Jolene in Real Life

That's what some of my friends have been telling me to do.  When telling people what I do, tell them that I am a writer.  Own it!  Well now that I'm a finalist in a contest (finally!), I'm finding it that much easier to do so. On Thursday I chaperoned for my son's field trip and at lunch found myself sitting next to his teacher who I really like.  At one point she asked if I worked and I explained that I'm at home, but I'm a writer.  Just like that I said, " I'm a writer. "  I told her that I'm still trying to get published, but I did recently final in a contest.  I feel like that gives me more credential, as in "no, I'm not published yet, but it's not because my writing stinks." Mrs. T seemed excited to discover that I was a writer, even if my books aren't in print...yet. So that's right people, I'm a writer!  It's what I do, even if I'm still waiting on a paycheck.  It's what I will always do.

Friday night we went out with another couple that we have known for over a decade. The husband, B, has worked with my husband almost as long as my hubby has been with the company so naturally they end up talking a lot of shop. In an effort to steer the conversation, I told him about my recent good news (contest finalist) and after congratulating me he asked what I would get if I won. Bob and I laughed when we told him it was only $30, but I explained that counted as income which meant that I would be able to deduct expenses such as conference fees and printing out my manuscripts for beta readers. He then started to attempt to educate me on just how much I should claim to keep me within certain tax brackets. Seeing as I was on my second glass of wine, this was all going right over my head. My lovely husband finally cut him off and said "Let's just focus on the word income right now. We'll worry about the rest later." He's as excited as I am in his own way....

I'm a finalist!  Woo Hoo!  I have finally reached the finals in a contest.  To date I have entered my current finished work, Island Runaway, in five contests.  The first three were not finalists, but today I heard back from the Fire & Ice contest put on by the Chicago North RWA and I have advanced to the final round.  I gave out an audible gasp in the dealership waiting area when I read the email.  I even had to read it twice to make sure I wasn't missing the word not in the phrase "you are a finalist."  So now that I've made it to this point in the contest, what does that mean.  As a finalist I will get a certificate and a mention in the RWR, the monthly magazine put out by the national RWA.  It gets my name out there.  If I win, I get all of $30 (my entry fee was $20).  But again, it gets my name out there and perhaps in front of just the people I need to get me published.  IF nothing else, this accolade gives me more...

First of all, I would like to start by saying that I am going to make (yet another) effort to keep up with this blog.  And I'm even going to share it with people!  I really need to get the word out that I have a blog, but before I do that, I need a couple more decent posts for people to read.  Including this tale about my first Greater Seattle Romance Writers' of America (GSRWA) meeting. Last year I joined Eastside RWA and just recently decided to join GSRWA as well to take advantage of their awesome resources.  This Saturday was my first opportunity to attend a meeting as well as the last meeting before the summer break.  I wasn't too excited about driving all the way up to Shoreline on a Saturday morning, but I really wanted to make an appearance soon while my name was fresh in their minds from the welcome messages. My goal was to leave by nine-thirty giving me an hour to get to the library.  Plenty of time.  Except that I took too long getting r...