Confessions of A Writerholic

I've discovered why I haven't been able to write this week.

I am positive that it is a result of the burn out from working on Darius' story for two months, a somewhat lack of love within the time era as well as feeling compressed by the fact that it was a family series.

1) I have been shaping and molding and recreating this story since the beginning of April. And whilst it grew better and better with each re-creation, I was pushing myself too hard because I was in a rush to get published.

2) The Regency era(the Victorian era ties into my favorite genre) wasn't even my favorite time era. My #1 favorite genre is the Gothic(Victorian set only), but my favorite time era has been the Elizabethan era or the time period during the Crusades. Those were the eras of my YA novels when I first started reading. The only reason why I had begun to write regencies was because not only did I read a slew of them 1-2 years ago, but because everyone else was writing it as well. Bear in mind, that early in my writing career I knew next to nothing about the publishing industry,etc. And so I wrote them because I knew the period. But when I look at my extra-extra keepers list out of all of the books I've read--and the eek list compiles about 10 books or so whether I own them or not--most of them are either Medievals or Renessaince set romances. And the Elizabethan period is my home. It has fun, extreme humor and so much potential for so many wonderful storylines that I wonder why more people aren't writing in the era. But their loss is my gain.

2 1/2) My time era change also has to do with the top three publishers that I am now aiming at:
[] Berkley Sensation
[] NAL
[] St Martin's Press

They seem to be very amiable to expanding the horizons of the historical romance genre(especially BS) and I want that. I don't want to be rejected or even pigeon holed because of the constraints some houses have because of marketing reports. I don't want to be like everyone else in my everyday personal life, so why follow the crowd(well, not be a total reactionary) with my writing?

3) The family series thing was very constraining. If I had a plot for one of the members, I couldn't do it because the books had to be in chronological order. My mom said she had a vision of my writing a series, but perhaps, it doesn't have to be a family series, but just a series of connecting books that necessarily isn't a whole family. I like that. It's looser and gives me room to play alot.

And so, the Haviland family will be put out to pasture for the time being and I will work on the Renassaince plots I had assumed I would be making short stories of because I assumed I was to be writing the Haviland series.

posted by Angie @ 7:21 PM

A Snag...


Or something. Today, I am just not "feeling" writing Darius' story. It's not as if I'm stuck-I have the synopsis on the desk as well as having scenes flash in my head-but it isn't coming out. On the previous version, I wrote 1000 words in half an hour and so far, this week, I have been only able to type 1000 in one hour. I don't know whether it is because I am unconciously picking and choosing each word or if it's because I have no inspiration left with this story. Have I steamrolled it for the past two months and kneaded and folded it-to use a cooking metaphor-too much in that it and I have lost my heart for it?

I was excited to write the synopsis, I was, but the actual writing part of it is not flowing the way the previous versions did. Is it because I shifted the time period when the basis of the story had been originally in Regency England and so the story won't budge? Or is it because my mind is fed up with the 19th century?

That may be a tiny sliver of it. I am mainly targeting Berkley Sensation because they seem to want to allow their authors to have freedom of time eras outside of the Regency that other publishers aren't. And I am burning to write some Elizabethan/Stuart books or a Medieval set during Henry II-John of England, and I had read some old Lunch deals that showed that Berkley Sensation has purchased lots of books that weren't Regencies and that has heartened me.

But I don't want to have a whole bunch of unfinished ms's on my hard drive, making me feel as though I cannot finish a novel. Which isn't true because I finished the entire fourth version of Darius' story before I scrapped 40,000 words of it. But I just want to get rid of this drowning feeling.

posted by Angie @ 10:02 AM

I had pulled out my notebooks from two years ago in order to find a list of the many email addresses that I have, so that I could see if yahoo still had them. And 95% of them are still there even though I haven't checked them in a hella long time. But anyways, I flip past my fashion sketches, the sketches and ideas for the websites I used to run and past the lyrics/poetry that I wrote when I though I wanted to be a song writer. Which, by the way are awesomely painful and lucid and make me want to pick my pen and guitar up again. But I still digress; my eyes then fell on a page full of all of these story ideas I had come up with during the summer I graduated from high school as well as early last year. That was when I had so many ideas but they wouldn't come out on the computer.

And those ideas...wow! I know I am definitely going to use them down the line in my publishing career. And the weirdest thing is, is that one of those plots that I read, I had been thinking up something along the lines of it last week but I couldn't grasp the entire thing. And now I have it. Is that the hand of God or what? sheesh. My mind moves 20x faster than my hands.

I'm going to be plotting Aubrey's story after I finish typing Darius' each day. Why? Because then, during my week off, I shall have more time to tweak it,etc. Oh, and I am spinning the idea off from one of my favorite Betina Krahn books: The Princess and The Barbarian.

Oh! Oh! I found the awesomest title for Darius and Maxine's story. The Seduction of An Heiress just did not fit and I had forced it on the story thinking that it would make the editors pay attention. But then I forgot that tons of historicals have these words or a variant of them in their titles: "seduction/seduce" "heiress" "scandal" "lady", etc and I was reading Lydia's post over changing the title of the book because it sounded too "Regency" and I realized that if I am going to be writing in the Victorian period, that sort of title would sound too Regency as well.

And as I was writing(darn characters, they keep doing whatever they want!), Maxine kept referring to devils in terms of fortune hunters and the like and the title popped into my head: "The Devil Is A Gentleman" and it clicks so well. I had been wanting to use the word "gentleman" in the title, but didn't know how and that title is so cool. I love it death. Even though if this MS gets accepted, I will probably have to change it!!

And Adrian(Haviland sister, changed her name from Jordan because this one sounds neater) officially has a story! I had originally had this gothic-y plot for her book but then I realized that moving it out of the Regency period wasn't condusive with the book because a big part of the plot hinges around Waterloo and during the Victorian era, there was no "major" war like that. So...now, I get to write a plot that I have been dying to do: Egyptology! I was reading Mrs. Giggles review on Deborah Simmons' latest and the plot popped into my head. I love it and hate it when that happens.

So...this is a tentative order of books: Darius, Aubrey,Bella,Adrian,Gabriel,Galen and Hadrian.

Darius-you know the plot
Aubrey-centered about a fictional kingdom and a stubborn princess
Bella-Runaway Bride-ish
Adrian-Egyptology and some crazy gold hunter(I think)
Gabriel-dear to my heart plot--falling in love through letters
Galen-the opening scene flashes in my mind nonstop! A lady cardsharp and an english gentleman cross swords in Western america(my darling western!)
Hadrian-...the first plot had the ugly duckling of the family make up a fake betrothed and Hadrian finds himself stepping into the role. But then, when the magic and the search for the ruby was dropped out, the conflict did too. So, this one will be rethunk, but I still love it. So Brady Bunch(remember, George Glass and Jan?!! lolol)

Dang, I love plotting. But then the scenes flash through my head like a movie and I have to capture them to write them down. That's the hard part.

And to finalize this post; I have been thinking about slogans for my writing. I'm heavily influenced by old movies and their romantic entanglements and if those movies were made now, they'd be called romantic comedies. Therefore, I guess I write Historical Romantic Comedies!

posted by Angie @ 1:09 AM

They say that writing is a solitary profession...


And I am really feeling it. I recently put all of my groups on digest and also joined a new critique group. My first writers loop has become full of one liners of congrats or commisery,etc and not much discussing of the writing thing as much as talking about personal things. I don't mind regular discussions mingled with writing, but it has gotten a bit out of hand. And then the fact that there are 800 or so members and only a handful of us speak regularly. That is not really helpful to me. My new critique group is full of very serious writers, etc, but somehow, I don't feel as though I am clicking with them. I'm new, and that may be the main reason why I'm not feeling in the loop with everyone else who apparently has been together for a good amount of time. But it's not very encouraging when I feel hesitant to speak on the loop because I feel as though I am intruding. But I shall wait this one out for another 2-4 weeks and if the situation doesn't improve, I think I shall unsub.

It may sound a trifle callous, but writing is a serious job and if you aren't feeling good or comfortable with a group of writers, it will hinder your career. If my trial run with the new group runs out and I decide to leave, I think I shall start my own critique group because this is what I want out of a group:

1) Support
2) Critiques
3) Discussion
4) Brainstorming
5) Comraderie

I don't know, but it seems that the intense critters only go on between published writers, as though they are sort of "closing ranks" on unpubbed ones. As if being published is a secret society and if someone that isn't pubbed will like...I don't know...spread the secrets to getting published. I'm not saying that you should spill every single detail and aspect of your writing life and just waste your time telling unpubbeds what to do and what you're doing, but a group full of unpublished authors isn't very condusive regardless of whether your writing is really good. If you don't have a few published people around you, you'll probably just keep going around in circles.

RWA RWA RWA. Yes, I know about the organization. But here is the bottom line: money. I don't have it and probably won't until I get published. So I am back at square one; an online group.

Oh, and another thing I am looking for in a critique group; younger people. I'm 20(in July that is), I am not married and have no kids. And I mainly write historical romance. I feel like such an odd ball because everyone is so much older than I am OR they are married and/or have children. Yes, marriage and children are in my future and no, unmarried/unmothers can have things in common with wives/mothers, but the experience gap is someone widened. And then, either younger women are in college livin' the college life or they are writing chick lit. So...I'm an oddity. I'm not too down on being different, but sometimes it gets solemn.

posted by Angie @ 1:58 PM

My writing strengths...

I've been a busy bee, writing out the new and vastly improved synopsis for Darius and Maxine's story and I've also been thinking about my writing strengths and what is going to set me apart from everyone else. Of course, switching to the Victorian world is different, because most people are writing Regencies. But I'm looking at my favorite authors and pondering on whom I am most like. Here they are, in not any particular order:

Teresa Medeiros
Eloisa James
Marsha Canham
Jane Feather
Betina Krahn

Strike Eloisa,Jane and Marsha from the list I think. I don't have Eloisa's ultra witty dialogue down just yet, but I'm working on it. Jane writes these really rich historicals, but even though I like them, sometimes the romance doesn't come off very strongly against the historical backdrops. And Marsha...she's prolific. She writes these awesome, intense and sexy historicals. I love her, but I'm not at that stage in my career yet. Which leaves Betina and Teresa. What they both have in common: humor and light hearted approach to sensualness. Also the fact that they've jumped from time period to time period with relative ease-but that's more of a publishing thing than writing.

I know I have loads of humor--not slapdash or anything--but perhaps I should pretend as though I write Historical Romantic Comedy(if that's the case, then Darius and Maxine's story should be called "How to Seduce an Heiress in 60 days",lol), but I think I may be close. I'm a whiz at snappy comebacks, having to use them to defend myself nearly all of my life as well as being a big fan of Buffy, Martin,etc

I also have a light hearted approach to sensualness. There's nothing funnier than a funny love scene or a funny scene where people become aware of each other. And Betina mainly, has that down pat.

So, I am a humorous sensualist. I think. I do know that I would like to write like Marsha or Eloisa or Jane, but that will come with maturity in my years and writing, so I'm not worried that I will be stuck in one writing type for the remainder of my life. Now, as I rewrite and then write other stories, I will have to keep not only that, but Teresa and Betina in my mind to keep the book the same and flowing.

And as for the Victorian period I have switched into? It is loads of fun. Everyone seems to think that it was oppressive, and hypocritical,etc. It was, but the aristocracy still had its fun. It was the middle class who adopted the strict standards of purity,etc. And as I read more and more research books, I am loving this period. I forgot that I had loved it--before I began to read Regencies--because gothic romances are my number one favorite genre of choice and 98% of them are set in Victorian times. The only reason why I balked with reading historicals was because I thought the period was too "modern" like the 20th century. But as long as I stay within early to mid Victorian, it isn't too modern at all. It's just right. But I'm excited about writing in this period. Julianne Maclean,Linda Needham(even though they don't really "deal" with Victorian things outside of their characters) and other authors of the Victorian era, here I come.


And EW. I sign onto my AOL account and guess what is staring back at me? Recipes on how to eat cicadas. Nasty little buggers!! I've never heard them out here in California, but I do recall hearing those suckers in trees every summer night in Virginia. I hate bugs. I REALLY hate bugs. And cicadas have got to be the nastiest bugs in the entire world. They are big, green, have huge wings and eyes and make these annoying deep chirps at night. And now, people want to eat them!? Deep fried or chocolate dipped?! And then, AOL has a picture of this boy eating one. Poor child. Your parents really don't love you do they? But it is disgusting. Like...chocolate covered ants. Do we have a shortage of Snickers bars? Or Three Musketeers? Are we even having a shortage of food that we must eat bugs? I think people are taking the whole "Survivor" phenomenon way too far. Blech.

posted by Angie @ 2:27 PM

I am becoming re-interested in the Victorian era.

The only reason why I "shunned" it was because I was annoyed by how "modern" the period was. But last night I was reading "Pleasure in the 19th Century" and had skipped over the Regency section to read the Victorian section.

The only time I read books set in the Victorian era were my beloved gothics, so I equated Victorian with gothics, and the Regency era seemed so fun. But the Victorian era was fun as well, you just have to look past your preconcieved notions.

So now, I am seriously considering changing from the Regency era to the Victorian era. One of the other reasons I am considering doing this is because apparently historical romance is slipping in the sales section. I know it's partially because every one writes Regencies and the market is glutted and I don't want to be trapped in the backlash that will happen--I don't know when, but it will happen enventually. It mayy seem callused and "sell out", but writing is still a business and I want to increase my chances of selling.

Think about it. I'm an unagented author, so what will make an editor sit up and want to pay attention to me even if their interest is piqued by the synopsis? I'm certain that Regency Historicals cross their desks everyday and a different time period will leap out at them and make them pay even more attention. Don't think this is a whim, but I have been growing gradually tired with the regency genre over the past few months because it is so..."same". Everyone knows all about Almack's and the patronesses and Brummell, blah blah blah. But who knows about Disraeli? Or Lady Blessington? Julianne Maclean has made a niche for herself with her Victorians. As has Linda Needham. And while their books are a tad bit tapestry historicals, at least they wrote in a different period.

And so, I am going to discuss this with others as well as pray, because this is a big leap.

Now to other things...


The ANGEL finale sucked! BIG TIME. I seriously think that Joss (Whedon,the producer) made the series finale uneventful just to get back at The WB. But it didn't hurt them, it hurt US, the viewers. I don't think it was a fitting end for an awesome series...but oh well...nothing I can do to change a thing. I'm still pissed over what the president of the WB said about his reasons for cancelling Angel when he was on E! News Live.

"I'm devastated, we all are, but Angel didn't repeat well and it showed no signs of viewer growth." BS Machine!!

Ever since they got Smallville and that stupid, inane, thieving show got 8 million viewers(they have got to be kidding), they act like all of their shows should be up at that standard.

But enough, I shall not get overworked about this...but it's sad. Three years in a row. 2002-Roswell, 2003-Buffy,Dawson's Creek and now 2004-Angel. When Charmed and 7th Heaven end, it truly will be the end of an era. The WB were at their best during the 99-00 season. They had so many great shows that are gone now. Gah! Now Charmed is the only supernatural show left on air and that show is mainly an excuse to get Alyssa Milano in skimpy clothing. Alias is cool, but it doesn't have that "Joss" touch. TV sucks.

posted by Angie @ 3:06 PM

I've hit a snag...

Aubrey's story is wonderful--written out as a synopsis--but whilst I am writing it, it isn't going so great. I type paragraphs,re-read them and think they are absolute drivel.My problems? 1)I don't know Aubrey 2)My heroine will not settle on a name. I know her, I just can't get the feel of her because none of the names I pick fit her.

And I have come to the conclusion that I am still distracted by Maxine and Darius' story. Remember when I told you that I cut a major portion out? Yeah. I cut out about 40,000 words, leaving me back at the halfway mark. And then, when I was looking it over, changing a few things to submit it to an editor, I realized that I changed something that would be a major factor in the story. And now I am back to the drawing board. Well, at least it is not a blank canvas, just a canvas that is scribbled all over the place. So pause in Aubrey's story and play in Darius' story.

Besides, like I said, I am still working at peeling the layers of Aubrey away and that might take a while, so after I finish messing about with Darius' story, I might just jump into Bella's story and pretend that I did write Aubrey's story already. Because Bella's story is fun and fully drawn out.

I'm not frustrated right now. Just...benign or something. Ever since I put my lists on digest and have been able to skim through them, I realized how pointless they are--Except for my Passions and Romance Historical lists--Charlotte has a great list in RWC and the Regency list is cool as well, but I am not getting anything out of them. I joined the Regency list expecting it to be a list where I can post my research questions and such and it turned out to be a reading list, which is what R_H is and I don't need another one of those. And as for RWC, there are too many people on there and most of the time is spent chatting about whenever someone sells something or gets rejected. Sure, writing stuff is discussed as well as the occasional research question, but the list is chatter. I want a list where there are a nice portion--but not too large--of very serious writers can convene and talk--alot,because I am a very hands on person and like outlets--as well as a group where I can ask research questions and talk about certain historical eras with other people interested in that era as well.

The Beau Monde list seems nice, but you've got to be a member of the RWA to be a part of that and I just don't have the money to be a part of it. I don't even have any money to enter into contests so anything that is helpful to my career and is free, I will jump aboard. I've been "playing" around a bit and I am really, really buckling down on my writing career. I just wish there was a place where serious unpubbed authors as well as pubbed authors could convene and help each other out with the craft, the business,etc because I really need that. Oh, I have joined WriteRomance, but they need to talk more because an authors life is very lonely.

What was holding me back? Impatience and fear. The two tie together in my life very closely.

My family has never truly had much money and so throughout my life, I've always wanted to do things, but money has been a blockade to that. And then when I did get to do things I'd wanted to do, something would happen where I was unable to do it anymore. And so, I had become very impatient to get from point A to point B because I wanted to have it before it went away.

Fear. My mom, my aunts and my uncle weren't able to fully live their lives because of a horrible, terrible family member and because of this, I have become very ambitious. I want to be famous. And rich. And live the life I as well as my mother wasn't able to. And because of that want, my impatience to get to things had been driven by fear; fear that my life would pass me by and I would have nothing left but regrets.

And that hindered my writing. I was so impatient to become published because I feared that if I didn't, the well would dry up and I would be left with nothing that I fretted so much over the days, weeks and months that have passed ever since I began to write seriously. Darius and Maxine's story has been through so many incarnations and it has taken me a month and a half to get to this point and before, I was so tied up in knots over my time schedule and getting something out that I would fret and fret over what everyone else was doing, over how "behind" I was. I just needed to remember a few things.

1) I am young
2) I have only been writing for a short period of time, whilst most of the other people have been writing for a number of years.
3) I am me. Not anyone else. My writing style is my own.
4) When God says my time is right, it is right regardless of what I may thing or say. If I try and force it before its time, it will just blow up in my face and I will be back at square 1.

And I prayed. Hard. Take that fear and impatience away from me so it won't hinder me for the remainder of my life. And now, I feel so light and airy and so untroubled. I am really thankful to God. He has gotten me through some times that if I hadn't known him as well as had my mother, I would have seriously crumbled. Badly. But He's always there for me and sometimes I forget that.

But I don't want you to feel as though I'm forcing my beliefs down your throats, but this is my blog and I am allowed to post my own thoughts so...yeah. But anyways, I am going to get some sleep. And when I wake, Synopsis Time for The Seduction of An Heiress!

posted by Angie @ 5:00 AM

J.Lo is good music to exercise to...

On that note, I should let you all know that I've been freestyle dancing to J.Lo's remix cd for the past hour. It keeps the heartbeat up and the bloodflowing, plus very toning. I'm trying to go from J.No to J.Lo body. I'm close, I've got the rest, just got to get the abs.

Today, I shall be starting on Aubrey's story. So far, I have ten written pages of synopsis, but the thing that gets me with the synopsis is that I don't know where it is at written wise. Apparently one page equals 20-25 typed pages, but that isn't a solid fact. If it was, then I'd have 200 pages or so if I go 2 X 10=200. But then, if the equation goes by computer written synopsis and I handwrote on back to front, then it is really 2 X 20=400. AHH. I just know that I've gotten to the first part of the "Period's of Happiness" part from the Jane Austen plot helper. I might post that on my website...when it gets up! Or, when I get permission from the author. The latter might come before the former. But oh well...

I'm thinking of naming Aubrey's story "To Charm A Chambermaid" because it sounds cute and it goes along with Darius' title and I couldn't find any servant name that started with an "E" to go with Enticement. Because it is more enticement than charm...But then again...The Seduction of an Heiress didn't have similar letters...How does The Enticement of A Chambermaid sound? Eh..doesn't go together as smoothly. I know most of you are like.."just write!" But you don't have a baby and not name it...so I have to have a title for this MS or it won't feel "whole". I guess I'll keep the first one. If anyone has any suggestions feel free to email me.

But I think I will write Aubrey's story before sending out submissions because I have lots of rewriting to do on Darius' story and it looks better for me to have two completed MS's to send out instead of just one.

On one of my reading loops, we were discussing publishers and historical romance. I think the genre is dying a slow death. Sure, there are other historical eras being published, but most of them are Regency. Nevermind that I'm writing in the period, that's just a technicality. But anyways, we have Scots, Regency, Medieval and Victorian. Scots...blah. Everyone always writes them as brawny men running about with claymores and kilts going "aye". Regency...everyone writes about the Season. Medieval...I don't even know what year most of them are. They're in Disney Medieval land. Victorian...Most of those books read like Regencies. Gothics are mainly set in Victorian times and the only historical romances that I've read that is set during Victorian times and has conveyed the atmosphere that the gothics had down pat are Betina Krahn's The Perfect Mistress and The Mermaid. Everyone else's just read like the Regency period. They just didn't get the "mood".

By mood of the Victorian times I mean that that period doesn't have that light-airy feel of the Regency or Georgian periods. Yes, the aristocracy was wild, but not as wild as they had been before, because of Queen Victoria. I don't know, I can't "describe" it, but Victorian times seem a much more darker time than the Regency and no one has been able to convey that correctly. Lydia Joyce has. But she's one in many. It is so much easier to dress your characters in high waisted dresses and make refrences to Prinny and Brummell than to put them in crinolines and make refrences to Gladstone or John Brown. Hell, I don't even know if most people know who Gladstone is! In a way, I am glad that I read my Victorian gothics before I jumped into the Regency period because I have a deeper feeling of the period than others.

I'm not saying that it is "lazy" on part of certain authors who write Regencies, just that if you read lots of them, you are more able to write one. I know, because that is how I was in the beginning of my writing career. Then I went back and re-read my favorite books by Victoria Holt and remembered that I didn't want to be generic, I want to create the world she did and so I went and did--and still do--lots of research into the Regency period.

But what can we as authors do to reverse this phenomena? Perhaps if all the short stories that are being submitted to places like Arabella or Once Upon A Time are historical romances set in different, researched time eras, publishers will be more amiable to opening their rosters to other time eras because readers' minds will be expanded beyond the Regency period.

That is the main problem: familiarity. Most historical readers only know the regency period because they've been reading it for 20-30 years or so. I think that if there were "traditional" medievals or tudors or restoration or georgian or victorians(I recall seeing georgians,victorians and edwardians published by Candlelight a while back at a thrift store), everyone would be more familiar with other time periods.

And just so you won't think I'm a pot calling the kettle black,etc...I shall have you know that an idea for a wonderful, wonderful little Elizabethan short story popped into my mind at 5 am this morning. It's a "shhhh" because I'm still developing it, but I know it's going to be FUN.

posted by Angie @ 11:46 AM

I've finally discovered my writing process

Now I know not only why I stalled as well as why my story would sometimes go off track is because I need a bare outline as well as a semi detailed synopsis of the entire book. That is what I'm doing with Aubrey's book and it is going very smoothly. Of course, Darius' book is good, it's just that I took out about 40,000 words that were just stupid and just went all over the place. But I wrote down what I wanted to happen at the end of that book so it's all good.

What does everyone else listen to whilst they are writing? All I know that now, I am addicted to J to tha L-O all because of Mrs. Giggles and her review of this cd. I have all of Jennifer Lopez's cd's and I only truly listened to "This Is me..Then" because all of the songs are good, as opposed to her first two albums that were barely listenable. But anyways, I got this one just because, and it is really good. All of her songs that were released as singles have been remixed and are better than the originals. But anyways, I usually have to have silence or just instrumental type music like Esthero or I will be distracted with writing and/or begin to sing along and get off track.

Next week, I will start on my new writing schedule. I spent way too much time on the internet checking my email, book review sites and the Avon Ladies board. Now, I have my groups on digest, I look at review sites every three days or so and just scan the AL board. I also am going to cut down the number of blogs I read to the ones that tend to check everyday. That way, I will only be in the chair for 5-6 hours and have time to read, give my family a chance to get on the computer as well as get in shape.

Speaking of getting in shape...I'm not fat. I might say I am sometimes, but I'm not. I wear a 7...but I know I could get down to a 5(in juniors size), all I need to do is get some displine. I am so lazy when it comes to exercise because I get very bored easily and I need to see things around me when I do exercise. So, perhaps I will start running or walking on the bike trail(Sacramento is famous for its bike trail...lol) and a bit of hip hop dancing. Because I love to dance. I've always wanted to do ballroom dancing, hip hop and stuff, but we've never had any money for things outside of school. I am happy that I got to take a tap dance class during my one semester at ARC(American River College), but it wasn't invigourating(sp) and I need to feel my heart racing and my body sweating to see results or at least feel them.

But anyways, I have to go wash my dirty hair...dangit. And TTFN. I think I may stay off all weekend to gird myself for my grueling schedule for the next two weeks.

>.)

posted by Angie @ 3:56 PM

Why is it, that when I'm plotting my contemps, they all have that "Cinderella" thread to them? Jane of All Trades: a female carpenter and a spoiled rich boy, One Red Rose: Tomboy best friend wins his heart on a reality tv show, Love Between the Stacks: mousy librarian and sexy VP fall for each other, and an untitled wip that has the assistant to her soap opera star twin sister and her sister's co-star falling for each other.

Is it my own fantasies being acted out on paper? Most likely, but it is so weird!

At this moment, I'm still rewriting the first three chapters of TSoAH because I know it has weak spots, especially since I changed the entire dynamic of the story by making Maxine purposely dress dowdy. But I think it's a good change because it's humorous and I'm a humorous person without being corny or slapdash. Probably because I inherited my father's sense of humor as well as having to defend myself in school or cover up for my "inadequacies" with jokes. But it all turned out good, because a good humourous story is fun.

Gah...I was feeling icky and anxious after hearing about a certain author's publishing deal. I'm not jealous--more like...impatient to be at that stage and wondering why I'm not. But I have to reassure myself by telling myself that others have been at this longer than I have, so of course they are further along in their career than I am. But I have faith that when it is my time, it will be at the correct time. I'm just praying that it is by the end of this year(lol)

But anyways, I sent my synopsis to a woman who has judged contests for a while just so I could get feedback on my weak spots. I think I need to take a large, large break from RPing because it's messed with my writing style. See; I RP in third person omnipresent (ie; [She] had walked into the tavern and had taken a seat,etc), but I write in close third person(ie; [She] walked into the bar and took a seat in the nearest chair.) and unconciously, I slip in and out of tenses and I need to go back and rework that to make sure my writing is all in close third person.

But back to that ever so gracious woman; I am thankful for her insight because I am not about to screw up my chances of being published because I didn't take the time to get feedback.

And speaking of feedback, I have been lurking on the Write Romance list before I take the plunge and request to be added to the list. I am a member of RWC List as well as RWC critique, but I write alot every day and I want to be a part of a smaller group that is very, very serious about writing so that I can get the most feedback on my stories as possible. My CP is really great and the few times I have submitted to RWC Critique, I've gotten excellent feedback, but there are too many people on the lists and too many other things going on for me to get a specialized critique.

I want some quote/unquote professionals to look over my work because new authors or semi-new authors write in their own style and sometimes we need people that are published to look over things that we wouldn't even notice or an unpubbed author wouldn't notice because we haven't been privy to the "code" of published writing.

But anyways, I'm gonna go back to revising, reading my magazines that FINALLY came in the mail as well as watching this cool TV movie on VH1.

posted by Angie @ 3:13 PM

I can't put on shoes at all. Is this a sign that perhaps I shouldn't get a job? Perhaps, but I'm not going to try and force something that might not turn out so great for me.

I don't know, but I am not feeling led to submit a query just yet to Erika Tsang of Avon. It's odd, but I forget about it and when I do get on the computer, it's too late for her to read it that day because she is three hours ahead of me. And I don't want my query to get lost or something.

I wrote my synopsis of The Seduction of An Heiress last night and I am twisted in knots because I am not sure I did it right and I dont want to send it off to NAL and Berkley and have it all wrong. So I sent it to my CP and a woman who wrote an article about synopsis'.

I am so happy for another author I know who has just gotten two offers, but while Im not jealous or feeling down on myself, it's made me anxious; not only about my writing, but about just submitting in general. I just need to calm down, get in my happy place and pray. God gave me this talent and he's not going to allow me to get to this point only to fail. That's what I need to keep in focus.

But on the bright side, ideas keep coming to me like water. Last night, I just had this wonderful contemporary idea that just sprung from a phrase "Jane of All Trades". I don't want to post the idea because it's not all thought out and I don't want to "jinx" it per se so, when I get all the kinks out, I'll tell you.

I'm looking at my tentative writing schedule and I'm thinking that I probably won't write all the Haviland books back to back. I'll write the first three and then I'll write a few of the contemp ideas I've had. Just to switch it up and keep my writing from getting monotonous.

I'm still doing handwritten revisions of The Seduction of An Heiress; making Maxine a bit more rounded, Darius a bit more rounded and the story a bit more rounded and smoother and funnier and more poignant. I can't wait to see the finished product.

And I've been reading lots of blogs and articles about chick-lit. I've never read one because hello; even though I am a fashion fiend, like celebrities and am a gossip hound. I have nothing in common with the likes of Plum Sykes, the woman who wrote The Devil Wears Prada(which I have to read because I did hear it was based on Ana Wintour-Vogue's editor who is one of the most powerful women in fashion),etc who are like...richbitches(pardon my french) and have hopped from club to clun on each major continent. I do want to travel and buy lots of clothes, but I don't base my entire life on that. I don't think I could ever write one.

I've been wondering this with my contemps...If my characters weren't all white or were interracial, would I still be marketed as mainstream contemporary romance or would it be multicultural? If that's the case, I dont think I will be describing skin tones,etc because even though my characters in my historicals are "white" because of the society I write about, in contemps everyone can move into any social circle but I dont want my books to be focused on the race of the characters unless it was a part of the plot; like a crazy soul food cooking grandmother--but when you look at that, that could also be a deep south white person...race is such a sensitive subject. But I don't want to be catagorized based on the ethnicity of my characters. It is a money and recognition thing as well because if you look and see, Multicultural romance writers dont make as much money, nor do they hit the bestseller lists. I want to to do that, but I also want to broaden the lines a bit.

But I'm still just chilling and plotting. TTFN

posted by Angie @ 4:22 PM

Yay! I'm added to Alison Kent's blog. Hopefully that will garner some visitors. I'm not ashamed that I want people to read my blog, why else would I have one? For my health? But anyways, here's the schedule for the next RWA Nationals:

2005 -- Reno, Nevada
2006 -- Atlanta, Georgia
2007 -- Dallas, Texas
2008 -- San Francisco, California
2009 -- Washington, D.C.

Now, if we stay here, in Cali, instead of moving back to the East Coast like my mom is currently pondering once in a while, I could totally swing up to Reno-it's only an hour and a half or so from me. If we do move to Maryland, the one in 2006 will be closer. But I'm hoping that I will be attending at least the 2006 confrence as a published author.

Yeah, yeah,yeah. I ranted about the RWA in an earlier post, but when Im published, I'd still go, I just won't depend heavily on the association like a lifeline. Just as a pleasant little thing for me to be involved with.

But I was looking at a bunch of author blogs and had to fight from keeping myself from feeling as though I'm too slow! Everyone has all of these wonderful things going on in their life writing wise but my brain moves faster than my fingers which is why I am spending this week plotting out a huge group of stories. I have also scheduled out the writing schedule for the remainder of this year(it's tentative) and by my calculations; if I write each book in two weeks with a week's break in between them, by the last week in December, I will have written 12 stories and the last week of Dec will be the first 200 pages of another story. Now I know that real life will interfere and who knows what will happen in between now and then, but I like having everything scheduled out so that I feel secure.

Why do I want to write so much? Because, when I do get published, I will have a whole catalogue of stories that all I need to do is polish and edit and send out when need be. As I said before; I have the time so why not? I don't go to school, I don't have a job(that's a maybe), I dont have a husband or kids so why not get everything out of the way in the beginning of my career so that when all of that stuff does happen in the future, I won't feel overwhelmed with real life and my career. Plus the fact that editors will look kindly upon me because I can deliver in a timely matter and the novels are my very best efforts.

But this is my break week. I'm taking a break and the only reason why I got online was to discover things about blisters. Because I have a few on my feet from those wretched shoes I told you all about. I dont know, but I am unnaturally obsessed with my wounds...I have always been like that. Overspill from my tomboy days? But it's funny because I HATE hospitals and just thinking about all of the gruesome things that go on inside of them creep me out so much.

But I've been thinking about inside cover pictures(HA! Very, very presumptive of me, but that's how I am) and was thinking of poses and hairstyles and clothing that I could wear (which...I dont even have yet...lol) and I was wondering that if I looked way too "glam" or "fashion-y" like I was thinking, would it put readers off because number one: I'm young, number two: I'm mixed and number three: I'm young. Would older readers not like seeing a picture of me like that-not because of how I look, but just the whole "persona". Would it come off as too chick-lit-ish or as if I'm not...better than them...but...something else that females go through (competition,etc)? I don't know. I've been wondering about that because I like fashion and looking good, but I dont want to come across as this haughty, best dressed witch who writes romances and lives a bon bon and frou-frou life because I soooo do not and never have, I just have a healthy appreciation for the finer things in life.

Case in point; my friend Nicole from my art college; she is gorgeous, well dressed and thin and when I first saw her in one of my classes, I thought she would be haughty and stuck up, but then we started talking because her roomate was also my friend and I discovered that she was so like me. In fact, we bonded better than the roomate that was my friend. But appearances do make the world spin and I dont want my back cover pic to be offputting for possible readers...so hmm...

But when I change the template, I'm going to post all of the blog links on the side. But TTFN.

posted by Angie @ 3:50 PM

Okay, Okay, I said I was going to take a vacation from the computer, but I had to check and see if my new yahoogroups settings went into effect.

But is it wrong for me to deliberatly set out to write books that could possibly get adapted into TV or movies? I don't think so, but others might. I'm wondering this because I was reading Meg Cabot's blog and people have been accusing her of "selling out" just because she's sold the movie and/or tv rights to her books. But HELLO, writing is a business and being in business means you want to make money and you make money however way you can. If you don't want to make money and/or get famous, perhaps you need a new career.

My mom and I have been talking about a few people on my writing groups and about how they keep coming on and talking about how they got like..80 or something rejections from agents and/or editors. I'm like "..." Because why the heck would you not do research on agents and/or editors before you wasted all of your time and money sending all that mail out? I for one have been researching the market extensively, emailing a bunch of authors about their agents and their experiences with agents as well as constantly, constantly checking up on publishing house acceptance status' as well as reading first time or first mainstream time authors that work with the publisher and/or editor that I want to target.

I have also been in communication with the editors I am targeting so that when I do send in a submission-hopefully by the end of this month-I won't be some nameless, faceless or email-less person that's MS or query letter has just landed on their desk. Even if they don't accept that particular MS, they will most likely look at my unagented submission before someone else's because they are familiar with me. And I get this information by just surfing the internet whilst I'm writing.

Are those said people just messing around or are they wanting to be serious authors but don't have the correct tools to narrow down their "market". Because that's what writing is about-it's about marketing and I have a head for marketing as does my mother. I know that you must have a sellable product, but a person could write this wonderful, wonderful romance but if no one knows who you are or your book is stuffed in the back of a bookshelf, you aren't going to make your advance back and then what happens? Colossal failure and your publishing company is leery about putting you out there again. People have been complaining that publishers only put the big guns out for people like Nora Roberts, Stephen King,et al, but come on..I know that when my book comes out, I will be in all of the book stores pushing the store owner to feature my books on their newletters or their employee picks as well as pushing my local newspapers and magazine to feature me somewhere!! I'll be next to the classified section if need be, but I will push myself out there.

And back to the "selling out" thing. I have a couple of contemporary romance ideas that I know would be great movies, but as I have that idea in the back of my head, I am still going to write these books because I love to write.

But I just discovered a whole bunch of authors blogs in the latest issue of RT as well as Alison Kent's own blog. I am such a nosy person that I love knowing what everyone is doing. I am an avid reader of Lydia's blog because I really admire her work ethic as well as her awesome writing.

Haha...speaking of Lydia's work ethic, but whenever I do something, I tend to mentally pit myself against the next best person who is doing the same thing I am doing. IE; a few years ago when I was really into running my Buffy/Spike shipper site, I would "compete" with this other girl's B/S site even though we had never spoken more than two or three times. I just need a dose of healthy competition to stimulate me. Right now, with the writing, I don't have a "competitor" per se, but I do have my eye on this one particular writer even though I have a larger foot in the door than she does. But it's nothing malicious, all in good fun.


My feet are all torn up from these stinkin heels I wore to the mall, trying to look cute while I was going to buy my mom a Mother's Day Present. So, my feet ache and they have blisters where the straps dug into my skin as well as a few torn and popped blisters on the toes...darn shoes...I hate having flat feet because even though shoes are at the bottom of my favorites list (coat/jacket, purses, hats, earrings, then shoes), I cannot wear all of the bomb shoes because of my fallen arches..and I love those cute Manolo Blahniks that I see on the red carpets even though I cannot afford them at all!

I worry about my advances when I do sell...I am such a fashion hog that I will go on shopping sprees on a weekly basis and buy up entire stores...lol.

Right now, I am reworking The Seduction of An Heiress because I looked at the last 120 pages or so and they are ALL over the page and not with the plot of the story at all. So I'm writing the scenes out on paper and I'm going to edit the story after I write Aubrey's story.

And oh! Did I tell you what his was about? Mwuahaha...I am stealing the plot idea from "Maid in Manhattan" and working it into the regency era. I love movies. and tv. and commercials as well as books. I get ideas from so many different avenues. For instance, Darius' story sprung from a tiny bit of Julia Quinn's novella in the first Lady W anthology. I find that I can hear a phrase and an entire story pops from that...such a wonderful quirk to my mind to have.

But TTFN...my hand is acting up again.

posted by Angie @ 2:29 AM

This will be my last post for a while, but I'll explain about that later.

I've decided against going for a "serious" website because not only does everyone have them, but they are just not "me" and you know I definitely don't like being like everyone else. I want to go with a whimsical website ala Lisa Kleypas but with a historical twist to it. I think I shall spend next week working my idea out on paper.

I've also decided to submit my Blaze idea as well as a few other contemporaries I have been musing about for a while to the short story foums(Arabella,Once Upon A Time,etc) just to get the feel of it. It's so funny that I feel awkward writing a contemporary when I live in contemporary times, but it's all on account of my reading nothing but historicals.

I've also opened up a different blog for my non writing ramblings mainly having to do with tv or music and such. Because that stuff doesn't belong on this blog.

Now back to my hiatus from this blog. Writing 10,000 words a day for 2 weeks straight takes alot out of me and it hasn't started happening until recently. Right now, my right hand is shaking so bad that I have to use force to control it. My back twinges a few times and I have to wrap my right wrist up to keep it from hurting. Blah! I'm going to take next week off, I put all my yahoogroups on digest, unsubbed from the useless ones and am going to kick it like I've never kicked it before. But I shall see you all later.

>.)

posted by Angie @ 9:15 PM

I discovered My So Called Life when I was about 14 or 15 when MTV used to show the repeats. Now The N has them and as I watch it, it makes me wonder how everyone's careers would have gone if the show hadn't gotten canceled in 1994 or 95(can't remember which year..I was only 10 or 11). I've always had some type of affinity with the show not only because Claire Danes' character and I share a name, but because I could so relate to being a sort of misfit wanting to rebel but also being torn between the normal home I had. But anyways, would Claire Danes' career have gone like it is now had the show still been on for a while? Would Jared Leto be known as more than "Cameron Diaz' ex-bf"? It's sort of fascinating when you think about it.

But I think I'm going to take next week OFF. Writing for two weeks straight and sitting in front of the computer in my crappy chair has killed my arms and right hand and wrist. I need a short break before doing that again. So that means that from the third to fourth week of this month, I'll be writing Aubrey's story. He's the next oldest Haviland sibling but I didn't plan on the series being in order...and I think they won't actually...but I had thought up this story with a storyline similar to Maid in Manhattan and it wasn't working for any of the other male Haviland's except Aubrey. I plotted out the bare bones of the story earlier this evening and I'm excited to start. But I still have to do the edits and rewrites of Darius' story before I send it out. I mean, the first three chapters are wonderful-they always seem to be...-and my CP loved the fourth version, but I don't want to get ahead of myself and toss out my partial,etc and not have the remainder of the book finished if an editor happens to want to see more. That's pretty dumb and shows that you can't finish something.

posted by Angie @ 3:12 AM

What I want out of a publisher
not in any particular order, just what pops into my head as I go along


So, now I'm juggling three possible publishers: Avon,Berkley Sensation and NAL. Avon is the largest romance publisher. BS is specifically targeted for new authors and NAL is pretty good as well. But what do BS and NAL have that Avon doesn't? Packaging.

I have yet to see a first time Avon author(besides Julianne Maclean) with a really good cover. I understand they are new authors and Avon doesn't know whether they will sell or not, but a cover is what draws people to authors they've never heard of. NAL and BS give good covers regardless of publishing history, and that is something I really concerned with. I know for myself, I love book covers and even if the inside is good, I'd hesitate to pick up a book with a so-so cover unless I've heard good things about the author.

But then, with Avon, they have 6-7 separate editors that work with a roster of authors and I don't know whether BS or NAL has that. The second most important thing is editor support. If there is one editor to 20 authors, what makes me certain that I will get my fair deal of time from that said editor? I'm not a person that needs my hand held the entire time, but I want to be able to call my future editor up anytime(during business hours of course,lol) and be able to discuss something pertaining to my career without fear of them being busy or needing to put me on hold whilst they did something else.

Thirdly; shelf space. Avon is everywhere. BS is getting into a lot of places, NAL, less so. I want my book to be available to everyone and everywhere regardless of your pocket.

Fourth; comraderie. Avon has a message board and their authors post on it alot and it's like one big happy family..or something or other,hehe. BS and NAL have their own posting boards but they don't seem as active as the Avon one.

Fifth; anthologies. Publishers don't put these out all of the time and the ones that I have seen outside of Avon tend to have authors from other publishing houses. Remember my earlier post? About Mia Ryan and how she snuck into the publishing world through the Lady W anthology? I want to do that. I don't have to, but I would like to do that. Anthologies are larger exposure for an unknown author because the other three or four are well known and people would pick the anth up because of them, end up reading yours because it's in there and possibly liking your work enough to buy your book when it comes out.

Sixth; Flexibility when it comes to writing subjects. I'm talking about if I wanted to write in another time period or use subject matter that is beyond the norm. Cases in point: 1) In Jordan Haviland's story, she and her husband are separated by the war after a whirlwind courtship and while he does come back after everyone thinks he's dead and he's hiding out on the estate(long story...hehe), I don't think it would go well as a first or second book. Mayhap a third, but not first and second because it isn't a "traditional" love story. I don't think that Avon would like that because they seem to be very traditional. NAL and BS might look at it because they seem to be looser, but it wouldn't be a first or second book.
2) I really, really, really want to write in other time periods outside of the Regency era because I think I'm getting burnt out and bored with the period. I want to write a Victorian. I want to write a Medieval set in King John's time, I want to write a book set in France, I want to write in Elizabethan or English CW/Restoration England or even Americana books! I love history and I don't want to be trapped in one era just because it is popular and everyone writes it or if they didnt, they are now. Avon seems to prefer their books to stay in with whats hot in the publishing industry. BS has published some medievals and some books set in the French Revolution, NAL has published Lauren Royal's Restoration set books even though she is moving to Regencies.

I think that is it for now....but those are my most important things when it comes to my career. I want flexibility. I want support. I want my readers to be able to get to me. I want to start my career off with a bang. And I pray that God leads me to right publisher to fit my needs.

But TTFN, today is the last day for The Seduction of An Heiress and I'm done with the first draft! My fingers really need some rest. But be excited for me!

posted by Angie @ 4:11 PM

I hate being poor. An author recently gave me some advice on their agent and told me to go to RWA national and talk to some agents there and I'm like "...." I don't have that kind of money to go to that thing! Heck, I don't even have the money to send out queries to all sorts of editors and/or agents which is why I email people to death.

Sure, you could say "go get a job". But number one: I'm not a "work" person and number two: working would take so much time away from my writing that I would probably get caught up in my job and get sidetracked.

And so I am stuck at square one. That is why I am trying to establish as much contact with editors as possible so that when I do send off my queries and/or MS's, they have had a working relationship with me and I won't be sending it off to some editor that has no clue who I am, therefore increasing-not the chances of getting published,but who knows-but the chance that the editor will pick my MS up first because they know who I am.

But anyways, I am going to reach 90,000 words today and I am so scared because this has never happened before! The closest I've ever been to finishing a wip was Kit and Paris' story and I reached 85,000 words with that and it wasn't finished. But I think I'm going to use that story,re-write it and put it on one of those Haviland's because it is a wonderful story and I'd hate to see it go.

It's funny when I look back on the stories I wrote late,late last year or even at the beginning of this year because in such a short time, I have improved my writing at least 90%. I don't know whether I will ever take those stories out, revise the plotting and polish them up, but you never know. As long as the idea is there. Just like my early plotting notebooks. I have pages upon pages of possible plots as well as loose leaf paper plots that I would probably go back to and peruse them for any possibilities.

And back to emailing editors, I did email some NAL and Berkley editors just to get my toe in as well as ask them whether they would accept a short synopsis with a query letter. That way, when I do send it in, they will be expecting it. I also think that I'm going to include cute little postcards with SASE in my packages like
Rey did. Rey is so smart and driven and I admire her alot for her perseverance. I just wish that I lived in a larger or metropolitan city so that I could be able to reach as many contacts as she does. Sacramento is the pits and with the lack of things the Sacramento RWA chapter has, they might as well disband. Most of the published authors are a part of the SF one anyways! I have half a mind to write to the chapter president and tell her to get on the ball game because why would I want to join my local chapter when they aren't doing anything for me?

I mean yeah, they had some authors-Victoria Alexander, Patti Berg I think and Linda Needham and that is nice and all, but authors don't get you published. Editors and agents do and from looking at their schedule, it seems as if the SVR chapter is all about "fun" stuff. I'm going to pop into a meeting just to see how it runs, but I'm not too excited about it.

And as much as I admire the RWA, is it worth the money? Yeah, networking, blah blah blah, but that was when there was no internet or no books devoted to how to become a romance writer. Right now, in 2004, there's the internet, yahoogroups, local critique groups, writer's books, market books, agent books, etc so the most RWA does for you are the contests. But the only reason why I would join was so that I could be elgible to enter the GH because even though contests aren't everything, that one is very prestigeous. But is RWA worth more than reduced contest and retreat fees? When you can contact and editor or an agent or even your favorite author by yourself and ask them questions, I don't think so.

And then look at the RITA's. Apparently, you cannot get nominated for one if you aren't a member of the RWA. Which makes the award biased because they only choose members. That isn't a fair roundup of the year's best romance novels. Which was why I was in shock when Confessions of A Scoundrel was the RWA number one book of 2003. I liked the book, the butler was funny, but it was not the best book of 2003. Far from it to be truthful. Which makes me wonder, do people join RWA just to win awards? Because if so, I could do that. The RWA is a fun way to connect writers around the country, and give people a link to the bigwigs in the industry, but are they your only link? No, not when you do the majority of everything yourself.

But that's enough of my rant,I must write. Toodles.

posted by Angie @ 4:13 PM

Hm...I had someone call me "disgruntled" and whoa...I just had deja vu. I have a specific memory of beginning to blog and say that someone called me "disgruntled". I haven't had a bout of deja vu in a while and you know what that means...a glitch in the program!

But anyways, perhaps I'm in an unconcious rant mode which makes my comments seem as if I'm just angry at everything. I dunno, but I've been making comments on my reading lists about stuff and I think it might come off as a rant. But seriously, sometimes I do feel disgruntled. Not just about books and stuff, but just life in general. Some things really irritate me and are my pet peeves and if I dont get it off my chest, I will just blow my top. And I don't think anyone would like to see me truly angry. I'm a pretty mellow gal you know? But when I do get angry, it's like an explosion of tabasco sauce. Just ask my brothers...hahaha..

But I think that's all I have to say for now...I might be back...lol

posted by Angie @ 4:08 PM

Okay...I think that I have gotten off track with my story and introduced some plotlines and/or scenes that don't do anything for the story. Right now, I'm going to keep them just to write the story all the way through, but I know that when I begin to edit, it's going to be heavy. I don't know what happened, but the 3/4 of the story just fell apart. There's like...11 pages that just popped out that are pure dreck and I am just itching for the moment to delete them from the story and the pages that I wrote last night are like...relevant to the story but it could have been executed much much better.

See, I have three sides of me on whilst I'm writing; the writer, the reader and the editor. I know that most people can't have their internal editor on whilst they are writing because then they'll nitpick a section to death, but for me; I can. As the writer, I'm writing what comes out, as the reader, I'm looking for things that I enjoy in a story as well as things that irritate me in stories and as the editor, my editor side of my mind automatically files away the weak spots in the story for later refrence. Right now, I can pinpoint every single weak spot in the story-sort of like a computer file in my brain-and know what I am going to do to change it. It's a gift.

So I had some hair dye. A sort of Beyonce blonde. And I used it. And it didn't work. I did a strand test on sunday and it worked then. But I probably shouldn't have followed the instructions to the hilt. But at least I didn't pay for it-free sample in the mail. I'm thinking that if I use that brand again and keep it on for a while and then it still doesn't work, I'm gonna have to go try out a permenant hair color that has chemicals in it. it's a good thing that I haven't had a perm in two years because black hair+perm+hair dye=bad bad bad. So, I'm gonna either try Feria-Beyonce uses it apparently-or Dark N Lovely or some other brand that's been around for a while. But I'm still wondering whether I want blonde hair or red hair. I've always wanted red hair ever since I was a child, but blonde is so tempting and really fun...hm...

And speaking of my book...I just wrote an email responding to books that have love scenes in them that are pointless and don't do anything to help the plot along. That is what has happened to my story. I'm going to just stick one in because it's expected-blah,blahblah-but I know that I will edit it to make it more plausible and more useful to the plot. Which leads me back to that email I sent. Should sex be expected in historical romances? I'm talking about between unmarried people. Lately, a few authors have been sticking them in between the sheets(so to speak) because it is expected that at least one love scene be in the book. But if a love scene isn't required, should authors be told to put one in to satisfy the general public? How many people buy books(non-erotica or romantica) just for the sex scenes? We all know that a Stephanie Laurens book will have tons of hot sex, but if there is no reason for it, should it be put in?

Case in point: Suzanne Enoch's England's Perfect Hero and Mary Balogh's Slightly Tempted. In the former, the interaction between the hero and heroine isn't distinctly sexual tension filled or even very strong physical attraction. It was more of an emotional attraction so when Enoch put in two love scenes it was like..."huh?" because not only did they come out of nowhere, but they were a bit icky because there hadn't been more than an occasional kiss shared between them and their relationship had more of a caretaker/patient air to it than lovers. The story would have been just as fine without the love scenes-maybe even better. In the latter, Balogh paints a very slower paced and tension fraught book that has nothing to do with sex and then BAM, there's a love scene. And I use the term "love" very sparingly. IMO, it was passionless, emotionless and just cold. They had sex because of the heroine's grief, but before then, she hadn't really showed any inclinations of being very physically attracted to him and it ws a revenge plotted book so the hero wasn't very sympathetic. So when they came together it felt as if MB had just shoved it in because readers expect a love scene between the lead characters.

I know that lots of people don't read historicals because they dont like sex in books, but should there need to be sex in historicals? Should the genre be separated from traditional regencies just because there is sex in the books or should a historical be different from a trad because of something else? Hmm...answer me people, I'm at a crossroads.

But have any of you ever watched Passions? The soap? It's my favorite soap even though it borders on the extreme ludicrous but it helps me write because the writers of that show are always switching time lines and making characters do things that they previously contradicted. And their example helps me keep myself on track with my characters. But I think I'm going to go write my 40 pages now..ttfn.

posted by Angie @ 3:24 PM

I just realized that I can write 1,000 words in half an hour. Now why it takes me hella long to writer 10,000 words can only look to the internet...lol...but from now on, I'm going to force myself away from the internet and write those 1,000 words per half hour and get done a lot earlier than I usually am.

Does it make me weird or off if I find this hilarious?:

"... trauma


I have come to the sad conclusion that my porch has turned into an Animal War zone.

Now, bare with me... A few weeks a go me and my friend found that from one of the hanging plants in my porch a group of Robin's had made a nest with 5 cute little blue eggs in it. I took pictures, I promise to post when I get them back.

... then yesterday when I came back from Orlando we decided to check up on the little eggs... they were no longer cute little eggs... they were NASTY little Chiclets missing hair and with no bodily functions. Gross!!

We started screaming, woke the things up and they started crying. I was so grossed out I almost pucked.

Today... as I'm trying to write this stupid paper I see a Squirrel jump on my balcony to EAT THE LITTLE BIRDS!! I could just see all the blood and pieces of bird-bodies all over my clean and therapeutic porch!! I freaked out and went to scare it away with the broom... then 5 Big Birds came in and attacked the squirrel!! Pecking it and making it bleed! I started screaming and they all got scared and left, the squirrel jumped down to the floor (I like on the 3rd floor) and there was a cat there who started chasing it and I think it ate it behind the large oak tree.

Horrible. Simply horrible.

Now.... back to my paper. "

I got that from Isabelle's livejournal. I don't know, but I find road kill hilarious and I keep pestering my mom to tell me how it felt to run over the possom the had rode over earlier this year...I'm sorry if I seem sick...but I find it funny and I am not going to apologize for my sense of humor. Not that I find my total sense of humor from dead animals and such, but it is a part of it...::still cracking up about that::. ...but anyways...

I'm stuck listening to "Take off Your Cool" by Andre 3000 and Norah Jones....which has spun off into me popping my Norah Jones disc into my cd player that I got(for free thank God) because I like "Don't Know Why" and I was in one of my rare moods where I want to get something because everyone else has it. Isn't it odd how you can buy a cd and not really like it and all of the sudden, you hear a song from that album or you hear the artist on someone else's record and you just have to listen to that artist's album? That happened with me and my Lillix cd. I bought it last summer because I liked "It's About Time" and the girl's seem cool. But I didn't really care too much for it and stuck in the back of my cd case. But then I saw the lead singer in a contact lens commercial and they were playing one of the better songs on the album in the commercial and I was suddenly overtaken with the urge to listen to the album and this time around, I loved the entire thing. Funny, huh?

Speaking of cd's I cannot wait until Esthero's new one comes out. It has been six frickin years since Breath From Another and the girl needs to get on the ball game! In case you don't know who this woman is, Esthero is this wonderful trip-hop singer from Canada. If you have the UK version of Nelly Furtado's "Whoa Nelly" there's a duet between the two that is the bomb. I swear...I love Esthero. I also can't wait until Res' next album as well as Majandra's. As you can tell, I have a pretty eclectic taste in music. I always get weird looks from people(especially black people) when they flip open my cd case because next to the No Doubt cd is the Alicia Keys one, the Nelly Furtado beside the Mariah Carey, the Dido beside J.Lo, the Roswell soundtrack beside the Mya one, the Buffy Musical episode album beside the Christina Aguilera,etc. Being a person of mixed ancestry(black,amer. indian,irish,dutch,etc) and looking more black than anything, people seem to think that black people have to listen to "black" music. And that is from the black people! It's like...lighten up people...good music is good music and besides....black people made up every style of music...lol.

But speaking of black people...isn't it a changed world when we can make jokes about the Klan? My aunt and I and my mom were driving through Folsom(wannebe posh city that's school district is attached to mine) and my aunt was like "the Klan's gonna get us!"...I thought it was hilarious! Of course, if the Klan did decide to come after me, I would just pull out a gun and shoot all of them....lol. So violent. But it is a good day when black people can make fun of the KKK. Even though racism is still a very modern problem in 2004...especially for black men...but I'm not going to go into that, this is a happy blog and if I wished to vent my opinions, I'd open up a blog like that...hmmm...

But anyways, I finished my 10,000 words 45 mins ago and I think I might go to bed...or take a shower first...I dunno.

>.)

posted by Angie @ 1:53 AM

I'm at a quandary right now. I've gotten into contact with a publisher from Berkley Sensation and the response I recieved from my question of whether BS takes unagented queries/manuscripts was that she wished for me to send a cover letter,synopsis and first three chapters. Now you know I've been in contact with Eriksa Tsang from Avon in the beginning of April but the quandary is this: I initially submitted to Avon because not only do they accept email submissions, but they are the largest romance publisher as well as having a lot of my favorite or good authors on their roster. But then when you are a new author, you might not get a very good cover. But with Berkley Sensation; it is a brand new line specifically targeted to new authors which means that they give everyone really good covers regardless of publishing history and you get publicity and there are some really good authors in the line.

So it is this: quality of covers and/or publicity vs. a publisher that has alot of very popular authors. But then, Berkley Sensation is a new line so they might accept storylines that a tad more traditional Avon might not accept(case in point; the new revised story for Jordan Haviland where she and her husband are separated by war for a part of the book. That might not go well with Avon for only a second book or so). And then, on the business side; what about the money, the exclusivity of editors(Avon has 6 or so, I don't know how many BS has for a roster of authors) and the availability of the books in stores. The last time I was at Wal-Mart; I saw Lauren Wittig and Betina Krahn's latest on the shelves but most of the books that get put on Wal-Mart shelves are Avon's. Now I know people shop at regular book chains, but I'm speaking of having your books available for all price ranges.

Hmm...perhaps if I just submit it to both houses, I can have a bidding war of some type if both are interested in it. I just know that I am really interested in both of them. But I still need to finish up this week's writing before I do that!

>.)

posted by Angie @ 1:02 PM

I have officially decided to take my life,so to speak, into my own hands. I'm going to stop sitting at home-even though I am writing quite a bit-and get a job that doesn't suck and that I find very fun because I need a life! LoL. I really do. I spend all of my time on the computer and when I'm not on the computer, I'm reading. Even though I don't need people around me to feel as if I am a person, I am still young-nearly 20- and I'm like...a female version of a hermit! And it really annoying. My friends in SF,GA,OH and VA are getting out having fun as well as other 20 somethings around the US-except me. Now I know I am not like everyone else, but it has been getting to me. I have magazine subscriptions to lots of magazines and I want those clothes that I put stars beside and I want to travel to those places that I see in the Travel section of the Sac Bee each week. I've realized that the reason I am so hyper and ready to get up and go at anytime because I haven't experienced all there is to life yet. Sure, I've lived in 3 states and have been in nearly all of the states in America, as well as going to school in SF for a few months. But that was 2-6 years ago and I want to be on the go right now.

I just went to craigslist a half an hour ago because I was telling my critique partner that I wanted a job-not only to pay for the books I want as well as clothes,gym pass,etc-but to just meet other people and she told me about her experiences with work. And she has had an eclectic resume! Now point being, she is in LA while I am in lowly and staid Sacramento, so it is kind of hard to get cool jobs like that here. But I digress, I went to the site and saw all sorts of cool jobs. Normally, I would be a timid person(even though I am so bold and in your face when I know you...odd)when it came to getting a job or replying,but I figured, why don't I just go out on a limb and respond to these people. If I dont get hired or even an interview at least I can say that I tried.

Currently, I've only had two jobs-in clothing stores-and I hated them. I'm not a 9-5 person, I am definitly not a retail/fast food rest person and I want a job where I can be very flexible and creative and on the go. Being in an office or on a salesfloor or flipping burgers does not fit into my criteria, but being a non connected and non-degreed person, it is hard to find exciting jobs like the ones I want or wish were invented. Like...I'm an artist and a musician and a writer...ie, an artsy person who also loves loves people talking and getting to know. I'm such a gossip hound(celebrities,not co-workers,etc) and I just love being in the spotlight. I would dearly love a job in either the fashion industry or entertainment. Heck, I'd even love to work for a literary agent or a major publishing house. I'd get coffee for someone just for the benefit of getting to tag along with them. I'm a jetsetter type person. Sure, it may die down in the years to come, but it is still a part of my personality.

Before, I worried about the affects having a job will have on my writing, but the thing is this: I get a job, get money to buy a laptop and then I can write whenever, whereever. And then this: I write one or two novels(the one I'm working on now and maybe another installment in the Haviland family or even that Harlequin Blaze idea I am developing) and then I won't have to work feverishly to get something out there to submit it. Not that I'm going to be a lazy writer and sit on my laurels, I'm just saying that the pressure that an un published writer goes through will be a bit more relaxed. Personally, I am really looking forward to the marketing aspect of my novels; even though I don't like "selling" per se, I do love telling people about things and urging them to buy it. Ha.

But right now, Im finishing the last 1,000 words of my 5,000 word goal today(well, saturday, may 1)and then another 5,000 on sunday to make up for time wasted on friday(darn evil internet). But Im not worried. This story is going along so smoothly thank the Lord above and I am just feeling positive vibes all around and very optomistic. I think you have to be in this business or you'll cut yourself off from the jumpstreet. But that's enough about me for tonight..or is it morning? Ha. But I think I might write some more tommorow...or later on today. Toodles.

posted by Angie @ 1:52 AM