Accolades

The RITAs (awarded by the Romance Writers of America) are the authors' equivalent of the Oscars and the finalists were announced yesterday.

In the Best Traditional category we have talented and lovely Aussies like Barbara Hannay and Marion Lennox, alongside a newbie Fiona Harper, and Jackie Braun. Great to know the Romance series is alive and well. Good luck, ladies. Wish you could all win.

In writing news, I finished the final read-through of PICTURE PERFECT last night, so will send it off to my editor at the end of this week. Still waiting for revisions on my last Romance, so hoping to tackle those asap. Aiming to update my website this week too. Busy, busy, busy.

And for those interested in seeing how I revamped an old manuscript and turned it into my latest sale, PURCHASED FOR PLEASURE, visit the Pink Heart Society today where I've blogged about the process.

The final edit

Last night I started doing the final read-through of my next Modern Extra, PICTURE PERFECT, which is due next week.

Interestingly, I already thought I'd done the final edits but it's amazing how much you pick up after letting the manuscript sit for longer. Usually, I don't have that luxury with deadlines to meet and a host of other stuff to do but this one flew pretty quickly so has been sitting for a few weeks.

Mind you, nothing major but I tightened up words and phrases in the first 4 chapters, so I'll be interested to see what else I pick up for the rest of the manuscript.

This is the story where I didn't use my collage as much, though the more I read of this book the more I pick up on subtle nuances that were in the collage. Maybe I picked up a lot more from it than I thought?

The end...not quite!

As far as word counts, I find I'm usually just on the mark. Rarely do I go over which is why PICTURE PERFECT is proving to be such a surprise for me.

Last night, I hit the 60000 word mark, which would usually do me. However, my characters have loads more to say, an absolute first for me! I'm hoping to wind them up tonight before letting them rest and getting into the editing process.

Ally Blake has an amazing talent for writing over word count then doing slashing afterwards. I find it so hard to cut words that I hope I don't go too far over. Otherwise I'll be sending an SOS Ally's way!

So why the gorgeous island pic?

Because for this book I made another lovely collage but haven't used it half as much as the sheikh book, yet the words flowed anyway. Interesting?

That said, the collage gives me a really good feel for the story which I find important in the revising process, so maybe I'll get to stare at it a while longer. The weird thing is I loved my first collage so much I still haven't taken it down! So my entire pinboard is taken up with both collages. Then again, I haven't had revisions for the sheikh book yet so the collage might get another good workout yet.

When flying words come to a grinding halt

I got back into PICTURE PERFECT with a vengeance last night. Wrote over 5000 words in the blink of an eye.

Okay, so it's not quite as easy as that but sometimes those words just seem to fly and oh, do I love that feeling...

The interesting thing is I usually have a very clear idea of how my books will end, it's the middle stuff that's hardest. With this book, the middle scenes have flowed but I have no idea about the upcoming scenes!

Judd and Abby are on a plane leaving Sapphire Island bound for Sydney as we speak but Judd's game plan has changed and he's hanging around Sydney rather than travelling into the wild blue yonder as usual. He wants more than a friendship, Abby doesn't and they seem a bit stuck (read: the author is very stuck!!)

Will be interesting to see if inspiration strikes some time over the next few days. Usually, it happens at the oddest of times, like in the supermarket aisle or while dozing off for a nap, so here's hoping! The ending is so close...

A few days ago Ally Blake blogged about motifs in her writing, a piece I found fascinating. I've never noticed them in my own writing but strangely enough, frangipanis seem to be a recurring feature in PICTURE PERFECT. I adore frangipanis (they remind me of the many romantic trips I've done to Bali with hubby) and their fragrance is highly evocative for me.

Interesting how we have subtle themes running through our books sometimes without realising it...