hoo-ha in Presents Land

Last movie watched: Little Miss Sunshine
Playing right now on the iPod: Boys of Summer by Don Henley

Okay, so I should be doing line edits for my latest book,  but I simply couldn’t not read all about the storm brewing over on IHeartPresents.  Running a writing contest is not easy (done that), nor is judging or entering (yeah, done that a bajillion times too).  But when the winners to their “Harlequin Presents Writing Competition 2009” were announced, what started out as a ‘yay, congratulations!’ thread quickly denigrated into insults, snarkism, sour grapes and/or just down-right nasty name calling.

Now, the rules did state that published authors could enter (including Harlequin authors) as long as they weren’t currently under contract, which has been a big bone of contention with many commenters.  Now, when you talk about ‘being under contract’, it means that you have yet to fulfill your current obligations within a contract.  For e.g. mine read that I need to deliver a proposal, then a full manuscript by a due date.  Once done, I have x amount of days to deliver any revisions and/or line edits.  I will  get paid within this time frame.  So, I have fulfilled my contract when I’ve finished my final edits and my editor has received it in his inbox AND I’ve been paid for my hard work.   End of contract.

I find it disheartening that many commenters chose to attack the published winners, even going so far as to say that because they weren’t sufficiently excited enough, they didn’t deserve to win.  I’m sorry but excitement is personal – and this comes from having a very English stiff-upper lip father who’s idea of enthusiasm is saying, ‘yes, that’s pretty good’.  (I swear, he’d still say that if I discovered world peace tomorrow!)

I’ve been through the massive treadmill of contests.  I’ve been a judge, and entrant, a contest manager.  I’ve made contest policy, critique sheets and had the most horrific of feedback imaginable.  Setbacks make us stronger.  One of my favorite quotes?   The difference between a published author and an unpublished one is that the unpublished one gave up.

Be nice to yourselves these holidays and remember, we are romance writers.  Spread the love!

National Treasure, how I love thee…

Playing on the iPod right now: Party in the USA by Miley Cyrus

National Treasure (starring the fabulous Nicholas Cage) is one of my favorite action/adventure/romance movies ever. It and #2 are all I’ve been watching these last few weeks (when my 9yo loves a movie, he looooooves it.  All I can say is thank God for DVDs).

What’s there NOT to love? A treasure map, conspiracy theories, gripping action, bad guys, cute good guys, family conflict and romance.  It’s great clean fun, no swearing (I counted one ‘bloody’ in the first movie) so it’s a great way to involve my son in all that fab American history, which I adore.  He’s been googling “Declaration of Independence”, “US Presidents” and “American Constitution”, much to my delight.  He even pop quizzes me – “Mummy, who was the first person to suggest daylight saving?” (answer – Benjamin Franklin).  And yes, I also admit to a bit of a girly crush on geeky Riley Poole (aka Justin Bartha).  He has the best lines!

I’m doubly thrilled to see that they’re making National Treasure 3 in 2011.  I can’t wait!

Time’s a wastin’ (but I’m getting an education!)

Just spent the last 5 days reading various blogs and websites that are covering the Harlequin Horizons furor.  Okay, I’m not going to get into my personal opinion of this, but if you feel the desire to spend a few hundred hours on the internet  to further your knowledge of publishing, vanity presses, self-publishing and human nature when confronted by personal and professional insults (e.g. the “car crash but can’t look away!” stoush involving Ms Nora Roberts) then here’s a few sites covering it:

• Smart Bitches Trashy Novels (be prepared – there’s over 700 comments here but well worth the read!)
• Dear Author (which includes the response from Harlequin rep, Malle Vallik)
• Jackie Kessler (succinct summary of the whole thing)
• Pub Rants (agent’s take on it)
• Chip MacGregor
• and my personal favorite that made me scream with laughter, Small Beer Press.

You can also read the statements by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America and Novels Inc.

And now, enough rubber necking.  Back to my edits.

Sojourn to Surfers

the pristine Broadbeach sand

For many of you Aussie natives, Queensland’s Gold Coast is a popular summer holiday destination.  As a kid, I remember taking the 1 hour flight nearly every year – we even celebrated Christmas there once, at the wonderfully retro Pink Poodle motel

With Seaworld and Movieworld, pristine beaches and glorious summer weather in mid-October, it truly is the perfect budget getaway.  So off me and my boy went, spending 6 days at Broadbeach, just south of Surfers Paradise.  We shopped at Pacific Fair, we built sandcastles (well, I built a sand-mermaid that garnered attention and photos from visiting Japanese tourists!) and of course, we frequented the theme parks.  Mister 9yo won a massive plush Nemo in the first five minutes at Dreamworld, we flew in a helicopter at Seaworld and we mucked about on the rides and water attractions at Movieworld.

the residents at Seaworld

We also got a tour of the Broadbeach police station because, well, we’d never been in one before.  Constable Nick was lovely, showing us the office, the place where they hold the bad guys and out the back where they have the paddy wagons and the cool beach buggy patrol car thingys (which you need a special licence for, apparently).  Here’s some happy snaps for you all to enjoy.

I also did some heavy thinking about my next book, which will be – yes! – Zac’s story.  I alluded to this runaway black sheep of the powerful Prescott family in The Magnate’s Baby Promise and after some very pleasant research of the Gold Coast and Currumbin, I’m excited to be getting his story out of my head and down on paper.  It will be an office/secret mistress romance, with lots of juicy conflict and emotional baggage for him and Emily   Cal and Ava will make an appearance too, and finally get their gorgeous wedding in Jindalee.

Finished my 4th book!

Many a time when I’m writing a book I feel a bit like this cartoon, so out of necessity I’ve planned every book since the first one.  I have whiteboards, pin boards, Blu-tak for those snippets I managed to jot down, Document Map, art boards.   And after you pass that “this sucks!  I HATE IT!” moment and finally finish the thing, it’s a wonderful feeling, attaching that email to my editor then sending it off into cyberspace

This one is part of the Outback Billionaires and Babies miniseries.  Two of my fellow Down Under Desirabelles, Maxine Sullivan and Robyn Grady are paving the way in April and May, and mine will be out in June.  I called it “Baby Bombshell” and my Senior Editor seemed to like it, so fingers crossed it appears somewhere in the title.   I’m also hoping there’s gorgeous Ayers Rock as part of the cover because there’s a very significant lovescene in the book where my hero literally sweeps my heroine off her feet (and onto the table… you get the picture )

Vanilla Fountain bath bomb

I do celebrate finishing-the-damn-book and today, the first day of school holidays, I went to our local shopping center and went a bit wild (shhh, don’t tell Visa – I already owe more than what I have in my savings!)  At the very-aptly-named Lush, my absolute favorite store in Australia, I bought Vanilla Fountain bath bomb, Blue Skies bath frothy, Vanilla Dee-Lite body lotion and a yummy shower fizzy called Up the Wooden Hill.

Then I went into City Chic and bought a snazzy glitzy top (no, that’s not me there… but she is gorgeous!), plus a hoodie (love hoodies!) for the warmer weather coming up.  Normally I buy a bag but have been bag-satiated for the last few months on account of my birthday handbag.

So I was thinking as I cursed, wrote, smiled, wrote, cried, wrote then cursed some more, that even though I hate pressure, pressure is what gets me writing every time.   I write during school hours – 9.30am until 2.30pm, five days a week.  I don’t write on weekends and I can’t write during school holidays.  But I had a good six months to write this book, but events conspired to steal my time.  Like being quarantined from school for swine flu (no we didn’t have it, but my folks came back from Canada, so…)   Then we both got the flu for real.  Another two weeks.  Then my boy got chicken pox – another two weeks.  Then he had a spate of colds and muscle injuries (the latter of which I suspect were more of a con to get out of school than anything major).  So those six months dwindled down to something considerably shorter.   Which includes the time I spent “piss-balling about” (my dad’s phrase which I believe has ancient English origins ).  But it was also a productive piss-ball, because I made it into Stella Cameron’s Scarlett Boa contest with an erotic paranormal I’ve been tinkering with oh, this past year or so.  Mucho Snoopy dancing here!  You can read my entry  here and vote for it here.

Okay, so after all that drama and stuff, I had an interesting revelation.  Maybe I can write one book every school term – four a year?

Or am I now jinxing myself by saying it out loud?  Other authors do it… but then they don’t have a boy who’s an extremely convincing actor.

covers!

Sticking my head up from writing (1st October deadline and 100 pages to go!) to share some pretty new international covers.  They are (left) Forgotten Marriage in Czechoslovakian – where I am officially known as Paula Roeova   Middle is Boardrooms & A Billionaire Heir for Germany and right is for Greece. Pretty cool, huh?

why I love eBay

I love shopping.  I love the luxurious indulgence of strolling about the stores, picking up things, smelling stuff, feeling fabric and finding a gorgeous new colour.  But I have to be in the mood to try stuff on – and a few times I’ve been disappointed by a size or cut, or colour (I love yellow but it holds a violent hatred for my skin tone).

you shall be mine... one day...

And I love shopping on line, from the comfort of my bed, at 10pm.   Stuff I can’t buy in the stores – the PC-ROM game of Lego Star Wars.  Lilo & Stitch mini figures.  The red sweater from my vintage Snoopy doll that mysteriously vanished in a house move years ago.  My favorite shade of Revlon’s discontinued Lip Glide lipgloss (it’s Sheerly Bare).

It's only the bodice but believe me, the gown is fully gorgeous!

Yes, there’s a lot of crap there, and I’ve been the victim of some of it.  But mostly, it’s a genuine pleasure.  Like the white platform sneakers emblazoned with a glittery USA flag, or the Murano glass ring with a stunning blue flower decoration.  And my iPod Touch, which I got $100 cheaper than the store-bought ones (which I use to read ebooks I buy online!).  I even bought a ballgown, which I wore to my first Harlequin authors Valentines Day ball in 2007.  Only $66!

And of course you can sell stuff, although the thrill doesn’t translate quite so much   For me it’s the buying.  Right now I’ve got my eye on the first three Harry Potter PC-ROM games, a pair of white platform heels (for next years’ conference) and a leather powder-blue wallet.   Way cheaper than the shops.  And faster too.

RWA’s 18th National Conference

Thanks to the generosity of the Copyright Agency Ltd (who awarded me with a grant to fund my journey north), I had a full weekend of networking, chatting, learning, partying, books and writing.  We were in Brisbane, Queensland’s gorgeous capital city, with weather a warm 29C (around (84F)  It’s a great chance to dress up and wear pretty clothes, nice jewellery and have conversations that don’t revolve around chocolate, Lego and “I hate homework!”.

Many years ago, I recall a workshop speaker saying that when you start out writing, you’re like a sponge, soaking up all the knowledge, technique and nuts and bolts of writing you can.  And naturally, your own writing will slow as you absorb what works best for you and what doesn’t.  But after that initial ‘information overload’, your writing will once again pick up and you’ll find yourself whizzing along the publication path.  So I’ve found that I’m now at that stage – after a few years of publication, and many, many pre-pubbed years full of workshops, how-to books and tutorials, I pretty much know my process and what works for me.  So national conference is not really a time to learn new ‘writing stuff’ (although when it happens, I’m thrilled!).  It’s more a chance to reconnect with my writing friends and colleagues, get to know new ones and to also share the information I’ve gleaned from all those years past.  And of course, talk shop with editors, writers and publishers.

I had a brilliant time finally meeting my former senior editor and agent for The Knight Agency, Melissa Jeglinski (who, when I said, “I’ve got this super-sexy, futuristic/sci-fi/paranormal thing, about 50 pages done… can I send you the partial?”  replied with a smile, “sure!” weeee!)  She made the trip down with her mum, who was absolutely lovely, too.

I also talked shop with the Executive Editor for Silhouette, Mary-Theresa Hussey (who incidentally, bought my first book in 2006), drooled over her Kindle and decided to hold it to ransom when I discovered she was editing Rachel Vincent’s latest Werecat book on it.

I delivered my “Get Organized, Get Writing!” workshop to over 90 eager writers, talked about my favorite topics – i.e. stationery and Document Map – and at the end, handed out some door prizes (notes will be available on my For Writers page of my website soon!)

Linley's cool boots

Shannon (left) and Jenny all prettied up

Saturday night was our  awards dinner, so it’s a huge congrats to all our winners (especially Marion Lennox, who after 21 nominations, finally WON her RBY!   And my cool roomie and writing buddy, Shannon Curtis, who not only won the Selling Synopsis, but scored a full manuscript request from Melissa Jeglinski too).  You can find a listing of all RWA’s contest winners here.

Leah posing as Saddam's concubine

me scaring the pants off Carol Marinelli!

And of course, there was the fun side – dressing up for Harlequin’s traditional Friday Night Cocktail Party (that’s me as Saddam Hussein – which I can’t believe no one else thought of!), putting on the glad rags for our awards dinner, buying books (of which I didn’t do much of, I might add) and all the catching up on gossip, sales, new authors and falling in love with this crazy business all over again (for more photos of the weekend, visit my website).

(L-R) me, Kelly Hunter and Linley as Jafar

remakes that make me cry (with rage, not joy)

original cast of the ORIGINAL Melrose Place

While surfing the ‘net today (yes, it was research for a book!) I stumbled across a screaming, flashing ad that declared “Melrose Place – premiers Sept 8″.

All I can say is W. T. F. ??? First, Beverly Hills 90210, now Melrose Place, for Gods’ sakes? Is nothing from the 90s sacred? Will TV people do anything to spin a dollar? People, please think of something ORIGINAL!!  I thought they’d learn their lesson with disembowling perfectly amazing UK shows just for the hell of it (Life on Mars, anyone?) but obviously not.

I can just about accept movie remakes – for every Planet of the Apes and Out of Towners, there will always be a Nutty Professor and The Birdcage to redeem it.  But TV shows?  Come on.  Do TPTB think that just because they were successful hits in their day they will be again?  Just because it works for music and (sometimes) movies, doesn’t mean that success will translate to TV.

aah, Will Smith - how you've grown!

The past is called the past for a reason.  RIP Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Friends, Party of Five.   Please, studio execs, do not give Ally McBeal, 3rd Rock From the Sun and Veronica’s Closet a trendy haircut, an unrealistic bod, a tarty new skirt and multiple bed partners.  I beg of you.

my travels to Canberra

My son and I just got back from a weekend at our nation’s capital, Canberra. I love Canberra, from its cool temperatures, to its large, sprawling laid-out-ness, to its barely-there traffic problem.

When we’re there, our regular scheduled program includes Questacon, a science and technology centre designed for kids, National Zoo and Aquarium,  (where I ran into fellow writer Valerie Parv – completely by chance!) Cockington Green (miniature buildings and settings amidst gorgeous English gardens) and the walk-in aviary, where you can hand-feed the local bird life.

And on this trip, I met up with an old school friend I hadn’t seen in 16 years. It was great to spend a few hours catching up, meeting her gorgeous toddlers and lovely hubby and to lament “when we were at school <insert perceived problem that really wasn’t here>”.

On the drive back home, we stopped off at a tiny country town called Collector (check out the photos below- my first go at inserting a Photo Gallery ).

I’d always driven past the turnoff, intrigued by a town with only 150 people. So this time, I detoured. Man, talk about blink-and-you’d- miss-it! It consisted of one information centre and coffee shop, a few houses set back off the road, a school (that I didn’t see), and further round the bend, a pub and a weirdly creepy art-tree-carving-thing that freaked my son out.   Apparently, Collector’s claim to fame is that Constable Samuel Nelson was shot by Johnny Dunn, one of Ben Hall’s henchmen. (Ben Hall was an outlaw, in case you were wondering).

All in all, a nice visit to while away the last few days of school holidays.  And now, back to work!