Insecure? Check this out!

Yesterday I took a little writing break and tuned in to the Biography channel. They were doing a wonderful piece on author, Anne Rice. Have to admit I was fascinated with her story. She began writing in the 70's and her very first book? Interview With The Vampire. Her story wasn't much different than the stories we hear about lots of authors. She put together the book of her heart but couldn't sell it. She faced rejection after rejection. Naturally, that really caught my attention because MOST writers go through this.

Finally, she hooked a publisher for the story. Good for her! She was paid an advance of roughly $12,000 for the work, which at the time was pretty good money. She'd been living with her family in California but yearned to return to her roots in New Orleans. It wasn't until she wrote her third book (with a hefty advance of half a million) that her family could actually afford to relocate.

I don't think anyone can argue with the great successes she has had in her very long career. What I found really interesting was that reviewers and critics hated her work. They found it too flowery and that it was overly dramatic or purple-prosey. From all accounts she took this criticism to heart. She HATED being raked over the coals this way. Still..it didn't matter. Her stories flew to the tops of the bestseller's lists and readers loved her. Movies were made and money rolled in. YAY for Anne!

I'll admit that most of my reviews are pretty good but there HAVE been a few bad ones. They just killed me. They hurt my heart! Yes, I realize (and have been told repeatedly by friends) that this is just ONE person's opinion but I don't think it really hit me until yesterday how very true that is. To think that an author of Rice's popularity would worry about the scathing reviews of ONE PERSON makes me shake my head. Hell, all of us would love to find the success she has had over the years!

In other news: Today my husband and I celebrate our 27th wedding anniversary. He was in his first year of law school when we married in Houston, Texas to very little pomp and ceremony. Because of time constraints and yes, money, we married in the home of a local Justice of the Peace. He wore a nice suit and I wore a pretty but very average dress. There were no witnesses or friends or wedding cakes or gifts but we were fine with that. We were in love and we saw our lives spread out before us with infinite possibility. Now two kids later, happy successful careers for both of us, we are finally a couple again instead of a couple-with-kids. Once again, we are seeing the adventure ahead and it's nice.

Check out the BIG SALE at Ellora's Cave!!! All books featuring Vamps and Shifters are marked down drastically for Halloween. If you haven't read my shifter stories, now is a great time to pick up either Feral Moon, Highland Beast, Lone Star Lycan or Ringo's Ride. The sale won't last much longer so check em out. Hot shifters for a pittance. How can you go wrong?