NaNo NaNo

No - it's not from Mork & Mindy. NaNo are more specifically NaNoWrMo stands for the National Novel Writing Month. From their website http://www.nanowrimo.org/ National Writing Month is a fun, seat-of-your-pants approach to novel writing. Participants begin writing November 1. The goal is to write a 175-page (50,000-word) novel by midnight, November 30.

Though I took the pledge, I'm planning on 25,000 words - hey, I know my limits. I'll be working on Love By Design. I'll post my progress. Wish me not only luck but more importantly that the words flow freely.

Walking in a Winter Wonderland

Yes, folks it snowing here in the lovely Catskills and it's not even Halloween yet. YIKES!

What you don't believe me? Here is a picture I just took from my back deck. The leaves are still on the trees for goodness sake!

And I had such high hopes for global warming.

RWA Rocks

The NJRWA conference was alot of fun. But besides having fun, the conference only confirmed that RWA is not only the best writing organization around - its the best organization period. Belonging to RWA is like having your own personal cheerleaders, like getting a hug, like having a big extended family, and - I could go on and on. This is what it would be like if women RULED the world.
I enjoyed all the seminars, but the one where the lightbulbs started going off was Susan Meier's - Let Conflict Tell Your Story.
I pitched Love By Design to Susan Litman from Harlequin. She remembered me from last year and said Playing For Keeps is literally on her desk. So that is totally cool. Susan requested Love By Design but said to hold off sending it until a decision is made on Playing For Keeps. This works out great since LBD is not finished - however Meier's class has really given me a jump on where I need to take this story!

Conference

Tomorrow morning I'll be heading out to the NJ Romance Writers Put Your Heart in a Book Conference. I'll be pitching Love By Design to an editor. Though what draws me to conferences is the interaction with other writers (okay - pathetic admission here - it's my social life which replaced my son's hockey travels). Oh and then there are the seminars.

Here's where I'll be on Friday...
Creating an Ensemble Cast: The WAIG Method - presented by Maggie Shayne
Expanding the Middle - presented by Joy Nash
Writing Action Scenes the WWE Way - presented by Matt&Natile Duvall

On Saturday...
Secrets of Successful Websites - presented by Karyna DaRosa & Caridad Pineiro
Editors Panel
Builing and Repairing te Single Title Plot - presented Eloisa James

On Sunday I'll let you know how my pitch went.

Google theyself...

Today,my writing friend Allie blogged about googling herself - so I thought I'd give it a try. I tried several variations. Under Liz I only found a mention of a committee meeting I attended. Under Elizabeth I found several contest win mentions, my facebook link, but what I found most amusing is a Letter to the Editor at the NY Times that I wrote back in 1987! Yep - that's right 1987.
I also googled my maiden name. Nothing for me - though there is this woman with my old name who is living the life I dreamt of as a teenager. She is an archeologist who has excavated in such places as Greece and now works at a famouus museum. Ughhhh! That is MY life she's living! Hmmm...could be a plot to a future book....hmmmm....

When the student is ready, the master appears - Buddist Proverb

I belong to a critique group, which meets every other Tuesday. They have helped my writing over the past two years and I can only hope I've helped them along the way. Not only do we get work done but we laugh in the process. Did I mention there is chocolate? The only draw back is that I don't get home until 11:30 (I live over an hour away). By the time I wind down it's 12:30 and I need to be up by 6:30. This makes for a very grumpy Wednesday.

But it's so worth it.

Hot Enough

A few posts ago I worried that Playing For Keeps wasn't hot enough for the Blaze line after reading a current book. I'm happy to say after reading several more I'm in the clear.

I just finished Amorous Liaisons by Sarah Mayberry. Besides being a wonderful read, it had the right balance of sex and story.

Here is the backcover blurb...
Amorous Liaisons
Friends with benefits
Max Laurent has always wanted Maddy Green. But he let her go once before rather than stand between her and her dreams. Now she’s on his Paris doorstep, needing a place to stay. She’s just as hot and he wants her just as much. How can he resist seducing her?
When Maddy’s world falls apart, it’s only natural that she turns to Max for support. But fall into his bed? Never…until one steamy night, that is. And having had a taste of him, she’s hungry for more. Then she has the chance to resume her career, although it means leaving him. Can she throw away the best sex - and the best friend - she’s ever had?

I loved this book. Maddy is a recently retired ballet dancer who is having trouble dealing with it and Max is a former ballet dancer turned sculptor living in Paris. O la la!

Play Like A Man Win Like a Woman by Gail Evans

My college management professor back oh-so-many-years ago had us pledge in writing that we would read at least one business book a year. I happy to say I've kept to that plegde. This year my choice was Play Like A Man Win Like A Woman by Gail Evans. Ms. Evans gives women a playbook of success in a man's world. I wish I had this book when I first started out in the business world. Some of what she says I've learned along the way-the hard way. I recommend this book for every woman. Buy it for your daughter graduating from college. Buy it for your sister or your friend. Most of all buy it for yourself.

Here are the my top three that I've learned along the way and that she covers in the book...
1) Take credit for your accomplishments.
2) Ask for what you want. (Don't expect your boss to read your mind. Your husband can't so why would you think your boss could.)
3) Develop the right tone in your voice. Women tend to talk softly and you need to learn to speak up but without sound harpy.

I'm giving my copy to my niece who is in college and working PT at a police station (oh yeah - that is a man's world).

So anyone out there have any tips on how to succeed?

Computer Woes

I'm far from computer savy but I did manage to restore my old laptop that I use for the internet-however I failed to figure why I'm not connecting to the internet. This has happened before and I figured it out then. But that was then and this is now.
So for now I'm using my new laptop (6 months) - the one I reserve just for writing. Maybe, this will be a good excuse to buy an Apple - you know all in the name of helping the economy.
Yep - it's like patriotic - unlike paying more in taxes...

All that aside, I have the first 7 pages completed of Love By Design and plan to have Chapter 1 done by the end of the weekend.