Friday, October 30, 2009

It's Finished... Oh, Wait.

Yesterday I finished my third (or was it fourth?) complete read/edit of Beauty Secrets, which you all know is very time consuming. But now I can confidently say that "it's done!"... for now. Some of you might remember that my goal four weeks ago was to finish my edits and send BS off to the St. Martin/Minotaur First Crime Novel Competition, well today my friend I'm doing just that. After paying $58.04 to have my manuscript printed, I'm packing it up and shipping it off. It feels so good to have that goal checked off my list. And the time couldn't be more perfect with NaNo starting in two days (boy, do I have A LOT of work to do between now and Sunday).

Also, with wrapping up BS, I'll have some more time to work on revising my query again. Thank you all for your comments this week. I'll put the advice to work and revamp my query over the weekend and repost it next week. Hopefully I'll be able to add the voice that I know is missing.
This Just In

I'd like to give a big thank you to Debra Schubert over at Write On Target for the awesome blog bling and such kind words. Okay folks, you know how it goes. Here are the rules:


1) Copy the pretty picture and post it on your blog.
2) Thank the person that gave it to you and link to their blog.
(Did I mention how awesome Debra is?)
3) Write 7 things about yourself we don't know.
4) Choose 7 other bloggers to pass the award to.
5) Link to those 7 other bloggers.
6) Notify your 7 bloggers.

Seven things you've always wanted to know about yours truly:
1. Cherry yogurt is my favorite flavor. Key lime pie, strawberry shortcake, Boston cream pie, and Pineapple upside down cake are just wrong.

2. Just like my protagonist, Keira, I have an obsessive personality, which makes for excellent determination, but can also make me a little batty. If I want to write, I do, and if you make me do anything else, I'll be very grumpy.

3. In keeping with number 2, I'm also stubborn and you'll have a helluva time trying to get me to do something that I don't want to do :)

4. Wine and dark chocolate make the perfect gift, in case you were wondering. My birthday is April 27th...

5. And speaking of that, 27 is my all-time favorite number. Not only is it lucky, but it also makes me smile and it happens to be how old I am.

6. Writing also makes me smile, and I'm VERY excited to be starting LIP GLOSS & LIES! I just have such an awesome feeling about this series. Good things are about to happen.

7. And there's nothing better than having Halloween on a Saturday. Sleeping in, eating candy all day and watching scary movies (well, Scooby Doo anyway). Tomorrow is going to be so much fun!

And now I must now nominate seven other worthy blogs...

1. Bane's Blogging Blues - in addition to being an awesome fantasy writer, Bane posts funny youtube videos and cute puppy pictures for our entertainment. What's not to love?

2. Jennifer Bennett - Jen's just so nice and her blog is always too cute. And I love her blog topics, like yesterday's post titled "What Sells" where she ask's the question that if something sells then does that make it great? Good question!

3. A Misinterpreted Wave - Chris writes beautiful poetry and I must admit that her vocabulary is impressive (read: I'm jealous). Stop by and see what I'm talking about.

4. Penny Lane - The girl loves cupcakes and skittles, has an adorable kitty cat names Jasmine, and she's brave enough to video blog. Yeah, video blog. Even I'm not brave enough for that.

5. VR Barkowski - Fellow NaNo participant, VR's blog is full of the type of fantastic information and links that writers like us want to know. Awesome job.

6. The Bloodcrossed Writer - Tara's a fabulous writer and reviewer extraordinaire. Videos and links will keep you entertained for hours.

7. Regina Rhythm - Regina's blog says she a writer, artist and adventuress - you got that right. Regina's blog is fresh, informative and most of all, creative.

So there you have it, my choices for the Kreative Blogger award. Happy Halloween everyone!!!!!!

16 comments:

Joshua McCune said...

Thanks, Steph, you're far too kind.

Major congrats on being 'done' (definitely hearin' ya on the 'for now' part :), but if you've printed it and are ready to ship it, that helps put a nice seal of finality on it. Good luck (w/ both NaNo, but more so w/ FCNC).

I'm w/ you on the stubborn... and 27 is a very cool number (perhaps the coolest) -- it's 3^3... and yeah for April birthdays (mine's on the day Lincoln was shot and the Titanic sank... I'm ultra lucky :)

Unknown said...
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Unknown said...

Wow, Steph... Thanks so much! I love your new look on your blog. Very nice... I think your new picture is super cute. :) I can't believe you're printed and done! How exciting... You must be thrilled!

(I hate that we can't edit these things...)

Regina Quentin said...

Woo hoo! I'm glad to hear you are done with that. I really want to read the rest of it (I read what I found on your website and was very interested in the story).

Thank you for the award. This is very awesome indeed. I will honor its traditions.

Stephanie Damore said...

Bane - I know, it feels good shipping the MS out. And I didn't know about the whole 3^3 thing - very cool. As for your birthday, wow, April 10th, huh? I'm sure the luck changed the day you were born.

Stephanie Damore said...

Thanks Jen, I am thrilled. Now it's time to write the sequel beginning Sunday. Wow. I hope I'm really up for it.

Stephanie Damore said...

You're welcome Regina! I'm stoked that you liked what I'd posted on website so far too. I'll try and post more real soon.

Stephanie Damore said...

Oops Bane, I meant the 14th!

Kathryn Magendie said...

Visiting from Deb's place! Congrats on your award! *smiling*

Unknown said...

*gasp* I didn't prepare a speech or anything!!

Thanks, Steph! It's always nice to know that I'm not just talking to the empty internet. Unfortunately the past two weeks have been so crazy I haven't been able to blog much.

Now you've given me an excuse to stay up late and pass along the favor. :)

Thanks so much! *imagine happy dance inserted here*

Oh, and congrats on shipping off the novel! Kind of like sending a kid away to college... lol! Best of luck with the competition!

~Tara

Laura Martone said...

Congrats to all your award-winning bloggers! And Happy Halloween to everyone!

Oh, and, Steph, congrats, of course, for finishing your ms and shipping it off. I know that no one is ever fully done with a novel - even Alice Sebold has said she wishes she could change things about THE LOVELY BONES - but I'm sure it's nice to feel done... for now.

VR Barkowski said...

Gosh Steph, I don't know what to say, I'm honored! Thank you so much. If you could see me, you'd know I'm blushing. Congratulations on your MS and best of luck with the FCNC & NaNo. Oh, and happy Halloween!

Stephanie Damore said...

Hi Kathryn - thanks for the congrats and stopping by!

Stephanie Damore said...

Laura - I know that I've done everything that I can with it. I've had beta readers, proofreaders and countless hours of editing go into it. Now it's up to the professionals to tell me what to do. Oh professionals! Come out, come out where ever you are and ask for a partial!!!!

Stephanie Damore said...

Thanks VR. Good luck with NaNo too. I've been busy writing this morning and I'm now taking an official break until this afternoon. What pressure!

Laura Martone said...

I so wanted to do NaNo this year, but I just have no time! Maybe next year...

Good luck with it, Steph! And I wish you the best with the industry "pros."