| Shelley's Blog |
Date: September
Subject: Experience is Necessary
Sometimes, experience really is necessary. Last week, two things happened that reminded me of that. First, my son took a turn too fast and scraped up the side of the car on the way to school. Luckily, I had almost finished my first pot of coffee, so I could actually give out coherent advice. After hearing that he, his sister-and for the most part, the car-were okay, I told my son to get on to school. Then I, feeling frustrated and irritated, went on upstairs to work. When I’m working, I’m in control. Well, kind of. My goal for the morning was to fill out the art fact sheets for my May release. Filling out art fact sheets is a pretty fun task. You go to a Harlequin site and fill out information about the heroine, hero, setting, and favorite scenes. The artists use this information for the cover. It’s exciting to imagine what the cover will look like. It’s exciting to realize that a story I created will be on the shelves on day. For me, it’s also a humbling endeavor, because in order to fill out the art information, I have to scan down through all my submissions over the years. Why humbling? That’s easy to explain. See, I’ve sold six books to Harlequin. Hooray! But I’ve submitted over twice that many. Yep, I’ve got a whole lot of rejections logged in online. So, last week, as I was stewing over my son, the state of the car, and the fact that my husband never seems to be in town when anything out of the ordinary happens, I stared at those submissions on-line. And it hit me…Those books weren’t right. They deserved to be rejected. Over the years, when I submitted, and submitted, and submitted again, my writing wasn’t quite ready for prime time. Oh, I could write—but not quite at the caliber needed. Hmm. Kind of like a new driver. My son scored really well on all his driving tests. But, well, he also has a few things to learn about driving, day after day. He needs more experience. Hmm. I thought about this as I filled out the art fact sheets. Thought about it some more as I did laundry, got to work on my book- in-progress, and carefully told my husband about the car mishap when he called to check in. That afternoon, when my son came home, we both took a walk around the car. He told me about his day. Told me about what had happened with the car. We talked about what he could have done differently. Then, just as I was about to do what moms do—give sage words of advice-we heard the frantic bark of Suzy, the weiner dog. It turns out Phoebe the beagle (the beagle who’s always hungry!) snatched Suzy’s bone and gave her a little bite, too! Suzy was bleeding. Unfortunately, we have plenty of experience with dog emergencies. This I knew how to deal with! We called the vet, grabbed the dachshund, and hopped into the car. And, as my son drove me and the pup to the vet, he asked why I had the cell phone. For one, very good reason-so I could be sure and call my husband and let him know what else he missed! I’ve got experience in this one, too. Shelley
Date: July
Subject:
I turned in a book this week. It’s for Harlequin American, and will be published sometime in 2008, I think. It was my fifth book for Harlequin and my fifteenth to sell. But it struck me, as I drove to the FED-EX office, how the process of completing a manuscript-and the feeling of elation-hasn’t changed much from the very first complete novel I wrote. I still feel giddy that someone else is about to read my work. Before I turn in a manuscript I usually do a couple of things. After I’ve read, revised, and read it again (and this can go on for weeks), I double-check the story with a calendar. I learned with Cinderella Christmas that I have a bad habit of writing things like ‘one week later’, or the ‘next day’—or having too many chapters and scenes all on the same day. I also check for names and eye color. Usually I write more than one book at a time, so names of secondary characters get hopelessly confused. This is a source of amusement for my critique partners. While the pages print, I rewrite the synopsis, since I’ve often changed things I never guessed I would do before the book was complete. Then, I write a cover letter. My final step is to type out a cover page to rubber-band on top of the whole thing, with the very fun words, ‘By Shelley Galloway’ right under the title. The people at FED-EX know me now. They smile when I turn in a book because they say they can always tell when one is just completed. My hair’s a mess. Make-up hasn’t been thought about. Ratty sweats are on. And a goofy, really pleased smile is on my face…always proclaiming~ I did it! I made up a story and finished it! What do I do on that short drive home? Get a vanilla latte from Starbucks and do a little bit of cheering in the car. Then, of course, it’s time to clean up my office and take a shower. My family is pleased because I’ll be more concerned with their activities once again than a whole lot of made-up ones. I’ll sit around and watch TV and play with Suzy, our miniature dachshund. And, of course, go do my favorite thing…go buy someone else’s hard work and read. That is I will, until the next deadline approaches. Shelley
Date: August
Subject: Another Birthday
Well, it was bound to happen. We had a major scheduling conflict on my birthday. I grew up celebrating just about every holiday. And, well, even though I now have two teenagers far more sophisticated than myself on most days, I still make a big deal about each person’s special day. They know I expect attention on my day, too. Oh, not all day long. Just dinner out. But, well, everyone was busy on Saturday. My son had to work, my daughter had cheerleading. No problem, I said. How about we go out to eat on Friday night? You guessed it, Friday night wasn’t good either. Both my kids and my husband had plans! Thursday involved other commitments. On Monday, my husband was flying out of town. So, after much discussion and looking at social calendars, Sunday night was it. My husband made dinner reservations downtown. We were set…so I thought. Sunday arrived. We went to church. Then there was the fun family activity of cleaning out the garage on just about the hottest day of the year. Everyone started getting grumpy. After an hour, I looked around…the kids had mysteriously found other things to do. Next thing I knew, my husband did, too. And then the phone started ringing. Actually, my family’s cell phones started ringing. Uh oh, everyone started getting invited to all kinds of places, including a golf outing for my husband. I listened to everyone’s conversations, kind of feeling guilty when everyone cancelled…it was mom’s birthday. They had to spend time with mom. No, it wasn’t an optional thing. Mandatory~ just like they were in the army. Well. Now I started feeling guilty. The car was pretty silent during the drive downtown. I sat there remembering years that had passed, when the kids drew me pictures and the Dairy Queen ice cream cake was looked forward to with breathless anticipation. Yeah, I’ll admit it. I was kind of bummed and irritated with myself. How come I was making a big deal out of my birthday, anyway? I mean…I’ve had LOTS of birthdays. But then, after we got to the restaurant, a series of things happened. My husband presented me with a special menu signed by the staff. The kids put away their cell phones and started chatting. We laughed about my daughter’s seventh birthday, when her birthday dinner consisted of Top Ramen. We remembered swimming parties, slumber parties, and my husband’s fortieth. We had a nice dinner. We all dug into my slice of chocolate cake. And lo, and behold, my son and daughter both handed me cards. My new driving son had taken my daughter out shopping just the day before. I had a great birthday, even though it wasn’t actually on my birthday. And I got what I wanted-family time, even though I had to whine and put my foot down to get it. And, well, that's good enough for me. : ) Shelley
Date: February 4, 2007
Subject: The Dinner Party That Almost Wasn't
I’m not a great entertainer, but I am a pretty organized hostess. I enjoy having people over, and I do enjoy that crazy, hectic excitement that comes just hours before everyone is supposed to arrive. Unfortunately, my hostessing claim to fame is not on the many dinner parties that have been successful, but instead on the Dinner Party That Almost Wasn’t. I blame all of this on our beagle. We have the sweetest beagle in the world. Her name is Phoebe, and she’s now 11 years old. Basically, all she really does is sleep. Her other main activity is eating…and that’s when one evening everything went wrong. It all started when my husband, a salesman, was given an account to try to sell. After two years of hard work, he and his team were very close to getting a decision. Six people flew into Cincinnati to prepare and ultimately give the final presentation. After months of meeting in hotels, my husband and I thought it would be great to have everyone over at our house for dinner. It was a piece of cake for me to plan. I ordered a beautiful Honey Baked Ham and made a whole bunch of side dishes. The afternoon that everyone was due to arrive, I set the table, bought flowers, made sure I had drinks and coffee…even made a cake. I waited until the very last moment to get out of my sweats and put on a dress. Well, when I got back downstairs, two things happened: the phone rang,--my husband, saying they were five minutes away, and I noticed Phoebe lying on the ground. Beside her was my ham. Yep, my beagle somehow found supernatural powers, jumped up on the table and pulled the whole 9 pound ham to the ground. She’d managed to eat a big chunk of it, too. Oh no! Panic set in. I had the vice president of my husband’s company due any minute! I had a giant ham mark on my white tablecloth from where the ham had been dragged off the plate and pulled down to the floor. Phoebe also wasn’t doing too well, either. She was looking a little green…obviously no ham was intended for such beagle consumption. Hastily, I did the only thing I could…I picked up the ham, rinsed it off, lopped off the corner that looked attacked, and put it back on the plate. I found a pretty cloth napkin and hastily covered the grease spot on my linen tablecloth. I tossed the beagle outside just as the garage door opened. After serving drinks and appetizers, everyone sat down. As everyone ate, Phoebe circled the table, just like a shark. I glared at her and tried to pretend she didn’t look seriously like she was about to, well…divest herself of the ham. Finally, when the rest of the table was busy talking, Tom said, “Shelley, what’s wrong?” “The dog ate half the ham,” I whispered. Unfortunately…there’d been a break in the conversation. Everyone heard. “What?” someone asked. I could feel my husband’s horrified glare as I tried to laugh it off. As confidently as possible, I relayed how we were all eating Phoebe’s leftovers--just as everyone was staring at their now empty plates. Almost in unison, eight forks hit the table. And the beagle’s stomach started to gurgle. Oh no! Well, before I knew it, everyone left the house in a rush and I was left alone with a sick dog, But still, there’s more! Of course, my son needed a poster board for a school project, so I loaded my son in the front seat, beagle in the back, and ran to Walgreens. By this time it was dark. We left the beagle in the car, got the posterboard, got home and cleaned up. The next morning, my husband woke up late, took the car, drove to the big meeting, gave his presentation, then offered to the drive the VP to the airport…where they both discovered that the beagle had uh, gotten rid of the ham in the backseat while I’d been at Walgreens. I’d been too busy with my son to notice, and my husband had been too worried about the big meeting to notice. Needless to say, the VP wasn’t impressed. That’s the last time I’ve offered to give a dinner party. In fact, the last time someone came in town for a meeting, Tom offered to take them to a very nice restaurant. Far away from beagles!
Date: September 5, 2006
Subject: Books and more books
I'm really excited. I just received my author copies of Simple Gifts, and they look great! Today was my writing-buddy day, so I took along copies to give to them. Before I knew it, I was signing their books over cups of coffee and tea. Since they knew how many times I rewrote Simple Gifts,it was a real celebration. As usual, I've been reading a lot. Everyone else in my family claims the tv's, so moe often than not, I end up going someplace quiet with a cup of tea and one of the many books in my to be read pile. Here are a few books I've read over the last week or so and really liked: 1. Into the Storm by Suzanne Brockmann 2. Blaze of Glory by Catherine Mann 3. Dangerous Depths by Colleen Coble 4. The Texan's Reward by Jodi Thomas 5. In His Eyes by Gail Gaymer Martin Yep, it's quite an eclectic mix. : ) What have you been reading lately? I'd love to have a few more recommended books in my To Be Read Pile!
Date: August 18, 2006
Subject: What a relief!
Just yesterday I received an email from a reader who's also a friend of mine. She's a Harlequin book club member, and therefore received Simple Gifts early, and read it last weekend. And, well, the good news was that she liked it. : ) What a relief! From the time I write my first drafts until publication, there are a whole lot of people who help me make my novels better. First the manuscript goes to my critique partners, next my agent, then my editor and finally another editor who does line edits. I've gotten used to people telling me what I need to improve, how I can make the conflict stronger, my writing cleaner, the characters more three-dimensional. To hear that all those rewrites and hard work paid off...it's a true celebration. Here's part of what she said: I treated myself to reading your Oct release, Simple Gifts over the weekend. What a wonderful, heartwarming story! What I thought made your book even more special were your secondary characters. The American readers will love this book. This note made my week! And since I've been working on line edits for Finding Love For Lindsay this week (Avalon, Dec. 2006) and am smack in the middle of my new western,(page 232)it helps me remember that all the hard work is worth it. Shelley
Date: August 6, 2006
Subject: Conference Friends
The Atlanta Conference was great. This was my fifth, and first time I didn't faithfully stand in publishers lines to get free books. Consequently, my bags were far lighter than usual~(last year I had to pay a fee at the airport!) By far the best part of going to the conferences is seeing my 'conference friends'. These are women I only see when our paths cross once or twice a year. This year, I roomed with my friend Beth. Though she did attend some workshops in Dallas, this was her first 'real' conference experience. She's far more organized than me...I can't believe how much she got done in five days! One of the highlights for me is always the RWA Literacy signing. This year, almost 500 authors participated. We all sit alphabetically, and so it's fun to be reunited with all my 'G' friends. Another highlight was seeing my friend Roni. She writes for Avalon, too, and was so welcoming to me years ago, when I went to the New Jersey conference for the first time. She just sold her fourth book to Avalon, so it was great to give her a hug in person. I also went to several parties and had quite a few editor meetings. I went home last Sunday in flip-flops and jeans...with a bunch of work to do. I'll post some pictures of Nationals soon! Shelley
Date: July 18, 2006
Subject: Here We Go...
Well, after much deliberation, I decided to start blogging. Over the next nine months, I'll have four books being released, which is very exciting! It's also a lot to keep up with. I thought this way would be a good format to keep anyone who's interested informed with what I'm working on. So, here we go... Next week I'll attend RWA's National Conference. It will be my fifth year to attend~and my first to sign a Harlequin. Getting ready for Nationals is always crazy. First, it's five days...which means it's five days from home. Being a mom, I always need to make sure everyone will be able to do what they need to do when I'm gone. Then, it's time to get ready for my busy week! Published authors are invited to parties by their publishers. This year I'll attend both Avalon's and Harlequin's parties. I've been trying on dresses and suits and attempting to find some great shoes for not only the parties, but for the workshops and booksignings during the days. After my first conference in Denver, I came home with tons of blisters. Now I'm a huge fan of comfortable shoes! I'll also be meeting with my editors, giving out promotional items for Cinderella Christmas and Simple Gifts, and doing my favorite conference activity~waiting in lines for free books. In the midst of all this preparation, I'm doing my best to write five pages a day on a new western. So far, so good! I'll write back after Nationals...and if you happen to see this...stop by and say hi! Shelley
