The Dreaded Synopsis

Well, I sent my baby to a trusted cp for a continuity read. Got it back. And revised once again. I can truly say the ms is as tight as I can make it at this point in time.

In fact, I was so excited I was ready to send it off with the synopsis. Thank God I decided to take another look at the synopsis. Eleven pages of mediocre writing.

Depressing, to say the least.

I had to start from scratch. It's taken me two full weeks to carve out the synopsis for a book that's complete. And the darn thing's only seven pages (single-spaced). That's a good thing, I think.

Anyway, the query is sent to my favorite agent. Hopefully, I'll hear back that she wants to read the partial; or better yet, the full.

Until then, Happy Writing.

Never give up! Never surrender!

I'm done! I'm done! I'm done!

Whooo,hoooo!!!

I finished the revision of Fool Me Once, my dark romantic comedy. As a reward, I bought myself a special coffee cup, which is why I chose this photo. (It makes me want to run out to Bion Journa Coffee House, right now.)

One desperate ex-housewife. One bad boy undercover. One dead ex-husband. Makes for one strange menage-a-trouble!

Yes, I thought that up all by myself. :) Now, it's off to my critique partners for a continuity read and a final once over. Here's crossing my fingers it's in as good a shape as I believe it is, then it's off to agents, (in the hopes of acquiring one to represent me) and to one special publisher who I promised to submit the final product.

Wish me luck and happy writing,
Sherry

Disturbing Britney

That's the title of my next dark, romantic comedy.

Just kidding. It's this picture that has my brain churning. Is it just me? Or does this circa 1930's woman in the picture have a strong resemblance to Britney Spears? Seriously, take a minute and really look at her.

humming to self


Okay, do you see it? Right around.the eyes? The pout on the bow-tie mouth? The porcelain-like skin? I was seriously a little distrubed when I saw it. Her image literally jumped off the page. Which made me wonder if it was a coincidence by the artist or if there was, perhaps, another "Britney", circa 1930's who modeled for the artist.

My friend, LA Mitchell, writes stories about twisted time. Maybe she's rubbing off on me. Maybe it's my writer's brain thinking up all the possibilities of a plot where Britney is suddenly sucked from her narcissistic existence in the 21st century and deposited in to 1930.

Think about it. No paparazzi following her every move, no screaming-wailing fans to pander to her ego, no minions to order around ... Can you imagine the shock for Britney when faced with the simple life?

Modest dresses. No makeup. A corset worn only under her clothing? Underwear at all times! No tatoos. No piercings. No internet? No Facebook? Unfortunately, if she'd been a hollywood starlet, she'd have found plenty of wild times with alcohol and herione, the most popular drugs of the day.

The Britney from the pictures looks as if she's far from the temptations of Tinsel Town. I just wonder how our Britney from 2009 would fare in such a situation?

You're wondering now, too. Aren't you?

Dreamin' in Dallas

I've been working on revising my single title, Fool Me Once, this past month in preparation for this writing conference in Dallas this weekend. Nothing like a hard deadline to give you a good kick in the pants to finish.

Fool Me Once is this great dark romantic comedy. The logline: One desperate ex-housewife, one bad boy undercover and one dead ex-husband make for one strange menage-a-trouble!

If you're in the area, check out the booksigning on Friday, April 3 at 7:00p. It's open to the public and the proceeds go to a good cause.

Dreamin in Dallas 2009


I'll also be signing (firsttime!) Here Comes the Bribe. I'm so excited! I've driven myself completely nuts with all the hypothetical questions. How long did it take you to write it? How do you come up with your ideas? and of course the dreaded How did you write those love scenes? Followed by, Great blocking, by the way. I didn't know that was even possible. (blush)

Okay, enough head games. The reason I'm revising Fool Me Once is because I want to submit it to an editor who'll be at the conference. If you've been to a conference, you know this is the goal for all serious writers. You can't sell a book you don't submit. And writing conferences are great for making contact with an editor or agent you've targeted for your manuscript. There are so many stories from writers who've sold this way. I would love to be able to share the same success story.

Anyway, long story short, I'm putting out a call to all the writing fairies in the universe to sprinkle a little fairy dust on me :)
So, if you know any fairies or have an "in" with a leprachaun or other magical creature, can you lend me some magic? Please??

Spring Break!!

I just got back from San Diego a couple of days ago. And while I was dreading the trip (work related), I'm so glad I went. The sun and air in San Diego was just the right prescription to evaporate the chilly cobwebs still clinging to my psyche. There was even a whale in the bay, though I didn't see him. The news made daily reports on his progress and speculated as to his intent and condition. They had no idea why he'd chosen to visit the bay area. Perhaps he came out of curiosity and then, like me, was reluctant to leave. I completely understand. It's a grand place.

So many ships and sloops and a couple of sizeable aircraft carriers (trust me, they're immense) and the maritime museum. The water alternated between glassy smooth and gentle waves. The boardwalk had everything from hawkers to magicians to psychics with on-the-spot readings. All in all, it was a true escape from my every day and just what I needed to take that step outside myself and gain some perspective.

Can you believe it? We made it through an incredibly depressing winter, political change overs, economic down turn and wintry blasts frigid enough to crack any writer's enthusiasm.

But now Spring is just around the corner. The sun is fighting its way through the clouds. The days are longer. The grass is greening up (that's a Texanism) and I'm hopeful, once again, that all will be well. Eventually.

And I'm writing again, after a long dry spell due to too many other things that took precedence over my free time. I only wish I had time to go to the beach this week. Guess I'll settle for a trip to Six Flags with the kids and the Dallas World Aquarium. And I'll dream about long lazy walks on the beach and that perferct tan ...

What's on your Spring Break schedule?

Writing Articles

Hello, I just turned in another article to the RWR, Romance Writers of Americas national magazine. Slated for the February publication, I enthusiastically chose to compile twenty-eight items (one for each day) of romantic inspirations for the month.

May I just say, that along #17, I was ready to slash my wrists.

Um. Someone please stop me the next time I try to compile a list of anything longer than the digits on one hand. Seriously, people. It was ugly, ugly, ugly. I looked like something from a Greek Tragedy when I was finished. The ends of my hair were smoking. I think I burst a blood-vessel in my eye. All for the sake of inspiration, which I chose because my own was running so abysmally low.

The silver lining in all this? The editor graciously wrote me back and said it was a great article. That she'd personally found some inspiration. That made my day :)

So, after spending the morning Christmas shopping, I'm off to put the tree together. Hang up lights. Do up the house, the yard and any other room that needs a little Christmas tweak.

Here's a link for all of you who need a little inspiration: The Write Attitude

Happy Writing and Happy Holidays

Nothing :)

That's right; I've got nothing.

I'm blogging so late b/c I've been working so FRACKING (yes, I love the word. Love the show -- BATTLESTAR GALACTICA FOREVER!!!) hard on every thing that has nothing to do with my personal writing or my goal to become a working/self-supporting writer, that I had to do it.

Blog, that is.

Thus, the header is a warning and a hook to stimulate my right brain (write brain).

I'm currently reading Cherry Adair's EDGE OF FEAR. It's the second in her T-FLAC series and it's good. I'm noticing right up front how well she really gets into the emotion of the central character.

She uses a series of intangibles to draw the reader in to her world. And at this moment, I both love and hate her. (And I mean that in the nicest way possible, dear Cherry.)

Example from pg. 1: Paragraph 3: (yes, 3)

Bam! Caleb felt as though someone had punched him in the solar plexus, grabbed his heart, and squeezed.
Hard.
That's what Heather Shaw looked like.


His internal monologue is to his partner/handler. Very telling. Suffice it to say, my new goal is to blurt it all out there, stop worrying if I'm getting the words conveyed succinctly on the page.

I've always prided myself on being able to use the least amount of words to convey the tone/content of the character's goal or the scene. But maybe, just maybe, I have it all wrong.

What do you think?

Okay, so maybe this blog isn't about nothing. It's about something.