An interesting travel tip

The other day, I asked a question on the MyTMMO forums about using a debit card to rent a car overseas. As usual, one of our members had an interesting--and probably relatively unknown--tip for me. Ask your car insurance company for a Canadian proof of insurance card if you plan to rent a car in the UK. While your US car insurance will not cover you if you're in an accident, by providing the Canadian proof of insurance, you may be able to get a discount on the car rental since most UK car rental companies recognize Canadian insurance in the UK.

Pet peeves of the week

Image by Johnny Vulkan via Flickr

I don't need commentary on these, but I'm going to write down what bothers me today anyway. If you feel the need, add yours!

• People who cut you off in traffic when the lane is ending and you need to get over going 70 mph


• Stereotypes


• Movies without happy or appropriate endings


• People who say, "I love Dave Ramsey BUT..." (I know you mean well, but Dave lays out the steps pretty clearly. If you don't follow them, you aren't really following his plan. And if you have your own plan, that's cool, but I use Dave's plan.)


• Apple hasn't responded to known security breaches in the iPhone.


• I can't look at a cupcake without gaining two pounds.


• Working out is not fun no matter what anyone says.

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Finding spiritual truths in unlikely places

Publishing is a part of the entertainment business. As such, I'm often delighted when I find someone who shares similar spiritual beliefs because--to tell you the truth--it isn't all that common. This morning, as I was browsing through the various blog posts in my Google Reader, I discovered this one from Rachelle Gardner. I couldn't agree with her more. I would recommend that you check it out.


Rants & Ramblings on Life as a Literary Agent

Movies that make you smile

Amy Adams via last.fm

I'm not a movie girl. I would often much prefer to curl up with a good book to a movie, but there are a few that capture my attention and hold it tightly. Enchanted is one of those. It's a Disney movie making an attempt at a throwback to classics such as Cinderella and Snow White. I watched this movie again for the second time this weekend. I found myself smiling and laughing all the way through. Very rarely do I find myself completely enthralled with a movie.

I don't know what it is, but Amy Adams has such a bright onscreen presence. I've seen a few of her films, and I find her incredibly down-to-earth and talented. She's relatable. Yes, like a typical Hollywood actress, she's beautiful and fashionable, but she also has that girl-next-door quality that someone like Angelina Jolie is lacking. As a viewer, I get the impression that we could be friends in real life. That is talent--when you can make an audience member want to be your best friend. I think she will be someone I keep up with in the years to come. And even if every other movie she makes turns out to be a flop, I can still enjoy Enchanted.

I'd want it to be like this.

If I'd had a regular, old-fashioned wedding (I got married in Vegas instead!), I'd want it to be like this.



Or maybe like this...

Empathizing--not sympathizing

I care deeply for people. I always have. As a matter of fact, when I took the Strengths Finder 2.0 test, the Empathy characteristic is in my top five strengths.

This particular character quality of mine came incredibly handy when I worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs. At one point, my specialty was working with seriously disabled Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom veterans. It's heartbreaking enough to see the claims of veterans my own age coming through my hands, but when you work with them personally as I did, it can be difficult to shake that off at the end of the work day when you have a "bleeding heart" like I do. And when you read personal details that lead you to believe this is a proud, courageous person...well, it doesn't get any easier.

I also had a particular affinity for World War II veterans. Too often, they would ask for a small percentage of disability when, in reality, they were likely entitled to much, much more. They were of a proud, different generation--a generation I greatly admire. A WWII vet might be losing his house, but all he really wanted was enough to pay for a hearing aid so that he could talk on the phone.

One reason I needed to leave VA was because I held all of those cases far too close to my chest. I would come home at night and think about those people, wishing that I could do so much more for them. But unfortunately, with VA, our veterans are too often only a number. Quality takes a backseat to quantity because of the vast backlog of cases the organization currently has in its hands. Quality--and treating these people who served our country with respect--was far more important to me than how many cases I could put out in a day. I had far more stress at that point in my life than I should have for a 26-year old woman. Will said to me the other day that this was the happiest he'd seen me since college--since I began working for Dave Ramsey.

My job here at Lampo suits me quite well. While I still have stressful days on occasion and I'm still able to empathize with people and use that talent, I can go home at night with peace. I can spend time with my husband and my dog and not worry about whether or not I'll be able to make a production quota the next day. You can't put a price on that sort of peace.

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Healthcare and impending "reform"

I don't normally post anything political on my blog. It's not my forte, and I typically don't enjoy discussing politics. Actually, for the most part, I couldn't care less. But healthcare is an issue very near and dear to my heart in part because I deal with a preexisting condition every day.

The current healthcare "reform" plan is that our government will institute a national healthcare plan. I don't believe this is the answer. I don't want the government to tell me what kind of care I can receive...particularly when the current treatment that I pay for out of my own pocket is an experimental drug (Avastin). As the health insurance industry stands today, I cannot leave a group setting and receive coverage for my preexisting condition--despite the fact that I am more than willing to pay for it. I have to go through either my employer or my husband's to ensure that I receive the treatment I need. I do believe something needs to be done about this particular aspect of our current system, but I'm not exactly sure what the right answer is. I do know that I don't agree with national healthcare and cannot in good conscience endorse such a plan.

Because this has been in the news so much, my boss did an interview with Fox regarding this very subject. Here's what he had to say.

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The hidden costs of home ownership

Cover of The Money Pit

Since March 27th, we've spent approximately $3300 in repairs and expenses toward our home. This amount does not include the hours of time we've spent in doing much of the work ourselves. At times, I've felt as if I had a starring role in the Tom Hanks film The Money Pit.

When you buy a home, no one says to you, "Hey, don't forget that you'll need seed spreader for your yard." Or how about, "Well, since you want to place your blinds on the insides of the windows, most of those will be custom. That's going to run you around $500 to cover the windows of the entire downstairs area." What?! $500 for blinds? Or how about replacing bathroom fixtures such as towel hangers and toilet paper holders? That will be $42, thankyouverymuch.

This brings me to my point. Dave Ramsey teaches people not to buy a home until they have an emergency fund of three to six months of expenses and no debt. That's what Will and I did, and I suppose I understood the concept in theory but did not understand its true importance. Now, as we pour thousands of dollars into making the home exactly what we want, I realize that without that emergency fund, if our roof starts leaking, we could be up a serious creek. Or if we had debt, we might be deciding between paying a credit card bill or fixing a water heater. No one wants to be in that situation, and Will and I aren't.

From now on, when someone tells me he's buying his first home, I will make sure I point out the hidden expenses of home ownership. There are more than I knew.

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Great Response

I received some fantastic responses to my blog post on writing romance. The true catalyst for that post was a series of tweets on Twitter regarding articles released after the Romance Writers of America National Conference took place last week. I'd like to take a moment to thank Teresa Medeiros, Eloisa James, and several other fellow authors for driving traffic to my post through Twitter. But the article links continue to flood Twitter from other authors, and Teresa posted her own blog entry about why she writes romance and how she's been able to touch the lives of others with her work. Take a moment to read it. I was inspired, and I'm sure you will be, too.

Books vs. Movies

Image via Wikipedia

I have a rule: Never see a movie until you've read the book.

I set that rule for myself several years ago, and I can't even remember why I did it. I suspect it's because movies are often so different from the books, and sometimes, a movie can seem stilted if you don't have the full story. There are few exceptions to this rule, but I have made some. Some movies I saw before reading the books include Under the Tuscan Sun and The Devil Wears Prada. I did try to read The Devil Wears Prada long before it was a movie, but I found myself uninterested after reading the first few pages. The author just didn't grab me.

I recently finished reading all of the Twilight novels and saw the movie shortly thereafter. I was deeply disappointed in the movie because of the way the action occurred; it was too fast and stilted at best. I experienced this same disappointment a month ago when I watched Confessions of a Shopaholic. It's the book series about a twenty-something British woman who buys appalling amounts of shoes, clothes, purses, and things. The movie took the first three novels of the series and implemented various elements into one movie. Because I'd read all of the books, the movie felt confusing and disjointed.

I think I need to implement a new rule if I'm going to enjoy movies based on books. I think I need to see the movie before I read it. Otherwise, the movie is going to be a major disappointment. Hollywood just doesn't create the same kind of magic that an author can.

Stepping out of the dark...

I'm rather elusive when it comes to talking about my novel work in progress (WIP). In a way, that is intentional. You see, there is a certain stigma attached to the sort of writing I do, and I've had every reaction from, "Wow! That's so cool!" to "Are you serious? Why would you write that? Isn't it just about the sex?"

I am writing a Regency-set historical romance novel.

That's right. Your eyes are not deceiving you. That one sentence just delivered a magnitude of images to your brain, didn't it? You're imagining Fabio, heaving bosoms, and perhaps declarations of undying affection. All of that would be incorrect except for perhaps the declarations of undying affection.

Romance novels are no longer known for numerous sultry love scenes. Instead, they are plot-centric stories with a love story at the center. In fact, if you've read Western fiction (re: Louis L'Amour), any of the Twilight novels, or a Nicholas Sparks or James Patterson novel, you've read romance whether you knew that's what it was or not. Written by witty, clever, and highly educated women (and a few men), authors like Harvard-educated Julia Quinn, former registered nurse Teresa Medeiros, and English literature professor Eloisa James are giving historical romance an image makeover. While Julia concentrates on clever dialogue and witty banter, Terri is known for her tortured heroes and imperfect heroines. Eloisa (aka Mary Bly) peppers her writing with references to Shakespeare and the popularity of chess during the height of the Georgian era.

Mary Bly experienced this same struggle with "outing" herself in the romance world. As a professor of English literature and specializing in Shakespeare, she led a double life as New York Times bestselling author Eloisa James. She finally came forward to her fellow professors at Fordham University (a private, Catholic school in New York) after deciding that if she didn't want her readers to be ashamed of reading her works, she couldn't be ashamed of writing it. That weekend, her editorial defending the romance genre appeared in the New York Times.

Since I was a little girl, I've been drawn to happily ever afters and fairy tale endings. My favorite movies were always those in which the guy gets his girl, and you just know they're going to have the fairy tale ending. So it makes perfect sense that as an adolescent, I became drawn to the romance genre. My best friend from high school and myself began writing a story together, which I later developed into a full-length novel at the age of 18 (but it was never published). It was in the midst of writing those stories that I discovered my love of writing romance.

For a while, I was ashamed of my particular talent because of the stigma that society attaches to romance novels. Even my own mother has given me some grief over it. And I even struggled to reconcile it with my Christianity. I have, however, come to the conclusion that God gave me the talent that I have and He wants me to use it. My friend Terri is a New York Times bestselling author of historical romance, and she is also a Christian. She's answered this question several times over the years--so much that she even has an answer to it as a part of the FAQ section on her website. Her response is the best I've come across and a better explanation than I could put into words.

After much study on and struggle with this issue, I came to the conclusion that it's never a sin for an artist to try to depict life as accurately as possible, and that includes the sexual aspects of life. That would be like saying Michelangelo's David was "dirty and sinful" just because Michelangelo chose to sculpt the human body in all of its naked glory. Love scenes are no different from family scenes or conflict scenes or battle scenes.

If I'm going to make my readers a part of my characters' lives, then I don't feel comfortable showing them all other aspects of that life, then slamming the bedroom door in their faces. Many people who don't read romances don't get this, but romances are actually incredibly moral books. The hero and heroine generally have a monogamous relationship that always ends in a lifelong commitment, usually marriage. I've probably become a MORE moral person by reading and writing romance. I also don't feel like art is required to depict a perfect life. Every plot may not lend itself to marrying off the hero and heroine before they do the deed, but you'll usually find that while they're still basking in the afterglow, my heroes are already thinking, "Hey! I need to marry me that woman!"

I believe God gave me my talent and I believe He wants me to use it for good. When I recently received a letter from a woman who had just undergone a hysterectomy and was afraid she'd never again feel sexual desire for her husband again...until she read CHARMING THE PRINCE, it simply validated that belief. I will always respect the beliefs of fellow Christians who aren't comfortable reading or writing explicit love scenes, but I believe romances are beautiful and spiritual books that celebrate the best of what love has to offer and mirrors the love that God has for His children.

You can only be ashamed of something if you allow someone to make you feel that way. As I'm getting a little older, I realize that what people think doesn't matter nearly as much as it used to, and I should be proud of the talents that God gave me. Will has been incredibly supportive of my writing as have my friends and family. So I think that the next time someone asks me what I'm writing, I might just answer the question head-on.

Stumped

Image via Wikipedia

As I'm planning our trip, I find myself scattered all over the map. When I first started this bit of our planning (the countryside of the UK), I decided that there were some things we had to do:

1. Stratford-upon-Avon (Shakespeare's birthplace)


2. The Lake District


3. Gretna Green, Scotland (famous for hasty marriages)


4. A stay at a castle

The problem with my list is that all of these things are relatively spread out. While we can swing through Stratford-upon-Avon on our way west, the rest of it becomes a little cloudy. Both of us would like to drive through Wales as the countryside is known to be gorgeous. But we'd also like to be able to take our time, see some castles, and just enjoy being in those small coastal fishing villages. What I haven't figured out is how we're going to stay work all of this in. Now, I have some decisions to make (and from my last post, we all know I'm not good at that). Do we spend the majority of our time in Wales before catching our flight back to the States from Manchester? Do we spend a day in Wales and meander toward Scotland, bypassing the Lake District? Or do we barrel forward and try to do it all? (That's probably not the best plan, by the way.)

What do I cut out to make this happen? I have much to think about.

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I can't decide.

Image via Wikipedia

Literally, I can't decide. I've never been able to make a quick decision about even the smallest of things. As I get older, I realize this isn't necessarily a good thing. I will change my mind 15 times about something before I come to the conclusion that I can't change my mind anymore. This isn't a problem when you're making up your mind about dinner, but it most certainly is a problem when you're planning a trip as I am right now. Or buying a house. Or picking out an investment strategy.

I've decided (haha!) that I need to improve this area of my life. I think the easiest way to do that is make a decision and stick with it. Easier said than done. Will and I are going to stay in a castle while we're in the UK, and I've already changed my mind at least five times about which castle we will stay in and what area of the UK. I suppose to combat this, I should just pick one and forget it. But there is an underlying fear that no matter what I choose, it will be the wrong one and I will have wished later that I had picked a different one.

This is a terrible cycle.

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Question of the Day

Image via Wikipedia

Would you sleep in a supposedly haunted castle? That's the question I'm facing as I'm winding down the plans for our jaunt to the United Kingdom. I've always wanted to stay in a castle, but the prospect of a haunted one is daunting at best. This particular one is called Muncaster Castle and was first occupied by the Pennington family in 1208. The caveat? Tom the Fool, a court jester who died around 1600. His ghost apparently likes to torment visitors. While I don't necessarily believe in ghosts, the idea of one is, well, unsettling.

So...would you do it?

What's the big deal about travel?

"What's the big deal about travel?"

I get that question a lot. I get some even stranger looks when I explain that when we got married, Will promised me that we could do international travel every two years. We've been married four years, and we're about to make our second international jaunt. We may even make an extra trip next year because I'll be 30, and he's already promised me that we can go anywhere I want for my 30th birthday. Anyway, the point is that Will is keeping his promise to let me see the world, and the years in between, we usually travel domestically.

For most people, traveling within their country of residence and seeing its points of interest is enough. After all, only 34% of Americans own passports. And I doubt that all 34% actually use those passports. But for whatever reason, I've never been content to travel within the continental U.S. When I was a little girl, I used to dream about the exotic locations I now have an opportunity to visit (and do).

My point is that travel on a budget is completely doable. I'm not wealthy nor do I have tons of money to drop into vacations. But Will and I work hard, we save, and when we do vacation, we do it right. As I told someone today, I might skimp on food except for once or twice the entire trip, but you'd better believe I'm going to stay in a decent hotel so that I can get rest and enjoy the trip. I look for deals and packages, and I watch for airfare sales. I travel in the off season or "shoulder season." I stay in locally-owned hotels, B&Bs, and inns instead of gigantic hotels. But probably the most affordable thing that I do is stay out of the major cities once I've seen what I want to see in them. Besides, you learn more about a place by getting out in the countryside and experiencing what a place has to offer beyond the museums.

There are ways to travel on a budget without going over budget and without emptying your bank account. It's all about priorities.

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Still "country" at heart

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I don't discuss it much because 1) my mom is so fantastic and 2) because the past is in the past, but I had a less than ideal childhood. I realize no one's is perfect, but without delving into details, mine really was full of sorrow, hurt, and disappointment in more ways than one. But one of the most wonderful, enduring memories I have of my childhood are summers spent on our four acres of land playing, running, and just generally being a carefree kid.

I was reminded of this today when Ben wrote about the Google car's visit to his childhood home. Like Ben, we lived about 1/4 off the road with only a gravel driveway to lead the way to our home. If anyone traveled up that driveway, they usually knew us because, really, who travels down a gravel driveway voluntarily without a good reason? Anyway, one of the benefits of having no nearby neighbors is that me and my siblings were able to run, play, hide, and scream without bothering a soul. We always had pets to act as our playmates since no other children lived nearby.

As a teenager, I longed to run away from this life. I wanted a city with all of its lights, glamor, and fast pace. It's part of what drove me to move to Chicago. As an adult, I appreciate that quiet life. In fact, at times, I long for it. Someday, I want land out in the country where Will and I can build a house. In the meantime, I may have to settle for another dog. Growing up, I had a Dalmatian, and he was wonderful. I want another one, and I'm working on Will for that!

Making amends for traumatizing my readers

Since I traumatized you so horribly in this post, I thought I'd share a picture of the room that actually turned out the way it was supposed to. This is our formal living room, and the color is called Silver Tradition by Behr.



We're using this color as our neutral. We'll be using it in our downstairs hallway, up our staircase, and in our upstairs hallway as well. It's also going to be used in our dining room on the top portion of the wall above the chair rail. I was quite pleased with this color and felt that it gave our house a somewhat Nantucket-East Coast beach feel.

Green with...?

Over the Fourth of July weekend, Will and I decided to paint our half bath downstairs. The color I chose was called Tart Apple by Behr. Now, keep in mind that on a color sample, it looked pretty (to me anyway). But when it went on the wall in a semi-gloss, well, that was another story.

As Will began working on it, I thought the color was going to be just right. You can see the paint in the bucket as he began the trim work.



But then, when he was finished, this is what we got instead!



We came up with several names for this color. They include: Jen Smash! Like The Hulk, Alien Abduction, Kermit, Radioactive, and OMG, Is It Really That Green? It actually glows when you have the bathroom light on. See how the sink looks vaguely green?

It's always in the last place you'd look.

Source

Fielding publishing questions

As word leaks out that I am a would-be novelist, I am fielding more and more questions about publishing and what it takes to become a published author. Because I am not yet published, I am often hesitant to respond. But I thought it might help if I responded to a few of the most common questions on my blog.

Q: How long does it take to finish a book?
A: Really, that's entirely dependent upon the author. In my case, I finished a novel at the age of 18 in three months. It occurred the summer between graduating high school and entering college. While that book is not something I would consider publishable material, my current novel could be. I began it in college, dropped it, picked it up again after I graduated, and rewrote the beginning 518 times before deciding that I had a solid first chapter. I even dumped the prologue. I have now been (seriously) working on this novel for about ten months now. At 35,000 words, I still have approximately 60,000-75,000 words to go.

How long will it take me to write another 60,000 words? Hopefully, not another ten months. Set a writing goal. My friend, author Teresa Medeiros, suggests making it a goal to write at least three pages a day. She wrote her first novel doing just that while working full-time. Her philosophy is that if you'll just sit down and write three pages a day, you'll have completed a novel in a year.

Q: What's the process to publishing a book?
A: Get it down on paper. That's the absolute first step. If you have an idea, run with it. Once it's down on paper and you've made as many revisions as you can possibly muster, in the world of fiction, it's a good idea to begin shopping for a literary agent. An agent can help you break into the difficult world of publishing by allowing you access to the big-name publishers such as HarperCollins, Penguin, and the like.

If you can't bring yourself to shop for an agent, you can begin submitting your manuscript to the publishing companies directly. However, I don't recommend this method. Editors are busy, and if your work doesn't grab them immediately, you're going to be rejected. It won't matter if you have the next War and Peace on your hands; if that editor doesn't like your work, you're in trouble. They will not take the time out of their days to re-review your work and determine that you're their next publishing superstar. Many publishing houses won't accept unsolicited manuscripts, which means you must first submit a query letter. So now, instead of submitting a couple of chapters to an editor, you're down to a one-page descriptive letter. Based upon that letter, an editor might or might not request to see the first three chapters or 50 pages of your book. If they like those pages, then you may get to submit your full manuscript. Your chances have been reduced yet again, and you haven't even begun. Are you beginning to see why a literary agent could be your best ally in this industry?

Q: Would you ever recommend self-publishing?
A: There's nothing wrong with self-publishing, especially if you're selling a business-oriented or self-help book. However, when it comes to fiction, I personally would like to have the marketing prowess of a large publishing house behind me. Unless you're a marketing pro, chances are that your self-published book will only have limited, local or regional exposure.

Q: What about e-publishing? Is that a good idea?
A: With publishing houses reducing the number of first-run copies, e-publishing can be a tempting option. Amazon is even publishing e-books now through their site, making e-publishing even easier. However, as with self-publishing, beware. Once a work is published, a publishing house may be less likely to pick up your work because it's no longer "new." Instead, they must buy the rights from you--the author--or your e-publishing company. And while there are several reputable e-publishing companies out there, unless you have no qualms about the possibility of never seeing your work in print, I would pass on this option.

I hope that answers some publishing questions. If you have more, please feel free to comment on the blog, and I'll be happy to address them here.

Facebook "Friends"

Image via CrunchBase

I have Facebook friends. But they aren't really "friends." Instead, most are mere acquaintances or people I've only met once or twice. Why bother including them as friends?

I've noticed something voyeuristic about Facebook. While those people might not really be your friends, you're still curious about what's going on in their lives. And they're still curious about yours. Even as uninteresting as my life often is, I still find that people will comment on a status I've posted or a blog post I've written. Again, I think it's our innate voyeuristic tendencies at play.

Do you add random people to your Facebook friends list, or are you more selective?

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