Conference was a Success!!!!!

What a great weekend! I was able to schmooze with some pretty cool people and sit in on some amazing workshops, mostly by John Reed, an author and former professor. I also made a great connection with someone from Penguin Publishing who wants to not only see my COMPLETE manuscript, but also wants outlines of ideas I have to further the Gwen Arthur series further along. HOW SUPER FABULOUS!!!!!

I still need a couple of readers, so if you're interested in reading my novel and willing to give brutally honest (But not hurtful) opinions please let me know. :)

~Anngela

Teaser...

Excited about a writing conference this weekend in San Diego. I've decided to post the teaser on my query letter, so the secret of what my book is about is over. Are you ready? Here you go:



Being the chief researcher for The Daughter’s of the Round Table is an ideal career choice for Guinevere Arthur: traveling to distant locations, authenticating Arthurian artifacts, and studying ancient texts. Ideal, that is, until she receives a letter from Adele Lake claiming to be a direct descendant of a child by Guinevere of Camelot and Lancelot du Lac. Flying to Paris to research Adele’s claims, Gwen is immediately swept up in a mystery after Adele’s aunt is murdered and Adele herself kidnapped. With the help of Adele’s brother, Val, Gwen has only 10 days to discover the secret proof the Lake family claims to have, and find the mythical sword Excalibur to insure Adele’s safe return. In this 62,000-word mystery, we follow Gwen Arthur on a quest through ancient ruins and timeless relics to discover the secrets of Camelot.

Tell me what you think. :)

~Anngela

Update

Hello, friends.

I'm finally able to get back in the swing of things and work towards finishing my novel. My sweet Schro let me work for 1/2 a day yesterday uninterrupted. I was able to finish almost a whole chapter. :) I should (if I work really hard at it) be able to finish the book in the next 2 weeks, which would be GREAT because I'll be at a writer's conference the last week of January. We're up to almost 200 pages, which is much more realistic than my first novel which had its first draft at over 400! Not o desirable, but I was a neuby in the ream of literature. (I'm just so experienced, now, huh? :) )

If there is anyone that would be interested in maybe proofing a few chapters for me, let me know. I've gotten some good feedback so far, but constructive criticism is always appreciated.

~Anngela

I'm Baaaaaaaack.... :)

Hello, ya'll. It's been over a month since I've posted, but I sure have been busy: Organized and pulled off a dinner for close to 1,000 people; conquered numerous colds and minors illnesses with my little guys, and finally finished chapter 10! That, honestly is what I'm the most excited about. I'm in the process of trying to hammer out a few minor details in chapter 11 before I plow through that one, and then I'll only have about 7 more chapters to go.

I'm having small issues trying to stay focused and not running with my crazy ideas for the characters. :) But, the show must go on and I am on task, and I'll keep you posted. :)

Nine Down, and Nine Ten to Go! :)

So, my sweet Schro picked the boys up at the sitter's today and freed me up to stay at work and finish up chapter 9. I'm so excited that I can see things truly falling into place. I'm also grateful to my wonderful sister-in-law MJ who helped me out with her Criminal Justice knowledge on a particular part in the story. You rock, MJ!!!

With only about 10 chapters to go, I can definitely start getting ready for the conference in January. I just want this baby done, and at least the 1st 3 chapters edited before then. I have a good feeling about this!

~Anngela

Speed Bump? Hah! It was a Speed Crater!

Glad to say that another chapter has been conquered by my laptop! The difficult transition was alot harder than I thought it would be, but I battled through it. I also decided to try another publisher for my first novel, At Last. We'll see how that turns out. :)

I miss the luxury of the summer: waking up late, staying up even later, writing until 3am...those were the days.

I think I'm still on track to have the novel finished by the end of October. NOT edited and perfected, but .

~Anngela

Has Anyone Seen Robert Frost?

Have you noticed how difficult it is to move in one direction for so long; do all the preparation for something to happen, and then out of the blue you get knocked to the ground? Not really knocked to the ground, but you know what I mean. I've done hours of research for this one, tiny element in my book, a discovery if you will, that is needed to connect the main characters with the past, and reading the section out loud and explaining it to my husband, made me see how trite it was. I didn't intend for it to be trite; in my mind it was brilliant, original, and the first of its kind. BUT, low and behold, in hindsight, it's not. :(

SO, I'm formulating a new plan of transition and action for the plot to develop down a new road...the road less traveled by, and hopefully, that will make all the difference. :)

Goodnight, friends!


~Anngela :)