Ahh, Fall!

Fall is officially here in NY. That means changing leaves, snuggly sweaters, apple picking, and pumpkins! We have done some (not all) of the fall yard work and put out the fall decorations. Soon, it'll be time for trick-or-treating.

With the changing weather, I find better reasons to move indoors with my activities. This includes a (hopefully consistent) upsurge in my writing output. I am finishing up a story that I set aside a couple of years ago, in the hope that I can get someone to bite on it. After that, I plan to go back to the next book in the Gifted series. After that, I'll either work on another book in the Gifted series, or another of the several projects I have in the back of my head.

I have a comfy new leather desk chair coming to replace the rock-hard one I currently use. I'm hoping that encourages me to spend more time at my desk working! I can't wait.

Meantime, I think I'll go get some apple pie.

On Being Silly

Last weekend the hubby and I went to dinner with some friends. We had good food and lively conversation, and as much as I love motherhood, it was nice to leave the peanut with Grandma for the night and enjoy an evening out. You might say it was refreshing to remember what it's like to be an adult.

After dinner, we went to a karaoke bar and made fools of ourselves.

Yes, I did get up and sing. Nobody died or ran for cover, so it must not have been all that bad. (Or they were being charitable. Or perhaps they were in possession of earplugs.) I was terrified, of course. Half the point of being a writer is that nobody's actually looking at you. You get to hide behind a computer. But I managed, and my friends sang too. And it was fun to sing along when someone else had the microphone. Therapeutic, actually. Hmm, I might have to do this karaoke thing again. Making a fool of yourself as therapy. Who knew?

Bitten!

OK, I may write paranormal, and I may love Buffy and Angel (it's the writing - Joss Whedon is my hero for adding conflict to a storyline) ... but honest, I'm not a vampire girl. Or I wasn't.

Then I met Edward.

Ha. Stephenie Meyer's Twilight saga is so darn good, I'm staying up way past my bedtime (like 1:00 AM, and I have to get up at 5:00) to read. It takes Edward, like, 43 pages to even say hello to the girl in the first book. And the minute he opened his mouth, I went "Eeek! I love him!" How's that for building up your romantic tension?!? I have to be honest and say there's more "telling," adverb use, rolling eyes, looks, and repeated phrases than I think we could get away with in the adult romance genre - but obviously Stephenie knows what she's doing, since all four books have topped the bestseller list. Topped, like, Number One.

That's gotta be Edward's fault. Really, pick up the first book (aptly titled Twilight) and you'll see what I mean. This series is awesome, and it's been nice to want to devour a book whole again. I haven't been this giddy since reading Harry Potter. So a big thank you to Stephenie Meyer for that. And a not-subtle hint for any of you who are even remotely fans of paranormal and YA to read this series. :)