Writer's Digest 79th

Another contest I'm looking into. Writer's Digest 79th Annual

All Work and No Play

I've been working A LOT on The Second Romantic Suspense. Yes, it's a good thing, so I can't really say there is no play because my writing is my play time. So far I'm keeping to my goal of 30 pages per chapter, but I know when I edit and revise that will change. Maybe for better, maybe for worse. Who knows. I'm working on chapter 4 now. Hopefully, I'll have that finished tomorrow and by the end of the week have my five chapters set.

My Wicked Enemy by Carolyn Jewel

I accidentally read My Forbidden Desire before My Wicked Enemy, but it was good to know all of the terminology before hand and see the background stories of the characters. Carolyn Jewel has done it again and captured my attention with her paranormal romance.

A desire that can't be controlled...
Carson Philips is a witch on the run. For years, the notorious mage, Alvaro Magellan, has held her as his psychological prisoner. But once Carson gets a glimpse of the true extent of his evil, she flees Magellan's mansion--stealing a stone talisman of unimaginable power on the way. Her only hope for survival is a demon who ignites a voracious hunger in her she can't deny, a longing she can't resist...

A hunger that can't be sated...
Nikodemus is a warlord with a mission: Kill Magellan and his green-eyed witch at any cost. But when he meets the desperate Carson, the pull of her magic takes his breathe away. He's not sure he can trust this tantalizing woman--she is his enemy--and less sure he can keep his hands off her. But Magellan will stop at nothing to reclaim what belongs to him. Can Nikodemus stop him before his desire for Carson destroys them both?

Living Dead in Dallas by Charlaine Harris

This is where the series starts to wander off from the books. I'm still very interested in continuing Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series. Sookie is once again at the call of Eric the Vampire and his associates in Dallas as one of their own has been kidnapped by the Fellowship of the Sun. She finds a way in, but can't seem to find a way out until another vampire, who is on the Fellowship's side, runs to the rescue. Then there's also the murder of her friend and coworker Lafayette. The town detective is up on suspicion of murder and Sookie's telepathy comes in hand as she tries to discover whose at fault.

Work, Work, Work..

I've been working a lot on The Second Romantic Suspense. Today I got about 25 pages written. Currently, I'm working on chapter 3. So far, I have only about the first five chapters for a first draft and a bunch of "scenes" planned. For this week the plan is to set the first five chapters in concrete and the move onto writing the other random "scenes". I will tie everything together after that and let you know how it went. My goal is about 30 pages a chapter for now, but as I move on that may be harder than I plan.

Ready and Go

The First Short Story, The Enjoyment Hour, is ready for review if anyone is interested. I'm looking forward to submitting it to a few contests in the next couple of months and am already working on The Second Short Story along with The Second Romantic Suspense. I need to cut 895 words for a few contests I've looked at. They don't like more than 5,000. One of the contests I'm looking at is Tom Howard/John H. Reid Short Story contest due March 31, 2010

This year is going to be busy, busy, busy for me, but I'm excited to see where it's going to take me.

Two for the Dough by Janet Evanovich

Stephanie Plum is still trying to make it as a bounty hunter in Janet Evanovich's second installment in the Plum series Two for the Dough. This time she's after Kenny Manscuso, a wanted man who allegedly shot his best friend in the knee and then to death. Joe Morelli is still by her side, along with Ranger and Rex, as she hunts down this sociopath to get her $5,000.
All in all, I liked this book much better than the first. There is a lot more going on in Evanovich's plot line here than in One For the Money. I will continue to read the series, but only after I take a break from reading something else.

Narcissus in Chains by Laurell K Hamilton

Laurell K Hamilton is one of those writer's whose novels are action packed and this installment of the Anita Blake series didn't disappoint. I'd have to say Narcissus in Chains is THE most action packed of all the novels so far. I finished it way before my deadline because it's just that good

Dreaded...

I'm back to working on the dreaded synopsis for The First Romantic Suspense. Since I had revised so much in the last session of editing I had to redo nearly the entire thing. It's a good thing, for the better, but still a lot of work. I revised it again today and now I will have to go back and edit again. My next project is to revise the query letter. Right now I have two very intelligent friends going over the MS for me and I'm nervous about what they might say. I would like to find a local writing group to get more opinions, something to keep my focused and grounded when it comes to writing. So I need to do a little more research. Once I'm finished revising the synopsis and query letter, here's my next goal:

Here's a quick assignment: Make a list of markets to which you would like to submit your work (using WritersMarket.com, of course). Then, make one submission each day until you've run through the list. Once you get into a daily submission routine, you can continue throughout 2010.

My Forbidden Desire by Carolyn Jewel

Wow. I love Carolyn Jewel. Her paranormal novels are much better than her historical, but I love them all so far. I'm definately going to be investing in the rest of her books. She has the sense to write emotions during her love scenes instead of straight physical actions. I believe it makes her works more dramatic and exciting.
Xia, a witch-hater and former mageheld, has been assigned to gaurd Alexandrine Marit, a witch. All along they are extemely attracted to each other, but as time goes by and enemies start to attack, they grow closer