January 31, 2006

Superbowl?

Turns out my hometown will be hosting the Superbowl on Sunday. I guess I’d be excited if I liked football, but, ahem. I don’t even know who’s playing in the big game. It’s not because I haven’t tried to get into the sport. My youngest son played high school football, and unless I had someone knowledgeable next to me in the stands, I had no clue what was going on. And the Time-Outs! Sheesh, give me a break! How long can they drag out a 4-quarter game, anyway? So I will readily admit it: Football bores me to tears.

Now, if it were hockey, I’d know every team involved, all their stats, what their goalie’s averages were, and … well, you get the picture. There is only one time-out allowed in a hockey game, and coaches RARELY use it. The game moves fast, with nearly continuous action on the ice. And skill? Try skating the way those players do and handle a stick and puck at the same time. It’s truly amazing.

As for Superbowl Day - well, we had some really great weather last week, at least for Michigan. In January/February. Today, it’s snowing off and on and bitter cold. It’s likely to be the same on Sunday, although the football field is new and state-of-the-art. Nobody will freeze in there (except for the losing team heh-heh).

January 30, 2006

Skating update

I’m watching Skating with Celebrities right now and have to say that it is just so much more exciting to watch the people that are new skaters. Jillian and John are very nice to watch, and are obviously the best out there, but watching Bruce getting better and better (he was like a robot at first) and pulling off the death spiral with Tai…I was cheering and clapping on my couch, a huge smile on my face and happy laughter spilling out because I couldn’t contain my delight. Yes, there is probably something wrong with me. But it is just so nice to see people learning, determinedly fighting and doing WELL. I had the same reaction the first night watching their spins.

Poor Kristy. Did anyone else think she looked exhausted before they even began? I felt like Lloyd pulled and tossed her through the whole thing. Hopefully they will work that out because she showed in the first episode that she can skate.

RIP Deborah and Kurt. You were my favorites.

Qualified and qualifiers

I posted a goal last Monday, and was hoping to post an unqualified, YES! (as in, yes, I did it!) tonight. Well, here’s a qualified one instead. I didn’t get all the way through everything, but I solved a number of important sticking points and am feeling really good with what I accomplished. So I get a lowercase yes instead.

On to the qualifiers part of this post…I’m already looking forward to the Hollywood part of American Idol. I think I’m in the minority, but that’s my favorite section. There are only so many times I can cringe during the main auditions… Come on, Hollywood!

Been watching Skating with Celebrities? Looks like Kristy takes a facer tonight (which is why I have set up “facer” as my Word of the Day post in tribute). Ouch. You’d think it would be the stars you’d be leery of in the “hurt me” department. I’m still cheering for Kurt and Deborah. You go, guys.

24. Dammit. I keep watching it. Help.

My Mom told me to check out Dancing with the Stars last week, so I taped it. There are a couple of really good people on there! It seems a little more fair than Skating with Celebrities, as some of those people have a complete edge in the skating department. Pun, pun, punnery.

Survivor! Oh my baby, you are back! Whoohoo!

What is everyone watching this week? And who are you cheering for?

January 29, 2006

Putting Yourself Out There, part trois

Shana, are you trying to burst my bubble? There are bad reviews out there? You mean not everyone is going to like my books as much as my mom does? A moment while I recover from this rude awakening…

I’ve been pretty fortunate in that my writing style and stories have so far struck a positive chord with most readers and reviewers. Nora’s spot on the best seller lists isn’t in any danger yet, but I’ve done fairly well considering I don’t write erotica or vampires. No one has taken the time to send me less-than-nice e-mail, and reviews for both books have been positive or at least neutral.

With one exception, and one that really annoys me. This reader admitted up front that she doesn’t like chick-in-pants stories, but she still chose to buy What An Earl Wants and read it. It’s not like we tried to hide this aspect of the tale – it’s clear from the back cover copy as well as the teaser page inside the front cover, not to mention all the reviews, that this is a chick-in-pants story. Yet she bought it, read it, and posted a review on a bookseller’s site to expound on why she didn’t like it (because it’s a chick-in-pants story). It would be different if she were a reviewer and read it because it was assigned to her, but that’s not the case.

There are some types of stories, and some authors’ voices, that for various reasons just don’t click with me, so you know what? I don’t read them. How radical is that? With all the demands on my time, I tend not to read stuff I know I won’t like.

With only eight weeks to go before my next manuscript is due on my editor’s desk, I’m going back into my writing cave. Back into my perfect little bubble, where all the reviews for Kiss From A Rogue (out on Tuesday, 1/31!) use words like wonderful, charming, endearing, fine storytelling, and keeper shelf.

January 28, 2006

Romantic Couples by Cindy Kirk

I’ve always had favorite TV couples….Scarecrow and Mrs. King, Remington Steele and Laura, Mac and Harm (from Jag), Buffy and Angel…but I was trying to think of who in the current television lineup has me rooting for them to get together and I realize I can’t think of anyone….except maybe Will and Grace to get together–even though I know that’s impossible

Keep in mind I don’t have cable so there may be great couples on other channels…..but I’d really like to know if there are some shows I should be watching….

January 27, 2006

Putting Yourself Out There, Part Deux

First of all, I want to say that after all my whining last week, I did finish the book. I wrote THE END on Sunday afternoon. Of course, the ironic thing is that that’s not really the end. I still have to revise the draft myself, do revisions set by my editor, copyedits, page proofs…

The book is far from done, and yet I feel a great weight is off my shoulders.

The problem is that the weight comes back. In case you haven’t been following along, my new book PRIDE AND PETTICOATS comes out in 4 days (so does Shirley’s A KISS FROM A ROGUE, so I bet she can relate). In light of that approaching event, I read Kim’s post yesterday and vigorously nodded my head.

Worse than putting yourself out there to agents and editors is putting yourself out there to the public. Reviewers, readers, your mom and dad. The book you felt great about when you typed THE END, suddenly feels much less than great about three weeks before it drops. Suddenly, it seems like the worst book ever written.

I bite my nails waiting for the reviews. Are they going to expose me? Will the reviewer tell everyone how bad the book is? If I get a good review, I don’t feel better. I feel like I pulled one over on them. And if I get a bad review, I beat myself up. Some writers get mad at reviewers and shout that all the criticisms were wrong. I take them all to heart and want to write letters apologizing for not being perfect.

But none of us are perfect, and when you put yourself in the public eye, you get reminded of that a lot and very publicly. Readers write in to tell you how you messed up this detail or should have written the book such-and-such way. Friends couldn’t finish the book because they “didn’t have time,” which, by the way, we authors take to mean “it was boring.”

Do I sound a little insecure? I think it’s a trait most writers share. No one is immune to it. After all the criticism we have to take, we can be a bit sensitive. Look at Nora Roberts. Yesterday she got sick of all the inane speculation at AAR about her photo on the Eve Dallas books and fired back (http://www.hwforums.com/2035/index.html).

Ms. Roberts isn’t known for doing that. I know she’s had her share of criticism and has put up with it nobly. But even top authors have feelings. I remember a few months ago when Anne Rice defended her work on Amazon. She was fed up, and I can’t blame her. It’s hard to put yourself out there. As hard for the big authors as for us little fish.

So I’m right there with you, Kim, cringing at those “American Idol” auditions. And I’m also proud of those people for giving it a shot. And I’m proud of Anne Rice and Nora Roberts for standing up for their work. How many millions of us never would?

January 26, 2006

Putting Ourselves Out There

Last night I sat through the auditions for American Idol for the very first time.

I’ve never quite been able to bring myself to do this before. I’ve seen the commercials, have heard the stories, and suspected that I would spend half the time wincing and feeling extremely embarrassed for some of these poor people. And I was right. For every person with true talent, it seems like there are ten who couldn’t sing if their life depended on it. And yet they audition! (The ones I find the most horror-inducing are the ones who actually believe they CAN sing.) Between Simon’s caustic comments and some of the accompanying dance moves, I found myself shaking my head in disbelief, unable to understand why these people would put themselves through this.

But after the show was over and I had time to reflect on what I had just watched, I couldn’t help but realize that these people are doing what we do as writers–or aspiring writers–all the time. Putting ourselves out there. As an unpublished author, I sent my work out to agents and publishers and waited with bated breath as I chewed my nails and wondered if any of them would like it. I knew I THOUGHT I had talent. But that didn’t necessarily mean others would agree, and sometimes it’s hard to be confident. As a published author, I put my work out there to be scrutinized by my editor on a regular basis, to be read by reviewers and readers, some of whom can be less than polite in their opinions on occasion.

As a normally shy person, this hasn’t been easy for me to do. Opening yourself up for criticism never is. To become a writer, you have to learn to have a very thick skin and to take the criticism as well as the praise, the good with the bad. But you believe in yourself and you persevere. If you don’t take that step of sending your work out, you’ll never become a writer. And if you don’t believe in yourself, no one will.

I now have a lot more admiration for the people who audition for American Idol. Whether they can sing or not, they are putting themselves out there. And that takes quite a bit of courage.

January 25, 2006

My favorite part

I already announced in Shane’s blog last week that I finished, but for those of you who missed it – I finally finished the rough draft! YEAH! So this is my week off, to give the book and my mind some time apart so that when I go back to it, hopefully I’ll be fresh and rejuvenated. And I’m not really taking the time off, I’m working, I’m just doing reading work. Judging RITA books.

But what I wanted to talk about today is my favorite part of this job. Yes, the writing can be fun and selling and being published is so cool I have to pinch myself regularly. But for me the best part about being a writer is having writer friends. Most of my closest friends are fellow writers and I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I just got off the phone with my critique/brainstorming partner and while we almost always talk about writing, our friendship spans the breadth of our lives. I was in the hospital with her while she had her first child and she was in my wedding. She is my writing soul sister and frankly, I’m not sure how I would endure the rough parts of this business without her. There are many others too that enrich my life and have shared in every part of this journey.

Romance writers are unique in the writing world – I’ve been told. We’re supportive and encouraging and we even go so far as to train our competition, at least that’s how outsiders see it. But I think it’s more than that. I think romance writing is so unique because it is the genre that really stems from our values and beliefs. We’re all optimists and romantics and when you get a bunch of optimists and romantics in the same room, it’s just a big love fest. That’s not to say we don’t have bouts of jealousy and that we all get along – we are predominantly women and it would be insane to think we’re all gonna love each other. But for the most part, we do like each other and support one another. And having that is crucial. There have been many days for me when the only faith I’ve been able to rely on is the faith my writing friends have in me, because I just can’t find it in myself. Other days I’m able to return that favor and provide that strength a friend needs.

I have some writing friends who are still on the “other side” meaning they haven’t sold yet, but I’m waiting and I know it’s going to happen. One friend, in particular, has finaled in the Golden Heart several times and I know she’s just a phone call away. I keep waiting for her news and I won’t be remotely surprised when she gets that phone call. Others are still getting their footing and finding their voice and testing the market and getting the courage enough to fight their way to the top. Yet another is a veteran of the business and is still struggling with her career. But we’re here, together, supporting each other because we have a bond that only writers can form.

I know I’m being incredibly sappy, but I can’t help it…it’s that optimistic romantic in me. So go hug/e-mail/phone your writing buddy and tell them how much they mean to you.

January 24, 2006

Time Management

I think I have a problem with this. Which is weird, since I’ve always been a very efficient person. Now, I just cringe at the thought of working another job besides writing. How would I ever get anything done?

My typical day … Up at seven and I walk the dogs. Then I shower and get dressed. That takes until about eight. Make coffee, eat breakfast, deal with the cats (one wants to come in, one wants to go out, and the dogs want to eat both of them). I sort through piles of mail, shred what needs to go, then empty the dishwasher. Somehow, it’s ten o’clock and I haven’t even looked at my email. OK, another half hour on emails and the dogs want to go out. I let them outside and sit down to write. I put down one sentence and they’re barking to come in. Sheesh – it’s worse than when I had three kids aged four and under!

It’s no wonder I get tons more done when I go to Starbuck’s for a few hours. I’m not a caffeine fiend, but I can down a couple of decaffs in two or three hours and write seven or eight good pages. Because I don’t subscribe to their wireless access, I can’t do email. There are no animals to corral, no household chores to do. The noise and activity in there provides a sort of ‘white noise’ so that I actually focus in on my manuscript way better than I do at home. Even when it’s quiet there!

Still, it’s not always practical for me to leave the house. I have got to figure out a way of working here and actually being productive.

January 23, 2006

Me neither!

Me neither, Shana. I sympathize with your entire post 100%. I’ve got the January blues. But I’m determined that by this time next Monday I will write a post labeled “YES!!!” — to write those last few scenes and be through the first full revision. There. I said it. Put it all down in Jaunty Post. It’s go time.

Who wants to list a goal to meet by next Monday? It can be anything from getting an oil change (yup, I need one of those), to getting a new tire (again, check) to getting to the gym X times (does the pool count?). Stick ‘em here.

I feel like starting a team cheer. Gooooooooo, Jaunties!