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2004 Diary Archive

December 27, 2004 -- Hope you all had very happy holidays!  My Christmas was really great. On Christmas Eve, I ran the bell for Salvation Army at a local retailer. It was an interesting experience with some strange moments (like the store greeter who asked me every ten minutes when I was leaving and the two scary biker guys who threatened a third with physical violence if he didn't get his ass back to the kettle and donate some money, which made me laugh so hard I nearly dropped my bell) and some heartwarming ones (the little boy who asked me if he had to pay to get into the store and the older gentleman who complimented me as he put a twenty into the kettle). After a sometimes stressful (even in a good way) month, it helped put me in the holiday spirit.

My hubby and I had our Christmas dinner that same night (following my family tradition) and then opened presents close to midnight (following his family tradition this year). He bought me an absolutely gorgeous diamond-cut silver charm bracelet and a snowflake charm for Scandalous (which is set in winter). I plan to add a charm to my bracelet for each book I sell as Jenna Petersen. It's a beautiful gift that I cherish. He also moved Passionate Pen over to the new server on Christmas Eve night so here we are and isn't it pretty? Okay, it looks just the same, but trust me, it's different under the skin.

On the actual day we stuffed ourselves on ham and candy and cinnamon rolls (homemade, people) and basically just had a lovely day together. While the rest of the Midwest and most of the East and South got dumped on by up to two feet of snow (sorry to you guys that had to contend with that), we didn't have any snow until Christmas evening, when we were dusted by about an inch. So now I have gift certificates to spend and leftovers (so many leftovers) to eat. And eat. And... eat.

So, is everyone thinking about setting some New Year's Resolutions now? Well, if you are, don't forget to take a look at the article I wrote on that subject two years ago. You might be wondering what my goals are for this year:

That's pretty much it, writing-wise since that will mean revising one book and writing at least two, if not three more books in the next year or so. I'm so excited! I hope May likes the things I'm preparing (and the revisions for Scandalous).

Okay, so next week you're going to see the diary for 2004 (what a YEAR!!) archived and the guestbook, too. I'll be making some changes to a few other things on the site, so be sure to check out the What's New page next Monday to see what changed. 2005, here we come!

December 20, 2004 -- Ahhh, a week with no deadline. It was nice. I cleaned my house from top to bottom. I baked cinnamon buns (my Mom's secret recipe). I did some charity stuff. Shhh, don't tell, but I also printed out a copy of the full manuscript I may be pitching as the 2nd book of my contract and started reading and evaluating it. I learned a lot from my revision, so I'm hoping to keep from making the same 'mistakes' in the second book.

It is Christmas week! Where did the year go? It's almost gone. Soon I'll have new resolutions to make, as well as archives for this year's diary and guestbook. Actually, there are going to be a few changes at The Passionate Pen in the next couple of weeks. First, we are moving the site to a new server sometime this week (since it's a holiday week). So if you come around and the site is down, check back. We should be up again shortly. Same thing if you email me. It may get lost in the shuffle, so if I don't respond within 48 hours or so, try again. I'm not sure when the change will occur, it will depend on when my hubby can get me over to his server (more on that to come later, too).

But once I'm moved, I will also be looking into some upgrades for next year. What would you all think of a blog where you could post comments (still updated only once a week)? How about a message board? How about the organization of the site? What would make it easier for you? Anyway, email me if you want to share your thoughts.

Until next week:

December 13, 2004 -- Okay, I will start with the big news first. IT is done. What, you ask? Well, ummmm, haven't you been paying attention?? I'll give you a hint. It starts with revis- and it ends with -ion.

You're right! Revision. Here is my accounting of the journey of the revision:

1. November 20: Receive my editor's revision letter.  Read letter and skim comments within manuscript. Decide this is not so bad. Happy, happy joy joy (that one is for you, M, in case you read this). Make plans on how to approach the revision, including how many pages I'd have to do to complete it by the given deadline (December 31) and my personal deadline (December 15 so it won't hang over my head all holiday season). Do prep work so that other things can get done even though I plan to immerse myself in worms, Roxanne, worms. Oops, I mean words.

2. November 22: Start revision. Begin at a pace of one chapter a day, then increase to two chapters a day. Sit at computer for hours on end. Eat chips, drink LOTS of Diet Vanilla Coke. Pet cats when they block the screen. Come up for air when husband comes and looks at me funny. Brush hair and teeth when he twists his face in horror.

3. December 2: Finish revision, part 1. Fall out of chair. Literally. I was reaching for post-it notes as I was doing Chapter 19 (out of 21) and fell out of my chair. I landed on a broken three-hole punch (it was broken before it encountered me, I swear!!). It was not pretty, but I was not injured. Stupid, but unharmed.

4. December 6: Sit down and read entire book from beginning to end. Burst into tears. It is horrible. It's so bad. Will they take my check back? Husband takes me out (after brushing my hair and throwing me a breath mint) because he thinks I might peel off the weather stripping and take a nose dive out the window. I wasn't going to, but I got sushi out of it, so I don't argue.

5. December 7/8: Email editor who is wonderful and supportive. She says yes, I can definitely send an outline. I send outline, she is supportive even more when she says it looks great. Begin to think I was being silly.

6. December 11: Read book again from beginning to end. Sigh with relief because it's not awful. At least, no more awful than anything else I've written. :) Silly Jesse. Print.

7. December 12: Take book to UPS store. Mail overnight (which will actually arrive Tuesday). Breathe sigh of relief and vow to enjoy holiday season and make up for any and all meltdowns by baking cookies. LOTS of cookies...

In the immortal words of Garth (or maybe it's Wayne)... I think I'm gonna hurl.

December 6, 2004 -- Even more done on the revision. I'm well on track to meet my personal deadline for returning this project to my editor. Woohoo! Pray that she likes it when I do. Cross everything that crosses. Make a shrine (I intend to), burn incense. Whatever voodoo you do for yourself... do it for me.

And now I would like to present you with a list of things I have done to reward myself throughout the revision process:

  • Check email

  • Phone-A-Friend

  • Clean up hairballs (damn cat!!)

  • Play video games (and 9 hours later, I BEAT the Centurion Challenge in Legaia 2. Yeah!)

  • Eat popcorn in my office

  • Clean stray popcorn kernels from the keyboard

  • Chase kitten to retrieve popcorn kernel so she won't die (damn cat!!!)

  • Cook Thanksgiving dinner. Eat Thanksgiving dinner. Wash Thanksgiving dishes. Shovel 8 inches of snow received on Thanksgiving.

  • Eat sushi and Krispy Kreme donuts.

  • Put up Christmas tree/decorations. Sigh at thoughts of tidings and joy. Get giddy at thoughts of 2005.
  • Go to mall. Ponder perfect holiday gift for lovely editor and fantabulous agent. Find gifts. Mail gifts.
     

  • Call the Dell people and yell at them for incompetence regarding TWO totally separate computer orders. Vow to cast evil curse on Dell once finished with revisions.

  • Go to RWA chapter's holiday dinner. Eat yummy food. Have two kinds of pie, wonder if I will be able to fit into a dress for RITA/GH awards...

  • Stare at Secrets, Volume 11. Hold it. Stroke it. Call it "My precious".

  • Chase husband when he takes Volume 11 and says he's calling a psychologist for me.

As you can see, I've been busy.

November 29, 2004 -- Excuse me, I just have to do one thing... My book is out this week!!! My book is out this weeeeeeeeeeeeeek! Okay, we now return you to your regularly scheduled update.

Revisions have been going well. Okay, they have been going anyway. I have no clue if I'm doing what my editor wants (which would make the story better), or if I'm just making a muck of the entire thing. But everyone who is reading along as I make changes has been very helpful, including my husband. This is the first time he's read a full-length work of mine (he's read all my published short stories and "Ancient Pleasures") and he's sticking in like a trooper. I can only hope when I'm done this will be a better, more emotional, more complex and interesting book. You'll all have to tell me if I succeed next October. :)

Actually, if you feel I don't succeed, don't tell me. ;)

Meanwhile, I'm back to the grindstone. Wish me luck... Oh, and if you see Secrets, Volume 11 in a store or something... let me know! I'd love to track where and when it starts to show up!

November 22, 2004 -- My mother emailed me this week and said, "You have good news every day!" This past week, that seemed accurate. :) First, I was told that Secrets, Volume 11 shipped out and that once Red Sage got their copies, the author copies would go out on Friday. I expect them to arrive some time this week if that schedule is correct. My first book! Eek!

Then, to my total surprise, my first advance check arrived from Avon. You probably all heard the squeal when I opened my door and the overnight envelope fell in. My editor started the letter with, "I'm pleased to enclose the first part of your advance check..." I wanted to call her and say, "And I'm pleased to accept it!!", but I held back. No use frightening her off too early. :) So I deposited that and bought myself some presents (I now have an entire outfit paid for by Avon), as well as paid off some writing expenses and put some aside for taxes and future promo.

On Saturday morning, my honey opened the same door to find a big envelope with my revision letter and manuscript with edits throughout. I'm happy to say that the revisions seem like they're going to be okay. I think I'm capable of doing everything she asked for and I can already see how her suggestions will make the book stronger. I'm to deliver the revised version by the end of December, so I warn you that I may not be updating with giant updates this coming month while I run around doing book release duties (check out the upcoming chats and available interviews in My Events) and revising. But the site will be updated each week as usual.

Yeah. It was a good week. I'm really... happy. It's a very cool thing.

Happy Thanksgiving week to those of you in the United States. One guess as to what I'm thankful for this year? You know, actually, I don't think I could narrow it down to one thing. I mean, the obvious is that I made the sale to Avon, but there are so many parts to that.

I'm thankful my husband was so supportive while I was unpublished and since I got 'the call' (both to Red Sage and Avon). I'm thankful to all the friends and family members who supported me when I wanted to quit and told me not to. I'm thankful I listened to them. I'm thankful that I decided to try to get an agent just one more time. I'm thankful I decided to 'shoot for the moon' and sent a query to the Irene Goodman Literary Agency because, honestly, Miriam has been amazing.

Most of all, though, I'm thankful for the journey so far. There were a lot of points where I thought, "Man, this sucks", but I know now that all those times were times I learned from most. Without the struggle, I don't think I would appreciate or understand the joy so much. So I spend this Thanksgiving very thankful for all the good things in my life and all the things I've learned (and will learn) from the not so good things.

November 15, 2004 -- This past week I wrote more. I know this is a shock to everyone (including me). In the midst of 'first release' excitement and Avon sale hysteria, I had sort of forgotten the part in my writing career where I write. Of course, now I have plenty of it to do, so I think my 'I sold to AVON' break is officially over. :)

In other news, I finally got my copy of Romantic Times and saw our Four-Star Review for Volume 11 and our GORGEOUS ad first hand. Lovely, lovely. For those of you not ready to wait, my story in "A Hint of Seduction" magazine should be out this week. Enjoy! And let me know what you think. :)

Finally, it is official! Red Sage will be going to THREE novella collections next year (you'll see Volumes 12, 13 AND 14). Which means... I will be getting a NEW release date for Volume 12 (which features my offering, "Aphrodite's Passion") by the end of the year. Right now, all I know is that it will be Spring 2005 (as opposed to July). Look for more info here!

November 8, 2004 -- Brace yourselves people. I wrote this week. I know. Gasp, right? I'm not pushing things too hard, mostly because I know I'm going to have revisions and such to work on very soon and I'll have to set what I'm working on aside anyway, but writing actually made me feel a lot better. Calmer.

On the Secrets front, we are one week closer to the release date and I'm salivating for info. It's a sickness. I did find out that Romantic Times gave us a four-star review, though I have yet to receive my own copy. Not bad for my first book. And I think I found another place where they're reviewing our collection, but they haven't fully updated the page yet. So I'll keep checking back.

The thing is, I know I can't really worry too much about what others have to say. My top priority has to be writing books, hopefully writing good books. Getting too caught up in reviews and such won't do me any good. But it's my first book! I'm having a hard time not being a teensy bit obsessive.

November 1, 2004 -- I can only say two things. First, Jenna Petersen and Jess Michaels were both updated today.

Secondly? I got my Avon contracts. This is really real. I really write for Avon now. My dream house. My dream accomplishment. And it's real.

Hang on, I need a tissue (AGAIN!!). Life is good.

October 25, 2004 -- Okay, so I'm back! :) Where was I, you ask? Well, at the end of September, my father had a total knee replacement and he and my Mom needed some extra help. So I left on very short notice for a week in Idaho. Then halfway through the week, I realized he wasn't quite ready to be on his own during the day yet (while my Mom worked) and I extended my stay to two weeks. But I got home this past Saturday and am so happy to see my husband and my kitties and go through my mail, etc. :) Thanks to everyone to expressed concern about everything. My father is doing 500% better and is well on his way to full recovery.

While I was gone, life marched on! In Idaho, my editor called me and told me the new title for my October 2005 Avon release had been chosen!! The book is now called Scandalous. I really love this title, so I'm pleased. Apparently the cover art meeting has also already taken place and from the descriptions, it's going to be gorgeous. I'm so pleased with everything so far and I'm really looking forward to getting my revisions and starting to work on the finished product you all will see in the store next year.

Otherwise, this week I'll be catching up on my work, my sleep and time with my lovely hubby. :) If you're of a mind, you can still register for my class "So I Wrote This Book... Now What?" from Celtic Hearts Romance Writers. It runs from November 3 - 10. Also, many of you may have heard of the Trish Jensen medical fund. I am one of the authors offering a critique toward the fund. You can find me listed as Jenna Petersen in the Historical and Regency Author List. For what it's worth, I will do a detailed critique of a proposal (first three chapters). As far as I know, my critique is not up or auction yet, so you might be able to swoop in and buy it without having to compete (woo. hoo. I know).

October 4, 2004 -- It is official. I am addicted to Blogs. I need help. Is there some kind of support group or 12-step program for this? It gives me this horrible urge to update this diary more than once a week, but I will not give in. I spend enough time on website updating (I have three sites!!!) as it is. And honestly, my life is not interesting enough to warrant more than once a week of reading about my every writing hangnail. :) So breathe a sigh of relief, The Passionate Pen will continue to be updated only once a week, with the occasional mid-week update for exciting news. Phew!

I am still getting very nice emails at all of my email accounts (there are now four of them LOL). Someone pointed out in one email that so much has changed in the last year. That got me thinking and I started doing some looking. Last year at this time I had not sold to anyone yet. Not Red Sage, not Arabella and certainly not Avon. I was not agented anymore, after parting ways with my previous agent that June. What surprised me when I started looking at my tracking charts was that I had submitted Her Husband's Bed to a lot of publishers at this time last year. And had been rejected by just as many, a lot on query letters (apparently this book sold better on a full than it did on query).

I also looked at last year's Diary for this time. I had become very frustrated with historicals and was making a big push with a couple of contemporaries. So yeah, a lot has changed in 12 months. And all for the better. My Red Sage experience has been nothing but good (I've learned and continue to learn so much from the other authors there and from the process) and my first book with them will be out in just two short months! I have an agent I click with on a personal level and trust on a professional level. And now I am an Avon Author.

Not bad for 12 months. It just goes to show you that sometimes you think your life is going one way, but in a short time everything can change. Everything can change.

Oh, one last thing. The title for Her Husband's Bed is also going to be changing. We're still working out what exactly the title will be, but I'm hoping by next week I'll have the final details. AND... I have a release date. October 2005!! :)

September 27, 2004 -- I want to start off this entry with a big thank you! Since I announced my sale to Avon last Thursday, I have been buried in emails congratulating me. I was not only overwhelmed with your well-wishes, but by the fact that so many of you said you had been following my career and hoping for me for so long. I'm so, so glad this site is meaningful and helpful to so many of you! Your support means so much to me. Almost as much as this sale.

In other news, since last week, I have obviously been a whirlwind. Nothing much is getting done, but I'm okay with that under the circumstances. Now that things are starting to calm down, I'm trying to come up with a game plan. I'm going to have revisions to do in the next few months on Her Husband's Bed. And I need to get a couple partials pulled together to pitch to my editor for the second book in this contract (since Never A Gentleman is already done, it's the obvious first candidate). And I also want to take a good, hard look at my backlist and decide what, if anything is a possible rewrite and submit. Having these books in my back pocket might be a very good thing now.

I'm also planning to start learning as much as I can about mass market promotion. There's so much I don't know and will have to research. And there are promo plans to make and more.

But for now, I am basking and enjoying this wonderful feeling.

You will notice some changes in the site again over the next few weeks and months. Now that Jenna Petersen is a reality, this site will start to reflect her more, as it already reflects Jess Michaels. And there will be more. Keep checking back for your usual agent/publisher/writing info and all the scoop on my newest journey.

By the way, the Jenna Petersen site is now live! Sorry for the technical difficulties. And if you emailed me at the Jenna Petersen email address late last week and got no response, my apologies. My email server was also suffering and I lost a few mail in the shuffle. Please feel free to email me there again now that the kinks are (crossed fingers) worked out!

September 23, 2004 -- Well, an incredible, unexpected thing has happened. The thing. But I’m ahead of myself. Let me backtrack. Late in August/early September my lovely agent called about something. As we were saying goodbye, I inquired on the status of my manuscript that was with Avon. She told me it had been sent up the chain of command, but not to get too excited. She didn’t want to get my hopes up. I, of course, analyzed this to death, but decided it probably meant nothing and moved on with my life. 

On September 21, 2004, at around 11am, my phone rang. It was Miriam and she sounded excited. I told her that scared me. She told me I shouldn’t be scared. Then she asked me who I’d said was my ‘dream publisher’. I paused. My chest hurt. My eyes started to water. Slowly I croaked out… “Avon?” She smiled. I heard her smile. “They’re buying your book. They’ve offered you a two-book contract.” 

For a moment, everything went into slow-mo. I told her she was kidding. Then I told her she couldn’t be kidding because that was mean. She said she wasn’t mean. I realized she was telling the truth. I was about to become an AVON AUTHOR (insert angels singing). Pretty much everything goes dark after that. I know the cordless phone started beeping. I was yelling at Mike (who was home that day) to bring me a pen to the bedroom where I ran to get the corded phone. She told me that was all she was telling me because they were still negotiating. Then she told me she was going to lunch with my editor (MY EDITOR), May Chen. There would be more to come. 

I hung up. No one else was in the room. Mike was probably off trying to find more paper. I screamed. I screamed until my throat went hoarse. I jumped up and down and clapped my hands until I think I bruised them (they still hurt a little). Mike came in and hugged me and I realized fully what had just happened. Promptly, I broke into tears. Then he broke into tears (my hero) and told me how proud he was of me for hanging in there through the hard times. I called my Mom. I called my CP. My Dad (who had gotten a call from my Mom) called me from the airport and probably barely escaped a body cavity search as he kept saying, “Holy SHIT!” 

In Late 2005/Early 2006, my book Her Husband’s Bed will be released by Avon under my pseudonym Jenna Petersen (the site will be up tomorrow). I am an Avon Author. And now I need to go cry.

September 20, 2004 -- More plotting this week, but then I got to... write!!! It's going well on the whole. In fact, I've written about 10,000 words so far (one-tenth of my book!!). The thing is, this book has a very complicated layering that has to occur in the first few chapters and I'm working hard to make sure all the elements are put into it, but that it doesn't drag or end up being an info dump. It's very challenging, yet I'm enjoying it.

But enough about that. This week I was looking at my site statistics and was amused by some of the things people had been searching for when they stumbled upon me. Here are a few of the search topics that lead folks to The Passionate Pen:

novel envelope - Do they mean an envelope that was unusual?
scarred romance review - I've been lucky that I haven't been scarred by a romance review yet, but Mrs. Giggles hasn't gotten a hold of me, either.
children learn English free - I hope they eventually found a site that could do that.
friends likes America pen - What?
very best pen - The very best pens are Passionate.
Ginny's story kissing - This one cracked me up. I have a story about a heroine named Ginny (A Widow's Kiss, still with Berkley) and there is lots and lots of kissing. Hey, maybe it was Cindy Hwang researching more about it, huh? Cindy, I can tell you everything you want to know if you call my agent and buy it!

And my personal favorite:

inspirational romance publishers sexy - I'm confused. Do they want publishers who are sexy? Do they want publishers of sexy inspirational romance (which is a long shot)?

Yeah, I need help. I spent way too much time and thought on my statistics...

September 13, 2004 -- Well, here's something super cool. So a few months back I was reading through Romantic Times and saw that they were now 'spotlighting' writing blogs every month. I emailed them to tell them about my diary (which is not run with Blog software, but it's the same concept). I never heard back and pretty much forgot about it. So imagine my surprise when my CP called me to tell me my diary was featured in the October issue (out now to some subscribers and in a bookstore near you soon). Apparently, they have a quote from me, which I have to assume came from my email to them since I never heard from them about the article (even that it was happening). But they do mention my site address and my book, so I'm a happy camper. I just wish I had my copy so I could see it first hand. :(

In other news, I am plotting now! Woohoo! I still don't want to say anything specific about the book plot, but I will tell you the name. :) An Improper Pursuit will be my 12th historical romance and... well, I've lost track of what number I'm on total manuscript-wise. Plotting is going very well. So well, in fact that I'm hoping to start writing this weekend. My husband is going on a white water rafting trip on Friday and I have three days to hunker down and start the real work.

I'm so excited, I think I'm going to puke. I haven't felt so thrilled about a book in a long, long time.

September 6, 2004 -- This week was all about reading and busy work. I updated the Jess Michaels author site, as well as submitted two workshops for consideration at RWA National conference in Reno next year. We'll see if they are received better this year. If not, there are going to be several opportunities to see them in the coming months, including next week at A Hint of Seduction Online Magazine. I've also just booked three online classes with Hearts Through History Romance Writers for next year, so my 'speaking' schedule is filling up. :)

Now, I promised I wouldn't (and my CP is no doubt shrieking at me across the country as she reads this), but I did do some more character work on my spy series (especially when I heard from Miriam that she's already talking this series up a tiny bit). I've gotten all the advance character work done now and I'm so excited to be able to start plotting this week! It's Fall, the perfect time to start a new project in a brand new office. :) I'm really hoping to finish the first book by the end of the year.

The thing is that I am putting a lot of pressure on myself to make this book perfect. I want this book (and the series) to sell. I already love this book and these characters. And I want Miriam's faith in me to pay off (as well as stop writing a bunch of books everyone loves, but no one wants!! LOL). So I have to calm down.... take deep breaths... and not stress so much.

Ohmmmm, ohmmmmm, ohmmmm.....

Oh, this is SO NOT WORKING.

August 30, 2004 -- Thanks to some feedback by my lovely critique partner (who always makes time even when she is shockingly near her own deadlines), I have done a final read through of the rewrite of Wager of Sin and sent it back to my lovely editor at Red Sage this week. She said something very interesting to me after she read the rewrite, she said I was lucky to have an editor like the one I do. I think she's right. Two times now, Judith has given me suggestions for story changes (once for Ancient Pleasures and this time for Wager of Sin). I admit, both times I doubted the change would really improve the story (it's an author thing, you know), but I decided to try it before I pitched a hissy fit. Low and behold, each time the changes have improved the story and my writing.

That people, is an editor. I'm glad I can shut off my knee-jerk response and try to hear what she's saying. Hopefully she will think I got this story close to what she was talking about and I will soon be announcing sale number 3 to Red Sage Publishing. Cross your fingers.

In office space news, I did end up painting last week. Then on Thursday my new desk was delivered and I moved everything up and sort of into place this weekend. So yes, I am sitting in my new office even as we speak. I'm so pleased I moved. This is really a great change for me.

So great, in fact, that it inspired me to finished my final read of Never A Gentleman and I'm sending it to Miriam today! Yay! One more project I can cross off my list. That means this week I'll be reading. I have been saving Secrets, Volume 10, as well as all three books in Celeste Bradley's Liar's Club series until I had a breath. So I'll be reading. Then next week, I will be putting all my focus into the spy series I keep teasing about.

August 23, 2004 -- I finished, I finished! First revision of Never A Gentleman is DONE! Now I just need to do a read through and send it on over to the lovely Miriam for review and hopefully, submission. :) What a long road this book took with so many detours, but I'm happy to be finished and just about ready to send it on its way to whatever future it holds.

Now that Wager and Gentleman are no longer hanging over my head, I have been throwing myself into my new Spy series completely. Research and plotting to be done, books to be written. I'm very excited about this concept and very hopeful that this will be the hook that launches my ship. I admit, it's been such fun to figure out each story and which one is the best one to go first (since the future of the series hinges on the ability to sell book 1). Miriam was really helpful with that and I now I have titles, order and two in-depth plots, as well as one skeletal plot.

I do promise there will be more info on the books as I get closer to writing them. Right now I'm still superstitious about them.

This week I am going to be reading over the final version of Wager and then... I'm going to be painting and moving my office. I have been in a second living room in our home (you've seen it if you've looked at my article about creating my home office) for over two years now. It has many advantages, but lately I've been feeling restless and crowded by the fact that I have no real storage space and the doorway is open. So I am going to be painting what was a spare bedroom upstairs in our home and taking this show on the road. I may be a little slow to email in the next week or so, but I'm hoping to be back in the saddle by Monday for the next update.

August 16, 2004 -- Busy, busy, busy! I have been ripping through my 'to do' list this week and have made some good progress on all my projects. A good thing considering how much I want to get done before the end of the year (which is only a few short months away, can you believe it??).

This week I finished my first try at the rewrites Judith gave me for Wager of Sin while I was in Dallas. Right now it's percolating while I work on some other stuff, but I'm feeling good about the changes I made to the heroine's romantic arc. It's nice to get some guidance. Sometimes I see what I was missing and I can't believe it wasn't clear before. Once I get Never A Gentleman's first revisions done, I plan to read over Wager and see if I did what I think she wanted me to do.

Speaking of the devil, I worked on Never A Gentleman, too this week. I'm really close to being done with the first revisions now and almost up to where I want to be on word count. I really need to work on writing short, but that's another conversation for another day. I do like this story, though.

In addition, I researched some more on those spies of mine. Slowly, but surely, I'm pulling together the sense of place I'm going to need with these stories. Once I get that situated, I'll be able to start seriously plotting. I'm hoping to start writing by mid-September and be done with the first book and the other two synopses by January 1, 2005. I think I can do it if I focus.

August 9, 2004 -- Happy Birthday to me! And what a great birthday since I'm still basking in conference glow. I really did have a most excellent time, though I'm buried in work now! LOL So last week I worked furiously on revising Wager of Sin as per Judith's revision requests, researching my new Lady Spy trilogy I'm going to start writing this fall (more to come on that, but it's too skeletal as of yet) and revising Never A Gentleman. Normally, I don't work on so many projects all at once, but they all need to be done ASAP, so I'm trying to split my day in three parts. Wager in the morning, research for lunch and Gentleman in the evening.

Thankfully, Wager is a novella, so I should be able to get through it fairly quickly, leaving me with less to split my focus on. You know what, though... I'm having so much fun and I'm feeling so good about the upcoming year, I don't really mind the work.

August 2, 2004 -- Conference was SO GOOD! Please keep checking back this week as I update the site with more info!

July 26, 2004 -- I'm packed and ready! My flight is a ridiculously EARLY hour tomorrow and I'm so pumped to get to Dallas and have a lot of fun! I get back fairly late on Sunday, but next Monday there will be an update (including the August Contest and a few other items you won't want to miss), but then I will also be updating more extensively during the rest of the week as I get my Day-by-Day Conference Diary uploaded (you can read the one I did for Denver here), photos uploaded, industry info disseminated and more. So check back Monday morning, then come back after that (Monday afternoon and Tuesday/Wednesday, probably) for even more fun. :)

Please feel free to say hi if you see me. I'll be wearing both Jess Michaels and PassionatePen.com on my nametag and I'm always happy to meet people who have visited my site. If you've emailed me about something on the site in the past, remind me (I don't always immediately associate the names since I get so many email each year here). And I don't bite or anything (at least not much) so don't be scared to approach me even if you're shy. :)

If you're going to be attending National in Dallas, you might want to do a last double check of my Useful Conference Links. I'll be removing them next week after I get back home.

Yeehaw! I'm off to Texas! :)

July 19, 2004 -- It's incomplete at present, but the publisher now has the Secrets, Volume 11 page up! I've sent my bio and picture, so they should be up soon, as well as the beautiful cover and excerpts, ordering info, etc. :) Every little step closer to the big publication day (December 1st, presently) is so cool.

With my honey out of town last week (and a few more days this week. I feel like Donkey in Shrek. I'm all aloooone...), I did manage to write quite a bit on Schooled in Seduction. The first few days were slow, but I picked up the pace eventually. I ended up writing 59 pages and got my word count up to 23,000. Not bad for a short week's work. I'll keep plugging on it this week. I really want to get as much done as I can because Never A Gentleman revisions are priority one when I get back from Dallas. Then back to this book (probably) and then another regular historical to finish out the rest of the year.

Of course, in the writing life, all plans are subject to change with no notice. LOL

July 12, 2004 -- Before I start into my regular news for the week, I must have a moment of hyperventilation. <Clears Throat> I-Got-My-Galleys for Secrets, Volume 11!!!!!! It was so awesome to see my story in the format it will be released in a few months. What can I tell you about it... let's see. I have the second story in the anthology (p. 67 - 138). I'm sandwiched between Jennifer Probst's fantastic "Masquerade" and Kimberly Dean's hot, hot, hot "Manhunt". Angela Knight rounds out the collection with "Wake Me", which is done in true Knight style (i.e. hot and unexpected!). I'm so proud to be in such great company. 

What else is going on? Well, toot the trumpets and ring the bells! I have finished the first draft of Never a Gentleman! Yes, it's short, but I know the things I need to layer in and the threads I dropped that have to be tied up. So as soon as I get back from conference, I will tackle it again. I hope to have it complete and ready to send to Miriam by September 1.

In the meantime, this week my husband leaves for a business trip, so I'll be diving into Schooled in Seduction hard and heavy for the week he's out of town. It would be great to hit the halfway point on the book, but that may be asking too much. It will be interesting to see how much I can finish on it before July 23 (the last workday for me before I leave for Dallas). Just so you all know, there will be an update on July 26, the Monday before I leave, and I will be updating in a different way the following week. Check out the updates on July 26 to see how the updates will work on August 2 - 6.

In non-writing news, I am now the Secretary of Hearts Through History Romance Writers, the online RWA special interest chapter for historicals. It's a great group and I'm looking forward to serving them. I always say I'm never volunteering again, but I've discovered volunteering is like the mob. I try to get out, I get pulled back in. I surrender. I'm a volunteer at heart. LOL

Something else cool happened this week. I got invited to a party in Dallas hosted by my literary agency, The Irene Goodman Literary Agency. This is a big deal for me. The parties hosted by literary agencies and publishers are very... exclusive isn't the right word, but not everyone gets an invite. I mean, they are inviting the press and doing interviews at this one! Not that anyone will want to interview little old me with authors like Debbie Macomber in the room, but I'm really excited! And now I have something to wear my cute red dress to! I'm going black for the RITA/GH awards...

Oh, how I love conference time and this one is going to be sooooo cool! I know... so pathetic, right? ;)

July 5, 2004 -- Yes, I am still writing! Getting ever closer to THE END and anticipating it like crazy. This book has been with me for so long (since I started plotting it in 2002, you can read about its journey in Ladies in Waiting). I'm so excited to finish and send it out into the world. When I do finish, I intend to turn my attention back to the full-length romantic erotica book I was working on, Schooled In Seduction.

If you came in through the main page, you'll have already seen this, but in other news, I got my cover!!! I got my cover!!! I think it's soooo gorgeous and I'm shaking with the idea that my book is coming out in a few months. That it's really real! If you haven't seen it, check it out on the main page and in Books By Jess. You know, this 'first year' has been so thrilling so far between more sales, a new agent, covers and the promise of reviews to come. I'm enjoying each and every moment of it and anticipating even more.

June 28, 2004 -- I had such a great time in Vegas! My husband and I stayed at the Luxor hotel, which is the one shaped like a pyramid a la Ancient Pleasures. We relaxed, saw an old friend from high school, went to the Excalibur dinner show (so fun!) and just enjoyed each other's company without interruptions like work or email or 'to do' lists. The only writing-related stuff I did was buy a few fun items for giveaways both for Ancient Pleasures in December and for my release next year, Aphrodite's Passion. You can read all about my Vegas adventure and even see a few pictures over at Jess Michaels on July 1st!

But I'm back now! I even managed to squeeze out a little work on Never A Gentleman when I got back late last week. This week I hope to get even closer to 'The End'. I'm really hoping to make my personal goal of finishing the first draft before RWA National Conference.

June 14, 2004 -- My wonderful agent let me know that the cover of the April/May issue of Arabella was in the Metro in NYC, along with a description of the new magazine. So I strolled over to http://parex.metro.st/ftp/20040528_1000042.pdf  and scrolled to page 18 where I found the following: 'soft porn for housewives'. No press is bad press, right... but how insulting. Not just to romance writers (and housewives) but to writers in general. Whoever wrote this description not only did no research on romance, but obviously didn't even read the magazine itself. This is, of course, the way of most mainstream press when it comes to our industry, but I still have one word for it: Arg!

Okay, but something nice did happen to me after that little monstrosity. My editor at Arabella called me on Monday morning to let me know they want to buy a short story I wrote called "A Desirable Deception". It will be released some time in 2005 (I'll let you know when I have more details). And there is a new description in Books By Jess. A good way to start a week. :)

And the week continued to improve as I blew through even more of Never a Gentleman. I'm waaaay past the halfway point now and I'm really enjoying this story. I'm so glad I decided to finish it after so long. It's apparently been percolating all this time and now it's free! Free!!

June 7, 2004 -- My agent read Her Husband's Bed over the holiday weekend and emailed me Tuesday with a few comments. They were so minor that the manuscript has gone back to the editor at Avon who loved my voice when she reviewed A Widow's Kiss and asked for more from me right away. I'm crossing my fingers and toes that she likes this one.

The fingers that aren't working on Never A Gentleman, that is. Still plugging away on it. You can see a bit about it in Ladies in Waiting. I'm pretty happy with my progress and I'm really hoping I can finish the first draft by RWA National at the end of July. Then I could hopefully finish it up by early September.

Despite all that, I'm a little blue. Maybe it's because there's so much going on, we've had so many visitors to our home and my husband has had to work late every night this past week. I mean, things are going well. Quiet, but fine. Still, I'm just a little... blue. Let me get my tissues and I'm sure I'll survive.

May 31, 2004 -- Well, I did it! I finished my revisions for Aphrodite's Passion and mailed it back to my lovely editor at Red Sage. Hopefully she likes what I did and I will be one step closer to seeing this puppy in print in July 2005. I have been so focused on Ancient Pleasures that I'd kind of forgotten just how spicy hot Aphrodite really is.

But once I was finished with that, it freed me up to move on to the next thing on my 'to do' list. Because Miriam is now sending out Her Husband's Bed to publishers that turned down A Widow's Kiss, I realized I need to get cracking on a new mainstream historical romance. So I pulled out Never A Gentleman. Some of you may remember this book. I started it in January 2003, but became discouraged because I had so much work to pitch that was historical and nothing in the world seemed to be moving. I ended up putting it away. Well, it's back! I'm hoping to finish the first draft by the end of August and have it ready for pitching by September at the very latest. I'll be putting something up about it in Ladies in Waiting very soon (probably next week)!

In a bit of sadder news, I found out that although I made my first sale to an RWA-recognized press this year, I will not be allowed a pink ribbon for my badge at National.

P.S. -- Jess Michaels was updated for June! :)

May 24, 2004 -- I worked on my Aphrodite revisions this week and made some good progress, despite a few minor health issues. I'm pleased with the way the story is reforming itself and I hope I'm strengthening it with each change. I know many authors hate revision, but I enjoy it. My editor gives me good suggestions and the freedom to run with them, so it's a nice process. However, she really loved what I did with Ancient Pleasures, so there is some pressure to do something stunning with Aphrodite.

In other news, my agent let me know that Avon rejected A Widow's Kiss, but that the editor really loved my individual voice and would like to see more from me. She asked me to send Her Husband's Bed right away so that she could quickly review the full manuscript and prepare to send it out to Avon. Avon... just my dream house, no biggie. I guess Pocket also passed, but they did like the book, they just didn't love it. Like Miriam said... I want them to love it. But maybe they'll love HHB.

On Wednesday, the editor from Medallion Press emailed me to ask to see a full manuscript for The Heart of a Wolf, one of my older and favorite stories. After a quick polish, that went on its way, as well. This press is really working hard to establish itself and since Wolf has hit the 'too dark' brick wall with every mainstream publisher, this may be a good home for it.

Finally, I got paid for my story in Arabella. This is the first really substantial amount of money I've received for writing, so it was a momentous occasion accentuated by a few tears!

May 17, 2004 -- Had a really wonderful time during my Mom's visit, including a day trip to Chicago on the train to visit the art museum and the Harry Connick concert (he's soooo pretty and what a fantastic show!). But now she's gone back home and I suppose it's back to the grind for me.

This week I intend to start on the revisions for my July 2005 release, Aphrodite's Passion. My editor at Red Sage has also told me she already has editorial comments for the full manuscripts of Wager of Sin and Undeniable, too, so I'm hoping she sends those out this week, as well. In addition, I'm crossing my fingers that I hear back from Miriam about any progress on the mainstream front. This week will be catch-up for me and resuming forward momentum.

And... of course... waiting...

May 10, 2004 -- I have been told I'm impatient (who me??), but now I'm going to tell you a secret. I am also spoiled. The last month or so every week, hell every DAY I've been getting some new news, usually good. It's gotten to the point where if I don't hear news by 10am Central, I start to get annoyed. I start to call friends (you know who you are) to endlessly analyze my current position and whether I am moving up or down. How I still have writing friends is sometimes a mystery. I assume this latest phase will pass and is part of the natural progression of "Oh my God, I'm actually going to be published". But if I survive it with relationships intact, it will be a small miracle. I think I'll start stocking up on lavish gifts to buy back the people I may alienate with my twitching. Diamonds are always appropriate, aren't they?

In regular 'news'... I have no news. Wrote a new synopsis for a tweaked concept for Ancient Heat (the sequel to Ancient Pleasures), then I mailed the two full manuscripts I promised my editor at Red Sage. On Friday I also got my contract for Aphrodite back with the second half of my second advance check, but that's all folks! But I'll be starting the revisions for Aphrodite next week.

And in one last, random note... Goodbye Friends and thanks for all the laughter (and a few tears). In the words of Monica Bing, "It's the end of an era!"

May 3, 2004 -- Well, I got my final copyedits from Red Sage this week for Ancient Pleasures. They weren't really traditional in that, because of a time crunch, my editor simply sent the edited version back to me in email and I had the option of altering anything I didn't want. But everything looked great, so I sent her an email telling her full steam ahead! Next stop? Printing. Oh, I just got a shiver. The next time I see AP, it will be in galley form. That is so thrilling!

Then on Sunday, I got the revision letter for my second novella, Aphrodite's Passion (July 2005). Not too bad, though I probably won't start working on them seriously until after my Mom's visit next week. Also on Sunday, I had a nice phone conversation with my editor about a bunch of projects, including Wager of Sin and Undeniable, plus a sequel to Ancient Pleasures called Ancient Heat. Wager and Undeniable will be heading her way this week, with the first chapter of the sequel following after my Mom's trip. Then I'll be digging in deep on my revisions. I'm very excited about all these projects. SECRETS is definitely a well-respected franchise and I want to be a part of it as often and as long as I can.

Also found out that my fantabulous agent is going to be following up on our recent submissions very soon (like this week/next week). You could knock me over with a feather! I feel like my career has gone from zero to sixty in a matter of weeks. Now if only someone would actually like A Widow's Kiss enough to buy it... but maybe that's asking too much. I don't know how much joy the human body can take before it explodes. But I'm willing to test it.

Finally, last weekend I got an email from A Hint of Seduction online magazine. Apparently they had done some kind of informal poll of readers and asked who they'd like to see stories from in upcoming issues and my name came up. :) So they asked me if I'd like to do something with them. I said yes and wrote a short story called "The Reluctant Duchess". Well, she emailed me Sunday to tell me they like it and it will go in the November 2004 issue. More on "TRD" in Books By Jess.

Next Monday the update will probably be quite small (unless I randomly sell something new). My Mom will be arriving this Friday night for a visit and we have a lot of fun planned (trip to Chicago's Art Museum, Harry Connick tickets). But I will do a little update Monday!

Happy Mother's Day!

April 26, 2004 -- Was I complaining about the turtle's pace of this industry not so long ago? I take it all back. My new agent (ah, such nice words) send out A Widow's Kiss last Monday and Tuesday to a bunch of great editors!! ALREADY!!! So cross everything that crosses for me.

In addition, we talked at length about my name. My real name is Jesse Petersen. At present, I'm writing romantic erotica under the name Jess Michaels. So we decided a new name for my mainstream romance (my historicals, really) work will probably work best. So you are now talking to... Jenna Petersen. I've given up. Just call me "J". :) Obviously, I am continuing to pursue the romantic erotica (because I love it) and Jess Michaels will continue to exist, website will be updated and the countdown continues to my first book in December! I just hope the "Jenna" side of me will soon have a countdown of her own.

In addition, she's already read the partials I sent to her late last week and loved them. After previous experiences, I can't tell you just how thrilling it was for her to not just like, but love my work and truly have a belief that I am talented and will sell. In some ways, I had given up hope for my mainstream romance career, but now it's starting to come back. I mean... I could actually do this.

Finally, I received my contract for my second Red Sage novella, Aphrodite's Passion this week. I love getting contracts. Everything is officially official now. Now I just need to get my revisions and finish them before the first week of September.

April 19, 2004 -- I slept in last Wednesday. I was still foggy and groggy when the phone rang at 9:45am. It was Miriam Kriss from the Irene Goodman Agency. She read my manuscript, A Widow's Kiss the same day she got it. She loved it and she is now representing me!!! I sounded like a complete idiot as I stammered and flushed my way through the conversation, but I'm very excited and happy.

In addition to Widow, she asked to see the remainder of my marketable work, so I took a couple days of intense review on A Lady's Desire, A Rake's Vow, Her Husband's Bed, Watching Tessa and Never A Gentleman and shipped partials of them all away on Saturday.

So now I'm going to collapse. And when I recover from the last week, I will see where I stand and what needs to be worked on next. :)

April 12, 2004 -- IT is out. Yes, that's right! You can now find "Dueling the Debutante" on a store shelf near you in the new issue of Arabella Magazine. And just in case you don't remember what the cover looks like, there it is to your right.  Actually, I found it at Barnes and Noble as early as April 6 (where I hyperventilated... but just a little). And if you can't find it at a local bookstore, they do have it online at Books-A-Million, as well.

So go on, what are you waiting for? Go get it! Now!!! Hurry!!!!

Okay, that was less than subtle, wasn't it? Seriously, if you do have a chance to give it a read, I hope you like it. :)

As for writing, last week I finished the read-through on the newly re-written Undeniable. I do like the story better now that I've expanded it, made it a little hotter (okay, lots hotter), and explored a few issues a bit deeper. Hopefully Ellora's Cave feels the same way. I'm waiting to hear from the editor I'm working with there on a few other projects and then we'll see if she wants to see the rewritten version of UD.

In addition to all this fun, I have begun a new agent search for my mainstream romance. Although I didn't have the best luck finding the right agent for me the last two times, I know that the current market and tightening house guidelines for submissions have created a need I can't ignore. I did get a request for a full from Miriam Kriss at the Irene Goodman Agency on Friday, so I'm happy to say that A Widow's Kiss is winging its way to NYC as we speak.

One last note. I watched the A&E/BBC version of "Pride and Prejudice" this week. May I just say that a man like Colin Firth should NOT be allowed to smolder so. It's very distracting and makes me want to write extremely naughty things. ;) Mmmmm... Mister Darcy......

April 5, 2004 -- I'm still reeling from the news of my second sale (see below if you missed my unscheduled midweek update!) and so excited that I'll be in two volumes of Secrets (Secrets, Volume 11, Dec 2004 and Secrets, Volume 12, July 2005) back to back. The authors are a talented bunch of ladies and I'm honored to be in their company. Don't forget that you can read an excerpt of Ancient Pleasures at JessMichaels.com and you can read about my newest book to sell, Aphrodite's Passion right here in Jess's Books!

And if that isn't good enough, a few people have already emailed me complimenting me on my story in the current issue of Arabella. It's been so wonderful to know that others are not only reading "Dueling the Debutante", but actually enjoying it. I find it a little shocking, to be honest, that my words are actually getting read by someone other than my über-talented critique partner. So thanks and keep the comments coming! The issue hits newsstands next Monday.

Finally, with my husband's week off over, this past week I got significant work done on my rewrite of Undeniable. If the editor I'm working with at Ellora's Cave is still interested in the revised version, I'm hoping to be resubmitting it to her some time this week or possibly next depending on my ability to finish it this week.

March 30, 2004 -- Pardon my midweek update, but I have fantastic news! My editor at Red Sage called me tonight, despite a throat infection (thank you Judith) and let me know it's official.... They are buying my novella Aphrodite's Passion for Secrets, Volume 12. That Volume will be out in July 2005. I am so happy and excited! If you're interested in what Aphrodite is all about, come on over to Jess's Books, where it has moved from "Lady in Waiting" to a future release!

March 29, 2004 -- Lookie, lookie, lookie!! It's my issue of Arabella Magazine!! And lookie, lookie, lookie! My story, Dueling the Debutante is the COVER STORY!!!!

Okay... as you can tell I'm still hyperventilating. Why? Because I had NO IDEA that my story was going to be the COVER STORY in April/May. I found out when I toddled to my mailbox on March 24 and found Arabella waiting for me. Excited, I turned the magazine over and BAM. My name! My story title! My couple!!!!! All there in FULL GLORIOUS COLOR!

Sorry, I'm shouting.

Obviously, I'm very, very excited! My editor was so sweet, keeping me from knowing until the magazine came. And I just hope my story lives up to the gorgeous cover art and art within the story itself. The magazine will be on shelves on April 12. If you're a subscriber, you ought to get it any day now. When you do... email me! I'd love to hear what you think!

Oh yeah, and Avon asked to see a partial of A Widow's Kiss on Friday night. Can we say good week? I know we can.

March 22, 2004 -- I'm so boring, I know. Still a very quiet week as I wait for responses to my outstanding submissions. While I wait, I have continued to plot my new historical romantica called Schooled in Seduction (more info to come later) and working out how I want to rewrite Undeniable per the Ellora's Cave editor's request. If I do become an EC author (cross your fingers tight, tight, tight...) I am certainly going to come in with a bang! LOL

March 15, 2004 -- Things have been very quiet this week. I have been plotting a new book targeted to Ellora's Cave and waiting for answers on outstanding submissions, but that's about it. Nothing very exciting, I know! This week I'm hoping to finish with my plotting for my new book, write a synopsis and get cracking on writing the story.

Still waiting on answers from publishers...

March 8, 2004 -- After getting a thumbs up from my critique partner, Susanna Carr last week, I finished a final read-through on Wager of Sin this past week. Not a moment too soon, too. On Tuesday night, the editor I've been working with at Ellora's Cave emailed me to tell me that Undeniable didn't go quite far enough for EC, but that she'd love to see a full on Wager of Sin. So I'll cross my fingers that this story fits what they want better. On the up side, she did say very nice things about my writing and says it's just a matter of finding the manuscript that fits because she wants me as one of their authors. That is always nice to hear. :)

In other news, I was looking at my link stats for this site the other day and one of the the sites I've gotten the most hits from is this one: http://www.cmg.pl/ . Yes, this is a Polish site! But I have no idea what it is for! Anyone speak Polish, or if you're coming from http://ads.cmg.pl, can you tell me what this mysterious site is?

March 1, 2004 -- It's a brand new month! I've been busy this week, revising and reading over some old projects in preparation for submission. I read through the remainder of Seven Nights (formerly known as Night Fantasy, Fantasy Nights and... Seven Nights ... have I mentioned I'm terrible with titles?). Now it's tight and ready if Ellora's Cave wants to see that when they respond to Undeniable. In case you were keeping track, no I haven't heard anything yet on that. I was hoping her enthusiasm would lead to a faster read, but it looks like not. Hopefully I'll be on the short side of the response time rather than the long. If I am, I should have news by the end of March.

Of course, I'll be bald by then.

But what else is new? I just withdrew two partials from a publisher that had my submissions for two YEARS (and a year of that I was still agented!!). I decided that if they took that long, despite promises to look at the work, then maybe they weren't the kind of publisher I wanted to work with after all. My time is valuable. I deserve more.

P.S. The Jess Michaels site has been updated!

February 23, 2004 -- This week started badly. First, I got a rejection from Mills and Boon on the partial of Her Husband's Bed. Then I got a rejection from NAL on a query I sent to them also for Her Husband's Bed. Then I curled up in a fetal position in my office and rocked gently.

But then, on Friday... the very end of the week, things started looking up. First, my Arabella editor Sharon emailed me to tell me she's looked at the layout for my April/May story "Dueling the Debutante" . She described it and it sounds wonderful. Look for it April 12 on stands everywhere (apparently I'll be somewhere near the middle. Look for the subscription tag and you'll probably find me).

And on Saturday evening, I got an email I'd been waiting for. An editor from Ellora's Cave emailed me to ask to see a full manuscript for Undeniable. Not only did she ask for it, but asked to see it as soon as possible because she wanted to know what happened next (she'd had the partial). Needless to say, I sent her the full and a synopsis for Wager of Sin right away. Now I'm crossing my fingers, my toes and everything else that she likes the story.

Funny how one minute we can be ready to give everything up and the next the world seems wide open.

February 16, 2004 -- For those of you who came to the site on Tuesday and thought, "Wow, technical difficulties". Yes, we had some technical difficulties. Sigh. And that resulted in losing the visitor counter on the main page (which was near 30,000 hits). I've reset it to 29,000, which is close to the exact count, but it's a major bummer. Anyway, everything is fixed now and I apologize for the interruption in service.

February 9, 2004 -- Remember how I feared the jinx after two good weeks in a row? Well, the jinx knocked on my door last Monday with a rejection from Blaze on Fantasy Nights. I'm disappointed, especially since it was a requested full and yet there wasn't anything that told me why it was rejected or what they liked about it, but such is life. A friend suggested I might try cutting some out and turn it into a novella for Red Sage or spice it up a little and give it to Ellora's Cave, both of which I thought were very good ideas since I really liked this book. In the next couple of weeks I will probably be looking over the manuscript trying to decide what to do with it.

Then RWA sent me a lovely pair of letters on Thursday, telling me that neither of my workshops were chosen for National. Other writers reject me... editors reject me... waaaaaaah. Okay, I'm done now. :)

I did, however, finish my super secret project on Monday and a first revision by Friday. Want to know more about it? Come on over to Ladies in Waiting and finally find out the truth behind the secret.

By the way, if you were interested in taking one of my classes (the ones RWA didn't choose... their loss) at Romance Fiction University, but found the price too high, you may want to check it out again. The owners have lowered the prices of the classes and are offering a discount if you sign up for both my workshops at the same time.

February 2, 2004 -- Another good week (I'm afraid of the jinx with two in a row). My editor at Red Sage emailed me Tuesday to tell me she loved (LOVED WOOHOO) my revisions for Ancient Pleasures. We talked on the phone soon after and I did a couple small copyedit items then sent her my final disk for preparation for print. In addition, she told me how enthusiastic she was about Aphrodite's Passion, my option novella and told me to expect a revision letter on that in the next couple of weeks. Excuse me while I do my happy dance...

Okay, I'm done now. But I have yet more news! Both my workshops have been accepted by the Romance Fiction University. RFU is a new online school for writers. Published authors present month-long courses on a variety of subjects. To find out more about what and when I'll be presenting, check out my new page Where's Jess? If you've ever been interested in my presentations, maybe you'll sign up. :)

Finally, I am nearly finished with my super secret newest project! I should write THE END on it by Monday and depending on whether or not I hear on another work I have out at present, I'll be taking the remainder of the week off before I start revising. And yes, I will be telling you guys about it soon. I'm just waiting for the right moment. Don't you love a good mystery?

January 26, 2004 -- This was a good week! I started working on a brand new project and it's just flying from my fingers onto the page (that is such a great feeling when you get lucky enough to hit it). I don't want to say too much about it now so that I won't jinx it, but I will have info up soon, I promise.

In addition to a new book, I also wrote another short story. I'm really enjoying the challenge of a 4000-5000 word piece. This one is entitled "A Desirable Deception" and again that's all I'm going to say about it for now. I'm becoming very superstitious in 2004, aren't I? And secretive. LOL

In other news, I have registered for the RWA National Conference in Dallas!! I will have Jess Michaels on my name tag, but also www.PassionatePen.com, so if you are going, be sure you look for me and say hello. :)

Finally, this week I got my first round of promotional items. Jess Michaels magnets from the fabulous Earthly Charms! Want one? Well, why don't you join my Jess Michaels Newsletter! Everyone who is a member on February 14 will receive their very own "Find the Fire" magnet as a Valentine's Day gift and I'd love it if a few Passionate Pen-ers were part of the fun!

I hope to have some good news for you next week and more info on the top secret projects I'm working on, so stay tuned...

January 19, 2004 -- If last week was hectic and busy, this week was like a slow motion video. It seemed like everything took forever and I got very little done. I did manage to limp my way through the partial I'd written for Deeper and Deeper, as well as finish the God-forsaken synopsis from hell (this one was, in a word, painful).

But I did pick up my promotional pictures on Friday! You can see one of them here in the FAQ section. On February 1st, the Jess Michaels site will be updated and you'll get to see the other author photo there.

By the way, we'll probably pass the 30,000 hits mark this week. Thank you to everyone who has come here in the last five years (and counting). I hope the site has helped you!

January 12, 2004 -- What a busy week. Let me try to recap:

Publishing Stuff:

Writing Stuff:

On the agenda for this week? Some revision on my partial and synopsis for Deeper and Deeper and the long-neglected synopsis.

Happy Writing!

January 5, 2004 -- This week is very exciting! I'm getting my author promotional photos taken on January 7! I'm already pondering what to wear, how to do my hair, etc, etc, etc. This is a big step toward publication (or at least it is in my mind) and I can't wait to see how the pictures turn out and add them to the Jess Michaels site. By the way, that site was updated January 1st if anyone is following along over there.

I can't believe it's 2004!  In just a few months you'll see my first published story in the pages of Arabella Magazine. Arabella has its official launch on January 19 and my issue will be available in mid-March. While I was on vacation, I got the signed contract back from them, so I'm officially, officially official now.  LOL  Speaking of contracts, it's been quite the week for them. I also received my signed Red Sage contract back this week. I get all tingly just looking at it.

Last night I also did some work on the first revision of my latest novella, Undeniable.  Okay, okay... I sort of... finished the first revision on Undeniable. I didn't mean to! I fully intended just to look over a few chapters and finish the rest this coming week, but once I started I sort of lost track of time and found myself looking up only when I realized my printer had missed some pages. So, the first round of revisions is done and will be heading off to my always patient and fantastic critique partner this week.

Hmmm, maybe I should have made that resolution to slow down. Hey, I can't help it! I'm feeling very optimistic about 2004 and am raring to get going on old projects and new!

 

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