Apologies in Advance...

Too cute not to share.

Not Just Smoke and Mirrors

New Book Word Count: 12,806
Line of the Day: "If you're talking about him at all, it means you're thinking about him a lot."

Zipping right along on the new book that still remains sadly untitled. I'm starting to get a few ideas that don't totally stink, so we might be in the process of narrowing it down. As I'm writing, it's always amazing to me how the process works - and I can say that because honestly I feel like I can't take credit for any of it. Okay, I know that sounds crazy (Robin), but I really do feel that I'm just the conduit for great ideas that are already floating around out there.

Case in point - I had absolutely NO idea how my two MCs were going to meet back up again once she comes home from vacation (I realize that probably makes no sense, but bear with me). And as I'm writing the last scene at the Tower of London it just happens - of course! He has a friend with him who ends up liking her sister. They exchange numbers and there you go. And why did she want to go upstairs to look at her father's photos of the trip? Of course - he's in one of them (and not where he's supposed to be either)! And the villain of the story? The one who I knew existed but wasn't sure who it was? The villain has been there all the time - right under our literal noses. Don't know why I didn't realize that before.

I often find myself saying "Dang, I wish I'd thought of that" when a particularly sticky plot problem just works itself out, because I honestly don't feel like I did. I'll often read over chapters that I've written days before and be totally surprised because I don't remember writing parts of them.

There's only one possible explanation - it's magic.

On this date: In 1941, Pearl Harbor was bombed.

John Green on Twilight

T (from other room): Mom, what are you laughing about?
Me: John Green's being funny.
T: John Green's always funny.

Why yes, he is.

Win a Copy of Dirty Little Secrets

Want to read Dirty Little Secrets before everyone else? The publisher's ARCs are gone, but there is an ARC giveaway on Authors Now! that is running through December 8th. Just comment on the post and you can win an Advanced Reader's Copy for your very own!

New Book Word Count: 8,061
Line of the Day: According to their plan, I'd be at Julliard or at least the San Francisco Conservatory of Music by now instead of wasting my life by actually having one.

So how's the new book going? Pretty good - I lost a little bit of momentum over Thanksgiving, (I'm blaming the tryptophan), but now I'm on a roll and the scenes are coming faster than I can find time to type them. Still title-less, but I'm getting a lot more firm on the main character names. Thank goodness for Google - I needed to see what was on a bus route in San Francisco and Google maps let me see the whole way at street level. Don't know what I'd do without the Internet - I'd have to actually go there!

I'll keep ya posted.

On this date: In 1955, Rosa Parks ignited the Montgomery bus boycott.

Hoarders on A&E

Welcome back to real life (at least for the next three weeks) - hope everyone had a good Thanksgiving and didn't gain more than the pumpkin-turtle pie was worth.

After the family togetherness and eating (and some online shopping - I hate crowds), I spent the free time catching up on Tivo'd episodes of Hoarders on A&E. No matter how many times I see stories on compulsive hoarding, they never fail to break my heart. There was one episode in particular that left me shaken in Hoarders, Patty/Bill in season one. If you haven't seen it, they have a very short clip if you click on the link, click on the 1 next to the word Season and then choose Patty/Bill (for some reason, the link won't go right to the episode). Listen carefully to Patty as she is talking about the house - you'll hear the phrase that made me sit up and take notice. In the other story in the episode (which they don't show in the clip), Bill has a daughter who lives in a spotless bedroom in the middle of the hoarded home - exactly like my character Lucy in Dirty Little Secrets. His daughter was so much like my character it was scary.

I'm glad that I wrote the book in late 2007, because otherwise I'd be accused of blatantly ripping off episodes of this series. There are so many details that are in Hoarders that are in the book that it is really astounding. Its amazing that so many people who have no contact with each other, behave in such similar ways.

On this date: In 1948 Kukla, Fran and Ollie debuted.

Fake Book Sightings

What's this? A hardcover copy of Dirty Little Secrets? Well...sort of. It's a copy of Brooke Taylor's Undone with a brand new actual-size jacket of DLS folded on top of it. Looks good though, doesn't it? Maybe I have too much time on my hands...

New Book Word Count: 5539
Line of the Day: The only thing even a little bit English about him was the faint trace of an accent that drifted in and out as he spoke.

The book is going along pretty well, although I've lost about a day because I have to go back over the previous 20 pages and make some changes. One of my crit partners brought up some character questions about my main character (thanks Nat) and I've incorporated some additional characteristics that will change a lot of the beginning. It's funny how these things reveal themselves to you as you go. I was thinking that it was her sister who was really into structure and disliked spontaneity, but it turns out it was my main character after all. This actually happens a lot and is part of the process of getting to know the characters, but it often involves a substantial amount of revising as you go. I know a lot of people would just leave it be, keep on truckin' and then go back and change it later, but I can't work that way. The before has to be right before I can go on. I guess that's my own character issue ;)

On this date: In 1936, the first issue of Life magazine was published.

Changing Names

Word Count: 4,473
Line of the Day:I pressed my handkerchief and small book into the waiting hands of my lady, whose silent weeping was escalating into what I feared would be a noisy crescendo.

So the book is coming along well, although it looks like it's going to be pretty long if I'm to judge by the first two chapters. A few people have mentioned that Dirty Little Secrets is short (I think the hardback is going to be 242 pages) so I guess that's not such a bad thing . As I was writing today, I realized how important the first glimpse of the love-interest is. Is he friendly or distant? Unattainable or kind of goofy? How you introduce him will set the tone for the relationship throughout the rest of the book. Apparently, first impressions do count.

I'm also considering some name changes. I totally forgot that the awesome debut book The Mark by cyber-friend and publisher-cousin Jen Nadol has a Cassie as the main character and Darius just isn't working for me. Not that you can't have the same name as another book, but it just feels a little too close. I do have a couple of other ideas, but I'm going to let the characters try them on for a chapter or two before I decide.

Even though Thanksgiving and the (ugh) holidays are coming up, I'm going to try to stick to the 1k per day schedule until it's done. I don't have to finish the whole thing before I send it to Agent E, just a few chapters and a synopsis, but I'd like to get a first draft done before DLS hits the streets at the end of January. If my math is right, it can be done ;)

The hubs got Indian food from my most favorite restaurant in the world and the smell of samosas is driving me nuts - time to eat!

On this date: In 1962, Jodie Foster was born.