I'm a Rita Finalist

Well, blow me down, but I finalled in the Ritas! For A Lady Raised High: A Novel of Anne Boleyn that I wrote as Laurien Gardner. I'm stunned! But fine with it. :-) My editor has two of her authors finalling in that category, so she's jazzed.

The complete list is up at www.rwanational.org. My first Rita nomination! I doubt I'll win but I'm just tickled to be a finalist!

Jennifer

Catching up

Ok, I've been running around the western half of the country and ended up behind on my work and sick as a dog. Every day I wake up and work nonstop until I go to sleep. So many things to do from revisions on two books to reading page proofs, to contest entries, to coordinating programs for my local RWA chapter, to promo for the upcoming series, to interviews and mailing out materials, to answering mail--so of course I got the flu!

The flu is getting better, but I'm staying my butt home so I don't get worse. I'm behind posting on my writing blog, but I haven't abandoned it. I didn't have an interview this week so I'm going to post my own wisdom. :-)

I did have a good trip to New Mexico, talking to libarians about trends in romance and why romance fiction is important in the library. I had lunch with Patrice Michele and Cheyenne McCray and we had a nice visit.

Then I jetted to California to record my part on a CD. I laid down the tracks in a day and a half, which gave me time to kick back a little and catch up with my friends. My social life has been almost non-existent the past year because of the writing life.

I always laugh when people assume writers live a glamorous life in the fast lane. I have news--what writers mostly do is write! It consumes a lot of time and energy, and though I love it, it still can take its toll. Hopefully I'll be able to step back a little this year and take some time to rejuvenate.

Oh, did have a nice interview about The Immortals at Romance Designs: http://romancedesigns.com/interviews/INTJenniferAshley.cfm

Take care!!

More posts

I am having way too much fun doing my weekly "how to write" blog. Just posted a new one, interviewing Nalini Singh.

I have a few posts now on "coping with rejection," but I do plan to delve more into the business, like how covers get made, how print runs are determined, the anatomy of a sale, and what everyone likes to know, "how much money can you make?"

I'm at http://jenniferonwriting.blogspot.com/

More on Writing Blog

I've published a couple of new posts at www.jenniferonwriting.blogspot.com. Check out my wisdom. :-)

I'm gearing up to go to San Jose and record my tracks on a forthcoming CD, Stardust County. That should be ready by the end of June, which will be fun. I'm playing flute, and fitting practice in around writing sessions. I write until I can't any more, then get up and play, then come back. It works out.

I finished The Gathering and turned in that ms. (a big Whew!!), and now working on its revisions.

Early reviews of Immortals: The Calling have been good (one is at ) and I'll be doing some interviews around the Internet as well.

I got the final cover for The Gathering (so good thing I finished the book, right?).