Bacon! or Why I'm Not a Vegetarian

When my husband suggested we take a completely unplanned weekend trip to Asheville, NC, I thought about all of the work I had to do for about two minutes, then I came to my senses and started packing.

Saturday morning, we ate breakfast at Tupelo Honey Cafe. They open at 9 - which I thought was very weird for a place that serves breakfast, but my husband's response was, "It's Asheville." We spoke to the host at 9:12 and were seated at the last open table. The next couple who walked in were given an estimated 25 minute wait. Man, were we glad we had change ready to feed the parking meter and got in Tupelo's door before those guys!

Service was fast and friendly. Our coffees were delivered with 2 GIANT biscuits and homemade blueberry jam - and of course, Tupelo honey. Had this been a normal Saturday morning and not a vacation Saturday morning, the biscuits and jam would have made a great breakfast. But it was vacation, so we ordered the Sweet Potato Pancake (which was ginormous) - fabulously seasoned with cinnamon and topped with the perfect amount of pecans and powdered sugar; and the Country Breakfast - for which I only have three words - Maple Peppered Bacon. Sure it came with 2 eggs (I assume they were good since my husband didn't share) and Goat Cheese Grits (very creamy) but the bacon was off the charts - even ranking off the normal bacon chart.

Granted, the photo is mostly of the pancake, but by the time the blog-worthiness of the bacon crossed my mind, there was no more bacon to photograph. And I promise, I only ate a quarter of this pancake.

If you ever visit Asheville, check out Tupelo Honey Cafe on College Street. But get there early - or, early by Asheville standards. :-)
 

More Great News!

Double Trick won FIRST PLACE in the Lone Star! And.... all three final judges requested more!

Fun fact - my La La sister Jaye Garland (007) called me with the results right after the announcements and I happened to be at a First Coast Romance Writers board meeting (the snacking portion of the meeting) so I was surrounded by friends. Best way to start a budget meeting ever. Just sayin'. 

Just a few days prior, I learned that Double Trick was also a finalist in the Beacon - FCRW's annual contest. I am so freaking excited about all of the good things that are happening right now. 

It's hard to balance riding the wave of woots! with the responsibility of the work (and, um, my day job), but I'm getting my fair share of tough love. Alyssa Day, Lena Diaz, Valerie Bowman, Madeline Martin, and Sheila Athens keep me accountable.
I am so thankful for all of my writing sisters. :-)

Ava

Double Trick = Double WOOT!

What is a WOOT!, anyway? It's a shout of joy, a more civilized form of SQUEE!

Double Trick was named a FINALIST for the 2012 Northwest Houston RWA's LONE STAR contest!

My La La La sister Jaye Garland (aka 007, the reasons of which will not be divulged here) is a member of NWH and she called last Sunday to share to wonderful news - but I had to keep it under wraps for a little while. Now I'm free to spread the news and SQUEE from the rooftops!

I mean, WOOT!

Happy Writing,

Ava

Great Things...

Double Trick is a WINNER!

Thank you so much to the coordinators and judges of Valley Forge Romance Writers. I am so proud to call the Sheila my first WIN!

Now I'm polishing the manuscript to make it super shiny for the editors who have requested it!

(Yes, I think this news is worthy of all the exclamation points)

Also, check out this cool logo designed by Julia Williams (found her on Etsy - JWilliams creative). I love, love, love it!


Break's over - back to revising :-)

Happy Writing -
Ava

WOOT!

My work in progress, Double Trick, is on the contest circuit and I just learned that it's a Finalist in the Vally Forge Sheila!

I received great feedback from the first round judges and am now revising before it goes to the final round judge / editor at Berkley. So exciting!

I choose which contests I'm going to enter based on final round judges and contest reputation. Coming up are The Maggies, The Lone Star, and The Golden Pen.

Wish me luck!

Research...

Just got back from a long weekend in the Great Smoky Mountains. Quick rundown of happenings:

• Unintentionally hiked 5 miles through Athens, GA, looking for a Jittery Joe's.  Afterward, my husband named my new GPS "Maddie", in honor of Madeline Martin. 
• Zip Line tour - AWESOME. Loved every minute. 
• Rented a nice little cabin and explored the Gatlinburg area.
• Drove 15 miles to find a Starbucks. Luckily, they were open. And luckily, we had the foresight to be in the car that time. 
• Ate some pancakes. 
• Beat my husband in 4 rounds of mini golf, by a total of 8 points. He hammered me on 1 round. We tied twice. Not that we're competitive or anything. 
• Ate some pancakes.
• Watched a couple of bears eating leaves out of a tree about thirty feet above the road. 
• Hiked 3 hours over steep grade and a bunch of rocks. AWESOME. Loved every minute. Even Scott said he only thought about being on his bike twice, but the thoughts were fleeting. 
• While on the hike, ran into a guy who was trying to convince his girlfriend he was Survivor Man. "If you're ever lost in the woods. what you find under a rock may or may not help you." Uh, thanks?
• Slept really, really well.
• Ate some pancakes. Seriously, Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge is like the pancake capital of the world. 

Mama and Baby Bear
(Mama is in the tree on the right)

Moving On....

I did it.

I sent my last submission of Dark Water last night. I've entered the manuscript in contests, exchanged with critique partners, revised, revised, revised, and queried agents and editors. I've gotten great feedback, but where it counts, I've been told that it's just not quite right for the market. From this point on, it's all about new stuff.

Writing is kind of like being on one of those climbing walls. Sometimes it's tough to find the right hand-hold. Sometimes you have to sweat and struggle to just not fall off, even though every part of you is shaking with effort. But you always have to LET GO and reach for the next thing or you'll never get to the top.

I bought myself a new white board yesterday and wrote my goals so I could see it and ask myself, "What have you done TODAY to meet these goals?" 

Keep your eyes on the prize!

Happy writing,

Ava