Okay, okay....I jest. I only WISH I had that much fun for my birthday. It's been so long since I had a drink, I'd probably puke. LOL
But anyway, my usual statement....things are a little hectic right now. LOL I'm about to go on a little trip. A trip to handle a little "bidness," if you know what I mean. No, not the illegal kind. Perfectly legal. I hope to be able to share when I get back on Wednesday.
In the meantime, I'm so excited for my agent. :-) I met my agent in 2003 at the BEA in Los Angeles. As a matter of fact, she was just getting started in literary agency. She's a writer as well...Jenoyne Adams. She started with the Levine Greenberg Literary Agency out of New York. I don't think I was her first client but I do believe I was in her first few. I took my first three c hapters to the BEA, let her read it, then she requested the first 100 pages, and the rest, as they say is history. She got me my first 2 book deal with Hyperion Books. Well, she has grown so much in the literary world that she has now started her own agency out of LA. I'm excited because I just signed and returned my contract earlier today. So now, my agent is Jenoyne Adams of BLISS LITERARY AGENCY. So, all you inspiring authors out there who are always asking about my agent (if you're reading my blog, lol), stop by her website. She has submission information and requirements available to you.
Well, I gotta do some prep work, pack, then catch a 9:30AM flight to Atlanta, so I'm out! See you next week! :-)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Sunday, February 17, 2008
In the midst of celebrating a birthday here. I'll be back when I sober up...uh...I mean, when I stop seeing two of everyth...uh, I mean..... Just give me tittle lime. I'll back be...
Read more...Saturday, February 16, 2008
Another unplanned, busy, crazy week. Does any other type exist? I think not. Does it interrupt the planned writing schedule. But, of course. It just wouldn't be like right if it didn't. Yes, got quite a few loose ends that I'm in the process of tying up and hopefully I can do that soon because it's eating some of my writing time. But that's how it is when you're a working writer. Yes, you have to sacrifice and say "no" to some things so you can get your writing time in and your projects done. But there's always those "life" things that you have to take care of. Sure, you can say no. But you'd have to be willing to deal with possible consequences like writing in the dark, or say, starvation. You know. Little stuff like that. In Stephen Covey's words, FIRST THINGS FIRST. lol
But, regardless, I always keep my mind in the literary mode. I just finished up Vanish by Tess Gerritsen. It was my first Detective Rizzoli mystery and it won't be my last. Awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed it. Now I'm still reading Words of Farewell, a book of short stories by Korean Women Writers. And yes, Imajica is still by the bed. It's an awsome book, I'm just squeezed for time. I'm listening to Judgement in Death by J.D. Robb. And for kicks, I'm reading a book on Dialogue. Always gotta have something to continually sharpen the writing skills. :-)
All right. My workout is done. I just finished up a bagel and I'm pumping in the caffeine at Panera. Time to get a writin'. :-)
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
Blustery cold days in St. Louis now. These are those days when you just want to stay at home, huddled beneath the covers with your laptop and a pot of coffee, with incense burning. And I think that just might be what I do today. I deserve it. :-) Besides, I'm buried to my neck in writing. I have a great momentum going. I'm collecting stories during the week and writing the magazine stories on the weekends. And I'm working on the novel through the week, plus weekends as well. The more I get into the magazine writing, the more I get excited by it. I feel like I'm in a new area with so much that can be covered. I would liken it to the start of the hip-hop culture. In it's newness, there was a lot of uncovered ground and any writer had free reign on the writing possibilities. Relating real life situations and realities to those of the hip-hop generation and expressing their opinions on everything from music to the economy. After being in and becoming acclimated to, and now being of the urban biker culture, I'm able to see the gap and the lack of voice of expression. I got article topics coming out of the butt hole and I'm blessed to have two avenues of expression right now, Even with that, it would take years to cover my topics at least once. Which means it will be a while before I run out of fresh stories.
And there are two other important ingredients.What I have found is that bikers are full of stories and information AND they LOVE to talk. It's almost as if they've had something pinned up in them for so long and they've been looking for an outlet in which to let it explode.
I think about all this. I must be in one of those reflective moods again. LOL Because, writing and motorcycle riding are things I've always wanted to do. But never did I think I'd be able to combine the two. After writing my novels, I wanted to freelance, but think I would because I didn't see anything that I WANTED to write about. Entertainment, fashion, cooking, etc, are of absolutely no interest to me. Writing about them would be a chore and feel like work, which is something that I hate when I comes to writing. I can't write if it feels like work. Which is why I decided not to major in Journalism or Communications in college, which I had considered because it seemed like the natural path. I'm so glad I didn't. I don't want to have to write for my meals or to pay my bills. If I draw income from writing, that's great. But I don't want to have to depend on it to live. We all know how impossible that is anyway. LOL
Wait, so what was my point?
Reflecting...oh yeah. So I think about how I love writing and riding. How I came back to St. Louis and without seeking it, got into the urban biker scene. How, without me actually pursuing it, that has led me freelancing about the set. This is like my dream. Who knew?
See, it's stuff like this that makes me believe in destiny and the belief that some higher power is guiding our lives. We don't know what's coming, but we have to work and be open for anything. Okay, let me stop before I get cosmic again.
Saturday, February 09, 2008
Friday was an extremely good day for me!!!! :-) Something happened that I was hoping for over the last month or so. The start of something big. The start of a process that will allow me to change some things around and move more toward my purpose. Now, all I have to do is take action and complete the process...then I can blog about it. :-) It's just one of those things where you have something that is a real big burden that holds you back and you need it shake it off so you can be at peace. But how you shake it off is key. You have to be certain of the moves you make. Look at all the consequences of your actions and choose the best route for the outcome, even if it means tolerating stupidity, stubborness and ignorance for a little while longer. Sometimes you have to go with the flow. Play along until the time is right. Then, you can breathe! :-) And that I did. I slept well yesterday and woke up with a big smile. Time for Phase III. :-)
Okay, enough of the obscurity. LOL Got a lot on my plate today. Finishing up one article for Urbanburnout.com, starting a new one for the new magazine I'm now writing for, write more on book three, conference call, then I'll finish up the day with a little reading on writing, and then, maybe treat myself to reading a novel.
I'm on cloud nine right now. :-)
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Okay, point blank: MY ASS IS SORE!!!!! Well, more than just my ass. My hamstrings, my lower back, my inner thighs.... This is what I absolutely hate about laying off a weight routine, then having to start all over again. No matter how lightly you try to ease into it, a couple of days later you open your eyes in the morning and feel like you're tied down to the bed without anyone dressed in a cowboy outfit to tell you you've been a naughty girl. I mean, DREADFUL! To the point where people at work are saying to me that either I had a really good time last night or I've been in the gym. SIGH. Well, I'm on my way to the gym in about half an hour to punish my body even more. I've been a naughty girl...spending time with twinkies and ding dongs. LOL As much as I want to go home and get in the bed, I know the best way to get beyond this stage is to keep exercising and stretching the muscles. I feel like a binge drinker as I beg the heavens that if He gets me beyond this, I promise, I'll never let myself get out of shape ever again (and I'll call my mother daily and twice on Sundays). AAARRRRGGGGHHHH!!!!!
Well, three more weeks until I'm supposed to turn book three over to my agent. Will I make it? Will if finish???? I highly doubt it. However, I want to write my butt off until this to get the most done as possible. If I have to ask for more time, I don't want it to be a long period. So I'm absolutely putting everything aside, except what I have to do (like work, and workout. That's a must) to write. No movies, no parties, no hanging out. In other words, normal life. LOL Well, but I did have to skip out on a friend's birthday party this weekend. And yes, she's pissed. Because I've been so busy and every time she throws a party (she's one of those, "It's a dreary Tuesday, time to throw a party" people) I always promise I'll be there, but I never show, because I'm busy doing something. Well, my plan was to actually write all day, then take a break and go to the party in the evening. No problem, right? No. I found out Friday that I needed to work the next day, Saturday. The day of the party. So, there goes my plan of writing eight ours in the morning, and if I go to the party, my writing for the day would be totally shot. I'm already way behind and the more I don't write, the further behind I'll get and the longer it will take me to try to get something else published. If it was one weekend, fine. But every weekend I have not been able to get quality writing time in. And it's February now and I have to start drawing the line. But, she knows I'm a writer and that writers have deadline and that you can't write a book over night and that the weekends are my time to write so she'll understand, right???? So, I write her a text explaining that I just found out yesterday I had to work, which killed my writing plan. I explained how far behind I was, gave her the word count that I needed to do...she'll understand, right? I don't know. Maybe she does. I wouldn't know because I haven't heard from her since. :-/
But not too worry. When I finish book three, all I got to do is buy her a pair of killer boots and she'll forget she even had a birthday.
