Computers and News Updates

I've been fighting for the last two weeks with my wireless PC card and Outlook Express. I want my ISP's email to sync with Outlook Express. Well, it works fine if I dial-in to the ISP, and I do mean dial-in. We're talking speeds of somewhere between a slug on the sidewalk watching a tree grow. So now I have this wireless card, and I'm off to the races, except Outlook won't sync. After a couple weeks of fighting with the thing, I have it receiving mail but not sending. I know what's wrong, it's finding the right answer that's sending me off the deep end.

That makes me wonder--how the heck does the average person off the street manage to troubleshoot PCs when those of us in IT often struggle with the things? I've spent countless hours on this one problem, which should be easy to fix, but I find the easiest things are often the hardest.

On another note, I have some news:

I sold The Dance, the first manuscript (and the subject of a previous post, "That Special Manuscript") I ever completed, to Siren Publishing. It'll be out in late 2008. I'm very excited to see this manuscript in print.

Equestrian Ink debuts on Monday. This is a collaborative effort of several authors who write equestrian fiction. We have tons of fun things planned so drop in every couple days to check us out!!!

Fingernails on The Blackboard

There are two words that writers often use that make me cringe like fingernails on a blackboard: Muse and Polish.

"Muse" is just one of those words I don't like. I'm not really sure why. I only know that there isn't a little person sitting on my shoulder or in my subconscious that tells me when it's in the mood to write. I choose to write or not to write. I'm either in the mood or not.

"Polish" elicits more of a personal reaction. I think New York Times Bestselling Author Lori Foster said it best, and I hope she doesn't mind me quoting her:

"My feeling is that if you polish a book too much, it'll be flat and shiny and smooth--and not too interesting. It's the little pits and bumps and whatnot that show voice and make a book unique from all the other super shiny, flat surfaces."

Back when I was starting to write for publication, I would edit my books until there was no life left in them. They'd be technically correct but boring. Finally, Lucy Monroe, a member of my local RWA chapter, pointed out to me that I was one of those people that should only do a few edits. The more I edited, the more I wrote my voice out of my story. Then I received further proof that "polish" is not a good thing for me to do. On a whim (something I do a lot), I had sent three chapters of a WIP to 3 agents. Those chapters had not been edited at all. I had 2 requests for fulls. If you're not a writer, believe me when I say that requests for fulls from good agents are a big deal. Unfortunately and the moral of the story, I didn't have the rest of the book written. ;) I won't do that again, and that's the subject for another blog.

What are your "blackboard" words?

Time--A Four-Letter Word

Time.

Now there's a 4-letter word and something I wish I had more of. Unfortunately, there is nothing in my life that I want to give up in order to buy time for other things. So this is my life: I work full-time (sometimes more than that). I ride and show my horse in dressage. I am a writer. Lately, I am spending more time on promotion than I am on writing.

I need to write more and spend less time on the Internet. So what am I doing here? Good question. Other than rambling off some meaningless stuff that I hope a few people read. I have committed myself to posting here at least once a week. I'd like to post more. The problem is that 4-letter word again.

Time.

So I'm trying to come up with time-savers, but truthfully I'm doing a better job at time waster. The number one time waster of all? Wanna guess? The Internet.

I've cut myself back to just a few loops, My Space, and my personal email. Even so, I can still waste several hours a day.

What are your bigggest time wasters and time savers?

The Adventures of Cabana Boy

Over the years, my infamous older brother, aka Cabana Boy, has been entertaining friends and family alike with his Cabana Boy stories. Ever since he moved to Hawaii from the rainy Pacific Northwest, I've been trying to get him to chronicle his adventures, or would that be misadventures, on a blog or a website.

Finally, Cabbie has posted one of his recent adventures on the Internet for all to enjoy. While the names have been changed to protect the guilty, yours truly and my husband are named in this tale.

To check it out, go to this link:

Cabana Boy

Then choose the link on the left for "Hula Cruise."

My First Cover

I received my first cover today, and I love it. The heroine looks like I pictured Harlee to look. The background looks like the San Juan Islands. The overall look of the cover gives you a hint that there might be a bit of comedy in the story. All in all, I'm really happy with it.

Superbowl Sunday

So are you ready?

I am.

I love football. I think I mentioned that before.

I'm just crawling out from under the covers after a cold that for a week has kept me from my real job, my horse, my writing, and even reading, even--believe it or not--off the computer. Now that's a bad cold.

But I'm ready for the Super Bowl. Hubby and I are going to a SB party at a veteran's club that he belongs to. As far as who wins, I don't have much interest or any personal stake in either team after my Seahawks and Packers lost, but it'll still be fun. You'll find me rooting for the underdogs. It has inspired me to get The Gift Horse done so I can finish writing my football hero romance. One nice thing about writing for a small press is that you have a lot more freedom in the length of your book and what you put in it. It's somewhat liberating to not be writing with all those restrictions--imagined or real--that you have when writing for publication in NY.

Well, now I'm rambling, so I'm off to finishing a chapter before the Super Bowl.

Are there any other football fans out there?

That Special Manuscript

Recently, I pulled my first complete manuscript out of mothballs. The last edit date on this MS was March/April of 2003. I wanted to submit it to my publisher, but I knew it needed a lot of editing before I could do that. I finished that edit this afternoon, three weeks and 97,000 words later.

It's amazing what time can do for a person's perspective. I was so in love with my words when I wrote that story. To the point where I would state the same thing several different times because I thought my text was just too clever. This time around, I'm deleting stuff left and right without giving them another thought.

I also didn't give my readers enough credit. I'd explain every move a character made, instead of trusting the reader to figure it out, a common newbie mistake (not that I don't still make them, but they're not as blatant).

Yet, this MS will always hold a special place in my heart. At one time, I'd poured myself into this story so deeply that I felt what the characters felt. As I was editing the last few chapters, I found myself tearing up. I'm not sure that the writing was that good, but I loved these characters with all their emotional hangups and vulnerabilities.

This was the story that gave me the confidence to pursue writing on a more professional level, rather than dabble in it for pure entertainment and/or as a hobby.

Now that I'm done, I know I need to get on with my WIP, which is 3/4 done, and by far the best thing I've written to date. Yet, I'm sad to say goodbye to these characters because they are so near and dear to me.

This particular story may never see the light of day, but it will always hold a special place in my heart.