Last week I completed my edits, read through the entire book as a paper copy and entered the last (for now!) changes into my chapters and combined them into one document. Then I printed the entire 369 page manuscript for another check.

Interesting note: Word won’t give me a word count. The doc starts tabulating somewhere in the 94 hundreds, gets to 99 and something and then blinks out, leaving that space blank. Finally I highlighted the entire doc and went under Tools to word count and came away with 112,196.

Now the waiting begins. Except there is no waiting for a writer; it’s back to work. I’m going to tweek another round of letters and I resumed writing Friday on a sequel to Meadow Magic–Fern’s story–called Conifer Curse

Then I entered the first 33 pages and a 2 page synopsis in the Georgia Romance Writers Unpublished Maggies. I believe this contest is patterned on the RWA Golden Heart, with scores of 1 to 10. The deadline is June 5th.

Anyone else doing the summer contests?

I’m liking this idea.

If you want to learn more, go to the Steamed! blog where Suzanne and her lolita co-bloggers write about Steampunk, review new releases, feature the latest genre machinery, travel to cons and showcase the cool fashions.

Once there, keep your eyes alert for the 2012 date you’ll be able to pick up Suzanne’s YA Steampunk Fairytale from a bookstore, because she has sold Innocent Darkness, her fourth manuscript and first to be published. Go, Suzanne!

I’ve been searching for a new wordpress theme for a few days and yesterday learned I couldn’t upload any of the pretty ones I’d found online onto my wordpress webpage. Why? When I was a beginner with websites last year, I signed up for my domain and hosting with 1 and 1, but overlooked a detail: I could now go to wordpress.ORG. Instead I used the free site .COM.

The wonderful support staff at 1 and 1 walked me–okay, US. I couldn’t do this without my tech-savy DD–through the 1 and 1 end, and because our guy knew it himself, he directed us where to find the wordpress instructions. They are all there, including how to get FileZilla, which I don’t understand but somehow eases in using themes.

One hurtle? Could I use all the pages and posts I’d accumulated in a year of using my .COM website? He didn’t think so. Oh, no. But I had been searching for that uload button earlier and had run across export.

Guess what? You can export your entire wordpress site to your computer as a file. Then import it to your new site. It transferred! All of it, including the pictures and links. I was thrilled.

But then one theme I had chosen didn’t want to download on my MAC without unzipping–forever. The next didn’t have the flexibility to arrange all my page links and other fomatting details I don’t know the names of.

Enter DD.

My daughter had set up a Sims clothing design webpage this winter. She had spent hours customizing her site using the Suffusion theme.

She went to work. I went to bed at midnight. Today it looks fabulous. Thank you, thank you, thank you to my creative and talented daughter.

I still have some of the old colors to change from my green-themed website to this purple-themed one. I know why this has happened thanks to Emma Clair and Michelle McGinnis, two RWA writers who presented “Creating a Web Presence in Just One Hour” at the 2009 RWA Nationals. Listening to it along with their web presence workshop from 2008, I’ve learned a few things. Go to Emma’s site to download their workshop in pdf format; it’s great for beginners.

So, there you have it, more than you probably wanted to know about changing the look of my website.

One gal, Lisa Desrocher, has had her YA book Personal Demons inserted into Macmillian’s fall list. It’ll be released September 14, 2010. She’s hosting a contest, with one prize option an ARC of the book.

He …heck, I’d love to read more than the 20 pages I read of her contest entry. I’m in on the contest. Click over to her blog and enter.

FINALISTS: CATEGORY SERIES ROMANTIC SUSPENSE

Orchard County Killer by Deborah L. Kaufman

His Reluctant Witness by Christine Keach w/a Lexi Connor

Rescued by D’Ann Linscott-Dunham

Kira’s Keeper by Jan Schliesman

Blue Ridge Fear by Robin Weaver

FINALISTS: HISTORICAL ROMANTIC MYSTERY/SUSPENSE

A Lady’s Revenge by Tracey Smith w/a Tracey Devlyn

Her Secret Flyboy by Jeanne Dickson

Vengeance is Mine by Linda Friar

Deception by Jennifer Ramirez w/a Jennifer Beane

Sweet Enemy by Heather Snow

FINALISTS: INSPIRATIONAL ROMANTIC MYSTERY/SUSPENSE

Illusion of Safety by Dianna Benson

The Shadow of Heaven by C.J. Eernisse Chase

Nightshade by Debra E. Marvin

Submerged by Dani Pettrey

The Peacock Throne by Lisa Karon Richardson

FINALISTS: PARANORMAL ROMANTIC MYSTERY/SUSPENSE

Last Wishes by Caroline Dunsheath

Last Chance by writing team Ann Fischer & Linda Baxter

Hearts of Darkness by Ciara Stewart

Lost Paladin by Tracy St. Hilaire

Passages by Laurel Wanrow

FINALISTS: SINGLE TITLE ROMANTIC MYSTERY/SUSPENSE

He Kills Me, He Kills Me Not by Lena Diaz

In For a Penny by Kathy Franklin

Misdirection by Linda Lovely

Safe in Enemy Arms by Joan Swan

From Baghdad with Love by Gail Zerrade

FINALISTS: MAINSTREAM MYSTERY SUSPENSE

Insight by Polly Iyer

Death Benefits by Arlene Kay

Nearly Departed in Deadwood by Wendy Kunkle-Munk w/a Ann Charles

Pineapples in Peril by Cheryl Linn Martin

Solstice of Death by Robin Weaver

The winners and placement of each unpublished subgenre will be announced on
July 29th in ORLANDO!!! at KOD’s Death by Chocolate. Congratulations to
the finalists, to the entrants, to the judges and to our hardworking
coordinators. Stay tuned for the Published side of the contest as we
announce later on in May.

So there it is folks. According to one of my chapter mates at MRW, the finalists are seated with with the final round judges at the party. KOD is providing finalists’ ribbons to wear on our conference name tags and asking for a picture to be used in a yet-un-named manner. What a nice set of ways to be recognized and treated; the contest and chapter organizers have done an excellent job. Thank you, Donnell Ann Bell, Daphne Coordinator, and all the volunteers working with the contest and award ceremony.

Passages finalled in the unpublished division of The Daphne du Maurier Contest sponsored by RWA’s Mystery /Suspense chapter, Kiss of Death.

I’m thrilled. The Daphne was the first RWA contest I entered four years ago as a newbie romance writer. I entered both times in the Paranormal / Time Travel / Futuristic Mystery/Suspense category. Passages is a futuristic or science fiction romance mystery.

This was one of the limited word contests I posted about back in March – 5,000 words for the manuscript and 675 for the synopsis. Yes, I trimmed my 5 page synopsis to 2 pages for this contest, a worthy exercise by itself. I now am allowed to send up to 25 pages (mine was 18) to the final judges, who are … *drum roll* … Heather Osborn, editor with Tor Publishing and Paige Wheeler, agent with Folio Literary Management.

I’ll post the finalist list when available.