What do they want to READ?!!!

Today, I'm feeling inspired. After reading an excerpt from my good friend Megan Bostic's WIP (work in progress), Taking Zoey, on her blog, The Angsty Writer (check it out if you haven't, she ROX), I feel called to work on a story I started a couple of years back.

It's a young adult, sort of a modern day Nancy Drew I suppose, but as always, I FLEW through the first few chapters with elation. NO problem. And then...

I seem to have a problem with the story as it gets into deeper details. I think it's because I don't plan the story out first. I know the beginning, usually know the ending, but how to get from point A to Z after point D seems overwhelming.

I think it's that I begin to doubt myself, and the story. Will this interest ANYONE but me? As writers, we have to tell the story in our heart, NOT the story we think they want to hear. It's impossible to 'gauge the market', as Stephen King says (I quote him alot, get used to it. There is no way to know what people want to read. We can study great books, we can think we know what it's all about and what's going to sell.

But I don't think J.K.Rowling had even the faintest inkling about how a little story that popped into her head during a four hour train ride would change the writing world and get kids reading again. She couldn't know how she wouldn't be a struggling mother just trying to get enough money from a little book to put food on the table for her kids much longer. She wrote the book in a coffee house in Edinburgh due to having no heat, for nut's sake! A boy wizard. Done already. But one well-written story and now she's a literary icon.

I don't think Stephanie Meyer realized how her little sexy vampire and werewolf story would take off and give something incredible to tweens and teens all over the entire WORLD. I'm very sure she read her own work over and over while it was a wip, thinking to herself how NO one in their right mind would want to read this drivel. We all do it. Never known one single author who didn't feel they were walking a tightrope almost every time they sat down to write another chapter.

Not one worth anything anyway. :)

So, feeling inspired today, I'm going to keep working hard. I'm going to not worry about what they want to read and write what's in my heart. And I truly believe I'm going to make it somehow. Just like my fellow brothers and sisters in this crazy thing we've gotten ourselves into because we have a passion for it. We are authors. Hear us roar. At least buy our books and READ US!

Lines for my (not yet published) books...

I was joking with friends last week about our novels being published (for a couple of them, Spring 2011! For most of us, still a dream in the making...) and we agreed that yes, we most certainly want a line running out the door, down the street and generally wreaking havoc in any city we're promoting our book at the moment. :)

But of course, it's not that easy. I won't go into all that getting published entails, but suffice to say, writing the book is the EASY part. Er, well, mostly.

It's absurd to write a book for the fame. Or the money. It's 'morally wonky', says Stephen King. You have to have the passion for it. I remember when I wrote my first novel three years ago. I couldn't stop writing it. I had NO idea what I would do with it when I finished it or why I had to write this story, but every moment was about it. It consumed me. I have never had a story since to do that. It's not the greatest story, not written that well, but everytime I go to edit it, I can't do much to it. It begs me not to cut, tweak or change anything, that it's perfect the way it is (and of course, I know better, but still...). Every unperfect sentence is full of pure feeling. I might have to self-publish that one and pray for the best. But everyone who has read it, despite its imperfections, always wants to know what happened.

I hope I'm a bestselling author one day. I hope I have apartments in a few cities around the world (okay, apts small as closets are FINE with me, just so I can dig my toes in beaches and walk thru little European towns and American cities and call them mine for awhile). That would be what I did with the money, honey. But the GREATEST reward, and I mean it sincerely, would be to know that someone read my story, closed the book, and walked away aching from the story that was now a part of their heart forever. It's happened to me with books I love, and I pray I can give that to my readers.

Even if it's only one. :)

Life is a highway...

or a train track.

I'm feeling a bit melancholy today. Maybe it's just that I'm tired. Maybe I feel like the only one in the world NOT out shopping and taking advantage of great deals on this Black Friday! I'm here, cuddled up under a blanket at my computer, eating leftovers from Thanksgiving lunch WAY too early in the morning and wanting to write.

I think my musing today is on relationships. How they change you, even if you're only there a short while. Or a LONG while. But you never come out the same.

I learned some things about someone I love yesterday, and for the better part of the evening, I felt so disappointed. I felt I didn't know them as well as I thought. I also felt I understood some other things about them SO much better now, knowing the 'new to me' facts. But a crushing feeling was upon me for awhile, like loving a little beach where I'd go and sit and run my fingers and toes thru the sand and think, what a beautiful beach...only to discover it was only a beach because a huge volcano had erupted years ago and took a wild forest apart, creating this place I now sat. Having no idea there was ever a volcano there in the first place. Was I lied to by the beach because it was so different before? Of course not, the beach didn't owe me any explanations. But it DID help me to understand why the tops of tall pines stuck out where the dunes were supposed to be.

Make sense? Probably not. I guess I'm trying to say that life is ... I prefer to say it's a train ride (because nothing in the world has proven better for me than getting on the train in my little Virginia town and heading to Manhattan, NYC baby! :). We come away a little different after every stop.

Life's about forgiving, forgetting, and learning from our mistakes. Letting ourself sulk a little, be sad about things, then finding a place in our hearts to file it away and get excited about what's down the track, waiting and ready to change us a little bit more.

:)

Finding some sunny...

I've been feeling very overwhelmed lately. I've been writing a little, but feel scatterbrained as to what I'm SUPPOSED to be writing. I think I've lost my confidence a bit. When you want to do it (writing) nothing stops you. I want to feel that sunny feeling on me again, that confidence that I can do this thing, and do it pretty well.

Do I have great stories in my head? Yes. Do I think I can write them and they'll turn out good? Yes, at least I know I'll have a great beginning and ending (my strong points). The middle's what gets me.

I hate starting out so strong, so sure about what the story will be about and how it will be told, only to fizz out by chapter four. Tell me this happens to EVERY author!!!

What keeps me going is that I have finished TWO books. I go back to those and see that I am capable of finishing a novel. It's having the passion for the story and the characters and believing in it wholeheartedly. When we write, it has to take us over. The laundry doesn't get done. There's a lot of take-out (um, that's not really different from my everyday life, but...) and there is nothing on our mind except the story. We walk around in a daze, thinking of what's happening and what happens next. Everything else takes second place.

I haven't gone to that place in a long time. Guess I'm afraid if I take my focus off things in front of me, I'll lose them somehow? That's just fear talking.

I need to go to that special place where the muse lives and spend time in the story. When I get back, what's left is what's supposed to still be here. :)

See? I'm excellent with endings. Now, let me get going on the middle.

Disipline :)

I'm pretty bad with discipline. Especially about myself. Making myself stick to a plan is like making a tomboy wear a dress (thinking of my Liv here; finally I have a beautiful daughter and she dresses like the boys. argh! :)

I've decided to try sticking to a more disciplined thing. Like making myself blog EVERY Monday whether I have something interesting to say or not. And writing.

Writing EVERY day, inspired or not. Stephen King said the muse will show up when you give him/her a place and time to show up TO. So, I'm going to try this. In light of the famous Nanowrimo (National Write-a-novel-in-a-month Month) it's more important than ever to write daily. A LOT, daily. 50,000 words in four weeks. Over 10,000 words a week. Um...

I'm going to do it though. Well, I'm going to try. I have a great Nicolas Sparksy novel in my head. So, what am I doing here TALKING about it?

DISCIPLINE me, please!!

Getting back to it!

It's been a long time since my last post. And since I really wrote. All that is changing. I'm inspired again.

The fire under me is called ABNA. The Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest is coming up in the next few months. This gives writers a once a year chance to put their finished novel in with thousands of others, and if their winning pitch gets them through to the next level, then the next, they have a chance to be published. Get a nice advance. It's like the Kentucky Derby for writers. :)

I'm working like mad on my young adult. With a tentative title which I've only told to a few, I'm going to finish this and get it in by the deadline. No doubts. Well, none that will hold me back.

I also have some other stories I'm going to finish and get out to those agents who eagerly await the next great bestseller. :D And I have a memoir that my friends want me to write. Well, one friend. She thinks it will be endearing, funny and a little heartbreaking. As life is. I'm going to get to work on it.

That's it for now. Nothing funny, just getting back into the writing, and planning some trips to keep me inspired. The picture is from a beautiful place I visited recently, Natural Bridge. Sort of reminds me of that movie "Kick Ass" I saw. Hmmm...I need a super-hero name like those kids had in the movie! Lol. ;) Next post will be funnier. With more pictures, even. I know. You can't wait. :D

Remembering...

I read an article today about remembering our soldiers, those who have died protecting us in war, and I might have just moved on except for a picture that touched me to my core.

Mary McHugh lay across the grave of her fallen fiance, James Regan, and wept, talked, gestured with her hands, wept some more. James went to Duke University. He had lots of opportunities to do anything he wanted. He felt he needed to do this. "If he didn't, then who would?"

Arlington National Cemetery, and thousands across our United States, are filled with men and women who protected us and died doing it. This one picture hit me hard today. We've all loved and lost. We're truly in this together. And the men and women who are honestly brave enough to go 'over there' and face the enemy for us, knowing full well every day it could be the last, and whose only joy each day is remembering those back home that they love and hope to come back to.

It sobered me up today about our freedoms. And how every one of those guys wanted to come home again to set their feet on the grass they know and love, to spend summers at the beach with their girls and kids and families. We get to to that today. Let's send up a little thank you to them. Love never dies, nor fades, and it's powerful enough to change anything. Thank you for the love, guys.

Empire State of Mind

There's an old New York joke about Shakespeare in the Park; Central Park, that is. Hamlet is being performed. During the death scene, the entire audience leaves. They didn't want to get involved.

This is from an article I read on aol news today. It talked about how New Yorkers have the reputation of being hard, not wanting to get involved, and yet under that crusty exterior beats hearts of caring, shiny gold for their world and fellow street neighbors, no matter if they're from Brooklyn or Kansas.

The last line told of how, after 9/11, President Bush told American to go to Disneyworld, take the kids and enjoy life the way Americans should. The writer told how THAT was the spirit of NY. Stand up, shake off the bad stuff and move on with today.

I could write twenty novels about the things I love of New York. It's home to me, more so than the little Virginia town I live in, and I think lots of people feel that. From the moment I get off the Amtrak and ride the escalator up into Penn Station, I feel like I'm reborn. Every single time.

I will never forget a little older lady I encountered in Little Italy. She was keeping the gift shop on a little street (probably around the corner from Lombardi's, my favorite restaurant on this earth, no matter where else I eat in my life) and she seemed so sad. My friend and I walked in, the sole shoppers that quiet night, and within a few moments she brightened up like sunshine and I knew we had brought a true ray of joy to her soul, for whatever reason. Maybe just our kindness. She even gave us a free disposable camera, telling us in her Italian tongue with American words that we should enjoy this last day and take pictures of everything! To be given a free something in New York, in a gift shop? That's amazing enough. :D But her spirit rose that night. To me, that is the spirit of New York. I always get misty thinking of her.

Okay, this was off the writing subject, but after the attempted destruction of a part of my, our, beloved Times Square this past week? I wanted to give my beloved NY a hug. My body's here, but a huge part of my heart is and always will be there.

I might just write some novels about this. New York has a million stories, and mine is now one of those. My cup runneth over. :)

Twittering is networking. Really.

Yes, I'm going to do this Twitter thing. I'm kind of shy. Okay, pretty shy.

Alright. VERY shy. This blog is a chance for me to lose some of the shy and say some things to the world. I might even do videos like my good friend (and newly almost published author!!) Megan does. I mean, don't wait for it. I might hide behide my book and mumble if I have to do a book signing one day. Um, do authors really have to do book signings?

Back to topic. My foray into the networking is going to include Twitter. And who do you think of when you think of Twitter? Yep. :) Ashton Kutcher. King of Twitting. I mean tweeting. So, I am following him now. And Demi, too. I read a post on Twitter (a TWEET. I have to get the lingo right) that Twitter now had a program you could pay for to NOT see Ashton's tweets. HA! Is that them looking at my new tweets?? (Yes, I'm sure of it.)

Well, most people I talk to get bored of tweeting and telling how they're walking to get a coffee or they're reading a book (leave them the &*%F$ alone) or they're going to take a (edited for content). We'll see how this goes. I'm not good about follow up.

This, in fact, may be my last post. Or tweet.

:D Hang in there with me. And when I'm published, you can say you knew me when. And pull up all this stuff and embarrass me further at book signings. Sigh.

What to write, what to write...

I'm inspired again. :) I have a couple of stories in my mind. One is practically autobiographical. Um...

Moving on to young adult, which is where it's AT lately, I have a great idea. It's two girls and two boys who open a detective agency. What?

No, it's really not like Scooby. It's totally different. They don't have a dog. Wait, crap...they DO actually have a dog. Well, it's not their dog. Sigh.

John Grisham just wrote a new (soon to be best-selling) detective novel for kids. I think it's the time to throw all our like-novels into the shark pool. Think of all the interest vampires have gotten since the Twilight phenom. And wizards, thanks to good ol' Harry Potter.

I'm excited. I'm writing fast and getting this little story out there. I started it two years ago. If only I would FINISH something, for nut's sake.

If I hurry, maybe I can jump on the little bandwagon with my detective story, before Grisham corners THAT market, too! >:(

:)

Okay, so WTF?

:) Yep. I mean, nope. I didn't make it to the next level at ABNA. A few of our friends did (yay for Jacob, Jonathan, Jarucia, Robert, and Liz, to name a few!) and a lot of us didn't, but the good thing is we're fine with it - ahem, we're FINE, crying is HEALTHY. Er...:)

In a way, I was glad of not making it further. Paper Tigers has a lot of work left to be done. Yep, it's a finished novel! I've done that twice now, two whole finished books, and I'm so proud, but I know PT isn't the novel I want it to be. Maybe I'll even change the whole direction the novel is going (instead of the mom going into the tunnel with the kids, how about hateful old Alison? Guffaw, wouldn't Rigby LOVE that. Just thinking aloud here...), and I need to scrap my passive voice and get more action in there faster; just things that take time. Revisions. Every author goes through it. BO-RING. But necessary.

So, I was all ready to tackle the thing starting the next day. To rip it apart and start the big revisions. And guess what was in my mailbox?

A request from an agent for a synopsis (a WHAT?! I've never done a synopsis! I avoided agents that WANTED a synopsis! Help!) and a request for more of the story. Incredible timing? Well, yes, I'm excited of course (!!!), but I'm not too surprised anymore about the timing of things. And I know there is no such thing as mere coincidence. As a Christian, I know God's on the case, 24/7.

Even if this agent isn't interested, I've still won. This is the second time, based on the first three chapters, that I've been asked for more. And now I have to put down the whole novel in synopsis form which will only help me focus on what I need to do to make it better. I should have done it as soon as chapter one was finished, for nut's sake. ;)

Okay, so it's back to the synopsis today. And, back to the fish bowl full of lots of other little fish all swimming and working hard and dreaming for their break to come and that agent to say yes. So as it is with life, too. When a door closes? Well, it's usually another door, but then sometimes a window that opens, though I'd prefer it be a bigger, nicer door. Er...:)

I'm in great company back in that little bowl. It's home. :) And btw? WTF? That is, Where's The FOOD? I needs me some chocolate (MEGAN!) to make it through this synopsis thing. ;)

Today's the Big Day!

Yep. Today's the day we find out if we made it to the next level at the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest.

I don't truly expect to make it further. I HOPE to, of course. And my novel is pretty tight in the first three chapters, which I submitted. But after that...well, I have a lot of work to do. Even making it into the top 1,000, which I did, we still get two reviews of our excerpt from the vine reviewers, whether it's liked or not. I'm excited to get those objective views. Like in my critique group, those who have no vested interest in being especially nice to you :) ? They help tremendously in making us cut our 'babies' and get real about what's working (and mostly, what's not). Priceless that someone you don't even know will give an honest look into the book, taking time away from their own novels-in -progress.

But this is about today. I think I'll get very nervous for the five seconds it takes to search for and not find my name. :D If I do find it? I'm probably going to throw up. That means Publisher's Weekly reviews! And only having to beat out 249 others. Er...! :) Another step towards the real deal. The WHOLE novel gets read and judged for those making it further. Am I making sense at this point?

Well, some of us will jump from the little fish bowl full of hopes and dreams and messy ms's to the big bowl where we're scrutinized with a REALLY BIG magnifying glass. Here's to making it up the ladder. I mean, to the big bowl. Or simply drinking too much wine tonight and starting over. :) Good luck, my beloveds!

Coincidence?

I've been thinking lately about how people come into our lives for a reason, season, or a lifetime. By coincidence (?) a new friend forwarded a mail she'd received about something that happened in a Starbucks in Manhattan. This is the story:

THE SPARROW AT STARBUCKS

The song that silenced the cappuccino machine...

It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square. Early November weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill of late December and January, but it's enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for available space and warmth. For a musician, it's the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, I'm told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right. Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing. It was a fun, low-pressure gig - I was playing keyboard and singing backup for my friend who also added rhythm with an arsenal of percussion instruments. We mostly did pop songs from the '40s to the '90s with a few original tunes thrown in.

During our emotional rendition of the classic, "If You Don't Know Me by Now," I noticed a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was swaying to the beat and singing along. After the tune was over, she approached me. "I apologize for singing along on that song. Did it bother you?" she asked. "No," I replied. "We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?"

To my delight, she accepted my invitation. "You choose," I said. "What are you in the mood to sing?" "Well...do you know any hymns?" Hymns? This woman didn't know who she was dealing with. I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look. "Name one." "Oh, I don't know. There are so many good ones. You pick one." "Okay," I replied. "How about 'His Eye is on the Sparrow'?"

My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on mine again and said, "Yeah. Let's do that one." She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse, straightened her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing.

Why should I be discouraged? Why should the shadows come?

The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed. Even the gurgling noises of the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped what they were doing to listen. The song rose to its conclusion.

I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free. For His eye is on the sparrow,

and I know He watches me.

When the last note was sung, the applause crescendoed to adeafening roar that would have rivaled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the din, "Oh, y'all go back to your coffee! I didn't come in here to do a concert! I just came in here to get somethin' to drink, just like you!" But the ovation continued. I embraced my new friend. "You, my dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!"

"Well, it's funny that you picked that particular hymn," she said.

"Why is that?"

"Well . .." she hesitated again, "that was my daughter's favorite song."

"Really!" I exclaimed.

"Yes," she said, and then grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause had subsided and it was business as usual. "She was 16. She died of a brain tumor last week."

I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence. "Are you going to be okay?" She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. "I'm gonna be okay. I've just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing his songs, and everything's gonna be just fine." She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then she was gone.

Was it just a coincidence that we happened to be singing in that particular coffee shop on that particular November night? Coincidence that this wonderful lady just happened to walk into that particular shop? Coincidence that of all the hymns to choose from, I just happened to pick the very hymn that was the favorite of her daughter, who had died just the week before? I refuse to believe it. God has been arranging encounters in human history since the beginning of time, and it's no stretch for me to imagine that he could reach into a coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a revival. It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting him and singing his songs, everything's gonna be okay.

The next time you feel like GOD can't use YOU, just remember...

* Noah was a drunk * Abraham was too old * Isaac was a daydreamer * Jacob was a liar * Leah was ugly * Joseph was abused * Moses had a stuttering problem * Gideon was afraid * Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer * Rahab was a prostitute * Jeremiah and Timothy were too young * David had an affair and was a murderer * Elijah was suicidal * Isaiah preached naked * Jonah ran from God * Naomi was a widow * Job went bankrupt * John the Baptist ate bugs * Peter denied Christ * The Disciples fell asleep while praying * Martha worried about everything * The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once * Zaccheus was too small * Paul was too religious * Timothy had an ulcer * Lazarus was dead!

No more excuses now!! God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger. God bless you.

I just had to share this. Thanks to Tami Snow, my new friend :) for sharing this with me. I think it's no coincidence we recently became friends. :)

Critique Groups :)

I've joined a critic group here. I think this is going to be very helpful. It's a small group (7 so far) which gives us the personal attention and the time to give each excerpt careful consideration and thought.I've never been in on a critique group before. I met a few people on Agentquery.com after entering the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest the first time, who looked at my entry (then called The Good Fan). That book was/is a sprawling Romance novel. But I love that book. My heart actually gets butterflies when I think of returning to it. Each time I look at a chapter, I feel excited. My life changed because of that book.

My point is that the few that looked at that mansion of a novel (men, too) actually 1) got through it and 2) LIKED it. I was surprised! They gave it, my very first attempt at a novel, the thumbs up and also took the time to give me excellent advice, which I saved on my AOL mail.My only worry is that I'm not 'nice' enough. Oh, I'm a sweet person, sure. :) But when commenting, I find the good first, then slam with what I don't like. I try to end with the good again, but I don't like to be coddled and I don't coddle to well (er, where writing is concerned, that is ;). Wait, that's cuddling. I do cuddle well. Not coddle.

oookay. Wrapping this up? I'm really enjoying the group. If they don't kick me out before I post mine, I think this will simply rox.

With a little help from my friends...

:) Megan fixed my blog. YAY! (and thank you, my friend). I'd love to computer savvy but I'm not. Thank goodness for my buddy that is. ;)

So, now I can officially get back to practicing writing about my drivel, er novels. Maybe pick up a few followers here along the way.

I may need to think of a bit more to say however...

But would today, a simple thank you suffice?

Thank you Megan. And thank you, my beautiful friends. Without you, I could not exist.

ARGH!

So, I'm still frustrated with why there is a HUGE blank spot in my blog. I'm sure I'll be canning this one soon and moving on (or shall the big HUGE blank spot be my trademark? er...no). :)

Randy Russell was NICE enough to let me guest blog for him. You can see it here:
http://ghostfolk.blogspot.com/ :)

Of course, NOW everyone on ABNA and FB knows the title to my "secret" entry on ABNA. Oh well. Hope the haters don't see it. And that they're not Vine Reviewers. :P

That's all for today. I'm painting my bathroom. Well, my best friend is painting. I'm playing on the computer. She will beat me for this.

:)

So, I'm already having trouble with the stukid blog.

Er...how frustrating.

I'm trying to get the hang of blogging. It seems easy enough to create the thing. Even figured out how to add pictures, how to add things I really don't need but like (youtube videos at bottom, slideshows of not MY pics but random others, New York, Beaches...I love those two things) but I cannot figure out how to close the HUUUUGGE gap between my americanbella header and where the blog starts. Anyone?

Maybe I just need to blog lots and this gap will close on it's own? Maybe. I'll try that before I destroy the blog and start fresh. I think the blog will be good for me. Not that I don't take the time to email with my buddies and facebook enough to get my thoughts out. But this is different. I've already been asked to put my thoughts in as a guest blogger for a new author friend. Being as I'm not published yet? This is daunting to say the least. I will simply tell what I know and what I'm learning (not much on the know, of course). But I'm feeling the excitement of writing all over again lately. This is a very good thing.

Maybe it's because I entered a novel into ABNA. That's the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Contest. 5,000 of us hopeful young adult and general fiction writers compete to get our novel chosen over all the others and land a publishing contract. Sweet. I think I have as good a shot as anyone this year. That beats out last year, when my uber-paged romance went against sharp-as-a-knife thrillers and mysteries and chick lit. Penguin isn't too big on uber-romance novels, really. Needless to say, I didn't make it.

Maybe this year will be different? It is the year of the tiger. That is very significant to me. I'll tell you why later. Maybe I will. I don't want to jinx myself. Maybe by the end of the contest, I'll have figured out how to do my blog well. :)

Getting started.

So, this is my first blog. Um, lots to learn. I guess I should say a little about me. I'm a writer, just finished my first young adult novel. I'm editing like crazy this novel, hoping it will be as good as I think it will. A great adventure. A weepy ending. Little sprinkles of love story and true friendship in between. Yep, sounds good to me.

Now, to an agent? That's the big question. You're going to find out with me. Because I'm too chicken to find out alone.

:)