Cover Art

Here is my new cover art for Just Another Rainy Day. Seeing as the heroine wakes up handcuffed to her bed I felt this cover was fitting. Yesterday I finished edits on this so hopefully I’ll have a release date soon! :o)
Even though I was deathly sick for four days I was super busy. I finished rounds two and three on All or Nothing. That book finally went to finals. YAY!
I wrote my query letter to the agent I’m meeting with at NECRWA, along with sending off the first 10 pages of my contemporary.
Now I’m waiting not so patiently to hear back on two submissions. One has been out for a month, the other only a week and a half. It doesn’t stop me from checking email compulsively. Lol
Time to do some writing!
Happy Wednesday.

Happily Editing

Yesterday I picked up my manuscript I’ll be pitching to an agent in April at the RWA NEC conference. To be honest I haven’t looked at this book in almost two years. I did read/edit six pages a few weeks ago, but my heart wasn’t in it, so I put it aside.
Yesterday was different. I’m in a different mindset. I got through the first ten pages required for the agent. As I’ve mentioned before the agent will read these pages prior to the meeting. So I have to sit down and write the synopsis and a query letter to grab her attention and make her want more. What I found is I really LOVE this book. I’m excited about editing the rest and getting it ready for my agent appointment. And hey, if she isn’t interested I’m sure I can find a publisher who will want to buy it.
So while I await second round edits for All or Nothing and first round for Just Another Rainy Day I’ll be working hard on this non-erotic book. :o)
Happy Wednesday!

First Round Edits Are Done

Whew! They were intense, but I must admit my editor had some great suggestions and I feel the story is MUCH stronger. I’m not sure what round two will bring but I’m sure they won’t be as intense. LOL
Not only are edits complete for now – it’s Friday. My kids are all in NY for the weekend for a family event so I get the house and DH to myself. Woo Hoo. We don’t get that often. Not sure what we’ll do but it doesn’t matter. It will be quiet in the house.
I want to give a big shout out to Katalina Leon who gave me some brilliant ideas to move Chasing Forever forward. This story was rejected – with a revision letter. I’ve been mulling it around for a few weeks, bouncing ideas off Kat. She made it all come together. It’s nice to have someone who lives on the West coast and knows a thing or two about surfing. :o) Love ya Kat!
I can’t wait to go back to writing this story.
Happy Friday!

Edits, Edits and More Edits

Saturday edits for All or Nothing arrived. Sunday edits for Love Revisited arrived. I’ll bet you can’t guess what I’m doing! :-P One book is long. One is very short – 10 pages
Mother Nature obviously thought it would be neat to trick us with two days of warm weather and then turn the heat off completely. The weekend turned bitter cold with temperatures dipping into the negatives. I didn’t find her sense of humor very funny.
Over the weekend we went to dinner and a movie with my brother and sister in law. We saw No Strings Attached. Save your money. Not worth paying for. It was okay. Personally, I’d wait until it’s on television for free.
The kids are on winter vacation – woo hoo. I’ve heard I’m bored more times than I prefer. I warned her if she continued to tell me how bored she was I’d wrap her in duct tape. She finally went to hang with her friend.
It’s going to be a long week with edits and school out.
Happy Monday!

Cha-Cha-Changes

Today is all about making changes. I received the first chapter back from my editor for All or Nothing. They’d like me to clear up a few things. That will be first on my list.
The second is Chasing Forever. When I received the rejection/revision letter I thought about ways to enhance the story to the editor’s suggestions. I’ve finally come to terms with how I want to address them…needless to say I’ll be working on that too.
Tomorrow is my local chapter’s writer meeting. I’m really looking forward to seeing the group. Afterward we’re headed to an overnight retreat. I won’t be staying overnight. Too much hotel living for me last weekend, but I’ll hang out long enough to have fun and do some brainstorming.
Super Bowl Sunday this weekend. Not that I care. I’m not a fan of either team. But we’ll still enjoy some good food. It’s all about the food to me. :o)
Hope everyone has a fun weekend!

TGIF

It’s Friday and I can’t be happier. It’s been a busy week at work and I need the three days off to get caught up on some writing.
The stress is coming out in my dreams. Last night I had a dream the DH and I were in bed SLEEPING. It was morning and Brian Austin Green jumped in between us. I immediately jumped out and panicked because in my dream I couldn’t have sex. Also the DH climbed out because he was sick and didn’t want to infect anyone. I know for certain the idea of being with a man doesn’t appeal to him.
Why am I dreaming of a threesome? It’s not my sexual preference and then why with an actor? Not my thing either. That’s just one example of my crazy dreams lately.
Whenever I share them with my DH or kids they just shake their heads. I’m sure they’re thinking WTF. I’m thinking it too! Most are creepy and scary. I’m to the point where I don’t want to sleep. My dreams are freakin’ me out.
Why am I sharing this? I have no idea. LOL Maybe someone will have some insight to why I’m having these dreams.
My editor returned All or Nothing asking for a few SMALL alterations before she sends it off to the powers that be. All were in the first ten pages, so I sent back bright and early.
Now I need to finish Love Revisited. UGH! I wish I could clone myself.
Have a great weekend!

Snow Day

Today I’m chatting over at Love Romances Café from 1-3pm EST. if you’re around drop in and share some excerpts or just say hello. It’s my first chat of this year. I’ve decided it’s time to put myself out there even a little bit. So this year I’ll have one a quarter at LRC.
The schools are closed again today to give the state more time to clear the roads. I took advantage of the snow day and slept until almost 7:30. Late for me. :o) It felt good though. Truthfully, I’m ready to climb back into bed. Too much to do.
I forgot to fill out my cover art request for All or Nothing, so I’ll be doing that today. I have a short I’m writing that has a 2/1 deadline, so I need to work on that today too. Let’s not forget the day job – which will be full of conference calls. Looking forward to the long weekend.
Off to check things off my to do list!
Happy Thursday!

And So It Begins

It’s Monday again. The start of another work week. This weekend I spent quietly for the most part. I did go to my writer’s meeting and mingled with writers. A much needed time for this lonely profession.
I worked hard on two wips and made great headway. I can see the end in sight for both.
I got this funny clip from one of my loops and thought I’d share it with you today.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAG39jKi0lI
Today I must get the proper paperwork filled out for my contracted story All or Nothing. I sent Chasing Forever off to a new publishing house last Friday. This week I’m working hard on editing my Contemporary Romance for my agent/editor appointments.
The NEC conference is offering a great deal. If you signed up early you could send the agent and/or editor of your choice 10 pages of your manuscript for them to read prior to your appointment. In my opinion this is awesome. It will make the time spent with the agent/editor go smoother. At least I hope!
Hope you have a Happy Monday!

Rock and Rolling!

Yesterday got away from me. I was lost in edits and didn’t come up for air much. When I finally finished close to five I figured I’d skip blogging. I’d missed most of the day already, anyway.
All or Nothing is off to my editor. This one is already contracted so I don’t have to bite my nails wondering if I’ll get a contract. I have to worry they’ll think it sucks! lol
Today I’ll be working on Chasing Forever. Once I finish editing that I’ll be getting things ready for taxes. Time to gather all the paperwork so that when it comes time we’re ready. There’s a lot to do. I always swear I’ll do it quarterly so that when January rolls around it isn’t so bad, but I never do. That’s where the procrastinator in me, comes in to play. Drives me nuts! And the DH. LOL
Snow is being predicted here in the Northeast. Go figure, right. Winter + Northeast = Lots of snow. I have four wheel drive and where I come from in Upstate New York, snowstorms are a fact of life. Twenty-six inches of snow fell one Christmas night and I had to drive to work the next day. At that time I didn’t have four wheel drive. I’m game for anything! Okay, maybe I’m a tad crazy too. As long as I don’t have to shovel it I’m great.
I’m hoping they don’t cancel my writer’s meeting. I need to get out of the house and be around other writers. I always come home refreshed and ready to go
Other than that I plan to finish my current wip by next Friday and have it off to my EC editor. I can’t believe it’s been almost six months since I submitted anything to her. I can’t let that much time go by! I guess if I’m stuck in the house it will give me more time for writing.
How about you? Anything fun planned for the weekend?

Production!

That’s the name of the game for me this week. I have a lot of catching up to do and this is the week. I’ve managed to get the non fiction article written and will send that off to the editor in a few days. I want to let it sit so I can make sure there aren’t any mistakes.
I’m back to writing. I started a new book, tentatively titled Just Another Rainy Day. It’s about a husband and wife who enjoy a playful rainy day while the children are away. I’m planning to submit this to EC by the end of the month for their Exotika line. Bondage and submission will be the theme of the day here!
I’m knee-deep in edits for All or Nothing my Loose Id contracted book. After that I have one other story to edit for a new to me publishing house. I wrote the story after being approached by a good friend to contribute to a series. More details on that as they progress.
So a busy day awaits me.

Happy Tuesday!

New Work Week

It seems like forever since I blogged, when in reality it was only Friday. The weekend went by fast, but we did a lot. T, spent Friday night with us. We took her to dinner and that didn’t go well. She’s normally a well-behaved 18 month old child in restaurants, but we took her later than usually. It was nearing her bedtime and let’s just say when she’s tired she’s out of control. LOL she refused to sit in her highchair. She didn’t want to sit on grandma’s lap. She wanted to run, run, run.
I decided to take her to the lobby while the DH paid for dinner. Three women were waiting for their table so T walks over and flashes one of her brilliant smiles. They adore her so she offers her hand for a high five! Now she has their attention. All three women graciously amuse her and high five her back. Then she spots a little boy sitting on his mom’s lap. Well, let’s just say, she wanted him to hang with her. She walked right up to his face and waved. Then she motioned him to come on…the father said, hey bud, I think you’ve gotten your first dinner invitation.
The rest of the weekend went by in a blur. My son spent the day yesterday doing laundry. No washer or dryer at the new place. I was thrilled because my mom gave me an IPod for my birthday. Thankfully my son and I listen to the same hard rock music. I filled my IPod with lots of music for when I’m on the treadmill. I’ve wanted an IPod for a long time, but it’s one of those things that I just wouldn’t spend the money on. I’m weird when it comes to toys. I’ll buy them for everyone else, except myself.
This week is a short work week. Only three days. YAY.
I managed to get in 1k today – YAY again.
Monday is looking up.

Happy Monday!

Migraines from Hell

From Sunday until sometime Monday I suffered from a cluster of migraines. They’d only go away temporarily. Anyone who suffers from them knows how debilitating they can be. Not only that they wear you out. I couldn’t think straight. So far today I’m doing good. I’m hoping to keep them at bay; I’d like to get some writing done.
I’m the proud winner of Natalie Dae’s blog makeover. I’m going through all the different designs to see what I’d like for my new look. I’m very excited and thrilled to win.
In other news I interviewed fellow Noble Romance author, Nichelle Gregory over at A Pinch of Romance. Drop in and show her some love if you get a chance.
Need to get working on All or Nothing. I’ve left my poor heroine shackled to the bed before tortured with a feather. She’s probably cursing me right about now. LOL
Happy Tuesday!

I Have Performance Anxiety

It’s November!
Yesterday we went to the Patriots game. What a game. Brett Farve was taken out on a stretcher and I was disappointed with the Pats fans who booed him. He was hurt. If he left on his own accord that’s one thing, but seriously. He had to get 8 or 10 stitches. The stories are conflicting. Either way it didn’t make it right to boo the man.
I wore layers and still froze my butt off. I’m not a cold weather person, so next time the family has tickets I’ll likely pass. Give me a hot summer day at a baseball field instead.
I’ll be working on my newsletter today. I’m having 2 contests this month. One in celebration of my birthday and one for my Cougar Challenge release – Gettin’ Lucky. You have to be a subscriber to win so sign up to the left to find out how!
In writing news – I signed a new contract with Loose Id for a story called All or Nothing. I’m very excited because I received the contract based on the synopsis and first chapter. This is a writing FIRST for me. I’ve always had to write the story upfront. So this is where the performance anxiety comes in. Now I have to WRITE the book! LOL I’ll be busy typing away this month.
Off to do some of that writing!

Happy Monday!