I'm visiting family in the mountains right now -- hoping for snow... :), but it's uncommonly nice outside. Figures. The warm southern weather has followed us this year.
And with my yearly holiday meltdown over and done with (don't we all have those, or is it just me?), the holiday spirit is upon me - I'm feeling all warm and fuzzy inside - I wanted to say a big thanks to you all - you've been such wonderful, supportive friends. A gal couldn't ask for more! Here's wishing you all a happy holiday and a fantastic 2006!
Signing off -
Kelly
Saturday, December 24, 2005
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Rejection City and An Incredible Set of Pipes
I got three rejections this past week, two of which were 'good' ones. You know the kind I mean - regretful tone, high praise for your work, but, alas, can't fit you into their line or already have a similar author... My agent was very encouraged by the response and we've still got both my books out there, but sometimes the 'good' ones hurt the most. It's feels like I'm so close, yet just can't catch a break. YET. :)
On the home front...my daughter took her Tae Kwon Do exam and passed to 'white belt'. She's five, and while she loves make-up and all the girl stuff, when she gets into her uniform, the child is FIERCE! At the graduation ceremony, the instructor had a yelling contest with her age group, and I was sitting there thinking, "Oh, Master Lee, you know not what you do." She blew them all out of the water. Here's this tiny little girl (the only girl among six boys), standing in the line facing the audience. I hear people behind me saying "Aw, isn't she cute", and then she gives me this knowing look and quick thumbs up, then opens her mouth... I was so proud!
On the home front...my daughter took her Tae Kwon Do exam and passed to 'white belt'. She's five, and while she loves make-up and all the girl stuff, when she gets into her uniform, the child is FIERCE! At the graduation ceremony, the instructor had a yelling contest with her age group, and I was sitting there thinking, "Oh, Master Lee, you know not what you do." She blew them all out of the water. Here's this tiny little girl (the only girl among six boys), standing in the line facing the audience. I hear people behind me saying "Aw, isn't she cute", and then she gives me this knowing look and quick thumbs up, then opens her mouth... I was so proud!
Thursday, December 15, 2005
Clutter...
HATE it. You see, there is clutter in my living room - furniture, clothes, pretty much everything that was in my daughter's room. Don't ask me why I decided to paint her room ten days before Christmas. Insanity. Pure insanity. But, I'm happy to say, the paint is now dry (a beautiful smoky lavender color with white on the crown molding and doors). Her furniture is a dark maple color, her bed is a sleigh bed. I bought a quilt with lavender, dark purple, white, and sage green accents. It's so pretty. I want to live in there. The clutter, however, stares at me from my open office door, like some King Kong-sized pile of doo-doo. *sigh*
On the writing front, I've decided to write long-hand in a notebook. For some reason (the insanity thing again), I can't seem to write in my office (blogging and emails aside). I've gone from room to room with my laptop with some success, but now that's not working. So, thus the notebook. I plot all my books in notebooks, but I've never written a complete ms in this manner. I'm sure it depends on the size of your handwriting, but I've always wondered about authors who write their books long-hand and how many notebooks/pages they fill up for one book. I believe Gena Showalter (one of my favorite authors - if you haven't read her books, you need to!), writes her books this way. I may try it. :) I think it'll be a nice change for me. The last four books have all been done on the computer. Anyone else write long-hand?
On the writing front, I've decided to write long-hand in a notebook. For some reason (the insanity thing again), I can't seem to write in my office (blogging and emails aside). I've gone from room to room with my laptop with some success, but now that's not working. So, thus the notebook. I plot all my books in notebooks, but I've never written a complete ms in this manner. I'm sure it depends on the size of your handwriting, but I've always wondered about authors who write their books long-hand and how many notebooks/pages they fill up for one book. I believe Gena Showalter (one of my favorite authors - if you haven't read her books, you need to!), writes her books this way. I may try it. :) I think it'll be a nice change for me. The last four books have all been done on the computer. Anyone else write long-hand?
Sunday, December 11, 2005
Oops, I Did It Again
Hee. I told you all that I was addicted to web design. See what happens when Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets is on TV for, like, the gazillionth time. *sigh* Probably should've been writing, but...well, I have no good excuse. :) Hope you all like it, and I promise not to change it for a long, long time.
Thursday, December 08, 2005
Fun Article
There's a really cute article called, The Proper Care and Feeding of Romance Writers by Brenda Coulter over at Romancing the Blog. It's the Nov. 30th entry. You'll enjoy it.
Tuesday, December 06, 2005
Reality Check
Ah, I dream of the day when my book sells, I go on tour, and am interviewed by the Today Show...yes, I know that is a dream. But, hey, a girl's got a right to dream. Right? For instance, the other night I had a dream that Donald Trump gave me a condo on his golf course and a whole closet full of canned spaghetti. (Not that I even like that stuff!)
No, seriously, after you sell, the work you do is just as stressful as trying to sell, and if you're serious about your writing career, you know this, you've done your research. (And often, becoming a published author can be extremely stressful, more so than all those years of pounding on doors and rejections. It all depends on who you talk to). But I'm prepared. I want it -- a career as an author. A career means work. I'm not doing this as a hobby. I consider all the things I've gone through so far to be like training camp, preparation for the 'after the sale' workload. I'm not disillusioned by what it means to become published. I have many friends who are published. I hear their stories. I've been there to offer support when editors leave, and they don't know what will happen with a line or where their next contract will come from. I've been around the block. I have an agent (two agents, one for film, one for fiction). I've optioned my screenplays, and I've dealt with some pretty harsh personalities in the biz, and still came out with my confidence in tact. I've attended conferences, pitched my butt off, finaled and won contests, etc., etc.
I promise, there is a point to all this....which is, don't let discouraging people get you down. You know the types I mean. The ones who dismiss your commitment to become published, tell you you can't, or you won't make it. Or, something that happened to me -- a person in the industry who (after knowing my background and responding to my desire to be published) telling me with a sarcastic snort, "you don't know what you're getting into". She rolled her eyes as she said it, and then turned back to her friends with a sarcastic chuckle. Therefore, dismmissing me completely. As though I'm walking around with bon-bons floating around in my head and a starstruck look in my eyes. I think those words, put that way, are so discouraging, meant to put you in your place or to let you know you'll never measure up. I've had people say this before, but not in a dismissive and negative manner (and the statement itself is somewhat true -- there are things I won't know about when I get published, but on the other hand, I'm aware that it won't be all champagne and roses, so I do know what I'm getting into, just not all the specifics.) Will this discourage me? Of course not. But it's one of those little things that bugs the hell out of me.
So, if any of you have dealt with the discouragement or the negatives folks out there. Chin up, young person! Persistence, courage, belief, and you will get there.
No, seriously, after you sell, the work you do is just as stressful as trying to sell, and if you're serious about your writing career, you know this, you've done your research. (And often, becoming a published author can be extremely stressful, more so than all those years of pounding on doors and rejections. It all depends on who you talk to). But I'm prepared. I want it -- a career as an author. A career means work. I'm not doing this as a hobby. I consider all the things I've gone through so far to be like training camp, preparation for the 'after the sale' workload. I'm not disillusioned by what it means to become published. I have many friends who are published. I hear their stories. I've been there to offer support when editors leave, and they don't know what will happen with a line or where their next contract will come from. I've been around the block. I have an agent (two agents, one for film, one for fiction). I've optioned my screenplays, and I've dealt with some pretty harsh personalities in the biz, and still came out with my confidence in tact. I've attended conferences, pitched my butt off, finaled and won contests, etc., etc.
I promise, there is a point to all this....which is, don't let discouraging people get you down. You know the types I mean. The ones who dismiss your commitment to become published, tell you you can't, or you won't make it. Or, something that happened to me -- a person in the industry who (after knowing my background and responding to my desire to be published) telling me with a sarcastic snort, "you don't know what you're getting into". She rolled her eyes as she said it, and then turned back to her friends with a sarcastic chuckle. Therefore, dismmissing me completely. As though I'm walking around with bon-bons floating around in my head and a starstruck look in my eyes. I think those words, put that way, are so discouraging, meant to put you in your place or to let you know you'll never measure up. I've had people say this before, but not in a dismissive and negative manner (and the statement itself is somewhat true -- there are things I won't know about when I get published, but on the other hand, I'm aware that it won't be all champagne and roses, so I do know what I'm getting into, just not all the specifics.) Will this discourage me? Of course not. But it's one of those little things that bugs the hell out of me.
So, if any of you have dealt with the discouragement or the negatives folks out there. Chin up, young person! Persistence, courage, belief, and you will get there.
Thursday, December 01, 2005
Writers and those who know us
One of the things I enjoy most about writing is creating character names and thinking of cool titles. I have a bunch of baby name books and a synonym/phrase finder that is awesome. Sherrilyn Kenyon's character naming source book is equally awesome.
I was at my daughters gymnastics the other day, talking to a fellow writer. I had out my baby name book, and she knew exactly why. To all the other non-writer moms there, it was assumed I was prego and was looking for a name for my child. Sometimes, we writers are in a class by ourselves (okay, probably most of the time). And it's funny how those closest to us come to understand our idiosyncrasies, rituals, and the way we work. Our husbands (or family) don't freak out when they see the baby name book come out - we're writers, they understand.
I was at my daughters gymnastics the other day, talking to a fellow writer. I had out my baby name book, and she knew exactly why. To all the other non-writer moms there, it was assumed I was prego and was looking for a name for my child. Sometimes, we writers are in a class by ourselves (okay, probably most of the time). And it's funny how those closest to us come to understand our idiosyncrasies, rituals, and the way we work. Our husbands (or family) don't freak out when they see the baby name book come out - we're writers, they understand.
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