The wild and wonderful Ruby Slippered Sisterhood Winter Writing Festival comes to a close today! You can join the closing ceremonies at rubyslipperedsisterhood.com or at rsswwf.com.

It's been a terrific, uplifting experience (exhausting, too, coordinating it!).  I know I got more writing done than I would have otherwise, and I also got to know some wonderful, funny, bawdy, creative, determined women from around the globe.  Thanks to all who joined us to keep the creative fires burning through the winter!!

The Ruby Slippered Sisterhood's Winter Writing Festival is coming to an end!! Today is our final Check-In Friday...so zoom on over to the Ruby blog and leave a comment to be eligible for our random prize drawing! 

And please join us for this weekend's marathon writing sprints in our Chat Room over at rsswwf.com.  It's been a wild, zombie-battling, monkey-sprinting, bawdy good time, and we've all been getting MASSIVE amounts of writing done!! 

And...this isn't related to anything, but I just have to mention that my six-year-old son saw something odd the other day and turned to me and said, "Well, that's as weird as a little fish on a pinecone."  Yeah, he's gonna be a writer. I can just feel it.

Don't know about you, but I’m clueless about basketball. I love competition, though! And of course I love romance novels. Throughout March, Smart Bitches Trashy Books is running a fabulous contest (with brackets and everything!) for choosing the Best Books of 2010.  You can pick your favorites in a bracket (just like your basketball-obsessed friends are doing with all those college teams) and keep voting in head-to-head face-offs each week.

It’s weird, it’s wonderful. It’s full of awesome-sauce (as Sarah would say)! You can check out the details here.

Remember how I told you a couple months ago that my little sister (and CP) Eileen had finaled in the Emily??

Welllllll..........

SHE WON!!!! SHE WON!!!! SHE WON!!!!!

My little sis! My CP! My little sis!

SHE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Check it out yourself: whrwa.com/emily/: in the historical category, Eileen Ramsay, A Whisper to the Wild!!! 

 

 

 

Just got back from an awesome San Francisco Area RWA chapter meeting with the always wonderful Rachael Herron and NaNoWriMo founder Chris Baty. They gave FABULOUS advice on revision, and tipped me off to the existence of NaNoEdMo: yes, you guessed it--National Novel Editing Month!! It's not run by the same folks as NaNoWriMo, but it's designed to help you whip your NaNo novel into shape during March.  The goal is to devote 50 hours that month to the task.  Find out more at nanoedmo.net.

The special bonus this morning was that I happened to sit down next to someone visiting from the Sacramento chapter, and I happened to mention that I was coordinating a winter writing festival, and she said, "Oh, is it the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood festival?" And, lo and behold, it was Lisa Sorenson, one of our participants! (Not to mention she was one of our prize winners this morning!)  She's been making great progress, and passed her thanks on to all the Rubies.  Very gratifying! (And, MY, romancelandia is a small, small world!!) 

Hard to believe, but it's been 200 years since Parliament passed an act to "Care" for the invalid King George III and made Prinny the official Regent. Lift high your glasses of ratafia and lemonade, and air out your best gown...time to part-ay!!!

Just quickly wanted to share a hoot of a post by my sister (and CP) Eileen.  It's over at her blog, thesublurbs.com.  I can't seem to get the right link to the specific post, but it's currently the second one down, with the title "Feeling Like Laura Ingalls Wilder."  If you're in the midst of surviving the winter storms, check it out!

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I always love fresh starts, wherever I can get them, so I’m ready to celebrate the Year of the Rabbit. According to the Chinese Zodiac, Rabbits are mellower than their fierce predecessors, the Tiger, and given to a certain degree of self-indulgence (chocolate, anyone?) They’re good at laying low when necessary, and recouping their strength. But Rabbits are also a lucky and successful sign, associated with creativity and the arts, but also longevity, practicality, keeping promises, and STICKING WITH A PROJECT UNTIL IT’S DONE. Hmmm.....

We're HALFWAY through the Winter Writing Festival!!  And since this is Friday, we're giving away some fabulous swag over on the Ruby blog.  Stop by to leave a comment and you'll have a shot at winning one of these prizes: a copy of Darynda Jones' FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT, a $20 Amazon gift card, a copy of Cate Rowan's KISMET'S KISS, a copy of BEYOND HEAVING BOSOMS by Smart Bitches Sarah Wendell and Candy Tan, and a 25-page critique by Golden Heart winner Diane Kelly.

I've been waiting for today ever since Ruby Sister Darynda Jones announced her huge pre-empt three-book sale to St. Martin's Press! If you love Janet Evanovich's Stephanie Plum, get ready for Charley Davidson--a gorgeous private investigator who's also...um, the Grim Reaper.  Only shiny. And sarcastic. And accident-prone. And haunted by an incredibly sexy otherworldly presence who may or may not actually be a living man.... Look, just buy the damn book! It's hilarious and thrilling and over-the-top and WAY more fun than you're otherwise going to have staying inside on a snow day.