Deja Vu of a Very Particular Sort

So today I was sitting in Diva's orthodontist's office when I got this rush of deja vu that I couldn't immediately identify. And then it hit me--more than a year ago, I sat in that very same spot on that very same couch and wrote the first draft of the chase-through-the-woods scene of Yours, Mine and Howls.

The scene was ultimately revised so much that very little of what I wrote that day made it into the book, but still, I can recall exactly what I struggled with (the journey down the gravel path that led to the creepy abandoned house) and exactly what I was very happy with (my description of the creepy abandoned house) (which my editor later said was way overdone and unnecessary, which figures!) I have almost total recall of what I wrote that afternoon in Dr. Mizell's office, which is weird since I normally have trouble remembering what I did yesterday or where I'm supposed to be tomorrow.

Of course I started thinking of my other two books and wondering if I had the same kind of recall regarding certain scenes. Turns out that I do.

Kiss and Kin, my first book, was written as a submission for an anthology call; it was the second book I ever finished and it gave me fits. I wrote a great deal of it beside the pool at the YMCA while Diva took swimming classes. I remember so clearly working on the first sex scene of the book--where Taran appears in wolf form at the sliding glass doors and scares the crap out of Lark. I was thinking to myself, "How weird is this??? I'm writing an explicit sex scene while all these people are milling around and my child is just a few feet away!" I felt like I had some big cartoon sign over my head saying, "Hey! This lady is writing smut! Right now, in front of your children!" (If anyone saw the sign, they were too polite to say anything.)

Ready to Run, my last book (literally, if I don't get off my ass) was also written in response to an anthology call; at the last minute I decided it wasn't appropriate for the anthology and just submitted it as a novella. But, while I was still planning to submit it by the submission deadline, I spent a whole weekend with my butt glued to the couch, fingers flying over the keyboard, and every time a member of my family looked at me I'd snarl, "No! I can't! I'm on deadline! Bring me another Diet Coke!"

At the same time, I was spending lots of time in the chat room at Romance Divas, where writers congregate for timed writing sessions. There I posted the scene where Sara drives up to her grandmother's house. The setting is described in detail, as is Sara's mood and what she's thinking and all that. Inez Kelley loved the scene, and I was joyous. "Inez Kelley said it's good! That means it's good!!!"

I sincerely hope that a year from now, I will have crystal clear recollections of where I was when I was writing scenes from my two current WIPs.