Updates and contest announcement

I saw the final galley proof for my bi-monthly column "Dueling With Words" in the October issue of The Writer magazine entitled: "Sometimes you need to break out the editing chain saw to deal with a manuscript." As usual, I'm tickled with how it turned out. It'll be on page 10 and I talk about the rewrite process for Armed & Magical. Yes, that book was a nearly complete rewrite before it even reached my editor's desk, and you can read the entire hair-raising story.

As of yesterday, I am SO CLOSE to finishing the plot synopsis for Raine's 5th adventure. I would love to finish it today, though Kristin (bless her heart) has said that turning it in to her on Monday for her feedback will be just fine. But I want to finish it today and take the weekend off. I took most of last night off, lay in bed and watched TV. Sheer bliss! I told Derek that finishing a synop is the mini-exhaustion version of finishing a book. With my plot synops, I'm weaving the plot of a book out of thin air and it takes me about a month. One very intense month. Either this weekend or on Monday, I'll start the synop for Book 6. Baby needs a new book contract. ; ) The process is this: after Kristin helps me fine-tune the synops, she sends them to my publisher in a proposal package and then the negotiations start. A nerve-wracking process every time.

Keep sending your "Name That Book" entries until next Friday. I'll announce the winner(s) next Saturday. You can send in more than one entry. Thank you for those you've sent so far and keep 'em coming.

And on Monday, I'll announce a contest exclusively for the members of Raine's Rangers (my Yahoo Group fan club). If you'd like to be eligible to enter that contest, just click on any of the "Click to join Raine's Rangers" Yahoo Group buttons all over my site.

For tomorrow's Saturday Fun Pic, I'll post an hysterical video.

TGIF!
Lisa