Forces at Work...

Really weird things happen when I write. I tend not to plot; I just have an idea and I sit and write what the characters show me in my head. This means, of course, when I'm done with the first draft, I often have to go back and fix the beginning so it works with the rest of the novel. But strange things happen in the course of writing. I get these ideas that just fit and make a beautiful layer in the text. I don't know how I do it. I call this Magic.

So I was writing this morning and the Magic struck. I had to take a brief break to post here (and to take passport forms to the Post Office and get the dog chipped), but the Magic is waiting for me at my keyboard. I love the Magic. And it seems to be striking often in my WIP (work-in-progress, doncha know).
--Gabi

Books I'm reading now:
Mommy for a Minute by Judy Christenberry
The Leopard Prince by Elizabeth Hoyt
The Italian Prince's Pregnant Bride by Sandra Marton (Gotta love the title)
And yes, I have finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for the second time. And I so love JK Rowling for her Dateline interview last night where she answered some of the questions I had.

It's Just A Number...

Age that is. It's just a number. So on Saturday I did something I haven't done since High School. I pulled an all nighter. By 7:00AM, I had finished HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS, so I went to bed. I couldn't fall asleep for another half an hour, then I woke up at 10:30 AM. I admit taking another nap in the afternoon, but I went to bed at 11:00 that evening and woke up just fine--OK, a little later--on Sunday morning. My point is I was having fun and I didn't want it to stop. One would think that someone of MY AGE would know better, but I realized I had nothing else planned, I wasn't hurting anyone, so why not stay up all night and have fun? Age has nothing to do with it. Now if only my knees would have that same philosophy.... --Gabi Books I'm reading now: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (finished and now I'm reading it for the second time--first time through fast for the plot, second time through to cherish the writing) Harry Potter and the Prisoner and Azkaban (still reading it aloud to the youngest child) All Night Long by Jayne Anne Krentz And I'm writing...

Harry Potter, Harry Potter

It's Friday. You know what that means. Tonight I start to read the last book. I'm so excited. Saw the last film. It was OK, but it just didn't have the richness of the book. Of course few movies do, and the film was good, but you just can't compare the two.
To all those spoil sports out there who "leaked" the DEATHLY HALLOWS" ahead of time, you are pathetic. It won't spoil anything for the rest of us who love the fun, and the attempt to spoil the fun, the anticipation, is just, well, pathetic. I pity you for not being able to enjoy as the rest of us do. You're not being an individual, someone who doesn't follow the "rules", you're just being obnoxious.

So, I'll be reading for the next day. Leave me alone.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading now (Just because Harry Potter 7 is coming out tonight doesn't mean that I'm not reading other things up until the release):
Finished Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (It is definitely a GUY'S book)
The Secret Passion of Simon Blackwell by Samantha James
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling
And starting tonight; Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

I'm ba-ack

The conference is over and I've returned to a house that is messy/dirty, and a work area that is cluttered. Usually I can overlook the clutter, but I'm feeling trapped by all the stuff. Just before I left, I saw an Oprah program on decluttering one's life and I tossed out several pieces of clothing that I really don't know why I still had. So now onto the writing space.

The RWA conference did do one thing for me. I've returned inspired to write. But it's not the usually uplifting sort of inspiration. It's an angry, pissed off sort of feeling. As if I want to prove all the nay-sayers wrong. So I'm isolating myself this week (as much as one can isolate oneself when one has a family) and writing. Because in the end, it's about the work, and if one piece doesn't work, you have to have another ready to go in its place.

--Gabi

Books I'm reading:
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (I didn't take this on the trip with me)
The Unfortunate Miss Fortunes by Jennifer Crusie, Eileen Dreyer, and Anne Stuart
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (and you KNOW what's happening on Friday at midnight)

And I'm off again...

This time to Dallas. The Romance Writers of America's National Conference is next week. Don't get me wrong. I love my family, but five days of being just a writer is fabulous. Even if I have to dress up more than I usually do. Editors and agents to impress, you know.
--Gabi

What I'm reading now:
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (this is such a GUY book)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (see my previous posts)
and I'm writing a lot!

The Road Traveled

Notice I didn't write "less traveled." I just returned from a two week trip which put between 4K and 5K miles on my car. College tours. For the twins. And I learned a few things. Like road trips are overrated. I would rather arrive at a place and explore it for a week. Have a chance to unpack for a while, settle into the hotel room (as much as one can settle into a hotel room), and look at the details of a place. We saw lots of new places and interesting things, but we rushed past Civil War battle sites and an important Revolutionary War battle site because we didn't have the time to stop and look. Now I know the goal of this trip was to visit nine different campuses, so we had to keep to a schedule, but part of me regrets not having time in each place we stopped at. I didn't get to see the bats in Austin, spend an evening listening to music in the French Quarter, visit Margaret Mitchell's house in Atlanta, tour the cute village of Chapel Hill, spend more time at the Smithsonian (although the Museum of American History is closed right now), go antiquing in the Shenandoah Valley, or hear country music in Nashville. But I did get to see alligators on a swamp tour, eat some jambalaya, oysters, and dirty rice, and see my favorite painting in the whole world, Frederich Church's El Rio de Luz at the National Gallery. I even got to see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution at the National Archives.

Of course, if the girls get into the colleges they want, I'll have the chance to visit those spots again.
--Gabi

Books I'm reading read (or have read recently):
The Secret Diaries of Miss Miranda Cheever by Julia Quinn (which I left on the road for someone to discover)
Cover of Night by Linda Howard (with which I did the same)
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtry (I didn't know they could make paperbacks that size)
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by JK Rowling (still reading it to the youngest kid)
The Trouble with Valentine's Day by Rachel Gibson
Tongue in Chic by Christina Dodd
Master of Dragons by Angela Knight
Atlantis Rising by Alyssa Day