Jennifer Crusie's Blog: Argh Ink

We’re switching servers to see if that will fix the contest problem. Except now there’s a problem with the form. So we’re going to go again on Wednesday in hopes that everything will work just FINE.

In other news, I ate a Tootsie Roll pop last night. It was hard candy. I’m allowed to have hard candy.

Okay, I’m starting over today. Today, I will be GOOD.

And tomorrow the contest will be back up again. ARGH.

Today, patience and extreme persistence has paid off for the following TEN fans:

Terri O. in Virginia Beach, VA
Shiloh W. in Colorado Springs, CO
Jennifer P. in Evanston, IL
Kathy S. in Iompoc, CA
Terri G. in Cincinnati, OH
Michelle M. in Shamrock, TX
Rebecca McD. in Zachary, LA
Julie S. in DeKalb, IL
Gina F. in Henrico, VA
and Martha Z. in Waynesboro, VA

Yep, that’s right, we’re giving copies to all ten entrants that signed up before the form expired (FYI, it was set to only take ten entries). After the whole site-crashing snafu, we couldn’t stand the thought of throwing out the last three alternate entries.

25 more books will be given away this week – more info will come from Jenny later on today or tonight (or as soon as we figure out the best way to give ‘em away).

Well, you did it again, Argh People.

Dogs and Goddesses will be #29 on the NYT this Sunday.

The power of the Argh Person knows no limits. And boy do we appreciate it. Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU!

. . . and Happy Hanukkah and Delightful Kwanzaa and whatever else you celebrate.

Me, I’m still celebrating the election. If they could put a bow on the Obamas, that would be the best gift this year. Here’s hoping your holidays, whatever they are, are merry and bright and full of love and hope. And dogs.

Bob’s been tied up with personal matters so we didn’t meet in Campfire today, but he posted his scene, the second scene in the book, for me there and I went through it. Good stuff. Then I went back and looked at my first scene and thought, “Was I on drugs when I wrote that?” and started over. It’s better now. Still not good but better. Then I wrote the third scene and it’s really bad which means tomorrow, after I get Bob’s next scene, I’ll probably throw it out and do something else. Or at least fix it.

In other news, the ugliest spider in the world is crawling around somewhere on my desk. I saw him on the wall, but i have a live-and-let-live deal with everything in the universe except cockroaches (and ants, but only when they’re in my kitchen). So I kept an eye on him and then got caught up in my scene, which is why five minutes later I screamed when he walked across my desk. At least I hope it was him. If not, there are TWO of the suckers.

I’m cleaning this office tomorrow. Bleah.

The biggest thing I realized when I read my first scene again was that I had the worst opening line in the history of openign lines:

Mary Imogen brushed the rosy glaze over the cheeks of the old carved wood clown, marveling all over again at the workmanship.

Really, I must have been brain dead or something. Talk about boring.

The rewrite is this:

There aren’t a lot of epiphanies in amusement parks, if you don’t count the people who get to the top of the Super Screamer Roller Coaster and think, “Wait–,” mostly because there’s too much to see and do and eat for any real soul searching.

I know. Omniscient. About to go into third limited in the next sentence. But still, not good.

Just better than that other disaster.

I’ll fix it, I’ll fix it . . .

Addendum:
It crawled up the wall and I killed it. It was taunting me.
Please God, it did not come from a large family.