Jul 21, 2005 | Uncategorized
It occurs to me, by reading other blogs and reading about how some folks are shooting themselves in the foot by blogging about employers, etc, that I should state for the record that all this blither-blather I type is simply my opinion and that I love a good debate and that I am easily persuaded to see the error of my ways, when I am in error. Ha! My employer, if I have one, is the DH, otherwise known as the darling hubby, the wonderful man who rocks my world and doesn't mind one tiny bit that I stay home all day working on books while he slaps on combat boots and goes out to defend the world each day (okay, so maybe duty in Hawaii isn't exactly defending the world, but hey). If I'm lucky enough to sell my stories, you can be sure I will have nothing but wonderful things to say about my employer, aka publisher, at least in a public forum such as this. I don't imagine every writer out there is happy with her publisher all the time, so I reserve the right to have a private snit should the time come. Ha!
Must get back to the book…..
Jul 19, 2005 | Uncategorized
Just read about the book deal Julie Powell, who cooked all of Julia Child's recipes in a year, got. Sheesh, why can't I think of stuff like this!? I remember the article in the NYT a couple of years ago when she was still cooking and blogging about it. Why don't these brilliant ideas strike me? Why can't I get a mega-bucks book deal for making recipes from Mastering the Art of French Cooking? Because I do have the book and I do cook from it, damn it. (Salad Nicoise is awesome, as is the crepe recipe.) Maybe I should dig into my cookbooks and copy Julie. Hmm, how about Cooking with Justin Wilson? No? What about Will Rogers' Oklahoma Cookbook?
Okay, maybe not. Sheesh.
In other news, I was reading Wanda Writer's post about turning 30 and I just wanted to say a couple of things. First, I enjoy the site. Second–hon, it's only 30. Trust me, from someone galloping toward the opposite end of that decade, 30 is no big whoop! And I'm sure you're young and gorgeous, no matter what you think. Don't sweat it, it'll all be fine, I'm sure. As for the stuff about Brad Pitt types falling in love with Gilda Radner types–well, I think women write that stuff because it's what women would do. Don't believe me? What about Sandra Bullock and Jesse James? She's gorgeous and he's, well, ahem, okay I guess. (Would you want to marry a guy whose last wife was a porn star? Not me! How can you possibly live up to how good she was in bed, no matter how rich and gorgeous you are?)
I absolutely adored SEP's Heaven, Texas, which is of course the ultimate gorgeous guy falling for plain woman book, at least in my opinion. (Yeah, I know Crusie's Bet Me also features such a deal, but I didn't care for that one nearly as much–probably because I was reading it when my kitty was near the end of her life, so it's not Jennifer's fault so much as mine.) Maybe it wouldn't really happen, at least not as often as romance writers write it, but I love that fantasy (ooh, Pierce Brosnan and his wife, Keely Shaye Smith! She's quite a bit chunky, though still lovely, while he is, well, James Bond). Even wrote my own version of it in the last novel, which is still languishing in 2nd draft mode while I tap out this Blaze. My heroine is a little weight challenged, and a lot confidence challenged, mostly because she has a gorgeous sister she compares herself to. The hero is, naturally, the most yummy of male confections, dressed in his Navy uniform and grumbling at every turn about this damn woman who's crashed (literally) into his life. Darn it, now I want to work on that book.
*sigh* And now I'm reminded that I need to get busy. Where's my handy kitchen timer? Don't tell me I put it back in the kitchen…….
Jul 19, 2005 | Uncategorized
1. I am not a bad writer.
2. I can and will finish this book.
3. I can and must and will write this blasted thesis, even if I am terrified of one of the readers (oh yes, got that signed contract back with mentor–adore him–and two readers, one I don't know and one who scares the pants off me).
4. Can't sell if you don't submit. Like duh! But I keep putting it off because I need to do just one more thing….
5. Running 2 miles is a pain in the butt. And legs. And lungs.
6. Men are silly–hubby just had to have new Nike Free shoes, even though he bought new running shoes two months ago. Nike Free shoes weigh like 4 ounces each and look something like a sock. It's a running shoe, though. It's supposed to be like running barefoot. The latest thing, apparently.
7. I need a maid. Not getting one though. First need an income.
8. My fat butt needs to get back to the gym. Pronto.
9. I have a terrible time getting back to work after the weekend. Must work through weekend from now on. Should be easy to do with hubby working on MBA. In theory, anyway.
10. Reading blogs is addictive. Must learn better time management skills.
Jul 18, 2005 | Uncategorized
Found this pic of Miss Kitty at 17 yrs old. One of my favs. (c) LRH 
Jul 18, 2005 | Uncategorized
I miss my Kitty. That's her picture under my profile. Miss Kitty was 19 and 1/2 years old when we had her put to sleep on New Year's Eve 2004. I can honestly say that was one of the WORST days of my life. I had that cat for 18 of those years, and I loved her so much. I still get upset (like now) and I still miss her terribly and it's 7 months ago now. She was my baby. We went through so much together. Hell, we grew up together in many ways. I was 19 when I got her and I'm nearly twice that now. I had her for half my life.
What started this maudlin trip? The picture of Kara Lennox with her cat on Romancing the Blog. Miss Kitty was a tortoiseshell and she had an orange stripe just like that on her head. Same place and everything. I was shocked, belive me, when I clicked on that page this morning. Miss Kitty's face wasn't as light, but wow, what a close match.
Hubby misses her too, though he doesn't understand the tears and all that after so long. I can't help it. I never want to go through that again, as in standing in that vet's office and making that decision. I wish she'd died peacefully in her sleep, but it wasn't to be. She had kidney failure and heart failure and still she held on and tried to keep living. Broke my friggin' heart.
I still have my Thumper, who is 15, but our relationship just isn't the same. I adore him and now I worry about him leaving me too, but we don't interact quite the same as Miss Kitty and I did.
Even my husband was shocked over the pic of Kara's cat today. I guess that's why Kitty's on my mind, and why I'm going to have to explain in the next 10 minutes when hubby sees me why I have tear-streaked cheeks. I hate explaining it to him, because he is a man and so much more unemotional than me. I'm not sure he believes me when I tell him that emotion doesn't equal weakness.
Jul 17, 2005 | Uncategorized
Is it just me, or did everyone get their RWR too freaking late to send in the survey? I PAY for first class postage to Hawaii, mostly because I had to pay for it when I was in Germany and I never stopped paying for it when I moved. Yep, I pay $90 a year to RWA, $15 of which means I am supposed to get my RWR damn quick. Usually, I do. This time I didn't, so now I'm wondering if, a) it's a conspiracy to keep us all from having an opinion, or b) the whole darned mailing got screwed up because of the time it took to print and paste that form in place. (No, I don't really believe it's option a.)
But I'm mailing the survey back anyway, just in case it makes it in time.
Secondly, has anyone bothered to check the by-laws and see if we actually allow genetically enhanced human-alien-whatever combo people to be members of RWA? Because, damn it, Sherrilyn Kenyon has got to be from another planet. 100 pages in a day when pushing it? 100 to 150 pages in a week? 42 days to write and edit a complete book? Someone pass me the smelling salts.
And, finally, never think about your books while on an enforced jog. Hubby took me to the track and made me run a mile and 3/4 tonight. While huffing and puffing and putting one foot in front of the other, I started to plot. And as I plotted the book that I want to write soon, I started thinking about the book that preceded it (it's currently in 2nd draft mode and on hold while I finish the first draft of the Blaze I'm working on). And doggone it, I started imagining a complete career change for the hero that would make the book line up more with the second book in the series (the one that's not written but that will involve a lot more military action than the first). I've got to think more about this, and preferably when I'm not revved up on adrenaline.
