It’s been 100F here for the last three days. My office is in the upstairs loft, and it’s the warmest room in the house. In the winter, that rocks. In the summer, it’s the kiss of death.
So today, I pulled out my flash drive and laid atop my bed with my laptop. I had the tv on, and the kids in and out, and I still wrote more pages today than I have in foreva!! Yay!! No internet at all works! I’ll be doing the same thing every day for the next week, I imagine, since the forecast shows it being just as hot until Thursday, when the temp will drop to the high 80’s.
I’m 88 pages away from THE END on my May Avon (which is due in August) so I hope to finish it this week and get it out early. Then it’s all Brava, all the time. 
(until I have to start Avon ST #2, but we’ll think about that later. *g*)
In other news, ASK FOR IT received a wonderful review from Romance Junkies. I’m so happy the book is being liked so well. After BBA, I got quite a few comments speculating on my ability to write a ST. Traditional historical readers who weren’t familiar with the BAD BOYS anthos, wondered at the single author anthology format. They couldn’t understand why I didn’t just write a “whole” book. Kathe Robin said to me at RT that she enjoyed BBA, but was much happier to see me write a full story. Readers have also said that they’re interested to see how I work a full-length tale. The interest in the length of the stories has been a bit surprising to me, perhaps because I started out writing ST, and then branched into novellas and shorts, and also because I never thought of a single author anthology as being unusual. I like them. Not more or less than ST. They serve different purposes to me.
I’ve taken to avoiding thick-spined books, because I don’t have time to read them. I worry that if I start, I won’t stop and hours will pass, my deadlines will loom with greater pressure, and I’ll feel guilty. I’ve returned books to the shelves that were too thick IMO, books I would’ve bought if the author had made the story shorter. I’m not sure what that says about me. I hope it just says that I’m a desperate reader who has to read a story straight through. This is where an anthology fits in perfectly!
One day, I’ll buy a stack of thick books and spend a week or two just devouring them all. Heaven!
Hi Sylvia!
I too find that I can work really well on my husband’s laptop, on the bed, with the telly on! I can often make far better progress that way than I can on the PC…
Love
Wendy
by Wendywoo June 4th, 2006 at 3:05 amWow, you just nailed for me why my reading list has been dominated lately with quickie, anthology, novella, and short story works. TIME.
I know I can squeeze in 45 minutes, maybe an hour, to read every day. And I know if I pick up a book I adore, I’m going to stop doing things I should be doing (time with the kids, working, writing, in that order) and finish the book.
Having said that - I’ve got a great August Brava I WILL find time to read and review this week (y)
by Karen June 4th, 2006 at 2:52 pmWell, I read both shorts and STs. And, I for one loved BBA and can’t wait for Ask for It and then The Stranger I Married - really looking forward to that one after hearing the tale of its origins!
And you’re right - it’s been too darn hot here in So Cal.
We just put up a new awning over the dog run. I always feel so guilty on the days in the summer when we need to put her out there. (&)
by Lori June 4th, 2006 at 4:40 pmWendy! I’m now a telly and laptop convert! (y)
Karen *g* I hope you like AFI! I can’t wait to hear your thoughts.
Lori, thank you so much! I’m excited about TSIM, too, especially as more readers talk about the premise of it with anticipation. My editor brought me the coverflat at the RT Convention and I’m so impressed with it. Kensington makes the best covers IMO.
The heat is killing me, though. Killing me. Yuck.
by SylviaWait, AFI is already out?!
I need to get my copy!!!
by Mailyn June 6th, 2006 at 11:15 am