I’ve crossed the halfway mark on the revisions. Let the roll continue. My back hurts, my neck hurts, I need a really good massage <G> and I’m so hoping my new editor (whomever she may be) will love the story as much as I do.

There’s a certain “Ick Factor” to my story that has to be addressed. The book is ANOTHER MAN’S BABY and my heroine is pregnant. Not a little bump on a log pregnant, but PREGNANT. And just to clarify just in case anyone can’t tell from the title, the hero isn’t the father. So, how exactly does one go about creating tension (especially sexual tension) with a very pregnant woman?

Exactly.

I remember being pregnant. I remember the cramps, the backaches, the sleepless nights, the mood swings and tears. Terrible nightmares about not doing something right. The baby books say all of this is the norm. that it’s ‘preparation’ for the mother and the result of her raging hormones. Toss a heroine in who’s alone because the dad is a scumball who didn’t want his baby or her, and, well, my heroine is handling things well all things considered.

But, back to the tension… obviously the h/h don’t let things progress too far given her cirumstances and the I.F. but there has to be interest, right? Looks, touches. Little things that mean a lot and that also lead to the reader wanting my h/h to fall in love when there are a lot of obstacles in their way. If you have any suggestions, I’d love to hear them. I *think* have a good handle on things, but if you’ve been in my heroine’s shoes and think of something your significant other did to flirt/tease/help etc while you were big as a house pregnant, I’d love to hear it. Don’t leave me hanging here!

 Kay

I posted a few days ago about my revisions. Today I realized they’re not going to be as extensive as I’d thought. Why? Because I discovered today that it’s all in the attitude. Not my attitude (though that certainly needs to be in the right place as well), but in the attitude of my characters. The tone, their body language, the tension between them. Nothing new, right? Right. But once I got into the story I realized while I’d touched those aspects, I hadn’t developed them to their full potential. I hadn’t given my characters enough attitude and zest, enough individuality and awareness of each other, all of which lead to more conflict, more emotion, more everything.

 So—I’m working on that. And yay! The revisions are coming along. The new direction wound up being a crook in the road. I have a lot of work ahead of me but I’m loving this story. LOVING the hero (oh, yum!) and genuinely feeling myself fall in love with my characters—in their attitude for life, love and simple pleasures. In the troubles they face as they try to find their way to each other.

Some days…  it just pays to remember the basics. LOL

 Kay

My editor and I are looking at the ms I just turned in and decided that maybe we need to take the story in a slightly different direction. I know a lot of authors, some personally, who’d be greatly, no, *spastically* upset at the thought of having to change aspects of their story, but me?

Believe it or not, I’m not. 

Do I want to go back and rewrite a large portion of the story? Yes. Because after reading her notes, I know what’s wrong with it. I *want* the story to be the best it can be, and since I trust my editor and her well informed, objective opinion, I think it’s a good thing to be so open about what she thinks needs fixed. It’s exactly what I needed, not a bad thing. Who wants to put a bad book or a work that’s not quite there– out there? NOT me.

And besides, to be honest, she caught the very thing that I’d complained about to writing friends (shhh… don’t tell her that ) You see when I was writing it, I emailed buddies and told them that the energy and fun wasn’t there but that I wasn’t sure what the problem was. Didn’t have a clue. It was just… different than the stories I’ve written in the past. I kept writing, made the story the absolute best I could for the time and prayed it was my imagination that said the story lacked that… spark. Obviously that wasn’t the case because my editor’s revision notes hit the nail on the head. It *did* lack a certain magic, but with her suggestions and a fresh take on the story, I’m hoping to make it sparkle and shine like a fourth of July firework.

So many authors have a “I’m the writer, I’m not changing a word” mentality and refuse to alter their books or, in some cases, allow their books to be edited. If they’re a really, REALLY good author, maybe they can get by with doing that. But I’ve also read quite a few HUGE authors who, to be perfectly honest, could’ve used a heavier editing hand. I’ve actually felt like red-lining the books myself. LOL

So, is revising or finding a new road to travel when writing a bad thing? No. Absolutely not. I’m excited again. Scene changes are running through my head, my characters are speaking to me and circling each other with all the interest and attraction they should feel and we’re all anxious to get started. It’s like beginning a whole new story (but without *all* the work that goes into starting from scratch ) and meeting up with friends except this time, I have better ideas on where to take them. If only we all had editors sitting on our shoulders whispering into our ears about what to do, eh? Maybe then we’d get it right the first time around?

Hmmmm…. cloning editors is something to consider. <G>

Kay – going under to get some writing done

I’m so sorry! I said I’d blog and then dropped the ball and didn’t make it here nearly enough. All I can say is— I’m exhausted. LOL No, I didn’t bring home the RITA, but I’m thrilled the golden girl went to Superromance author Lori Handeland for The Mommy Quest. What a great book! Congrats to Lori and to Johanna for the fabulous read. And thanks to everyone who stopped by or emailed their congrats for being a finalist and/or commiserations on not bringing home the RITA. I feel so very honored (don’t roll your eyes, I’m serious!), not only to be a Harlequin Superromance author but to have wonderful readers and friends like you. Thank you! 

As to details about my trip… Oh, where to begin??? Workshops were hit and miss with me as I had to duck in and out because of appointments, but I did attend the entire workshop of Michael Hauge and it was fabulous! Just what I needed as I’m preparing to receive revisions and beginning a new book in my Tulanes of Tennessee series. Another goodie was SEP and JAK’s Secrets of the Bestselling Sisterhood (I think that was the title). So good! Those two could make it as stand up comedians. LOL

Wednesday night at the end of the signing I was thrilled to briefly speak with SEP (Susan Elizabeth Phillips) in person. I’ve been slowly making my way through her backlist and loving every word. I even managed to snag a picture.

 Friday night’s dinner with the other Superromance RITA nominees and our editors was so much fun. And wonderful food! Afterward we went to the Harlequin party and danced the night away. LOL I have pictures of that, too. Hopefully Justin will be able to get my photos page up and running and I can post them soon. All I can say is that the Superromance girls are a great bunch of people—and dancers!

Saturday was the RITA rehearsal where we had to climb the stairs, cross the stage and say our names into the microphone so we’d have a feel for the evening if our name was called. Just doing that made me so nervous I felt ill. I’m soooo not a front and center kind of gal. I love to dress up (I only get to do this at national—small towns aren’t exactly gala heavy ), love to see my wonderful writer friends and dance the night away (in a darkened room LOL), but Saturday night was sooo nerve wracking that when the Long Contemporary category was announced, my heart was beating so fast I was dizzy and nauseous. LOL Good thing I never tried my hand at acting or anything that put me on stage, huh? I’m so glad a Super won, though. We had a GREAT showing and four of the eight finalists were Superromance. If you haven’t read a Super, they are fabulous stories (if I say so myself) that haven’t received the recognition they deserve. Yay, Lori and Johanna and yay, Supers!!! I was so impressed, too. Both ladies professed to be nervous but you couldn’t tell by listening to them. No stuttering or fainting—or falling down the stairs! (Johanna was worried after breaking her ankle in January–steps were definitely an issue.) Afterward Lori let all of us hold her RITA for future luck (It was heavy!) and we celebrated her achievement at the after party. I’d never met Lori or Margaret (Watson) and both women were so kind. As a new author it’s hard not to feel out of my element (and the small town girl) but both were beautiful women inside and out and made me feel very welcome.  Margaret, Terry McLaughlin and I sat together at the rehearsal and chatted about uncomfortable shoes, dresses, etc and Terry, I LOVED your sparkly shoes. You did good!

Congrats to fellow OVRWA’er Jennifer Stark brought home the Golden Heart for her paranormal romance, Black Jack— YAY, JENN!!! Talk about poised! Jenn made a wonderful thank you speech in her *gorgeous* blue gown. Beautiful! Fingers crossed she gets the call soon.

OH! Did I mention the ants??? On Monday when we arrived my roommate and I found a few ants in our room. We called housekeeping and they came and swept them up. No problem. We didn’t see any more. But on Wednesday we discovered our floor *crawling* with ants. Seriously. It was disgusting! The hotel staff was great and we quickly packed up and moved to another room. I did hear other stories about roaches and mice in public areas though. (shiver) Ugh! Every hotel and restaurant has them (it’s a given) but I don’t want to *see* them. That I could’ve done without.

Now, I’m home, exhausted and the good Mom for bringing home surprises. And it’s time to get back to work. But, before that— I’m going to bed. LOL Check out the Pink Ladies Blog on Wednesday! I hope to post some of my pictures then!

 Kay

Sorry for not posting yesterday. Time got away from me as it no doubt will today. I met with my editor and had a wonderful meeting, also met up with the Superromance gals for the traditional chocolate party. The OCC sponsored the Book Buyers Best and I was a finalist in the long contemporary category. Unfortunately I didn’t win. However, Superromance’s Brenda Novak was a finalist in the single title category and she took home the prize for that as well as the over all win.

The literacy booksigning was phenomenal last night and I had a steady stream of people coming to see me to say congrats on the RITA nom or else to pick up His Perfect Woman. It was so much fun.

Now I’m waiting to meet with my agent and then it’s back into workshops. Tonight is busy,busy, busy so I probably won’t post for a while.

Kay