Why the Name Jill is Awesome

Okay, so it's Friday and I need a break from the stupid edits that are driving me friggin mad. I've finished the short erotic romance that I plan to send to my editor with EC, but that's only going to happen if I can manage to finish my edits! Ugh.

So, I'm taking a break. Are you wondering about the title of this post? Thought I'd share something about me in a fun way. Why I love the name Jill:

1. Jill is the name of my best friend in the whole world. And when I say best friend, I mean more like sisters. We've been friends since 5th grade and there's something special about a friend who has known you through every important stage in your life.
2. Jill is the name of my very first editor (with The Wild Rose Press). She's no longer with the Crimson line, but I signed my first contract with her and working with her was a wonderful experience.
3. Jill Sorenson is the name of a new (and now favorite) author I discovered this year.
4. Jill (Marsal) is the name of the (awesome) agent I signed with this year. (I actually have a character named Jill in the manuscript I sent to her too.)

I've never met a Jill I didn't like and now you know something new about me. Have a great weekend everyone!

Discovering New Authors

Today I'm at Writers Gone Wild talking about discovering new authors. Come say hi if you get a chance!

Renovations

The renovations are in full effect!! The bookshelves are up, the closet is finished, and my bench/book nook is built. After work today I'm picking up the paint and blinds. The man can handle all the physical labor but I'm in charge of decorating. We still have to pick out flooring (will also be my decision, lol), but I already have what I want in mind. When he first started I envisioned the ending a little, but I can finally 'see' what the final picture will be. I promise pictures will follow soon!

Friday at Last!

Thanks to edits, I've been quiet in blogland but now I'm out of my writer cave. Edits and rewriting are a part of writing I never even thought about when I first started writing, but there's no way around it. Was blowing off steam to my hubby about edits and re-writes and how I wish things were easier. Of course I was expecting just a smidgen of sympathy but he rolls his eyes and says 'If it was easy it wouldn't be worth it and everybody and their mother would be doing this'. Grr, I hate it when he's right! ;)


While I was working on edits I had to put down a short story I've been working on for EC but last night I had an epiphany on the ending. I was struggling with the conflict but now I think I'll be able to wrap it up this weekend!

In real life news, the man is currently renovating the back room in our house. New windows, new floors, and he's even going to add built-bookshelves. Guess which part I'm looking forward to the most? In a few weeks, pictures will definitely follow!

Have a great weekend!

Friday

This has been a pretty interesting week but I'm so glad it's finally Friday. It's not like it's written in stone, but Friday is usually 'date night' for the man and me and I'm looking forward to it.


A really good friend of mine works for the government and has a basic security clearance (or maybe a little higher, I'm not really sure of the details). She's in the process of getting a top secret clearance and I guess when they do that they interview people in their lives, etc. So, on Wednesday some government type came to my house and interviewed me and asked a bazillion questions about her. I felt so nervous even though the interview wasn't even about me and it's not as if I'd done anything wrong. Still, I couldn't keep my leg from shaking. I swear, the woman interviewing me probably thought I had restless leg syndrome or something. Overall it was pretty cool and apparently I was one of the few people who actually got an in-person interview as opposed to a phone call. ;)


In writing updates, I got my second round of edits back from my agent. At first I was a little overwhelmed but now that I've gotten back into my manuscript, I'm loving the way it's unfolding. It's a lot of simple adjustments (and some not so simple) but I can see the difference and it's all for the better. Hopefully when I've finished, she'll think so too.


Tomorrow I'm having a 'professional' author photo taken. I'm slightly nervous, not because I mind having my picture taken, but because I don't know what to expect working with this woman. I'll admit that I'm a picture junkie. I haul my camera everywhere and have no shame acting like a tourist in my own city. This feels different though because it's not really for fun. A friend of my sister is a photographer and she's in the process of building her portfolio so she's doing the whole thing for free. (If she wasn't, I doubt I'd even be doing this). I guess it's a trade off. I get to be her puppet for a few hours and in exchange I get a free photo for my website, etc.


Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend! I'm sure I'll have updates next week ;)

Author Fan Mail

I'm at Writers Gone Wild today. Topic: author fan mail and expectations from readers. Drop by and say hi if you get a chance.

What happened to Monday?

I usually try to post on Mondays but yesterday snuck by me. Over the weekend Betina Krahn spoke at my local chapter meeting and the topic was just what I needed. Conflict. She made so many wonderful points and if you want an in-depth review of her notes visit Terry Odell's blog where she gives a recap. As mentioned in previous posts, I've been struggling with my current WIP but after Saturday I feel like I'm headed in the right direction. This isn't verbatim but after all the notes I took, this is one of the main points I came away with: Conflict doesn't have to bulldoze over every scene, it can be quiet and intense as long as it's enough to make the reader want to continue reading. So, I've decided to do something different with this story. I bought a dry erase board, which is now hanging in front of my desk and I've been adding sticky notes with various scene ideas. With each scene, I'm noting what the conflict is. If there isn't conflict for either character, it's going in the trash.


I'm sure things will be fairly quiet in blogland as so many writers and industry professionals will be at RWA Nationals in DC this week. I haven't been to a conference yet and before I make the plunge and attend such a huge one, I want to dip my feet in the shallow end. I've heard good things about Moonlight & Magnolias and the Silken Sands conference. Any conference junkies out there? What do you all recommend for a conference virgin?

Writers Gone Wild

Blogging @ Writers Gone Wild today. Topic: Happily Ever After vs. Happy For Now. Stop by and say hi :)

Release Date!

I just got a release date of 8/7/09 from my editor for Adrianna's Cowboy. It's going to be my first release under my new pseudonym! I don't think I ever officially announced it here, but I decided to separate my erotic romance from the rest of my writing. All future erotic romance will be available under the name Savannah Stuart.

Currently I'm working on plotting out my next manuscript. It's going to be a single title and more complex than anything I've done so far. I'm in the 'naming' stage and I'll be honest, it's my least favorite part of developing a new story. I already knew what I wanted to name the hero and heroine but all those supporting characters need first and last names too and since this is a bigger cast than I've ever done, it's been a little time consuming.

Ack! The man finally left this morning and now I can get some work done. Normally he's fairly quiet in the mornings but today I was ready to hurt him! Okay, now I have no more excuses not to write. Today's plan: finish with names and write the first scene in new story.

Today is my Friday

Yay! My tyrannical boss (I'm totally kidding btw) is closing the office tomorrow so it's an extra long weekend for me :) Finished my latest novella early this morning before heading to work. I actually wrote about 1K more than I expected bringing my daily total to 3K and all before lunch. I'm pretty impressed with myself. *Sigh* If only I could do that every day. Of course now I have to go back and edit the hell out of it and write my synopsis, but it's a good feeling nonetheless.

It's been raining pretty steadily all week but I looked at the forecast and Cocoa is supposed to have a measly two hours of sunny/cloudiness sans rain tomorrow morning so we might try to sneak over to the coast. Haven't decided how lazy I feel yet. On Saturday we'll probably watch fireworks downtown (over a lake) from a friend's high rise and thanks to Kristen, I think I'm going to bring cookies with a little holiday flair!

Have a fun, safe, Fourth of July everyone!

Things A Girl Should Have

Blogging at Writers Gone Wild today. Topic: Things a Girl Should Have in her house at all times.