So, yesterday I sent off the ms to three beta readers.  I plan to revamp the syno and write the cover letter this week, but I’m thinking sometime between Tuesday through Thursday, maybe Friday.  The weekend should be setting up that dang-gone Christmas tree. *sigh*  So that leaves a free Monday.

I woke up this morning thinking, what am I suppose to do today?  It feels like I’ve spent months (ok, I did) on that book and having a day where I didn’t need to sweat over it is not only exhilirating but confusing.  I felt a bit empty. :P  But it’s allowed me time to move onto the next project.  Dare Night!  Not the official title, but it’ll do for now.

What suprised me with what I have so far, is the magnitude of the information needed.  I believe it’ll be written in first person, but even if I choose third, I want to write the whole thing through my heroine’s eyes.  It will include each of her five friends though.  So, I’m sitting here trying to figure out what the readers need to learn about each individual character then them as a group and what events need to take place during the book.

It’s fun…it’s hard but fun. lol

When I write, I use WriteWayPro.  It’s a writer’s software that I absolutely love.  One of its many great aspects is no red or green squiggly lines.  It’s great for ignoring your internal editor.  So, while the revisions are done, there’s still the spelling, grammar and punctuation that needs to be checked.

At this stage, I’m just zipping through the pages looking for obvious mistakes.  Once I get it back from any beta readers, I’ll go through it one more time with a much closer look to detail.  So, I just completed 210 pages.  Only 164 for tomorrow.  There goes my braintorming for the evening, but it’s for a good cause.

Woo hoo!!!!

Now it’s just a quick check for grammar and spelling this weekend, and I send it off to any beta readers.  Hopefully I can get this to the editor by mid-December–hopefully earlier.

I’m thrilled!

276 / 360 pages. 77% done!

I just finished revising the second act. I’m about to start the third, which is roughly 6 chapters, which could be done in 3 more days, but some of them are on the small side and some major layering may need to be done…or even a couple more scenes.

But I’m coming to the end, and I’m thrilled!

Cara’s Christmas Fantasy by Lauren Murphy

Genre: Contemporary Big Beautiful Woman

Heat Rating: Bonfire

Length: Long Story-17,000 words

Price: $3.75

With their marriage on rocky ground, will Mike’s passionate plans reignite Cara’s love?

Plagued by her weight gain, Cara’s self-esteem has taken a downward spiral. No longer feeling attractive she unknowingly pushes away the one thing she truly wants; her husband’s affections.

Mike considers himself to be an understanding man but enough is enough. He wants his old Cara back–the wild, vivacious woman he met and knows is waiting to be revived. His desire for her compels him to create a plan that will bring them closer together emotionally and sexually. But will Cara be able to open her mind and body to the man she loves or will she push him away for good?

Read a full excerpt here!

Available now here!

Title: ART OF SENSUALITY
Author: Jax Cassidy
Publisher: Parker Publishing
ISBN: 978-1-6004-3044-2
Page Count: 250 pgs / print
Release Date: November 17, 2008

Art was not only a passion of Machiko Barrett, but also a destiny…a way of life she has known since her talent was discovered at three years old. Caught in a turbulent storm of celebrity, scandal and corruption, she disappeared from the art world only to re-emerge fifteen years later as an au pair to the two young children of renowned Parisian gallery owners. Her sheltered existence is disrupted when she is lured back to her one true passion: painting.

While Machiko struggles to find her own identity through her art, she encounters Caleb Holden, a sexy, unpredictable and irresistible neighbor with a penchant for collecting art, and women. As he discovers the girl within the woman, the secrets of Machiko’s past return to haunt her, revealing scars she never knew existed. She must learn to conquer her fears and allow him into her heart or risk slipping back into a cold, lonely world that once held her spirit captive. Through Caleb’s determination to educate Machiko about trusting herself and her abilities, he opens her eyes to the art of sensuality, and awakens the woman buried deep inside the broken girl.

Author Bio:
Jax Cassidy is a multi-published author and has written under the pen name Cassidy Kent. She is Co-Founder of Romance Divas, an award winning romance writer’s website and discussion forum. In between skydiving for charity and campaigning against human trafficking, she enjoys the company of close friends and indulges her caffeine fix at the nearest cafe. An avid traveler and an adventurous spirit, Jax has drawn inspiration from her experiences and often blends the exotic mix of Eastern and Western lifestyles into her writing. When she isn’t locked up in her office penning her latest manuscript, Jax can be found creating abstract paintings for future art shows, or dividing her time between California, Texas, and Florida.

For more information on Jax, please visit her online at www.jaxcassidy.com or www.jaxadora.blogspot.com

My back is killing me!

I’m still plugging along on the revisions.  I’m currently working on the seance scene and having some trouble with it, but I hope to iron it out today and then finish this chapter.  I received my comments from the agent judge of the Stiletto, and I don’t want to talk about it.

On another note, I haven’t mentioned how I’m altering what the kids and I eat.  Yes, our diet.  I hate that words because my whole life it was used to refer to stricting food and going hungry most of the time.  Or starvation techniques, counting calories and being very meticulous about something that should be natural.

Anyway, I went through my cupboards last week and threw out anything old (mostly some salad dressings we never opened and other condiments from the frig).  I then went through the items we currently had to look for hydrogenated oils.  Surprisingly, they weren’t in every single box of cereal, the instant potatoes or the Saltines.  Some of the items will remain and continue to be purchased–like some cereals, the occasional box of Cheeze-its or Goldfish, flour tortillas (I’ll make homemade bread, but I’m not making tortilla too…well, at least not now.  I don’t have a press.). Other items, like Jiff peanut butter, instant oatmeal and pancake mix will remain only until we finish them, and then everything else will never see the inside of my house again.

No more cake mixes, bouillon cubes, margarine (I only used it to butter toast and I can count on two fingers how often we had that), brownie mixes, microwave popcorn.  Of course, we’re not going to stop eating cakes, cookies, popcorn, etc.  It just means a lot more cooking for me.  Like daily!  OMG!  lol  Last night I’m sitting here thinking how hungry I was and there was nothing to eat (other than cereal) that didn’t need to be cooked.  *sigh*

My plan is to make bread of some variety (today is sandwich rolls because I’m dying for an eggplant sandwich in the panini maker with either melted swiss or provolone) and soup, stew or chili daily or every other day.  I have the bread machine and the crock pot, and those items can accompany whatever else we want to eat for the day.  I’m decent about planning dinners but never lunches.  This could alleviate that problem.  Today, I’m making vegetable broth in the crock pot and broccoli soup on the stove.   Potato soup and shrimp gumbo (yes, I’m semi-vegetarian) are on the menu this month too.

Ok, guess I’ve talked about food enough. lol  Now back to the revisions.

ENTER BREAK HERE

*sigh*

On a positive note, I edited 35 pages yesterday and am about to start now for today.  Very happy about that, but yesterday evening I had such a headache.  I need to get this done quicker today.  The eyestrain was killing me.

*space*

I did not get any activity done yesterday.  I need to go grocery shopping either today or tomorrow, and that is a two-hour event at two different stores, so that’ll be my activity for that day.