I’ve been working all day on finishing the revisions to Chapter 3 of my women’s fiction book and then typing in the copious revisions to the first three chapters. And you want to know what’s cool…I don’t even think about how many hours I put into it. I don’t watch the clock like I’ve done at every job where I had to be in my office during certain hours of the day. I just love the freedom writing at home allows me, even if I end up working way more hours than I did when I had a “day job”. That’s because this is what I want to do for a living. Granted, I’m depending on hubby’s salary and a bit of freelance writing on my part to pay the bills now, but I’m hoping the time I’m spending writing stories will pay off in a great fiction writing career. And I think the big leap into writing full time has paid off in other ways. I have more time to exercise, thus helping me improve my health. I have more time to read, a casualty when you become a writer. Writers start out as devoted readers, but when there are only so many hours in the day, you can either use them to write or read when a job is taking up 8-10 hours of the 24. It’s been great to read books, newspapers, magazines, items that used to stack up until they were in danger of falling over and injuring someone. I just hope that I can start selling books soon so that this life I’m currently enjoying can continue. Otherwise, come this fall you may see me behind the cash register at Target or Barnes & Noble.

Fun for the day: Check out the crazy picture on my buddy Stephanie Rowe’s blog.

Well, Constantine’s decision to take on a Nickelback song came back to bite him as he was voted off American Idol last night. I had a bad feeling when he started that song. Dude, you have to have Chad Kroeger’s voice to carry off that tune. Sigh. Still, I thought Constantine’s legions of female fans would keep him in. I had hoped, once again in vain, that Scott would get voted off. I just don’t get how he garners more votes than Vonzell, who can belt out a song like nobody’s business, and Constantine, who is just darned cute and always entertaining. That’s the thing — Scott’s got an okay voice, but he’s not much of an entertainer. He must have the entire city of Cleveland voting for him, and I can understand the supporting the local hero kind of thing, which I believe helped Eriko Jo win Nashville Start this week. Of course, she’s a little singing dynamo too. I’ll miss seeing Jody Evans perform though. He just seems like such an incredibly nice guy, and he has a unique style that sets him apart. I hope he hits it big.

The week in reality TV will be somewhat redeemed, however, if either Caryn, Katie or Jen is voted off Survivor tonight. I don’t really severely dislike any of them, but I just think Steph rocks and I really like the guys. To me, the three guys and Steph deserve to be there in the final four. But we’ll see what happens. There are always twists and turns in this game.

As for me, I’m still working on revisions to my women’s fiction book. I went to critique group yesterday, and the gals had some great suggestions for strengthening the first three chapters before I send them to my agent. That’s on today’s agenda.

I’ve discovered that NFL Draft Day is a great time to get a lot of work done on my writing because hubby is glued to the TV. Actually, in between doing revisions to the first three chapters and synopsis of my women’s fiction book, I did wander into the den to see who the Titans were selecting with their picks. Last season wasn’t exactly stellar for the Titans, but then it’s hard to win when your entire team is injured.

This morning, I’ve put the finishing touches on my synopsis and sent it and my first three chapters off to my critique partners for a look-see before I send it off to my agent. The plan for the day — get through revisions on at least Ch. 4 and possibly Ch. 5 and clean the rest of the garage. Exciting, no?

I’ve been working on revisions to my women’s fiction book, trying to make it more realistic and three-dimensional. Since some of it takes place in the world of fashion, I’ve also been doing some research in the form of looking through magazines like In Style. I can now spout off some names of big designers — Roberto Cavalli, Versace, Prada, Carolina Herrara, Karl Lagerfeld for Chanel…see, that wasn’t so hard, especially since I only pull out my non-big-designer dress-up clothes pretty much just for writing conferences and funerals. But there are several things that have mystified me during this research:

1. That there’s a magazine out there with more than 400 pages that has a huge percentage of those pages devoted to ads for fragrances, designers, etc. I used to work for a magazine, and it was our goal to have as little ad content as possible and be able to pay the bills.

2. That some of these models have enough energy to stay upright on their torture device high heels. Do these girls eat? I just want to say, “Hello, will you please eat something more than the lettuce leaf that is your daily diet.” They look like a good swift breeze would knock them over.

3. While I think some of the clothes in these magazines are pretty, there are a lot that just make me shake my head and wonder who buys these things. I mean, some of that stuff is just butt ugly, but because it’s got some big designer’s name on it, it’s all the rage.

Well, if I don’t totally understand the world of fashion (the people on What Not to Wear would have a field day with me), I think I have a lot of good fodder for my story, enough to make my designer heroine seem realistic. And that’s really all I was going for. I mean, unless I get a huge book deal soon, I can’t even afford to look at a Prada handbag or daydream about wearing a Vera Wang evening gown (though that would sure be cool for the Golden Heart ceremony).

All weekend, I was wondering what my agent was thinking as she read my three chapters and synopsis for the book I’ve targeted at Harlequin Intrigue. This morning, I found out. She loved it and used copious exclamation points to tell me so. I love this gal! She made my morning, so it was much easier to sit down and start working on revisions to my women’s fiction book. I got through Chapter 1 and took a break to walk on the treadmill, check e-mail, etc. Then I got busy on Chapter 2 until my brain said, “Give me a break, will ya?” So, I put on the gardening gloves and went to weed the flower beds, much to the displeasure of the bumblebees and wasps that are having themselves a grand ol’ time with all that pollen that would be killing me if it were not for the wonders of Allegra and Singulair. And today, it feels like summer outside (sunny and 80 degrees), so maybe I even sweated off a pound. Hey, a gal can hope. Back to Chapter 2…

I admit it. I’m a Survivor junkie. I get really excited when Thursday rolls around. But I was a little nervous last night because Stephanie was the last member of Ulong and had to go it alone. When she got the word that she was going to the Koror tribe, I feared she’d be voted off. And though I know a lot of strategy and sometimes backstabbing goes into this game of survival, I feel Stephanie truly embodies a survivor. She has worked hard and played hard from Day 1, and I really wish she could somehow find a way to win the whole shebang. Wouldn’t that be incredible? I think the final four ought to be Steph, Ian, Tom and Greg. The rest of the women, with the possible exception of Caryn, don’t seem to do a whole lot and have been just coasting along while the men have kept their team from tribal council. And that’s hard for me to say because that attitude and lack of work ethic reflects badly on women. Steph seems to be the only woman who has the right physical and mental combo to tackle everything this game entails.

On to other reality television…Nadia Turner was the victim of consistent bad song choices, not her singing ability, on American Idol. I had hoped to see Scott Savol voted off this week, again not because of his singing ability but because of his attitude. Dude, lighten up and knock that chip off your shoulder! My favorite performance of the week — Constantine doing Bohemian Rhapsody. Awesome!

And I’ve been watching Nashville Star the past few weeks. I like everyone who is left. Jason has that “country as a dirt clog” thing going. Jayron has the best pure singing voice. Jody is just cool with his rockabilly persona. And I hope Erika Jo does well because she’s the last girl left, can sing well, has good stage presentation and because she used to babysit a friend of mine’s kids. And does anyone besides me fine it really humorous that one of the judges is Bret Michaels of Poison? I remember going to a Poison concert and thinking, “These dudes wear more makeup and hairspray than I do!” Ah, the age of the big hair bands — I’m such a child of the ’80s.

Oh, guess I better put something writing related in here…I’m working on Ch. 3 of my newest romantic suspense. I hope to finish it today, then print out the first three chapters and go back over them with a fine-tooth comb tomorrow and begin work on the synopsis for the book.

I had the hubby take nearly a hundred digital pictures of me in the yard last weekend in hopes of getting a decent new picture for the Golden Heart contest this year. I chose one of the final ones he took. Shot from above, it hides my second chin. Hee hee.

I’ve come to the conclusion that each year I get my share of sinus infections plus those of about ten other people. Luckily, when I got my last dose of ickiness the day after my sister and nieces went home, I socked it with Vitamin C, Vicks Vaporub, Halls and extra sleep. And within 36-48 hours, it was mostly beating a hasty retreat. Adios!

I had a good visit with my sister and nieces, but after they left it was back to work for little ol’ writer me. I finished up the second chapter of my Intrigue-targeted book and sent off Chapters 1-2 to my critique partners and my friend Mary to read. I’ll get the critique partners’ verdict later today when we meet, but Mary’s response made my day. She e-mailed back with lots of exclamation points demanding to read more. Uh, sorry, I haven’t written anymore. But I plan to have Chapter 3 and the synopsis done this week so I can get them critiqued and send them off to my agent.

I got a few more things checked off my to-do list for the RWA Conference. I booked my rental car, ordered my travel books from AAA and had the hubby take some photos of me out in the yard. I’d used the same photo for the Golden Heart ceremony the past couple of years, and I wanted something different, something a bit more colorful and casual. Hallelujah, I think we got a decent one.

Daylight Savings Time arrived over the weekend, and it had a little more effect than usual for me. My sister and nieces are visiting, and we were headed to an aquarium in another city that day. Well, first we forgot about the time change for Daylight Savings Time, and then I forgot we would pass into a different time zone before reaching the aquarium. Well, needless to say, we were running two hours behind and didn’t get to see much of the city other than the aquarium. But it was a fun trip. My 8-year-old niece thinks catfish are ugly but loves turtles. We finish the tour and we stroll through the gift shop filled with items sporting seahorses, turtles and fish. What does my niece want? A necklace with hearts, flowers and butterflies. Hee hee. She’s a funny and sweet girl. The other niece (10 months old) just wanted her blankey and binky.

While the sis and nieces are visiting other family members, I’m doing a bit of catchup today with e-mail, this blog, and reading through some comments my agent had on one of my manuscripts. And I plan to write a little more on my newest manuscript as well. Plus, it’s gorgeous outside so I’ll have to get out in the sunshine since they’re predicting rain for the rest of the week.