not a real blog

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Feeling like I should blog today, but I really don’t have anything valuable to say. Since it’s 10:35 pm, I guess I’m pushing it with the ‘today’ comment.

I know, my lack of words is a shock to those of you who know me. Go ahead; take a moment to write this date down. January 7, 2008: Mel Francis was speechless.

Hah.

I really didn’t say I was speechless. I said I had nothing valuable to say. There is a difference. I can talk all damn day about nothing if I need to.

Today I spoke to both my fab agent and my fab editor. That was pretty cool.

Ian started his stint at Sylvan Learning Centers today. I’ll let you know how that goes.

Rader said his tongue looked normal all day. I think maybe he was disappointed that it no longer looked like Leatherface. I for one, am relieved.

Fishdog is going to Oxford this week. You guys take him out for a beer and get him on the soccer fields.

Oh! I got notification that I get to judge the RITAs this year. Now that is pretty cool. My first year as a “Published Author” so I get to judge the published books. Rockin’!

Hm. That’s really it, unless you wanna hear about the lawn guys who spent 2 hours next door blowing leaves and it was loud as shit because it was 75 degrees here and we had our windows open and the damn dogs barked at them the entire time.

Yeah, that was fun.

Love y’all. Maybe I’ll have a real blog tomorrow.

riding (writing) the high

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I started writing a little bit in 2000. My friend, Cholsted, was there when it happened. We were both working at Alltel and I had started this story that made it to 3 chapters but it is now defunct. Cholsted (nickname, not real name) read my stuff and was really encouraging. (that story really needed work but I did love my characters) Fishdog and I moved to Oxford, and I started taking the writing more seriously in 2001 and by 2004 I was bitten and smitten by the writing bug. I knew this was what I was meant to do. Now, I write full-time.

I tell you all this as a set up.

Since I wrote that first, now defunct story, I have only had a few days of uber-writing success–where when I sit down to write, the story flows like it was meant to–and I just can’t stop. One time, I had written 25 pages, and my computer battery died…and I couldn’t recover the work. So, I plugged my computer back up, and rewrote those pages. It was one of the hardest days I had ever had…and one of the most successful.

Yesterday, was another one of those successes. It was amazing and tiring and by the time it was over, I was absolutely spent. I honestly had a hard time moving from my chair–of course, after 14 hours at the computer, with very few breaks, it tends to be hard to move.

My editor sent me my revision letter on Friday. She has such an amazing eye, I honestly got so lucky when she picked my story because she absolutely gets this story. Anyway, I was reading the letter and something wasn’t quite right, but I couldn’t put my finger on it. She was suggesting I add another vampire character to up the suspense…but I kept thinking another character would change the entire story and I wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to do.

Then the right thing hit me in the head like a ton of bricks. I couldn’t believe that I hadn’t done this from the beginning! It was so obvious! And it would address the need for a little more suspense and it would make the book soooo much better. So I started revising…20 hours total: 5 hours Friday night and 14 on Saturday. By 9:30 last night, I had my revised story. And I was energized and exhausted.

Today, I’m printing out the story and reading it from front to back. I’m going to tweak and smooth and send it to Maria’s daughter to read. And hopefully, by the end of this week, I’ll be sending this off to fabulous editor…BEFORE my deadline.

Can you see me smiling?

more fun with google

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Seriously, it’s a little frightening what words will bring the search engines to my blog:

  • freeballing: poor Rader. He’s been immortalized on my blog. Well, at least he’ll have something to talk about in therapy.
  • cnbc melissa francis: Humph.
  • milf little rock: not yet. but I’m a MILF-in-training.
  • billy ray cyrus oldest son: huh?
  • chuck norris kills more people than cancer: And he can’t stop D-Mac either
  • naughty blues clues: one of my all time favorite confessions.
  • little rock teacher book author howard stern: Um. I have no idea…
  • lottery math: in which I fantasize about winning the powerball.
  • maria geraci: my bff brings me readers.
  • lick nipple: again, poor rader.
  • no dirty bitches: Oh, there are some dirty bitches here. I promise.
  • dog lick nipple: not on this blog, buddy.
  • how to get rid of puffy eyes after you cried and slept: no idea. have you tried cucumber slices?

I’ve been up and at it since 6:15 this morning. I’m doing a 2nd round of revisions, changing up a storyline and adding a couple of scenes. Bite Me! is gonna rock your socks when it’s done.

it’s vajority night

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Okay, there’s a new word out, according to the Urban Dictionary.

Vajority:

The majority of women.

As in:
The vajority will vote for Hillary in 2008.

So, thanks to Feisty’s fabulous suggestion, I’m taking vajority to the HNL ( ‘hole nubba lebel).

From now on, we’re no longer going to have Girl’s Night Out. Oh no. It’s Vajority Night.

C’mon ladies! Sing with me.

It’s Vajority Night, and I’m feeling right
Oh yes it’s Vajority Night, oh what a night. (oh what a night)

searches

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Okay, I can’t help myself. Here are the latest searches that brought a few unsuspecting folks to my blog:

  • melissa francis: Not me, i’m sure. Wonder how she’s gonna feel when people start googling her looking for me and my awesome books?
  • youngest nipples: nipple licking yes, we have that at my blog. youngest nipples? not so much.
  • fannys with big things up them: Um. Big fanny. Yes. Things up my big fanny? No. But thanks for stopping by.
  • drama preparation: there is no real preparation for our drama. It just happens and you either get an encore or you get booed to your room.
  • melissa francis husband: I know they want the reporter here…but I am still curious as to WHAT they want to know about her hubby. Maybe I’ll google it…
  • melissa francis hot: Yes. yes. I know. Thanks.
  • my hanes her way: hmmmm.
  • what to do on spare time: When you figure that out, let me know, mkay?
  • mel francis blog: Yeah! Looking for ME!
  • 70s ranch houses massachusetts: never lived in Massachusetts, but I have almost always lived in 70s ranch style
  • camel clutch: Huh. Camel toe I would expect. Camel clutch? Is that a purse? or a wrasslin’ hold?

the sound of silence

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Well, except for my neighbor’s dogs…

The kids are at school.

I’ve already been to the gym.

Fishdog is at school for Lunchroom duty. (LOL)

And now, I’m going to write.

I love starting a new story–it really is my favorite part of writing because anything goes. No Rules; just Write. It’s fun to discover new characters, find their voice and discover the voice of the book.

So, I’m going to write on Back to Blue until I get word from my editor on Bite Me! And I’ll enjoy meeting these new people…and I’ll probably really like them until about page 100 when the writing gets tough. Funny how that always seems to happen.

go back to school!

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Okay, normally when the kids are on winter break, Fishdog and I are at work during the day. For the last 7 years, the boys were either with a friend, at home with a sitter, or when they got old enough, they were at home by themselves. We would call and check on them and come home a few times a day to make sure the house hadn’t burned down.

All was right in the world.

This year, Fishdog and I are working from home. First of all, we’re trying to adjust to being at home all day together. It’s not been difficult really, because he’s downstairs, I’m upstairs, and we only see each other when we make an effort. Fishdog does seem to have a problem with stopping work. He has always been a bit of a workaholic, but he tended to come home around 7 most nights and if he needed to go back to work, he wouldn’t until after the kids go to bed. Now that his office is in the house, he seems to have lost that ability to leave the office. That might end up being a problem eventually….but that is NOT the point of this post. The kids are.

They have been home for 2 weeks now and we’ve been shut up in the house with them. It was rainy for several days, and now it’s bitterly cold. They won’t go outside! And they are driving us insane!

The funny thing is, I was convinced they went back to school on Monday, so I have been counting down the days. Fishdog said he thought they went back the 3rd, which is tomorrow, but I was convinced it was the 7th.

Thank God I was wrong. They go back tomorrow. They aren’t at all pleased about this fact, but I am jumping for joy. I need my routine back; especially since I have one more (small, I hope) round of revisions to do on Bite Me!

Go back to school, my little ones, so I can tolerate your annoying little asses sweet smiling faces again.

no resolutions, only goals.

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I may regret posting this publicly but here goes. This is my checklist for 2008.

  • Read 50 books.
  • Lose 50 lbs.
  • Finish writing Love Sux
  • Write at least 2 YA Proposals
  • Write at least 2 adult proposals (I cannot control what I sell, but I can control how hard I try)
  • Complete new website (ahem, Fishdog….)
  • Attend 1 writing related conference. (may not be RWA National. Depends on when we sell the house in Oxford)
  • Write 5 days a week.
  • Take a vacation with Fishdog. Just us.

My intention is to post updates and mark off the checklist when I complete each item. What are your goals? Resolutions? Or are you in the ‘fuck it. live and let live’ camp?

Last night’s soiree (pics in post below) at Birdrunner’s place was great. I met her family and discovered her sister Kate reads my blog. (or is it Cate? Never got around to proper name spelling in our conversations. Of course, if Kate had realized she’d be mentioned in my blog, she might’ve told me her name was Marvin. I can spell Marvin.) Too bad Stinkydog wasn’t there. Sorry to disappoint, but there wasn’t one drunk in the group. Kinda disconcerting actually. No fun drunk pics. Oh well.

For those of you wondering, yes, I made it to midnight. Barely. I was zombie-like and talking nonstop to keep myself awake.

Happy New Year guys. Maybe I’ll be witty and fun in 2008 and totally worth reading.

Or not. Whatever. Just shut up and read anyway.