Been there. Done that.

Some days when it seems like forever since I’ve heard from an agent, and my queries are hanging out in cyber space, I catch myself wishing I’d started this writing endeavor a little earlier. It’s such a long process.

But then I wonder what I would’ve written about? Newspaper reporting and suburban politics, twenty years in Corporate America, having kids, juggling career and family, losing loved ones, friends that come and go at different stages of life . . . These are life experiences that form the building blocks of believable situations and characters – the meat of story-telling.

I’ve been more places, seen more things, done more things than younger writers. Maybe younger writers put in more research hours. Maybe they don’t “write what they know.” Not sure. But today, at least, I’m feeling like more might be better. More been there/done that.

Heading west

Just made my reservations for the RWA annual convention in Anaheim, CA this summer. This will be my first conference, and I'm hoping to meet a lot of people, have fun with my critique partners and pitch two completed novels to editors and agents!
I already know it's a great location, and I'll be in good company. So conditions are right for a successful event. Just need that agent thing to come together! Fun times ahead!

Under construction

It's coming soon! My critique partners and I spent an entire day over the weekend setting up a website. We've got our domain. Now we're playing with layouts and content – posting pictures and articles and blurbs about our books. So excited to see it all come together. Hope you'll check us out when we go live, hopefully some time this week!

website workday

Just scheduled an all-day work session with my critique partners! Yay! Can't wait. We may do a little reading and critiquing that day, but mostly, we're going to design a website. Since we all write some form of romance, we're teaming up to create one site that will give each of us an online presence in addition to our individual blogs.
Published or not, agents and publishers say all writers need to build a platform and start reaching an audience on line. Yes, it takes away from writing time, but it's part of the bigger picture, the whole package.
Already we're building a backlog of ideas and articles to include on the site. Key lime pie, anyone? Watch for a great recipe from J that ties right into her novel set in fabulous Key West. We'll introduce ourselves, our stories and our characters, and share blogs and thoughts on writing, romance and publishing. And, hopefully, we'll have a little fun in the process.
Stay tuned!