GALLEYS HANG-OVER

July 13, 2008 at 5:32 pm 6 comments


So, my beautiful and lovely editor sent me my galleys yesterday. I was so excited I blogged about over here. So I’ll be having a release date soon. Trust me, you’ll be the first to know. But as I was reading through See Megan Run I decided to compile all my favorite punch lines. Not sure if you can understand them out of context, but here they are anyway for your reading pleasure(copyright and I have proof):
******
If life were fair, Megan would have stayed a vague, irritating memory.
********
Nicole lifted her chin. “I want you to be the maiden of honor.”
“What?” Megan inspected her mother. Nicole’s eyes weren’t dilated, nor did she wipe her nose continually, or have track marks on her arms, so no outright signs of drug use.
********
“He said the Yankees were a bunch of yuppies in uniforms and what should he expect from people who live in New York.”

Now people who know Lani Diane Rich and remember that infamous letter will totally get this joke.

*********
Nicole must have cut out her mother bear instincts with a rusty blade, because she didn’t seem bothered by the feral gleam in Jocelyn’s eyes.

*********
“I’m going to ask her on a date. She’ll be annoying, stubborn, and pushy.” Like she used to be. “And seeing her like that will let me get over her quickly.”
“You’re pulling my leg, and it’s not funny.”
He had been when he started, but now the idea held some appeal. “I’m going to call her up now.”
Jocelyn pushed him back down. “You’re not thinking clearly.”
“This is the best idea I’ve come up with in ages.”
“That’s not a compliment to yourself, dear.”
*******
Aiden crossed his arms. Someone at some point had to be the one to throw the crap at the fan. Unfortunately, today, it had to be him.
*******
Megan’s hands paused on the crystal vase. “How did you know it was me?”
“You didn’t call this morning, and actually I was expecting you on the doorstep.”
“I have an idea.”
“To stop obsessing.”
*****
Megan blew out a breath, not wanting to take what her mother was saying too seriously, because this woman wore peasant skirts eight seasons after the trend.
*****
Aiden sighed. “You can stay with me, but I’m telling you now—the alcohol is for the party.”
Butch patted Shep’s chest. “I promise to steal only two bottles.”
“None.”
“The Bacardi. I hear Chandi’s here.”
“No,” both Aiden and Shep said.
“I wouldn’t do anything Jesus wouldn’t do. Just lay hands on her.”

******

There were more parts that made me snort, but you have to read the book to get the full effect.

Entry filed under: See Megan Run.

PROMOTIONAL ITEMS: Why Procrastination should be one of the 7 Deadly Sins MY NATIONAL’S TO-DO LIST

6 Comments Add your own

  • 1. Anne  |  July 14, 2008 at 2:07 am

    Congrats on being a published author 2x over. I can only imagine how good you must feel. I don’t usually leave messages on blogs because I’m just the type that likes to read. You may be suprise(or disturbed)at how often I check your site…like everyday, dude. You really make a difference. I digress. I am leaving a message today because I’m so bumbed out, and I was hoping you could offer a pick-me up. (Advice, not money.) *She shakes her head.* I’m really trying to get to my point…could that be my writing problem?…okay okay…point is, I like writing vampire books, and I love S. Meyer’s books but I think, Oh, I could never write as good as her. By the time I finish my book, everyone will be sick of vampires. Boo Hoo, do you have have any kind words for this hapless wayward boobie?

  • 2. Mel  |  July 14, 2008 at 4:08 am

    Boo Hoo, do you have have any kind words for this hapless wayward boobie?

    Two routes you can go. And another piece of advice you can take to your grave. Yup, it’s that good. IMHO

    First route one: Write the vampire books anyway. People say contemporary romance is dead so technically I should close up shop and write Paranormals, or historicals or whatever else is hot at the moment. I write the stories that come to me. I may be naive in my thinking that if you voice shines it doesn’t matter if what you are writing is “dead”. Someone is going to read/buy your books.

    Second route: This one I can’t put claim to. (And boy is this going to get long)

    Last year at the RWA conference I sat in The Bestseller Sisterhood or something titled like that with Jayne Ann Krentz and Susan Elizabeth Phillips. JAK confessed she used to write under a different. She killed that name with her sales because no one was buying her books. Someone took a chance on her, but there just wasn’t a big demand for what she wrote(I think it was her futuristic type books). (Hint: The demand for vampire books for example.) So, she sat down and had a conversation with herself. What is it that she really wrote about? Listen up this is key. No matter the genre you are writing you gravitate toward the same thing theme. Love conquers all. Good always wins over Evil. Redemption. Forgiveness (you getting the picture?)

    She also looked at what plot she loved to write. Hers happened to be marriage of convenience (sp?)*other plots, secret baby, novice crime solver, so on…*

    So, she sat down and wrote a contemporary romance novel that had a marriage of convenience plot line much like her futuristic books. It also had the alpha male she loved to write. She was able to sale again. I also believe every book she puts out hits the bestseller list now.

    So, my point (I also digress, a lot)If you find yourself with vampire books you can’t sell find out why you are drawn to writing those books. More specifically what is the running theme you keep writing about. Then write a non-vampire book. You never know you just might find another sub-genre you love to write.

    Now for the advice. Pull out your pen. Heck, open up a word document so you can just cut and paste it, print it out, and then stick it on your wall.

    I love *insert favorite author’s name*. *insert favorite author’s name in again* writes wonderfully. I love everything *insert favorite author’s name* writes. But, *insert favorite author’s name* will never write the stories I need to write.

    And that is my true worth.

    That same reason will be why I sit down every day to write, because no one else can tell MY stories the way I can tell them. If they did I probably wouldn’t have the urge to write them in the first place.

    Others may have a better hold on craft than I, but they will never have my voice. And that is the what makes or break a writer. They may write grammar perfect sentences, never headhop, or never put in too much backstory. But if it sounds like an android wrote their prose they are just as bad off as a person who doesn’t know what a fragment sentence is.

    And because I realize this I am just as good as a writer as *insert favorite authors name*

    Or you can simply put on your on your wall:

    “I AM A GREAT WRITER”

    You don’t have to believe it. You may think I’m trying to sell you a bridge, but I can assure you if you continue to measure yourself to your favorite author you will always come up short. Find what makes YOU a good writer. Accept it as solid fact. Hone it. Learn what will make YOUR stories better and then reassess what you need to know to make your next book better than the last. I can guarantee you if you do this someone calling themselves a hapless wayward boobie will think “I will never write as good as Anne.”

    Then you can tell them the same thing I just told you.

    I hope that helps. If you have anymore questions or if you want to tell me I’m an idiot you can e-mail me privately at: melissablue@melissablue.net

    But seriously I hope that helps. It helped me.

  • 3. Anne  |  July 14, 2008 at 3:06 pm

    You are good; you are very very good. I’m in such a better mood. I hopped online just to visit you; now, I got to get back to work. Thank you for the kind words. I’ll keep writing forward. One day if I ever have the opportunity to publish, I’ll go to Nationals and I’ll hunt you down, uh, I mean I will professionally look for you. -And when I find you, I’ll jump out from behind the curtains and hug you. You’ll be like, What the hell? So if that ever happens, don’t have a stroke. I won’t be there to suck your blood, just to say hi and thanks.

  • 4. Mel  |  July 14, 2008 at 3:15 pm

    I promise not to call security on you.

    And you are welcome.

  • 5. Edie  |  July 14, 2008 at 11:37 pm

    Mel, I love your voice! Snappy and ironic. My favorite kind of writing.

    I wish I were going to National, but I’m passing this year. Maybe next year.

  • 6. Mel  |  July 15, 2008 at 12:14 am

    Edie, I would have loved to meet you. I don’t think I’ll be going next year. (Well, unless I’m up for a Rita)

    And thanks for the compliment.

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