Public speaking

I'm not big on giving speeches, workshops, talks -- anything that requires me getting up in front of strangers and being coherent. I'm a firm believer in doing what you're good at and NOT doing what you suck at, and I suck at public speaking. I like to talk -- witness this blog -- but on my own terms. (Again, witness this blog.) That said, somehow I've agreed to give not one but two talks -- one on writing romantic suspense and one on writing a good first chapter.

Ha! I've just finished the third version of Chapter One for the current work-in-progress. I think it's a keeper, but I won't swear to it until I wake up tomorrow and read it again with fresh eyes. I've had the rare occasion where the beginning of a book just comes to me, but more often than not, it's a struggle to get it right. It reminds me of the old story about the writer holding up a dictionary and saying, "My entire book is in here. I just have to find it word by word."

I agreed to speak on romantic suspense months ago, thinking that surely with all that time, I'd think of something to say. Did I? Nope, I forgot about it until someone reminded the other day. I still have about six weeks to plan. I can write an entire book in six weeks. Surely I can do a talk in the same time . . . I hope.

The saving grace is that both groups are writers, and while writers really appreciate a polished speaker, they're awfully forgiving of bad ones. As long as you have something to say that interests them -- and ANYONE can interest a writer --they'll overlook the stammering, the quavering voice, and the wild-eyed panic. They'll even buy your books when you're done.

I hope I don't prove to be the exception! Rachel5:46 PM

The Big Easy

Said with a great big satisfied sighhhhh.

When there's nothing worth watching on our paltry eight television channels, we usually stick a movie in the VCR or the DVD, and Robert usually chooses. I know entire sections of "The Hunt for Red October" and "U.S. Marshals" and "Top Gun" by heart (though I draw the line at "Super Troopers" -- absolutely not, no way, Jose).

Anyway, last night, with nothing else on, he put in a movie . . . and it was "The Big Easy"!!!! I LOVE that movie. Love New Orleans. Love Dennis Quaid as Remy McSwain. Love the music. It is the PERFECT romantic suspense.

The film's about twenty years old, I think, but as I was watching it last night, it hit me that it doesn't look TOTALLY dated like so many movies. The clothes and the hair styles are fairly classic; other than the lack of newer models of cars, it seemed as if it could have been made last year. (And come on, who doesn't think that big ol' gas-guzzling convertible of Remy's suits him better than a Toyota or SUV ever would?)

The one thing that caught my attention, though, was the beginning of the love scene. Remy's been coming on to Anne hot and heavy through the whole show, she's finaly giving in, they adjourn to her bed, both fully clothed. (Great scene, with Dennis Quaid singing a sexy song in the background.) He slides his hand up her leg, raising her skirt, and we see . . . Well, if it were a recent movie, we'd see a bit of lace, a strip of fabric, and a whole lot of butt. Every female character in movies today, whether repressed or not, has a collection of lingerie that would make a Victoria's Secret model blush. But we didn't see a little bit of nothing and skin in this movie. Anne's panties cover her entire derriere. Sheesh, when's the last time you saw THAT in a romantic lead in a movie?

Then it struck me that that caught my attention. When I was a kid, there was no swearing on television. Married TV couples slept in separate beds or twin beds pushed together. The only kissing was without tongues, and the only person whose butt we saw was the Coppertone kid. Now language, nudity and situations that used to be reserved for movies show up on prime time regularly, and an awful lot of people don't realize that it hasn't always been that way, that some things used to be considered inappropriate for the world at large.

Twenty years ago I used to do a doubletake when I saw or heard something on TV that had once been banned. Last night I did a doubletake at what I DIDN'T see. That's really kind of sad when I think about it. Rachel10:32 AM

Oh, my gosh!

I cannot believe how long it's been since I've posted here. There's been a lot going on -- taxes, the kiddo's wedding, finishing a book, starting several others, getting sick . . .

I'm a great record-keeper, but I'm not real organized about it. Meaning every single receipt I get goes into one of several places, just not in any order. So the last couple days before tax day are always hectic around here. I organize stuff, then run up miles and miles of adding machine paper getting all the math done. (Hey, what's the fun of using an adding machine if you don't have little curls of paper all over the place??)

The wedding was gorgeous. Soon as I remember to ask the kiddo and DIL, I'll post a picture of them here. He wore his dress blues and was amazingly handsome, and she wore a beautiful dress and was amazingly beautiful. Robert wore a tux and looked as handsome as the day we married, and my mom dress was lovely and not even uncomfortable. Leah, Liz and D.L. were all there, along with D.L.'s hubby, and we had a wonderful time. Okay, I admit, I wound up going barefooted through the last part of the reception. These feet weren't made for heels, not even adorable beaded-and-sequined heels.

Let's see, what else . . . oh, yeah, getting sick. Not exactly. I got BITTEN by a brown recluse spider, not once but TWICE. Oh my God!!! It went from this annoying little tender spot to this huge necrotic thing in about twelve hours! I alternated antibiotics with pain pills, managing to stay groggy enough that I didn't pay so much attention to the pain. After eight days of misery, my doctor put me in the hospital for a few days so I could get both antibiotics and pain medication via IV. I hate hospitals, hate needles, and now I HATE spiders! Hobbling around and getting wound care was NOT how I wanted to spend the entire month of May and half of June! But I'm almost back to normal now . . . normal being relative, of course.

Somewhere amidst all that, I finished the third Selena book and turned it in. I'm now awaiting revision notes. It has a title -- SCORCHED. Hmm . . . It also has a tentative release date -- February 2007. And I'm keeping busy putting some of the bunches of other ideas I have on paper. My brain's getting to be a crowded place.

Jeez, how sad is it that I can condense two and a half months of my life into four paragraphs??

Oh, well . . . I'm back and will hopefully be here more regularly in the future. I won't hold my breath, though. You know what they say about good intentions and the road to hell . . . Rachel2:17 PM