What's their story???

Do you ever see a person or a group of people and watch what they're doing and wonder why they're there and what brought them to do what they do???

I do. All the time, actually. Is it my writer's brain that makes me think like this?? Or am I just nosey??

There is a McDonalds not far form my house, I pass it every single time I leave my house or come home (unless I come the back way, but that's rare.) And as soon as the weather turns nice, there is this little group of old men that congregate in the parking lot. They open up the hatch-back of a mini van and sit around it in folding camp chairs like they're tailgating. Sometimes they're there early, like today- it was noonish when I drove by. And there've been other times I've seen them as late as 9 pm. And I am so damn curious as to why they sit there, in the parking lot, only about 10-20 feet from a very busy road. Why would they choose to sit there rather than one of their houses or a bar or a park or anywhere else on the planet beside a fast food restaurant parking lot!

Humans are fascinating creatures. It's so interesting to observe and wonder and see what they'll do next. Maybe this is why reality TV has become as popular as it has. It's completely unpredicable. (well, sometimes. I know there is completely scripted "reality" tv out there too...but those shows are so lame.) I think poeple like to see other people and to know they're not alone in their idiosyncrasies.

What do you think???

Final stage of editing....I can't believe it!!!

Wow. Can't believe this day is here. Today I start the absolute last stage of editing. I received my galley yesterday and now all that's left to do is go through and note any typos or other minuscule changes. After this there's no going back...no more changes. This is it!!!

I am in awe of how far I've come since starting this book. It had a different name back then and the original story idea was a bit different. It morphed as I wrote and I remember how fast I pumped out that first draft. Barely two months it took me...I was so excited...so inspired...I just could not stop. It was three years ago this month that I started it.

I remember how excited I was when it was finished and how fabulous I thought it was. I edited and perfected it and I queried. I received 9 requests...one of which was a full request from Red Dress Ink, one of the biggest chick lit publishers around. (this was when they still accepted unagented submissions). Devastation filled me when every single one ended in rejection.

But I loved this story so much.

It sat for a while, then it got an overhaul. I queried again and had no luck at all. Then I sent it off to a few digital publishers and that's when my story found it's home. My heart about burst when I found someone else who loved this story as much as I did.

And now here we are, after perfecting it even more...ready to publish and share it with the world!

I love when a story affects me like this!

This is what writing is all about...for me, anyway. It's the emotion.....the way a truly great story stays with us and changes the way we think or feel about life.

Some of my all-time favorite stories are The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series. I am a sucker for a coming of age story and especially one like this that also shows the immensely strong connection between girlfriends.

I read book 1, got it from the library, and loved it. Not really sure where I heard about it or why I picked it up, but I was hooked. I read books 2 and 3, also from the library. The first movie came out (based solely on book 1), can't remember if it was before or after book 3, but I adored it. It didn't disappoint in any way (though it resolved an issue that wasn't resolved in the 1st book...it was resolved in book 3). It took the characters I adored and brought them to life.

Book 4 was due to come out and I wanted to buy it. I knew I wanted to eventually collect them all. I had just seen the movie, so instead of spending the cash right away, I just bought 2 & 3, and read them to refresh my memory before 4 came out. 4 came out and I couldn't even wait for paperback...so my collection is all paperback except for 4.

Movie number two came out and I was disappointed.....I loved some of it but found many faults it the way 3 books were squished into one 2 hour movie. So much was cut and that I'm sure disappointed far more fans than just myself.

So now we're at present day and while shopping for Christmas presents a few weeks ago for family and friends, I happened across a box set: both STP movies and Book #1...which I still did not have. I hinted to hubby that I would really like it for Christmas. And it was only $23! Needless to say, I got it and when I opened it up and looked into the eyes of the actresses on the cover...the four friends who had also become my friends, I got teary. My mind flooded with their story, the ups, the downs, the sadness, the joy.......

My dream is to make my readers feel this way about my stories.

The story left me quite unfulfilled....

I worry about this in my own writing.

Last night we watched Public Enemies...a movie about John Dillinger, played by a sexy Johnny Depp. Normally movie or books about crime and violence are not my thing...but I have a curiosity and affection for stories of days gone by. So even though I knew the movie wasn't exactly my cup of tea, I wanted to watch it.

But I was disappointed for a couple reasons.

First of all, the movie started in the middle of the story. John was being hauled off to jail after being on parole for only 8 weeks- he had spent the 9 years before that in this same prison. He seems to have gotten himself sentenced on purpose and breaks out his buddies. He continues with his bank robbing with the aid of the friends he made while in the slammer. But I am left wondering what the heck happened between his parole and where the movie started. You do find out later that the original prison sentence was for stealing $50 worth of groceries....but I want to know why he started robbing banks. The movie only chronicles the end of his crime career and life. The movie ended and I never got a sense of why he did what he did. I wanted to know what those 8 weeks were like....I wanted to know more of his story...not just the end of it.

And the other part that disappointed me was the romance part of the story. So incredibly unbelievable. Basically he sees this woman in a bar (or whatever they were called in the 30's), goes up to her, asks her to dance. They leave and go to a restaurant....he tells her who is and tells her he wants her to come with him and he'll take care of her for the rest of their lives. This is the point where I say...what the??? I am a romantic through and through...I write romance.....and I often use the "love at first sight thing" in my stories....but seriously?? This was just too quick, too easy.....too unbelievable for me.

I know this is a true story and maybe that is how it all really happened...but I walked away wanting much more than what this movie gave me. I truly hope my stories never do this to my readers!