Shanna Swendson's Blog, page 285

Viewpoint: First Person

I think I got a good start on diving back into the new project. I wrote a new first scene/prologue. But then I got waylaid while trying to plan the new version of the next scene because I needed to figure out who the characters in the scene were, and I couldn't find my name book. Without the name book, I couldn't seem to get past names starting with G. I don't know why I was stuck on G, but I somehow was, and none of the names were right. I found the book just before I had to leave for ballet...

Book Report Catch Up

Would you believe that I moved one thing on my desk and found all the notes I was looking for? I guess I'm not as disorganized as I thought. That meant I didn't end up doing much housework, other than a ton of laundry and finally getting all the boxes of Christmas stuff back in the garage (something that kept getting put off due to extreme cold, rain and deadline). I also vacuumed the Christmas tree area, using the nifty new vacuum cleaner I got for Christmas (yes, Mom and Dad, I did get it p...

Practically a Health Food Hot Cocoa

It's a holiday, but I'm using it as a partial workday, focusing on shifting mental gears. That may require some housework, as I have a sheet of notes I made on the opening of the project I'm getting back into, and I have no idea where it might be right now, so I may have to clean to find it. Then once I start doing housework, I tend to want to finish it, and the house really needs a good once-over. What I may do is read what I've written so far, and then muse on it while I clean.

In the meanti...

Rainy Afternoons

It's a good thing I don't have to do serious writing today because it's one of those days when there isn't enough tea in the world to keep me alert and focused. I have two things I absolutely must do today and one thing I need to do today. Two of them involve leaving the house and one involves writing. Once they're done, I plan to hibernate, and it will be lovely.

Yesterday was rather nice. I walked up the hill to the movie theater and saw Leap Year. I'm planning a more extensive discussion ab...

Coming Full Circle

The book is now totally done, and all I have to do is change the file name to something that will make sense to people other than me and then e-mail it. It's a good thing it's done because the characters from the next project I plan to work on were already creeping into my brain while I was working. I've loved working on this book, but I'm eager to move on (of course, these characters will now probably start telling me what they could do next while I'm trying to write this other book).

I figur...

Deadline Pain

The book is pretty much done. I'm just doing one final read-through to make sure it still makes sense before I send it off. And because people are asking, this is something I'm doing for Japan. I'm like the David Hasslehoff of books -- still pretty much a nobody in the US, but popular abroad. Apparently, I'm a big enough hit in Japan that they ask me to write books, instead of me having to submit proposals. I hope to find a US publisher for this book, now that it's done and I'll have a comple...

Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Debbie Rigaud

I still have lots of work to do, since yesterday I had to come up with a whole new scene and it took me a while to figure out what it should be. Before I head back to the salt mines, I've got another Girlfriends Cyber Circuit guest, Debbie Rigaud, author of the new teen romantic comedy Perfect Shot.



London Abrams likes to spike volleyballs, not wear spike heels. But in one crush-tasic moment, she signs up for a modeling contest to get the attention of its cute photography intern. Never in a m...

Monday Musings

Yay, we made it above freezing! We got all the way up to 34 for a short time on Saturday and then into the 40s on Sunday, and today it's already in the 40s. I know northerners think we southerners are wimps for freaking out about more than 50 straight hours below freezing, but as I have mentioned before, it feels colder here at the same temperatures. In the temperatures we had last week, I've spent time outdoors in Chicago and New York and was more comfortable than I am here when it's in the ...

Friday Fun

I really can't get the hang of Thursdays. My productivity and work time slowed a bit, and I couldn't quite focus, but I was at a part where I needed to write a new scene to replace what was there, and I had to think about what needed to go there.

One more "fun with Google alerts" item that came up this week: Enchanted, Inc. was listed as one of the 100 ultimate chick lit books at the Chicklit Club web site. Here's the list. It looks to be pretty British-centric, not just with the books in a ge...

Girlfriends Cyber Circuit Presents Eileen Cook

I only thought I survived the return to ballet. The thighs started complaining mid-afternoon yesterday and are still mildly stiff. I will not, however, do something like take a walk to loosen them up, as we're in the grip of the coldest weather to hit this area in 14 years. We won't be above freezing until maybe Sunday. I suppose I'll have to do some indoor exercise -- probably jumping up and down and yelling at the TV during the national championship game tonight. Hook 'em Horns!

After a holi...