I’ve been so busy this week that I’ve not updated the blog. Bad Trish. I’ve been doing revisions to my second Harlequin American while also trying to convert an older manuscript from the original documents in Word Perfect to MS Word. Talk about a pain! I think I finally have it where I don’t have to change the font of and retype every single quotation mark and apostrophe in the whole thing. Ugh. I’ve been working on the manuscript here and there, revising it and bringing it up to my current writing standards. Okay, that sounds a little snooty. What I mean is that when I go back and look at my older books, I can tell that my writing has progressed since then. Thus, the need for revisions. But I still think it’s a good story and thus worth the work. Plus, it’s a hearth-and-home type story, which is area of Harlequin I’m writing for, so hopefully it’ll make its way to store shelves.

I’ve also been immersing myself in all things Alaska because the second YA book is set there. I already watched Deadliest Catch on the Discovery Channel because I’m a big fan, but I also added The Alaska Experiment. I just started watching Ice Road Truckers too, though it’s set in the Northwest Territories of Canada instead of Alaska. But dude, it’s COLD! I cannot imagine hauling semi loads of huge mining equipment over frozen lakes! And this season, it’s even crazier. They’re driving across the frozen Arctic Ocean! That takes cojones, peeps. I’ve also checked out a ton of books about Alaska from the library.

Okay, let’s get to last week’s books winner and what’s up for grabs this week. Last week’s winner is Marianne! E-mail me through the Contact page with your mailing info, and I’ll get the books out to you. Up for grabs this week:

The Beach House by Mary Alice Monroe
Forever, Rose by Robin Lee Hatcher
The Cowboy Who Came in from the Cold by Pamela Macaluso

The cranking on the outline continued today. Got through 10 chapters!

So, the new book currently has a tentative title of Arctic Heart, but it’s possible it’ll need to change since the book technically doesn’t take place in the Arctic (though many of us might think of all of Alaska as arctic). Thus, I need some alternative titles that would fit a YA novel about love and loss set in Alaska. It also needs to have “Heart” in it somewhere since my first book does — Heartbreak River. Any ideas?

Did you all smell the smoke coming from my fingers tapping away on my laptop today? I cranked out the first chunk of my detailed, chapter-by-chapter outline for the second YA today, the first five chapters. I hope to get that many done tomorrow as well and each day this week.

Since my second YA is set in Alaska, I’ve been doing research online, including looking up photos of the area in which I’m setting my fictional village. I’ve also been picking my friend Monica’s brain since she lived in Alaska for awhile. (Read about her Alaskan adventures here.) And I’ve been soaking up episodes of Deadliest Catch (which was already a favorite) and The Alaska Experiment.

Has anyone been to Alaska? If so, what part(s)? What struck you about the state and its people?