Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Yay Me!

I managed to get to my Austin RWA meeting last night after a very full day at work. We usually have a raffle each month for some goodies. Last night we had 3 raffles and I won 2 of them! I got to choose a basket that had some chocolate and a bunch of books. I gave away several of the books I knew I wouldn't read, including a western-type historical, a vampire book, and a few others. I kept the hard cover Linda Howard and the 2 in 1 Suz Brockmann. I LOVE them, and well, they write suspense. (I'll let you know when I get home tonight what the titles are.)


My other prize was a first chapter critique by our guest speaker Jordan Dane. Now, I kind of feel like this is fate jumping in on my toes here because this woman is a suspense writer and I'm back to working on suspense. My CP suggests I send a 1st chapter from a manuscript that's already done the rounds of contests, agents and a couple editors. Her thinking is I might be able to get some insight into why it didn't work for anyone. Then I can eventually rework it and try again. I was thinking of sending the 1st chapter of my newest suspense for some initial feedback (when it's ready). My thinking is that the one my CP is suggesting is one I finished 2 years ago. I feel I've learned a lot since then and I'm a stronger writer now. What do you think?

13 comments:

Unknown said...

I think you should submit what you're interested in writing now. If it's the suspense, then go for it.

Lexi said...

Thanks, Cat!

Crystal said...

I agree with cat!! You go girl;0)

Lexi said...

Thanks, Crystal. I'm still waffling, but I'm leaning more toward the new stuff.

Kit Frazier said...

It was so much fun to see you win! And in the end, ya just have to follow your heart because that's hands-down the best way to get your butt on the Barnes & Noble bookshelves :)
Take care,
Kit

Anonymous said...

Woo Hoo, Lexi!!! That's fabulous!!! I think following your own instincts is probably the best way to go :)

Lexi said...

Kit & Bonnie, you are just full of good advice! Thanks!

TJ Brown said...

I think you should send the sus you are working on now. Everyone gets better with eachbook and she can give you some insight into it.
Teri

Lexi said...

Thanks, Teri.

Anonymous said...

I think you should send the one that your gut tells you is the best, girl. When people ask me what my best work is, I usually tell them my next book. LOL

When you send me your chapter, also remember to pose the questions you have in your mind on suspense. I'll be happy to answer what I can.

I'm looking forward to reading your work.

Jordan Dane
www.jordandane.com

Lexi said...

Hey, thanks, Jordan! I'm getting excited now and if my muse will allow me to write over Thanksgiving break, I'll be sending those pages off to you sooner than I thought!

Anonymous said...

Nothing like turkey-toxicity to stir those creative juices.

There's no rush on this, Lex. I'll remember. Just make sure you are happy with it and that it's representative of your work.

I'm up to my eyeballs with copy edits in various stages for my first series and trying to finish book#4 with my deadline being Dec. Once you send it, I will want to read it through several times and do a write up, so it may take me a little while to get back to you. But I know what it's like to wait for that from someone. I'll try to get it back to you ASAP and give it justice.

Looking forward to reading your baby.

Jordan Dane

Lexi said...

Okay, Jordan. So I'll get it the best I can and send it when it's ready. Then I'll work on the rest of the book while you've got it. That way I'll keep busy. I'm pretty used to the waiting game by now. I can handle it. Sometimes I think I'm a natural. (Sometimes I know better, but then I just find something to keep me extremely busy!)