I Received an Award

Not for my romance writing, but for the entertainment value my blog provides the masses. The "masses" being the (maybe) five or so people who stop by and visit, no doubt. LOL.  :)

Last week the very lovely Kaily Hart, an aspiring writer and blogger addict like myself, awarded me a Kreativ Blogger Award. We're both struggling down the waiting-to-be-published path, (she's a little closer to the end than myself) and her words often lift me up when I need a laugh. Thanks Kailey.  :)

So now it falls on me to do a few things to honor this little award that has made many rounds around the net. First, thank the person who gave this token to me. Second, reveal 7 interesting things about myself. And third, pass on this award to seven other bloggers.

So, check mark against number one ;).  Onto the next...and this could be a little difficult to fulfill. I don't feel I'm an interesting person, but I'll try coming up with some things.

1. I am the oldest of four girls. I joke that the four of us are unwanted because my parents were really trying for a boy, a goal it seems every older generation of East Indian strove for. But no, they do love us and wouldn't return any of us to Kmart (though numbers 2 & 3 & I did threaten to take the youngest back - often).
   
2. I read my horoscope almost everyday. From many different places: the paper, the net, an email. By far, my favorite comes from Astrology Zone. I'm a sucker for what the stars have to say, and remain faithful to the dream even though none of those predictions have panned out.
3. I was incredibly saddened by a visit to the Taj Mahal ten years ago. Not only because it is a beautiful interpretation of love enduring death, but also because of the state of the grandiose structure. The dazzling white marble of my youth is now streaked with gray, and no amount of meticulous cleaning seemed to be washing away Agra's pollution. Silly, I know, to be affected by the state of such a thing, but there it is.
4. I adamantly refused to be a stay at home mom before my marriage, but now I selfishly, and secretly, hold onto the title. Not that I don't miss working, I do - you just can't get adult interaction with a 1 1/2 year old - but it gives me more time to be a struggling writer.
5. My unofficial title has become "the baby maker" of our bunch. I only have one girl so far...the fam's waiting impatiently for another.
6. I'm psychic...kind of. Ok, not really at all. But I have had some very insightful moments that have come true.
7. I have completed a dozen novellas: submitted zero. They just aren't good enough, I say, and I am not putting less than my best out there. But that's all changing this year. 2010 will be the year I come out of my shell.  :)

Wow, you have no idea how long it took me to come up with those, and I'm so glad the torture is over! So, now it's left for me to pass on this honor to seven others. For various reasons, and in no particular order, I would like to mention the blogs of:

Ju Dimello

Mel Teshco

Donna Alward

Agent Kristen

The Book Lush

Hywela Lyn

Diamonds & Toads

Whether it's for light reading or writing advice, I often spend a minute at these blogs. I do hope you enjoy them as well.

~Hetal

Fresh Face

After much harassing from my dear husband, I'm simplifying my blog page and ask that you bear with me as I tinker with this new look.

Will you, please? Pretty please?

Sorry for changing things up as often as I do. I will make a concerted effort to curb further renovations until I am published.

We'll definitely be waiting for some time. LOL.

~Hetal

Upcoming Pitches

If you're an aspiring writer but are feeling intimidated to put yourself out there, see if your work qualifies for any of the "Open Call" I've listed to the left. This is a chance to avoid a slush pile and go straight to the editor. Who wants to pass that up?

The pitches are geared towards well established lines within the house of Harlequin and ask for some very specific elements. Beware, if you don't achieve all of these elements - and then some - you won't stand a chance. I've heard it happen, I swear. If any of these openings make your antenna stand at attention, be sure to read the writing guidelines and adhere to them. It's not easy molding your stories towards predefined requirements - trust me, I've been trying to do it for over a year - but with practice, anything's possible.

You'll be up against some stiff competition, so to help us both out, here's an article I ran across just now that will give some insight to writing the perfect pitch (and be sure to scroll down and check out the accompanying articles on the bottom left specific to romance).

As for the open calls, well, those are a little more flexible to interpretation. Either way, be sure to check them all out. I'll update the list as deadlines pass by and other opportunities open up.

~Hetal

Getting started with a BANG

I didn't mean that dirtily, for shame! Get your mind out of the gutter.  ;)

What I mean is that I think I've finally accepted that each of my stories doesn't start off fast enough. I've known for some time that I tend to write a lot of exposition in the start, believing that the set up should include pertinent historical details - historical to the characters, not actual history. But it tends to slow the pace down, something I've long ignored and assumed people would overlook due to my exceptional writing (I know, I'm laughing too).

I'm fighting my own nature here, trying to write action interspersed with the internal drama first, then following with the back story. I even wrote a new first chapter last night. Over 3000 words of drama and action...where the hero and heroine have yet to meet. Not good. In fact, if I kept my original script, they would now not meet until the third chapter - a big, huge, glaring no no in the romance industry.

I've read it time and again: have your hero and heroine meet as soon as possible. There are very few editors and agents who will hang on until chapter two or three for the life altering meet, even if the writing is that good.

So now I'm contemplating a brand new chapter one while preserving the rest of the piece. I seem to be working backwards, here, where I should be working forward. I had already mind-plotted (because I'm a pantser not a plotter - much to my own detriment) chapters to insert between chapters, but redoing the beginning was not on my original agenda.

As a result, I'm revising my original "submit MS by end of the month" to "submit partial by end of month". I think I'm breathing a sigh of relief on the inside. I have every intention of completing (after all, what if they like it? I want it ready to send off), while temporarily concentrating on the first three chapters.

I've already decided to target Silhouette Nocturne, but am keeping Dorchester and various epubs in mind, you know, "just in cases".

~Hetal

Happy New Year!

I don't know about you, but I can't make resolutions - at least, none that I've ever been able to keep.  The typical has always made my list: eat better, exercise more, cut back on the chocolate, find a better job, be closer to my family, etc.  Always, I seem to come close to, then utterly fail all my goals.

So no resolutions for me.  Nope, I'm going to live as I write: by the seat of my pants.

Speaking of, finally managed to add some words to the MS I'm reworking and was able to add another 1000 wds.  Woo-hoo!  Unfortunately, they only tacked onto my first chapter which means I have many more to go.  Slow and steady and I'll hopefully accomplish something big:  submission of a partial by the end of January.

I'm squeaking on the inside, both in fear and excitement.  Fingers crossed that I don't chicken out this time.