Bye Bye Blogger.

Since I actually get more traffic at my myspace blog now, I have made the decision to close up shop on this blog. Sorry, but I just don't have the time to keep up with both. This blog was meant to be for personal and writing posts and my myspace blog for promoting my work, but I've been hanging around myspace so much lately when I'm not writing, that I'll keep that blog for both purposes. This blog will still be up, but don't expect me to post anything new in it. Sorry, wish I had time to both but as a writer, I have to think about what's the better way to promote my work.
Anyway, if you'd like to check out my blog@ myspace, it's http://blog.myspace.com/margueritearotin
and if you have a myspace, feel free to ad me. I love making new friends there :-D.

Good news from Samhain and sorry I've been quiet with this blog.

Sorry things have been silent here lately. I've either been vacationing in Veneficium and soaking in the rays on Ripa Beach, or posting at my other blog at myspace. I might be closing up shop on this blog up soon and just sticking with my myspace blog, since I seem to get more traffic and comments there and keeping up with two blogs is really too much work. I'll have to think about it.
Anyway, this is is a post I'm pasting from my myspace blog.
Okay,

I finally heard back from one of the very nice editors at Samhain Publishing about my The Last Sorceress yesterday. I'm so excited and nervous because of my correspondence with Linda.

I'll keep everyone posted and let you know what Linda thinks of the revised version.

Getting a little too close for comfort with my NANO novel ;-).

Know I haven't blogged in awhile, but I've been busily churning out words for NANOWRIMO. I am at almost 27k so it's comming along very nicely :-).
I am decided to try my NANO this year all through the diary entries of my sixteen year old heroine. The entry I just wrote scares me a little because it's very close to something I wrote myself when I was sixteen.
Like Mary, I've always been better with writing my feelings than speaking them. It's hard for me to find the words when someone does something to irritate me or hurt me because I'm afriad I'll say the wrong thing. I hope an editor someday doesn't make me cut this entry because though it is very personal, it's part of what makes my character. Much to my Joy, I'm realizing she's not the female version of Harry Potter :-). Here's the entry and keep in mind that it may be rough with the grammar and typos until I revise. Nano puts quantity over quailty and luckily, I have a talkative teenage muse :-).

Star Date Veneficium 45.0
Dear Diary,
Have ten days really slipped away since my last entry? Wow, I know I never I wrote in here every single day at home. To tell you the truth, I had more to gripe about at home. I know I wrote every single time Mom and I had a fight. I don’t fight with Aunt Cathy at all. In fact, I rarely see her. She’s always busy flying off to the fey kingdom of Fariana. When I do see her at dinner, she’s always been nice to me.
You know what? I don’t know why I used to rant about my Mom in diary at home. Maybe it’s because I couldn’t say some things to her face. Like Iziadore, I’m too much of a coward to tell her how I really feel.
I’ve always been better with writing my feelings out than saying them. That’s why I can text my Mom and tell her things I wouldn’t dare say to her face. It’s not like that with my Dad though. I think he understands me better because we’re more alike. I bet my Mom was an Iziadore type in High School and had guys falling at her feet. My dear ole’ Dad had a rougher go of things, because of his rep.
I’m different with my friends and even Keegan than I am with my Mom, but even Keegan doesn’t know the real me. I have exactly forty-five more days until my honey realizes I’m dull Mary Catherine and not Grenelena. I wonder if I should write him a letter and tell him the truth.
The letter thing might work, but there’s a part of me that says he deserves to know the truth from my mouth. Writing a letter might be a coward’s way out.
This bites, I hate the fact that he doesn’t know the real me but, I’m scared what will happen once he figures it out. I bet adults never have to worry about things like this. Ugh, it sucks being sixteen.
I should stop worrying so much and get to sleep. Keegan already said he loves my good heart and intelligence. That won’t change once I change into Mary Catherine before I go home. Maybe I’m the same inside, even if I don’t have Grenelena’s funky pink hair and big boobs. You know what, I am and I think Keegan will still love me regardless of what I look like on the outside.
Night,
Mary Catherine

I got my Coverart for The Locktender's Daughter and it is gorgeous!!!

I love this!! I couldn't have dreamt a better cover for TLD. So beautiful, yet so simple and elegant. Bethany's standing on a packet boat, a passenger boat, and it's perfect because she travels with Tyler by packet. The colors are beautiful too and the text is gorgeous. I have dreamt of my cover for so long and it lives up to all my high expectations. Thanks to the talented Mp Mann for making one of my dreams come true. Now May doesn't seem so far away :-).
Oh and in other writing news, I finished the first draft of Battle of the Mages. Now that it's done, I can participate in NANOWRIMO again this year. I have a brillaint idea for a young adult novel involving the daughter of my heroine's sister from BOTM. So if I'm quiet again for awhile, you'll know why :-).

Hubby and I made up and BOTM is almost done :-)

Okay disregard the last post ;-). I told Phillip how I felt and he told me I can go out whenever I want and I don't need his permission. So I feel a little silly for getting all upset about it in the first place. Plus Phil said the service at the HOB sucked anyway. Serves him right for going without me :-P. Okay, that was a bit childish, I know but, ah well :-).
In writing news, I almost done with the first draft of Battle of the Mages and my goal is to have that baby done by the end of the month. If all goes well, I can work on my young adult tale- The Summer Sorceress for NANO this year. Yippee!! Of course I have a job interview for a part-time evening/weekend gig tomorrow, so if I get it, it might cut into my writing time like JCP did two years ago. Ah well, I think the reason I completed NANO with The Last Sorceress last year was because I loved the story so much. If I love my Summer Sorceress enough to keep working on her story, I'll find the time to write, even if I do get the part-time job. I agreed to keep looking because we do need the $ and we do want to make the trip to CA this Christmas. To do so, we need the funds in the bank and I have to do my share to bring in the income until the royalty checks start rolling in there :-).

This is probably a dumb reason to get upset but ...

Okay,Normally I don't gripe or complain in my blog. I'd rather use it to talk about my writing, my family, and the good things in life because I figure there's enough people bitching and moaning in the world. But this morning there's something that's bothering me and how can I make myself better about it until my husband gets home and I can talk to him about? I do what any writer would do, I write about it ;-).Here's my problem. Phillip was supposed to have a tech meeting last night with the guys from work, but instead his boss decided to treat him and the other two techs for all their hard work by taking them to see Roger Waters in concert. That was cool, I told him to have fun and enjoy himself and I'd have PJ call him later to say goodnight.So I stayed up until about midnight night last, hoping I could see Phil and say goodnight to him before I turned in. He didn't get home until One a.m. I know becuase he woke me up when he hopped in the shower. I thought , "Okay this late on a work night?" but I tried not to let it bother me too much because I figured he had his fun with the guys.Then I woke up this morning. I found his ticket on the table and a reciept for the House of Blues. Now I am starting to get a little ticked because I've been dying to go to the HOB and he goes without me.Then I start thinking, "When was the last time someone took you out, Dana, for doing a good job with your writing or for taking care of PJ? When was the last time you got to have a night out with your friends?" The last time I went out without PJ or Phil was three years ago, for my thirtieth birthday. Phillip has never once out of the blue offered to watch PJ so that I can have a girls a night out. Granted, I never told him how I felt because I never stopped to think about it until this morning. But it would be nice if maybe after I finished the first draft of story, Phil came up to me and said, "Nice Job. Why don't you call Beckie or Stacy and see if they want to go out tonight? Don't worry about PJ, I'll watch him for you."Now I know that things are a little tight right now with our money situtaion until I start the two part-time jobs I plan on taking, but even when I worked at JC Penneys. he never once offered to watch PJ so I could go out with the girls from work.I guess griping about it will do me no good and I'll talk to him when he gets home from work.

Another rejection, but I'm not too bummed about it

Got a rejection for Jenny Rappaport in the mail today. Ah, well. I'm not bummed because I figured I'd give Samhain a try with TLS so I'll just wait and see what they think. I think I'll go the e-book route with TLS and Battle of the Mages and then try for an agent with the YA Novel I'm plotting, The Summer Sorceress.
So now I'm still writing away on BOTM and waiting to hear back on TLS. I'm kinda slowing down with Battle of the Mages I think because I'm getting close to that dreaded Black Moment. I hate tearing a hero and heroine I've come to care about apart, but I do know it's necessary for them to truly appreciate the happy ending I give them. Plus, with this one, my hero, Olorin has some prejudices to oversome before he can live happily ever after with my heroine. I'll get him there though :-).
We've had some newbies join on to the romance critters critique group. I've been enjoying reading the work but some of it is really rough around the edges. But I dish out my advice and suggestions and the girls have been grateful. Hard to believe five years ago I was a new author myself ... no idea on POV, or passive sentences, or showing versus telling. Now I think I've gotten the hang of those mechanics and maybe, just maybe I'll start selling more of my stories because of it :-).