Hi all!

I’m one of the co-hosts and hope to inspire you to write write write!

I’m multi published in romance with 77 books, now writing a paranormal series and writing is definitely in my blood.

If you want it badly enough you can do it!

Linda

Hi everyone,

As one of your co-hosts, great to be here with my whip at the ready! Or should that be WIP?

I’ve published 16 books for Harlequin Romance and Modern Heat/Presents and am seriously addicted to writing!

When I’m not writing, I’m busy raising my two little heroes who keep me running all day (yes, I write at night!)

Really looking forward to the challenge.

Nicola

Hello, everyone! I’m really looking forward to being one of your co-hosts this month! I’m a relative newbie. I have three books out with Silhouette so far, and two more under contract.

I know all about perseverence. It took me nine years to sell my first book, and that was the sixth full book I’d written. So if you’re frustrated, I can certainly relate. And I’ll be here to help you stick with it. Tenacity is the key to success! :write

gail

Linda, great to have you here. We definitely have a lot to learn from you. 77 books. WOWSERS! :bow

With so much “stuff” that goes on in the publishing industry (growing pains, publishers coming and going, changes to contracts, worries about royalty rates, sell through, bestseller lists, etc) how do you focus on just writing your books?

LOL, Nicola. Yeah, WIP or Whip will do. Not sure which will pack more of a punch. Have you met Gail or Linda? Wonderful ladies. We’re in good company. :clap

Gail, just saw your ad in the RWR. So glad you dropped by. It’s good to have someone on board who understands tenacity and persistence! What do you think sold that first book? What did you change to finally make that sale?

I know the most important part of writing is just that. And I have an agent who’s great at worrying about anything else on my behalf. I keep on top of it yes, but my writing’s the most important part of my career. And much more fun. :write

Linda

I haven’t met Gail or Linda in person. That’s the problem living half a world away

And with the young kiddies, I’m yet to make it to an RWA conference. Was hoping to make it to San Fran this year but baby had other ideas…so now aiming for New York in 2011!!

Looking forward to getting to know everyone here.

That’s the good thing about the net. Before, you only met others at conferences or if they lived nearby. Oh man, I suddenly feel like an old broad. :smack

Linda

But now we can all sit around in front of the computer, making new friends and :coffee with no hotel/conference fee.

Oh, and :write

Exactly!

Linda

I totally agree.
Writing is such a solitary occupation, where would we be without the Net?
I nearly went into meltdown when I had server probs last Friday night!!

LOL. And here I was rejoicing over not feeling guilty about turning the computer off for a whole week….. course now that I’m back, I feel a little guilty. :scared

Hi Ladies,

Thanks for putting your hands up to Co-Host this challenge. I know Nicola from RWAustralia, and it will be great getting to know the rest of you.

Thanks again.

Hugs
Sandie.

Great to have you here, Sandie

There’s times it’s good to turn off the computer. I’ll actually use pen and pad and play with ideas that way.

Linda

Hi Sandie!

Linda

I’m not sure what I did differently with that first book that I sold. I think that it just took me a long time to develop my voice and get all the elements right in the story. I think that there were certain elements I knew instinctively (POV, conflict), but other things, such as how to make the romance work, I had to learn by just writing and struggling a lot.

In any case, I am continuing to learn and grow as a writer. The process never stops.

I remember all my tweaking with my first book and my second book went a bit smoother. Then after I sold them, it was suggested with the first book I take the middle and put it at the beginning and so on. Plus I had the hero’s POV and I had to take that out.

Linda

I saw this up on Nicola’s blog, and I’m always up for a challenge. I need SOMETHING to get my butt in gear and write!

Glad to *meet* all of you!

Marcy

Hi ladies! I’ll be rudely missing the first week because I’m going to be in Paris. Boohoo, poor me! It’s tragic.

My favorite inspirational quote is by Henry Ford, “Whether you believe you can, or you can’t, you are right.”

I’ll be back May 9! Full of croissant and good champagne and ready to play.

Cheers,

Isabel

Oh, Paris — you poor thing. :whistle The rest of us will be working hard while you’re gone — and we’re going to get tons done!!!

This is off topic, but am I the only one with trouble from the blue lines on the sidebar going right across the blog and covering some of the posts?

No, Emily. I have the same problem. Text on top of text, etc. Hopefully they can get it straightened out soon.

Marcy, great to have you here

Paris, Isabel? How wonderful! A research trip?

Paris. With that choice, I’d choose Paris too.

Linda

What can I tell you about Leila Brown?

Well I’m a dedicated writer. I have one book out from Cobblestone Press and three more scheduled to release this year. I am also a Changeling Press author with three books scheduled to release this year with them. I love to :hug and :clap on my fellow writers while I :write my own stories.

You will find me flitting about offering :goodjob to all those who need it and :guns , :pound , and :ninja to those that need a swift kick. I’m a :deil like that!

You can check me out at :
http://www.leilabrown.com
or
leilabrown.blogspot.com

And remember I will be watching… :eyebrow

and

:goodluck

Leila Brown

Has the challenge started? :party What is everyone writing?

Leila, you crack me up. So glad your here, emoticon lady.

For now I am calling mine The Time Portal. I don’t have a site to share on. I’m unpublished I have ony finsihsed one thing in writing, that was a LORD OF THE RIGNS fan ficiton. It was my first attempt to sit down and write. I hope to finish this 25,000 word novella and then see it editied and maybe submitted somewhere. My western has lots of finishing places. I joke it is like a weekly tv series. Every week something happens to someone-the main character. :hmm

That’s sounds exciting, Kathy — lots of twists and turns! :clap

Kathy,

We always say you have to start somewhere. I wrote a lot of stories based on TV series when I was in high school and I was lucky enough to have a journalism instructor who’d critique it for me.

Linda

Is this the place where everyone is checking in? I’m feeling confused. :think Am I in the right place? :new

:zzz :write Woohoo I finsihed up last night at 1219 words. I went back and added some after I posted. Tonight I came in from work determined to write at least 405 more words. After all I beat 805 last night plenty of room to slough off. LOL I got busy and relaxed with emails piddled then grabbed my story changed a couple of things I had thought of while at work and when I got stuck I drug out the Spider Solitaire and thought out loud. I am calling it a night at 3:36 am CDT with total word count at 2,433. I think that makes tonight’s words around 1,114. Thanks now if I can push harder and keep going the rest of the month and not burn out in blaze of fire lol. I hope everyone has a great Friday it is only Thursday for me. I work Tuesday though Saturday. It has been almost twenty years since I worked Monday through Friday. I don’t think I would know how to act in that time frame. Oh well we alldo what we have to to survive. Good luck and thanks again. -Kathy :hug :zzz :zzz :zzz

Fabulous Kathy! Well done :clap

Can I just say these emoticons are too cute?

Kathy, that’s amazing. Great job!!! :banana

Wonderful Kathy! :dance

Linda

The one thing is even if you write one word, one sentence, one paragraph, one page, you’re that much further ahead.

There’s been days it’s hard to come up even with a handful of words, but plugging away helps. And coffee and chocolate. :coffee

Linda