Bad Manners (but Good News!)

Since I’m Southern and I was raised to believe it’s very bad manners to brag on yourself and blow your own horn, I should be ashamed of this post. (Look Away, Mom! Look Away!)

But I can’t help it. I’m just giddy and busting at the seams with news. I’ll try to get it out of my system in one post today.

My sailboat book, Magnate’s Mistress…Accidentally Pregnant! is out in the UK this month! I (heart) this book in so many ways… in no small reason because it was one of those books that just seemed to write itself as fast as I could make my fingers move across the keyboard. I’m totally in love with the hero (and we’ll all tell the Darling Geek that Chris is totally modeled on him), and I adore Ally. I got to mix sailboats and Greek mythology and Caribbean islands and steamy sex and I had a blast doing it. I even love the cover!

(Magnate’s Mistress…Accidentally Pregnant! will be out in the US in February.)

Of course, I’m counting down to the US release The Millionaire’s Misbehaving Mistress (which, if you’re just on the edge of your seat and can’t wait for it to hit the bookstore, is available on the eHarlequin site now). I love the alliteration of the title, and when you find out the heroine is an etiquette expert nicknamed "Miss Behavior," the title becomes that much better! And this cover captures Will and Gwen perfectly, I think.

If you look in the sidebar, you’ll see we’re planning a party in October to celebrate its arrival in the bookstores. If all goes well, I’ll have a special announcement to make that day too!

And if that's not enough...

The Secret Mistress Arrangement just keeps on going! I love the fact I get three English-language releases – US, UK, and Aus/NZ – on all the books, but there’s a whole different excitement in having a book translated and released to a different country.

First it was France:

Loosely translated, that’s The Perfume of Temptation. (And yes, I’m out with Day Leclaire!)

Now it’s in Italy in a 2-in-1 with Robyn Grady (who is just fab):

The title of the duet is Seductive Agreement, and TSMA is rechristened Seven Days of Desire.

See why I’m giddy?

Be giddy with me. Share some good news. We’ll all squee together!

PC

**Oh, and I'm guest blogging over at Lynn Raye Harris' blog today and tomorrow about writing for Modern Heat.

Sending my baby off

Back in the fall of 1997 I sent my older son off to college. I still remember standing on the front porch, watching him drive away, waving at me through the sunroof of his gray Honda Accord.

Then in the fall of 2001 I sent my baby (who, by the way,turned 26 ten days ago) off to college.

So you'd think I would be used to sending babies off into the world.

Nope. Not when the baby in question is a 267 page manuscript that I invested small parts of several years, the entire month of November 2008 and a great deal of February, March and April 2009 in.

I wrote the majority of this book during NaNoWriMo last November, then finished it up in February so I could enter an online pitch contest. Much to my surprise, I finaled and then had to pitch the book online to the editor of Silhouette Special Edition. I studied up almost as much as I did before giving birth the first time. I had a cheat sheet beside me during the pitch. I had the conflict written out in a open Word document, ready for cutting and pasting. I hoped I knew the answer to any question she could throw at me.

I guess I must have done okay because she asked for the full manuscript.

Uhm... I had the whole book written, but it was word vomit as one of the Playground's best friends likes to call it. And as we all know, vomit must be cleaned up. My original goal was to edit and revise and mail off the book by April 1st. Oops! Didn't happen. So my revised goal was April 10, my birthday.

April 10 started off okay but Mother Nature reared her head and we had tornadoes that day. At one point I was in the utility closet with the civil defense sirens blaring and my manuscript in my lap, marking away with my green pen. I was able to finish the revisions, enter them into the Word document, print off a clean copy of the manuscript and make it to the post office about 6:30 that afternoon. I used the automatic postage machine (greatest invention since the microwave) and before I put the package down the chute, I gave it a kiss for luck.

I met my goal. Happy birthday to me!

And now I wait -- just like I waited for my human babies to grow up, graduate and make their way in the world. It's all out of my control now and worrying about it serves no purpose except aggravating my already sensitive gastro-intestinal system.

I'm out of town this week, checking up on my mom. She has some usual age-related problems and perhaps a problem with one of her medications that needs to be discussed with her physician. At least this is keeping my mind off my baby being in the Big Apple. Well, almost. I think about it sometimes. OKAY, all the time. It's what a mother does. Right?

Meanwhile I've also been brainstorming an idea for the next book and revising a short story that exceeds some recently revised word count guidelines. I finished teaching an online class last Friday and am tying up loose ends with that this week too.

I'm trying to stay busy so I don't worry, but it doesn't entirely work. Those of you old enough may remember a TV commercial for Bayer children's aspirin where a little boy asked if his friend could come out to play. The mother replied that the little girl wasn't feeling well. "Does she hurt and have a temperature?" he asked. The mother assured him she was taking good care of her daughter, to which the boy replied, "Mothers are like that. Yeah they are."

This mother is like that. Yeah she is.

Have you sent a baby (human or otherwise) off into the world?

P.S. I still love this make-believe cover for the book. Don't Hugh? ;-)

The View from the Pitcher's Mound

(1) Pitcher, a playing position in the game of baseball or softball. See also:
Starting pitcher, the pitcher who pitches the first pitch
Relief pitcher, a pitcher who enters the game after the starting pitcher has been removed
Middle relief pitcher, relief pitchers who commonly pitch in the 6th or 7th innings
Setup pitcher, a relief pitcher who regularly pitches before the closer
Closing pitcher, a relief pitcher who tries to get the final outs in a game to secure victory for his team
Power pitcher, a pitcher who relies on the velocity of his pitches
Control pitcher, a pitcher who relies on the accuracy of his pitches
Groundball pitcher, a pitcher that relies on getting hitters to hit into ground outs











(2) Pitcher, a container with a spout used for pouring its contents.





(3) Pitcher, a very nervous writer who had less than seventy-two hours between being named as a finalist and having to answer questions from a New York editor.



Last week I announced in my blog that I'd been picked as one of eleven writers to pitch a novel to the editor of Silhouette Special Edition. I got the word on Monday afternoon and then learned the day before the pitches that I was second in the line-up. That meant I had to be ready to go into the eHarlequin chat room at about noon Central time.



I emailed everyone I knew who'd ever done an online pitch and got some great advice (thanks to the Brainstorming Desireables!). I also emailed a couple other friends who are multi-published and got even more good advice. I was advised to be able to hone in on the characters' conflict, to be able to verbalize what made my book perfect for Special Edition and to be able to rattle off the hooks used in the story.


Someone told me they'd been asked what authors they read and what Harlequin/Silhouette lines they liked. "Tell them what else you've written," one person said. "And let them know about all the stories you've sold to the confessions magazines." "If she asks, let her know you're involved in RWA," another suggested.

Smarty Pants read the first three chapters for me in case I got asked to send a partial. Lynn Raye Harris read them too and even met with me at the coffee shop to drill down the conflict to its core. And one of my RWA chapter mates read the entire book for me and offered some very constructive criticism that will make the story stronger.



Because there were so many of us, we each had ten minutes with the editor. "Let her take the lead and ask questions," we were told. So that's what I did. I also took all the other advice and I made a cheat sheet -- a Word document open in another window so I could cut and paste if applicable.



After telling me she had a giggle over the title (and adding she hoped I wasn't offended by that -- and I definitely wasn't) the editor said she loved the premise and it was "classic SSE."



Score one for the home team. I'd studied the line just like I'd been told to do.



"Can you tell me a bit more about the characters and conflicts?" she asked next.



Score two. I had that on the cheat sheet and was able to cut and paste. Thank you again, Lynn.



She then asked me to clarify a bit of the external conflict and I answered that one off the cuff.



Score three when she said it made sense.



Next she asked about a turning point in the book and I answered that one off the cuff too because it's one of my favorite parts of the book. "They seemed to have such an intense emotional connection I wondered if this was about the sex or the relationship, but I see you just answered that! :) His plan adds an interesting subtext."



Score four despite not knowing I had interesting subtext. Sometimes you just get lucky.



After she asked me what the hero did for a living and I explained, she said, "Well, I would definitely like to see the full ms for this, since it's got so many classic elements which do well for SSE. Can you send it to me at the New York office?"






Uh... well... mmm... er...



Sure!


Score five!


And if they buy it and let me design the cover, it'll look something like this. Don't you just love my hero? ;-)

I'm editing and polishing and working to make this the best story I can send her. So if I'm a little bit absent for the next week or so, don't worry that I've fallen off the edge of the earth. I'm just busy and nervous and anxious and still completely gobsmacked that I got this far. The Playfriends have been a big part of this -- explaining things I didn't quite understand, brainstorming, helping me with the story board I put together, reading some sample chapters and just being all-round terrific cheerleaders. I'm buying them all new pom-poms for Christmas because they wore theirs out rooting for me and holding my hand.

I also felt all those good vibes I asked you to send last week. I had a whole army behind me, and I thank all of you. I could tell you believed in me, and that helped me believe in myself.

Now I'm going to put y'all on the pitcher's mound and ask the question I didn't get asked: What are your favorite Harlequin/Silhouette lines and why?

Our thoughts, our prayers, and now our books...

The Playfriends -- along with the rest of the world -- are sending our thoughts and prayers down under as Australia deals with the bushfires that have taken such a horrific toll on people, animals, and property.

Whenever tragedy strikes, we need stories of hope and survival to counteract the loss.

For many, the story was the koala named Sam:

But you know where else you can find stories of hope and survival?

Yep. In books. Me, I'm partial to romance to help escape bad news and find a little rest for my brain when it's about to overload. But any book will do.

So I'm very happy to announce that the *other* RWA -- Romance Writers of Australia -- is organizing a book drive to serve the communities destroyed by fire.


Now, granted, books aren't the first and foremost need right this very second. If you want to help feed and shelter people who have lost their homes, the Australian Red Cross will take your donation online and put your money to work. The Australian RSPCA will also take online donations to help care for the animals who were injured and displaced by the fires.

But we're all readers here, and we know there are plenty of people who could use an escape from the reality of the situation by losing themselves in a book. Plenty of people who want to curl up with their children and just read to them. But with libraries destroyed and purchasing books low on anyone's list of priorities, there's only one good way to get books back into the hands of the people.

And that's a book drive.

So hurrah to the RWA for stepping in. They're collecting new and like-new books -- romance (of course), children's, all genre fiction ... anything, basically. RWA will collect, sort and box up the books, and see that they're delivered to community/neighborhood centers and libraries where they're needed. (Feel free to include a note, or, if you wrote the book, sign it!)

Mail your books to:

RWA Bushfire Book Appeal
c/-89 Rennie St.
Thornbury, VIC 3071
AUSTRALIA


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

And here's a Valentine treat for everyone: Harlequin is celebrating its 60th birthday this year, and they're giving away ebooks to celebrate -- 16 ebooks! Just visit www.harlequincelebrates.com and click on the titles you want. They'll download immediately.

Back in the Saddle Again

You may remember that I participated in National Novel Writing Month back in November. And on November 29, I hit the 50,000 word mark. NaNoWriMo was one of the most rewarding things I've ever taken part in (I think labor and delivery rates a little higher). It was also intense and exhausting (kinda like L&D too).

After I hit that 50K mark, I shut down my laptop, put it in my car and walked through the shopping center where the Barnes and Noble was. They'd decorated for Christmas and the air was clean and crisp. I looked down and my feet were on the ground but it sure felt like I was floating.

Then came December 1st and I woke up sick with a cold. It took me a good ten days to recuperate from that. And then of course I had to do some serious Christmas shopping, wrapping and mailing. The house needed to be decorated and I had a couple parties to attend. And somewhere along the way, the WIP fell by the wayside.

"I'll get back to it in January," I said. But first I had to un-deck the halls. Then I had my yearly physical. My hair needed a cut and I made a visit to the orthopedic surgeon who operated on my foot last year. And because the DH and I were taking a vacation the last week of the month, I had to get ready for that. And there went January.

"February 1st," I said. "I'm going back into NaNo mode on February 1st. Well, on the 1st we were still flying back from Curacao because the airline changed their schedule. And on February 2nd I woke up with another cold. With my head and chest full of congestion, I could barely think, much less create.


But on Monday of this week, I pulled out the manuscript, opened the files on my computer and made all the corrections my sister had noted when she read the chapters back in November. That got me back into the story and I'm happy to say I'm back in the NaNo saddle again. It's not always smooth riding. Sometimes the characters buck like the horse in the photo above. I hang on for dear life and see where they take me. Sometimes I end up on my arse in the dust, but other times I hear the eight-second buzzer and know I've survived the ride.

This writing rodeo is not a moment too soon because eHarlequin is having an editor pitch session for the line I'd planned to submit this book to. I have to have a finished manuscript by March 4th. That's the deadline for sending in my one-page single-spaced synopsis to enter the contest. On March 9th they'll announce five finalists, and those five will chat with the editor in the eHarlequin chat room on March 12. Keep your fingers crossed for me, pardners.

Motivation -- that's what drove me to write 50,000 words during November and that's what's driving me to finish the damn book. Lord only knows how many other folks I'll be competing against, but I know one thing for sure: if I don't enter, I stand absolutely no chance of finaling.

I'll keep you posted on my progress, and y'all keep nagging me to write. You, our readers, will be my accountability partners. I certainly don't want to disappoint you, and I know you'll be wonderful with your nagging encouragement.

What motivates you to do whatever it is you do? In case I get tired of being thrown on my fanny, I could use some good ideas.