Romy Sommer

This afternoon I submitted the 1920s short story I wrote last year to Wild Rose Press. Another wait begins. So far this story has been rejected by Harlequin's Historical Undone (for which it was written) and by Samhain Publishing. I'm hoping the old saying 'third time lucky' holds true. I was planning to only send it after I'd mailed off my full manuscript to the RNA, which is a much bigger deal as it requires so much more effort than just hitting send on an email (if only!) but somehow today just felt like a good day. The deed is done.

I'm exhausted. What do you give up first when you want to be a published writer but need your day job? Sleep! It wouldn't be so bad if only my girls would also sleep for the same 6 hours that I do, but no, between the two of them I'm awake every hour on the hour. Happily the long hours spent on my novel this past week are paying off. I've received crits and done some editing, finally got over the hurdle of the black moment, and all I have left is 1,300 words in my final chapter and it will be DONE. My intention is to mail this manuscript off to the RNA before 15th July. Then I plan to take a holiday from writing long enough to catch up on some sleep. Pure bliss! I can hardly wait. Now if only the weather would warm up, I'd be really happy. It is so freezing cold at the moment. Winter takes South Africa by surprise by winter every year and we suffer for it. Then again, why bother to install central heating for the one month of the year that it is so bitterly cold?

Those who follow this blog might remember my excitement and disappointment a couple of months ago when a short story I entered in a contest (run by local Essentials magazine and Mills & Boon) first made the Top 20, but then didn't win. So I was very surprised today to get a message via Facebook from someone who'd read my story in the latest edition of Essentials! It is so amazing to see my writing in print (though there was one misprint) and I'm hoping this is the start of great things to come ...

Tonight is the longest night of the winter and from tomorrow we start heading back towards summer. Just as well, as my skin has already had enough of this cold, dry highveld air. It was also Fathers' Day today so we went out for lunch and enjoyed the lovely winter sunshine sipping Pimms fruit cocktails while the girls ran wild in the playground. A pleasant solstice weekend, yet I'm feeling such guilt in anticipation of going back to the day job tomorrow. Because I did absolutely no writing at all the whole weekend - not even the many crits I've got saved and ready on my computer. I'm a working mom so guilt is an everyday feature in my life. I can handle this. I've just got to get the guilt working for me! Roll on the new week, and roll on the summer.

We had a public holiday in South Africa today and I spent it as I wish I could spend every day. In the morning I met with my local writing group for breakfast and a writing session, I spent the afternoon with my daughters and the evening after the girls fell asleep editing an earlier chapter. Unfortunately it was just one day. Tomorrow it's back to the grind stone and the day job is becoming a little more demanding of my time as I have a shoot at the end of next week. At least this one is local. The progress has been slow but I'm finally within sight of the end. Chapters Eleven and Thirteen still need tweaking and in the meantime I'm sending the completed chapters out to my online crit group. That RNA deadline is looming and I plan to beat it.

You know how, in that magical moment of time just before you fall asleep, you suddenly think of the most incredible plot developments and dialogue? Or you get a sudden insight into something and with your half-asleep brain wonder if you'll remember it in the morning? I had an incredible lightbulb moment at 1am this morning. My brother and I are very different people. With an age gap of 5 years, living half a world apart, him being male and me female, and him having a Doctorate in Quantum Physics and me being a university drop-out, on the surface we have very little in common. But there are odd moments when you can tell we were raised by the same parents. My brother is President of Software Freedom International, a non-profit organisation that promotes free software for all. I'm virtually computer illiterate so you might be wondering how this shows how alike we are ... I'm getting there. I will make the point eventually ... I am a great believer in giving people access to in...

On the radio recently I heard a piece about the composer Sergei Rachmaninov. Apparently, just before he composed his Symphony No. 2 in C Minor (one of my favourite pieces of classical music) he suffered from something known as “Nervous Insecurity” which prevented him from composing. He dedicated this symphony to the hypno-therapist who helped him get over it. In writing terms we call it “Writer’s Block”. I think I prefer the musical term because let’s face it, that is exactly what happens when we get writer’s block. Our insecurity keeps us from writing. I find a lot of hope in this story. After overcoming his block Rachmaninov went on to write perhaps the greatest piece of music of his career. May we all have such luck when we overcome our insecurities.