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2003 Diary Archive
December 29, 2003 -- Well, I had a lovely time in Idaho with my family and a saw a lot of friends. Everyone has been so supportive and happy for me with my first sale that it was a lovely gift. But I'm glad to be home!
And I'm especially glad to make this last entry in my diary for 2003. I can't believe how this year has flown with its lowest lows and eventually its amazing highs. I can't wait to see what 2004 holds. Come back next week for a fresh diary and a fresh year (the year my first book comes out!!!).
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM THE PASSIONATE PEN!!!
December 22, 2003 -- It's done! The first draft of my 16th book, Undeniable is done as of Monday of last week! Although I think it's total crap right now (I always do at this point in the process), I know that after I get back from my trip, I'll be able to clean it up and make it ready for its chance.
Speaking of my trip, we are leaving today! I am so excited to see my family and old friends. I will be gone through next Monday, but there will be an update next week. It will just be on Tuesday, December 30, rather than Monday, December 29. So check back Tuesday for updates about my trip and the opening gambit of the January contest!
HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!
December 15, 2003 -- Roll out the red carpets, this past week I actually... WROTE. With everything going on with sales and promotion and revisions, not to mention personal stuff like Christmas cards and a trip to St. Louis with my hubby, I'd sort of let real writing slip through my fingers. But I made massive progress on the first draft of Undeniable this week and I'll probably be typing "The End" before this week is done. A good thing, too since we're leaving for Idaho next Monday (yes, there will be an update here on Dec. 22, but not one on December 29... instead, I'll post an update Tuesday, December 30).
It was really lovely to write again and I like the emotionality I found in Julian and Cecilia's story. I plan on doing revisions after the New Year and I'm hoping to pitch it to Red Sage once I hear back on Aphrodite's Passion, which is currently sitting on my editor's desk.
I did a bit of follow-up this week, but being so close to the holidays, I didn't really expect to get much back from it. And I was right. Only one editor responded. Turns out my partial to Mills and Boon Historicals never arrived when I mailed it in August. ARG. So I had to print it out again and mail it AGAIN. But when I went to do that, I realized I was having trouble with my printer. And... my husband decided I needed a better one now that I'm a published lady. :) So I got an early gift from my favorite Santa. Can I just say the Epson RX500 ROCKS??
I took the time to read this week. I gobbled up Secrets, Volume 9 and all I can say is that I am awed to be in such wonderful company. This collection is hot, it's emotional, it's absolutely fantastic! Pick one up if you can, but be warned... these stories are romantic erotica and they are steamy!
December 8, 2003 -- Well, I had some very nice news this week! My short story, "Dueling the Debutante" has been purchased by Arabella Magazine!! It's a Regency-set historical and will be out in the April/May 2004 issue which hits stands in mid-March. It was a thrill to open my email and see "Dueling the Debutante-- SOLD" from Sharon at Arabella. The contract is signed and on its way so I'm official!
You know, I got two rejections the afternoon of December 1 (one from Ballantine off a query and one on my requested partial from Bantam, both on Watching Tessa) and was feeling quite sorry for myself. But this perked me right up. :) I've added info about "Dueling the Debutante" in Jesse's Books, so head on over there if you are dying for a sneak peak at the story's plot.
Things are still progressing nicely on the Red Sage front. I finished my revisions for Ancient Pleasures (!!!!) and have sent the book back to them. Hopefully the editor will like what I've done and we can move to the next step (I think the next step is probably more crying and hyperventilating and weird moments of pure joy... why should things be any different than they have been over the last month?).
I'm still hard at work on my promotional stuff. I got my first packages this week. Both shipping labels and return address labels with Jess Michaels on them and my PO Box number. These are for sending contest prizes and correspondence. How sad is it that seeing "Jess Michaels" on shipping labels actually made me tear up a bit? Making my first sale has turned me into a big softy. I cry at everything now. Good crying, of course, but I think I'm going to invest in Kleenex.
December 1, 2003 -- Well, I talked to my editor (she is so nice!) and my contracts are back in Florida! I am officially official now and still hard at work on my revisions. I'm hoping to have everything back to the editor I'm working with before the end of the month (well ahead of my deadline). This is all becoming more real every day and I have to say... I'm really enjoying every moment of this time. I feel like I'm learning so much.
Had a couple of nice surprises in my P.O. Box this week. Thanks to Dara for her card and Lilles for the congratulations gift! It's so nice to know that visitors to The Passionate Pen are celebrating my first sale with me.
I ordered some promotional stuff this week, too. Business cards, return address labels and shipping labels for Jess Michaels are all winging their way to my house in the next few weeks. So exciting!! This month I also want to call the photographer I've chosen and arrange for a sitting in early January.
This week I'll be following up on a couple of submissions (can't forget the work I'm still hoping for!!), so maybe I'll have some news about my other books/projects soon.
November 24, 2003 -- Phew! Talk about a whirlwind. Things have been smokin' since the 11th when I got "The Call" and it's not slowing down now.
I got my contract and revisions this week. I've spent the last couple of weeks really worried about what the revisions would be, but they're pretty reasonable. Only one thing really made me pause. And that is probably going to make the book better if I do it (damn!). So I guess you can tell what I'll be doing for the next little while. My deadline isn't until February, so I have a good amount of time to make this book really glimmer.
The past week has also been spent making a promotion plan for the next 13 months. You know, there is a lot of stuff to do and I'm finding it easiest to set up a notebook with a page for each month. I am also making a list of all the promotional stuff I need to do. Then I slip each item into the month where I hope it will make the most impact and I can see a clear picture of what I need to do. It's a little less daunting this way. Of course, I am still coming to the realization that I don't know JACK. But I think that's inevitable when you move from one stage to another.
This week marks Thanksgiving for the visitors from the United States. I definitely have a lot to be thankful for this year, that's for sure. I hope you all have a lovely long weekend with your friends and families. Happy Thanksgiving!!
November 17, 2003 -- Well, ladies and gentleman, here it comes. The biggest news there is for those of us waiting to be published. Ready?
I SOLD ONE OF MY BOOKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
That's right! It finally happened. On November 11, 2003 at 6:54pm Central time I got a call from Alexandria Kendall, the owner of Red Sage Publishing. She told me she wanted to buy my novella, Ancient Pleasures which will appear in Secrets, Volume 11 in December 2004. You can read my entire "first sale" story in Articles and read a synopsis of Ancient Pleasures in Jesse's Books.
I'm so happy, I can't even tell you. I will be writing under the name Jess Michaels (clicking the name will open a new window). That website is already up and running, so come on over and see my writer website. Since the sale, everything has been whirlwind. Friends have screamed so loud I thought I busted an eardrum. My Mom cried and my Dad kept repeating a phrase I won't type here. :) My husband not only jumped up and down and hugged me until I thought I'd pop, but he bought me a gorgeous business card holder engraved with my pen name and the date of my first sale on the inside AND designed my author website. Even the cats seemed to get that something incredible was happening.
Don't worry. The Passionate Pen will continue to run and be updated each Monday with the same industry info that's always been there, you'll just get to see a glimpse of this new part of my journey. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me from the site over the past four and a half years. There have been times when your thoughts have helped me past the rough spots.
Want to comment? Scream and jump up and down with me? Contact Me!
Since THE CALL, things have been a whirlwind. Not only did I have to contact everyone I ever knew (and thanks to all of you who emailed and called to congratulate me. It means so much to me), but I also realized just how little I know about what to do next. I have so much to do and a year seems like sooo long to wait, but not nearly enough time to get ready.
So I breathed for a while, then submitted my next novella, Aphrodite's Passion to Red Sage. :) Hey, it's never too early to try to make a second sale.
November 10, 2003 -- Well, life mildly intervened this week, but I am about halfway through Undeniable. I'm not in a massive rush to finish it since most of my avenues for pitching this work are being utilized right now by other projects. Still, I'm sure I'll get it done before the year's end as long as nothing crazy happens.
This week I also did even MORE follow-up on my work that is out. I'm finally starting to get some hints on movement and dates and times to expect a response. This business is a lot about waiting, though, and I just hope I start to hear things before Thanksgiving when everything goes to hell in a hand basket with the holidays.
November 3, 2003 -- I'm happy to report I've had another request! An editor from Bantam emailed me on October 30, wanting to see the first 100 pages of Watching Tessa. Of course, I emailed a friend to tell her and ooops... it went off course to the Bantam editor! DOH! Luckily she was totally sweet about it and so the work has gone out. I'll also be a little more careful about hitting reply... my face is still red! LOL!
Other than that, this was a week to get back to work. While my husband was out of town on business, I finished the first draft of the partial for Deeper and Deeper. I'm happy to be able to cross that off my "To Do" list. I won't be working on it again until I hear back from Blaze on Night Fantasy or if I end up with a lull in my schedule.
While working on that, I also found myself thinking a lot about an idea I had for another erotic romance. In the evenings, I've been working on Undeniable. It's a very "from the seat of my pants" kind of book, so I've enjoyed playing with it. There is information about this new story in Jesse's Books.
Finally, I did some submission follow-ups this week, so I'm hoping to get a few answers soon about some outstanding submissions. This coming week? More work on Undeniable.
October 27, 2003 -- My 'vacation' wasn't exactly much of one, but for good reasons. :) I decided to pursue a new avenue with my second sensual novella, Aphrodite's Passion, so I had to do a quick revision of the first four chapters, write a synopsis and a query. If I get any news on that front, I'll be sure to let you know.
Then on Wednesday, just as I was starting to relax, I got a letter from Abby Zidle at HQN (the new Harlequin Single Title line) asking to see a full manuscript of Watching Tessa, my first Blaze that was rejected in August and then I added 20,000 words to it. The letter was very complimentary, so I was pleased and sent it off ASAP. For those of you playing along with Jesse Submission Bingo (I should make cards, I swear), here is where I currently stand request-wise with My Books:
Blaze: Full, Night Fantasy
Red Sage: Full, Ancient Pleasures
HQN: Full, Watching Tessa
Harlequin Historicals: Full, A Lady's Desire
Mills and Boon Historicals: Partial, Her Husband's Bed
There's a lot more out, too, but those are the requests at present.
As you can see, I also played with graphics this week. :) I hope you like the new background (and the graphics to go with it). Please Contact Me if you want to comment.
This week? Write a partial for Deeper and Deeper and try to recover from my 'week off'.
October 20, 2003 -- This past week was slow. With a lot of editors at the Romantic Times Convention, my mailbox and telephone were equally silent and empty. I did work on a synopsis for Deeper and Deeper, but even that was slow because I've been fighting exhaustion over the last few weeks. Luckily, this coming week is a week off for me, so I'm planning to catch up on my sleep, read and enjoy the nice fall days we're supposed to get before an Illinois winter hits and forces me to work, work, work until Spring. :)
October 13, 2003 -- I am slowly but surely working through my list of projects. This week I worked on some more plot for Deeper and Deeper (a little bit of info is now up in Jesse's Books, along with some updates on other projects). In addition, I mailed my requested full manuscript to Harlequin Historicals.
My biggest accomplishment was finishing the second round of addition/revision for Every Breath You Take (which is now called Watching Tessa). After a thumbs up from my critique partner, I sent out a first batch of submissions, so there is even more material out in the wide, wide world from me. We'll see what kind of reaction it gets now.
Just a reminder, tomorrow is the last day to vote in round one of the Stella Cameron Scarlet Boa contest! Head on over and vote if you haven't already! Finalists will be announced on October 20, the same day you can start voting for the final winner.
October 6, 2003 -- This week has been crazy! I was able to add another 3000 words to Every Breath You Take and am edging ever closer to my goal of single title length. I'm really hoping to be finished with the addition by the end of the month (I am also working on some other projects) and hopefully send it out to editors by the end of November at the very latest.
I attended Autumn Authors Affair this weekend and it was a nice time. While there, my husband left me a voice mail on my cell phone to tell me Harlequin Historicals requested a full manuscript for A Lady's Desire, which will head its way to NYC as soon as I can make it to the post office this week.
During the conference, I was also able to do a significant amount of plotting for my next Blaze, tentatively titled Deeper and Deeper. There's no info up on it in Jesse's Books yet, but I may add something once I've written a few pages and am sure I will be following through with the story.
September 29, 2003 -- The horror! The horror! Had a computer scare when my PC (9 months old) started making a very bad noise on Tuesday. I was cut off from the outside world for a whole day and thought we might have somehow lost my hard drive (including the 13,000 words I'd added to Every Breath You Take... the only thing I hadn't backed up). But, luckily, Sexy Computer Guy fixed the problem and accepts payment in love (shh... don't tell my husband. Wait, he is my husband). Needless to say, everything in the world is backed up now and I'm slowly recovering from this tic in my eye. :)
Meanwhile, I am plotting my next Blaze. This past week, I also made a schedule for all the projects I need to get done and I'm going to be busy well into the next year. But this week I'll be re-reading Every Breath You Take again and making a game plan for what needs to be added in the next round. 90,000-100,000 words, here I come (I hope)!
This weekend (October 3-5), I will be in Lisle, IL at the Autumn Authors conference. If anyone is going, be sure to look for me and say hi! I'm hoping to get a few pictures to add to the site.
Finally, voting begins October 1st at the Stella Cameron Scarlet Boa contest (scroll to the bottom to see the links). Come on over and vote for any of the wonderful entries!
Busy, busy, busy...
September 22, 2003 -- Okay, I finally get to share some news I've been holding in for over a month now. My very best writing friend Susanna Carr has sold four (count them four) novellas to Brava!! The first, part of a collection with two other authors, will be released in August 2004. The other three will be a single author collection. This is such wonderful, awesome, cool, fantastic (and so many other adjectives) news. I'm still jumping up and down about it! Congratulations Susanna!!!!!!!!
Okay, so now my own normal, boring news. LOL I finished the first revision/addition of Every Breath You Take this past week. I've succeeded in adding 13,000 words, but I'm still almost 10,000 words shy of a single title length. It's okay, though. I'll be brainstorming a new Blaze idea this coming week and coming back to Every after that for another pass. Rome wasn't built in a day and neither is a single title romance.
You may have noticed that this update is rather meager (even though there are a lot of individual updates, none are that cool). Two reasons. One, I checked all the links last week and repaired and deleted those that weren't working (I do this about once a month, for those of you wondering). And I painted this weekend! You can see pictures of the Office Work in Progress here.
September 15, 2003 -- I had some lofty goals for this week. I wanted to add 10,000 words (or 40 pages) to Every Breath You Take as I'm trying to bump it from a category length to single title. Although I questioned the prudence of that about mid-week (when I was sure I'd never make it), I'm pleased to say that I did it! Now only... well, 20,000 words to go (ARG). I'm hoping to finish the first revision/great addition this week.
The site has passed the 25,000 visitor mark. No one emailed me to tell me they were 'the one', but I wanted to give a big thanks to everyone who has come to Passionate Pen in the past four years. I can give you the head's up that next year is our five-year anniversary and I'm already planning some BIG events (think contests, authors interviews and much, much more), so keep your eyes peeled as we approach 2004.
In other news, the entries in Stella Cameron's Scarlet Boa contest are up! Mine is Entry 1006, so go on over and check it out if you'd like! The voting starts on October 1, so I hope some of you will return to cast your vote, too. I'll have more information on that as it becomes available.
Finally, today I am heading over to Lowe's to buy my paint. Hopefully I'll be making my office gorgeous by this coming weekend. Look for pictures coming soon.
September 8, 2003 -- What a weird week. I'm still waiting on all my requested material (and getting impatient on some things), but I have gotten a couple of rejections from queries. Form rejections, no less... have I not moved past this stage? Apparently not.
Oh well. The important thing is that I am writing full steam ahead as I try to clear projects off my massively piled desk. The past couple weeks I've been working on Aphrodite's Passion, a novella I started back in June after I finished Ancient Pleasures. I'm happy to say I finished the first draft of AP2 (as it is affectionately known) and will be putting it back in the corner for a couple weeks until I'm ready to do revisions. Now to the next project, adding 30,000 words to Every Breath You Take in order to bump it up to single title length from category. Thank goodness Blaze is one of the longest Harlequin lines!! Check out more in Jesse's Books.
In addition, I also entered 500 words of the opening scene of Her Husband's Bed into Stella Cameron's famous Scarlet Boa contest. This is a fun contest where all entries are posted, then voted on by the readers! Stella will be posting the first entries on September 10, and mine will probably be in the first batch as I entered last week. I will put up more details, including which entry number is mine and what page to find it on hopefully next week. I don't think voting begins until October, so go on over to Stella's site, enjoy her fabulous design and read the entries (and if you want to vote for me at the end... well, please feel free! I won't complain a bit.).
Finally, I think we'll probably hit 25,000 hits on the site this week. You won't get a prize or anything if you're "THE ONE" because I can't track statistics like that yet, but email me if you are anyway. :) I'd love to hear from Mr. or Ms. 25,000. Watch, I'll be the one (or that pesky spammer who won't leave my guestbook alone).
Happy writing, all!
September 1, 2003 -- I can't believe the summer is over. So much has happened these last few months and most of it was good. I'm definitely looking forward to fall, though. There isn't much I miss about the Seattle area since we moved to Illinois, but the weather is one thing. It is just too hot and humid here right now. It's not stopping me from writing, though (air conditioning is currently this writer's savior). I'm slowly but surely pulling some projects together and doing some writing. In fact, I'm hoping to finish one of my projects this coming week. If I make it, you'll hear about it during next week's update at Jesse's Books.
I'm also planning on painting my office in the next couple of weeks. Maybe I'll post some pictures as I slowly turn my writing space from a space I really like to one I truly adore.
August 25, 2003 -- Wow, for being on a vacation, I sure was busy these last few weeks. Let's review what I've done. First, I presented both my website and agent workshops at the Shades of Romance online conference on August 7th and 8th. Both were presented through chats and the participants were awesome! If any of them are reading this, thanks for making my presentations fun and asking questions. Please feel free to email me from the site any time (just remind me you were at SOR).
On August 9th, I celebrated my twenty-seventh birthday with my wonderful husband. I had a great day and all my birthday horoscopes told me something I've worked hard for will come to fruition before my next birthday. :) In addition, I submitted proposals for my two workshops to the RWA National office for Dallas 2004. Getting chosen is tough, so I'm not overly hopeful, but it would be cool to present. Look for more on this coming soon (I believe they contact speakers in November or December). Either way, I will be in Dallas next summer and I hope to meet some of you there.
On the writing side, I entered Lori Foster's Brava contest. Twenty finalists will be chosen by Lori over a ten week period. Then Kate Duffy, editor at Kensington will choose the winner. Last time Lori held one of these contests, many of the finalists had their novellas bought by Brava. And I was TOTALLY excited when one of the first two finalists chosen was my very best friend Susanna Carr!! You can read her kick-ass entry at Lori's website. Later, you'll be able to vote on your favorite <vote Susanna, cough, cough>.
Also, after hearing a lot of buzz on the subject, I decided to write a short story targeted to Arabella Magazine, a new romance fiction magazine launching in October 2003. They asked to see my story, Dueling the Debutante within two hours of my email query on August 11th.
Finally, I've heard back on several of my submissions! Harlequin Historicals rejected the full of Her Husband's Bed on August 13th. But the sting was washed away when Harlequin Blaze asked to see the full manuscript of Night Fantasy on August 21st. Unfortunately, on August 22nd Harlequin Blaze rejected the partial of Every Breath You Take, but Mills and Boon Historicals asked to see a partial for Her Husband's Bed.
Can't keep up? Try being me! This is why I have charts!!!
Phew! I'm tired now. :)
August 4, 2003 -- Not much to say for this past week, but I am going to be on vacation. I won't be checking email or updating the site while I'm away. But look for updates on the Shades of Romance Online Conference where I'll be speaking August 7 and 8 (look in Jesse's Workshops for more info) and any other news when I post my next update on Monday, August 25.
July 28, 2003 -- When did my life get boring??? The last three weeks have been rejection, request -- back and forth... and this week? Nadda. Of course, I should expect that since last week all the editors were swamped with the RWA conference and not reading, requesting or rejecting anything.
July 21, 2003 -- One week is rejection, one week is request! On Monday, July 14, Harlequin asked to see a partial (first three chapters) of Night Fantasy. I raced through a final revision on those first three chapters (once again HUGE thanks to Susanna Carr, who always comes through for me in a pinch, even if she's leaving for National the next day!!) and popped it in the mail on Tuesday morning. Cross your fingers!
There are so many possibilities out there for me right now between the full at Harlequin Historicals (Her Husband's Bed), the full at Red Sage (Ancient Pleasures) and the partial now at Harlequin Blaze (Night Fantasy). Here's hoping for even more in the weeks and months to come!!
By the way, if you're interested in who won the RWA Golden Heart (unpublished) and RITA (published) contests, it's on their site! Congrats to both the finalists and the winners!
July 14, 2003 -- Man, can we say rejection this week?? I swear, it's either up, up, up in this business or down, down, down. This week I heard back from Ballantine on Her Husband's Bed, St. Martin's on A Lady's Desire and Berkley on A Lady's Desire. Once again, all the rejections are very nice and very detailed... and they all tell me something different. Sigh.
Anyway, so this week I guess I'll be sending Her Husband's Bed out to Berkley and St.M's and hoping they click with that story better. And then? Get to work on novella two in the hopes I need it!
July 7, 2003 -- This was a week of ups and downs. With my husband out of town, I ripped through the first revision of Night Fantasy and sent it off to my very trusted CP. Then I took a little time to read and do some industry follow-up stuff. But Saturday morning bright and early I got an email from Red Sage Publishing. I had sent them a synopsis and first ten pages of my erotic romance novella, Ancient Pleasures. In a very complimentary letter (words like wonderful and love were used <bg>), the editor asked to see a full manuscript!!
So obviously, the rest of the weekend was spent finishing the revision at breakneck speed (thank you, thank you, thank you Susanna Carr for coming through for me, as always) and printing that sucker out. I will be mailing it ASAP today, so cross your fingers!!
June 30, 2003 -- A week of rest? So good. And now I'm ready to take on the revisions for Night Fantasy. I'm hoping to have these done by August, but my sweet hubby is out of town this week, so I'm going to be hitting it hard while he's gone. After that, I want to slam through the revisions on Ancient Pleasures, the novella I mentioned last week. This is my summer of editing... ah, the romance.
Nothing else really to report. Since the Harlequin request a couple of weeks ago, it's been very quiet on the submissions front. But with National RWA coming up in a couple of weeks (no, I won't be able to make it this year), I'm hoping some of these editors battle through their desks in preparation for requesting material from appointments.
June 23, 2003 -- Well, June has been a big month for me. I've sent out tons of submissions, had requests for material, finished my second Blaze and now I've just finished an erotic romance novella that I started last summer and put aside. At just 25,000 words, it was really fun to pack a lot of sexy fun in what I hope is a solid romantic story. Now I just hope somebody out there wants it...
What's up this week? Nothing. I think I've earned a break after putting THE END on all these stories. I plan to play for the week and then start the revisions on Night Fantasy.
June 16, 2003 -- So much to report this week. First, I am pleased to say that I wrote THE END on Night Fantasy, my twelfth manuscript, very, very late last night. It's a bit short (and it always is), but it is done!!!!
But in bigger and even better news, I have already received a request for a full manuscript from last week's flurry of submissions. Harlequin Books (Harlequin Historicals/HQN) asked to see a full of Her Husband's Bed on Friday. I printed it off right away and it is now winging its way to New York and hopefully an eager editor! Cross your fingers.
For those of you interested in submitting to HH right now, I sent a synopsis and query on June 3 and they mailed the letter requesting a full on June 10. So they may be eager for submissions for their new single title line (HQN) and their current historical line (Harlequin Historicals).
June 9, 2003 -- It has been an interesting week, to say the least. I found out that the remaining editor with Heart of a Wolf read it and wasn't sure of it, so it's now with a reader (I'm moving backwards!!). I also sent out submissions for Night Fantasy and Her Husband's Bed so cross your fingers that everything out (Wolf, A Lady's Desire (Jordan Series), Every Breath You Take, Night Fantasy and Her Husband's Bed) will have good luck with various and sundry editors.
This week? Finally meet my page goal now that I've taken care of some industry stuff. Downward slide, here I come!!
June 2, 2003 -- Well, I didn't quite make it to my page goal this week. What can you do? Life intervened. But I will pass the halfway point with lots of room to spare this week barring natural disaster. Hey, it's nothing to kid about! I live in tornado country now (and have seen much more of my basement than I'd like in the last month or so). :)
May 26, 2003 -- Ah, a real work week! I haven't had one of those for almost six weeks between a burnout meltdown and houseguests. But now there are no more excuses and I'm happy to say that it went quite well. I set a much lower goal than normal (8 pages a day x 5 days a week) and I did make it. My second Blaze (Night Fantasy) is past the one-third mark and moving slowly but surely toward The End.
This week's goal? Another 40 pages.
May 19, 2003 -- I am back to my regular schedule this week after my very long break, my mother's visit and my husband's final week from hell (coupled with a work week from hell). I just wanted to thank everyone who has visited in the site in the last few weeks and helped push The Passionate Pen's counter up over 20,000!!
Now, if I can only remember how to write...
May 5, 2003 -- Well, it's official! I will be presenting both my workshop on agents and the one on websites to the Shades of Romance online conference August 3-9. We're still working out details on dates and format, but I'm very excited to be participating. More info will be available as we pound out the specifics over the next few months, so keep checking back!
Other than that, I'm still writing away and preparing for a visit from my Mom next week. The weather is gorgeous and life is good. :)
April 28, 2003 -- After a long few weeks of not writing and re-evaluating a lot of things, I did manage to eek out a few pages this past week. Thanks to everyone who has visited and commented on the redesign! Those comments and encouragements have really lifted my spirits!
March 31, 2003 -- I'm happy to report that I finished with my revisions on Every Breath You Take! And my critique partner, who has been writing books targeted to Blaze since the inception of the line really liked it!! Yay! Which freed me up to start writing on the new Blaze, Night Fantasy. In fact, I'm already through chapter 3. So both the full manuscript for Every and the proposal for Night Fantasy are going to be heading out to my agent this week.
Unfortunately, in the midst of all this writing, I found out I did not final in the Golden Heart contest. I admit the news is disheartening (and here I tried not to care), but I'm trying to move on. Congratulations to all the finalists, many of whom I count as friends. You can see a list of their names here. And a list of the RITA finalists (published) here.
Happy Birthday to my only true hero, Michael (April 3). Thank you for for your unwavering support, and for being the love of my life!
March 24, 2003 -- Not much to report this week. I did revise a few more chapters of Every Breath You Take. I spoke to my agent this past week, as well and my partial for that book is on its way to Toronto. She sent it March 17, claiming that we'd have the Luck of the Irish behind us. :) Is it any wonder I love her?
My other big news for the week is that I wrote a synopsis for my second Blaze. Down below I called it Seven Nights, but the working title has since changed to Night Fantasy. Honestly, I still hate the title, but I'll go with it for now. Anyway, you can see more about it in My Books if you are so inclined. I'm actually starting to get very excited about writing it. I should be doing that by the beginning of April if this week's revisions go well and I'm able to finish up with Every Breath You Take.
March 17, 2003 -- This past week I only revised a little due to the fact that I was out of town with my husband for several days. :) However, I did present my first online workshop at the Hearts Through History historical chapter of RWA. It was on "The Great Agent Search" and seemed to go over very well. For any chapter that is interested in hearing this workshop or my one on website development, please contact me.
March 10, 2003 -- Well, not much to report this week. I did manage to revise a few chapters of Every Breath You Take. I'm trying to slow my pace down in the next few months. I've found myself burning out on a fairly consistent basis while working at my usual frenetic pace. I'm hoping that by forcing myself to calm down I'll not only produce better work, but not find myself feeling so useless. There isn't much use sprinting all the time when you're just in a warm-up for the big race, you know?
However, I did also sit down and plot out my next Blaze. I won't say much, but the working title is Seven Nights. I'll be writing up a synopsis in the next few weeks and once my agent sees it, look for more info in the My Books section.
March 3, 2003 -- Well, I had the best of intentions to have a week off, and I did really well until Wednesday. My agent called to tell me how much she liked the proposal (first three chapters and synopsis) I'd sent for my Blaze. I raced through a revision on the first three chapters, rewrote the synopsis and off it went on Friday. It should hit Toronto (the Harlequin headquarters where they do Blaze) some time soon. Cross your fingers for me!
Unfortunately, I also got two rejections on Wednesday. One was from Kensington on Heart of a Wolf, the other was from Avon for A Lady's Desire. The Avon one is the first rejection for Lady since Michelle mailed it out in November, so it got to me a little, but such is the writer's life. I suppose it only takes one that isn't a rejection for everything to work out well in the end.
February 24, 2003 -- Well, I'm happy to report that I have finished my first Blaze manuscript, Every Breath You Take as of Thursday, February 20 at 7:30pm-ish. While I have no idea if it's good, bad or otherwise, I did have a great time writing it. However, it is time for a week off before I dive into revisions and serious plotting of my next Blaze.
February 17, 2003 -- Her Husband's Bed, the partial for Every Breath You Take and the synopsis for Never a Gentleman have all been delivered to my agent, along with all the hopes and dreams that accompany any manuscript into the great wide open. Hopefully she'll like them all (especially the Blaze) and good things will be coming my way soon.
And speaking of "the Blaze", I cranked out another 60 pages this past week, rocketing past the halfway mark. This week? Another 60 page goal. Which will mean if I work hard, I could see THE END to this book by the end of the month... Taxes, the chat I host at Hearts Through History Romance Writers and the workshop I'm presenting at their conference next week not withstanding. :)
Happy Writing week all!
February 10, 2003 -- Yahoo! Here I am, doing my happy dance around my office. I finished my final revision on Her Husband's Bed!! Oh yeah, I'm done. Uh-huh-uh-huh-uh-huh...
OK, I guess that's enough of that. This past week has been filled with pretty much revision, revision, revision, so I'm obviously happy to be done. Now I can put all my energy into working on Every Breath You Take. I spoke to Michelle on the phone this past week and she again expressed her excitement about my branching into category. That kind of enthusiasm is pretty contagious, so I'm planning to put head down and try to plow through this book in record time. I have two hundred pages to write, so it will be kind of fun to see how long it takes to finish it. Of course, this means Never A Gentleman is officially going on hold, but never fear. It will be written, it's just been nudged!! I have so many historicals in line to be pitched right now that having another kind of book to put out in the world seems like a better use of my time at this point.
In other news, my phone call with my darling agent (to steal a phrase from another one of her clients) also gave me the news that Dorchester has promised to look at my Heart of a Wolf within the next couple of weeks, so I'll hopefully be hearing some news... any news... soon!
February 3. 2003 -- Well, it's been a productive week for me! And one with many exciting changes coming on the horizon. First, Michelle contacted Dorchester publishing to do a follow-up on Heart of a Wolf. It was a really glowing email and we'll just have to see where it leads. I'm crossing my fingers.
Also, while updating her on my progress, I mentioned that I'd be working on a contemporary category romance along the lines of a Blaze. Yes, you've heard it here first, the historical writer has branched out into category. Michelle was very excited and asked to see the partial when I'm done. When I send Her Husband's Bed next week, it will be accompanied by my recently completed partial and synopsis for Every Breath You Take, my Blaze. I will probably be putting a bit of information about this work in My Books some time soon, so look for a description there in the next few weeks.
I'm very busy right now, working on this new venture, doing the final revision on Her Husband's Bed and still preparing to write Never a Gentleman, but it's all really good stuff. Here's hoping one of these projects leads to The Call.
January 27, 2003 -- I have finished the first revision on Her Husband's Bed and dramatically reduced my problem of page shortage! The book has really pulled itself together and I found myself actually liking it in spots. This week I'll be focusing on some other issues, like a quick revision of the synopsis and some work on a couple other projects, but then I'll be back for a second bigger revision, then a read-through and then it's off to Michelle!
After completing this, I was able to write the prologue for my next book, Never a Gentleman, so that is on it's way toward completion, as well. The beginning of a book is always such a neat time for me as I try to figure out character motivations and plot points. Writing that first chapter always really solidifies the process for me, turning my labor from a bunch of notes in a couple of notebooks to a real manuscript that will be completed.
In other news, I will be running a weekly chat again! The catch is, you need to be a member of the Hearts Through History chapter of RWA to attend. Click the links to find out more about joining. :) Happy writing all!
January 20, 2003 -- The revisions on Her Husband's Bed are coming along really nicely! Last week, I reached the halfway mark, Chapter 10, with a goal to revise through Chapter 15 for this coming week. I worried at first, but I think I will make my goal of finishing my revision by the end of February.
No news on the submission front, but now that the editors are back to work from the holidays, I'm hoping they'll start sending some responses in soon.
January 13, 2003 -- Well, my new computer arrived mid-week and I have been happily transferring files and getting it all set up! It's just awesome and I'm hoping it will hold me in good stead for a few years and maybe see me through my first book contract. One can hope.
In writing news, I did begin my revisions on Her Husband's Bed last week and have revised through Chapter three already. I'm actually enjoying the story so far and have already added some of the needed pages to reach my target word count. Yay! I've also begun to arrange the plot points for Never A Gentleman, so that book is slowly taking shape in my head and on paper. I'm excited about starting it!
January 6, 2003 -- Well, my New Year has started off well, with me finishing the character sketches for my new book, Never a Gentleman. Serious plotting and arranging is to follow. Check out My Books for more info on this latest endeavor. In other news, today I plan to begin the great revision of Her Husband's Bed, the manuscript I finished around Thanksgiving of 2002.
In other news, you may have noticed the award on the first page of the website. This was given to me by a site called Book Crazy Radio, which is a radio site that streams on the internet 24-hours a day. They are romance friendly and gave me not only a link for best site January 2003, but also informed me they would promote my website on a couple of their show. Very cool! Thanks!
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