Liese, too late? I've only just got up, but will read if reading is still wanted.

It's a very long story, but I've been called upon to write a sexy story about voter fraud. Am I on the right track?(This popped in my head last night as I watched the Big Dog on TV. He would like that, I think. It's not finished, obviously.

“What’s wrong with you tonight?” John asked. “Not to be crude, but I wasn’t down there for my health.”

Suzanne, his beautiful girlfriend, looked at him with those big blue eyes, sighed and said “No, no, it’s fine...it’s nothing.”

”That’s what every partner loves to hear. “That’s great, dear. So beautifully adequate. You’re the grilled cheese of love.”

“No. You’re great. We’re great. Better than great...mostly. I just don’t feel like it now, that’s all. Not since Tuesday.”

Not something you’d expect from Suzanne,whose unexpected and quixotic ardor had gotten the couple removed from Starbucks, Baskin-Robbins, and, most recently, the window with the return slot outside Blockbuster Video.(That last one still struck John as unfair, as they were barely edging toward an R rating at the time of the banishment, but that argument seemed to strengthen the rat-faced manager’s resolve. Thank God for Netflix.)

“What’s wrong? Supervisor giving you hell again? Say the word and I’ll beat him up for you.”

“ That is so sweet of you to offer, but, no, it’s not that. I can’t stop thinking about what happened in Florida, honey.”

And she got up and put on one of his shirts, which was long enough to make a tube dress on her, and stood by the bedroom window. “Was this about that Spring Break where you and your roommate stood on that balcony drunk and flashed people for beads because you had so many rum runners you forgot you hadn’t gone to New Orleans?”

“No, but you can never tell that story enough...” Even in a relatively dark room, he could still see she was flushing.

“You know, if there’s anything you wanted to tell me about that night...aftermath, deleted scenes, whatever, you can, confession being good for the soul and all.” He smiled. Maybe this night could be salvaged after all.

“I don’t understand why the media didn’t cover it more strenuously,” she said thoughtfully.

“ Now, sweetie, we both know your breasts are nationally ranked...perfect size and shape. Lovely nipples, which I didn’t think I cared about until I met you, but I hardly think they rate much national coverage.”

“Be serious for five minutes, John, please.The election. You know I’m busting my butt writing that mystery, right? Well, if I were writing this election, I’d have to know something was up.”

” And yet, you fail to notice what’s up right here.”

“I was talking about something important.”

“No, that wasn’t emasculating at all. Thank you for asking.”

“Anytime... let’s think about this, ok? I think we can all admit by now that something happened in Florida in 2000, right? And it turned out pretty well for the President that the most hotly contested state also had a Bush in the governor’s chair. I couldn’t even write that as a coincidence, babe. Not even in fanfic. The hard-core fans would eat me alive.”

“If I agree, can we get back to what we were doing? God, you’re sexy when you get political.”

”OK, thank you. But Bush isn’t even a very smart criminal, right? Because when he wants another bite of the apple, he goes back to the same place. The biggest braindead on the street would know better than to do that. And it’s so *obvious*...three counties do a complete political about-face? Come on.”

“That’s what I’ve been trying to do all night...you’ve been watching that show again, haven’t you?”

”What tipped you off?”At least she had the grace to look embarrassed.

“Braindead. But that doesn’t account for Ohio, or for the fact that it seems the whole country is taking a hard swing to the right.”

”Ugh. Don’t remind me. If we keep talking about that in here, I’m never going to want to again... I’m just warning you. You might want to stock up on comics till the next (continued...)

( continues...) election cycle...but, on second thought, I’m not even sure how true that is...the swing thing. There weren’t that many states where the statistics were all that impressive...he’s no Reagan. Speaking of unsexy thoughts.”

“ Margaret Thatcher...I’m just saying. When I was a kid, she gave me nightmares.”

“You were such a little geek! Or is it wonk?”

“ But that’s why you love me...”

erika, BWAH! I like it. Has promise, and possibility.

Oh, my god. It's like a British comedy of manners. "George Bush Made Me Orgasm-Impaired!"

Or something.

Heh. A damned good beginning.

This:

(That last one still struck John as unfair, as they were barely edging toward an R rating at the time of the banishment, but that argument seemed to strengthen the rat-faced manager’s resolve. Thank God for Netflix.)

That last line reads as your thoughts, though, not his. Give it a positive attachment, something like "He remembered to offer up his usual silent thanks for Netflix", or something to attach it him, rather than to you.

It needs closure, too, to wrap it up tight. Can be political and porny together....

Thanks, all.

To be honest, I was expecting something like.

"Hanging chads."
"Oh, baby..."
"Provisional ballots."
"Yeah, talk dirty to me."

I may just be channelling the Republican National Committee.

Xposted with Bitches:

Well, damn.

I just got a rejection on one of the partials I sent off after the writers' conference. From the agent I fell in love with because she was so enthusiastic about historicals, and really thought would make a wonderful match for my work. I sent her the first three chapters of my first book and a synopsis for my second. The pertinent part of the letter:

I ultimately concluded that your writing was not strong enough to make these clearly marketable projects. The story moved along too slowly, with too much repetition. As a result, the characters never really came to life. I didn't find the alternating first-person pov to be a very effective way to tell the story. Finally, the synopsis for Soldier's Lady just didn't seem to have enough fresh material for today's crowded marketplace of historicals. You should certainly not interpret my decision as the final negative assessment of your manuscript. As you know, this is a most subjective business and most agents, I believe, take on only those projects that they personally feel strongly about and most confident of selling. Other agents may well assess your manuscript differently.

Damn, that's harsh. Most of my rejections have included at least SOME praise--they like either the concept or my writing, just not both. And I really, really thought when I met her that I'd found THE AGENT.

And, you know? I never claimed to be particularly original. Being the first person ever to write about Topic X is not my particular form of creativity. But I'm sorry, if it's a romance set in the Peninsular War and the hero is anything other than yet another aristocratic spy, I think it's fresh material.

Oi, universe! Lay off!

And someone please kick my ass and tell me I should really go through with my plan of taking the project with me on the trip so I can get it finished by 12/31 like I said I would. Because for all I know, the NAL editor will want to see the full--just because I had brilliant chemistry with the agent and so-so with the editor doesn't mean that since the agent didn't like my work, I have no chance with the editor.