Pride Goeth Before a Fall!

Well, I've been a bad girl - goal wise. That's what I get for bragging about meeting my writing goals. I've written nary a word in the last few days between working on edits for my upcoming novel, The Kitten Club and my short story, Kissing Cousins, kids' appointments, volunteering at schools and lunch dates, writing has taken a back seat. Sometimes it seems like everything conspires against me - even my dear, sweet kitty cat, Tinker. Sometimes, when I'm trying to work, she gets jealous and jumps up to my desk, parks her fat butt in front of the screen and refuses to move. If I dare type, she licks my fingers!
Next week, the parental units arrive for their annual pilgrimage. They'll be here for 4 weeks. How much work do you think I'll get done then? Too little! But at least I'll probably get in some shopping, some movies and some gin games. Maybe I should take a goal vacation. Please - talk me out of that!

Family Drama

I just witnessed the coolest thing. I was busily pounding away at the computer on my latest WIP when I heard a thud on the roof. (no - this isn't a Christmas post!) I went outside and found two baby squirrels about 2 inches long laying in the grass. They weren't moving, but one started squeaking. The mama came looking for them but hung back because I was there. By this time, a crowd of neighbors was gathering at the edge of my lawn watching the drama unfold. So, I stepped inside and watched from my window (the best view of the action) as mama retrieved her babies and carried them up the tree to a new nest. In the middle of this, my neighbor's Yorkee got out of the house and chased mama as che carried 1 of the babies in her mouth.
We all held our breath as the neighbor's son chased his dog, and finally got her before she got the squirrels! I'm happy to report, all babies have been rescued and are hopefully on the mend! Just wanted to share that.

Pity Party

Major disappointment today - one of my publishers decided to delay the print release of Compromising Positions due to a lack of pre-sales. The irony? I've been telling everyone I know to wait until my book launch party - (now cancelled) or my first book signing scheduled for April 21.
It's amazing how you can be so pumped up, then someone comes along with a tiny little pin amd lets all the air out of your balloon in one fell swoop! So, the color of the day is blue to match my mood. Okay - all done venting.

Rantings and Ravings

I am on a roll! I've made my daily word goals on my current WIP all week. Today, I blasted past it and reached a total of over 8,000 words this week. For those non-writers out there, that's about 32 pages. Not too shabby considering I took Saturday off for a Bris and then baby shower.
I'm getting totally freaked out by the sight of my 13 year old daughter wearing makeup. We let her do a subtle look on special occasions and when she's playing with friends. But it's so strange to see her looking so grown up.
My editor tells me we're moving into the home stretch with edits of The Kitten Club, which will be released sometime this year in print. I can't wait to have that one finished. It's my first serious (Non-comedic) romance and has some really heart-wrenching stuff in it.
My husband and I are entering the final countdown before the parental visit. They are coming for a month, a little shorter than usual. Don't worry - they don't lodge with us, but at a nearby condo.
Just reworked my website with the help of George, my tech guru and sort of brother-in-law. Now I'll be able to do the updates instead of having to bug him all the time. Please let me know what you think. www.daraedmondson.com

Making it up as I Go Along

We're only a little more than a week into the new year but I've made some serious progress already. I just sold a short story to
The Wild Rose Press and an interview I did a few weeks ago was posted today at Romance Junkies. I've been really good sticking to my daily word count goal of 1000 words a day and we're even making some headway in reeling in the teenangel after a meeting with the principal. I hope it's a good sign for how the rest of the year will go. I probably shouldn't say things like that - I might jinx myself. I'm not quite as brave as my friend, Julie, who has posted her very ambitious goals on her blog! Call me a coward, but I don't have that much confidence in myself. With 3 print books to promote this year and an RWA chapter to run, I'll be lucky to have time to sleep. But heck - I'm a writer. I'll just make it up as I go along.

A Week of Firsts

I did it. I ran my first RWA meeting today. I think I actually did okay. At least I didn't fall flat on my face! We had a big turnout and a super program about goal setting and I actually got a few more people to volunteer to do more things for the organization. I think I also turned a corner with my thirteen-year-old. Instead of threatening her with all the evils of man if she didn't stop her antics at school and her irresponsibility at home, I dangled many little carrots before her - time on the computer, Sunday breakfasts out, sleepovers. She suddenly seems much more interested in keeping her behavior in check:-)

Our other first this week was an email from her principal asking us to meet with her to discuss our little teenangel's lack of impulse control. For the first time since I was in school, I'm nervous!

Visiting Vegetarian Land

After returning to the gym following the holiday foodfest, my DH and I decided we had to take drastic action. The scales were not kind to us! He suggested marathon sex. I opted for changing our eating habits. I mean, we already work out 5 days a week - what else can we do? Someone had left several issues of Vegetarian Magazine in the rack in the cardio room. I started thumbing through the pages, reading recipes, thinking about all the undesirable things in meat - saturated fat being number one on my hit list. I mentioned the idea on the way home, assuming he'd buck. Color me surprised when he said, "Sure. Let's do it." We agreed we wouldn't go overboard. Our monthly visits to High Tide Harry's - mine for tuna steak and his for salmon - will continue. But we're eliminating all red meat and hopefully poultry as well. The kids are not jumping on the bandwagon - yet. But tonight I lured them closer to our camp with eggplant parm - with baked, not fried eggplant. Let's see what that damned smug scale says next week.
Meanwhile - I got word tonight that The Wild Rose Press will be sending me a contract for yet another short story - Kissing Cousins for their erotica line. Shh - don't tell my parents.

Back to the Grind

OK - the holidays are over and I expect every Tom, Dick and Nancy to crowd the gym tomorrow. I call it Amateur Month when I can't get on my favorite machines at the gym - the elliptical trainer in front of the TV, the bike with the built-in fan, the treadmill with the working heart rate monitor. But never fear. They'll all fall like flies by time Valentine's Day candy hearts go on sale at the drugstore. I'll be nice to them - we're all miserable about overeating through the holidays and misery does love company.

On another note, I finished the first round of edits on my second print book, The Kitten Club. Hooray!!! Instead of going back to work on my current WIP, I'm working on the agenda for my upcoming RWA chapter meeting I take the helm for the first time next week. I sure hope I don't fall flat on my face!