Like a Virgin Pitch Contest

I FINISHED THE BOOK! And now I'm querying and entering contests, which is so exciting! It was a long journey to get to this point, with a ton of learning (and un-learning of bad habits), but I've got a book I really believe in, which is a major reward in and of itself :)

SO, this post is part of a blog-hop for the Like a Virgin pitch contest, only for manuscripts that have never been entered in contests before.

As a contestant, I've been asked to post a list of writing and non-writing firsts, so here they are:

1. How do you remember your first kiss? Very well, because it wasn't that long ago. I was really scared of boys for a long time (even though I loved romance novels), and even after I got over that, I had a lot of goals to meet before I let a man complicate my life. But Providentially, Mr. Right wandered (actually, purposefully interjected himself, because he's that kind of guy) into my life despite myself. My first kiss was with him, at age 27! On the front doorstep of my apartment because my mom happened to be staying with me at that time :) We now have 5 weeks of wedded bliss to our credit.
2. What was your first favorite love song? I grew up overseas, so I didn't have access to a lot of current American music. But my dad had this old cassette of songs by The Carpenters, and I especially loved "Hurting Each Other." Hmmm, no wonder I was scared of love ...
3. What’s the first thing you do when you begin writing for the day? Procrastinate, usually. I always have to force myself to write that first sentence. You'd think it would get easier, but it doesn't. Sheer willpower and a LOT of agony.
4. Who’s the first writer who truly inspired you to become a writer? Probably Linda Chaikin. She's this historical romance novelist nobody has ever heard of, but one day in about fifth grade I copied a kissing scene out of one of her books (because we were visiting friends in Brazil, and I couldn't take it with me). I would take it out and read it occasionally, and one day it finally occurred to me that I could write down those stories swimming around in my head, too. I was not the brightest crayon in the box in those days ...
5. Did the final revision of your first book have the same first chapter it started with? HA! I have lost track of how many different first chapters I've written.
6. For your first book, which came first: major characters, plot or setting? For my first book, which I never actually finished, it was the plot.
7. What’s the first word you want to roll off the tip of someone’s tongue when they think of your writing? Tight. I love, love, love books where nothing is wasted, where seemingly unimportant details turn out to be key to the plot. It's a really hard way to write, but sooo satisfying when it pulls together. The Queen of Tight Writing is Megan Whalen Turner. Sounis love!

LIST OF PARTICIPATING BLOGS