Or really just the one Tonya and her loverly husband, Steve, and their adorable son, Steven. My good friend (and stylist/hair goddess) is flying into Tennessee this weekend. Steve has family in Georgia and they’re all coming up to Gatlinburg. So, I’m going out there to visit them. Yeay!!!

I haven’t seen any of my old friends or family since I moved to Tennessee from California. I miss them like CRAZY! So again, I say thee YEAY!!!

Bonus: I get a haircut. Double yeay!

We now return to our regularly scheduled programming: I finished my final chapter on my rough draft. Woo-hoo! I am the pimp!

In other news: I’ve still got nothing on my action chapter. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Noth. ing. It’s just not coming, dag-nabbit! So, I shall begin typing the rough draft into the computer. Maybe that will jar something loose.

That’s all, folks! See you Monday!

When my brother was in the Marines, he brought back some pictures of Iraq. Some were disturbing and some were just plain funny. I guess you do what you have to to stay sane in a war zone. But I digress…some of the pictures were of nude or bathing suit model posters and calendars. These he simply labelled “motivation.”

So, what’s my motivation for completing this book? Here is how I picture my hero and secondary male character. Who wouldn’t want to contemplate this to “the end”? And in my mind, I’ve had them both, repeatedly (Slutty me!). For the sake of artistic creation , of course. Now, that’s what I call “motivation.”

Is it totally normal to be almost done with the rough draft and go “this is the dumbest thing that’s ever been written, what were you thinking, no one in their right mind would even use this as toilet tissue, let alone actually READ it?” And that includes my family and friends who love me enough to read anything I write. Because that’s where I’m at today. I want to stop.

This sucks.

Then I called my grandma, queen of all romance novels, who introduced me to the joy of contemporary romance (mom is strictly historical). I returned the favor by showing her paranormal romance. We have a very fine relationship, grams and me.

But, this is beside the point. I called and told her that I was not going to finish my story and I wasn’t having fun anymore. She gave me the hairy eyeball and told me to get my a** back to it. We were on the phone and I may be in Tennessee and she may be in California, but I felt the hairy eyeball upon me.

The hairy eyeball is only one step below the death-ray glare. Grams’ hairy eyeball puts the fear of God into some people, but the death-ray glare has made grown men cry. Really. Grams is a sweet and soft-hearted woman, but you don’t mess with her. She will kill you and make it look like an accident.

So, I will continue to write and deny all knowledge of this incident in the future.

I don’t want to be cosmically b*tch-slapped by the death-ray glare.

I finally got a picture of me online! It should be on my profile soon. No more phallic symbol crystals. A shame, really. Here it is, just in case the profile thing doesn’t work.

This is an older (2 years?) picture of me at a party (where I got lots of presents). As you can see, I like to wear the ribbons. Kinda like counting coup on my gifts.

Back at work. I had a very productive weekend on the writing front. I have maybe one chapter left to write in the rough rough draft. Not one complete chapter, though. I hit a snag in my action chapter. I have to deal with how to get my heroine to the dum-dum-DUM scary/suspenseful part without it being ridiculous or drama-queenish. I slammed into this problem and got totally stumped.

Soooo, I skipped it. Yes, I took the mature way out and went into complete denial that I was having a brain-cramp in the writing department. I made an awe-inspiring mental leap to the next chapter and then things moved along nicely. Now I have to finish the last half of my action chapter and the last half of my final chapter.

Not a bad weekend of work, eh?

Mad props to Gena for wandering over here and saying hi! Check out her new (fabulous) book!

HEART OF THE DRAGON by Gena Showalter
(HQN Books, September 2005)

He’ll make you burn…
He is a Dragon, a rare breed of warriors able to transform into the legendary creature at will. Though the mighty warlord breathes fear into the minds of his enemies and fire into the blood of his women, no one has ever stirred his heart — until he encounters Grace Carlyle of modern day Earth. He burns to possess this proud, alluring beauty . . . but he has sworn to kill her.

Journey to the mythical world of Atlantis, where the gods’ hid their greatest mistakes – the vampires, demons, dragons, and other creatures of legend – and experience white-hot passion, exciting adventure, and a love that defies the boundaries of time and magic.

Excerpt:http://members.cox.net/genashowalter/excerpt.htm

Cover:http://members.cox.net/genashowalter/images/dragoncoversm.gif

ABOUT GENA SHOWALTER
Gena Showalter holds a Ph.D. in Quantum Physics (lie), is an expert in Krav Maga (bigger lie), and once worked as a body guard for the stars (the biggest lie of all). Actually, Gena Showalter is just your everyday, average girl who enjoys creating sizzling paranormal tales of kick ass women and the men who can’t resist them.

REVIEWS
This romantic fantasy is a magical work where dragons take on human form and have different values than the surface dwellers. Atlantis is an exotic city populated by dragons, vampires, centaurs, and other beings of myth and legend. There is plenty of action as well as romance in the storyline as the book will appeal to a wide range of readers. Gena Showalter has the magic touch to make readers believe in what she writes. — Harriet Klausner

(In Heart of the Dragon) Showalter pens a bold and exciting new vision of both Atlantis and dragons. Lots of danger and sexy passion give lucky readers a spicy taste of adventure and romance. – RTBold and witty, sexy and provocative, Gena Showalter’s star is rising fast!
– Carly Phillips, New York Times Bestselling Author

Heart of the Dragon is a bang-up twist to the old fairy tail with its dragon hero. Grace’s character brings a refreshing change to the damsel in distress with her full steam ahead attitude and persistence. Ms. Showalter leads the reader on a thrilling adventure that even the coldest heart will acknowledge and love. – The Romance Reader’s Connection

Website: http://www.genashowalter.com/

Yeay! I’m currently playing mad spy to type this and check my email. I feel like the Pink Panther. Only less pink-ish and panther-like.

Work was fun, as always. Being a librarian rocks. Shout out to all librarians!

I went to a coffee shop today and wrote in my ever-present notebook. Felt very author-like, but I’m sure that will pass soon. I knocked out the witch/werewolf fight scene. Or maybe I just knocked out the werewolf. (hint: the heroine wins and she’s a witch…)

See you later!

Well, I get a half-day today, but I have to work out of town this weekend. Bleh. The things I do for a paycheck!

This means I will not be near a computer to post, sadly. See you Monday!

So, the whole point of this blog is to keep me honest. I have to write something somewhere everyday. It doesn’t matter if no one except me (and my friends) ever reads it, because let’s be honest, what’s the likelihood of my work getting published? It’s pretty slim, I know. Fortunately, I write because I like to write (or is it that I like to hear myself talk?), not because someone else (agent, editor, publisher) might eventually like the story I tell.

That’s my story and I’m stickin’ to it.

On to lighter fair. It’s Friday!! Yeay! I also have a half-day at the library today; so, I get to leave at 1pm. Oh, joy! Peace, love, and harmony to the world! Kisses to all!

Okay, just had to get that out.

I’ll probably spend the day writing. I’m having a trouble with a tricky witch-on-werewolf fight scene. Really, I’m having trouble with the direction of my story. It started out as sorta light fluffy (not an insult) chick-lit romance like Shanna Swendson’s Enchanted, Inc. or Helen Fielding’s Bridget Jones’ Diary. It took a turn I didn’t expect and now it’s as much action-adventure as comedy. How to keep the humor going during a fight scene? Or balance humor with sadness when a friend is injured? I have some thinking to do…

Until next time (*does a little salute*) have a lovely weekend!