Well, it’s that time of year again — time to enter the Golden Heart. There’s still some hope that I’ll sell before the deadline, but I’m going to go ahead and make plans to enter a couple of manuscripts, one in young adult and one in romantic suspense. The ones that have finaled in the past have been retired. Dangerous Kisses won in 2004, and Firefly Run has had three chances, finaling twice, so it’s time to put that manuscript to bed. So, it’s a little scary to go be going into the GH with two manuscripts that have never been entered. All of my finals have been from two manuscripts. And with the RWA conference being so much closer to where I live next year, it’d be cool to final again. I hope that doesn’t sound greedy, but I’ve been in the business so long that I’m hopeful that consistent GH finals will help say to editors that I’m consistent and the quality of my work is consistent. Plus, it’s just plain fun to final. You get to meet and bond with fellow finalists, you get to play dress-up like you were going to the Oscars on GH/RITA awards night, and it’s a great confidence booster. And in a business so filled with rejection and “not quite rights”, we all know how important confidence boosters can be.

So, anyone else out there entering the Golden Heart or RITA? If so, in what category or categories? And GOOD LUCK!

It’s only two days until Serenity opens in theaters, so last night I watched a short behind-the-scenes-of-the-movie program on Sci Fi. During one of the interview segments with creator Joss Whedon, he said something that I’m adopting as my vision for my writing:

“That’s why I do this — not to make things people like, but things people love.”

Why is such a simple thought such a lightbulb moment? It’s not like I’ve been trying to write sub-par material that nobody wants to read. But my brain is wired to produce material quickly, and perhaps I need to slow down, dig deeper. I don’t think I’m ever going to be one of those people who spends an entire year on one project, but there’s a happy medium and I have to find it. I’m going to print out Joss’s quote and put it on my computer monitor where I will see it every time I sit down to work.

What have been some of your lightbulb moments?

While I’m still mulling how to revise my rejected Bombshell into something that will work for single title, I’m going to be starting a new women’s fiction book. I’ve had this story, in one form or another, floating around in my head for a long time. But as I get ready to put words on screen, I’m faced with that common worry — can I get the story that’s in my head onto paper (or the computer screen) without it losing anything in transit? Have you ever felt that way? Have you ever mulled a story for a long time and have it be crystal clear in your head, but when you starting typing it just loses the spark? Why the heck does that happen? Do you think it’s because the story in our head is very visual, like a movie, and it’s not necessary to describe things and people and actions because we see it whereas we have to find the right words to convey those images on paper?

It’s beginning to feel a little more like fall here. All last week, it was in the 90s. When I’d work in the yard, weeding the infernal flowerbeds, I had sweat dripping off me. But yesterday was cloudy and really breezy as the remnants of Hurricane Rita came through. Before it started raining, I spent an hour and a half mulching said flowerbeds. Still have a bunch to do, but at least the front part looks better. The forecast is calling for a cool-off later in the week that has the lows at night dipping into the 40s. Okay, now that’s way too cool for me. I’m more of a 60s at night kind of gal. Oh well, better arm myself with fleece and prepare for cooler (and even colder) weather.

So, two nights ago was the second episode of Survivor: Guatemala. Am I the only one who was confused at tribal council. To me, the weakest person during that episode’s challenges was Rafe. I like the guy fine, but he totally blue it on the rope challenge. And yet his name didn’t even come up in the discussions of who to vote out. It might have during conversations they didn’t air, but I was just confused by why it came down to Morgan and Lydia. Morgan did well in the challenges if perhaps she’s a bit lazy around camp. And Lydia is a hard worker.

Last night was the season finale for two shows I enjoy on Sci Fi — Stargate Atlantis and Battlestar Galactica. Enjoyed them both, but wow, what an ending to Battlestar. I never though I’d say I was looking forward to January (some of you know how much I really dislike winter), but that’s when the new season of Battlestar begins. I want to know what happens! And I want to know more about the admiral on board the Battle Pegasus that just showed up out of the blue. Is she what she seems or is more going on with her and her crew? I really think this is a good show.

Below: Jamie Bamber as Apollo and Katie Sackhoff as Starbuck.

Writing progress: I wrote my travel article for the November update to the Wet Noodle Posse e-zine last night, and today I wrote an article for another organization to which I below. I’m getting ready to send out some queries to try to drum up some more freelance writing and editing business.

Oops, forgot to post yesterday.

If you’ve been reading this blog, you’ve read my lament about my revised Bombshell manuscript being rejected. I’ve moped, I’ve wondered, I’ve…well, I’ve thought about it a lot. The new plan is to turn it into a “bigger” book and try the single title market rather than the category market. Now, by bigger I don’t just mean page length. It needs sub-plots, more sexual tension, deeper characterization, perhaps more complex or unexpected language. But after 10 years of writing and trying to sell to the category market, this is going to be a challenge. I’m reading Donald Maass’s Writing the Breakout Novel and will be reading some bigger, romantic suspense novels to get myself in the right mindset before sitting down with my manuscript and digging in.

So, I’m curious, what are some of the best single title romantic suspense manuscripts you’ve read, preferably ones with great sexual tension?

I’m also still working on ideas for my new women’s fiction book. I have a master document into which I’m typing every snippet of character or plot I come up with. I may continue to work on this alongside the romantic suspense revisions — just to keep things interesting and keep myself from burning out on day after day of revisions.

I had been looking forward to tonight’s season premiere of LOST since last season ended, but as I flipped channels prior to it coming on, I found MSNBC’s coverage of a JetBlue plane with a damaged nosegear flying around the California sky to burn off fuel before making an emergency landing. It’s no secret that I don’t fly because it scares the bejeebers out of me. I couldn’t imagine what stress the passengers were experiencing as they flew around for 3 hours, likely wondering if they were going to crash when they landed. I found myself praying for them as I watched the plane come in on final approach to LAX. I held my breath as the plane touched down, kept my eyes on the nosegear, praying it wouldn’t buckle. It caught on fire, and the tires gradually disintengrated. But then the plane stopped, no crash. I let out my breath and clapped. What an amazing job by the pilots.

I finished watching the episode of LOST and was so wrapped up in what was down the hatch that I didn’t realize we hadn’t seen the guys who’d tried to flee the island on the raft during the entire episode. Arrgghh! I want to know what happened to them. And what was the weirdness with Walt!?

So when LOST was over, I decided to watch the premiere of the new show Invasion. And what does it open with? A big ole hurricane. Prior to the show’s beginning, they put up a message warning viewers that some of the scenes might be upsetting in light of Hurricane Katrina’s recent devastation. It was another one of those eerie coincidences that this show was scheduled to premiere so soon after Katrina and as another Category 5 storm, Hurricane Rita, churns in the Gulf of Mexico. For those of you who might be in Rita’s path, I wish you well. Invasion — it struck me as LOST meets the X-Files, so I’ll at least tune in next week to see what happens.

So, did anyone else watch LOST and/or Invasion? What did you think?

Today’s writing progress: Did some more plotting and character work on my new women’s fiction idea. I plan to continue doing that for the remainder of the week. The two main women in the story and the heroine’s dad now have names and some basic stats, and I’ve got a few scenes outlined for the beginning of the novel and some other scattered thoughts typed into a master planning document. Maybe I’ll shoot for writing the first few pages next Monday.

Picture two story ideas dressed up as little gladiators going at it in my head. That describes my day yesterday. I’m trying to decide which new project to start working on — either a romantic suspsense or a women’s fiction novel. I’d start leaning one direction but then think maybe the other was better. I think I’ve decided to work on both, do a partial for both, send them both to my agent and see what she thinks.

And I’m suffering that feeling I do before every book, the “oh, I’m never going to have enough material to make this idea into a WHOLE book!” feeling. Oh well, I need to just start and see how it goes.

So, it’s off to critique group, then I’ll come back and get started on some plotting/characterization for the two stories.

Days until the premiere of the second season of LOST = 1!

Yay! LOST won the Emmy for Best Drama Series tonight. And it premieres for its second season in three days. Yippie!

You know, since being a Golden Heart finalist and winner, all these awards shows remind me of the GH/RITA ceremony at the National Conference each year. I know what those nerves feel like, what the disappointment feels like and what the elation of winning feels like. And how cool it is to really dress up in the finery for that one special night. The GH/RITA doesn’t get shown on television, but it’s still a very exciting experience for those of us in the romance-writing industry.

So, who do you think had the prettiest dress tonight? I liked Eva Langoria’s and Sela Ward’s.

I came across this while fiddling around on the Internet. It’s hiliarious. Be sure to look at the Princess Leia costume below it. I about fell out of my chair.

I very nearly skipped my RWA chapter meeting today since I woke up about 45 minutes before it started. But I’ve been such a slug this week, I dragged myself there and had a good time hanging out and talking writing. The big plan is to get back to work on Monday, so one more day to work on other stuff before then.

It’s funny how things come into our lives right when we need them. After my rejection on Monday, I vegged out by watching three days of Firefly episodes to take my mind off the Big R. But you know what, I got more out of those TV sessions than some fun stories. It was inspiring to see such good writing, witty dialogue, interesting characters. And to hear how even Joss Whedon, who had already had the success of Buffy and Angel to his credit, struggled to get this project off the ground, how hard it was for him to convince others to believe in his story as much as he did. That’s how I feel about my manuscript that was rejected Monday. I feel it’s a good story. My agent loves it. My friend Mary is its official cheerleader. I really hope it finds another home.

Mary posted this link on her blog sometime back, and it’s even funnier now that I’ve watched all those Firefly episodes this week. I’ve printed out this poster and put it up in my office for inspiration. If I look up at it, hopefully I’ll remember how Joss Whedon struggled to see his dream become reality and how well it was received when it did. I think at some later point, I’ll rewatch all those Firefly episodes just to write down all the great quits and lines. And now for a small preview of Serenity, due in theaters Sept. 30:

Wash: This is going to get interesting.
Mal: Define interesting.
Wash: Oh God, Oh God, we’re all gonna die.

Watch the online trailer to get the full effect.

Today: Finished reading some material for aforementioned Mary and am typing in my comments. This woman can write some heroes! (Trish fans self)