I woke up this AM from a very vivid dream.

Thought to myself, “Wow, this will be a great story! I better get up now and write it down.”

(I have a tendency to forget my dreams. Sometimes I try to tell them to people and then realize I’ve forgotten all but a nonsensical fragment.)

So, I leaped from my cozy bed, emerging into the chilly house. Rummaged on the desk for a notebook and scribbled 3 pages.  (From now on, I need to keep a notebook by the bed.)

But I’m not telling what it’s about - not yet. Although I think it’s a very marketable idea lately.

And this dream comes on the heels of a rejection and reading this post.  For the record, I love Ancient Egypt (in case you couldn’t tell). My Twilight-obsessed friend Jennifer often tells me about the things Stephenie Meyer did, so as to encourage me. This post was very encouraging to me, but I have never felt like I was writing something that I just couldn’t hold in.  I even said to Jennifer, “I dont HAVE a story banging on my skull trying to get out.”

Maybe now I do.

My last post described my submission to Harlequin for their e-book line Historical UNDONE.  Today, I received an email telling me that my story isn’t right for their line.

“For Historical Undone, we’re looking for a high level of sensuality that flows naturally out of the plotline. The characters should be fully fleshed out and should be the main focus of the story. The history should be well researched in order to give an authentic sense of period without taking over the romance. Though your story contains some of these elements, it lacks others.”

I will admit to being discouraged at this. I truly think my story is well-done and fits the description on the Harlequin website. However, at the time I wrote it, no stories had been released in that line, so I had no comparison.

I suppose my next step is to buy a couple of those e-stories and see how the published stories compare to mine. I suspect that the “high level of sensuality” is where my writing doesn’t match with their expectations. Do I aspire to write a “high level of sensuality”? That’s something I need to decide.

In happier news, I’ve been writing for NaNoWriMo and completed a 75,000 word historical romance novel that I plan to submit to a Christian romance line. Editing for that story will happen in January.

Right now I plan to move on to writing part 2 of last year’s NaNoNovel. Back into the world of TJ and Jody!

I think I’ll also try submitting my Egyptian story in a couple other places. Any suggestions are appreciated!