Month: April 2008

Tell Me Tuesday

I’m still not feeling up to par, but slowly getting better. Have I mentioned that my computer crashed Friday night? While I was deathly ill, but somehow managing to access my email? I was researching how to get a microwave oven to set on fire for my WIP, honest. In fact, just as I was sending off an email to my handy-dandy crimescenewriters listserv in reply to a member’s helpful response to my first email, the system crashed. I had to do a system restore with Norton GoBack, which has never failed me in the past. But it failed me Friday. Norton Ghost got into the act and bungled up the works. I had to uninstall Ghost to get my system to behave. Then, yesterday, I discovered that I could no longer access certain programs, my thumbdrive wasn’t working, I lost my calendar file and SuperNotecard file for my WIP, somehow Java decided to take a hike. Agh!! On Friday, when my system blew, My Liege was downstairs on his laptop and told me he was in the process of downloading Windows updates. So I’m blaming the crash on the Updates. I must have been downloading them at the same time.

I spent most of yesterday fixing poor little Delbert (the computer) (yes, it’s a Dell). Thank Elle Muse I back up regularly…except I hadn’t yet backed up those two important WIP files. Bad me. But at least they weren’t manuscript files (praise be to Elle!)

I still run Windows XP, which I love because my last OS was ME, which was horrible, but taught me a lot about how to fix computers because I had to reformat that baby every six months. Now I’m shopping for a laptop for Youngest Son’s high school graduation. I’ve heard horror tales about Vista, but the XP pickings are pretty slim. If anyone has laptop recommendations and any input about Vista, please tell me.

My Tuesday can’t be any worse than the last several days. In fact, I’m counting on it to be a heckuva lot better. I have my Alter Ego’s page proofs out of the way for her December ’08 release, and after I finish rebuilding the calendar and SuperNotecard file for my WIP, I’ll be back to work revising the scenes I barfed out last week before I fell ill.

Please someone tell me that they have better news to share on this Tuesday than that they’ve been sick, their computer crashed, and they lost WIP files. I need to hear some good news! I’m happy to hear bummer news and give cyber-hugs, but gimme, gimme, gimme some good news! Someone. Anyone. Please!!

And the Winner Is…

Tina from Rhode Island won my contest for an autographed copy of BORROWING ALEX! Yay, yay, cheer, cheer! Tina, your book will go in the mail this week…as soon as I am healthy again.

Yes, folks, I have a doozy of a head cold. Kept me in bed for two days. Not usual for me. And definitely not fun. And it’s still not over! At times like this, I feel like a wimp. How do people with serious illnesses manage?

I have another contest to announce – I’m not giving away a copy of BORROWING ALEX this time, but someone else is. Well, some other “entity,” I guess. Yes, an “entity” is giving away three copies of not only BORROWING ALEX, but several other romance novels. What entity, you ask? And how can you enter? Come back on Wednesday, and I’ll tell you. Yes, I’m drawing this out. Because I’m sick, that’s why. And I can’t count on myself to be witty and charming on the blog this week, so if I make you return on Wednesday to find out about the new contest, I won’t have to worry about writing another witty and charming blog post. Because, you know, I didn’t intend to blog every weekday when I began Muse Interrupted (that’s the name of the blog – yes, I’ll explain it someday – sheesh, tough audience). Yet somehow here I am, blogging every weekday. Of course, the blog is new. I’ll run out of steam soon. Until then, you’ll have to put up with my head-coldish meanderings.

And, no, I’m not on medication! Hmph.

Oh, little note. The new contest will not feature autographed copies of BORROWING ALEX. If you absolutely, positively MUST have an autographed copy of the book (and who wouldn’t?), I have a handy-dandy mail order form on my website.

I’m a Shout-Out!

Thanks to Google Alerts, I discovered that I’m in MediaBlvd Magazine. Well, technically romance author Jackie Kessler has an interview in MediaBlvd. An excellent interview it is, too. Go read it. Now. (I’m waiting). Oops, did I forget to say, after you finish reading it, come back here?

Did you see? Huh, huh, huh? Jackie mentioned Moi in her interview. And MediaBlvd spelled my name right! We all know how obsessed I am with the spelling of Procter. Whenever I see it spelled correctly, I am blown away and filled with such awe and gratitude that I feel compelled to give my own shout outs. Thank you, Jackie and MediaBlvd for spelling my name right. Thank you, Jackie, for mentioning my TPT: Talent, Persistence and Timing “Secret to Selling” philosophy in your interview – and for giving me credit. You’re a class act!

It’s All Fodder

I scalded my mouth and throat the other day testing my homemade chicken soup broth that had only been boiling, oh, 4 or 5 hours. Dimwitty. It was just one tiny spoonful, but, wowza, what an effect! I knew right away that I was in trouble, and I drank a glassful of very cold water. Then I went on to other things. So yesterday I think I’m getting a sore throat. As time passed, I realized the soreness is a result of the soup-scalding and not a virus. It’s in the exact same place as where I felt the burn when I swallowed that damn tiny spoonful. Today, the area is even more tender and was especially so upon waking. So what do I do? Get a flashlight and shine it in my mouth and investigate the effects of swallowing a spoonful of scalding chicken broth, because who knows when I’ll want to maim a character in such a way? Yeah, maybe I could work scalding-chicken-broth-down-the-throat into a torture scene of my WIP. Maybe, if I really wanted to torture the character and not just inconvenience him, I could have the villain force his mouth open and pour way more than one tiny spoonful of scalding liquid down his throat. Yeah, baby!

I’m happy to report that one tiny spoonful hasn’t damaged my throat in any major way I can tell. I mean, I don’t normally shine a flashlight into my mouth. I suspect the skin at the back of my throat is meant to be pinky rather than kinda white, but at least I didn’t give myself throat blisters. Would my character get throat blisters, though, if he swallowed more than one spoonful? Hmm. I’m not about to use myself as a guinea pig and find out. But the funny thing that strikes me about the whole episode is how willing we are as writers to use any little experience in our lives as fodder for our stories. It’s all research…it’s all fodder.

Have you ever accidentally hurt yourself and then used the “research” in one of your stories?

Published
Categorized as Writing

Only 2 Days Left…

…to enter to win an autographed copy of BORROWING ALEX. I’ll pick a winner out of a hat at noon PST Friday, April 18th and contact the winner by email. You know what this means, don’t you? You have to enter by email. But only emails with a specific subject line qualify to enter the contest. If you haven’t already entered, it’s not hard. Just visit my home page. Details are there.

Good luck, everyone, and if you don’t win, please visit again on Monday. I’ll announce the winner on my blog then, plus…I have another giveaway to announce featuring not only my book, but several more. Tut-tut, no further details until Monday.

 

Tell Me Tuesday–The Lories!

Yippee, I’m having an excellent Tuesday. Last night I found out that BORROWING ALEX WON the Contemporary category of the From the Heart Romance Writers’ The Lories Best Published contest. The winners of each category now go to a bookseller for ranking, and the ultimate overall winner will receive a conference fee to RWA National or Romantic Times or a similar conference. How cool is that?

Other than that, I need to do page proofs (also called galleys or author’s alterations, depending on the publisher) for my Alter Ego’s December ’08 release. I want to finish writing a scene in my cindypk WIP first. But after that I better get hopping on the page proofs, because My Liege was very, very sick beginning Sunday night. He spent all yesterday in bed and bagged out in front of the TV. I’m hoping I don’t catch it. I have too much to do. Egad, can you imagine if I were going to Romantic Times this year? Where would I fit in the page proofs? I just learned about them on the weekend. If I were going to RT, I’d have been extremely busy these last couple of days. As it is, I don’t need to have them back to my editor until Saturday, which is very do-able, whether I get sick or not.

How’s everyone else? Good news to report? Yucky news? What are you working on?