Olympic Fever And Book News!

Every four years - okay, technically two - a weird craze seems to come over my family. I call it Olympic Fever. When we would normally go out for dinner, we stay home...instead of a movie, it's a night watching television and rather than reading the news first we skip straight to the sports page. When we'd normally be sleeping, we're watching clips of missed events online. Or watching those fun interviews and listening to the athletes explain why they're the best. You know, the behind-the-scenes stuff.

Who won that medal? What's the medal count? Can (insert athlete's name here) really pull off back-to-back Olympic wins?

These are the questions that plague us, and for sporting events we normally wouldn't slow to catch a glimpse. And yet for the next two weeks, we'll be totally focused as we root on our favorites.

It isn't a bad thing, this focus, not at all. Actually, I like it. Because even though we're replacing fun outings with television, it's still family time. We're doing it together, even when I'm hoping my favorite kills the husband's favorite in the first round.

Writing is a lot like that for me. Not the killing part, the focus part. At the beginning of a new wip I'm focused. I can see the characters, the plot. I can hear those quips and unsaid longings. I know exactly where the characters are going. And yet just like the Olympians I sometimes get lost in the middle of my own focus and forget what makes writing so much fun. I did that early on with my Saint (AKA The Saint's Devilish Deal, out from Crimson Romance this fall) - I'd gotten incredibly lost in the forest (those quips and interactions) and forgotten the trees (the plot). It didn't take long to find that plot thread again, but the time lost definitely hurt my momentum.

But no pity party for me. No condolences. I loved my Saint and Sinner, even when they got a little lost. I still rooted for them to overcome their demons and live life happily ever after. And I'm thrilled they'll be part of the Crimson Romance family. I just received my publication date for this book - October 1, 2012 - and I'm absolutely thrilled...and now a different kind of focus comes along. I have edits from my editor back, so I'm diving right back into my Saint to clean him up a bit. Don't worry, he's still a little rough around the edges. lol

Barbara Kingsolver once said, "Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don't try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It's the one and only thing you have to offer."

I knew what I wanted to say with both What a Texas Girl Wants and The Saint's Devilish Deal and I'm so excited to share both of these books with you all.

Now I'm figuring out the message of the next books - yes, more book news! - it's definitely a thrill! Crimson Romance has contracted books 3 and 4 from my personal library, so as I'm editing my Saint I'm also madly moving forward on the next books - linked books to my first, What a Texas Girl Wants. Yes, Kathleen's sisters, Monica and Vanessa, are getting stories of their own.

It's a little scary that this publishing ride is moving along so fast, but it's also thrilling beyond words. In fact, it may be my new favorite part of the writing business. Okay, the writing will always be my favorite part!!


What is your favorite part of writing?