Happy Veterans' Day, and Happy Weekend

"Without affection and kindly feeling life can hold no joys."
(Cicero)

It's true.

I'm going out of town for the weekend to visit family and a dear friend from grade school that I haven't seen in a couple of years. Should be nice.

Then it's back to the computer, back to the thrilling and overwhelming experience of editing my newly accepted story and starting to work on marketing too.

Scary!

Have a good one - and make sure to thank a veteran today. So much sacrifice over the years, and many times we forget how much we benefit from it...

Overwhelmed

"Swoon. I'll catch you."
(from The English Patient)

Ah...I loved this movie, too, even though Ralph Fiennes does spend the majority of it wrapped up in bandages. Who wouldn't want to hear those words? Who wouldn't want to know that someone is standing right beside you, right behind you, with arms outstretched? I'll say it again: ah...

OK, having celebrated for 24 hours or so, after hearing that my story Paradise, USA, was accepted for online publication at Virtual Tales, I have officially moved into the overwhelmed stage.

Maybe this is due to the 5 emails I received today from the people at VT, diving right into the gritty details of contracts and editors and cover art and marketing and...

What's the famous saying? Be careful what you wish for? Because if publication is the goal, it really and truly does leave you less time for the actual writing part. Hmm...

Not that I'm complaining, but it's just interesting to see how much of a business it really is.

Good News

"I love that you get cold when it's seventy degrees out. I love that it takes you an hour and a half to order a sandwich. I love that you get that little crinkle above your nose when you're looking at me like I'm nuts. I love that after I spend a day with you I can still smell your perfume on my clothes, and I love that you are the last person I want to talk to before I go to sleep at night...I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible."
(from "When Harry Met Sally")

Ah...who doesn't swoon over the moment when Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan finally figure out they are meant to be together?? This remains one of my favorite movies; I'm not sure why. I know some of the lines are funny enough to make me laugh out loud, and I know I love the actors and actresses who star in it. Maybe it's just that it's so real. The characters don't fall in love at first sight. They even date (and marry) other people. But they finally discover that there is someone out there you are meant to be with, someone who is your friend and your lover and the perfect match for you despite all your flaws and despite all his. I love it.

In other news, I got word today from Virtual Tales that they are going to publish my short novel, Paradise USA (it's been through 2 or 3 other titles), in serial format.

Exciting!

So it's not print. And it's not exactly full-length ebook either. But hey, it's publication nonetheless, and at least a first step to getting my name out there.

So I guess I have some work to do...starting with that 8 page contract I now have to read!

Quotable Quotes

"I would like to be the air that inhabits you for a moment only. I would like to be that unnoticed and that necessary."
From "Variation on the Word Sleep" by Margaret Atwood


I love quotes. I really do. I love when an author just knocks me over with a combination of words that takes my breath away. So in honor of all the terrific quotes out there, especially the ones from romantic books and movies that make us as readers or viewers want to swoon, I'm going to feature some of my favorites over the next few days. Feel free to jump in, of course, and share some of yours.

Today's is one I first discovered when I was in college, and for a long time I thought it was the epitome of what I wanted love to be: silent and yet all-powerful and all-consuming. Breath-taking (maybe even literally) without saying a word. When I look at this quote today, though, I tend to see the one-sidedness of it. Like, why does the speaker need to be unnoticed? Isn't the best kind of love worthy and recognized in both partners?

Hmm...

Cheers to the First-time Sellers

It's that time agian, when Romance Writers Report comes out and I check to see who's made a first-time sale and how long it took them...

Oh goody, we have some real people this month!

Only one claims she's been "seriously pursuing publication" for 18 months, which is a blink in the book world. I mean, it takes that long for some people to query an agent, get a request for a partial, get a request for a full, and sign a contract. And she sold her first book in that same amount of time?

Only one who sold her first manuscript (Really? The very first one you ever wrote? Come on...that first one is usually written just so it can be buried in the bottom drawer or perhaps hold open a door at some point).

We have one who's been writing for 2 years, one for 5 years, and one for 7 years. OK, I'll give the latter two some props for perseverance.

Ah! My favorite of the bunch: a women who's been writing for 10 years and reports that her first sale "was one of 15 full-length manuscripts she completed before selling."

15?! Wow. Just imagine how much you could learn from creating that many plotlines, that many characters, that many love scenes, and that many black moments. Makes my 4 seem almost paltry.

Cheers to the first-time sellers!