that which we call a pumpkin
Today is the first day of fall. You know, the season directly between summer and winter? Where pumpkins and hayrides, witches and ghosts, and warm fuzzy sweaters are in vogue. Also known as autumn, as the world keeps reminding me. It would seem the mere mention of "fall" from my lips brings up images of limbs in a tangle as I tumble down craggy embankments or stumble over imaginary obstacles. But whether we call it autumn or fall, the season is the same, and unquestionably my favorite.
Perfect weather awaited me when I woke this morning, and hubby and I spent the day toiling in the yard and cleaning the front porch. I love my chickens, but they're messy. A little elbow grease and a trip to the local plant store earned me a beautiful porch, ready for the new season.
And not a moment too soon as I'm hard at work on my Suddenly Sorceress edits. Despite the February release date, the book is set during Halloween, so this is a perfect time to work on it. The crisp evening air and acrid smell of burning wood in the distance keep my mind in the setting. And I can't wait to share the story with you!
On that note, I'm heading back to work.
Until the next time...I'll be editing!
a little witch in all of us
Publication may still be five months away, but today, August 30th, 2013, the cover for Suddenly Sorceress was introduced to the world. And I, for one, couldn't be happier. I LOVE this cover. I'm so excited to share it with you.
PMS can be a real witch!
Ivie McKie isn’t your run-of-the-mill kindergarten teacher. After an encounter with a horny goat, followed by a confrontation with her lying, cheating fiancé, Ivie is shocked when the big jerk suddenly transforms into a skunk—the black and white furry variety.
Enlisting the help of her shopaholic friend Chloe and sexy club magician Jackson Blake, Ivie is forced to play a literal game of cat and mouse as she races against the clock to change her ex back before she's arrested for his murder.
With every new spell comes a fresh wave of sexual desire, drawing Jack further into Ivie’s troubles—her panties, the car, the kitchen, and assorted seedy bathrooms along the way.
Ivie soon discovers what every witch worth her spell book knows: There’s nothing worse than a bad case of Post Magical Syndrome.
Suddenly Sorceress, coming February 14, 2014.
if I'm dreaming, don't wake me up
I've been here before. I'm dressed for the gala ball in my honor. My hair is done to the nines, my dress is fabulous, I can even walk in the shoes. But wait. When I look down, I realize I'm wearing a short skirt, and I haven't shaved my legs...in like a month!
Oops!
Then there's the dream where I'm just about to kiss my hot movie star dream guy when I wake up to a wet tongue and dog breath. We've all had dreams like this, where the world is perfect for one bright shining moment and then...pop! The bubble bursts and it's back to reality we go.
So, as I read through my email and discover I have yet another agent (can you say 6? Count 'em, six agents!) interested in my book, I start to wonder when the alarm clock is going to go off, dragging me back to my mundane little life of chickens, duck(s), and killer pigs. I'm sort of afraid to let myself believe it's all real, for fear I really will wake up and be disappointed.
But I guess, for now, the only thing I can do is go with it. Keep sending out those requested manuscripts while I wait for the other glass slipper to drop. Hey, who knows...maybe there really is a guy on a white horse standing in the wings, or a crazy top-hat-wearing-Johnny Depp character waiting to take me to the top in his glass elevator.
Stranger things have happened, right? And if I'm lucky, I'll get a piece of fancy chocolate while I'm at it.
Until the next time...I'll be waiting (not so patiently).
you call that rejection?
And the madness continues...
So since I last updated you on the craziness that is my life, I've gotten another request from an agent. For the full book this time, not just a few chapters. She apparently loved the sample chapters I'd already sent her and wanted more. This is always good. So that makes four agents saying yes to reading my book. That's four steps closer to success.
But like I said before, rejection is part of the game, and I did get a rejection letter tonight. It was easily the nicest, most complimentary rejection letter I have EVER gotten. I mean, I'm considering framing it. Seriously. The agent said she wouldn't be comfortable marketing the book due to the sexy scenes, but asked if I would please contact her when it was published so she could buy a copy and read it herself. She loved my synopsis, and my sample chapter, and I guess, me. And they call that rejection? Seriously, I wouldn't mind a few more like that. I mean, if the odds say I have to have a percentage of these come back as no, I may as well enjoy them, right?
I'm telling you, this is the most bizarre turn of events in my quest to be popular and loved by all. A daunting task, but if things keep going this way, I might actually get there eventually.
Until then...I'll be watching my email with a little grin and a lot of hope.
rejection... what rejection?
Once upon a time, I wrote about sending queries to agents and getting rejection after rejection, and sucking it up to tell myself, this is all apart of the business. Writers will inevitably suffer from rejection. And I have. At least my fair share. And I suspect I'll be rejected yet again. But not today. Today, I was decidedly NOT rejected. Today (or more specifically yesterday), I opened my email to see a yes where I'd found so many nos before.
Ok, truthfully, the last time I queried anything I got a great big yes...it was a book deal, right? So it's not like I can say my story ended in tragedy or anything. But yesterday as I sent out a fresh batch of queries for Suddenly Sorceress, my paranormal chick lit/romance with a sexy twist, I didn't expect to see an immediate response, and an overwhelmingly positive one at that. I mean, we all WANT that. We hope for it, dream about it, even plan for it, but it doesn't happen that often. It's the elusive white whale breaking the water with a mighty blow from his hole thing.
Anyway...so here I am, opening my email...expecting the standard rejection letters we writers are so well versed in. And what do I find? Not one...not two...but THREE requests for chapters. What? Chapters you say? Someone wants to read more? Umm...holy crap! Yeah, I said more R-rated words, but you get my drift.
So, maybe they won't love the book once they read more. But I'm not worried about that right now. I'm just flying high on the fact that they didn't say no. And like any teenager will tell you, a maybe is just as good as a yes most days of the week, and twice on a Saturday.
Until the next time...I'll be sending off those chapters and waiting for more yeses!