There are less than 26 hours left of 2007. Now, 2007 hasn't been a particularly bad year (some ups, some downs) but I will be glad to see it end, mainly because a new year brings a sense of new beginnings.
The highlight of 2007 for me was seeing DJ Tiesto in Ibiza in August. And just so I didn't waste the last few days of the year, I posted a couple of submissions off to agents on Friday!
Shall head off to bed in a few hours (sleeping patterns are w-a-y out of kilter at the moment) and then be up for work a few hours after that, head into work for a morning of madness then head home again for a few hours before heading back into the city to get a spot to watch the fireworks on the Thames at midnight.
I love living in London! And, it's currently forecast to SNOW on Wednesday!!!!!
Here's to 2008 - may it be full of everything you want. I know I already have a few things planned for 2008. I'm going to put them on here in a day or two as someone I met once told me that once you share your plans with others, you work harder to make them happen.
I want 2008 to be full of good things for everyone I know! HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Sunday, December 30, 2007
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
merry christmas!
I'm spending a much deserved evening lying on the sofa doing nothing. In fact, I'm seriously considering going to bed. Life has been very busy with Christmas things (nights out, lunches, buying presents, arranging more nights out) which coupled with the fact that it's extremely cold mean all I want to do is curl up on the sofa with a duvet and pillow!
Everything I've wanted to buy seems to be unavailable. I searched many a Marks & Spencer for a particular Mrs Beeton's book before giving up and today I've been treking round London Tesco stores trying to find one that had Mousetrap in stock. They have a 3 for 2 special on games (and an extra 25% off!) so I wanted to get Mousetrap, Operation and Buckaroo. All the shops I went too either had none or Operation and Buckaroo but not Mousetrap. Of course, I could buy it from Argo but for almost the same cost as the three games from Tesco! It's essential that I get Mousetrap so I might have to reassess tomorrow.
Officialy, I'm working right up to Christmas and the few days between Christmas and New Year. Unoffically, I'm hoping for late starts, early finishes, casual clothes and plenty of time to catch up on some reading while I'm in the office.
Merry Christmas everyone!!
Everything I've wanted to buy seems to be unavailable. I searched many a Marks & Spencer for a particular Mrs Beeton's book before giving up and today I've been treking round London Tesco stores trying to find one that had Mousetrap in stock. They have a 3 for 2 special on games (and an extra 25% off!) so I wanted to get Mousetrap, Operation and Buckaroo. All the shops I went too either had none or Operation and Buckaroo but not Mousetrap. Of course, I could buy it from Argo but for almost the same cost as the three games from Tesco! It's essential that I get Mousetrap so I might have to reassess tomorrow.
Officialy, I'm working right up to Christmas and the few days between Christmas and New Year. Unoffically, I'm hoping for late starts, early finishes, casual clothes and plenty of time to catch up on some reading while I'm in the office.
Merry Christmas everyone!!
Friday, December 07, 2007
rejection letter
The title says it all really. The US agent rejected my ms yesterday. I got a handwritten note explaining why and all that and that's really I have to say about it right now.
Tuesday, December 04, 2007
story ideas
Hey, it's December! Christmas is coming! And I have another story idea demanding to be written! It came to me last night - just the opening scene and the final sentence, which leads onto another book! Oh boy! Practically no writing all year due to study pressures and then as soon as the final exams are over, three ideas pile in!
I'd love to be writing them but at the moment I'm struggling with just getting through the day and doing the necessary Christmas stuff that needs to be done each night so that Christmas Eve doesn't send me into a panic.
The other thing that's keeping me busy is visiting author sites to enter contests to win free books! Jessica Hart (www.jessicahart.co.uk) is giving away an advance copy of her first 2008 book, Liz Fielding (www.lizfielding.com) is giving a book away every day on her blog and Kate Walker (www.kate-walker.com) is too!
OK, back to the Christmas cards...
I'd love to be writing them but at the moment I'm struggling with just getting through the day and doing the necessary Christmas stuff that needs to be done each night so that Christmas Eve doesn't send me into a panic.
The other thing that's keeping me busy is visiting author sites to enter contests to win free books! Jessica Hart (www.jessicahart.co.uk) is giving away an advance copy of her first 2008 book, Liz Fielding (www.lizfielding.com) is giving a book away every day on her blog and Kate Walker (www.kate-walker.com) is too!
OK, back to the Christmas cards...
Sunday, November 25, 2007
writing again!
For a last few months, I've promised myself that, post exams, I would start writing again by Christmas.
Well, I've done it! An idea I've been playing with over the last 12 months or so suddenly started to fall into place in my head as I drifted off to sleep last night (how inconvenient!) and I've just finished putting it all into a word document. I was rather pleased to see I've got nearly 11,000 words already! They aren't entirely new words because a lot of what came to me was how some stuff I'd already written thinking they were different stories were all actually part of this one story that I need to write. I'd always intended to call it No Maternal Bones but the working title is actually The Baby Connection.
I've got a list of characters, I know what motivates the heroine and I know the point of the story but there's still a lot of blanks to fill in.
Some what annoyingly, another story idea is also grabbing me right now! I know much less about this story and only have 137 words written but it was something that I was fired up to write earlier this year but didn't because I realised I needed to focus on my studies.
So, now my exams are over and I have two stories demanding to be written! I'm hoping that is a sign that 2008 is going to be a fantastic writing year!
Sadly, I have to put the writing to one side for the rest of the day because I have other things I need to achieve before I go to bed: like making sure I've got work clothes sorted because I'm going back to work tomorrow after a two week break, like keeping an eye on the roast slowly cooking in the oven, like catching up with some reading. But, boy does it feel good to be writing again!
Well, I've done it! An idea I've been playing with over the last 12 months or so suddenly started to fall into place in my head as I drifted off to sleep last night (how inconvenient!) and I've just finished putting it all into a word document. I was rather pleased to see I've got nearly 11,000 words already! They aren't entirely new words because a lot of what came to me was how some stuff I'd already written thinking they were different stories were all actually part of this one story that I need to write. I'd always intended to call it No Maternal Bones but the working title is actually The Baby Connection.
I've got a list of characters, I know what motivates the heroine and I know the point of the story but there's still a lot of blanks to fill in.
Some what annoyingly, another story idea is also grabbing me right now! I know much less about this story and only have 137 words written but it was something that I was fired up to write earlier this year but didn't because I realised I needed to focus on my studies.
So, now my exams are over and I have two stories demanding to be written! I'm hoping that is a sign that 2008 is going to be a fantastic writing year!
Sadly, I have to put the writing to one side for the rest of the day because I have other things I need to achieve before I go to bed: like making sure I've got work clothes sorted because I'm going back to work tomorrow after a two week break, like keeping an eye on the roast slowly cooking in the oven, like catching up with some reading. But, boy does it feel good to be writing again!
Saturday, November 24, 2007
they think it's all over. it is now!
Exams are over!!! I sat the last one yesterday. After two and a half years of studying constantly, I got up this morning and said "I've got nothing to do". What did I used to do with all my free time before I started studying for this qualification? Oh, that's right, I used to write!
Right now, I'm exhausted but give me another day of lounging around and I'll be back on top of things. Just as well as I'm due back at work on Monday.
Of course, I don't get my final results until February so technically I'm not fully qualified until then, and there's always a chance that I didn't do as well as I hope I did, but I'm not going to think about that. As far as I am concerned, I'm done. I'm qualified.
So, now it's onto the next thing. When I say I'm finished studying, that's not quite true. I am doing an Open University course but it doesn't involve exams and so far is proving enjoyable. It's more for my own benefit than work. I got my first assignment back on Thursday: 94% - so you can see why I might be feeling happy at the moment, what with exams being out of the way and all!
Now that I'm qualified, I need to decide what I want next out of my career. I have two choices. I can go on and do a Masters or I can go down the management course route. I have given myself next year to decide as I want to see how a few things pan out.
In the meantime, I have dozens of unread books to read that I've bought over the last two and a half years but haven't found the time to read, more books that I want to buy, and a new book to get writing!
I also have another roast to cook and yet another chocolate pudding to eat (all in the name of trying to find a chocolate pudding like the ones I remember from when I was little!).
And did I mention that it is freezing out? All I really want to do is curl up in bed!
Right now, I'm exhausted but give me another day of lounging around and I'll be back on top of things. Just as well as I'm due back at work on Monday.
Of course, I don't get my final results until February so technically I'm not fully qualified until then, and there's always a chance that I didn't do as well as I hope I did, but I'm not going to think about that. As far as I am concerned, I'm done. I'm qualified.
So, now it's onto the next thing. When I say I'm finished studying, that's not quite true. I am doing an Open University course but it doesn't involve exams and so far is proving enjoyable. It's more for my own benefit than work. I got my first assignment back on Thursday: 94% - so you can see why I might be feeling happy at the moment, what with exams being out of the way and all!
Now that I'm qualified, I need to decide what I want next out of my career. I have two choices. I can go on and do a Masters or I can go down the management course route. I have given myself next year to decide as I want to see how a few things pan out.
In the meantime, I have dozens of unread books to read that I've bought over the last two and a half years but haven't found the time to read, more books that I want to buy, and a new book to get writing!
I also have another roast to cook and yet another chocolate pudding to eat (all in the name of trying to find a chocolate pudding like the ones I remember from when I was little!).
And did I mention that it is freezing out? All I really want to do is curl up in bed!
Monday, November 19, 2007
podcasting
I don't post for nearly a month and then, just like London buses, two come along at once! I'm excited! The roast is nearly done (just minutes away) and I did mean to use the cooking time to do my nearly final run through of my case study notes (tomorrow is the final run through) but instead I have spent it downloading podcasting software Juice and then searching the internet for podcasts! So far I have the Harlequin Author Spotlights, Chequered Flag Formula 1, Tiesto's club life, and Downing Street! I appreciate that some people's eyes may be glazing over and that some many have no idea what I am talking about but believe me, I am excited! I think I've turned into a tech geek! How did I miss podcasting? OK, I didn't miss it. My dh has been listening to podcasts for what seems like forever, but it just never grabbed me until today. No idea why. Oh, I know, study diversion! So, when exams are over, I have dozens of books to read and podcasts to listen to. Oh, and I'm going to start work on my next manuscript before Christmas plus I have another writing related project on the go that's super exciting!
Nine minutes until the roast is ready.
Did I mention that I have chocolate sponge pudding? The dh likes Christmas puddings, which I hate. Somehow we have at least eight Christmas puddings in the kitchen. So, being the grown up that I am, for each Christmas pudding in the trolley, I added a chocolate sponge just for me. So far, I have yet to find a chocolate pudding that tastes anything like the self saucing chocolate puddings I remember from my childhood. It's tough, but I'll keep trying.
Seven minutes...
Nine minutes until the roast is ready.
Did I mention that I have chocolate sponge pudding? The dh likes Christmas puddings, which I hate. Somehow we have at least eight Christmas puddings in the kitchen. So, being the grown up that I am, for each Christmas pudding in the trolley, I added a chocolate sponge just for me. So far, I have yet to find a chocolate pudding that tastes anything like the self saucing chocolate puddings I remember from my childhood. It's tough, but I'll keep trying.
Seven minutes...
yikes!
I didn't realise I hadn't blogged in nearly a month! My only excuse is that I've had my head down, studying. Yeah, exams are looming. Wednesday, Thursday and Friday afternoon. But the good news is that these are the last set of exams (touch wood) so once they are over, they are over. And boy do I plan to celebrate at the weekend!
So, I've been studying. Test me. I know all about advanced project management (gnatt charts, business cases, project life cycles, six sigma, Prince2, networks, work breakdown stuctures), legal aspects (contract law, vitiating factors, alternative dispute resolution, the Sale of Goods Act, the Supply of Goods and Services Act, EU procurement directives, confidentiality, Freedom of Information Act) and I've done the analysis for the case study exam (PESTLE, SWOT, Porter, stakeholders) and, well, OK, I don't know it all but hopefully I know enough to pass! I won't feel bad if I don't pass because I know I have put in the work.
I've also been doing lots of other stuff like waiting. The US agent has had my ms for three weeks now and I've also had a partial at M&B in Richmond since the end of June.
I'll worry about them next week.
Today, I have cleaned like a mad woman. It's something I do when I'm meant to be studying! The only thing that surprised me about today's cleaning is that I've been home for 10 days and this is the first day I've used cleaning as a study diversion! So, the place is clean, there's a roast in the oven and I've only got a little bit of study scheduled to complete today because I figure it's a good idea to take it easy today and tomorrow.
The other thing I've been doing today is obssessively checking the internet for updates on the release of Amazon's Kindle, an e-booker reader which I desperately want! Sadly, it's only available in the US, as is the Sony PRS-505. No idea when the Kindle is being released in the UK yet but there are rumours the Sony one is being launched at the London Book Fair next year. I don't know if the general public can attend the book fair but if they can and the Sony PRS-505 is being launched there, I do everything in my power to ensure I am there.
Right now, I'm telling myself that I will buy either a Sony PRS-505 or Kindle next year as my present to myself for passing these exams and therefore being fully qualified. Results are due in early February. But I'm also toying with the idea of buying something else.
I have sooooo many books to read once my exams are over! I can't wait!
So, I've been studying. Test me. I know all about advanced project management (gnatt charts, business cases, project life cycles, six sigma, Prince2, networks, work breakdown stuctures), legal aspects (contract law, vitiating factors, alternative dispute resolution, the Sale of Goods Act, the Supply of Goods and Services Act, EU procurement directives, confidentiality, Freedom of Information Act) and I've done the analysis for the case study exam (PESTLE, SWOT, Porter, stakeholders) and, well, OK, I don't know it all but hopefully I know enough to pass! I won't feel bad if I don't pass because I know I have put in the work.
I've also been doing lots of other stuff like waiting. The US agent has had my ms for three weeks now and I've also had a partial at M&B in Richmond since the end of June.
I'll worry about them next week.
Today, I have cleaned like a mad woman. It's something I do when I'm meant to be studying! The only thing that surprised me about today's cleaning is that I've been home for 10 days and this is the first day I've used cleaning as a study diversion! So, the place is clean, there's a roast in the oven and I've only got a little bit of study scheduled to complete today because I figure it's a good idea to take it easy today and tomorrow.
The other thing I've been doing today is obssessively checking the internet for updates on the release of Amazon's Kindle, an e-booker reader which I desperately want! Sadly, it's only available in the US, as is the Sony PRS-505. No idea when the Kindle is being released in the UK yet but there are rumours the Sony one is being launched at the London Book Fair next year. I don't know if the general public can attend the book fair but if they can and the Sony PRS-505 is being launched there, I do everything in my power to ensure I am there.
Right now, I'm telling myself that I will buy either a Sony PRS-505 or Kindle next year as my present to myself for passing these exams and therefore being fully qualified. Results are due in early February. But I'm also toying with the idea of buying something else.
I have sooooo many books to read once my exams are over! I can't wait!
Thursday, October 25, 2007
hello, hello, hello!
Bet you all thought I forgot I had a blog! I promise I didn't. I've thought about posting on many occasions but just never actually sat down and did it.
Life has been full of ups and downs as usual - although I hasten to add that I'm making sure there are lots more ups in my life to help me get through the downs! I have a lot to be grateful for and I remind myself of this whenever I start to get down. Mostly, the downs are things I can't control and while I know I shouldn't stress about them, sometimes I just can't help myself. Chocolate helps! Lots of it! And doing "up" things.
Right now, I'm up to my neck in study. I have three exams in three and a half weeks. These are the final three exams of my graduate diploma. Fourteen exams in two and a half years, while working full time, and trying to write....hmmmm, I think I'm mad!
And the study doesn't end there! I've recently started an Open University course and the second one starts in February. I'm really enjoying my M150 (data, computing and information) course and the good thing is that it's assessed via assignment so NO MORE EXAMS!
I've also been on a life planning and career success course recently which means I have a plan (which I'm looking at right now!) of where I'd like to be in three months, six months, 12 months and three years from now. No surprises for guessing that having a book published is in there somewhere!! Along with things like learning Spanish.
I've also been to see Col Tim Collins give a talk. He gave the famous speech to his men on the eve of the Iraq war. I'm sure I remember several romance authors talking about how dashing Col Collins was at the time! In person, well, let's just say I was awestruck! His speech was just amazing. I came home and ordered a copy of his book.
Oh, and I'm thinking about writing! This weekend I've penciled in time to do a final run through of my ms before sending it off to the agent who requested it. Yes, I know that was ages ago and I promise you I haven't been pissing around. The agent specified it was not to turn up at her office until after October 29th so I'm posting it on October 29th.
And, looking back through my blog a few minutes ago, I realised my partial has been at M&B for four months now. Not that I'm going to stress about it. Exams are the only thing I have time for stressing about right now!
But I did promise the fantastically inspiring woman who presented the life planning and career success course that I would start writing something brand spanking new before Christmas, and that I'd email her to let her know I had done this.
One final word (or words): fingers crossed and best of luck to my fabulous CP who is sending her requested full into M&B. Go Sue!!!!!
Life has been full of ups and downs as usual - although I hasten to add that I'm making sure there are lots more ups in my life to help me get through the downs! I have a lot to be grateful for and I remind myself of this whenever I start to get down. Mostly, the downs are things I can't control and while I know I shouldn't stress about them, sometimes I just can't help myself. Chocolate helps! Lots of it! And doing "up" things.
Right now, I'm up to my neck in study. I have three exams in three and a half weeks. These are the final three exams of my graduate diploma. Fourteen exams in two and a half years, while working full time, and trying to write....hmmmm, I think I'm mad!
And the study doesn't end there! I've recently started an Open University course and the second one starts in February. I'm really enjoying my M150 (data, computing and information) course and the good thing is that it's assessed via assignment so NO MORE EXAMS!
I've also been on a life planning and career success course recently which means I have a plan (which I'm looking at right now!) of where I'd like to be in three months, six months, 12 months and three years from now. No surprises for guessing that having a book published is in there somewhere!! Along with things like learning Spanish.
I've also been to see Col Tim Collins give a talk. He gave the famous speech to his men on the eve of the Iraq war. I'm sure I remember several romance authors talking about how dashing Col Collins was at the time! In person, well, let's just say I was awestruck! His speech was just amazing. I came home and ordered a copy of his book.
Oh, and I'm thinking about writing! This weekend I've penciled in time to do a final run through of my ms before sending it off to the agent who requested it. Yes, I know that was ages ago and I promise you I haven't been pissing around. The agent specified it was not to turn up at her office until after October 29th so I'm posting it on October 29th.
And, looking back through my blog a few minutes ago, I realised my partial has been at M&B for four months now. Not that I'm going to stress about it. Exams are the only thing I have time for stressing about right now!
But I did promise the fantastically inspiring woman who presented the life planning and career success course that I would start writing something brand spanking new before Christmas, and that I'd email her to let her know I had done this.
One final word (or words): fingers crossed and best of luck to my fabulous CP who is sending her requested full into M&B. Go Sue!!!!!
Friday, September 21, 2007
agent update
The agent liked what I did with the revisions on the partial and has now asked to see the complete ms! Yay! I was a little shocked to see the envelope waiting for me when I got home last night because I only posted the revised partial to the US last Monday and wasn't expecting to hear back until the end of October. I'll be printing out a copy later today so I can start going through it to double check one more time!
Thursday, September 13, 2007
updates
- Ms revised and posted to US agent on Monday.
- August exam result received today - I passed - 60% - yay!
- August exam result received today - I passed - 60% - yay!
Monday, September 03, 2007
busy!
I'm bogged down in study and finishing my revisions for the US agent. My to do list is looking so scary that I'm almost at the point where I don't want to add anything else to it! But, on the plus side, I am almost over the cold I caught when we were on holiday and I LOVE being busy! I'm one of those sad people who work best when they're busy! And I have set aside special time for reading when I reach certain milestones on my to do list. For example, yesterday I ordered the new James Patterson book Double Cross which is out on Thursday. I should receive it Friday and I'll be desperate to read it asap so I've decided I can read it as soon as I've sent my revised ms off to the US.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
the best holiday ever was followed by...
...the crapiest day at work ever. But that was yesterday and I've moved on. Almost. OK, so I might still be a tiny bit annoyed.
But, moving on.
While we were away, I told my darling husband that I felt I needed to become more high maintenance. Where did this come from? I don't know. I've never been what I would call a girlie girl. I can be ready to go out in a matter of minutes. It's not that I don't care about my appearance. I do, but I've never been into all that girlie taking hours to get ready business and stressing about how I look. OK, maybe I do stress about how I look a bit but I am definitely not high maintenance!
Naturally, my darling husband was concerned by my statement and told me I was not to become high maintenance!
He can relax. I couldn't do high maintenance if I wanted to. I'd bore myself!
But this week I have managed to visit Boots to purchase a new (and expensive) skin care regime only to instead come away with enough free samplers to last a week at which time I have an appointment to see the skin care specialist to review my options. Now, that is high maintenance for me! And, as a side note, my skin is already feeling and looking better after just two "three minutes a day" sessions!
And today I went shopping and came home wearing a matching bracelet and necklace, which my darling husband looked at and said "is that your attempt at being high maintenance?". Then, having found out how much these items cost (£4 and £8 - ok, so not much but I liked them!) he practically fell on the floor laughing at me.
High maintenance I am not. I don't know why I would want to be. Maybe I was flirting with a mid life crisis. Or maybe I just needed to spend some money on myself to cheer myself up because some crappy things have left me feeling a little down.
Usually I would simply buy a book or some chocolate. OK, you got me there! I have bought a lot of chocolate in the last two days as well!
Whatever the reason, I am feeling happy right. Tired, and still suffering from the cold from hell, but happy.
But, moving on.
While we were away, I told my darling husband that I felt I needed to become more high maintenance. Where did this come from? I don't know. I've never been what I would call a girlie girl. I can be ready to go out in a matter of minutes. It's not that I don't care about my appearance. I do, but I've never been into all that girlie taking hours to get ready business and stressing about how I look. OK, maybe I do stress about how I look a bit but I am definitely not high maintenance!
Naturally, my darling husband was concerned by my statement and told me I was not to become high maintenance!
He can relax. I couldn't do high maintenance if I wanted to. I'd bore myself!
But this week I have managed to visit Boots to purchase a new (and expensive) skin care regime only to instead come away with enough free samplers to last a week at which time I have an appointment to see the skin care specialist to review my options. Now, that is high maintenance for me! And, as a side note, my skin is already feeling and looking better after just two "three minutes a day" sessions!
And today I went shopping and came home wearing a matching bracelet and necklace, which my darling husband looked at and said "is that your attempt at being high maintenance?". Then, having found out how much these items cost (£4 and £8 - ok, so not much but I liked them!) he practically fell on the floor laughing at me.
High maintenance I am not. I don't know why I would want to be. Maybe I was flirting with a mid life crisis. Or maybe I just needed to spend some money on myself to cheer myself up because some crappy things have left me feeling a little down.
Usually I would simply buy a book or some chocolate. OK, you got me there! I have bought a lot of chocolate in the last two days as well!
Whatever the reason, I am feeling happy right. Tired, and still suffering from the cold from hell, but happy.
Sunday, August 26, 2007
the best holiday ever!
I'm home again and I've had the BEST HOLIDAY EVER!!!! Aside from the fact that we both came home with stinking colds, that is. Apart from one trip to the supermarket to buy fresh fruit and veg, we've spent the last two days lying on the sofa watching videos or in bed sleeping, all the while coughing and blowing our noses! Nice!
But I don't care because I had the BEST HOLIDAY EVER!!!!!!
It truly was.
I am yet to feel sad that it is over. That will probably hit me on Tuesday morning when I head off to work, when reality takes over and I realise that I am suddenly back to being rushed off my feet at work every single second that I'm there, that I need to start studying again and that I need to finish my revisions.
But for now I'm sitting here listening to Dance Anthems on Radio 1 and a top tune from the best dj in the world, who I just happened to see on my holiday!!!! Thanks to my darling husband for booking the tickets!! Love ya!!
But I don't care because I had the BEST HOLIDAY EVER!!!!!!
It truly was.
I am yet to feel sad that it is over. That will probably hit me on Tuesday morning when I head off to work, when reality takes over and I realise that I am suddenly back to being rushed off my feet at work every single second that I'm there, that I need to start studying again and that I need to finish my revisions.
But for now I'm sitting here listening to Dance Anthems on Radio 1 and a top tune from the best dj in the world, who I just happened to see on my holiday!!!! Thanks to my darling husband for booking the tickets!! Love ya!!
Monday, August 13, 2007
things to be happy about
1) I'm going on holiday to sunny Spain on Friday!
2) I bought Swan Adamson's latest Little Black Dress, Memoirs are Made of This, today to take on holiday with me. It features the delightful Venus Gilroy from My Three Husbands. That and She'll Take it (by Mary Carter) are two of my favourite Little Black Dress books so far. Believe me, I have a lot of them! They're all brilliant!
3) I've eaten an obscene amount of chocolate today. Ok, so maybe I shouldn't be happy about that, I mean, I'm not exactly a perfect size, I'm somewhere between a UK 10 and 12 with jiggly thighs and bottom and a less than flat stomach but I don't care about dieting today, or pretty much any other day.
4) I have a tan! So what if it came out of a bottle and it's all streaky. I have a tan! I never tan. Never. Ever. Hence why this year I bought FAKE TAN. Tonight's application should fix the streaky bits. Maybe. I don't really care right now.
5) An agent who asked to see more of my ms when I sent her a query letter has just been in touch to ask for revisions! Thankfully, I understand exactly what she meant in her letter and know exactly what I'm going to do to fix it.
6) I have a fantastic husband who I love dearly!
2) I bought Swan Adamson's latest Little Black Dress, Memoirs are Made of This, today to take on holiday with me. It features the delightful Venus Gilroy from My Three Husbands. That and She'll Take it (by Mary Carter) are two of my favourite Little Black Dress books so far. Believe me, I have a lot of them! They're all brilliant!
3) I've eaten an obscene amount of chocolate today. Ok, so maybe I shouldn't be happy about that, I mean, I'm not exactly a perfect size, I'm somewhere between a UK 10 and 12 with jiggly thighs and bottom and a less than flat stomach but I don't care about dieting today, or pretty much any other day.
4) I have a tan! So what if it came out of a bottle and it's all streaky. I have a tan! I never tan. Never. Ever. Hence why this year I bought FAKE TAN. Tonight's application should fix the streaky bits. Maybe. I don't really care right now.
5) An agent who asked to see more of my ms when I sent her a query letter has just been in touch to ask for revisions! Thankfully, I understand exactly what she meant in her letter and know exactly what I'm going to do to fix it.
6) I have a fantastic husband who I love dearly!
Wednesday, August 01, 2007
interrupted revision
I'm at home today revising for Friday's exam. At least, I should be revising. Normally, I go to the library. But then in the past I didn't have my own desk here at home. So, today I decided to stay at home and study. Big mistake. Firstly, it's sunny so I keep looking out the window and thinking about going outside to sit in the sun. Secondly, the husband works from home. He's been chatting away and has now just put the radio on, plus he arranged for the Tesco shopping to be delivered this afternoon because I'd be home to put all the shopping away. And finally, I keep distracting myself by going on Facebook, checking my email, reading the news. After the shopping has been delivered, I am going to either the library or the park so I can get on with some study and tomorrow I am getting up and going to the library.
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
i passed!
May exam results turned up today (a whole day earlier than expected, sneaky people!) and I passed! That's right, I passed all three exams! One straight pass and two credits - some of my best exam results actually. I'm amazed, simply amazed. I was convinced I'd failed at least one, if not two. I felt sick this morning when a colleague who sat two of the three exams I did announced to the team that our exam results were out and she'd passed. Then the next person checked and announced he too had passed. I refused to check mine for ages, absolutely convinced I'd failed and everyone would feel sorry for me. But I passed and we duly went for a walk to buy celebratory donnuts! This is just the boost I need two days before my next exam!
Sunday, July 22, 2007
i'm still here..
I'm just very busy and thought it was about time I gave everyone a break from my moaning! Since I last blogged I've been on holiday to Bournemouth again (another fish and chip fest!), stressed terribly about the situation that I shouldn't stress about because I have no control over it, received a rejection letter from an agent (well, actually, what she did was scribble a few lines on the bottom of my letter and send it back to me!) and have been ill for the last two days. But, hey, the good times have outweighed the bad so I'm not complaining this time round!
I'm studying hard as I have an exam in just under two weeks and have also just given in and joined Facebook and Shelfari. After the exam (which, if anyone is interested is exam 11 of 14 so I am nearly there!) I'm off to Cambridgeshire for the weekend and have yet another trip planned to Bournemouth in mid-August, after which I shall have to start work on the courses for the November exams.
One of these days I might even fit some reading in! I swear I took a book to Bournemouth with me (the same book I took the last time we were there) but didn't find time to read it. Maybe when we go to Spain...
I'm studying hard as I have an exam in just under two weeks and have also just given in and joined Facebook and Shelfari. After the exam (which, if anyone is interested is exam 11 of 14 so I am nearly there!) I'm off to Cambridgeshire for the weekend and have yet another trip planned to Bournemouth in mid-August, after which I shall have to start work on the courses for the November exams.
One of these days I might even fit some reading in! I swear I took a book to Bournemouth with me (the same book I took the last time we were there) but didn't find time to read it. Maybe when we go to Spain...
Thursday, July 05, 2007
reference number
I got my reference number in the post from M&B today. What? I forgot to mention that I posted a partial to Richmond on Monday? When my last submission to M&B got rejected back in February, the letter came with a comps slip to send something else in to the same editor. At the time I didn't think I had anything more to send so it got filed away until last week when I decided I did have something to send in. I dusted that comps slip off, printed my partial, wrote a letter, packaged it all up, posted it off and then immediately began to worry about all the flaws in the ms that I hadn't thought of until after I posted it! Oh well. If the editor sees something in my ms, she'll give me a chance to fix those flaws. If not, it wasn't meant to be. For now, that's another ms forgotten about as I have an exam in a little under a month which I need to focus on but I'm sure I'll be frantically worrying that a letter got lost in about 20 weeks!
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
a rubbish day
Today was a rubbish day. It was full of gossip, speculation and bitching. I contributed to all of it and came home with a pounding head, wishing that I could come up with an excuse not to get out of bed for the next couple of days. I really wanna wake up and find this is all over. Note to self: stop stressing about things you can do nothing about. It is nearly over. Just a few more days...
This time in a week I will be getting ready for another trip to Bournemouth! The weather people say we only have one day of real summer weather left - July 15th. Guess where I will be on that day? Bournemouth. On the beach! Yay! Now that is something to look forward to.
Another thing to look forward to is the arrival of my copy of Lean Mean Thirteen, which I ordered from Amazon at the weekend and hope will arrive this Friday or Saturday.
And another thing to look forward to is reading all the gorgeous Little Black Dress books I have been buying even though I haven't had time to read them...and also all the other books I've yet to read. I'm tempted to post a list of them all on this blog but I'd probably be embarrassed because I've gone a little book buying mad while I've been studying. My excuse is that I'm not writing at the moment so I might as well take advantage of this and use the time to read, only I haven't managed to do that either!
So, there you have it, today sucked, tomorrow looks better! And if not tomorrow, then the next day or the day after that. There is light at the end of the tunnel after all!
Sorry for all my grumbling over recent months. I promise to try harder!
This time in a week I will be getting ready for another trip to Bournemouth! The weather people say we only have one day of real summer weather left - July 15th. Guess where I will be on that day? Bournemouth. On the beach! Yay! Now that is something to look forward to.
Another thing to look forward to is the arrival of my copy of Lean Mean Thirteen, which I ordered from Amazon at the weekend and hope will arrive this Friday or Saturday.
And another thing to look forward to is reading all the gorgeous Little Black Dress books I have been buying even though I haven't had time to read them...and also all the other books I've yet to read. I'm tempted to post a list of them all on this blog but I'd probably be embarrassed because I've gone a little book buying mad while I've been studying. My excuse is that I'm not writing at the moment so I might as well take advantage of this and use the time to read, only I haven't managed to do that either!
So, there you have it, today sucked, tomorrow looks better! And if not tomorrow, then the next day or the day after that. There is light at the end of the tunnel after all!
Sorry for all my grumbling over recent months. I promise to try harder!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
tiny steps
An agent I sent a query to earlier in the week has replied saying my ms "sounds super" and to send it to her! I know it's only a tiny step but it's 100% better than a rejection letter so I'm happy! I'd be happier if there wasn't a postal strike tomorrow because that means there's no point taking my ms to the post office until Monday. Still, I can get it ready tomorrow.
Life is progressing steadily on all other fronts; every day this week has had it ups and downs.
ps: how much does it cost to send a letter from the US to the UK? I need to include a SAE with my ms. Thankfully I have US stamps from the days when I was submitting to Avalon. Back then I think it was about 80 cents. I just googled US to UK postage costs and I came up with a cost of nearly $4 to get a letter. Surely that can't be right?
Life is progressing steadily on all other fronts; every day this week has had it ups and downs.
ps: how much does it cost to send a letter from the US to the UK? I need to include a SAE with my ms. Thankfully I have US stamps from the days when I was submitting to Avalon. Back then I think it was about 80 cents. I just googled US to UK postage costs and I came up with a cost of nearly $4 to get a letter. Surely that can't be right?
Sunday, June 24, 2007
time flies...
I think the saying is time flies when you're having fun. I wish. I just realised how long it's been since I've blogged and unfortunately I can't say it's because I've been busy having fun. Time has flown. Life truly sucks.
Right now I'm lying on the sofa, dosed up on painkillers with a hotwater bottle on my neck/back/shoulder in an attempt to dull the pain I have been feeling all weekend. What I really wanted to be doing this weekend was reading Janet Evanovich's Lean Mean Thirteen but not a single one of the many bookshops I've visited since it's release date last week actually have it. I am now preparing to buy it from Amazon, which I don't do unless I absolutely have to for a reason I can't remember.
But that's not why life sucks. The little things are getting me down but only because I can't do a damned thing about the big thing that's making my life suck right now. My dh says I shouldn't stress about things I can't control. Knowing he is right, I have tried to live by this suggestion for the last few months and mostly I've got by. Sadly, that's not the case right now as the situation comes to a head.
Life hasn't been all bad though. Last weekend I visited my parents, and I'm sure other good things have happened which I've conveniently forgotten about now, which brings me to another thing. Can anyone recommend a good book for increasing your memory power? My dh says I need one! I've been looking on amazon but there are too many to choose from!
Oh, I just thought of another good thing - dh bought himself a new desk which is arriving tomorrow which means I get his! I will finally have a desk to put my laptop on instead of making space wherever I sit down...on the sofa, on the bed, on the beanbag. Yay!
And I do have rather a lot of very good books to read.
Now, if only this damned pain would go away...
Right now I'm lying on the sofa, dosed up on painkillers with a hotwater bottle on my neck/back/shoulder in an attempt to dull the pain I have been feeling all weekend. What I really wanted to be doing this weekend was reading Janet Evanovich's Lean Mean Thirteen but not a single one of the many bookshops I've visited since it's release date last week actually have it. I am now preparing to buy it from Amazon, which I don't do unless I absolutely have to for a reason I can't remember.
But that's not why life sucks. The little things are getting me down but only because I can't do a damned thing about the big thing that's making my life suck right now. My dh says I shouldn't stress about things I can't control. Knowing he is right, I have tried to live by this suggestion for the last few months and mostly I've got by. Sadly, that's not the case right now as the situation comes to a head.
Life hasn't been all bad though. Last weekend I visited my parents, and I'm sure other good things have happened which I've conveniently forgotten about now, which brings me to another thing. Can anyone recommend a good book for increasing your memory power? My dh says I need one! I've been looking on amazon but there are too many to choose from!
Oh, I just thought of another good thing - dh bought himself a new desk which is arriving tomorrow which means I get his! I will finally have a desk to put my laptop on instead of making space wherever I sit down...on the sofa, on the bed, on the beanbag. Yay!
And I do have rather a lot of very good books to read.
Now, if only this damned pain would go away...
Saturday, June 09, 2007
bournemouth
I'm back! The holiday went something like this:
day one - relaxing on the beach, catching up with friends, fish & chips for dinner.
day two - nine mile walk along beach (to Mudeford) to catch up with family, fish & chips for dinner.
day three - relaxing on the beach (tired out from yesterday's walk!), fish & chips for dinner.
day four - nine mile walk long beach in other direction (to Sandbanks/Poole) just for the hell of it, pasta for dinner because dh insisted I have something different.
day five - relaxing on beach, fish & chips for dinner.
And then yesterday it was back to work. Thankfully, it was a Friday so I read my emails, actioned a few important things and caught up with the gossip before coming home for two days off! And did I mention that it might also be time for a diet after all those meals of fish & chiips? Today I have existed on wholemeal bread rolls with rabbit food in them, which I don't particularly love but sometimes you gotta try to pretend you're being healthy!
We also watched an hour or so of day time television in the mornings while we were waking up and getting ready to go out for the day and...I watched something that gave me an idea for a book! Yippee! Now, if only I had the time to research and write it.
Time is against me given that I have another exam in eight weeks and only started lesson one of the course on Friday afternoon. However, the idea won't go away and I can't study all the time after work so I'm sure I can fit some writing time in somewhere!
In the meantime, tomorrow I'm going to send my current ms to another couple of agents.
But first, I must get some study done tonight and catch up with everyone's blogs!
day one - relaxing on the beach, catching up with friends, fish & chips for dinner.
day two - nine mile walk along beach (to Mudeford) to catch up with family, fish & chips for dinner.
day three - relaxing on the beach (tired out from yesterday's walk!), fish & chips for dinner.
day four - nine mile walk long beach in other direction (to Sandbanks/Poole) just for the hell of it, pasta for dinner because dh insisted I have something different.
day five - relaxing on beach, fish & chips for dinner.
And then yesterday it was back to work. Thankfully, it was a Friday so I read my emails, actioned a few important things and caught up with the gossip before coming home for two days off! And did I mention that it might also be time for a diet after all those meals of fish & chiips? Today I have existed on wholemeal bread rolls with rabbit food in them, which I don't particularly love but sometimes you gotta try to pretend you're being healthy!
We also watched an hour or so of day time television in the mornings while we were waking up and getting ready to go out for the day and...I watched something that gave me an idea for a book! Yippee! Now, if only I had the time to research and write it.
Time is against me given that I have another exam in eight weeks and only started lesson one of the course on Friday afternoon. However, the idea won't go away and I can't study all the time after work so I'm sure I can fit some writing time in somewhere!
In the meantime, tomorrow I'm going to send my current ms to another couple of agents.
But first, I must get some study done tonight and catch up with everyone's blogs!
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
phew!
Exams are over. For now. I have another one coming up soon but I'm going to pretend that I don't right now because these have been the hardest exams I have ever sat and yesterday afternoon I was questioning my sanity!
Monday's exam was a disaster. I knew all the stuff and right now I can't even remember what went wrong. I just recall that I WAS NOT HAPPY.
Tuesday's was mildly better however I'm not convinced I will have passed. I expect I did OK in the case study (section A) but not so good in the second section so it all hinges on just how well I did in the first section. It will be close.
Today's exam went well. I'd be surprised if I failed.
The bits in between the exams were a nightmare. Sunday I stressed, Monday morning I stressed, Monday night I stressed, all night Monday I kept waking up with exam questions in my head, consequently I felt ill (and stressed!) all day Tuesday due to lack of sleep. Last night Daren convinced me to take a sleeping pill so I was actually refreshed and mildly chilled out this morning! And my brain has been so exhausted that I've been saying the weirdest things!
Anyway, it's over and there's no point stressing so these exams are now forgotten about until the start of August when the results are due.
So, back to writing.
I made it to the launch of Wannabe a Writer on Saturday. Just. I had been planning to see a friend who I haven't seen since her 21st birthday (many years ago!) afterwards but I was ill so crawled home to bed where I stayed until the thing that happened on Monday that I've forgotten about now!
The launch was fab! I chatted to Katie Fforde, Sarah Duncan and Maria McCarthy (all lovely ladies!) for a considerable amount of time before getting a copy of Wannabe a Writer, getting it signed by Jane Wenham-Jones and many of the contributors and then crawling home.
Now, as you may have gathered, I have been busy but even so I managed to find time to read the bits on finding an agent and, feeling inspired, emailed queries to four agents. Two have already responded with form rejections.
Anyway, it's back to work tomorrow. As previously mentioned, I have a very much muddled brain so I was kind of hoping to sit at my desk for two days doing very little while I recovered but I forgot that having had a week's annual leave and study leave and exam leave, I have a lot of work to catch up on that I promised people I would do this Thursday and Friday.
Still, it's a bank holiday weekend (yay!) and the following weekend we are off to Bournemouth to spend five days on the beach (yay!) so I can't complain too much...except for the fact that I have to start studying for the next exam next week...
Monday's exam was a disaster. I knew all the stuff and right now I can't even remember what went wrong. I just recall that I WAS NOT HAPPY.
Tuesday's was mildly better however I'm not convinced I will have passed. I expect I did OK in the case study (section A) but not so good in the second section so it all hinges on just how well I did in the first section. It will be close.
Today's exam went well. I'd be surprised if I failed.
The bits in between the exams were a nightmare. Sunday I stressed, Monday morning I stressed, Monday night I stressed, all night Monday I kept waking up with exam questions in my head, consequently I felt ill (and stressed!) all day Tuesday due to lack of sleep. Last night Daren convinced me to take a sleeping pill so I was actually refreshed and mildly chilled out this morning! And my brain has been so exhausted that I've been saying the weirdest things!
Anyway, it's over and there's no point stressing so these exams are now forgotten about until the start of August when the results are due.
So, back to writing.
I made it to the launch of Wannabe a Writer on Saturday. Just. I had been planning to see a friend who I haven't seen since her 21st birthday (many years ago!) afterwards but I was ill so crawled home to bed where I stayed until the thing that happened on Monday that I've forgotten about now!
The launch was fab! I chatted to Katie Fforde, Sarah Duncan and Maria McCarthy (all lovely ladies!) for a considerable amount of time before getting a copy of Wannabe a Writer, getting it signed by Jane Wenham-Jones and many of the contributors and then crawling home.
Now, as you may have gathered, I have been busy but even so I managed to find time to read the bits on finding an agent and, feeling inspired, emailed queries to four agents. Two have already responded with form rejections.
Anyway, it's back to work tomorrow. As previously mentioned, I have a very much muddled brain so I was kind of hoping to sit at my desk for two days doing very little while I recovered but I forgot that having had a week's annual leave and study leave and exam leave, I have a lot of work to catch up on that I promised people I would do this Thursday and Friday.
Still, it's a bank holiday weekend (yay!) and the following weekend we are off to Bournemouth to spend five days on the beach (yay!) so I can't complain too much...except for the fact that I have to start studying for the next exam next week...
Friday, May 18, 2007
the library is not a quiet place...
As the company I work for is paying for me to study and wishes me to pass my exams, they gave me three days off this week to revise. So, each day I got up and went to the library where:
- I revised for 12 hours over three days
- I wrote 67 and a quarter pages of notes
I also aggravated my RSI, rediscovered my love of M&B Medicals and learnt that the library is not a quiet place.
On Wednesday afternoon on my second trip to the library that day, I struggled to study while teenaged school students hung around talking loudly, complaining that all the computers were busy and arguing with the security guard when he asked them to keep the noise down. I managed to revise an entire course and was pleasantly surprised at how much I remembered, and I decided to be at the library at opening time on Thursday and do my revising in one sitting rather than taking a lunch break mid way through.
On Thursday I was at the opening just after opening time....as were class after class after class of primary school children! Noisy, but no where near as bad as the teenagers. Another course was revised.
Today I was at the library just after opening time again but spent the first half hour texting a work colleague because I was a little bored with revising and struggled to get into it. I'd just got into it when it kicked off. I have no idea what it was about but a man started yelling at the top of his voice at the library staff and it went on for ages. Security was called and at several stages I'm sure everyone in the library expected the police to be called. About half an hour later the man calmed down and left. Despite the interruption, I revised by third and final course and came home to enjoy a little of the sunshine on the balcony.
Exams start on Monday afternoon.
I feel like I have done all I can. I know I've studied hard since January.
On the writing front, I received a rejection from the agent I sent Breaking the Rules to this afternoon. I'm a little down about it but this was the first time I'd ever queried an agent so rejections are to be expected.
I'm off to Borders in Charing Cross Road tomorrow to get a copy of Wannabe a Writer by Jane Wenham-Jones. Jane and several of the contributors to the book will be in store from 12-4pm. I had intended to take the book on holiday with me in two weeks but I have a feeling I'll be reading it either over the weekend or straight after exams so I can soak up any tips before sending my ms to another agent.
On a funny note, my Tesco clubcard statement turned up in the post today. They include a couple of vouchers for extra points; usually things like 20 points for spending more than £1 on bananas or 20 points for spending more than £10 on bread. Sometimes they get used. Sometimes they go in the bin. One of today's vouchers: 100 points for buying any M&B! I am definitely not going to have a problem using that! Am already waiting impatiently for June to buy Kelly Hunter's next Modern Extra.
- I revised for 12 hours over three days
- I wrote 67 and a quarter pages of notes
I also aggravated my RSI, rediscovered my love of M&B Medicals and learnt that the library is not a quiet place.
On Wednesday afternoon on my second trip to the library that day, I struggled to study while teenaged school students hung around talking loudly, complaining that all the computers were busy and arguing with the security guard when he asked them to keep the noise down. I managed to revise an entire course and was pleasantly surprised at how much I remembered, and I decided to be at the library at opening time on Thursday and do my revising in one sitting rather than taking a lunch break mid way through.
On Thursday I was at the opening just after opening time....as were class after class after class of primary school children! Noisy, but no where near as bad as the teenagers. Another course was revised.
Today I was at the library just after opening time again but spent the first half hour texting a work colleague because I was a little bored with revising and struggled to get into it. I'd just got into it when it kicked off. I have no idea what it was about but a man started yelling at the top of his voice at the library staff and it went on for ages. Security was called and at several stages I'm sure everyone in the library expected the police to be called. About half an hour later the man calmed down and left. Despite the interruption, I revised by third and final course and came home to enjoy a little of the sunshine on the balcony.
Exams start on Monday afternoon.
I feel like I have done all I can. I know I've studied hard since January.
On the writing front, I received a rejection from the agent I sent Breaking the Rules to this afternoon. I'm a little down about it but this was the first time I'd ever queried an agent so rejections are to be expected.
I'm off to Borders in Charing Cross Road tomorrow to get a copy of Wannabe a Writer by Jane Wenham-Jones. Jane and several of the contributors to the book will be in store from 12-4pm. I had intended to take the book on holiday with me in two weeks but I have a feeling I'll be reading it either over the weekend or straight after exams so I can soak up any tips before sending my ms to another agent.
On a funny note, my Tesco clubcard statement turned up in the post today. They include a couple of vouchers for extra points; usually things like 20 points for spending more than £1 on bananas or 20 points for spending more than £10 on bread. Sometimes they get used. Sometimes they go in the bin. One of today's vouchers: 100 points for buying any M&B! I am definitely not going to have a problem using that! Am already waiting impatiently for June to buy Kelly Hunter's next Modern Extra.
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
exam stress...
This time in two weeks I will be a complete, utter mess. I will have sat three three hour exams in three days and will probably be lying on the sofa sleeping having eaten fish and chips for dinner followed by ice cream. I am sooooo looking forward to these exams being over.
I know I always worry I won't pass but this time, I'm really worried! These exams are the first for the new syllabus. That means that, unlike previous exams, there aren't years worth of exam papers online which I can download, digest, review, analyse, study and compare.
Before past exams, I have gone through five or six old exam papers, learning what questions are always asked, what questions are unlikely to come up again - just generally getting a feel for what I'm about to face. This has helped me decide what areas I need to focus on (either weak points or strong areas that I know I can get really good marks on if the question comes up in section B).
This time round, there is one exemplar paper for each exam. I know the theory, I practice it almost every day, but these questions seem foreign to me and I have even less understanding of the sample answers.
This time round, I feel like I simply don't know enough.
It may be that I'm just putting too much pressure on myself. In previous years, I've sat two exams in May and two in November, a total of four a year. This year I am sitting seven exams.
It's damn hard to work a full day and then come home to study.
I'm not after pity. I'm just venting in the hope that it will make me feel better. I still have this weekend and three days official study leave next week, plus that weekend and then the commute to each exam during which I will be reviewing diagrams and the like one final time in the hope that something will stick.
I know this stuff. I do it every day. I will pass my exams. I will. I will. I will.
I know I always worry I won't pass but this time, I'm really worried! These exams are the first for the new syllabus. That means that, unlike previous exams, there aren't years worth of exam papers online which I can download, digest, review, analyse, study and compare.
Before past exams, I have gone through five or six old exam papers, learning what questions are always asked, what questions are unlikely to come up again - just generally getting a feel for what I'm about to face. This has helped me decide what areas I need to focus on (either weak points or strong areas that I know I can get really good marks on if the question comes up in section B).
This time round, there is one exemplar paper for each exam. I know the theory, I practice it almost every day, but these questions seem foreign to me and I have even less understanding of the sample answers.
This time round, I feel like I simply don't know enough.
It may be that I'm just putting too much pressure on myself. In previous years, I've sat two exams in May and two in November, a total of four a year. This year I am sitting seven exams.
It's damn hard to work a full day and then come home to study.
I'm not after pity. I'm just venting in the hope that it will make me feel better. I still have this weekend and three days official study leave next week, plus that weekend and then the commute to each exam during which I will be reviewing diagrams and the like one final time in the hope that something will stick.
I know this stuff. I do it every day. I will pass my exams. I will. I will. I will.
Monday, May 07, 2007
men!
Let me start by saying I am petrified of spiders. Petrified of them. I know they are small (at least some of them are) and are probably more scared of me than I am of them blah, blah, blah but I am petrified of them all the same.
So, imagine my horror when I look up from my study early this afternoon to see a HUGE spider on the top of the shelves.
I mentioned this to my husband who usually removes such things from our house for me and he duly wheeled his chair over to the shelves to remove the thing, or so I thought. However, this time round he flicked the thing at me.
After much screaming, being chased around the house and tears, yes lots of tears, my darling husband (who was almost wetting himself with laughter while I had tears streaming down my face) admitted it was PLASTIC.
He is truly horrible.
So, imagine my horror when I look up from my study early this afternoon to see a HUGE spider on the top of the shelves.
I mentioned this to my husband who usually removes such things from our house for me and he duly wheeled his chair over to the shelves to remove the thing, or so I thought. However, this time round he flicked the thing at me.
After much screaming, being chased around the house and tears, yes lots of tears, my darling husband (who was almost wetting himself with laughter while I had tears streaming down my face) admitted it was PLASTIC.
He is truly horrible.
Tuesday, May 01, 2007
congratulations nell!
Huge congratulations to Nell Dixon for winning the RNA Romance Prize at the Savoy on Friday with her book Marrying Max!!!!!!
A friend pointed out I hadn't updated my blog for a while, which is mainly because I'm not writing just at the moment. I'm studying frantically for exams! I have exams on May 21st, 22nd and 23rd and currently have a week off from work which I took with the intention of studying hard. I am studying but I am also doing other things like relaxing, enjoying the sunshine, catching up with the housework which tends to get forgotten when I'm writing or studying, and spending time with my husband.
Sadly, I haven't done any writing since sending my partial off to an agent at the end of March. I was feeling fine about it until I looked at the first chapter of one of my mss this morning and decided I wanted to send it somewhere! I must be patient and not send anything until I hear back from this agent.
I have promised myself some writing time straight after exams, but it will only be brief as the next exam is on August 3rd.
But I promise you I am reading your blogs on an almost daily basis!
A friend pointed out I hadn't updated my blog for a while, which is mainly because I'm not writing just at the moment. I'm studying frantically for exams! I have exams on May 21st, 22nd and 23rd and currently have a week off from work which I took with the intention of studying hard. I am studying but I am also doing other things like relaxing, enjoying the sunshine, catching up with the housework which tends to get forgotten when I'm writing or studying, and spending time with my husband.
Sadly, I haven't done any writing since sending my partial off to an agent at the end of March. I was feeling fine about it until I looked at the first chapter of one of my mss this morning and decided I wanted to send it somewhere! I must be patient and not send anything until I hear back from this agent.
I have promised myself some writing time straight after exams, but it will only be brief as the next exam is on August 3rd.
But I promise you I am reading your blogs on an almost daily basis!
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
little black dress books
Thanks to Amanda for pointing out on her blog that Little Black Dress books are buy one get one free (BOGOF) at Tesco! I got four on my way home tonight. Just don't mention it to my husband since I still have four other LBD books that I haven't had time to read yet. I will get round to reading them all eventually.
And does anyone from New Zealand know if Friday the 13th is also known as Black Friday? I'm sure all Friday the 13th's are called Black Friday in NZ. I assumed it was the same here but my husband just looked at me like I was crazy when I mentioned it tonight.
And does anyone from New Zealand know if Friday the 13th is also known as Black Friday? I'm sure all Friday the 13th's are called Black Friday in NZ. I assumed it was the same here but my husband just looked at me like I was crazy when I mentioned it tonight.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
sent!
Well, I finally did it. I finished polishing up Rules one last time and emailed a query to an agent tonight. This is the first time I've queried an agent so I'm a little bit nervous!
The good thing is that I'm finally happy with Rules so I don't plan on going back and continually tweaking it anymore. At least, not unless I get a full request and then I'll obviously have to give it another run through! So, with Rules out of the way, I'm free to move onto No Maternal Instinct and also study.
Study took a back seat this week while I completed Rules but it's top of my list for April and May, after catching up with my sleep first!
The good thing is that I'm finally happy with Rules so I don't plan on going back and continually tweaking it anymore. At least, not unless I get a full request and then I'll obviously have to give it another run through! So, with Rules out of the way, I'm free to move onto No Maternal Instinct and also study.
Study took a back seat this week while I completed Rules but it's top of my list for April and May, after catching up with my sleep first!
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
getting closer!
I'm getting closer to finishing Rules. I have just 20 more pages to polish up. Of course, they have been polished twice before. This is the final, final, final polish before I start querying agents.
Today, I spent my lunch hour in Starbucks, sitting at a table with a hot chocolate and a piece of lemon victoria sponge, red pen in hand polishing the previous few chapters. I felt like JK Rowling!
I would desperately like to finish Rules tonight but it is just after 11.30pm and my dh has just pointed out that I have to go to work tomorrow. I've been tired all week because I've been up late every night either working or writing.
Roll on the weekend, and Easter! And the end of May because then my three exams will be over and I'll be going on holiday!
In the meantime, roll on tomorrow lunchtime when I'll be looking for somewhere to sit quietly with my final 20 pages.
Today, I spent my lunch hour in Starbucks, sitting at a table with a hot chocolate and a piece of lemon victoria sponge, red pen in hand polishing the previous few chapters. I felt like JK Rowling!
I would desperately like to finish Rules tonight but it is just after 11.30pm and my dh has just pointed out that I have to go to work tomorrow. I've been tired all week because I've been up late every night either working or writing.
Roll on the weekend, and Easter! And the end of May because then my three exams will be over and I'll be going on holiday!
In the meantime, roll on tomorrow lunchtime when I'll be looking for somewhere to sit quietly with my final 20 pages.
Monday, March 26, 2007
hello world!
It's nearly 9pm. I've just got home from a work related course, which I went to straight from work. I've still got to eat my dinner and I have a thousand very important and non-writing related things to do but...here I am, sitting on the sofa having logged onto my laptop because something very exciting happened as I was sitting the number 4 bus on the way to my course today. The opening paragraph for No Maternal Instinct came to me! I just have to get it into a word doc before I do another thing! This ms has been brewing away in my mind forever. I still don't know the plot but at least I finally have my opening. This is going to be one of those mss where I just write and then piece it all together at the end. Boy, am I excited! But don't panic, I haven't forgotten about finishing Rules. I have printed the final chapters and will start going through them with a red pen during my lunch break tomorrow. Just gotta get this opening down while it's in my head - and while dinner is still cooking!
Sunday, March 25, 2007
nearly there!
I didn't get Rules completely finished this weekend but I. AM. NEARLY. THERE! I edited 17 chapters this weekend and I am happy with them. I'm on the final stretch. I couldn't do any more over the weekend because I still have to limit my computer time because of the headaches. I'm going on a work related course tomorrow night after work but hope to get Rules sorted by Wednesday.
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
a good day!
I had good news today that I can't blog about - but I wanted to mention it anyway because it seems like I only blog about being ill or feeling down about my writing most of the time. Today was a good day! There was the good news, plus the headaches I've been suffering from lately seem to have just about gone (touch wood) possibly due to all the changes I've made to my usual working habits, including dramatically reducing the amount of time spent writing on my laptop in the evenings. On the writing front, I am nearly finished revising Rules again (I will get it done this weekend) and I'm also dying to start a new ms that has been brewing in my head forever! I'm off to study for a short while before heading to bed.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
yippie!
Yippie because it's the start of the Formula 1 season tomorrow! Actually, in six and a half hours, since it's in Melbourne, Australia. I'm toying with the idea of setting the alarm for 3am so I can watch it! Sundays are just not the same without a couple of hours of F1.
It's been an odd week. I'm having eye sight problems, which has meant raging headaches and spending as little time as possible in front of a computer - difficult when sitting in front of a computer is what I do from 9am-5pm week days. I'm booked in for an eye test on Monday morning so hopefully things will settle down when the new glasses (I know I'm going to need new glasses...) arrive.
And I also tried very hard to break my wrist during the week. Not hard enough, thankfully. My wrist is bruised and hurting but not significantly so.
The up side of all this is that I've got plenty of study done this week. My eyes, it seems, are able to cope with everything other than staring at a computer screen. Also been reading My Three Husbands by Swan Adamson, which is hiliarious!
It's been an odd week. I'm having eye sight problems, which has meant raging headaches and spending as little time as possible in front of a computer - difficult when sitting in front of a computer is what I do from 9am-5pm week days. I'm booked in for an eye test on Monday morning so hopefully things will settle down when the new glasses (I know I'm going to need new glasses...) arrive.
And I also tried very hard to break my wrist during the week. Not hard enough, thankfully. My wrist is bruised and hurting but not significantly so.
The up side of all this is that I've got plenty of study done this week. My eyes, it seems, are able to cope with everything other than staring at a computer screen. Also been reading My Three Husbands by Swan Adamson, which is hiliarious!
Sunday, March 11, 2007
famous people
Which famous person, dead or alive, would you most like to meet and why?
I'd been pondering over my answer to this question - it's one from the magazine that I mentioned on Friday - for ages so switched on my laptop so I could email a few friends to ask their advice. Sally was on MSN so I asked her and as she was writing back to me, I came up with my answer...
Sir Peter Blake!
It's a wonder I didn't think of him instantly considering I have an inspirational quote from Sir Peter Blake's last diary entry before he was killed on my desk:
"To win, you have to believe you can do it, you have to be passionate about it, you have to really "want" the result -- even if this means years of work, the hardest part of any big project is to begin, we have begun, we are underway, we have a passion." Sir Peter Blake, Tuesday December 4, 2001
Who would you like most to meet and why?
I'd been pondering over my answer to this question - it's one from the magazine that I mentioned on Friday - for ages so switched on my laptop so I could email a few friends to ask their advice. Sally was on MSN so I asked her and as she was writing back to me, I came up with my answer...
Sir Peter Blake!
It's a wonder I didn't think of him instantly considering I have an inspirational quote from Sir Peter Blake's last diary entry before he was killed on my desk:
"To win, you have to believe you can do it, you have to be passionate about it, you have to really "want" the result -- even if this means years of work, the hardest part of any big project is to begin, we have begun, we are underway, we have a passion." Sir Peter Blake, Tuesday December 4, 2001
Who would you like most to meet and why?
Friday, March 09, 2007
exciting news!
I've had a pretty cool day!
I'm going to be in a magazine! Of course, it's a purchasing magazine so it's probably not that exciting to anyone but me...and my manager! I got the phone call about 4.30pm today. It all has to be run passed our corporate affairs people first but I'm going to work on it this weekend just in case they give it the green light.
It's nothing flash - just a piece for a people & jobs page where they have a half page Q&A with someone in the industry each issue.
In other news, I made a bit of a fool of myself today! I went to a very important meeting where a police chief inspector was giving an update on an issue - and yes I am delibrately being vague about where and what this meeting was!
As we were sitting waiting for the meeting to start, I browsed through the agenda then leaned over to my colleague and said in a loud excited schoolgirl-ish voice "the chief inspector is going to be here". My colleague pointed to the person sitting directly in front of him, who turned around and grinned at me...the chief inspector himself!
Opps!
Then another colleague and I had a giggle after the meeting when, as we were collecting our coats from the cloakroom, we spotted the chief inspector's hat... Ah, women can be so childish sometimes!
Tomorrow should also be pretty cool. I'm going to an RNA meeting where I'll meet Jessica Hart for the first time, which is pretty cool because I've been working on her website for about 18 months and we've only spoken on the phone once. The rest is done via email.
And since the meeting's location is near Oxford St, first I shall be visiting Books Etc - which is like my idea of heaven! - and will probably spend an hour or so in the Starbucks inside Books Etc doing some study - less cool but important.
I'm going to be in a magazine! Of course, it's a purchasing magazine so it's probably not that exciting to anyone but me...and my manager! I got the phone call about 4.30pm today. It all has to be run passed our corporate affairs people first but I'm going to work on it this weekend just in case they give it the green light.
It's nothing flash - just a piece for a people & jobs page where they have a half page Q&A with someone in the industry each issue.
In other news, I made a bit of a fool of myself today! I went to a very important meeting where a police chief inspector was giving an update on an issue - and yes I am delibrately being vague about where and what this meeting was!
As we were sitting waiting for the meeting to start, I browsed through the agenda then leaned over to my colleague and said in a loud excited schoolgirl-ish voice "the chief inspector is going to be here". My colleague pointed to the person sitting directly in front of him, who turned around and grinned at me...the chief inspector himself!
Opps!
Then another colleague and I had a giggle after the meeting when, as we were collecting our coats from the cloakroom, we spotted the chief inspector's hat... Ah, women can be so childish sometimes!
Tomorrow should also be pretty cool. I'm going to an RNA meeting where I'll meet Jessica Hart for the first time, which is pretty cool because I've been working on her website for about 18 months and we've only spoken on the phone once. The rest is done via email.
And since the meeting's location is near Oxford St, first I shall be visiting Books Etc - which is like my idea of heaven! - and will probably spend an hour or so in the Starbucks inside Books Etc doing some study - less cool but important.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
feeling flat
I'm feeling strangely flat tonight. I'm not sure why. I had a great day at work and came home to a perfect night of tv viewing and also had the added delight of finding my level 5 graduate diploma certificate in the post.
I'm quite proud of it! I've taken it out of its "please do not bend" envelope several times to stare at it. I'm even thinking of getting it framed. The institute has commissioned a frame company to produce frames with the institute name on them in gold lettering.
It may sound stupid but I'd like to get it framed. When I graduated from journalism college, I had that certificate framed (OK, probably my parents paid for it!) and I hung it on the wall in my office. These days that certificate is in a box in a filing cabinet at work but then a journalism certificate isn't really relevant to procurement!
This certificate won't be making it onto a wall at work because it's simply not the done thing in the team I work in. All going well, I'll have a certificate for the next level in September, which reminds me, I need to get studying!
The excitement of the certificate arriving was dulled somewhat by the arrival of an email from our landlord saying he needs to put the rent up. It's not a mega increase and wasn't unexpected given recent interest rate decisions, however it does mean that we are now at the very very very high end of the scale (OK, right at the top!) for a place like ours in this area.
Unfortunately, we are going to have to give moving some very serious consideration.
We've been here four years now and I like this place but it does have its faults - such as being like a sauna in summer and an ice box in winter! But a potential house move is something I could well do without right now seeing as how I seem to be back where I was in 2005; with an ill husband and the prospect of losing my job.
So, on that less than cheery note, I'm off to flick through my copy of Carole Blake's From Pitch to Publication, Donald Maass' Writing the Breakout Novel, and Janet Evanovich's How I Write.
I expect things will seem rosier tomorrow. I certainly hope so.
I'm quite proud of it! I've taken it out of its "please do not bend" envelope several times to stare at it. I'm even thinking of getting it framed. The institute has commissioned a frame company to produce frames with the institute name on them in gold lettering.
It may sound stupid but I'd like to get it framed. When I graduated from journalism college, I had that certificate framed (OK, probably my parents paid for it!) and I hung it on the wall in my office. These days that certificate is in a box in a filing cabinet at work but then a journalism certificate isn't really relevant to procurement!
This certificate won't be making it onto a wall at work because it's simply not the done thing in the team I work in. All going well, I'll have a certificate for the next level in September, which reminds me, I need to get studying!
The excitement of the certificate arriving was dulled somewhat by the arrival of an email from our landlord saying he needs to put the rent up. It's not a mega increase and wasn't unexpected given recent interest rate decisions, however it does mean that we are now at the very very very high end of the scale (OK, right at the top!) for a place like ours in this area.
Unfortunately, we are going to have to give moving some very serious consideration.
We've been here four years now and I like this place but it does have its faults - such as being like a sauna in summer and an ice box in winter! But a potential house move is something I could well do without right now seeing as how I seem to be back where I was in 2005; with an ill husband and the prospect of losing my job.
So, on that less than cheery note, I'm off to flick through my copy of Carole Blake's From Pitch to Publication, Donald Maass' Writing the Breakout Novel, and Janet Evanovich's How I Write.
I expect things will seem rosier tomorrow. I certainly hope so.
Monday, March 05, 2007
woman appeals for egg donor on buses
I'm not busy tonight, I'm just tired. But I'm still going to point you in the direction of another couple of websites:
Woman Appeals for Egg Donor on Buses
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6420111.stm
A 54-year-old woman and her husband are advertising for an egg donor on London buses in a last-ditch attempt to try to have a baby. Linda Weeks, from Maidstone, Kent, is spending £2,000 on the appeal, which will run for a month from 19 March. Mrs Weeks and her husband Richard got married in 1993, and the 50 adverts include a wedding day photo. "If we don't have any luck this time, then that will be the end for us," Mrs Weeks admitted. Her fertility clinic in London cannot continue to treat her after the age of 55, meaning she has just over a year left to find a donor.
You can read more about Linda Weeks' story on her blog:
http://infertilewoman.spaces.live.com/
And you can also learn more about the egg donor process here:
http://www.logancentre.co.uk/docs/donor1.htm
I don't know why but this is something that interests me. I've researched the process before and I like the idea of helping someone in this way. Have you done it or do you know someone who has?
Woman Appeals for Egg Donor on Buses
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/6420111.stm
A 54-year-old woman and her husband are advertising for an egg donor on London buses in a last-ditch attempt to try to have a baby. Linda Weeks, from Maidstone, Kent, is spending £2,000 on the appeal, which will run for a month from 19 March. Mrs Weeks and her husband Richard got married in 1993, and the 50 adverts include a wedding day photo. "If we don't have any luck this time, then that will be the end for us," Mrs Weeks admitted. Her fertility clinic in London cannot continue to treat her after the age of 55, meaning she has just over a year left to find a donor.
You can read more about Linda Weeks' story on her blog:
http://infertilewoman.spaces.live.com/
And you can also learn more about the egg donor process here:
http://www.logancentre.co.uk/docs/donor1.htm
I don't know why but this is something that interests me. I've researched the process before and I like the idea of helping someone in this way. Have you done it or do you know someone who has?
Sunday, March 04, 2007
things
I had a manic week at work last week and have spent most of the weekend sleeping as a result. However, I am now curled up on my bean bag with a rug and a pillow, alternating between studying for an hour or so and writing for an hour or so. Shortly, I'll take a break so I put a roast on for dinner.
As I'm busy, I'll direct you to two fantastic sites:
Go to http://phillipa-ashley.com/blog to read about a cool competition Waterstones are running. I've got the Waterstones magazine and March's Cosmopolitan (much to my husband's amusement because he knows I do not normally buy magazines like that!) and am currently pondering over my entry.
And also visit http://www.jessicahart.co.uk/ for information on a Romantic Novelists' Association event on March 10th which I will be going to. I'd love to know if anyone else is going.
As I'm busy, I'll direct you to two fantastic sites:
Go to http://phillipa-ashley.com/blog to read about a cool competition Waterstones are running. I've got the Waterstones magazine and March's Cosmopolitan (much to my husband's amusement because he knows I do not normally buy magazines like that!) and am currently pondering over my entry.
And also visit http://www.jessicahart.co.uk/ for information on a Romantic Novelists' Association event on March 10th which I will be going to. I'd love to know if anyone else is going.
Sunday, February 25, 2007
the hunt is on!
The hunt for an agent has begun! I've spent a couple of hours on the internet tonight looking at the websites of Little Black Dress authors and a few other authors whose books I love reading looking for the names of their agents. Names found, I visited the agents websites and have been printing pages and taking notes. So far I have a list of seven agents, which is a good starting point.
But I have so many questions!
The first question...
Is it OK to submit to more than one agent at a time? Most of them seem to suggest that they won't read your query/proposal/first 10 pages if you've sent it to more than one agent at a time. Some say they'll get back to you in seven days/two weeks/eight weeks. If I was to send my query/proposal/first 10 pages to one agent at a time this could take a while!
The second question...
Do I mention this ms is with a publisher? I sent the first seven chapters into a publisher after a brief email conversation with an editor in September.
The third question...
Do I mention the ideas I have for other mss or that I have already completed a few other mss?
I'm sure I have other questions but that's enough for now!
But I have so many questions!
The first question...
Is it OK to submit to more than one agent at a time? Most of them seem to suggest that they won't read your query/proposal/first 10 pages if you've sent it to more than one agent at a time. Some say they'll get back to you in seven days/two weeks/eight weeks. If I was to send my query/proposal/first 10 pages to one agent at a time this could take a while!
The second question...
Do I mention this ms is with a publisher? I sent the first seven chapters into a publisher after a brief email conversation with an editor in September.
The third question...
Do I mention the ideas I have for other mss or that I have already completed a few other mss?
I'm sure I have other questions but that's enough for now!
Saturday, February 24, 2007
rejection
The title says it all really - I got a rejection letter in the post from M&B today. I knew it (well, a letter) was coming because I gave in to temptation yesterday and emailed the office to ask for an update on my ms since I sent it into them in September 2006 and got a reply saying a letter had been written the day before.
As rejections go, I guess it was one of the "good" ones because the editor said I have a lively contemporary voice and then went on to explain what didn't work about my ms for her. She also mentioned my past submissions and told me what I should focus on in my writing, and she also gave me a comps slip to send in with my next submission.
I'm not sure that there's going to be another submission. I feel like I'm back at a crossroads that I know I've been at before. I started submitting to M&B in June 2003. The same editor has read all of my submissions and every time she's sent me a rejection letter she's also sent me a comps slip asking me to send her something else.
My M&B history has gone like this:
June 2003 - sent in The Wrong Brother which got a revisions request on the partial followed by a full request but was eventually rejected in October 2003. I know, it all happened very fast! I still love this story and haven't given up on it just yet.
December 2003 - sent in Sea of Dreams which was rejected in March 2004.
March 2004 - sent in The Italian's City Bride which got a revisions request on the partial but was then rejected in October 2004. I definitely still love this one!
December 2004 - M&B asked to see The Wrong Brother again because I mentioned I'd revised it so I sent the revised full in. It was rejected in April 2005.
July 2005 - sent in Tarts Inc. All my previous submissions had been aimed at the M&B Tender line but an announcement about the line changing was made just before my last rejection and I didn't think my voice fitted the new direction so I decided to try something a little different. Tarts Inc was aimed at the new Modern Extra line. It got a revisions request and a full request but was eventually rejected in September 2006.
September 2006 - sent in Heaven Sent, which has just been rejected.
So why am I at a crossroads? The editor's advice in this rejection and the one before was to keep reading the current books as this gives the best idea of what they want. My problem? Apart from Kelly Hunter's books, I'm really not reading M&Bs much.
I do have one other submission that I could send in but it doesn't have any Modern X elements (those that read Modern X's will know what I mean by that!) and I have recently come to the conclusion that I'm not actually a Modern X writer because I don't feel comfortable writing those scenes!
Aside from that, I simply don't think I have any more M&B material in me. I have ideas but they're not M&B style.
I'm currently polishing up Rules - the seven first chapters of which are at Little Black Dress - with the intention of sending it to an agent or two. I have three previous mss which, having been left sitting for some time, I'm now keen to drag back out and polish up also with the intention of looking for an agent. I've got the baby idea and the allotment idea that have been running around in my head for many, many months, and I've got two partially written mss originally aimed at M&B that haven't been completed or sent anywhere that I could do something with, although they're not suitable for M&B anymore.
Don't think I'm looking for sympathy here because I'm not. I admit to feeling slightly offended by the content of my rejection letter and bemused at the same time (why keep sending me those comps slips when my writing clearly isn't going in the right direction for them?) but the underlying feeling here is that it's time for a change of direction.
As I said earlier, this isn't a new feeling. I was at this place when I was writing Tarts. I'd sent M&B the partial and while I waited to hear back the ms turn a look that I wasn't expecting - it wanted to be written in first person as a mainstream book - so I thought long and hard before deciding what to do when the full request came. In the end I wrote it as a M&B and it eventually got rejected. But it didn't die there because I went back to the beginning and finished the first person, mainstream version, which become known as Breaking the Rules.
I guess I'm putting everything I've got on Rules right now. Ultimately, if it doesn't go anywhere, I'm going to put the writing to one side until I've finished my masters in procurement.
Yes, you heard me right. Even though I still have seven exams to sit this year before I complete my graduate diploma, I've already decided that having finished it, I will go on and do my masters. Then I can be Monica Cole, MCIPS, MSc. Surely all those letters will make me feel good!
Right now, the only thing that could possibly make me feel better is chocolate so I'm off to eat lots of it!
As rejections go, I guess it was one of the "good" ones because the editor said I have a lively contemporary voice and then went on to explain what didn't work about my ms for her. She also mentioned my past submissions and told me what I should focus on in my writing, and she also gave me a comps slip to send in with my next submission.
I'm not sure that there's going to be another submission. I feel like I'm back at a crossroads that I know I've been at before. I started submitting to M&B in June 2003. The same editor has read all of my submissions and every time she's sent me a rejection letter she's also sent me a comps slip asking me to send her something else.
My M&B history has gone like this:
June 2003 - sent in The Wrong Brother which got a revisions request on the partial followed by a full request but was eventually rejected in October 2003. I know, it all happened very fast! I still love this story and haven't given up on it just yet.
December 2003 - sent in Sea of Dreams which was rejected in March 2004.
March 2004 - sent in The Italian's City Bride which got a revisions request on the partial but was then rejected in October 2004. I definitely still love this one!
December 2004 - M&B asked to see The Wrong Brother again because I mentioned I'd revised it so I sent the revised full in. It was rejected in April 2005.
July 2005 - sent in Tarts Inc. All my previous submissions had been aimed at the M&B Tender line but an announcement about the line changing was made just before my last rejection and I didn't think my voice fitted the new direction so I decided to try something a little different. Tarts Inc was aimed at the new Modern Extra line. It got a revisions request and a full request but was eventually rejected in September 2006.
September 2006 - sent in Heaven Sent, which has just been rejected.
So why am I at a crossroads? The editor's advice in this rejection and the one before was to keep reading the current books as this gives the best idea of what they want. My problem? Apart from Kelly Hunter's books, I'm really not reading M&Bs much.
I do have one other submission that I could send in but it doesn't have any Modern X elements (those that read Modern X's will know what I mean by that!) and I have recently come to the conclusion that I'm not actually a Modern X writer because I don't feel comfortable writing those scenes!
Aside from that, I simply don't think I have any more M&B material in me. I have ideas but they're not M&B style.
I'm currently polishing up Rules - the seven first chapters of which are at Little Black Dress - with the intention of sending it to an agent or two. I have three previous mss which, having been left sitting for some time, I'm now keen to drag back out and polish up also with the intention of looking for an agent. I've got the baby idea and the allotment idea that have been running around in my head for many, many months, and I've got two partially written mss originally aimed at M&B that haven't been completed or sent anywhere that I could do something with, although they're not suitable for M&B anymore.
Don't think I'm looking for sympathy here because I'm not. I admit to feeling slightly offended by the content of my rejection letter and bemused at the same time (why keep sending me those comps slips when my writing clearly isn't going in the right direction for them?) but the underlying feeling here is that it's time for a change of direction.
As I said earlier, this isn't a new feeling. I was at this place when I was writing Tarts. I'd sent M&B the partial and while I waited to hear back the ms turn a look that I wasn't expecting - it wanted to be written in first person as a mainstream book - so I thought long and hard before deciding what to do when the full request came. In the end I wrote it as a M&B and it eventually got rejected. But it didn't die there because I went back to the beginning and finished the first person, mainstream version, which become known as Breaking the Rules.
I guess I'm putting everything I've got on Rules right now. Ultimately, if it doesn't go anywhere, I'm going to put the writing to one side until I've finished my masters in procurement.
Yes, you heard me right. Even though I still have seven exams to sit this year before I complete my graduate diploma, I've already decided that having finished it, I will go on and do my masters. Then I can be Monica Cole, MCIPS, MSc. Surely all those letters will make me feel good!
Right now, the only thing that could possibly make me feel better is chocolate so I'm off to eat lots of it!
Monday, February 12, 2007
700 words!
I wrote 700 new words tonight! I know it's not a lot but it's a start and I'm happy with every single one of them because they form the foundation for my new chapter eight, which I need to write because I deleted the original chapter eight when I edited.
With a little luck I'll have this chapter finished by the end of the week. Then I'm going to print a copy of the entire ms and do another polish before I start hunting for an agent.
I forgot to mention something really cool earlier - Waterstones have a buy one get one free on Little Black Dress books this week!
With a little luck I'll have this chapter finished by the end of the week. Then I'm going to print a copy of the entire ms and do another polish before I start hunting for an agent.
I forgot to mention something really cool earlier - Waterstones have a buy one get one free on Little Black Dress books this week!
catching up
I'm bored with being sick. I think I might be well again. I didn't have any painkillers today, which is the first time for about two weeks. Or did I? I might have taken some first thing but none since. Fingers crossed I'm well again.
I did manage to get all the Spanish CDs last week. Have listened to the first two but probably didn't take much in because on both occassions I found myself drifting off into a conversation my current characters are having! Still, I'm not seriously learning Spanish right now. I just wanted to get those CDs since learning Spanish is on my list of things to do.
I spent most of the last week sleeping. When I wasn't sleeping I was either working or playing computer games! I got through all five rounds of the first CSI disk. Then at the weekend dh and I played a really cool game called The Ship. Unlike CSI, which is just me and the computer, The Ship is an online game so you're playing against other people.
The dh had talked about The Ship before but didn't think I was really into computer games. But after I got the CSI games he said the next time The Ship had a free weekend we could play and if I liked it, I could buy it. Of course, he wasn't expecting the free weekend to be the following weekend!
Because it was free to play, we played for hours and hour on Saturday and Sunday. I was rubbish at it but I loved it so I bought the game last night.
However, I'm not playing it tonight because I'm writing. Jane and Adam are demanding that I write a new chapter to replace the one I deleted and I'm happy to do so because they have worked out exactly what they want to say to each other.
I also started reading a LBD book today called She'll Take It. I can't remember the author's name right now, which is terrible of me but I'll report back on that later. All I'll say for now is that I'm loving it!
And I'm also thrilled to report that M&B author Kelly Hunter has been on my blog! Kelly, I loved Wife for a Week! It was the best M&B I've read in a long time. I still pick it up every now and then to have a flick through a page or two, and before I sent my last partial to Richmond in September I reread the entire book to remind myself of what I was aspiring too! So, of course I was going to love Priceless! I'm glad you didn't put it in the too risky bin because it was great. I love your voice. Can't wait for your next book.
Phew! I think I've covered everything.
I did manage to get all the Spanish CDs last week. Have listened to the first two but probably didn't take much in because on both occassions I found myself drifting off into a conversation my current characters are having! Still, I'm not seriously learning Spanish right now. I just wanted to get those CDs since learning Spanish is on my list of things to do.
I spent most of the last week sleeping. When I wasn't sleeping I was either working or playing computer games! I got through all five rounds of the first CSI disk. Then at the weekend dh and I played a really cool game called The Ship. Unlike CSI, which is just me and the computer, The Ship is an online game so you're playing against other people.
The dh had talked about The Ship before but didn't think I was really into computer games. But after I got the CSI games he said the next time The Ship had a free weekend we could play and if I liked it, I could buy it. Of course, he wasn't expecting the free weekend to be the following weekend!
Because it was free to play, we played for hours and hour on Saturday and Sunday. I was rubbish at it but I loved it so I bought the game last night.
However, I'm not playing it tonight because I'm writing. Jane and Adam are demanding that I write a new chapter to replace the one I deleted and I'm happy to do so because they have worked out exactly what they want to say to each other.
I also started reading a LBD book today called She'll Take It. I can't remember the author's name right now, which is terrible of me but I'll report back on that later. All I'll say for now is that I'm loving it!
And I'm also thrilled to report that M&B author Kelly Hunter has been on my blog! Kelly, I loved Wife for a Week! It was the best M&B I've read in a long time. I still pick it up every now and then to have a flick through a page or two, and before I sent my last partial to Richmond in September I reread the entire book to remind myself of what I was aspiring too! So, of course I was going to love Priceless! I'm glad you didn't put it in the too risky bin because it was great. I love your voice. Can't wait for your next book.
Phew! I think I've covered everything.
Monday, February 05, 2007
i'm learning spanish
I should be studying but instead I'm playing CSI and learning how to speak Spanish! At least, I would be if The Sun had delivered today's free CD to the WH Smith on Fleet St.
I admit to being a Sun reader - but only on Saturday's when I buy it for the TV Mag. Having been a journalist on a daily paper in a previous life (ie New Zealand) I used to buy The Sun when I first moved to the UK because I couldn't believe a newspaper would publish such stories!!!!
Then I got over the humour and only started buying it on Saturdays - for the TV Mag. We like Spain. I've been there twice. The dh has been there numerous times. Plus they speak Spanish in Cuba, which we visited last year. We intend to go back to Spain, many times. So after Cuba I decided I was going to learn to speak Spanish...after completing my graduate diploma at the end of this year.
Then in The Sun on Saturday they give away a Spanish language CD along with the promise of more each day for the coming week. All you have to do is take your voucher into WH Smith each day to exchange it.
I figure, what the heck. Let's learn a little Spanish now. Get a head start. I bought The Sun on my way to work today, filled in the voucher and headed to WH Smith on Fleet St at lunchtime only to find no CDs had been delivered. WH Smith said to complain to The Sun. Which I did.
The response? Collect all the vouchers this week and send them to the address listed to get the CDs. The cost? £4.50. But I don't want to pay £4.50, I replied. Not when I should be able to get my CDs for free from WH Smith. The response? NOTHING.
I'll try again tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow they'll deliver Monday and Tuesday's CDs. On the up side, I did get to listen to part of Saturday's CD as I made my way home from work tonight.
By May I should be able to speak some Spanish. Not sure how that will help with my exams though! I'll worry about that another day. Right now I'm off to help Sara Siddle from CSI with a tough arson case that kept me up until midnight last night!
I admit to being a Sun reader - but only on Saturday's when I buy it for the TV Mag. Having been a journalist on a daily paper in a previous life (ie New Zealand) I used to buy The Sun when I first moved to the UK because I couldn't believe a newspaper would publish such stories!!!!
Then I got over the humour and only started buying it on Saturdays - for the TV Mag. We like Spain. I've been there twice. The dh has been there numerous times. Plus they speak Spanish in Cuba, which we visited last year. We intend to go back to Spain, many times. So after Cuba I decided I was going to learn to speak Spanish...after completing my graduate diploma at the end of this year.
Then in The Sun on Saturday they give away a Spanish language CD along with the promise of more each day for the coming week. All you have to do is take your voucher into WH Smith each day to exchange it.
I figure, what the heck. Let's learn a little Spanish now. Get a head start. I bought The Sun on my way to work today, filled in the voucher and headed to WH Smith on Fleet St at lunchtime only to find no CDs had been delivered. WH Smith said to complain to The Sun. Which I did.
The response? Collect all the vouchers this week and send them to the address listed to get the CDs. The cost? £4.50. But I don't want to pay £4.50, I replied. Not when I should be able to get my CDs for free from WH Smith. The response? NOTHING.
I'll try again tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow they'll deliver Monday and Tuesday's CDs. On the up side, I did get to listen to part of Saturday's CD as I made my way home from work tonight.
By May I should be able to speak some Spanish. Not sure how that will help with my exams though! I'll worry about that another day. Right now I'm off to help Sara Siddle from CSI with a tough arson case that kept me up until midnight last night!
Sunday, February 04, 2007
it's my birthday!
It's my birthday so I don't have to study today! Yay! I did actually go to the library for a couple of hours yesterday morning for an intensive session so I don't feel bad at all about slacking off today. We've been to Tesco and got a finest Indian meal for two for dinner tonight - my choice since it's my birthday! And the dh got me some computer games which he has just installed on my laptop so I'm off to play CSI!!!
Saturday, February 03, 2007
jessica hart's new website
Jessica Hart has a new website - http://www.jessicahart.co.uk/ - go check it out!
Friday, February 02, 2007
i passed!
Exam results posted online today. Passed both. Hopefully now I'll be able to settle into study for May exams, which I need to enroll for on Monday. Have spent most of the day in bed so far. Planning to watch a couple of Harry Potter movies this afternoon. Will eat more ice cream for dinner and then go to bed.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
sick
The bug that has been chasing me for the last couple of weeks finally caught up with me this week. I am now officially ill and probably won't make it to work tomorrow. In the last three days I've probably been unbearable at work and have been through several packets of painkillers, a whole load of strepsils, drunk gallons of Night Nurse, eaten ice cream for dinner and filled the freezer with ice lollies. I've also done very little study but I'm too tired to be bothered about it right now. No exam results yet. Maybe tomorrow. Tonight I'm going to do a little bit of work to make up for the guilty feeling I'll have when I don't go in tomorrow, I'll eat some more ice cream, drink more Night Nurse, have another ice lollie, watch an episode of CSI and fall asleep on the sofa. And spare a thought for my poor dh who is also ill with a slightly different bug than the one I've got - or at least it's affecting him differently to how it's affecting me - because he's got to put up with me being at home tomorrow! Of course, I may wake up tomorrow feeling 100% fit and go into work. Here's hoping!
Sunday, January 28, 2007
study
Why, oh why, am I not better organised? I seem to revel in leaving things until the last minute or agreeing to do a million things at once. I wish I was more organised! I also seem to revel in putting pressure on myself to reach unrealistic targets then I get stressed when I don't achieve them.
For example, I'm studying again now and I worked out I need to do four units a week in order to get through the full course before attending a related seminar at the end of February. It's the end of week one and I'm only part way through unit two. That means I have to study six units in the coming week...a week in which I have a day trip to Cambridge to see my sister one final time before she returns home to the other side of the world, I will be away all day Thursday as I'm working out of another office for the day, and I will also be stressing madly about my exam results which are due on either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday (I'm not organised enough to know exactly which day to expect them).
I know from experience that there is no point studying on Mondays because I'm tired after the first day of the working week. Note: I also know that this particular week is going to be frantic as I have back to back appointments in my diary all week.
I know that Tuesdays are out because I have something I have to do on Tuesdays.
I'd be freaking out if it wasn't for the fact that I should be able to get in a few hours study on the train on Wednesday!
I guess it's not going to be a writing week!
For example, I'm studying again now and I worked out I need to do four units a week in order to get through the full course before attending a related seminar at the end of February. It's the end of week one and I'm only part way through unit two. That means I have to study six units in the coming week...a week in which I have a day trip to Cambridge to see my sister one final time before she returns home to the other side of the world, I will be away all day Thursday as I'm working out of another office for the day, and I will also be stressing madly about my exam results which are due on either Wednesday, Thursday or Friday (I'm not organised enough to know exactly which day to expect them).
I know from experience that there is no point studying on Mondays because I'm tired after the first day of the working week. Note: I also know that this particular week is going to be frantic as I have back to back appointments in my diary all week.
I know that Tuesdays are out because I have something I have to do on Tuesdays.
I'd be freaking out if it wasn't for the fact that I should be able to get in a few hours study on the train on Wednesday!
I guess it's not going to be a writing week!
Saturday, January 20, 2007
little black dress
Asda are selling box sets of four Little Black Dress books for £5. I'm only telling everyone this because I already have mine! Got it this afternoon while on the way to Staples to look at office chairs. Of course, the only problem is that now I'm desperate to read them, especially Decent Exposure by Phillipa Ashley, when I really should be doing other things!
things
Where to start? What to say? It's been so long since I blogged and I've been so busy! I'm also mindful of the fact that I haven't posted about Cuba yet. Nor have I emailed my patiently waiting family with details - although they have seen the holiday pix!
I've thought about blogging and have even logged in a couple of times but then I've sat here thinking "but I've got nothing interesting to say".
Quite simply, I've been busy just getting on with life. Work obviously takes up a fair chunk of my day. After work I've been putting the finishing touches on a new website I've created for a Harlequin Romance author, I've continued with the editing of Rules in preparation for a much hoped for full request from LBD (fingers crossed!), I've been ice skating at Somerset House (I won free tickets!) and I've been catching up with family.
I've also watched the first four hours of series six of 24, tried to fight off a cold that was desperate to knock me out for a few days, read Kelly Hunter's Priceless (fantastic!) and generally not had enough sleep because I've been staying up too late.
What I haven't managed to do is study. I know, I know, I should be studying by now because I'm intending to sit three exams in May. However, I've been waiting for work to approve my study sponsorship agreement so I don't have to pay for it all myself. But in desperation I did order the course book for one of my courses on Thursday, expecting it to arrive yesterday so I could start studying this weekend. It didn't arrive so that's my excuse for not studying this weekend.
Instead, I'll be working hard to put the finishing touches on the author's website, continuing with more editing of Rules and visiting Staples to buy a new office chair for my husband. The studying begins on Monday.
I've thought about blogging and have even logged in a couple of times but then I've sat here thinking "but I've got nothing interesting to say".
Quite simply, I've been busy just getting on with life. Work obviously takes up a fair chunk of my day. After work I've been putting the finishing touches on a new website I've created for a Harlequin Romance author, I've continued with the editing of Rules in preparation for a much hoped for full request from LBD (fingers crossed!), I've been ice skating at Somerset House (I won free tickets!) and I've been catching up with family.
I've also watched the first four hours of series six of 24, tried to fight off a cold that was desperate to knock me out for a few days, read Kelly Hunter's Priceless (fantastic!) and generally not had enough sleep because I've been staying up too late.
What I haven't managed to do is study. I know, I know, I should be studying by now because I'm intending to sit three exams in May. However, I've been waiting for work to approve my study sponsorship agreement so I don't have to pay for it all myself. But in desperation I did order the course book for one of my courses on Thursday, expecting it to arrive yesterday so I could start studying this weekend. It didn't arrive so that's my excuse for not studying this weekend.
Instead, I'll be working hard to put the finishing touches on the author's website, continuing with more editing of Rules and visiting Staples to buy a new office chair for my husband. The studying begins on Monday.
Tuesday, January 02, 2007
i'm writing again!
I've edited two whole chapters of Rules today! It feels good. Thinking back, I realised I haven't done any writing since late September when I sent the partial of Rules, the partial of The Husband Hunt and the full of Sea of Dreams into various editors. I had exactly a month until exams so I studied hard. Then after exams we went on holiday. After the holiday was Christmas. And now here I am. Chapters nine and ten are duly edited. Of course, we won't mention chapter eight which I've skipped over for now because it needs a complete rewrite. Get the rest polished up and then go back - that's my plan.
Tomorrow I'm going sale shopping!
Tomorrow I'm going sale shopping!
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