WIP Blog Tour...Tagged by Nicki Elson!

I was tagged by the lovely Nicki Elson for the WIP Blog Tour.  And since it's been a bit since I last posted anything about my writing, I figured this was as a good time as any to let you guys know a bit about Fate's Awakening, my WIP.  Also, in case you don't know, WIP stands for "work in progress".  Yes, I still count FA as a WIP, because it's not published, and, in fact, is being critiqued mercilessly by Shelley Greene at this time.

Anyway...

The rules of the to:

1)  Link back to the person who tagged you.  That would be Nicki Elson, so check out her blog here.

Okay, so far so good.

2)  Write a little about and give the first sentences of the first 3 chapters of a WIP.

Here's the blurb I've tentatively settled on for Fate's Awakening.

Jack Harris's reluctance to find The One has put his life in danger with the Fates. They send a young goddess to convince Jack that he needs to search his heart or he's going to lose his only chance at happiness. After the goddess gives him less than a month to get his act together, Jack realizes that his soul mate is his long-time roommate and best friend, Andrew Kelly. Problem is, Andy's in a relationship with a woman, and Jack can't quite figure out where they stand. Will the goddess's divine intervention be enough to help Jack? Or will the Fates have to cut the tangled thread of his life when the deadline comes?

Intrigued? I hope so.

And here are the first sentences from the first 3 chapters of Fate's Awakening...four, actually, because I did a prologue. So you guys get a bonus sentence! Woo hoo!

Prologue:  "The Three have requested your immediate presence."


Chapter 1:  "Your place or mine?"


Chapter 2:  Insistent banging roused me from a deep sleep.


Chapter 3:  Just after eight-thirty, my cab pulled up in front of the bar.


And finally, rule 3:  Tag 4 more writers to see what they're up to!

Shelley Greene

Jennifer DeLucy

Debra Anastasia

and

Rumer Haven


I can't wait to see what they're up to!

xoxo Sarah

Interview Time with Shelley N. Greene!

All right, you lovely people!  We have a special guest today--my critique partner, Shelley Greene, has published her first book, a kick-ass romantic suspense novel called The Fire Walkers! Yay! I can hear you guys being all excited. She's here because I tortured her with a little interview, so I hope you enjoy. 

Take it away, Shelley!  

Hi, Sarah!

Thank you so much for hosting me today! My debut novel THE FIRE WALKERS released July 1^st and I’m thrilled to talk to readers about it.

Blurb from THE FIRE WALKERS, Shelley N. Greene:

Kelly Monroe is an idealistic good girl thrown into a bad situation.  A graduate student chasing her dreams of a PhD, one party invitation lands in her a jail cell with only vague memories of the night before, images of a tragic bonfire haunting her. Sentenced to perform community service at a horse rescue, Kelly’s life goes from bad to worse, all under the watch of an attractive, blue-eyed detective. Driven to stick out the hard times, Kelly develops a bond with Keegan, an abandoned racehorse horse with a past.

Ex-NARC turned arson detective, Aidan Wright is tracking the drug dealers who killed his partner. Kelly’s memories of the bonfire prove to be the missing piece to Aidan’s investigation of several drug-related teen deaths, perpetrated by the band of drug dealers who scarred him years ago. When Kelly becomes the unsuspecting victim of the drug group’s trafficking, Aidan is forced to stay close to her to catch them.

As Aidan uncovers the truth, Kelly develops feelings for the fearless, blue-eyed cop, and the battered arson detective falls hard for the outgoing girl with the contagious laugh.

I'm lucky enough to have known you for a while, but tell everyone about yourself:

I’m coffee loving, late-to-the-party, night writer who trips horrendously through things before learning how to do them the right way. I was raised a dog person (cocker spaniels), and later transitioned into a rescued horse person (visited, not owned), as well as a diva cat who is lovably needy and independent at the same time. When not living the dream of neurotic author, I’m an avid nature walker, intermediate photographer, and scrapbooker.

What are your favorite and least favorite parts about being a writer?

My favorite part of being an author is the open arena in which we work. When telling a story or creating a character, you get to go everywhere and anywhere; you get to be anyone you wish to be. The research you do takes you to new places and teaches you new things. It’s the one job that allows you to stand in the shoes of any profession, travel to any setting, or simply make up your own world.

The least favorite part is the stress that comes with the job. Like any profession, writing takes time, experience, and skill, all of which are the result of practice and failure. I've noticed that, “You know you’ve crossed over into being an author when someone says to you, ‘I’ve been working on a novel’, and you’re first response is ‘How do I gently explain to this person the life they’re embarking on?’” It's a tough life!

Prose, narrative voice, adverbs, dialogue tags, present tense, back story, grammar…grammar. Did I mention grammar?

Once the thing is written its copy edits, galleys, marketing, and book reviews. It’s like a long race with a million hurdles, and every person stumbles in their own, select places. But when you keep running, even when exhausted and ready to give up, that’s when you know that you’re an author.

Authors are awesome about helping each other out, so what’s one piece of advice you’d give to other writers?

Be kind to yourself.

When you create a written work in a solitary environment it’s all yours, no one else can see it. Once the work is published and out in the world, you have no control over it or how it will be received. That’s an unnerving part of the process that makes a writer feel very exposed and out there. Your first book will be different from your second, and different from the one after that. You grow with every word, sentence, scene, and story. Worry about what’s inside of you, and leave the rest of the world outside the door.

Take care of the creator (you) and KEEP WRITING.

Do you prefer silence or to have music on when you’re writing? What kind?

I’m the type who needs complete silence when I’m writing, so I don’t play music because I find it distracting. I do however love to listen to music away from the keyboard, as it helps give me get an emotional and mental grasp on the images and scenes. A playlist develops as I write each book, and there is a list for THE FIRE WALKERS.

With TFW it was about feeling lost, cultivating courage and finding your fire.

The following songs take me back to TFW’s pivotal moments:

          FIND YOURSELF – Brad Paisley

          STANDING IN FRONT OF YOU – Kelly Clarkson

          THE SUN WILL RISE – Kelly Clarkson

          IT’S WHO YOU ARE – A. J. Michalka

          BRAVE – Sara Bareilles

The second book in the Walker series is being drafted as we speak (um, type), and the tunes that put me in the characters point of view are just starting to come to me.

So far two songs have become earworms for Book 2:

ANYWHERE BUT HERE – SafetySuit

UPTOWN GIRL – Billy Joel

Awesome playlist!  And how’d you get the idea for THE FIRE WALKERS and the rest of the Walker series?

The idea for THE FIRE WALKERS came to me suddenly and wouldn’t let go. Several years ago I began volunteering at a horse rescue in western Maryland, and the horses there inspired me in so many ways. They each had personalities and histories.

          Drawn in by their stories, I began to daydream, and around that time an old news article I’d read in the 90’s also kept coming back to me. When I get curious I do research, and everything I was learning began to tie together seamlessly. The idea of a horse rescue setting along with a strong external conflict began to percolate. I connected instantly with my heroine, Kelly, but (mentioned in a CN blog post) Aidan, my hero in THE FIRE WALKERS, was a bit of difficult character to grasp at first. A strong, fiery guy, I feared that my depiction of him on the page wouldn’t do him justice. In the end, Aidan turned out to be a wonderful hero. Blue eyes, dark hair. Swoon worthy as he single handedly carries heroines, as well as nosy, omnipresent narrators out of burning barns.

          The overall Walker series is based on a premise of Astrology, each element containing signs (characters) which play into its theme, and as the plot for TFW unfolded in my head I knew that the fire theme would result in an action packed story. From the beginning TFW was set to be a romantic suspense, while the rest of the Walker series is based on the element of each book, and will each lean toward contemporary.

So....how’s book 2 coming along? Inquiring minds what to know!

Book two is coming along great! It’s about half done, and I’m very pleased with it so far. In THE FIRE WALKERS, you meet Ben, the hero of book two. His element is earth, and it makes Ben a very industrious and stable guy. As the second book in the series and the second element in the astrological sequence, I was worried about the mental changing of gears, so to speak. The fire element is physical and instinctive, while earth is stationary and settled. Like lava that has cooled to become igneous rock, I had to transition my perspective from active to inert. My earth characters are practical and meticulous, which is opposite my impulsive and unpredictable brood in TFW. Another flip-flop has been that I’m channeling Ben clearly, far easier than I did Aidan, but book two’s heroine has required some extra consideration… 

More details on that coming soon. :D

What are you working on now?

I’m taking a short break from book two to focus on TFW promotion, distribution, and to breathe a little. But next week it’s back to the drafting desk!

Tell us what genre(s) you write in, why, and what your experiences are like writing THE FIRE WALKERS. If you write in multiple genres, how is the experience different from one another?

I write both Contemporary and Romantic Suspense.

Contemporary focuses on deeply personal conflict. It’s the everyday feelings and problems that a character encounters in their relationships. Contemporary is definitely a different “gear” to write in because the author gets to address real life situations. It’s also a lot fun because readers can relate in a profound way, where the emotion relayed in the story matches feelings and circumstances they’ve faced, too.

Romantic Suspense is contemporary with a kick. A story set in modern day and sprinkled with believable external conflict. RS is a love story with a hint of danger and intrigue that excites the mind and still gives the reader the Happily Ever After.

I love the fact that THE FIRE WALKERS is a romantic suspense. It lives up to its theme because fire is physical; action, impulse and adventure. When writing romantic suspense the author gets to talk about real world problems but with the added perk of throwing in the danger and bad guys.

There’s one chapter in TFW written from the girl villain’s point of view, and that scene actually took a lot of time and research.  To ensure that I portrayed her right involved reading up about the psychology of a felon. There’s a narcissism, lack of remorse, and dominance to her personality that shows in the history of how she’d come to join the Dove group. It was a squicky mindset to write from, but it revealed what the bad guys were after, which amped up the suspense.  

What was your favorite scene to write in THE FIRE WALKERS? 

There are four scenes in the book that are special to me. In another blog interview, I talked about a moment that involved my horse character, Keegan. Today I’ll tell you about another favorite, a scene that occurs in Chapter 18. In the scene Aidan and Kelly have endured their first fight, while Keegan is recovering from a health ordeal. Once again all three of the Walkers are together in one place, and their chemistry is lively and fun.

In the plot this is the second point of peace before the other shoe drops. The Walkers have survived the initial challenges, and the future appears sunny until the winds of the final storm blow in. The scene begins with Kelly as she walks into the barn to find Aidan visiting with Keegan. Kelly and Aidan's body language and banter make it clear that they’re comfortable with one another in an intimate way, and the dialogue feels like a flicker of flame, quick and energetic. The Aidan we meet in the beginning is withdrawn, his fire dimmed, while Kelly starts out reserved, watching others live the life that she wants. By this point in the story Aidan and Kelly have grown more spontaneous and animated like their fire element. In the barn they joke in a playful and physical way, chasing one another.

They run and laugh.

 The joy is a brief respite from the final conflict that is about to hit, but watching their evolution from inhibited to free shows that Aidan and Kelly have found their fire.

I can’t help but smile every time I read that scene. J 

I love living vicariously through my characters.

What scene gave you the most trouble in THE FIRE WALKERS?

          Chapter 8 had to be the scene that gave me the most grief in a good way. It’s the first fight between Aidan and Kelly, and I actually wrote the scene three times. It was important to me to get the right feel of the moment for several reasons. First off, I like believable conflict. Disagreement for the sake of fighting is not realistic, plus these two characters LIKE and are starting to LOVE one another. Their falling out needs to not be an act of tearing one another down, but rather them being at cross purposes. And that is especially dynamic when the couple are fiery in nature. They care passionately about their goals, and their frustration doesn’t simply build up, it flares.

          Before this chapter the last time Aidan and Kelly had been together they’d felt a spark of attraction and were getting close. In the next chapter we see Kelly’s goal yanked away from her because of Aidan’s actions.

          So at this point the reader has seen Kelly’s side, and can understand why she’s angry. The scene is crucial because it’s a crossroads for all the characters. Kelly’s dream crashing down, Aidan’s obsession with catching the drug dealers, and most importantly, the definition of a Fire Walker. The truth is raw in that moment and the "camera", so to speak, had to be angled in such a way to catch all the effect. And there was an intensity to the way Aidan is blind-sided. Aidan's mind was set on what he wanted, Kelly’s rebuff opens his eyes to the repercussions of his behavior, as well as pans out to show the overall battlefield of the situation.

           After I’d settled on the version you see in the book, I felt that "good" level of writer exhaustion, the kind that validates the work. I reached for a desired result, and kept plugging away at it until it worked. And the scene brought it all together perfectly.

Where can we find you on the interwebs? 

Author Links:

Website | Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Where can we find your books? 

Links for THE FIRE WALKERS:

Amazon: Kindle 

Amazon: Print Edition

Barnes & Noble: Nook 

Apple: iBook and iPad

Kobo

It was a pleasure visiting with you today, Sarah! 

Thank you so much for having me! 

You're very welcome, Shelley!  Thanks for stopping by. Now get back to writing! :-)

xoxo Sarah

Summer Love Blog Tour!

Hey!

Long time, no see, huh?

I've been hard at work editing two manuscripts, readying a synopsis--a process that makes me even more face-punchy than usual--and working on a query for the same manuscript I'm synopsisizing.  It's totally a word because I'm a writer and I say so.

Anyway, I wanted to let you all know that I'll be participating in Shelley Greene's Summer Love Blog Tour!  My post is a fun little interview I did with her.  It will show up on her blog: http://shelleyngreene.blogspot.co.uk/, and will be posted on or around Sunday, May 11th, so keep your eyes peeled.  My interview was about writing erotic romance and sci-fi romance.

Hope you all check it out!

xoxo Sarah

NaNoWriMo Insanity Part 3

Whew.

That was one beastly month; so much so that it's taken me until now to make my third post about it.  It's about time I wrapped this thing up, so I'm going to do that while I sit here and get fat on pumpkin bread.  Don't judge me.

I finished NaNoWriMo with over 52,000 words, and can consider myself a "winner." I won NaNo! :-)

I even ordered a tee shirt which should be getting here soon. I'm going to rock that shirt in all my nerdy, writery glory at the gym.

Woohoo! 

I think I got a lot more out of it than I thought I would (see my post NaNoWriMo Insanity Part 2), but I wouldn't necessarily do it again.  Because I was working on a re-write, I already had a lot of the word count done...it just needed some serious work.  If I did it with a completely new piece, I think my brain might explode.  But seriously, if I was working on something new, I would have to do a hard-core chapter-by-chapter outline for it so I would be able to complete my word count for the month.  And, quite honestly, I'm not interested in doing that.

Was it worth it?  For me, yes, absolutely.  It was something I wanted to do for me. I wanted to see if I could do it; something I wanted to prove to myself.  Was I capable of writing a good chunk of a novel in a month?  Yes.  And I'm happy I did it.  

Have I finished my re-write?  No.  But I'll get to it.  Right now I'm actually working on an erotic short story for a submissions call that intrigued me.  I also want to finish my short novel that I've been working on since the freaking beginning of time.  I have my edits back from Shelley and Traci (the lovely lady who was "location picking" for me...totally recommend that if you can), but I haven't polished my manuscript or done anything with it since I've gotten their feedback.  And if I ever want that thing to see the light of day, I'd better get on that.  

How'd NaNo go for you?  Did you win?  

xoxo Sarah

Number 100! And a Treat!

Woot!  Despite my shitty blogging skills, I've officially passed my 100th post!  Sure, most of them have come from the two April A-Z blogfests I've done, but hey, they're entries.

I hope you've been entertained and informed...at least that was my intention.

Anyway, because it's such a nice round number, I thought I'd make a little announcement.  I've officially crossed into "novel" territory with my manuscript!  As I mentioned in one of my other posts from forever ago, a "novel" in the romance world is something that is 40,000 words or more, and I'm clocking about 41k at the moment.  Go, me!

Brad Pitt is THRILLED for me.

It won't be much longer than this; maybe I'll hit 45k, though I'm not likely to make it to the 50k mark, but hey, stranger things have happened.  The story is winding down, and I'm in the home stretch.  I've mostly been re-reading and editing as I go, as well as fleshing out scenes where I basically wrote, "And stuff happened here."

So, because I'm so excited to hit both 100 AND 40k in a short period of time, you guys are in for a treat.  My lovely critique partner, Shelley, has helped me pick a new title for the manuscript.  It was titled The Curse, which I wasn't married to, and good thing I wasn't because I was given some great feedback that it sounded like I was referring to a lady's "that time of the month." If ya know what I mean. And just so we're clear, I mean menstrual cycle.  Well, that wasn't going to fly, so I've picked a new working title for it (it still may be re-titled by a publisher if one picks it up) but for now, I'm going with....

...drumroll please...

Fate's Awakening. 

I really like it, and I hope you guys do too!  If you're curious about Fate's Awakening, check out the little tab above labeled Novels, or click here.

Even better, if you tune in tomorrow, I'll post a short excerpt from the prologue!  That's how excited I am!  But please keep in mind that none of this has been professionally edited, or even accepted for publication, so it's probably crap.  But I still want to share my crap with you, you lucky readers.  

xoxo Sarah

Almost time!

This weekend, the A-Z Challenge starts up again for April!  I have a super-busy month already planned with trying to ready a contest entry and taking my first trip to mainland Europe, but I'm looking forward to it.

Also, I managed to convince the lovely Shelley Greene to participate, too!  It'll be her first time doing the A-Z Challenge, so give her a follow and make her feel welcome.  Her blog is http://shelleyngreene.blogspot.com

If you're interested in signing up too, here's the link! http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/

xoxo Sarah

Three completely unrelated things...

I'm up on Networked Blogs now, so you can follow me through them.  There's a widget in the right side bar.  I'm not sure what took me so damn long to sign up, but there you have it.

Also, a big "Happy Birthday" to my mother!  I wish I was there today to celebrate, but I know she'll have a lovely day regardless.

Finally, my CP, Shelley Greene, has placed in the top 6 of a contest, and I'm so proud of her!  The final round of judging is coming up soon, and I know she'll impress.

Okay, I lied...the title should be FOUR completely unrelated things.  I also want to wish all of my followers a very happy and prosperous new year!

Until next year...literally...

xoxo Sarah

Crazy life!

Hey!  More crazy to report.

I'm officially moving as of this coming Tuesday, so that should (hopefully) explain my absence and general lack of sanity lately.  Seriously...the sanity and all coherent thought, as well as any remnants of my poor, beat-up muse, have been leaking out of my ears over the past month.  I can only hope that things return to normal in a month or two.

I hope you'll stick with me, though I won't be groveling - I don't want to get my jeans dusty from all the kneeling, and all of my other pants are packed in our household goods.

In other random news, I'm officially a member of the Maryland Romance Writers!  No, I've never lived in Maryland (and I'm not moving there), but my critique partner, Shelley Greene (seriously, go follow her blog), lives there, and introduced me to some of the other lovely ladies in the chapter at RWA 2011.  I knew then that I'd found a great writing family.

So, I'll be on and off for the next couple of months until we get settled.  I hope to get some more writing done and finish my novella, but I'm not going to rush things; I know my muse will come out of hiding when we're situated.

Until then...Cheerio!

xoxo Sarah

Ten lashes with a wet noodle?

Oops. It's been a while.  Again.

Yep, I've been a bit of a blogging failure lately.  But I'm brushing myself off and continuing on.  

Just a quick update: sadly, I misread the rules for the writing contest I was going to enter and was unable to make a submission.  But no matter!  I've found another one...and even better, both Shelley and I are entering!  As two different people of course, but the same contest, different categories.  Mine will likely be an excerpt from The Curse (see the "Novellas and Short Stories" tab for more info!), and Shelley's will be in the contemporary romance category.

In case this one goes pear-shaped for unforeseen reason, I will be keeping this one on the down-low as well until all is said and done.  Suffice it to say, the deadline is October 1st, so I will be working my ass off on my entry from now until, hopefully, well before then.  Advance planning and all.  I'm greatly looking forward to reading and editing Shelley's entry as well.  There's nothing quite like a contest to get you motivated.

I'm super excited about this one, as I've never entered a contest before, and I'm looking forward to some feedback, even if I don't make it anywhere near the finals.  The Curse is nearing the end, as I think I'm on the last two chapters of writing.  Of course then there's the editing and all the ripping apart that must be done, but it will feel good to have a completed manuscript.

Off to get some more done!

xoxo Sarah

Parties and Cheesecake! Om nom nom... RWA Conference Pt. 4

Back to the conference!

In between workshops and (possibly) breaking delicate body parts, there was everything else.  

And this constituted a lot of socializing, eating, drinking, and dressing up.  Yeah.  It was awesome.  

Let me clarify...

"Partaaaay!"

Being my first RWA nationals conference and Shelley's second, we wanted to check out a lot of what was offered.  And since neither of us are published (preferring the title "PREpublished" instead of "UNpublished" because of the more positive connotations), there were certain things that we naturally wouldn't get invited to, but might possibly attend in the future.  Example: one of the publishers held a black-and-white ball at the Waldorf Astoria.  Yeah, that place in the picture.  I'm still jealous, and it's been nearly a month.  If we published with that particular publisher, then we'd be invited.  

The same goes for belonging to other chapters or specialty chapters of the RWA.  Example: the Fantasy, Futuristic & Paranormal (FF&P) chapter held a party where the party-goers wore super-hero (or super-heroine) costumes.  Passionate Ink held one where a lot of dominatrix gear was worn.  I'm not sure what it was for, but it made for some interesting people-watching, I'll tell you that.  

Not too many looked like Angelina, but who cared!  It looked like a fun party!

So, we attended events that were open to all, such as a fun PJ party that Harlequin was throwing one night.  Sadly, neither of us brought PJ's we wanted to wear out of the room, so we just wore regular clothes.  It was a fun night, and we met a lot of wonderful people!  

Shelley and I also enjoyed the Atrium Lounge, where we were often joined by other writers and people we met along the way.  It was a great way to network, and I think I gave out more of my cards this way than through any other socializing I did at the whole conference.  It was great to meet other authors who were letting their hair down after a nice long day of workshops.  Conversations ranged from talking about the workshops we'd attended, to what our books were about, to where we were from and more.  I even had a chance to meet a couple that I'd met on Twitter.  That's kind of a surreal experience, meeting someone you've met only online, but I had a lot of that going on on this trip.  

The luncheons, of which there were two, were good as well.  The food was definitely good for the staff having to feed 2,000+ people, and the speakers were motivating, especially Sherrilyn Kenyon, who is a well-known author of many paranormal and fantasy romance novels.  

Yeah. She's that awesome.

The RITA and Golden Hearts ceremony which was held on the final night (Friday), was pretty interesting.  Normally I can't stand awards ceremonies.  They're boring, and the people who win go on and on and on and no one will shut them up, yadda yadda yadda.  But, I quickly discovered that if you get a bunch of writers in one spot, even if they suck at public speaking, the speeches will be interesting.  Because we're writers, bitches.  We can come up with something appropriate, be it short-and-sweet or funny and amazing at the drop of a hat.  Meg Cabot, the lovely writer of many novels, including The Princess Diaries, and who was wearing glasses at the ceremony and looked uncannily like Tina Fey, was the MC and hilarious.  I officially add her to my growing list of people I want to be when I grow up. 

Additionally, we ate mass quantities of cheesecake at Junior's, which was right across the street from the Marriott Marquis.  I'm surprised I didn't gain a ton of weight on the trip, because the cheesecake was to die for.  

I will end with a picture that will make you run to your refrigerator and sob because this is not in there on a shelf.  

Junior's Devil's Food Cheesecake. The white layer is regular cheesecake and the other parts are regular chocolate cake and thick chocolate frosting.  This was in my tummy.  You're welcome for the jealousy.

xoxo Sarah

Lions and tigers and workshops, oh my! RWA Conference Pt. 3

First off, it's effing HOT out there.  So hot, in fact, that it required capital letters for me to properly emphasize the hotness.  But, it just makes me more thankful that I'm in here, in my air conditioned house with a fan on full-blast.

Now then.  Workshops.  A huge reason why we went to RWA11 in the first place.  Though some were two hours, most of the workshops ran about an hour each with a 15 minute break (or so) in between to get to your next one or use the bathroom (they actually converted some of the men's restrooms to women's using a high-tech sign...a sheet of paper labeled: "Ladies Room").  In each time slot, anywhere from, oh, seven to twelve workshops were going on at one time, more or less.  So there's no way a reasonable person would be able to get to them all and learn anything, or even half of them and learn anything, without having access to a time turner.  Don't know the reference?  Let's just say I have Harry Potter on the brain.  Look it up.

The Time Turner. The only way to see all of your workshops in person.

Workshops were categorized in the following areas: Career, Publishing, Writer's Life/Muse, Craft, Research, Special, Chat, and Spotlight.  Because we were worried about not getting seats, Shelley and I made first and second choices for each time slot, which worked out extremely well.  We also tried our best to take good notes; we sometimes went to the same ones as our interests were/are similar, but sometimes we'd each go to one and make sure we took down a lot of details for the other.  Copy machines are a wonderful invention.  We were also thrilled that the entire conference (minus the workshops that were not recorded, which were very few) will be available on DVD/CD to buy, which was great.  There isn't really a substitute for being present, because being there allowed you to participate and ask questions, but after hearing other attendees chatting about the awesome workshops they'd been to as well, it will be well worth the buy.

I'm not going to go into detail of all the workshops we went to...it would take up waaay too much time.  We attended some about the business of writing...contracts, e-books, and the like, because, as fledgling writers, this wasn't something with which we'd had a lot of experience.  One workshop, which was run by a couple of amazing agents, was particularly fascinating.  Brainstorming was another good one, as it's always a good idea how to work yourself out of writer's block or any tight spot your characters get themselves into.  Two more of my favorites were one on social networking and how to use it to your advantage as both a published and unpublished writer, and a workshop on character's point of view and creating a connection between them and your reader.  The speaker in this one was just so good that I can't wait to listen to that one again!

The Spotlight sessions were also good.  They were informal question and answer sessions about the publishers who were sponsoring the conference, many of which I was interested in.  The three I attended were Samhain, Ellora's Cave, and Pocket.  The latter two, Shelley went with me.  After all, when are you really going to interact with the higher-ups of a publishing company and have them answer the questions you want answers to?  Exactly.  I thought I'd better take advantage, especially because these three are among the 15+ I have on my list to query when the time comes.

That's about it for the workshops!  Next up...everything else.

xoxo Sarah

Hold on, one more...

Two posts in one day?  What's gotten into me?!

Don't get too used to it, ladies and gents.  I don't have to be Ms. Cleo to know that a move will be in my very near future, and that will become an even bigger timesuck than it has been so far.  My hope is that Husband will be back to shoulder some of the stress.  Love you, honey.

I didn't want to squash this little post in with one of my RWA conference posts which are a bit wordy on their own, so I thought I'd do a completely separate one.

My critique partner, Shelley, has a new blog up!  I'd appreciate it if you took a few minutes to check it out, and to give her a follow.

In other news, I also wanted to pimp out a giveaway by another lovely lady, author Susan Kaye Quinn.  Her first novel, Life, Liberty, and Persuit, has been out for a while, and as a thank you to people with family members in the military, she wanted to say "thank you!"  The details of the giveaway can be found here, on her guest post on Lisa Sanchez's blog.  If you qualify for the giveaway, don't forget to comment on their blog so they enter you in the random drawing.

Hmm.  I think that's almost it for now.  Two little reminders:  as of very recently, I can be found on Facebook, so please stop by and give me a "like."   It's been giving me a little trouble this afternoon, and I can't see anything I've posted, but I hope that gets corrected soon.  I also joined Goodreads, and I'd love to see what you're reading and recommend, so send me a friend request over there, too!

xoxo Sarah

Oh, sh*t, I think I broke my toe! RWA Conference Pt. 1

Yep, I know how Neville feels.

I'm baaaack!  I spent the previous week at the lovely Marriott Marquis in New York City for the Romance Writers of America national conference, and I had an amazing time.  So amazing, in fact, that I'm still recovering; by the end of the trip, I felt like I'd been hit by a Petrificus Totalus and was ready to drop like a stone. But, several nights of 5-6 hours of sleep, plus amazing company, alcohol, a ton of walking, and so much information that Hermione Granger would die of jealousy will do that to a person.  So, I've been trying to catch up on some sleep while I figured out how to post about my experience.

Sorry about the Harry Potter references.  I'm just chomping at the bit for July 15th.

Anyway...

I'll be honest.  The conference was so busy that when I got home, I wasn't really sure where to start when it came to reviewing what went on.  Where to begin?  Should I start from day one and go through the whole thing, day by day?  Should I break it down into categories, like food, workshops, people I met, etc?  But then my inner Tina Fey rolled her eyes at me, and I figured I'd just wing it.

I'll post in a few parts, namely because my attention span rivals that of a toddler who's been given an espresso at the moment, so hang with me.

Last Monday, I was getting ready to fly to Baltimore to meet my lovely critique partner, Shelley, for the first time.  Wait, let me back up a little.  Before I even left, I was so overcome with excitement that I somehow managed to kick a door frame with my poor left foot, leading me to have some fascinating rainbow-colored bruises for the whole week.  For a good chunk of it (the week, not the foot), I was convinced that my poor little toe was broken, but because I can put weight on it, I think I just sprained it badly.  Still, I was pretty gimpy for most of the conference.  Anywho, meeting Shelley could have gone a couple of ways and been super awkward since, despite knowing each other since 2009, we'd never met in person.  What if we weren't compatible?  What if she was a serial killer and I willingly put myself in her path?  What if I annoyed the crap out of her and she couldn't wait to ship me back home on the first plane out?  But, Shelley and her amazing sister, Jen, were very sweet and wonderful hosts (hostesses? That's a lot of "Ss"...), and I'm so glad I did it.  I stayed over at their house on Monday night, and on Tuesday, Shelley and I drove up to Trenton to take the train into NYC.

New York Marriott Marquis

Everything went as planned; no problems or bumps in the way, minus some weird blockage of I-95, which only led us to take a detour of a very pretty, very scenic route.  So, in the late afternoon, we checked into this place.  The Marriott Marquis is right on Broadway in the Theater District, and extremely close to Times Square, so we were right in the thick of things.  It was too bad that we didn't get a chance to get out of the hotel much while at the conference, but next time, I think I will try to stay a few days before and/or after to enjoy the location where the conference is held.  After all, exploring different parts of the country is half the fun!

I'll pick up in the next post with more awesomeness!

xoxo Sarah

T minus 2 days...

In the midst of all the crap I've had to do with organizing our move - which, both fortunately and unfortunately, might be getting more complicated - I've neglected this poor blog.

In between living a life where my iPhone should probably be renamed to earPhone it's up there so much (sorry for the terrible joke, my brain is fried), I've been organizing my trip to the RWA 2011 conference which takes place in New York City.  I'm leaving on Monday, flying to meet my lovely critique partner, Shelley, and then we will take the train into NYC.

This is me right now  ----------->

Why?

Because I've never met Shelley in person.  And I've never been to a writer's conference.  And I haven't been to NYC since I was in college.  Needless to say, I'm all sorts of excited right about now.

As a writer who doesn't quite have a finished product ready to query yet, I know I'll learn a lot from going to the conference.  I've decided to make a short list of goals so that I will be able to keep things in perspective, because I'm sure the sheer amount of information will make my head want to explode.  

So, first of all, my goal is to make friends.  WHAT?  Yeah, you heard right.  Friends.  You know, people with whom you share common interests...perhaps like writing?  I'm going to be nice to everyone.  Even if someone near me is very quiet, they're probably not snobby or stuck-up.  They're likely just shy.

That brings me to another goal: I'm not going to over-do it.

Great, now I see you looking at me like this and asking, "But, Sarah, you just said you wanted to get as much out of the conference as possible!  How can you do that if you're taking an afternoon nap?"

Well, let me put it this way.  If I don't have an afternoon nap or some downtime, I'll go crazy or fall asleep in a workshop and drool on an agent.  I don't think agents like being drooled on, though that would make one hell of a conversation starter.  Let me clarify.  I'm an introvert.  Let me clarify even further: an introvert, according to my psychology classes I took over six years ago, isn't someone who would rather hide in a corner or not interact with others, but someone who gets and takes most of their energy from INSIDE themselves.  They simply process a lot of things internally, and being in big groups and around lots of people can be incredibly draining.  It's not that I won't enjoy myself; I won't be anywhere near having a panic attack in the middle of a workshop, and as an author, I'm actually looking forward to a time when I get to do book signings or group discussions, but if I don't have that private time to recharge my batteries, I get grouchy and exhausted.  And because I know you're curious, extroverts are people who get their energy from outside...as in, other people.  They feed off of that energy, and thrive on it.  However, I'd be hard-pressed to say that there are a ton of extrovert authors given the amount of time we spend dwelling in our own heads.

I also have a goal to learn something new about writing.  At least one thing; maybe it will be about the business aspects, or characterization, or querying...I have no idea.  But I'm excited to find out.

Ideally, I'd also like to meet an agent or editor, strike up a nice conversation and have them fall in love with my stories, but my expectations are realistic.  I'd be happy just to meet one at this point.

Another goal: To give out a lot of business cards.  I had some great ones made up for the conference, and I can't wait to give my first ones out.  It's a great way to get your name out there to someone who's interested.  If I get one from other people, I will write where I met them on it, like, "elevator," or something similar, so that I'll remember them.  You never know who you might meet.

So, that's about it for now.  Hopefully, I will get some of my sanity back when this whole move thing is said and done, but for now, I will enjoy putting my "badass writer" hat on for a week.

I will definitely fill you in how it went, that's for sure!

xoxo Sarah

"T" is for Technology

Writing technology, you are my friend.  You let me write, research, edit, and communicate with an ease that past writers never knew existed.

Let me back up a bit.  Writing technology varies from state-of-the-art to any-idiot-can-use-it.  And I use it all. My least used bits of writing technology are, sadly, the pen and paper, but that's because I have terrible handwriting and waste more time trying to decipher the hieroglyphs on the page that are meant to be English words than proves to be useful.  But, I do use them. I carry a notebook around with me, or at the very least have scrap paper and a (working) pen somewhere within reach so I can jot down notes, a line of dialogue, or a short scene idea and not risk forgetting it later on.  I know some writers also use their phones to record messages to themselves if they don't have paper available.  I know the iPhone and most likely other smart phones have voice recording capability (and no, I'm not talking about calling yourself from another phone and leaving yourself a voice mail, though you could do that, too.)  

I don't use a typewriter.  Period.  I had a terrible experience growing up with using one, something about being forced to type out a ridiculously long-ass paper for my crazy seventh grade English teacher.  Even though my mother kindly took over this Sisyphean task for me, I've been scarred for life.  Some writers, and I don't know any personally, but I'm sure they're out there, insist that this is the only true way to write.  I call bullshit on that, not to mention that it sounds snooty.  I say that as long as you're comfortable using something, write the way you want to.  Whether you're cranking your novel out on ten thousand Post-It notes with a Sharpie or clicking away on an iPad, it's all good to me.  Just don't make me edit your Post-It and Sharpie novel.  I'd just get them stuck all over my clothes.

My tech of choice is a laptop.  I use a wireless keyboard with mine because I like the gently curved configuration that's easier on my wrists and will hopefully stave off carpel tunnel for years to come.  I like the portability, too.  I can take it to the library with me, or when I travel somewhere.  I can't do that with a desktop computer.  Sadly, mine is on its way out after a good four-ish year run.  I've started urging it to do what it's supposed to do, often in loud, expletive-laden tirades which, unfortunately, have no effect on its processing speed.

I don't have a tablet computer (such as an iPad) but I'm not ruling it out for any future use.  I like the way the technology is changing, but I don't want to get one just to be stuck six months later holding something that's a dinosaur compared to the awesome new thing that just came out.  I'll wait a few years.  Prices always come down as well.

Technology also gives writers access to so much.  We have a whole world of research at our very fingertips, when before, we'd have to trek to the library and slog through volumes of unhelpful materials before finding one useful nugget of information.  The internet can even help you research your research.  Yeah.  Wrap your mind around that.  If you're looking for information on a topic, you can look up places to find more information.  It's worth looking things up, because the more real (or at least plausible) your novel is, the more people will like it.  Even if it's a fantasy work, doing your research pays off.  Another awesome thing: I can send my work off to Shelley in an email attachment and she can get it back to me at her usual lightening speed thanks to computers and the web.  Thank you, Al Gore, for inventing the internet.  We salute you.

If you're a writer, what technology do you benefit from and use?  Even if you're not a writer, do you have a favorite piece of technology?

xoxo Sarah

"R" is for RWA

RWA, for those of you who don't know, is the Romance Writers of America.  It's a professional organization which can be found at http://www.rwa.org/ and boasts over 10,000 members, including myself.  The RWA has local chapters in major cities where groups of writers meet, and there are even specialized chapters like Passionate Ink (I've mentioned them before...they're the chapter for erotic romance writers), Gothic Romance Writers, Futuristic, Fantasy and Paranormal, and Hearts through History, just to name a few.

Their mission is to help the professional interests of romance writers by assisting with networking and advocacy.  As with any profession, I think it's beneficial to have a professional organization to help you with whatever you're doing.

What I'm super excited about is going to their conference in New York City at the end of June and early July.  I'll be meeting the lovely Shelley, my critique partner, there, and we'll be exploring all that the writing world has to offer.  We've had a great time going over the massive list of workshops, which include classes about anything and everything relating to writing.  Whether it has to do with research, the craft and process of writing itself, how to get published, or a writer's life, they have it.

Some of the workshop titles include:
Hips Don't Lie: Body Language between the Sexes
My Agent Can't Give that Away!  
But Can I Still Feed My Kids: or, When Can I Quit the Day Job? 
The Dynamic Duo: How to Create a Winning Author/Agent Partnership 
and 
Rejection: Making “No” Work for You.


This will be my first conference and experience in the "real" writing world, and I am looking forward to meeting some awesome people.  


If you're interested in going, I know that you have to be an RWA member first, but check out their website for more information.  I have a feeling this will be the best thing that's happened to my writing career so far!  

Me, in my fantasy, with the earnings from my first book. Don't judge.

Now, if I can only meet someone famous in an elevator, pitch the amazing book I've been slaving over, and walk away with a multi-million dollar contract.  


Hey, I can dream, though, right?  


I know I will have more posts relating to the conference as the clock ticks down.  Are any of you going?  Have you been to a writer's conference before?  Thoughts?   


xoxo Sarah