I have a ton to tell you all, but it will have to wait until I get a second to organize my thoughts and my thousands of pics.  But I was sworn to secrecy on some stuff.  All of us from RomanceInColor.com that went adopted this as our motto: “What happens in Chicago, stays in Chicago”

Till lata,
La-Tessa

I will be back with an update soon, hopefully to tell you that my outline is done. 

Claudia Mair Burney is an up and coming author, that’s relatively new on the scene.   I thoroughly enjoyed her February release,  Murder, Mayhem, and a Fine Man.  In fact, I gave it a 5 star rating, and it has received RIC’s coveted Award of Excellence.  This book is a combination of Christian lit,  mystery, and a little bit of romance.  I highly reccommend this book to all who enjoy good reading.  If you pick it up, come back and let me know what you think of it.

Here is a little blurb about the book:

Amanda Bell Brown knows that life as a forensic psychologist isn’t quite as cool as it looks on prime-time TV. But when she turns thirty-five with no husband or baby on the horizon, she decides she’s gotta get out and paint the town — in her drop-dead red birthday dress. Instead, she finds herself at the scene of a crime — and she just may know who the killer is. She needs to spill her guts, but not on the handsome lead detective’s alligator shoes — especially if she wants him to ask her out. A complicated murder investigation unearths not just a killer but a closet full of skeletons Amanda thought were long gone. Murder, mayhem, and a fine man are wreaking havoc on her birthday, but will her sleuthing leave her alive to see past thirty-five?

I feel like a window in which the curtains have finally been opened, revealing that spectacular view that they’ve been hiding.  Wow, I can’t explain how good it feels to finally be able to see the entire progression of this story.  I now know the role all of my characters will play, worked out that pesky middle,  and nailed the subplots. 

Those close to me in the this progess know that I have been waffling back and forth on plot points, which has effectively kept me from moving on with the story.  But I can also admit that fear played a part in my writer’s block, but yesterday I came across this quote from Herbert Bayard Swope:
     “I cannot give you the formula for success, but I can give you the formula for failure:
      Try to please everybody.”

So off I go to the bat cave, to review my synopsis and finalize my outline.  With any luck, my next update will be about the completion of my first 3 chapters.

Lata,

So, after careful consider, I have enlisted the services of a task master, err I mean friend, to “encourage” me to stay focus on the goal I have set for myself.  And since part of the first place prize is to have the winning manuscript reviewed by a publisher, there is a chance that the winner will get picked up.

So, now with the proper motivation, and naggers, err I mean support system, in place; I wil give this my best shot.   Wish me luck, peace, motivation, and creativity.

While I write this post with a little humor, this is a very serious step for me.  This is my gut check, my “sink or swim” moment.   So I will now retire to the bat cave and get this party started!

Till next time
~La-Tessa

Wow, I met Francis Ray this past Saturday at her booksigning event here in town.  It was quite an experience, especially since this was my first booksigning AND first feature assignment for Romance In Color (RIC).

I had a wonderful time, and I must say, Ms. Ray is very kind and gracious.  She made sure that she signed every book & answered every question.  Her fans are one of a kind as well.  I got a chance to meet quite a few of them that were in attendance, and some had very touching stories of how Ms. Ray has graced their lives.

I am working on my feature article of this event for Romance In Color & I will let you know when it has been posted to the site.