Contest, Contest, Contest!

"Name a Book, Win a Book" Contest!!!

With Lies being almost finished, I've realized that the original title doesn't fit anymore.  I LOVE Tell Me No Lies, but the crux of the story doesn't revolve around lies anymore so I need to come up with a new title.

Here is the one sentence blurb for the manuscript:

A self-absorbed bounty hunter must convince an obsessed victims' advocate to turn over her latest client in order to salvage the only thing that matters to him- his reputation.

Now the hero does spend quite a bit of time in the book trying to convince the heroine that he'll go along with her plan, but he has no intention of following through...until later in the book.  But his road to heroism is paved with people waiting to see him screw up and tons of self-doubt. 

THE PRIZE:  A copy of my friend and critique partner Cat Schield's first book, a Harlequin Desire entitled Meddling With a Millionaire that comes out June 7th!

To be entered, please leave your title suggestions (or questions if you need more details) in the comments.  The contest will run from now until midnight on Saturday, May 14th and I'll choose a winner from everyone who commented.

THEN on Sunday I will post the finalists for the title contest and you will be able to vote for the title you like best.  I will choose one other winner from those who vote and comment on Sunday.  So you have TWO chances to win a copy of this FABULOUS book!  (And to get a free taste of Cat's writing, visit her website.  Right now she has a free novella that's connected to the June book.  Don't delay!)

Psssst! Hey You, Over There.

I need your help.  Should you choose to accept this mission, you'll be in the running for a book by a brand new Harlequin Desire author!  Specific details of the "Name a Book, Win a Book" contest will be coming soon!  This notice will self-destruct in 5...4...3...2...

D-O-N-E!!!!

Squeeeeeeeeeeeeee!  The 4th draft of my manuscript Tell Me No Lies is DONE!  I finished it late last night after working most of the day except for a couple of hours to see Fast Five again.  (Hey, I told you already.  Don't judge me!)

But there is no rest for the wicked.  I'm hard at work today and the rest of this week on a final round of revisions before I send this to my FANTABULOUS critique partners who will strip it apart and help me make it into a FANTABULOUS story!  Wish me luck!

Mother's Day

Happy Mothers Day to all the moms out there and all the women who have such an important role in shaping our future! Thank you for all you do and I hope your families treat you right today.
  



My mom is getting on a plane today to go visit her hometown, Sunderland, England with my stepfather and my 20-year-old nephew who has never been there before.  Have a GREAT time!

Rollin' Along

Squeeee!  Lies is coming along SPLENDIDLY!  I truly think my main issues with the book (as an author) are resolved.  Yes, I'm still writing new content and I've got more revisions to go AND I've got to send it to my CPs, but I'm pretty confident that will all happen sooner rather than later. 

So, my goal now is to finish this current draft by the end of the weekend.  If I manage to finish it early enough, I will go to the movies on Sunday as a reward.  What will I see, you ask?  Um...Paul Walker, Vin Diesel, Tyrese Gibson and the Rock.  Yes, again.  Don't judge me.

Layering

A friend of mine talked recently about how she wanted to layer in "stuff" so that each of her scenes does more than one thing.  I thought that was a great idea.  For her. 

Lately I've been getting some stuff done on Lies but not enough to satisfy me.  I had this one particular scene (scene A) that was pivotal to the external plot, but I've been dragging my feet on writing it and I couldn't figure out why.  It didn't feel special.  I didn't have anything but dialogue and I didn't know what else to put in the scene. 

Yesterday I decided that an important scene to the hero and heroine's emotional/romantic arch (scene B) needed to happen sooner rather than later in the book.  It needed to happen before scene A.  I, as a person, wasn't really happy with that decision, but I, as the writer, did it to see what would happen.   (After all, I always save my previous drafts so I could delete it and go back to the original if it didn't work.)

Today, after a really crappy substitute teaching job, I brainstormed how moving scene B would change scene A and the rest of the book.  You know what?  It's perfect!  It adds in another layer of "stuff" for the reader to dissect and chew on and makes both the suspense and romance plots so much richer. 

I'm In Love!!!

I went to see Fast Five and I'm in love with Paul Walker.  And Vin Diesel.  And Tyrese Gibson.  And The Rock.  I mean, come on.  What's not to love?  Besides, there's nothing like an action/adventure story to help keep the creative juices flowing as I continue working on Tell Me No Lies!