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What I'm writing in YEAR OF THE DOG

I just finished writing Year of the Dog ! It had a massive plot hole that I had to fix which turned out to be more work than I expected. Here’s a snippet: “Hey, Auntie Nell.” He wrapped his arms around her, bussing her on the cheek and breathing in pikake flowers and shortbread cookies. And suddenly he was nine years old again, and her solid presence had made his chaotic world stable once more. “What are you doing here?” He usually took her to dinner on Wednesday nights, but today was Tuesday. The edges of her smile faltered a little before brightening right back up again. “What, I can’t visit my nephew?” She angled around him to enter his home. “Is this your new house? Looks lovely.” Which was a blatant lie, because the fixer-upper was barely livable, much less acceptable to a neat-freak like his aunt. She also left four matching pink and purple floral suitcases on the stoop behind her. Only then did Ashwin notice the cab driver standing slightly to the side of the walkway. “Can ...
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Mount Hermon recap, part 4, Genesis finalists

Captain’s Log, Stardate 04.20.2006

Got a lot today, so here we go.

Continued from Mount Hermon recap, part 3:
I got a chance to get to know Sarah Anne Sumpolec better. She’s a funny, fresh firecracker of energy. Loved her. If you have teen girls, they’ll love her Beka novels.

I hooked up with my friend Donna Fleisher again. That woman is walking encouragement, let me tell ya. I’m giving away an autographed copy of her latest novel, VALIANT HOPE, on my website contest.

I met Judy Gann for the first time, and she is such a sweet, gentle, sweet woman. And did I mention how sweet she is? She gave me a copy of her devotion book, THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT, for those living with the challenges of chronic illness. Now don’t freak out, I don’t have a chronic illness, but I will always suffer from the surgeries on my knee, and she wanted to encourage me with her book. Isn’t she just da bomb?

I hung out and made mischief with my friend Charise Olson, who lives down the road from the Mount Hermon campgrounds. She got great feedback on her missionary women’s fiction novel from both Mick Silva (Waterbook) and agent Steve Laube. The funniest part of the conference was when she “discovered” her tagline: “Having a good day? I can fix that.”

I got to see Lynette Sowell again! She’s such a sweetheart. I didn’t get a chance to talk much with her, but I hope she had a great conference. This was her first time at Mount Hermon.

My friend Randy Ingermanson was mentoring at the Fiction Mentoring Clinic. We spent many late night hours with the rest of the Night Owls in the coffee lounge: Dineen Miller, Rich Bullock, Brandilyn Collins, Steve Laube, Meredith Efken, John Olson, Lynn Thompson, and a rotating cast of Others.

I got a chance to hug Gayle Roper—I love that woman.

I went out to dinner a couple times, once with Charise, Cyndy Salzmann, Pamela Dowd, Janet Lynn Mitchell, Patti Hill, Cathy Elliott, and Katherine Hyde. We went to Riva Fish Market and I had FRIED FOOD! Yum! I wept because I had to leave several large pieces of calamari, shrimp and a scallop on my plate.

Susan Meissner won Writer of the Year! In celebration, I will see if I can get an interview with her on my blog and give away a few of her books.

Tomorrow: How I made a brand-new acquaintance cringe.

It is my great pleasure to announce the 2006 Genesis contest Category Finalists!

Contemporary Romance:
Kaye Dacus
Annette M. Irby
Glynna Sirpless
Kristian Tolle
Betty Woods

Historical Romance (there was a 3-way tie):
Janet Dean
Andree Eisenberg
Charlene Glatkowski
Pat Gonzales
Audra Harders
Lisa Marie Nelson
Donna Robinson

Romantic Suspense:
Anita K. Greene
Kelly Irvin
Robin Miller
Kelly Ann Riley
Jill Eileen Smith

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller:
Alice Loweecy
D'Ann Mateer
Sandra Moore
Wayne Scott
Cheryl Wyatt

Science Fiction/Fantasy/Speculative Fiction (there was a 2-way tie):
Beth Goddard
Rebecca Grabill
Shannon McNear
Rebecca LuElla Miller
Mirta Ann Schultz
Sherry Thompson

Women's Fiction:
Janice LaQuiere
Erin Keeley Marshall
Marian Merritt
Ane Mulligan
Julie Saffrin

General Fiction (includes General Historical, Multicultural, Young
Adult, Contemporary Fiction, Chick-Lit):
Mary Ann L. Diorio
Mike Ehret
Heidi Gennaro
Lynne Gentry
Christina Miller

My heartfelt congratulations to all the Category Finalists!
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