Realizing The Dream

I know I haven’t posted for a while I know…but there really is a great reason for this…and I hope you’re all as happy as I am about this.

I posted this message on my critique group loop on Friday, April 16, 2010 while still at the Desert Dreams conference in Scottdale, Arizona. Since that time, I have been working on what I’ve always called my breakout novel. You know it, I’ve been putting the first few chapters up here as my blog the past few times to keep it alive for me. Read this and you’ll see jus how alive it is!

Okay...I've got to tell you a story...and how it made me speechless. I know, I know...next to impossible...LOL!

Part of this trip has been for me and a friend to get away. My friend, Brenda, loves books and has gone to an RT conference with me before. She's also an aspiring writer that I'm trying to get interested in RWA. She's also had a horrible time this year with her husband losing her job and 3 kids under 18. So this was my Christmas and birthday present to her. So today we did some girl things and didn't get back to register for the con until about 4 this afternoon.

I get my registration packet and start looking at everything as we'd found a quiet, out-of-the-way place to discuss where, what and when. I found my Realizing the Dream score sheets and pulled them out. I thought the score terrible, 48 out of 50, and knew I blew it. I put it back in the envelope and found my appointments with an editor and an agent. This is really why I came here and entered the contest. For the contest, you had to be an attendee and not published by a NYC house or represented by a NYC agent.

At the time I entered, I talked extensively with the contest chair as I had so many books epublished and I didn't want to take advantage of the contest. She assured me that the contest was for someone just like me. They wanted entrees from every genre and at every level. I sent off my entry and forgot about it until this week. And when I saw my score, I felt I had blown it because I know people do get perfect scores.

So, we're at the genre dinner tonight and they make some announcements, they do the raffle and then they turn it over to the contest chair. I don't pay attention because I've blown it in my mind. The first finalist was a gal sitting at my table and she jumps right up plus her enthusiasm is contagious. The next name they call is...mine...and I'm blown away. My friend Brenda pushes me out of my chair toward the stage and the gal at my table walks up with me. The third gal is from the middle of the room and we're all on stage.

The contest chair states how close the scores were and still I'm thinking, 'No friggin' way' and 'what am I doing up here?' And she announces the winner...and it was me...and I was speechless. I can barely say thank you to everyone because I am shaking so hard. The whole time back to my seat I'm thinking/saying 'OMG, I can't believe it.' And it took me twenty minutes of people talking to me to get me grounded.

I have an appointment with two editors tomorrow, Laurie Rauch of Samhain and Kate Sevier of Berkley Sensation, and one agent, Miriam Kriss. All these people were on the seven or eight (I'm not sure) judging committee who voted my proposal the best.

And can you all guess which one it was? Sigh. "Where's My Underwear?" garnered the top spot in the Realizing the Dream contest. Another thing, I would not be here if it weren't for each and every one of you. All of you had input to this story and have helped me every step of the way. I owe you all dinner and plan to take you all out when we can do it.

One more thing, I can guarantee they want changes...LOL! I hope you all are up for a final round of Underwear. I'd start now but I don't have everything here.

Thanks for all your support...let's see if I can bring it home!

This was one of the best things to happen in a very, very long time. I’ve been on Cloud 9 since it happened. I’ve also been working my butt off as every editor/agent I saw or described this story to all want a peak. So I’m polishing up the proposal and re-editing the rest of the story.

So see…I haven’t forgotten you…I’ve just been really, really busy. I’ll be back next week with an update on my progress. See you all then!

Lynn

Paparazzi, Fame and Me

Another week, another blog. LOL!

Bet you’re wondering what I mean about the title…huh?

Well, while I know that I will never achieve the fame of Nora Roberts, I still harbor some insecurity about being in the limelight sometimes. And it doesn’t help that the media always gets something negative and shakes it till it cracks open, just like a dog with a bone. It doesn’t matter if what they say is true, it doesn’t matter if you want a break, when you least expect it they are in your face.

After this week’s onslaught of tabloid propaganda, which included Jon & Kate + 8, Miss California in a new scandal, Jessica Simpson poses for yet another magazine and Paula Abdul talking yet again about rehab and Idol, it makes me wonder if any of these media or entertainment people have a life. And here’s my take on it all: leave them alone, don’t care about the blonde bimbo, really don’t care about the blonde bimbo and Paula for goodness sake, please grow up. And you know it's really bad when I start calling blondes bimbos because I am a blonde. Sigh. Still, I know that if the public didn’t want it, the media wouldn’t be in everyone’s face.

Do any of you ever get tired of the crap that comes out of the media, particularly the entertainment field where authors are firmly entrenched? I sure do and it makes me wonder about what I really feel about my chosen profession. A lot. Sigh.

And don’t get me wrong. I do like attention at writer meetings, conferences and book signing. But most of the time, I can shrug it off and know it’s not my life. Not really. Sure, it’s a part of my life and writing is a lot of who I am BUT it isn’t everything. I don’t know about you, but I do other things besides writing and all it encompasses.

I’ve already had one fan creep me out years ago. This woman came up to me at a convention all gushy and told me she was my biggest fan. I’m thinking, honey, you’re my only fan as this was five years ago and I only had one book out. She oohed and ahed over everything I had on the table which I took in stride. I signed everything for her, gave her my business card and smiled a lot. When she walked away, I figured it was all good and went on my merry way.

Later in that same conference, she’d come up and start talking as if she knew me. Occasionally, she’d follow me into the bathroom and other places. After a while, it genuinely made me feel all weird as all I wanted to do was get away from this person who thought they knew me intimately. I had never had that type of attention…not even when I was an editor…and I’m not kidding there.

Between the weird fans and the in-your-face photographers and reporters, it makes me wonder sometimes what I was ever thinking. I feel like starting a petition asking for support in making a law against the ones who get right in your face forcing them to back off.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I love my fans for a variety of reasons. One being 99% of them realize that I’m a normal person with a normal life even though I do live in a strange little town in the southwest. Matter of fact, I would say I am downright lucky as my only negative fan experience has been the one I’ve described. I would say that one in 5 years is fantastic as I know a lot of my friends who have at least one a year. I have a fair share of exposure and have had genuinely good experiences.

This week, I just went on media overload and it makes me look at the big picture. It doesn’t matter if I’m a little fish in a big sea, when you see others getting bombarded day after day, there’s something that makes you want to shrink back into yourself.

Now, I know you’re wondering what brought this up really. Since I wrote last week’s blog, I’ve had a few things happen. Some good, some not so good. I’m definitely getting back on the promotion trail which is good. Things are finally falling into place with my writing and with deadlines in place, I am finally getting into my stride. The not so good thing was that a reporter friend, at least I thought he was until this week, finally got around to reading some of my stuff. Big mistake as he decided to get into my face to tell me why I was writing pornography and how wrong it was. I keep my cool and said that everyone was entitled to his opinion and that I respected his. But when he told me it was his right to get into my face to let me know he didn’t approve, I almost lost it. Bad.

His right? His right to get into my personal space and tell me I was a bad person? To try and force me to do things his way? I wanted to beat the man about his head and shoulders repeatedly with a bat. It didn’t matter what my rights were at all, all that counted were his. It really didn’t matter that the book in question came out last year. It didn’t matter if I wrote erotic romance because if I wrote about sex, it had to be bad.

I let him have his tirade as this happened in a semi-public place and watched him leave with an evil glare. The moment he was out of my sight, I called his boss whom I went to school with and asked him what was going on. He was as shocked as I was and vowed to keep this reporter away from me forever. I will never send a press release to this small Nevada paper again. Matter of fact, I’m not sure I will ever pick up a copy again.

What are your experiences regarding fans? Do you feel that the paparazzi sand reporters should be reigned in? Let me know as I would be interested if any of you have had similar experiences and feel the same. Thanks!

Till next time…

Lynn