This and that

Posted on by November 2, 2005

Busy day yesterday, but very productive.

My amnesia gene was in full form, and I was awake and rarin’ to go by 3 am. It was a good thing in a way, because I needed a few extra hours to figure out how to upload images to my website. I added codes, I deleted codes, I moved codes around. Nothing. Finally, after calling on my friends for help, it worked. Finally, I managed to post the interview I did with Silhouette Intimate Moments author Suzanne McMinn on my Readers page.

Even though I was tired, I sucked it up like a good girl and went to pilates class (big mistake that I’m still hurting from), then came home and walked on the treadmill for a half hour.

Oh, and while I was out, I mailed the two proposals to the two agents I met two weeks ago. Hmm, see a “two theme” here?

Played pool last night, and got smoked!! What’s up with that? Not that I don’t ever expect to lose, but why is it I can win against a higher ranked player, and I almost always lose to players ranked lower than I am?

So that was my day. Today, I get back to my volcano story. The goal is to have the proposal finished by the weekend. Now maybe if I can get up at 3 am. every day … nah, it won’t happen when I want it to.

Ghouls and goblins

Posted on by October 31, 2005

Happy Halloween!

I may be the only person on the planet who really dislikes Halloween. I just don’t get it. Maybe it’s because I had a deprived childhood – didn’t go trick-or-treating as a kid – or maybe because there are just too many weird people out there these days that it seems wrong to send your children to strange people’s houses and ask for something (when the other 364 days we teach them not to speak to strangers).

Don’t get me wrong. I love to see the little ones dressed up as bunnies and fairy princesses and superheroes. But I refuse to give candy to those who are old enough to shave and who show up at the door without even an attempt at a costume and carrying a pillowslip.

I’m just really glad I no longer have to take my kiddies out in the cold and dark (and usually rain), stay up after they go to bed and examine the treats, and deal with sugar highs for the next week. Nope, don’t miss it at all.

Do you like Halloween? What’s the best part?

Spring forward, fall back

Posted on by October 30, 2005

Did you all remember to put your clocks back one hour? Do you look forward to an extra hour of sleep, or are you like me and still wake up after X number of hours, regardless of what the digital display says on the clock beside the bed?

I wish I could sleep an extra hour. Instead, it only means I’m awake an extra hour, so by tonight, I’ll be ready for bed an hour early and probably miss Desperate Housewives and Grey’s Anatomy. Where do I go to complain?

So which is it? Do you sleep that extra hour, or use it to get an early start on the day?

Twists and turns

Posted on by October 23, 2005

I watched a fun movie last night – After the Sunset, starring Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek and Woody Harrelson. Not that any movie with Pierce Brosnan isn’t worth watching, but this movie was better than I expected.

Pierce and Salma are retired jewel thieves, and Woody is the FBI agent who knows they’re guilty but has never been able to prove it. Sounds dramatic, violent, right? Wrong. It’s actually more a comedy/romance, with quite a few plot twists and surprises.

I love a good heist movie, probably because I admire the writing in a film that surprises me. My brain doesn’t work that way, and I never see the twists coming.

What’s your favorite type of movie?

Thistles and haggis

Posted on by October 22, 2005

According to an article in our local newspaper, there’s a campaign going on to bring ex-pat Scots back to Scotland to live. The population is declining, with the same number of people in the Greater Toronto Area as there are in all of Scotland. The article touts the glories of Scotalnd – castles, glens, heather and the skirl of the pipes, not to mention haggis (eeew). All that notwithstanding, I think I’ll stay right here.

The article goes on to say that a 2003 study found that from 1991-1995, the mortality rate of people of working age was the worst in Western Europe, and that in 2000, women had the lowest life expectancy in Europe and men the second lowest.

Does the author think telling me this would make me want to run out and buy a one-way ticket back to Scotland? I don’t think so. Now maybe if they offered Mel Gibson in a kilt …

What about you? If you aren’t now living in your home town, would you like to go back and live there?

Pitch report

Posted on by October 17, 2005

So I dragged myself out of bed at the crack of dawn to get into the city for the agent/editor panel. It always amazes me how quickly we form first impressions. I won’t name names, but within a few minutes, I knew which agents and which editors were ones I’d be comfortable with, and which I wouldn’t. As they outlined what type of books their agencies were looking for, and what they personally liked, I realized I’d planned to pitch the wrong books. So, I revised my plan.

We were asked to complete a sheet detailing the title of the book we were pitching, word count, etc. and also any other books we’d written.

I discovered the agent I was meeting with preferred serious stories, so instead of pitching the one I originally intended to, I pitched another, but wrote the title of the other book on the sheet. We chatted about the book, she requested a proposal, then asked about the other. I’d put a logline on it that caught her attention. We talked about it, and she suggested I send a proposal to Paige Wheeler. So, two requests!!

For category romance, I’d printed out a few blurbs on a sheet of paper, since I hadn’t decided which one I wanted to pitch. When I spoke with the editor from HQ American, I pitched one book. She requested it, then asked about others. Like the marketing sl*t I am , I whipped out my sheet of blurbs and proceeded to pitch them all. She requested them, but adding that I shouldn’t send them all at once

I guess I’ll be busy for the next little while, and I’ll be racking up the miles to the post office. But I’m not complaining.

So many ideas, so little time

Posted on by October 14, 2005

I have two appointments tomorrow to pitch the books I’m working on – one with an agent and one with an editor from Harlequin/Silhouette. All I have to do is decide which project is more likely to get a request for a proposal or a complete manuscript. I love them all. It’s like choosing between your children. How do I decide which child I like best?

It’s taken me weeks, but I have narrowed the choices down. I suspect tomorrow morning, I’ll be choosing the winner out of a hat. Or maybe I should print them out, lay them out on the table, close my eyes and point.

Anybody got a better idea?