Tidbits from the Roman Forum.

Flowers on the mound.

 I've been putting off my blogging. I was going to get "serious" and write about my writing process.

But I wasn't ready to leave Italy behind! Back to Rome for an exploration of death and rebirth.

The mound to the right is the altar of the Temple of Caesar. Augustus began construction of the temple in 42 BC after Julius was assassinated. All that remains is the mound above.

Below is the entrance to the Umbilicus Urbis (Navel of the City). I found myself fascinated by the small, unassuming structure. It had been used as a reference point for center point of the city and was considered an entrance to the Underworld.

The sign at the Umbilicus Urbis.

Augustus Caesar as the Pontifex Maximus.

The remains of a colossus of Constantine.

The Roman emphasis on realism in their portraiture proves that you don't need to be a big, brawny guy to rule the world.

The statue from the Temple of Jupiter Optimus Maximus, originally built around 509 BC. Wow!

More Florence

While we were in Florence, we also visited the Piazza del Duomo. Wikipedia says this is one of the most visited places in Europe, and boy, I can believe it. 

Exterior shot, including the lines to get in.

The whole thing is flipping gorgeous!

I did the best I could with my little iPhone.

Magnificent! 

On the way to the altar.

A beautiful, peace side chapel.

You get the altar, then look up, and Wow!

God and Jesus being awe-inspiring.

The Bapististery, with the famous Gates of Paradise by Ghiberti. MAGNIFICENT!

Florence, Italy.

The most handsome man in Florence.

The four of us (me, The Charming Man, The Flaming Chef, Dr. Snickerdoodle) arrived in Florence, Italy, after 27 hours of traveling.

No, it didn't need to be that long.

Yes, we were exhausted.

But! We were in Florence, bitches!!

Home of the Renaissance! Home of fashion, home of the de Medici, home of truly excellent gelato.

Here are some random pictures:

The view from our hotel room.

Truly excellent modern art to go with the history.

Florence is also the home of Pinocchio!

Viva Italy!

For the last two weeks, The Charming Man, the Flaming Chef, his husband Dr. Snickerdoodle, and I have been on vacation in...*drum roll*

Italy!

The Pantheon in Rome.

And it was cooler than even my deepest imagination.


We visited Florence, Rome, and Pompeii.

And over the next few weeks, I'm going to share some of the amazing photos we took there.

Like this one:

Fashion in Rome!

And this one, too.

Mosaics saved from the Baths of Caracalla

Let's go exploring the pleasures of this magical land!

On the road!

I am going to the Romantic Times Convention! I am looking forward to meeting readers and writers in Kansas City and sharing my cool giveaways.

Dracula's Secret, Blood Wings #1
Dracula's Desires, Blood Wings #2
Dracula Unleashed, Blood Wings #3

Spring is coming, I promise.

My friends in the Midwest and East Coast are experiencing exciting and crazy weather. In order keep spirits up, here are some pictures from our trip to Hawaii.

On the Island of Maui, in the town of Lahaina, there is a banyan tree that is the size of an entire city block. Visiting this tree was one of the highlights of our trip.

I have a tender spot in my heart for trees, especially large, brave trees like this one. So imagine yourself with a yummy shave ice and sitting in the shade of this beautiful tree. And spring will come, I promise. :)

The Charming Man relaxing.

That bright thing is the sun. It is very nifty, and someday, we will all see it again.

Into the branches.

Yet another trip to the Chinese Garden.

I love going to the Garden of Awakening Orchids in downtown Portland. It is the perfect place to gather my thoughts, look at the dizzying array of plants and buildings, and then drink tea and eat moon cakes at the Tao of Tea, also known as the Tower of Cosmic Reflections.

I like to go there when my brain has been reduced to a blithering ball of mush. I then take quick snapshots on my cell phone to jolt my creative side to see things from a different angle. Last week, I visited the second floor of the tea house for the first time.

*Above left - I really loved my cranberry-orange tea and tarot root moon cake. They were the perfect accompaniments for contemplation on a rainy day.

*Above right - the Garden was putting up decorations for the Chinese New Year.

*Left- It's hard to see, but I really loved this little dragon's, "Oh, hai!" face. It was adorable.

The rest of my pictures turned out fuzzy, but that was ok. I wasn't taking them for any other reason than to re-fill my word well. :)

Where I was, what I was doing, Part Three.

Carolyn Pittis (see previous post) also drove the Clue Bus through our writer's brains. She shared the things writers must focus on in order to create and produce in ways that makes us happy.

1. WRITE. Always, always keep your eye on your work. If you don't write, this list won't mean anything.
2. Decide on what is your measure of success. Being self-sufficient? Getting published at least once? Having a group of fellow writers around so you can enjoy all those good stories? You decide on your success, not anyone else. 
3. Figure out your business plans. This doesn't have to be a big, scary deal - when I first tried to write a business plan, I stopped after three sentences and had a big glass of wine instead. Instead, frame the idea as a way to understand your definition of success. Do you understand how other players win? What do you have to offer in your product? Who are the best partners for you to achieve that success you want? What is the best way to inform yourself as to the economics of your business?

Think about these ideas. How many books a year do you want to write? What kinds of support do you need to achieve these goals?

Support is something writers and other artists don't talk about much; but we need people who encourage our brave hearts. We take risks, we try new things, we test social mores. This can be exhausting and frightening.

So think about what helps you put your Butt in Chair and Fingers on Keyboard. Do you need pep talks? Brainstorming friends? Someone to help you write query letters?

In the end, all of these ideas and questions lead back to the most important Clue that Carolyn gave us - always keep writing.

Where I was, what I was doing, Part Two.

Due to jet lag, I got a late start on the conference on Wednesday, the 29th. Fortunately, I was able to get up and get going in time for the PRO Retreat.

In RWA, there are various sub-groups aimed towards serving the needs of every member. The PRO subgroup is aimed at people who have finished a manuscript and sent it to an agent or editor. (If you get accepted, then you move into the Published Author Network group, but I'm not there yet.)

The PRO retreat ran from 2:00 to 5:30 and was packed full of things to help unpublished authors reach their goals.

The Keynote speaker was Carolyn Pittis, the Senior Vice-President for Global Marketing Strategy and Operations at HarperCollins. Carolyn is a supergenius who understands her field better than anyone I've heard speak on the changing environments of publishing and creating. I take notes very quickly (all those years in graduate school come in handy for something!), but even I could hardly keep up with her insightful analysis.

If anyone who was at the retreat wants to chime in on anything I missed, please feel free!

I've been hearing about "The Digital Revolution" since I was in Library School back in 1996. In these last six months, the revolution come into fruition faster than it was in the last 15 years. Since Christmas 2010, the new players in publishing - Apple, Google, Amazon - and in retail - CES reported over one hundred  new electronic devices in the past year- caused the biggest jump ever in the purchase of e-books.

J.K. Rowling has left traditional publishing to go completely to online sales. On the other hand, Amanda Hocking, one of the most successful e-writers ever, has joined a traditional, paper-based publisher in order to get her books into Wal-mart and other brick and mortar shops.

The rise of new tech, the increase of data, and the wider demand of consumer choices has created an atmosphere that allows writers to chose paths they never would have thought of. No longer is the NYT or the USAToday bestseller lists the only choices in the path to success.

Authors deciding to publish their books have to ask themselves some key questions:

1. Money: What is my break-even number? How much money do I have to make as a writer in order to write comfortably?

2. Marketing: Do I have to have marketing reach on my own? How much do I need? And (here's the big one), how much do I like marketing?

3. Collaboration: Contrary to the myth of the solitary writer, writing and publishing is an act of collaboration. How much do you need to control your work? How well do you take feedback? Can you handle someone  telling what you need to do to make your work more market friendly?

4. Author Equity: How much do others like your work? What might I do to increase my work's popularity?

Next time, I'll be talking about what authors need to focus on in today's market.

Where I was, what I was doing, Part One.

The Romance Writers of America's National Conference was held from June 28th through July 1st in New York City in Midtown Manhattan. This trip was the perfect combination of NYC (crowds, humidity) and RWA (creativity, inspiration).

I'd been dreaming of New York since I was a young girl, and I'd been dreaming of going to Nationals since I joined RWA six years ago. What a perfect opportunity to combine my dreams into one neat package! The Charming Man was not about to be left behind, so the two of us planned and schemed until we got our butts in our airplane and took off. :)

I've often said that if you want to learn to write, you must join RWA. This conference proves it.

2000+ writers mingled with agents, editors, heads of publishing houses, and each other. The book signing's line coiled around three floors and then out to the street - and it raised $57,000 for adult literacy. Editors from every publishing house spoke freely about their jobs and what kinds of books they were looking for.

There were hundreds of workshops in five tracks:

• Craft
• Career
• Writer's Life/Muse
• Publishing
• Research

Just on the first day, there were over twenty five workshops with names such as:

• Building Your Author Website
• Creating Three Dimensional Characters
• Show Me the Money! (Yes, it was about how you will get paid as an author)
• Writing Romance through Separation and Divorce
• Twenty Five Years in Romance: An editor explains Romance Publishing and how it works

As you can imagine, it was like earning a BA in Creative Writing in a long weekend. And it rocked!

Home!

I have returned from the wilds of the East Coast! I am currently drafting my posts about my visit to New York and the RWA National Conference. But first, a picture to tease:

A black figure libation bowl from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

AFK for a good reason...

The Charming Man and I are going to New York City for the Romance Writers of America National Conference!

(Yes, someone is staying at the house.)

I will most likely be updating my Facebook instead of this blog - I won't be taking my laptop (Yes, someone is staying at the house), so I'll be using my iPhone for communication.

We've not been to the East Coast before, so this will be an adventure!!

(Yes, someone is staying at the house.:)

Where the hell have you been?

I've had the marvelous Miss B as a guest this past week, and well....I certainly wasn't up for blogging. We were too busy roaming the Pacific Northwest in search of delicious pastry, excellent shopping, waterfalls, and bonding time.

And here's a picture of one place we went:

Voodoo Donuts' Cock and Balls Donut

These things are huge. And tasty.

Travel picture of the day.

I was missing Istanbul this morning. So here is a picture to remind me of that magical place.

This is part of the Sultan's bath in the Topkapi Palace. Water would fill the marble basin, then the bather uses a dipping bowl to pour the water all over himself. That way, the basin and the water remains clean, even after scrubbing.

Other wonderful Turkish things:
A most unusual movie with Peter Ustinov and Melina Mercouri (Love her name!) as part of a jewel heist from the Topkapi Palace.

The Turkish Bath. I firmly believe that it could bring world peace. And Apple Tea is good for everything that ails you.

I has empty brain

I'm deep in the first draft of The New Book, so my brain doesn't have much for my blog. So instead, here is a cute picture of The Charming Man in Paris, instead.

There's always room for The Charming Man. :)