New York City Bound

"Jumping at several small opportunities may get us there more quickly than waiting for one big one to come along." ~ Hugh Allen

I’m getting excited about New York in June. I know I have a while to wait, but I can’t help it. I'm arriving in the Big Apple on Saturday before conference starts to spend a little time exploring the city with my two RWAC cohorts, Lilly Cain and our chapter prez, Annette Gallant. I’ve never been to NYC before, so while this is a work trip, it’s also a pleasure trip as well.

I love that we’re staying in the middle of the action. It’s a great central point. I plan on doing a little shopping, a whole lot of sightseeing, and a general wandering around. I’d love to take a run through Central Park too, though I have no idea how close the park is to our hotel. Time to break out the map.

The other thing I’m happy about is that I made the goal of going to the New York conference as a published author. Check and done. By the time conference rolls around, THE OUTLAW BRIDE will have been on the electronic shelves for two months. Where I don’t have a print book to allow me to do the literary signing, etc, I will have to get a little inventive on what promo materials to take with me to help get my name / book out there.

Would walking through the lobby of the hotel with a bullhorn be too much do you think? Perhaps so. A more subtle approach then.

Just as an aside, while I am typing this, my dog has his nose jammed under the register and is snorting up a storm. I don’t know what he thinks he’s going to find there other than a dust bunny or three…

Meanwhile, back in the everyday, this will be a busy week. My partial of Salvation Falls sent to Harlequin over a year ago, seems to have fallen through the cracks somewhere. So I need to resend it to the editor. I’m doing one final read through and then off it goes. Wish me luck.

I will be attending the Neptune Theatre this week to see The Beauty Queen of Leenane. My friend Julia Smith hooked me up with the theatre’s Word of Mouth evening. I was given two tickets to see the show, then will blog afterwards to promote it, hence the Word of Mouth. Or blog as it were. So stay tuned for next week’s blog to hear all about my night at the theatre and a recap on what went on this week.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to go dislodge my dog’s nose from the register.

Blissfully Happy Vacation

"A vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in." ~ Robert Orben

I am just one day away from vacation and I can’t wait. This weekend is Thanksgiving in my neck of the woods (we Canadians celebrate the holiday in October) which would make this a long weekend for me, but I decided to stretch it out and take the whole week.

It’ll be a busy one. J and I will be heading out for a night at the Blomidon Inn where we make the annual trek for Thanksgiving, returning in time to have turkey dinner with the folks. The weather sounds great for the weekend too, so bonus!

Then on Tuesday I have my photoshoot scheduled with Heather Gionet from This is Photography. She did Lilly Cain’s photos and that’s how I got her name. I can’t wait. We’re taking the photos at Kings College to take advantage of some of the historical architecture in the city. So far the weather is looking good for that too. I’m excited about getting this done. I had tried to do it a little over a year ago but timing and finances never cooperated. But now with THE OUTLAW BRIDE coming out in April, it’s time. I’ll give you the rundown on how it went in next week’s post.

The rest of next week will be spent revising AN INVITATION TO SCANDAL, trying to get as much of the 2nd draft completed before NaNoWriMo starts. I’m tearing apart scenes and reconstructing them in a different order to try and tighten up the story. I should hear about where I placed in the Lone Star contest the weekend of Oct 16th, provided I have cell phone reception.

You see the weekend of Oct 15-17 is my RWA Chapter’s annual Writer’s Retreat at White Point Beach. I start looking forward to this event the day I return home from it. It is a highlight of my year and is always a huge blast. There are 8 of us staying at the cottage this year where food, wine and creativity abound. I’m hoping to brainstorm ideas for Book 3 in the Brides of Fatal Bluff series while I’m there.

And that is what’s in store for the upcoming week. Now, if this week would just END so I can GET THERE I’d be all set.