Yes, that's the sound of opportunity knocking. Well, actually it's banging my door down but when I finally get up to answer it, there isn't anyone there... I feel a presence, I know there was an opportunity but like always I missed out.

Not this time!

This time, I'm going to throw the door wide and tell it to wait a sec, I'm learning, I'm there, I really am!

This last week I have been up to eyeballs revising my first three chapters for Melissa Jeglinski (the Knight agent who requested a partial) and working on my synopsis. What a pain in the bum! But at the same time, I will be ready to submit direct to Avon and then work on getting one of my Blaze's off to Toronto for consideration. Two years, I have been writing full time and I have only subbed one thing to one publisher. It's time I pulled my finger out and put my work out there for more than just the odd comp.

Seriously though, I am hearing it a lot lately... 'I haven't subbed because...', 'I want to but...'. Same old excuses, same old everything. How do we get ourselves published if we let fear rule our every action? If you don't love your book, they won't either. Just have faith that you can do it and they will love it, and if they don't, their loss. Make sure you work on the critisms especially when you hear the same thing from a few different people. And don't let it get you down! If one publisher says, 'I liked it but..." work on the but. If it isn't their cup of tea, send it to someone else. Have a brutally honest friend or crit partner go over it to make sure you crossed your t's and dotted your i's. And for God's sake, don't send it until it's ready. You need to be 200% sure it's perfect before you hit send or lick that stamp.

There are opportunities everywhere, you just need to get off your but and answer the door!

Okay, before the sick kids start screeching, screaming or beating each other up and before I have to administer antibiotics or eye cream or bum cream (no I haven't mixed them up yet) I thought I'd do a quick blog.

What have you got on your To Be Read pile? I came back from the conference with quite a few and then I bought some and then my mum gave me some. So, where to start?

1. Eloisa James (of course) This Duchess of Mine
2. Eloisa James - A duke of Her Own
3. Mary Jo Putney - Loving a Lost Lord
And in no particulary order
~ Elizabeth Amber - Nicholas, The Lords of Satyr
~ Alexis Morgan - Darkness Unknown
~ Yvonne Lindsay - Convenient Marriage, Inconvenient Husband (aren't they all?)
~ Maxine Sullivan - The CEO Takes a Wife (double entendre??)
~ Joanna Neil - His Very Special Bride
~ Valerie Parv - Heart and Craft (a how to book)
~ Little Gems anthology (I missed out by three places so it's interesting to see who did make it)

A few of these are Mills and Boons and one is an erotica so they are lower on the list. I find if I'm writing historical, which I am at the moment, I can't read contemporary anything. And since I'm attempting to write something very dark and emotional, I don't want to get any fluffy nice stuff in my head or my voice.

I want to reread a few that are already on my shelf such as the New Moon, Stephanie Meyer. I have to read it before it comes out in November. I'm going to be a nerd and book my midnight screening tickets next week =) Everytime I watch twilight (I watch it a lot) I think to myself that I really have to reread them all! This is huge for me. I've never read a book twice. Ever. Even when I buy something I think I haven't read only to discover in the first chapter that I actually have, I can't finish reading it. I already know what happens.

Maybe this is why I find editing and rewriting so tediously boring (If you're an agent or publisher, forget I said that). I already know what is coming next, why would I read the same stuff twice? Answer... Because when it's my own work and I'm still learning, I could read it a hundred times and still change something I missed the first ninety-nine.

So I'm off to rewrite, edit and reread between medications, creams and screams. Hmm, maybe I should do some poetry =)

Have a great weekend!  

Okay. I was so busy thinking about next weeks blog- do I do it on Wednesday before I leave for the conference or Monday when I get back... I forgot to do yesterday`s. Is my memory getting worse or am I getting lazier? *snort* like I could get any lazier. I`m going to blame it on being sick. Yes. I still have whatever it was that I got a couple of weeks ago. Not getting worse but not getting any better.

Anyway, back to being lazy. Maybe that`s why I can`t seem to finish a book. I have so many started but hardly any of them have an ending. But then on the other hand, I start to wonder if it`s the story. If I`m getting bored writing it, will you get bored reading it? The answer. Probably. The book I pitched online to Harlequin didn`t make it through but probably just as well since it isn`t finished. Maybe the universe is trying to tell me something. So right now, I`m writing shorts. I`m nearly done with my second HQ historical undone. I sent the first one off weeks ago but it will take months to hear back. I like the 15,000 word limit. It means I can start and actually finish something before my mind wanders off to the next project. I get so excited about a premise, I start writing, then about 60,000 words in, I get inspired about something else and then instead of finishing the one I`m on, I start another one, get all excited about that one and then the cycle starts again. I know it`s not just me. I have a lot of friends with the same problem and I`m hoping the conference this weekend will teach me a thing or two about where I`m going wrong.

Which brings me to the RWA conference. 4 days in Brisbane with no kids, no nappies, no cat poo, no man, no talking about any of it either. It`s going to be heaven. I`ve got my itinery and it looks great. My flight leaves on Thursday morning and when we get in, it`s straight into the bathers, order a drink and relax in the pool for an hour or two. Then the chaos will begin. Starting Thursday night with a book launch and then a dinner, it will be go, go, go until sunday when I fly back in. I have my belly dancers outfit done for the Friday cocktail party and a dress chosen for the award dinner on Saturday night and all the outfits in between. It`s very important. The shoes and the clothes.

My last problem is the pitch. I have three stories only one of which actually has a `The End` but one I think will be more sellable for an agent than the other two.  I keep thinking since this agent worked for Mills and Boon for fifteen years, she may want to go with a category novel but then what if everyone thinks that and she just wants to see something new? Should I go the historical that is nearly finished and a really good premise and then if I get a request I`ll madly write for two weeks to get it ship shape. I`m going to take all three and then decide once I sit down with her. I`m sure there`s no better judge of what she wants than her.

So on a wing and a prayer to anyone out there, I`m as ready as I`m gonna get =)

Wish me luck!

Well, last week's headache is still hanging around and after a few very anxious sick days, I got the all clear for swine flu. Just a really nasty virus thingy so this weeks blog is late and probably even more incoherent than previous weeks.

I'm not doing much writing at the moment because it's nearly conference time and I've been spending every spare minute I have making my outfit for the Arabian Nights dinner. That, and fighting with Telstra about their crappy service and lies to get people to buy stuff but that's a whole other rant. So, I have my belly dancing outfit sorted, just need to add the bling. I've been trying desperately to drop the few donut kilo's I put on now that I'm back to working nights and I'm down to narrowing the pile of shoes to fit into my borrowed suitcase. *sigh* I wish I could take all of my shoes because it's going to be a what I want to wear on the day kinda thing. I know my cherry red heels are going with me even if I have to wear them on the plane and I'm not leaving the house without some form of boot in my case.

My itinerary (I don't think I spelt that right) for the workshop and sessions are fantastic and my agent pitch is to The Knight Agency's Melissa Jeglinski. Hopefully I'm set. Hopefully...

Anyway, I'm sick and every tap on the keyboard reverbarrates in my head not to mention the hassle of remembering how to spell simple words, hopefully next week my brain will be back from it's vacation and I can get on with the job of wowing everyone with my super exciting life.

Once again, thanks for coming =) Have a great week!