Tumble 4 U Blogfest

Today Nicki Elson is making us drag our sad, closeted 80's crushes out into the light. If I had any dignity left (which I don't, thanks to having children) this would jettison the remaining shreds. As it is, I have a confession to make:

I was a Duranie.
Yes, I know there were millions of us who in the early eighties wanted nothing more than to lounge on a yacht in a magenta bikini ogling four grown men wearing lip gloss. But I lived in New Jersey, went to a Catholic School and was in third grade. A magenta bikini was not in my future.

There's something so amazing and liberating about falling in crush. (My own daughter is on the cusp of this, she gets excited when she sees Justin Bieber on a greeting card.) It's safe, it's almost always a group activity and it lets you playact being a teenager or an adult. It's also embarrassing as hell when looking back.

My crush for the first half of the 80's was Simon Le Bon. Granted, he wasn't the most handsome of the fab(ish) four, but he sang the songs and he wrote the lyrics. He was a poet. Cue swooning. In 1985, the last year of my Duran Duran crush, I made my dad buy me a fedora. I begged my mother to let me highlight my hair until I wore the woman down. I stuck the hat on my red-frost-highlighted head, slapped on some glittery pink lipstick and pouted in a way I thought was attractive. I know now that I looked like I had toothache, but it was a gateway to daydreams.


My crush for the second half of the 80's was Peter Murphy. That's what happens when you go from grammar school to high school, the crushes get a bit darker. So did my hair, my nails, my eyeshadow. By the time I was learning to drive, I had a poster in my bedroom that scared the heck out of my mom and made my dad hover at my door, never coming in. It was Peter Murphy, in a tiara and underpants. And the underpants are about to come off. Girls are so weird, and I was no exception.

If Simon le Bon was reading a book on Shakespeare, so was I. If he liked Andy Warhol, so did I. If Peter Murphy was reading Herman Hesse, me too. I stand by my crushes, though. They made me curious about writing and music and art.

So, who did you crush on in the 80's (if you dare reveal your age) or even in the 90's or (Oh Children!) 00's?

It's Not Really Right For Me

and other s**t agents and editors say. This made me laugh. Look, agents are people too. They're not demonic gatekeepers keeping you from your dream. They work hard and they deserve their wine, dammit.

New Blog - Old Query Problems

I don't usually post on Mondays but I wanted to let you know about a new endeavor, The Bucks County Writer's Group blog. We've decided to get our collective writing experience out there, especially what we've learned from being in a writing group. The blog will be less personal journey, more how-to. I'm sure I'll get lots of venting and snark in my posts, regardless. Check us out - we post on Mondays.

Did you check out NiNoCon this weekend over at Ali Cross' dojo? It was wonderful. If you missed it, you still have time to check out the sessions. There's so much great information over there, it's hard to know where to begin. As part of the con, I sent my query in advance to be reviewed by YA author and query queen Elana Johnson. The good news is that she singled mine out. The bad news is that she basically said it wasn't working at all and that I needed to start from scratch. Won't lie. OUCH.

But I kind of knew this, deep down, though I still have no earthly idea how to fix it. I've sent out ten queries and have two fulls and one partial out. BUT the requests have all come from agents that I've encountered at conferences (online and in person) not one request has come from the query. I suspected my query was not working, now I'm afraid it's toxic.

So back to the drawing board. Sometimes I hate that freaking drawing board.

And how is your Monday going?

Critique My Blog, Go AHEAD!!!

I've been thinking a lot about this blog and how it's evolved in the year that I've been writing it. When I first posted I pretty much thought it I was whistling in the dark - just keeping myself company in my head and faking it until I made it - as a writer. I think I've done that. I write. I identify as a writer. I'm not going to stop writing. In that way, mission accomplished.

But this blog hasn't changed as much as I have and I'm not so sure it's the right venue for my awesome self. KIDDING. But I do want to know how I can make it better. In March, the awesome Laura Barnes will critique my blog with a keen marketing eye. And today, I'm participating in the Critique My Blog blogfest hosted by Teralyn Rose Pilgrim at A Writer's Journey.

Here's how you can participate:
1) crit my blog
2) leave me your (nice or constructive) thoughts in comments
3) feel good about paying it forward

You can make comments on:

a.      Appearance: Does it appeal to you? Is it too busy, or too plain?

b.      Layout: Is it difficult to navigate? Is it cluttered, or sparse?

c.      Frequency: Does the blogger post too often? Not often enough?

d.      Content: Are the posts interesting? Unique? Are they focused, or all over the place?

e.      Quality: Are the individual posts too long, too short, too sloppy, or too generic?

Thanks so much for your feedback!

ISWG - Smile Damn You Smile

I'm going to do something unusual today for this month's Insecure Writer's Group. I'm going to be positive. Now, don't worry, it won't last. I also won't be entirely positive (you, know, so you still recognize me) but I have to admit, I'm feeling pretty good.

I got a rejection this morning and it was like water off a duck's back. The reason was a combination of a) I didn't love love love the agent, only liked him lots and b) I expected to get the rejection. Not in a pessimistic way, but in a realistic way. That's how I'm feeling, realistic. Lots of people will reject my ms. I only need one person to love it (though if it could be 2 or 3, I'd be psyched.)

I'm coming to believe that this is ok, that it's not a reflection of my work. Duh, right? But it's a big step for me. I'm also thinking beyond this book. I'm thinking it's not the end of the world if this book doesn't go anywhere. I'm still writing. I'm still blogging and participating. It's such a small shift of perception but inside me it's huge.

So, are you there yet?