Ever wonder what goes through an editor's mind while they're working on your manuscript?
Well, I actually stirred up the courage to ask mine and her answers actually surprised the dickens out of me, leaving me in awe at her intelligence.
Am I sucking up to my editor? Not a chance! Not after the way she returned my manuscript sliced and diced and hashed up with enough red marks to shame a third grader's English exam in the mud. Then...I took a step back and re-read every single comment and put them in the proper perspective. She was correct--in every single case. That, my dears, is difficult for me to admit.
Recently, Lisa, my editor, gave me a few minutes of her time and let me get inside her head to see her work through her eyes. Very interesting. This is what she shared with me.
Once she gets her hands on a script that peaks her interest, she reads the story all the way through. Then she rolls up her sleeves, so to speak, and gets out her red pens, highlighters, and iced tea. Blocking out the rest of the world she starts at the beginning again, by looking for misspelled words, then run-away sentences, poor grammar, mis-used words, verb content, and over-used words, etc.
As I watched the fire in her eyes light up, her passion for her work is truly astounding and I have to say quite contagious. Lisa makes every writer she's working with feel they are the best and most important people alive. And before she's finished with you, you'll believe it as well...
This morning, as I wrap up my final changes and turn in my novel once again over to Lisa, I'm feeling pretty good about all my errors. Not because I made them... No, no, no. Because I know without any doubts, my work of art, my baby I tolled over for an entire year...is now in the most capable hands in the world.
Feel you have a book or two inside you? Look up L & L Dreamspell Publishers and let Linda Houle and Lisa Rene Smith get to know you.
Filling in the empty lines,
Cherri
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
I Said Goodbye
I said goodbye to our oldest little old lady baby. Natasha Heather v. Katrina Heidelberg Vom Kleinen Zwinger (Galbiati).
Tasha came to us with an open heart filled with love, kindness, and elegance. Her nurturing disposition brought such a sense of balance to our home and now she's gone. We were greatly privileged to have her share her life with ours.
It'll be a long while before I stop feeling the life squeezing out of my heart.
I said goodbye...but not forever.
Natasha Galbiati
b. August 21, 1995 crossed over August 21, 2007
Tasha came to us with an open heart filled with love, kindness, and elegance. Her nurturing disposition brought such a sense of balance to our home and now she's gone. We were greatly privileged to have her share her life with ours.
It'll be a long while before I stop feeling the life squeezing out of my heart.
I said goodbye...but not forever.
Natasha Galbiati
b. August 21, 1995 crossed over August 21, 2007
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Interruptions In Writing
Ever wished you could write at anytime, anywhere, without interruptions?
During the process of writing my first novel, I worked full time outside the home in an office, worked with two German shepherds on call for Search missions, kept up with my family, and wrote in what spare time I could find...complaining non-stop that I never had enough time to write.
Now, I am home full time, our two dogs have retired from service, and I no longer can complain about not having time to write...So why isn't my muse dancing on my eyelashes sprinkling me with writer's dust? She's busy searching out dust bunnies under my desk, looking for issues on the internet she can stick her two cents into, and listening to idle gossip while sipping coffee with the neighbors. She's become unorganized, unruly, and cranky because she isn't doing what she should be doing--keeping my thoughts flowing on paper (er-uh, on the screen).
Last night we had a little discussion and although I have no doubt that she's back to skipping on my eyelashes, she still enjoys fluttering off and playing with the dogs, the neighbors, friends, and chatting up a storm promoting my books.
This morning the phone has rang three times, I promised a friend of mine I would travel with her this afternoon to a small town near Houston to pick out some fresh veggies from the Farmer's Market and the clothes in the dryer won't fold themselves or hang themselves up, and I really need to make a quick dash to the store for some milk, eggs, butter, and chocolate syrup, and then the filters in the a/c vent needs changing, and, and, and, and...
And maybe the problem isn't with my muse at all--
And so my day begins.
Grinning from ear to ear,
Cherri
During the process of writing my first novel, I worked full time outside the home in an office, worked with two German shepherds on call for Search missions, kept up with my family, and wrote in what spare time I could find...complaining non-stop that I never had enough time to write.
Now, I am home full time, our two dogs have retired from service, and I no longer can complain about not having time to write...So why isn't my muse dancing on my eyelashes sprinkling me with writer's dust? She's busy searching out dust bunnies under my desk, looking for issues on the internet she can stick her two cents into, and listening to idle gossip while sipping coffee with the neighbors. She's become unorganized, unruly, and cranky because she isn't doing what she should be doing--keeping my thoughts flowing on paper (er-uh, on the screen).
Last night we had a little discussion and although I have no doubt that she's back to skipping on my eyelashes, she still enjoys fluttering off and playing with the dogs, the neighbors, friends, and chatting up a storm promoting my books.
This morning the phone has rang three times, I promised a friend of mine I would travel with her this afternoon to a small town near Houston to pick out some fresh veggies from the Farmer's Market and the clothes in the dryer won't fold themselves or hang themselves up, and I really need to make a quick dash to the store for some milk, eggs, butter, and chocolate syrup, and then the filters in the a/c vent needs changing, and, and, and, and...
And maybe the problem isn't with my muse at all--
And so my day begins.
Grinning from ear to ear,
Cherri
Friday, July 27, 2007
Girl's Day Out
Last Wednesday, I enjoyed experiencing something I've never done before...shopped from morning till the shops closed.
A couple friends of mine, who happen to also be writers, and I took the day off and toured Old Town, Spring, Texas. What a gold mine that community holds! And what fun the three of us women had turning back our personal clocks and re-living the world through the eyes of being fifteen again. We allowed ourselves to giggle, laugh out loud with our heads thrown back, and point at things we were told never to point at.
We tried on clothes, sat in antique chairs made for royalty, and tasted every type of jam, jelly, and preserves known to mankind. We drank smoothies, ate brownies, home-made fudge, and had the most wonderful lunch at an Italian cafe called Delissimo's.
What that day taught me is that being a woman is the most precious gift we have. It wasn't about spending money (although we certainly made the shopkeepers happy), it was about camaraderie, about allowing ourselves to be young girls again, to see the laughter in the other's souls.
I love my husband and am proud to say that. I am also a strong woman who isn't ashamed to admit that either. And I am a surrounded by the greatest friends in the world, even the ones who weren't with us that day, you were there...held tight in my heart--for it is there, with you, where I find the core of my strength!
Licking on my ice cream cone,
Cherri
A couple friends of mine, who happen to also be writers, and I took the day off and toured Old Town, Spring, Texas. What a gold mine that community holds! And what fun the three of us women had turning back our personal clocks and re-living the world through the eyes of being fifteen again. We allowed ourselves to giggle, laugh out loud with our heads thrown back, and point at things we were told never to point at.
We tried on clothes, sat in antique chairs made for royalty, and tasted every type of jam, jelly, and preserves known to mankind. We drank smoothies, ate brownies, home-made fudge, and had the most wonderful lunch at an Italian cafe called Delissimo's.
What that day taught me is that being a woman is the most precious gift we have. It wasn't about spending money (although we certainly made the shopkeepers happy), it was about camaraderie, about allowing ourselves to be young girls again, to see the laughter in the other's souls.
I love my husband and am proud to say that. I am also a strong woman who isn't ashamed to admit that either. And I am a surrounded by the greatest friends in the world, even the ones who weren't with us that day, you were there...held tight in my heart--for it is there, with you, where I find the core of my strength!
Licking on my ice cream cone,
Cherri
Sunday, July 8, 2007
Announcing my book debut December 2007
Fun builds for this writer as I climb through the processes of the publishing of my debut novel, THE SCENT OF MONEY, due out this December 2007.
This past Friday, the publishers of LLDreamspell, Linda Houle and Lisa Rene Smith came over to our home to do the photo shoot for THE SCENT OF MONEY. Linda and Lisa both love animals and had on a previous meeting met all my dogs. Except last time they behaved. The dogs, not Linda and Lisa, although they behaved as well!
Our dogs are nosy rascals and could not take the laughter on the other side of the wall for a minute longer. Four German shepherds and a HUGE Great Pyrenees burst through the living room door like a plug being removed from a dam, rushing Linda and Lisa with gusto! Each one of the dogs vying for their affection and fondness. Yes, my dogs are loving creatures, very social. Maybe a little too social as they climbed on these women's laps, smothering them with kisses and squeals, the way our dogs behave when they really like someone.
After Linda and Lisa left, I knew I had been in the company of two very fine women. You see, I trust my dog's intuition of character.
Observing dog's behaviors and their antics thrills me. Writing about them in murder mysteries came easy as they provide strong characters. And having Search Dogs helped with plot and setting. Why write about them? Because these honorable dogs give to the community without expecting anything in return. They are my Cadaver Dogs.
Whistling and writing and waiting for the next step--
Cherri
This past Friday, the publishers of LLDreamspell, Linda Houle and Lisa Rene Smith came over to our home to do the photo shoot for THE SCENT OF MONEY. Linda and Lisa both love animals and had on a previous meeting met all my dogs. Except last time they behaved. The dogs, not Linda and Lisa, although they behaved as well!
Our dogs are nosy rascals and could not take the laughter on the other side of the wall for a minute longer. Four German shepherds and a HUGE Great Pyrenees burst through the living room door like a plug being removed from a dam, rushing Linda and Lisa with gusto! Each one of the dogs vying for their affection and fondness. Yes, my dogs are loving creatures, very social. Maybe a little too social as they climbed on these women's laps, smothering them with kisses and squeals, the way our dogs behave when they really like someone.
After Linda and Lisa left, I knew I had been in the company of two very fine women. You see, I trust my dog's intuition of character.
Observing dog's behaviors and their antics thrills me. Writing about them in murder mysteries came easy as they provide strong characters. And having Search Dogs helped with plot and setting. Why write about them? Because these honorable dogs give to the community without expecting anything in return. They are my Cadaver Dogs.
Whistling and writing and waiting for the next step--
Cherri
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