Just a quick rundown.

I finished Four Sworn this week and submitted it to my editor at Samhain. Just 16k, but packed with naughtiness. I started to revise another proposal that my agent liked but thought the heroine might not seem redeemable. Then I read it again, liked it just the way it was and shipped it to one of my editors to see what she thought. If she shares his opinion, I’ll listen. If you’ve read me, you know I like taking the person who seems like someone you can’t forgive and making him or her someone you want to cheer for by the end. Or at least make their sins understandable. I’ve read too many trite “mistaken” sins that weren’t really sins and I want to read the grittier, truer version of that premise. Maybe a reader or two does too.

This week, the goal is to get the openings of a couple of new stories started and finish the synopsis for the second big book. I’ve pretty much taken care of the large goals I set for myself for April, so I can slack off a bit.

Today, I’ll be covered up with family again so no writing is happening. But pool’s open! Wheeee!

Strangest dream last night. I moved into a very large house with many rooms, that were more like individual apartments because they had their own baths and kitchenettes. And the furnishings were very elaborate junkware. You know, like collections of foot-tall, ceramic teapots made in the likenesses of the Taj Mahal and Neuschwanstein castle. The rooms exploded with color—turqouise walls, enameled dressers and pianos. The floors looked like kiln-fired ceramic tile and were pieced together designs of rice patty or wheat fields. Anyway, I arrived with my daughter and mother, and we fought over which rooms we should take. Since I was doing the buying I argued that I should have first choice, and I wanted the room with the largest desk covered in Japanese black lacquer with insets of mother-of-pearl. I lost the argument, but didn’t mind so much, all the rooms were great. But then the convention-goers arrived. Seems Sasha White booked my house for a reader’s convention, so my house was overrun with readers scrambling to claim beds and breaking pottery left and right. That’s when I woke up.

Well, the big accomplishment was finishing Beloved Captor (that name’s likely to change). I wrapped up the revisions, which seemed to take forever, and sent it to my editor. Send a little prayer up that she likes it. After that, nada, zippo, zero! But I don’t care. I couldn’t sit because I’d been doing so much of that in the revisions. I attended my Arkansas RWA chapter meeting yesterday, and now I finally feel recharged enough to plunge back in.

So, if anyone out there wants to sprint with me this week—not the kind where you need running shoes, the kind where you write like a madwoman for 45-minute sprints—I’m so there.

Thanks to everyone who provided me input regarding what you want to see in the next installment of Bad Moon Rising. I will take a look at them all and come back with a poll for you to cast your final version vote.

And the winner of the gift certificate, by random number generator is…tamibates! Tami—email me with the email addy you want the certificate sent to!

Well, as I mentioned, the major accomplishment was finishing Beloved Captor (tentative title). I still have a friend reading through the book to make sure it holds together. I hope she likes it. Deadline for turn-in is Friday.

I’m doing one last read through and trying to do it slowly. Read a chapter, walk away. So that I keep sharp to errors and really look for better ways to phrase things.

This week the goals are to complete the revisions AND complete the Lone Star Lovers story. It’s a short novella. I shouldn’t have too many problems with it.

Book I bought this week?
Screw the Roses, Send Me the Thorns: The Romance and Sexual Sorcery of Sadomasochism by Philiip Miller

Music I bought this week? (Not all headbangy stuff this week. Was in a blue mood, I guess, which was why I didn’t accomplish all that much.)
Lie by David Cook
Click Click Boom by Saliva (more my usual thing)
Bombshell by Powerman 5000
Maybe by Ingrid Michaelson
Single Ladies by Beyonce (my only Beyonce title on my iPod—the 5-year-old likes to do the dance, so it makes me smile)
Milkshake by Kelis (yeah, I know)
Apologize by One Republic
Beautiful Disaster by Jon McLaughlin
Telelphone by Lady GaGa and Beyonce
Paparazzi by Lady GaGa (5-year-old’s influence again)

Quick Sunday Report Card for me to own up to what I accomplished this week:
* Finished more revisions of the big book, and added chapter 20
* Finished chapter 3 of Lone Star Lovers-3
* Finished the third installment of my free read

This coming week, I will finish the rough draft of the big book. I’ll wrap up LSL-3, revise and ship it! And I’ll turn my attention back to SOW, a paranormal novella I set aside when I got the current contract.

Now to the contest…
I have a series, just two books in it so far, called The Shadowlands. But EC doesn’t think my series name is sexy enough. So any of you who have read the stories, or have just read the blurbs for an idea of what they are about, I’d appreciate suggestions for a new series title. In addition, I need a title for a print book to include both of the currently existing stories. If I use your suggestion, or if it sparks an idea in me for a title, I’ll name you in the acknowledgements and give you a signed copy when it publishes (or if you can’t wait that long, I’ll let you choose something already in print).

Since two titles are needed there will be two possible winners here!

I had a terrific day with my daughter’s family yesterday. Didn’t worry about making a wordcount. Didn’t itch to get to my computer. I headed to Hot Springs with my camera and a credit card.

My SIL, his mom, the red-headed hellion, the 5-year-old, and 1-year-old were all loaded up, and we headed first to downtown Hot Springs. Parking was tough to find because it was a beautiful sunny day with a nice breeze and EVERYONE headed to the strip.

We started at Bubbalu’s for hot dogs and hamburgers. A woman came up to ooh and ah over the baby. The baby gave her a scowl. “She must be shy,” the woman said. SIL said, “No, ma’am, she’s just mean.” And that’s the truth. Little Girl doesn’t have a shy bone in her body, but she has a temper and she did not want to stay in her stroller.

We stopped in at several little specialty shops, the 5-year-old and I bought matching shiny pink scarfs to wrap around our necks and blingy necklaces. The girl-child got stopped several times to be told how beautiful and “fashionable” she was. The same folks chuckled at me as they passed. This was the girl-child’s last day of Spring Break, and we’d told her it was her special day. She kept remarking on how great it was that everyone showed up to help her celebrate.

While we were walking, I passed a family with this dog and had to stop them to get a picture. Don’t you know there’s a story somewhere in that picture?

The shopping was nice. Stopped in Tillman’s which is an estate sale store and saw some amazing pieces. Faberge eggs, jewelry from The French Quarter that dated back to the late 1800’s. So much bling I thought I’d died and gone to heavan. I forgot to ask if they had lay-away… But never mind. Daughter and I are already plotting our next trip there—just have to save a bit to get something special!

Girl-child’s wish was to go to the petting zoo, so off we traipsed. This is us in the goat cage, feeding bread to the goats. It’s the only shot you’ll see of me, because after I saw what the wind did to my hair that was over!

The highlight of course was the alligator house. They keep them inside in winter and the gators huddle under heat lamps in the pools. Being so close, with only a 4-foot fence surrounded by chicken wire, didn’t make me feel very safe. I know they can jump that height and that chicken wire isn’t enough to hold them back if they do attack, but they looked very well-fed and lethargic.

Read the rest of this entry »

We’ll get to the picture in a bit. 😉

This week wasn’t a complete bust, but productivity was hampered by the fact I had so many critters and kids pulling at my attention.

I finished a chapter of the big book, began work in earnest on the next chapter installment of my free read, Bad Moon Rising, and I finished another chapter of the third Lone Star Lovers book. Not balls of fire, but progress nonetheless!

This coming week, I have to really knuckle down. (What does that mean? Knuckle down… Knuckles dragging the ground means you’re primitive. That will bug me now.) I want to finish 4 chapters of the big book, and I can if I shut everything out. But I also want to finish the few pages left of the free story. And I’d like to complete one more chapter of the Lone Star book, so that I have a chance of finishing the thing this month too.

So that’s my progress and my goals.

Back to that picture.

Remember those two dogs that mated this week? I took my camera outside with me early one morning. The dogs were standing butt-to-butt while the male was waiting for his eretion to wane to free himself. I snapped the pic, thinking it would be funny to post, but this is more interesting, don’t you think?

What is it? Two werewolves? Two hellhounds? Tell me what you see.

Another unproductive week. Only 17 pages progress. But understandable given family obligations. All I can say is thank goodness I was way ahead of schedule when real life intruded.

I caught up on sleep last night. Watched a really terrible disater flick—2012. I’ll watch it again, no doubt. I completely love cheesy, end-of-the-world B movies, and this one had several real groaner scenes. I wish there had been a surprise or two, but everything was pretty formulaic. The only character I truly enjoyed was Woody Harrelson’s (did I spell that right?), over-the-top portrayal of the crazy prophet of doom who stays to watch the fireworks when Yellowstone blows. The lesson here—never, ever trust my taste in movies.

Monday night, I head back over to my daughter’s house. I sure as hell hope I can figure out how to get some sleep and that the dogs are exhausted by their good time. I’ll take my laptop with me and try to get some work done. If I’m still struggling, I won’t beat myself up. I have time to finish the big book. The shorts might have to fall by the wayside.

Y’all have a good week. Thanks to everyone who expressed their outrage on yesterday’s Facebook posting. I knew I wasn’t crazy to be outraged!