Turquoise Morning Press

Yesterday, I signed a contract with Turquoise Morning Press for my newest romance novel, "Cat-Fish." This is the same novel that I was previously 11,000 words into when my computer crashed. It's a fun story, and yes, there's a cat in it. And fish. Hence the name.

My book won't be ready for a few months, but you can check out this wonderful new publisher here:

http://www.turquoisemorningpress.com/

I'm very much looking forward to working with them!

An Unexpected Yay!

After receiving some of my short stories back from various kind publishers to whom I had submitted after the horrendous computer crash, I turned around and sent one of them out again. I did it mostly to prod myself back into the wide, wonderful world of publishers. Lately, I've been writing romance novels, which, of course, take longer to write. This means I'm still submitting to publishers, only not nearly as often. I didn't want to forget how! Of course, I hoped they'd like my story, (I mean, as a writer, why wouldn't you want that?) but wasn't sure if they'd accept it for publication.

I sent my story, "(I'd like) to Kill a Mockingbird" to a wonderful new publisher, Deep South Magazine. I'd learned of them through a fantastic newsletter I subscribe to called, Funds For Writers. Within a couple of days, I heard back. In the affirmative! Yay!  (You knew that yay would show itself eventually, didn't you?) So I'm pleased to say my short story should be out sometime this month. I'll post the link when it's official. Yay! Sorry...that one sort of slipped out :)

Have You Seen My Dunce-Cap?

Ah, here it is. I'm placing it on my pointed head where it belongs. You see, I am a dunce. Why, you ask? Because I seem to have lost all of my written work from my last, may-it-rest-in-peace computer. All my own fault. Not the computer dying, just the losing of my stuff. Of course, if I'd been a non-dunce, like the rest of the PC-literate world, I would have saved my stories on a memory stick. Oh, I had saved one of them. I'd started out with good intentions and all, but got lazy. And well, duncey. I hadn't bothered to save the rest. So when my PC took a dive, I was not prepared. I learned an expensive, irritating lesson: If you don't save your stories, you may end up one day rewriting them. And on top of that, you have to wear the ugly dunce cap! And believe me, it's not very fashionable.

What If I Forget How?

That's the question I asked my husband today. That actual full question was "What if I forget how to write?" My computer has been comatose for a couple of weeks now. I'm typing this on the aforementioned husband's laptop. We're trying to figure out what ails it, but so far my PC has us stumped. In the meantime, I'm going crazy not being able to write. Sure, I could do it longhand, but I've found that for me, I'm better when I'm typing. My brain often works faster than I can write with a pen, and I don't want to lose momentum or the story idea in my head. And I can only use his laptop when he gets home from work, as he needs to use it there. At work. His company is kind of funny about an employee only pretending to type on their table top, instead of using an actual computer. Weird huh?

And I'll admit it, I'm a dunce. No...don't try to argue with me. I'm an actual dunce. You see, I haven't been backing up my stuff on a memory stick like I'm supposed to, so if we're not able to save what I've already written, I'm toast. My first three books are safe, I have a hard copy of them, but all of my short stories, as well as the 11,000 words I was into my newest romance novel, are well, really burnt toast.

Back to my original question. What if I really do forget how to write?

My husband assured me my imagination is too vivid, and my strange sense of humor so warped, he has no doubt I'll remember how.

There's a Cat on My Lap and I Can't Get Him Off!

Maxwell and Roxy are my writing partners. More often than not, one of them is sitting on my lap as I type away. If I'm stumped for words, petting Roxy's soft black fur often gives me inspiration. An irritating writer's block can be soothed by Maxwell's enormous purr. And when I get a writing epiphany? Since they're literally within arm's reach, they're the first ones I share my amazing idea with.

So yes, there is a cat on my lap, and I can't get him off. But the truth is, I don't want to!

Who's your writing partner?