Time Out for Travel

I'm off to see my CP Pam Mantovani today. We're writing, brainstorming new books, and attending our Georgia Romance Writers of America's Margie Lawson Workshop on the 26th of April. Pam and I have worked together for almost 4 years, but we met 6 years ago when she was the Overall Coordinator of the Unpublished Maggie Awards. I called her to ask a "I'm form challenged" question and we immediately hit it off. Then I finaled in the Maggie that summer and I went to the Moonlight & Magnolias Conference along with my dear friend and Critique Partner Sharon Wray.

I didn't win the Maggie that year, but I did win the jackpot in a bigger way. Though I was working with Sharon Wray and Karen Johnston via long distance critiquing, and they certainly made me a stronger writer as a result of our collaboration, neither of them wrote in my genre. I was in the market for a contemporary category series romance critique partner and it turned out that Pam was targeting the same publishing houses as me.

Over the next two years, we developed a strong rapport as writers and as people. I'd read some of her manuscripts and I knew this Maggie winning writer would make an excellent critique partner: if she'd generate more pages and be willing to take a chance on working with me. In January 2011 I drove out to Georgia to ask her to work with me.

She said yes.

And I hit the jackpot.

Through the days and months that have followed we've worked on multiple manuscripts together via long distance brainstorming on the phone, emailing documents back and forth for critiquing, and driving to and from each others' houses to work together. There's something special about the synergy that is created when creative minds share the same space.

We've grown as writers, pushed ourselves beyond our self-imposed limitations, and we've supported each other through the many ups and downs of being unpublished writers. Imagine how cool it was for both of us to sell within 6 weeks of each other.

It was very cool.

I believe Pam is a very gifted story teller. A master at pointing out the Picky Alerts. And I'm the lucky girl who gets to work with this Belle Books Debut Author.

Writing is often a solo enterprise, but if you open yourself up to the possibilities, you might just find wonderful companions along the way. I didn't walk away from my other CPs. Karen Johnston and I continued to exchange quick critiques and talked often about the industry and getting our product out to the market.

Sadly, Karen passed away from an inoperable brain stem tumor in March 2014. But I still feel her fierce and encouraging presence with me whenever I start getting scared. She was bold,  beyond strong, and she always made us believe we could do anything we put our minds to accomplishing.

Sharon and I also continue to  work together as friends and writing partners, but in a different way. We encourage each other with daily texts, we exchange information about the craft of writing, and we have exchanged manuscripts or partials for quick read throughs. We cheer each other on, and I'm blessed to know this sensitive, talented and dedicated woman both as a writer and as a dear friend.

So choose your writing companions carefully. Each one brings a different strength to your writing world. Karen taught me to be brave, Sharon teaches me to keep learning and growing as a writer, and Pam keeps me tethered to reality with her sage advice, wisdom, and empathy. I would not be the writer I am today without any of them.

So now I'm heading off to Georgia in my trusty little Ford Escape with my laptop in hand and my writing journals and brainstorming supplies tucked into my briefcase. I can't wait to get there!

See you all next week!

:)

CP Shenanigans: Pam Mantovani in the House!

I would not be where I am today as a writer if it weren't for my incredible relationship with Pam Mantovani. She's more than a critique partner, she's a friend dear to my heart. I've got other amazing writing friends and readers, but Pam is my primary partner in writing crime.

We met through the Georgia Romance Writers of America Moonlight & Magnolias Maggie Contest, which she chaired in 2009. I called to ask for help with their first ever online form and the rest is history. One Maggie final and five years later and we're sharing an incredible writing partnership.

Pam arrives today for one of our super charged critique partner weekends. We'll write, brainstorm, muddle our way through understanding technology together, and do it all over again. Three days to work together and encourage each other is a gift of time that I cherish. I only wish we could meet more often.

The key to a great critique partnership isn't just ability or talent, it's TRUST. I trust Pam Mantovani with my stories, the heart that I pour into them, and with ME. All of my vulnerabilities, highs and lows as a writer are entrusted to her.

This is where being a writer has been such a blessing to me. The friendships I've made with other like-minded souls. And Pam is one in a million.

Best of all, we get to share the "we sold" dream together. Pam Mantovani's debut novel COWBOY ON HER DOORSTEP releases from Belle Books in July 2014. If you love cowboys and romance, you'll love her story. Trust me. I've read it.

Are you in a critique partnership? If you're not a writer, who would you consider your best partner in fun and crime?

:)

Memories, Mayhem & Motivation

It's been a while since I've blogged. Frankly, I've been so busy this summer that my head is about to spin off my neck and what free time I've had has been spent doing the most important thing: writing. I've considered writing about my RWA National Conference experience, but there's no way to truly encapsulate how incredible that experience was for me.

Why? First I got to see so many friends and was inspired to go above and beyond my personal strengths as a writer. Second, I got to see friends who came all the way to see me and meet the writers. They had a blast and I really enjoyed spending time with them. Third, I sat at Lucky Table #55 where Eloisa James sat (and I was unable to speak to her because I was having a serious fan girl heart attack) and she won her first RITA. Fourth, I got to be a Golden Heart date with the awesome writer Gail Hart and we cheered on two RITA winners and two Golden Heart winners. Fifth, I was a Daphne date with Sharon Wray who won a Daphne and achieved highest overall score. Sixth, I was able to share in the best news ever:

My Critique Partner Pam Mantovani sold her first book to Belle Books at the National Conference.

Okay, that meant major screaming, a bit of crying, and lots of wine drinking to celebrate afterward. I cannot tell you how thrilled I was for her. We both sold within six weeks of each other. And we're both in the same boat. This is a dream come true and a great way to start the writing year.

But the writing has taken a serious hit because we've been so busy. The Conference definitely ate up a lot of time. The College Kid has been underfoot and quite frankly, if she's up and wants to spend time with me, I do. The Physicist has also been home more often and that has taken up time and impacted my ability to concentrate. Finally, the mayhem continues because we're gearing up to move the CK back to her college. There's a mattress set, a futon, a bookshelf, and an office chair in my bedroom. Her wing looks like a disaster area and needs serious gutting out. And there's a boatload of stuff stored in my attic and garage that we're moving to down south.

T-5 days till we hit the road. Loading the moving truck up on one day, driving down to the school the next, praying the key works on the condo door (don't ask), and moving her in. The following day we head to Hotlanta where we'll buy two chairs to replace the old love seat she's taking with her as well as to spend time with my CP and the Craftsman.

Then it's turnaround and head home again.

So all this stuff has impacted my motivation. I have to force myself to write a little every day on a story that I've pretty much vacillated between loving, hating, wanting to toss it away, wanting to save it for no other reason than for myself, and then I go through it all over again. Why am I revising this story? I have a request for it. I don't know if it will fly through the backdoor and succeed where others have failed. I don't know if it's going to pass the strict guidelines of this particular publisher's house and I have another set of stories to write that I know have to be written for the contract I signed in May. Still, this story is easier to deal with than writing a series prequel and a sequel, so I persist in writing it.

Bit by bit. There isn't a lot of time. Just a little. But I keep telling myself that if I only get a half an hour logged, it's better than nothing. So blogging? Well that has taken a nosedive, but I've decided to try to get one blog in a week and I'm shooting for a Wednesday Weekly blog.

Let's see if I stay on track.

How do you cope through the busy days of summer when you have projects that must be completed?