I saw Failure to Launch last Saturday night, and, I must say, I thought the movie was absolutely hilarious.

Yes, Matthew McConaughey was sexy–after all, he is the sexiest man alive–and, as always, I loved listening to his drawl. But, despite Matthew’s appeal, I really felt his character’s friends were the ones who stole the show.

I don’t want to give away any important movie details, but I will say that every time Matthew got together with his buddies, I knew something funny would soon be happening. The three guys made a great group: one was the suave charmer (Matthew), one was a nature boy, and the third was a nerdish computer guy.

Sarah Jessica Parker did a good job, too. But, I found myself liking the charcter of her friend more than I actually liked her. The secondary characters really ruled this flick.

Failure to Launch followed the perfect romance formula–it began with action, it introduced the hero and heroine quickly, the secondary characters were loveable, there was a black moment–movie-goers got to wonder if the lovers would be separated, and, finally, everyone got to live happily ever after. Yep, in my book, a perfect romance. And a very fun movie.

So, last Sunday, my nephew was christened. I spent a fun time at the church holding my sweet, screaming little snookums and making nice chatter with friends and family. And, then, of course, came a reference to my writing–sometimes I really dread writing references.

A lovely lady says to me, “Are you still writing?”

I juggle Jack and reply, “Oh, yeah. I have to stay up pretty late some nights–like freaking 4 a.m.–but I’m definitely writing.” By the way, the freaking 4 a.m. part was just in my head–although I think it would have been really cool if I’d said it then. Sigh.

She smiles and gushes, “Well, I know this guy, he just wrote that tailgating book. You know, the one about Alabama. And now he’s on the bestseller’s list.” A pause, then a meaningful look as she tells me, “You should do something like that.”

Um…No, thank you. Really not into the whole tailgating scene. And, besides, I write romance. R.O.M.A.N.C.E. Not some football after party stuff. But, of course, I’m trapped by the politeness that my southern mom drilled into me, and I find myself nodding to the chick and muttering, “That’s an idea.”

Yep, it’s a an idea. One that isn’t for me.

So, for you other writers out there…do you ever get comments like this? Comments that just make you think…what in the hell?

In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, I thought I’d post a few Irish blessings and toasts. Enjoy!!

Here’s to lying, stealing, and cheating!
May you lie to save a friend;
May you steal the heart of the one you love;
and may you cheat death.

Oooh…I like that one. Here’s another:

May your troubles be as few and far between
As my grandmother’s teeth.

Or how about this one:

As you slide down the banister of life, may the splinters never point in the wrong direction.

This one makes me feel wicked–in a good way:

May those who love us love us.
And those that don’t love us,
May God turn their hearts.
And if He doesn’t turn their hearts,
May he turn their ankles,
So we’ll know them by their limping.

This one’s fun, too:

May your glass be ever full.
May the roof over your head be always strong.
And may you be in heaven
half an hour before the devil knows you’re dead.

And, finally, a serious note:

May your troubles be less
And your blessings be more.
And nothing but happiness
Come through your door.

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!

Yesterday’s post on Romancingtheblog was about synopsis how-to. There were several helpful links on synopsis writing, and a good discussion ensued.

However, in my nice, humble little opinion, I think that–in terms of catching an editor’s attention–you need a really strong query–and then you need to follow that query up with a powerful synopsis.

So…I’m going to talk about queries today. I really like writing queries–I have a simple formula that I use and my formula has worked pretty well for me so far. Here are my query steps:

1. Begin with a nice greeting (Dear whoever).
2. Go into the story hook. At this point, I usually insert about 2-3 paragraphs of strong, descriptive story material–kind of like what you’d see on the back cover jacket of a book.
3. It’s the wind-up! I write a one paragraph summary stating the technical facts of the manuscript. For example: Shane and Mckenna’s (ficitional characters) story is told in my 90,000 word manuscript, Stolen Hearts. Stolen Hearts is a fast-paced paranormal tale of love, adventure, and danger. It is targeted for the Sega Genesis line (yeah, um, here you’d fill in whatever line you’re targeting).
4. All about me! In this paragraph, I summarize my writing credentials–you know, publishing credits, membership affiliations, etc. I don’t put in personal info here–I try to be as professional as possible.
5. Thank you very much! I end with a nice thank you–I mean, come on, the editor has just gone through all the trouble of reading my query. She deserves a thank you–even is she thought my query sucked.

So, that’s it. My Five Simple Steps for a Query. And, just so you can see my query steps in action, here’s the actual query I sent to my Red Sage editor for Bite of the Wolf:

(Note: I’m just writing Dear Editor for my greeting b/c I want to protect my editor’s privacy–but if this letter were really going to someone, I’d darn well have the actual editor’s name in place. Editors like to know you’ve researched the publishing house enough to know their names.)

It’s supposed to storm down here in Mobile today. “Severe weather”–that’s what the friendly morning weather guy just said. And, frankly, I’m kind of looking forward to the rain, to the wind, and, yes, even the thunder. I write better when it rains. I don’t know why, I just do. I write faster, I focus easier, and I tend to even feel better about the pages I write.

Now, since I don’t typically go outside and do rain-dances to produce my optimal weather writing conditions, I have to try and set a writing mood in other ways. Usually, I do a few of the followings things to try and get in the right writing frame of mind:

1. Eliminate all distractions–ummm…this would mainly be the TV. Last night, I was trying to edit a submission that I want to send to TOR. My husband and baby were in the living room, and I wanted to stay with them–you know, I was trying to get some in-the-same-room family time while still getting some work done. So, while little Jack slept, Nick watched the premier of Sopranos, and I sat next to them both, trying to focus on my vampire story.

I kept getting distracted. I would edit a page or two, then catch myself looking up to see what Tony was doing. I’d edit a bit more, then glance up in time to see someone die. Edit more…glance up…see a splash of blood.

Oh, yeah…I definitely didn’t set the scene right last night. I did get my story edited, but it took a huge force of will (and I tend to have a weak, weak will). Anyway…next time, Sopranos will be off (or at least I’ll be in another room).

2. Play some soothing music. While the TV distracts me, the right music can completely focus me. Classical music works well for me. But so does the not-so-classical Buffy Once More With Feeling soundtrack. And, of course, there’s the Scorpion King CD. (Hmmm…can you say eclectic?) Sometimes, what I’m writing will actually predict the music I need. If I’m in an intense, emotional scene, give me classical music. If I’m doing a lot of action and suspense, give me a hard and fast beat.

3. Comfort. I have to find a comfortable seat to write. My cushy sofa. My leather desk chair (ooohh…how long has it been since I got to use that???). My recliner. Any place that’s comfortable will work for me.

Well, those are a few of my scene-setting necessitites. If I can get them…well, then mentally, I’m more primed to write. Anyone else have a good recipe for setting the “write” mood?