Friday Fun Facts: Great Print Book Giveaway Winners Announced!

Congrats to the winners of my weekly Great Print Book Giveaway: Diane Sallans and Chris L! Two more winners announced each week, and all you have to do is comment or chat or post about my giveaway! More info here, on the original post. Di and Chris, let me know your pics, and the books will be in the mail to you ASAP!

Writers' Wednesday: A Beginning and an End

So what's beginning today? My review of the audio files of Summer's Song - yes, that's right, it will be releasing in audio book format in early September, and the files arrived in my inbox yesterday ready to proof. Basically, this involves listening carefully to each chapter with the book in hand, and noting any errors and the time at which they occur. Then I send my notes back to the editor, who has the narrator do retakes. I have to say, there is something so cool about hearing your words read out loud by someone else. Though the listening process is a little tedious, I'm looking forward to it :)

Want to know more about the whole audio book process? I'm blogging about it in a 3-part series this summer/fall over at Savvy Authors. I'll let you know when those posts are up.

And what's ending? This school year, since I'm a high school teacher in my day-time, real-world job. Yesterday was the last day with students, which is always bittersweet. Lots of food, games, goodbyes, yearbook signings, gift giving, and general reflection on the year. How is it possible that each seems to go faster than the last?

Monday Mentionables: A Writers' Meeting in Review

So over the weekend I attended my local RWA (Romance Writers of America) chapter meeting. I've been a member for about 5 years, though I attend meetings with sporadic attendance. This year I've vowed to be better - because really, it's both comforting and inspiring to be in the company of fellow romance writers.

So how does a meeting shape up for us? Well, we spend about the first 1/2 hour or so socializing & catching up, since most of us don't see each other, or sometimes even talk online, in between meetings. You know, who's recovering from a cold, who adopted new kittens, whose dishwasher is on the fritz...that sort of thing.

Then we discuss Old Business (this time, it was the items we donated to the Brenda Novak Auction) and New Business (Wendy Felter of Red Rose Publishing will be coming to our July meeting and taking pitches!).

Next comes the "Round Up" - who's working on what, who's submitted what, who's sold what. A lot of us are actively revising stories, or in the middle of projects, so there wasn't a lot of sales news this time around, but that's OK. I will proudly say that we have quite a prolific chapter, with a good number of our members published in various genres and with various publishers, so like I said, it's inspiring to be around :)

And finally, we wrap up with people reading 5 pages of their current WIP. This is optional, though I've always found it quite valuable (once you get past the initial awkwardness of reading your writing out loud). We go around the table and everyone gives feedback. It's interesting to hear what certain people pick up on.

Every June we go to lunch together after the meeting, so this time we enjoyed some yummy food along with some non-writing related conversation. Among the topics discussed: domestic vs. foreign cars; the pros and cons of owning an iguana; naming cats; single motherhood; and the price of tattoos. I kid you not.

Happy Monday!