Alpha Guys
I'm halfway thru Christine Feehan's
Dark Prince and the hero is your ultimate alpha male. Reminds me of the heroes in Harlequin Presents novels. He's dark, mysterious and thinks he knows what's best for his woman. How come alpha men are so popular in romances? Do we really want a man who tells us what to do? Or is it the idea that a man that tough could be tamed by a woman? Or our natural instinct to gravitate to a man who can protect us and keep us safe? I like my alpha heroes, but when he starts telling a 21st century woman she shouldn't wear jeans because they are man's clothes, I kinda want to shove his head in a bucket of water and tell him to get with the times. I think I like moderate alphas: kick some butt, keep me safe, but don't you dare try to order me around.
Pacing Problems
No, I'm not talking about sagging middles or books that are great for combating insomnia. I'm talking about the l-o-n-g stretch between the day you being writing on page one and the day you throw up your arms and run around the house screaming with joy because you have finally finished the book from hell (all books are books from hell at some point in the writing process).
Yep, I made a tactical error yesterday.
I'm writing a new story. 85-95k words. It's going to take me a while. I must pace myself.
Did I? No.
I've been writing my butt off for the last week. It's going well, I'm having a blast, I write more. Then yesterday, I blew it. I was on the road all day, didn't get home until after five in the afternoon. What did I do? I decided I would still make my daily quota (un, hello? My daily quota requires me starting to write by 8am!). Wrote my butt off until late, late, late. Couldn't form a coherent thought anymore, but I made my quota. Decided I was a goddess and worshipped myself for a while. Went to bed being very impressed with my discipline.
Work up this morning completely fried. My brain is totally useless. I've written about a third of my daily quota and I'm giving up. I still have two hundred and fifty pages left to write. I can't crash and burn this early!
I know better. I know I can't go this hard at the beginning of a book, but I did it anyway. Sigh.
So I'm now taking the rest of the day off guilt free. Read the new Christine Feehan vampire book. Eat some food. Ride the stationary bike. Play some ping pong. Refresh and rejuvenate. Lesson learned.
Until next time. Sigh.
My 96 year old fan
Wow. I had an amazing note in my mailbox today! It was a hand written letter from my 96 year old grandmother. My mom had given her a copy of my latest teen book so she could brag to her friends. Well, according to her note, she sat down to read the first page or two so she could get an idea about what it was about, and then didn't move until she'd read the entire thing in one sitting!!! She said the most complimentary things about my story, which is sooo cool. She was rather shocked by some of my other stuff ("What is up with all these women who are so concerned with careers? What woman cares about a career so much?") and had let me know that she was waiting for me to shift my focus and write something that was actually meaningful and had some value. To have her rave about this book after all those other comments totally blew me away! Wow! She was my toughest critic and she's come over to my side! Totally an amazing feeling. And she's not even my target audience (by about 80-85 years!). But, lest you think my teen books are a bit errant on who they appeal to, I have also gotten some really cool emails from teens letting me know they loved this latest book. PHEW! So anyway, I just had to share. Sometimes one little note from a reader can just blow me away. Today, it was the one from my grandmother.
Friends Rock
I had a call today from a good friend of mine. She was totally pumped becuase she got some good news on a submission she has out there. It wasn't a sale, but it was pretty darn close. And you know what? I couldn't stop grinning all day. I know how hard she has been working and I want her to get the call so badly I can barely stand it. I think that's the coolest thing in the world, when you have such good friends that their happiness makes you so pumped you could explode.
America's Sexiest Plumber
American Standard held a nationwide contest for the country's sexiest plumber. All the finalists were men, except one woman. And the woman won! Obviously, there weren't enough heterosexual women surfing the 'net for sexy plumbers they could vote for. On the other hand, as a woman, I'm always glad to see another woman dominate in a male profession, so that's good. Check out the finalists at the link below to see whether you agree or disagree with America's vote for sexiest plumber.
http://www.americanstandard-us.com/buy/promotions/SexiestPlumber/others.asp
Brandon gets my vote for America's sexiest plumber. Well, he would have if I'd actually voted. So it's my fault he didn't win. How can I complain about the results if I don't vote? I'm such a hypocrite. Sigh.
Good to Great
Today after my yoga class, the instructor read a quote by Kenny Rogers that said something to the effect of "Sometimes you have to forego the Good to get a chance at the Great."
That's my motto for the day. I had a particularly bad rejection this week that was kind of a bummer, but I'm refusing to get down about it. Why? Because I know that better opportunities are out there waiting for me. This one was a good opportunity, but somewhere out there, right around the corner, is something great. And if I was bogged down with this "good" opportunity, then I wouldn't be available for the "great" when it came around.
Of course, I don't know yet what that "great" opportunity is, but I believe that everything happens for a reason and soon I will know why this had to happen the way it did. And when it does, I'll post it here! And then I will go out and celebrate!!!
We did get some interest from Hollywood on one of my YA's that we haven't even submitted to publishers yet... I think a deal for a TV series would count as "great" don't you? The odds of it coming through are infinitesimal at best, but you never know... Something is in the works out there... something Great!
If you could know the future, would you?
Here I sit. My fingernails chewed to the bone (well, metaphorically. I don't actually bite my fingernails). My cell phone clipped to my waist so I don't miss a call. My email always on so I don't miss an email. My brain unable to function because I'm waiting.... and waiting... and waiting... for news. I have several proposals on the cusp of selling... will they sell? The wait is TORTURING ME! I want to know!!!
Or do I?
If I could look into the future to know what will happen next week or the week after, would I want to know? My gut says "OF COURSE I WOULD!" But if I knew those proposals would sell, would I sit on my arse all this week and do nothing? But because I don't know, I'm busting my butt on my next project, determined to do better so that if the ones out there don't sell, the next ones will. And because of that, I'm improving my writing, which is a very important thing. So... would I want to know?
Not sure. I mean Yes! I mean No. I mean... I don't know! Yeah, I know it doesn't actually matter because it's not like I can actually read the future if I want to, but when you read enough paranormal, it seems plausible enough.
What are you wondering about happening in your future? What college you'll get into? Whether a particular hottie will notice how amazing you are and pledge his undying love? Would you want to know ahead of time how it will all work out, or is the unknown and the torture and the journey a good thing?
