Cheerleaders and Church Ladies and Criminally Sadistic Dominatrixes, Oh...My...

...GOD.

















I don't generally do the "list of search terms for my site," if only because I hate to rip off other folks' schtick. But you'll be pleased to know that as of this morning, I reside at the top of Google's list for the term "criminal sadistic dominatrix."

My mother would be so proud. Not to mention my priest.

So with SIN STREET out, I'm fixin' to send copies for review, and doesn't THAT wrack the ol' nerves? The Smart Bitches have graciously agreed to have a peek. I'm hoping for a "C" or better, because humility is among my best traits.

FORTUNE'S FOOL has dropped as well -- don't I use the lingo with a certain je ne sais quoi? -- and I've finally finished that M/M novella I've been working on since October of last year (HARDCORE, part of the Phaze Fantasies III collection, due out in July). This leaves me at somewhat of a loose end in terms of writing. No deadlines until late summer. Guess I'll have to go on ahead and finish one of the three full-length novels sitting on my hard drive. But which one? The Medieval fairytale/fantasy with the light BDSM overtones? The contemporary romantic suspense with the young widow in love with her only-slightly-younger stepson? Or the post-apocalyptic futuristic with the twisted ménage a trois and the warped religious sensibility?

The fairytale is four years old, for God's sake, and I'll have to go back and revise it AGAIN, but it's the closest to being complete at nearly 80K words. The contemporary romantic suspense just isn't moving me at the moment, probably because I've written so much of it lately, but it's the most likely to snag an agent, or so I've been told. The futuristic -- well, that's my personal fave. That's a story I could let myself get lost inside. But it's seriously challenging, requiring tons of research for world-building, and if I REALLY want to interest an agent in the near future, it's not the most practical choice.

It's a QUANDARY, I tells ya.

What would Nora do? Probably go for the romantic suspense, huh?

But what would Paperback Writer do? I'm betting she'd tell me to go for the one that rings my bell. Because if we're not in this for the love of the story, what the hell are we doing here?

Speaking of which...I haven't commented on most of the recent romance community convulsions because I've been too busy (gasp!) writing, and because in the case of Ellora's Cave and Triskelion, I'm not involved on any level, so why should my opinion count for anything?

But in the matter of the new PAN regulations, I will say this: I didn't join RWA for a chance to sit at the cool kids' table. If I were to sell to an RWA-recognized publisher tomorrow, the chance to join PAN would be at the very bottom of My List Of Reasons To Break Out the GOOD (read: imported) Wine. Not that it makes much difference, because a) I'm not going to sell to an RWA-recc'd publisher tomorrow (by the end of the year, though? maybe, baby) and b) I've let my RWA membership lapse out of apathy and thriftiness bordering on pathology.

But if I did? And if I hadn't? Seriously, folks. Come on. Are we here to write books and make money doing it, or join clubs within clubs and play "Cheerleaders and Church Ladies" with our peers? This is the reason women will never rule the world. We, as a general thing, can't compete without making it personal, or pulling the victimization card. "But it's not FAAAIIIRRRRR!"

As I frequently tell my children -- poor little abused spawn -- life is hard. Publishing? Even harder. I understand Wal*Mart carries an excellent selection of fashion-forward helmets for just these kinds of occasions.

And because I'd prefer to end this on a positive note going into the weekend...LOOKY! The upcoming release from our favorite double-RITA finalist! Available for pre-order!

Happy weekend!

SelahMarch.com - Romance of Dubious Virtue (soon to be redesigned, blah blah blah ZOMGWTFBBQ)