Dance and Sing

Dance and sing, clap your hands, leap for joy!  Fiorella's revisions are few and far between!  Yes, she has received the critique of WHERE THE HEART LEADS from her editor, and whole clumps of pages go by without a single red mark!

Now to tackle those pages that do have red marks on them.  And to consult the critiques her beta readers turned in.  And to finish writing COMFORT OF THE HEART, or whatever she's going to name the novella.  And to celebrate Father's Day and Husband's birthday.  And to clean up the house.  And to go through all the old photos and label them.  And to repair some old oil paintings,  And to get those little booklets made up for the NRWA conference.  And to revise and publish her short stories and her poetry,

Somehow, your Fiorella will work it all into her schedule.

Editor Search

Fiorella's life is full of adventures.  The one she's getting the most mileage out of right now involves her search for her editor, Michele Bidelspach, at the national RWA conference.

Michele had given Fio a forty-five minute time slot, 11:30 to 12:15, and Fiorella was both elated and apprehensive.  It would be great to talk face-to-face with this publishing deity who controls her literary destiny, but why did Michele want to talk to her--was Fio being called into the principal's office?

That worry was soon shoved aside for a more immediate one--Fiorella had no idea where she should meet with Michele.  Luckily, she ran into another member of her chapter, a published author, who told her that agents and editors usually hang out in the bar area.

No sooner said than done.  Fio immediately scooted down the stairs to the first floor, traversed the bar area itself, then crossed and recrossed the large area outside the bar, looking for a dark-haired woman a little shorter than she was.  But everyone looks short sitting down.

The minutes were speeding by, but Fiorella was determined not to be late for her appointment. She pulled out her cell phone and, using her meager texting skills, sent Michele a message asking where she was.  "In the lounge facing the bar," was the answer.  Fio raced around the area again, then started to query Michele on what she wearing, then suddenly realized her own white slacks and red shirt would probably be more distinctive.  After describing her ensemble to Michele, she raced around the area once again, trying for maximum visibility.

"Jeanell!"  (Fiorella's pen name.)

It was Michele, editor extraordinaire, and not only had Fio made it on time, but her apprehension was for naught.  The meeting was social, with some marketing plans thrown in.  Fio babbled, of course, but Michele was charming.

Its a story arc with a happily-ever-after ending.

Stroll in the Sun

Fiorella will readily admit she is geographically challenged, but staggering up and down the mean streets of San Antonio in 100+ weather on her first day at the National Romance Writers of America annual conference was scary.  She had left the conference hotel with friends, gone across the street, and turned down this way and that (Fio doesn't pay attention to where she's going when she's talking).  After they all finished eating, two of her friends walked back to the conference hotel while Fio and another woman stayed at the table.  When the other woman left to visit with friends, Fio, all on her lonesome, started her trek back to her hotel. . . and couldn't find it.

So she walked around, trying other routes. The sun was hot, and she was thirsty, and she was tired.  But still she soldiered on.  What is a little dehydration and disorientation to the mighty Fiorella?  Twice she went into RiverCenter hotel instead of RiverWalk and tried to get the elevator to take her up to her sixth floor room.  And twice a nice hotel employee told her she was in the wrong hotel. The second time around, he gently took her arm and escorted her out of RiverCenter, across the street, down the side of the river, into RiverWalk, and made sure she got on the correct elevator.

Thank you, Eleazar Garza.

My Husband, My Hero

Husband truly does love Fiorella.  When she came home from Conference, the house was sparkling.  Fio's packing-up mess had been taken care of, the floors were swept, the newspapers were waiting for her in a neat stack, the bedroom had been straightened up, vanilla ice creams was waiting in the freezer, and the dog was happy--although Husband had taken her on THREE walks a day, thus raising canine expectations of Fio.

Fiorella has crossed into an alternative universe, and she loves it--the conference was wonderful, and coming home was even more wonderful.

You'll hear more to come about the conference this week, but you'll hear about Husband forever.