Sleep is overrated

1. So I finished the revisions, sent them off around 2AM, and collapsed in bed. Except sleep wouldn't come. Sometime after 4, I fell asleep.

2. Got up to have lunch with a friend (though it was really breakfast for me). Spicy beef salad, yum.

3. Came home to answer Interview questions sent by my editor for UK M&B magazine.

4. Hope I don't sound like an idiot since I'm a bit sleep deprived.

5. Uh, one of these questions is suspiciously like having to write a synopsis. I'll do it anyway.

6. Proposal needs to be finished. What is the hero's deep, driving problem? I don't know yet!

7. Lunch with writer friends is fun. Especially when we get into a discussion about the words we can use to describe certain, ahem, things.

8. I hate euphemism after a while.

9. Looking forward to the weekend. Mother cooking dinner for us. This is always nice.

10. Soon, it'll be time for yard work again. I don't look forward to that. *sigh*

11. I LOVE my job. Even if I'm sleep deprived from time to time.

What's on your mind?

Book music

I'm hitting the video heavy on the blog lately since I'm finishing revisions. :) No time for much else!

But I think I've mentioned that I always listen to specific music for different books. I don't necessarily pick it; it picks me. And I've discovered that the next book is an Amy Winehouse book. Don't know why, but that's the music that moves me most when I'm working on it.

I hope I can write with half as much emotion as she conveys in this version of Love is a Losing Game. What do you think? Is she talented or what? I hope she gets it together. It's a shame to see someone squander such immense gifts with self-destructive behavior.

Do you have favorite writing music? Or, if you can't write with music playing, do you have something you like to listen to before or after writing in order to get you in the right frame of mind?

Oops

It's no longer Friday, is it? Lots of busyness here, including some revisions and a new proposal.

How did you like the Oscars? Wasn't Hugh just to die for? Oh that man is gorgeous! And he can sing and dance. Gracious. I haven't watched the Oscars in years -- but, well, it was Hugh. And he didn't disappoint.

Here's Hugh preparing for the big night. OMG, look at those ARMS! Big, big sigh. :)

Friday randomness

So I finally aggregated all my blogs to Google Reader. I like it, but it actually takes me more time to read than less, I think, because instead of needing to remember a link, it's there. *sigh*

Anyway, I was reading a post about how to blog. Yeah, I've been doing this for 4 years now and apparently still don't know how to do it. This dude says to blog list style. 'Kay.

1. I like lists. It's easy to remember and more effective to get information in bites, I think.

2. Two weeks with iPhone. LOVE it.

3. The App Store really makes something cool into something super functional.

4. I have a Facebook app. MySpace. Twitter.

5. Shazam will help you figure out the name of a song simply from hearing a snippet.

6. Bejeweled 2 rocks. There's even a wormhole.

7. The Dinner Spinner is amazing. How did I live without this cool app? If I'm standing in the grocery store, I can pick a food item, whether I want a main, side, or appetizer, and how long I want to spend prepping. A list of recipes crops up. I can choose one and shop for the ingredients. How, I say again, did I live without this?

8. Let's not forget Stanza, the e-book reader. So far, I've read some Emily Dickinson, T.S. Eliot, and a couple of Wodehouse short stories. And I have my free Harlequin downloads on there ready to go. You can even get War and Peace for heaven's sake! I simply cannot imagine reading W&P on my phone, though.

9. I also have a Bible app that will allow me to read any version I want. I choose KJV because I'm fussy that way. (Hel-loooo, language of Shakespeare. English major.)

10. Going to see Spamalot this weekend with friends. Richard Chamberlain is in it. I remember sighing over him as Father Ralph in The Thornbirds eons ago. Who knew he was gay back then, hmm?

11. I wanted to write a Thornbirds-like saga when I was young and impressionable and reading all about Father Ralph and Meggie.

12. I doubt I could even read the book again these days, though I read it two or three times in the 80s. Too long for my life now.

13. What happened to all those family sagas anyway? You never see them published anymore. Think it's because of all the quick things we have in our lives? Internet, television, cell phones, etc. Information happens fast and furious now. Thirty years ago, not so much.

14. That's enough randomness for one day.

What do you think? About sagas, lists, Spamalot, or iPhones? Or whatever?

Oooh, a book contract I didn't know about!

Do you Google yourself? I do. I never know what I'll find. I have Google alerts, but they don't always work quite as thoroughly as a search will.

Imagine my surprise to find myself listed as a Simon and Schuster author! And I do mean ME, not the other Lynn Harrises out there. The page is cached, of course, because someone realized the mistake. But look at this link.

(My name was linked too, but that is long gone, sigh. Wish I knew what they'd attributed to me.)

Seriously, dear, dear Simon and Schuster, if you would like me to write a book or two (or three or four) for you, I'd be happy to entertain the idea! And then you could put the link back. Pretty please? ;-)

If you Google yourself, what's the oddest or most surprising thing you've ever found?

Procrastination much?

Then you MUST read this post. It's like he's talking to me.....

Nothing to say, friends. Busy writing new book, waiting to hear on Book 2, worrying about taxes and housecleaning. You know, all that glamorous stuff romance authors do. :)

Fun Heroines

Last night, I wanted to watch Romancing the Stone. I haven't seen it in years, so I was good and ready to watch it again. Plus, the hubby has a movie screen and I'd never seen RTS at the movies.

OMG, was it fun. And I realized something while watching it, something that's obvious but that I'd forgotten because I hadn't seen it in so long. The heroines save themselves. First, when Joan Wilder is typing her masterpiece in the beginning, her heroine knifes the bad guy before the hero ever shows up.

And then, though Jack saves Joan from Zolo when they first meet, Joan is quite capable of saving herself and does so in the movie's climactic scene when Zolo is trying to kill her. RTS was released in 1984, so kick ass heroines aren't just a current fad.

Seems as if Hollywood is planning a remake, too. It has the potential to be good -- but only if they don't go crazy with the special effects and spend too much time concentrating on those to the detriment of characterization.

Here's the original movie trailer. If you're a fan, what's your favorite scene? (I'm torn between her finishing the book in the beginning and "Joan Wilder? The Joan Wilder? I read your books!") If you've never seen it, what are you waiting for? :)

Retro Friday

Remember this guy? I'm admitting my age here, but I remember him on General Hospital (Dr. Noah Drake). And I saw him in concert. Yeah, I really did.

I still enjoy the song, though I'm thinking that Jessie's girl isn't all that hot after all. Rick could do better. :)

I didn't have MTV when it premiered (1981 for you youngsters), but I got it a couple of years later when my family moved to town. My brother and I would stay up all night watching videos. There were so many cheesy ones, now that I think back on it, but you know I didn't think so then. They were mini-stories, and I just ate them up.

What songs do you remember from your teenage years? Any favorite videos you can remember?

High Concept

Want to know what high concept is? Then read this post by agent Holly Root at Waxman Literary. I rather liked it. Now if only I could think of one.

I still haven't read Twilight (will eventually) but I started Charlaine Harris's Dead Until Dark (pub 2001) and there it was -- a glowing vampire. Apparently, glowing vampires didn't start with Meyers. It takes more than a glowing vampire to make a high concept, of course, and Meyers managed it. I think, from the periphery, that Twilight is Wuthering Heights with vampires directed at teens. Will have to read to know for sure, of course.

What do you think about high concept? Does it come easy to you? Make sense? I'm still mulling it.

The Big M

I don't usually talk about books much here but I just read one that irritated me so bad I had to rant about it. I thought the Big M was history. What's the Big M?

The Big Misunderstanding

Characters are kept apart by something that could be resolved with a conversation. Kept apart for a brief while over such a thing isn't unbelievable -- not all of us suddenly jump up and demand to know the truth. We might labor under a delusion for a little while because we're still trying to figure it out in our heads and making sure we aren't jumping to the wrong conclusions.

But a misunderstanding that goes on for an entire book? Something that could have been solved with a conversation instead of the pages and pages of angsting over the past? I was seriously surprised at this book.

And I wonder if maybe I just didn't get it, if the fault is with me as a reader because the Big M didn't work for me or I wasn't able to see how deeply this misunderstanding would affect the characters' ability to discuss the truth. I'm just not sure.

I must say, however, that I've read other books by this author that were just fab, so I'm not put off entirely. I was just a little disappointed in this one.

I'm pretty positive I'm going to write things that don't resonate with all readers. Of course that bothers me because I am a perfectionist. Realistically, I know there will be those who dislike my work. I don't look forward to that, but I know it's going to happen.

What do you do when a book fails to meet expectations? Do you write the author off? Do you give him or her another try? What plots drive you crazy?

Yea or nay?

So the Kindle 2.0 is a reality now. And I want one. Why, I ask myself? I love real books. The size, feel, smell, etc. But, as I look at my groaning shelves, the neverending supply train of books that pours into my house on a regular basis -- I'm wondering if the Kindle isn't the way to go for me. I could still buy my keepers in paperback. But, oh, to have that Whispernet technology! (Can you say a spending nightmare waiting to happen?) To have instant access to a huge library of books that I can read the instant I want to read them. Oh, it is to dream.

It's taken me a long time to get on the e-reader bandwagon. Because, quite frankly, the books once offered in e-format weren't what I wanted to read. Now that the major publishers have jumped on the bandwagon, I'm so there.

But, I am also aware that I'm a gadget junkie. Do I want this thing because it's sexy and looks awesome? Will it be yet another gadget I could have done without? (Yes, I speak to you T-Mobile Dash and you Alphasmart Neo -- love Neo, but don't use as often as I thought I would since I no longer have a need to write on the beach.) I just don't know.

And, since I just got the iPhone (love it!), I'm out of gadget buying points for a while. I have to wait until at least my birthday, and maybe even Christmas (sigh). Though, I must admit, my hubby pretty much lets me have whatever my heart desires -- so if I were to say I really, really, really wanted it, he would tell me to get it. Oh the temptation to abuse my power!

But, I will be good. For as long as possible. What do you think of e-readers? Do you covet the Kindle like I do? Have one already? Love it or hate it? Can't ever imagine reading anything besides a paper and ink book?

PS: Had an interview yesterday in the Decatur Daily and will post a link just as soon as one is available. Unfortunately, the Daily won't let you view their articles online unless you are a subscriber. So I must wait for it to appear elsewhere....

New toys

The hubby and I couldn't wait two more weeks (the date our current mobile phone contract ends). We decided to go ahead and get our iPhones. This means we have new phone numbers, but we discussed it back and forth and agreed that it wasn't much of a hassle to let everyone know the new numbers. Plus our old numbers were from a town we don't live in -- and some of the wrong calls were getting irritating (bill collectors, principals discussing naughty children, etc). Neither of us uses our cell phones exclusively, or talk a lot, so the handful of people we had to inform wasn't really a big deal.

And, oh wow, I can't believe I had to wait this long to get my iPhone. To say I love it would be a massive understatement. The App Store (on iTunes) is incredible. I'm such a geek I've downloaded my very own copy of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence. Want to know what the 13th amendment says? I can whip that baby out in no time and tell you. Both these apps are free. In fact, all the apps I've downloaded are free with the exception of one. I bought (for about $5) an expense application that will allow me to track expenses at the time they occur and take a picture of the receipt to store with it. This should help me organize the actual receipts and expenses at home. (Believe me, I need this kind of thing because I'm not too organized. I stuff the receipts in a box.)

But one of the coolest things I downloaded was an app called Stanza. It's an e-reader. Now, I'm not going to be reading books on my iPhone a lot -- but when stuck in lines, or waiting rooms, or airports, it could come in handy. And Harlequin is currently giving away 16 e-books. They've also formatted them for Stanza. I clicked on the handy bookstore link in Stanza and it took me to a list of choices. I went to Harlequin and within moments had books on my phone. Too cool.

You can also download anything on Project Gutenberg. If you want to pay, you could read Twilight or countless other books on your phone. (I'm thinking I'm not going to pay for books that way. I'll save that for the other toy I covet: the Kindle, about which there should be a major announcement today by Jeff Bezos and crew).

The other app I love is Pandora. Streaming radio on my phone? Oh heck yes. I have NYT headlines, a movie app that lets me know what's currently showing in my area, the times, theaters, and trailers if I want to watch them. I have the Weather Channel; Facebook; Twitter. And yes, even the I Can Haz Cheezburger site, which is how I saw the cute reading kitty.

There are so many things I still need to learn, I'm sure, but I love this phone and all these cool things that go with it. I am such a geek. And it's all my husband's fault! I'd probably be clueless about techno gadgets if he hadn't started wrapping me in his evil web years ago. Now, I'm almost as bad as he is.

Would you read books on your phone if you could? Do you like gadgets? Want a Kindle? (And I still do love real books, btw. Just think it would be neat to have a way to store a lot more books than my shelves will hold.)

Saturday Special

This post should be required reading for any and everyone setting out to write a novel for the first time. It WILL get better. But first, the long and winding road. Embrace it, live it, emerge a new writer.

Miscellany

My author page is up at Mills & Boon. You can also click on biography and interview links once there.

As for my reprieve -- it lasted a day. New proposal to finish for (hopefully) the next book...

And because you can NEVER have enough Hugh:

Happy Friday!!

Reprieve

But who knows for how long? Book 2 is sitting in my editor's inbox. So I get to breathe for a few days -- until I get back the revisions. *sigh* After my last book, I'm trying to prepare myself.

So what does a neurotic writer do with herself in the days between shipping off the book and waiting to hear back? She might catch up on household tasks. Might consider going grocery shopping and adding variety to the diet -- chicken, chicken, and chicken gets a little tiring night after night.

She might read. She might start working on the next book because she hopes they will want another one. She might go shoe shopping. She might watch a movie or catch up on the hours and hours of DVR programs she has.

Truthfully, I feel like someone who has been going 100 miles an hour and suddenly comes to a full stop. I still feel the motion and still feel like I need to be moving. So, who knows what I'll do? I sure don't.

Except for lucky lunch. That's a must. What do you do when you finish a project?

Inspiration

You still have time to guess the desks! And no one popped up with names for an Italian hero, so I'm still thinking about that. How about some eye candy for inspiration? He could be a prince, don't you think? Works for me. DEFINITELY works for me....


Feeling inspired? Or just a bit warm? ;-)

Guess the desk, name the hero!

Can you guess which desk belongs to which author? Come on over to eHarlequin and give it a try: http://community.eharlequin.com/forums/cafe-social/whos-desk-belongs

My desk is on there, along with the desks of Kate Walker, Holly Jacobs, Carly Phillips and Maria V. Snyder -- just to name a few.

There are prizes!

Also, I finally typed The End! Except it's not done yet, of course. :) But I'm always happy when I write the story to the finish. Makes it easier to go back and see what I need to revise to keep the story arcing. So, today, I'll be doing a reread and hoping I didn't take a detour somewhere along the way.

But you know, for just a little bit there, I felt like Joan Wilder. I love that scene at the beginning of Romancing the Stone when she's crying and typing and then she can't find tissue. Love the celebration with the cat. I tried to find that clip on You Tube -- but they don't have it. I think some techno geeky person needs to upload it! That is the best romance writer movie ever. :)

Oh, provided my editor lets me get away with it, there'll be another Italian hero in the next book I write. And while I have a heroine already, I don't have him. I know who he is, but I don't have a name. Suggestions?