I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but WHEEEE!!! First place in the Orange Rose Contest for Unpublished Authors. I guess it’s time to go to Disneyland! enter the Golden Heart….or maybe send out a query letter or two. Entering contests is less intimidating. Maybe I could pull out some of my teeth instead.

In other news, I finished Meljean Brook’s THE IRON DUKE and was quite pleased. Go forth and read it!

My baby is six months and still not sleeping through the night. I read a book once that advocated writing before you’ve really woken up in the morning. The author said that you should write before you check email or read the newspaper or drink your coffee, that your creative mind is the most active when you are still half asleep. Perhaps this means I am in a constantly creative state these days, but all I feel is tired. I have stories buzzing around my head, but no energy to put fingers to keyboard.

The 2010 Orange Rose Contest finalists have been announced, and I am happy to report that HEARTS OF DARKNESS is among them. The entries were judged by three published judges, and the top ten scoring entries, regardless of category, were selected as finalists. Entries now go to two as-yet-unnamed editors for the final round of judging. This contest judged the first 50 pages, as opposed to the usual 25. I’m glad that my difficult third chapter, which I’ve rewritten five billion times, is up to snuff. It’s nice to have good writing news in the midst of my writing dry spell. Motherhood has not been kind to my free time, and my 3.5 month old dislikes naps. Ah, for time to write again! I miss it.