MIA
I have been. MIA, I mean. Wow. I can't believe how long it's been since I've posted here. My bad!
First, I am alive, breathing, and working like mad. RWA Nationals were an absolute blast! I met so many wonderful people and learned a lot, too. G and I had a wonderful trip, stopping for the night in Charlottesville, Virginia for some reminiscing about our time there when he was a brand-new JAG officer. Drover, my Highlander, performed beautifully, and Jackaroo, the Garmin GPS got us everywhere we wanted to be. I was disappointed in the Smithsonian's Native American Museum, but the Mall and the architecture in DC was amazing! The hotel sucked, even though it was a luxury hotel. That said, the people who worked there rocked. Going out, we drove the "southern" route through Arkansas, Tennessee, and Virginia. We came back the "northern" route through Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. It was a fun trip and G and I plotted out a new project for me on the way home. I'm excited about it!
Second, where I am in the writing life... I have two books out for submission with The Wild Rose Press, the second book in the Tir Nan Og trilogy FAERIE FIRE, and a fantasy scifi, THE HAWK. I've queried an agent with SHADOW DANCE and I have my fingers crossed that she'll ask for a full manuscript, like it, and offer to represent me! In the meantime, I'm revising SEASON OF THE WITCH because I've had a nibble from a second agent on it. Hopefully, one of the two will resonate. That's my goal for this year between RWA Nationals - to get an agent.
What else is up in my life? We've been doing some work on the house. The 'living room' is now the formal dining room. What was the dining room is now a library, with the addition of floor-to-ceiling shelves on two walls. Eventually, the window in there will be replaced with French doors and we'll add a deck. That space will become my office, and the "Florida" room where I am now will become storage and craft space. For those of you who've been LJ friends for a long time, remember my saga of the master bath shower? The skeleton plumbing is there now. I have hopes to actually having a shower in time for rancourt and kiarrh's visit this month. I can dream, right?
On a sad note, we had to say goodbye to Tucker. He developed a large tumor on his spleen and pancreas and due to his age, the vet didn't give him much chance with the anesthetic. I held him while he dropped off to sleep. Boone is lost without him and we are looking for a full-blood Newfoundland to adopt. Boone has turned into a fraidy-dog and won't go out unless one of us goes with him. If we "throw" him out and get the door closed, he stands at the door whimpering instead of doing his *bidness*. Silly dog. I miss Tucker, too.
I'm going to New Orleans with my local Critique Partner over Labor Day weekend for a writer's conference. Road trip!
nere_ayo has finished this round of doctor appointments on her eye. Her vision has improved and stabilized and she's in glasses now. Next step is the plastic surgery and she hopes that will happen over Fall Break.
I continue to blog daily over on PENUMBRA and today is my monthly stint at HAPPY ENDINGS.
And I'm going to pimp some books here. Leslie Parrish has a series of books with back-to-back releases. FADE TO BLACK came out last month. PITCH BLACK came out today. BLACK AT HEART comes out September 1. Do you like sizzling romance between two characters who could be people you know, and the romance "reads" real instead of a plot device? Do you like crime novels ripped from the headlines? Do you like dark suspense that will keep you guessing to the very end? GO BUY THESE BOOKS! I was lucky enough to get ARCs (Advanced Reader Copy) of these books. They absolutely blew me away. I've ordered a set from B&N even though I have the ARCs. Yes. They are that good! Buy them. Read them. Tell others about them!
First, I am alive, breathing, and working like mad. RWA Nationals were an absolute blast! I met so many wonderful people and learned a lot, too. G and I had a wonderful trip, stopping for the night in Charlottesville, Virginia for some reminiscing about our time there when he was a brand-new JAG officer. Drover, my Highlander, performed beautifully, and Jackaroo, the Garmin GPS got us everywhere we wanted to be. I was disappointed in the Smithsonian's Native American Museum, but the Mall and the architecture in DC was amazing! The hotel sucked, even though it was a luxury hotel. That said, the people who worked there rocked. Going out, we drove the "southern" route through Arkansas, Tennessee, and Virginia. We came back the "northern" route through Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri. It was a fun trip and G and I plotted out a new project for me on the way home. I'm excited about it!
Second, where I am in the writing life... I have two books out for submission with The Wild Rose Press, the second book in the Tir Nan Og trilogy FAERIE FIRE, and a fantasy scifi, THE HAWK. I've queried an agent with SHADOW DANCE and I have my fingers crossed that she'll ask for a full manuscript, like it, and offer to represent me! In the meantime, I'm revising SEASON OF THE WITCH because I've had a nibble from a second agent on it. Hopefully, one of the two will resonate. That's my goal for this year between RWA Nationals - to get an agent.
What else is up in my life? We've been doing some work on the house. The 'living room' is now the formal dining room. What was the dining room is now a library, with the addition of floor-to-ceiling shelves on two walls. Eventually, the window in there will be replaced with French doors and we'll add a deck. That space will become my office, and the "Florida" room where I am now will become storage and craft space. For those of you who've been LJ friends for a long time, remember my saga of the master bath shower? The skeleton plumbing is there now. I have hopes to actually having a shower in time for rancourt and kiarrh's visit this month. I can dream, right?
On a sad note, we had to say goodbye to Tucker. He developed a large tumor on his spleen and pancreas and due to his age, the vet didn't give him much chance with the anesthetic. I held him while he dropped off to sleep. Boone is lost without him and we are looking for a full-blood Newfoundland to adopt. Boone has turned into a fraidy-dog and won't go out unless one of us goes with him. If we "throw" him out and get the door closed, he stands at the door whimpering instead of doing his *bidness*. Silly dog. I miss Tucker, too.
I'm going to New Orleans with my local Critique Partner over Labor Day weekend for a writer's conference. Road trip!
nere_ayo has finished this round of doctor appointments on her eye. Her vision has improved and stabilized and she's in glasses now. Next step is the plastic surgery and she hopes that will happen over Fall Break.
I continue to blog daily over on PENUMBRA and today is my monthly stint at HAPPY ENDINGS.
And I'm going to pimp some books here. Leslie Parrish has a series of books with back-to-back releases. FADE TO BLACK came out last month. PITCH BLACK came out today. BLACK AT HEART comes out September 1. Do you like sizzling romance between two characters who could be people you know, and the romance "reads" real instead of a plot device? Do you like crime novels ripped from the headlines? Do you like dark suspense that will keep you guessing to the very end? GO BUY THESE BOOKS! I was lucky enough to get ARCs (Advanced Reader Copy) of these books. They absolutely blew me away. I've ordered a set from B&N even though I have the ARCs. Yes. They are that good! Buy them. Read them. Tell others about them!