Short Story for British Anthology

As you can tell from my little wordmeter, I’ve made dismal progress on the story I HAVE to turn in by Sunday.

I spent Wednesday with the daughter shopping. *shudder* But have to admit, I’m glad I went. I let her choose everything, and she picked some cute clothes. Not what I would have bought (sweat pants and tee shirts), but she has me just about ready for conference. Now if I can find that pirate shirt and corset, ooh, and a pair of little black fairy wings, I’ll be set.

Yesterday, we went to Little Rock for eye exams. I found out I have a blind spot in my vision. Might explain why I never see cars in the right lane until I hear them honk. Guess that means I need to schedule time with an opthamologist (did I even spell that right?).

Anyway, today, my butt is planted in the chair. I will write, and blog, and write some more. Be sure to join me at the Avon Romance Blog today. I’m going to be talking about dreaming and how it helps me write. You’ll get just one more clue about the fact I may not be wrapped too tight.

Short Story for British anthology
The “word meter” is just to keep me honest, and embarassed, if I don’t make great progress over the next few days.

My email is still down. And I’m frustrated about it, but today I have a handle on that. I blogged at several of my favorite author’s blogs to assuage my NEED to connect with friends. I wish I could say I’m ready to knuckle under and write for the rest of the day, but my daughter has the day off, and she insists I need new clothes for a couple of upcoming conferences, so I’m going to put myself in her hands today.

I HATE shopping. Especially, for clothes. I get hot and frustrated and hate the lighting and the way everything fits (or more precisely DOESN’T fit). Plus, I like really bright colors and she reins me in with “You look dead” comments when I try to go for yellow or a neon green. Thankfully, she loves me in red, so I know she’ll let me have at least one bright blouse while she steers me toward the blues, which she says make me look pretty.

I’d love to be able to do all my shopping online, but unless I’m ordering something loose-fitting the fit is never quite right, so I have to actually try the clothes on. Blech. I have lost a little weight since the last time I went shopping, so I’m hoping for miracles–something that isn’t in the Women’s section or with a stretchy waist.

Next weekend, Shayla Kersten and I are heading to Memphis for a research trip. I want something really sexy to wear to the clubs I know she’ll want to hit (for research, of course!). I have this awesomely wicked idea for a new story. It came to me when I was trying to fall asleep the other night. I got so creeped out I had to get up and turn on all the lights then play with my computer until I was tired enough to go back to bed. The story will be set in downtown Memphis (no Elvis sightings, I promise–that’s for another book!).

So, there’s another reason I need something new to wear. I wonder if she’ll let me buy some Naturalizer shoes. Probably not. She’s young enough to still believe fashion trumps comfort.

I admit I’m an addict.

I have to have my email. The whole day I’ve been struggling with yanking my email down from the satellite. I’m absolutely certain something really, really important is coming my way and I CAN’T READ IT!! I NEED that spam from the penis-enhancement guys and the diet druggies. I can’t cope without hearing from by buddies.

Now, if I were a bit more focused, a lot more disciplined, I would have cut the umbilicil cord and simply worked on the short story I have to get out the door by the weekend, but I admit I’m weak. I need my fix! So, if you’ve been wondering where I was all day, I’m here, cursing and slamming my keyboard around my desk.

I promise tomorrow I’ll act like a real writer.

When I’m writing like a fiend, I don’t read. Months can pass without my ever doing more than sighing at my overstuffed bookcase.

Until last week. And since then, I’ve been inhaling them. Nothing wonderful, nothing great, something truly awful that I made myself read until the very end. I won’t mention the names of those ones just to be polite, and because one person’s trash is another’s art.

Last night I snuggled into my leather couch with a cup of tea, thinking I’d read a page or two of the next TBR book before going to bed…

Well, I was enchanted, aroused, and ready to order the woman’s backlist I liked it so well. So, I’ll definitley send along a recommendation for Noelle Mack’s Nights in Black Satin.

Truthfully, it wasn’t the most elegant book, or the most poetic, or the crazy-sexiest book I ever read, and the love story of a woman on vacation who falls in love with a mysterious man in Venice might sound a little cliche, but she turned it upside down. The detail in setting and atmosphere, the blend of sensory detail, the heroine’s wonderful internal dialogue and sheer hotness of her sexual journey…

Well, I’m gonna read it again and check Expedia to see how much it costs to fly to Venice.

My productivity took a serious hit this week. Saturday I caught the flu. By Monday, I thought the worst was over, even logged onto my email for a while to see what was happening, but the screen swam before my eyes. I took the hint and went back to bed.

The good news is I lost a little weight. Not the way I would recommend, but from someone who’s always battling The Bulge, I like to find those little silver linings in every rainy day. I’m trying to do some light admin today–skimming email for anything I absolutely can’t ignore, paying bills that can’t wait, and readjusting the week’s plans (or rather, pushing off this week’s goals).

I had hoped to finish off a couple short projects this week, but I know my mind’s not really “there” yet.

Another good thing about laying around the house all week is I am caught up on all my TIVO’d movies and series shows. I even caught IDOL last night. Some of those guys can really sing! I love watching Michael Johns, but Jason’s song was really, really nice–and doesn’t the camera love his pretty eyes and skin? David Archuleta can definitely sing, but I’m getting tired of the shy, modest smile. Can’t he just give us a look that says, “Yeah, I know I’m the judges’ favorite to win, so go ahead and bite me?”

I watched the premier of New Amsterdam last night. I want to love it. I want a paranormal show to blow me away. I’ve had so many recent disappointments–the cancellation of Dresden Files (just when I was starting to think the lead was sexy) and the cancellation of Blood Ties (finally, a heroine who really looked like she could kick some serious ass, and not so cute I hate her!). I’m not sure New Amsterdam will make it either, because it was a bit of a snore for me to tell the truth. I wanted more paranormal, a hint of what his purpose is, and that “You will die when you find your own true love” thing was just dumb.

Maybe I’m just feeling grumpy because my morning coffee is starting to burble in my stomach. I should have gone for something a little more gentle to my system, but I want my life back to normal. Hope y’all are staying healthy and happy. ~DD

* 7 pp – Complete next installment of MIK-7 (vampire erotica) by 5th
* 25 pp – Complete short story for the Mammoth Book project (vampire
romance from the MIK world) by the 15th
* 60 pp – Complete 1/2 of novella (crazy erotica) for Zane by the 26th

I completed my Texas anthology on the 18th of February, but have written maybe two pages since. After slamming for three weeks, my body needed time to recoup, and my imagination needed to get some serious veggie time.

Today’s supposed to be BIC (butt in chair) day for me, but I’m babysitting a sick three-year-old. That pretty much means I’ll have to slam again come Monday to catch up to my schedule.

Whoa…that makes me sound so organized, so disciplined. But I’m really not. I have this spreadsheet I borrowed from Monica Burns that tells you how many pages you need to write to complete a work by deadline, and that scares the crap out of me when I see the daily number creep up. I use fear as an incentive to sit my butt in a chair and write.

Fear is an excellent motivator for me. So is competition. Every now and then I’ll roam my favorite authors’ websites and look at their “deal news” and get green with envy and very dissatisfied with my own progress. A buddy of mine, Kimberly Kaye Terry, beats me up about that on occasion. But I just can’t help it. Besides, it does help keep me jazzed about writing, and keeps me from getting too complacent with what I have accomplished. A little competitive jealousy can’t be a bad thing if I use it rather than let it paralyze me, right?

So I have this list of three things to accomplish this month. As always happens, I have another project that’s calling my name, wanting me to jump straight to it, but here’s where the big girl panties get tugged so high I can clamp them under my armpits. First things, first. ~DD