ONE DOWN ... ELEVEN TO GO

Last month, I blogged about my decision to take part in the 2009 To Be Read Challenge. At the time, I was struggling to read a book every two weeks -- not because I don't love to read, but because I was making everything else more important than reading. But I'm an author, and I can't do my job well if I don't read. Last weekend, my oldest daughter realized that I was spinning my wheels, which is something I tend to do more often than is good for me. She grilled me, as my daughters tend to do whenever they notice my world getting out of whack. "When you tell people what you do for a living," she asked, "what do you tell them?" "That I'm an author," I said. I mean duh! She nodded as if I'd just proved her point, not my own -- which is another thing my daughters do. "Exactly. That's your career, right?" Again ... duh!!! "So," she said, narrowing her eyes and getting ready for the kill shot. "isn't that what you should be doing all day instead of all this other stuff?" Oh. BIG duh! Yeah. I should be devoting my working hours to actually ... oh, I don't know ... working. At what I do for a living. Hmmm. What a concept. All this to say that I have a new work schedule, to which I'm sticking like glue. At 7:30 every morning, it's time to write, and I write steadily until 12:30 when I break for lunch. My lunch lasts an hour, after which I write again until 4:30 -- and then (and only then) can I tackle all the other things on my ever-growing to-do list. The beauty of this schedule is that when I break for lunch, I read. Yes! I actually spend an hour having lunch, relaxing, and reading! And because of this glorious new schedule, I read two (count them TWO!!!) books last week. And one of them (circling around so that I can finally get to my point) was from my 2009 To Be Read Challenge List! The Land of Mango Sunsets by Dorothea Benton Frank. I feel so very accomplished! _______________________________ Copyright © 2009 Sherry Lewis

The Selling Synopsis

February 2 - 27, 2009

Registration Fee: $40 (includes critique)

For more information, or to register, go to DancingOnCoals

THE SELLING SYNOPSIS: A synopsis is one of the most valuable tools in your writer’s toolbox, but to write a successful one, we need to shift gears and forget almost everything we've learned about writing a great novel. Learn how to show editors and agents that you can put together a compelling story filled with sympathetic characters. That you understand motivation and know how to work with and layer conflict.

In this workshop you'll learn:

How to format your synopsis

How to decide what to include and what to leave out

How to write a functional query letter

How to establish conflict

How to present motivation

How to pace your synopsis to keep the editor hooked

Reading is still FUNdamental

My daughter sent me this photo from her phone's camera this afternoon, and I just had to share. As an avid reader, not to mention an author, it makes my heart soar to see a child enjoying a storybook. This child is definitely a chip off her grandmom's block :) When she was born, 13 1/2 weeks early, doctors told those of us who weren't allowed to touch her yet that the best thing we could do for her was to read. It didn't matter what we read, they assured us, we just needed to read to her. Reading would be the best way for us to assist in her development. When she contracted meningitis a couple of weeks later, we were told that she was almost certain to have some brain damage; yet she's developing normally, with only very minor complications from her early physical challenges. Doctors who see her now are astounded to learn that she started life so small and that she fought such incredible odds to be here. A couple of days ago, I told her that I'd be coming to her house to visit soon and I said I wanted to play when I came down there. She said, "I want to play too, Ooma." "Well, of course," I told her. "We'll play together. And we can read books, too. Do you want to read books?" "Uh-huh," she said, and then she paused. "I want to read a story," she told me firmly. And, of course, I assured her we would do exactly that. We'll probably never know whether she inherited her love of books from family members who would rather read than sleep, or if having been read to for hours while she was in the NICU out of storybooks, issues of the Romance Writers' Report, mystery novels, and non-fiction books about Egypt sparked that love in her. But there's no denying that the thing this child loves most is a good book. Wouldn't it be great if more kids felt that way?

Happy?!? Valentine's Day

Romance writers start thinking about Valentine's Day long before February rolls around, but I’m going out on a limb to admit that Valentine’s Day isn’t my favorite holiday of the year. It doesn’t even come close. This year to celebrate the traditional day of love, I want to hear from you! E-mail me with the worst Valentine’s Day gift you ever received, or your worst Valentine’s Day experience. We’ll pick the 10 least romantic Valeantines Days ever and share them here on my blog on February 14.

Thirteen Random Things from My Week

1. My oldest daughter went downstairs for something the other night and discovered that the sewer was backing up into our basement. 2. We discovered the sewer issue at about 7:00 in the evening. The plumber left at 2:30 in the morning. 3. While the plumber was here, he asked my daughter to fill the washer with water and then drain it so he could see if the drains were working again. While the washing machine was trying to pump out the water, it began smoking. Badly. 4. The fix for the washer we hoped would be minor isn't, so it's new washer time for me! I could give you 13 reasons why this is very bad news, but I won't bore you. 5. I learned that my oldest niece, who is pregnant with her fourth baby, is having another boy, leaving Miss Jade as the only girl in the family. Sorry, Jade. 6. I learned that my youngest niece is pregnant with her first baby. I'm very excited for her because this is something she's wanted for a very long time. 7. My granddaughter, who is still in diapers, and who woke up before her mother this morning, decided to paint her bedroom. Three guesses what she used for paint. 8. I popped a bagel into the toaster yesterday, only to discover that the toaster doesn't work anymore. It still doesn't work this morning. 9. I'm not even going to talk about the mold we found growing on the basement walls, but I will mention that apparently our neighbor spent several weeks in the hospital with pneumonia thanks to mold growing in her house, and another set of neighbors moved out of the house on the other side when they discovered mold. 10. I'm going to RWA's national conference in July. This year, the conference will be held in Washington DC, and I'm excited since I've never been there before. 11. I've been invited to teach at the Low Country Romance Writers Jumpstart Master Class in 2010, and I'm very excited. It looks like it should be a fabulous experience. 12. I finished judging 2 writing contest entries sitting on my desk and hard drive. Each one took over two hours by the time I'd read and commented on the manuscript and filled out the judges' score sheet. 13. Finished chapter one of my new work in progress, a paranormal mystery. 13 1/2 ... I tried going to the Thursday Thirteen site to post that my post was up .... and it's gone