Archive for the ‘Golden Heart prep’ Category
Okay, not really famous … but my name is listed in the latest issue of RWA’s Romance Writers Report.
That’s right. I got the issue that lists all the Golden Heart® and Rita® finalists.
Blurry, but it's there — I promise!
There I am, right at the top of the Contemporary Series list. (Note to self: Continue entering MSs with titles at the beginning of the alphabet.)
Seriously, it’s a thrill to see my name printed alongside of all the other finalists’. Even though, as a reporter, I see my byline in print often (no longer every day, because I do more page design than writing), it’s different when my name is attached to my fiction. Don’t ask me why — I just know it is.
The countdown is on: In less than 20 days, I’ll be on a plane on my way to NYC. I can’t wait to get there and meet everyone! Win or lose, we’re all going to have a great time in the Big Apple.
Although not much writing got done this week, I’ve been busy doing all the other little things that need to be done before I leave for New York in — gulp — less than a month.
Thursday night after work, I designed the business card I’ll be handing out at RWA Nationals. (That’s it on the left. I like how it matches the blog.) I still need to have it printed, but that may or may not happen this payday. I’m having it done through my office to save on shipping — one of the perks of having a company called “Direct Impressions Business Services” in the back shop.
Friday morning, I went shopping. No, I still don’t have a bra or shoes for my Golden Heart awards ceremony gown — but I now own a nice pair of dress pants (on sale for about $10 at Kohl’s), a casual dress ($26-ish) and a cardigan ($9 — love those 80% off sales!) for the meeting rooms I’ve been assured are C-O-L-D. Tops, along with the shoes and bra, might have to wait until next payday, too.
Friday night, I ordered the address label sticker for the back of the business card — the one that lists my manuscript’s title, “Beauty and the Ballplayer,” and its status as a 2011 Golden Heart finalist. (They were fairly cheap, at just a little more than $5 total for 140 labels and shipping.)
I also did some research on transportation from the airport to the conference hotel. Turns out that a cab ($45 one way) is not the way to go. A van is less than $40 round-trip. I found out it’ll take more than an hour to travel 15 miles, though. The hotel website says JFK is 15 miles away, but the shuttle service leaves from the airport just before 7 a.m. and doesn’t arrive until 8:20.
So my travel preparation is going swimmingly. If only my revisions were going along half as well. My balky computer has thrown me for a loop … and me with about 50 pages left to get through in my first revised draft.
Then again, maybe I’m just using my poor, ailing Mac as an excuse to avoid revising. I’d rather be working on a new story.
Just saw a blog post on the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood pointing out that RWA Nationals is only 39 days away.
Eeek. Guess I’d better get back to my revisions, eh? And fast!
I also need to figure out which workshops I’m attending, and get those pitches polished to a shine.
Wow. Is it time to panic yet?
I believe it was Robert Burns who coined the saying about the best-laid plans of mice and men often going awry. John Steinbeck borrowed part of it for his “Of Mice and Men.”
Not that I’m trying to compare myself to these literary greats (yet), but I can definitely say that the best-laid plans for my vacation went way off track.
I had two whole weeks off work. I planned to shop for my GH awards ceremony dress, work on fixing my finalist MS so it’s ready for a judge request and do some plotting (and maybe even write new material) for Dave and Melinda’s story.
Only one of those things got done. I found a dress. That was it — I didn’t even get matching shoes or the proper undergarments. In two weeks of not having to go to the day job, the revising, plotting and writing just didn’t happen.
I spent a lot of quality time with the Boyfriend — and spent even more in the kitchen, whipping up delicious Atkins-approved meals. (I recommitted to a low-carb diet while on vacation.) On days the Boyfriend left to work or play tennis, I spent more time playing online than working.
I did actually sit down to rewrite once or twice, but didn’t spend long enough with the MS to get much accomplished.
As you can tell, I also ignored the blog. My last post was written on May 2. May 2? How am I going to build an audience if I only blog every two weeks?
I promise to start doing better, y’all — both with my writing AND the blogging. I want to write for a living … it shouldn’t be this hard.
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