Tales From an Amateur Editor

July 3rd, 2009

The book has pretty much consumed me this week.  I finally finished going through the chapters the three agents requested.  The wizard’s next to me now, magicking up the last few pages before sending it out.  But now the real race comes(we hope), I have to finish editing the whole book before one of them wants to read the rest!  Um.

It’s nerve wracking picking apart someone’s work like this, but I feel like I’m getting better at it and feeling more confident in my critiques.  And he doesn’t seem to get too crushed, as long as I just mark the things I find wrong and don’t tell him about them.  The last chapter was pretty heavily marked.  I have a purple pen.  I like to think that softens the blow somehow.

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I think we both need a break.  I’m starting this holiday early, we’re headed to the pool.

The Wordy Wizard

June 29th, 2009

I’ll write more when I catch up around here, but I wanted to brag.  My husband pitched his book to three agents at the conference and each one requested a submission.  One wants the first 3 chapters, another - 20 pages, another - 50 pages!  He rocks.  Big time.

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Don’t quote me on this

June 25th, 2009

It’s time for the next video drawing!  I know it’s late, but I’ve tried to make it up to you, I promise.  Another afternoon at the lake, almost without the wind this time, until the very end…right before I get cut off in the goodbye.  We’ll get it right one of these days.

So congratulations!!!  Word is being sent to get your particulars.  This was such a fun giveaway, I enjoyed so much reading all of your favorite quotes, some have been added to my own collection.  Thanks so much, to everyone who entered, I hope to see you back next month!

“The next best thing to being clever is being able to quote someone who is.” - Mary Pettibone Poole

Tomorrow morning, we’ll be on our way to Austin for the writer’s conference.  The wizard’s getting mighty nervous, but he’ll do well, he’s excellent in these types of social situations.  Me, not so much, I’ll be hanging back with my Mother-in-law.  We don’t get spend a lot of time on our own, so I’m looking forward to that.  But I’m hoping we’re back to normal life around here by Monday.

Fairy Tale Treasure

June 22nd, 2009

Once upon a time there was a fair maiden, wandering through her day blithely unaware of what lay ahead.  Then, in a loud rush, she was run down by the crazy train.  BAM!  It came out of nowhere, completely destroying the quiet peace that she had been enjoying.  Knocked flat on her face, she was pained and unhappy and wondered if anything would ever brighten her mood again.

But moments later, after picking herself up and brushing herself off, she recieved a message from a fairy princess, going by the name of Sassyshades, leading her to a secret treasure that had the power to make her smile.  And her day went happily ever after.

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“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” - Lewis Carroll

Thank you so much, Sassyshades, I so needed that dose of whimsy!  And definitely check her out, her lampshades are fabulous.

Happy Daddydave’s Day

June 22nd, 2009

Today’s post is a gushing personal one, if you’d like to skip ahead to my giveaway, CLICK HERE.

I think most of my earliest memories are of me and my grandfather.  We spent a lot of time at my grandparents when I was very little and I remember every single trip to run errands would turn into an adventure, we’d come to an intersection and it would be time for me to choose a direction and this could go on for a while.  The day I learned to count from 10 to 11, he says we drove around for hours and I made it past 4000.  And almost every adventure ended near the horses, I had named them all and needed to say hi(there were still a lot of little farms and ranches in North Dallas then).

Then in high school, when I moved in with him and Mimi, he had just had his knee replaced, so all his recuperating time we spent together, we’d walk together, we got hooked on Win Ben Stein’s Money and together we turned Tetris into a very competitive sport.  He’s the greatest person I’ve ever known and I’m proud to say I take after him.

We just had a great dinner with him and my grandmother, lots of reminescing.  Perhaps not in part because of the mad hunt I went on at their house, trying to find my very favorite picture ever, one of me and Dadave when I was a tiny baby.  I searched through seven photo albums and moved their bed to look behind it when Dadave stopped me and said, “Have you looked everywhere?  Like, my hand?”  Well, it was high up and he’s much taller than me.  But he does know everything.

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I just hope everyone out there has someone like him in their life and that they took today to celebrate them, even if they’re not your father.  I think it’s important.

“We have the special babies in our family and the most special DaddyDave to protect them and help keep them happy when such occasions arise, that us(the real parents) are out of pocket.” - Kelly Davis

Today’s quote is a more personal one, it’s taken from the diary my mother started when she got sick.