Fio's Enlightenments While Driving

The recent raw weather dug a couple of big potholes in Hwy 29.  Now Fio knows why tires are made of rubber.
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Do not put off till tomorrow what you can sneak under the wire today.
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A woman is a perpetual motion machine, or at least Fiorella is.
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Fio's writing career has taken over not only her life, but the doors of her pantry and kitchen cabinets,

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Be active, do good, let death unterrupt you, not proceed you.

Salvation Through Sadism.

You've heard Fio sound forth on this issue before, and now you'll hear her again.  She will never write a "romance" like Fifty Shades of Grey, no matter how much money it would pull in, because she thinks the book sets up a bad role model for impressionable women--i.e., all of us.  It's way too inviting to give up one's personal independence to a man who values you so much that he wants to own you, especially if that man is young, handsome, and rich, rich, rich--and it's thrilling to think that one can "heal him" by doing whatever he wants you to.

But sadists do not heal through acting out--they only get worse.  

Unlax, Fiorella, it's just a book of fiction, you say.  But, Fiorella replies, we model our lives and our values on the basis of fiction, which is why Fio's current book is anti-BDSM.  In fact, your faithful correspondent has been known to refer to WHERE THE HEART LEADS as her "up yours" to Fifty Shades--a position, she understands, that is quite familiar to Anastasia Steele.

Steppin' Out

Fiorella got out for the first time since she went into isolation to complete the book, and it was glorious.  She stopped by the bank to deposit a check for one of her books, then kept her appointment with her INR nurse, who has read WHAT THE HEART WANTS three times already.  After that, she drove over to Georgetown High School and asked to see the principals' office because she's using one in WHERE THE HEART LEADS and want her depiction to be real  The principal and his people at the school were very gracious and will get a nice than-you note from Fio.

Next, Fiorella dropped by Starbucks to buy gift cards for the RWA raffle baskets and to look the shop over for another scene in her book.  Then it was on to HEB for a list of groceries and Target for electrical tape and Walgreen's for hair spray.

Four hours of go, go, go.  The rest of her week will be spent writing, writing, writing.

More Personal Snippets

Fiorella's life has been a series of anecdotes.
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Fio is a philosopher.  Friend Jeanell is a shameless hustler.
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For Fio, writing a novel is like finding her way to the center of a maze--she has to back out of a lot of dead-end passages along the way.
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The Book IS Done

Fiorella finished the book at 12:15 last night.  Finished her first draft, that is.  She has two whole days to review and revise before she forwards it to her editor, who will send it back for further revisions in a couple of weeks.  And during those two or whatever weeks, Fio will race around like a demon trying to get everything done that she didn't do while she was writing.

And she will.

Bidelspach, Here Comes Fiorella!

Fio will submit WHERE THE HEART LEADS to Michele Bidelspach, editor extraordinaire, tomorrow, probably around noon.  The manuscript is not as perfect as Fio could make it, but that would take forever--literally.  Fio is never quite satisfied with anything she writes--or does--and circles back from time to time on voyages of improvement.

Besides, Fio is wiser about the role of editors now than the first time around.  They don't just point out stupid mistakes and accidental repeats--they provide a fresh viewpoint of the story, a viewpoint which can help the author make his/her theme more effective.

And reaching the reader is what we all want to do.

The Three Shocks of Fiorella

The road to becoming a published author is a learning experience--a rough one.

Fio's first shock was when her agent asked for revisions.  Revisions? Didn't Liza sign Fio on because the book was perfect?  After all, it had been written out of Fio's heart and soul.  But heart and soul don't always sell so Fio revised, and her book became deeper because of it.

Fio's second shock was when her editor asked for revisions.  Fiorella went into shock for two weeks before she even attempted to follow through.  But again, editors know what sells.  And Fio was not being asked to change the plot in the least.

Fio's third shock was when she leafed through the book after it had been published.  Ye Gods!  Why hadn't she noticed she'd used the word "children" in two successive sentences?  And that the construction of the sentence on the following page was so clumsy that she changed it when she was giving a reading?

Now you know why authors drink.