Jax's Artistic Journey...

I'm packed...nearly. I'll have to book it home from work and throw the rest of my stuff in the luggage before bolting to LAX. Wow, sounds exhausting already. I'm fighting a bad hair day and I'm so excited I couldn't sleep for the past three days. How nerve-wracking. Are conferences really suppose to be like this?

Well, I know that everyone I've talked to have made a list. I don't do well with them because I tend to forget them somewhere in my haste to get things done. Heck, I don't even make shopping lists.

Okay, this week I'll be out of pocket as I plan on having a grand time at the conference. Since I'm a bit of a RWA Con Virgin, I'll try to soak in all the details and maybe keep a journal. I won't guarantee I'll have internet access, let alone have time to do anything other than workshops, schmoozing, bar hopping, pool lounging..but I'll try. Gee, I haven't been this excited about anything since Christmas 1975! hehe -- hope my hubby doesn't wreck the house. He's throwing a huge party because I'm leaving. Go figure.

I told him I've counted all the silverware. :)

I'm off folks. Wish me luck, and if any of you are going to Reno, stop by our Romance Divas' booth at the Midnight Madness Bazaar and get some of our cool merchandise. They're hip, fun, cool, and DIVA-lightful!

Jax OUT..

I was lucky enough to score tix to the Dodgers vs. Giants game and on a very sunny Sunday I dragged Lisa, her beau Bernard and their friend Dana with me.. This is how the Divas spend their day off.... www.romancedivas.com/thegame.html

Yes it's true. I'm giving a Time Management Workshop at Romance Divas in the Divas Workshop section. Since I don't have anything else to do, I thought I'd add to my workload. I figured if I'm going to be a serious writer, there needs to be a solid way to push myself to churn out those books at a faster pace and prepare me for publishing. Seems like everyone is under a deadline and to be prepared beforehand will only make life easier for unpubbed folks.

I am also doing a Weight Loss Challenge. Well, not exactly to lose weight, but felt it's time for me to be serious about my health and body. I need to tone up and feel good about myself and the only way to do that is to force myself to be more consistent. I've been so sporatic about working out, and it's not enough to make a dent in the "looking hot" category. I'm taking a cue from Rocky and I'm going to prove to myself I can do this. After all, my hubby has been disciplined enough to work out regularly and he's looking smokin' these days. Better start carrying my baseball bat around. Anywoo, I can see the progression and I feel like a lazy, fat slob around him. Okay, it's the competition/jealousy factor. I want to look hot. I'm starting to feel "blah" and it doesn't sit well for a vain person. Hey, I'll admit it. I care about my looks. I don't think it's bad to be conscientious of looking your best. My hubby tells me I look more beautiful with age. I use to be stick thin when we first married and now I've developed curves. It's all the bon-bons, huge meal portions and sodas. I'm not going to get sucked into the "I don't care" mentality. Swayed by the dark side of gourmet food. I need to be strong and by golly, I mean to take action.

Yes, by December I hope to be at my physical best!

It's easy to stay busy. I've done websites after websites, web maintenance and fixing hacker issues from hell, and even gotten to finish out my personal website at www.jacquiecrane.com -- of course, I'm sure to find something wrong with it and will tweak continuously. As for writing. I think I wrote like 5 pages in 2 1/2 weeks because there never seems to be enough time to write.
I did get an interview in with Liz Maverick who is July's Spotlight On interview.. I'll have that up tonight and you can find it at Romance Divas .

So Kristen was peeved that Romance Divas wasn't listed in the Romantic Times Magazine for most useful site for writers and they actually printed the Letter to the Editor she wrote to gripe. Hey, I have no control over her.. but any advertisement is good advertisement! :)

I'll announce Romance Divas' Short & Long Pitch winners from our forum contest as soon as we get the results in. The winners will have their pitches forwarded to Kristin Nelson of the Nelson Agency. Thanks to Liz Maverick and Gena Showalter, our second round judges for taking time out to judge! Thanks to Gina Welborn for organizing another wonderful contest!!! And of course, thank you to all those who were brave enough to enter-- you guys are the true winners!

Howdy Folks!

Romance Divas is announcing July's Author of the Month:

Jess Michaels will be joining us to present her "So I Wrote this Book... Now What?" workshop starting on the 18th.

Invite your friends and chaptermates! After all, where else can you get a free workshop with a published author?

Take advantage of Romance Divas Writer's Resource Website. We've got book reviews, articles, an interview section called SPOTLIGHT ON, an award winning forum, contests and giveaways.

It's the coolest place to visit on the web! What are you waiting for?