"The end" is just the beginning

I blogged all about it on the LPI blog.

Hit me!

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

OK, this is a fun ride.

Today I got a really welcome, really marvelous package in the mail.

It was my complimentary author copy of Lone Star Trouble, in print. And was it sweet holding the fruit of my labor in my hands? Oh, yeah. It's a lovely cover, and I just got this overwhelming sensation of "mine" and "yes, I really did it!"

So I hauled my butt down to the library to show it off to the local staff, left them a few bookmarks, and generally joined them in the "ooh"ing and "ahh"ing of its loveliness. They were (gratifyingly) almost as excited as I was! And they plan to get a copy in ASAP - either buy directly from me or order it, whichever is faster. Whichever is faster! Isn't that cool?

Next showing-off stop, the school district office, where I had to share with a few of the staff (who were also gratifyingly impressed, and excited about that marvelous image of Cleve's chest). More bookmarks entered circulation. I think it's time to fire up the printer and that neato paper cutter I got for Christmas... Oh, and I've got a few copies sold, as soon as I get them here!

Overall, it was a quit satisfying day. My copy is now standing at attention on the kitchen counter where I can ogle it at will. And dream of visits to the local bookstores and other places I might con into stocking my stuff.

So far, so fun.

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Return of the Grind

Back to the usual today, but here's a nifty gift a pal shared with me.

It's called Inkmesh. Remember all the nifty shopping sites where you can find compared prices all over the net for a particular item? Well, Inkmesh is all about ebooks and who's selling them for what price, in what format, and how it's been rated. SuperNifty!

Have a good one.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Not registering on the suckometer

Today's no ordinary Monday. Not only is it the first Monday of 2010 (I really like the symmetry in this year's number for some reason. It feels right...) but it's also the Day After I Finished Writing a Novel.
Why is this a big deal after all the novels I've written? Well, between you, me, and the internet (gate posts are sooo last century) it's the first time I've finished a novel in 2 years. Yep, 2 years ago I finished Trouble Under Venus and it's been something of a dry spell ever since. So yeah, getting to The End was a pretty big deal for me (even though I don't, in fact, type "the end" at the end of my stories. Pretty much, I think readers can figure out it's the end when there's no more story left).
Furthermore, I no longer experience that pang of sadness at the end of a story, for fearing I'll miss those characters terribly. Because you know what I've learned? If I contract that book, I will be seeing lots and lots of those characters in the next months. And afterward, I'll be doing interviews for them and explaining how their story came to me and.... nope, I won't really be missing them.

Now I get to The Reason I Let Stories Cook Before Sending Them to My Editor:

There I slept, pleased as punch with myself, when en el noche media I awoke to the realization that I'd left a pretty big loose end. Oops. Of course, I'd never saddle my editor with all the silly mistakes I make during composition either, and I've got a couple of rather heated argument scenes (and the Big love scene) which need more stage direction and sensory details. So there's still some work involved before I get down to the actual work of doing edits with someone else involved. Still, I am done writing it.

So happy I'm off work for another day...

Happy Monday!

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Dishin'

A Happy New Year to you! I won't bore you with my list of resolutions. Today I'd rather dish about last night's Rockin New Years program.

But first, let me just say it's so awesome waking up to a tidy house -- we did the ole Emergency Clean last night after inviting friends over for a rather impromptu snack/TV fest. I love Emergency Cleaning! So much done, in so little time... and I'm much more apt to throw away stuff instead of finding a place to stow it. :)

Now, back to cute little Ryan Seacrest. Man. He's so darn smooth and at ease...
Dick Clark looks much better than he sounds, but seriously, I'm impressed as hell that he's still making it to the New Years bash. The guy is 80, and has been hosting the New Years bash since 1972!!
And he still looked better than Jennifer Lopez last night. Whoa. Doesn't she have somebody on her staff to help her choose costumes? Wasn't so bad while the fur coat was buttoned, but... The floofy fringy thing looked like the wrong side of an ostrich. What the heck was that? And when she shed it, oh my. The unitard beneath was simply a "tard" choice. Probably 1% of the celebrity population can carry off a bodysuit, and she's not there anymore. It didn't even fit right. Yeesh.
Keri Hilson? She's got a pretty decent bod, but the weird boy-brief cut of her leather bottoms didn't do a thing for her hips or thighs. A bikini cut would've looked good, and maybe that costume wasn't available in bikini cut, but for God's sake, was there a shortage of stuff to wear this year? Did she not look in a mirror with it on?
Fashion Do's for the night included Fergie, who looked hot in everything she wore, and little Selena Gomez, who was dressed just right. And of course Ryan and Dick, impeccable in their host suits.

One huge gripe my daughter and I both had? No footage of the ball dropping. At all. The whole countdown and ensuing seconds after were dedicated to all the smooches going on. I'm all for smooches, but, come on. The ball is like, the climax. What gives?

Anyway, have a happy holiday weekend, and do be safe.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!