Titles and a Challenge

Well, this will be a post full of good stuff to share. First off is the fact that I think I have found good working titles for the books. This was starting to bug since I wanted something better than Book 1 and Book 2 to reference them. For my free writes I just used the main characters' names, but as I fuse them together in the actual books, that doesn't work since they are both in there. I won't reveal the names here so that I can possibly use them when it comes time to submit them, but it's nice to have names for them anyway. I'll come up with some nicknames for them for the blog. I know it seems kind of silly, but this is a big deal for me because I completely suck at naming things. I come up with something good in the end, it just takes me forever to find something I like and it stresses me out, lol.

The big news is that my darling Andrea has thrown down a challenge for me, which I have accepted and replied with a challenge for her as well. (I'm not going to be the only one stressing out.) We were at Bree Despain's book launch party last night and as we were waiting for it to start, Andrea turned to me and said "Someday we'll be here doing one of these for you." While I was then lost in giddy fantasies, she interrupts by amending her statement. "No, not someday. Two years. We'll be here for your book in two years."

Say wha??

I hadn't planned on even submitting anything for another 4-5 years. I wanted to graduate from college. And, you know, finish the books. Because I really can't submit the first without finishing the second just so that I know everything works together. So while I'm looking at her with panic in my eyes, she just smiles and says "I know you can do it."

*gulp* "Ok, I accept your challenge."

Then it dawns on me that I only have a year to finish both books, so that I can submit, be accepted, and actually published in two years. GAH! Now, I know Andrea will be lenient with me if the deadline gets smudged a bit, but I know she's serious about me actually submitting and finding an agent and everything by the time my two years is up. I may not need to be published, but I need to be making serious efforts to make it happen. And while I'm now almost sick with nerves and feeling insanely overwhelmed, I honestly think this will be good for me. Deadlines are scary, but it will help me get things done. So, I accept this two year challenge. And let's all pray that I don't have a nervous breakdown trying to make it happen.

I do have one thing that brings me comfort in this though. I issued the same challenge back to her. She needs to have a finished manuscript to start submitting in two years as well. I'm not going to be the only one having panic attacks. She has accepted, so I'll give you status updates every now and then to let you know how we do.