Let's talk about your synopsis

I know that a synopsis can be a pain in the you know what to write, really, I do. I know I don't base my opinion of a manuscript on the writing in the synopsis. That's just not fair because some people may really stink at writing a synopsis but their book might be the greatest thing since sliced bread. But, when you write a synopsis, you HAVE to give us all the main plot points. Including the ending. We're an editor, not a "regular" reader. There's nothing that drives me nuts rather than to get a synopsis and not have the ending. It's like needing oxygen to breathe, I need the ending to the book. =)

Saying goodbye is never easy

My brother just called me. He snuck in a few minutes of phone time before he went into a briefing. He was supposed to ship out this morning to Iraq, but he ships out tomorrow night at eleven o'clock. The military usually ships troops out at night. So, yeah, he called to tell me that my mom has his address of where to send stuff and that he loves me. He put in for leave for October 5-20 so that he can be home for the wedding, and told them why he was requesting those days and that he's in the wedding, so hopefully he gets it. But then again, like he said "The Army doesn't give a shit that my sister's getting married." *sigh* He said once he gets over there, he'll really be pushing for it, and it's looking good right now, but anything can change at a moment's notice with the Army. Well, with all military, really. It was hard to see him go last time, and it's hard to see him go this time. I'm sure it's never easy for anyone, no matter how many times someone goes away, especially when they're going away to war. I've just got to pray that God will bring him back home safely and in one peice.

Arousing Suspicions by Marianne Stilling

Just finished reading this one over my lunch hour today. Loved it! I don't think I really have anything negative to say about it, other than the fact that I wish the ending would have been more of a surprise. I think I've read so many similar stories that I had already guessed it, just not all the details of it. It was still really good though.

I loved the chemistry betwen Tabby and Nate, too. They worked well together. And now that I think about characters, I think there were some secondary characters that could have been left out, like Jani, Tabby's best friend. She's only in the book for one scene, and the conversation she and Tabby had could have taken place between Tabby and someone else. I guess I'm one of those that sees no point in bringing characters into a book if they're only going to be in it for one scene. I know there are times when that is okay, but in most cases, it's not needed. It's just another name for the reader to try and remember and sort out who that person is.

But, like I said before, I don't really have anything bad to say about this book. I will now pass it on to Jennifer, who it rightfully belongs to. When I gave her the donated books, she ended up leaving half of them with me to read, since she said she'd never be able to finish them that quickly. Plus, they've been in a hotel for a while, and that means not much room. So, I'm getting to read some of them. :)

But, I digress.

Good book, recommended read!

That damn Kristy

Okay, yes, I admit it. I'm a huge American Idol addict. And though Myles will never admit it out loud, he likes it, too. I was out with a friend on Tuesday night, so I didn't watch Tuesday's show until last night (I love my DVR), and I'd already heard a few things about it, some that I agree with and others I wholeheartedly disagree with.

1. Ramielle Maluby, or however you spell her name, has gotta go. Sorry sweetie, but Heart is a little to big for you. And well, I just don't really like her for some reason.

2. David A. Ugh. I liked him at first, but now he's just getting annoying. All the cheesy ballads, the shy giggling thing...it's all getting really irritating. Myles said it best last week when he said "Someone needs to give him a puppy." Yup, I agree, he's too sensitive. Grow a set or something, would ya?

3. Kristy Lee Cook has got to go! God, she sucks. She's just no good. What the hell is she still doing there? And I knew as soon as I saw what song she sang on Tuesday, she wasn't going home last night. Yeah, that was a pretty smart move, singing God Bless the USA during a time of war. Damn her for being smart, because I really want her to GO HOME!

4. Everyone made a big deal out of Carly Smithson's last note. So what? Can the people complaining about it get up there and sing that song as great as she did? I highly doubt it, so shut your faces. Everyone make mistakes. So what.

5. David Cook is phenomenal. He'd my fave. Most definitely. The radio here made a big deal of him copying Chris Cornell's version of Billy Jean and the judges not calling him out on it and practically giving him credit for it instead. I agree that they kinda acted like he arranged it on his own, but when Ryan introduced him, he said "Chris Cornell's version of 'Billie Jean'. So what's the BFD? He still killed it...in a really good way. :)

The rest I don't really care either way about. I didn't really care that Chikezie went home, and I think that Jason is boring. And I like Brooke, but she won't win. So, there ya go.

I oughta quit editing and...

Get into the wedding business. I mean, seriously. The prices people charge for the simplest things are absolutely ridiculous. Retarded, even. Last night, my best friend Ann and I went out to the bridal shop to have her two and a half-year-old daughter, one of my flower girls, try on some flower girl dresses. We both fell in love with one, and it's a close match to my wedding dress, which is what I wanted. And then we looked at the price tag. $140 for a friggin' kids' dress that they're going to wear once! Are you kidding me?!?

So now I'm online trying to find it or something very similar for a cheaper price...and it seems like there is no cheaper price. They're all claiming that the "discounted" prices are anywhere from $135 to $250. I mean, come on. Is this for real?

I'm telling you, I'm in the WRONG business. I could be out there bending people over and making money off of it. That sounds like so much more fun than editing, doesn't it? Or wait, if I want to bend people over, I can buy an oil company or something. But, that's a different rant for another day. I'm too busy fuming over how much wedding crap is. And for those that might be curious, here's the dress.

Would all the rocket scientists in the room please stand up.

Yes, the subject line is my sarcasm regarding today. I feel like I'm surrounded by a bunch of morons. It's driving me nuts. Here's an example:

I work on the second floor of the building...which is the top floor. I overheard a guy ask a woman standing in front of the elevator "Are you going down?". Where the hell else would she be going? I mean, seriously man. what a friggin' genious.

I have nothing else to say today...I'm in "a mood".

Yeah it figures...

The one night I really need to stay home and get stuff done, everyone is calling me to go out. Grrrr. My best friend just called me and then was texting Myles, telling us that I needed to come to the bar and sing, since no one there tonight can. =) I like compliments like that. But, I've remained strong and am still at home...obviously, since I'm posting a blog.

Plus, with the wedding in October, we really have to watch how much money we spend on "extra" stuff. The bar definitely qualifies as extra stuff. hahaha. It suck right now, but it'll be worth it in the end. We only get to get married once and we want to do it right. It will probably be the one and only time we get all of our friends and family together, so I'm really looking forward to it.

A weekend full of...

...cleaning and editing. That's ALL I'm doing this weekend. I had two FLE's come back to me this week that I need to take a look at, a round of edits come back, and I have to do the first round of edits for another book. Yeah, my laptop and I are going to be cozy cozy this weekend. And then I'll have to put up with Myles complaining that while he's working on one of our rentals (new tenants move in next week), I get to sit at home on the couch. I just can't get him to see that I'm really working, not just sitting there surfing the net or playing around in a chatroom. Actually, I can't remember the last time I was in a chatroom. Do people even do that anymore? Last time I did was when I was in high school, I think. I could be wrong; it's been known to happen before, but not often, mind you. =P

And the cleaning. The house needs to be spotless by Sunday morning. Parents, brother and grandparents will be over for Easter dinner. It's the one holiday dinner I have...my mom and grandma have all the rest. And it's nice, because it's the one holiday a year that I don't have to travel for. Ahhhh, that's bliss.

So, here I am, at 3:07 on a Friday, waiting for my exciting weekend of editing and cleaning to start. Don't you all wish you could be me?

All I really want...

Is to go back to bed. I've been really tired in the mornings for some reason this week. Maybe it's remnants of the time change from last week, dunno. But it sucks. Plus, I'm stuck here at the crappy day job when all I really want to do is be home, getting caught up on edits and cleaning the house and doing laundry. Have I mentioned that I really don't like my day job? Yeah, I really don't like it. At all. Not even a little bit.

Okay, I'm done complaining. At least it's Wednesday and the work week is half over. Thank God.

I've got some of my family coming down from South Bend on Sunday for Easter dinner, so I've got to get it in gear and get the house looking poifect before they get here. I know, I know, it's only family, but still. It's how I am. =)

Sometimes I just don't get God

Today everyone in my work was called into an "emergency meeting". With the way things are at Purdue with a new president, ya never know what they're going to tell us. But, sadly, this had nothing to do with work.

One of our contract managers had something terrible happen in his family today. His son, AJ, who is 7 and in the second grade had an undetected, undiagnosed brain tumor rupture this morning. He was air-lifted to Riley Children's Hospital where he underwent emergency surgery. :( Chris and his wife has just left for Las Vegas for a business trip, so they weren't even round when it happened. Right now, they are probably still in the air, frantic to get home to their son. Chris emailed us this afternoon after our boss announced it to us and said the prognosis was grim. Needless to say, the attitude around the office this afternoon was very somber.

I just don't understand this type of thing. I believe in God, though I'll admit, I haven't been the most "faithful" in the past five years or so, but my belief has never waivered. But I just don't understand how such a "loving" God can let things like this happen to innocent children. And to a family that is very involved in their church. The boys attend the Christian school here, and the entire family are strong believers. I'm just really lost on this.

I know that anyone reading this doesn't know the family or AJ, but keep him and the family in your prayers. He's such a neat little kid.

Back to the land of the living

Finally. God, I hate being sick. I'm one of those people that rarely get sick, other than headaches and such, but when I get sick, I get pretty darn sick. I've still got a cough and a runny nose, but I feel one hundred percent better, so that's all that matters. I'll be up late tonight getting caught up on edits and such that I didn't do Thursday, Friday, yesterday, and today, since today we had a big family dinner for Palm Sunday up in South Bend. And dang it, my new little cousin wasn't there. :P My cousin Brian and his wife, Sarah, had their third, a girl named Rylee Faith, on Thursday. Which just so happens to be my mom and dad's wedding anniversary. =)

And speaking of anniversary's, Myles and I's four year anniversary is on Wednesday, March 20. Man, in some ways it feels like we've been together forever, but in other ways it just doesn't seem like that much time has passed. I feel like such a different person now than who I was when we met. He's the same, though. LOL Then again, he's ten years older than me, so when we met he was thirty-one and already set in his ways. I was a wide-eyed twenty-one-year-old that he could mold. LOL But man, it's going to be all confusing once we're married in October. We'll have a new anniversary and we'll have to add four and a half years to it. :P

I thought it had missed me...

But I was wrong. I got sick. I hate being sick. I never get sick, so when I do manage to catch something, I reallycatch something. It started yesterday morning and I ended up in bed by about 7:30. I got up and went to work, but left at about 11:45 to come home and sleep, since I got about 0 hours last night. It's hard to sleep when you can't breathe. Now, my neice is over since her mom is out of time and her dad is having a "business" meeting with Myles and our realtor friend. So yeah, I really just want to take a bunch of NyQuil and lay in bed, but I don't see that one happening for another few hours. And tomorrow morning we're heading up North for a family dinner on Sunday and my little brother's science fair at Notre Dame University tomorrow. And I'm sure I'll still be sick. Blech. God, I hate this. I can't get anything done since my head is in a fog.

Okay, off to medicate myself some more!!!

Ah, being caught up

Wow, I'm practically caught up with everything and damn, does it feel good. I've got all the edits done that I should have done, I only have a couple of submissions to read and a couple of revise and resubmit letters to write. Yes, a big sigh of relief is in order. I'll be getting ahead, and I've gotten into the groove of things, so I'll be able to take on more...hopefully, please, Angie, please? =) I'm even caught up at my day job, which is something nice, too. I was getting behind since I was editing at work, but now I'm just reading subs here, but I'm all caught up on those practically. LOL Soon I'll be left with nothing to do. *gulp* Nah, that won't happen. There's ALWAYS something to do, but that's good. That's how I like it.

Offered a contract on a book I really like yesterday. It's got a sexy cello player in it and the imagery in the book is frickin' awesome. Really loved it a lot. I'm anxious to start working on it. Hopefully my revise and resubmits go well, because I really love those books, too. =) And tonight, I think I will take the night off...well, part of it at least, and head over to my best friend's house for her Lia Sophia Spring catalog open house. I'll spend some time with friends and get to see my Samantha, plus, it'll give Myles some time to rock out on his guitar without me around to tell him to shut the damn door and turn it down so I can work. :) It'll be a good night. And to top it off, I'll get to come home and cuddle up with Myles to watch American Idol. It's the top twelve now, baby!

Man, I'm in a good mood today.

I'm off to get some more work done. Have a great day, y'all!

Not such a good night out

Well, I was all looking forward to going out last night and getting my drink on. That sooo did not happen for me. We got to "our" bar at around 8, our normal time. Early enough to get "our" table we like. When Myles and I walked in, the place was packed, which is really odd for only 8. We got the LAST table in the place. Turns out, they've been having a "Karaoke Idol" contest and last night was the finale. It had been made out into this big deal and tons of people were there for it. Ugh. That meant the whole night was taken up with that. At least I got to sing once (didn't know about the contest so I didn't enter). Jason / Fulk Daddy, my best friend's cousin who is the DJ there, needed a filler singer, so he popped my song in there, Alanis Morristte's "You Oughta Know" and had me fill the gap he had. Made me feel good...Jason said he needed a filler, but he needed someone to fill who could actually sing. :) So then the competition started, and man, there were just WAY too many people there. I don't do well with a shitload of people standing around me. Makes me really irritated. The bar was completely filled to capacity, standing room only. So I was getting irritated and antsy because of all the people, and since there were so many people in there smoking, Myles started to have trouble breathing. Yes, we've started smoking again, and even though we smoke, if he's in a huge cloud of smoke in a bar, it bothers him. So between that and my being irritated, we ended up leaving by 10. So we came home and cuddled in bed to watch some TV. Not as eventful of a night as I had hoped for, considering we don't get out too much since we've been working on saving money for the wedding and to pay off some credit cards we ran up when we moved into our current house. Ugh. Plus, we want to pay for the wedding in cash and not put any of it on credit cards. So, there's where we're at and why Tera gets to sit home all the time. Looks like this summer will be a meager shoe-shopping season for me. Yes, I have an obsession with cut sandals and heels. A major obsession. =)

Work work beer work work

That's pretty much what my weekend looks like. Oh, and some shopping tomorrow. I still have some Christmas gift certifcates left that I have to spend, and since we're going out tomorrow night I figured it'd be a perfect time to buy some new clothes. I've been out, but it's been ages since Myles and I were out together. I'm really looking forward to getting out tomorrow night. But other than going out tomorrow night, I'll be sitting here and getting editing done. :) And cleaning during breaks, of course. I've kept everything clean from last weekend, but since I'm a neat freak, there's always cleaning to be done. Right now, I think I'm going to take the evening to have a beer and relax in front of the TV before I start working my weekend away. :P

Shemar Moore

Criminal Minds is one of my fave shows and Shemar Moore is just about the hottest guy ever. I liked him in Young and the Restless (the only soap I watch), but I love him on Criminal Minds. He's just got the whole damn package going on. Yum!!

More writing/editing tips

1) -ly verbs.

These are one I run into quite a bit. I'm not saying NOT to use them, but use them sparingly. Especially if you have the following:

"Don't go!" she said angrily.
"Shut up!" he yelled back frustratedly.
"But I love you," she said lovingly.

I think you get the point. No good.

2) Dialogue tags.

Notice something else annoying in those three lines up there? Yeah, the whole he said/she said thing. Not every line of dialogue needs to say something. Leanr to let the dialogue speak for itself. If you have an exclamation point, do you really need to tell the reader that the character is yelling? If you have a question mark, do you really need to say "he asked"? No, you don't. When you do that, the reader skims over those or gets annoyed. You don't want readers skimming and you certainly don't want them annoyed. =) Action tags are much better and involve the reader much more.

Ah, a productive day

Today has been SERIOUSLY productive. I'm getting manuscripts formatted, edits done, and the house cleaned. Woo hoo! The house looks great...I'm finally starting to get some energy back after the lazy slump I've been in for the past few weeks. Plus, I woke up this morning to Myles going at it in his office. And no, get your minds out of the gutter, he was cleaning. His office usually looks like a pit, but oh my gosh it looks phenomenal right now. =) He done good! I'm so happy with him right now. We're going to go out here in a few minutes and pick up a new mat for My's desk area and a new frame for My's picture of the Ferrari that Christie Brinkley signed. Needless to say, I'm pleased with the events of the day. :) I'll be getting some more done tonight and tomorrow. I love having weekends like this where I feel like I've accomplished a lot. Tomorrow is the bedroom. =)

Hope everyone else has had a great day!