It’s been a week since the Golden Heart finalist calls went out. Let’s get to know finalist Mary Fechter better.

1) What did you do when you got the news?

I was at school – I was supposed to have a surgery the day before and I had PLANNED to be home recovering (When they rescheduled the surgery, I was like, “Damn, now I have to go to work that day.”). I had my phone in my pocket, ya know, in case. I had told the secretary at school that I MIGHT get a call, so she was supposed to page me. I’d heard the calls would start going out at 8 AM our time. My phone rang while I was collecting homework from my third-graders. I saw the area code on the display and I knew. When she said she was from RWA, I said, “Thank God.” Then, “Which book?”

2) Who was the first person you called/e-mailed/told in person?

I called my dh, who already KNEW, because the lady had called the house first and said she was from RWA. No fun in that. I posted on the eHQ board WHILE I was on the phone, and then e-mailed Trish M, Trish J, Chris and Robyn. My class got the message when I was jumping up and down, knocking over desks, then I hurried across the hall (flew, I think – my feet didn’t touch the floor) and told my best friend Cindi. I called my agent later, and Trish, and I e-mailed my mom.

3) How did your family react?

“AGAIN??? Sheesh.”
“At least we get to go out to eat.”
“Yeah, but it’s FRIDAY. That means FISH.”
“Will you finally SELL a book this time, or do I have to keep saving up for that amplifier?”
“Aren’t those pins getting heavy?”

4) Why did you enter this manuscript?

Because it was finished, and I was doing the scatter-shot method of contesting.

Seriously, I love this book. Love love love it. I was hiding it from people because I didn’t want anyone to tell me it was a mess. I honestly couldn’t take criticism on this book. I finally got brave enough to enter it in a few contests and finaled in 3 out of 4 – AFTER I’d sent it in to the GH. So now I guess that’s 4 out of 5!

5) To what do you owe your success?

Gerard Butler. If the man wasn’t such a pleasure to study, this story wouldn’t be as deep, because I just never wanted to leave this character alone.

Also, good friends whipping me with noodles, hard work, butt in chair, yadda yadda.

6) In addition to practicing your Golden Heart acceptance speech, do you practice accepting any other major awards?

A Grammy. Because all those evenings of singing karaoke have got to pay off, and I’m too old to go on American Idol.

7) In event you win, can we expect an exuberant, life-affirming acceptance speech (a la Roberto Benini’s Life is Beautiful speech), a tearful, endearing acceptance speech (a la Julia Robert’s Erin Brokovich speech) or a boring, politically-motivated speech (a la Micheal Moore accepting anything)?

Well, if you can understand what I’m saying….it will be a sloppy one, probably pretty giggly, because that’s what I do when I’m nervous. Too bad they won’t have closed captioning. And they’ll probably have to drag me off with a hook.

If on Golden Heart night you could wear any Oscar dress that’s been seen on the red carpet, which one would it be?

Ooh, the J-Lo one, down to there. My belly would look GOOOOOD.

Oh, wait, that was the Grammys, wasn’t it?

Renee Zellweger, then, the red one.

9) If you could be escorted by a famous hunk to the Golden Heart award ceremony, who would it be?

Gerry, of course, because I know he’d be very happy for me. (Not that the dh wouldn’t, but ya know…there’s a reason this is on Trish’s blog and not mine!)

Plus…da-yum!

10) Is there a negative side to finaling?

RIGHT! There’s the other book I entered that DIDN’T final….what’s up with that? Adrian was just as sexy as Del.

But the book isn’t out anywhere. My agent had sent Don’t Look Back back for revisions (not enough romance) so I was in the middle of them when she sent more revisions for my previous GH finalist. So now I have two books to revise, ASAP. Pressure? What pressure?

I’ve been busy, busy, busy today mulching the flowerbeds and cleaning house in anticipation of weekend company, so no stunning writing-related posts today. Instead, here’s a clip guaranteed to make you laugh. Thanks to Esri for forwarding me the link. It appears as if it might have been on America’s Funniest Home Videos.

Check back tomorrow for an interview with fellow Golden Heart finalist Mary Fechter. She’ll be running an interview with me on her blog.

A few days ago, my buddy Mary blogged about where she got the ideas for the books she’s written. I thought it was an interesting idea and wondered if I could remember the nugget from which all of my manuscripts had sprung. Well, here goes:

My first manuscript was a historical set along the Oregon Trail. I’d been fascinated with the Oregon Trail since reading the Dana Fuller Ross Wagons West series. A few years ago, I followed portions of the trail (in some spots wagon ruts are still visible) through Wyoming and Nebraska.

The second, third and fourth books were a trilogy set in and around Yellowstone National Park, one of my favorite places. I became interested in the area and the types of stories a writer could set there when my sister worked in the park for a year.

Book 5 came about when I wondered how a woman would reclaim her life after spending several years in prison for a crime she didn’t commit.

Book 6 was born after I visited the beautiful but rugged Texas Hill Country.

For Book 7, I drew on my own fear of flying and an interest in setting a book in an unconventional American setting (North Dakota). It was the first time I’d set a contemporary book in a locale I’d not visited first, but I later did trek across North Dakota to verify my descriptions. Good thing because I found one thing I really needed to change.

Book 8 was crafted from the idea of how a serial killer would “sign” his work. I can’t remember how I got interested in this. Must have been something I saw on TV.

I wrote Book 9 after taking a weekend field class in the Smoky Mountains on synchronous fireflies.

After another trip to Yellowstone, I set Book 10 in nearby Cody, Wyoming, which I’d visited for the first time on this trip.

Book 11 was my first young adult novel, and it grew out of an idea that the heroine would have all these misadventures during the course of the book while trying to win a contest.

Book 12 was the first novel I wrote with a paranormal element. It was one of those “what if” kind of things.

For Book 13, I tried my hand at a women’s fiction novel and the themes of how we hold on to and eventually find the strength to let go of the past. I set this in a beautiful area of Tennessee that I’d visited numerous times for my job.

Book 14, I went back to romantic suspense. The idea for this book (the current Golden Heart finalist, Fanning the Flames) came from a brainstorming idea I had with my agent.

Book 15 was never finished. All I have of it is a partial (3 chapters). It was my first and only attempt at chick lit, and I may go back and revamp it at some point so that it’s less chick litty and more straight romance. I don’t know.

Book 16 was my second young adult (the other current Golden Heart finalist, The Wishing Tree). It came to me as another “what if” question. What if a teenage girl runs away from home and somehow manages to hide and survive on her own until she’s eighteen?

Book 17 (which I just finished the first draft of yesterday — yippie!) is another women’s fiction. It’s one of those combo type stories — a bit of me, a bit of make-believe.

Okay, I’m having deja vu, so if I’ve blogged about this before, please just ignore me.

Your Famous Movie Kiss is from Spiderman

“I have always been standing in your doorway. Isn’t it about time somebody saved your life?”

The members of the Wet Noodle Posse ended up with a fabulous showing on Friday with several finalists in the Golden Heart and RITA contests. Check out this list:

2006 RITA for Best First Book Finalists

Show Her The Money by Stephanie Feagan (0373513542) Silhouette Books - Natashya Wilson, editor

Worth Every Risk by Dianna Love Snell (0-373-27426-2) Silhouette Books - Allison Lyons, editor

2006 RITA for Best Long Contemporary Romance Finalists

Worth Every Risk by Dianna Love Snell (0-373-27426-2) Silhouette Books - Allison Lyons, editor

2006 RITA for Best Regency Romance Finalists

A Reputable Rake by Diane Gaston (0263843912) Harlequin Mills & Boon Limited - Linda Fildew, editor

2006 RITA for Best Traditional Romance Finalists

Smart Boys & Fast Girls by Stephie Davis (843953985) Dorchester Publishing - Kate Seaver, editor

Who Needs Boys? by Stephie Davis (843953977) Dorchester Publishing - Kate Seaver, editor

2006 Golden Heart for Best Contemporary Single Title Romance Manuscript Finalists

Don’t Look Back by Mary Fechter

2006 Golden Heart for Best Paranormal Romance Manuscript Finalists

By the Book by Jennifer Smith

2006 Golden Heart for Best Romantic Suspense Manuscript Finalists

Fanning the Flames by Trish Milburn

2006 Golden Heart for Best Novel With Strong Romantic Elements Manuscript Finalists

Telling Lies by Esri Allbritten

2006 Golden Heart for Best Young Adult Romance Manuscript Finalists

The Wishing Tree by Trish Milburn

While visiting my good friend Anna over the weekend, we did a girls’ night out at the movies. Did we go see a chick flick full of light and fluffy romance or comedy? No, we went to see V for Vendetta. I like action movies, and this movie has plenty of action, but it’s also a very thought-provoking film. It’s one of those movies I want to see again because I think I’ll catch even more of what the filmmakers were trying to get across.

I thought Natalie Portman (Evey) did a great job in this movie as did Hugo Weaving, who played V. What an interesting character–this mixture of hurt and love and vengence and hope.

If you read this blog, you know I’m fond of Chinese films. Here’s a new trailer for another that promises to be stunningly beautiful.

Sorry for the late post, but it’s been a busy day. Drove to Atlanta and got two calls telling me I’d finaled in the Romantic Suspense and Young Adult categories of the Golden Heart! Woohoo!

And I’m so excited that lots of my writing pals also finaled in both the GH and the RITA. Lots of my fellow finalists from previous years and my critique partner, Beth Pattillo, who finaled in the RITA with her fabulous book Heavens to Betsy. The conference is going to be so much fun.

I’m mucho tired, so more blogging after I get back from Atlanta. Thanks for all the responses already made on yesterday’s post.

Golden Heart calls start going out in the morning, so good luck to everyone who entered. I’m looking forward to seeing how many of my friends final in the GH and the RITA. I’ll be on the road while calls are being made, so I’m hoping my cell phone rings with good news and I manage not to drive off the side of the interstate if it does. But I have Diana Gabaldon’s Voyager on tape, so I’ll be engrossed in that and hopefully not chewing off my fingernails waiting for the phone to ring.

I have spent the past three nights reading until 1 a.m. Finished LOVER ETERNAL this morning. Fabulous! Can’t wait until Z’s story comes out in September.

I have been a reader for about as long as I can remember — that’s more than 30 years of reading. Who knows how many books I’ve read during that time. But reading a book that so captivates me that I stay up way past when I should be sleeping or one that lures me to read during the day when I should be working on my own writing is rare enough to merit comment. Most of the time, I can enjoy a book but don’t have a problem setting it aside in order to work. But every time I walked past my nightstand today, it was difficult not to curl up back in bed and start reading J.R. Ward’s LOVER ETERNAL, the second in her Black Dagger Brotherhood series. I felt the same way when I read her DARK LOVER, the first in the series. I love this series. Love it, love it, love it. I can’t wait until LOVER AWAKENED comes out…well, I guess I’ll have to. It’s a September 2006 release. This is almost one of those series I wish I hadn’t discovered until all the books were out so I could read them back to back as fast as I could.

But when I think about the books that have caused me to lose sleep or play hooky from my own work, the reason is always the characters. They’re so real that I believe they actually exist, that I could pass them while walking down the sidewalk. I want to know these people. And considering Ward’s characters are vampires, that’s a remarkable feat of storytelling.

Ward has said in many interviews that the characters in this series just came to her, fully formed. Of that, as a writer, I’m very envious. But I’m sure glad they decided to waltz into her writer’s brain. Reading books such as hers make me want to strive to be a better writer, to craft characters who will make readers stay up until the wee hours reading.

So, what books/authors have made you stay up way too late reading? Did their work inspire you to strive to be a better writer yourself?

The mom of a friend of mine blogged recently about all the famous people she’s seen and met throughout her lifetime, and I thought that was a fun topic. So I’m going to dig through the gray matter and see what I can come up with.

Actors — I met Lou Diamond Phillips one time, when he was playing with a band near where I was living at the time. I still have the T-shirt he signed.

Singers — When I was young, my parents took my sister and I to a few country music shows. I remember seeing the Statler Brothers, Stella Parton (Dolly’s sister) and Tommy Cash (Johnny’s brother). Years later, I took Mom to see Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash in concert at Opryland Theme Park before they tore it down to build a mall. As far as shows I chose to see myself, they’re more in the rock vein. I was a teen in the ’80s, so it was the era of the hair bands. I saw Poison, Warrant, KISS, some other opening bands I don’t remember. Oh, there was Faster Pussycat. I remember thinking they weren’t very good. After I graduated college and got married, hubby and I went to a few shows at a local outdoor venue. Bon Jovi was awesome, Van Halen (still during the Sammy Hagar era) was good, and Creed had a good show.

Athletes — I haven’t met any of them, but I used to see lots of hockey players when we went to Predators games. You’d also spot various celebrities in the crowd during the games. Vince Gill and Amy Grant were regulars.

Politicians — I met Gov. Paul Patton of Kentucky when I worked at a newspaper and he was getting ready to run for governor. I’ve met various Tennessee legislators and U.S. Rep. Harold Ford Jr. through my former magazine job.
I actually have a picture of me with Mr. Ford, but I look like a complete and utter dork, so it’s never seeing the light of day. When I went on a high school trip to Washington, D.C., I met U.S. Rep. Julian Carroll and U.S. Sen. Wendell Ford (no relation to Sen. Ford from Tennessee). There was also a brief appearance by U.S. Sen. Mitch McConnell before our group, but I didn’t actually meet him.

Authors — I’ve met tons of published authors, but I guess the most famous would be romance novelist Nora Roberts and mystery novelist Nevada Barr, both of whom are very nice.

So, what famous people have you met?