The hills are alive with the sound of music

2007 is almost here. So what are my plans for New Years Eve? Ab-so-lute-ly nothing. Huh! Isn’t that a line from a James Brown song?

I’m still here in my hometown of Athens, TN. Me and Guapo got tired of jogging the hilly streets, dodging traffic, getting honked at, and generally being a nuisance to the locals. So my dad recommended I check out the new regional park. I loaded up my dog and drove the couple of miles, pulled into the new park, and you’d think I’d just opened a really awesome present.

Hiking trail, I read on one sign. Walking trail, I read on another. Mountain bikes, on another. 3.1 mile loop, on this sign. Expect incline, on that sign.

I squealed, I actually squealed I was so excited. Being 7 in the morning and freezing cold, no one was there. I had the whole place to myself. Me and Guapo jumped out, buckled into our jackets (yes, my dog has a jacket), and we took off.

“The hills are alive with the sound of music….laaa, la, la, la” That song played in my head as we ran like crazy people onto the first trail. It cut through the woods, climbed some hills, went down others. There was a creek on one side and downed limbs we had to hop. We had so much fun, I swore I saw my dog grinning. We were gone for an hour before I even realized 60 whole minutes had gone by. Needless to say, we’ve been back nearly every day since.

Now I know those of you out there who live in the mountains and are reading this are probably rolling your eyes. But I’ve been living in Florida for over ten years now and although I grew up here in the hills of TN, it’s easy to forget how fun they are.

Oh, by the way…I found out my latest suspense, DESCENT INTO DANGER, is up for a CAPA award. Woohoo!

Home for the holidays

Well, hello everyone. I’m blogging from my hometown of Athens, TN today. I’m here for the holidays with my trusty dog, Guapo. Its rainy and dreary and surprisingly warm. Its been a steady 50 degrees. Its supposed to be dropping down to the 20s this weekend. So here’s hoping for snow.

I went out jogging yesterday and was fondly reminded of the hills east TN sports. Can anyone say sore muscles?

I’ll be going to Gatlinburg today. It’s a great little mountainous town and if you haven’t been you definitely need to go. I haven’t been in years, so I’m excited to see the changes.

Hey, here’s a review that I just got that was posted way back in May for DESCENT INTO DANGER. Funny how long it takes to get things:

“Greenland offers a fun read filled with bohemian characters and nature’s splendor.”
~Booklist

That’s it for now. Talliho!

No Clue

I don’t have a clue what to blog about, but I like to blog at least once a week.

So I’ll just randomly write for a paragraph or so and see what comes out of me. (This should be interesting)

My dog, Guapo, is cuddled up here beside me with his Snoopy doll. Yes, boy dogs can have dolls. Its okay. It won’t mess with their sexual gender. Although, Snoopy’s a boy. So I guess boy dogs can have boy dog dolls. Then again, Guapo really enjoyed his pink Miss Piggy. He enjoyed it so much he ripped it up. Hmmm…maybe he’s trying to tell me something. Because his Snoopy doll has lasted months. And that’s unheard of around here. He generally destroys a new doll within days. So maybe I should take a lesson and buy him only boy dolls. No girls allowed.

I’m going to get a pedicure today. I don’t normally do the manicure/pedicure thing. But I’m going with my girlfriends as part of one of their birthday celebrations. I’m dreaming more about the latte I’m going to have while the pedicure is going on.

My favorite overalls that I’ve had almost fifteen years busted a clasp. I was heartbroken. These overalls are soft and worn in. Their frayed around the ankles from years of use. So I trucked it down to the local seamstress shop (because I’m so totally not a sewing kind of girl) and handed the prized overalls over. She said she’d call. I just checked my voice mail. It’s been four days. I think I’ll call her.

Okay, that’s it for random thoughts. Lets review. Dog. Pedicure. Overalls. Nothing like staying consistent in my brain patterns.

BFF

BFF: Best Friends Forever

I’m spelling it out for all of you old farts (dad) that read this and don’t have a clue what BFF means.

Friends are something else. Some you have your whole life, some come and go, some you meet later and they stick with you.

My long time best friend, Jill Hockman, I met when I was two. Can you believe it? Two. We’ve been attached at the hip every since. What’s funny is throughout our entire childhood we only went one year to the same school. But we grew up on neighboring farms and managed to always see each other. Even later in life when we each moved to a different place, started careers, etc… we still manage to hook up. Now we live states apart and just yesterday I got the best email from her. Love you, Jill!

Then there’s the people you meet and hang out with day in and day out and then one day you realize its been a while since you’ve seen that person. Before you know it, months crawl into years and you wonder whatever happened to him/her. So Amanda from college if you’re anywhere out there, I had a blast hanging with you all those months, eating fondue and being generally obnoxious. Miss you!

And then there are those you meet later in life and you build a real solid mature (eek-never thought I’d say that word) relationship. You share your joys (marriage, children) and your sorrows (divorce, deaths) and you know the friendship is there to stay. So Britta and Shelly and Tara, thank you for all the years of ‘mature’ and dare we say immature times. Love you guys!

Fast & Festive Fiction Writing Contest

It's the Ho Ho Holidays and you should be looking for new readers in your stocking. What better way to draw them in than by showing them all your treasures and talent?

Looking to get your publishing career moving? Looking for a way to revive characters from books that have been out for a while? Want to introduce new characters for upcoming books? Looking for a way to build your readership? Have we got a promotional opportunity for you!

This month Echelon wants original stories set during the winter holidays! Christmas, Hanukkuh, Winter Solstice...you get the point. Whether your story is a touching romance, a terrifying thriller, or a confusing whodunit, we want to read it! We urge you to think outside the box on this one...holiday stories in...Russia, Germany, Italy...let your creative spirit soar!

So for December, submit your festive original story and wait to see if someone inserts a publication contract in your holiday gift pile.

Echelon Press would like to publish your "Fast and Festive" December story. The fast part means you have until December16, 2006 to submit your story of 3000-6000 words. The winner will be notified by December18, 2006 and have 5 days to edit/revise the story. Echelon Press will publish your story in its e-book division on December 25, 2006. Simple!

Send your submissions to contest@echelonpress.com. Stories must adhere to the following guidelines.

Standard Manuscript format:

• File saved in Word format (.doc) or (.rtf) (Send all submissions as an attachment)
• 8 ½ x 11 page
• Times New Roman 12pt font/black
• 1-inch margin on all sides/ 1.5 line spacing
• Align text left, do not justify (aligning text both left and right)
• Header containing title, author name and page number
• Capital letters at the beginning of sentences and proper nouns
• Show new paragraphs by indenting first line of new paragraph .3. Do not add blank line between paragraphs.
• Show scene breaks with * * * * centered in the appropriate line.

All cover letters must include:

• Name (and pseudonym if applicable)
• Mailing address
• Phone number
• E-mail address (if available)
• Web address (if available)
  

Submissions that do not follow the guidelines will be deleted without consideration or notice.

Deadlines

Yet another deadline met and gone.

This past Wed I had a deadline for round 3 of edits on book #2 in THE SPECIALISTS series. I made the deadline, skirting in at the very last second (which is very unusual for me. I’m normally days early)

Its funny, and I know its just my personality, but as soon as my editor gives me a deadline, I fa-reak. Here’s an example:

Editor: Here you go. Get that to me in two weeks.
Me (internal): Holy !@#$%
Me (external): Sure, oh editor of mine. No prob.

And then night and day I work, typing, focusing, deleting, rewriting.

Me: All done. Yay! Go Shannon, go Shannon, go, go
Editor: (grin)
Me: Allow me to brag, I am five whole days early after all
Editor: you’re so awesome

And then I stop and think, why did I freak so bad? I’m an excellent time manager. I knew I’d meet my deadline.

Then a week or so later I get another and the process starts all over again. (Sigh)