Book #10 and bitching...

Detective Rebecca Montgomery has lost everything. After her sister’s disappearance and her mother’s withdrawal, Becca is left to fend alone through the bitterness and guilt of losing her family. Just when she thinks it couldn’t get any worse, her boss puts up a brick wall between her and the murder case involving her sister, Dani, forcing her out of the loop. Leaving others to find a killer and get the job done doesn’t sit well with Becca.

Taking on another case and staying busy is the only thing that helps keep Becca sane, but when bones are found inside the wall of a recently burned down theater she must put aside her search for Dani’s killer and focus on the investigation at hand.

When she spots Diego Galvan outside the theater, there are instant sparks between the two, but issues of trust and honesty become a major road block. Becca delves further into her cold case investigation only to cross paths with a sinister man named Hunter Cavanaugh, who has the eyes of the FBI on his back. Unsure which side Diego is on, she blackmails him—using his connections to Cavanaugh, so she can gain further insight into the possible suspect and her mysterious new friend.

As Becca uncovers more suspects in the case she can’t help the gut instincts drawing her back to Hunter and Diego. After the truth comes out for Becca and Diego, the danger intensifies and both become targets in a twisted game of power, control, and money.

Woot! I finished it!

Back to my normal-ish reading habits, sorta…I read this book in one day, making sure I got to the end before I went to bed! The book definitely kept me on my toes, wondering how it was all going to end. Jordan Dane’s debut novel is a page turner with believable characters, a fast thrilling pace, and vivid settings. My pulse raced right alongside Becca’s with each new situation she found herself in.

This book reminds me of the books I read in my early twenties when I just discovered suspense. I had been an avid mystery reader for a while but grew tired of the normal procedural or who dun it. Suspense always adds that heightened sense of danger. With a touch of romance, No One Heard Her Scream gives you a bit more pulse pounding under the sheets.

Congrats on a great success Jordan!

…In other news.

I haven’t had much computer time lately. I guess for normal people, that wouldn’t be a problem. But me…well, I have a lot riding on this little computer of mine. I like to learn, so I have knowledge at my finger tips, and that helps with the writing. The writing is why I need to spend time at the computer.

If I’m out in the living room, watching TV, playing Rock Band or watching my bro play DMC4, I’m not writing. When there are people over, it gets loud, and I end up joining for a while and I’m not writing.

Then there are times when I’m at my computer. I have to check my email. I have a ton sitting, waiting…collecting cyber dust. I have others, on different addresses for various online communities, games, etc, and they’re full and need attention. Then there’s myspace, facebook, live journal, writer communities, author communities, searching for an agent, sending out queries, taking a break to watch Survivor. I’m not writing.

I have to do newsletters and paperwork for a group I belong to. Writing? What’s that?

I get notes from a friend on how to help me tame down Lucky #2 and I begin edits. Still…NOT writing.

I’m reading the 15 pages of Lucky 3 wondering why I’m even bothering but knowing fucking Lucky won’t get out of my head until it’s done. Nope, not writing.

I read two books this weekend. Read some pages of the Lucky’s last night. Think about it all day at work.

GAH!

I am writing tonight damn it!

Even if it’s only for an hour.

I just know, somewhere, out there…somehow, it’ll happen damn it. One good thing has to go right in my life, doesn’t it?

Book #9: Glory Days

I'm averaging three books a month, that's not too bad. Though, I must admit, reading while I'm trying to plot in my head or write isn't always easy. I don't want to steal someone else's ideas, ya know.

Anyway, I should preface how I met this author, because she's a wonderful person and deserves much more than a simple review from me.

I met Ms. Peterson at a book fair in New Jersey late last year. She and a few other authors were there, talking to readers and even wanna be authors like me. They invited me to a RWA meeting, but I never went because I didn't consider myself a "romance" or "woman's fiction" writer. What I've come to learn over the last seven months or so, is that all of my writing has some romantic or relationship angle. I might not write the kind of sex scenes one finds in most books, but after reading Glory Days, I get it a little more. You don't need explicit sex for it to be a romance novel, you just need a realistic relationship between characters.

John, Liz, and Carly have all had it pretty bad. Each has been betrayed by someone they trusted only to find themselves barely living life until they meet each other and begin the healing process.

John is a former bad boy turned FBI agent turned Private Investigator. His past is full of secrets and complications, but when he meet Liz and Carly, his life changes in ways he never expected.

Liz has just returned from California where she left behind an ex-husband and the grave of her infant child. Distraught by the turn of events that led her back to New Jersey, Liz is very cautions and wary of men, especially John, who can't seem to remember the name of any woman he's taken to bed--probably in the last ten years.

Carly, abandoned as a newborn, uncovers information about her past and decides to search for her father. John is on the top of a list of possible fathers and feels obligated to take her case when the police threaten to run her in.

All three are forced to deal with one another as they all live in the same building with a luncheonette on the first floor, run by Flo, Liz's spunky and wise grandmother.

While John conducts his investigation, he can't help but like "the kid", and can't get Liz out of his head. A good guy at heart, John makes sure Carly is taken care of while he's working. Flo and Liz become a surrogate family, allowing her to help out in the shop, take her shopping for clothes, and reassure her she'll fit right in when she goes back to school. John visits old friends searching for Carly's father and eventually tracks down her mother who is still alive and well in Pennsylvania.

Liz takes a liking to Carly right away and tolerates John as best she can as she tries to put the pieces of her life back together. However, news from the west coast sends Liz into a depressive spiral and leads her straight to John's welcoming arms. Immediately realizing her mistake, she tell him it never happened and bolts. But John isn't willing to give up so easily. He wants her more than any other woman he's ever met.

As Carly starts to make friends and grow close to John's and Liz's family, John meets with everyone on the possible father's list, only to realize he's the best choice to be the kid's father. But there's a problem. John made a promise to his former partner and friend, and after his untimely death the opportunity presents itself. John has to make a decision. Keep his promise and loose Liz and Carly, or let his friend's killer get off free and clear.

Aside from the slight jab to my home town of Linden (hahaha-just kidding Irene), I really enjoyed the book. Anyone from Jersey will catch all the inside jokes and recognize the setting easily. You might even smell the salt water of Asbury or the stench of the Turnpike. :-)

Glory Days was smart, believable, and funny with a splash of drama and suspense thrown in. I've always had a problem trying to do funny in my writing, so I'm always fascinated when I laugh out loud while reading because it doesn't happen often.

I finished the book with a smile on my face, glad for a nice, neat, and happy ending. Unlike some movies I've seen recently. Nothing ruins something more than the ending. I'm glad to say that was not the case with this book. Thanks for a great read, Irene!!



I've already started book #10. Depending on how the week goes, I'll either have it read in two days or about a week. I don't really like the 1/2 hour a day lunch time reading, I hardly get anything done that way, but there's still nothing on TV for a couple of weeks, so maybe I'll read when I get home too. I have a shelf full of books yet to be read and I need to start making room. Some of my other favorite author's books are coming out soon.

I'm finished with my second round of editing for Lucky #2. With the help of a friend, I cut out some of the cheesiness and fixed some technical issues. As much as I didn't want to admit it, Lucky is a romantic thriller, suspense, whatever. I know it's my fault for allowing the love interest to appear before I wanted him to. But he took on a life of his own and he's such an awesome character, I had to let him do what he wanted. Lucky, however, is fighting him tooth and nail. It'll take three maybe four books for them to get on the same emotional page, but they will get there, eventually.

I have about 15 pages of Lucky #3 and it's going well for the most part. It's hard to know how much information from 1 and 2 to give out in the beginning of 3 without making the reader roll their eyes. I would hate for someone to read 3 first and be completely lost, so I have to offer some background. Once I get into the meat of the story, I'm sure I'll figure it out. Right now, it's going slowly, but it's going.

No new news on the agent hunt. I'm trying not to get upset again. It's not easy...

Hump day update.

The week started off with a bang. Easter Dinner with the family was good, but it was also the last goodbye for my parents’ dog Max. He was an English Mastiff who got sick with the whole dog food fiasco last year. He hung on long and was still in good spirits when they put him down. He was such a mush and I’ll miss him.

Jericho’s last episode was last night. It was a decent way to finish off the show, though I have a feeling they had planned to have a revolution as part of the third season. Ah well, we’ll never know what the writers had in mind, but I’m sure it would have been good. I always seem to be drawn to the shows that only last a season or two, instead of, say Gray’s Anatomy or Desperate Housewives. No, I go for Roswell and Jericho where food has been used to help bring the show back by the fans. Well, the fans continued to watch, but no one else did. Ah well.

I’m thinking, right now, David Cook is the guy to beat right now on American Idol. He was great last night. Actually, I didn’t really like the very beginning of Billie Jean, but then it was just amazing. Of course, I went online right after and found Chris Cornell’s version. Cornell’s version was more bluesy whereas Cook’s had a rockier edge toward the end. He’s a much better singer than Daugherty. Not sure why everyone’s comparing them. I must say that I like Brooke. She’s very sweet and pretty and nice, but she’s very very good when she’s behind that piano. Jason Castro needs to get off the stool. He can play the guitar if he wants, I don’t have an issue with that. But that song he sang last night was too upbeat for him to be sitting the whole time.

Eh, we’ll see what happens in a few weeks. All the little girls watching will probably try and make David Archeletta (sp) win…bleh. Though, I do like the little comment from Simon about his song choice. Apparently David’s father picked the song. It was interesting to say the least, but it just felt like I was being preached to in church with that version…

BOOK REVIEW!

I finally finished the first Harry Bosch book, The Black Echo by Michael Connelly.

Harry Bosch is a great detective but he doesn’t like playing by the rules or conforming to the LAPD family clique. When he’s called in on a homicide and learns the victim is someone he knew during the Vietnam war, Bosch delves head first into the investigation. With IAD on his ass, Bosch goes to the FBI after realizing the victim might have ties to an earlier bank heist. He’s pulled into a deadly game of cat and mouse, not only with his own department, but a killer who seems to know Bosch’s every move.

All in all, I was kinda disappointed and I’ll tell you why.

The first two Connelly books I read were (at publication time) stand alone books with different characters than his series books (which I hadn’t previously read). Loved both The Lincoln Lawyer and The Poet. The plots were great, character real and gritty, the writing wonderful. This, being one of his earlier books, is probably the reason I didn’t enjoy it as much. He seems to be a writer that learns the more he writes rather than becoming sloppy and lazy like some authors I’ve read. I did notice a similar sub plot with the male-female lead characters in Echo and Poet. And, I saw most of the “bad guys” coming in Echo.

The last thirty pages of the book were great. The first 300+ kept my attention, but I wasn’t as pulled into the story like the other two books. Again, I think it has to do with it being an early book, etc. and it took me a while to finish it as well. I only read it at lunch during work and not on the weekends, which is a long time for me. I’m a mass consumer when it comes to books. Usually when I start reading something I’m really into, I finish it ASAP.

I do enjoy Connelly’s writing, so I think I’ll give Bosch a second chance.

Next on my to read list is Irene Peterson’s Glory Days then Jordan Dane’s No One Heard Her Scream. I
haven’t bought the second one yet because BN didn’t have it at either store I went to yesterday. So, I’ll pick it up this weekend or buy it online.

My ex-roomie and I watched so many depressing movies last weekend. I Am Legend, Atonement, and Becoming Jane. This kinda goes back to those old days when we’d rent 3 or 4 movies and at least two of them had one actor in common. This was James McAvoy’s turn. Ex-roomie and I first noticed him in the Sci-Fi channel’s Children of Dune. He played Leto. He was hot. Well, still is and he’s becoming a great actor. He fits nicely into those period piece movies be it the 70’s or 1700’s. He’s just that good.

I’m dying to see him and Angie in that new hit man movie coming out in May.

I wasn’t too happy with Legend, though, I must saw Will Smith looked phenomenal when he was doing those pull ups. OMG. Yummy. The ending was stupid and that ruined the whole movie for me. Seriously, the end is the make or break of an OK movie, which this was.

Becoming Jane was sad. Unrequited love is one thing. Requited love and unable to get it is just tragic. Anne Hathaway is wonderful, as always, and I enjoyed the movie for the most part. A sad ending, but at least it was a good ending.

Atonement was a good movie too, but then, toward the end it just veered off and didn’t seem to fit. I didn’t like the back and forth time flashback things. 6 years later. Then five minutes after that, 3 weeks earlier. Bleh. That was annoying….

I don’t know if I mentioned watching Enchanted, but that movie was fantastic!! I loved the whole damn thing, beginning to end. My brother, of course, figured out the whole plot within the first ten minutes of the movie. Which is kinda sad, it just shows how many Disney princess movies he’s memorized. LOL. Granted, half of that is my sister’s fault. Little Mermaid was an almost 24/7 thing in our house when she was a kid. Which might explain why she thinks she’s a princess now…

I’m not really in the mood to talk about politics right now, so I won’t.

I haven’t sent out any new query letters this week, but here’s the update.

Queries sent: 73
Rejections: 31
Partial Requests: 8
Partials Rejected: 5

I only have three partials out there right now, so I better get a move on. I know I don’t need an agent to get my foot in the door with large publishers. There are quite a few out there who will read queries and chapters from the slush pile. I might end up doing that at the end of April if I don’t find an interested agent.

My big problem with that is…Once I get a bigger publisher to accept my work (AND THEY WILL! HAHAH), it’s smart to have an agent watching your back. But then, if I do get an agent after the fact: 1. I’ve already done the hard work of finding a publisher. 2. How do I know they really like my work and not just my royalties?

I’m sure if I submitted to Dorchester or Kensington and got a deal of some type the first agent I told this to would jump on the chance to “represent” me. Maybe I’m wrong. I hope, but it would be simple work for them. No query letters to publishers. No phone calls or lunch dates or emails saying “I have this great manuscript.” No. I would have already done all that. They’ve review the contract for me (which could be done by a lawyer anyway), take their commission and be done with it.

I want to find an agent that likes my work. Yeah, yeah, like a needle in a mountain sized haystack right? Well, I have a little more time before I start querying editors at publishing companies.

Blog Tour!

I'm helping my friend Christine Norris on her blog book tour. I had the pleasure of reading her earlier novels and wanted to share her newest one with all of you!

Read An Excerpt Online
Genre: Young Adult

ISBN: 1-59998-556-X
Length: Novel
Price: 5.50
Publication Date: February 19, 2008
Cover art by Christine Clavel

Which is worse: Having to start life over, or being eaten by a Minotaur?

The Library of Athena, Book One

Thirteen-year-old Megan Montgomery's world is falling apart. Her father's promotion means leaving her whole life in New York behind. She finds herself transplanted to a huge, lonely manor house in the English countryside, with no one for company but the distant staff. Her new school only adds to her misery—neither the girls nor the teachers seem to like her.

Then Megan meets three girls who actually talk to her instead of about her, and at first she thinks things are getting better. But the girls seem more interested in the strange rumors that the house is haunted. Desperate to make friends, Megan invites them to sleep over for the weekend.

A discovery of a cryptic poem, a key and a diary written by the builder of the manor—an eccentric archaeologist—turns the sleepover into a treasure hunt. Clues lead the girls to believe the Parthenon holds a great secret—and suddenly they find themselves sucked into one man's version of Ancient Greece. The only way home is to find an object thought to be mere legend.

If they survive that long.

Buy link: www.samhainpublishing.com/authors/christine-norris

Website: www.christine-norris.com

Myspace: www.myspace.com/christinenorris

LJ: http://christinenorris.livejournal.com

Been a long week....

I’ve been a bad blogger since I started my new job. I’m not even sure where to begin…so much has happened.

Okay, let’s start with the job. I LOVE IT! I’m doing purchasing for one of the country’s largest nail polish manufacturer. They make nail polish for everyone. Sadly, Jenn has brittle nails so she doesn’t often paint them. But now that I can get free nail polish…I might just go crazy and be a little more girly than I normally am. I mean, really, the most girly-ish thing I do these days is read Cosmo. I’m no fashonista. I wear make-up on special occasions only, and I own five pairs of shoes, and only one pair is heels. I think the last time I wore a dress was in 2005. Yesh….

Anyway, the person training me is great. All the people are friendly and happy and have been at the company for years. Once I learn the job inside and out, I’m sure it’ll get a little busy and hectic, but I enjoy a challenge…honestly. I’d rather the day go fast than slow!

Onto writing! First, my query update:

Queries sent: 71
Rejections: 30
Partial requests: 7
Partials rejected: 4

I have two sent; one is hopefully in the mail tomorrow! I have several emails still out there from January with no response. I probably won’t re-query until I’ve exhausted the rest of the agents out there. Then, I’ll move on to editors at publishing houses.

I joined RWA and the New Jersey Chapter this weekend. I know I don’t write straight romance books, but everything I write does have a romantic or love story sub-plot to it. I went to the NJRWA meeting and met a bunch of wonderful writers. I even saved the day by joining on the spot so they could do their quorum! They’ll all remember me now!

I had a blast and took plenty of notes. The speaker was CJ Lyons, who recently wrote a medical thriller for Harlequin. She was very nice and sat at the same table as I did for lunch. We traded medical stories. Mom#2 is a nurse and over the years she has shared some icky stories from the operating room. Fun!

Of course, my shy side tends to come out on occasion, especially when I have to talk in front of people. Give me a microphone and put on a karaoke song and I’m good to go. Talking? Yikes. But I did stand up and gave a little intro then they made me stand up again and say what I write, etc. So I got up again and told them about Play Nice and Tiva. I didn’t turn into a tomato, I don’t think, but it did get a little warm in there for a minute. LOL

I look forward to going again and making some new friends and network connections!


I did a little bit of writing on Lucky # 3. I’m not sure about the beginning yet. It’s so hard to figure out what to put in the first few chapters of the third part of a series. You’d think most people would start on #1, but I myself have started in the middle and gone back. So you want to make sure you give enough background in ALL the series books so people aren’t completely lost if they do start somewhere other than #1.

I’ll figure it out, I’m sure, once I get into the meat of the book.

What’s next? How about TV? Okay! *Possible Spoilers*

I really like New Amsterdam. It’s like Highlander meets NYPD Blue, only the Blue part is tamer. How could you not feel for a man who is nothing short of heroic and gets “blessed/cursed” with eternal life until he finds his soul mate? Tragic and beautiful. The show pulls it off well and I can see a little bit of Mick from Moonlighting in John Amsterdam. They just want to grow old. How sadly cute is that?

Jericho made me cry this week. Well, a few tears fell anyway. It hit me kinda hard when Stanley went into the morgue and started signing to Bonnie. I’ve lost a sibling too, though not in such a horrific way, but that scene touched me deeply.

American Idol is getting good. I picked David Hernandez to go because I knew they wouldn’t get rid of Archeletta(sp) yet despite the fact he messed up his lyrics TWICE! He better not mess up next week or Simon will let him have it!

LOST is just one big mind fuck, isn’t it? I love it! Flash forward or flash back? How about both in one episode! Hahaha. I figured it out half way through. Last week’s Juliet episode was really creepy and the week before was just amazing. Gotta love Desmond and Penny! I loved the way they edited that last bit when they were on the phone.

Of course everyone was expecting Michael to be on the ship, well, except for the characters, so it wasn’t the big surprise they said. Still, it’ll be interesting to see what happens now. And Ben has to be the single most interesting character I’ve ever seen on TV. He’s good and evil. He will protect certain things/people with every bit of energy and cunning that he has, but then he’ll ax you in the back if you go against him or fulfill your usefulness. Ouch. I can’t imagine what goes through his mind.

Survivor is still going strong. I was sweating this week thinking Ozzy was going to get sideswiped, but I’m glad he didn’t. He’s one of my favorite Survivors ever (second to Rupert). That boy is a fish! And James…he’s an Adonis. Swoon.

I have to watch the new episode of Smallville today. I’m glad it’s back. There’s been nothing to watch all week. I guess that means I should be writing!

Don’t really feel like writing about the news, it’s just depressing me these days, so I’ll move onto video games.

My brother and I have been playing Devil May Cry 4. I’m not very good when it comes to multiple button mashing and combos and remembering all these little things you have to do, so I play occasional. Brother beats the bosses and I usually help navigate and solve puzzles. The story is quite interesting and gives me that little tingly feeling I get when I want to write something similar. I think an action/urban fantasy/paranormal/romance would be very interesting to read.

Of course this means I have to come up with an original concept because I won’t write about vampires or werewolves. Demons are great because you can make up any type you want so long as you follow the rules of the world you build. Once Lucky #3 is out of the way, I’ll think about it in depth.

Books! Yay Books!

I’m almost finished with The Black Echo by Michael Connelly. I’ve only been reading on my lunch break at work the last week and a half, so it’s moving slowly. I like the Bosch character. He doesn’t quite grab me like Lucas in the Prey series, but it is the first book. Depending on how it ends will determine if I get another one. Connelly has other single title books I’d like to read too, so I have plenty to choose from.

*Dirty words alert*
I picked up a couple books at the NJRWA meeting. One was an Ellora’s Cave “erotic” anthology. Me, being me, when it comes to books with sex in it, searches for the sex scenes right away. This will tell me if I want to read the whole book or not. In this case, not. When I think erotic, I think sensual and enticing and exciting and naughty, not raunchy and silly and porn-ish. “Butt crack” is NOT something I’d want to see in the middle of a sex scene, in any book, unless they were talking about a plumber and it was supposed to be funny. Do you really need to see “pussy” and “cock” in EVERY paragraph? No. That’s raunchy, IMHO. You don’t even need body part names to make it erotic. Everyone who reads these types of books know what it means when the writer writes: “He moved inside her.” Etcetera, etcetera…

Sure, I’ve written plenty of sex scenes. I’ve used “dirty” body part words, if you will, but I also try to change it up. I don’t use “historical romance” words like her flowery petal and his charging manhood either. That’s more of the silly for me. I like to use emotion and movement and some dialogue when I write my sex scenes.

Now if I’m reading something “X-rated” then I figure I’m reading a porno and expect nasty and down right frank talking and descriptions and scenarios. But to me, that’s a different genre. It’s more about the sex than it is the two people having it and what’s going on between them. X-rated writing can be good, if done well, but I haven’t seen many. I’ve read the kind of material that guys would probably like. Sorta like Peter Griffin writing erotica. Too funny.

I know, to each their own, but I’ll never write sex scenes like that. Even if I ever did write something hard core X-rated it would probably be considered tame because I’ll never get down and dirty on paper.

Lastly, movies.

I watched Sydney White last night. I really do love Amanda Bynes. She’s quirky and cute and a good young actress. I hope she continues to work, I foresee her doing well in the years to come.

I finally watched Coyote Ugly. It was good. I’ve been to that bar. I still can’t figure out how the hell they filmed in there, the place was tiny. And the bathroom…OMG it was disgusting. I’d never go back there…lol

I also watched Good Luck Chuck a few weeks ago. I’ve been a Jessica Alba fan ever since Dark Angel. You know me and girls who kick ass. LOVE ‘EM! And she was one of the early ones on TV that didn’t get enough credit. The show was damn good until it got weird and ended flat. Still, she moved on to better things. I hope after the baby, she gets back to taking roles that kick ass. She’s funny, but I think she makes a better tough chick.

Hope you all have a Happy (and safe) St. Patrick’s Day if you’re celebrating. Don’t drink too much green beer!

That’s all folks!

Sunday, funday?

I'm over the flu, or whatever it was that knocked me on my ass this week, but now my stomach is all wanky.

I start my new job on Wednesday. I'm going to be an Office Manager/Purchasing Assistant for a nail polish manufacturer. New type of job for me, but they're training me! That's a nice change of pace.

Agent update:
Queries sent: 63
Rejections: 24
Partials requested: 5
Partials rejected: 4

I got another rejection "card" from a referred agent. I want to believe it's because they want to save paper, but I think it's just plain laziness. I could understand it if my query letter was crap and unprofessional. It's not. I've done my homework. I'm not a novice. I understand the business much better now than I did five years ago. I respected your submission guidelines. I respect your time and know you're busy. Guess what, so am I. It takes, on average, a good 20-30 minutes to research an agent, make sure they are the right fit, and alter my query letter as such (to make it personal). Not to mention it took me days to write the query letter in the first place. A fast reader could read a one page query in about three minutes. Stuff a card into a SASE and stick in the out box, a minute. Gee, thanks.

I spend all this time, trying to find an agent, and they can't take five minutes out of their super busy life to send me a form letter? Whatever. I've received wonderful rejections from some very nice agents. Even though they didn't take my work, it was nice knowing they actually read the damn thing and responded accordingly.

Maybe agents should try to remember that without writers they make no money. Writers don't NEED agents, but agents NEED writers. They should act like it sometimes. It just further proves that "customer service" in this country sucks.

I'm probably the BEST author client an Agent could want. Why? Because I learn from my mistakes. I know how to work under pressure. I can finish before a deadline. I can get along with any personality. I don't pester people. (Yes, when I have questions or need feedback, I will ask, but I'll never badger someone. I've never written any agents back after rejections to ask for referrals or advice or to question them as to why my writing didn't fit. I cut my losses and move on.) I know the value of an agents time and don't expect to be their #1 priority. I know my place. I want to learn. I want to grow. I want to write and write and write and write. I want to make money for my agent and myself. I want to help other writers in the future. Of course, I won't tell them this in a query letter, because that just makes me seem desperate or arrogant, of which I am neither.

I have 40+ query letters outstanding right now. Some from early January. Is that a good sign? A bad sign? No clue. I don't know if I should bother re-querying after 30, 60, 90 days. I probably won't. Instead I'll go to all postal submissions and see how that goes next. Then, it's onto the slush pile with the few publishers that accept them.

I've already gone the POD route and learned my lesson. I've got my foot in the door with a new, small independent publisher. I'm ready for the mainstream, dang it. I know my writing is better than some of the books I've read in the last year.

Granted, I could sell Lucky off to a E-publisher, or another POD publisher, but that's not what I want. I want my book on the shelves at Barnes and Noble. I thought that's what everyone wanted too, but I've noticed many people are okay with lower quality books and POD publishers. Been there, didn't like that. Seems like some, not all, of the smaller pub houses just want quantity not quality. I've worked too hard on these manuscripts to toss them off to someone who doesn't believe in them as much as I do.

Ah well. Like my mom would say, "If it's meant to be, it's meant to be." I really, really hope it is meant to be.

I've gone back to reading what I like. Bought Michael Connelly's first Bosch novel. Should be done with it soon. So far, it's good, but I just started.

I'm going to try and write some more Lucky #3 before I start the EDJ on Wednesday, but the way I'm still teetering between icky and ickier, we'll see.

Hope you all had a great weekend.