Romance Rock

(Val) Ok, a little clue to my age here. I grew up, like most kids in the seventies, under the Saturday morning public education system known as Schoolhouse Rock. Even today, every now and then, thirty-odd years later, one of those nifty little numbers runs through my head and I can't shake it, no matter what I do. Most often, it's Conjunction Junction (sing it everybody!) What's your function? That's one helpful little grammatical ditty that beats the AP Stylebook all to bits in the fun with words category.

Well today, another little song comes to mind, and that would have to be the one about how a bill becomes a law. First verse goes like this:

I'm just a bill.
Yes, I'm only a bill.
And I'm sitting here on Capitol Hill.
Well, it's a long, long journeyTo the capital city.
It's a long, long wait
While I'm sitting in committee,
But I know I'll be a law someday
At least I hope and pray that I will,But today I am still just a bill.

This song isn't running through my mind because of anything that's happening on the political front, but because today Michele Dunaway sent a nice little file to me that outlines how one of her stories goes from inspiration to publication, with a lot of interesting little stops along the way. In other words, it's kind of a cross between Conjunction Junction and I'm Just a Bill where hookin' up words, feelings and emotions with the right amount of research, determination and hard work gets the job done.

Below are the first few paragraphs of Michele's outline. Follow the link at the bottom for the whole story.

And just to keep you in a Schoolhouse Rock frame of mind, here's a little twist on the lyrics:

I'm just an idea.
Yes, I'm only an idea.
Until I get all typed up in the pc.
Well, it's a long, long journey
To the publisher and printer.
It's a long, long wait
While I sit in the computer,
Hope I don't have to grovel,
And I get to be a novel.
And then I'll be a book someday!

(My most sincere apology to the author of the original lyrics.)

Thanks Michele!

Hi GGR readers!

I got the green light June 30 from Harlequin and NASCAR and so Val has asked me to share with GGR readers how a book goes from concept to reality. I’ll try to walk you through the process of Hart’s Victory (working title) which will be a November 2007 NASCAR-licensed book published by Harlequin Enterprise, the world’s largest publisher of romantic fiction.

If you didn’t get a chance to read Val’s “Good ol’ Summertime Reading” post, dated July 2, I’m Michele Dunaway. Not only am I teacher at Francis Howell High School where Val’s daughter will be a senior next year, but I am also an author for Harlequin American Romance. My 12th book for the line, The Marriage Campaign, will be out in August 2006 and will be followed by two more. Hart’s Victory is my first foray outside of the American line of books, and marks my 15th sale. (BTW, very few writers can quit the day job right off the bat. As I love to teach, I’m not in any hurry.)

I first got the idea for Hart’s Victory after attending Sound and Speed 2006 in Nashville, TN, this past January. My daughter and I went for the country music aspect of it and actually because I needed to see how a festival like this was organized for my December 2006 book, The Wedding Secret. While my best friend Susan has been attending NASCAR at the Brickyard since its inaugural season, and has attended races from Lebanon, MO, to Atlanta, GA, I hadn’t been to one. But I’d seen a few races on TV, watched the Dale Jr. 60 Minutes Uncut special on CMT, and figured, why not?

Read the rest of Michele's story here...