Award Nominations!

Wow, what a day today was!  Not only was it election day - I voted, despite the stupid bronchitis that will not die - but I found out that Romantic Times Magazine has nominated two of my books for best of 2012.

First, my January Harlequin Nocturne THE WOLF WHISPERER was nominated for best Harlequin Nocturne of 2012.

And if that wasn't enough, my September Harlequin Romantic Suspense The Cop's Missing Child was nominated for best Harlequin Romantic Suspense of 2012

This is a very cool award in the romance writing world.  I have won it once before, in 2005 for SECRET OF THE WOLF, which won for best Silhouette Intimate Moments of 2005.  I look at that plaque whenever I'm having a bad writing day, and feel better instantly! 

Not sure when the winners will be announced.  The RT Convention, when they give out the awards, is in St. Louis, MO over my birthday.  That would be a heck of a present, wouldn't it?  (Fingers crossed!)

Rolling With the Punches

And with the new time change (which I love, btw), Monday has rolled around again.  I adore getting up and it being semi-light outside rather than pitch dark.  My husband is the opposite - he hates it. 

I spent this entire weekend at home - still sick.  This morning I was determined to return to my normal life and tried to do my morning walk.  I had to stop because of the coughing doubling me over.  So, not well yet.  Still taking medicine and wishing for this crud to go away.

I did get some writing done on Saturday though.  I'm very happy with the story so far.  I just passed 50,000 words (out of 80,000 needed by December 1.)

And as I was looking over my stack of unread magazines (I'm so far behind), I realized that Thanksgiving is two weeks from this Thursday!  OMG!  I'm not ready. At all.  Last year we had a huge family get-together at my house.  My mom had just been diagnoed with terminal Pancreatic Cancer, so everyone came.  This year, my brother and his wife are spending the holiday with her family as they skipped them for two years in a row.  My mom and her partner are going to have Thanksgiving with her partner's daughter and husband, and this year for me it's going to be a very small get together.  Just me, my husband and daughter, and my widowed father.  This will be his first Thanksgiving alone and his first Thanksgiving with us since 1994 - Eighteen years!  I've already done a little bit of decorating, not all of it as I'm still feeling bad, but I need to get on the ball, don't I?

Friday Roundup

It's Friday.  I can sum up this past week in one word.  Sick.  Yes, it got worse and worse, though honestly Tuesday and Wednesday were the absolute worst.  Today I finally broke down and made a doctor's appt for this afternoon.  I was hoping to beat this on my own.  But since it made me miss Halloween - one of my favorite holidays, and since even with the Mucinex D, I'm not getting better, it's time to get a Z-Pack or something.

Sigh.

I did finally get back to heavy duty writing yesterday.  I tried on the other days, but my head was buzzing and I ended up crawling into bed and giving up.  But yesterday, I got back on track because my book is due 12-1 after all.  And there's a major holiday in there plus a major anniversary and trip to Vegas.  So... I have to be very much a stickler about meeting my word goals.  And it looks like I'm going to need to start working on weekends, which I hate.  Ah well.

While at the conference, which focused mainly on the business side of writing, there was on craft class.  Donald Maas has a new book out, so he was talking about that.  It was very interesting because he had us think of the last scene we'd written before attending the conference.  Then he asked us to write down the viewpoint character's strongest emotion in that scene.  Then he said now write the second and third emotions. 

After we'd done that, he had us pick the second or third emotion, assign it a color and an animal, and write a scene with the character experiencing that emotion.  I did and was so happy!  Talk about deeper.  So now I'm going back and re-editing my story, which is now well over 200 pages, and it's going to be so much better. 

Also today someone posted a great review of my first Pack book, One Eye Open.  It was very nice to read it and made my day. It makes writing a lot easier when I read something like that.

Conference Crud

I never get sick.  Or at least, it's a rare thing for me to get sick.  I can't even remember the last time I was ill.  I guess because we had a small business and went to a small gym, I wasn't exposed all that much?  Shrug.  Even when I went to writer's conferences, I'd hear about other people getting sick, but I never did.

Never say never.

I was feeling a bit crappy on Sunday, but put it down to exhaustion from the non-stop workshops and the horror (to me) that is air travel these days.  By Monday, I realized I had a cold.  No big deal, right.  Yesterday, I was a bit worse, but still doing ok.  Then last night I was up all night coughing and hacking and wheezing and using tissue.  This morning I'm bleary and congested and aching and... sick.  Duh.

The conference crud has struck.

I have to avoid both my elderly parents - don't want to get them sick.  And tonight is Halloween, and I can't even hand out candy - don't want a bunch of sick little kids.  I had planned to sit outside with Libby my Boxer puppy and Lonnie my husband, but that's not gonna happen.  I'll be luck to get some writing done today.  Sigh.

Keeping my fingers crossed this doesn't turn into anything worse.  One lady who was at the conference had it move into her chest and turn into bronchitus.  Yikes.

Hurricane Avoided - Home Again!

I am back in Texas.  I got out of White Plains, NY yesterday (Sunday).  The flight was packed, as was the next one I took out of Phillie.  It wasn't raining yet, but Hurricane Sandy was on her way.

I enjoyed my time there.  Here is the view from my hotel window. 

Oh, and here's another (how I wanted to go walking in that neighborhood, but couldn't as I didn't want to miss the workshops.)

The conference was fun and amazing.  By Saturday, people were changing flights to get out of there before the hurricane.  My flights were full and I made it home around 3 pm yesterday.

I was so exhausted I went to bed at 8pm and slept until 6 this morning. 

But now I'm getting caught up, praying for those in Sandy's path, and then I plan to go through my notes.  I have TONS of notes.  I have some work to do on social media, plus theres a work in progress just waiting for me to get back to it.

So I shall.  But wanted to stop in here and let you know I made it back.  Yay!

Back East!

I am currently in White Plains, NY at the Novelists, Inc. conference.  Yesterday - just about all day - was a travel day for me.  I had a layover in Phillie, then a prop plane ride her to White Plains.  On the shuttle ride to the hotel, I got to see a lot of fall foliage - OMG how I've missed that.  And I can see some from my hotel room.  Makes me long to get out and about - if my husband was here with me, we'd probably have rented a car and stayed longer so we could drive around and explore the area.  So beautiful!

And this conference.  One day under my belt, and what a day!  I've learned so much and heard from so many people in the industry!  I've got two more days - I fly home Sunday morning - and am sure I'll be chock full of info!   Loving it.  Best.  Conference.  Ever.  Well worth every penny.

Thankful Tuesday

Yesterday I worked all day on Line Edits for my next Nocturne The Wolf Prince (out in April 2013). 

Yesterday my Mom was told that her cancer still has not spread out of her pancreas - the Chemo is working at keeping it at bay!

Today my husband left before eight to drive to Conroe, TX to attend the funeral of his Aunt Ethel, one of the sweetest people I've ever met.  I couldn't go because I not only have to watch the dogs, but I have to pack for my trip tomorrow.  My flight leaves at 8:30 am. 

Today I am packing.

It's been funny thinking about what to wear.  At first, I agonized over dress slack and blouses, and then on the conference email loop, everyone started talking about what they were wearing.  Jeans and colored jeans and Chico Travelers pants.  Sneakers and flats.  Sweaters and comfy clothes.  Since I'm a Taurus, comfort is VERY important to me.  While I don't have any Chico's and can't really run to the mall right now, I do have jeans.  And colored jeans.  So packing is going to me MUCH easier.

I can't wait to get started!

And the weather.  Yesterday here in Texas it was nearly 90.  Hot and humid and I was not amused.  In New York, the high's will be in the low 60's - much, much, much better for me.  I do love me some Autumn. 

Though it's going to be a long travel day (one hour layover in Phillie), I'm looking forward to having the room all to myself - a treat, even though I'm going to miss seeing my friend Stephanie Doyle.  She had to cancel for personal reasons.  I'll also miss my husband and my three dogs.  Sniff. Sniff.

Other than that, I'm ready to go!  Lot's of stuff to learn, other writers to see and mingle with, so I can come home educated and inspired and ready to get back to work writing!