Contest Wins!

Even this dreary, rainy Monday can't take away my good mood! Over the weekend I found out that one of my manuscripts is a finalist in two contests. And I got the emails on the same day so it was doubly awesome :) The first is The Heart of the West Contest and the other is The Lone Star Writing Competition. I'm still basking in the goodness!


We never made it to the river/party boat this weekend. Way too dreary. But, we did manage to get a lot of stuff done around the house. It's finally starting to look like we live here. (I was slacking on hanging up pictures, etc.)


Now, it's back to the keyboard and time to write!

Edits and Subjectivity

Right now I'm getting hammered with rain which isn't such a bad thing. Normally I work out in the mornings (outside) but this is forcing me to stay in and keep my butt in the chair. Good for the edits I'm working on. My agent got back to me about the paranormal ST I sent to her and wants me to add depth to it so .... got 2K worth of new stuff yesterday and hope to double that today. For the first time in a while I'm really enjoying edits.


Earlier this week I got an email from a friend of mine who informed me I've been holding out on her. Say what? She saw in the RWR that I placed third in the WISRWA Fab Five contest and I hadn't told her. Oops! I looked back through the past couple of months on my blog and couldn't find a post about it so I think she's right. I believe that was around the time I was moving so it's a late announcement, but I placed 3rd in the romantic suspense category with a story that holds a very special place in my heart. If I sell that baby, I'll tell the story about it. The funny thing about this contest is that I had two entries and got the same judge for both (the judge number was the same so I'm assuming it was the same judge). She liked the one that placed but absolutely hated the other one. Like, shudder-inducing did not like my heroine and wasn't afraid to tell me. Ah, reading really is subjective.


I haven't gotten to the contest winners section of the RWR yet but I have read Shiloh Walker's article Myths About Digital Publishing. If you get the RWR then please, read this. She has an interesting, informative, and balanced perspective on epublishing. Definitely worth your time!


That's it for me! I've got to get back to my edits. Just a note, my alter ego is blogging about Research in Fiction today. When do you think it's okay to bend reality? Stop by and offer an opinion.


Have a great weekend!

Books! Books! Books!

Yeah, exactly what I need more of! On Saturday I went to my local chapter meeting (love my Gulf Coast ladies!!) and some of the women who went to Nationals brought back extra books. My tbr pile is wildly overflowing and I even brought a book to have Cynthia Eden sign at the meeting and still left with a couple more, lol. When I saw a J.D. Robb book I knew it was coming home in my purse! My husband just shook his head when I pulled out more books than I'd left with. He doesn't even question me anymore. The meeting was so amazing and I'm glad I made it. Four women gave recaps of different presentations from Nationals and all of them were very informative. Thankfully I brought my notebook to take notes!


While the weekend was great I'm glad it's over and I can get back into writing this week. I've started on a new story and so far I'm loving it. My hero is a little temperamental and stubborn but I'm finally coaxing him into telling me his story :)


What did y'all do this weekend?

Gearing up for the Weekend!

This weekend promises to be busy! Saturday morning/afternoon is my local chapter meeting. I think we're going to get the recap from Nationals so I'm definitely going. Plus I get to see a lot of fabulous ladies! Then we've got a wedding Saturday night (still haven't figured out if they have an open bar or bar at all...cross your fingers they do). On Sunday we've got family stuff and the man has to finish up one of his final papers for this semester (which means I get to help proof read it). I have a feeling very little writing will be accomplished.


I'm looking forward to seeing some people on Saturday but I'm not a huge fan of weddings. (Is that weird??) The invitation for this one was a little odd too. There was no RSVP card or letter to send a response and no directions or even address to the event. Just the name of the place. When I tried Googling the name of the place, I could only find an address to a place w/ (apparently) the same name in another state! Oh well, I'm sure we'll figure it out.


Don't forget, Berkley Sensation author Elizabeth Jennings is still at Desert Island Keepers for the next couple days. Stop by if you get a chance!


Have a great weekend and if you head over to the DIK blog, good luck in entering her contest!

Tired Tuesday

Well, the man's reunion over the weekend was fun. I know he loved seeing all his old friends and I met a lot of nice people so overall, a great experience. Unfortunately I've been feeling under the weather since then so I'm laying low until I get over whatever 'this' is.


Just an fyi, I'm interviewing Elizabeth Jennings (AKA Lisa Marie Rice) at Desert Island Keepers on August 5-7. Shadows at Midnight, her release with Berkeley Sensation is out this month so she's chatting about that, romantic suspense, and she was kind enough to let me interview her! If you know me then you know what a huge fan I am of hers so I'm super excited to be hosting her! She's also giving away a copy of Pursuit which is a fab book on my keeper shelf.


Be sure to check out Desert Island Keepers later this week for a chance to check her out and for a chance to win a copy of her book.