Friday, July 16, 2010

Airplanes, Airplanes

I try to get in a jog at least four mornings a week. Usually it’s five or six days but four is the ultimate goal. I’d be bored out of my mind if it wasn’t for my iPod. Does anyone else love the magic of iTunes as much as me? Okay, moving on… A few weeks ago I made this sweet track to listen to. In the beginning I get pumped up with Saosin, Rise Against, then I move onto a little Lady Gaga, P!nk, and wind down with Bob Marley (there’s nothing more mellow than him). Since the radio stations in my new hometown suck I turned my new fave track into a CD which I’ve been religiously rocking out to, and the other day while the man and I were headed somewhere that newish ‘Airplanes’ song by B.o.B. featuring Hayley Williams came on. I should preface this by saying that the man and I have wildly different musical tastes. He totally likes Rise Against or Dropkick Murphys, etc. but anything remotely hip hop he’s just not feeling. But when this song came on imagine my surprise when he started singing along. Like, really singing along. I’d started to change tracks b/c I assumed he’d hate it, but he just belted out the lyrics. He knew all the freaking words. Male and female parts. I just stared at him wondering if the pod people had finally taken over. It took him a second to notice my delighted shock. He glared at me and swore that he’d deny his new ‘love’ if I ever told anyone. Yeah, well the cat’s out of the bag buddy. Somehow I don’t think his friends read this blog though so he’s probably safe. ;)


Is there a point to this post? I promise there is. I totally love this song and always sing along (with no shame I might add) and when the man started singing the lyrics to the second part of the song that starts with: “Somebody take me back to the days, before this was a job, before I got paid, before it ever mattered what I had in my bank” he suddenly looked at me and was like ‘Do you ever wish you could go back?’ At first I had no clue what he was talking about but he explained. He wanted to know i
f I ever wished I could go back to being pre-published and not worry about promoting, deadlines or if my editor was going to like this manuscript or if my agent would be able to sell that one. I’d been bitching about promoting and the constant ‘waiting’ a few minutes earlier so I think that’s where the question came from. I didn’t even have to think about it. Hell no.


Some days I like to think it’d be cool to go back, but I know better. If things never changed we’d grow bored and stagnant. And if we didn’t have to face rejection—no matter how much it sucks—or
put ourselves out there, we wouldn’t grow stronger.


So in that vein, I would like to mention that I do have a release today (ah, dreaded promotion, lol). Power Unleashed, the third book in my Miami Scorcher series releases from Ellora’s Cave. Worth the Risk, the second in the series has been called ‘Raw, gritty and very very sexy’ by Romance Junkies so
hopefully this book will be just as well received. If you want a chance to win a copy of the first book in the series, check out Desert Island Keepers today or The Book Binge Monday.


Have a fabulous weekend everyone! I’m having lunch with a fellow writer today so that’s how I’m enjoying release day!

14 comments:

KC Burn said...

Hi Savannah
Congrats on the new release!

Cara McKenna said...

Great news on the upcoming release, Savannah. I can definitely relate to this post…partly because after I'm done commenting I need to load my running playlist for the morning (I suspect it's going to be a largely Kylie day).

As for going back in time…I've been thinking about that too, as RWA National looms ever closer and I'm receiving planning e-mails about the Golden Heart awards—rehearsals and presentation schedules. It reminds me of where I was as a writer even eight months ago, and it's very humbling. And some days I do miss the very early days, back when I was still at the start of my first novel, when I still wondered if I had it in me, and every new article about craft was like the first day of third grade, all exciting and new.

Sorry, I rambled off the course, there [wipes away a misty tear]. Anyway, congrats on new book, and keep on running (and busting your singing manfriend's balls).

Michelle Polaris said...

Wonderful on the release. And I agree that change is crucial. We can't stagnate. It is hard having the same fresh wonder with the writing and publishing compared to the early days. But I'm going to assume that even when I hit a period when it's feeling old hat that some corner of this business or twist on my writing life will bring me back to life.

Wynter said...

Yeah! Congrats on the release - great book! I'm with you on not going back. Sure, there are always things you'd do differently, but how many days, moths and years do writers sweat out waiting for word on subs. And really, there's no shortcut to all a writer must learn. You've accomplished so much already, you've obviously made good choices.

Savannah Stuart said...

Thanks for dropping by KC! :)

Cara, you've had a ton of changes (good ones) this year so I get sometimes missing the early days :)

Savannah Stuart said...

Thanks Michelle! You make a good point, I don't have that same 'wonder' I did in the beginning and the one thing I actually do miss is being able to read with 'non-writer' eyes.

Savannah Stuart said...

Exactly, Wynter! No shortcuts for us. They might be nice but then we probably wouldn't be as appreciative of where we are now :)

Jina Bacarr said...

Congrats, Savannah, on your new EC title, Power Unleashed! Great title and says it all about writing and promoting.

Once we writers get going, we're Power Unleashed!

Savannah Stuart said...

Ooh, I like the sound of that Jina :)

Naima Simone said...

Hi, Savannah!
Congratulations on your new release! As I've read the first two I can't wait to get my greedy little paws on Power Unleashed (love the cover, by the way!). I completely agree with Hell no! I wouldn't either. Even though I'm 1 1/2 books into this I think about all that I've learnd over this past year--the joys and lows--and everything that has happened has worked to make me a better author and person. I'm learning how to handle rejection professionally and personally. I've met a great group of women and authors, this group included of course! And I find that I'm discovering so much about myself and this business day by day. I love it and wouldn't give it up for the world!

Loved the post! Now...*rubbing palms in delighted glee* I must go purchase a book!

Savannah Stuart said...

You're fabulous Naima! :) Good point, learning how to deal with rejection and separating the personal from the professional was a learning process for sure.

Kaylea Cross said...

OMG Savannah, that's my new favorite song! I blast it all the time in the car and have it on my iPOD. Too funny! Guess now I'll be thinking about you whenever I hear that, and not just She Wolf :)

Savannah Stuart said...

Lol, you and I are totally in sync Kaylea :)

Dalton Diaz said...

Huge congrats on the new release! The only thing I'd love to relive is that golden moment when I innocently opened that acceptance email- & screamed when it hit me what I was looking at! But you're right, change is good and there ard plenty more firsts and screams on the horizon.