I should explain

I'm seeking an agent because …um…what if it all works out?!!

Here is how it started.

Last year I’m at the fun filled Lori Foster Get Together Conference. Prior to the event two professional friends give me a hard time about not scheduling pitch sessions with the agent and editor attending. I repent my shy ways and at the last minute find it’s to late to sign up for the editor, but there is an opening for the agent.

I have an agent appointment. I’m panicking. Author friend and the delightful readers we share lock me in a room with them and we do a group pitch-brainstorming thing. Perhaps two hours later (it seemed longer) I have a pitch, thanks to my pals.

Next day I’m waiting for my turn with the agent. Of course my loyal buddies are there for moral support, or to make sure I don’t cut and run. The editor’s assistant comes out and states the editor will be done with her appointments early, would anyone else like so sign up since she has so much extra time?

I hear –“Scary Editor is so good at rejecting, she needs a few more victims to fill the time slot.” My friend, the author, grabs my shoulders and shoves me at the assistant saying, “She wants an appointment!”

Remember, I haven’t even stumbled through my first ever pitch to the agent yet. Now my name is on Scary Editor list too.

First ever pitch goes reasonably well. Apparently I was speaking English. Nice agent nodded and stuff. Then she asked me for a query and partial.

Whew!!!

Not two minutes later I’m sitting in front of Scary Editor. I do my pitch. She seems to understand the words. She asks me a few questions and the last question is: “Is the manuscript done?” I nod and give her the word count. Scary Editor then made a huge mistake and asked me to send her the manuscript. So I help her out by correcting her. “You mean a synopsis and first three chapters.”

The amazing Cindy Hwang of Berkley smiles at me a little pitifully and says. “No. I asked for the full manuscript.”

I have no clear recollection of saying goodbye to her. I hope I didn’t just get up and drift out in a daze. First pitch to an editor and she wants the FULL!

The manuscript is sent. I know it takes forever to hear accept or reject. I’m thinking if the worst happens and she wants my book, which is one of a three book series, I really should have an agent.

There ya have it. I’m seeking representation. The world of NY Publishing is a completely different predator than the e-pub beast and I’m fresh meat. Not so much in the yummy steak way. More the idiot who has lost track of the herd and is easy pickings, way.

Wait, those are both the same thing. See what I mean.

I'm special

I have been very blessed in how wonderfully well received my work has been in the e-book romance world. I suppose it would be honest to say readers have spoiled me. (Not that anyone needs to quit said spoiling) Can’t tell you how remarkable my critique partners are. I have the most amazing editor who is both ruthless and adorable. I know, hard to do but she makes it work.

As you can see, my obsession with writing meets with positive support, constructive critique and miraculous editing. I’m grateful to each person involved. Then readers take the time to let me know they enjoy the book and I’m seriously humbled by that.

You might wonder why I’m listing my blessings. I’m trying to be very nice about saying the old school print publishing world is wicked harsh. So glad I didn’t start there.

Could be I’m simply a "challenged" query writer. In fact, most likely. Learning that skill set is critical. Me must find the “special” class. Dem agent peoples does no not play.

Well, counting ones blessings is always a good idea. If there were no challenges there would be no thrill in success.

Wicked Beast is done

This thrills me more than I can say. Getting the story out and finished is huge.

The dragon is a beast. He really is. Last night I was ready to leave his butt. humph. Well, he got past it but his arrogant growls are far to self satisfied at the moment. Tickin me off. I'm tired.

I guess my biggest concern is how lusty he is. His animal side considers sex part of every day life, if not more often. Did I mention I'm tired? He wore me out. He thinks the book could go on for at least another chapter or two. Ya know why? SEX I don't think so. He's laughin at me coz I refuse to write it. He has his Kelly Witch and now he's to freaking proud of himself.

Going off to rest.

If you think this post is a lil crazy, join the club.

When is my next book?

Yep, I've been asked that several times and I wish I had a good answer. I can tell you what I hope will happen, but I have no control of a lot of the process.

Currently I have a manuscript being considered by a print publisher. No idea when I'll hear back on it and if they will accept it for publication. If they do, the actual book could take over a year to get on book store shelves.

The excerpt below is from WICKED BEAST, which I hope will be released by EC this summer. Thing is, I haven't submitted it yet so no idea if they will accept it. I need about five thousand more words to to tie up the plot. Humph, maybe more. I think there will be one more love scene. Those dragons are insatiable.

I am working on BLIND FIRE, the next Ghost Unit book and I'd like it see EC release it this fall. Again, who knows.

I'd also like to get the second dragon book in this year but have to finish the Unit book before I can do that one.

Um, is that clear? LOL

from WICKED BEAST:

“Don’t do it,” he cautioned. “Don’t bring the hunter. Let me be gentle.”

His sentences were sharp, powerfully minimal. He was asking for surrender, cautioning her not to run. Kelly had to breathe through her mouth to get enough air as his threat burned down her body.

“You told me there would be no gentle,” she reminded him in cautious tones as she consciously relaxed, slowly lowering her body to the bed. She couldn’t remove the watchful looked from her eyes. Fear, excitement, whatever, he brought them all to the room. This was what she’d wanted but the tension was difficult to work through.

“Gentle as relative. I want you to be sure. For about two more seconds I can turn around and leave this room. After that asking is over. Say yes.”

“Yes to what,” Kelly wanted to know. She was lying naked on a bed and the man wanted her to say yes. What did he need, sign language? How much more yes could be required?

“Say it Kelly,” he rumbled.

His insistence on hearing the simple word raised big, loud, screaming warnings. His reluctance to explain what the yes was about dotted those warnings with flashing red lights. This naked woman was going to ignore all the flashing, screaming, blinking warnings because the dragon at the door had just removed clothing with a thought and she was all out of time to think.

“Yes.”

A STAR at any cost

RT turned into a tiny snapshot of this generation’s challenges.

I find the whole camera incident bizarre -EDIT - And apparently most of that story did not happen. I hate being caught up in a good story, oh, wait, I write fiction. Gaaaaa! I'm as gullible as the next person.

Still, recent events in high schools and colleges across the country are disturbing.

We have a generation of teenagers who feel being famous at any cost is okay. For some of them fame has become a compulsion. We’ve all seen the evidence, girls beating other girls and filming it for the Internet. Boys creating elaborate murder/suicide plans, taping a statement to be posted after they are dead.

These children have an important thing in common. They are preying on their peers. It’s adults who victimize/kill strangers. I find that fascinating. No idea what the physiological profile is on it, I’m simply going by current events as I have noticed them.

The same can be said for the model who didn’t win Mr. Romance. He did find a way to be the center of attention, didn’t he?

Wicked Beast

I am enjoying the dragon very much. The following is unedited. Sorry.

From Wicked Beast

Still scowling he studied her as her point sank into his brain. “Are you saying you think dragons are emotional?”

“Nope. Never said that. I suspect if someone called you emotional you’d be handing them their ass.”

“Well, if you put it that way, call me emotional all you want. Handing you your ass is the most amazing thing I’ve ever done.” A wolf’s smile spread across his face.

Pink flushed Kelly’s cheeks and her eyes dropped to examine his Adam’s apple. “It was amazing, wasn’t it?”

The smile left Cord’s face as he gazed down at her. “More than amazing, much more,” he agreed with her

“I liked it,” Kelly whispered.

“I know,” he growled softly.

Best behaved house guest ever

Anyone who has pet knows they have very distinct personalities. I have a new house guest who is full of surprising personality

For eleven years he has been the barn cat. Casper was born to my brother’s family. He has lived outside year round, fulfilling the duties of the barn cat. That involves Field Mouse Patrol, Garden Mole Missions, and Basement Window Well Security. He faces dangerous raccoons, fox and we even have coyotes now.

In March my daughter came running in from the snow crying, saying Casper was hurt. I rushed out to find him. The fur had been pulled off around his knee but I didn’t see puncture wounds, and the paw on that leg was scraped up as well. Naked flesh was visible and there was some blood.

Casper was not my cat. His duties involved property I don’t own. Leaving him outside and seeing if he survived was the solution his owner was going to use.

RIGHT! He’s eleven years old and wounded. In the wild that equals LUNCH to hungry predators. It was end of winter but still bitterly cold as well.

I took the only option available. I opened the back door. He limped in on his own. We regarded each other and then I went out and bought cat food. We had come to an agreement. He is welcome to be my guest any time.

Casper slept for eighteen hours that first day. I suspect he’d not been able to sleep much outside, having to be on guard. Since then I’ve been graced with a prince of a house guest.

Casper goes outside to do his business and patrol the property. He brings gifts to the back door when he can. Dead mice. He is very courteous about asking to visit with me. He will bat the door with his paw, no claws. He only needed one lesson in the house rules. By that I mean he is told a thing once and it never happens again. No kitchen counters, no table strolling. He hasn’t done any of those again.

The most amazing thing about this outside cat is how affectionate he is. I enjoy our interaction so much. He is calm, stately as only a cat can be, but still plays with shoe laces.

Casper has little problem with the two dogs who live here. He considers Pebbles a rude teenager and is treated with stern tolerance. Coco is nine years old and blind, so not much trouble for an intelligent cat.

Of course he is not my cat. He is a gracious house guest and I’m blessed with his company most days.

Random Things Making me Happy today

In no order, structure or logical setting.

The sun is shining.
Some of the tulips lived and are coming up
Pebbles being cuddly
I finished my taxes
I’m not sick
The basement didn’t flood yet this spring
I’m almost done with Wicked Beast
My critique partners all like Wicked Beast – makes me very happy. There are three of them and they couldn’t be more different personality wise. I’m amazed.

There is more, but you get the idea.

What's making you smile today?

Birds being rude.

Some birds have amazing mating rituals. Most of them involve the male working dang hard at attracting a female. Pigeons and sparrows don’t bother with all that. It appears a pair make the nest and care for the chicks, but when it comes time to get “it on”, the female seems to change her mind a lot.

We have a very large expanse of lawn and the only smart thing they do is mate on the ground. So there they are, hopping all over, screeching and carrying on like they are going to kill each other. I look out worried the cat has caught a bird only to be treated to way more bird biology than I really want to know.

At least the weather is warming up, even if I can’t look the robins in the eye again for at least a month. Yeah, yeah, I write naughty books, doesn’t mean I wanna watch the animals.

hand me a fan!

Have to say, this Wicked Beast is making me crazy. In a good way. Had to take a break from writing because... um... well, we will not discus exactly why, but daymmmm I need a fan.

One thing about Voice Recognition Software that I didn't expect, it makes a book longer. It's so easy to get the words on the page that an author can let the book take off. I had planed for WICKED BEAST to be Novel size. Now I'm thinking it might have to push past that.

Hope everyone has a good weekend.

Houston Fire Fighters 08

I'm moving to Houston and setting my house on fire. Let me know if you care to join me, I wanna sit on your lawn and watch your house burn.

You can see all the guys coming to save me here: http://www.firefighterscalendar.org/2008.html

I'm going back to have a look so I know when to swoon.

Those loud tulips

Last fall I bought a box of tulip bulbs, but with all the things going on didn’t put them in the ground when I was supposed too last November. This Sunday we cleaned the garage. There was the box of tulip bulbs and every one of those bulbs was yelling at me.

They were all trying to sprout in the box. So I gave into their demands and put them in the ground. Spring is coming and they get pissed if they’re not ready. I resisted the urge to apologize to each bulb as I dutifully placed it in the ground. Does anyone else hear the plants?

Now the seeds in packets are making a racket about getting started in those dirt pellets. Dang, loud seeds. Guess I’m going to get the dirt pellets today.

Heed the warning

If a dragon bothers to give you a warning, pay attention. He only does it once.
Unedited, from WICKED BEAST. Read at your own risk.

“Stop,” he breathed.

“I didn’t do anything. You’re the one with dangerous eyes,” she whispered back.

“You liked it. Don’t invite the beast, baby. He doesn’t play nice,” Cord warned.

“Nice is over rated,” Kelly stated.

Cord remained carefully still as he regarded the enticing wind witch. “You’re pushing. Last night was only a taste. Understand what I’m saying?”

Kelly’s bottom lip disappeared under her teeth. Her big eyes remained gazing into the heat pouring form the male holding her. She nodded and little lines appeared under her eyes, her lip reappeared and she pressed into him with her body. A small movement only he could be aware of.

“Is that a promise?” she wanted to know. Her laughing eyes twinkled as she added. “You know how I like promises. They make me feel good.”

Cord’s entire body flashed to rock hard as she pressed into him and demanded he promise her the dominate lover she’d met last night.

“Count on it,” he answered, his arm tightening behind her for a moment. “Feeling very brave, aren’t you baby girl?”

“Should I be afraid?” she asked.

“Depends,” he conceded. “Nothing compares to that path, it changes you. Teaches you needs that can't be unlearned, obsessions that will not let you rest. But if you go there darlin, it’ll be with me. I’ll never let you crave what you can’t have,” he promised her.

Wicked Beast....what do ya think of that name?

WICKED BEAST: book one of the Dragon Craft series.

Possible hook:
Created to kill, he has no choices.
Programmed to need, she is his to defend.
He will write the future in blood to protect her from his past.
Call the dragon and reap the wind.


Second book will be SINFUL BEAST.
Third book is ALL BEAST

These are working titles. What do you think of them?

It's scaring me now

I've been using voice recognition for two days and have done more work than I accomplished the last two weeks. It's sort of addictive. The truth is, I can talk faster than the computer can type. Often I'm a whole sentence ahead of it. Even having to go back and correct things it didn't understand doesn't take as much time as typing used to.

Where will it lead? How did I write a book without it? OMG, Sarah is making me an ubber geek. It's all her fault and I loved her for it.

I told another author about it this morning and she's so excited. You people are in for it now, we can write books almost as fast as you can read them. How scary is that?

Happy April Fools Day

Gotta love it.

Actually been a very good day for me. Over four thousand words before noon. I lorvvvvsss that voice recognition software!!

Well, perhaps I love it so much because the dragon has been getting busy all morning. I need a fan. Oh wait, the sun is out and the temp. is above freezing. That could be my problem. Naaa, it’s the dragon.

Hope everyone has a good day.