My March 1st book deadline has come, gone and been met…that last part is a bit of a miracle. This deadline was tight. It didn’t start out that way, but it ended that way. At the time I accepted the contract, I had 4 months to write the single title. I thought, gee approximately 400 pages in 4 months, how hard can that be? Well, life intervened and through a series of strange and annoying happenings - I will spare you the long-winded explanation and accompanying whining - my 4 month deadline became a “Write A Single Title In 7 Weeks” campaign.

Now, I know there are those among us who can write 400 pages in less than 8 weeks without breaking a sweat. These people are aliens. Really. That is the only explanation. Pod people. While I love Alison Kent and her SG5 series, I now believe she has a team of writers chained to a wall in her basement who sit down there brainstorming, typing and doing her bidding. Otherwise, frankly, there is no way she could meet her writing deadlines on the pace she sets for herself. Alien, I tell you. Alien.

Or, I need to believe that to feel better about what I have done to my loved ones for the weeks in the rush to get this book done.

Either way and for a variety of reasons, my sincere apologies go out to the following people:

-My Husband: For understanding that a Christmas vacation sometimes is really just an excuse to write all day instead of going to my day job. You likely can’t remember what I look like. Right now, that’s a good thing since I last slept in January. People who say writing is a one-person operation are just wrong. It takes a functioning and supportive household to survive a book deadline.

-My cp (Wendy): For not changing your email address when I exploded on you 5 days before my deadline when you had the nerve to tell me what you really thought rather than what I wanted to hear. You were right and will be happy to know that all has been fixed (I think) and that the characters are now so real and wonderful you’ll what them to walk right off the page and join you for lunch.

-My friend Melissa: For spending a few unfortunate hours with me after said cp (above) emailed me her thoughts. Very few people would have risked a heart attack to spend 40 minutes with me in an eucalyptus room while I tried to see if the human brain really could melt into a puddle under extreme heat. Mine didn’t - though I did try.

-My poor parents: For accepting that the adorable child you once loved has grown into a selfish adult who can only spend 38 minutes with you on the telephone over a 14 day period and, even then, has an anxiety attack over not working on her book during those same 38 minutes.

-My niece Jen: For being cool and talented both academically and athletically (despite those, believe it or not you are related to me). I missed your high school basketball tournament and your team’s run to the state finals, but I followed it online and am very proud of you.

-A few other friends and family: For forgiving my terse email replies to your concerned phone calls. While talking on the phone is not one of my favorite pastimes, a return call is not too much for you to expect.

I promise to start the next book more than 7 weeks before it is due. Not today - I’m resting from writing for a few days - but earlier than the previous one. I promise.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 6th, 2006 at 8:53 am and is filed under About Me, About My Books, About The Road To Publication. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.