Two things fall into the "what was I thinking" category. The first is the new built-in closets I've ordered for my sons' bedrooms. I was thinking I would finally get all their junk organised and stored behind doors instead of stacked in corners, on top of wardrobes and under beds. A good plan, I thought, and I booked the builder to come during the April school/university holidays so I would have said sons on hand to do the said organizing and storing.

What was I thinking? Why on earth did I believe that said builder would appear on the promised date??

Son #1 returned to university last week. Son #3 returns to boarding school tomorrow. The builder delivered all the materials yesterday and will be back next week to install. Which, I might point out, is May not the promised April.

Guess who gets to do all the organizing and storing?

On a positive note: this way I'll get to toss out whatever takes my fancy (and deal with the consequences) AND in the process of organizing, I'm spending today giving my office and work-space a thorough going over. I will concentrate better on my book when I'm not wondering if the skyscraper of boxes will topple down and bury me and how long it will take my family to notice my absence (when they get hungry? when their clean clothes run out? when the fridge is empty?) and whether my stores of body fat will keep me alive until then.

Tomorrow I am going to Sydney to a dinner at son #1's college to celebrate the award of scholarships. He is an awardee so, yay. As I was going to be in Sydney anyway, I found myself agreeing to a live in-studio radio interview. My first. What was I thinking? Okay, I was thinking of this as an opportunity to promote romance and also as an opportunity to see how a radio studio works (future reference and research, y'know) and also because it's new and interesting and different. They say it's character building to do something scary every day (does working beneath a gigantic stack of boxes count?) Hmm.

The radio station is 2GB, Sydney. The presenter is Chris Smith. The time 2pm Monday May 1.

That's midnight Sunday American eastern, but hours earlier for western time zones, so if anyone wants to check out the 2GB website I notice there's a "Listen Live" link if you have the Real Player or whatever's necessary to tune in. They do podcasts of select shows and, ack!, I see a "Live Webcast" button. Hope that one's not going during my bit!

That heading has to constitute good news and it does. I received notification this morning that I'm a double-finalist in Romance Writers Ink's More Than Magic contest for books published in 2005. The Ruthless Groom and The Rich Stranger are two of the three finalists in Best Short Contemporary. I love this RWA chapter's motto--Smart women read romance; we write it!--don't you?

Along with Australia Day, Anzac Day is Australia's most significant and meaningful holiday. It is a day set aside to remember and honor our fallen servicemen and to celebrate the Anzac Spirit. ANZAC was the name given to the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps soldiers who landed on the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey early on the morning of 25 April 1915 during the First World War (1914-1918). In the 9 months of this bitterly fought campaign more than 36,000 Commonwealth servicemen died.

From the ANZAC Day Commemoration Committee (Queensland) website:

"Every nation must, sooner or later, come for the first time to a supreme test of quality; and the result of that test will hearten or dishearten those who come afterwards. For the fledgling nation of Australia that first supreme test was at Gallipoli."

You might have seen the movie Gallipoli which launched Mel Gibson onto the world stage. I think the above quote pretty much describes that movie's message. It left an indelible impact on me, as no schoolroom history lesson or previous war movie had done. Suddenly this war had a human face.

Have you seen a movie based on a real event in history that has changed your view and made the event more vivid and/or human?

In a chat last week I happened to mention that we're in the middle of shearing. (For those who don't know, I live in rural Australia and our farm produces, amongst other things, wool.) So, I promised to post some pictures to my blog. Here they are, along with a brief explanation.

This is the BEFORE shot, of some young ewes (girls) pictured wearing their 12-month growth of wool. They're shorn just once a year. These sheep are Merinos, which produce the best wool. Every other breed are mere pretenders! This year we have about 1600 to shear, and that's a week's work for 3 shearers and 3 shedhands (rouseabouts) and 1 woolclasser / presser.

The sheep being shorn:

Imagine working all day with your back bent like this. Mamas, don't let your babies grow up to be shearers...

Rouseabout picks up the fleece and throws it onto a large table where it is skirted (crappy bits removed!) and classed by quality.
All wool is not created equal but you want each bale to contain the same kind of wool.

A press (left) compresses the fleeces into bales like these (right) which have been stacked on the back of our truck. Each bale contains around 30 fleeces. They're transported to Sydney and sold by auction. Most is exported. China is one of the biggest buyers of our wool.

And there it is, the skinny on shearing.

Questions, anyone?

I always get a kick out of my Czech covers because I get to be the dashing and exotic Ms (or Countess!) Jamesonova...if only in my imagination. Today's mail brought me copies of the Czech translation of Beyond Control. Or whatever Ma prvni pohled translates as. I also like this one because it's a completely different cover, when most use the original American art. I don't think this was Julianne's cover either, although I could be wrong. Anyway, first one to translate that title to English for me wins an Aussie edition of one of my books. Or an alternate if you prefer.

You can catch me at All A-Blog where I'm musing about names and giving away a book.

The book I'm overdue starting is for a continuity series, the Dakota Fortunes. (Hands up if you've read any of the previous Fortunes series.) This one is a 6-book effort which kicks off in January 07. The other authors involved are Peggy Moreland, Charlene Sands, Kathie DeNosky, Jan Colley and Heidi Betts--a fabulous line-up of authors, don't you agree? I've read most of the synopses and love what they've all done with their characters and conflicts. I like my own synopsis, as it happens, and I know I'm going to enjoy writing Max and Diana's story once I get moving.

And therein lies my problem.

This is my third continuity book and I'm finding it no easier to get started than the previous two. Why, do I hear you ask? Because finding that opening is a very different process, creatively. With my own books--i.e. books that I've come up with the idea for, the characters for, the storyline for--I usually have a very clear vision of the opening scene before I'm anywhere near the starting line. That opening scene is often the launching pad for the whole story idea. The opening line or paragraph might have already been written weeks or months ago.

Continuities are a different kettle of fish. The editors devise the overall series arc as well as the characters and the premise for each story. The authors, by the way, don't know much about this when they agree to participate. When I okayed this one, all I knew was the series name and that my hero would be one of the Fortune cousins from Australia. Later I discovered that Max's siblings featured in an earlier spin-off series and I've managed to track down a copy of the lead book which gives me some family backstory.

So. In a way I am constrained by that already established backstory, both from the previous series and by the continuity bible elements. I can't go changing things that:
(a) have been established in previous books, or
(b) will affect other stories in this series.
And because I'm starting my story where the previous one finishes, I haven't boundless leeway for that opening scene. I know where it has to start; I know the opening situation. I should just sit down and start writing. And I will once I can find my opening line...but that's a whole 'nother story which I will blog about next time.

In the meantime, if you have any questions about continuity series, ask away.

Amongst other things, we're in the midst of planning a 21st party for #1 Son. This is how he looked 20 years and 8 months ago. Wasn't he the cute one, hmm?

I didn't mean to be blogger in absensus. Some weeks I have no idea where the days have gone. I look at the calendar and suddenly, Hello! Where did those days go? This has been one of those weeks and now it's Easter weekend and I have all my family home -- hooray! -- but that also means there's washing and cooking and much talking to be done. I am also going to read at least a couple of books this weekend, something I've been promising myself for months and haven't done. I will see you on the other side of the long weekend -- I should warn you that in Australia we have a 4-day weekend for Easter -- hopefully with some reports on my reading. Next week I'm starting writing the book I was supposed to start on April 1, so maybe I can blog about that process while I write it. If that would interest you. Yes or no? Let me know. I'm off now to dig into the Secret Easter Egg stash. I am such a child!

Look what turned up in my mail today! ========>>>>>

I'm feeling thoroughly spoiled and it isn't even my birthday. Thank you, Marilyn. Both the book thong and the bracelet are just gorgeous.

I must admit that I'm finding this (and a new series idea I've been nutting out) thoroughly distracting. I need to get back to work on the deadline book. And I will. Soon.

...with a phone call. The conversation went something like this:

Nice Male Voice: "Is this Bronwyn?"

Me: "It is." (and you better not be a telemarketer trying to sell me cheaper phone calls with Acme Phone Company)

NMV identifies himself as representing the Sydney Turf Club and asks: "Did you enjoy Golden Slipper Day at Rosehill Gardens?"

Me (brightening because it wasn't a telemarketer and he really did have a nice voice): "Very much. It was brilliant."

NMV: "Pleased to hear it. And your day at the races is about to get even better. I have some good news."

Me (brightening even more): "Did I win a share in Slipper Dreaming?" (the lucky racebook prize was a share in the lease of a racehorse named Slipper Dreaming--cool, huh?)

NMV: "No, but you've won something even better."

Me (sceptical, thinking he's faking the jovial tone as he announces I've won tickets to the next race-meeting which I can't use): "What could be better than a share in a racehorse?"

NMV: "A trip to London."

Me: stunned silence

NMV: "Which, when you consider the horse may never make it to the races, is a better deal." (NB: I may have made this bit up, to cover my disappointment at not winning a share in the horse!)

Me (on a rising note of disbelief and squee): "Are you kidding?"

Very NMV: "No. You've won the Early Bird draw from those who pre-purchased tickets to the Golden Slipper. The prize is a trip to London."

Can you believe my luck? They say good things happen in threes, so maybe I need to go buy a lottery ticket. Whaddayareckon??

Mine's been busy, interesting, fun, with a visit to Sydney (which is about a five-hour drive from where I live.) The main reason for our trip was the Royal Easter Show, to see our youngest son competing as part of his school's cattle team. Hmm. That doesn't sound quite right... He's part of the cattle team, as in part of the team of agriculture students who exhibit the school's cattle.
There, that's a much better explanation (and that's him in the picture, during judging.)

So, as well as watching the cattle judging (not as successful as in previous years, although they did win several ribbons) we wandered around the show which is--and let me quote from the official website--"a national icon that celebrates all things Australian from our bush heritage to the latest in entertainment.

"Each year approximately 12,500 competitions take place over the 14 days of the Show. The Show attracts over 600 exhibitors. Over half of these comprise a diverse range of commercial exhibitors who use the Show to launch products, raise brand awareness and reach the Show's large audience.

Everything from farm machinery and garden products to clothing and even pets are on sale at the Show. The 14 day event is an entertainment haven featuring more than 3,000 entertainers with street performances, stage shows, dance, live music, comedy, poetry and large scale productions.

The Sydney Royal Easter Show offers a unique hands-on learning experience for people of all ages including visiting school groups who can take advantage of specially tailored educational programs. The Show attracts around one million people each year making it Australia's largest annual event and the sixth largest of its kind in the world."

A couple of things we stopped to watch:
* the dog judging, which should include special awards for owners who look--and move around the parade ring--most like their dogs. Much entertainment!
* a polo game, which I had a special interest in because I've included polo in my next book, The Bought-And-Paid-For Wife. I really wanted to check if the reality matched my imagination. Thankfully, the answer is yes.

Yesterday we went to the races at Rosehill Gardens for Golden Slipper Day. This is one of Sydney's biggest racedays with 5 Group 1 races culminating in the world's richest race for two-year-olds (the babies of racehorses), The Golden Slipper, with $3 million in prizemoney. Loved the racing, the horses, the atmopshere, the way everyone dresses up for the occasion in pretty frocks and hats, the men in suits and ties. I was talking to a couple of American girls, out here on student exchange, and they couldn't get over how dressed-up people were. I couldn't get over how young the crowd was (average age of the entire crowd, young 20's, I'd guess) or how hard they partied. It would appear the races are not about the horses, but about the dresses and the champagne!

So, that was my weekend, in a nutshell. I could add that I'm currently in discussion with the hotel where we stayed about lost property...but that would only start me simmering again about said hotel when I'm trying hard to chill.

So, how was your weekend?

After 12 days of dithering over budgets and flight options and other such details, I have registered for the RWA National Conference in Atlanta and booked my flights. Now I've done this I hope I can forget all about it and settle down to some heavy-duty work. Which must be done to pay for those airfares which are (yikes!) scary. At this point it seems I am the only one of four Australian RITA finalists who's going. Sad, yes, unless I get to bring golden lady statues home for Marion Lennox (a double-finalist in the Traditional Romance category), Anne Gracie (finalist in Long Historical) and Lilian Darcy (finalist in Long Contemporary.) How cool would that be??? *g* Here's a picture of the four of us, looking slightly worse for wear (well, I am anyway!) but very happy after celebrating our nominations in Melbourne last weekend.

No, not Christmas-come-early but contest announcement season, when all the author and writing loops abound with good news and cause for much merriment and celebration. It kicks off with the Romantic Times lists way back around Christmas. Then there's a lull before the various chapters of RWA begin announcing the finalists in their contests for romance books published in 2005.

One of the first was Southern Magic chapter's Gayle Wilson Awards.
Then the Colorado Romance Writers' Award of Excellence...and I'm seriously chuffed to be one of five finalists in the AofE for Short Contempory Romances. Here is the list of finalists (and you will see by the competition why I am seriously chuffed!):

The Rugged Loner by Bronwyn Jameson
When the Earth Moves by Roxanne St. Claire
The Flight Doctor's Lifeline by Laura Iding
Spicing it Up by Tanya Michaels
When The Lights Go Down by Heidi Betts

Over the weekend the finalists in the Virginia Romance Writers' Holt Medallion and the First Coast Romance Writers' Beacon were announced. Many more will follow over the next month or two and lots of authors will rejoice.

How do these contest work? I'm so glad you asked, Virginia. Most of the chapter-run contests call for entries in Dec-Jan-Feb. Authors choose to enter their books, or not, so the number of books in each contest varies. It could be 1000 (like the RITAs) or several hundred of the thousands published each year or less. I don't know how many entries these contests receive, to be honest. But I do know that with so many contests--and there seems to be more and more each year--authors can't afford to enter them all with all their books, even if they want to. Sometimes you get busy with life and deadlines and forget to enter. Some authors never enter any contests (including the RITAs.)

Why enter? Many authors, myself included, see contests an an opportunity to get books into the hands of more readers and/or booksellers (who often judge), hopefully to gain new fans who will recommend your books (in the case of booksellers, to readers.) There is also the benefit of increased name recognition and name awareness that comes through finaling in a lot of contests. Some contests have a cool prize--one I entered offers the registration to RWA's National Conference as the grand prize, which would be very cool. And then, for the adrenaline junkies, there's the thrill (!) of waiting for the call or email that says you are a finalist or that you've won.

So, they do announce winners? Yes. After a final round of judging the winner in each category is announced, sometimes at a special award ceremony. Some chapters hold these at their annual conference or reader luncheon or some other chapter event. Others have a reception at the RWA National Conference. There's usually a plaque or a trophy to mark the acgievement and for the author to place in her writing space to remind her, on those days when she's contemplating giving up because it's just too dang hard, that at some point she wrote a book that was judged "best" by a group of astute readers with excellent taste. Another excellent reason for entering contests, IMESHO.

A couple of weeks back I decided to tidy my workspace. I think I mentioned this before, when I was looking for my notes from the HQ Production Dept session at the New York conference. So. I ended up buying a few of those big plastic tubs and I've already filled them all with magazines I've collected and kept (great for research, for ideas, for inspiring pictures of people and settings and homes and decor and, well, all kinds of things) and with the books from my TBR file.

While sorting and stacking, I also decided to catalogue.

In a recent Romantic Times magazine I saw a recommendation for a software program called BookBag Plus, so I decided to check it out. And because I am a bit of a geek about lists and databases and such, I downloaded the trial, entered the 20 book limit, and decided I was having too much fun to stop. Cataloguing the magazine articles, I think, may be useful. Say, I want to set a scene at a remote South Pacific resort and I think: I saw an article about a fabulous resort like this in a magazine...but which one? Now I can look it up in my handy-dandy database. (Yes, I know, I could also have googled it but I'm in justification mode here so shhhh. Don't shatter my this-was-time-well-spent illusion!)

Anyway, the scary part was cataloguing 131 books I haven't read yet--and that's not counting the separate stack I made of ones I haven't read and never will, and which I'm going to donate to my local library and/or the Cyclone Larry book appeal. I haven't even started on my keeper shelves (which are actually cupboards, I have so many!) and because I have 2 books to write before August 1, I now have to stop book-cataloguing--which leads to book skimming and before I know it a whole afternoon has passed--and get back to work.

But first, I have the proof pages of my August book to read and check. This is the final stage, my last chance to find and correct any errors and approve it for printing. While I'm doing that, I'd love to be hearing from you all about your TBR piles and keeper shelves. Do you buy too many books and end up not reading some of them? Or do you read everything...and then what? Do you keep many books? Are you a collector and, if so, do you read your favourites again?

Books, books, books...and...questions, questions, questions. How about I select (randomly, so you all don't have to write an essay) one comment to win a selection from my TBR pile. I'll do up a couple of packs and the winner can choose to their liking.

Added April 5: I have drawn one lucky winner from all the fabulous comments about book-shelves and storage and keepers. Congratulations Tam. Email me via the CONTACT button at the top right of the page and we'll talk about your prize-pack of books (because we all need more books, right?)