Yes, I'm Writing

The dearth of writing related blogs doesn't mean I'm not writing. I'm sending out my last two articles of the month today. With everything going on I've managed to invoice for eleven articles. Pretty darn proud of that. In spite of having the wee ones on top of a life that is normally nutso busy. Add some family drama and I can tell you it was more than interesting.

I'm going to be cutting way back this month and do six or seven articles and finish up DASH. This is ridiculous. I have less than 25,000 left to go on it.

In other writing related news... my agent followed up on all the outstanding LIPS manuscripts that haven't been responded to. Turns out that three, yes, three of the editors had lost them. So sorry. Please resend! WTF? I have been waiting six months for that?And all three are editors I would kill to work with. Ah well, maybe the guilt of leaving me hanging for so long and losing my manuscript will put LIPS toward the top of their reading pile. One can only hope.

Must run off to proof the last of the articles and send in!

We interrupt this blog....

For a really shallow Hollywood moment because last night was the Acadamy Awards and I just have to gush and guffaw.

Gush: Reese Witherspoon... You go girl. Make Ryan Phillipe regret it.

Guffaw: Jennifer Lopez... Could you get anymore fat fake (or fake looking) chain and diamond things around your neck? And I'm sorry, your hubby still looks like a serial killer to me.

Gush/Guffaw: Penelope Cruise... From the hips up you showed everyone just why Tom Cruise loved you for years, but why did you pair it with skirt made of a fuzzy Target blanket? Did your designer run out of regular material? Do you suffer from chronically cold knees?

Guffaw: Jennifer Hudson: What a fabulous dress choice. A gorgeous chocolate brown... draping in the right spots, perfect. Then you topped it with a Star Wars inspired jacket? Why, girl? Why?

My Leo, who I didn't used to gush over, but now love, didn't get an Oscar, but did get some kudos from Martin Scorses when he won(about time that old dude won an oscar) and the producer of The Departed when he won, so I guess it's all good. I really wanted Kate Winslet to win an Oscar (What is this? the Titantic Curse? People still pissed off cause they were in a blockbuster?)because she has turned out to be an incredibly talented actress too, stealing any movie she happens to be in.

There weren't enough surprises, though I loved the whole sheet/people/movie shape thing. (You had to be there) and I thought Ellen Degeneress was inspired. Really funny stuff.

And I really liked that it was all over by 9:30 on the west coast. I got to bed early!!!!

Conversation with a three year old

What you doing?
Making waffles for Karen.
Why?
Cause she's hungry.
Why?
Cause she just woke up.
Why?
Cause she was done sleeping.
So she huny?
Yes.
Zoe huny too.
Zoe already ate.
Why?
Cause you woke up at 6am.
Why?
God only knows.
What are you making?
Waffles!
I have wappoos too?
Okay.
Why?
(gritted teeth.) Cause you wanted some.Here.
Tank you.What are you doing?
Making a waffle for Karen cause the one I made us was too hard for her so I am making her a soft one.
Why?
Cause she can't chew a hard one.
Why?
Cause she doesn't have enough teeth.
Auntie? What are you giving Karen?
Waffles!
Why?
(Silence)
Auntie?
What Zoe?
What are you eating?

Oh Yeah!

NTRWA congratulates the following finalists of the 2007 Great Expectations contest. We wish everyone the best of luck in the final round. PROMO -- NT is sponsoring a genuine TEXAS BBQ outing during National Conference. Check out the details on our website: NTRWA.ORG


~~ Long & SHORT Contemporary Category ~~

FINAL ROUND EDITOR: Diana Ventimiglia, Editorial Assistant, Harlequin

Venus in Blue Jeans by Margaret Batschelet

A Dash of Desire by Teri Brown

Illegally Yours by Lora Kenton

Deadline by Donna McGoldrick

The Doctor's Chateau by Mona Risk


That's me! Some judge comments...

Question on the comment section of the score sheet: What are one or two things you feel were well done?

Absolutely everything. I’ve read “cooking and recipe” value-added contemporary romances, and this one is fantastic! Loved the description of the beer cheese appetizers. Loved it!

There isn’t anything I don’t love!

This is absolutely outstanding. I wish the entire thing was here in my hands!

I could only hope that someday my reviews are as good:)

Nine Articles

Yes. nine. Due before the end of the month. I must be insane. So much for working on Dash.

Heard nothing from the HQ American contest so I figure that boat has sailed. Considering they must get hundreds of entries, I'm not surprised I didn't place. Will hear on the Great Expectations contest toward the end of the month and then I'm done waiting to hear on contests till the GH.

I decided I must be doing something wrong because it is really stressful having these warm wee ones in my house. Am I not organized enough? What? I give them tons of time and attention and they still want more. They eat constantly. The three year old can't decide whether she wants to play in the backyard or stay in and the baby discovered her voice and walks around the house shrieking at the top of her lungs. I don't remember this when my kids were young. Now granted, I understand these kids are probably still in shock to have all their needs met in a timely manner, but still. But, it is incredibly gratifying to see how happy they are. They are positively thriving. Their lawyer said as much when she visited.

But I still have to get up at 4:30 am to get anything done.

Hitting the Mark and The Nymph King!

Two great friends - Two February books!

This is the first time Gena Showalter and Jill Monroe
have books out at the same time!

For your paranormal taste, we have Valerian. Females young and old, beautiful and plain crave Valerian's touch. None can resist his blatant sensuality and potent allure until he steals Shaye Holling from a Florida beach and holds her prisoner in his underwater kingdom.

And when you're ready to read something contemporary, there is Hitting The Mark. Danni's a woman with a little revenge on her mind. Romantic Times says Hitting The Mark is, "impossible to put down."

Worth Framing

That top pix is the pix of the evening. One of her best friends took it and I just got it. YAY!

More photos!

Photos are trickling in from the party of the year!

Party of the Year

It was a young adult writer's dream. twenty seven teens between the ages of thirteen and seventeen all converged to have the time of their young lives. I disappeared into Mom mode and kept my ears open as I darted hither and thither doing mom things. Got all the drama. Here's a few pix... will post more as they come in!

Happy Birthday to my Girl

Yesterday, my baby turned sixteen. Happy birthday to one of the lights of my life. I actually think this is one of the first photos in years where she's smiling. First she hid her teeth because they were crooked and then she hid them because she had braces...now she is always smiling!

THE UPCOMING SWEET SIXTEEN

As many of you know, I have been getting up at 5:00- 5:30 am for quite soem time. I am just here to tell you that 4:30 am is not 5:30 am. 4:30 am is inhuman.

So what does that make me?

Had to do it th0ugh. I have to work and shower before they get up, otherwise I resemble something from the black lagoon.

Been working on the birthday party. Here's the list of things I have done/ordered so far

• 32 confirmed teens (There's going to be more. I can feel it)
• lovely venue
• 5 real flower boquets--daisies and one sprayed carnations. (black)
• 3 silk flower boquets (black and white)
• Ribbons, tule, garlands, pillar candles, silver trays, black decorative rocks(to set candles in on the silver trays) and white table clothes for decorations.
• One huge cake
• one limo that will take them(ten) to the best viewpoints in Portland, the waterfront, the chocolate cafe and cruising.
• one gift card to a moonstruck chocolate cafe for downtown portland
• two chocolate fountains and one punch fountain (borrowed from a friend. Still have no idea where to buy the chocolate to run them!)
• Stereo System for venue. (Married to a musician. That was easy.)
• one gorgy sleeveless white dress for dd.

Still have to get/order:

• Food
• Balloon Boquets
• plates and utensiles (Plastic and paper)
• Bunch of Cd's (DD is burning them.)
• stuff for punch
• clothes for me!

This will be the party of the century!

Best Prank Evah

BETTER THAN YESTERDAY PRANK CONTEST

The best prank I ever pulled? I had just gotten together with Dh. (As you read, remember this was the late eighties, Dh had hair and was in a band and I had bigger hair and was skinny. We were also stoned much of the time.)

A friend of mine gave me a little bag of dehydrated fish for my cats. I had like five or six cats at the time and they were eye-poppingly appreciative of the fish. For some reason, I got the idea to throw one of the fish into the shower while my Dh (then boyfriend,) was in there. He didn't see me and I heard him yelling several minutes later. I walked in and to this day have no clue on how I kept a straight face cause he was trying to peer into the shower head while the water was running. (I told you we were stoned much of the time.) Because, well, you know what dehydrated things do when suddenly hydrated.

That night, before heading to bed, I tossed one into the sink and splashed a little water on it. Sucker fattened right up. He got up the next morning to make coffee and found a little silver fish in the sink. He woke me up and dragged me to the kitchen to see. This time I was able to actually laugh because finding fish around your house is pretty freaking funny. High or not.

I did it one more time in the shower before I finally had to tell him it was me. I managed to keep a straight face as he told all our friends over coronas and nachos . I even managed to get through him describing in detail the amazement of the little fish swimming out of the sewer to his mother. But when he was telling the story to our LANDLORD, I finally had to fess up, amidst much hilarity and rolling on the floor. At least on my part.

Better Than Yesterday, by Robyn Schneider, is a novel about four former friends who created an underground pranking society, the Hilliard Hell Raisers. Now seniors at Hilliard Preparatory School, when the friends try to ressurect the Hell Raisers, some unpleasant secrets surface instead. The secrets lead them away from the gated grounds of their prep school and to the streets of New York City, where they figure out who--and what--is worth believing in. To enter the contest, write a description of the best prank you ever pulled, or the best prank you ever wanted to pull, post it in your blog along with the rules to this contest and email the link to robynschneider at yahoo dot com with the subject line "prank contest."The contest is open NOW to US residents only and ends on February 5th at Noon EST.

Prizes are as follows:First Place: The person with the prank deemed the best/most awesome (by Robyn) wins One signed copy of Better Than Yesterday, and 4 other YA titles chosen at random. (That's 5 books!) Plus, their prank will be posted in Queued Paper (Robyn's blog), www.robbiewriter.livejournal.com.
Second Place: One signed copy of Better Than Yesterday and 2 other YA titles chosen at random. (That's 3 books!) Their prank posted in Queued Paper, www.robbiewriter.livejournal.com.
Third Place: One signed copy of Better Than Yesterday. Their prank posted in Queued Paper, www.robbiewriter.livejournal.com.Runners up might also receive prizes if they are particularly witty and beguiling.

Still Alive!

And still writing. Actually did a few pages in Dash yesterday morning. Sent out the Gotcha entry to Susan Litman. Sent out a W9. I'm plugging away.

The girls are wonderful. Had another trip to the ER with the youngest who decided she wanted to smash her upper lip and gum on the coffee table. We walked out of there and she looked as if she'd been in a baby rumble with her broken arm, fat lip and dried blood down the front of her shirt. Her little gray sweat jacket had one arm cut out of it for her cast and we had stuck a stocking cap on her head to keep her warm. As my daughter put it, "She looks like a PIMP!" Not sure what that means, but it's funny.

Daycare is set up for next week, two days a week for six hours each day. They will get to go play on a farm while I get some work done. And I am uber excited because I wrote to a Catholic school up the street and asked for a scholarship for Zoe and I think we're going to get one! She could honestly use the stimulation. I think it will be so good for her. That will be twice a week for three hours each time. Then my respite people will have them like every other weekend for about 24 hours... so it will all be good for them and us.

My nonfiction career is going wacky right now. Hyper PR people and multiple interview reschedules. Craziness.

Off to the race. Must finish an article before it's time for diapers and cereal.