New blog...

Hey, check out my new blog, Quinn's Essentials at http://quinnessentials.blogspot.com/.

The new me....Erin Quinn

Well I officially have a new pen name: Erin Quinn. Short and sweet and best of all, easy to spell. I also have a tentative publication date on BENEATH THE RUINS. It should be hitting bookshelves in August 2009. Yay! Words cannot express how excited I am about this book, my new identity and all that goes with both.

I've spend much of the morning getting urls reserved for the new me. Soon I will have a site up for erinquinnbooks.com (which will also be mirrored at erinquinnauthor.com.) I'm also pulling together a new blog. More to come on that.

Now, however, I need to write some pages! I want to get the next book written an in the mail. :-)

May...survived

It was a crazy and fun month for me. As I've mentioned, I had company 3 of the 4 weekends which kept me very busy. This morning I have been playing catch up on a lot of things. I haven't been able to much writing but I am ready to get down to it now.

Things that are going on:

1. I have a new book coming out. Actually, two new books! Yay! I will be writing these under a new name which I am in the process of choosing. You think naming your kids was hard? Try naming yourself. I will be sure to post when I have a publication date and the new name figured out
2. The working title of my new book is BENEATH THE RUINS. If you'd like to read the first chapter, you can find it on my website or by clicking here.
3. I've got a BUNCH of exciting contests planned to work in conjunction with this new name. Make sure to check out my website over the next few months for details.
4. I'll be at RWA Nationals in San Francisco in July. Anyone else going?

That's about all for now. I am determined to get going on some pages for the next book which will follow BENEATH THE RUINS.

Happy June 1st! Hope the month brings you much joy!

Erin

The Merry Month of May...

It's been a crazy one, let me tell you. We started the month with a party for a good friend who once a year has a bunch of great guys come in town for a golfing weekend. My husband is part of the golfing party so they all come over Saturday night, loaded with beer and we do a huge Mexican fiesta. It's always a good time, but Sunday morning sometimes arrives with a wee bit of a hangover.

We'd barely recovered from that when my dad turned 70 and family came to town to celebrate. It was wonderful and so good to get together with all my family members--not everyone could make it, unfortunately, but there was a good group. (pictured)

This weekend my oldest daughter turns 17 (!!!) so there will be some celebrations there no doubt and then next weekend some of our best friends from San Diego will be caravan-ing (or piling in an RV) and driving across the desert to visit for a few days. Whew, we will need a vacation from the fun when the month is over, but what a great time.

Today is quiet and I'm settling into some writing, though. The new book is coming along nicely. It's good to lose myself in that world for awhile.

What an amazing week!

Wow, I have had the most amazing week ever. I sold my next two books to Berkley and signed with a fabulous new agent. If that's not enough, what made this week so extradorinary--so much better than just a GREAT week, the editor (editors are the people who work in the publishing house, buy the books that will be published and help the authors make their books the best they can be) who bought my books absolutely loved BENEATH THE RUINS. Many times authors work with editors who like their writing and think they've written a good book they want to see published. But to have someone love the book, excited about working on it with the author--that's like magic. I feel as though someone has waved a magic wand over me. Yay! Life is good.

Hey, I've added some stuff to my website at www.eringrady.com including a guest book and a message board. Stop by and leave me a comment if you have the time...

Of course...

As soon as I'm back to work with limited time I can't shut off the flow of ideas on the new book. LOL. I think I need my head examined because obviously there's something missing in mine--like a brain maybe, *g* I guess I'm just one of those people that needs to go at 100 mph to go at 100 mph if that makes any sense.

At least it's Friday, yes?

Alas...

My sabbatical is coming to an end. I go back to work on Thursday. Trying not to feel too depressed about it, but sheesh. It's been grand being off and totally unplugging from the grind of the day job.

I didn't accomplish all the things I wanted to on my time off, but I did a lot that I hadn't planned on which was great. But back to reality has a very harsh ring to it. :-(

Lighting my candles and doing some writing this morning....

Sisters, sisters....

Tomorrow I'm off to Denver to visit my sister. She's called an emergency "First Thursday" meeting (emergency cuz it's actually the 4th Thursday). She has some wonderful girlfriends that get together once a month and I got to meet them last summer. Looking forward to seeing them again. I also get to see one of my oldest and bestest friends, Annie. We've known each other since we were 16. Actually, I was 16, she was 15 1/2. (I remember because once she stole her brothers 280z and drove it over to my house and got in trouble cuz she didn't even have her license yet). Now we're both married with kids and jobs and respectable lives. Go figure.

I've got great books to read (Taking Kathryne Kennedy's Beneath Thirteen Moons which I'm very excited to read.) Thanks for the autographed copy, Kathryne! If you haven't read Kathryne yet, you must run out and buy Enchanting the Lady. It's a wonderful fantasy and yours truly was honored to be asked to preview it and quote for the cover.

Sabbatical Brain

There's no other term for it. I have been busy as can be, but so much less productive than I'd imagined. I think this sabbatical has been filled with soul searching and that is time consuming to say the least. The good news is I think I found it (my soul, that is *g*). Last week we were off to San Diego and had a wonderful time there. We went to Knotts Berry farm and rode some awesome roller coasters. I love roller coasters. Something about getting on a ride where you can scream your brains out without anyone staring that appeals to me.

Anyway, my last few weeks are here and I'm very sad. It's been such a great and unique experience to do things like cook dinner, be here when the kids go to school and when they get home. Have a life. Sigh.

Alas, I think I enjoyed it too much...

Busy girl

I have 7 weeks left of sabbatical and I can finally spell the word without having to be corrected by spell check, lol. This weekend I am off to Utah to visit my good friend Lynn Coulter. We do a writers retreat that is the best. I'm really looking forward to the escape and time with Lynn.

Next weekend starts spring break for my kids. We are going to San Diego for a few days to visit family and then we're going to Knotts Berry Farm for some thrills and fun.

Back for a week and then I'm off to see my sister in Colorado. Colorado used to be home for me, but I've been gone for along time. I haven't actually been back since my class reunion in 2001.

Back from that and then Desert Dreams conference is the next weekend. Don't know about the conference? Want some more info? Go to: http://www.desertroserwa.org/conference.htm

After that it's my birthday and then the final week until I go back to work. Unless, of course, I sign that million dollar book deal and top it off with a movie deal, lol.

Back to the writing. I didn't hit my page count yesterday, by I did make some serious progress so I'm okay with that. I need to get some pages out today though!

Rain, interrupted

So if you've read any of my posts, you'll know that my favorite thing is rain. I love the mood, the smell, the sound, the feel--everything about it. Ironic that I live in the land of never ending sunshine when I love rain so much (or maybe that's the simple reason why I love it). Anyway, have a rain sound track playing on the pc to hold me over until the next big storm, my candles are burning, my scented oil wafting, and I'm getting down to work. Today's goal, 30 pages.

What a week....

It's been a week of ups and downs. Having gone a million miles an hour for the last month, it took me most of the week to settle down and get into a groove. Things finally starting clicking on the new book yesterday and now I'm on a roll.

Hey, I also did an interview this week at Luree & Tracy's blog: On The Road To Publication A blog dedicated to aspiring authors and the journey 'On the Road to Publication.' The blog link is
http://tagates-lureevanderpool.com/blog/

Stop by and say hi. I'd love to hear your comments.

Erin

Coffee, quiet, candles and ADD

So my official first Monday of sabbatical. Kids are at school, husband away on a business trip, dogs sleeping at my feet. The only thing that could make it better is rain. :-)

Free...for a few weeks

I am officially on sabbatical. I've been off since Wednesday but the last few days have been spent running all the errand I'd been putting off for months. Today the real deal starts. Yeah!

I have a set goal of finishing IOL (Isle of Lore) by the end of March, so I better get busy.

Hope life is good for you.

Remember to count your blessings!
Erin

Introspection...

I'm on the count down until my sabbatical begins. 2 1/2 weeks. Woo woo.

I have great things planned. I will be writing my next book and I can't wait for the opportunity to completly focus on my story and not have the J-O-B to pull me in other directions. It will be a great test for me to see if I could ever just write full time. I don't mean if I am able--I know I am capable of it. I want to see if I'd be happy without the interaction of an office.

I've had my thoughts turned inward this year and it's been a good thing for me. Sometimes slowing down enough to define what you want is as important as driving to get those things. Last weekend I was at the SDSU writers conference and it was a wonderful--exhausting--weekend.

I'm going to go see my friend Lynn again when I start my sabbatical. The last weekend we spent together we had intense INTENSE brainstorming. It was grueling but wonderful. I am so blessed to have such great friends. Lynn is an amazing writer. I've never met anyone who has such great instincts about a story. (Remember to comment on her Amazon Breakthrough Novel Shattered REmains. She has about 40+ 5 star reviews so far.)

Speaking of great friends. I want to send a thanks out to Kallie Owens and Calista Fox. They are two of the most amazing women I've ever met and they've been so supportive. Calista has books coming out every other minute and they are all terrific. Kallie is cooking several stories that are going to be sensational--DaVinci Code sensational--when she pulls them out of the oven.

Hope you all have as much to be thankful for.

Erin

Good news in the air?

I recieved an email that made me jump for joy today. I can't say too much about it because I'm just superstitious enough not to want to jinx myself, but in my heart I feel like things are about to turn around for me and head in the right direction. I've been on an emotional high of late, and I just know everything is going to work out like it should.

Hope the new year is treating you just as good. :-)

It's not to late....

Hey, if you haven't already checked out Lynn Coulter's SHATTERED REMAINS on Amazon.com, stop by and give it a read. It's free. If you like it, write a review. :-) Just click on the title or here http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00122GTQE

Where is my head?

I almost forgot some really important news! One of my bestest best friends and also my CP, Lynn Coulter, made the semi-finals in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest. BIG Deal. Way to go Lynn. Check out here entry here. Her hero, Nick, is one of the sexiest men I've ever met. :-) I've read the whole book and it's wonderful. If you like what you read, be sure to post a comment on Amazon.

Sad, but it is what it is

One of my optimistic New Year's resolutions was to blog on more frequent and regular basis. I made it with the idea that it would be no problem to do. But lately my life is just spiraling out of control. My day Jay Oh Bee is sucking the life out of me--in a good way, if there is such a thing as a good way to have the life sucked out of you. I'm working on a huge and exciting project. If you know me, you know I work at Intel--probably the most competitive environment in the world. Competitive in that it's filled with over achievers and we're all trying to do something amazing and competing for our personal best.

Now the following may sound like an Intel plug, but it's not intended to. The group I work for manages the part of Intel that most people don't know about--the Corporate Social Responsibility part. Intel gives a ton of money away each year to help communities around the world--which is great, but there's so much more than just writing a check. This year Intel will be 40 and as part of the celebration, we are driving a volunteer program with a goal of 1 million community service hours by our employees to our world wide communities. So we'll all be out in droves in our Intel Involved t-shirts helping charitable organizations with our time AND for every hour we work, Intel will pay that non-profit charity some bucks. Cool, huh?

So what's been keeping me busy is I am working to get the database which will track all this volunteering in place. Not an easy task. to complicate matters, I'm scheduled for a sabbatical -- which means I get 8 weeks off work -- starting in February. So I've got so much to get done before, it's crazy.

Thus, my lack of posting. I've been doing Intel stuff Monday thru Sunday of late, but today I had to stop the bus and get back to my writing--and part of that means finally posting here to my blog. :-)

Next week I'll be in San Diego helping with the SDSU Writers Conference. I'm meeting with editors and agents while I'm there and hoping something good will come of it. Wish me luck!

Hope the new year has been good to all of you so far.

Erin