Friday, April 21, 2006
One gig down, two to go...
Well, actually more.
StarDaze went very well. I even got to sign a bunch of autographs-mainly for kids. And some funny-looking drunk guys over fifty with only two teeth in their head. Okay, I shouldn't be mean. But why can't some really cool guys ask for my autograph???
Steve Azar's band was really good. His drummer was cool and hung out with us for a while. There weren't a lot of people there when we played, but everyone who was seemed to like it. The staff was really appreciative. Kirt stole some Girl Scout Cookies, Quentin was interested in the fourteen-year-old sunglass girl, and Leger survived his first major performance without throwing up from anxiety. Friday night we played really well. I started getting bored by the middle of Saturday's gig. It started to get hot and my feet were hurting. I was exhausted when I got home Sunday. The house was okay but Thor was gone. He was home when I left Friday but he got out somehow and hasn't come back, nor has Animal Control picked him up. I guess our little cockapoo is gone for good now. I haven't even had time to grieve.
I'm so bored at work. I did actually get work done this week-all my grading is caught up and my new online courses are almost ready. This semester can't end soon enough.
The sequel still rolls around in my brain. I've mostly been hand-writing everything. I've got two of the most dramatic parts going on at the same time: one near the middle and one near the end. I have tons of notes and started mapping out the timeline on an Excel document. I stare at pictures of Cherif for inspiration. It's scary to look at a real person who looks exactly like the one you created in your head. Noël and I look at him and ache!!
I've completely reprinted the manuscript(it still fits in two binders!) and have zeroed in on my next victims-three students in the Spanish class who are the same age as I and lived through the rocker years also. We'll see what they think...April and Jane skimmed through the Prologue and were already interested.
I'll probably start sending out query letters again once school is out. I've pretty much heard from the few I'd already sent. I'm almost ready to look into self-publishing. Sunni Thibodeau told me though-You're not a writer until you can wallpaper your office with rejection letters. I've thrown mine away, especially those that just say "Dear Writer, Your stuff basically sucks, although we don't really know that because we didn't even read your query letter."
I did send in my Karaoke story to the Writer's Digest competition. I still think it's pretty good-as did Heather and Noël, my two biggest fans.
We play Boogie's in Hot Springs tonight and tomorrow. I hope it's as fun as last time. We've added some new tunes. I just hope when I have to sing "Redneck Woman" no one thinks that it's my personal anthem. I almost want to announce a disclaimer before I have to perform it. It will be popular in the club, but...redneck and me don't even belong in the same sentence.
Okay, I guess I'm outta here. I'm just killing time until I can leave the campus!!!
StarDaze went very well. I even got to sign a bunch of autographs-mainly for kids. And some funny-looking drunk guys over fifty with only two teeth in their head. Okay, I shouldn't be mean. But why can't some really cool guys ask for my autograph???
Steve Azar's band was really good. His drummer was cool and hung out with us for a while. There weren't a lot of people there when we played, but everyone who was seemed to like it. The staff was really appreciative. Kirt stole some Girl Scout Cookies, Quentin was interested in the fourteen-year-old sunglass girl, and Leger survived his first major performance without throwing up from anxiety. Friday night we played really well. I started getting bored by the middle of Saturday's gig. It started to get hot and my feet were hurting. I was exhausted when I got home Sunday. The house was okay but Thor was gone. He was home when I left Friday but he got out somehow and hasn't come back, nor has Animal Control picked him up. I guess our little cockapoo is gone for good now. I haven't even had time to grieve.
I'm so bored at work. I did actually get work done this week-all my grading is caught up and my new online courses are almost ready. This semester can't end soon enough.
The sequel still rolls around in my brain. I've mostly been hand-writing everything. I've got two of the most dramatic parts going on at the same time: one near the middle and one near the end. I have tons of notes and started mapping out the timeline on an Excel document. I stare at pictures of Cherif for inspiration. It's scary to look at a real person who looks exactly like the one you created in your head. Noël and I look at him and ache!!
I've completely reprinted the manuscript(it still fits in two binders!) and have zeroed in on my next victims-three students in the Spanish class who are the same age as I and lived through the rocker years also. We'll see what they think...April and Jane skimmed through the Prologue and were already interested.
I'll probably start sending out query letters again once school is out. I've pretty much heard from the few I'd already sent. I'm almost ready to look into self-publishing. Sunni Thibodeau told me though-You're not a writer until you can wallpaper your office with rejection letters. I've thrown mine away, especially those that just say "Dear Writer, Your stuff basically sucks, although we don't really know that because we didn't even read your query letter."
I did send in my Karaoke story to the Writer's Digest competition. I still think it's pretty good-as did Heather and Noël, my two biggest fans.
We play Boogie's in Hot Springs tonight and tomorrow. I hope it's as fun as last time. We've added some new tunes. I just hope when I have to sing "Redneck Woman" no one thinks that it's my personal anthem. I almost want to announce a disclaimer before I have to perform it. It will be popular in the club, but...redneck and me don't even belong in the same sentence.
Okay, I guess I'm outta here. I'm just killing time until I can leave the campus!!!
Friday, April 07, 2006
More rejection
Let's see. It's the last day of Spring Break and I've enjoyed it far too much: sleeping late and doing nothing constructive. I did get the bathroom and bedroom clean, and caught up the laundry. I did some grocery shopping, too. And actually cooked a meal Sunday. I did have fun at the Double L Ranch opening-doing tequila shots with the Bethanys and dogging the rather dismal band. The Hurricanes are actually better than these guys. Sad, really. I did some miscellaneous shopping and bought some "housewife porn." (Romance novels...ha, ha.) I also glanced through some books at Hastings-my stuff's on par with what I saw, so...
The Artists & Artisans agent e-mailed today, saying the book is more like watching Vh-1, the prose needs to be more raw and edgy...something like that. It bummed me out some, but oh well. It's just schmalzty commercial fiction...I'm not trying to win a Pulitzer Prize, or move the earth with my prose...it's just my hair metal love story that I'm very proud of, and thought maybe some other people might like to read it because it's a decent story. A long-haired guy who falls in love and goes crazy.
The first chapter is done, and I sent it to Noel. I feel the need to get the sequel written before it drives me nuts because I can't shut it off in my head. I bought a little notebook to carry around so I can write ideas down and it's filling up quick. With voodoo love rituals, Chinese character tattoos, strip clubs, sex while listening to Led Zeppelin II...I still think it's a cool story, even if it is about a "has-been." We all start to feel like "has-beens" as we push forty...
The original manuscript is ready though. I managed to shave off eighty pages, but it's still over 300,000 words. That's a lot I know, but it still reads quick, at least as far as I'm concerned. It's still funny, and sexy, and...okay, I'll shut up now. They can look down their noses at me, but pop culture is life. (Insert laughter here.)
Meanwhile, Noel and I are looking for men to model for the book cover, and I think we've found him. He's a romance cover model, and he's HOT. Too short, too much body hair, but he'll do. There's also this guy I found on the Penthouse website...dressed like an Indian, all this long, dark hair...where are these men in REAL life?
Okay, okay, I'm rambling. But we went out to the country club, Raymond bought our Coronas for us, as well as a shot of tequila, and I was smashed once we got home. I usually write my best stuff when I'm loaded, but that e-mail crushed me. She wasn't mean, just discouraging. I'm sure I'm not the first to feel this way. Even the greats were rejected, blah, blah, blah...so I forge ahead to our gigs coming up this month in Star City, Hot Springs, and Killeen. We're going to be busy.
Oh, and I probably won't hear from Rock Star either. It's just as well. Am I whining? Let's all be depressed! I need some sleep. I'm sure I'll feel better in the morning. Especially after this buzz finally wears off.
I'll be so ready when the school year is over!!!
The Artists & Artisans agent e-mailed today, saying the book is more like watching Vh-1, the prose needs to be more raw and edgy...something like that. It bummed me out some, but oh well. It's just schmalzty commercial fiction...I'm not trying to win a Pulitzer Prize, or move the earth with my prose...it's just my hair metal love story that I'm very proud of, and thought maybe some other people might like to read it because it's a decent story. A long-haired guy who falls in love and goes crazy.
The first chapter is done, and I sent it to Noel. I feel the need to get the sequel written before it drives me nuts because I can't shut it off in my head. I bought a little notebook to carry around so I can write ideas down and it's filling up quick. With voodoo love rituals, Chinese character tattoos, strip clubs, sex while listening to Led Zeppelin II...I still think it's a cool story, even if it is about a "has-been." We all start to feel like "has-beens" as we push forty...
The original manuscript is ready though. I managed to shave off eighty pages, but it's still over 300,000 words. That's a lot I know, but it still reads quick, at least as far as I'm concerned. It's still funny, and sexy, and...okay, I'll shut up now. They can look down their noses at me, but pop culture is life. (Insert laughter here.)
Meanwhile, Noel and I are looking for men to model for the book cover, and I think we've found him. He's a romance cover model, and he's HOT. Too short, too much body hair, but he'll do. There's also this guy I found on the Penthouse website...dressed like an Indian, all this long, dark hair...where are these men in REAL life?
Okay, okay, I'm rambling. But we went out to the country club, Raymond bought our Coronas for us, as well as a shot of tequila, and I was smashed once we got home. I usually write my best stuff when I'm loaded, but that e-mail crushed me. She wasn't mean, just discouraging. I'm sure I'm not the first to feel this way. Even the greats were rejected, blah, blah, blah...so I forge ahead to our gigs coming up this month in Star City, Hot Springs, and Killeen. We're going to be busy.
Oh, and I probably won't hear from Rock Star either. It's just as well. Am I whining? Let's all be depressed! I need some sleep. I'm sure I'll feel better in the morning. Especially after this buzz finally wears off.
I'll be so ready when the school year is over!!!
