When I buy a book, I keep it…for a long, long time. And, every now and then, I re-read my old books. This habit drives my husband crazy–he tells me I already know what’s gonna happen, so why re-read?!

Well, duh, for fun. I only re-read the books that are–in my mind–absolutely fantastic. The stories that clicked with me, the ones that made me smile, made me cry, made me care, or just made me have a heck of a fun time reading them.

I thought I’d list a few of my favorite “oldies” today. So, here goes:

1. Cinderman by Anne Stuart
This is, hands down, my favorite superhero book. The hero gets doused by a burning gunk and suddenly can start fires with the power of his mind…and he can become invisible. The heroine was lucky/unlucky enough to get doused by said gunk, too, and she gets a handy power of her own…mind-reading.

Throw in the pure brilliance of Anne Stuart’s writing, and you have a book you can’t put down.

2. Bewitching by Jill Barnett
When Jill Barnett wrote historicals, she could write funny like noboby else. I always smile when I re-read her work, and, yeah, sometimes I get a little sniffly. Bewitching is a fun tale about a witch (a rather inept one) and the man who steals her heart.

3. Shield’s Lady by Amanda Glass (Jayne Ann Krentz)
Interesting tale about a mercenary with very unusual powers, and the woman who is destined to be his mate. Jayne Ann Krentz creates one of her wonderful new worlds in this story–the woman is just too good at creating a sci-fi romance.

So, does anyone else have any “oldie, but goodie” recommendations?

Inspiration is where you find it. Some people get ideas when they hear songs, when they go for walks on the beach, or even when they are in the shower. Personally, I get ideas from just about anything.

But…there is one thing that really inspires me: the work of my absolute favorite artist, Stacey Kite. A few years ago, I stumbled upon Stacey’s work at an outdoor art fair. I didn’t get to buy any of her work because the canvases I wanted (and, yeah, there were a lot!), were a bit (a big bit) out of my price range. (Hey! I was a recent college grad–I was doing well to buy gas!)

Stacey’s work is all about fantasy. She paints dragons, mermaids, fairies. And she uses brilliant, mood-creating color combinations. And dang if she doesn’t make you believe in the fantasy, at least for a moment.

One day, I’m gonna have one of her canvases in my living room. And I’ll let the thing inspire me every single day…

I think every writer–both the beginning and the seasoned pro–should have a submissions tracker. I’m not talking anything super fancy here. Heck, my tracker is just an Excel file that has the following fields:

Title
Person/House Submitted To
Address
Date of Submission
Response
Follow-up

Simple, huh? I just complete the fields every time I send a manusript out–that way, when I haven’t heard from a publisher after a few months, I know exactly when it is (and is not) acceptable to send a follow-up letter.

And looking at my submissions, well, it’s a little ego boost. It’s nice to see that I’ve got stories out there, nice to see all that I’ve done.

So, if you don’t have a submissions tracker, make one, pronto! Use a Word file, use Excel–use whatever works for you. Just use one.

I’ve got a post up today at Magical Musings–please, hop over and take a read (and let me know if you’ve got a name for me!)

The deadline for the Dorchester/Romantic Times American Title contest is fast approaching. This year, the judges are looking for contemporary stories, 80,000-90,000 words. The stories can be chick-lit, romantic suspense, comedies, or paranormals. Entrants have to be unpublished writers. So, if you’re an unpublished writer with a manuscript that you want to submit, send the first 3 chapters and a synopsis to:

AMERICAN TITLE III
Dorchester Publishing
200 Madison Ave., Suite 2000
New York, NY 10016

Hurry up–entries have to be recieved by June 1st.

For complete details, check out the contest requirements from Dorchester Publishing.