Snakes, Kids, Christmas and Editing...what else can happen?

The title says it all, I think. :( The week has barely begun and I am running behind. A million miles behind.

Last night, I was editing chapters 13 & 14 until about 11'ish. I finally finished, saved and packed up for the night. Crawl between the sheets and hubby says, "Gee, I hope you're doing it right." Heart failure nearly ensued. That is NOT the question an aspiring author needs when she is running on not enough sleep, during edits. Let me assure you of that immediately. :) The funny thing is, I got the gist of what he meant, but, you know what? It's summer holidays here in Australia. My teenaged daughters are BOTH on holidays, less then 2 weeks to Christmas (so no cooking is happening just yet) and yes, knee deep in edits. My head is literally a mess. I haven't even finished the shopping...oh and one daughter has a birthday on the 23rd and the other on the 3oth of December. I really didn't plan that one well at all. Oh and I haven't made an appointment to see the hairdresser for Christmas. Think I might luck out on that.

Today, I needed to look through and finalise chapters 15 and the conclusion. Simple? No.I

n case you can't tell...this is so much harder than I expected. I'm not really sure what I thought edits would be like. I edited before submitting, so yeah, I thought I had a great handle on what I was doing. Now? Not quite so sure.

My editor is great though. She said she is going through and loving the story. That helps. LOTS. The other nice thing is, once this is cleared off my desk, I have 2 stories waiting for me to pre-submit edit them.

So, here I am, tapping out my blog, finally finished the edits and sent them through, waiting for hubby to come home and deal with the crisis of the snake, the kids are busy (the house is quiet - I probably should be worried, but peace is reigning supreme) so I am going to take the chicken route. Wait til I'm needed. Lol!

Emails, telephone and kids. Editing love scenes with kids wandering into the office is not easy. :) But the crowning glory? A snake. In the laundry. Long and gray and just sitting there. Right. Not doing ANY washing until it is gone.

Bright notes? Lots!

I'm visiting Barbara Westbrook for her Christmas Recipe Blog on the 15th December...

I'm blogging for the Secret Cravings Publishing 1st Anniversary Blog Hop on January 5 - lots of great giveaways and prizes, including a Kindle Fire.

January is also Choc Block full of visitors including:

• Dawne Prochilo
• Shannon West
• Raine Delight
• Natalie Bates

Oh and Australia Day (26 January) I have an Aussie SCP author Jan Graham

So, signing off for now. Remember to stay calm, eat lots of chocolate...and above all, have fun!

Imogene

2 in one week!

Yes, I know, 2 blogs in one week? How much can there be to say?

Well obviously tons, because here I am again. So let's start...

1. I finally got my results from Show Me The Spark - Heartland RWA Chapter ... a 3rd placing for Starline. Congratualtions to those who won. Given this was my first go, I am not too upset with the outcome :)

2. Yes a Trailer....Just what you wanted to see.....right? So click below to watch!

Lastly, I have such respect for women who manage to get their manuscripts right on the first go.....ohh my! I feel like my eyes are falling out of my head and my hands are cramping right now.... First round of edits, and it is HARD!

But you know what? I am sooooo looking forward to seeing my book out there for sale. It is so exciting now to be able to show people my cover art and go....See? That's mine!

So no matter how hard or taxing, I am going to keep going, because it won't be long and Starline will be available to purchase. So great!

Thanks to all my followers for letting me babble! Right, back to edits again!

Imogene

Cover Art

It is a curious thing. As a new author I didn't feel like it was "real" until I got my cover art.

What cover art I hear you say? The cover for Starline arrived in my inbox this morning. Now I'm supposed to work through the day as usual when something inside me is screaming with excitements :)

But I'm fairly sure you will all agree. It is pretty special. So for your delectation, I present....

STARLINE
by
Imogene Nix

With wonderful awesome artwork by Dawne Dominique

Okay, gotta do work now....

Imogene

Ruminations from the basement of my mind...

Welcome back to another ramble through my mind! It is a little less cluttered than it was, say yesterday. I finally finished my first draft of The Blood Bride. Truth be told, I want to change the end already - not a lot, but a few tweaks here and there. I will print it out after this weekend - work that I have been avoiding has to come first though.

Great things happened this week, I agreed to be a blogger on Barbara Westbrook's Christmas Recipe blog... You can check it out here - and I turn up in the middle of the month on the 15th (US time remember!)

I also have my editor for Secret Cravings. This was a biggie.... So that means some serious editing for me, and a lot less time to skive off.

Now...on a sober note, I challenged a group of my friends to a challenge regarding presents. What would they wish for this Christmas? We decided to start with the ridiculous and work towards the achievable...

The one thing that came across clearly was we all wanted to escape the daily 9 to 5 grind. Funny that. It included the money to make the things we wanted to happen ... well, happen, of course. Trips and the ability to explore, things that showed us what close relationships we had with those closest to us. And last but not least, most said a change in their size...if you will downsizing (me included there). We are so busy running around we don't treat ourselves with the love and affection we deserve. Maybe that is one of the reasons we love Romance Reading?

So my challenge to you....starting with the ridiculous to the achievable... What would you ask for this Christmas?

I look forward to hearing your ideas!

Imogene