Dear Diary: Much to Report

Hope everyone had a nice Valentine's Day! Ours was very nice with flowers and candy and a nice dinner with the kids. We talked about going out but the idea of dealing with crowds and slow service wasn't appealing. Maybe we'll go out tonight instead. I'm all for any plan that involves me NOT cooking!

One of the members of my Fatal Series Readers Group wondered what Sam and Nick were doing for Valentine's Day. So I penned a little story that features Sam taking the lead on romance's biggest day. Yes, you read that right! SAM is taking the lead for once. If you'd like to find out whether or not she pulled it off, join the group and click on the "Docs" tab at the top. I also just revealed the name of the book that will follow Fatal Attack to the group! I spent my gym time today pondering the murder mystery for the next book, and wondering if there's something wrong with me because I get a charge out of thinking up new ways to kill people. Hmmm.... Lots of fun stuff coming up for Sam and Nick! I'd like to know if the 2500-word Valentine's Day story counts toward my word count for yesterday. The husband says no. I say yes. LOL! I made some good progress on FATAL ATTACK yesterday, and I like the direction this one is taking.

On the McCarthy front, the copy editor reported in last night that book 5, HOPING FOR LOVE, is her favorite one yet. Yay! She said, "Well, I think I said the last book was the best one yet, but I was wrong, because THIS ONE is the best one yet! OMG, love, love, loved it." Thank you Linda Ingmanson! Linda does a great job editing my self-published books, and I love working with her.

I'm pleased and excited that TRUE NORTH is now available in print. I'm working on getting all of my self-published books available in print, so watch for the McCarthys in print, coming soon! Will post the links here and on my website when I have them.

A couple of updates from yesterday: Thanks to my Facebook friends, I figured out why the iPhone wasn't ringing. I'm now intimate with my mute switch. Who knew? Thanks to everyone who helped! I'm getting the hang of it, and I know I will like it. Eventually. On the home front, Louie is settling in nicely and Brandy seems to be getting used to her new "brother." They love to wrestle and chase each other around the house. He's fit right in like he's always been here, which is great. Dan had a feeling about him, and I have to say he was right! (Don't tell him I said that though.... LOL)

I want to talk a little bit today about pre-orders and why some of my books aren't available for pre-order and others are. The simple truth is that Amazon and other retailers don't yet offer pre-order capability to self-published authors. I really hope that will change before too much longer. This means the new McCarthy book won't be available for pre-order, but will go on sale on the designated release day in March (still to be determined) and not before. I wish this wasn't how it worked, and I've talked to Amazon about changing the policy, but no movement yet. The Fatal Series books are published by a division of Harlequin. Since traditional publishers are the only ones who can do pre-orders, that is why the Fatal books have been available for pre-order when the others are not. I hope that sheds some light on the behind the scenes situation. I know this is frustrating for a lot of readers. Believe me, it's frustrating for me too because I answer a LOT of questions about this issue! Here's hoping there will be a change in this policy before too much longer!

Have a great day!

Dear Diary: Dogs and Phones and Chaos, Oh My!

Wrangled the blog back from Brandy's clutches....

Chaos seems to be the word of the year around here. First it was the home renovations. Now it's the new dog. We've decided to call him Louie, which is close to his shelter name of Luigi, but a little more to our liking. He's a very good boy, but he and Brandy love to wrestle. Right next to me. While I'm trying to write. That doesn't make for the most conducive environment for concentrating. I'm getting used to them, but it's going to take a few weeks to get into a routine that includes the new boy in the house. Brandy is exhausted without all her usual nap time during the day. They usually crash and burn right around the time that Dad gets home from work. Last night he commented on what good dogs they were. I said it was because the holy terrors wore themselves out playing all day. Here's a photo that shows Louie's face a little better:

He's a cute boy. He's SUPER skinny (we are going to fatten him up) but strong as an OX. I tried to take the two of them for a walk today, and when they nearly pulled me over the second time, I had to give up. They make me feel like a 90-pound weakling!

Speaking of weaklings, I haven't made it to the gym yet this week, but I'll be there tomorrow to meet the trainer. Good thing I have two standing dates with her each week.

I finally broke down and bought an iPhone this weekend. Yesterday, I spent 10 minutes figuring out how to make a phone call on it. I like the phone, for the most part, but it's like anything new. It takes some getting used to. I'd like to figure out why it doesn't ring when I get a phone call. That is even baffling my daughter, the iPhone queen.

Yesterday was my big TV appearance on a local morning show, The Rhode Show, which features goings on in and around Rhode Island. The big news of the day, other than Whitney Houston's passing, was the PowerBall winner being a Rhode Islander. We're still waiting to hear who the lucky winner is. We know the ticket was bought in Newport, which is two towns over from me. Anyway, my spot was about romance novels and how they make for a good gift for your Valentine. You can watch it here. The show was really fun to do, but of course I look at myself on TV and all I see is 100 pounds of FACE. I hate my fat face. I always have. My brother said I only looked a little bit like Chris Farley. Thanks, bro. That made me laugh!

I've been working all day today on Fatal Attack, the next book in the Fatal Series. I'm enjoying being back with Sam and Nick again and immersing them in another mystery. I'm closing in on 10,000 words, and will keep you posted on my progress.

Miscellaneous items:
Song I can't get out of my head: Set Fire to the Rain by (who else?) Adele. Did you see her interview on 60 Minutes? If not, well worth viewing online. She's someone I'd love to hang out with. She seems very "real" and down to earth despite her fame. And she swears! I already love her!

Downton Abbey: Did you watch the two-hour show on Sunday? I'm not at all pleased with Lord Grantham after that episode. I'm not digging the second season quite as much as the first. A lot of it seems rushed for some reason. I dunno...

What are you doing for Valentine's Day? We're making dinner with the kids and staying in. I think of VD in restaurants the same way I do NY Eve: amateur hour. Too crazy for me! I am so romantic, huh? Dan got me a dozen red roses and some chocolate, and I have silly little gifts for him and the kids. Hard to believe that this time last year we were wrapping up the voting for Sam & Nick's wedding. Time flies! Whatever you're doing today, I hope it's fun!
xoxo
Marie

Write, Edit, Revise, Repeat

Whoo, it's been all about revisions over here this week. For a variety of reasons, I've had to get up close and personal with six of my already written books this week. At various times, my eyes have felt like bloody meatballs that were going to fall right out of my head! As I've mentioned before, most of my writing work gets done at night after the day job and kids are attended to, so by the time I get to it, my eyes have already put in a long day. This week they were particularly challenged.

A lot of writers complain about revisions. I don't mind them. Usually whatever is being suggested makes the book stronger. I am always in favor of that! Since I don't do critique groups or critique partners, this feedback is invaluable and always welcome. My usual process when receiving a revision letter is to do nothing for the first few hours. I just think. And plan. And process. Usually what needs to be done is fairly clear by the time I dive in and it never takes me all that long to revise. At least it hasn't so far... I'm sure my day is coming.

Going back and re-reading already-written books is like spending time with old friends. I always enjoy that. Because a big part of my writing process involves re-reading what I've already written and because I'm a trained copy editor, my first drafts are usually pretty clean. So when I go back to re-read long after I've finished a book I'm usually reading for story more than grammar. Sometimes I've forgotten exactly what happens next, so plot twists and turns can be surprising to me (which I hope means they would be surprising to readers, too!)

So that's what I've been up to this week. Read. Read. Read. Revise. Revise. Revise. Not much writing got done—at least not enough to bother reporting it on the sidebar. But it was a week well spent.

What've you been up to? Any plans for Valentine's Day? My friends Emily Bryan and Dalton Diaz and I will be participating in a Valentine's author event at the Duxbury Public Library in Duxbury, MA tomorrow at 2 p.m. It's free and open to the public. Come on by and say hello!

The Romance World's National Holiday

Happy Valentine's Day! You'd think that as romance writers all my pals and I would be planning romantic outings with our significant others. Well, for me, Valentine's Day has included a dozen red roses, a box of candy, and a card that included a monkey sitting on a toilet. The card had the required "I love you" and made me laugh, so that's good. I also had breakfast made for me as I do most Saturday mornings. But going out? Not tonight. We're not into crowds and waiting an hour to get into a restaurant.

My friend Robin Kaye is blogging today on our Casablanca Authors Blog about how she's not really much into Valentine's Day because her domestic god Stephen, who I jokingly refer to as my second husband, does lovely things for her every day. She'd rather have the cup of coffee he brings her in bed every morning than a three-carat diamond for Valentine's Day (not that she'd say no to the diamond, of course). The general consensus among my romance writing pals is that it's not about hearts and flowers, it's about having go-to guys who make our daily lives a little easier.

That definitely includes my husband, Dan, who takes a lot of grief from me, but gets it done not just for me but for my single mom cousin and many of my friends who bring their pants over to be hemmed by him. Yes, you read that right. I gave him a Singer for Christmas a few years ago, which was easily the best gift I've ever given anyone. He views it as a power tool, right up there with his drill or saw. Of course he does require a full inseam measurement for all alterations because, as he says, there has to be something in it for him. Since my friends need him to sew for them, I'd better keep him around!

Another note on Valentine's Day... This was my first one as a mom that didn't require me to buy little kid Valentine's for my children's classmates. With a daughter in 8th grade--she makes beautiful cards for her friends--and a son in fourth grade--his response to my query about Valentine's was "Get real, Mom"--my life as a Valentine-buying mom has come to an end. Boo hoo!