Birthday Contest!

So despite the fact that today is Monday, it's a good day for me. First, it's my thirty-first birthday (although, I'm considering counting backwards now and moving back to my twenties).

And second, my revisions for Agent Sara have been given a thumbs up, so I'm going on submission to publishers!  *throws confetti*  *bites nails*  *takes shot of tequila*  Okay, not really on that last one.  Tequila in the morning is not advisable.  *swigs orange juice*

Therefore, I figured a celebration is in order. And what better way to celebrate a birthday then to give presents!

So, here's what's up for grabs:

A brand spanking new copy of Wicked Becomes You by Meredith Duran

Here's the blurb (from Amazon): 

She’s been burned not once but twice by London’s so-call ed gentlemen . . .Gwen Maudsley is pretty enough to be popular, and plenty wealthy, too. But what she’s best known and loved for is being so very, very nice. When a cad jilts her at the altar—again—the scandal has her outraged friends calling for blood. Only Gwen has a different plan. If nice no longer works for her, then it’s time to learn to be naughty. Happily, she knows the perfect tutor—Alexander Ramsey, her late brother’s best friend and a notorious rogue.So why won’t a confirmed scoundrel let her be as bad as she wants to be?Unbeknownst to Gwen, Alex’s aloof demeanor veils his deepest unspoken desire. He has no wish to see her change, nor to tempt himself with her presence when his own secrets make any future between them impossible. But on a wild romp from Paris to the Riviera, their friendship gives way to something hotter, darker, and altogether more dangerous. With Alex’s past and Gwen’s newly unleashed wildness on a collision course, Gwen must convince Alex that his wickedest intentions are exactly what she needs.

Now, even if you're not one to read historical romances, how can you resist that blurb?

And the other prize available is:

A 5 pg. or query critique from little ol' me.

Two winners will be selected. First place will get their choice of the two prizes. Second place will get the remaining prize.

So what do you need to do to enter?

Just leave a comment with your email address below.  ONLY those who leave email addresses will be eligible for the prizes.  Entries will be accepted through this Sunday and winners will be announced next Monday.

*Book prize only available to those living in US and Canada.

Hope everyone has a great day!

**Today's Theme Song**

"Song 2" - Blur (the woo-hoo song)

(player in sidebar, take a listen)

...In Which I Wait and Try To Maintain Sanity

It's officially been eight months since I sent my original query/partial to Harlequin.  Six months since they requested the full.  And one month since I received an update letter letting me know I was on top of the editor's to be read pile.  This wait is not out of the ordinary and compared to some agents/publishers, not even a drop in the bucket.  I know these editors and agents have crazy workloads, so I totally understand why it takes so long.

However, can I just admit that the wait is KILLING me?  I try not to think about it.  I blog, I work on my WIPs, I critique, I enter contests, I stay busy.  However, it's always there, niggling at the back of my brain.  Every time the phone rings or I check the mail, it's there.  I try not to get my hopes up, try to keep perspective, but it's hard.

This is basically an exclusive submission.  The other places I would send this manuscript are limited because it's category length.  So if Harlequin turns me down, I'll have to revisit the manuscript and beef up the length before sending it out to anyone else.  Therefore, I have eggs-in-one-basket syndrome at the moment, which makes the wait even more excruciating because if it ends in a "no", I will be at square one again in the querying process.

So that's my confession.  Patience is not my virtue.

I guess this experience is a good lesson for me because I know that if I'm lucky enough to make this my profession--it's all about the waiting.  And I know that it's a lot quicker for an editor/agent to say "no" than to say "yes", so I try to convince myself that the wait is a good thing.  :)  Nothing like good ol' fashioned rationalization, right?

So, how about you?  What do you do to get through the waiting process?  Are you able to block the pending queries/partials/fulls out of your mind or is the thought always swimming around your brain?

**Today's Theme Song**

"Wait" - White Lion

(player in sidebar, take a listen, everyone needs a little 80s hair rock sometimes)

!!!Just realized I totally whiffed Beta Club today.  With the Memorial Day holiday (and my depleted brain cells from a weekend of stomach flu for all members at the Griffin household), I had it in my head today was Monday.  The Beta Club entry that was supposed to go up today will go up on Thursday.  Apologize for any confusion.!!!!

WIP Wednesday: Submissions, Crit Groups, and Nashville

I received an update on my submission to Harlequin this week, so I thought this would be a perfect time for a WIP Wednesday.  I haven't done one in a long while and there are a number of things that could stand for a little update love.  So here we go...


My Wanderlust Submission


I queried Harlequin Blaze eight months ago.  Three months later they requested my full and told me to expect a 3-5 month wait on turnaround.  I will hit the five month mark in a about a week.  So, when I won the Great Expectations contest (and got a recommendation from the Harlequin editor who judged the contest), I sent a follow-up letter (Harlequin does everything by snail mail) and settled in to wait again.


This week I received the terrifying soul-sucking bane of my existence self-addressed stamped envelope.  My husband handed it to me with that look - like he was preparing his I-love-you-and-you're-awesome-no-matter-what-some-editor-says speech.  So, I tore open the letter and--thank the heavens--it was only an update.  *phew*  The editor congratulated me on the contest win and assured me that I'm on top of her to be read pile.  So, I need all  of you to send positive thoughts in Canada's direction (where their offices are) that the read goes well.


My Critique Group


After feeling like a literary agent for a week, reading through all the contest entries, we have chosen not one but two new members for our group!  The amount of talented people who applied to the contest was awesome, so it was not an easy decision.  But I am excited to welcome Suzanne and Katrina to our little group!


The Beta Club


I'm on the fence about whether or not I should continue the Tues/Thur Beta Club feature here on the blog.  Comments have been dropping off and yesterday the number of comments was downright dismal.  And that was not due to the entry--which was a delight to read.  I know putting yourself up for public critique is difficult enough, but it's even harder when you put yourself out there and then you get no comments.  So I don't want to put authors through that if they are not getting a decent payoff from it.  And I don't want this to just be about me giving someone a critique.  The variety of opinions is what makes the feature so helpful to authors.  So if everyone is tiring of the feature, that's fine.  We'll move on.  If not, then let me know that too.  (Either way, if you have already submitted to the Beta Club, you will get a crit from me.  If I do decide to discontinue the feature, I will just send the crit to you privately.)


My Current WIPs


I'm 41k into my erotic romance.  I still think I'm a little nuts to do this dual timeline thing, but I feel like it's what the story needs, so I'm striding on in my insanity.  I'm not sure how long this one is going to be, but at 40k, I figure I'm at least halfway through.  So yay for that.


My contemporary romance WIP is at 18k and I'm starting it with my crit group.  I'm hoping to get the other WIP fully drafted before diving headlong back into this one.  As I discussed on Monday, drafting two at once is a major challenge for my one-track mind.


RWA Nationals


As many of you know, I recently signed up to attend RWA Nationals in Nashville, which I was very excited about.  Unfortunately, the city of Nashville have suffered a devastating flood--which has also ruined the Gaylord Opryland hotel, where our conference was going to be held.  So, right now, things are up in the air.  RWA is looking to move it somewhere else if they can.  But they book these things ten years in advance and it's a big convention, so not an easy task.  Hopefully they don't cancel it altogether.  But more importantly, I hope you will all keep the people of Nashville in your thoughts.  Having grown up in New Orleans, I know how horrible flooding can be, so I hope the city can get on its feet soon.  And speaking of New Orleans, please send positive thoughts to the Gulf Coast as well with that terrible oil spill.


Alright, I think that's all the updates!  Sorry for the mishmash, but I wanted to make sure I hit all these topics.  


So, how is your WIP going?  Do you have any submissions out there that you're waiting on?  What's your feeling about the Beta Club--nix it or keep going?

**Today's Theme Song**

"Everything" - Buckcherry

(player in sidebar, take a listen)