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Filed in: craft | miscellaneous | writing Tags: motivation | revision | romance through the ages contest | silk and seduction | writing goals
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I’ve been lazy since the honeymoon and the excitement of pairing up with an agent. Instead of revising, I’ve been spending my “writing” time beta-reading and critiquing. I’ve got two full manuscripts to do by this weekend!
But that’s just my excuse. I really need to get to revising “Silk and Seduction” by Nationals. Some good news is it finaled in the Romance Through The Ages contest. That means that “Silk” has finaled every time I’ve flung it into the contest arena.
It’s quite different from the other two. The characters are a bit more complex. I think I’ll learn a lot from the revision process this time.
So here we go…page 1.
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Filed in: friends and family | miscellaneous | slice of life | travel Tags: chit-chat | friends | random musings
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Still in Los Angeles. One more day to go.
I had lunch with a dear friend yesterday. We used to teach together and when I say teach, I really mean we were in the trenches together. We fought the system at one of those huge high school institutions in the inner city. We broke away to start a charter school that is just kicking butt now.
I’m not at liberty to reveal personal details, but she’s going through a lot right now. This is a strong, independent woman and the one of the most dedicated teachers I know. She got dealt a bad hand of cards for absolutely no reason at all and she doesn’t deserve it. Karma doesn’t deal good or bad cards though. Karma allows her to go through all she has and still smile and laugh with me over sushi.
I didn’t mention my writing life at all. It’s not that it isn’t important and I didn’t want to brag, but different things are important to me when I’m with my non-writing friends. Writing is something I’m “stuck” with all the time when I’m in front of a computer or driving or doing chores on my own. I’m okay with taking a break. 
Hubby and I then visited the friend who officiated our marriage ceremony. He had two rug rats running around and was excited to tell us about a new robotics class he was going to teach. He and hubby geeked it out for a while before I was too tired to keep my eyes open. Unlike me, hubby does like to talk about programming when he’s not on the job.
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Filed in: friends and family | miscellaneous | slice of life | travel Tags: authors | bookstore | julia quinn | nora roberts | random musings | writer's life
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Still in California. Had a wonderful day yesterday having lunch with a friend at El Indios (the proclaimed birthplace of the taquito) and then exploring Old Town San Diego. Many pictures to come once I can find the cable to get these pictures off my phone.
I was reflecting on how many people have asked what hubby’s reaction has been to my recent Golden Heart® and agent news. I wonder why that is? I guess we’re romance people and we always want to know how people balance writing with life and love and everything else.
I try not to let writing take over our conversations. We both have full time jobs to discuss and kibitz about. I don’t talk to him about my plot or writing issues, etc. But I do update him on how the hunt is going and gush a little with him for every contest final or full request. And with each update, I have to explain to him what Romance Divas are, what RWA is, what’s a critique group, etc.
So yesterday I was searching a bookstore for Silver Phoenix and hubby came over with me to the Romance section.
“So explain to me, how do you know which publishing house these are from?” Hubby is a programmer, a techie at heart. He likes to probe and question and break things down.
I showed him the listings on the book spines: Pocket Books, NAL, Avon.
“Which house do you want?” he asked.
I laughed. “Anyone who will take me.”
I showed him a Julia Quinn book and he asked me what her husband did. I explained that he was a research Ph.D. in infectious diseases and that she made more than he did. He protested that once I made it big, he wouldn’t be motivated like that. He’d quit his job and spend his days planning meals for us. Keep in mind that hubby is actually super-driven with his job; a total Type A, alpha male. He does, however, love to cook.
“Nora Roberts’ husband is supposedly extremely good as a handy man. He helps her run a bed and breakfast.”
He grinned. “Now that’s more like it.”
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Filed in: events | friends and family | miscellaneous | slice of life | travel Tags: California | friends | happiness | hollywood | life | Los Angeles | random musing | travel
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 In California today and going to drive down to San Diego for cousin Kimmy’s wedding. Still floating on air on the wings of my agent announcement.
Jet lag and sleeplessness seem like they are just going to stick with me for a while. Whenever, I’m back in California I seem to burn the candle from both ends; waking up insanely early because my body is used to Central time, then staying up too late because I’m out with friends or what not.
Already my Los Angeles schedule is filling up:
- Kimmy’s wedding – Lots of family time
- Tea and sit down with Little Sis to go over my critiques for her manuscript
- Dinner/Lunch with mum
- Take pictures of Hollywood and Kodak Theatre (for Amanda)
- And then there’s a bunch friends I want to see! Divas are in town, I haven’t seen my chemistry counterpart in forever, and my BFF has a play that’s opening this week. It’s so hard to squeeze everything into one week. I always feel like I’m neglecting someone.
This is all while juggling my real life IT job. I’ll be working from the hotel and driving to the OC for a team meeting one of the days.
On the other hand, the timing is so perfect. I so want to see everyone and give them the biggest hug in the world! I don’t know who or what to thank — I just want to thank everyone. The emotions are overwhelming. Life is full and life is good.
I keep thinking of the last line of “Pursuit of Happyness”:
“This part of my life, this one little part, is called ‘happiness’.”
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Filed in: event | miscellaneous | pitching | publishing | writing Tags: advice | coffee talk | d'anne avner | michael hague | pitching | workshop
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I’ve been asked by my chapter to do a little talk on pitching next month. I said yes because apparently I have a weakness for teaching. I really do.
Am, I a pitching expert? No way! But I’m a very good student and I’ve studied up. As a naturally shy person who had to force myself to be able to speak publicly, I know if I can suck it up and appear confident, then anyone can.
I’ve pitched a handful of times and I’ve been reading up on pitching all over the agent/editor blogosphere to prepare. Plus, I’ve had the privilege of attending “Itching to Pitch” by fellow romance author D’Anne Avner twice. I think she does a great job of focusing on all the aspects of a pitch — not just what you say but how you present yourself.
I’m thinking the crux of my coffee talk is going to be this: According to Michael Hague, the biggest mistake authors make when trying to pitch is to try to tell their whole story.
Don’t think of it as a pitch. Think of it as a job interview with your story as your calling card. And — if it empowers you at all, consider that you can be the interviewer as much as the interviewee.
More later!
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Filed in: events | friends and family | miscellaneous | slice of life Tags: cindy pon | family | silver phoenix | travel | weddings
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First: They say it’s difficult to sell a mainstream novel set in Asia, but here’s Silver Phoenix! Release party and contest for Cindy Pon’s debut book over at her blog.
 Back to weddings: I’ve barely unpacked and thrown my clothes into the washer and already I have to get ready for another trip. My cousin Kimmy is getting married this weekend in San Diego and I’ll take any excuse to go to California — oh, and we’re a close family and all that too, of course!
This is definitely the year of the wedding for me. I’ve heard this is pretty common for couples to fall into it like dominos one after another. In my case, it seemed like my wedding was the kicker. Shortly after we got engaged, a whole bunch of other people, friends and family, also announced engagements. I suppose once the wedding buzz starts, all the gals started gushing and all the guys started getting nervous, and so on and so forth in a chain reaction.
This year three of my friends are getting married (or are already married now). Two of these were couples in epic relationships that finally took the next step. I was sad to have to miss their weddings since I had moved out of state. Two of my family members – cousin Kimmy and Little Sis are also tying the knot. Happy, hectic times!
It’s good to see that happy news can be contagious too.
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Filed in: events | miscellaneous Tags: airplanes | bolt | memento | movies | random musing | revolutionary road | rhino | slumdog millionaire | the reader | traveling | years of rice and salt
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 Am I weird? I actually like plane trips.
I hate the waiting and the shuffling in and out and the turbulence makes me batty. Everyone’s in such a tense bad mood and it rubs off on me. So in those respects, I’m sure I’m like everyone else. But I like the block of time that’s carved out for my personal use. I can’t get online and there’s a temporary bubble where I can ignore the outside world and read or write or play Spider Solitaire for an hour straight if I want to.
Flying internationally gave me an opportunity to actually see a bunch of movies I’ve wanted to see, but haven’t had a chance to. This in itself was a huge treat for me. (I do need to get out more often)
My movie playlist from my honeymoon flights between Chicago and London:
Slumdog Millionaire – I love watching foreign and independent films sometimes because you don’t get the same Hollywood formula. You don’t know where the movie is going to take you and it breaks your narrow bands of expectation. I know everyone else was raving about this movie and I can see why. It’s raw and painful and yet somehow, so innocently hopeful.
Revolutionary Road – This movie tore my heart out because it gnaws at that sense of disquiet inside that you can’t put your finger on. When Leo says, “I can make you happy here” — oh, the desperation of it. Not a movie to watch on your honeymoon, but it was amazing.
The Reader - I told my husband I would try to watch happier movies on the way home, but I couldn’t pass this up. This story was so quiet and subtle and awful (I don’t mean that in a bad way). I have to read literary fiction more often.
Memento – I loved this movie when I saw it the first two times. Again, I so appreciate unexpected storytelling. After my husband caught me tearing up yet again, he reminded me that I had said I’d watch happier movies.
Bolt – This movie was — AWESOME! I’m not a cat and dog movie person, but this was so delightful. I loved all the characters and have developed a special yen for Rhino and his inspirational speech.
And between movies, I was reading “The Years of Rice and Salt“. 700 pages of brain food looking at a world where the Black Death ends up killing off most of Europe and Buddhism and Islam develop as the dominant religions and world powers. Still not done, but now I’m back in the real world and my bubble of time has gone away. 
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Filed in: events | miscellaneous Tags: Amsterdam | Brussels | Europe | honeymoon | pictures | tourists | vacation
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Now that it’s all done, it felt like just a short little hop over there. Most of the vacation was spent with me and hubby walking the streets and taking in the sights — and of course gazing into each other’s eyes. You have to get over real quick the dollar to Euro conversion and how much everything costs! (Okay, not quite over it as you can see)
Favorite memory would have to be the farmer’s market in Amsterdam on Saturday morning. We stopped into a little shop and bought a bottle of absinthe afterwards. I’m surprised I didn’t have any pictures of the market. I’m hoping hubby’s camera has a couple. In the meantime, here are some highlights:
Amsterdam
My favorite of our two destinations. There’s just so much to do and see!
 - In the park outside the Rijksmuseum
We stayed in the Park Hotel right next to the Rijksmuseum in Leidseplein. There’s a current “I Am-sterdam” campaign going on as you can see here. It’s also on T-shirts and in all the souvenir shops.
There’s just something about the network of canals that makes the city so charming. All the tulips were in bloom too. I was quite amused by a display of iguana sculptures in a flower bed. Hubby tolerated me posing him next to one of them.
 - The canals make everything seem more romantic
 - Hubby beside the iguana sculptures
We had dinner one night in a restaurant called “In de Waag” which is in an old weigh station. Anatomy dissections had been performed at one time in the theatre upstairs and the restaurant was lit by over a hundred candles (plus some help by modern lighting). I loved the medieval feel of it.
 - In de Waag – an old weighing station house
 - The restaurant is lit by over 100 candles
You’re not supposed to take pictures of the windows in the red light district, but I tried to get a shot of the red lights along one canal. The picture turned out blurry, but it makes an interesting abstract.
 - Neon lights of the Red Light District
Brussels
I felt like we walked all over the city center! Cobblestone streets are quite tough on the feet. The highlight of this city had to be the smell of fresh waffles and chocolate that you would occasionally get as you walked through the shops. It’s definitely an eating town — restaurants, cafes, chocolate and waffles everywhere!
At dinner one night in a restaurant called “Falstaff” I tried to order the mussels, but the restaurant said they were out of season. (Hey, I saw tourists eating them up and down restaurant row! I guess those places will stoop to anything.) Instead I ordered the shrimp “a la Marsellaise” which turned out to be my favorite dish of the vacation. Hubby was less adventurous and ordered what was essentially mac and cheese.
 - Cookie bar at the Cafe Gourmand – They give samples!
The place to be is the “Grand Place”, a square surrounded by the Hotel de Ville, the Grand Palace and a ring of stone buildings each representing one of the main guilds. The expanse of it is difficult to take in with one camera shot. We spent some time deciphering the buildings based on their decorations. Hubby was always fascinated by the baker’s guild being a baker himself in his youth.
 - The Grand Place — center of the old city. Everything radiates out from there.
I missed grabbing a cone of fries in Amsterdam, so I made a point of doing it in Brussels. Ketchup tastes different there and costs extra.
 - Frites in a cone
By the time we hit Brussels, most of the pictures were on hubby’s camera since I didn’t bring the cable for mine and started running out of space on the memory card. We, of course, have the requisite photo of the Mannekin Pis.
I’m not ashamed to say that some of my fondest moments were simply laying in bed in the hotel and watching the brainy French gameshow “Des Chiffres et Des Lettres”. Hubby and I would try out the word puzzles by trying to make English words even though the show was in French. The math puzzles were just off the hook! A woman named Christiane was kicking everyone’s butt. She’s an absolute savant at it. A French Ken Jennings.
In summary, spent a lot of money, felt like out of place tourists for a lot of it, soaked in some great sights and ate a lot more than I should have. For me a vacation is about the little things. I love how much hubby agonizes about finding a perfect magnet from each place we went and I was tickled pink by how every time you order coffee in Europe, you get a little biscuit or sweet with it. I think that’s a practice we should definitely adopt here in the states.
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Filed in: miscellaneous | writing Tags: hero vs heroine | opening | poll results | POV
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Thanks for the participating in the poll!
The results overwhelmingly favored the heroine’s opening 62% versus the hero 38%.
Ai Li’s opening is actually the newest opening; the one I’m currently submitting. I was very torn since Ryam’s opening had some success — it’s the opening that placed in two chapter contests as well as the RWA Golden Heart contest.
Ryam’s opening is the opening I’ve had in my head from the beginning. If there was ever a movie (hee hee) it’s the opening I’d prefer. Stranger in a strange land, mysterious woman catches his eye, he gets harassed by the locals to create some sympathy. I kept on getting feedback from different people to speed up the action to which I was very opposed. I need the slow opening before the action erupts — otherwise who cares about this guy?
Ai Li’s opening caters to the trend of starting with action. It addressed issues that people had with the heroine’s goal not being clear enough at the beginning. It also places you immediately in China with the wedding dress and the sedan. The cons are that it is more confusing – the action starts immediately, there’s strange words like “palanquin”, there’s disorientation before you figure out what’s going on. I’m okay with some disorientation at the beginning, but it’s harder to care about a character when calamity strikes immediately.
Ryam’s scene does still follow the action opening so I definitely don’t lose his POV. Thanks much for all the comments! I have gathered some new ideas for what to add on in the next pass, though I’m holding myself back for now. This was fun to see.
If you’d like to see the excerpts:
Excerpts:
Vote:
[poll id="2"]
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Filed in: event | miscellaneous Tags: random | vacation
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Finally home and recovering! This time I am going to download my pictures off my camera before I get lazy. Maybe I should do that while I struggle to stay awake and combat jetlag.
Anything happen while I was gone?
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