I'm DONE!!

My NaNoWriMo entry is complete...well the required 50,000 words is complete but the story still needs to be finished and polished and edited and revised and..... you get the picture. But I did it! I'm so excited that I actually finished it.

It snowed here all day yesterday and part of the day before. We ended up with right at about a foot of snow and currently it's 21 degrees outside so the snow is not going anywhere and neither am I. It's a slick icy nightmare out there so my snow covered minivan is staying parked!

I'm so excited I can hardly contain myself

I opened my email this morning and found an email from one of the editors of Wild Rose Press. She read my synopsis and requested a partial of my manuscript!! Even if she ends up not liking it, at least I've reached the next level in my writing career.

Can I do it?

The end of NaNoWriMo is just around the bend and my word count is just over 38,000. That leaves 12,000 words left to write and 5 days in which to do it. Can I do it? I think so but life does tend to jump up and bite me on the rump when I least expect it and when I least need it. I'm a little behind so I'm a little worried about catching up but if I try and stay focused, I believe that I can meet this challenge head on and succeed.

Why?

Because I happen to be a very stubborn woman. I am hard headed and when I see something I want, I go for it and fight for it until I come out victorious. Ask my family, they'll tell you. Maybe that's a cultivated trait that came from being painfully shy when I was younger and rarely getting what I wanted; now that I'm older and don't have to be a wall flower, I can stand up and shout about what I want and have the means to go after my goals.

My dream is to write, to be a published writer. That's the only real dream I have left and it's the one I want to see come true more than any other that I've ever had...so I'm going to continue to work at it until that dream is realized.

Go ahead and call me stubborn, tenacious, bull headed...I'll be the first one to agree with you :o)

So I suppose the question is not, Can I do it...it's more, How close to the deadline will I come skidding in with my completed 50,000 words?

I'm officially a writer...

I recieved my first big REJECTION letter from Harlequin today for His Daughter's Keeper. What did I do? Well, when I first saw the envelope, I wanted to jump up and down with joy...until I read it's contents, then I wanted to cry. However, I didn't not give into my desire to cry. I simply worked on my synopsis to clearify a few things then sent it off to another publisher in hopes of a better result. I pride myself on my stubbornness and I will prevail...eventually.

This rejection letter taught me one thing, though...that I can survive it. I can survive having someone not like my work. It's not the best feeling in the world, but it didn't kill me; it made me more determined to keep going.

NaNo and more

My NaNoWriMo word count is right at the halfway mark- 25,000-ish and the story is coming along nicely. However, a new story has sprung up in my head and is demanding that I get started on it but I can't, I have to finish Logan's Song first before I can start something new.

I did go ahead and write up the outline for it so that I don't forget anything, but that's as far as I'm going with it.

My aunt is having open heart surgery the end of this month and will be staying with me while she recovers. I'm praying that all will go well and that the doctor's prognosis will be the reality. He's hoping for a more comfortable life for my aunt when he repairs some damage she sustained during a heart attack when she was only 30 years old.

We all woke up late on Wednesday because the power was out and our alarms didn't go off. Electricity was out in 9 counties and was out for just over 24 hours. That was an adventure and boy was I ever glad when the power was restored. Hubby has a line on a generator so next time, we'll be able to have lights and water when the power's out. YAY!!

Thanksgiving promises to be a quiet affair. We'll just stay home and have a nice quiet dinner with my aunt before her surgery. I'm looking forward to it.

Happy Thanksgiving to You!

Song Writing?

I had to write a song to put in my current WIP because the title of the story is Logan's Song and because he's a famous singer. At the ened of the story, to convince the love of his life to come back to him, he writes her a song. Well, since he lives in my head, it's really me that had to write the song.

Well, I got it done but it took me quite awhile to do and, while the effort was decent, it's definately not something that Toby Keith or Trace Adkins would record. But what can I say; I'm not a professional musician.

I just hope I can get it polished up enough to put in the story and make it express what I was trying to express.

NaNo is going really well. I have just over 15,000 words so far and the story is coming along nicely. I'm enjoying the challenge and watching the word counts rise for other participants as well. It's definitely a learning experience.

Na-na-na-na-NaNoWriMo

I'm off to a wonderful start for NaNoWriMo and I couldn't be more thrilled. My total word count for the first two days is 8930. That's already 17.8 % of the total and considering the speed at which I'm writing, the story is turning out surprisingly well. I think I'm going to send it to my CP to read over and see what she thinks.

I went to work with hubby today and got stuck cleaning a couple of RV's that they'd just gotten from the auction. All I'm going to say is that it was really gross work and I'm worn out. But I got home earlier than I thought I would so I was able to get a lot of writing in between then and now. Being able to think up some stuff for the story I'm writing helped the work go by more quickly.

Anyway, I'm off to bed because I'm whooped!

Okay, Julie, here's my response to your challenge. Is this what you had in mind or did I miss the point entirely?

Chapter One

“Logan…. Logan….. Hello LOGAN!” Mike practically shouted as he waved his hand in front of his client’s face.
“Wha… oh, sorry… Guess I spaced out some.” Logan Ashford said, sitting up straight in his chair and trying to focus on the proceedings going on around the large polished oak table. “What’d I miss?” Logan hates the mundane, would much rather be out doing something active, being a part of life instead of contracting it.
Mike chuckled and said, “Sorry we’re so dull that you can’t stay awake, we’re almost finished up here. You need to sign these papers, same stuff as always; you’re agreeing to produce 2 new albums in the next forty-two months for the specified amount… yada, yada, yada… legal mumbo jumbo.”

Logan perused the legal document in front of him and signed on the dotted line. He replaced the cap on the pen and stood up, taking his copy of the contract and leaving the room as quickly as possible; leaving his manager and the lawyers behind before they could bring up some other bit of business that he just had to take care of. He just wanted to write music and sing… that’s what he got into this business to do, not paperwork and sitting around in meetings that were dull enough to turn his brain to mush.
The elevator doors slid open with a soft hiss and Logan stepped inside, glad the cubicle was empty… even more glad that the doors slid closed just as Mike and the lawyers for New Wave Studios came walking toward the elevators. He saw their steps quicken but the doors connected and the elevator started moving 15 floors down to the parking garage. Logan sighed with relief as his car was brought up. He eased behind the wheel and tipped the Valet before maneuvering the car into traffic and pointing it toward home.
Home and peace and quiet. Logan let out a cynical laugh. Peace and quiet were something he hadn’t had in ages it seemed. Everywhere he went he was pursued by tabloid photographers and fans. The fans he didn’t mind so much… well, except for the overzealous ones that tried to pull him apart. It was like they wanted an arm or chunk of his hair to take home as a souvenir. Singing, the one thing he loved in the entire world, was becoming a chore and he hated that. The love of his life- music- is becoming a job and he's struggling with that. He wants it to be fun again.
Logan’s car sped toward the hills where his house was nestled back away from the street and nosey people were kept out by high fences and higher trees… It was his million dollar prison, as he jokingly called it… but it wasn’t a joke; not really. He was a prisoner in his own home because people couldn’t keep their noses in their own business and insisted on minding his. Fame and fortune isn't all it's cracked up to be. His life isn't his own anymore and no matter how glamorous his prison, it's still a prison.

NaNoWriMo

I'm officially entered in the National Novel Writers Month contest. I, and many other writers, have to write a 50,000 word novel between November first and November thirtieth. I'm excited to start because I have a great idea for a story. It's a story idea that came to me when I was listening to Toby Keith's song "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This." I hope it comes out as good as it is in my head.

no word yet from Harlequin on my first MS. I keep checking the mail everyday anxiously hoping for a letter at least acknowledging that they received my Q&S.

Anyway, I'll post something here as soon as I hear anything.

Today is my daughter's eleventh birthday party. It has a 50's theme so she and her friends are wearing poodle skirts and listening to Elvis Presley music. Loads of fun.

IT'S FINISHED!!!!

I finished my book yesterday and mailed off the submission request letter to the publisher. It's been an amazing journey and I hope it gets even more amazing. I discovered a few things about myself during the process of writing this book. Such things as, I am capable of finishing something :D I am very good at blocking out external irritations while I write :) I feel more at peace with my life when I'm able to write as much as I want to.

It's a beautiful thing, self discovery. And now I'm writing up the outline for my second book :o)

There's no such thing as too much of a good thing.