodlers for karaoke at GIlbert's.

Y'all, that was SO MUCH FUN! Some people there were SO GOOD that it was like being at a concert. There was a guy who sang an Elton John song who should totally go on American Idol. I sang the Shoop Shoop song with Esri and Priscilla, and Colleen and I sang Love Shack with some of the guys who were there who DIDN'T know the song! And all the Noodlers sang Addicted to Love! I didn't get back to the room till 1:30 and couldn't sleep till 5:30.







This is John. He was a cutie.



Esri dancing on a chair.



Priscilla looking gorgeous.



Esri and Colleen.

820 miles.

15 hours.

5 hours of rain.

$90 in gas so far.

$50 in food, counting coffee.

3 more hours tomorrow, free breakfast, one lost hour as we cross the date line.

Don't know if I'll be able to check in from Atlanta.

I finished reading Dressed to Keel - it was AWESOME! Will write a review when I get home. I planned to write one tonight, but am quite tired.

EDITED TO ADD:

There were NO STARBUCKS on the highway from Houston to Hattiesburg. We ended up at a CC's coffeehouse in Covington, and it was okay. But we developed some indicators to see if it was likely a Starbucks would be at a certain exit.

If a Starbucks was likely, you might see:

a book store
an office supply store
Chili's
Lowe's
Target
Outback

If you shouldn't even bother looking, you'd see:

a flea market
buildings made of sheet metal
farm equipment sales
Stuckey's
Waffle House

I hope we can find a Starbucks in Birmingham!

Elizabeth tagged me, and believe me, I’m grateful for the topic ;)

1. When did you first start blogging and why?

Last year because Trish said it was fun and not too time consuming. And really, it isn’t except that then I want to go read everyone else’s blog! I love personalizing my blog and posting pictures!

2. What don't you talk about?

I try to be positive, so I don’t write bad book reviews (movies are different) and I try not to go into politics or religion. I don’t know how I’d handle a flamewar!

3. Are you and your blogging persona the same person?

Frighteningly so. Although I’m funnier here than in real life.

4. How do you use blogging to build friendships?

I’ve gotten to know people from eHQ so much better

5. How would you describe your writing style?

On the blog, I guess this means. I try to be honest about what I’m dealing with, and I try to slant it with humor.

I tag Toni, Colleen, Michele, Stacy and Tori.

I don't know if you've seen this, but some people will be blogging about National during National. At $13 a day for Internet connection, this is dedication.

Blogging National

i have to color my hair and do my nails today. The dh and ds aren't even packed. Sigh.

I guess y'all know Trish and I are giving a workshop Friday morning on how to be a successful unpublished writer. Well, I guess I'm more anxious about it than I thought. Last night I dreamed we gave the workshop on The Tonight Show, and I was only able to give one segment of mine, and I was pacing back and forth the entire time, and all my notes were RAMBLING. When I saw a tape of the show I couldn't get over how squeaky my voice was!

Then Oprah had an event in the lobby with a booksigning and what all and she and Jay were asking us when our books were coming out and we had to explain the unpublished bit. (Oprah did say if we weren't published by such-and-such a date, she'd take care of it.) Then Oprah invited us to do her show in conjunction with the booksigning, only she also had a faith healer scheduled and the line of people waiting to see him was long, so it was like, 10:30 and Trish and I hadn't started, and I kept thinking, I'll never get through my bit.

There was one lady in the Oprah audience that was snotty, but most were romance writers, including Dr. Deb and Pam Morsi!

ARGH!

I'm mostly packed. Bathing suit, underwear, yoga pants, t-shirts to sleep in, shoes. I'm borrowing a garment bag from my mom and wondering how many garments I can actually fit IN it. See, I'm travelling in a Scion XB, which, while great on gas, is not so roomy. So I have teensy luggage. Which means I need more pieces. As of now, I have my conference clothes in tiny suitcase, shoes and underwear (including tummy holder-inners) in my Bombshell duffel bag (which is usually much roomier.) All paperwork is in my Harlequin tote. Need to go get the garment bag, and the dh and ds need to pack their clothes in dh's Marlboro duffel bag (we have a thing for free luggage apparently.)

My slacks, Wednesday dress, Friday skirt and Saturday night dress are not packed.

I will pack my make up after I wear some tomorrow. I think I can fit it in my Harlequin tote.

And I need to leave room for the books and t-shirts I'll be getting.

And I've decided I hate my purse. Too late to get a new one.

I have shoes and jewelry to match each outfit.

I just remembered to get my nail polish and pack it.

Need dh to try on his suit and fix my charm bracelet.

And I'm obsessing about what book to take to read on the trip. I mean, I'll have a plethora of books to choose from after Wednesday, but Tuesday....Candy's book is nice and slim. If I don't finish it before Tuesday, that will be good. Otherwise, maybe a Desire or something.

What are you obsessing about?

So I’m listening to Ain’t She Sweet on MP3. I’m about half way through and I’m not seeing much in the romance. See, Sugar Beth was a Mean Girl in high school. Life knocked her down to size and now she’s had to return to the town and the people she treated so poorly, including her former English teacher, Colin, who has made it big as a writer and now lives in her family home.

SEP has made Sugar Beth sympathetic, but not Colin. See, Sugar Beth did something terrible to Colin, and he’s out for revenge. He gets it, but when she doesn’t crack under his retribution, he finds admiration for her.

What is fascinating about this book is that these characters are Not Nice. But hey, I can’t WAIT to go for my walk or get in my car so I can hear more!

In the book I’m sorta writing, Alex’s story, Breaking Daylight (thanks, Stacy!), I want these characters to be bad. Right now I think I’m too worried about making them sympathetic. But I need Alex to be cold blooded, all about being a Ranger, especially when it comes to this woman, in whom he sees his past. And I need Isabella to be manipulative. The only way she knows how to relate to a man is sexually. Of course, thus far in the story, she hasn’t had much interaction with Alex, other than him rescuing her from the jungle, pulling her from a burning car and carrying her down the side of a mountain. (In 40 pages…)

How do I make them bad without alienating the reader from them?

I can't believe I forgot to blog today! I went to breakfast with Mom, we went shopping at Garden Ridge, then Super WalMart, where I spent $130 on last minute stuff like dog food and nail polish remover and those clear bra straps and bathing suits for the boys. I would still like to get some lip gloss. I so don't know what to get.

I came home and crashed, then went to get my eyebrows done. When I was done with that (I'm not crazy about them, I wanted more Jennifer Aniston brows, but I don't have a lot to play with) I thought my hair was too lank, so I got some more layers. Then I came home, fretted for TWENTY MINUTES over what to wear to my chapter meeting, then left around 5:30. It was a new restaurant, and they didn't have a system for credit cards, so I didn't get out of there till NINE THIRTY.

We're also thinking about getting a new laptop. My dh has an original iBook. It is dying. The Apple Store has an offer for teachers where you could get a Nano and a printer with the purchase of a Mac Book. It's really tempting, but just before vacation....Hard decision.

To the Brink was a novel written just for me. Former Special Ops soldier has to rescue his ex-wife when she’s taken hostage by terrorists in the Philippines. The story starts five years after their divorce when she makes a frantic phone call then disappears. Then it flashes back 8 years earlier when they first met and just became enraptured of each other. The sexual tension in the flashbacks was through the roof, and the use of flashbacks heightened the tension and prolonged the suspense of what was happening to Darcy (the heroine) while Ethan (the hero) is planning to get to her.

What I loved about this book, other than the plot, was Ethan’s torment. He’s a Special Ops guy, it’s what he’s trained to do, but he feels it making him less than human, and that all comes to a head during one of the flashbacks. VERY powerfully done.

I also loved the secondary romance. The vulnerability of the woman, the tenderness of the man.

And the action scenes rocked!

I read To the Limit and enjoyed it, but I loved this one. I’ve got to go back and read To the Edge, and I think a new one came out last month. Maybe I’ll wait to get them in Atlanta.
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I pulled out Pride's Fall yesterday, my single mom story. I think it could be fixed. Of course, the discs it's on were for my XT, a million years ago, so I'll have to completely retype it, but I really liked it!

Here's my blurb for Alex. Can anyone think of a title??

When woman-wary Ranger Chief Alex Shepard leads a team against a suspected terrorist’s compound in Central America, he comes up empty-handed, except for the sexy as hell woman who begs for his help, and wields a secret to make sure she gets it. Isabella Canales must get to her son in the United States, but she has to convince the handsome Ranger he can trust her – when he trusts no one else.

Here's my spreadsheet for National - colorful, isn't it??

Donna asked this question last week on her blog – what have you learned from your manuscripts?


I have 17. This goes back pretty far, so I’m not going into great detail. Plus, I haven’t gone for my walk yet – my dh is going to work later and later these days and really messing up my schedule.

My first book was Gold Badges, Gold Bands (SUCKY title). It was about 2 estranged police detectives with about a billion children.

I learned that you had to have an overarching goal for the whole story because it read like a season of Law and Order, very episodic. Ironically, the hero was based on Logan. Go figure. I would read the police blotter and think, wow, that would be interesting, and into the story it went. Yes, it was a pain to synopsize.

I learned you can have too many kids in a book.

I learned that even when you get the story idea from a dream, it won’t come out that way.

I learned that you can take the same characters and put them in a better story down the road (Second Chances, also a sucky title in that it’s WAY overused.)

My second book had about a hundred million titles, the latest being The Simple Life. If I ever resurrect that one, new title for sure. This baby took me about a billion years to write. Okay, a year and a half. I had three heroines and three heroes. The book was 600 pages.

I learned how to cut off the first 14 pages of a book to get to where the story started.

I learned you had to have a conflict between the main characters, deeper than “I can’t marry you. I have to run the family farm.” Luke was a George Bailey character who looked like a younger Vince Vaughn.

I learned how to write a darn good epilogue. I love that story for that alone.

I learned Mira DID request books from new authors – they had it 14 months before rejecting it.

And I learned I was a pretty good writer – Lauren McKenna said so in a critique.

I don’t even think I titled my next book. It was about two adults whose parents were getting married and the two of them hooked up. They were worried about the effect that would have on their parents’ relationship, but it wasn’t much of a conflict since the hero was in the Navy anyway. All I really remember about that was that it was really short – I don’t think I even typed it – and that they married in Venice. I think I learned I needed some instant gratification after writing that big ol’ 600 pager.

The next one was about a basketball player and a woman color commentator. She was slightly older, more professional, and he rocked her world. I don’t remember the conflict in that one at all, but it was fun. Complete fantasy.

Then I had one that finalled in a contest – Earth and Heaven was about a Jewish man and a Gentile girl, but that wasn’t the main conflict. She was diabetic and hid the fact from everyone and his wife had died after a long disease and he didn’t want to deal with someone who was sick. I always liked that conflict. He was a single dad, too. I learned a lot about Judaism. I don’t know why he had to be Jewish! It finalled in the He Said, She Said contest.

I’ve been calling the next one The Zoo Story so long, I don’t remember what it really was titled. I learned the most, probably, from this.

I learned writing short did not a Temptation make.

I learned more than you EVER wanted to know about rhinos mating.

I learned how not to write a love triangle (the hero was engaged and just a complete wimp about it).

I learned you can have several different incarnations of the same story. I had one version where the h/h had a past. I had another version where they were just meeting. I don’t remember the others, but there were a lot.

This one took me a long time, too, so my next book, Pride’s Fall, was short. It was about a teenaged single mom trying to keep her family together. She and her mother worked low wage jobs, she tried to go to school and take care of her baby, and her younger sister wanted a coming out party. I drew a lot on my experience working in a low income part of town for this book which I thought was pretty good, but not much of a romance. Plus it was my first sweet book. My heroine was so wary of the hero, her baby’s uncle, that I couldn’t see them indulging.

I also learned the power of music in getting you into a story. My son was little so I would write out back on the patio with the boom box sitting there and I would listen to the same two CDs over and over.

Devil in Disguise was my first attempt at romantic suspense. It stunk. I did get a request from Susan Litman on it, though, and she sent me a detailed R, and requested to see more of my stuff.

Hot Shot I wrote for me. Cindi Myers was in my chapter in those days, and had just moved to CO. She was talking about the fires and how heroic the wildland firefighters were. I dove right in. I did tons of research. (It was the summer of 2000, I think. I had so much company that year because we’d just moved into this house.) Everywhere I’d go, I’d take my research with me.

This was another one that had several incarnations. Originally, the heroine was supposed to work for a politician out inspecting the fires, only from my research, I couldn’t tell how to get her up on the mountain, and that was where the excitement was. So I changed her to a reporter, which I didn’t want to do. Then I had to change it so she had her fire card. Then I had to change it for something else. I’m still changing it!

Gabe was my first alpha hero. That was hard to do, too.

And this was the first book I had contest success with. I would enter it in a contest, get the feedback, change it, enter, feedback, change. It only took me a dozen or so ;) before I finalled. But once it won Where the Magic Begins, I figured it was ready for the GH. It was.

True to form, I wrote another shorty, Where There’s Smoke, after Hot Shot. I call it my little fireman story. He’s a firefighter, but you don’t see him doing much in the way of firefighting. He’s too busy falling in love with his best friend. What did I learn from this one?

Well, I got my first revision letter on this one.

I learned that when an editor leaves a house, you need to inquire to see what happens to your stuff, because after two rounds of revisions, I got a form rejection from the editor who took the requesting editor’s place. Thank goodness for my relationship with Susan, because I wrote her and explained. She looked at it, asked for more revisions, but ultimately rejected it.

Next I rewrote Gold Badges as Second Chances. It turned out pretty dark. I’m going to rewrite it again someday, I think. It tore me up to write about a couple who lost their only child. I did like that first chapter quite a bit. And I learned a lot about police procedure during a kidnapping.

I was riveted with the rest of the country with Elizabeth Smart disappeared and was found alive. I couldn’t stop wondering what kind of young woman she’d become. So I wrote an RS about a woman who endured that and grows up, trying to be her own person, only to be drawn back in when one of her students is kidnapped. I learned I’m not very good at laying clues ;)

Then I wrote Vanished, my first RS without a cop character. This is the book I took to critique group this week. I learned it’s boring ;) Again, my story doesn’t start till chapter three. Only this time, it’s going to be a lot harder to filter in all the stuff in the first two chapters. I learned I can set a book aside when another one calls.

My next book was from a dream, too. Beneath the Surface is about two estranged archaeologists – Twister meets…some archaeology movie. Not Indiana Jones, because he doesn’t dive. I learned like to write about estranged couples. I learned I don’t like to write secondary characters. I learned a lot about diving. I learned I want to write more archaeology stories.

The last book I completed was Don’t Look Back. I learned loving what you’re writing shows. I learned a lot about Africa. I learned I can go pretty dark. I learned I can do a wounded hero pretty well. I still don’t like writing secondary characters.

Now, Alex’s story. (I REALLY need a title before next week!) I started writing a scene last night that I was going to just insert into the stuff I’d already written, but it ended up changing the course of the story in a good way. Much more romancey. I’m very excited.

Now, to walk, and then to go into my office and get to work!

Okay, I leave for Atlanta in a week and a day. I’ve been trying not to think about it, because as much as I’m looking forward to it, it means my summer is almost over. But now is time to buckle down.

In my spare bedroom, I have outfits strewn all over the bed. I figure I need:

1) An outfit to meet my agent in on Wednesday. I’m thinking I can wear the same outfit on Thursday, to save room in my teeny suitcase, which fits in my teeny car. I have this gorgeous Liz Claiborne dress I bought two years ago, that I’ve only worn once. I can’t wear it to school, so I’m thinking it would be good.

2) My WNP shirt and a pair of capris or jeans to wear to the booksigning. I can wear the same to the WNP get-together on Thursday afternoon. Anyone else bringing jeans?

3) An outfit for The Golden Network reception – the outfit I bought two years ago no longer fits. I have some nice dress palazzo pants and a grey velvet shell. Do you think that will work?

4) An outfit for Friday, during which I do my workshop and the Golden Heart reception. I was planning on my turquoise peasant skirt and matching beaded blouse, but it may be too casual. I have a pretty black skirt with pink ribbon around the hem, but the shoes I have for that are excruciating, or will be if I wear them for 6 hours. I may save that outfit for Saturday. What do you think of the turquoise? Maybe if I find dressier shoes….

5) An outfit for Saturday, which includes my editor appt. and rehearsal for the GH. Okay, black and pink skirt here, maybe. I would only have to wear the shoes for a couple of hours, and none of those standing on my feet trying to be brilliant. I have to see if I can find a pink shell…

6) My GH outfit, for which I just bought the necklace and earrings.

Mind you, I have, other than the above-mentioned, three outfits lain out on the bed.

Okay, on top of packing, this week I have to

1) color my hair
2) get my eyebrows done
3) get the boy some shoes and his dad some pants
4) take change jar to the bank (hey, it’s full, and it could buy me some t-shirts at Midnight Madness)
5) work on a fake tan
6) whiten teeth
7) pick up clothes from cleaners
8) do nails
9) get a bra!!
10) get dog and cat food for the animals left behind (my mom will check on them and water my plants)
11) microdermabrasion – one of those home kits
12) laundry
13) grocery shopping
14) oh yeah – GET READY for workshop!! I’ve broken it down into two subgroups a day. That’s manageable, right?


I’m sure there’s more I’m missing.

What do you have to do to get ready?

I’m bleary eyed this week and it’s all Paula’s fault. I read Forbidden Territory in 2 days. I would have read it in one, but I had a birthday party to plan and clean for.



Forbidden Territory is a story of a reluctant psychic and a cynical cop looking for a missing child. Remember how earlier this week I was talking about storylines that are familiar? Well, Paula took this baby and made it her own.

The heroine, Lily Browning, is a third grade teacher. (No wonder I liked it, huh?) She and her sisters have gifts (one of the other sisters has the gift that I was going to write a story about) but Lily closes the door on hers, which causes terrible migraines. She’s just shut the door on a psychic vision and is suffering when she learns one of the students from her school, the daughter of a candidate for senator, is missing. The detective investigating it, McBride – his first name is revealed in a fun little Rumplestiltskin conversation – is such a wounded hero and he’s really skeptical of what Lily tells him she knows about the little girl.

I don’t want to give too much away, but you get glimpses of the reason behind the pain that makes McBride so jaded, and it’s heart wrenching. And Lily is so drawn to help, to rescue this child no matter the danger to her. The scene in the school creeped me out, of course. The tension in the story is high, the pacing tight and the twists unexpected. I can’t wait to read the other sisters’ stories!