Another week has gone by...

...and I've lost count. After awhile, the days merge together and the anticipation slows down. You realize the pins and needles have given way to rocks and hills. The view at the top is cloudy...(sorry, I drifted off there for a bit.)
I really wanted this post to be about help. Real help. As in Writing Partners. Writing Partners can be life savers. At least, that's what my pal Nancy has become. She has the patience of Job when it comes to reading my chapters. Her advice is spot on and easy to grasp-not out there on a plane by itself. Tips I can use. Guidance that makes me think. Suggestions that present themselves over and over again to spice up a scene or describe a feeling--useful ideas that make me a better writer. And sometimes, just reading her emails on what she has learned becomes my 'ah ha!' moment.
Like this week: She received a rejection and instead of wallowing in self-pity (that's always my first inclination!) she concluded that particular genre wasn't hot right now. Instead, she decided to reserarch exactly what is AND she shared that info with me.
Well, needless to say, the unpopular genre is exactly what I've been concentrating on since my last submission. And it didn't take a sledge hammer to the head to know if SHE can't sell it, I surely cannot! Luckily, I do have a little story waiting in the wings on Contempory MG Mystery that might open more doors. So, switcheroo-I'm jumping back into THE SECRET AT ONE BELMONT LANE.
In this story, two Middle Graders stumble onto the bizarre and unexplained-until it's too late and they almost lose their lives and a whole lot of bank money, to boot. What does a wolf, a grizzly bear and a python have in common? Did I mention the villians were shape-shifters?

Who remembers how long it's been???

Still waiting...