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NANO time again! Writers: get ready, get set and go. For the month of November, hundreds, maybe thousands of writers will put themselves to the test and write a 50,000 word novel. That's right! 30 days of story telling through the fingers and tracked, each word at a time. It's fun. Write! You don't edit, that's for next month. You don't worry about spelling, let the machine underline it and we'll get back to that next month as well. This month is just for the opportunity to test your self and your ability to capture a story in one month. So, during the month of October, I spent time interviewing and getting to know the characters that will be brought to life in my novel. Screening places and ideas for story boards and putting it all together so that when November 1st comes around, I'll be ready... Well, here it is and so far, I'm having a blast. The kids are enjoying themselves as they tentatively get to know each other and will eventually fall in love.
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URWA Conference turned out to be absolutely wonderful. The attendance was fantastic, the workshops were top nosh and the networking was phenomenal. An enjoyment to the very end. Christine Witthohn from Book Cents Literary Agency and Amanda Bergeron from Avon/Harper Collins were a lot of fun. (the picture to the left is taken in Park City. br. Me and Mary Martinez, fr is Kim Finnegin, Christine Witthohn, Amanda Bergeron and Lisa Williams-Cox in front of the miner's statue). The pitches went down and some excellent results followed. I, for one, am happy with the request that I received and the valuable information that Christine gave me. Hook? Oh yeah, the hook. We'll lets just say that the hook was asked for and not given. Yet, Christine still gave a request and I couldn't be happier than a bear with a new roll of Charmin. Since then I've been polishing up my synopsis and getting ready to send it out with my first three chapters. My fingers are crossed and my hopes are
Hey, Howdy, Hiya, Posting on our first night here at Deer Valley, Utah's The Lodges. Where Utah's Chapter of RWA's (Romance Writers of America) conference for 2009 starts...now. Holly heaven, Batman, this place is class. We're talking ala beautiful place. Everything is so gorgeous, done in huge white pine logs, fireplaces, full kitchens, laundry closets in each suite. The suite that we are in is a two bedroom, 3 bathrooms, full sized living room and kitchen with a large 6 person dinning table. Absolutely beautiful. Flip a switch and you have a nice and cozy gas fire in the fireplace, the chairs are big and comfy. Wonderful. The weather is perfect, crisp fall foliage, the golds, yellows, oranges and reds, a slight nip in the air and traces of a recent snowfall on the ground. Sweater and thick jackets seem to be the appropriate attire. Of course, our cute Mary is wearing flip flops :-) Our first course of action today was assisting Kelli Ann with the gift bags for the co
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Please...for me! This week, I am saying goodbye to my Aunt. A courageous woman who has fought a long, painful struggle with cancer. Twelve years ago, she went in for her annual mammogram and was told everything looked good. But, they made her another mammogram for six months. One of those, 'just in case' appointments. We'll refer to that as the 'something is there but frankly I have a waiting room full of women and a lunch date, so I'll just cover my butt.' Six months later, she goes in to have her follow-up mammogram and low and behold, what's this? A lump. You say you mentioned it six months ago. Are you sure? Because, the tech had to have surely seen it and requested an ultra-sound. Hummm. Well, lets do an ultra-sound now. I'm sure there is nothing to worry about. And the verdict is two, not one now, but two suspicious masses in the left breast. The soonest we'll be able to do that biopsy is.... three weeks. But, no need to worry, it's probab
Here is the price of a huge mansion on a private island question: Why does one editor request your full manuscript and another one reject it? I was asked by a specific person to send them my manuscript, unfortunately I could only submit it to the submissions e-mail address (give you their actual e-mail address, please) but I made SURE to indicate that this specific person requested it. Almost four months later, I receive a rejection. That's fine. I can cowboy up with the best of them. Except who is this other person who sends me back "Thank you for your submission but your manuscript isn't what we are looking for" generic form? Maybe the editor who requested it was fired. No. Maybe the editor who requested it left for another company. No. Maybe the editor who requested it got ran over by a truck. No. (But if the editor did, be darn glad that someone was nice enough to get back to you) This is my work, my job: Writing. I enjoy writing. Putting plots together, giving ch
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HAPPY Independence Day! My brother celebrates his birthday on the fourth. Four days later, I celebrate mine...but I don't get all the fancy fireworks. Nobody sets of bombs to celebrate the passing of my youth. And, I say that's good. I'd rather cry alone anyway! Congratulations to my Niece, she had a little girl on the 3rd of July. Welcome to the world Macie. I just hope it goes from bad to good before it matters to you. I look at my grandkids and want to cry - look at the crap their getting. It's a damn shame. I still think there are several greedy pigs out there that should be shot in a firing squad for stealing money. Instead our lovely government is turning a blind eye and letting them keep it. Well, where in the hell is my 50 million dollar bonus. I deserve it too!!!! Oh wait, I don't know who I should be screwing to get it. Everyone I know has already be screwed. The end of the year is quickly approaching. Christmas in July starts the snowball down the hill
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Tired? Now you see it, now you don't. Yes, they'll do it, then they won't. Will there be a school next year or not. They formed a board, they spoke at district meetings, they pleaded for the opportunity to educate or to learn and yet... Granite High School is closing their doors for the second time. But not to the general public. This time it is closing the educational rights of the destitute student who would never get ahead in a larger school. It is closing to foreigners who have just arrived and speak little to no English. It is closing to the students who are being cared for through foster homes and state custody. It is closing to students that want an education but have a hard time competing with the large volume of students who's parents can afford the football, dance, baseball, cheerleading registration costs. It kind of makes me mad. Now that there is this 'Everyone has a right to an education' act, those who really want to learn are crammed into classr