Sorry to be behind with my Monday post! I left for Houston early Friday morning and came home late last night on a delayed flight. By the time I got one of my kids to school (late) this morning and settled down to draft my post, it was 10 AM here in California (and later in the day for those of you on the East Coast.)

As Sharon Sala and I were heading over to the hotel from the airport, we laughed at how we’d both once thought that being a writer meant we’d be able to write all day in our pjs. Who knew we’d be expected to be seen and heard so often?

“Writers should be read but not seen.” – Edna Ferber

“Writers should be read, but neither seen nor heard.” – Daphne de Maurier

Hmm… I thought that was the way this writing gig worked back when I didn’t know the writing gig at all. It was reassuring to hear another writer say that she, too, thought authors were mostly invisible entities. Embossed names on a cover and a picture on the back flap, but not much more than that.

But even though the amount of traveling I do far exceeds my long-ago fantasies of what it would be like to write for a living, I’m not complaining because I find face-to-face time with readers, writer friends, and industry professionals to be so valuable. I learn so much about what my readers enjoy, what I did that pissed them off, what they’d love to see next (characters, storylines, settings, time periods). I brainstorm with friends and talk strategy with the pros. I’d miss out on so much if I didn’t travel as much as I do (I’m away from home several weeks a year). I have yet to return from an event where I didn’t think, “It was worth the trip.” (and that’s really good, since I have to publish this post then finalize travel arrangements for two trips in March and another in April…)

Still, it’s good to be home! I’m getting ready to open a new document and start my next historical romance. I’ve been thinking about it for a couple weeks now, and it’s time to get some words on the page. I’m excited! It’s an idea that I think is just so delicious, that I’m hoping I pull it off. *g* Plus… I have a couple books to read for quotes and a lovely, lovely stack of RITA books. I’m soooo excited about digging into those. So, despite being tired from the trip, I’m ready to jump into the week.

How about you? What’s on your agenda this week? Anything you’re excited to tackle?

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