Happy Halloween

To all those celebrating, be careful and have a great time!

Lies

The hero in my new manuscript, Tell Me No Lies, is a bounty hunter. Does this mean I should start watching this show for research???

Awaiting Insanity's Arrival

Two days and 48 minutes until NaNoWriMo starts! ACK! I think I'm ready. I'm chomping at the bit to start, but I've refused to allow myself to write a single scene. Instead, I've been reading and working out details for my character arcs. Now I just have to find something to keep myself busy for the next 48 hours & 48 minutes!

And An Answer

I opened my emails after my sub job today and found a rejection on my Scottish story. Yes, it's sad, BUT the editor gave me LOTS of details to explain why it didn't work for them. The details will definitely help me with my future stories! She also said some wonderful things about my writing and encouraged me to start writing something else to submit to them and be sure to "cc" it to her as well.

As is my way of handling a rejection, I'm going to treat myself to dinner (with a birthday gift card) and I'm going to wallow for 24 hours. (22 1/2 now!) Then I'm going to study her words and prepare to make the NaNo book all it can be!

A Letter

Dear Publisher:

Please call me with a book contract for my Scottish short contemporary. It's a WONDERFUL story with great potential! I've checked my phone. Several times. It is working.

Or, if you're not ready to commit to a contract, feel free to send me a revision letter. I'd be happy to revise and make the manuscript even better with your suggestions and guidance. And I can do it successfully, too! With my brilliant CPs, Cat and Jenna, in my corner and ready to kick my butt in gear, I'm confident I can give you just what you require.

Thank you for taking the time to consider my manuscript. I look forward to speaking with you soon.

Sincerely,
Lexi Connor

Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock

As of this moment I have.....

2 sub jobs for this week- Monday and Tuesday

2 manuscripts submitted under Lexi Connor

1 manuscript submitted under the new pen name

7 more days as Celtic Hearts VP

7 more days and 2 hours until NaNoWriMo starts

37 more days to be known as Lexi Connor

11 months and 1 week until I turn 40

Hello, Matt!

In between English soccer and an intense brainstorming/plotting session for Tell Me No Lies, I'm taking myself to see Matt Damon's new movie!

AFTER: Definitely a different kind of movie, but GREAT! Definitely two thumbs up!

Friday's Job

I subbed with the Spawn of Satan today disguised as cute 5th graders. Ugh. I need a stiff drink...or a nap...or to go kill someone off in the new manuscript.

Touched By Music!

I just heard the song that has set the tone for the new suspense! (I always buy a new CD whenever I start a new book.) It's from a metalcore band called In This Moment. The song is The Promise. I didn't hear all the lyrics, but the ones I heard SOOOOOO fit what I want Grady and Devin to be! One line I did hear was "I'm dangerous for you." YUP, PERFECT for my super couple! Hopefully I can find the whole CD before NaNo starts!

NaNoWriMo

National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) is a writing challenge during the month of November. Each year thousands of people from all over the globe enter in hopes of finishing 50,000 words on a new story in 30 days.

I had heard about this throughout the years, but I never considered doing it. A few years ago I followed my blog friend Kelly Boyce as she talked about her NaNo experience. Thanks to Kelly, I took the plunge last year and joined. I never actually thought I'd write 50,000 words. I just wanted to push myself and see what I could accomplish. Well, I did win and that revised manuscript is the one I sent to the editor 3 weeks ago.

I had so much fun being part of the NaNo community, learning about myself as a writer and completing a 50,000 story that I've decided to join this year as well. I'm already excited to get busy. I'm working now on learning all I can about my characters and brainstorming their conflicts.

If you are joining NaNo, buddy me. (I'm Lexi Connor- yeah, not very creative in my username!) If you're not joining, be sure to visit here and see how I'm doing. If you're not sure about joining, visit the NaNo website to learn more about it.

Rollin' Along

Been working a bit, searching for a steady job still, watching football, and reading. Tonight I'm hoping to spend some time learning more about my NaNo characters. Today I started the grunt work on switching my identity from Lexi Connor to....nope, not telling. You'll have to wait until the switch is complete. Right now I'm planning to officially change my identity as of December.

Time's Whizzin' By

I've been 39 for 4 days and already I can feel the days moving faster! I can't imagine how my life will flash before my eyes when I hit my 70s and 80s!

Been subbin' every day. It'll be so nice to get a paycheck again. Granted I'm so not out of the woods yet, but at least I have a steady job. I still need to focus on finding a permanent position. All in all, I STILL don't regret quitting my other job in June.

Writing- yeah, not so much. I kind of hit a slump last week before my birthday and my CPs "talked me off the ledge." They reminded me that it's okay not to write every day, that I'd just sent off a completed manuscript and that I should feel free to cut myself some slack. So I did. And I have. I spent most of my weekend reading and thinking about my pen name change that will be happening before you know it! (HINT: December)

THEN...I got busy writing again.

BUT...not on the Scottish story. Yes, I love it, the characters and the village, but I'm still caught up in a murderous mood.

So, I allowed myself to truly free-write. And what did I come up with? Not scenes for one of the 3 stories in the series with HIS RELUCTANT PARTNER, nothing for the one I already have close to 100 pages of a rough draft on, and nothing for the one I brainstormed while in Mexico. No, I came up with a BRAND NEW, nameless SUSPENSE. I've got the hero's name, an idea of who he and the heroine are and about 1300 words so far. That's all, but I LOVE it and the words are flowing so I'm thinking this one might have to be my NaNo book.

Speaking of NaNoWriMo, who else is joining the craziness?

Ugh....

So many book ideas, so little time.....

Happy Birthday To ME!!!!!

Tonight, at 11:45 PM, I will officially turn another year older! (39, in case you were wondering!) I plan to celebrate all day! (This is my friend Kat and me during one of our "conversation classes" in Mexico. No, really. We took a field trip into town and had drinks and Spanish conversation.)

Coming Out Of Hiding To Say...

HAPPY 40TH BIRTHDAY TO MY FAVORITE ACTOR, MATT DAMON!!!

A Visitor From Across The Pond

Hiya! My name's Meggie MacDougall. I live in Glenhalish, the Scottish village Lexi is writing about. She wanted to come here and write to you herself, but my dear friends, Ian and Bridget, are keeping her busy with their story. As well as that job she's got teaching. Oh, and she's still looking for another job, a better job, too. All that takes so much time! (I'm so lucky to be working in my parents' pub!) Anyway, Lexi says she'll get back with you toward the weekend. It was nice talking with you! I'm off to help plan a surprise for her birthday on Saturday. Bye, now!

Hola, October!

Can you believe it's already October? And it's Friday, a GLORIOUS day.

3 sub jobs have kicked my butt. I fell asleep on the couch around 5 PM on Wednesday. Well, to be fair I had been dealing with the Spawn of Satan- a 4th grader who threw a chair at me and threatened to punch me in the face. Yesterday was a good job with only a defiant kid and an ADHD kid causing me grief in the 5th grade. Today was a 2nd grade class in a FABULOUS school and I found myself wishing I worked there. Just not as a teacher. I couldn't handle the little kids for an entire school year. Nope. I'd rather deal with the hormonal psychos of the middle school. :) But I'm also starting to think I really don't want to teach anymore. Of course, then I have to figure out what I want to do with the rest of my working life since I've got over 20 years before I can retire.

I've worked a bit on my latest Scottish story, but most of it has been background details and conflicts and what makes each of the characters tick and ticked off. It's been great though and I'm getting really excited about the story.

Alas, my name is being used. Lexi Connor is a children's author with 2 or 3 books coming out in the first part of 2011. Plus, I'm targeting Intrigue with my suspense stories and there's already an author with Connor so I'll have to change it anyway. I've picked a pen name to switch to, already reserved the domain, created a Facebook page and created an email. I wanted to wait until I actually had a contract before I changed it, but I'm thinking the switch should probably happen sometime in the next couple of months. What do you think?

Okay, I'm off to read on the couch with a nice cup of tea. Tomorrow it's football day! English soccer in the AM and college football in the PM. Have a great weekend!