New Novel in the Works!!!

I got off the phone with my agent this morning, (and except for a few mortifying moments when my four-year old was screaming and banging loudly on the door because his brother wasn't "sharing" a toy with him) we had a good conversation, and he likes my novel idea (from the synopsis I gave him) so I am officially starting to write it this week!
I have a lot of research to do, but it will be welcome research: Egyptology, myths, legends, gods, and the political and social climate of Egypt in the 1890's. My two heroines travel to Egypt to solve the mystery of an ancient "curse" and I am going to have a lot of fun with this one! So excited!

Hubby went out of town today (business trip to L.A.) and so I'll have plenty of time to write at night this week. I get to stick my youngest in preschool today so I'll have time to do some research at the library--hopefully this novel will get written in a few months. I already have it outlined from start to finish, it's just a matter of crafting it now.

I just need to clean my house first! UGH.

Oops

I hadn't heard from my agent today, so I emailed him and asked what his thoughts were on my synopses and chapters I sent him on Friday. A portion of his response:

"What makes you think I'm finished reading everything you sent me!!"

So, oops. I guess he needs more time! I did send him quite a bit of material, two synopses (three pages each, single-spaced) and two attachments with the first chapter of each novel, so he could get the "flavor" of each story. So I emailed back and told him to take his time. Of course, now that I have to wait for his response, I have decided that I want to focus on Novel #1 first, but if he likes Novel #2 then I guess I have to wait. He knows the Industry much better than I do, for sure! My agent is great--he always motivates me to perfect my craft and he gives me great suggestions on books to read and shows to watch. It's just nice to know that someone out there believes in my writing. I just hope the answer he comes back with is the one I want to hear...
(You know the feeling, when you get SUPER excited about a story idea and it percolates in your brain to the point where you think of it ALL THE TIME. But alas, I get to wait.)

My four-year old has a fever today, I had to keep him home from Preschool. Boy, is he GRUMPY! (And I'll tell you now, he's NEVER grumpy.) He's my "happy kid." I hope he feels better tomorrow.

So, my goals for this week are:
1) Eat Healthy and work out every day
2) Get all the Christmas decorations down and clean the house spotless
3) Get to work on my novel.

I figure I have six months to complete my first novel, because I have TWO novels I want to complete this year. So that will give me six months for the other one. Both will have a word count of around 65,000, so not too bad for Young Adult.

Hagan, my puppy, is AT THE BACK DOOR so I'd better sign off. He doesn't stand there until he absolutely has to go--so I'd better hurry!

Busy Weekend...

I think that it may only be possible for one blog to come out of every weekend. I just can't seem to "get away" long enough to blog on weekends.
We had fun this weekend. Took the kids to Chili's on Saturday night (unfortunately we had to eat "dinner" at 4:30 otherwise we'd have had to wait about 45 minutes to be seated anytime past 5pm.) There are only a handful of restaraunts in the little town we live in, and Saturdays can get a little crazy. But it's dark after 4pm here, so it feels like dinnertime anyway!
After that we went to Target to snoop around (yes, we love Target so much we go there as a family) and we all indulged in our guilty pleasure: Venti Peppermint Hot Chocolates from Starbucks. Mmm mm mmm.
It was really cold, and after that we didn't feel much like going to the movies (we've seen every movie out for our kids' ages anyway) so we went home and had a rousing match of MarioKart before bedtime. Yep. Saturdays are alway fun.
My hubby has had his nose buried in Dan Brown's "Angels and Demons" (which frankly, I liked better than Da Vinci Code) for most of the day today, and aside from Church, it's been quiet.
I am expecting my agent to call me tomorrow and discuss my novels--I am excited and nervous because I have one novel I really, really want to write and tomorrow I get to find out which one he thinks is the most important.

Unless of course-- he hates both ideas and wants me to come up with something entirely new.

We'll see...

Deep Snow--Little Dog

My poor puppy, Hagan. Just to clear things up, it's prounounced "Hay-gen" ( not HAH-GEN, like Hagen Daas--nothing annoys me more when people tell me that my "Hoggin" is so cute)...
But I digress...
We got a major snowfall, and I am sad to report that Hagan doesn't know quite what to do with it. He stands about ten inches tall himself, and we got ten inches. So here's the problem: Potty Time.
I got him a thick doggy Woolrich "coat" for Christmas (he hates it) and he'd rather have his nails clipped than wear it. (don't get me started on how he acts when I clip his nails) But it keeps him warm. Problem is, when the snow is just too deep, it's just TOO deep, ya know?
Hagan always enjoys bounding through the snow for the first, say...30 seconds, but at some point he stops and looks over at me forlornly, shivering--just a doggy head and shoulders peeking out above the snow, as if silently asking me: why is this pretty white stuff so cold?
I mean, until they make doggy socks or shoes, he just has to make do with the coat.

So, this morning, in a burst of Charity, I got out the shovel and shoveled a run for him, all the way around our HALF ACRE back yard, and even shoveled a few clear spots for him to do #2 in.
And what does he do as soon as I take him outside? He walked the perimeter, sniffed it a total of ONE times, and then bounded off the path into the deep snow once more.
Cut to 30 seconds later, and he was shivering, standing in the snow, looking like the butt of a cruel joke, looking forlornly at me once more.
Yes, I did it. I actually said the words: Stupid Dog. (Well, in my defense, he doesn't exactly demonstrate much prowess in the Gray Matter area).
I told him to hurry up (hurry up, Stupid Dog) before the inside of my nose never recovered, and he took a few steps and I think he pooped, but I sure can't tell, because all I could see was his snout.
Then comes the reeeaallly fun part. We get inside the house, and I have to pick all the little hard snowballs from his underbelly and hind legs, then towel him off and hold him until he stops shivering. The whole process takes about five minutes--but that's a long time when you have three kids and lots to do.
Well, make that four. Hagan is one of the kids too.

I just wish, like my other kids, he could be trained to use the toilet...

Snow Day

We got seven inches of snow overnight. And of course, in the grand Wisconsin tradition, the minute I finished shoveling a path for my kids to get to the bus, (I was on the porch stamping the snow from my boots) the snowplow man came by and boxed me in with a three-foot wall of snow again. Stupid Ba$&*@#!
ANYWAY, school was cancelled, and my kids played while I spent half the day condensing my enormous synopses of my novels into two very brief ones, (if you consider three pages brief) for my agent to look at. I am excited because now he'll tell me which novel he feels I should focus more on. That will give me the motivation to stop the never-ending research, and start writing.
Then, my kids went sledding and spent the day ruining the pristine snow in our front and back yards, held snowball fights (according to my daughter, my son cheated with snow BOULDERS) and built assorted snowmen.
Just as my neighbor's daughter suggested that they make an anatomically correct snowman, I decided to step in and invite everyone inside for hot cocoa. The rest of the day was spent playing MarioKart (Gamecube) and I have to say, Princess Daisy and I have gotten quite adept at throwing bombs and lightning bolts. But I still get my butt kicked by my five-year old, Thing Two. It amazes me how he maneuvers those tracks with speedy precision. It's like he has this sixth sense...Nintendo Sense.
Well, good for him. Now we're all warm and cozy, and waiting for Dad to come home. How fun Snow days can be!

Angry Angry Angry...

I saw something on the news yesterday that sickened and angered me to the point where I can't think of much else.
They're coming out now with stories about children who were separated from their parents during the Tsunami--who are now falling prey to Pedophiles and Traffickers.
Frankly, that sent me to the moon. That these soulless people would take innocent children, who are already going through the trauma of losing their parents, and do what they're doing to them...its unthinkable. Its atrocious. Its unforgivable.
I am having a hard time finding words to describe how angry I am, and I'm a writer for Pete's sake...I can only hope that a specially torturous circle of Hell is reserved for these people, who prey on children in those ways.

Excuse me, I have to go hug my kids...

http://www.savethechildren.org/

http://www.helptsunamisurvivors.org/?ref=gw

My problem

It hit me like a ton of bricks last night, what my problem is. All my writer friends have planned out their writing goals for the year, some of them even have clever spreadsheets to track their progress, and I have...*cue drum roll*...NOTHING.
Hence my problem. I have Writer's Commitment Anxiety. In my opinon, that's a BIG problem.
I have pinned the reason down to Time. It takes time to raise a family. It takes time to write. I am a horrible manager of Time (my husband bought me a Palm and a fancy schmancy Franklin and practially begged me to use them--I figured he was hinting at something...you think?) and all my time seems swallowed up in taking care of kids and home. The little time I do have, I spend on the computer in my online writer's forum! *groan, I know* But its too fun and I enjoy the support.
My agent, in his tri-yearly letter to his clients, mentioned something I found very interesting. I'll quote:
"It is important that you actually write, and not PLAY at the role of being a writer and/or working at your “career” of a writer—you must write and produce and sell and publish—that is your responsibility."

It has really gotten me to thinking. If I am serious about completing two novels this year, I need to shake my #$%&!! up and just write. I need to make the time to work on it, every day.

Since I've become a stay-home mom, my first and foremost job is caretaker of family and home (a job, which, despite my complaints I actually delight and find much joy in).
I thought I would have more time to write, but that's a misconception. I seem to have less time these days. So I need to treat my writing like a second job. I'll just have to figure out how to make it work. I am not a person to put ultimatums out there (for instance, "Honey, I have to write and if you don't like it, you can shove off")...it's just not me. I don't think one should take precedence over the other. I need to find a balance between my writing and family, and that is going to take some hard work and dedication.
***
Funny, after I typed that sentence I heard my name being called, I had to run out of my office and pack a lunch, get the kids to get the garbage out, fix my daughter's hair, take the dog pee and wipe a butt. Lovely. What a glamorous life I lead! :-)

...My Point, is that I need to make more time to be a writer as a career, and not just a hobby. I'll get there eventually. Baby steps. I've already warned my hubby that when the kids are in bed, I'm going to be on the computer at nights. He's taking a trip next week for five days, I think I am going to go like Gangbusters on one of my novels and see where I get. Looking forward to it!
Eventually, I will solve my problem. And it won't be a problem any longer!

A Rant about TV Shows:Missing the First 5 Minutes

Whew, what a morning. It was a whirlwind of getting kids and husband off to work and school, and then taking my beloved six-month old puppy to the vet at 7:30 a.m. to get the FUN operation (he really has no idea what he's in for--he just thinks he's getting groomed) and now I've worked out and had breakfast and I'm surfing the net. Bad Lara. It's just so quiet and peaceful (the boys are playing down in the basement) and I am loving the moment's solitude.

But now on to my rant. I have several TV shows that I love to watch, as I've mentioned before in other blogs. Its how my hubby and I unwind at night, and among our favorites are the LAW & ORDER and CSI shows. All of 'em. There is just ONE tiny problem with being addicted to these shows:
If you don't see the first five minutes of the show, you literally have no idea what the hell is going on for THE ENTIRE REST OF THE SHOW! I mean, that is just wrong. I have actually yelled at my kids (and this is a terrible admission) for brushing their teeth too slowly, thus making me miss the very beginning of CSI Miami. I ran downstairs and screamed, beating my head against the TV because it was the commercial break after the snide/humorous comment usually made by Horatio when he happens on a scene (which as all of us CSI watchers know, is the cue to go to commerical).

Okay, so I didn't really scream and beat my head against the TV, but I was QUITE upset and when the show started back up again, I had no idea what they were talking about, and the only part of the show I enjoyed was the Other Plot because the show always has two plots going at the same time, and they usually introduce Plot Two after the initial plot.
So, the producers need to realize that sometimes, people miss the beginning, and the show loses its entertainment value when that happens. All they need is a few sentences after the initial
commercial break, so that us "late arrivals" can know what we missed. For example:

Cut to shot of charred body in lab, being inspected by main characters
MC #1: So, what happened?
MC #2: She was found in the middle of a burned-out basement by a couple of firefighters, and we've identified her as "so and so" and there was also some suspicious white powder at the scene and purple threads in her throat and a burned shoe lying next to her that wasn't hers so we think this is a homicide rather than accidental death.
MC #1: Okay then, let's get started on the autopsy...

There! Bingo! Just so that all the unfortunate souls who missed the first five minutes, can hear what happened, and be "up to speed" on what's going on.

Is that too much to ask?

Keeping New Years Resolutions...

I honestly think that this is the first time in my 30-something years that I have actually taken my New Years Resolutions seriously. It's been a long time coming. For instance, I have resolved to actually blog EVERY day, rather than skippety-jimbo like I have as of late. Even if it's just a pithy comment, I will strive to deliver at least one comment, rant, one-liner, or full-blown account of my day (which I will keep to a modest length in account, to prevent the resounding snores I can already hear 'round the globe at this prospect...)
ANYWAY, so there you have it. For better or worse, boring or titillating, my blog will be updated by me, every day. Unless I'm dead. In that circumstance, I'm afraid, I won't be able to keep said New Years Resolution.

New Year's Eve was actually fun this year. Hubby and I opted to celebrate at a swanky restaraunt downtown the night before, seeing as you can't get a reservation anywhere (with the exception of Denny's) on the actual New Year's Eve itself. We had a nice dinner with friends, then went to a movie (MEET THE FOCKERS--this film should come with a disclaimer for prudes and physically unfit people, since you literally could DIE of either A)Laughter or B) What I like to call Mortification Laughter (as in, Did They Just Say What I Think They Said! HA HA HA HA HA! I am so embarrassed that I am sitting in a theater with a bunch of strangers and they just SAID that!!! I'd like to go hide now, but I can't so I'll laugh...)
and basically had just a nice evening.
Then the actual New Years Eve, we celebrated East Coast Time New Years Eve (because our kids were laid out on the sofas on the verge of a coma, since their usual bedtime is 8:30 and they were completey GONE).
So we had some Martinelli's, popped our New Year's Crackers open (a tradition in Britain that I think is way cool so we do it here) and toasted in the New Year with our paper crowns and jammies on. It was a blast.

Now it's back to Reality: hubby goes back to work tomorrow, the kids go back to school, the dog is going to the vet to get neutered, and I will be all by myself in the house.
I am wondering what the heck I will do---all that time...hmmm, maybe get some writing done?

HAPPY 2005!!!

FINALLY some alone time to update my blog and wish everyone a Happy New Year! (Now that's a holiday we ALL can celebrate!).
Of course, in the time-honored tradition of writing down goals and dreams and objectives (that are generally adhered to for a total of about...say ten days), I have compiled a rather lengthy list of New Years Resolutions. To my chagrin, about 95% of them are intensely private, and this being the internet...well, I'll have to edit the list somewhat. So if I write "Blah Blah" it's just because it's slightly private. Here goes:
Goal #1: Lose Blah blah amount of pounds by May--my birthday. (Yes, the Holidays did me in)
Goal #2: Complete two full-length YA novels by September.
Goal #3: Blah Blah every day except Sundays until my Blah blah looks like Blah Blah.
Goal #4: Study my Blah Blah half an hour every day.
Goal #5: Attempt to be a more effective time manager/more organized person
Goal #6: Be kind to my Blah-blahs
Goal #7: Blah blah blah blah on blah blah and blah blah on the blah blah BLAH.

Well, maybe not...

Okay, my point is, resolutions are generally private things that we do every January--and I must count myself among the mediocre masses, striving to be better.
That's what its all about anyway, right?