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2008 Diary Archive

December 29, 2008 -- I can't believe I'm about to type this, but this is the final entry in the diary for 2008! Next week this diary will be archived and a new, blank one will begin. I'm really looking forward to 2009 since I have four books coming out and lots of other exciting plans in the works, especially here where the anniversary is beginning. Don't forget to come back here January 1 for the first Anniversary Update! The first interview, the first contest, the first top ten list... the first everything for the big celebration. Also, I invite (or challenge) you to tell at least one friend who writes about The Passionate Pen this year! Share the site as your anniversary gift to me.

In the mean time, I'm doing my usual look at Goals. You all know how I feel about them. Here were my 2008 goals:

All in all, I didn't do too badly. With the exception of reading (which I did read more than 12 books, just not a book a month), I met all my goals and in some cases, exceeded them. But now it's time to think about 2009:

Have a very happy new year everyone! And be sure to check back on January 1 for the beginning of the Anniversary extravaganza!


December 22, 2008 -- I can't believe the holiday week is here! Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas and Happy Kwanza to everyone (as well as any other holidays I missed). Next week will be the last diary entry of 2008! How did that happen? There will be a special update on January 1st to launch the 10-Year Anniversary here at the site! Oh and next week I'll be talking about resolutions and goals.

One of which I met this week when I finished the first draft (and my personal revision) of What the Duke Desires. I'm so relieved to be done before the holiday! Now it is off with my wonderful literary agent and my equally fabulous Kathryn Smith (who is always my first reader on any project cause she ROCKS). Once they're done reading and making suggestions, it should be one final read for last changes and then off to May for my January 15 deadline.

The nice thing is that I talked to May this week and they're keeping the title for this book, which will be released November 2009 as my last book of 2009 (and my 14th published novel since 2004). She also sent me a hot-off-the-presses copy of A Red Hot Valentine's Day, which hits stores January 6! So keep it in mind with your gift certificates after the holiday.

Oh and you may have noticed the picture above. That is my new author photo, which will not be in my first few 2009 releases, but I'm hoping will make its debut in What the Duke Desires, as well. I got it taken in Atlanta during Moonlight and Magnolias in October and didn't Annette Batista do a wonderful job? Well worth her very reasonable price!

Happy, Happy Holidays Everyone! I think we've all earned them this year.


December 15, 2008 -- We're home! It was a great trip home seeing family and friends. Definitely the perfect early Christmas. But now we're back and I'll be just working diligently on the revision for What the Duke Desires until January when it's due. Actually, I started before we left and I've been making good, steady progress ever since, including on the flights. I'm pretty close to being done with first pass, then I'm hoping to get some feedback, do a second go-through and then send it off to my fantabulous editor by the due date.

In between, I'll also be starting my next erotic historical. So I'm busy. Lots to do, which I actually really like. Just sitting is not my style. I'd rather be on deadline.

In just a few weeks, The Passionate Pen 10-Year Anniversary Celebration begins. Next week I'll be putting up the first pages for the anniversary and you'll get a sneak peek at what is in the works. Oh, and I STILL need some feedback about "What Passionate Pen Means to Me". If you visit here regularly, I hope you have something to share. I'd really love to know.


December 1, 2008 -- Hope everyone had a nice weekend, holiday or not. We had a great time with a friend and ate delicious food and then rocked the world with a new karaoke-type game called "Lips". So it was a quite satisfying weekend all around. It's a good thing, too, because this week I'll be back to the grindstone. I'm going to be starting the editing of What the Duke Desires, which is very exciting. I actually printed it out last week and read a little bit of it as I went and was enjoying it, so I'm looking forward to picking it apart in more detail and starting to make changes and improvements.

That will pretty much be my week. Oh, and no update next Monday. We'll be away on a trip home to Idaho to visit the parents for an early Christmas. But I'll be back for the December 15 update.

One final thing, we are less than a month away from the start of the Passionate Pen 10-Year Anniversary Celebration, which will last all of 2009. There are going to be great interviews, fun top ten lists and HUGE prizes all year long. But I'd also love to hear from all of you who visit here regularly. I want a section of "What Passionate Pen Means to Me", with short paragraphs from writers who have found the site helpful in some way. Please send me your comments to feedback@passionatepen.com. You might be chosen to be featured next year (let me know if you would like to remain anonymous). 

I REALLY need a few of these and I hope you'll take a few minutes and help make the anniversary really special. Plus, I'd just like to know a few of you are out there. LOL


November 24, 2008 -- Before I start this week's regular entry, I have to tell you how excited I am! I was just given a tentative release date for the book I'll be turning in January 09. And it's November 09! I'm so excited! If this date sticks, it will be a huge year for me!! So yay! And thanks to Avon for finding a slot for me end of year!

Okay, I'm done jumping up and down. A big Happy Upcoming Thanksgiving to my American visitors. I can't believe the holiday is here and November is almost over. It seems like time is just flying by! I'll be updating Jenna Petersen on Wednesday and there is going to be a December contest, so be sure to stop by as you're doing your turkey prep.

This past week I got a good chunk done laying out the specifics of my next erotic romance. Right now I'm calling it Nothing Denied because it is related to Everything Forbidden and Something Reckless. Plus, that is the agreement Beatrice makes with Gareth (her hero). She can deny him nothing for a fortnight before she decides if she truly wishes to take on the burden of being his bride. I'm getting quite excited to write it. Which is good because next week I'll be starting my own final personal edits on What the Duke Desires. Once those are done I'll be writing ND.

I'm not sure how much any of us will get done this week, but happy writing anyway!


November 17, 2008 -- After a few weeks off to do outside of actual writing things, this week I'll be back to focus because I need to start getting my act together on the next book I'll be writing, which is my next full-length erotic romance. This one will feature Beatrice Albright, who is the difficult sister from the Albright sister series (Everything Forbidden and Something Reckless). I'm looking forward to starting it, so I want to get scene sketches done and final character work tweaked and the synopsis tightened before I start back on the finishing revisions for What the Duke Desires.

Also, I know it's been  while since I did a link check and that's on the menu for me for this week, too. As well as starting setting up my updates for next week's publication of the Jenna Petersen website. This one is going to be a good one! I can finally share my cover for Her Notorious Viscount (April 2009) and it's awesome! There will be a contest, too, my first one in a while, so make sure you keep an eye out for the Jenna update next week. ;)

Happy writing everyone!


November 10, 2008 -- We are back from a really wonderful vacation in the beautiful island of Kauai in Hawaii. This was my husband's reward from his company and I felt like it was mine, too, for finishing my first draft. We laid on the beach, we hung out with friends, I vomited for three hours while deep sea fishing... you know, the usual.

But I'm home now and I have a couple of weeks until I'm going to start the revision on What the Duke Desires (I'll start December 1 so that I'll have lots of time before my January 15 due date, especially since I'll be heading to Idaho during that time period, as well). Until then, though, I'll be working on some other stuff. I have lots of emails to answer (I'm getting there), some promo for 2009 to work out, contests to enter with my 2008 releases and other "outside" stuff that I find seems to pile up while I'm finishing a manuscript.

Oh yeah, and I guess I should start thinking about Christmas. How did that happen?

Happy writing everyone!


October 27, 2008 -- Not a lot to report since I'm done with What the Duke Desires. I've been tidying and painting and doing real life stuff all the past week. This week is all about finishing up getting ready for Hawaii. We leave for our trip on Saturday morning, so there will be no update next week. I'll be back for regular updates on November 10.

In the mean time, check out the historical romances available in January, which I added today. Have a wonderful couple of weeks everyone! :)


October 20, 2008 -- The word of the week was... stress, but I guess it turns out I work better under duress because I ripped through the remainder of my book! Yes, the first draft of What the Duke Desires is all finished. I'm now going to put it aside until December when I'll go through it and do the revision that it needs before I turn it in just after the new year. It's a huge weight off my back to be done and now I just hope I can do the concept justice once I revise.

I'm also very pleased to announce that my May 2009 erotic romance Taboo is now up for pre-order at Amazon. This is a full-length book (as opposed to a novella) and features Cassandra Willows as heroine. If you read Everything Forbidden you may recall Cassandra. She was the seamstress who also designed erotic toys on the side for gentlemen and their lovers. This is her story. Probably in the next month or so I'll be starting on my next erotic romance, which will feature another Albright sister as its heroine. This time I'm tackling Beatrice, the difficult, spoiled sister of Miranda and Penelope. What happens when the woman no one wants makes a sensual bargain with the gentleman everyone fears?

Well, I guess we'll find out. :)

Oh, and I'll be going off to Hawaii on November 1! Wheeee! So that will also be a nice reward for writing "The End". Anyone know of any bookstores on Kauai? Maybe I should sign stock, huh?


October 13, 2008 -- Well, going to the conference definitely paid off this week as I hit the book hard and was able to take myself to my goal number of pages! I'm getting closer and closer to "The End" and I'm really liking this book.

I was only slightly distracted when I got a package containing several copies of the Norwegian version of Scandalous, which came out last month, I guess. It's very pretty, is it not (sorry that it's black and white, the scan was weird and I haven't had a chance to do it again)? The title is Uventet bryllup, which loosely translated seems to mean "Unexpected Wedding". A very literal translation of what transpires in the book, if you've read it.

At any rate, if you live in Norway, the publisher is Schibsted Forlag. I love the foreign sales. Not only are they lucrative, but it's just fun and these are the very first copies I've ever gotten (Scandalous and From London With Love were both translated to Portuguese for publication in Brazil, but they don't send copies).

Of course that made me go back to the Brazilian publisher and they have put out Desire Never Dies now, as well. Nice cover, huh? The translation of the title is "Dangerous Decision". I think the Brazil covers are actually very pretty in that they're a little throw-back to the big, bold 80s covers.

As for this week, my plan is to continue the march toward "The End" this week. If I hit my page count then I'll be right at the downward slide next week and I might even finish it next week! Which would be awesome and terrific timing.

Happy week, everyone!


October 6, 2008 -- Busy, busy week last week! I had copyedits to finish and I think you all know how much I love copyedits. LOL I was also trying to write before I headed off to Atlanta. I have to say it wasn't going well. I've had a lot of outside distractions so it's been slow going for a while now. I think the quality is still good, just my usual speed isn't there. More on that later.

So Thursday I hopped on a plane and headed for Atlanta. Our little local airport is SO NICE and they have free wi-fi, so since I had an hour, I decided to check mail and stuff. When I was done, I opened my story document and three new pages fell out of me. I would have written more, but then we had to board. Since you can't write while they load, taxi and fly, I whipped out the notebook and started writing by longhand like crazy. When my hand started hurting, I pulled the laptop back out and transcribed my work out. Suddenly I was up to nine pages (and a cramped everything because there wasn't enough room).

I went back to the notebook and sketching scenes until we landed. Although the hotel was very far from the airport, everything else about the conference was lovely. The Georgia Romance Writers are wonderful and very pulled-together. Everyone I met was very sweet. I even got a new author photo taken (I'll have it soon to share with you here). My presentation on The Great Agent Search seemed to go over quite well. And my own lovely agent was there, so it's always nice to hang out with her.

There were several things I got out of this weekend. One was inspiration, which is the highest compliment to any chapter meeting or conference. If you leave wanting to write more than you did when you came, it was a success. I wrote three more pages in my room on Friday night and I sketched the scenes out for the remainder of the book on the flight home. I'm pumped to write and I think that will be reflected in me actually getting some speed back now (as long as I don't get distracted by shiny things as I have been lately).

Secondly I was reminded about how there are certain authors you just want to emulate. Not their writing style necessarily, I mean you have to be you. Writing like someone else doesn't work. But I mean the way they behave. This weekend I got to spend a little time with both Jacquie D'Alessandro and Teresa Medeiros. Now you want to talk about class, genuine kindness and grace, and you've got to mention these two ladies. It's in the way they treat readers, it's in the way they treat authors, it's in the way they treat everyone. And it's not that "fake smile, but really bored" way that some people have about them. The two of them are just real and I feel lucky to know them both.

Oh, and then there was the icing on the cake that I got to meet and/or hang out again with several of my online friends/fans. Gannon, PJ, Andrea, Andrea's sister whose name I can never remember because I'm a big goober, J. Perry Stone, Kymberly from MySpace... the list goes on! I mean, how cool is that!!

So all in all it was a great conference. I really needed a break and a recharge and I got it in spades.


September 29, 2008 -- This last week ended up being something of a mental health week. There's a lot going on with me right now (most of which is outside of writing) and I have just been exhausted. So since this book is not due until after the new year, I decided to take a mental health week. LOL That doesn't mean I didn't do anything.... I actually did a bit of scene sketching and figured out a plot thing that had been stumping me, but I gave myself permission to get other things on my "to do" list done. It was nice to do it and I feel slightly less stressed out now. Slightly.

This week I hope to get back on the saddle. That will be more complicated since I'm heading to Atlanta on Thursday night for the Moonlight and Magnolia conference. The booksigning is on Saturday afternoon, all the details are at the link, so I hope you'll come say hi if you're there. I'm also doing The Great Agent Search talk on Saturday morning, so be sure to join me for that, too.

I am taking my computer, though, and I intend to write Thursday once I arrive. And maybe a little bit Friday morning. So I'm still shooting for at least 35-40 pages this week. I'm really looking forward to this conference. My lovely agent will be there and Tessa Woodward, who is not my editor, but is one of my favorite Avon people. :) And my buddy Tanya Michaels is speaking and we're friends from way back when I sat at signings as Jess Michaels. I miss sitting by Tanya (not that Petersen/Peterson row isn't awesome). Plus, Jacquie D'Alessandro is going to be there and I adore her. And we're both up for a Maggie, so we might arm wrestle. I've been working out, I'm ready to go.

Basically, it will be a nice little escape with some good friends and readers and all kinds of super fun time. And sometimes you just need that. And who am I kidding... it gave me an excuse to buy some new clothes. LOL

Happy week everyone! Hope to see some of you Friday/Saturday in Atlanta.


September 22, 2008 -- Okay, is it just me or is this month flying by? August felt like it went on FOREVER to me, but now September is a week away from gone. Maybe it's because I'm writing again. It seems like writing makes time fly by faster for me likely because I lose track of time while I fall into the story and try to keep up. Like last week. I really hit a stride in the beginning of the week and got a bunch of pages done, which is awesome. I'm over a third of the way through the book now and hoping to be even further along this week.

Another thing I've been beginning to take care of this week is getting more stuff together for the 10th anniversary celebration of The Passionate Pen. It's just around the corner now (the celebration starts in January) and I have my first guest and several BIG prizes lined up. In October I'll line up my guests in earnest and get a few more prizes in the hole, as well as start gathering quotes from people about the site. So hang in there, it's going to be awesome.

So that's about it for the week.... what? Oh, you noticed my beautiful new cover, all shiny and glorious over there? Yes, this is for my January 6, 2009 Jess Michaels' release, A Red Hot Valentine's Day. Cute, eh? My story, "By Valentine's Day", is a Regency-set historical that features friends who turn to lovers while trapped by a storm in a country estate. I really had a great time with this story (the piano scene... totally surprised me when it pretty much wrote itself) and I hope you'll like it, too.

I also got my cover for Her Notorious Viscount this week, as well, but I'm not at liberty to share yet. Let's just say... gorgeous and I might have to have a cover face-off between this one and Lessons because I just can't decide which one is more beautiful.


September 15, 2008 -- My week was quite productive, as I managed to write over 50 pages on The Duke's Desire. Maybe it should be What the Duke Desires. Do you like that better? Crap, I suck at titles. Anyway, I'm going to go well over the 100 page mark this week. My sweetie is sadly traveling again, which makes me lonely but productive. So I should be well on my way to 1/3 done by Friday (for those of you trying to keep track about 120 pages is the 1/3 point).

Otherwise, my September is pretty quiet. I didn't schedule any events, conferences or blogs during the month because honestly... I was tired. And I wanted to focus on starting the new book. Things are changing around here pretty rapidly (I can't talk about it yet), so I'd love to be past 200 pages before I leave for Atlanta and the Moonlight and Magnolia conference the first weekend of October. The book will hopefully be finished by the end of October, which will be perfect. See, we're going to Hawaii the first part of November. So when I get back, I can edit. Then I'll be in plenty of time to enjoy the holidays before I send it off for its January 15 due date. And hopefully that will jive well with everything going on in my personal life.

And then I'll start on my next erotic romance, which my fabulous editor just approved, yay for approval! I am looking forward to the story since its another Albright sister (the heroines of Everything Forbidden and Something Reckless were both Albright sisters). This isn't really a series, persay, though I think Something Reckless is probably more enjoyable if you read Everything Forbidden first.

Also, I just sold foreign rights on Lessons From A Courtesan for the first time. Japanese! They bought From London With Love earlier this year. Apparently they are scheduling London's release for next Spring, with Courtesan to follow shortly after. So if you are in Japan, look for both books in 2009! ;) I do love foreign sales. I have yet to get copies from any of the foreign sales, but all my books have sold into foreign markets, which is very exciting.

Okay off to write! Monday is a busy day for me, so I'm going to have to sneak in my writing as I can.


September 8, 2008 -- The new book is officially started now! In fact, I've written over 25 pages. 50 is my normal rate per week, but the first week of a book, I rarely push myself to that level just because I'm still feeling out the story. Plus, this past weekend we went down to St. Louis to meet up with my brother-in-law, his wife and their little baby boy. So meeting my nephew for the first time was more important to me. Still, I'm pleased with how it's going so far! I really like both my characters and their chemistry.

And I'm hoping to get a little more on track writing-wise this week because my husband is out of town on business until Thursday, which means I can bury myself in writing without feeling too, too bad about abandoning him. I think I'm going to order a lot of take out, lock my office door and see what I can do with Simon and Lillian's story.

Did I tell you all that this series is loosely being called "The Billingham Bastards"? I know we won't keep it (I doubt WalMart will be okay with "Bastard" on the cover of a book), but that's what I'll always call it in my head.


September 1, 2008 -- Well, another month gone. I just can't believe it! It seemed like August barely got here and then it was gone. And I usually like August since it's the month of my birthday, yet this time around it was so busy that I'm kind of glad it's over.

It was a busy week, too. I had to run to Chicago and back mid-week for a personal thing. And then I got page proofs for my novella in my January 6, 2009 release, A Red Hot Valentine's Day, which also featurs Lacy Danes, Megan Hart and Jackie Kessler. Also, I got approval on my May 2009 single title Jess Michaels release, Taboo! So yay, that book is set to go (except for copyedits and page proofs, of course). And I must have been on a Jess Michaels run this last week because I also put together a synopsis for my next Jess Michaels book, which won't be due until next April, but since Taboo is all cleared away, it was time. And if you've read Everything Forbidden and Something Reckless, you'll recognize the heroine from those stories. Yes, another Albright sister will fall prey to love. As long as my editor approves it. LOL

But now that all the Jess stuff is taken care of, it's time to switch gears back to Jenna. I'm very excited to say that as soon as this page is published, I will be retreating to my hole and starting my next historical romance, still currently titled The Duke's Sins. Do you like The Duke's Desire better? I sort of like the alliteration. And it's not as though Avon ever keeps my horrible titles anyway...

Anyway, off to write about my Duke. Yippee! Finally I write again!!!


August 25, 2008 -- Another week of mostly catching up and doing busy work. It's one of those things they don't tell you before you publish. Sometimes you'll just have weeks of doing nothing but email and scheduling and all that jazz. Oy!!

Did I mention I finaled in the Maggies? Well, Desire Never Dies did. It was awesome since I'll be at the conference in October. Anyone from Atlanta going to be there? I'm really looking forward to it! I'll be presenting my agent workshop and signing at the booksigning.

And next week I start book! Yay for book!


August 18, 2008 -- I've been distracted by Olympics and my husband finally getting home this week (yay!!), but I did manage to get a big chunk of scene sketching done for my next book. Right now I'm calling it The Duke's Sins, which I'm not really married to, but a lot of great "Duke" titles are already taken and I want Duke in the title. So if anyone has any suggestions for Duke titles that have NOT been used in the last five years, hit me with them. Trust me, that is not an easy task.

In other news, if you live in the Chicago-area I'd love for you to stop by my booksigning this weekend. You can read all the details in My Events.

Finally, I'm starting to put my schedule of talks and appearances together for the end of '08-09, so if your chapter would like for me to do a presentation either online or in person, you can contact me. I'm sorry, I don't do individual "coaching" or presentations (every time I put out one of these calls a person says they'd just like me to send them my class and I can't do that). But if you have a writing or reader group that you'd like me to appear for, definitely let me know.


August 11, 2008 -- Not a lot to update since I just got home last night from Seattle and I'm just starting to catch up. I'll be starting a new book on September 1, so I'll probably be working on scene sketches for that once I get done with laundry and groceries and all the mundane things that you have to do when you've been away for nearly two weeks. And I also still have tons of MySpace and Facebook and email messages to answer. So remain patient. If you've contacted me, I'm getting there. Slowly but surely. :)


August 4, 2008 -- Hello from fabulously sunny and wonderful San Francisco! I'm still here until tomorrow and then Seattle for a family wedding until next Sunday, so I'm in transition. But it's been great! Conference was lovely on the whole and I loved Alcatraz last night. Today I did the Frida Kahlo exhibit at SFMOMA.

Anyway, I'm going to be working on the Day By Day Diary tonight. I don't know how far I'll get before I'm off to Seattle and may get swept up in wedding stuff, but keep checking! :) Meanwhile, my next full update will be next Monday, August 11.


July 28, 2008 -- I'm leaving for San Francisco tomorrow! Yay! I am pretty much all packed, ready to get up at ridiculously-early-thirty and go to the airport to catch my flight. Melody Thomas and I have turned out to be on the same flight from Chicago to San Francisco, so I think we're going to try to sit together. And I'm meeting up with fabulous Kathryn Smith once we arrive to head over to the hotel together (Kate and I are also sharing a room).

So look for my first post about the conference tomorrow night (hopefully). Like I said, it could be here or it could be MySpace or it could be both. LOL

Oh, and one more thing, I know a lot of you aren't able to make it to the conference, but you can still participate! Avon Books is holding two BlogRadio segments where readers can call in and talk to their favorite authors! Here's the info:

Ladies of the Night BlogTalk Radio Show

Live from the Avon Suite at the Romance Writers of America convention in San Francisco

Wednesday, July 30, 8-9:00 PM PTD (11 pm – 12 am EDT)
A night of romance and the supernatural, featuring: Jocelyn Drake *  Kerrelyn Sparks * Kathryn Smith * Melissa Marr * Terri Garey * Jeaniene Frost...with an introduction by Kim Harrison!   Hosting the program will be Stephanie Moffitt (Moderator of B&N’s Center Stage) 

Call in & chat, or just listen in at (347) 826-9686 

Or listen live on the web at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stations/AuthorsOnAir/RomanceRadio/2008/07/31/Ladies-of-the-Night-Live-from-RWA (Visit in advance to automate a program reminder)

Avon Historical Fiction BlogTalk Radio Show -- This one features me, so please do call in if you can and make me look good! LOL

***Friday, August 1, 3:30 pm PDT (6:30 pm EDT)

Live from the Avon Suite at the Romance Writers of America convention in San Francisco

This conversation is going to sizzle, with: * Jenna Petersen * Gayle Callen/Julia Latham * Lorraine Heath * Elizabeth Boyle * Sophie Jordan * Hosting the program will be Michelle Buonfiglio (Lifetime TV's www.mylifetime.com/lifestyle/entertainment/romance-buy-the-book/blog)

Call in & chat, or just listen in at (347) 826-9686 

Or listen live on the web at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/stations/AuthorsOnAir/RomanceRadio/2008/08/01/Historical-Fiction-BlogTalkRadio-Live-from-RWA (Visit in advance to automate a program reminder)

See you all tomorrow for my first conference blog! :)


July 21, 2008 -- Just one more week and I'll be in San Francisco for RWA! I'm looking forward to it. I've added a short article with my tips about conference. I hope it helps.

Otherwise, here's how the next few weeks will work. Next week, I'll post an update. Then I'm taking my laptop with me to National for the first time, so I'm going to ATTEMPT to update about conference on a daily basis. I don't make any promises, but if I do, it will either be here or at MySpace (where anyone can read my blogs). Then when I get back I'll tidy up those entries, add pictures if I haven't already, etc.

Now, I'm staying in San Francisco and extra few days, so the Monday of August 4, I will probably not be updating (I might, you never know). And then I'm going to Seattle for my only brother's wedding. I will be back August 10, so look for an update August 11, but it might be pretty small because I'm probably going to be completely exhausted.

Everything will definitely be back to regular schedule August 18. So check here, we'll see how I do. LOL


July 14, 2008 -- I'm afraid I'm quite boring right now. I'm plotting away, but not particularly seriously on the series I'm starting to write soon (the first book is already totally plotted, so I'm building a series bible right now). I'm hung up on one thing that I'll have to resolve before September 1 when I start writing, but this week my sweetie will be heading to Atlanta for a conference and I may fiddle with it some more while I'm hanging with my bad self.

And I'm getting ready for National, which is in just two weeks! I've been working on packing lists and schedules for the week. I still need a RITA dress (I lost enough weight that I had to return what I planned to wear and I haven't yet found a replacement). And I will probably start the packing process next week. It's going to be rough this year because I'm going to Seattle straight after for my brother's wedding, so I'm going to have two suitcases (ARG) and not a lot of space for anything else. I guess I'll be shipping goodies home or just abandoning them. It's a crisis of clothing, I tell you.

Lessons From A Courtesan appears to continue to chug along. I'm still getting lots of fan mail on the book (thank you!!) and I'm so glad that people seem to be taking to it for the most part! If you haven't bought it yet and are wondering if you'd like it, I have an excerpt up at my author site. I hope you'll buy it and enjoy it!

Okay, off to stare at my clothing again and second guess myself on shoes.


July 7, 2008 -- There were several nice things to report from the last week. First, I finished both Taboo and wrapped up the revisions for Her Notorious Viscount and they are now back on my editor's desk. This is a big relief and now my attention has shifted to RWA in San Francisco at the end of the month. Please do check out My Events for more info. I'd love to meet any of you who are attending!

In other news, Lessons From A Courtesan is a Bookscan bestseller, coming in at #80 during a very competitive month. It appears from the sales numbers for this list that this is my most successful title to date, as well! So big thank you to all of you who have picked it up! I hope you're enjoying it! And if you haven't yet gotten your copy, it is still available!

A lot of people have been asking me about Caleb, my hero Justin's brother in Lessons and whether or not he'll have this own book. The answer is yes, but not immediately. My next book, Her Notorious Viscount is another stand-alone title that I'm so, so very excited about. Really, I am thrilled by this book and very excited for you all to read it. Then I'll be starting a new series and Caleb will be a part of that.

So if you bear with me, his story is coming and I think you'll all really like how it fits into the series and who he ends up with. It's something I'm doing a lot of thinking about now as I do a series diary and a basic layout of how the books will touch. I fell in love with him, too and I promise I won't abandon him! In the meantime, I hope you'll enjoy what I have in store for you in the interim! I'm very excited about these upcoming stories.

Oh and I'm in several places on the web and in person this week! I hope you'll come by! Check out My Events for the particulars!


June 30, 2008 -- Well, I survived release week, yay! Thank you to all of you who went out and bought Lessons From A Courtesan already. And to you who asked booksellers about it if you didn't see it on the shelf. Both are enormously helpful. I hope you love the book! There have already been some wonderful comments from readers, so truly... thank you. It means a great deal to me. If you haven't gotten it yet, hopefully by now all the stores have put it on the shelf. If they haven't, definitely ask!

Okay, so last week I forgot to mention that I have revisions that I got for my NEXT book, Her Notorious Viscount, which comes out in April of next year (and you can already pre-order it on Amazon). They came a couple of Fridays ago, so that was another thing that I worked on last week. I'm almost done with my editor's always-fabulous and insightful comments, so I'm working toward getting this bad boy back to her in the next week.

I have another book due at the same time, Taboo, which is a full-length erotic romance coming out next year (May 2009 as Jess Michaels). Actually, the deadline got shifted a bit to accommodate the revision for HNV, but I'm almost done with it, too. My big personal goal is to have both of these things done and emailed away before I leave for San Francisco. I would love to have a month and a half to enjoy my conference, celebrate my brother's wedding and collapse on my couch before I start my next project.

Yes, Secret Mystery Jenna Historical Series. It's going to be huge. But that is a story for another day.


June 23, 2008 -- IT is here. Lessons From A Courtesan officially hits shelves tomorrow (Tuesday), but I've already had some scattered reports of it being seen in stores.

It's a rather terrifying thing to have a book out. I think it's gotten more scary as I've become what is termed a "midlist" author. You see, as a new author, there weren't really any expectations beyond a very basic base. So if I did that, they were happy, if I exceeded it they were very happy. But the more books I have had out, the more solid their expectations have become. And as a result, I feel the pressure to do at least okay.

So here's hoping people can all find the book (please stock it on time, PLEASE!!), that they actually want to buy the book, that they DO buy the book and that they enjoy it.

So what are you waiting for? Go find Lessons!! ;)


June 16, 2008 -- Oh my goodness! It's almost here! One week from Tuesday, Lessons From A Courtesan will be on bookstores nationwide (assuming they actually stock on time at your store).

I am always excited when I have a book out. I think my previous diary entries can attest to that fact, but there is something different about this release. I'm as nervous as I was when Scandalous came out and it was my debut!!

Anyway, what this means is that likely a few people will start to see copies in the stores as early as this coming weekend! So if you do see the book and pick it up... please let me know! I'd love to track as it shows up and people see it. No one ever emails me about this, so I'd love to hear from anyone who finds it and where and when! LOL

Oh, and just to add to the fun, Amazon has already put up the link to buy both my next historical and my next erotic romance. So if you want to pre-order A Red Hot Valentine's Day (January 6, Jess Michaels) or Her Notorious Viscount (April 2009, Jenna Petersen) click the links! More on both of them next month-ish

In other news, I've donated a critique to Eloisa James and Julia Quinn's charity auction at their bulletin board. So come on by and bid if you're interested in that sort of thing.

My RWA National Conference schedule is starting to come together. Every year I think this is going to be a light year... and every year I get slammed with things to do. LOL Which is good. I'll be adding a couple more events that are currently tentative in the next few weeks, so keep an eye out! One of them is one people who are staying home can participate in too!

Happy writing all!


June 9, 2008 -- I'm just... overwhelmed right now. Right after I published last week's update, my phone rang. Desire Never Dies is a finalist in the Kiss of Death chapter's Daphne contest in the historical romantic suspense category! What a couple months I've had for contests. Here's the line-up:

Everything Forbidden won the Erotic Category of the From the Heart RWA Lories and is a finalist for overall Best Book.

Everything Forbidden finaled in the Detroit RWA Booksellers Best Contest in the erotic category.

Seduction Is Forever finaled in the Detroit RWA Booksellers Best Contest in the historical category.

Everything Forbidden finaled in the Orange County RWA Bookbuyers Best Contest in the historical category.

Desire Never Dies finaled in the Orange Country RWA Bookbuyers Best Contest in the historical category.

Seduction Is Forever finaled in the First Coast RWA Beacon Contest in hte historical category.

Desire Never Dies finaled in the KOD RWA Daphne Contest in the historical category.

I never spoke of it here, but last year was very... difficult for me professionally, for a wide variety of reasons. I stressed about stuff I couldn't change and worried about stuff that might happen and stuff that DID happen. There are so many things that I just can't share here, even though I've been tempted. I try to be honest, but I also have to keep some things to myself. Things seem to be turning around now (thanks in great part to the efforts, support and endless patience of my lovely editor and wonderful agent), but to see these books, especially, getting some recognition... well, it's very sweet.

Know what else is sweet? That Lessons From A Courtesan will be in stores two weeks from Tuesday. Eep!!


June 2, 2008 -- Hooray! Another first draft is in the hopper! Yes, I buckled down, hit a really nice zone and finished Taboo over the weekend! It's still got a lot of work to do in revision, but I'm taking at least a week off, maybe two (depending on whether or not I receive revisions on my April 2009 historical release, Her Notorious Viscount).

What this break also means is that I'll be catching up on all the things that seem to get put off while I'm finishing a book. So if I haven't emailed you back, answered your comments on MySpace, etc, etc... I'll be doing that soon. Oh, and I've joined up at Facebook, so if you are over there please do friend me!

Oh, and Lessons From A Courtesan is out in less than a month now! Check out that countdown! I'm soooo nervous... if you haven't guessed.

Happy writing everyone!


May 26, 2008 -- This was a good week, writing-wise for me. I finished another big chunk of Taboo, so I should be finished with the story by the end of next week if I continue to buckle down. That will leave me plenty of time for personal revision before I send it off July 15. Then I get a little break (probably until September 1), while I do RWA, my brother's wedding, my birthday and some travel. After that...? I'm starting a new historical series!!!! But I can't talk about that yet.

Another great piece of news is that Seduction Is Forever has finaled in the historical category of the Beacon Award. I found out when the finalists were posted on an email link I'm a member of, so that was very exciting!! And unexpected. When I didn't get a call, I assumed I was out of the running. It's been quite a month for me when it comes to contests! LOL

Finally, this is the last week to bid on anything in the Brenda Novak Auction for Diabetes Research, including the lunch I've donated with me during RWA Natioanl in San Francisco, CA! So if you are waiting until the last minute... this is pretty much it. You can find my lunch by searching for "Jenna Petersen" from the main link above.

Have a great week, everyone!


May 19, 2008 -- Hi everyone! Had a nice week with my Mom, but now I am back to reality. I just turned in a proposal for a new historical series I hope to start after the summer. And I'm about halfway through with my current project, the erotic romance currently titled Taboo. So lots to do.

In other news, as of Saturday, my lunch that I donated to the Brenda Novak Auction for Diabetes Research is sitting right at about $100, so that's pretty nice! You still have almost two weeks to bid, so if you're coming to San Francisco for RWA or you live in that area and want to meet me and pick my brain about... whatever then click on the link above and search for "Jenna Petersen" in order to bid!

One more cool thing. Below you will see the Brazilian cover for From London With Love, which is pretty darn awesome. I love how sweeping and 80s throwback their covers are.

I believe this translates to Seductive Enemy or Enemy Seducer. Yeah, baby!

 


May 12, 2008 -- Wow, I had quite a weekend!!! So, my mom arrived on Friday. Saturday afternoon we were in the grocery store picking up a few things when my cell phone rang. It was one of the coordinators of the Detroit RWA Booksellers Best Contest to let me know that Seduction Is Forever had finaled in the historical category of their contest!

Of course I was utterly thrilled. We took the groceries home and then went out to lunch to celebrate. After we had ordered, my cell phone rang. It was another of the coordinators in the SAME contest calling to tell me that Everything Forbidden had finaled in the erotic category!

Then on Sunday night, after we had a very nice Mother's Day dinner prepared by Mr. Petersen, our phone rang. It was the coordinator for the Orange County Chapter of RWA to tell me that Desire Never Dies finaled in THEIR Bookbuyers Best contest!! About ten minutes later, the phone rang again and the same coordinator (who had realized Jenna and Jess were the same person) told me that Everything Forbidden also finaled! Both of them are in the historical category.

So it was a pretty good weekend all in all! Wish me luck!!

Otherwise, I wanted to post a little something about my donation to the Brenda Novak Auction for Diabetes Research. I'm sure you all know about this event. Brenda hosts an auction for diabetes research every year and there are super awesome things for writers and readers all over the place and it raises HUGE amounts of money for a great cause.

This year I donated a lunch (though it could be breakfast or dinner, too) during RWA in San Francisco. So if you're in that area or are coming to RWA, you might be interested. Why? Well, I promise full disclosure at any rate. I'll bring extra treats. You ever wanted to ask a question to a published author and get the straight scoop... well, you'll get it from me at this lunch (dinner/breakfast). So... you know that could be good if you manage the right question. ;)

Anyway the proceeds all go to a great cause. So click on the link above, go search for "Jenna Petersen" and my lunch will pop up. The price is pretty low right now, so you could end up with a steal! Or at least a consolation prize if you don't win lunch with that editor/agent/NYT Bestseller you wanted to win lunch with. ;)

Happy writing everyone!


May 5, 2008 -- Well, last week was interesting. On Tuesday my husband booked a weekend getaway for us to Florida, so Thursday-Sunday I was sunning on the beach in Hollywood, FL. It was awesome and totally relaxed me.

This week, I don't plan on getting too much writing done. My Mom is coming for her annual trip on Friday, so I'm going to be getting ready for that. I may not update next Monday, either, it just depends on how busy I am. So look for a maybe/maybe not on that.

I'm about halfway through the erotic right now, with almost two months to go before it's due, so I'm not too, too worried about it at this point. I know I'll get it done.

Have a great week everyone!


April 28, 2008 -- This past weekend, I attended the Chicago-North RWA Spring Fling Conference and it was faboo!! You can see a cool little video of me there at Barbara Vey's Publisher's Weekly Blog. And while you're there, check out the whole thing because it's awesome! I'll post some pictures from the event later at MySpace and here probably.

The nice thing about going to conferences is that I tend to leave them wanting to write! Which is great since I've been a little slack on that lately. This week I want to write at least 50 pages. The next couple of weeks I'll be wrapped up in preparing for and enjoying my Mom's annual visit, so this week I'm hoping to write, write, write before I take a little break.

Thanks to everyone who has already bought Something Reckless! I've heard from a few of you that you found it and a bunch of people bought it this weekend, so I hope you enjoy!

Happy Writing Everyone! See you next week.


April 21, 2008 -- Wow, this is a busy week! Obviously the big news is that Something Reckless is officially in stores tomorrow! I am so excited to have another Avon Red, full-length erotic historical romance out! And Penelope's story was just awesome to write, so I hope you all enjoy reading it if you do pick it up!

This week I'll also be doing some other Events, so be sure to check out where I'll be online and in person. Yup, this weekend I'm making the drive to a suburb of Chicago for the Spring Fling Conference! I won't be presenting, but I will be signing books (hopefully including Something Reckless on Saturday). So if you're a reader or writer in the area, come on by and see me!

Otherwise, I continue to work on Taboo, my next erotic historical. It's coming along. After this week I'll be more than a third of the way to "The End".


April 14, 2008 -- I won! I actually won something. Up until now I've been "Award-Finaling Author Jenna Petersen/Jess Michaels". I final, but I never win. But this past week, I won! I took first place in the Erotic/Steamy category of the Lories, a published contest held by From the Heart RWA (an online chapter). Now all the first place people from all the categories will get sent on to two booksellers who will pick an overall "Best Book of the Year" winner. Winning was very cool, I'm still excited.

One week until Something Reckless comes out, which means there will probably be some sightings later this week. That issue is always a struggle for the midlist writer, probably more so for my mass market books than for my trade releases, since the trades are unlikely to hit bestseller lists of any kind.

Still, if even  a few hundred sales trickle out before the release of a book, it can mean the difference between appearing on a list and not appearing, between hitting in a postiion that makes the publisher sit up and notice and that makes the publisher say nothing at all.

I used to stress over that more, but now I feel more Zen about it. Honestly, if a reader finds my book, I would much rather they buy it right then and there and enjoy it, rather than keep themselves from buying it and maybe forgetting about it later. The sale to me is more important than the timing of the sale.

Besides, it's really a publisher/bookseller issue. The publishers have to convince the booksellers to protect street dates more strenuously. If that happens, then readers won't have to hesitate and writers won't have to worry.

Bottom line: if you see my book and you want to buy it, by all means do! I love you for it. :)

In other news, I'm busily writing away on my next erotic historical as Jess, Taboo. Finally, I'm getting my act together and getting words on paper! Go me!


April 7, 2008 -- Just two weeks left and Something Reckless will be on shelves. It's so funny to get to this place because I turned the book in so long ago and then I forget about it for a while and then suddenly it's really coming and it takes forever to get here. And then it's here and I'm freaked out about it doing okay.

You know, typical author neuroses.

Last week was a total wash. Between illness and weather-blahs and just life in general, I didn't write nearly as much as I'd hoped. But this week I'm back to the grind again. I just have to get back on track with my writing and my diet/exercise and my schedule in general. This is the week. REALLY!! This is it!!!

In other news, I've begun fiddling with a new idea for my next historical. And I think it's going to start a new series, so yay for ideas!

Happy writing all.


March 31, 2008 -- I'm home! We had a wonderful, spectacular, amazing trip of a lifetime in China. It was just... perfect in every way. I've posted some pictures at MySpace, and I've also uploaded a new album at my Avon site, but it may not be up just yet, keep checking.

Of course now it's time to start getting back to normal, whatever that is! I'm hoping to be awake and alert enough to start writing my next erotic romance, which is due July 15. Right now it's titled Taboo. If you read Everything Forbidden, you might recall the seamstress, Cassandra Willows, who supplied Ethan with the special... toy for Miranda's pleasure.

Well, Cassandra is getting her own story. :)

Oh, and did I mention that we're just a few weeks away from the release of Something Reckless? I can't wait for this story to hit shelves! I hope you'll all like it!

One last thing, I just sold Spanish rights to all three Lady Spies books! So if you are in Spain, you'll be able to find them in the next couple of years or so. I'll let you know if I get more details.

Off to wake myself up and get ready to write. Maybe.


March 10, 2008 -- After months of planning and anticipating and packing... it's here! It's finally here!! My husband and I will be boarding a plane on our way to China on Wednesday, March 12!! So obviously, that's what I'm all about this week. LOL No updates for the next couple of weeks while we travel. I also won't be online at all, so I won't be answering email. Please be patient.

Last week I pretty much just finished up all the busywork/prep work for our trip. Page proofs for Lessons From A Courtesan are back in New York now, which means that book is totally done and out of my hands. I have no other work to do until we get back and I start on Taboo, my next erotic romance that is due July 15.

Oh, and I found out that Everything Forbidden has finaled in the historical category of the Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence! I found out in the grocery store. You can read all about it here.

Have a wonderful couple of weeks, everyone! Talk to you again on March 31!

 


March 3, 2008 -- What a crazy week! On Monday, my very first nephew arrived, so welcome to the world Jake! Later in the week, I received the page proofs for Lessons From A Courtesan (July 2008). They'll be back in New York this week, but I do adore seeing them. The book feels so real! Also, we'll be leaving for China next week (eep!!!), so I've spent a good deal of time just getting ready for that! Wow, we're so excited.

Here's how my vacation will work. Next Monday, I will post an update. We leave March 12, so I will not be updating March 17 for sure. We get back very late March 23, but I don't intend to update on March 24 at this point just because I'm sure we're going to be jetlagged and swamped with trying to catch up with family and friends and work items. But I will update on March 31.

If you are on MySpace, I'll be more likely to check in and say hi there some time midweek. The address is http://myspace.com/jennawrites. You don't have to be a friend to read my blogs. I'm not sure if you have to be a friend to look at pictures (which I'll post up there when I have time).

In the meantime, this week I'm obviously planning to run around like a chicken without a head, trying to finish getting everything ready and generally losing my mind before I leave. So really... nothing very different from any other day. :) Happy writing everyone!


February 25, 2008 -- Not a lot to report writing-wise. I ended up talking to my lovely agent before she headed "across the pond" for the week and she really liked both books I just turned in. Yay! She's such a great advocate. She reads everything I write, so she has a sense of my work as a whole and can really discuss it with me in a way that is so helpful. She never buts in with her voice, but she is always available for help with plotting and with insightful comments to make things better. Which rules. Yay for agents. Now I'm just hoping my fantabulous editor likes both as much. That would be sweet!

Otherwise, this past week was all about housecleaning. It seems like when I get heavy into the writing, the house suffers first. Now I've sort of got a handle on the main living space, so this week I will go down into the depths. The storage room. (Cue scary music). Yeah. Super exciting.

Oh, and this Friday is the last day to enter the February contest at Jenna Petersen. So be sure to stop on by if you haven't already and enter! The prize is a cute little Avon Ebook lipstick drive.

Happy Writing, all!


February 18, 2008 -- This last week was so productive, it was awesome. Not only did I finish the revision for my novella, but I was able to ship both books off to my editor over a month early. The really cool thing is that I'm feeling really good about both stories. And now it's all China for me.

Speaking of China, I had to get immunizations (blech, my arms hurt!!!) and send off our VISA applications. With those things done, I'm starting to get obsessed about packing, especially since our bag weight is pretty limited coming into the country. I'm thinking I'm going to be recycling outfits and mixing and matching quite a bit, plus getting laundry done, maybe when we reach Xi'an (the middle part of our trip). I've become such a clothes horse in the last year that only taking such a limited selection of clothes is painful. LOL

I've also started thinking about what I should be writing for my next historical. I have an erotic romance due first (July 15), but I'll need to turn in a synopsis for my next historical at some point in the next couple of months. It's funny, I have some secondary characters from both Lessons From A Courtesan and A Gentleman's Sin who might be interesting to play with, but I'm also considering starting with someone new. So it's a conundrum. Someone I know or someone new... choices, choices!

Happy Writing Everyone!


February 11, 2008 -- Well, after months of totally DYING to share this, here is the new cover for my July 2008 release, LESSONS FROM A COURTESAN. I am in such complete and utter love with this cover that I can't even stand it. It's so sexy and so classy and so... fabulous! I just cannot express how grateful I am to Tom and the rest of the Avon Art Department for always giving me such spectacular stuff. I can't wait for this book to be on shelves!!

In other news, I finished my revision on A Gentleman's Sin last week. It's with Kate Smith right now because she's awesome. In the mean time, this week I'll be revising the novella for next year's anthology. Once I'm done with that and once Kate gives me the thumbs up on the other, I'll be sending both off.

It's a good thing, too, because our China trip in March is fast approaching! Tomorrow I'm actually sending off our VISA applications for processing. And we've got a whole list of things we need to pack, vaccinations we have to arrange and a bunch of other stuff. I can see the next month is going to be all about China for me. So I'm so happy to be pretty much done with my work stuff until I get back (when I have to write another full erotic due July 15).

Oh and I got an early Valentine's present from my love! New laptop (my old one is awesome, but getting a huge screen was better in theory than in practice for many reasons). This one is so cute and so nice! He takes such great care of me. And that's a hero, people!

Happy Valentine's Day! Hope you have much romance, whether in a book or in real life or both!


February 4, 2008 -- Well, despite being sick (maybe some people can write along blithely while ill, but I'm not really one of them), I did manage to finish my Red novella this week. Most of it was during the latter part of the week when I could actually BREATHE again. It's a 'friends turned to lovers' story and I loved it. I don't think I've ever written that kind of interaction between a hero and heroine before and it was awesome!

This week I'll let it sit because I'll be starting the revision on my historical that is due April 1 (so is the novella). It's still mostly title-less. I'm going with A Gentleman's Sin right now. Which sucks, by the way. I sort of loathe it. But I'm bad at titles. Oh well.

Oh, this week I'm also teaching a class at From the Heart Romance Writers. Check out My Events for more info.

Wish I was more interesting. I'm still a little foggy-headed from being sick. :)

 


January 28, 2008 -- This week was plotting week for me! Had to plot the new novella (which I'm writing this week) and do plot work for my next full-length Red that I'll be starting as soon as we get home from China! I have found I'm really loving the plotting. I especially love doing character work. That's where my characters surprise me most. I'm very excited about writing both books. In fact, I will be heading off to work on the novella as soon as this week's update is published. That is, if my nasty head cold lets me. We'll see how far I get before I have to collapse for a couple of hours.

In other news, I also just added a brand new presentation to My Workshops. This one is about how to write like you mean it, and by that I mean make more time for your writing and get your output up! You can't sell a book unless you write a book and I know that's a tough proposition for a lot of people. I don't do presentations one-on-one, but if your conference or chapter would like me to present any of my workshops to them, I'm open to travel. I also do online courses. All your chapter has to do is Contact Me. And if you want to take a class from me, just take a look at My Events.


January 21, 2008 -- After the craziness of the last couple of weeks, I finally got a chance to do some catch-up. When you're not yet published, it's really easy to just concentrate on the writing and the dream of being published. And then you get published and there's all this other stuff that you don't necessarily think about. For example, copyedits, which I did finish and send back on time.

Also, promo. I had to finish up doing an ad for Romance $ells for Something Reckless, so I had to get the stuff together for that. When I was cleaning out my closet in my office, I also found the second box of bookmarks for my November release Everything Forbidden, so I had to find places to send those to get them out and about. Same thing with contests, which are starting up for published books now (best of 2007 type stuff), so there was busy work to be done there.

Oh, and I came up with an idea for a new workshop to get rotated in to my presentation info. So I've been working on that.

Oh yeah... and then I got offered a novella in a collection that will be out around Valentine's Day next year from Avon Red! Which I was not expecting, so I also had to figure out an idea, write up a little synopsis, get some character work done and then plot out my timing so I can get everything done before I head to China!

See, little stuff. Nothing really, really major, but when all put together... yeah, that's another story. LOL But it's all good busywork! I'm totally not complaining. I was just thinking the other day that my life is pretty blessed. So hooray for busywork and employment and friends and love in general.


January 14, 2008 -- Sorry about last week's update. I know it was really late and the diary entry was short and sort of weird. I actually forgot to update. Almost a decade doing this (in 2009!!) and I actually forgot I was doing it. I think it was leftover holiday brain coupled with BIAW brain. So, sorry!

Anyway, the BIAW went very well. My goal was 120 pages and I actually wrote 139 and... Tada!!... finished my book. Which is awesome! Actually, it's beyond awesome. I feel a huge weight off having this rough draft finished and ready to revise next month. For the rest of THIS month (after a short break to make my hands stop throbbing), I will be working on prep for my next erotic romance, which is currently called Taboo and is due in July. I'll need to start writing it right after we get back from China, so I want to be ready. It's got a synopsis and everything, but I actually did everything backward this time. I still need character sheets and some scene sketches so I'll be ready to start the week after I get back.

Actually, I was rather insane to do a BIAW last week since on Friday I had to take the train up to Chicago for a couple of work events for my hubby. Oh, and I had copyedits to work on. They are actually very good, I liked the copyeditor this time. So far, she hasn't mucked about with my voice and made a few good catches on things I'd missed. However, it still is sort of weird work because I realized I wanted to add a small plot point and chapter headers for all 22 chapters. Copyedits are the last place in the Avon line where you can actually make major changes like that, so that's what I'm going to be finishing up this week. Still, I think the book is going to be a little stronger for all of it, so that makes it worthwhile. Yay for Lessons From A Courtesan (July 2008, Jenna Petersen).

But I digress, as usual. Happy writing this week! More copyediting for me this week and sleeping and breaking.


January 7, 2008 -- This week I'm back to work after my holiday hiatus. Actually, yesterday I started a BIAW (Book In A Week) challenge, so I'm hoping to get pretty close to done with the book this week. I'm still searching for the right title, but these things tend to change anyway, so I'm not that concerned. Since I'm doing BIAW, though, next week's update may be a bit sparse.

Otherwise, I'm boring. :) And writing.


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