is on the run to NYC and Silhouette Romantic Suspense editor, Patience Smith. I hope she likes it. Kissed it bye and have fingers crossed.
Posted by: Author | March 29, 2010
Runaway
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: NYC, Patience Smith, Runaway
Posted by: Author | March 28, 2010
Productive weekend
Have written a six page synopsis for Runaway to submit along with the full to Silhouette Romantic Suspense line. Hope to have it all ready to mail on Monday, the 29th. Feeling pretty good about this one. Except for all my friends that tell me that the publisher is very hard to write for. Hope they like it.
Have gone through the manuscript for Redemption for the Devil and made a few changes. Gotta type those in. Funny how you can find more errors when you print it out than when you look at it on the computer screen. I’m hoping to get the synopsis for it ready this afternoon and send it with the full to Samhain this week as well. I’m a little concerned that it may not be racy enough for Samhain. There is only one sex scene but based on the heroine, there can really only be one. One of the conflicts is her staunch Catholicism so she can’t be running off having sex. Anyway, I was optimistic about the thing but now I’m not so sure. But I’ll send it anyway.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: publisher, Redemption for the Devil, Runaway, Samhain, Silhouette Romantic Suspense
Posted by: Author | March 26, 2010
A new phobia I learned about
The fear of going home. It’s not called homophobia; it’s called nostophobia. Lots of authors suffer from nostophobia, especially the fear of returning home and having to write a book chapter before their publisher asks for the advance back.
I read this on the ‘net and I love it. I can’t credit it to the original author as I got it from the useless knowledge web site.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: advance, book, home, phobias, publisher, useless knowledge website
Posted by: Author | March 25, 2010
Shock and Dismay
Had discussion at Silken Sands with a new acquaintance and learned a very hard lesson. I was talking about one of my character’s aliases in my manuscript, Runaway. Any way, this woman looked at me and said, “I love that name. I’m going to use it. I need a name for a secondary character.”
I was absolutely shocked that she would consider doing that, much less announcing to me that she was going to do so. I just am floored that someone would do such a thing. The bad thing is, she already has a contract for her story and mine is just under submission as a full request. So, if mine gets picked up, it’ll look like I am the one to take someone’s character name. And it is such an unusual name, it WOULD be noticed. I am just so sad. I would have hoped for some professionalism.
So, lesson learned. I’ll no longer be so open to sharing.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: name, Runaway, Silken Sands Writers Conference
Posted by: Author | March 24, 2010
Beta Reader
Had a long chat with my Beta Reader in Memphis this morning. I actually think she’s more excited than me about the requests for my two manuscripts I got from the Silken Sands Writer’s conference. She is my biggest cheerleader and I am so proud that she thinks I have potential. You know, when the demons are hounding me and telling me that I can’t write, she is there with her stick beating them off. She’s a warrior and I’m grateful for her friendship. I hope she’s right and the Gods of publication are shining down on me.
St. Michael. Warrior of God
Devil of Doubt
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Beta, Demon, Devil, Memphis, Silken Sands Writers Conference, St Michael
Posted by: Author | March 21, 2010
Silken Sands conference
Was this weekend on beautiful Pensacola Beach (yes, that’s a cliche but you know what? It fits). Anyway, a grand time was had by all. I was pleased at how my pitch sessions went. I got requests on the two books I pitched and am very happy to move on to this phase of the process. I’m going to think positively and hope that the two editors like the actual manuscripts as much as they both seemed to like the premise of the stories. Even if they don’t like my work, they were both delightful people and I enjoyed our sessions and more importantly, them as people. Lindsey Faber from Samhain and Patience Smith from Harlequin were just charming. Awesome women.
Elaine Spencer, the agent I met was also very charming and nice. I had a lovely chat with her as well. I’ll be sending her some pages, too. All in all, a great conference.
AND, I got my crazy self roped into being the conference chair for 2012. YIPES! But I DO have my Southern Sizzle blog mates as my committee and we are already in the planning stages. http://southernsizzleromance.wordpress.com/
Our kick off speaker is already lined up: The uber-fabulous Barbara Vey. She is one of the coolest people on the planet. She fit right in with us Southern girls and we are going to adopt her! http://www.publishersweekly.com/blog/Beyond_Her_Book/index.php Check out her blog! She took this picture of some of the Southern Sizzlers. 
Posted by: Author | March 17, 2010
Southern Sizzlers blog
My group blog, the Southern Sizzlers, has been doing a countdown to our RWA chapter’s conference on Pensacola Beach this weekend. Today’s interview was Lindsey Faber of Samhain publishing. I am pitching to her this weekend. I confess I was at a loss on which story to pitch until I read the interview. As I have blogged before, my story Redemption for the Devil is a historical set in 1920. During the Irish “Troubles”. Hey, it just dawned on me that Samhain is Irish and my hero and heroine in that story are Irish and today is St. Patrick’s Day, how funny. But I digress.
Anyway, she said in her interview that she would like to see a historical set in a less popular time period. AND she said she likes to see characters on the move. Well, in Redemption for the Devil, we have the Atlantic Ocean, Dublin, Cork, the Arctic, Greenland, New York and Chicago. So, I’m pitch happy! Or is that pitch drunk as opposeed to punch drunk? LOL!
The next hurdle will be hoping she thinks the story is any good.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: arctic, Atlantic Ocean, chicago, Cork, Dublin, Greenland, Lindsay Faber, New York, Samhain
Posted by: Author | March 15, 2010
Lungs
My lungs are killing me. Have been for almost a week. I think I’m going to call MythBusters and see if I can get on the show. Here is the myth I want busted: can a person really cough up a lung? I feel like I am about to. My back hurts so bad from all the coughing I’ve been doing. It is just so painful. I’m so glad I got all my edits done last week for the Silken Sands Writer’s conference- I was a slug all weekend. From the bed to the couch, to the chair and back to bed. I don’t know if I’ll ever get better.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: lungs, MythBusters, Silken Sands Writers Conference
Posted by: Author | March 11, 2010
Good News
Spent the last few nights working on the word count and I GOT THERE! Even exceeeded it slightly. So glad. I’ve been sick the last three days and in so much pain from my lungs being conjested, I’m surprised I was able to sit there and type all the additions. So, now just to be hopeful that the pitches go well and someone wants to read it!
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: Pitch, Silken Sands Writers Conference, word count
Posted by: Author | March 9, 2010
Adding words
On Saturday, I got really smug and thought the story was done and ready to pitch at Silken Sands. On Sunday, I re-read the guidelines for the line I am pitching to and, gasp, I was short on words. So, I did what any self respecting writer does, I whined to my friends. I had it in my head I had to add 200 words per chapter. Panic set in. My friend, Sayde, voice of reason, said, “Add one sentence to every page and call me when you have a real problem.”
So, I pulled up my pants, printed the sucker and went through it with a pen last night. I added lots of words. I even added more than one sentence to some pages. Have no idea of the word count til I find time to type them in. Feeling better about it, though. Thanks for the reality check, Sayde.
Posted in Uncategorized | Tags: edits, Pitch, Runaway, Sayde Grace, Silken Sands Writers Conference, word count
Jillian Chantal 
