Waiting is hard but lessoned learned

Waiting for publishers to get back to you is extremely hard. Last month, I learned an important lesson. After waiting for about twelve weeks to hear from publishers, I sent a query to be updated on the status of my ms. The one publisher that requested an R&R practically sent me a rejection right away to my query. I don't know if I ticked them off or if it was really "lacking". I also have to mention that the editor that  asked for the R&R wasn't the one that rejected me.

One publisher couldn't find the submission and asked me to submit it again. So I have waited three weeks now. The other explained that it was with an editor and if I hadn't heard back by the end of the month to contact them again. I can say emphatically that even though today is the last day of the month, it won't be happening! I learned my lesson. I will sit back and continue writing and waiting. I will not, will not, will not make the same mistake again. If I even mention that I am thinking about it, someone should come and kick me in the ass!

Peace Out,
MRD

Geeked out

Short and sweet today because my eyes are glued to BBC America for the Royal Wedding. I am hoping that I can get a glimpse of the dress before I have to leave in 45 minutes for work. Totally geeky, right? I don't care. With all that is happening in the world, it is nice to see something that is a happy occasion. Maybe later I will something more profound to say...but did you catch some of those hats? No wonder we had a revolution!

Happy Wedding and Friday,
MRD

Guilty pleasures

The other night on Dancing with the Stars, it was guilty pleasures night. They had everyone dancing to songs that were deemed "guilty pleasures". I am assuming that all of the songs were supposed to be embarrassing to admit that you liked. I have to admit, my taste has been called eclectic at best. So of course, I loved all of the songs. Is something a guilty pleasure if you admit to it?

1. I love all of this hype about the royal wedding. Some people can't be bothered but I am going to watch. I watched Princess Diana and Prince Charles get married when I was young. My mother woke me up in the wee hours of the morning (or it seemed like the wee hours) and we watched it together. If I didn't have to go to work tomorrow, I probably would be at my mother's house watching this one with her as well. I like weddings-the dresses, the flowers, the music... Maybe because I enjoyed every aspect of my own wedding.

2. I like hard rock, alternative and 80's music. I am not a top 40 girl. On my I-Pod, you would find Rage Against the Machine, Metallica, Muse, Flyleaf, Halestorm, Blondie, Journey, Duran Duran (Oh John Taylor, I still love you!), and Paramour. I also have a penchant for Broadway musicals.

3. I was a dancer and wanted to pursue it until a college dance instructor told me that my body was geared more towards The Foxy Lady (one of the local strip clubs) than ballet. What can I say, even when I was one hundred pounds, I had big boobs! Rude yes but I used to have a rockin' bod! (Time and Doritos, what have you done to me?)

4. I love sci-fi and fantasy films. Give me The Terminator, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and keep them coming.

5. I enjoy watching cheesy Lifetime romances. Just squirmed through the one on Kate and William, totally not up to Lifetime standards.

6.  I love, love, love YA movies. I want to see The Prom, Beastly, Breaking Dawn...I look forward to these movies.

So what do you consider some of your "guilty" pleasures?

On another note, I want to send out my deepest support to Judy Mays. I don't know her but I e-mailed her my support and received a personal thank you.  I joined her support group on Facebook and was very vocal about my support on the loops that I belong to. I think what these ignorant, backwoods heifers have done to this woman's private life is a crime.  They should be persecuted for cyber bullying. What anyone does in their free time is no one else's business! I am a teacher. I write erotica under a pen name. I have sex with my husband, even when the sun is out sometimes! None of these things impact how I am as an educator. So I don't feel that she has to make a decision if she wants to write or teach. These old bats should crawl back into whatever cave they came from and let a woman who has been doing a good job for 25 years continue to do so!

Peace Out,
 MRD

Strong Heroines

"I can't be right for somebody else if I'm not right for me. I gotta be me."

One of the criteria for most publishers when they outline submission guidelines is a strong heroine. So last night while I was watching Glee, the line above caught my attention and the idea for this blog was sparked. Readers want to read about strong characters and since the majority of readers of romance/erotica are women, they especially want to read about strong women.

Strong women know who they are and are comfortable in their own skin. They accept themselves and even their own flaws. We want to see larger women who don't hide their bodies under layers of dark clothes but buy clothes that highlight and flatter the curves that they should be proud of. These characters are not afraid of colors even though "black is thinning". Sometimes, black is just plain dreary. If you're goth or going to a funeral, it's great but on a sunny, warm, spring day, it looks freakish.

Strong characters have opinions and freely state them. I envy young women who already have this quality, with me it came with age. When I was in my twenties, I would rarely even state an opinion. Never mind go against another person's opinion. Once when I was young, my mother-in-law to be told me that my opinion shouldn't matter that I should just do whatever he (her son) wanted. It was in response to going camping. When I met him, he and his friends would go camping at least twice a month during the spring and summer. For a while, trying to be a "good girlfriend", I sucked it up. My idea of "roughing it" is having to walk to the ice machine in a hotel to get my own ice. After a while it became abundantly clear that I hated camping. When I actually expressed my dislike  for it, I was respected more for ti. No one should have to suck it up all of the time. I even tried it again last summer but a bear traipsing through the campsite put the final nail in the camping coffin. If our hero is an alpha, he doesn't want to have a doormat. He wants someone to stand up to him and call him an "asshole", if that's how his is acting.

What do you think about strong heroines?

MRD

And...

   I walked in from work tired and exhausted. The long day of work after my vacation never seemed to end. My boss piled project after project on my desk, relishing it with her small sadistic smile.
   "I could have given all of this to you before vacation but I decided to allow you to enjoy it. Aren't I a good boss?"
   Good boss? All I could think of was, "bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch".
   All I wanted was a glass of wine and a nice hot bath. The sweet, fragrant smell of spaghetti sauce and fresh baked garlic bread swirled around me like a warm blanket. I breathed deeply taking in the comforting smells of my childhood. The aroma lightening my mood, helping me push the events of the day behind me.
   The glass of wine next to the stove beckoned me like a sailor heeding a siren's call. The first sip was a small taste of heaven. I stirred the bubbly liquid and brought the spoon to my lips for a taste. Yum....
   Strong tan hands encircled my waist and brought me back against his hard body. The wine and sauce were not the only things waiting for me.
   "You have no idea how much I missed you today," he whispered in my ear.
   His breath sending shivers out all over my body. My exhaustion forgotten. I started craving something other than food. He turned me in his arms and...

And that's how I wish my day had ended yesterday. I like it better. No valiant fight against ants that I seem to be losing. No car having something go wrong with the oil gage sensor. The wine and leftover lamb from Easter was good though. On the list today-mechanic, exterminator, and the very last night class that I will teach this year!!! Relish the small, I know I will.

Peace out,
MRD

A funny thing happened to me...

This past week, I have been on school vacation. I've enjoyed my time writing, walking, and just plain relaxing in my sweatpants! I originally had grand ambitions. I was going to get a dumpster and do a thorough spring purging. Painting was going to be done. New light fixtures were going to be bought and put up. Then, if there was time, there was going to be day trips. We did have a trip planned for the Boston Museum of Science. We were going to take the train from Providence and spend the day exploring. There was only one hiccup in the plan. I told the hubby that he couldn't take a pocket knife. I was afraid that they would have metal detectors at the museum and we wouldn't be let in. I wasn't going to travel 90 minutes by train and then get turned away at the door. Let me explain why this is a hiccup. My husband is never without a pocket knife in his pocket. It's not like he's Rambo with a huge Bowie knife sticking out of his pants but a knife nevertheless. He even had a pocket knife in his tux when we got married. When we started dating, I thought that it was a little weird but now it is just how it is. I think that it is like a child carrying around a security blanket or at least that's how I like to explain it. It's not like we live in a high crime area in the east bay section of Rhode Island! Well, we never ended up going. I am hoping that it really was because of insomnia instead of not being able to bring a knife but with the hubby, one never knows.

Now flash forward a few days and I am pulling into my driveway after getting sandwiches from a local shop for lunch. Since I am on vaca the cooking is very limited. Please don't judge, I normally am a great cook. So here I am in my driveway and I go to unbuckle the seat belt and it doesn't unbuckle. I try and try and try. No matter what I do, it won't unbuckle. I tried to slip off the shoulder strap and crawl out of the waist strap which only tightened the seat belt. So I sat there for about ten minutes wondering what I was going to do. Then I sucked it up and called the hubby in the house to come and cut me out of my own seat belt. You may laugh your ass off here! I totally expect it. So out he comes twirling the pocket knife that I told him could not come on our day trip. You can imagine the witty repartee that went on between us about the importance of carrying a knife. Finally, as if the gods had heard my begging for an alternative solution, the seat belt magically disengaged itself. I was relieved because how much was it going to cost me to replace a seat belt?

The whole situation begs to be put into a story. Imagine if it happened and the heroine has to call a sexy sheriff to come and cut her out of her car (Rational people forget about AAA). Or if it were her husband and she had to be his sex slave to thank him for saving her thus introducing her Dom/Sub relationship that he has always fantasized about. Makes you say hmm... (I think that the hubby totally missed the boat here!)

Have a great holiday everyone,
MRD

Anything worth having

Is getting what you want worth taking the risk to achieve your goal? I think that writers take risks all the time. Submitting your work to publishers involves taking huge risks. You are putting something out there for people to critique. Sometimes, you get a rejection right away. "We're sorry but your story failed to hold my interest right from the beginning." Other times, you wait and wait. The waiting doesn't mean that the rejections won't come. Sometimes they still do. Does it upset you? Of course it does. But I don't let it get me down. I'm still waiting but the most important thing is that I'm still writing. Someday, I will find a home for what I write that is how much I believe in what I am doing.  So I put myself out there. I blog. I have a very limited website. I belong to writing groups and on-line loops. Surrounding myself with writers helps me realize my dream of getting something published.

Peace Out,

MRD

And the sun ran away with the muse!

Here in Rhode Island, we have been under the cover of clouds for so many day that I have lost count. It is gray, cold, and miserable. I miss that bright star in the sky with its warmth and golden glow.  I'm thinking that the sun and my muse are having a torrid affair somewhere in the blanket of the clouds. When the sun disappeared, so did my writing muse. Here I am sitting on my couch, covered in a blanket that Aunt Marie knitted me when I was thirteen, and all I want to do is watch a movie marathon. Right now, I am thinking it's a toss up between a Harry Potter marathon, Lord of the Rings, or Ugly Betty on Netflix. What can I say, I have very eclectic tastes.

I'm not sure if the headache that is pounding behind my eyes is a result of the lack of sunshine and vitamin D or it's Aiden and Kim the two characters from my wip that want some attention. They really are being pushy. To be fair, I sort of left them in a fairly tricky situation. They just finished drinking some shots of Irish Whiskey in Aiden's pub and had their first explosive kiss. I left him with a hard-on that could hammer nails and no satisfaction. So I have a sneaking feeling that he is a little pissed at me. Kim, who is a successful romance writer, is screaming at me to "just write already". "You have to just plow through this", she's whispering. "It doesn't matter if it's good. Just get it down on paper." Wow that woman is seriously pushy!

Hopefully the sun will be back soon with my slutty muse!

Peace out for now,
MRD

On Vacation

I have been on vacation since Friday at 2:15 pm but it doesn't feel like it yet. I have been writing the writing curriculum with two other girls for all of the second grade students in my district. On Saturday morning, I was sent all of the units to look at and revise for publishing. So I have actually been working on my vacation. I would like to say that they sent them to me because I am the smartest in the group but I know the real reason. I checked my e-mail! I was the only one who checked my work e-mail. So I was the one who got stuck with the work. Well, that is behind me. I have to teach my course tonight and then the real vacation begins.

I have decided that if I can't do my "super-purge" of all the junk in my basement, I am going to go on some day trips with the husband. On the agenda for tomorrow is taking the train into Boston. We are planning to go to the Boston Museum of Science. I am hoping that it won't be crazy because of school vacation but those are the pitfalls to be a teacher. You have vacation when most of all the breathing children in the world are also on vacation.

I haven't anything this week. I am hoping that after I set up for tonight that I will be able to take some time. Does anyone ever have lofty expectations about what will be accomplished during vacation and the actuality falls short?

Peace Out,
MRD

What if you...

What if, at a crucial point of your life, you were supposed to turn right but you actually turned left? How would your life have been altered. Scientists claim that there are infinite parallel universes out there comprised of all of these "possibilities". So do you believe in this theory. I do to an extent. I think that sometimes in my writing, I explore these possibilities, or the "what if this actually happened."

The other day, Linda Kage wrote about someone asking about where writers get their ideas. It really got me thinking of what influences me to write what I write about and the list is endless. Two nights ago, I was in my kitchen and looked out the window and there was a little cat sitting on the hood of my car in the rain. She startled me because she was an almost exact Doppelganger for my black and white cat Sasha. So of course, I immediately went running around the house looking for the pampered pet. I found her sleeping on my pillow like the queen that she thinks she is. LOL! So this incident got my writing juices flowing about what ifs. I came up with so many ideas for future stories, I don't know if I will be able to write all of them but I will certainly try.

At 2:15 today, I will be on vacation and it won't be a moment too soon.  I am going to work today exhausted. Let's just say a certain husband fell asleep while drinking from the milk container in bed. Do you see where this is going? 2:00 am everything covered in milk! Including me. Hubby is sleeping on the couch right now. He is going to have to do a lot of cleaning today while I'm at work or he will be sleeping there again tonight.

Peace Out,
MRD

Never blog under the influence...

Never blog under the influence of ...hormones! Yep, yesterday I was blogging under the influence. They really should make service announcements about this. It is a terrible thing. It wasn't until later when the husband pointed it out that I reflected on everything that I said and wrote yesterday. This is the advantage and disadvantage of being with someone for over twenty years. He KNOWS me. So now that I am back to normal, I am going to give my new book another chance. I read a little more this morning and it is getting more interesting.

Another note, I finally did some writing yesterday. I got a few hundred words down in my free time. Hoping to add more today even though I have to work late again tonight. But I am totally planning to get in a few hours a day of writing during my vacation. We originally were going to get a dumpster to get rid of all of the junk in our house but I see the husband wavering. See I KNOW him too! So I am going to have a writing vacation.

Peace Out,
MRD

First person

As a reader, do you have a "pet peeve"? I have a problem reading books told in the first person. When I read a book, I immerse myself in it and "become" the character. In first person, I can't do it. I feel like I'm in a conversation with the character. Unable to truly connect, I start to lose interest fast. There isn't enough time in the day, so when I do decide to sit down to read, if the book doesn't grab me within the first few pages I usually put it aside. But what if you just shelled out close to $30 for a new hard cover book (If I had an e-reader, it would have only cost me $13.)? I'm hesitant to put this book down forever strictly because of the cost. The husband tells me to give it time. The one thing that I don't have enough of is time. 

How do you feel about the "I" voice? Do you like it? Am I the only freak out there?

Peace Out,

MRD

Boy did the weekend go by fast

Boy did this weekend go by quickly! Did I do any writing? No! Did I do a lot of correcting papers for my college course? Oh man, did I! While I was a little disappointed that I didn't get any writing done, it was a productive weekend. I am still not totally done with all of my correcting but at least I put a huge dent in it. I did take some time off to go to a book signing by Marie Force. While at Barnes and Nobles, I spend too much money. In addition to buying Marie's book, I bought A Discovery of Witches, which I have heard a lot about. While I was spending money like a drunken sailor (There was also a trip to the Christmas Tree Shoppe for spring wreaths for the doors!), I also bought the husband a book to soften the blow. Me in a bookstore is a recipe for disaster! I almost bought a Nook. We are talking about "this close". I am so unsure about the Nook, Kindle, and IPad difference. Do I really need one? Or is it a novelty? With the expansion of e-books, I am going to start doing some research.

I might have some time this morning to get some writing done. I am taking a half day this morning because I have to go to the ob/gyn for my yearly visit. So while I am waiting to go through that psychological trauma, I am hoping to get in some writing.

One happy result from getting up early this morning that while I was "cleaning up" my dvr selections, I noticed that Friday Night Lights is coming back on this Friday! Yay! Even though my man Tim is still in jail, I can't wait! So I will leave you with a picture to sigh over.

 Yummy!

Peace Out,
MRD

New writer on my radar

Last weekend at my local writers meeting, I met a "new"author. She was a new author to me, not a "new" author. This is one of the many reasons why I enjoy going. Her name is Marie Force. She talked to us about writing and then talked about how she is making a beau coup amount of money self-publishing. Since November, she's made over $35,000! Yes, you read the figure correctly. Now, this information while intriguing is not pertinent to me because I am unpublished but for those of you who are published and have a following. I would definitely look into it!

I am going to go to one of her local book signings this weekend. I am going to try to make time to read. I can't remember when I actually read a book. I think that for me, it is important to balance my  writer side with my reader side. The only problem that I foresee is that I have a lot of correcting to do for my college course. I have been so busy with my day job that I have let the second slide a little bit. But on a good note, I only have three more weeks of it! When I finally realized it, I wanted to do the happy dance.


T-minus one week until April vacation!

Peace out,
MRD

Very First

First Romance Novel I ever bought myself

This was the first romance novel I ever bought on my own. My aunt used to take us to the mall every weekend. It was a time when she and her friends would go one way and my friends and I would go another. We would meet at the appointed time on a bench in the middle of the mall. I remember see this book and I had to have it. This was extremely important because this is when I also started earning an allowance. I think that my mother realized that she could pay my sister and I the outrageous sum of $1.00 to clean the house. I was to dust and wash the floors. She was a tough one though, I had to wash the floor on my hands and knees because it was the "only way to get them really clean". So I worked and work and bought my first romance novel. The floodgate was opened and my own love affair with reading romances begun. As I stated in previous posts, there were always romance novels in the house but this book was my beginning. So I worked and once a month, my aunt would take us to get the new release. It was an awesome time in my life. Eventually, all of my friends got involved so we all would buy a different book and then swap them when we were done.

Do you remember your first romance novel?

Peace Out,
MRD

Two to go

When I contacted the publisher that later rejected me this weekend, I also contacted the two other publishers that I submitted to. Good thing that I did! One of the publishers is my dream to work with, not that getting published by anyone is not a dream at this moment. Well, they never received my partial! Here I was waiting for weeks for nothing. So on a good note, I was given the opportunity to re-submit my partial. At least it wasn't a rejection. I can handle it so far. At the other publisher they kindly told me that my manuscript is now in the hands of an editor.  Normally this would excite me but after my most recent experience, it just tells me where the ms is physically. It really doesn't mean that it is one step closer to be published. On the other hand, it was not immediately rejected. So it's not a bad sign either.

So now the wait begins again.

Peace Out,
MRD

Riding a weekend high, I did something stupid

Riding a writing high on Saturday, I did something stupid. On Saturday, I went to my local chapter of Romance Writers and it was one of the best meetings that I had been to. It was really inspirational. I came home with a renewed vigor for writing. In my vigor and zest for writing, I e-mailed the editor that requested revisions on my manuscript. I was hoping to get to the editor that wanted them but unfortunately, I was sent back to the editor that originally rejected my manuscript. Well, she rejected it again. Very curtly! She complimented the changes that the other editor wanted and saw how they worked for the manuscript but still found it "lacking". It was another "ouch" moment. Maybe I brought on the rejection by forcing the issue. I really thought that the other editor liked it better. Or maybe I am in denial. It could be lacking. At my workshop this weekend, the speaker talked about 15 common mistakes from novice writers. One of the top ones was one that I did. I had a dream sequence  in my ms. Apparently, dream sequences are out. The rejecting editor told me that months ago and the speaker this weekend validated that opinion. But as a writer, I really liked that scene and didn't want to change it. Was it a mistake, I don't know. When do  you draw the line between your creativity and wanting to be published? Do you change your creation to make editors happy in order to be published? What is a writers ultimate goal?

Peace Out,
MRD

Busy busy day

Today is going to be a busy day. People who work a "real job" and write understand what this means. For me it means that not only do I have to cram in a lot of housework that has accumulated over the week but I do the majority of my writing on the weekend. So it means getting up just as early as during the week (I lied. I got up at 6 today which is two hours later than my usually 4.) and start housework immediately. You would think that just with a husband and two cats there wouldn't be a lot to do but there is, I have to admit that I am not the best at keeping up with cleaning. Not to make excuses but I am really busy all the time, so when I have down time, I really don't want to do dishes or wash floors. It is one of my many flaws but since I live with the human representation of "Pigpen", no one here really minds.

I am really excited today. I am officially going to join my chapter of Romance Writers! Even though the meetings are on the other side of the state and I feel like I like I'm driving forever when I go, I am looking forward to it. I get to catch up face to face with Amber Skyze, be honored to be in the presence of Hannah Howell, and interact with some really great people who I hope to get to know better. So, there will probably not be a lot of writing today but you never know, being next to such greatness might inspire me.

Got to go and change the laundry now and then off the Dunkin' to get some much needed coffee. Hopefully I will remember to buy some at the market tomorrow when I do some much need grocery shopping but I don't have a good track record with that!

Peace Out,
MRD

Really annoying

Do you know what really annoys me? I find really annoying when someone says that they are going to do something and then it is not done. Normally, if I say that I am going to do something, it gets done. Just recently I have had two things promised to me but not done. The first is with this publisher that I keep on going back and forth with in e-mails. I was told to make revisions and resubmit. Well, I did. She told me that she would be in touch but wasn't. I sent a kindly reminder. I was told by another editor that they would look at it and get back to me by the weekend. She didn't and that was two weeks ago. Maybe I was wrong to assume that she meant that weekend. The problem is that I feel if I send another e-mail, it will tick them off and I will be automatically rejected. So I sit and have become very angry at the process.

The second thing was two weeks ago when I tried to renew my husband's truck registration on-line, the system told me that I had an income tax block and could not register. I have been back and forth with the Department of Taxation and finally got someone on the phone. I am being blocked for a mere 13.09! So I promised to send it in the mail and the woman told me that she would remove the block and I could register it in the morning. Guess what? Couldn't do it this morning, I still have the block.

Why don't people just do what they say they are going to to? Otherwise, just don't say that you will do it!

Peace Out,
MRD