I find myself writing a lot of blog posts lately and then saving them into draft mode instead of publishing them. Why? Because I've been seriously cranky lately and I find myself ranting about things that bug me instead of sharing the nice, sunny things with you all. You can hear ranting and all that in real life. You don't need to come to me for it, right? 😉
Today, I'm sharing my glamorous life with you. I hope you snickered a little when I said that. Because I'm writing this post in my pajamas and my hair is piled on my head and there's still a mascara smear under my eyes where the remover never quite gets it all the night before.
There's also a cat squalling somewhere downstairs, and laundry that needs doing, and dinner to figure out. Yeah, super glamorous!
But I did get dressed up last week and go give a speech to a group of ladies at a local country club. It was my second such speech in a month, and though I am a horrible introvert who doesn't like standing in front of people and talking, I'm actually starting to have a little fun doing this kind of thing.
Because the people who come always are interested in writers. They're usually readers and they've come because they want to hear what you can tell them about writing books. I have fun with that!
They asked me questions too, and that gives me insight into what readers think of writers. They didn't ask if I was rich or lived in a mansion, because I dispel that notion in the speech. I also, regretfully, had to inform them that I don't take bubble baths in a heart shaped tub nor do I wear a feather boa. They took it in stride.
Other things I told them were that authors get ideas from everywhere–literally–and that no one asks a mystery writer if she practices murdering people, but that they often think romance writers practice sex scenes or have lots and lots of crazy sex.
I have fun dispelling the myths, I have to say. 😉
But what did they want to know? They wanted to know how long it takes to write a book (the answer is anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months or more, depending on the book and the deadline). They wanted to know if all the travel around the world helped me as a writer (I think so!).
They wanted to know how much research I have to do (the answer depends on the subject, but also because Harlequin Presents are such compact, emotional books, there isn't a lot of room to drop in research. The books are about emotional conflicts, not external ones.) They also want to know if I have control over my covers (no for Harlequin, yes for my HOT series), and if I have the same editor for every book or if it's different each time (the same editor, unless she leaves and I get a new one, which did happen after 14 books with one editor).
Those are the questions I remember off the top of my head! If you could ask a writer questions, what would they be? Ask away and I'll try to answer. 🙂 I might even give away a copy of A Game With One Winner (out in stores tomorrow!)……
If you've been waiting for A GAME WITH ONE WINNER in the UK, you can now get your copy a month early from the Mills & Boon site! I've been told it's also shipping from Amazon UK. This is the story of sexy Russian Roman Kazarov and heiress Caroline Sullivan-Wells. The cover copy alludes to a secret, but I have no idea why they just didn't tell you the darn secret up front — it's pretty obvious! Caroline has a son who just so happens to be about nine months younger than the breakup between Caroline and Roman five years ago! Now that's a secret worth reading about. Because what's going to happen when Roman realizes the truth, eh?
It's been a rough few days here in Chez Harris, as you all know. Tomorrow is a week since we said goodbye to Pitty Pat, and I still pretty much cry every day. Yesterday, I was doing pretty good. No crying — until Mr. Harris came home and checked the mail. Inside were two cards, one from my vet where she and all the office staff wrote a message about sweet Pitty Pat. That one started the waterworks. The next one sealed it. The next card was from the ER vet — and it contains a paw print they took of Pitty Pat on the day she died. OMG, I bawled. Really, this needs to get better, and soon.
I hate grief. I hate this part of the human experience. We have such capacity for love, and then when the individual we love gets taken away, the hole in our lives is almost unbearable. It sucks.
In other news, I've finally managed to get busy on my revisions for Book One in the Hostile Operations Team series again. All my work took a serious left turn last week. Some people write through tragedy and sadness — I wallow first. Just have to.
But I've been working steadily today, and feeling optimistic about the story. I hope you like it too. I really, really want to get this out there ASAP. I'm excited about the possibilities this new publishing world brings, and I want to be in control of this particular project. I have no intention of stopping writing my Harlequins, however. I am proud to be a Presents author. Very proud.
Sometimes, we get flak for writing “those” books with alpha-holes and doormats. Those are the words of the critics, and I don't accept them. My heroes are supremely alpha, and my heroines are strong enough to stand toe to toe with them. It's just the way it works in my world.
And now I have to go write my military alpha and the heroine who is most definitely not a doormat. And then it's another Presents! This next duo I like to call Sheikhs Gone Wild. We'll see how wild they go, and if you agree. 😉
That about sums it up. Miss my girl. There will probably be a few posts where I lament her loss, but my understanding of grief — even pet grief, in case you're wondering — is that this is normal. Feel free to share your own pet losses in the comments.
Here, she's helping me write. Don't know how I'll get the next book done without her!
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