Lies, Damned Lies, and Lies in Chance...

Howdy my friends!

Okay, I realize it's been a bit since I posted last, but I have a really, really good reason: I'VE BEEN WRITING!

(I'll wait now while you clean off your computer screens after spewing coffee at it in what I can only imagine was a beautiful spit take.)

Yep, it's true. I got off my fanny, or got on it, your pick, and got my entry ready for the 2010 Amazon.com Breakthrough Novel Awards. Yes, I entered my novel lovingly known as "The Stupid Novel." However, I managed to come up with a title all on my own that does not completely suck.

Ready?

LIES IN CHANCE

I know, who knew I could string together three words that sounded like an actual book title. Certainly not me! LOL!

Okay, but Sarah, that doesn't sound like a romance novel....

(Gasp!)

I know. Here's the thing: I've never thought of TSN (The Stupid Novel) as a romance. There is a romance at the core of it, yes. And true, broken hearts abound and people get all sweaty with each other. BUT, and it's a big old BUT, there were just too many voices in my head as I wrote it for it to be a romance. Too many side characters shouting, "HEY! WHAT ABOUT ME?"

(Excuse me while I take a moment and hum my favorite Moving Pictures Song...."

I'm back. So anyway, I spent the better part of these last couple weeks amping up the volume on those noisy characters in my head and bing bam boom, I have what one would consider a Commercial Fiction novel.

You know, something my friend Elliott might even find interesting, should he bump into it at Target. Of course, Elliott is one of the few who's had the pleasure (?) of slogging through many early versions of TSN (remember when I tried to kill Molly? And the group had a collective fit?) so I'll give him a pass in Target. :)

The benefit for this is that hopefully, hopefully the judges won't be CONFUSED (a word used in a rejection letter recently) by who the main characters are. In a romance that's very important. In a commercial fiction, still important, but it's okay if other characters get a bit of the nooky...I mean limelight.

So what I hope to accomplish with TSN 4.0 is to get at least as far as 3.0 made it, the quarterfinals, and I'm hoping to actually get into the semis. I figure that will look good on a query letter! (Ask for it by name LIES IN CHANCE!)

Meanwhile, I got a huge boost from my Mad City Romance Writers meeting this past Saturday as I was struggling through some sticky plot points in "7/8ths Time." Apparently, even though I really hoped to write a normal romance type book with this one, you know, the heroine wins the man and is the central figure, my main character is my HERO, and this is his journey.

No worries. I love writing men, especially this guy, Quinn. I'm more than a little in love with him. I find it helps to fall in love with your hero when you're writing him. So now I get to make this be all about him, that means he gets more chapters, and that means I get more nooky...I mean writing time with Quinn.

I am, however, finding myself growing jealous of my heroine...

Yep, I need help!

On one last note, a sadder one, Rick Springfield's beloved pup, Gomer, past away earlier this week. For those of you who are fans, you know how important Gomer was to Rick. For more information and a slide show on the sweet boy, go on over to Rick's website www.rickspringfield.com

Happy writing all!