Keep On Truckin', Baby!

Blog Transformation

First of all, thanks to my dear on-line friend Elizabeth for acknowleging my blog's new and improved look. How do the rest of you folks feel about it? (This is the part where you clap and cheer and yell things like "bravo!" or "Go Steelers!" or "Pass the damn ketchup!") My marketing background likes things to look pretty and clearly represent what's inside the package. My blog agrees, and being the elevated being that it is, experienced its own transformation a couple of days ago. So it and I would like some well-deserved acknowledgement, thank you very much. (I'm a rock goddess and a Jewish American Princess - my ego can never be fully satisfied.)

Keep on Truckin', Baby!

I'm currently in wait mode. I have three requested partials out along with several queries. I'm taking my time with the query process, trying to do my due diligence and vetting in a responsible manner. After the ugly mess the GOP made with Sarah Palin, I think patience and thoughtful reflection are a better alternative. I'd rather have no agent than the equivalent of one with the literary expertise and brains of Sarah Palin. (Sorry, my bad. I should never use "expertise" "brains" and "Sarah Palin" in the same sentence.) I think it's important to find an agent who'll be excited about my work and, therefore, enthusiastically represent me to the owners of Random House over tea and crumpets. (That's how it works, right?)

In the meantime, I'm gonna keep on truckin'. I've got two major projects that will hopefully keep me out of trouble:

1) Writing articles for my new gig as Philadelphia Songwriter Examiner. The powers that be are still working on getting me up and running, but I'm told I should be good to go by the end of this week or early next week. At least four articles per week seems daunting, but I love a good challenge. Plus, songwriting and the music biz are endlessly fascinating - I look forward to learning more about my first love. (Sorry, Chuck. I didn't want to have to break it to you this way...)

2) Birthing a new book. Thankfully, this process is far less painful than the more commonly birthed items. (It's not wrong to call a baby an item, is it?) There's a character in my novel named Bree Lang. She's a gorgeous, rich, bisexual red-head who's an assistant D.A. and is friends with Jenny, my mc. Jenny's jealous of Bree because she gets to investigate all kinds of gory, exciting murders (Jenny's a certified true-crime freak.) I think Bree and Jenny will embark on a murder-in-the-burbs mystery in my follow-up novel. I'm really kinda sorta liking that idea. (Sorry for the highbrow prose. Please try to keep up.)

What about you? What are you working on as we speak?

The ART of Transformation

Transformation

An act, process, or instance of transforming or being transformed.

I'm in the process of fully transforming myself into a published writer. I've just become the Philadelphia Songwriter Examiner (I'll attach the link soon), where I'll write several articles a week on songwriting and the music business locally and in general (yay! and special thanks to Amy for turning me on to the possibility) and I've been bleeding myself dry working 10-12 hours a day going over every word of my novel to the point I can practically recite all 80,000 + words by heart in an effort to make my novel the absolute best it can be. (Given I can barely remember the lyrics to my own songs, this is saying something!)

My book, Sparks Fly Sometimes is about transformation - from a little girl with a dream to a rock goddess to a domestic goddess to a rock/domestic goddess. SFS is an affirmation of dreaming dreams, keeping a marriage alive through good times and bad, surviving the teenage years (your kids, not your own - MUCH more difficult!) and resuscitating dreams you thought were dead and buried. And doing it all with a LOL sense of humor!

I'm also working out regularly at the gym for the first time since I was a cheerleader in high school, transforming my body into a stronger, thinner version of myself. (Never fear. I'll be sure NOT to post any pictures of that bygone era!!)

Transformation can be a simple act. Forgiving yourself. Forgiving someone else. Making a declaration (as in a wedding vow). It can happen in an instant, perhaps in a dream; or as you stare at the ocean mesmerized by the waves, or sit in the mountains listening to the breeze gently blowing through the trees. It can be in a transformational seminar like the Landmark Forum (which I highly recommend) or as a result of a spiritual and/or religious experience or "awakening." Or it can be a process - an ongoing decision to take action in order to move from Point A to Point B.

Recreating yourself - that is the art of transformation.

So, my wonderful blog friends - what are you doing to bring the art of transformation to your lives???;-)

ALSO.... MY FIRST ON-LINE AWARD!!!!

Wendy gave me an award---a really sweet one, too. The Lovey Award is for "blogs that are exceedingly charming. These kind of bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to three bloggers who must choose three more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

THANKS WENDY! Now it's my turn to share the love.

I choose...

Amy
Ray
Joanne