I got this meme from Sylvia. She’s Pisces. I’m Capricorn:

Capricorn is one of the least highly sexed signs. Many Capricorns can, and do, do without sex altogether, as other areas of their lives are much more important to them. Some are embarrassed by it, and many are old-fashioned and traditional in their preferences. The majority lead perfectly happy sex lives, but they need to be in a solid and trusting relationship before they will enjoy making love. The thought of casual sex horrifies them, as does anything even remotely ‘unusual’. That said, the Capricorn sense of self-perversity will sometimes lead them into doing the very things they don’t like, in order to dislike them even more. Partners need to understand Capricorn’s sexual motives, which are not always clear. Capricorn women flourish in a relationship with an understanding and relaxed sexual partner who can draw them out of themselves, but suffer in a partnership with an over-demanding lover. Capricorn men often feel under pressure to ‘perform’, and this is the sign most likely to suffer, in either sex, from psychological sexual problems. With the right partner, however, both sexes have a wonderfully dry sense of humour, which leads them to explore new positions with a text-book in one hand and a large grin all over their faces.

What’s your sign?

I don’t have to work Friday, so I’m looking forward to a long weekend. Of course, I’d like to get some writing done. I’m hoping to accomplish several other things as well, including an article, author profile, and Cobblestone Press blog entry. If I’m lucky, I’ll enjoy some relaxation time too.

I received my editor assignment for Between Floors. It’s a different editor than I had before, but I’m sure things will go fine. Edits probably won’t begin for another few weeks. I have plenty to keep me occupied in the meantime.

I’m thinking ahead to other projects I want to finish in 2006. I will set some goals in the next few weeks–maybe I’ll post them in the sidebar to help me be accountable.

One of my goals will be to write more exciting blog entries. LOL!

The Seventh Sense continues to move along. I’ve written almost a third of it, although I’m not sure what the final word count will be. Today I am close to finishing my outline for it, so I know more about the direction of the story. That’s incredibly helpful for me, especially with the suspense thread. I finally know who the villain is.

I’m looking forward to writing several upcoming scenes, and there are some interesting challenges ahead, too.

I received some good feedback regarding In Her Eyes, but I’m finding it difficult to whip the book into shape. I think part of the problem is that my writing has come a long way since I wrote it. My point of view is deeper now, for one thing. I may try the First Draft in 30 Days suggestion of printing the story, cutting it into separate scenes, and then figuring out whether each individual scene needs to stay, go, or be rewritten.

In other news, I’m putting the finishing touches on my May newsletter, which will be my premiere issue. Newsletter subscribers are eligible for subscriber-only contests and will receive excerpts that aren’t posted anywhere else. To subscribe, simply enter your e-mail address in the box in the upper left corner of this blog.

I’m posting at the Cobblestone Press blog today. My blog entry is about some of the best and worst things about writing. I hope you’ll visit and join in the discussion!

I didn’t get as much done tonight on The Seventh Sense as I’d hoped. The good news there is that I can put off more plotting for another day or two. And it’s not like I’ve come to a standstill. I’m still plugging away at it. The story is in first person, and I’ve reached a point where I’m not sure how I feel about that. Luke’s point of view is lost this way, although I’m trying to show readers who he is through his actions and words.

I’m also a quarter-way through the story and they haven’t kissed yet. It feels right for this story–they’ve seen each other twice, so it doesn’t seem appropriate to have them kiss at this point. In addition, I shouldn’t compare it to a Tryst-length story, which involves fewer words and therefore offers less time to develop the story. Also (don’t hold me to this), this story may end up being closer to 40,000 than 30,000 words, and that gives me even more room to work with.

At the moment, I have one or two ideas about increasing the sexual tension, and I hope more ideas will follow.

I spent a lot of time tonight revising two pages of In Her Eyes. Yes, I did say two pages. I wrote this story for National Novel Writing Month last year, and so I (a) was writing quickly, and (b) have learned a lot about writing since then. I don’t think I’ll have any problem expanding it to 90,000 words.

I’ve got the characters from The Seventh Sense floating around in my head. I should reach the the end of my outline of the story in the next few days. I’ve only outlined three or four chapters, though, and the story will be much longer than that. I have a lot more outlining to do before I can follow it to the end.

I have a few scenes in mind for various parts of the story; I just have to figure out the best placement for them. One thing that has had me stumped is the ending. I didn’t really know what the “awww” moment was going to be or how I would get to it. I wasn’t stressing about it, but I wondered what I would come up with.

As usual, I was hit with inspiration in a place where it would be a bit awkward to write–in the car. Even if I had been able to pull over where I was, I didn’t have a notebook with me. Luckily, I was only minutes from home, so I was able to write down the idea before I lost it. I haven’t worked everything out, but I have a nice addition.

I’m hard at work on The Seventh Sense, the story I was previously calling The Ring. It will be interesting to see what title I end up with.

I’m still enjoying the idea, and I really hope I can do it justice. I had been planning to use the First Draft in 30 Days approach to write this book, and I’m still doing character charts and so on. But since I have the first three chapters outlined, I can’t keep myself from writing them. I’m looking forward to introducing the hero at the end of chapter two.

Writing is a lot of fun. When it’s not being a bitch. Right now, though, it’s a lot of fun.

I got a release date for Office Relations–it will be available for purchase at Cobblestone Press on June 9.

Yay!

Good news! Cobblestone Press contracted Tryst-length Between Floors. I’m excited and relieved–I think I was putting too much pressure on myself with this story. In any case, here’s a short blurb about it:

When Chloe Wilson enters the elevator in her apartment building, she doesn’t expect to see ex-lover Sean Harris, the man who left her six months before.

Sean’s return is no coincidence. He wants Chloe back, and he’ll do whatever it takes to convince her to let him back in her life.

Between Floors is loosely connected to Office Relations–the heroines are friends. Office Relations occurs first chronologically, but the stories can be read out of order. I’ll post the release date once I get it.

In other news, I finished edits on Office Relations this morning, so I should have a release date there soon. I believe it will come out in June.

Yesterday I bought First Draft in 30 Days. I looked at it last week when I went to the bookstore, and eventually set it back on the shelf. This week, I had a 25%-off coupon, and I was still intrigued by the book, so I picked it up. I plan to use the method to write The Ring and Tavia’s story (untitled as yet). I’m excited to give it a try.