Romance Archives - Page 14 of 33 - Maggie Wells-Margaret Ethridge

June 29, 2015

Monday Mayhem – carpel tunnel edition

I’m writing at a full-on sprint these days. The deal isn’t signed, sealed, and delivered yet, but there’s been offer, acceptance, and a panic-inspiring deadline set. So, I’ve spent the last twelve days cranking out words. I need to have the first draft done before I leave for the Romance Writers of America conference in late July.

I’m about halfway there.

As usual, the first run at it will be far too wordy. I can already see the threads I’m going to have to cut, and some I need to sew up. But I’m having a great time with these characters. They’re fun and snarky, and thankfully, they seem to like talking to me. Plus, you know I love a deadline. I love smashing them to pieces. Boo-yah!

So, if I’m a little quiet for the next few weeks, you’ll know why. When things are official, I’ll sing it from the rooftops. In the meantime, picture me doing a lot of these moves:

June 22, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Daddy Issues

I married my father.

Not for real, because that would be illegal and more than a little icky, but I married a man just like him. One of those fellas who was just born to be a dad. A guy who wants nothing more than his kids around where he can keep watch over them. He shares a few other charming and not-so-charming quirks with my father (he goes from zero to over-reaction in 1.2 seconds, loves ice cream and anything chocolate, and whatever happens, it’s always because the other driver wasn’t paying attention), but I figure on the whole, I came out ahead in this game.

I hope and pray that one day our kids truly to realize how very lucky they were to have him. He has been the one steadfast and constant (if sometimes overbearing and annoying) force in their lives. It’s nice to see them starting to appreciate him now that they are adults.

Mostly, it’s fun to watch him morph from Daddy to Granddad. I was only eleven when my parents became grandparents for the first time. I swear they were body snatched, because they were not at all the same people with my nephews and nieces as they were with me. They were more like…my grandparents.

The circle of life has come our way. Now we’re the ones who do nothing but indulge. Discipline? Not our problem. Rules? At Granddad’s house? Not hardly. We’ve divvied the grandparenting duties between us. So far, I am in charge of cookies, hugs, and comfort, and Granddad handles playing and exploration. It works for us.

I married a guy just like my dad, and I have to say, it’s been a good thing. The pure pleasure he gets from even a few minutes with our grandson is a joy to behold.

So…behold:

I think I chose pretty darn well!

June 15, 2015

Monday Mayhem – The things we do for love

This weekend, I saw Rush in concert. Not one of my favorite bands. Wait. I take that back. They used to be one of my favorite bands to mock, but now I’m not allowed to do that. You see, Geddy and the guys are Fodder’s all-time favorite band, so singing ‘Take Off (To the Great White North)” is kind of verboten around here. I say kind of, because I sing it anyway. In my Geddy voice. Always earns me a ferocious scowl.

Anyhow. My man wanted to see Rush. It’s their 40th anniversary, and he’s afraid we wouldn’t have a chance to see them together if we didn’t catch them on this tour. We checked all the venues closest to our home (but not Closer to the Heart) but found they didn’t fit with our schedules. So I came up with a brilliant idea – why not see them in Chicago?

We hadn’t had a chance to visit the city in years–even worse, we hadn’t seen some of my closest friends in longer than I care to admit. A few text messages later, we had a plan (and more than a few snarky comments from the women-folk). Though the Rush doesn’t exactly evoke the same reaction from me as say…Duran Duran, it was the best weekend ever.

We ate. We drank. And we laughed with old friends as if not a day had gone by.

You want to know the best part? [Aside from the fact that there were NO LINES FOR THE WOMEN’S RESTROOMS!] I got to spend time with this happy, happy man.

Nearly sixteen years together and married fourteen at the end of this month, and I don’t think I have ever seen him so carefree and excited about anything. He was over the top, and it was a joy to watch.

Thanks to my ever-generous friend, Kathy, I was also able to spend some time in with my sister, her daughter, son, and daughter-in-law, and my littlest great-niece, Lottie, who is perfect in every way.

How about you? What are some of the things you’ve done just to make someone you love happy?

June 1, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Bookmark this!

I know I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m really the type who thrives on deadlines. Usually, I can just make one up and stick to it, but lately I’ve been torn in a number of directions on both the personal and professional fronts.

There are times when the publishing world moves as quick as a mouse click. Then there’s the other 99.9% of the time. Sometimes it feels like snails on Valium are lapping me. There’s a lot going on with the writing behind the scenes, hopefully all of it will come to fruition.

*crosses everything*

But at the moment, I’m kind of in limbo. I have a work in progress, but it’s a project with no deadline. It’s just the story I’m writing as I wait to hear about the fates of four, possibly 6, other stories. Some written, some yet to have a word on the page.

The thing is, if even one of these possibilities comes to be, I’m going to have to start busting some major words. You’d think that would inspire me to wrap up the one I have going, right?

Wrong.

It’s all I can do to make myself work on this story with no deadline, even though the first draft is over 60% complete. Part of it is middle of the story syndrome. The other part is that I am not a girl who limbos well. You see, I’m not very bendy.

So, today is June 1. I have approximately 20k more words (or 4-5 chapters) to put in on this draft. I’ve got a little vacation scheduled in there, so I’m giving myself a deadline of June 30 to complete the draft.

There. Deadline set.

I expect you to hold me to that.

Oh! Before I forget, I got these nifty new bookmarks! (Horrible lighting in my house. They are much prettier than this pic shows.) Want one or five? Email me at mkethridge1@gmail.com and give me your mailing address and I will drop an envelope in the mail.

So, how about you? Anything you’re hoping to accomplish this month, or are you just ready to kick back and enjoy the summer? If you’re looking for some reading, Jumping Mr. January and February’s Fling are still FREE. You may still be able to snag Three Little Words, if they don’t get the sale prices switched back today.

May 18, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Manuscript edition

This weekend, I gave the newly revised and expanded version of Full Court Press a complete run-through. When I started, it looked like this:

When I finished, it looked more like this:

The best part? 95,564 words later, I can honestly say I still love this story. I just hope my agent likes the changes and additions I’ve made. I’m about to send it back to her. Cross your fingers!

xoxo

Mags

May 11, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Calling The Count

I’m on the road today, but that’s okay, because I had an awesome weekend. The revisions/additions to Full Court Press have been written and mailed off to my beautiful Jewels for raking over the coals.

It didn’t start out so great. Friday night, my man and I ate steak. That was the highlight. Turns out, the steak was all a ruse to trick me into going to Home Depot and WalMart. We didn’t get home until late, so my productivity was low for the evening.

I made up for lost time by kicking some serious writing butt on Saturday and Sunday, though.

First, I hooked up with Parker Kincaid for pastries and pantsing at Panera. I am hooked on the almond-honey steel cut oatmeal with quiona. There may have been a bagel consumed as well, but that doesn’t sound as virtuous, so we won’t discuss it. I managed to crank out over 1k despite the fact that there was a super jock nutrition and fitness guru giving a mom of two the hard sell at the table behind us. So annoying.

Then I spent the afternoon updating the site, adding the new cover art for Going Deep, and preparing posts for the blog. In other words – procrastinating. Hey, did you see the cover? It’s perfect, abso-fricking-lutely perfect for Brooke and Brian’s story and I’m so excited about it!

I managed to bluff my way through to Outlander time, but after I was back at the keyboard and closing in on the end.

Sunday morning, my man delivered a special Mother’s Day Sonic Diet Coke to my bedside, then made me buttered toast. Amped up, I managed to make it through the penultimate scene before it was time to clean up and head out to see The Avengers: The Age of Ultron!

Two buckets of popcorn and a half box of Sno Caps later, I was home and ready to hit the finish line.

And I did!

So I am off to Texas again, today, but at least I checked one thing off my list. Wait. I posted this, that’s two! Oh! And all the updates I did on Saturday…Three! Three things off my list! Where’s The Count when you need him?

How about you? Did you check any items off your list this weekend?

May 4, 2015

Monday Mayhem – family time edition

I was away this weekend, helping to celebrate the nuptials of my niece, Emilie and her ever-patient fiance, Nick. 🙂

While I was there, I got to spend some time with my mommy, my siblings, nieces and nephews, and got to meet my newest great-nephew, Colin.

I am a smitten kitten. Almost as much of a goner as his great-grandma.

Most important of all, after the official festivities ended, my sister and I made sure that they bride made it to Joe’s Pub on time. Because that’s what good aunts do.

Bracket those fun times with nine hours in the car each way and you have my weekend in a nutshell. What about you? Did you do anything fun?

April 27, 2015

Monday Mayhem – Big news! Wow news!

Just in case you haven’t seen me crowing on Facebook, Twitter, and random street corners…

I HAVE AN AGENT!

Last Monday I accepted an offer of representation form my dream agent, Sara Megibow of KT Literary! I queried her in March with a pitch for Full Court Press, and within a month I had an offer! For those of you who don’t know, that is unspeakably fast for the publishing world.

So, yay! I’m beyond excited to be working with Sara and thrilled by her enthusiasm and ambition. There could be big things happening! Wow things!

What? You still want more good news? Well, nothing is set in stone yet, but it looks like you may be seeing a sequel to Three Little Words! I submitted A Will and a Way (formerly Bossy Pants) to my editor, and they liked it! I’m just waiting for the details to be worked out.

That’s not enough excitement, you say? How about I tell you that Kensington has put Three Little Words on sale for the low, low price of…FREE!

Amazon ~ Apple ~ B&N ~ Google ~ Kensington ~ Kobo

That’s right. Tell all your friends to grab their copy now, because Greg and Josie and their sexytime romps are up for grabs!

And finally: The winner of the signed ‘collector’s edition’ copies of Paramour and Inamorata is:

Arlene Hittle

Congratulations, Arlene, and thanks for commenting!

Wish you’d won them for yourself? Watch this Wednesday’s Whatcha Reading? post for another chance to win a set!

That’s all I have for now, dear friends. Well, that and this picture of a really cute boy who made me chase him all around the backyard, then graciously allowed me to feed him chips and sugar cookies for lunch (Hey, I can do that, I’m the grandma.).

How was your weekend? Munch on anything yummy?

April 21, 2015

Teaser Tuesday – Sandy James

My friend, Sandy James, has three new releases within a month and a husband who is battling cancer. Some author friends are helping her on the promo end. Please share this post and help an author out!

Fringe Benefits–book four in the bestselling Ladies Who Lunch series!

When life gets tough and love is hard to find, four friends take their troubles to lunch. High school teacher Danielle Bradshaw deserves a happily ever after, and the Ladies Who Lunch are determined to deliver Mr. Right.

HOT FOR TEACHER

As the new head of the English department, Dani doesn’t have much time for anything but lesson planning and literature. Romance-or even sex? Forget about it. But then the principal introduces her to last-minute hire Nate Ryan. Finding time to mentor a new teacher won’t be easy, especially when his incredible body and equally disarming charisma are enough to make her heart skip a beat . . .

Nate may be fresh out of school, but he’s confident in his teaching skills-and in his feelings for Dani. But while she’s everything he’s ever wanted, he knows his place on her staff-and his age-may be problematic for his sexy boss. How can he convince her to ignore the gossip mill currently in full swing in the teacher’s lounge and surrender to what’s meant to be?

Be sure and read book 1–The Bottom Line, book 2–Signed, Sealed, Delivered, and book 3–Sealing the Deal.

April 20, 2015

Monday Mayhem-Collector’s Editions Giveaway!

Did you miss the FB and Twitter messages from Mr. Snark himself, Frank DeLuca?

Did you also miss the post where I revealed sexy new cover art coming soon for both Paramour and Inamorata?

Well, pay attention now because I’m giving away a set of signed set of these:

That’s right, the original paperback editions of these books are about to become collector’s editions – LOL! Would you like to win a set for yourself or a ‘friend’? Comment on this post and tell me something spooky that’s happened to you. Doesn’t have to be much, just something that gave you a shiver. I’ll pick a winner on Friday, April 24, 2015 and hopefully get them shipped out on Saturday.

Ready? Set? Go!