Sonja Foust, Romance Author

I’ve been traveling around a bit, to Portland for my friend’s wedding and to Seattle just since we were close enough to go see it. I love seeing new things, and I’m slowing checking places to visit off my list. But here are 13 places I’d love to visit that I haven’t been to yet:

1. Walt Disney World– I’ve been to Disneyland in California, which rules, but I’d love to see Disney World, too.

2. Alaska– I think Robbie’s on board with this one. Seeing the Pacific Northwest last week gave him a little taste and he wants more.

3. Tahiti– On my list since my parents went a few years ago and had the time of their lives.

4. London

5. Ireland

6. Prince Edward Island– Because I am an Anne of Green Gables nerd.

7. Graceland– Because I am a general, all-around nerd.

8. Norway

9. Dollywood– Yes, again, I am a nerd.

10. Hawaii

11. Italy

12. Paris

13. Hershey, PA– Who doesn’t love chocolate?

What places make your list? Do you keep track of them like I do?

There are pockets in my bridesmaid dress. At first, this was bemusing to me. Pockets? In a dress? And, like, not a light, airy, kindergarden teacher dress. A nice, formal dress.

But after thinking about it, I kind of get it.

I’ve never been in a wedding (except one, my sister’s, where I was the only attendant) where some bridesmaid didn’t start weeping during the ceremony. Invariably, the ones that weep never have kleenex with them. I, being somewhat Type A, usually have a whole kit of massive overplanning with me, like safety pins, aspirin, bandaids, and, yes, kleenex. I hide the kleenex in my hand next to the bouquet. And then I hand it over because I never weep… well, much.

Maybe I get a little misty when they talk about how one of my best friends is going to live Happily Ever After, or maybe it makes me well up a tiny bit when the groom looks at her with all the love I know she deserves. And there may possibly be the tiniest bit of moisture around the corners of my eyes if the bride or groom happens to cry, too.

But I don’t weep. It would mess up my makeup, and then where would we be?

Congratulations to my bestest buddy Skye and her groom-to-be Craig, who are getting married tomorrow! I love them both!… but I probably still won’t cry.

We talked about how to get pitch appointments last week, but what do you do when you actually have a pitch appointment and now you have to pitch? Eek! Yeah, that’s the scary part!

My favorite article on pitching is Virginia Kantra’s Guide to Perfect Pitch. She gives a great jumping off point for how to formulate the structure of your pitch. You can also use some of the stuff you did for your synopsis or blurb for your pitch.

I personally think that the most important part of pitching is practicing, which is a little hard to do by yourself. Sure, you can practice to your dog, but dogs don’t generally talk back. Editors and agents do! I had one pitch once where I had my whole schpeil memorized, but the agent kept interrupting to ask questions, and it threw me for a loop!

One opportunity to practice your pitching will be this Saturday at the Heart of Carolina Romance Writers meeting. Marcia Colette and Jenna Black are giving a presentation, and you’ll have a chance to practice, too. If you’re heading for Nationals, or you have a pitch appointment coming up, I highly suggest going! (You can go even if you’re not a member of HCRW. The first two meetings you attend are freebies.)

What are your best pitching tips and resources?

Tuesday and Thursday, June 2 and 4

Jamie and I did our regular 2-mile route both days. We’re CRUSHING IT. So, I think we’re going to increase our distance to an actual 5k sometime soon. Yay for us!

Saturday, June 6

1.2 miles on the Tobacco trail. I kicked Robbie’s butt. But he probably won’t admit it.

If you’re like me, you get a little sad when your season finales start piling up. No more new How I Met Your Mother or The Big Bang Theory until fall, and that’s a long way away! But, fear not, looks like there’s some good stuff in store for this summer:

So You Think You Can Dance (playing on Fox)

Hands down, my favorite summer TV show ever, and way on up there in the top 10 list of best shows, period. Love this show!

True Blood (June 14 on HBO)

I don’t get HBO, so I’ll probably be watching this next summer, when the DVDs come out, but I’ve been enjoying the Season 1 DVDs for the past few weeks. Should be a good one!

Glee preview (see it on Fox.com)

This one doesn’t come out until fall, but you can catch the pilot preview of it on Hulu or Fox. I really enjoyed it, but then, I was in show choir in high school, so I guess it might not be for everyone.

So what are you looking forward to on TV this summer?

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