Still Tellin' the Truth

Happy Tuesday all!

If you haven't read this, do. It will make you laugh. This too.

Both are my current fave truthy-type posts by some super talented writers.

As far as I go, I have a rogue credit card and am in need of some cash. Being the industrious gal that I am, I accepted a couple weeks of temp jobs and Holy...Mackeral... I have a newfound appreciation for writers who also work.

For two weeks I haven't had time to return any emails or calls, much less do laundry and take showers. I basically work all day, then come home and nap for 20 minutes while my kids hover around my bed and ask me stuff. Then, I drag myself up, crack a diet Coke and make dinner.

(allow me to stop and say that I like to cook. I am, in fact, a great cook. But, working has sadly taken away any desire to cook anything other than microwaved take-out.)

So, we eat take-out. Then I clean up, sign papers or whatever, get the kids to bed, and then up to my office to re-plot my masterpiece which is wonderful and exciting, but also very hard, and requires intense concentration.

Did I mention my poor hubby who likes for me to watch TV with him for a little while every night? Not to mention his other favorite pastime? Yeah, well I do that too.

But guess what that leaves last on the list?

Blogging...

Yes, blogging has sadly fallen to last on the list. Thank goodness the rest of you are doing such a great job! Won't it be a great day when all of this work actually pays off and I have a real book on the shelves. 'Til then, I guess it's take-out and lots of caffeine.

Finish Strong!

Hello Dear Readers :)

Welcome to TTTT (Tell the Truth Tuesday). Today I want to start by telling you that I was a mediocre high school student. That means I didn't have the grades to go to Harvard or Princeton. Which meant that I had to go to a mediocre college, where once again, I got mediocre grades. This tragedy occured due to my obsession with one thing...

boys.

Sure, blame it on the boys. I know. I know. No, the truth is that I skipped intensive book studying in favor of studying them. That being said, I now tell my girls (and any college friends I know) to "finish strong!" Now that I've experienced the results of screwing around when it counted, I firmly believe in a strong work ethic. So, whether or not you get good grades isn't the issue with me, it's the working hard part. I want my girls to do their best right up to the wire. And as far as the boys go... They'll always be around. I promise.

This week I had to swallow my own pill. You see, I have this little novel - you may have heard me talk about it. It's the one I say is wicked cool (which it is). Well, WC novel has an issue that needs fixin' and I haven't really wanted to think about it.

But last week, while whippin' up some grits, I was struck by the mother of all ideas. An idea so friggin' cool that it will make the wicked cool novel, epic. But an idea that means that I will have to get inside the book and work like a dog for weeks on end - something I don't really wanna do. I want to work on the glossy, new, second novel that makes me feel like racing Ferrari's. But then I remembered that I need to Finish Strong, even if it breaks my back and hurts my head. So, unlike Little Katie from the 80's, I decided to take Wise Katie from 2000's advice and finish strong.

I have decided that whether or not my novel ends up in a drawer or on the bestseller list, it's going to be the best friggin' novel I can write. And if I don't sell the sucker before I die, surely my children will find a way to, and retire millionaires. That's how good I'm gonna make this damn thing before I allow myself to move on to the next one. I'm scared of the mountain I'm about to climb, but I'm lacing up my boots. If you wanna climb with me, feel free to copy the FS logo that I stole online and post it on the side of your blog too. We can do it together.

Okay, enough of that. Now, for our new Plot This Food Feature (which will end all of our posts, much like the typical inspirational quote). SF and I will share with you our current favorite craving. A craving du jour, if you will. The only requirement is that the item must be available for purchase within the Oxford city limits.

Drum roll please.... My craving of the day is from Leonore's. Artichoke bottoms sauteed in garlic butter, topped with jumbo lump crabmeat and sauce bearnaise.

Ahhhh I love the south.

Speeding Cars and Second Novels.

While KISS is still under consideration, I recently started my second novel and I have to say, I have never enjoyed writing as much. Maybe this is the norm when you start a new book, but I feel like this is the book I was born to write.

I'm not kidding. This book is my destiny...

I am so revved up by 4:00 p.m, after a day of writing, that I have the new urge to get in a fast car and blast down some German highway.

Just sayin'

PS. Since I am being honest these days, I must confess...Starting this novel caused a few weeks of severe anxiety. Which was weird and scary. I was nervous that I couldn't get what was in my head transferred properly. Thank God it only lasted a few weeks... And you know what changed? When I got stuck, I pretended it was a movie. I sat back and tried to think about how what I was writing might look on screen. What would be the funnest movie version of my concept? And that did it!

Write on people!

Brace Yourselves...

Okay world. I'm about to get honest. Before I started the search for an agent, I felt like I could be honest here. Like I could discuss the pains of plot, the struggle with character, and my inability to outline. It's okay to write about writing, apparently, just not about the struggle of actually selling your book.

OF COURSE, I have received some rejections -We all have. But whenever I wanted to post about it, one of my friends would say, "You better not say you've been rejected... an agent might be reading." Ooo scary. So, slowly but surely, I began to blog about sometimes boring topics, just in case "an agent" was reading. But who really cares that I saw a good movie? Seriously, who wants to read about that?

Here's the deal. Even agents know that this biz is hard! Make that effing hard! And I'd rather be honest, than tell about my daughter's dance recital or my husband's deep sea fishing trip. It seems like my friends (who are all in the process of subbing to either agents or editors) have quit blogging about it. We email each other with The Truth... But here, not so much. And now I look forward to my email, but have all but stopped reading blogs. (well, at least not like I used to.)

Why can't we be honest on our blogs? Are agents and editors really more interested in someone that has never had rejection in their life? Or someone that works their ass off and with the help of a posse of uber supportive friends, makes it? Shouldn't we have Honesty Monday, instead of Wordless Wednesday? Or Poetry Friday? Are those topics just fillers for what we really wanna talk about?

I, for one, am thinking about breaking free and letting the chips fall where they may. I have a feeling The Boss Man is gonna be proud. He calls the shots anyway, so what's the big deal?

PS. Since we're being honest and open, I wanted to post a pic of myself fresh out of the shower, makeup free, and in my robe. But it was far too hideous to even consider! Even I have my limits :-)

PLOT THIS!!!! (said with rock star hands thrown down in true Take That! style)