Okay, this is just yummy. I love naked men in water. I wish he'd move his hands, though...
Sorry to have dropped off the face of the earth!
First, let me say this:
IT'S OVER!!!! Do you hear angels singing? I do!
The biggest paper of the year, the biggest pain in the ARSE of the entire publishing year, is done and on the stands. Is it any good? I don't know. I haven't been able to touch it since putting it to bed last night.
This was one of the roughest editions I've ever done, and part of it was my fault. I utilized an intern to do important work for the edition, coached her, checked in with her, but didn't supervise her closely enough. The result was disaster. I had to rewrite 2/3 of the edition myself at the last minute. We're talking so much typing that I could barely feel my hands — that is until I went to bed and my arms ached from the elbow down. OMG! It was a nightmare. Add to that the fact that my most experienced staffer was gone and everyone except for me was either new or new at their current positions and you have barely controlled chaos.
My peeps — the editorial staff — dived into it with me and helped me save the paper from going up in flames. There was no screaming. The edit team is pretty cool under pressure. Lots of suicide jokes, though. Today, I feel hung-over. Didn't drink, but I feel achy, fuzzy-headed and slow.
We're looking at some kind of gun story for next week's cover, looking seriously at the issue of whether more guns equals more violence or less violence on campuses. Or maybe something completely different. One of my mentors is leaving the media scene, and I interviewed her for a cover story the week after.
That's the J-news (j = journalism). Now for the N-news (n = novel).
Sweet Release, Carnal Gift, Ride the Fire, and Surrender are all out of print. They're completely out of stock at the publisher, and all that remains are copies on the shelves. They're looking at repackaging and rereleasing the entire Kenleigh/Blakewell family trilogy later this year. I'm hoping they're going to repackage Surrender eventually, too, because the cover sucks. For now, they're going to reprint it as it is, so that I'll have copies to sign in Dallas at the Romance Writers of America convention, where I'll be hanging with Debbie H and Leiha and Su and Gennita Low and CJ Barry and Ann Christopher (wonderful woman and author) and hopefully my homey Bonnie Vanak.
Unlawful Contact is two chapters and an epilogue away from being done. I'm at the hair-raising part of the climax now — hmm, not sure how hair-raising it is, really — and will be moving on to the really good stuff soon. I love happy endings! Then, as soon as it's done being written, I go through a rewriting/editing frenzy that lasts a couple of very hairy weeks of mostly no sleep (my favorite part, actually) and then I ship it to NY.
Also, Dorchester, the company that publishes my historicals, is doing an online reader survey. This is your chance to tell them about the books and authors you love. They're giving away prizes, I think, or maybe it's a steep discount on book orders. At any rate, to have your say go to: www.dorchesterpub.com. Hey, they're asking, so tell 'em what you think.
And, Gaby, if you're reading this, tusind tak! Jeg fik chokoladen i dag! I've already eaten most of the Anton Berg chokoladeæg. Smager godt! Mmmmm. I love this international trade in books for chocolate!
A photo of my irritatingly gorgeous little sister, Michelle, with her boyfriend's son. She was recently traveling and has returned home to Sweden in time to read the final chapters of my novel. Lucky her!
My sister was gone on vaca for a couple of weeks, and I missed her. She's back now. Next time I'm going to post a very unattractive photo of her. They're hard to come by, but she herself supplied one of her on a very bad hair day. I'm delighted!
Missed you all while I was in J-hole. Now I'm back again.