Oh the joys of Thanksgiving!

I didn't decide until a day or so that I was going to cook, despite the fact that I have a family. I figured we'd go over to my sister-in-law's house and I'd bring a cheese cake and maybe some greens, and call it a day. Well, turns out that they are going out to his parents house, her husband, that is. So that leaves us, or me, to cook! So right before I came to the computer I was snapping greens into tiny pieces and placing them in a sink ful of water. As I was looking at the greens swirl around in the water, I stated thinking about the Thanksgivings, I spent as a child. My mother never cooked, and when she did, it was Praters! She's neatly arrange things on the countertops... It looked beautiful. Then, I think, she started making her own gravy! Before this we'd always go to my grandfather's house. His wife did her best, every year, to "put the big pot in the little one," as my mother would say, with little success. I remember we NEVER had turkey. She'd throw a hen in a pot and boil it to high heaven, then throw it in the oven where its legs would fall to either side, or she'd dismember it before she put it into the oven, where she'd cook what's left of the flavor, and the juices, out. The dressing ran like water. Why can't our table look like the ones on TV? I thought. So needless to say we didn't have the pretty brown turkey, like on the magazines, with stuffing all around, we had chicken, that, after being overcooked, was sweet... I loved it! It wasn't until my mother started "cooking" did we have turkey, a smoked one of course, on Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now I cook everything from scratch, because, I feel like it's necessary. My only dilemma is I'm borderline Vegetarian ( I only eat fish and turkey) I plan to take the whole plunge after Christmas, starting with Kwaanza. I will cook an entire vegi dinner. I must go for now, but quickly, let me tell you what I've been reading: The Bridges of Madison County, by James Waller. I love this movie the book is very good too.
Lastly, I plan to do some shopping the day after Thanksgiving, this'll be my first year really participating in this because ...I hate the madness!
Happy Thanksgiving
LF Goodwyn

Headache (hangover)

I woke up with a terrible headache (hangover) this morning! About 3:00am the top pf my head was hurting, but I was asleep, I was dreaming that I must have a brain tumor! When I woke up, my head was hur-ting! But I don't have a brain tumor, I drank too much last night. And I don't think it was a lot, it was just something I hardly ever drink--- gin and juice! Two whole glasses. More Gin than juice. Why? Because, I don't know. I'm a wine drinker.
On another note: I contemplated writing a blog for others to read because, I think one of the most fascinating things is the unknown. Not knowing makes people curious. I need people curious right now. The other reason is, I'm a private person.
On the writing front, I am re-reading "Heartache." I need to write some more on the untitled novel that I've written 100 pages of. I want to put together an outline for "Untitled" and give it to Agate to show them my versatility. It's really totally different from Heartache. So that's what I'm gonna do today. I don't think I'll get it to them until after the holiday. I don't wanna flood them. The book cover is getting closer to being finished! As soon as it is, I'm gonna put it up.
Now I'm gonna go take something for my headache (hangover).

I am neither

I'm drinking a cup of coffee and watching Good Morning America, like I do every morning. I'm working on a marketing plan for Agate. I had this idea. First I sent them Heartache, then about a few weeks later, I followed up with a letter, now I'm going to send them the marketing plan. I hope this works. I finally looked over chapter one, I kept avoiding chapter one, because I don't know about other writers, but I've read it at least two thousand times. But when you read something that many times, you don't actually know what the heck you're reading. Long story short, when I looked at it for the first time in months, I saw so much room for improvement. Partly because I'm a better writer, than I was when I read it two thousand times. The other chapters, I think, are fine. Another reason I didn't focus on ch1 was because when I sent it off to different people, ch1 was always the one that hooked them, the other chapters needed improvement, so those are the ones I focused on.
So anyway, I'm gonna send the marketing plan, today, and in about a week I'd like to send them an outline and sample chapter from my next novel. I hope this would aid them in making a decision in my favor. We'll see. Another thing that's troubling, other than the fact that I'd have a better chance of getting struck by lightening than getting published without self-publishing first, is that Agate favors celebrities, and Phd's. I am neither.

Today is Rupsey, is what me and my husband say, most Sundays. It's out little joke. We've added an extra day to the weekend. Our week has eight days and Rupsey is the eighth day. I know, it's crazy. He was reading The Mis-education of the Negro, and he was teasing me because I hadn't, and he said, "Yeah, they say that slaves added another day to the weekend and called it Rupsey!" He's such a jokester that I didn't know, at first, if he was serious or not. I though, if he was, I needed to put down Alice Walker's "Anything We love can be Saved," and read this for myself. Needless to say, he was infact joking, and for some reason I busted out laughing. I started saying things, in our normal conversation, like: I'm gonna get up early Rupsey morning and do the grocery shopping. Anyway, though Rupsey is the title of today's blog, it isn't what I'm gonna write about.
Today is the first day after a year and a few months that I decided to write down my experience with publishing my novel, An Aspirin for a Heartache. It's written. It's been through several edits and several declines. And, if you can't tell already--I'm crazy. And sometimes when I get a decline letter-- I go off! Let the agent know "what time it is". I get so angry because agents have no idea what Black women want to read! I could go on forever about this topic. I won't.
So right now the cover is in the process of being completed. And I really like it. Me and this really talented artist are working hard. It should be ready by next week.
I decided to do some publicity, on the side, for other writers. I say on the side, but it's through my company, Moontree Books, that I sarted back in April, to publish my book. I am also looking over "Heartache," still finding mistakes! AAAAAAAAAAAHGH!, like on Charlie Brown.
Okay, now, so my next move: I have Heartache at Agate. I don't know. I'd like to think that they'd publish it. My money is so short right now, I'll take it anyway I can get it. I still would like to publish through my own company. If they do acquire "Heartache," I'll but my pulse in the marketing of it and hopefully it will sell out of the roof and then, when I publish through moontree Books, I will have the much needed pre-exposure for the novel that I'm currently working on. We'll see what happens. I have a friend who want's to go into the publishing business with me, and If I do it this way, you can expect "Heartache" to be out in Feb or Mar 2006. If it get's acquired, I don't know when it'll be out but I do know it will be much later than this.
Did I mention I have three kids? Since I started writing this, they have asked for hot cocoa, cake, cereal, malt-o-meal, and I'm working on two out of four: guess which ones? Now you see why I need a tradidional publisher!