I just finished reading Lee Child's Killing Floor, the first in his Jack Reacher series. I'm reading them all out of order, but I'm getting them as I can. For any writer who wonders what Donald Maass is talking about in Writing the Breakout Novel all I can say is this book is a text to study. And it's a first novel. I think I'm going to just cry green tears of envy. Want an illustration of how to make the stakes personally high? Read this book. Need to know how to get your character in an impossible, hopeless situation? Read this book. Need to remind yourself about what an Alpha Hero is like? Reacher drips Alpha. I guess you have to like hard, gritty mysteries which, fortunately, I do.

I've got my dad hooked now. When I gave him the book, he got all excited. He's hooked on Stephanie Plum, too.

So, I've been taking a bit of time since I sent my proposals off (three whole days!) and reading like a maniac. I read the Sandra Brown book from a couple of posts ago and two Jack Reacher books.

I worked on Possession a little bit today, and I have another shift in my heroine that I'm really excited about. Plus, I'm now prepared to be stern with myself about a secondary character who I really, really like and didn't want anything bad to happen to her but it must be.