Critique partners and other strangers

I have two. And they ROCK!! He formed an online group and basically rip each other's work to shreds, which is I guess the idea but we are having fun doing it. It is like they can read my mind. They know what I am trying to say and help dig it out of my brain to make it clearer.


Speaking of strangers, who took my adorable preteen daughter and left me with the mouthy hormonal alien? The child who begged to wear a bra at age three now needs one and you would think I am using chinese water torture when I make her wear it now. It is a cotton sports bra, Chickie, get over it. You will be wearing one from now until the grave. Suck it up. And stop bawling like a sick calf. All I said was you needed to comb your hair. I did not call you ugly, I did not imply you are dirty and I certainly never said I was ashamed to be seen with you.

On second thought, if your don't blow your nose and dry up the tears, I WILL be ashamed to take you into public. I think it is time to introduce Little Chick to the wonders of Midol.

Ever have one of those days?

I swear, the past 2 weeks have been pure hell Earth. I have not had time to scratch my nethers let alone do any blogging. My job is in upheaval of a good but frantic kind, my oldest spawn is getting ready to go back to school *cue choir of angels*, my DH is doing as much as possible to do as little as possible and I have been brainstorming like a mad woman. I have at least 4 new ideas written down for when I finish this WIP.

Why is it I get these creative bursts when I am overworked/overstressed? Is it a defense mechanism or something? Does my mind need to escape of be fried? I think so.

On another note, I ripped a hunk out of my right thumb last night and it thumps like a toothache. It makes using my predominate hand a pain in the ass. Ahhh, the tribulations of a writer. Gotta be a plot line in there somewhere.

A Reviewer? Me?

Maybe. I heard that Fantasybookspot.com is looking for a romance book reviewer and think, why the hell not. I read constantly anyway. So I sent an email to Damon, the admin and forgot about it. Well he contacted me back and we have been emailing back and forth. This might work out. I just sent him a sample review so here's crossing my fingers!!

Wanna read what I wrote?

Asking for Trouble

BY: Leslie Kelly

Harlequin Blaze

A modern gothic romance, ASKING FOR TROUBLE is a fantastic read. Part of Harlequin's spicier line, the sex is steamy and the characters smoking hot.

Italian bombshell Lotti Santori is sexually frustrated by her five older brothers' attempts at protecting her virtue. She accepts a job researching little known serial killer Josef Zangara in tiny Trouble, Pennsylvania in an attempt to get a break from their well intentioned smothering.

She finds sexy, dark, brooding Simon Lebeaux recovering from wounds he received in a random robbery turned murder attempt. Alone in Seaton house, a former period hotel, Simon is struggling with demons of his memory and ghosts in his present. He does not need Lottie underfoot or in his fantasies. The town gives him wide berth; after all, he is a murderer. Lottie should do the same.

Through a bit of trickery, Lottie ends up staying in Seaton house and firmly in Simon's erotic dreams. Determined to grasp this chance at expanding her sexual horizons without family interference, Lottie sets out to seduce the recovering writer. Did I mention the sex is hot?

The lovers embark on uncovering a mystery that will connect Simon's attack with the long dead serial killer Zangara.

Spunky, sexy and face paced, this book is a one day read. Once you start, you will not want to stop!

Divas

I joined Romance Divas message board and WOW!! What a great group!

As a writer, I am a solitary person. I mean, sure, I have friends and family and a job. But writing is just me and the characters. I never thought about having a group of people with similar goals to discuss things with or kick around ideas and gripes. But so far, it is really a good experience. They have answered some questions and have a butt ton of information all in one place. I am hooked!

Check it out!

Bummer

I heard back from one of my requests.

REJECT!

I keep telling myself that it just wasn't a good fit for that agent. Her reject letter said as much but it still makes you wonder.

Oh well, I still have requested partials out and am waiting to hear from several others, so fingers staying crossed and nose back to the grind stone.

Oh, And I figured out how to circumvent the whole airplane scene. *big cheesy grin* So now I have two WIP and I am bouncing between the two when the mood strikes me.

Kidneys and other strangers

Not a real glamorous organ, admittedly. I mean the heart is a romantic symbol, the brain a intellectual symbol, but the kidney? Seriously, how often does one think about their kidneys unless they have an infection?

My friend Mary thought about hers all the time. She was on dialysis for over two years and had to watch everything she ate or drank. It is terrible when your body fails you. But yesterday, Mary got a new kidney.

Donated from a live anonymous person, how cool is that?! Some stranger gave away a body part out of kindness. It blows my mind. But how fantastic that there are people out there that are that kind.

And yet another Woooo hooooo

Alright!! Today I received another request for a partial. I hope this means good things. I realize that the partial request is not a contract or anything but it is a start. And a chance is all I ask.

I am working on my next WIP and honestly I am having trouble developing an opening scene. Originally it was set in an airplane. I have read and read where that is overdone but I am having trouble reworking the scene in a different setting because it sets several things in motion.

So I am either gonna suck it up and leave it 20,000 feet in the air or totally rewrite the first 50 pages. Decisions, decisions.

whoooo hoooo

I received another request for a partial manuscript today!! On a Sunday! Not that I am complaining. Nope, not at all.

Baaaaaaad books

We have all read them. The ones that you roll your eyes at, the ones that are so pathetically sappy they hurt your teeth and the ones that just lie there like a dead dawg. I always finish them because I come from the 'clean your plate' crowd(and just look at my thighs!!). But I finish with these and not only feel cheated money wise but imagination wise.

Recently I read one that had the main character's name as Cassie on the back of the book and Carrie in the body. What the hell?? Somebody was asleep during that project. I can live with the occasionally typo that makes it thru editing. Grammar is not my strong point. That is why I have a Grammar Nazi as a friend. (everybody wave to Elli). But when the body work is just EWWWW, then I get upset.

Granted I am just starting to try and get published, but how did these travesties make it? Seriously, I cannot be alone in my thinking. How do some of these make it?

status

The 'first' manuscript is finished, polished and queries have been sent. I stress first because it is not my first. I have been writing manuscripts since sixth grade. Jennifer Rosedale sat at my lunch table and I read a story she wrote. not for class, but just because. I really liked it and thought, "I can do this!"

So I did. I filled notebooks and legal pads with stories and poems and really, really bad songs.

I have most every thing I ever wrote. Some of it is, well, uhm, let's just say it is best left in the tote bag and leave it at that.*blush*

But others are not bad at all. In fact, two of those manuscripts I am re-editing and reworking for my next two projects. And I have an idea for my next paranormal romance, also. Damn how I wish I could type three things at once!!

I love research. Having an obsessive personality, I don't just research, I DROWN MYSELF in it. While writing my just-polished historical manuscript titled WITCHMARK, I would not have been surprised to wake up in a Medieval castle. I have folders just bulging with research, dozens of photocopies and books on various subjects. Medieval castle plans? Got'em. Firefighter equipment? Got it. Work plans and guidelines for Juvenile detention centers? Got that too.

Now if I could just get a real office. My kitchen cupboard is overflowing and none of it is edible.

Agents

I promise, this shall be my only rant about agents ever. *places hand on heart*


Why can't they get together and establish one set of criteria for submission? This one only takes equeries, this one only snail mail. That one wants a two page synopsis, that one wants a 10 pager. So-and-so wants a query and first two chapters. The other one wants one sample page from anywhere in the book. The next one wants a query letter, a 10 page synopsis and first three chapters. One wants it all by email, the other wants it all by post. And yet another has an online submission form.

AAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!

I understand, I do. Really. I just need to vent because when you do 15 queries a day, you end up not sleeping in bed wondering if you got mixed up.

Who reads romance?

Ask many women and you will get a few different answers. For those that answer YES!! Great, wonderful, keep up the good work!!

Of the negatives, this is most likely what you will hear.

1) "NOT ME!! Those books are too trashy. "

****Bullshit.****

Granted some of the bodice ripper covers are beyond lame, but there are some damn fine stories out there no matter if Fabio is showing off his man titty on the cover. Romance is in 90% of all fiction published. It may not be at the root of the book but it is there, likely in the guise of a supporting element.

2) "Intelligent women do not read *curl lip in disgust* Romance books."

****Bullshit****

These ain't your gramma's books where a helpless secretary needs the fatherly older CEO or Doctor to take care of her wimpy ass. Today's women are strong in their own right. They are business women, professionals, those with well established lives. They don't NEED a man, they WANT one. They do the rescuing sometimes and take charge of their own destinies. The stories are universal, reaching across race barriers, educational lines and economic holds.


3) "They are mostly just soft core porn."

****and this is a problem because...?"

If you don't wanna read sex scenes, then there are different categories still under the banner of romance that will give you the touching story without the touchy-feely. But many women actually like reading about a passion exploding between two characters falling in love. And do you think romance books are the ONLY ones with sex in them?!? Ever read Stephen King? The Bible? Sex is what makes the world go 'round.



This is a major pet peeve of mine. Personally, if you blindly refuse to read something because of it's genre, then you are an idiot.