Just a boring day in housewifedom... cleaned a bathroom, did two loads of laundry, went to a parent/teacher interview, grocery shopping, yawn *nod*
Time for a quiz!
What literary novel are you? Here are my results!

You're Catch-22!

by Joseph Heller

Incredibly witty and funny, you have a taste for irony in all that you
see. It seems that life has put you in perpetually untenable situations, and your sense
of humor is all that gets you through them. These experiences have also made you an
ardent pacifist, though you present your message with tongue sewn into cheek. You
could coin a phrase that replaces the word "paradox" for millions of
people.


Take the Book Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid.

Confession - I did the quiz twice. The first time I was 'Watership Down'. Lame. So I did it over. Now I've got to find a quiz "Are You A Cheater?"

Sad Times for Feminism...

What are we doing to our daughters? I was pretty amazed when the Bratz dolls came out, -- remember the hoopla over Barbie, who apparently spawned a body image crisis, -- but I was absolutely shocked to my core when I saw a BLING BLING doll for the first time. They look like miniature crack whores (or the Pussy cat dolls, take your pick). Oh no they don't! *ghetto accent* Oh yes, they do, and they're being marketed to little girls!! Oh no they ain't! They sit on the same shelves as Bratz, Barbies and My Little Ponies. Btw - the side pic doesn't do their blue eye shadow and glitter lipgloss and glitter costumes any justice!

True story: I was in Walmart with my two year old yesterday and The Sweetness requested french fries (he always does when he sees the golden arches). So mommy obliges and gets Sweetness a Happy Meal.
Due to the excess of lunchers, we needed to share a table with another woman and her two little girls. Requisite greetings and mutual adoration of children were exchanged, before we all proceeded to get on with the business of stuffing our hungry faces with ketchup dipped fries.
Mother of Girls says: "When we get home, Mommy's going to make you a CD of all your favorite music. Would you like that?"
Little girls (ages 3 & 5): "Yay!!" munch, munch, munch...
Mother: "What songs shall we put on our CD?"
(In my head, I'm choosing - When You Wish Upon a Star, Theme from Aladdin, Who Let the Dogs Out, maybe something poppish by Britney, etc...)
Little Girl: "Fergie! Yay!!!"
Both little girls then stand up, do that famous Beyonce move - you know the one - and begin singing "my humps, my humps, my lovely lady bumps", while Mommy Dearest clapped for them. Did I mention that these girls were THREE and FIVE!
Sick, sick, sick. Not right.
Just. Not. Right.

Ms rewrite off to publisher

Sent off the revised, sexed-up version of 'Destiny By Design' (formerly called The Color of Passion) to the epub this morning. Dream Editor has already contacted me to let me know it arrived through cyberspace in one piece. She was very kind to also give me a response window (2-3 weeks!!!) so that I wouldn't wear out my index finger hitting the 'check mail' button with religious fervor for the next few weeks. It feels as if an incredible weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I'm going to put writing on the backburner for the next few weeks and concentrate on Christmas. Except for the assignment I have due for my writing class, that is... (damn, just remembered!)
I'm also going to pick up a book or two, for pure enjoyment. I can't wait. I have quite the TBR list on the sidebar (although that barely scratches the surface of my bookshelf), but I keep getting distracted with other things, like '...Moira Shine', 'North Wolf, and my first Laurell K Hamiton - 'Guilty Pleasures'. I've heard a lot of buzz about her and finally picked up the first book in the Anita Blake series. It was interesting, but I'm not running out for more.
I'm also reading (and almost finished) my critique partner's wonderful novel, Occam's Razors. It's got me totally hooked and if she weren't sending it to me 5 chapters at a time, I probably wouldn't be getting too much sleep. Good books always keep me up, calling out to me at 3am "finish me, finish me!!" I got the final chapters a few days ago and am reluctant to read them because I seriously do not want to let go of these characters.
Okay - the clock just chimed 9 bells. Time to watch 'House'.

Another Day, Another Quiz

There are entire websites devoted to dopey quizzes: What Thanksgiving Dish Are You, What Is Your Sexiness Quotient, Which Deadly Sin Are You,...
I find myself glued to the computer, bent on unscientific self-analysis. I have a list of more important things to do (fold more laundry, bake cookies for the party this weekend, do my writing course assignment, Xmas cards, correct the typos in my ms, etc). The problem is, I have so many things to do, I'm feeling overwhelmed. So I took (another) break out to do this one, entitled:

Are You A Movie Buff?

Apparently, I am. (Wonder if there's a quiz How Overwhelmed Are You, or perhaps, Are You A Quizaholic)

Your Movie Buff Quotient: 84%

You are a movie buff of the most obsessive variety. If a movie exists, chances are that you've seen it. You're an expert on movie facts and trivia. It's hard to stump you with a question about film.

Are You a Movie Buff?

I was tagged by fellow TWR blogger, Amy. Thanks for putting Christmas on my brain!

Your Name: Wylie

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Egg Nog with a healthy tip of Bermuda’s Black Seal Rum
2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Santa wraps, applies big beautiful bows, coordinated ribbon and tries to color-code the wrap for each person (Santa sounds a wee bit anal, doesn’t she he!)
3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? Outside – colors! Inside – white fairy lights.
4. Do you hang mistletoe? Nah. Who needs a ball of leaves to inspire kissing? We’re big smoochers in our family.
5. When do you put your decorations up? Not before December 2^nd. That’s my birthday and I REFUSE to acknowledge Christmas before then.
6. What is your favorite holiday dish? My mother’s stuffing and mushroom gravy.
7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Going into the aromatic pine forest to hunt up the perfect Xmas tree with my stepdad (the only good memory that involves him, btw). The snow would be so deep we could barely walk through it! He always let me take a few swings with the little axe.
8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? I don’t remember exactly, but I must have been quite young - perhaps seven or eight.
9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? No. No peeking until Xmas morning.
10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? I like the traditional colors – red, green gold, white fairy lights, lots of tinsel and ornaments that range from Walmart bulk, to sentimental to kid-craft.
11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? LOVE IT! Spend 17 Christmases in snowless Bermuda and never really felt the spirit as I do in Canada – surrounded by a blanket of white.
12. Can you ice skate? Used to. Haven’t tried for probably 25 years.
13. Do you remember your favorite gift? A Barbie head that you practiced make-up and hair-do’s on, a doll called Chrissy (my sister got Velvet, Chrissy’s sister) – you could make her hair long or short, and more recently, a beautiful diamond bracelet.
14. What’s the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Family – specially making it wonderful for my kids, getting/feeling Christmas spirit (people are always friendlier around this time), and the food.
15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? Love shortbreads, mini-butter tarts, and Terry’s chocolate oranges.
16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Ours keeps changing! My hubby’s parents have their traditions, my folks do something a bit different, my sister’s different again… We’ve spent so many years going to other folks, that we haven’t developed any of our own yet. This year…
17. What tops your tree? An angel. Must be an angel and she must light up.
18. Which do you prefer giving or Receiving? Totally a giver!! I enjoy buying, trying to find a gift that’s personal and meaningful. I’m an ungrateful receiver… If I get a gift (like another red freakin’ purse – 3 years running!!), I feel like the giver doesn’t know me, didn’t take the time to find out what I want/like. Don’t bother, really. I don’t mean to be snotty, but I’d rather have someone give a gift to charity in my name rather than a lame gift that has nothing to do with me.
19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? *singing* Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jack Frost nipping at your nose,…. Also, O Holy Night, Come All Ye Faithful, Do They Know It’s Christmas (Bono’s line always makes me cry) – who am I kidding – there isn’t any Xmas tunes I don’t like!!
20. Candy Canes! Yuck or Yum? Meh. I usually eat one mini and I’m done.

I'm tagging T.L.!

P.S. y'all -- I tried to put a nice pretty picture of a sprig of mistletoe and the darn thing wouldn't come up in the published post - though it worked fine in preview - so I said 'Hell with it' and posted the hunky Santa. He's comin' up just fine *wink*. HO! HO! HO!

I took a personality quiz, because I'm a sucker for this 'know thyself in twelve multiple choice questions' crap. Who needs Dr. Phil.
Sad to say, I'm 73% normal. This can be taken many ways: I'm too normal to be an interesting, envelope-pushing writer; I'm not normal enough to mix with genteel society or; 27% of my genetic make-up comes from lunatic Uncle Ed (eeks!)
But hey - I'm fun to be around. Whoopee!!

Here's what it says about me.... How 'bout you??

Your score on this personality test was 73%

Others see you as an exciting, highly volatile, rather impulsive personality; a natural lead, who's quick to make decisions, though not always the right ones. They see you as bold and adventuresome, someone who will try anything once; someone who takes chances and enjoys an adventure. They enjoy being in your company because of the excitement you radiate.

Personality Quiz
Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Putting the hate in housework

I hate housework. My husband likes to remind me that 'hate' is a strong word (I use it alot, but I can't help it -- I'm passionate about things and when I say 'hate', I mean HATE!) but there is nothing appealing about the drudgery of floor washing. Nothing entertaining about pushing a vacuum cleaner back and forth. Nothing remotely satisfying about dusting, especially since the minute you finish, you realize more dust is accumulating. I don't feel the 'Martha' sense of accomplishment when I'm finished, because there is no end in sight, no light at the end of the tunnel, just more crumbs, more dust, more grime.
I make it much worse for myself because instead of just getting on with it, I procrastinate and then feel bad, procrastinate some more, then resent that I just didn't get on with it in the first place.
I'd rather be sitting at my computer writing,(hmmm, like I am now), or running errands, or baking, or reading, or going to the dentist. Now laundry, I can live with. Ironing? Forget it.
The only thing WORSE than housework, is stepping on a crumby kitchen floor, or looking at that scummy soap build-up on the bathroom sink. I do housework only because I hate (there's that word again) the alternative. I like a clean house, eschew a messy kitchen, loathe a grimy bathroom, therefore, I clean.
But seriously,... I'd rather have a root canal.

What kind of reader are you?

Grabbed this fun little quiz from T.L.'s blog. I'm a Literate Good Citizen. How bloody boring!!! I was striving for Decicated Reader, but alas... I continue to reside in average-land. Think I'll do the How Sexy Are You Quiz, or maybe the Are You Brad Pitt's True Mate Quiz, then there's the...

What Kind of Reader Are You? Your Result: Literate Good Citizen You read to inform or entertain yourself, but you're not nerdy about it. You've read most major classics (in school) and you have a favorite genre or two.
Dedicated Reader
Obsessive-Compulsive Bookworm
Book Snob
Fad Reader
Non-Reader
What Kind of Reader Are You? Create Your Own Quiz

Book Review - not from me!

Here's where I say my bit about not being a book review site: lots of sites in cyberland that do it far better than I, blah blah blah...

But I have to say, after having my socks knocked off with M.A. Everaux 'The Claiming of Moira Shine', I decided to check out the only other story she has in the Ellora's Cave catalogue. 'North Wolf' is about weres, so there is no chance I would have bought it had I just been browsing for a book to read. Creature stories really aren't my thing,... at least I thought they weren't! I must admit, I was hooked on it from page 1, perhaps to a lesser degree than 'Moria Shine', but her story had me intrigued enough to stay up way past my bedtime. Her characters are powerful and frightening, yet vulnerable and sweet. Apparently (according to my secret sources bwahahahah) it was her first story, had major edits/rewrites, but it paid off for her bigtime. And although a 'North Wolf' is an engagingly good story, you can see by comparison the polish and shine she applied to her sophmore effort.
I'm looking forward to a 'North Wolf' spinoff with the alpha wolf's brother as the hero. Are you listening M.A.??

PS - Meh! The cover just doesn't do the story justice, either.

Tagged by T.L.: 5 things about moi!

I've been tagged by my *bff* Thomma Lynn, aka Jenny Acey (I'm still holding my sides over that one, TL!) to post FIVE THINGS PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT ME. Here goes:

1. Wylie Kinson is not my real name.

2. No matter how much I advance plan, I'm always 10 minutes late... and I hate myself for it. I blame it on having lived in Bermuda for so long -- Bermudians are mostly always late.

3. I have a tattoo. A small Canadian maple leaf on my left hip -- my own little 'made in Canada' tag.

4. I have no patience for ignorance and truly believe that I am the smartest person in my extended family. My husband would disagree.

5. When I read, the voice in my head has a very snobby British accent. (Except when I read T.L.'s blog -- then I've got Dolly Parton up there *hee*)

Hmmm,... whom will I tag? How 'bout new visitor to my site, Christine!

Is you're inner writer MALE or FEMALE?

This is the coolest little thing - do try it. The Gender Genie analizes your blogpost, fiction or non-fiction writing samples and can tell if you're a male or female by the words used. (thanks to Thomma Lyn whose site I stole the link from - hee!)

According to their 'scientific methods', the blog I posted earlier today qualifies me as a male. Clearly, I wrote it with the right side of my brain (wtf?!) while the first chapter of my novella catagorizes me as a female writer. Aha! Got me. Then I got crafty and entered a scene from the novella that's supposed to be from the hero's point of view and the results indicated I'm still a female. Wow, that was a blow. I thought I wrote from a guy's pov pretty well. Guess I'm wrong. I need to get in touch with my maleness. Clearly, I need to see the Bond flick again *grinning*.

Dream E-Pub Shows 99.9% Interest - WooHoo

Dream e-publisher emailed me last week re 'The Color of Passion' and gave me a revise and resubmit. This is very good news. Dream editor said she's almost 99% sure of publishing the story if I make the changes. This is very very very good news. Dream editor also said wonderfully kind words about my writing which came on the heels of the very bad BAM review so my wounded ego has healed nicely.
Here's the challenge re the R&R: It needs more s.e.x. If I can throw in additional two or more sex scenes AND spice up the ones that are already in there, it will be published by their erotica line.
Option two is leave the sexy parts as they are then submit to their romance line, but the romance line doesn't do novella's so I would have to almost double the length of the ms to make the 50K word limit.
Now, you're probably thinking - 'This is a no-brainer... go with option one: more sex scenes!' But that my friends, is not easy. The kinky stuff must enhance the story, move the plot forward; gratutious sex just doesn't cut-it, especially if it compromises the characters.
The third option being, of course, go with another publisher. But I really really want to get in Dream Publisher's door for a few reasons (which I won't get into unless the story is sold and I can reveal who Dream Pub is). AND, they want me to change the title because the word 'Passion' is very overused. I'm very okay with this. I wasn't really married to the title. I've thrown around a few ideas and this is the top three:
Destiny by Design (or Designing Destiny), Wet Paint, Brush Strokes. Any of em grab you?

I rec'd the email last weekend but haven't blogged about the *GREAT NEWS* because I was undecided on my approach. This is what I've decided:
I've been making copious notes on how to add subplots, plot twists and incidental scenes that provide richness to the characters -- but I'm not rewriting the story just yet. I am, in fact, going with option one - throwing in more and longer steamy scenes. It's very difficult, but seemed the surest way to go. In the event that it compromises the integrity of the story, I'll make the decision to rewrite or send to another pub. In any case, I've had sex on the brain for a week and seeing Daniel Craig as James Bond certainly helped the creative process!!

Craig, Daniel Craig

Just saw Casino Royale and though I was sceptical about this new Daniel Craig fella, I must say he' s da bomb! (sorry, Sean)
He had me from the first scene - he's fierce, craggy and completely believable in the role. He makes Pierce and Roger look like spy parodies and imho, he even beats Sean on the role.
He's not a good looking man compared to the ilk of Brad, Matt D, etc... but he's got sex appeal to the nth degree and a body that took my breath away. He plays a convincing fight scene, is stellar to watch in the action bits and oh, did I mention sexy?
The opening credits were meh. The song was fine, but the classic Bond opening with the dancing nude silhouettes wasn't up to par.
As for the movie -- it's wins the 'Wylie Award' for best script, action, evil dudes, and femmes... because it wasn't over-the-top ridiculous and only one scene suffered from gaget-itis, and even that wasn't bad. No hokey names for the females, either. And only a few ridiculous one-liners, but because there were so few, those few worked. (did ya follow that?)
The audience was filled with teenagers, so naturally I expected unnessessary chatter, giggling and cell-phone ringing but I was proven so very wrong. You could have heard a pin drop in the theatre for the entire two and a half hours (except for the requisite 'oohs' and 'aahs'), and the theater exploded into applause at the end of the movie! I haven't seen that since,... since,... well, I can't remember because it's been so long.

Daniel Craig as Bond will surely give me days of inspiration for writing romance/erotica - yee haw!

"Moira Shine" Sizzles!

Oh, mama...
Just read M.A. Everaux's "The Claiming of Moira Shine" (Ellora's Cave) and yikes, it was sizzling.
I've said it many times before - this ain't a book review blog... there are too many out there doing it much better than I ever could, but trust me when I say: Read this book. And be prepared to take a cold shower when you're done. Ms. Everaux only has one other book on EC, which I fully intend to buy once I come down from "Moira Shine", but I'll look out for her in the future - for sure.

Damn it Ellis! Let me sleep!!

"Damn it, Ellis!" Simon shook his head in a mixture of longing and disgust...

It's 6:06 in the am and I barely slept a wink all night.
Last night, before I finally went to bed at midnight, the heroine of The Color of Passion (which I am currently revising for dream editor) told the hero that she didn't want to be involved, and the 'damn it, Ellis' line was the best I could come up with in response.
Lame.
I knew it was time to go to bed, knew that the inkwell of wonderful, witty, sexually-tense dialogue had dried up for the day. I yawned, stretched, fed the cat, and turned on the tv to catch the tail end of Leno (with the purpose of erasing any story thoughts from my mind).
Sadly, sleep didn't come. I tossed, turned, fluffed, got and extra pillow, had a sip of water, rubbed cream on my feet... but I couldn't get these characters out of my head. They remained locked in the room, staring each other down, searching for appropriate words to say to one another. They argued at 1:30, woke me up at 2:30 with their passionate, anger-driven kisses, sniped at each other at 4:00. When I looked at my clock again, it read 5:17 and he was feeling her up (where did that come from?)!!. Finally, at 6:00, my pussy cat woke me up (I mean this literally, of course) to be let out.
Oh, damn it. Who needs sleep, anyway?
The trouble is, I am now sitting at my computer, the house is quiet, kids are fast asleep, cat is outside and hubby's snoring has ceased (making me wonder if he is indeed dead), and I'm too bloody tired to write this scene! ARRGGG!

Come on in, we're OPEN

Ahhh, the wonderful ritual of a Sunday. Get out of bed, make a large batch of fluffy pancakes and smother them in maple syrup (the real stuff, not the Aunt Jemima crap), take a long hot shower and dress in my Sunday finest. Then it's off to meet the rest of the devotees in the congregation.... at Costco.
Yes, some folk go to church on Sundays; I take my kids (in matching outfits) to retail heaven. It's our ritual and we love it.
Costco opens at 10am sharp and if you're not there on time, (with the goal of getting in and out in an hour) it becomes so swamped with the after-church crowd that heaven turns quickly into hell. One time I overslept and didn't make it to Costco until 11:30. I could barely move my cart, the free-sample ladies couldn't keep up with the demand so I had to forego the ethereal pleasure of tasting the feta & spinach sausage AND the freshly baked short breads, then I was faced with the 25 minute pergatory of a check-out line, with my two and six year old boys (which is its own special form of hell).
So yesterday, with my visiting in-laws in tow, (I had been urging them to get dressed since 9am lest we arrive late and miss the sermon, *ahem*, samples), I made the weekly jaunt with mile long shopping list and applicable coupons. Headed straight to the office supply aisle for batteries (48 Kirkland double A's only $16.00!!!) and noticed an item that caught my eye; an 'OPEN' sign. It was beautiful. The letters were in bright red neon, encircled in a vibrant electric blue oval. I wanted it. I wanted it bad.
I couldn't believe that just anybody, ANYBODY, could waltz in a buy an OPEN sign. Would I have to prove I was a business owner to the check-out clerk? Would the manager come and question my intentions? "What will you do with it?" he/she would ask with furrowed brow. "An OPEN sign bears a significant amount of responsibility. You must turn it on only when you're open and remember to turn it off when you're closed. Do you understand? You mustn't mislead the public with such a powerful device. It's not fair to the general population to advertise OPEN when you are indeed CLOSED."
But alas, I'm not a business owner. Would it cause any harm if I just put it in my living room window and turned it on occassionally? Would people stop their cars and knock on my front door? Would I be obliged to keep my door unlocked?
I could offer tea. I could just listen to people's problems. I could present them with a bill. I could let them browse my eclectic collection of paperbacks. Would it offend them if I first made them take off their shoes?
I'm going to mull this over a bit -- before next Sunday when I'll be forced to look at the enticing OPEN sign once more. Maybe I should call Andy Rooney. He's good with stuff like this.

Small print for a small day.

I'm feeling very small today. Bam reviewed 'Bella Fiore' and was not kind. I truthfully did not expect the review to be THAT bad, but it was scathing and it really hurt my feelings. Foolish, I know. It's one person's opinion, blah blah blah... but quite honestly, I held back the tears and bit my lip til it bled while reading it. So I felt a bit bruised for a few days but in the end, had to admit she was quite correct about a few issues - which I hope to correct in future works. But she called my humour cheesy!! It was written very tongue-in-cheek and I guess it didn't come across that way to her, but...
I shall keep writing, and improving (hopefully).
I did get two favorable reviews from TwoLips and CoffeeTime so why am I dwelling?? The comments I got from Bam's readers were very nice and encouraging, so I thank those sensitive souls very much for their kind words (L.E. Bryce, Kate Rothwell, Jackie Kessler, K.D.), and my new critique partner, TL, who will hopefully slap my fingers for using too many outrageous dialogue tags in future!
On to other things:
Still waiting to hear back from e-publisher re 'The Color of Passion'. Though she stated it would take two to four weeks, that has not stopped me from checking my in-box everytime I pass my computer. I'm having an extra difficult time moving on to my pirate story knowing that TCOP is sitting on her desk!
My in-laws are visiting for the weekend and are shopping like mad. I'm sure the Canadian economy will flourish this quarter. They've bought out half of our mall, Toys R Us, Old Navy, Sears, etc...
Now I'm off to pretend to cook a fabulous meal for my house guests. I'm really going to open a few jars of sauce and call it my own ;D
Shhhh, no telling!

Pull the Trigger or Pass the Valium

There's a gun to my head and I wish she'd just pull the trigger already!!
My latest, 'Bella Fiore', has moved from the 'to be read' column to the 'to be reviewed' column on Bam's (it's not chick porn) book review site. I love reading Bam's reviews and cover snark. She's brutally honest and writes with equal parts sarcasm and candor that only a 20-something can get away with. She appeals to the nasty sarcastic side of me that I don't let out often ;D -- at least not in public.
Anyway - Bam's had my book on her shelf for awhile and I've dreaded this review for sometime now. She's a romance novel junkie, so she's seen it all - aliens, three-somes, m/m, f/f, sweet innocence, hardcore, paranormal, vampires, etc...
I'm nervous because the protagonist in 'Bella Fiore' is a bored housewife that I'm not sure Bam can relate to (or would even want to!).
I'm nervous because she reads everything from Mary Jo Putney to Laurell K Hamilton and next to these two professionals, my writing is like that of a third grader (albeit a sexually active one! bwahahahahah).
I'm nervous because if she slams my book, the immature side of me won't want to visit her site ever again and the mature part of me will miss it dearly!

I want my mommy!

I'm a sad girl today. Put my mom on a plane, back to her hometown, 1000 miles away. She's getting frailer (or should that be "more frail"?) everytime I see her, though she still has more spunk at 86 than half the 40 year olds I know. But for the past few years, everytime we part, I can't help wondering if it's the last time I'll see her. We talk almost every night on the phone and I'm scared to death of losing her, though it's inevitable.
Who will I gossip and shop with, or discuss old movies? Despite her age, my mom knows who's who: Christian Bale, Dan Brown, Britney Spears, Paris Hilton, Tony Blair, Borat, Wolf Blitzer, Belinda Stronach, Rick Mercer, Kelli Pickler and Eminem. She reads national newspapers, magazines, financial/business books. She doesn't have a university degree and is in awe of professionals, but my mother is sharper than anyone (ANYONE!) I've ever met.
She shares my love of books and we often mail each other our faves - even though it costs more to send than to pick up our own copy at the bookstore! It's nice to know that a person you love and esteem held the same pages, smiled or cried at the same passages and derived the same feelings of hope, joy, sadness or longing when the book was finished.

I want my mommy *sniff*

Good News, Bad News and a Case of Pinot

My Mom is still visiting, but I found a few minutes (between shopping, watching old movies and arguing about my weight) to jot a quick entry.
Update in the life of the wannabe-award-winning-novelist:

1. Got a critique partner, fellow blogger & Chippewa author, T.L. (Yeah!!) *happy dancing while putting on thick skin*
2. Send updated ms for The Color of Passion to epublisher. Fingers, toes and eyes crossed. Waiting patiently with a case of Pinot Grigio. (no, not for celebration... to get me through the next six weeks of waiting).
3. Saw The Prestige, starring Hugh Jackman, Christian Bale, Michael Caine and Scarlett Johanssen. Excellent mind-bender of a movie. If I were Ebert or Roper, my thumbs would be up.
4. Ah, rejection... Nonsuch Beauty was rejected, but in a kind, helpful way. The editor was decent enough to point out my mistakes and tell me what she liked and disliked about the characterization. Comments for which I'm truly grateful. She also said, ahem, "you have an interesting voice". Big happy smile. See, it's not all bad. And as I've stated before, I'm not sure Nonsuch Beauty was ever meant to be published. I think it shall remain in my bottom drawer until such time I can incorporate either the idea or characters into a longer piece.
5. Inspired by T.L.'s latest blog about quotes, am offering one of my favorites ('specially in light of my previous erotic publications!!):

"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
~ PJ O'Rourke

What's on your nightstand?