I had my birthday, attended my friend's wedding and now... now none of my pants fit anymore. Yikes. I must've gained five pounds from all that cake and punch. Hmm.
Anyway, I think I promised last month I'd have more books to review this month. And I do, but not much more. The historical romance and romantic suspense books reigned on my nightstand.
Seduction of a Proper Gentleman by Victoria Alexander (Historical Romance).
Oliver Leighton, The Earl of Norcroft, is the last man standing in Alexander's Last Man Standing Series. He won the bet with this friends over who'd be the last of them to marry. Sad thing is, he didn't really care to win. He's the type that wants to fall in love and wants to settle down with a good woman. Well, thank God for Lady Kathleen MacDavid. Because she seems to be that woman. It's too bad their families' curse get in their way, though that does leave for some good reading.
Then You Hide by Roxanne St. Claire (Romantic Suspense).
This is the fifth book in the Bullet Catcher Series, but the second in the trilogy to find triplet daughters. The next book, Now You Die, will tie up that trilogy and is much anticipated because it's Lucy's Story. I can't find it in any of my local bookstores, so I'm going to have to order it online somewhere. But anyway, I'd always thought Lucy would end up with Dan, though that isn't so. She actually gets Jack. Even the author thought she'd put Lucy with Dan, but HERE she tells the real story. It was a fascinating read that shows how sometimes our characters really do take over our writing.
Ace is Wild by Penny McCall (Romantic Suspense).
This is the third book in McCall's FBI series and it follows the first with witty dialogue, crazy chases and the good guys overcoming and hooking up at the end. It was an enjoyable read. I'm glad McCall has more in the series to come.
Seduce Me at Sunrise by Lisa Kleypas (Historical Romance).
Second in Kleypas's Hathaway series, Seduce Me at Sunrise, finally gives us Win and Merripen's happily ever after. All you have to do is read the excerpt Kleypas posted on her website to see how totally wonderful the story is. And then to further intrigue me, this amazing author set up a nice beginning for the Hathaway brother and the governess to get together. Can't wait for their adventure... hopefully.
Mr. Cavendish, I Presume by Julia Quinn (Historical Romance).
After reading The Lost Duke of Wyndham, I'd been anxious to get my hands on Mr. Cavendish, the book not the man. And once I did, I was not disappointed. The two books happen at the same time and share some of the same scenes, but are all from different characters' points of view. I enjoyed it because I knew what what going to happen and kept anticipating certain scenes, wondering how each character saw it through their eyes. Great idea for a duo of stories, I say. I'm just depressed they're over now.
Full Manuscript News!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
I might've been onto something yesterday. After commenting (And, yes, let's definitely call it "commenting" because otherwise we'd have to say I was outright whining) about the fact that I hadn't heard from a publisher in a while, I suggested maybe they'd all passed out because they thought my work was so absolutely stupendous (Oh, yeah. That's still a ridiculously funny thought).
So, anyway, one of those editors must've revived herself because she contacted me this morning. What a coincidence, huh? If only I'd waited one more day to whine--I mean, comment--then I wouldn't have needed to say anything at all.
Yes, I know what you're thinking. Get on with the news already. What'd the woman say? Well, hold your horses. Let the suspense build a moment. I need to give background information first so you can feel the full effect as I felt it.
Alright, then. If you've kept up with my blog, then you might've read that about two months ago a publisher finally asked to read one of my full manuscripts, and then a few days later another publisher wanted to read another completed story. I'm not sure if I shared, but a third publisher asked for a third story a few weeks after that. It was that third publisher who emailed me today.
Since sending out full manuscripts is new to me, I have no idea what the protocol is once an editor has finished reading my story. I figured I'd get "The Call" if they liked it and wanted to publish it and I'd received a Dear John Letter if it was rejected.
When I saw an email from the third publisher with "The Stillburrow Crush" in the title line, I was sure I'd just received a rejection. Bluck. But I opened the letter anyway and, Holy Cow. She said she enjoyed--let me repeat, SHE ENJOYED--my story and she's sending it on to another review panel.
Therefore, no, I didn't sell a story today, but I didn't get a rejection either (always a plus). I moved one step closer to my goal (which is to get published, by the way, if you weren't aware). I'm absolutely on cloud nine. I don't recall visiting clouds one through eight, but nine feels very fine. I think I'll stay a while.
So, anyway, one of those editors must've revived herself because she contacted me this morning. What a coincidence, huh? If only I'd waited one more day to whine--I mean, comment--then I wouldn't have needed to say anything at all.
Yes, I know what you're thinking. Get on with the news already. What'd the woman say? Well, hold your horses. Let the suspense build a moment. I need to give background information first so you can feel the full effect as I felt it.
Alright, then. If you've kept up with my blog, then you might've read that about two months ago a publisher finally asked to read one of my full manuscripts, and then a few days later another publisher wanted to read another completed story. I'm not sure if I shared, but a third publisher asked for a third story a few weeks after that. It was that third publisher who emailed me today.
Since sending out full manuscripts is new to me, I have no idea what the protocol is once an editor has finished reading my story. I figured I'd get "The Call" if they liked it and wanted to publish it and I'd received a Dear John Letter if it was rejected.
When I saw an email from the third publisher with "The Stillburrow Crush" in the title line, I was sure I'd just received a rejection. Bluck. But I opened the letter anyway and, Holy Cow. She said she enjoyed--let me repeat, SHE ENJOYED--my story and she's sending it on to another review panel.
Therefore, no, I didn't sell a story today, but I didn't get a rejection either (always a plus). I moved one step closer to my goal (which is to get published, by the way, if you weren't aware). I'm absolutely on cloud nine. I don't recall visiting clouds one through eight, but nine feels very fine. I think I'll stay a while.
October Greetings
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Things are mellow here in my world. Almost a month has passed since I've heard from one of the six publishers reading different manuscript proposals of mine. But then, I haven't waited for anything longer than four months, and four months in the writer's waiting world isn't so awfully long. I'd like to think all those wonderful editors who haven't contacted me yet are simply caught in a swoon after reading my amazing stories (LoL! Even I can't keep a straight face while saying that).
I'm not getting any younger though as I twiddle my thumbs. In fact, I'll be a year older this Saturday. I'm going to attend a wedding to celebrate. Yes, it's a sneaky way to get some cake on my birthday but, hey, whatever works.
On house and health issues, I'm feeling pretty good lately. Of course, I'm swallowing ten pills a day, so who wouldn't feel good at this point? I have an appointment with my endocrinologist at the end of the month and might narrow my medicine down to two pills day if I'm lucky.
My house's wall should have some mud and tape on the sheet rock sometime this week. Painting is the next step I get to pursue and man do I have some wild colors picked out. I'm thinking purple and gold walls for my grape kitchen, blinding yellow for the rubber ducky bathroom, forest green for my husband's den, two tones of blue with wallpaper border separating them for the master bedroom and grey with purple flicked on the walls for my library. I can't remember what color the living room will be. I think it's a light greenish brown. This whole picking-out-my-own-house-details is starting to turn exciting.
You should've seen me in the appliance store. I had to have one of those French-door refrigerators with the freezer on the bottom and a flat top stove... and a dishwasher. Praise the Lord, I'm going to have a dishwasher now. My husband will no longer be able to tease, "Yeah, I have a dishwasher. Her name's Linda." Life is beginning to look up. Except... now I have to actually pay for this stuff. Yikes.
I'm not getting any younger though as I twiddle my thumbs. In fact, I'll be a year older this Saturday. I'm going to attend a wedding to celebrate. Yes, it's a sneaky way to get some cake on my birthday but, hey, whatever works.
On house and health issues, I'm feeling pretty good lately. Of course, I'm swallowing ten pills a day, so who wouldn't feel good at this point? I have an appointment with my endocrinologist at the end of the month and might narrow my medicine down to two pills day if I'm lucky.
My house's wall should have some mud and tape on the sheet rock sometime this week. Painting is the next step I get to pursue and man do I have some wild colors picked out. I'm thinking purple and gold walls for my grape kitchen, blinding yellow for the rubber ducky bathroom, forest green for my husband's den, two tones of blue with wallpaper border separating them for the master bedroom and grey with purple flicked on the walls for my library. I can't remember what color the living room will be. I think it's a light greenish brown. This whole picking-out-my-own-house-details is starting to turn exciting.
You should've seen me in the appliance store. I had to have one of those French-door refrigerators with the freezer on the bottom and a flat top stove... and a dishwasher. Praise the Lord, I'm going to have a dishwasher now. My husband will no longer be able to tease, "Yeah, I have a dishwasher. Her name's Linda." Life is beginning to look up. Except... now I have to actually pay for this stuff. Yikes.
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