Friday, March 11, 2011

A BRIDE at last! (Hmm. Wonder if I can get away with wearing white...)

[First of all, to my kids: Relax. You're not bastards. It's a metaphor.]

So, I was flipping through the channels and happened upon 27 Dresses -- the Katherine Heigl movie about a woman who's been in 27 weddings but never her own. (Why, yes, TG was at work and our son was out -- how'd you guess?) Somewhere around the time she was modeling her third or fourth dress it occurred to me

I'm finally going to be the bride.

Let me explain. I have, in the past, had the privilege of being included on the acknowledgment pages of quite a few of my writer friends, including Joanna Bourne, author of award-winning historical romances, and Vicki Pettersson, best-selling urban fantasy author of the Zodiac series.

And, hey, I knew them when. Way back when they were struggling schlubs just like the rest of us.

(Um...sorry, Jo and Vic. "Schlubs" is just an expression. I've never met two less schlubby people in my life. In fact, really you're the anti-schlubs. Please don't hit me.)

I even somehow wound up in the ACKs of A Breath of Snow and Ashes (Book 6 of the Outlander series), by the ever gracious Diana Gabaldon. Here's what that one says:

"Linda Grimes, for betting me that I couldn't write an appealing scene about nose-picking. That one is all her fault."

Yes, it can now be revealed. I am THAT Linda Grimes. Forever tied in print to picking noses. Hope you can stand the excitement of knowing me. ;)

And Diana blamed me for her nose-picking. *beams* Not many can make that claim.

We'd been having a discussion about whether there were things you just shouldn't have a character do if you wanted the readers to like him/her. And, yannoh, not go eeeeuuuwww! I speculated that nose-picking was likely unattractive enough to put a character out of the running as a possible heartthrob.

Well, the whole thing morphed into a contest over at the Compuserve Books and Writers Forum. Various members wrote scenes in which nose-picking was involved, and I judged whether or not I was too grossed out to be properly engaged as a reader.

Diana, of course, nailed it, as you know if you've ever read A Breath of Snow and Ashes -- and she liked the scene well enough to include it in the book, which I think is pretty cool.

I'm always proud as all get-out to be included in anyone's acknowledgments. It's an honor I don't take lightly, and never will. But after a few times, you start to feel -- and, I dunnoh, this might be a horrible admission, but hey, I'm human -- a little like a perpetual bridesmaid.

Not that there's anything wrong with being a bridesmaid. *blink* (Try not to think about the dresses.)

Anyway, you know the saying I'm talking about, right? "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride." 

I was getting to the point where I thought that might apply to my writing. That I might make it to the ACKs page, but never be the one to do the acknowledging.

So it's no wonder the first thing I thought of (once I could think beyond OMFG!! Squeeee...!!!) was that now I'd finally get to officially thank a lot of people who have helped me with my books.

Because a book is never just one person's project. Support from family and friends, input from crit partners, beta readers, and, later, agents and editors -- it all goes into the great big book stew-pot. And I'm really looking forward to acknowledging, in print, the folks who've been there for me. 

(Er, presupposing I get an ACKs page. I sure hope so!)

So, who wants to catch the bouquet? :)

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