Chuff! Chuff!

The wip is steaming along and I'm now up to chapter ten. I know I'm not delving anywhere near as deeply for those emotions as I should be--writing it is far too easy for that! But as this is a first draft and time is ticking on, I simply want to get it down. But things are getting more and more fraught for my characters. Yay!

In other news I'm meeting up with Nell Dixon, my writing friend who's recently sold to Little Black Dress. I always look forward to catching up with her. There's nothing quite like gossiping with someone who 'get's you.' Anyway, I see coffee and cake in my future....

No more sticky bits!

I believe I have finally trudged my way through the sticky patch in my WIP. I knew where I needed to be but wasn't sure how to get there. JulieC's comment on making sure you have rock solid characters flipped the switch. It was my goal with this ms to create characters with solid GMC and make them drive the story, so instead of flailing aimlessly around I sat down and thought what my characters would be thinking and what their goals would be at that point in the story. Chapter eight will need revisions of gigantic proportions but I feel I can at last move forward.



CarolC, whose a fellow M&P regular over at e-harl and who I had the pleasure of meeting (along with her bump) at the RNA conference this year posted a link of Eric Bana-fine hero material I think you'll agree, so I thought I'd post my version, which of course I have for purely research purposes. *Big Grin*

I love my cat. She EATS spiders. I hate spiders. I love my cat.

Sigh. Some days the writing is easy-ish. Some days it’s hard. Very hard. Today is one of those days when every word I write sucks. Utterly sucks. I keep telling myself that writing crap is better than writing nothing at all—you can fix crap. But honestly, I shouldn’t be letting myself get away with that anymore.

I’m at that in-between stage that http://www.melthegreatest.blogspot.com/ posted about on her blog a little while back. I’m not a newbie anymore, but I’m not published. I’ve been given feedback and encouragement by both published authors and editors, but all the pieces haven’t fitted into the puzzle yet.
I’ll get there-that’s something I’m determined to do, but sometimes the steps needed to take your writing up to the next level seem mighty steep.

So, to perk myself up I'm going to post some beefcake.

Any takers?

Toys for boys.

Usually as a family we do things together, but last weekend I had loads of errands to run so my hubby took Edward with him whilst I had Olivia. Edward helped daddy get a few jobs done before they headed off to an open day at a local quarry. Apparently, as my hubby uses lots of stone in his job he thought it a good idea to see where it came from. Personally, I think he went for the trucks.

Olivia and I had a great day too and I cherished the 'girly' time together. I never really went out shopping with my Mom, mainly because she simply didn't have time with running a business. So spending a leisurely morning with my girl was bliss. Although, I think she literally shopped until she dropped.

Cat nap shocker.....

Obviously my work still lacks that page turning quality....

Reasons for not writing part two...

And this is Olivia's room......yes, pink is her favorite colour, and yes, she loves Butterflies. This is of course the girl who loves digging in the dirt and making mud pies.

I am still trying to take a good picture of Scrappy the cat, but no one told me how difficult is was to get a picture of a black cat without it looking like a blob with eyes, which at its current ingestion rate is what it will end up looking like in real life.

Reasons for not writing....

This summer I should have been writing. Instead I threw myself into decorating our house which was in sore need of a little TLC. Initially I thought this would be a simple task, but three truck loads of dust bunnies and sixteen bin-bags of old toys later I have at least half the house under control. Anyway, this is Edward's room.

Summer reading

Whilst on holiday, I got to read a couple of fabulous books by newly published authors. Firstly, The Italian’s Defiant Mistress by India Grey, a witty and emotionally intense book that had me completely hooked from the first page, and Warrior or Wife by Lyn Randal. Now, as I am currently struggling with ensuring that my characters lead my story rather than my plot this book really had light bulbs going off in my head and I enjoyed every minute of reading Warrior of Wife. What great reads!

Also, and very belatedly, I want to say a huge, no HUGE, congratulations to my very dear friend Nell Dixon who sold not one, but two books to Little Black Dress. She's a very talented lady who has long deserved such success and in my book is sure to be a big star in the future.

Summer holidays..

So, the school holidays are almost over and I’m not ashamed to admit that I am looking forward to a rest…oh, and some much needed writing.

Cornwall was fantastic. Frankly anything other than torrential rain would have been a blessing and we had a few hot days where we lazed around on the beach. Olivia fell in love with body-boarding and a crab called squishy. Sadly the latter relationship was doomed to failure.
Anyways, here’s picture of both cherubs at Trelissick gardens near Feock in Cornwall and Olivia enjoying a chocolate Ice Cream at Mevagissey. She gets her lady-like manners from me.

Rome

My goodness I enjoyed Rome. This second HBO/BBC series was brilliant, much better than the first and I'm very sorry there won't be another one. Everything was brought to a satisfactory, if bittersweet, conclusion.

In other news, it continues to rain. To date we've experinced two days of sunshine since the beginning of May and there seems to be no sign that we'll see it again. It's incredible to think that this time last year we were baking in the hottest temperatures on record. *Sigh* Not fun as most of the schools in the U.K have now broken up for summer and my two were really looking forward to paddling pools and Ice cream. Hopefully, Cornwall will be drier when we go down on Friday.

I've finally sent my partial off to HM&B. It will be interesting to see if I've done enough to get another full request or If I've completely missed the mark this time. Fingers crossed!

The tale of Scrappy

I never seem to acquire any of my pets through normal means and the tale of Scrappy is no exception.
Three Sundays ago I spotted a little ball of fluff that looked remarkably like a kitten running past the patio window of our front room. Unfortunately, by the time I got outside the black fluff-ball had disappeared.
Fast track three days and my hubby came in to tell me that he’d found the kitten outside hiding under a pile of scrap. After much coaxing the kitten was eventually cornered and brought into the house.
The poor thing was only about five weeks old and I was 99.9% that there was no mommy cat about so it meant she’d either been dumped or her mommy had abandoned her. So we took her in. Over the next week she sat petrified in the corner of the cage just watching us.
Oh, how things change. She’s now a devil-worshipping-foot-ambushing-dog-mauling-monster.
But she’s gorgeous. And when she stays still long enough I'll post a photo.

Some things never change...

I had to laugh this morning when I found one of my old school reports hiding in the back of a cupboard. Here's what my fantastic English teacher had to say:

“Allison’s strength lies in her oral work where she excels. If she can now discipline her written work to the same extent, she could become a first-class student of English. There is still much to do in the area of sentence- construction to make the best of her fertile imagination. She enjoys all aspects of Literature and is a girl with considerable potential.”


I can just picture my poor CP's nodding their heads at this. I still suffer from the same problems.

My less than perfect sentence-construction has been a thorn in my side since before this report and if I'm honest it's what stopped me writing for many years. But it occurred to me how much my English has improved since I wrote my first manuscript four years ago.

Mr Wright would be proud.

Is there anything In your school reports that hasn't changed?

I haven't...

forgotten about you!

My computer is sick and won't let me stay on line for very long before it drops out.

Things will be back to normal soon-I hope!

Onwards and upwards!

The decision from Richmond was no. Kiss wasn’t quite what they were looking for.
But, the good news is that The Editor wants to see more from me and she gave me some fantastic constructive criticism.
Stuff like that is invaluable, just like the beautiful compliment slip she sent in her letter.

So, I know now what my strengths and weaknesses are. I have something to work for.

Onwards and upwards!

My week of ups and downs.

So this past week has been a bit of a whirlwind. Firstly, I had the virus from hell, which is typical as I was due to meet Pip and Nell for coffee and cake (fantastic morning by the way). By Tuesday I had been asked to play stand-in husband for Nell Dixon at the RNA awards lunch in London. By Thursday I felt awful with the previously mentioned virus and was stuffing vitamin C down my throat by the hour.

Thankfully by Friday morning I felt somewhere near human and determined to support a very nervous Nell, who went through a similar experience last year with the New Writers’ award. The RNA events can be a little overwhelming and leave you feeling like a rabbit trapped in the headlights of a large 4x4.

The journey went without a hitch and soon Nell and I walked into a beautiful reception room at the Savoy Hotel filled with tables designated to each of the publishing houses involved with the event. Oh, and champagne. Lots of it.
Nell started to grow red at this point, so I offered her some booze to calm her nerves. She refused. I kept her moving and took photographs. People started arriving, we smiled, said hello. Nell grew redder. She still refused booze.

Then finally we saw faces we knew. Fiona Harper and Liz Fenwick. Liz offered us a drink, I accepted (I owe you one, Liz). Nell refused.

Eventually some of the HM&B editor’s arrived and I managed to propel Nell towards Maddie Rowe who’s just asked Nell for revisions on her Medical romance (which you’re doing now aren’t you, Nell?).

The lunch was fantastic and the ballroom surroundings sumptuous. The ladies on our table were really sociable and all very glamorous. Then it was time for the awards. The main award was presented first and then the Romance Prize.

At this point Helen’s face went even redder.

As most of your know now, Nell wonthe 2007 RNA Romance Prize. But when her name was announced, she didn’t move. She just stared at the dinner table in disbelief and shock. Thankfully, after being urged from her chair by Michelle Styles (who was also nominated and had forced Nell to enter the competition in the first place)she moved.

All of the nominees are fabulously talented writers and I would have hated to chose any of them to win, but Nell was such a gracious winner I know she impressed many of those attending. I, along with many of her friends present was just darn proud of her.

I think it took about four hours for the enormity of what had happened to sink in to Nell. Her smile got wider and her hands finally stopped shaking. On the train home we were both exhausted, but it was lovely to see her husband and daughters arriving at the station to give their prize winning mommy a well deserved hug.

Congratulations, Nell!

From hill to flat

I love where I live, the countryside is breathtaking,unspoilt and diverse, but sometimes living on the side of a hill sucks. Ever tried teaching your children to cycle down a mountain? Well, let me tell you, it's not pretty. Plasters and Valium are a must. Even something simple like putting a table and chairs outside to sit and soak up the sun requires cramp-ons.
Well, not anymore.

For the past few weeks I have let my husband loose in the garden with a digger in an effort to create a level area where we can install some play equipment for the children and put in a BBQ. It's not finished, the grass seed needs to germinate and the flower beds require oodles of plants to make them look pretty, but when you live on the side of a hill, this picture is heaven.

In other news, the WIP is coming along well and with the kids going back to school tomorrow things should shift into a higher gear. I feel happier with this ms, I'm on chapter seven and I know exactly what's happening and where my characters need to be. Hallelujah!
I am hoping to finish this first draft by the middle of May.

Look what I got...

I consider myself a fairly level headed person, but sometimes I just liquefy into a big pile of mush. Today was one of those days.
Today I received a copy of Michelle Willingham's book and read the dedication.
There are times when you wish you lived closer to those you respect as friends and peers, to just give them a big hug and say thanks and well done.

Boing, boing, boing!

Spring has definitely sprung and last week we started lambing. Now, normally sheep don’t do it for me. On the plate with mint sauce, yes, but as animals, well, there’s no give in them. I’ve never found they have much character. Lambs on the other hand are very different.
Here’s a picture of this year’s contenders for cutest lamb.

Which one gets your vote?