Lynn Raye Harris

I turned in my revisions last night at about midnight. Since my editor is in the UK, that means they’d be sitting in her inbox when she arrived in the morning. What a relief to get them gone! The work isn’t done until she tells me it is, so no getting my hopes up that the book is finished yet. There may be some more work to do.

In the meantime, I have a sheikh novella to write! My lovely editor called me this morning to talk about him. I suspected there would be work to do there, and of course I was right. The novella is a new format for me, so it’s also a learning experience to try and pack all the power and emotional punch of a Presents into 25k. That story is due in about 3 weeks now, so guess who will be busy and scarce once more?

But I’m excited about the holiday this week! What American doesn’t love Thanksgiving? A day dedicated to eating and spent with family? Can’t wait. We’re going to my mother’s house, and one of my brothers will be there with his family too. I’m making my famous Cajun stuffing, and I believe I’m in charge of cranberry sauce too. Tomorrow, my mother and I are going shopping together for many of the fixins (a Southern word, for my international readers, that means ingredients).

Of course I’m going to have to find a way to write during all this festivity. And I will. I’ll write early, write late, and write whenever there’s a free moment.

I’m still looking for my winner last week! Cynthia Gander, where are you? Email me for your book!

And, speaking of books, Cavelli’s Lost Heir is officially out in the UK now! If you live in the UK, and you happen to see my book on the shelves, could you snap a pic? Email to me at lynn AT lynnrayeharris DOT com, and I’ll send you a couple of my lovely bookmarks!

I had a very exciting weekend! First, I typed The End on Book 4 on Thursday afternoon, an entire week before my deadline. My plan was to let it sit for a day or so, and then start reading it again for any last minute changes. I honestly can’t remember what I did on Friday — this is typical after I finish a book. I know I went to the post office to finally mail prizes to a couple of you! And I may have gone grocery shopping.

Friday evening, bolstered by the knowledge I need to write a sheikh novella very soon, I talked the hubby into watching Lawrence of Arabia for the gazillionth time. I do love that movie. The desert, Omar Sharif, the horses, the camels, the locations (the buildings were actually Moorish buildings in Spain, but the desert scenes are in Jordan). Gorgeous scenery, fabulous story. I’ve actually read the book on which the movie is based — twice. Lawrence was quite a wordsmith. (There’s a whole other side to the story about the Arab perspective, which he does not necessarily portray accurately, but that’s another topic.)

On Saturday, we had planned to go to dinner with my parents. We’d arranged it earlier in the week, and once I remembered we were doing so, I was quite excited about it. We have discovered a wonderful German restaurant in town that has authentic food and decor. It’s like being transported to a German cafe! (And no, for the locals reading, I am NOT talking about Olde Heidelberg.)

While waiting for my parents to arrive, I decided I wanted to get my Autumn wreath out of the attic. Big mistake. I have never gone into the attic for a reason, I later realized.

The repairman assures me that people stepping through the ceiling is quite common, in fact. I now have a large hole in my kitchen ceiling, and I scared the bejeebers out of myself when I took a step and there was no floor beneath me. My leg punched through, I fell on my wrist, and my kitchen looked like it had snowed because of the insulation everywhere.

Fortunately, aside from the hole, there was no lasting damage. My wrist is doing better, and my thigh isn’t as bruised as I thought it would be. I scared my poor hubby to death, and he informs me that he’s never seen the cat’s tail that poofed out before. Apparently I scared her too.

Sunday was quite normal in contrast, and yesterday I sent my book to my editor. How was your weekend? Any adventures? Have you done something so dumb as step through the ceiling before? Come on, make me feel better! Tell me your embarrassing or silly adventures.

I realized this morning when I woke up that today is the one year anniversary of The Call. One year ago today, at 7:27 AM, my lovely editor called to buy Spanish Magnate, Red-Hot Revenge and one other book from me. In February, my second book was accepted, and then my editor called to buy three more books. She also recently called to buy a novella.

It’s been quite a road since that day one year ago! I can remember the excitement, the heart-pounding inability to concentrate on anything other than the fact I’d just sold a book. It was an amazing day! Best of all, my poor patient long-suffering husband was at home when I got the call. Five more minutes, and he’d have been out the door on the way to work. But he was here, and I didn’t have to scramble around trying to find him so I could tell him. You know how you always read call stories where someone was at home alone, and then she couldn’t get her husband or any of her family on the phone?

Thankfully, that wasn’t me. I can’t remember the order in which I called people after. I may have called my mom, and then my dad at work. And my in-laws. After that, it’s a blur. My hubby had to trot off to work, and later that day, he had to leave town on a business trip. I remember that my celebratory dinner that evening was a Lean Cuisine pizza and a glass of wine. But when my hubby returned at the end of the week, we went out for a proper celebration! And of course he brought me flowers and a card before he left for that trip.

It was a great day.

One year later, I’m hard at work on Book #4, which is due in a little over a week, and thinking about the novella I have to write next. It’s been fun, busy, stressful at times, but I wouldn’t trade this job for anything.

Most of all, I want to thank my readers for all the wonderful comments and emails you’ve sent to me over the last year. Your support when my book came out meant so much to me. I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you’ll enjoy the next one. You landed me on the Waldenbooks/Borders Bestseller list and on the Bookscan Top 100 Bestselling Romances list. I thank you all very much. I write because I love it, but I also write because I hope you will love it.

Now, because I feel so celebratory today, I’m going to give away a copy of Cavelli’s Lost Heir to one lucky commenter! You’ll have to be a little patient, however, because I don’t have my copies just yet. I expect them soon, and when I get them, I’ll pop it in the mail.

So tell me what you’ve celebrated recently, or what you will celebrate soon! Any milestone or event counts.

PS You will have noticed I have a new Contest page on this site. Stay tuned for a new contest soon….

I don’t really have a lot of words of wisdom on the topic, but it occurred to me this weekend as I had to travel for my grandmother’s funeral, attend the funeral, and be with family, that my job as a writer doesn’t stop because of adversity.

Of course different events affect people differently. I was more emotional than I thought I’d be when I got to the funeral. Grandma was 78, and she’d been pretty sick. Her passing was expected — and yet the events overtook me and my emotions.

Still, I have a deadline to meet and though I know I could ask my editor for more time if I really, really felt I needed it, I don’t feel like this is one of those times. Had it happened closer to my deadline, that would be different.

You have to know what you can do and what you can’t. Think about this as you work on your stories. When you get that call that someone wants to publish your book, you are moving into the category of professional writer. Professionals show up for work every day. Treat writing like a job, show up unless you’re sick, take vacations when you need them, and take time off for dealing with emotional events like death and divorce. But get back to work as soon as possible because writing is a job and the job must be done.

So this week I’m working hard to catch up, and I have something new I hope to tell you about soon.

How do you deal with writing through adversity? Any tips or tricks or thoughts on the subject?

I’ll be back on Monday! It’s my birthday weekend, and it’s also my grandma’s funeral. Much to do over the next couple of days! Grandma was a kick in the pants, let me tell you. I’ll post more about her later, but it was her time and we’d been expecting it. She passed almost 24 years to the day that my other grandmother died. Once more, the family gathers to bury a loved one and tell stories. And believe me, in this family, the stories are the kind of Southern stuff you just can’t believe happens to people.

Have a great weekend, and I’ll catch up with you next week!

A friend sent me an email that basically said, “Hey, why aren’t you blogging?” Well, I am blogging, but I’ve had so many guest blogs recently (and another one coming on Saturday at the Pink Heart Society!) that I’ve not put up too many new posts. And yet, I’m also betting there’s a tiny bit of confusion with the contest post being at the top of the page. People see it and think there’s nothing new — but it’s a sticky post, meaning it stays at the top until I change it. And I don’t want to change it because I want people to easily find the contest. (Scroll down, my lovelies, scroll down!)

Perhaps I need to work with my web designer on a static contest page. It’s something I’m considering, but first we’ll see how this contest goes. Thanks for everyone who has entered thus far! I hope you enjoy the excerpt and the potential goodies you could win.

So what else am I up to? Well, I’m working on two books at once. Since I’m waiting to hear back from my editor on the proposal for Book 4, I decided to work on my idea for Book 5. I’ve written the first scene, and it was a blast! But I can’t tell you what any of it is about just in case my editor doesn’t like any of it. I’ll just say that #4 is set in Buenes Aires. I have ordered Argentina guidebooks and I’ve been having a marvelous time reading them! And now I want to go to Argentina. Who wouldn’t want to learn how to tango or eat beef so tender you can cut it with a spoon?

What is your fantasy travel destination at the moment? Where would you like to be if you could go anywhere?

There are two new toys in the Harris household as of Friday: a Roomba and a Kindle. And may I just say I love them both?

I’ve been wanting a Kindle for a while, but I kept putting it off. Did I really need this piece of technology? I love books, real ones, so why did I want an e-reader? I talked myself into it finally when I made yet another trip to the bookstore and came home with a sack full of novels.

They are piling up around here, especially as I buy and read all the Presents each month. So a Kindle nicely stores all those paperbacks without the need for extra room. The books are taking over my house, and I still love them and want them and will buy them. And yet I can download the latest release *instantly* onto my Kindle.

It’s a fabulous, fabulous device and I no sooner had it out of the box than I wondered where it’d been all my life. I quickly figured out how to operate it, and I downloaded some books to read. Unfortunately, I also downloaded a free fantasy novel for my hubby….

You can guess, can’t you? He’s engrossed in the book and I’ve lost my Kindle, at least for the time being. In all fairness to him, I have been working on the proposal to Book 4. But now that I’ve sent it to my editor, I would like to use my Kindle.

Ahem.

The other toy is a Roomba vacuum. I was skeptical, I admit. But the hubby did some research, read reviews, and told me we needed to buy one. I reluctantly went along with the plan. We purchased the Pet Series 532 — and I am in love. There’s nothing like vacuuming your house while not actually operating the vacuum. This little guy knows what to do. He makes the circuit of the room, vacuuming his little heart out, and when he’s nearly out of charge, he goes home to his base station and backs right in.

Now all I need is a robot to clean the rest of the house.

What about you — any new toys? Or toys you love and can’t live without?

P.S. Tomorrow, I’ll be guest blogging at Love is an Exploding Cigar!

It’s been one of those weeks, or couple of weeks, when life has moved at a breakneck pace and I’m still huffing and puffing and trying to catch up. You have heard all about my RWA conference, but shortly after I returned home, we made a quick trip to Louisiana to see my grandmother. She’s in a nursing home, and she’d recently been moved to the hospital with an infection and a distinct lack of will to live. We went down there not knowing what we’d find, but she took a turn for the better. She’s back in the nursing home now and promising to eat and get stronger if we’ll take her to Wal-Mart when we come back. She’s always loved Wal-Mart.

I was glad to see her (if I told you how many years it’s been since I’ve seen her, you’d be shocked) and sad too. She used to be a bold, brash woman who chain-smoked, cussed, and read paperback novels like there was no tomorrow. Going to her house for a couple of weeks in the summer was a supreme treat because she had a room crammed absolutely full of novels. And she didn’t care what I read. I remember reading 9 and 1/2 Weeks once and being shocked at the sensuality of it. There were horror novels, romances, women’s fiction, science fiction, etc. I read lots of stuff, so much that I can’t remember everything. It was like living in a library, especially since the room I stayed in was the library room. I was surrounded by books. (And, unfortunately, the scent of cigarette smoke.)

Grandma doesn’t read anymore, mostly because she’s weak and can’t see well. I gave her a copy of my book (large print) just in case, but I’m not sure she’ll read it. Which is okay. I think just having it there is enough. Though it was good to see her, I came away with a horror of nursing homes and a bit of anger that she did this to herself. See, she wouldn’t stop smoking, no matter how sick she got, no matter how smoking ruined her body. Smoking doesn’t just give you lung cancer. I learned this past weekend that it can debilitate you so bad you have to be hooked up to a catheter and have nurses change you because you can no longer get out of bed.

You may wonder how I can be certain it’s the smoking that did this. Grandma has two sisters, one younger and one older. They are spry, capable women who still have all their motor functions and who live in their own homes. They don’t smoke, and they exercise. Grandma chain-smoked and ate whatever in the hell she wanted. And she never exercised. So yes, it’s a combination of factors, but I can’t help but think how differently it would be if she’d taken better care of herself, if she’d listened to the doctor’s advice and given up the cigarettes. She could still be in her home, reading books, going for walks, enjoying life. Instead, she’s in a prison for old people. A soul-crushing, depressing place that smells like boiled pasta, urine, and mold.

I guess I sound like a public service announcement, but I do hope that you will take care of yourselves. Give up bad habits, start healthy ones, and read romance. Speaking of romance, Spanish Magnate, Red-Hot Revenge is available in stores NOW. I’m so excited about it! Even though I went to Louisiana for a somber mission, I still managed to get into a couple of bookstores and sign my books. It was great to see them so far from my home, and to be welcomed so warmly.

I’m working on my next book (my 4th for Presents), so better get busy. What are you up to today? Writing? Reading? Exercising?

Hey, where are my winners? Click on the contact button to send me your info so I can get these books in the mail to you!

What kind of summer fun have you been up to lately? I’ve been swimming a gazillion times — which, really, is a lie. Because I can’t swim very well, so to call what I do swimming is inaccurate. Fortunately, I’ve finally decided that I can take instruction from the hubby. He used to be a competition swimmer, so he looks beautiful in the water. I want to learn to do that too.

We’ve also been to picnics, barbeques, and out to dinner and movies with friends and family several times. It always seems as if the summer social calendar is much fuller than the fall and winter. I do love summer, but man is it hot in Alabama. Most activities need to take place indoors unless it involves the pool. And even the pool has felt like bathwater lately.

Now, who can tell me how many novels I wrote before I sold one? (Hint: the answer is on the Media page.) One lucky winner gets a book! And tell me what you love about summer where you live!

Seriously, I do know, but time is really running away on me at the moment. Such a busy month planned! Heck, it’s a busy summer! I have a book to finish (one week and counting). A new proposal to submit. Conference to attend.

And then there are the parties and things that happen in summer anyway. A pig roast. A porch party. A Cajun dinner.

Let’s not forget visitors over July 4th. Preparing for conference. Preparing for a book launch! (OMG!)

I don’t think it’s slowing down again until September. But then there’s that October deadline. Retreat. Holidays.

Oh dear….

What are you looking forward to this summer? Is life slowing down or revving up for you this season?