Go visit Murdershewrites our guest blogger today is J Carson Black. She has some great words of wisdom to impart, and don’t forget we’re running a contest over there. Also, if you have any questions you’d like to ask my agent, Kimberly Whalen at Trident Media Group email murdershewrites5@yahoo.com Kim is going to do a Q&A next month.
Okay, now back to my final revision…

I just wanted to say, I haven’t forgotten about the first line contest. I just can’t commit to it until I get my book turned in, so bare with me, the book goes the end of next week and the contest will commence the following Monday.
Now, over at Murder She Writes, we’re having a contest. It’s so easy, just comment. Each day you comment you get a chance to win books, gift certificates and goodies. Also, my agent Kimberly Whalen has graciously agreed to do a guest blog in the form of a Q&A, oh, not here over at MSW. We’ll pick 10 or so and split them between two Fridays in June. If you have a question email us at murdershewrites5@yahoo.com
Okay, back to revising…
K*

Taylor! :party: :cheerleader: :cooldance: :elephant: :woot: :hello2: :guitar: :beer: :lick: :jumping: :sunggle: :party:

I am soooo happy Taylor won!
I screamed so loud when they said his name, my throat is sore. The show was great. I loved the songs, the wardrobe, the guest singers, Puck & Pick was hilarious, and so were the Brokenote Cowboys. Prince was a nice surprise. My fav was the flash back clips of the contestants and the judges.
I can’t wait for AI 6!
Taylor was my man from the get go. He is such a sweetheart, and I wish him and all of the idols the very best.
Whew, now what am I going to do with my Tuesday and Wednesday nights?
So, what did y’all think of this season?
K*

Wow! What a great season. I love to see how far the idols come from the first time they audition. It’s so much like writing, for many of us, me specifically, we have enough talent to get the motor started, but with perseverance we learn, write until we drop, then finally hit our stride, we hang in there honing our craft and then, bam, payday.
I’m listening to Danny Potter sing the goodbye song and I’m getting choked up. I’m feeling a little melancholy all of the sudden. I’m concerned a friend of mine might be sick again, another friend received a couple of unexpected rejections today, and while that may seem like no big deal to most people it is to her, and it is to me because I care an awful lot about her. I want her to be happy. She is a good, solid, entertaining writer and she needs a break. Hang in there, baby, dreams do come true. And as I watched Kat and Taylor up there living the American dream, wanting it so bad they could taste it, and then tuning into the CMA’s and seeing Carrie Underworld win yet another award when this time last year she was a scared semi finalist, it made me believe even more in the power of dreams. They didn’t give up. So I guess what I’m trying to say is hang in there, don’t give up, you might have a bad day, a bad month, or a bad year but keep moving forward.
Okay without further adieu let’s get to the performances tonight.
Katharine: First song, CHERRY TREE something, I liked it as much this time as the last time, although I wished she had picked something new.
OVER THE RAINBOW: Loved it the first time, but I thought the second time was stellar.
MY DESTINY: Methinks her destiny after that song is runner up. While she looked great, she missed the high notes and I just didn’t care for the song, or the way she sang it.
Taylor: Just seeing him makes me smile. Okay so LIVING FOR THE CITY was great. But I was with Simon, I didn’t care for the jacket, or the boots. Too much flash for my southern man.
LEVON: I love this song, and while Taylor can sing it, I thought he played it a bit safe. He didn’t wail it like he could have.
DO I MAKE YOU PROUD: Yes, Taylor you do. But I was a little scared in the beginning of this song, but in true Taylor fashion you made that song yours and finished on top. I loved Simon’s comment at the end.
Last year it was a toss up for me between Carrie and Bo. I felt either one was equally the next American Idol, but this year I am hands down in favor of Taylor. I’ll be shocked if he doesn’t win.
So, predictions?

Here’s a little tid bit hubby forwarded to me this am. And while I must say I’m iffy about all of the comments regarding Taylor, but he does have some valid points, but this guy nailed Katharine. I’ve been saying it all along, she’s cold and has a sense of entitlement.
Anyhoo see below:

Music consultant Dennis O’Donnell likens Taylor to a modern-day Kenny Rogers. “Taylor could be a pop-country guy, and that’s not a bad thing,” he says. “It’s right down the middle. If he gets a hit, it will stay around awhile. Though he’s awkward and sort of oafish, he has charm and he doesn’t have the air of an actor. What I’m reading is that he knows he’s got the tiger by the tail. All he needs is good songs. People already like him.”
Katharine, on the other hand, doesn’t exhibit the drive to win, “but seems to think she deserves it,” says O’Donnell, predicting a failed music career and possible future in commercials. “She’s cold and artificial. When she sings, she’s looking for the camera and seems to be assuming a character. She attempts the vocal gymnastics of Celine Dion . When people hear Celine, they know it’s real. Katharine seems manufactured. I think she’ll fade.”
Comments?

And so a new week begins. It’s amazing how quickly life goes by. Today we celebrated my oldest son’s 20th birthday. It seems like just the other day we were bringing him home from the hospital. I’m bringing this up because if you don’t jump on the life train, you’ll wake up one day to find it has passed you by. :wtf:
I chatted tonight over birthday cake with my aunt’s hubby. He has stories in his head, and knowing him as I do, I bet they are really good unique stories. I told him he just needed to write. He said he didn’t know how to structure a story and that he had research to do. I told him, just write, get into the habit. Every time he had a reason not to write my response was, just write, all of the other stuff will come to you. If he doesn’t start soon he will be another person with a great story left untold.
Which brings me to my next point. I blog hop every once in awhile and it amazes me how many unpublished writers there are out there that talk about writing yet don’t actually do it. They have an excuse, or life interruptus or they get sick, or it’s always something. It’s also the reason they are not published. You have to have a story to sell to get THE CALL.
This last month for me has been grueling. I finished up revisions for GGGB, then received the copy edits which I sent back last week, and I have totally had to tear apart SKIN and almost start writing from scratch. I have to turn this book in, in less then 10 days. I’m only half way there. I have been working into the wee hours of the morning and yes, tonight I was not going to give up making my son his favorite meal, chicken parmesan, and I wasn’t not going to have the family over to celebrate. Some things you just don’t give up, because those things you can’t recapture. I can never go back and recelebrate my son’s 20th birthday. So knowing that, I was up until 4 a.m. this morning working on my story. I also asked number two daughter to bake his cake.
Tomorrow will be another full day and night of writing. I also have a phone meeting in the afternoon with my Pocket publicist, and thanks to my friend Josie Brown, I have intelligent questions to ask.
The point I’m making and this is coming from the world’s biggest procrastinator, is, just do it. No one else is going to do it for you, and if life happens? work around it. Make it up, prepare, and just get it done. If I can, I know you can.
With that, I have some good news to share a little later this week. :evil2:
Write on,
K*

And so Frisky the Bear goes home. Sap that I am, I enjoyed the show tonight. I was sad to see Elliott go. He has proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that all things are possible. Good job E! :beer:
I thought when Katharine sang tonight she did it no holds barred. The girl has a voice, and she just might inch past my man Taylor.
So did you hear the rumor that Playgirl has offered Ace a fat contract to pose? :holy: My friend Josie and I were chatting after the show tonight (when yes, I should have been writing, but hey, I needed some GF time). We both agreed as much as we’d like to see Ace all nekkid, it would be career suicide. I mean he’s basically just a pretty face now, but if we get to see all the goodies we’ll lose respect for him. So Ace, keep your pants up. There were some really good Idol contestants this year.
I’m sure good things will come for Paris, Mandisa, Lisa and Kelli. It’s a given Chris will be a household name in the near future. And Elliott will find his place. I also heard there was a Bucky sighting at Darlington last week and the boy had his teeth fixed.
Okay, so who do y’all predict will be the next American Idol?

And tommorow there will be two.
Listen, if Frisky the Bear makes it through to next week, I think I will shoot myself. :rambo:
So, without further adieu this is how I heard it tonight.
Elliott Yamin: First song: OPEN ARMS. I think Elliott did okay—not great.
Second song: WHAT YOU WON’T DO FOR LOVE, I love Booby Caldwell and I loved Elliott’s rendition. I thought the song was a great venue for his voice, a voice which is growing on me. Third song: I BELIEVE IN MY SOUL, I believe in my soul I wasn’t moved. Hubby said, “Not feeling it.” Okay now after all of my Elliott bashing this season, I admit, Frisky the Bear has grown on me. I wish him well, but will still shoot myself if he he’s still standing after tomorrow night.

Katharine McPhee: She is lovely, talented and goofy. First song: I BELIEVE I CAN FLY, I believe tanked. I didn’t like her high pitches. Second song: SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW, Katharine really showed her range with this song. While hubby didn’t like it, I didn’t think it was bad at all, despite the pitchy moments and dropped words. I didn’t agree with the judges that it was her best performance of the competition, but it was definitely solid. Third song: I AIN’T GOT NOTHING BUT THE BLUES, I love it when Katharine gets frisky. I liked this performance much better then RAINBOW.

Taylor Hicks: First song: DANCING IN THE DARK, loved the video with Courtney Cox dancing on stage with The Boss. I thought the tempo was a bit slow, but enjoyed Taylor’s voice and his dance with crazy Paula. Second song: YOU ARE SO BEAUTIFUL, finally, a Joe Cocker song! And Taylor nailed it. I knew he could and I knew he would. How can you not like Taylor after that performance? Third song: TRY A LITTLE TENDERNESS, too many yeah-yeahs for me, and it wasn’t my favorite song for him, but I liked his performance. I’d love to see Taylor belt out some Alman Brothers.

Now on a personal note, I had a great Mother’s Day Sunday. All of my kids were home to celebrate as well as my mil and her sister. We also had a few other guests and the last two left at 1 a.m..We ate lots of delicious food, drank good wine, and generally had fun.
With the exception of two hours last Friday and Mother’s Day, I have been a recluse. But it’s paying off. I’m jamming on my revisions, even though I still have a plot point that I keep going round and round with. Sigh, I need to just nail it and move on. My copy edits are done and going back to NYC tomorrow. I had an awesome copy editor. I also received a copy of my cover flat today for GGGB. It is truly a work of art. I love it. As soon as I get the jpeg, I’ll post it on my site. I also had my promo shots taken last week by the incredible Tim Tabke @ Phoenix Productions. He is a wizard. Justin Knupp at StoneCreek Media is completely redoing my site, we hope to launch it the first of June. My new pic will go up then. I really like it. I’ll also be launching the Best First Line Contest at that time. So stand by. Oh, we have a contest going on over at Murder She Writes. Lot’s of good stuff to be had by simply commenting. It ends the end of this month. We’re chatting about the things we dislike the most about being published. Also, Allison is in Daytona for the RT conference. She’ll be posting Thursday to chat about it.
Okay, so I have to get back to the business at hand—writing.
Oh, and who do you think will go tomorrow night?
Write on,
K*

Hah! HaH ! Hah! Arrogance will always catch up with you! And it looks like it did with Chris tonight. :party: To say he was shocked was an understatement. Did any of you notice the chill Kat gave her fellow idols? I want her to go next week. It’s all about my man Taylor! OK, and now I have a confession to make. I hope Elliott gives Taylor a run for his money.
OK, so I received my copy edits today on GGGB, and I am behind on my revisions for SKIN. I’m going underground, but I’ll have a few guest bloggers, and will of course keep current with AI.
Ciao for now.
Write on!
K*

Before I get to the Idols let me ask you this? Does Priscilla P look like a freak or what? :scratchhead:
OK, so it’s Elvis night in L.A.
I love listening to Elvis. His music is so full of soul and passion, it gives me shivers. I listen to him all of the time, especially when I drive. I crank up the CD and sing along at the top of my lungs that is when there are no other ears to hear.
So let us begin with my man Taylor: How did I know he would do JAIL HOUSE ROCK? I loved Taylor’s suit, his hair and his moves and despite Simon’s icky comments, his voice. IN THE GHETTO. One of my fav Elvis songs. Loved Taylor’s black on black topped with black leather, and I loved his version of IN THE GHETTO. I just love the man’s soul.
Chris: SUSPISIOUS MINDS. Probably in the top five of my all time fav Elvis songs. OK, so I think Chris did a much better job then Randy said. I liked it. A LITTLE LESS CONVERSATION. I could have taken a little less of this song. It’s not a fav song of mine to begin with, but I didn’t care at all for Chris’ rendition. I wasn’t moved. I agree with Simon.
Elliott: He’s like the freakin’ energizer bunny. So let us begin with IF I COULD DREAM. Argh Argh Argh. Hubby said, “He’s done.” Well, then he finished really strong. Sigh, go figure. TROUBLE. Hated it. What crack pipe are the three judges smoking tonight?
Katharine: HOUND DOG—OK, so like, I really appreciated her going out on a limb, but, yeah, it didn’t work for me. CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE, can’t help wanting to puke. She’s gone.
OK, so? Who thinks Kat is kitty litter tomorrow night? Who thinks America is tired of Frisky the Bear despite his improvement?
Yawn, I’ve had a very long day, off to la la land.
K*