Amazon Connect

I just found out about and signed up for Amazon Connect, and now I have my very own blog on Amazon.com. Seems like a really neat idea. So far I’ve only posted some introductory comments, but I’ve added my upcoming signings to the event calendar, and I’m hoping that whoever happens to surf by will drop me a note. Hopefully I’ll be ‘verified’ soon as the true author of Unladylike Pursuits, and then there’ll be a link on my Amazon book page to my blog and vice versa. I’m anxious to see how it will look and work.

LOST...and Contest

My reading has definitely lightened in the past week or so. My husband was given the complete first season of Lost on DVD for Christmas, and we are both mesmerized by it. The concept is really quite ingenious and the writers’ success at building suspense is very impressive. For any of you who aren’t watching or don’t know the concept of the show, I’ll give you a brief summary without giving anything away. A plane bound for LA from Sydney goes off course, gets ripped apart, and then crashes on an unknown island. The first episode opens as one of the passengers wakes up disoriented on the jungle floor…and then sees a Golden Retriever gazing at him. From that point on, the show is comprised of a mix of on-island experiences and interactions and flash-backs from the castaways’ lives before the crash. And these are some troubled, suspicious characters. At one point, I said to my husband, “Do you think this is a typical assortment for a plane-full of passengers?” Kinda creeps you out to think about it. Everyone I know is so…average. Or at least I think they are…who really knows? Anyway…we’re hooked, and we’re way behind—Lost is in like its third or fourth season I think. A few more CD’s and we’ll be at the end of Season 1, and I’ll have to get my hands on the other seasons. Luckily I’ve been watching 24 from the beginning…

If you get a chance…come visit my site at www.AlyssaGoodnight.com and enter my contest for a lovely pearl and Swarovski crystal bracelet. To enter you have to read the excerpt from my debut romance novel.

Ida B Elbowed Her Way In

Had to put off reading A Regency Invitation for a few more days...Ida B....and Her Plans to Maximize Fun, Avoid Disaster, and (Possibly) Save the World by Katherine Hannigan finally lured me in. I see the book, a Texas Bluebonnet Pick, all the time when I take my kids to the library and browse the picture books looking for some gems, and I've always admired the cover. I think I have a thing for apples on books because I bought Jennifer Crusie's Welcome to Temptation just for the glossy red apple on the cover, and I've been a devoted reader of hers ever since. The apple turned out to be a good pick this time too.

I checked out Ida B. and started reading it right there in the library, standing beside the computer while my little one played Star Wars. I was immediately hooked. The language is mesmerizing...so much so that, as a writer, you almost wish you could write like that...even though it's probably not the way to go for a romance novel. The book just seemed so carefree...the way Ida B could talk to the trees, and the brook, the way she was determined, and spunky, and a good hard thinker. The book made me sad and happy and wistful for a childhood in the Mid West. I'd love to live in the trees, near an orchard, near a brook, on a plot of land far, far away from a subdivision. Maybe someday.

Thunder on the Right and the Incomparable Mary Stewart

Finished my first book of 2006—Thunder on the Right.
And while I didn’t precisely remember the plot, I already knew I wouldn’t be disappointed. For one thing, it’s Mary Stewart, and for another, I’d already read the book (more than a few times) a few years ago. The book was trademark Mary Stewart—glowing, vivid descriptions that not only pull you inexorably into the story but go a long way towards convincing you that she was there the first time to see it all. For me, Mary Stewart is classic romantic suspense, and while she deals with a wide variety of unpleasant subjects, she only touches on them, glossing over any gruesome details that might leave your mind lingering in that disturbed mental state long after the novel’s been put down. The romance itself tucked neatly into each of her stories is handled lightly but is beautifully developed and written. She uses words that, from most of us, would sound ridiculous, but coming from her, they seem lyrical, poetic, and perfect.
Ah…to find another Mary Stewart…to be another Mary Stewart. I think I’ll simply have to cherish my library of Ms. Stewart’s books, re-read them from time to time, always to be awed anew.

Next up: A Regency Invitation by Nicola Cornick, Joanna Maitland, and Elizabeth Rolls.

Happy New Year!

A member of my RWA chapter would add…*blows tootie horns* *throws confetti*, and I think it adds the perfect touch here…

Well, I’m hoping 2006 is extraordinarily productive. I haven’t really gotten myself into a writer zone yet, and I’ve been writing for five and a half years now! I only have about two hours a day to write, except on those days (Tues/Thurs) when my little one goes to Mother’s Day Out. Then I have about six. But I also have to deal with email, promotion, the occasional household chore, the occasional errand, and the occasional little task my husband sets for me. Sure these are mostly minor, but added up, they take time, and I’m not one of those people who can just sit down and get started. I don’t write just to get something down on paper—I want to actually be proud of the first revision, or it bugs me. Sure I change things and cut whole sections out later, and revisions go on forever with me, but I really wanna like it the first time too. I sit and pour over possible dialog nuances and whether I’ve added too much introspection, but then it all gets checked, double-checked, and triple-checked later. So really, I should just write and leave it to get edited in the second round. And I’m gonna try to do that. I’m gonna try not to surf around on the web for that perfect bag or perfect book, I’m gonna try not to get hung up on other people’s blogs, and I’m gonna try to update mine more regularly.

Thank goodness I’m not contracted and don’t have deadlines right now because I’m not ready to churn a book out in just a couple of months—I’m not properly disciplined. Plus, I really love to read too, and I’m a slow reader. I’ve decided this year, for each book I get through, I’m going to make a note of what I liked about the author’s style. Maybe knowing what stood out for me will help me write better, cleaner, and tighter.

January 2, 2006: Resolutions Made. Countdown begins till they’re broken…
Current read: Thunder on the Right by Mary Stewart (a re-read, and a favorite author of mine)