kate rothwell

but apparently other people don't. I was afraid of that.* You have to wonder how people who get huge numbers of stinky reviews for their first book ever manage to keep going. I’m fairly demoralized with two bad reviews and I can’t imagine how it would feel if this was my only book. We authors tell each other not to check Amazon or Goodreads, and that's good advice -- just because it’s too much work to get back to normal operating speed after being slapped in the face with a bad review. Yes, yes, such an overdramatic response, but any author can tell you--that's how it feels. Really. It's the feeling, the internal authorial response, that contains the greatest quantity of suckage. The fact of a bad review is out in the world hardly matters. Much. Anyone is allowed to leave bad reviews, for Pete’s sake. I resent my own inability to ignore it. I hate how it entirely unfloats my boat. I get swamped and there are no life vests onboard. (“May day! May day!”) Authors wi...

Now we're almost all of us home again, except boy1, whom we foisted on relatives (that'll teach them to just say no). He only had enough clothing for two days, but it's summer, so he'd stink anyway. I only had to take a couple of doggy downers on that trip, so I barely ever drooled. Not bad. Oh, and I had a Bonnie Dee to read that NONE OF YOU HAVE READ. Hah! Neener, neener.

1. our 11 year old van is cranky and due to blow up someday. Isn't tomorrow Friday the 13th? 2. kids won't agree on what tape to listen to, ever. Never. Ever. Even when they all want to hear the same thing, they won't agree on principle. 3. someone stole our portable TV/VHS tape player a few years back. 4. someone usually gets carsick. 5. that someone is usually me. 6. and a kid. 7. and, if he makes any gross sounds, the kid next to him. 8. Poor Mike has to fight his instinct to be like Mitt Romney. Not with the dog jammed up on the roof, but with the "we're not stopping except for gas, no matter what, hold it in" thing. 9. we don't have Uncle Andrew coming along this time. We hope he'll be there next time, the lucky, lucky man. 10. no dog this time, so no excuse to stop and go for a walk. (attention burglars. The big nasty dog is going to have a big nasty dog sitter staying with her. They will both be eating all the Eggo waffles from the freezer down...

If one more person tells me how thin I am and how good I look, I will start in with the "what? you telling me I was a fat slob before? Is that what you're saying? That it? What about when I gain back all the weight? Huh? you going to tell me how much better I looked back when?" My rude answer to their civil compliment is there, just under the surface. Any time now it'll come out of my mouth and I'll have to flee the haunts of man, like Ophelia Oliver in The Wonderful O after the O's are removed from her name.

1. When it comes to promo, no more first-person notes from characters. No, I mean it, just stop. Let the damn book speak for itself or if you have to have a blurb, fine. No more letters, unless the whole book is in first person. And if you do interviews with your character, good, but keep them private unless we've already read the story. I want the STORY to tell me about the people in it. Dammit. Unless it's your blog, then sure, it's your right, I suppose . Maybe. 2. Why do I find everyone else's over-used word but never my own? Why? Why? Why? I use the trick of going backwards. I read aloud. And yet every time I look at something I've written, I find another repeated-way-too-often word. Solution: never look at my own stuff again. (I don't usually...I was hunting for a section to post in a contest) 3. When it comes to romanceland's male stomachs, we need something new. I mean, wash board stomachs . When was the last time you saw a washboard? Huh? And s...

Last night I had an unusual bout of insomnia so, after plotting a couple of my own books, I moved over to other people's stories and did some post-story work on them. Mind you, the only books I could think of are the ones I love--those are the ones that stay with me. So I was basically taking these favorite, finished stories and trashing them. I blame what might be the onset of menopause or just plain pissant attitude. Take True Love and add the everyday wearisome habits of people and ta da! you have True Life. Beau Crusoe : In truth the author wrote a sweet, short epilogue that didn't make it into the book. I won't reproduce it here, but I wonder if Carla Kelly has it posted somewhere? A letter that makes reference to their trip to the island. The epilogue got cut because it seemed too real, or so I imagine. I'll go look for it after I finish this evil post. Right. Last night, I had James go after the spirit once too often during an important dinner party. Or maybe Su...

I blogged over at romance unleashed . I like the other writer's essay better--I've been stuck in crank mode for a while now. A happy woman jumping up and down at the gym yesterday was on about how we "choose our moods." I think soon I'll " choose to stop being a pill ." Of course I have no idea what I'll choose instead. Aggressive go-getter ? Meek ray of sunshine? Thoughtful philosopher ? What persona should I wear tomorrow? I think I'll aim for Of Course I'm a Very Popular Author, You Sil ly ** for Sunday. I'm part of a group book-signing then , unless I choose the currently popular sick as a dog mode. _______ ** Hey, you can't believe everything you read.