It occurred to me earlier today that I was a clutz.  Well, I kind of knew it, but sometimes we deny certain things about ourselves.  When I dropped my computer mouse in my coffee an hour ago – there was no more denial.  I liked that mouse.

For some reason I flashed back to childhood when my mom taught me to read.  Well, she taught me to love reading and getting lost in a good story.  Being the wise woman she still is, she might’ve been trying to save my limbs from disaster.  I still remember the first Nancy Drew book she put in my hands while I sat safely on the sofa surrounded by nice, soft pillows.  If I fell, no harm done. 

As I grew up, I used to sneak into her romance pile and read those wonderful love stories.  Sometimes I still feel like I’m getting away with something when I find myself lost in a steamy romance.  Then the day came when I was old enough we could pass books back and forth.  She gave me one of Nora Robert’s MacGregor stories – and I was hooked for life.  Remember those?

And now, my mom has read my book.  I asked her if she thought it was too steamy and she said that it was wonderful.  Then she said, “Oh my.”  🙂  So here’s to our moms:  When they ensured we survive childhood, they may also have given us the key to a happy adulthood.  Thanks, mom.

So question: Who taught you to read and what book do you most remember?

I have fantastic parents who are still together after more than forty years of marriage.  And my dad wants to read my book.  Of course he wants to read my book – he’s my dad.  But…there’s sex in my book.  And not the closed-door, see ya in the morning kind.  My hero’s a vampire – the guy bites.

It brings to mind the one sex talk my dad and I had – sometime in high school when a girl in my class became pregnant.  My dad and I stood swinging nine-irons on the practice green behind our house.  It went like this:

DAD:  WHACK.  He hit to the green.  “So, I heard so and so was pregnant.”

ME:  Slice.  I hit the nearest tree.  “Yeah, I heard that, too.”

DAD:  Whack.  He put it right next to the hole.  “Follow through and roll your wrists.  Do we need to talk about it?”

ME:  Smack.  Closer to the green.  “No.  I need a new glove.”

DAD:  Whack.  In the hole.  “No.  You need to break your wrists faster.  So, about sex…”  Whack.  Dad hit the tree.

ME: Whiff.  I missed the ball completely.  “Not interested in sex.”  And believe it or not, I wasn’t.  I loved high school and my home town.  But I knew my freshman year in college would occur at a school on the beach, and no way was I missing out on that.

DAD:  Whack.  Who knew?  There was a sandtrap just beyond the practice green.  “Well, sex is your business.”  His voice kinda cracked here.  “But if you get pregnant, it becomes my business.  Point your left toe toward the pin more.”

ME:  “Okay.”  I rolled my wrists, broke them in time and pointed my toe toward the pin.  The ball rolled to within an inch of the hole.  “Nothing to worry about, Dad.”

DAD:  He blew out a breath and then hit the tree again.  “Good talk.  Want to get breakfast?”

So, I figure my dad’s been around a bit and knows that vampires bite.  Anyway, he’s promised me he’ll skim FATED’S  spicy parts.  🙂

Well, I’ve added the 20,000 words to Not Urban Bite – some backstory, some fleshing out and some foreshadowing for book two.  Oddly enough I enjoyed the heck out of adding to the story.

I spent some time on the phone with my agent yesterday discussing my other five books.  I learned something, too.  The stories she likes best are the ones I wrote for the heck of it.  Just for fun – just for me.  Not the ones I wrote with the publishing industry in mind.  Hmmm.

Also, I have two young adult books  (YA) that aren’t truly YA.  They’re adult books masquerading as young adult.  (And apparently not hiding very well).  This point was driven home the other day at Costco.  I was walking out the door, waiting for the lady to check my cart and give me the coveted yellow highlighted slash across my receipt, when two teens ahead of me had a conversation.  It went like this:

LOL

OMG

ROFLMAO

And I thought ‘WTF?’  Are they actually using texting acronyms to have a conversation?  It took every ounce of control I had not to bash their heads together to see if a complete word would pop out.  So, maybe I should stick to adult writing for now…

Okay – so I’m still reeling from the book deal.  My neice Kylie thinks I’m cool, and my cousin Neil thinks my picture with the cowboy hat is lame.

I need to add about 10,000 to 15,000 words to the book.  Both my agent and editor made broad suggestions – like, this character needs more depth or this character needs to be fleshed out.  Now I’m on my own to add depth and flesh out.  I’m not sure what the deadline is yet for these changes, though I do know the final draft must be in the editor’s hands by May 1st. 

I’d also really like to know the name of the book.  I called it ‘Urban Bite,’ but the publisher is changing it because ‘Urban Bite’ sounds too much like an urban fantasy novel, and my book is a paranormal romance.  I really don’t mind the name change, but would like to call it something other than ‘Not Urban Bite’ or NUB.  ‘NUB’ isn’t quite the connotation I’m looking for.  So, I’m not sure when that happens.  Hopefully soon.

And I need to start thinking about books two and three.  Maybe come up with an outline for them.  However, I don’t outline – or plot.  I just sit and write.  Though I think I will do full character sketches for book two – maybe then my characters will have fleshed-out depth from the get-go.  🙂  Also, I think Neil should get a cowboy hat for his birthday this year.  Though he’d probably put it through the washing machine by accident.   Tune in to see what happens next…

Welcome to my blog!  I thought it would be interesting to follow the path from book sale to publication – since I have no idea what to expect next.  First, a bit about my year of writing.  I’ve always wanted to be a writer, so last December (08)  when we were snowed in, I thought maybe it was time to actually write something.  I wrote a book.  Then I wrote another one.  Then…I started the querying process.  Eeek.  Lots of ups, lots of downs.  Those rejections are not fun.

I had a book called Urban Bite about feuding vampires, and I didn’t really query it because rumor had it that vamps were out.  But, as I sat at my desk on Dec. 10th, 2009 – it was either jump on the treadmill or send a couple of email queries out.  Email won.  The next day I received a request for a partial (first 50 pages) from an editor at Kensington Publishing.  I sent it.

The following Tuesday the emails went as follows:

9:00 am – partial request from an agent (now my agent)

9:30 am – full manuscript request from the editor (now my editor)

1:00 pm – Full request from agent

The next day:  Offers from both editor and agent.  I signed with the agent, they negotiated, and now I have a three book deal with Kensington for the first book to be released early in 2011.  They’re calling the series, “The Realm Series.”  So, what happens now???  Check back and we’ll find out together.