Friday Funny

Oooo...this one may be even funnier! Our troops in Afghanistan performing Lady GaGa!

Telephone Remake @ Yahoo! Video

Friday Funny

A little Lady GaGa as performed by On The Rocks for your Friday Funny.

Gimme A Call

Gimme A Call by Sarah Mlynowski, one of my favorite authors and good friends is out today!



This book is fab! I pre-ordered mine weeks ago. Senior in high school Devi drops her cell phone in a fountain and voila the only person she can call? Her younger high school self.

I love this premise.

And I have to admit, I've been asking myself this question all week. If I could call my high school self what would I tell her?
Seriously...what?

I have a list. My top ten;

1. Wait. Just wait, you are reallllly hormonal. So wait.

2. Do not throw a party at the Bandy's house, they find out.

3. Don't get the beer at the party after you lay out on the lake all day...you pass out in front of the cop.

4. You're not fat, enjoy it.

5. Be nicer to your friends, family, and little brother.

6. Get good grades. It's worth it and you can, school is easy for you.

7. The home life? It gets better. Years later...but it does.

8. Be nicer to David H. He's really a great guy.

9. Spend more time writing. Consider an MFA and a JD.

10. Oh yeah, and Pat P? Definitely not worth the tears.

Great idea. Great book. Now go buy it. xomm

Good Morning Monday

Good morning Monday! I find myself struggling to get to work on this sunshiny southern California morning. The sky is bright blue, their is a warm breeze, the temperature will hover around perfect all day and yet, these are normal events in LA and not the reason for my distraction.

I am frustrated.

I am working on another rewrite of a manuscript that I've now worked on for what seems like forever. The story feels flat. The tone is off. There isn't enough funny. And I am starting to loathe the process.

This frustration with my WIP happens every time for me and to nearly ever writer I know. There is a moment (usually several) where I just don't like my WIP (work in process). I've found, that these moments, happen just before I crack through to something that makes a scene, a chapter, even a sentence better. There are days when I pace around my writing room, muttering and pulling my hair feeling as if all that comes out of my fingers are reams of slop, destined to be cut or burned.

And a whole lot of it is slop. But some of it isn't. I guess the tricky bit is knowing the difference. That, and accepting this is my process. I gnash my teeth. I get irritable. I hate what I've written. I vow never to put pen to paper again (or finger to keyboard). Basically I act like a horrible toddler on a terror all within the privacy of my writing room. Once this is complete. I write. I do the work. And usually what comes out...well it may be bad at first, but I can edit it. I can mold it. I can work with it. I can, if I just sit down and do my job, make it better.
xomm

Friday Funny

Why I love Jon Stewart. I only wish he did the network nightly news.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
South Park Death Threats
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

Love Your Mother

Happy Earth Day!

Filling Up With Words

I write every day. Well, mostly every day. There are days where I sit and stare at my computer screen. There are days when I forget to turn off the internet and I cruise the web as if an addict looking for some sort of fix. But, for the most part, unless I am traveling, I try to write every day.

This is my job.

On the days I consider skipping out or cutting or being lazy I always ask myself, if someone else paid me to go to an office would I take a vacation day today? Would I call in sick? If the answer is no, I show up here, at the computer.

But in order to write everyday, I must fill up with words. Lots of them.

In the past week I've finished three books.

Olive Kitteridge by Elizabeth Strout



You Suck by Christopher Moore



The Next Best Thing by Kristan Higgins



A disparate mix to be sure. But the one common factor with regards to these three books is that they are each very good. These books, are books in which each author can be happy with, proud of, and know that their readers will enjoy. Yes, one is a Pulitzer, one is a mainstream horror/comedy and one is a romance but each is lovely.

Well written. Great language. Intriguing characters.

A read, that once finished, I felt was time well spent. Because, isn't that what every author strives to do? Hopefully, our readers, no matter what genre we write in, when they finish with the book, take a small breath and say 'that was a good story', or 'that was worth my time' or 'I'm glad I read that.'

And if I need to fill up with words, I'd rather have them be well-written ones.

xoMaggie

Ellen Meister's Contest

In preparation for the release of The Other Life next year, my fellow GCC'er Ellen Meister author of The Smart One and Secret Confessions of The Applewood PTA has a contest going at her site.

Sign up for Ellen Meister's mailing list and you could win a $25 gift card!

Ellen Meister has a book coming out next year and she wants to keep readers abreast of the news. So if you sign up for her mailing list now, you will automatically be entered in a drawing for a $25 amazon.com gift card.

Just click here, fill out the form, and remember to click through when you get the confirmation email.

Ellen only sends out a few updates a year, so you won't be bombarded. Plus, you'll get to hear about Ellen's breakthrough novel, THE OTHER LIFE (Putnam/2011), which is already garnering great early buzz.

And while I wait...

I have a script to rewrite. Or, I should say, WE have a script to rewrite. The man with the orange highlighter and his partner, the Big Russian gave us notes. Good notes. Again...a theme?? Or just a way of life if you are a writer. Since pressing the send button on the email to which my classic romance manuscript was attached I've been working on incorporating notes into the latest script.

Love the script.

Love the bird scene.

I must finish my pass this weekend, so that Mike can take his pass. And then hopefully we can keep the German aka the man with the orange highlighter and the Big Russian happy.

xoMaggie

Classic Romance

Dear reader, you remember this little contest (I say little with my tongue firmly entrenched in my cheek) I entered last year. The judges made me runner up. I was shocked, surprised and thrilled. But here's the thing...I entered one chapter. One. And one chapter does not a book make.

Soon after the announcement I spoke with Bryony Green, who is beyond brilliant, and she gave me some fab notes on my one chapter. I incorporated her notes and continued to write. Once I finished three chapters, I forwarded them to Bryony. I have to say, it is a brilliant experience to email and discuss bits of a manuscript with an editor, especially one as astute as Bryony. I wish a similar experience for every writer. Bryony responded with notes (are you seeing a theme.) Notes I incorporated into the first three chapters and then continued writing the rest of the book.

Well, the rest of the book is finished. I wrote. I edited. I rewrote. I polished. I had Beta readers read. I edited some more. I rewrote. And now...well now I've gone and done it! I pushed send on my email and the manuscript is gone. Gone! The Billionaire's Proud Mistress, my humble attempt at Classic Romance, is now safely in the hands (errr, the email que) of a fabulous editor.

Now the worst part. I wait. Wait, darn it, (fingers crossed) for the call.

The Genie on My Shelf

I've placed a shelf above my desk. For my genie to sit while I write. Perhaps the below video will put to rest the doubts you now have about my sanity... (Just NOW? Now you question my sanity?) The writer cackles maniacally...